Finn

It's nice having a dog again, even if I do miss my old guy.  I'm not so sure that I have any idea what I'm doing.

I do occasionally find myself wondering if I should have him go for some gun dog training in case I ever decide I want to start hunting.  He's absolutely got the drive for it.

I'm not dead

I've been meaning to post here, but, life happens.  I've been way too busy at work, haven't done much gun stuff, and am pretty much burnt out on news / politics.

I've bought a house, put down my dog, and rescued a 4 month old puppy.

There's much going on in the gun world in Delaware, none of it good.  The Red State / Blue State balkanization continues, with individual liberty continually being crushed in the states controlled by Democrats, and not just on the gun front.

Maybe the Courts will save Delaware and other Blue States, maybe not, but it's hard to be hopeful about gun rights and equally hard to continue to fight for them here.  The democrats in DE hear us loud and clear, they know exactly what they're doing.  They want to destroy us.

Their attitude is  "Fuck You.  Sit down and shut up, peasant!"  They fancy themselves like British nobles who will proudly put boots to the necks of us little people.  Point out that they will turn good, peacable citizens into felons?  They don't care.  It's a feature not a bug, because they view us with contempt, are drunk with power, and in their minds, the more of us they can harm the better.

I don't know what the answer is, but what's the point in writing, in e-mailing, in calling, in protesting, etc. when the democrats control our legislature now.   They were furious when we were able to stop a mag ban and assault weapons ban last session.  The little guys stopped them, and now that they have the votes, it's retribution.  "Know your place, peasant, boots to the necks, harder!"

I have long said that DE should be far worse on guns except that our legislature for whatever reason didn't seem to care much for pushing gun control.  Well, that's over now, anda like the Terminator these people will never, ever stop.

Word is CCDW changes are coming, think, no carry, IE NJ / MD.  I suspect the next thing will be a ban on purchases of long guns by 18-21 year olds and restrictions on hunting and hunting licenses in order to extinguish what's left of the pro-gun culture in Delaware and stifle the next generation.

Maybe the Courts will save us, but I have little faith.

PA Reciprocity and How Bloomberg Hurts Gun Rights

What happened this week is a perfect example of what Bloomberg can do to us.  Josh Shapiro, new Attorneys' General in Pennsylvania, just re-wrote all of PA's CCW reciprocity agreements.  VA is gone, ID and AL are added, and now all out of state non-resident permits are no good in PA. 

Kathleen Kane had been doing this on a rolling basis.  I used to carry in PA on a UT non-resident permit, she invalidated those.  I got an AZ permit, she invalidated those, I got a ME permit, she invalidated it, and so on and so on.  She never touched the New Hampshire permit agreement, so for several years I was able to carry on a NH permit in PA despite not having a permit from my home state.  I now have a DE permit and a PA permit, but NH was my "backup."  It's no longer any good in PA.

I now wonder how long before the AG decides all non-resident permits are no good in his state, even PA permits issued to non-residents.

Shapiro received $250,000 from Michael Bloomberg during his race for AG.  That's a huge amount of money donated from one source for a state AG race, but it's a brilliant way for anti-gun folks to buy influence in state legislatures and state governments.

I often wonder, where would the pro-2A movement be today if we had a multi-billionaire backing us?

What Gun Banning Delaware Democrats Want

Here's the "gun safety" platform for Laura Sturgess, Democrat running for State Senate

The problem of violence in or state has many causes, but common sense gun legislation must be part of the solution.  Our legislature has already taken steps to make gun ownership safer in Delaware, but we should go further.  I will support efforts to ban assault weapons, limit the maximum magazine size available in Delaware, and require a state permit to purchase and own firearms.  I applaud the bipartisan effort to ban bump stocks, and trust that amendments will be introduced to address the concerns of current owners of these devices."

Make no mistake, Democrats want to take away guns.  She wants to require a permit to purchase guns AND a permit to own.  Yes, Democrats want to make me get a permit simply to retain  ownership of something that both the Delaware and U.S. Constitutions say I have a right to own.

This is what we are up against.  We are up against Tyrants.

Balkanization Continues with Delaware Assault Weapon Ban

Well, it looks like Delaware is going to get it's own Assault Weapon Ban, which is essentially copied directly from Maryland's.

It'd basically make it illegal to purchase, transfer, or transport an AR-15 or other "assault weapon" in this state, even for those of us with a valid CCDW.  Owners could legally only bring their gun from their legal residence to the range and back, that's it.

Oh, and these tyrants used the 4th Circuit MD decision saying AR's aren't protected under the 2nd Amendment as specific justification for their ban.  Guess which federal circuit Delaware is in.  The 3rd circuit, not the 4th.  Maryland also doesn't have a state level 2nd Amendment, Delaware does.

Stop for a bite to eat after the range?  Felon.  Want to bring your AR to a friends to show him how it works?  Felon.  Staying at the beach for the week and want your AR there for home defense?  Nope.  Felony.

I don't think there's much change of a Federal AWB or much happening on a national scale, but blue states are going to squeezed.  The Democratic Party hates gun owners.  They hate our culture, they hate the entire idea of individual sovereignty.  They want to "other" us, silence us, and make us pariahs and social outcasts everywhere.  They're starting in the blue states where they know we can't outvote them.

I have long told DE gun owners that this state is an oddity, a solidly blue state where, for whatever reason, the Democratic state legislature never much took up a strong push for gun control.  Well, now the Democratic party has gone full Gung Ho for gun control. 

I'm seeing Delaware Gun owners say "Oh, well that can't pass, we have a second amendment and Article 1 Section 20 of the State Constitution explicitly protects gun ownership"  True, but too many don't understand our enemy.  Democrats Do. Not. Care.  They do not care one bit about our rights, the constitution, their oath of office.  They do not care that people are calling and e-mailing them constantly telling them they oppose SB163. They do not care that their facebook pages are  being flooded with opposition.  I checked out the Delaware Democratic State Caucus facebook page.  Hundreds of comments, with whomever runs their page arguing that this wasn't a gun ban and AR-15's aren't protected under the constitution.  People were pissed, but the response from the Democratic Caucus was very clear.  Fuck you.  We are going to do what we want.

Every state that has passed a state level assault weapons ban has been lost.  AWB's are a complete culture killer, and like it or not, we are in a culture war.  In blue states, we are losing that war badly.

I do not know what the answer is for those of us who live in blue states.  We can't fight back (seriously, even getting gun owners to call and e-mail their reps consistently with a firm "knock this off" is like herding cats)  Our only hope is the Courts, who as Clarence Thomas recently mentioned, don't seem inclined to save us.

We are, more and more, becoming Two America's.  There's no way that ends as a good thing for this country.  I don't have an answer as to how we solve things.

Seen on Facebook....

"The question is very simple, what private citizen needs to possess any semi-automatic weapon? Who are these people and what purpose does it serve? It astounds me how much effort is spent supporting these shadows in society as though their rights and ours are one in the same."
                     
So basically, if you own a semi-automatic weapon or think you should, you are a "shadow in society" and your rights are second-tier.

This is what's wrong with our culture.  The "anyone who differs from me is a monster."  The "Anyone who disagrees with me just wants to see dead children."

Let me tell you a story.  My teenage nephew is big into the outdoors.  He loves hunting, fishing, shooting etc.  He's proud of it, it's part of who he is, and he enjoys it.  I also enjoy getting tasty goose jerky or deer meat from time to time.  Hunting is a way to bond with his dad and siblings, and it teaches him the stark reality of what a gun will do and reinforces personal responsibility.  It's a challenge, it's also a way to bond with his dog.  There is absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of on his part.

The other day I was talking to him in the car, and he mentioned to me that black kids in his class are really nasty to him because he's white, and they constantly call him cracker, and he felt that was a double standard, because they never get in trouble for it. He also mentioned that kids are nasty to him taunt him and call him names because he's not afraid to wear camo stuff to school, because he kills animals etc. etc.

Here I am, explaining to this kid that no, he should not ever be ashamed to do what he enjoys, that sometimes people are simply going to hate him because he's white, or because he hunts, shoots, etc.  He seemed surprised to learn that people have said horrible things to me because I own guns, and I impressed upon him that those attacks upon him, upon what he loves (upon his culture) are not a reflection upon him as a young man, but upon those who would denigrate him for it.

He's a smart kid, he gets it, but damn, it's disheartening.  You see the same behavior all over facebook anytime there's a shooting.  Suddenly people who know nothing about firearms our our laws on the books read a CNN article and think they're informed, when really they have no clue what they're talking about.

I look at it from the perspective of the kids.  Are kids and their families who value the 2nd Amendment, for whom guns are an interwoven part of their culture and family life, "shadows in society."  Do their rights not matter?

 I think about the impact of the things I see, the things I have had levied at me for being an outspoken defender of the constitution, the vile things you see penned all over the mainstream liberal news regarding gun owners.  It's still vile, but as adults we are able to separate that from who we are.  I've had people wish death and harm upon me, had people tell me they hope I kill myself with my own gun etc., but adults can handle that, as wrong as it is to have to.

What impact does it have on kids though, for the message on the news and social media to be "If you own and use guns, if you hunt, if you support the 2nd Amendment, something is wrong with you and you are a monster, a vile human being who amounts to a less than, a "shadow in society" who should be shunned and whose rights are not as important as everyone else's"

We see article after article, news clip after news clip about how AR-15's are only good for killing innocent kids, they are "killing machines" etc.  What about the kids who shoot that AR-15 in the backyard with mom and dad?  Or who know dad has one on the farm to protect their livestock from coyotes and other predators.  They recognize that there's a difference between their reality and what the media and social media are saying.  Imagine a kid whose dad is a cop, asking his or her dad why he keeps an AR-15 in the closet for work because she heard on the news that "the only reason to have one is to kill as many people as possible."  What are those who loath gun owners signaling?  That dad just wants to kill people?  That mom is evil and bloodthirsty because of the weapon she keeps in the closet.

What gun control proponents are attacking is culture.  Our culture.  They're saying "If you won't give up your AR-15, you don't love your children?" And then, after they say this, they want us to negotiate and compromise with them?  Their conversation sounds a lot like "sit down, shut up, and deal with all the regulations were gonna shove down your throats" while gleefully treating us like we are the scum of the earth, racist, backward, flyover country dummies who need to be "fixed"

And then they act surprised when we are less than enthused by these so called conversations.You and your ilk just got done telling me how horrible of a person I was because I don't care about dead children.  You start with a characterization that couldn't be further from the truth.  You start with that dehumanization and then expect us to have a "conversation" and cede rights over to you?  Sorry, but NO.

Quote of the Day - Dogs

"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace." - Milan Kundera

Carry Rotations....

I've been carrying for about a decade now, and when I look back, one thing that strikes me as especially absurd is the idea of a carry rotation.  I used to carry whatever I happened to feel like on a given day.

Now?  Now my usual carry piece is Insert ubiquitous plastic pistol here or, similarly, insert smaller ubiquitous plastic pistol here, in the appendix position.  The only change / addition to this is pocket carry, which means I'm carrying a S&W 432pd in a Desantis pocket holster or, when I absolutely can't carry a gun, a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP slipped into a pocket.

*Ubiquitous plastic pistol being S&W M&P, Walther PPQ, M&P Shield

Mencken was right

"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." - H.L. Mencken

Saying that in America even the most morally repugnant people have rights doesn't mean you support anything about them, it just means you see the danger in allowing the majority to say "violence in response to speech is ok, so long as it's done by people we like against people the majority deems "bad" That concept can quickly be turned against you in the future depending upon which majority holds power.

If we allow the mob to decide who is protected by our bill of rights and who isn't, those rights mean nothing. I am seeing way too many people who apparently believe that if they deem an individual or group morally bad enough, predatory extralegal violence against suddenly becomes justified, and the rights of those "bad people" shouldn't be protected. Weird, because using enforcers in the streets to threaten and violently attack people they considered "bad" was exactly what the Nazi's did. It's a hallmark of fascism and marxism and antithetical to American values. The Nazi's called them Browncoats. Today, the American left calls them "Antifa" I hate that the left in America has gone so stark raving mad that they're consistently putting me in the disgusting position of having to defend Nazis.

Antifa

I've been staying away from the news a lot these days, because I think there are better, more fulfilling, more positive uses of my time.

That said, these Berkeley Protests, Antifa etc.  It just makes me sad.  I see people on both sides who are consumed by a great deal of hate.  Hatred consumes and fuels them.  They project it out of themselves and outward toward the evil "other."  In fact, I think most "Social Justice Warrioring" boils down to this behavior.  Well, this and professional victimhood.

I have pretty much no respect for a great deal of political viewpoints, particularly of the "progressive" bent.  But that doesn't mean everyone who doesn't think like me is stupid or evil or dangerous.  I see conservative and libertarians who are proud of the fact that they've basically "purged" their lives (and facebook/social media) of leftists.  I think that's sad and intolerant.  What would it say about me if I couldn't be friends with someone just because they voted for Hillary, or Obama, or Trump, or held different views on political issues?  I dare say it'd reflect far more poorly on myself than on them.

I lived with a hardcore leftist roommate for ~6 years.  I considered him a friend and still do.  What I'm seeing in America is a lot less of an ability to do this.

I also recognize that the hatred is NOT as widespread as it is among the Berkeley crowds and that the mainstream media, social media and social justice / race agitators want people to be at each others throats. They want us to think things are worse than they really are.  I have spent a decade working in the city of Wilmington.  Parking in and walking to and from a very bad area of the East Side.  I am distinctly an "other" in that area.  I keep my guard up, there are those who don't like me, and I've had my share of overtly racist "white boy / cracker" type comments.  Even there, the majority of folks are not bad people, not out to get me nor I them, not criminals, etc.

I thought the hatred, the hysteria, the fake news and othering was bad during the Obama days, and yet now it has all intensified.  I was a bit of a politics / news junkie and even I've gone "yeah, no" and tuned out much of the noise.

A Zack Update

Every time I second guess this dog and think maybe it’s his time, he proves me wrong.  Eventually that won’t be the case.  I’m always glad to spend time with him, even though I worry and even though he is more work these days.  I think the vets were surprised he pulled through after he got sick this time last year. Then, in November he tore his ACL, and his ability to adapt and still get around truly amazed me.

The way I see it, for all the joy, happiness, and laughter our dogs give us through the years, for all the life lessons they teach us, we owe them so very much in the twilight of their lives.  We owe them patience, encouragement, and reassurance, a caring hand, fun trips, and above all, the same fiercely unwavering loyalty that they show us.

Some of his issues remind me of this, though we aren't quite to that point yet.  

Late February on the Bay

January 2017 his favorite place

March 2017 - Those Beach house stairs are tough

Late March 2017 - Told I have to go to work.

Delaware CCDW renewal and carry changes

So, I sent my renewal paperwork for my Delaware CCDW off to the prothonotary this week.

We don't have to jump through all of the hoops required for the original application when doing renewals. No fingerprints & background check, no ad in the newspaper, no class, etc.  Now it's just the $65 payment, the application, and two passport photos.  Also, the permits are now good for 5 years not 3, which is good, since 3 years really turned out to be 2.5 for me due to how they structure renewal timeframes.  Interestingly, my mothers CCDW turned out to be good for 5 years and looks official instead of something done by a drunk college student.  Even though we took our NRA course together, she filed everything a few months after I did and lucked out.

Hopefully they process renewals faster than they do the original applications.  If not, well under Delaware law I can still conceal on an expired permit so long as my renewal application has been filed.

While I didn't carry for a few months after getting the permit, that was for personal reasons due to a crazy situation I was in at the time.  Other than that period, I've pretty much carried daily, 99% of the time.

I've also switched to AIWB, which for my frame is far more suitable for everyday carry than strong side hip IWB.  The switch to appendix carry made perfect sense when I broke my strong side leg during a half marathon in November 2015.  reaching back and drawing from my left hip was out of the question since it meant shifting weight onto the broken leg.  I also screwed up my left shoulder due to the time spent on a walker and found I couldn't draw properly when it was acting up.  Appendix carry worked for me, even while gimped up on one leg.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.....

A case where a man with a TN CCW permit got pulled over in Middletown, Delaware and charged with CCDW without a license has gotten some news coverage recently.

This is exactly what's wrong with gun control. It destroys the lives of good people. The only reason this guy isn't facing a felony and jail time is because the prosecutor decided to do something smart and drop the charges.

Should this guy have known the law and known he couldn't carry here? Yes, but I think we as gunbloggers are a bit jaded. I'm a bit of a junkie about gun / legal stuff, but think about your average person and how little knowledge they're likely to have.

Take someone like my Poppop, a WWII vet.  He doesn't own a computer or smartphone.  Now imagine you're him, don't have a Gunnie to help you and have to go to your public library to find information from someone who is likely overworked, underpaid, and anti-gun (sorry Breda)

This guy is obviously intelligent, but what about someone with an 8th grade education level? I often wonder how many people CCW all the time, honestly thinking that it's OK. Or how many get a permit and think it's good nationwide. How many get a permit and don't keep abreast of changes to reciprocity (which is easy to do) Should those people, who often have no criminal record whatsoever, be railroaded by the court system and turned into felons? Of course not!

The reality is, anti gun folks want us to be treated like this, in order to demoralize us and attack our culture.

Reciprocity

As of this moment, I can legally carry in every state in America except California, Connecticut, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

So basically, I can't carry in a handful of uber liberal states in the Northeast, and the two most liberal states on the west coast, and two outliers, Illinois and South Carolina.

Technically I could apply for a CT non-resident permit, but I don't see myself visiting anyway.  Not to mention the CT permit application has a specific question about your arrest record and I have been arrested before, though it wasn't for a violent crime or anything even remotely serious.

South Carolina surprises me, and I could see reciprocity being expanded there in the future.  Maryland and the Northeast states listed are basically lost causes.  There are Two America's in this country now, and those states have squeezed out their gun culture and with it many freedom loving folks to where they are far past the tipping point.  There's just not enough of a pro-gun & pro-liberty voting block in those states to tip the balance back towards individual liberty.  Gun laws in those states have gotten progressively worse and with that, gun owners flee.  It's a slow process, but through attrition, it becomes that much harder for the remaining folks to fight the petty tyrants.  Oh, and the tyrants know this.




I don't know what it'd take to get reciprocity or even any form of shall issue carry in the states listed (or even shall issue in DE)  If anything the Two Americas is only going to get worse, with red states getting redder and blue states getting bluer.  I'm uncertain what the solution to this is and I'm not entirely convinced there is any good solution.  For now though, I'm pretty happy that by and large, the number of states where I can legally carry my gun has increased.

The Dinnertable is Not the Place for Politics

Over this Independence Day weekend I got to spend the weekend at a cookout at my Uncle and his wife's house.  Present were a friend of his wife's, who I had never met and who was very, very liberal politically.  Also present was a family member who, for lack of a better explanation, I don't get along with, don't respect and generally avoid.  Now, the lady was a leftist, a Clinton apologist and perhaps a bit naive, but so what?* My family member on the other hand, just couldn't resist politics, and the only reason I knew politics was being discussed is because I could hear him raising his voice at this woman, repeatedly.  Why?  Because she defended Hillary and that made you angry?

So what?  I'm not saying never have political discussions with those you're likely to disagree with.  Hardly, I think I learn from such discussions.  That said, there's a time and a place, and a holiday cookout isn't it, especially with someone you've just met when you know full well you're not going to see eye to eye.

If you are yelling at a person because they politely and calmly disagreed with you, you are wrong, full stop.  If I walk outside because of the commotion and you introduce me into this situation with "Mike is a libertarian, a gun owner and an NRA member" and then try to steer the "discussion" to guns, you're just being an ass.  As a dumbass 19 year old kid I may have taken that bait, but at 30 years old, there are things that are simply not appropriate, not worth my time, and just plain old unpleasant. I know how many of those discussions will go, and I could argue the anti-gun side better than the anti-gun leftist I'm talking with at this point.

*Not everyone you meet is your "enemy" just because they disagree with you politically.  I don't have any respect for a whole host of leftist political positions, but that doesn't make every person who holds one of those positions my "enemy" or evil etc., etc. Not every Leftist is Bill Ayers.  I do wonder though, given experience with other anti-gun liberals, how she'd have seen me if she knew I had a pistol on me while I was sitting across from her, drinking a beer and eating tasty meat.