No guns for thee, at least that which you do not allow for civilians. Actually, I would be fairly pleased with the constitutional standard being anything that’s in common police use is protected. That would certainly include pistols that hold more than ten rounds, as well as the AR-15. It would also make the increasing militarization of the police have consequences. The feds might think twice about surplusing so many M4s and M16s to police departments if the consequence of that is that we have a right to them too.
Author: Sebastian
Martin O’Malley’s Divide and Conquer
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley appears to have used his executive power to get the personal emails of citizens with hunting licenses in order to push gun control. The second-term Democrat is using the information in an attempt to divide gun owners to build support for his extremist legislation to abridge Second Amendment rights.
Let us hope this backfires in a big, big way. I think this really shows how poorly they understand the community. Sure, there are hunters that might tell a pollster that they support certain gun control measures, but it’s not an issue they are going to go to bat over. But many hunters hate gun control, and it’s quite likely here all Governor O’Malley is doing is helping get the word out to our people. The hunter license list, I’m sure, is reaching a lot of people NRA and the rest of the gun rights movement has difficulty reaching. This likely will mobilize more people against gun control than mobilize them for. I think this was a gross miscalculation on the part of the Governor.
Aimless Politicians
Jacob notes that Andrew Cuomo is considered “adrift” in his second term. Yet another example of the fact that gun control is a refuge for scoundrels. It is a way to look like you’re doing “something” without actually having to do anything. It pleases those rationally ignorant who demand that something be done, and the rabid dogs who demand gun owners be punished for their backward ways. But there’s one thing they don’t count on, as Jacob notes:
A lot of people still do not understand what was passed into law and when they find out they get very angry.  It is going to bite Cuomo and the GOP in the ass eventually.
Our people are at their most powerful when they are scared and/or pissed off. Even I’m sometimes surprised by the scale of the reaction. I’ve often told our opponents that you can’t weigh polls too much, because many of our own people are also quite rationally ignorant of the ins and outs of gun policy. When they come to understand the actual consequences, unintended or otherwise, they are often quote opposed to the very thing they may have said they supported out of ignorance.
The Manchin Waffle
First he supported an assault weapons ban, then he kind of backed down, then he supported one again, and now he’s backed down… again. This is why the experienced politicians have all remained non-commital, and waited for the political dynamic to play out a bit before taking any firm position. I’m really not sure what Manchin thought he’d gain here. It’s not like he’s going to suddenly become a darling of the progressive left, and even if he does, West Virginia is full of working-class Democrats who don’t go for that.
Don’t Shoot!
I’d say that’s really funny, but it’s kind of funny in a sad kind of way. That it has come to this. Did you ever get that feeling that you were living with a government that was totally and completely out of control, and you can’t do a damned thing about it, because no one seems to give a shit?
I really want an answer to this question form urban voters, before I agree to be ruled by the likes of them: why do you keep voting for this shit? What are you going to do to punish the people who have created a culture where citizens have to go about in public begging their police department not to shoot them? Don’t you see something very very wrong with this?
And Republicans, what does it say about you, that as a party that purportedly stands for Traditional American ValuesTM, that you’ve been utterly unable to capitalize on moments like this, and perhaps compel urban voters to re-evaluate their political alliances?
More on the Democrat Shift on Guns
The question is what message about guns Democrats – and Republicans, for that matter – decide to take out of next year’s midterms. If action is taken this year and a bunch of incumbent Democratic senators from pro-gun states lose their seats next year, the party will likely conclude that the renewed gun control push was the reason; a new round of post-’14 reforms would be unlikely. But what if new laws are passed this year and most or all of those Democratic incumbents survive? And if the same thing happens at the House level? Or if some anti-gun control Republicans from swing districts are voted out? Under that scenario, Democrats might emerge from the ’14 midterms emboldened to press for more new laws, and Republicans from competitive districts might believe there’s no choice but to go along.
There’s a lot of bluffing that goes on in politics. What Biden, Obama and the far-left that now controls the Democratic Party is counting on is that NRA has been bluffing for years, and doesn’t really hold any cards. They are calling what they think is a bluff. It is way too early at this point to know what the 2014 election is going to look like for us, but if two years from now, friendly lawmakers have held the line, we need to work like hell, to do some positive reinforcement, for a change, to keep those lawmakers in office who helped hold that line, and be seen as a vital constituency in their coalition.
Third Circuit Shoots Down Challenge to One-Gun-a-Month Law
Decision here. It’s important to know this was not a Second Amendment challenge to one-gun-a-month, but rather a challenge based on an obscure provision in federal law that preempts the states from prohibiting air guns, and New Jersey law treats air guns identically to firearms. The court held that the rationing does not amount to complete prohibition, and thus is not preempted:
Because the One Gun Law regulates but does not prohibit the sale of B-B and air guns, it is not preempted by § 5001(g)(ii).
ANJRPC also challenged the exemption process, as a violation of due process, since the exemption is impossible to obtain.
We also reject the Appellants‘ claim that the implementation of the exemptions violates due process. The District Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state law claims after it dismissed the federal claims. Because we affirm its dismissal of the federal claims, we hold that the Court properly declined jurisdiction over the state law claims.
This will likely be spun by our opponents, but it was a novel theory to attempt to defeat the gun rationing scheme, and it is wholly inapplicable to other states, which do not regulate air guns as New Jersey does. It also means nothing in regards as to whether such a rationing scheme is constitutional per the Second Amendment.
Bring Out Your Dead
Early voting is beginning for the primary to determine the candidates for the seat previously held by Jesse Jackson Jr. Since this is a D+32 district, the Democratic primary is basically the election. For those in Illinois, Debbie Halvorson is a pro-gun Democrat, and is enough of a threat that Bloomberg is dumping a million dollars into the primary against her. The Chicago establishment is backing Robin Kelly. Bloomberg is dumping this kind of money both to help ensure a favorable outcome, but also to send a message. It is only a lot of hard work on our part that is going to successfully counter-balance Bloomberg’s heaps of money. If you want to keep your gun rights, the time for passivity is over.
Hey Rick, You Know How These People Vote, Right?
Hey, just what Texas needs: more California voters. This has worked out real well for Oregon, Nevada, and other western states who’ve seen huge influxes. You know, they don’t start voting red just because they move, Rick.
The Bluing
Here’s a picture of Joe Biden’s gun control shindig in Philadelphia. You will note Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Alyson Schwartz seated near him. Alyson Schwartz is preparing to run against Tom Corbett for Governor. Alyson Schwartz is a leader on gun control. This is going to be it folks. One reason we aren’t worrying too much about Pennsylvania right now is because Governor Corbett came out early and said gun control wasn’t going to be a solution in Pennsylvania. If Schwartz wins and denies Corbett a second term, the game will be over for gun rights in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia and the far-left coalition that controls the near suburbs will control the state. The House Republicans will probably try to hold the line for a while, but that won’t last long term. Corbett has to win, and we need to pull out all of the stops to keep him in office for another term.