Washington: "Unsecured Firearm Law" proposed

What IS it with Washington State this week?

Unsecured firearm law would hold gun owners accountable:

...  Washington state doesn’t have a law to punish gun owners whose weapons get in the hands of the wrong people. Democratic state Senator Guy Palumbo is trying to change that. Palumbo introduced a bill that would make unsafe storage of a gun a crime. “It’s basically to keep the guns we do have out of the hands of dangerous people,” he said.

Anyone with a firearm can be described as "dangerous people".  That's the whole point of a firearm.

 As the bill is currently written, a gun owner would either get a misdemeanor or felony — depending on how the gun was used — if their unsecured firearm was used illegally by someone. “

Which is to say, YOU can be penalized on a 'sliding scale' depending on what some OTHER person does ... and does without either your consent or your knowledge, never mind your active participation.

This is going to be a great year to be a Lawyer in Washington State!

You can never guarantee those wouldn’t happen — those tragedies — but certainly in those cases, this all would have had ramifications for the people’s whose guns were used in those tragedies.” Palumbo, a gun owner himself, says it is just “common sense” to lock up firearms. “I’m a gun owner, but it’s unfair to keep them unlocked,” he said. 

What's unfair is to require people to make their personal defense firearms inaccessible to the owners.
Which is another way of saying: "that's the whole point of a firearm".

 He admits he is not sure how well the bill will do.

In a sane society, it would be laughed out of the house.  On The Left Coast, we never know what the idiots in office will do.

Washington State: What part of "Will Not Comply" is still unclear to you?

FBI: Washington State Gun Owners Not Complying With New Background Check Law - The Truth About Guns:

 The FBI has just released a report showing that private party transfers in Washington following the new law accounted for only 2% of the total background checks.

Duh!
Nobody wants to comply, because (a) it's expensive and inconvenient, (b) since firearms serial numbers are necessarily included, it is tantamount to Registration [the first step to confiscation], and (c) only law-abiding citizens will obey the law ... which is supposedly framed to prevent sale of firearms to criminals.

Criminals will ignore it, rendering the law moot and ineffective as a means to its stated goal.
 Do you not recognize the dichotomy of the situation?

In America, private individuals have been loaning, exchanging and selling firearms to each other for hundreds of years,  To begin penalizing (imprisoning them?) now for exercising their constitutional rights would be the same as penalizing (imprisoning them?) for going to the church of their choice or speaking their mind in a public forum.

If the law would accomplish its goal, it might be acceptable by the citizenry ... if it were better written!
But this POS law will not really be effective in Washington.  Or Oregon.  Or Nevada or Connecticut ... etc.


For a detailed explanations of just why "Universal Background Checks" are A Bad Idea, read Dr. John Lott's recent explanation.

Ohhhhhhh .... Rob!

I'll miss Laura Petri.

In Case You Don't Know What Online Fakes Look Like:

I do this once every year or so, and I don't give the specific details because ... it's all fake stuff designed to defraud unsuspecting people.

This is what is commonly known as the "Nigerian Letter", and if your server prevents this from reaching you ... you have good protection.  

Yes, it tempts the recipient to engage in deliberate fraud.

Yes, it's all a lie.

No, you should not even respond to any letter that looks anything like this; if you respond at all, they have your email address and they will sell it to their friends.   And you will never hear the last of them.

If this looks like something you ought not to even see, just delete it now.

Significant "Tells" that this is bogus: they don't have your email address, they don't have your name, and most important ... if it looks too good to be true, it is.

Oh, and they are usually semi-literate, usually they can't spell as accurately as this guy, and they almost invariably originate from Africa.


Attn Sir/Madam

I'm Mr KIIIi K Kxxxu  a database engineer with International Commercial Bank Ghana. I'm writing this short message to you in expectation of an urgent reaction from you.

I'm in charge of the database which contains record of our transaction,
customer details and Identity  in one of our branches in Accra Ghana and I'm contacting you because there's an urgent need for a partner from your country for a quick business dealings with a 50/50 share agreement. We have a customer from the US who used our bank to apply for a contract here in Ghana and the contract has been long concluded and his money paid but the issue is that till date there has been no activities on the Bank account. I have been monitoring the account since the past two years and decided to make my research only to find out that the customer is late. It's a secret only me knows and i'm seeking to use it to my advantage as it will must definitely get to the hands of the top bosses once they realize this.

The total amount is 28 Million Euros, it was paid install-mentally and the
good news is that it is an online account so it can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Now what I want you to do if interested is to make yourself available and
I will edit the information on the account to your information then the details of the account will be given to you. I will give the contact details  of the office to contact in our bank and you will request for reactivation of the account, they will only have to go through the account details which will match yours and approve your request for reactivation.

When this is done, you will be able to transfer the funds in the account to any account of your choice but that will be in Bits to avoid restriction, I will also give you my account information as well which you will have to transfer my part of the 50%. Since i'd be in control of the activities that go on in the account , I will make sure we disburse the funds in it as agreed.

Waiting to hear from you.
Thanks.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

HRC is a known and proven imaginative re-interpreter of facts Professional Politician..

It only stands to reason that her co-conspirators supporters are known bottom-feeding from time to time caught in the act convicted of "corruption".

Former Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), who was a superdelegate for failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has reported to prison to begin his 10-year sentence stemming from numerous corruption charges.

Just draining the swamp, Boss. Move on, nothing new here.

Except ... apparently we ARE judged by the company we keep.

Concealed Carry When It's Not WELL Concealed

Firehand has a post up about the embarrassment (and consequent legal issues) when your Concealed Handgun isn't as well concealed as it ought to be:

Irons in the Fire: Central Texas College chief Mary Wheeler should live in the PROM,: “And let’s say it was accidental, that they had a handgun underneath a coat or something, they bent over and the handgun could be seen,” CTC Police Chief Mary Wheeler said. “It’s no longer concealed if someone can see it.” Chief Wheeler said a violation of this law could lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment for employees or expulsion for students, including the first occurrence.

Whatever the reason, that's Not A Good Thing, especially when you're in an area which doesn't also recognize Constitutional Carry (Open Carry).

And even if you are legally "allowed" to Open Carry ... do you really want people to know you're carrying?

Generally speaking, that's not often a problem in the Winter; coats make it difficult to 'pattern' a handgun, but when it's on a belt (or even IWB) there is still the possibility of flashing it.

I've been using a small auto in a pocket holster, tucked in the inside/upper jacket pocket.   It absolutely doesn't pattern, and it's secure even if I stand on my head.  (Which I do a lot, any more.)

What it also doesn't do is allow for quick retrieval.  I would almost wish I had a left-handed pocket holster, so my right hand would grab the grip naturally.  As it is, if I turn it around ... the butt is pointed in the wrong direction and it's even more awkward.

I'll live with this over the winter, and perhaps try something else when it's no longer "coat weather".   The little auto has a belt clip which provides good retention and access, but again there are issues with concealment; that little 1/2" of the butt sticking over the waistband of my britches is impossible to conceal without the shirt-tail flapping in the breeze.

So far, I've just pocket-carried, and that's fine except I can't keep my money clip or credit cards in that pocket, and I've learned that I can't carry a hip-pocket wallet.   Every time reach to make a payment in a store, I grab my pistol; I haven't pulled it, yet, in the 10+ years I've been carrying.

But I have to admit, a Kel-tec 380 is still a lot easier to carry than a full-size Kimber in .45acp!

Buyers' Remorse In The Making

I can't think of a more useless firearm, but somebody will buy it.

Sales out to zoom up to two, maybe 3 purchase a month.  For the first month.

A six-barrel .25 ACP pistol that fires two rounds with one trigger pull:

The outside-the-box thinkers at Standard Manufacturing, the good folks who brought us the double-barrel 12-gauge pump the DP-12, are at it again. Meet the S-333, it’s a six-barrel .25 ACP that fires two rounds with each pull of the trigger. The barrels don’t rotate like a pepperbox. Instead, they “Volleyfire” — a term Standard Mfg. has trademarked. MSRP is around $300, and it comes in all the colors of the rainbow.

(H/T: The Gun Feed)

Wisconsin: We Don't Have Enough Redundant Gun Laws!

In Wisconsin, you can lose your Second Amendment rights if you're convicted of 3 misdemeanors according to a new bill proposed by "a group of Wisconsin legislators.

"They say the measure would make Milwaukee safer."

I don't know what that word ("misdemeanor") means in Wisconsin law, so I looked it up.

A misdemeanor is a crime which is punishable by less than a year in jail or prison.

So ... you can be treated as a felon if you have already been convicted of (for example):

• Resisting or obstructing an officer
• Hazing
• Trespassing
• Conducting a Lottery
• Vagrancy
• Deer hunting violations
• Various food regulation violations

... plus other enumerated 'misdemeanors': any combination of three.   

Apparently,  any three misdemeanor convictions during your lifetime count; the accumulation of your criminal history is not bounded by any specific time line.  (I haven't read the proposed law or found a link)

CORRECTION: rereading the original article (always a good idea) I note the sentence reads:

The bill would make it a felony for people to possess a gun if they've had three misdemeanor convictions in five years.

I apologize for the mistake, The corrected reading makes more sense.
It still does not establish a legitimate precedence for undermining a citizen's Second Amendment rights for misdemeanors.

There are also reference to 'other felonies' included (straw buyers, etc.) which are already illegal under Federal law ... which makes the proposed Wisconsin law redundant in fact.

I don't know how boring it is in Wisconsin in the Winter, but these three bozos seem to have way too much free time on their hands.   I suggest they seek a second job, one which might be more inclined to keep them too busy to perform their legislative mischief.

I hear Burger King is hiring.

(see below for the original article)

Jerry The Geek on FaceBook .. not me!

https://www.facebook.com/JerryTheGeek/

sorry, I don't do facebook.  My son tells me that it's "The Devil".

can't speak for that specific facebook page, directly.

But I'm grateful to the facebook dude, because he's so ugly he makes me look good in comparison.

Oregon, and the Right to Keep and Bear Knobkerries

Oregon bans weapons in state workplaces:

Oregon officials have banned state employees from carrying weapons in the workplace unless they're needed for their jobs. The move caused consternation Thursday among Republican leaders in the Legislature. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services said it imposed the ban, which became effective on Jan. 6, in hopes of "providing a safe and secure environment for employees and visitors." Banned are firearms, daggers, slingshots, and a host of other specified weapons. Oddly, even knobkerries were mentioned. Knobkerries are clubs used by indigenous people like the Zulus in southern Africa, and are probably unknown to most Oregonians.

You realize that this would not make for a "safe and secure environment", right?

But if I was still working for The State, I would be a criminal.   Because what I did legally last month, would be illegal today.

For almost 20 years I carried a concealed Knobkerry at work, in a State Office, every day.  Nobody knew because it was ... well ... concealed.  
And I certainly wasn't going to mention it.

It was legal, because of state laws in effect in Oregon at the time, and I had a "CKL" (Concealed Knobkerry License".  But the place where I worked had an administrative rule disallowing the possession of knobkerries ... either open or concealed carry.    They could have fired me for wanting to exercise my God Given Right to Keep and Bear Knobkerries  (RKBK).  

But I would not have been subject to legal action;   I was not breaking any laws.

My thinking was that Knobkerry Free Zones (such as schools) were a prime target of 'mischief makers', and if  'mischief' were to occur at my work place,  I wanted to have options.  

I always felt much more "safe and secure" knowing that I could pull out my trusty knobkerry and pound the living crap out of anyone who decided to use an illegal knobkerry to attack my workplace.

Well, that has all changed now.   Because we are defenseless ... by legal fiat.

I am disgusted ... California Politics are creeping into Oregon.

Lest We Forget: The Obama Girl

Crush On Obama - YouTube




But wait!

Hillary Boyz?

"I got a crush on Hillary!




(I'm so ... GAG ME!)

Is it possible that the "Grown-Ups" actually decided that Hillary Tits were not the best criteria for a presidential election?

["My Mom Is A Republican!"]

Finally, it sinks in

The Virality Of Gun Violence | The Huffington Post:

Incidentally, for all the hullabaloo about the lack of government funding for gun research, I note that part of the funding for this substantial project came from the National Science Foundation, which also happens to be a government agency.
Obviously, the lack of CDC support for gun research has created real gaps in the evidence about gun violence; perhaps there are other ways to skin the proverbial research cat.

Yes, there are 'other ways'.  The CDC was busted *(lost its Federal funding for "Gun Violence" research) because it pursued an obvious bias in reporting on firearms injuries.  It focused on the availability of guns with little or no information about how some societies suffered more (gun) violence than other societies. Its reporting was generally not balanced by providing information on how firearms ownership provided a benefit to private citizens in violent demographics. It may be that NSF has found a way to provide a more 'balanced' reportage.

The JAMA report focused on the societal causes of violence, focusing on gun violence, and concluded that demographic signifiers were one method of predicting victims of violence.

If the CDC had made the effort, perhaps they would still receive federal funding for firearms research.  I note, however, that the CDC can still report anything they wish to about firearms injuries; they just don't get to use your federal tax dollars to tout their political bias.

Leave it to the Limeys ...

... to adore The HillaryBeast:

Hillary Clinton: The Guardian person of the year 2016 — News — The Guardian Nigeria:

Cerebral, hardworking and hugely versed in the workings of government, not many people were as prepared to lead America as she was. Dignified in carriage, humble in spite of her great guts, thoughtful and very wise, she was the inevitable philosopher-queen. Her tenacity in public and in private lives is the stuff of legends. She withstood haranguing by the leading lights of the opposition party who did their best to cast her as corrupt and dishonest. She endured the humiliation of a troubled marriage and steeled her heart to save it. In the campaigns, she was held to standards sometimes humanly, but certainly manly impossible to meet. She not only discharged herself creditably, she captured the imagination of the world. That she lost to a man who is as comprehensive in his ignorance as he is relentless in his arrogance to put it on display underlines a certain rot in the heart of their society.

Funny, that's not the Hillary that I voted against.

Donald Trump owes her a great debt, however, for she's the only American who would have won him the Presidency by simply being the most despicable America candidate.

Money for Nothin'; Chicks For Free!

Universal Basic Income Is Our Best Weapon Against The Rising Far Right | The Huffington Post:

LONDON ― A groundbreaking pilot project launched this week in Finland. The government is going to give a randomly selected group of 2,000 unemployed citizens a monthly income of $587 with no strings attached and no need to report how they spend it. The project aims to test the feasibility of a program ― called basic income ― that’s worked in earlier pilot projects elsewhere in the world.

Um ... unemployed?  And there is no "Societal Safety Net" already in place in Socialist Finland?

Well, that's really going to encourage the beneficiaries to go out and find a job.

Interesting, the comment that it has "... worked ... elsewhere...".
More interesting, there is no definition of the term "worked".

The bad thing about this kind of program is that it may constitute a "disincentive" to active job-seeking.  No word on how the recipients of this milk from the societal teat were selected, but one hopes that priority is given to those who are unable to find work because of age or infirmity or lack of training in marketable skills, rather than a disinclination to get up in the morning and earn their daily bread.

And if lack of marketable skills, wouldn't it be useful to use this funding to support unemployed persons while they are actively engaged in training which might lead to employment?   As in ... an incentive to learn to work?

That whole "no strings attached" thing stinks of Leftest Fantasies.

But then, this IS the Huffington Post, and that IS what they do best.

(Hat Tip: Codrea)

How Will We Survive (Another Liar) In The White House?

I don't know about you, but I grow tired of reading comments like this about President-Elect Trump:

How Will 'We' Survive A President Trump?:

“There’s a whole generation of dead queer men and dead poor women of color who didn’t survive Reagan. There’s over a million dead Iraqis who didn’t survive Bush. There’s millions upon millions whose lives were destroyed by the muscular policing policies of Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Obama. Stop saying ‘we’ survived them. Stop ignoring all those dead, incarcerated and disenfranchised people.” — Dr. Shant Paradigm Smalls

Frankly, I would be surprised to have elected a president who isn't a liar; we haven't elected one recently (with the possible exception of Eisenhower ... but I can't prove that) and we certainly managed to "survive" some proven liars.

 (*cough* Bill "I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman" Clinton *cough*)

Ronald Reagan (for example) may have been one of the most effective leaders of the Modern Era, but I was embarrassed for him when he repeatedly fell back on the "I must have mis-spoken" mantra when he was cross-examined under sworn testimony during congressional hearings on the Iran/Contra controversy.

Obama?

A Short History of Phenomenal Presidential "Mis-Speaking":



The question is not whether we will ever elect a president who is not willing to lie with a straight face, but rather whether we would WANT to elect a president who cannot lie convincingly.

They're all Politicians, and by definition they are all not only liars, but CONSUMMATE liars!


In future years, when I rant about the lies told by President Trump (and I'm sure that I will), you need not remind me that the alternative would have been to to place a second lying-Clinton in the White House.

He was elected President over the Hillary-Beast because he was a better liar.

He couldn't  have done it without her.   And he knows it.

Are public libraries obsolete?

John Lott asks the question, and my answer is a resounding NO!

I'm a voracious reader of books, and I have 30 Banker Boxes (plus five book-cases more) of books by my favorite authors that I own.   But I can't afford to buy as many books as I want to read, so I have formed the habit of requesting new books from my local (county) library which they do not have in stock.

They buy the books, notify me when they arrive, and I check them out to read.   I'm often the First reader of these books; and I'm careful to only request books by "popular authors", so the county is not stocking books which are unlikely to be checked out by other readers.

And their accounting system keeps track of these requests, so they are aware of books which are likely to be checked out by other readers.

It's a good system for me; the library is publically funded (by my taxes) and I like that I encourage them to continue stocking new books as they become available.

But if new books are not ordered, the library is likely to be defunded over the years.  It's important that libraries receive this kind of positive feedback, so they know they are actively serving an active readership.

I do not always read all of the books that I receive from my library.

For example, Vince Flynn died in 2013 and his series of books has been assumed by a new author.  I do not like this author's style, so I will not be borrowing new Vince Flynn books from my library.  Chances are that they will eventually discontinue the practice of automatically buying these books (and certainly I will not be requesting them), and that's A Good Thing.

When I stop checking out new Vince Flynn books, the library will eventually discover that the popularity has decreased, and they will stop buying these books because ... nobody wants to read them.

This has a positive feed-back effect, if on a small scale, and in my mind it's a good way for me to reflect the public opinion on which books my library should spend its funding on.

In the meantime, the article mentions that librarians are personally building the 'popularity' of Classic Books in order to provide statistics to keep them on the shelves.   I think that's A Good Thing.  I haven't yet read many recent classics but i will want to do so some day.

I've read some classic children's books on tape for my grandchildren, and even encourage family members to contribute to the project by asking them to read the parts of 'other characters' in the book.  my children, and their children, enjoyed this "Books On Tape" project, especially because they begin to associate the readers' voices with the characters.    (I recently read a short segment of an OZ book to my grandchildren, when my daughter brought them to visit me, and my daugher interrupted me to say that I "read the wrong characters' voice".  I had read Brer Rabbit with a different dialect/ she later informed me that she and her brother (living with my divorced wife) use to go to sleep listening to the tapes that I had made for them.)

When Libraries budgets are cut, when they stop stocking classic books because nobody checks them out any more ... children lose the encouragement to READ, and appreciate, books which are older than they are.

What will our nation  become when the libraries no longer stock Brer Rabbit books?

We'll soon find out, because my library has no copies of any "Uncle Remus" books by Joel Chandler Harris.

Is this anti-racist protest?  If so, it's a sad commentary on America, because if we no longer make Historic Black Culture to be stocked, it's a loss to American Culture.

"... situations like this are at least somewhat avoided ... "

.243 KABOOM due to Left Over Cleaning Patch - The Firearm Blog:
" ...So situations like this are at least somewhat avoided."

I should think so.

"Debunked"? Why?

I'm reading this news release from the NRA, and I don't know why the NRA is taking this approach:

NRA-ILA | 40 Percent Myth Further Debunked by Suspiciously-timed Harvard Report:

This week saw the publication of survey data compiled by Harvard Injury Control Research Center’s Deborah Azrael, Matthew Miller, and Lisa Hepburn, that should finally lay to rest the long-debunked factoid that 40 percent of firearms sales occur without a background check.

Who keeps track of how many firearms sales are conducted without a Background Check?  And how do they do that?  Wow, that's impressive: intuitive databases abound!

But that assumed factoid ignored:
Frankly, I'm resentful of the Federal Government's intrusion into the private sale of firearms.   Why is the NRA so particular about reassuring folks that "ALL" firearms transactions are registered and monitored?   Isn't the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Constitution?

(Yes, I am ignoring the part about criminals and madmen, temporarily, for the purpose of discussion; where does it say "except for ...." in the Constitution?  Some states are currently toying with the concept of restoring Second Amendment Rights to convicted felons; is this A Good idea, or not?   How about restoring "Voting Rights" for convicted felons, which seem to be part of the same package deal?   Isn't "suppression of civil liberties" part of penal retribution?  Should it be?)

What purpose does it serve, to require Universal Background Checks?

The stated goal is to prevent sales to criminals.  How would that work?  Do thieves and murderers obey the law?  I'm imagining a potential mass murderer agreeing to a background check during the purchase of a firearm, and ... uh, no.  It's just not working for me.  I figure that they just steal the guns.  After all, they're criminals.

On the other hand, I can think of at least one good reason why universal background checks are "Not A Good Idea":

Registration.

I don't so much care about the added expense and inconvenience which Universal Background Checks imply (although that is a factor, at least), but why do these background checks require that the serial number of the firearm be part of the process?

The only reason I can think of is that this allows somebody to track the serial number of the gun; and the name (and other biographic information) of both the buyer and seller will be entered into a database somewhere.

Which is, of course, against the law unless deleted within a 'reasonable time period' (typically, one week if I'm not mistaken).  And of course I believe that the information will be permanently deleted.

If that is true, why?

Why enter the information into a database if it's due to be deleted in a week?  What's so magic about a 7-day time period?  Who gets that information, and what do they do with it? Impermanent data has no value.  I've been in the Data Processing business for most of my adult life, and I never saw any organization go to the bother of designing, building, maintaining and updating a database unless there is a reason for keeping a history into perpetuity.

 (Oh, sure: "backup"; it's a standard DB feature.  Right!  And I'll still respect you in the morning!)

This makes no sense at all!

Of course, we are assured (by the federal government ... oh, THAT'S a reliable source!) that the data is deleted "Real Soon Now".

So why is it entered in the first place?   They tell us that the information is only used to confirm that the buyer is not a felon, or a registered madman is trying to purchase a firearm.

 (Is there a "MadMen Database" somewhere, and who maintains it or vets the data input to make sure than any 'non-madmen' are not erroneously included? What ... the "No-Fly List?"  No, The Government would have no reason to conflate "Suspected, but not confirmed, terrorist" with "don't let this guy buy a gun".)

I thought it over, turned it around in my mind, and I still can't figure out why a private transaction should be entered in a database.

Sure, 'they' tell us that the transaction is not actually recorded; it's just input so they can check it against their 'people who we don't think should have a gun' list.

But why do all the assurances mention that the transaction will be deleted in seven days?
Why delete it if it isn't entered?  Can't they just check the buyer against the MadMen Database, without recording it?

Is it possible that "They" are lying to us??

"Just because I'm paranoid, that doesn't mean that 'they' aren't out to get me."

(also:  The check is in the mail", and "of COURSE I'll still respect you in the morning!")

I am reassured.  What possible reason can 'they' have to lie to me?

A Culture of Violences

Yesterday I talked about a White Plains (NY) County Board which decided not to allow a Gun Show at a county property.

The original news source had this to say:
Democratic Lawmakers Send Gun Show Ban Bill to Full Board | The Examiner News:

The lawmakers argued that hosting the show would promote a culture of violence and the glorification of firearms on taxpayer-financed property. 

Having had some time to think about this statement, I decided that I was personally offended by the opinions of the "New York Lawmakers".

They are a small coterie of professional politicians who are sufficiently glib to be elected to public office.

I am a a man who was drafted to go to Viet Nam and serve my country, at the very real risk of my life ... because I was drafted.   I did not volunteer to serve, but I was threatened with prison judicial penalties if I refused to meet the requirements of the politicians who ran my country.

Politicians Just Like Them ... who likely never served (like Bill Clinton, who dodged the draft due to Political Influence).

I, and many others like me, were obligated to kill people whom we had never met, and against whom we had no personal grudge.  The reason?  THEY were officially designated as "The Enemy".

Who so designated them?

The politicians who rule our country, seem to have the judicial permission to determine which violence is appropriate, and Just..   And many others; those who advised our rulers.   The Quiet Men, who made our decisions for us, and sent too many of us into our own private Hell of Conscience.

That's who.

Now these same Lawmakers (or their descendents) are again identifying your enemies, and asking telling us who we should hate, and how to deal with them.

It probably seems like "A Small Thing" to those who have not found themselves obligated  to obey the dictums of "our betters"; but to those of us who served, albeit unwillingly, it's not a small thing at all.

At all.

First they tell us to kill, in service to our country; then they tell us not to kill, in service to our own lives and that of our families ... when we are attacked.

I don't know about you, but I am confused.

What is "A Culture of Violence"?

Is it that which we are trained, by governmental mandate, to perform in service to our country?

Is it that which we are inculcated to perform, in service to our family?

When Elected Officials say that Americans who are trained to kill, cannot kill someone who threatens our family, I wonder how I can trust their judgement?

Or whether I should trust them.

Is it possible that they do not have a sense of proportion?

Or do I no longer have a sense of proportion?

...

I have no inclination to harm anyone.
I've done it, it is distasteful, and I don't want to feel that way again.


But at the same time, I know that I would protect my loved ones.
It's not a matter of "Right" or "Wrong"; it's just a matter of that they are my family, and I have an obligation to protect them ... because I can.  And would.

Whoops!

Daughter repeatedly slips on ice as she struggles to get into her car in Canada | Daily Mail Online:

This is the gleeful moment a woman repeatedly slipped over on ice as she tried to get into her car while her unsympathetic mother laughed hysterically. The daughter was having difficulty on the drive of her parents' house in Canada as she prepared to head off on Boxing Day. She kept slipping on the ice and had to grab hold of her father to stop herself falling head over heels. 

NY Dems Oppose Gun Show; claim it "...would promote a culture of violence..."

Democratic Lawmakers Send Gun Show Ban Bill to Full Board | The Examiner News:

The Northeast Gun Show would take place on Jan. 21-22 at the White Plains venue but the Legislation, Labor/ Parks/Planning/Housing and Public Safety & Social Services committees are sending a measure to the full board for its next meeting this Monday, Jan. 9 that would prohibit gun shows at all county-owned property, including the County Center. The lawmakers argued that hosting the show would promote a culture of violence and the glorification of firearms on taxpayer-financed property. “I, as one legislator, recognize the right to the Second Amendment,” said Board Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers). “I don’t read in there the right to have a gun show at the County Center.”

The Distinguished Board Chairman, Michael Kaplowitz (Democrat, as noted) is is full fig at the outrage of renting out a building which would bring additional funding into the county.

He would much rather the structure remain empty and useless, than to host a (gasp!) "Gun Show at the County Center"!

!!!!

Horror of horrors, he can't have that!
'Chairman Kaplowitz' (Democrat) has designated himself the keeper of morals for his County.

Which is apparently in the Great State of New York.

Near White Plains.

(No, I never heard of the county either, but I have heard of White Plains, NY.)

Better that all County Properties remain empty and unused than host a GUN SHOW! (which, even if his constituents choose not to attend, would still provide a rental profit on an otherwise empty structure on County Property)


Failing a degenerate Gun Show, here is a list of things to do while visiting Sunny White Plains, New York!

• You can go see a Stage Show at the Westchester Broadway Theater
• And ... um ... here are another 365 things to do in Westchester County
• Or you can go to the trial of a man who tried to stab a Westchester County Police Officer

Or you can go to a Gun Show.

Oh ... wait.  That's completely Off The Books now, isn't it.

Well, I heard a rumor that the Westchester Theater is running a series of movies starring Paul Newman  and Robert Redford.  I  think I've see that movie.   Twice.

Apparently, White Plains isn't "That Toddling Town"  As long as it has Board Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers)  taking care of the moral character of HIS county, White Plains will always have something to talk about while they're plucking chickens, (Or having a quilting bee.)

Both of which are probably activities which Kaplowitz approves of.

PS:   Here's a picture of a gun.  Don't let Michael know you have it!

The NRA Admits: "Water is Wet"

Guess what?

One of the most murderous cities in America is Chicago.

And the reason?

Chicago has more than it's fair share of young black men who are disadvantaged.
(Translation:  they can't find a job, so they turn to crime.  DUH!)


America's 1st Freedom | Who Can—And Who Can’t—Solve Chicago’s Murder Problem:

 The bonds of trust between law enforcement and high-crime communities in Chicago have been battered, and in some cases shattered, over the last few years. These are two groups that must work together in order to drive down the shootings, robberies and assaults that plague Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods.

Chicago has a lot of problems, not the least is a high volume of criminal actions.

The answer is simple: find jobs for young men who have "successful criminals" as their role models:

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as it sounds.  These young men have no skills, little education (many of them drop out of school in their teens

I've written about "The Gun Problem In Chicago" so many times, it's not worth working my way through it again.  But the good thing is, this article is paying attention to the REAL PROBLEM in Ciraq.

It's not the guns.

It's the society.

Poverty, unstable home life, promiscuity, single-parent families, welfare, and children raised with no hope for a better future than the drug-runner on the corner with the nice car and 15-year-old hookers.

Why can't we all just get along? This is why.

'F**K YOU': Georgetown Prof Loses It On Muslim Trump Voter | The Daily Caller:

 A Georgetown University associate professor had a month-long meltdown after a Muslim woman explained why she voted for President-elect Donald Trump.

I'm guessing that he was an associate professor of "Liberal Arts", and this was "a teaching moment".

It kind of reminds me of this:

The American Civil Liberties Union apparently hates guns more than it hates arbitrary government-enforced discrimination. Even though the ACLU opposes the no-fly list—and is suing the federal government for violating the due process rights of several people on it—the civil liberties advocacy group is theoretically okay with depriving people on the list of their gun rights.

... and this;

The video itself lasts for 30 minutes, during which the victim—who is tied up, with his mouth taped shut—is abused in numerous ways. The perpetrators cut his hair with a knife until his head bleeds, flick cigarette ashes on him, and threaten him. They occasionally utter things like, "Fuck Donald Trump, fuck white people." At one point, the video recorder—a black woman whose name is easily identifiable—suggests putting the victim out of his misery.

(You can probably see the video here;  I haven't watched it, so I don't know what's really at that link.  The text, and this still photo, were about all I cared to learn about this.)

Americans ... you gotta love us.

Or we'll kick your ass.

I guess it's a Good Thing that all these people encountered 'liberals' instead of those hateful 'conservative' people.

You know, the people who believe in the Constitution?

Locked In A Cell Without Charges

Hit & Run : Reason.com:
(12.30.16}

 Imagine being treated the same way a person arrested for a felony is treated—brought into jail, strip searched, imprisoned—even though you aren't arrested. Worse yet, imagine being treated that way because you might have been a witness to a crime and police wanted to interview you.

That's exactly what had been happening down in Louisiana in Evangeline Parrish (population 33,500) and its town of Ville Platte (population 7,300). According a long-term Department of Justice investigation that was just released in December, police and sheriff's offices there had a long-established practice of jailing people for days without charges or warrants as "investigative holds." The practice is extremely unconstitutional but apparently had been policy.

If the words BOSS HOGG popped into your mind, you're not the only one.

Read the whole thing.

Trump's Right Hand

Apparently I'm not the only one who finds Donald J. Trump's "hand gestures" irritating!



Geez ... if someone would replace that hand with ,,, with a ... A HOOK!

No Man Dare Call It Infringement

California gun owners stock up on ammunition ahead of new regulations | The Sacramento Bee:

(Below are direct quotes from the link shown above.)

DATES CALIFORNIA GUN LAWS TAKE EFFECT 

Between state legislation and voter-approved ballot initiatives, 2016 saw passage of sweeping new gun regulations in California. Some of the new rules take effect in 2017. Others are staggered over the next two years. Here’s your guide to California’s new era of gun ownership. 

 Theft/loss reporting 

When it becomes a crime to falsely report a firearm has been lost or stolen Jan. 1 

Start date for requirement that theft or loss of a firearm must be reported to law enforcement within five days July 1 

Lending firearms 

When it becomes illegal, with limited exceptions, to loan guns to anyone outside of immediate family members Jan. 1 

Large-capacity magazine restrictions 

When it becomes illegal, with limited exceptions, to possess magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds July 1 

Assault weapon restrictions 

Start date for the new definition of “assault weapon” Jan. 1 

Deadline to register a newly designated assault weapon with the state Dec. 31, 2017 

Restrictions on home-built “ghost guns” and guns without serial numbers 

Start date for requirement that you get state permission before manufacturing or assembling a firearm July 1, 2018 

Deadline to place a serial number on any unmarked firearm possessed after July 1, 2018 Dec. 31, 2018 

Ammunition restrictions

 Start date for requirement that ammunition sales or transfers be conducted through a licensed ammunition vendor Jan. 1, 2018  

When you no longer can import ammunition bought outside the state without first shipping it to a licensed vendor Jan. 1, 2018   

Start date for requirement that Californians undergo background checks to buy ammunition July 1, 2019 

Handgun storage law 

Start date for requirement that handguns be stored in a locked container or locked trunk when left in an unattended vehicle Jan. 1 

Sources: Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Legislative Analyst’s Office, California legal codes.


[NOTE: due-dates which are not followed by the year are assumed to be 2017.   That means that they are immediately applicable.  Ignorance Is No Excuse.   Resistance is Futile.]

California IMPORTS Democrat Lawyers?

California Hires Eric Holder as Legal Bulwark Against Donald Trump - The New York Times:

 LOS ANGELES — Girding for four years of potential battles with President-elect Donald J. Trump, Democratic leaders of the California Legislature announced Wednesday that they had hired Eric H. Holder Jr., who was attorney general under President Obama, to represent them in any legal fights against the new Republican White House. The decision by the Legislature to retain Mr. Holder, who is now a prominent Washington lawyer, is the latest sign of the ideological battle that may play out over the next four years between this predominantly Democratic state and Washington. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president, defeated Mr. Trump by more than four million votes here.

Stick a fork in 'em, fellas .... they're done!

Don't take advice from Joe Biden

Oh, this is wrong in so many ways!

Man fires gun to scare off suspects in attempted Antioch carjacking | WKRN News 2:
(December 29, 2016)

 ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WKRN) – An attempted carjacking victim scared off a group of people who tried to steal his car in Antioch early Thursday morning. It happened on Lori Drive around 1 a.m. Metro police told News 2 the man said he was in his car when three white men with bandanas over their faces approached him and attempted to open the car door. The man fired his legally-owned weapon in self-defense and the three men ran away, according to police. One of the suspects fired a shot as the group was fleeing the scene.

[emphasis added]

Note that the news article reports that the driver 'received' return fire;  the "suspects" were obviously armed.    If you're assaulted by armed hooligans, and you are in fear for your life, trying to scare them away by 'firing a shot' only warns them that you are armed.  They could as easily have shot the man.

In 2013, Dumb Joe suggested last year that people fire a gun "into the air" to frighten away attackers.

Bad idea.
It could get you arrested for 'firing a gun inside city limits'.  And you need to be aware of where that bullet is going to end up.

(Even the Huff 'n Puff Post knows better!)

Isn't it Ironic?

Amazing.

... Over 100 people killed or injured by one person at a New Years Eve Party in Turkey, and there was nobody there able to stop the attack.

Don't you just hate it when Terrorists don't obey Gun Control Laws?

It isn't as if they didn't see this coming ...

A Year In Bearing Arms:

I typically spend some time during each week reading articles from  .   I consider it a 'must read' website, because these folks often address Second Amendment issues which are important to me.

As an annual Review, these good folks have provided a skimming of the stories they considered important to many of us.

A Year In Bearing Arms: 10 Stories About Protecting Your Firearm Freedom:

A lot has happened in 2016; there were more police-related shootings, terrorist attacks and attempted robberies; liberals continued to push gun control; news of gun violence was twisted by the media; and Second Amendment advocates were given hope when Donald Trump was elected president. If you feel like you’ve missed something, here are ten of this year’s most compelling stories.

Limousine Lawyers vs 2nd Amendment

A Pro Bono Dream Team Takes On the N.R.A. - The New York Times:
(NY Times Editorial . 12/17/2016)

A promising new force in the fight for gun control has arrived on the scene. A coalition that includes corporate litigators from seven of the nation’s leading law firms is taking aim at some of the most glaring flaws in gun safety. One is Congress’s restriction of the government’s ability to conduct basic public health research on gun deaths. The lawyers will also seek ways to challenge state lawmakers who have invited millions of citizens to pack guns in public buildings and businesses.

The Coalition of Liberal Lawyers have a head start in their initial announcement to the Egregiously Liberal New York Times.

The article takes a preliminary poke at "...  Congress’s decision in 2005 to shield the arms industry from damage suits — an outrageous protection no other industry has."

 It's no surprise that they came out swinging for the low blows.  This is an obvious First Strike at the PLCAA  (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act).

The legal fight has been made difficult by Congress’s decision in 2005 to shield the arms industry from damage suits — an outrageous protection no other industry has. But the coalition is considering new approaches, drawing upon public safety, antitrust and property laws to tackle problems like the widespread legalization of guns in public places and commercial establishments. Another concern is the pre-emption of local gun ordinances by state laws approved by politicians in the sway of the gun lobby.

I warned about this on my December 15, 2016 article  which initially noted the support of National Public Radio for anti-Second Amendment movements.  

What do 'they' have on their side?

Untold numbers of Limousine Lawyers looking to make a name for themselves.

What do 'we' have on our side?

Not much.

Only the Constitution of the United States of America.

Oh. And Bette Davis:



(H/T: David Codrea at Ammoland)

The .25-06

Hat-Tip: Paw-Paw's House

It is my personal opinion that the .25-06 is the finest all-around rifle caliber in the world today.
There are those who think that the .270 deserves that accolade, but my experience with the "Bastard Ought-Six" ... while it may not put the lie to that accolade, certainly challenges it.

I inherited my .25-06 from my father, who was a "stock maker" and whose brother (my uncle "Shorty") was a machinist.

My father's favorite rifle was the 1903-A3 Springfield rifle, and between the two of them they built many fine rifles in variant calibers, based on that platform.

They got rid of everything except the action, and from that point they combined their various skills (Uncle Shorty, the machinist; Pop, the stock-maker) to build some of the most beautiful and functional rifles the world has ever seen.

For under $500, including their time.

But the .25-06 was perhaps their finest creation.

My father ("POP") was the imagination.  He conceived of many bizarre configurations of caliber, stock, barrel and accoutrements.  Uncle Shorty did the machining and always worked to spec.

Between them, the most disappointing creation was a .22-250 (obviously not using the 1903-A3 Springfield as a platform .. it was a "spec" creation) which my father built for me for varmint shooting.   I had demanded that they use the entire barrel-blank, to keep the most metal on the barrel so that I could shoot ground-hogs all day from 300 yards to 500 yards and  not warp the barrel.
Pop and Shorty decided it just looked ... ugly.  So they tapered the barrel by 1/8" over the 30" length of the barrel.   Yes, it looked better, and it never wavered from zero at 500 yard ground-hog shooting, all day long.

But I digress ... we're talking about the .25-06.

Pop bought a new .25 caliber barrel (after 50 years, I disremember the well-known barrel maker ... "Black" something?), Shorty tapered the barrel, bored the chamber to .25-06 and fitted it to the action.

Pop fitted it with a "Birds-Eye Maple" stock, with a Pachmeyer Recoil pad (that .25-06 was soft shooting, but after 100 rounds during an afternoon of Ground-Hog shooting in a prone-over-a-shooting-stick position, I was grateful for the padding!)

The stock was a full cheek-piece that lapped over to the over side ... dense wood, lots of it, and it looked as if it had tailfins and a V8 engine it would  rip up a dragstrip and still take "Best In Show" at a vanity car show.

Better yet, I could shoot Jack Rabbits, Mule Deer or Antelope (with the 10x Leopold scope) at distances from 70 yards to 500 yards ... and did!

Okay, I wasn't shooting Jacks at 500 yards.

Deer and Antelope ... yes, after I learned the right "hold".

I initially sighted the gun in at 200 yards,  It was still dead on at "Hopping-Jackrabbit" distances, and close enough at 100-yard "Startled Deer: distances.

But how did it perform at long distances?

I once (nineteen-seventy something) shot an Antelope which was just disappearing over a knoll at 500 yards, from a supported kneeling position.  I held one-body-thickness over the horns, to allow for the time-to target. After a second or three, I heard the distinctive "THUMP" of a solid hit.

Pop and  my uncles, and our host at the private ranch, disbelieved the hit; but when we fetched the trucks and drove over the hill, there was a DRT antelope with a chest shot.

I named him "Fred", and paid $300 to mount the  14-1/2"trophy head.  He hangs over my stairwell today.

It wasn't me; it was the .25-06 shooting 117-grain Nosler Boat-tail bullets during an atypical windless moment in the Rawlins, Wyoming hunt area.

And yes, I have posted this information before, and I'm still waiting for someone to call me 'lair' on it.
It doesn't matter.  I know it was a million-to-one shot, but it worked.  I saved the head and I ate the meat, and the meat was delicious stir-fried in a hot pan with grease and some fried potatoes.\

I also have a very nice .30-06, but I could not have made the shot with that calibre;  I tried hunting with a .30-06  using 130 grain hollow point bullets, but they ruined the meet a close * (under 100 yards distance) * and they were erratic at longer distances.

I love the .25-06 because the ballistics are very easy to dope at various distances, it accommodates a variety of bullet weights, and the ballistics are a gentle arch which allows you to guestimate the proper hold over a wide variety of distances.

And it's a killer of jack-rabbits!

Chicago: "Old News"

Chicago's grim murder trend blamed on light sentencing, misguided reforms | Fox News:

The cycle of violence has resulted in more than 800 shootings so far this year, including seven shootings and one murder on April 4 alone. Escalante’s successor, former Chicago Police Department Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson, says the rate of murders and shootings can’t be reversed until the criminal justice system begins to hold offenders accountable.

This is "Old News".

I recall an article I wrote a few years ago (2014?) about Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of Chicago (elected 2011) and he wanted to keep the statistics of Firearms Deaths under the Magic Number of 500 deaths.

He and his political machine used every tactic possible to define "death by firearms" out of that official category.

This statement was based on a 2014 The Guardian article, which links to a "Chicago Magazine" article:

Stung by a 16% spike in killings in 2012 that led Moody’s, the ratings agency, to downgrade the city’s debt due to its "unrelenting public safety demands", Emanuel promised a tough response. Amid spending cuts, the former White House chief of staff to Barack Obama has ploughed tens of millions more taxpayer dollars into policing. Sure enough, in January he proudly announced that 2013 had seen the city’s fewest homicides since 1965 and lowest crime rate since 1972.
Yet a startling 7,000-word investigation [The Truth About Chicago's crime Rates] earlier this month by Chicago Magazine cast serious doubt over the crime-busting miracle of Emanuel and his superintendent, Garry McCarthy. It identified at least 18 apparent murders in 2013 that had either been quietly redefined as “non-criminal deaths” or shunted off the city’s books by other statistical sleights of hand..

Mayor Rahm has never lost his emphasis on "Looking Good" even though his record so far doesn't excel above the level of competency demonstrated by the corrupt   incompetent earlier Democrats who preceded him in the honorable office of Mayor of Chicago, Illinois.

Hey, Chicago!

Have you ever thought about voting for a different political party?

USA TODAY is worried about firearms accidents over the Christmas Season.

This is the season for gun accidents. Deaths spike during the holidays.:

The happiest of seasons is also among the deadliest: Unintentional shootings spike during the holidays, and are more likely to occur than any other time of the year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network. 

The newsmag points out that firearms are often gifts, and the recipients are often untrained.

That's probably true ... and who is responsible for that?

The victims were mostly male and young, with a median age of 19. Nearly half the shootings were self-inflicted, and most occurred in their own homes. The victims are people like Tezlar Wayne Ross, a 20-year-old from Gaffney, South Carolina, who killed himself while playing with a handgun at his home last New Year’s Eve.

It's easy to dismiss this as "Darwinian", but one wonders who buys guns for untrained adolescents and/or "young adults"?

The article also mentions "unsecured guns at their homes" and "alcohol" may be involved.

Ultimately, it's not so much a problem with the activity of immature males as it is a problem with irresponsible parents.

Responsible Parents Don't:

• Give their child a firearm until they know he/she respects the gun, and he/she is sufficiently well-trained in firearms safety to always handle the gun safety;
• Give their child ammunition at the same time;
• Allow their child to 'play' with guns;
• Allow their child access to firearms except under direct parental supervision;
• Assume that their child is less of an idiot than his/her parent!
• Note that a pistol might not be the best "first gun".

Articles such as this one might serve as a warning to others, but unfortunately there are enough irresponsible parents to make it unlikely that their children will have learned to be better than they have been taught.

Jake / ChiTown

Chicago goes 4 days without fatal shooting | Chicago Sun-Times:

For the first time in 2016, the city of Chicago has gone four full days without a fatal shooting.

(It's a week before the end of the year, and this is the FIRST TIME in a year when nobody has been shot killed by firearms for four days in Chicago?

Which is a tribute to First Responders, and the incompetence of gang-bangers.
God knows they tried; it's just that they are shooting at each other at ranges over 2 feet.

The amazing thing is that Baltimore hasn't heralded a similar amazingly positive headline.

Well .. no.  It's still a Very Big Deal that ChiTown didn't murder anyone for ...  oh, wait a minute.
That's just Firearms Deaths.

They're still stabbing each other in That Toddling Town.

Sometimes I think they should take that Southern Border Wall proposal, and instead build a wall around Chicago.  Except that 99% of the People are the innocent victims.   That would be like locking the Gazelles in the same cage with the Hyenas.

Oh wait ... didn't they already do that in Chicago?

Bait & Switch: Liberal Style

It's the same old story: Dems Demand Action, but 'Publicans pay the bills'.

Democrats decreed that ObamaCare would save the world; Republicans cried "It Won't Work!"
Dems said "Sure it will, just watch us!" and forced ObamaCare on America.

But now?  Guess who is the Bad Guy:

Democratic governors warn Congress on health care repeal:

Dec. 21, 2016 @7:50 PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic governors Wednesday warned top Republicans in Congress that repealing the Obama health care law would stick states with billions of dollars in costs for providing medical care to residents made newly uninsured.
-
Signing the letter were Govs. Dan Malloy of Connecticut, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Andrew Cuomo of New York, who dubbed the GOP's 'repeal and replace' strategy "nothing more than a Washington, D.C. bait-and-switch." 

It's just one more example of why the Pie-In-The-Sky Democrats should let The Grown-ups balance the checkbook.

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel --- Random Thoughts Of The Season

There should be a law, I think, which separates the Election season from the Christmas season.   By a few months, at least, to allow us time to recover from one emotionally laden season to the next.

I'm talking Radio, folks.

I cut off my cable TV about 20 years ago and haven't missed it.  But I listen to the radio every day and that miasma combination in November/December makes me feel like that scene in The Clockwork Orange when they tape the guys  (Malcom McDowel) eyelids open and force him to watch "Cinematic Aversion Therapy" videos until he breaks and sends his own mother to the breakers ..... or whatever.

Having suffered through the Presidential Election Season * when we were enjoined to vote for the Least Worse Candidate *, we are immediately inundated with Bad Christmas Music.

I'm not just talking about Bing Crosby and (as I mentioned earlier) "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" and "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" ... no, there's also "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" (okay, I kind of liked that one).

My Rock Station is playing Christmas Carols.  I had to turn off the radio; I'm listening just now to Dire Straits / "Sultans of Swing" just to give my jingle-jangled nerves a temporary break from the sugar-high which has become The Christmas Season On Radio (and has been Christmas for most of my life!)

If I had a television, I'm sure I would be complaining about that, too.

----

Actually, I do have a television .. which is connected to a VCR and a DVD player.  Christmas celebrations in Geekistan includes all the versions of Die Hard.

Now ... there is a guy who has truly donned his gay apparel!

Or ...

Nope.

I'm sticking with this as my Christmas Music de jour.

UK Kops: "Blame The Law-Abiding Victims!"

Top Met Police anti-terror cop blames licensed shooters for Jo Cox MP murder | UK Shooting News:

17 Dec 2016 – The head of the Metropolitan Police’s anti-terrorist division has sought to blame the licensed firearms community for the murder of Jo Cox MP by a political extremist. 

Responding to a fiercely worded letter sent to him by NRA chief executive Andrew Mercer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley suggested that the licensed firearms community was to blame because they are targeted for burglaries by criminals. 

Rejecting Mercer’s description of a previous interview with the Daily Telegraph as “unhelpful”, where Rowley had claimed 800 licensed firearms were lost or stolen in 2015 without breaking down the figure, the assistant commissioner wrote: “We do see licensed firearms recovered in criminal circumstances and we do, on occasions, see licensed firearms holders acting outside their licence conditions.”  (sic)

“A recent and high profile example is the firearm discharged in the murder of Jo Cox. This was originally a licensed firearm that was stolen from a vehicle. It then ended up in the hands of Thomas Mair.”

(Mercer/Rowley information link)

Incidentally, Andrew Mercer is chief executive of NRA/UK.

Help me work through the logic here:

Basic Background for those unfamiliar with UK gun control laws:

Great Britain has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the world.  The main law is from the late 1960s, but it was amended to restrict gun ownership further in the latter part of the twentieth century in response to massacres that involved lawfully licensed weapons.  Handguns are prohibited weapons and require special permission.  Firearms and shotguns require a certificate from the police for ownership, and a number of criteria must be met, including that the applicant has a good reason to possess the requested weapon. Self-defense or a simple wish to possess a weapon is not considered a good reason. The secure storage of weapons is also a factor when licenses are granted.

• England doesn't allow anyone to possess a firearm.  Except under strict license laws.
• England keeps a record of every licensed firearm owner, available (only?) to the police.
• The privately owned, licensed firearms were stolen by thieves who obviously knew who had them.
• As far as I know, there is no public record of licensees.
• The police have no leads.
• The police are looking for some way to distract public attention from their incompetence. Or malfeasance.

Did I miss anything?

In passing, I note that the lauded "Gun Control" measures imposed in "Civilized Countries" seem only to penalize honest, legal firearms owners.

Criminals can ALWAYS get a gun .. and this is exactly how it works.

That's all I have to say about this.

Cops know who has a CHL

The policeman who pulls you over for a traffic offense knows if you have a Concealed Handgun License.

Another “Achtung Juden!” bill. This time from South Carolina. – Gun Free Zone:

TO AMEND SECTION 56-3-1230 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO LICENSE PLATE SPECIFICATIONS, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE A STICKER TO EACH CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT HOLDER WHO IS A VEHICLE OWNER THAT MUST BE AFFIXED TO THE VEHICLE OWNER’S LICENSE PLATE TO INDICATE THE VEHICLE OWNER IS A CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT HOLDER.

The point of this bill is moot, and serves no useful purpose (unless you think that everyone should know you have a CHL).

Police routinely call in for a check on the license plate when they pull you over, and the information that the registered owner is a CHL owner is available to them.  You may notice a delay of a minute or two between the time you stop and the time the officer walks forward to talk to you.

The polite and prudent thing for the driver to do *while the cop is checking you out* is to use the time  to gather your drivers license, your insurance card and your CHL and have them in your hand when he approaches your car.

Roll your window down, keep your hands where he can see them.   It's not necessary for you to declare whether you have a weapon on your person; he may assume that is a 'belligerent' statement.

And remember the advice of Patrick Swaze in "Roadhouse":    BE NICE!




(Hat Top: "The Gun Feed")

The Dirty-Shirt Draw

A friend sent a blurb from John Farnham's recent issue of DQ Quips, describing a problem that we should all recognize: although we may not all be familiar with it.   Here is an edited version of Farnham's description of the issue:

The mishap occurred during the presentation of the pistol as part of a live-fire exercise.  Drawing from concealment, from a strong-side, IWB,  belt holster, the shooter’s light-weight shirt got between his strong-side hand and the grip of the pistol.  As the pistol cleared the holster, the fabric of the entangled shirt started pulling on the pistol, retarding the draw sequence. Manual safety was pushed into the “off” position, and a finger obviously made contact with the trigger well before it should have. ----------- Here is what I think we can all learn from this: 1) Thin, filmy, flimsy concealment garments are a bad idea!  Whatever  you use to conceal your pistol needs to be substantial enough so that is unlikely to snag the gun itself. 2) Going too fast is a bad idea!  We all need to train well, so that  we can both draw, and reholster, our concealed-carry pistols smoothly and correctly.  Smoothness is the key!  “Pushing the speed envelope” needs  to be done with great caution!  Concentrate on smoothness and correct  sequence.  Speed will come naturally, and in its own good time! 

MY TAKE ON THIS:

This is something which I see quite often teaching the Intro to USPSA class.  Shooters have either an un-tucked t-shirt, or a light jacket, or some other item of upper-body apparel which they allow to flap in the breeze.   

This garment interferes with their safe gun-handling in a couple of ways:
(1) it gets between the gun and the holster when they are holstering, and interferes with their draw because the grab for the gun and the shirt acts as a 'wedge' so they don't have a smoothe draw;
(2) they holster after completing a stage with the shirt in the way, and when they raise their arms (as if to stretch to get more ammunition when reloading magazines) the shirt-tail actually pulls their pistol out of the holster and drops the gun on the concrete.

However, the above narrative is the first time I've heard that it actually caused a negligent discharge.

I categorize this among the Draw-String Deputy kind of story; you can't believe it, but it really happens.