It's no longer news that Iowa has has just become a shall-issue CCW state. A little less known is a Dec. 29 letter from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, D, telling local officials they have authority to forbid firearms on local public property. Two things stand out.
(1) -- Miller's letter shunts aside a broad state pre-emption statute and advises local officials to get around it by using criminal trespass laws to prosecute a CCW holder paying his property tax over at the court house. That, in turn, conflicts with another law exempting public property from criminal trespass laws.
(2) -- The Miller letter cites a single legal precedent for his opinion, a similar 2003 letter written by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.
Down in Sioux City (Woodbury County), they're not quite buying it yet. Yesterday the supervisors defeated a motion to ban CCW holders from carrying on public property. The news could be better. The vote was 3-2 against the ban, but at least one of the supers said he might change his mind if someone could offer a better means of enforcement. That's a coded message meaning country taxpayers should fork over a little more for metal detectors at court house doors.
Jan 13, 2011
Jan 12, 2011
About time someone in the MSM said it
Congresswoman McCarthy notwithstanding, this fellow thinks a rape of the 2nd Amendment doesn't look too likely in the near futue.
Democrats have been so spooked by the issue, party members and gun-control advocates say, that few are willing to push hard for tougher laws. Several days after the Giffords shooting, Democratic leaders in Congress have yet to weigh in, and President Barack Obama has also been silent ahead of his arrival in Tucson.
We'll soon be seeing polls claiming public opinion favors tighter laws, especially on the "high-cap" issue. That spike will flatten quickly.
Democrats have been so spooked by the issue, party members and gun-control advocates say, that few are willing to push hard for tougher laws. Several days after the Giffords shooting, Democratic leaders in Congress have yet to weigh in, and President Barack Obama has also been silent ahead of his arrival in Tucson.
We'll soon be seeing polls claiming public opinion favors tighter laws, especially on the "high-cap" issue. That spike will flatten quickly.
Jan 11, 2011
Reloading Note - Bullseye
Random Acts of Patriotism features a photo of a maimed revolver which appears to have been destroyed by a massive loading bench error, possibly a double charge of powder.
Reloading is as dangerous as negotiating the on-ramp of an urban freeway. So you say to yourself as you unlock the reloading shack, "Let's be careful in here."
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Bullseye powder is almost as old as the 1911. Over its 98 years, it became almost the de facto standard for, among other things, .38 Special target loads. You capped three grains (or a little less) of it with a 148-grain lead wad cutter for cheap and pleasant afternoons at the range.
The problem lies in its almost non-existent bulk. Responsible amounts all but disappear in the case, and six grains amputates a thumb as it destroys your Officers Model Target.
I still use it once in a while for a number of plinking loads. But I treat it like a pet cobra, My most religious practice requires a very bright flashlight. Charged cases are neatly aligned in the loading block and carefully inspected -- not glanced at but inspected -- one by one, in a regular order. Anything that looks even slightly unusual is dumped and recharged.
It isn't fool proof. A double charge is not necessarily obvious, but it should be apparent if your attention isn't diluted by memories of your first girl friend or a bacon sandwich or something.
Most other powders are bulkier. Overloads are more apparent. But in my shack, the flashlight routine is used on them, too. I am pleased with my opposable thumb and desire to keep it attached.
Please pardon the preaching.
Reloading is as dangerous as negotiating the on-ramp of an urban freeway. So you say to yourself as you unlock the reloading shack, "Let's be careful in here."
---
Bullseye powder is almost as old as the 1911. Over its 98 years, it became almost the de facto standard for, among other things, .38 Special target loads. You capped three grains (or a little less) of it with a 148-grain lead wad cutter for cheap and pleasant afternoons at the range.
The problem lies in its almost non-existent bulk. Responsible amounts all but disappear in the case, and six grains amputates a thumb as it destroys your Officers Model Target.
I still use it once in a while for a number of plinking loads. But I treat it like a pet cobra, My most religious practice requires a very bright flashlight. Charged cases are neatly aligned in the loading block and carefully inspected -- not glanced at but inspected -- one by one, in a regular order. Anything that looks even slightly unusual is dumped and recharged.
It isn't fool proof. A double charge is not necessarily obvious, but it should be apparent if your attention isn't diluted by memories of your first girl friend or a bacon sandwich or something.
Most other powders are bulkier. Overloads are more apparent. But in my shack, the flashlight routine is used on them, too. I am pleased with my opposable thumb and desire to keep it attached.
Please pardon the preaching.
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