Blog
Law
Florida
Progress for Gun Owners in Florida – Four Victories
HB-163, Open Carry by Rep. Matt Gaetz was heard in the House Judiciary Committee and PASSED by a Vote of 12-4.
SB-344, Stand Your Ground/Burden of Proof by Sen. Rob Bradley PASSED THE SENATE 24-12
SB-130, Unlawful Discharge by Sen. Garrett Richter PASSED THE SENATE 37-0.
SB-228, Mandatory Minimum Sentences by Sen. Aaron Bean PASSED THE SENATE 38-0
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NICS
Feds Stop Processing NICS Denial Appeals
Considering that the rate of false positive NICS denials has been at least 5%, this is like them saying that they just can't afford to take the time to deal with their mistakes because it interferes too much with their ability to make more mistakes.
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Law
Georgia High Court Set To Answer The Unanswerable Question
Lola, the mixed-breed dachshund was 8 years old when she died of renal failure. Lola’s owners allege that a popular Atlanta dog kennel gave Lola medication she wasn’t supposed to receive, ultimately leading to her death. The owners have sued, and that’s why this sad case with its very thorny question will come before the state’s highest court. The kennel argues that pets are property and plaintiffs may only recover the market value of their property before it was destroyed.
I thought that George Graham Vest had pretty much settled that issue back in 1870 with his famous closing argument to a Missouri jury:
"Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
Gentlemen of the jury: A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death...
Vest won the case, and also won its appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. A statue of the dog 'Old Drum' stands in front of the Warrensburg, Missouri, courthouse and a bust of the dog resides in the Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City, Missouri.
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Justice System
Trial of Baltimore Officer Goodson postponed by Maryland appeals court
The Maryland Appeals Court has stepped in to halt the trial against Officer Caesar Goodson on the day jury selection was scheduled to begin
Why is this police case important to ANY citizen (e.g. you) who utilizes a CCW for their personal defense strategy?
Consider that you are not going to get to choose the time, or the place, where you are called upon to use deadly force for self-defense. Nor will you be able to choose the people who are employed at various levels in the criminal justice system—the ones that have jurisdiction over your case. You may successfully defend yourself from a violent predator, only to run into someone in the "justice" system who is "ideologically disconnected from legal forethought." This case in Baltimore is an excellent example of incompetence and/or misconduct, as was the Zimmerman case in Florida.
Assuming, in your case of self defense, that you were innocent, had no duty to retreat, and used reasonable and proportional force in defending yourself does not mean that you are safely out of the wilderness. How big is your war chest?
An option worth looking into is Second Call Defense which is designed for this kind of circumstance.
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Government & Bureaucratic Misconduct
Mounting Frustration
I have stated before that there is nothing that will poison the relationship between the police and the citizens whom the police serve faster than unjust or poorly written law. A corollary to that premise would be a just law that is ignored by those responsible for enforcing it.
Rep. Greg Walden addresses the U.S. House of Representatives on the situation in Harney County, OR, involving federal overreach in the West:
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Law & Order
Sanctuary Jim
I just about fell out of my chair when I first heard this:
"In no way, shape or form does anyone in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam have anything to do with what you've seen on that screen. That is abhorrent, it is terrible, and it does not represent the religion in any way, shape or form or any of its teachings. And this is a criminal with a stolen gun who tried to kill one of our officers. It has nothing to do with being a Muslim or following the Islamic faith."-- Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Mayor
Given the witness' report's, it's hard to believe that anyone would make a statement like this. If this guy's constituency actually believe what their mayor is saying here, it helps explain how people like him get elected to public office.
It looks to me like the people of Philadelphia are in for a rough ride with Sanctuary Jim at the helm.
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Homeland Security
Question of the day
"...Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."-- Abraham Lincoln
QUESTION: How do the people (that would be us—American law-abiding citizens) fulfill the virtuous concept espoused by Lincoln, when the public servants that have been hired to keep this nation safe from all foreign enemy's are not doing their job?
HINT: We certainly cannot do it without arms!
ANSWER:
Amendment II [to the United States Constitution]
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.
EPILOGUE: The word "vigilante" is not necessarily a nefarious term. It comes from the Spanish word for "vigilant" which means "keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties." Like many other things, the word vigilante has become convoluted by sinful conduct, but it can still be used to describe righteous conduct.
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Firearm Safety
Discipline Under Stress
Even though we are, in our shooting courses, hyper-persistent about teaching NRA Rule 2 (Keep your finger off the trigger, and out of the trigger guard, until you are ready to shoot), I am still of the opinion that conventional hammer-fired pistols with double-action triggers are superior to striker-fired pistols when the pistol might possibly be used in a high-stress situation. And, what 'self defense' situation is not high-stress? A fact that the average CCW permit holder probably doesn't routinely undergo stress training can possibly result in a shortage of trigger discipline at a critical moment. Not to mention the "economy" holster dilemma.
A recent article by Bob Owens at bearingarms.com about the new Ruger American pistol enhances my side of the controversy regarding the two styles of pistol lock-work.
Granted, there are things that I like about striker-fired pistols, a lower relative bore axis being one. But, for out-and-out safety, a double action trigger is my choice for citizen CCW.
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Marine Safety
MOB Locator Aid
Anyone who has tried to locate a person in the water at night will appreciate the utility of this gizmo... A package of two sells for about $20.00. Mfg. by Spinlock.
Think about, and practice, Man Overboard recovery—day AND night!
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Homeland Security
Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness Require the Bearing of Arms
The recent attack on a Philadelphia police officer illustrates the historic premise that homeland security begins in the home; it requires an armed citizenry that is prepared to defend itself against this kind of visceral attack. For anyone to try to impose unnecessary restrictions, on a law-abiding citizen exercising their right to bear arms, qualifies as stupidity at best and/or tyranny in the extreme.
Milwaukee County (WI) Sheriff David Clarke comments on the ambush of a Philadelphia police officer, and the threat of ISIS to the U.S.
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Gun Control
The Gun Control Reflex
When you gently tap a human knee with a rubber hammer, you expect a certain kind of reflex; when you verbally tap the brain of a left-wing liberal with reality, you can also expect a certain kind of reflex.
Never mind that, California being what it is, it was eminently possible that all of the proposals under discussion were already in the law. This was a golden propaganda opportunity, not to be passed up. “Enough is enough,” said Martin O’Malley. “It’s time to stand up to the @NRA and enact meaningful gun safety laws.” We must “make Americans safer,” declared an almost-bored President Obama. “We must take action to stop gun violence,” intoned Hillary Clinton. And they all felt warm and fuzzy inside.
...as long as Obama and co. can conflate the question “Do you want more gun control?” with “Are you upset about what just happened?” they are able to win the day. But, once the two are separated, they lose – and badly.
Why would anyone want a firearm?
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Gun Control
Obama Rings in the New Year with Address on Gun Control Executive Actions
Obama said, “On Monday, I’ll meet with our Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options. Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing. I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen.”
He said he believes in the Second Amendment, but just wants to keep guns out of the hands of “an irresponsible, dangerous few.”
For a guy who seems to be vying for the political equivalent of a T-Ball league record for most strikeouts at bat, when it comes to enforcing existing laws, you will have to excuse me for not believing that Obama can "keep guns out of the hands of “an irresponsible, dangerous few” without infringing on the civil rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Will Obama really be able to keep guns out of the hands of gang-bangers in Chicago without adversely driving up the cost of firearms and ammunition to law-abiding consumers—the end result of virtually all 'government solutions'?
Excuse me for being skeptical; I don't have high hope for any turn-around in Obama's ability to solve problems without making matters worse.
We'll see.
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Law & Order
Tale of Two Cities
There were 27 murders in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in 2015. That breaks down to 21 in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, four in the city of Pensacola and two within the jurisdiction of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Pensacola has a sub-tropical climate, with four overlapping seasons, plenty of navigable water around, a rich history, and some of the finest beaches found anywhere in the world; it also had 1/125th, or 8/10ths of one percent, the number of homicides that Chicago had in 2015. Maybe that's because, generally in Pensacola, the people still tend to do the community organizing—not the government.
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