Gunbloggers Beyond Excellence

There are a number of (gun) blogs which I try to keep track of, and visit frequently.  One of the best of which (and one which I have not mentioned, nor even visited for too long is The Smallest Minority.

He was here long before I started this blog in 2008, and this Arizona blogger continues to provide interesting commentary and helpful philosophy on a near-daily basis.  (I say "near-daily" because, as I said, I have not visited for several weeks ... I may have missed something.)

Always interesting, and when he finds himself in a dialogue with someone who disagrees with his opinions, he not only takes them on head-to-head; he publishes the exchange for every one to watch.

Teaser:

Here's a LINK to recent (April 11, 2017) article, interrupted in an ongoing dialogue with someone who doesn't necessarily agree with his opinions on "proportional” response" (to a home invasion)..
A sample is provided:
(note: comments in italics are from the British interlocutor)

Cogito Ergo Geek

"Cogito Ergo Geek" means (in my personal lexicon) that I tend to "overthink" almost everything, and sometimes it gets me in trouble.  Literally, it means: "I Think, Therefore I'm A Geek".   (It should probably be "I'm A Geek, Therefore ..." you know)

But I chose that title for my personal blog because ... this blogposting thingie is a way for me to 'think out loud'.  And I write because I have to; not because I want to.

Sometimes (too often) I don't like where I end up at the end of a article, and I just don't publish it.

[Shrug]

Other people take the "undifferentiated meat" that runs through their mind, work with it, and publish to the benefit of their readers

Sebastian is one of those rare individuals who can change blogger-angst into pure gold.

Beliefs Change Over Time | Shall Not Be Questioned:

I’m short on things to write about, probably because I haven’t been paying as close attention to the news. It’s occurred to me that there’s a lot of things I believe now that I didn’t ten years ago. Ten years is an awful lot of time to be immersed in writing about a single issue, and there’s not much I haven’t thought through, thought through again, then thought through a third time just to be thorough. Thinking about a list:

That's what they call a "lead", in Journalism.   I'm envious of the intellectual prowess demonstrated in the article.

You should go read it.  Twice.

My only comment would probably be:
"Yeah; what he said"

Either that, or "I wish *_I_* had said that!

BATF hires Arizona to do their dirty work for them

David Codrea at "THE WAR ON GUNS" reported this:

Glendale, Ariz., Police Become Enforcers of ATF Gun Control:

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has entered into an agreement with the Glendale, Arizona, Police Department that makes the latter the unpaid enforcers of the former’s regulations, the Tenth Amendment Center reports.

Apparently, the feds are tired of catching all the heat for murdering citizens and burning down homes.

This must be cheaper than trying to hire agents with scruples.

Don't blame the Killer; blame the Freedom

Exclusive: Jumping The GunGuns Magazine.com | Guns Magazine.com:
Opinion Article by David Codrea in reference to the Colorodo Planned Parenthood Attack

If you haven't already seen it, it's worth reading

The issue that should be of interest to all readers here is that religious, speech and firearms freedoms are being blamed for the evil actions of a defective individual, one who appears incapable of living freely among his fellow human beings. And further restrictions on those who do not share those defects will solve nothing, except to make it harder for good people to defend themselves against bad ones.

Are Police Better Shots Than You?

200 Rounds, About All The Average Policeman Shoots In A Year: 

(June 13, 2014)

David Cole at AmmoLand has an interesting observation about the Liberal-vaunted accuracy of police:

This summer, I’ll be accompanying my sister (a teacher, by the way) to her first real gun class since she took her concealed carry course. It’s a one-day class with a top-notch instructor. The course description says students should bring 300-400 rounds of ammunition, and tuition is $150.
In that one day, my sister and I will each expend at least twice the amount of ammo an average cop shoots in a year, doing productive skills training under the supervision of a pro instructor.

 I’ve been a police officer, and I understand the conditions of the job. I give them full marks for the dangerous, difficult job they do. They work hard and the vast majority will do their very best to help you in your time of need, risking their own lives in the process.

 But you are deluded if you think that they are capable of responding to your emergency with any more speed or skill than you. Do not allow gun prohibitionists to convince you that you are better off waiting for a “professional” to bring you a gun, than to have one with you right now. That is an outright lie told by politicians who wish to see you disarmed.

How to shoot a wild (North Korean) Commie ...

The Box O' Truth #36 - Frozen Clothing And The Box O' Truth - Page 1:

 I have had a number of people send me notes asking if I would test a rumor that they heard about the Korean War. It seems that it was rumored that the North Korean Commies wore thick clothing and that in the freezing rain, the outside, which was wet, froze. It was then said that the .30 Carbine would not penetrate this frozen clothing, but would bounce off like an over-cooked string bean hitting an anvil. (Okay, I just threw in that part about the string bean and the anvil). Well, I don't have any authentic North Korean Army clothing from that time period, but I do have some cotton terry cloth towels. So, I did the following ....

I've been a devoted fan of "The Box O' Truth" for centuries, literally, so I was delighted to see that [H/T] Oleg Volk (in an article titled "The Perceived Inadequacy of M1 Carbine", had an actual link to a new episode which I had not yet seen.

It hadn't a lot to do with the penetration of the 10mm, which I was most interested (boo to Oleg Volk for an article which ... most irreverently .. suggested that the Mighty Ten would not penetrate aluminum as easily would the lowly M1 Carbine poodle-shooter round), but it was interesting in that it (the box-o-truth entry) did address penetration in a general sense.

You'll have to go follow the grout trail yourself to determine whether you found it as entertaining as I did.

On the other hand .. who doesn't like "The Box 'o Truth"?

The Smallest Minority: R.S.P.E.C.T for and the Rule of Law

The Smallest Minority: R�S�P�E�C�T for and the Rule of Law:
(Sunday, March 23, 2014)


If it is not your common practice to read Kevin Baker's blog ("the smallest minority on earth is the individual ..."), I don't know why.   But in that case, you probably are unaware of the "Uber Post" he published over the weekend.

In it, he discusses respect for the law on three levels:   Respect by The People, Respect by The Judiciary,  and Respect by The President.

The president will not enforce the law.   Prosecutors are not infrequently allowed misconduct in the cases they bring to trial, and the judges allow them to get away with it .... or they are subject to losing their bench because the prosecutors ask that the judges recuse themselves from the cases.   And judges may decide judgements which are either not based on the facts presented, or the applicable laws.

Which puts the lie to the belief that in America we are governed by "the Rule of Law, rather than "the Rule of Man".

In that case, The People also lose respect for the law.  

Another popular belief is that a man may be found guilty of breaking a law of which he was not aware, because "Ignorance Is No Excuse!"   Which is true, and at the same time almost inevitable.    The fact is, nobody know what the law is;   they are too numerous for even the Federal Government to be capable of making the full body of Federal Law available to The People, to the Lawyers, to the Prosecutors, to the Judges, to the Legislators or to The President (who now makes his own laws, modifies them on whim, and chooses which laws he will enforce on a daily basis).

Baker elucidates our concern that we are reaching, or have already reached, the "Tipping Point" beyond which both the America Economy and the American Society will no longer be viable.

The Bottom Line of the commentary?

But if they haven't broken us to the State by the time all those spinning plates start falling off their sticks, well, as I've said before, our "austerity protests" are going to be SPECTACULAR.

So put on your tinfoil hat, secure it to your head with a roll of Duct Tape, pour yourself a healthy measure of your favorite beverage and RTWT!

Contra-2

I've recently been reading thegunfeed.com, which not only has a remarkably dynamic proliferation of links to CURRENT firearms-related articles, but also demonstrates a fine appreciation of the quality of authorship.. by which means they sometimes link to articles originating from Cogito Ergo Geek.

More important, they regularly link to sources (both original and 'secondary') which explore new anti-gun regulations at the state level.

For your consideration, here are a couple of the links featured on the current (March 03, 2014) webpage.  Don't bother trying to find these links by going directly to GUNFEED; as I said, they are DYNAMIC so you have to visit the site every day .. the links do not linger long.

Washington Times:    (an interesting source for a 2nd Amendment blog)
Miller: "New Jersey Bill is outright gun ban on .22 rifles and leads to confiscation"

The New Jersey Assembly’s Law and Public Safety Committee was scheduled to hold a public hearing on Monday (postponed for snow) about a bill that reduces the maximum magazine capacity from 15 to 10.
Since the legislation covers both detachable and fixed magazines, it has the effect of to banning popular, low-caliber rifles.
The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs gave the draft legislation to top firearms experts in the country to determine what guns would fall under the expanded ban.
They discovered that the bill would affect tube-fed, semi-automatic rifles because the magazine cannot be separated from the gun.
Thus, the experts found that at least 43 common rifles would suddenly be considered a prohibited “assault firearm,” such as the .22 caliber Marlin Model 60, Remington Nylon 66 and Winchester 190.
Just having one such gun would turn a law-abiding owner into a felon overnight.

 Gun Free Zone: Idaho University Professor Butthurt About Campus Carry

So Professor Hampikian pen (sic) an opinion piece picked up by the NYT full of “See How Cool I Write And Make Fun If (sic) Rednecks” expressing his passive-agressive (sic) opposition to an Idaho bill that would allow Campus Carry.Let’s check it out
My comments in bold.
When May I Shoot a Student?
By GREG HAMPIKIAN FEB. 27, 2014 TO the chief counsel of the Idaho State Legislature:
In light of the bill permitting guns on our state’s college and university campuses, which is likely to be approved by the state House of Representatives (It was approved yesterday) in the coming days, I have a matter of practical concern that I hope you can help with: When may I shoot a student?
I know you are just being an intellectual asshole but the answer can be found in that marvel of technology called The Internet. If you are uncomfortable with such advanced technology, pick up the frigging phone and call somebody from the Department of Criminal Justice which you are member of and find out.

The examples I've posted here are just a random sample, although that expression shouldn't be interpreted as an attempt to belittle the sources.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning. And I admire and will promote writers who staunchly defend the Second Amendment.

Please consider frequent visits to the gun feed.   It's prominent on my bookmark toolbar, and I visit it every day that I go online. 

Oh, by the way?  I'm intrinsically invested in the issue of "concealed carry on campus".  It makes my aging heart go all pitta-patter to see that this sociopolitical issue is still being debated.

Firearms Manufacturers Refuse to Sell Guns to Law Enforcement Agencies

Infidel Bloggers Alliance: Since New York State enacted its restrictive new gun laws, many manufacturers have sent that state (and others) a message: If local governments are going to severely restrict the ability of citizens to own guns, then these companies will not be selling to law enforcement in those areas.

I heard on the Marc Levin  show today that firearms manufacturers, in response to state and local infringements on citizens, are increasingly refusing to sell or service, or provide ammunition to, Law Enforcement departments in localities which curtail the rights of their CITIZENS to the same access to firearms and ammunition.

This is "not-quite-breaking-news"; apparently this is a trend which has being ongoing for several days,  and I only heard about it this afternoon.

It's also "not-quite-breaking-news" in that nearly seven years ago (april, 2005) we reported here that Ronnie Barrett had refused to service his .50 caliber rifles which he had previously sold to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) because of that city and county policies.

Has it taken THAT long for the rest of the the firearms manufacturers to wake up and smell the coffee?

I won't even attempt to provide all the links to bloggers and "Main Stream Media" which are reporting this news.  You can do the search using such keywords as "police" and "Firearms Manufacturers" and "Refuse".  And I encourage you to do so.  I only cite The Infidel because he has a nice list of manufacturers who have jumped on the bandwagon (belatedly) ... and by this time, the list is outdated already.

Anti-gun people have been after Firearms Manufacturers for YEARS to force them (unfairly) to take responsibility for misuse by end-users of firearms which have been retailed by dealers under Federal restrictions.   And the gun makers have been quiet ... complacent, except in the courts .. in response.

It's about time that these manufacturers, wholesalers and even retailers (such as "Cheaper Than Dirt") took a stand.

I applaud them for their new-found assertiveness.  Too long have they played the meek mouse under continuing attacks.  I think they should have followed the lead of Barrett Arms years ago, but I won't criticize them because "Hey, it's a business, and you don't offend your customers!"

At last, their customers have offended THEM by the use of double-standards which have affected ... The Business.

Every year, the government has infringed upon the market by threats of federal 'standards' which are both unconstitutional and anti-business.  The gun and ammo makers tried to keep it going in the lean years, and when an anti-gun president is elected (or re-elected), the business fail to keep up with demands of new customers.  This negatively impacts their ability to serve the needs of their 'regular' customers, as we have seen for the past five years.  And this is the same situation which other businesses in America have experienced;  they don't have a legitimate 5-year plan, because they don't know which way the President will jump from one year to the next.

Hell, from one month to the next!

I think that ALL businesses in America might take heart by this example.   There needs to be an uprising against uncontrolled Federal infringement on business (and, to a lesser degree, at the state level) because of wildcat variances of governmental regulations.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of paying $50 for a brick (1,000) of primers .. which sold for $85 for a five-brick "Sleeve" (5,000) of primers ten years ago at bulk rates.  And you can't even find them in stores at any price!  It was two years after Obama's first election before my local Bi-mart would sell me more than 200 primers at a single purchase; their supply simply could not accommodate the demand.

Is this grounds for impeachment?

Probably not.

But it ought to be.

Blogging will continue: official notice

Retirement from the work force has had a negative effect on my blogging volume ... and in the content of the few articles I DO write, and the interest generated by those few articles.

New resolution:

I either need to rediscover my interest in ranting, or to close this morbid website so my few frequent readers don't waste their time stopping by from time to time to see if I'm awake. Or alive.

This blog was started in December of 2004. During the past seven years, I've often presented boring or incomprehensible trash, but there have been some themes which were actually interesting to many readers.

Not recently.

Since my retirement I've lost interest in the "outside world". Not to put too fine a point on it; I've become bored. And I've become boring.

During the past year I've spend a huge amount of time reading, and very little time writing. The reading has not sparked my interest in anything controversial. It has been a waste of my time.

And this blog has become a waste of your time.

I'll give it a month to see if I can reconnect with the outside world, and take an interest in the many things which I find interesting. Where lately I've read and said "Hey, this would make a great (or interesting, or at least 'not boring') article" without following through --- I'm going to see if I can get that spark back and rediscover the fire which originally forced me to find an outlet.

When I retired, The Hobo Brasser told me that I would wonder how I managed to get so much done with all the free time I now had. That I haven't experienced this wonder leads me to wonder whether I am an essentially lazy man, or I have outlived my sense of wonder.

I'm not sure which I hope to find, but I know that over the past couple of years a lot of blogs which I once eagerly anticipated on a daily basis have just ... folded. The wonder I felt then was "Why did these terrific writers quit writing? I LOVED his stuff!"

Time for me to rediscover my "stuff".

Monster Hunter Nation

Have you read Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter" series yet?

No? Why not? You read this blog, think guns are neat and monsters are awesome (as I said ... you read this blog).

Larry Correia published Monster Hunter International in 2009. It wasn't a really major publishing house, but it sold like the proverbial condom at a nymphomaniac convention, and impelled Correia to stardom!

Well, sort of. Those of us who DID buy and, and DID like it, also bought his next book THIS year (okay, late last year if you were into pre-buying books)

I got into the swing of it after buying Book #2, Monster Hunter Vendetta, and decided that this was a series that I wanted to follow.

It doesn't hurt that he has already got a pre-release date on Book #3 in the series, Monster Hunter Alpha. No, I don't have the date it will be released, but I HAVE already pre-ordered it because .... well, it's like eating Caramel Corn.

And because he's still a 'small name' writer, they're being published in soft-cover for the low-low price of $7.99 -- not even previously owned by a little old lady from Pasadena, but entirely new with that new-book smell inside every cover.

So I'm all about Correia's fun-fantasy schtick about professional monster hunters, festooned with 1911's and M5's or whatever ... who hunt and slay MONSTERS for a living. And yes, it's really hard to get through a chapter without either reading or thinking about the phrase "Target Rich Environment".

When I found a link to the (previously unknown to me) blog that Correia has been writing for who-knows-how-long, I put off trying to eat my burned pasta for just a while longer to read the latest 3 posts at Monster Hunter Nation.

I've rewarmed dinner 3 times so far, choosing instead to pour another small glass of Crown Royal (cheap-price courtesy of snow-birder Hobo Brasser) and warm up the pasta for one minute with a few stirs of the pot to keep from burning it even more than it already has.

My advice: Check out the books (not forgetting that he has OTHER books, such as Dead Six, co-written with Mike Kupari ), and also read the Monster Hunter Nation wordpress blog. Check above for the link, okay? 'Cause it's late and I'm tired.

The think about the blog is that it seems to kind of wander down the road barely keeping between the fence posts, but every article shows the kind of verbose enthusiasm that makes me think "Gee, I write long articles; why can't they be as interesting?"

I know that unless you're not sitting at home with an hour to kill before it's late enough for you to go to bed (which implies that you don't have a television), you probably won't want to go read a blog written by someone who had the #27 "new book" on the market.

So I won't say "Go, Read The Whole Thing" (or RTWT, as bloggers say when they don't tend to overwrite).

I'm just saying, the guy can write and he has some interesting things to say.

It's not like watching a rerun of Cheer's, for Goodness Sake!

20 life lessons they don’t tell you about | View From The Cop

20 life lessons they don’t tell you about | View From The Cop:

March 31, 2011, was Lt. Steve Rose's last post on "View from The Cop" Steve is a member of the Atlanta, Georgia, Police Department. I guess he's got other things going (go to the link and check out his "other blog offerings" from the AJC .. maybe he's not there).

I just discovered Steve's almost-daily blog last year, and while I haven't been the most faithful of daily readers, I'm glad I found him before he found it no longer viable to continue the blog.

As a farewell Gift, Steve wrote about 20 life lessons. Here are just a few of them.

Wise man, our Wild Irish Rose. I shall miss him.

11. If you have a gun, clean it and go practice with it. If you can’t do that, sell it to someone who will.

12. Don’t give crooks credit they don’t deserve. They’re morons and have no honor. They steal from you, me, their own families and anyone who leaves the opportunity for them to commit crimes.

13. You will NOT make millions from a land baron in a small foreign country. Banks will not request you send personal info on your email to keep your account from suddenly being frozen. Read up on scams.

14. Be politely skeptical. Don’t be afraid of asking questions, but do buy the Girl Scout cookies — no questions asked.

15. Call the police when you see something suspicious. Most arrests are a result of a suspicious resident making a 911 call.

Sondra K moves "Knowledge is Power"

Although I've long since moved "KISP" to the "websites that I'm now kinda luke warm about" level on my sidebar, that doesn't mean that I NEVER avail myself her keen insights to the culture and her high good humor when reporting our never-ending failures.

I just don't go there every day. There's so MUCH content, I just couldn't possibly read HER stuff and crank out the occasional article about MY stuff.

If you are like me in appreciating her blogsite, then you deserve to be informed that she is moving her blog to a different URL. (This will be reflected on the link on my sidebar.)

The old URL, http://www.sondrak.com/ , will be retained purely for archival purposes.

For her current stuff, see her new URL: http://www.sondrakistan.com/

I'll see you there, because Knowlege IS Power!

And another "Good Guy" bites the dust

Xavier ("The Nurse with a Gun") is hanging up his blog.

I'm reminded of the song "The End" (from "Apocalypse NOW") by The Doors. Except when we got to the end of that movie, I was drawn to watch the end sequence even as I moved toward the exit.

Xavier is (was?) entirely Something Else.

Over the years I have stolen shamelessly from his blog, and every time I did he made me look good.

My hope is that he changes his mind. I have not always appreciated every single article he wrote, but I have read the all because he can make even photography and bicycles interesting.

Now I find that I'm watching The End of Xavier, as I'm moving toward the exit.

Perhaps "Xavier Thoughts" is not really dying from ennui. Perhaps if I cross my fingers and hope strongly enough, he will change his mind. And perhaps I will wake up tomorrow and discover that it is all just a cruel joke.

But if not, I can understand why a man who has published significant and meaningful articles for years might willingly hang up his hat and move on.

We saw it with Kim DuTuit a couple of years ago, so I know it happens.

But it's a damn shame for a quality Blogger to be driven from the Public Venue just because he tires of dealing with obstreperous readers.

Maybe if I beg him, he will change his mind?

Worth a try.

And it may be worth your while to stop by and do your own share of begging.

The LawDog Files: They won't let me.

The LawDog Files: They won't let me.

I remember "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with nostalgia.

I especially enjoyed the "Candy Man" song.

There's an updated version of this song over at LawDog.

It's more current, and more ... topical.

Go see it.

Blogger Memes

Bloggers who are on each other's Links List (eg: "Sidebar") are often so referenced because they share common cultures, values, attitudes or priorities.

As I went through my "Bloggers I Read Every Day" list tonite, I was struck by the number of quality posts and observations which I read more than once. It is as if one person found a seminal/original thought, and one or more people who like to read him/her was impressed by the profundity found there ... BING! There's another post on the same subject, often with comparable or exact quoted content.

Since I don't know how many of my small coterie of readers bookmark my favorite bloggers, I'll provide links for you and if you like what you see, you may be encouraged to also become regular readers of these Blogs.

(My only concern is that you will recognize that these people are much better than I at writing about "interesting things", and will tend to read them instead of me when time is short during an evening of reading. On the other hand, if you think it is a net advantage to you ... why not?)

Heavyweight vs Bantamweight
The first meme I noted was originally penned by Munchkin Wrangler.
This is not a blog I regularly read. Who am I kidding? This is the first time I have ever read the man's work. But it won't be the last. He goes on the Sidebar tonite.

"Marko" (?) wrote "A vote for gun control is a vote for Thunderdome", a reductio ad absurdum editorial piece exploring just why restrictions on the ability of lawful citizens to legally own a firearm moves us just one step closer to barbarism ... a la Mad Max.

This was not only cited on Michael Bane's Blog, (who also linked to the delightful ZootShooters Gazette, which I fully intend to explore more fully when I'm done here) but was also prominently featured on August 25, 2009, on the GeekWithA45 (no relation) "Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves".

The Marine and The Politician: Town Hall Rocks
The second meme was posted on August 23 by The Smallest Minority, under the title "Quote Of The Week" (a regular feature by TSM) and was also posted on that same date by The Lawdog Files under the title "For that which you are about to receive, may you be truly grateful". Lawdog actually adds more commentary to the YouTube Video, but it does stand on it's own. I am sorely tempted to provide the link and embed the original video, because it's a bombshell. However, I think you deserve to reward the 'original' bloggers for their efforts if providing you with quality information, so you'll just have to click on one of the titled links. The authors deserve your recognition, measured by your visit as part of their statistics.

(Besides, it's almost as much fun to read the comments from their readers as it is to view the video.)

Both of these subjects are doubtless featured elsewhere on the Blogsphere, but I'll only refer to them in passing ... however much I highly recommend them.

BTW, while you're reading The Smallest Majority (if you do so choose), I also highly recommend two of his recent posts: "I Will Not Register" explores the proposals of firearms registration and firearms licensing; and "Abandonment Or Ass-Covering?", in which a CBS Opinion Piece admits that "There Will Be No Cost-Saving" in Obama's ObamaCare bill. Kevin's comment: "Holy $hit! Honesty in the MSM!"

Or ... you can just do what I do. Put these bloggers on your "Read Every Day" bookmark, and don't miss another stanza of their beautifully Purple Prose, a phrase which has come to have a whole new meaning given the increasing popularity of the Internet, and the formatting of links which is regrettably, often rendered in The Color Purple.

New Jersy Microstamping: V_2009

It's a New Jersey Day, and I 'blame' it all on Cemetery's Gun Blog who replied to a recent Cogito Ergo Geek blog article in a comment.

You should see our handgun microstamping bill that our public safety commitee has. It affects **ALL** handguns. Yup. Revolvers. Muzzleloading pistols. Cap and Ball. Self loaders. In NJ, a handgun, is a handgun. No if's, and's, or but's about it.

(He also posted the information on the [www.newjerseyhunter.com] New Jersey Hunter forum.)

Of course I had to follow it up, if only because (a) it was a guest comment and (b) we spent a lot of time reading about MicroStamping last year. Bedsides

Sure enough, New Jersey's Assembly Bill #3848, in the 213th legislative session (March, 2009) presented this bill.

Now March 9 seems a bit late in the legislative session to present a controversial new anti-gun bill, and I don't know how long the session lasts. But here's the search results on this bill number, which shows a comparable senate bill S498 introduced on January 8, 2008 --- which was described as "PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2008 SESSION".

Here's the 'statement' on S498:

This bill would require that all newly manufactured handguns sold by licensed retail firearms dealers be micro-stamped.

Micro-stamping is a laser technology that can engrave or etch minute identifying characters or letters on small, even exceptionally small, objects or items. In the case of a handgun, these engravings or etchings would be placed on the firing pin of the handgun in a manner to ensure their imprinting on each cartridge case when the handgun is fired. The array of characters or imprints on the cartridge could then be utilized by law enforcement to identify the make, model and serial number of the handgun.

The bill requires licensed retail firearms dealers to report their handgun sales to the State Police. The information required in this report is substantially the same information these dealers currently record in a sales register they are statutorily required to maintain. The bill directs the State Police to establish and maintain this information in a data base.

The verbiage on the Assembly is similar, if not identical.

There is nothing new in either the 1/8/08 Senate bill, or the 3/9/09 Assembly bill. While I haven't bothered to compare the two bills to determine whether one has more restrictions than the other, my experience has been that within a given state in which a "microstamping ammunition" bill occurs in both the Senate and the Assembly (or "House") generally they're both reading from the same playbook. Also, that playbook has been provided by the same external source, whether Gun Control NGO's, or the company which purports to provide the technology to support the bill ... at great expense, and with unproven reliability. But I digress.

Looking at the NJ Legislature BILLS BY COMMITTEE, I'm unable to determine the status of either the Senate or the Assembly bill. I haven't yet determined when the NJ Legislative Session ends, although the official website does not list 2009-2010 bills, which implies that the 'next' session has not begun. (Typically, State Legislative Sessions roughly parallel their Fiscal years. Bills which have not been acted upon, or which remain "in committee", tend to fail by default. They may be introduced in the next legislative session, but that requires that they go through the entire process of legislative review.)

I see no evidence that this bill has enjoyed any activity in either NJ house, and so I assume that it will die.

Probably, there has been so much effort in attempting (successfully) to pass Governor Corzine's pet anti-gun bill limiting individual firearm purchases to one-per-month, the Legislature has decided to put all of its anti-gun energy there and ignore all other anti-gun bills for the current (2008-2009) legislative session.

Still, that doesn't mean that New Jersey (or other stages) are giving up on Microstamping Ammunition entirely. In a July 26, 2009 article, NJ.COM "Real Time News" reports that

"Corzine calls for tougher gun control laws"

Gov. Jon Corzine convened a press conference today with his running mate and several Democratic allies to call for additional reforms.

...

The governor also is likely to stoke the ongoing debate between gun-control advocates and gun rights groups in New Jersey, where regulations are among the strictest in the nation, with his microstamping proposal.

Corzine called for the mandatory microstamping of new semi-autmoatic handguns, an emerging technology in which lasers inscribe numbers on firing pins. That means spent casings show a serial number that law enforcement can trace.

A bill introduced in the Assembly March and currently in committee calls for new handguns to be microstamped. The procedure has been adopted by one state, California, and is under consideration by several others. [CGE Note: it's news to me that California has made this law!]

Again, as of 2 weeks ago the Microstamping bill was in committee. That doesn't mean it's going to be passed, but it doesn't mean that it won't come up again.

On the other hand, in 2007 - 2008 Cogito Ergo Geek (CGE) has apparently underestimate the political "will to do harm" at the state level.

Still, regardless of the notions of the Main Stream Media, the latest OFFICIAL news from the Golden State suggest that the California bill AB1471 (introduced) status has not yet become 'enacted to law'.

I may be confused by the similarity of bill titles, or others may be confused by a blogger article dated February of 2009, which states that:

"One thing that has had many Californians fearful for their continued 2nd Amendment rights is the signing into law of AB 1471, Crime Gun Identification Act of 2007, effective January 1, 2010.

This law requires that new concealable weapons to have a means of imprinting the make, model, and serial number of the weapon on cartridge cases fired by that weapon.

The text of the law may be found here."

But the cited link (see above) refers to AB1471 of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session.

As nearly as I can tell, the AB1471 for the 2008-2009 Legislative session refers to materials procurement for the Los Angeles MTA:

 COMPLETE BILL HISTORY


BILL NUMBER  : A.B. No. 1471
AUTHOR : Eng
TOPIC : Procurement: Los Angeles County Metropolitan
       Transportation Authority.

TYPE OF BILL :
          Active
          Non-Urgency
          Non-Appropriations
          Majority Vote Required
          Non-State-Mandated Local Program
          Fiscal
          Non-Tax Levy

BILL HISTORY
2009
July 9 Read second time, amended, and re-referred to
 Com. on  APPR.
July 8 From committee:  Amend, and do pass as amended, and
 re-refer to Com. on  APPR with recommendation: 
 To Consent Calendar.  (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (July  7).
July 1 In committee:  Hearing postponed by committee.
June 29 In committee:  Hearing postponed by committee.
June 4 Referred to Com. on  T. & H.
May 21 In Senate.  Read first time.  To Com. on RLS.
  for assignment.
May 21 Read third time, passed, and to Senate.
  (Ayes 77. Noes  0. Page 1631.)
May 18 Read second time.  To Consent Calendar.
May 14 From committee:  Do pass. 
  To Consent Calendar. (May  13).
May 5 Re-referred to Com. on  APPR.
May 4 Read second time and amended.
Apr. 30 From committee:  Amend, and do pass as amended, and
   re-refer to Com. on  APPR. with recommendation: 
   To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes0.) (April  27).
Apr. 21 Re-referred to Com. on  TRANS.
Apr. 20 From committee chair, with author's amendments:
Amend, and re-refer to Com. on  TRANS.
    Read second time and amended.
Apr. 2 Referred to Com. on  TRANS.
Mar. 2 Read first time.
Mar. 1 From printer.  May be heard in committee March 30.
Feb. 27 Introduced.  To print.

I may be wrong, and the NJ.COM and other internet sources may be right. But so far, I've been unable to find any evidence that the Microstamping of Ammunition has actually been enacted. If you have information to the contrary, I would be grateful if you would provide the evidence so that I can address what most of us would conceive as 'an egregious misapplication of the legislative process'.

When I am corrected, I'll post The Real Truth here. Immediately ... well, as soon as I verify the evidence.

The Smallest Minority Drives On

In case you didn't catch Kevin's comment in the sidebar, the Gun Bloggers Rendesvous has found a new organization to handle the ticket sales to benefit Soldiers Angels (see the earlier post explaining their disappointment with the hopolophobic PayPal here).

There's a full update at Kevin's website, so clicky on The Smallest Minority, here and take a look at the pistol they're raffling off.

Kevin's not only a talented writer and a consummate researcher of information, he's a thoughtful and generous person. All the more reason to check his website frequently.

I do.

Kindred Geeks

I get such interesting email, sometimes I can't stop myself from sharing.

A new sidebar link (in "Hot Links Of The Week") is "The Firearms of Kid Kaos".

Kid Kaos ("Joshua") wrote me yesterday suggesting that we may be "Kindred Geeks", in the sense that we seem to share similar interests. His main topic was the Mech Tech Carbine Conversion Unit, because he bought one of the "new" versions (with the telescoping wire stock) in .45acp and has spent some time dressing it up.

I won't steal all of his thunder, but I will note that the entry page of his website includes several topics in a bar across the bottom of the page, and under "Firearms" he discusses not only Mech Tech but also the M1 Garand.

I bought a Garand about 20 years ago, shot two clips through it, and stashed it in the closet with 20 or 30 clips of .30-06 ammunition for my "Apocalypse SHTF" long-arm.

Maybe I ought to take it out and shoot up some of that really, really old ammo, but I'm not sure I can find components to reload it.

That's a topic for another post, which I have already written two or three times.

Go check out Joshua's website. If you're a Gunny (and I suspect most readers of this Blog are, in one degree or another), you may find something of interest to you there.

Jeff's USPSA 2009 Nationals Blog

Jeff B., a local USPSA competitor, has just started a new blog today and I've included him in my sidebar. Look for the link under "Hot Link(s) Of The Week" for now, I'll move him to a permanent spot later.

Jeff started the blog to chronicle his adventures (and perhaps mis-adventures) at the USPSA Nationals this September, and he has started it early enough to include all the preparations that a "a lowly B-class shooter" makes prior to going to the biggest USPSA match of the year.

I suggest you stop by his blog, perhaps bookmark it for frequent visits. (I did.)

Today, you'll learn how "a lowly B-class shooter" got Hornaday to sponsor him for the Nationals!

ps: if nothing else, you appreciate the Neon banner he has at the top of his blogpage. I'm experience Pix Envy!