Certificatified!

That's my new word of the week. :)

I may have mentioned this in the past, but I don't particularly agree with the politics of the NRA. As much as they claim to be a non-partisan group, they are still heavily involved in politics. I do, however, admit that they are the strongest of the Second Amendment advocacy groups out there, though a couple chapters of the ACLU are actually starting to come around.

That being said, I also recognize that they're also the only organization out there that provides credentials that are widely recognized in terms of being able to teach... I love to teach. I've been doing it since my senior year in high school; I have this thing about sharing what I know with others. That's why when I offered to teach the students in the Criminal Justice program at Delaware Tech how to shoot, the first thing that was asked of me was, "Are you certified?"

I begrudgingly grumbled that, even though I was very active with IPSC and USPSA Competitive shooting, that I was not certified... the issue pretty much went away.

Fast forward a few months, and I actually have the opportunity to take classes to get my certification. So, as of last weekend, I successfully completed my class to become a certified Range Safety Officer and qualified as an Instructor. This weekend, I'll be taking my class for my focus discipline: pistols.

So, starting shortly, I'll be offering classes to the general public under my new company: Delaware Patriot.

Courses will be offered for the NRA developed F.I.R.S.T. Steps and Basic Pistol program.

Additionally, for those who take my NRA Basic Pistol course, they then qualify to take both the Delaware Carry Concealed Deadly Weapon License course and the Florida Carry Concealed Weapon License course.

I'm in the process for creating the website, however, its current incarnation can be found here. If anyone is interested in obtaining their license to conceal in Delaware or would just like to learn how to shoot a pistol, definitely drop me a line -- the rental of a pistol to use for the course is available.

I look forward to teaching and sharing my knowledge with others.

Change of Focus

Well, I've had quite the opportunity fall into my lap...

As I've indicated in some of my previous blogs, I'm working towards my B.A. in Criminal Justice with the intent of going on to Law School, most likely to focus on Criminal and Constitutional Law.

Well, a podcast I'd recently begun to listen to, Life of a Law Student, had been a stalled project for some time... The podcast basically entails of a law student going to class, learning and researching the material for that class, coming home and creating a podcast discussing what the professor had gone over -- this allows a few things:

1. Gives a student incentive to truly learn the material, enough to act as an authority on the matter.
2. Disseminate legal knowledge in a user-friendly format for free.
3. Allow the student to develop their oral skills by speaking on subject matter related to their field.
4. Create a body of work and to build a reputation in the legal community so that, when they receive their J.D., they're able to provide more than just a simple resume.
   

Project lead, Neil Wehnemen, had gotten caught up working on the current presidential campaign, taking courses at his law school and, of course, being a good husband, so I had sent him an email offering to provide some undergraduate content to flesh out what he already had, also offering him my extensive background in the field of computer science and sound production to also further the project. Well, he countered with an offer to take the project over.

Needless to say I was floored. It took me a few days to mull things over, but I eventually agreed and, as of last week, I begin the process of updating the site's code and recorded my introductory podcast, which I'll be publishing later on this week.

I hope that any of you with an interest in law, whether it be specific or latent, stop by http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/ and check it out -- Neil has already posted so much content, I'm sure there will be something there of interest for you.

On another note, I'll be taking a few training courses over the next couple of weeks -- my Range Safety Officer, Basic Instructor and Pistol Instructor so, hopefully, but the end of August, I'll be able to begin offering training courses for the NRA Basic Pistol Certification, Delaware Carry Concealed Weapon Licenses and the Florida Concealed Handgun Licenses... If anyone is interested in any of these courses, please feel free to drop me a line.

One Issue Voter

I'll be the first to admit it. At this time, I'm a one-issue voter.

It wasn't a year ago that I would very much "Go along to get along." I didn't really mind the concept of a National ID card -- being a computer geek, I though the convenience of carrying everything on a single card might be less cumbersome for me.

Sure, I still leaned right for fiscal and foreign relation issues and left for social issues; however, it all started when I bought my first firearm. Yes, this boils down to owning a pistol.

Being the person I am, when I get into a new area of knowledge, I'm compulsive to the point where I need to learn as much as I can on the subject. So, it started off innocuously enough... safety, handing, storage, cleaning. Then, I began to research the laws to know where I could and could not carry. This ultimately re-ignited a passion I'd had for US History; I know it's a bit of a stretch, there, but for the first time in probably 15 years, I read the Declaration of Independence. I read the Constitution. I read some of the Federalist papers. I took a course in Constitutional Law. I continue my learning to this day learning about Criminal Law.

The thing is, I see what the framers intended and what they did to struggle out from being under the thumb of the King and I see what the government does today and I have to shake my head.

Here's another issue I have. I still believe that the government can be fixed -- in my research and forum activity, I've met many people who are either borderline or full-blown seditionists. I don't begrudge them their point of view; however, I don't advocate a second Civil War, nor the introduction of an Anarchal government.

But it does go to show you how the past 20 administrations have enacted laws and policies for the greater good that have pushed its citizens to the edge of rebellion.

I'll 'stick to my guns', if you'll forgive the pun. I'm a one-issue voter. It's my belief that someone who truly and honestly believes that an armed society is beneficial byproduct of the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment, then they'll believe in the rest of the Constitution and do their best to live by it.

I may be holding my breath for a while waiting for a candidate who will have the support of the people.

Why Open Carry?

For the uninitiated, "Open Carry" is the peaceable, unconcealed carry of a firearm by a citizen. For example, in a holster, on your belt in plain view. In Delaware, this is lawful, though highly uncommon; however, there is a strong movement throughout the country of people who do open carry -- you can read their stories at OpenCarry.org.

I write this preface, so you have an understanding of what it is. Myself and at least a dozen others have been open carrying in Delaware for some time now -- for the most part, without incident. On the above mentioned forums, someone asked the following:

"Other than to exercise a right, I'm not yet convinced that open carry serves any other useful purpose. My thinking is that concealed carry with a permit should fill any desire to carry without the side effect of alarming or scaring the public or drawing the attention of law enforcement. I am worried that open carry, with no permit, is actually counter-productive in the long run to the goal of perserving[sic] our right to bear arms in public. What am I missing?"

Here is my reply to him:

The long-term goal of preserving our right to bear arms in public has already been accomplished. Forty-four states in the union have some type of firearms preemption in place to prevent the regulation or possession or transport of a firearm. In addition, a good number of states have Constitutions which guarantees our right to keep and bear arms in even more plain language that the Second Amendment.

For example, the Delaware Constitution states in Article I, §20, "A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use."

And, just so it's clear, the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land -- state Constitutions "override" the US Constitution because their provisions must equal or be more strict on the government, e.g. providing more freedoms to the people.

States have, historically, been granted the right to regulate the concealing of a firearm and most states have statutes in place for a citizen to obtain a permit that allows them to carry concealed. In the state of Delaware, this process costs around $400 and violates your privacy by requiring the following:

1. You must publish your full name and home address in the news paper with your intent to apply for a permit. Not the best thing to do for the victim of abuse who is attempting not to be found by their abuser.
2. You must have five people fill out questionnaires, asking questions about why you intend to file. Isn't the point of concealing a sidearm to not let people know you're carrying?
   
3. You must be fingerprinted and have a criminal investigation performed by the state police and the Delaware Department of Justice. This is in addition to the state and federal background check you're submitted to when you purchase your firearm.
   

Outside of carrying for self-defense, the primary reason for most anyone who carries, open carry is, mostly, a political statement or symbolic form of speech. I openly carry my sidearm to demonstrate that I am a free individual in my state and country and encourage others to ask about my point of view, whether they be for, against or ambivalent, much as the religious witness the masses or the protesters speak against a wrong.

If I wanted to simply 'exercise a right', I'd conceal; however, I'm out to educate people and desensitize the public to the stigma that 'Guns are bad'. The more the general public's only exposure to firearms is the mass media, the more our overall right to keep and bear arms is put in jeopardy.

We don't force the point. We don't think everyone should open carry. It's a personal choice. As much as we respect your right to only conceal or not carry, we ask that you respect our decision to carry openly. In addition, if you're curious about why or, better yet, how YOU can start carrying -- whether you're looking to conceal or open carry -- feel free to ask.

In the now-immortal words of former Delaware Attorney General Charles M. Oberly, III, "Under current Delaware law, virtually anyone, excepting felons, may strap on a holster and carry a gun in plain view." As long as folks understand that, in exercising your right to self-defense, there also comes a huge responsibility of knowing and respecting Delaware law, I believe our state can become a safer, more civilized place.

Delaware: Even in Death, A Nanny State

Ripped from today's headlines: "On Wednesday, Rep. Peter C. Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, introduced legislation to automatically make people donors unless they opt out." "As long as people have the ability to opt out of the organ donation program, it's OK to make the change, said Arthur Caplan, chairman of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania." "If the only people bothered by the registration turn out to be from a small religious sect or from some libertarian [mind-set], I'm not sure that justifies keeping the burden the way it is now," he said. "The burden is unfairly distributed right now."

Well, color me one of those "libertarian" mind-sets -- how is the burden unfairly distributed? The government currently asks me permission to dismember and use parts of my body once I'm dead... That certainly sounds like a fair distribution of burden there to me. Instead, he'd rather have the government assumed permission to rip someone apart without their consent, unless they specifically are informed and make the time to go and opt out.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm one of the 90% of Delawareans that believe organ donation is a good thing and I even have the heart on my license indicating my donor status; however, this follows too closely in the wake of the UK's similarly proposed program that gives me reason to pause in caution.

Since England is one of the worst offenders of legislating life in the known world, it should, hopefully, give ANYONE pause to see that Delaware is following suit.

As for alternative options, I can think of several... Create a policy, law or ordinance where:

1. Each time you renew your license, the DMV agent MUST ask you if you'd like to opt in.
2. Each time you go through inspection, the DMV agent MUST ask you if you'd like to join in.
3. Each time you register to vote or change your party affiliation, the DMV agent MUST ask you if you'd like to opt in.
4. Each time your registration expires and you need to renew it, the DMV agent MUST ask you if you'd like to opt in.

Do you see the commonality in all of these? The burden remains where it should remain: on the state to BE GRANTED PERMISSION to use my body, instead of assuming that right.

"Under a 2001 state law that upholds the decision of Delaware residents who make a documented gift of donation, the family of a designated donor cannot revoke the donor's consent after death."

I could see this law seriously being challenged if we did see a shift of assumed consent to the state, and rightly so. Perhaps a newly immigrated member of a 'small religious sect' that Caplan seems to unconcerned with is unaware and, upon death, the hospital tells the family they'll be harvesting their dearly departed's organs with no form of recourse. I can only imagine the devastation.

Delaware, even in death, has the legislative mindset of a nanny state.

What's to Hide?

"Senate Republicans hope to win passage of several open-government measures, including legislation to subject the General Assembly to the Freedom of Information Act and a package of bills designed to open government finances to more public scrutiny."

"Adams, who has blocked such moves in the past, said he could not predict how this year's battle will turn out. He already has salted away in his Executive Committee desk drawer a bill to subject the General Assembly to FOIA -- Senate Bill 4 -- sponsored last year by Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton."

"Adams said the desk-drawer veto is appreciated by members on both sides of the aisle -- particularly when the House passes a bill that senators would rather not have to vote on."

So, if you've never heard of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), essentially, you can write a letter to a government body requesting all documents, records, recordings, video, audio, emails, voicemails -- you get the idea -- regarding a particular topic or incident. These are quite popular with the police for people getting the dashcam video of a police stop and, by law, they must provide you with the requested documents.

The Delaware General Assembly is attempting to claim that it is not a public body and, thus, not subject to the scrutiny of the people that voted them into public office... is anyone else seeing a contradiction there?

The fact that he ADMITS using it as a way to get out of doing work, is all the more reason this antiquated politician with antiquated ideas needs to be voted out of office. Open government invites accountability, as the constituency will actually be able to 'check up' on their elected officials... Mr. Adams certainly can't have that now, can he?

Do your job. Vote the bills. Be the voice of your constituency. If you vote with our voice, you'll be re-elected. If you attempt to skirt around having to do your job, we'll do our damnedest to find someone who'd like to take your place.

Changing Laws

I can say that I've made my mark on Delaware law when it comes to maintaining the right to keep and bear arms.

To preface the folks who aren't aware of the current state of gun control, many years ago, the federal government passed a law that basically prevented the passing of legislation that regulates the carrying of firearms. Most states have adopted this at the state, county and local municipality levels so, in essence, anything enacted after July 4th, 1985 is repealed, while everything before is grandfathered in.

While Delaware does have this preemption and cannot regulate the carrying of a firearm, the regulation of the discharge of the weapon is permissible and usually carries a fairly substantial fine unless the discharge of the weapon was, of course, in the process of defending yourself.

As I was doing some general research on our state laws and local ordinances, I came across New Castle County Ordinance Sec. 24.01.014 (in Chapter 24) -- outside of a city's local ordinances, parks are generally the other place in law to check for firearms ordinances. In any case, the title of the ordinance is "Possession of certain knives; discharge of weapons." It looked normal and, as I began to scan over, I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary...

"No person shall carry a knife upon his or her person having a blade three (3) inches or longer in length or have possession of or discharge a BB gun, air rifle, pistol, firearm, paint ball gun, bow and arrow or any other type of lethal weapon in any park. (Ord. No. 98-050, § 1(24-14), 5-26-1998)"

I reread it again and couldn't believe my eyes -- it appeared to have been passed in 1998 and it had a provision for regulating the possession of firearms. I drafted up a quick email to the Delaware Attorney General's office asking them about it, thinking that they'd respond... Technically, if I was correct, anyone who was convicted on this charge could potentially appeal the decision because, according to preemption (as I read it), if the law is passed and controls the possession or carrying of a gun, it's immediately repealed. Their response:

Your e-mail communication to the Attorney General dated December 6, 2007 was forwarded to me for response on his behalf.

As you are requesting an interpretation of a county ordinance and how it may impact on the future conduct of an individual, those in our Department are prohibited from providing advice, an opinion or such interpretation. We may only do so in the course of an active case and then only on behalf of the State as the prosecuting agency.

If you feel that a given municipal or county ordinance suffers from a deficiency or ambiguity, that is a matter that must be addressed by the County Council as the legislative body that enacts and amends the county code.

Thank you for giving the Department an opportunity to address your request.

I expected as much from them, as I'd written them in the past with a similar response. So, I looked up my County Councilman and basically sent him the same thing I'd sent the AG's Office. His name is David Tackett and, despite being a democrat being handed a gun issue, the response I got from him was promising to say the least.

Dear Rob,

Thank you for reaching out to me and bringing this to my attention. Give me a little while to work on this issue and get back to you. You are correct if in deed it is in conflict I will fix this and if it is not I will explain why?

Thanks again and give me a few days to have my attorneys review this and I will get back soon,

Thanks again,
Dave

I also discovered during this period that he's "The Honorable David L. Tackett" which was also promising as we all expect judges to be impartial and interpret the law with an even hand. My hopes were dashed a little as a few days stretched on to a week and, by that time, I was on vacation for two more weeks and hadn't heard anything from my Councilman.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt -- it was close to the Christmas and New Years season and, as a government employee myself, I know how much I value my time off, so I dropped him a quick email asking if he had a chance to pass the information on to his attorneys. I received a very prompt response:

Dear Rob,

Thanks for reaching back out to me. To update you, Yes I had the subject matter has been reviewed by our attorney and was determined there was an error that needed to be corrected on our park and the legislation will be drawn up to read that guns can be brought into a county park legally, they will just not be allowed to be discharged in the park. Except for say self defense.

Thanks again for bringing this to my attention and I will have this introduced at the [January] 22nd council meeting and hopefully voted on the first meeting in Feb.

Thank you for all the research you had done also.

Thanks again,

Dave

This about floored me -- I couldn't express how pleased I was. Bear in mind that, though I had a passive interest in listening to politics and have only voted in the last two elections, until I purchased my first firearm and found an outlet for my old, high school love of history in the form of the Constitution and law, I had never been an active participant.

It's hard to express knowing that, as a father, I made a difference that will allow me to lawfully carry my sidearm into the parks we often visit and have the ability to protect my children should the need arise.

There are a few hurdles left for Delaware in terms of making us a Gold Star State...

1. Pass legislation that changes us from a MAY ISSUE state to a SHALL ISSUE state. As it stands, the process is cost prohibitive enough to ward away the average Joe from obtaining a permit.
2. Place a time limit on the state for processing permit applications.
3. Amend the grandfathered ordinance in Dover that regulates the carrying of firearms in that city to, instead, regulate concealed carry and the discharge of weapons to bring it in line with every other municipality in Delaware.

I don't know how realistic these goals are, but hopefully we'll have a chance to find out in my lifetime.

It Really Is A Happy New Year....

When you have the option to conceal your weapon and be prepared in the event your life is in danger.

I'm proud to say that, after a process that technically started on August 19th, I received my Delaware Carry Concealed Deadly Weapon permit today, December 31st.

Four and one-half months it took to complete this process, two and two-thirds of that waiting on the state to process my application and do all of the background checks and make sure everything was copasetic.

As I've mentioned before, now that I have my in-state permit, I'll have my Pennsylvania non-resident permit within a couple of weeks instead of a quarter of a year... and for a fraction of the price.

In case you've never seen one, this is basically what they look like -- I've removed and altered several things so as to protect it from being reproduced.

This is the front... if I seem to bear a striking resemblance to Russell Crowe, that's because I also felt it necessary to photoshop his somewhat homelier face over my devilishly handsome visage as to cut down on the number of Internet stalkers. *coughcough*

I do want to point out that this is a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon and not necessarily a concealed handgun permit. So, technically, this would apply to blades, chains, knuckles and so forth. I, personally, don't get that, but then again, I've never been in a fist fight in my life and wouldn't know how to hold my own -- a reason for obtaining this permit, so I have the best method possible to protect my children and family.

If you're a Delaware resident and have wondered about obtaining your permit, please, feel free to ask me any questions. If you've ever been concerned about your safety, I ask that you consider taking a training course and, perhaps, even purchasing a pistol... women in particular.

I can't validate this statistic; however, as a woman, you have a 50% chance of being assaulted in your lifetime. A 130 pound woman against a 225 pound assailant is simply not a fair fight.

Delaware CCDW Process Podcast

So, on of the Christmas gifts I bought for myself was an iPod Touch which is, technically, an iPhone without the phone, nor the camera -- a glorified PDA with built-in wifi. Now, having bought it more for being a techno-geek myself, I don't actually own a whole lot of music. The music I do own is generally Irish and celtic rock in theme.

So, I loaded up iTunes and went over to the podcasts section to see what was available -- I had 8 gigs to load and not many CD's to burn... I began to subscribe to a lot of things that interest me. I got the DCI Field Pass and, with my current interest in law, the Litigation Podcast. Of course, I had to get the podcasts regarding Second Amendment activism and found one called the Gun Rights Activist Podcast done by the guys over at Gun Rights.

In listening to the latest podcast, the host, Mark Vanderberg, solicited podcasts from listeners to explain the process for getting a concealed handgun permit in their state. Having done sound production in the past, I had all of the software and a nice condenser microphone already setup on my PC, so I opened up a new file and began to record.

The result was a 17-minute monologue discussing some of Delaware's laws, the process by which you make application for a Carry Concealed Deadly Weapon permit here, as well as my experiences with the process.

You can get the podcast HERE.

My segment starts about twenty minutes in, after which an interview with John Pierce over at OpenCarry.Org -- forums I frequent -- can be heard.

Enjoy.

Merry Christmas to All

Happy Hanuka.
Happy Kwanza.
Happy Festivus.

Here's hoping your holidays have been safe and enjoyable!

So, I know that Santa was good to me and I received almost everything I'd ask for -- some of these books included:

• Making Sense of Search & Seizure Law
• Origin of the Second Amendment
• Black's Law Dictionary
• Pirates and Patriots, Tales of the Delaware Coast

My family truly thinks I'm looking to make a career leap from web developer to lawyer; however, I'm already too much in debt to attempt to earn a degree from a proper law school -- in the meantime, I'll continue to work on a degree in Criminal Justice for fun.

The last book, Pirates and Patriots, Tales of the Delaware Coast... Written by a Southern Delaware columnist who authors a regular column called 'Delaware Diaries' I was drawn to this book as it mentions my great ancestor -- the first of my line to come to the new world in the early 1600's who is recognized as 'The first settler of Sussex County'...

I also got that boat motor (hand blender) that I've been wanting for some time, though my thought it odd that I wanted the kitchen appliance and my wife the belt sander for her hobbies; it's usually the other way around.

So, my two girls are on a short break before the new year, so I'll be hard at work watching them... it's good to have some down time to spend with my daughters. I honestly hope you all have the same opportunity.

Blackhawk Thoughts...

So, in preparation for carrying concealed, since I already own Blackhawk's CQC Serpa holster which, I must admit I truly enjoy because of the Level II retention, I decided to pick up a shoulder rig for the holster.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the holster, it's an injection molded holster and the assembly where the belt attaches to the holster is removable so you can have your standard belt attachment, replace it with the 'paddle' so it rides much closer to your body or, for guys like me who have a little bit of what you might call 'love handles' pick up some spacer brackets so it rides out from your waist a little more -- also nice for competition.

So, the holster rig is nylon and velcro and you're able to remove the belt attachment from the holster and attach it to the rig.

This was my first time wearing anything other than a belt holster so, continuing with Blackhawk's stellar reputation for little to no documentation, it took me a few minutes to figure out what was what.

Under my right arm (right side of the picture -- these were taken in a mirror) you can see two rails there where you can place one of Blackhawk's dual magazine holster. So, my first thoughts are with, being chubby and all, that the only way I can really effectively draw my weapon is to bring my weak arm above my heart (so as not to sweep my arm during the draw) and really reach over to release it from the holster.

You may not be able to tell from this image, but my upper body is twisting slightly, which may be normal but, once again, I've never worn this kind of harness before.

One complaint I've heard before is that the harness does flop around quite a bit and, while I tend to agree to some extent, I've found that if you push the straps that hook onto your belt on either side a bit more forward, it'll create a decent amount of tension to keep it fairly secure against your body.

Outside of that, all straps are adjustable and the medium size fits up to 56" I believe the Blackhawk representative told me -- thankfully, I won't need all of that, but I'm looking forward to being prepared... As I walk through the Christiana mall and see some of the people there (especially during Christmas time) and think back to the three (four?) jewelry store robberies in plain daylight, I truly am glad that I'll be prepared to protect my family should the need arise.

(Almost) In Like Flynn...

I dropped the Prothonotary a call today -- since they sent my previous communication out almost a week after it had been dated and you only get ten days to file an appeal for a denial, I wanted to stay on top of things...

After being transfered to the appropriate person, she notified me that my paperwork had recently come back and I'd be receiving my permit sometime next week. Needless to say, I'm rather relieved that, after five months and spending over $400, this process wasn't in vain.

The good news? Once I receive my permit in the mail, I make a photocopy of that and my license, send off a $25 fee or so and, within a week, I'll have my Pennsylvania non-resident permit. Quite a difference in processes, I must say.

With those two permits, I'll be able to legally conceal in 27 states... Thankfully, I don't travel too often into Maryland or New Jersey, where it's almost impossible for a resident, much less a non-resident, to obtain a permit unless you're close friends with a government official in very high places.

I'll be happy to give my business to the Delvania area stores.

Response to the Judiciary

So, I stayed up a bit last night and drafted my response to the Judge who is reviewing my application. After getting some wording advice from a few friends and running it through the spell checking, I printed out two copies and ran over to the Office of the Prothonotary at the New Castle County Court House on King Street, since I only work about two blocks a way.

As a point of interest, they made me check my mini-flashlight at the front desk -- after the officer inspected it and made sure it really did illuminate what it was pointed at, he gave me a claim check and told me to pick it up on my way out. I guess he didn't want anyone getting around in the event of a blackout... Okay, that was snarky, but hey, it's an observation!

Here's my response to the Judge:

Dear Judge XXXX,

Thank you for taking my application into consideration. In your letter dated November 30, 2007, you stated that my reason for the application, "...for the protection of self, family & property." was insufficient and requested further written explanation for the need of a permit before the application would be acted on. I would like to correct one error in your letter -- the reason stated on my application actually read, “Lawful defense of myself and my family." In all honesty, I don't value my property over the life of another human being and it is not a reason for my application.

That being said, my family: XXXX who is thirty-six, my oldest daughter, XXXXX, who is four and my youngest daughter, XXXX, who is one, are my primary reasons for making application for this permit. As active northern Delawareans, we work and are schooled in urban areas and spend a good deal of our recreational time outdoors. Though we've had very few encounters that have made me fear for my life or the lives of my family, each time we're out I pray for an uneventful day. I have no real story of being a victim that precipitated my application for this permit and, if granted, I pray that I will never find need for its use; however, in the event I'm put into a position to protect the lives of my wife and children where mortal danger is certain, I want to be prepared to adequately perform that duty.

In my initial research, I came across a quote from former Attorney General Oberly who stated in January of 2006 in an article written on DelawareOnline.com, "Under current Delaware law, virtually anyone, excepting felons, may strap on a holster and carry a gun in plain view. You can even carry a rifle over your shoulder and walk around with it." While I understand that, lawfully, I’m able to "open carry" without a permit, I do feel that, in some situations, this might warrant unnecessary attention from both the public and law enforcement officers where as being permitted to conceal my firearm would allow me to be more discrete and not divert police resources who would undoubtedly be called upon to investigate a “man with a gun.”

In conclusion, I kindly request that Your Honor see fit to grant me this permit. My wish is to be prepared in the event that my family or I is in imminent mortal danger. I'm sure you'll find that the research done by the State Police and Attorney General's office shows a pristine record and that I am a respected member of the community with no ill-intent.

If you have any further concerns or questions regarding my application, please feel free to contact me at your leisure and I will happily provide you with any information you may require.

Respectfully,

My Signature

-------------
The waiting game continues.

Permit Update

I'll be taking a reply into the courthouse tomorrow.

My Ideal Government

Sure, it has some flaws, but in keeping with my line of thought in not legislating morality, I've decided that there had to be a better way to write the laws that govern the people. Morals are a byproduct of religion -- not necessarily a bad thing, but they have absolutely no place in modern government. In a country where so many politicians preach the rights of the people, you'd think this to be a fairly simple deduction. Not so apparently.

The Rights of the People
When you start writing laws based on decency and morality, whose morals are being used for that benchmark? I'll concede that there needs to be some tests for decency when it comes to issues involving minors and media exposed to minors; however, a lot of other things you can think of can be legislated by the rights of the people.

As it currently stands, property rights trump all others -- you're on my property? You're subject to my restrictions. The right to freely speak and express ones' ideas -- my manner of dress is how I express myself, leave me alone. Fairly straight-forward so far, yes?

About that morality thing... How would you take into account crimes of violence? That's certainly immoral, yes?

Perhaps, but even by todays standards, capital punishment and all, the government doesn't really seem to care much about that, now do they?

Murder. You're taking away someone's right to live. Theft. You're taking away someones right to own property. Assault. You're ultimately forcing that person to bear the financial burden of medical bills and preventing them from prospering while they heal.

I'm simply trying to stress the point that, in any legislation, you have to first ask yourself, "Is this even coming close to infringing on the rights of the people?" If the answer is, "Yes," toss your draft into the wastebasket and start again.

If, someday, we ever go back to living by the Constitution and truly basing our lives from the ideas and freedoms our founding fathers intended us to have, with justice being blind, the world would be a much better place.

When Every Second Counts...

When every second counts...

"The two shootings, the first at a Christian missionary center in Arvada and the second at a Colorado Springs megachurch, left a gunman and four victims dead and six wounded, authorities said."

"A black-clad gunman who attacked worshippers at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, initially killing one and wounding four, was killed by "a courageous security staff member," Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers said."

"The suspect was confronted by a security guard," Myers said at a news conference late Sunday. "She shot the suspect, and the suspect subsequently died at the scene."

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Once the police were called, it took them three minutes to respond. In that time, ten people fell prey to his attack...

When every second counts, the police are minutes away.

The security guard is being hailed as a hero who, undoubtedly, prevented the injury and deaths of 'countless' others. One person makes a difference... Regardless of your politics, religious views or your feelings about guns, please have some way to protect yourself and your family.

And In Local News... Underwear.

I heard the lady who blogs Delaware Curmudgeon on WDEL this afternoon on my way to pick up my daughter after school and the topic was about a Wilmington City Councilperson who's attempting to introduce 'decency legislation' in an attempt to get kids to pull up their pants. She wound up writing an open letter to the council members which pretty much mirrored my thoughts on the issue...


In all honesty, what's the difference between the above? The one on the left is a pair of womens underwear and the one on the right is a bikini bottom bathing suit? With this legislation, will swimming pools be a thing of the past?

Here's my primary beef: Don't legislate morality. One man's, "Oh, my god!" can always be another man's, "No big deal." Attempting to legislate morality (keeping in mind, who's morals are we using as a base) has gotten society into trouble with regards to discrimination and turning people into classes. Justice should be based on the rights of the people and it should be completely blind to race, creed, religion, sexual preference, weight and wardrobe choice.

Speaking of wardrobe choice, that's all this is. And what does that mean? It means it's how someone is choosing to express themselves which is a freedom that is guaranteed to us by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Don't get me wrong, I work at a local college and a day doesn't go by where I don't want to cuff one by the neck and tell them to pull up their damned pants. If folks ever want to make something of themselves in a respected position that's going to allow them to support a family, they'll need to adjust to what people accept as 'normal'. Until the time comes when THEY make the choice to adjust, if they ever choose to, don't FORCE them to in the mean time.

The radio host, Allan Loudell, had made a comment that the manner in which these folks were dressing had some correlation to criminal activity -- I really would love to know where he found that statistic; however, to it I have two comments:

1) Does the Councilman really think that by changing the way people dress it's going to somehow curtail crime in Wilmington? Get serious.

2) This is a GOOD thing -- during the course of a police investigation, nothing helps speed things along more than someone wearing a sign that says, "I'M THE CRIMINAL", which, according to this correlation, is exactly what it's doing. So, why kill the home field advantage as it were?

Almost There...

I suppose I should probably post what all else has been involved in the process and to show how insane it is to get a permit in Delaware:

July 31: Bought my first firearm ever -- S&W Sigma 9mm. (-$280)

Aug 19: Started my training course as required by the state. (-$225)

Aug 30: Bought my Springfield XD (-$399)

Sep 2: Finished my training course.

Sep 5: Arranged to have my intent to obtain a permit published in the Legal Notices in the News Journal. (-$74)

Sep 17: Make an appointment for fingerprinting/background check on Oct 9.

Sept 18: Sold my Sigma 9mm. Yay. (+$350)

Sep 28: Obtained all 5 character references.

Oct 1: Filled out my questionaire and had it notorized.

Oct 9: Got fingerprinted for my background check. (-$69)

Nov 1: Background check sent to Prothonotary. (Found out on 11/19 via call)

Nov 19: Called Prothonotary. Application at AG's office being processed.

Nov 29: Almost there -- letter from Delaware DoJ giving their non-commital, non-challenging, non-refusal recommendation to the Prothonotary. Time elapsed so far: 3 months, 10 days. (Image Above)

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On another note, Delaware's license is a 'Carry Concealed Deadly Weapons' permit. Delaware defines as a deadly weapon: a knife, billy, blackjack, a bomb, chain, metal knuckles, ice pick or any other dangerous instrument as defined in another section. That's kind of a broad definition as one could interpret that they could carry a concealed bomb -- what in gods name were lawmakers thinking?

Extended Mag Release? Check!

Got in my extended release from Springer Precision and went about installing it -- I took a 1/16th punch and punched out the mag release pin about 1/2" and pushed inside of the magazine well on the button catch, slipping out the old black one and put in my new stainless one, punching back in the pin.

It feels a bit weird, when I depress it, I can feel it rotate, but it definitely gets the job done. Before, I'd have to physically change my grip on the handle, drop the mag, insert the new one then readjust my grip which, I think was accounting for some of my inconsistencies -- looking to take this out to the range to test this weekend.

Supreme Court to Rule on Second Amendment

Hold on ladies and gentlemen... it's going to be an interesting ride.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would decide whether handguns can be banned in the nation's capital, a case that could produce its first ruling in nearly 70 years on the right of Americans to bear arms."

This ruling is, essentially, going to be the best thing for gun owners or the worst thing for gun owners -- it will set precedence that will change the course of gun ownership in America for years to come.

This will definitely make an issue for those who decide to open carry and perhaps even put a big twist on 'May Issue' states and other states like the People's Republics of New Jersey, New York, Kalifornia and Texas.

This is our worst nightmare and our best dream realized -- which one it will be, time and the SCOTUS will only tell.