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Juts reach out & f*ck somebody!
The Indianapolis City-County Council passed Mayor Joe Hogsett’s gun control plan on Monday night. The decision is in response to concerns over violent crime in the city.
Unveiled in May, Hogsett’s plan splits into two parts. The first proposes stricter gun restrictions, subject to state law changes.
These include:
- Raising the handgun purchasing age to 21
- Mandating handgun licenses
- Banning concealed carry w/o license
- Banning so-called “assault weapons”
A 2011 state preemption law currently blocks cities from regulating guns. Despite this, the council voted along party lines, 18-5, in favor of Hogsett’s gun control proposals.
The second part, unanimously approved, targets serious offenders.
Indianapolis will hire three federal prosecutors. They’ll report to the Southern District of Indiana’s U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Violent Crimes Unit. The unit focuses on serious violent and gun crimes.
The city’s corporation counsel’s office will fund the new prosecutors. This year’s budget allocates $225,000 for their salaries, with future costs covered by the office.
Mayor Hogsett praised the council’s decision.
“Tonight’s Council votes on Proposals 149 and 156 prove that Indianapolis and its leadership won’t back down from taking bold steps to protect residents and neighborhoods,” said the mayor on Monday night.
“I applaud the Council’s bipartisan support for funding our partnership with U.S. Attorney Zach Myers, holding the worst of the worst offenders to account,” he continued.
“I also wish to thank those who approved our common-sense gun safety measures, increasing the purchasing age to 21, requiring handgun licenses, and removing the concealed carry of firearms. Tonight we are sending a clear message of where we stand about the causes of gun violence and the proliferation of illegal weapons on our streets,” he concluded.
Every Republican councilor, totaling five, opposed the gun control measures.
During the council meeting, Minority Leader Brian Mowery articulated his disapproval.
“I’m voting against this because I disagree with the toothless language and the policy itself, but also because it likely violates state statute and the state constitution,” he said, according to the IndyStar.
He further expressed concerns about the proposal likely contravening state statute and the constitution. Mowery cited the opinion of the Indiana Office of the Attorney General, stating that the proposal breaches the state preemption law.
There’s no doubt it does violate the state’s preemption law. As such, one can argue it isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. That said, the second proposal — the hiring of prosecutors — may help to put and keep bad guys behind bars.
We’ll see. As always, stay tuned for updates.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
In a shocking revelation, Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), recently confirmed that the U.S. government has been quietly working in collaboration with prominent financial institutions, including Bank of America, to mine the personal data of law-abiding citizens without the use of legal warrants or subpoenas.
This data includes sensitive information such as records of firearms purchases. In the video above, you can watch Congressman Massie (R-KY) question Wray about the supposed extrajudicial surveillance.
The disclosure came on Wednesday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” (FBI).
Wray was also raked over the coals by Congressman Matt Gaetz. The Florida Republican sharply criticized the FBI director for numerous alleged bureau offenses, including mass violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and a perceived lack of investigation into the Biden family.
Gaetz, citing low public trust in the FBI, voiced concern over Wray’s lack of scrutiny towards these issues.
Wray denied protecting anyone for political reasons, including the Biden Family, and defended the bureau, prompting Gaetz to imply that Wray’s responses were dishonest or ignorant.
Gaetz further critiqued Wray’s lack of accountability regarding personal misuse of the FISA process by FBI personnel. Despite this criticism, Wray maintained that there had been disciplinary actions taken for such misconduct. 
Grumpy
Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) filed a federal lawsuit. They lodged it in the District of North Dakota against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The lawsuit contests the ATF’s “Zero Tolerance” policy for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs).
This policy, enacted by the Biden Administration, demands strict recordkeeping. Any errors can trigger immediate license revocation. This policy contrasts with previous practices, which prioritized warnings and corrective measures.
Morehouse Enterprises joined the lawsuit. Doing business as Bridge City Ordnance, they face the potential loss of their FFL. They’ve incurred five minor recordkeeping infractions, none involving illegal firearms distribution.
Interestingly, ATF inspected Bridge City Ordnance after it joined another GOA and GOF lawsuit. That ongoing case challenges the ATF’s Ghost Gun Frame and Receiver Rule.
Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued a statement. He called out the administration for its politicization of federal agencies.
“This zero tolerance policy towards lawful commerce guaranteed by the Second Amendment is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing federal agencies against their political enemies. It also is just one more compelling piece of evidence to support gun owners’ demands that Congress defund the ATF,” he said.
Sam Paredes, a GOF Board representative, also expressed concern. He spoke out about the hardship businesses face due to minor clerical errors.
“It’s ridiculous that good people trying to make an honest living are facing this assault on their livelihoods simply over inconsequential paperwork errors. GOF is proud to be lending our support in defense of Bridge City Ordnance and all of those small businesses facing devastating consequences if this Administration’s hostility towards firearms is permitted to go unchecked,” Paredes stated.
Fox News first covered this case. More information can be found there. As always, stay tuned for updates.
It sure is nice to have an Ammo Factory in the family. In our outfit, that’s my cousin MacKenzie, Uncle John’s son. His reloading room looks like the inner sanctum of a major ammo manufacturer, and he has a passion for turning out better-than-factory fodder. I dropped by one afternoon with a bucket of brass for him to work his magic on. He was stacking hefty paper boxes into a .50-cal can marked “POOTS.” Yeah; I had to ask.
“Oh,” he laughed. “These are light-loaded, soft-shooting .38 Specials for Dad’s Tussey .38; his Pure Pleasure, he calls it …” We GunBums do most of our shooting together — it’s a family-and-friends thing — but everybody knows Uncle John sometimes slides out stealthily for solo range sessions. He doesn’t talk about them; just comes back happy. On that Great Stone Face others might not see “happy,” but we do. His rage-radiation level drops to zero. In the chain-reaction chaos of my recent life I’d almost forgotten about those solo sessions. What is a Tussey .38? Glad you asked.
Harken back to the May/June 2010 issue, folks, and a Guncrank entitled “Tale of a Roamin’ Pony — The Colt That Came Home.” It’s available online in “Digital Versions.” It was the story of a Colt 1911 built by master gunsmith Terry Tussey for Uncle John about 1981, when he was commanding officer of his agency’s SWAT unit; how a decade later it went astray, then 20 years later, was retrieved, refreshed and reborn in secret by Terry, and how that Colt came home. The Tussey .38 tacks a tail on that tale.
The .38 “Extra-Special”
Shortly after Terry crafted the Colt, Uncle John brought in another box. This one contained a special order from S&W: a round-butt 6-shot K-Frame .38 Special with a 3″ heavy barrel. He wanted the entire top machined flat then fitted with a full-length rib with integral target sights. The hammer was to be bobbed and the action slicked; the trigger smoothed and rounded on the edges, plus other enhancements. Finally, all but the rib was industrial hard-chromed and graced with a set of smooth, contoured wood grips. The result was a superb shooting, hefty but eminently packable backup for the Tussey Colt, or, stand-alone wear around the station in a custom hip holster.
For whatever reason, Terry didn’t tell Uncle John he didn’t work on revolvers back then; he’s almost exclusively a pistolsmith, and a great one. (He does selected revolver action jobs and other touches now.) He just did it — and Uncle John loved the result.
But the S&W, like the Tussey Colt, was sold when Uncle John was disability-retired on “half pay and full bills.” You’ve got to understand when Terry works on a gun, he does it for that shooter. And the distinctive Smith was crafted for one man. In 2010, while Terry was refurbishing the Colt 1911, he launched a broad search to locate the original 3″ .38 Special. He couldn’t find it.
If you run across such a 3″ Smith bearing Terry’s circa-1981 twin T’s engraved in an oval on the frame, you have an almost unique revolver. I say almost, because when he couldn’t find the original, he re-created it, and as he’d done with the Colt, simply surprised the stuffin’ — and some liquid leakage from the eyes — out of Uncle John with it. Why? Because, he said, it was the right thing to do. Tells you something about Terry Tussey, doesn’t it?
Uncle John has carry-guns, backups and home defense guns. While the Tussey .38 could ably fill such roles, now he shoots it only for the deep, soul-satisfying pleasure of it.
Not A Routine — A Ritual
I nagged him into a demo. As Uncle John explained it, a Pure Pleasure Gun needn’t be a slick tack-driver or even ultra-reliable. It can be a poor and arcane design, perhaps destined from birth for an early trip to the junkyard. The cartridge can be obsolete, the ergonomics awful, but for whatever reason, it appeals to you. The important thing is you delight in it, and can shoot it without expectations of excellence or anything.
It may be a cranky, gritty P38; a pitted, unwieldy Enfield No. 2 Mk 1; a Brazilian contract Smith & Wesson 1917 .45 ACP that’s two percent blue and 98 percent dings and gouges. Your “pure pleasure gun” may be your only gun, and this is okay too.
You don’t try for tight groups or fast splits; you don’t think defense scenarios or competition stages. You just “zone-out and zen-in” on the feel, the smell, the push of recoil and lose your goals, your cares, your imagery and ego. Uncle John caught me checking my groups — the Tussey .38 can shoot clover-groups — and waggled a thick finger at me: a warning. That’s not what you’re here for.
It took me a while, but I got it. The overwhelming majority of my shooting is “business” or intensive personal training. Both take real concentration. Sure, I get a certain level of enjoyment out of it, particularly when all goes well and the elements come together. But with pure pleasure shooting, it’s not about the machine; it’s about the mindset. It feels good.
Just think about it — but not too hard. Connor OUT