Then he developed the .416 Barrett, which just happened to circumvent California's .50 caliber ban.
And now a bullet button magazine release...
Wonder why he developed this...?
Showing posts with label heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heroes. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Ronnie Barrett spits on California's gun laws again
First he tells the LAPD that he won't repair the guns they bought from him because they were using them as political pieces to advance the cause of gun control.
Then he developed the .416 Barrett, which just happened to circumvent California's .50 caliber ban.
And now a bullet button magazine release...
Wonder why he developed this...?
Then he developed the .416 Barrett, which just happened to circumvent California's .50 caliber ban.
And now a bullet button magazine release...
Wonder why he developed this...?
Monday, February 15, 2010
Quote of the helped him like I wish somebody had helped me
I said "I've had the same one of those for 25 years, it'll last ya forever."
The shit was on. He was just getting starting reloading and started asking questions. What do I need, what would I be wasting money on, what does this do?
Fuck me running. I remember wanting to know the same shit when I first got started and having nobody to ask. Whattya gonna do, right? So I helped him like I wish somebody had helped me.
Two HOURS later, he was set. That poor fucker was down $300, I was down $70 but he was set up to load 45s and 223s. And he had the best set-up he could afford. I started to give him my cell number in case he ran into any problems but I was afraid his wife would use it track me down and throttle me.
~Wirecutter
Those of you familiar with Wirecutter know that he could be described as ornery. He's not someone who you might expect to go out of his way to help you. But he went out of his way here because he knew what it was like.
Follow Wirecutter's example, and go out of your way for a shooting newbie.
I'm pulling out the heroes tag for this one to remind us all that you don't have to save someone from a burning building to be a hero. Well, that and, TWO FRICKIN' HOURS!
For those of you who doubt Wirecutter's heroism in this situation, I ask you to go to the reloading section of your local shop, and try to ask the customers there for help. Try not to get cut by the daggers they shoot at you. What the fuck is wrong with most gunnies that makes them such douchebags?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Rights are like muscles...
...They disappear if you don't use them.
"What illegal activity do you suspect me of?"
"I have no idea."
"That's not probable cause."
"Right now sir, I'm pretty sure you're a terrorist. [laughter]"
How droll.
[direct link]
A few things...
I'm not sure if he is required to pull off the road for secondary inspection. But by staying on the road and blocking traffic, he gave them an incentive to let him go. Off the road, this may have gone on for hours. He could have pulled off the road, submitted to secondary inspection, and sued for harassment after they found nothing since there was no probable cause, but how successful that may have been is in doubt. Note the numerous attempts to get him to say that he wasn't going to move. Had he said he wasn't going to move, he would have been obstructing traffic, which is against the law. Instead he insisted he wanted to leave, but was being detained by them.
He knew he had to stop, and stopped. There was no probable cause beyond that, because refusing to answer questions is not probable cause. If he had answered in any way, the agents could use their experience to determine whether or not he was lying, but not on a refusal.
At the end where he was asked to provide a drivers' license, I'm not sure if he was really required. Whenever you are operating a motor vehicle, you are required to provide the license to (state?) law enforcement officials (possibly also proof of insurance, registration). But I'm not sure if federal border patrol agents have the power to demand to see his license, and I'm not sure if they can detain him at a border patrol checkpoint, and then ask him to provide his license for operating a motor vehicle. If those troopers the BP said were on their way arrived, he would have had to provide his license and registration, but I'm not sure how you transfer custody of someone being detained for a BP checkpoint to a traffic cop. They could have had the cop pull him over after they said he was free to go, but then the cop needs PC, and then he'd only be required to provide his documentation, and demand his ticket.
Also, note the repeated lies told to him by border patrol agents. There is no legal requirement for them to tell citizens the truth, it is the citizen's duty to understand the law, and act within it. The agent accuses him of interfering with a federal investigation, which is a felony. Were that the case, they could force entry, arrest him, and charge him with that crime. They did not. Note the agent attempts to put words in his mouth, "So you're refusing to show valid ID?" A lack of answer, or an affirmative answer results in probable cause. Note that questions were answered with questions, this is a common tactic because the agent doesn't have to answer questions, but their authority implies that you do. Technically, "Am I being detained?" "Are you a US citizen?" Could be repeated for hours. If the citizen attempts to leave prior to being approved to leave, he will be arrested for fleeing a detainment. The last little part where the agent is "just trying to make conversation" is still questioning. There is no "going off the record" in this conversation. I'm guessing this was the last tactic recommended by the agent's superior before telling him to leave.
Did you notice the little scoff at the end? "Did you get the idea to do this from checkpointusa.org, sir?" First he's a suspicious character, then he's trafficking contraband, then he's a terrorist, then they ask if he got the idea from a web site that talks about American citizens refusing to submit to these checkpoints? He knows he's legal. They know he's legal. They're just wasting his time so they can measure their authoritative penis. They basically admit it at the end when they say their superiors feel that they have better things to do than play this game with him. That's how they view this person exercising his rights. As if he's playing a game, and they want to play right back.
At the end of the video he is told he is free to go, and confirms he is free to go, but he is not allowed to leave because the agents were standing in front of his car. At this point, he could have called 911, and told them he was being falsely imprisoned by officers who specifically said he was free to go, and he feared for his life. If I tell you that you are free to leave a room, and physically block the exit, and refuse to move, that is imprisonment.
"What illegal activity do you suspect me of?"
"I have no idea."
"That's not probable cause."
"Right now sir, I'm pretty sure you're a terrorist. [laughter]"
How droll.
[direct link]
A few things...
I'm not sure if he is required to pull off the road for secondary inspection. But by staying on the road and blocking traffic, he gave them an incentive to let him go. Off the road, this may have gone on for hours. He could have pulled off the road, submitted to secondary inspection, and sued for harassment after they found nothing since there was no probable cause, but how successful that may have been is in doubt. Note the numerous attempts to get him to say that he wasn't going to move. Had he said he wasn't going to move, he would have been obstructing traffic, which is against the law. Instead he insisted he wanted to leave, but was being detained by them.
He knew he had to stop, and stopped. There was no probable cause beyond that, because refusing to answer questions is not probable cause. If he had answered in any way, the agents could use their experience to determine whether or not he was lying, but not on a refusal.
At the end where he was asked to provide a drivers' license, I'm not sure if he was really required. Whenever you are operating a motor vehicle, you are required to provide the license to (state?) law enforcement officials (possibly also proof of insurance, registration). But I'm not sure if federal border patrol agents have the power to demand to see his license, and I'm not sure if they can detain him at a border patrol checkpoint, and then ask him to provide his license for operating a motor vehicle. If those troopers the BP said were on their way arrived, he would have had to provide his license and registration, but I'm not sure how you transfer custody of someone being detained for a BP checkpoint to a traffic cop. They could have had the cop pull him over after they said he was free to go, but then the cop needs PC, and then he'd only be required to provide his documentation, and demand his ticket.
Also, note the repeated lies told to him by border patrol agents. There is no legal requirement for them to tell citizens the truth, it is the citizen's duty to understand the law, and act within it. The agent accuses him of interfering with a federal investigation, which is a felony. Were that the case, they could force entry, arrest him, and charge him with that crime. They did not. Note the agent attempts to put words in his mouth, "So you're refusing to show valid ID?" A lack of answer, or an affirmative answer results in probable cause. Note that questions were answered with questions, this is a common tactic because the agent doesn't have to answer questions, but their authority implies that you do. Technically, "Am I being detained?" "Are you a US citizen?" Could be repeated for hours. If the citizen attempts to leave prior to being approved to leave, he will be arrested for fleeing a detainment. The last little part where the agent is "just trying to make conversation" is still questioning. There is no "going off the record" in this conversation. I'm guessing this was the last tactic recommended by the agent's superior before telling him to leave.
Did you notice the little scoff at the end? "Did you get the idea to do this from checkpointusa.org, sir?" First he's a suspicious character, then he's trafficking contraband, then he's a terrorist, then they ask if he got the idea from a web site that talks about American citizens refusing to submit to these checkpoints? He knows he's legal. They know he's legal. They're just wasting his time so they can measure their authoritative penis. They basically admit it at the end when they say their superiors feel that they have better things to do than play this game with him. That's how they view this person exercising his rights. As if he's playing a game, and they want to play right back.
At the end of the video he is told he is free to go, and confirms he is free to go, but he is not allowed to leave because the agents were standing in front of his car. At this point, he could have called 911, and told them he was being falsely imprisoned by officers who specifically said he was free to go, and he feared for his life. If I tell you that you are free to leave a room, and physically block the exit, and refuse to move, that is imprisonment.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Et tu, Bill Nye?
Question climate change and Bill Nye The Science Guy will question your patriotism.
They say to never meet your heroes.
Today I met one of mine.
A sad day, indeed.
They say to never meet your heroes.
Today I met one of mine.
A sad day, indeed.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
What an amazing woman.
The Memsahib, wife of Jim Rawles of SurvivalBlog fame, is dying. The doctors have given her two months, and she is working through her Bucket List.
There is an item on her list that she would like your help with.
Finding a woman to take care of Jim after she's gone.
I can't imagine the will it must have taken to write this.
What an amazing woman.
Jim is a lucky man to have had time with her.
There is an item on her list that she would like your help with.
Finding a woman to take care of Jim after she's gone.
I can't imagine the will it must have taken to write this.
What an amazing woman.
Jim is a lucky man to have had time with her.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
USDOJ sends thinly veiled threat to blogger David Codrea
David Codrea, has been covering the trial of Ryan Horsley, owner of an Idaho gun store, who's livelihood and freedom are being threatened for minor clerical errors in his gun sales records.
(For putting "y" instead of "yes" and "n" instead of "no". Seriously.)
After trial testimony David A. Meyer, US Marshal Judicial Security Inspector, approached Ryan Horsley and told him to tell David about the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007.
Certainly this kind of unofficial, off-hand, third-party "advisement" was issued with the clear intention of intimidation. David Meyer didn't walk up to David, call him, or e-mail him and tell him he should be careful not to violate the law. And David Meyer would not announce his intention to arrest David Codrea prior to actually executing the arrest. There is only one way to interpret this kind of activity.
To instill fear, and to intimidate.
So is David Codrea cowering in a corner somewhere?
If you're familiar with David, you already know the answer...
He saw right through it, and came out swinging.
Just when you think the Fedgov is beginning to become acquainted with the law of unintended consequences; they do something stupid like this.
These semi-threats and intimidation tactics are harbingers of very nasty things for our first amendment rights.
I'm posting his response in its entirety, formatting and all, for a reason. Read it.
Also, note I've added a new tag.
Taking the Bait
I understand you took Ryan Horsley aside at the conclusion of trial testimony and instructed him to advise me of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, specifically, "Inspector Meyer asked me to contact you in regards to posting any information with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official... "
In other words, this:
Your message has been received loud and clear--along with your warning that you will not hesitate to come down and arrest anyone you suspect of violating this law. Before I give you my reply, I want to make it clear that my response is mine alone. Any retaliation is mine to face, and taking it out on the man who passed your message along at your direction will not be something you can now do outside of a brightly focused light.
That said, OK, I recognize bait when I see it. I'll bite. Here is my considered response. Now that you've snagged me, hang on tight.
First off, if you have anything to say to me, say it directly. Don't go presuming sovereign citizens are your personal messenger boys.
Second, how dare you?
Don't presume to have authority to impose any prior restraint on what I write. Don't presume to warn me about what you will or will not allow me to say.
For you to imply any of my work might be illegal is a vile slander and you know it--if it wasn't, I'd already be in custody (assuming I was allowed to survive the arrest). Hell, you even admitted as much, but qualified that while I hadn't broken any laws, people who comment on this blog might.
That ain't your call, either, Bub. Don't presume to tell my guests what they can say--I run this site, you don't. I don't moderate and pre-approve comments, so if you have a problem with that, take it up with Blogger, which provides this as a standard option.
I've made it clear on numerous occasions that I allow "comments except for those that are...something that could be legally perceived as a threat against a specific person other than myself..."
Those get removed. And I've even warned people against it.
I've also speculated that comments that may be perceived as threatening are invariably posted anonymously, and that trolls doing it could very well be agents provocateur attempting to bring discredit or worse to my site. Heck, they might even work for the DoJ--it's not like you guys don't hang out here at all hours.
But you apparently need to establish a plausible cover story. Let's see--the same mighty BATFU that sends armed invaders smashing into people's homes and businesses is just scared out of their jackboots over what's being said about them on... blogs, so they need to enlist a protector, that would be you, against "Homegrown terrorists".
That would be people like me?
I dunno, Dave. It seems more likely they don't have confidence Judge Lodge will arrive at the verdict they've invested--what--how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in(?)--so they're coming up with Plan B in case they don't get the vindictive satisfaction they crave?
And we know they don't like light being shined on their activities--hell, we knew that when they presumed to authorize whether or not reporters could be present when they conducted public business, and maintained that bloggers were not "Authorized Journalists."
For the record:
I've never threatened anyone nor encouraged anyone else to threaten any one. I don't threaten people.
I've never given out any specific identifiable information about any of the agents, inspectors or witnesses involved in this case.
Now we get to the word "intimidate" and boy, that's kind of like beauty, you know--in the eye of the beholder? I mean, that's kind of like the anti-gun loons who say they have a right to feel safe, like I have any control over how they react emotionally.
So with no watchdog press, and with this edict you're warning me about in practice, "intimidation" might be construed as taking of photographs of government agents in action who end up being witnesses. If this is now verboten, well, there's only one set of lights left to turn off: RKBA (look it up) bloggers.
Now I have on occasion meant to ridicule, like now, and even dare and defy, like..uh...now again.
So if you think you have grounds to arrest me for violating this new law you just had to issue an official warning on, if you think you can prove I'm out there doing anything illegal, immoral or fattening, well, y'all know where my taxes get sent to, so I don't think you'll have any problem finding me.
I think it more likely you're just engaging in one of those color of authority abuses to try to chill free speech. I think BATFU's tired of having their vindictive actions exposed and they wanted you to throw some fear out there to make it stop. Well, hell, why would you expect people who don't respect the Second Amendment to give a damn about the First?
Funny how unintended some consequences are, isn't it? Instead, here I am calling attention to things even louder. Say, do you think Judge Lodge will appreciate hearing about your ham-handedness in this? I'm going to write him and find out.
So here's the thing, Dave. If you want to take this further, just say the word. I won't talk with you on the phone unless I can record the conversation, or in person unless I have an attorney present, but you're free to email me back (dcodrea AT hotmail DOT com) as long as you know I'm going to post it at WarOnGuns. Aside from that, if you want to go even further and arrest me (and why would a US Marshal send me a warning that he was prepared to do just that if that wasn't the ultimate card in your hand?), I do hope you can conduct things peaceably, as I would have no intention of missing my day in court.
At the risk of sounding paranoid (right, BATFU fears people like me and my site visitors?), I want to establish a record that I will not physically resist. If anything transpires that says I did, it will be a lie.
Easy. I've got kids in my house.
So with all that out of the way, I guess there's nothing left to do but present you with this. I bit, so now it's your turn:
AFTERWORD:
This warning on the part of a federal marshal is chilling, and it was intended to be. By making specific mention of not just this blog, but of you who comment on it, and by warning us against something we've never engaged in, it's pretty clear what the intent was here.
Unlike many bloggers, I write under my own name. I do so because better men than me pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, and bequeathed to me a sacred inheritance. If I am to consider myself even minimally worthy of their great sacrifices, I can do no less than strive to do the same--albeit with full humility in acknowledging my comparative shortcomings.
But I knew when I got involved in 2A activism many years ago that doing it sincerely would involve potential legal repercussions--from defying the state of California on registering my property, to chiding the City of San Francisco on their elitist hypocrisy and lawlessness. I do this not because I'm self-destructive, but because these are the agents of the state who rely on fear to impose their will, and I'm more resentful of that than I am afraid.
Governments are instituted among men to secure the blessings of Liberty. People should not be afraid of their government. I want to help dispel that fear. And I can't do that if I'm hiding in the shadows. I can't encourage others to do that--which is what we need if we're ever to secure meaningful reforms.
So I long ago made the decision that my Internet activities would be an open book. What I have written cannot be erased--at least by me. The good marshal here is free to look at everything I've ever said on this site and elsewhere, and he'll not find a shred of evidence supporting his decision to warn me--and you, the WarOnGuns correspondents--against committing a federal crime.
It's the same with emails. Many of you have written me and know I always make a good faith attempt to write back. And yes, at times I've wondered if some of my unknown correspondents might be trying to get me to write something imprudent. I've not only never taken that bait, but I don't even use encryption--something I've been urged to do, but my instincts say I will be better able to defend myself if I can demonstrate I've never tried to hide anything.
Regulars here will note that this post is a lot longer than I usually write. I did it because this time--with the specific mention of willingness to make arrests on the part of a federal LEO, I know making a post like this will not only anger him, but will get me as close to the line as I can get--knowing full well that this may still inspire him to increase the pressure, instead of just going the hell away and leaving me the hell alone.
Without meaning to sound paranoid, if the fedgov did decide I'd crossed their line with this and sent someone out to enforce their new edict against me, what do you think the chances are they'd send out someone to the home of a known "gun extremist" to politely ring my doorbell and hand me papers?
I figure my best protection at this point is to either let them cow me into silence, in which case this post would never have been written--or else shine as much light and bang as many pots as I can in case they decide to follow through. That's what I'm doing.
The ball is now in their court.
The floor is now open for comments. Careful now, both in what you say here and in what you say if you choose to email Inspector Meyer. As with so much else, and as he has made abundantly clear, intimidation and threats are the sole province of "The Only Ones," and they will brook no competition.
And if anybody wants to make a copy of this post, just as insurance in case there are repercussions, go right ahead.
UPDATE:
(For putting "y" instead of "yes" and "n" instead of "no". Seriously.)
After trial testimony David A. Meyer, US Marshal Judicial Security Inspector, approached Ryan Horsley and told him to tell David about the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007.
Certainly this kind of unofficial, off-hand, third-party "advisement" was issued with the clear intention of intimidation. David Meyer didn't walk up to David, call him, or e-mail him and tell him he should be careful not to violate the law. And David Meyer would not announce his intention to arrest David Codrea prior to actually executing the arrest. There is only one way to interpret this kind of activity.
To instill fear, and to intimidate.
So is David Codrea cowering in a corner somewhere?
If you're familiar with David, you already know the answer...
He saw right through it, and came out swinging.
Just when you think the Fedgov is beginning to become acquainted with the law of unintended consequences; they do something stupid like this.
These semi-threats and intimidation tactics are harbingers of very nasty things for our first amendment rights.
I'm posting his response in its entirety, formatting and all, for a reason. Read it.
Also, note I've added a new tag.
Taking the Bait
I understand you took Ryan Horsley aside at the conclusion of trial testimony and instructed him to advise me of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, specifically, "Inspector Meyer asked me to contact you in regards to posting any information with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official... "
In other words, this:
`Sec. 119. Protection of individuals performing certain official duties
`(a) In General- Whoever knowingly makes restricted personal information about a covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official, publicly available--
`(1) with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official; or
`(2) with the intent and knowledge that the restricted personal information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against that covered official, or a member of the immediate family of that covered official,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
`(b) Definitions- In this section--
`(1) the term `restricted personal information' means, with respect to an individual, the Social Security number, the home address, home phone number, mobile phone number, personal email, or home fax number of, and identifiable to, that individual;
`(2) the term `covered official' means--
`(A) an individual designated in section 1114; or
`(B) a grand or petit juror, witness, or other officer in or of, any court of the United States, or an officer who may be serving at any examination or other proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or other committing magistrate;
`(3) the term `crime of violence' has the meaning given the term in section 16; and
`(4) the term `immediate family' has the meaning given the term in section 115(c)(2).'.
Your message has been received loud and clear--along with your warning that you will not hesitate to come down and arrest anyone you suspect of violating this law. Before I give you my reply, I want to make it clear that my response is mine alone. Any retaliation is mine to face, and taking it out on the man who passed your message along at your direction will not be something you can now do outside of a brightly focused light.
That said, OK, I recognize bait when I see it. I'll bite. Here is my considered response. Now that you've snagged me, hang on tight.
First off, if you have anything to say to me, say it directly. Don't go presuming sovereign citizens are your personal messenger boys.
Second, how dare you?
Don't presume to have authority to impose any prior restraint on what I write. Don't presume to warn me about what you will or will not allow me to say.
For you to imply any of my work might be illegal is a vile slander and you know it--if it wasn't, I'd already be in custody (assuming I was allowed to survive the arrest). Hell, you even admitted as much, but qualified that while I hadn't broken any laws, people who comment on this blog might.
That ain't your call, either, Bub. Don't presume to tell my guests what they can say--I run this site, you don't. I don't moderate and pre-approve comments, so if you have a problem with that, take it up with Blogger, which provides this as a standard option.
I've made it clear on numerous occasions that I allow "comments except for those that are...something that could be legally perceived as a threat against a specific person other than myself..."
Those get removed. And I've even warned people against it.
I've also speculated that comments that may be perceived as threatening are invariably posted anonymously, and that trolls doing it could very well be agents provocateur attempting to bring discredit or worse to my site. Heck, they might even work for the DoJ--it's not like you guys don't hang out here at all hours.
But you apparently need to establish a plausible cover story. Let's see--the same mighty BATFU that sends armed invaders smashing into people's homes and businesses is just scared out of their jackboots over what's being said about them on... blogs, so they need to enlist a protector, that would be you, against "Homegrown terrorists".
That would be people like me?
I dunno, Dave. It seems more likely they don't have confidence Judge Lodge will arrive at the verdict they've invested--what--how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in(?)--so they're coming up with Plan B in case they don't get the vindictive satisfaction they crave?
And we know they don't like light being shined on their activities--hell, we knew that when they presumed to authorize whether or not reporters could be present when they conducted public business, and maintained that bloggers were not "Authorized Journalists."
For the record:
I've never threatened anyone nor encouraged anyone else to threaten any one. I don't threaten people.
I've never given out any specific identifiable information about any of the agents, inspectors or witnesses involved in this case.
Now we get to the word "intimidate" and boy, that's kind of like beauty, you know--in the eye of the beholder? I mean, that's kind of like the anti-gun loons who say they have a right to feel safe, like I have any control over how they react emotionally.
So with no watchdog press, and with this edict you're warning me about in practice, "intimidation" might be construed as taking of photographs of government agents in action who end up being witnesses. If this is now verboten, well, there's only one set of lights left to turn off: RKBA (look it up) bloggers.
Now I have on occasion meant to ridicule, like now, and even dare and defy, like..uh...now again.
So if you think you have grounds to arrest me for violating this new law you just had to issue an official warning on, if you think you can prove I'm out there doing anything illegal, immoral or fattening, well, y'all know where my taxes get sent to, so I don't think you'll have any problem finding me.
I think it more likely you're just engaging in one of those color of authority abuses to try to chill free speech. I think BATFU's tired of having their vindictive actions exposed and they wanted you to throw some fear out there to make it stop. Well, hell, why would you expect people who don't respect the Second Amendment to give a damn about the First?
Funny how unintended some consequences are, isn't it? Instead, here I am calling attention to things even louder. Say, do you think Judge Lodge will appreciate hearing about your ham-handedness in this? I'm going to write him and find out.
So here's the thing, Dave. If you want to take this further, just say the word. I won't talk with you on the phone unless I can record the conversation, or in person unless I have an attorney present, but you're free to email me back (dcodrea AT hotmail DOT com) as long as you know I'm going to post it at WarOnGuns. Aside from that, if you want to go even further and arrest me (and why would a US Marshal send me a warning that he was prepared to do just that if that wasn't the ultimate card in your hand?), I do hope you can conduct things peaceably, as I would have no intention of missing my day in court.
At the risk of sounding paranoid (right, BATFU fears people like me and my site visitors?), I want to establish a record that I will not physically resist. If anything transpires that says I did, it will be a lie.
Easy. I've got kids in my house.
So with all that out of the way, I guess there's nothing left to do but present you with this. I bit, so now it's your turn:
AFTERWORD:
This warning on the part of a federal marshal is chilling, and it was intended to be. By making specific mention of not just this blog, but of you who comment on it, and by warning us against something we've never engaged in, it's pretty clear what the intent was here.
Unlike many bloggers, I write under my own name. I do so because better men than me pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, and bequeathed to me a sacred inheritance. If I am to consider myself even minimally worthy of their great sacrifices, I can do no less than strive to do the same--albeit with full humility in acknowledging my comparative shortcomings.
But I knew when I got involved in 2A activism many years ago that doing it sincerely would involve potential legal repercussions--from defying the state of California on registering my property, to chiding the City of San Francisco on their elitist hypocrisy and lawlessness. I do this not because I'm self-destructive, but because these are the agents of the state who rely on fear to impose their will, and I'm more resentful of that than I am afraid.
Governments are instituted among men to secure the blessings of Liberty. People should not be afraid of their government. I want to help dispel that fear. And I can't do that if I'm hiding in the shadows. I can't encourage others to do that--which is what we need if we're ever to secure meaningful reforms.
So I long ago made the decision that my Internet activities would be an open book. What I have written cannot be erased--at least by me. The good marshal here is free to look at everything I've ever said on this site and elsewhere, and he'll not find a shred of evidence supporting his decision to warn me--and you, the WarOnGuns correspondents--against committing a federal crime.
It's the same with emails. Many of you have written me and know I always make a good faith attempt to write back. And yes, at times I've wondered if some of my unknown correspondents might be trying to get me to write something imprudent. I've not only never taken that bait, but I don't even use encryption--something I've been urged to do, but my instincts say I will be better able to defend myself if I can demonstrate I've never tried to hide anything.
Regulars here will note that this post is a lot longer than I usually write. I did it because this time--with the specific mention of willingness to make arrests on the part of a federal LEO, I know making a post like this will not only anger him, but will get me as close to the line as I can get--knowing full well that this may still inspire him to increase the pressure, instead of just going the hell away and leaving me the hell alone.
Without meaning to sound paranoid, if the fedgov did decide I'd crossed their line with this and sent someone out to enforce their new edict against me, what do you think the chances are they'd send out someone to the home of a known "gun extremist" to politely ring my doorbell and hand me papers?
I figure my best protection at this point is to either let them cow me into silence, in which case this post would never have been written--or else shine as much light and bang as many pots as I can in case they decide to follow through. That's what I'm doing.
The ball is now in their court.
The floor is now open for comments. Careful now, both in what you say here and in what you say if you choose to email Inspector Meyer. As with so much else, and as he has made abundantly clear, intimidation and threats are the sole province of "The Only Ones," and they will brook no competition.
And if anybody wants to make a copy of this post, just as insurance in case there are repercussions, go right ahead.
UPDATE:
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