As Promised...

...some gun related images from the Tea Party Rally:

Go here to view all the images I took at this rally.

In comments to an earlier post on the Arlington Tea Party, Paul had a couple important observations that are worth sharing now:

I went to the tea party and was impressed by the crowd. I observed for the first time in history, normal people who work for a living actually demonstrate.

After my return to this country from Vietnam, I saw the great unwashed demonstrators of the Vietnam era, the unemployed, and so called students doing their thing just because they had free time and nothing better to do or because of personal cowardice.

I also noted when people left they did not leave all their trash cluttering the grounds. These are the type of people that made America great and will keep America great. Sory I missed you, keep up the good work

The people who showed up to the Tea Parties are just folk. No one was bussed in from homeless shelters to boost attendance. The people at these rallies either had to take time off from work, or wait until they got off of work to attend. The Arlington rally started at 4:30, people were still showing up in droves at 5:45. The fire engine did not have to flake out any fire hose to keep the crowds in check. No riot gear was required by the police. When the rally was over, the grounds were clean. We may be upset with the way things are going, but we are still good and decent folk who just want our voices heard.

Arlington Tea Party AAR

Here it is, the after action report on the Arlington Tea Party.

We have all seen and heard of the negative, sloppy and piss poor coverage of the Tea Party Rallies by some news stations and reporters. We expected as much and hopefully this expectation did not become a self fulfilling prophesy in some instances. With this in mind, V and I were standing near CBS 11 reporter Steve Pickett (hey Steve, your profile needs updating) as he covered the Tea Party in Arlington. Here is what he had to say:

As you can see, Steve Pickett and CBS 11 did a pretty good job of covering the Tea Parties during the 5:00 edition of the news.

One thing I noticed when we arrived at the park was the large police presence. They had set up a loose perimeter around the pavilion where the speakers were set to pontificate. I'm not sure what they were expecting, but the folks who showed up for this rally were not there to cause any trouble.

Now for some images from the rally.

This first image is from after the speakers while folks were walking to Green Oaks to draw attention to the the rally. I am putting this image first because I promised these young ladies that I would post it on the blog.

Click on any image for a larger version.

Now for some pictures of the crowd at the pavilion:

A diverse group of people here to let our politicians know just how we feel about the way things are going.

Here are some of the signs:

In this last image you can see the lone Obama supporter at the rally. One thing you can say about him is that he is a true believer. He honestly believes that the $10 Trillion in proposed deficit spending will improve the economy and that our taxes have not been, nor will not be, increased. I spoke with him for a bit and ended up thanking him for showing up for the crowd pictures. Reader Bob S. spent a bit more time with him to no avail. You can not change the mind of a true believer.

I have a couple of good images of Governor Perry and Representative Joe Barton that I should share:

And one that I am going to throw in just for the heck of it:

Take a guess at who she is, go on, guess.

My dinner is ready so the Second Amendment related images from the rally will have to wait.

If you want to watch Governor Perry's or Representative Barton's speeches, you can view them at the official Arlington Tea Party web site.

Edit: Go here to see all the images I took at the rally. If one of these images is of you, and you want a copy of the hi-rez version of the image, shoot me an email.

We Have Just...

...gotten home from dinner with friends following the Arlington Tax Day Tea Party.

It is time for bed. I have lots of images of the folks at the Tea Party and a few thoughts on the event. Just don't have time to post them tonight.

So, until tomorrow, good eve.

The #2 Google Hit...

...for the search terms:

poem about mother sewing clothes fit for a prince

I hope that what they found is what they were looking for.

From the Mail Bag

Received a good question in this morning's email:

"Whats the ruling on CHL's at political protests? Do you know?"

The short answer to the first question is that there is no ruling on CHL's at political protests here in Texas.

The longer answer can be found in the Texas Penal Code, the appropriate sections are:

Penal Code Section 46.02 - Unlawful Carrying Weapons

Penal Code Section 46.03 - Places Weapons Prohibited

Penal Code Section 46.035 - Unlawful Carrying of Handgun by License Holder

In PC 46.03 we can find the list of general prohibited places:

46.03 (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):

(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;

(2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an election or while early voting is in progress;

(3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court;

(4) on the premises of a racetrack;

(5) in or into a secured area of an airport; or

(6) within 1,000 feet of premises the location of which is designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a place of execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the designated premises...

PC 46.035 relates specifically to CHL holders:

46.035 a) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder carries a handgun on or about the license holder's person under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, and intentionally fails to conceal the handgun.

(b) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, on or about the license holder's person:

(1) on the premises of a business that has a permit or license issued under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic Beverage Code, if the business derives 51 percent or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, as determined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission under Section 104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code;

(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless the license holder is a participant in the event and a handgun is used in the event;

(3) on the premises of a correctional facility;

(4) on the premises of a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing home licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless the license holder has written authorization of the hospital or nursing home administration, as appropriate;

(5) in an amusement park; or

(6) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship.

(c) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, at any meeting of a governmental entity.

(d) A license holder commits an offense if, while intoxicated, the license holder carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed.

Of course, every time we talk about PC 46.035, we have to include 46.035(i):

(i) Subsections (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6), and (c) do not apply if the actor was not given effective notice under Section 30.06.

46.035(i) states that hospitals, churches, amusement parks and .gov meetings have to be properly posted IAW 30.06 to prohibit CHL holders access.

So yes, you can carry under authority of your CHL so long as the protest is not taking place in a location that is otherwise prohibited.

Here is the quick reference for Texas Concealed Handgun Laws and Selected Statutes (.pdf)

Last Week I...

...reported that we were One Step Closer to Campus Carry. HB 1893, a bill "Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education", had made it through the House Public Safety Committee.

What I did not know at the time was that the bill did not get through the committee as introduced, there was a committee substitute. Here we are seven days later and the committee substitute has not been posted on the Texas Legislature Online website. The minutes of the committee meeting have been posted, so we can see how the voting went:

HB 1893

The chair laid out HB 1893 as pending business.

The chair recognized Representative Driver to explain the measure.

Representative Driver offered a complete committee substitute.

The committee substitute was adopted without objection.

Representative Burnam offered an amendment to the committee substitute.

The amendment was withdrawn without objection.

(Representative Mallory Caraway now present.)

Representative King, Phil moved that HB 1893, as substituted, be reported favorably to the full house with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed. The motion prevailed by the following record vote:

Ayes: Representatives Merritt; Frost; Driver; King, Phil; Lewis (5).

Nays: Representatives Burnam; Mallory Caraway; Rodriguez (3).

Present, Not Voting: None (0).

Absent: Representative Vo (1).

Note that Representative Hubert Vo was absent for this vote. Rep. Vo (from Houston) left the meeting before his vote could be tallied.

The fact that Representative Joe Driver did not object to the committee substitute indicates that the changes did not adversely affect the bill to any major extent.

The TSRA reports that the substitute:

The committee substitute for HB 1893 contains language de-criminalizing the carrying of a handgun by a CHL on the campus of either a public or private institution of higher education. It also prevents public or private colleges and universities from adopting and enforcing administrative sanctions against faculty, employees and students who are CHLs that carry on campus -- except that the governing bodies of private institutions may adopt administrative rules and regulations affecting carrying by CHLs in buildings only (not parking lots or grounds) after consulting with faculty, staff and students.

The exemption for private universities is disappointing. The fact that a hearing must be held prior to that exemption is a plus. That is our opportunity to make the university state, on the record, their obligation to protect the lives and well being of each and every individual on campus property. Their lawyers are not going to like that one bit.

The Senate version of the Campus Carry bill remains unchanged. We still have a slim chance of getting the introduced version of this bill to a vote. The Senate version is in the State Affairs Committee.

Yet Another Right Wing Extremist

I heard this on the radio during lunch today and was hoping I could find it when I got home. Thanks to SondraK, I did.

Rick Perry of Texas Asserts 10th Amendment Rights

Governor Rick Perry of Texas has joined with state legislators to push for a resolution confirming the 10th Amendment rights of states such as Texas against the encroachment of federal government power.

According to Newsroom America:

"'Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, D.C. trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas,' Perry said in a speech supporting House Concurrent Resolution 50.

"'I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion inton the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,' he continued. 'That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"'I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union,' he said."

That's my Governor. Now that he has dropped the Trans Texas Corridor crud, he is high on my list of favorite politicians.

Rumor has it that he will be at the Arlington Tea Party at 5:30 to follow Representative Joe Barton on the pavilion stage.

Edit to add the video of Rick Perry:

Video thanks to Jason

Tea Party Poster Bleg

This is my idea for a Tea Party Poster.


Now how do I make it large enough to put on a poster, and keep the image sharp enough to look good?

Edit: Robb has a great "Maximize Your Freedom" bumper sticker here.

We Have Lost Another Good Man

From From Today’s Outdoor Wire:

On a completely unrelated note, the shooting world lost one of its best-known names last week. Former Los Angeles County Deputy Jack Weaver, 80, died Tuesday in Carson City. Weaver, for those of you not familiar with the name, is the man for whom the Weaver Shooting Stance is named.

H/T to Sebastian. The above image is from The Weaver Stance.

Gun control and saving Captain Phillips (Part 1)

By Howard Nemerov, the Austin Gun Rights Examiner:

On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Somalian pirates attempted to hijack the merchant ship Maersk Alabama. Its crew repelled the invaders, but their captain was captured and held hostage until rescued yesterday by the U.S. Navy. These are the basic facts of the story. But as usual, there were many facts lurking beneath the surface which were ignored by Old Media in their rush to titillate us with drama on the high seas. These missing facts teach an extremely important truth.

Head on over and give this article a read, you will be looking forward to Part 2.

Right Wing Fringe Kooks

Got this one in the email from Fred. It goes hand in hand with what the Star Telegram columnist called us folks who were planning on attending Tea Parties this Wednesday.

Quite a few of my circle of friends are attending Tea Parties this week. Each and every one of these folks have a job, most have either raised families or are in the process of raising a family. Many have CHL's and none of them have ever gone out and actively protested a thing in their lives.

Getting marginalized and called names by the Media is not going over very well with them, not well at all.

How the Star-Telegram Sees the Tax Day Tea Parties

Bud Kennedy of the Star-Telegram has plenty to say about the upcoming Tea Parties:

Bud Kennedy: Burleson Tea Party is about taxes (and secession)

...From its beginnings as an anti-tax protest for people who don’t understand how much of our North Texas economy depends on federal spending, the April 15 event has evolved into a festival for the fringe.

Well Bud, I wonder if you understand just how the cost of the stimulus package, the bailout packages, the omnibus spending bills and the Administrations 10 year, $10 trillion in new debt plan will bankrupt our children and grandchildren?

Hey Bud... don't you understand that much of the federal spending here in North Texas is on advanced weapons projects such as the F-22 Raptor, a project that is on the block to be canceled by this Administration?

Here is a homework lesson for you Bud. Do a bit of actual research and try to come up with one instance where a nation has taxed it's citizens into prosperity. Just one instance Bud, think you can do it?

If opposing a proven failed system makes me a member of "the fringe", then so be it.

Tax Day Tea Party Update

V and I had planned on attending the Dallas Tax Day Tea Party. At the time when we were deciding on which tea party to attend, there was no tea party planned locally. That has changed.

There is now an Arlington Tax Day Tea Party. That is super cool.

Arlington TEA Party Date and Location
DATE: April 15, 2009
TIME: 4:30 to 7:30 pm
LOCATION:
River Legacy Park
Main Pavilion
701 NW Green Oaks Bl at Cooper
Arlington, TX 76006

What makes it even better is that Congressman Joe Barton will be speaking at the Arlington Tea Party!

Go here for more information.

Join us won't ya?

Torrance asks...

...freeman or slave?

Head on over and give it a read.

One Step Closer to Campus Carry

Today is a keynote day in our efforts to expand our right to keep and bear arms in Texas. HB 1893, a bill "Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education", has made it through the House Public Safety Committee.

From the TSRA:

TSRA members, family and friends, you made it happen!

On Wednesday afternoon, April 8th, the House Committee on Public Safety voted out HB 1893, TSRA-backed legislation sponsored by Rep. Joe Driver (R) Garland that would allow Concealed Handgun Licensees to protect themselves on college and university campuses, by a 5-3 vote.

The committee agreed that adult students, faculty and staff who are 21 or older, who have passed extensive background checks, who have completed firearms training courses and who have been issued a concealed handgun license by the State of Texas should be able to protect themselves in campus settings just like they are legally able to do almost anywhere else in the state. The right to personal protection should not be denied to a licensee just because he or she studies, works or lives on a college or university campus.

HB 1893 next moves to House Calendars Committee to be set for debate on the House floor.

Please go to TSRA.com and click on the HB 1893 line. If your State Representative is a committee member and/or a co-author on HB 1893, take a minute and call or send email to thank them for supporting this important legislation.

If your State Representative isn't on the list, contact and urge that person to support HB 1893 when it comes to the floor of the Texas House.

CHLs need your help!

This is awesome news, a major hurdle has been crossed.

The minutes of the meeting have not yet been posted. When they do I'll be sure to post just exactly who voted how. I am sure that I can guess how the vote went, but will verify before posting.

It is time to contact your Texas House Representative and ask them to support HB 1893. While you are at it, you may want to contact the members of the Calendars Committee and let them know that you want this bill to see the house floor soon.

Botched SWAT and Paramilitary Police Raids

We hear about these raids more and more often. A SWAT team raids the wrong house, someone is killed or seriously injured. Does it just seem to happen fairly often, or are these botched raids a reality.

Here is an interactive map of botched SWAT and paramilitary police raids, released in conjunction with the Cato policy paper "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids," by Radley Balko.

The proliferation of SWAT teams, police militarization, and the Drug War have given rise to a dramatic increase in the number of "no-knock" or "quick-knock" raids on suspected drug offenders. Because these raids are often conducted based on tips from notoriously unreliable confidential informants, police sometimes conduct SWAT-style raids on the wrong home, or on the homes of nonviolent, misdemeanor drug users. Such highly-volatile, overly confrontational tactics are bad enough when no one is hurt -- it's difficult to imagine the terror an innocent suspect or family faces when a SWAT team mistakenly breaks down their door in the middle of the night.

But even more disturbing are the number of times such "wrong door" raids unnecessarily lead to the injury or death of suspects, bystanders, and police officers. Defenders of SWAT teams and paramilitary tactics say such incidents are isolated and rare. The map below aims to refute that notion.

An Epidemic of "Isolated Incidents"

An executive summery of the book "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America".

Americans have long maintained that a man’s home is his castle and that he has the right to defend it from unlawful intruders. Unfortunately, that right may be disappearing. Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home.

These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects.

This paper presents a history and overview of the issue of paramilitary drug raids, provides an extensive catalogue of abuses and mistaken raids, and offers recommendations for reform.

Click here for more information.

H/T to Fits for the idea.

Steve Has...

...done a excellent job of filtering out the facts of the Gunz in Mexico issue.

Lies, Damned lies and Mexican Guns

Head on over and give it a read. Maybe now that a blogger has done the digging, the MSM can report the facts?

Nah...

Why I Love Ted Nugent

David Reich reminded me about this video. Seeing it again just made me feel good.

Fox News is Catching up With Bloggers on the American Gunz in Mexico Farce

And it is about time.

From Fox News:

By William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.

-- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City.

-- CBS newsman Bob Schieffer referred to it while interviewing President Obama.

-- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at a Senate hearing: "It is unacceptable to have 90 percent of the guns that are picked up in Mexico and used to shoot judges, police officers and mayors ... come from the United States."

-- William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified in the House of Representatives that "there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States."

There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:

It's just not true.

In fact, it's not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S....

Only 17% traced to the United States. I wonder how many of those 17% went South across the border illegally, and how many were legally sold by American companies to the Mexican military and various police forces?

So where are the guns used by the cartels coming from?

So, if not from the U.S., where do they come from? There are a variety of sources:

-- The Black Market. Mexico is a virtual arms bazaar, with fragmentation grenades from South Korea, AK-47s from China, and shoulder-fired rocket launchers from Spain, Israel and former Soviet bloc manufacturers.

-- Russian crime organizations. Interpol says Russian Mafia groups such as Poldolskaya and Moscow-based Solntsevskaya are actively trafficking drugs and arms in Mexico.

- South America. During the late 1990s, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) established a clandestine arms smuggling and drug trafficking partnership with the Tijuana cartel, according to the Federal Research Division report from the Library of Congress.

-- Asia. According to a 2006 Amnesty International Report, China has provided arms to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Chinese assault weapons and Korean explosives have been recovered in Mexico.

-- The Mexican Army. More than 150,000 soldiers deserted in the last six years, according to Mexican Congressman Robert Badillo. Many took their weapons with them, including the standard issue M-16 assault rifle made in Belgium.

-- Guatemala. U.S. intelligence agencies say traffickers move immigrants, stolen cars, guns and drugs, including most of America's cocaine, along the porous Mexican-Guatemalan border. On March 27, La Hora, a Guatemalan newspaper, reported that police seized 500 grenades and a load of AK-47s on the border. Police say the cache was transported by a Mexican drug cartel operating out of Ixcan, a border town.

It is nice to see a major news network finally shining a light on the facts about the firearms in use by the Mexican Drug Gangs. Gun bloggers have been on the case for quite awhile, my first post in the issue was last June.

Read the whole article, it is well worth your while.

H/T to Fred, who sent me an email linking to this article and his comments earlier today.

Also commenting on this news article are:

FireHand with The Mexican Gun Lie is finally being talked about as such.

Syd has Your Nose Is Growing: The 90% Myth.

Sebastian chims in with Media Gets it Right.

Thirdpower notes that Fox News calls out the Mexico Gun Myth.

45superman headlines Mexico: the big lie.

David has a must read article, Do U.S. government arms exports play a part in arming Mexican cartels?, that I believe hit the press near the same time as the Fox News one did.

Uncle notes that the 90% Myth Makes News.

David notices that Yesterday it was a Priority. Today it's a Red Herring.

Rustmeister goes long with The US, Mexico, and Guns - Updated by Fox News, another good read you should check out.

So why the near year long media blitz on the whole "Americans are supplying guns to the Mexican Drug Gangs" meme? The media blitz over all the supposed American guns making their way into Mexican Gangbanger hands has been a well orchestrated publicity stunt. The purpose behind all this media coverage that plays fast and loose with the facts is to soften up the public and garner acceptance to more restrictive gun control laws that include an AWB and an end to private sales of firearms.

Note that this push to blame the violence and deaths South of our border on American guns started well before the elections. The ATF has been leading the charge on this misinformation campaign that remains in force through a leadership change. Maximum Mike got it started, Eric Holder continues the ruse.

1947 Harley Knucklehead Raffle

I was just putzing around when I clicked a banner link over at Carteach0's place when I found this:

1947 Harley Knucklehead Raffle

Oh my!