Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 1405 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

Obama Decoder Ring

Jeff points out what Obama is saying lately about guns:

I certainly believe in the Second Amendment right, that people have the right to bear arms. But I also believe it is important to have some common-sense gun laws in place to make sure that straw purchasers arenâ€™t being used to fill up our streets with illegal firearms, and that we have stronger background checks so we keep firearms out of the hands of people with mental health problems or young people or those who have committed crimes. I think it is important for us to strengthen our ability to trace guns that have been used in crimes to gun dealers to make sure they are not operating in an illegal way. I think itâ€™s possible to reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters and those who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime off the streets. You can protect the rights of gun owners and at the same time keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Let’s get out the Obama Secret Decoder Ring and see what he’s really calling for.Â What do you know?Â It’s basically the Brady Campaign playbook.Â I wonder who he’s been talking to?

Obama Statement	Secret Deocder Ring Says
Common-sense gun laws in place to make sure that straw purchasers aren’t being used to fill up our streets with illegal firearms”	We need to pass a gun rationing scheme here in the United States! One gun a month, and that’s just a start.
and that we have stronger background checks so we keep firearms out of the hands of people with mental health problems or young people or those who have committed crimes	What we need is to close the gun show loophole once and for all.
I think it is important for us to strengthen our ability to trace guns that have been used in crimes to gun dealers to make sure they are not operating in an illegal way.	I promised Bloomy I would get rid of that Tiahrt Amendment, you know. He said if I did that, he’d stay out of the race
I think itâ€™s possible to reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters and those who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime off the streets.	I think we can reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of sportsmen, hunters, and thos who want to protect their families, with keeping handguns that are used in crime out of the hands of anyone

Ooops… I get he got a little carried away with himself on that last one. The Brady’s must not have told him we don’t talk about handgun bans anymore in public.

Gun Rights Infighting in Bush Administration

Many of you probably have read this article by now in the Washington Post detailing the battle of the Administration’s Heller brief, as I’ve seen it linked on other blogs.

Dave Hardy’s insights into the inner workings of federal buracracy are always good, if more than a little disturbing.Â Having spend many years in it himself, he’s someone to listen to.Â He has a take on this I think is worth reading.

ATF Reform a Priority

A special report by Chris Cox that mentions Red’s Trading Post.Â The big question is whether it’ll be a priority for Nancy Pelosi?Â I won’t try to candy coat it, this is going to be an uphill battle.Â But I think we have to try.Â They as asking people to call the U.S. House (202-224-3121), and asking their representative to cosponsor HR4900 the bill.

Important News On Pennsylvania Gun Bills

There’s a bill coming up for vote in Pennsylvania, known as House Bill 1845, which increases the penalty for possessing a firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number from a first degree misdemeanor to a second degree felony (underlined portions of a bill are parts being changed.Â Non underlined parts are part of the existing law).

Now, the important part for gun owners is what’s planning to be amended to this bill. Â I’m hearing there are plans to ammend the “Castle Doctrine” provision, as well as a provision that will make possession of a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms a substitute for the PICS check.Â These amendments are sponsored by State Representatives Steven Cappelli (R- 83) and Richard Stevenson (R-8).

But there is a danger lurking. Â State Representative David Levdansky (D-39) has filed an amendment for the “victimized twice” provision that enacts criminal penalties for failure to report a lost or stolen firearm.Â It’s important to call your state representatives and ask them to support the Stevenson and Cappelli amendments, while opposing the Levdansky amendment.Â Getting HB 1845 to come out clean depends on us, so let’s get to work.

Len Savage On Lou Dobbs

Len Savage appearing on CNN?Â Who would have thought?Â David has the story.Â I’m not going to suggest the main stream media is going to be anywhere close to on our side any time soon, but we’ve seen some movement toward some semblance of fairness as of late it seems.

More on Nebraska Issue

Joe over at Joe’s Crabby Shack is pondering whether it’s worth accepting the commission in order to get rid of the permit to purchase requirement.

I don’t know all the ins and outs of politics in Nebraska, but it’s a deal I’d be willing to accept in Pennsylvania.Â It’s ideal to be able to outright crush everything, but that’s now always how things will go.Â Politics is not a rational or neat process.Â This is pure speculation on my part that this is how it went down in Nebraska, but a general outline of how it goes:

Gun control legislator sponsors and introduces gun control bill
Various interest groups position on the bill, and mobilize their respective constituencies.
Politicians respond to that pressure, as said sponsor runs around trying to get support for their bill.Â Sponsor realizes he can’t get support thanks to pressure from a certain gun rights group.
Sponsor begins amending bill in hopes of finding support.Â Â (Sponsor won’t give up because he has to please his constituents, and avoid losing prestige.)
More support will invariably come on board as bill is altered to placate certain interests.Â When support levels of said gun control bill begin to get close to having a chance at passage, the end of gun rights groups political power is nearing.
At this point lobbyists of gun rights groups have a choice.Â Remain opposed and run the risk that a bad, albeit watered down bill will pass over their objections.Â Or offer sponsor to add something constituents of gun rights groups want in exchange for dropping opposition to the bill.

Obviously NRA took the latter option here. Was it the best option to take?Â That depends on what’s important to you.Â Obviously NRA can’t conduct a membership poll in the middle of a big political battle, so they have to do their best based on what they know from interacting with members.Â But if you boil down what happened here, a very very bad gun banning bill got turned into something that was largely neutral, and got rid of at least one prior restraint on the right to bear arms.

When they tired a semi-automatic ban in Pennsylvania, a similar thing happened.Â It’s very rare in the political process to have to make absolutely no concessions, which is why the founding fathers chose to place the right to bear arms outside of it (only in theory thanks to the courts).Â The trick is giving up symbolism and gaining substance.Â If Cornhusker State gun owners keep turning out performances like they did with this bill, I don’t think they have much to fear from this commission.

Nebraska Gun Ban Defeated

Media article on what happened is here:

“No bill to ban any weapons will pass this Legislature,” Ashford said, explaining his about-face.

Instead, Legislative Bill 958 proposes that the Nebraska Crime Commission study gun violence and illegal firearms trafficking in Nebraska.

The bill also calls for repeal of a 1991 law requiring people to obtain a permit before they can purchase a handgun.

Lawmakers gave the amended measure first-round approval in a 25-13 vote.

Well, I’m glad Ashford his a brick wall in this case.Â I think getting rid of a permit to purchase system is a good move.Â It’s hard to get rid of bad legiselation even when everyone agrees its bad.Â Even harder to turn a gun control bill into something that gets rid of a gun control law.

“I’ve received hundreds of phone calls from NRA members, and I have committed and promised to hundreds of constituents that I would not support this,” said Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center. “I have no assurances that the NRA has informed its members that it has agreed to the bill.”

Stuthman was one of 13 lawmakers who voted against the bill.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said it was almost funny that lawmakers hesitated to support the bill after the considerable concessions Ashford made to the NRA.

NRA’s alert is out here.

After considerable opposition from Nebraskaâ€™s law-abiding gun owners, Senator Ashford significantly revised his original bill by removing the sections of the bill dealing with the reporting of lost or stolen firearms, mandatory gun locks and posting requirements. The new version of his bill would, however, have required the creation of an “Assault Weapons Commission” that would have been charged with making a list of firearms that it believed should be illegal in Nebraska. Despite being gutted from its original form, LB958 was still unacceptable to Nebraska’s gun owners and sportsmen. However, thanks to the hard work of NRA and gun owners in Nebraska, Senator Ashford again agreed to narrow the scope of his bill resulting in Amendment 2235.

Read the whole thing to find out what Amendment 2235 is.

IACP Pissing on Due Process

The Joyce Funded pet of the anti-gun lobby, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, has signed onto Senator Lautenberg’s bill to deprive Americans of their civil rights, without due process, in the name of fighting terrorism.

If Bush were doing this, and not doing it to gun owners, the left would be outraged.

We’re Bigger than Golf!

In terms of sales at least.Â Not too surprising, really.Â Guns are more expensive than golf clubs, and ammunition costs more than golf balls.Â You can only accessorize your golf bag so many different ways.Â I’ve said before, it’s not a sport for people who don’t have money or time, because it takes a lot of each.

The other difference is there isn’t a small well financed, vocal, and dedicated group ofÂ activists who are looking to ban golf clubs in the hopes of one day living in a fairway free society.

Philly Loses in Commonwealth Court

Now they will have to take it before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania:

The state’s Supreme Court will have to reverse itself on a 12-year-old gun-control decision if Philadelphia is going to adopt and enforce its own gun laws, the chief judge of Commonwealth Court told the city yesterday.

President Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter made her statement during a preliminary hearing on a lawsuit filed by City Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller. They want the court to recognize Philadelphia’s authority to enact stricter gun laws regarding gun purchases and ownership.

Leadbetter, however, suggested that Commonwealth Court was just a stop on the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1996 upheld a state law forbidding municipalities from regulating firearms.

Until then, Leadbetter asked, “Aren’t we just a way station?”

If the Supreme Court doesn’t go our way, it’ll be the end of preemption in Pennsylvania.Â Every city and town will want exemptions, and many of them will pass restrictive laws.Â It’ll be impossible to travel the commonwealth to hunt, shoot, and carry for self-defense without significant legal risk.Â I hope the Supreme Court reaffirms the 1996 Ortiz decision, and upholds preemption.

If Miller and Clarke fail in court, Mayor Nutter volunteered to take things into his own hands. At the rally, Nutter said he would sign into law gun-control measures being considered by City Council, then enforce them – even though the state Legislature says it can’t be done.

I anxiously await Attorney General Corbett, who is on the short list for governor, and no doubt needs the help of gun owners, to explain to Mayor Nutter than this will be illegal, and officials enforcing these laws can expect to be prosecuted under our Official Oppression statute.