Archive for the 'Second Amendment' Category

News from Alexandria.

Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, said an armed man stood outside his kitchen window in an effort to coerce him to change his vote.

“On Saturday, a man with a large assault weapon with a large extended magazine came to my home. He stood outside my kitchen window for a couple of hours or so,” Levine said Monday on the Virginia House floor.

Levine then recounted what happened when he asked Alexandria police officers to respond to the man.

“I asked them to ask the man if he would like to come to my office instead, to come chat with me in my office in Richmond,” Levine went on. “And, if he did not want to do that, if he wanted to protest outside my office in Richmond. The man declined my offer, through the police.”

Alexandria police Lt. Courtney Ballentine confirmed that officers responded to Levine’s home Saturday and said the unnamed man was not trespassing on Levine’s property.

[ … ]

In wrapping up his speech to colleagues, Levine said he welcomes any discussion, protest or act of civil disobedience from those with an opposing viewpoint.

Ole Mark “Pray and spray red hot magazines” Levine.  I actually have trouble believing this account, as I can think of a whole host of charges they could bring against the man.  My son says Levine sounds like a “bitch and a liar.”  Besides, I can’t see the Alexandria police being that polite.

But let’s assume for a moment that this is all true.  What exactly did the little communist think was going to happen when he threatened to tyrannize the people?  Does he think that he is immune from consequences?

However, I’m happy to hear that Levine is okay with disobedience.  There’s a lot of that going to happen in the near future.  I’ll remind Levine he said that.

So this is all a lie, in which case I love it because it’ll all come out, or it’s true, in which case Levine feels threatened.  He should.  And not just from one person with a rifle.

UPDATE: I’ve submitted a FOIA request with the Alexandria Police Department to obtain the police report of this incident, if there is one.

Via David Codrea, this great piece by David Kopel.

In early 1775, tensions between Great Britain and the American colonies were reaching the breaking point. The previous October, King George III had forbidden the import of arms and ammunition into the colonies, a decision which the Americans interpreted as a plan to disarm and enslave them. Kopel, How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution, 38 Charleston Law Review 283 (2012).

Without formal legal authorization, even from the Continental Congress, Americans began to form independent militias, outside the traditional chain of command of the royal governors. In February 1775, George Washington and George Mason organized the Fairfax Independent Militia Company.

According to Mason’s Fairfax County Militia Plan for Embodying the People, “a well regulated Militia, composed of the Gentlemen, Freeholders, and other Freemen” was needed to defend “our ancient Laws & Liberty” from the Redcoats. “And we do each of us, for ourselves respectively, promise and engage to keep a good Fire-lock in proper Order, & to furnish Ourselves as soon as possible with, & always keep by us, one Pound of Gunpowder, four Pounds of Lead, one Dozen Gun Flints, & a pair of Bullet-Moulds, with a Cartouch [cartridge] Box, or powder-horn, and Bag for Balls.” 1 The Papers of George Mason 210-11, 215-16 (Robert A. Rutland ed., 1970). Similar militias were being formed all over the American colonies, with no formal authorization and no chain of command to the established government. The legal bases of the militias were the natural rights of self-defense and self-government.

And that, fellows – ” … promise and engage to keep a good Fire-lock in proper Order, & to furnish Ourselves as soon as possible with, & always keep by us, one Pound of Gunpowder, four Pounds of Lead, one Dozen Gun Flints, & a pair of Bullet-Moulds, with a Cartouch [cartridge] Box, or powder-horn, and Bag for Balls” – is what well regulated means.  It means, simply, regulated firearms, or in other words, properly functioning and well stocked and supplied.  Powder and shot available, sights adjusted, and in working order.

Persuaded by Henry’s eloquence, the Virginia Convention formed a committee—including Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson—”to prepare a plan for the embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient” to defend the commonwealth. The Convention urged “that every Man be provided with a good Rifle” and “that every Horseman be provided . . . with Pistols and Holsters, a Carbine, or other Firelock.” (“Firelock” was a synonym for “flintlock,” the most common firearms of the time.) Journal of Proceedings of Convention Held at Richmond 10-11 (1775).When the Virginia militiamen assembled a few weeks later, many wore canvas hunting shirts adorned with the motto from the conclusion of Henry’s speech: “Liberty or Death.” Henry Mayer, A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Revolution 251 (1991).

Today, they would red flag Washington and send a trigger happy SWAT team to shoot up him and his family and beasts.  Or in other words, they would have proven the very thing that brought the patriots together and caused them to arm against tyranny.

So any time some ignorant fool tells you that the founders couldn’t have imagined arming the citizens with “weapons of war,” remind them that Washington was an “extremist illegal militia founder” and intended to make war on tyranny.

Louisiana House Bill 72.

Exempts certain persons from the crime of illegal carrying of weapons, and removes the requirement that a person possess a permit issued by the state of La. in order to carry a concealed handgun in the state of La.

This is a constitutional carry act.  If I have readers in Louisiana, you know what to do next.

News from Virginia.

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — A militia muster call in Bedford County on Saturday afternoon drew hundreds of local residents willing to take a stand to protect their community and their Second Amendment rights.

On Saturday, Feb. 15, more than 500 people showed up to the militia muster call in Bedford County to volunteer their energy and their skills to the cause. As advertised in the flyer for the muster call — which was posted on Facebook on Jan. 30 — registration for the militia was open to all able-bodied residents between the ages of 16 and 55.

I  do have an issue with the age limit of 55.  I think I’m in better physical shape than 50% of those guys.

Here’s a picture.

I was with family at a gun show in Greenville, S.C., today, and I’ll leave my comments on show itself out of the discussion.

I did manage to meet up with Mr. Matt Wavle of SCCarry.org, and got his contact information.  I had never met the group before, and Matt was a super nice guy and they are very much on top of the legislative goings-on in South Carolina.  I’m impressed with the organization.

If you’ve a resident of South Carolina and aren’t a member of this group, you should encourage them with a note and join the organization.

Their web site is here, and they have a nice page that links and outlines all of the current pending legislation in South Carolina that pertains to the RKBA.

From ThiccBoogLine Facebook.

Never heard of them, but you’ve got to hand it to them.  They’re showing spine and fortitude.

Dean Weingarten writing at Ammoland.

Many who fight hard to infringe on the rights to keep and carry firearms have been allies in the right to keep and carry knives. This creates momentum and precedent to remove infringements on the right to arms generally.

SB 96 in West Virginia has been referred to the House. If it passes a House vote,  it will need to be signed by Governor Jim Justice to become law.

I think Dean meant to say “Many who fight hard against infringements of the RKBA …”  The statement would make better sense that way.

He’s right, we’re natural allies, knife rights and gun rights folks.  But until West Virginia deals with the crooks in its midst, the people are under tyranny.  It’s just local tyranny, not state.  But the state is complicit if they do nothing.

Where is the state AG on Sheriff Steve Deweese, sdeweese@putnamwv.org?  He and his deputies are the crooks I’m talking about.

David Codrea is responsible for this great find, from David Kopel writing at Reason.

Did the Framers of the Second Amendment consider the possibility that Americans might own firearms with a capacity greater than 10 rounds? Certainly yes. Such arms had been invented two centuries before the Second Amendment, and by 1791, repeating arms, including those capable of firing more than 10 rounds, were well-known in the United States. The history is explained in a Third Circuit amicus brief I coauthored last week.

[ … ]

Earliest repeating arms: A  repeater is a firearm that can fire more than one shot without having to be reloaded. The first known repeating firearms date back to between 1490 and 1530, with guns that fired 10 consecutive rounds. A 1580 gun could fire 16 shots. Once the user pressed the trigger, these guns would continue to fire until the ammunition was exhausted.

Seventeenth century: By the 1640s, major improvements in repeating arms had been developed. Now, the user could fire just one shot by pressing the trigger, and then fire more shots by pressing the trigger repeatedly. Danish rifles invented by Peter Kalthoff had ammunition capacities ranging from 6 to 30 rounds. During the seventeenth century, Kalthoff repeaters were copied by gunsmiths from London to Moscow.

For the case background and additional discussion on David’s research, consult the article.  He’s done a magnificent job of cataloging all of this.

And he does get to the storied Girandoni air rifle, which I think it would be cool to hold and fire.

So enough from the know-nothing naysayers about how the founders couldn’t have possibly imagined this, or imagined that.  Anyway, consider how ridiculous it would be for the founders, who risked their lives, fortunes, families and reputation, to have rejected whatever they had at their disposal to defeat King George!

And consider how ridiculous is the claim that the founders didn’t intend for citizens to keep and bear arms for the amelioration of tyranny, when that’s exactly what they did and how they managed to do it.

Finally, in my estimation, Kopel’s work goes not just to magazine capacity, but something other than single shot firearms as well.  Read again.  Repeaters.

There is lots of movement in the second amendment sanctuary front.  First up, It’s nice to see Virginians still in high spirits.

Spoiler Alert: this story has a happy ending with Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign bus veering off into a political ditch at its final stop in Virginia on Sunday night.

That’s because members of my Patriot Picket crew joined forces with the Virginia Citizens Defense League and others to give the arriving Bloomberg team a Second Amendment welcome—one that absolutely undercut the boisterous gun-control festivities that they had planned for the evening.

[ … ]

In addition to the VCDL members that mixed in with our Patriot Picket squad, we were also supplemented by the ArfCom Regulars, who made their own entrance.

With a drummer at the front, they marched up the sidewalk in formation with banners held high—and bullhorn blaring—to rendezvous with us.

“We will not comply.”  Video at the link.

Second up, it’s nice to see the states thinking more regionally.  Mississippi House Bill 753 involves an authorization to enter into a compact of southern states for the purpose of being a second amendment sanctuary.  The language is strong, and the other states listed in the bill are Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky and Oklahoma.  Whether they have been in contact with these states isn’t stated.  If the language is actually enforced, it means something.  It isn’t toothless.

Third, a number of states have pending second amendment preservation acts.

In order to help the dumbfounded public understand and accept the changes that will be coming their way, these are small but necessary steps.  The changes are coming whether we we want them to or not, as the collectivists do not sleep, but are ever vigilant to trample God-given rights.  They won’t stop, so people must eventually take sides, including all of the pols and LEOs, state, county and city.  This will become apparent to them as we go, but I say again, these are necessary first steps, baby steps if you will.

News from Spartanburg County, S.C.

However, Spartanburg County Chairman, Manning Lynch says he does’t believe it’s necessary because of the support lawmakers have for the second amendment and gun rights in the area.

“I think we’re strong in both the state legislature, the local county council as well as the sheriff of Spartanburg County,” Lynch said.

He says there’s nothing Council can do to strengthen or weaken the protection of the constitution.

“If we got in a situation where we felt like our second amendment rights were under attack, county council would do whatever they could by any means necessary to protect those rights,” Lynch said.

In other words, I’m just not willing to do it right now.  Even though a different Sheriff could be in place later, I won’t live forever, and the board won’t be in place forever, there is nothing we can do right now to strengthen protection of your rights.

Or said differently, I’m a coward and don’t really believe what I’m saying right now, I just want all of this to go away.

Hey, do I have any readers in Spartanburg, S.C.?  I think you might want to take note of what your board of commissioners is saying.

Hey, and another thing.  How’s that campaign to legalize open carry going in S.C.?  Any progress?  I’m being sarcastic.  It’ll never be legalized in S.C.  Or California.  Or Hawaii.  Or New York or New Jersey.  How do South Carolinians like being lumped in with those states?