Mr. Connery, You'll Have to Check That Shotgun

Taking a lesson from the 1981 Sean Connery sci fi western Outland, which showed how dangerous it can be to mix guns with spaceflight, the Federal Aviation Administration wants to keep passengers from carrying firearms on rocket ships...

[T]he FAA casually and gratuitously endorsed the "collective right" interpretation of the Second Amendment, according to which the amendment poses no obstacle to gun control because it has nothing to do with an individual right to keep and bear arms, instead protecting states' prerogatives vis-à-vis their militias...

For supporters of the right to armed self-defense, them's fightin' words. Pro-gun-rights blogger David Codrea asked the FAA how it could reconcile this language with then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's statement, in a May 2001 letter to the National Rifle Association, that "the text and the original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protect the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms."

Well, this has certainly gone a lot farther than I'd expected. Let's see if interest evaporates or if it gains wider attention, the goal being to press the administration to explain itself and rescind the "collective rights" language.

Is the Story Getting Legs?

Via email fom SayUncle:

Check it out:

http://volokh.com/posts/1167404621.shtml
http://instapundit.com/archives2/2006/12/post_1331.php

Many thanks to these hugely popular blogs for picking up on this.

Shameless Plug: A Request for BIDS

NICS, whether "“improved"” or not, creates a record of gun purchases, that is, a de facto registration list of gun owners. And while current law prohibits retaining records, there are many lawmakers eager to change that.

What if it was possible to establish a system for clearing firearm purchases with no identifying information about lawful buyers?

The Blind Identification Database System, or BIDS, is designed to do just that.

"A Request for BIDS" is my Rights Watch column for the February 2007 issue of GUNS Magazine, up for bids now at at offering newsstands throughout the Republic.

BONUS: See page 108 to find out how you can win a "Kimber 1911 Desert Warrior with Crimson Trace Laser Grips, Insight M3 [light], Blackhawk Holster, belt and light holder and United Cutlery US Army Ranger Knife!"

Also in this issue: My review of Matt Bracken's gripping new novel, Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.

[More on BIDS from WarOnGuns]

GUNS Magazine Review of Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista

Matthew Bracken'’s latest novel is a brave book.

It'’s brave because it'’s a sequel, and expectations from a readership that embraced his first book, “Enemies Foreign and Domestic, are high. It'’s brave because he believes in the grand purpose of the right to bear arms, and that runs against the mindset of mainstream publishers. And it'’s brave because Bracken makes a harsh prediction of where this country is headed should the unchecked flow of illegal immigration not be halted and reversed.

My review of Matt's outstanding new effort appears on page 88 of the February 2007 issue of GUNS Magazine, on sale now at friendly domestic newsstands throughout the Republic.

Further Thoughts on the Bush 2A Reversal

I made a comment yesterday over at SayUncle's that I realized I had not yet articulated here on my own site, regarding the "executive office of the president" approving a "collective rights" interpretation of the Second Amendment in its claim of authority to regulate weapons on spacecraft:

[I]f the pres simply wanted to keep guns off spaceships, they didn't need to bring in the "“collective rights"” language. Re-read Ashcroft'’s letter--–he gave them the out to effect a ban with his "“compelling state interest"” rationale. That'’s all they'’d have needed to say and it would have legally stuck. They didn'’t need to address either a collective OR an individual right. But somebody did, and such inclusions are rarely accidental, which means there was intent, which implies motive...

The way I read this is, should a legal challenge to the authority of these regs be issued, the argument the administration will make will be based on the collective theory. I don't know any other way to look at it. And if that sticks, it will hurt us a lot more than if their defense was "“compelling state interest."”

Understand, I'm not defending "compelling state interest," because, as practiced by the Bush DoJ, just about any existing law would be prosecuted or defended against under that banner. I'm merely observing that the administration did not need to go out of its way to embrace "collective rights"--the identical position as every enemy of the individual right to keep and bear arms.

Had they quietly announced the rules claiming authority under "compelling state interest," they would have probably slipped in completely under the radar--although aside from this blog and its few supporters, they essentially have anyway.

We're the Only Ones "Calm and Assertive Pack Leaders" Enough

A deputy constable is now out of the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the foot Thursday morning...

"Attempted to bite me and actually grabbed a hold of my foot and part of my leg but never broke the skin. That's when the dog turned toward the constable and the constable fired one shot at the dog and actually shot himself in the foot," said Day.

If that dog had wanted to bite you, it would have bitten you. It figures, The Only One and the repo gang blunder in, do everything wrong to provoke a fear reaction from the animal, and then blame the owner and the dog for its natural response. Sounds like these guys could have benefited from National Geographic Channel's "Dog Whisperer" marathon yesterday, and of course, Deputy Constable Limpy has no more business being around guns than he does dogs.

[Via KABA Newslinks]

Letter from Wayne Fincher

From the Sebastian County Jail

[In response to AFV editor’s request, this is a day in the life of Hollis Wayne Fincher inside the Sebastian County jail.]

I am doing OK here in jail. It’s not where I want to be, but it’s where I am and I try to make the best of it.

The temperature is pretty constant, probably near 70 both day and night with a few warmer and cooler spots here and there, but no problem.

The light after 10 o’clock [PM] is subdued and about 6 o’clock [AM] it is turned on bright all day and is OK for reading or writing. About 7, we are let out of our cells for breakfast, which might be about a cupful of oatmeal or grits and a piece of bread, some gravy and a tablespoon of margarine, a half pint of milk and some about 50% strength coffee. We go back to our cells for a while and then may be let out for maybe an hour, more or less, and then back to our cells until dinner at about 12 [noon].

Dinner might be some macaroni or beans or peas or sometimes a hamburger (a bun, a piece of meat and a slice of cheese with a tablespoon of mustard) and a small dessert.

A typical dinner might be maybe a half cup of salad or chopped cabbage, some beans, some margarine, two slices of white bread and some kind of meat with a small tub of applesauce and some tea.

After dinner we are sent back to our cells until about 2 [PM] or so, then let out again for a half hour to over an hour and then back to our cells until supper at about 5 [PM] for 30-40 minutes, and then back to our cells until morning.

While the food varies from day to day, it remains pretty much the same. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say that it is about a 5. It is not bad food, but there is nothing much to complement it for. The food is supposed to be 2000 calories a day, but some days, I doubt if it makes it. Some days it might be a little more.

The bedding is like the food – adequate, but no more; an wool army blanket, a bed sheet and a cotton mattress about 30 inches wide and about 3-1/2 inches thick. Showers are open every day and you can shower nearly every day with a bit of luck. Soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste and toilet paper are provided. Other supplies can be bought at the commissary. Every one complains about the prices. I only buy a few things; paper, stamps and a very few other things. I buy no food.

We can attend in house church a couple of times a week, sometimes more. I talk to other prisoners about their need for Jesus to save them. Some take heed and are willing to listen and some go to their cells and pray. I have a Bible. Most anyone who wants a Bible can get one with out much trouble.

It is somewhat unpredictable using the phone. There are three phones for about 50 prisoners. The phones are open at meal times and the timeout of our cells, but it is a real hassle to use one with any regularity or dependability. In the visitation rooms the noise makes coherent conversation nearly impossible to take care of family needs and the 15 minute time limit is a contemptible mockery of compassion for the families of prisoners who sometimes have to travel quite a distance from home to visit their loved ones.

To sum it up, the jail is designed to provide a place to hold prisoners at the least amount of cost to the county, at the lowest acceptable level under the law.

Dear Loretta, I saw Linda for a few minutes today and she said things were looking very good, but could not elaborate.

Loretta, you and Paul and Teresa Dramer and many others are the light that shines into the darkness of tyranny.

I pray that God blesses you all and please continue to pray for me.

Yours in Jesus Christ our Lord
Wayne Fincher

Source: American Family Voice news, P. O. Box 127, Russellville, AR 72811; 479-880-2026; americanfamilyvoiceATyahooDOTcom; Subscriptions: $25/yr

Fincher's "crime," of course, is for (allegedly) exercising an individual right to keep and bear arms.

The text below is from a recent appeal written by Dale Morfey of Fort Smith, AR:

Wayne’s legal fight will likely be long and costly. Wayne and his family are already doing the heavy work… will we at least pick up the slack? What is this country… what is the Constitution worth to you?

For this time in American history, you were born. What will be recorded about your actions?

The Wayne Fincher Defense Fund
c/o Mr. Don Bright
2225 No. Mockingbird Ln,
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Want to help Wayne on a very personal level? Write him a letter of encouragement.

Hollis Wayne Fincher
c/o Sebastian County Jail
801 South A Street
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901

I am praying that you will take meaningful action today… and also let as many others as you can know about Wayne’s case.

[Via Joe & Barb McCutchen]

More from WarOnGuns

This Day in History: December 29

On this day in 1778, British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and his force of between 2500 and 3600 troops, which included the 71st Highland regiment, New York Loyalists, and Hessian mercenaries, launch a surprise attack on American forces defending Savannah, Georgia.