“Musket Loophole” in Chicago

Chicago Handgun Rights gives us a review of the goings on in New York State in regards to gun control advocates there attempting to close the “Musket Loophole”  But in addition, he also tells us what the “Musket Loophole” means for Chicago residents.

AHSA False Flag

According to Gun Law News, American Hunters and Shooters Association, a “False Flag” outfit designed to trick hunters into thinking it’s a pro-gun group, submitted a brief essentially calling for the DC gun ban to be overturned because it violates DC’s home rule charter.

Apparently AHSA, which has claimed to support the second amendment, and says it’s against the DC gun law, would prefer it if The Court not discover that the second amendment is an individual right.

This group is a fraud, and anyone who buys their crap is either not paying attention, or actively conspiring with these pirates.

UPDATE: Thirdpower has much much more.

The Present

Now that the present has been presented, I can tell you what I got her. It’s a CZ 452 Lux in .22LR. If you follow the link, you’ll notice that I wrapped it up with two NRA 200 yard targets, and used a sliced up 12 gauge shotgun shell as an appropriate bow. Here’s what it looks like:

http://www.pagunblog.com/blogpics/cz452lux.jpg

Thanks to Traction Control for tracking one down and getting it to the local FFL. I also got her a Bushnell 40mm objective scope, the Banner series, but the rings I got her are too short for it, plus it looks like the CZ has 11mm dovetails. No worries though, I’ll find the proper scope rings at some point that’ll make it all work. After looking at the rifle in person, I think a smaller scope might be better for it anyway, in which case I might swap her the Bushnell for a smaller scope and use it when I finally get around to building my accurized 10/22 project.

Hopefully we’ll get to try it out sometime soon. I think it’ll shoot very nice. Bitter is more of a pistol shooter than a rifle(wo)man, so it was time to get her started. Everyone needs at least one rifle in .22LR, so I figured the 452 was as good as any to start her out with.

A Tour of Montpelier

Bitter and I went on a tour of the home of my favorite founding father, James Madison.   Montpelier is currently undergoing a reconstruction to restore it back to its original state after having been dramatically altered by the DuPont family, who owned it for most of the 20th century.

Most of the house is under construction as it’s being restored.  It’s actually a pretty interesting process to see in progress.  Most of the rooms are stripped down to wood lathing, most of which they say is original, and held in place by nails from Thomas Jefferson’s nailery that operated at Monticello.  Interesting to think that lathing likely hasn’t been seen by people since Madison’s time, and won’t be seen again for generations once the reconstruction is finished.

I stood in Madison’s study, which is one of the completed rooms, where it’s quite likely he might have drafted some early versions of the second amendment, and yes, I was legally carrying my Glock.  It’s quite a relief to me that none of the founding father president’s estates, except for John Adams’ are zones where the second amendment does not apply.  We visited Madison’s grave site, and despite our best efforts, we did not hear the sounds of any spinning, but it was rather windy.

I’m looking forward to returning there in the future, when the reconstruction is complete, and the home is restored to its former glory.

Ron Paul Spoiling McCain in Washington

Washington State is not known for having a hefty evangelical vote, which is why I was shocked to hear that Huckabee was coming close to him in the state caucus.  Turns out that McCain is pulling down 26 to Huckabee’s 24.  Where’s the rest you might ask?  Ron Paul us running at 21% in the caucuses.   Someone in Ron Paul’s camp in Washington State really has their shit together if they got enough people out to their caucuses.

I’ve said before that Ron Paul isn’t a guy you can build a serious political movement around, but there is something behind it that the GOP can’t really ignore.   The same can be said of Mike Huckabee.  The Republicans would appear to continue to be refusing to unite behind a single candidate.  The media reported that McCain has this thing locked up.   Ohio and Texas are going to be critical for McCain.  If McCain loses both of them, Pennsylvania might actually matter, which means I will need to think carefully before deciding to lodge a protest vote.

Is This Serious?

Paul Helmke on the town hall shooting in Missouri:

This last point deserves some more attention. One of the first times I got involved in a controversy with the gun lobby was when, as Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, I suggested that individuals not be allowed to bring guns into our City-County building. (The County, which owned the building, had just banned guns from the County Courthouse and I argued there were just as many contentious issues being discussed and decided by the legislative and administrative parts of local government as by the judicial part.)

The gun lobby saw this suggestion as an attack on their “Second Amendment rights” and responded strongly. As someone who had received death threats and been called a “dictator” because of other government issues, I knew that there were a lot of people who I did not want to see carrying guns into city meetings and the offices of city employees.

These incidents all highlight the tensions involved when individuals argue that their “personal liberty” outweighs the rule of law and trumps community policy as decided by our governmental systems.

Is Paul serious here? First off, government meetings are already off limits places to concealed carry in Missouri. Clearly this individual paid no attention to the fact that gun were prohibited there. The individual overcame two armed police officers stationed outside. Was a sign saying “no guns” really going to be effective against someone intent on mowing down town council? You almost have to believe that in Paul’s world, this isn’t satire:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8[/youtube]

UPDATE: Eric at Classical Values has a good bit on this up here.

Congressional Amicus Brief in Favor of Heller

NRA has a list of Congressman and Senators who have signed on. Compare it to the list of Congressman and Senators from the Congressional brief on DC’s side, and it’s almost laughable.

I would note that John McCain has signed onto this brief. I would also note that neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama have signed on. Anyone still willing to say there’s no difference between McCain and those two?

Both Pennsylvania Senators have signed on. I notice that my Congressman, Pat Murphy, has not. He may have a concealed carry license, but if he wants my support, he has to do better than this. He’ll be getting a letter about this for sure. If your local Congress Critter is not on here, you should also send a letter asking why.

UPDATE: See “Rep. Tom Davis (VA-11)” Maybe his wife’s defeat running on a gun control platform has caused him to see the light.

UPDATE: I’m told that, in his capacity as President of the Senate, Vice President Cheney will be signing onto the brief as well.