The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
We want to carry firearms for self-protection. We’re told by groups like VPC that we’re paranoid and delusional, and that our irrational fears ought not to be the basis of public policy. But the irrational fears of foreigners about the level of violence in the US? Totally grounds for making public policy.
UPDATE: Kerry’s claim gets three Pinocchios from the WaPo. Some days you wonder if gun control supporters even know how to be factual.
Joe takes a look at the explosion and concludes it may have been a deflagration rather than an explosion. He has more direct experience with this explosives than any other gun bloggers I know, so I’d trust his analysis. Reports coming out in the media about it being a gunpowder bomb fit with what Joe has said. I don’t want to even think about the new restrictions on civil liberties the powers that be will dream up in response to this one.
Where we’re likely going to have a vote in the Senate. Please call your Senators, even if you have done so already. You can find contact info here. We can win this. Graham is opposed. Jeff Flake is opposed. Let’s give them a vote, and send them packing!
UPDATE: Harry Reid is on the floor right now touting SAF/CCRBKA support for this legislation.
UPDATE: Grassley is up speaking, saying they don’t have the votes. Grassley is acknowledging the bill is flawed, and opposition is not coming form the fringe. Sounds like Grassley is also suggesting there will be some kind of alternative that the anti-gun folks oppose. Coburn?
UPDATE: Dick Durbin is up, reminding us that we do this For the Children(TM). We also have to do it for Gabby, but mostly, For the Children(TM).
UPDATE: It just kind of kills me that people just got blown up in Boston, and what is the Democrats’ priority in the Senate? Gun control.
UPDATE: Durbin is dragging out the thoroughly debunked 40% number.
UPDATE: Durbin is off the floor. We’re now waiting on the floor for another speaker. It’s not a fore drawn conclusion there will be a vote today. Obviously they want a vote, but it may not happen today.
UPDATE: *crickets* (or rather Chopin, on C-SPAN)
UPDATE: Harry Reid has motioned to extend the debate to 3:30PM, and put the Senate in recess until 2:15PM.
UPDATE: Coverage will resume here.
I think bans on Little Red Riding Hood, Dodgeball and Kinder Eggs are just as repugnant to a free society as banning AR-15s. Freedom is a difficult concept for a lot of people. Especially these days, it seems. This “Mom’s Demand Action” is a new group. You can read more about them here. It’s interesting that their Facebook Page already has more followers than the Brady Campaign. I think we’re going to see some old enemies die off, and some new ones come about in this current political struggle.
UPDATE: According to Thirdpower, they are a rehash. Speaking of rehashes, I think the Brady folks are planning to change their name again. “Voices Against Violence” anyone? It wouldn’t surprise me. I suggested back in 2009 they were making some pretty awful branding decisions. It ought to be noted that Bloomberg has avoided that mistake.
Toomey is moving offices tomorrow, which means phones and computers will be down, just in time for a vote on the Amendment he helped forge with Manchin? Too convenient for him by far. It’s almost like they don’t want to hear from us.
When this all started, CTD took a lot of crap because they pulled down gun sales in the wake of Newtown. Now, from their blog, it looks like they are supporting the Toomey-Manchin amendment? This is making me glad I do my gun shopping at MidwayUSA and Brownells. Let us hope that Reid still remains short on votes for this. I think the struggle to come up with the votes is a clear indication that this was an unnecessary maneuver. If the votes are barely there for this, Schumer’s bill didn’t stand a chance:
First, let’s start from the point where we lost the cloture vote. The vote lost by a huge margin with 68 senators voting in favor of cloture. Once reached, it was evident something was going to go to the floor and Schumer’s background check bill was simply draconian, bad, evil, and needed to be stopped.
The cloture vote was just on the Motion to Proceed. That didn’t mean anything. That didn’t mean anything other than a lot of Senators wanted to go on record with votes on gun stuff. That can be for reasons that favor us, or for reasons that don’t. You will note that NRA did not score the cloture vote on the Motion to Proceed, but threatened to score the cloture vote to end debate on the final bill. That means it was not panic time.
Looks like there were some explosions during the Boston Marathon. Terrorism?
UPDATE: Looking at some of the video out there, the explosion doesn’t look like it was that large. But who would target the Boston Marathon? And why?
UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take long. Worms.
UPDATE: Lots of speculation running rampant in the media and on Twitter. I don’t plan to do play-by-play with this nonsense. We’ll have the truth soon enough. We’ll return to regularly scheduling blogging shortly.
UPDATE: The President’s initial statement.
UPDATE: Don’t jump to conclusions.
If you’re looking for legal analysis by someone who actually has a law degree, and is widely regarded as an expert on this topic, see this post over at The Volokh Conspiracy. In short the registration guarantees and the new FOPA rules are useless. Actually, worse than useless:
The result of the disparity is “pro-gun†provisions which are actually very strong anti-gun provisions: The supposed ban on federal firearms registration authorizes federal gun registration. The supposed strengthening of FOPA’s interstate transportation protection exempts two of the worst states (the reason why FOPA was needed in the first place), and provides any easy path for every other abusive state to make FOPA inapplicable.
Read the whole thing. We have to kill this. Call your senators. And given the late developments, be sure to remind them that Alan Gottlieb doesn’t speak for you.
The fact that they are even having to work to get to 60 on this means this deal was thoroughly unnecessary. Meanwhile, there are Republicans in the House who will help buy us more time, and hopefully improve the situation. Everyone would do well to remember that on any bill, today’s exceptions are tomorrows loopholes.
The late Toomey-Manchin compromise has meant that tab clearing has taken a back seat. Some of this stuff may be a bit dated, but I’ll try to weed that out as I go. But here’s all the news that’s fit (or maybe not fit) to link.
Happy tax day. Remember that today might be tax day, but you’re still working for Uncle Sam until Wednesday.
Bill Maher thinks the Second Amendment is bullshit. Because issues that revolve around the ability to defend your life and freedom are not serious issues, worthy of any serious debate.
Chicago v. Houston, the crime numbers.
New Yorkers better not have ten rounds in a magazine today. From now on it’s seven.
Us vs. Them, and Part II. And to think some of them wonder why politicians pay more attention to us than them.
Two of the big four TV networks are considering quitting broadcasting. Good riddance. I actually think TV has been terrible for politics in this country, and those frequencies can be put to more productive use anyway. Interesting that newspapers also seem to be headed down the crapper.
Looks like the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show has been saved, and those weasels at Reed Exhibitions are no longer involved.
The Truth About Gun Buybacks. Good thing the Toomey-Manchin Amendment would make buybacks illegal then, I guess. Why? Because it’s illegal to transfer a gun to a law enforcement officer without going through an FFL.
Joe Biden says that if you’re not a hunter, you’re not a real gun owner.
Obama’s approval on guns is underwater. 52% disapprove of his handling on guns. Maybe this will indeed cost the Democrats the Senate.
Why hunters are boycotting Colorado.
North Korean Army gun safety. I particularly love the dogs chewing the face of the South Korean defense minister they taped onto a dummy. Speaking of hilarious moments in bad gun handling, this takes the cake.
On training and rights. For all the hewing and hawing about training, I’ve never noticed that states that don’t require training have higher incidences of accidents attributable to poor training at any higher rate than states which require it.
Don’t kill a bear in self-defense in Massachusetts.
We have yet another false flag group, much like American Hunting and Shooting Association from a few years back.
The mass stabber in Houston would seem to have had some mental problems.
We continue to make advances on other fronts while the antis aren’t looking.