The manufacturers who would be driven out of business if it passed gathered to protest:

— The bill serves no practical crime fighting purpose as the firearms that would be banned are rarely used in criminal acts. This fact is the primary reason why the federal “assault weapons ban” was not renewed in 2004.

— The bill sets bad public policy by banning lawfully acquired firearms. In effect, the bill creates two new classes of criminals where none had existed previously. Peaceable, lawful firearm owners would suddenly become potential felons for harboring contraband. Likewise for the state’s firearm manufacturers – one day they’d be manufacturing a legal product, the next day they’d be facing jail time.

— The bill does not at all address the real problem of crime and violence. Nowhere in the bill is there language targeting murderers, robbers, rapists, drug kingpins, gang bangers or any of the other vermin that prowl our streets. Rather, the bill specifically targets hunters, sports shooters, gun collectors, competitive shooters and those who keep firearms for protection against the criminals this bill conveniently ignores.

— The bill would have a tremendous negative impact on the state’s economy. The firearms manufacturers represented at today’s press conference contribute over $150 Million to the state’s domestic product. With over 750 employees on the payroll, the Illinois firearms manufacturers provide economic stability to a region of the state often overlooked by other investors. If HB2414 is signed into law, the Illinois firearm manufacturers will relocate to other states. In addition to lost jobs and manufacturing revenue, the state’s sporting goods retailers would also see over $200 Million in retail sales revenue dry up should HB2414 be signed into law.

Meanwhile, the hysterical Brady Campaign gets its panties in a twist:

A bill that would ban military-style semiautomatic weapons in Illinois, HB 2414, awaits action in the Illinois Legislature. Law enforcement leaders, crime victims, and the Governor are calling for its passage. Today, the gun lobby said it would be economically costly.

Lie number one as military style weapons are not semi-automatic.

“The gun lobby’s leaders said today in Springfield that banning assault weapons would injure Illinois economically to the tune of $150 million and cost the state 750 jobs,” said Jennifer Bishop, Illinois State director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “Are Illinois residents really buying $150 million a year worth of assault weapons? If so, I urge the Legislature to move as quickly as possible on this proposal, because we have a bigger problem than we realized.”

Perhaps you’ve heard of the national and global economy? Not all things made in Illinois stay there.

“If these guys are going to say that this assault weapons ban will cause a loss of a few hundred jobs, how can you compare that to the more than a thousand lives that are lost in our state each year to gun violence, and many more nationally?,” asked Northwestern University Political Science Professor Steve Young, the father of a gun violence victim. “The gun industry is the most secretive of all industries. If they are claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in lost profits, and many jobs lost, then let them open their books and prove this.”

And this ban will not affect the number of lives lost each year. The Federal Ban proved that point. The gun industry is secretive? Well, most private firms are. S&W is publicly traded and their books aren’t a secret. The smaller shops are.

The Bradies got nothing. And they know it.

From a presser:

The National Rifle Association (NRA ) has filed a motion for contempt against the City of New Orleans, the mayor and the acting chief of police for failure to comply with a temporary restraining order, handed down September 12, 2005, ordering an end to all illegal gun confiscations.

“With looters, rapists and other thugs running rampant in New Orleans, Ray Nagin issued an order to disarm all law-abiding citizens,” declared Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president. “With no law enforcement and 911 available, he left the victims vulnerable by stripping away their only means of defending themselves and their loved ones. Now Ray Nagin thinks he’s above the law, and that’s just wrong.”

Nashville is Talking’s Brittney got some air time on the TeeVee news cast last night. Congrats. See it here.

Marc has a lot more on the situation including reference to the law they violated:

(B) Except in the case of forms and contents thereof regarding a purchaser who is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of this title from receipt of a firearm, the department of State police or State law enforcement agency or local law enforcement agency of the local jurisdiction shall not disclose any such form or the contents thereof to any person or entity, and shall destroy each such form and any record of the contents thereof no more than 20 days from the date such form is received.

Speaking of DIY gun stuff, you can make your own ballistics gel.

The guys at ar15.com are posting their own WECSOG tips as well as money savers. For example, a #7 O-ring from Lowe’s that goes for about $0.10 can be substituted for an Accu-Wedge (cost $5) to eliminate upper/lower receiver rattle. Good stuff for you DIYers and cheapskates.

It’s been two years since Missouri passed shall issue concealed weapons laws. The results:

Police say crime has not dropped since residents began to legally arm themselves. Neither does the number of unjustified or accidental shootings appear to be up. Few officials can even recall anyone with a permit firing a gun, deliberately or inadvertently.

“I had no idea what to expect,” said St. Louis County Police Chief Jerry Lee. “To be honest, it’s really been a non-event.”

The ATF has issued an opinion stating that sales of transferable machine guns is now legal in Michigan. No mention that other NFA items are affected.

Phil says I truly believe that Senator Frist’s opportunity to be strong (and distanced) from the President are all but gone.

Bruce Willis:

“I’m sick of answering this [expletive] question,” he says. “I’m a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop [expletive] on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of… every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these [expletive] lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I’ll say I’m a Republican… I hate the government, OK? I’m a-political. Write that down. I’m not a Republican.”

Strong opinions indicate he may not know what apolitical means but still.

Times Dispatch writes:

Federal agents made mistakes while searching for illegal firearm sales at Richmond gun shows, a top federal law enforcement officer told congressional investigators yesterday.

But the official also defended aggressive gun-show patrols conducted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and local police, saying that they had prevented violent criminals from buying weapons.

Breaking the law is just a mistake? More:

Show organizers also complained that their buyers were subjected to an unfair level of scrutiny. In several cases, ATF agents or officers with city, county or state police were dispatched to talk with a buyers’ relatives or neighbors to confirm an address listed on background check forms.

Bouchard defended these residency checks as necessary to stopping illegal sales.

Yeah, that’s the illegal part. I found this interesting:

ATF said it polices about one in 50 gun shows nationally.

Seems low to me. And congress folks called them on it, right? Not really:

Subcommittee chairman Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., said he appreciated that ATF officials had worked to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. But he called the aggressive tactics heavy-handed.

“It appears some mistakes were made . . . and hopefully they won’t be repeated,” Coble said.

Those aren’t mistakes. They intentionally used rather questionable techniques that were illegal. Someone needs to be held to account.

I always have some gun project going on. Right now, I have my AK build and my 9mm AR-15 project to fiddle with. But I’m always thinking of the next one. I’ve never really been a hunter, though I did dove hunt some in my youth. I’ve been considering taking it up, specifically deer hunting since I likes me some venison. The problem is, I don’t know a damn thing about it. Where to go, what to take, what gizmos do I need, etc. So, any information on that and what I need to know to do it locally would be appreciated.

Also, I’m pondering my deer rifle. Should be no surprise, since I dig the evil black rifles, that I’m leaning toward an AR-15 as a deer rifle. So far, my thoughts are:

Free float barrel
A rail system to mount the optics and maintain appropriate cheek weld
Heavy barrel (lightweight aren’t the most accurate and bull barrels weigh a lot)
Fixed stock
Some sort of 1-4X optic (figure that’s good for around here as shots probably would not exceed 300 yards)

But the final question is, since it’s illegal and ill advised to hunt deer with a 5.56 round, what caliber should I use? I’ve been looking at the 6.8SPC, the 6.5 Grendel, the 7.62X39 and the 300Whisper/Fireball. Notes on each:

6.8SPC – Good stopping power and decent accuracy. Could be hard to get, though.

6.5 Grendel – Very accurate, decent ballistics. Pricey ammo and the upper receivers are expensive.

7.62X39 – Accuracy is OK and stopping power is good. Cheap. Some magazine issues.

300Whisper/Fireball – Not sure much about these.

Thoughts?

Brian Arner has link to video of a group of people who almost shut down Atlanta’s interstate by obeying the 55MPH speed limit with a rolling roadblock. Mayhem ensues.

I’m all for protesting and such but it’s not an excuse to be a dick and blocking traffic intentionally pretty much makes you a dick in my book. But it does illustrate that the speed limit through there is ridiculously low.

Not good. JPFO reports:

In our past alerts concerning the BATFE Congressional hearings ( http://www.jpfo.org/alert20060213.htm ), we told you to keep your eyes open and watch for betrayal. Pay attention to who defends or justifies the actions of the BATFE. Look for “compromises” that only compromise YOUR rights.

Not surprisingly, we were right to be concerned.

The hearings, originally scheduled for 2pm EST today, were quietly rescheduled to 2:30pm. Additionally, the webcast was dropped, although the link to it is still on the site ( http://judiciary.house.gov/schedule.aspx ) as of this writing. Callers to the Judiciary received the explanation that the hearing was “scheduled in a room that did not have webcast equipment.”

[We were also reassured that “…the Chairman supports the Second Amendment.” Of course, so does Charles Schumer ( http://www.jpfo.org/2nd-setup.htm ). The real question is, “How MUCH does the Chairman support it?”]

Although the Judiciary promises that the written testimony will be on the site ( http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=216 ) by 5pm EST today, we will have no accurate record of what actually transpired. The testimony, after all, was submitted earlier and does not necessarily reflect the actual testimony. It also does not cover the question and answer period following the testimony.

Due to this “mishap”, we have successfully been prevented from seeing and hearing our government justify actions which cannot ethically BE justified (it should be fascinating to see if any alleged “pro-gun” groups try to tell us what great friends we have in Congress!).

Stuff like this should not stand. Call your congressperson and pester the crap out of them.

Packing.org reports that a Federal judge has ruled that Pennsylvania’s requirement of a social security number to buy a gun or get a concealed weapons permit violates privacy rights:

Pennsylvania’s requirement that buyers provide a Social Security number to purchase a gun or obtain a concealed-weapons permit was struck down yesterday by a federal judge.

The state law violated the federal Privacy Act, U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez ruled.

“This issue has been largely overlooked in Pennsylvania and other states for a long time,” said lawyer J. Dwight Yoder, who brought the case on behalf of a retired U.S. Army officer from Lancaster. “This ruling is about privacy, not guns. We weren’t looking to circumvent gun laws.”

Lawyers for the Pennsylvania State Police are reviewing the decision and considering an appeal, spokesman Jack Lewis said. By requiring applicants to provide Social Security numbers, Lewis said, his agency “simply has followed the requirements of the state’s Uniform Firearms Act.” The wider impact of yesterday’s ruling – whether, for example, other Pennsylvania Social Security requirements would be deemed invalid – was uncertain. One reason is that there are two large exceptions to the Privacy Act’s protection of Social Security numbers. The act does not apply to state and local government programs specifically exempted by federal law, such as driver’s license applications, or to programs from before 1974, such as voter registration.

Sanchez’s ruling noted that the right of privacy as to Social Security numbers exists under a federal law, not as a right the U.S. Supreme Court had interpreted as protected by the Constitution. Still, Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of the Privacy Journal in Providence, R.I., said yesterday’s ruling was “significant because it comes at a time when most government agencies are requiring more and more information from people.”

I personally don’t really care. In a society where you’re already required err threatened with an inordinate amount of inconvenience (like losing tax benefits and no ability to get a job) without a number, putting it on some other random piece of paper isn’t something to get too worked up about.

Sig entered the EBR market a while back with its 556. Now, SP Pundit reports on other new products from Sigarms.

Pro-Gun Progressive was featured in the Baltimore City Paper. He clarifies some things on his blog here.

Chris has an essay on different house guns. Pack a lunch, it’s almost 9,000 words.

I always complained about the fact my Glock 30 (and the other baby Glocks) didn’t come with a rail. Now they do, according to folks at ar15.com.

In this post, addressing Tim’s pacifism, Xrlq says in comments:

I’m not sure what’s so non-violent about relying on a home security system. Doesn’t that thing call the police so they can come after the intruders with guns? Leaving one’s violence to the cops isn’t pacifism, it’s outsourcing.

Heh. I guess if you call the police you’re not a pacifist after all.