Letter to my representatives

I have to thank the Wisconsin Against Violence Effort for the opportunity to let my elected officials know I fully support their proposal to allow concealed carry in schools and universities. For far too long, these places have been rendered "free fire zones" for criminal and lunatics by state and federal laws.

Here's what I sent, using their convenient web page:

I applaud the promise, coming from legislative leaders, to listen to the will of the people. In that spirit, I urge you to listen to me about an issue that is critical to our children’s safety.

I fully support proposals to allow private citizens to carry loaded defensive guns in K-12 schools, colleges, and universities.  Allowing  any law-abiding person to bring a gun into a school will make our children safer. It will decrease the risks they face because at least there will be the possibility of someone present being able to offer a defense in case of another attempt to use a "gun free" zone as a shooting gallery with helpless victims.

I implore you to put the safety of our children first by supporting this common-sense proposal. Thank you for valuing the voices of Wisconsin citizens.

Sincerely,
Chuck Kuecker
Beloit

Funny thing - after I submitted the above comments, WAVE asked me for a donation. I entered '$0.00" - and got a bunch of errors:

Oops...

Instant karma?

Vin Suprynowicz has a good article on the recent shooting at the black church in SC:

If we don’t have ‘common-sense gun control’ now, time to start over

“There is no greater coward than a criminal who enters a house of God and slaughters innocent people engaged in the study of scripture,” said Cornell William Brooks, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, after a visitor to a Bible study group at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shot and killed the preacher and eight parishioners there in Charleston, South Carolina June 17.

I agree with Mr. Brooks. I hope we can all agree that when people arm themselves and travel to a church with the pre-arranged plan to open fire and kill people at that church –- peaceful, innocent people who have caused no one harm — that’s evil, and anyone who commits such an act should be charged with multiple felonies and put on trial.

 That's my opinion, too. There's a bit more to the story, that gives me the title of this post:

Why didn’t anyone at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston — anyone but the attacker, that is to say — have and use a self-defense gun on the evening of June 17? It turns out it wasn’t just “bad luck.”

PASTOR DISARMED HIS PARISHIONERS

A board member for the National Rifle Association blames the gun-control position of South Carolina state Sen. Clementa Pinckney — the very same man who was killed with his parishioners in the Charleston church shooting — for the deaths of his congregation, Nick Gass of Politico reported on June 19.

If state Sen. -– who was also the Rev. -– Pinckney had voted to allow gun owners to carry their own weapons, Charles Cotton wrote, “eight of his church members … might be alive.”

In one thread discussing the previous day’s shooting at the Emanuel AME Church, a user with the name ShootDonTalk wrote: “Something else to consider: The pastor of this church, who was killed, is a State Legislator in S.C.”

“And he voted against concealed-carry,” 13-year NRA board member Cotton responded. “Eight of his church members who might be alive if he had expressly allowed members to carry handguns in church are dead. Innocent people died because of his position on a political issue.”

The bill that Pinckney voted against in 2011 would have permitted gun owners to bring guns into public places like churches and daycare centers. It ultimately failed.

Read the whole article. Well worth your time.

I've said it before, and it can't be said enough - if guns are banned, only criminals and the police will have guns. And the criminals will not respect anyone's wishes as to "gun-free zones".

Just south of me, in the People's Republik of Ill-Annoys, the city of South Beloit has decided to post huge signs with a gun in a red circle-slash at the entrances to their parks. If they were honest about it, the sign would have the words "Free Fire Zone", or "No Self Defense Allowed" in large letters, so patrons do not mistakenly get the idea that "no guns" means "safe".

They never learn

Went to a "green belt" Six Sigma course yesterday for my employer. The class was held at the Northern Illinois University campus in Rockford.

Prominent signs posted on the drive in to the parking lot - placed out-of-sight of the actual entrance, so you have to drive in and pass it before you can leave the premises (which probably qualifies as a crime in Ill-Annoys if you are a CCW holder - entering "posted" property) state "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED" with a nice Euro-style red circle-slash through an automatic pistol.

NIU, you might remember, was the site of a "school shooting" back in February, 2008, while my daughter was attending. She was nowhere near the actual scene, thank God. The shooting was in part enabled by the law then that prohibited honest citizens in the state of Ill-Annoys, let alone on campus, from having protective devices at hand.

The course instructor marveled at the proliferation of these signs - on public parks, and everywhere hoplophobes and soft-brained liberals rule.

Now, this:

KARMA: Business posts new “NO GUNS” sign; robbed within days, employees beaten

So, the owner of a new barbeque place in North Carolina, Greg Hatem, posts his establishment “NO GUNS” with a custom-made sign designed to make gun owners feel extra unwelcome.

Apparently Greg hates ‘em when it comes to guns.

A few days later, some thugs figure it’s a good spot for a hold up and not only commit an armed robbery, but they beat the employees as well.  Be sure to mosey on over and check out the surveillance video of the attack.  The media described the vicious attack by three armed black men in hoodies who terrorized the staff.  One staff member was taken to the hospital.

The anti-gun owner, Greg Hatem, is offering a $2000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Hey Greg?  Free advice.  Take the sign down and you’ll better “take care” of your employees and customers.

I hope those employees all sue for violation of their Constitutional rights - and win big. They might end up owning the place.

Side note - one of the other students, sadly an Ill-Annoys resident, told me that Ill-Annoys CCW licenses are going for upwards of $600 when you factor in the mandatory 16 hours of  classroom training, the firms that offer "first try" CCW application success, and the cost of the license itself. I sure am glad to see that the Demonrats in Chicago have managed to effectively eliminate all those inner-city people from ever being able to defend themselves from Chicago's endemic violence via over-pricing an inalienable human right. Perhaps those people will think of this the next time they are bussed to the polls.

Nah- I'm dreaming...

Open Letter from Fort Hood

Powerful.

My letter to Congress, read today at Texas Senate committee on Constitutional Carry. It is now public record.

To my friends, fellow Texans, brothers in arms, members of the committee, and everyone within the sound of my voice, greetings.

My name is First Lieutenant Patrick Cook of the 49th Transportation Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas, and this past Wednesday I found myself trapped in an enclosed room with fourteen of my fellow Soldiers, one of whom was barricading the door against a madman with a .45 pistol when he was fatally shot. Through what I can only describe as a miracle, he somehow found enough strength to continue pushing against that door until the shooter gave up and went elsewhere, at which time he collapsed. Nearly a week later, I can still taste his blood in my mouth from when I and my comrades breathed into his lungs for 20 long minutes while we waited for a response from the authorities. This Soldier’s name was Sergeant First Class Daniel Ferguson, and his sacrifice loaned me the rest of my life to tell this story . . .

But I write to you today not to memorialize this brave Soldier, nor to tell a war story about how we made the best of a losing situation, but to express the part of that story that some in high positions of power clearly do not want told: I knew this was going to happen. I had been saying for five years that Fort Hood was a tinderbox of another massacre waiting to happen. It had to happen, because our betters failed to learn the obvious lesson of five years ago. Worse yet, I know it will happen again. More will die, more will be wounded, more families will be torn apart, needlessly. It happened again, and will happen again, because Fort Hood is a gun free zone.

"Gun-free zone". The most  insane idea propagated by the lefty-liberal assholes that currently infest Washington and way too many state and local legislatures.

When you prohibit weapons from an area, you create a free-fire zone for the next disgruntled employee or unhinged person who comes along.

The Second Amendment - not just a good idea - it's natural law!

First Ill-Annoys CCW licenses sent!

Over 5000 subjects in the People's Republik of Ill-Annoys have graciously been allowed by their masters to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

It only cost them $150 each, good for five years, and has a list of caveats and prohibited places longer than your arm.

Still, progress. I eagerly await the first Wisconsin resident who takes advantage of the Ill-Annoys rule that anyone allowed to carry a gun in public in their home state is allowed to have a concealed weapon in their vehicle in Ill-Annoys. The court proceedings and media circus ought to be very entertaining.

Gun control success

The law worked just like the left-liberals planned it...

How gun control helped a stalker kill my husband

In April 2009, my husband was shot six times in front of me in the middle of a busy restaurant by a man who was stalking me. I have a permit to carry a handgun but because of the law at that time in my home state of Tennessee, I had to leave the gun that I normally carried for self defense, locked in my car that night. 

An almost identical scenario played out in Texas a few years ago, and started the move toward universal concealed carry.

Never let up - keep fighting - and we might just see the Second Amendment enforced in this country, at long last.

Maybe what we need is DEMONRAT CONTROL!

All the worst atrocities occur in places run by liberals and Demonrats. This is not a coincidence. This is either by design or due to their failed philosophy.

Gun Control? Obama's Chicago New U.S. Murder Capital

Hardly major news when we hear more about gun violence and murder in Chicago - in fact just one day ago a mass shooting in South Side park was reported, albeit fortunately with no fatalities. Chief McCarthy however soon got on the "assault" weapon band-wagon, working we assume on the basis that banning such rifles automatically prevents criminal aquisition and use.

In recently released statistics, the FBI reported there were over 500 murders in the Windy City in 2012, and yet as most know, the City is perhaps the largest single gun-free zone in the nation. Illegal guns of course are in plentiful supply but the good guys have no legal recourse to a means of self-defense.

There is a link to a bigger article -

Obama's Chicago Is Now Murder Capital Of U.S., FBI Says

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. By that definition, most of CONgress and all of the loudest screamers for victim disarmament ought to be locked up in padded cells - not running loose.

This has gone way too far

14-year-old at the center of "NRA T-Shirt Controversy" now facing possibility of 1 year in jail

 Suspended and arrested after refusing to change his NRA shirt. Today, 14-year-old Jared Marcum appeared before a judge and was officially charged with obstructing an officer.

A $500 fine and up to a year in jail, that's the penalty that Jared could face, now that a judge has allowed the prosecution to move forward with it's obstructing an officer charge against him.

"Me, I'm more of a fighter and so is Jared and eventually we're going to get through this," Jared's father Allen Lardieri said.  "I don't think it should have ever gotten this far."

The Logan County Police Department initially claimed that the at-the-time 8th grade Logan Middle School student was arrested for disturbing the education process, obstructing an officer and Lardieri says that officers even went as far as threatening to charge Jared with making terroristic threats.

"In my view of the facts, Jared didn't do anything wrong," Ben White, Jared's attorney said.  "I think officer Adkins could have done something differently."

Prosecuting attorney Michael White refused to respond to any questions, as did Logan Police.

We obtained official court documents from both sides of this case.  On one hand, the arresting officer from the Logan City Police Department, James Adkins, claims that when Jared refused to stop talking, that hindered his ability to do his job, hence, the obstruction charge.  On the other side, Ben White points out that nowhere in the arresting officer's petition, does it mention Jared ever making any threats or acting in a violent manner. 

"Every aspect of this is just totally wrong," Lardieri said.  "He has no background of anything criminal, up until now and it just seems like nobody wants to admit they're wrong."

Ben White says he will continue working to have the charges against Jared dismissed.  If that doesn't happen in the coming weeks, Jared will be back in court on July 11th.

Video at the link

Do the cops bring obstruction charges against every mouthy drunk they nab? That cop ought to be fired for letting a 14-year-old get under his skin so that he couldn't do his job.

Damn straight "it never should have gotten this far". The only reason I can see for this escalation is that some petty bureaucrats got embarrassed and now have to prove to themselves that they and their inane rules are important and deserving of respect.

The people in the area need to wake up and visit the school board - with torches and pitchforks.


Another visit to the local police chief and the politicians that appointed him is also indicated, as is a visit to that judge.

I would have never expected to hear this kind of boneheaded stupidity from West Virginia. NYC, San Francisco, LA, Chicago, yes. But in those places, it wouldn't be news.

WAVE! We are idiots!

Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Creating a State of Peace

"Special thanks to The Joyce Foundation"

These numbskulls think signs will prevent violence. The examples of every school shooting since the federal law prohibiting guns on school property was enacted does not seem to make them think.

They also want you to pass out cards telling businesses to prohibit effective self-defense:

Be a SAFE WISCONSIN Business
- Post a Sign to Keep Guns Out -
A new state law will force you to allow weapons unless you post a sign. But the people of our state do not want guns in stores, restaurants or any other public place.
I agree, and I’m asking you to support Wisconsin values
and our safety by putting up signs prohibiting guns.
►By a huge 3 to 1 margin, state residents say they will feel
less safe, not safer, in public places that allow guns.
►Guns in public places put us all at risk. Workers at businesses that allow guns are 5 to 7 times more likely to be murdered.
►Nationwide, 80% of businesses prohibit guns on the premises.
Thousands of Wisconsin residents have signed a pledge to support businesses that protect our safety by keeping guns out.
As soon as you have posted a sign, contact WAVE.
They’ll let every person who signed the pledge know that you
are a SAFE WISCONSIN business.
We know you value our business.
Let us know you value our safety.
WAVE Educational Fund / 414.351.9283 / Wave@WaveEdFund.org

Let's count the lies:

First, the people of Wisconsin certainly do want guns around - or we wouldn't have overwhelmingly supported Governor Walker in the last leftie-liberal recall election. There wouldn't be over a quarter-million Wisconsinites now possessing a CCW permit, and countless others open-carrying every day.

3 to 1 margin? Perhaps in parts of Milwaukee and Madison!

Inanimate objects put no one at risk at any time. Want to put people at risk? Prohibit fire extinguishers in public places because someone might, someday, abuse one or use one to injure someone else. Let's see some objective evidence of that 5 to 7 times number. Can't show us a link to someone other than a Joyce Foundation mouthpiece? Thought so!

80% of businesses in Chicago, New York City, or San Fransisco, perhaps. I have seen only three places I might want to visit around here that post. The Beloit NAPA, the Beloit Library, and Basics in Janesville. Everywhere else either is happy to see my carrying openly or has ignored me - and when I carry concealed, how does anyone know I have an evil weapon?

I will believe that "thousands" have signed their petitions - after all, these idiots did get a recall election of Governor Walker organized - with lots of out-of-state money and illegal petition signers. Having a liberal Madison judge invalidate our Voter ID law didn't help them. Record turnouts for the right people in most areas.

Personally, I will stick my head in a place that posts and tell anyone within earshot why I cannot come in - and if they want my business, they will lose the stupid sign.

You can rest assured, gun free business, that the bad guys will ignore your sign, if they even bother to read it. They might chuckle as they pull their gun to rob you, though.