Month: January 2013

Apparently the chair of the House Judiciary Committee will not be calling the gun ban up for a vote. That would indicate that they do not have the votes. Gun owners in Illinois have been heard. Now remember, the lame duck session continues to Wednesday. After Wednesday, all bills die and will have to be reintroduced in the next session of the new legislature. We are not out of the woods yet, but it would seem that we’ve beaten back this early attack. They will attack elsewhere in the mean time. Rest is for the weak.

So many things open in my browser, it’s slowing the machine down. First, let’s start with this:

David Keene, President of the NRA, writes about the AR-15 in Human Events and includes a number of very interesting stats. For those who think NRA is a fuddy organization that doesn’t really dig black guns, consider this: most NRA staffers trend younger than many workplaces. NRA is often a first job out of college. Most of the staff I’ve gotten to know at NRA are GenX, GenY or Millennial. Now, do yo think NRA staff, given their age distribution, is going to be more Gun Culture 1.0 or Gun Culture 2.0?

Bloomberg is definitely up to something, which could be very difficult to counter. We should all be up to something too, to counter it.

Senator Bob Casey is a liar. If he doesn’t think we’ll remember his turning on us in 2018, he’s kidding himself. I actually voted for Casey in 2006. Never again! In fact, I will work very hard for whoever his opponent is next time.

Not Very Green. Burning plastics give off all kinds of toxins. I have to agree with Robb Allen: “I’m just happy people are using ‘deodand‘ more.”

National coalition to stop the gun ban formed.

From Bloomberg, of all outlets:

Support for stricter U.S. gun laws hasn’t jumped as fast or as far in recent weeks as many liberals had hoped and expected. If you’re wondering why, maybe the reason is the shakiness of the public’s trust in government itself.

Give the man a cigar. I think he gets it.

I thought I’d offer some additional advice for writing lawmakers, and that advice is this: don’t offer compromises. It’s fine to offer a legislator some other talking point that has nothing to do with your issue, like mental illness, but don’t offer compromises on the core issue. The message they need to hear from constituents should boil down to “NO NEW GUN CONTROL!”

Compromise is something that happens as part of a legislative process, and it something lobbyists end up doing when the choice ends up being to get a beating or getting knifed in the back. When we stand firm, we make it more likely people lobbying on our behalf won’t end up in that situation in the first place. If we offer compromises, it signals to lawmakers we’re not serious. Your lawmaker may start to wonder what else you might be fine with compromising on.

Heitkamp was just recently elected to the Senate, representing North Dakota. This is a very good sign, and she quickly deflected to mental illness. Keep the pressure on, keeping in mind this map.

Apparently the House Judiciary Committee in Illinois will be holding a vote this afternoon at 2PM on their gun and magazine bans. That’s less than an hour. Light em up! I feel like I can’t step away from the computer for a few hours without having someone do something to try to screw me out of my rights.

From the Washington Post:

To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses.

I would have no problem utterly boycotting Wal-Mart. I’m already more of a Target man these days anyway. And then there’s Amazon. Bloomberg is going to be running the public relations campaign once the effort is announced. Fingers on a chalkboard, if you ask me.

The vice president said the White House group would consider a variety of proposals — from requiring background checks for all gun buyers to creating a new database that would allow the ATF to track all gun sales, according to participants.

That’s code word for “registration” folks.

The administration is quietly talking with a diverse array of interest groups, including religious leaders, mental-health professionals and hunters, to build as broad a coalition as possible, those involved in the discussions said.

The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting. They are also not talking to the NRA. They are not talking to gun owners. We are going to be dictated to, apparently. That’s what “conversation” means to them.

Already, three weeks after the Newtown shooting, gun-control advocates are growing impatient with a legislative process that is just beginning.

You know, we’re just beginning too. I hope all you folks in Illinois are fighting hard still, because your performance so far has been stellar. In the end, if we get through this, we will owe a lot to you. We all will. The anti-gun strategy is to throw everything at the wall, and see what can stick. Then, they will come at us with those parts that look like they have some adhesion, after they have worn us down and broken us. But will we agree to be broken? I have already heard stories from readers who suggest they are running into people who believe the political process is no longer relevant, and are preparing for civil war. I think there is no better way than this to make civil war an inevitability. We must not let it get to that point, and we absolutely can still avert if we fight the political fight hard, and make ourselves heard. We all just have to follow the Illinoisans example.