Sphere of Influence

By Jeff Knox

(October 27, 2014) The midterm elections are officially just a few days away, though in many jurisdictions voting has been going on for a couple of weeks already.  The balance of power in the US Senate is on the line and, along with the Senate races, there are hundreds of other federal, state, and local races to be decided – races that could have a serious impact on your personal health, wealth, and liberty.  So what are you personally doing about it?

Have you cast your ballot yet?  Have you donated to the campaigns of candidates you believe in?  Have you written letters to the editor, posted comments on Facebook, posted links to important articles, or called in to radio shows?  Have you attended or tuned in to candidate debates, volunteered for candidates, passed out literature in the park?  Whether you have done any, all, or none of those things, here are 4 things that you can do right now to make a difference in the outcomes of Tuesday’s elections:

1.      Get your own house in order.  Be sure that you have examined the ballot, investigated the candidates – all of them, from Senate to City Council – and studied any initiatives, referenda, bond issues, etc., and decided how you’re going to vote.  Then you need to be sure that everyone of voting age in your household has all of that information and casts informed votes.  You don’t want to find out after the election that your spouse, son, or daughter canceled out your vote through ignorance or indifference.  Make them notes to use when they vote.  They can choose to ignore your suggestions, but be sure they have your suggestions and clearly understand the issues and what’s at stake.

Continue reading Your Influence →

Making the Grade

By Jeff Knox

(October 14, 2014) We in the rights movement have had a relatively easy go of things for the past 20 years or so.  Since the “Assault Weapons” Ban of 1994, the pendulum has been swinging mostly our way.  There have been a few stumbles and some close calls, as well as a whole lot of missed opportunities in that time, but in general, we’ve gained ground.  I fear that could be changing, and I fear this year’s elections could be a critical turning point.

My personal concerns were echoed in an email I received from the NRA this week.  In it, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox declared that we are “within striking distance” of removing Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and Chuck Schumer from control of the Senate, and replacing them with a “pro-Second Amendment majority.”  He goes on to point out that the deciding factor will be a few percentage points in a handful of close Senate races, and, of course, Cox followed up those statements with a suggestion that the best way to further these goals is with a generous donation to NRA’s lobbying division.

The problem is that NRA, like some establishment Republican groups, hasn’t been acting in line with their fundraising pitches.

We all know that Republicans must flip six seats to gain the majority in the Senate, and that, along with a couple of seats Republicans are at some risk of losing, there are only a handful of seats currently held by Democrats that Republicans have a chance at converting.  All of those races are expected to be close, and each of them is critical.  

Continue reading NRA Grade →

Do It Yourself Second Amendment

By Jeff Knox 

(October 10, 2014) Remember the hoopla a few months ago when a young, libertarian entrepreneur named Cody Wilson announced that he had constructed the first functional 3D printed gun?  And the growing outcry from the hoplophobes about “Ghost Guns” and 80% lowers?  Now Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, has introduced a small, self-contained, computer controlled milling machine which can automatically finish an 80% lower in just a couple of hours.  The device has been dubbed the “Ghost Gunner,” in honor of State Senator Kevin DeLeon (D-CA) and his infamous, lunatic rant.  (If you haven’t seen it, look it up on YouTube.  Hilarious!)  The machine sells for $1500.00 and comes with everything you need to get started.

That’s got the professional hoplophobes of the Bloomies and the Bradys all in a tizzy all over again.  Wilson announced the release of the new machine just days after Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced new legislation to require that all home-made guns be regulated in the same manner that commercially manufactured guns are – which, according to the same hoplophobes are completely unregulated…  But all of the hand-wringing and legislation writing is just further proof that these people really have no idea what they’re talking about.  They seem to think that guns are some magical creations forged in high-tech furnaces in Hell.  They clearly believe that making a firearm requires sophisticated machinery and highly specialized skills. 

Of course Shotgun News readers know just how ridiculous that belief is.  While “printing” the parts for an all-plastic, single-shot zipgun is a nifty concept, actually making a similar, but more durable and functional gun, from wood, pipe and nails is child’s play.  Most of us could accomplish the task in under an hour, using nothing but hand tools and junk from the garage.

Continue reading DIY 2A →

Guns in America: An Untold Story

By Jeff Knox

(October 3, 2014) We’ve all heard the old newspaper saying, “If it bleeds it leads,” and we understand that dramatic stories of blood and carnage are attention-getters and ratings-boosters.  The public likes a good horror story, and the news media know it.  Horrific murders, especially those involving multiple victims, are particularly good sellers.  It’s just a fact of life that the core business of media is to “sell papers,” and the advertising in them.  But the core mission of the media is supposed to be to inform the public – you know, report the news.  One area of that mission where the dominant media falls woefully short is in reporting on cases of armed self-defense – even when the actions of the defender clearly saved many lives – and one of the tactics they use when they do report these events is to set the hero apart as something other than a regular armed citizen.

When a worker at a food processing plant in Oklahoma went on a rampage, killing and decapitating one woman and stabbing another several times before being stopped by several shots fired by a senior executive of the company, the hero was repeatedly described as an off-duty sheriff’s deputy.  That hero, Mark Vaughan, was the Chief Operating Officer of the business, and all agree that had he not had his gun readily available, the terror rampage would have taken several more lives.  But painting his actions as those of an off-duty deputy is something of a distortion.  That characterization suggests that he wasn’t an armed citizen, but rather a cop just doing his job.  This helps them to preserve the fiction that only police are qualified and trustworthy enough to go about armed.  In fact, Vaughan is a Reserve Deputy in Oklahoma County; a volunteer position requiring only 11 hours of service per month.  While I don’t mean to denigrate that service, and I’m sure some of the training he received through that service helped, Vaughan was not acting as a deputy; he was acting as a concerned citizen and coworker.

Continue reading GunNews →

The False Promise of Background Checks

By Jeff Knox

(September 25, 2014)

The idea of background checks for firearm purchases seems to sound sensible, but the reality is much different from the appearance.  In truth, expecting firearm background checks to stop criminals is like trying to catch a few particular salmon during spawning season by placing a rock in the middle of the stream and watching for the specific fish to jump over the rock. 

specious:  adjective:

superficially plausible, but actually wrong.

“a specious argument”

misleading in appearance, especially misleadingly attractive.

– merriam-webster.com

There are more than 15 million NICS background checks processed every year, totaling over 180 million checks since the program’s inception in 1998.  Between 98% and 99% of those checks were on regular, unrestricted people – most of whom already own at least one firearm. Of the few prohibited persons stopped from purchasing a firearm, the vast majority either weren’t aware of their prohibited status or thought their rights had been restored; they had no criminal intent.  In 2010, which is typical of recent years, only about 60 individuals – out of 15 million – were considered worthy of prosecution, and only 13 people – out of 15 million – were actually convicted of illegally trying to purchase a firearm.  Not a very impressive return from a program that infringes on an enumerated constitutional right – that “shall not be infringed” – and has cost taxpayers an estimated $2 billion dollars so far.

Continue reading The False Promise of Background Checks →

Demanding Moms’ War on Kroger

Will the grocery giant succumb to the Astroturf campaign?

By Jeff Knox

(September 19, 2014) The PR company, Moms Demand Action, a subsidiary of Mike Bloomberg’s gun control conglomerate, Everytown, is waging a media campaign against one of the nation’s largest grocery and consumer goods companies.  The Kroger Company owns and operates nearly 2500 grocery and department stores around the country including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Scott’s, and other brands.  They employ over 340,000 people, and provide services for tens of millions of customers every year.  Kroger’s stores and subsidiaries make a conscious and active effort to be involved in the communities where they do business, and to operate in a “socially conscious” manner.  They also maintain a policy of following local laws regarding the possession and carry of firearms.

It’s that last bit that has the Demanding Moms targeting Kroger with petitions, email drives, and ridiculous advertising campaigns in newspapers, on billboards, and around the web demanding that Kroger institute a public policy forbidding firearms in their stores.  They say that seeing guns on people who aren’t also wearing uniforms and badges, makes them uncomfortable and feel less safe.

Continue reading Astroturf Assault on Kroger →

Ray Rice and New Jersey “Justice”

By Jeff Knox

(September 12, 2014) The release of a videotape of Baltimore Ravens Running Back, Ray Rice, punching his fiancé and knocking her out, has created quite a stir in the media.  The TV gossip show, TMZ, released the video this week, ushering in a whole new chorus of outrage toward Rice, the NFL, and the Atlantic County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office. 

After an initial 2-game suspension, the Baltimore Ravens have now canceled Rice’s multi-million dollar contract, and the NFL has suspended him from the league indefinitely.  The criticism being leveled at the Atlantic County Prosecutor is based on their decision to allow Rice off through a Pre-Trial Intervention program whereby he must complete an anger management program, possibly perform some community service, report to a probation officer, and avoid any further legal troubles for a couple of years.  In the end, his record will be completely clean, as if nothing ever happened.  Such plea deals are not uncommon for people charged with a first offense, though they are not normally offered in cases involving serious violence.  In this particular case, the prosecutor initially filed a simple assault charge and tried to let Rice off, but had to send the case to a Grand Jury.  The Grand Jury came back with a felony indictment, but the prosecutor decided to be as lenient as possible by offering Rice the Pre-Trial Intervention deal on an aggravated assault charge.

Continue reading Un-Equal Justice in New Jersey →

Billionaires Buying Away Rights

Will Washington residents sell out?

By Jeff Knox

(September 4, 2014) There is a major battle under way in Washington State that has serious implications for the rest of the country.  The battle is between two competing ballot initiatives; one, I-591, to limit background checks in the state to federal standards, and the other, I-594, to require all firearm transfer in the state – with a few narrow exceptions – to go through a federally licensed firearm dealer for a NICS check.

The I-594 campaign has raised over $7 million so far, most of it from a few extremely wealthy individuals, including Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and information mogul turned New York City Mayor turned anti-gun extremist, Mike Bloomberg.  The grass roots effort in support of I-591, on the other hand, has raised just over $1 million, most of that from small, individual contributions.

Seven million dollars will buy a lot of advertising, but will the billionaires’ bucks – and general ignorance about the seemingly commonsense issue of background checks – be enough to overpower the states 1.5 million gun owners?  Polling has shown support for both initiatives, but the intense advertising campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts could swing the numbers in either direction.

Continue reading Washington Battleground →

The Twelve Senate Races You Can Influence

By Jeff Knox

(September 12, 2014) In case you haven’t heard, there are going to be important elections in a few weeks; elections that could have a significant impact on our right to bear arms.

The Democrats currently controls the US Senate, meaning they control the floor agenda and names chairmen of the committees, but more importantly to this election is the Senate’s job to “advise and consent” regarding lifetime appointments of federal judges.  Obama could appoint over 100 judges, and probably at least one more Supreme Court Justice, in the next two years, and Democrats have drastically lowered the bar for confirmations by eliminating the filibuster against nominees, so the only chance to effectively block anti-rights extremists from the federal bench is for Republicans to control the Senate.  To do that, Republicans must hold onto all of their current seats, and flip at least 6 more seats currently held by Democrats.

Continue reading Key Senate Races →

Judge Says Maryland Ugly-Gun Ban is OK

By Jeff Knox

(August 13, 2014) A Federal Judge in Maryland has declared that the state’s ban on AR and AK-pattern rifles and ammunition magazines capable of holding over 10 rounds is not unconstitutional because, she says, these rifles, among the most popular guns in the country, are not “commonly possessed for lawful purposes,” are especially dangerous, and that banning them does not present a significant burden to people wishing to use firearms for self-defense in their homes.

The judgment is in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of gun owners and members of the firearms industry.  The plaintiffs presented three key grounds for Maryland’s new ban to be overturned:

●     That it violated Second Amendment rights.

●     That its exemptions for retired law enforcement officers violated the 14^th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause.

●     That the law is unconstitutionally vague because along with banning a list of specific guns, it also includes a ban on “copies” of the guns listed, but does not define what constitutes a “copy.”

Judge Catherine C. Blake, a Clinton appointee, engaged in an astounding level of circuitous reasoning and selective rationale to reach her conclusion that the gun ban is not unconstitutional.  It is pretty clear that Judge Blake went into this case with a personal belief that guns are bad and dangerous, and that it was her job to find ways to protect Maryland’s draconian new law, which was passed in the wake of Newtown, Connecticut atrocity.  Judge Blake accepted distorted statistics presented by the anti-rights advocates and their paid, results-driven “researchers” as absolute gospel, while dismissing evidence presented by the plaintiffs and their experts. 

Continue reading More Bad Judgement →