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If only more courthouses allowed the public to carry there, too . . . Under siege, more judges opt to arm themselves for protection

As violence inside and near courthouses grows, judges increasingly are choosing to carry concealed weapons, experts say.

Judge Eugene Lucci, who presides over cases in an Ohio county courthouse and sits on the board of the American Judges Association, says there’s a clear concern among his colleagues in the judicial world about safety.

Lucci, who delivers talks to judges about protecting themselves, says he’s seen an unmistakable interest in carrying concealed firearms.

Pajama boy goes shooting with the Mrs. . . . Me, My Liberal Wife and What Happened When We Went to a Gun Range

Cassandra asked me to take her to a shooting range for her birthday this year, so I called my friend Chris Cognac, who co-founded the international Coffee with a Cop program, for suggestions. Instead, Cognac invited us to the range at his station.  …

On the drive home, Cassandra said she’d like to go to a shooting range again, this time with a female instructor and using only a handgun. When I asked if she was still considering keeping a gun in the house, which I am firmly against, she said, “I don’t want you to say in the story whether or not I have a gun in the house.” Then, a second later, she added, “Maybe I do have a gun in the house, and I’m hiding it from you.” And then: “I have a gun in the house, Joel. I’m telling you right now, I have a gun in the house.”

I am not sure I can survive this presidency. Literally.

We wish him well, but don’t have high expectations here . . . South Florida Uber Driver Sues to Carry Gun on the Job

When a South Florida Uber driver shot and killed an armed attacker late last year, Jose Mejia thought the company should have congratulated the guy. Mejia, who’s also a local driver, couldn’t believe it when the man’s job was called into question instead, thanks to an Uber policy barring firearms.

After watching the story unfold, Mejia, who has a concealed carry permit and calls himself a proud Second Amendment supporter, decided the policy had to go. Now he’s suing Uber in a case that could have far-reaching implications, arguing that drivers should be allowed to carry firearms for protection.

“It’s very unfortunate when you have a huge corporation like this making money on the backs of others, and then, on top of that, they allow these individuals to be in precarious situations,” the 28-year-old driver says.

OMG! Blood in the streets! The Wild West! OMG! . . . Manhattan DA: This bill could turn your city into the Wild West

I’m proud to say that New York remains the safest big city in the nation, at least according to the Economist’s Safe Cities Index.

But this progress could come to a screeching halt if the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, known as CCRA, passes Congress. Every state has had the right to craft its own firearms licensing laws. In New York, we have crafted our laws to consider unique factors like our state’s population density, culture and history. The CCRA would override our state’s restrictive concealed-weapons permitting system and force New York to honor concealed-carry firearms privileges issued in other states, even though many other states have much looser standards.

The National Park Service has several big problems with NRA-backed legislation that would restrict the agency from regulating hunting and fishing within park boundaries. But according to a leaked memo obtained by McClatchy, the Trump administration has so far prevented the parks from voicing such concerns.

National Park Service Acting Director Michael Reynolds prepared a June 30 memo detailing his agency’s objections to the draft legislation, the “Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act.”

Under the bill, the National Park Service would be prevented from regulating the hunting of bears and wolves in Alaska wildlife preserves, including the practice of killing bear cubs in their dens. It also would be prevented from regulating commercial and recreational fishing within park boundaries and from commenting on development projects outside park boundaries that could affect the parks.

Why not? . . . Why Handgun Hunting?

Kevin Steele of Petersen’s Hunting Adventures talks about the challenge versus the rifle and getting up closer to the animals.

Law enforcement is so much easier when the morons self-identify . . . Stolen gun selfies lead law enforcement to Colorado smash-and-grab thief

A suspected burglar’s boast of getting “poled up” — slang for arming with guns — was one of many texts federal agents used to collar him in one of a rash of smash-and-grab gun shop burglaries across the Denver metro area.

Viet Trinh, 18, was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver with theft from the inventory of a federal firearms licensee. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to federal charges.

Don’t tell PETA, but . . . SC has thousands of wild hogs. Feds use helicopters to kill them

Federal wildlife agents have shot more than 1,000 pigs from helicopters in South Carolina during the past five years – and they’re looking for more places to hunt nuisance swine.

Virtually all of the helicopter hunting has occurred in and around wildlife refuges in the Charleston and Georgetown areas, where hogs roaming in open marshes are easy targets for federal shooters.

Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is considering expanding the service to other areas as part of the agency’s war on nuisance pigs.

A tough row to hoe . . . Oregon lawmakers set out to repeal gun control bill pushed by fellow Republican

Two state representatives and a former candidate for the state House filed a referendum Tuesday that would repeal a new state law that allows officials to seize a person’s firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or family members.

Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence; Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer; and one-time candidate Teri Grier will now begin an attempt to gather the more than 80,000 valid signatures required to get their referendum on the November 2018 ballot.

I’ve shot in a few of these…good time and a good cause . . . Ruger Helping Families in Need Through the Kids & Clays Foundation

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms, has made a major donation to the Kids & Clays Foundation to support their national series of sporting clay events. Proceeds from these events benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, an organization that provides housing and other help to thousands of critically ill children and their families across the country each year.

“We are incredibly honored to support the Kids & Clays Foundation and its mission of helping children and their families when they need it the most,” said Chris Killoy, Ruger CEO. “This foundation does such important work and we are proud to contribute to this very worthy cause.”

Who wants to be the one to tell him how much guns are already taxed? . . . John Stoehr: Time is right to talk gun tax

Now’s a good time to start thinking about a gun tax.

To be clear, nothing will happen. Not soon. The governor and the General Assembly do not have a budget even after weeks of negotiation, and if they don’t have one by September, there will be hell to pay. Given everyone’s attention is on the budget, or on vacationing when they should be working, the odds of lawmakers in Hartford talking about a gun tax are approximately zero.

But there are three reasons why right now is a good time for the rest of us to be thinking about a gun tax.

Want to know who not to vote for in New Jersey? . . . Gabrielle Giffords Endorses Philip Murphy for New Jersey Governor

Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who emerged as a high-profile advocate for tighter gun laws across the country after she was wounded in a mass shooting, endorsed Philip D. Murphy for New Jersey governor on Thursday.

Her political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions, praised Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, as a “strong advocate for responsible gun violence prevention policies.” The organization has backed candidates who are in favor of more gun control in races nationwide; this month, it announced support for Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in Virginia.

Terri DeWitt named as SCTP National Team Head Coach

The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) has formalized an agreement to name Terri DeWitt as the 2017/2018 Head coach of the newly developed SCTP-USAS National Team!

DeWitt, a 20 year member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit’s shotgun team and 1996 Olympian in Woman’s Double Trap has agreed to head up the 12 person team (6 men / 6 ladies) that formally starts September 1st 2017 and runs through August 31st of 2018. Team members must earn their way on to the team by placing in the top 3 positions in Bunker Trap and International Skeet at the SCTP’s International National Championships held at the US International Shooting Park in Colorado Springs, CO. each year.

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48 COMMENTS

  1. “South Florida Uber Driver Sues to Carry Gun on the Job”

    Most companies have a corporate policy against employees carrying on the job. My current employer, who sells guns, has such a policy.

    Guess what . . . .

    • If you drive for Uber, are you an employee or a contractor?

      Either way, if I’m desperate enough to take a job like that, there’s no way in hell I’m doing it unarmed.

      • Had the same thought. The article links to the law he is suing under. Per the statute:
        (c) “Employee” means any person who possesses a valid license issued pursuant to s. 790.06 and:
        1. Works for salary, wages, or other remuneration;
        2. Is an independent contractor; or
        3. Is a volunteer, intern, or other similar individual for an employer.

    • Uber claims that the drivers are not their employees and yet they insist on enforcing what seems like an employee no gun policy. If challenged in court they may have to either drop the policy immediately or risk a court ruling it an employment policy and considering that if Uber were to be considered an employer of the drivers Uber would then be on the hook for violating numerous labor laws as an employer.

    • You must work for a chain. The guys behind the counters here at the chains are unarmed, but I have yet to see an owner or employee at any of the small guns shops in town who aren’t open carrying.

  2. No liberal or democratic judge should be allowed to carry concealed for any reason! Just like the public they rule against on all matters pertaining to the rights of law abiding citizens to carry for the “safety of the public” so too does their concealed weapon present a safety issue to the public. After all, we can never be certain they won’t commit a mass shooting in their courtrooms!

  3. “If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to federal charges.”

    So less than someone who puts a pistol AR upper on an unregistered rifle lower?

  4. Don’t uber drivers use their own cars? Why are you gonna let someone decide what’s in your car? I’ll haul around bags of lime, butcher knives, chains, and a shovel if I damn well please.

    • “Don’t uber drivers use their own cars? Why are you gonna let someone decide what’s in your car?”

      There’s an interesting dynamic to that here in Florida.

      Florida law is mostly gun friendly. There is a specific law that states employers are prohibited from banning guns in the employee parking lot in cars the employees that drive to work. Combine that with the law that makes a vehicle you occupy an extension of your home with regards to gun laws (good castle doctrine protection), it makes me wonder if Uber or Lyft can’t prohibit drivers from carrying…

    • Oh it’s a lot more than just using your own car. Uber drivers are INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. As such Uber can make absolutely zero demands on the how, when, where, a driver does his job. If Uber wants that ability then they need to classify drivers as employees and start paying their part of the SSI and Medicare taxes, and reimbursement for milage on the driver’s vehicle. Then they can make stupid rules and expect the driver to follow them. I only drive for Uber maybe 5 days a year. Those days will be constant surge rates and a driver can make $500-700 in a 10-12 hour day. It’s my new gun money and is responsible for 5 new weapons over the past 3 years. I have carried a pistol for going on 38 years every day I leave the house. My car my rules.
      Why bother with a lawsuit. Just carry and shut up about it.

      • I think you mentioned the word “contractor,” implying that there is a contract between Uber and the driver.

        All Uber needs to do is put the no-gun policy in said contract.

        Don’t like it? Don’t sign it. I guess.

        • Contractor has a specific meaning in employment law. It basically means not an employee (who also has a contract). The owners would really like all the workers to be contractors because there are so many requirements for employees. The problem is, you can’t tell contractors how to do their job, you can only tell them what to do. For example, Uber can tell the driver to pick a guy up and where to take him. It can’t tell him how to pick him up and what route to take or what kind of gas use, etc.

          (This is a gross oversimplification).

          (Also, I still can’t subscribe to comments, so there will be no response from me to any replies).

        • Not quite. The guy who got shitcanned was a different driver. The guy who is suing is (presumably) still driving for Uber.

  5. “Cassandra said she was thinking about getting a gun. She wanted to protect herself from the people who had guns to protect themselves from people who wanted to take their guns, such as her.”

    Sure sounds like a convert to me…

  6. Aren’t Uber drivers independent contractors? If so they can do whatever they want…and how hard is it to setup a competing rideshare(besides Lyfte). Gabby may not be the worst one-George Clooney just gave Southern Poverty Law Scam a MILLION bucks 😡😡😡

    • Based on the experience here in Austin over the past year, it’s pretty difficult to set up a competing rideshare.

      Uber and Lyft left the city over rules (pushed by the taxi companies) that targeted them, and three or four local startups began right after they left. The new guys fumbled and bumbled, with technical problems and lack of drivers and customers, and never really got up a head of steam, and then the state legislature passed a law prohibiting municipalities from regulating rideshares. Uber and Lyft came back, and within a couple weeks, Fare shut down and RideAustin was reporting a 30+ percent decine in business and begging for donations. At least one other company failed even before Uber and Lyft came back. Ridesharing may seem like a simple business model, but it’s apparently not as easy as it looks.

  7. If a gun tax is constitutional, then it would also be legit to require people to buy their ballots — at, say, $50 a page.

    • 24A – 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

      But a tax on guns is unconstitutional for other reasons. See Minneapolis Star Tribune Company v. Commissioner, 460 U.S. 575 (1983).

      • And also, of course, because it doesn’t need an article in a newspaper to understand that a tax is an infringement.

        And, while I can make comments, I can’t subscribe to follow any followups.
        Why is that?
        Was something “fixed” that broke this?

  8. It is with sincere hope pajama boy becomes the victim of a very violent criminal home invasion or attack! Stupid can’t be changed, but in this case, it might be eliminated! That is the only way they learn!

    • “It is with sincere hope pajama boy becomes the victim of a very violent criminal home invasion or attack!”

      You’re as bad as those who wish ill on a sitting president.
      Wise up.

  9. ATTN TTAGers –

    Yesterday someone mentioned an animated GIF of teargas-kicking protest-boy getting a righteous shot to the nads.

    Does anybody have a link to that animated GIF?

  10. “If only more courthouses allowed the public to carry there, too” a gun wouldn’t have been stolen from a lawyer’s car at my local courthouse today.

    “We wish him well, but don’t have high expectations here.” I do. There is a link to the statute in the linked article. “(e) No … employer may terminate the employment of … an employee … for her constitutional right to keep and bear arms or for exercising the right of self-defense as long as a firearm is never exhibited on company property for any reason other than lawful defensive purposes.”

    “The National Park Service has several big problems with” a diminishment in the agencies power. Big surprise.

    “U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is considering expanding the service to other areas as part of the agency’s war on nuisance pigs.” I should have gotten a job in government services. Specifically the one that let me shoot pigs from a helicopter.

  11. “Federal wildlife agents have shot more than 1,000 pigs from helicopters in South Carolina during the past five years – and they’re looking for more places to hunt nuisance swine”
    See government at any level is criminally evil and inefficient, ineffective 1,000 pigs in five years , all they had to do was call the pigman and Ted Nugent that’s a couple of days for them.

  12. It’s “funny” that the wife in the gun range piece seems so contradictory to both the author and me for completely opposite reasons. I think it illustrates how a conversation about guns seems about as easy as communicating with a creature from another dimension, who’s outlook on everything is based in an entirely different reality. Even he and his wife, both apparently on the side of outlawing guns, can only agree that people who *want* to freely own guns are scary. The author seems to think having a gun in the house is the equivalent of releasing a venomous cobra indoors. I suppose his plan in case of a break-in or mugging is to be friends with a cop.

    He is beset on all sides by armed crazies. It seems no wonder that he thought he and his wife should be given a background check to fire a gun under the supervision of armed police inside a station. To have a meaningful discussion about anything, the parties involved have to share at least a base common understanding. What could a conversation about guns between us possibly accomplish?

    • Guns are evil. Unlike a Cobra, which warns you first, the evil gun can go off when it feels like it. They have a mind of their own.

      Like those rampaging SUV’s, “SUV runs over smart car, SUV kills driver…..” they should be “driver of SUV runs over smart car….driver of SUV killed when he…..” The MSM narrative is to instill life and evil intent on inanimate objects.

      PJ boy is probably gonna get divorced, because Guns. I see an SUV in her future.

  13. Who’s gonna tell those judges?
    “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

  14. Where the hell can i sign up to kill hogs from helicopters all day?
    Sounds great. And if you only have to kill 1000 pigs in 5 years you need only one kill every second day. That’s not too much stress and pressure, i could totally do that. Burnin’ some ammo and taxpayers money on having fun in the air and with guns and also a lot of freetime. That job is absolutely made for me.

    • Exactly, I’d love to see what the program cost per pig including manpower and helicopter services.

      I imagine people could come up with 5 free market alternatives in 5 minutes that would probably MAKE money for the Dept of Ag. There’s a government swamp in the governmnet’s swamp.

      OTOH, if my tax dollars are going to be wasted (and you know it is) I guess I would rather it be wasted on hunters hunting pigs from helicopters.

  15. That article about Cassandra is pure gold. She buys a gun to protect herself from gun owners she wants to disarm.
    You can’t make this shit up.

  16. I read the article Pajama Boy wrote about his wife Cassandra. Perhaps it’s the circles I hang out in, but I have literally never met or read the words of a more effeminate man in my life. Insecure about who his wife might be attracted to? Afraid his he won’t survive because of who’s president? Able to retain and recite a detailed description of her outfit on any given day? Didn’t even TRY to share her experience shooting by joining her because of how scary those big old mean guns are?

    I mean if I thought my wife were the cheating type, I wouldn’t have married her. And I couldn’t care less if she finds other men attractive. I find other women attractive, it don’t mean nothing unless I try to take my pants off.

  17. I hate to say it but this clown Murphy is a John Corzine avatar. He will easily win in November because NJ has become a very blue state and Any Democrat is assured of election except in maybe five of our twenty-one counties. The Democrats in the legislature already have the bills written up for him to sign. I sure we will see a new AWB, magazine restrictions, a waiting period on top of the eons it takes to get a permit and a gun tax over and above the sales tax we already pay. I think the only thing they won’t get is Loretta Weinburg’s “confiscate, confiscate, confiscate”.

  18. “Cassandra put on a pair of sensible ankle booties and shiny black tights and banded her hair into a ponytail because there are no female-shooter role models outside of action movies. (Emphasis added – ed.)

    Bridget Regan in The Last Ship, every single women in Justified, all of Charlie’s Angels; both versions, Mariska Hargitay in Law and Order SVU, “Kate” and Ziva David in NCIS, every female cop in NYPD Blue, several of the walking not dead in The Walking Dead, Cagney & Lacey in Cagney & Lacey”.

    Even in action movies there are other looks: Linda Hamilton in Terminator II, Sigourney Weaver in Alien / Aliens not counting the female space marines.

    Sounds more like Snowflake and the missus both have a thing for Lara Croft. Not judging.

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