March 2008 – Page 17 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Important Illinois Alert

Looks like Larry Suffredin is up to no good again:

Rabid freedom-hating zealot, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin and the Cook County Board are conducting a telephone poll where callers can voice their opinion on ordinances which would close all gun shops as well as ban and confiscate most firearms owned by citizens of the county.Â Â

The number is 312-603-6400, and you don’t have to be a resident to call.Â It’s Option 1, Option 1 and then Option 2.Â Bitter and I called the line, and the call dropped first time I tried it.Â Give it a try and report in whether you have any problems.Â I think it’s important we help out folks in IL, and people like Chucks Gun Shop, who Jesse Jackson and Michael “Snuffy” Pfleger have repeatedly tried to shut down.

Need Some Reloading Advice

I’m going to start loading .44 Magnum and .44 Special.Â I’ll be doing this for silhouette shooting, so I won’t want a load that will tear my arm off.Â I already ordered 240 grain bullets.Â Heavy to ensure sufficient energy to knock over the animals, but I will be mostly shooting field pistol, so only out to 100 yards.Â So what would be a good .44 load?Â Â Good powder to use?Â Good primer to use?Â Should I be using a lighter bullet maybe?

Also, does it make sense to load 44 magnum brass as if it were 44 special?Â Or is that a no no?

Progress on NFA Firearms

This is really good news.Â Machine guns and other firearms subject to regulation under the National Firearms Act are already heavily controlled by the federal government, and are effectively outside the reach of ordinary gun owners.Â Kansas doesn’t have anything to fear from loosening this restriction:

Jordan Austin, lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, clicked off the laundry list of requirements for someone to be able to own an automatic weapon â€” a background check, local law enforcement approval, fingerprints, photographs, a $200 fee and a dictionary-sized book of regulations to follow.

“These are the most law-abiding citizens in the country right now,” Austin said.

Tim McGill, whose Cine Specialists in Wichita provides firearms for the movie industry, said it isn’t unusual for a machine gun to cost upwards of $30,000, well out of the financial reach for most people.

“The idea that people are going around willy-nilly shooting is probably not a likelihood,” McGill said.

I’m happy to see the NRA standing up for NFA collectors, even if it’s only in a small way.Â It’s progress, and any progress is good.

What an Expert!

Josh Sugarmann thinks the shooting sports are in decline.Â The facts inconveniently don’t agree with him.

Obama Decoder Ring

Jeff points out what Obama is saying lately about guns:

I certainly believe in the Second Amendment right, that people have the right to bear arms. But I also believe it is important to have some common-sense gun laws in place to make sure that straw purchasers arenâ€™t being used to fill up our streets with illegal firearms, and that we have stronger background checks so we keep firearms out of the hands of people with mental health problems or young people or those who have committed crimes. I think it is important for us to strengthen our ability to trace guns that have been used in crimes to gun dealers to make sure they are not operating in an illegal way. I think itâ€™s possible to reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters and those who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime off the streets. You can protect the rights of gun owners and at the same time keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Let’s get out the Obama Secret Decoder Ring and see what he’s really calling for.Â What do you know?Â It’s basically the Brady Campaign playbook.Â I wonder who he’s been talking to?

Obama Statement	Secret Deocder Ring Says
Common-sense gun laws in place to make sure that straw purchasers aren’t being used to fill up our streets with illegal firearms”	We need to pass a gun rationing scheme here in the United States! One gun a month, and that’s just a start.
and that we have stronger background checks so we keep firearms out of the hands of people with mental health problems or young people or those who have committed crimes	What we need is to close the gun show loophole once and for all.
I think it is important for us to strengthen our ability to trace guns that have been used in crimes to gun dealers to make sure they are not operating in an illegal way.	I promised Bloomy I would get rid of that Tiahrt Amendment, you know. He said if I did that, he’d stay out of the race
I think itâ€™s possible to reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters and those who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime off the streets.	I think we can reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters, and thos who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime out of the hands of anyone

Ooops… I get he got a little carried away with himself on that last one. The Brady’s must not have told him we don’t talk about handgun bans anymore in public.

Gun Rights Infighting in Bush Administration

Many of you probably have read this article by now in the Washington Post detailing the battle of the Administration’s Heller brief, as I’ve seen it linked on other blogs.

Dave Hardy’s insights into the inner workings of federal buracracy are always good, if more than a little disturbing.Â Having spend many years in it himself, he’s someone to listen to.Â He has a take on this I think is worth reading.

ATF Reform a Priority

A special report by Chris Cox that mentions Red’s Trading Post.Â The big question is whether it’ll be a priority for Nancy Pelosi?Â I won’t try to candy coat it, this is going to be an uphill battle.Â But I think we have to try.Â They as asking people to call the U.S. House (202-224-3121), and asking their representative to cosponsor HR4900 the bill.

Important News On Pennsylvania Gun Bills

There’s a bill coming up for vote in Pennsylvania, known as House Bill 1845, which increases the penalty for possessing a firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number from a first degree misdemeanor to a second degree felony (underlined portions of a bill are parts being changed.Â Non underlined parts are part of the existing law).

Now, the important part for gun owners is what’s planning to be amended to this bill. Â I’m hearing there are plans to ammend the “Castle Doctrine” provision, as well as a provision that will make possession of a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms a substitute for the PICS check.Â These amendments are sponsored by State Representatives Steven Cappelli (R- 83) and Richard Stevenson (R-8).

But there is a danger lurking. Â State Representative David Levdansky (D-39) has filed an amendment for the “victimized twice” provision that enacts criminal penalties for failure to report a lost or stolen firearm.Â It’s important to call your state representatives and ask them to support the Stevenson and Cappelli amendments, while opposing the Levdansky amendment.Â Getting HB 1845 to come out clean depends on us, so let’s get to work.

Len Savage On Lou Dobbs

Len Savage appearing on CNN?Â Who would have thought?Â David has the story.Â I’m not going to suggest the main stream media is going to be anywhere close to on our side any time soon, but we’ve seen some movement toward some semblance of fairness as of late it seems.

Month: March 2008