24 Hour notice

Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (Moron, TX) had an amendment to HR822 which would have required gun owners to notify the state police at their destination (and at all states in-between) that they were arriving with their firearm.

Really.

I wonder how that same thought pattern would apply to people who wished to exercise their right to assemble, speak, or worship in a neighboring state?

Should we make citizens call ahead to exercise their 4th, or 5th Amendment rights?

I wonder if we should apply this same requirement to the 13th Amendment? Maybe Rep. Jackson-Lee should be required to call ahead to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or North Carolina if she intended to present herself there? Shouldn't she prove that she is a "Freedman"? How do I know that she is not a slave?

Should we require a person to call ahead when they wish to exercise their 18th Amendment rights to a cocktail in a neighboring state? After all, alcohol-related car accidents claim more lives annually than all gun-related deaths (criminal or otherwise) in the USA combined. Think of the Children!

How about we require Ms. Jackson Lee to call ahead to see if she can exercise her right to vote, being a woman and all. Or, is the 19th Amendment applicable to ALL STATES just like the 14th is?

The Constitution and Bill of Rights is an All or Nothing proposition. Don't cry "Equality" and "Women's Rights" over abortion (and claim federal superiority) on the one hand, then hide behind "State's Rights" on the other. (Notwithstanding that the Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms is an Enumerated Individual Civil Right, and Abortion is merely inferred under the 9th.)

We fought a war over the ability of individual states to infringe on fundamental rights for certain individuals. I would think that, as a Black Woman living in the South, she would appreciate this fact. It doesn't really sound like it though. It really sounds like she enjoys being a shill for the Democratic Party Plantation when it comes to some rights for some citizens. Kind of like JIM CROW.

Shame on her.

Newbius

Stupid signs

While going about my business today, I had to go into a branch of the USMC Credit Union. Tacked onto the door was a typed note inside a page protector declaring in 24pt boldface that:

The carrying of a concealed weapon on these premises is prohibited"

I say "stupid sign" for 2 reasons: 1) Concealed is concealed, so how are they to know? 2) The target is misdirected. A criminal is going to ignore the sign and do his deed anyway.

However, as a lawful gun owner, I dutifully went back to my car and disarmed.

While there, I took the time to ask about the sign, and had a nice dialogue with the teller about guns. She grew up in an 'anti' household and admitted fearing guns, but is married to a Marine and said she wanted to get over her fear. I told her that guns were fun, and she should seek out someone to help her learn about them. All in all, a good contact.

Now tomorrow...I might just go into that branch again, openly carrying, as their sign expressly forbade concealed carry. :)

Newbius

Oooh! Shiny!

Just a quick note. The Mrs. has basically decided upon a gun that fits her and that feels comfortable to her hand.

Since it is a lightweight compact 1911, the next question is: 9mm or .45? If I was buying for myself, I would go for .45. For her, will the recoil be much less in 9mm? It has been a long time since I shot 9mm.

Opinions?

Newbius

Defensive Gun Use in Virginia

The Right to Carry is the right of self defense in action. A gas station clerk in Virginia used his gun to save his life, and protect his employers property when 2 thugs armed with a TASER attempted to rob the store.

The story is archived on YouTube HERE.

Guns Save Lives.

Pax,

Newbius

Looking for holster advice

Need an IWB Holster for a full-sized XD.

Do any of my readers currently carry one of these IWB? If so, what holster works for you?

I do realize that holster choice is as personal as "Boxers or Briefs". But I am trying to rapidly winnow the choices. As an example, my other carry gun has two holsters for it that I dearly love: a Galco "Concealable" OWB, and a Milt Sparks IWB. Both are exceptional and are worth every penny spent.

I am not looking to carry this "deep cover" and am therefore not looking for any variation of "thunderwear". Given the setup of safeties on this gun, I am also not looking for anything without sufficient structure to prevent a ND.

Comments are open, "fire away".

Pax,

Newbius

Everyday Carry

Several other bloggers have posted about this meme. Since I am light on blog fodder today, I thought I would join in and play.

So here is the picture of the "junk on the bunk" when I empty out the pockets and places and things for the day:


"The Junk*"

Keys, Mini MagLite LED (AA), .45ACP pistol in DeSantis IWB holster, spare magazine in BLACKHAWK! carrier, 2 pens, wallet (no cash...I'm married), Kershaw Vapor folder, work and personal cell phones, Ka-Bar folder, iPod, gum, reading glasses, Leatherman multi-tool.

The pistol is an Astra A-100 which weighs 31.1 ounces empty. With a full magazine plus one in the chamber (9+1) the gun weighs 42 ounces fully loaded. The fully loaded spare mag weighs 10.2 ounces. The holster comes in at 7.5 ounces and the mag carrier weighs 1.8. Total carry weight for the system is 61.5 ounces (3 lbs, 13.5 ounces). Since I carry every day, I have gotten used to the weight. Note that I said "system". Any time you are carrying a firearm, you need to consider all of the accessories, and how much they weigh, too in order to have the ability you want.

Everything is a compromise. The above is what I am willing to carry to be prepared for most situations.

Pax,

Newbius



*Note to the FTC: Everything above was bought and paid for by me, some with prices too dear to think about. I am not being compensated for this, so piss off.

Nobody died!

The VCDL held celebrations throughout Virginia last night. Restaurant Carry is now a reality. Hundreds of people attended these events, yet no blood ran into the streets.

No shots were fired.

Nobody died.

Sarah Brady cried...

Pax,

Newbius

Getting it right

The Virginia Assembly is now in session. Several pro-gun bills are pending before the VA legislature this year and there is going to be a rally of gun owners on January 18th. According to a post by Turk, CCW permit holders will be the ones NOT having to suffer the indignity of being poked, prodded, and scanned for weapons...because we will be CARRYING THEM ON OUR PERSONS LEGALLY while visiting our representatives. We will have an express lane!

Yippee!

Seriously folks. This is how it should be.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League has a tracker of pending bills before the Virginia Legislature that they support. These are all "Sensible Gun Laws", in that they remove silly restrictions currently placed upon the law-abiding in the Commonwealth.

To this list, I would like my Delegate to add legislation affirming that state entities (which are NOT the legislature) are prohibited from infringing on our Constitutional (Federal and State) Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Specifically, that the state should preempt any and all laws by any municipality, regulatory agency, or College Board of Regents which usurps the legislature's purview in this area. If we are really trying to prevent another Virginia Tech tragedy, disarming the victims is not the way to achieve it.

When I visit with my delegate on the 18th, I will be bringing this letter as well as this one, and requesting of him that the Legislature extend preemption of ALL gun issues, whether open-carry or concealed-carry to all agencies in the state. Additionally, I want the legislature to work on open reciprocity of all permit holders from other states, to ensure that other gun owners do not run afoul of any patchwork laws which may trip them up.

Sounds ambitious...but the opportunity to act is before us like never before. I hope to see you there.

Pax,

Newbius

Cynics, Thieves, and Whores

The most recent vote on National Reciprocity for concealed carry, while failing, did expose an interesting phenomenon. Namely, that the thieves in the U.S. Senate believe gun owners are idiots, and that they will do anything to get a vote from us.

Judging by the rhetoric they used, they think we are all morons (and maybe they are right, they DO seem to get re-elected). Senator Thune has an interesting press release worth reading about this. You can find it HERE.

Being the cynical sort that I am, I decided to look into the NRA Report card (at the time of their previous election) for each Democrat Senator who voted FOR the Thune Amendment, and when they are up for re-election. I am of the opinion that while several of the Democrats who voted for the Thune Amendment were making votes based on principal, the rest were whores looking for a payoff in the form of votes from NRA members in their upcoming re-election.

I was not disappointed.

The current class of Democrat Senators whose terms expire in 2011, their NRA Rating, and their vote on National Reciprocity:

Bayh : D- : Yea
Bennet : NR : Yea
Boxer : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Burris : NR : Nay
Dodd : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Dorgan : D+ : Yea
Feingold : D : Yea
Inouye : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Leahy : D : Nay
Lincoln : D+ : Yea
Mikulski : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Murray : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Reid : B : Yea (Safe incumbent, usually for gun rights though)
Schumer : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)
Specter : A : Nay (Darlin' Arlen, the turncoat)
Wyden : F : Nay (Safe incumbent)

Of the Class of 2013, the only surprise vote among the Democrats was:

Conrad : D+ : Yea

Similarly, the surprise vote of the most recent class was:

Hagan : F : Yea

So, an optimist would look at these votes and think "Hey, these Democrats are finally getting on board with protecting our rights". I suppose you could look at it that way, given the recent Heller decision. The other way to look at it is this: These people are up for re-election soon...

As a member of the hated gun lobby (in that I am a gun owner, and I regularly contact my Congress-Critters about gun issues before Congress), I have a slightly different take. My take on this is that these people need and want our votes (because they are whores, remember?). They have been voting partisan politics for a long time, and the demographics are changing in their states and districts. Their political reality is that they are no longer safe enough to vote with Sarah Brady and George Soros. The HuffPo gadflies won't re-elect them all by themselves.

They need us.

They hope that an engineered vote that everybody KNEW was going to fail would provide them with some political cover to come back to us and say "Didn't I do great? I voted for your gun rights. Vote for me." I say that the vote was engineered because Lugar and Voinovich are both "F" rated Republicans and the Dems are in the majority in both houses. So if we fall for this, we will have proven that you really CAN fool most of the people most of the time, especially if your political ad can truthfully say you support gun rights and point to this vote for validation.

Let's not fall for another Hubert Humphrey and vote for these people just because they tossed a bone into our yard. Let's make true Humphrey's quote about us: "...gun owners never forget and very seldom forgive". Let's throw every bum out who dares to trample on our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Because, without the Second Amendment, what guarantee do you have for any other right recognized by our Constitution? If these thieves and whores in Congress think it is OK to trample your gun rights, what do you think they are doing to the rest of your civil liberties?

Think about that.

Pax,

Newbius

Miami Burger King Shooting

Breaking news from Miami today. A legally-armed customer at a Burger King prevents a robbery, kills the bad guy and sustains some wounds himself in the exchange of gunfire.

Lesson One: It pays to train. If you carry it, TRAIN WITH IT! The CWP Holder killed the thug, but sustained gunshot wounds himself. I suspect that (and cannot prove, hence I am speculating) the armed citizen was a bit more proficient with his weapon than the robber was.

Lesson Two: See lesson one, add additional training in close quarters combat to reduce the chance that you will wind up in the hospital too.

Lesson Three: ALWAYS be at least Condition Yellow when going about your daily business. You never know when or if you may be called upon to intervene for your own safety.

Lesson Four: Leave it to Google News and CBS to describe the would-be Robber as a victim. This link is to the CBS4 story page, but is shown on the Google News Search page as "Victim Dies In Miami Burger King Shooting". Media Bias is still alive and well...even in Florida.

The two newspaper links on the same search page showed just the facts. Just as it should be.

Pax,

Newbius