Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 853 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

Gun Show Loophole in Minnesota

A reporter tries to exploit the gun show loophole in Minnesota and finds it’s more difficult than he thought. What prompted him? Well, this:

Paymar [sponsor of gun show bill in MN] has never fired a handgun, nor has he ever attended a gun show. He was moved to act, he says, after seeing a YouTube clip. In it,Â Colin Goddard, aÂ Virginia Tech massacre survivor who was shot four times, attends gun shows and successfully buys firearms without undergoing a background check or even being asked to show identification.

So I decided to try to buy a gun. To hear the Citizens for a Safer Minnesota tell it, this would be an easy task. I didn’t have a permit, but surely these gun merchants would insist I purchase their wares, federal red tape be damned. I might even enjoy it.

And he found out no one would sell one to him. He tried a few private buys and got no takers. What follows is a description of the gun show culture we’re all familiar with. Only it’s a fair description.

Open Carry Ban in California Passes Assembly

By a narrow margin, apparently. It still has to pass the Senate. It’s hard to tell, because California’s gun laws areÂ complexÂ and convoluted, but I’m pretty sure this outright prohibits open carry, even in unincorporated areas, which was previously legal.

How Not to Win

Looks like a few folks are getting bent out of shape because the NRA stands for the National Rifle Association and not the National Republican Association. Let me be blunt, if Harry Reid goes down, and we don’t flip the Senate (which isn’t really possible), we’re going to be very screwed. Do you know why we’ve been able to make progress on major issues such as National Park Carry? Harry Reid. Do you know why we got a vote and almost got national reciprocity? Harry Reid. Do you know who’s been keeping gun control off the Senate floor and off the agenda? Harry Reid. He’s been willing to do anything asked of him on behalf of the Second Amendment, and as Majority Leader of the senate, he’s the one who makes the calls on what gets to the floor. Behind Reid is ChuckÂ SchumerÂ or DickDurbinÂ to be majority leader, bothÂ of which would legislate the SecondÂ AmendmentÂ into irrelevance given an opportunity.

That said, I am not happy with the man on other issues, but NRA does not and can not concern itself with those other issues. Â There aren’t many Democrats I’ll get behind in 2010, who also pushed through Obamacare. I’m making an exception for Harry Reid because he’s been such a strategic asset on this issue in the 111th Congress. I’d prefer to block the Obama/Pelosi agenda by other means, and keep Reid in the Senate as Majority Leader.

How to Arm Lobbyists and Reporters

Offer to let CHL holders bypass the security line at the Capitol, which is happening in Texas:

Both veteran lobbyists are among dozens, perhaps hundreds, of the nearly 1,500 registered lobbyists who are scrambling to get state licenses to allow them to carry concealed handguns. Most don’t want to pack a pistol, though they legally could, but want the license to get into the State Capitol quickly during the legislative session that starts in January.

Even if they aren’t planning on carrying, just having them go through the course is a large benefit for our cause. It at leastÂ dispelsÂ the notion that carrying a firearm legally has anything to do with being a cowboy, or shooting it out over a parking space. This works in Texas because CHL holders are allowed to carry at the Capitol. This is not the case in Pennsylvania, where the Capitol is is off limits because of the presence of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Carrying a pistol will cost you time here, as there is a check-in process with the Capitol Police.

When Grizzlies Attack

A backpacker in Denali shot and killed a grizzly, as Arma Borealis reports, and goes into more detail about grizzlies and stupid commenters. This wouldn’t have been possible before the change in the law, as Denali was not one of the Alaska parks that allowed carry under the old regime.

Towns Repealing Local Ordinances

If you go around Pennsylvania, especially to county and municipal parks, you’ll find plenty of signs banning guns. Feel free to ignore them because they carry no weight of law. But now some towns are getting those laws off the books.

Bill Maher a Racist?

Apparently he wants a real black president, which to him means someone who acts like a thug:

“I thought when we elected a black president, we were going to get a black president. You know, this [BP oil spill] is where I want a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt so you can see the gun in his pants. That’s — (in black man voice) ‘we’ve got a motherfu**ing problem here?’ Shoot somebody in the foot.”

Will he get a pass on this from his friends in the media? I’m surprised people thought that was funny.

In Depth Look at Trafficking in Mexico

An example of the ways Mexican criminals sell guns to other criminals:

Merchants make it clear that prices are more accessible if the weapons have been ‘burned’ (used).Â Â A 9 mm ‘clean’ (new) [pistol] is 12,000 pesos [US$934.00], and assault [rifles] like the AK-47 are 15,000 pesos [US$1,168.00].Â Â The latter, like hand grenades, are only available ‘on request.’

In Tepito, those interviewed reported, monthly or bimonthly shipments arrive that are distributed to different destinations. The shipments include revolvers, submachine guns, rifles and grenade launchers, [and] many of them end up in the hands of organized crime groups, they acknowledge.

Naturally these all must be coming from US gun shows. Of course, toward the end of the article, they do note:

A percentage of the weapons, the seller said, come from Mexico via Ministry of Defense personnel who provide [them] in part from weapons seized in raids, or stolen from the ministry’s own arsenal.

You don’t say.

John Smith: Domestic Terrorist

Cemetery tells a story of a man with a common name who found out he was on the terrorist watch list. I was surprised that he has issues purchasing firearms, but New Jersey does a different background check than most states. Maybe that ends up showing up in New Jersey’s system. If it’s a NICS thing, that makes me wonder how the FBI is already using the list.

Licensing Journalists

There’s a Michigan lawmaker who’s proposing the idea. This is unconstitutional, of course, as there are a number of cases that put the kibosh on licensing the First Amendment. Â But I have to wonder how many of the journalists who might look at such a proposal withÂ righteousÂ indignation will turn around and propose allowing government to license the Second Amendment right?