Alphecca

Weekly Check on the Bias

You know... I had a really good rant planned and half written for this week's edition of the Alphecca "Weekly Check on the Bias" by media against guns and the Second Amendment. But in hindsight, people expect a little more (and better) of me in this report. So I scrapped it and instead will give you the condensed, cleaned-up version:

This past holiday weekend we've been celebrating and honoring the men and women who have given their lives defending our nation. By extension that means the Constitution and Bill of Rights as well. Yet there are many among us, state legislaters, senators and congressmen, as well as presidential candidates who would make those sacrifices meaningless by limiting or scrapping many of our hard-fought and defended rights. Whether it is the right of free speach, the right to not be subject to unreasonable searches, or -- as is the mantra of this weekly post -- the right to bear arms, all of them helped to form, nurture, and build our democracy.

I'm in the furniture business so how's this for an analogy: Think of our free country as a table and the Bill of Rights as the legs holding it up. Lose one of those amendments -- legs -- and the table starts to wobble and becomes unstable. ["Brilliant, Jeff, just brilliant!" --ed. "Thank you, I knew I could count on you." --js]

For instance, there was this SF Gate editorial from last week:

On any given day, the rumble of traffic and city clatter on Geneva Avenue is subject to being interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

The neighborhood is not far from the Cow Palace, which for 18 years has hosted gun shows -- sometimes twice a year -- at its exhibit hall.

To at least one California senator, it makes no sense for a state that is struggling to prevent and prosecute gun violence to be sanctioning gun shows that add to the proliferation of deadly weapons in society. Guns, even if originally sold legally, sometimes are lost, stolen or resold and end up in the wrong hands...

...[Sen.] Speier's bill cleared the Senate and now sits in the Assembly as a community's desperate call for help and respect. Legislators should heed that call and send it on to the governor for signing.

Well, cars are "originally sold legally" and are sometimes "stolen or resold" and often wind up in the hands of drunks and crack-heads. Perhaps car shows should be... Well, you know. Obviously Speire and the (unsigned) editorial writer imply that a state owned space shouldn't be used or rented out for gun shows. This would seem to shake two of the legs of our table by violating the right of lawful people to view and purchase firearms, as well as practicing free speach.

We see this often in our high schools where students aren't allowed to even mention guns or soldiers or what have you in their reports and essays.

Sometimes when the anti-gun crowd can't achieve their aims with legislation, they resort to the civil courts instead. From Reuters:

The chief Western U.S. federal appeals court stood by its decision on Friday allowing a wrongful death lawsuit to proceed against a gun manufacturer.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to have a larger en banc panel of judges reconsider its 2 to 1 November ruling that allowed a lawsuit against Glock Inc. and gun sellers. The suit alleges negligence for using a distribution scheme that made it likely their guns would end up in the hands of illegal buyers.

Believe it or not, although using the word "scheme" might lead you to believe otherwise, this Reuters story was fair enough to include this:

"The potential impact of the panel's decision is staggering," Consuelo Callahan wrote for the dissenting judges. "Any manufacturer of an arguably dangerous product that finds its way into California can be hauled into court in California to defend against a civil action brought by a victim of the criminal use of that product."

"Thus General Motors would be sued by someone who was hit by a Corvette that had been stolen by a juvenile," she wrote.

"The plaintiff would allege that General Motors knew that cars that can greatly exceed the legal speed limit are dangerous, and through advertising and by offering discounts, increased the attractiveness of the car and the number of Corvettes on the road and this increased the likelihood that a juvenile would steal a Corvette and operate it in an injurious manner."

We pro-2A writers are fond of the car analogy. At this point, the Brady Bunch would jump up and say, "Aha, gotcha! We register automobiles and license drivers!" True., but slow down, Sherlock. Auto registration started in 1906 (Illinois I believe) as a "tax." And registering cars and licensing drivers hasn't prevented drunk driving deaths or other accidents. What has is enforcement of drunk driving laws.

I could also argue that registering and licensing are done on a state -- as opposed to national -- basis but if following that logic, than a person licensed to carry in one state ought to be able to carry in all 50 states. Clearly that isn't the case. I could carry this further by declaring that driving a car is a privilege whereas bearing arms is a right.

The basis of many of the lawsuits targeting gun makers -- especially those filed by cities -- is that their products place a financial burden on a municipality in fighting gun related crime. This argument is specious because -- carrying my auto analogy even farther up the road -- those costs pale in comparison to the expense and manpower of policing our streets and highways in traffic enforcement, investigating traffic accidents, the cleanup afterwards, and on and on. Indeed, just maintaining our roads (building, paving, etc.) requires massive expenditures by city, state, and federal government agencies.

Anti-gunners would do well to (ahem) steer clear of the auto analogy...

Another way that the gun control crowd has tried to loosen the Second Amendment leg is to come up with "tax" schemes. Sometimes subtle ones. I discussed this story last week about a proposal in the California House to require people who buy ammunition to give, amongst other things, a thumbprint:

Senate Bill 1152 passed the California Senate last week by a vote of 22-16 and now has been sent to the Assembly.

The bill requires that "all vendors of ammunition maintain specified information" on ammunition buyers, including: (1) the date of the transaction; (2) the name, address, and date of birth of the buyer; (3) the buyer's driver's license or other identification number and the state in which it was issued; (4) the brand, type, and amount of ammunition bought or transferred; (5) the buyer's signature; (6) the name of the salesperson who processed the transaction; and (7) "the vendor shall also at the time of purchase or transfer obtain the right thumbprint of the purchaser or transferee."

The information would have to be recorded on a special form provided by the State Department of Justice.

I won't repeat everything I said. Rather, I'll just point out that any such program by the state will incur a lot of costs which will (of course) be passed on to the law abiding purchasers. This is an "end-around" to more blatent schemes (see, I can use it too) of simply taxing bullets.

Hey, could you use some GOOD NEWS about now? Via KABA, the legs of the table are still strong in someplaces -- even in California! From Redding.Com:

In Los Angeles, it might be cause for concern.

But the shotgun club at West Valley High School is a tradition that's been in place since the school was built in 1984. In fact, the shooting range and skeet launcher are on school property.

For club adviser and shop teacher John Fickes, nothing could be more natural.

"It's a good sport for the kids," Fickes said.

Aside from learning to be better shooters, club members, both boys and girls, learn gun safety, discipline and camaraderie. He also mentioned, on a more basic level, that getting together as a club to shoot and compete is fun.

Riflery clubs in high schools used to be common. Amazingly, in those days, there was no wanton mayhem! Go figure... Maybe it was because kids learned to respect and safely handle firearms. These days, kids are only taught fear, both at school and at home.

The Second Amendment is also alive and well in Anderson, South Carolina. From The State.Com:

Prosecutors say they will not charge a man who shot and killed an ax-wielding intruder in his bedroom.

Lance Myers of Anderson acted in self-defense when he shot 41-year-old Ernest Leroy Miles, Prosecutor Druanne White said.

Myers told police he pulled a handgun from his nightstand and shot Miles in the neck after spotting an intruder coming at him with an ax on March 7.

The Brady Bunch would no doubt have preferred that Myers simply dial 9-1-1 with an axe sticking out of his head...

Now here's something you don't see everyday: I found this lamp (because it's all about me) at a flea-market:

Your first glance was correct:

It looks as if it's riddled with bullet holes. As best as I can tell, they must have "splattered" the glass with bb's or buckshot while it was being blown. Neat, huh?

So here's what's happening over at some of the other pro-2A blogs:

The Countertop Chronicles takes a trip south for guns, bbq, and sweet tea. And a good time was had by all.

Kevin at The Smallest Minority has been mixing it up with Tim Lambert. Haven't we all, at one time or another. Kevin's got the statistics.

James at Hell In A Handbasket comments on the fracas above.

Say Uncle reports that eBay is restricting gun part sales even more... Hard to believe?

Naturally, Les Jones has his always excellent Gun Links up.

Triticale reports on some of the results of his "what if" gun survey.

Publicola has his own set of gun links up.

The Backroad Blog says there's discussion of Utah dropping permit requirements for concealed carry. He's skeptical. I don't blame him. We saw what happened in N.H.

While not exactly about guns, I think most of my readers would agree with The Acidman about being a free man.

Kim du Toit follows up on a justified (defensive) shooting. And he has advice for folks who carry 9mm's.

Bitter Bitch reports that some parents consider fish shaped water pistols a "weapon." God help us all!

And lastly, because it's still really all about me... According to my friend Craig at Lead and Gold, the Summer issue of Outdoor Life Magazine has me listed under "web sites we love." Naturally, possessing the massive ego that I do, plus being a link-whore, I delayed this week's edition even more and rushed to the supermarket. They don't carry it. I drove up to the drug store in the next town but they still have the May issue. Now I'm going crazy. Guess I'll have to subscribe... But I am flattered.

Anyway, I guess this is a wrap. Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by Jeff Soyer at June 1, 2004 09:29 AM