June 2013 – Page 11 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Rich People Try to Silence You Peon Gun Owners

Sportsman blogger Jim Braaten posted something that caught my attention today:

WTF? Ken Burns you just lost a follower and supporter. MT @kenburns: Today we launch StopTheNRA.com to do just that.

— Jim Braaten (@jim7226) June 5, 2013

I find it interesting that a site promoted by a New Yorker who is wealthy partly due to his films that show on taxpayer-funded public television is also funded by rich New York venture capitalists (with a California partner who founded the website promoting their efforts) who are using it to promote the political organization of a New York City billionaire is demanding that the ability of little voters who don’t have as much money as they do to organize, communicate, and take action be “stopped.”

Being a native of so-called flyover country, I get so sick of these self-important rich assholes from the coasts assuming that they can “stop” my political activities, “stop” my personal associations, and “stop” me from having a voice in my government. There is nothing about gun ownership that they aren’t ready to mock and attack, including hunting. In fact, the website’s biggest attack features on NRA’s actual statements and online presence in recent days are actually targeted to NRABlog, a site that has nothing to do with the politics of the debate at all. For them, the only motivation is to completely “stop” your way of life and “stop” your ability to participate in government the same way they do.

Jumping the Shark

I think the Simpsons jumped the shark a while ago, and I haven’t watched it for a long time. Now here’s another reason not to consume their product. I can have a sense of humor when our side gets satirized well, but most of the time the cultural elite try to satirize gun owners, it ends up not being funny at all. I’ve had a phrase going through my head lately “Let their hate unite us.”

The Gun Vote Looks to be Fired Up

Missouri’s special election yesterday to fill the 8th district Congressional seat was expected to be a likely win for Republicans since, according to Charlie Cook, that’s a R+17 district. The final result ended up being an R+40 win. That’s not a typo, that’s a 40 point win in a district where Republicans have a registration advantage of less than half of that number.

I was not watching this race at all, but it appears that guns may have been a bit of an issue. The Reuters summary of the race mentioned that Democratic State Rep. Steve Hodges actually ran a campaign based on being pro-gun. The NRA ratings for the race show that there was still a distinction between the two. Republican State Rep. Jason Smith had a solid A rating that earned him the NRA endorsement while Hodges had an A-.

If gun owners did turn out and help make this such a landslide victory, then I hope it will inspire other gun owners in the rest of the country.

The Federal Gun Control Push

I find it quite interesting that just as Sen. Richard Blumenthal announces that he’s going to bog the pending immigration bill down with gun control amendments, Majority Leader Harry Reid comes out and announces he’s getting the gun control gang back together for another round of stand-alone legislation.

The timing of this makes it appear as though Reid is trying to keep the new gun control crusaders from derailing the entire White House agenda. Of course, if Reid has to do this every time they threaten a key piece of legislation, Sen. Joe Manchin may not ever get a break from having his name attached to gun control in West Virginia for the rest of his term. What he may have believed was a one time thing in the first year of his new term may become a semi-annual debate that always puts his name in the headlines for target the guns of West Virginians. I have no pity for him since he’s clearly digging in for the long haul on this fight. At least Sen. Pat Toomey looked at the writing on the wall and knew to drop the debate.

Madigan Files Motion to Extend Stay on Court Ruling

Madigan says the Governor needs more time:

The Illinois Constitution affords the Governor sixty days to review the Act and sign it into law. See Ill. Const. (1970) art. IV, Â§ 9(b). Recognizing that this Court has already stayed its mandate sua sponte for 180 days, however, state defendants seek only an additional thirty days to provide the Governor reasonable time to review the Act. Accordingly, state defendants ask this Court to stay itsÂ mandate from June 9, 2013, to and including July 9, 2013. This additional time will avoid a circumstance in which there is no state law in place governing the carrying of firearms in public places, a circumstance that this Courtâ€™s original, 180-day stay anticipated and set out to avoid.

Well, maybe they should have thought about that instead of taking this whole sorry show to the wire. The attorneys for both Mary Shephard and Michael Moore have filed in opposition to Madigan’s motion. I think this bit from the Moore opposition pretty effectively sums it up:

Considering that the stateâ€™s remedial legislation passed with overwhelming veto-proof majorities in both houses, as well as the Governorâ€™s deep and protracted involvement in this issue, the time for delay is over. This Court has spoken. The People of Illinois, through their representatives, have spoken. There must be some finality to this process. The motion should be denied.

Yes, we definitely need some finality to this issue. I hope the Court agrees and we can put and end to this sorry charade.

UPDATE: The stay has been granted. The charade continues.

How’s That SAFE Act Working Out?

It always blows my mind when our opponents point to the horrors of violent crime in cities with very restrictive gun laws. What more could we do gun law wise than is currently being done in New York City? Isn’t this basically an admission that gun control doesn’t work? Is the SAFE act really making anyone safer? Sometimes I don’t think they honestly believe their own BS, but crime seems like a good argument for turning a fear and loathing of firearms into policy.

Standing with the NRA as a Sitting Governor

Surfing Etsy for some any interesting antique NRA memorabilia, I came across someone selling old magazine advertisements, including one of an old “I’m the NRA” ad that featured a sitting (at the time) Governor of what is now a deep blue state.

Governor Victor Atiyeh was a Republican governor of Oregon who served out two terms and also, according to Wikipedia, the first elected governor of Arab descent in the US. According to an index of archived materials about Gov. Atiyeh, the ad was apparently created between 1983-1985 during his second term. The index also mentions some interesting collections:

Clippings, correspondence (including copies of outgoing letters from Atiyeh), and a preliminary drawing of a gun case Atiyeh commissioned for one of his guns. Case of medals Atiyeh won during shooting competitions, as well as one Dolores Atiyeh won.

The Dolores mentioned is his wife. That indicates that they both enjoyed competitions. Based on the years mentioned in that index, some may even be from after the years he was first elected to the Oregon legislature.

Another MAIG Mayor Arrested

Carrboro, NC mayor Mark Chilton, a member of Mike Bloomberg’s group of criminal mayors, was arrested yesterday for trying to shut down the state capitol because he doesn’t like some of the bills being passed by officials elected by the people of North Carolina.

The Californication of Nevada Continues

The legislature has passed a bill to end private transfers in Nevada. They are already attacking the Governor on the issue. It is essentially backdoor registration. If you live in Nevada, call the Governor and demand he veto the bill.

I Grow Tired of These Arguments

John Slezosky is a teacher, and being a teacher he should realize that the collective rights interpretation of the Second Amendment has been so thoroughly discredited that not even a single justice signed onto the idea. I’ve gotten to the point with a lot of these people that I just want to say, “Go out and read the scholarship in this area, and then we can have the basis for an intelligent conversation.” I’m not even sure what point the author is trying to make here.