Category: Guns

Clayton Cramer takes a look at the Santa Monica mass shooter. California’s gun laws, in this case, didn’t help anything. He was a prohibited purchaser under California law, because he had been committed for observation:

Gun-control advocates, at least the more rational ones, will usually admit that these laws only work at the margins, by making guns harder for criminals and the mentally ill to get.  I can buy that argument; all laws work only at the margins, and that is all that they have to do to justify their existence.  I can also agree that when there is a large stockpile of illegal goods in circulation, it can take a while before laws aimed at those goods will remove them from the illegal marketplace.  Still, when I see that laws that are decades old failed to disarm a 24 year old who could not possibly have legally acquired this weapon, I find myself wondering in what century California’s gun-control laws are going to be effective.

I think it’s questionable whether these laws even work at the margins. The problem is that anyone determined to get a gun can, generally speaking, obtain one. Banning in-demand products doesn’t seem to have very much success, even at the margins.

The NRC has told nuclear security forces in New York that they can ignore the SAFE act. Security agencies that are contracted to protect nuclear power plants are generally allowed to buy anything they want. It’s authorized under the Energy Policy Act and Atomic Energy Acts, and those supersede state laws. I believe the federal government could preempt these kinds of state laws for all citizens using its militia powers.

Links probably has a much better connotation than dump, which is something most of us usually do in the morning. Gun news is a little dry lately, but I’m still building up some stories in the tabs where I don’t really have much to add other than a link.

Picking a competition holster. I can’t speak for competition, but my regular carry holster for my Glock 19 is a Comp-Tac IWB Infidel holster, and I can’t say enough good thing about it. It basically stopped my quest for the better carry holster.

An interview with an anti-gun person at what looks to me to be the rally on Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Remember, no one wants to take your guns. This guy even says banning nails is “something to think about.”

An effective ban on all new handguns in California. I’d say they just make the lawsuits that much easier, but I’ve become more skeptical the courts can do a whole lot more for the Second Amendment. We’ve honestly lost too many elections.

To win Millennials, the GOP needs to embrace its inner libertarian.

Incredible 1000 yard shot with a .50BMG Barrett, offhand. I’d have a hard time even holding it in position, let alone being steady enough to hit something.

The gun control debate continues in Massachusetts. I didn’t think it had ever ended. Actually, Massachusetts has been pretty quiet post Newtown. Almost too quiet.

Support Your Local Gunfighter turns 8. Not many blogs make it to 8!

Bloomberg wants the best gun control money can buy. Now he’s crapping all over Oregon trying to keep a bill banning private transfers in the Beaver State alive and well. Bloomberg is also dumping another $400,000 bucks against Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, and funding a 100-day bus tour for MAIG. He continues to pour money into running campaign ads for Mark Pryor in Arkansas by letting everyone know he’s a pro-gun Democrat.

But all kidding aside, Bloomberg’s money can do serious harm. Politicians will fear what Bloomberg’s money can buy. Money in politics is so important, it’s going to take millions of us just to counter what Bloomberg can put into a race. Traditionally gun owners are much better at negative reinforcement than positive reinforcement, in other words, we’re better at voting those who cross us out of office than working to help keep people who vote with us in office. If people want to understand why we can’t, for instance, get the Hughes Amendment repealed, this is why. If you’re only good on defense, you convince people to play defense for you, but convincing them to go on the offense gets harder. Also, if you can’t defend the people who vote with you, you’ll run out of friends in a legislature quickly.

In 2014, destroying Bloomberg has to be a top priority, and that means every race he dumps money into, he loses. That means politicians like Ayotte are going to need our boots on the ground to counter his money. If Bloomberg can show his money can buy elections, the pendulum on this issue is going to swing, and swing hard. Our biggest asset is that everyone generally thinks Bloomberg is a rich asshole, but rich assholes can buy elections. But money isn’t any substitute for the hard mechanics of coalition building, community organizing, and getting people out to the polls on election day. If that weren’t the case, Mitt Romney would be President right now.

Anti-gun folks gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg to demand gun control, in what looks to be a Bloomberg branded event.

Those at the gun violence prevention rally – including representatives from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, CeaseFirePA, Mothers in Charge and others – are supporting three bills in particular:

•  House Bill 1010: Introduced by Santarsiero in March, this bill would amend the state’s current background checks policy to include long guns like assault rifles and shotguns.
•  House Bill 1479: Introduced by State Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia, on Monday, this bill would prohibit large capacity magazines.
•  House Bill 1515: Introduced Wednesday by State Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery, this bill would require individuals report when their firearms are lost or stolen.

Boyle’s limit on high-capacity magazines bill, perhaps the boldest of the three measures, is about “protecting human life,” he said.

These are likely going to be the first bills we’re going to be facing if the power structure in the PA legislature switches from R to D. It doesn’t look like much of a crowd, to be honest, when you compare it to the crowd the pro-2A community turned out in April without our state being under any serious threat.

They continue to decline. A Rasmussen poll released yesterday shows that only 37% of voters give him positive reviews, while 46% give him a poor rating. Also, the poll shows Republicans have the edge over Democrats when it comes to trust on the gun issue. But I thought gun control was popular?