Some great stuff (like always!)

The Second Amendment Carnival

(Hopefully my plumbing nightmare is over...full report later this week.)

-=[ Grant ]=-

You've probably heard of the recent DC District Court decision that confirms what we all know: the 2nd Amendment is an individual right. Definitely good news, and the result of a lot of hard work on the part of the lawyers involved in the case.

Now you probably think that the NRA was in the thick of the legal proceedings, defending our rights and bankrolling the costly fight, just as their countless solicitation mailings claim.

Think again.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Sorry if this post is more "linky" than "thinky", but there's a lot happening very quickly...

It all started last Friday, when Jim Zumbo - a long-time Outdoor Life writer and Outdoor Channel contributor - wrote a piece on his Outdoor Life blog which opined that "assault rifles" weren't used by "legitimate sportsmen" and, essentially, were evil and should be banned. I learned about it from Michael Bane's blog, where he called for Zumbo to apologize.

It didn't take long for the word to start making the rounds, and even the people at the Brady Campaign (the professional gun-grabbers) linked to it as "proof" that assault weapons should be banned. This, just after the resurrected Assault Weapons Ban was re-introduced in Congress last week.

Zumbo, realizing that he was in deep doo-doo, started backpedaling and dropping names of the anointed in an effort to seem as though he's really "one of us." His editor, John Snow, tried to deflect the growing firestorm by posting that Zumbo was really a nice guy, and that people can agree to disagree, and other soft-shoe obfuscation.

Apparently the noise got to the folks at Remington, who have been big sponsors of Zumbo over the years. On the weekend, their CEO, Tom Milner, posted on Bane's blog that Remington would be severing their relationship with Zumbo first thing Monday morning. Though the authorship was in question, David Codrea was able to verify the courageous act yesterday, and come this morning the official Remington website added a statement to this effect.

Tam elated, vows to spend more money.

(Whew. Original content would have been easier!)

-=[ Grant ]=-

When I meet new people (who are not clients), I am often very circumspect about revealing what I do for a living. Paranoia on my part? Perhaps, and I sometimes think that working and corresponding with (and being married to) fellow gun owners has warped my view of the non-gun owners amongst us.

Have I adopted an "us vs. them" attitude? Though loathe to admit it, I think I have - at least, the germination of that mindset is definitely underway. My more naive associates sometimes accuse me of being a bit too sensitive, telling me that just because someone chooses not to own a gun for themselves doesn't mean that they think less of me for doing so.

I almost believed them. Until this article in the Seattle PI got printed. This may be the single most sickening such opinion piece I've seen, for it attacks not the article itself - a strategy that has been increasingly ineffective - but the very mindset of the gun owner.

Thanks to the View From North Central Idaho blog for alerting me to this tripe.

-=[ Grant ]=-

First, there was this article on the decline of hunting in Newsweek. Great article, and poignant - surprising treatment from the mainstream media.

However, we must also realize the necessity of divorcing the subject of hunting - whatever we make think of it - from the topic of Second Amendment activism. As this article on Michael Bane's blog reminds us, the 2nd "ain't about duck hunting" - or any other kind of hunting, for that matter.

Great reading.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Now that winter is coming, most of us (except for those in the southern part of the country) will find our opportunity for shooting activities sharply reduced. If you can't be out shooting, the second best thing is reading about shooting!

The Gun Blogs bills itself as the "online community for gun bloggers." You'll find a number of bloggers who write about guns, politics, and hunting on a regular basis. Definitely worth checking out!

-=[ Grant ]=-

The Carnival of Cordite, that is!

That's right, once again you can get your fix of the best gun blogs on the net. This is a great one - lots of links. Take a look!

-=[ Grant ]=-

I hate to keep harping on Californians, but come on people - a sunny climate really can't be worth these continuing assaults on your constitutional liberties, can it? Are you really so fond of your upwardly mobile lifestyles that you're willing to voluntarily surrender your freedoms by continuing to live there?

Read about the latest raids here.

-=[ Grant ]=-

I'm not a fan of Garrison Keillor; personally, I just never got his appeal, in the same way I never understood why people thought Seinfeld was funny. Guess I'm just humor impaired.

Nevertheless, I recently ran across this piece that he wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, on airline security. He's got a funny bit about allowing people to carry guns on board, and I have to agree with his final question:

The way to stop terrorists on planes is to encourage passengers to bring loaded firearms aboard: guys in orange vests sitting in exit rows with deer rifles on their laps, ladies with Mr. Colt in their purses, kids with peashooters. Somebody wake up the NRA. Does the Second Amendment say ''The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except on commercial airliners''? Where is the right wing when you really need them?

-=[ Grant ]=-

If you haven't, remedy that situation right now!

Gun Facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control.  It is intended as a reference guide for anyone interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment.

Divided into chapters based on gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, etc.), finding information is quick and easy. Each chapter lists common gun control myths, then lists a number of documented and cited facts that directly dispute the gun control claim.  Thus when a neighbor, editor, or politician repeats some slogan propagated by gun control advocacy groups, you can quickly find that myth and set them straight!

This is an absolute must-have, folks!

-=[ Grant ]=-

A tip of the Revolver Liberation Alliance ball cap (now available here) to Tamara K., who blogged this CNN story over at the View From The Porch.

So, let's see if I've got this straight: the British police, enforcers of some of the toughest gun laws in the world, busted a gun running operation whose pipeline originated in New Jersey - home of some of the toughest gun laws in the United States? What's wrong with this picture? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count...

(Oh, and a fat raspberry to Associated Press, who just had to point out the American flag hanging over the porch at the offending house in Britain - a "large" flag, as the article made sure to mention. That, people, is what we call a "cheap shot.")

-=[ Grant ]=-

Here's another great firearms link carnival: from the Free Constitution blog comes the fourth installment of the Second Amendment Carnival. Check it out - lots of great links!

-=[ Grant ]=-

The California Senate has passed a bill that requires "microstamping", which imprints each fired case with a unique identifier from gun in which it was fired.

As usual, Tamara K. at The View From The Porch has a great analysis of the situation. Check it out.

I hate to sound harsh, but how long are all you California gun owners going to put up with these kinds of gun control plans? Haven't you figured out that they just don't want you in their state?

-=[ Grant ]=-

2008 is shaping up as the battle of the Republican anti-gunner versus the Democratic anti-gunner. If only I could afford my own island...!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Tamara K., over at her blog The View From The Porch, says this:

"For what it's worth, I don't carry a gun to protect me from muggers at the mall. I don't even carry a gun to protect me, period. I carry a gun every day despite living in an area where I'm more likely to be hit by an asteroid than attacked by a mugger as a symbol of my refusal to buy into this culture of teat-sucking victimhood for one day longer. I carry it because I can."

Recite this, word for word, next time some busybody asks (with the inevitable sneer) why you need to carry a gun.

-=[ Grant ]=-

This is one of the few sites I check regularly. The Gun Law News website is an easy way to keep up on firearm news, legislation, and court proceedings.

Yes, they have an RSS feed!

-=[ Grant ]=-

As you may remember, I'm a fan of Tamara K.'s "View from the porch" blog. She's got a new post up, and it's spot-on.

It reminds me of occasions when I've been goaded into discussing gun control with an anti-freedom activist (usually when I'm in a masochistic mood.) I've often been told that "people can't be trusted with guns because they'll go out and shoot their neighbors."

I've been known to respond "why do you want to shoot your neighbors? Are you unstable?" It usually ends that line of argument very quickly.

It's a great read - be sure to check it out.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Politicians are starting to figure it out...well, at least their lapdogs in the media are.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, gun control legislation is a big loser on Capitol Hill these days. Hooray! But, if history tells us anything, it's that gun owners will squander their current strong position. We need to go on the offensive and build on the gains we've made.

Michael Bane has an interesting FIve-Point Plan for Consolidating Our Current Successes. Though I'm not entirely sure about the first item (we shouldn't make additional legislation, we should insist that the Constitution be upheld - but I understand his point), the rest is spot-on. Pass it along!

(Obligatory revolver content: the US News article illustration is of several Ruger GP-100 revolvers!)

-=[ Grant ]=-

If you're looking for a job, it's probably not a good idea to put firearms related items on your resume. In today's America, it's acceptable to discriminate on politically incorrect factors.

-=[ Grant ]=-

It's become apparent that the U.S. government has lost trillions (not millions, not billions, trillions) of dollars that were taken out of our (yours and my) pockets.

The recriminations are pathetically predictable; the Democrats point fingers at how President Bush "squandered" a non-existent 'budget surplus', while Republicans chastise the democrats for their 'tax and spend policies'.

The trouble is that they are equally at fault. The only things politicians do, in the final analysis, is write intrusive laws and spend money like drunken sailors. Anyone remember the story of the turtle and the viper?

-=[ Grant ]=-