Snowflakes in Hell

Dave Hardy points out and article that talks about how most prosecutions involving supressors are for simple possession, and not associated with any particular crime.

Obama distanced himself from his record on guns by claiming that his staff had answered questions where he called for banning handguns and semi-automatic firearms.  It turns out he was lying:

Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obama’s answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he “never saw or approved” the questionnaire.

They asserted the responses were filled out by a campaign aide who “unintentionally mischaracterize[d] his position.”

But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago nonprofit group that issued it. And it found that Obama — the day after sitting for the interview — filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer.

I’m sorry, did I say he lied?  Pretty clearly he just misspoke.  Yeah.  That’s the ticket.

According to today’s session report for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, Representative Levdansky has withdrawn one amendment, A06178, from consideration. Should be noted that this is not the “Lost and Stolen” amendment, but one relating to the original bill, that has to do with altered obliterated serial numbers.  Doesn’t say anything about whether “Lost and Stolen” was considered today, though it was supposed to be on the agenda.  I’ll let folks know when I know more.

What happened can be described in this AP article.  My information was incorrect:

Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, withdrew from the House floor a pending constitutional challenge to legislation that would require owners to report within 72 hours when they realize a handgun has been lost or stolen. Cutler said he would withdraw the constitutional question because of House scheduling needs, but intended to renew it whenever the gun measure comes back before the chamber, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Sorry folks, I try to be more reliable, but it was hard to tell from the state’s web site exactly what was going on.

UPDATE: The vote on all this is apparently going to be on Wednesday.  It’s looking good, but we need to keep the pressure on.

One week from today is April 7th, which is when gun owners from across Pennsylvania will be going to Harrisburg to lobby our elected officials so that we may defeat the gun control measures before the legislature, and promote our own bills.

I will be attending myself, and hope you can come too.

Good to see they are standing up for free speech.

The Philadelphia Inquirer are such renowned experts on firearms and legal theory, and they believe this “Lost and Stolen” thing is a no brainer.

Come on gang, this isn’t much to ask. The concept is simple and should be noncontroversial: If you own a handgun that’s lost or stolen, you’re required to report it.

Modest? You bet. This proposal - which brought 10 busloads of Philadelphians to the capital the other week with CeaseFirePA - would help stem the sale of illegal handguns, while not infringing upon anyone’s rights.

As reported in The Inquirer last week, Pennsylvania’s lax gun laws permit traffickers to supply hundreds of weapons each year to the state’s meanest streets, as well as those in New Jersey and other neighboring states.

As I’ve stated several times, the problem with this bill is that it’s meant to reduce the state’s burden when it is unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person has engaged in a straw purchase.  When it’s difficult for the state to meet its burden, it is not, and should not be an acceptable course of action to lower that burden.  That will result in innocent people going to jail, and our system is supposed to protect against that, not encourage it.

If this law passes, there will be people who are victims of thefts, who are unaware of the law, and who have not engaged in any straw purchasing, who will end up being charged under this when they claim their firearms were stolen, after those firearms are later recovered on the streets.   The reason the suburban politicians are all behind this is because upper middle class suburanites all have insurance companies and police departments that are concerned about property crimes.   They won’t think twice about reporting stolen or missing firearms.  It’s the poorer citizen, both rural and urban, who are going to end up being victims twice.  The first time when they had their property stolen, and the second time when they end up charged becuase they didn’t know they had to report it to police.  That is not justice.  That is a travesty, and in a society that proports to care about the rights of the accussed, should not be acceptable practice.

Straw purchasing is already a serious crime, and the state should be held to its burden of proof.  That will mean that sometimes the guilty go free, but that’s generally something we’ve accepted as the cost of living in a free society.  This is a dangerous road the Philadelphia politicians are wanting to go down, and I’m disappointed and outraged that a lot of suburban politicians are willing to go along with this because their constitutents have the money to stay out of trouble.

We’re running a very real risk of getting stuck with the Lost and Stolen gun provision, which will make crime victims criminally liable for having guns go missing or get stolen that they failed to notify authorities about.  Nine suburban GOP state reps are getting on board with this:

Nine Philadelphia-area Republicans signaled last week they would break ranks with their caucus today and support handgun-control legislation when the state House of Representatives resumes debate on a controversial proposal.

The measure, which would require reporting handguns that are lost or stolen, has been vigorously pushed by Democrats in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as a “common sense” restriction that would reduce gun violence.

Through a legislative maneuver this month, gun-control proponents attached the proposal as an amendment to a separate weapons bill, setting up a possible historic full House vote on a substantive gun-control bill.

They couldn’t get this through committee, so they decided to go the route of adding to a house bill that’s already on the floor.  Here’s what some of our legislators have to say about it:

“I don’t know if it will get any illegal guns off the streets,” Perzel said. “I don’t believe it will have any effect.”

Rep. John Taylor (R., Phila.) said he, too, was a “yes” vote, but he said he was concerned about the potential consequences for law-abiding citizens who fail to report their weapons and who could face criminal charges.

“There is enough sentiment out there that this will really impact regular Joes and that the crackhead going to make straw purchases isn’t going to be affected in the least.”

But, Taylor added, “We have a big enough problem in Philly that I’ll try anything.”

They’ll try anything, even if it means we have to throw “everyday Joe’s” in prison, or subject them to steep fines.  Yeah, that’s the kind of government I want to live under, “We have to do something, even if it’s the wrong thing!” Write your reps and tell them to oppose this crap, especially if any of them are features in this article.  Write your senators too.  Even if this nonsense passes the house, there’s a chance of defeating it in the Senate, which is more friendly than the Democrat controlled house.

That pilots should be allowed to have firearms in the cockpit of the planes they capatain shouldn’t even be controversial, but in addition to our federal government not being able to get their act together in this regard by applying dangerous and stupid regulation on the act, we have pants shitters like this:

Not everyone is comfortable with pilots wearing guns. Kate Hanni, executive director for the Coalition for an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, said she opposes having a gun in the cockpit. If there must be one, she said, it shouldn’t be on the pilot’s body during flight, but rather within reach in case of a threat.

“The pilots have so much to focus on to keep the plane in the air,” she said.

Maybe I’ve completely lost my mind here, but I’m pretty sure that shooting terrorists attempting to hijack a plane is directly related to keep their plane in the air.  If you’re going to disarm ordinary people for the duration of the flight, I feel a lot better knowing my flight crew is packing.

Bitter notes that the anti-hunting forces, namely PETA and HSUS are getting on board with very similar messaging, which likely means they are learning from each other.  It’s encouraging that there are more women getting into hunting, but HSUS and PETA are correct that numbers overall are dwindling.  It’s very important to the shooting sports to maintain hunting as part of them, which is why groups like PETA and HSUS need to be considered no better than groups like VPC and Brady campaign.  We have to adopt the NATO doctrine; an attack on one is an attack on all.

It’s important to let hunters know about these groups and what they are doing, and get them involved in preserving their sport.  We also need to let dirty hippy hikers and birdwatchers know that hunters are the ones paying for the habitat preservation they so freely enjoy.

Dave Hardy’s documentary is going to be shown at the Backlot Film Festival in Culver City, California.  It will be this Saturday at 10AM, and tickets are only five dollars.  Dave is asking folks in the area if they wouldn’t mind showing up, because the more people that show up, the more chance there is of media coverage.

Southern California is a little far from my neck of the woods to make the trip, but I hope folks in California will be able to make it.

I’ve love to be on this jury:

The builders of the world’s biggest particle collider are being sued in federal court over fears that the experiment might create globe-gobbling black holes or never-before-seen strains of matter that would destroy the planet.

If I ran the LHC program, I’d amost be tempted to send my expert over to testify wearing a monocle, and carrying a white cat to stroke while he answers questions as to whether his nefarious plot is meant to destroy the planet.

Dave Hardy has been in this fight since I was crapping in diapers.  It’s always good to have the longer term perspective.

Bitter and I paid a visit to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. this weekend.  Not a bad walk around the tidal basin, except for all the other people.  This weekend was also the Kite Festival which gathers around the Washington Monument.

Everyone who goes to Washington really ought to go to the FDR memorial. It’s what you would imagine government bureaucrats, many of whom owe their jobs and livelihoods to the policies of FDR, would come up with. It’s basically a giant fountain dedicated to big nanny government. It makes me sick.

Reader ErnieD further e-mails:

Did you check out this wording in the bills:

“The statutory limitations of municipalities to regulate the possession, sale and transfer of firearms, as upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has been duly considered and incorporated within the body of this legislation. And, we take into account the paramount interests of the public safety of the citizens of our City and Commonwealth.”

Just for reference, this is the statute they’ve duly considered:

18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6120 (a) General rule.–No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.

Perhaps the City Council and Mayor Nutter need to arrange a press conference where they take turns pissing on 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6120 (a), and Article I, Section 21 of the PA Constitution, for that matter, since that seems to be about the level of respect they seem to have for it.

Thanks to intrepid reader ErnieD, I have links to all nine of the Philadelphia gun control bills that were passed out of committee at city council.  Keep in mind that all of these laws are in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

1. Assault Weapons Ban
2. Ban on possession for mere accusation of a crime
3. License required for possession of firearms
4. Temporary removal of firearms from dangerous persons
5. Persons subject to restraining orders not to have firearms
6. Failure to report a lost or stolen firearm
7. Registration of all ammunition sales
8. Rationing of Firearms
9. Registration of all guns by LTCF holders

Some of these are extraordinarily bad, and will ban many common target guns, and guns such as the Glock 19C.  Nutter has sworn to enforce these laws.  The question is, what are we, as gun owners, going to do about it?  Write your state reps, write the state attorney general, and politely ask if there’s anything they can do about this.  Philadelphia is part of Pennsylvania, and subject to its laws and constitution, and we shouldn’t stand for this kind of treatment from corrupt big city politicians.

UPDATE: Rereading the assault weapons ban, it’s amazing how poorly worded it is.  It bans a LOT of firearm no one would consider assault weapons, and also pretty much any ammo that’s not standard FMJ.  A creative prosecutor could argue the law bans such firearms as the M1 Garand.  Even a 1903 Springfield.  The law pretty clearly bans firearms such as the Ruger Charger.

UPDATE: Rightwing prof comments:

I hate to state the obvious, but if those people are so worried about crime, they might try locking criminals up and throwing away the keys instead of patting them on the top of the head and making them community heroes.  Remember that guy this spring who held up all of those pizza places and convenience stores here? He was convicted and sentenced to 223 years, and the prosecutor is appealing the sentence because he says it should be 455 years.

Maybe our prosecutor could go to Philly and give a seminar on crime prevention.

No kidding.

AK-47 on the streets!  Everywhere!  Killing babies, cops and anyone who dares defy them!   Found via Thirdpower, this one is in a more local setting:

And in recent years, law officers across the country have run into people armed with paramilitary rifles. Associated Press recently quoted Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms statistics showing the number of AK-47 rifles linked to criminal incidents of confiscations increased from 1,140 in 1993 to 8,547 nationwide in 2007. The use of these weapons by determined criminals can leave officers outgunned when all they have is a shotgun and handgun.

“The potential is there for us to face it here, too. Criminals do have access to them and do use them,” Griffith said. “We might be called for backup for a state trooper on the interstate and if we’re not prepared as best we can then we’re doing a disservice to the public.”

It’s this is a coordinated media campaign or something.

Today we’re supposed to have Earth Hour.

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour.

I like Squeaky’s reaction to this hippy crap.  I’m trying to think of what the most outrageous and gratuitous waste of energy one could do for Earth Hour.  For one, I think Bitter and I need to go out to dinner during earth hour for some steak.  Nothing gives a big giant middle finger to the earth crowd like raising cattle.  Steak is perhaps the most earth unfriendly food product money can buy. Steak also makes PETA members cry.

How will you celebrate Earth Hour?

UPDATE: Bitter and I went to Wildfire at Tyson’s II over in McLean, VA.  It’s a chain, but the only other location they have on the East Coast is in Atlanta.  Very good steak, I have to say.  The shrimp and crab bisque was also excellent, as was the dessert.  Their wine sampler specials are also a pretty good bargain for upscale casual dining.

Now we’re watching one of those home makeover shows on Home and Garden Television where gay guys use power tools.

Clayton asks an important evolutionary question:

I mentioned a couple of years ago the fossil evidence that life existed at least 3.4 billion years ago–and the presence of an oxygen atmosphere suggests photosynthesis was already at work (thus implying life) 3.8 billion years ago. I also mentioned that this creates an interesting problem for evolutionists–how in the heck did this happen so quickly?

The answer to this is quite easy.  We all know that Ronnie Barrett is a well known time traveler.  In order to secure a future market for his terror rifles, he merely traveled back in time and sneezed into the primordial ooze.

Life on earth is the most dasterdly and insidius gun blobber plot yet!

Be sure to read his letter to the Police Chief of Honolulu, who is attempting to get .50 BMGs banned in Hawaii

Via Kim du Toit

City Council is preparing to pass gun control in Philadelphia:

Mayor Nutter has indicated that he will likely sign the bills and begin enforcing the gun laws even if, as some believe, the lack of Harrisburg approval makes them illegal.

And Clarke expects the state to fight the city’s efforts:

“We anticipate that the state, along with the National Rifle Association, will very quickly challenge our ability to implement those bills.”

My letter to Attorney General Corbett, asking him to investigate the possibility of prosecuting anyone attempting to enforce these provisions, which are illegal and unconstitutional under Pennsylvania law, will be in the mail before the ink is dry on Nutter’s signature.

Anyone trying to e-mail me since sometime yesterday probably got a bounce back.  My mailbox hit its size limit.  Sorry about that.  All should be working now.

Thanks to Uncle for pointing out these two posts.  I’ve also noticed that a lot of fanboys mostly have video game experience, and most have never fired a real gun before in their lives. Go read both posts.

Larry’s latter post is also interesting, speaking of the difference between fanboys and beginner shooters.  The first centerfire rifle I ever fired was a Kalashnikov, and in the beginning I too couldn’t shoot well at all.  I still have a long ways to go before I’m winning matches, but my shooting has improved greatly just shooting matches at my club, 90% of the time using inexpensive factory guns chambered in .22LR.

The traditional shooting sports are a great way to become a better shooter, and I’ve noticed the improved shooting translates over to black rifles just fine.  The only thing getting worse is my Glock shooting, but that just needs to be “good enough” and grapefruit sized groups at 25 feet meets that standard.  So my advice to folks who might have a black rifle or two, and want to get better, put it down for a while, join a club, and shoot lots and lots of .22LR.  It’s cheap, you’ll have fun, and come out on the other side a better shooter.

Keeping in mind ol’ Bob’s attitudes towards women, so very nicely illustrated by our friends at VPC blog and Bitter, we bring you some cooking advice:

Ah, the good ol’ days eh Bob?

SayUncle tells a horrifying tale of the US military destroying ammunition stores..  One of the little known legacies of the Clinton presidency: the military cannot legally sell surplus ammo to civilians.  President Clinton signed an executive order forbidding the military from surplussing any ammunition to civilians except through the CMP, but the CMP has not gotten surplus ammo from military stores for quite some time, and their charter only allows them to sell ammunition for firearms in the calibers that they sell, so basically .30-06, .30 Carbine, and .22LR.

So you can thank President Clinton for this horrible tale, which is why we must not allow another President Clinton to take the White House, or Obama for that matter.

UPDATE: This may be a gunny urban legend.  Still researching.

Go pay a visit over to The Gun Blobber.