Category Archives: Open Carry

Firearms in the local news

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Jackson County, MO, has been in the news this week. The first was the result of unintended, for some, consequences. The second was grandstanding by Kansas City Sly James.

Back in December, the Jackson County legislature added  sub-section (c) to an existing ordinance, 5534.2. That addition said:

c. Discharge a firearm or projectile weapon:

(1) Anywhere within the area described as the “Urban Development Tier” in the Jackson County Master Plan “Strategy for the Future,” dated January 1994, as amended; or

(2) In a manner so as to allow a projectile to travel beyond the boundaries of the tract of real property from which it was fired onto another tract not under common ownership.

This subsection 5534.2.c shall not apply to any otherwise lawful activity taking place on the grounds of a firing range or gun club as permitted under section 24005.9 of this code or under the duly enacted ordinances of any competent municipal authority within Jackson County. (Ord. 2106, Eff. 6/16/92; Ord. 4595, Eff. 12/02/1

Before this section was added, the boundaries of this ordinance was 1-mile beyond existing city limits. After the change most of rural Jackson County was within the new boundaries making shooting firearms illegal in almost all of Jackson County. The Independence Examiner was present and published this article yesterday.

Dozens of people attended a meeting Tuesday night at Bass Pro Shops in Independence largely focused on Jackson County's weapons offenses ordinance. Zach McNulty | The ExaminerTuesday night, the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance hosted a meeting between 120 or more Jackson County residents and officials from the county and nearby state districts. The officials were MO State Senator Will Kraus (Lee Summit), State Representative Sheila Solon (Blue Springs), Jackson County Legislator Greg Grounds (Blue Springs), Jackson County Mike Sharp and his deputy Col. Hugh Mills. Jackson County Legislator Greg Grounds and Jackson County Mike Sharp took the brunt of the questions and comments from the residents.

At the end of the meeting, Legislator Grounds vowed to repeal the new section. Sheriff Shark stated he was assist as he could to do the same. State Senator Will Kraus and State Representative Sheila Solon said that if the county didn’t act, the state would.

The flaw in the ordinance was using a map, drawn for economic development and planning, to determine areas of high density population. The map was never intended for that purpose and is frequently updated, expanded, to show future plans for expansion into the county. Greg Grounds reported he was one of three county legislators who would vote to repeal the section added to the ordinance. Five of the nine county legislators must agree.

There has been a meeting to repeal this new section. That meeting was continued. The followup meeting is scheduled for July 28th.

“The hearing was continued to 28 July, 2014 at 2:30 in the Jackson County Independence courthouse, in the basement,” said Kevin Jamison, President of the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance.

The second instance of firearms in the news was Kansas City Mayor Sly James pushing for an ordinance to prohibit open carry within Kansas City. The city’s Public Safety committee rubber-stamped an endorsement of the proposal.

“’Our community is not a battleground,’ James told the committee,” in an article posted on the Kansas City Star’s website. That statement would be a surprise to anyone who peruses the Star and it’s continuing causality lists that appear almost daily in the Star. It’s unclear what James meant by the statement since there are been no instance of open carry in Kansas City leading to an exchange of gunfire. 

Likely, James is using the old “blood in the streets!” screed that the left has yet, after decades of use, proven. Everywhere citizens are allow to carry, openly or concealed, crime has decreased, not increased.

We really should not be surprised by James faulty logic and fear-mongering. After all, James is a democrat, and Kansas City is a democrat enclave in conservative Missouri. James is following the democrat reflex to continue democrat policies of ensuring Americans are defenseless against the growing criminal element.

James admitted that the city’s ordinance is likely to be an effort in futility. Missouri SB 656 had a provision to prohibit local governments, like Kansas City, from writing ordinances banning open carry. Democrat governor Jay Nixon vetoed the bill earlier this month. However, SB 656 had enough votes in the legislature to override Nixon’s veto. The legislature has already used their veto override once this year.

State Senator Will Kraus (Lees Summit), speaking before the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance Tuesday night, said he was confident the state legislature would override the veto of SB 656 during its veto session on September 10th.

So, if Sly James knows this new city ordinance will be revoked by the legislature, why do it? Anyone knowing the antics of Sly James would immediately say, “It’s to get more face time before the TV cameras!” That would be true, but he already has near-constant coverage by virtue of his office as Mayor. What other motive could he have? Perhaps, so say some, James is looking towards the future and thinking about challenging Roy Blunt for Senator. James knows he can get more political creds from democrats by making the exercise of Kansas Citians right to bear arms more difficult.

Am I an open carry advocate? No, I am not. But there is the occasional circumstance where I would like to remove a cover garment, like a jacket, exposing a weapon and not be penalized for momentarily carrying openly.

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It’s a new month!

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Today, if you haven’t yet noticed, is the first of July. Across the state line in Kansas, newly passed legislation comes into force. One of those is open carry. It is now legal to carry a weapon openly in Kansas. Are there restrictions? I don’t know. That is one reason why I won’t be open carrying when I cross the state line.

But the local news media has noticed. One TV station is already in the process of whipping up mass hysteria, just watch the biased video. So far, no one is biting.

Open carry law now in effect in Kansas

Posted 11:30 pm, June 30, 2014, by , Updated at 05:56am, July 1, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A new gun law in Kansas will go into effect Tuesday that will let owners openly carry guns in public.

It will be legal to openly carry a gun in a holster, in your hand or a rifle on a sling.

Captain Rance Quinn with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department says the sight of a gun is scary for a lot of people. Police said they will still respond to calls about people with guns, but the way they handle it will be much different.

“They may make a consensual interaction with the person, ‘Like hey, how are you doing today. I see that you are exercising your right to bear firearms. Is there anything I can do for you today?’ Or something along those lines,” said Capt. Quinn.

The state already has roughly 90,000 gun owners with permits to carry concealed firearms.

The new law also gives private businesses the right to prohibit guns in their buildings.

Of course, private businesses has always had the right to prohibit guns on their premises. Whoever wrote this piece certainly was not familiar with eprior Kansas law nor with this new one when it took effect. Still, the comments, for the most part, are positive.

One commenter tried to used the hackneyed argument the cops will spend all their time checking the legal carrying of weapons instead of chasing criminals. I wonder if the commenter stopped to think that those calls would most likely be placed by people like himself who panics every time a weapon is glimpsed.

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The fiasco known as the Mississippi primary continues with more and more allegations of vote fraud and vote buying emerging against Thad Cochran. An initial investigation in one county after the election found at least 1,000 fraudulent votes for Cochran. That discovery is just the beginning. McDaniel supporters are calling for him to run as an independent in the general election.

BREAKING: New Allegations Point to Cochran Campaign in Mississippi Senate Vote Buying Scandal

By: Aaron Gardner (Diary)  |  June 30th, 2014 at 09:15 PM

An audio interview has surfaced in which the interviewee claims that he was to be paid by the Cochran camp to grease voters in the Mississippi GOP Senate runoff election. The audio interview, which coincides with a separate audio recording and batch of evidence produced by the newly launched GotNews.com, a project by Charles C. Johnson, alleges that the Cochran campaign conspired with a Mississippi Reverend to buy the votes of African American voters, who happen to be democrats.

…

Reverend Fielder has claimed to have evidence that would prove illegal activity took place in the Mississippi GOP Senate run off election. Furthermore, the evidence he claims he has would implicate the Barbour machine and a staffer to Cochran’s Senate campaign. The motivations of the Reverend are not those of a saint. As is made clear throughout the interview and in the transcript, this Reverend is looking to get paid to provide information, just as he sought to get paid to deliver votes by illegal means. Reverend Fielder claims that Cochran’s people were supposed to pay him approximately $15,000 for his efforts, but failed to do so after the incumbent Senator had achieved victory in the run off.

With all of that said, if the evidence is produced and validated, I don’t know how much longer Thad Cochran will be a Senator.

Even if Cochran isn’t deposed because of these illegal tactics, that does not mean the McDaniel supporters will automatically vote for the GOP candidate. More likely what will happen, if Cochran’s name still appears on the general ballot, they will just skip over the field and either place no vote for Senator, or choose someone else.

The tactics the RNC used in the primary, with the able assistance of Karl Rove and Haley Barbour, has tainted not only Thad Cochran, but the entire Republican party within the state. Mississippi was once a GOP stronghold. No longer, and any assumptions of automatic wins for any GOP candidate have just evaporated.

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Thursday Thoughts…

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It’s been a slow work day. I’m in the position of having to wait for others to complete their tasks before I can do mine. It’s a bit chilly here in the basement/family room/home office. I have a space heater on, but it’s only keeping my right side warm.

I don’t like cold weather. It’s a pain—literally. I’ve seen 60 come and go. When I get cold, I get stiff, I hurt. Today is such a day. I can easily understand why the cats are lazing around in a sun spot, nice and toasty. I’m jealous envious.

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Last weekend I tried to get time to visit Cabelas to get some carry ammo for the M&P Compact. The Universe conspired against me so I ordered some via Cabelas’ website. The order arrived yesterday! That’s a three days service. Pre-Christmas rush and all. Can’t beat that!

I have a preference for Hornady Ammo. I’m cheap and I like the fact that Hornady ammo comes 25 rounds in a box, unlike the 20 rounds for Federal, Remington and Speer. I’ve been unable to determine that the other carry ammo is better in any way than carry ammo from Hornady. Not only does Hornady provide five additional rounds, it’s also $2 cheaper than Federal for the same type ammo (147gr JHP)

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There has been some discussion on other blogs and forums whether the Mumbai Massacre could happen in the US. It seems that just about everything has been discussed by the MSM, our open borders, lack of an area for training that wouldn’t be noticeable, and other obstacles, would prevent a similar attack from happening here.

I notice they ignore the fact that the majority of states have concealed carry. In some of these states, CCW holders are obligated to assist law enforcement. However, folks in New York and Chicago are on their own. They can’t carry except for the elite few. Guess the common folks just have to be resolved to being targets unlike their aristos.

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Open Carry for Texas.

Campaign asks Texans to support open-carry law for handguns

By ANNA M. TINSLEY
atinsley@star-telegram.com

They're setting their sights on Texas and coming out firing.

More than a month before the legislative session starts Jan. 13, gun-rights supporters are asking state lawmakers to pass an "open carry" law to let Texans stop covering up the guns they carry and wear them openly. They are putting their message on billboards, on banners on cabs and in radio ads, asking others to sign on to the cause.

"We are targeting Texas," said Mike Stollenwerk, co-founder of www.opencarry.org, a champion of the growing nationwide effort. "Texas is probably the most pro-gun state, but doesn't have open-carry laws.

"As Texans realize how restrictive their rights are...there will be an awakening. Get ready for a showdown in Austin come January."

Texas is somewhat of an open-carry battleground because it is one of only six states where handguns cannot, in some form, legally be worn in plain view. Texas residents may carry concealed handguns if they have a permit. More than 28,000 people have signed an online petition asking Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to make Texas an open-carry state.

"The only place we are spending money is Texas," said Stollenwerk, who owns a home in Killeen. "Who knows if we'll be successful? But at least it's on the agenda."

Some fear that pushing for open carry could bring more problems than solutions. "What are they trying to do?" Richard Leal of Texans for Gun Safety Laws told the Star-Telegram earlier this year. "Go back to Texas gunslinger days?"

Upcoming battle

When lawmakers get back to work in January, it will have been 14 years since they passed a concealed-carry law. Supporters say open carry is needed because under the concealed-carry law, gun owners can get in trouble for displaying their weapon even inadvertently, such as if a jacket covering it up blows back enough to show the gun.

"I want to be able to remove my suit jacket in the middle of a hot Texas August day without being labeled a criminal," said Ralph Carroll, who lives in Van Zandt County and works in Dallas. "I can drive east or west one state over, remove my jacket in the heat of the day and still be a perfectly legal citizen. But that same act in Texas will brand me a criminal — for no reason other than I live in Texas."

The other states that either don't allow, or highly restrict, the open carrying of handguns in public are New York, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida and South Carolina, according to OpenCarry.org. More than a dozen states require a license for open carry, and 11  more allow it but don't require licenses. Other states generally permit it, but with various restrictions.

Stollenwerk said a draft of a bill to allow open carry in Texas has been prepared. While several Texas lawmakers have said they'll support such a bill, none have stepped up to carry it.

"This is crunchtime before the session starts," Stollenwerk said. "If no legislator steps forward, we will try to amend a bill midstream to get it in somewhere."

Reaching out

OpenCarry.org kicks off its Texas campaign Tuesday with the message "We don't hide our colors, do we?" in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. The ad encourages Texans to sign an online petition asking lawmakers to make Texas an open-carry state.

"We believe that law-abiding Texans should be free to proudly enforce their rights," the radio ad states.

Ian McCarthy of Dallas posted the online petition in November 2007. He said he forgot about it until www.opencarry.org picked up the effort this summer, and thousands of Texans began signing.

"It was just me trying to reach out to people," he said.

Carroll, a 48-year-old father of three, said many people's fears about the concealed-carry law — shootouts at four-way stop signs, mayhem in the streets — haven't come to pass. Similar fears about an open-carry law won't either, he said.

"I just simply want to ensure I have self-protection if the need arises," Carroll said. "The same reason I wear my seat belt, carry a spare tire and have a working fire extinguisher.".