Don Kates, civil rights attorney and Second Amendment litigator, has a useful addition to the tired of debate about stopping power. Mainly that it’s a tired old debate.
Why Finns are Going to Lose Their Guns
The Finns have traditionally had a strong shooting culture, often centered around using Russians for target practice, but that’s not going to last much longer because their shooting organizations are weak:
Shooting hobbyists and hunters campaign on behalf of responsible gun use. They want to secure the right to use guns as a hobby, while conceding the need for control.
“Sello involved an illegal weapon. Tougher gun legislation would not have been a solutionâ€, says Markku Lainevirta,, head of a project on the development of the shooting hobby launched by the Shooting Hobby Forum.
“It is a step in the right direction that tougher restrictions are coming for the granting of a person’s first handgun licence.â€
The Shooting Hobby Forum includes shooting hobbyists, hunters, and military reservists.
How is increasing the restriction on licensing going to help your sport? Will it help bring in more people? Will it help convince the general public that gun ownership in and of itself is not a social ill? I mean, by conceding that we need to increase restrictions, you concede that guns in the hands of individuals contributes to Jokela and Kauhojoki. You’re accepting blame for something in which you are blameless.
This will backfire. Next time this happens, they will come knocking on your door again, and again, and again, until they ask for something you don’t want to give up. By that time, you will have willingly reduced the number of people in your sport to such a degree that you will be politically powerless to resist their demands.
Another “Loophole”
They say loophole, I say freedom. Story is that a Milwaukee gun dealership was sold to other owners, and got to “keep” their FFL (in reality, the new owners were issued a new FFL). What is the Brady solution to this so called loophole? Do we punish the premises? No gun shop can open on that property, because pretty clearly it’s a bad property, right? Do we punish the name?  No one can ever again operate a gun shop called “Badger Guns” again? Because clearly the name is evil. The article goes on to describe how liquor regulations work, and suggests that maybe FFLs should be treated more like liquor distributors, but liquor distribution is a different kind of business, and regardless, it’s misleading to suggest that the type of arrangement Badger has should be in any way illegal. Here’s the actual criteria for licensing, without any editorial filtering from the media. ATF regulations state that upon receipt of a properly executed Form 7, the application shall be approved provided:
(1) The applicant is 21 years of age or over;
(2) The applicant (including, in the case of a corporation, partnership, or association, any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the corporation, partnership, or association) is not prohibited under the provisions of the Act from shipping or transporting in interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition, or from receiving any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce;
(3) The applicant has not willfully violated any of the provisions of the Act or this part;
(4) The applicant has not willfully failed to disclose any material information required, or has not made any false statement as to any material fact, in connection with his application; and
Three generally means you haven’t had an FFL revoked before. How much malfeasance does this standard really allow for? How is this a “loophole?” Â What could you possible do that would fix this, without adopting an absurd standard? One would imagine the Brady Campaign cares little, as long as it means more gun shops closing down.
Georgia Looking at Further Easements in Carry Laws
Looks like Tim Bearden is planning a pretty broad expansion:
The legislation he is working on, a variation of House Bill 615 that was presented before committee in the waning hours of the 2009 legislative session, would expand the possible places owners could legally carry their guns, changing the current law to allow owners to carry guns in all places except for courthouses and prisons and jails, effectively ensuring that no unauthorized person would be allowed to carry a gun where inmates are housed or transferred.
That would pretty much fix all the problems with concealed carry in Georgia. The only step after that really would be to adopt Alaska carry.
Cerberus Gets into Ammo
It appears that Cerberus/Freedom Group is buying up Barnes Bullets according to a well-sourced rumor from Shooting Illustrated.
UPDATE: Confirmed.
New Sights for the Air Gun
Sebastian received the new peep sight for the Izzy during the holidays, and he took the time to put it on this weekend. Â Talk about just in time for today’s match. Â And with that, here is his new toy for knocking over all those pesky metallic pigs, chickens, turkeys, and rams:
Where are we Going in 2010?
Andrew Ian Dodge asks questions about where the tea party movement is headed in 2010 over at Pajamas Media.
How far has the tea party movement come since the beginning of last year? A massive event occurred in Washington, D.C., on 9/12, and even greater numbers of people demonstrated all over the country to express their frustration. But ultimately, have they achieved any results? The bills have still gone through, and Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama have shucked aside criticisms.
Ignoring the (majority) public outcry, some legislators have gone so far as to ban tea party members from their offices under penalty of arrest. Most of the MSM, excluding Fox, has carried the Democrats’ water, portraying tea parties as a fringe movement at best and domestic terror breeding at worst. …
What should the tea party movement be doing to make itself more effective and to not exist merely as an exploitable outlet for the frustrated? …
What may have affected the development of the activists is the fact that many seemed to have been suffering under the delusion that they were “reinventing†politics at the grassroots. Politics is politics, and even the tea party movement has been affected by egos, personality clashes, regionalism, and fakery.
The tea party movement may be best served by operating locally. Mass rallies in D.C. and phone-calling initiatives do not seem to be effective in modern politics. Local activism could have an actual effect, and is a good part of what the left has done to gain power.
The movement needs to be thinking about 2012 and beyond. They need to train themselves to effectively work in the political sphere that exists, not the fantasy one that has been created by the enthusiasm of the movement. Obama fooled millions with a promised “new dawn in politics.â€
It’s interesting because it goes along with something else I read on TechPresident over the holidays from the left perspective on why the “transformed” campaign-style of Obama was really not the mythical bottom-up campaign the press has claimed. Â It was a modern twist on an old style of campaigning, it’s just that Obama was the first presidential candidate to use the new technological tools to pull it off. Â As best described, they shared tasks, not power. Â It was still very top-down.
The tea party movement is similar. Â It’s not really that new for people to protest their government, it’s just that it hasn’t been done in a while (at least on our side) and we’re taking advantage of new tools to do it. Â Granted, I’m not as pessimistic about the outcomes as Dodge seems to be because I think the movement has put up serious roadblocks that no party with a super majority could have imagined. Â Yet, we have. Â Remember when health care was going to be written only by progressives and passed with a signature by August? Â The moderates in the Democratic Party at least had a voice in the current versions, and Pelsoi and Reid are so scared that they are conducting the closed door meetings to get the thing passed themselves instead of going the usual conference route. Â That doesn’t make the end result any prettier, but this is not something that could have been predicted when Obama took office with the numbers he had in Congress.
But what next? Â Dodge makes the very spot on point that the tea party movement faces an uphill battle trying to go the route of forming a third party in most states. Â But what they can do is influence the primary process in both parties and the general election result for area races.
In our district, there are at least four declared challengers to Patrick Murphy (D-BigSpenderVille), and the local tea party organizers who put on a phenomenally successful event last year is hosting a candidate forum. Â This is not only useful as a way to be taken more seriously by the political class, but it’s also a huge potential boost for candidates themselves. Â With the primary bout between these candidates just over four months away, any supporters they pick up at the forum will be worth their weight in gold even if they give just a couple of hours of time stuffing envelopes or making phone calls in advance of the election. Â Talk about making future lawmakers sit up and listen now – this is the way to do it.
That said, here’s the nationwide primary calender. Â While this is officially only for Congressional races, most states have only one primary date, so it should also apply to just about all state offices as well. Â The votes of your immediate family may well be enough to swing a low level primary race, so don’t bitch that your votes don’t matter. Â Even making a victory more decisive can make a huge difference in fundraising and attention a candidate can receive from the party folks.
Illinois, you’re up first in February. Â Next it’s Texas in March. Â Early May has Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio. Â For those of you in Ohio, your state elections are of vital importance. Â Your state is losing two entire Congressional districts. Â Whatever party leads in the 2010 elections will decide which districts are cut. Â That’s not an issue that you can change in the next election, that’s a result you live with for at least 10 years.
Back to the Grind
Nothing worse than laying awake in bed until 2:30AM because you’ve been sleeping in all week, and then having to wake up to your morning alarm, tired, and knowing you have to go back to the grind. To top off my welcome back to the working world, the PA Turnpike was all messed up with several accidents, no doubt because everyone forgot how to drive over the holidays.
Please bear with me as I get back to my normal routine. If case you’re just coming back too, and missed the big Holiday excitement in the gun news world, take a look at the discovery of Bloomberg’s secret plan to screw gun owners. Well, no longer a secret really, thanks to Chuck Michel at calgunlaws.com.
Little Black Book of Fighting
Dr. Helen offers a review of a book that might be of interest to gun owners:
It begins with a section entitled, “Before Violence Occurs” that shares a good first rule of self defense: “Don’t get hit.” The authors talk about how to avoid situations or locations where violence is more likely to occur. These places include traveling through the wrong neighborhoods, hanging out with the wrong people, or frequenting the wrong night spots, and/or acting inappropriately in these places. The authors–two experienced martial artists–point out that there is almost always a build-up to violence, one that many people are not aware of. They teach you to have situational awareness without being paranoid or mentally exhausting yourself. They discuss simple tips like when it’s time to leave a party before violence escalates. It’s good advice, especially for young men who often have to learn how to deal with aggression, even if they don’t want to.
Read the whole thing.