Albany Gun Rights Rally

Yesterday, we spent the day at our state capitol in Albany NY, protesting Gov. Cuomo's NY SAFE law, which is gun control legislation that was unconstitutionally crammed down the throats of law abiding citizens in the dead of night, without time for public comment or even for the legislators who voted for this garbage to *read* the bill they passed. (Most of the provisions of the new law do not go into effect for months or, in some cases, a year. Where then was the exigency necessitating the Governor's use of a Message of Necessity to bypass the normal legislative process? Obviously, there was none.) NY SAFE is rife with errors, including their failure to exempt law enforcement from the strictures they placed on ordinary citizens. We want it repealed, because it seriously hampers self defense and amounts to a ban on the sale of almost every modern firearm in NY State. The 7 round magazine limit basically makes 90 percent of the handguns manufactured after 1911 unavailable for purchase after April 15th. Manufacturers have stated they are not going to produce 7 round magazines for NYers, because that might encourage the rest of the country to jump on Cuomo's idiot bandwagon.

Since I'm going there, you're gonna get my opinion...

First, whichever side of the gun control debate you fall on, please read the very informative analysis of gun control from a legal perspective recently published in the National Law Journal.

I am a retired lawyer and the Constitution means a lot to me. I swore an oath to support and defend it, and I take that seriously. I believe the NY SAFE act violates it and will be overturned by the courts. Whichever side you are on, the article I linked to is worth reading and considering. There is an old saying in legal circles: "Hard cases make bad law." That is what I see happening today. Emotion and outrage are running roughshod over what should be a logical and reasoned process that aims to do the most good while restricting individual rights as little as possible. Instead, we have hysteria and paranoia from both sides. That will not solve the problem.

NY and CT had some of the strictest gun laws in America, even before the tragedy in Newtown. If the laws already on the books were actually enforced, it would make more difference to safety than passing a slew of new laws that will only affect law abiding citizens who voluntarily comply. Very little was done by the new NY law to address mental health issues or actual criminals. Instead, most measures only affect law abiding gun owners who have already successfully gone through the gauntlet of hoops New York makes us jump in order to own guns.

If we did away with parole for violent offenders and actually required them to serve their entire sentences, and increased the minimum sentences for crimes committed with guns, we might actually make the world a safer place. If we made sure persons adjudged to be dangerous to themselves and others were promptly reported to the NICS database so that they would fail background checks, that would be highly useful. Too many states do not adequately update this information. I do not know how NY's record stands on that score.

Telling a homeowner that they can only defend against potentially multiple assailants in a home invasion context with 7 rounds does not make anyone safer, except criminals. The Georgia mom who put 5 bullets into the guy that chased her and her kids down in an attic crawlspace would have been SOL if he had an accomplice. I do not want to have to potentially fight off someone who is a threat to me and my kid with less than all the bullets my gun will hold.

That said, here are some photos from yesterday's rally. I am trying to teach my kid the value of standing up for what he believes in, and I think it was a homeschool day well spent.









































Finally, this is our State Senator, Greg Ball, speaking at the event:



Although I generally try to keep politics off the blog, I am tired of being demonized and having words put in my mouth. So now you have my position straight from the horse's mouth. I am a legal gun owner. I have had guns for over 20 years, and they have never hurt anything but paper. Gun owners: we look just like everybody else; we are your neighbors; and we care about kids just as much as you do. We differ on the issue of what makes them safer.

#OccupyHALLOWEEN?

This is the sign we left on our door last night, while out Trick or Treating for UNICEF:

I left a ridiculously long comment on the last post, trying to fill in the background on the cancellation of Halloween here in our village, which probably deserves to be in a post, so I'm going to copy it here:

We got snow on Saturday, that is largely melted away. Because the trees are still in leaf here, and it was heavy wet snow, we had a lot of limbs, and some whole trees, down from the weight of the accumulated snow. There were still some blocks with trees down that had not been cleared away, or low hanging wires, and one closed off street with an electrical line down. Some homes are still without power, and a few streets do not have street lights.

But they gave us all a comprehensive list of the problem spots. And they *didn't close the roads*. Apparently, we were free to drive or walk around on these horribly dangerous byways for any purpose, so long as it *wasn't* trick or treating. All the stores are open, and people were otherwise out and about. It's hypocritical of them to cancel just the holiday but not tell people to simply stay off the streets. If they are dangerous, they are dangerous for all purposes.

They managed to put a damper on things, but they didn't succeed in killing the celebration entirely. Families did go out, but not as many as usual, and there were folks handing out candy even at some of the blacked out houses. People carried lanterns and flashlights, and kept their kids close, and carried on. So far as I know, nobody had any problems due to the "unsafe conditions of the roads". Most people were on the sidewalks, not driving around.

There are comments on the news outlet about how this was "the only thing the village could do", but that is belied by the fact that other local communities just warned people of the dangers and let them do their thing, without announcing that the holiday was canceled (and would be rescheduled by government fiat!).

And of course, there are the typical comments about how we should care more about those with no power than not being able to dress up and party, as if the two are mutually exclusive. We had no power for a while. There have been past instances when we were out for 4 days in the dead of winter, and it is miserable to go through, but I didn't expect the village to cancel Christmas or any other holiday because *I* couldn't participate. I am sure the people whose houses are dark didn't expect to become the justification for the Grinches Who Stole Halloween either. Life goes on, and IMHO, when you have nothing to do but sit in the dark, distractions are welcome!

I hate the "people are starving in [insert third world country here], shut up and eat your peas" type attempts at silencing people, and being *told* what I should care about.

BOO to the government and the baa-ing sheep who blindly support its edicts, no matter how ill considered. Hurray for happy rebels who know how to protest government stupidity, in all its manifold forms, from the petty to the tryannical.

Trick or Treating Dragon and Get Your Government Off My Holiday

Mikro had a blast Trick or Treating tonight, even though our control freak village government cancelled Halloween. I left a comment on our local online news outlet as follows:

Here comes the Nanny State, preempting parental judgment, treating us all like errant children and sending us to bed without dessert. Well, BOO to you, [village] brain trust. You haven't declared an emergency, you let us run around on these now suddenly unsafe roads all last night and today, spending our money in village stores, and *that* wasn't unsafe, but families celebrating together is? Give us some credit for enough common sense to avoid the posted as potentially hazardous areas without punishing the entire village for Con Ed's poor response time. Driving is not an essential part of trick or treating. It can still be done by walking (or rolling in a wheelchair or scooter.) This is America, all the erosion of our freedoms recently notwithstanding, and I will not cower at home because you think I should. My family will be out, safely enjoying the holiday, despite your unwarranted interference.


Under what authority do they presume to cancel a holiday? Will people be OK with it when it is Christmas, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving or Election Day next? This was not a government sponsored event that they had a right to regulate. And if the streets were unsafe for this purpose, they were unsafe for all purposes. This was over reaching.

So, in flagrant disregard for the paternalistic decree, out we went, safely, rationally, and without a hitch, joined by friends and fellow rebels from the neighborhood. Amazingly, since it was allegedly so very dangerous, there was *less* police presence than in previous years. Yet we went about our Trick or Treating for UNICEF unmolested and unharmed.

Mikro collected about ten dollars. I've been dropping all the change in my pockets into a UNICEF container since October 1st, so he will have a fair amount to donate from that. I think I'm up to about $30 there.

We finished the dragon costume in the nick of time, and over the course of the evening, it sprang a few seams that now need repaired. Since we may have an official, resceduled date for Trick or Treating here in the village, he may get to wear it again.

Constitution Day Learning Links

Tomorrow is Constitution Day in the USA.

Constitution Day Materials for K-12

A wealth of resources, including online games, about the Constitution, the courts, etc., all here:

Our Courts

Not On The Test

Not On The Test is a song by Tom Chapin that nicely summarizes my thinking on federal education policy and its effect on public schooling.

Check out the website to watch the video, download the song, read the explanatory statement and follow links to advocacy groups for information on how to support keeping the arts in public education.

Flag Day Fun Links

In honor of Flag Day tomorrow, we've been looking at Ben's Guide to United States Government for Kids. There are sections for K-2, 3-5, etc., with information on topics such as how the government works, historical documents, US symbols, and even some games and activities. Mikro enjoyed the site, and surprised me with how much geography he has retained from reading Scrambled States of America...

Some more links:

The American Flag

Full lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner

White House 101