Politics – Page 151 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Senate Vote on Pigeon Shooting Ban

Looks like there’s going to be a vote on the pigeon shooting ban. I am not happy that legislators are going to be made to post a vote on this issue. It’s a real complication for gun rights, and I’m not keen to just hand a victory to HSUS, who you can bet will be back for more if they win this. A lot of suburban legislators who are otherwise friendly are going to get dinged for voting in favor of this. But considering there are a number of clubs that still do this kind of shooting, NRA is going to be in opposition.

I would advise you to call your Senators and oppose the ban. This is going to open up a can of worms I don’t want to open if this gets the thumbs up and heads to the house. It will complicate everything else we’re trying to accomplish.

Your Government, Working for You

Looks like there is going to be new requirements for getting a passport:

The U.S. Department of State isÂ proposing a newÂ Biographical Questionnaire for some passport applicants: The proposed new Â Form DS-5513 asks for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employersâ€™ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; motherâ€™s address one year prior to your birth; any â€œreligious ceremonyâ€ around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. Â According to the proposed form, â€œfailure to provide the information requested may result in â€¦ the denial of your U.S. passport application.â€

Looks like I will be adding overseas travel onto the list. I’m already curtailing of airlines use, to the greatest extent I am able. I love flying and traveling, generally speaking. I just can’t stand what our oppressive government has turned it into. Tell me why I shouldn’t believe the terrorists have won?

Hat Tip to Cam Edwards

Standing Up for Gun Rights

On April 10, I posted about several members of the Pennsylvania delegation who weren’t supporting a gun rights bill in Congress, contrary to the fact that it’s on NRA’s agenda. Four of those members had the NRA-PVF endorsement, and two more of them wanted it against pro-gun incumbents (and will presumably want it again).

Fantastic reader Adam Z. shot me an email about some things and noted that Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick was listed as a sponsor even though I had posted that he was not one. Huh? That’s something I totally would have noticed. How the hell did I miss that? So it’s off to Thomas for me to look into the problem.

RESULTS!

Following the post, Rep. Fitzpatrick, along with Reps. Lou Barletta & Tom Marino, signed on as sponsors.

No, I’m not trying to claim actual credit for these new sponsors. We know that NRA sent out alerts to their members asking them to get board with recruiting new sponsors. On our front, we blogged about the people who weren’t sponsoring it on here, and we covered it on PAGunRights. The tweet from @PAGunRights targeting those who had not yet sponsored was retweeted a half dozen times or so. We also know that the exact SIH post was viewed by House of Representative servers 18 times between the post date & when the last of those three became a sponsor. (For PAGunRights, which did not highlight those who had not signed on, it was a handful of hits as well.)

While NRA’s emails can create a much larger firestorm for any Congressional office, it is good to look at these numbers and know that Congressional staff know we’re watching closely, and we’re going to talk about those who let us down and praise those who help us.

Philly Doubles Down

Remember that guy who got harassed for OCing in Philadelphia (legally, with a permit)? It looks like the DA decided to go forward with charges against him, and the police showed up at his workplace with an arrest warrant. Charges are Disorderly Conduct, a third degree misdemeanor, and reckless endangerment, a second degree misdemeanor. One of the lawyers on PAFOA notes that this is probably a dirty trick to stave off the possibility of a civil suit.

Apparently in Philadelphia, laws and rights are optional if you’re City government.

Issa Threatening Melson With Contempt

ATF missed the deadline to turn over subpoenaed materials about the gunwalker controversy, so Rep. Issa is threatening Acting Director Melson with contempt. You can find the letter here. He’s basically telling them to claim executive privilege, cooperate, or face contempt charges. Your guess is probably as good as mine as to what path will be taken, because I don’t have much faith in this Administration’s skill at navigating a controversy any more than I do at it’s ability to navigate anything else. If Obama were skilled, Executive Privilege would not be the smart path. It would automatically bring the White House into the scandal, likely only with hope of delaying, rather than stopping the Congressional action. An assertion of Executive Privilege would be dubious at best, considering Congress paid the bills for this scandal, and has the power to investigate how that money was spent. The claim is unlikely to survive in the Courts.

Patrick Murphy Announces for PA Attorney General

My recently unseated former Congressman has announced his intention to enter the race for Pennsylvania Attorney General. You can see more details about Murphy over at our EVC blog. Needless to say, given the number of gun related topics the Attorney General covers, Murphy could cause serious problems for us. His record is not good. He never signed onto the Heller brief, and he once co-sponsored a gun ban.

Most Important Point about 2012 Elections

From a speech by Wayne LaPierre in Arkansas:

â€œI believe that the Second Amendment hangs by one vote, and this 2012 election could break the back of it one way or the other,â€ said Wayne LaPierre, the associationâ€™s CEO and executive vice president, in a packed room at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

That is pretty much true. If anything happens to JusticeÂ Scalia, who is now 75, or Justice Kennedy, who is nearly 75, the Second Amendment is in mortal danger. If Obama is elected to a second term, he will leave office in 2016, the year that both Scalia and Kennedy turn 80. The probability, based on actuarial tables, of either them dying during that time are about 1 in 5. That makes the overall odds that we lose one of the Heller Five during Obama’s second term at 2 in 5. That’s not even speaking of the odds they might want to retire. How do you feel about those odds? I don’t like them.

Wasting Taxpayer Money

I’m outraged that this gun buyback program is getting state funding:

The program was partly funded through the state’s Weed and Seed anti-crime initiative with matching funds paid by the city and assistance from the Hopewell Giant Eagle, Pallante said.

Here’s the state FAQ on the program. I think we need to get legislators to alter the Weed & Seed program to prevent money being used to buy back and destroy guns.

Tastykake Finds a Buyer

Possibly as revenge for burning Atlanta, the rebs now own Tastykake. Great work Philadelphia! It won’t be too long before the North will have no hope of winning if the South does indeed rise again, because everything will be made there, and nothing here. I will definitely join the side with Tastykakes. Add this to my affection for Chick-fil-a, and they’d really have me over a barrel if they tore up all the railroads heading north.

What Has Bryan Cryin: NRA U Comes to New Jersey

From what I’ve heard, NRA’s outreach program to college students, to get them involved in the shooting sports and rights protection has been a pretty wild success. Some aren’t pleased to see it coming to New Jersey:

â€œTheir goal is to encourage gun sales any way they can,â€ Ceasefire NJ project director Bryan Miller said. â€œThis is a recruitment drive for the NRA and a sales program for the gun companies.â€

No, Bryan, that’s not our goal at all. We’re here to tell you that your nightmare is true. We will hammer gun control on the relentless anvil of legislative strategy! We are going to beat gun control into submission!

This also is not about handing guns out to students. No one is seriously suggesting that, though from the hysterics of our opponents, you’d never know it. The goal is to make college campuses just like any other public place, people who have state permits are permitted if they so choose, to carry. This is about choice. College students are adults legally, and some small percentage of them are over 21 and have state-issued licenses to carry. Our opponents want to treat these adults like drunken, irresponsible children, and granted, some of them are. But so are some 30 year olds I’ve met. Because some people are irresponsible is not a reason to deny all people the right to bear arms and the right to self-protection.

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence noted yesterday that “When there is an alcohol-related tragedy on campus, you don’t hand out 12-packs.”Â Well, we don’t ban 12 packs, or prohibit drinking either. Despite the fact that alcohol consumption in college has high social costs, we reject the idea of blanket policy and punishment because of the irresponsibility of a few. Alcohol also has no potential to save your life. We can understand there are risk/reward tradeoffs with alcohol, and generally allow college kids of legal age to drink. Our opponents somehow fail to process the same equation when it comes to self-protection and firearms.