Shooting from the Hip

After spending two-and-a-half years fighting for the right to bear arms, 46-year-old James Cap was awarded a gun permit last week.

Why was he fighting for these rights? His condition as a quadriplegic made some question his ability to handle a firearm, especially because of his proposed set up. In order to aim and fire, he would need to breathe through the tube of a special device, which would have to be set up by a friend.

According to The Star-Ledger, Superior Court Judge John Pursel told Mr. Cap “I hope you enjoy the use of your firearm” right before signing the order. While the judge ruled in Mr. Cap’s favor, the debate on whether a person who is physically unable to shoot a gun should be permitted to use one.

On the story comments section on NJ.com, one person writes, “The police chief who originally denied the permit was correct. This guy (Cap) is an accident waiting to happen.”

Another commenter over at Huffington Post showed support for Mr. Cap, writing: “Thank god for some judges that understand what the Constitution actually SAYS!”

The Young Turks called the ruling “absurd” and said “I can’t have you pulling a trigger by breathing. What if you sneeze?” See the opinion commentary video below.

What do you think about Mr. Cap’s personal victory?

A new payment processor tailored specifically for firearms and accessories is aiming to blow away the competition.

Launched in 2009, GUNPAL Inc. is targeting a $3 billion firearms industry where licensed weapons dealers are unable to use PayPal to buy and sell firearms. In its Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal prohibits the use of its services for “sales of … (h) certain firearms, firearm parts or accessories, ammunition, weapons or knives.”

While GUNPAL requires the merchandise you are selling or buying to be legal, it “does not discriminate based on the nature of your transaction.”

“GUNPAL, Inc. is a transaction-neutral online payment platform with a philanthropic spirit,” said company founder Ben Cannon in a prepared statement. “It is also the first serious competitor for PayPal Inc.”

The company, which was founded in 2004, does not shy away from its affiliation with the second amendment rights. The site’s “About” page features Mr. Cannon, owner of Calguns.net, along with 17 members on its advisory board including the owner of CaliforniaRifles.com and a litany of legal advisers.

“GUNPAL is more convenient than other forms of payment as its comprehensive transaction tracking system is secure and reliable for our audits,” said Mitchel Capman, a licensed firearms dealer, in a prepared statement.

In addition to giving gun merchants a way to sell online, GUNPALS also touts a philanthropic aspect. On its homepage, the processor says a portion of every transaction will go to a non-profit organization. Currently The NRA and The Calguns Foundation are listed as the latest additions to GUNPAL’s charity program.

(Via ITS Tactical)

If you’re a gun owner and haven’t received an e-mail forward warning of the horrors of SB-2099, an alleged U.S. Senate bill that would enforce a federal tax on firearms, then you are one of the few.

This mythical bill, which has been dispelled since 2000, claims that:

• Senate Bill SB-2099 will require gun owners to put on the 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or own.
• It will require fingerprints and a $50 tax per gun.
• The bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it becomes a law.

All of the above is completely and utterly false (well, according to Snopes). But why would this rumor resurface after being disproved nearly a decade ago? According to About.com’s Urban Legends, the 2008 election was the catalyst.

The latest e-mail about the SB-2099 “bill,” is a combination of the 2000 forward and another e-mail about the Blair Holt bill, which is true. The amalgamation of both bills, however, proves false.

The recent forward resurgence caused the NRA to release a statement in August that said the e-mail ruckus had caused them to receive “hundreds of e-mails warning us about SB-2099”

“Like many rumors, there’s just a grain of truth to this one,” the statement said. “Someone’s recycling an old alert, which wasn’t even very accurate when it was new.”

The video opinion commentary below discusses SB-2099, saying that the whole thing is a hoax, and points to potentially more pressing matters for those who own firearms.

Barack Obama—who most recently shocked everyone (even himself) with a Nobel Peace Prize win—is making some gun owners in Washington a little nervous.

Why? According to The Forest Grove News-Times, sales of firearms have spiked in the area because they are simply unsure on how the administration will handle gun control. The paper says that the Tri-County Gun Club has seen a surge of 70 new members per month through most of 2009.

“People are doing two things: One, they’re personally stockpiling. The other is, a little hoarding – thinking they can make a buck,” the club owner told the newspaper.

And this isn’t something unique to the Northwest. Reports of the new president’s influence on firearm purchases began to surface at the start of the new year. One outdoor news service even went as far as declaring Obama the “Gun Salesman of the Year”.