Carrying / Self-Defense – Page 34 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Philly Doubles Down

Remember that guy who got harassed for OCing in Philadelphia (legally, with a permit)? It looks like the DA decided to go forward with charges against him, and the police showed up at his workplace with an arrest warrant. Charges are Disorderly Conduct, a third degree misdemeanor, and reckless endangerment, a second degree misdemeanor. One of the lawyers on PAFOA notes that this is probably a dirty trick to stave off the possibility of a civil suit.

Apparently in Philadelphia, laws and rights are optional if you’re City government.

Facts About Castle Doctrine

I’m pretty sure that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette doesn’t know any of them.

After a brief flirtation with losing my mind last night, we will return to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Performance Art That Will Get You Killed

SayUncle has an interesting story from New York:

Once the door shuts, he starts screaming to the top of his lungs to the people in the car about about something, some sort of pre-robbery speech. Then says itâ€™s a robbery and pulls out his hand and itâ€™s in a brown paper bag. I was a bit surprised that I stayed calm but I did. I discretely pulled my Cold Steel AK47 out of my pocket and stood between the guy and my wife evaluating what I was going to do and when. It was a pretty intense few seconds. Then the robber decides to inform us that heâ€™s not a robber and itâ€™s actually some sort of scare-tactic fundraising pitch for a homeless shelter.

Whoever thought this was a good idea ought to be slapped around. If Bloomberg’s subjects are this foolish, no wonder he doesn’t want people going about armed. In a lot of cities, this guy would be shot, and to be honest, he would have deserved it. Legally, it would have been self-defense. This is foolish beyond belief, even in New York, where there are still people walking around with deadly weapons.

Quote of the Day

From Gray Peterson:

So Zimmerman’s fiance says ten rounds is enough. Has this woman ever confronted 5 or 6 dedicated people wantin’ to “beat up a fag?” I have.

Tough question that deserves an answer. You can bet he won’t get one.

Castle Doctrine Passes PA House

Good news. Now it has to pass the Senate, even though the Senate already passed a version of this. Hopefully Perry and Alloway can cooperate on credit. Both deserve it. I don’t want to see this being delayed any more.

Falling Down on the Job of Gun Rights

While working on a Pennsylvania-version of news from NRA-ILA about the national reciprocity bill, imagine my surprise when I found some key names left off of the sponsors list. These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who support the bill:

Rep. Jason Altmire (D)
Rep. Mark Critz (D)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R)
Rep. Tim Holden (D)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R)
Rep. Tim Murphy (R)
Rep. Todd Platts (R)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R)

These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who sought & received NRA’s endorsement in 2010 against anti-gun opponents who are not on that list:

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R)
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R)
Rep. Pat Meehan (R)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R)

These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who sought NRA’s endorsement in 2010 and received high grades while running against a friendly incumbent, but who have not stepped up to support gun owners on this issue:

Rep. Lou Barletta (R)
Rep. Tom Marino (R)

Notice a trend with the party affiliation of those who wanted our support for the election, but who aren’t even sponsoring a bill for us? Every single one of the pro-gun Democrats who survived the 2010 elections has come through. Only half of the Republicans with previous endorsements and high grades have been willing to lend their names to the cause.

Campus Carry in PA

This employee over at Point Park University seems to think it would be just awful if we were to pass campus carry in Pennsylvania, as other states are currently debating. Hate to tell you prof, but there’s no such crime as carrying a firearm on a university campus in Pennsylvania, provided you have an LTC. The worst that can happen is the school can ask you to leave (permanently, if you’re a student). This issue has not been pressing in this Commonwealth, because unlike the other states where this is being debated, carry on college campuses isn’t criminalized. If we were to have such a bill here, it would only be a matter of disallowing state funded universities from having such a policy prohibiting guns on campus.

The Crazy Things People Carry

A guy in Pennsylvania is getting his LTC yanked and facing charges after he accidentally left his North American Arms .22 mini revolver in a nursing home. A staff woman found it, thought it was a toy, and sent a round into the wall. What’s even more surprising than the fact that he was carrying what I think is a novelty gun, is the fact that after losing it, he didn’t do anything to try to find it. If I lost a gun I’d be panicked.

The article notes he’s been charged with “reckless enlargement.” I guess we can’t have people out there enlarging things with reckless abandon.

Self-Defense Options in New York City

SayUncle is headed into the belly of the beast, and asks about self-defense options. My first suggestion would generally be spray, which is legal just about everywhere, except for places that have been controlled by the left for years. Sadly, New York City is among those places, at least not without a permit of some kind. New York State is not much better, but the New York Penal code treats spray very strangely by my reading of it. It specifically mentions spray as an exception, but nowhere in the rest of the statute, that I can see, does it criminalize possession of it, except in the case where that possession is with criminal intent. It does criminalize “disposal,” which includes sale, transfer or other type of disposition, without being an authorized seller (firearms dealers and pharmacists). I can’t find anything about it being unlawful to bring pepper spray into the state for personal use for lawful self-defense.

Either way, I’ve never thought the Second Amendment should be limited to firearms. Defensive sprays are neither particularly dangerous or unusual. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be covered. Not that it helps if you can’t get a judge to agree with you, though.

Galco Fail

Steve of the Firearms Blog has a case of accidental discharge due to a malfunctioning Galco holster. Looks as if the leather got a little too soft and pliable. I’m partial to Mitch Rosen‘s work for leather, as I have one of his pocket holsters, but I carry kydex holsters by Comp-Tac for non-pocket carry. I’ve seen all kinds of things go screwy with holsters. It’s a good idea to check them for issues fairly regularly.