As one of the thirteen original colonies, North Carolina maintains the moral and legal concept that the right to keep and bear sporting arms is one of the fundamental privileges granted by our American Democracy.

This privilege should be infringed upon only when deemed necessary, through the will of the people in a democratic nation, to insure public safety or to prescribe the manner of taking game. We do not anticipate any legislation abrogating these premises.

Terry Sanford, Governor of North Carolina – Guns Magazine, February Issue 1962, Page 4

[Oh that whole statement is full of so many different individual falsehoods it’s not even funny.  First this is “history” as this article is out of 1962, however it’s recent history.  Doubly so since this statement was given just prior to the GCA of 1968.  This whole statement remains relevant because this is how many of our opponents view the Second Amendment.

Lets start off with the fact he considers the right to arms a privilege.  It isn’t a privilege, it’s a fundamental right that is specifically enumerated by the bill of rights for protection from the state.  Second we don’t live in a Democracy, we live in a Constitutional Republic where the law serves to protect everyone equally, not just the mob. 

If you’re confused by the difference, watch this, I’ll even embed it below just to make it even easier.   Seriously, it is worth the 10 minutes.  

Our constitution exists to protect the rights from the people.  With the fact he considers the right a privilege his disrespect dissolves further into the classic claim used to infringe upon a right. That claim is necessity.  He uses necessity as the validation for infringing on a right.  Necessity however does not allow or expunge the fact that inalienable rights are not for the government to take or a mob of people to take.  Even when the people are tricked into thinking that it is better for them to surrender that right for the greater good, that right cannot be surrendered.

These two complaints are also independent of the fact that his being elected governor of one of the original thirteen colonies makes him think that some how his argument carries further weight in establishing it as a privilege not a right.

Remember, even now there are those who believe that the enumerated right to “Keep and Bear Arms” as affirmed by Heller and McDonald is still just a privilege.  Not only is it just a privilege, but one that could be revoked if they could just get rid of that pesky Second Amendment.  -B

h/t David Codrea]

By far this is the worst instance I have seen.  The story is down right disturbing.

A young woman in Milwaukee called the cops when someone threw a brick through her window. One of the cops who came to help raped her.

As if that alone wasn’t bad enough.

She took her story to the Milwaukee District Attorney’s office. A prosecutor subsequently wrote, “While I did find the victim’s version of events credible, I did not believe that her testimony would be strong enough to successfully prosecute Officer Cates.”

Eventually the victim got the feds involved.  The federal prosecutor immediately found enough to prosecute. 

As the case headed for trial, Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Cates had been investigated for illegal behavior on five previous occasions, three of them involving sexual misconduct. Two of those were with prisoners. The third was with a 16 year-old and that case had been referred to the Milwaukee district attorney’s office, which declined to prosecute. The priors came as no surprise to the 19-year-old who was now accusing him of raping her while he somehow remained employed as a cop.

Especially since there was a history with this officer as well.  Except that history couldn’t be used in the trial.  This is by no means hearsay or dragging a good man’s name through the gutter because a jury of his peers convicted him. 

A jury on Wednesday found fired Milwaukee police officer Ladmarald Cates guilty of violating a woman's civil rights by raping her after he responded to her 911 call in July 2010.

Anything less than life in prison is too dang short.  This predator went into law enforcement to seek out victims.  Local law enforcement protected him and did their best to stop victims from pursuing action against this monster.  I’m not one to wish ill or harm to others, but that’s one individual I wouldn’t mind seeing get some serious special treatment in the shower.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 253:  Lamarald Cates

Because when a woman calls for help what’s she’s really doing is asking you to rape her, at least according to Milwaukee PD.

h/t Uncle, and Jennifer says something about it here.

*I may take a few days off the criminal count.  This one made me unbelievably angry, upset, and even physically ill.  That such a monster like that could 1) serve, 2) be protected by his fellow officers, and 3) be protected by the local prosecutorial authorities is down right sickening.  Every last one of them shares responsibility.

A decent number of you contacted me regarding A Little Taste of Home and I figured I’d give a quick update.

I’ve got new contacts now for soldiers overseas, many of whom are in a position to distribute the coffee amongst their brothers in arms.  I’ve got more addresses coming in daily from other friends and contacts.  I’m thinking at this point I’ll be able to send all the coffee straight out unless some how I get a massive influx.

I did have a question about monetary donations so I can just buy the coffee.  I want to try and set something up this weekend but I can’t make promises.  There’s some legal aspects I need to investigate too on the money front.

If you know someone overseas and want to send them coffee, do it.  My suggestion for the type of coffee is Starbucks Via, especially if they’re in any type of combat position.  Besides, it comes highly recommended by associates of the guy’s were sending it to.

If you want to participate hit up the contact form or send an email to: soldiers.angels at the-minuteman.org and I will add you to the distribution list.  Same goes if you’re a soldier that stumbles across this and would like some coffee.

To those who’ve already signed up to help.  Awesome and thanks.

Imagine that, the only people really shocked at this are the sheep who still think the TSA still has something to do with "safety".

Authorities say a Transportation Security Administration agent has stolen $5,000 from a passenger as he was going through security at a New York City airport.

Now, it was in the passengers coat going through the X-Ray, not in his luggage.  Well I hear a bunch of you crying to maintain possession of the money except the TSA requires people to remove even money belts.  How serious are they about that fact, they forced an elderly woman to remove her back brace, against TSA policy, thinking it was a money belt.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 252: Alexandra Schmid

Because when you're the creme of the crop and still paid minimum wage, you should take forcible donations from those you rule over.

So Jay asks the question:

Well, here's your chance. If you could re-live one gunnie day over and over, which would it be, and why?

Honestly it's a very close race.  I'll tell both the stories and see if you can figure out which wins.

First up is the first time I took the wife shooting.  It was one of our first dates and she shot just about everything I had.  From the .44 Mag revolver, to the M1 Garand, to my little old 10/22.  It was a fun date and I've got pictures of it around here somewhere.  It was that date I also decided that I was going to either Bic my head or go with a buzz cut from now on.

The second option is the last time my dad and I went to the range together.  We spent a good chunk of the morning shooting pistol drills switching between the Hi-Standard and 1911.  The uncle I am named after was visiting as well.  We spent a decent chunk of time looking for what was to become my graduation present.  While at the range/gun store I told the clerk I was looking for a Remington 700 VS.  He asked what caliber and I responded, "308 Winchester".  He promptly responded, "What the hell are you planning on shooting with that!?"  Without missing a beat I replied, "Two legged varmints at 500 yards."  My uncle and dad burst into laughter.

We found a gunsmith and ordered it about a month later.  We finally picked it up 10 months later on my 19th birthday.  Hell that was a fun day too, but he never got to actually see me behind his gift to me.  I finally got to the range a week before we said our last good byes and handed him a quarter with a nice .30 caliber hole through the middle taped to a paper plate with the date and range of 200 yards.  He just looked up and grinned.

If I had to pick a day, it's that last day I spent on the range with my dad.  I really miss that.

This one's been making the round on the gun blogs.

Ends up Evyl Robot has a couple signed CDs from Madison Rising.  So what are you waiting for!?  Get over there and sign up!

Remember, they're only upset with their hired goons employees when they get caught.

A TSA agent at Dallas/Fort Worth International airport was arrested for stealing iPads from checked luggage.

How did this cream of the crop individual who was most highly qualified to work the TSA and protect us from the dangerous terrorists accomplish such a feat I hear you ask.

Police arrested Clayton Keith Dovel, who works in terminal E at the airport, but unlike the security checkpoints where passengers are screened, the 35-year-old TSA employee works in an out-of-sight position in what's called the "Resolution Room," where checked luggage is screened by hand.

X-ray the bag, see an I pad, grab it.  Those bags need extra hand screening you know!  How was it they caught this individual?  It wasn't the police or the TSA who reacted to the reports of theft and found a correlation.  Nope it was an owner of the iPad that tracked it down.

Another theft victim actually led police to Dovel when he tracked his stolen iPad to Dovel's home.

Not to mention they caught the man red handed with a stolen iPad while at work.  So how does the TSA deal with these thieving individuals while claiming zero tolerance regarding theft?  You know, other places that have a "zero tolerance policy" and you violate it, your ass is immediately canned.

In a statement, TSA said Dovel is on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

It's uncertain how many cases Dovel's arrest might solve or whether the TSA will let him return to a trusted position.

Still think we need the TSA?  It's nothing but a security theater and a shopping center for a bunch of jack booted thugs to bully, harass, intimidate, and steal from hard working Americans.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 251: Clayton Keith Dovel

Because finding a man with stolen property and numerous separate reports indicating he stole other property is by no means a reason to fire someone, much less suspend them without pay.  Zero tolerance my ass.

So evidently I really must have done something right this month.  I dang near went double my previous best.  For anyone who has decided to stick around, sweet, I’ll try and keep the cream flowing. 

The big item that really shoved this month over the top was my Open Response to Joan Peterson.  Evidently that was a verbal lashing that people seemed to appreciate.  For the record, when I wrote it I didn’t even really expect it to even be a blip on the radar so that makes it doubly awesome.  By the way, as expected, there has been zero response or acknowledgement of my response by Joan.  Given how it spread like fire it is hard for me to believe that she didn’t see it.

I also got a bunch of feedback that proved how much of a wonderful job I’m doing.  I will have more on that later though.  Sebastian touched on it today but I noticed something this afternoon and I need to do some research and connect the chronological dots.

Thanks to everyone who linked me, and thank you to Uncle that pushed me over the 7000 mark linking my A Taste of Home post. Which I’m glad to say is starting to take off. I’ll blog more on that tomorrow night though.

Poole also awaits trial on 10 counts of sexual assault while on duty, including rape, sexual battery and sexual misconduct stemming from 2010 allegations. He was cleared on a separate charge that he inappropriately touched a woman he was bringing in on a warrant.

Note the keyword also.  See he finally was brought down after he beat his son with a trophy and his son ran to a neighbor and called the police.  The investigation into these issues started all the way back in 2010.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 250:  Jeffrey Pool

Because in the world of arrests and investigation the only thing slower than molasses is investigating the crimes of a police officer.

A grand jury indicted a Cincinnati police officer accused of breaking into a home and choking a woman inside.

Ok, he broke into a house and assaulted a woman.  It can’t get any worse right?  Now why do you think I’d bother posing that question!

Court documents indicate that Kiner was accused of stalking the same woman and damaging her car in November and a temporary restraining order was issued against him.

But the case was marked "ignored" on the last court document in late November, indicating the grand jury did not indict Kiner.

Good thing we have that Lautenberg amendment to protect women from abusive stalkers from using firearms.  Thankfully in this case the Officer didn’t use a firearm, however the Brady Campaign will not be lighting a candle for her as she is not a  victim of gun violence.  Not to mention that the officer would still be allowed to carry a firearm while on duty anyway.

Besides the woman was most certainly allowed to survive by the mercy of her attacker:

The 42-year-old Kiner was initially charged Monday with aggravated burglary after he was accused of breaking into a Paul Street home, choking the woman and dropping a gun on her chest before leaving.

So as many of you are aware there are a bunch of anti-rights cultists staging a boycott on February 14th.  As a response our side of the fence is holding a buycott.

As I've been reading through the blogs and Facebook events there are a lot of people who don't drink coffee.  One particular comment stood out to me today.

Hey, can someone buy one extra for me? I wish I could be there to support but I am doing my part to defend this country.

Let's hit two birds with one stone.  Lets send our troops overseas a little taste of home.  I'm currently working on contacting Soldiers' Angels to get the details on where to send donations with no firm destination.

If you are stationed overseas and would like a delivery, please contact me with your APO or FPO address.  I will mail any requests personally directly to you or your unit.  I have no idea how much traction this little idea is going to get, my hope is it gets a lot.

If you would like to participate or donate please contact me and I will keep you filled in with the details.  I want to ensure we fill requests from troops overseas first before sending it to Soldiers' Angels.  So, just because you don't drink coffee yourself is no excuse, you can buy a bag of roasted beans and send them to some one overseas who will greatly appreciate it.

Note: If you buy coffee to send overseas, get the pre-ground individual packets.  Keeps it fresher and not everyone is going to have access to a grinder.  Thanks Fred for the reminder.

I see a kiosk at the mall.  Right next to the blood pressure machine.

John Doe – Conversation at work last week

I have to agree, it would be nice to walk into the mall, push a button, and have it build me a nice stripped lower for an AR-15.  All the while members of the Brady Campaign promptly start checking their blood pressure in the machines right next door.

The work done by Sebastian and crew proves that gun control is impossible, no matter how hard the anti rights cultists try the cat is out of the bag.  When it is possible that someone with out any serious mechanical ability and push a button and create a weapon, prohibition is a hopelessly lost cause.  –B]

So Joe pointed out today that the new battleground for firearms rights is going to be background checks.  Our opponents are realizing they lost the fight to ban the right to firearms.  His quote points out where much of the future fight is going to be.

Joe points out that background checks are teetering on the edge of registration.  If the FBI runs a NICS check on someone you can be sure they are in the process of buying a firearm.  If they maintain that record they know every individual who purchased a firearm and had a background check.  Currently all this would take is to stop the record deletion after 24 hours.  That’s it, just stop the delete call in their system.

My personal experience has transformed me from someone who would possibly ignore the inconvenience to someone who understands it’s pointlessness, how it allows for the violation of rights, and why it does nothing for the benefit for the security of society. 

For those who are unaware I was charged with 2 felonies, both non-violent, in 2005.  The charges were brought about because of a very bad auto accident.  Both of these charges were dropped and I have never been convicted of a felony.  There is no legal reason, or even social reason  why my right to a firearm should be restricted.  I have never done anything provocatively violent, I have never presented a reason that I am a threat or danger to society.  All that happened was I had a bad accident in poor weather and road conditions.

Now with that history in mind, whenever I go to purchase a firearm the NICS check issues a hold on the transaction.  I am not allowed to pick up the firearm for 5 days until they finish their “background” check.  I had my concealed weapon returned to me by Washington State Patrol after the trial, with a notarized letter from the prosecutor stating there is no reason to restrict my rights to a firearm, and yet I was given a full Deny while trying to purchase a weapon.  It took a full year before that issue was fixed.  I tested it once a month with a friend who has an FFL in Moscow.

It has been said, “A right delayed is a right denied.”

In the case of the year of 2006 however I had every right to a firearm yet I was denied.  Even today I am delayed in exercising my right to purchase a firearm.  I can file with the ATF and FBI to retain my NICS record so the hold will no longer occur.  For those that miss that translation, I waive my right to have them delete the record and enter the realm of having registered myself with them.

There are many who would claim that background checks are a wonderful thing.  Helping to stop domestic abusers from getting firearms and elevating their crimes.  Except it will also prevent a battered woman for seeking a tool that will level the playing field.  The blade cuts both ways and I care more about the cuts towards the innocent and law abiding.  If someone is considered to be such a threat to a person or society that they can not be trusted with a weapon they should be placed in prison.  The Lautenberg Amendment, while well intentioned, violates due process and allows for the confiscation and deprivation of rights of an individual without their facing their accuser. 

There are numerous other tools that can be obtained, without background checks, that are just as dangerous and deadly in the hands of an abusive spouse.  You can’t perform a background check on someone before they’re born.  Doing a background check does nothing to stop someone without a history.  Not only that, there are ways to avoid having a background check when buying a firearm.  Even if you make private firearm transactions illegal, it will still not stop the black market and back alley firearms sales.

I’m all for stopping abusive people from getting their hands on weapons.  My problem is anything can be a weapon and when the “solution” to the problem delays the innocent that the law is trying to protect.  Background checks are nothing but another tool to be used to infringe on a constitutionally guaranteed right, as stated by the SCOTUS in Heller and McDonald.  Not that the constitution really matters in this fact anyway.

Not really feeling it today. I'm taking today off check back tomorrow.

The good news is I figured out how to blog from my phone. Very awesome considering text to speech.

"Plaintiff by backing away or beginning to leave was not evading or resisting an arrest at that point, because there was no evidence of a crime or other basis for any arrest of plaintiff to be made," Chief US Magistrate Judge James R. Marschewski ruled. "At most the evidence established that the severity of plaintiff's conduct was the failure to comply with a command of an officer. While this may be a crime, defendants offered no proof of any such crime or its severity, and plaintiff was never charged with any such crime."

The judge condoned this action though by not holding the officers or department liable for their actions.  Instead of providing a punishment that would instill fear in those who would abuse the public while wearing a shield he issued the following judgement.

The judge found payment in full of Kirby's $167 in medical bills covered his actual damages. The judge also ordered the city of Barling to revise its unconstitutional taser policy that allowed use of tasers against individuals passively resisting officer commands. On the question of pain and suffering, the judge found Kirby was only entitled to $1 in compensation.

Someone hit that judge with a taser please because he obviously has no concept of how badly that hurts.  Screw him and the horse he rode in on.  He's nothing but a petty tyrant that wants to enable other tyrants to work without fear of serious fiscal penalties.  This statement from the judge proves it:

"Although I concluded excessive force was used on plaintiff, I do not believe the evidence elicited shows the conduct was motivated by evil motive or intent or involved reckless or callous indifference to plaintiff's federally protected rights," Marschewski wrote. "At most, the evidence established that the defendants, in reacting to plaintiff's desire to leave the scene and failure to submit to their commands, failed to meet the situation at hand with an appropriate degree of force."

Uhh, dumbass he was a passenger in a car, he wasn't being detained or under arrest, and he was walking to his mother who was going to give him a ride home.  Under those circumstances he had no reason to submit to a pat down, which he verbally refused to.  You're tyrant ass thinks that him being assaulted over that isn't a violation of his rights.

There is no question the judge in this instance helped enable the environment where the police department would be so willing to exercise less lethal force when no force is required.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 248: James R. Marschewski

Because when you don't act like a good sheep the cops can do whatever the hell they want.  They just want you to comply, there's no malice in that intent right?!  Just surrender your rights like a good little bitch.

via Uncle, with whom I agree, Tar + Feathers and apply liberally.