Category: Gun Rights

From a New Jersey media source at that:

According to the research done by the NSSF, 72 percent more women are hunting with firearms today than just five years ago. And 50 percent more women are now target shooting. The statistics, from National Sporting Goods Association surveys spanning 2001 through 2005, show more than 3 million women hunt and over 5 million women enjoy shooting.

[…]

The statistics show that 23 percent of the shooting population in America are now women. Women also own 9 percent of the firearms in America, and this figure is increasing with each passing year.

I’ve also found that women are far better additions to the community than many men.  This is merely antecdotal evidence, but in my experience women:

• Are far more willing to get their kids, families and friends involved in shooting.
• Are more likely to take an interest in the issue politically and be activists for the second amendment.
• Are more willing to try different shooting sports.
• Often improve their shooting faster than men.

This data is good news for us, and not very good news for the anti-gun folks.  The stereotypical soccer mom is the gun control key demographic.  What’s going to happen when their key demographic keeps a Glock in the glove compartment?

I’ve mentioned that I signed up to be NRA’s Election Volunteer Coordinator for my congressional district (PA-08), and we’ve been working on a plan.  Our job is to gather volunteers to help pro-gun campaigns, and to help get gun owners involved in the political struggle.  Since I’ve only had the title for a month or so, we’re just getting started, but we have a plan going forward for this election.

We’ve already established a web presence for gun issues in the 8th congressional district.  We’ve been identifying all the gun clubs and ranges in the district and near (more than a dozen), and have been looking at the gun show schedules.  We’re scheduled to appear at the Valley Forge Gun Show on September 20th in the morning, where we’ll be working with the EVC for the 6th and 7th congressional districts.  We’re also now starting to contact all the gun clubs in the area in an attempt to try to get the message out to gun owners in the county that this isn’t an election they want to sit out.  If all works well, we should have a healthy number of volunteers and involved gun owners to make a difference in November.

Be very afraid:

Under the treaty, governments would also be required to report their arms transfers to an international register, a move which arms control advocates say will lead to greater public scrutiny and confidence.

If these ideas are allowed to proliferate, and find roots, the shooting community in this country will be in a lot of trouble.  Got an eye on a new Glock?  Too bad, they won’t export to the United States because we lack proper control.  New Anschutz?  Too bad, your country doesn’t track firearms closely enough.  Definitely forget about a Beretta, you citizen of a third world arms bazaar you!

It’s a serious worry that in a few decades, international treaty will make it nearly impossible for Americans to import arms from overseas.  That’ll be a boon to the American gun manufacturers, but a detriment to the shooting community as a whole.

The Examiner rightly takes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to task as author Peter Manso faces the possibility of ten years in prison because his previously lifetime Firearms Identification license expired, and he didn’t know to renew it.  They go on to state:

The more intricate and technical the law becomes, the harder it is to understand, respect and abide by. It’s irresistably tempting for many people to ignore the law’s sillier restrictions, and all too easy to unwittingly fall behind in paperwork — at the cost of years behind bars if a local official wants to be by-the-book about such things.

And, of course, offending local officials then comes to carry a hefty penalty in terms of selective enforcement of arcane law.

Exactly.  This is something the Brady Campaign would like to quietly sweep under the rug, because this isn’t really a bug in their eyes, it’s a feature.  Look how easily guys like Bryan Miller dismiss these concerns.  They want gun owners in jail.  It’s where they think we belong.

Here it happened to someone rather well known.  But this is a story that’s told over and over again in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and why I don’t believe you can license a right, and still pretend it’s not just a privilege.

Most Americans disagree with him on guns.  That’s bad news for the Brady Campaign too.  Of course, it’s amazing how much a difference asking the right question could make.  Let’s look:

Question Asked	How Brady Would Have Asked
“Do you support or oppose legislation to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting?”	“Do you support or oppose legislation to ban armor piercing cop killer bullets that can shoot down airplanes and destroy armored vehicles?”
“Do you agree or disagree that you have the right to use deadly force as a means of self-defense in your home, without having to retreat?”	“Do you agree or disagree that guns in the home should be restricted to save the lives of children?”

Americans answered 77% that they’d oppose a ban on most hunting and sporting ammunition, which is to say most ammunition. 88% of Americans believe they have a right to use deadly force in home defense without having to retreat. Sorry Obama and Brady folks, most Americans just don’t agree with you when you ask the question the right way.

He’s the next President of Maryland Shall Issue.   I suppose it’s only fitting that their next president be one of the few people in Maryland who actually has a concealed carry license.