Of Questionable Repute

Assistant Village Manager John Berley said the move is part of an ongoing effort to keep businesses of questionable repute off of Lake Street, such as a spa that was annexed recently.

“Those kind of uses are considered undesirable by our residents and don’t project a good image,” he said.

See, government stealing property from private owners under force of arms is reputable in Addison. Having icky guns is not.

But maybe we're making incremental progress here. At least now it's "questionable". Previously, it was flat out "unwholesome and offensive."

Maybe we should Ask Mayor Hartwig if this represents a change in official position...

Dueling Militias

But the federal Bureau of Land Management is considering expanding the gun-restricted area by 41,000 acres to try to limit shootings at Idaho Army National Guard troops who report slugs bouncing off their tanks on a regular basis...

National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Stephanie Dowling said she thinks the proposed expansion would help alleviate the problem.

“What’s happened over time, as the population has grown, we get more and more people out there,” said Dowling. “Not everybody uses good safety precautions.”

Then you deal with the ones who don't Stephanie. The organized militia calling for unorganized militia disarmament zones is unacceptable.

Unusual Allies

Defiant police officers and prosecutors, however, saying they retain law enforcement discretion, have continued arresting and bringing cases against motorists like Mr. Patton found with unlicensed handguns...

In a report issued in February, the Texas affiliate of the National Rifle Association joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition “to spotlight unlawful, unnecessary governmental encroachment on average law-abiding citizens.”

And what should be done with "defiant" servants?

This is chilling:

The presumption of innocence does not make the person innocent.

Uh, yeah it does, Mr. Rosenthal, legally, anyway, which is what you're supposed to concern yourself with. The burden of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt rests with you.

This looks like calculated harassment, dragging gun owners into court, intimidating them with threats and mounting legal costs into a surrender, and ceding to the judiciary the undelegated power to become a de facto government travel authorization agency, as this Tim Curry creature would submit his countrymen to.

It's nice to see the ACLU come around at least in this small way, especially considering the organization's traditional subversion of RKBA. It's also nice to be able to spotlight a positive action from NRA that deserves our support.

[Via Tom M]

NOTE: The "traditional subversion" link isn't working at this time--KABA.com keeps timing out.

Where are All the 2nd Amendment Supporters?

Now, here is the part where I’m starting to get frustrated. Red’s has started an online petition asking for fair treatment of FFL dealers. This has been out there for a few weeks and there are only a little over 2000 signatures on it as I write this. There should be tens of thousands on it by now! Is this information just not getting out to the gun owning public? I know Red’s is doing everything they can to get the word out. But surprisingly, many of the outlets that should be jumping on this are remaining silent. Hello? NRA? Would it hurt to return a call or add this to one of your ILA action alerts? I have written to them and… nothing.

In another development that disturbed me a bit:

But coincidence is just what Mountain Man's owner is calling it.

"There are big differences," said owner Gary Painter. "Red's had been told before they had to make corrections on things they were doing wrong."

Y'know, Mr. Painter, I'll assume you didn't quite mean what this implies, because otherwise, it looks like...Nahh. You were probably just quoted out of context. Right?

In another development, Red's Marketing Director, Ryan Horsley, has agreed to a WarOnGuns interview. It'll be the same format as with Matt Bracken and David Hardy, that is, after the "formal" interview, you'll have a chance to ask him a question of your own via the post's "Comments."

I'll be preparing and conducting the interview over the weekend, and will probably post it next Monday or Tuesday, depending on Ryan's availability. Stay tuned and I'll make sure to announce the date.

In the mean time, if you haven't already signed the petition, please go do so now--and please recruit your gun-owning friends to do so as well.

[Via chareltonhest]

Damsels in Distress

Charles Williams, who works in technology services for Turner, saw a man dragging a woman by the hair one level above where the shooting occurred. The man told him to get out of the way. Williams went to get a guard, and then saw the man apparently take the woman downstairs. He heard gunshots less than a minute later.

Then there's this account:

The witness, who had gone to get help from a guard, then heard the gunfire...

John Helton, a CNN.com producer, had a direct view of the gunman through glass doors. "I saw him coming down the escalator pulling her along, around the corner; he ran into the plant and that's when they started struggling," he said...Helton said the woman appeared to be shot at point-blank range. "He looked like he had the gun right on top of her head and shot her."

After the shots, CNN.com writer Brad Lendon said, the gunman "looked around, his head turning in my direction. I don't know if he saw me, but at that moment the gravity of what I'd witnessed hit me. I turned away and tried to find the safest way I could out."

The gunman was then shot by Capt. Odell Adams, who joined Turner Security in 1996, according to a spokesperson for Turner, the parent company for CNN.

Once members of the citizen militia no longer realize that's what they are, dismiss and disparage the concept of being part of one, and have no intention of being prepared to protect even themselves much less their communities at large, they're in no position to become anything but victims or escapees in a time when a defense-minded citizen is exactly what is needed. The herd bolts and runs while the predator brings down its prey.

"Men" seek other men to save them, that is, to have the others put their lives at risk because they will not.

And what did it take to stop the killer? A man with a gun. As usual.

[Via Andre]

This Day in History: April 5

April 5, 1776 Archibald Bulloch writes letter to Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton giving them great latitude in voting at the Second Continental Congress