Arms and the Law

Restaurant with "No Weapons/No Concealed Firearms" Sign Robbed at Gunpoint."

"Craig said he doesn't understand why anyone would have a problem with a police chief saying he supports the Constitution.

"I'm pro-life," he said. "I'm pro-safety. I support law-abiding citizens' right to protect themselves against imminent danger."

"Police officials said Monday there have been 13 justifiable homicides by citizens so far this year -- up 2 from the same period last year.

"This is something that's been going on since before I got here," he said. "Clearly, Detroiters are sick and tired of being victims."

Here's the complaint. Essentially, the NJ legislature passed a law in 2002, which required the attorney general to report whenever "smart gun" technology went on sale in the US. Three years after he so reports, the only handguns that can be sold in NJ will be ones so equipped. The complaint alleges that the technology is now on sale, and seeks an order that the AG file the report. Nevermind that there are major concerns about reliability and safety. If people don't want to rely on such guns, Brady figures, we'll just have to force them to do so.

Ah, "reasonable gun control"! Brady apparently thinks that even New Jersey is "unreasonably mild" on the subject.

Humane Society of the US pays $16,000,000 to settle racketeering suit against it. It had sued Ringling Bros. for alleged mistreatment of elephants, lost after it was discovered that HSUS had paid its lead witness almost $200,000, and then was sued for racketeering.

The request for bids is here. They don't want just any subguns, these must be in .40 S&W, with tritium night sights, rails for flashlights, enlarged trigger guard for winter operations with gloves.

The solicitation is on behalf of their Office of Inspector General, the watchdog office that searches for fraud, waste, and abuse. So they must anticipate needed full auto fire while investigating departmental employees, or perhaps while investigating abuse of food stamps. Although it seems hard to imagine either group shooting back with a Thompson while shouting "you'll never take me alive, G-men!"

Dave Workman has the story. Just inside the "no firearms allowed" sign was an armed guard, for their protection.

Right here. In response to the court's questions, the sheriff says he supports California's motion to intervene, and case is not moot since he won't issue permits until the court orders him to do so (which would be after the appeal is remanded to the district court).

Rep. John Conyers does not qualify for the primary. Two of his signature-gatherers were not registered voters, as MI law requires. Of course, I'm sure there will be a legal challenge, and with a friendly judge it is amazing what can turn out to be unconstitutional.

By PewResearch.

Findings:

The gun homicide rate has fallen by 49% over the last twenty years, and the rate for other gun crimes has fallen by 75%.

BUT...

"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, today 56% of Americans believe gun crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12% think it is lower."

The government of Mexico has announced it is demobilizing the vigilante movement against drug cartels there.

Under the demobilization agreement, the ranchers and farmers will keep their now-illegal guns, the government will proclaim the gun legal, and they will be organized into the rurales.

"The new rural forces are designed to be a way out of an embarrassing situation, in which elected leaders and law enforcement agencies lost control of the entire state to the pseudo-religious Knights Templar drug cartel. Efforts to retake control with federal police and military failed. Eventually government forces had to rely on the vigilantes because of their knowledge of where to find the cartel gunmen.

Since the commissioner, Alfredo Castillo, was named in January, federal forces have arrested or killed three of the main leaders of the Knights Templar. The fourth, Servando "La Tuta" Gomez, is in hiding and rumored to be in the rugged hills outside his hometown of Arteaga."

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state...

A student tries bullying another, isn't successful, so he tries another tack. When the other student is twirling a pencil, the bully calls out, "He's making gun motions, send him to juvie." The school obliges, the bullied student gets suspended, has to take a psych evaluation, and blood tests for drugs. No word if they did anything to the bully.

The cry would be to disarm the dangerous lunatics. 377 shots fired, the suspect and an unarmed passenger in his car killed, reports that the wounded passenger was killed while trying to raise his hands, so much firing that two people experienced eardrum ruptures.

The shooting is under review, and "those reviews will likely take years to complete."

The Oklahoma Senate voted unanimously to override the governor's veto of a bill requiring CLEOs to sign off on NFA firearms transfer applications. The override had already passed in the House.

Story here. Alan and some others sponsored an ad on bus stands which the city of Phoenix rejected. It's isn't the clearest opinion, but seems to recognize that his ad would have met the city's 2011 standards (which required a commercial message, but not an exclusively commercial one), and so rejecting it was a First Amendment infraction.

Story here. I would only note that (1) the reporter could use some education in gun nomenclature and (2) Grannie ought to aim higher next time.

Francis Winters passed away on Saturday. Visitation will be at George H. Lewis & Sons located at 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, Texas on Sunday May 11 from 5-8 pm. The funeral will be Monday May 12, 2014 at 2 pm at St.Martin`s Episcopal Church at 717 Sage Road (at Woodway ) in Houston, Texas. A reception following the service will be held in the Bagby Parish Hall next to the church.

Francis was a member of the Board of Directors of NRA, and one of the major figures in the1977 Cincinnati Revolt, which essentially created the NRA as we know it. Here's how the Washington Post sees the Revolt.

She says the pendulum has swung too far toward freedom.

Order here. As is traditional, no reason is given. In any event, different Justices may have different reasons. By my count, the Court granted two petitions for cert. and denied over a hundred of them, underscoring the fact that petitions face long odds.

Two of the petitioners must have hacked off the Court, since the denials include "As the petitioner has repeatedly abused this Court's process, the Clerk is directed not to accept any further petitions in noncriminal matters from petitioner unless the docketing fee required by Rule 38(a) is paid and the petition is submitted in compliance with Rule 33.1." An elaborate way of saying "get lost."

Story here. A final rule publication has to answer substantive objections raised by the comments, and BATF got over 9,000 comments.

Chuck Michel sums it up nicely.