No says the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Would you fight fires with the least effective tools?

No.

So why should self defense against violent attackers be any different?

This was the main point of my remarks at the 2nd amendment rally.

Just because he hasn't yet doesn't mean he won't. It just means he's too busy with the health care debate and 10 percent unemployment.

Looks like Obama is going to follow the "green" movement over the cliff.

Anyone still think that this is not important?

Looks like we could have some movement on this front soon.

H/T to the Buckeye Firearms Association for this story.

A guy selling a car on Craigslist was lured onto a dead end street by thugs who tried to kill him and steal the car.

Luckily both him and his girfriend carried firearms.

Law abiding citizen 1 thug 0.

This one comes to you from nwahomepage.com.

Did you know that if people are "allowed" their constitutional right to bears arms that you would see people packing guns with, " a smoking barrel at their belt?"

No really.

But don't worry they say they're not stopping just anybody.

Just people who have "no business having guns."

Today State Senator Kim Hendren was on Dave Elswick's show on KARN News Radio taking questions from callers.

So I took the opportunity to ask him why he worked to force a compromise on a bill that untill Governor Beebe came out against it, needed no compromise.

What we got was an answer that was honest and at the same time laughable.

He basically said (I'm paraphrasing because I don't have an audio recording yet) that he was trying to remember what happened during that committee meeting because he didn't remember. And that he was talking to State Senator Ed Wilkinson (the other Senator that was part of the problem) to try and reconstruct the debate that happened on the committee.

This sounded suspiciously to me like they were trying to get their story straight.

He also remarked somewhat sarcastically that maybe, I wasn't in the room that day and perhaps I remembered the events better than the people who were there.

Well I was there and I take good notes.

Then he said that the events didn't take place as I have recalled and that, that was, "unfortunate."

Well don't take my word for it Kim, even the Arkansas Times bragged that, "he resisted the bill to close the record of concealed weapon permit holders."

Kim Hendren who proclaims that he has, "a proven track record of strong conservative leadership" for the people of Arkansas, "compromised" because he said thats how you have to do it to get things done. In reality this bill didn't need a, "compromise" but one was forced on it anyway.

Wow, what leadership.

Wonder what else he will "compromise" on if he gets the chance to go to Washington.

The plain fact is that he is entirely to chummy with the people who wanted this bill to be watered down and when push came to shove we couldn't rely on Kim Hendren to do what an overwhelming majority of Arkansans' wanted. Thats not leadership.

And what they wanted was to protect law abiding people who take personal responsiblity for their family's own safety. But the press, the liberals in the Senate and Governor Beebe didn't want that. Probably because they covet favorable news coverage more than they care about your privacy.

Punishment should always be restricted to the abuser, not the majority of individuals who exercise rights responsibly. What has happened here regarding "the list" is, the abuser (the Arkansas Times) was rewarded with the ability to continue to do what they were doing, and the innocent (the arkansas concealed carry permit holder) was deemed not deserving of a basic right to privacy. And State Senator Kim Hendren was party to this travesty.

At least he answered the question, which is more than I can say for Gilbert Baker.

I was going to put this in the post below but it deserves its own.

Probably one of the best written expressions about the meaning of the 2nd Amendment I've ever read.

"The Western nations which have abandoned this essential understanding of an individual’s right to self-defense have become rotting orphanages filled with dependent children. They’re not dealing very well with the invasion of a determined ideology that has complete confidence in its own righteousness, and few reservations about using violence to assert itself. Losing the dignity of self-defense is part of the degeneration from master of the State to its client. As this dignity fades, the people and their government speak less of responsibilities, and more of entitlements."

More on the Supreme Court case yesterday.

Supreme Court Debates Whether States Can Ban Guns

“Reasonable regulation” and McDonald (You will hear a lot about this from anti-gunners)

The Man Behind The Gun Suit (Doesn't exactly fit the narrative of a right wing 'gun nut')

Supreme Court Misfires on McDonald Argument   

Justices debate Chicago handgun ban (Media bias much?)

Civil Liberties Advocates not "Gun Advocates"

New Ammunition for Gun Rights

McDonald v. Chicago (From David Hardy)

Tons more from NRA ILA.

Arkansas Concealed Carry Association gets a shout out from one of the internets biggest players.

And Gilbert Baker's story is told on a national level.

You're welcome.

He was asked on Twitter about his vote for the concealed carry privacy bill by Scott Inman of KATV and he dodged the issue entirely.

Scott asked him, "Some viewer questions, now. One about guns. want to know why you didn't vote to pass conceal carry privacy bill?"

And Gilbert Baker replied, "100% NRA voting record. We did pass CC privacy law last session. Rep. Stewart sponsored, I voted for it."

In all fairness Gilbert, you knew what he was asking, he was asking why you didn't vote for it in committee.

I've already said that you voted for it on the floor, but that was the watered down bill, the one we wouldn't have had to swallow if it wasn't for you siding with Beebe.

People who are running for office shouldn't have to hide from their record.

Primary voters deserve to know why you did what you did.

Some early reports are that incorporation looks likely (with some restrictions) based on the "Due Process Clause" of the 14th Amendment.

Complete bans look unlikely to meet the "reasonable restriction" test. I'm guessing that when the opinion comes out in June or so, that Chicago will have to give up it's gun ban.

Analysis: 2nd Amendment Extension Likely (must read in its entirety)

In Chicago Gun Case, Supreme Court Sounds Note of Caution

Brady Campaign Statement

NRA Statement

Should be a transcript of the oral arguments released later. I'll link it here as an update when it comes out.

UPDATE - Oral Argument Transcript

Bonus reading

Using Guns to Protect Liberty

Chicagoans hope stories will help overturn gun ban

McDonald v. City of Chicago: Reading the Tea Leaves

Visual History of the SCOTUS.

But guns cause crime.

Don't they?

Limity papers to one editorial a month?

Heh, "Here’s a thought experiment: How would the esteemed editors of the once-influential Washington Post react to a law only allowing them to publish one editorial per month? After all, the pen is mightier than the sword, which makes it more dangerous, right?"

H/T Say Uncle.

You know, when the police want them.

When us lowly civilians want them their demonized as, "assault weapons."

Elephants.

This article comes to you from Fresno California.

Yeah, we're winning.

This from Ammoland, "On March 2, 2010, the Supreme Court will hear arguments opposed to and in support of the Chicago handgun ban which has been in place since 1982.

This case, McDonald v Chicago was filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association immediately following the landmark 2008 case Heller v DC. Currently 38 states, 305 US Senator and Representatives and over 700 state legislators, to name just a few, have filed briefs in support of the defendants.

View all the available filings and briefs at ChicagoGunCase.com.

This case is expected to not only overturn the ban in Chicago but to finally provide incorporation of the Second Amendment to the states."

The Second Amendment's Reach

McDonald v. Chicago Gun Case Goes to Supreme Court Tuesday

Justices Refused To Release Audio

Illinois State Rifle Association

Chicago Gun Case (Alan Gura's website)

Cato Institute Discussion on States and the Right to Bear Arms (must see)

C-Span Supreme Court page

The ATF claims it seized, "machine guns" at a Tacoma Washington port when in reality it was just airsoft guns.

The hilarity here is that the ATF claims, probably in its embarrassment, that the guns could be easily converted to machine guns which is total bullshit.

H/T to Say Uncle

UPDATE - Airsoft: An Industry Without Standard

Boy they sure do hate/fear gun owners over at the Arkansas Times.

You're all racist, dumb, ignorant, red neck, tea bagging Palin voters,"We're fearful that the new Hot Springs carriers will not be so amenable as the old. Bands of Tea Baggers and Palinistas have been spotted, and there's a native neo-Confederate movement in the area. These are headstrong people, ideologically fixated, and unlikely to be swayed by reasoned debate or even threat of retribution. The rest of us may long for the days when we had only Machine Gun Jack McGurns and Pretty Boy Floyds to deal with."

I think this kind of unwarranted fear actually has a clinical definition - Hoplophobia

And it seems that the whole publication is suffering from it.

I'll remember that the next time I hear that letting go of some erroneous restriction of firearms will lead to "wild west" shootouts.

Money quote, "There simply is no justification for blaming contemporary American violence and lawlessness on a frontier heritage. The time is long past for Americans to stop excusing the violence in society by trotting out that old whipping boy, the frontier. On the contrary, it would seem that the frontier, instead of representing America at its worst may have, in many respects, represented the nation at its best."

The case that will decide if states can deny 2nd Amendment rights will be argued on March the 2nd.

Also - Chicago versus the Second Amendment

Here's Fox 16's report on the event.

I had a nice time meeting some of the other pro-gun groups in the sate as well as some of the candidates and just everyday people as well.

Special Thanks goes out to Steve Skillern the organizer of the event , he invested a lot of time and money to make this thing happen and the national 2nd Amendment march folks the ones behind the rally.

But I was extremely excited to meet with Nikki Goeser.

Nikki Goeser's husband was shot and killed in a bar in Tennessee, where concealed weapons are banned(just like in Arkansas). Ever since then she has criss crossed the U.S. in support of various Second Amendment laws.

Her testimony, which you can listen to here (given before the Ohio legislature) is even more heartbreaking and enraging, in person.

There is a fund set up in her husband's name here.

We're gratefull that you came and shared your story Nikki.

You can listen to Nikki's interview on Armed American Radio here.