This Day in History: January 31

On this day in 1752, future Patriot Gouverneur Morris is born to the wealthy Morris family of New York.

We're the Only Ones Blameless Enough

A Hunterdon County undersheriff yesterday pleaded guilty to two counts of official misconduct and admitted that his boss, Sheriff William Doyle, unlawfully lent him the gun that accidentally discharged in a crowded private health club last October.

Hey, if it's the gun that went off, why did the "Only One" run? I mean, how much clearer could the "authorized journalists" make it in assigning the blame?

• gun that went off

• the gun that accidentally discharged

• the weapon misfired

• "My cell phone exploded" [I love it!]
  

• when the gun discharged

• the gun went off

So why is the undersheriff in trouble when it's clearly the gun's fault? And nice, how he's turning on his boss to save his own hide. Lying, running away, ratting out...this guy has just exhibited the highest character standards through and through. I'm so glad New Jersey deems creatures like him more trustworthy with a firearm than its citizens.

Of course, one could make the point that any population dumb enough to vote for the current crop of New Jersey legislators is too dumb to own a gun...

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PS: There haven't been many responses so far for the new "Only Ones Carnival"--I need submissions in by Thursday night if you want to participate...

The Elephant in Newhallville

A color graph dramatized the racial disparity in gun-related homicides in the state: while nine percent of the population is African American and ten percent is Latino, 61 percent of homicide victims in 2006 were black, and 15 percent were Latino.

I suppose it would raise all kinds of ugly accusations if someone were to sugggest graphing the race of the perpetrators of these homicides, so I guess it's less uncomfortable for everyone if we just blame the guns...

I've said it before, and I don't back down from it:

[W]e also can't forget to look at race--not as a cause of violent crime, but as an indicator of populations most directly affected by and responsive to a continuing history of destructive government policies.

Back to the Future

The COIL is composed of six interconnected modules, each as large as a sport utility vehicle turned on end. Each module weighs about 6,500 pounds and has 3,600 separate parts. When fired through a window in the aircraft’s nose turret, it produces enough energy in a 5-second burst to power a typical household for more than an hour.

I speculated about the COIL back in my July 2002 GUNS AND AMMO article,"Things to Come":

Calling it "America's laser of death," the UK's Daily Telegraph projects "the ability to vaporize enemy troops and vehicles Star Wars-style will take a few more years to develop."

Designed for deployment on AC-X "Son of Specter" aircraft gunships, we're told that "advances will be made and the power plant will shrink and one day it will dominate the battlefield." Hardly a small arm suitable for individual combatants? Just remember, not so long ago your pocket calculator would have filled a room, requiring programmers, technicians and keypunch operators...

And you can bet when that day comes, the following inscription will be prominently engraved on each unit:

"RESTRICTED FOR GOVERNMENT OR LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY"

[Via John Schaefer]

A Dishonest Man

U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren is a dishonest man. Hendren practices dishonesty in the most devious and destructive form there is. Hendren lies for the State.

Don Bright shares some thoughts on the judge in the Wayne Fincher case.

An "Easy Sell-Out"

The Republican leading Rudy Giuliani's New Hampshire campaign said he thinks the 2008 presidential hopeful will be an "easy sell" - and that the ex-mayor "satisfied" him that he won't support federal assault-weapons bans, as he has in the past...

"People understand that Rudy had a commitment to protect New York against crime. That has no impact on hunting or gaming."

"Hunting or gaming." Right. You really "get it," Rudy. That's what those of us with the fire in our guts want to hear.

Let's see: John McCain hires former NRA-ILA head James Jay Baker, Mitt Romney does the shuck and jive on guns at the SHOT Show, and now Rudy tries to mask his anti-gun fascism with this tepid outreach.

Looks like Wayne Semprini won't be content until he extends his New Hampshire GOP losing streak to the national level. Looks like none of these "easy sell-outs" will be.

This Day in History: January 30

On this day in 1781, Maryland becomes the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, almost three years after the official deadline given by Congress of March 10, 1778.

The Florida Gun Permit Loophole

Hundreds of criminals were able to obtain concealed weapons permits in Florida because of loopholes, errors and miscommunication, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The "loophole"?

You have to go to the original hysterical article this one is based on to find it.

None of the people the media is shrieking about are convicted felons.

It doesn't matter if they were accused.

It doesn't matter if they were arrested, or how many times.

It doesn't matter if they were charged.

If they have not been convicted, even if a judge elected to "withhold" conviction based on a plea arrangement, you cannot then turn around and withhold their rights. These "authorized journalists" are bewailing nothing less than our inability to punish people who have not been legally proven guilty of felonies. And until that happens, regardless of circumstances, regardless of pleas, our system affords them a presumption of innocence, and places the burden on the state to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If the government is not doing it's job, that's the part of the system you need to fix.

So the ABC headline "Fla. Gives Gun Permits to Felons" is a lie. That's right, a lie. Pleading guilty to a felony does not make you a felon. Being convicted of one does.

Even the original report admits, albeit it is buried deep in the story:

Convicted felons cannot get gun licenses under state and federal law.

No duh. Anybody starting to feel a bit...manipulated here?

And you'll notice in all the wailing and teeth-gnashing there are no claims of any resulting increase in homicides.

This is an ongoing miniseries. I just checked, and the latest installment is here. Nothing has changed in my assessment. This is still "a tale told by [idiots], full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

We're the Only...

Hold on...

I'm saving this one for the new Carnival...

"My Gun Rap Shame"

HEARTS kid Lee Wallace has revealed he feared he'd lose everything when cops arrested him on gun charges last year.

Speaking for the first time since his conviction for possessing a loaded air gun, relieved Wallace thanked the club for standing by him.

And he told how senior players in the dressing room helped him through the shame by taking the mickey and giving him a nickname.

It's a shame he felt compelled to blubber pathetic apologies instead of standing up for his rights as a free man. The UK is becoming more and more like "A Clockwork Orange" every day, except the mass behavior conditioning is so effective they don't need the Ludovico technique.

And we're not all that far behind them.

Hungarian Goulash

The health ministry is planning to amend the law on carrying firearms: Everyone who keeps a gun at home would have to undergo psychological examinations at regular intervals. The planned amendments have been submitted to the authorities.

Being forced to go through this outrage would be enough to drive anybody a bit nuts.

Bill Brown Update: "Suspended"

Larry Rankin, passes on inside information that at least one person has dropped his CCW course in Santa Barbara because he was told the sheriff's department will not be issuing any more permits. Apparently, Sheriff Brown is also "considering" not renewing existing permits.

I wrote to the department to inquire and got this reply from their Office of Internal Affairs:

I've received your e-mail request concerning the renewal and application process relating to Conceal Weapons Permits. Normally I would forward you a packet containing all of the information you requested or call you and answer any questions you might have regarding this matter. However, a new Sheriff was recently elected and took office two weeks ago and he is in the process of reviewing the Department policy to evaluate what, if any changes he will be make to ensure that liability is kept to a minimum when dealing with Concealed Weapon's Permits. Until that time, the current policy is suspended. Hopefully, I can address this with a more definitive answer sometime at the end of February of 2007 after the Sheriff has had time to complete his revisions.

Certainly sounds like an "A" rating to me...

I will, of course, follow up on this "at the end of February."

[More on Bill Brown]

GUNS Magazine Review of "Domestic Enemies"

Matthew Bracken has posted my review of his latest book.

Déjà Vu

Instead of singing "O, say does that star-spangled banner", Senator Clinton sang, "o, say does our star-spangled banner."

Really?

This Day in History: January 29

Facing a surprise British counterassault in the bitter cold and with a snowstorm approaching, American commander Major General William Heath and his army of 6,000 abandon their siege on Fort Independence, in Bronx County, New York, on this day in 1777.

Sunday Sermon: The Holy City

This isn't gun-related, but it does give us a telling frame of reference on the mindset of overwhelmingly anti-gun "authorized journalists".

Google News Search, exact terms "holy city of":


Google News Search, exact terms "holy city of Bethlehem":



Isn't it revealing how hotbeds of Islamist hatred and violence are all acknowledged as "holy," yet what is arguably the holiest site in Christianity is not?

My own view is that places aren't holy, (some) people are, albeit admittedly imperfect. Still, what do you think this says about the worldview of those mass-feeding information to our countrymen?

Separate But Unequal

Fincher and other Militia of Washington County members were featured in a March 2006 front-page report in The Morning News, firing the weapons. That report, according to federal law enforcement officials, was what prompted them to begin investigating Fincher and the group.--The Morning News

So a couple pictures and some quotes in the local paper is enough to prod the feds into sticking an informant in the midst of citizens exercising their natural rights guaranteed by the Constitution?

That's quite different from the attitude they conveyed in regards to actor Mark Wahlberg*, where they said:

"Because you saw this individual possessing a gun in a movie trailer, it is not known whether or not this item meets this definition. The possibility exists that it could have been a movie prop and made to function as a real weapon through the use of special effects."

Wahlberg, you'll recall, "pled guilty to two counts of criminal contempt, each count carrying 'a maximum penalty of ten years in a house of correction or ten thousand dollars or both.' The Commonwealth's Sentencing Memorandum supported "the recommendation that the Defendant be sentenced to two years at the Deer Island House of Corrections, ninety days committed, with the balance suspended for two years."

As I wrote earlier, "Title I of the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits certain classes of persons from 'purchasing, receiving or transporting firearms or ammunition in interstate commerce.' Among these are persons 'convicted of or under indictment for a felony ... Such persons correspondingly are prohibited from purchasing or otherwise acquiring any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped in interstate commerce.'"

Hmmm...seems "interstate commerce" factored in the Fincher case as well...

And per 18 USC Chapter 44, Sec. 922, "Unlawful Acts":

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person - (1) is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

and

It shall be unlawful for any person...who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; to...possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

Interstate commerce again--and it looks like it could trip up not just Pokey-Poke, but anyone who employs him and provides him with "any firearm."

Which brings us to my old pals on Calguns Forums, where a couple of interesting pictures were posted, along with a reference for the gunsmith who provided the studios with the weaponry used in them (via interstate commerce). Surely BATFU has enough to look into this--if they wanted to.

Now understand: The gunsmith is surely innocent of any infraction, as knowledge is a component of any violation. He is dealing with licensed armorers and completing all required transaction records in accordance with federal law--records BATFU has access to, so their earlier excuse rings hollow. But he would be able to verify whether or not the prop he supplied was a functional firearm--again, as would BATFU, with a simple phone call. Whether the studios that employ Mr. Wahlberg know of his criminal past becomes more problematic.

Also understand this: I would never report this to the feds, although I won't let the possibility that they lurk here from time to time inhibit what I have to say--as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Wahlberg should have exactly the same claim to the Second Amendment we all do, as should all others free to live outside of custodial restraint imposed via due process.

I merely point out that Mr. Fincher is no less deserving of the same freedom, and that the government has knowingly subjected him to a different standard of enforcement.

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*"I believe Charlton Heston is America's best villain because he loves guns so much. Maybe he should get the award for being president of the National Rifle Association."--Mark Wahlberg, MTV Movie Awards

[Thanks to TF for the picture link]

New WarOnGuns Poll: The Purpose of Government

See the left margin for the new poll, created from a suggestion posted by E. David Quammen. Regular correspondent Straightarrow also gave two ideas, that I'll be using in the coming weeks.

Here are the results of last week's poll:

Should Released Felons Get Their "Gun Rights" Back?

Free Wayne Webring Update

Blogonomicon, who did a great job setting everything up, reports our number is now at 22. Nice, especially considering the short time this has been in existence.

If you have a gun rights blog, we'd welcome your joining us.

[More about Wayne Fincher via WarOnGuns]

This Day in History: January 28

John Burgoyne, poet, playwright and British general, submits an ill-fated plan to the British government to isolate New England from the other colonies on this day in 1777.