It's Not About the Crime, It's About the Paperwork

The story of Bruce Abramski Jr. is a sordid tale, but as near as I can tell the gun charges against him are bullshit. Abramski, a former police officer and one-time suspected bank robber, bought a gun in Virginia using his police discount and sold it to his uncle in Pennsylvania through an FFL. That sounds legal. Apparently not:

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Wolthuis said Abramski violated the law in two ways, by telling a Collinsville gun dealer that he was the actual purchaser of the gun, and by causing that dealer to maintain false records that Abramski bought the gun for himself. Additionally -- though this was not part of the charges -- Wolthuis noted that Abramski got the discount on the pistol by claiming to be a Roanoke police officer, something he had not been for nearly two years at that point.

I'm guessing the authorities have a hard-on for getting this guy, but if this is the only trumped up charge they can come up with it sounds like they have nothing more than a hunch he was the bank robber.

I'd say the gun dealer might have some standing for fraud considering Abramski claimed to be a LEO when he wasn't, but that sounds like a civil matter and not criminal.

Brady Campaign's Dennis Henigan Addresses Falls Church City Council

Dennis Henigan, Vice President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, addressed the Falls Church City Council tonight regarding the water rate increases. Like 90% of the customers of Falls Church's water system, Henigan is a captive user living in Fairfax County, and he doesn't like it that Falls Church City is raising the water rates.

The story is reported here in the Falls Church Times, but they've misspelled his name. Henigan doesn't identify himself other than by name and as a lawyer. Video of the meeting is available here, his moment is just over 1 hour into the meeting (compare it to his ugly mug on the Brady website). As is the custom when members of the public address a city council or county board of supervisors, Henigan gives the street address of his residence.

Of course, Henigan is right that the city of Falls Church is raising rates unfairly and in a manner that is abusive. Fairfax County residents lucky enough to be hooked up to the Fairfax County Water Authority pay a third of what Falls Church charges, and the new proposed rate increase is justified by a dubious study from a city-hired consultant with questionable credentials. As Henigan states, the rate increase violates the spirit of the decree handed down in the recent court case that Falls Church City lost against Fairfax County over water rates. But he gets what he deserves: Henigan's service to the Brady Campaign is all about agitating for abusive government policies trumped up by bogus statistics and misleading statements with disregard to the needs and well-being of American citizens.

But there is a problem here... I too am on Falls Church water.

S&W 1911SC Two-Tone

WANT!

I've talked about getting a 1911 this year. I don't have one. I'd also like to have an honest-to-goodness Smith & Wesson firearm (I have a Schofield replica, but it wasn't made by S&W). This would satisfy both criteria. I was given clearance by the boss sometime ago to purchase a 1911 as a centennial piece. But I have a couple of demands:

1. Can't be a PoS
2. Must be made in the US of A
3. Nothing funky

The Ruger SR1911 does fit that bill, but my flaming chicken collection is doing fairly well and will likely continue to grow if I can ever get a .44mag revolver. I also don't see the SR1911 being anything other than a safe-queen.

But the 1911SC looks like it could be a good carry gun, and with the night sites a good IDPA SSP class gun (which I can't do right now because I have no SSP category pistols). And I think the two-tone version is just gorgeous.

So this is on my want list... and pretty high up.

The Important Right of Being a Couch Potato

The Supreme Court just upheld that your right to sit around and play video games, whether it be flying planes in a flight simulator or cruising around town beating up whores in a thug simulator, is protected by the First Amendment. Not that I disagree with that, but...

"Can’t remember the last time I was deeply pleased by a majority opinion written by Scalia"

-- John Gruber, brilliant Apple and tech pundit but otherwise a complete idiot

Really! Heller doesn't come to mind? Having virtual sex in an on-line role playing game is more important than the natural right to self-defense? Don't quit your day job, Gruber.

Madame Bachmann, I Hardly Know Thee

I have to admit something. I know very little about Rep. Michelle Bachmann. What I do know could fit in a thimble. Until this morning I didn't even know she was from Minnesota. About the only other thing I know about her is that she is suppose to be bat-shit crazy, I guess like other politicians from Minnesota such as Jesse Ventura and Al Franken.

She's a flake, a lunatic. That's the narrative anyway. Want to know what I think? FUCK THE NARRATIVE! Why? Because if you want something that sounds crazy, try this:

Our country spent over $700 bn on graft & corruption stimulus spending and we don't have a damn thing to show for it, but the current powers that be are demanding... DEMANDING!!... that we must do more of the same, even though we can't afford it and our debt is out of control. The price of food has been rising and rising, but the Washington bean counters profess... PROFESS!!!... it is not inflation. We have a narco-terrorist war spilling over our Southern border, yet the powers that be are stopping... STOPPING!!!... any efforts to abate the violence. Our government has a rogue agency that just sent thousands of guns to those narco-terroists, but our administration is insisting... INSISTING!!!... that the gun violence in Mexico is a direct cause of mom & pop gun shops and legal gun owners. The Director of the TSA declares... DECLARES!!.. that our Constitutional right to travel, as has been upheld by the Supreme Court, is not a right but a privilege. And so his agency goes on running people through their new perv-scanners and crouch-groping infants and forcing people with incontinence issues to fly without safety nets. Our military is bombing... BOMBING!!!... yet another country, but we are being told this is not war.

I could go on, but the point is made. Ok, so Ms. Bachmann might have said some crazy things, as all politicians tend to do. But crazy? No, crazy is what we have now!

Big Falls Church Democrat Arrested for Child Molestation

Mike Gardner, the husband of former Falls Church Mayor and current Councilwoman Robin Gardner, was arrested yesterday for sexual battery on three girls under the age of 13. Gardner was an outspoken city liberal, with connections through his wife and his time running the local Democrat party.

He use to be active with his blog, Blueweeds, until he moved his writing over to the city's only newspaper, The Falls Church News Press, writing the Little Weed column where he ramped the vitriol up to 11 with such screeds as accusing Republicans of being racist for not supporting ObamaCare (note: looks like the column has been pulled from the online version). The Falls Church News Press is the current home of disgraced journalist Helen Thomas, and a few years ago the paper misstepped by defending a teacher at the local high school against child molestation before the facts were even known.

Controversy hasn't only followed Michael Gardner, as Robin Gardner has had her fair share. After last year's dismal showing for progressives in the Falls Church city elections, Deb Gardner (no relation) verbally attacked Robin Gardner in a public incident at an election after-party. And Robin Gardner left town the night the VCDL addressed the Falls Church City Council over her participation in the Mayors Against Illegal Guns (at the time, Robin was Mayor of Falls Church). Later she claimed to have been threatened by gun rights activists but would never reveal any information at all.

The allegations against Mike are serious. I would like to dismiss this as city political antics, but I doubt the city police would go after such a well connected citizen if they didn't have considerable evidence. And given that there are two separate incidents days apart and the police are collecting DNA, it would seem they think they have a very solid case. Most people, including me, would prefer that Mike just be the low-life mouth-piece he was known to be instead of being a real-life scumbag.

Stand and Be Counted

Last night I attended the Fairfax County Board of Supervisor's public hearing on changes to the air gun ordinances, as I mentioned here. I didn't speak, and that was a good thing because what I had in my head was inappropriate... especially since the people that did speak did such an excellent job.

There were about 30 to 40 of us wearing those bright orange "Gun Save Lives" stickers... some of us were in jeans and t-shirts and others in business attire ( I wore a sport coat, button-down shirt and slacks just to give the appearance that I'm important ). We were, by far, the largest contingent present. The Board of Supervisors were holding public hearings on all sorts of things, such as spot blight abatement ordinances and residential parking permit district expansions and so forth... so there were a variety of neighborhood and special interest groups on hand. But we were the largest group, no doubt about it.

To my knowledge, there were no anti-rights people at all. Nobody spoke against the state-mandated changes to the ordinances, and when asked by the Chairwoman not a single Supervisor stated they had received email, phone calls, or letters about the issue. So much for all the bluster being spun up by State Senator Marsden. So much for the citizens outcry suggested by Supervisor Foust.

I was very proud of our speakers. As usual, Philip Van Cleave did a great job. Then there was the shooting coach from NOVA Sharpshooters, Tom Pike, who talked about his coaching experience with highschool rifle teams and the burden the county ordinance places on his abilities to field competitors. And finally we had a man who claimed to be a former world champion paintballer... and his son... talking about how he wanted to bring his son into the sport but was severely hindered by the county's current ordinance. It was wonderful hearing these "you must allow guns... for the children" arguments.

I was less impressed, by far, with the Board of Supervisors. Foust, as far as I can tell, is an idiot. Supervisor McKay would have been less confused if he'd shut up and listen to the County Attorney. And Supervisor Hyland continually conflated air guns with firearms. None of the three seemed to take notice that the county's ordinance on archery was far less restrictive than the ordinance on air guns. On the other hand, Supervisor Frey seemed to have it together and pushed the motion forward to change the county ordinance. For her part, Supervisor Smyth, my representative, kept quiet as she had done most of the evening.

In the end the ordinance was changed to comply with state law, with the possible exception that transportation of air guns on public schools and in public parks is still prohibited... that despite the County Attorney suggesting that the county might have no authority to make such a prohibition.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."

-- Charles Wadsworth

Of course, we're all fathers for one reason... (well, some of us have many more than one reason).

Gratuitous picture of E2.

And Happy Father's Day to my dad, gone now 8 months. I love you.

The Rev. and Dr. Joseph A. Newton, Jr.

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."

-- Mark Twain

Sootch00

The shooting world has a couple of well-known YouTube stars... there's that long-winded guy running around the desert, the faux-Russian who doesn't wear ear protection, and the guy in Tennessee who just shoots stuff in his backyard. I have a new favorite among these YouTube stars and that is Sootch00.

Here's one of his earlier videos, which I still get a kick out of:

Sootch00 spends a lot of time editing his videos, and doesn't just show one long sequence of shooting. He always mixes it up, which make the videos more watchable if you ask me. Plus I love that Southern chuckle in his voice.

A New Gun Range in Northern Virginia

There is a new gun range in Northern Virginia, American Defensive in Sumerduck, which I think is in Spotsylvania County (map). The hours are limited and they only take cash right now. I find their fee structure interesting:

Range Fee: $5.00 a half hour (Static Shoot)

Range Fee: $15.00 all day (Movement and Position)

$15 for all day shooting... that's a deal. Plus what do they mean by "movement and position"? I can get do dynamic shooting all over the range for $15 for the day?

It's only 25 yards and it is outdoors, shooting all day for $15... especially if that includes dynamic movement seems like a pretty good deal.

Google Hoplophobia

Since the NoVA Guide to Guns is coming along (and more links coming, btw), I thought it might be worth the cost of a box of ammo to get the link circulated. So off to Google AdWords I went to target the link to people in Virginia, Maryland, and DC. It should be noted that I do not advertise on this site, nor is the blog used as a venue to sell firearms or accessories. The NoVA Guide to Guns is simply a resource for gun owners in the Northern Virginia area.

A few web forms later and I discover that Google does not allow the word "guns" or "firearms" in any AdWords, and in general they prohibit "weapons". Since I'm not selling anything, I asked Google for an exception. Here is the ad I submitted.

NoVA Guide to Guns

A list of gun stores, ranges, and more in Northern Virginia

Here is their reply:

Ad Status: Disapproved

Ad Issue(s): Firearms and Ammunition

~~~~~~~~~SUGGESTIONS:

-> Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain firearms and ammunition. This includes, but is not limited to: guns, pistols, rifles, BB guns, ammunition, blank ammunition, and gun parts and hardware such as clips, magazines, stocks, barrels, and grips. As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, Google may refuse any ads or terminate any of your ad campaigns at any time, for any reason.

There is also strongly worded language that suggests they'll delete ALL my Google accounts if I keep this crap up. I thought about being a smart ass and changing the add to "A NoVA guide to self defense with tools Google doesn't want you to know about."

Instead, I hopped over to Microsoft's AdCenter and got that text up and circulating with no problems on both Bing and Yahoo Search. So take that Google... you lost some ad revenue... which your competitor got instead.

Updates to the NoVA Guide to Guns

Thanks to JB Miller, I've got some more links up on the NoVA Guide to Guns. I've added a gunsmithing category with Northern Virginia Gun Works and Hatfields Gunsmithing. Under gun stores, Dawson's Small Arms of the World and Quantico Tactical have been added.

If anybody has any reviews of these places or any of the items in the guide, send me the link and I'll put it up... even if there is already a review for it.

It's On Like Donkey Kong!

Remember my post a couple of days ago about local politicos being upset over the new state preemption law on airguns? The Fairfax County of Board of Supervisors will be holding a special hearing on June 21 to have voices of opposition to the new law to send as feedback to the state house.

Except... the VCDL plans to show up. This should be fun. More info here. I'm putting June 21 on my calendar now!

I attended the Falls Church city council meeting when the VCDL showed up to protest Mayor Gardner's participation in MAIG. Gardner refused to show and the anti's from Protest Easy Guns and CSGV were outnumbered 3 to 1.

'To Have a Revolver'

There's a pretty good historical article in the New York Times (SURPRIZE!) called "To Have a Revolver". It's about a renegade slave in Virginia who helped the Union forces.

Here are my takeaways... The notion of arming this black man, George Scott, goes well beyond his basic of need of being able to defend himself in battle. After all, by the time he is given arms he has already risked his life several times for the Union army. The subtext here is that giving this black man a gun makes him an equal. So what does that say about the right to keep and bare arms.

Secondly, it should be noted that the Yankees armed this man reluctantly. There was no great rush to put him on equal footing, which should obliterate that holier-than-thou attitude I, as a Southerner, get from some people of the North. They didn't arm George Scott because they wanted to, they did it because they had to.

Of Guns and Girls

There is "dialog" in the gun blogosphere lately about portrayal of women in the gun industry, along with a kerfuffle. I'm pretty much in agreement with JB on this. But this all gave me pause last night as I was ordering a nipple wrench from Cabelas. To avoid embarrassment, I also put some other items in my shopping cart.

Close the House Clerk Loophole

State Police probe finds Jamerson killed himself with handgun handed down among House clerks

Herman Cain on the Second Amendment

This tweet from Doug Mataconis (the only "libertarian" I know with not a negative thing to say about Obama) caught my eye:

Watching #TheSituationRoom. Cain just said that gun control should be a states decision. He disagrees with the Supreme Court? #confused

Hmmm... as they say, let's go to the tapes... which can be found here. At around 3:00 minutes, Wolf Blitzer asks Herman Cain about gun control. Cain first throws out the familiar "I support the Second Amendment". Whoopiedo! But Blitzer keeps pressing and finally Cain does say he thinks the issue of gun control should be decided by the States.

An optimistic take on his statement might be that he supports the abolition of federal firearms statutes, but that's a stretch. I think Mataconis is right: Herman Cain doesn't understand the Second Amendment.

HALLELUJAH!

There's jubilation in our household. My wife got the call yesterday confirming she finally got a new job... one she has been after for more than a year.

A NoVA Guide to Guns

Though I've been working on it off and on for over a week, yesterday I put the link over on the sidebar for the Northern Virginia Guide to Guns. Its a page I've been working on to help people new to the area or new to shooting (in the area) with all the local resources. There's still some more stuff I need to add, but there's also quite a bit of stuff already there. Hopefully it is a good quick reference as well.

One thing I did do is link to a few blog reviews I've found. If you've gone to a range or gun store or what have you and written a review for your blog, let me know and I'll add the link.

Why Would Anybody Need a Gun in Church?

It's not like the criminals take them into church. Oh wait! Remember this the next time somebody starts talking about how Ken Cuccinelli is some sorta gun-toting, tea party extremist or whatever they want to call him.

I know some people want to believe that church buildings have some sort of invisible force field around them that keeps evil doers out, but that's simply not true. Crime can happen anywhere.

Pointe du Hoc

Here are some pictures I managed to find from our time at Pointe du Hoc, a cliff scaled by the Army Rangers on D Day. While the grass had grown over many of the battle scars, it is quite easy to see what happened here was bloody and ferocious.

Craters left from the shelling and bombing on top of Pointe du Hoc.

What is left of a German bunker on top of Pointe du Hoc.

I really wish I could find some more of those pictures. But there were quite a few bunkers that remained intact after the shelling and bombing, bunkers which had to be cleared by close-in fighting.

An American military cemetery and memorial for the fallen of D Day.

The American military cemetery at Omaha Beach is quite something to see. It is very well cared for. The sight of grave markers in neat rows as far as the eye can see really helps scope the impact of the invasion. It boggles my mind that so many men, some just boys, died so far away from home and in such great numbers.

This Day in History...

...the Allied forces breached Fortress Europe during World War II. We know now it as "D Day" (there were actually many "D Day"s, that name was not originally specific to Operation Overlord's invasion), but there was a lot of planning that went on way before the day and fighting that occurred after.

Over on my reading list (yes, I have one... yes, I can read), you'll note that I have Stephen Ambrose's D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II. If you haven't read it, I suggest you follow the link through to Amazon and put it in your shopping cart. This book is so good, my wife (who read it first) and I actually vacationed once in Normandy just so we could get a feel for it all (that's also something I recommend if you ever get the chance).

Stressed, Overworked, Underpaid and Armed

That describes the current affairs of the Virginia State Police. Of course, if they didn't have to spend time enforcing the totally useless one-handgun-a-month law, they could spend a bit more of their budget on actual police work.

Lawmakers/Cry Babies Fear Havoc Over New Airgun Preemption

Virginia state law now pre-empts local regulations on air-guns, making municipalities alter their ordinances so that there is not an outright ban on them. Yet, some politicians are taking issue. A word of advice to said politicians: GROW A PAIR!

The OC Non-Event

I originally had no specific plans for the OC non-event today, but then Nancy R offered lunch... the stars aligned, I could finally get down to the IWLA in Stafford to shoot my Colt Walker and then meet for an OC lunch. There was one guy who asked about my sidearm, but he was sportin' an M&P Compact in an Comp-Tac MTAC rig... so he doesn't count.

Gratuitous picture of E1.

The Lunch. Nancy arranged for a table at Jimmy The Greek Family Restaurant (I had the gyro platter, good). I got to meet Sweet Daughter. Turns out, she's about a month older than E1. Having left my children in my other range bag, it was a good thing that CTone turned up with spares. The adults were almost out numbered two-to-one, but we fared well. God bless CTone for bringing up the national average for the rest of us. He also reminded me of the younger version of a guy I know from the IETF, which kinda had me off-kilter at first with that little voice in the back of my head saying "You've met this guy before, right?"

The Range. Before lunch, I took the Colt Walker and my Schofield to the range. Before today, messing around with black powder gave me the heebee jeebees. I had a fear the thing would blow up in my hand. As it was, first round down range gave me a big smile -- smoke wafting in the air, what could be better. I did manage to get two balls stuck in the cylinder, so I need to lay my hands on a nipple wrench at some point. The Schofield is a bit of a disappointment. Its suffering from light primer strikes and the cylinder lock doesn't catch about half the time, and on occasion the cylinder latch seems to come unhinged. I need to see about sending it to Cimarron for repair.

I Regret Not Going With a Glock Now

A Ninja Pimped Glock... those 100 round magazines are just amazing.

Some More Old School Gun Porn

So I got a new toy two weeks ago, and I've yet to take it to the range.

Cimarron replica of a Smith & Wesson Schofield No. 3 Wells Fargo

I picked it up used after some negotiation with the previous owner through the counter folks at Blue Ridge Arsenal. It's a Cimarron replica of Smith & Wesson's Model No. 3 with the Schofield break-top cut to the barrel length used by the Wells Fargo "detectives".

The Schofield "broken open".

I believe the original's were chambered in .45 Schofield (which can be shot in a .45 Long Colt gun), but this one is chambered in .45 Long Colt. This would be my first .45 Long Colt firearm and let me say one thing about that calibre -- HOLY CRAP is that ammo expensive for what it is... especially in the Cowboy loads... which you would think would be cheaper since the bullets weigh less and the cartridge contains less powder.

The ejector pushes all the spent rounds out when opened.

Unlike the Colt Single Action Army patterned revolvers, the S&W No. 3's ejects all the rounds at once when the firearm is opened, supposedly making reloading faster. The Schofield No. 3s differ from the earlier No. 3s in that the latch is moved from the frame above the cylinder to the frame right in front of the hammer. This supposedly makes opening a one handed operation, essential for shooting from horse back. I can't do it though.

The Schofield with its .44 brethren, a Colt Walker and a Henry.

If I can manage to kick my headache, the Schofield and the Henry will be going to the range with me today.

Gotta Go To the Range to Relax

I thought the number of meetings I had yesterday was absurd, but today managed to break that record by a mile. Supposedly, tomorrow is a slow day. I should hit the range during lunch. Afterall, I've got a new range toy.

How James Bond Got His Walther PPK

Letters of Note: May I suggest that Mr. Bond be armed with a revolver?

h/t Daring Fireball

But Isn't He One of Your Own?

A guy in Chicago talks about Obam's Patriot Act affecting his business and making him a racist.

And yes, I said "Obama's Patriot Act." Obama had the chance to let it slip into history but he didn't. So he now owns it.

Don't Worry! The Oakland PD Are On it!

A guy in Oakland had his MacBook stolen, and immediately started using software to track it down. He gave all the information to the police, who promptly round-filed it. But then his Tweets went viral and Good Morning America started asking the po-po why the perp hadn't been arrested.

Sarah

From the LA Times Top of the Ticket column Sarah Palin plays the media like a violin: Her turn now:

And forget that front porch in Alaska. Sarah Palin can see revenge from her rear window.

It's not just that I find I agree with most things Sarah Palin says, I really like the fact that she pisses people off for doing nothing more than being Sarah Palin. But I'm not just talking about the media. The Republican party needs a good, swift kick in the nuts, and Sarah is just the girl to do it.