Adam notes some particularly silly laws that the Tennessee legislature is looking at passing.

Kevin has a transcript of the segment.

Matt reports that CNN wanted to conduct their hit-piece on the 50 caliber so badly that they violated the law to obtain the story. He has a follow up on the story noting that CNN traveled out of state and purchased a 50 caliber rifle in a private sale (which is not illegal). Then transported the rifle across state lines. This is in violation of the 18 U.S.C. section 922(a)(3).

CNN outright misled the public by acting as though the purchase of this firearm was conducted within the law. It wasn’t. Someone should go to jail.

Kevin has more. As does Jed. Matt is all over it.

Best pun goes to XRLQ with: The Most Busted Name in News

Update: As Xrlq points out, the purchase from a non-dealer is not a straw purchase as those can only be done through a dealer. However, CNN likely used a Texas resident to convince the seller that the purchase was legal.

Update 2: Matt has more on the illegalities of the situation. Now, do I think this reporter committed a hideous crime? No. He merely didn’t go about it right and have all his paperwork in line. He could have bought through an FFL without running afoul of the law. However, failure to fill out forms has resulted in ATF folks storming houses with machine guns and stomping kittens. It’s a silly law but the press is no better than you or me.

The Daily Times notes upcoming family events:

The high power rifle program is about to begin at the Oak Ridge Sportsmen’s Club. It offers excellent target shooting for everyone from beginners to experts. Their high power range reaches to 1,000 yards and is one of the finest in the East. A big variety of shoots are open to public participation and viewing.

One of the best ways to break into match shooting is the CMP/DCM Rifle Matches, which are usually held on the third Saturday of the month starting in March. This has a federal government program (Civilian Marksmanship Program) that furnishes M1 Garands and ammunition at a nominal price, and makes the participant eligible to purchase an M1 Garand at a special price.

ORSA has beginner’s clinics for the CMP/DCM that are ideal for the first-timers. Distances shot are at 200, 300 and 600 yards. They are at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19, April 16, and Sept. 17. Contact Dan Worsham for more information at 947-0735, or e-mail at dworsham@frontiernet.net.

In California there is (and I’m not making this up) a bill to repeal the state’s assault weapons ban.

Lots of speculation regarding who will replace Senator Frist in 2006 (when, in theory, he leaves to run for president). Mike has a rather extensive round up on possible replacements.

Joe Huffman reports there are Kabooms for sale. On Ebay. Sounds like the perfect gift.

Good read at CNSNews on the tyranny of eminent domain and how the Kelo case will determine the future of property rights in America:

The seizures and transfers, the government says, are in “the public interest” — because they will lead to more jobs for New London residents and more tax dollars for the government.

This type of justification was given more than 10,000 times between 1998 and 2002, and across 41 states, to use eminent domain (or its threat) to seize private property.

The attitude behind these seizures was epitomized by a Lancaster, CA, city attorney explaining why a 99-Cents Only store should be condemned to make way for a Costco: “99 Cents produces less than $40,000 [a year] in sales taxes, and Costco was producing more than $400,000. You tell me which was more important?”

To such government officials, the fact that an individual earns a piece of property and wants to use and enjoy it, is of no importance–all that matters is “the public.”

But as philosopher Ayn Rand observed, “there is no such entity as ‘the public,’ since the public is merely a number of individuals…the idea that ‘the public interest’ supersedes private interests and rights can have but one meaning: that the interests and rights of some individuals take precedence over the interests and rights of others.”

The Supreme Court begins hearing it tomorrow.

This time, a gun saved a family from a fire:

Hearing his terrified son’s screams, an off-duty cop trapped inside a fiery Brooklyn apartment tried to shoot the window guards off his home early yesterday in a desperate bid to save his family.

The bullets bounced off and the bars held firm, but the gunshots startled several neighbors who then called 911.

All kinds of gun stuff over at the premier of the Carnival of the Cordite.

Mostly Cajun has had a Boudreaux-and-Thibodeaux joke-a-thon lately. But the whole blog is good, so make a round and pass a good time!

Oh, and have you heard this one? This happened about a month ago just outside of Cocodrie, a little town in the bayou country of Louisiana, and while it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it’s real. This out of state traveler was on the side of the road, hitchhiking on a real dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by.

It was raining so hard he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. Suddenly he saw a car moving slowly, approaching and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.

Wanting a ride real bad the guy jumped into the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel, and no sound of an engine to be heard over the rain. Again the car crept slowly forward and the guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running.

The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and begging for his life; he was sure the ghost car would go off the road and in the bayou and he would surely drown! But just before the curve a shadowy figure appeared at the driver’s window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the hitchhiker was alone again!

Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally the guy, scared to near death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran to town. Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and voice quavering, ordered two shots of whiskey, then told everybody about his supernatural experience. A silence enveloped and everybody got goose bumps when they realized the guy was telling the truth (and not just some drunk). About half an hour later two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other,

“Look Boudreaux, ders dat idiot that rode in our car when we wuz pushin it in the rain.”

Since my phone has that handy-dandy camera feature, I’m always tempted to snap pictures of some of the wacky bumper sticker collections I sometimes see. Here’s my latest (don’t worry, it was at a stop light, and I wasn’t the driver). Unfortunately, the quality is not that good.
Read the rest of this entry »

Star Wars III to open Cannes, Suck

Guy with politically incorrect name not only governor of California but US Intelligence Chief

Bush Signs Law Curbing Class-Action Lawsuits, lawyers ready to sue

NBA Games to be even more boring

Nudists dine in New York style, other people suddenly sticking to diets; shortage of wetnaps reported

In Blount County, no wheel tax for now.

Pretty neat:

A gunman invaded the high school Wednesday, but the assassin was Gillette Police Officer Randy Monk. And a group of teens were given the chance to learn tactics employed by police during a school emergency.

“This is a decision-making exercise … split-second decisions,” Monk says to the group as part of the latest session of the Youth Law Academy, which presents kids with various aspects of law enforcement.

School Resource Officer Dirk Blackmer said it’s not only about teaching emergency police tactics, but also about spending time with students. “We’re not out writing these kids tickets, we’re working with them,” he says. “Just esprit de corps.”

They are armed with converted 9 mm Glock pistols that shoot tiny paint pellets the size of a pencil eraser and equipped with space-age-looking protective helmets and padded vests, all of which police nationally use for training.

In three-person teams, the teens search down a hallway leading to the school’s cafeteria in what Officer John Lawrence described to them as “a worst-case scenario.”

Barry notes that one local idiot got shot by another local idiot. One idiot gets out of his car and takes out his aggression on the other guy’s car. Having finished damaging the car, he heads back to his car and is shot in the leg.

First, the guy doing the shooting was not in danger. Had he drawn his weapon when the guy approached the car and the guy continued to advance, it could have been self defense.

Second, wounding shots (like warning shots) are always illegal. Period. If you’re unwilling to kill (the legal theory goes), then you’re life is not in danger.

Third, packing drunk is not cool. Nor is driving drunk.

So, you’re big oil and gas corporation and you happen to own an island. You decide you want to donate the land for a nature preserve. You’re wrong. You should develop the island. Actually, the city will take it and do it for you:

Pennsauken officials are poised to take a major step next week toward taking Petty’s Island as part of a $1 billion waterfront redevelopment project.

On Wednesday, the township committee is expected to pass an ordinance authorizing Pennsauken to begin acquiring the 292-acre island through eminent domain. The island’s owner, Citgo Petroleum Corp., is opposed to the development and wants to donate the land as a nature preserve.

And there’s some brilliant reporting:

The township has the right to take Petty’s Island through eminent domain because it is in a redevelopment zone.

My copy of the Constitution doesn’t mention redevelopment zones.

In an update to a California school’s attempts to treat children like cattle, I’m glad to report that the company has pulled out:

The grade school that required students to wear radio frequency identification badges that can track their every move has ended the program because the company that developed the technology pulled out.

Increasingly, it’s not a taser problem but a cop problem. The NYT:

TOLEDO, Ohio – Police have suspended their use of stun guns following the death of a suspect who had been shocked nine times.

Lucas County Sheriff James Telb said Wednesday the department will not use Tasers again until more safety studies are conducted. He said his officers have used Tasers about a dozen times since they went into service last year.

Nine times? I’m pretty sure the studies would say chance of death is increased if you shock someone, say, nine times.

Couple of Daily Probe headlines:

New 9/11 Report: Bush Repeatedly Warned About Gay Marriage Threat

CBS Warns Shareholders It Will Restate 2003/04 News Stories

As I promised, here is the review of the concealed carry class offered in the Otero county region…

Overall, the class was very informative about a number of issues regarding firearms laws in New Mexico, many of which are quite draconic but that is to be expected in a state with such a low population and large area. My personal ‘favorite’ being you cannot carry anywhere that ‘dispenses’ alcohol, which the state court has determined means by the bottle or by the drink. As a result of this you cannot carry into Walmart or any convenience store, not to mention restaurants, regardless of if you’re there to purchase alcohol or not. I sort of expected that one, just by what I had been told, but the extreme nature of the implications caught me by surprise. The instructor told us a story of how a group of legally open-carrying individuals were arrested as they walked in the door of a small mom and pop’s gas station because there was a small corner well in the back of the store where alcohol was on the shelf, these individuals claimed in court they didn’t know alcohol was sold there and it indeed wasn’t posted either, they’re serving time now apparently. This, of course, is second hand information so you shouldn’t absolutely trust me on it, but I’ll look back and see if I can find a news report on it. If it is true, that sounds more like the liberal north-east then most southern states I’ve visited.

There was a state requirement to teach proper firing safety and technique, which is always a good idea for these classes. Granted, everyone in the class was an experienced shooter and some were even competition shooters or military personnel, but refresher courses are something I’ll never complain about. Safety, as a topic, is something I feel can never be over-emphasized.

Then there’s the qualification itself, which was mainly an excuse for me to go out and shoot a couple hundred rounds of ammunition, something that’s always fun. You have to hit an 11×18 inch piece of paper 70% of the time, firing 15 rounds at 3 yards and another 10 at 7 yards. It was quite easy, and I only missed perfect scores on a few borrowed revolvers, the DA trigger pull was much stiffer than I’m used to, everything else was just fine.

The class also raised some notes about a bill presently attempting to pass through the state legislature. They’re proposing to reduce the age for concealed carry to 21 to bring it in line with other states and allow reciprocity, along with removing the caliber restriction as it is. For now, you must fire all calibers you wish to carry, both in semi-automatic frames and revolvers. Under the proposed change, you would be able to fire any caliber in lesser diameter to the one you qualified with for the class, so you’d really only have to fire your two biggest. They also want to change the renewal time from 2 years to 4 years, though the initial 2 years will not change.

The course cost was $140 plus tax, which worked out to about $150ish, about what I’ve paid for classes elsewhere. The licensing fee though is quite steep, an additional $100 and it’s only valid for 2 years.

Ace reporter Michael Silence’s blog has moved to a new URL. It can be found here.

Via Glenn, some courts and legislatures are taking on traffic cameras:

Red light camera programs in at least 19 cities across the country are likely to be shut down this year following actions taken by courts and legislatures in the past two weeks.

State legislatures threaten programs in Virginia, where 7 cities use the technology; Texas, where one city uses stoplight cameras; and Utah, where there are no cameras, but a strong push to install them. The courts threaten the programs in eleven North Carolina cities and could prompt significant refunds for ticketed drivers in California, where 39 cities use the technology.

The article notes that the cameras increase overall injury accidents, which I’ve noted before.

Knoxville has been pushing for these.

George Michael bids farewell to pop world. Apparently, he didn’t realize it said good bye to him about 15 years ago.

Kevin, in this post noting that Australia confiscated 43,000 weapons from cleaning up its registry, states that:

Registration: Only Good for Confiscation

I will not register. Ever.

In comments, I asked Kevin if he’d ever filled out a yellow form 4473 (which if you’ve ever bought a gun from a dealer, you have). It’s the form you fill out and they base the background check on (make sure you enter your county of residence in the address line, your drivers license address is correct, and answer the first question yes and the rest no – can you tell I’ve filled these out a few times?). He said he had. Sorry Kevin, but you’re already registered.

While there supposedly is no gun owner registry, guns can still be traced from the gun up. Police can track a gun to the last purchaser by following the paper trail. If there is mandatory registration, the powers that be can figure out who the last purchaser of a gun was. You could say you sold it. I don’t know if you can track from person to gun. My FFL buddies tell me that if you buy three or more handguns in five days, your name is put on a list at the ATF.

Having said that, I don’t really oppose oppose registration but I do oppose it to the extent it leads to confiscation. All my guns were bought through dealers and I filled out the yellow form for each of them. If there was a push to actually maintain a registry, I’d probably oppose it because it is a set up for confiscation.

That said, if it ever comes to confiscation, my response would be Come and get them.

With five days to go before the Supreme Court hears what is arguably the most important property rights case in recent history, it’s worth noting that over 30 municipalities filed friend of the court briefs in support of taking private property from owners to turn over to private developers.

A LA reporter on the expired assault weapons ban:

For ten years, it was illegal to manufacture or import semi-automatic weapons in the United States.

No, it wasn’t. It was illegal to manufacture or import semi-automatic weapons that accepted a detachable magazine that had more than one of either a flash suppressor, threaded barrel for a flash suppressor, folding stock, bayonet lug, and pistol grip. She also reports:

Greg Ware with Southwest Gun and Knife Shop says he’s definitely seen a hike since the ban expired. He sells five to six AK-47’s a week and demand is so high, he says, he sold out of them last weekend. Ware says, “Mainly they want to get one while they can. That’s the big deal, they’re legal now, people want to get them while they can. People are afraid they’re going to reinstitute a ban again and not be able to purchase them.”

Earl Gothreaux with Hunters Supply and Pistol Range says he’s seen an increase in the purchase of high capacity magazines. Not only can people purchase more rounds, they can get them for less. “Now that the law has expired, it went from $100 down to $25 again, so you’re able to get high capacity magazines for about five year ago prices,” said Gothreaux.

With no ban in effect, people can now get and are asking for accessories like bayonets and flash suppressors on assault weapons. Those who sell them say they know the main reason why. Ware says, “For cosmetic reasons. It looks good to have an assault weapon, it looks good and it’s a conversation piece. People show their gun and say, ‘Look at this, look at what I have on it’ and all the different accessories. It looks like the type of gun they’re seeing used on TV right now.” Gothreaux says, “People want what the Army has. People have the Rambo feeling or whatever. So, they get all fired up and they want something like that and there again, it’s because you can, you do.”

Excellent. However, people don’t have what the army has. The army has select fire machine guns.

Thomas at newsrack has two editions of the Volunteer Tailgate Party. The standard version and the year-end review.

Via Robert, comes a compilation of ATF letters addressing firearms laws, and ATF rulings.

Very interesting reading for gunnies.

Head is trying to organize a postal match. Cool. Maybe we need an RTB contingent.