Constitutional Law

False flag operations enter the election

Posted on October 08, 2008
The antigun false flag American Hunters and Shooters Association is stumping for Obama in Ohio.

District court rulings post-Heller

Posted on October 07, 2008
The Volokh Conspiracy has discussions of Industrious v. Cauley, and US v. Yanecy, both prohibited person prosecutions. Industrious strangely cites the Parker Court of Appeals dissent as if it was the rule of Heller -- and botches the dissent at that (seeming to think it means the 2A only applies in DC, when the dissent claimed the 2A didn't apply in DC)...

Video from Blackwater Gun Blogger Weekend

Posted on October 07, 2008
Here, via Michael Bane's Downrange TV. If you want to see how fast Todd Jarrett can fire on the move, check out the "shooting on the move clip." If you'd like to see the fun in the shoothouse, try "lasers in the shoothouse." Not to say you get a little zoned out during that exercise, but this was the first I knew the videographer was behind me (and he's toting a big professional camera)...

Another 911 call

Posted on October 07, 2008
Video here. The video clip doesn't relate the whole story; apparently she called 911, wound up relayed to wrong police department, got transferred, related her location (although too panicked to give an exact address), fled to the police station and was killed in their parking lot after being kept out by some manner of fence...

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Documentary passes 6,000 DVD mark

Posted on October 06, 2008
I'm happy to report that my documentary DVD just passed 6,000 in circulation! Amazon has it under consideration for streaming download under their system for that.

NRA expanding ad campaign

Posted on October 06, 2008
Announcement here. The expansion is aimed at six States, I'd guess chosen because they are in play and have high firearms ownership.

Obama, the Joyce Foundation, and the Heller case

Posted on October 06, 2008
I have a Pajamas Media article up exploring the connection between the three. UPDATE: the comments to the story have several commenters saying that their Dish Network suddenly began defaulting to the Obama Channel. I had someone say that to me this morning, too...

ACLU suit against ATF?

Posted on October 05, 2008
Joe Huffman reports on it. A lady was driving around on April 19, 2006 (the anniversary of the Waco fire) with "remember the children of Waco" written on her windows, and got pulled over and questioned. At least from the description, it sounds like local police, rather than ATF, stopped her...

Amusing historical find

Posted on October 05, 2008
While researching the 14th Amendment, I found in the Chicago Tribune a report of same-sex marriage ... in 1866! "Women's Rights -- A Woman with a Wife [From the New Bedford Mercury, 4th] About a year ago, a daughter of Major Daniel Perry, who was somewhat deranged, disappeared, and wandering off, was at last lodged in the Sullivan County, New York, alms house as a vagrant...

Clinging to guns and religion

Posted on October 05, 2008
A Jewish Manhattan resident clings to his guns and his religion.

Another dumb crook report

Posted on October 04, 2008
Arrested for burglary, posts bond, is released and is immediately caught in the jail parking lot, going thru cars.

Navy finds lost sub

Posted on October 03, 2008
Story here. It's the Grunion, last heard from in 1942, and found off the Aleutians. Ah, a much fuller account. I have a foggy memory that one of her officers (who wasn't on her last tour) wrote a book about the ship.

Roundup of Nordyke briefs

Posted on October 03, 2008
Gene Hoffman has the collection, in pdf. UPDATE: he also has the State's (i.e., King's) brief, here. So far as I know there were no amici supporting the State.

"dangerous and unusual weapons"

Posted on October 02, 2008
Prof. O'Shea's comment to a prior post led me to wonder: just what were the "dangerous and unusual weapons" that common law viewed as outside the right to arms? Everybody had muskets, pistols, knives, and before that bows and pole arms. For much of the period, no gentleman would go out without his sword...

Study finds no link between gun shows and gun deaths

Posted on October 02, 2008
For me, a man bites dog story. But a rebuttal to those who contend that criminals flock to gun shows to get firearms. Press release and summary The study in pdf.

Bank bailout bill

Posted on October 02, 2008
The 451 page monstrosity is online. Good grief. The bailout ends around page 297. The next 150 pages is comprised of benefits to one or another region or group, either to round up congressional votes or just slipped in. It included changes to the Internal Revenue Code, benefits for film production, disaster relief to the Midwest, changes in how Forest Service does business, exemption of wooden arrows for kids from (I assume Pittman-Robinson) taxes, etc...

So much for dialing 911

Posted on October 01, 2008
Account here. In Arizona, on the few times I or a relative have called 911, the reaction has been fast (even tho Pima County Sheriff's Office is stretched thin). That's not the case everywhere.

But is it NFA registered?

Posted on October 01, 2008
Video here. I've heard that ATF has opined that a shoelace, properly tied, can be an NFA weapon, but I don't know about catgut...

One fast rifle

Posted on October 01, 2008
2,000 rounds per minute, cyclic, set for a fast 3 round burst. Hat tip to reader David McCleary....

Jury deadlock in case involving NFA records

Posted on October 01, 2008
Posting here. The defense challenged the government's NFA records, brought in a top-notch statistical expert who testified they were not something you could use as anything but an investigatory lead. The jury deadlocked 7-5 (no word on who had the seven and who the five)...

Amicus briefs filed in Nordyke

Posted on October 01, 2008
Here's amicus of Prof. Aynes, Curtis, Lawrence and Van Alstyne. Prof. Curtis is one of the biggest names in 14th Amendment scholarship, and Van Alstyne is one of the biggest names in constitutional law, period. Here's the amicus for NRA and CalGuns. Both are quite good, and filed a little early (deadline is tomorrow)...

New group supporting knife rights

Posted on October 01, 2008
Webpage is here. I talked with Doug Ritter, the chairman, at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. It was interesting to go into the restrictions on knifes -- bars to this or that type, States that bar unlicensed CCW and have licenses only for carrying a concealed firearm, but not any other form of weapon, etc...

VA open carry in parks OK

Posted on September 30, 2008
Virginia's Attorney General has ruled (pdf) that the State agency regulating its parks was without authority to promulgate a rule forbidding open carrying.

Conflicting news out of NJ

Posted on September 29, 2008
Story here. On the one hand, the Court of Appeals upheld a ruling striking down Jersey City's one-gun-a-month ordinance. On the other, a bill to impose the same limitation statewide is moving ahead.

A slip

Posted on September 29, 2008
Sensibly Progressive takes on a grad student, publishing in the Yale campus newspaper. The grad student begins by demonstrating that crime rates rose after Connecticut went to "shall issue" CCW in 1969. The minor problem being that Connecticut isn't "shall issue," and nobody was passing "shall issue" laws in 1969; the only laws being enacted back then were more and more restrictions on firearms.

A cert petition to watch

Posted on September 29, 2008
Question: is a requirement of unanimous vote to convict part of the Sixth Amendment, and is it incorporated against the States? The petition for cert. is up for vote in the first conference of the Supremes, likely to be announced in a few days. The Sixth Amendment on its face says nothing about the question, but as the petition notes, it's quite clear that that was the practice, and the understanding, at the framing period...

MO governor takes on the Obama Truth Squad

Posted on September 28, 2008
And he doesn't mince words. ?What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment...

Gun Rights Policy Conference

Posted on September 28, 2008
Just got back from it, tired as can be. Some notes in wrap up: Alan Gura was appropriately commended, gave a speech, and received a standing ovation. Two, actually, if my foggy memory is correct. I rec'd Citizens' Committee's Bill of Rights Award. (I thought the awards were over when the last speaker got it, so I stepped outside for a bit -- when Peggy Tartaro found me, I had to rush back in and improvise a speech on the fly)...

The ultimate in live blogging

Posted on September 27, 2008
At the Gun Rights Conference, right now I'm at the head table. David Kopel is speaking, I'm next up, Just before this adjusting the legal end of concerns from the hotel about open carry (legal in AZ, and the ability of a public facility has to provide lockers if it wants to restrict it)...

At the Gun Rights Policy Conference

Posted on September 27, 2008
Here at the Sheraton Crescent in Phoenix. Very solid attendance -- best head count I can make is around 400 people. I've bumped into Chuck Cunningham, Dave Kopel, Scott Hattrup, Timothy Wheeler, John Velleco, Scott Bach Alan Gura, and Howard Nemerov.

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