Right to Bear Arms Placed on Administrative Hold

The Board of Firearms Permit Examiners refused to hear any gun permit cases at its regular meeting Thursday, saying a lawsuit brought against the state police by one of its own board members may constitute a conflict of interest.

Translation: Screw with us, Bub, we'll shut the whole thing down--which is what we'd prefer to do if the power trip didn't give us such a heady rush and sense of self-importance. We're bureaucrats and we rule you. Our forms and stamps and procedures are more important than your life, more important than your liberty, more important than your pursuit of happiness. And more important than the safety of your loved ones. We are government, duly appointed, backed by overwhelming force, and that's the way it is.

I know of someone who couldn't get a permit in California if he tried. He defended himself and his family twice in the almost 30 years he was there (without firing a shot), never reported either incident to the authorities, and he apologizes to no man for it, although I'm sure there's no shortage of "gun rights activists" who would tell you he'd have deserved what he got if caught: You know, either being killed or separated from his wife and children, that is, his deepest and most abiding loves--and thrown in prison for years at the mercy of the most violent societal dregs imaginable. He knew full well the risks and assumed them soberly, although with a burning resentment that such a terrible choice, with such life-destroying consequences, could be forced on a supposedly free man.

I have reason to believe this scofflaw radical also defied the California "assault weapon" registration edict and still has his semiauto rifle in spite of mandates from the state DOJ with the enthusiastic cooperation of the NRA, so we're talking one serious attitude problem here.

I sure hope he doesn't end up making us all look bad.