2A Freedom Rally Coverage

I wasn't able to make it up there today but lots of great photos were taken.

From the Illinois Carry thread including a short video.

The ISRA Facebook Wall Photos and over a gross in their dedicated folder.

There were numerous media in attendance including some from Japan.



I'ld love to see the reactions over there to this.

More links as I find them.

Second Amendment Freedom Rally

James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60601
Date: Friday, July 9, 2010
Time: 11:00am—1:00pm

Join the grassroots movement that is sweeping the state of Illinois—
A movement to restore the Second Amendment right of law abiding
citizens to keep and bear arms!
Do not miss this historical event!
Sponsored by Illinois State Rifle Association and IllinoisCarry.com

"May Issue" in Practice

What happens when you give the authorities 'discretion' in issuing permits and licenses?

Dorr and his son, Alexander, were denied gun permits after being engaged in extensive First Amendment activity -- protesting, passing out leaflets and writing letters to the editor -- the opinion notes...

The ruling continued, “Giving Sheriff Weber more deference than is due his elected status, the court finds that Sheriff Weber denied Paul’s application for a concealed weapons permit not because of the content of his First Amendment activity but because it was effective and agitated many members of the local community.”

We've seen it in NY, CA and elsewhere. These systems WILL be abused by the authorities, especially in favor of the rich and politically connected.

"Combat Rifles"

From our old buddy "Grits Jr." aka Ladd Everitt of the CSGV on Huffpo:

You wouldn't need a combat rifle for any purpose other than to kill law enforcement or military, and that's the point.

OK. Which are the 'Combat Rifles' in this photo?



IOW, which ones have been used by militaries in combat?

Justice vs Injustice

In 2007, a group of scum executed three students in NJ. One of these scum, an illegal immigrant, was out on bail for multiple counts of assault and child molestation.

Today one of his partners was sentenced to life in prison. To bad it wasn't the death penalty.


But meanwhile in Colorado, an 82 year old defends his property against robbers (also illegal immigrants) and HE is the one being charged.

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - Admitted thieves are going free, while an elderly Wheat Ridge man is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars, all, he says, for trying to defend his property and his life.

Debating PuSH'ers*

Your typical 'hardcore' anti-gunner is a 'true believer' in the most literal sense of the phrase. No amount of facts or logic will penetrate that shell as they repeat talking points like 'bullet hoses', "spray fire from the hip", "high powered", "well-regulated" and other sorts of catch phrases.

Some of the sillier things I've been told or have read over the years:

Shooting an animal w/ an 'assault weapon' destroys it. (no comment when real specs on them were presented)

The NRA put out an advertisement supporting AP ammo because "Some animals are armored". (oh a friend told him about it)

You can make a semi-auto into a machine gun by filing down the FIRING pin. (complete ignorance of firearm operation)

So why bother? Unless you're actually debating publicly some public figure what good does it do?

Well it's not always a complete waste of time.

Depending on the forum, odds are good there are 'fence-sitters' there as well. Countering the misinformation and emotional appeals presented can help either keep them neutral or sway them towards positive. One of the best ways to do this is to stay calm and just keep countering them. In my experience they will invariable resort to ad hominems (usually involving the NRA), character attacks or the ever popular comments on genitalia size.

You can also learn from them. Really, you can. I've gotten some really good sources from anti's who cited a study or some historical document but either partially quoted it, took it out of context or just assumed what it was about w/o reading the whole thing, sometimes getting it completely backwards.

Of course sometimes I just have fun w/ them, seeing how often I can get them to contradict themselves. I had one individual recently attacking sources he cited as 'right wing idiots' because he didn't bother reading past the first couple of lines.

Feel free to add your stories of truly ridiculous lines you've been handed or your own suggestions.

*PSH: Pants Sh!tting Hysterics

Paul Helmke Lying About Gun Laws*

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership is well known for deliberately mis-stating facts and confusing the issues. Here's another example. When discussing their opposition to Utah's Concealed Carry laws, they state this:

This means that prohibited purchasers, such as the mentally ill, domestic violence abusers, and felons, are easily able to illegally get a license to possess a gun.

Um, No. Their law is regards to concealed carry, not purchasing or possession. The Brady Bunch knows this and are trying to conflate the two, just as they try and push stripping people of their rights who are on the "Terrorist Watch List" and actual terrorists.

Note that they don't point to any actual problems caused by this wave of issued permits besides their personal PSH over it.

As the Brady Bunch fights to keep any sort of relevancy, they are reduced from trying to keep states from passing CCW laws to trying to keep states from recognizing other's CCW laws and out of individual stores.


*Redundant, I know.

Next Chicago Lawsuit from NRA & NSSF

NRA Supporting Chicago Residents New Suit Against Mayor Richard Daley and the City of Chicago

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Fairfax, Va. -- The National Rifle Association is supporting a lawsuit against Mayor Richard Daley and the City of Chicago's newly adopted gun control ordinance, which violates the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago. Last Friday, the City Council rushed through passage of this ordinance in response to the Court's June 28th decision rendering Chicago’s draconian handgun ban unconstitutional.

“The Supreme Court has now said the Second Amendment is an individual freedom for all. And that must have meaning,” said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association. “This decision cannot lead to different measures of freedom, depending on what part of the country you live in. City by city, person by person, this decision must be more than a philosophical victory. An individual right is no right at all if individuals can’t access it.”.....

Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers
Launches Lawsuit Against Chicago

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers (ILAFR), a state affiliate of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms industry -- has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of several recently adopted anti-gun laws designed to circumvent last week's Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. Chicago. In that landmark decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the fundamental right of all law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms, while outlawing the power of state and local governments to ban firearms.

In a complaint filed yesterday evening in federal Court, the ILAFR challenged a series of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's anti-gun laws and regulations affecting the commerce of firearms in Chicago. This includes laws forbidding federally licensed firearms retailers from operating within the city, limiting the number of firearms a law-abiding citizen may purchase in a year and banning modern sporting rifles.

The case is Benson v. City of Chicago.

Fence Sitters

One of the ways I use to discuss firearms w/ people who don't necessarily oppose them but aren't enthusiastic about them is to ask them questions.

One of my favorites is to ask them what they thing an "Assault Weapon" is. I have yet to have someone tell me anything other than the usual variations on "High Powered Machineguns" and everyone has been surprised when I inform them of the reality of them and the deliberate attempts to confuse the public on the issue.

Now I've added one more tailored to Illinois residents. I ask them if they think that the Chicago firearm laws are really intended to stop criminals. Then I tell them about Alderman Mell and his Daley approved personal exemption after he forgot to follow the laws.

So how do you discuss the issue w/ those in the middle?

Hell has Frozen Over.

The Daily Koz has published a pro-Second Amendment article;

And I thought I just had the AC turned up to high.

As noted here though, the comments show the typical closed-minded attitude of those who often label themselves as 'progressive'.