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Silent Running – Mike + Mechanics

Q&A meeting set on concealed carry law

Residents are urged to attend an informational meeting regarding the concealed carry law referendum that is on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Benton Public Property Commissioner Ronnie Baumgarte said the meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Benton Elks Lodge, 167 Industrial Park Road.

Illinois Carry spokesperson Valinda Rowe said the town hall meeting would include a question-and-answer period.

Illinois is one of only two states with no form of concealed carry law for general citizens. The upcoming referendum would not change any laws, but it could be a first step in the right direction.

“Illinois needs to look at this and join the rest of the country in passing the concealed carry law,” Rowe said. “Michigan passed a concealed carry law in 2001. At that time Jennifer Granholm was the attorney general and she was against the law. Seven years later, she is now governor. All of her fears have been proven unfounded. The law works great in Michigan and in all of the 48 states in which it has been passed.

“We have not been able to get the leadership in Springfield to move this legislation through the system,” Rowe said. “Tonight’s informational meeting will help residents understand the need to pass the referendum to send a message to Springfield to adopt legislation pertaining to a concealed carry law. I encourage citizens to attend the meeting.”

Silver Bullet Firearms here in Wyoming, MI, sent me on this photo of their new billboard on US-131:

Billboard for Silver Bullet Firearms in Wyoming, MI

Why carry a gun?
Because a policeman is too heavy.

Gunning for Victory by Dave Kopel

Definitely worth a look.

I’d like to point out this bit:

The very worst-case scenario for the Second Amendment is -7 in the Senate, and -26 in the House. This would be a terrible outcome, but it is considerably better than the very worst-case scenario for Republicans in both houses. That the former is better than the latter reflects the National Rifle Association’s success in working with pro-gun Democrats. Obviously the more realistic scenario would be smaller losses in both houses, with perhaps a few pick-ups in the U.S. House.

There are a lot of races were pro-gun Republican incumbents are being challenged by pro-gun Democrats — no net loss for the Second Amendment.

While this is completely true and good to know that there is a certain level of “gun safety net” out there for gun owners in the event that things go very badly, it’s also worth remembering that pro-gun Democrats, particularly newly-elected pro-gun Democrats, are going to have significant trouble making much of an impact (i.e., heading off a new Assault Weapons Ban). They will find themselves caught up in the party machine and probably be more of a speed bump at most, rather than a roadblock, to new gun control legislation.

Obama is clearly (despite what he says) very strongly anti-gun, and so is virtually all of the senior Democratic leadership in Congress. I’d rather have pro-gun Democrats than anti-gun Democrats, but when push comes to shove the pro-gun Democrats will usually side with the anti-gun Democrats over any Republicans.

There was apparently an incident in Cheyenne, Wyoming, last week involving a pizza delivery driver:

Cheyenne police have released a description of a suspect accused of firing shots into a pizza delivery driver’s car.

Police are looking for a young hispanic male, about 5′6 tall, and was last seen wearing a dark flannel shirt, dark baggy jeans and is armed with a handgun.

And this in response: Keeping Delivery Drivers Safe

Many fast food delivery companies have taken extra precautions over the years to train their employees safety steps to protect them from dangerous situations.

“We’re always concerned about employee safety and we know we need to execute procedures and policies that the way that we’ve done things, but, we certainly believe that those will keep people safe,” said Lamont Muchmore of Papa John’s in Cheyenne…

“The first thing we even try to do is prevent them from being a target. We have bank drops after drivers are out and no driver should be out with over $20 in their pocket,” explains Muchmore.

Drivers are also expected to carry a cell phone with them at all times and when they deliver late night pizzas, the store calls the residence to make sure they are home before the driver leaves.

I’m confused. The story says “companies have taken extra precautions over the years” and a manager says “Making sure that we follow the policy and that we’re executing the way that we’re supposed to should be a very safe environment for our employees” but the story doesn’t mention anything other than not carrying too much cash and carrying a cell phone.

Where are these procedures that should create a “very safe environment”?

There is no way my odds are this good. Maybe I should go beat someone with a crowbar to improve my score.

Real Halloween back for long traumatized Pa. town

OIL CITY, Pa. – For 16 years, real horror overshadowed the make-believe terror of Halloween in this Pennsylvania town, where trick-or-treating after dark was banned after an 11-year-old girl was abducted off the street and murdered.

But on Friday, pint-sized witches, princesses and vampires will once again be shuffling from house to house at night, thanks to a petition drive by a fifth-grader.

Elizabeth Roess gathered signatures, wrote an essay outlining her argument, and persuaded City Council two months ago to bring back nighttime trick-or-treating.