Liberty Notes

15 December, 2005

Kevin L. Jamison

Liberty Notes 15 December, 2005 Kevin L. Jamison

It is a good day for Liberty.

We have one year and 11 months before Hilary Clinton begins her presidential campaign.

Last July I wrote that terrorists in Iraq have shifted their focus from the US Military, to the Iraqi military and police, to the Iraqi government, to the Sunnis, then allies from Sadam’s Baath Party, to foreign Ambassadors. Since then they have declared war on the Shi’ite majority and attacked Jordan, a neighboring Sunni nation. Their mission focus continues to slip; they continue to antagonize groups which would be neutral, if not sympathetic. They gain support only from Democratic politicians. If that mob had been running the Democratic Party during WW II, we would have surrendered after the Germans defeated us at Kasarine Pass in North Africa. The Iraqi government is doing things the South Vietnamese government never did, establishing a constitutional government, reaching out to minorities, and trying to establish a professional military. We could still lose this war, but only if we defeat ourselves.

Some of our members may disagree with my position on the Iraq War. I have listened attentively to arguments for retreat. I would be more tolerant of them if they could point out a single instance where retreat in the face of an aggressive ideology has worked out well.

Unconventional wars are time consuming. The Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya was undertaken by elements of a single tribe, operated from an unpopulated area, had no outside support at all, and possessed very few guns. A successful raid by Mau Mau consisted of capturing a quantity of water pipe from which to make zip guns. Ammunition trickled in from various sources. The governor of the colony found that cartridges were stolen from his gun locker. Prostitutes charged from three to five cartridges for their services. Even this trickle was nearly cut off when a massive fortified ditch was dug separating the insurgent camps from the population. Even so, it took six years to break the back of the revolt, and at the time of independence six years after that there were still Mau Mau operating. All things considered Iraq will take longer.

In a Smithsonian article and interviewer questioned a British citizen who had been trapped in France during WW II. The man, and his wife, appear to have been natural unconventional operators and gunfighters. He was captured once by collaborationist French police who, he says, found two of his guns, but not the third. He shot his way free. The interview closed with the operator advising not to shoot someone in the head with a small caliber pistol. Seemingly he had a bad experience; perhaps the bullet did not penetrate the skull. It is frustrating that the interviewer did not know what questions to ask. Few survived operating behind enemy lines as long as this man, especially without support. Few survived his record of gunfights. The operator is now dead, and we have as many answers as we shall ever get.

I read another article concerning an early 20^th century marshal in the Oklahoma Territory who took a (then) new .32 rifle with jacketed bullets to a shootout with a local cult. After the gunfight a reporter asked if the marshal had been afraid. The marshal denied fear, but said that he had “fretted” a little. The reporter asked what had fretted him. The marshal explained that he had shot one man five times with those .32 jacketed bullets, and he did not go down. The marshal advised taking a .45 for such business. I agree. Regrettably the lessons of the old gunfighters were not well recorded.

A lady in Gary, Indiana was robbed at knifepoint while putting gas into her car. She fled into the station and asked the clerk to call 911. The clerk refused. The station has a policy of not making emergency calls out of fear of retaliation. Sometimes we are on our own. I remember a study which found that gun owners were more likely to come to the aid of persons in distress than non-gun owners. The beauty of associating with our people is that we not only come to the aid of persons in distress, we have the means to address the cause of the distress.

Our Sheila got into a conversation about the advantages of mules over horses. Mules have a reputation for stubbornness, but it appears that mules are smarter than horses, which is mistaken for stubbornness. This explains a great deal.

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do

evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein

I strongly believe that anyone who carries a gun should also carry a cell phone. Very often the first person to call the police is considered to be the victim, and the other party is the suspect by default. I see that operators for cellular companies can tell the location of a cell phone user within 330 yards; but only if the cell phone is turned on. This causes some privacy concerns; however, it may also assist in getting help in unfamiliar locations.

Annie Oakley, an expert with a variety of guns said “Nobody should trust their lives behind a cheap gun.” This is excellent advice. I am informed that students in LTC classes show up with cheap guns on a regular basis. Most LTC applicants are long time shooters and already have a carry gun; however, novices apply false economy to the purchase of their first handgun. Cheap guns have their place; however, they do not hold up to the amount of practice required for effective self-defense. After spending $100 for an LTC and another $100 or so for a course it is unwise to economize on a handgun. Makarovs from the old Soviet Bloc are low priced, quality guns, and good self-defense ammunition is available for them. It is advisable to have a relationship with a gun shop. Buying from Wal Mart and the like saves some money, but the staff often is not conversant about their product. I once tried to buy some #4 shotgun shells at Wal Mart. God bless them, they brought me every box in the store with a “4” on it, including .410 shotgun.

Tim Oliver spoke at our November general membership meeting. He spoke on the history of our LTC effort and the “resolution” of the $250,000 bond issue. After winning LTC in the Supreme Court our side put in a claim for the $250,000 bond the prohibitionists had put up. After protracted litigation the matter wound up in Judge Ohmer’s court, the judge who initially issued the restraining order. This was not a good sign for us. The prohibitionists had already spent a young fortune in interest on the bond money (they used their homes to borrow the money) and to hire a bond recovery specialist to litigate our side’s claim. This created one of those situations where both sides were motivated to resolve the case. The details of the “resolution” are sealed. A reporter asked the prohibitionists if they gave us anything of value for the “resolution”, “No comment,” was the reply. It is public knowledge that the day before the “resolution” our side owed approximately $54,000 in legal bills. The day after nothing was owed, and the Legal Defense Fund has distributed thousands of dollars back to WMSA, Gateway Civil Liberties Alliance, and Missouri Sport Shooters Association. These are the major organizations which contributed to the Fund. I have never heard of such a Fund returning money to contributors, Hell may not have frozen over, but many have remarked on the bitter cold. This is a historic moment. Prohibitionists have filed suit against us before; however, never before have they been forced to say “no comment” about the resolution. Never before has litigation cost them. The next prohibitionists with a bright idea for a lawsuit may have trouble getting the checkbooks open.

Dave Jones is running for re-election to the NRA Board of Directors. He is a Missourian and has made himself available whenever we needed him. He has a perfect record of attendance at NRA Board meetings. He is someone on whom we can rely.

New Orleans has proven that we cannot count on the police to protect us. It has also proven that prohibitionists will confiscate all guns from good guys. Every time they claim that they only want “reasonable” restrictions, we need only say “New Orleans”.

The Tenth Mountain division has field-tested the C-More shotgun for adoption as the Modular Assault Shotgun System. It has a straight pull action because of space limitations. This gun attaches underneath the M 16 rifle or with its own stock and has an approximately 10-inch barrel. This answers the Supreme Court’s dilemma in the 1939 Miller case, and proves that a sawed off shotgun is a legitimate militia weapon.

The ATF “advises” gun dealers that Native American tribal ID cards not good ID for buying guns. The rational is that tribal ID’s are from a sovereign nation, and Indians are eligible for state ID’s. Perhaps they think that this will stave off another Indian uprising, who knows?

I saw an article about an Apache Indian uprising in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. It appeared to be more banditry by a desperate people. An Arizona border town in the area advertised for volunteer Indian fighters and was overwhelmed by the response. The Apaches had taken the precaution of living on the Mexican side, and the Mexican authorities were unwilling to have an independent, Gringo military force in their country. A Mexican rancher who had lost family to the Apaches continued the fight alone with his vaqueros and Gringo volunteers. Militias come in all sizes.

The Missouri Highway Patrol has a pamphlet “Missouri Concealed Weapons Law” which sets out the basics of our law. It is also one their web site. It is reasonably good. It is not as complete as the text on my web site www.KLJamisonLaw.com, and it is not as handy to carry around as our “Stay Out of Jail Card”. Still, it is a useful guide.

I am often asked about carrying concealed in Kansas. That state has no license to carry system and therefore one cannot carry regardless of how many licenses one has. There is a movement to pass a License To Carry, and twice it has presented a bill to the governor, only to have the right vetoed. Their strategy is to build a veto-proof majority before taking another run at it. They are gaining ground but are hampered by the states three major political parties: Democrats, liberal Republicans, and conservative Republicans. These last two are referred to as “moderates” and “radicals” by the media. The two spend their time fighting each other, and the Democrats watch and laugh. Forming a coalition is difficult under these circumstances. WMSA will assist any effort by our Kansas friends but we cannot stop their family squabbles.

Wisconsin is moving a bill to establish a License To Carry system. They have been forced to take undesirable amendments to pass the bill. This is unfortunate, but necessary. The governor has made it clear that no matter what compromises are made, he will veto the bill. They need a veto proof majority, and probably a Legal Defense Fund. Once they pass the bill prohibitionists will go to a carefully selected judge to litigate the restored right to death. The law in Michigan has been challenged by the usual suspects and some religious leaders. They complain that the law requires them to post their churches “No Guns” or some other specific language. They claim that this violates religious liberty and their faith requires them to post a sign to the effect of “Peacemakers Only”. A Peacemaker is a fine revolver, Jim Supica has a good supply of them in his Old Town Station catalogue, however, the prohibitionists think they are prohibiting guns. I am sure that if the legislature had required “Peacemakers Only” the prohibitionists would have objected to that.

I was recently asked why we must obey unconstitutional firearms laws. Well, mostly because they are the law and have not been ruled unconstitutional. Anyone who wants to challenge these laws needs to get a 55 gallon drum, stuff it full of $100 bills, and wheel it into my office. Without money to challenge the law, complaints are just air. I have had a number of people volunteer to be the plaintiff in The Great Second Amendment Lawsuit, I have seen few willing to get a second job, collect recyclables, or put his cigarette money into a legal fund. Regrettably it takes our money to keep our rights.

We shall overcome.