The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
A fine rendition of our Governor, I must say. Other movie references that work for Fast Eddie…. quote from Rendell has he left the Capitol:
You have not heard the rast of Ed Wendell! I will return! You shall see! I will be baaack! So rong, earthrings!!
More real quotes from our Governor to follow later.
I’m happy to see so many people interested in going to the Second Amendment Blogger Bash alongside the NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY. May 16-18th. So far, the interested or confirmed parties are:
Good to see some of our Gun Blogger Rendezvous friends coming out too.  I should note that this event shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for the Rendezvous, organized by Mr. C. If you come to one, you might as well come to both. There’s currently no plan for a formal shooting event in Louisville, and even if some people want to head out to the range, you won’t be shooting out to 1000 yards like you can at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. Different events, and both worthy of attending.
Well, strictly speaking it’s true. But that’s not to say a Kalashnikov can’t get the job done. The 7.62x39mm Soviet round will kill deer just fine.
Uncle refutes some media myths about castle doctrine in Texas, and points out that the hysterical media coverage might be responsible for the incident in question:
Why would he think that a law that eliminates the duty to retreat instead justifies killing two burglars that were not an imminent threat to him and were not on his property? Probably because he heard that line repeated over and over by the anti-gunners in press coverage of the bill.
Maybe now it’s time to start being factual and doing research? Nah! Sensationalizing stories is easier and sells more papers.
Wyatt has an interesting news item about John “It’s not real marriage” Street agreeing to officiate a gay non-wedding. When questioned about this, in his infinite courage, and willingness to stand up for what he may or may not believe in (we’re not sure), he says:
“It’s not marriage. It’s not real marriage. They can’t be married,” said Street, a Seventh-day Adventist. “It’s not a religious ceremony. I mean, it’s not really marriage.”
I hope when he officiates, he’s not reading from a teleprompter:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoCt3gk3k50[/youtube]
Not too much longer…
Want to help out with the DC v. Heller case?  Donate to Academics for the Second Amendment so they can file a friends of the court brief on behalf of Dick Heller.
NRA has a list of who did and who didn’t vote in favor of the gun control bills before the House Judiciary Committee this morning.
Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee TODAY and thank those that voted “No†to these anti-gun measures. Also, please contact those committee members that voted “yes†and ask them why they voted to restrict the rights of Pennsylvania’s law-abiding gun owners.
I agree, it’s important to follow up with the legislators. It’s important to let our allies know their support is appreciated, and to let our foes know we’re paying attention. Follow the link to get contact info, and to find out how house members voted.
UPDATE: Looking back at my predictions, there were a few surprises:
Representative Chelsea Wagner (wow, she may be in favor of gun control, but she’s pretty cute), who replaced NRA A rated Mike Diven, voted against us on both bills.  That’s really disappointing.
Representative Kate Harper voted with us on weakning preemption and against us on one-gun-a-month. She keeps her C rating for that, I think. I thought she’d cave to Rendell completely. Glad I was wrong.
Representative Mackereth I put down as maybe, and she voted with us. She responded to me:
Please know that I will NOT be supporting HB 18, 22, or 29. I feel the focus should be placed on prevention programs that have been proven to work rather than band-aid measures that are ineffective. I am continuing my efforts to focus on crime prevention, while protecting the rights of gun owners.
Good show. NRA should upgrade her B+ to an A rating.
Representative Bernie O’Neil voted with us on preemption but against us on one-gun-a-month. That’s disappointing, because he’s from my county. He’s A- rated. I might suggest that after this he deserves to lose a whole letter grade and go to B-.
Eric takes the latest bomb from political cartoonist Tony Auth, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, to task.
Thanks to reader kaveman, we have an exclusive Brady e-mail alert reaction to The Court announcing it will hear Heller.
Just minutes ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to take what could be the most significant Second Amendment case in our country’s history.
Thanks to your support, your Brady legal team had already begun preparing for this announcement, but now our lawyers have swung into high gear to prepare our “friend of the court” brief.
We have a tidal wave of work to do in the weeks ahead and we need your help now.
This fight is so critical that we need to raise $50,000 by November 30. And since your gift will be going to our Brady Gun Law Defense Fund, it will be fully tax deductible!
We need your help today to build a strong Brady Gun Law Defense Fund to protect America’s gun laws. Please give today.
Earlier this year, a U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a gun law as violating the Second Amendment for the first time in American history. We believe this decision was judicial activism at its worst and was clearly wrong.
This legal case at its very core is the most important battle we have ever waged. The U.S. Supreme Court has the chance to reverse a terribly erroneous decision and make it clear that the American people can adopt restrictions on firearms in their communities.
If the Supreme Court does not reverse the federal appeals court decision, gun laws everywhere could be at risk…
…from the long-standing machine gun ban…to the 1968 Gun Control Act…to the Brady background check law.
…to your local and state laws…like the ones in California and New Jersey banning military-style Assault Weapons… and many more.
If that happens, then your Brady Center will defend these laws in the courts as we have done so many times in the past against the attacks of the gun lobby. But now we must focus on the immediate challenge at hand as we prepare for the fight in the U.S. Supreme Court. Please give generously.
Friends of The Court briefs are expensive, and the Brady Campaign isn’t exactly swimming in loot these days. The Brady’s definitely understand that this one is for all the marbles. The machine gun ban, and the gun control act of 1968 could be in jeopardy? I can only hope!
Here’s how the votes came down.
The message: Pennsylvania is an overwhelmingly pro-gun rights state. I hope Bryan Miller and Ed Rendell enjoy their holidays. I certainly will spend it savoring their sound defeat.