Archive for Gun Rights
Dave Killion — April 21, 2013
Happy news in the U.S., as anti-rights Senators were unable to assemble enough votes to attain the super-majority required to pass gun-control legislation. This led to some very emotional responses by supporters of the legislation, in which opponents of the proposal have been attacked with every sort of ad hominem. This is nothing new. For example, consider this passage from a recent article -
“You won’t find anyone willing to dare say it much in the media, but a good percentage of the white men who oppose gun control of any sort – and who back measures that would even allow alleged terrorists and straw purchases for drug dealers to buy guns – are just afraid that without their guns, their phallic power will be reduced to size.
You can feel at least temporarily reassured when a long-barreled assault weapon compensates for just another average manhood; it’s an irresistable testosterone high to the beleaguered white male.”
I am a white male, and there are a few very kind, generous women in this world who can confirm that it is only my visible appendages that are larger than average. Does this count as beleaguered? One is uncertain. This much I know: although I have a couple of long guns that would certainly bolster my sense of phallic power (were it lacking), I also have a couple pieces so weak-kneed that I would hesitate to shoot anybody with them for fear they might notice, became angry, and kick my ass.
More importantly, I’ve heard variations on this argument long enough to know they always come from a predictable type, and that type is always waaaay more concerned with the size of my genitalia than I am. Instead of wasting time accusing decent people of compensating, I think they would be better served examining their own tendencies toward projection and penis envy.
Dave Killion — March 16, 2013
“The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed–where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once”
Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in his 2003 dissent for Silveira v. Lockyer. I understand that English is a second language for the Romanian-born Kozinski, and I am humbled by his mastery.
Also, a reminder: in Canada (and in many U.S. cities and states) acquiring a firearms licence is a tedious and time-consuming process. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to realize you really need/want a firearm, only to be months away from being able to obtain one. Because of this, I would suggest that even those who have no intention of ever owning a firearm take immediate steps to acquire their licence.Be prepared.
Dave Killion — March 5, 2013
“You get a tank, you end up with an ex-wife.”
Lance Miller, private citizen and Sherman Tank owner
It gets crappy mileage, but it does have a sunroof.
I have been in the thick of several discussions concerning ‘reasonable’ restrictions on firearms ownership, and more than once my interlocutor has queried as to whether or not I would allow my neighbours to own bazookas. Well, of course I would! My neighbours are good, law-abiding citizens, and certainly no threat to me. None of that would change simply because they owned a bazooka. In fact, I imagine my world would be marginally safer if such were the case. But there is no need to theorize, when the evidence is right in front of us – in the U.S. there is estimated to be up to 1,000 private citizens who own tanks, many of which are fully operational.
Dave Killion — March 4, 2013
Officer, when I say you cannot buy this gun, I mean it!
In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the New York State Legislature has passed regulation further encroaching on the rights of N.Y. residents. In this respect, it is much like many other state, county, and local governments, and like those other governments, the N.Y. Legislature has exempted several categories of its employees, e.g. police officers. In retaliation, over 100 U.S. firearms distributers have announced policies to close this ‘police loophole’, by refusing to sell to those governments any firearm or accessory denied by law to non-government personnel. While some of these vendors limit the restriction to New York State, many others apply their policies nation-wide. Less widely-known is the fact that several distributors (such as Cheaper Than Dirt, Ammo Clip, and Extreme Firepower,) have had such policies in place since well before Sandy Hook. From the Extreme Firepower website -
“The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types of firearms. Law-enforcement agencies are typically exempt from these restrictions. EFI, LLC does not recognize law-enforcement exemptions to local, state, and federal gun control laws. If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”
I hope this is a good move for these vendors, but if not, I still admire their sacrifice. It would be wonderful if Canadian firearms distributors took similar actions, and I will certainly encourage those places at which I shop to do so.
