Tag: gun rights

The two Colorado Democrats who were key instigators of that state’s new gun control laws were both decisively voted out of office yesterday in recall elections.

10:26 am

Pushback: The two Colorado Democrats who were key instigators of that state’s new gun control laws were both decisively voted out of office yesterday in recall elections.

The election, which came five months after the United States Senate defeated several gun restrictions, handed another loss to gun-control supporters. It also gave moderate lawmakers across the country a warning about the political risks of voting for tougher gun laws.

The recall elections ousted two Democratic state senators, John Morse and Angela Giron, and replaced them with Republicans. Both defeats were painful for Democrats – Mr. Morse’s because he had been Senate president, and Ms. Giron’s because she represented a heavily Democratic, working-class slice of southern Colorado.

The article says almost nothing about Angela Giron’s defeat, which I find intriguing. She was not expected to lose, considering her district was so Democratic, but her margin of defeat was actually larger than Morse’s. See also this article for a very good election analysis which suggests that any effort by Democrats to impose oppressive gun control laws is going to backfire for them very badly.

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It is now reported that the charges against the high school who refused to remove his NRA t-shirt have been dismissed.

10:59 pm

It is now reported that the charges against the high school who refused to remove his NRA t-shirt have been dismissed.

No details yet, however, so it might be too soon to celebrate the return of sanity to this small spot in West Virginia.

Update: The dismissal of charges is confirmed. I think the prosecutor saw the political winds and decided he’d be a fool to pursue this case.

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The five year conviction of a former police officer for gun possession because he was moving with his guns from Maine to Texas thru New Jersey and was subjected to a warrantless search of his vehicle has been upheld by the court.

6:42 pm

Another example of why you should avoid New Jersey: The five year conviction of a former police officer for gun possession because he was moving with his guns from Maine to Texas thru New Jersey and was subjected to a warrantless search of his vehicle has been upheld by the court.

A jury acquitted him of the charges for possession of the “assault firearms” and handgun possession but convicted him in absentia of illegal possession of hollow-point bullets, shotguns, rifles and a high-capacity magazine. He was apprehended in Texas and extradited to New Jersey.

“What I don’t understand is I am a citizen without a criminal history who has served this country not only in the military but as a volunteer to my community and as a police officer, not even making hardly any income at all, and I would have given my life to protect another person and for this country,” Reininger said in a statement. “How can I be convicted for exercising my right? When does it become a crime for exercising one’s right?”

The three-judge appellate panel insisted New Jersey’s gun control laws do not violate the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, citing the Supreme Court’s recent Heller decision. “The Second Amendment does not create ‘a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever purpose,'” Judge Ronald B. Graves wrote for the panel. “Furthermore, the Second Amendment does not preclude the state from regulating the manner in which accessories must be transported.”

The court also upheld the warrantless search of Reininger’s vehicle.

All he was doing was peaceably traveling through New Jersey on his way home. Vile. Very vile.

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The stupidity of gun free zones.

10:28 am

The stupidity of gun free zones.

On Monday, May 20, Dan was teaching gym and carrying his handgun in an inside-the-waistband hip holster. So, there was zero chance that his gun would fall out of his holster or hurt his students and a 100 percent chance that Daniel could defend his students if a gunman breached the school. Daniel is highly competent with firearms; he practices at the range monthly and also takes yearly classes to advance his firearm skills.

Another teacher observed what must have been the silhouette of Daniel’s handgun beneath his clothes while he was actively teaching his students. This teacher-observer panicked and told the principal that Daniel had a gun. Without investigating, the principal immediately called the police. Despite the fact that Daniel is a concealed-carry permit holder with a spotless record, the police arrested him for carrying in a “gun free zone.”

A few police officers tried to remove Daniel’s gun from his holster and were unable so Daniel had to tell them how. Which, again, speaks to how secure Daniel’s gun was at his side. To reiterate, there was no chance that his gun would endanger children; there was a very large chance that Daniel could use his gun to save their lives. The Wichita Police Department is a 12-minute drive and seven miles away from White Elementary. In the event of a mass attack, hundreds of defenseless children and teachers could be killed before the cops would arrive.

The man stands to go to jail, for doing nothing more than being prepared to defend the lives of the children he teaches.

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Gun rights advocates counter a Michigan county gun buyback program with their own “Guns 4 Cash” operation.

8:55 pm

Pushback: Gun rights advocates counter a Michigan county gun buyback program with their own “Guns 4 Cash” operation.

It is interesting to read what happened after the County Executive himself observed the gun rights advocates:

From that moment forward until the event ended, the gun rights activists were harassed by all day by Wayne County deputies. Their first act was to park one of their marked cars by the parking lot’s entrance and started directing people further up the street to the church.

Then a deputy went into the fast-food restaurant and talked to the manager on duty. We do not know what they told the manager, but suddenly, the restaurant reversed its decision to allow gun rights activists onto its property. Prior to contact with the deputies, their presence was allowed as long as it did not interfere with customers buying food. Thus, the gun rights activists were ejected from the parking lot and had to move their cars. Apparently, the deputies thought their actions were enough to deter the activists. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The activists adjusted by walking up and down the public sidewalk while holding their signs.

The deputies responded by telling them that they would start writing tickets for both being on and obstructing the sidewalk in front of the church. It would be a hour or so later before discussions with the top deputy in charge confirmed that walking on the sidewalk was legal and that all deputies would be apprised of that fact.

This harassment by police of Americans, very carefully doing legal things, is appalling. More appalling is how common this is becoming.

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A lawsuit was filed today in federal court in Connecticut against the new gun control laws that were passed recently after the Newtown shooting.

10:17 am

Pushback: A lawsuit was filed today in federal court in Connecticut against the new gun control laws that were passed recently after the Newtown shooting.

The lawsuit seeks immediate injunctive relief and a ruling declaring the new law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It alleges that Connecticut’s new firearms law is not only unconstitutional but dangerous, since it makes both citizens and law enforcement less safe by depriving citizens of firearms that are in common use throughout the country. The very firearms and design features banned by the new law are commonly used in part because of safety, accuracy and ease-of-use features that make them effective in the hands of citizens who must defend themselves and their families against criminals and the mentally ill who do not obey such laws.

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Video of a successful test firing of Liberator, the first working 3D printed gun.

8:37 am

Video of a successful test firing of Liberator, the first working 3D printed gun.

Not surprisingly, the Democrats in Congress are rushing to outlaw this weapon, as is their typical approach to anything they don’t like: outlaw it, ban it, prohibit it, control it, restrict it.

In other related news, a news paper editor in Colorado has decided that the only fair way to debate the NRA is to send every member of the organization to prison.

No more due process in the clear-cut case of insidious terrorism. When the facts are so clearly before all Americans, for the whole world to see, why bother with this country’s odious and cumbersome system of justice? Send the guilty monsters directly to Guantanamo Bay for all eternity and let them rot in their own mental squalor.

No, no, no. Not the wannabe sick kid who blew up the Boston marathon or the freak that’s mailing ricin-laced letters to the president. I’m talking about the real terrorist threat here in America: the National Rifle Association. [emphasis mine]

Our modern liberal community: Restrict freedom, dump due process, imprison your opponents.

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The Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that carrying a firearm in an open-carry state does not create reasonable suspicion of a crime.

8:29 am

The Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that merely carrying a firearm in an open-carry state does not create reasonable suspicion of a crime.

Nathaniel Black was part of a group of men in Charlotte, North Carolina who local police officers suspected might be engaged in criminal activity. In particular, Officers suspected that after seeing one of the men openly carrying a firearm – which was legal in North Carolina – that there was most likely another firearm present. When police began frisking the men one by one, Mr. Black wished to leave, but was told he was not free to leave. Officers chased Mr. Black and discovered that he possessed a firearm; it was later discovered that he was a previously convicted felon. Mr. Black was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Before the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Mr. Black moved to suppress the evidence against him. His suppression motion was denied, he entered a guilty plea preserving a right to appeal the denial of the suppression motion, and he was sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, however, determined that the officers had improperly seized Mr. Black, suppressed the evidence against him, and vacated his sentence.

Read the whole article. Black had visibly been doing nothing wrong, merely standing on the sidewalk talking to friends. And because it is perfectly legal to openly carry a firearm in North Carolina, the court ruled that the police had not been given cause to detain him or search him. In other words, it though it might be illegal for you to be carrying the gun (as it was with Black), the mere presence of the gun does not give the police the right to suspect him of a crime.

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A decorated war veteran on a Boy Scout hike with his 15-year-old son was arrested by police in Texas because he was “rudely displaying” a firearm.

9:39 am

Does this make you feel safer? A decorated war veteran on a Boy Scout hike with his 15-year-old son was arrested by police in Texas because he was “rudely displaying” a firearm.

Army Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham told Fox News he was illegally disarmed by members of the Temple Police Dept. – even though he held the proper permits to carry his weapons. Grisham and his son were on a 10-mile hike in a rural area populated by wild boars and cougars. He was carrying an AR-15 rifle and a .45 caliber pistol. He was charged with resisting arrest – even though video his son filmed of the incident clearly showed that Grisham did not resist arrest. Police later reduced the charges to interfering with a peace officer while performing a duty – a class B misdemeanor.

Update: several commenters have pointed out facts about Grisham, including this very detailed report from Michael Yon, that raise serious questions about the reliability of this story. Worth reading.

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To show support for the New Jersey family that had been threatened by the government for posting a picture of their son holding a rifle, hundreds of parents post pictures of their own gun-toting kids.

8:51 am

Pushback: To show support for the New Jersey family that had been threatened by the government for posting a picture of their son holding a rifle, hundreds of parents post pictures of their own gun-toting kids.

Note also that if you look at the posed pictures, none of the kids have their hands on the trigger. Unlike Michael Bloomberg’s actor in his anti-gun ads, these kids have been taught the safe way to handle a gun.

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Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has reversed course and will allow a tough gun bill to be introduced in the Senate.

9:17 pm

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has reversed course and will allow a tough gun bill to be introduced in the Senate.

In 2010 the NRA backed Reid in a close election because they said he had an “A” rating, always defending the right to bear arms. I thought this was a very very bad mistake, as Reid is also a very partisan liberal Democrat, which generally means you can’t trust him on any conservative issue. Lo and behold, we now learn you can’t trust him on this conservative issue.

Had the NRA put its support behind Reid’s challenger, that challenger would have had a much better chance at winning. They did not, and here we are. Thank you, NRA.

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Without a warrant New Jersey police raided the home of a firearms instructor, demanding the right to inventory his guns, after he posted a Facebook photo of his son holding a rifle.

2:13 pm

Without a warrant New Jersey police raided the home of a firearms instructor, demanding the right to inventory his guns, prompted by a Facebook photo he had posted of his son holding a rifle.

The family’s trouble started Saturday night when Moore received an urgent text message from his wife. The Carneys Point Police Dept. and the New Jersey Dept. of Children and Families had raided their home. Moore immediately called [his attorney] Nappen and rushed home to find officers demanding to check his guns and his gun safe. Instead, he handed the cell phone to one of the officers – so they could speak with Nappen.

“If you have a warrant, you’re coming in,” Nappen told the officers. “If you don’t, then you’re not. That’s what privacy is all about.” With his attorney on speaker phone, Moore instructed the officers to leave his home. “I was told I was being unreasonable and that I was acting suspicious because I wouldn’t open my safe,” Moore wrote on the Delaware Open Carry website. “They told me they were going to get a search warrant. I told them to go ahead.”

It seems to me that police across the nation are becoming increasingly nonchalant about violating our Fourth Amendment right, which states quite bluntly, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”

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Some US communities are trying to make gun ownership mandatory.

9:26 am

This is wrong too: Some US communities are trying to make gun ownership mandatory.

As much as I think gun ownership and personal defense a good idea, forcing people to do it is just as bad as denying them that right. In each case it is an act of tyranny, using the power of government to impose the will of the majority on everyone, even those who disagree. Nor does it satisfy that some of these local laws allow for an exemption from gun ownership because of religious or personal beliefs. The use of the law to force people to do things is still wrong, no matter what the cause.

The frightening thing to me is the trend. Everyone, from both sides, seems eager to use the law to solve every problem, when the law is probably the worse tool for solving any problem you could possibly imagine. All it ends up doing is robbing everyone of freedom and their fundamental rights to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

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