This Week's Activism Requests

OK, more like suggestions, but strong suggestions.  I'll try not to ask for much, but there are important goings-on afoot.

(source)

First, via David Codrea:

[Representative Chris] Stewart [D-Utah] has introduced H.R. 4934, the Regulatory Agency Demilitarization Act, “To prohibit certain Federal agencies from using or purchasing certain firearms, and for other purposes.”

This is huge, and by huge, I mean HUGE.  It's worth reading David's whole piece, and looking into the actual proposed legislation (PDF warning).  If it's enacted with no amendments, it does a few things:

1. It prohibits federal regulatory agencies* from purchasing firearms no later than 30 days after enactment.
2. It requires the Comptroller General to provide Congress an annual report detailing every SWAT and SWAT-style tactical team operating under all regulatory agencies, including the people, training, weapons, criteria for activating the team(s), how many times they were activated each year, and the annual cost of training/maintaining the team(s).
3. It removes firearm carry authority, arrest authority (with or without a warrant), and search/seize authority from Offices of Inspector Generals and their subordinates.

Item #3 is the most impressive, I think.  The proposal would completely strike subsection 6(e) of The Inspector General Act of 1978 (read subsection (e) here) -- which basically gives the Attorney General authority to grant firearm and arrest authority to whoever he (or she) wants -- including this little gem:

[6(e)](6) A determination by the Attorney General ... shall not be reviewable in or by any court.

WTF?  No judicial oversight?  Separation of powers, anyone?  That's gotta go!

Do your research.  Call your Congresspeople.  Ask them why regulatory agencies like the Dept. of Education, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and the Small Business Administration need SWAT teams.

And if you're on Twitter, spread the word with the hashtag, "#DisarmRegulators".

Simple enough (source)

Second, via Dave Workman, if you live in Washington State -- or if you know anyone who does -- spread the word about the pending ballot battle between Initiative 591 and Initiative 594.  I-594 is being pushed by "gun control" groups and is backed financially by extremely wealthy "Seattlites" and out-of-state interests, including everyone's favorite former mayor, good ol' Michael Bloomberg.  Among other things (it's 18 pages long!), it would criminalize most firearm transfers without background checks, including letting a buddy borrow a firearm for a hunting trip -- you'd have to run a check to give the firearm to your buddy, and he/she would have to run another one on you to give it back.

I-591, on the other hand, is a simple, single-page proposal that says Washington State background checks must comply with a national standard (currently the NICS system for retail purchases only), and that authorities CANNOT seize firearms without due process (preventing a repeat of "Hurricane Katrina"-style disarmament).  It is supported by the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs (WACOPS), the Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association (WSLEFIA), and at least seven county sheriffs.

This is a ballot battle, so calling representatives won't help.  We need to get the grassroots going on this, and so far, it hasn't been going as well as we'd hope (no offense to NRA members).  "Yes" on I-591, "No" on I-594.

Shaneen Allen & family (source)

Third, consider donating to the legal defense fund for Shaneen Allen.  Charlie Foxtrot covered this earlier in the week, but it bears repeating.  This has already gone too far, but it's far from over for Ms. Allen, and counting on Gov. Chris Christie to step in and do the right thing is foolhardy at best.

(Note to libertarians and parental-rights activists: This hasn't been mentioned in the news -- at all -- but as a single mother, while she's in prison, her children will be wards of the State, with ALL that entails.  Think about that.)

Finally, also from Charlie earlier this week, there's a raffle benefiting "American Sniper" Chris Kyle's family.  If you have anything left after supporting Shaneen Allen, there's some REAL nice stuff up for grabs.  Tickets are $10.

That's about it for now.  As always, hug your family.  Here's to hoping for some good news this week.

(* - The proposal naturally exempts some federal agencies whose duties include actual law enforcement.  It's intended to target strictly regulatory agencies with no law enforcement functions.)

[UPDATE] Post updated to reflect No Mas' re-assumption of his previous nom de guerre, Charlie Foxtrot. Nothing else has been changed. [/UPDATE]

"Hell, I Was There!" Free eBook

Elmer Keith is an absolute legend in the shooting community. He just about personally ushered in the pre-modern (post-WWII to pre-Glock) handgun era with his books, Guns and Ammo columns, and the development of the iconic .357, .41 and .44 Magnum revolver cartridges and the Winchester Model 70 rifle. He even found the time to design the semiwadcutter bullet, now called the Keith bullet in his honor. His "Been there. Done that. Got the scars." autobiography "Hell, I Was There": Elmer Keith, His Life Story is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the firearm arts.

Unfortunately, the book is long out of print, with copies going for as much as $400+. I despaired of ever reading it, as my inner Scot howled at the mere thought of such extravagance. Fortunately, the intrawebz has again come to our rescue. The good folks at archive.org are offering the public domain book electronically, for freeeeeeeee.

Several e-formats are provided, including online, PDF and Kindle. Cackling madly, I downloaded the Kindle version to my Fire. The formatting is pretty good, with just a few of the understandable OCR errors. The book is nicely illustrated with many period pictures. However, the captions are somewhat whimsically tossed throughout the text, but its not all that distracting. After one late night, I'm about a sixth of the way through Keith's book. So far, it's an engaging look into the Missouri and Montana frontiers at the turn of the 19th Century. It was a hard life, forging the hard man Keith was to become.

BTW: Keith uses some descriptive racial terms that are quite raw to the modern eye. 

Archive.org also boasts some other classics, such as Bolt Actions of the World 3rd Ed and Grossman's On Killing. Highly recommended. If your interest in Keith's writings has been whetted, you can find his Guns and Ammo columns here http://www.elmerkeithshoot.org/GA.  I lub me sum intranet.        

Hat Tip to SthWestVictoria of the excellent GunNation.us forum.