Shameless Plug: Guns in Schools

Ultimately, “a school is no place for a gun,” he concluded.

The author was Columbine killer Eric Harris, who chose “Guns in Schools” for his report topic. It’s not hard to see why he would favor “gun free school zones.”

"Guns in Schools" is my Rights Watch column for the November 2006 issue of GUNS Magazine, available now at scholarly newsstands throughout the Republic.

BONUS: See page 98 to find out how you can win a Custom North American Arms Mini Revolver, Katz Bowie and "Riverboat Gambler Snake Eyes" poker set.

Are You With Us? An Open Letter to Chuck Poochigian

Dear Mr. Poochigian,

As a candidate for California Attorney General, I note you have received fairly good grades from both Gun Owners of California and the National Rifle Association over the course of your political career.

You are no doubt aware that the current AG, Bill Lockyer's official position on the Second Amendment is that:

"[It] limits only the powers of the federal government, not those of the states; and the 'right to keep and bear arms' under the Second Amendment is not an individual right to possess firearms, but a collective right of the States to keep and maintain a 'well-regulated militia.'"

You also no doubt are aware that this is in direct contradiction to the position taken by former US Attorney General John Ashcroft, who wrote:

"The text and the original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protect the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms."

Following Mr. Ashcroft's pronouncement, then Alabama AG Bill Pryor wrote a letter agreeing with the individual rights position, and received signatures of support from 18 other state attorneys general. Furthermore, Dick Ackerman, the candidate for California AG at the time, agreed to also sign the Pryor letter if elected.

If you are elected, per the CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 20, you will take the following oath (or affirmation) of office, which says in part:

I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.

You are also aware that the Constitution of the United States, Article VI, states:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

So my questions for you, Mr. Poochigian:

If gun owners support your candidacy and you are elected California Attorney General, will you issue an official declaration of position that the Second Amendment recognizes an individual right to keep and bear arms?

And if so, what will you do as the chief law officer in the state to ensure that "the supreme Law of the Land," which you will have taken an oath to support and defend, is enforced, and that the rights of California gun owners are legally protected from infringement?

Mr. Poochigian, California gun owners are having essential freedoms abridged and live in danger of having their lives destroyed by edicts that we believe violate the clear proscription articulated in the Second Amendment. Attempts at obtaining peaceful redress through court actions and petitioning have been in vain. We are watching the upcoming election with desperate interest, as so much is at stake for us. I am therefore making this letter public, and am requesting an answer for public disclosure.

Sincerely,
David Codrea
California gun owner
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Special note to WarOnGuns visitors: I'm sending Mr. Poochigian a link to this post, and will report his reply or lack of one. The success of getting an answer is really out of my hands, though. If California gun owners don't take the under-1-minute needed to express their expectation that he answer these questions, he'll really have no reason to pay any attention to this. If you don't live in California, please direct your friends who do to this post. If you do live in California, please contact the Poochigian campaign. Here's a link to his contact form.

Comrade Tom: Let's Bring Chicom Gun Control to Philly!

I ran into Jin Huo Chen on the steps of the state Capitol yesterday, holding up a sign that said... well, I can't tell you what it said because it was written in Chinese.

He was one of the 2,000-plus folks who came from Philadelphia to lobby the legislature to pass gun-control laws.

I pointed to the sign and asked him: What does that say in English?

Chen stared at me.

I tried again: Can you tell me what the sign says in English?

Chen shook his head and said, in so many words: I speak no English.

And we all know what a bastion of freedom China has proven to be, right Comrade Tom Ferrick, Jr.?

It amazes me how refugees from tyranny come to this country--wholly ignorant of what it is that made our nation a refuge in the first place--and do their best to install the familiar here, including the familiar restraints on freedom. And we're expected to assimilate to them.

I've got a sign for you, Mr. Chen:


And for you, Comrade Tom, I have a few words in Mandarin (link not work-safe):

Ni shi bai chi. Qin wode pigu, gan ni niang.

This Day in History: September 27

On this day in 1779, the former president of the Continental Congress, John Jay, is appointed minister to Spain and tasked with winning Spanish support for the American Revolution and Spain’s recognition of America’s independence.