In the long winded soap opera that has gripped Johnston County, NC, gun owners again have to defend their rights against yet another measure by the local government to restrict them. An alert by the good folks at GRNC gives us an indication of what is going on there:
http://www.grnc.org/grnc-alerts-archive/344-grnc-alert-8-30-12-johnston-county-doesnt-want-to-hear-from-you
After supposedly settling this issue last year in a series of county meetings, the Johnston County Board of Commissioners attempted to bypass the current "Good Neighbor" laws in place by holding a quiet vote without input from the public. The latest foray into gun control in Johnston county comes via a new set of proposals hidden under the cloak of a new noise ordinance.
On August 6th, 2012, the commissioners voted unanimously to approved the noise ordinance. Only the happenstance of one commissioner not being there to vote kept the measure from becoming law. Due to state law, the issue must again come up for vote in their next meeting which will be held on September 4th at 6:00pm.
At first, this second vote was to happen without the public's input as some of the commissioners had felt that time to public discussion was over after the last meeting...of which they said nothing to the public that a vote was occurring in the first place. Nice try, Sparky, but this isn't the way to do things.
So, now the word is out and I'm having a great time watching the individual commissioners scrambling around in an entertaining game of Save Ass. Some of them are now saying that they didn't have an idea that this was happening and that they will pull the gunfire elements out of the proposal. Others are saying that this vote in September will, of course, be open to public comments...after saying it wouldn't be. Still others appear to know nothing about the whole thing. Yet, remember that the vote to approve the ordinance was unanimous on August 6th!
Lies are best conducted with no public record to reveal them, guys and gals. Just sayin'.
Why is this all happening? Well, it appears that one resident in Johnston County has ben being an ass by bugging his neighbors with gunfire. Th neighbors moved next to him roughly a year or two ago and complained that they didn't want to hear his gunfire. They've called teh Sheriff's department, the Board of Commissioners, and anyone else that would listen to try and resolve it, but the guy keps shooting.
Well, tough shit! It's his land, it's his guns, and it's his right to do so. Don't like it? Move the hell away! But, being that people can never seem to grasp that concept, the neighbors decided to try and shut him down via legislation.
Personally, I believe the new noise ordinance is an attempt to shut this one guy down and that the law will be sparsely, if ever, used again once that's done. But, the pure idiocy of creating restrictive legislation and applying it to the entire county in an attempt to shut one resident down is nothing short of lunacy.
Let's say they accomplish their goal and this guy moves to, say, California or something. What is the county left with? Yeah, a restrictive set of nose laws that can be used to shut down anyone, anytime, within the county.
The proposal is too wide, too obscure, and too stupid to be passed. There simply has to be another way to deal with one person in a county without creating massive restrictions and putting the rest of the county under its yoke.
So, the call goes out: If you are a resident of Johnston County, you need to make sure you show up to the meeting that will be held on September 4th at 6:00pm. Let the commissioners know that your voice will be heard, and that passing these ridiculous examples of proposals is not the way to deal with one person.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
RNC's Committment to 2A Rights
So the RNC Convention ends and I almost didn't have time to yawn. One thing that did tweak my interest was their commitment and resolve in terms of their 2A platform.
Yeah, we've all heard it before and I'm sure they inserted it to satisfy that part of their base, but I'll wait to see how they actually practice their positions instead of talking about them. If nothing else, I'll be able to tell by observing their actions in the coming weeks in the face of certain opposition. With the election looming and recent shootings piling up, it will be interesting to see how "strong" the Republicans defend our rights.
Onward...
Yeah, we've all heard it before and I'm sure they inserted it to satisfy that part of their base, but I'll wait to see how they actually practice their positions instead of talking about them. If nothing else, I'll be able to tell by observing their actions in the coming weeks in the face of certain opposition. With the election looming and recent shootings piling up, it will be interesting to see how "strong" the Republicans defend our rights.
Onward...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Setting Up Shop
I don't blog.
Or, more accurately, I haven't paid attention to blogging in the past because it always felt too much like being put into a room and babbling to myself. Much of that was probably the fact that I don't really know how to set one up. Over the past few days I've been playing around with different things, though, and I'm starting to get the feel for it.
After the initial set up, I figured out how to add links to other sites and the two most important ones I can think of right now have been added. This first is a link to the best forum on the web for gun owners who live in North Carolina, and the second is probably the most important one in terms of the rights of NC gun owning citizens.
First,the premier web forum for North Carolina's gun owners:
NCGunOwners
NCGO has established itself as the best forum for all things related to gun ownership in NC. What started as a simple message board for NC specifically has now grown to be accepted as the place to be. What makes it different from other forums? Well, simply put, it's more like a gathering of friends at a range than it is a web site. The most important factor is the quality of it's members.
Other forums are filled with members who seem to like nothing better than to flame others, post their wisdom while berating others, and generally be a straight-up pain in the ass. Knowing they probably won't get their ass kicked for their words, they are free to demean whoever it is they feel like. The web is littered with countless forums that no longer retain their original charm due to these people.
At NCGO, that kind of thing is simply not allowed. There, all gun owners are invited to post their opinions without having to put up with ass-monkeys who feel that their opinion is just a little more important that anyone else's. Much like a bar patron who's had ten too many drinks that night, those kind of people are kindly shown the door.
Other than the atmosphere, the site is filled with people who not only own guns, but actually shoot them, too. That's an important distinction. Many members from around the state gather regularly to meet at ranges or simply for dinner with each other.
It's these kinds of things that separate the men from the boys in terms of open forums. It's always the little things that make a difference and in the case of NCGO, I don't think us carriers in NC will find a finer home.
Come on in, kick your shoes off, and have a seat at the table. Check them out and I'm sure you'll find yourself a new home.
The next link is to the most important group in NC in terms of the strengthening of your 2A rights, Grass Roots North Carolina.
GRNC
GRNC is what the NRA should be, but at the local level. No other group out there does as much to secure and retain our rights under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
Created in 1994, GRNC has been both the shield and the sword for our 2A rights. The group is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving gun ownership in our state. It was instrumental in bringing concealed carry to NC, as well as highly influential in securing passage of the most recent laws enacted under HB650 (Castle Doctrine, etc) which took effect Dec 1st, 2011. If there was a beneficial changing of a restrictive gun law or a repeal of some regulation in terms of gun rights in NC, you can bet that GRNC was involved, and in more ways than we'll know.
The group is heavily involved with legislation at the state level, but also helps in local situations where gun owners are unfairly targeted through local ordinances. It's not easy work and every last minute of it is both paid for and accomplished through volunteer work and donations. These are people who spend their own time hand-carrying legislation through the halls of the NC General Assembly, spend countless hours remaining in contact with State Legislators, give up their own vacation time to insure that legislation doesn't get buried, and spend their own weekends working the booths at gun shows around the state.
While other organizations at the national level are traditionally more easily recognized, GRNC is the one group in NC that actually works full-time to secure the rights we hold so dear. It's no exaggeration to say that GRNC is the one group primarily responsible for the "freedoms" we have in terms of gun ownership in North Carolina. Restrictive gun laws are not repealed on their own, and you can damn sure bet that it's not the Legislators in Raleigh who think of these things on their own.
When it comes to legislation that affects our state's gun owners, it's not magic that gets things done, it's the hard work of the volunteers at GRNC. There's no mystical pixie dust that can be spread on the heads of politicians that make them see the light. Instead, it's the efforts of people just like you who volunteer their time to get things done.
Visit their website today and see how you can help the effort. Change for the better is not going to simply happen by chance. We have to make a dedicated and concerted effort to accomplish our goals.
Or, more accurately, I haven't paid attention to blogging in the past because it always felt too much like being put into a room and babbling to myself. Much of that was probably the fact that I don't really know how to set one up. Over the past few days I've been playing around with different things, though, and I'm starting to get the feel for it.
After the initial set up, I figured out how to add links to other sites and the two most important ones I can think of right now have been added. This first is a link to the best forum on the web for gun owners who live in North Carolina, and the second is probably the most important one in terms of the rights of NC gun owning citizens.
First,the premier web forum for North Carolina's gun owners:
NCGunOwners
NCGO has established itself as the best forum for all things related to gun ownership in NC. What started as a simple message board for NC specifically has now grown to be accepted as the place to be. What makes it different from other forums? Well, simply put, it's more like a gathering of friends at a range than it is a web site. The most important factor is the quality of it's members.
Other forums are filled with members who seem to like nothing better than to flame others, post their wisdom while berating others, and generally be a straight-up pain in the ass. Knowing they probably won't get their ass kicked for their words, they are free to demean whoever it is they feel like. The web is littered with countless forums that no longer retain their original charm due to these people.
At NCGO, that kind of thing is simply not allowed. There, all gun owners are invited to post their opinions without having to put up with ass-monkeys who feel that their opinion is just a little more important that anyone else's. Much like a bar patron who's had ten too many drinks that night, those kind of people are kindly shown the door.
Other than the atmosphere, the site is filled with people who not only own guns, but actually shoot them, too. That's an important distinction. Many members from around the state gather regularly to meet at ranges or simply for dinner with each other.
It's these kinds of things that separate the men from the boys in terms of open forums. It's always the little things that make a difference and in the case of NCGO, I don't think us carriers in NC will find a finer home.
Come on in, kick your shoes off, and have a seat at the table. Check them out and I'm sure you'll find yourself a new home.
The next link is to the most important group in NC in terms of the strengthening of your 2A rights, Grass Roots North Carolina.
GRNC
GRNC is what the NRA should be, but at the local level. No other group out there does as much to secure and retain our rights under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
Created in 1994, GRNC has been both the shield and the sword for our 2A rights. The group is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving gun ownership in our state. It was instrumental in bringing concealed carry to NC, as well as highly influential in securing passage of the most recent laws enacted under HB650 (Castle Doctrine, etc) which took effect Dec 1st, 2011. If there was a beneficial changing of a restrictive gun law or a repeal of some regulation in terms of gun rights in NC, you can bet that GRNC was involved, and in more ways than we'll know.
The group is heavily involved with legislation at the state level, but also helps in local situations where gun owners are unfairly targeted through local ordinances. It's not easy work and every last minute of it is both paid for and accomplished through volunteer work and donations. These are people who spend their own time hand-carrying legislation through the halls of the NC General Assembly, spend countless hours remaining in contact with State Legislators, give up their own vacation time to insure that legislation doesn't get buried, and spend their own weekends working the booths at gun shows around the state.
While other organizations at the national level are traditionally more easily recognized, GRNC is the one group in NC that actually works full-time to secure the rights we hold so dear. It's no exaggeration to say that GRNC is the one group primarily responsible for the "freedoms" we have in terms of gun ownership in North Carolina. Restrictive gun laws are not repealed on their own, and you can damn sure bet that it's not the Legislators in Raleigh who think of these things on their own.
When it comes to legislation that affects our state's gun owners, it's not magic that gets things done, it's the hard work of the volunteers at GRNC. There's no mystical pixie dust that can be spread on the heads of politicians that make them see the light. Instead, it's the efforts of people just like you who volunteer their time to get things done.
Visit their website today and see how you can help the effort. Change for the better is not going to simply happen by chance. We have to make a dedicated and concerted effort to accomplish our goals.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Genesis
Here I begin a room to being making sense of the unending controversy of our rights under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. How something so seemingly simple can become so overwhelmingly convoluted was, at first, a bit confusing. But then you begin to search out the forces behind the movement to completely remove this right and you begin to understand things a little better.
This room is created for me to step out of the normal realm of internet forums, town hall meetings, the various news mediums, and away from every other form of communication and catch my breath. It'll mostly be my thoughts and writings, but anyone is welcome to chime in. There's no guarantee that I'll acknowledge your contributions, but anyone is welcome to contribute. Giving a shit about what other people say is a game I play elsewhere. Here, it's my world.
More specifically, I'll keep much of the focus here on firearms related news in the state of North Carolina. The good, the bad, and the utterly ridiculous will come to light here. Some of it will matter to anyone reading, and some of it will induce yawning. Either way, We'll try to make sense of some of the idiocy that prevails and also give a round of applause to those people or groups that work hard every day in the defense of our rights.
That said, no one man can effect the change needed to prevail against so many who are opposed to a fundamental inherent right which was specifically noted at the documented beginning of the United States. No one, least of all me, is so delusional to think that we can do this alone.
United we stand, divided we fall. It really it that simple.
Onward...
This room is created for me to step out of the normal realm of internet forums, town hall meetings, the various news mediums, and away from every other form of communication and catch my breath. It'll mostly be my thoughts and writings, but anyone is welcome to chime in. There's no guarantee that I'll acknowledge your contributions, but anyone is welcome to contribute. Giving a shit about what other people say is a game I play elsewhere. Here, it's my world.
More specifically, I'll keep much of the focus here on firearms related news in the state of North Carolina. The good, the bad, and the utterly ridiculous will come to light here. Some of it will matter to anyone reading, and some of it will induce yawning. Either way, We'll try to make sense of some of the idiocy that prevails and also give a round of applause to those people or groups that work hard every day in the defense of our rights.
That said, no one man can effect the change needed to prevail against so many who are opposed to a fundamental inherent right which was specifically noted at the documented beginning of the United States. No one, least of all me, is so delusional to think that we can do this alone.
United we stand, divided we fall. It really it that simple.
Onward...
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