Ammo Sales Are Up At Winchester

Olin Corporation released their second quarter 2015 results yesterday. I doubt anyone who reads this blog cares what they made on their sales of chlor alkali and caustic soda. However, their results from their Winchester division are interesting.

WINCHESTER

Winchester second quarter of 2015 sales were $194.2 million compared to $181.0 million in the second quarter of 2014. The increase in second quarter of 2015 sales compared to the second quarter of 2014 reflects increased shipments to commercial, law enforcement and military customers. Winchester's second quarter 2015 segment earnings were $33.9 million compared to $33.1 million in the second quarter of 2014. The increase in segment earnings reflects the impact of lower commodity and material costs and lower manufacturing and other costs, partially offset by a less favorable product mix.

As I read this, and I'm not an accountant, both their gross sales and net revenues from ammo sales are up. However, their net margins have dropped from 18.29% in 2014 to 17.04% in 2015. Given that they have lower commodity/material costs combined with lower manufacturing costs in 2015, the fact that their net margins have dropped would be something I'd want to keep an eye on.

I'm thinking that either Walmart is really pushing them on price or that push is coming from their governmental bulk sales. This is all just a guess on my part.

Parts Available At Lowe's

I stumbled across this silent documentary about British production of the Sten during WWII. It called to mind a comment that Tam had made last year during all the angst in California about "ghost guns" and 80% lowers. She noted, "Heck, Lowe's sells 90% Sten receivers on aisle 5."

After watching this documentary, I believe Tam is correct. The Sten is a crude firearm but seeing whole wheelbarrows full of them leaving the factory leaves me almost giddy. A guy can dream.

To The NC Republicans Who Voted To Keep The Permit System, This One Is For You

Back on June 16th, 34 Republican members of the NC House joined with all 43 Democrat members on an amendment to HB 562 that not only kept the racist Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit system but doubled down by adding back the "good moral character" verbiage. This was Amendment Five proposed by Rep. Allen McNeill (R-Randolph). If asked, those 34 Republicans would have said that they were just supporting law enforcement. After all, the amendment was proposed by Rep. McNeill who had been the Chief Deputy in the Randolph County Sheriffs' Department before being elected to the General Assembly.

It just so happened that keeping the pistol purchase permit system alive was also the primary goal of every gun prohibitionist group out there. Both Everytown Moms for Illegal Mayors and Americans for Responsible Solutions (sic) put up big bucks on ad campaigns urging people to contact their legislators to "save background checks". The Brady Campaign was sending text messages and emails left and right.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg's group Everytown sent out this press release saying they had beaten the "gun lobby".

Another NRA Defeat: North Carolina Moms Successfully Defend Handgun Background Check Requirement From Gun Lobby-Backed Repeal Effort

July 27, 2015 By press

NC Legislature Rejects Gun Lobby Attempt to Repeal Background Checks for Handgun Buyers

RALEIGH, NC – The North Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statements today after successfully removing a gun lobby-backed provision out of HB 562 that would have repealed North Carolina’s requirement that all handgun buyers first pass a criminal background check and obtain a pistol permit—and made it easy for prohibited people to buy a handgun from an unlicensed, private seller with no questions asked.

Statement from Sarah Green, volunteer Chapter Leader of the North Carolina Chapter of Moms Demand Action:

“Moms were loud and clear this year – we won’t allow the NRA to put North Carolinians in danger by gutting our state’s handgun background check requirement. We’re pleased that the legislature stood with the 87 percent of North Carolinians who support background checks instead of the gun lobby. Moms will continue to fight for sensible public safety measures that keep guns out of dangerous hands and save lives.”

Statement from Kim Yaman, a volunteer with the North Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action. Yaman, a mother and grandmother who lives in Cary and, along with her two young children, was a witness to the mass shooting at the University of Iowa:

“I am gratified that so many North Carolinians stood up for common sense and convinced legislators to keep our state’s background check requirement in place. Despite the gun lobby’s best efforts, North Carolina will remain one of the 18 states that requires background checks on all handgun sales, and all of us in the Tar Heel State will be safer as a result.”

Earlier today, the Legislature passed a version of HB 562 that did not include that dangerous repeal provision, following a months-long campaign led by a coalition of moms, law enforcement, and the more than 130,000 Everytown supporters in the state who urged lawmakers to keep North Carolina’s background check requirement in place.

Over the course of months, Moms held nine events at the Capitol, made nearly 1,000 phone calls into legislators’ offices, and delivered more than 17,000 petition signatures and emails to legislators demanding they keep North Carolina’s background check requirement in place.

In May, Everytown aired ads statewide highlighting the broad consensus among North Carolinians against HB 562. The ad featured polling paid for by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund showing that 87 percent of North Carolinians support background checks on all handgun sales and a letter from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association urging the Legislature not to repeal the state’s background check law. The bill would have allowed felons and other people prohibited from having guns to buy handguns from unlicensed sellers online or at gun shows, with no background check and no questions asked. When Missouri made this same mistake in 2007, gun homicides in that state spiked by 25 percent.

North Carolina is one of 18 states (plus the District of Columbia) that requires background checks not just for sales by licensed gun dealers, but also for handgun buyers that buy from unlicensed sellers. An earlier version of HB 562 sought to remove North Carolina from that group, and had it become law, dangerous people would have been able to meet a stranger online and buy a handgun with no questions asked. Just last month, the Iowa chapter of Moms Demand Action defeated similar gun lobby-backed legislation in Iowa that would have repealed the state’s background check requirement and put Iowans at risk.

Here are the names of the 34 Republican members of the NC House who sided with the gun banners:

Representative(s): Avila; Blackwell; Boles; Brawley; Bryan; Daughtry; Davis; Dobson; Faircloth; Fraley; Holloway; Horn; Howard; Hurley; Iler; Jeter; L. Johnson; Lambeth; Langdon; Malone; McElraft; McGrady; McNeill; Pendleton; R. Turner; Riddell; Robinson; Ross; Stam (CHAIR); Stevens; Tine; Warren; Watford; Zachary

The Gang of 34 would have you believe that they are true blue supporters of the Second Amendment. They would say they were supporting law enforcement and not voting for gun control. They would point to their rankings by the NRA-PVF and the coveted NRA endorsement as evidence of this. Out of the 34, 30 were endorsed and 27 had an A/AQ or better rating.

That's all well and good but you still sold out gun rights and gun rights supporters. Many of these representatives are in safe seats. 15 out of the 34 had no opposition in the 2014 General Election. They probably think they are invulnerable. I wonder how many of their supporters would be cool with their representative being on the same side as the gun banners. Given the districts that most of the Gang of 34 represent, I'd wager not many. If I were a gun rights supporter who lived in one of their districts and I had a solid resume (and deep pockets), I'd seriously consider running against them in the primary. I would not be surprised to see just that.

Why Do I Suspect A Disinformation Campaign?

Brady Campaign employees Lonnie and Sandy Phillips have been making the rounds of the liberal media proclaiming that they face bankruptcy. This comes as a result of the dismissal of their Brady Center-sponsored lawsuit against LuckyGunner.com, Sportsman's Guide, and others. US District Court Judge Richard Matsch awarded attorneys' fees to the defendants when he dismissed the lawsuit.

As I showed back in April, both Lonnie and Sandy are employees of the Brady Campaign. Lonnie still is listed as a Operations Manager for them on LinkedIn. Sandy, as I said, works for them as a Campaign Manager.

While I can feel sympathy for them for the loss of their daughter Jessica Ghawi, I have no sympathy for them over this. Frankly, while I have no proof, I do have a very strong sneaking suspicion that the Brady Center/Brady Campaign will be the ones actually footing the bill.

If the Phillips are actually going to seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court, it is only because they want to screw the defendants out of the money that is legally owed to them. I think the fact that Lucky Gunner is planning to donate their portion of the money to Second Amendment groups has got to stick in the craw of both the Phillips and the Brady Center.

These TV appearances are an overt attempt to win in the court of public opinion because they have lost, and will continue to lose, in the court system. They acknowledge that they now are seeking Federal legislation that would essentially put Lucky Gunner out of business.

That MSNBC and others have provided the Phillips with a sympathetic ear comes as no surprise to me. They hate gun owners and they hate the Second Amendment. The hell with journalistic ethics when it comes to us. The employment status of the Phillips should have been disclosed as it is an important component of the full story.








UPDATE: Thanks to Linoge, we have a poster that puts it into perspective.

Used with permission

Something To Hang Around The Necks Of North Carolina House RINOs

Amber Goodwin is the State Legislative Director for Americans for Responsible Solutions. In that role, she is Gabby and Space Cowboy's hired gun charged with killing pro-gun rights bills in the states. She sent out this missive late last night.

We've emailed you quite a few times about the gun lobby's efforts to repeal background checks in North Carolina.

I have a very important update to share with you today:

Earlier today, the State Legislature passed HB 562 and IT DID NOT contain language to repeal North Carolina's background checks law -- a great victory for our movement.

Time and time again, Americans for Responsible Solutions supporters made their voices heard through phone calls and letters to state legislators, and contributions that helped us place ads on television and the internet.

That collective effort made this victory possible -- and lives will be saved because of that work.

 Now anybody who knows anything about the North Carolina General Assembly knows that the pistol purchase permit system is still around due to the efforts of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association and their power and money hungry members. While the gun prohibitionists may have had some impact on some Democrats, I can't think of any Republican that was swayed by Mike, Gabby, Shannon, and a bunch of nanny-staters clad in felon orange tees.

Nonetheless, when it comes time to primary those Republican representatives who threw gun rights under the bus at the behest of the sheriffs, I think we should hang this around their scrawny RINO necks. Let them try to explain how their votes to keep the pistol purchase permit system did not please the gun prohibitionists. The answer is that no matter how they try to spin it, their vote to keep that racist system did please those who oppose gun rights.

NC's HB 562 Sent To Governor For Signature

The North Carolina Senate passed HB 562 last night in an evening session by a vote of 40 yea, 9 nay, and one absent. The bill will now be sent to Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) for his signature.

It passed with no new amendments and no drama. Both of those were reserved for the NC House where an unholy alliance of power-hungry sheriffs, gun control groups, Democrats, and some LEO worshiping Republicans conspired to strip the demise of the racist pistol purchase permit system from the bill. The medical privacy component of the bill which provided relatively weak protections to gun owners was also stripped from the bill in a closer vote at the behest of the North Carolina Medical Society.

The bill that was left did include some important gun rights provisions. These include a more standardized process for approving or denying both concealed handgun permits and pistol purchase permits, shooting range protections, expanded campus carry, and shall-issue CLEO sign-offs on NFA items. There are more and the full bill can be found here.

In the end, both gun rights supporters and gun prohibitionists will be able to claim victory. Mike Bloomberg, Shannon, and Gabby will claim victory because they got to keep the pistol purchase permit system. This was a system instituted in 1919 by white supremacist Democrats to keep handguns and other weapons out of the hands of African-Americans, union organizers, socialists, populists, and anyone else that they thought would be an opponent. Gun rights supporters will be able to claim a victory because of all the other stuff we got in the bill which, in the end, may prove to be much more important than the end of the pistol purchase permit system.

Here is the final vote breakdown in the Senate:

Total Votes: 49   Ayes: 40   Noes: 9   Not: 0   Exc. Absent: 1   Exc. Vote: 0

	Democrat	Republican
Ayes:	Senator(s): Clark; D. Davis; Ford; Lowe; Smith; Smith-Ingram; Stein	Senator(s): Alexander; Apodaca; B. Jackson; Barefoot; Barringer; Berger; Bingham; Brock; Cook; Curtis; Daniel; Gunn; Harrington; Hartsell; Hise; J. Davis; Krawiec; Lee; McInnis; Meredith; Newton; Pate; Rabin; Rabon; Randleman; Rucho; Sanderson; Soucek; Tarte; Tillman; Tucker; Wade; Wells
Noes:	Senator(s): Blue; Bryant; Foushee; J. Jackson; McKissick; Robinson; Van Duyn; Waddell; Woodard	Senator(s): None
Exc. Absence:	Senator(s): None	Senator(s): Brown

One final note. It is interesting to notice the vote by the African-American senators on the bill. Five voted for the bill while six voted against it. Interesting.

CRKT And Cold Steel Settle Their Differences

I got the following press release late this morning from Columbia River Knife & Tool:

Tualatin, Oregon, U.S.A.— July 27, 2015

CRKT today announced a settlement of a lawsuit filed in June 2015 in Los Angeles by Cold Steel relating to advertising by Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT). CRKT is satisfied with the terms of the settlement, which are confidential. The lawsuit will be dismissed. Neither party will make any further comment about the lawsuit or its resolution.

I had written about the lawsuit that Cold Steel brought against CRKT about a month and a half ago. I called it a misuse of the courts and I stand by that statement. While I had a request in to CRKT for a response to the lawsuit, they said they couldn't talk about it.

As the press release makes clear the lawsuit will be dismissed and the terms of the settlement will be confidential. It should be interesting to see if there is a change in advertising or other behavior from either party in the near to mid-term future. That would be as clear an indication as any as to the terms of the settlement.

Ian Gets To Play With All The Cool (Old) Toys

Ian McCullom at Forgotten Weapons has a new video up showing an Artillery Luger with a snail drum and shoulder stock in operation. What is cool about this video is that it is in slow motion so you can see the movement of the pistol's toggle as well as the advancement of the rounds within the drum.

HB 562 Comes Before The Entire NC Senate Tomorrow

HB 562, the Second Amendment Affirmation Act, comes before the North Carolina Senate tomorrow. The House version was approved without amendments by the Senate Judiciary II Committee on Thursday of this past week. The bill, even though weakened with amendments in the House, does give North Carolina gun owners some important wins. The alert below from GRNC spells out the good stuff and ask that gun owners contact the Republican members of the Senate to urge them to vote for the bill without any weakening amendments.

Pro-gun bill, HB 562, will be considered by the NC Senate tomorrow (Monday, July 27). Please encourage Senate Republicans to support it … Last week, thanks in large part to the insistence of GRNC supporters like you, HB562 moved smoothly through the Senate Judiciary II Committee. GRNC would like to thank Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham) and Senator Tom Apodaca (R-Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania) for making sure this bill had a proper hearing. Fortunately, the committee did not weaken the bill, which still contains some great gun-rights advancements, such as:  Expanded campus carry (and giving an affirmative defense for defensive gun use on campus); Reduced penalties for carriage onto posted premises; Expanded sport shooting range protection; Reductions in arbitrary permit denials for both concealed handgun permits and pistol purchase permits while reducing the number of disqualifying prior offenses for those permits; A new cause of action against local governments which violate our statewide firearms preemption law; A requirement for sheriffs to sign Form 4s for qualified Title II applicants; A provision for legal resident aliens to get concealed handgun permits; and Short-barreled rifle hunting in addition to the suppressor hunting we passed in 2013.  Now, it's time for HB562 to be considered by the full Senate. To insure its passage, the Republican members of the NC Senate need to be reminded that you expect them to support this bill, and to pass it without weakening amendments. Below, you'll find a copy/paste message and a copy/paste email list that you can use to encourage the Senate's supermajority to act in accordance with their campaign promises by voting in favor of HB562.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
EMAIL SENATE REPUBLICANS: use the copy/paste email address list, and the copy/paste email text under 'Deliver This Message,' below. CONTACT INFO Copy/paste email *list for Senate Republicans: John.Alexander@ncleg.net; Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net; Chad.Barefoot@ncleg.net; Tamara.Barringer@ncleg.net; Phil.Berger@ncleg.net; Stan.Bingham@ncleg.net; Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net; Harry.Brown@ncleg.net; Bill.Cook@ncleg.net; David.Curtis@ncleg.net; Warren.Daniel@ncleg.net; Jim.Davis@ncleg.net; Rick.Gunn@ncleg.net; Kathy.Harrington@ncleg.net; Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net; Ralph.Hise@ncleg.net; Brent.Jackson@ncleg.net; Joyce.Krawiec@ncleg.net; Michael.Lee@ncleg.net; Tom.McInnis@ncleg.net; Wesley.Meredith@ncleg.net; Buck.Newton@ncleg.net; Louis.Pate@ncleg.net; Ron.Rabin@ncleg.net; Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net; Shirley.Randleman@ncleg.net; Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net; Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net; Dan.Soucek@ncleg.net; Jeff.Tarte@ncleg.net; Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net; Tommy.Tucker@ncleg.net; Trudy.Wade@ncleg.net; Andy.Wells@ncleg.net *Regarding the above email list: some email programs may require that the semicolons be replaced with commas.
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Suggested Subject: "Please Support HB562"   Dear Senator: Last week, I was pleased to hear that HB562 moved seamlessly through the Judiciary II Committee, and I am writing to urge you to continue shepherding this pro-Second Amendment bill toward the governor's desk without weakening it. HB562 will be a great step forward for gun rights in our state. I strongly encourage you to back this bill, and to encourage your colleagues to do the same. Please vote for HB562 as it is currently written, and please vote against any weakening amendments. I will be closely watching your actions on this subject through legislative alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. Respectfully,

Frustrated Is Good; Stymied Is Even Better

The BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel was given an exclusive interview with President Obama. In that interview, Mr. Obama said:

"If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which, we do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings," Obama said. "If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands."

I am proud to say that I have supported organizations and legislators who have helped stymie his assault on the Second Amendment. I know Mr. Obama thinks nothing of abrogating the rights of Americans by using his "pen and a phone". When he mentions in the video below that he has 18 months to work on "gun violence" (sic), I take him at his word and am willing to fight him every step of the way. Nothing he has proposed or will propose is "common sense".

MDA Claiming False Victories

Moms Demand Action has never been above claiming a victory where there is none. I came across the picture below yesterday. It seemingly shows Academy Sports and Outdoor stores changing their policy because of a push from the Demanding Mommies. As I mentioned last week, they are on a campaign to get Cabela's to kow-tow to their demands regarding the erroneously named "incomplete checks."

They also posted a similar photo regarding Dick's. Now I don't care really what Dick's does because I think they live up to their name post-Newtown.

I checked the Academy Sports website to see if they had any press release regarding this. I came up empty. Likewise, I came up empty on the Everytown Facebook page. Now it gets me to wondering if they just contrived this out of thin air. So I went to that fount of all knowledge, AR15.com, and posted a message on the General Forum asking about it. Out of the 88 replies, I got this one that seems to indicate Academy policy has always been to only release a firearm when they got a definitive OK. Bear in mind that this is from a part-time employee and not a store manager.

I work at Academy part time. Its 21 for handguns and pistol grip shotguns. 18 for long guns, period. I can's even show a handgun or pistol grip shotgun to anyone under 21. But if you're 18, you can buy any long gun. Academy won't sell a gun without a "Proceed" or a CCW (at least in MS). IDK about historical data as I have only been there about 2 months.

Other comments seem to indicate that this policy probably came down from their risk management department a long time ago.

So is Academy Sports and Outdoors kow-towing to the Demanding Mommies? Probably not. They had, and have, a policy in place regarding NICS checks that was more stringent than called for by law. It's not a victory because nothing was changed when Shannon and her minions came calling. It is a policy they like but it wasn't a win.

About Damn Time!

The White House has finally ordered flags to be flown at half staff to honor the four Marines and one Sailor murdered in Chattanooga, Tennessee last Friday. I think the embarrassment of seeing the flag at half staff at the Capitol while flying at full staff at the White House may have finally prodded them into doing the correct thing.

From FoxNews

From FoxNews:

In a proclamation issued early Tuesday afternoon, Obama said of the Chattanooga victims, "We honor their service. We offer our gratitude to the police officers and first responders who stopped the rampage and saved lives. We draw strength from yet another American community that has come together with an unmistakable message to those who would try and do us harm: We do not give in to fear. You cannot divide us. And you will not change our way of life."

He ordered flags flown at half-staff at the White House and "all public buildings and grounds," as well as over military posts and naval stations and vessels -- until July 25. Flags will be flown at half-staff at U.S. embassies and other overseas diplomatic offices.

The decision comes after congressional leaders ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol lowered to half-staff earlier in the day -- that decision fueled questions over why the White House hadn't yet done the same.

Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) had issued an order that flags in NC be lowered to half staff on Monday to honor these fallen service members. Staff Sgt. David Wyatt was born in Morganton, NC. Gov. Bill Haslam (R-TN) had previously issued a similar order in Tennessee ordering that flags be flown at half staff until Friday.

SAF Rips Plan To Add Social Security Recipients To NICS Database

Alan Gottlieb and the Second Amendment Foundation didn't mince words when they ripped into the proposal to include those who have trouble managing their Social Security checks in the NICS prohibited person database. They make an excellent point when they say that gun control supporters will see nothing wrong with this proposal.

From the SAF:

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today responded to published reports that the Obama administration is pushing to prevent citizens collecting Social Security benefits from owning guns if they have problems managing their own affairs as proof the president wants to strip as many people as possible of their Second Amendment rights while he remains in office.

“This could possibly disqualify millions of people from owning firearms and might prevent many others from seeking help,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, himself a U.S. Army veteran. “It’s unconscionable that someone who might have problems balancing a checkbook or managing their finances would suddenly find himself or herself stripped of their right to keep and bear arms.”

The plan, according to the Los Angeles Times, “could potentially affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others.” The report says this push “is intended to bring the Social Security Administration in line with laws that prevent gun sales to felons, drug addicts, immigrants in the United States illegally, and others.”

“So, let’s see,” Gottlieb observed. “The Obama administration wants to equate some Social Security recipients who own guns with felons, drug addicts and illegal immigrants. That’s not simply insulting, it’s insidious, because who knows where this could lead?

“What’s next,” he wondered. “Will they take away someone’s right to vote, claiming they’re not competent?”

Published reports estimated about 4.2 million adults are now receiving monthly Social Security benefits that are managed by someone else, designated as “representative payees.”

“What may seem reasonable to people who reflexively support any and all gun control is really just one more effort by the Obama White House to erode Second Amendment rights any way they can,” Gottlieb stated. “Taking away someone’s Second Amendment rights because they can’t manage their finances is wrongheaded and repugnant.”

NRA Response To Social Security Proposal

The NRA-ILA issued an alert on Saturday after the story broke about the proposal to include 4.2 million Social Security recipients in the NICS database as prohibited persons. This proposal from the Social Security Administration has been traced back to a Presidential Memorandum issued in 2013. That memorandum, issued post-Newtown, ordered Federal agencies to improve the availability of relevant records for inclusion into the NICS database.

The alert does not explain why it took the SSA over two and a half years to come forward with this proposal. Moreover, the alert notes that other Federal agencies were named in the memorandum and might be expected to add even more names to the prohibited list.

There are links in the alert to communicate with your legislators.

From the NRA-ILA:

As the L.A. Times reported on July 18, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is currently developing a program to strip the Second Amendment Rights of over four million Americans currently receiving SSA benefits through a “representative payee.”  Not only would this amount to the largest gun grab in American history, but according to the published report, would take place without any due process protections for recipients, amounting to a nullification of Second Amendment rights for millions of Americans who don’t pose a threat to themselves or anyone else.

This new program appears to have been instigated by the SSA in response to a memorandum issued by Obama in January of 2013 which directed all federal agency executives to “improve the availability of records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).” This memorandum required all agency heads to submit to the Department of Justice (DOJ) a plan for “sharing all relevant Federal records” for submission to the NICS.

Take Action Now to Stop the Largest Gun Grab in American History

Are you a prohibited person? A new, unconstitutional Social Security Administration program will add over 4 million Americans to the prohibited persons list without due process. Contact your lawmakers today. Ask if you're one of the 4 million.

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS NOW

Evidently, Obama’s SSA bureaucrats read “all relevant Federal records” to mean all Social Security recipients who have a “representative payee” assigned to their accounts to help them manage their payments and receipts. Obviously, many individuals swept up in this egregious case of bureaucratic over-reach would not otherwise be prohibited from owning, possessing, or acquiring firearms under federal law.

The federal prohibitions against acquiring or possessing firearms apply to those “adjudicated as a mental defective,” among others. The term “adjudication,” however, refers to a determination made after a judicial-type process that includes various due process protections. In no case does the federal law describe or contemplate the type of prohibition by bureaucratic fiat exercised by the SSA in developing its guidelines for those with “representative payees” assigned to their accounts.

But SSA is not alone in this directive. The memorandum names several agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, and “such other agencies or offices as the Chair may designate.” Potentially, bureaucrats in all these agencies could be working hard to identify and forward “all relevant Federal records,” to the NICS pursuant to the Obama mandate.

In total, this program could easily grow to include many more millions of Americans who have any connection to the Federal government through the various agencies named in the memorandum.

Unfortunately, this fits a pattern of abuse within the Obama Administration which is clearly hell-bent on destroying the Second Amendment in any way possible. As we reported previously (here and here), the Veterans Administration (VA) has already implemented a similar program to designate veterans as “prohibited persons”  when they have a fiduciary assigned to administer their VA benefits. Like the SSA program described above, the VA procedures are also devoid of significant due process protections or any requirement that the beneficiary be found a danger to self or others. According to the L.A Times article, 177,000 vets have been swept into NICS with the bureaucratic short-cut.

The implications of this policy are too far reaching to fathom at present. Social Security is one of the more prolific and relied upon Federal programs in American history. That Obama’s directive could so easily be implemented within the SSA suggests that bureaucrats could effectively cloak such a program in any agency within the growing leviathan that is the federal government.

Please call or write your members of congress and demand that Obama’s attempts to implement the largest gun grab in American history be stopped in its tracks.  You can contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives at 202-225-3121. You can write your lawmakers by using our "Write Your Lawmakers" tool below.

NC Sets 2015-16 Webless Migratory Bird Seasons

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has set the dates for webless migratory bird hunting for 2015-2016. They also set the early seasons for Canada geese and teal.

A quick look shows that dove season starts on the traditional Saturday before Labor Day and that resident Canada geese inland from the coast must be getting to be a real problem. I say that last bit because the daily limit for geese during September is 15! Not only that but you can use an unplugged shotgun and electronic calls. I guess some golfers are upset about them pooping all over the manicured greens.

The other thing I noticed is that there must be some Biblical injunction about shooting birds on the Sabbath. The commission has said there shall be no migratory bird hunting on Sundays.

RALEIGH, N.C. (July 17, 2015) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has approved the season dates for dove and other webless migratory game birds, as well as September seasons for Canada geese and teal.

Seasons and bag limits for most species are similar to last year. Shooting hours for all species are ½ hour before sunrise until sunset unless otherwise noted. Dove hunters should note that shooting hours for the entire season, including opening day, begin at ½ hour before sunrise. The change to opening day shooting hours for doves was implemented several years ago. 

Each year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provide frameworks from which to select the seasons and the Wildlife Commission chooses the actual dates within these guidelines. The Wildlife Commission requested public input on the seasons throughout June on its website.

The 2015–16 seasons for webless migratory game birds and waterfowl early seasons are:  

Species	Season	Daily Bag
Mourning Dove & White-winged Dove1	September 5 – October 10, November 23 – January 15	15
King & Clapper Rails1	September 1 – October 3, October 23 – November 28	15
Sora & Virginia Rails1	September 1 – October 3, October 23 – November 28	25
Gallinule & Moorhens1	September 1 – October 3, October 23 – November 28	15
Woodcock	December 17 – January 30	3
Common Snipe	November 13 – February 27	8

1Daily bag limit is either singly or in aggregate.

·      Federal guidelines allow for shooting hours for all migratory game birds to be from ½ hour before sunrise to sunset.

·      Possession limit is three times the daily bag for all species. 

·      These listed seasons do not include Sundays.  There shall be no hunting of migratory game birds by any method on Sundays.

Species	Season	Daily Bag
Canada Goose	September 1 – 30 (statewide) 1.  extend shooting hours to ½ hour after sunset 2.  allow use of unplugged guns 3.  allow use of electronic calls These expanded methods are only to be allowed west of U.S. 17.	15
September Teal (blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon teal)	September 12 – 30 (East of U.S. 17 only)	6

·      Federal guidelines allow for shooting hours for all migratory game birds to be from ½ hour before sunrise to sunset.

·      Possession limit is three times the daily bag for all species. 

·      These listed seasons do not include Sundays.  There shall be no hunting of migratory game birds by any method on Sundays.

The 2015–16 extended falconry seasons for webless migratory game birds are:

Species	Season
Mourning dove/White-winged dove	October 15 – October 31
Rails, Gallinule and Moorhens	December 5 – January 9
Woodcock	November 7 – December 5 & February 1 – February 27

• The falconry daily bag limit is 3 permitted migratory game birds, singly or in the aggregate.  The regular, i.e., gun season bag limits for individual species do not apply.
• The falconry bag limit is not in addition to the gun bag limit.
• These listed seasons do not include Sundays.  There shall be no hunting of migratory game birds by any method on Sundays.

For more information on migratory game bird hunting, visit Waterfowl and Migratory Game Birds in North Carolina. For more information on hunter safety, hunting regulations and the free Hunting Heritage Apprentice Permits, go to www.ncwildlife.org/hunting

Hasn't Bought A Gun There, Has She? (Updated)

The latest little campaign that has sprung from the febrile mind of Shannon Watts is against Cabelas. It's entitled, "Tell Cabela's: No Completed Background Check, No Gun Sale."

Tell @Cabelas to delay gun sales until background checks are completed #NoCheckNoSale pic.twitter.com/kwBsDEqen7 @MomsDemand #gunsense

— Shannon (@shannonrwatts) July 13, 2015

Unlike Little Ms. Shannon and her acolytes, I have actually purchased a firearm at Cabelas. I bought a used FN Mauser in 6.5x55 at the Greenville, SC store last year. As I'm sure Linoge would attest, Cabelas is not slack when it comes to gun sales.

Let me take you through the process as I remember it. Also bear in mind that I have a NC CHP which is accepted as a substitute for the NICS check in North Carolina. I also have a Curios & Relics FFL which could have allowed Cabelas to ship that Mauser to my door if I had gone that route.

First, the clerk wrote up the sale. He then took me, my ID, and the firearm to another sales counter to start the NICS check process. I was turned over to a specialist who handled the Form 4473 paperwork which was actually on the computer. After I filled out the computer screen, it was checked for accuracy. Then it was checked again by a manager. I remember having to wait until an authorized manager was available. Once she gave the OK, it was submitted to the FBI in Parkersburg, WV.

It came back OK. Duh! A manager gave the authorization to complete the sale.

Now I actually pay for the Mauser. After I paid for it, a manager walked me and the firearm out of the store. From time the transaction began until I walked out the door was close to 30 minutes.

Shannon, please tell me again how Cabelas is being a slacker when it comes to firearms transactions.

I also note that you are addressing your petition to Thomas Millner who is the CEO of Cabelas. I have one word for you - Zumbo.

Prior to becoming the CEO of Cabelas, Tommy Millner was the CEO of Remington Arms for 10 years. He was CEO of Remington when Jim Zumbo stepped on it. He pulled Remington's sponsorship of Zumbo's TV show within a matter of days after Zumbo called the AR-15 a "terrorist rifle".  Millner saw the outraged response of the gun community and he listened.

So Shannon, let me pose this simple question to you. Do you think Tommy Millner and Cabelas is going to kow-tow to you and your airhead friends OR is he going to put his business at risk?

I think we all know the correct answer.


UPDATE: Linoge posted this on Facebook regarding the differences between a denial and a hold/delay in a NICS check. He worked the Gun Library at Cabela's for a while so I think he knows of what he speaks. The key thing is that the default in the NICS check is "yes". He gave me permission to reprint it.

Wait.

Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America are harassing Cabela's for abiding by federal law?

Let's make something clear here - an FFL making a sale on an "incomplete" background check is breaking the law. Period dot.

Cabela's doesn't sell people guns if they don't complete their background checks. I should know. I helped with those background checks.

Furthermore, a "hold / delay" in the background system is NOT an "incomplete" background check.

For those not in the know, the background checks you submit to whenever you purchase a firearm from an FFL - ANY FFL at ANY location, including gun shows - can have one of three responses.

1. Approved. Congratulations. You're either not a criminal, or you don't share enough identifying characteristics with a criminal, and you're allowed to purchase a firearm.

2. Denied. Suck. You're either a criminal, or you share enough identifying characteristics with a criminal, and you can't buy that gun. You can, however, appeal the decision. I know of perfectly law-abiding folks who ONLY ever get this response, and it gets overturned every time. The system is that broken.

3. Delayed. Wat? Well, the FBI - you know, the owners of the NICS system - have an explanation of this right here: https://www.fbi.gov/…/federal-firearms-license…/a-nics-delay Basically it boils down to NICS is not willing to say the person's clean, but can't find any reason to deny him, so they're going to go do some more homework. If the FFL doesn't hear anything from NICS after three full business days have elapsed, they are allowed to lawfully transfer the firearm to the buyer.

That is not an "incomplete" background check, as the blithering imbeciles at the anti-rights organizations are trying to get everyone to believe. That is a background check that failed to discover any disqualifying problems in the buyer's history, and, as such, cannot prevent the person from purchasing the firearm.

Simply put, the government doesn't give us the permission to buy firearms. They only tell FFLs if we're not allowed to - the default, however, is "yes", as it absolutely should be in the free, permissive society that America is supposed to be.

Suffice to say, statists like the ignorant tools at Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Bans want the equation to work the other way.

It's Because Of All Those School Shootings By Grandmas With Alzheimers

Alzheimers and dementia are dreadful diseases. They leave an individual as a shell of their former self. It hollows them out and leaves a physical shell with no soul. As I've often described it to others, the person you knew and loved has died. In their place is a sweet little lady (or man) who (hopefully) brightens up when she or he sees you. They will sweetly ask you, "How is your mother?", and act exasperated when you tell them "You are my mother".

I have seen the ravages of Alzheimers up close and personal. My mother died of it in 2008 after suffering from it for five to six years or more. Now my mother in law Grace whom I dearly love is moving towards the middle stages of the disease.

So why am I talking about Alzheimers and dementia?

Because of this as reported on the front page of the LA Times:

Seeking tighter controls over firearm purchases, the Obama administration is pushing to ban Social Security beneficiaries from owning guns if they lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, a move that could affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others.

The push is intended to bring the Social Security Administration in line with laws regulating who gets reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is used to prevent gun sales to felons, drug addicts, immigrants in the country illegally and others.

A potentially large group within Social Security are people who, in the language of federal gun laws, are unable to manage their own affairs due to "marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease."

There is no simple way to identify that group, but a strategy used by the Department of Veterans Affairs since the creation of the background check system is reporting anyone who has been declared incompetent to manage pension or disability payments and assigned a fiduciary.

If Social Security, which has never participated in the background check system, uses the same standard as the VA, millions of its beneficiaries would be affected. About 4.2 million adults receive monthly benefits that are managed by "representative payees."

The move is part of a concerted effort by the Obama administration after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., to strengthen gun control, including by plugging holes in the background check system.

But critics — including gun rights activists, mental health experts and advocates for the disabled — say that expanding the list of prohibited gun owners based on financial competence is wrongheaded.

Though such a ban would keep at least some people who pose a danger to themselves or others from owning guns, the strategy undoubtedly would also include numerous people who may just have a bad memory or difficulty balancing a checkbook, the critics argue.

So as the individuals - not all of whom are elderly by the way - suffer from a disease for which there is no known cure, the Obama Administration is looking for ways to rob them of even more of their dignity.

The whole idea is utterly repulsive.

If the criterion for being added to the NICS prohibited list is the inability to manage your own financial affairs, I have seen more people than I can count who would be on that list. I'm talking educated people - professionals. Many with advanced degrees and specialties. People with whom you would entrust your life if you were in the hospital yet who have debt out the ying-yang and are living paycheck to paycheck because they can't get a handle on their finances.

Heck, if the inability to manage financial affairs was the sole criterion, most Democrats and many Republicans in Congress would be on the prohibited list given how they've helped screw up the economy. I'd add in every appointee in the Obama Administration that has helped grow the national debt to over $17 trillion.

So while we have a mental health system in crisis, while we have "lone wolf" Islamofascist terrorists killing unarmed Marines, while we have street gangs in major cities having more control of the city than the police, while we have young men who aren't being treated for their psychosis engaging in mass murder, while we have all of this, the Obama Administration thinks the way to solve "gun violence" (sic) is to put grandma on the NICS prohibited list.

What the hell are they thinking?

No Preliminary Injunction In California 1st Amendment Gun Store Case

California law prohibits a gun store from having advertising on the building indicating that they have handguns for sale. Obviously, this is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of the store owners and it was for that reason that they sued California Attorney General Kamala Harris last November.

The judge hearing the case, US District Court Judge Troy L. Nunley, an appointee of President Obama, agreed that the First Amendment rights of the plaintiffs were being violated. Nonetheless, he refused to issue a preliminary injunction as it "would alter the status quo" and he found that this was a greater harm than the damage to the plaintiffs' Constitutional rights.

Say what?

Please tell me what harm there is to the public by allowing a store to put a Team Glock sign or a S&W logo on their front display window.

I'll let the CalGuns Foundation continue the story.

July 16, 2015 (SACRAMENTO, CA) – The State of California’s ban on handgun-related speech by licensed gun dealers likely violates their First Amendment speech rights, held a federal judge in Sacramento earlier this morning. The order, issued by District Court Judge Troy L. Nunley, found that the ban is probably unconstitutional, likely doesn’t materially reduce crime, and likely irreparably harms plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to express themselves the way they wish to. Nonetheless, the judge allowed the restriction to temporarily stand, while the case progresses further.

The gun dealers argued that California Penal Code section 26820—first enacted in 1923—prevents them from displaying any “handgun or imitation handgun, or [a] placard advertising the sale or other transfer thereof” anywhere that can be seen outside their stores and “unconstitutionally prevents firearms dealers from advertising even the most basic commercial information—‘Handguns for Sale’—at their places of business.”

In today’s order, Judge Nunley said that the State “does not meet its burden of showing that the Central Hudson elements, in tandem with the additional First Amendment principles discussed above, are met. Therefore, Plaintiffs raise serious questions going to the merits of their First Amendment challenge to section 26820.

“On balance – based on the arguments and evidence currently before the Court – the Court also finds it is more likely than not that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim.”

While California Attorney General Kamala Harris had argued that the law was useful in preventing handgun-related crime, the Court held that “there is not adequate evidence produced by the Government showing how, specifically, limiting impulse buys from passersby helps to manage handgun crime and violence….the Government has not shown that the ban is narrowly tailored to achieve the desired objective of managing handgun crime and violence.”

Drawing an inference that most prospective gun store customers would believe the dealers sell handguns in addition to other types of firearms, the Court said that common-sense understanding “perhaps shows the pointlessness of section 26820.”

In spite of the fact that the firearm dealer plaintiffs showed a “likelihood of irreparable harm” to their First Amendment rights, and Judge Nunley’s finding that Harris failed to show how the law actually advanced public safety, the Court said that the public interest is best served by allowing the California Department of Justice to continue enforcing the challenged law during the course of the lawsuit.

“Granting the injunction would alter the status quo by requiring California to alter its regulatory scheme and practices as they pertain to firearms. Therefore, the Court takes the requisite caution in deciding against altering the status quo. With due consideration to the free speech considerations raised by Plaintiffs, which are also of public interest, a cautionary approach that favors denial greater serves the public interest than granting the injunction.”

The gun dealers noted that judge’s arguments for a “cautionary approach” in denying the preliminary injunction are undermined by his conclusion that the law likely isn’t really reducing crime.

In response to today’s ruling, California Association of Federal Firearm Licensees (CAL-FFL) President Brandon Combs said that the firearm dealers are reviewing the decision and considering their options.

“While we are pleased that Judge Nunley agrees with us on the law’s likely unconstitutionality, it’s disappointing that he would allow the State of California to continue enforcing it during the balance of litigation.

“If this were a speech case about abortion providers rather than gun dealers, I doubt very seriously that the Court would have allowed the law to stand while it was being litigated. For that matter, it’s hard to imagine that Attorney General Harris would have bothered defending it.

“We look forward to the plaintiffs’ next steps and will continue to support the case until the law is overturned and our dealers’ First Amendment rights are restored.”

Today’s order in Tracy Rifle and Pistol, LLC, et al. v. Attorney General Kamala Harris, et al. and other case documents can be viewed at calgunsfoundation.org/litigation/trap-v-harris.

The lawsuit is supported by CAL-FFL, California’s firearm industry association, as well as Second Amendment rights groups The Calguns Foundation and Second Amendment Foundation.                         

UPDATE: Professor Eugene Volokh discusses the case at the Washington Post. He advised on the case and thinks the judge got it wrong here.

As we noted in our reply, the “impulse buying” rationale for the law rests thus on a rather far-fetched argument. It imagines a person who is in the grip of some emotion (presumably anger, jealousy or depression). He “otherwise might not enter [a] store” (to quote the state) to buy a handgun — even though he is seized by an emotion that presumably makes him contemplate violence, and even though everyone knows that handguns are commercially available.

That the store is free to have a sign saying “Guns” and has signs depicting rifles or shotguns does not influence him at all. But when he sees the word “handguns” or a picture of a handgun, he “respond[s] on impulse,” and then waits 10 days to get a handgun that he otherwise wouldn’t buy. After those 10 days are up, he then proceeds to commit a handgun crime (or commit suicide). His rage or depression is thus strong enough to last 10 days — but so weak that they wouldn’t drive him to get a handgun, were it not for an ad that specifically depicts or mentions a handgun (as opposed to some other gun).

The court agrees that this sort of argument isn’t reason enough to justify a restriction on speech promoting handguns. I think it likewise can’t justify keeping in place a restriction that the court has recognized likely violates the First Amendment; instead, as is normal for such likely unconstitutional speech restrictions, the restriction should be preliminarily enjoined while the litigation proceeds.