The View From North Central Idaho

Doing a Google blog search for "schumer" (as of right now) yields my post in the number 31 position.

How did I discover this? Via my sitemeter I discovered someone at the U.S. Senate had done such a search:

Domain Name		senate.gov ? (U.S. Government)
IP Address		156.33.63.# (U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms)
ISP		U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  Virginia City  :  Arlington Lat/Long  :  38.8782, -77.1054 (Map) Distance  :  2,068 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Firefox Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.12) Gecko/20050915 Firefox/1.0.7
Javascript		version 1.5
Monitor		Resolution  :  1024 x 768 Color Depth  :  32 bits
Time of Visit		Jun 30 2008 11:38:02 am
Last Page View		Jun 30 2008 11:38:02 am
Visit Length		0 seconds
Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://blogsearch.go...ring=d&sa=N&start=30
Search Engine		blogsearch.google.com
Search Words		schumer
Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffm...tASlipperySlope.aspx
Visit Exit Page		http://blog.joehuffm...tASlipperySlope.aspx
Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-5:00
Visitor's Time		Jun 30 2008 2:38:02 pm
Visit Number		324,849

I've mentioned this before but a reminder that this is your last chance to vote for me can't hurt.

The back story:

There were 40 gun bloggers, including myself, that participated in the 2nd Amendment Blogger Bash at the NRA Convention last month. There is now a contest to select 10 of those bloggers to participate in “Gun Blogger Summer Camp”.

Action item:

Would you please vote for me? Go here and find “The View From North Central Idaho” near the bottom of the list: http://www.para-usa.com/new/special/blogger_contest06-08.php#vote click on the radio button and submit it. You don’t have to put in your address and phone number unless you would like a chance at attending the camp as well (one lucky voter will get to attend with the blogger winners).

Please do it today. This is the last day of the contest.

Thanks!

We have lots of evidence that Obama is just another anti-gun bigot but some of his statements deserve more attention.

From here we have:

I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respect the Second Amendment and people's traditions.

Emphasis added. Notice how he switches from "illegal handgun usage" to taking "illegal handguns"? This is the language of weasels. People use guns illegally. But Obama says he wants to take handguns off the streets. He is attacking the wrong thing and he is attempting to confuse the issue.

And from here we have:

...he claimed to have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms" — while also seeing the need for "common-sense, effective safety measures" to protect "crime-ravaged communities."

And:

"I'm a strong believer in the rights of hunters and sportsmen to have firearms. I'm a believer in homeowners having a firearm to protect their home and their family," Obama said. "It's hard for me to find a rationale for having a 17-clip semiautomatic." http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=1AE9B6AE-D8A7-6619-6DA493C9771D0676

Since these "common-sense effective safety measures" include bans on numerous types of firearms this is like saying he supports the 13th Amendment but thinks it's okay for some communities to keep slaves as long as their skin is a certain color.

Via Xenia's fiancée John.

I'm not paranoid, everyone is just plotting against me to make me think I am.

Anthony Q. Bachler
June 16, 2008

U.S. versus Miller is essentially gone as guidance for interpreting the 2^nd Amendment. To replace it we have the much superior D.C. v. Heller.

To celebrate Kimberly Joe and Joseph Kim went out to the Boomershoot site. This is their story told with pictures.

This is Kimberly Joe making explosives and putting it in zip lock bags and cardboard boxes.

This is the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Explosives required for appropriate celebration.

Here is the Firearm portion of the celebration.

This is end of the AT&E.

Remnants of Miller.

Remnants of the explosives.

Remnants of the tobacco.

Shooters and firearms post Miller and Heller.

Though the legal system has mostly consoled and protected batterers, when a woman is being beaten, it's the batterer who has to be stopped; as Malcolm X used to say, by any means necessary--a principle women, all women, had better learn. A woman has a right to her own bed, a home she can't be thrown out of and for her body not to be ransacked and broken into. She has a right to safe refuge, to expect her family and friends to stop the batterer--by law or force--before she's dead. She has a constitutional right to a gun and a legal right to kill if she believes she's going to be killed. And a batterer's repeated assaults should lawfully be taken as intent to kill.

Andrea Dworkin
Trying to Flee
Los Angeles Times
October 8, 1995
[It's rare that I would agree with Ms. Dworkin but this time we are in perfect alignment. As we advance through the enemy territory in a post Heller world we need to claim this demographic. Of all the potential supporters and voters women are the single largest and easiest to convert to friends. Let's make the most of it.--Joe]

The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms.

Justice Antonin Scalia
June 26, 2008
District of Columbia et al. v. Heller
Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.

Despite getting only about three hours of sleep on Wednesday night last night I spent quite a bit of time chatting in IM with Sean and exchanging emails with Jeff Knox (of the Firearms Coalition) until well after midnight. One of the things Jeff told me was that his dad, Neal Knox, had put something similar to my Just One Question on bumper stickers in the late '70s:

Where has a gun law reduced crime?

It works for me. As usual, we stand on the shoulders of giants whether we realize it or not.

He also told a story from Chris Knox (here just below the Pink Pistol link) similar to some other stuff I have said about Pink Pistols, etc.:

During a water cooler discussion about guns an openly homosexual co-worker of mine was asked whether he held a CCW permit. "I'm a faggot in Phoenix," he replied. "Do the math!" As with women, the self defense angle gets very close to home for the homosexual community.

Some are calling the Heller ruling a slippery slope. And the lawsuits being filed (and here) might be used as evidence for that claim.

I don't see it quite that way. It's more as I told Sean last night in IM:

It's like we have landed on Normandy, held, and advanced a couple miles with materials, men, and supplies pouring in behind us.

It's going to be a very long and difficult fight. Every challenge to their bigoted beliefs will be a rallying cry for them. They will scream and yell, and refuse to obey the law of the land as long as they can. It will be little different than when blacks were declared equal citizens and they were still stopped for driving while black, jailed, beaten, and even convicted in kangaroo courts on phony charges. It won't be until we start convicting the bigots on 18 USC 241 and 242 (the rough equivalent of the Nuremberg trials in my Normandy analogy) will they start to back off.

BTW: A little birdie told me there will be more lawsuits announced on Monday. This is going to be very broad front war. We outnumber them and can out supply them. We can exhaust their resources, diminish their ability to put up effective resistance, and sap their will to fight. Some will even surrender without putting up a fight.

I'm reminded of the words of Charles Schumer:

We're here to tell the NRA their nightmare is true! We're going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy! We're going to beat guns into submission!

U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer
November 30, 1993
NBC Nightly News

Eat them Chucky!

This seems like as good a time as any to bring this to peoples attention:

I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged.

Antonin Scalia
September 2004

According to Dennis Henigan, vice president for law and policy at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, "The ruling gives a constitutional green light to a wide range of gun restrictions."

One has to wonder what color he thought the light was when he claimed there was no individual right to keep and bear arms.

In sum, we hold that the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense. Assuming that Heller is not disqualified from the exercise of Second Amendment rights, the District must permit him to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.

Justice Antonin Scalia
June 26, 2008
District of Columbia et al. v. Heller
Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.
[It sounds to me like D.C. just became a shall issue politicial entity. That's overstating things just a little but not by much.--Joe]

The ink isn't dry on the Heller decision and we have already attacked the bigots in Chicago.

I was worried when I first heard of it. I was worried it was someone that didn't know what they were doing and they would mess it up. The Second Amendment Foundation is involved which helped ease my worry some. Reading the entire complaint I broke out into a big smile. I can hear Alan Gottlieb's mischievous voice and carefully calculated plan coming through. Then at the very end I saw the attorney--Alan Gura.

As Sean just told me in IM, "Yeah, baby! Sleep well, Mayor Daley".

But that's not all! The NRA is on the attack in California as well and perhaps New York. There should not be any rest for the wicked.

This is going to be great for the election in November too. It will have a very strong component of the gun rights issues. And I think we can get out the votes better than the other side can. Plus with the Heller decision on our side with Obama flip-flopping it's going to look bad for him.

I've discussed the ACLU and gun rights before and have been anxiously wondering how they would take it once the individual right issue was "clarified" for them. If they get on board with us then that would be really, really big.

Others have expressed an interest in what the ACLU has to say on the Heller decision. It's not much but what do you expect on day one of a new era? They are suffering some severe cognitive dissidence right now. They have to decide if they want to be intelluctually honest or if they want to keep their donors.

I think I'll write them a letter very similar to this one to help get the point across.

Today daughter Kim received her concealed weapons permit (as they are called in Idaho). She called me up a couple minutes after getting the mail and was so excited I could barely understand her.

Don't mess with my daughter:

Expect them to do anything within their power to prevent such an outcome, hide it, redefine it, or try to take credit for it somehow.  Keep a sharp eye.

Aside from throwing out the D.C. ban there is other good stuff for future victories in the decision:

Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment. We do not interpret constitutional rights that way. Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communications, e.g., Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U. S. 844, 849 (1997), and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern forms of search, e.g., Kyllo v. United States, 533 U. S. 27, 35–36 (2001), the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.

...

Thus, the most natural reading of “keep Arms” in the Second Amendment is to “have weapons.”

...

We think that JUSTICE GINSBURG accurately captured the natural meaning of “bear arms.” Although the phrase implies that the carrying of the weapon is for the purpose of “offensive or defensive action,” it in no way connotes participation in a structured military organization. From our review of founding-era sources, we conclude that this natural meaning was also the meaning that “bear arms” had in the 18th century. In numerous instances, “bear arms” was unambiguously used to refer to the carrying of weapons outside of an organized militia.

...

[I]t has always been widely understood that the Second Amendment, like the First and Fourth Amendments, codified a pre-existing right. The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it “shall not be infringed.” As we said in United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553 (1876), “[t]his is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed . . . .

I'm only about 1/5 of the way through and I have to save the rest for later. I have a dentist appointment and work to do.

Find them here.

I skpped to the bottom and found something I expected by Justice Breyer:

The argument about method, however, is by far the less important argument surrounding today’s decision. Far more important are the unfortunate consequences that today’s decision is likely to spawn. Not least of these, as I have said, is the fact that the decision threatens to throw into doubt the constitutionality of gun laws throughout the United States. I can find no sound legal basis for launching the courts on so formidable and potentially dangerous a mission.

Simply because it will be disruptive to existing (unconstitional) laws Breyer thinks that is a valid reason to allow the D.C. ban to stand. Try that reasoning on laws which mandate where minorities sit on a bus or which drinking fountains they can use and see what people think.

10:12 Tom Goldstein - Heller affirmed.

SCOTUSblog
June 26, 2008
LiveBlog: Opinions | 6.26.08

In a few hours my world will change. I've been actively involved in gun rights since Bill Clinton (spit, spit) was elected. He was the reason I bought my first gun. My second gun was because of Diana Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, and of course Clinton again. A significant part of Boomershoot and the website for Boomershoot was because of a law pushed through by Diane Feinstein.

Ruby Ridge was a motivator for my first gun too. I lived just a few miles from where that went down and know things that were never in the news reports. By the time the Butcher of Waco did her thing I was fully immersed and, as Barb will tell you, very difficult to live with.

Those were very dark days. Many leaders in the gun rights movement believed we had lost and were only fighting a holding action that merely slowed down the inevitable. I remember one prediction in the news group talk.politics.guns that captured the sentiments of many at the time. I didn't save a copy because I didn't want that sort of thing on my computer. I just went looking for it in the news groups archive--it took me 45 minutes to find it:

Robert Lewis Glendenning
Sep 4 1994, 10:39 am

Newsgroups: alt.politics.org.batf, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, alt.conspiracy
From: rlgle...@netcom.com (Robert Lewis Glendenning)
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 1994 16:21:41 GMT
Local: Sun, Sep 4 1994 9:21 am
Subject: Re: The Revolution

During the next 3 to 5 years, the Supreme Court will rule on a gun
case. This case will have national media attention, and every gun owner,
libertarian and proto-revolutionary will be watching closely.

If they rule by the plain meaning of the Constitution, it will be a
signal that we are moving back to Constitutional rule.

If they rule for the federal government, it will be a signal that
the gov has permanently escaped the Constitution. In this case,
I expect:

1) That every major federal building in the US outside of WDC and
army bases will be burned in the next 48 hours.

2) That the Federal gov's ability to enforce laws will be restricted
by the lack of anybody willing to identify themselves as a federal
employee.

3) That many states will pass resolutions demanding return to
Constitutional gov, and opting out of federal control via the 10th.

4) That the US Congress capitulates by passing a revolution
pledging return to the Constitution, and listing a preliminary set
of laws which they intend to repeal. This list will include all
Federal gun laws.

Note that this is as close to a bloodless revolution as one can
imagine.

In preparation for these events, may I suggest that you learn all
about your local federal buildings?

Lew
--
Lew Glendenning rlgle...@netcom.com
The CONSTITUTION, the WHOLE CONSTITUTION, and NOTHING BUT the CONSTITUTION.

We are now hours from that moment Glendenning predicted. What will be the result? The only thing I am certain of is that neither of predicted potential outcomes will come to pass. Even if the Heller decision goes against us all the Federal buildings will be standing 48 hours and even 48 weeks later--barring an severe earthquake someplace. Overturning the D.C. gun ban and declaring the 2nd Amendment is an individual right won't put the government "back on the path to righteousness" or any such thing.

Some people have been predicting (here and here for example) a favorable ruling on Heller will mean the anti-gun forces will find it difficult to raise money and get people excited if they know they can't actually ban guns. Sort of like if they can't win the fight with a knock-out they won't even bother to stay in the ring and knock all the teeth out of their opponent. I'm not convinced of this.

When the south lost the war of northern aggression and all their slaves were freed did they suddenly start treating blacks as equals? No. They paid little regard to the Federal laws protecting blacks as they discriminated against, scorned, beat, and lynched blacks for 100 years after that decision was made. I believe we could still have a 100 years of political fighting ahead of us still. It could, for all practical purposes, be an eternal fight.

I don't really think freedom is a natural state of mankind. Some semblance of freedom has only really existed for about 200 hundred years in a relatively small portion of the human population out of the roughly two thousand years that we have any sort of written history. I think the concept of "the tribe" is more important than the individual was a powerful meme that enabled our distant ancestors to be more successful than their individualist neighbors. That concept selected for anti-freedom mindset at a fundamental level in the personality of the human race. It was only in a small subset of the world population that the individual, the smallest minority, was regarded as important as "the tribe". That resulted in a remarkable burst of economic and personal freedom that, in the big picture, was extremely shocking.

Western culture developed the concept of individual freedom and, in essence, conquered the world. It went against the inherent personality of all the civilizations and tribes before it. We did not breed that out of the human mind as that concept took root and flourished. At best it was suppressed in a sufficient number for a short (on the civilization scale) time. The group that values the individual is less inclined to kill or put the anti-individual person at a serious disadvantage of passing on their genes than the other way around. Hence you can think of the meme of individual freedom as sort of a recessive gene. The "tribe is more important" meme is more like a dominate gene. Hence freedom is likely to always be unfinished business.

So how will a positive Heller ruling affect us? As I said in my first line my world will change. I will be in a better position to claim the anti-gun people are bigots just like those that promoted the Jim Crow laws against blacks. If we are to come close to anything resembling a complete victory I believe that meme will be the key. We have to drive those bigots into political extinction. We can, and probably must, leverage concepts that already resonate with the majority of people. The comparison to minority (non-whites, Jews, gays, women, etc.) rights of all types is the most winning strategy I can think of. Sure the courts and legislatures will need to overthrow the existing repressive laws against us but that only comes after the public opinion has changed. They aren't leaders. They are servants of the people and only enforce the will of the people. To win we must make the will of the people match our mindset. That is the job ahead of us.

If Heller goes against us my world will change in a different way. I don't want to contemplate that scenario. That is the stuff of nightmares and dark ages.

I expect we will have some semblance of a win but still I'm sad. It could just be the late hour as I write this but a significant component is the freedom fighters that carried the fight for decades before I ever said a word or donated a single penny to the cause who didn't make it to see this day. Neal Knox (and here) especially comes to mind. I met and talked to him at two different Gun Rights Policy Conferences. I was very, very impressed by him and I wish he could have seen this day. The best tribute we can pay to him is to win the fight.

Let's celebrate and analyze the ruling for a few days then--Let's roll.

I changed a setting on my blog a few days ago and apparently there are some bugs associated with that feature.

It turns out that some of my blog posted only showed up for me. I wondered why some of my posts didn't get the attention I though they should. Now I realized that  their invisibility contributed to that.

The rest of the world was being deprived. Once I realized this could mean the end of the world as we know it I changed the setting back to the original. Still the postings did not show up. I finally hand edited the .xml and the missing posts appeared. The RSS feed still didn't work but it was 1:30 AM and I went to bed anyway. This morning I found another field in the .xml that needed to be fixed so I went all geeky on that the RSS feed was populated and probably everyone is wondering, "Where did that come from?"

So now you know. I'm using a "daily build" of software under development and, surprise, surprise, it has bugs. But you probably already knew that from all the time my blog waits several minutes to respond or just plain says, "Service unavailable." Now that Boomershoot 2009 registration is almost complete maybe I can spend some time on upgrading my blog software.

Put simply, if the phrase "the people" connotes an individual guarantee in the First and Fourth Amendments, it logically follows that the same term, used in the same document (the Bill of Rights), in the same series of amendments within that document, should also be construed as guaranteeing the preservation of an individual, not "collective" right.

The next portion of the operative clause necessary to the determination of whose right the Second Amendment protects is the sentence predicate -- "shall not be infringed." This language indicates that "the right to keep and bear arms" was not created in the Amendment, but rather preserved by it. Id. at 382. The right to keep and bear arms was viewed at the founding as a natural right that preexisted the formation of the national government. Thus, the Second Amendment was guaranteeing its preservation by providing that it "shall not be infringed." Case law from the late-nineteenth century expounding on the purpose for the Bill of Rights supports this interpretation of its plain meaning.

Daryl Manhart
February 11, 2008
Brief of Maricopa county attorney’s office and other prosecutor agencies as amici curiae in support of respondent.
[No Heller decision today. We are assured, by the Chief Justice, that the Heller decision will be announced tomorrow at 10:00 AM.

It was suggested to me by a fellow activist that we should celebrate the decision, assuming we get the expected result, by going out and drinking Miller beer. In a sense it would be "Miller Time". I'm not much of a drinker of any type of alcohol so one of the first things I will be doing is going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. The next non-work thing I'll be doing is having lunch with a fellow gun-nut. Then in the evening my Lautenberg victim friend is coming over to get his guns back. All his legal troubles have been resolved in a satisfactory manner--other than the expenditure of way too much money and time.--Joe]

I never been called this before:

Joe Huffman, the full-throated Second Amendment activist

For some reason that brings to mind "deep throat" and there is no version of that phrase that applies to me. Particularly in the context of the Pink Pistols as was the case in this post.

It must be something new. The rest of the post was nice. I think it was a compliment.

I have a huge backlog of things I want to blog about but I have been rather distracted by other things.

Barb and I had barely seen each other for several weeks. The week after I went to Louisville for the 2^nd Amendment Blog Bash (and NRA Convention) Barb went to Sacramento to visit her sister. Then I had a very busy time at work and was unable to go on vacation with Xenia, Barb, and her family to Montana.

Finally, on Wednesday, Barb arrived at my bunker in the Seattle area and we tried to make up for lost time. I did make it out of bed long enough to go to work for a few hours and we go to dinner and see a movie (Get Smart -- It had it moments, but there were some parts that were too silly for me) with son James and daughter Xenia. But for the most part we were pretty much inseparable.

Then Saturday I started opening up Boomershoot 2009 registration for staff, on Sunday for 2008 participants, then yesterday for the general public. Even though that is mostly automated it has resulted over 170 emails being received or sent plus countless hand edits of data files and fixing of obscure bugs in my code.

One bug was particularly "interesting". If two shooting positions used the same phone number for registration and I then tried to swap the shooting positions of those two entries then both entires would be deleted (I had a back up and it wasn't that tough to recover from the bug). That bug had existed since day one over a year ago and I just now tripped it.

In any case that spike of Boomershoot activity will soon settled down because the event is almost full (91%) with only seven positions still open as of 11:00 PM. I was surprised at the number of bloggers that took me up on the offer. Those free spots are costing me a LOT of money in the short term. David and Phil have a big tent and are filling it with bloggers. Other bloggers signed up include BillH of Free in Idaho!, Matthew from Trigger Finger, Kevin of Smallest Minority, Barron Barnett, and of course Ry, Xenia (not really "signed up", it's more like "drafted"), and I. I expect Lyle at UltiMAK (who blogs here with me) will sign up too.

Speaking of Matthew in the context of Boomershoot, he just put some new posts with pictures and text up from Boomershoot 2008:

• Driving to Boomershoot
• Friday fireball! (That wasn't a fireball, this is a fireball and it was actually Sunday not Friday)
• View from the Berm

Ry nails this one:

The private military company Blackwater has found an unusual way to skirt federal laws that prohibit private parties from buying automatic weapons. Blackwater bought 17 Romanian AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters, gave ownership of the guns to the Camden County sheriff and keeps most of the guns at Blackwater’s armory in Moyock.

Unusual, as in, illegal. Not only are these straw purchases, but they’re straw purchases of Title II firearms. Good for me, not for thee.

One might conclude this little arrangement might not last much longer:

The agreement between Blackwater and the Sheriff's Office could be an illegal straw purchase, said Richard Myers, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A straw purchase, Myers said, is when one person fills out the federal firearms registration form to obtain a weapon for another person's use.

"I prosecuted several when I was with the U.S. attorney," Myers said. "If I were Blackwater's attorney, I would be concerned about whether this is a genuine purchase or a straw purchase."

Sheriff Perry said he did not consult a lawyer about the agreement until recently, when the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI inquired about the arrangement.

My guess is the Feds will "decline to prosecute" and ignore the whole thing. Those laws weren't really intended to apply to everyone. Just the people the Feds want to keep in their place.

It would amuse me if the Feds do push the issue and Blackwater and friends (the local sheriff) use the Heller decision to defend themselves. They would be a great "poster child" for our side on this issue.

The effects of gun violence on African-American citizens are particularly acute; in 2004 alone, all but two of the 137 firearm homicide victims in the District were African Americans, most of them between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine years old.
 ...
The principal characteristic of the District’s firearms legislation that is being challenged in this case--a rule that prohibits handguns while permitting shotguns and rifles (see D.C. Code § 7-2502.02)--was enacted over 30 years ago, in 1976, after the District Council received substantial evidence that handguns were disproportionately linked to violent and deadly crime, and posed unique risks in an urban setting. See PA101a-04a, 112a. In sum, the District’s handgun regulations are reasonable, passed by a legislature, in line with long-standing historical practices and Supreme Court precedents, and recognizes the unique circumstances posed by the link between the District’s high crime rate and the prevalence of handguns.

Theodore M. Shaw
Brief of Amicus Curiae the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. in support of petitioners.
[I just don't understand how someone smart enough to pass law school could overlook the dangers inherent in making such an argument. If African-Americans are particularly at risk (and although not mentioned are also the most frequent perpetrators) then in addition to concluding the violation of the 2^nd Amendment is "reasonable" then one could make the equally abhorrent argument for "reasonable" violation of the 13^th Amendment. That being, "Some people just can't be trusted with their freedom. We need to put them back on the plantation where they will be looked after and safe." And from the NAACP of all people.--Joe]

If you haven't already done so you should make yourself heard on the issue of firearms in National Parks. Our opponents are not quiet on the topic and we must not be either. Here is what the bigots are saying:

The NRA Wants Loaded Guns in Parks. What do YOU Want?

That's right, guns in parks. LOADED guns in parks. For some reason, the NRA thinks it's a great idea to let anyone and everyone possess loaded weapons in our national parks. Visitor safety? Who cares, right? You care. And you know that our current policies are smart and sound, and protect the rights of gun owners and visitors' safety equally. Allowing loaded guns in parks poses a threat to wildlife, park visitors, and puts our already over-burdened park rangers at even greater risk. The Bush Administration has opened up the regulations for comment. If they want comments, let's not disappoint them. Submit your comments TODAY and tell them to keep the current regulations in place. Take action!

Here is what they are suggesting people say on the topic:

Millions of visitors visit our national parks each year. They visit the parks because they offer a glimpse into America's heritage. They offer the unique opportunity for families to experience peace and reflect in a safe environment. But opening the national parks to loaded weapons could change that forever.

Today's national security threats make the protection of these iconic places and the millions of people from around the world who visit them a serious concern deserving of special vigilance. Requiring guns to be stored and unloaded is no more onerous a limitation on the rights of law-abiding citizens than requiring them to be searched or pass through a metal detector to enter a federal building.

We cannot put the safety of visitors at risk because of the political agenda of one organization. I urge you to keep the current regulations in place.

There is a big difference between the interior of a federal building with armed law enforcement close by and the deep woods of some national park. Here are some hints. These are actual pictures I took in a National Park:

Here is the actual proposed regulation change.

Here, here and here is the best advice I have seen on what to say to our Washington D.C. servants.

Here is the electronic submission form.

Do the right thing and don't let the bigots win this one.

Update June 24, 10:00 AM: The event is now 88% full. There are only nine positions still available.

The day before yesterday (Saturday) I opened up registration for staff to select their positions in Boomershoot 2009. This is the last weekend of April which is over 11 months from now.

Yesterday (Sunday) at 2:02 PM I opened up registration and sent an email to participants of Boomershoot 2008.

Later in the day I sent out email to gun bloggers that had expressed an interest.

By noon today the event was over 75% full.

Today at 4:37 PM I sent an email to the Boomershoot announcement list telling them registration was open.

Currently the event is 84% full with just 12 positions still available.

Sign up soon if you want to attend.

Here is the email I sent to the announcement list:

Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 4:37 PM
To: BoomerShoot@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [BoomerShoot] Boomershoot 2009 registration is open.

 

Sign up here: http://entry.boomershoot.org/

 

Yesterday I sent out email to 2008 participants and the event is now over three-fourths full. Sign up soon if you want to participate.

 

The position numbers are unchanged since last year.

 

Prices went up this year. The cost of the ammonium nitrate, the primary ingredient in the explosives, went up by a factor of over 3.5. The prices of the other components also went up. I don't need to tell you about the price of gasoline which makes trips to the site for preparations and site improvements much more expensive.

 

I thought the price for the 2008 dinner was high at $26/plate. When we were confirming the prices for 2009 we were told $30/plate. This caused a several week delay in opening up registration for 2009 as we looked at numerous cheaper alternatives. We didn't have any good options. We haven't completely given up and Barb and I will be talking to people over the 4th of July weekend when we are in Orofino. We might still find something else but we don't know for certain. We have locked in the $30/plate price and if we can find something better this summer we will give you a refund.

 

Boomershoot improvements planned for this year are:

 

1) Extending the target area at the 375 yard line so more targets can be placed at one time.

2) Enlarging the shooting berm so it is more comfortable for shooters.

3) Increasing the number of targets.

 

One of the constraining factors on the number of targets for Sunday was storage space. Because we held back a large number of targets for "cleanup" that took additional storage space on Saturday night. We have moved cleanup to Friday night. Hence the storage space that was used for cleanup will now be available for additional targets for the main event on Sunday.

 

Keep this in mind when/if you sign up for cleanup. It will not be on Sunday afternoon as it was in the past. It will be sometime Friday evening with the possibility of extending until after dusk when we may do some after dark fireballs.

 

There will probably be a few targets left over on Sunday which will be exclusively for staff use. Some of my staff do not do any shooting during the main event so this is their only chance to shoot boomers.

 

See you next April. It will be a blast!

 

 

Joe Huffman

Boomershoot Event Director

Many Americans at the time of the constitution’s ratification feared that this national government - to be run by an equally unprecedented office of "President" - would become a new source of tyranny, replacing the British crown they had just overthrown. Accordingly, they sought protections from potential tyranny, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the right "to keep and bear arms." While, to some, the notion may seem quaint today, the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the individual right to bear arms ensured that the new national government would not be able to oppress the American people. That guarantee cannot now be read out of the Bill of Rights simply because times have changed.

Lawrence G. Keane
Brief of The National Shooting Sports Foundation, inc., as amicus curiae in support of respondent.
[For people that claim the U.S. is a "living document" that need not be amended to change the meaning ask them if that applies to the 13^th Amendment as well.--Joe]

You can get live blog coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court action this morning if you go here. No guarantee D.C. v. Heller will be released. It could be later this week instead.

Update: Nothing on D.C. v. Heller today. Maybe later this week. Additional hints from the above link:

10:12

Tom Goldstein -  The only opinion remaining from the March sitting is Heller.   The only Justice without a majority opinion from that sitting is Justice Scalia.

10:14

Tom Goldstein -  The Court has announced that it will release opinions against at 10am Wednesday.   Because seven opinions remain, it will almost certainly have one additional day.   Based on past practice, that day likely will be Thursday.

Gun bloggers planning to attend Boomershoot 2009 should send me an email at JoeH@boomershoot.org. I posted about this last month and several people expressed considerable interest but didn't actually say yes.

General announcement of Boomershoot 2009 registration will be made soon. The event fills up very quickly and I want bloggers planning to attend to get a fair shot at getting a position.

The gun control legislation enacted in the District of Columbia in 1976 that banned handguns in the city (“D.C. Gun Control Law”) is an effective law enforcement tool that has promoted the public health and safety by reducing the level of handgun violence in the District of Columbia (“District”). Criminological studies evaluating the effects of the D.C. Gun Control Law have proven that it has reduced the rate of firearm homicides and suicides committed in the District.

Albert W. Wallis
Brief of professors of criminal justice as amici curiae in support of petitioners.
[Typically the District of Columbia, even with the draconian gun laws, has the highest murder rate in the U.S. So one has to wonder just how violent the people of the District of Columbia would be if they could own firearms. One must also wonder why just across the river in Virginia, with far easier access to firearms and the right to bear them in public, those people have such a low rate of violence. It is also worthy of note that they refer to firearm homicides and suicides, not total murder and suicide. I take this to mean they are only concerned if someone is killed, justified or not, with a firearm. Murders by people armed with knives, baseball bats, and broken bottles are not of interest. But this is a brief of professors, they don't work with the real world, that should explain a lot.--Joe]

As widely reported the city council of Montesano passed an ordinance banning gun owners from city parks. The mayor wisely vetoed it. Send your thanks to him. I did:

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 2:21 PM
To: 'mayor@montesano.us'
Subject: Thanks for vetoing the ordinance discriminating against gun owners.

What was the council thinking? Once they had established a precedent of discriminating against constitutionally protected individuals carrying firearms were they then going to expand the list of undesirables to Jews, homosexuals, and people involved in mixed race marriages?

Thank you for doing the right thing. 

Joe Huffman
Kirkland, Washington

Joe Waldron sent a copy of this by Julia Gorinto to an email list I'm on. A small sample:

The very ownership of a gun for defense of home and family implies some assertiveness and a certain self-reliance. But if our man kept a gun in the house, and an intruder broke in and started attacking his wife in front of him, he wouldn't be able to later say, "He had a knife--there was nothing I could do!" Passively watching in horror while already trying to make peace with the violent act, scheduling a therapy session and forgiving the perpetrator before the attack is even finished wouldn't be the option it otherwise is.

...

In short, he is a man begging for subjugation. He longs for its promise of equality in helplessness. Because only when that strange, independent alpha breed of male is helpless along with him will he feel adequate. Indeed, his freedom lies in this other man's containment.

There is lots of very powerful stuff in there. Some useful concepts for when you write letters to the editor and politicians.

On July 2^nd (presumably this will be post Heller decision) Stephen P. Halbrook and Don B. Kates, Jr. under the auspices of The Independent Institute will be putting on an What the Second Amendment Means Today in Oakland California.

California in general and to a great extent Oakland in particular is extremely hostile to gun ownership. I wonder if the politicians will get the hint that they are on the wrong side of the issue.

The Apex of the Triangle of Death is selling signs to advertise your bitterness:

They have other signs available too.

There is an interesting article on the status of Akins and his accelerator in the Tampa Tribune.

I hope the ATF gets kicked in the teeth by the judge and jury.

Violent criminals who may view women as easy targets find their jobs far less taxing in communities such as Washington, D.C. Researchers conducting the Institute of Justice Felon Survey confirm the common-sense notion that those wishing to do harm often think closely before confronting an individual who may be armed.

M. Carol Bambery
Brief of amicae curiae 126 women state legislators and academics in support of respondent.
[I found 10 quotes to add to my database in this brief. I'm proud to say that of those 126 women state legislators 12 of them were from Idaho.--Joe]

Petitioners implicitly claim that a typical citizen of the District who can pass a criminal records and mental records background check (such as the National Instant Check System) is at serious risk of committing murder. It is hard to imagine how such a population could be considered fit for home rule.

David B. Kopel
D.C. v. Heller
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent.

From our friend Howard in Israel, we get news.

Friends:
 
What really is a tactical ceasefire?
 
I'll answer my own question.
 
It is a 1,000% increased police presence downtown for fear of Hamas terror shifting from Gaza to Israel proper.  Of course we cannot hit back at Hamas in Gaza if there is an attack, say in Jerusalem.  Hitting back would violate the ceasefire.
 
Now armed terrorists are on the Gaza border, literally next to the fence building defensive positions and planting explosives. Prior to 06:00 a terrorist near the border would be shot.
 
Howard

At 06:00 the ceasefire took effect, thus giving Hamas a chance to regroup, rearm, and entrench in preparation for their next string of attacks.  Meanwhile, the missiles have been coming in daily.  Imagine what we would do if, say, the Canadian government had been launching daily missile attacks into the U.S. for the last several years.

"Why can't we all just get along?" you might ask.  Answer; because we're unwilling to face the fact that some people have no interest in getting along.  When we try to get along with them, we're encouraging them to take advantage of our weakness as they will see it.  There should be peace talks alright, after the enemy has been defeated beyond all hope.  The "peace talks" that actually amount to peace are the ones that take place as part of the surrender agreement.  It's all been said before of course, but the True Believers in Washington will discount it as the ravings of the unfaithful.

"All we are saying is give peace a chance" seems to be the motto of the day, borrowing a lyric from John & Yoko.  This form of "giving peace a chance" is in reality nothing more than "giving the enemy a chance" to kill you.

In case you ever wondered.

Scientists have more data and another hypothesis as to why female primates make noise during sex:

Female chimps often cry out during sex to attract nearby males, but they keep quiet when other females are around so they don't alert their competition, a new study finds.

The function of copulation calls made by female primates (a group that includes lemurs, monkeys, and apes, such as humans and chimpanzees, our closest relatives) has been debated for years.

Interesting... so if your female partner is noisy during sex it means she wants more males to join in the fun. I'll bet that is going to make for some interesting pillow talk.

The District’s handgun ban is a reasonable and constitutional restriction because handguns are less effective than other firearms for self-defense. Although they are designed to be more lethal than other firearms, handguns are smaller and harder to shoot accurately.

Daniel G. Jarcho
Brief of Violence Policy Center and the police chiefs for the cities of Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle as amici curiae in support of petitioners.
[Yes, several police chiefs publicly announced their bigotry, ignorance of guns, and stupidly signed on to the brief from the VPC. If not for the seriousness of the matter and that some people might actually believe them the entire brief would be entertaining. Just the two sentences above are open for fisking on the following points:

• There is no constitutional exemption for protection for "less effective" arms.
• Handguns are not designed to be more lethal than other firearms (I thought the VPC wanted .50-caliber/"assault-weapons"/semi-autos/normal-capacity-magazines/"Saturday-Night-Specials" banned because it they were the most lethal).
• Handguns are carried by virtually all law enforcement officers in the U.S. because they are effective for self-defense.

Reading the brief I just have to shake my head in wonder at nearly every sentence. They are ignorant of the history firearm technology or hope their revision of it will not be noticed by others. Sometimes consecutive sentences contradict each other. They live in an alternate reality and/or they have mental problems.--Joe]

"We don’t appreciate being heels," Clark* said, pointing out the pain it takes to tell an elderly widow who is living alone "that even though your husband bought the gun legally and registered it properly, you can’t keep it. Why that makes an innocent citizen a crook."

It was a theme heard often in D.C. today, and surprisingly, it seems to gall policemen more than anybody else.

"You’re not controlling guns, you’re controlling people," said Sgt. Jimmy King, a veteran robbery squad investigator.

"Honest citizens, the little old lady who’s not hurting anybody anyway is the real victim. We’re not stopping these bums killing each other, us, or committing armed robberies."

...

Like most officers, King believes the court is the real answer.

"The court is not enforcing the laws we already have on the books," he said, explaining: "There’s a law on the books today which allows a five-year additional sentence for any crime committed while armed, but it’s not enforced."

King’s sentiments were echoed throughout police headquarters and by officers on the streets.

"I don’t know why they bother to make new laws, they don’t enforce the old ones," said Fourth District Officer Andrew Way as he wrote a parking ticket yesterday.

Earl Byrd
D.C.’s Gun Registration
Wash. Star
Dec. 2, 1976
*Officer David Clark, one of two officers in charge of registration for the Gun Control Section of the D.C. police.
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent in D.C. v. Heller.
[The police in D.C. were not always parroting what the Mayor told them to say.--Joe]

In response to this (re: The Left)

"Ideological descendants of Marx and Rousseau now lead the Democratic Party and they have turned it into a disloyal opposition to an increasingly accommodating GOP.

...a pseudo-intellectual sinkhole filled with perverse, tried-and-failed ideas repulsive to the majority of Americans."

Kim comments today:

"Tried-and-failed"… I must remember to use that one the next time I have to explain to some Lefty puke why socialism is a really bad idea."

It won't work.  History will not touch a socialist.  All past failures happened because the wrong people were in charge.  It's like trying to convince someone that his perpetual motion generator will never, ever work.  He knows, from direct observation, that it came extremely close on his last try.

That no one else ever made it work is proof of nothing.  There is a first time for everything, and our inventor knows, deep down, that he has the right idea.  The right idea will work.  Somehow it will work.  It must.  Then the major problems of the ages will be solved.  Just... need.... to keep... tweaking.

The problem with the socialist and with the perpetual motion inventor is they both fail to understand basic laws of nature.  Their theories violate those laws.  End of story.

The perpetual motion inventor I can tolerate-- he stays out of my face.  I can laugh at him from a distance and he'll leave me alone.

A critical step in interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of the privileges and immunities of national citizens and of life, liberty, and property is to understand the evils its Framers sought to remedy. Among the many evils those Framers sought to cure, the systematic violation of the freedmen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms was prominent.

The evidence of such concern is extensive. While Congress was drafting and considering the proposed Fourteenth Amendment and two pieces of interim legislation -- the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill -- it received considerable testimony and evidence regarding the disarming of freedmen by state and local governments and militias.

Steven M. Simpson
D.C. versus Heller
Brief for the Institute for Justice as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent.

In this country the people have the guns. This gives them the ultimate power. And this is likely to be confirmed on Friday by the SCOTUS. That isn't the case in some places:

Robert Mugabe gave warning yesterday that he would not cede power if he loses next week’s election to the Opposition in his most explicit statement yet of his refusal to respect the result.

State-controlled media reported his comments to supporters at an election rally, the latest in a series of increasingly menacing threats as Zimbabwe counts down to the June 27 presidential run-off poll. Mr Mugabe’s military-backed regime has been carrying out a campaign of violence aimed at wiping out the opposition vote.

“We fought for this country, and a lot of blood was shed,” Mr Mugabe told his supporters. “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?”

Good question. Ask that the next time someone tells you that we don't need the 2^nd Amendment because we have the 1^st Amendment.

Phil and to a certain extent I have been reporting (and here) on the bigoted Seattle Mayor Nickels who wants to defy state law and ban concealed carry on city owned property.

The Apex of the Triangle of Death (aka the NRA) is giving some attention to this guy. Jump on their suggestions. Do what you can to put an end to this kind of intolerance.

A few months ago I made something I received via a Google alert on sex my QOTD because it applied to not only to sex but to many other things as well. Ms. Block had her own Google alert, noticed my post, and commented on my post. Cool!

I sent her an email thanking her for stopping by for a visit and I ended up on her email list for notifications of things such as her book (Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage) signing yesterday afternoon in Seattle. I decided to go because the kids were attending a play (a musical--I seldom like musicals) and the Father's Day activities weren't happening until the evening. Barb was unavailable being at work in Moscow Idaho so I went alone.

I found Ms. Block to be very energetic, funny, and quick witted. It was a real pleasure to hear her talk. I added a few comments which seemed to be well accepted. One was in regard to a book that discussed sex and the evolution of women. Here is more information on that book, Sex Time and Power. This was a great book. A lot of it was speculation which has the high probability of being wrong but it was very intriguing speculation.

Some links to Ms. Block's web presence:

http://www.open-marriage.blogspot.com/
http://www.jennyonthepage.com/

She also writes on the blog The Huffington Post such as this post.

I've added her blog to my blogroll but it appears she is only blogging to promote her books and other writings and not so much about the psychology and sociology of sex in our society which is more of my interest. But at least I will get links to that sort of material.

The Miller court’s approach, which focused only on the relationship between the regulated arms at issue and the Second Amendment’s militia purpose was flawed because that approach would only allow individuals to possess arms suited for military use. Such an approach is obviously troublesome if it would allow private ownership of modern military arms.

Richard K. Willard
D.C. versus Heller
Brief amicus curiae Of The Heartland Institute in support of respondent.
[Indeed! Miller should be expanded to include arms suitable for private self-defense. That isn't what Willard has in mind but that is what I'm hoping the SCOTUS concludes. Of course Willard, in supporting D.C., is also troubled that individuals should have the right to defend themselves against anything. One can only conclude the relationship between the state and the individual is that of a rancher and his cattle. The rancher dehorns the cattle so they cannot easily defend themselves or seriously injury each other. The rancher takes it upon himself to defend the cattle from predators, provide their food, care for the sick, and to slaughter them as it may suit him.--Joe]

For the Framers, the lesson of such uprisings was that "the rebellion of a people against a government established by themselves is not justifiable, even in an extreme case, and can only result in dishonor to the state, and calamity and disgrace to those who participate in it." 1 Josiah Holland, History of Western Massachusetts 299-300 (Springfield, Bowles & Co. 1855) (emphasis added). Thus, in the Framers’ experience, it was not the possession of arms for personal uses apart from militia service (or against the government) that preserved ordered liberty. It was the States’ access to militias and similar state-controlled forces to protect their citizens that was essential. Modern experience confirms that view.

Jeffrey A. Lamken
January 2008
Brief supporting petitioners of amici curiae American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Ceasefire NJ, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Clifton Kirkpatrick in his capacity as the stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Educational Fund to stop Gun Violence, Freedom States Alliance, American Jewish Congress, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Gray Panthers, Gunfreekids.org, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Illinoisvictims.org, Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, Jenna Foundation for Nonviolence, inc., Karla Zimmerman Memorial Foundation, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Council of Jewish Women, New England Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, DC Statehood Green Party, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, Renée Olumbuni Rondeau Peace Foundation, Root (Reaching Out to Others Together) Inc., Union for Reform Judaism, Virginia Center for Public Safety, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, and certain individual victims and families of victims of gun violence.
[I suppose they are forced to believe that if they hope to remain consistent. But I'm appalled so many Jewish organizations could sign on to such a belief system. Hitler was elected. The government of Germany of the 1930's and early 1940's was established by the people of Germany. Don't the people that advocate the above doctrine realize what they are saying? There is no case in which the state should be forceably overthrown. Whatever the state decides is also moral and acceptable. They are saying the German Jews, the millions of Russians, Chinese, Laotians, etc. who were murdered by their own government had no right to defend themselves. It was their duty to passively accept their own annihilation. These people have mental problems and must be defeated.--Joe]

Some people are "math challenged". I tend to agree with Heinlein on the topic but regardless I am of the opinion that nearly all people can learn simple arithmetic if they are given the lesson in practical everyday terms. One such lesson came to my attention via email and I have duplicated it below:

To My Dear Wife,

You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you, being 54 years old, can no longer satisfy. I am very happy with you & I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18 year old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel.

Please don't be upset - I shall be home before midnight.

When the man came home late that night, he found the following letter on the dining room table:

My Dear Husband,

I received your letter and thank you for your honesty about my being 54 years old. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old. As you know, I am a Math teacher at our local college. I would like to inform you that while you read this, I will be at the Marriott Hotel with Michael, one of my students, who is also on the tennis team. He is young, virile, and like your secretary, is 18 years old. As a successful businessman who has an excellent knowledge of Math, you will understand although it may appear that we are in the same situation, there is one mathematical difference: 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18.

Therefore, I will not be home until sometime tomorrow!

Just outside of Seattle last night I picked up Robin (age 12), the daughter of a friend of ours (Karen pictured below), and gave her a ride to Moscow so she could visit a friend of hers for a couple weeks. She wasn't very talkative but she was bright and friendly. It was a five hour trip and except for the first 90 minutes we each listened to our own iPods.

Daughter Kim, friend Karen, and Ry's daughter Arden at Boomershoot 2008.
Photo from David who has proclaimed June to be Boomershoot 2008 Photo Month.

Tomorrow morning I have to get up much, much too early, take daughter Kim to work by 6:30, go back to the house to pick up daughter Xenia, then pick up both Ry's daughters Arden (above) and Anna at 7:15, then pick up Kim at 7:30. The four girls and I then attempt to drive back to Seattle in time for Kim and Xenia to attend a play that starts at 1:00 PM that is a gift from their brother James. The other girls then go back to the east side of the lake to Ry's fortified compound. Protected with, among other things, a .50 BMG, and I don't know how many AR-15s, some of which are supressed.

I realize four beautiful girls protected only by one middle-aged, slightly overweight guy with a bum leg is a tempting target but these girls aren't the helpless types. Ry and I reared these children in Idaho, not one of those sissy places where other people rear their children.

Kim has applied for her concealed carry permit but hasn't received it yet. That doesn't mean she won't have access to or be able to use a firearm should she need one on the trip. The others aren't quite old enough to get their concealed pistol permits but that doesn't mean they don't know what to do with a gun.

The following pictures illustrate my point.

Kim preparing for a steel match.

Xenia celebrates diversity.

Arden practicing with an AR-15.
Photo from Ry.

Ry helps stabilize the rifle while Anna fires off the shot that detonates the explosive target.
Photo from Ry.

Revisiting the basic premise of the Second Amendment and striking down gun legislation for the first time in 216 years would have ripple effects through this entire network of state and local regulation. Although the Court ruled in Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886), that the Second Amendment limits the power only of the federal government, the decision relied on the importance of militias as a check on federal power. Separating the right to bear arms from the maintenance of a well regulated militia would cast doubt on the authority of state and local governments to regulate firearms. Such a ruling would thus invite challenges to hundreds of state and local restrictions, thrusting upon the courts difficult policy judgments about the reasonableness of individual regulations.

William H. Neukom
January 11, 2008
President American Bar Association
Brief of the American Bar Association as amicus curiae supporting petitioners.
[Would Neukon have expressed the same concerns if the case under consideration had been freeing the slaves, granting minorities equal access to the law, or allowing women access to abortion? Besides I don't see there being any difficulty in judging the reasonableness of individual regulations when the wording of the Second Amendment is so clear, "... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Hence, if the regulation impedes, rather than assists, the people in keeping and bearing arms the regulation is unreasonable. Next case please.--Joe]

Furthering the discussion prompted in Joe's post here (read the comments) I point you to a must-read (and a real knee-slapper IMO)-- a recent piece by Williams, in which he catalogs just a few highlights from the never-ending string of end-of-the-world predictions coming from "authorities" on climate and economics.

(And we gun owners are often called paranoid)

I grew up hearing many of these prophecies of doom, and what's a kid to do other than believe them in a time when there was no opposition in the media, and a time (then as now) when the public schools were parroting them as gospel?  What's a kid to do with a mind full of such doom and gloom, other than become cynical about the world, fearful and somewhat hopeless about the future?

Those who perpetrate such idiocy, besides being liars and scoundrels, are practicing child abuse.  Most of the people so abused will never realize that they're being abused-- they'll just live in fear of the world and in hatred of their fellow ("Earth destroying") human beings.  I finally figured it out, and it's part of why I'm now in such vociferous opposition to the lefty-loon-cultists who spread this trash.  I can't get my childhood back, but I can help fight the continuing abuse.

"Oh, but can we afford to ignore these dire predictions?" you might say.  OK.  Can we afford to ignore the fact that you <i>may</i> be a child rapist?  Do we have to wait for you to actually rape a child in front of witnesses before we incarcerate you?  Wouldn't that be unfair to your potential victim(s)?  Shouldn't we save your potential victims in advance?

Stupid, isn't it?  This country was founded to protect human rights-- not save the planet from dwindling resources, or to control the weather, etc..  With our freedom protected-- our ability to act in our own interests, unimpeded and un-harassed, we will have the best chance of successfully overcoming life's challenges.

The Bill of Rights was never thought necessary by the Federalists, other than as a tool to placate Anti-Federalist resistance to the new constitution. While rejection of militia-powers amendments demonstrates that the Bill of Rights did not address each and every Anti-Federalist concern, the Second Amendment did at least address a different concern: the individual right to arms.

Demands for a bill of rights prevailed in five of seven constitutional ratifying conventions. The only provisions common to all were freedom of religion and the right to arms. New Hampshire’s convention demanded recognition that "Congress shall never disarm any citizen, unless such as are or have been in actual rebellion."

Alan Gura
Robert A. Levy
Clark M. Neily III
February 24, 2008
Respondent's brief on Writ Of Certiorari to the United States Court Of Appeals for the District Of Columbia Circuit.

There are two items that I have been feeling guilty about since returning from the NRA convention:

1. I didn't thank Jeff @ Damnum Absque Injuria for all the rides he gave me while in Louisville. He also straightened out a few legal issues where I, and occasionally others, wandered off into the wilderness where we didn't know what we were talking about. I really appreciated his contributions to my enjoyment of the event.
2. I didn't post the complete story of the startup of the Palouse Pink Pistols in conjuction with The Lewiston Pistol Club and Fred Phelps. I told Bitter, Kevin, and Sebastian the short version on Sunday night but, being a detail person, I have been feeling guilty for not getting all the minutiae out for everyone to read.

My involvement with the The Pink Pistols

Most all of my readers should know what the Pink Pistols is all about. But before there was the Pink Pistols there was Cease Fear. I was a "foot soldier" in the earliest days of Cease Fear (named by Ray Carter as a play on the name of the anti-gun group Washington Cease Fire). Some of that back story can be found here and here. It was also during my time with Cease Fear that I came up with The Jews In The Attic Test.

After the Pink Pistols took off some people I knew from the gun clubs in the Moscow Idaho area (where I live) formed the Palouse Pink Pistols (and here). I was asked if I would like to help out. I'm straight but the Pink Pistols don't reject membership on the basis of sexual orientation and I happily agreed.

Coincidentally with the formation of the Palouse Pink Pistols Fred Phelps showed up in Moscow for some reason. Also coincidentally, I was the IPSC match director for one month at the Lewiston Pistol Club when the designated person and their backup were both out of town on match day. I took full advantage of the alignment of the stars.

I needed four stages for the match. Three I could design myself and the fourth had to come from a list of "Classifiers" from the USPSA. I designed the stages with a Pink Pistols theme. The stages were Palouse Pink Pistols Practice, Queer Alley, and No Rest For The Wicked.

The names might have been enough, but the stage descriptions removed all doubt about what this was about.

From Palouse Pink Pistols Practice:

START POSITION: In pickup A, door shut, driver’s side window open with loaded gun on the seat.

While returning from an anti-Fred Phelps (owner of the web site http://www.godhatesfags.com/) rally in Moscow Idaho you see something suspicious on the side of the road and park your pickup behind a pickup that was apparently filed with drunk frat boys who are now tying someone to a fence post across the road. Three of them are approaching you and the closest one to you has a tire iron in his hand and tells you, “Move along, it’s just a couple of fags.”

On signal engage T1, T2, and T3 with two rounds each through the open window (door may be open or closed). Engage T4 and T5 with at least two rounds each. Set gun down and use the ‘dropped’ knife of the attacker to cut the hostage free (-10 procedural for each cut on the no-shoot). Set the knife down, pick up gun and engage T6 and T7 with at least one round each. Between the signal and the last round fired the shooter must shout “Pick on someone your own caliber!” (-10 procedural for failure to perform).

From Queer Alley:

START POSITION: Standing in front of T1 with your right hand on the down range shoulder of the no-shoot.

One night you and your companion are returning home from the protest against Fred Phelps visit to town. You walk by a narrow alley. A thug grabs your companion and starts to push them into the alley where you notice several other thugs are waiting for you. You engage them before they engage you. PP1 and PP2 represent the headlights of the car they are using for light.

From No Rest For The Wicked:

The story line is that you had let your guard down and two armed scumbags got the drop on you. They have told you they don't like the color of your skin, eyes, your sexual orientation, the shape of your head, and the way you part your hair. After they take your money they are going to make some creative changes to your appearance. Just before they get you up against the wall a strange sound (which sounds a lot like an IPSC timer) distracts them for a moment. You take advantage of distraction and make some creative changes in their appearance. You must alternate between them to make sure neither of them has a extra moment to modify your features.

For the final stage I chose one essentially at random from the USPSA list. My criteria was that it had to be one we had the proper equipment for and that we hadn't shot for at least a few months. I choose Steel One. In another instance of the stars magically aligning just right the start position of this stage was, "Standing in Box A with back to targets, toes of both feet against rear fault line of Box A, hands on knees."

At the time no one believed me and perhaps no one even today will believe me but this is the complete truth. Until I was reading the stage description and everyone started laughing as I demonstrated the start position I had no idea this stage was also "in theme".

Realizing the formation of the Pink Pistols and our themed pistol match was newsworthy I contacted the Lewiston Morning Tribune. They didn't send any reporters for the match but they did contact me and the founders of the Palouse Pink Pistols for phone interviews. This is the article that appeared in the paper a few days later. The AP picked up the story and published a shorter version of it. That lead to me being contacted by Matt Rosenberg who wrote an similarly themed editorial for the Seattle Times a few months later.

The big lesson I would like for people to learn from this story is that gun owners can get favorable press. Boomershoot with all the potential hazards of  "assault weapons", "snipers", "sniper rifles", and "bombs" has been successfully pitched to the public as what it really is. People from all walks of life who are, in essence, having an early 4th of July celebration of freedom. In the same way with all the hazardous of "vigilante justice", "cowboys", and "angry red-necked white guys" potentially associated with a pistol match where people shoot at human shaped targets we were able to get it portrayed, as it actually is, just ordinary people having fun and practicing to defend innocent life from bodily harm.

It wasn't that hard, it didn't take that much extra work, and the positive media coverage reached 100s of thousands of people.

I've thought about making this comparison for quite some time but never got around to it. Tech Paladin does the topic justice.

It must be hard to keep moral up when they are being crushed. Even as they are waving the white flag they are saying they are going to win:

While the Brady Campaign is waving the white flag in the long-running debate on whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms or merely a state's right to assemble a militia, it is hoping that losing the "legal battle" will eventually lead to gun control advocates winning the "political war."

"We're expecting D.C. to lose the case," Helmke said. "But this could be good from the standpoint of the political-legislative side."

I won't consider the war over until we start putting some of these people, the politicians, and the police in jail over this deprivation of rights that has been going on for decades.

I can always tell when I get a call from someone in the U.S. military.  They've planned the call, so they get right to the point without humming and hawing or getting off onto irrelevant tangents.  They're always lucid, and communicate easily.  They know and use the standard phonetic alphabet (really important with a bad cellular connection):

Alpha
bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliette
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu

(Memorize these.  There are only 26 of them and they can save you from communication errors over and over)

Plus they're always patient and respectful.  No exceptions.

Now, shall we talk about your average college student?  No thanks-- I'm in a good mood and don't want to spoil it.

STI just announced the GP6 has been approved for import and the first shipment has sold out before the boat even reached the shore. They are suggesting it will be an excellent USPSA Production division gun.

From their website:

With the GP6, STI International, Inc. delivers a compact SA/DA polymer pistol which serves equally well either on or off duty. With its integrated tactical rails, it is equally suitable for Military, Law Enforcement or Civilian carry.

Built on a light weight, highly durable polymer (Polyamide GF 30) frame, the GP6 incorporates integrated tactical rails and textured side panels, front and rear straps. The GP6’s all steel slide is tri-topped with front and rear cocking serrations and features a fixed 3 dot sight system. The controls consist of ambi-thumb safeties, an ambi–slide release, firing pin safety, and a user configurable magazine release for equal ease of use in either right or left handed configuration. The barrel is 4.25” in length featuring an innovative rotational lock up system. Long term durability testing units have fired more than 110,000 shots without any change in internal geometry. The GP6 comes standard with a storage case, 2 magazines, and sight keys.

The GP6 is currently available exclusively in 9mm.

In competition I shoot a STI gun, I carry a STI gun and you should too.

I wasn't going to do this because I was very busy when the NRA offered me another wheelbarrow full of cash. But Sebastian has a good point. I'll add a link from some of my other websites soon.

Barack Obama on guns. It's not a pretty picture for gun owners. And of course he claims he supports the Second Amendment. But he voted and campaigned against gun ownership before he was for it then he whined about people clinging to their guns. And don't forget that he thinks cities and communities should be able to make their own gun laws that meet their circumstances and needs. That concept has just as much merit now as it did decades ago.

Via a link to a young woman with a Tommy Gun from Uncle I found the more interesting (for me) video on guns in Hollywood and in particular the Miami Vice scene. I made a post on that scene 20 months ago and it still gets residual hits nearly every day from all over the world.

Pennsylvania’s longstanding constitutional recognition of an individual right to bear arms in defense of self and state and its colonial and early state history inform any inquiry into the meaning of the Second Amendment. The impetus for adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution came from the states, among which Pennsylvania was an important motivating force. The right to bear arms in self-defense is as important today as ever. The Second Amendment recognizes an individual, and fundamental, right to own a gun for self-defense.

John P. Krill
February 11, 2008
D.C. v. Heller
Brief for amicus curiae the President Pro Tempore of the Senate of Pennsylvania, Joseph B. Scarnati, III, in support of respondent.
[It was 7:00 AM this morning, I was half asleep, almost listening to the news when I heard something about the Supreme Court and the D.C. ban. I jumped out of bed and ran to the computer to get more news. Google News didn't have anything and I anxiously watched the SCOTUS blog live for information. Nothing on Heller today. But the ruling is expected be sometime this month. Until then I'll be quoting D.C. v Heller briefs every day.--Joe]

Phil has the details. I'll be there if I'm available.

Bigots like Mayor Greg Nickels must be confronted and put in their place. Imagine the uproar if it was Jews or homosexuals that would be ordered to leave or be charged with trespassing if discovered on city property. That is the attitude we must have and we must communicate to these people. We must make it politically untenable for these bigots to spout their venom in public.

I'll let you know if I hear anything new.

In many cases, firearms confiscation followed only after the groundwork was laid by purportedly "reasonable" regulation and registration of firearms. History illustrates just how readily the standardless "reasonable" regulation of firearms invites large scale abuse by the state and ultimately paves the way for wholesale confiscation of arms and the mass slaughter of the disarmed (much like the massive censorship that likely would arise under a rule permitting "reasonable" regulation of speech and press).

Daniel L. Schmutter
February 8, 2008
D.C. v. Heller
Brief of amicus curiae Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership in support of respondent.

Via an email from Kevin I receive a this link about a couple of books. One book is about a couple that attempts to have sex for 100 consecutive days and another that attempts to go for 365 days straight. While interesting I'm disappointed they didn't succeed in their efforts and they basically gave up after they past their goal lines:

Today, the Browns report they have sex approximately six times a month, or double their frequency before their adventure. The Mullers decline to discuss their habits, except to say that they fall well within the national average. And, Brad said, the sex is better. “It made it much easier to be open to the idea, more spontaneous,” he said, “So you don’t go back to that always gaming for it and always trying to get out of it.”

Wimps.

A friend of mine claims it's a rare day when he didn't have sex once in the morning and once at night with his various girl friends, as they came and went, and now with his wife.

Barb and I are somewhat restricted by our distance from each other but still, on a monthly basis, we easily surpass the Browns and probably the Mullers.

Dr. Joe wonders if they are getting sufficient treatments to even maintain their present health. I would recommend at least doubling the dosage.

The Seattle PI had an opinion piece where they said:

Mayor Greg Nickels' plan to forbid guns on a host of city properties is a measured response to the gunshot injuries to two people at Seattle Center during the Folklife celebration.

...

The city would ask people legally carrying concealed weapons not to bring the guns into city parks, community centers and other city facilities. Anyone discovered with a gun could be asked to leave under trespassing statutes.

...

He represents his city well on the issue.

I responded in the comments with:

Posted by Joe Huffman at 6/9/08 10:30 p.m.

I have Just One Question for the editorial board and the mayor:

Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?

This yielded a response of:

unkanny at 6/10/08 12:24 p.m.

Airports, airplanes. Divorce court. You're welcome.

My response:

Posted by Joe Huffman at 6/10/08 4:05 p.m.

unkanny said,
Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?

Airports, airplanes. Divorce court. You're welcome.

Do you have any data to support your claims?

I can and do leagally carry a concealed weapons at most aiports. So you are ignorant if you believe there are restrictions in most areas of most U.S. airports.

Your claim in the case for airplanes is refuted by just one example: The planes hijacked on 9/11/2001 had weapons restrictions enforced which made it extremely difficult for the victims to fight back.

As for divorce courts supply us the safety data number before and after weapons restrictions were implemented and then we can discuss it.

I don't expect a response but we'll see...

Update: No response to my reply but I added this comment to the thread:

Once Mayor Nickels has established a precedent of discriminating against constitutionally protected individuals carrying firearms perhaps he will expand the list of undesirables to Jews, homosexuals, and people involved in mixed race marriages.

Bigotry is an ugly thing. Don't let Nickels and the PI editorial board get away with it.

Snoqualmie Pass is getting snow today. Probably not so much that I can't make it home on Friday but of interest because its so unusual for this time of year. It is snowing in Moscow Idaho (my home) and the Boomershoot site too. Maybe I should schedule Boomershoot 2009 for July 4^th so the snow will be light enough the roads will be plowed and people can make it without snowmobiles.

Crank up those coal fired power plants and rev the engines in your trucks while waiting at traffic lights--we need to head off the next ice age.

Either Al Gore has crap for brains and/or his motivation is solely for political gain.

Update: Daughter Kim says not to blame Al Gore:

From: Kimberly
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:10 AM
To: Barbara Scott; James Huffman-Scott; Joe Huffman; Xenia Joy

I apologize for the snow it was my fault I cut the dogs hair yesterday

Update2: From my weather advisory email alert:

OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-
135 PM PDT TUE JUN 10 2008

...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM PDT WEDNESDAY ABOVE 3500 FEET...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A SNOW ADVISORY ABOVE 3500 FEET...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM PDT WEDNESDAY.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING ABOVE 4000 FEET AND OVER THE WHITE BIRD GRADE ON HIGHWAY 95. ELEVATIONS DOWN TO 3500 FEET...INCLUDING THE CITY OF GRANGEVILLE...CAN EXPECT TO SEE ACCUMULATIONS UP TO AN INCH.

A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

This could mean certain types of crops in the area will be killed by the cold.

Something the global warming doomsday people ignore is that, typically, farm yields are better with abnormally warm weather than abnormally cold weather. Hence to be on the safe side of things we should try to push things in the direction of excess heating rather than risk excess cooling.

I don't have a T.V. in my Seattle area bunker so the only shows I watch are DVD sci-fi stuff with James (we just started the third season of Farscape).

With Barb I watch DVDs/on-line stuff like:

• Bones She is extremely smart, likes guns, and is hyper-rational--where was Temperance when I was a freshman in college and looking for a mate?
• Columbo He's like a puppy dog wagging his tail and digging holes in the yard--but what the murders don't know is that he's placing land mines (from the episode "How to Dial a Murder").
• Medium Just accept the premise and enjoy the show.

Barb and I might have to add Swingtown to our list of things to watch while in bed (together).

The following review came to me from someone who picked it up from a email list they subscribe to. This was in response to a comment where someone said they had never been to a party that they didn't know what was going on before they arrived.

I thought it did a pretty fair job of portraying reality without being hostile to swingers. The biggest thing I noticed was that, as with nearly all Hollywood, the time scale was sped up dramatically. From the time a newbie couple was told by people they had just met they were swingers until they decided to participate there would be a lot more time and talking involved rather than just a few glances and walking off to the back bedroom with the experienced couple.

I do know of a case where a couple had monthly parties and the next door neighbors asked why they were never invited. The hosting couple told them to just show up next time--without telling them the nature of the party. The neighbors did show up, figured things out after a half hour or so and left--never to ask about attending again. So, I know it does happen.

The bottom line is I think the writers know a lot about swinging. I think they either have been involved or did a lot of research with people who are or have been involved. I think in order to make the show interesting they will, of necessity, have to introduce stress of some sort into the characters and situations. In the pilot they introduced characters who will enable them to do that. The reality of swinging is not the utopia we would like it to be (neither is monogamy or anything else). The writers of the show will have to exaggerate reality some and create conflicts to make things interesting. I believe it's possible they can do this without making swingers out to be immoral perverts and I think they have made a good first step toward that goal. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

Man catches girlfriend's sex romp on mobile call:

The court was told that the girl named Toni Milton sat on her cell phone by mistake while having sex with her old flame, and thereby unknowingly dialled the number of Neil O’Brien.

She came to know about the blunder only when she heard the muffled sounds of O’Brien.

Not knowing who was on the other side, she said “Hello”, and heard O’Brien shouting in rage.

"I take it we’re finished, then?" British tabloid The Sun quoted O’Brien as shouting.

Angered by what his girlfriend had done, O’Brien drove 15 miles to her home, beat her up in her bedroom and smashed up her possessions.

Just wait until your cell phone GPS can be queried remotely and without your permission.

How can an individual be free if he is unable to secure his own home? Never did the founding fathers intend our citizenry to be reliant on an overreaching, all inclusive government to protect our individual rights. Rather, the powers of the government were to be limited so that the government served the people, not that the people served the government.

Jeanette M. Moll
Ohio Concealed Carry Permitholders and the U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation.
D.C. v. Heller brief for amici curiae in support of respondent.

Via the Para website:

You can help send your favorite gun blogger to summer camp at Blackwater USA with world class shooter and instructor Todd Jarrett... and have a chance to win a invitation for yourself as well. Para USA, along with Blackwater, USA is sponsoring a weekend of first class instruction at the most exclusive training facility in the United States.

The top ten gun bloggers in our contest will get an invitation to shoot a special Para pistol and learn the secrets of a World Champion from Todd Jarrett. Blackwater USA is hosting the event at their facility in North Carolina. Gun Blogger Michael Bane and a video crew will record the event for Down Range TV.

Best of all, by voting for your favorite gun blogger, your name will be put into a drawing for an invitation to this exclusive event. That’s right 10 gun bloggers, and maybe you could spend a weekend learning the shooting secrets of the best shooter in the world.

The Para-Blackwater Gun Bloggers weekend will be August 22-24, 2008. Invitees must provide their own transportation to Norfolk, Virginia. Firearms, ammunition, accessories, room and board during the event will be provided by the sponsors. Participants must be 21 years or older and legally able to own and shoot a handgun.

Act now, voting ends July 1st! Winners will be annouced in early July. You may only vote once in this contest.

You want to see Todd Jarrett blow up a car by shooting at it, don't you?

And I'm sure I can find excuses why you shouldn't vote for anyone else, for example, that last time I talked to Kevin he had has a project he has to finish up in late August anyway so he won't be able to make it.

Barb has to work that weekend so we will be celebrating our anniversary another weekend anyway.

Pretend you are a democrat and vote early, vote often, and vote for ME!!! I'm listed as "The View From North Central Idaho" near the bottom of the list.

Hobbes believed that the primary purpose for which societies are formed was to enhance the ability to protect oneself, and as such, the first law of nature could never be compromised, altered or diminished by any contract establishing that society. This right was so fundamental that it was deemed unalienable: "A covenant not to defend myself from force, by force, is always void."

James R. Schaller
D.C. v. Heller
Brief of International Scholars as amici curiae in support of respondent.
[Having not read Hobbes (shame on me) I have always said this differently. Instead I have said, "Self defense is a right all species on this planet have claimed for all time." This brief is interesting for other reasons as well. They explain in great detail how the anti-gun bigots who filed briefs in support of the D.C. gun ban are also liars.--Joe]

Amici have no fears that upholding the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess handguns and other functional defensive firearms in their homes will endanger law enforcement officers. Police in the District are killed at a rate about six times higher than the national rate, a statistic that hardly suggests that the District’s ban on law-abiding citizens protecting their homes has helped protect the police.

David B. Kopel
D.C. v. Heller
Brief of The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), The International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, Calif., Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, National Police Defense Foundation, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and The Independence Institute as amici curiae in support of respondent.
[Kopel rocks with the numbers in this brief. This is an excellent source for exploding many of the fallacies used by the anti-gun bigots against us.--Joe]

A critical step in interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of the privileges and immunities of national citizens and of life, liberty, and property is to understand the evils its Framers sought to remedy. Among the many evils those Framers sought to cure, the systematic violation of the freedmen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms was prominent.

The evidence of such concern is extensive. While Congress was drafting and considering the proposed Fourteenth Amendment and two pieces of interim legislation -- the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill -- it received considerable testimony and evidence regarding the disarming of freedmen by state and local governments and militias.

Steven M. Simpson
February 11, 2008
D.C. versus Heller
Brief for the Institute for Justice as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent.
[There is some really good stuff in this brief explaining the 14^th Amendment was initiated because the right to keep and bear arms was being infringed upon by the states. This is setting the stage for applying the 2^nd Amendment to the states and cities.--Joe]

The Second Amendment’s historical self-defense purpose should be used to define the scope of its protections. In our view, the Second Amendment protects the right to own firearms of a kind that are commonly used for self-defense by law-abiding individuals. We do not doubt that the government can outlaw private ownership of unusually destructive or exotic weapons. But private ownership of all handguns cannot be prohibited because handguns are the kind of weapon best suited for and most commonly owned for the purpose of self-defense.

Richard K. Willard
D.C. versus Heller
Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Heartland Institute in support of respondent.

Son James sent me this link--British government vows tougher knife laws. My response was, "Its not Great Britain. Its not mediocre Britain. Its pathetic Britain."

A small sample of the pathetically stupid:

Until now, warnings were given to most of those under the age of 18 found with knives. With the change, anyone 16 or over who carries a knife with a blade longer than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) will be prosecuted. Those convicted face a penalty of up to four years in prison.

"Young people need to understand that carrying knives doesn't protect you, it does the opposite — it increases the danger for all of us, destroys young lives and ruins families," Brown said.

And a sample of the police state being implemented:

London's new mayor, Boris Johnson, has also vowed to crack down on knife crime. His proposals include airport-style metal-detecting arches at train and subway stations. London police recently began an aggressive new program to search anyone they wish for knives without having to justify their suspicions beforehand.

Nor may the government justify a ban on a particular firearm simply by claiming to allow the possession of others. While it is a dubious proposition that Petitioners allow individuals any firearms for private home use, the government’s compliance with the Constitution by allowing rifles would not permit the government to violate the Constitution by banning handguns--any more than the government could prohibit books because it permits newspapers and considers them an "adequate substitute."

Alan Gura
Robert A. Levy
Clark M. Neily III
February 24, 2008
RESPONDENT’S BRIEF
On Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Circuit

It appears the Brady Bunch stopped by for a visit. They just saw the one post. It was such a mildly worded post though. There are other posts I wish the Brady Campaign people had read instead.

Even if they don't recognize it at first having their bigotry repeatedly pointed out will have an effect on their morale and dedication to their evil cause.

Domain Name		sct.com ? (Commercial)
IP Address		65.242.56.# (HANDGUN CONTROL)
ISP		Verizon Business
Location		Continent  :  North America Country  :  United States  (Facts) State  :  District of Columbia City  :  Washington Lat/Long  :  38.9042, -77.032 (Map) Distance  :  2,071 miles
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Firefox Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14
Javascript		version 1.5
Monitor		Resolution  :  1024 x 768 Color Depth  :  32 bits
Time of Visit		Jun 3 2008 12:33:57 pm
Last Page View		Jun 3 2008 12:33:57 pm
Visit Length		0 seconds
Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://blogsearch.go...22&btnG=Search Blogs
Search Engine		blogsearch.google.com
Search Words		"brady campaign"
Visit Entry Page		http://blog.joehuffm...bleRestrictions.aspx
Visit Exit Page		http://blog.joehuffm...bleRestrictions.aspx
Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-5:00
Visitor's Time		Jun 3 2008 3:33:57 pm
Visit Number		315,333

I was invited to speak at the Boeing Rifle and Pistol Club tonight. This will be something like the fifth time. Tonight I will be talking about the NRA Convention and the Second Amendment Blogger Bash.

My notes for the presentation:

• Huge, fancy, gun show
• Nearly 70K people
• Media credentials for bloggers
• Second Amendment blogger bash
  • Bitch girls
  • Snowflakes in Hell
  • Say Uncle
  • Michael Bane
  • Smallest Minority
  • Books, Bikes, Boomsticks (broomsticks)
  • Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease
  • Call me Ahab
  • Sharp as a Marble
  • Third Power (Days of our Trailer)
  • Traction Control 
  • The Ten Ring (Denise and Bill)
  • 40 in all

• Sessions
  • Legal
  • Activists
    • Its not the critic that counts
    • In their own words
    • They don't fear me they fear you--Chris Cox
    • You have the final say--Wayne LaPierre

• Blogger activities
  • Happy hour with Bane
  • Todd Jarrett
  • Publisher of Soldier of Fortune
  • Eyeblast.TV
  • Talk until dawn

• Celebrities
  • McCain
  • Mitt Romney
  • David Hardy
  • Ollie North
  • Ted Nugent
  • Cam Edwards
  • Glenn Beck
    • It comes down to Larry, Moe, Curly?
    • The Democrats sold their soul to Karl Marx.
    • We like lawyers, crooks and crack dealers better than Washington.
    • Before I pay over 10 for a gallon of gas I will drill through a polar bears head.  ----- I would feel bad but I would do it.

Madison’s very organization shows the right to arms was seen as an individual right and not as militia-related. Madison’s draft did not take the format with which we are today familiar, that of a numbered list of amendments following the Constitution. Rather, his draft designated where, within the Constitution, each provision was to be inserted.

For example, his provisions relating to the House of Representatives were to be inserted in Article I, Section 2. An unsuccessful proposal to forbid States to infringe the rights of conscience was to be inserted in Article I, Section 10, alongside its other "Restrictions Upon Powers of States." Provisions relating to jury trial, grand juries, and appeals were to be placed in Article III.

Thus, if Madison had seen the future Second Amendment as militia-related, he would have designated its place next to the Militia Clauses in Article I, Section 8.

Instead Madison grouped it with freedom of speech, press, assembly and other individual rights, and designated their place in Article I, Section 9, right after "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." Madison’s arrangement is compelling evidence that he did not view the right to arms as a guarantee relating to States and militias; its militia reference was explanation, not an operative part of its guarantee.

David T. Hardy
Brief of amicus curiae, Academics for the Second Amendment
[Sometime this month the Supreme Court will settle "the question". We know the correct answer. We've known it all along. We just had trouble convincing those bigots who didn't want to confront reality. Nearly everyone expects the court to deliver us an easily wielded "clue by four" on at least this one point. I just hope we have the wisdom to use it correctly and not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.--Joe]

I wrote this as a comment on thehighroad.org but figured it should have its own post.  Someone started a thread about NDs at gun shows (smells like an anti to me, akin to the standard MSM interview wherein the conservative guest is asked, "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done?")  Here's my response:

I used to exhibit at gun shows. I always felt as safe at a gun show as anywhere else.  Much safer than some places I've been.  NDs at shows were always something you heard about, but never witnessed, kind of like Sasquatch and space aliens.

If you ever find yourself afraid for your life, running into a gun show would be a good choice if available.

If you're worried about safety, don't drive to a gun show though-- you're vastly more likely to be injured or killed during the drive to and from the gun show than while you're there.  I suspect this would be true even if 3/4 of the people at the gun show were drunk and all the people on the roads that day were sober.

On that note; I go to my kid's school football games (you know where this is going, right?) and at each and every game there is an ambulance, complete with paramedic crew, on location all during the game.

Ever seen an ambulance and crew on standby at a gun show? How about at a shooting match, where people are, you know, actually loading and firing guns?

Me neither.

Do NDs happen? Yes. Very, very rarely. Usually, they result in no injuries or serious property damage. Do people get killed falling down in their own homes?  Yes, and it is a more common occurrence.

Carry on.

The view that the right of armed self defense was a first law of nature both preceded enactment of the Constitution, and continued to prevail in the decades following its enactment. Shortly before the Revolutionary war commenced, Blackstone confirmed that every Englishman had the right of "arms for their defence," which stemmed from "the natural right of resistance and self-preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression."

Michael B. Minton
Brief of Pink Pistols and gays and lesbians for individual liberty as amici curiae in support of respondent.

I posted the other day about knife rights and mentioned that knives with blades longer than three inches were illegal in Atlanta.

Thanks to an email from Azreel I received these links: Yesterday Joshua was arrested in Atlanta for having a knife with a blade too long. The concealed pistol (with a permit) wasn't a problem. He could be trusted with that, but a knife? Nope. It's off to spend some quality time with the police for five or six hours. It turned out okay. After spending hundreds of dollars on an attorney the charges were dismissed today.

In addition to the postcard from Dave Barry I also received some other stuff today that thrilled me almost as much.

I received a couple of patches from Thirdpower. I'm going to put one on my Boomershoot coat and the other one on my cork board at work.

I received the explosives handler form Squeaky filled out a few days ago. It sure looks like we are going to have another gun nut playing with explosives next April. Cool!

Background material is here.

I returned to the Seattle area tonight and found the following postcard in my mail:

Dear Joe --

Many thanks for the toilet pieces. (I never thought I would write those words.)

Best,
Dave Barry

I wonder if I could auction off the remaining pieces on eBay...

I would have given a piece or two to Sue today if I had thought about. We were right there...

Sue showed up at my house right on time and we drove to Kendrick and had an early lunch. I think we spent more time in the restaurant that we did actually on site. But we did do some work at the restaurant where we had a nice table to look at paperwork.

We parked at the road and walked in rather than drive the government car across the hay field. I opened the place up, showed her around. She took some pictures, I explained some nuances in my record keeping to her. She said it all looked fine and we drove back to Moscow. She said she was happy to finally be able to visit the Taj Mahal it was nice to see how much I had improved things since the last time she visited (about six years ago I think).

We spent more time talking about kids, spouses, grade school teachers, people at work, her ex-husband, my old job at PNNL, and books than we did about ATF and Boomershoot stuff. She said she wants to attend Boomershoot sometime. She asked if we blew up anything interesting recently, like pumpkins maybe? She already knew about the pumpkins. It's actually in my file. They think it's fine and kind of a fun thing to talk about. I told her about blowing up the toilet this year and we did a laptop computer once. She asked how far the pieces of the toilet went. I told her we found pieces a 100 yards away but that we were a minimum of 375 yards away.

She told me that my file had a few notes in it about "concerned calls" from the ATF in the Seattle office. Apparently someone will hear about Boomershoot and the Seattle people will contact the Spokane ATF office to "check up on things". The Spokane people will have to tell them that I'm one of the good guys with a license and everything is in order and they aren't worried about me. That hasn't happened for a while and she thinks maybe they have the Seattle people educated now.

She told stories of explosive magazines built high into the side of mountains where when the snow melts in the spring things get very wet (not acceptable as per ATF regulations). And having to open up box after box of blasting caps to verify the contents because they had so many partial boxes. Another story that was interesting was about confiscating cigarettes that had not had the tax paid on them--a barn stacked FULL of them. It took two semi-trucks to haul them all away and the ATF people had to inventory and put evidence tags on everything. A real pain. My take on that is that someone was being so stupid they deserved to get caught. If you are going to get involved in the black market for a product you want to keep the minimum quantity of product on hand at any one time. There were all kinds of clues in the story that made it clear these people were just stupid. They made a LOT of money but were too stupid to hold on to it.

The only thing that was a downer was that she confirmed what I already suspected about the renewal. They don't have a special form for renewal like the Orange Book section 555.46 says. I have to fill out the original application complete with fingerprints and picture just like an original application. The only thing that is different is that I pay the $100 renewal fee instead of the $200 original application fee. She started to sort of apologize for it saying she it didn't make a lot of sense but I cut her off and said something like, "It doesn't have to make sense. It just the way it is and I have to do it. I understand and I'll comply. I'm just a little annoyed because I'm pretty sure my fingerprints haven't changed recently."

All in all it was a very pleasant drive and an enjoyable time talking. Assuming I don't goof off too long and get the renewal form back in time there will be Boomershoot 2009.

While the AAP Brief purports to defend the interests of children, in fact the gun is the best protector for the weak and vulnerable in society, as it removes any advantage held by a stronger aggressor. Victims who resist crime with a gun are only half as likely to be injured as those who put up no defense, and one fourth as likely to be injured as those resisting by other means. For centuries, the gun has been a family’s best defense against criminal attack, and the Second Amendment enshrines that essential safeguard in the Constitution. It is worth observing that "about half of all American homes contain a gun" and thus "burglars tend to avoid all occupied American homes."

Andrew L. Schlafly
February 7, 2008
Brief for amicus curiae association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. in support of Respondent.
http://www.gurapossessky.com/news/parker/documents/07-290bsacAAPS.pdf

I"ve been saying they think of us as "gun n***ers". More evidence via Ry at the Seattle Times from Times deputy business editor Rami Grunbaum:

Pawn X-Change, which expects revenues of $38 million this year, seeks to separate itself from the stereotype of the dingy and disreputable pawnshop. Power tools, guitars, TV and electronics — but no firearms — are carefully arrayed around a well-lit store staffed by cordial employees wearing company shirts.

What if the article, making the point about avoiding the dingy and disreputable sterotypes, said none of the pawnshop employees were Jews? Think about that Mr. Grunbaum.

Treat them as the bigots they are.

The Brady Campaign supports the total ban on handguns and required disassembly or trigger locks on long guns in D.C. They insist they just want reasonable restrictions on firearms. They are a moderate group.

I suppose you could make that case. Especially since others want to ban the manufacture of toy guns:

She plans to go to Sacramento and lobby the Legislature for new gun control laws, including a ban on the manufacture of toy guns.

There is no such thing as a slippery slope. Move along, nothing to see here...

Tomorrow ATF inspector Sue will show up at my house and we will go for a little ride into the country. My ATF type 20 license to manufacture high explosives is up for renewal and they need to inspect my storage facility before they renew it.

As I was going through my closet this morning I wondered what I should wear tomorrow. I considered my Boomershoot t-shirt with this image:

But that's a little tame. I wanted something a little more edgy for the occasion.

For about a half second I considered this one from JPFO (they no longer sell it so I'm saving mine for special occasions):

Elian's story can be found here and occurred during those dark days while Janet Reno (The Butcher of Waco) was still in power.

I decided that shirt was a little too over the top even for me when meeting with someone from the ATF--in particular a meeting with Sue. Sue is very nice, I had lunch with her a few years ago and then we had a nice talk as we drove out to the Boomershoot site. She was helpful with getting my explosives storage facility into compliance with the government regulations. A couple years later I saw something posted on a website that could have been a threat toward her. I sent an email to her with the link and although Sue never responded alternate sources indicated I was the first one to tell her about it and everyone took it serious enough to put extra effort into her safety.

I decided it would be very rude and completely uncalled for me to wear the above shirt.

So... what shirt to wear tomorrow. I finally decided on Celebrate Diversity:

I'll let you know how it goes after I drive back to my bunker in the Seattle area tomorrow night.

Sebastian's and Kevin's posts reminded me of an alternate history. A sample:

How would today's America be different if politician's feared citizens,rather than citizen's fearing their government?

Imagine, if you will, the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. Where individual rights meant something, and every citizen believed they had the right, nay, the duty, to stand up to any and all aggressors, foreign and domestic. You know, just like the Constitution says.

...

Government only does a few things. Doesn't take much. Most folks just pay the bill once a year. Never amounts to more than a few hundred dollars. Just as it should be. Hell, most folks get resentful at that much. Makes sense, I guess, given we founded the damn country over a tax on tea.

Since then, government on this side of the pond hasn't seen much sense in pissing off the people. Sure, some try now and then. There's always some petty jerk who thinks he can tell someone else what to do. But they never last. Sure, folks put up with them for a while, just like you do with a rash or a runny nose.

But after a little while folks get tired of the whining and crying the petty jerks make when people won't do what he figures they ought to. The petty ones get a little too uppity, and someone smacks him down. Sometimes, it takes only a little slap across the face to bring the petty jerks to their senses.

Sometimes, someone like old Carl grabs the rifle off the wall, slaps a full mag in, and says, "Time to teach these bastards a lesson."

Damn, if that doesn't work every time.

I like alternate histories. It's fun stuff. I especially like some of the stories from Harry Turtledove. But that's all fantasy stuff for recreation. When you get serious then I like what Henry Ford had to say:

I don't know much about history, and I wouldn't give a nickel for all the history in the world.  History is more or less bunk.  It is tradition.  We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinkers damn is the history we make today.

        Henry Ford

You can connect the dots for yourself.

Citing Miller for a proposition for which Miller does not stand, Petitioners make Miller falsely appear to establish a rule that it in fact does not, rendering the Second Amendment peculiar by defining "the people" to mean governmental entities. It is therefore critical that Second Amendment precedent be analyzed in a reasoned and rightful manner, and applied accordingly without any preconceptions.

Renee L. Giachino
February 11, 2008
Brief of amicus curiae Center for Individual Freedom in support of respondent in D.C. versus Heller.
[Sometime this month the Supreme Court is expected to announce it's decision in this historic case. Until that announcement the QOTD will be from various briefs in the case.--Joe]