German socialist: 'Guns for me but not for thee'?

"Leftist politician accused of illegally selling machine guns," The Local ("Germany's News in English") informs us:

"Manfred Hämmerle, chairman of the party in Hückelhoven near the Dutch border, has been accused of illegally selling a submachine gun, and possibly a Kalashnikov AK47 as well as an Uzi machine gun."

And then we're told this:

A conviction would be doubly embarrassing for The Left, or Die Linke in German, because the party is avowedly pacifist, and has been campaigning for a ban on weapons being kept in private homes.

So the socialists expect government to impose one standard on the people while the party elite are above such mundane limitations? How democratic. How...progressive.

How unsurprisingly elitist.

The pity is, so many sleeping through history believe the new "kinder, gentler" face of the left when it tries to distance itself from the monstrous tyrannical abuses of its past, such as this bit of apologia from Die Linke:

"The first great attempt in the 20th century to build a non-capitalist order was frustrated by the lack of democracy, over-centralization and economic inefficiency. In a perversion of the socialist idea, crimes were committed. This obliges us to redefine our understanding of socialism. We want socialism in the 21st century that lives up to present social and global challenges and possibilities."

See, we're really nice guys now. Those other "old school" progressives, well, they were just perverts. You can trust us with a monopoly of violence. Honest.

And here's the kicker, hypocrisy-wise, from someone working to impose further government-coerced disarmament on his countrymen:

“'My client did not exactly know the legal situation,' said Hämmerle’s lawyer Heribert Kayenburg."

Now that's almost funny right there. Until you recall that real people have their freedom stripped and lives destroyed running afoul of edicts Hämmerle and his comrades force upon them in what they perversely call "progress."

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Shipley case update

We've talked before about the case of John Shipley, an FBI agent convicted on gun charges.

From his wife Kathy:

"Well, it is finally here. The sentencing date is officially August 24th. It will be at 9:30 am at the new courthouse. I think the address is 525 Magoffin and I believe the 7th floor. If you can be there to support us, we would really appreciate it. We want to show as much support for John that we can. I would like to thank everyone for all their prayers and support throughout this ordeal. Let us pray that he does not have to go away on that date. We are hoping for a surrender date at a later time.

"Hope to see you there."

For more information, visit the Shipley Defense website.

I've taken a bit of heat for following this story because of John Shipley's career as a federal law enforcement officer. I typically respond that while I deplore special privileges for any group, I also insist on rights for all, especially in regards to the right to keep and bear arms--so I don't apologize for providing coverage, especially since I believe the implications are important for us all to understand.

Whether you sympathize with Shipley or not, if you are a collector who buys and sells, you'd better become familiar with his case.