The Wandering Minstrel

Mark Alexander, who writes for the Patriot Post, wrote an exceptional essay today on the right to keep and bear arms. The article is entitled Second Amendment — Still ‘The Palladium of Liberties’.

The article begins with this insightful quote from Founder James Madison:

“The ultimate authority … resides in the people alone. … The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation … forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”
— James Madison

Toward the end of the article, the topic of how gun rights reduce the violent crime rate leads the author to this interesting conclusion about violence:

After all, violence is a cultural problem, not a gun problem, and certainly not a Second Amendment problem.

The article is certainly worth taking the few moments to read it.

The NRA Institute for Legislative Analysis announced today that three new amici have been filed in the Chicago Gun Case:

• Bipartisan Majority of Attorneys General File Amicus Brief Supporting NRA’s Stance in Pivotal Supreme Court Case
• State Legislators File Amicus Brief Supporting NRA’s Stance in Pivotal Supreme Court Case
• Bipartisan Majority of U.S. Congress Signs Amicus Brief Supporting NRA’s Position in Pivotal Supreme Court Case

I glanced through one of the three briefs today (the U. S. Congress brief) and found the same arguments being made about the Fourteenth Amendment’s applicability. However, there was this interesting passage regarding the role of the Congress in both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments:

Congress has a long history of protecting the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was Congress, after all, that proposed the Second Amendment, and the rest of the Bill of Rights, to the States in 1789. Congress likewise proposed the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866, following and to further Congress’ attempts in the Freedmen’s Bureau Act and the Civil Rights Act to restore to freed slaves their right to keep and bear arms.

I was rummaging (well, browsing the external hard-drive) through some old images when I ran across the archive from the Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno last September. There were lots of images, since both the Better Half and I took a lot of photos.

One of the highlights of GBR was going to the Washoe County Shooting Range. We sure enjoyed shooting and watching the other shooters. We saw a wide variety of guns and equipment which gave us an education about how others pursue the shooting hobby. Besides that, it was a lot of fun.

We met a lot of nice folks with like-minded Second Amendment attitudes. When we were back at the hospitality room at the Silver Legacy, we enjoyed hanging out with our new acquaintances. The two guys in the (clickable) image are Ben, who blogs at Reasonablenut, and his Dad, Bill. The Better Half and I had a lot of laughs with these two colorful characters from New Mexico.

Due to a brain fart or something, I did not have Reasonablenut in the blogroll. That has since been fixed.

In the closing days before retirement, The Better Half and I met with an attorney through the legal plan at work. One of the things we had been postponing (procrastination?) was to do estate planning. We sat for an interview with a legal assistant for an interview to get the particulars on beneficiaries, assets and the like.

After the initial interview, the attorney came in for a chat. He flashed his NRA membership card, which isn’t too surprising since he noticed some of our assets were firearms and that one beneficiary we named in the interview was the NRA-ILA. We discussed some legal issues that needed to be decided upon and then the conversation turned to what sort of guns we were talking about and what we shot and where.

We got around to discussing ammo shortages and which insane cities had the worst ordinances. It made our appointment last a half hour longer than we planned, but it was nice to chat about firearms and shooting, and to know that our lawyer is on-board with guns and the Second Amendment.

Not much into blogging today being fresh off the road and tired as hell. I will, however, share this visual delight with you. This is the big prize given away last Saturday night at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno. It’s a Para Ordinance “Gun Rights” high capacity .45, single action stainless 1911 pistol. The 14-round capacity magazines make this gun too scary to be owned by Californians. Chuck Ziegenfuss was the big winner.

Clickable Image (drool).

We’re here in Reno. We got in late today and are settling in for the events. We’ll be going to the hospitality room after everyone else gets back from dinner.

We came up to Reno via Lake Tahoe from Gold Rush Country. Tahoe has grown a bit since the last time we were there, but Reno’s growth is obscene. Another Vegas Boom in progress further north. Sort of sad - I loved the ‘Old Reno.’

Better Half snapped this from the hotel room today . . .

Update: We met in the hospitality room tonight to share ideas and camaraderie with fellow gunnies. Kieth of The Smallest Minority wore his best T-shirt with all AK-47s known to man. Photo credit - The Better Half.

The California Rifle and Pistol Association will be hosting their 135th Annual Fundraising Gala on Saturday, February 27, 2010 in the Crystal Ballroom at the Irvine Hilton Hotel (Irvine, CA) starting at 6 P.M. Featured keynote speakers will be Dr. Steven Halbrook, author of “The Founder’s Second Amendment” and Dr. Ignatius Piazza, founder and director of training of the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute.

The cost is $89 per ticket for the banquet and $10 for 15 entries into the Quick Draw Sweepstakes to be held on March 1, 2010. Prizes will be dozens of rifles, pistols, knives and shooting accessories, over 130 prizes. 15 entries into the Sweepstakes are included with your banquet ticket.

The clickable image on the right is a photo of the announcement on the back cover of CRPA’s “The Firing Line” monthly magazine. Contact CRPA for information and to purchase tickets.

You can also support the CRPA cause by becoming a member.

Barbecued stuff today. And some beer. What else?

Going to watch some skyrockets over at the park later this evening.

And now, this message from “The Duke.”