Since it’s passage is largely inevitable, we’re probably going to be delayed a bit why everyone tries to get their due credit for getting the legislation passed. I’m generally fine with this, as long as it gets done. Some of our friends in the legislature who have gone out on a limb for this bill shouldn’t feel shut out of the final passage.
Category: Guns
The Brazil Shooting
I’ve been watching our opponents work themselves up over the whole mass shooting in Brazil, and beating the cause of gun control. The problem is that if that incident says anything, it’s that strict gun control laws don’t stop this kind of thing. Brazil completely prohibits semi-automatic rifles. Pistols must be a caliber of no greater than .38 Special. Handguns are strictly licensed and registered. Owners must be 25 years old or older. There are limits on how many guns you may own. You can see a summary of Brazilian laws here.
Yet to some this means we need to try more gun control here. Brazil’s laws are a gun control advocates dream. They are well beyond anything that would be politically achievable in the United States. But yet we must still try something. Because if we do, the unicorns will fart a few more rainbows and surely less people are going to die by gunfire. Take their word for it. Ignore the fact that there’s no evidence it works.
Lucky Gunner Blogger Shoot
The fine folks at Lucky Gunner seem to have quite the event planned. I am told there will be tanks and artillery. This should be a good time. Apparently interest in this event among gun bloggers is quite high. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I am planning to go.
Important Victory in Illinois
The Illinois Supreme Court has declared an out of state permit it equivalent to an FOID card for the purposes of Illinois gun laws. They invalidated the felony conviction of a man for having a pistol in the rear console of his vehicle. The case is here. Note that this isn’t allowing carry, just transport according to Illinois law, as if you had an FOID. I would imagine this could complicate a case brought by the Mountain State Legal Foundation, because there were some reports that she had an Ohio license to carry. If that’s the case, I’m not sure they will still have a case after this ruling.
Falling Down on the Job of Gun Rights
While working on a Pennsylvania-version of news from NRA-ILA about the national reciprocity bill, imagine my surprise when I found some key names left off of the sponsors list. These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who support the bill:
- Rep. Jason Altmire (D)
- Rep. Mark Critz (D)
- Rep. Charlie Dent (R)
- Rep. Tim Holden (D)
- Rep. Mike Kelly (R)
- Rep. Tim Murphy (R)
- Rep. Todd Platts (R)
- Rep. Bill Shuster (R)
- Rep. Glenn Thompson (R)
These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who sought & received NRA’s endorsement in 2010 against anti-gun opponents who are not on that list:
- Rep. Jim Gerlach (R)
- Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R)
- Rep. Pat Meehan (R)
- Rep. Joe Pitts (R)
These are the members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation who sought NRA’s endorsement in 2010 and received high grades while running against a friendly incumbent, but who have not stepped up to support gun owners on this issue:
- Rep. Lou Barletta (R)
- Rep. Tom Marino (R)
Notice a trend with the party affiliation of those who wanted our support for the election, but who aren’t even sponsoring a bill for us? Every single one of the pro-gun Democrats who survived the 2010 elections has come through. Only half of the Republicans with previous endorsements and high grades have been willing to lend their names to the cause.
They’ve Lost the Hippies
Didn’t they used to call Jerry Brown “Governor Moonbeam?” That must be why he’s telling the media he has three guns like it’s no big deal. Apparently this constitutes a “small arsenal,” to the LA Times. Congratulations Brady and CSGV folks, you’ve even lost the hippies. Polish your resumes up guys, I don’t think you’re in a line of business that’s going to have much luck to move forward.
I See the Canadian Left is Just as Silly on Guns
So many things wrong with this statement:
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has promised a St. Catharines woman whose daughter was killed in 1996 with a stolen handgun that his party plans to simplify the gun registry will not weaken it.
OK, so the woman’s daughter was killed with a stolen gun, which I feel we are safe in assuming the daughters murderer did not then go register with police, so to make her feel better I will propose that we streamline the process for rural farmers to register their long guns, which naturally can’t possibly be stolen and used in murders. Because if we streamline the process, maybe then murderers with stolen long guns will go register them with police, giving us the opportunity to catch them.
What I want to know is if this made the woman feel better. I’m betting it did. I’m also betting the woman in question is still grieving, and is a few sandwiches short of a picnic on this issue because of that. Grieving people should not be the basis of public policy, and this is why.
Campus Carry in PA
This employee over at Point Park University seems to think it would be just awful if we were to pass campus carry in Pennsylvania, as other states are currently debating. Hate to tell you prof, but there’s no such crime as carrying a firearm on a university campus in Pennsylvania, provided you have an LTC. The worst that can happen is the school can ask you to leave (permanently, if you’re a student). This issue has not been pressing in this Commonwealth, because unlike the other states where this is being debated, carry on college campuses isn’t criminalized. If we were to have such a bill here, it would only be a matter of disallowing state funded universities from having such a policy prohibiting guns on campus.
Revolvers Don’t Use Casings
I know caseless ammo is something people have tried developing for years, but according to Homeland Security Newswire, it’s already fact.
Parody Through Caricature
I have to hand it to whoever created this blog. It was hard to tell at first whether it was real. But I’m fairly certain it’s parodying our opponents by use of caricature. How else do you explain a gem like this?
It’s come to my attention that gun owners belong to the NRA and are Tea Party Insurrectionists Extremist Gunophile Fetishists. It’s also notable that they will often give up their families, careers, and even their life to have “Wild West†type shootouts over minor disputes such as parking spots or to compensate for some other shortcoming. Again, this is not personal conjecture but consensus among the public as verified in the Comments sections of several web sites. That’s not to say that they don’t favor common sense civilian disarmament polices such as the prohibition of AK-47 Assault Weapons since they can now safely be considered Weapons of Mass Destruction, and have no civilian use, or the reasonable ban of Glock brand machine pistols since they have no militia use and therefore, are not protected by the Second Amendment.
It would be funnier if it was more of a caricature, though. Unfortunately, it’s not really much of one. I think if the folks over CSGV were to see this site, they’d be regular readers.