Pentagon gunman sought ‘truth’ about 9/11

Wacko. From California. With guns.

Heh:

Now, I’ve been to innumerable “Truther” rallies over the last 8 years, and can say with some confidence that about 98% of folks who think 9/11 was a hoax are left-wingers, or at the very least fit in very comfortably in the left-wing milieu, since the impetus behind Truthism is to undermine the basis for Bush’s “War on Terror,” an impetus which is also a cornerstone of modern Leftist thought as well.

So far, however, I’ve noticed a deafening quietude on the left-leaning blogs about this guy’s affiliations and belief systems. Those brave enough to troll leftist comments sections have noted mumblings therein that the guy was probably a secret “teabagger,” despite all evidence to the contrary.

At first glance this Willows, California, story seems reasonable: Student expelled for having unloaded shotguns in truck

The board voted 4-0 Thursday to expel junior Gary Tudesko after the weapons were discovered via scent-sniffing dogs on Oct. 26.

Zero tolerance means zero tolerance. You bring guns to school, you’re out of here, mister.

But let’s look at that first sentence again:

The Willows Unified School District board of trustees has expelled a 16-year-old for having unloaded shotguns in his pickup parked just off the Willows High School campus.

Not on school property. Busted anyway.

The school’s principal says that since the area is used mostly by students, he considers it part of the school’s jurisdiction. He also says the school is responsible for students while they travel to and from school.

Does school insurance cover students who get into a traffic accident while on their way to school?

Well, probably not that responsible. That would be crazy.

Now, I’m not really defending this kid for leaving a couple of hunting guns in his car on the street while he went to school. That’s not something I probably would have done. But this school is using dogs to search student cars parked off of school property and enforcing school rules based on what they find.

One thing the principal brings up is the 1995 Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1995 which bars possession of firearms withing 1,000 feet of a school. But non-concealable weapons on private property are perfectly legal. The students truck, I believe, qualifies.

For the sake of argument, let’s say we agree with the 1,000 foot limit. What if students commonly park on a street 1,010 feet from the school? Does that vehicle suddenly pop into the school’s jurisdiction, too? There are limits to jurisdictions for a reason. You can’t just decide to expand your coverage.

Gun Owners Wear Weapons, Politics In Plain View

Story on OC in KTVU in California. The news report is, predictably, not quite balanced.

Advocates of “open carry” meet in public places such as this Cupertino Starbucks. When KTVU was there with a group, no one seemed to notice or care.

Even a police officer driving by failed to see the group drinking coffee outside with their weapons in plain sight.

They don’t seem to grasp that because the cops didn’t do anything doesn’t mean that they didn’t notice.

In California, police can check an OC gun to see if it’s loaded. OC must be unloaded in the state.

Here’s another bit from the story:

At an appearance by President Obama in Phoenix this past summer, open carry advocates showed up with automatic weapons.

Whoops! As far as I know, it was one weapon. And it wasn’t automatic.

What’s a little bit of a lie in a news story if it helps, though?

Be a Good Victim by David Rittgers

Marin County, California:

In August, a man shot two people to death on a bridge near San Francisco. At the moment of the killings, two on-duty Marin County sheriff’s deputies were within 100 yards of the shooter. One was close enough to see the muzzle blast of the shotgun. The police officers, however, did not move against the culprit. One, stuck in traffic, called in a description of the killer’s vehicle as he fled. The other positioned her car to prevent traffic from entering the crime scene.

These two law-enforcement officers did what police officers tell the public to do: Don’t intervene. Get a description of the offender. Call the police. Be a good witness.

Much debate ensued about whether the officers’ behavior was appropriate, but the real tragedy is that the victims of this rampage did not have the legal opportunity to arm themselves. To them, the message was clear: Be a good victim.

“May Issue” can be better than “No Issue”, but it’s a compromise that can work against the God-given and Constitutionally-guaranteed right to bear arms. Sheriff Robert Doyle in Marin County requires applicants to demonstrate “extreme need” before he’ll okay a permit. That’s like forcing drivers to demonstrate that they’re going to be in a traffic accident before the government allows them to put on their seat belts.

Rittgers writes about the District of Columbia and concealed carry, adding:

Tom Palmer (disclosure: Tom is my colleague at the Cato Institute), once used a handgun to deter a mob of violent aggressors who were yelling death threats at him. Tom’s right, and the right of any other citizen, to arm himself should not be subject to approval by a civil servant who will not be present to protect them.

Criticism leveled at he Marin sheriffs for the August incident may not be warranted. Though close, they may not really have been able to do anything.

Which is exactly the point.

So says Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, about the new California law requiring a thumb print and a driver’s license to purchase firearm ammunition while Gun stores are preparing for ammo restrictions

The most important piece of the new law, which has already drawn the ire of the National Rifle Association and some Republican lawmakers, is a requirement that anyone purchasing handgun ammunition provide his or her name, address, phone number and thumbprint. Gun stores will have to keep those records – which also include the type, brand and amount of ammunition sold to customers – and allow police to go through them.

This won’t stop anyone from buying ammo. All it will do is provide an after-the-fact paper trail for someone to follow if necessary. So make sure that everyone realizes that this can do nothing whatsoever to prevent any crimes.

Let’s say that a determined killer needs ammo for his illegal hand gun. He goes to Wal-Mart, shows his ID and gives a thumb print, buys his ammo, and kills ten people. Later, the police can track the purchase down and find out that he bought two boxes of ammunition.

Wow. That’s going to take a bite out of crime.

“The bad guys always seem to get what they need, but we keep making it harder and harder for law-abiding citizens,” [Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills] said of the new law, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law last week. The statute takes effect Feb. 1, 2011.

All this can do to help is to make sure that government officials can track down law-abiding individuals if it wants to.

Firearms Industry Remains Critical of Governor Following Press Conference on Ammunition Bill

Facing his lowest approval ratings (27 percent) in his six years as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) today attempted to mitigate fall-out from his decision to sign into law legislation (AB 962) he vetoed just five years earlier establishing ammunition registration in the Golden State. The governor claimed his flip-flopping on the issue was based on public safety, a far cry from his veto statement in 2004 when he called such burdensome regulations “simply unworkable” and of “no public benefit.”

The California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry – have remained highly critical of the governor’s acquiescence to the gun-control lobby, using his own statistics against him.

NSSF has estimated that AB 962 would cost California at least $2.92 million annually in lost sales taxes and $629,000 in increased operating costs for state agencies. Lost retail sales in California were estimated at $35.7 million.

This will no doubt drive some retailers out of business. Hopefully, many of them will migrate to states that are more American in their outlook on freedom, privacy, and common sense.

Headline from June: Police: Man killed with his own gun during robbery

It’s the “shot with your own gun” warning come true.

Except that it was a home invader who had his gun taken away and used against him.

Maybe they hoped people would only see the headline and not read the story.

In California. Anyway, the other day I was–

WAIT! WHERE?!?

UPDATE: From the comments:

We’re not all do-gooder gun-grabbing assholes out here. Just a lot of us.

From one who is certainly not one of them.

Sebastian:

This has got to scare the Bradys. In their number one state for gun laws, the Assembly Appropriations Committee has suspended the ammunition registration bill.

Gotta admit Murdoc’s pleasantly surprised. It has looked like the past couple of years has seen a shift from “take the guns” to “keep them from buying ammo,” and I expected this bill to be the bombshell that started the big push.

But it’s shelved for now.

‘Moral to this story is don’t mess with the marching band girls,’ official says

Quartz Hill, CA:

A 17-year-old high school marching band student beat up two assailants who tried to mug her as she walked to school in this high desert community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.

The girl punched one of the men in the nose, kicked the other in the groin and beat both with her large baton before she ran away on Friday morning, officials said.

I thought in California you were supposed to comply with the demands of muggers, murderers, and rapists. Someone might get hurt otherwise.

“The moral to this story is don’t mess with the marching band girls, or you just might get what you deserve,” said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Michael Rust.

I guess I see the moral more along the lines of something like ‘Use the best weapon you can to defend yourself, even if it’s only a baton.‘ If you’ve got a better weapon, of course, use that instead of the baton.

Fight two muggers with a baton ten times. How many does the marching band girl win?

In other news, Pizza Hut has issued a new policy stating its delivery drivers can no longer carry marching band batons. (That’s a joke. For now.)

Still, it sure is nice to see someone stick it to the bad guys.