… for putting “Y” instead of “Yes”, apparently they can’t keep track of their own weapons.
Year: 2008
Total Lead Ammuntion Ban in Washington
Washington State is considering a measure that would basically extinguish the shooting sports in that state.
Is This Not Leadership?
Congressman Jason Altmire was one of the representatives to get up on the House Floor last night to speak in favor of HR6691:
When the D.C. City Council decided to ignore a ruling from the United States Supreme Court and when the District of Columbia decided to play games with the Constitution of the United States, it was they that brought us to the point where we are today, where congressional intervention is necessary to uphold the rights of Washington, D.C. citizens under the second amendment to the Constitution.
As a signatory of the amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the unconstitutional gun ban, I was outraged at the D.C. Council’s new gun restrictions. So I joined with Mr. Childers of Mississippi to help craft the Second Amendment Enforcement Act, which is the text of the amendment we are debating here tonight.
This bill repeals D.C.’s gun ban and permits law-abiding gun owners the right to keep their firearms in ways that will ensure their availability and use for self-defense. This amendment ensures that the intent of the Supreme Court and of the second amendment are upheld for all citizens, including those who live in the District of Columbia.
As I said before, when it counts, Altmire has been with gun owners. While I greatly appreciate the work Congresswoman Hart did for gun owners when she was in Congress, I think it’s hard to agree that Jason Altmire hasn’t been a leader on this issue.
House Passes DC Gun Bill
The house has passed the Childers amendment.
UPDATE: Here’s the NRA release.
Beware of Nonsense from Other Groups
Cemetery’s Gun Blob is new to the whole gun rights scene, so I’m going to offer him a bit of advice on his attending a NJCDL meeting last night:
But was interesting to learn, is that the NRA doesn’t have NJ on it’s radar, and it’s pretty much up to us NJ gun owners to take action. NJ is such an anti gun state, the NRA doesn’t really have a vested interest since the lines aren’t clear. There are Anti’s on both sides of the fence here, and by voting Republican can actually hurt you. And by voting Democrat can actually help you. There were a few people who said they were Pro Gun Democrats there. NJ is it’s own beast I say, on so many levels.
Rule number one of gun activism is always take what other groups say about NRA with a grain of salt. That even goes for a lot of state associations. It’s not at all true that NRA doesn’t pay any attention to New Jersey: they do. It’s just exceedingly difficult to win there. New Jersey also has a good state association, even better than Pennsylvania’s, which doesn’t do donkey to stand up for gun rights over here.
But that’s not to say that the message about it being up to gun owners isn’t correct. Mobilizing gun owners has always been something volunteers do. Almost half of New Jersey’s congressional districts have no EVCs. That means no one in those districts is working to help get pro-gun politicians in office, and anti-gun politicians out. NRA does not ignore New Jersey, but they can only do so much if Garden State Gun Owners don’t stand up and do something to help.
RFID Technology in Guns
Looks like there’s a bill in New Jersey. I’ve been waiting for some clever anti-gun person to figure out that you can make gun owners lives miserable through mandated RFID tags. Especially in a state like New Jersey, where gun ownership and sport shooting has been made so incredibly legally risky.
Imagine police being able to tell whether you have a gun in your car without having to search it. Now imagine you get lost on the way to a match and pass a police car who gets a blip on his RFID scanner that the person in that vehicle is an evil gun owner. Instant Felony charge! You deviated from the most direct path. Too bad for you. Go directly to jail where you belong!
Quote of the Day
From Congressman Chris Shays on HR6691:
The people have the right to bear arms, but Congress has a responsibility to regulate that right.
Yeah, try saying that about abortion bucko, and see how NARAL feels about it.
Philly Inquirer Shows Itself a Rag
Caleb points out this piece of garbage article in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
It has been years since groups such as the Montana Militia, the Posse Comitatus and the Sagebrush Rebels, and individuals such as Terry Nichols and Ted Kaczynski have made us wonder why so many “angry white men” populated our rural regions.
Maybe it’s because ignorant and prejudiced academic pricks like Catherine McNicol keep consencending and thumbing their nose at rural white men. I know this sounds crazy, but that tends to make people angry. I’ve run into just as much intolerance and racism in urban areas as I have in rural areas, and to be honest, some of the most ignorant and provincial people I know don’t occupy America’s heartland, but our coastal urban centers. Tolerance has to be a two way street, and it’s a shame that obviously well educated academics like McNicol don’t understand that.
It’s even more disturbing that the Philadelphia Inquirer, a newspaper that serves a city that should understand being looked down at and spit on, would print such utter bigotry.
No Vote Tonight
There was no vote on HR6691 tonight, but the House will reconvene in the morning to vote on replacing Delegate Norton’s steaming pile of meaningless posturing with HR6691.
Conspiracy to Destroy Preemption
Eight other mayors in Pennsylvania are planning their own local gun ordinances in contra to state law and the state constitution. Preemption is a bedrock gun rights principal, and we will fight tooth and nail to preserve it. A constitutional guarantee is meaningless if it can be infringed and questioned at will by local governments hell bent on destroying it.