New York Governor Elliot Spitzer promises to at least look at the possibility. Remember folks, they just want reasonable gun laws.
Month: October 2007
Family Values in Singapore
I’m not sure I’d hold out Singapore as an example of how to run a healthy society. To be fair to Clayton, the only point he made was that anti-gay conservative values aren’t limited to the Christian right, which is a correct assessment. But I think it’s worthwhile to point out that Singapore is hardly a free society, and despite these claims from MPs:
“We were right to uphold the family unit when Western countries went for experimental lifestyles in the 1960s — the hippies, free love,” he said.
“But I’m glad we did that because today if you look at Western Europe, the marriage as an institution is dead, families have broken down, the majority of children are born out of wedlock and live in families where the father and the mother are not husband and wife living together bringing them up.”
Singapore has a number or serious social problems. Of course, what Mr. Lee failed to mention was that despite their promotion of wholesome family values, Singapore has experienced a drop in marriage rates, fertility rates, has experienced a soaring divorce rate, and is thus heading for the demographic sewer along with all the other western countries who social policies he claims have failed them. Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t look like Singapore’s conservative social policies are faring any better.
California Burning
I hope Linoge and South Park Pundit don’t have all their earthly possessions burned to a crisp.  I also have a coworker in Southern California who may have to evacuate his new home that he just moved into.
Fires: One more reason not to live in California.
Ahab on the Beeb
Listen now. They already have Shirley Katz on.
UPDATE: No Ahab, though I was quite glad they gave John Lott a chance to talk. I thought the hosts at the BBC handled things in a fair and balanced manner, and we heard from people on all sides of the issue. The carry restrictions on schools is a touchy issue, but I thought Ms. Katz handled herself quite well.
Morning Funny
“I support the Second Amendment. Law-abiding citizens should be able to own guns,†Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, a New York senator, said in response to questions from The Des Moines Register. “But I also believe strongly in smart laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists.â€
Man… I hope no one is buying that. Her husband’s administration was an unmitigated disaster for gun owners. Hers will be worse.
UPDATE: Let’s take a look at Hillary’s support for the second amendment:
- Voted to reinstate the assault weapons ban.
- Cosponsored the 50 caliber ban
- Voted against ending frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufacturers.
- Voted against bill preventing arms seizures during emergencies
I could go on and on, but if this is supporting the second amendment, I’d hate to see what she thinks crapping on it would look like.
Georgia Restaurant Shooting
Restaurants are gun free zones in Georgia, unless you aren’t something interested in following the law. Fortunately for this group of people, there was at least one other person not following the law. That person had a Georgia Firearms License. It’s good to see that the authorities are doing the right thing and not charging him with violating a no-carry zone.
Hat tip to John Lott
Same Sheet of Music
Uncle points out something that Conservative Scalawag said about gun groups needing to work together. I agree with this fully, but I thought what Joe Huffman said was worth highlighting.
I’m not convinced that “the same sheet of music†is the best way to accomplish things. For example, the JPFO can say things that the NRA can’t–guns as a defense against tyranny for example. And the NRA can address hunters issues better than the JPFO. That doesn’t mean that the NRA can’t support the same issues at the JPFO. It just means that one or the other is in a better position to “take point†on an issue. As long as the groups don’t stab each other in the back or get into public quarrels there shouldn’t be a problem. They need to have “back channels†of communication and coordinate some. Even if they don’t agree on the best way to address something they can say, “Okay, you try it your way and we’ll be quiet and see what happens, but if it starts to go sour we are stepping in to do it our.†That sort of thing…
Yep. I’ll use the example of the Oregon Teacher lawsuit to illustrate this. To be honest, the best group to do this kind of thing is probably the group that’s backing her, the Oregon Firearms Federation. The only organization that could have produced The Gang, and gotten away with it, is JPFO. If NRA was doing either, they’d be tarred and feathered by the media, and would be held out as an extremist group representing dangerous people. That doesn’t do the movement any good.
I have been harsh on other gun rights groups lately, but not because I have any problems with their goals, but because they are actively engaged in undermining other gun rights groups out there, particularly the NRA. I say OFF is doing a great job with the Shirley Katz issue. Hats off to them. Now, is the sensationalist and untrue anti-NRA cartoon up on their site really accomplishing anything?
If these groups could understand where they can really move the ball forward, and lay off attacking other gun rights group, I could support more of them. Joe is right that we don’t want a single voice, but we don’t want a circular firing squad either. Let’s remember who the real enemy is.
More on Romney
This time from Bruce. The man has never held a position he wasn’t willing to change.
The Evil .50 Caliber Plane Killer
I’m glad to hear Countertop has his .50 under control out there.
More Faculty Letters
Clayton Cramer has another letter, this time from the University of Kentucky. It lacks the PSH of U of FL, but it does close with this:
I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that UK is a “deadly weapons free” campus.
Because I’m sure that anyone who goes postal is going to care. I’m glad to see students standing up for their rights. If there’s any hope for getting restrictions removed from concealed carry license holders from carrying on universities, it’ll only happen because university students who carry demand it.