MOSB613, just a rehash of HB436 from 2013 and why that is NOT a good thing.

http://legiscan.com/MO/text/SB613/2014

The Missouri Senate has ressurectred the Anti-Federal Firearms Law bill that failed it's veto overturn last year by one vote.  It is an interesting bill, seeking to nullify Federal firearms laws inside the confines of Missouri and threatening jail time for any Federal Agent that attempts to enforce those firearms laws (NFA '34, GCA '68 and all since passed Amendments to those laws).  The part that bothers me is that there is NOTHING in the bill as sent to the House that protects firearms owners from the State.

MO Section 571-020 http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C500-599/5710000020.HTM states the following:

"
571.020. 1. A person commits a crime if such person knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells: (1) An explosive weapon; (2) An explosive, incendiary or poison substance or material with the purpose to possess, manufacture or sell an explosive weapon; (3) A gas gun; (4) A bullet or projectile which explodes or detonates upon impact because of an independent explosive charge after having been shot from a firearm; or (5) Knuckles; or (6) Any of the following in violation of federal law: (a) A machine gun; (b) A short-barreled rifle or shotgun; (c) A firearm silencer; or (d) A switchblade knife. 2. A person does not commit a crime pursuant to this section if his conduct involved any of the items in subdivisions (1) to (5) of subsection 1, the item was possessed in conformity with any applicable federal law, and the conduct: (1) Was incident to the performance of official duty by the Armed Forces, National Guard, a governmental law enforcement agency, or a penal institution; or (2) Was incident to engaging in a lawful commercial or business transaction with an organization enumerated in subdivision (1) of this section; or (3) Was incident to using an explosive weapon in a manner reasonably related to a lawful industrial or commercial enterprise; or (4) Was incident to displaying the weapon in a public museum or exhibition; or (5) Was incident to using the weapon in a manner reasonably related to a lawful dramatic performance. 3. A crime pursuant to subdivision (1), (2), (3) or (6) of subsection 1 of this section is a class C felony; a crime pursuant to subdivision (4) or (5) of subsection 1 of this section is a class A misdemeanor. "

What this boils down to, is that the State of Missouri is attempting to enact a law where Missouri Jails will house either Federal Agents who attempt to enforce Federal laws or Missouri Residents who operate under the mistaken idea that SB613 protects them for violations of firearms laws.  I do not see this as a good idea.  I have been told that my views on this are 'negative and wrong' and that I am a 'wet blanket' due to not dancing in the streets that the State Senate has passed a law that has ZERO positive impact on gun owners in Missouri.

Update on my dealings with the Southern Poverty Law Center

Got a letter from the Southern Poverty Law Center today. I thought it was the long-awaited answer to the question I posed to them six months ago ("When did I go from being an ally to an enemy just for standing up for everyone's right to bear arms?") but it was not. They want my donation. I just resent my question along with a link to my earlier blog post about asking them in the first place.

I'm not expecting an answer and I hope they dont need my money.

EDIT:  I did get a response after asking why I didn't get a response earlier.  They thought it was odd that I was taking offense at this since they didn't specifically name ME in their article, but didn't say much after I poitned out that I am an RKBA activist, a group they specifically called out and that I felt betrayed by them for this.  They had no repsonse nor appology.  I am done with the SPLC.

AR pistol build is done...for now.

Here's where my long journey has basically finished.  The last things I will add this month are polymer backup sights which I should have by 12/19.  I do have the laser that is mounted on the bottom in front of the MagPul AFG2 sighted in to be 1.5" low at 25 feet.  With luck, I will be able to get to a range to get it properly sighted in over this coming weekend.

Current parts breakdown is as follows:

• Smith & Wesson M&P 15 stripped lower receiver
• CMMG Lower Parts Kit
• MagPul polymer trigger guard
• Pearce Grips 1911 grip frame adaptor and low profile grips
• 'mil spec' sized six position buffer tube with Velcro loops cemented on
• Standard mass Carbine buffer
• Mark's Armory coated Carbine buffer spring
• 1.25" cane tip cemented onto the end of the buffer tube
• CAA Saddle with Velcro hooks cemented on
• Sling attachment secured to end plate
• Aero Precision stripped upper receiver
• Detroit Gun Works bolt carrier group (will get changed out for a better carrier but it works ok)
• Standard charging handle
• S&W M&P labeled 10" free float rail
• 11.5" 5.56 barrel (unmarked) with carbine length gas port
• ICE Arms Carbine gas tube
• Cut-down front sight base gas block (barrel drilled for the tapered pins on this, very sturdy)
• Standard A2 flash hider
• MagPul Angled Forward Grip model 2
• Green laser that runs on C123 batteries (extras stored in Saddle's battery tubes)

At this point, adding a red dot and probably a x3 magnifier will be done at some point this spring.  The barrel had 'rifle cuts' in the barrel extension and the upper had 'M4
 cuts', so I carefully expanded the barrel extension's cuts to meet the upper receiver's.  This has greatly increased the feeding of 'dummy' rounds after the first as the tips are no longer getting hung up.  I will know for sure after I get to shoot live rounds out of it as to whether or not I will still have failures to feed, a problem that occasionally cropped up with the previous upper receiver.

ICE Arms will be where I source my next bolt carrier from and quite probably my next barrel for a rifle build.  Please check them out here via my affiliate link.

This build has always followed the answers I received back in July of 2012 from the ATF Tech Department Chief.  Feel free to ask any questions on any part of my build. 

Update on AR Pistol build

No major updates, but I did manage to carefully remove the AK-74-style brake that made the barrel 16"+.  I cleaned up the weld point and recoated the barrel with flat black 1000 degree F grill paint.  Cut down the front sight base to allow it to fit under a free-float hand guard and mounted the KX3 muzzle device. 

<<I have sold off the Noveske KX3 and have installed an A2 in it's place.  Pics of the build will be updated after I get the rail I traded it for>>

The rails I have on in the picture are just some of the 'Made in the US' repalcements from Leapers and are hand guard replacements.  I hope to get a 12" keymod hand guard from one of the more reputable manufacturers as I now have a green laser that I plan on mounting and it isn't overly light weight.  <<10" S&W branded Troy rails are en route to me.  Yeah, Troy...but I diodn't pay anything for them and they are used.  ;)  >>

I did get a SureFire M900A weapon light in the trade along with the rails shown above.  My build's OAL is over 26" so in theory based upon my Tech Letter it would be legal to mount but some buddies checked in with their ATF contacts and were told it was illegal.  They did not seem to know about the Franklin XO-26 which the Tech Dept called a 'firearm' as opposed to an AOW.  To cut out the possibility to run afoul of the NFA '34 and GCA '68 I am going to sell off the VFG and install the AFG2 that everyone agrees is 100% legal since it has a steeper angle than 90.

The plan almost changed to have this become a rifle.  I think that I'll build a rifle seperate from this one.  I will get a 300BLK barrel at some point for this one.

Also, thanks to ICE Arms for the quick shipping on the replacement gas line.  I'll be doing more business with them soon!

Ice Arms link here

Well, I've gone and done it

I took an NRA Basic Pistol Trainer course over this past weekend along with Gun Safety in the Home and FIRST STEPS Pistol.

This means that I can get my MO CCW and train folks for FL and AZ non-resident and MO Resident CCW permits.  

I need to write a business plan as there are several things I plan on selling along side the training courses.

My working name for the company is Armed Liberal Training Company but I will probably go a different route as I plan on keeping politics out of my classroom.

EDIT:  company name is Olsen Training Group and temp web page is http://www.facebook.com/olsentraining .  I've decided to go with a name that is as politically neutral as possible.

Range Report #2 - hung-up buffer ends the day early

We made it out to Ultimate Defense (http://www.udrange.com) on 6/11/2013 and shot both the P238 we picked up on 6/4/2013 and my AR pistol.

First magazine (TAC powder 55 gr FMJ hand loads) worked great  four round rapid fire strings all stayed on paper and the majority were on target at 20m - Holographic sights feel like cheating! - but 15 rounds into the American Eagle 55gr FMJ the bolt recoiled behind the bolt stop and stayed there.  I removed the magazine (still had 15 rounds in it) and since the bolt hadn't gone back forward yet there was no round in the chamber.

I tried to lever the bolt free by yanking really hard on the charging handle to no avail.  Thankfully, the armorer at the range was able to free the buffer whose roll pin had worked loose just enough to hang up on the recoil spring.  Since the bumper on the buffer was VERY brittle and rather cut up I ended the day and ordered a new buffer from the Equipment Exchange on ar15.com.  I got the replacement buffer on 6/14 and my pistol is back in serviceable condition.

Now to try out the 55gr soft points I have loaded over 24gr of IMR 4064 powder I got at the Machinist Hall gun show last weekend...

Range Report #1 - it did not blow up!

Got out to a friend's private range on Saturday to both verify my build and my hand loaded ammunition as well as to teach my son to shoot.  It was an excellent day, 100% accomplished.

I am now addicted to the immediate response from shooting at AR500 steel targets.  Paper and shoot-n-see plastic bullseyes are boring in comparison.  When you hit, you hear it.  When you miss you see the dirt cloud from the berm.  Bowling pins are almost as fun.  ;)

I also got to use my new optic, an EOTech EXPS3-0.

I got my new optic in a weird way for me.  I won it.  Field and Stream is working along with EOTech to celebrate EOTech's 1 millionth manufactured optic milestone by giving away one set of EXPS3-0/G33 magnifier per month to a lucky entrant to their mail-in sweepstakes.  I am the March 2012 winner.  Since I currently have an A2 upper the magnifier is not something I needed right now, so I sold it for a bit less than retail but was able to use the money from it's sale to finish paying off the 2000 Impala.  Win/win!

I had a forward mount that attached to the carry handle and put the red dot somewhat co-witnessed with the iron sights but the rail is way out of spec and the EOTech will NOT mount to it.  I have a new/used mount on it's way to me from an eBay purchase which should work MUCH better.

I had hoped to get pics of the kiddo shooting, pics of my wife shooting and video of my AR but the phone ran out of juice and I forgot to pack our camera.  Fortunately, my friend was gracious enough to give us an open invitation to return at any point.

My son is eagerly awaiting his 10/22, which I hope to have purchased for him before the end of summer.

Howler's Den calls out pro-gunnies on the EO's from POTUS

Holwer's Den called out a couple guys on ARFcom in regards to the negative response that the Executive Orders that President Obama laid out earlier this year.

Here's the rebuttal I posted which may or may not be posted to their site, I have no idea if they actually allow more discussion than other anti-gun sites do.  I have been banned from several for being 'a shill for the NRA' or being 'off message'.  These are my opinions of the EOs that I have shared on several other forums and FaceBook pages since they were first published. 

"A rebuttal:

"1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."

This makes sense to me and falls well within the purview of the POTUS' abilities; all Executive branch agencies should work together. This is an internal 'play nice' from their boss/our Employee the POTUS.

"2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."

How is the Federal government allowing government bodies to violate HIPPA a good thing? Please, explain this to me. If someone was adjudicated and forcibly remanded to state mental healthcare, this is a public record so HIPPA has no bearing. this is what the NICS is interested in. Or is this going to allow fishing expeditions based upon privileged doctor/patient information?

"3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."

This should mean that states that have been conforming (such as Missouri) the whole time that NICS has been around should be rewarded. Somehow I don't see that happening and instead I see this as trying to 'slap around' states who are non-compliant. Considering that the NICS has been in place for a couple of decades, there has been plenty of time for states to send representation to the federal level to get this repealed. "game on" as it were to the non-compliant states.

"4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."

#4 is rather troubling considering the continuation of US PATRIOT Act and the failure of indefinite detention to be removed from NDAA 2011 as well as several other actions and threats made by the executive branch over the last 12+ years. 'Domestic terrorist' lists similar to the 'no fly' list that has zero oversight?

#5 is somewhat ok, I'd rather see a federal database that is publicly searchable for recovered stolen/seized firearms. Verification of ownership and access to their Right to Keep and bear Arms is fine, but looking at the 'List' in #4 this could be troubling if determination of ownership of a specific type of weapon puts one in a 'restricted' class.

If #13 includes a recommendation from the DoJ to NOT allow plea deals in cases where any weapon was used to commit a crime, I'd be ok with that as long as Castle Doctrine and no duty to retreat come into effect and DA's are unable to go after defensive gun use when employed by those who are not barred from using their 2nd Amendment right to self defense with a firearm.

The EO's in and of themselves are relatively benign but looking at the direction that we have been going since the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 they can been seen in a negative light. The other issue is that even if the current Administration does nothing to curtail rights, who is to say that future ones won't?

Oh, if you want to publish my personal information, feel free. I am the interim Chairman of the Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus of Missouri, a member of the Blue Steel Democrats and run the blog at www.armedliberalinmo.blogspot.com so any publicity or additional memberships you want to send my way, please feel free. ;)

My wife is an immigrant from Canada who is working on her Citizenship so I am not doing anything that would impede her progress.

Again, this is the view of someone who identifies as a Liberal, feels that Civil Rights are held by no one if anyone's are disrupted and disagrees that we need as much federal government as we have.

Thanks,
Armed Liberal in MO"

Oh yeah, they did respond.  A very polite "Thanks, but we disagree".  They seemed intrigued that there are Liberals who tend to vote Democrat yet actually *LIKE* firearms.  The shock!  ;)

They also posted some personal info on other blog posts of RKBA activists.  I'm not sure why they did that, it seems that it would potentially put folks in harm's way but I am not sure if that would be the folks whose family and addresses were printed or those who would seek to do them harm...

Note sent to Southern Poverty Law Center

Hi Daniel, I'm not sure if you remember myself or my wife W. but we are concerned about the 'Patriot' report. 

Do we fit your current definition of Domestic Terrorists?  We do not feel that the federal government has any right to say who I can sell my private property to and have been working to increase the enjoyment of folks' Natural Rights to self defense.

I am an advocate for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  Much like the rest of our Civil Rights, minority access has historically blocked either by force of law or by the cost of entry.  While I do not fit their demographic, I agree 100% with the Deacons of Defense and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (the old school one, not the recent hate group) that everyone who has not separated themselves from their rights.

Backing gun restrictions is saying that Bull was right to block MLK's application for a concealed carry license.

Please think carefully about any response you have on this issue.

Thanks,
'Armed Liberal In Missouri'  (I did use my real name)
Former Asatruar, current gun rights advocate.

______

Years ago, my wife and I were actively supporting the SLPC.  Now, they have released a paper on 'domestic terrorism' which defines Second Amendment supporters as teh same as John Birch Society or other Right Wing groups.

They may have just lost my support.  I am awaiting their response and will post it here.

And done enough to shoot!

Ok, I'm pretty happy now. Thanks to Code Red and the AR15.com equipment exchange, my pistol is shootable. Not quite done, the barrel needs to get chopped to 10.5" from the 14.5" it is now with some no-name break welded to it. Also I need to get a CAA saddle type cheek weld platform to attach t the buffer tube and a Z style handle optics mount so my red dot will co witness with my iron sights.

Book of Grudges

A long time ago I had a different hobby.  It was Warhammer Fantasy and I played the Dwarf Kingdom.  GW Dwarves are a surley lot and their High King is transported around on a special throne.  This throne was made of a book, the Book of Grudges.

This is my Book of Grudges.

Over the past year of building my AR pistol, I have run into several companies that just did not want to take my money.  Either they would say something stupid and I'd get into a 'FaceBook/Email Rumble' with them or they would have something negative on their website that I took issue with or else esposed some political belief outside of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms that I just could not support.

Today, that was Molon Labe Industries.

There is a graphic going around stating that the major mass murders of the 20th century were Liberals.  They put this up on their site and I stated an objection to it.  I made the statement that this is not the time to try and divide the RKBA community by Conservative/Liberal lines.  Their supporters continued that screed and I ended up unliking their page after I suggested that they post their anti-Liberal bias directly on their website and that I had helped close to 40 AR's be started to be built via a group buy of stripped lowers.

I will not be buying any of their 2.5 million projected polymer magazines on the primary market.  I may buy them on the secondary market but even that is in doubt.

They are now on my list of Traitors to RKBA.  We need to bring all of the activists that feel that our civil rights include the Right to Keep and Bear Arms together to keep the pressure on Congress and our state assemblies or else the bullshit laws that will accomplish nothing but the loss of control to the GOP at all levels. 

Any company that espouses a love of firearms ownership need to either be clear about not wanting Liberals to support them or any of their causes or else they need to play nice.  We Liberal gun owners catch enough crap from our 'fellow' liberals that feel that we should die due to our enjoyment of firearms or wanting to have effective tools available for our self defense. 

While the Conservatives are doing a great job of voicing their dissent, Democratic elected officials tend to listen more to their base.  If we fall silent on this issue, there is a good sense that it would be seen as 'consent'.  With no Liberal support, the war to retain our Right to Keep and Bear Arms will be a lost cause.

Just something for anti-Liberal Conservatives to consider.

You need us as much as we need you on this issue.  Help us be able to be good example to others who have not considered the reasons why we are fighting for this issue and you will have our support.

Where we are at today.

Ok, time for an update. After the number of times I've dropped this blog into conversations on FaceBook I feel the need for an update.

AR pistol build is not as stalled out. As a way of saying 'thanks' for running a group buy of their new lowers, a very new AR manufacturing company in Florida is sending me one of their first bolt carrier groups. Now I just need to get that 12" barrel on order from Surplus Ammo (Black Hole Ordinance).

Folks, we are deep in a horrible situation. Ammo supplies are starting to come in but no primers will be available until either July or August. Powder and bullets are also in short supply but are starting to trickle back in.

Many factors have lead to where we are at today. Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt has been sewn by both sides of the gun restrictions argument. Folks that never considered owning an AR platform firearm have spent two or three times MSRP to get them, magazines are trickling out, companies like Cheaper Than Dirt! have gouged customers on the cost of previous stock and ammunition has flown off the shelves.

I was close to getting rid of my project. Thankfully that does not seem to be happening now.

The truly odd thing was the run on .22lr ammo. It seems that a lot if folks felt it was the End of Days...

I'll get more into my thoughts and feelings of discussions I have had and friends/foes I have made on FaceBook and other online communities at a later date. I'm having too nice a day to do so.

Assault wepons bans are bad ideas.

Many folks have been moved by the events of last week and rightly so.  They were horrific and they were preventable, just not in the ways that Senator Diane Feinstein from California would have you believe.

In 1994, a ban was put in place to restrict the ownership of military-style 'assault weapons' from civilian hands.  This was based upon certain exact models as well as some ergonomic features that some folks saw as 'dangerous' or 'scary'.  They included the Colt AR-15 (named directly in the ban) as well as the following items along with others:  pistol grips, detachable magazines, barrel shrouds, flash hiders, collapsible stocks, and bayonet lugs.  Also banned were any magazines that could hold 30 or more rounds of ammunition.  This ban had zero effect on any items made before 1994, ex post facto laws are prohibited by Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution.  Those items are called 'pre-ban' as several states - including New Jersey and Connecticut -  still have active bans on these items.

This ban expired in 2004, despite President George W Bush stating publicly that he would sign any bill that came to his desk that would extend this ban.  Thankfully, no such bill came his way.

There are several reasons for this.  First, no appreciable increase in the decline of violent crime under the AWB was found by either the CDC or the FBI.  The one thing that did increase under the AWB was the number of crimes committed with magazines that were larger than 30 rounds in capacity.  Also, the Democrats took a severe beating in elections from 1994 through 2008 in no small part to their support of this ban.

Now, I have blogged about Diane Feinstein, the DNC's plank on Firearms and other things that the Dems have done in the past year to try and get the ban back in place so I won't cover those here.

Diane Feinstein has written a bill to reinstate the AWB with no provision for currently legally owned firearms to be allowed, total ban on production of parts for these firearms and a magazine capacity limit that would be accompanied with destruction of any 'high capacity assault clips'  (her words, not reality) held in civilian hands.  I have three words for the Distinguished Senator from California:  ex post facto.  Congress has no right to take anything away from me that is currently legal today to possess without fair compensation.  Looking at the current price of complete AR platform pistols and rifles, this would mean I would be owed $5000+ for my rifles/pistols and $300 for my magazines.

But wait, the battle has just begun!

United States v Miller in 1939 established that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms 100% covers military-grade firearms (Mr Miller's sawed off shotgun sans short barreled shotgun tax stamp was not fitting the court's description as no short barreled shotgun was in use by the military at that time) which means that 'assault weapons' under Diane's plan ARE PROTECTED.  Several jobs done in the US military use the semi-automatic AR-15 as an active part of their jobs, they do not require select-fire M4 rifles to conduct their duties.

This so far prompted the following letter to be sent to my Representative and Senators from Missouri:

Dear Sen. Roy Blunt, Sen. Claire McCaskill, and Rep. William Clay:

I oppose Sen. Feinstein's New Version of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban because it attempts to stop crime by making some 'features' on modern firearms illegal. This will not work.
During the previous ban, crime rates for violent crimes went unchanged from previous rates of decline as outlined in the FBI's Unified Crime Report from 1986 to 1994 and again from 2004 through 2011.
Also, Senator Feinstein's call for making existing firearms illegal to possess or transfer is in direct conflict with Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution. Ex post facto laws are a waste of time and resources as they are patenly unconstitutional.
The judicial review issued in United States v. Miller (1939) clearly states that Mr Miller's sawed off shotgun was not protected by the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms as it was not a military style firearm. The semi-automatic civilian versions of the M16A2 and M4 MBR fall under this decision as they are semi-automatic versions of current main battle rifles in use by our military today.
Please, work on actually funding the mental healthcare initiatives that were unfunded in the 1980's by the same group that is calling for them today.

Signature seen by Members of Congress:
Mr. Armed and Liberal in MO
My street Address
SAINT LOUIS, MO 63xxx
Missouri’s 1st district

The call for additional healthcare funding for mental health assistance grew out of this article:  http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html.  In it, it reminds us that the Conservatives under Reagan fought back against the 'welfare state' put in place by the New Deal.  This very same group of politicians - some even the same Senators who as Representatives worked to de-fund this system -  are now rightfully calling for these intiatives to be refunded instead of enacting meaningless bans.  I agree with them, spree killers are the issue, not the tools that they use.

Please, craft letters similar to  the one I copied above and send them to your local, state and federal representatives.  We need common sense mental health care, not 'common sense' gun restrictions.  There are already laws against murder, we need fewer plea bargains and no new gun restriction laws.

Update to AR Pistol build

Here's where my build stands now.  All I need is a bolt carrier group, barrel and gas tube.  Not bad for 6 months and a lot of help from other folks.  I didn't build this on my own.  ;)

Parts so far:
Smith & Wesson M&P15 stripped lower  - Bud's Gunshop, transfered through M&M GUns, St Peters, MO
Cerro Forge A2 upper - Kurt in Russellville, MO
Carbine buffer tube - eBay
Carbine buffer & spring - Mark's Guns, MO
Magpul MOE handguard - eBay
Magpul AFG2 - eBay
Magpul 5-slot rail - eBay
Cerro Forge A2 front sight base - Kurt in Russellville, MO
Noveske KX-3 muzzle device - Kyle in Iron Mountain, MI
CMMG lower parts kit - Cabela's mail order
Pearce 1911 Grip Frame and hard rubber stocks - M&M Guns, St Peters, MO
Ambi rear plate - eBay
Charging Handle - Equipment Exchange on ar15.com
Round hand guard cap - Equipment Exchange on ar15.com
Delta Ring group - Equipment Exchange, ar15.com
Barrel nut - msc used gear seller at St Charles, MO gun show

Once I get this finished, I will get video of me shooting it.

Obama Operatives are invading gun forums!

It seems that either the fevered brain of Joe D'Alessandro has snapped or some NRA-ILA memo is being sent around to 'out' the 'operatives'.  I have been unable to dig up anything on this aside from realguns.com facebook page.  I thought he was kidding, so I put it out there that I must be an Operative since I fit the bill that the NRA-ILA is putting out there.  The above was the response I got.

The truth is, I love guns.  I go to a lot of forums where there is a tendency to blame Liberals for all the anti-gun laws that are out there.  Since I refuse to vote for a former Governor who made MA 'Assault Weapons' ban permanent, I have to back the guy that signed the NDAA and whose AG is a slime bag.

Within minutes of the exchange I grabbed in a screenshot, all of my Facebook posts on RealGuns.com's page were deleted.  I don't know if that was a function of my 'unFriending' the site or if Joe D'Alessandro edited them out.  Frankly, I don't care either way.

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is something that I am passionate about.  I'm not too big a guy to admit that my feelings were hurt quite a bit when I was told that all the work and effort I have personally put in to get more Liberals to at least consider going to a gun range was a waste and driven by a politician that I barely tolerate.  It really sucks when a site that claims to want to extend RKBA ends up being nothing more than someone that says 'sorry, that's not for you due to your politics'.

If folks like D'Alessandro want to ignore the rapidly growing segment of gun owners that do not fit in the ILA's narrative then they will not have us as allies in the fight to keep our guns where they belong, in our hands and not the shredder.  

An email that was sent to the Democratic National Committee

Since the Platform has now been amended to include God and Israel, why not make some more changes?
In an email that we sent to the DNC, the following changed verbiage was suggested:

"Firearms. We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans' Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, much of which is already in place. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in continuing the honest, open national conversation about firearms. We will focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements—like exploring the use of a BIDS-type system, encouraging responsable gun ownership and proper storage options—so that the number of guns falling into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few can be reduced or eliminated."

Information on BIDS can be found here: http://www.gunlaws.com/BIDS%20v.%20NICS.htm One concern is that the BIDS list would be handled like the TSA's "no fly" list, but that can be avoided by utilizing the current methods of resolving NICS inaccuracies on a Deny result.

As a party, we have come a LONG way from where we were in '94 on this issue. Removing the Right to Keep and Bear Arms as a wedge decisive issue would remove the teeth from anti-Liberal groups such as the GOA and NRA-ILA. The '94 Assault Weapons Ban did nothing to stem the tide of gun related crime and in fact caused a plateau of crime while it was in place based upon a study of the FBI UCR data from '94 through '04 which then has declined steadily again after the expiration.

I have CC'ed other Gun Owners' Caucuses from OR, AZ and TX to keep them appriased of our suggestions from here in Missouri.

Thank you for placing Firearms in the Civil Rights portion of the Platform where it is a much better fit."





Yours for a Democratic Victory,
Erik Olsen
Interim Chairman

This is the text of a blog post that I put up on the Democrats.org site for the DGOC of MO.  The message was CCed to the other Gun Owners' Caucuses around the country and they were in agreement.  

If GOP pundits and Israeli S-PACs can change things from the outside, perhaps Democrats on the inside can make changes as well.  Diane Fienstein will object, but she is but one voice in the party.  Her lack of willingness to learn about this issue is a splinter in the eye of responsible gun owners everywhere.

NRA-ILA ice cream social

On August 4th I was invited to go to an Ice Cream Social at the new NRA-ILA office in St Charles, MO. I signed in but did not take the 'Vote Obama Out' sticker that they were using to track who had signed in. They now have my name, address and the new email address for my volunteer position with the LGC.

There were some very earnest folks there. I did hear terms bandied about that I had anticipated hearing such as "socialism", "anti-gunners" and "Liberal" used as negative terms.

What I did learn was that despite being told the contrary, my perception of the NRA-ILA being vocally Republican was correct. I don't think that there has been a Democrat (non-DINO) in a place of leadership since the
ILA was formed.

When the NRA-ILA is willing to allow non-Conservative views to be expressed as part of their platform or at least not spending members' money on Conservative issues, I will consider joining.

So, who is the new Director of Merchandising for the Liberal Gun Club?

This guy! 

The Club President has been swamped for over the last year with things more important than t-shirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs.  "How can that be?" you might ask.  Well, sometimes you have to ask for help to get things done, and he did.

What this means is that I get to find places that are either using 'Made in the US' swag, union workers to put designs on things or both.  With luck, I can find a Print on Demand company that does both or the result will be that only our custom orders will fill that goal.  I'm trying to not have a metric assload of swag being stored at my house with the LGC emblems on them.

If anyone has any leads on businesses that could be used, I'd appreciate it greatly.

What firearms law changes need to be made to make us safer?

Answer:  none.

A lot of my fellow liberals are calling for increasing the restrictions on guns in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shootings.  I fundamentally disagree.  The actions of a lone nutcase should not be used as an excuse by the power elite to force law abiding gun owners to surrender their guns.

Calls for more 'reasonable' gun laws on Facebook have been met with the following quote from Yours Truly:

Explain to me who's definition of 'reasonable' we are going to use. I prefer George Mason and Thomas Jefferson's, they are two of the greatest Liberal minds we as a country have had.

Why not just scuttle the 4th and 5th Amendments and allow Anti Gun cops to check every house. I mean, they'd go into the safes and remove all of the legally owned guns. We'd be safe then, right?

The 2nd Amendment is an individual right thanks to the 1903 Militia Act. Sorry, I for one have NO issue with this at all.

Many other blogs have written about the perspective of firearms owners on the tragedy so I won't go into that here.  I maintain that Liberals should be the ones leading the fight to ensure that all parts of the Constitution are upheld and if anything is onoerous the proper steps be taken to change them.

Several folks have called for the 2nd Amendment to be re-written.  If they feel that this is something that the majority of the country would agree with, I encourage them to draft the Amendment, call a Convention and get 33 states to ratify the changes.  I also recommend that they not blame the 'Gun Lobby' when this measure fails. 

Lower is 100% finished

Went to the gun show today in St Charles, MO and got the parts needed to finish off my lower.  I got my buffer and spring from Mark's Armory's buttstocks and buffers page and am very pleased with it.

Since my last update, I have done the following:

• Sprayed the lower and grip with Rust-Oleum Dark Taupe paint and flat clear coat.
• Done a simple whip-tie with tan 550 para cord on the buffer tube.
• Attached a single-point to two point sling adapter on the rear plate consisting of 550 para cord tied with a bowline on a bite into the loop and a pair of standard bowlines on the ends.