Gestapo Gun Laws

Most upsetting are incidents like the one in Paarl where a robber was arrested and a firearm seized. It was found the gun had been handed in to the police by its legal owner and had subsequently ended up in criminal hands.

Here's a South African who truly gets it. Great letter.

So Much For the Gun Registry...

Two firearms delivered to an Oshawa residence have gone missing and are assumed stolen after they were left in plain view on the porch, police say...

Det. Const. Steve Rhoden said the sporting goods store in Calgary sent the guns with a notice requiring a signature upon delivery. But Rhoden said that when the package arrived in Canada Post's hands, that signature requirement wasn't followed though.

Government. Is there anything it doesn't do well?

We Want the Right to Be Tyrants

"What I’m going to try mostly to do is convince the legislature to let Philadelphia have the right to pass its own gun laws. We had that, when I was mayor, up until 1996 – then they took it away from us. I’d like them to give us that right back," Rendell said.

Translation: We want government to have the right to eradicate individual rights.

And here I thought Rendell was our pal.

This Day in History: May 12

After a siege that began on April 2, 1780, Americans suffer their worst defeat of the revolution on this day in 1780, with the unconditional surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln to British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton and his army of 10,000 at Charleston, South Carolina.

It's Not About Guns

The former Liberal government "broke every rule in the book" when it signed a $273-million computer contract for the federal gun registry -- now the subject of a "stop-work" order -- and never reported the costs or terms of the deal to Parliament, a longtime Conservative gun-registry critic alleges.

It's about political connections, cronyism, cushy deals, corruption and incompetence. In other words, typical government operations.

And individual rights be damned.

Shots Aren't Preceded By "Dear"

NRA wants us to send letters to UN officials protesting their plans for global gun control, and have prepared cut and paste letters for that purpose.

It's hardly the "shot heard 'round the world" Wayne is painting it to be, but OK, I'll send those tyrants a warning letter.

Still, I'll be damned if I call either of them "Dear" or "Honorable."

It's not about controlling the UN. It's about controlling treasonous US representatives.

Yes, I'm all for getting the US out of the UN. And I'm also for getting the "gun lobby" out.

[Via Jed]

So Much For "Project Exile"

"We wanted the NRA to see what's happening on the streets of Philadelphia," he said.

So much for promises.

We're the Only Ones Electrifying Enough

An East Windsor police officer is on the hot seat after shooting someone in the face with a taser. And the victim he tasered is someone who patrols the streets with the officer!...

A prong from the taser went right into the face of the East Windsor officer jolting him with tens of thousands of volts of electricity. It happened Monday night after roll call, when two officers were discussing their tasers and one accidentally discharged his weapon not believing there was a cartridge inside.

Shocking, on the face of it...

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]

A Lecture From Cass

Cass said...

I don't know exactly what your about here. But this is serious. the man will die. It Sounds to me like your blameing rap music. the clear enemy is guns themselves.

Yes, there are people this ignorant.

And no, Cass, I blame the violent thugs who are disproportionately attracted to the rap "culture," using that word less as a decription of a social manifestation and more as an articially created, incubated and sustained societal infection agent, targeted at a control group most succeptible to its destructive effects .

This Day in History: May 11

On this day in 1776, in a letter addressed to the president of Congress, American General George Washington recommends raising companies of German-Americans to use against the German mercenaries anticipated to fight for Britain. Washington hoped this would engender “a spirit of disaffection and desertion” among Britain’s paid soldiers.

"It Depends On What the Meaning of the Word 'Is' Is"

Wyoming is suing the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, saying the agency is relying on a technicality to refuse the right to bear arms to state residents who have misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence...

"Essentially, what the dispute involves is the meaning of the word 'expungement' and how it is applied to firearms disability under federal law," said Eric Epstein, division counsel for the ATF field office in Phoenix.

Hey Eric--what about the meaning of "shall not be infringed"?

Just remember--BATFU reports to the Bush administration.

Vote freedom first!

A Question for the "Pragmatists"

McCain told Imus that he would, if necessary, sacrifice ``quote First Amendment rights'' to achieve ``clean'' government. If on Jan. 20, 2009, he were to swear to defend the Constitution, would he be thinking that the oath refers only to ``the quote Constitution''? And what would that mean?

McCain v Hillary: You'll back him, won't you, and reserve special scorn for those of us who warn against him?

I'm just trying to determine your tolerance threshold for tyranny, and where your line in the sand is.

This Day in History: May 10

On this day in 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold lead a successful attack on Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, while the Second Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

My Next Car

Russia's biggest carmaker plans to make a high-tech version of the Soviet-era Lada car that will be named after the creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the Vedomosti business daily said.

"We will probably work... to create a military jeep," said the head of arms trader Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, quoted by the paper...

Vedomosti suggested the new car could be Russia's answer to the United States' Hummer, a vehicle originally designed for army use that is now a rich city-dweller's status symbol and is increasingly popular on the streets of Moscow.

Right after I win the lottery...

Tragedy and Justice

The father of a three-year-old Detroit boy who fatally shot himself in the head has been charged with second-degree child abuse...a 4-year felony.

Tragic. If you're a moral and rational person, I don't think there's any punishment that could be meted out that would be worse than the knowledge that your actions led to such a result. I'm not saying their shouldn't be legal consequences, but just think life would be literal hell and those consequences would pale against the guilt.

I don't normally post these types of stories. A week and a half ago, a few contributors sent me a link for "The Only Ones" files: a story about the New York police official's son who killed himself with his father's negligently stored pistol. My reply as to why I didn't want to post on that incident:

Yeah, I saw this last night and decided not to do an "only ones" feature on it just because of the nature of the poor kid and the horror his parents must be going through--maybe I'm copping out, but I wouldn't wish this hell on my worst enemy, and I've accused the other side of dancing in blood at tragedies--I just can't bring myself to use this story to my advantage.

I still feel that way. The only reason I bring it up here is to note that under similar circumstances, I see a citizen facing 4-year charges, but not the cop.

State Secrets

The names of those packing heat in Florida should not be a state secret.

Boy, I wish I wasn't in a hurry to get to another 14 hour work day--these morons really deserve a good fisking, they are just so wrong on so many counts.

Example:

In other years, gun supporters have argued that the knowledge that someone had a permit to carry a concealed weapon would be a deterrent to crime. Now they have reversed themselves, contending that keeping concealed weapons permits as public records makes the gun owners vulnerable to attack or harassment.

No, the argument has always been the knowledge that someone is likely to be armed in a given situation is what has been presented as a deterrent. Knowing specifically who eliminates the uncertainty factor and identifies a target.

It's yet another reason why I think whether or not you're carrying should be a personal secret, not a state one.

We're the Only Ones Cleared Enough

The police officer said he had met Alice less than an hour earlier when he found her walking along a road. He said he gave her a lift as she appeared "agitated and drunk".

The officer said he was running out of fuel and went to a cash machine to get money to buy petrol.

He said that on returning to the car he drove a short distance when Alice shot herself with his gun, which had been lying in the car.

What, you're not supposed to leave a loaded gun next to an "agitated and drunk" teenage girl you picked up--I mean, gave a helpful ride to--off the street?

Good call by that police ombudsman, that there's no evidence this was "anything other than a tragic accident". I hope the girl's family that went to her with their dispute is satisfied with the fox's henhouse investigation.

"Gun Control" I Can Live With

The law says police officers must hand in their service weapons at the end of work, unless they have special permission to carry their guns after work. There are good reasons why this provision was included. Now it needs to be more effectively implemented.

Margy Keegan

Gun-Free South Africa

You LEOS didn't think these people who have you pose for photo ops and use feigned concern for officer safety were really your friends, did you? Disarming you except when you're serving the purposes of the state has long been in the plans.

Maybe if you're in the same boat as the rest of us...

[More on the South African anti-defense mentality]

This Day in History: May 9

On this day in 1791, Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first American secular composer, dies suddenly of a seizure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Gun Blogs

SayUncle has set up a new website:

It's a completely open forum and anyone can post there...This site is intended to be open to all and welcomes posting by all. If you've ever thought about starting your own gun blog but didn't want the trouble of setting up your own site or didn't think you'd stick with it, now is your chance to try it out. And it's free.