Sunday, January 08, 2006

A Woman, a Batterer and a Gun

More important, the conviction leaves Rebecca more vulnerable than ever to her abusive husband. For one, the district attorney's office mistakenly included her actual street address on all its documents, which are public record. The office was scrambling on Friday to delete the information.

And two, she now has no protection. (I wonder whether San Francisco voters considered domestic violence situations when they voted in November to ban all handguns and what consequences women like Rebecca might pay.)

I just sent the following to the reporter:

Ms. Ryan,

Why does “[T]he law against carrying concealed guns makes good sense”?

Where has carnage resulted from peaceable people having the means to defend themselves?

And what law will you pass that you think violent predators will observe?

You had a good story going until your conclusion, where you seemed to ignore everything you’d just finished writing and reverted to knee-jerk liberal bias.

It's true-- a piece of paper can't protect you. And a woman trying to protect herself should NOT be made into a criminal.

No one should be.

David Codrea

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Second Amendment Saturday

The Transcending Sovereignty is going to start posting a weekly RKBA feature. He also has some nice things to say about ths humble site.

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MTV "Gun Episode" Update

SayUncle has the inside scoop--a letter from the mother of one of the featured gun owners.

[Via Blognomicon]

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Saturday, January 07, 2006

Arm the Superintendents?

Alphecca tells us about proposed legislation in Oklahoma that "would allow top school officials to carry firearms on school property if they have a gun permit and approval of the school board."

Not tryin' to pick a fight, Jeff, but I disagree with your comment:

I see nothing wrong with this idea. It can't hurt, only (hopefully) help if the unthinkable happens.
I see plenty wrong with it--it creates a special class of citizen, with privileges and immunities not enjoyed by all. I also think ceding authority to "officials" to issue permissions and approvals and conditions for our unalienable rights--particularly the one that "shall not be infringed," is dangerous and wrong.

Besides, don't tell Wayne LaPierre--he thinks only cops should be armed on school campuses, and squelched Sandra Froman suggesting otherwise.

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Export Boston Gun Laws--Since They Work So Well

[Use BugMeNot to bypass site registration.]

What did we just get done saying about the American Hunters and Shooters Assocation? Here's the latest pack of lies from John Rosenthal, their founding AHSAhole.

Right, John, guns in the US are "easily accessible and virtually unregulated." We need to implement edicts like those in Boston, where you're writing from, so that we can all enjoy a 10-year high murder rate.

No wonder the rag you're writing for has suffered an 8% decline in circulation. Maybe people are starting to wake up, and getting sick of being lied to.

Comments on FAA Space Regs

Space Politics observes that the first comments on proposed FAA space edicts have been posted (enter docket # 23449), including the one submitted by yours truly.

Have you let them know what you think yet?

Why on (or off) Earth not?

We're the Only Ones Responsible Enough, Eh?

While law enforcement officers fight to stop illegal guns from entering Canada through the American border, New Brunswick officials are searching for a weapon that disappeared from the province's own military base.

About four months ago, a powerful nine-millimetre handgun went missing from a military vehicle inside CFB Gagetown, near Saint John, N.B.
Sorry, I don't have much to add--I kind of locked on to "powerful nine-millimetre" and went into brain freeze...

Well, What the Bloody 'ell Did They Expect ?

Birmingham's world-famous gun maker Webley and Scott has folded, ending 200 years of proud Midland industrial tradition...The closure of Webley and Scott marks another hammer blow for the Midlands' manufacturing heritage.

Webley and Scott's revolvers were used by General Custer and also featured in Sherlock Holmes.
Smother it...

Smother it...

Smother it...

Keep smothering...

OH MY WORD, IT'S DEAD!!!

Crikey! Who could have possibly foreseen that eliminating its domestic market would have an adverse effect on a business?

Friday, January 06, 2006

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...

Thursday, January 05, 2006

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.