Archive for the 'Gun Control' Category

Via WRSA (and reader QuidProQuo), some common sense resistance.

For starters, I seem to recall at least one sheriff in one county stated that should the state begin unconstitutional confiscations, he’d deputize the population as a posse-at-large to nip that right in the bud.

So tell me, those of you on the ground there, with actual skin in the game, WhyTF aren’t all your 2A sanctuary counties and cities pushing your respective sheriffs and police chiefs for the exact same plan??

Why are you leaving it as a what-if contingency?
Why aren’t you pushing to make it a by-God reality, RightF-ingNow??
1000 yahoos fapping in the park at the statehouse are a juicy target for the leftards, the media, and the minions of jackbooted thuggery.
But 500 or 1000 folks at the county meeting or sheriff’s office is a voting bloc that won’t be ignored. Because how in hell did all y’all get those 2A sanctuary votes pushed through? Hmmm???

So how about leading with your strength, instead of your chin for a change?

Dear Sheriff Dawg,
We, the citizens of Bugtussle County, respectfully require that you come up with a plan to deputize auxiliary deputies, to prevent or oppose any unconstitutional enforcement actions in Bugtussle County, effective ASAP.  – signed, 500 registered voters

If he does it, you’ve just grown fangs for liberty teeth. If not, you’ve identified that he was just paying lip service, and needs to go in the next election, if not sooner.

Sounds a lot like something I said.

In the mean time, I really wonder if it might be a much better use of time and resources to leave Richmond alone (after all, there is virtually nothing that can be done to stop the controllers on their way to the Tower of Babel), and schedule a cup of coffee with your local town police, county Sheriff or county deputies.

You can see exactly where they stand, and perhaps make a difference in their views.  If not, you know exactly where you stand.  Yes?

Shhh … quiet.  Hidden from view.  Don’t telegraph your plans to the controllers.  Prepare your own terrain, physical and human, and meet them there.  Focus on your strengths, not theirs.  The pit of vipers is their terrain.  Don’t silhouette the skyline.

The innovative citizen could come up with any number of good plans that don’t silhouette the skyline.  Nothing you say or do will change the controllers’ minds to build their tower of babel.  “Can a leopard change its spots?”

But you can make it too costly for them to finish the job.

Via David Codrea, this bit of non-news from Virginia.

RICHMOND — The Northam administration threw its weight Thursday behind the eight proposals it will back on gun control this legislative session, including a ban on assault weapons defined as any semiautomatic rifle or pistol with a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds.

The Northam-backed bill would go into effect in July, but would allow people who already own an assault weapon to obtain a permit from the state for restricted use. Without a permit, the guns would have to be disposed of, surrendered or made inoperable by January 2021.

[ … ]

It is different from a bill filed by Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, which does not include a “grandfather” provision for current owners of weapons deemed “assault weapons.” The lack of such a provision in Saslaw’s bill has raised concerns among some gun-rights backers about confiscation. Saslaw has said his bill will be amended in committee to “resolve some problems.”

[ … ]

The definition of an assault weapon, under this bill, also includes features like a folding or telescoping stock, and thumbhole stock, a second grip and barrel that can hold a silencer or extender. The bill also classifies a semiautomatic pistol that weighs more than 50 ounces unloaded as an assault weapon.

Uh huh.  “Resolve some problems.”  I’ll bet.

So I lied.  We do learn something from this.  The ban includes all or most large frame semi-automatic pistols, perhaps leaving some compacts and sub-compacts alone as long as they are single stack or have limited capacity magazines.

Resolve some problems.  Something tells me there will be massive non-compliance with this, so the next question on all of our minds is what happens next?  What will the 2A sanctuary counties do?  See, this was never going to be door-to-door confiscations.  It was always going to be about traffic stops, red flag visits in the middle of the night based on social media entries, etc., etc.  Will gun owners support each other or let the state pick them off one-by-one?

The next steps are sure to come.  So get on with it.

David Codrea fisks her.  Here is the full quote from WaPo, part of which David includes.

The commentary is behind a paywall and I refuse to fund the CIA blog.  I got it through other means.

I had read the commentary and just couldn’t bring myself to link or quote it without doing a full fisking (which would take more of my time than I wanted to devote).

David does a good job.  To her, the 2A is all about duck hunting.  She loves the Fudds, wants a monopoly of power, and loves the state.  She’s a collectivist.

And see, these common sense gun controls are all they want!  Imagine that.  Gun bans, red flag laws, magazine bans, universal background checks, gun registration.

All common sense, no?  And always remember.  The folks who want to take your guns intend to do something that would make you need them.

Petula Dvorak.  Leninist.

Am I reading this right?

SENATE BILL NO. 353Offered January 8, 2020Prefiled January 6, 2020A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-511.2, relating to outdoor shooting ranges; prohibited adjacent to residential areas; exceptions; civil penalty.

———-Patron– Bell———-Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice———-Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-511.2 as follows:

§ 18.2-511.2. Outdoor shooting ranges; prohibited adjacent to residential areas; exceptions; civil penalty.

A. As used in this section, “outdoor shooting range” means any partially enclosed or unenclosed area or facility designed for the use of rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes, skeet, trap, black powder, or any other similar sport shooting.

B. It is unlawful to operate an outdoor shooting range within 500 yards of any property zoned for residential use unless the Range Design Criteria developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Health, Safety and Security have been met.

C. Any person who violates the provisions of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $100,000 for the initial violation and $5,000 per day for each day of violation thereafter.

By stipulating “any partially enclosed or unenclosed area,” they seem to want to outlaw any backyard or woods shooting, regardless of county or town regulations.  In other words, your “range” doesn’t have to be a formally designated range open for business.  It might be your backyard, as long as you’ve put up a berm or some steel targets.

I guess they really are coming for the Fudd regardless of what he thinks.  Shooting is a perishable skill.

There appears to be no depth to which they will not stoop.

American Partisan, The Mother of all Buffalo Jumps.

Just make sure that you’re not being stampeded toward a cliff, by devious political operatives who are more clever and cold-hearted than you. Remember Charlottesville, and what happened at Twin Peaks. Please think long and hard about stampeding into Richmond for what might turn out to be the mother of all buffalo jumps.

Keep it smart, and keep it local. Be the Indian, not the buffalo.

I’ve already got my finger of blame ready to point.

In the mean time, I really wonder if it might be a much better use of time and resources to leave Richmond alone (after all, there is virtually nothing that can be done to stop the controllers on their way to the Tower of Babel), and schedule a cup of coffee with your local town police, county Sheriff or county deputies.

You can see exactly where they stand, and perhaps make a difference in their views.  If not, you know exactly where you stand.  Yes?

Shhh … quiet.  Hidden from view.  Don’t telegraph your plans to the controllers.  Prepare your own terrain, physical and human, and meet them there.  Focus on your strengths, not theirs.  The pit of vipers is their terrain.  Don’t silhouette the skyline.

News from Virginia.

A.J. Goode, an Albemarle County native and a hunter for more than 40 years, says he is not worried about his personal safety, nor is he concerned that legislators in Richmond might ban future sales of assault-style weapons.

“I don’t hunt with them. No hunter I know uses one,” he said while on his way to go hunting near Esmont the day after Thanksgiving. “My rifles are all I need to hunt and protect my home.”

Goode emphasizes that people should be allowed to use their weapons of choice for target shooting, competitive events and gun collecting.

“Hunters already abide by regulations concerning what guns can be used and when and where,” he says. “I’m not worried.”

Yep.  I see you holding that turkey gun.  That’s what the second amendment is all about.  As long as you can hunt your deer with the boltie and turkey with that 12 gauge, everything is right with the world.

HB 567:

Indoor shooting ranges; prohibited in buildings not owned or leased by the Commonwealth or federal government; exceptions; civil penalty. Prohibits the operation of an indoor shooting range, defined in the bill, in any building not owned or leased by the Commonwealth or federal government unless (i) fewer than 50 employees work in the building or (ii) (a) at least 90 percent of the users of the indoor shooting range are law-enforcement officers or federal law-enforcement officers, (b) the indoor shooting range maintains a log of each user’s name, phone number, address, and the law-enforcement agency where such user is employed, and (c) the indoor shooting range verifies each user’s identity and address by requiring all users to present a government-issued photo-identification card. The bill provides that any person that violates the provisions of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $100,000 for the initial violation and $5,000 per day for each day of violation thereafter.

This is a strange one.  It begins quite draconian, and then stipulates that it doesn’t apply to buildings where fewer than 50 employees work.

Why the cutoff of 50?  I’m not familiar with indoor shooting ranges in Virginia.  Are there any which employs over 50 people?  And why would any of this matter?  What do they think they gain with this legislation?

I’m not sure to whom this would apply?  Or am I misreading this?  Also, could it be that a simple change in the future (e.g., strikethrough of the number 50) might be the next step?

Via David Codrea, this interesting bit of information about one Virginia politician.

This is telling, but not what caught my eye.  To me this quote is more important.

The behavior of the 2A supporters at the forum was childish and boorish … they were disturbing and indicative of mental health issues among many 2A supporters.”

I’ve complained before about incorrect use of the phrase “begging the question.”  Many people use it in the context of a question that necessarily comes to mind given that something else has been said.

That’s not right.  Don’t use the expression that way.  Begging the question is a formal logical fallacy, to wit, presupposing the consequent.

In this case, he begs the question.  He’s in the position is explaining that many 2A supporters have mental health issues, and if someone were to ask him what constitutes a mental health issue, he would have to say, “Why, there it is, right there.  Unyielding support for the 2A.”

You see, they want to confiscate weapons from people who have mental health issues, and to them, the mere act of wanting a firearm in the first place is a sign of mental health issues.

Understand?

Reason.

The Colorado legislature’s official fiscal analysis of that state’s new “red flag” law, which took effect this week, projects that police and “family or household members” will use it to seek gun confiscation orders against people they portray as threats to themselves or others about 170 times a year. The analysis also assumes that 95 percent of those petitions will be granted, which is not far-fetched given Florida’s experience with such orders.

Such a high approval rate reflects the due process problems with red flag laws, which take away people’s Second Amendment rights for a year or more based on vague standards and dubious evidence that judges are not inclined to question because they worry about the potentially deadly consequences of rejecting petitions. But there are a couple of reasons to think Colorado’s approval rate may not be quite as high as Florida’s.

The land of pre-crime requires that you be squared away in your family life.  Seriously.  The best way to avoid crap like this is to never call the police about anything, especially any family disputes or firearms.

Men, be leaders.  Spiritual leaders, physical leaders, providers and protectors.  The costs of not being so is higher today than ever before.

NC Renegade.

My neighbors said that the newspapers had been printing false information on town hall meetings. Said that votes were not going to be taking place when in fact they did. Seems the powers that be didn’t want the people coming to express their opinions. Neighbors also stated that buses have already been chartered for taking people to the capitol on the 20th. They are expecting thousands from their area to travel.

Ammo is being purchased as quickly as possible. The sound of Gunfire could be heard throughout the hills during the day.

Read the rest here.  He says “false” information.  I have no doubt.  It just isn’t that difficult for journalists to round up accurate information.