Gun Owners – Please Support this Change

On May 8, 2020May 8, 2020 By Tom LindsayIn CCW, Concealed Carry, GeorgiaCarry, Gun Free Zones, RKBA

For some time, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) refused to allow the carry of weapons for self defense, even if the person involved held a license or permit. Even in recent times, as more and more states issued licenses, the USACE refused to honor them, despite the fact that they were recognized in State Parks, and in National Parks that are not run by the USACE.

For those wondering (and I did) the USACE runs State Parks and National Parks that involve dammed waterways, and they maintain the dams. This sets these parks apart somewhat, in that they are managed by a branch of the military, rather than by the civilian parks departments. Because of this, a lot of the park rules reflect those in effect on Army bases, and one of those rules has been a prohibition on carry of weapons, even by service personnel.

As the other park systems began to relax their prohibitions in the wake of less restrictive carry laws, the Corps remained mired in the past. But state groups, notably GeorgiaCarry.org, continued to press the Corps to allow lawful carry by license holders.

In 2019, following a series of lawsuits by GCO, the Corps agreed to issue permission letters, if a citizen were to write and ask for such a letter. Then, should one be asked, this letter could be presented as proof of the right. But to be honest, even this restriction is too much, and GCO continued its legal pursuit.

And finally, this year the Corps agreed to change the rule! The proposed rule change is open to comments, and I highly recommend you go here and read the docket, and submit your supporting note. The deadline to submit is June 12, 2020.

Look for updates here as the rule gets closer to change.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity Expansions for Georgians

On June 7, 2016 By Tom LindsayIn CCW2 Comments

There are a couple of very recent additions to the states that recognize my Georgia Weapons Carry License:

South Carolina

Effective upon signing of the law on June 3, 2016, South Carolina recognizes Georgia WCLs, and with the announcement of the Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Georgia recognizes permits from South Carolina. You can see a great summary of SC gun laws here.

Virginia

Effective July 1, 2016, Virginia will recognize permits issued by all other states, with some conditions listed on that page. Other Virginia requirements are listed here.

Georgia will recognize Virginia permits once their recognition goes into effect, and the Attorney General so announces.

Personally, both of these ease the restrictions I have faced travelling from Georgia, especially since South Carolina is contiguous, and one of my major clients is in Greenville. Now I don’t have to stop at the rest stop on the way out and put my pistol in the glove box. This will also make my next trip to the DC area better.

Making the Best of It

On May 7, 2016 By Tom LindsayIn CCW, Leukemia, Liberty, Practice2 Comments

So, 19 days after starting my second round of chemotherapy for leukemia, my blood test results pretty much show I have started to bottom out. My ANC was 0.1, which is as low as they show on the test.

So I’m now confined to home, except for clinic visits every other day. Today to pass time, I commenced to checking off a To-do box, and started watching The Pacific.

Meanwhile I cleaned my pistols, and made an embarrassing discovery: the pistol I carry almost every day, Liberty, my G19, had collected an unsightly amount of dust, mostly around the magwell, but also up under the slide, around the firing pin safety and connector. It didn’t take a lot to clean it, but I really don’t know how it might have affected the operation if I had needed to use it.

So now I am going to set a goal to inspect and clean Liberty every Friday or Saturday.

In the meantime, dry fire and study are my assignment. I can’t shoot until I get the IV line removed from my arm, so that’s what I’m left with. But I’ll take it, because like my chemo, it should lead to better things down the road.

The Real Solution for National CCW Reciprocity

On December 30, 2015December 30, 2015 By Tom LindsayIn CCW, Concealed Carry

Last week, the Attorney General in Virginia decided to cancel reciprocity with 25 other states. The uproar around the country among gun enthusiasts was considerable. This brought up, once again, the issue of a national reciprocity law, which, as I pointed out, would be unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment.

Now, in no way was that post meant to suggest that I am not a fan of universal reciprocity for carry permits. In fact, I believe that insofar as a government has the right to place prerequisites on the exercise of my civil rights by requiring that I obtain a permit to do so, then no government has the right to decide that the decision of any other government is null and void in its jurisdiction.*

But, given that the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to regulate carry permits, or the carry of guns, how then do we accomplish this?

I mentioned in my last posting that one argument cited for government mandated reciprocity is the Driver’s License system. After all, they argue, since my driver’s license is recognized by other states, my carry permit should be as well. While I agree with that premise, most people who argue this route don’t realize that this is the result of an agreement between the States, not because of any law.

What, then, should be our answer?

For me it is simple: abolish the carry permit system altogether.

Why? Because it’s unnecessary, under any understanding of the Second Amendment.

And yet, states require carry permits, and most of us think nothing of it. In fact, we make a big deal of it. “Look at me!” we rejoice. “The Government has acceded to grant me its begrudging permission to exercise a right already guaranteed under the Constitution!”

Naturally, the anti-gunners will argue that without a permit system any criminal would be allowed to carry a gun. How would we be protected from such a thing?

And yet, it should be obvious that criminals carry a gun now without permits. The law does not change their actions, because, by definition, they are criminals.

So, how do we get the permit system revoked?

Unfortunately, we white Americans are going to have to be honest about our white forefathers, and be honest about how it all began – as a way to keep guns out of the hands blacks. So to make the permit system go away, we have to show how racist the whole system was, and how that discrimination carries over to today, by allowing the government to know just who owns guns.

Think about how effective this would be, to tie in the carry permit system with the images of Jim Crow, the Confederacy, and the KKK.

Can we do this? Yes. Will we do this? I don’t know, but I hope so. Because, honestly, it is the best route to national reciprocity – by making every American equal.

At last.