Banning certain types of firearms steps on the Second Amendment. Law abiding gun owners routinely use these firearms for self-defense or sporting. Such an unconstitutional act cannot stand.
Patrick Morrisey
West Virginia attorney general
August 29, 2017
Attorneys General From 21 States Ask Supreme Court to Hear Suit Against Maryland’s Assault Weapons Ban
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Today, in addition to the Dot Torture Target, I shot the F.A.S.T. (Fundamentals, Accuracy, & Speed Test) target:
The individual shot times, in seconds, are:
Total: 6.83 seconds.
That’s just barely in the “Advanced” ranking and a long way from “Expert”.
I shot about four or five practice targets before I got one where everything was working reasonably well. The slide lock reload is really painful. In action shooting I try to always plan my reloads so I never go into slide lock and frequently reload with half full magazines in the gun when I’m on the move between shooting positions just to make sure I avoid the slide lock. The reload time shows my lack of practice. I always hesitated as I started to engage the target again before I racked the slide. I think I can do better on the first shot too. I can see shaving 0.50 off my time without too much effort, but getting to “Expert” may be beyond what I can accomplish.
Today I shot the Dot Torture target at five yards again:
Last time I missed two. This time I missed one. It’s better, but I know I can shoot it clean if I don’t rush it quite so much.
If they don’t want you to know about it, if they don’t want you to own it, you probably should.
Brien Lundin
August 14, 2017
If They Don’t Want You To Own It, You Probably Should
[Lundin was talking about gold, but my first thought was more along the lines of explosives, guns, and ammo.—Joe]
There is little comfort—and there ought to be little comfort—in being told that your own death is worth the benefits that accrue to other people. In the sixth century, the Emperor Justinian presided over the compilation of the Digest of Roman Law, a core precept of which was, “that which someone does for the safety of his body, let it be regarded as having been done legally.” This notion was echoed by a host of British philosophers and legal scholars of the 17th and 18th centuries. In his Treatise, John Locke cast self-defense as a “part of the law of nature,” and insisted that it must not be “denied the community, even against the king himself.” William Blackstone concurred, holding that the right to protect one’s life and person was “justly called the primary law of nature” and cannot be “taken away by the law of society.” In most cases, Blackstone submitted, the courts were sufficient to resolve disputes between citizens. In the case of physical violence, however, he argued that it was tyrannical to deprive a man of the means “immediately to oppose one violence with another.”
Charles C.W. Cooke
August 9, 2017
Brits Vs. Guns
[I am of the opinion that a society which does not recognize the right of self-defense is in the process of committing suicide. They are mentally ill and a threat to themselves and others.—Joe]
In Bellingham Washington yesterday:
I keep waiting and wondering what the Federal government is going to do about the enforcement of the Federal laws against marijuana. And I wonder how that resolution will be reconciled with the states which have passed Firearms Freedom Acts.
These are two “elephants in the room” which the politicians appear unable to see.
If we are unlucky, we won’t see meaningful change and this existential crisis will drive us into authoritarianism. The form of this authoritarianism depends on which network wins. If the bad boy network dominates, we could see a dictator like Putin (or much worse) climb the ladder of chaos by scapegoating and purging enemies of the state. If the mean girl network gains control, we could see intersectional identity (all identities are in a perpetual struggle for dominance akin to Communist class warfare) mutate into an ideology that violently purges groups of people who become obstacles to progress. In their extreme forms, both of these outcomes could create big piles of bodies.
John Robb
August 23, 2017
American Politics: Bad Boys vs. Mean Girls
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Each month when I write about our right to keep and bear arms, it’s difficult to predict what the state of play will look like by the time this article hits your mailbox. This is especially so when it comes to the dizzying array of fake news from an opposition that is not only increasingly desperate but also increasingly detached from reality.
This time, however, The Washington Post made it easy. In July, the Post published a story that is so ridiculous, so outlandish in its shading of the truth, that it may very well take its place alongside Rolling Stone’s timelessly ludicrous “expose” on America’s five most dangerous guns (i.e., pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and derringers). The story ran under the headline: “Gun-control advocates pushed back a tough year at the state level, and they’ll take the win.” The basic premise of the Post article is that gun control is “winning” because it’s not losing as badly as it conceivably could.
That’s right. According to The Washington Post—maybe America’s second-most prominent nationwide newspaper—“gun control” is “winning” at the state level in 2017.
…
The Post article glosses over the fact that the ratio of pro to anti-gun bills actually signed into law at press time was 20:1. Only in the modern era of fake news running amok would that ratio result in the clear loser proclaiming victory and the media reporting it as true.
Chris Cox
August 25, 2017
Gun Control Advocates, Cheered on by the Media, Claim Victory in Losing
[This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. We’ve know for a long time anti-gun people can’t even do numbers, let alone arithmetic.—Joe]
Last week Say Uncle linked to the Dot Torture target. Paul Koning sent me an email about it too, so I printed out a few and tried it today at five yards:
It’s tough. Those are 2” circles. I can usually do a 1.5” six shot group at 10 yards. But that is a group size, not putting them inside a 1.5” circle. And that is six shots, not 50 shots. Just going from six shots to 50, with the same base accuracy, bumps my group size from 1.5” to 2.57” (Modern Ballistics will tell you this if you speak to it nicely). Then you have to make sure you are centered exactly in the circle.
I adjusted my sights after shooting the #1 dot which helped. I still dropped two.
I think I can clean it at five yards. I’ll try again when I’m not intent on working on shooting faster.
I’ve written about Interflon Fin Super before and use it on all my guns. It is available from Amazon again.
Firearms made possible the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Charles Cobb’s excellent book, “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible” describes how pacifist community organizers from the North learned to accept the armed protection of their black, rural communities.
The Deacons for Defense and Justice was an armed community defense organization, founded in 1965. With .38 Special revolvers and M1 carbines, they deterred terrorism in the “Klan country” region of Louisiana and Mississippi. When Dr. King led the “Meredith March against Fear” for voter registration in Mississippi, the Deacons provided armed security.
David Kopel and Joseph Greenle
August 22, 2017
The racist origin of gun control laws
[See also The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement and Negros with Guns. These books should be required reading in high schools.—Joe]
I believe it is no longer hyperbole to say the United States may very well be on the road to a Second Civil War. This time it won’t be North vs. South, but Left vs. Right, Marxism vs. American Nationalism, Lunacy vs. Sanity, Tyranny vs. Liberty.
…
Sadly, there will be more violence, more vandalism and more bloodshed on both sides. There will be more confrontations for one reason and one reason only, the left wants it.
The left wants a Civil War. They very well may get it.
Ray Starman
August 15, 2017
The Left is Marching the Nation Towards Civil War
[While I’m about 90% certain they want a civil war I’m not convinced they will get it.
The pattern I see follows that of Germany in the 1930’s. The Nazi party gained political power legally until it almost had control. Then as its grasp on power started to fade it dramatically stepped up the violence and seized power. Had the government been better about stopping the street thugs the Nazi’s would not have been able to up the violence and seize power.
There have been many recent cases, including Portland, Berkley, and Charlottesville where the police did essentially nothing. This only encourages the political left. If the police in this country do there jobs and the thugs end up in jail, seriously injured, or dead the violence will decrease and we will avoid a civil war.
The police have been militarizing for decades now. It’s time for them to use some of that equipment and training and prevent another civil war. It is far better to risk injuring and/or killing a few hundred thugs now than to go through a civil war in the following years.—Joe]
It’s now got a name: Trump Sleep, the opposite of what President Trump’s election has done to former political liberals: Trump Psychosis. The left is literally sawing holes in reality, inventing collusions where they don’t exist, setting things on fire, displaying an inability to let go of past events…too many are literally losing their grip on reality, and acting out.
On the right we are seeing almost the opposite. Instead of forging ahead with all deliberate speed, and accomplishing what’s possible, with such a tantalizing array of low-hanging fruit, former conservatives are withstanding outrageous assaults and refusing to fight back, file charges, sue, damn the torpedoes, forge ahead and enact legislation. It’s a deadly combination for survival of the nation, let alone preservation of firearms ownership.
JPFO Bill of Rights Sentinel
Vol 1, No 9, page 2
July 2017
Trump Psychosis vs. Trump Sleep Now is NOT the Time for Gunowners to RELAX!
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]
Volunteers are person that are handling, using the explosives in helping you but you do not pay them. It is still your responsibility to make sure you are not using someone who is a prohibitive person. so to answer your question, if you do not pay them, they are not to be listed as possessors.
Terry L.
Legal Instruments Examiner
BATF&E – FELC
Via email, August 21, 2017
[What this means is that my unpaid staff at Boomershoot does not need to go through the hassle of filling out ATF paperwork.
I’m not sure who this change in understanding helps the most.
I saw some part of the paperwork, yes, literally paper, on their side each time I added a person to help with the Boomershoot reactive targets and that person and/or I doesn’t keep up their paperwork in a timely manner.
This changes some things beyond the obvious.—Joe]
From the Lincoln County Idaho Sheriff’s Office:
A few things to keep in mind if you’re visiting our area for the Eclipse.
With the Solar Eclipse almost upon us, I have seen many helpful posts and public service announcements, but I feel they fall short in several areas. I will try to cover some of those.
1. Idaho has a huge amount of public land open to exploring and enjoying, but it isn’t a garbage dump. Take out what you take in. We live here 365 days a year. The public land is our back yard. We hunt, fish, trap, and camp there and will take it as a personal insult if you screw it up.
2. With that being said, not all land is public. There is a lot of private land including ranches and farms that have been in the family for over a hundred years. If there is a No Trespassing sign at a gate or road that means you. Stay out or some gentleman wearing a cowboy hat, wearing irrigating boots, and riding a four-wheeler will let you hear it.
3. We drive trucks, tractors, combines, and swathers on the highway going about our business. They go pretty slow and won’t move faster if you sit behind us and honk. In fact, they actually go a bit slower. We live here. You don’t. Be patient and enjoy the scenery.
4. There is a very good chance you will see someone carrying a firearm. Yes, it is loaded and no I don’t have a damn permit for it. Everybody, and I mean everybody, owns a gun in Idaho and a lot of us carry one quite regularly. Don’t panic. Don’t call the police. And above all, behave and treat us and our state with respect and there won’t be a problem.
5. Our dogs. Our dogs ride in the back of our trucks and they like it. Sure a few slow learners take a tumble every once in a while, but for the most part they do just fine. Don’t pet them while they are in the truck. They will bite you. Numerous times if possible. The truck is their’s not your’s and they take their security duties seriously. Again, don’t panic and don’t call the police because they don’t give a damn and they are probably going to be busy saving some tourist who received incorrect map directions from their Tom-Tom.
6. Our wildlife will kill you and it will hurt the whole time you are dying. Elk, moose, bison, and grizzly bears take great pleasure in playing hacky sack with tourists that get too close. They are wild animals and are not trained circus acts. If you must harass our wildlife, may I suggest you go catch a badger. They are really good cuddlers.
7. Our weather will kill you and yes it will hurt the whole time. It snows here every month of the year. Our back roads become death traps when it rains or snows. Your Prius isn’t an offroad vehicle, so stay on the pavement. Don’t make our brave and skilled First Responders have to go looking for you when you go exploring.
Welcome to Idaho….enjoy the Eclipse and have a safe journey home.
Sheriff Rene Rodriguez
It’s funny because it’s (almost all) true.
We’re done arguing about gun safety – and we’re going to fight for the common-sense reforms the overwhelming majority of Americans want.
Elizabeth Warren
U.S. Senator
August 12, 2017
Read the massive speech Elizabeth Warren gave ripping moderate Democrats at Netroots Nation
[We’ve been done arguing for years. I’ve been voting, training new shooters, buying guns and ammo, getting training, practicing, and competing. Your move Senator.—Joe]
It’s long past time we renew the assault weapons ban in this country. It is in the best interest of keeping all of us safe.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris
Tweeted on August 10, 2017
[Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]
The left is agitating for a fight. They don’t care how bad it gets. Keep poking the bear long enough and you will get a fight. They want the fight to serve as the catalyst for the destruction of all civil rights expressed in the Constitution, and granted by God under Natural Law. Sickening how ignorant they are, mere “useful idiots”. They will be the ones screaming the loudest about their “rights”when they are being walked out to the execution wall.
Wil Radford
August 17, 2017
Comment to NJ Dems Have 20 Gun Control Bills Lined Up If Murphy Becomes Governor
[The USSR, Italy, Germany, China, and Cambodia all come to mind. When the “intellectuals” who pushed for the political change realized things weren’t turning out as they planned and started complaining the tyrants in power sent them to the gulags, firing squads, camps, and killing fields. This was because these people had some level of influence and hence were a threat to the tyrant’s power.
Those that advocate for the elimination of individual rights believe the conditions they bring about will only be hostile to their political foes and are often surprised when those very conditions they imagined are imposed upon them.
The proper role of government is to protect human rights. The further it strays from that domain the higher the risk of enabling extreme evil.
Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.—Joe]
From Justin J. Lehmiller, 5 Ways Women Can Orgasm That Don’t Involve Sexual Activity:
While I’m sometimes envious of all the sexual advantages women have I only have to remind myself that I never had and never will have the risk of going through childbirth.
Stephen Yearwood got creative with the wording of the Second Amendment and in a article titled “Gun Control: How To Solve The Second Amendment” says:
In my lifetime ‘gun control’ has become as explosive as any political issue in this country can be. To my mind, all we need to do to settle that issue once and for all is to read the Second Amendment and do what it says.
He then parses nearly all the words careful, throws up and knocks down and knocks down four straw men, and concludes the Second Amendment means the states can have militias. He conveniently ignores the word “people” and that all nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices agreed it guarantees an individual right.
If he wants to “Solve the Second Amendment” I suggest he make an appointment with me and start here. If he is successful he can work his way out from there. If not, well… I have lots of land and earth moving equipment.