• The War on Guns got a response from Katherine Letellier about Quotes From the Founders. Unfortunately it was a nonresponsive response.
• John Lott on the push for more gun control in New York: SILVER'S 'CONTROLS' DON'T WORK.
• Of Arms & the Law points us to Article on Boston gun law enforcement. Despite having some of the strictest gun control in the country, all is not perfect. Warts can by ugly.

We can now provide an update to What You Don't Know Can Hurt You:

Parental commitment as a minor does not make you a prohibited person at the federal level. So, Aubrey seems safe at this point. She did not violate any laws related to firearm possession. The only question remaining relates to the nuances of Colorado law.

• In New Hampshire, they are not happy that Boston is blaming them for gun violence. Check out N.H. protests Boston charges of lax gun control.
• Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson is either ignorant, or he speaks with forked tongue.

"We have the most lax handgun law in the entire nation," Johnson said. 

He should consider educating himself about Vermont or Alaska before he opens his mouth. Check out his "it's not my fault" article at Philadelphia not alone in its struggle with rising murder rate.

• Once again: Democrats recast gun control image. I guess this is 'everybody do what Kerry tried to do!" like lemmings off a cliff. They don't get that they don't convince people and only come across as liars. Should make for some real fun.
• And in Chicago, the retired cops are not happy that they don't get to carry concealed weapons:

from: http://www.suntimes.com/output/letters/cst-edt-vox16a.html

In Chicago there are sheep and there are wolves. I guess Al doesn't like being told he is a sheep, like the rest of the Chicago victims. How about concealed carry for everyone? The criminals already have it.

• Finally, the funniest pointer of the day. Question: if you had a legal question, would you go to a lawyer or a high school teacher? Now stop laughing. The teacher believes she is write er right. Check out Second Amendment commentary shot balance in the foot. The writer doesn't address her real believe in the collective theory of the Second Amendment, just that the paper only presented one side and it wasn't her side.

ALBANY--On the heels of Gov. George Pataki's announcement that he was calling the state Legislature into special session on Wednesday, Dec. 21 to address new legislation dealing with gun trafficking and other criminal justice issues, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that the Assembly was introducing new legislation (A.9083) to combat illegal gun trafficking that would provide the same penalties as legislation proposed by the governor and the additional initiatives contained in Assembly bill 2345, sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, which previously passed the Assembly.

"[The] special legislative session provides an ideal opportunity to move forward with a comprehensive approach to combating gun violence," Silver said. "Clearly the fact that 29 out of the 35 members of the Senate Republican Conference receive an A rating from the NRA cannot be allowed to dictate public policy in New York State. The Senate and governor continue to protect loopholes that allow gun traffickers to evade detection and contribute to the illegal gun market in this state where criminals can obtain devastating weapons that threaten our safety. Being in the pocket of the NRA, which stridently opposes common-sense measures to end gun trafficking in our state and nationally, is the only explanation for their failure to enact Assembly measures this year to crack down on the illegal trade in guns."

Read more at Assembly Speaker Says Senate, Pataki In Pocket of NRA

We have a few responses, but not nearly as many as we need. Before we approach the NRA and the GOA, I want to have an overwhelming number of first person stories of how Lautenberg has unjustly denied people their Second Amendment rights. If you have such a story, go to this forum entry and give us a sketch of your story. If you know somebody with such a story, please send them over.

If you don't know what a Lautenberg Victim is, check out The only way to win..... That poor soul is a Lautenberg Victim in the making.

Hat tip to Keep and Bear Arms

Today we have the story of Aubrey Ellen Shomo. A self-proclaimed pacifist and poster on Democratic Underground, she writes A Pacifist's First Day in Shooting Class. Before the end of the first paragraph she declares “Also, it could be fun to show people my permit and my psychiatric records at the same time.”

Visualize a large, red flag waving. Why would THAT be fun? What makes Aubrey Ellen Shomo’s psychiatric history so interesting? Cue up Google and do the obvious search. Bang. Aubrey seems to like to express herself. Here is some of her psyc bio.

Reading her psychiatric bio you get that she has been involuntarily committed on more than one occasion. If that were true, she may be a prohibited person under federal law. That would also make her ineligible for a ccw under Colorado law. If she received a permit, she would be in violation of state law for lying on her application. If she actually owns a firearm, she would be in violation of federal law. If she bought that firearm through an FFL, she would have had to have lied on her yellow form – also a violation of federal law. At the very least, she would have violated federal law if she handled a firearm or ammunition as a part of the class.

Reading the reminder of the post on Democratic Underground makes it obvious that Aubrey does not have a clue about firearms. Statements like “I learned that you could tell the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto.” make her statements questioning her instructor’s knowledge suspect. Undeniably, this woman has never had any previous education about firearms.

The trivial tone of Aubrey's writings make it clear that she has no clue as to the thought process that goes into owning a gun, having a concealed handgun permit or actually carrying a firearm. Let's hope she gets some legal advice before proceeding.

Update: The commenter is correct. It is unclear if parental commitment would cause one to be a prohibited person. I have updated above with the appropriate waffle words and will investigate next week.

Let's be clear on one thing: if a prohibited person so much as handles a firearm or ammunition they are in violation of federal law. Possession does not mean ownership. It means picking the item up.