From a conversation at my lunch table in the cafeteria at work:
Prole #1: Hey, listen to this. There's going to be a protest to
get government to pay people's mortgages.
Prole #2: (Facetiously) Really? How can I get involved?
Prole #1: Just keep paying your taxes.
...that are located in Wisconsin. As much as the credit card regulations in this bill make me want to vomit all over a socialist, Senator Coburn's amendment was voted through, and the House adopted the same bill as the Senate, meaning that there will be no conference committee, and it will go directly to Obama's desk. The White House Press Secretary has said Obama plans to sign it even with the firearms carry amendment, so nine months from his final pen stroke, people in Wisconsin will be able to openly carry in these areas.
It's nice to see this bill, as the Federal Rule change promulgated by the Bush administration did not apply to WI, as it would have required a CCW permit, mandated CCW, and also it would have applied the State Parks' rules to the National Parks in said State. This law says that you can carry in accordance with State law in any National Park.
Woot! I'll update when the bill is signed into law, and we can start our countdown.
In this incident. See the news article here, or Gene German's Examiner.com article here.
It's good to know at least one WI District Attorney knows that this is not the proper application of the "Gun-Free" School Zone law.
I will certainly not call this the State's first Defensive Gun Use (DGU), but it has the implications of such, as it is the first using an openly carried firearm in public in recent memory, or at least since the widespread media coverage of Attorney J.B. VanHollen's opinion a few weeks ago that Open Carry is not de facto Disorderly Conduct.
Interesting to note is that this took place within 1000' of a school property, meaning that his possession of a loaded and uncased firearm there was a felony under current (unconstitutional - See US v. Lopez and applicable State-level analogs) state law. It does not look like he will be prosecuted, but I do wonder how long the statue will stand once people start carrying more often, and realize that they are unable to walk through their own neighborhoods due to this restriction.
Thanks to Gene German for the pointer.
I'd like to lend my notoriety (?) to the Farnese Montepluciano d'Abruzzo. At $8-10 a bottle, it is probably the best wine for the money I've been able to find. Wine of the week updated.
Ahhh, the State's motto.
I have always found it somewhat troubling as a scientist and critical thinker, due to the implication that "progress" is always of the good kind. "Progress," in my mind, has always simply been a transition from one state of being to another that was forced, influenced, or otherwise coerced by some mechanism, and that transition can lead to good or bad consequences, or at the very least consequences unintended by the architects of said mechanism. The vector is the unspoken (and most important) variable.
That being said, I bring you my (full disclosure: best efforts at a) comprehensive rundown on the state of Open Carry of arms in Wisconsin, and a little on how we got here.
Something like five years ago, I first got involved in real politics; I separated myself from the false dichotomy that is the liberal/conservative spectrum, and began applying myself in the research of founding-era political thought, going back all the way to the origins of natural rights in the Papal Revolt of the 11th century. Perhaps two years ago, I bought my first firearm and learned to use it, and I became interested in our state of law here in Wisconsin, as an educated and highly intelligent individual should not have much difficulty with silly little things like laws, I postulated. What I learned was troubling indeed. There are such a multitude of laws covering the possession and carrying of arms in this state (many hidden in the administrative codes enacted by fiat of the DNR), and so much pertinent caselaw, and so many contradictions in both, that a man could be driven insane trying to make a logical excercise of it all. I became interested in the movements to simplify (or otherwise improve) the laws to make my exercise of rights easier, more transparent, and less liability-laden. I found several, most of which were in a holding pattern pending the egress of Jim Doyle from the office of Governor. Being young and enthusiastic about my newly refined philosophies, I was dissapointed to say the least, but I found no other avenues of reproach for these governmental intrusions on my liberty.
The Interloper.
A little over a year ago, a gentleman* by the name of Gene German, a firearms permit instructor from MN, caught my attention with a novel idea: let's not do things the way we've tried (and failed) to do them in the past. Let's take the lessons of other political movements in other states, and apply them to our situation here! Of course! Federalism at its finest! The market of ideas at work! He had my interest. We would collect signatures for petitions, and go county by county to have each pass resolutions affirming that the open carry of arms in WI is legal, and should not result in law enforcement harassment. Locals could now put their government officials on the spot, and make them answer directly for the threat of extra-legal harassment of open carriers in the state that has resulted in the supression of an entire class of rights (the right to defend oneself, and the right to the means thereof). Even better, was that this is not where it would stop; he had a coherent end-game, which was the enactment of a comprehensive carry law in the state, which would be without rediculous overtures to special interest groups or silly "feel-good" provisions.
Irons in the Fire.
As we moved ahead with this plan, and started to educate people on their rights denied by threat of force, we found out early that the system catered heavily to the obstructionism of a few beaureucrats in every county, and that even huge numbers of signatories could not sway such unelected idealogues. In guerilla warfare, one never fights the enemy where they are strong and you are weak. We needed another way to achieve our desired result, but the petition process had proved invaluable as an educational endeavor. While continuing to collect signatures at special events and gun shows, we started contacting members of the legislature to try to get a formal opinion on the matter of open carry from the state Attorney General, J.B. VanHollen (which would have been an effect of the resolutions anyways, we had hoped). At about this time, something remarkable happened. On May 14th, 2008, a young man named Jesus Gonzalez was arrested for openly carrying a firearm in West Milwaukee, WI. We all met Mr. Gonzalez at one of our meetings (Liberty Training, Gene called them), and he attended several petition signing events. There were a few problems, though. First and foremost, this is where the enemy was strong. The responding officers had stolen Jesus' gun, and the prosecutors refused to charge him with anything. They had three years, after all. Without charges, Jesus moved ahead to retrieve his property (a many month long journey), and we then knew that this event could not be leveraged against the State to build the political capital to get an opinion from the AG (who, by the way, has been mostly an empty suit for his tenure). Furthermore, there were several philosophical difference between the Patriots and Mr. Gonzalez, which defied reconciliation, and so we distanced ourselves from his agenda**, as we wanted to be sure we could control the consistancy and content of our message.
Singularity.
A man is planting trees in his yard in West Allis, WI, on August 22nd of 2008, and men with guns storm through the unlocked fence and restrain him. After much ado, he is arrested by the law enforcement officers, and taken away in handcuffs. The gravity of this created an event horizon which would later prove unescapable by beaureucrats, ostriches, and obfuscation experts. Why? Simple: this man was formally charged in municipal court for Disorderly Conduct. While such State action had been long threatened, we could not find a single time when a man was successfully charged for this (excepting times when DC was a plea-bargained, or otherwise reduced, charge). After a short time, Mr. Krause sought out and obtained the legal counsel of Steve Cain**** of Houseman and Feind, LLP, in Grafton, WI, and with renewed vigor, legislators and members of the law enforcement community at large were contacted, and the pressure was kept up. The Man tried to move the ball back onto his playing field by delaying the hearing, and it looked like we were back into a holding pattern until February of 2009, while continuing our education campaign.
The Artful Dodge.
Late in 2008, a member of the public (but not, incidentally, a member of the Wisconsin Patriots) finally got his representative (Terry Musser) to send a letter to AG VanHollen requesting a formal opinion on OC, and in early 2009, the reply came. VanHollen's reply was as glorious an application of Orwellian newspeak and petty excuses as any government servant, real or imagined, could possibly muster. The backlash from the non-traditional media (radio*** and blogs) was opressive, and got the AG wiping his brow when thinking of his upcoming election. The pressure was on, but our agenda not yet satisfied.
V-WA Day.
Victory came for Mr. Krause on February 17th, 2009, when he was aquitted of the disorderly conduct charge, and the Judge admonished the use of the DC law in such situations. The only way this could become precedent-setting, however, is if it were to be appealed to a higher court and the same result reached. Mr. Krause has not filed suit against the city of West Allis for the incident, nor is there public knowledge of plans to do so. This may or may not change in the future.
Parabellum.
On March 20th, 2009, Jesus Gonzalez finally got his gun back, on court order. On April 10th, he was arrested again in Chilton, WI, and again, his property was stolen and no charges were filed. On April 14th, 2009, John Monroe, a GA civil rights attorney, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit aginst West Milwaukee, Chilton, and related parties on behalf of Mr. Gonzalez. While unrelated to the Patriots' mission and actions at this time, I felt it worth mentioning. It can be found here.
Forward.
On April 20th, 2009, the Attorney General of WI issued an advisory opinion that the open carry of firearms in this state is not de facto disorderly conduct, and should not be treated as such. This was in response to a letter from numerous WI district attorneys that had been promulgated by members of the Wisconsin Patriots in coalition with members of the WI Legislature*****. I will not, at this time, cover the political fallout of this, as it is inconsequential to the Wisconsin Patriot's mission, and we are already moving ahead with our next phase.
*Gene, you owe me a beer for this, as I've clearly added to your résumé by alloting you this distinction. That being said, this is my account, and not the official history or motives of the Wisconsin Patriots.
**To this day I maintain a cordial relationship with Jesus, and I see no reason it should be otherwise. As a member of a group, I will adhere to our mission statement, but I have never thought that philosophical differences meant that two people could not have a friendly relationship. I find his spirit and cojones uplifting.
***How radio can really be called non-traditional mdeia, given that it is only second to print in it's age, I don't know. It's certainly not mainstream these days, though, and I've heard it often rolled into this category simply because of it's coverage of news that the television media ignores.
****Steve Cain has won an election and will be leaving Houseman and Feind for Judgeship on the Mid-Morraine Municipal Court.
*****It is impossible to know (or divulge, were the knowledge accessible) the individual effects of the filing of a federal lawsuit by Mr. Gonzalez and the influence of the Patriots in the legislature to collect a group of DAs to sign the letter sent to the AG. We have no wish to start a pissing match, and this is only my account of the events. Perhaps we will all be debriefed post mortem, but why open our playbook now?
I will be writing a comprehensive post on the events that have transpired over the last week, and I might be able to share some behind-the-scenes on how this was accomplished. I have simply not had the time to dedicate to this endeavor this week.
UPDATE 5/6/09: I finished writing my account, and as incomplete as it is, I think it is a good overview for those just waking up to their newly rediscovered rights.
....one of the people I supported for an elected position actually won! Congratulations to Steve Cain on his election to the Mid Moraine Municipal Court.
Oh, and as I lament Darcy McManus' loss to Sandy Williams, I do know that this means the we might get a decent DA in Ozaukee County for the first time in 21 years.
I hate the government; only a bunch of useless beaureucrats could find a way to confuse simple issues to the brink of understanding by intelligent individuals.
So, I bought a car in Iowa (from a dealership) and I live in The People's Republic of Wisconsin. No big deal, right? Well, I had a few questions to which I guarantee no one has a definitive answer:
1) WI law states that I must display WI plates within two business days of operating the vehicle here. Iowa issues temporary license plates while the title transfer is taking place. So, do I switch over the plates from my old vehicle within two days of crossing the IA/WI border? Do I display the temporary IA plates until I get my title and can file a MV-1 form? After all, I am not sure I can display my old plates on my new vehicle until after an MV-1 is filed, which I cannot do until I have the IA title! Do I display the IA temporary plate in WI, even after the two business days have elapsed?
2) WI law has criminal penalties for making false statements on an MV-1 form (a Class H Felony). So, I bought the car for $X, minus my trade-in allowance $Y, which should be the taxable amount of the purchase $Z. However, I also had several costs that are not taxable that are included in my loan. The IA title and temporary registration fees are not taxable, and I already paid the IA sales tax on the extended warranty, which is not taxable in WI, either. The IA Title also has a "List Price" on it, which is the Blue Book value of the car (but thousands of dollars more than what I paid). Am I going to have to defend myself from a Felony charge if some fucking pencil pusher doesn't think the numbers add up?
This is why people become libertarian-minded. I could "lose" my voting and firearms rights over an administrative misunderstanding. Common law Felonies were crimes for which you could be hanged to death or given severe jail sentences. Modern law Felonies are a joke, including anything that could result in more than one year of jail time. I think I'd rather take my chances with my rifle and shoot whatever sinister agents are sent to collect me than to "work within the system" and have my life ruined by a bunch of parasites.
