The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
In Central Pennsylvania, a “zero tolerance” policy is making it difficult for a junior rifle team to bring air guns into the school so they can hold matches.
To me this is the same type of issue as sex education in schools. You can either have the kids learn responsible gun use from responsible adults, or they can learn from video games and movies.
Armed and Safe talks about a federal gun show bill. The Democrats aren’t going to touch this before the election, but it’s a good example of the types of bills that will await us if the Democrats manage to shore up their majority if Republicans decide to stay home in November.
Today’s quote is from Joe Huffman:
Come out of the closet. In the early days of the gay rights movement there was a phrase, “Silence equals death!”. Getting people to come out in the open about being a gun owner helps the anti-gun people realize we aren’t red-necked, knuckle dragging, Neanderthals, who beat their wives, complain about the “coloreds” lusting after our women folk, and whose idea of a good time is shooting our empties while chugging beer from the tailgate of our pickups. It worked for the gays and it can work for us.
I agree with this. When I first started getting back into shooting in my mid 20s, after not having shot since I was a kid shooting cans, I was pretty quiet about it around coworkers. These days virtually all my coworkers know I shoot Silhouette on Thursdays, am a member of the NRA, and am politically active in the gun rights movement.
It is a risk, because you never know when some corporate drone will decide you’re too dangerous for the company to keep around and fire you. I think it’s a risk we need to take. Others who have preceded us have taken far far greater risks in the name of preserving freedom, and if we can’t step up in this manner, we’re doomed.
Of course, the one caveat is that being out only helps if you’re actually normal.  If you’re building a bunker in your cubicle out of old QIC computer tape cartridges and reams of copier paper, in preparation for the day the UN sends in the blue helmeted ones to impose the New World Order on your workplace, you might want to think about staying in the closet.
Kevin doesn’t trust McCain to pick the right kind of justices. I don’t really either. But you know what? I didn’t trust Bush to make good selections either, and, Harriet Meyers debacle aside, we wouldn’t be thinking about winning Heller if Al Gore or John Kerry had won. Bush could have done better, but Roberts and Alito are far from the worst choices that could have been made.
I know exactly the kind of justices that Hillary and Obama will pack the court with. How does the thought of Obillery picking Scalia’s replacement sit with you? It doesn’t sit well with me either, but Scalia will be 81 by the time the next president leaves office. Think he’ll make it? If either of those two win, I certainly hope so.
For whatever reason, conservatives didn’t have their act together this primary, and so we’re stuck with the second string. Perhaps folks will say I’ve drank the kool-aid, but can you imagine the damage that up to six Obillery nominated justices will do as we try to refine the scope of the second amendment post Heller? Make no mistake about it, I think that McCain’s choices are likely to be less than stellar, but I see no reason to slit our wrists electorally and let Obillery seriously alter the ideological composition of The Court.
One thing to consider is that while we might not get exactly what we want as president, McCain can’t be guaranteed to get exactly who he wants as Supreme Court justice. Justice Kennedy and Souter are prime examples of that. Also note that our most conservative justice, with the greatest fealty toward the constitution, Justice Thomas, was nominated by the decidedly unconservative George H.W. Bush. With McCain, we run a much better chance of getting a more favorable justice than we do with either of the Democrats.
One thing all this reloading is going to start producing eventually is a lot of scrap brass. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to sell your old, worn out brass, to be recycled? Is there a place you can take it?
It’s a telling statement that when gun control folks actually come on to debate us seriously, it’s worth a link, since it happens so rarely, even across hundreds of gun blogs. Robb has that going on over at Sharp as a Marble.
Several other bloggers have pointed this out, and I feel I should as well. Academics for the Second Amendment are a group of second amendment scholars that have been working hard to secure your gun rights for years to come. They will be filing an Amicus brief with the US Supreme Court. Needless to say, filing a brief with the Supreme Court costs a significant amount of money, so they really need your support.  I just sent a little bit of cash their way, and I hope you all will as well.
There is truly no fight in our life times that will matter to gun rights more than this one, and we must stand by the people who are standing by us.
Ahab points out how the difference in attitudes towards allowing arms in schools created a very different result when terrorists paid a visit to an Israeli school.