Wednesday, July 08, 2009

First, the Bad News...

Investigators were able to smuggle bomb-making materials past security at 10 federal buildings, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. [More]
The good news is, if a citizen is videotaping one of our buildings and not trying to hide the fact, we're right on top of it.

[Via Ambiguous ambiguae]

Nassau Handgun Ban Lawsuit Benefits Gun Owners – AGAIN!

An important new ruling from a New York intermediate appellate court found that the fundamental right to possess a handgun applies in New York. On this point, the court relied on the decision in Chwick v. Mulvey, the lawsuit that challenged Nassau County’s ban on the possession of handguns mislabeled as “deceptively colored.”

...Post-Heller cases challenging New York’s weapons laws, such as Maloney v. Rice, have been unsuccessful because the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that Heller does not apply. This is because Heller reviewed a District of Columbia gun ban and did not explicitly address whether the Second Amendment applies to the states. The Perkins decision, relying on Chwick, is thus highly significant because it bypasses the need for incorporation of the Second Amendment to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment. [More]

I confess to being pretty much ignorant about this. This is what an Internet search turned up. And this Mr. Chwick's website.

Anyone who knows about this and can enlighten us further, please enter a comment.

There Oughtta Be a Law!

In Virginia, it's against the law for anyone under 18 to buy a gun or to possess a handgun or "assault" firearm in public unless they're hunting or carrying out duties in the armed forces. It's also illegal for juveniles to possess any gun on school property... [More]
I don't want to go out on a limb here, but I'd hazard a guess there are probably also laws against threatening people with a gun, shooting people who aren't doing you any harm...

Think hard. There's gotta be something we can do.

What?

[Via Mack H]

Meanwhile, South of the Border in Sarah Brady Paradise...

“We don’t know what to do,” he said. “We can’t bear arms. We have no way of legally protecting ourselves.” [More]
So why would you put yourselves--and your families--in that situation?

On two positive notes for the Brady Campaign, they were not only unarmed but they also gave their assailants what they wanted.

You realize of course, if we didn't sell guns here, none of this would have happened? Or at least 90% of it wouldn't have...? Right?

[Via JT]

Texas AG Files Brief on Behalf of 33 States

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that defends Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. The amicus brief, which was filed on behalf of 33 state attorneys general, supports a legal challenge by Otis McDonald, a community activist who lives in a high-crime Chicago neighborhood. McDonald’s work to improve his neighborhood has subjected him to violent threats from drug dealers, but city ordinances prohibit him from obtaining a handgun to protect himself. The state attorneys general argue that cities cannot simply ignore the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and impose a blanket ban on handguns. [More]
Here's the brief.

Has your AG signed on?

Why not?

Even Moonbeam filed a brief, albeit he did his independently, and it reflects a not-so-hidden agenda.

[Via Jeffersonian]

Mexican Standoff

The facts don't matter. Reinstatement of the federal "assault weapon" ban that lapsed in 2004 matters, and is nothing short of a fetish among powerful supporters who will tell almost any untruth to achieve it. [More]
A-yup.

We're the Only Ones Acquitted Enough

Judge Acquits Newburgh Heights Cops Accused Of Going Taser Crazy [More]
Hey, it's not like there was...oh, I don't know...a record of the taser discharges.

There was?

But I guess if there are no visible marks, and if the witness is oration-impaired, no harm, no foul, and the "Only Ones" can do what they will. Besides, we all know who we can consistently believe. Right?

I like the way the guy with glasses keeps smirking in the video. He looks like he can barely keep from cracking up.

We're the Only Ones Tightening Our Belts Enough

She provided two "contracts" she alleged Percival wrote. These reportedly addressed expectations concerning her hygiene, behavior, sexual behavior and clothing, and spelled out punishments, including belt spankings, she could expect if she did not meet demands. [More]
I have trouble feeling sorry for this obvious self-loathing loser, but it is indicative of the type of the incapability of this particular "Only One" to attract a complete woman. And you have to wonder--if he'd do this to her, what he'd do to someone else in his power when no one else was around...

Rousted in Phoenix

In today's GRE column, I talk about the importance of citizens watching their government servants.

Here's what happens when you do.

I'm adding The Northern Muckraker to the WoGroll. Looks like there's some good stuff there we all ought to be aware of.

LA Sheriff Reports on 'Street Justice' Nostalgia

So what's the point? Just that a free society cannot tolerate "street justice" administered by government employees. Reports of abuse by those in authority are daily occurrences, and we, as citizen overseers of our employees, need to be alert and need to take action when they come to our attention. [More]
Today's Gun Rights Examiner column follows up on a retired cop waxing nostalgic about "obligatory...ass kickings" administered as a form of "street justice."

Also find out about this weekend's OFCC picnic, and get the latest from my fellow GREs.

Tell a friend?

This Day in History: July 8

XV. That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State; and, as standing armies, in the time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. [More]