Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 1410 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

The Four Dollar Mark

Experts are saying we can expect to see 4 dollar a gallon gas this spring.Â As much as I hate the idea of this, because it costs me a 41 dollar tank of gas to see Bitter at current prices, I have to admit that as much as I might complain about gas prices, it’s important to put it in perspective.Â At four dollars a gallon, I would be paying 52 dollars a tank to fill up in order to see Bitter.

For tolls on the way down there and back, I pay 17 dollars.Â Delaware charges 4 dollars in each direction.Â Maryland charges 5 one way, and 2 dollars each way for the tunnel.Â Now, I bypass Delaware’s tolls both ways to save the 8 dollars.Â It only adds about 10 minutes to the trip time each way, so I think it’s worth the savings.Â Most of the times I stop for gas or food on my bypass route to kill two birds with one stone.

But today, Bitter and I went for an early dinner, late lunch to Old Glory, our favorite BBQ joint in The District.Â I have to concede that on a typical weekend we spend more on entertainment and food than we do on gasoline consumption to see each other.Â The real danger to the economy is that everyone is going to cut back on this kind of spending because motor fuel is generally a fixed cost over the short term.Â But it should give us an idea how useful this stuff is, that we’re willing to keep spending more and more money on it, cutting back on other things in order to afford it.

Questioning What Shall Not Be Questioned

Pennsylvania has one of the most clear and indisputable right to bear arms provisions of any state in the country.

The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.

Dave Hardy says that a new law review article, referenced by DC and its amici, is now online for the rest of us to read.Â Dave says:

The main theme is to try to demonstate that Pennsylvania’s 1776 Declaration, which guaranteed the right of citizens to bear arms for defense of themselves and the state, meant something other than an individual right. The gist of the demonstration is that at the time lots of privotal Pennsylvanians were concerned about creating a mandatory militia. OK, so what? The 1776 Constitution had references to that. There’s no showing that the fact that many wanted a mandatory militia caused the right to arms clause to be inserted in the Declaration.

I won’t go into detail because the article has been critiqued in depth by Clayton Cramer and by Dave Kopel. Clayton points out that the article actually cites Bellesiles!

Unbelievable.

Spring Ahead

I had totally forgotten that we were supposed to spring ahead today.Â Â It seems odd when Ohio bloggers are buried under snow.Â SayUncle is already preparing for spring.Â We didn’t get any snow in southeastern Pennsylvania, but we don’t really get nice spring weather until May, typically.Â March isn’t quite as cold, but still jacket and sometimes coat weather, and most of April is rainy and miserable.

On Endorsing McCain

Bruce of No Looking Backwards says:

I’ve come to terms with the fact that Fred Thompson is not going to be the next President of the United States. I am, hereby, officially endorsing the candidacy of John McCain for President.

Granted, he is far from being the “perfect candidate”.

Then again, no such man or woman exists. And, if they do, they likely possess the common sense that would compel them to avoid running for president.

I’d say I’m about 70% in agreement with McCain on the issues. But that number drops to approximately zero when looking at what the Democrats will have to offer us this fall. I see it as a choice between a D-student and someone who never bothered to show up for class.

I have not decided yet whether to actively shill for McCain, or just beat up on his opponents mercilessly.Â I’m still of the opinion that McCain is far far better than either of those two, and on my big area of disagreement with him, campaign finance reform, he can probably do less further damage as president than he can remaining a senator.

Tearing Apart DC’s Reply

Clayton Cramer analyzes some of the obfuscation made by The District of Columbia in their reply brief in the Heller case.

Scott Bach Hits Back

Scott Bash, President of The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, and NRA Board Member, hits back at Bryan Miller on why New Jersey should not be throwing otherwise law abiding gun owners in prison for ten years because they are unknowingly in possession of an assault firearm.

ATF Whistleblower Controversy

Dave Hardy has some interesting commentary.

The Myth Continues

Hot on the heels of blaming Pennsylvania for New Jersey’s violence problems, Bryan Miller has decided to turn his attention back to more comfortable pursuits of sticking it to gun owners in his home state.

He continues to peddle the myth that some semi-automatic firearms are more dangerous than other semi-automatic firearms, and pushing to increase penalties for possession in The Garden State:

The enactment of NJ’s Assault Weapons Ban was the subject of enormous public attention, as the gun lobby fought it tooth and nail and subsequently sought to repeal it (remember Governor Florio blowing a watermelon apart?). Claiming ignorance of the illegality of possession of an assault weapon is disingenuous and dangerous.

In fact, any “otherwise law-abiding” assault weapon owner would either have had to obtained his/her gun prior to 1991, purposely avoided the grace period and kept it illegally for 16 years or purchased it out-of-state since 1991 and illegally brought it here. Yet, Bach and his organization believe such illegal, cavalier and menacing behavior merits the equivalent of a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card.

Ridiculous.

Remember what an assault weapons in New Jersey can look like.Â If you had one of these in your closet for the past 30 years, would you think you were in possession of an illegal weapon that could get you 10 years in the pokey?Â You’d almost think Bryan thought it audacious that residents of The Garden State were under this mistaken notion they lived in a free country with a right to bear arms provision in its constitution.Â This isn’t gun nut fantasy.Â People in New Jersey can and [UPDATE 7/22/2010: What follows was a link that has been removed, due to the anti-bloggerÂ frivolousÂ lawsuits prosecuted by Las Vegas Review-Yellow-Journal]Â have been arrested and jailed for possessing of of these:

[Below is an brief quote that appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Yellow-Journal about the NJ Supreme Court statement that, ‘When it comes to firearms, the citizen acts at his own peril.’ when a New Jersey citizen went to jail for possessing a Marlin Model 60, a common .22 caliber rifle. I have removed the passage because I do not link to or promote rat weasels like the Las Vegas Review-Journal.]

I have to assume that’s just fine by Mr. Miller.Â One more gun owner in jail where they belong, right?Â If that’s not really what his sentiment, then he wouldn’t have any problem passing a rimfire exception to the New Jersey ban now would he?Â Don’t think so?Â I don’t either.

Outdoor Writers Assocation of America

Bitter has a must read about how left-wing hippies have taken over OWAA:

I think the Outdoor Writers Association is done. Itâ€™s about environmental writers now instead of your hook and bullet crowd. Certainly, enough people thought this a few years ago when POMA was launched following OWAAâ€™s attack on NRA. But I think we have a new sign the whole damn thing is up.

I’m particularly interested in the kinds of people they are associating with.

Hunting For A Solution

Wayne Pacelle (Humane Society of the United States), Bart Semcer (Sierra Club) and Paul Helmke (Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) will host a panel discussion on the merits and intrinsic worth of hunting. These provocative speakers likely will provide ample story material while giving OWAA members a front-lines, front-row seat to an age-old debate that will affect hunters for years to come. Donâ€™t miss this timely and exciting exchange of ideas.

The Humane Society of the United States, which is an anti-hunting group, working with The Brady Campaign, an anti-gun group, could be the thing that helps drive more hunters into the hands of NRA.Â It’s going to be tough to argue there isn’t an active movement to end hunting in this country, using the one/two punch of hunting restrictions and gun restrictions.Â Hunters need to wake up, and fight both these groups, or they are going to be facing the destruction of their sport.

Visit to Cam & Company HQ

Long and rainy trip down to Virginia tonight.Â After I arrived here, Bitter and I drove over to Alexandria and paid a visit to the set of Cam & Company tonight while the show was airing, and got to sit in the control room while Lars worked his magic.Â Talked with Cam and the guys at NRA News a bit about the Second Amendment Blog Bash, hosted along side the NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, which is now up to more than twenty confirmed bloggers in attendance.Â Cam said he mentioned the blog on the air today.Â I’ve heard him mention me a few times, but it always seems I get mentioned when I’m not listening.Â Either way, I definitely appreciate the promotion.