The NICS Improvement bill, H.R.2640, was signed by President Bush yesterday as expected. 

    I was pleased to receive a note this evening from Alan Korwin of GunLaws.com letting me know that his analysis of the final bill jibes with my own.  Alan was one of the few calm and thoughtful opponents of the legislation and his acknowledgment that the final version is much improved is refreshing.  You can read what Alan had to say here , and you can read the actual bill here, and of course my Knox Report on the subject is available here. 

    The hype about H.R.2640, the NICS Improvement bill, is heating up again.  I have just posted a Knox Report about the bill here and a link to the actual text of the bill as it passed here.

    I find myself in the uniquely uncomfortable position of defending a bill that I do not particularly support, but the attacks on this legislation and the NRA are so outrageous and unfounded that I can not simply stand by and let them go unanswered.  Anyone who is familiar with me and my family knows that we have never been reticent to kick NRA in the shins when they get off track and I am definitely no blind NRA minion.  In this instance, I am frustrated that NRA entered into this deal knowing that it would be contentious within the gun rights community, but charged ahead heedless of objections and determined to keep all other players away from the negotiating table.  NRA's disrespect and dismissal of the gun rights grassroots continues to be one of their biggest problems and will be the organization's downfall if they don't take corrective action.

Continue reading More Hype About NICS Bill →

    A Colorado family had their front door kicked down as a squad of SWAT officers with drawn guns stormed into the home handcuffing the parents and placing all of the occupants face-down on the floor at gunpoint.  The object of the raid was 10-year old son John who had fallen and bumped his head the previous day.  A neighbor who saw the fall called paramedics who barged uninvited into the boy's home where he was being treated by his father.  The paramedics wanted to transport the boy to the hospital even though they saw no sign of serious injury.  The father, who was a combat medic in Vietnam, preferred to keep the boy under observation at home and refused to allow him to be taken to the hospital.  The paramedics called police and 24 hours later, after the boy had been checked by police and social workers and showed no signs of complications from the fall, Sheriff's deputies acting on a warrant signed by a Magistrate, burst into the family's home and took the boy.  Doctors examined the boy, promptly gave him a clean bill of health, and released him into his parent's custody. Continue reading More SWAT Follies →

    Academics for the Second Amendment have been members of The Firearms Coalition since they were created in 1992 and we have supported their mission and efforts since that time.  Now our very good friends Dave Hardy, Joe Olson, a nd Clayton Cramer are joining forces under the A2A banner to write and file an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the DC gun ban case, DC V. Heller.  While it is unusual for an outfit like ours, which depends on direct support from our readers, to recommend financial contributions to other organizations (When was the last time you saw any other gun group asking you to send money somewhere else?), we think this amicus brief is important and it's something that we are not equipped to do ourselves.  Therefore, I invite you to read the following from Academics for the Second Amendment and, if you are able, consider helping them in this important matter. Continue reading Academics’ Amicus →

    John Hosford, one of the great, unsung heroes of the gun rights movement and a dear personal friend, passed away on Christmas Eve while visiting his son in Washington State.  The Knox family sends our deepest condolences to John's family as we join them in mourning his passing.

    John was one of the biggest men I have ever known, in physical stature, enthusiasm, commitment, loyalty, and heart.  Even though we occasionally found ourselves on different sides of the internal battles that have plagued the gun rights movement over the years, John was one of the few who never let a difference of opinion turn into personal animosity towards my father or our family.  His friendship held through the good times and the bad and he never wavered in his love and friendship.

    The last time I saw John was at the Gun Rights Policy conference in Cincinnati last October.  Even then, two years after Dad's death, John could not speak of him without choking up.  We didn't get as much opportunity to visit that weekend as we would have liked, but I was glad to bump into him while I had Mom on my cell phone to let him say hello.  He returned the phone almost an hour later with a depleted battery after catching up with Mom and reassuring himself that she really was doing well.

     John served in law enforcement for many years, was Executive Director of the Citizens' Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and spent some time in D.C. working for NRA-ILA.  One of his proudest moments was when his baby grandson was recognized as the youngest Life Member at the NRA Convention in Seattle.  John was a committed and tireless laborer for the right to keep and bear arms, willing and able to take a leadership role, but never hesitating to dive into the trenches and get his hands dirty.

    There will never be another like Big John.  He will be sorely missed.

Jeff Knox

27 December, 2007