But, but . . . we so enjoyed his counseling on the efficacy of shotgun blasts. "Not one more inch." Go forth among the heathen Yankee gun-controllers to try to "slap their jaws and force them to resent it."

Joe Biden on sideline in gun control talks.

President Barack Obama’s behind-the-scenes plans for gun control go on but without Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden, the White House’s public face of and private force behind the push for new gun control laws, and his chief of staff, Bruce Reed, are no longer involved in the long-term planning between the White House and major gun violence prevention groups, officials from several organizations tell POLITICO.

It is interesting to see where they are now placing emphasis:

The vice president’s disappearance from an issue he’d been spearheading is a clear signal of how much the focus has shifted from passing gun control legislation in Congress to winning reforms at state capitols and building local networks that can pressure and help elect members of Congress over the long term. . .

Officials from the White House Office of Public Engagement, which reports to senior Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, are now carrying the administration’s gun control efforts. OPE officials hold a regular meeting with the major gun control groups known as the Gun Violence Table.

The weekly sessions often include OPE Director Paulette Aniskoff or official Paul Monteiro along with representatives from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action, the Center for American Progress, Organizing for Action and Americans for Responsible Solutions.

The groups are coordinating a November lobbying effort and planning events to commemorate the first anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., massacre last December.

Officials from the groups said they hope to follow the example set by gay marriage advocates — turning victories in a handful of local battles into something that resembles a national movement. . .

With Biden largely out of the nuts and bolts of gun control, the groups have proceeded to plot a strategy in concert with the White House that emphasizes success at the local level.

“What’s happening now is a necessary and appropriate drilling down into states both to push the ball forward at the state level,” said Arkadi Gerney of the Center for American Progress, who participates in the sessions. “Also, that’s the best way to move the ball forward at the federal level.”

Our enemies intend to fight this out at the state level, so must we. We need to support as best we can the efforts of folks in the front-line states where the disarmament Borg has made recent gains -- New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Colorado. In a matter of days we will renew our campaign of smuggling into those states and get the message of citizen defiance and armed civil disobedience out into both local and national media. We will begin by symbolically but publicly slapping the political faces of the governors of those states. The point will be that they can make any "law" they want, the people can still defy it.

You know, in cleaning up my office of militia-period papers to donate to the Birmingham Public Library I came across an old banner that Pete had made: It reads "Gun Control: Not One More Inch." It reminded me of how much I miss Pete's friendship but also it made me realize that this must be our rallying cry. Not one more inch. Anywhere. Pass all the laws you wish, we will still defy them, resist them, evade them and smuggle in practical token of that defiance.

Keep me and our merry band in your prayers as we go forth among the heathen Yankee gun-controllers to try to "slap their jaws and force them to resent it."