Beware of Moles

They have a list of positions they advocate, including: "AHSA is committed to supporting the right to keep and bear arms, protecting our homes, and preserving our liberties," and "Hunting and sport shooting are American values AHSA will vigorously defend."

Sounds great, huh? But wait, there’s more. They also say "an overwhelming majority of hunters support proposals like background checks to purchase guns, keeping military style assault weapons off our streets and the elimination of cop killer bullets," advocate that "the FBI should be given reasonable access to National Instant Check System (NICS) purchase records" and promote "legislative efforts to regulate .50 caliber BMG sniper rifles in the same manner as machine guns."

Who are these guys--Brady Center Lite?

"Beware of Moles" is my Rights Watch column for the Jan. 2006 issue of GUNS Magazine.

Back when the controversy over the American Hunters and Shooters Association broke, I begged off commenting in detail because I'd already submitted this article to the magazine. It's publication was delayed another month because the editor and I both felt that printing my article about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina had a greater need for immediacy--such as you can get in a monthly magazine...

Storm Warning

Outside the Superdome, chaos ruled. Looters ransacked with impunity. Armed gangs robbed and raped and killed. Rescue helicopters were shot at. Police were photographed and videotaped joining in the looting. Hundreds of police went AWOL or quit outright. Mayor Nagin bizarrely claimed they needed a five-day all-expenses-paid Las Vegas vacation to cope with the stress.

Meanwhile, reports began to emerge of armed citizens warning off looters, repelling roving gangs, firing warning shots, and taking responsibility for their own protection where the police clearly could or would not.

"Storm Warning" is my Rights Watch column for the Dec. 2005 issue of GUNS Magazine. This has actually been posted on their website for the past month, but for some reason it wasn't linked from the main page, so I didn't realize it and announce it here.

It was written as reports were coming fast and furious across news desks, so when the smoke cleared a month after it was published, I felt compelled to send the editor the following clarification for publication in a later issue:

"Storm Warning" (my December “Rights Watch column) referenced incidents of Superdome violence reported in the media that have subsequently been determined to be exaggerated. The article was written in the midst of the disaster and used information available at the time. Note the article was also submitted before the reported gun confiscations and NRA/SAF legal action to halt firearms seizures.--David Codrea

More on Machine Gun Charges

This is the "official" press release elaborating on yesterday's post.

Yes, there is very definitely some lawbreaking going on here. For starters, kidnapping...

[Thanks to JM]

It's a Start

Alfano, who was promoted to Assistant Minority Leader last week, said the new measures are a step in the right direction...

For those who doubt the ultimate aim of the gungrabbers, note the rhetoric.

It's a "start." It's "a step in the right direction."

There's no acknowledgement of the thousands of citizen disarmament laws already in existence that have already utterly failed to impact the feigned and proclaimed goals of the next edict. No, we're treading virgin snow here, and we all know how a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Note that Alfano's another Republican who wants to spread this Bloomberging treachery nationwide.

A Bloom(berg)ing Idiot

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday boosted his anti-gun rhetoric, insisting that the only reason to carry a gun in New York City is to "kill somebody" and wondering aloud why people consider it a sport to hunt with assault rifles.

Oh, wait a minute...I read further down in the article.

He wasn't talking about the NYPD or his taxpayer-funded armed bodyguards. Never mind.

Something in Common

Triggerfinger says he shares a trait with me. If so, I'm sure he'll confirm that being jaw-droppingly handsome can at times be more of a burden than a blessing.

There's a mind in here, too...

We're the Only Ones Precautionary Enough...

Bowyer stated he was conducting a "press check" to ensure the small handgun he carried with him while off-duty was properly loaded...

It was.

When I press their triggers, my loaded guns fire, too.

CITGO's Resolution

I received the following email from Bruce McCall, Customer Service Representative for CITGO. You remember the story.

Dear Mr. Codrea,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but we wanted to make sure that we investigated this incident thoroughly. I would like to update you on what we have learned and what actions have been taken following the robbery at the CITGO station in Gary.

The owner of the station has made a public apology to the robbery victim, replaced her stolen money and met with Gary Mayor Scott King to discuss ways business owners can work more effectively with city and police officials. This meeting has had a positive result -- according to the police chief, the Gary Police Department intends to sponsor a series of sessions for local gas station owners and employees.

Since the station owner has taken these actions, CITGO Petroleum Corporation will not de-brand this retail outlet. Remember, CITGO does not own or operate any of the more than 13,000 branded locations. Actions such as those of the attendant do not reflect the commitment that CITGO has to the communities where we do business.

We appreciate and share your concern over such matters. Rest assured that we do not take these things lightly.

Thank you for your time and concern,

Bruce McCall

I think Mr. McCall deserves credit for following through with this reply, especially since it would have been easier to just ignore me.

There Is Nothing Perplexing About the Second Amendment

That is, if you can read.

Nicki helps de-perplex things.

(Yes, I admit that's probably not a word, but it sounded better than "unperplexify.")

"I Sent You a Boat, I Sent You a Helicopter..."

"I was hoping and praying that everyone [would stay] still and calm, and hoped that there would be no violence," McLaughlin said last night.

"He ordered several children and their father to go up the aisles getting purses and wallets," McLaughlin, 48, said."

A predator is threatening children at gunpoint, for God's sake, their fathers are helpless to do anything but obey, and all the pastor can do is "hope and pray."

These parishioners and their minister remind me of the old joke about the flood victim.

[Thanks to Bill Clark]

Some Good Questions

Schools and taverns and police stations and restaurants and kindergartens and government buildings and jails and airports (well, just past the security checkpoints; up to there they're OK) all are on the prohibited list.

So here's the question: If permit-holders are safe and reliable enough to be handed permits, why aren't they safe everywhere? Why can they not go into the federal courthouse in Madison, but they can wander into the Wausau Center mall or through the heart of downtown?...It's obvious that lawmakers aren't sure. They hope licensees will be trustworthy, but they're not willing to bet the lives of schoolchildren or cops on it. They're not willing to bet that one of these fine and upstanding citizens won't have one too many at the local watering hole and open fire.

More snide innuendo and hysteria from a smarmy, bedwetting statist, but it does inadvertently illustrate the drawback of permits. Ceding this authority to the very people we are ultimately supposed to be able to protect ourselves from is so wrong, but we've been sold the bill of goods that this is "incremental progress."

[Thanks to HZ]

A Question of Guilt

Ten men from Georgia and two from Kentucky and Alabama pleaded guilty in Atlanta today to federal charges relating to the unlawful manufacture, sale, and possession of machine guns.

The story doesn't tell us who they hurt, or where the US Attorney's Office got the Constitutional authority to have any say in the matter. If I find out, I'll be sure and let you know.

Judges vs NJ Lawmakers

The case represents the most serious clash in decades between the Legislature and the courts. Lawmakers had passed the bill despite testimony from the judiciary that arming probation officers would destroy their "neutrality."

That's actually pretty dang funny.

I love it when statists turn on each other.

Seeing Crime Guns Destroyed Gives Solace to Victims' Families

Look up the word "deodand" and tell me we're still not living in medieval times.

UPDATE: the ten ring has more.

We're the Only Ones Confirmed Enough...

A policeman died when his own gun fell on the floor and fired a bullet into his chest yesterday...The victim had earlier been reported to have committed suicide but the report could not be confirmed.

As straightarrow observed about another suspicious death in the Phillipines:

I will bet you he was Catholic. Suicide would prevent him from burial in consecrated ground. Accident would not.

Mama lied. The priests will know it, the police will know it, but most probably, just like here, if it causes no further harm to anyone will go along with the "accidental" story out of respect for the mother.

Own a Gun, Languish in Jail

"Reverse onus" bail rules -- already used in cases of suspected murder and terrorism –- require the defence to prove why the suspect should be allowed bail.

In other words, obey citizen disarmament edicts or get thrown into a hole with the most violent scum on the planet--and survive as best you can until we get around to formally convicting you.

This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism.

About Marion Barry Being Robbed...

As I commented on Blognomicon:

This whole story doesn't smell right.

Are we to believe Barry doesn't know street hoods when he sees them? That he gave them a few dollars to carry groceries?

They came back and he invited them in?

Why do I cynically suspect he wanted a drug deal, and they saw an opportunity?

The fact that he says he has "no animosity" and is pledging to "advocate non-prosecution" makes me wonder if he's trying to buy silence if they are caught.

"There is a sort of an unwritten code in Washington, among the underworld and the hustlers and these other guys, that I am their friend," Barry said at an afternoon news conference...

That part I'll buy.

An "Honest" Person

I have no problem being monitored. It's because I'm not a terrorist and I'm not involved in terrorist activities. If monitoring would reassure my government of this fact — monitor away, please...I'm also a responsible gun owner, and the government is welcome to know about my legally owned firearms. I take my Second Amendment rights seriously, as all sportsmen and collectors should. Why should honest people be concerned about the government knowing how many guns they have?

If such a thing is definable, this is quite possibly the most "un-American" commentary I have ever read.

William Fowler, I won't even wish that your chains set lightly.

[Via KABA Newslinks]

Blowing the Whistle on Gun Murder

[Use BugMeNot to bypass site registration.]

Meantime, the gun-murder rate in Jamaica is among the highest in the world. But nobody mentioned that. In fact, the word "Jamaica" can't be found in any of these penetrating analyses, even though police will tell you off the record that 80 per cent or more of the city's gun crime is Jamaican-related.

Looks like somebody else is noticing that elephant in the room. The gutless blood-dancing politicians, the hand-wringing enuretics and the manipulating social engineers would have the gullible public believe it's all about inanimate objects.

Some are so paralyzed at the prospect of being charged with bigotry that they'll sabotage the truth. Others just have an agenda.

This would make an interesting statistical analysis for John Lott, who demonstrated media bias against mentioning defensive gun use. How many articles about "gun crime" mention the demographic and cultural trends wherein most of it takes place?

A Welcome Correspondence

I got the following email out of the blue yesterday from someone I have never heard from before. With the author's permission (he prefers to remain anonymous), I am presenting it here for two reasons: It supports much of what we have come to understand about federal law enforcement mentality--and the state worshippers who admire them; and because the kind words the writer had for this site come at a time when I'm struggling with whether or not it's worth the effort.

When you consider how a gun show can draw tens of thousands, and yet look at the pathetic site visit statistics this and most other gun blogs draw, it's easy to get discouraged. Take a look at the blogroll in the left column. There are many fine sites with great material being brought to you regularly by people of insight, talent and dedication. I encourage you to pick a few that you enjoy and visit regularly, and tell those bloggers you appreciate their work. Why not also tell your friends about these sites, and occasionally send them links to posts you find important, funny or interesting?

Dear Mr. Codrea:

I have been reading your web log for several months and I am heartened to know that you are out there dissenting in the face of the power mongers who want to take away our freedom. I live in Chicago, where police-state tactics are accepted as the normal way to do things. A few months ago a supposed friend told me he thought that his acquaintances in BATFE (or, as you put it, BATFU) were "cool" because they were "above the law" so they could break laws with impunity, where people who were not government agents would be arrested. These characters actually bragged to him that they could get him out of any trouble with a local cop and have any charges dropped as long as he didn't do something to personally antagonize the cop. So I found myself looking at another example of the blind worship of power.

I'm no longer surprised by the kinds of stories I read on your website. Most people seem to have absolutely no concept of the principles this nation was founded upon. What I like about your website is that you take an intelligent, thoughtful approach to the issues. Too many people focus only on the issue of guns, missing out
on the bigger freedom picture, and display knee-jerk reactions that follow the NRA party line or that of some other organization or individual they consider infallible.

Your website is a breath of fresh air in a world where our rights are routinely violated, and even many people who vaguely sense that something is wrong do not understand the concept of individual liberty. Thank you for carrying the unadulterated message of liberty.

Sincerely,
A Friend of Freedom