The Republican YouTube Debate will be hosted by CNN in November.

That gives us a lot of time to mobilize.

Go to CNN's website contact form and request that they play Tom Gresham's and Clint Smith's question for Republican candidates.  The YouTube url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FI4LwjbEyg.

Via The War on Guns.

An article by Robert Knight in  The Washington Times:

Another tactic that the media are using in their assault on gun ownership is making selective, misleading comparisons to other nations. NBC anchor Brian Williams noted on April 17, the day after the Tech massacre, that Great Britain "outlawed handguns, and anyone caught with one faces a minimum prison sentence of five years. They are so opposed to guns here that not even police officers on routine patrol carry them. Now gun violence is rare."

Mr. Williams ignored the rise in knife violence and other crime amid Britain's long history of strict gun laws and unarmed "bobbies." He also declined to mention countries like Switzerland, where male citizens are required to be armed with assault rifles and ready for militia duty, but where there is little gun violence. Or South Africa, which has some of the most stringent gun laws but has a rate of gun homicides of 74.57 per 100,000 population, contrasted with New Zealand, with weak gun laws and only a 0.18 rate of gun homicides per 100,000 people.

Mr. Knight rips the MSM a new one (as if they didn't have enough already).

Via Oscar Poppa.

And here's why I don't really give a rat's ass about those lawyers getting fired.

At The Liberty Sphere: Priorities for the DOJ Without Gonzalez

In addition to the DOJ's failure to bring under control the nation's lamentable illegal alien problem, it has also failed to reign in one of the most dangerous, corrupt, and oppressive operations within the federal government, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Formerly known as the ATF, the BATFE, to put it bluntly, is simply not needed. It should be discontinued and buried quickly.

This wing of the Department of Justice has been the source of some of the nation's most memorable and unnecessary tragedies, such as Ruby Ridge and the Branch Davidian compound.

Today, their reign of terror is being conducted against gun shop owners and gun and ammo manufacturers.

Granted, these travesties of justice did not begin with the Bush Administration. Many of the present policies were initiated under George the First and exacerbated by the Clinton Administration. The problem under George the Second has been ineptitude and the failure to correct misguided policies of the past.

And for the newest twist in the ongoing saga, Red's Trading Post has found strong suggestions that the ATF is building an illegal database resulting in de facto gun registration.

The Truth About Gun Control posts another great essay called The Problem of Collectivism:

Being told to rely on others (the police) to defend us, when that obviously does not work, is bad enough. Being told we MUST rely on others, though, is unconscionable. It is essentially telling us that we have a duty to die when a madman like Cho decides to commit murder, all in the name of a no-guns policy that is meant to make people "feel safe."

I find it very distressing that so many people don't get that pro-CCW people are suggesting that people must take responsibility for their own safety. When they talk of the odds that a CCW holder would be in the class to stop the crime, they illustrate very clearly that they are picturing themselves not as the person taking action to save himself (and thus everyone else as well), but as the helpless victim who expects others to protect him!

That would not be so bad if the people who cannot break out of the role of helpless victims only put their own lives in danger, but they're not content with that. They have to make ALL of us into helpless victims. In their simplistic logic, they think the only difference between themselves and people like Cho is that Cho had a gun-- and as such, they can't tell peaceable armed citizens from crazed murderers!

If this blog isn't on your list, it should be. Posting is infrequent, but always hits the mark.

From Gun Law News we learn the plans for National The First Amendment is Good But the Second Is Not Day.

Once again the ninth largest city in the country is overlooked for participation, but I suppose they're more interested in preaching to their choirs than they are in reaching the populace at large.

Most people I know of in San Antonio are already ticked at Jackson for popping the "race card" in the Michael Vick thing.

The Firearms Coalition has posted an update on National Exercise Your Rights Day.

L. Neil Smith explains why some people prefer victimhood in "I Need My Pain!":

They dearly love to whimper about what big government and even bigger corporations did to them yesterday, what big government and even bigger corporations are doing to them today, and what they think big government and even bigger corporations are going to do to them tomorrow. Almost never is there any consideration given to fighting back effectively, politically, right now, although they spend lots of time, energy, and money on weapons and survival equipment, getting ready for a physical fight -- which they will lose gloriously, of course -- in a future that usually resembles those bleak scenes in The Terminator where robot tanks are running over piles of human skulls and crushing them.

They need their pain because it's the way they define themselves. At one level or another, they're afraid they'll cease to exist without it. But it's time for these pathetic specimens to grow up and to start defining themselves, as the Founding Fathers did, in terms of their rights instead of wrongs, real or imaginary, they see happening around them.

Via JPFO.

I sent a letter to the editor of our local paper regarding National Exercise Your Rights Day.  So we'll see what transpires.

I feel a little odd sending it, because if they print it, it will expose my blog to people who know me but don't know about the blog.  Not that there's anything here I want to hide.  Like I said, it just feels a little odd.  I'm the guy who always sits quietly and listens but never says anything, so this blog may be a surprise to some people.

I also sent emails to a few gun stores and shooting ranges.  We'll see...

UPDATE:  24+ hours and no replies yet.

David Codrea and The Firearms Coalition have both (independently) conceived this:  buy a gun or ammo on August 28.  Why that day?

On August 28, activists in cities across America will hold a national day of protest to focus attention on the scourge of illegal gun trafficking.

More at the Brady Campaign to Abolish the Second Amendment.

The Firearms Coalition is calling it National Exercise Your Rights Day.

So buy some ammunition, or a gun if you have the money.  Don't just buy a box of .22 either.  Get something scary with JHP in the description.  Or some good high-powered armor-piercing sniper hunting ammo.

Follow the links for more ideas on things we can do.

It seems to me that blogging is by nature quite insular, and although it may seem like a significant movement in the gunblogger nichosphere, no one else will even notice.  So maybe writing letters to the editor of the local paper would help bring attention to it, or posting fliers or something.  Even if your local paper is just a propaganda rag.  The effort won't amount to much if those on the outside don't know about it.

Just say no to the enemies of liberty.  Enough is far too much already.

This poll on gun control bypasses all the mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy gobbledygook and gets right to the heart of the matter.

Take the Poll to Take the Pulse of America About Gun Control by Bill Koehler.  Or better yet, ask these questions of the next anti you run into.

Via The Madman.  Full-sized pdf suitable for printing a poster is at the link.

GOA Alert-- August 8, 2007

The reason why some gun owners support the Leahy-McCarthy measure is they think the bill will make it easier for many Americans to regain their rights -- such as military veterans who have been illegitimately denied a firearm. What they don't realize is that this is a pie-in-the-sky promise.

Veterans will have to find a pro-gun shrink that will certify that said veteran is not a danger to himself or others. (Question: Would you ever certify that someone you don't know could NEVER be a danger to himself or others?) They will then have to hire a good attorney, take the government to court and hope they can force the FBI to delete their names from the NICS system.

It must be stressed that thousands of veterans have already been illegally banned from owning guns without being convicted of anything. Not only that, thousands more will have their names placed on the Brady list of banned buyers if this legislation passes. It is beside the point that they might be able to get their rights restored. They never should have lost them in the first place. Further, they will be forced to spend a lot of money to regain their gun rights -- rights which were unconstitutionally stripped by the Leahy-McCarthy bill.

We've already seen that at the state level, getting your guns back -- after being decreed a supposed danger to society -- is easier said than done. Consider what is ALREADY happening in California. University of San Francisco professor W. Michael Becker -- a licensed psychologist and attorney -- points out how in the Golden State, a gun owner can easily lose his guns if he's deemed to be a danger to himself and others. And while state law allows the gun owner to get his guns back (after he's no longer considered a danger), the retrieval process is by NO MEANS automatic.

Becker says:

It might be argued, that because there is the option of a hearing, the [California] law provides a reasoned avenue for that person to regain possession.... But there is a problem with the hearing itself. In order for the seized weapons to be returned, it is not the government which must show that the person is a danger to himself or others, but rather a judge (yes, only a judge, no jury) must be convinced by a preponderance of the evidence that the person will NOT be a danger to himself or others. What has happened to the "presumed" innocent (or in this case competent) until proven otherwise?... This is a dire reversal of our typical constitutional rights.

Everyone please feel free to convince me that the scenario they describe will not happen.  And while you're at it, explain to me why the gov't goons are so afraid to go on record that they have shoved this through both houses with unrecorded voice votes.

You are needed in Iraq.

Tnx to Of Arms and the Law.

The Pistolero posts about an article in which there is literally Pants Sh*tt*ng Hysterics.  Go read it.

What do I have to say about this?

I don't believe a word of it.

I don't believe for a second that this actually happened the way the story teller (not journalist) wrote it.  Mostly because "even with ear protection the noise is deafening."

In my opinion, there are three bases for this article:

1.  The guy asked some of his pals what they thought a visit to a gun range would be like, and then wrote the article.
2.  They guy briefly visited a gun range so he could see what it looked like, and then wrote the article.
3.  The guy actually did visit a gun range, shot a gun, discovered that it wasn't nearly as scary as he thought, so he wrote an article describing how he thinks it should have been.

This is nothing but a pure propaganda piece, aimed at the already converted.  This doesn't make it any less disgusting, but I think it's pure bull hockey.

My opinion, take it or leave it.

Sharp as a Marble has created a PSH (pants sh*tting hysterics) icon for anyone to use when posting on the topic.

Say Uncle coined the term.

Good reading at The Liberty Sphere with The Bush Betrayal of Gun Owners:

We would have expected this from a Liberal Democrat. We were not expecting it from the Bush Administration, and perhaps this is precisely the reason we have been thus far ill-prepared to handle the onslaught of an out-of-control, rogue arm of the Justice Department--the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Caught totally by surprise, and thus woefully unprepared for an effective and swift defense, the firearms and ammunitions industry has found itself in a fight for its very survival.

The statistics will reveal just how devastating the attacks of the ATF have been.

Since 2002, a whopping 85% of firearms manufacturers in America have been forced to close their doors for good.

Note that the alarming rate of shut-downs of gun manufacturers by the ATF coincides with the election of George W. Bush.

However, the Clinton Administration is every bit as culpable. From 1994-2005, 80% of gun dealers were forced out of business. Eight of those years were under the Clinton Administration.

Nonetheless, the Bush Administration has done absolutely nothing to stem the tide of this alarming persecution, and if anything the ATF has actually turned up the heat in the last few years.

I would say that this is not just a betrayal of gun owners. It is a betrayal of all Americans and a violation of his oath to defend the Constitution.