A small setback for Open Carry and Freedom in Michigan

For those of you who were not aware, there was a case in Ingham County Circuit court, Michigan Open Carry, Inc. (MOC), vs. Capitol Area District Library (CADL). MOC's contention was that CADL did not have the authority to ban open carry of firearms in it's libraries, as CADL was created by various local units of government, and answered to the same.

CADL's position is that they are an "authority" and are not mentioned specifically in Michigan's Preemption law, which forbids local governmental bodies from creating firearm laws stronger than the state. And if that didn't work, CADL also claimed they fit into the list of Pistol Free Zones, as they are sometimes used by schools, and they claim they lease their property from a school district. For reasons unknown currently, they dropped that claim in court.

CADL also proposed that openly carrying a firearm in a holster was "brandishing," under Michigan law.

Judge Rosemarie Acquilina, apparently went with her feelings, and not the law. She had made her pre-disposition to this case known earlier, when she granted a temporary injunction against openly carried firearms several months ago. This injunction is now permanent, at least until the appeals process is exhausted.

The judge did not rule that OCing of a firearm was brandishing, so I guess CADL lost that count.

As I understand it, OCing in a CADL library is out now. Concealed carrying is still OK... so far. I guess we'll see how long that lasts.

Judge Acquilina, it's long past time for you to step down. When you let your feelings get in the way of the law, you are no longer a fair and impartial judge. Do the state of Michigan a favor, and step down NOW!

There will be more to come on this subject.

 Current Mood: Hugely disappointed
 Current Music: Bonnie Tyler - Holding out for a Hero
My Carry Pistol: Taurus PT92AFS 9x19mm

Some observations on Canadian Gun Law

The following came from one of the many email lists I subscribe to. It struck me as something that needed further exposure, so I copied it here with just a few minor changes, mostly for spelling and/or grammar, where I thought necessary. (Comments by the original poster are in red.) The original started out with:

From a friend in Canada:

Heaven save us from this!

Here in Canada our government does not have a monopoly on justified self-defense, but they sincerely believe they should have a monopoly on all effective tools of self-defense!

While we ostensibly have here the legal mechanism for the carrying of a pistol to be allowed, only fourteen such 'carry permits' have ever been actually issued in the entire country, with a population of over thirty million! Virtually all such applications are arbitrarily rejected by isolated bureaucrats, with never an explanation.

There are some permits issued for 'wilderness carry,' but only to licensed guides, and, even then, they have to endure their own bureaucratic circus.

For us peons, one not only needs a license to possess a 'restricted firearm,' a category which includes all pistols and many rifles (all ARs, for example), the applicant must, in excruciating detail, chronicle to the government such irrelevant facts as his personal romantic history and also go through an interminable approval process prior to taking delivery of the gun.

Still with me? We're not through yet!

He must also be a member, in good standing, at a 'club,' and be vetted for an 'authorization to transport,' which allows him to take his pistol between his house and the range 'via a direct route,' unloaded, and secured in a double-locked box.

The most minor, insignificant infraction or paperwork glitch, your fault, their fault, doesn't matter, and you will find yourself charged with a criminal offense. Your home will be invaded, all your firearms will be seized, and the crown attorney will enforce a lifetime firearms prohibition against you, even when you are found not guilty!

After all that, getting your guns back from the police is nearly impossible, even with a court order. When you do finally re-claim them, they will be little more than a pile of rusted junk!

Even carrying a knife can make one vulnerable to charges of 'weapons dangerous to the public peace' or 'carrying a concealed weapon.'

OC is prohibited, at least for the purpose of use against humans. It may be carried for use against animals. Here, it is always called 'dog repellent,' by law.

Tasers and other ERDs are strictly verboten.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifgif

Our gun laws are, in fact, based on fat politicians, sitting safe and secure behind an army of personal bodyguards (all heavily armed), intently watching cheesy Hollywood movies! In fact, many firearms are prohibited by 'order in council,' and, when you read the list, it is painfully obvious that such prohibitions are based solely on appearance. That is why we can't have AKs, FALs, ARs, and AUGs, but XCRs and Tavors are okay, at least for now, since they've come on the scene relatively recently."

Comment: The foregoing are the kind of "reasonable" measures liberal politicians constantly push for. They never get specific, of course. Autocrats never do! But, this is the practical result of their never-ending assault on our personal freedom. When they can't prohibit the private ownership of guns outright, they'll, in effect, have the same practical result through bureaucratic regulation.

They love to hypocritically talk about our "right to personal, unilateral, self-defense," but then deny us any possibility of exercising that right!

They live to lord it over people. That is the only thing that really motivates them, and ever has!

However, there is some good news:

We are turning things around up here!

The draconian, failed-at-every-level, 'system' we currently have in place was put there by governments of the 80s and 90s, consisting mostly of elitist, geriatric, flower-children who, like Socialists/Communists everywhere, never earned an honest dime in their lives!

Back then, gun owners did not have a strong voice. The by-word in Ottawa was 'social engineering,' as they attempted to smother the life out of us us with interminable laws and 'regulations,' enforced by an army of erstwhile unemployed bureaucrats who worried infinitely more about keeping their jobs than they ever did about doing them.

Things have changed! Debate about the private ownership of firearms has become the most polarizing issue in our current political landscape. Our side is now politically active, alert, and has excellent communication. We are now a powerful symbol for the new direction in which our country is heading.

Virtually all current Leftists in government are still overtly in favor of yet additional restrictions on private gun ownership, in spite of its amply demonstrated failure to reduce violent crime, or, for that matter, even to be administered intelligently.

Last Friday (25 March, 2011), these very Leftists were toppled in a non-confidence motion, which automatically triggered an election. This spring, we are likely to see a Conservative majority government that has promised to turn Canada away from the Liberal/Socialist/Communist trend that began in the 1970s.

We have promised to hold their feet to the fire!

Comment: The biggest problem Leftists have, no matter where they are, is personal vanity and arrogance! They invariably think they deserve to be kings, and that we peons exist only to serve them.They just can't admit to themselves that they're wrong, have always been wrong, and have never been anything but wrong.

They will accept no species of correction. The are absolutely incapable of repentance. They would rather die!

I would just like to add, at one time, I considered moving to Canada. It is a beautiful country, and I have a great affection for many things, Canadian. But, after researching their gun laws, it occurred to me that I could not live the same life there, that I have here. So for now, for me, Canada is a great place to visit, but I just cannot live there, knowing my God-given/Natural right to self defense is severely denied there.

BGA


 Current Mood: Painful
 Current Music: None
My Carry Pistol: Taurus PT92AFS 9x19mm NATO

The ACLU seems to be ignoring the 2nd Amendment

The Second Amendment provides: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

ACLU POSITION
Given the reference to "a well regulated Militia" and "the security of a free State," the ACLU has long taken the position that the Second Amendment protects a collective right rather than an individual right. For seven decades, the Supreme Court's 1939 decision in United States v. Miller was widely understood to have endorsed that view.

The Supreme Court has now ruled otherwise. In striking down Washington D.C.'s handgun ban by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, whether or not associated with a state militia.

The ACLU disagrees with the Supreme Court's conclusion about the nature of the right protected by the Second Amendment. We do not, however, take a position on gun control itself. In our view, neither the possession of guns nor the regulation of guns raises a civil liberties issue.

(To read the whole article, click on the title of this article.)

It seems that despite D.C. v. Heller, the ACLU still has their own world view of rights, and in their minds, the right to keep and bear arms is a collective right, not an individual right. They even like to misrepresent US v. Miller, just like the gun control groups do.

In actuality, US v. Miller simply said that a sawed off shotgun was NOT a militia weapon, and not subject to protection of the 2nd Amendment. But this shouldn't really surprise any of us. The ACLU is practically run by anti-gun types. So I expect this attitude to exist even if SCOTUS comes out and says the 2nd Amendment is an absolute individual right (Yeah, I know, don't hold your breath on this either.).

Still, it's nice to know who your friends, and who your enemies are. I think we all know what category the ACLU fits in.


Current Mood: Not really surprised
Current Music: Abba - Waterloo
My Carry Pistol: Taurus PT92AFS

The latest crazyness from "The PEN" (The People's Email Network)

Yesterday, I received the following from "The PEN." Some of my comments are
interspersed in parenthesis, and colored red.

Take ALL Tax Cuts Out Of Economic Stimulus Package, They Won't Win A Single Republican Vote Anyway

Haven't We Learned Yet That Tax Cuts Do LITTLE To Stimulate The Economy (Apparently you haven't learned that tax cuts DO stimulate the economy.)

The whole reason we are in the economic perilous straits we are in right now, is the lunatic Republican fixation on tax cuts, (BZZZT!! WRONG. The WHOLE reason we are in this mess is the way the Democratic led Congress and Senate screwed up the Credit industry, insisting they make home loans to people who really couldn't afford it. IF you want some one to blame, look to Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and who ever else was responsible for the Fanny Mae debacle.) which all competent economists (read left wing loon economists) agree are the WORST way to boost the economy. People need real jobs with real wages, and until they get them they will not have any taxes to cut. And until people have jobs, and are making money again, the economy does not have a prayer.

But even so, president Obama tried in a bipartisan way (Bipartisan my ass. The current Democratic version of bipartisanship is we make the laws and you sign on the dotted line, or else.) to build lots of tax cuts (and even more in Democratic pork) into the package for the Republicans to try to placate them, hundreds of billion of dollars worth. And what did the Republicans in the House do? They just spit in his face. Not ONE Republican voted for the bill, not one!! (THANK the GODS and GODDESSES!) All of the tax cuts need to come out, all of them, and be put into infrastructure building jobs instead. And then we'll have a bill that actually works for America.

No Tax Cuts For Stimulus Action Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum932.php

People like Rush Limbaugh have said straight up they just want our new president to fail. (You obviously don't listen to the man, if you did, you'd know how wrong you are.) That's how much they hate America, (Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?) after all the damage they have done, they just want to do more. And whether the rest of the Republican party says it out loud or not, they just want to sabotage any possible recovery so they can seize power again. (You really are stupid, aren't you.)

So what's the point of crippling our own recovery plan with yet more tax cuts (Don't forget the pork that was put in too.) which have NEVER worked in the past, and which even the Republicans DO NOT support? Instead, we say take ALL the tax cuts out, and then let's have a national debate on why Republicans are obstructing the change(Change? Looks to me like business as usual, for a Democrat controlled congress and Senate that is.) that America voted for in such overwhelming margins. (I wouldn't call 53% to 46% an overwhelming margin. That's a difference of what? Four or five percent. A winning margin to be sure. But overwhelming? Hardly.)

No Tax Cuts For Stimulus Action Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum932.php

And because it is such an important action, every return page from every action page on our site from now on will include the new Local State Prosecutor lookup, where you can instantly get the contact information for the district attorney in your county, to write or call or fax them to demand they prosecute Bush and Cheney for the murder of citizens of their county, in a war based on patently false pretenses in Iraq. (I would think, the detainees in Gitmo would be more likely targets for murder prosecution, since many of them pulled the trigger.)

Renowned former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (No wonder he's "Former prosecutor.") has laid out a compelling case for charging both Bush and Cheney with the premediated (I think you mean "premeditated.") murder of American service men and women, for starting a war with Iraq on patently false pretenses. By using this new lookup page you can instantly get the mailing address, phone, fax, and in many cases also the email of your local prosecutor. This action is SO critical we have also dedicated our entire main site homepage to it.

Local Prosecutor Lookup: http://www.peaceteam.net

IMPORTANT NOTE: We are not asking anyone to file a "formal" criminal complaint yourself. Common sense tells us that a state prosecutor will only act, in the exercise of their OWN discretion, if they believe there is a non-frivolous case to bring. But by speaking out, we can let them know there is community support for them to do so.

We cannot depend only on the single chance of Attorney General Nominee Holder taking aggressive and righteous action. There has been entirely too much "sweep it all under the rug" talk in the White House transition. But there are nearly 3,000 county level state prosecutors in the country. (Who have absolutely NO JURISDICTION to file a case) (I think this next word should start with an uppercase "A." I mean, really, dude, get a spell checker or something.)and they aren't ALL complacent toadies. So as much of an improvement as Holder may be, only pressure from all flanks will compel him to act. And some state prosecutors, prosecuting their own cases, is just the formula.

It seems the entire corporate media is trying to sing the same song of inaction, to try to smear as being "hateful" anyone who loves and wants to restore the constitution. What a smear on the idea of upholding the rule of law to characterize anyone who thinks that monstrous war crimes actually ought to be prosecuted as just being out for "revenge". (Odd, I don't hear you crying about prosecuting the war criminals we have in Gitmo. Or is that just us seeking revenge?)

Friends, the same demons and their proteges who committed all the crimes which now so shame us will be back even stronger before we know it, unless Bush and Cheney are prosecuted now. Now we learn there was not a single member of the media who was not illegally and systematically wiredtapped. (I think they meant "wire tapped") We were that close to a totalitarian police state,(And with Obama in Office, we are only getting closer.) and we have but a small window of opportunity to keep from endorsing the crimes of the future, by prosecuting NOW (Really? You want to prosecute the National Organization for Women???) to the full extent and duty of the law.

Imagine what it would be like if we found just ONE crusading state prosecutor to respond to the call of destiny. Imagine what it would be like if a DOZEN or more suddenly sprang into action, because of our many letters, and phone calls, and faxes and emails. We can open up an whole new third front, and keep it open.

And after you use the local prosecutor lookup, from the same page you can also request one of the new "Convict Dick & W" caps from the same page, complete with a little embroidered cowboy hat on the "W". Yes, a tiny cowboy hat for a very small man, the Cowboy from Connecticut, our first presidential felon to be, George Bush. It's perfect. (I take back what I said earlier. You're not stupid. You plain out nuts.)

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

Current Mood: Giggling my ass off.
Current Music: The Village People - Macho Man
My Carry Pistol: Steyr GB 9x19mm NATO

Affirmative Action reaches new heights.

It occurred to me just a little while ago, that affirmative action has reached the pinnacle of success. We now have a President who has been elected by virtue of affirmative action. This cannot be denied.

He entered the political scene in 1997, when he was elected to the Illinois state senate. He remained in the Illinois senate until he was elected to the US Senate in 2004.

He took office in 2005. Two years into FIRST his senate term of 6 years, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. This was on Feb. 10, 2007. He got to the top office in the land in a little over 10 years.

By contrast, JFK, of whom many Democrats like to compare BHO to, served in the US House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953, and then in the US Senate from 1953 to 1960, before being elected President. It took JFK 13 years, not counting his time in the US Navy.

Now, some might say that there's not much difference. But I will point out this. BHO's 10 years only include 3 in federal office. All 13 of JFK's are in federal office. As either a Representative, or Senator.

And I put it to you, had JFK tried running for President after just 2 years in either the House or the Senate, he would have been laughed out of the race.

So yes, Affirmative action had a hand in this last presidential race, whether anyone else wants to admit it or not.

Now, lest you think I'm prejudiced. I'll tell you straight out, I am. But it's not the color of his skin that bothers me. He could be red, brown, black, pink, or WHITE. I still would not have voted for him. It's his politics I'm against. I'll never vote for a socialist, a communist, a Marxist, or a gun grabber. I'm pretty sure he's all of those. But if I'm wrong, I know he is at least one of those.

Current Mood: Amused
Current Music: James Brown - I Feel Good
My Carry Pistol: Walther P38 9x19mm NATO

A question for Media Matters dot org

On their site, under "About us," they start out with the following paragraph.

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

So, if they're watching the conservative media, who's monitoring the Liberal media? It seems to me that any organization that wanted to monitor the liberal media, would need a HUGE staff, just to keep track of all the misinformation they broadcast.

But, can some one tell me WHAT misinformation the conservative media is passing out?

  Current Mood: Amused
  Current Music: Village People - In The Navy
My Carry Pistol: Taurus PT92AFS 9mm NATO