Barack Obama would seem to have one voted for a bill that would have, in fact, taken away the guns of many Illinoisans. Do we believe him now?
Year: 2008
Philadelphia Subway Hammer Attacker
Police have arrested a man in connection with the hammer attack on the subway in Philadelphia. Thanks to Fred Fry, I have obtained a copy of Thomas Scantling’s criminal record. Much like the case of the murder of Officer Steven Liczbinski, this is another case of the City’s justice system utterly failing to protect its citizens from violent predators. Just look at what he was arrested for, and for which he was never prosecuted:
- Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Simple Assault
- Statutory Sexual Assault
- Unlawful Restraint
- Corruption of Minors
- Criminal Conspiracy
- Possession of Firearm by a Prohibited Person
- Carrying Firearms Unlawfully
- Terrorist Threats
- Reckless endangerment
It goes on. And yet city politicians have the nerve to claim that the city has a high crime rate because of insufficient gun laws. Well, they failed to charge this guy for violation of the gun laws we already have, and he went on to beat someone nearly to death with a hammer.
And these same politicians question why I feel the need to carry a firearm for self-protection in their city? Unbelievable. This guy should never have been out on the streets.
UPDATE: Apparently Chief Ramsey is chastizing folks for standing by and doing nothing. Considering that Chief Ramsey is against ordinary folks carrying weapons for protection, especially firearms, what exactly did the Chief expect any honest citizen to use? Harsh language?
Strange Maps
This is a really fascinating blog featuring strange maps. Start looking, and you won’t be able to stop.
Chicken Little
Is it any surprise the New York Times thinks the sky is falling over DC too?
Hazel Township Still Fighting
Hazel township is still insisting that it’s ban on firearms in local parks is lawful under the preemption statute in the Uniform Firearms Act. Local park bans are actually quite common in Pennsylvania, despite preemption. Hazel Township is far from the only political entity in this state who is guilty of violating it.
Firearms are presumably not allowed in state parks, due to DNCR regulations. To the best of my knowledge that’s never been challenged.  But Pennsylvania does not generally prohibit firearms in parks, so local communities are preempted from regulating it. Next step is a lawsuit, and they are collecting funds to bring one.
Trickery Works
Only 51% of Americans think McCain is better than Obama on guns. We laugh at Obama’s attempts to convince us that he supports the second amendment, and won’t take our guns. But it really does fool a lot of people. This is going to be a tough election. As Bitter points out, Obama has a much better ground game, and a much larger warchest.
Obama is determined to have Pennsylvania. We have to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make that not happen this election, or at the very least force Obama’s campaign to spend like hell to hold onto the Keystone State. That ties up funds and volunteers here, and McCain can shore up his support in other battleground states. This is definitely not the election to sit on the sidelines.
A Lie Repeated Often Enough
Now the Washington D.C. police chief is claiming that HR6691 allows people to carry loaded guns in public in the District. I guess she got the Brady Campaign press release. I’d still like someone to point out to me where this bill does anything to address the issue of carrying firearms outside the home.
UPDATE: More here.
Hat tip to Carl in Chicago
Now I Know Why He Picked Biden
Obama and Biden seem to share the same love of sticking their own foot in their mouth.
UPDATE: Some other figures of speech that Obama considered using.
Weeding Out Corruption
Looks like a federal grand jury has indicted a New Jersey Democratic Party boss, and one of their attorneys in scheme to defraud local governments. The Republican Party in New Jersey should starting feeling better now. Maybe this is how the GOP will start winning again in New Jersey… all the leading Democratic politicians will be in jail on corruption charges.
Later in the Week
I will be going to the fall meeting of the NRA Board of Directors this Thursday through Saturday, to report on the major themes, or any interesting happenings. What I expect will be major topics of discussion are the coming election in November, getting H.R.6691 passed as quickly as possible, and legal strategies post-Heller. The board meetings also allow me the opportunity to meet up with fellow bloggers Scott Bach, Tom King (both blogging board members), and usually Dave Hardy and Dave Kopel (not board members, but usually around).
As I’ve said before, NRA is not a closed society. Any member is free to attend the board meeting and watch the proceeding. If you get to know some of your local board members, they can invite you in to sit in on some of the committee meetings, which are open for observance by members.