Is CAMRA No Longer Going To Be CAMRA?

CAMRA has decided after 45 years it is time to let the membership decide the fate of the organization. The Campaign For Real Ale is consulting with almost 180,000 members to determine who it should represent in the future.One can take the survey after reading the 16 page consultation document, or attend one of upcoming the revitalization meetings. You do have some time to give them your input, because the decision on how CAMRA will operate in the future will not be made until 2018.

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Setbacks Why?

I happened upon a story where the Knoxville City Council upheld their 300 ft setbacks from churches, schools, day cares, hospitals and funeral homes for applicants seeking beer permits. Somebody needs to help me understand why we need a setback. Let’s go through them one by one. If a church is worried their members are going to sneak out for a beer before or after service, they have more problems than one. Some churches look down upon consumption and some embrace it, but either way having to go 301 feet for a beer isn’t going to change anything. Not sure why schools are an issue either, the tikes are not allowed to buy beer so no worries and the same for day care businesses. If a toddler is bellying up to the bar and being served we all are in trouble. Someone on the council argued a day car near a taproom would go out of business. I doubt parents of a quality day care are going to pull out their kids should a brewery or tap room open within 300 feet. Of course we want a separation for hospitals because, well, I have no idea why. Perhaps to keep someone from…oh nevermind, there is no good reason. Finally we land on funeral homes. Either they don’t want family members to drown their sorrows, or they want to be sure the dead don’t rise up for a beer. A Chicago area funeral home has a liquor license so they obviously know something Knoxville doesn’t about the dead and beer. It is worth noting there are no setbacks in downtown Knoxville and business hasn’t suffered. Setback laws such as this are stupid and those who support them seem incapable of change even when it is clear change should come.

Kroger – How Soon They Forget

Does anyone besides me remember the gun grabbing contingency is supposed to be boycotting Kroger? Last year Kroger put out a non-policy which basically said they will follow local and state laws and the response from groups like Moms Demand Action was basically to boycott. Recently NC passed legislation regarding who can use which restroom and without going into the politics of that legislation people rallied behind a Kroger store which posted the sign below. I guess either they really don’t care about boycotting Kroger or they forgot they were supposed to be boycotting them. Perhaps it’s just the direction the wind is blowing on that particular day. Seems to me Kroger has some of the most sound policies out there, they allow firearms where legal and provide facilities for everyone. Maybe everyone should just shop at Kroger and call it a day.

Are BB & Pellet Guns Firearms?

I saw an article where a man was arrested in NJ for holding a pellet gun as part of a movie and according to NJ law the pellet gun is a firearm. What a bunch of nonsense. I can see if someone wants to treat a BB or pellet gun the same as a firearm, but to define them as a firearm shows a complete misunderstanding of how a firearm operates. First let’s look closely at the word FIREARM. It is two syllables the first being FIRE and I hope we all know the definition of that word. Someone explain to me where in the operation of a BB or pellet gun the FIRE part actually happens. If a BB and pellet gun are to be classified firearms then an airsoft gun should be as well and a water gun should be added for good measure. I can see NJ law now declaring water guns are firearms and no one ever blinking an eye. I suppose the water puts out the fire and that makes it safe? Anyway, BB & pellet guns are not firearms and they never will be, they use a spring or air to push a projectile out the end of the barrel. While a Daisy Red Ryder is probably only good to popping cans or putting your eye out, you can get some very powerful guns, but the chances of them causing a fatality are very low should an accident occur. As I said, I don’t have a problem with the law considering them similar to firearms under the law, but defining them as firearms is asinine.

People, YES – Property, no

I am so glad we have classes on the use of deadly force as part of the NC Concealed Handgun Permit process. A man in GA left his car running to go into a convenience store and two people tried to steal the running car. The man opened fire and eventually one of the criminals died and so the man was charged with murder. You can protect yourself or others, but you cannot use deadly force to protect property. It is worth noting in NC if he had been in the car he could have legally shot either of the criminals had they tried to steal the car due to our Castle Doctrine laws. While you would hate to see someone drive off in your car, you must not use a firearm to stop them. I hope the man charged with murder is able to plea to a lesser sentence, but I’m afraid they may decide to make an example of his case which would most likely place him in jail for a very long time.

A Meme Which Misses The Mark

I really enjoy a good Meme, but recently I noticed one in response to the terrorist attacks in Brussels which really missed the mark. It depicted the Mannekin Pis doing his business on an AK-style pistol. I realize the artist probably didn’t know the difference and thought they were drawing a machine gun, but they drew a pistol since it has no stock. Even if it had a stock it was out of context because no firearms were used in the terror attacks in Belgium.

I can get the meaning behind the art, but it would be better to do what another artist did and have the statue pissing on a terrorist!

First Homebrew Club Meeting – What To Bring

So you’ve decided to attend your first homebrew club meeting and are wondering what to bring? Meetings vary all over the place, but you cannot go wrong if you pack up some of the following:

• Yourself – yep, if nothing else just show up and stick out your hand to meet people.
• Homebrew – or mead, cider, etc. Also bring the recipe, someone may be interested. Always bring at least a bomber and even better a half gallon of beer, less of mead.
• Calendar/Paper & Pen – in case the club announces events or you want to jot down a quick note.
• Tasting Glass – this is a must. Some clubs may have them, but if you don’t know take one with you it will probably come in handy.
• Attitude – and by this I mean a good one. No one wants a sourpuss at their homebrew club meeting.

It’s a short list of things and should not take up much space. Have your homebrew at the proper serving temp and if you don’t have any homebrew for that first meeting it often is a good idea to bring in an interesting commercial example. It may not be opened and used, but everyone appreciates someone who brings something to the party. So what are you waiting for, get yourself to that meeting!

Yet Another Reason I Don’t Want To Live In California

The Lt. Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, is proposing gun control measures to be placed in front of voters in the general election if enough signatures can be obtained in the next six months. Newsom is mounting a campaign for Governor and I guess he expects this to be a major part of his platform. A Title & Summary from December outlines the gun control points which are:

• Prohibits possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and requires their disposal by sale to dealer, destruction, or removal from state.
• Requires most individuals to pass background check and obtain Department of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition.
• Requires most ammunition sales be made through licensed ammunition vendors and reported to Department of Justice.
• Requires lost or stolen firearms and ammunition be reported to law enforcement .
• Prohibits persons convicted of stealing a firearm from possessing firearms.
• Establishes new procedures for enforcing laws prohibiting firearm possession by felons and violent criminals.
• Requires Department of Justice to provide information about prohibited persons to federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Now I think a few of those might be worthwhile, but the first is to remove any magazine with a capacity of larger than 10 rounds. I would actually hate to have to go through all my magazines just to figure out what I have to dispose of so I would not run afoul of the law. Last time I checked none of my magazines had been used in any crime so why should law-abiding citizens be penalized? The second sounds as if the state will decide at will if you can or cannot purchase ammo. That’s complete BS, why should some agency authorize me to purchase a box of 22’s? The third stops all internet sales of ammo, basically if you are not licensed you cannot sell. Now here’s what they aren’t telling you, currently no one is licensed so from where I sit it would be a means to stop all ammo sales by simply not licensing anyone. You can smell what they are cooking? Reporting stolen firearms is a must, so this one I can get behind as well as the one following and the one following that if you are a criminal, you lose your rights. As far as the last one I am scratching my head as to why the California Department of Justice does not report information already to the NICS system. It sounds like California is the problem, not law-abiding citizens living in California.

Anyway, a host of people are against this proposal and the list keeps growing. Currently standing in opposition are the California Rifle & Pistol Association, FFLGuard, Jews Can Shoot, the CalGuns Shooting Sports Association, the California Reserve Peace Officers Association,  the Coalition for Civil Liberties, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County, the the California Fish and Game Wardens’ Association, the California State Sheriffs’ Association, as well as the NRA and the Firearms Policy Coalition. I hope this dies on the vine and also hope for the sake of the people of California that Newsom is unsuccessful in his run for Governor.

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A Tale Of Two Memes

Either both are true are neither are true. One came from the left and one came from the right, you figure out which is which. 😉

PS: Both are true!

 

 

Costco’s Firearm Policy

One of the most popular posts on the blog has been one from 2012 entitled Costco’s Hidden No Firearm Policy. At the time the membership-only warehouse club was using a third party website to host the policy and had internal memos and talking points. Recently I decided to try my own links in that blog post and found they were basically dead. So back to Costco’s page I went and now much it is much easier to find the firearm information.

Today here is all it takes to find the policy.

• Go to the Costco website
• Select “Customer Service” in the upper right corner
• Select “General Information”
• Select “Show More Results” at the bottom of the page
• Select the link “Personal Firearms/Guns in Costco Stores“

Personal Firearms/Guns in Costco Stores

Costco Wholesale is a membership-only warehouse club. It is not open to the general public. It restricts membership to a limited group of qualified individuals who agree to membership conditions. We have the right, and the obligation to our members, to enact and enforce membership rules. The Member Service Employees at the exit doors are obliged to follow these rules. By obtaining a Costco membership card, our members agree to comply with the Membership Rules and the Privileges and Conditions of membership.

Costco does not believe that it is necessary for firearms to be brought into its warehouse stores, except in the case of authorized law enforcement officers. For the protection of all our members and employees, we feel this is a reasonable and prudent precaution to ensure a pleasant shopping experience and safe workplace. Our policy is meant to protect our members and employees in all warehouses around the world. This is not a new policy and we do not customize the policy for each individual city/county/state/country where we do business.

Our primary goal at Costco Wholesale is to keep our members happy. If you believe that our policy restricting members from bringing firearms into our warehouse stores is either unfair or excessively burdensome, or you cannot agree to abide by this policy, or you are dissatisfied for any other reason, Costco will promptly refund your annual membership fee in full.

So after over 1,800 views I figured it was time to set the record straight. I suppose if they  update the website again I’ll be revisiting the topic for a third time!