The Uninvited Ombudsman Report, No. 100 - NICS Background Checks Expensive, But At Least They're Flawed

1- "Guns Save Lives" Censorship Opposed -- in Court

The lamestream media told you:

The city of Phoenix has censored 50 ads for the educational program of a local gun-safety training association, TrainMeAZ.com. We oppose censorship in all its forms.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Although the "news" media steadfastly censors news about firearms, self-defense cases, new firearm products, the shooting sports and basically anything that confirms that guns are good, save lives, stop crime, and help keep America free -- the media is intolerant of censorship by government, and in this case it's a good thing.

On May 11, the The Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation filed a free-speech lawsuit against Phoenix. The city has until the end of the month to respond, seek a dismissal or default in the case. Experts agree the city faces serious hurdles, but it now looks like they will object to the suit, moving the case along. The city changed its rules for bus-shelter advertising in March, after the censorship occured, but the new rules are pretty much just as vague as before, pose similar violations of free-speech guarantees and will not affect the suit. The new city rules for limiting speech in public are posted here, along with full background on the case:
http://www.gunlaws.com/TMA-Lawsuit.htm

I expect the city to repeat its claim that advertising at a public transit shelter is a non-public place. It doesn't make good sense, just like you I know that, but what do you expect from city (or any) government run by HINOs (humans in name only). That's part of our challenge. After the city responds, we'll have 40 days for the next step in the process.

Clint Bolick, the Scharf-Norton Center's chief litigator, explained the problem in simple terms:

If you drive around the city of Phoenix, you'll likely see at least one poster advertisement at a public bus shelter. Some ads show a juicy hamburger and the logo of a well-known fast-food restaurant. Other ads show tastefully designed wedding rings and the name of a jewelry store.

Imagine if a bureaucrat from the city of Phoenix woke up today and decided to pull down those ads because they don't actually say "buy a hamburger" or a wedding ring. That happened last year to another local business, TrainMeAz; a website that connects customers with trainers to learn self-defense and marksmanship skills. The city of Phoenix removed the ads for TrainMeAz after they had been on display for a week because the public transit director decided they didn't "propose a commercial transaction."

Phoenix officials can oversee the content of advertising on city property to prevent obscene material or truly inappropriate messages. But the government has no business approving one company's approach to advertising and rejecting another based on one bureaucrat's view of what is a commercial transaction and what is not. The free speech protections of the First Amendment and the Arizona Constitution require the city to enforce clear and objective standards that treat advertisers in a fair and equal manner.

The Arizona Constitution protects free expression to a greater degree than the federal Constitution – it gives every person in the state the right to "freely speak, write and publish." But the City's ordinance permits only commercial speech at bus stops, prohibiting all other types of advertisements. This doesn't comply with the state's broad speech protections. In Arizona, the government may not favor one type of speech over other types.

Today the Goldwater Institute filed a legal challenge against the city of Phoenix for removing advertising for TrainMeAz at 50 Phoenix bus shelters in October 2010. The Phoenix Public Transit Department cannot explain how the TrainMeAz ads are substantially different than other posters that appear on bus stops including the jewelry store, the fast-food restaurant, and weekend gun shows.

The Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation represents TrainMeAz LLC and company manager Alan Korwin. We are asking a judge to strike down the city rules that govern bus stop advertising so that new rules can be adopted that provide clear standards for the transit department to follow. As an alternative, the courts also could determine that TrainMeAz's ads never should have been removed.

If this is left unchallenged, there's a serious risk that bureaucrats will apply their own personal views to determine which ads are accepted or rejected, violating the First Amendment's protection from arbitrary government censorship. For example, a vegetarian transit official could reject ads featuring hamburgers, or a conservative official could reject ads for businesses associated with liberal causes. Thanks to your support, we are defending the First Amendment rights of business owners.

Follow the case, read the pleadings, get news as it happens:
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/korwinvcotton

FOX-TV Channel 15 in Phoenix did a lopsided story about the case, and it's nice to be on the lop side for a change, even if it violates ethical journalism. How many ethical violations can you spot?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7tQjMm0-xM

3- How Is Gabrielle Giffords Doing?

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing, except everything is fine. Not even the National Enquirer has obtained and released photos, in one of the most thorough blackouts of information in "news" media history.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

According to a knowledgeable private source in Tucson, where Congresswoman Giffords was assaulted and shot, "she is speaking in one-word and one-phrase expressions, and using a lot of hand gestures. She can take a few steps, and is weak on the right side. She is also expressing great frustration with not being able to say more, and recognizes Nelson. She called him by name." She still holds her Democrat seat in Congress, but hasn't voted since the day before the crime. Rumors abound that her handlers will run her for office next time around, regardless of her ability to do the job, and she has gathered large sums for a campaign. We all hope she recovers from her wounds.

5- NICS Background Checks Expensive, But At Least They're Flawed

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Ph.D. researcher John Lott, author of More Guns Less Crime, http://www.gunlaws.com/books4.htm has examined NICS and found that it is not what it's cracked up to be. Based on his report:

"NICS accidentally flags many law-abiding people, stopping those who simply have the same name as a prohibited individual from buying a gun. A similar problem occurred five times for the late Senator Ted Kennedy when he was placed on a no-fly list. An initial denial does not mean an individual is actually disqualified from owning a gun."

Using those initial denials to draw conclusions would violate every principle of accuracy, but it hasn't stopped anti-rights bigots from bragging about how good NICS is.

Take the numbers for 2008, the latest available. There were 78,906 initial denials. But of those, only 5,573, or 7%, were referred to BATFE for further investigation. So what about all the rest of the denials?

A report by the U.S. Department of Justice indicates, "The remaining denials (73,333 - 93%) did not meet referral guidelines or were overturned after review by Brady Operations or after the FBI received additional information." Lott makes this clear -- "To put it differently, the initial review didn't find that these individuals had a record that prevented them from buying a gun."

Relax, it gets worse. Of the 5,573 referred for review, over 44%, (2,472), involve "delayed denials," meaning a check hasn't been completed. Only 3,101 covered cases where initial reviews indicated that the person should have been denied buying a gun. "But the government admits that upon further review about a fifth of these referrals involved 'no potential or unfounded' violations of the law, leaving about 4,400 cases. That implies an initial false positive rate of roughly 94.4%," according to Dr. Lott.

Up until this point, the merits of the case has entered the picture. If a review of the records indicates that someone is a prohibited individual, they are included in the numbers. But of these 4,400 cases, only 147 seemed serious enough to refer to prosecutors. Of those 147, prosecutors thought the evidence was strong enough to bring a case only 105 times. Bottom line, 78,906 NICS denials yielded 105 cases, about a tenth of a percent, and that's without knowing if anyone was found guilty. At least, the system only costs us hundreds of millions of dollars.

6- Wyoming Gets Constitutional Carry

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Wyoming has become the fourth state in the Union to remove the infringement on its residents' right to discreetly keep and bear arms. Residents of the Equal Rights state, which has the lowest population of any state in the country, no longer need a government-issued permission slip to simply carry firearms discreetly, treating firearms pretty much like any other privately held property.

Although the law currently only applies to Wyoming residents, experts believe it should be extended to anyone legally present in the state, as Arizona did when it enacted similar legislation in 2010.

The national movement to ban government control of a fundamental human right is expected to gain traction in the next few years, as everyone learns that freeing people to exercise their rights does no harm.

7- New Ammo Developed

The lamestream media told you:

Nothing. If it involves the arms industry, you get zero reporting. This is called diversity.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Alliant TechSystems, one of the nation's leading ammunition makers, has announced it has received a contract from the U.S. Navy, worth $49 million. The money has been used to develop a "new special operations ammunition round with improved accuracy, stronger barrier penetration and a lower muzzle-flash."

ATK Security and Sporting developed the round in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Crane Division under the Special Operations Science and Technology (SOST) ammunition program. The U.S. has so many ammo and weapons developers your head would spin if the media ever reported on even a fraction of them all. Contracts like this are issued on a regular basis.

The ammo is being produced in 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm calibers, and is short-barrel optimized. It is designed for use with the MK16 and MK17 Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle Weapon System. This is not consumer ammo, but it sure makes you want to try some. Production will be handled at ATK's Federal Premium Ammunition plant in Anoka, MN. Deliveries are expected to be completed in 2015.

A public company, Alliant trades on the New York Stock Exchange, ticker symbol ATK.

7- Leader of Brady Group Gloats About Coming Gun "Proposals"

Paul Helmke, ringleader of the aggressive Brady Anti-Gun gang, released this statement about the "bipartisan" gun-control meeting the White House scheduled. (Note: The "White House" is a building and can't do anything; the person responsible in that building remains unidentified.) The meeting only included people who want to ban guns, an indicator of the plans, according to unidentifiable experts.

"On Tuesday, I attended a meeting at the U.S. Department of Justice with representatives from the White House, the Vice-President's office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, and others from the Obama Administration, along with leaders from the gun violence prevention movement, to discuss how to reach the goals outlined in the President's statement. Officials from the Administration indicated that this was the first of what they hoped would be a series of discussions. They said they had not settled on, or excluded, any relevant proposals.

"I began the discussion by listing basic measures that the Brady Campaign, and others, felt could make a difference. The list included: a strong background check system, with good and complete records of dangerous and irresponsible people, applicable to all commercial gun sales; more tools for law enforcement to stop trafficking in illegal guns; increasing the number and type of military-style weapons, including "assault clips," that should not be readily available to civilians, like machine-guns and fully automatic weapons. Administration officials then asked questions. My colleagues and I gave examples and arguments for legislative, administrative, and voluntary policies that could help reduce the bloodshed.

"The meeting lasted more than 90 minutes. Having this many Administration representatives spend this much time on this initial meeting signaled to me that the president is serious. He wants to do something meaningful about gun violence. After meeting with others, including law enforcement and "gun rights" groups [note: no such meetings are known to have been held], Obama's representatives will be presenting specific proposals. We hope those will include all the "sound and effective steps" that the president called for in his statement."

No word has leaked on what or how the anti-rights leaders will attempt to implement their programs. Rumors are swirling that every effort will be made to avoid going through Congress, since it is well recognized that the peoples' representatives there will not tolerate rights denial programs. Avoiding Congress would be a travesty bordering on treason, but since it is just one of many such moves, objections might be slight, and arrests of the perpetrators seem unlikely.

One leading gun-rights advocate, who was not invited to the "open" discussions, opined, "A seat at the table would be good, but only if used to present reasonable ideas -- gun curricula, self-defense protections, justice for civil-rights violators (just injecting civil rights into the lexicon would be good), gun-free zones vs. make-believe gun-free zones, the debilitating effects of hoplophobia and failure to recognize or treat the sufferers, and have the antis dismiss such common-sense measures; also a chance to stand against the anti-rights movement and cast them as such. I'm not sure which gun-rights leader is best suited to that. I'd love to have a crack at it, but I wasn't invited." An opportunity to do any of that was considered unlikely.

There are serious issues American gun owners want discussed, such as restoration of rights, national concealed-carry reciprocity, cracking down on states like New Jersey, New York and California that routinely violate gun owners rights, lifting the administration's ban on importation of historic WWII-era rifles, reining in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, especially the Phoenix office and its Fast and Furious and GunWalker operations, and the nomination of anti-gun rights Andrew Traver to head BATFE.

Plans to strip Americans of their guns, either in whole cloth or with a thousand cuts, are deep secrets at both the center of the U.S. government, and at the United Nations, which are known to be working in concert to attain those goals. We'll be watching.

--------

CONTENTS:
(searchable by item number)

1- Phoenix Sued for Censoring "Gun Saves Lives"

2- The Stats Expose The "Safest Border" Lie

3- How Is Gabrielle Giffords Doing?

4- Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

5- NICS Checks Flawed, But Who Cares

6- Wyoming Gets Constitutional Carry

7- New Ammo Developed

8- Obama's "Secret" Gun Ban Plans

Page Nine is now a blog! You can sign up for automatic RSS feeds and find a wealth of interesting information at PageNine.org

Thanks for reading!
Alan Korwin
The Uninvited Ombudsman