CCRKBA On Chicago Pol's Arrest At O'Hare

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms points out the hypocrisy of anti-gun Illinois State Senator Donne Trotter who was arrested while trying to board a plane at Chicago's O'Hare Airport with a firearm.

CHICAGO ANTI-GUN POL’S ARREST SHOWS TRUE GUN CONTROL HYPOCRISY, SAYS CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA – Today’s arrest of Illinois State Sen. Donne Trotter by authorities at O’Hare International Airport for having a gun in his carry-on bag is a revealing look at the hypocrisy of anti-gunners, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Trotter was arrested at a security checkpoint early this morning. A candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat vacated recently by Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Trotter had a .25-caliber Beretta semiautomatic pistol in his bag. The Chicago Tribune said Trotter told police he worked late last night as a security guard and didn’t realize the pistol was in his bag.

“Trotter is a South Side Democrat and he was a leader in the move to ban so-called ‘assault weapons’ during his first term as a state representative,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “A man who favored banning firearms for thousands of his fellow Illinois residents shouldn’t even have a gun, much less be packing one illegally into an airport.”

Trotter has reportedly been charged with one count of attempting to board an airplane with a weapon, which is a Class 4 felony.

“Senator Trotter, by his own action, has demonstrated the monumental hypocrisy of gun control advocates who try to disarm average citizens while reserving the right to bear arms for themselves alone,” Gottlieb observed. “He should not even be serving in the state legislature, much less be running for a seat in Congress, which already has its share of gun prohibition hypocrites.

“Today’s incident underscores just how pathetic the anti-gun philosophy has gotten,” he concluded. “Perhaps now he will realize how other citizens feel when they run afoul of some anti-gun law or regulation. He should apologize to every gun owner in Illinois.”

As SayUncle noted last night, "it’s universally known on the internet that the .25 sucks."

Thirdpower at Days of Our Trailers notes that while Trotter does hold a FOID card and is licensed to carry as a security guard he doesn't believe that you should be able to carry. Trotter is also reported to be interested in running for the Congressional seat formerly held by Jesse Jackson, Jr.

So he is your typical anti-gun hypocrite. It's perfectly OK for him to carry and own a gun since he measures up to his own personal standards but all the rest of you inbred, knuckle-dragging rednecks are too stupid/ignorant to be trusted and might do something like try and carry one onto a plane.

oh wait.

Maybe he is the perfect replacement for JJJ.

About the only thing I might say in defense of the terminally stupid Sen. Trotter is that he did vote to override Gov. Pat Quinn's amendatory veto of SB 681. It still doesn't excuse carrying a Beretta .25 ACP.

Sure They Can, Bob

NBC sportscaster Bob Costas went on MSNBC last night to amplify on his remarks during the Eagles-Cowboys game on Sunday night. He denied using the words "gun control" and "Second Amendment" on the air saying that people had made an inference that he had.

In his discussion with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC's The Last Word, he then said with reference to the number of football players who own guns:

“Even if all those guns were obtained legally, you can’t have 65 guys in their 20s and 30s, aggressive young men, subject to impulses without something bad happening,” Costas insisted.

Sure you can, Bob.

Ever hear of an infantry platoon or a Marine company? You have upwards of 150 hard-charging, aggressive young men armed with fully-automatic carbines (plus grenades and other explosives) in their teens and 20s led by a young officer in his early to mid 20s. The "old man" in the platoon or company might be the platoon or company sergeant who is all of 30. If "something bad" happens, it is at the direction of the officers and NCOs and is directed towards the enemy.

You could argue the difference between a pro football team and a Marine infantry company is discipline. However, that would ignore the fact that it takes a certain level of self-discipline for both football players and Marines to succeed. Neither got there without it.

Given that Costas is reported to live in St. Louis - a free state, so to speak - it is a bit surprising that he still holds his antiquated views on guns and gun control. It is every bit as surprising as that at 60 years old, Costas has so little gray hair.

UPDATE: Robb Allen has a very interesting post on this same comment by Bob Costas. It is well worth reading.

Is It Time To Bring Back The Guillotine?

I know it is 2012 but sometimes you hear stuff on the news that makes you think you are in 1789 France with King Louis XVI, his queen Marie Antoinette, and the rest of the Royal Court at Versailles.

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

I know it is tradition to pay off big donors with cushy diplomatic posts but isn't appointing Anna Wintour ambassador to anything a bit much?

Quinn's Amendatory Veto Overridden In Illinois House

The Illinois State House of Representatives has overridden Gov. Pat Quinn's amendatory veto of SB 681 by a vote of 78 yea to 28 nay. The breakdown of the vote by representative can be seen here.

Quinn used his amendatory veto power to graft on a ban on certain semi-automatic firearms, standard capacity magazines, and .50BMG rifles to a bill that would allow Illinois dealers to sell ammunition by mail order.

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued this legislative alert on the override this afternoon:

SB681 Bill Has Been Over-ridden By The House of Representatives and the Governors Veto!

Today, the Illinois House of Representatives has voted to over ride SB681 and the Governors veto. By a vote of 78-28-0, the bill is now considered dead.

SB681 as previously reported had to do with restriction of shipping ammunition to Illlinois residents.

Thanks to the Illinois State Rifle Association membership and gun owners throughout the state, along with the many phone calls made to legislators, we were able to stop this bill from becoming law.

 As a point of clarification, Quinn's substitute language is dead and the original language of the bill restored meaning that Illinois dealers can now ship ammo to FOID card holders.

November NICS Checks Set All Time Record

In not unexpected news, the National Shooting Sports Foundation is reporting that the NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System total hit an all-time high in November 2012. This follows on the heels of the announcement that Black Friday was also a record breaker. The previous high had been December 2011.

The November 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,525,177 is an increase of 38.5 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,101,076 in November 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted November 2012 NICS figure of 1,997,703 reflects a 30.8 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,527,454 in November 2011.

This marks the 30th straight month in which the NICS checks have surpassed the number in the same month of the prior year. You can see this trend in the NSSF chart below of adjusted NICS checks for the past 12 months.

 If you want to see the impact of the election and re-election of Barack Obama has played on these numbers, examine the chart below.  November 2008 and November 2012 are significantly higher than the other months of November since the year 2000.

It should be remembered that these NICS checks do not have a direct correlation with sales though they are indicative of sales trends. States such as Kentucky, Iowa, and Michigan use the NICS checks for background checks on those applying for concealed carry permits as well as to check on active CCW holders. Furthermore, as readers pointed out on my Black Friday sales post, in many states including North Carolina holders of concealed carry permits are exempted from the NICS background check.

They Ditch The Firearms Registry And Now This

First the Canadian government ditches the firearms registry and now you have Canadian pension plans buying US firearms accessories manufacturers.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan just bought Plano Molding Company of Plano, Illinois. Plano makes everything from tackle boxes to cosmetics cases with a large line of gun cases in the middle. I know about those gun cases because I have a number of them.

From the press release by OTPP:

TORONTO (November 28, 2012) – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’) today announced an agreement for the acquisition of Plano Molding Company, Inc. (Plano), the premier supplier of outdoor sports storage systems.

Based in Plano, Illinois, and founded in 1932, Plano is recognized as the leading brand in fishing and fall sports markets where it enjoys dominant market shares in tackle boxes, bait storage, gun cases, archery cases, and ice fishing products. It also produces cases for cosmetics, tools and crafts, as well as storage containers and shelving for home and office.

Teachers’ is making the acquisition through its private equity investment division, Teachers’ Private Capital (TPC). Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

“Plano has exceptionally strong brands and product categories supported by attractive market characteristics. It also benefits from its long-standing relationships with top North American retailers,” said Jane Rowe, Senior Vice-President of TPC. “Plano’s proven management team has a record of solid organic growth and has strongly positioned the company to benefit from acquisition opportunities. We look forward to supporting their success.”

“The Plano management team and I are extremely excited to be partnering with Teachers’,” stated Tom Hurt, the Company’s President and CEO. “Together we look forward to growing Plano’s heritage brands to their full potential and continuing our dedication to exceeding our customer expectations in product innovation, market leadership and world-class customer service. An exciting new journey has just begun for Plano, our valued associates and the many market leading brands under our umbrella. The Teachers’ partnership in Plano promises to yield more exciting opportunities than ever before.”

H/T The Outdoor Wire

About Those Arrests At The 2010 SHOT Show

You may remember going back in time, that the FBI arrested a number of defense and law enforcement industry executives and employees attending the 2010 SHOT Show as a result of a sting operation. Incldued in the arrested was a vice-president of Smith and Wesson. These individuals were charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and had been accused of using bribes to influence purchases by the Gabon Presidential Guard.

Steve at The Firearm Blog has an excellent follow-up and summation of what has happened since the arrests in 2010. Without trying to stealing Steve's thunder, the cases fell apart. Steve ends by saying:

So in summery (sic), the BATFE and FBI made a high profile raid during SHOT Show to arrest a 21 gun industry people. Their case was hinged on the word of a thief, druggie and all round morally bankrupt individual. Bistrong got just 18 months while the accused spent two years fighting their case.

Bistrong refers to Richard Bistrong who was the FBI's principal informant.

Light Blogging For A Bit

Blogging will be a bit light for the next couple of weeks. I'm at the crunch time of year at work as well as the semester is coming to a close. It is hard for me to believe how fast this year has gone and now certain things have got to be done.