By Clayton Cramer and David Burnett (head of Students for Concealed Carry). Here’s a summary, and here’s the study. Cato has also established a webpage to track defensive gun uses….
Go to Cato: armed civilians are tough targetsAuthor Archive
February 1st, 2012
Blog beginning on the Waco tragedy
Mike McNulty has established a blog relating to Waco. Mike was the producer of the Oscar-nominated "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," and played a major role in reopening the case. Among other things, he managed to discover that the Texas…
Go to Blog beginning on the Waco tragedyFebruary 1st, 2012
Social media and criminal cases
Investigator (and former policeman) Paul Huebl has some interesting thoughts on the subject. These may be good approaches for a firearms owner charged under, for example, the New York laws….
Go to Social media and criminal casesJanuary 31st, 2012
The origin of the Sullivan Act
NY Post: The Strange Birth of NY’s Gun Laws. I researched the Sullivan Act for an amicus brief. Tim Sullivan started it out as a very narrow bill — it just made unlicensed concealed carry a 3 year felony, rather…
Go to The origin of the Sullivan ActJanuary 30th, 2012
US Attorney Dennis Burke and Fast and Furious
A very interesting article on his background. As a Senate aide, "And he began working on gun control. DeConcini said Burke helped draft the Anti-Drug Assault Weapons Limitation Act of 1989. A five-year battle ensued, ending with President Bill Clinton…
Go to US Attorney Dennis Burke and Fast and FuriousJanuary 30th, 2012
Case on use of machine gun in crime
Story here. Federal law provides a 30 year mandatory minimum for use of a full auto in a violent crime. The question is — does it require that the defendant knew it was full auto? (In this case, a real…
Go to Case on use of machine gun in crimeJanuary 30th, 2012
Well, that was quick
"Ariz. attorney who pleaded 5th in Fast and Furious investigation leaves job"…
Go to Well, that was quickJanuary 26th, 2012
Issa closes in
Letter here. He’s taken a focus on the US Attorney’s Office. The head of its Criminal Division has taken the Fifth, and Justice refuses to let the "line attorneys" testify, claiming it always keeps them out of Congressional investigations. But,…
Go to Issa closes inJanuary 26th, 2012
VA considering repealing "one gun a month"
And as Alphecca notes, Bloomburg will be apoplectic!….
Go to VA considering repealing "one gun a month"January 25th, 2012
Issa letter to Holder
Yesterday’s letter is here. The most stinging part is on p. 2, where Issa asks how the Department of Justice can be continuing a man who has to plead the Fifth as head of Criminal Division in the US Attorney’s…
Go to Issa letter to HolderJanuary 25th, 2012
SoF endorsements
Col. Brown informs me that Soldier of Fortune has issued its endorsements on the upcoming NRA Board elections. At the top of SoF’s list is Steve Schreiner, a major Colorado activist (head of Firearms Coalition of Colorado), who won the…
Go to SoF endorsementsJanuary 25th, 2012
Starbucks boycott
Some place called the National Gun Victims Action Council (probably three people with a big Joyce Foundation grant) is calling for a boycott of Starbucks coffee on February 14. They say Starbucks "allows guns and assault weapons to be openly…
Go to Starbucks boycottJanuary 25th, 2012
Tips for shooting an RPG
Do not stand behind the shooter. Followed by a first aid tip: dragging the guy around face-down is rarely a good first step….
Go to Tips for shooting an RPGJanuary 24th, 2012
AZ legislature to investigate "Fast and Furious"
AP reports the Arizona House has established a special committee to investigate "Fast and Furious"….
Go to AZ legislature to investigate "Fast and Furious"January 23rd, 2012
CCW customer kills robber
Story here. With all the permit holders, it’s getting to where violent crime isn’t safe anymore….
Go to CCW customer kills robberJanuary 23rd, 2012
Erin Simpson speaking for gun rights at the SHOT Show
Erin is a friend, and an attorney here in Tucson. Here’s the interview she gave….
Go to Erin Simpson speaking for gun rights at the SHOT ShowJanuary 23rd, 2012
Great 4th Amendment case
U.S. v. Jones holds that attaching a GPS device to an auto constitutes a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. 9-0, on the result. Scalia writes for the majority, The liberal wing concurs, with a rather confusing opinion,…
Go to Great 4th Amendment caseJanuary 23rd, 2012
The times they are a’changing….
An interesting chart, from NSSF, of firearm sales (or at least NICS checks, which not quite the same thing — CCW permit holders can skip them, and the number of those permits is rising, but the figures at least indicate…
Go to The times they are a’changing….January 22nd, 2012
Yet another case of "gun walking"
It was reportedly named Operation White Gun. Not much detail yet, but the note that the agent in charge found firearms "relating to" her investigation in Mexican evidence lockers suggests that guns were flowing….
Go to Yet another case of "gun walking"January 20th, 2012
2012 2A Scholars’ Conference online
Images, text, and audio files of presentations are online here. Presenters included Don Kates, Bob Cottrol, Joyce Malcolm, Randy Barnett (whose discussion of originalism is a very good background to the area), Josh Blackman, Steve Halbrook, Nick Johnson, and Ilya…
Go to 2012 2A Scholars’ Conference onlineJanuary 19th, 2012
Insane rules
Gunowners aren’t the only ones faced with those. A Florida regulation requires each vending machine to sport a sign. The sign informs the reader that … this sign is required. It thoughtfully has a phone number where you can report…
Go to Insane rulesJanuary 19th, 2012
Fast and Furious: subpoena to Justice official
Rep. Issa’s committee has subpoenaed the Chief of the Criminal Division, US Attorney’s Office for Arizona. He was second in command to US Attorney Dennis Burke, and heavily involved in the gun running operation. He’s followed his boss’s lead and…
Go to Fast and Furious: subpoena to Justice officialJanuary 19th, 2012
Another great summary of Fast and Furious
This one at Foreign Policy Blogs: "First, ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious was never intended or designed to be a ‘gun tracking/tracing’ operation, since there were never provisions in place to allow agents to trace or interdict weapons once they…
Go to Another great summary of Fast and FuriousJanuary 18th, 2012
Fast and Furious: the Administration’s attack on the whistleblowers
Story here. An excellent summary of how the whistleblowers were sanctioned, and those responsible for running the guns protected….
Go to Fast and Furious: the Administration’s attack on the whistleblowersJanuary 17th, 2012
Seems like Bloomberg’s idea of "reasonable gun laws"
Brooklyn operator of a 99 cent store is fined $30,000 for selling six toy "sheriff’s sets" that included a toy gun. Apparently the guns even had a red tip, but it sounds as if NYC requires that the entire toy…
Go to Seems like Bloomberg’s idea of "reasonable gun laws"January 16th, 2012
"Stand your ground" is doing well in PA
Story here. Good guys survive, bad guys go down or are driven off….
Go to "Stand your ground" is doing well in PAJanuary 14th, 2012
A wonderful day….
A Mayor Against Illegal Guns gets convicted of assault and harassment, and arrested for violating an order of protection obtained by the victim, his wife. Brady Campaign loses a lawsuit against an FFL when it blows a filing deadline –…
Go to A wonderful day….January 11th, 2012
Feds move to un-seal court records in Brian Terry murder
Report here. As I mentioned earlier, while sealing of specific documents is known, the sealing of an entire court file is, in my experience, not known….
Go to Feds move to un-seal court records in Brian Terry murderJanuary 11th, 2012
Next Generatin RKBA Scholars conference
Summary here. I was there, and it was quite good… essentially a meeting of 25 new law profs, or those who are seeking to become law profs, and who are interested in the right to arms. At the evening dinner,…
Go to Next Generatin RKBA Scholars conferenceJanuary 11th, 2012
So much for "common sense" gun laws
Marine faces 3.5 years "hard time" in NYC for carrying without a license. He had a CCW permit in his home state, Indiana, and was carrying $15,000 in jewelry at the time….
Go to So much for "common sense" gun laws