(Non-existent) Gun Show Loophole

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(c) 2013 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

The dreaded “Gun Show Loophole” must be closed. One problem with that strategy—the GSL does not exist.

The 1934 National Firearms Act did not prohibit or regulate weapons. Read the government briefs in the Miller case. The Act was for revenue and falls under the excise power of Congress. Further, the sawed off shotgun in question was of no military utility and therefore the Second Amendment does not come into play.

The 1968 Gun Control Act, while it mentions public safety, is grounded in the Commerce Power of Congress. As such dealers operating in the area of “Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States” are subject to regulation. This is the concept which has accompanied the progressive takeover—that is stretching the Commerce Clause to fit the occasion. In the New Deal this was the justification for the second National Recovery Act—it was (improperly) upheld by a chastised Supreme Court after the first act was (properly) struck down. Dealers, weapons and prohibited actions are defined, with the prohibitions limited at first to constitutionally disabled individuals. It has been modified upon occasion and some of the modifications are questionable though they have not been challenged.

Gun shows are not mentioned by the act. Individual tranfers that do not involve crossing state lines are neither prohibited or regulated. That means that I can sell one of my World War I bolt actions to a friend or trade for one of his/her single action cowboy pistols without paperwork. The same would apply for any legal weapon under the Act—this includes semi-automatic weapons of the Stoner and Kalshnikov platforms. At gun shows patrons often bring weapons to sell or trade. Often they “trade up” to weapons from dealers. And they sometimes will get a better price or better trade from another patron. Believe or not, people have been trading and exchanging weapons for longer than I have been alive and I have been so trading for about half a century. I have purchased weapons from both dealers and other patrons. The transactions between patrons of a gun show are no different than transactions between individuals outside the gun show venue.

Now there are individuals who are, in fact, unlicensed dealers who use the gun shows as distribution venues. They will not get tables but will have two or three “personal” items on them as well as letting the patrons know where to contact them. There are also, at major gun shows, ATF agents supposedly looking for violations—they are not as easy to spot as they were in the old days when there were standards for professional attire. The two groups know who each other are and dance the dance. The bureau needs to do the job and nail the unlawful dealers, many of whom are probably their informants.

The use of gun shows by these people is not the fault of the law. The 68 Act follows the Constitution in not regulating private sales. These actual dealers are violating the law and need to be prosecuted. That is pure and simple—to the extent of it.

A law that mandates universal checks is unwise because it is unenforceable and because it sets up a registry. A registry is the mechanism for confiscation the next time public opinion may get manipulated. I mention the UK, Australia and California as examples of where this has happened. In Canada, fortunately, the long gun registry was an expensive joke that was made unenforceable through non-cooperation—I would expect that in this country abetted by juries that nullify the law.

Immigration — protection or protectionism

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(c) 2013 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

If you are committed to populist and progressive myths about protecting jobs through immigration laws you do not need to read further. If, like my wife, you believe that the United States government has “inherent” powers to control immigration, I recommend reading Solburg, Winton L, ed., The Constitutional Convention and the Formation of the Union, second edition.

Let’s start with the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, defines the powers of Congress. Paragraph 4 says, “To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;” This deals with uniformity of laws and deals with the issue of naturalization, not immigration.

The only paragraph that mentions migration is Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 1 which reads, “The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.” This was a reference to the slave trade and the migration of indentured servants. It expired in 1808 and the slave trade was abolished. This was a compromise to keep Georgia and South Carolina in the Compact—George Mason proposed immediate elimination of the slave trade and elimination of slavery by 1800. In no way does this paragraph provide for regulation of voluntary immigration.

Article XIV of Amendment begins, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

So the Constitution does not give a whole lot of guidance. And the early laws did not deal with immigration. Even John Adams, the founding godfather of the progressive movement, did not get Congress to restrict immigration from France in 1898, but rather to require an extended residency period for naturalization.

During the 1840s a number of nativist groups emerged and advocated controlling immigration and deporting aliens. In the late 1860s it turned out that the aliens—specifically Irish and Chinese turned out to be necessary to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Abraham Lincoln and Grenville Dodge had ignored the War Department’s surveys and drawn a line on a map. To execute the Western third of that line required disciplined workers who could be careful with explosives and reliable. These were the Chinese, whom the Anglo-Californians were trying to get rid of.

In 1875 that the first limitation on immigration was passed (the Page Act). Employers were prohibited from importation of “coolie labor” and Chinese sex workers. In 1882 came the Chinese Exclusion Act. It should be noted that both the 1875 and 1882 Acts violated the Burlingame Treaty of 1868 which was renegotiated in 1880.

The current quota based immigration system dates back only to 1921—more than 130 years after ratification of the Constitution. The latest intrusion is the REAL ID Act, a federal mandate on state issuance of identification justified by the so-called “war on terror.”

The progressive movement (and this includes the neo-conservatives and populists currently posing as conservatives) believes in government expansion by crisis. The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 was not the ultimate attack on the United States. The REAL ID Act was an advance of central control, nothing more nor less.

The anti-immigration movement (including such national figures as Tom Tancredo and Kris Kobach) is nothing more than economic protectionism dressed up as patriotism—see Dr Johnson’s Dictionary. It is not conservative any more than was the Know Nothing party before the conflict of 1861. Economic protectionism, as many know, was the cause of the 1931 recession that was rebranded the Great Depression for political purposes. Ultimately, immigration has generally been positive although the folks who came in through Ellis Island and were socialized in the New York public schools and their descendants have contributed to the dependency culture—we need some hard-working Mexicans to change this.

 

Homeschool challenge — what if?

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(c) 2013 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

“In 1814 we took a little trip…”

We all know the song. And we know that the Battle of New Orleans was militarily insignificant because the Treat of Ghent had been signed sometime earlier, but during the siege. The battle is insignificant because Jackson won. What could have happened had Packenham had won.

In the novel For Want of a Nail, Robert Sobol explores a history of what might have happened had Burgoyne defeated Arnold at Saratoga. The genre of alternative history is entertaining, but it also could be a philosophical exercise.

I am offering this homeschool challenge so that younger folks will look up history and conditions in the early nineteenth century and explore an alternative that might have occurred. This is not the Miniver Cheevy version of reality, but the realization that things can turn out either way. No outcome is predestined.

The challenge is: What would have happened if Jackson had lost at New Orleans?

You might say, “That’s silly, the treaty was signed.” But treaties have, throughout history, been abrogated when they become inconvenient. Ambitious men, not unlike Packenham, have schemed to achieve wealth and power and knew how to seize opportunity.  For example, Aaron Burr and James Wilkinson were alleged to be plotting an empire in the Spanish province of Texas which Bonaparte include in the quit-claim deed to Louisiana and the United States would cede back to Spain in 1819.

How could Jackson have lost? Every battle holds that possibility. Custer’s intelligence told him he was approaching an unarmed village. The coalitions could have fallen apart. The Lafitte brothers could have negotiated an agreement with the crown for amnesty in exchange for their loyalty. The Haitians could have felt they would be better off under British rule—the Brits were offering slaves freedom for defection. The backwoodsmen could have buckled.

What would the British have done? Who controls the port of New Orleans, controls the Mississippi. Would they have just grabbed the city and extorted the Americans? Or taken the Louisiana Purchase in toto? Might some adventurers have set up their own empire?

What would be the reactions of the Americans? What would Spain have done? Note that Bernardo Galves swept the British from the Mississippi during the American revolution.

Why am I not in the process of writing a novel?  Other than the fact that I’m not good at writing about personal relationships, the amount of research I would do ranges in the five to seven year period and soon will turn 70. I have at least two years of writing from research I have already done.

Some hints: No aliens or UFOs. Look at the legal constraints and whether treaties were inviolate. I am sure the King and Regent would regard the outcome with joy. There was also also an expansionist movement in the states—manifest destiny arose out of populist opinion and Daniel Boone had emigrated to Missouri. Combined with this was Spanish distrust of Britain now that Bonaparte was out of the picture so a British colonial presence would be wedged between Texas and the Mississippi. And there are even more factors out there to be discovered.

REMEMBER:   Tags are guides to further research.

Michael Bloomberg — gun criminal?

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(c) 2012 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg presides over one of the largest municipal corporations in the United States and feels this gives him a say in the national scene. He has a gigantic police department and an ego to go with his position. He cannot, however, veto the laws of the United States or of the state of New York. Basically what he can do is use his platform to argue for whatever ideas he espouses and bully a compliant council. Other than that he has less executive power than Matt Mead—someone whose name relatively few people recognize because he is Governor of Wyoming, a state with a mere fraction of the population of NYC.

The term municipal corporation has an important meaning here. Municipal corporations are subdivisions of states with limited powers granted by statute or power. In fact, a portion of New York City is beyond the jurisdiction of the Mayor. The Mayor has also sent private detectives to conduct sting operations outside the state as well as the city of New York.

In USA Today Mr Bloomberg wrote:

Obama should direct the Justice Department to step up its prosecution of gun criminals who try to buy guns. In 2009, 71,000 people who had been convicted of gun crimes tried to buy guns by lying on their background checks. Yet the federal government prosecuted only 77 of those cases. That’s one-tenth of 1%. These are gun criminals trying to buy guns illegally — and the federal government is letting them walk.

The question I have is whether Mr Bloomberg would support the prosecution of his investigators who lied on 4473s in order to make straw purchases—a felony since 1968. And should not all participants in such an enterprise—including Michael Bloomberg—be prosecuted?

 

 

Piers Morgan – the Brit does not understand

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(c) 2012 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

Piers Morgan, a CNN host whose previous experience was as a BBC presenter, has called for the government to seize “assault weapons” and made pious remarks about civilized countries. On September 12, 1814, Brigadier General William Stricker’s brigade of Maryland Militia stopped General Robert Ross’s “unbeatable” regular force on the road from North Point to Baltimore. That action, plus the failure of a naval bombardment to dislodge Fort McHenry with heavy guns and Congreve rockets effectively ended any necessity for Americans to take suggestions or demands from Brits.

Morgan, not real knowledgeable of American history, stated on national television that the second amendment was about muskets, not assault weapons. He has obviously not read my article on the Well-Regulated Militia http://loboviejo.com/2012/03/09/well-regulated…-of-definition/. Nor does he realize that the anti-federalists were addressing the nature of government rather than the technology of weaponry. The nature of government had not changed since Aristotle’s treaty nor has it changed since 1791.

Any argument is going to have to be settled on American terms by Americans. And draconian measures are not going to work any better than they did in 1775 when the governor of Massachusetts Bay sent regular troops to seize arms.  A statist foreign outlook is not appropriate or welcome in that debate.

Short commentary

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(c) 2012 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

Susan Rice withdrew from consideration for Secretary of State. No, this will not end the Benghazi debate—it was not the messenger but the message. Obama wanted his narrative.

Obama to meet with Boehner. A headline something like Fighting Intense Near Verdun in 1915 and 16 and 17 and 18. Look for something that kicks the can down the road a year or two.

Michigan passes “right to work.” Do not be surprised by repeal in a couple years.

Obama supports “secular” opposition in Syrian. Of course they can fit in one phone booth. Jordan is next.

Kansas Governor merges adult and juvenile corrections. This is an extremely bad idea which has been around since the early eighties—at least.

Lindsay Lohan is down to one story in today’s Mail—apparently she is impoverished. You might think that playing Elizabeth Taylor might lead her to Paris’s brother Conrad.

There are petitions on the White House website for secession. The state legislators who actually pass secession resolutions are not about to give up their entitlements and funding for their projects by doing so.

Meanwhile there are also petitions to nationalize Twinkies and build a Death Star—the latter being touted as a “jobs engine” on the scale of NASA. I do not see private capital coming forward to finance even part of such a project.

There are some private capital bids for some Hostess trademarks and recipes (take sugar, add high fructose corn syrup, throw in artificial flavors and colors, pump air into the center, throw on some more sugar). Meanwhile, Little Debbie sits there luring customers with her innocent smile—plus sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, sugar frosting, powdered sugar.

There may be something to this petition site. It helps identify the clueless.

The MailOnline reports a decline in the Samurai Caste during the Edo period because of lead poisoning in the make-up they wore. My brother sent me the more nuanced report from MSNBC. As an historical note, in the 1860s the District of Columbia installed new lead water pipes to prevent sabotage of the system. Solutions cause problems.

 

 

Compleat idler — Stubby

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(c) 2012 Earl L. Haehl Permission is given to use this article in whole as long as credit is given. Book rights are reserved.

NOTE: A couple months back we did animal stories at the storytellers group. On the way home, Anne told me I should do a story about Stubby, one of the bright spots of my childhood. She identifies as a storyteller and also believes in telling stories as therapy. I started to write this, and it is short because I know how it ends. There may be a time when I can tell it without tears, but until then no public performance.

I was five when Mom got married and we moved to San Jose. I could not take Stubby with me and she stayed with my grandparents.

I did not know life without Stubby. She was four months old and I was nine months old when she was brought home and given a bed underneath my crib. She was a present from the Gegleins—I think they were cousins of my grandfather on his mother’s side. Her mother was Grampa Geglein’s bulldog bitch and there were numerous suspects, mostly terriers on the surrounding farms. With her lineage and looks she might be shunned today as a pitbull but folks called her a nanny dog.  She was called Stubby because there was just a stub where her tail should have been. At any rate, everyone thought a dog like that would keep me out of trouble.

I felt alone in a strange place—in a city no less—without my dog, but it was California and pets were no-nos when you rented.

We were in California for two years before moving back. And this dog and I were inseparable for the most part. We could easily have taken her when we went to Wyoming and lived in a mining camp, but the allergy doctor said no and even recommended I not live in the same house with the dog. So for the two years between Wyoming and Nebraska we lived in a cabin out back and I hiked up to the main house in the morning to meet Stubby before we went on adventures.

Talk about patience. That dog wore a circus costume and we hitched her to the Radio Flyer wagon and she would pull it for a good half hour before lying down. She would lie down a lot—when I was real young she would sleep in the yard under the maple when I was playing with my trucks or my fort. When I was in college the neighbor explained that any time anyone came in the yard, there would be a bulldog between them and me.

In the summer of ’54, just after Little Britches, I built a chute and we ran her through it to where I was waiting with a lasso. I roped and threw her which was quite a chore as she outweighed me by 15 pounds—there were no girls around to be impressed but I was 10. I got the three legs tied. I loosed it up and she disappeared. She also disappeared every time she saw me getting my ropes out—even though I just did it to practice spinning ropes like Monty Montana.

But 1954 meant she was ten years old and as those things went she was slowing down. I was not aware that her eyesight and hearing were beginning to go. She was missing the Checkers that I tossed her and eating from her bowl. She stopped following me to school and generally slept in my grandmother’s dining room. We still went after rabbits along the irrigation ditch, but she did not move as fast. When I went up to the ranch in 1955, I knew I would see her at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The first year in Nebraska I was unhappy. And when given the opportunity to write a story, I wrote an adventure tracking a badger with Stubby and Red Ryder. We actually had followed weasel tracks in the dry irrigation ditch and as I look back on it, Red fired a .177 copper plated BB and would have been of little use had we encountered a real badger. Ten year olds are not realists a and we were an underarmed kid with a mostly blind dog. But I felt good while I was writing.

And I spent part of the summer of 1956 with my grandparents. Stubby was quieter. We still walked and went places, but more slowly. No rabbits. We sat for long hours on the sofa with her head in my lap. When we got in the car to head home I hugged her and told her I would see her at Thanksgiving. Mom got the letter the last week in October—cancer. I went in the bedroom, chased my brother out, locked the door and cried for twenty minutes. And I wrote no more adventures.