The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
… to dissect this bit of ignorance. I love how none of these wise and learned pundits ever mention a damned thing about the Supreme Court. They are more interested in showing everyone else how smart they are, rather than conceding that when it comes to who Obama is going to put on the Court, we might actually have a point in opposing a second term.
If Kagan posts a pro-2A opinion, I’ll shut up, but I’m not holding my breath.
Sometimes it amazes me just how much Paul Helmke apparently was doing to hold Brady together and keep it on message. It’s got to be pretty gloomy over there these days, especially when you consider now some of their favorite sons are competing with Bloomberg’s gang in the criminal category.
SayUncle notes the violent insurrectionist rhetoric from Mayor Bloomberg. Note that it’s only wrong when we do it. The fact that Bloomberg even thought “If the NYPD were an army, how big an army would it be?” is scary enough in and of itself.
Here’s by bit of insurrectionism: that people like Bloomberg can end up in positions of such power are one of the reasons I think gun ownership is important. Not that I think Bloomberg has plans to march the NYPD across New Jersey and invade Pennsylvania (though that would be fun), but that in the event of a breakdown in civil order, there’s something to keep the ambitions of such a dangerously grandiose individual in check.
One of the problems our opponents have with characterizing our views is that they make the assumption that we feel directly threatened, rather than believing widespread gun ownership among the civilian populace acts as deterrent to the ambitions of the powerful, and creates a political ecosystem that makes it more unlikely those ambitions will be followed through with to the sacrifice of everyone else’s liberty.
The New Trajectory is a blog of CeaseFire Oregon, which asks the question:
So here’s my question to you pro-gun folks: When you sell a gun to a private buyer you don’t know, how do you know the buyer doesn’t fall into one of those categories? Do you care at all if you may be unknowingly abetting a shooting crime?
I’ve sold one or two guns through a private sale to friends who are also gun people, and I know can pass a background check. I’ve bought several guns at a private sale from people at my club. All long guns, since handguns have to go through an FFL or a Sheriff in Pennsylvania.
Personally, I would never sell a gun to someone I don’t know, but I’m not going to advocate people who do that end up in prison, or face heavy fines and criminal records. I’ve had more than a few instances of people offering to sell me handguns, only to be surprised when I’ve told them that’s illegal in Pennsylvania. It’s difficult for a lot of anti-gun people to believe, because they have difficulty in viewing guns as tools or property, but a lot of gun owners think there’s not really a problem selling a pistol to a friend, either morally or legally, and to be honest, they are only wrong about the latter.
As I’ve said, there are a lot of solutions one could think of that would alleviate the concerns regarding background checks, but the other side doesn’t want to speak about them. Why? Because the true purpose of what they propose has nothing to do with background checks, and never has. They are more interested in tightening the de facto registration scheme that the 4473 represents than they are in expanding background checks.
UPDATE: Robb has a different point of view on selling guns to strangers. I don’t associate any negative morality with the act, it’s just my personal preference. I know people who won’t sell cars to friends too, but it’s not a legal or moral issue.
USA Today, of all media outlets, is reporting on gun sales this Black Friday:
Gun dealers flooded the FBI with background check requests for prospective buyers last Friday, smashing the single-day, all-time high by 32%, according to bureau records.
Deputy Assistant FBI Director Jerry Pender said the checks, required by federal law, surged to 129,166 during the day, far surpassing the previous high of 97,848 on Black Friday of 2008.
They quote Brady acting President Dennis Henigan, who is skeptical of the numbers. You know Dennis, if you really don’t like being reminded just how much you’re losing, we could always repeal the Brady Act. That way you can enjoy some bliss in ignorance, since NICS won’t be around anymore to report on just how well gun sales are doing. What do you say?
Friends of NRA needs to stop with overly adorable children’s toys already. My mother already got into a minor bidding war during this year’s auction over the tricycle this year and left it here as a “hint.” For followers of their Facebook page, Friends of NRA just posted glimpses of their 2012 prize package.
I can see the Brady Campaign tweets condemning the NRA for reckless recruiting by branding & ruining children’s toys. Or perhaps CSGV will add it to the Insurrectionist Timeline since it’s a Jeep, a model of car used for military purposes. Therefore, it is obvious to all that this is a weapon of war.
Regardless, it’s freakin’ adorable.
For those of you interested in the slightly less adorable, but more age appropriate good stuff, they had that, too. The Gun of the Year is a Benelli Ultra Light 12 gauge shotgun, and there are a couple of other long guns in the picture that might attract your interest. In this photo, there’s artwork to show you patriotism and something that looks to be a fire pit. If you’d like to mix your love of shooting sports with a slightly more cerebral and indoors, there appears to be a shell casing-themed checkers game.
No doubt looking to give gun owners a giant black eye, the New York AG is busy going after gun show promoters, blaming them for the actions of criminals. Jacob has video of the press conference dog and pony show. He notes:
This whole thing smells of a setup.
First off, when was the last time a State Attorney General put on a full court press for a bunch of misdemeanor appearance tickets? Second is the timing. H.R. 822 will be going to the Senate soon for a vote. This has to be an attempt to derail that bill.
Sounds about right. Also, look at these dangerous guns they’ve gotten off the street:
Semi-auto Mauser? Really? Either way, I’m glad that gang members won’t have access to an “Ithaca .22 gauge” or a collections of various deer rifles in calibers no one has ever heard of (because they don’t exist). Looks like some hardened criminals Schneiderman is going after here. This isn’t justice, it’s revenge. When you go after otherwise good people for technicalities like this, all to make a political point, you aren’t a public servant, you’r a thug.
The ploy it not going to work anyway. We are going to lay waste to New York’s gun laws bit by bit, and restore the Second Amendment. I savor that even more than New Jersey, because there will be a lot more or the right kind of people in New York unhappy with it, starting with this asshole of an AG, who apparently doesn’t have any real criminals in his state worth going after. He also apparently does not have anyone on staff who knows about guns.
Well, the term “assault weapon” was largely made up, so I don’t see why it should be so wrong that a media outlet decided to use made up guns to illustrate assault weapons. I wonder if there are any models in there that shoot that dangerous armor piercing 10mm caseless ammo.
SayUncle links to a Zombie Edition rifle that has a flash hider that looks rather hazardous. “You’ll poke your eye out kid!” I’m just thinking you’re going to want to brush out that barrel from the other side. I’d hate to push stiff brush, have it go through, then stab myself! A bayonet is one thing, because you can take that off, but this just looks like an injury waiting to happen.
You really have to wonder, if this whole thing really was cooked up in the Phoenix Office, what is Holder trying to hide? And why is he getting so defensive, and trying to deflect blame? You’d think if you were in Holder’s position, you’d just throw the Phoenix office under the bus and wash your hands of it. I think it’s unbelievable, the idea that he didn’t know what was going on.