Category: Gun Rights

SayUncle points out that not everyone who is a foreign policy expert is an expert in arms control laws, as one “expert” claims that people are buying grenades, rockets, and machine guns in thousands of US gun shops just across the border.  You’d almost think someone was organizing a media campaign to take advantage of Americans’ ignorance of their own laws or something.

Looks like they managed to stop a recommendation of banning private sales.  Very good.  What they got was this:

Despite some opposition Tuesday, the commission recommended that lawmakers consider requiring Virginia State Police to be on hand at some gun shows to help monitor firearms transactions. The cost of the troopers’ presence would be borne by gun show promoters.

What exactly are they going to monitor here?  I would say no harm in this if the cost wasn’t pushed to the promoters.  Not all shows are large, and profitable enough to cover this.  I have no problems with law enforcement being present at gun shows, in fact, I think they should be.  But if the people arguing for this suggest it’s a public good, the public should bear the cost.

Mike Sullivan has resigned as director of ATF. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong. I originally said that the Bush administration would end with Mike Sullivan in charge of ATF, despite any opposition to his confirmation. It’s a week to go until Bush is out, so pretty clearly my prediction was off.

UPDATE: Turns out the resignation isn’t effective until January 20, so I guess I was right after all.

Apparently God wants us to harass businesses which sell a lawful product.  Interesting that one of the “Clergy” in the pictures looks an awful lot like Bryan Miller.  I didn’t even know Bryan was ordained!

Colosimo acknowledged that a significant number of handguns sold at his shop have been discovered to have been used in crimes. However, he said, that is because of the shop’s large sales volume for decades.

“We sell 100 times more than some other stores,” he said, adding that the shop has had contracts with “at least 250” Pennsylvania and New Jersey police departments during the last six decades, including Philadelphia’s.

He said he believed it was unfair to deny guns to prospective buyers simply because their previous purchases had been used in crimes.

“Suppose you came in here 10 years ago and bought five guns,” he said. “And you lose one of them, or it’s stolen, and five years later it’s used in a robbery. Does that mean I shouldn’t sell it to you?”

Miller said that retailers who signed the pledge still could “use discretion” in such situations.

Good for Colosimo’s for standing up to this crap.  Any local gun shops who agree to not sell guns to people who have had guns stolen from them will not get my business, and I will do everything I can to make sure everyone knows why.

If anyone buys for a minute that Miller wouldn’t sue or smear any shop that used this “discretion” he speaks of, then they are nuts.

Apparently no judge in Indiana is willing to rule that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act actually means something.

We have at least one gun control bill introduced in Congress.  Thanks to Jdude for bringing this to my attention.  Introduced by Congressman Rush, called HR45.  It is a bill that mandates licensing, registration and safe storage for handguns and semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines.  It also provides for inspection, so you surrender your fourth amendment rights by being licensed.  It also requires reporting of Lost and Stolen firearms, and you must inform the federal government if you change addresses.

Normally, I’d tell everyone not to worry too much, because it’s probably not going anywhere, but we can’t take anything for granted in this Congress.  Right now the bill has no co-sponsors, and has not been scheduled for a committee hearing, so it is no threat right now.  But we should keep an eye on it.  There is also the risk that Rush gets pieces of his bill attached as amendments to other bills on the House floor.  The problem with this Congress is, if the Democrats were to decide that HR45 is the hill they want to charge up, we’re going to be hard pressed to stop them from taking it.  In my last post I mentioned that NRA prefers not to take high risk gambles it doesn’t have to.  If this bill goes anywhere they will have to gamble on stopping this one.   But the hope is the Democrats know it’s a high risk gamble too, and will also be wary of taking it.  My interpretation is that this isn’t good ground for the Democrats to fight us on, so they aren’t likely to.  But it’s a card on the table, and we have to be mindful of that.

I think folks can hold a reasonable opinion on either side of whether or not the NRA issuing a member alert over Holder’s confirmation vote is a wise thing.  Erick at Redstate thinks they ought to go one up and threaten grades over Holder, which I think is considerably less defensible.

First off, threatening grades is something you can only get away with a few times, and we have no idea how many gun control bills we are going to need to stop in the 111th Congress.  Each time you ding a politician’s grade, he has less incentive to care every subsequent time you threaten to ding it.  Like a razor, it gets duller with every single use.  At the end of a term, when a politician finds himself graded low, you better be able to unseat him, or he’s not liable to care about how you grade him in the next Congress.  Why should he?  The implicit threat of a low grade is that you lose your seat.  It’s easy for Gun Owners of America to grade politicians on Holder because GOA does not use its grades as a political tool.  GOA doesn’t have the membership numbers to threaten anyone’s seat, or offer material support to allies.

I would also mention to Erick of Redstate that The National Rifle Association is not a wholly owned subsidiary of the GOP.  NRA has no choice but to play nice with Democrats in the 111th Congress because they are in the majority.  The Republicans do not have the votes to stop gun control bills short of using a filibuster in the Senate, and I’m sorry, but I don’t have faith that one or two RINOs in the Senate won’t break ranks with the party and vote for cloture on, say, a new assault weapons ban.

As a member, I expect the National Rifle Association to fight gun control in the 111th Congress.  If they have to get down on their hands and knees and kiss Harry Reid’s rosey red ass as part of a deal to stop a gun control bill, I’ll buy them the lip balm.

Yes, I’m being sarcastic.  The Police Chief at LAX says that guns and airports don’t mix.  Funny, this guy didn’t seem to get the message there Chief.  Another vicitim of California’s highly complicated and unconstitutional gun laws.

“I am being charged for a law that is meant for ex-felons and bank robbers, that kind of individual,” Dominguez said.

I’m afraid you’re wrong there my friend.  You are exactly who these laws are aimed at.

The rule that forces National Parks to comply with state law on concealed carry is now in effect.  For how long remains to be seen, but we can expect the legal fight on the matter to continue.  For now, however, the rule is in effect.

Bitter and I are in Arlington. NRA Board Meeting are going on right now. We don’t have much of an agenda, except for discussing some details of the Second Amendment Blog Bash with some of the staff who will be here. This is also a about the one place we can meet up with other bloggers and people we know around the country who are in the gun rights movement.

We will be attending the Public Affairs Committee meeting tommorow, then going to NRA Studios to say hi to Cam. Not sticking around for the actual Board Meeting this time. Meeting up with Countertop and Ravenwood later tonight.