Sarah Brady Dies

Apparently of Pneumonia, at age 73. The end of an era in gun control. My thoughts are prayers go out to her family. I don’t believe we should be horrible people about something like this.

In contrast to Bloomberg, who is relatively easy to vilify, and practically a self-parody of a nanny stater, Sarah Brady was far more than a checkbook. The Bradys were a Washington power couple, and they were powerful advocates for gun control when they took up that cause. I’d take Bloomberg as the Second Amendment’s arch nemesis any day of the week over Sarah Brady.

Hat Tip to Miguel, who is also promoting tastefulness.

Calls for Bloomberg-Bought Kathleen Kane to Resign

Not even Bloomberg’s riches could cushion Kathleen Kane’s fall from grace. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a scathing call for her to resign.

They highlight that it has recently come out that she personally intervened to revoke subpoenas for men with apparent ties to the mob, and then got a $25k political donation out of it. She did eventually decide that maybe she should return it, but it’s clear they assumed she should be “rewarded” for her effort derailing the corruption investigation.

As a close Clinton ally, I’m sure that we’ll soon hear the claim that this is all part of War on Women and that it’s clearly only because she’s attractive. There’s just no way that anyone could think she’s incompetent based on the fact that she’s looking at potential criminal charges for her actions in office and is now tied to two cases of stepping in to derail corruption investigations into political allies. Clearly, it’s just because she’s a woman. /sarcasm

Being Realistic About Chris Christie on Gun Rights

I’m going to be play some devil’s advocate here: Chris Christie is the most pro-gun governor New Jersey has had for at least 50 years. I say that as someone who is still, tentatively, backing Scott Walker, so this is not driven by some establishment conspiracy to prop Christie up if Bush III falls over, even though I’d back Chris Christie over Bush III.

As a governor of New Jersey, following a parade of awful, corrupt Democratic governors, and facing an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, I don’t think he’s done a bad job. Do gun owners of a certain age in the Garden State remember booting Jim Florio, after he passed the state’s Assault Weapons Ban? What did Christie Whitman ever do for you? And unlike Chris Christie, Christie Whitman sailed into office with a Republican legislature!

For me Chris Christie’s greatest sin is signing the law that allows people to be denied Second Amendment rights because they were on a secret government list that has included dangerous jihadists like Ted Kennedy. But as a former US Attorney, Christie is quite cozy with the “law and order” branch of the GOP, which hasn’t met many civil liberties it wasn’t willing to infringe on for the War on Terror (really, what’s a little habeas corpus suspension between friends?) or the War on Drugs.

His “law and order” tendencies aside, Christie has been willing to veto more anti-gun bills and use his executive power on our behalf than any New Jersey governor since 1962. Those of you who are older might be able to refute me on this, and you’re welcome to, but I haven’t found anything in my research to indicate otherwise. Most of New Jersey’s gun control laws were passed in and about 1966, under Governor Hughes (no, not that Hughes), and I haven’t found any GOP or Dem successor willing to lift a finger.

I get being tops on gun rights in New Jersey is not a high standard. But New Jersey is an unbelievably hostile political environment for guns. It’s arguably more hostile than even Brady top-ranked California, where there are still many parts of that state which simply ignore the diktats from Sacramento, and where there’s a good chance you can find local constabulary will look the other way. But for New Jersey, it’s become clear that even counties in more conservative South Jersey jurisdictions will throw the book at otherwise good people in the name of “law and order.”

I see a lot of complaining that Chris Christie didn’t bother to help Brian Aitken, but a pardon requires one to admit guilt, and Aitken wanted to appeal his conviction. And good for him, since he did get it overturned, except for the hollow point charge, which he is still appealing. If he seeks a pardon (and in every state there is a bureaucratic process for that), you have to first admit guilt. That wasn’t an issue for Allen, since they had her dead to rights since she admitted guilt to the arresting officer. Christie can’t grant a pardon he wasn’t asked to grant, at least without screwing up the system, and possibly ruining the appeal.

I don’t blame anyone on not liking Chris Christie. We all have our candidates we prefer in the primary season. But I think few people in the gun rights movement have any idea how hostile the Garden State is to our cause. Chris Christie might be behind the national curve on the Second Amendment, but he’s farther ahead on the curve than any solid blue state governor I can think of in the past 50 years, including Mitt Romney.

Then There Were Six: Constitutional Carry Now Law in Kansas

Thanks to Governor Brownback for signing the law. In other states where this has passed with Democratic governors, it’s met with a veto. I am not saying this to cheer the GOP, as I would like gun rights to be an issue that has bipartisan consensus, but it would seem that the Democratic Party, even in red states, is not interested in a truly robust Second Amendment right. West Virginia and Montana have both rejected full constitutional carry due to timid Democratic governors. Of course, let us also not forget about timid Republican governors.

This is a very difficult issue to move. The Democrats don’t want it because they like control, and don’t like the idea of the everyman being armed. The Republican “law and order” cohort likewise feels a lot more comfortable with licensed carry than they do with it actually being treated like a fundamental right. Shall-issue licensing was easier to move, because while it liberalized the licensed carry regime, one could argue it promoted “law and order,” which appeased that GOP cohort.

Constitutional Carry is essentially getting the law out of the way of a fundamental right, altogether. There are factions in both parties who are uncomfortable with that idea. Grassroots action is the only thing that’s going to move this needle.

But the fact remains, the shall-issue movement is over, because we’ve largely won. We’ve gotten all the states we’re going to get through the legislative process. The rest is in the hands of the federal courts. Constitutional Carry is the new frontier.

A Pardon Well Deserved

Chris Christie is clearly trying to boost his pro-gun credibility in whatever way he can given the extremely anti-gun legislature he deals with since he signed a full pardon of Shaneen Allen today.

This is wonderful news for Allen, and it will hopefully send a message to New Jersey’s police officers and prosecutors. New Jersey isn’t exactly going pro-gun, but maybe there will be a little more sanity in the enforcement of the laws.

Hobbyists and Collectors Generally Aren’t Politicians

New Jovian Thunderbolt has a write-up on the guns owned by potential 2016 Presidential candidates. Tam isn’t impressed, and neither is McThag. I’m actually surprised it’s that many. I think collectors, and by collector I don’t just mean gun collectors, tend to have certain personality traits. Hardcore hobbyists share many similar traits. The personality profile of a hard core collector or hobbyist pretty much prevent those types of people from running for office, because people running for office also have certain personality traits, and those are very different from a hard core hobbyist or collector.

So it’s not surprising that most of the candidates may have a gun or two, for hunting, personal protection, etc. But they aren’t that into it. In NJT’s list, you’ll notice there’s one gun guy, really two if you look at it, because I’d be surprised if Todd and Sarah Palin don’t own several, and I’d be surprised if Rand Paul owned more than a couple. The real gun guy on that list is Lindsey Graham, who’s picture is right there along side John McCain if you look up RINO in the dictionary. But Graham has always been solid on guns, because, at the least, he’s good at saying the things that convince us he’s a shooter. But even Graham, I’m betting, isn’t spending more than the odd weekend at the range, and maybe a few hunting trips throughout the year for fundraising and politicking. The life of a Senator, Governor or other high level politician doesn’t leave much time for “not politics.”

Most politicians don’t arrive at their pro-gun positions by being gun people. They arrive at that position because it is in their self-interest to do so. We are the ones who are charged with convincing them, and we do that by voting the issue, and persuading them that voting the way we want them to vote is in their self-interest. That can be the carrot, or the stick. Our side is generally much better at the stick, because punishing enemies rallies our grassroots more than supporting friends. But punishing enemies can buy you a lot. The current GOP field all being pretty solid on the gun issue was bought with the heads of Dick Lugar, Mike Castle, and other squishy Republicans who lost their primaries. Obviously it would be better to have a real gun guy behind you in politics, but those are going to be a rare find.

It’s worth remembering that Reagan signed the current Armor Piercing Ammunition Law that Obama was trying to use to screw us. Later in life (whether he did, or his handlers did, is a matter of debate) he endorsed the Brady Act and Assault Weapons Ban. Bush sailed into office saying he’d sign an AWB renewal. John McCain was the first GOP nominee who was actually against an AWB, but he was in favor of banning private transfers, and he lost. Romney was for an AWB before he was against it, and he lost. We have slowly, but surely, corralled the GOP much closer to our position. Let us hope we can keep it there, and we might make real progress if things go our way in 2016.

Ultimately, all I care about from a Second Amendment viewpoint is a) who is a GOP president going to put on the Court, and b) will they sign pro-gun bills? Beyond that, I couldn’t care less how many guns he or she does or doesn’t own, short of what that signals about how serious they might be in their convictions.

News Links for Wednesday 04-01-2015

Lots to do. NRA Annual meeting is coming up, and I have a project I mean to finish before that event swing around next week. But there is some time for a news links post, and maybe some more. Depends on what kind of news comes.

Everytown has been running poll numbers in Florida showing 61% opposed to Florida’s law allowing campus carry. Given their polls for I-594 were running 80-90% and they got 60%, I’d suggest you probably actually have a pretty good majority for campus carry!

Speaking of Everytown, how much you want to bet Bloomberg is behind this propaganda effort?

I’ve seen a few outfits try to make hay out of NRA, you know, complying with state ethics laws on gifts. The scoundrels!

How many times is Kroger going to have to tell MDA to go to hell?

Gun control in Oregon. I feel bad for Oregon gun owners, because I don’t thing it will stay easy from here. Californication is a powerful thing.

FBI is fudging the numbers on school shootings.

CSGV tries to claim a straw buy was a private transfer. Of course, because none of their foaming at the mouth followers have any idea how federal and state law operate.

Rubio backing important civil rights legislation to fix D.C.’s gun laws, and preempt City Government from regulating firearms. I know this will come as a surprise, but I think he means to run for President.

The Tampa Bay Times all but predicts blood in the streets. How many times do they have to be proved wrong?

Another case of the media not having the barest understanding of what they are talking about: “We don’t understand why any armor-piercing bullet, even one capable of being fired only from a rifle, would have been exempted in the first place.” Ten minutes of Googling would have been all the research needed to understand.

NBC is getting sued over the whole Tannerite scare. Good.

Media Matters is sliming Cam Edwards with lies.

Vermont Democrats are busy trying creating a laws that mirror federal law on prohibited persons. Vermont essentially has no crime to speak of. It’s like Switzerland. Looks like there’s some skepticism of Bloomberg’s astroturfing front group in the state.

Constitutional Carry in Maine? Worth trying! Upper New England unfortunately has their own version of Californication in the west.

Jim Geraghty: too much for Everytown to handle. Welcome to the club. Remember, they just want a “national conversation.”

Keep an eye on your kids’ textbooks: “The Second Amendment appears in the book this way: ‘A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms [i.e., for military purposes] shall not be infringed.‘”

How many Democratic candidates do you think will be lining up to kiss Everytown’s ring? Oh yeah, they don’t have a convention. It’ll all be done behind closed doors, because their movement can handle things that way.

Oral arguments were held in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case challenging Maryland’s sweeping post-Sandy Hook gun control laws.

Christie: I’d respect gun rights more with a pro-gun legislature. Keep in mind he did sign a law that allowed people to be denied Second Amendment rights because their name was on a secret government list.

Democratic Governor of Montana vetoes Constitutional Carry.

I’ve often wondered how many members NRA loses because of their fundraising. In truth, NRA are no worse than other groups I’ve been a member of, but for a lot of people, NRA is their only form of engagement. Those are the people NRA needs, because they are potential single-issue voters. My big worry is that NRA is too dependent on mass targeting rather than learning how to micro target members. There’s systems that can do that.

Lots of budget maneuvers over gun rights. NRA has gotten very good at playing this game, and bureaucrats worry about interests with the power to affect their budgets. This is a good thing in this case.

Off topic:

The party of smaller government.” A smattering of bones thrown to the SoCos and “law and order” branches of the coalition.

Glenn Reynolds: You’re probably breaking the law right now.

Why the Dems are desperate for Hillary.

Dog Bites Man: More Gun Control is in the Works in New Jersey

A bill is in the works in New Jersey that would allow police to end your Second Amendment rights on the spot if it’s a domestic call. You can bet this will become standard practice on domestic calls if this passes, even if there’s no real evidence of abuse.

“If they have the courage to go forward, this allows victims a fighting chance to move beyond their abusive situation,” Mosquera said. “This isn’t about gun rights. It’s about keeping guns away from people who have shown a propensity for violence toward women.”

That’s why we have courts and due process. You want to protect women? Just skip the trial and lock the guy up for 5 years. Oh, can’t do that? He has rights, you say? Well, this right should be no different. Due process: you’ve heard of that, haven’t you?

It’s not surprising a bill is moving. The Dems in the legislature want to do two things: one is tempt Christie to sign a gun control law and ruin him as a serious 2016 candidate. The other is to dare him to veto, and help ensure he can’t deliver NJ’s electoral votes if he were the nominee.

Christie isn’t looking all that strong right now, but that could change if Jeb falls apart and the GOP money starts looking for another horse to bet on.

The Whole RFRA Controversy

As many of you have probably heard, Indiana is suffering quite a public relations black eye over passing a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). I tend to side with Professor Reynolds view why this suddenly is:

“Dems need something to agitate the base so it doesn’t pay attention to Iranian nukes, trashed email servers, and an overall culture of corruption. Those who join in are willing enablers.”

There’s also the issue that gay marriage is on the cusp of becoming a settled, and the Dems need red meat for the outrage machine heading into 2016.

Eugene Volokh has an article today on RFRA here. The fact that both sides at various times have hated the Sherbert Test and the RFRA that replaced it, makes me think it probably either offers substantive and good protections that limits both sides in their social experiments, or it’s a weapon too dangerous to let either side play with. I tend to think the former. I have no desire to see people discriminated against because of sexual orientation, but I don’t see much harm or risk of enabling systemic discrimination by carving out some narrow exceptions to accommodate people’s (or closely held corporations) religious viewpoints.

So what’s this have to do with gun rights? Not much. It’s an off topic post. But City of Boerne v. Flores, which is a case that involves the RFRA, and is actually responsible for the many state analogue RFRA’s, is going to be a key case for us when Congress starts using it’s Section 5 powers under the 14th Amendment to preserve Second Amendment rights of American citizens. City of Boerne is going to be Bloomberg’s best friend.