2A News: February 26, 2016 Newsletter by Jeff Pittman
MSFOA meeting
The 2016 annual meeting of the Mississippi State Firearm Owners Association is scheduled for TOMORROW, Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m. at Bass Pro Shops in Pearl, MS. Memberships and renewals will occur prior to the 2:00 meeting, so come early. I understand it will be in the upstairs classroom. Join us!
About the NRA Board election and recall
If you’re an NRA voting member (5 year or Life member — ballot is in your magazine), pay attention.
Presidential Election
“Have I ever [lied]? I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever will. I am going to do the best I can to level with the American people.” — Hillary Clinton
“The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment.” — Hillary Clinton
“So we have to say to the gun lobby, ‘You know what, there is a Constitutional right for people to own guns, but there is also a Constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that enables us to have a safe country to protect our children from their senseless gun violence.'” — Yale Law School graduate Hillary Clinton.
(“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is not in the Constitution, but instead appears in the Declaration of Independence. I’ll repeat: Yale Law School graduate Hillary Clinton.)
“And it [gun control] doesn’t interfere with the Second Amendment, I don’t care what anyone says.” — Bill Clinton, while campaigning for Hillary.
(I believe you Willie — you don’t care what anyone says, whether it be the Founding Fathers, the Supreme Court [over 90 times], or Nehemiah.)
“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?” — Matt 7:16
Retired pro-gun lobbyist John M. Snyder has reportedly endorsed Donald Trump for president. I disagree with Mr. Snyder.
“I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.” — Donald Trump in 2000
Gun Owners of America has endorsed Ted Cruz. I tend to agree.
Alan Korwin has a white paper on the presidential “natural born citizen” requirement.
5 Things Every Reasonable Gun Owner Ought To Know
by attorney Marc Victor
I’d disregard the part about not loading your carry gun, but otherwise an excellent read. READ IT. Remember it. Take it to heart.
The basic types of gun owners
Legislation
The federal Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2015 protects against regulations concerning lead ammunition, supports the development of shooting ranges, and forces the US Army Corps of Engineers to allow people to protect themselves with a firearm on Corps-managed recreational projects. It would also protect knife owners and gun collectors who may have knives or guns with elephant ivory grips.
Legislative idiots
“Just as we fired the first shot to start the revolution, this might be the first shot — no pun intended — to start a movement against assault weapons (sic) that would capture the state and therefore maybe explode to reach the country.” — Robert Rotberg, author and catalyst of a gun and magazine ban proposal for Lexington, MA.
Well, Robby, you might want to research how that revolution worked out:
You see, when Captain John Parker met the British forces at Lexington on April 19, 1775, he was serving as the elected commander of his well-regulated colonial militia. The British had made the importation of powder illegal and British Governor Gage (of fortress Boston) had sent British Major Pitcairn’s redcoats to confiscate colonial stockpiles along with other war materiel such as muskets and stores of food. General Gage had earlier registered firearms in Boston and then shortly thereafter he confiscated what he had just registered, in the name of crime control. The subsequent British march on Lexington and Concord resulted in “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” and the American Revolution.
So Robby, if you want another revolution just remember you were warned. Only this time you don’t have another home country to retreat to in order to save yourself.
Enemies
The Uber ride-sharing service does not “allow” its drivers or passengers to carry defensive guns. But an Uber driver, who had passed the company’s background check, randomly and without known motive shot and killed 6 people and injured 2 more (all apparently unarmed) in three locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan last Saturday night. Reports indicate that the suspect worked as an Uber driver and took fares in between the massacres.
“Uber and its affiliates therefore prohibit possessing firearms of any kind in a vehicle.” — Uber policy statement
President Obama, Gabby Gabby and Space Cadet Mark Kelly said this proves that we need more gun control. You mean like banning guns for Uber drivers? Or more background checks?
In fact, Mr. Obama said “Earlier this year, I took some steps that will make it harder for dangerous people, like this individual, to buy a gun.”
But on February 23 — one day after Pinocch… er, Obama made this claim — law enforcement officials in Kalamazoo announced that the killer’s gun was properly registered and legally owned. Previous reports indicated that the perpetrator has no criminal history and no history of mental illness.
So I suppose narrowly and technically speaking Mr. Obama is correct — if he succeeds in taking away guns from all the people who haven’t committed any crimes, that would prevent them from using those guns in possible crimes in the future. Kinda like gagging peaceful theater patrons when they buy their tickets to ensure that they can’t feloniously yell “fire” once inside.
What’s coming
- Europol recently announced that it estimates the number of active and trained Islamic terrorists in Europe to be between 3,000 to 5,000, to which must be added “moderate” Moslems willing to provide support, such as food, lodging, and local cover. Soft targets represent the biggest concern.
- The Brady Bunch has filed an amicus brief in a federal case, claiming that a company’s posting of 3D printed gun blueprints online for domestic IP access is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Maybe this item should have been filed under the Dept. of Idiocy… but since it’s the Brady Bunch, that would be redundant.
- Syrian rebel fighters are using the Facebook social media web thingy to buy and sell heavy weapons, guns and ammunition — including “CIA-supplied” rocket launchers. But Facebook has banned ads for legal gun sales between US residents and dealers.
The Only Ones
- Someone broke into the Sparta, MO police station early last Friday and stole guns, ammunition and uniforms from the small southwest Missouri police station. Sparta has not had a police force since December, when the police chief resigned after being criticized for shooting a caged dog.
- An unidentified EPA agent mistakenly left a gun in a restroom stall in the agency’s headquarters last March during an interview with the EPA Inspector General’s office. The unidentified agent’s punishment was a 1-day suspension from duty without pay.
- An unidentified US ICE special agent in San Francisco left his service pistol on top of his car, drove off, and lost it last week. I think I figured out why they’re called “special.”
- An unidentified state highway patrol officer in an unidentified state left his converted-to-semiauto M16 rifle on the top of his patrol car while working a nighttime crash this week, then drove off and lost it. It was recovered the next day by a citizen.
- US Postal Service Inspector Neville Harper was startled early Thursday by a rat outside a Harlem, NY post office while investigating a building alarm and “accidentally” fired his gun. Neither the rodent nor anyone else was injured.
- The Pennsylvania State Police said 29 cadets have left its academy in connection with an investigation into possible cheating. We hear that by voluntarily leaving they avoid a criminal record and can therefore still get hired by a local police department, or perhaps by another state — maybe yours?
- Michigan Appeals Court Judge Henry William Saad is facing a criminal investigation after a loaded handgun was found in his carry-on bag by TSA personnel at Detroit Metro Airport last Sunday.
- Last week we reported that Sgt. Ray Hughes, a corrections officer in Pennsylvania, was headed home after dinner with his wife in Atlantic City, NJ when they were hit by a drunk driver, and that Hughes was then facing a felony charge for bringing his gun into New Jersey without a state permit. We have since learned that Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said that the charge against Hughes was “inappropriate” because officers only learned that the guard had a gun in his car because he was the victim of a drunken driving crash. Hughes had a Pennsylvania carry permit, but it wasn’t recognized by New Jersey’s strict gun laws. He faced a minimum of 3½ years in prison if he was found guilty. Maybe they should lock him up for 46 days anyway and make him seek a gubernatorial pardon, like they did Shaneen Allen.
How to sheriff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoJizBrXR08
How to business
Lance Toland Associates, an aviation insurance agency in Georgia, requires all employees to obtain a CCW license, then gives them a Taurus Judge revolver. Mr. Toland also serves on the US Air Force Museum of Aviation Foundation board and is Chairman of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
Even Pakistan gets it
The Khyber Pakhtunkhua provincial government of Pakistan has authorized its teachers and other employees to carry guns. In December of 2014 seven foreign nationals attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, the provincial capital, killing 141 people, 132 of them school children.
But in the US, we mostly lock the doors with the killers inside and tell our kids to hide under a desk until the coroner comes to clean up the mess.
Kansas massacre and DGU
You’ve undoubtedly heard about yesterday’s massacre in Hesston, Kansas. 3 dead (plus the killer), 14 wounded. We don’t know a lot of details yet, but what we do know is that the killing spree ended, as usual, when a good guy with a gun showed up. It seems that the first police officer on the scene, so far unidentified, heroically and fatally shot the murderer while taking fire himself, saving “multiple, multiple” lives, according to the sheriff. There were perhaps 140 additional people present at the time.
So the FIRST LEO on the scene takes care of the problem with his gun, but there were still 3 fatalities and 14 wounded. That’s why we call cops second responders. The folks ALREADY at the scene are the first responders.
We also have a report that the perpetrator had a lengthy criminal record with arrests in Kansas for domestic battery, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and theft, and in his home state of Florida for theft, battery, prowling, and fleeing from police, plus being the subject of a protective order (see below). So, he was a “prohibited person” and could not legally purchase, possess, nor use any of the firearms that he illegally owned and routinely posted to social media (including Facebook, which has a ban on such postings) in an account under his own name.
Another thing we know is that at the scene of and about 90 minutes before the massacre the killer was served a protective restraining order* shielding an abused former girlfriend.
And we have a report that Excel Industries, the site of the attacks, is a “gun free zone.” **
* A restraining order is a piece of paper and is not bulletproof.
** Gun free zones don’t keep guns out.
Why I don’t use or recommend Blackhawk! SERPA or similar holsters (or subscribe to some magazines)
We’ve seen and heard of this many times before, but now it’s even in their own promotions. This video, featuring an experienced professional who handles guns for a living, was intended to rebut those who disparage the SERPA holster as potentially dangerous. Oops.
Another scam targeting firearms trainers
The Cecil Effect
Bubye Valley Conservancy now has more than 500 lions, the largest number in Zimbabwe’s diminishing wildlife areas. This lion population has become unsustainable and the conservancy has warned that it may have to cull around 200 as a result of what is being called “the Cecil effect.”
Conservationists estimate about half of Zimbabwe’s wildlife has disappeared since President Robert Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned land began in 2000, but Bubye has sustained by attracting wealthy, mostly American, hunters whose hunting fees support its wildlife work. But last year’s legal shooting of “Cecil” the lion in a conservancy bordering Hwange National Park created a backlash by the ignorant against big-game hunting, and triggered a US plan to ban legal trophy hunting imports. And it worked. Now that the hunters are gone, so is their money and so will be the wildlife.
Products
- The US Army has patented a self destructing “limited range” bullet with a built in pyrotechnic charge. When fired, they explode after a short period of time — causing the bullet to effectively stop. This limits the effective/dangerous range, making the use of live ammunition in populated areas much safer. Apparently the practical use will initially be in .50 caliber ammunition, but the patent covers the idea and technology behind the concept as a whole so it could theoretically be used in various calibers of small arms munitions, at least down to 5.56mm. But there is no current funding to continue the project.
- Browning has announced the release of two suppressor ready versions of its 85%-sized 1911-22 pistols. Both are threaded 1/2×28 and include a thread protector. $640.
- BLACKHAWK’s new TecGrip Inside the Waistband and Pocket concealment holsters feature an outer layer that holds tightly to almost any material and keeps your firearm holstered snugly in place. The TecGrip material’s microscopic gripping fingers hold so securely that no clip is needed for stable IWB carry. Both IWB and pocket models are completely ambidextrous and offered in multiple sizes. The thermal-bonded three-layer laminate (TecGrip, foam, and something else) construction is machine washable.
- The new Skinner brand Express Scope base and back up aperture sight base is machined from solid carbon or stainless steel bar stock and fits all large frame Marlin lever actions and Henry large frame .30-30s, .45-70s and the new Henry .308 Win. The Skinner base will accept either Warne 7.3 or medium high Talley rings. If your scope fails, simply remove scope and rings and continue by using the precision aperture back up sight. The back up sight features removable inserts available in various diameters. $169-189.
- A Henry rifle in .308 Win.? Still waiting for details.
- Black Hills Ammunition, in conjunction with Lehigh Defense, has created the new Black Hills Xtreme Defense .38 Special 100 Grain round, which offers 1000 fps from short barreled revolvers (and over 1250 fps from 6″ barrels), penetrates deeply and makes a large temporary cavity.
- The Vertx Garment Rifle Bag is a fully functional garment bag that will hold 3 days’ worth of clothes AND a defensive rifle with extra mags, lights, etc. Fully loaded weight is 30-40 lbs. An “EDC” pull tab is small piece of material that allows instant access to the gun without looking into the bag. The bag has aluminum G-hooks, which don’t break like plastic hooks. About $250.
- CZ’s new Urban Counter-Sniper rifle is built on the 557 rifle platform with a 16″ .308 barrel, detachable, 10-round box magazine, oversized bolt handle, Manners carbon fiber composite stock, Picatinny rail, 3-prong suppressor compatible flash hider, adjustable trigger and flush QD swivel mounts. About 10.5 lbs. unscoped. No price yet.
- Barnes Bullets has introduced its VOR-TX EURO Ammunition for the European market (or maybe for folks with European rifles), loaded to European CIP pressure standards with the all-copper TTSX (Tipped Triple Shock X) bullet. VOR-TX EURO ammo will be available in the following cartridges and bullet weights:
- 7 x 64 Brenneke 140 grain TTSX
- 8 x 57 JS 160 grain TTSX
- 9.3 x 62mm 250 grain TTSX
- .30-06 SPRG 150 grain TTSX
- .30-06 SPRG 168 grain TTSX
- .30-06 SPRG 180 grain TTSX
- .308 WIN 130 grain TTSX
- .308 WIN 150 grain TTSX
- .308 WIN 168 grain TTSX
- Browning’s new High Noon Rechargeable Spotlight features a white Cree XPE LED with an effective distance of up to 550 yards. Its tough rubberized polycarbonate pistol-grip housing is waterproof and submersible to three feet for 30 minutes and it floats. (If it floats, why would it be submersed?) There is a built-in adjustable stand for hands free use. The USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery charge will last 1.1 hours on high (850 lumens) and 24 hours on low (50 lumens). $110.
Quote
“I am thus far a Quaker, that I would gladly argue with all the world to lay aside the use of arms and settle matters by negotiation, but unless the whole will, the matter ends, and I take up my musket and thank Heaven He has put it in my power.” — Thomas Paine
