Federal Gun Rights Bill Even a Federalist Could Love?

Of Arms and the Law gives us the text of a new law that has been introduced in Congress by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland.  This looks like a bill even federalists might be able to get behind, since it appears to be essentially restoring second amendment rights through the 14th amendment.  It doesn’t explicity cite the source of Congressional power, but I seem to recall that Congress does not specifically have to state the enumerated power under which it passes legislation, it just has to fit within the scope of it’s powers.  So if my non-lawyer eyes are reading this right, it would let someone denied the right to have a firearm in Washington D.C., Chicago, or New York to obtain a firearm for self-protection, state or local law to the contrary.

That means this bill will absolutely infuriate Mayor Bloomberg, and for that reason alone, I think it would be worth passing.  Sadly, as Dave mentioned, there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening, which is a sad statement on what’s become of our Congress.

Just Get Rid of It Already!

Our governor sets off the stench detector with his latest appointment of a CEO to the PA Liquor Control Board:

State Liquor Control Board Chairman Jonathan Newman is quitting to protest the “heavy-handed, political” method that Gov. Ed Rendell used to select the board’s new $150,000-a-year chief executive officer.

Rendell chose a retired politician. This reeks of returning a political favor:

Some critics claim the hiring looks like a political deal because he supported some major Rendell initiatives, such as raising the personal income tax and legalizing casinos, but Ms. Philips denied politics was involved. Mr. Conti couldn’t be reached for comment.

Ms. Philips said Mr. Conti chaired the Senate committee that oversaw liquor issues and was active in pushing for Sunday sales of liquor and beer. She said he knows the liquor business because his family owned two restaurant/bars in Bucks County.

No politics involved my ass. The real question is why we still have the LCB at all? Seriously, I get sick of having to drive to New Jersey to be able to get decent wine and real top shelf booze. Try getting decent scotch in a PA state store, and you’ll quickly see what I mean. Under Newman’s leadership, the LCB has done a good job of reforming itself, with Sunday hours, premium stores with better wine selections, and locating state stores inside of supermarkets. All positive moves. But the LCB still sucks, and it’s time the state legislature dissolved it and sold off its assets. I don’t see what benefit we get from the state being in the business of selling wine and booze, and I’m tired of the LCB continuing to pop up as a political issue. I think the state can find better things to worry about.