Category Archives: Uncategorized

Another Attempt at Smart “Guns”

Someone posted a link to an interview with Kevin Barnes, CEO of Blocksafe on FB.  I started writing this as a comment to the original post, but it became a book (or at least a pamphlet).  So here’s my take on it here.
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BC: Guns are 15 times more likely to be used against a gun owner or accidentally discharged (often by children) than used in self-defense. Would Blocksafe eliminate this risk and would you support making this type of system mandatory for all gun owners?
 
And yet, Barnes didn’t counter that with, “You just lied to my face. Guns are not 15 times more likely to be used against a gun owner or accidentally discharged than used in self defense.  Unless, of course, you only count actual shots being fired as self defense.  Or maybe you even only count a dead perp as self defense.  That’s what makes you a bald-faced liar.”  It’s what I would have said.
 
Or maybe he did.
 
Thanks to Katie al-Couric ‘s fast and loose “interview” with VCDL leadership, I tend to distrust interview transcripts unless also published by the interviewees.  (Not that I trusted them before; just that I trust them much less, now.)  Those in the gun industry need to talk to their lawyers more.  You need to retain the right (and exercise it) to record the entire interview yourself.  You need to retain the right (possibly non-exclusive) to the entire content of the interview.  And you need to insist that if they edit it at all, they need to include a statement in their own published version of the interview that the full transcript is available from you with a link to where readers and viewers can get it.
 
I say that because Barnes seems to make clear that he is against his technology being mandated.  He might have gone far enough, but it’s possible that it did not make the cut.  But here is what I think nearly all gun owners can agree to.  He needs to take the hardline stance that W. P. Gentry of Kodiak arms took when meeting with then Attorney General Eric Holder a few months after Sandy Hook.  He (at least claims to have) told Holder that he would not allow his technology to be used to impose any restrictions on gun owners.
 
Read Frank Miniter’s “The Future of the Gun“.  Electronic technology is not necessarily bad in guns.  We need not fear it.  But only if (and that’s a BIG IF) we can:
  1. Keep the government’s grubby mitts off it.
  2. Make it 100% the choice of the gun owner whether or not to have it, whether or not it is enabled, and how, or if, it can be disabled.
  3. It can be set to a failure mode (dead battery, etc.) of FIRE and not SAFE.
  4. Can always be set (if not completely lacking the feature) to not allow remote shut off and even possibly have no wireless connection whatsoever (or if it has wireless, it must be optional and allow hardwired connections to make changes, offload data, etc.)…this should work even if I snip the wireless antennae off with wire cutters.
  5. Be economical.
  6. Make it no less reliable than guns without the technology (i.e.: see (3) above…failure mode of FIRE).
I still have my doubts.  Imagine if you whacked you’re smartphone hard with a mallet 25-50 times every week for a year.  Even assuming a hard, damage resistant case, how long do you think the delicate circuitry inside it would last?  I’m not convinced this can be done without some severe hardening for harsh conditions that would radically increase the costs.
Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

Non-Compliance

[Adapted from the fakebook.]

In North Carolina we have an antiquated, Jim Crow era Pistol Purchase Permit that only 2 or 3 other states have. It is required to get one even for private sales of handguns. So we essentially do have UBCs for handguns, at least.

We are in
the process, via House Bill 562, of trying to get this repealed, and are, once again, just like two years ago, facing opposition from our anti-liberty, pro-tyranny (as ‘discretion’ is the very definition of tyranny: the Rule of Men vs. the Rule of Law) NC Sheriffs’ Association. And Bloomberg is spending his millions under the auspices of the demanding mommies.

But what was interesting is that, through a few phone calls to DAs and court clerks, it’s been discovered that selling a pistol in a private sale without a PPP (or a Concealed Handgun Permit, which suffices according to statute as well) isn’t something that is ever used in any prosecution. I.e.: it is never enforced and is likely ignored by most private sellers and buyers.

Technically, the seller is not even required to take possession of the PPP or ask to see the CHP. And even if you do, you can put it in the circular file or shred it and not be in violation of the law. And the way the law is written, even an FFL dealer is not required to take possession of the PPP, though you’d be hard pressed to find one that wouldn’t. Both the CHP and PPP are good for five years. And therein lies the problem for our sheriffs: they can issue a PPP and a year later, the recipient could commit a crime that makes him ‘prohibited person’. Yet he can go buy a gun without a background check *at an FFL*, because the NICS check was already done. There is a mechanism for the CHP to be revoked, but not the PPP.

Now, mind you, I’m not in support of the requirement for a PPP, CHP, or even a NICS check. They are all useless and infringements on the human right to keep and bear arms. But my point is that the PPP, NC’s UBC for handguns, is largely ignored by buyers and sellers.

But we’re still pikers compared to the guys and gals in WA. They’ve stared down Leviathan and caused him to blink. We’re unlikely to face the degree of state-level tyranny they do now in WA. At least not in the near term. I pray that if we ever do, there will be enough brave souls to stand against it as they have.

GRNC’s press conference earlier today.  Surprising to me that WRAL posted the entire video without editing.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

Gunshot Wound to the Head

Object lesson: Never, NEVER, take off your eye protection while shooting, especially in an indoor range. I didn’t, but if for some stupid reason I had, it’s only about two inches above my eyes.

I could have SO much fun with this.

Anyone got a bandaid with a picture of a bullet hole on it?

I shot myself in the head!

Take a hacksaw to a bullet and glue the rear half to a bandaid so it looks like it’s half inside the hole in my head. “NO, Don’t pull it out! It’s holding my brains in!”

Fun aside, be safe out there, folks. This hurt like hell. Blood all over the place, as with any head injury. Nasty welt and it’s still a little sore (happened around 7:00pm last night). Thought it might turn black and blue, today, but it hasn’t.  Still swollen, though.  Thankfully far enough from the eyes that I didn’t get a black eye. No stitches required, just a butterfly bandage. It was a ricochet off the back stop of the range.  This was a .38 special round.  Glad I wasn’t shooting .357 Magnum out of my Ruger Security Six at the time.

Really had crappy luck last night. To top it off, after dinner I headed home and not more than half a mile from the restaurant, got rear ended. Actually, it was a three car collision. Lucky for me, I was the car in front of the stack and got jostled a bit but no injuries and nothing but scuff marks on the rear bumper of my BMW. Middle car (a subcompact) not so lucky getting squished at both ends, and the passenger needed a ride in an ambulance to the hospital. No apparent blood or broken bones, but she was crying about abdominal pain. Woman who hit the guy who hit me was driving a big-ass 1980 Buick. Hood, front grill, and probably radiator, fan and fan belt damage. She was the one cited, of course. Good, because she let slip that she was talking on the phone when it happened. Lived here forever, but didn’t know where the hell she was and she wasn’t even far from home. Hmmph. People.

bullettothehead

 

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.  (To others, not yourself!)

Connecting / Networking at Last

This is really just a test post after I’ve enabled the Publicize feature of the Jetpack plugin so that all my posts here will now be publicized on both my Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I’m not a fan of Facebook, nor really *any* social networking sites due to the lack of control. It’s why I host my own blog in my own server rather than on wordpress.com. I don’t really care about the privacy issue since I don’t put much information in my profiles on those sites even though they keep begin me to complete my profile. (Go. Away. My profile is as complete as it is ever going to be on your site.)

Yes, this breaks my anonymity. But I’ve never really invested that much effort in keeping my identity secret. It’s just not obvious. So now all my Facebook friends will know I have a blog. Whoop-de-doo.

Two of the reasons I’ve done this is that I’ve made a few comments on Facebook that I believe both deserve wider exposure and because I want complete control of the content and to be sure it’s not subject to the whims of the those zuckers in charge of Facebook.

So most, if not all of my original stuff will be posted here. I may try to duplicate some noteworthy comments, as well.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

Checking in

This post is just to let people know that I haven’t been disappeared as I expect Edward Snowden will be any day, now.  Not that I’m a big enough threat to be worth disappearing, mind you.

I’ve been keeping myself busy volunteering with Grass Roots North Carolina, so it’s not like I’ve dropped out of the gun rights world or anything like that.

I’ll try to post more often in the coming months.  There’s a lot going on, so it’s not like I have an excuse.  🙂  Plenty of blog fodder out there.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

GunsAmerica Pulls a Zumbo

My response to the GunsAmerica‘s post on GunsAmerica Supports Interstate Tax Bill – 20 Points to Protect the 2nd Amendment, with slight grammatical corrections that don’t really affect the meaning.

Sorry, I’m winding up a pitch to throw more than a few rotten tomatoes.

Glad I’ve never done business with GunsAmerica. Now I know I probably never will.

This post title is a lie. It has nothing to do with protecting the Second Amendment. It’s also a poorly crafted post. Others have pointed out contradictions. So how about another one: 7 and 15 contradict. Has an FFL as a “hobby” (7)? But I thought I couldn’t buy a gun from anyone who doesn’t have a brick and mortar gun dealer (15)?

This is what we call disruptive technology. And in the long run it is a positive market force. You don’t see too many buggy whip vendors anymore, and for good reason. What GunsAmerica is supporting is for the state governments of all 50 states — with the backing of the federal government should this bill become law — to be a market force working against internet retailers. Note I said state governments. I have no problem with other businesses from all 50 states being in competition with a mom-and-pop internet gun retailer, but I do have a problem calling for more government interference in markets.

The primary thinking behind the Second Amendment is as a bulwark against tyranny. I have, in the past, heavily criticized the NRA for there lack of the ‘long view’ and their sometimes (when it fits their narrative) claim that they are a ‘single issue’ organization. If you grade politicians strictly on their final votes on gun bills, you miss the big picture. Because sometimes these tyrants vote for pro-gun bills or against anti-gun bills only when they know they will have no chance in hell to pass (and they therefore got permission from their party leadership to vote against the party line). [Ed. – They are, hence, unreliable and two-faced.] Same goes for things that aren’t purely gun issues, but hugely, negatively affect liberty in general. There’s a strategic problem with this mentality. You see, as long as that tack is taken, you all but guarantee that our liberty will be progressively (heh) chipped away at until all we have left are our gun rights and then we will be forced into a corner and into using that right for its intended purpose. Do you really want that? DEFEND ALL LIBERTY. FIGHT TYRANNY ON ALL FRONTS. And let go of your short-sighted advocacy of government interference to protect your business. Instead, advocate tearing down all other infringements on our liberty.

Methinks you might have just Zumboed yourself.

I should also add a couple of points.

First, as I’ve said elsewhere, credit where credit is due.  The NRA has done a much better job this time around, probably spooked a little (in a good way) by the huge surge in membership after Sandy Hook.  Good job, NRA.  A hell of a lot better than the CCRKBA, this time around.

Second, if GunsAmerica is unhappy about current circumstances, they need to be lobbying their state legislators to reduce or remove any state sales taxes in their own states.  The last thing those of us fight for liberty need is someone purportedly on our side turning that fight into a Sisyphean task and pelting stones at us as we push forward, up the hill.

Lastly, not only does single-issue vote scoring cloud where a politician really stands due to votes on bills guaranteed not to pass, but it also, usually misses other votes of importance that often don’t get graded.  Oh, like, maybe voting fo Pelosi as for Speaker of the House, or to confirm Supreme Court Justices such as Kagan and Sotomayor.

So GunsAmerica, stop it.  Just stop.  You’re not helping.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

Gotta Wonder What’s Happening with CATO

I think I caught this article on FoxNews.com recently, but CATO just posted a link to it on Facebook.  I’m mystified what’s going on at this supposedly libertarian institution.  But then again, Libertarians (at least big ‘L’ libertarians) aren’t always that good on guns.  Even John Stossel admitted that when he first considered himself a libertarian, he wasn’t really all that pro-gun.  It’s odd to me that those who are supposedly for liberty and small government would have this kind of disconnect.

So here’s what I posted in response to Trevor Burrus’ article:

I’ve got to wonder what that flip is going on with Cato, too. This isn’t the first time I’ve wondered. You don’t negotiate with terrorists. You don’t negotiate with the home invader. And you don’t negotiate with the gun grabbers, or anyone else threatening to restrict fundamental human rights. It has always been the case that those who cry ‘compromise’ mean nothing but that they will take just a wee bit less of our rights than they originally proposed. NFA, GCA, Hughes Amendment, AWB, Brady Act, etc, etc, bear that out. I will *never* have a so-called ‘cool head’ about this. ALL laws that even reference guns or weapons of military utility should be repealed, leaving only the Second Amendment. Prosecute violent offenders for malum in se crimes rather than creating so-called ‘criminals’ with malum prohibitum laws, no matter what means they use. And don’t sentence more harshly for the use of any weapons; you actually create a situation where killing someone with your bare hands is less egregious than using a tool. Why, exactly, is that okay? Under NO circumstances should any government entity know where, what, or how many guns the citizenry have. And I will use any means to further that goal. To quote one of the left’s favorite morons: “You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people.” Well, Mrs. Pelousy, we won’t hesitate to use whatever tactics necessary to secure our liberty. Even though, despite the ranting and whining of the anti-rights cultists regarding this vote, all of this was done via regular order. You had your gawdfersakin vote. Now go home, back to the Oval Office Mr. President. You’ve got work to do. Like covering up Fast and Furious and the Benghazi fiasco.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.

Five Minute Activism – April 1, 2013

Courtesy of the GOA, go here if you are an NRA member let them know what you think:

 

Five Minute Activism
Five Minute Activism

 

The national leadership of the NRA has been denying that they are in talks with Senator Manchin (D-WV) and others on a possible compromise regarding, in particular, Universal Background Checks. I do applaud the no compromise public stance the NRA has taken on this issue. But from past experience (most egregiously, the cooperation on the drafting of the 1968 GCA, but there have been many more — i.e. the Orwellian named DISCLOSE Act), I am not satisfied that my NRA has been vigorous enough and in-your-face enough with politicians who are even participating in any negotiations whatsoever. There should *be* no negotiation with ANYONE who wants ANY kind of gun control EVEN improvements to the current background check system. Mark my words: Any gun control whatsoever coming to the Senate floor will be a death knell for the Second Amendment.

The NRA should be sending a message to all US Senators with a better NRA rating than ‘F’. That message should be that NOT supporting the Rand-Lee-Cruz (and reportedly, Rubio and Inhofe have added their voices) will affect your NRA rating negatively by at least one grade letter and will be cause for immediate loss of any subsequent endorsement.

This is not a time for compromise and deal making, especially on the NRA’s part.

As a life member, I expect you to make a public statement challenging all D or greater rated Senators that their grades will be downgraded and potential endorsements lost should they not back the filibuster.

Thank you.

Stay Dangerous, My Friends.