20 November 2005

K. L. Jamison

It is a good day for Liberty.

We have two years to prepare for Hillary Clinton’s presidential race. Last month we had more than two years, next month we will have less than two years.

Brazil has voted down a proposal to ban firearms. Prohibitionists had told the population that this was a panacea for the violence in Brazilian society; 64% of the population did not buy their line. The NRA provided advice to Brazilian gun rights supporters, but no money. Good for Brazil. Good for the NRA.

Missouri State Representative Jerry Nolte held a skeet shoot as a fundraiser. Rain ran off most of the participants, but we formed a team. I had never shot skeet before, and after 75 cartridges I can now confidently state that I have shot very few skeet. However, Team Nolte shot some skeet, frightened many, and took several prisoners.

Stephen Sodones of Newark, New Jersey stopped to carry a copperhead snake safely across the road. He was bitten three times. This teaches us several lessons; 1. A poisonous snake does not care if you are doing it a favor, 2. If you carry a poisonous snake you may be bitten, 3. Do not pick up a poisonous snake unless you are prepared to be bitten, 4. Don’t be an idiot.

I did not win the $340 million powerball lottery, so my office will remain open. My legal assistant did not win either, so the office will continue to function.

Authorities in New Orleans had been going to the homes of citizens and seizing guns, leaving them at the mercy of thugs. The NRA and Second Amendment Foundation got a restraining order preventing further confiscations. Good for them.

An 8-year-old girl shot the first bear in Maryland’s bear season. The bear, 211 pounds, about four times the child’s size, was the first animal she had killed. There is a reason guns are called equalizers.

Josh Billings says that some people are so contrary that if they fell into a river, they would insist on floating upstream. I have met such people. There is no point in arguing the matter with them.

Rosa Parks is dead. This is the lady who refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a White man and sparked the Civil Rights Movement. It is interesting that the original objective of the bus boycott was to force a kinder and gentler form of segregation; instead they destroyed the Jim Crow system. Many of the founders of the Civil Rights movement did not think that they could destroy segregation. All it takes is for one person to insist on Liberty; once you get people moving, it is a wonder what they can accomplish.

A Boone County judge has ruled that LTC only applies to guns and that a license holder can be charged with a felony for carrying a concealed knife. The judge is massively wrong, but the individual must take this to the Court of Appeals to get justice. There is always something.

An LTC holder reports a self-defense incident. Immediately after the incident the citizen, a diabetic, checked his blood sugar level and found that it was 42, at least half of what it should be. A consultation with my sister, Dr. Kim Jamison MD was instructive. Kim runs a diabetes clinic and informs me that adrenaline, the product of a high stress situation, will eat up blood sugar. The resulting low blood sugar resembles drunkenness. Witnesses to a self-defense case will report a drunk waiving a gun. The prosecutor will act on this initial report. The newspaper will report “drunk with a gun”. Corrections will be expensive, time consuming, inconvenient, and never totally effective. Diabetics should be aware of this problem.

The United Kingdom-based anti-gun organization “Saferworld” had a 2004 income of 2,400,000 British Pounds. Of this, 1.8 million Pounds were from the British government. Other contributors (to the remaining 600,000 pounds) were the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for Switzerland and the International Development and Research Centre for Canada. And we have to raffle off a carbine to pay the bills.

After passing a Hooter’s restaurant I asked Gary what the food is like. He knew; and that is all he knew about the place. That’s our Gary.

I met WMSA Board member Mark Purcell in a gunshop. He was repairing, adjusting, or anointing with oil an unreliable gun; I was drooling over the display cases. I discovered that we were on opposite sides of a contentious issue in Clay County, yet, no one died. Gentlemen can disagree and remain gentlemen. If Mark has his way it might mean the end of civilization as we know it, but then, some days the end of civilization as we know it does not seem to be such a bad thing.

I was reading a witness statement regarding a minor crime in a retail establishment. The Moslem clerk wrote “Thanks be to God that we prevented this crime”. In twenty-two years of practicing law I had never before seen anyone thank God for preventing a crime. Now that we have License to Carry, perhaps we shall have occasion to do so more often.

Kansas City’s murder rate has gone up and the prohibitionists are trying to blame us. The police chief says that it is due to the increase in the number of young men relative to the population, and the ATF says that there is no increase in guns in the area. The Jackson County Prosecutor blames a culture which advises witnesses not to come forward. Rap songs, T-shirts, and graffiti advise “Don’t Snitch”. In such a culture the criminally inclined are confident that violence will not be punished. Do not expect the prohibitionists to be confused with facts.

My bank has established new procedures for drive up deposits which it says are for my convenience. The bank also posted signs advising that customers should expect some delays. It appears that they do not understand the concept of convenience.

In a similar case, a personal ad states that a woman is 23 years old looking for a boyfriend who is between 50 and 60 years old. I confess that this got my attention. The woman advised that she is not a prostitute BUT the prospective boyfriend must give her financial support. It appears that the lady does not understand the definition of prostitution.

A lady consulted me regarding threats by a man who is 500 pounds; about four times her size. I advised her regarding legal options, but her immediate concern was practical; she wanted a gun. Missouri’s Permit to Acquire system, as implemented by her sheriff, prevents her from immediately getting a handgun. I gave her some advice on shotguns. I fear that buying both a shotgun and a handgun is a financial stretch for her. I discussed with other shooters what short of ammunition one should use in contemplation of a 500-pound assailant. One shooter suggested that she could simply run until the assailant had a heart attack. This would appear to be possible, but there is some concern that he might corner her in her apartment.

The intent of gun control is now out in the open in front of God and everyone. In New Orleans the government, without a shred of legal authority, confiscated guns from citizens and left them to the mercy of thugs. In San Francisco, a referendum passed with 58% approval to immediately ban all handguns in the city, the sale or other transfer of ALL guns and ALL ammunition. No one can move into the city with long guns, no one in the city can inherit long guns. This is a total ban. For all the claims of “reasonably” and “safety” and “for the children” the city reached out and took as many of our rights as they could. This will only encourage the prohibitionists.

A recent issue of “Concealed Carry Magazine” has an article about what to do when you are discovered to be carrying a concealed weapon. It is wise to plan what to say. Gun flashing is considered to be impolite, even by accident, so an apologetic tone is advisable. If a nearby someone in a crowd demands to know “WHAT IS THAT”, simply tell him it is emergency equipment, and drop the subject. There will be people who go on at length about feeling “threatened”, although not threatened enough to shut up. Tell them that you will consider their opinion and drop it. This may make the difference in the prohibitionists deciding not to call the police and complain about you threatening them with a gun. It is more satisfying to tell the prohibitionist what you think of them, but not wise. I am informed of an LTC holder who told the staff of several posted businesses what he thought of their policy. They felt “threatened” and called the police. Life immediately became complicated for the LTC holder.

I watched a video of the opera “Rigoletto”. It was a film of a stage presentation, which preserves the worst elements of both media. It is an interesting story. Rigoletto is a jester for a sexually predatory duke. Rigoletto sees nothing wrong with his employer’s vices, until the duke seduces his daughter. It is a shame that people do not grasp the immorality, the injustice of a thing, until their own interests are affected. Unfortunately, this is reality. We need to remember this when presenting our case. People may not care about the Constitution, but may care that criminals can sue victims.

When prohibitionists filed a lawsuit to prevent the LTC law from taking effect they were required to post a $250,000 bond. Even after we won the lawsuit, the bond remained in place. The prohibitionists advanced many bizarre theories as to why they should get their money back. We believed that we were entitled to the money. The opposition was forced to hire an attorney who is a bond recovery specialist to fight our claim. After two years of litigation, the bond recovery matter has been “resolved”. We cannot give details of the terms of the “resolution”. The prohibitionists don’t want us to. Our lawyers have been paid off, there is money left over. The case cost the prohibitionists a great deal of money in various ways. The next time they want to infringe on our rights they may not be as anxious to bring out their checkbooks. The prohibitionists now have the gall to sue the state for their attorney fees for litigating the Hancock issues. They claim that they won and are entitled to sue the state. Up to this point they claimed that their legal team worked for free, now they get greedy. The Attorney General’s office is fighting their claim; we are out of the case with money left over.

We entered the LTC case to ensure that our rights were preserved and our interests represented; it was never about money. At the end of the case, it is nice to have money left over.

Tim Oliver put his own time and finances on the line in this case to protect our rights. He has done a great deal for us and it will not be forgotten.

Attorney General Jay Nixon has announced that he is running for governor. He hates us. Governor Blunt is on our side. This will be a tough race.

I sent a copy of my book MISSOURI WEAPONS AND SELF-DEFENSE LAW to all the public defender’s offices in Missouri. One of the offices sent it back. I would urge a boycott of that office, but they would like that. On the other hand, public defenders have thanked me for the book; however, they do not want extra clients.

The annual Gun Rights Rally will be 23 February, 2006 from 9 AM to Noon. We have another year of LTC to celebrate, and new laws to pass. When the Gun Nuts show up, things happen.

We shall overcome.