Snowflakes in Hell

If the federal courts are going to keep casually dismissing any serious analysis that would seem to be required by Heller, my initial optimisms that this case will be anything more than a limited, obscure ruling a la Lopez, is beginning to wane.

UPDATE: On the bright side, at least they do seem to be deciding that strict liability for Felon-in-Posession might be unconstitutional.  That’s good news.

Philadelphia will begin enforcing its law requiring victims of theft to report their stolen firearms to police or face jail time and a hefty fine.  This law is probably illegal under Pennsylvania’s preemption statute, but someone has to be charged before they will have standing to raise that challenge in court.

A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction in the case of GeorgiaCarry.org and Atlanta-Hartfield International Airport.  This doesn’t mean they lost the case, just that the judge doesn’t view that they are substantially likely to win.  I see a few problems with this line of reasoning.

1. One is that the TSA doesn’t currently prohibit guns in the non-sterile area of the airports
2. Two, the TSA doesn’t appear to have any unilateral authority to do so.
3. Three, there’s no law in Georgia making carrying a firearm in an airport a crime.

So I tend to think they have a strong likelihood of winning their case, but this goes to show how hazardous it is to depend on the federal courts for enforcement of gun rights.

UPDATE: The federal judge in question is a notoriously liberal Carter appointee.  So take that for what it’s worth.

Looks like Megan McArdle has had a run in with Pennsylvania’s puritannical Liquor Police in her past.  The continuing existence of the LCB has always been a curiosity to me.  I’ve never met anyone who likes the system, yet it persists. LCB has their own set of agents who are charged with enforcing Pennsylvania’s byzantine laws regulating alcoholic beverages.

Megan went to school just across the street from me, at about the same time too.  LCB agents love staking out University City drinkeries, becuase let me tell you, there’s no problem facing the City of Philadelphia that’s more serious than 19 and 20 year olds having a beer with their friends.  You might get mugged on the way back to your apartment, but we’ll spare no expense and trouble to make sure you don’t dare risk “uncontrollable vomiting”

On the other side of the coin, I’ve never heard of LCB agents breaking down anyone’s door and shooting their dogs.  So maybe by modern law enforcement standards, I shouldn’t complain.

Michael Bane has the coverage.  Bitter was lamenting over the weekend why the United States doesn’t absolutely dominate at the shooting sports.  I think part of the reason is that a lot of our really good shooters compete in other shooting disciplines, and don’t get involved with the Olympic shooting sports to the extent people do in other countries.

Think about how many good high-power shooters there are out there?  Not an Olympic sport.  I do Silhouette, which is also not an Olympic sport.  IPSC?  IDPA?  Steel Challenge?  Pin shooting?  Olympic sports none.  I think the reason Americans don’t dominate Olympic shooting is because here, there’s just so many other disciplines to choose from, many of which are a lot more interesting than standing stationary ten meters away from a paper target with a $2000 air gun.

Clayton Cramer reviews a book by Tony Horowitz “Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War.”   Sounds like a very interesting book, and Clayton’s review is sure to generate some discussion.

From there, Horwitz explores a darker, more worrisome side of “Confederate” America–people who are still nursing grudges about the Civil War–and making excuses for the Confederacy. If I hadn’t met more than a few people like this over the years, I would find myself wondering Horwitz was exaggerating. But I’m afraid that he isn’t.

I’ve also heard a number of folks point out that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery, so it is a fairly widespread belief.  But I think the resurgence in these types of beliefs can also be linked back to my post from last week on the lack of dignity and respect afforded southern culture by elites driving a lot of resentment.

For the record, I think slavery is America’s original sin, and the institution was a stain on all America, not just on The South.  But we’ve put it behind us, and I think it’s time to move on.

Breda takes a few more noobs to the range.

Well, it look as if someone has proposed a scheme for a government car buyback.  Alex Tabarrok points out that this scheme will have the same economic problems that gun buyback schemes suffer from.

A picture of the team at the Camp Perry National Championships.  Notice all the black rifles that folks like the Brady Campaign and Josh Sugarmann tell us have no sporting purpose.  You’d almost think the AR-15 was the most popular target rifle in use today or something.

Over at Support Your Local Gunfighter.  That’s one sexy air rifle.  And the shooter ain’t bad either.

The LA Times is falling for it too:

High-powered automatic weapons and ammunition are flowing virtually unchecked from border states into Mexico, fueling a war among drug traffickers, the army and police that has left thousands dead, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.

Except that high-powred automatic weapons aren’t something you can just waltz into a gun store or gun show with a straw buyer and get your hands on.  This narrative has been repeated in so many papers, presented in the exact same manner, you almost have to believe they are using a template of some sort.