March 2017 – Page 3 – Shall Not Be Questioned

A Day Without Moms Demand

Today is the “Day Without Women” protest. I’ve long written in favor of smart activist tactics, and written against dumb ones. This has had the side effect of limiting my audience, because sometimes dumb activist tactics are very self-satisfying. Perhaps a feeling of righteousness and being part of something you think is contributing something has value of its own? Perhaps that is something I should consider, but it’s just never been my drug. If gun owners were mounting a similar “Day Without Gun Owners,” I’d call it out for useless activism that serves no purpose other than the contribute to activism fatigue (most people have lives to live).

Mom’s Demand is taking part in the Day Without Women, and why shouldn’t they? In fact, if they want to make it the year without women, please do. Decade? Century? I would strongly encourage it! Keep your people basking in that self-satisfied nothing, Shannon Watts. Don’t you ever change.

Constitutional Carry on the Move Again

This time in South Dakota. A bill is now on the Governor’s desk. This would be the 14th state to adopt Constitutional Carry. Meanwhile Senator Cornyn has introduced the Senate Bill S.446, “Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017” This bill also recognizes the rights of citizens from states like Vermont that do not issue permits. I’m glad this is being pushed, because I’ve been of the opinion that our opponents need to get it worse than they would have if they had just conceded to this years ago when the only thing on the table was the recognition of permits.

Pennsylvania will not be a leader in the Constitutional Carry movement. Unfortunately, the only state, so far, that has passed Constitutional Carry which has a major urban center is Arizona. I don’t notice that sky is falling in Phoenix, but it will probably take another populous state like Florida or Texas before our politicians run out of excuses for not supporting it.

Russian Agent Hypothesis

There’s not much gun news, so I’ll give you a topic. One thing that doesn’t make sense to me about the Russian Agent theory of Trump is that the greatest geopolitical threat to Russia faces is cheap oil and gas. Oil and gas revenues represent 60% Russian exports, and 30% of its entire Gross Domestic Product. About 50% of the budget for the Russian government comes from state-owned oil and gas revenues. American Frackers are arguably a greater threat to Putin than the US military.

So if Putin were going to put a Manchurian Candidate in the White House, why would his man be generally supportive of American energy? Russia has put a lot of effort into anti-fracking propaganda in the United States. It would seem to me a top priority of a Russian stooge in the White House would be to halt pipeline construction and to use the EPA as a weapon to make hydraulic fracturing as expensive and unprofitable as possible.

Reddit Ask Me Anything

Joe Huffman will be appearing on a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” thread tomorrow at 11AM alongside Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter. We’ve long needed an urbanized gun rights movement, so I think this should prove to be an interesting forum. The WaPo reported this weekend, “But that overall decline [in gun sales] has been accompanied by some unusual growth: Gun clubs and shops that cater to black and LGBT clients say there has been an uptick in interest in firearms since November among those who fear that racial and gender-based violence could increase during Donald Trumpâ€™s presidency.”

Arming up in the face of uncertainly is very deeply engrained in the American experience, much to the chagrin of people who wish it wasn’t so.

New York Media Story on PA State Militia

New York City’s News 4 took a trip down to the wild’s of Pennsylvania to meet themselves from genuine militia membersÂ (autoplay warning). The militia scene is not my scene, but if a bunch of people want to go out into the woods on the weekends and practice room clearing, it’s no skin off my back. I actually think News 4 manage to do a pretty fair job of covering the issue. There’s not much whipping up hysteria, and they seem genuinely interested in letting them tell their story. They don’t even sensationalize the fact that a lot of them don’t want to be identified. Minds can imagine that would be for some nefarious purpose, when the real issue is probably they don’t want their employers and co-workers to know they get together with their shooting buddies and play army on the weekends.

Those interested in learning more about the militia movement should start with Prof. Robert’s Churchill’s “The Origins of the Militia Movement.“

You Know What Makes Guns Get Left in Cars? Gun Free Zones

Bloomberg’s propaganda media outlet “The Trace” is busy promoting the idea that cars are not gun safes again. The great irony in this is that Bloomberg’s organizations also promote laws that create a patchwork of restrictions on taking guns into places like post office’s, restaurants, parks, public transit, etc. You know what people do when as part of their daily errands have to go to one of these places? Yep, you guessed it: leave their guns in their cars. You might wish people would just leave them at home, but that’s not going to happen. You might wish that the law banned people from carrying firearms outside the home entirely, but now all but five or so states allow most law-abiding people to do so, and that’s not going to change. Gun free zones encourage people to leave guns in cars. If Bloomberg’s organizations feel this is a real problem, they would end their opposition to measures that encourages people to keep their firearms where it is least likely to be stolen: on their persons.

That Didn’t Take Long: Obama Lead Ammo Ban Gone

On his first day, Trump’s Interior Secretary overturned the last-minute Obama Administration ban on lead ammunition on public lands. This will not be the last you hear of the lead issue. It’s going to come back. If we’re going to ban lead as a core material for bullets, the feds have to repeal the armor piercing ammunition law. Most of the other alternate materials bullets can be made from would qualify it as “armor piercing” under the law. Typically hunters have used pure copper bullets in jurisdictions like California, which ban lead ammunition. Pure copper bullets aren’t considered armor piercing, but they are very expensive, and not an option for shooters who go through hundreds of rounds in a shooting session.

Why No One Should Trust Social Media

This fascinating article in Mic talks about how Snap tried to pick Mike Bloomberg’s deep pockets using the gun control issue, but apparently they weren’t biting. Apparently they told Bloomberg’s Everytown folks if they didn’t buy all the ads, then they would be available to the NRA as well. They didn’t bite on that one, because apparently Everytown was already talking to Snap’s news division about a big ol’ chunk of earned media they felt would be more valuable.

This is how the game is played folks. They didn’t have to jump in bed with Snap’s advertising division, because their news division had already jumped into bed with Bloomberg!

It’s a joke. Seriously, don’t believe anything you see in the media, and especially social media. You can’t even go with “Trust, but Verify.” Expect you’re being lied to and seek primary sources.

Bellwethers to Watch for in the States

There’s a lot of gun stuff happening in the states, but much of it is friendly states getting more friendly, and the bad states getting worse. But there are some states to keep an eye on, and sadly we probably have more states going from friendly to hostile than we do the other way around.

Illinois is considering legalizing suppressors. Illinois has been one gun unfriendly state that’s been improving. We can thank the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for a lot of that, and we can also thank the people who have been working hard to press those advantages in the legislature.

Nevada is considering banning guns in public libraries.Â Nevada is a bluing state, where Democrats are increasingly asserting control. Along with Washington and Oregon, Nevada is a state to keep an eye on. It is at risk of falling into Bloomberg’s orbit. The same is true of New Mexico. At this point, any state controlled by Democrats is in serious danger of entering Bloomberg’s orbit and never coming back.

People look around and see a world full of win for gun rights. I see a real risk that another half-dozen states start moving more toward California-style gun control. What’s going to happen when blue model failed states start driving more and more people to leave? What happens when they come to your state? You can see why I believe we need some base protections for gun rights that apply everywhere.