Arms and the Law

I'm at it, in Tampa. It's being live-streamed here.

Major matters include the awards luncheon at 12:15, "Winning FIrearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time" at 2 PM, John Lott at 4:30, a panel on the medical attacks on gun rights at 5.

Right here. He suggested responding to Charlotte rioters shutting down and looting a highway by running them down. I suppose that is worthy of investigation. Obviously, an 18-wheeler would work, and maybe an SUV, but with a sedan you might damage the undercarriage, or at least require a front end realignment. Only experimentation and investigation can settle this.

The fellow who shot the knife-wielding terrorist at the Crossroads Mall in Minnesota is identified in the media as an off-duty police officer.

Actually, it would be accurate to describe him as a US Practical Shooters Ass'n competitor, a three-gun competitor, and tactical training facility owner, who is also a part-time police officer.

It's reported that the fellow who tried to grab a gun from a policeman so he could shoot Donald Trump has plead guilty to being a prohibited person (illegal alien) and will likely get two years' imprisonment.

Either the report is off or he got an incredibly easy break. Calculating from the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the lowest result would be base level 14 (possession by prohibited person), plus four levels for intent to use it in a felony, plus two for it being stolen equals level 20, sentencing range 33-41 months. On the other hand, they could charge attempted murder of a federally-protected candidate, and that starts off at level 33. homicide (135-168 months, or 11-15 years).

British sniper uses .50 Barrett to kill ISIS executioner -- by bursting his flamethrower and turning him and his henchmen into a fireball.

An interesting graph. When the Obama Admin began in 2009, of the eleven numbered circuits, only the Ninth had a majority of Demo appointees, with the Second and Third being split 50-50.

In 2016, only four circuits (in the middle of the country) have a majority of Repub appointees; the other seven are all majority Demo appointees. (The same is true of the DC and Federal Circuits). What's also interesting in both Repub dominated and Demo dominated circuits, the proportions tend to be overwhelming, 66-33% or more.

Here, at Ammo.com. Apparently, at least two States require potential parents to sign agreements as to how they store their guns; one of them also regulates carrying and the other wants unannounced home inspections to enforce the agreement.

President commutes sentences of fifty persons convicted of Federal gun law violations. Oh, possession of stolen firearms, carrying a firearm during a drug offense, things like that.

I had lunch at a new Chinese restaurant here. The menu had a typo. At least, I HOPE it's a typo for "crab puff."

Bob Dowlut, NRA General Counsel and acting GC since ... way back in the last century, and Alice Beard, both of them published Second Amendment authors ... here's Alice's Facebook note about their 42nd anniversary. Dig that crazy tux! It's cool, or maybe the cat's pajamas! : )

Bill Weld, Libertarian VP candidate, interviewed on gun laws:

"The five shot rifle, that's a standard military rifle; the problem is if you attach a clip to it so it can fire more shells and if you remove the pin so that it becomes an automatic weapon, and those are independent criminal offenses. That is when they become, essentially a weapon of mass destruction. The problem with handguns probably is even worse than the problem of the AR15."

With an incoherence like that, how did he wind up on any ticket?

Story here. She's Ginny Thrasher, and a graduate of the West Springfield High rifle team and West Virginia U's shooting team. Both of those were helped by NRA Foundation grants.

Cancer got him early this morning. David Codrea has a number of posts on Mike. He notes that services will be Saturday, 2 PM, in Leeds, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham.

At a rally in North Carolina, Donald Trump remarks, of Hillary Clinton, "By the way if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks." Then he adds "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

Hillary's campaign responds "This is simple -- what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way."

And Trump's campaign replies that his reference was to political power: "2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won't be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump."

Very, very clever. The first statement was merely setting the ambush.

Apparently, there has evolved a custom in the Ninth Circuit of filing an oversized brief at the last moment, figuring that the court won't reject a motion to do so because that'd throw off the court's briefing and argument scheduling. In a recent ruling, however, Judge Kozinski dissents and comes up an effective deterrent to such an approach:

"For my part, I don't feel bound to read beyond the 14,000 words allowed by our rules, so I won't read past page 66 of the state's brief. If counsel for the state wishes me to consider any argument in the remaining portion of her brief, she should feel free to file a substitute brief, no longer than 14,000 words, which I will read in lieu of her oversized brief, so long as it is filed no later than 7 days from the date of this order."

This time it's R. Scott Silverthorne, mayor of Fairfax City. A while back he wrote an antigun column for "Everytown". He proclaimed that 2015 had been a terrible year for him.

Doesn't look like 2016 will be any better. Silverthorne just got busted for giving an undercover officer meth in exchange for sex.

"According to Fairfax County police, they encountered Silverthorne after learning of an individual who was distributing meth through a website used to arrange male-on-male sexual encounters.

An undercover detective created a profile on the site and was contacted by Silverthorne, who said he could provide meth in exchange for sex. They arranged to meet at a hotel, where Silverthorne was arrested for felony distribution of methamphetamine."

Dave Workman has his take on it, drawing from this WashPo article.

"Kaine has pivoted on guns, in style and substance, depending on the political climate, the office he sought and particular events.

He has been an urban mayor determined to reduce gun deaths. And he has been a statewide candidate who embraced the Second Amendment and promised not to tighten gun laws. He has become quiet on the issue at times, and played offense at other moments."

He seems to have more positions than the Kama Sutra....

This time he gets undercover video of a Clinton delegate describing how to work for a gun ban.

Clayton Cramer has it.

Officer (incorrectly) thinks caregiver is in danger, solves problem by shooting him. The caregiver says he asked why the fellow shot him, and the officer in confusion frankly replied, "I don't know."