Well, we knew that Governor Corzine frowns upon the use of certain restraints, but we had no idea his office also required him to frown upon other types as well, at least those uses which are not “manifestly appropriate.”
Month: March 2009
An Outpost of Truth at the LA Times
Looks like the LA Times Sports Writer, Pete Thomas, is busy telling the truth about Assault Weapons:
Interestingly, the 1994 ban applied to semiautomatic weapons, which automatically reload but fire only one round per squeeze of a trigger. Ownership of fully automatic weapons, such as machine guns, has been heavily regulated since 1934.
But such points are moot. Banning the sale of either type of weapon in the U.S. probably would do no good.
As long as the Mexican cartels can make billions selling drugs across the border, they’ll continue to line up like salmon at the mouth of a stream — in this case border towns beneath California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — and do what it takes to push their product.
You simply aren’t going to disarm drug cartels, and Mr. Thomas is eactly right that they will find some way to get their guns, just as they do grenades, rockets, and various other heavy weaponry that’s most definitely not coming from the United States, as mentioned in this CBS News story:
“Half of what we seize, 55 percent are assault rifles. And this is what gives these groups this intimidation power. Over 17,000 assault rifles, throughout the last two years. Two thousand and 200 grenades, missile and rocket launchers. Fifty caliber sniper rifles,” the attorney general explained.
It might surprise you to learn where all these guns are coming from. It turns out 90 percent of them are purchased in the US.
“The Second Amendment was never designed to arm criminal groups, and especially not foreign criminal groups as it is today,” Medina-Mora said.
Asked if he blames the U.S. for not doing more to stop this flow, he told Cooper, “We believe that much more needs to be done. We need a much more committed effort from the U.S.”
Has Mr. Medina-Mora, the Attorney General of Mexico, wondered why these drug turf battles haven’t, in fact, spilled over the border? There is plenty of territory along the US border that are relatively unprotected by law enforcement.
Maybe because Texans, New Mexicans and Arizonans are also well armed and will shoot back. The Second Amendment is not about arming criminals, it’s about recognizing that people have a right to the same tools criminals use to ply their trade to defend themselves from the same. Maybe if Mexico took their Second Amendment a little more seriously, the drug gangs wouldn’t find a population so ripe for terrorizing.
Case Head Separation
A good example of why it’s important to wear eye protection when shooting.
Bill Introduced to Axe Canadian Long Gun Registry
Looks like they are shooting for more than just getting rid of the registry:
In addition to the elimination of the long-gun registry for non-restricted firearms, there is a requirement for the Auditor General to perform a cost/benefit analysis of the program every five years. Other clauses would combine the Possession Only licences with the Possession and Acquisition licences, change the licence-renewal period to 10 years and change the grandfathering dates for handguns to clarify and improve what is now a confusing situation for legal owners.
Gun rights on the march in New Jersey and Canada? What is this world coming to?
Inquirer Article on One-Gun-A-Month
The Inqurer tells the story of the one-gun-a-month fight over in New Jersey:
The Feb. 23 vote left gun-control groups vowing to put a spotlight on opponents in both parties.
“There’s little doubt that the people who voted ‘no’ and those who abstained found the blandishments of the gun lobby more persuasive than the safety of the citizens of New Jersey,” said Bryan Miller, executive director of CeaseFire NJ. “Our partners and colleagues will have to do a very public campaign and identify who those persuaded by the gun lobby are. . . . They’ll find out from their constituents that they’re on the wrong side of this issue.”
Gun owners in New Jersey need to do everything they can to make sure those that voted with us don’t suffer any for it. Lend your support, send your money, volunteer. Gun owners are badly outnumbered by non-gun owners in New Jersey, but that doesn’t matter if you can make yourself a sought after and valuable constituency.
“The idea that people can walk into a gun store and buy enough for an arsenal doesn’t make any sense,” Corzine said. “I hope we’ll have further discussion and review of it. I think it’s an important step forward.”
Corzine is an idiot and a liar. There’s no one who can just walk into a gun shop and buy a gun in New Jersey. It requires going to the police and seeking a permit to purchase, which can take months for them to issue, and requires a 13 point FBI background check, fingerprinting, anal probe. Well, OK, not anal probe, but close.
[Madden] said he received 27 e-mails on the gun bill, and every one supported his stance.
This is why we’re winning on this issue, and Bryan Miller is losing.
Montclair State University political scientist Brigid Harrison said the vote was unlikely to hurt people who oppose the bill. Few New Jersey voters, she said, make Election Day decisions based on gun control. The ones who do are the ones who oppose new regulations.
“There is a very vocal and very passionate contingency for whom gun issues are very important and they base their votes exclusively on this issue,” Harrison said. “In some legislative districts, they are very politically savvy.”
New Jersey gun owners are certainly getting there. The first step is to stop them, the next is to roll them back. The GOP in New Jersey is starting to understand they’ve severely under-served this constituency, and have not been able to capitalize on the discontent of gun owners with the gun laws there. The door is being open in Trenton, just a little. I sincerely hope gun owners in New Jersey are willing to open it up and walk through it.
PSH From the LA Times
The LA Times is unhappy with the National Park carry rule:
The impact of this rule change should have been obvious to those who drafted it; ancient petroglyphs that are already used by some for target practice will become even more bullet-scarred, rangers will have to cope with armed and dangerous visitors, wildlife will come under fire and campers will have to worry that the rude guy in the Winnebago next door is packing heat.
Wait, wait, I can help them write the next bit:
And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was an earthquake: and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood: and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Interview Questions Are Sent
I have compiled a list of questions to send to our endorsed candidates for NRA Board of Directors, and sent them early this morning. We should be publishing the responses as they come in over the next few weeks. The people we’ll be featuring are Edie Reynolds, Scott Bach, and Joe DeBergalis. I just want to thank them ahead of time for being willing to take their time to answer some of our questions.
Quote of the Day
Marko comments on his Search Term Safari, to the term “Guns are impersonal and knives are more intimate”:
Well, if you want to have a close and meaningful relationship with your attacker, then you should probably forego the gun and carry a knife. Me, I want a self-defense event to be as impersonal as possible. Click, boom, cleanup in Aisle Five. Nothing personal, no hard feelings–just rejecting an unacceptably termed business proposition.
Inflation Risk
Why has this incredible boost in the money supply had no impact? Presumably because the “velocity” of money has remained low–people and banks are hoarding money, rather than spending, borrowing, and lending it. Assuming velocity rises again, however, we may be looking at an inflationary spiral like we’ve never seen before in this country.
Peter says it well, “We’ve Never Been Here Before.”
I keep joking to Bitter that I need to buy some gold sovereigns. Maybe it’s time to stop joking.
Gun Rights Amendment In Danger?
The Washington Post seems to be reporting that D.C. voting rights advocates are optimistic that the gun rights “GOP Amendment” can be stripped from the bill. GOP amendment? Yeah, that’s why it passed with 62 votes.
The House is expected to pass its version of the bill next week without any gun language. The differences between the bills will have to be hashed out in a conference between the chambers.
“That’s why you have conferences. I’m sure there will be an effort to fix this,” said Tom Davis, the former Republican congressman from Virginia who was the original architect of the bill. He said the legislation appeared to have enough support to pass without the gun amendment attached.
Says Majority Leader Steny Hoyer:
Hoyer branded the gun amendment “inappropriate and wrong,” telling the Politics Program on WTOP (103.5 FM): “I hope it won’t be in the final product.”
Seems pretty appropriate to me. If they want representation in the federal government, they have to follow the federal constitution. Apparently Hoyer thinks that’s wrong an inappropriate.
The amendment drew widespread support, he said, because “people don’t want to vote against the National Rifle Association.”
But, he added, if the amendment was dropped, legislators could approve the bill and still get credit for their pro-gun stance in the earlier vote.
“You can have your cake and eat it, too,” he said.
He’s quite likely right about this, but as I pointed out before, the benefit is getting the Senate on record, and demonstrating to President Obama that he’s not going to get a break on this issue. The stars lined up in our favor, and we moved on it.
For example, 26 states, including Maryland and Virginia, have laws requiring safe storage for guns. Virginia, Maryland and California have laws limiting buyers to one handgun purchase a month. A dozen states, including Maryland, require handgun owners to register their weapons with authorities or obtain licenses to possess them.
A dozen states? A half dozen maybe, but I think they need to review state laws on this matter.