Tag: Gun Rights

Bloomberg’s Gun Control Bill

Snowflakes in Hell brings us an article that explains Super Douche Mayor Bloomberg’s “gun show loophole” bill he’s been pushing through a recent national campaign. You know what the most important detail is though? The bill goes well beyond gun show regulations:

Or consider a licensed firearms dealer who never sets foot inside a gun show. He conducts all his sales from his store. The Bloomberg bill hugely increases various prison terms that can be imposed on licensed dealers. This has nothing to do with gun shows.

And of course this bill has nothing to do with any loophole either but is in essence a bill meant to stop gun shows in this country all together:

For example, gun show promoters do not sell guns. The promoters just operate the shows, renting table space to the people who do sell guns. The Bloomberg bill would give the U.S. attorney general unlimited power to impose fees and regulations on gun show operators. An anti-gun attorney general could make the fees so exorbitant that no one could operate a gun show. Extremely complex and time-consuming registration forms that would have to be filled out every week could also drive gun shows out of business.

So that’s how he plans to fix the improperly named “loophole.” No gun show, no problem apparently. This is how anti-gunners have to do things. They claim there is a problem and then they make a law that doesn’t address the problem itself but attempts to completely ban everything related to their believed problem.

I’ve addressed the fact that there is no gun show loophole. What the anti-gunners are trying to eliminate are property rights. Under current United States law (which can be different from state to state, I’m talking federal here) if you want to sell one of your guns you can, no problem. What Super Douche Bloomberg and his posse want is to require all gun sales, including private ones, to go through the NICS. Of course they also know that only federally licensed dealers can access the NICS and hence this bill would eliminate your right to sell a firearm that you own unless you pay a third party (a federally licensed dealer) to perform a NICS check and transfer. How would you like it if you had to go to a third party and pay them a fee in order to get permission to sell your car, television, table, or home? It doesn’t sound like a good thing when put into that context does it?

Make no mistake, Super Douche doesn’t hate guns he hates your right to do day to day tasks without being dependent on the government. To put it nicely he’s a power hungry control freak.

Glock Triggers

I have three Glocks: a 30SF, a 21SF, and a 17. The 30SF came with a serrated trigger which I didn’t like (it cause discomfort for my trigger finger) so I replaced the trigger bar with a 21SF trigger bar which is smooth faced. Likewise the 17 trigger is smooth faced. I’ve been trying to figure out why some Glocks come with serrated triggers while others come with smooth triggers. It seemed rather random (being I only have three guns to obtain data from). Well I finally figured this out thanks to a thread on GlockTalk.

When a pistol gets important into the country it needs to get 75 points on the BATFE point system. One of the points is for having a target trigger. A target trigger is a fancy way of saying a serrated trigger apparently. Other points are awarded for things like size, caliber, action, etc.

Compact Glocks don’t have enough points to get important into the country due to their size. In order to make the required points Glock throws a target trigger into their compact guns (they also put adjustable sights on but those are swapped off for fixed ones when they arrive in America). The point system is also the reason for the thumb groves on the grip (that makes it a target grip apparently).

When the Brady Bunch and their minions claim the firearms industry is practically unregulated remember bullshit laws like this.

Brady Bunch Failing At Making Money

Snowflakes in Hell pointed out the fact that the Brady Bunch are begging for money again. Their doing a fund raising drive. See you’re supposed to give them money because guns are scary and other such nonsense. Well their goal is a lofty $10,000. So far they have… $20.00. I might add Snowflakes in Hell posted this two days ago and no new donations have apparently been made since.

Let’s see how long it takes them to blame the evil “gun lobby.”

Representative Jim Moran is a Moron

It didn’t take long for some politicians to get their panties all in a bunch over the Second Amendment March. Walls of the City gives a quick overview of the Second Amendment March and links to this fucktard.

According to Representative Moron Moran:

“These anti-government demonstrations are fueled by the belief that our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment are somehow under attack and urgent action is needed,” he said. “While this may be a powerful rallying point for special interest groups, the claim could not be further from the truth.”

Really? With people like Super Douche Mayor Bloomberg and his posse trying to ban firearm sales between private individuals, California looking to ban the open carrying of unloaded firearms, doctors asking children if their parents own firearms and recording their answers, state representatives attempting to ban of specific semi-automatic rifles, etc., etc. I think the second amendment is pretty much under constant fire.

Whenever we gun owners have become complacent politicians like this prick pushed through gun control measures. Just look at the National Firearms Act, the Gun Control Act of 1968, the Hughes Amendment, the Assault Weapons Ban, and the Brady Bill for examples of what happens when we gun owners get lazy. He also has this to say:

“In fact,” he continued, “much to my dismay, virtually every action the federal government has taken in the past decade has weakened commonsense gun laws already on the books.”

There is no such thing as common sense gun laws. The only common sense gun law in America is the second amendment which states the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. In fact as gun control laws and struck down the only notable thing we can find is crime is going down. Although this doesn’t prove more guns equal less crime it does show gun control laws do not prevent crime.

Either way we need to remain ever vigilant less pricks like Representative Moran and his ilk start pushing through gun control laws without resistance.

Gun Laws in Minnesota

Jay over at MArooned put up a nice post quickly explaining gun laws of states on the eastern shore. Having gun laws of states is always a good thing so I thought I’d copy his idea and do the same for Minnesota. So this is going to be a brief run down of Minnesota firearm laws.

Do note nothing on here should be considered correct nor legal under Minnesota law. This information is correct as far as I know but could change or could be inaccurate. In other words I’m not a lawyer so don’t take legal advice from me. Treat this like a guide.

In General

We don’t have any crazy “assault weapon” bans in this fine state. We also don’t have a list containing “state approved” handguns, all United States legal handguns can be owned here. But there are some notes that need to be added.

In order to purchase a handgun or an “assault weapon” you need to acquire a permit to purchase or have a carry license. A permit to purchase can be obtained from your local sheriff’s office and involves filling out a form, waiting five business days, and returning to the sheriff’s office to pick up your permit (which is a piece of paper, not an official card) [Robert contacted me on Facebook and informed me that in his county a piece of paper and a plastic card was mailed to him instead of just a piece of paper. Apparently this too varies by country]. Once you have this permit you can purchase handguns and “assault weapons.” Permits to purchase expire one year after issuance and which point you must jump through the hoops again to renew it. For all other long guns you can simply go into a gun store and pick one up.

There are no waiting periods for purchasing firearms in this state, minus the time it takes to get a permit to purchase should you need one. Likewise Minnesota has reciprocity with Wisconsin (and possibly other neighboring states, but I’ve only purchased in Wisconsin) allowing you to buy long guns there without having to transfer them to a Minnesota FFL dealer. This is rather convenient honestly.

Carry Permits

Minnesota is a “shall issue” state. You are required to attend a class (there is no written test so don’t sweat it), pass a shooting course (which is so simple I think a blind man could do it), and apply for the permit. You must also take a renewal course once every five years and apply for a new permit. So long as you pass the course and aren’t a prohibited person the county must grant you a permit upon application (and payment of course).

Applying for a permit involves going to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of your county, showing credentials stating you’ve passed the class, filling out some paperwork, paying a fee up to (but not over) $100.00, and waiting up to (but not over) 30 days for your permit to be mailed to your residence.

If you move you must notify the Chief Law Enforcement Officer [As Joat pointed out you need to notify the issuing officer] issuing officer within, I believe, 30 days. A new permit will be issued and I believe a $10.00 can be charged but I am not sure. Your old permit will remain valid but if you want to get a new one that reflects your new address you will be charged a fee of, I believe, $10.00. [Thanks again Joat]

In Minnesota if you have a valid carry permit you do not need a permit to purchase in order to obtain handguns or “assault weapons.” So if you frequently buy firearms it may be easier to get a carry permit once every five years instead of a permit to purchase every year even if you don’t plan on carrying.

Carry Laws

Once you have your carry permit you can carry a gun in Minnesota openly or concealed. Without that permit you can not legally carry a firearm in Minnesota period (unless of course your a law enforcement officer). Take note that the carry permit does allow you to carry a long arm but you will most likely be questioned by the police anyways. But if you want to walk around lugging a rifle you can with so long as you have a carry permit (I wouldn’t recommend it though).

Private businesses can post that they ban firearms. With that said those signs have very little teeth in this state. The property owner must verbally ask you to leave. If you refuse the request (you’re a fucking moron) they will most likely call the police who will arrive and most likely ask you to leave. If you still don’t get the hint (you’re really fucking stupid) you will receive a $20.00 trespassing fine for your first offense. With that said landlords, such as malls, can not post. Well they can but the signs will have no legal backing [Thanks for mentioning that Nate, I forgot to add it in while I was writing this]. This is a hotly debated topic in the Twin Cities because the Mall of America posts and they are a landlord. Legally those signs have no meaning but it comes down the whether or not you want to deal with the Bloomington police (yes the Mall of America has actual police on site) or simply take your business elsewhere.

State property, with two three exception (which I’ll explain in a second), can not bar you from carrying a firearm. That means you can carry on college campuses here. With that said a college campus can make rules baring students and faculty from carrying. If you are a student of faculty member of such a campus realize that they can expel or fire you but they can not bring any legal action against you.

The one complete exception from being able to carry are courtrooms. You can’t bring a firearm into a court room period. The first exception are courthouses. You can carry in a courthouse if you provide written notice to the sheriff though. [Thanks again Joat]

The second exception, which isn’t a complete exception at all, is the state capital. You can not carry there unless you submit a letter of notification beforehand. Once you submit a letter of notification you’re good to carry. Upon submission you are not given any additional permit or paperwork. Once the letter is submitted you’re good. It is wise however to make a copy of the said letter, take two copies in person to the capital, get one signed, and bring that letter with you whenever you carry at the capitol.

The third exception are daycare centers and K-12 schools (really two exceptions but they fit the same category). Like the capital you can bypass this exception if you are able to obtain written permission from the head of the institution [Thanks again Joat].

NFA Weapons

There isn’t much to say about NFA weapons for Minnesota but there are two major issues to note. First you can not own a suppressor in this state. Sorry it just isn’t happening. Likewise you can only obtain a machine gun if it’s also a C&R (curio and relic) weapon. If you jump through the NFA paperwork and pay the tax stamp you can obtain any other (as far as I know) NFA weapon such as a short barreled rifle or shotgun [I guess shotguns are a no-no].

Things That Make You Go Huh?

Of course as with any highly unregulated industry (according to the Brady Bunch and their ilk) there are also a slew of things that just make you go huh. Joat pointed out to me in #gunblogger_conspiracy this little law on the Minnesota books. It’s illegal to have both a firearm and night vision equipment in your possession at the same time. Why is this on the books? Who fucking knows.

Update 2010-04-20 14:43: Removed short barreled shotguns from the list of allowed NFA weapons in this state. Thanks Greg for pointing that out.

Update 2010-04-21 07:06: Made changes to the information based on Joat’s and Nate’s comment. I threw in a second under carry laws in regards to landlords not being able to post as well as the mechanism available to private property owners to notify they ban firearms. Also added the absurd night vision clause which was also provide to me by Joat.

Update 2010-04-26 07:18: Corrected the information regarding courthouses. Thanks again Joat.

Update 2010-04-26 20:26: Robert contacted me on Facebook and informed me that not all counties require you to pick up a permit to purchase at the Sheriff’s office. Likewise his county not only mails permits but their permits also include a plastic card. I updated the relevant section to reflect this.