A D.C. Jesuit Buys A Gun - Engaging America 's Repeal The 2nd Amendment Op Ed Part 1

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I am going to try to engage part of America's Op Ed on repealing the Second Amendment. There is a good Huff Post article with background on this at  America, Catholic Magazine, Calls For Repeal Of Second Amendment In Controversial Editorial .


Here here is at least part  1 of a  hopefully series of posts.

America as background takes on the the now famous Heller case .

On June 26, 2008, in a closely watched, far-reaching decision, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the D.C. law, ruling that it violated the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” In the court’s majority opinion, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “We are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country, and we take seriously the concerns raised by the many amici who believe that the prohibition of handgun ownership is a solution.... But the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table.”


Justice Scalia was right. Even those who subscribe to methods of constitutional interpretation other than Mr. Scalia’s brand of modified originalism must concede the basic point: The Second Amendment impedes the power of the government to regulate the sale or possession of firearms. Unfortunately, the grim consequence of this constitutional restriction is measured in body counts. The murder of 20 elementary school children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., in December was merely the latest in a string of mass shootings: Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek. In the last 30 years, there have been 62 mass shootings (each leaving at least four people dead) in the United States. Since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colo., there have been 130 shootings at schools; nearly half involved multiple deaths or injuries.

Now there is  major problem here. It is true that Heller is far reaching since they are explict that firearm ownership is a individual right. However they DID NOT touch on the many many many many  laws and regulations that go as to sale or possession of firearms.

Let us see if all "reasonable" gun restrictions have Gone with the Wind in D.C that was the subject of the Heller case .

Lets says a good Jesuit that lives in the District of Columbia wishes to buy a handgun. What will he have to do.

Step 1  Buy your Handgun but make sure it's on the approved 3 state list.
Make sure it holds no more than 10 rounds. Note you are going to have to go to a local dealer in the area since most handguns come with a standard 13 mag. That means you got to get someone to open the box switch out the mag with a 10 one so it can be accepted  for delivery in the district . That means most  big online sales from dealers are not going to happen. No one is going to be switching out mags at the warehouse. Your 10 DAY WAITING PERIOD begins.

Step 2  PAY ( they don't do this for free ) to have the gun you purchased to be shipped to the ONLY federal firearms licensee (FFL). That is  D.C.’s only legal gun dealer.

Step 3 - Get the required forms you need from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Sadly these forms are not online ( of course ) so you have to go get them or call them to send them to you.

Step 4 - Fill out forms send them back the D.C. 's ONLY legal gun dealer.

Step 5 - Take 30 minute online Course  on fundamentals, safety and local laws. Then  print our Certificate sign it .

Step 6- The handgun  arrives to D.C. ONLY LEGAL GUN DEALER so you have to set up an  appointment to fill our registration form. Go to the MPD where the gun dealer is at .Bring $125 fee in cash and the FBI BACKGROUND CHECK IS DONE.

Step 7 Take the test ( though this is pretty easy )

Step 8 Fill out more forms get photographed and fingerprinted

Step 9 GO TO THE  DMV ( Horrors ) This step alone perhaps is enough to stop most handgun buying  in you live in the District. After waiting through the long line ( s)  Pay $48 dollars in Cash get receipt .

Step 10 Take your and receipt and trek back to the Metropolitan Police Department. The registration office staff will tell you what day to come back for the end of the ten-day waiting period. Don't expect them to call you.

Step 11- Go back to the MPD. The day before waiting period ends  contact D.C. only legal gun dealer located in the MPD too see if application approved. Then make appointment to pick gun up. Make sure you have a  lock and a case so you can transport the gun home.

Suggested Step 12- Make sure to keep up with all D.C. gun laws in the future so you don't accidentally become a criminal and have to go through a long legal process.

All these restrictions though burdensome  are likely to survive court scrutiny up in the District. . Just like the District's ban on assault weapons.

So it's not really the case that just because the Court has ruled that one cannot just art Blanche ban the most common firearm in American that Judges just left and and right are striking now "reasonable" gun laws done by our elected officials.

I think America is missing that  fact that it doubles down like they did in the Op-Ed . In this case waiting periods , registrations , background checks , plus a lot of hassle have all been proposed as reasonable. In fact they are have been proposed as necessary to prevent misuse of firearms by gun control advocates. There is no real indications these laws are going away in the District.


Thanks to this article that explains process on how to buy an gun if one lives in the District of Columbia .

Why Should We Exempt Religious Folks and Organizations From Laws - NPR Discussion

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I am going to try to hit on the defense of rreligious exemptions or as the freedom from religion folks more often call  it " religious privilege" as to laws later on more fully.I truly think that the effort to exempt these are a true threat to human freedom and human dignity.

Till then NPR had an nice little program on their show called Talk of the Nation that touched on this.Prof  Rick Garnett that participated in the program has the link to the vid and transcript here at Garnett on religious exemptions on "Talk of the Nation" .  Exempt

Thoughts On Mandatory Gun Insurance

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In our " national conversation on guns " there has been some talk on mandatory gun insurance for gun owners. In fact there has been some bill filed in some state legislatures.

Josh Blackman has been blogging on this issue for some time. His latest piece is here at The Constitutionality of Mandating Firearm Insurance where he talks about the legal and indeed moral hazard problems involved.

A few thoughts of my own. From a pragmatic sense this seems like a idea that gun control people would want to run away from for various reasons.



First it does not take a lot of imagination to see this in a poll tax sort of way and our history with that. That it is very likely that this have a disparate impact on poor folks and very much poor folks of color. Which to be honest might be part of  the intent. It's no secret that the modern gun control movement partly got its start because people were freaking out over riots by black citizens in the 60 ' s.

Second  it seems just to confirm the worse fears of gun rights folks that are told their fears are so unreasonable. That is the "reasonable" request that gun owners should register their firearms will eventually lead to a tax and/ or confiscation.

Last but not least the car insurance issue does not seem very apt. When I cannot pay my car insurance That means I cannot drive the car off my property. I can have an car without insurance to my hearts content on my property. In fact I believe in all states I can pretty much Drive and use my car all over my private property. No one is going to confiscate it if I let the insurance lapse. That is good since I might have some investment in my vehicle.

Mandatory gun insurance is perhaps the least likely of all regulation to pass in my opinion. The problem is for gun control advocates just the serious discussion of it likely results in a ton of anti gun control laws in response and other assorted blowback.

SACRAMENTO: Gatsby's Diner

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As a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, I have longwanted to visit Gatsby’s Diner in Sacramento. This Christmas visit, I playedthe “Dad” card and insisted the family gather there for dinner. No one wasdisappointed.
We descended on Gatsby’s, which is fairly close to our kids’homes, with three of our adult children and one grandchild in tow, and staffcould not have been more welcoming. We’d made a reservation – which theyrecommend because of the popularity the show has brought the place – so theyhad a table and high chair ready.
My wife and I had been particularly fascinated by a coupleof items prepared on the show: the beet sliders and the beef rouladen.
We ordered a side of sliders for the table and, although theothers were initially wary of tasting what looked like “beet sandwiches,”everyone immediately understood why they are one of Gatsby’s signature dishes.

Beet sliders

Three ½-inch thick beet medallions are par-boiled inGatsby's own pastrami seasoning, which gives the beets a flavor reminiscent ofpastrami while preserving their vegetarian qualities. The slices are thengrilled on flattops that used to be teppan yaki grills when the place was aJapanese steakhouse in a previous life, then served with shaved red onion andhouse-made Green Goddess dressing on toasted slider buns.
The restaurant’s web page says, “We love beets but those whodon’t probably wouldn’t even know what they were eating if they ate with theirmouths closed.” While I'm sure they meant "ate with their eyes closed," I could hardly have said it better myself.
After the appetizer, it was on to our main courses.
I had the German beef rouladen, which are rolls of thinlysliced beef, Dijon mustard, bacon, dill pickle and onion, served with savorygravy, German red cabbage and parsley potatoes. Being partly of German heritage,I’ve enjoyed rouladen since my childhood.

Beef rouladen

While Gatsby’s rouladen were very tasty, they should probablyhave been cooked a little longer, as they were still a bit tough. Rouladenoriginally evolved as a way to make cheaper cuts of meat edible by poundingthem thin, then cooking for a long time to ensure tenderness. The potatoescould also have used some additional cooking time, as my wife and I agreed theywere a bit underdone.
My wife, also of German heritage, opted for the porkschnitzel: a pork loin filet, breaded and fried, served with red cabbage andGerman potato salad, which is made without mayonnaise. While the schnitzel and cabbage were quite flavorful, the optionof a warm potato side dish would have been welcome on a cold pre-Christmasevening.
One of the kids tucked into a huge burger, which heimmediately pronounced delicious. Burgers, according to many of the reviews I've read elsewhere, are what Gatsby's is known for.
After dinner, we enjoyed a luscious, light crème brûléeflamed tableside, and a chocolate-peanut butter milkshake. The latter soundsheavy, even for chocolate and/or peanut butter lovers, but surprisingly, itwasn’t. It was very light and tasty.
Despite Gatsby’s decidedly casual “diner” atmosphere,service was helpful and attentive. As an extra, added attraction, the place hada good selection of beer and a pretty decent wine list, too. Coupled with itsexcellent selection of comfort food, Gatsby’s has everything you'll need for asuccessful evening out.
Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger sized images

 

Sacramento Vacations

American's Longest Flying F/A Steps Down

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An interesting article in the Dallas Morning News about American Airlines' oldest active flight attendant stepping down after 54 years in the air.

The article provides some interesting history about how flight attendants used to be selected and what they were required to do, but left out some key points related to some pretty stringent physical requirements.

First, F/As had to be attractive. I know that's subjective, but it was definitely a requirement of the job, just as the requirements that flight attendants be single and under 32 years of age.

Second, flight attendants' weight was monitored very closely and those who gained beyond a certain point were grounded, either temporarily until they could lose the extra pounds, or permanently.  In addition, there were some fairly narrow height parameters: F/As could neither be too tall nor too short. For example, the now-defunct PanAm required that F/A's be at least 5'2" tall and weigh no more than 130 pounds.

Some things probably needed to change, but others should never have been allowed to change, such as the requirement that flight attendants actually take care of their passengers. Back in the day, they made sure passengers were comfortable, had what we needed, and generally made us feel welcome. They didn't just sling us drinks, then hide behind the galley curtain to read the latest fashion magazine or pulp novel.

Generally, though, the Dallas Morning News piece about Carole DiSalvo is well worth reading.

This blog's mission

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This post is a bit more personal. For the few readers that I have left, I feel that I owe an explanation of some sort for the sparse postings. In short, things have been happening in my life - both good and bad - that have made posting on a regular basis a challenge. I recruited Bill Fisher last fall to help out, but neither of us intended for him to run the show, and it's not fair to him that I sort of dropped out. I have not found the time to write about the dozens of articles that I've bookmarked or ideas floating in my head. Indeed, I have several unwritten drafts that have not - and likely will not, due to a lack of timeliness - be published.

When I first started this blog, I was feeling cornered by the TSA and I wanted to protest in some way. It was a great outlet for me to feel that I was making an impact. Since then, many other venues have popped up - from Becky Akers' new blogging position at lewrockwell.com to Boycott Flying on Facebook, to the many viral stories of TSA injustices. While this hasn't reduced my passion, it has reduced my feeling of responsibility to get any and all TSA-related news out there.

I have reason to believe that this summer may allow me more time to post on this blog - but no promises! In the meantime, I will continue to reflect on what this blog's purpose is now - only a year and a half after I started it up - and how I can meet that mission while keeping the content interesting. Although I feel that I've shirked some responsibility for the last half year plus, I have been so hopeful by the ever increasing backlash against the federal agency that has significantly changed my life. I don't know what is in store for this blog, but, the dissolution of the TSA and all of its shenanigans remains a fervant wish of mine.

Alkon: Don't go quietly

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Amy Alkon has an entry on her latest violation at the hands of the TSA. After years of degradation by the TSA, there is nothing particularly remarkable about her experience: she was sexually assaulted because she bought a plane ticket.

I wholeheartedly agree with her final remarks:

I will at least make a spectacle of myself and in turn of what they are doing.

Don't go quietly, please. And name names of those who violate you -- post their name (THEDALA MAGEE!) and a picture of them if you can find or take it. (To avoid a libel suit, be absolutely sure it's the right person -- there were a number of Tiffany Applewhites, and most of them are regular people who don't appear to grope people's genitals for a living.)
If more people screamed and yelled and protested in some way, we might be able to make some change. In so many ways lately, our constitutional rights are being eroded. Keeping quiet will not end well for any of us.

If you are having trouble finding a place to publish your story, please send it to me using the contact form on this blog.