NRA indicates they have no intention of caving on private sales and transfer ....

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... until they do:

A bipartisan coalition of senators is working on a proposal to strengthen and expand background checks for potential gun purchasers in an attempt to break the partisan gridlock holding up regulations on gun ownership.

Members of the group, which includes Republicans Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Mark Kirk of Illinois and Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have declined to discuss specifics of the talks or of a potential bill.

Sebastian claims that the NRA is firm on expanded background checks; but if that's the case, who are these gun rights groups that these senators are conspiring with?

This why the NRA is not a monolithically admired group ... if I heard reports that an A-rated senator was working with gun rights groups I'd be on the phone most riki-tik and find out which groupd it is, especially if it were my group.

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Good luck ...

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... with that:

The goal sought is disarmament, period. Accomplished bit by bit. But none of those bits are "reasonable" or "common sense" as they are admittedly simply elements of the intended goal, which is complete disarmament.

So says the San Diego Chief of Police.

I wonder how that will work out for him?

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This is evidence ...

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... that at least someone wants to take the gloves off:

The club’s Morristown shooting range is no longer allowing the police department to train there because its executive board feels the city council is infringing on Second Amendment freedoms.

The Burlington City Council voted 10-3 earlier this month to direct its charter change committee to draft a ban on assault-type firearms and large-capacity magazines. The measure would reach voters by March 2014 at the earliest. It would require approval by the Vermont Legislature.

I think that someone should start marketing targets that feature LEO in SWAT gear and a text bubble that says "I'm here for your guns", just so everyone knows what we're talking about.

And if I were in a club that banned modern sporting rifles or human-shaped targets, I'd resign and make sure that everyone knew why.

Look, I'm as respectful of LE as the next guy*, but if I see a band of LE coming up my porch after the government starts a confiscation scheme, that's when the FAL comes out with no questions asked.

I'll hate every pull of the trigger, but pull it I will.

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*I've got friends in local and federal law enforcement - most of them know to stay away in case of confiscation attempts.

Given the current rules ...

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... nothing will change:

While there is some support for limiting magazine capacities, almost two-thirds (63%) want better enforcement of existing legislation rather than new laws.  In a multi-answer question, a large plurality said that better security (41%) would better address school shootings, while only 18% chose making access to guns more difficult.  Almost the same percentage (16%) chose better access to mental-health resources.

 And when I say 'rules', I'm referring to the way in which prosecutions of gun laws happens (or doesn't, as it were).

The reason that Attorneys General don't prosecute the straw purchases and the like is that those crimes won't get you to the next rung on the career ladder; unless it's a crime that has other enticements AG's just won't prosecute. And law enforcement quickly learns that if your AG won't prosecute, there's no point in going after offenders.

It's kind of like how mental health records are supposed to be reported by the states to the NICS system, but if there's no incentive (or disincentive), why would they bother?

Which leads me to the belief that nothing will change until folks start taking safety upon themselves.

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I just took a survey ...

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... to let the GOP know what I think. Here are my parting thoughts:

GOP, stop being the epitome of a surrender monkey. John Boehner is an absolute joke as speaker of the house. He's shown that there is nothing he won't cave on and Mitch McConnell isn't much better. I don't trust the GOP (in general) to advocate for individual liberty or limited government. I DO trust the GOP to inject themselves into as many primaries to ensure the 'right' candidate is nominated (think Crist vs Rubio).

To be honest, I have given up on the GOP and vote libertarian at every opportunity, even though, as a younger man, I was heavily involved in Republican politics (I worked hard to get Bill Frist elected to the senate and Don Sundquist to the governorship of TN).  The GOP is mostly dead to me.

Alas, it won't do any good.

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The Raid of the Day

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Radley Balko is instituting a feature on his blog in anticipation of his new book, due out in June. The first one comes from Miami:

The police in Miami had received a tip from an informant that Brown, who had no criminal record, was selling drugs from his small apartment. So they sent the SWAT team. The police claimed at the time that Brown began firing at them as soon as they entered his home. So they fired back.

And they fired back.

And they fired back.

By the time they were finished, they had pumped 123 rounds into Richard Brown’s apartment—nine of them into Richard Brown. One Miami SWAT officer also mistakenly shot one of his colleagues in the back.

Of course, they didn't find any drugs, and by the time the whole SWAT team had finger-fucked the weapon that Brown had allegedly fired at the police there were no finger prints or smudges at all. The officers were cleared of any wrong-doing.

I may have to get his book: Rise of the Warrior Cop. You can find information on how to pre-order at the link above.

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This is long, very long ...

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... but it needs to be looked at:

Every time there is a mass shooting a debate springs up about gun control. Like any loss we feel personally, it is an emotional reaction to take action to prevent such atrocities from happening again. Emotion can inform a logical decision, but it can also blind it.

This is neither a light treatment or skimpy on details regarding gun control. Honestly, if you read this all the way through, I’ll be impressed, but either way, I wanted to lay it all out on the table and address as many foreseeable concerns as I could think of. Ignorance is always a choice, and if you read this, regardless of what position you end up in, at least you can say you gave it the old college try.

It is lengthy, but it might give some information you might not have heard about.

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Messaging bleg Updated

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I"m trying to engage more on Facebook, and I'd like to get opinions.

On any post that I forward on my page, if it's an article on why a certain event isn't getting play in the media (that is, it's favorable to the gun rights side) I mention that such reporting "doesn't advance The Narrative". I believe that's accurate and it's short and succinct.

When I post items regarding gun control, I try to point out that gun control isn't about reducing violence it's about control, like this: "Remember, it's not about reducing violence, it's about controlling and eliminating your means to defend yourself."

My bleg is coming up with an all-inclusive phrase that accurately describes the realities of gun control but that is short and uses language that doesn't make us all sound like Alex Jones fans.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

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Update: More examples: "Remember, it's not about reducing violence or keeping kids safe; it's about disarming the American public."
 

Laughingdog ...

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... sums it up nicely:

So in NY, it sounds like 7+1 is legal, since the magazine still only has 7 rounds. But if I accomplish that by putting 8 in the magazine and then chambering it, i'm a felon. But if I insert a 7 round magazine, chamber a round, remove the magazine and add one round back in...I'm perfectly legal.

Yep, about right!

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I know we know this ...

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... but it bears repeating:

None of which matters, because this fight is not about guns.  They are but the prop.  Rather, this fight is about power, control, liberty, and the Statist’s desire to remove the last, most effective obstacle keeping free men free, not subjects, or masses to be managed and herded by a ruling elite.

Sometimes I wonder if the gunnyshpere isn't just a big echo chamber. I've tried to engage a bit on Facebook, but I'm not sure that does any good since my FB 'friends' tend to be those who feel the same (relatively) about things as I do.

But I keep plugging away ...

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I need to pay more attention ...

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... this one's been linked a bit:

Everybody knows a Walt Kowalski.  He is the grizzled Korean War veteran Clint Eastwood played in the movie Gran Torino.  A man who spends his days sitting on the porch, keeping his house and yard immaculate, satisfied to drink his cheap beer while watching his neighborhood and country go to hell around him.  He is an anachronism, a dinosaur -- part of the old America where you worked hard, took pride in your work and where you lived, and fought for your country and what it stood for when called upon.  Armed with his M1 Garand rifle and 1911 .45 pistol he brought back from the war, he put new meaning in "Get off my lawn."

Mike V presents a similar character in his (hopefully) soon to be finished novel Absolved. Even beyond the 'terminal' problem, the older veterans have a particular distate for those who demand respect rather than command respect.

The difference is subtle, yet distinct.

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A coup, you say?

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What should we do about it?

I’ll say this again,  and in all seriousness:  this is a coup.  We are living through an attempted coup — the result of a New Left strategy that relies less on ostensible violence than it does on the long march through the institutions, and now the concerted funding source to destroy the remains of free market capitalism.  And make no mistake:  many of those giant pro-market industries that will come under attack will switch positions and join the crony capitalist cabal that allows the left to maintain the appearance of a “capitalist” economy even as what they are institutionalizing is liberal fascism, to be imposed on largely disarmed subjects, who are to be molested through the tax code, the regulatory code, and by the hamstringing of their natural rights, which tyrannical men will claim to lord over and reform as privilege.

Jeff is hard to read sometimes, but he's worth all of the concentration required.

I also think it's a bit amusing that more and more 'mainstream' thinkers are coming around to the reality that we just might have to start shooting. Got ammo?

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Sheriff finds out ...

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... few gun owners believe his bullshit:

Anon
January 08, 2013 06:16:50 pm

Bull. This is a treatise on "the [expletive] cops are going to shoot your dog because he is a dog and they are cops." There are too many instances of dogs being shot by cops while they are restrained to believe this crap. Cops like to shoot dogs because they can. Dogs respond to abnormal conditions - such as strangers entering their territory - and cops use that response as an excuse to shoot the dog. Not that effing cops need any excuse to shoot a dog. 

This just the first in a long line of comments in response to Sheriff Jim Wilson pointing out that dog owners have an obligation to train their dogs to show complete subservience to police officers and to not complain if they are shot (I may have paraphrased a bit).

So far, no one has pointed out the most effective way for police to be broken of the habit of killing dogs. But in today's new gun-control friendly society, that method won't be long in coming. h/t Radley

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I think this might be a good thing ...

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... and for the reasons Ann states:

One weird reaction came from TV wraith Ann Coulter, who told Fox News' Sean Hannity last week: "If we're producing lists of gun permit owners, I want them for Manhattan. I want to know how many rich liberals with their body guards have gun permits." You're in luck, Ann. I happened to have just such a list in my filing cabinet. Here it is.

If you read a bit further you'll see that the liberals don't have any clue to the hypocrisy they display when they gleefully do this shit.

pm

Yep ...

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... Mike V goes mainstream:

Why? Because liberal bliss-ninnies in San Francisco and Boston are not issued flash-bang grenades, battering rams, body armor, flex-cuffs by the gross, and MP-5 submachine guns. No, the dirty end of the confiscation job will fall upon the shoulders of sworn law enforcement officers and gold-badged federal law enforcement agents. The LEOs and the FLEAs. That’s you, Mr. Security Agent.

Some LEO's might look forward to a great confiscation.

I wonder if they've thought that through ...

pm,

Aaron's monthly opportunity

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And since there are a  couple of AR's in here, you should really check it out!

JPFO alert

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I am a peaceful AR-15 owner

Sometimes it pays ...

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... to keep up with what the other side is up to.

I went searching for this information while my mind was meandering over some gun control rant somewhere or other, and I regret that info from MAIG was one of the first cogent links I found. But go ahead and go to the link ... look around.

If you select your state, you can see how many mental health records have been submitted to NICS and how many your state 'needs' to be top-notch in MAIG's study. But the methodology is where the devil lies. In the best-performing states, there is a certain number of records submitted per 100k of population; in the 'worst'-performing states, there is a much lower number reported per 100k of population. If you report lots of people, you get a good score.

There is no standard listed for who is actually reported. If you're California and have a large incidence of crazy people, you'd be expected to report more people to NICS. But if you're Georgia and have a lower incidence of crazy people, you're penalized by MAIG.

All this is meant to point out that there's lots that needs to be done in the area of mental health and reporting to NICS. But I reject the idea that any mental health contact is automagically reportable.

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I haven't posted anything humorous in a long time ...

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... it's time!

JPFO alert(s)

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Boy ... am I behind!

An Opinion on gun control.

Obama's hypocrisy problem on guns.

Firearm related problems and suggested solutions.

2013: It's going to be a rough year

JPFO graphic: Compare 10 Big Killers

After Newtown, Jews lead gun control push

A note on boycotts.

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I generally don't think that boycotts do much good (buy-cotts are much more effective) although I've heard that if you can affect a business' revenues by as little as 5% you've been effective. The biggest reason I don't think there's terribly effective is because they don't require you to do ... anything.

On the other hand, if you go to a business that's the subject of a boycott, and you get a shopping cart full of merchandise, and you go through the checkout line and when you get the total you suddenly remember that you're not buying from that business because of their policy on XYZ, then you've made a bit more of a statement because now you've got the staff complaining to the higher ups (who generally don't give a shit how their policies affect the help) that their decision is now affecting them - not to mention the business.

Alynski indeed!

By the same token, when a business comes to its senses we need to applaud that business by buying something and making sure they know that you came by just to support their business.

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This is why my first thought ...

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... is NOT dialing 911:

A large group of people rallied Friday, calling for the immediate firing and punishment of a Macon police officer, who shot and killed a man in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store a week ago.

Police originally said Officer Clayton Sutton was serving a warrant on Sammie "Junebug" Davis Jr., when a struggle ensued and multiple shots were fired. Davis' died shortly after the incident and his death has been ruled a homicide.

It was later discovered there was no warrant for Sammie Davis Jr., and police then released a statement saying Sutton was responding to a call for service.

And, of course, Davis was unarmed. This is the kind of 'service' I can do without.

And it should come as no surprise that the officer has multiple complaints with only a couple of written reprimands and a one-day suspension.

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