 
James Schults [top left] owns Shults Media Relations, “A Public Relations Firm For The Firearms And Sporting Goods Industry.” The former Soldier of Fortune writer’s clients include . . . if we told you that he’d have to kill you. So what’s Jimmy doing in Colorado? That would be like a gun blogger living in Rhode Island instead of, say, Texas. Whatever the reason for Shults’ 10-20, and again we’d have to kill you if we told you what it was, it was only a matter of time before the Centennial State gun guy ran afoul of Colorado’s PC po-po. And so he did, to the point where he’s now “flagged” at the local 911 center. What does that mean, exactly? No sé. But it doesn’t say good things about his local constabulary’s approach to law-abiding firearms owners. Here’s Shults’ press release on his BB gun-related police problems . . .
Grand Junction, CO, July 24, 2013–Discharging a BB gun in the city limits of Grand Junction, Colorado (Pop. 50,000)  is illegal. In order to try to rid his area of an officially recognized invasive species, the Eurasian Dove which the State of Colorado allows to be hunted with no bag limit. James Shults requested a Discharge Permit to use a 30-year old Daisy BB gun to run the pest from his residence area and from neighbor’s areas with their permission.
After inspection of Shults’ neighborhood by two separate police sergeants the Chief (whom Shults likes personally) refused the permit as the neighborhood of single story houses is densely populated. Shults, a former National and , multi-state rifle champion and holder of many state and national records has no problem with the Chief’s decision, though he says “… it was sort of funny, of course it is densely populated, it’s inside the city.”
However, Shults noted that the Chief also sent copies of his denial letter to the Deputy Chief of Police, Grand Junction’s police Patrol Commanders and the city’s new high-tech 911 Center. Shults checked with his many law enforcement friends and contacts around the country and they confirmed he had indeed been targeted and flagged by the police and 911 center. According to Shults some LEOs (law enforcement officers) humorously chided him saying– “That’s what you get for trying to do the right thing.”
Shults says–“All this action for requesting a legal permit to discharge a Daisy BB gun in the city seems a little twisted. Am I now a terrorist to be watched by the full command of the Grand Junction police to include a flag on my residence by the 911 Center? I must be a very dangerous man armed with my Daisy BB gun; obviously a weapon of mass destruction.”
However, Shults gets serious when he compares this type of local targeting and flagging of citizens by the Federal government’s enforcement organizations to include the IRS, FBI, NSA, etc. and in his city. He has notified the Grand Junction City Council to modify this policy so that law abiding average non-threatening citizens do not appear on it.
Shults Says–“In my case, when a local citizen requests a legally designated permit for a BB gun and finds himself on city police flagged watch lists, it is sad, silly and serious. This practice is something our City Council should immediately investigate and eliminate and order citizen’s names removed from and certify that that has been done. The flagging exceptions would/could be citizen threats against officers, other citizens and property-but not interesting or non-threat contacts between the police and citizens as mine was.”
–XXX–
Well, BB guns are clearly “gateway” weapons to more powerful, more addictive guns…
It’s true which is why in NJ you need to have to have a background check, fingerprinted, get two references, consent to a mental health check, and an employer verification check (which the police will often treat the same as an additional reference) to buy one, and the process often takes at least 6 or more months to complete.
(and No I am not making up that process to buy a BB gun in NJ. If some one wanted a BB gun in NJ they have to get their FPID as BB guns are considered firearms)
You literally missed like 10 steps. …not even kidding.
You have GOT to be joking!
Grand Junction is on the other side of the state from Boulder, in that part of the state where people ought to know better, even the damn LEOs…
D’oh! Text amended.
Interesting note for the day:
Weapon of mass destruction refers specifically to nuclear weapons because they operate specifically by “destroying mass/matter” to create an explosive reaction. The usage of WMD to describe a large scale damage weapon is surprisingly not correct.
According to the Soldiers Manual of Common Tasks (and virtually any other publication on the topic) Nuclear, Chemical and Biological weapons are all considered ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. The ‘Mass’ in this appellation refers not to matter but to the scale of the weapons effect in terms of casualties. For the record, mass and matter are not interchangeable terms. Please cite the reference you used.
THIS….! CBR weapons are weapons that can cause MASS casualties.. Thought that was pretty common sense.. but there I go again – thinking common sense is common.
Yeah, no… it isn’t…
Technically, mass isn’t being destroyed, it’s being converted to energy. Big badda boom.
Fifth Element reference acknowledged, received and appreciated.
Mass acceleration by virtue of the sub-atomic mass’ binding forces (electromagnetic, nueutronic binding [in the case of heavy metals], forces we don’t yet know/understand, etc.
Since no substantial kinetic energy conversion can occur (on a scalar level) a non-entropicly enthalpic moment occurs.
Atleast that’s how I see it happening given the sustainability of H2O heated reactions in nuclear reactors.
No it doesn’t. You’re just making that up. The original reference was in 1937 after the Fascist bombing of Guernica.
See wikipedia, specifically the origins.
You went to public school, yes?
“To protect and serve” should read “To monitor and pounce”.
Real confidence booster in our police forces.
If you are a “Gun Guy” and you live in New England — and your state is cracking down on your rights — try VERMONT — we have not yet been victimized by organized civilian disarmament — and we very clear protections from the Vermont Constitution.
Note: The VT Constitution — which began with the Republic of Vermont 1777-1791 (yes, we were an independent Republic longer than Texas) — was the first in the new world to outlaw slavery — NYS got around to that 50 years later. VT was never a slave state. We are trying to keep it that way.
I looked at VT when fleeing CT but chose NH instead. What’s with VT’s suppressor law? Still a no-go or has it changed?
WTF… really? I have a “Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the 50 States” from 2009 (I think) that shows Vermont as a 100% free state! WTF! WHY would they make them illegal? WHEN was the last time a f*cking CAN was used in a crime in f*cking VERMONT!? I guess I’ll stay in Maine.
There goes my retirement plan. Mother F*cker!
As a fellow New Englander, I can advise you to enjoy it while you can. When I visit your fine state, I meet a lot of New York transplants. We all know what California transplants have done to Colorado.
And, oh yeah, my state also has a very clear Constitution, which the General Assembly promptly ignored when they passed civilian disarmament laws.
Rhode Island Constitution Article I, Section 22
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
But infringe they do. Go figure.
That was my plan until 5 minutes ago. Figure out the suppressor issue and I’ll be snow mobiling to your house to drink cider Manny. Otherwise, no deal.
What the Hell do I need a suppressor for? When I fire, I want the object of my attention to be blinded by the flash, hit by the projectile, and knocked down by the blast. And I want it heard on the other side of the world. These are all deterrent effects of firing my weapon.
10-20, maybe?
10-40 = Silent run — no light, siren
10-4. Text amended.
Police department reply – “Request denied. You’ll shoot your eye out!”
Somebody had to say it.
this guy needs to zip it before he gets “SWAT-ed”.
Jeeze, I shoot pellet guns inside my house. They’re harmless.
So is the divorce pending or already taken care of?
You’ve been there! I’ve got a Weirauch air pistol for sale on Armslist because the wonderful gal I married simply can’t get used to pellets whizzing down the hallway.
I live in Grand Junction. This part of the state is common sense and remember that that is the police. I do live in an area that is only patrolled by Sherrifs which is only but a couple of miles away from the area GJPD patrols. It is common sense over here BUT sometimes you get a few interesting people over here. I would welcome you to our mountain town to check it out and start having more questions than I have answered to.
+1
Living under the jurisdiction of one helluva Sheriff, Stan Hilkey, Mesa County (who is one of the 54 pro-2A sheriffs in CO). Chief John Camper, I’ve agreed with you on so many things; but in this case, what a let down.
If you have to designate 3 officers for the HOT (Homeless Outreach Team), spending time and money doing social work for less than .5% of the city in “Bum Park” and along the river, but have a problem with someone wishing to operate within the confines of the law, then we have a priority problem here. And when I say we, I include myself in the mix, b/c I work in the City of Grand Junction, and spend money in the city, the sales taxes of which pay your salary.
PS – Double-ridiculous to put the Grand Valley Regional Communications Center on alert for Mr. Shults. Crime is up while BB-gun to bird shootings are way down…
Anyone wishing to redress grievances under the First Amendment can write to Chief John Camper at [email protected]
It seems to me this is further proof that data-bases and policies of this kind are not intended for investigation or prevention. If they were the LEO agencies wouldn’t want to dilute there data with some many potential false positives. But rather, this indicates that the data-bases are for the purpose of having dirt on anything and anyone that can be used against them should they ever become inconvenient or hinder various bureaucracies in the future.
Lets say you get flagged, for generally doing nothing wrong. Months or years later you are found to be an annoying blogger who has publicly criticized an administration – perhaps leaked some damning info. Well how much the better that you had been flagged by Law enforcement before. That’s probably enough for a warrant right there.
Repeat after me: Cops are our friends. Cops are our friends. Cops are our friends. . . .
There’s some perverse part of me that wants to get on a “flag” list. When the State elects to become your enemy, it is a badge of honor, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, now that LEOs tasked with upholding the law are actively litigating against the State that issues them, I wonder if Gov. Hickenlooper is eyeing his security detail with a fresh perspective.
Chickenlooper, aka: Bloomberg’s Bitch, comes through the back door, or up through the sewer, when he visits GJ. Too many 2A “nuts” here on the Western Slope.
BB guns were a right of passage as well as a bonding tool for dad and I growing up, even my grandfather told me about shooting BB guns as a kid… what the hell is going on in this country????
I guess he needs to hunt dove with bow and arrow…. will that story be on TTAB&A?
You’ll knock your eye out, kid.
Shouldn’t it be you’ll nock you eye out?
There are places that require a permit for a BB gun?
What?
Kim du Toit had a term for this sort of thing. Not sure if it’s acceptable here.
Now there is a name from the Blogosphere I have not heard in a long while…
+1.
Computers are the best friends of gun grabbers.
In California (say around 1994 or so) the state enacted the first assault weapons ban and offered, for a limited time only, a “grandfathered in” assault weapons permit for the one time only sale price of $20 (always a tax on something in kalifornia). This permit had no expiration date (I know, because I obtained one for my AR-15 that I was going to use at the police department where I worked).
After obtaining one, our communications center software was “updated” and linked to the state system.
Low and behold, AW permit holders’ home addresses were “automatically flagged” when calls for service were dispatched at their homes.
Now keep in mind, you could not get an AW permit if you were a prohibited person for firearms ownership, yet your address was flagged as a “danger” due to submitting to registration required by said State.
This raised a question – was my home address flagged in this system.
A quick check revealed that it was, in fact flagged.
Lesson learned. The State never forgets.
I moved out of that home to another state (Oregon). I have been retired for seven years. I wonder if the liberal attorney who purchased my home will eventually get Swatted.
I also wonder if those AW permits are still good or whether the database was used to threaten and cajole the owners to relinquish their guns.
That made me think of something hilarious. If the state passes the law where all self loading rifles with detacable magazines are to be registered as assault weapons. Sooo when every 10/22 is registered and 5 out of 10 house holds are flagged, the system will be worthless.
ahhaha…
“requesting a legal permit to discharge a Daisy BB gun in the city”
Should have just done it any ways. It’s not a firearm.
In CO, a firearm is classified by the device’s ability to discharge a projectile at (unsure here) 200 fps or 300 fps.
That’s because you’re using Internet Exploder. It probably was talking to several sites from prior web views behind your window. IE is a bag of bugs with a GUI in front of it. Use a real browser!
Perhaps LE in Grand Junction found Mr. Shults’ legal issues in the Denver area now many years ago of interest/concern enough to make note of?
Which would come to light when requesting such a permit, I would imagine.
Just say’in.
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