Code Red

The things you learn from reading Other Bloggers.

The Geek With A .45 (no relation) doesn't write nearly as often as he should, because he is an excellent writer and he does his homework.

Today, he wrote about a Virginia resident who wore an open-carry pistol to a park and was, as a result, arrested -- despite a state law which makes his actions entirely legal.

(If you read RKBA bloggers often, or World Net Daily -- daily -- you probably have already read the original story.)


The bottom line is, the Norfolk, Va. city council attempted to impose draconian Gun Control laws, to the point that they violated Virginia State Law. The arrestee was vindicated when that fact was pointed out and eventually confirmed. This article discusses the unrest when Virginia RKBA supporters attended a Norfolk City Council meeting and, essentially, were very clear in making the point that a City can't violate State law with impunity.

Word is, one City Council member stomped out of the meeting, muttering something about protesting their protest ... which was characterized as "rowdy".
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That's just the surface of the issue.

GWA45 also links to Joe Jeff "Alphecca.com" Soyer Sawyer, a well-known Gun Blogger, who has REALLY done his homework.

Apparently, while the well-attended Norfolk protest was going on, Gun Control Advocates across the nation were using the 44th Anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech as an excuse to protest the Second Amendment and civilian ownership of firearms everywhere.

Here's where Alphecca's homework pays off.

Alphecca first links to a Seattle Post Intelliger (a major Liberal rag) article describing the protest in Washington State, where a gun-control protest was attended by ... TWO protesters.

The demonstration didn't take long at all. In fact, it might have been the shortest in recent local history.

It might have been the smallest, too.

Two activists showed up. They stretched out on the ground for 32 seconds. Then they rolled up their banner -- www.protesteasyguns.com -- and headed for the parking lot.

Good choice, when your 'protest' is outnumbered by the press.


Alphecca goes on to cite a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania "Inquirer" article describing a protest held there last Tuesday night. (Click on the image to see it full size. See the sign in the background.)

This is where I stop following the tracks of Blogger homework, and pay attention to what they turned up. This article is well-written, and deserves some special attention:

Organizers said the gathering of about 200 people at 10th and Spring Garden Streets was held a few doors from Colosimo's gun store to emphasize the problem of straw purchasers of guns, those who buy firearms legally and transfer hem to criminals who are forbidden by law from possessing them. But they said Colosimo's was not involved in any illegal activity. (Emphasis added.)

Two hundred people showing up for a rally addressing a public-safety issue isn't bad. Philadelphia can't have more than a million or two people living there, and although its gun-control laws are among the toughest in the nation they obviously think they need MORE gun-control laws.

Interesting that the protesters chose to hold their rally in the near vicinity of a gun store, to protest straw purchases, which are illegal, even though they admit that the gun store "was not involved in any illegal activity".

You say "Geek, why did they chose that location for their rally? After all, the gun shop was admittedly abiding the law."

Answer: because they hate the idea of guns, any gun, and just 'obeying the law' isn't sufficient justification for their existence. This mind-set isn't based on any recognizable logic system. It's all emotion.

"Criminologists are telling us that as long as we have a high volume of illegal firearms in our community we cannot expect the homicide rate go down," said Minister Rodney Muhammad of Muhammad's Mosque Number 12 in Philadelphia.

What does he want Philadelphia to do? Make a law against breaking the law? Might as well ask "How you gonna solve a problem like Maria?"

"We have one underlying problem," ( City Councilman Darrell) Clarke said. "We have too much violence in Philadelphia. We can no longer prosper as a city if the news always leads off with someone being killed."

He added that it was critical that the state Legislature allow Philadelphia to establish its own gun laws.

Clarke and other speakers stressed that the gun violence in Philadelphia and other cities was fueled by a lack of jobs for young black and Latino men.

Here's another Useful Idiot who instinctively believes that the Evening News on Channel 11 defines his culture. Shouldn't the media reflect the community? This idiot doesn't seem to think so ... instead, he's trying to live up to the image presented by a bunch of 9-2-5 Suits.

In two short sentences, he wants the city to lead the state legislature to pass even more restrictive gun laws which don't make a difference, and he blames others for the "lack of jobs".

I can't help wonder how many of these young men submitted a job application this week. America is the Land of Opportunity, but it won't come knocking on your door. You have to go looking for it, as did the people who now have jobs. This guy is riding the coat-tails of "Gun Control" to further his personal agenda of Victim-ocracy.

Stories like this just make me see red.
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UPDATE: 03-SEP-2007:
Cowboy Blob notes that the author of Alphecca.com is "Jeff Soyer", not "Joe Sawyer". I have corrected that misinformation in the text. Thanks for the correction.

If YOU find an error here or in other Cogito Ergo Geek articles, I invite you to submit corrections either in the COMMENTS section or by mailing me directly (see the email address at the end of every Geek webpage.) I will appreciate it, and will respond as soon as I learn of my errors.