Let’s talk about commas and constitutions…

Let’s talk commas and phrasings.  What is the reference to a well regulated militia being the best security of a nation in reference to?

Well reading Madison’s original entry; I believe gives insight.

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person,” said Madison.

You see, that clause seems to really be associated with the aspect not to compel military service to be rendered by those of religious scruples.

Hmm, could of greatly affected the Vietnam draft had that clause made it through.

The article details a few other items.  The next one being in lines with my feelings as well.

http://news.yahoo.com/five-items-congress-deleted-madison-original-bill-rights-113008778–politics.html
“First. That there be prefixed to the Constitution a declaration, that all power is originally vested in, and consequently derived from, the people.

This is something upon which I, and the government, and a great many people disagree.

To me, the Declaration of Independence is a legally binding document.  While there is likely not a Federal judge who would agree with me. I put forth that it is in fact the higher document of the two.

It is the reset document that exceeds the Constitution. It is that which governed America through the many years before the Constitution.
“The powers delegated by this Constitution are appropriated to the departments to which they are respectively distributed: so that the Legislative Department shall never exercise the powers vested in the Executive or Judicial, nor the Executive exercise the powers vested in the Legislative or Judicial, nor the Judicial exercise the powers vested in the Legislative or Executive Departments,” he said in the last part of his proposed Bill of Rights.

Wow, this would of done wonders. Like preventing the Korean War, Veitnam, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq 2.0.

 

Our community is changing…

Times are changing.  The gun owning community is no longer about old fat balding white men.  Much of the growth and activism is being led women. Us men a vocal and lazy.  The women who own guns, they’re an independent, determine crowd, vocal crowd. Simultaneously, many minorities seem to be re-embracing their rights to defend themselves. After 50 years of accepting disarmament in cities, and seeing very little change in crime or gang gun shootings.  Minorities have been re-approaching their own histories of self defense. The fact that firearms, were prevalent during the civil rights movements.  And not just by those people might first associate with guns, such as the Black Panther movement. But even men of peace like Martin Luther King Jr. understood the need for strength.  (Yes, MLK owned firearms, and even applied for a carry permit.)  Why? Possessing strength does not require the use of said strength.  And never the initiation of force.  Which is what I believe MLK was pressing for in his call for a peaceful movement. He believed that progress could be achieved without the use of arms. I think he was right. But I don’t think he ever expected any father to sit back and not defend his family from harm. Just never be the initiator of harm.  Following such reasoning leads one to realize that no good man will ever bring harm to another good man.

NOTES:

Article on changing attitudes
http://www.volokh.com/2013/11/26/evolving-christian-attitudes-towards-personal-national-self-defense/

Article on MLK owning guns
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler/mlk-and-his-guns_b_810132.html

Summary and link to 114 page PDF
http://connecticutlawreview.org/articles/firearms-policy-and-the-black-community-an-assessment-of-the-modern-orthodoxy/

Book on the history of the importance of arms for those who are not able to rely upon the state for protection.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/161614839X/thevolocons0d-20

Firearms and Feminism
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358594/firearms-and-feminism-natalie-foster

 

Why Guns and Ammo’s Best States to CC is flawed IMHO

Guns and Ammo’s best states to carry in…

http://www.gunsandammo.com/2013/10/24/8-24-2013-text-only/

First, I feel that the results of this ranking is that it’s all about reciprocity agreements. If you have a lot of reciprocity agreements, you can essentially match all other points 1 for 1.  And I don’t feel that it is legitimate to weigh one area so heavily. Reciprocity is stacked so high that it dwarfs other issues. Take Connecticut for example, should the ease of access, or lack there of, to a permit weigh less than reciprocity?  How many points is reciprocity worth vs never even becoming a gun owner because the entry barrier is too high?

Don’t get me wrong. Reciprocity is good. Great even. But it is secondary, if you can’t even get your permit.  States such as Pennsylvania (no training requirement) and Vermont (no permit requirement) often run into difficulty establishing reciprocity agreements. Many other states will only reciprocate with those states that issue permits only after mandated training. Pennsylvania and Vermont’s should not be penalized for offering their citizens greater freedom and liberty. 

While I will grant that “Constitutional” carry is a big item. And that should push those states ahead of PA. I do feel they drop the ball on “freedom and access” to carry. And feel this should be a heavily weighted category. (ie: Campus Carry, carry in establishments, right to drinka nd carry,   carry in parks, etc).

There are a lot of auxilliary issues and those should have been scored as well. How many states can you go out on your wedding anniversary and have a glass of wine with your wife? You’d be surprised, #1 state Arizona – NOPE!!!  Pennsylvania, yuppers. That may seem like a little trinket. But it’s not. It is very significant.

When the NRA convention was in Arizona, I had to leave my carry piece in the hotel because the venues served alcohol. What good was reciprocity then? A few years later when it was in Pittsburgh, not only could I carry. But I was able to attend the wine tasting with my LCP in my pocket. And yes, Arizona changed the law so that folks are no longer banned from entering venue that serves alcohol.  But they still didn’t acknowledge your right to drink and still protect yourself.

 

Guns and Ammo also ranked training time based on the hours. But I feel a quick look at their ranking shows it to be extremely flawed.

Ranking 0 Hours = 10 Points 1-3 Hours = 9 points 4-6 Hours = 8 points 7-9 Hours = 7 points 10-12 Hours = 6 points 13-15 Hours = 5 points 16+ Hours = 0 points

They based it on required hours, that was just out and out dumb. And I challenge any editor of Guns and Ammo to reason out this one for me.  Connecticut requires training and has very few facilitities to provide it. The result, Connecticut access to pistol ownership is extremely complicated and discouraging.   The difference between no training required to own, purchase, or carry a firearm is HUGE compared to  even a 1 hour requirement.  The requirement of 2 days is a bit more, and yes anything beyond 2 days is unwieldy.

The correct way to rank this aspect is:

0 hours = 10 points
1-8 hours ( 1 day or less) = 5 points
9-16 hours (2 days or less) = 4 points
> 2 days = 0 points

Why? Because just a single hour presents a huge huge huge barrier to gun ownership. You now much find a training source, and wait for a class. If you have a restraining order on a violent ex, this little training caveat can equate to your life or death.

The next aspect was their use of the “best gun owning states”.  First off, this is essentially counting many aspects twice.  Pennsylvania is ranked #20. And I really really really have no clue how we got ranked that low. 

– shall issue
– no mandated training requirement
– low fee $25 for 5 years
– no fingerprinting
– open carry except in cities of the First Class (1 million + population)
  > And many will point to that much of the legal basis is that open carry does not require a permit.
– Castle Doctrine
– protection from civil lawsuits
– Pre-emption
– ability to carry in establishments that serve alcohol
– ability to drink alcohol and carry
– large amount of ranges (extremely important)

How did Pennsylvania rank 20th?  And I can’t really find how they ranked the states. But something was missing.  Cause I can’t see PA being below the top 10.

Now I’m not saying PA should of beat out AZ.  I do believe Constitutional carry is a huge +.  But I definitely do think there is a lot of gun culture and freedom being grossly left out.

7. Pennsylvania
Permit Issuance: 20
Reciprocity: 14
Training Time: 10
Application Fee: 10
Stand Your Ground: 8
Best States for Gun Owners: 8
Duty to Inform: 5
Pre-Emption: 5
Issued to Non-Residents: 5
TOTAL: 85
Overall, obtaining a license to carry in Pennsylvania is considered very easy compared to other states. No formal training or handgun proficiency is required, and license fees are reasonably priced.

 

1. Arizona
Permit Issuance: 25
Reciprocity: 18
Training Time: 10
Application Fee: 10
Stand Your Ground: 10
Best States for Gun Owners: 10
Duty to Inform: 5
Pre-Emption: 5
Issued to Non-Residents: 5
TOTAL: 98

 

Chicago…toughening up while they still can

 

Chicago adds more guns to their banned list and raises fines.

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-city-council-votes-toughen-assault-weapons-ban-162459443.html

Article states a big concern of residents is the closing of 50 public schools leading kids to have to cross gang lines.

NUGUN Blog turns 1,000th post…

I know that’s nothing compared to some of the older more proficient bloggers out there in our community. However, for me, it is a fairly heft milestone.

Last week we had our 1,000th post

http://blog.nugun.org/2013/06/28/12-best-designs-from-the-past-100-years/

72 year old defends her home & her husband

Jan Cooper (72) defended her home & her husband (85) from a burglar who should NEVER have been allowed to pose a threat. Thankfully, Mrs. Cooper has a .357 Magnum revolver. Sadly, Alexander Perez, survived. Mr. Perez is a typical lot, a rap sheet that included burglarly, narcotics charges, and likely more and was currently out on parole. I am of the firm opinion that if you want to reduce crime, eliminate parole.
http://news.yahoo.com/grandma-72-shoots-intruder-misses-calif-015042784.html

 

This part was cute…

Cooper said she is amazed by the anger in her voice — and the curse word she let fly — after she fired the shot.

“I am a Christian woman and I’m very proud of it and I don’t curse, but after I shot, rage took hold and I just blasted away,” she said. “And, in fact, afterwards my husband said, ‘I’ve never heard you talk like that!'”

 

Can we keep the 2nd Amendment in this little experiment?

Yahoo has an article on Constitution Daily running a little experiment/debate on the Bill of Rights. With discussions, debates and votes.

May 28: Is the Discussion on the “Right to bear arms”

http://news.yahoo.com/introducing-next-10-amendments-105219193.html

http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution-day/

***

I find these sort of experiments quite interesting.

The Media Spin Affect

56% believe gun related crime is higher today than 20 years ago. Only 12% believe it’s lower.

In truth, the rate is nearly 50% lower in 2010 than 1993. And firearm related violent crime was 75% lower in 2011 than 1993.

I am pretty sure we can thank the mainstream left media for that discrepancy.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/us/study-gun-homicide/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Defense Distributed finally nails it…

John McClane’s mythical plastic gun has finally arrived. Defense Distributed has test a 99% plastic firearm. The firing pin being the exception; and for that they utilized a nail from a hardware store.

Please note, before you get up in arms, today’s X-ray machines and scanners will detect a plastic gun. That is because such scanners detect hardness, and plastic is still fairly hard/dense.  While a detector which only detects metal may not succeed in detection of such a firearm.

One does have to love how the media describes the founder of Defense Distribute: “Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas and a radical libertarian and anarchist”.

Mr. Wilson chose to name this first generation Wiki Weapon the “Liberator”, a tip of the hat to a cheap WWII one-shot firearm that was made by the Allies and dropped in enemy territory to aid insurgents.

Right now, the design is limited to low powered cartridges. The attempt utilizing a .380 (often referred to a 9mm short) succeeded. But the higher charge of a 5.7×28 exploded; destroying the firarm. That said, I believe this is not the end, but merely the beginning.

Apparently, Mr. Wilson was distraught by the fact they had a failure to fire due to pin alignment.  I am sure that he and Defense Distributed will seek to improve upon the design.

The success has led some legislators like the our beloved Chuck Schumer and New York’s Steve Israel to exclaim silly statements like “Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser”.

The point Defense Distributed is making is that such devices will in the future be as common astoday’s color printers. In the future, you won’t buy a bowl or plastic fork for your kids from Walmart. You’ll simply print one at home.  And yes, in the future, obtaining a gun will be as easy as printing a large color document is today.The point is, only a legislator would be dumb enough to believe that passing a law will prevent criminals from doing this in the future.The only thing this law will do, is stop law abiding citizens from doing so.

Interesting to note that after much pressure to stop them, and being booted from two workshops, crowd sourcing sites, they have utilized Bitcoin for fundraising.  (Perhaps Sebastian might consider donating his bitcoin harvester’s crop to Defense Distribued.)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/05/meet-the-liberator-test-firing-the-worlds-first-fully-3d-printed-gun/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/03/this-is-the-worlds-first-entirely-3d-printed-gun-photos/

Congratulations to Defense Distributed for silencing naysayers who said it just couldn’t be done. Well, one barrel withstood 11 rounds. And I bet with further designs and reinforcements that the barrel could last longer. I think a honeycombed matrix of buttresses similar to those used to build the giant cathredals might enhance the strength of a plastic barrel. Similar to how an egg’s design distributes the pressure.I also must add, that I was thinking one would still need to bend some wire to make springs. But it’s clear from the photo showing the parts build out, that is not the case. Mr. Wilson has engineered his own springs made from polymer. Excellent…

Shame that these peaceful anti-gunners keep expressing themselves by making death threats toward Mr. Wilson. Perhaps that is why they are so anti-gun. Because they know the evil that lurks in their own hearts.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=drPz6n6UXQY

“The law is very clear…”

Per Sayuncle, an honors high school student/Eagle Scout is now facing felony charges for having arrived at school and realized he had his trap shotgun in the trunk still. He went into the school office to call his mom.

Some dip by the name of Tracey Peedin Jones stated “The law is very clear when a person knowingly and willingly brings a weapon onto educational property,”… really, I have yet to see a law that was ever very clear.  But let’s evaluate that statement. Did this young man knowingly or willingly bring a weapon onto an educational facility. No.  He did not, it was an accident.  So, hey, by her statement this should have been handled differently.
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/eagle-scout-facing-expulsion-over-gun-charge.html

“There’s no room for gray area,” she said.
“There’s no room for discretion for human error.”
THIS is what our opponents call common sense gun laws. “There is no room for common sense.”

Yes, lets destroy the life of a young man, give him a felony conviction. Ruin his career, likely prevent him from going to the college of his choice, make it almost impossible for him to get a good career.

Seriously, this is the common sense you want?

***

Here is what we never understand. Why that zero tolerance never applies to them?

Also from Say Uncle. New reporters use fake IDs to try to make illegal purchases. Now, if we used the same stringent zero leniency. Should these two reporters not be arrested by a SWAT team and sitting in jail awaiting their trial to sentence and incarcerate them? Just saying…

http://www.thebrennerbrief.com/2013/04/18/fox31-hidden-camera-crew-on-armslist/