A Bit o' the Blarney

Fine Gael's Justice Spokesman Jim O'Keeffe has called on the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to provide gardaí with extra resources to tackle what he called the apparently all-pervasive gun culture in the country.

"All-pervasive" is it now?

There you go on again with your tales.

Why, everyone knows that guns are tightly controlled here in Dublin and across the Emerald Isle. Next you'll be tellin' us you saw the wee people.

"A never-ending spate."

Ha! Good one, O'Keeffe, now pour us a pint. Begorra, you do go on...

Prosecutor: Ban Fantasy Knives

A futuristic, wicked four-bladed weapon that was used in a Thanksgiving Day assault in Grand Blanc Township should be outlawed, said Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton...

"The only purpose of a weapon like this is to maim and kill," Leyton said.

Uh, yeah, Dave, that's kind'a what a weapon is for:

something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy

But it's not the only purpose. First, it could be used for defense--would you mug someone holding one? Plus, there are plenty (millions?) of fantasy knife collectors who have never harmed a soul. I've never caught that bug, but to each his own. And besides, you and Capt. Rariden were reported as saying "the use of the knife in this case was the first time [you] had heard of it."

So wouldn't you say the problem is being a bit overblown?

If someone was coming at you with a Critical Mass four-blader, would you want to counter them with another one, or would you prefer, say, a gun, because you realize it would be a superior choice of weapon, that is, more capable of maiming and killing? Following your logic, do you therefore want to ban guns, too?

I found your press release over at your website (you're really milking this for all the ink you can get, aren't you?), and noticed the picture of you and one of "The Only Ones," who I presume can be trusted with such a fearsome implement due to his superior morals, training, judgment, intelligence, etc., while us mere citizens would instantly turn into homicidal automatons. I know you agree that cops enjoy a special status over citizens, because you also think they are the Only Ones who should be immune from prosecution for theft "of video games and movies seized from suspected drug houses..."

I love your excuse for dismissing felony larceny charges: All the other Flint cops are doing it, so no individual should be singled out! Hysterical, Dave! That's like my kid telling me "Billy's mom let's him do it."And besides, they weren't stealing, they were--what word did you use?--"borrowing."

Besides, I'm sure you'd be just as quick to drop felony charges against non-cop criminals, because all the other criminals are stealing?

What the hell is wrong with the citizens of Genessee County, giving an opportunistic political fraud like you power over their lives? But seeing as how you'll exploit whatever sensationalist angle you can to advance your quest for power over others, here's another deadly weapon you might be able to advance your career by going after.

That sucker looks like it could do some serious damage, and is much too dangerous to trust in the hands of a mere citizen. Better get one of your Flint LEOs to take time away from playing with "borrowed" video games to demonstrate its danger to a room full of "authorized journalists," who will dutifully parrot back everything you say to their readers without question.

[Thanks for the initial tip to WmH]

The Path of Least Resistance

The Virginia Citizens Defense League is gearing up to boycott and perhaps picket Cole's Gun Shop, saying owner Mark Cole put their privacy in jeopardy when he agreed to let a court-appointed officer scrutinize his gun sales for the next three years.

Attorney Michael Cole, who represented his brother's shop in the settlement, says it was purely an economic decision.

"Was it going to eat into our profits and ability to make a living more to defend this case or to settle it under the terms that we were offered?" he said. "It's a no-brainer."

Yeah, no doubt it was a tough choice, and I say that with no sarcasm.

But collaborators have always had reasons to take the path of least resistance, and the Coles are now in a fix. I wouldn't want my information subjected to that sick punk Michael Bloomberg's scrutiny, either, and would take my business to a place where that doesn't happen.

Still, here's my challenge to gun owners, because the enemy is successfully playing our ranks against each other: Will we take the lead in helping out a gun store that resists and defies the Bloomberg parasites? Legal battles are expensive and protracted. The average gun store simply does not have the resources to fight one, and will make the "pragmatic" choice just to survive.

If our answer is "No," that is, if we have chosen the path of least resistance, then I don't see where we have much room to complain. The gun stores will be picked off one by one, to cave in or fold under pressure. Either way is fine with those who wish to see us disarmed.

I'd think the gun industry would want to keep their lines of supply open, and ought to take the lead in coordinating this. But I won't be surprised to find that until their bottom lines are threatened, they too will take the path of least resistance.

So rather than form a centralized organization--that might impose all kinds of objectionable eligibility standards--we should act locally. If we know of a gun store that's being extorted, talk to the owner about setting up a defense fund--then get your gun owning friends and grassroots activists involved. Figure out how much needs to be raised and come up with a plan to do it.

Or don't, and continue down the path...

This Day in History: December 10

On this day in 1778, John Jay, the former chief justice of the New York Supreme Court, is elected president of the Continental Congress. Jay, who graduated from King's College (now Columbia University) at the age of 19, was a prominent figure in New York state politics from an early age. While Jay opposed British interference in the colonies, he was against complete independence from Great Britain.

Democrats Betray Ohio Gun Owners, Who Act Surprised

Gun owners have demonstrated their importance and effectiveness on the campaign trail, and have learned that the only way to be taken seriously is to make sure pro-gun candidates run on both sides of the aisle in every race.

Sorry, but all gun owners have demonstrated--repeatedly--is the cynical reality of the adage misattributed to PT Barnum.

Oh, who could ever have foreseen this? Especially since one of them, John Bocierri, reportedly had an "NRA A+" rating (not true--it was only an "A"--but he did get their endorsement).

And we all know how reliable those A ratings and endorsements are...

Defenseless Citizens Slain: No Charges Expected Against Daley

Carrying a cache of weapons into a bustling downtown office, a gunman chained a law firm’s doors closed and fatally shot three people before a police sniper killed him as held a hostage at gunpoint, authorities said.

And, of course, had any of the office workers exercised their right to keep and bear arms in defense of their lives, Mayor Daley's Community Death Squad would have taken them out, too.

Coming Soon: E-Gun Control

It's called the electron gun, or simply the "e-gun."

When it's being developed by a company best-known for its defense work, thoughts of Star Wars and death rays are inevitable.

But this e-gun, which creates electrons and shoots them at high speed toward a target, could just as easily be used to save lives as to defend the country...

So defending the country is considered the ideological opposite of saving lives...?

And as I asked in "Things to Come," an article on weapons development I wrote for the July 2002 issue of GUNS AND AMMO:

Any bets on whether one of these babies will ever make it to the civilian market?

The Experts Agree!

The country doesn't necessarily need new laws to limit handguns, but it should enforce the laws it has and resist efforts to weaken them, one of the nation's top handgun control advocates said Thursday.

--Paul Helmke, President, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

"Until you provide 100% enforcement of the existing laws, (criminals are) going to laugh at you, and ... go about their business."

--Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President, National Rifle Association

Ever get the feeling both ends are being played against the middle...?

Buffalo Chips at False Alternatives

Buying a handgun in Buffalo, community activist Arlee Daniels Jr. said, "is as easy as going to the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread."

Erie County Probation Commissioner George Alexander used a slightly different analogy. The message is the same:

"Getting a gun on the street is so easy," he said. "They can get one quicker than they can get their school books. It's a travesty."

...In response to Tuesday's shooting of Officers Patricia A. Parete and Carl E. Andolina, [Mayor Byron "What Can Brown Do to You?"] Brown said the city plans a gun buyback program to get illegal guns off the street.

These people are not only supply and demand-challenged, they're cause and effect-retarded.

Yeah, do your stupid "buyback," like it's something that hasn't been tried with no beneficial results a thousand times before. Pass more "common sense gun laws" and enforce the existing ones. Bring in "Project Safe Neighborhoods" (Oh, you have already?)

Posture and promulgate and publicize, and watch things continue to get worse.

And do everything in your power to make certain the "law-abiding" fear exercising an uninfringed right to keep and bear arms of their choosing whenever and wherever they deem prudent.

Fools.

We're the Only Ones Black Robed Enough

Personal responsibility- exactly! And yet they’re only trying to allow judges to carry guns in court. What about the personal responsibility of jurors and others attending court? I guess they aren't considered to be members of the privileged classes.

Cryptic Subterranean touches on a subject many of us non-"Only Ones" have direct experience with.

We're the Only Ones "Third Time's a Charm" Enough

A city police officer was arrested yesterday for the third time since 2004 after failing to appear for his trial on charges of assaulting an ex-girlfriend and carrying a firearm while intoxicated.

And naturally, his professional record can't be discussed with the potential victim pool that employs him. After all, he's an "Only One."

[Via Eric, via mAss Backwards]

This Day in History: December 9

The Virginia and North Carolina militias defeat 800 slaves and 200 redcoats serving John Murray, earl of Dunmore and governor of Virginia, at Great Bridge outside Norfolk, ending British royal control of Virginia. The Tory survivors retreated first to Norfolk then to Dunmore’s ship, the Otter, where the majority died of smallpox.

Strickland Shooting Deputy Fired

New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey has fired one of three deputies who have been on paid leave in connection with the shooting death of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland.

“Christopher M. Long was dismissed from employment with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office today,” Causey said in a terse news release faxed to the Star-News at 4:49 p.m.

The reason for Long’s dismissal was not explained in the release. But it did state that “a criminal investigation is being conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the District Attorney,” apparently a reference to the ongoing investigation into the Dec. 1 shooting.

As Alice observed, "Curiouser and curiouser."

Parker v. DC Oral Argument Transcript

K-Romulus attended and wrote down a "rough transcript."

Great job! Nice "exclusive"!

And remember--you got the scoop from a blogger, not an "authorized journalist."

We're the Only Ones Irresistable Enough

In the passenger seat, Whitehead trembled and stuttered when Hires asked for his identification and ordered him out of the truck. He screamed when Hires threw him against the truck, beat him with a police-issued flashlight -- and then tased him while he ran back to the woman's house, the records say...

Whitehead, 27, wound up in the hospital so doctors could remove the Taser prongs from his arm. Then he was booked into Lake County Jail, arrested on suspicion of resisting a police officer with violence.

Where do you think Whitehead would be right now if he had resisted--with the appropriate level of force?

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

This is All it Takes

[Use BugMeNot to bypass site registration]

It was Fabian Sheats' third felony drug arrest in four months. But on the afternoon of Nov. 21, according to a police report, he was looking to curry favor, so he told officers they could find a kilogram of cocaine in a house at 933 Neal Street N.W.

That encounter led police to the home of Kathryn Johnston, an elderly woman who lived alone behind burglar bars and kept a rusty revolver. When officers burst into the house just three hours after talking to Sheats, a shootout ensued that left the woman dead and three officers wounded. No cocaine was found.

Rely on the neighborhood Gollum and use that as justification to raid an innocent woman's home. That's some police work.

[Via Uncle, via Balko]

We're the Only Ones Excessively Forceful Enough

Two of the three deputies involved in Friday's deadly shooting of a Wilmington teenager have been the focus of prior investigations for use of excessive force.

I agree with Tomato 7:

It keeps getting better.

[More on Peyton Strickland]

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

Wayne Fincher Update

Wayne may be contacted via U.S. Mail at:

Hollis Wayne Fincher
c/o Sebastian County Jail
801 South A Street
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901

I just pasted copies of every WarOnGuns post about his case into a Word document and am mailing it to him today, just to let him know he hasn't been forgotten, especially knowing how agonizing it must be to be separated from those you love at this time of year.

If you have a blog where you've written about him, I encourage you to do the same--or if not, just a note of encouragement or a Christmas card would be nice gestures.

I'm also sending him some paper, envelopes and stamps--we'll see if they let him keep those.

Wrong Question

In a case that could shape firearms laws nationwide, attorneys for the District of Columbia argued Thursday that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies only to militias, not individuals...

Silberman and Judge Thomas B. Griffith seemed to wrestle, however, with the meaning of the amendment's language about militias. If a well-regulated militia is no longer needed, they asked, is the right to bear arms still necessary?

No, the proper question is: "Where the hell do you get off thinking you have authority to determine need?"

This, of course, is the case that NRA tried to horn in on and sideline. Perhaps it will find its way to SCOTUS--I understand they're looking for something to do right now...

We're the Only Ones Opportunistic Enough

Goshen — The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether a member of its command staff misused his position to sell privately owned guns that the agency was holding for safekeeping or destruction.

Land o' Goshen, imagine that! (Sorry, couldn't resist. Some day, I hope to have cause to use "Jumping Jehosaphat!")

Meanwhile, rich wretch Mayor Bloomberg focuses his treasonous wrath on out-of-state private dealers who sell their own property.

I got this one from Declan, who observes:

[T]his is my local sheriff's office...where I had to be interviewed by an investigator to determine if I was worthy to receive a New York State pistol permit...

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