Fear the Tax-man!

The IRS is looking to buy 12-gauge shotguns.

"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts."

Anyone else think that it's a bit odd that the IRS gets their own "criminal investigation division" (read: "tax police") that has guns? Wouldn't the actual police-work involved be better left to, oh...say, the FBI or local authorities? I can understand their need for a division to investigate tax fraud, but to have an actual division of armed "tax cops"? It is a bit of a scary concept if you really think about it.

Here is the part that bothers me a bit...the majority of people who would defend the IRS's right to have their own form of armed law enforcement would also believe in limiting the 2nd Amendment rights of individual citizens. Anybody else see the hypocrisy in that?

Upcoming General Assembly and Proposed Gun Rights Legislation

Browsing through Richmond Sunlight, and I'm finding some good pro-2nd Amendment legislation.

In the House...
- HB26 would mandate that the Clerk of Court cannot ask a concealed weapon permit applicant for any identification beyond what is required for the application form.
- HB32 would allow the faculty at any university in Virginia to carry a concealed weapon, provided they have a permit.
- HB49 would repeal the one-handgun-per-month rule.
- HB79 would remove public access to applications for concealed weapons permits. This is good, because I really don't want other people snooping through my permit application. I'm a proponent of open government, but this is information about private citizens, not government officials.

There are more, but these stuck out to me as excellent new legislation that promotes our 2nd Amendment rights.

New Hampshire Utilizing the 10th Amendment to Protect the 2nd Amendment

It appears that New Hampshire legislators are pushing a bill through their state legislature that will nullify federal gun laws AND make it a felony for federal agents to deny citizens of New Hampshire their 2nd Amendment rights. The House bill (HB1285) would "exempt firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition manufactured in New Hampshire from federal law and regulation.”

This falls under "intrastate commerce", which is NOT regulated by the federal government. In addition, the bill lays out the following penalties for those who deny NH residents their rights here...

For state agents: "Any public servant of the State of New Hampshire as defined in RSA 640:2 that enforces or attempts to enforce a act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation of the government of the United States upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remains within the State of New Hampshire shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor."

Gets even worse if you are a federal agent of any kind...

"Any official, agent, or employee of the government of the United States, or employee of a corporation providing services to the government of the United States that enforces or attempts to enforce a act, order, law, statute, rule or regulation of the government of the United States upon a personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remains within the State of New Hampshire shall be guilty of a class B felony."

This is how you use the constitution to turn back federal encroachment upon the rights of the of the states. Interestingly, this falls in line with the Virginia Resolution of 1798, where James Madison asserted that states have the right to resist unconstitutional acts by the federal government, and are supposed to be the barrier between the encroachments of the federal government and the people of the state.

Simply beautiful!

(h/t Free Talk Live)