The War on Guns is running a guest editorial today. It makes some very good points and comparisons which I hadn’t thought about before.

The crucial question in the colonists’ minds, wrote John Dickerson in 1768, was ‘not, what evil HAS ACTUALLY ATTENDED particular measures — but what evil, in the nature of things, IS LIKELY TO ATTEND them.’ Because ‘nations, in general, are not apt to THINK until they FEEL, . . .therefore nations in general have lost their liberty.’ But not the Americans, as the Abbe Raynal observed. They were “an ‘enlightened people’ who knew their rights and the limits of power and who, unlike any people before them, aimed to think before they felt.”

He is making the comparison with the American Revolution and the lack of action by the German people when Hitler came to power. The Germans felt the impact of real, physical tyranny. The Founding Fathers anticipated the arrival of it and took action before it could irreversibly take hold.

At what point are we now? I am not sure, but we may be closer to the tipping point than any of us expect.

Here comes another story from Colorado. SWAT officers invade a home, with guns drawn, to drag an 11 year old off to see the doctor. Add this one to my list in a previous post and we are seeing an increasing use of police to ‘enforce’ the government’s views on parenting. Do parents have any rights left? Are we just baby sitters for the Nanny State, serving at their whim?

Happy Bill of Rights Day Everyone!

Lets start off the day with the Bill of Rights Institutes’ interesting facts:

• The Bill of Rights was ratified December 15, 1791.
• Congress adopted twelve amendments, of which only ten were ratified by the states by 1791.
• Over 200 years later, one more of the original twelve, concerning compensation for Congress was ratified on May 7, 1992, becoming the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
• James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights and was inspired, in part, by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason.
• The Bill of Rights initially applied only to the federal government; however, the Supreme Court, through the Fourteenth Amendment, has incorporated some portions to apply to the states.
• Only 17 amendments have been ratified since the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

The National Archives Bill of Rights site should already be in your bookmarks. You have read it lately, haven’t you? While you are at it, have you read it to your kids?

No Looking Backwards reprints the Bill of Rights. , The War On Guns tries to find a better word than Happy. The Other Side of Kim also reprints them. The Ready Line also wishes everyone a Happy Bill of Rights Day.

And then we have Tim Lynch’s post over at Cato @ Liberty - He goes through the amendments and covers how nearly every one is being violated by our current government.

It’s a depressing snapshot, to be sure, but I submit that the Framers of the Constitution would not have been surprised by the relentless attempts by government to expand its sphere of control. The Framers themselves would often refer to written constitutions as mere ”parchment barriers” or what we would describe as ”paper tigers.” They nevertheless concluded that putting safeguards down on paper was better than having nothing at all. And lest we forget, that’s what millions of people around the world have — nothing at all.

And to top it off, go buy a bunch of Pocket Constitutions and give them to your friends and family for Christmas. Don’t forget the kids, our founding documents are surprisingly easy to read and understand — that is as long as you’re not a Lawyer, pointy-headed intellectual, or liberal activist.

Not in Port Orchard you don’t.

The big news around these parts today was a visit from the lunatics from the Westboro Baptist Church to harass the grieving family of SFC Johnny Walls. If these sleazy carpet baggers thought they could come into our town and subject the family of a fallen soldier to their vile hate with impunity they got a surprise today.

I started out at the local WalMart, buying a 4×5 flag to wave, everyone there seemed to know where I was headed and kept asking if I was going to the protest — My reply was “I’m not protesting anything, I’m there to support the family”. I arrived at the corner of Lund Ave and Bethel road at about 1pm. There were already about 100 people on 2 of the corners. The lunatics were over on the opposite corner, totally surrounded by supporters and Kitsap County Deputies.

The size of the crowd quickly swelled with people carrying signs, banners and flags. I estimated that the number of people was at least 300. They were surrounded by people with signs that said things like “Social Parasite”, “We are here for SFC Walls, You are here for yourselves” and “Thank God for SFC Walls”. I think it got to be too much for them to handle, they tried to move off down the road, and then the cops escorted them across the street and back to their cars. A good thing, because one of them was dragging an American Flag though the dirt which didn’t go over too well with a passerby at the Rite Aid — the deputies prevented him from causing a scene as far as I could tell.

As they were leaving the Patriot Guard Riders made a pass through on their way to the SFC Walls’ funeral.

I prefer to think of this as a support rally for SFC Johnny Walls and his family. I was there to show the screwballs that they are vastly out numbered by people who support our troops and their families and to show the family that the community supports them and thanks them for making the ultimate sacrifice — the loss of a son. I hope that our presence there gave some solace to his family in their time of grief.

Pictures can be seen at the LibertyNews Gallery and a couple of short videos on the LibertyNews YouTube page.

Ted Nugent talks to Texas Monthly Magazine about gun control. He has to be one of the most articulate pro-gun speakers that I have ever seen. No nonsense, straight to the point and not apologetic in any way.

“Gaggle of Numbnuts”

“I don’t like repeat offenders. I like dead offenders.”

“The 2nd Amendment IS my Concealed Weapon Permit”

Right wing Nut House brings us Liveblogging from the Continental Congress. Here are the events from July 2, 1776, and today’s events are being blogged here. It appears that there were some fireworks before they adjourned for the night. He reports that -

Update:Liveblogging today - “The declaration of American independence was approved unanimously in Congress just a few minutes ago.”

Great excitement! Mr. Ruttledge and Mr. Adams had a knock down, drag out shouting match over the slavery section I quoted above. Ruttledge feels personally insulted by the passage and threatens the unity of the Congress unless it is stricken from the declaration. Adams believes that we can’t ignore the issue of slavery. To do so makes us hypocrites in the eyes of the world.

What to do? Both men have a point. By condemning the slave trade, do you not also condemn those who buy the slaves? And how is it possible to claim our own country on the basis of freedom while keeping millions in bondage?

I sure hope that they can hold this together! It would be a disaster if we were to come this close.

Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
(Continued)

According to this NYT article the latest idea to come out of the Big Apple is to require a city permit and $1M insurance for people who want to take pictures or movies in the city!

The proposed rules would apply to:

• 2 or more people in a location for longer than 30 minutes
• 5 or more people using a tripod for longer than 10 minutes

City officials are claiming that it would not apply to tourists or families on vacation. But in typically totalitarian fashion the rules don’t actually say that they are exempt, leaving it open for interpretation and abuse.

Mr. Dunn [of the New York Civil Liberties Union ed.] suggested that the city deliberately kept the language vague, and that as a result police would have broad discretion in enforcing the rules. In a letter sent to the film office this week, Mr. Dunn said the proposed rules would potentially apply to tourists in places like Times Square, Rockefeller Center or ground zero, “where people routinely congregate for more than half an hour and photograph or film.”

I am reminded of this quote from Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

We look upon authority too often and focus over and over again, for 30 or 40 or 50 years, as if there is something wrong with authority. We see only the oppressive side of authority. Maybe it comes out of our history and our background. What we don’t see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.

Is that the kind of man you want to elect as President of the United States? I certainly don’t want a man who thinks that ‘Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.’

The quote comes from a NYT article by way of Dave Markowitz.

This article comes from President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus via the Financial Times -

As someone who lived under communism for most of his life, I feel obliged to say that I see the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now in ambitious environmentalism, not in communism. This ideology wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning.

The environmentalists ask for immediate political action because they do not believe in the long-term positive impact of economic growth and ignore both the technological progress that future generations will undoubtedly enjoy, and the proven fact that the higher the wealth of society, the higher is the quality of the environment. They are Malthusian pessimists.

The scientists should help us and take into consideration the political effects of their scientific opinions. They have an obligation to declare their political and value assumptions and how much they have affected their selection and interpretation of scientific evidence.

Does it make any sense to speak about warming of the Earth when we see it in the context of the evolution of our planet over hundreds of millions of years? Every child is taught at school about temperature variations, about the ice ages, about the much warmer climate in the Middle Ages. All of us have noticed that even during our life-time temperature changes occur (in both directions).

18 years ago today the Communist Chinese crushed the pro-democracy movement’s demonstrations in Tienamen Square. Gateway Pundit has pictures and links.

On the surface we see China as a country that makes cheap goods for us to buy at WalMart. And while that isn’t a bad thing, we still need to remember that their government is is a repressive regime and no friend to Liberty.

Read this interview with Tao Jun, Student Leader of Tiananmen Square Democratic Movement

The fire for freedom and democracy is always burning within Tao’s heart. In 2000 he established Maihua Net during his spare time to make public his articles, poems, and commentaries. However, one of his articles entitled, “Who Will Supervise the General Secretary,” touched the sensitive nerve of the authorities. In April 2001, he was put in a criminal detention in Shekou. Not long after being placed in detention that the authorities sentenced him to three years imprisonment for “crimes of inciting subversion of the state power and of overthrowing the socialist system.” Consequently, he spent three miserable years in Futian Detention Center and Shaoguan Prison.

Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin

Is life so dear,
or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me,
give me liberty or give me death!

- Patrick Henry at the second Virginia Convention, on March 23, 1775, in St. John’s Church, Richmond.

Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, in Studley, Virginia. He was a brilliant orator and an influential leader in the opposition to British government. As a young lawyer, he astonished his courtroom audience in 1763 with an eloquent defense based on the doctrine of natural rights—the political theory that man is born with certain inalienable rights.

On his twenty-ninth birthday, as a new member of Virginia’s House of Burgesses, Henry presented a series of resolutions—the Stamp Act Resolves—which opposed Britain’s Stamp Act. The Resolves were adopted on May 30, 1765. He concluded his introduction of the Resolves with the fiery words “Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third—” when, it is reported, voices cried out, “Treason! treason!” He continued, “—and George the Third may profit by their example! If this be treason make the most of it.”

Read more about Patrick Henry here at the Library of Congress

Clayton Cramer is reporting that the DC Court of Appeals has struck down Washington DC’s ban on having a loaded handgun in your home, and has recognized that handguns are protected by the 2nd Amendment!

Its nice to see some sanity in a city overrun by criminals.

Say Uncle, Volokh, Kerr, Cato Institute and Instapundit also have coverage.

From Argghhh! comes a reminder that today is the anniversary of the end of the siege at the Alamo. You can read more about the history here at the Alamo website.

The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo’s walls. Cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks. Regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound. Once inside, they turned a captured cannon on the Long Barrack and church, blasting open the barricaded doors. The desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed. By sunrise, the battle had ended and Santa Anna entered the Alamo compound to survey the scene of his victory.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty

The State of California is considering ripping another $500 (per child born) from the pockets of its over-taxed citizens. According to the San Mateo Daily Journal -

Every child born in California would get a $500 savings account to start building a nest egg for college or down payment for a home, under a bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday in the state Senate.

I just love this part

Under the bill, every child born in California after Jan. 1, 2008, would receive the money, regardless of their parents’ income or immigration status. Recipients would repay the state’s initial $500 investment once they turn 18.

Oh Joy! Not only are they going to steal your money and give it to your neighbor’s kids, but they’re going to give it to the illegal’s kids as well. I wonder what that’s going to do for the illegal population count in California… Will it increase? You bet! Any time you start handing out freebies to those who don’t earn it you attract more freeloaders. California’s infrastructure is already overwhelmed by the illegal immigrant problem, this will just be one more nail in the coffin.

Not to mention the typical socialist stupidity of taking money from one group and giving it to another. But I won’t rehash that right now.

Hat Tip goes to Random Nuclear Strikes and Knowledge Is Power

The The Denver Post is reporting that Democrats have blocked legislation that would have allowed business owners the same rights as home owners in defending their property as well as recognition of out of state concealed pistol licenses.

The Senate State Affairs Committee, known unofficially as a graveyard for bills that leadership wants killed, shot down a proposal Monday to expand Colorado’s “make my day” law.

The three Democrats on the five-member committee rejected legislation that would have allowed business owners to shoot threatening intruders, as homeowners are already permitted to do.

The bill’s demise came three days after Senate Democrats thwarted attempts by Republicans to hijack a Democrat-sponsored bill that would tighten restrictions on concealed weapons.

Republicans tried to amend the bill to say Coloradans could use concealed-gun permits from any other state. Instead, the legislation from Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, squeaked through as he originally wrote it - a ban on mail-order and other out-of-state permits for people who want to pack concealed handguns.

As is usual in these cases the Democrats resorted to scare tactics to support their side, saying:

Sen. Peter Groff, a Denver Democrat who chairs the committee, said a shopkeeper could end up shooting a straight-A student in baggy pants “listening to Snoop Doggy Dog” on his iPod just because he looked threatening.

They always trot out the ‘blood will run in the streets’ and ‘wild west’ arguments against pro-gun legislation, but when it finally passes these scenarios never come true. Look at all the states that now have concealed carry? Their crime rates have dropped as a result. But that’s a Democrat for you, they don’t even trust themselves with a gun.

Hat tip to Alphecca

February 22nd is George Washington’s birthday. We used to celebrate that in this country, but no longer. His birthday has been lost in the generic ‘Presidents Day’ non-holiday. We have a day for Martin Luther King Jr., whose deeds were great, but nowhere in the ballpark of our 1st President. Why can’t we have a day of celebration for the man who saved the Revolution and served as the 1st President of these United States? The man who refused to become an American King and who voluntarily served only 2 terms. He set an example tho no future President has been able to live up to, especially in recent years.

(from the Wikipedia article)
Congressman Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade and father of the Civil War general Robert E. Lee, famously eulogized Washington as:

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting. . . . Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues. . . . Such was the man for whom our nation mourns.

From NRA-ILA:

Washington: Anti-Gun Measure Set for Senate
Committee Hearing Thursday!
Please Contact Your State Senator Today!

Senate Bill 5197 will be up for a hearing in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Thursday, February 8 at 3:30 P.M. in the John A. Cherberg Building, Hearing Room #4.

SB 5197 is a measure aimed directly at private firearm sales, which would mandate that all firearms sold at gun shows be transferred through a federally licensed dealer, thereby imposing dealer restrictions on private individuals who are not dealers. This will establish a gun tax on firearms, expand the growing government database of law-abiding handgun owners, and effectively halt handgun sales at gun shows.

Your attendance at this hearing is critical. Washington Ceasefire is planning on packing the hearing with supporters of the gun show/gun registration bill, so it’s vital that NRA-supporters show a strong turnout as well. Attendees should plan on being at the Capitol by noon. Please visit your legislators, even if they are not on the Committee.

If you are unable to attend, please contact your State Senator at (800) 562-6000 and respectfully ask that he or she oppose this ill-conceived and restrictive measure.

Please make plans to attend this vital meeting, and also be sure to alert your grassroots networks and fellow gun owners to attend the meeting this coming Thursday!

LibertyNews will be present for the hearing and will bring you a full report Thursday evening. I encourage everyone who can to attend. It is time for gun owners to stand up and be heard by those who would like to remove our rights from the Constitution.

Read on for my report
(Continued)

BELLEVUE, WA – Five months after the Second Amendment Foundation called on U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for obstruction of justice relating to Bloomberg’s rogue “sting” operation against gun retailers in five states, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has confirmed in a letter that an investigation is underway.

SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb said today that a letter he received from W. Larry Ford, Assistant ATF Director for Public and Governmental Affairs, confirms that the agency “is investigating the matter in order to determine if violations of federal firearms laws occurred.” Ford could not offer details in his letter, explaining to Gottlieb that the agency cannot comment on “an open investigation.”
(Continued)

Tacoma, WA - Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Don’t blame gun shows for killers’ access to weapons

DAVE WORKMAN
Last updated: February 7th, 2007 01:31 AM (PST)
One Seattle newspaper edito­rialized recently that, with Democrats firmly in control of the Washington Legislature, “this is the year … to get rid of the gun-show loophole.” But nobody has explained how attacking gun shows will keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.

Yet lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 5197, the so-called “gun show loophole” bill, which, even if had been law, would not have prevented the Jan. 3 murder of Samnang Kok in the hallway at Tacoma’s Henry Foss High School, nor stopped cop-killer Raymond Porter from getting his hands on a pistol, and the proponents know it. The 9 mm pistol used in the Kok slaying and the gun Porter used to kill King County Sheriff’s deputy Steve Cox – and was used in another slaying just hours before – were both stolen in burglaries. Either gun could just as easily have been Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske’s 9 mm Glock, stolen from his unattended car on a downtown Seattle street.

Teenage murder suspect Douglas S. Chanthabouly could not have legally purchased a handgun, even at a gun show. Porter could not have legally purchased a firearm anywhere, thanks to a lengthy criminal history.

SB 5197, supported by Washington CeaseFire, would not have prevented the July 2006 attack at Seattle’s Jewish Federation office or the March 2006 mayhem on Capitol Hill. Neither accused Federation gunman Naveed Haq nor deceased Capitol Hill gunman Kyle Huff bought their firearms at gun shows.

Haq legally purchased his guns, following background checks, from dealers in the Tri-Cities area. Huff brought his firearms from Montana, where they were bought legally from gun shops. Yet editorials, some state legislators and Washington CeaseFire insist that closing some mythical gun show loophole is “reasonable.”

What is “reasonable” about attacking a problem that doesn’t exist when it would not prevent criminals from getting their hands on guns? In fact, not a single firearm involved in any of the high-profile shootings now being exploited to push this “gun show loophole” legislation came from a gun show.

A study done for the Department of Justice (NCJ-189369) found that “During the offense that brought them to prison, 15 percent of state inmates and 13 percent of federal inmates carried a handgun, and about 2 percent, a military-style semiautomatic gun.” Notice how few of these criminals used so-called “assault rifles.”

The most damning statistic from the DOJ report is that fewer than 1 percent of these thugs (0.7 percent) got their guns from gun shows.
Another 1 percent got theirs from flea markets. A staggering 78.8 percent got their guns from friends, relatives, on the street or by other illegal means.

The solution to violent crime in this state won’t be found in laws that target gun shows, sport-utility rifles or law-abiding gun owners. Yet
“close the gun show loophole” is the broken-record mantra that clearly proves CeaseFire and its friends in Olympia have an agenda that has nothing to do with crime prevention or punishing criminals.

They want to put gun shows out of business by holding gun show operators and patrons liable for crimes they did not commit.

Dave Workman is senior editor of Gun Week (www.gunweek.com) in Bellevue, and author of Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities.

Originally published: February 7th, 2007 01:00 AM (PST)