Tag Archives: RKBA

No Fly No Buy

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I have a problem with the No Fly No Buy thing.   Now, on the surface, the idea that someone who can’t get on an Airplane shouldn’t be able to buy a gun – is fine.   The problem isn’t that rule.  The problem is that list.   The No Fly List is shrouded in Mystery and Secrecy.  You can all too easily be put on that list, and you have almost no way to get off of it.  I have questions:
1. What are the requirements that must be met to be put on that list?
2. What are the oversights?
3. What are the rules that manage that list?
4. What is the Due Process?
5. If you are on that List by mistake, how do you get off that list?
6. Is this going to be like the IRS and can it be used to illegally target groups that are out of favor with the standing administration?
7. Can it be used to harass Political Adversaries?
8. Can it be used to punish someone that pisses off some unnamed, faceless Bureaucrat?
9. Who controls the List?
10.  Where’s the Transparency?
See… the problem that I have with the No Fly List being tied to guns is that it can be far too easily used to strip people of Constitutionally Protected Rights with absolutely ZERO Due-Process.   Especially since Officials of the Government have admitted that 35% of the names on that list are there by mistake.
That’s a pretty big percentage of error.   If you are going to take away anyone’s Rights it needs to be done through a Court.  Not a Bureaucratic Cog.
EVEN IF HE OR SHE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION by the FBI.
WHY?  BECAUSE WE ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!!!!!!!
This is the main problem I have with it.  This rule would mean that if you are on this list you are guilty – Guilty without a Trial.  Guilty just because you have a similar name to someone else…
Due Process is Promised us by the Constitution and this takes that away.
This is Un-American.
This is disgusting.
And I’m straight up against it.  We give up too much.  Way too much.  With nothing in return.   We always give up our Liberty.  And we do not get anything in return for it… it’s a bad deal.

Is DC now a Constitution Carry district?

The DC Police Chief sent out instructions to all DC police officers that they will not make arrests for carrying a gun.  Concealed or Open, no distinction was made.  If you are legal to own the gun, you are legal to carry it.  This is also called Vermont Carry by some.

Let this sink in again… if you are legal to own a gun, you can now carry it in Washington D.C.

This is historic stuff.   When was the last time you could do that?  The 60’s?  The 40’s?  I don’t know.  Not within my lifetime I’m sure.    But let’s not organize Open Carry Parties and head to Chipoltes and Starbucks… because I am sure any inch you give them will be leverage they can use to throw you to ground for “Disorderly” or “Trespass”.  The Legal Fight is not even close to being over on this one.  DC will appeal, and the legal status of Reciprocity will be created which could change this status for your State.   Legal Teams are freaking out.  And Washington DC Police are different from the Capitol Police, who patrol places like the Smithsonian and around the White House and Capitol Building and all the Monuments in conjunction with NPS.   So tread lightly people.  Tread very lightly right now.  Because this smells of bear bait.

Open Carry Activists.

Congratulations to the Open Carry Activists in Texas.   You got the rest of us all shut out of Chipolte like you wanted.

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That is what you wanted, right?  Because, I mean, you guys did see what happened with Starbucks, right?  So getting us shunned at one of our favorite Burrito joints had to have been your goal.  Couldn’t you have picked a place we didn’t like to hold your Activism at?  Like Panera Bread, Checkers, Dairy Queen

Seriously, you guys packing the AR-15’s everywhere… You are ruining Open Carry for Everyone.   The guys that insist Open Carry means they can walk around with AR-15’s and not cause problems – are causing problems. You guys are turning open carry into a 2nd Amendment Gay Rights Parade. Something no one cares about – but you throw it everyone’s faces and dare people to say something. I don’t care if you are gay… But Chaps and a Thong is not dignified attire to be out in public in. Same with an AR-15 Rifle. This isn’t Israel. This isn’t Baghdad. And you are not a PMC Contractor… What you are is an insensitive jerk throwing your rights in people’s faces at the expense of everyone else’s. That’s not the Libertarian Way. 

You guys are not helping.

We want to make Open Carry a normal thing.  And within the gun rights community there is enough people who are actually advocating against OC, giving preference to Concealed Carry Only.   Me, I advocate “Carry”.  Open or Concealed, you are talking about the condition of your Shirt Tails, not the guns… but that’s not the question here.  That’s not the problem.  The problem is you Clownshoes who think you need to walk into the diner with a rifle.     You guys are going to bring down a lot more heat on the 2nd Amendment as a whole rather than get the Middle Ground Folks to come over to our side.   “Oh those guys in the Booney Hats and Shorts with the Scary Rifles… Those were Nice Guys!  I want to be like them!”   No, that’s not going to happen.  Instead you are going to turn those people who don’t mind guns – into people voting against guns.

If you gotta have your Rifle with you when you eat out – Go through the Drive Through!

Look, I’ve OC’d long guns many times.  I’ve slung Tactical Shotguns, AR’s, PSL’s, a Sterling SMG, and rode through town on motorcycles.   But the one thing I never did was was stop and go into a place of business with it, because I knew that even in rural high desert Utah, that was just not acceptable.  Even while “Perfectly Legal” it’s just not acceptable behavior.  Much like wearing a thong and twerking out on Main Street…. Sure, it’s legal.  But it’s also not acceptable behavior.

Arm our Armed Forces

It was decades ago when I first said it… A pistol and a fixed blade knife should be part of the Uniform.  If you are in Uniform, you should be armed.
Our Military Bases are essentially Gun Free Zones.  Most bases are like small cities, lots of traffic in and out.  And the MP’s or DOD Police are too few and far between to be effective at insuring people’s safety.   It’s asinine that we expect our Military to “Protect our Freedom” when we do not allow them to even protect themselves. This has always been the greatest hypocrisy and injustice.

When a soldier graduates their AIT… not boot camp, their Advanced Individual Training, and are officially trained in their MOS… Part of that graduation ceremony should be that they are bestowed their weapon of office.  A pistol and a knife.  These items should be given to them with the expectation that they are now part of their uniform and should be maintained and cared for and that while in uniform they should be worn at all times.

I’ve been told that my idea is “extreme”.  Really?

At Ft. Hood, 2009, an Officer shot and killed 13 other soldiers and wounded 30 others.  Now at Ft. Hood, April 2014, a soldier shot and killed 4 other soldiers and wounded 16 others.    The Navy has had a couple recently as well.  Let’s ask those people and their families if my idea is too extreme.  I bet there are a great many soldiers – trained warriors – who would have given anything to be able to defend not themselves, but their brothers and sisters in arms.   How many of the loved ones of those killed and wounded would have wanted their servicemen to have been able to defend themselves?  Ask them if my idea is too extreme.

I heard a pundit on the radio say that they need to have been searches at the Base Gates.   Search every car and ever person coming on base.  This person is an idiot.  We can’t even keep contraband out of Prisons, let alone a busy military base.  This person has obviously never been near a military base.   Let’s take a look at a small one.   I happen to live right close to a small Marine base.  And every morning I am in the traffic flow heading into that base.  I turn off before the gate, thank heavens.  It’s bad enough as it is.   Seriously… the traffic is hell on wheels.  And a detailed search of everything going in?  That’s just flat out unrealistic.  Getting on base would take hours.  And for what?  You take all the problems of the TSA at Air Ports and magnify that to controlling the incoming traffic into city sized areas?

How about we trust our Armed Forces with Arms?  Considering that we train them to use them, it seems like a pretty simple solution.   A pistol and knife is a lot cheaper than hiring and training an army of TSA type security people to secure every gate and every fence-line at every military base.   And you’ll keep the traffic flowing.  No one wants to go to work 3 hours early just to get through security to get into work.  That’s just stupid and short sighted.  Because you only serve to maintain the gun free zone inside.  You would have a hard shell on the outside… and inside would be just as gooey and soft as it’s been and a mass shooting could still happen.  Because like I said before – we can’t even keep contraband items out of our prisons.

To make this worse, even the Base Commander at Ft. Hood is against the idea of his soldiers being armed.   Think about that for a moment.  He feels like he can’t trust his own soldiers?  Isn’t that an indication that maybe he shouldn’t be a Commander of any base?   Here’s a question to you Officers out there… If you can’t trust your own men, what does that say about your Leadership?

Think of the disconnect of logic here… Civilians are protecting our Armed Forces, because we don’t trust them to protect themselves. Yet we trust them to protect the Civilians.  Where is the logic in this?  Just thinking about that gives me a migraine.

Also note – The shooter in this case was rampaging for 15 to 20 minutes.  This has been repeated in the media’s news coverage.  So now would be copycat maniacs and terrorists now know the response time at Ft. Hood and probably other bases.  And they know our bases are essentially great Gun Free Zones.  Which means that situations like this are more likely to happen in the future than before.  We’ve already had 3 this year?  We’re going to see this happen again and again.

Why?  Why are our soldiers good enough to Protect America yet the troops are too inept to be allowed to protect themselves?  I’ve heard even other Military Guys say that they would hate to see a PFC packing.   Come on.  I’ve seen plenty of PFC’s with more sense than many Lieutenants and yet “Officers” automatically get a pass?  So an Officer’s Rights according to the Bill of Rights is more important that a PFC’s?    That’s bullshit.  Utter bullshit.   And don’t talk to me about the antics of the younger Enlisted – That’s a direct reflection of their Leadership and you know it.

A few days of pistol training, as a part of BASIC TRAINING is not too much to ask for.   You could pay for the cost of a Battalion’s worth of pistols for the price of a couple Javelin Missiles.  Here is the extreme part.  When the Soldier leaves the service… They keep the knife and the pistol as a token of their Oath.  Because that Oath doesn’t expire.

We can roll this out easily.  Start by arming our Officers and NCO’s.  E5’s and above.  Then cycle the rest through training and issuing sidearms as the training is complete.  Then issue sidearms at AIT Graduations moving forward.

Arm our Armed Forces.

I miss the good old days

When ATF was “Automatic Transmission Fluid.  When NSA was “No Such Agency.  Before TSA and Homeland Security.

Back when things made sense.  And now when something does make sense, it’s taken as a surprise.   Check this out.

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Detroit— If more citizens were armed, criminals would think twice about attacking them, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Thursday.

Urban police chiefs are typically in favor of gun control or reluctant to discuss the issue, but Craig on Thursday was candid about how he’s changed his mind.

“When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits, the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department,” Craig said at a press conference at police headquarters, adding that he thinks more Detroit citizens feel safer, thanks in part to a 7 percent drop in violent crime in 2013.

Craig said he started believing that legal gun owners can deter crime when he became police chief in Portland, Maine, in 2009.

“Coming from California (Craig was on the Los Angeles police force for 28 years), where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation.

“I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.”

Craig’s statements Thursday echoed those he made Dec. 19 on “The Paul W. Smith Show” on WJR (760 AM), when he said: “There’s a number of CPL (concealed pistol license) holders running around the city of Detroit. I think it acts as a deterrent. Good Americans with CPLs translates into crime reduction. I learned that real quick in the state of Maine.”

Robyn Thomas, director of the the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco, disagreed.

“I think at its core, his position is an emotional one, based on the idea that people feel safer when they have guns. But studies have shown more guns don’t deter crime,” Thomas said. “There’s no research that shows guns make anyone safer, and it does show that, the more guns in any situation, the higher the likelihood of them harming either the owner, or people who have access to them.”

Rick Ector of the Firearm Academy of Detroit, which teaches gun safety classes, said Craig’s comments are unusual for a police official.

“It’s a huge, radical departure for the police chief to say good people should have access to firearms,” said Ector. “I’m not ready to say he’s pro-gun just yet, but it’s vastly different from what police chiefs have said in the past.”

Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police director Robert Stevenson agreed.

“A lot of police officers have no problem at all with law-abiding citizens having guns,” Stevenson said.

“I think it’s probably like the citizenry: Some are for it, some are against it. But most police chiefs don’t want to talk about the subject.

“It’s a divisive issue, and a lot of times chiefs are reluctant to get in the middle of those debates. Gun control, the death penalty — most chiefs try to stay out of those discussions. Craig speaks his mind; you’ve got to give him credit for that.”

According to a March 2013 anonymous poll of 15,000 officers by the law enforcement website policeone.com., almost 90 percent of the respondents believed casualties would be decreased if armed citizens were present during shooting incidents, while more than 80 percent supported arming teachers who were trained with firearms.

Although Craig said more responsible gun owners would likely lower crime, in the past he also has called for a ban on assault weapons, regulating high-capacity magazines, tighter restrictions on Internet ammunition sales and more stringent background checks for merchants who sell firearms at gun shows.

Detroit police have reported 73 justifiable homicides in the city since 2011. The number in 2013 was 15, down from 25 the previous year.

Most of those cases involved citizens who defended themselves by killing criminals. Among them: 77-year-old Willie White, who in March 2012, fatally shot a man who’d broken into his northwest Detroit home.

Prior to the incident, White’s home had been broken into several times. The break-ins stopped after he killed the 18-year-old intruder, he said.

“I think these criminals would definitely think twice if they knew more citizens were armed,” White said. “I know it stopped them from breaking into my place.”

ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140103/METRO01/301030038#ixzz2pRMAXNYr

Richard Dryfuss on Guns


Certainly a surprising Pro-Gun attitude from Richard Dreyfuss.
However the Shall Not Be Infringed, while shockingly clear, is misunderstood by Mr. Dreyfuss. Voting is a Right. Free Speech is a Right. Gun Owning and Bearing is a Right. Driving a Car, however, is a Privilege. There is a difference. Because The State has the right to determine who can operate a Motor Vehicle on public roads. Applying the same model to Guns means that Guns become a Privilege.
Also, he seems to think that SOME guns are okay… while OTHERS are Bad and should be locked up and controlled by someone other than the Owner. This is where things fall apart and shows that Mr. Dreyfuss has a way to go in understanding the very reasons for the Second Amendment.
Also, the Second Amendment is not written poorly, or vaguely. It is very clear. It’s just allowed to be argued because it’s rude to call someone ignorant of their own language. Let me break it down into a common interpretation for those in Portland Oregon. The Second Amendment says:
“Because we have to have a well regulated Militia, the right to keep and bear guns shall not be infringed.”
Because the people just had a war against a well regulated militia. It’s those Militias that are the worry… The spear point of a Government. The people need guns to keep the Militia and the Government in Check. Notice how the Second Amendment mentions Militia, but doesn’t mention Self Defense or Sport or Hunting? Because those things are a Given. Taken for Granted like growing vegetables and chopping wood to get ready for winter… Everyone did that because that was the way of life.
And regardless of the interpretation because of bad English skills… the last sentence is absolutely very clear. SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. It’s not “Shall be Debated.” “Shall be Regulated.” SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. Period.

Zimmerman’s Clownshoes

There is something definitely wrong with George Zimmerman.   The man isn’t thinking clearly.
His incident with Travon Martin shows bad judgment.   The actions were shown in court to be not illegal,  but were not wise either.
Then the incident with his wife… bringing his girlfriend with him to the house.  Again,  drastically unwise.  And now with this girlfriend – pregnant girlfriend.   Allegedly pointing a gun at her and throwing her out of her home while she’s on the phone with 911.
GZ has a problem with his decision making process.   The part of the brain that does the Threat Assessment processing clearly isn’t working.   Cost vs Benefit.   Actions vs Accountability.   None of that seems to be working in his head.
One incident (The Travon Martin one specifically) doesn’t legally effect the other… remember that GZ was found innocent by law.  However there is the big picture that shows a pattern of poor judgment.  Which will be used by the Anti-Gun Main Stream Media against gun owners.  Poor judgment isn’t a felony on its own.   If it was, 90% of Congress would be behind bars.
This is important because the media is branding GZ as the Self Defense Poster Boy.  In the eyes of the Media, he is the example of the Stand Your Ground law and arguments are going to slide in that direction.   Any self defense case that can be, will be compared to GZ.  To counter that in the court of public opinion, either in conversations at work or online, you need to be armed with some truths and other examples… better examples.
Allow me to give you a source of good examples.
Lessons from an Armed America,  by my good friends Mark Walters and Kathy Jackson.  Cases of self defense,  all documented, showing how guns save lives.   Join the USCCA, get the Concealed Carry Magazine.  Such stories are in every issue.  Read them.
Also, watch the news and look at the cases where good triumphed over evil because Good was prepared and armed.
We can’t let the opposition use one guy as an example of how gun owners are… that we are all like GZ.  We need to show that WE are the Main Stream America.  We are the norm.  When GZ comes up, turn the conversation to another example of Self Defense in the right.

Long live the King?

Burger King, that is.   This morning I had too much blood in my caffeine and I was getting a headache from it.  Needed to fix that.  Closest joint was a BK.  So I stopped in, went inside.  I had a minute.  So I sit down with a large Coke on ice and pull out my Samsung Galaxy S4, which is awesome…   Check messages… Oh, they have free WiFi.  Well… Let’s just hop on that and use their bandwidth instead of my Verizon Miserly Minutes.  Because Verizon doesn’t do an Unlimited Data plan, I try to use WiFi whenever possible.

Check my emails.  Check my messages… Hmmm… What about any new comments on MadOgre.com?

THIS SITE IS BLOCKED.  REASON:  WEAPONS.

Burger King Blocks The Ogre.   Oh really?  So I check a few other Pro-Gun sites… and they are blocked too.  Uh huh.   Now, wait a second… If they are blocking me, undoubtedly for the children… they must be blocking – Nope… You can still pull up Miley Cyrus twerking that skinny little ass.   So Burger King thinks it’s okay for Hanna Montana to shake that flat little money maker, but I can’t check out a Pro-Second Amendment discussion site.

Really, King of Burgers?   That hurts me, King B.  That cut me.

At this point I walked out.   I don’t see myself spending any more of my money there.   Check our your local BK establishments.  See if they have free WiFi and if they are filtering guns too.  Maybe it’s just this Franchise.  Maybe it’s a Corporate thing.  I’d rather see this be a Corporate thing.  Because this Franchise was just outside of the main gates of a Marine Base.  And they are banning gun related content on their WiFi.  That’s just asinine considering all the Marines and Relatives that stop and eat there.  Just sad.   I was quite disappointed.

 

Guns, Coffee and Butthurt

Fashion-Accessory

 

We shot ourselves in the foot over the Starbucks issue.  There are many articles and blog posts about Starbucks and Open Carry popping up all over the place.   Starbucks was never Pro-Gun.  They wanted to remain politically neutral on the issue.  The whole “We will follow the local law” policy was a smart one.  It didn’t take a side.  But so many people used their business as a political soapbox and forced them to take a side.

You guys don’t carry an AR-15 into the Gun Store to buy Ammo or a Cleaning Kit – Why the hell do you need to bring your AR-15 Rifle into a Coffee Shop for a cup of Caffeine?  Seriously, Why?  This is called Grandstanding.  Among other less kinder terms.  Because of this they had to, as politely as possible, ask you guys to stop.  And now some of you are excessively butthurt.   “Boycott Starbucks!” you’re yelling.   Boycott them for what?  For not wanting to be your Photo Op? Do you want people who you don’t know, bringing rifles and shotgun to your house or non-gun industry business?

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I don’t see guys taking pictures like this in front of Sporting Goods Stores.   I don’t see pictures like this in front of WalMart or Cabella’s.   Why do you think it’s appropriate inside a Coffee Shop, who’s Corporate HQ is in the heart of the Liberal Holy Land of Seattle Washington?  Honestly, what did you expect would come of this?   Where is the Moderation?  This morning I noticed driving past the Starbucks in town, the line was just as long today as it was the last couple of days.  They will remain in business.

I’m all for the Right to Carry.  I even advocate appropriate Open Carry on Armed American Radio when the Host and other guests are against Open Carry… I see their arguments against, and for the most part agree.   But there are times and places you can open carry just fine, and other times and places that it’s just unwise.   As a whole, we’ve been unwise when it came to Starbucks.  It went too far.  The whole “too much of a good thing” came into effect like a Triple Espresso with a side of Jolt Cola and a Rip It.

Moderation, people.  Keep Calm, and Carry On… appropriately.

These pictures would be awesome in the right setting.  Enthusiasm for the cause we all love… but in a Starbucks?  GO TO THE RANGE!  Where’s the LOCAL GUN DEALER APPRECIATION DAY?

Update:  Some people have called my position cowardly.  So those of us who say taking an AR-15 into a Coffee Shop, just because it’s technically not illegal to do so yet, is pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior, are cowards? 
Huh.
Gentlemen, there is the problem. To get people to accept guns in polite society as acceptable, by pushing unacceptable behavior with extremism, is not winning anyone to our side. And as this case shows – worked against our cause rather than for it. The fact that so many Patriot Brothers can not see that is the problem.
JUST ACT NORMAL. 
Open carry to make a political statement is not Open Carrying. It’s political grandstanding. And it’s counter productive. Instead of showing people “See, no one got killed by my AR here today”… how about showing people that Gun Owners are normal people like everyone else? How about that for a change? Let’s see how that works.

New School Uniform?

Last year I taught a lot of Teachers, School Administrators and other School Faculty Members defensive shooting skills. I taught them for Free. This was in Utah, where it is Legal for Teachers and Faculty to carry concealed if they have a Carry Permit. For a teacher standing in front of a class room, I can’t think of a better holster than an INCOG carried in the Appendix Position, with a Glock 19 or an M&P 9C in there.

Watch this video below and tell me your thoughts.

What I’m taking away from this is that no one else in the family is wearing a target… just the little school boy going to school. Schools being “GUN FREE ZONES” which makes them Fish in a Barrel situations. Everyone else is safe, because evidently they are not going to Gun Free Zones.
My take – Get rid of Gun Free Zones. Let Teachers who stand up and are willing to bear the responsibility protect the students they teach. If they are not willing to protect my kids, why would I be willing to let them teach my kids?