Recent content by Tom Servo

Actually, no. The majority of denials (Lott has quoted as much as 86%) are in error. The problem is, if I'm denied, the process to get it fixed is very opaque, very difficult, and often expensive. And I have to go through that even though I've done nothing wrong. The aggregate number of...

For many legislators, emails are the best way to get through if they're done right. Honestly, Senator Hornswaggle probably doesn't care what one constituent thinks of Proposition 19. But he does care what 400 or his constituents think if it looks like it might hurt or help him in November. To...

You'd do better to email your representatives directly. These petitions are routinely ignored by legislators.

There are two concerns here. The first is the extent of the information that has to go into such a system. That's a goldmine for identity theft, and it's bait for hackers. The second is the misconception that gun-control advocates would let us have anything that does us good. Any proposed...

You can absolutely buy a firearm as a gift. As per the instructions: If you're using your own money to buy the firearm, and you're not being immediately reimbursed by the recipient, you can honestly and legally answer yes.

Looks like an SSL problem. It's back up now.

Not necessarily. Ever since 1994, the Republicans have made a big show of opposing gun control when it comes from a Democratic President. I'm seriously considering that as a strategic option next November.

The term "assault rifle" is probably a reference to the Sturmgewehr. "Assault weapon" is a political invention coined by Josh Sugarmann in 1989. He defined it in this paper and openly declared that it was meant to be confusing:

The most likely candidate for a bill will be the one Feinstein's been pushing since 1994. This was the 2013 version. We're looking at a ban on 120 specific weapons, as well as a ban of "certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one or...

Actually, there is an exception, and it took me a while to find it. Rule 1973-19 allows issuance for "operations conducted by a consultant or expert." This is the exception under which the Violence Policy Center holds one. It took me a while to drag that out of the ATF. As a bonus, they...

Agreed. Another 14th Amendment case with far-reaching implications would have been Lochner v. New York.

S&W 10-8, 3" from 1982. Click to embiggen. w/Ahrends conversion stocks:

10-5 from 1967. Should have this 3" 10-8 by middle of the week, and I'll try to take a better picture: It's funny that I ignored fixed-sight K-Frames for so long, thinking they weren't capable of the same accuracy as their target-sighted brethren. I was obviously wrong:

They've no doubt had the opportunity to read our briefs, and if they have a bit of sense, they know that incorporation is inevitable. So they'll switch to damage control. They'll most likely push for the widest and most permissive standard of scrutiny possible. I expect they'll quote Breyer's...

It's going to be hard for them not to vote for incorporation. Gura's argument calls for a re-evaluation of Slaughterhouse and Cruikshank, the two precedents most frequently cited as not allowing for incorporation. I doubt anyone wants to defend those precedents as valid. Cruikshank all but...