Gun Rights – Page 223 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Semi-Autos Safe in Finland

Based on the comments in this article, I think they were trying to ban any gun that held more than one round at all.

Finland will not impose a full ban on semi-automatic weapons, the interior minister said Monday, rejecting an inquiry commission proposal following two deadly school shootings.

“I will not take this proposal forward as it is,” Interior Minister Anne Holmlund told national broadcaster YLE in a televised interview.

“I don’t really believe that the banning of one approach in weapons would be the way to ensure massacres are prevented,” she said, adding several different actions were needed, including giving police wider access to information about gun licence applicants. …

Finland’s parliament is currently debating a new gun law, and the so-called Kauhajoki inquiry commission had asked Holmlund to back its proposal for a total ban on semi-automatic handguns in the new legislation.

“Both the school shootings of recent years and the Sello massacre were carried out using semi-automatic weapons.

“It is clear that single shot weapons would not have created similar victim figures,” Pekka Sauri, chairman of the Kauhajoki commission told YLE.

Onorato Blaming Corbett for Non-Loophole

Onorato is blaming Tom Corbett for the so-called “Florida Loophole,” showing that the candidate for Governor in 2010 is not shy about sending his gun control views up the flag pole. This is in contrast to Governor Ed, who conveniently dropped the issue like a hot potato during his 2002 and 2006 runs.

I’m convinced that Governor Ed has convinced fellow Dems that the NRA can’t touch them. His evidence? His two terms, and Barack Obama’s ten point win in this state. Except Ed ran against two lackluster candidates, and so did Barry. Corbett isn’t a weak candidate. He’s a hard campaigner and a good fundraiser.

It’s absolutely important we send Dan Onorato packing this fall, or it’s going to be over for us in Pennsylvania. Democrats will say the NRA can’t hurt them, only then they will be right.

Quote of the Day

Dennis Henigan is predictably upset:

Itâ€™s now clear that the Democratic leadership in Congress has turned the reins of power over to the National Rifle Association. Is it time to make it official and elect the NRAâ€™s Wayne LaPierre Speaker of the House?

The reality is this is the most Democratic Congress in many years. It’s also the most left-wing Congress we’ve had at least in my lifetime. Yet this Congress has bent over backwards to avoid picking a fight with NRA, and have honestly been willing to do more for us in two years than the Republican Congress did in 14 years. Reid’s been very good about attaching pro-gun amendments to bills that give the White House cover to sign, and sign they have.

The shame of it is I’m angry about nearly everything else this Congress has done. The even bigger shame of it is that after NRA fails to protect many of the incumbents, they could see a lot of political capital disappear overnight. The good thing is the house will probably flip back to GOP. But that might not be the best thing for our gun rights.

One reason I’m not all that sympathetic to conservative groups and Republican hacks complaining that NRA won’t do their fighting for them is that they’ve never really lifted a finger for us when we needed them. Guns have always been a barely welcome part of the Republican coalition. It’s worth noting it was a Republican Congress in 1996 that failed to undo the wrong of the Clinton gun ban. After November, it’ll be time for the GOP to show us things have changed, lest we too soon begin to consider that perhaps the Democrats learned something on other fronts from their 2010 beating.

There’s a new Sheriff in town boys. Best get used to it.

Delco Times Refighting Heller

They aren’t happy Lentz’s reciprocityÂ weakeningÂ bill is being held up:

When it comes to firearms, some people refuse to face facts.

Blindly invoking the Second Amendment, written almost 235 years ago when militias were needed to defend a fledgling nation, they decry any effort to stem the flow of guns to the general public.

Even spurning attempts at compromise, they grouse at any hint of gun control.

How would the Delco Times feel if we said the First Amendment’s right to freedom of the press was antiquated, written almost 235 years ago when we needed a formal press establishment? It seems if it’s there, we ought toÂ respectÂ it, and last I checked the Times didn’t need a license from the state before it had permission to exercise its right. The editorial that follows is completely one sided. I know it’s an editorial, but they sought out quotes from proponents,and their quote from someone on our side was a throw away, meaningless one liner. There was no attempt to convey our concerns about the abuses of Philadelphia’s discretion in issuing and revoking Licenses to Carry. You want to agree that it’s still a smart measure, fine, but don’t give our opponents views credence without listening to us. This is why the dead tree media is going down the toilet.

We’re Winning

The number of people supporting gun ownership continues to rise, according to a new Harris poll. This isn’t too surprising, considering the number of alternate sources of news that don’t have the old media’s bias. Take a look, for instance, at this cracked.com article on movie myths surrounding guns. Lots of non-gun people read Cracked, and now they know silencers are really suppressors, and machine guns aren’t bullet hoses.

Hat Tip to SayUncle for the Cracked article.

Update on New York Microstamping

I’m getting a report that it was tabled in the Senate. I will provide a link as soon as I can.

UPDATE:Â Yep. Jacob confirms it. It’s been tabled. This doesn’t kill it, but it’s off the agenda for now. Doesn’t look like they liked how the vote was going. Good show New Yorkers!

Keeping the Lie Alive

I see the Brady Campaign is jumping on the narrative that the Supreme Court, by refusing to take an appeal, based entirely on the standing issue, rather than the merits, has upheld Philadelphia’s Lost and Stolen ordinance. I have to admit that their ability to shape public opinion and perception through the use of these kinds of distortions in the media is second to none among advocacy groups.

I can promise you the MAIG/Brady lackey in Pennsylvania, Max Nachemann, will only be too happy to bring thisÂ narrativeÂ to every Borough, City and Township counsel when gun owners try to say the ordinances he’s pushing areÂ illegalÂ under Pennsylvania’s preemption law. A pity none of it will actually be true. The hope is that no one will bother to look hard enough. Sadly, often they don’t.

Update on HB2536, the Anti-Reciprocity Bill

Chambered Round, who is in a position to know, notes that the vote has been pushed off another week:

This is starting to look more and more like a diversion tactic to keep focus off of HB40 (Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground) in the hopes that bill will, once again, die in committee.

Pennsylvanians, aside from fighting back HB2536, make sure to keep up the pressure on HB40! Contact the members of the House Appropriations Committee, especially the office of Chairman Dwight Evans, and ask them “Where’s the vote on HB40?”

The strategy would seem to be to wear us out and spread us thin in the hopes of running out the clock for HB40, the Castle Doctrine bill.

UPDATE: From Lentz himself:

We are going to hold the bill for a week to see if we can come up with a solution that allows us to keep the permit process local and still prevent known drug dealers from relying on a loophole to get an out of state permit as a get out of jail free card but not interfere in any way with law abiding citizens rights.

More later.

Update on Microstamping in New York

NSSF is saying:

If S. 6005A passes, firearms manufacturers would be forced to abandon the New York market rather than spend the astronomical sums of money necessary to completely reconfigure their manufacturing and assembly processes.Â In addition, this bill could result in hundreds of layoffs for New York workers as firearm factories consider moving out of the state.

And as NSSF notes, Mayors Against Illegal Guns is supporting this bill, which is aÂ de-factoÂ ban on handguns in New York, even if it’s not an explicit ban on handguns. Here’s an article from the Albany Times Union that talks about MAIG’s support of this handgun ban:

The Assembly recently passed legislation to require newly manufactured handguns sold in New York to be equipped with microstamping technology. The legislation has the support of 100 state members of the bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition and 83 police departments and law enforcement organizations including the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, the New York State District Attorneys Association, and the New York State Law Enforcement Council.

Good to know what their true colors are when it comes to this issue. Of course, the Times Union loses all credibility when they say:

Microstamping is cost-effective. The proposed legislation ensures that the cost to the manufacturer will not exceed $12 per gun, likely much less. The technology cannot be defeated; the microstamp can’t be filed down, or sandpapered away without potentially making the gun inoperable. In fact, criminals rarely attempt to deface serial numbers. According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, less than 20 percent of guns recovered in crimes have their serial numbers scratched off.

Are you kidding me? This is utterÂ propaganda, and runs counter to the claims of the people who, you know, actually make guns and understand the business.Â Also, since when is 20% rare? That’s like saying high blood pressure is rare.

Let’s Not Forget that Lentz’s Anti-Reciprocity Bill is Today

What worries me is, rumors are there might not be the votes to stop this. So please contact the members of the committee.