Random Shots

NRA Spying on Anti-Gun Groups?

In a recent Mother Jones article, now picked up by the blame-stream media, there are allegations that the NRA hired a consulting firm to plant a "spy" inside anti-gun groups.

The Mother Jones article, There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole claims that Mary McFate was paid by a consulting firm employed by the NRA and she infiltrated several anti-gun groups.

One of the quotes from the article comes from Ceasefire New Jersey's Bryan Miller who said the operation "would confirm for me the way that the gun lobby works, which is no rules, no question of fairness or honesty." Talk about the kettle calling the pot black! Since when has any gun-control organization not lied or distorted the facts?

In reality, is anyone surprised? I've been to local NRA and other pro-gun meetings and spotted anti-gun activists in the audience. Usually they come in pairs for mutual support in "enemy territory". They are usually easy to spot - often taking notes or squirming uncomfortably in their chairs. And they seldom talk to many people about firearms or about fighting a new bill.

Nor would it surprise me to find a Brady Campaign mole working quietly in some corner of the NRA offices. Though I would expect that person to be earning much less for the anti-gun side. If such a "spy" was uncovered, I wouldn't spend much time blasting the anti-gun lobby. I'd be insisting that the NRA (or similar organization) improve their background checks of people in sensitive positions.

Oklahoma Gun Inspection?

A news article described the murder of two young girls in Oklahoma. Both girls were shot to death alongside a road four miles outside of town. As terrible as that is, what the Oklahoma authorities have done in response to these shootings is nothing short of incredible. Another news story says that state authorities sent letters to owners of some .40 caliber pistols, asking them to "voluntarily" submit their guns for "inspection" (ballistic testing).

This should send chills down any citizen's spine. It shows what happens when you combine gun registration with a disregard for the constitution.

Oklahoma authorities are asking people via letter to submit their guns for ballistic testing, absent any probable cause to believe any particular citizen's gun was involved. According to one article, people who don't bring in their gun will be put on a suspect list. That's fine by me. If you want to test-fire my gun, get a warrant as required by the constitution!

Disgusting Anti-Gun Billboard Debuts in Boston

I was going to write something pithy and clever for this one, but I'm too nauseated by the blatant lies and distortions. Read this Boston Globe article and make up your own mind. Richard Nixon was right when asked if he'd ever visited a communist country and he answered "Massachusetts."

Guns in Texas School? Yes...Maybe

As we reported in this HCA news item, the tiny Harrold school district in Texas has authorized teachers to carry firearms. But that action has drawn the wrath of the Brady bunch...er... Brady Campaign in Washington D.C. The Brady group claims that the action violates state law, however the district's lawyer disagrees. You can read the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article about it here.

But the one thing in that article that stood out was near the end. Not only was it stupid, but alarmingly stupid. Here's what I'm talking about:

Most area teachers would oppose a policy that encouraged them to carry guns at school, said Larry Shaw, director of the United Educators Association. The group represents 16,000 teachers in Fort Worth and surrounding areas.

"I think it would scare teachers to death," he said. "One, it’s too much responsibility. And there’s also the possibility of accidents."

Mr. Shaw is the director of a teacher's association and says that carrying a concealed firearm is "too much responsibility"? Hello!? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't teachers supposed to be responsible people? Aren't teachers responsible for the safety of their kids in school? If teachers can't figure out how to safely handle and carry an inanimate object, why are they teaching our children?

BATFE Rulemaking Expands Definition

of Gun Manufacturer

The BATFE has somewhat expanded the definition of "manufacturer" for which special licenses and permits are required. Some of the definitions are reasonable - like companies who make frames or receivers - but some are downright puzzling.

For instance, a small machine shop is a sub-contractor for Company X who gives them receivers to machine. Apparently even if they just drill holes in the frame, BATFE says the small machine-shop operation is now a "gun manufacturer".

Likewise, if you're a gunsmith and you buy, say Rock Island 1911's and modify the slides to accept Novak night sights for resale, congratulations, you've just become a "gun manufacturer". Even if you just "customize" the RIA with "drop-in" parts, you're a gun-manufactuer. The same applies if you buy several Mosin or Mauser rifles and sporterize them for resale.

They also classify replacing the stock and rebluing old guns as "manufacturing" if it's done for resale. And lastly, if you heat-treat or "colorize" frames (which includes not only bluing, plating or phosphate coatings but camouflaging too) you have to be licensed as a manufacturer.

The key element here is "for resale". If the customer brings in a gun and asks a gunsmith to install different sights, "sporterize" the gun and/or change the finish, that does not meet their criteria.

But such rules can catch small businesses by surprise. It requires a potential sub-contractor to ask the gunsmith or gun shop how he is conducting his business. And it makes you wonder - if a gunsmith uses your company to reblue a few customer's guns every week, then mixes in a batch of old Colt Police Positives, how is the refinisher supposed to know that the shop is reselling them and not refinishing them for a single collector?

There is no doubt in my mind that if this happened, the BATFE would declare the refinisher was, by extension, a "manufacturer" without a license. And they wouldn't care that the guns he received were a mixed batch that "happened" to contain half a dozen police trade-ins.

Hot Dog! Challenges to NYC Permits

A hot dog vendor may be the one to teach NYC mayor Bloomberg a lesson in constitutional law. Daniel Vargas, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic was charged with a misdemeanor crime of simply possessing an "unlicensed" handgun in his NYC home. The full story here, says that it was found as a result of a tip to police about an unlicensed gun, which was found in the basement.

Mr. Vargas isn't accused of illegally using the gun or threatening anyone with it. Just possessing it because he did not subject himself to the indignities of begging the NYC Police Commissioner's office for a permit. His lawyers are citing the Heller decision from the Supreme Court which says Mr. Vargas has a right to keep a gun in his home.