GRE Round Up. Feb 29

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Mike Stollenwerk/DC:

• Despite repeal of one gun a month law, Va. gun owners have ‘miles to go . . .'

David Codrea/National:

• Redondo Beach double homicide shows no place is safe

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Three Wash. Senators ‘dancing in blood’ to push anti-gun agenda?


• Gun group blasts TX prof who said school shooting is ‘typical 2A exercise’

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Law professor dismisses reason for Second Amendment as 'historical trivia'

Even repeal of the Second Amendment would not solve Prof. Johnson's problem, of course, given that since the Supreme Court's U.S. v. Cruikshank decision in 1876, the right to keep and bear arms is known to predate "the Constitution, and neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence."

Johnson's even bigger problem is that some of us won't be disarmed no matter what political maneuverings are undertaken for that purpose. How high is he willing to stack the bodies before accepting that the rights of a free people are never "trivial"? [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 28

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• NM gun case shows government treats citizens differently from its own (cont'd.)

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Seattle news illustrates why gun control doesn’t work

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

East St. Louis police chief: Gun registration, punitive fees are 'great idea'

Since then, we've seen times when nearly the entire police force of the city called in "sick," because of impending layoffs, and that the city had come close to hiring a convicted felon as police chief.

Given all that, it gets harder and harder to avoid the conclusion that what East St. Louis needs is not oppressive new gun laws inflicted on the rest of the state, but to clean up its own violent, criminal mess. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 27

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Mike Stollenwerk/DC:

• Va. gun rights activists to hold meetings across the Old Dominion

David Codrea/National:

• Salt Lake City Police Chief Burbank carries gun to intimidate fearful public


• NM gun case shows government treats citizens differently from its own

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Panaceas, pistols, politicians and Puyallup gun show…what a week!


• Another school shooting, another failure of ‘Gun-free schools’ act


• BREAKING: Issa, Grassley push Holder for answers in Zapata slaying

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Arizona bill to establish border security militia

It's funny. Groups like CSGV never tire of arguing that (the Suprme Court's Heller ruling to the contrary notwithstanding) that the Second Amendment's guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms applies only to a government-sanctioned militia. Now, though, when there is talk of the formation of new state militias, they scream about the "insurrectionist" threat posed by that. [More]

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'Patrol rifles' vs. 'assault weapons' revisited: A shot in the back?

It could be worse--Aimpoint apparently does not demand that buyers be "Only Ones," as some makers of tactical equipment, including "assault backpacks," do. Nor is it as offensive as selling one precision rifle for law enforcement/military work, with the rest of us limited to another version, deliberately made less capable (but still costing over $10,000). It's certainly less disgusting than using an FBI political hitman to hawk their wares.

Still, though, promoting the idea that effective fighting arms and equipment belong more naturally to government enforcers than to we who are "necessary to the security of a free state" is offensive, and should not be allowed to go unremarked. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 24

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• Anti-gun activists and complicit press aid Mexico’s call for U.S. ‘gun control’

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Bad week ignites war on guns in Washington State


• What’s the difference between Roy Alloway and Fast & Furious?

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Giving quarter to anti-gun usurpers in government

That is not how I would write such a law now. I was more inclined to mercy back then than I am now--probably because I had never conceived of the possibility of an administration so far lost to honor and decency, so single-mindedly intent on disarming American citizens, that it would deliberately arm the most brutal killers in North America, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Mexican citizens and two U.S. law enforcement officers, all to make the case for trampling the Second Amendment into the blood-soaked dirt.

For those officials, there can be no total amnesty--leaving the government is not nearly enough. For them, the best I would offer is to take the death penalty off the table. That's far more than they deserve, but gun rights advocates are, by and large, peaceable folk, willing to put non-violence ahead of the justice of seeing the perpetrators dangling from short ropes. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 23

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• DOJ SHOT Show cases ‘falling apart’-Breuer drops prosecution

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• CBS has new revelation in Zapata slaying, and Sen. Grassley is not happy


• Two shootings in two days, and the problem with ‘moral outrage’

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Is it 'racist' to seek to avoid high crime areas?

It should be pointed out that Microsoft has already stated that crime statistics--not ethnic makeup--will determine which areas users will be advised to avoid. If people like Juanita Wallace fear that crime statistics disproportionately implicate neighborhoods of certain ethnic compositions, it would seem that she has on some level noticed the "elephant in the room," even if she is not quite ready to come out and acknowledge it:

And we also can't forget to look at race--not as a cause of violent crime, but as an indicator of populations most directly affected by and responsive to a continuing history of destructive government policies.

[More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 22

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• Will GOP candidates say anything genuine about Gunwalker in tonight’s debate?

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Burglars in the bull’s eye; shootings by homeowners surge


• WA earns low gun law score from Brady Campaign

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Project Appleseed 'Ladyseed' event coming next month

The goal of the course is for the shooter to be consistently able to hit a man sized target at a range of 500 yards.

A student who can do this can thus be considered to be at the center of a 162-acre "circle of liberty" (that's right, Peter King--our circle is bigger than yours) whenever she has her rifle in hand, because a would-be oppressor exists within that circle only with her permission. That notion will presumably not sit well with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), who would no doubt consider it "insurrectionist." CSGV, in fact, mentions Appleseed (none too approvingly) in their "Insurrectionism Timeline" . . . [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 21

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• ‘Bulletproof Mind’ empowers gun owners to prepare for, respond to violence

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Newt coming to WA after knocking Obama on energy


• Fair enough: Ask them all

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Gun rights, 'public health,' and health care

This, we were told, is necessary because "health care is a right." Well--okay, but those who make that argument seem to define "rights" rather differently than gun rights advocates tend to. To satisfy us that our gun rights are not being violated, all we tend to demand is that the government not actively interfere with them. We certainly don't demand that some entity (taxpayers) buy us guns we cannot afford on our own. Nor do many of us advocate federal prison sentences for those who refuse to exercise that right.

Perhaps that's a mistake on our part. Perhaps we could be seen as more "progressive" if we demand the coercive power of government to provide us with firepower we could not otherwise afford, and to forcibly compel those who do not wish to possess firearms to do so regardless. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 20

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Mike Stollenwerk/DC:

• Virginia gun rights group lays siege to ‘castle bills’

David Codrea/National:

• The enemy within (2)


• Will NRA director election be another opportunity squandered?


• UN Arms Trade Treaty: It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘consensus’ is

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Economics 101: Everything revolves around the price of fuel

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Brady Campaign awards 'extra credit' to prove registration leads to confiscation

Besides, what if, in the Brady Campaign's words, "California continues to blaze" more "legislative trails in adopting lifesaving gun laws"--perhaps gun laws that create new classes of "prohibited purchasers"--such as "suspected terrorists" (and keep in mind that some would like to classify the entire NRA, or the Tea Party, as "terrorists"), or medical marijuana users? Another possibility is a heretofore legal handgun suddenly becoming illegal, after California "blazes" another "legislative trail." [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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CSGV too cowardly and intellectually bankrupt to defend their positions

To my absolute absence of surprise, my first attempt to comment on a Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) Facebook post was nearly instantly met with "Reasoned Discourse."

The post in question was this one:

"Although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed ... There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law." - Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838

Here was my (now censored out of existence) response:

Bad laws "should be religiously observed," eh? Not even pretending to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his civil disobedience, I see:

One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

I submit that an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

I could add some Thoreau and Gandhi quotes, too, but there's clearly no point--your love of authoritarianism brooks no trifling with quibbling about such inconsequential concerns as "injustice."

Funny--not long ago, they pretended to express deep (if not particularly musical) admiration for Dr. King Lying hypocrites tend not to take long to out themselves, though.

GRE Round Up. Feb 17

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• The enemy within

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Obama makes sure rich pay their fair share…to see him


• Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club story illustrates problem with gun range conflicts

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Knox: "Family in jail for Holder's crime"
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Obama budget exposes depth of hostility to gun rights, American people

The president either forgets, or simply does not care, that many Americans would be glad of such protection for their own children. We don't demand the kind of taxpayer funded, elite protection that he and his family enjoy. Non-interference with our own self-defense measures is enough for us. Apparently, even that's too much for Obama to agree to.

The thing is, we're not asking. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 16

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• Will Obama strip gunwalking prohibition and add anti-gun provisions to budget?

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Paul brings populist appeal to Evergreen State

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 15

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• HJR 2005 and HF 2114 watered down in committee

David Codrea/National:

• What would you do with $40? Obama asks for pictures

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Is Issa approaching the ‘No-More-Mr. Nice-Guy’ point in Fast & Furious?


• Follow-Up: Issa tells Fox News ‘American people have right to know’


• WA hunters push to block confirmation to Wildlife Commission

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Breaking: Issa turns up heat on Holder
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

New Brady Campaign president might want to re-think fundraising strategy

Still, seeing that the best the organization can come up with is a $250 per person fundraising event with Chicago Mayor (and would-be statewide handgun registrar) Rahm Emanuel, a little advice does seem warranted. Although if Emanuel reprises his 1992 drama, where he stabbed a steak knife into a table over and over again, while listing the names of political enemies and shouting "Dead! Dead!" that might be worth the price of admission. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 14

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Liston Matthews/Knoxville:

• Getta cuppa Joe at Starbucks on Valentine's Day

David Codrea/National:

• Is John Boehner impeding Fast and Furious investigation?

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Drink up with your Valentine at Starbucks


• SAF collects on another lawsuit, this time from Omaha, Neb.

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Most of an alphabet of federal agencies knew about 'Gunwalker'--Holder didn't?

So if much of the upper reaches of federal law enforcement knew of the plan, and if the cartel's gun trafficking "big fish" were actually working for the FBI--what does that say about the intent of the operation? Yesterday, the Investor's Business Daily offered a possibility:

Coulson paints a picture not of a well-intentioned local program gone rogue, but of a operation widely known throughout the Obama administration, one deliberately intended to promote the need for gun control.

[More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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CSGV takes 'Reasoned Discourse' to a whole new level

The folks at Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) are enthusiastic practitioners of "Reasoned Discourse," whereby comments that don't toe the party line are "disappeared," so as to hide the fact that a sizable plurality (if not majority) of their readership is comprised of not their "gun control" fellow travelers, but gun rights advocates keeping an eye on the forcible citizen disarmament mendacity du jour.

CSGV's Facebook page is a prime example of that--but tonight, they've outdone themselves:



"View all -1 comments." Evidently, they've been so busy removing comments that they deleted one more than had been left.

Kinda impressive, in a pathetic sorta way.

GRE Round Up. Feb 13

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• A Journalist's Guide to 'Project Gunwalker'-Part Nine


• Dealing with violent mentally ill shouldn't include citizen disarmament

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Is Santorum wrong, or just the headline?


• Issa spokesperson denies Fast & Furious ‘sell-out’ rumor

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  
  • Ex DEA head: At least 3 other agencies knew about Fast and Furious
  • New movement seeks to pressure Boehner into action on Fast and Furious
  • Bombshell: cartel kingpins targeted by Feds were FBI informants
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Paranoia and 'gun crime' at highest levels of Media Matters?

The intent here is not to argue that Brock has no right to hire armed security, even if his specific fears sound more than a little delusional. The intent instead is to highlight the breathtaking hypocrisy of accepting huge sums of money in payment for advocacy of restrictive gun laws that he himself clearly believes should not apply to him. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 10

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• Iowa firearms legislation update

David Codrea/National:

• NBC News ignores Gunwalker, continues anti-gun propaganda agenda

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Recovery or retribution in Chicago for financial payout to SAF?

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Issa backs down on Holder Fast and Furious deadline
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Are gun sales arranged online a 'loophole'?

In the end, there is no "internet gun sale loophole." Gun sales arranged online are subject to every state, federal and local law imposed on every other gun sale in the same jurisdiction. The internet's only role is facilitating potential buyers finding potential sellers.

The goal here, just as with all the rhetoric about the "gun show loophole," is the outright prohibition of the "loophole" of all private sales. And yes--when a gun sale subjects the would-be buyer to a criminal (and increasingly, medical) background check by the FBI, it is not a "private" sale, by any sane use of the word, whether the seller is a federally licensed gun dealer or not.

We're not going to take it. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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GRE Round Up. Feb 9

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• Issa, Meehan, Grassley to Holder: Unseal Fast & Furious wiretap apps

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Will Holder comply with Issa deadline today?
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Lots of gun politics action in Illinois

Just across the river, Illinois appears poised to have a busy year for the gun issue, on fronts both legal and legislative. Being the last state to still have in place an absolute blanket ban on all armed self-defense in public, some action in this area is much needed. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

Oh, and if you could spare a digg?

GRE Round Up. Feb 8

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

David Codrea/National:

• ‘Proclaiming Liberty’ a great resource for keeping gun quotes accurate

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• No tears for slain Edmonds burglary suspect

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Diary of an ATF whistleblower
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 7

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• HF 2215 "Stand Your Ground" in detail

David Codrea/National:

• Traver ‘up or down’ vote must include Fast and Furious answers

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• ‘It’s half-time in America’…‘are you feeling lucky?’


• What the Powell case should tell us about legislating against crime

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 6

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Ed Stone/Atlanta:

• Bill on Returning Stolen Firearms To Be Heard Monday

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• "Stand Your Ground" HF 573 renamed to HF 2215

David Codrea/National:

• NC Governor: Right to ‘sporting arms’ a ‘privilege…granted’ by ‘democracy’


• Do Giants, Patriots and NFL support use of trademarked items in anti-gun ad?

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Backlash erupts against Holder after House committee appearance


• SAF wins big over Chicago, appeals in another IL case

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Report: Boehner part of the Gunwalker cover up
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 3

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:


Ed Stone/Atlanta:

• Several Competing Gun Bills Pending in General Assembly

David Codrea/National:

• Holder hearing recorded for those who missed it live

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Gowdy to Examiner, Fox News: Oversight will get all documents


• Press politicizes Fast & Furious, following Holder, Dem minority lead

Chris Woodard/Tucson:

• Some confusion regarding Arizona Carry laws

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Vanderboegh: "It is possible the fix is in" on Fast and Furious
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 2

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• HJR 2001 passes House vote

David Codrea/National:

• 'Gunwalking' documents shared by Issa prior to Holder hearing cite DOJ failures

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Holder didn’t know…but somebody did; the F&F ‘main justice’ problem

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Dems propose more gun control, more money for ATF
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

GRE Round Up. Feb 1

Here's the latest from my fellow GREs:

Sean McClanahan/Des Moines:

• Iowa firearms legislation update

David Codrea/National:

• ‘No Fifth Amendment Theater’ in tomorrow’s Holder hearing

Dave Workman/Seattle:

• Holder Wednesday: Between the rock and the hard place


• 'Fatally Flawed' report has some flaws of its own

Also check out these other Liberty-oriented Examiners:

• Albuquerque Libertarian
• Cochise County Libertarian
• Conservative
  Issa threatens Holder with contempt
• LA Anti-Establishment
• Michigan Firearms

Contempt of Congress would be the least of Holder's crimes

Still, though, having seen a great deal from Congress that deserves contempt (the minority report by Rep. Elijah Cummings, in order to whitewash the scandal, seems a superb example), one could perhaps forgive actions that express that contempt.

What cannot be forgiven, though, is the deliberate arming of some of the most brutal criminal gangs on the continent (in the western hemisphere, for that matter), who used those weapons in the killing of hundreds (if not thousands) of people. Even less forgivable is when this atrocity is committed for the purpose of justifying more attacks on Americans' Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Please give it a look, and tell a friend.

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