Fortunately, even the sponsors are basically conceding that their modern semi-auto ban and repeal of Castle Doctrine aren’t likely to go anywhere. However, even western Pennsylvania lawmakers are touting that they are supposedly hearing from other legislators that they are open to talk of more gun control.
Author: Bitter
Don’t Assume You’re Safe
Plenty of gun owners haven’t contacted their lawmakers because they believe they are nice, safe red states. Well, my mom called yesterday and wanted to read me the letter she got from her red state lawmaker – Senator Bob Corker – that just, well, didn’t seem very convincing to her. It seemed weak to her, and I tended to agree. We laughed at the fact that whoever put the letter together – assuming it was an intern – didn’t actually put all of the promised material in the letter. The problem is that the promised material was supposedly a list of ways that Bob Corker has defended the Second Amendment. As my mom put it, “Does that mean he doesn’t actually have any record to defend?”
Interestingly, a commenter was also left with the same empty feeling from this otherwise A rated Senator:
Bob Corker’s letter was very disappointing. It was an overt form letter that could have easily been sent as a response to either a pro-gun or anti-gun letter. And it referenced an enclosure regarding the Second Amendment that it did not include. Its only saving grace was that it states support for the ownership of firearms for self-protection, without offering specifics.
Personally, I would suggest calling either the local district office or the DC office and letting Senator Corker’s staff know that you’re unhappy with the response because it does nothing to indicate he actually plans to stand up for gun owners, and they don’t even care about the issue enough to read their own letter or include the materials promised. Basically, let him know that you’re really not thrilled with this unprofessional and rather unsettling response.
This post isn’t just about Bob Corker’s fairly loathsome response to his constituents. It’s a reminder that you can’t assume you’re safe just because you’re in a red state. Keep up the pressure if you haven’t written, and make sure that any unsatisfactory responses from the lawmakers are returned with another polite contact letting them know how disappointed you are.
Here in Pennsylvania, we’re dealing with a bit of the opposite. People are saying they don’t feel like they need to contact Sen. Bob Casey because he already came out in favor of a gun ban. They don’t see any reason to bother anymore. I say they need to contact him precisely because of his sudden change in position on gun rights. If lawmakers in a position like Casey’s are bombarded with pro-gun letters, emails, faxes, and phone calls, then we could easily kill his enthusiasm for his new position. There’s a big difference between a position that a Senator will carry water for the gun ban issue in a state like Pennsylvania and having him go to the leadership and say they have his vote, but he’s not willing to make this a priority issue or do any heavy lifting for them. I don’t know for sure that he’s willing to back off from his support, but I do know that silence sends the message to him that he can campaign on hating guns all day and night for the next six years and gun owners won’t lift a finger to stop him. (For what it’s worth, Bob Casey’s staff is even more incompetent on constituent service than Bob Corker’s office appears to be.)
Gun Owner Legislative Fashions
When a gun lapel pin isn’t enough, there’s always an NRA tie and “self-defense is a human right” button to help constituents figure out which side of the Second Amendment debate you support. According to the reporter uploading the shot, this is the suit of Minnesota Rep. Tony Cornish, a retired police officer who has an A+ rating on our issue.
More Hearings on Gun Control
It looks like the anti-gun lawmakers are not through with the dog and pony show of gun control hearings. We already knew that Dianne Feinstein wasn’t happy with pro-gun speakers allowed on the main Judiciary Committee hearing witness list, and she demanded to have her own hearing.
Well, it looks like Dick Durbin is joining that club and having what will be the second of (at least) three hearings on gun control. There isn’t a posted witness list yet, but Ted Cruz is ranking member of the subcommittee, so he has the opportunity to have a little more fun with his large gun pictures and “evil” gun accessories.
Unexpected Responses
My mother recently retired to Tennessee, and her first political activism in her new home state was to write her Congresswoman, her two Senators, her State Representative, her State Senator, and her Governor to oppose gun control. She faxed all of her letters early last month, and today she got her first response.
It was from the Governor who went from being a MAIG mayor to publicly opposing Bloomberg’s views to leaving the organization to indicating he supported constitutional carry. He’s the only one who has been willing to respond after several weeks. I don’t have a copy of the text, but she said it’s a good letter and favorable response.
Targeting the Gun Industry
About 60 mayors are planning to exercise their authority over city spending on gun and ammunition purchases by demanding that any gun makers who want to bid for their contracts start supporting gun control efforts. Their argument is that they control tax dollars, so tax dollars should only go to companies that embrace their political agenda. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said, “We all ought to have a conversation as taxpayers about whether our dollars should be used for people who are not working to reduce gun violence.”
Meanwhile, Smith & Wesson today posted on Facebook to promote their tool to contact lawmakers to stand up for Second Amendment rights.
We’re More United
I find it funny just how far anti-gun advocates will go to pretend that gun ownership is still just a concern of those rural hicks and that no “legitimate” gun owner actually supports the right to own guns they seek to ban. I came across this tab I still had open from last week when the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show was cancelled after their largest vendor that sold fishing & hunting gear pulled out, their largest or second largest (it was tough to tell in layout plans) boat display pulled out, and dozens of hunting guides and lodges pulled out. The order, timing, & type of non-gun vendors who withdrew is flat out ignored by local officials when condemning NRA members:
It is also unfortunate that legal gun owners and the many families who have enjoyed a long tradition of hunting in the beautiful rural environment around the region will be deprived of this major event because of a controversy caused by firearms manufacturers who profit from the sale of weapons designed for the mass killing of human beings. …
This kind of conflict within the firearms community is the result of years of polarization between the majority American sportsmen and hunters who exercise their constitutional right to bear arms and at the same time favor reasonable illegal gun controls, and a minority of NRA members who refuse to recognize the very real problem of illegal military style weaponry and the mass havoc such weapons facilitate.
The anti-gun leaders know that dividing our community is the most likely path to success. However, that hasn’t happened at this point with many more people who typically just hunt realize that the guns they use are also being targeted. When presented with this pesky fact (based on the timeline and types of vendors who dropped the ESOS because of the gun ban), these anti-gunners don’t know how to fight it. They know we vote. We’re more likely to vote in off year elections, too. Now their strategy is just to lie about it and pretend that we’re heavily divided – even in contexts where the evidence clearly contradicts them.
Band-Aids & Guns
Jim Braaten talks about how dealing with his pre-school daughter is awfully similar to dealing with anti-gun advocates and politicians.
The Non-Public Public Meetings on Gun Control
Just like Joe Biden did in Virginia, Obama plans to start off next week with a not-really-public meeting with supporters to call for more gun control in Minnesota.
This isn’t about hearing from real voters, but they do know that when the President or Vice President come to town and are “seen” as talking to voters about gun control, then it increases local coverage for their cause. I find it interesting that Obama is currently targeting states he won, but where he doesn’t have consistent support for the gun ban agenda from members of Congress. This is very much about testing out the waters of firing up his personal base to see if they will act on gun control. It’s also timed to coincide with the state push for gun control, so he’ll probably tie at least some of his remarks to drive attention to that. I have no doubt that the White House has seen how visible pro-Second Amendment folks have been in key states that should be able to ram through gun control without a second thought, and they want to attention away from our efforts.
As I said previously on the post about Biden’s visit to Virginia, if there happen to be a handful of dedicated pro-gun activists in the immediate area to Obama’s visit, just having a few people out with signs to protest can be very useful for fighting in the media. It doesn’t have to be a mass, full-scale effort. Just a few people who already live or work in the area and have the flexibility to step away from their jobs for an hour or two and hold up some polite protest signs. Those kinds of small efforts make their way into the media reports, and it shows those local lawmakers that Obama is trying to pressure that we’re not giving up.
What Gun Owners Can Learn from Tea Party Activists
I think one of the most relevant lessons for gun owners from tea party efforts to fight Obamacare is that we need to be everywhere. Lawmakers and their staffers shouldn’t be able to go one single day without hearing from at least a handful of Second Amendment supporters. I realize that Obamacare ultimately passed, but not without considerable political losses. That’s not something the Democrats can afford to take again in 2014, and they know it. Obama might not know it, but the other members of his party know it.
Regardless, it’s heartening to hear stories about lawmakers being swarmed by pro-Second Amendment questions at their town hall meetings.
U.S. Rep. Charles W. Dent got a double-barrelled reception on his first visit to Hamburg, where he was peppered with questions on gun control during a town hall meeting Wednesday.
“How are you going to vote on the gun control bill?” a woman demanded. …
The audience, primarily senior citizens, took aim at President Barack Obama’s call for a ban on assault-style weapons, characterizing the president as a dictator intent upon disarming the American public.
“Are you going along with legislation that violates my God-given right to bear arms?” asked James Bewley of Windsor Township. “I believe the federal government is overstepping its bounds.”
Keep it up.