I believe that there should be security cameras and full body scanners everywhere in public places to prevent mass shootings. The Second Amendment is not beneficial to anyone, it remains a threat to others due to people taking it into consideration of their rights to commit crimes.
Wykeina Davis
May 2018
Say Yes To Gun Control
[It’s not just guns they want removed from society. It’s the elimination of individual rights.—Joe]
The gun control crowd invariably loses its voice when a bad guy is shot while committing a crime. Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action scream loudly when they push restrictive gun laws to disarm honest citizens, but when an intended victim is able to win in a deadly confrontation, they quickly stick their heads in the sand and pretend nothing happened.
Their silence is not only deafening, it is deadly.
Alan Gottlieb
January 9, 2019
CHICAGO INCIDENT ANOTHER CASE OF GUNS SAVING LIVES, THANKS TO LAWSUITS, SAYS SAF
[I have nothing to add.–Joe]
Today started out fairly typically for me as I went to Whidbey Island for a pistol match at Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club. The weather was beautiful and I took a few pictures on the ferry and, as usual, tweeted one of them:
Beautiful day for a ferry ride to Whidbey Island for a falling plate match. pic.twitter.com/t6O6v7k92l
— Joe Huffman (@JoeHuffman) January 12, 2019
We started shooting on time and things were going fairly well for me considering nearly everyone else was shooting Open class guns and I was shooting Limited.
Then about 11:15 a plane engine could be heard louder than usual and changed tone. Perhaps it went from moderate power to full power?
I wasn’t paying much attention. I was under a shelter and couldn’t see the sky. Others, at the end of the shelter could see in the direction of the sound and looked at the sky. They announced that it went down and very shortly after that we heard the thump as the plane hit the trees in the woods.
The event director, Steve, stopped the match and someone ran off the 200 feet or so to the restaurant to use the land line. The cell service is poor to non-existent depending where you are on the range so that was probably the most reliable means of calling it in. There was another plane in the air and circled the area where the plane went down. We talked about it for a bit. What should we do? What could we do? The woods were very thick. I wasn’t even sure we could make it through the woods from our direction to the plane crash area. Surely the airport, on the other side of the woods, would be the better approach. I told the event director, “I don’t think there is much we can do.” He agreed. And we finished shooting the match.
We just finished, and hadn’t even figured out who won the match when someone in firefighter clothing showed up. He asked us to shut down the range. They couldn’t find the plane from the other direction and wanted to try from our direction. “And can some of you guys help us search?”
We immediately agreed. As we started toward the woods where the plane went down we could smell the fuel. The firefighter told us that if we found the plane we should stay away because of the fuel. We didn’t want to risk starting a fire or getting caught in a fire.
We walked at a brisk pace down the road from the falling plate range past the open pistol bays to the trail that led into the woods. There was an archery target set up about 50 yards from the end of the road at the bottom of a draw with a trail to it. The walking was easy enough to there but the trail then disappeared.
Continuing straight was light brush and easy enough. But my impression from where the other match participants had indicated the plane went down it was off to our right. No use in us all staying in a group and since we didn’t really know where it was at, spreading out was probably the best plan even if the going was rather tough. I was wearing thermal underwear, blue jeans, a t-shirt, a sweat-shirt, my Boomershoot M-65 field jacket, gloves, eye and ear protection. I was basically “armored” against the brush. It was just below my chin. I could see over it for moderate distances. Most of the other people in the group were significantly shorter than I and would not have been able to see more than a few feet had they tried to navigate through this brush. I had to push it away and step over small fallen trees and watch for holes and ditches. It was slow going.
It was probably only about 225 yards into the woods when I came out of the thick brush into relatively thin brush within about 100 feet of the plane ahead and to the right of me:
The picture below shows more context:
I yelled several times to announce that I had found it and kept my distance for a while.
There was no smell of fuel so I approached a little closer. The plane was badly mangled, upside down, and backward from the direction of flight. It had flipped after hitting the trees.
From the time the plane went down to the time I arrived at the site it was just under 30 minutes.
There were no sounds and no movement. I figured the pilot was dead or unconscious. I couldn’t tell if there was more than one person in the plane.
I took a picture and waited for the search and rescue people to arrive and take control of the scene:
The firefighter was the first to arrive after about two minutes and he radioed to others and informed them there was one person alive and one dead. I then saw the person moving their left arm occasionally. He asked me to use my cell phone to call 911 so they could get GPS coordinates to guide other rescue crew to the site. He radioed that there was no way for a helicopter to get in and to send in someone with a chain saw to cut a trail out.
A woman showed up from the west and began helping. I used my knife to cut a few cables holding the left wing to the body of the plane and then she and I moved the wing to get better access to the people in the plane.
More people showed up. Some were from the pistol match and some were wearing emergency clothing and radios:
We continued moving small trees and debris from the body of the plane and made plans to move the plane to get access to the female passenger.
When the plane was clear of debris we lifted the tail of the plane straight up. The engine of the plane was mostly broken off and the body hinged on the remaining metal that attached to the engine area. We held it directly on it’s nose while the rescue workers cut the seatbelt on both sides and pulled the woman from her seat. She moaned and cried out about her leg. They worked her free of the debris as gently as they could and moved her away from the plane to examine her as we tipped the body of the plane on over and gently set it down. Someone examined the male pilot for 30 seconds or a minute and announced, “There’s nothing.”
A man with a chainsaw arrived from the west and the original firefighter asked us to help the chainsaw guy clear a path. In part, I think he wanted us to leave so he and the other rescue people could examine the female passenger with a little more privacy. There were about 10 or 15 people onsite now and that was more than enough to help clear the path to the road to the west.
I headed back to the range to collect my gear and report to others that I was going to be later than expected for my appointments that afternoon.
As I drove away I came across two people from the match just outside the main entrance. They had walked out to the west and then down the road to the gun club. I drove another couple hundred yards and found a group of three walking down the side of the road. I offered them a ride, which they accepted and I took them back to the range and their cars.
News stories about the crash:
It’s time to take my life into my own hands, forget about all of the anti-gun rhetoric that I hear bandied about by those who exploit tragedy for their own political purposes, and make 2019 the year that I stop expecting others to look out for me.
Christine M. Flowers
January 10, 2019
Why I’m ready to buy a gun | Christine Flowers
[Changing the culture one new gun owner at a time.—Joe]
Get Ready for a Financial Assault on the Second Amendment:
California Democrat Maxine Waters is the new chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. To judge from the party’s past behavior and the various proposals emanating from the left, Waters’s Democrats are going to pressure banks, credit unions, and payment companies to severely curtail and even terminate their relationships with firearm manufacturers, licensed gun retailers, and law-abiding citizens exercising their right to purchase and own firearms. In other words, they will use political pressure to force private institutions into creating social policy that threatens constitutional rights.
I’m a little skeptical. If they thought they could get the legislation through, sure. But just through “political pressure” without the support of the Whitehouse seems like a stretch. Still, it might be worthwhile to consider moving your accounts to a friendly bank or credit union if some banks bow to “political pressure”.
In identity politics, loyalty to race, ethnic group and gender often trump the claims of party. The diversity Democrats celebrate is one day going to pull their party apart, as the social, cultural and racial revolutions of the 1960s pulled apart the party of FDR and LBJ.
Patrick J. Buchanan
December 28, 2019
2020: Year of the Democrats? Maybe Not
[Via email from a reader.
It’s something to think about and act upon when the opportunities become available. The reader also suggested some possibilities to help with the conflict:
The best defense is a good offense.—Joe]
Via Jacob Parajecki @Jacob_Parajecki:
The text is in error. It’s a rare cartoonist which makes laws. And there is no :allowing” required for a cartoonist to make a fool of themselves.
However, I would agree that those who make this gross of mistake regarding their subject matter should be shamed and then ignored.
Since joining the Court in 1993, Ginsburg has, in case after case, proven herself to be a reliable champion for the liberal side. When the Court declared the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program for undergraduate admissions unconstitutional in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), Ginsburg accused the majority of turning a blind eye toward “the stain of generations of racial oppression [that] is still visible in our society.” When the Court came within one vote of declaring the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), Ginsburg denounced the “stunningly retrogressive” idea that Congress might lack the lawful power to force individuals to buy health insurance.
Damon Root
January 5, 2019
The Case of the Notorious RBG
Examining the life and legend of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
[Barb and I recently watched both of the recent movies about Ginsburg (RGB and On the Basis of Sex). Assuming the movies are mostly true, she did some really good work knocking down numerous sexual discrimination laws. We really enjoyed them. And gun rights advocates can learn from her strategies—pick your battles, clients, and venues carefully.
What the movies didn’t even hint at was some of the Constitutional warping, and mutilating, decisions she participated in. See the source for the quote above for more on that.
In somewhat related news:
Ginsburg misses third consecutive day at Supreme Court
Her absence Monday marked the first time in more than 25 years on the court that she missed an oral argument due to her health.
Perhaps she will consider retiring. She has earned the rest.—Joe]
There is no infringement in keeping track of your guns, registering them, transferring title, spot raids by ATF to make sure you don’t mistakenly sell them without reporting, or lose them. No infringement on responsible owners.
BigWallSection @peter_and_louie
Tweeted on January 7th, 2019, deleted by January 8th, 2019.
[This is what they think of, and occasionally share in an unguarded moment, the right to keep and bear arms.
I wonder if cell phones were treated as such (for all intents and purposes a modern day “printing press” and all around “free speech” tool) he would still adhere to this opinion.—Joe]
As I reported the other day:
I have lots of one fired brass but I knew that brass wouldn’t chamber in any some other rifles even though I was using a full length resizing die. I got my hands on a .300 Win Mag rifle that had problems chambering it. Then with a few rounds of empty, once-fired, brass, my micrometer, and the specs for the brass I sorted out the problem. I found the case just forward of the belt was one to two thousands of an inch larger in diameter than spec. I think the die is the problem so I ordered a new resizing die from a different manufacture and which I expect will fix the problem.
The new die arrived yesterday. It does fix the problem, but just barely. The specification for the case dimension in question is 0.513 inches. The once fired cases were 0.514” –> 0.515”. After going through the new die they are about 0.5135. The brass chambers, but it is tight. I ordering still another die.
Update: I looked up the SAAMI specs on the cartridge and chamber rather than what the reloading manuals tell me.
The portion in question of the case is specified as 0.5126”. The chamber is specified as 0.5136”. I suspect the rifle in question is at exactly the minimum specification while the dies, combined with the “spring-back” of the brass being used results in something oversized. I ordered an RCBS undersized die which should solve the problem.
Update 2: Thanks to an email from Bob B. I ordered what looks like a better solution. The Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die. I canceled the order for the RCBS undersized die.
If you need some damn leader to follow or loathe, please look for a new hobby and/or a better religion: this is the United States and our “leaders” are supposed to be doing the legislative and executive grunt work or making sure the streets run on time and the criminals are kept on the run, not to mention avoiding foreign entanglements and providing for the common defense. They’re not supposed to be shining examples on a hill in the sunlight whom you should aspire to emulate. Most of them are lawyers who weren’t all that good at practicing law and thought writing laws might be easier; the evidence suggests they don’t have much knack for that, either.
Roberta X
January 7, 2019
Populism And The Cult Of Victimhood
[Articulating it perhaps a bit more succinctly, I think of them as “public servants.”
Whether you thing of them as “leaders” or public servants completely changes how you think about their role in society.—Joe]
What is clear is the danger of groups and people who advocate Trask’s position. Trask clarified WAGR’s goals. “This is the first part of our comprehensive gun violence prevention initiative that’s going to make major changes in Washington State’s law and do some big reforms [emphasis mine].”
Okay, now I’ll agree with Trask. His and WAGR’s positions are quite clear: Infringe on Washingtonians’ gun rights in any way possible until you can find a way to completely usurp American’s gun rights.
Steve Pomper
January 4, 2019
Gun Store Owner ‘Resists’ State’s New Gun Law
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Long timers around here and people that explore the sidebar already know that I have a weather station and webcam at the Boomershoot shooting line. I visit it frequently and sometimes see interesting things. And sometimes the view is just very cool. Just a few minutes ago was one of those times:
Click on the image for the full effect.
Gun control now has a new precedent: The agenda of the president is more important than due process and the Constitution.
Daniel Gannon
January 4, 2019
Gun rights eroding. You were warned.
[This has been true for, probably, 200+ years. Still, it’s good to have it clearly articulated.—Joe]
Police in Vermont say they can’t conduct mandated background checks required by a new law on private gun sales. The Department of Public Safety last month told lawmakers they are not allowed to access the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System used to vet gun transfers by licensed firearm dealers.
Signed by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott last year among a spate of gun control laws, Act 94 requires virtually all gun transfers, including those between private parties, to first clear a background check. The problem is that Vermont is one of 36 states and territories that do not have a “point of contact” access to NICS, forcing them to rely on the FBI for all firearm background checks performed in the state. While federal firearms license holders can run their checks through the system, the state cannot.
This also happened in Nevada too.
Some of these people pride themselves on their ignorance of guns and gun laws but you would think after one major blunder they would cure their ignorance. One has to conclude they are stupid. I suspect the problem is that as people capable of remedying their ignorance do so they have a high probability of changing sides.
This doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. But it does mean it is a weakness that may be vulnerable to attack.
Technology is advancing extremely rapidly. More and more jobs can be done by automation. This should come as no surprise:
Male sex robots with unstoppable bionic penises are coming this year
David Levy, author of Love and Sex With Robots, says, ‘I’m sure women will find robots equally appealing as men. ‘If women are that interested in getting satisfaction from a vibrator, imagine how the same women will feel having a robot they can put their arms round them and having the robot squeeze them.’
The date of that article was a year ago. The male sex robots are now available.
Of course, this same company has been making female sex robots for quite some time now.
I wonder how realistic it will be when one of the male robots is with one of the female robots. Will it be against the law if someone put them in a public park and let them do their thing?
We live in interesting times.
We look at the gun-free zones as laughable for criminals because for them, it’s a killing field. They can go and do their dastardly deeds – if you would – without fear of somebody being there to stop them.
Budd Schroeder
January 4, 2019
Niagara County DA says she will not prosecute SAFE Act provision
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Prosecutors told the judge that Burke, who has publicly opposed the National Rifle Association and proposed multiple gun-control ordinances over the years, had 23 guns at his offices alone.
Associated Press
January 3, 2018
Powerful Chicago council member charged in federal probe
[You probably will have to put some special effort into finding where it says which political party Alderman Ed Burke belongs to. But you can take an educated guess and almost for certain get it right in about 100 milliseconds.—Joe]
An impasse over the federal budget reaches a stalemate. The president and Congress both refuse to back down, triggering a near-total government shutdown. The president declares emergency powers. Congress rescinds his authority. Dollar and bond prices plummet. The president threatens to stop Social Security checks. Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. Default looms. Wall Street panics.
William Strauss and Neil Howe
1997
The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy
[See also: 2019 FROM A FOURTH TURNING PERSPECTIVE.
Via email from Chet.
Extremely “interesting times” ahead—if the prophecy is correct.—Joe]
Our challenge of the California Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA), if the high court accepts it for review, could be a critical wake-up call to lower federal courts that continue to employ what they call an ‘interest-balancing approach’ to deciding gun control cases because that strategy is forbidden by the 2008 Heller decision. It is time to bring a halt to what is essentially a revolt by the lower courts against the landmark Heller opinion, and the Pena case could provide that vehicle.
Alan M. Gottlieb
SAF founder and Executive Vice President
December 2018
SAF SEEKS SUPREME COURT REVIEW IN CHALLENGE OF CALIF. HANDGUN STATUTE
[One of the key things at issue in this lawsuit is that microstamping cannot be practically implemented yet California insists that all new gun designs incorporate it. This results in a ban on the sale of new gun designs. And as older guns cease to be manufactured this will result in no new guns being legally offered for sale in California.
This would appear to me to be a good starting point to build precedence for a strong Second Amendment.
See also: Order that gun makers do impossible en route to Supremes.—Joe]
