January 2010 – Page 18 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Gun Free School Zones

Joe reminds us of a poor way in which the law was drafted, that exempts having a gun within 1000 feet of a school if you have a license from the state the school is in, but doesn’t in other circumstances. It is therefore possible to be charged with violating the federal gun free schools act if you carry on a reciprocal out of state permit.

The Gun Free School Zones Act was held unconstitutional once, but Congress rewrote it. It’s likely it wouldn’t stand up again if challenged. But it is worth noting.

Words to Banish

I think we can all agree here:

Drawing nominations from English enthusiasts and those just plain tired of overused expressions, Lake Superior State University’s Word Banishment Committee has issued its list of words and phrases it deems time to be “unfriended.”

Among them: “teachable moment,” “czar,” “shovel-ready” and combinations of words such as “sexting,” “chillaxin’ ” and “bromine.”

I’m keen on eliminating the use of the word “czar,” but I sure do wish Obama would ban them from his administration. Also, the only thing that turned out to be “shovel ready” in this stimulus was any semblance of fiscal responsibility on the part of Congress. That’s been well and truly buried.

Pennsylvania Leaders Involved in McDonald

Over at PAGunRights.com, I take a look at the leaders in Pennsylvania who stepped up to sign on to at least one brief in favor of the petitioners. You can read excerpts from all of the relevant briefs over there, but here are the names of those who deserve our thanks for being proactive on the issue:

It would have been nice if more Pennsylvania lawmakers had stepped up to be on the right side of history in this case. As I understand it, there were time constraints in some states.

Maybe we should use this against lawmakers anyway. As gun owners we could tell them that since most of them did not help out on McDonald, they could make it up to us by passing Castle Doctrine. :)

Bloomberg Sworn in to Third Term

God help us all.

Newt Gingrich on What Needs to Be Done in 2010

Follow this link over the Anarchangel, and watch all five video of Gingrich’s speech to David Horowitz’s Restoration Weekend. Well worth your time.

Looking Ahead

Some challenges we’re going to face in our issue in 2010, and they are numerous.

MAIG is continuing to build itself into an increasingly virulent organization, and they are usage our local mayors to build political legitimacy. Personally, Bitter and I have a good bit of work to do in this area, as MAIG has signed up more than a few mayors in our respective districts.
We have to be mindful of redistricting that will be happening post 2010, as a result of the Census. Texas stands to gain four seats. The only blue state that stands to gain is Washington. Pennsylvania will lose a Congressional seat. If the PA house doesn’t turn around, the Democrats will have a lot more input into redistricting than the GOP.
We have to be involved in the primary process in both parties, but especially the GOP. The GOP stands to make substantial gains in 2010, and we want them to gain with pro-gun candidates. Since guns aren’t the first thing on people’s minds, this is going to be a real challenge. We won’t do the Second Amendment any favors if we replace good pro-gun Democrats with soft or anti-gun Republicans.
The 2010 elections themselves are going to be critical. Bitter and I will certainly be busy with helping out NRA endorsed candidates here at the local level. Chances are we’re going to lose Harry Reid, so things are going to get more difficult for us in the Senate. Chance of the GOP turning the Senate are virtually nil, just because of who’s up. The House is a different matter, and we could switch that back to GOP control. Getting Nancy Pelosi and her cronies being out of power will be a good thing for our gun rights, but it’s probably not going to change much.
Pennsylvanians get to elect a new Governor this year. We will finally be rid of Ed Rendell. All three GOP contenders are good on gun rights. We’re very lucky there. The Democrats are a mixed bag, with several candidates being rabidly anti-gun. We have to be cautious here.

It’s going to be a very interesting year, that’s for sure. But this year, we have an opportunity to change things. This will be our first opportunity to tell Obama and Pelosi what we think of their leadership.

Article II Lives!

SayUncle points to an amusing mishap over at Field and Stream, in what’s an otherwise decent article on rifles in the past decade:

The Supreme Courtâ€™sÂ Keller decision. Article II lives!

Yes, he’s going to find out just how alive Article II is if the Obama Administration starts implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s Blueprint to Prevent Gun Ownership.