Category Archives: Gun Rights

A new survey

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Thanks to Tony for the email.

I’m glad this survey was done with private money rather than taxpayer money. The results are just as one would expect:

The only nit I have to pick with this poll is that it is “Sarah Brady” not “Sara Brady”. But I’m not in any position to criticize someone for their typos or spelling errors.

Update: Tony, being the consciences researcher that he is updated the image. If only the Brady Campaign and others of their ilk were so quick to correct their errors we wouldn’t have to do it for them.

What were they thinking?

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I thought everyone knew that self-defense was illegal in the U.K.

They should know they would get complaints if they came out with a product like this:

Gun control groups have condemned a new bullet-proof “hoody” which claims to protect against all bullets except those fired by high-velocity rifles.

Bladerunner, the London company which sells the £300 Defender hoodie, says it is responding to demand from undercover police officers and concerned parents.

Raymond Stevenson, a spokesman for Don’t Trigger, an international antigun campaign based in Brixton, London, said: “It’s not helping kids to provide them with bullet-proof armoury. and will encourage more aggressive behaviour.”

It’s no wonder they don’t understand

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Ignore all the errors, the deceptive use of numbers, and the emotional appeals. There is one sentence that explains why they just don’t get it:

America is a nation that pays a heavy price for permitting its citizens to be armed.

Our constitution does not permit its citizens to be armed.

Yup. You read that right. And that is not an late April fools joke either.

Until they understand and adhere to this fundamental point they will never understand or leave us alone. The reality is that the people had the right to be armed before the Constitution existed and the people retained, explicitly through the 2nd and 10th Amendments those rights afterward. The U.S. Constitution permitted, through Article I, Section 8, Clauses 15 and 16, the government to be armed.

Dancing with gun laws

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Robert Novak tells us of the tap dance Obama is doing with gun rights. I learned a couple things. I didn’t know that he taught constitutional law for 10 years. And I didn’t know this:

Obama’s dance on gun rights is part of his evolution from a radical young state legislator a few years ago. He was recorded in a 1996 questionnaire as advocating a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns (a position since disavowed). He was on the board of the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, which takes an aggressive gun control position, and in 2000 considered becoming its full-time president. In 2006, he voted with an 84 to 16 majority (and against Clinton) to prohibit confiscation of firearms during an emergency, but that is his only pro-gun vote in Springfield or Washington.

He was on the board of the Joyce Foundation and considered becoming its full-time president? And now he wants to be the President of the United States?

That’s far worse than the fox guarding the hen house, giving an alcoholic the keys to the liquor store, or giving teenagers whiskey and the keys to a sports car. It is every bit as bad as giving a Democrat politician taxpayer money and power.

Snuffy is at it again

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Now he has published a list:

In May of 2007, Rev. Michael Pfleger, Pastor of Chicago’s St. Sabina’s Catholic Church, shocked the nation when he called for the “snuffing” of legislators who vote against gun control bills.

Late last week, Pfleger raised the bar on this issue by publishing a list of members of the Illinois General Assembly who oppose his extremist position on gun control.  In light of his May 2007 diatribe, it must be presumed that the list identifies those legislators that Pfleger wants his followers to “snuff.”

[…]

“It’ll be interesting to see how brave Pfleger is when he has to come face to face with the lawmakers he’s marked for murder,” said Pearson.

Indeed.

Quote of the day–John K. Nolan

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As Illinois is one of the last two states to prohibit the carrying of concealed guns, it should be the first to proudly enact the law prohibiting the ownership and carrying of concealed knives.

Knife owners who are allowed to own them, must be required to carry KOID (Knife Owner Identification) licenses. To ensure knives are being sold to responsible owners, there should be a five-day waiting period for background checks.

Knife owners must attend mandatory knife training classes to ensure the proper use of knives and understand the potential harm caused by the unknowledgeable knife owner.

When transporting knives, owners must secure them in a secure case in the vehicle’s trunk.

John K. Nolan
April 5, 2008
A cutting satire on gun control
[It’s pretty good satire. It’s not up to the VPC Blog level. But it’s not bad. Of course the above fairly accurately describes the current situation in the U.K. so the satire aspect will probably be missed by some.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Charlton Heston

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It is evil, and we must defeat it.

Charlton Heston
1997
This quote was used in the “No on I-676” campaign. Initiative 676 was a gun registration and mandated training scheme.
[Heston died yesterday.

Yes, he was an actor but I don’t pay much attention to actors. What I remember him for was his contribution to the rights of gun owners.

During the “No on I-676” campaign Heston and others from the NRA showed up and gave speeches all around the state. The Citizen Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms invested a lot of time and money into as well. And of course I and thousands of other gun owners in Washington state spent a lot of time and money working on this. We ended up sending it down in flames (71%-29%) and Heston probably did as much or more than almost anyone else to make that happen. It was such an overwhelming defeat the anti-gun bigots in Washington state (Washington Ceasefire) has not tried an initiative since then and even the legislature has been somewhat timid on guns since then.

I didn’t meet Heston. I did meet and talked to Tanya Metaksa for quite a while on election night. I was probably in Idaho the weekend when Heston did his thing in the Seattle area. But I did buy the t-shirt (see below).–Joe]

Quote of the day–Mike of Gun Guys

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We believe that this domestic violence prevention strategy “should” be implemented. However, we recognize that it would be difficult to implement all these measures due to the clout of the gun lobby and subsequent lack of political will and resources.

In lieu of this, GunGuys.com has considered launching a new “cultural change” campaign with a simple message to young women:

“I Don’t Date Boys Who Own Guns.”

Mike of Gun Guys
With So Many Men Owning Guns, Domestic Violence Is Difficult to Prevent for Justice System
April 4, 2008
[I wonder if he has also considered a campaign with these simple messages to young women “I Don’t Date Black (Jewish/Italian/Chinese/whatever) Boys”. It would be entirely consistent if he did. One form of bigotry is just as valid as any other.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Gwen

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The idea that the only way we think we can make a safer, better society is for everyone to carry a gun is incredibly sad. It’s also individualistic–the answer to racism, rape, and gay bashing is to carry a gun, not have any form of social organizing.

Gwen
January 10, 2008 10:48 PM
Comment in Equal Opportunity Gun Ownership
[This is very revealing of their mindset. Apparently “social organizing” makes individual responsibility obsolete and justifiably deprives all individuals of the right to defend their lives. The collective is to defend the members it deems worthy of defensive. And of course we know how that works out. The “leaders” get their armed guards and the ordinary individual gets a dysfunctional and corrupt police system. The issues is that in the U.S. the elected officials are supposed to be “public servants” not “leaders”. When the government successfully claims a monopoly on the use of force they have dropped all pretense of being “public servants” or “leaders” and have declared themselves to be “rulers”.

Although Gwen didn’t make the blog post she was commenting on she is a co-editor of the blog.

As Kevin pointed out “everyone” is blogging about this post and the comments. It was the source of my own QOTD yesterday.–Joe]

Quote of the day–maineshark

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Gun control serves violence, oppression, genocide, and other evil purposes. Opposing it serves peace, freedom, human dignity, and the triumph of intellect over brute force. Choose your side. Do you want the side that was supported by the KKK, racists, Nazis, rapists, gay-bashers, and other scum, or do you want the side that is supported by fine folks like the brave Jews who fought back against the Nazis, and men of peace like Ghandi?

The choice is yours, and history will remember you by it…

maineshark
April 3, 2008 5:37 AM
Comment in Equal Opportunity Gun Ownership
[H/T to Tam and Uncle. I’ll probably use another comment from that same post as my QOTD tomorrow.–Joe]

Quote of the day–Sally Ack-Ack

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We’ve been waiting for this one a long time. The steps have been slow and incremental, but now, thanks to this judicious and far-sighted law, we can finally take full advantage of the Second Amendment rights guaranteed us under the United States Constitution. No longer will we have to become a convenience store owner or an elementary school teacher just to get our mitts on some of this tasty ordnance.

Sally Ack-Ack
Spokesman for the NWMDA (National Weapons of Mass Destruction Association, formerly known as the NRA).
October 9, 2021
Tactical Nuclear Weapons Approved for American Consumers
[I suspected “Sally Ack-Ack” was actually an alias for Ashley Varner at the NRA working on plans for a post Heller world. I sent an email and got a response that neither confirmed or denied:

Hey, at least they finally got the quote right! It’s “guaranteed by the Constitution,” NOT GRANTED!

Cool! Just wait until I upgrade Boomershoot to the new ordnance.–Joe]

The VPC Blog linked to me!

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I’ve made the big time.

If you mouse over the link to me it even says, “He blows stuff up.”

Free entry to Boomershoot to whoever is writing this great blog.

Class III firearms in Kansas

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Via a tip from the Apex of the Triangle of Death I discovered Kansas is considering allowing private citizens to possess suppressors, machine guns, and short barreled shotguns again. Here are some articles on it:

Here is the existing law. Here is the House bill that quietly repeals it. Here is the Senate Bill with which it must be reconciled.

The Kansas House approved this bill by a vote of 105-18!

And speaking of pack animals and conforming with the herd, this is from another news story on the Kansas class III issue:

The House gave final approval to a bill allowing dealers, manufacturers and private citizens to own machine guns, which would bring Kansas in line with all but a handful of states.

“I don’t pass judgment on why people want to own anything — Mercedeses, mink coats, diamond rings, fully automatic weapons,” said Rep. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, a sponsor of the measure.

The emphasis is mine.

Can you be counted upon to support the NRA?

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Sign up here.

Humans are pack animals

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The observation that most humans are “pack animals” and conformists leads me to conclude that in addition to having the obvious detrimental effects of forcing conformity to harmful and even dangerous beliefs there are ways this human characteristic can be exploited to the advantage of freedom loving people. In essence we need to align the pack norms with our principles rather than let the anti-freedom movement align them for us.

I haven’t read it, but I suspect Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes would be very insightful. In the absence of my doing the proper research here are my speculations on the gun issue and how we might take advantage of this human characteristic:

  • The more gun owners “come out of the closet” the more difficult it is for the anti-gun bigots to herd the pack in the desired direction.
  • The more times you take a new shooter to the range the less people there will be who accept the implied characterization by the bigots of all gun owners as actual or imminent criminals.
  • Every time you speak up when someone else is denigrating gun ownership you make it more difficult for others to agree with the anti-gun position.
  • Every time a piece of pro-gun legislation is introduced and/or passed it makes it harder for the anti-gun forces to introduce their legislation even if it is mostly unrelated to the pro-gun law. Hence getting a state preemption law passed (YEAH Mike!) helps prevent “assault weapon” legislation from getting a toehold. Another example would be a law requiring the ownership of firearms in one city throws into question a proposal in another state or city to limit gun ownership.
  • Every court ruling that says gun ownership, no matter how narrowly defined and incremental from the existing group think, is a right protected by the constitution it makes it harder for the bigots to get critical mass for restricting some other aspect of gun ownership.

We need to create a “pack” where gun ownership and freedom is the predominant viewpoint. When the forces of anti-gun bigotry and socialism are viewed with justified contempt the forces of freedom can then advance and turn back the terrible cloud hanging over our country and the world.

When Prophecy Fails also gives us insight and ideas for breaking people out of the pack. 

Are there any pro-freedom psychologists and sociologists out there that can contribute more on this topic?

Easier said than done

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I really like what Ronnie Barrett has to say here:

Be aware there are more companies that will respect this position. If Hawaii or any state bans the sale of the .50-caliber rifle, we will immediately stop the sale and service of all Barrett products to that state’s government agencies. We will also welcome all small arms manufacturers to take the same action.

He already stopped sales to California as did STI.

I did a similar thing with my restrictions on Modern Ballistics. But I have no way to enforce this when the downloads are free and essentially anonymous. Plus I have only received a couple hundred dollars for all the hundreds of downloads and usage of the product over the years. Any income I lose from adhering to my principles is measured in pennies.

While I greatly admire and encourage the Barrett and STI actions it is not my pocket book that suffers from this. I know other manufactures that simply cannot afford to refuse sales to California because of the volume of business they would lose.

Send the teachers to the reeducation camps

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Via an email from Kirby I get this link and story:

LARP fans at Bowling Green State University may have to contend with a crippled game of Zombies vs. Humans after the University banned Nerf guns on campus.

Nerf guns are banned???

I started poking around the University website to try and figure out what sort of place this is. I found this scary:

Established in 1910 to educate teachers, BGSU is the 14th largest producer of teachers in the country

They pride themselves on producing teachers and they think 18 year olds should not be allowed to have Nerf guns? I think some teachers of teachers need to be taught something. Perhaps some time at a reeducation camp would help. I suggest they start with the U.S. Consitution and the basics of a free society.

Bigot in Boise

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Sebastian alerts us to this bigot. Comments are open and appropriate measures have been taken.

Tom Mangan in the news again

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H/T to Uncle.

Mangan is reading the Brady script to CNN this time (previous posts about Mangan):

ATF special agent Tom Mangan says the .50-caliber rifle has become one of the “guns of choice” for the drug cartels. The weapon fires palm-sized .50-caliber rounds that can cut through just about anything.

Mangan showed CNN the power of the rifle on a gun range near Phoenix, Arizona. The weapon, a Barrett, was seized in an ATF raid. A round fired from 100 yards away tore through a car door and both sides of a bulletproof vest like those used by Mexican police.

“There’s nothing that’s going to stop this round,” Mangan says.

The rifle was intercepted as it was being smuggled into Mexico. Mangan says investigators believe four others already had passed through the border.

Watch the video to see and hear the emotional appeal these bigots invoke. What they don’t seem to realize is all this is caused by the banning of recreational drugs. In other words, governments cause crime.

Into the bit bucket

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Every once in a while I try posting a comment to Bryan Miller’s blog. About two thirds of the time the comment does not appear. The following are my last two failed attempts.

This was in response to The Supremes and the 2nd Amendment:

It’s also very instructive the Bryan does not answer any questions or engage the people that comment here. He merely makes his pronouncements and ignores the refutations of his claims. If he were to engage what I have found most useful in dealing with his type is to insist they answer Just One Question: “Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?” I’ve been pushing this question for years without anyone being able to give a coherent answer they have been able to defend.

This was in response to Pennsylvania’s murderous burden on New Jersey:

Or maybe the criminologist and sociologists who study criminals. Claims that restrictions on firearms make people safer are without a factual basis. If they did you would expect to see some benefit from Washington D.C.’s ban. But you don’t. Even broader studies of less severe restrictions have been unable to find benefits.

So with so many “experiments” done with firearms restrictions with, at best, nothing to show for it in terms of public safety, what is your real reason for advocating such restrictions?

JadeGold, I’m not rotund, don’t own a LaZBoy or similar type chair, haven’t had a CheetoTM in months, and have never seen Red Dawn. Perhaps you were engaging in some projection.

The JadeGold comment I was responding to appears to have been deleted.

Update: The first comment above did ultimately appear. I had refreshed the page several times without seeing but I went back after seeing the comment from Rob (below) and it now shows up. Also, I updated my comment to make it coherent. [blush]