Currently Browsing: Gun Rights
Feb 8, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 2 comments
Hear the final tale of her story of Emily getting her gun. But this is not over for her:
Now, this series is far from over. As I’ve found, the hurdles placed before gun owners do not end here. I need to figure out the laws on getting ammunition and transporting the gun to a state that allows practice shooting.
Most of all, I intend to keep pushing the Council of the District of Columbia to rewrite the its laws to make them fair and constitutional for law-abiding Americans.
Excellent. One of the great advantages to getting more women involved in shooting is that when they feel something is wrong, they have more tendency to try to do something about it than men do. Some of the most passionate new advocates for the Second Amendment I’ve met are newly minted female gun owners. I also believe politicians tend to be more sympathetic to women standing up for their Second Amendment rights than men.
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Feb 8, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 3 comments
I’m tired of seeing the media characterize the new preemption bill thusly:
The state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would outlaw ordinances in 30 municipalities – including Reading – that require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 24 hours of discovering them missing.
This bill would not outlaw those ordinances. Those ordinances are already outlawed under state law. All this would do is to put the cost of defending those laws on the municipalities that pass them in violation of state law, and give plaintiffs who challenge them attorneys fees and damages. All this bill does is place the burden where it belongs: on towns which violate state law by passing ordinances that relate to gun regulation.
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Feb 8, 2012
Posted by Bitter in Gun Rights, Pennsylvania | 3 comments
According to NRA, 13 anti-gun amendments have been filed in attempt to scuttle a bill to strengthen Pennsylvania’s pre-emption law. The House may take it up today.
It will be interesting to see how many get any votes outside of the standard liberal strongholds.
UPDATE: They adjourned until Monday.
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Feb 6, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 4 comments
While I can’t help but laugh at the tagline “Latest Gallup Poll Seems To Suggest Americans Becoming Increasingly Fearful,” it’s interesting that even the media in New York City now are doing stories on the number of women who are buying guns, and the Bradys are still essentially playing the ostrich strategy when it comes to dealing with the news. This is also interesting:
“Our membership has just exploded,” said Scott Bach, head of the New Jersey Association of Gun and Rifle Clubs. “People are waking up to the fact that they are responsible for their own safety.”
Good to hear that not only are new shooters coming in, but they are getting involved. I do hope the sand the Bradys are stuffing their heads in is nice and soft, because they may want to push a little harder and really get their ostrich heads down in there deep. I don’t think the news is going to get any better for them.
Hat tip to Cam & Company
UPDATE from Bitter: I notice that Dennis Henigan is listed as just an “anti-gun activist.” I guess Vice President for Law and Policy at the nation’s traditionally dominant gun control organization isn’t worth mentioning anymore.
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Feb 6, 2012
Posted by Bitter in Gun Rights, Pennsylvania | 3 comments
NRA reports that the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee passed the pre-emption bill today by a vote of 19-4. All of the Republicans who voted went in our favor, and six of the Democrats joined them. Politically speaking, the only name that jumps out at me as odd to want to pick a fight on gun rights in 2012 is Rep. Eugene DePasquale. He’s running for a statewide office, though one that NRA doesn’t grade on (to the best of my knowledge).
In the alert, NRA notes that the bill could be on the House floor as soon as Wednesday. They are asking people to call their state representatives to make sure that no poison pill amendments are added to the legislation.
If enacted, House Bill 1523 would help eliminate the need for litigation by gun owners who have been unduly burdened by local ordinances which violate the current state firearm preemption law. Citizens with no criminal intent should not be placed in jeopardy of running afoul of local restrictions they don’t even know exist simply because they have crossed from one municipality to another.
That would be nice. What a crazy concept that citizens won’t bear such a high burden of pointing out that a government shouldn’t be making illegal laws.
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Feb 6, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in 2012 Election, Gun Rights | 6 comments
Professor Adam Winkler has an article in The Daily Beast suggesting that the Bloomberg/Mumbles Super Bowl ad will hurt Obama:
Gun-control proponents can only pray that Obama doesn’t take Menino and Bloomberg’s bait. Making gun control a more important issue in the election would be a terrible mistake for the president—and for the cause of gun control.
Yes, it most definitely would. Obama is playing the game smart, because the biggest threat to the Second Amendment these days is from the courts. The politicians we mostly have in line at this point. Gun issues just not being at the front of people’s minds is going to be the biggest challenge for NRA this election. Those who want to see more from Obama don’t understand just how much of a losing issue gun control is electorally.
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Feb 6, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 10 comments
Dave Hardy notes the Senate passed a repeal of one-gun-a-month. It’s on its way to Governor McDonnell, who has said he will sign it. [UPDATE: I'm told the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill, so it will take another vote of the House on the Senate bill before it'll head to the Governor.] This is a significant victory, since I believe Virginia and South Carolina were the only states guilted by the New York establishment into instituting these useless schemes. South Carolina repealed theirs several years ago, and now Virginia is finally nearly rid of it. Let use review quickly where criminals get their guns from:
Purchased from -- 13.9
Retail store 8.3
Pawnshop 3.8
Flea market 1.0
Gun show 0.7
Friends or family 39.6
Street/illegal source 39.2
One can see that the most significant source is friends and family, and sources like that are not going to be affected by any rationing scheme, since they aren’t doing their straw buying in large quantities. It’s also been shown that straw buyers, in states that have instituted rationing, are just forced to rotate their buyers more often. It’s often falsely believed by our opponents that most trafficking of guns are large and organized. Most crime gun sources are not organized sources. Even this relatively hostile study notes:
Multiple sales are probably fairly common, considering that three-quarters of gun owners possess more than one gun (Cook and Ludwig, 1996: 15).17 Yet many who purchase guns in multiple sales are likely to be low-risk buyers (e.g., gun collectors), so the risk that guns sold in multiple sales are used in crime is likely to vary across different groups of buyers.
The study admits there’s no real evidence that gun rationing works as a solution to straw purchasing. I don’t think that’s changed in the past few years. Given that this impacts a fundamental constitutional right, that ought to mean that it’s prudent for Virginia to eliminate this law.
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Feb 6, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 12 comments
It’s been a while since I’ve seen gun control moving in the states, but now we have a fight on our hands in Oregon, where the legislature is considering banning guns on college campuses. More importantly:
(b) A person who intentionally possesses a firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous weapon, while on school grounds, commits a Class C felony.
A class C felony? Really? Hey, if it puts more gun owners in prison where they belong, all the better, right? A misdemeanor, or even a petty offense, is enough to deter an honest man, and a person intent on breaking the law won’t be deterred. I’m also not certain, given the way this is worded, that it would be unlawful to drive through a school zone with a pistol in your glove box. Better also hope you aren’t out for a walk and fail to realize a lawn you’ve been walking near is actually property of a school.
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Feb 4, 2012
Posted by Sebastian in Gun Rights | 11 comments
According to a blog over at the Village Voice, and also an update over at the Huffington Post:
Late in the afternoon, a Komen spokeswoman told reporters that breast cancer advocacy group had nothing to do with this so-called “Hope” pistol, and that the non-profit plans on sending a cease and desist order to Discount Gun Sales.
I would advise folks to not jump the gun (no pun intended) unless we receive word from DGS that they have, in fact, been ceased and desisted. As the article notes, Komen has taken money from gun related promotions in the past without issue, as they should. Organizations like Komen should be not be inserting themselves into political causes by not taking money from those kinds of people.
I am also interested in the content of said letter if and when it arrives. I believe Komen would be within their rights to demand DSG change “is proud to team up with the Susan B. Koman [sic] Foundation” which implies some form of partnership. If Komen merely demands that they change that language, they are merely asking that DSG clarify the lack of an actual partnership. I think it’s fine.
However, if Komen demands they remove any reference to their name, they are essentially saying they don’t want money from gun owners. If that’s the case, I will do my level best to make sure everyone within the reach of my voice gets the message. We’ll be more than happy to oblige.
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