Nationwide Tea Party Protest

The Nationwide Tea Party Protests that took place across the nation yesterday were a great success. Most of the National mainstream media failed to cover it, but there was coverage on Instapundit, PajamasTV, Fox News & MSNBC.

See more details & photos from Chicago, St Louis, Seattle, Omaha, Lansing, Philadelphia, Wichita, Tempe, Mesa, The White House, Greenville, DC, Nashville, Denver, & Austin.

Housing Chart Worth 1000 Words

The Shiller Housing Chart Worth 1000 Words. Take a look at the chart. In my humble opinion, not only are the government attempts to stop prices of homes from falling going to fail, but they will burden our children with yet more unpaid debt, and the intervention will probably make the inevitable market correction far worse. Look at the peak before the last depression. Then look at the peak we're currently falling from, and how much further home prices need to fall just to reach the normal trend, not to mention how much further they could fall if this leads to a greater depression than the great depression itself. High peaks often lead to deep valleys.

Glenn Beck has more:

Allen Mueller: Illinoisans Deserve the Right to Self Defense

Mining Engineering graduate student Allen Mueller wrote an excellent guest column titled: Illinoisans Deserve the Right to Self Defense:

I was pleased to see coverage of the Family and Personal Protection Act, and would like to clear up some misinformation that routinely appears when discussing the topic of concealed carry.

SIUC Police director Todd Sigler said it’s one thing to shoot at a paper target. "It’s another to make judgment calls of life and death, and it’s hard to say how people are going to respond," Sigler said.

In a classroom shooting situation, it’s pretty easy to tell who a psychopath is. If someone is in your classroom methodically executing every single person he walks by, then maybe he’s the one who should be put down. Other campus crimes aren’t too difficult to identify either. If a female is being forced to the ground and having her clothes ripped off, it’s pretty easy for her to tell who the rapist is . . .

It’s strange the way Illinois works. Off-duty police can carry firearms to protect themselves, celebrities and political figures have armed bodyguards, and bank guards can carry firearms to protect their cash. Are the lives of “regular” citizens in Illinois not as valuable as police officers, politicians, or money?

Mueller is a graduate student in mining engineering.

Check out the full article.

Update 1: More on this topic from USA Today & WorldNetDaily.

Obama Disrespects the 2nd Amendment, AGAIN

It's official, Holder confirmed that Obama wants to ban the manufacture of perfectly normal magazine fed mid powered semi automatic rifles that happen to have an adjustable length stock (great for sharing a single rifle among multiple family members) and a barrel shroud (which protects the rifle holder from burning themselves on the hot rifle barrel), a pistol grip (great for hanging on to your rifle), or a bayonet lug. So much for Obama's lame promise to "respect the 2nd Amendment," not that I ever believed him for a second.

What do Obama & Holder have against barrel shrouds? Does Obama own stock in an Aloe Vera burn cream company or something? What is so wrong with having an adjustable stock? Does he prefer me to have one rifle for every member of the family, each sized specifically for arm length? What exactly is wrong with a bayonet lug? Has there been a surge in drive by bayonet stabbings that I'm unaware of?

Talk about lame. More from Uncle.

Update 1: Response from Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep & Bear Arms. Response from the NSSF.

Update 2: Response from the NRA-ILA.

Update 3: Great responses written by Michael Gaddy, and Armed & Safe.

Update 4: Response from JPFO.

OR: HB 2463 - Reciprocity Bill in Oregon

Oregon is considering HB 2463 which if enacted would finally grant CCW reciprocity to visitors from other States. Currently Oregon has zero reciprocity, so if passed, this bill would be a giant leap in the right direction. Naturally Constitutional Carry would be the ultimate goal, but reciprocity would be a fine intermediary step.

Update 1: Unfortunately, HB 2463 was the victim of an amendment after which it died in committee. Hopefully they'll have better luck in 2010. Until this issue gets corrected Oregon will continue to loose my business as I drive the longer drive through Northern Idaho on my way to Washington to stay the heck out of Oregon.

IA: Iowa National Guard Training in Arcadia Called Off

The National Guard training exercise that had been scheduled to take place in the city of Arcadia Iowa, has been called off. The National Guard claims that the decision to cancel was due to troop evaluation, but I imagine it had more to do with public outcry.

IL: Bill Introduced to Require Million Dollar Liability Policies

If you can't ban guns, make them too expensive to own or use. That seems to be the ideology of the gun grabbers these days. In the past we've seen attempts to make ammunition too expensive to buy. Obama has been in favor of increasing Federal Excise taxes on weapons & ammunition by 500%. The latest attempt is to require liability insurance that would be prohibitively expensive to buy, if it could be obtained at all.

Illinois State House Democrat Kenneth Dunkin has introduced HB 0687 which if passed & signed into law would require all Illinois firearms owners to insure their firearms with $1,000,000.00 liability policies against damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of their firearms by anyone, even by someone who has stolen it, if such an act happens before the firearm owner has "properly reported" the theft to the Illinois State Police.

There are so many things wrong with HB 0687 I don't even know where to begin. Just as a beginning, do you really think any insurance provider would be willing to insure a gun against all willful acts? Last I checked even life insurance has exclusions for willful acts such as suicide by policy holder. Fire insurance excludes willful acts by policy holder such as arson. Could you imagine life insurance that didn't exclude suicide? No life insurance company would ever insure against suicide. It's a guaranteed loosing proposition.

Below is the synopsis of HB 0687:

Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Provides that any person who owns a firearm in this State shall maintain a policy of liability insurance in the amount of at least $1,000,000 specifically covering any damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of such firearm while it is owned by such person. Provides that a person shall be deemed the owner of a firearm after the firearm is lost or stolen until such loss or theft is reported to the police department or sheriff of the jurisdiction in which the owner resides. Provides that the Department of State Police shall revoke and seize a Firearm Owner's Identification Card previously issued under this Act if the Department finds that the person to whom such card was issued possesses or acquires a firearm and does not submit evidence to the Department of State Police that he or she has been issued in his or her name a liability insurance policy in the amount of at least $1,000,000 specifically covering any damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of such firearm while it is owned by such person. Effective January 1, 2010.

Glenn Beck discussed HB 0687 during an interview of Stephan Halbrook, author of The Founders' Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms.

Glenn Beck: A Look Behind the Curtain

Glenn Beck explains what is wrong with our current banking system:

Nationalized Socialist Bank

What customer service could look like from a Nationalized Socialist Bank (Audio from Glenn Beck):

NH: Bill to Secede Due to Usurpation of Power

New Hampshire is considering House Concurrent Resolution 6 - a resolution to secede if the Federal Government attempts additional usurpation of power under specific circumstances.

What a clear way to send a strong message to the US Congress & the White House that they had better not attempt a ban on the sale of semi automatic weapons (AKA AWB), nor any type of federal gun owner registration or licensing like that in proposed HR 45. I think we should introduce similar resolutions in as many States as possible.

More here.

OK: Parking Lot Storage Victory

From NRA-ILA:

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Fairfax, Va. – Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in support of allowing employees to store legally owned firearms in locked, private motor vehicles while parked in employer parking lots. This decision upholds NRA-backed legislation passed in 2004.

“This is a victory for the millions of American workers who have been denied the right to protect themselves while commuting between their homes and their workplace,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “This effort was aimed at skirting the will of the American people, and the intent of legislatures across this country while eviscerating Right-to-Carry laws. This ruling is a slap at the corporate elitists who have no regard for the constitutional rights of law abiding American workers.”

In March 2004, the Oklahoma legislature passed an amendment holding employers criminally liable for prohibiting employees from storing firearms in locked vehicles on company property. A number of corporations subsequently filed suit in opposition to the new laws, alleging they were: unconstitutionally vague; an unconstitutional taking of private property; and preempted by various federal statutes. The lower court ruled in favor of the injunction.

“This issue was contrived by the gun control lobby who goaded corporations into doing their dirty work for them,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “However, this ruling is a vindication for every hardworking and lawful man and woman whose basic right to self-defense was taken away on a whim by corporate lawyers. NRA is prepared to defend this right and to ensure the safety of every American worker.”

In October 2008, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Attorney General Drew Edmondson appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals the lower court decision to strike down the NRA-backed worker protection laws. Today’s proceedings handed down by Circuit Judges Paul J. Kelly, Bobby R. Baldock, and Michael W. McConnell reversed the lower court’s grant of a permanent injunction.

-nra-

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

Copyright 2009, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

UT: Parking Lot Storage Bill in Senate

SB 78 has passed out of committee with a favorable recomendation in the Utah Senate yesterday. You can listen to audio from the Senate Hearing. Check out the comments section of the SL Tribune story, as there are an inordinate number of Hoplophobes making & rating comments on the story. Take a moment to bring reason & balance to the debate.

You'll have to register with the Tribune to comment or rate comments, so use your spam e-mail account to do the registration. If you don't already have a spam account, sign up for a free spam account at gmail, yahoo, hotmail, lycos, your internet provider, or wherever you like. You could include spam in the username for your spam account - I find it fun to let anyone who is interested know that it's a spam account that you never actually read other than to respond to those required registration verifications.

Everyone needs a spam account. Normally you should not use your personal e-mail address to register for accounts online, as that's a guaranteed way to sign up for unsolicited e-mail. If you use your own personal e-mail address to register for something online, you might as well fill out a form saying "Please send me spam, I like it."

Also be sure to use a fake birthdate. I have a standard fake birthdate that I use for all online registration. The last thing I would want spread all over the internet is my real birthdate because your birthdate is an essential component for identity theft. Use a fake name as well, Super Man is a popular fake name, but you can use anything you like. Let your imagination run wild and have fun with it.

FL: Thug Attacked Wrong Teacher

A thug attacked the home of the wrong teacher when he broke into the home of Heath Miller, a popular middle school band teacher, early yesterday morning. Thankfully, Mr. Miller was armed & prepared to defend himself & his family:

Just before 2 a.m., Tomlin slipped into Miller's duplex, possibly through a rear sliding glass door, and Miller's dogs began barking. Miller and his wife, who recently bought a home near West Palm Beach and planned to move in two weeks, huddled in their bedroom as the intruder moved toward them in the dark.

Miller got out his pistol and prepared to fire. Through the bedroom doorway, he saw the silhouette of a gunman moving toward him, said Sgt. Pete Palenzuela, sheriff's office spokesman.

A gunfight ensued. It wasn't immediately clear who fired the first shot, but after a brief exchange of gunfire, the masked intruder stumbled toward the glass door, where he collapsed and died, Palenzuela said.

Thank goodness Mr. Miller was attacked in his own home rather than while he worked in a so-called "Gun Free School Zone" where law abiding adults in most parts of our Country are routinely disarmed & rendered defenseless by bad laws & policies.

Taurus Judge vs Melon Head Gang.

New Commercial Spot from Taurus: Self Defense in a parking garage using a Taurus Judge against the Melon Head Gang:


I love the slow motion video of the melon explosions.

AZ: Phoenix Arizona Kidnapping Capital of US

At over 370 reported cases last year alone, Phoenix Arizona ranks 2nd in the World in the number of annual reported abductions, second only to Mexico City. Additionally, Mexico is considered by some to be on the brink of collapse:

. . . Mexican Drug Cartel (MDC´s) their gangs are kidnapping and killing citizens on both sides of the U.S. Mexican border. The kidnappings and killings of Americans should be providing an unexpected challenge to President Barack Obama's new government. In its latest report anticipating possible global security risks, the U.S. Joint Forces Command states that Mexico is at risk of a "rapid and sudden collapse." . . .

. . . In what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave, Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone . . .

Arizona´s Phoenix has become the kidnapping capital of the USA. Phoenix and Tucson police report over 400 kidnappings of Americans are being investigated and officials fear many more kidnappings and murders of Americans are already out of control.

An ABC News' investigation uncovered horrific cases of chopped-off hands, legs and heads when a victim's family doesn't pay up fast enough . . .

Some authorities admit privately that no one really knows how many Americans have been kidnapped here in the USA and taken to Mexico and how many were killed. Some of the kidnappings were for ransom, but most violence and killings were retaliation by the MDC´s.

"We're in the eye of the storm," Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexican Drug Cartels that have expanded business across the border. "If it doesn't stop here, if we're not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation," he said . . .

Do you have guns & ammo? If so, good. You may one day suddenly find yourself in need of them. If you don't have any, you may want to get some, if you can find them. It is far better to have the tools of self defense and not need them, than to suddenly find yourself in great need of them & not have them.

Every time I go to Walmart I check their ammo counter to see if they have any 9mm, .45, or .22 in stock so that I can boost my ammo cache. Ever since last fall they're usually all sold out. A couple of days ago my wife scored some ammo for me during her shopping trip - Walmart happened to have four 550 rd bricks of .22. I had her buy all four. The stuff lasts forever, I'll get old long before it does.

AZ: Time to Make Some Noise!

From the AZCDL:

While the Legislature has been focusing on the budget, almost no attention has been paid to non-budget bills, yet the deadline for a bill to be heard in committee is March 13th. There over 1,000 bills that need to pass out of a committee in the next 4 weeks to stay in play. Virtually all firearms related bills are in this huge stack of bills waiting to be heard.

The good news is that the House finally assigned bills, including those which AzCDL is lobbying for, to committees. HB 2439, the AzCDL-requested CCW alternative training bill, has been assigned to the House Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) committee. HB 2474, which prevents guns from being banned in locked vehicles in parking areas, has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.

The bad news is that in the Senate, non-budget bills have not been assigned to any committees. It's time to let the Senate leadership know that you expect them to assign Constitutional Carry (SB 1270) and Defensive Display (SB 1243), along with other pro-rights bills, to committees for hearings.

The Senate leadership consists of:
Senate President, Senator Robert "Bob" Burns
Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Gray (sponsor and supporter of many AzCDL-requested bills)
Majority Whip, Senator Pamela Gorman
President Pro Tempore, Senator Thayer Verschoor

We urge all of you receiving this Alert to contact the Senate leadership, politely urging them to delay no further and start assigning pro-rights bills to committees for hearings immediately. A personal letter is always best. Below is a cut-and-paste template you may use as an example. Following the sample letter are the email addresses of the Senate leadership in both semi-colon and comma separated formats. Use the one compatible with your email software.
_______________________________________________
Subject: Please immediately assign SB 1270, SB 1243 and other pro-rights bills to Senate committees

Dear Senator,

The Arizona Citizens Defense League has informed me that bills not related to the budget have yet to be assigned to any Senate committees, yet by your own rules the deadline for hearing bills in committee is March 13th. That gives Senate committees barely 4 weeks to hear testimony, debate, and vote on, the fate of about 500 bills. The possibility that many pro-rights bills may not be heard this session, due to decisions made by the Senate leadership, is unfathomable.

I urge you, as a member of the Senate leadership, to have SB 1270 and SB 1243, along with other pro-rights bills, immediately assigned to Senate committees. SB 1270 and SB 1243 are critical to restoring and protecting my right to keep and bear arms, and I look forward to them being passed into law this session.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, AZ zip-code
telephone number
_______________________________________

Below are the email addresses of the Senate leadership in both semi-colon and comma separation formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for those who encounter email address formatting problems. Use the list that is compatible with your email software.

Semi-colon format:
rburns@azleg.gov; cgray@azleg.gov; pgorman@azleg.gov; tverschoor@azleg.gov

Comma format:
rburns@azleg.gov, cgray@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov, tverschoor@azleg.gov

List of members' email addresses:
rburns@azleg.gov
cgray@azleg.gov
pgorman@azleg.gov
tverschoor@azleg.gov

Keep an eye on AzCDL's Legislative page for updates on legislation we are watching: http://www.azcdl.org/html/2009_bills.html .

When critical legislation comes before committees, we'll notify you via these Alerts.

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today!

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

I've called, e-mailed, and faxed all of the Senate leadership, with a cc to my own Senator, Senator Harper.

Update 1: I've received good news from two Senators so far:

From Senator Gorman:

As a fellow defender of 2nd amendment rights, a gun owner, and CCW permit holder, you have my assurance that pro-gun bills are NOT being held up by Senate leadership. Below is the email I am sending back to anyone who inquires about gun bill assignments. Please pass it on. There is no sense getting everyone all worked up needlessly as life has enough stress of its own these days, I think we can all agree. I hope that by understanding this, your blog readers can take this off their list of worries. Thank you!

"The Senate will begin hearing bills after the budget has been passed. There will be the normal number of weeks to hear both senate and house bills, as we will waive the rules to allow for the change in calendar that is necessitated by our state's fiscal crisis.

Please pass this information back to whatever source has encouraged you and others to send this same message to me. I don't want the citizen defense league to worry that these bills are in jeopardy just because of the unusual calendar we are keeping this year.

Thank You,
Pamela Gorman

From Senator Harper:

Dustin,

We are going to suspend the rules to set new dates for bills to be heard by.

Jack

AZ: Parking Lot Storage Bill HB 2474

HB 2474 Parking Lot Storage has been introduced in Arizona which if passed would prohibit property owners from banning firearm storage within locked privatly owned vehicles, and also removes all related liability from the property owner.

Below is a portion of the HB 2474 text:

13-3114. Transportation or storage of firearms; motor vehicles; civil liability; applicability

A. A property owner, tenant, public or private employer or business entity shall not prohibit a person who lawfully possesses a firearm from transporting or storing the firearm in a locked and privately owned motor vehicle that is parked in a parking lot, parking garage or other area designated for parking motor vehicles.

B. A property owner, tenant, public or private employer or business entity or the agent or employee of a property owner, tenant, public or private employer or business entity is not liable in a civil action for damages resulting from or arising out of an act involving a firearm that is transported or stored pursuant to this section in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle that is parked in a parking lot, parking garage or other area designated for parking motor vehicles . . .

The NRA-ILA is asking for volunteers who currently work for employers who ban weapons in privately owned vehicles while parked on their parking lots to send in copies of the policy & to testify on behalf of the bill.

Update 1: HB 2474 House Judiciary Hearing Scheduled for March 5th @ 9 AM.

Update 2: Passed by House.

Stimulus Bill Bad for Gun Owners

GOA has the scoop on why the Stimulus bill President Obama is pushing in addition to being just plain bad for our Country & economy, is also bad for gun owners. If you have not yet contacted your representatives to say NO to the stimulus bill, do so now. Before it's too late. If you don't communicate with your representatives to let them know how you feel now, you won't have a leg to belly-ache on if this stinking pile of sewage called a stimulus bill manages to get passed.

Update 1: The House passed the new version of the stimulus bill despite the fact that not a single Republican voted for it, and 7 Democrats even voted against it. As a slap in the face to all Americans, the House Democrats that voted for it didn't even bother to READ IT before they voted yes!



Update 2: Now that Obama has signed the stimulus bill into law, GOA has additional detail on the bad news.

Good First Shooting Experience

Looks like Your Neighborhood Reverend had a good first handgun shooting experience. I'm glad to hear it.