Sebastian – Page 814 – Shall Not Be Questioned

“I Support the Second Amendment”

Thirdpower notes that the Brady’s are scrubbing any reference to their past opposition to the Second Amendment as an individual right. It’s the old narrative. Heller has imposed a new narrative on the gun control movement, which you see over and over, like State Representative Levdansky, “I believe in the Second Amendment. But…” Say what you will about the gun control groups, their message discipline is incredible. “I believe in the Second Amendment, but I believe in gun control too.” is the new “Separate but Equal.”

The good thing for us is that we’ve forced them onto a weaker message.

We Have to Get Rid of Levdansky

After surviving a challenge from Monica Douglass last election, State Representative David Levdansky has been taking his “Lost and Stolen” show on the road, in an effort to weaken preemption in Pennsylvania by getting municipalities to pass illegal ordinances regulating guns.

“We are on the same team with him,” said Mary Beth Hacke, of West Mifflin, a board member of CeaseFirePA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing gun violence through advocacy and education in the communities.

“By this ordinance passing in communities it will make it easier for passage some day in Harrisburg. ‘You’re not hearing the voice of your own constituents,’ will be the message to legislators,” she said.

It’s worth noting that no local municipality has yet to charge a single person with violating these ordinances they are passing. So if they are so useful for fighting crime, why is that the case? This is useless legislation. The anti-gun people know it’s useless legislation. They are pushing it in a desperate move to find a working formula in Pennsylvania. If it works on this issue, you can bet they are going to try it on other issues.

Levdansky has hopped into bed with the opposition, and we have to get him out of office in 2010.

Plot Thwarted

I am happy to see the English Canadians not falling for this ploy to reclaim the French parts of North America for France. Clearly the first step was registering all the guns of the English folk. Now the plot has been thwarted! Citizens of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Louisiana (among others) can sleep better tonight knowing that Alberta has your back, and isn’t giving up an inch to the damned Frenchies!

Republican Gay Bashing

Every once and a while I say the GOP needs to lay off the gay bashing. Usually someone demands to know what the GOP is doing against gays. This!

I’m not expecting the GOP to come out for gay marriage or anything, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask to start moving in the direction of acceptance. There are ways this can be arranged without embracing gay marriage, and there’s not much to be objected to in the language of the Rhode Island bill. The GOP is going to lose a generation of voters if they continue this track.

We bring facts and arguments …

… they bring dismissive insults and ignorance. Keep it up. We’ll keep winning, and you’ll keep sliding into irrelevance. But hey, I do suppose we should credit him for not resorting to dick jokes.

Making Sausage

This article over at Politico gives you some idea what Nancy Pelosi had to do to pick up the votes she needed to pass the health care bill through the House.

Veterans Day

A Veterans Day message from NRA, narrated by Jim Land, Secretary of the National Rifle Association.

An Online Firearms Museum

Tam has been working again on The Arms Room. I highly recommend it, as it’s some very good writing about guns, and not much else.

Some Good Points Last Night

If anyone missed Ashley last night, you can download the MP3 here. She brought up a couple of good points toward the end in regards to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, who are currently infecting Pennsylvania mayors like the swine flu. There’s a rule in politics that perception of power matters just as much, and probably more, than actual power. When MAIG goes into a state legislators office to lobby their position, it’s quite powerful to be able to say

“You know Mr. Representative, we have four mayors in your district who support our position on this bill. This is something the mayors and people in your district want.”

Even if the reality is that NRA members have the power to unseat the Representative, we really want to avoid having to teach that lesson. What MAIG is doing is creating the perception of power. The perception that voting their way may have some tangible benefit for a state level politician. And an implication of cost or embarrassment for going against local mayors.

MAIG is bringing the culture war over guns to our towns, cities, and local communities, and we have to meet them with strong resistance. Ashley has worked to make MAIG membership a political liability in her states. But that’s something NRA can’t really do without us.

Listen to Gun Nuts Radio Tonight at 9PM

Ashley Varner from NRA will be on Gun Nuts Radio tonight at 9PM to talk about the Chicago case, and various happenings in Caleb’s home state of Indiana. Ashley previously worked in NRA-ILA Public Affairs, and handled the outreach for the bloggers, so we know her fairly well. She has since moved up as State Liaison for Oklahoma, Indiana, and her home state of Missouri. State Liaison is essentially the NRA representative to the states, and NRA’s presence in the State Capitol. She is a lobbyist, but that’s not all a State Liaison is involved with. Ashley has been involved with the fight against MAIG in the states she’s responsible for, and with Pennsylvania being the front lines in that battle, I feel good knowing she’s guarding our flanks in Indiana, Oklahoma and Missouri. So tune in tonight at 9 if you can, and feel free to call in if you want to ask her some questions about liaising, or other gun rights topics.