Yesterday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court to affirm the Second Amendment as a right for individuals to own and have guns was huge victory. The antis were handed a big defeat but it seems the spinning has already begun and the counter attack is beginning. A local radio newscast I heard yesterday one of the North Carolina Anti Gun Groups spokesperson was excited because they felt this was a good thing because they could now move on to more sensible and reasonable gun laws in this state now that the court has taken the total banning of guns off the table.
So in another words today I should feel reassured that mandatory registration of guns, limits on the numbers of guns I can buy, etc etc are reasonable because there is no reason I should think my right to own a gun is going to be challenged. Wrong!!! Wrong!! Wrong!! As easy as this court ruled one in the future could change that and these “sensible laws” will be used to confiscate and eliminate my right to bare arms. The antis are going to attempt to use this ruling to pull off middle of the road people who may be willing in the name of “safety” to trade small parts of our freedom to keep us all safer.
How about in light of this ruling some new sensible gun laws? Like the ability to Conceal Carry Nationwide…. How about the right of an American to purchase a gun any where in America with out limits to their home state borders? Huh How bout them Sensible gun laws.
We won a small battle but the war still rages to keep liberty alive.
Zibby Wilder director of public relations for Animal Protection Institute denies that their organization had anything to do with the release of two monocled cobras in Onslow County. As earlier reported in on this blog news sources were suggesting that Animal Protection Institute had released these cobras in an effort to get lawmakers who are currently debating a bill to make private ownership of exotic animals illegal to pass the bill.
These unfounded claims made by WITN, and apparently some unnamed “officials,” are not only an example of bad journalism (not citing sources, making unfounded and slanderous claims, not bothering to call the organization you are accusing — or responding to their attempts to contact you), they are great examples of how great a need the state has for regulation of dangerous wild animals.
I’ll admit that I have no love loss for snakes, well I’ll qualify that because fried rattlesnake is pretty darn good, so I really don’t have an opinion on whether we should regulate private ownership of them.
I know little about API but given the nuts in the animal rights movement I wouldn’t be surprised if someone acted on their own thinking they were furthering API’s cause. When you have the bigger household name animal rights groups like ALF & PETA involved in or financially supporting Eco Terrorism making a leap like this is not outside the realm of possibility.
Although people at API and myself would not agree on many things I would hope that we could agree that whoever the individual or individuals are that released this snake or snakes they should be held accountable. I further stand by my earlier opinion that if this was purposely done or if someone made up this story that this is an act of terrorism.
The Jacksonville Daily News is reporting that authorities were unsuccessful in efforts to capture what is believed to be a monocled cobra indigenous to southern Asia.
“The snake came up from under the porch and went toward her puppy,” Jen Grooms, founder and director of HERP Wildlife Rescue, said Thursday night.
“She grabbed her puppy and then it charged her,” said Jen Grooms, director of HERP Wildlife Rescue, which responded to the scene along with Onslow County Animal Control, Onslow County Emergency Medical Services and the Piney Green Volunteer Fire Department.
Grooms, who said the snake went back under the porch after charging the woman, identified the snake by peeking under the porch. When she looked, the snake showed it’s hood, which had a round circle on it - the sign of a monocled cobra, which is indigenous to Southeast Asia.
With permission from the property manager, those on the scene dismantled the front porch in an effort to capture the snake, said Animal Control Director Dino Einsig. However, the snake was not there.
“We searched for the snake and turned up nothing, so we secured,” Einsig said, adding that the snake was last seen at about 3:30 p.m. Both Grooms and Einsig believe the snake went into the woods.
“These are very fast and agile snakes, and somewhere in the ruckus it got past us,” Grooms said.
Where the snake came from and how many there are is not clear other news sources are reporting that two snakes may have been purposely released as I reported in my earlier story. We’ll continue to follow this as it develops….
On the heels of the possible King Cobra sighting in Cumberland County reports are now coming out of Onslow County that NC Wildlife officials have been called in to search for two Monocled cobra.
Officials say the two Monocled Cobras on the loose in Onslow County may have been dumped there by an animal rights group pushing for a ban on exotic animals.
The two cobras are believed to be near Mill Farms Road off Piney Green Road in Onslow County.
Officials say they found a flyer indicating someone lost the two cobras. They believe the snakes were placed there by the group Animal Protection Institute. The group wants to make it illegal for people to own exotic animals and uses such tactics to raise awareness.
Officials warn these snakes can be deadly with one bite. They urge you to stay away if you see these snakes and immediately call authorities.
WITN TV 7 Be Sure to check out video Story off this link as well.
Animal Protection Institute is supporting bills in North Carolina to have the state step in and begin regulating the private ownership of exotic animals. What a better tactic then to cause a panic among the public by turning some of these snakes loose. If a group or an individual purposely turned poisonous snakes loose I believe this should be considered a terrorist attack. Even if they didn’t turn them loose but falsely reported they did to make a point that should still be a terrorist attack in my book. No different then these other animal wacko groups burning buildings and other such criminal activities to further their loony ideas. Hopefully know one gets hurt and don’t worry I’ll continue to follow this story and bring you the latest.
A short Video to give you an idea of what is at stake.
This is a follow up to an earlier story I did about the court case that could potentially end the long standing practice of driving on the beach to access the area for recreational activities, the decision is in.
A decision that certainly seems to favor the special interests groups and seems to push sportsmen out. The beach access is supposed to be preserved for human recreational access and not to preserve habitat and species. Now I don’t think there is many sportsmen that would oppose sensible restrictions but to set up a distance equivalent to 11 football fields around a shore birds nest to me seems to excessive. At least my quick reading on the subject seems to suggest that is the distance that will be required.
It is also very concerning to me that little if any public input was sought and basically the special interest groups seemed to have the most voice. If I understand it right these are temporary rules while the National Park Service draws up the official rules. I have little faith in the National Park Service because access does not seem to be a high priority for them nor the desires of sportsmen.
Some Important Links to Check out; Tommy over at Carolina Region has an updated story and he has much more information and details about this story. So please check out his blog. The second link you should check out is SAVE HATTERAS & OCRACOKE ISLAND. Even if your not one who normally access the outerbanks please speak out and support your fellow sportsmen and an entire regions way of life.
This week is the one year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech and a renewed call for gun control. Our right to bear arms is guaranteed by the US Constitution and if we fail to fight to keep it we’ll lose it for sure. Across many college campuses there will be protests and calls for additional gun control. The University of North Carolina is no exception and given the recent high profile murder of their student body president.
On Wednesday, 32 protesters will lie on the ground on Polk Place near Gardner Hall for just a few minutes to illustrate symbolically how little time it takes to buy a gun.
Wednesday - April 16 - is the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting.
And one year later, not much has changed in terms of gun control, both in North Carolina and in the nation at large.
Why should there be any changes in the gun laws? It is one of the most regulated products out there. Myself I think we need to loosen the laws to make sure people have access so the scum that perpetrate such violent acts might have to think twice before they go on their crime sprees.
Gun control advocates often take the approach of having “sensible gun laws” that include gun registrations, waiting periods on purchases, limits on purchases etc. For what? They only penalize law abiding citizens and work to limit the number of law abiding citizens who can afford and meet all these requirements.
Why do we oppose gun registration? We know that at some latter date that information could be used to confiscate our guns. We only need to look at what happened in Canada and Australia when gun bans took place. New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina where law abiding citizens had weapons confiscated by authorities and then they were left unarmed in an area that was lawless and overrun with mobs to fend for themselves. That’s why we oppose any type of gun registration.
Today WalMart has announced that they will set up their own gun registration process to track all guns they sell. This is a significant cave on part of a major retailer and not really surprising given that they have scaled back many of the gun sales by eliminating them totally from their sporting goods section. What will the fall out be? I don’t know but we’ll follow it for sure.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
This year was the 30th anniversary of the Hunter Education Tournament put on by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission for middle and high school teams from across the state. A very successful program teaching youth outdoor skills like safe gun handling, how to shoot a shotgun, muzzleloading, archery, and orienteering. This is a voluntary program with over 200 teams from across the state competing to see who the best is and to have the opportunity to represent North Carolina in national competition.
East Wake High School has participated for the past 22 years in this program so after months of training it came as a shock to the students involved to have the school pull the rug out from under them at the last possible minute. Less then 24hrs before the Competition School principal Sebastian Shipp and District Superintendent Danny Barnes canceled East Wake’s participation in the event. According to the N&O the reason was “Ammo and students don’t mix”. What a ridiculous statement, hunting and outdoor skills are part of the rural community and these school officials are certainly out of touch with the heritage and culture of the community they serve.
This is a long standing program staffed by Certified Hunter Safety Instructors with an impeccable safety record. I’m sure more students get hurt participating in football & baseball then those that participate in this activity.
The Camo Coalition has sent out an alert on this issue and you can easily click here and go to their page that will email the members of the Wake County School Board. I urge you to take a moment and send an email. We need to let them know that activities like these are important.
A story that I’ll admit I have been neglectful in covering pits sportsmen against environmentalist on the use of Off Road Vehicles. Historically people have driven on the outer banks to access areas for fishing and recreational uses and in fact that is what the land was set aside for. In more recent years environmental groups under the guise of wanting to help or protect shore birds have filed lawsuits to stop the practice of operating ORV on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Latter today in Raleigh a Judge is expected to weigh in on this issue so we’ll have to see which side wins out. For a more in depth story about this I invite you to check out Tommy’s blog entry on Carolina Region.
A dermatologist in North Dakota has set off a multi state scare about how safe big game meat that has been harvested with high power rifles. He claims that after taking a number of samples of donated ground venison and testing them he found them contaminated with lead from the rifle bullets.
BISMARCK, N.D. - Thousands of pounds of venison donated to food pantries this year has become a contentious gift in three states. Officials in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa warn that the meat could be contaminated by lead from bullets. Hunting groups are calling it an overreaction.
“It’s alarmist and not supported by any science,” said Lawrence Keane, a vice president and lawyer for the Newton, Conn.-based National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. “High quality protein is now taken out of the mouths of needy, hungry people.”North Dakota health officials on Wednesday told food pantries in the state to throw out donated venison, saying it may have lead fragments. Officials in Minnesota and Iowa followed with similar alerts, asking that venison in those states not be distributed.
AP
I got my serious doubts that a high power rifle round can send off enough lead dust to fully contaminate a big game animal. Dr. William Cornatzer , the doctor who has kicked off this scare, is a board member for “The Peregrine Fund” a group that has been active in banning the use of lead ammunition in California & Arizona.
Lead poisoning is a very serious issue and I’d be shocked if this is an issue and has never been discovered before now given that in many places wild game is often on the table. I’ve harvested a number of big game animals where I’ve recovered the bullet and been surprised at how much intact the bullet was making a deadly mushroom. Other times I’ve had complete pass through where the bullet wasn’t recovered but given the exit hole I’m certain that there wasn’t much left behind. I don’t see how lead dust can go from the chest cavity in the heart / lung area and get under the skin and contaminate a back strap or a hind quarter?
This past year in response to concerns over nuisance calls about bears in and around Dupont State Forest the Wildlife Commission attempted to have a limited draw hunt. That hunt was canceled because of issues around the use of dogs and the rules prevented the NCWRC from enacting such a hunt. Well the NCWRC got those rules changed and plans were being made to hold a limited draw hunt on bears and feral hogs.
The Division of Forestry Resources citing public opposition has rejected the NCWRC plans and instead has decided to “study” the bear population within the park. Opposition to the hunt cites a state forest rule that requires dogs to be on a leash but a rule that is not enforced.
Transylvania County resident Charles Parris, who represents sportsmen on the advisory committee, favored allowing the bear and raccoon hunts. Parris said dogs already roam freely in DuPont because it is hard to enforce the leash law.
He said he was not surprised by the decision, but was not happy about it.
“I still think there’s plenty of bear. I know there are,” said Parris, who hunts deer but not bear. “I still think really and truly they should have listened to the wildlife resources on it. They know the population.”
Bears and other wildlife are a renewable resource that has to be properly managed and hunting is one of the best tools to control the population. We’ll continue to follow this story.
On another note this week is bear week on Moose’s Wild America so stop by and see some of my bear photos.
Earlier I posted about the story out of Florida about the Marlins Pitcher Logan Kensing and the stir he caused when he talked about shooting feral pigs from a helicopter on a family owned ranch in Texas. This is perfectly legal in Texas despite the attempts of animal rights group to tie this activity to the illegal activities of Michael Vick. This whole thing began when Logan gave a 60 second interview to a reporter with Palm Beach Post and answered the question “What’s most interesting thing you did this off-season?”
Here is a link to the short interview. One might wonder if Logan wishes he answered the question differently if he had it to do all over? I don’t know for sure but I doubt it. Although many of us are not a pro sports figure we face these types of questions and dilemmas often in our daily life.
I’ll admit that in the past depending on my audience I may alter my response to the question “what ya do over the weekend (vacation)?” but I find myself doing that less and less. Hunting is such an important hobby in my life that I’m proud and unapologetic about what I do.
Many alter their “killing” to “harvesting” which I guess is a more pc term but we can’t hide what it is we do because it supports the argument of those who oppose us by making us look ashamed of what we do. Hunting is a tradition and really part of our American culture so be proud of it. Stand up and be ready for your 60 seconds because you never know when you’ll get your chance.
Logan Kensing a pitcher for the Florida Marlins is now in the crosshairs of the fringe left because of his off season legal actions to help manage feral pigs and coyotes by shooting them from a helicopter. Logan hunts them on a family owned ranch in Texas that they manage for deer hunting. These animal rights groups wish to tie a legal practice to a highly illegal activity of dog hunting and the Michael Vick case.
Texas as many other states are having a problem with feral hogs as they reproduce at such a fast rate that control of them is important to prevent them from destroying both native fauna and wildlife. Once again this is an attack by the wackos with a hope that the mainstream populace will follow them and oppose such wildlife control practices. They know that aerial control of certain species is used rarely but in places where it is they will protest it with the hopes they’ll gain ground on their ultimate endeavor to end the practice of killing animals for any reason and to end man’s ownership of animals.
The Palm Beach Post has a video that was provided to them by Logan I’m not sure who did the editing but it seems to try to blur the issue because it appears he is hunting deer when he is hunting hogs.
We need to stand up to these idiots and not allow a legal practice be so easily tied to an illegal practice such as dog fighting. When the Michael Vick story broke many in the animal rights community attempted to tie the practice to hunting and here we go once again.
