The Real Gun Guys

The Latest from the OFF

MEDFORD NEWSPAPER GETS CHL LIST

The Medford Mail Tribune, a newspaper which has repeatedly editorialized against self defense for public employees, has won a court case .pdf to get the names, addresses and occupations of all concealed handgun license holders in Jackson County.

The newspaper demanded this information as part of series of articles attacking Medford teacher Shirley Katz.  Katz, you will remember, sued to be allowed to carry her handgun to work in a Medford school (The Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation is paying Ms. Katz’s legal bills. Her case is currently being appealed.)

Judge Philip Arnold, the same judge who ruled that public employees are not protected by Oregon’s preemption statute, ruled that Bob Hunter, the Tribune’s Editor, has a right to the personal information of CHL holders. The county sheriff, Mike Winters, had refused to turn over the information, citing privacy and safety concerns.

Hunter stated in an article on October 16,2007 “This is information bought and paid for by the public, and the public has a right to it.”

This is, of course, nonsense. Licence holders pay high fees in order to have their backgrounds checked, their pictures taken and their fingerprints placed on file like criminals. The public, (and Bob Hunter) doesn’t contribute a dime.

Hunter and his staff have claimed that they don’t plan to release any names. We wonder then, why he wants them.

If the Medford Mail Tribune does publish the personal information of CHL holders, we will assume that they won’t mind if we publish the home addresses and other information about their staff.

You can contact Hunter by e-mail here bhunter@mailtribune.com or by regular mail and phone here:

Mail Tribune
P.O. Box 1108
111 N. Fir St.
Medford, OR 97501
541-776-4411

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Focus on the Criminal, not the Tool

Here’s some welcome commentary from Charley Reese in the Columbia Tribune.

Let’s focus on the people who kill, not the guns

By CHARLEY REESE

There seems to be more talk every day about gun violence. That is just a prelude to a push for more gun control.

Guns, being inanimate objects, do not cause crime. They are used to facilitate crime. If we are going to prevent crime, we have to deal with causes, not with tools. Cars don’t cause bank robberies. We would think somebody a fool who said he was going to cut down on bank robberies by regulating cars.

Once you attach the crime to the criminal, a whole lot of useful information becomes obvious. Gun violence is not uniformly present in this country. It is concentrated in certain areas and among certain people. A lot of it is related to drug gangs fighting over territory. Why should anyone be surprised by this? What happened during Prohibition? Gangs of bootleggers fought bloody battles for territory and customers.

…

Finally, we have to always remember that guns save lives. I don’t know how many people fend off criminals with a firearm. I don’t trust the statistics, which claim there are 700,000 to more than a million instances each year. But I do know it happens because I can see anecdotal evidence in newspaper stories and because common sense tells you that if you are attacked, you are better off being armed than disarmed.

Don’t forget, too, that police, the FBI, the Secret Service, the Capitol Police, U.S. Marshals and sheriffs deputies are all armed with handguns. The next time some anti-gun fanatic tells you that handguns are no good for self-defense, ask the person why so many law-enforcement officers rely on them for self-defense. Unfortunately, we are confronted at times with stupidity, craziness and evil. I don’t know of a better antidote than a .45-caliber bullet. None of us wishes to kill, but if we are forced to choose, most of us would prefer to be sorry rather than dead.

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Poll Results

Based on the latest poll:

55% of voters don’t currently shop at Wal-mart.
30% say they will stop shopping at Wal-mart.
15% of voters indicated they will continue to shop at Wal-mart.

A big thank you for everyone who participated in this poll!

-Yuri

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If you can see this…

It means I’ve successfully upgraded to Word Press 2.5.1.

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Pray for me…

I’m about to attempt an upgrade to WP 2.5.1.

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Today

Sorry for not blogging anything today. I’m tired and and generally feeling run down. Think I’ll go spend some quality time with the little one.

-Yuri

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“My Top Spots”

You may have noticed the orange “My Top Spots” widget on the right. It’s something I’ve seen on other sites and I’ve decided to try it out.

Here’s the deal.

It’s basically a fancy tip jar. If you like what I’m doing, consider tipping me $5 and in exchange I’ll give you a prominent, graphical link (150×25 px & < 25kb) to your site at the top of my blog page for as long as it remains on top. Links start out in the #1 position and when I’ve received eleven tips, it’ll push off at the bottom. This means your link could potentially be on the “My Top Spots” widget for a while, depending.

So, tip me…or not, it’s up to you. I do this for my own reasons, but just five tips would pay my server hosting for a year. Either way, no worries. I’ll continue to do what I can to spread the word about, and protect the second amendment.

-Yuri

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A Liberal Sees the Light

(h/t) Say Uncle

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New Poll Up

There’s a new poll up with the question:

“Due to Walmart’s recent alliance with anti-rights Mayor Michael Bloomberg, what will you do?”

There are three possible answers:

• I don’t shop at Walmart
• Stop shopping at Walmart
• Continue shopping at Walmart

I know some Walmarts already don’t carry guns, but assume for the purposes of the poll that they all do. The last question means you will continue to buy weapons and/or other goods from Walmart.

Any questions? Let me know in comments.

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High Tech Noon

Love it!

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