Recently in RKBA Category

So, I got dinged for jury duty. I don't have a problem with that, although I hope I don't get picked to serve on anything that takes longer than a day, if I'm picked at all. I'm probably a lawyer's worse nightmare as a juror. I think criminals should be punished, I don't trust the government, and I believe in jury nullification if a law is bad.

What bugs me is that because I'm barred by law from carrying a concealed handgun into a courthouse, I have to leave it in my car. It gets worse though, there is no parking provided for prospective jurors so I have to park somewhere downtown, leave my gun in the car and walk some unknown distance to court.

The court's website highly encourages me to take the bus due to the parking issue. If I did that I would end up arriving with no legal way to enter the courthouse, and yet be legally required to enter the courthouse, or I'd have to leave the house unarmed.

I can somewhat understand why licensees are barred from carrying in court, there could be some highly emotional stuff going on, but as a juror I don't see what that has to do with me.

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if they provided a locker or something where I could store my piece in private.

If you hold views opposite of mine regarding a citizen's right to own guns, you might think I'm some kind of frightened suburbanite afraid of the big city. I'm not. I'm reasonably certain no one is going to attack me, and I can handle myself, that's not the issue here.

The issue here is the laws when combined make for some bad outcomes. If I leave it in the car, it could get stolen. If I forget to leave it in the car, I could be in some deep legal trouble. If I leave it at home and need it, I could be dead.

You know, if you think about a law where something is perfectly legal at one place, and then 50 feet away it becomes a felony, that's a good sign the law is dumb. Either we trust people or we don't.

As we have all heard about, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others were shot, and some died as a result.

I hate hearing about these events. Some good people are gone, and we all feel the loss. I wish we could live in a world free from tragedy such as this, but the reality is that things like this will always happen.

Within hours some people were already calling for bans on large capacity magazines, and for the Assault Weapons Bill to be reinstated. It's a very knee-jerk reaction, that in my opinion does nothing to make any of us safer.

I am concerned that if those people have their way, they will actually make me and my family less safe. I know that there is no law that our government could enact and realistically enforce that could prevent someone from attempting violence against me and my family.

Ultimately, we are all our own protector. Events such as this strengthen my resolve to carry every day and to learn and become better at the skills I may need to be that protector.

Reason's article on the subject.

I've been driving by Ghost Town Burgers for years now going to and from Austin Rifle Club, but have never eaten there until this weekend.

The burgers are great, and the staff was friendly.

The only turn off was the big ol' 51% sign that you can't see until you go to order your food. It's a pretty big area, like an old west town, so I'm not sure if it would be legal to carry on the rest of the property or not.

So, good burgers, but I probably won't go back unless I'm in the mood to have a few beers. I don't blame the establishment at all, just our stupid laws. To me, it's not worth going around without my secondary self-defense tool (primary self-defense tool is between your ears) or opening myself up to some kind of legal troubles.

My wife was watching a neighbor kid this morning while his mom went on a field trip with his sister.

I work from home, and openly carry a pistol while at home (in a holster of course).

I went out to the kitchen this morning and forgot to un-tuck my shirt and cover it, and he noticed it and asked me if that was a gun?

I said "yeah" and he said "oh", and went back to what playing.

I thought it was kind of funny compared to the furor a gun ban organization is leveling at Starbuck's for complying with state laws. 5 year old boys apparently can handle open carrying without messing their pants, why can't they?

I once had a little debate on a friend's blog about some other guy's vow to boycott any manufacturer who developed "smart gun" technology. Their point of view is that this is bad for our gun rights.

I really can't agree provided the free market is allowed to work, and is not meddled with by our "representatives". Technology isn't inherently good or bad, and it certainly can't do anything on its own (until Skynet becomes operable that is).

Anyway, here is something for them to boycott on thefirearmblog.com. :)-~

Personally, I have no desire for the silly, yet expensive, thing, but if they ever came out with something useful I wouldn't hold this against them. I think it's interesting that you have to squeeze the grip to activate the "smart" stuff. It would be somewhat cool if they integrated the P7's squeeze-cocker into that. If you have to waste time doing that, you should at least get a single action trigger pull out of it.

Just to be clear, I think it's a waste of money and damned sure wouldn't trust my life to it, but if it appeals to you, go for it.

Why are gun control activists obsessed with everyone's penis?

Let's see what we have here:

• Penis obsession
• Racial stereotyping
• Using a person's picture without permission
• Distorting that person's face to look sinister
• Acting like a three year old when asked by that person to take the picture down

Classy.

I guess using reason, logic, and facts to argue his position was too "hard" for him.

I was sitting at my desk reading a PDF my friend Hsoi forwarded me from arfcom comparing some ammunition.

My son, who we shall call bar.c and is 3 1/4 years old, came in and saw some of the pictures.

After he said the usual, "That's for Daddy." He said, "guns go FIRE and make people cry." Obviously, guns don't go "FIRE," they go "BANG," and he parroted the word in such a way that I think he saw something where someone gave an order to fire. Or maybe he saw something with some muzzle flash. Who knows ...

Now I don't try to shelter my kids from the real world, but we don't allow them to watch violent stuff either.

I have intentionally exposed him and his brother, baz.c, to only a few gun related things:

• We have done the Eddie Eagle video and repeated the mantra
• They have seen me open carry around the house from the time they were very little
• Very occasionally I will have a rifle or shotgun out to move, clean, or what have you

These are all non-violent things.

We will have to be more vigilant about the TV.

I thought it was interesting how at a basic level it was similar to the anti-gun position. The guns went "FIRE," not the people. It might have some implication as to why people with no direct experience or knowledge of guns may become hoplophobes, or I could just be over-analyzing the whole thing.

Not working out that well.

It means there are over 2,000 crimes recorded per 100,000 population in the UK, making it the most violent place in Europe.

By comparison, America has an estimated rate of 466 violent crimes per 100,000 population.

Imagine that. Less guns, more violent crimes!

Better hope you don't get this guy.