Category: Gun Rights

Dave Hardy has the story.

The Oklahoman is expressing some skepticism of VPC’s study about concealed carry license holders in an editorial:

What VPC doesn’t say is how many of the victims were, like Ersland’s target, killed in the act of committing a crime.

Nor can anyone say how many deaths have been prevented because of the huge number of concealed carry permit holders.

No, it doesn’t say.  And they are hoping no one will look all that closely at their claims.

Dave Hardy brings us an interesting link from the Washington Post:

Only two Republicans went against the gun lobby, but that was enough to leave supporters just short of the 60 votes they needed. The slim margin was no accident: Other Democrats, such as Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey and Colorado’s Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, were said to have been willing to vote “no” if necessary. Twenty minutes after the voting began, Bennet and Udall left the cloakroom together and walked into the chamber. Bennet went to the well to consult with Schumer, who indicated that it was safe for Bennet — a product of D.C.’s St. Albans School — to vote with the NRA. Bennet looked to Udall, who gave an approving nod, and cast his “aye” vote.

For better or worse, this is how politics works.  What counts is the vote, and we still ought to appreciate that Casey was with us, and let him know as much.  But we might want to add we do indeed expect that he vote with us in the future as well.  Next time this comes up, if it has a chance, Casey might not want to be the Senator that lets this measure go down in flames.

All politicians are snakes, having some balance of all the worst traits of lawyers, used car salesmen, and power hungry narcissistic field marshals.  Sure, there are a few politicians out there who believe in principles, but they typically end up very good at giving concession speeches.  The nature of the this game practically guarantees you’ll have people who are with you one day, and against you the next.  The great trick is convincing them it would be in their best interests, in terms of keeping their seat, to vote with you.

For once, the gun-control crowd won a shootout with the NRA. But nobody was talking about disarmament. “We know the gun lobby is strong,” Schumer said after the vote. “We know they will be back.”

You can count on it Chucky!

We’re making a list, and checking it twice, so we can find out who’s naughty or nice.  Here’s a breakdown of the votes on the Thune Amendment, for national reciprocity for concealed carry licenses, in the US Senate.  We should not fret, or feel defeated.  We just got 58 votes from the most Democratic Senate we’ve had for a long time.  Almost a supermajority.  We have come a long way, and this was a major piece of legislation.  Here are the results.

YEAs —58
Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID)	DeMint (R-SC) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Feingold (D-WI) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagan (D-NC) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lincoln (D-AR) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ)	McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs —39
Akaka (D-HI) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Burris (D-IL) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Dodd (D-CT) Durbin (D-IL) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY)	Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lugar (R-IN) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ)	Merkley (D-OR) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Reed (D-RI) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Voinovich (R-OH) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting – 3
Byrd (D-WV)	Kennedy (D-MA)	Mikulski (D-MD)

The voting on the Thune Amendment will begin at 11:30.  This will let us know who our real friends are in the Senate.  I will update as the voting proceeds.

UPDATE: DiFi was heard on C-SPAN talking about how strict the California licensing process is.  She would know, since she’s been through the process.

UPDATE: Thune is calling the Democrats out for using a VPC study which is largely crap.  Some of the alleged killers did not have permits, and one of them who did was never charged because it was self-defense.

UPDATE: Barassso just whipped out his Wyoming concealed carry license on the floor of the Senate.

UPDATE: Coburn just said he would support the Dems in the states right argument if they’d agree to a bill on enumerated powers and restoring the 10th Amendment.  Think there will be any takers?

UPDATE: I think the vote will be at noon.  Someone said 11:30.  Can’t remember where I saw that.  High Noon on the Senate floor… ha!

UPDATE: Barbara Boxer claims she’s never seen the phones in her office ring off the hook.  That sounds like a dare to California gun owners if you ask me.

UPDATE: Boxer just acknowledged DiFi’s personal experience with the California permitting process.

UPDATE: Webb and Warner were both yes votes.  Both Virginia Democrats.

UPDATE: Indiana Republican Dick Lugar voted no.  Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, voted yes.

UPDATE: Democrat Bob Casey voted with us.  Former Republican and now Democrat Arlen Specter voted against us.

UPDATE: Gillibrand is a no too, but I gave up on her a while ago.  She’s switched sides.

UPDATE: Udall of Colorado voted yes.  We might break majority.  Holy crap, Bennett too!

UPDATE: Why did Specter vote no when a lot of fellow Democrats didn’t cave?   Webb & Warner were targeted with full page adds yesterday.  Bennett hasn’t had to face the voters yet and will in 2010.  Udall was never alll that reliable in the house.  They voted yes.  I think Specter made a mistake.  A big mistake.

UPDATE: Last call for vote changes.  Arlen?  Come on man.  We just picked up Pryor from AK.

UPDATE: Final vote 58-39.  The bill is defeated, as it needed 60 votes under the rule.  I told Bitter this morning I expected majority, but no passage.  We have done better than I would have anticipated, and this was a major piece of pro-gun legislation that would have altered the landscape significantly.

UPDATE: Expect gloating from the anti-gunners, but we came very close.  We will be back with this bill, or another like it.  They can take that to the bank.

From Specter’s Office:

“From my own experience growing up in Kansas and being District Attorney of Philadelphia, I know states need to prescribe their own rules for carrying a concealed deadly weapon. This is the essence of federalism. My vote against the Thune Amendment will not limit the constitutional rights of hunters and gun owners. Pennsylvania already recognizes concealed carry permits from 24 other states where their laws are similar.”

And only one of those states borders Pennsylvania Senator!  You have to go to West Virginia, in the Southwest Corner of the state, to be able to legally carry a firearm to protect yourself out of this state with a Pennsylvania License to Carry.  There are over 600,000 of us, and we will remember this in 2010.  This was a dumb move on Specter’s part, who is already facing an uphill battle from both the right and left.

Call Specter now.  Flood his switchboard, and let him know you are pissed.

Earlier today, someone from NRA contacted me re my post here, saying they were aware of the problem with the dealers that’s inherent in the One-Gun-a-Month bill, and presented it to legislators, had their concerns dismissed.  Evan Nappen is now on Cam and Company saying basically the same thing.  Legislators who advocated for this bill were told, and just did not care.  Corzine was going to ram this turd through, and consequences to gun owners be damned.