The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

A Lot of Work to Do

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 14, 2010) I recently wrote about the need for preaching to the choir – too many of our own friends, family members, and fellow shooters are woefully uninformed about the fight for liberty.  A chance conversation in a hardware store this week really brought home just how much work there is to do beyond the choir room doors.  At the hardware store I got into a conversation with a fellow shopper.  As conversations with me tend to do, it wasn’t long before we were talking about guns and gun laws.  The fellow’s wife had joined the conversation by this time and while his reaction was troubling, her reaction was down right scary.

This was a nice couple in their 50’s, fairly conservative, into classic cars, and in the market for a .38 for home protection.  They were not loony-tune lefties by any means.  They also mentioned a good friend who owns many guns and reloads.  The conversation rolled along smoothly until the topic of “Uzi’s and machineguns” came up.  As you can imagine, it wasn’t me talking about “Uzi’s and machineguns.” Continue reading A Lot of Work to Do →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

NRA Director Elections 2010

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, February 18, 2010) It is time again to elect one third of the absurdly large Board of Directors of NRA.  Each year 25 seats come up for election for a 3-year term and then one of the runner-ups is elected to a 1-year term at the annual meetings.  This year 24 of the current directors are running for reelection and there are 7 non-incumbent nominees also running resulting in 31 candidates for 25 seats.

As usual, the field includes a number of big names and celebrities, all of whom are certain to win.  This category includes Bob Barr, Dave Butz, Richard Childress, Sandy Froman, Marion Hammer, Susan Howard, Karl Malone, Oliver North, Ted Nugent, and Don Young.

Normally Joaquin Jackson and Larry Craig would have made the shoo-in list, but Senator Craig’s highly publicized personal issues and Ranger Jackson’s televised comments suggesting that “assault rifles” should be restricted to 5 round capacity place their reelection in doubt.  While both of these men have served well on the board and I consider both to be personal friends, I would have preferred it if they had stepped aside to give someone else a chance to serve. Continue reading NRA Board Elections 2010 →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

An End to the Lautenberg Amendment?

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, January 7, 2009) The Federal Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit recently declared that the infamous Lautenberg Amendment, barring possession of firearms from anyone ever convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, is a violation of Second Amendment rights.

That’s good news, but don’t fire up the band just yet.  The actual conclusion of the 7^th Circuit panel was not that Lautenberg violates the Second Amendment, but that prosecutors had failed to effectively argue that it does not.  Rather than declaring the law unconstitutional and throwing the case out, the court reversed the guilty verdict and sent the case back to the lower court to give federal prosecutors another chance to build a case.  Included in the decision are rather detailed instructions explaining what arguments the prosecution needs to make if they wish to prevail.  Like a child’s game, the court said, “You forgot to say ‘Mother may I’ so try it again.”  If prosecutors carefully apply the lessons laid out in the 7^th Circuit’s order, the case should result in another conviction that would then be upheld on appeal, but even that isn’t assured because the court didn’t only provide instructions to the prosecution, they also dropped a hint or two for the defense. Continue reading Losing Lautenberg →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Protecting Gun Shows

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, December 2, 2009) Anyone who does not hold an FFL and sells a firearm to someone he doesn’t know well is incurring a certain amount of liability.  And, a bit of bad judgment could cause trouble not just for the seller, but for the rest of the gun owning community as well.  There is no question that individuals have the right to buy, sell, and trade firearms between themselves without government infringement.  But there are laws on the books and failing to know and follow them is just asking for trouble.  A prudent trader will take into account not only the legal technicalities, but the political environment also.

Title 18, Section 922 of the U.S. Code, the 1968 Gun Control Act, covers sales and transfer of guns.  The law forbids transfers between residents of different states except through an FFL in the buyer’s state.  Of course it is also illegal for a federally “prohibited person” – a felon, fugitive, someone dishonorably discharged from the service, etc. – to purchase a firearm from anyone, FFL dealer or not.  If the seller has any indication that the prospective buyer is a “prohibited person,” selling the gun is a crime.  It is also illegal for anyone to purchase a firearm on behalf of someone else – even if that someone else could legally purchase it himself – and a seller can again be held criminally responsible if they had any indication that such a “straw” transaction was taking place. Continue reading Gun Show Policing →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Lessons from the Dark Side

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, December 28, 2009) Mike Bloomberg and his Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) caused quite a stir in the gun rights community recently when they released a poll declaring that gun owners and NRA members support the group’s gun control agenda.  The poll was conducted by Frank Lutz’s company “Word Doctors.”  The media gleefully reported the poll as indisputable fact while NRA and others cried “Foul,” pointing out flaws in the pollster’s methodology and challenging the results.

The flaws and distortions are undoubtedly real, but it is important for rights activists to carefully examine this poll to find data we can use to help our cause.  In spite of its flaws, this poll demonstrates a serious failure on the part of rights groups and supporters in efforts to educate our less activist brethren.  We’re not preaching to the choir enough and not getting the right messages through to them.

Continue reading Lessons from the Dark Side →

NRA Pushing Bad Bill in Iowa

*** Update: A revised proposal from NRA has surfaced which is somewhat better than the proposal discussed in this article, but which still has some serious flaws.  The new proposal and NRA’s description will be linked at the bottom of this article and hilights of changes will be noted parenthetically within the article at the applicable sections. ***

It’s been a long time since we have had serious issues with NRA actions, but their proposed concealed carry legislation for Iowa is simply bad and we’re taking exception.

Last year two state organizations, Iowa Carry and Iowa Gun Owners, banged heads with competing legislation and competing strategies. Iowa Carry was backing a “shall issue” bill which included mandatory training requirements and several other concessions. Iowa Gun Owners was pushing an Alaska-style bill which removed restrictions on concealed carry and offered an optional permit system for the sake of reciprocity.

The Alaska bill had 25 cosponsors among the 100 members of the Iowa House and failed to pass by just one vote ending in a 49 – 49 tie in the final minutes of the legislative session. (Note: This was not a straight up or down vote, but a procedural vote on whether to suspend the rules to allow the Alaska-style bill language to be amended onto a must-pass bill.  It still demonstrates a surprising level of support.) Continue reading NRA Bad for Iowa →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Giving Thanks – At An Appleseed Shoot

By Chris Knox

(Phoenix, Arizona November 29, 2009) Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on our blessings, including the blessings of liberty and on the sacrifices our forebears made for us. With that in mind, son Brandon and I wrapped up our Thanksgiving observations slung into battle rifles on the firing line at the beautiful, newly remodeled and re-christened Joe Foss Shooting Complex near Buckeye, Arizona. As I concentrated on sight picture, breathing and trigger control, I was truly thankful.

Over the past four years, as regular readers of this space will be aware, a group that goes by the delightfully seditious name of “Revolutionary War Veterans Association” has spread across the country with a simple but ambitious goal: To turn the United States once again into a nation of riflemen.  Barely on the radar of the mainstream shooting organizations, and totally off the major media’s screen, the RWVA’s Applessed Project has quietly grown at exponential rates. Continue reading Thanks Appleseed →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Support Your Local Gun Shop

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, November 19, 2009) The day of the little Mom & Pop gun shop seem to be waning. Even small shops these days are sophisticated, computerized, professionally managed businesses, but those small shops are becoming harder to find. Faced with competition from the internet and mega-retailers like Wal-Mart, Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops, small, dedicated gun shops are finding it more and more difficult to compete. Throw in the added pressure of more frequent and more adversarial oversight by ATF, increased pressure from community zoning boards and taxing authorities, and major shortages in all sorts of guns and ammunition keeping dealer’s shelves bare for months in the midst of the worst recession in decades and it’s easy to understand why a lot of shops are struggling. Continue reading Support Local Shops →

The Knox Update

From the Firearms Coalition

Time to Eradicate VD

By Jeff Knox

(Manassas, VA, November 12, 2009) There has been a close association between sexually transmitted diseases and the military for as long as the two have existed, but the focus of this article is not Venereal Disease, but a different kind of VD that has shocked the military community and the nation. The VD which currently plagues the military and puts our soldiers at grave risk is the policy of Victim Disarmament which has been increasingly prevalent even as laws in the civilian world have been moving in the opposite direction.

While some have pointed to regulation changes during the Clinton administration as the turning point, VD on military bases has been the trend since at least the 1960’s and to a lesser extent even before that. In military society, so heavily steeped in discipline and control, it is only natural that those in power would be inclined to drift in the direction of micro-management and centralized control. Commanders in the modern military seem to have gravitated toward a paternalistic role and that paternalism runs all through the chain of command and seems to apply to all subordinates regardless of their age, rank, or experience.

Continue reading Victim Disarmament – The New VD →