Monday, April 30, 2018

And now POTUS

President Trump, White House Photo

I recently reported that VP Mike Pence will be speaking at the NRAAM in Dallas. Now we learn from Fox News that President Trump will also be in attendance.
The Secret Service will be in charge of security while POTUS and VPOTUS are there, so, once again,

NO GUNS, NO KNIVES, NO WEAPONS

As I commented at Fox news,
Contrary to what some are saying, the historical record shows that the NRA Annual Meetings (NRAAM) for quite a few years have been open to carrying of firearms, in accordance with state, local, and Federal laws. Some are calling the NRA hypocritical for "banning guns" when VPOTUS speaks at NRAAM in Dallas. That is pure rhetoric. Whenever a person such as POTUS, VPOTUS, or anyone subject to Secret Service protection, attends an event, be it NRAAM or a rally in Saginaw, MI, weapons of any type are not allowed. I spoke with President Trump at the NRAAM in Nashville, and have video of the conversation. I was armed at the time. Mr. Trump was not under Secret Service protection at that time. You on the left keep saying you want to have a conversation about guns. How can we have an intelligent conversation when you emit such garbage.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

VP Pence to speak at NRA in Dallas

VP Mike Pence,
Official White House photo

In a previous post, I noted that handguns will be allowed at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas this year.

BUT--


I learned from Jenn Jacques this morning at TTAG, that VP Mike Pence will be speaking at Friday's Leadership Forum.

SO--


I contacted the NRA and asked if that event (the Leadership Forum) would be a Secret Service weapons exclusion zone.

YES, it will be. Here is the reply I got from NRA:

---------------------------

Matteo, Jack 
10:55 AM (12 minutes ago)
to me 
Good morning,

The ILA-Leadership Forum will be a Secret Service secured event. Firearms will be strictly prohibited in the hall.* Please make the necessary arrangements with your firearms prior to the event.

 Firearms will be allowed in the exhibit hall in accordance with state law and proper documentation.

Thank you,
---------------------------
So, please be sure to not attempt to go there with your gun.  

I then contacted KnifeRights and asked,

" Will you be providing knife checks at the Leadership Forum, like you did at Louisville. VP Pence is speaking, therefore it will be a no weapons zone."

Thanks,

I got a quick reply from Doug Ritter:
---------------------------

Doug Ritter 
11:22 AM (10 minutes ago)
to me 

Yes

Doug Ritter
Chairman and Executive Director
Knife Rights, Inc.
Knife Rights Foundation, Inc.
---------------------------
*emphasis added

Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Second Amendment as an Expression of First Principles

Edward J. Erler
Co-author, The Founders on Citizenship and Immigration

Edward J. Erler is professor emeritus of political science at California State University, San Bernardino. He earned his B.A. from San Jose State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate School. He has published numerous articles on constitutional topics in journals such as Interpretation, the Notre Dame Journal of Law, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. He was a member of the California Advisory Commission on Civil Rights from 1988-2006 and served on the California Constitutional Revision Commission in 1996. He is the author of The American Polity and co‑author of The Founders on Citizenship and Immigration. This fall he is a visiting distinguished professor of politics at Hillsdale College.

Reprinted by permission from Imprimus, a publication of Hillsdale College. Although this is five years old, it is still pertinent today, in view of the renewed attacks on the Second Amendment. Now retired Justice Stevens advocates repealing the 2nd. 

This is a long read, so find the time to give it your attention. You can also see Dr. Erler's presentation at the end. Added note, fully automatic weapons are not totally illegal. But they are very expensive, and possession without the proper paperwork is illegal. The bold emphasis in the article is my addition.


The following is adapted from a lecture delivered on February 13, 2013, at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C.

We are currently mired in a frantic debate about the rights of gun owners. One example should suffice to prove that the debate has become hysterical: Second Amendment supporters, one prominent but less than articulate member of Congress alleges, have become “enablers of mass murder.”

Special animus has been directed against so-called assault rifles. These are semi-automatic, not automatic weapons—the latter have been illegal under federal law since the 1930s—because they require a trigger pull for every round fired. Some semi-automatic firearms, to be sure, can be fitted with large-capacity magazines. But what inspires the ire of gun control advocates seems to be their menacing look—somehow they don’t appear fit for polite society. No law-abiding citizen could possibly need such a weapon, we are told—after all, how many rounds from a high-powered rifle are needed to kill a deer? And we are assured that these weapons are not well-adapted for self-defense—that only the military and the police need to have them.

Now it’s undeniable, Senator Dianne Feinstein to the contrary notwithstanding, that semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15 are extremely well-adapted for home defense—especially against a crime that is becoming more and more popular among criminals, the home invasion.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

North Carolina Legislature School Safety Committee Meeting



NC School Safety Cmte Mtg
Wednesday, March 20, I attended the first meeting of the Legislature's School Safety Committee Meeting. There were speakers from several branches of NC government.

A few highlights:

Speaker Tim Moore gave a nice welcoming speech.

A North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) speakers said, "we stand ready too respond" (after an incident) and identify the bad guy before the fact.

The most disconcerting thing I heard at the meeting was in a presentation by Elliott Smith, Acting agent in charge of Fusion Center of the SBI. He quoted inflated statistics published by Bloomberg's front group, Moms Demand Action, that there have been over 300 school shootings since 2013. This is simply not true. It is refuted even by such mainstream publications as USA TodayTime, and the   Washington Post, I noted that one representative challenged Mr. Smith on his facts. I recommend that Mr. Smith take another look, to restore his own credibility.

A couple of takeaways from this meeting-
  1. I have been hearing for years how the folks in favor of gun control (which, when you drill down far enough, means gun bans) want to have a conversation or "civilized dialogue". How can you have a conversation with someone who publishes bogus statistics.
  2. More importantly, even though the statistics are not as bad as the Mom's state, the stakes are still just as high. It is America's children that are at stake. 
And more recently-

A retired Supreme has opined that the Second Amendment should be repealed. The truth finally outs.

So while the legislative committee had enough gendarmes present that you couldn't stir them with a stick, children are still basically not provided with any realistic protection at many schools. The legislature could, no expense, provide enabling legislation for armed volunteer staff at our schools, and while they are at it, provide them immunity from liability for good faith actions.


Video of some attendees at the meeting