Another Open Carry incident

This time, I'm on the side of the open carrying citizen. 

Marine Captain (helicopter pilot, combat vet, 2 tours in Iraq) passes a few motor homes that he says were going slow.  He's on a motorcycle, open carrying; probably out of convenience. 

He knows his rights and the law, inside and out.  

The RV drivers supposedly call the police and report him for passing them at "a hundred miles an hour."  The cop that pulled him over, did so out of suspicion.  He was not clocked speeding by the police.  

The cop asks him if he has a weapon.  The Marine responds with "I do not consent to search and seizure" (all of my quotes from this video are paraphrased because there's no transcript as of yet).  I think the Marine assumed the cop saw the openly carried weapon at that point.  That's where things went downhill and fast.  Unlike the usual Open Carry videos, I don't think this Marine was looking for this incident and he damned sure had no fear or hesitation in his voice. 

The problem I have with this stop (I would have answered in the affirmative when questioned on whether or not I had a weapon) is how the responding officer handled it in the end.  He told the Marine he was free to leave if the other officer could cover the Marine with a drawn weapon as the Marine left.

I will be monitoring this case.

Note what is requested in the lawsuit:

Pierson said he is seeking damages, an apology and a statement by the jurisdictions involved that the open carry of handguns is lawful — and that the purpose of government is not officer safety but the protection of peoples’ lives, liberty and property.
“I want that stated as the paramount reason they exist,” he said.
Pierson also said he wants to see Bassett and Andazola off the force.
Pierson said he finds the irony of the situation heartbreaking. “Both sets of officers, the sheriff’s department and myself, we’ve both sworn to uphold the Constitution,” he said.

Dakota Meyer sounds off

  On folks in air conditioned TOCs making calls for men actually doing the fighting.  There's folks that claim they're aviators because they "fly" drones and sometimes they even claim PTSD.  There's folks that claim they've seen combat from a screen.  And then there's Dakota Meyers.....  Read his story, folks and be humbled.

I read it last night, straight through.  His humble, blunt honesty is striking.  One gets the feeling he wrote the book purely to help Captain (Army) Will Swenson get the recognition he deserves.  Elsewhere in the book, some disinfecting sunlight is shed upon the Army TTOC officers who through slavish devotion to CYA and procedure allowed men to get killed that day in Ganjigal.  Said officers didn't listen to the men on the ground.  Once again, we read of the bravery of Army Kiowa pilots who helped turned the tide of battle and allow Corporal Meyer and SSGT (now Gunny) Juan Rodriguez-Chavez to reach their dead comrades and recover their dead friend's bodies (saving a few lives along the way).  Read the book, folks.  It's well written and not too long.  I know it's not about Tier One operators but it's worth your time and a story that needs to be told. 

  Meanwhile, the nation gives more press coverage to a dead panda cub in DC than the casualties last week.

  Thankfully, for those of us disgusted with the media and the American public, there's Duffelblog.

  Dakota Meyer invited to crime fighting super heroes (Nice mention of Brian Chontosh,
"instructor of Murderology at the Naval Academy")

  An excellent piece on the hypocrisy of the Afghans and "desecration"

  New logo for Marine Scout Snipers  (the "SS" logo has been around for a LONG time and never had a Nazi connotation.)  Fer Chesty's sake, it's OK to shoot them in the head but not have an SS symbol that means "Scout Sniper"?  Of course, this is the country where our troops are allowed to set the enemy on fire, shoot them, and bury them alive but not allowed to look at porn or drink before 21..... 

  Apologizing to a blue sticker (what the hell is the point of saluting a vehicle?) 

 

 

Chris Costa helping take the gun world mainstream?

  OK, the fifteen hundred dollar S&W M&P is more than a little surprising.  Once can only hope it shoots better than 6" at 25 yards though according to S&W, that's acceptable......  Great attention has been paid to aesthetics.  Personally, I'd like to get a reward posted for the first guy to take this to a Vickers handgun class (and I'd like to be there giggling as Larry Vickers casts his eyes upon this tactical bling or "tactibling"?   Hell, this thing seems a bargain compared to the laughably priced GlockVector "PV" which is a stippled and reshaped Glock 17 with some sights and a wee bit o' trigger work for fourteen hundred dollars.  (don't read the advert for it if you are immune to "operators" and multicam). 

 

  

  It's a sad day when utilitarian polymer pistols are treated like ornamental 1911s. 

  However, is the Costa starpower or hysteria making the firearms training world more mainstream ala the television series Top Shot?  After all, I'm pretty sure that Costa's Adidas sponsorship is a firearms industry first outside of hiking boots manufacturers.  Of course, there's Larry Vickers and his videogame partnership.  So, what is it?  Are video games giving us more shooters?  Is shooting becoming mainstream?  Are we sneering too quickly or do we need to make sure that shooting remains a serious pursuit sans starpower and idolization of certain firearms trainers?

  As always, when choosing a well known trainer, remember their roots.

And the dull roar of anger

   After seeing  Egyptians storm the US Embassy and burn the US flag on the 11th anniversary of September 11th and now reading the news about the US Ambassador to Libya being assassinated (along with 2 US Marines) ; there's a dull roar of anger in my ears emanating from more than one school of thought.

  You see, we attempt to help these people.  Rebuilding mosques for Eqyptians, hell we directly supported the Libyan revolution.  This is during the "great recession," mind you. In other words, those at USAID, the Executive Branch, and the State Department who dole out taxpayer's dollars with the smug affirmation "we know what's best and this will help the US" are incompetent fools.

  All of the recent events are a direct reaction to one podunk (he tends to a flock of twenty), Islamophobe Florida preacher's promotion of a  recent "film" that vilifies Islam in juvenile jokes. 

  "Is this THAT guy?'  Yeah, it's the guy who burned a copy of the Koran last year, kicking off protests, violence, and killing the Muslim world.

  The US Embassy in Cairo released the below statement, showing steadfast resolve and belief in the US Constitution.....except when freedom of speech might offend someone's religion.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement Tuesday that it "condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."
"Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy," the statement said. "We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others."

 
  That statement was released before the US Ambassador to Libya was assassinated.   So...we're not going to cut off aid to these countries and we are going to blame our citizens exercising their right o freedom of speech.  Got it.   Our government's appeasement of these other countries whose mouths are firmly affixed on our welfare teat reminds me of someone continuing to feed and care for a dog that continually bites them.

  Lest someone confuse me with an Islamophobe, I'll state that I remember the USS Liberty and I'm a fan of General Butler's words:

  There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.

 

The Anti Costa? (Tactical fashion)

  For those smart enough to avoid the non technical posts in gun forums, it might come as a shock to find out that grown men obsess over such things as the shades of FDE (Flat Dark Earth), tactical pants, and Arc'teryx jackets.

  For some, it turns into star worship.  Christ Costa; formerly of Magpul Dynamics, has followers that obsess over what shade his jacket is, what sunglasses he wears, and every brand name product he uses.  And he uses some very expensive, high end stuff; from jackets to suppressors.....

  Cue this report from a friend on a past John "Gunner" McPhee's heavy carbine marksmanship class:

That guy is the Anti-Costa.  Spotted rounds effectively throughout the course with a Simmons Spotting scope, When it rained he tore a hole in a garbage bag like a hobo(rather than the Arc'teryx Leaf full body suit) and half his gear was made out of duct tape and 550 cord.  Nothing he did or taught was in any way flashy or complex, but it all made sense, was easy to remember, and it worked.

Why open carry is like gay porn to me

  I support both.  That is, the right to do both.  Not a thing I particularly I want to see in public.  However, the gay porn people understand that.  They realize that there's a time and place for all things. I also get the feeling that gay porn afficionados would not run around displaying the porn in public in order to "educate" the public.  Not so much on the open carry "advocates"......

  Open carry advocates have read Beyond This Horizon by Robert A Heinlein, once maybe a coupla hundred times.  In this vision of a future society, everybody open carries.  The premise is that armed society is a polite society.  You have a problem with someone, duel them right then and there.....  However, most of the characters in the book are not walking around, trolling for lawsuits with personal digital recorder, eagerly hoping for "looks" (see open carry forums for countless stories of "the looks I got at McDonalds."  Also, Heinlein's story vastly differs from that of reality.

  The characters in the book also are proficient with their weapons.  I don't know one open carry "advocate" that is proficient with anything more than than their audio/video recorder and spouting local ordinances regarding firearms carry.  Some of these "advocates" are indeed idealists, truly believing that  if you open carry enough and"educate" enough of the public, open carry will become mainstream..... The rest seem to be either trolling for a lawsuit or for attention.  If you mention the benefits of concealed carry to one of these "advocates," you will be shouted down with mentions of the blazingly fast advantage in speed when drawing from an openly carried firearm.  You see, that beats practice, training, or perhaps even timing the difference between concealed and openly carried....  I've timed the difference and I'm usually at a tenth or a second or two slower from open carry and that's because I'm faster with an appendix draw every time.

  The odd thing is that most of these "advocates" aren't so keen on proficiency.  You know, training classes, competition, improving one's ability to use your choice of carry firearm.  A cursory glance at open carry.org's state chapter for my state shows a seemingly unhealthy obsession with open carrying and fast food, a willful ignorance of the practical benefits of when carrying two handguns it makes sense to have magazine commonality ("advocate" in question is carrying an XD and a 1911 both openly), and at least two recent negligent discharges.  The last part is particularly troubling.

  The latest encounter between an "advocate" and a police officer ended quite well for those on the side of rational thought, manners, and generally ignoring an out of shape, attention needy "advocate" who open carries a .22LR MP5 clone complete with fake suppressor.  You know, for the attention.  The responding officer is a credit to himself, his department, and his profession.  The advocate is a laughable dolt who hurts the Second Amendment cause.  If you are serious about advocating our Second Amendment rights, get training.  Learn how to shoot.  Then encourage others.  Carry your weapon in a responsible manner.  Let the cops do their job.

  Enjoy the video.

  

The speed of a dog on attack and Marine snipers battle for bragging rights

  Ever wonder how fast a dog really is?  The term "furry guided missile" is apt......

Royal Marine snipers and US Marine Scout Snipers battle it out for bragging rights, shooting targets in the ocean from a helicopter. 

  (pic from DVIDS)

 

Feinstein decides it's time

  to reenact the Assault Weapons Ban (AWB).  Never mind the bothersome fact that gun crimes and police killings declined after the AWB of 1994 lapsed. 

  Also, Mizz Feinstein declined to debate her Republican opponent Elizabeth Emken despite Emken's repeated debate challenges.  Why should she bother?  With California's gerrymandered districts and reelection rate for Democrats, Feinstein doesn't need to bother campaigning.  She can focus on the important stuff like the economy or preventing domestic surveillance errr....banning "assault" weapons.

  I love California, I really do.  The people are friendly, the food is great, and the countryside is beautiful.  I've hunted wild boar in the San Louis Obispo area with local rednecks that would be right at home in any Southern holler.  I've seen the poor, ostracized California shooters fight tooth and nail for gun rights in battles that folks in other states couldn't imagine.  However....California is cursed with a beautiful climate.  My rule of thumb (for the US) is the more rough the countryside is and the more harsh the climate, the less chance that there will be too many people, enacting too many laws, worrying too much about regulating what others do.  Wyoming might lead the continental US in that regard except for all of the out of staters in the Jackson Hole area.  We can only hope that climate change rids of us of the ski slopes there :)

  All of this being said, it's probably time to start preparing for the Barackolypse 2.0 Gun Buying Panic and stock up on your year's supply of ammo at the very least.  Not a bad idea to get you some of them eeevul high capacity mags and assault rifles either.  At the very least, get an AR15 lower.  Build it up into a rifle when you want.  By BATF rules, the AR15 lower is the weapon so everything else is just an addon.  So, if you buy the lower legally, you're set.
  

 

And that is that?

  I'm a libertarian.  I don't care what you do in the bedroom, I don't think "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for heterosexuals only" is written or implied in the Declaration of Independence.  I believe that immigration laws need to be fixed and that most of the crime problems with immigrants will be greatly alleviated by abandoning this "War on Drugs" that is inept, impotent, and only good at destroying our rights.

    I don't understand how the Republican Party focused like a laser on a woman's right to choose nor why gay marriage is a more important issue than domestic surveillance, foreign interventionism, reducing government agencies, nor the war on individual rights.  One would think that a party supposedly devoted to small government would stop worrying about social issues.  One would think that......

  I don't think that government can be all things to all people as the Democrats do and I do believe that "the safety net can become a hammock" as Thomas Sowell so aptly observed.   At every increase of increasing big government; I see the heavy hand behind it:  for your own good.  Safety issue.  a risk.

  So, there is NO Constitutionally sound, socially liberal, fiscally conservative party nor viable candidate out there today.  Writing in my conscience seems easy, right?  Write in a libertarian candidate like Ron Paul or Gary Johnson.

  And then the Democratic National Party adds as part of their official platform, the below, and draws a line in the sand.  Sigh....

  we can work together to enact commonsense improvements—like reinstating the assault weapons ban