As I’ve written before, they don’t allow gun shows in NJ. So if I want to go to one, the local show for me is actually in Valley Forge Pennsylvania. They have them there every three months or so, and I’ve already decided that I’ll be there this time on the morning of December 18th. I’ve been re-watching the Deadwood series so I have it in my head to buy myself a Remington Smoot revolver (in .38 S&W CF if I can find it, but maybe a .32RF) and they always have stuff like that at the shows.
But even if I don’t find one; a gun show is a great place to get a deal on bulk ammo and all of the other odds and ends that shooters always need. And since we ‘people of the gun’ are so outnumbered here in greater NYC, I usually get a kick out of hanging around with a bunch of guys who feel the same way I do about so many things. I don’t have a hard number, but based on the license plates in the parking lot, I think about 40% of the people at the show are from NJ.
And with that in mind, I thought I’d do a little creative self promotion while I’m there as well. My buddy Rob bought me a bunch of the shirts shown above as a gift with the intention of having me give them away. I thought about just letting people ask for them via the comments section, but with all the mailing hassle and shipping cost it didn’t seem like it would work (especially since it’s my wife who would inevitably end up with all the hassle). So instead, I’ll bring a bunch of them with me to the Gun Show on the 18th and if you spot me there and ask, I’ll give you one. I’ll do my best to make myself visible. I’m a tall thin guy with short brown hair who looks like he’s about 40ish. I'll have a blue backpack on my shoulder full of grey T-Shirts. I won’t be hiding.
Also, I haven’t written anything about gun politics in a while because I don't have too terribly much to complain about. The fact of the matter is, on the national level things are really going our way and the forces of tyranny are in rapid retreat all over the country. In fact, that might change soon locally too. One way that you can gauge Christie’s interest in a national run will be his attempt to establish some pro-gun bonifides with a local issue. These things change of course, but being pro-gun is a great way to win a profoundly devoted portion of the electorate nationally, and any conservative candidate from NJ will need to do a little work to win those voters over.
As a starting point, I’d recommend giving a pardon to this poor guy from a link sent to me by Matt H: Brian Aitken’s Mistake
Radley Balko over a "Reason.Com" handled this piece brilliantly so I don’t have all that much to add except this: This guy got caught up in the system where any judicial and prosecutorial discretion was firmly aligned against him. In my opinion, the only way to avoid being in the same situation he’s in is to make sure you have either the political or economic resources to affect the cost benefit decisions of the judge, prosecutor and arresting officer.
In my case I have the latter, and from moment one I would make sure everyone involved understands that there will be no ‘quick conviction’ in my case. At best they can expect massive and costly procedural obstacles, endless appeals, and if acquitted, a follow up civil suit, and at least an attempt at a criminal civil rights complaint. I’m going to try to make it cost them their job, their pension, and if I can their freedom as well. I obviously don’t know one way or the other but I think that if you can make them believe you can offer that much resistance, then you’ll dissuade all but the most devoted anti-gun prosecutors and judges. These are petty crimes with disproportionately severe penalties, but the ability to offer effective (and costly) defense is why you don’t see ‘the rich’ being convicted of things like this.
Also, since I’d prefer to end this on a high note, I have a few other gun links. I have a buddy who has moved close to me, and we shoot together fairly often. His wife has no problem with his hobby, but she refuses to allow firearms in the house. I’m sure we’ll wear her down over time, but toward that end I have 2 great links.
Kathy Jackson is the managing editor of Concealed Carry magazine and a firearms instructor in Seattle. She is also the author of “The Cornered Cat”, a woman’s guide to Concealed Carry. One day we may be allowed to carry concealed in New Jersey again, and if we are, I’m sure much more of her copious knowledge will become useful to us. But in the meantime she's written some really great stuff relating to women and firearms.
I think my favorite piece of hers is this one:
How To Make Your Wife Hate Guns”
Followed by this one:
Buying a Gun For Your Wife”
She has gobs of instructive and entertaining stuff on her website: The Cornered Cat which I highly recommend for anyone with either a gun or a wife, and would like to think about getting one of the others.
2 comments:
Christie could certainly use a boost among gun owners. When you go to Google to find out just what his position is on guns, you soon find this: http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5451/christie1995001.jpg
If he wants to carve out some sort of middle-of-the-road position on the gun issue, pardoning Brian Aitken might be a good way to do that.
One often hears anti-gun people say they only want "reasonable" gun control. Obviously that's just posturing, but I would hope it would be difficult to convince the general public that sending an otherwise law-abiding citizen to prison for 7 years for having unloaded pistols locked in his trunk is reasonable.
There aren't too many other areas of the law where the states differ so much. Something that's perfectly legal for me to do in VA is evidently a serious felony in NJ.
I agree that Christie can use a boost among gun owners, but the question is, does he need it? My guess would be that by the time he's ready to take a run at it, things will either be much better or much worse. If they're worse, then he doesn't have to do a thing to placate the 2A crowd because Democrats will be fleeing from their policies in droves. But if they're better then he'll need all the help he can get and the 2A community can be a good group to have on your side.
It's all about principle for gun owners - we are less likely to believe what a politician says compared to what he does. I think Christie can swim in that water, but he'll need to get to it before he leaves NJ.
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