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Monday, September 29, 2014

VSSA Highpower Junior Shooters Featured in CMP First Shots E-Magazine

The recent CMP First Shot Online Magazine had this article on how the VSSA Junior Highpower Team made the transition from Air Rifle to Highpower Rifle:
Maj. Mike Darnell is the junior highpower program director for the Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA). He began as the air rifle coach for the Brooke Point High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) in Stafford, VA, before a trip to the United States Marine Corps base in Quantico, VA, with four of his shooters for a community service project opened an entirely new marksmanship perspective.


VSSA is very blessed to have some dedicated coaches and program directors working with our junior shooters.  Besides Mike, Highpower Rifle Committee Chairman Mike Jamison and Coach Bill McKaig have worked very hard to make this one of the most active shooter programs in VSSA.
Left to right: Back row: Andrew Ross, Sam Cavender, Anthony Kissik, Nathan Dvornick, Theron Hawkins Front Row: Matthew Ross, Dawson Kissik
CMP noted that last year, VSSA brought a group of eight shooters to Camp Perry. This year, with the growing attention the team has received from other young shooters, the Camp Perry bunch almost doubled – growing to 14 shooters.
Maj. Mike Darnell began as the air rifle coach for Brooke Point High School before a few of his juniors became interested in highpower. The 2014 National Matches at Camp Perry was Darnell’s second trip as coach of the VSSA team.
It's a great article.  Congratulations to the shooters and coaches for catching the eye of CMP.

NPR Touts Taxpayer Funded Research as Way to "Counter Gun Violence"

For almost 20 years, the gun ban lobby has complained that the NRA has shut down funding for so-called "gun violence research" that would supposedly give us the data we need to reduce crime committed with a firearm.  NPR reports this morning that taxpayer money has started flowing again to such activity:
...But to start with, the CDC has begun offering more than $7 million in grants to states to expand the agency's National Violent Death Reporting System. The hope is that will also capture more data on firearm fatalities.
While the taxpayers may not have been funding research, that doesn't mean there hasn't been any research.  Dr. John Lott released a study on the subject in February of 2014 and noted:
There is no evidence that gun control research fell when restrictions were put on federally funded research. Indeed, whether one looks at the number of total articles or total pages, firearms research has been as high or higher than when the restrictions were enacted. In 2013, well before federal funding could have any impact on publications, there was an explosion in firearms research in medical journals.
Unfortunately, when the taxpayers fund research, the money goes to support data that leads to gun ban proposals.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Good Riddance

The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that Attorney General Eric Holder has announced his is resigning after six years in office.  He won't be gone soon enough.

Is It Okay to Hunt While Pregnant

As more women have joined the ranks of gun owners and hunters, this may be a question that comes up.  Last year, captain of Smith & Wesson’s shooting team, Julie Golob, wrote about shooting while pregnant and some of the things to consider.  Golob gave birth to her second child last year.  After advising her readers to always consult their doctor and partner, she goes over things like lead exposure and things associated with shooting that may be of concern pregnant women.

Along a similar thought, conservative commentator S.E. Cupp recently wrote at CNN about hunting while pregnant.   Last week, Cupp talked about the piece with Cam Edwards of NRANews on the Sportsman Channel.  Basically she said to trust your instincts.

Michael Bane on Pocket Carry

In the video below, Michael Bane of Best Defense TV discusses things to consider regarding holster selection when you carry your self defense gun in your pants pocket.  Some of the things he discusses includes the shape of the holster to fit the style of pants or the pocket in which you carry, draw out of the holster, and reinserting the gun into the holster after it has been pulled.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Atlantic County D.A. Backs Down on Prosecuting Shaneen Allen

Bitter has the story here. Other than the fact the prosecutor's zeal to make an example of Ms. Allen caused her to lose her job, her long ordeal facing prison time is over and she will be placed in Pretrial Diversion.

Fact Checking Senator Feinstein on the Assault Weapons Ban

On the 20th Anniversary of the passage of the Clinton Gun Ban, California Senator Diane Feinstein issued a press release stating that the ban was a success and should be reinstated.  But ProPublica has called out Senator Feinstein on her claims:
But gun violence experts say the exact opposite. "There is no compelling evidence that it saved lives," Duke University public policy experts Philip Cook and Kristin Goss wrote in their book "The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know." 
A definitive study of the 1994 law – which prohibited the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic guns with "military-style features" such pistol grips or bayonet mounts as well as magazines holding more than ten bullets – found no evidence that it had reduced overall gun crime or made shootings less lethal. "We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence," the Department of Justice-funded study concluded in 2004. "Should it be renewed, the ban's effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement."
ProPublica notes that the original study Feinstein sighted as proof the ban worked was based on a flawed assumption - that criminals who still owned so-called "high capacity" magazines would not use them in crime.  You see, the law only banned the manufacture of new magazines, it didn't confiscate those already owned.  The 2004 study found that the use of "high capacity" magazines in crimes either remained steady or slightly increased.  Additionally a Department of Justice memorandum that the NRA obtained in early 2013 noted that the only way a ban on so-called assault weapons or "high capacity" magazines would be successful would be if those owned by the public were confiscated, which is exactly what Feinstein wants.

Monday, September 22, 2014

The Changing Face of the Shooting Sports

This graphic from NSSF's Blog puts the lie to the gun ban lobby's claim that all of those gun sales over the last three to four years were current gun owners adding to their own stocks.

Will NRA Strategy Hanging Bloomberg Around Necks of Democrats Work?

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire reports that the NRA will begin running an ad in Georgia today tying gun ban advocate and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn. Bloomberg has contributed the maximum amount an individual can contribute ($2500) to Michelle Nunn.
The Wire then compares this to the strategy Democrats have employed trying to tie the Koch Brothers, who have been major donors to conservative candidates and causes, to the NRA ads tying Bloomberg to various candidates.
Yet these types of strategies take a lot of time and money to bear fruit. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in April found that only 21% of Americans had a negative view of the Koch brothers – half didn’t know who they were and a fifth had a neutral opinion.
I would argue however that the NRA is not targeting the entire electorate in Georgia, but are targeting gun owners.  And gun owners know who Michael Bloomberg is and what he means for our rights.

The article also notes that Nunn has not made gun control a central part of her campaign, but, just like Virginia's Mark Warner, who is running for re-election this year, Nunn favors so-called "expanded" background checks.  Besides criminalizing the private transfer of firearms between lifelong friends and family members, the Manchin/Schumer/Toomey amendment (which Nunn's campaign used as a defense against the NRA ad) would have created a number of gun control measures.

I might agree with the Journal that in normal cases, trying to make a boogie man the reason not to vote for a candidate takes a lot of work.  But in the case of the NRA ads, they have a targeted audience to which they are playing and to that audience, Michael Bloomberg is like the plague and should help turn out votes for the pro-rights candidate.

Is Virginia Beach Targeting Legal Gun Owners?

That's the question that News Channel 3 WTKR will ask in a special investigative report on Tuesday, September 23rd.  It is prompted by a proposal from the Virginia Beach City Council that would punish people who have had their firearms stolen, essentially making them a victim twice, if the gun owners don’t report lost or stolen firearms as quickly as City Council thinks they should.  The penalty would be jail time. Bob's Gun Shop owner Robert Marcus told WTKR he believes the proposal indicates that Council has done all they plan to do to punish criminals so now they are going after legal gun owners.

WTKR's report will air on Tuesday at 11:00.  Virginia Beach gun owners should contact their city council members and let them not to target legal gun owners but to go after criminals if they want to reduce crime. 

Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. 
January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016
Municipal Center
City Hall, Building #1
2401 Courthouse Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Office: (757) 385-4581

wsessoms@VBgov.com

Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones - Bayside​​
January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Work: (757) 583-0177
Home: (757) 464-2151
l
rjones@VBgov.com

Bob Dyer - Centerville​
January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home:
(757) 467-3130
bdyer@VBgov.com

Barbara M. Henley - Princess Anne​
January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home:
(757) 426-7501
bhenley@VBgov.com

Shannon DS Kane - Rose Hall​
January 1, 2014 to November 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Work:
(757) 802-3236
skane@vbgov.com

Brad Martin - At Large​
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home:
(757) 460-6278
Work: (757) 689-4840
bmartin@vbgov.com

John D. Moss - At Large
November 10, 201​1to December 31, 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home: (757) 363-7745
mossjohn@cox.net​

Amelia N. Ross-Hammond - Kempsville​

January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home: (757) 646-1709
ahammond@VBgov.com

John E. Uhrin - Beach​
January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Work: (757) 200-7005
juhrin@VBgov.com
 
Rosemary Wilson - At Large
January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Home: (757) 422-0733
rcwilson@VBgov.com
 
January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014 
2401 Courthouse Drive
City Hall, Building #1
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Work: (757) 340-8411
Fax: (757) 498-6324
jlwood@VBgov.com
 
It is possible that Virginia Beach cannot pass such an ordinance due to Virginia's pre-emption statute and would have to request their members of the General Assembly to introduce a bill.  That is unlikely to happen as all of Virginia Beach's legislators are pro-rights.  This post will be updated when it has been confirmed whether the City of Virginia Beach has the power to pass this type of ordinance.
 
Hat tip Dana Loesch and Gabby Hoffman.

Update: WTKR reported on Tuesday night that the proposal above will be included in the Virginia Beach City Council's legislative wish list for the 2015 Session of the General Assembly.  Rest assured VSSA will be lobbying for the defeat the proposal.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Rob Pincus on Transitioning to a Back-up Gun

Firearm Trainer Rob Pincus discusses issues surrounding dropping the primary firearm and transitioning to your backup gun as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

D.C. Goes the Maryland Route on Concealed Carry

VSSA Life Member and Second Amendment attorney Steve Halbrook predicted it and the Washington Times reports today that DC has gone the Maryland road in the draft of their ordinance allowing its residents to carry:
Mr. Nathan said the city modeled its “may issue” approach to permits, which is virtually certain to face a lawsuit, on states such as New York and Maryland, where such statutes have withstood challenges in federal courts. But a similar requirement in California stating that a person seeking the permit prove they were confronted with a “clear and present danger” was struck in February. That ruling is on hold pending appeals.
DC residents may have to wait to see if Peruta vs. San Diego makes it to the Supreme Court to get a real chance at carrying outside their home.


Strength and Shooting

Episode 11 of NOIR aired on NRAFreestyle.tv last night and the topic in this episode was whether being a stronger shooter makes you a better shooter.  NFL former NFL linebacker David Vobora put Colion and Darren LaSorte through a workout.  Vobora owns Performance Vault in Downtown Dallas and specializes in training professional and Olympic level athletes, elite military and law enforcement, and adaptive athletes.  Vobora went over balance and stability and what they can do to make you a better shooter. Mr. Olympian competitor Branch Warren joined the group and then went out to the range to put what they learned to the test. Colion reviews the STI Match Master then it's on to the Noir Challenge.  There's some good information in this episode.  Take a look.

Obama Administration Collecting Race and Ethnicity Information on Gun Purchase Forms

When I first saw this article in the Washington Times reporting that ATF Form 4473 was collecting race and ethnicity information, I wasn't going to write about it because the article noted that the change to form 4473 was done back in 2012 and I believed that anyone who purchased a firearm in the last two years would have noticed it. 


But today I noticed that Dave Workman, the Seattle Gun Examiner writer, also wrote about this issue.  Workman noted the quote by New Jersey firearms attorney Evan Nappen in the Times article, so it made me wonder if there is more to the story that I originally thought:
New Jersey attorney Evan Nappen is quoted by the newspaper raising a serious question that nobody in the gun prohibition lobby seems inclined to answer. After observing that requiring this information is offensive, Nappen added, “If there’s no need for an amendment, then there’s usually a political reason for the change. What this indicates is it was done for political reasons, not law enforcement reasons.”
There is nothing in federal law that requires the collection of race or ethnicity.  ATF claims the change was made because it needed to update its forms to comply with an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reporting standard put into effect during the Clinton administration. Just an aside, that begs the question as to why it took 10 years to comply with an OMB standard.  Prior to 2012, the 4473 forms had been collecting race data.

Workman addressed the issue from the standpoint of Initiative 594 (I-594), currently on the ballot in Washington State, that would require anyone simply loaning firearms to one another, which is perfectly legal, to go through a federally licensed firearms retailer for a background check. If I-594 passes, it could all but outlaw hands-on firearm training because an instructor would have to go to a dealer to do a background check on his/her trainee before handing off the firearm to the trainee, then the trainee would have to have a background check conducted on the trainer before handing the firearm back to that person.  Additionally, privacy is a concern being raised by I-594 opponents, including the two major statewide law enforcement organizations that oppose the ballot initiative, the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, and Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association.

So, just what is ATF and the Obama Administration up to?

Gun Ban Lobby Holding Forum in Hampton on Saturday

The Virginia Center for Public Safety & Virginians for Responsible Gun Laws is holding a "forum in Hampton on Saturday to lay out their plan to continue pushing their gun ban agenda.  They are billing it as a discussion of "targeted efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of violent convicted felons and domestic abusers, stalkers, and the dangerously mentally ill."  But we know that nothing they are proposing will stop violent felons from getting firearms.  And much of what they propose to keep "domestic abusers and the mentally ill" from getting access to firearms comes without due process protections.  They plan three panels:

Healthcare & Mental Health
·   Dr. Sean Nix 
·   Chief Richard Myers, Newport News Police 
·   Josh Horwitz, Executive Director - The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence 
·   Dr. Darwin Mills

Public Safety

·  Chief John I. Dixon III, Petersburg Police 
·  Commonwealth Attorney Anton Bell 
·  Rev. Dr. Gregory M. Howard 
·  Sheriff Gabriel A. "Gabe" Morgan, Newport News

Community Voices

·   Chief Terry Sult, Hampton Police 
·   Brian Hawkins M.S.W, Hampton University Promise Program 
·   Andrew Goddard, President - Million Mom March, Richmond Chapter: Board Member, Virginia Center for Public Safety 
·Ernest "Lee" Williams, Division of Social Service Child Support Enforcement Outreach Program Coordinator

The event will be held at the Hampton Convention Center, Hampton Coliseum, 1610 Coliseum Dr, Hampton, VA 23666 from 1:00 to 4:00.  It's open to the public.  So, if you live in the area and have nothing better to do, might be good to stop in to get some intel on what the opposition has in store for Virginia's gun owners.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Rob Pincus Responds to NBC's Today Show Advice on Home Invasions

Last week, NBC's Today Show had this segment over the weekend
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Not all of the information provided was bad, but what is getting the most attention among some bloggers and conservative media was the reference to using "wasp spray" as a weapon against an intruder.  Armed American Radio's Mark Walters discussed the Today Show segment with firearm training instructor Rob Pincus.  Rob goes over the couple of things that made sense in the segment, and spends a significant amount of time on what didn't.  He found one piece of , sleeping with your doors open so "your children can hear everything" as just plain weird. Rob did agree with gathering your family together in one place.  The clip below has Rob's thoughts on the advice provided by the NBC "expert." 

Stafford County to Consider Change to Noise and Shooting Ordinances

There was an item on last night's agenda of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors that would authorize the county administrator to advertise a public hearing for the purpose of amending the county's shooting ordinance.  According to the background document:
The Board is asked to consider changes to the Noise and Weapons chapters of the Stafford County Code as it pertains to the discharge of firearms, pneumatic guns, arrows, and shooting in prohibited areas (No Shooting Zones). Many of the proposed amendments are technical in nature and are based on changes to the Virginia Code, practical application of regulations, and the effects of land development and urbanization in certain areas of the County. 
The proposed change to the Noise chapter of the County Code would clarify that the “average,” rather than the “geometric mean,” of three sound level readings would be used to determine sound levels. This measurement would apply to all activities, not just sound related to shooting. This change would make the Noise provision easier to understand and enforce.
While the information provided appears to mostly changes to bring county ordinances in line with state law, VSSA has major concerns with any noise changes that would make it harder for gun owners to shoot or hunt on private property.  Gun owners just beat back a change in Sussex County that would have all but prohibited shooting on Sunday.  Additional information related to the specific ordinance language and the date of the public hearing will be posted here when it is available.

Hat tip to jfrazerlaw.com.

Update: A few of the supervisors were very concerned about the boundaries of some of the proposed no-shooting areas, and possibly about some other issues.  They voted to delay authorizing a public hearing to allow further review.  VSSA will keep gun owners updated as the process continues.

Friday, September 12, 2014

VSSA's New AR-15s for Junior Highpower Rifle Program

VSSA's Highpower Rifle Chairman Mike Jamison would like to thank the many people who contributed in various ways to provide VSSA's  Junior Rifle team with new AR-15s for competition.  Using funds from the sale of the association's antique M1s, Jamison purchased two AR-15s from Rock River Arms while the team was at Camp Perry shooting in the National Matches.  Because the firearms were for our Junior team, Rock River gave VSSA a very good price.

The Firearms were shipped to Dance's Sporting Goods in Colonial Heights, VA, who handled the FFL transfer for VSSA.  Again, because they were for our Juniors, Dance's handled the FFL transfer and related paperwork at a very good price.  Bill McKaig (a VSSA Board Member and the senior coach on the team) helped pick up the guns and prepare the paperwork.

Thanks to Rock River Arms, Dance's Sporting Arms, and Bill!

Leftist Group Waving the White Flag on Banning Assault Weapons

The Wall Street Journal Washington Wire reports that the Center for American Progress (CAP) is "waving a white flag" on banning assault weapons in a study out today titled “Assault Weapons Revisited:”
“The answer is not that assault weapons aren’t dangerous and people having access to them is a good thing,” Mr. Gerney said in an interview this week. “There are other things that we can do to lessen the risks of assault weapons short of banning them. … When you’re making policy, it’s always a mix of what’s going to have a biggest positive impact and what is practical and politically possible.”
CAP says the appropriate focus should be background checks and licensing firearms.  And the Journal notes that even though President Obama pushed for renewal of the so-called "assault weapons" that was a threat used to push for a compromise on expanding background checks:
Instead, CAP makes an argument for six policy prescriptions that are equally unlikely to receive a hearing in a Congress with zero appetite for any gun restrictions: implement background checks for all gun sales, force dealers to report to the federal government multiple sales of long guns, expand the prohibition on interstate handgun sales to include shotguns and rifles, forbid the use or possession of machine guns by people younger than 16, and require licenses and permits to possess an assault rifle or manufacture guns using 3D printers.
We've already seen some of these proposals in Virginia.  There was a bill introduced in the last session of the General Assembly to ban out of state sale of long guns.

8th District Democrat Don Beyer Campaigns for Gun Control

The Washington Post has the report here.  This should come as no surprise to anyone.  When Beyer ran for Governor against Jim Gilmore in 1997, Beyer supported gun control.  He is running in the overwhelmingly Democrat 8th District so he probably figures openly campaigning to restrict our rights won't hurt him.  Gun control is the first of the "Eight Ideas" that he will take to the voters before election day.  Unfortunately, gun owners don't have a lot of choice in the 8th District as the GOP candidate also supports gun control:
Beyer is not alone in his belief that gun laws need tightening; his Republican opponent, Micah Edmond, says the U.S. should ensure that “crazy people shouldn’t have guns” and emphasizes the need for rigorous background checks.
Beyer specifically wants to close the so-called “gun show loophole,”  ban standard-capacity ammunition magazines, and supports the latest scheme of the gun ban lobby - making it easier for family members or law enforcement officials to petition for so-called "gun restraining orders" on people they believe could be dangerous to themselves or others.

The other seven ideas Beyer has include employment and immigration.  Interesting how Beyer puts gun control as his number one concern when the economy and jobs tend to be at the top of voter's concerns.  In a June Rasmussen poll, gun control ranked 10th among the concerns of voters.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

New NRA Membership Ads

The NRA has added three new ads to the group released earlier this month.  One asks the question what would it mean for our country if one man's money could take away our rights:
In the next ad, Top Shot Season 4 Champion talks about how it seems like more and more we’re surrounded by anger and asks how we turn that around with the spokesman being Top Shot Season 4 Champion Chris Cheng:
The last of the new ads talks about freedom of speech:
All of them continue to build on the theme that NRA members are the "Good Guys."

Discontent Among Gun Groups Over Initiative 594

The Washington Post has a piece this morning on its GovBeat blog that says Washington State firearm advocates are asking where the NRA is in the battle to defeat Initiative 594, the ballot measure that would criminalize transfer of firearms between anyone, even at training sessions, that does not involve a background check:
“The NRA has really not been involved at all until very recently, and not in the area of spending significantly at all,” said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and founder of the Second Amendment Foundation. “I have no idea why. We have a coalition made up of all the gun rights groups in Washington, and they are not participating. They’re doing their own thing.”

Barron Barnett, a pro-gun rights activist, asked in a recent blog post: “Where the F*** is the NRA?!” “[T]he NRA is more than happy to take my money but then is no where to be found when things actually go sideways,” Barnett wrote.
From what I can tell, NRA has been active getting the message out to defeat I-594. It was the cover story on this month's America's First Freedom. Cam Edwards has covered it a number of times on NRANews.com. But, it appears that some think that the NRA needs to match Billionaires Bill Gates, Mike Bloomberg, and others pushing the initiative dollar for dollar. NRA has been active in other ways too:
Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the NRA in Virginia, said the group has had two full-time staff on the ground for months. He estimated that the NRA has spent a total of $300,000 to $400,000 so far against I-594, with that number likely to grow in the final two months before Election Day. That figure doesn’t include communications with members and those who receive the NRA’s magazines and publications, he said.
It's true that the pro-I594 forces have raised over $7 million. But, it doesn't serve our cause for pro-rights groups to complain that some are doing more than others to defeat the measure. And as Arulanandam told the Post, while money is important, the Milwaulkee County Sheriff's race proved the power of grassroots. That's where I-594 will be defeated. And the grassroots is the NRA's strength.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Is "Tough on Crime" Dead?

That's the question that the Washington Post Wonkblog asks.  The writer, Emily Badger, leads in with the discussion of the questions some of the public and politicians have raised related to whether we have militarized our civilian law enforcement and uses it to transition into a discussion of what most of us have associated with the term "Tough on Crime:"
For decades, that idea has dominated sentencing policy, political ads, local police tactics and federal law-enforcement support. "Tough on crime" became intertwined with the "war on drugs." It yielded "three strikes" laws and mandatory minimum sentencing. It drove the unmatched rise of American incarceration. It justified the deployment of harsh police tactics and the need for meaner equipment, both of which have been used beyond drug crime. It became a potent political label, the only acceptable adjective: If you're not tough on crime, then you don't have anything worth saying about crime at all.
In Virginia, George Allen rode into the Governor's Office in 1993 talking about "liberal lenient parole."  By the time he left office, parole had basically been abolished.  He built new prisons but Virginia actually rented out prison space to other states for a time.  Virginia led the nation in some of these policies, but not all states followed our example.  No parole, three strikes laws, and keeping violent criminals off of the streets is what I associate with "tough on crime,"  not "harsh police tactics," armored vehicles and military grade weapons.  So, you understand my confusion at the connections Badger makes in her piece.  She asserts that the phrase is now in retreat:
Today, "tough on crime" appears to be decidedly in retreat, as conservatives have begun to balk at the financial costs of incarceration, and as liberals have objected to the costs in civil liberties — and the disproportionate racial impacts — of aggressive policing. The rhetoric of "tough on crime" is fading.
Hopefully, Badger is wrong and policy makers will separate the question of the type of equipment civilian law enforcement uses from the question of keeping violent criminals in jail.  We certainly don't want more of the type of stories that Cam Edwards of NRANews shares daily on his program.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Panera Asks Gun Owners to Not Bring Their Guns

The Richmond Times Dispatch reports Panera Bread has asked customers to not bring their guns with them when they eat in the chain:
The restaurant chain is joining Target, Chipotle, Starbucks and a number of other companies that already have asked customers to refrain from bringing firearms into their stores.
But, it should be noted, like Target, Chipotle, and Starbucks, this isn't an out right ban on firearms:
Shaich told CNBC that the company will continue to abide by state and federal firearms laws. He also said that store employees won't be asked to enforce the policy or put up signs about it. 
So, it appears this is another company who wants to appear to be bowing to Shannon Watts and Mike Bloomberg without actually doing so.  Apparently Panera doesn't have the gonads that Kroger possesses.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Bloomberg Spends Six Figures on New Kroger Ad Blitz

It appears that Bloomberg isn't taking no for an answer from Kroger when it comes to allowing customers to carry firearms in stores.  Forbes reports that Bloomberg is spending six figures on a new ad blitz targeting the chain:
Moms Demand Action’s blitz includes a billboard near Kroger’s corporate headquarters in Cincinnati as well as print and digital full page ads and wraps in both the local Ohio press and national titles like USA Today.

The ads come after the group, backed by a $50 million investment by billionaire Bloomberg Bloomberg, failed to convince Kroger to ask shoppers to leave their guns at home with a petition and social media pressure. The campaign can be seen in full here.
Here's one of the ads:

One of the ads in this campaign shows a man without a shirt -- not allowed in Kroger stores -- alongside a woman with a gun. Firearms are permitted inside Kroger stores in states where it's lawful.

NOIR is Back

NRAFreestyle.tv's NOIR started the second half of it's first season last night and they have made some changes from the first half.  For instance, they did some surveys after the first half of the season to get feedback on what the viewers wanted and overwhelmingly heard that they needed to do more shooting.  So, that's what they are doing.  The show features NRANews Commentator Colion Noir, Amy Robbins, and Darren LaSorte.  LaSorte is more of a tactical shooting type of guy and a bit intense.  Noir likes the "athletic" shooting.  In this episode Noir and LaSorte shoot stage one of a 14 stage course.  They also continue to have product reviews.  This week Colion reviewed the Heckler & Koch  VP9 striker fired pistol.

Roanoke Area College Professor Calls Gun Owners Callous

Megan Doney, an English professor at New River Community College had this OP/ED in today's Roanoke Times, where she uses the tragic incident in Arizona last week to call gun owners who have defended teaching young children to use firearms, extremists and callous:
Because extreme gun rights proponents think it’s perfectly all right to allow children to handle machine guns, a 9-year-old child has to spend the rest of her life knowing that an innocent man died at her hands. Gun rights extremists have fostered a culture where parents think it is adorable to watch their pony-tailed daughters firing a machine gun. In their world, Vacca’s death, the child’s trauma and the parents’ guilt are acceptable prices for the “right” to own as many guns as they want, and carry them whenever and wherever they want.
Speaking for this gun rights proponent, it's perfectly all right to allow children to be properly taught how to use firearms.  I'm not in a position to second guess what occurred last week which is why more has not been written about it on this blog.  I am not an instructor or range officer.  But, others with more qualifications have shared their thoughts.  ICE Training's Rob Pincus spoke with Mark Walters on Armed American Radio Sunday and gave his assessment:
And here is the CNN interview of NRA Certified Instructor Claude Werner that Pincus mentioned:

It's clear from Doney's piece that she believes even though millions of people have used firearms to stop armed attackers, because an incident at her college was averted by an unarmed security guard, that should be sufficient for all of us.
Despite my own firsthand experience in a school shooting, I carry no credibility with gun rights extremists. But I know that many sensible gun owners and NRA members are also horrified by this event, and I appeal to them — indeed, I beg them — to help their colleagues understand the gravity of this situation, to see reality, and to stop lying to themselves and to the American public.
Maybe if Doney listened to people like Rob Pincus and Claude Werner, she would know the firearms community is assessing what happened to make sure that such an incident, which rarely happens to begin with, doesn't happen again.  But my guess is she is more interested in spewing an anti-gun rant because she doesn't believe it is ever appropriate for children or adults to use firearms.

Update: A much more intelligent OP/ED can be found at Stars and Stripes.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Business Proactively Reach Out to Gun Owners

While Bloomberg's astroturf group Moms Demand Action continues to try and bully businesses into creating anti-rights policies for their customers, the Washington Times reports that tens of thousands of business are proactively posting pro-rights signs welcoming gun owners through their doors:
Sharma Floyd, owner of Shiloh Brew & Chew in Maryville, Tennessee, has gained national media attention by putting a sign in the window of her restaurant welcoming firearm owners with permits, and business has been booming. At Shooter Grill in Rifle, Colorado, waitresses are packing. All Around Pizzas & Deli in Virginia Beach gives discounts to patrons who show up armed.
All the while there have been no crimes committed by gun owners in the over 57,000 businesses that openly welcome them.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Lazy Journalism on Gun Sales

You've probably seen the articles over the past week, most along the lines of this Bloomberg News article about how the sale of so-called "assault rifles" have plummeted.
Plummeting sales of assault-style weapons, also known as modern sporting rifles or “black rifles,” has led to an oversupply of unsold guns and is hitting the bottom lines of the big arms producers. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC) shares yesterday fell the most in more than two years after the Springfield, Massachusetts-based gunmaker slashed its full-year sales and profit forecasts.
The tone of the report is that because of the lower sales, those manufactures who are publicly traded on the stock market saw their share prices lowered.  The problem is the media (and Wall Street for that matter) want to compare sales to the way-out-of-the-norm year of 2013. Sales numbers last year were driven in large part by Obama's gun control push.  What people in the industry do is look at trends.  NSSF looked at the last five years of sales without 2013 included, and found that 2014 sales are still higher than 2012, 2011, and 2010:
From January through July 2014, NSSF-adjusted NICS figures total 6.95 million background checks against 6.85 million for 2012 and 5.64 million in 2011. In 2013, the seven-month figure was 8.81 million and the annual total was a record 14.8 million. Multiple factors account for last year’s sales surge, including a fear of additional firearms-ownership restrictions, which came to pass in states such as New York, Connecticut and Maryland, as well as increasing interest in owning firearms by women and former servicemen and women.
Tom Gresham mentioned the Bloomberg article on his Sunday radio program and called it just plain lazy journalism.  He's right.  It would not have taken much for the Bloomberg reporter to do what The Huffington Post did for their article and contact NSSF.  You don't get the message that there are more gun owners and sales are still higher than previous years until the last line of the Bloomberg article.  By then, the "gloom and doom" meme had be put in place.

A Lot of Shooting In 2014 Campaign Ads

NPR's All Things Considered had this story yesterday afternoon talking about how 2014 candidates have picked up on what Joe Manchin did when he first ran for the U.S. Senate - use a firearm to make his campaign point:
Each year trends emerge. This year, lots of spots are hitting the air featuring candidates with firearms shooting at things: TVs, drones, thick copies of the Affordable Care Act.
NPR shared several spots, most from Republicans, but there was one Washington State Democrat ad included:
Not just any candidate can do this however.  Travis Ridout, a Washington State University political science professor told NPR:
Manchin was well-known and the imagery reinforced who he was. But it's not so simple for political newcomers to use the sound and symbolism of firearms to take a shot and get noticed.
I wonder if that Washington Democrat's GOP opponent has asked what he thinks of Intitiatve 594?