With all the talk around here recently about open carry and how it makes those around us react, let’s not forget that there’s still some members of law enforcement who don’t seem to recognize even permitted concealed carry. Eddie Bagdesar was pulled over in San Diego by a CHP officer who noticed that his car had some improper equipment like darkly-tinted windows, no front license plate, and blacked out covers on his taillights. When the officer approached, Bagdesar immediately informed him that he had a license to carry, and that he was armed with a loaded pistol. The officer made him climb out the passenger side of the vehicle . . .
over the center console (which can be claimed to “keep the driver away from traffic,” but is really more about keeping the potential suspect off-balance), and then had Bagdesar interlock his fingers behind his head. Bagdesar was then handcuffed, relieved of his weapon, and tossed in the back of the cruiser. After about a half hour, his license to carry was validated, he was given a “fix-it ticket” for the issues with his car, and was sent on his way. When asked why the CHP officer didn’t take Bagdesar’s carry permit at face value, a CHP spokesman responded that the situation “was handled correctly” [Surprise!] and that “Believe it or not, with technology and the Internet, you can make fraudulent documents.”
AWR Hawkins over at Breitbart has the story of a recently released Pew Study (pdf) that shows the majority of Millennials (those born 1981-1996 under their definition) oppose gun control. The study was conducted from January 23rd to February 9th, and while they did express their opposition to gun control by a margin of 50-48 percent, I find it pretty hard to get excited about a result differential that small. What do you think?
The Georgia bill that would let private property owners such as churches, bars, and some schools make their own decision on whether to allow guns has hit a roadblock in the Senate with only two working days left in the 2014 session. In 2013, the bill sailed through the House before dying in the Senate, and it looks like this year’s bill will meet a similar fate. House supporters have already stripped the bill of its most contentious proposal, the one that would decriminalize carrying a gun on college grounds, making it a civil violation instead of the current misdemeanor. With that section gone and Senate opposition still balking, it appears the bill is doomed as House supporters say that it doesn’t appear that they will bend much more. Rep. Mandi Ballinger, the fourth signer of the bill, said “I don’t get a sense that we’re willing to give up any more than we already have. It is an expansion of Second Amendment rights, and I think we’re trying to maintain that. If we keep conceding, we’re defeating the purpose.”
MattV2099 regularly does weird things with guns and food, but it doesn’t always work out the way he had planned. This week he dropped a blooper reel of sorts, his “Top 10 Fails” (unreleased footage). It’s good stuff if you’re a fan of his humor.
The Michigan Legislature is moving forward on three pro-gun bills this week. HB 5324 exempts all firearms records, including previously protected concealed-carry permit records, from FOIA requests. The information would still, of course, be available to law enforcement. 5324 passed the House 88-21 and now goes to the Senate. HB 5091 clarifies the existing brandishing law to define “brandish” as to ““point, wave about or display in a threatening manner with the intent to induce fear in another person.” The bill would specifically exempt guns carried in holsters or on slings from brandishing charges. 5091 passed 104-5 and also now goes to the Senate. Finally, SB 610 would legalize the manufacture, possession, or transfer of some short-barreled rifles and shotguns, providing relevant federal laws are followed. SB 610 passed the Senate back in November, and having now passed the House 103-6, will go to Governor Rick Snyder’s desk for a signature.
A short video showing how Schultz & Larsen rifles are made in Denmark. It’s promotional, to be sure, but still interesting.
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