Free Market America: "If I Wanted America to Fail"

By Free Market America.

My Thoughts on a Dirt-bag Terrorist

I send out my thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the victims themselves, who were the targets of the cold blooded attack by the dirt-bag terrorist in Tucson two and a half weeks ago. I won't use the name of the dirt-bag because I believe he has less dignity than a bag of dirt. A bag of dirt is never a cold blooded murderer. A bag of dirt would not be a terrorist. If the dirt-bag terrorist had as much dignity as a bag of dirt I would list the name his parents gave him, but he does not, so on this blog he will be known only as a dirt-bag.

As an Arizona resident, I have had a unique perspective as I have watched the media coverage unfold. The misinformation from the left that has been fed to us over the last two and a half weeks has been unbelievable even if not unexpected. Since the very first day of the attack, I believe the Lamestream media has managed to find and interview nearly every anti-gun cockroach in our entire Country, most of them spewing incoherent babble. In Tucson Sheriff Dupnik immediately blamed organizations and entire groups of people for the actions of the dirt-bag terrorist without even a hint of evidence to back up his words. Out of California, McCarthy, already famous for her description of a barrel shroud as a shoulder thing that goes up, proposed new legislation that would make it illegal to sell magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Out of Long Island, we have Peter King proposing a thousand foot magical bubble that would surround all special people that Peter believes have more value than the rest of us, and the list of cockroaches crawling out of the woodwork just keeps growing as the days go by.

If we can all just step back one moment and take a rational look at the issues being discussed, perhaps I can offer some perspective. How can any new law make illegal actions more illegal than they already are? How can we prevent mad men from doing mad things? You can't stop crazy people from doing crazy things by making up crazy new laws. It's preposterous. There is no possible way to prevent acts of terrorism by determined dirt-bags. Any new restrictions on guns would only restrict the law abiding, just as the current laws that prohibit illegal drugs are ignored by the drug cartels that are running the multi trillion dollar drug market. We can't predict who will be the next terrorist dirt-bag, but we can prepare via training and preparation so that if the next terrorist pops up to attack innocent lives while one of us is nearby we can respond by defending ourselves, stopping the terrorist quickly with some well placed return fire. We just have to be prepared and aware of our surroundings.

As Ronald Reagan said:

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

May we all continue to fight to maintain ALL of our Freedoms! May God Continue to Bless & Watch Over our Great Nation!

Got Freedom?

Some people think we should have less freedom and more government regulations. I say we need less regulations, smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom! With freedom, the American People can accomplish anything!

To the NRA: I Propose We Celebrate our Rights Where we can Actually Exercise Them!

While I'm sure Charlotte, NC was a beautiful location for the 2010 NRA Convention, the 2010 NRA Annual Meeting attendees who recently traveled there to celebrate the very freedom our Second Amendment protects were not actually free to exercise them. That's right, due to NC State law, convention attendees were met with Gun Free Zone signs at the doors, forcing them to either leave their guns in their hotel room if they were not unfortunate enough to have been staying at a Marriott, or leave them hidden away in their vehicles.

NC State law defines at least 10 different types of so-called "gun free zones" - places only criminals will be armed. In such government created gun free zones, all law abiding citizens are forced to become disarmed sheep ready for slaughter by any criminal armed with a knife, sword, gun, sling shot, broken bottle, or box cutters. In addition to preventing attendees from exercising their basic rights, the choice in location also provided unfortunate fodder for the anti-gun Violence Policy Center who never misses an opportunity to stretch anything they can into a far fetched lie.

Due to the fact that our freedoms are being restored throughout the United States at a rapid pace, would it be too much to ask the NRA to choose only locations for conventions where we can actually exercise our freedoms while we celebrate them? Why not reward the States with our tourist dollars that actually respect our rights? I believe the absolute minimum freedoms we should require at any location for an NRA Convention would be the freedom to bear arms openly & concealed in areas not serving alcohol, and either openly or concealed in areas where alcohol is served. I make that distinction only because some states require open carry where alcohol is served, while other states may require concealed carry in such locations.

Next year, the convention will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, a state with laws that do not create any gun free zones other than in court houses and elementary schools, which wouldn't directly impact an NRA Convention. I'm looking forward to my visit to Pittsburgh PA in 2011.

I'm a little worried however about the 2012 convention planned to take place in St. Louis, MO, as MO law defines 18 different gun free zones including bars, as well as Arenas and Stadiums seating over 5,000 people. Does a Convention Center count as an Arena if more than 5,000 people can walk in?

May I be so bold as to suggest Arizona for a return visit by a future NRA Convention? Starting on the 28th of July 2010 you won't even need a permit here to exercise your right to bear arms either concealed or openly, so long as no alcohol is served at the venue. If alcohol is served for on-site consumption, you can still carry concealed if you have a valid CCW permit issued by any State in our Country, so long as you don't drink while you carry, thanks to our restaurant carry bill that was signed into law last year.

Now that my friends, is freedom worth celebrating!

AZ: Governor Brewer Signed Constitutional Carry!

It's official. Arizona joined Alaska & Vermont in recognizing the right to bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment this afternoon when Governor Brewer signed SB 1108 into law. Although you are still free to apply for an Arizona CCW permit to receive reciprocity in States that recognize it, you will no longer be required to ask the Arizona State Police for their permission to bear arms in defense of yourself and your families once this law takes effect this fall (on July 28, 2010), even if your gun happens to be covered by your shirt or jacket. The current legislative session is expected to end in the next few weeks, so this law should take effect sometime in late July or early August. Watch this post as I'll update it with the effective date once it is official (July 28, 2010).

This is a great day for freedom in Arizona. Here is a link to the press release from Governor Brewer. Be sure to send her a note to say thanks for supporting Freedom.

Update 1: Alan Korwin has issued an excellent summary of the change to the law.

Update 2: NRA Press Release.

Update 3: Check out the comments from the hoplophobes!

Update 4: I'm already hearing from people who plan to conceal carry once the law takes effect.

Update 5: The 49th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session Adjourned on Thursday, April 29, 2010. As a result, Constitutional Carry will take effect on Thursday, July 29, 2010

Update 6: Expanded Freedoms are Now in effect!

AZ: Constitutional Carry Passed!

The Arizona House of Representatives passed SB 1108 Constitutional Carry this afternoon by a vote of 36 to 19 with 5 abstaining. This is great news for Freedom Lovers all across the US, and especially for those of us live in or visit Arizona.

Next stop, Governor Brewer's desk. Send her an e-mail and ask for her support.

More from the NRA-ILA.

Update 1: Governor Brewer signed Constitutional Carry into law!

AZ: Firearms Freedom Act Signed into Law

HB 2307, Arizona's version of the Firearms Freedom Act was signed into law today by Governor Brewer. This is good news for Arizonans, as we join 5 other States who have already passed similar bills, and roughly two dozen other States who are currently considering them. It's a great way for Arizona to tell the Feds that they need to stay within the bounds of the US Constitution and leave our State alone. The Federal Government has gone way beyond the original intent of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and has been treading we the People under their muddy boots. It is time for us to bring a well overdue end to their arrogance.

HB 2543, State Firearms Preemption, was also signed into law by Governor Brewer.

An excerpt of the new Arizona State Firearms Preemption law is below:

"A. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, a political subdivision of this state shall not enact any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, PURCHASE, ACQUISITION, GIFT, DEVISE, STORAGE, LICENSING, REGISTRATION, DISCHARGE or use of firearms or ammunition or any firearm or ammunition components OR RELATED ACCESSORIES in this state."

Open Carry Deters Crime

If you don't conceal your weapon, you give up the element of surprise in the event you are attacked and need to defend yourself. However, by carrying your firearm openly, you may deter a crime from happening in the first place, which would then lead to a better outcome. It is difficult to determine exactly how many crimes are deterred each year by those who carry openly due to the obvious fact that in such circumstances the crimes don't even take place.

We do however have at least one documented example in Kennesaw GA where a crew of armed thugs decided NOT to commit armed robbery in a waffle house because the thug who went in to scout the place before the crime saw Matt Brannan and J.P. Mitchell openly carrying their firearms. You can listen to Mark Walters of USCCA's Armed American Radio interview Matt Brannan and J.P. Mitchell for more details on the event. Over the years I have also heard multiple first hand accounts of possible criminals who seemed determined to commit a crime as they approached their potential victims, but suddenly turned away when they noticed a holstered firearm.

If you think about it from the point of view of the thugs it makes sense. Why would they want to attack a group of people where they know at least one person is armed for self defense when they can easily find another group of potential victims where all are likely unarmed? Why would they want to significantly increase the odds of being shot by one of their intended victims? Before you say it, yes, there are situations where a crazy person determined to attack a particular location would attack irregardless, shooting at the known armed people first, but that situation is rare relative to the typical crimes committed by criminals who are simply looking for an easy target.

If you do choose to Open Carry, I recommend that you utilize and train with a retention holster. I like the Blackhawk SERPA holsters as they hold your weapon securely, yet allow you to remove your weapon quickly & easily with a little practice. What is your favorite retention holster? Let me know in the comment section.

Learn more about Open Carry at OpenCarry.org.

TX: Austin PD Openly Attacks Freedom

In a flagrant attack on freedom and gun shows, the Austin Texas Police Department in conjunction with BATFE thugs illegally prohibited the private party transfer of personal property by law abiding American Citizens while attending Gun Shows. They had zero legislation with which to support this unconstitutional attack on our freedom, so both organizations are clearly acting outside of the law. You can listen to Alex Jones discuss this on his Jan 18th 2010 radio show in hours 1-4.

This is the type of attack I would not have been surprised to see in Washington DC or Chicago, but not Texas. Most of the Texans I know will not stand for this blatant attack on our liberty.

Update 1: Howard Nemerov has new details - it now looks like the property owner bears more blame than the Austin PD.