Tag Archives: Second Amendment

The Maryland Minute Men

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Though this homeguard at the German POW holding faciity at Camp Fredrick Maryland is comparatively well equipped with an M1 Carbine late in the War, the early guards were not so lucky. (Image via German Pulse)

Though this sentry at the German POW holding facility at Camp Fredrick, Maryland is comparatively well equipped with an M1 Carbine late in the War, the early home guards were not so lucky. (Image via German Pulse)

Second Amendment luminary David Kopel has an interesting piece up at the Volokh Conspiracy about the Maryland Home Guard that sprung up in 1942.

On March 10, 1942, Maryland’s Democratic governor, Herbert O’Conor, called forth the militia of Maryland. In a radio address to the People of the State, O’Conor called for the creation of the Maryland Minute Men. They would provide “local protection against parachute troops, saboteurs, or organized raiding parties” — attacks that might be assisted by “by enemy sympathizers within our State.”

The U.S. military did not have arms or ammunition to spare. “Hence, the volunteers, for the most part, will be expected to furnish their own weapons. For this reason, gunners (of whom there are 60, 000 licensed in Maryland), members of Rod and Gun Clubs, of Trap Shooting and similar organizations, will be expected to constitute a part of this new military organization.”

“The Maryland Minute Men, armed with weapons with which they are thoroughly familiar from long use, operating in a community in which they are accustomed to every road and trail and stream, and aroused to fighting pitch by the knowledge that they are serving to protect their own homes, their family and all that they hold dear in life, will prove a staunch defense against any enemy activity.”

More here

CMP may get into the 1911 business

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An add-on to the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act that passed committee includes a plan to transfer the U.S. Army’s remaining stock of .45 ACP 1911A1 pistols to the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

Added as an amendment by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, while the NDAA was in debate in the House Armed Service Committee, it could see potentially the largest remaining stock of military surplus World War II-era handguns in government hands sold to the public.

The lawmaker disclosed that the military currently spends about $2 per year to store 100,000 Model 1911s that are surplus to the Army’s needs. While 8,300 have been sold or disposed of in recent years – largely through the controversial Department of Defense’s 1033 Program, which offers eligible law enforcement agencies up to one pistol per full-time officer – the guns still on hand have in many cases been stored since the 1980s when they were withdrawn from service in favor of the then-new Beretta 92F (M9).

More in my column at Guns.com

Want to own a gun in Puerto Rico?

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While writing a piece on a federal indictment of a police detective lieutenant in Puerto Rico for Guns.com, I took some time out and read the 20-pages of gun laws in the Commonwealth as well as talked to some folks back and forth down there.

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Here’s what I found out:

The island territory requires those who want to legally own a firearm first obtain a weapons license or “Licencias de armas,” which costs $125 and has to be renewed every five years. This permit allows the holder to possess a maximum of two firearms, which have to be registered with the police, for which they can only purchase ammo in the same calibers as their declared firearms. Ammunition purchases are limited to just 50 rounds per calendar year per firearm.

Then of course you still need to buy a hunting permit if you want to use your guns for sporting purposes.

Those who want a concealed carry permit must already have a weapons license, become a member of a gun club recognized by the police, obtain an additional $25 Target-shooting permit (“Permisos de tiro al blanco”), which allows the possessor to purchase larger amounts of ammunition and then file an application to appear before a judge to argue their case for a CCW. This typically requires using a lawyer to expedite the process and obtain additional training.

The process costs upwards of $1,000 and the number of permits issued are so low as to classify Puerto Rico as a “No Issue” jurisdiction when compared to such notoriously strict “May Issue” handgun permit states as New Jersey and Hawaii.

However, the Commonwealth also suffers from a crime rate that is seven times higher than that found in the rest of the U.S. despite strict control over legal firearms.

The elusiveness of legal permits on the island has led to a burgeoning black market in illegally procured permits.

Hence the indictment for bogus permits…

Pharmacist 1 Armed Robber 0

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In a tranquil village in Arkansas, the friendly neighborhood druggist was opening his shop on a Friday morning. Then a man, masked and armed, came out of nowhere and changed his life.

If you have ever been to Eastern Arkansas, opposite of the Mississippi river, you know how calm and quiet the area is once you get away from the big cities. The town of Dumas, in Desha county, whose population is but 4700, is one of the calmest. If you saw the 2011 film Mud, in which Matthew McConaughey stars in a retelling of the Huck Finn tale, then you have been to Dumas.

You see, the film was shot on location there and many of the local buildings and residents made cameos.

In this hamlet is a pharmacy, Meadors, located on Waterman Street downtown. It’s the kind of place that small towns live around.
Where gruff old timers gather to talk and relive war stories over a cup of coffee. Where everyone passes through at least once a
month. Stand still and you will see the whole town from Meador’s counter, one person at a time. The pharmacist’s name is Bill
Canada and on Friday October 18, 2013, the harsh reality of the world reached out and shook him…
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com

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