The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
On Friday, Bill Mahr complained to Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison that “your party come out against the Second Amendment.” Ellison’s response? “Bill, I sure wish they would. I sure wish they would.”
After talking about how much he wished the Democratic Party he is a member of would come out and actually oppose the very existence of the Second Amendment, Ellison finished up the segment with some false figures to make the case for gun control – figures debunked today by Andrew Johnson.
Remember the Sandy Hook riders from a few weeks ago? They had to change their venue to a church because of complaints to the school that they were using it for a political rally. The school agreed. Looks like someone showed up at the church trying to hand out literature. The smart thing for our opponents to do would be to get the church to ask the person to leave. A refusal would be a trespass, and the activist would have known this. Instead, one of their people went into full-on rage mode and started going around acting like everyone’s psychotic den mother:
It all could have been over in a second if he had just been asked to leave by someone who had the authority to do so. Instead, she chose to make a spectacle of it, and came off looking like the crazy person in the situation. They make mistakes too. The key, I think, is for us to make fewer of them than they do.
The reality is the law has no practical meaning. It has political meaning. It means that legislators that are, for all practical purposes, anti-gun can use it as defense against opponents who confront them on their anti-gun votes. “Look what I voted FOR! You can’t get any more pro-gun that this!â€
RTWT. I think he’s exactly right. It’s all for show. Gun owners have to start understanding the difference between an easy, pandering vote and a difficult vote. Passing campus carry is difficult, because competing interests line up on both sides, and given two arguing factions on opposite sides, many politicians will favor the status quo. Passing something like that requires some politicians to go out on a limb with you and make a hard vote. Politicians will always be willing to pander to a powerful constituency with platitudes and symbolism, it’s up to us if we let them get away with it.
It feels good to be back on the offensive in Pennsylvania, with HB2011 moving forward to a vote in the Pennsylvania House. Why does it feel good? Because we get to hear the lamentations of the media, who are absolutely opposed to putting any kind of teeth in the state’s preemption law.
Say goodbye to prospects for enactment of any new lost-and-stolen reporting rules, and say hello to court fights for the 30 towns that already have them on the books.
Awesome. Those towns had no legal authority under state law to pass those ordinances in the first place. We told them that, and they didn’t listen. Those towns can easily avoid expensive suits by repealing the illegal ordinance they never had any business passing in the first place. When cities and towns violate state law, we shouldn’t have to wait to be charged under it in order to challenge it. Its mere existence should give us standing.
Off topic, because gun news is thin on the ground today. Obama’s statements on the Ukraine situation boggle the mind. I’d like to think there’s some kind of dastardly brilliant plan behind all this, but the only plan it looks like to me is this one.
The United States does not view Europe as a battleground between East and West, nor do we see the situation in Ukraine as a zero-sum game. That’s the kind of thinking that should have ended with the Cold War.
You sure Putin views things the same way, Barry? Because it looks to me like he’s not agreeing this type of thinking ended with the Cold War. Look, we all know that we’re not going to war over Ukraine, and I’m not suggesting we should. But you at least need to make a show of it so he knows there’s lines, real lines, that he can’t cross. Like Poland and Estonia. And not that I really want him drawing any lines, since that hasn’t worked out to well for this Administration. This kind of obliviousness is how big wars start.
Otis McDonald is the McDonald behind McDonald v. City of Chicago. His family is reporting on his Facebook page that he’s battling metastatic cancer, and could use thoughts and prayers:
Mr. Otis McDonald, a man who stood tall for full citizenship rights of all Americans. He stood victoriously at the Supreme Court for the right of every American to protect and defend their family. He stood for us to be safe in our homes. A courageous man who made us proud.
Mr. McDonald is currently in a fight for his life as he battles metastatic cancer. Today, he needs us to unite and stand for him. We are requesting your prayers for Mr. McDonald and his family during this time of his serious illness.
I take their statement as a request to help maintain the family’s privacy, so I did not include contact information, but it’s on the Facebook page.
Clayton tells of a guy walking around a gun show with an M3 “Grease Gun” sticking out of his backpack that he was trying to sell. Sounds like it wasn’t in perfect working condition, but was still a real deal submachine gun. I agree with Clayton something like that had a reasonable probability of being a sting, but I think the “found in dad’s attic” types are going to get more numerous as the Vietnam generation starts to die out. I think it’s reasonable to suggest that many of their next of kin will have no idea they are dealing with an unregistered machine gun that could land them ten years in prison, so it seems completely reasonable to believe some of them will try to sell their heirlooms completely ignorant that they are risking getting caught in a serious federal felony. The stings can go both ways.
That’s why I’m very interested in getting the Veterans Heritage Firearms Act made into law before the Vietnam generation starts dying off in large numbers, and while the last of the World War II veterans are still with us. There would be no legal remedy for someone finding a historic war bring back in their dad’s attic. The only legal course of action is to turn it in to be destroyed. The impetus for the VHFA was the discovery of a German machine gun captured by Alvin York, which was unregistered, and which was only saved from destruction by the actions of the local police department. It’s actually illegal for even the cops to have an unregistered machine gun, but I suppose ATF wasn’t willing to do anything about it.
A lot of folks might believe that they are better off not registering these heirlooms, lest they be one day confiscated by a future gun-hating government, and I think those people have a point. But in that case I think it’s important that next of kin are made aware of what they are dealing with. Also, for pieces that are truly historic, or for folks who want to actually be able to shoot their heirlooms, I think it’s important that they have the opportunity.
For once I agree with an anti-gun person in terms of strategy. I think this is brilliant. He suggests economic sanctions against pro-gun states:
We can do that by using economic sanctions against states that allow the gun lobby to write the laws. How? By never moving to these states, by moving out of these states and by never vacationing in these states.
You want all those transplanted New Yorkers to move out of Eastern Pennsylvania and back to New York? Oh please, oh please, oh please, YES! Do it. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. This is strategic brilliance. Please implement forthwith.
Once again, I want to thank everyone for their patience on Fridays when I am not really able to easily keep up with the blog during the day. The New Jersey Assembly passed the magazine ban, which means the fight is now on in the Senate. From ANJRPC:
The agenda for Monday’s Senate Law and Public Safety Committee meeting is out, and S993 (gun ban / mag ban) is not on it. While that could change at any time, reliable sources in Trenton tell us that an “issue” has arisen that is prompting the legislation to be held until after the budget recess in April.
Whether the “issue” is the outrage of thousands of gun owners, hunters and sportsmen,the realization that the legislation and its amendments are fundamentally flawed, or something else, reports of the reprieve, if accurate, would represent a significant break in the momentum of this legislation. Anti-gun lawmakers have been on a full court press since February to get this legislation to the Governor’s desk, and great pains were taken to reschedule an Assembly hearing (after it was cancelled due to winter storm Titan) so the bill could be delivered to the Governor this month.
While gun owners should remain prepared to come to Trenton Monday morning if something changes over the weekend, as of this afternoon it does not appear that will be necessary. Should we receive contrary information over the weekend, we will issue a follow-up alert.
In the meanwhile, there should be no break in the momentum from our end. Gun owners, hunters and sportsmen must continue to weigh in by email with every State Senator, and by phone and fax with their individual State Senator.  Tell them to oppose S993 (gun ban / mag ban).
This should be a no-brainer veto for Christie. Hell, if I were him I’d hold up a Model 60 in the presser and tell the world this is what the New Jersey Democrats wanted to ban. “You probably had one of these when you were a kid.” The messaging practically writes itself. That might not be a true statement in New Jersey, but it sure is in New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and some of the other early key primary states.
The pre-order page is now posted for the Charlton Heston stamp from the Post Office. It says that pre-orders will be available April 9, and the launch is set for April 11. You know I’m so going to get some when they come out. In fact, I think I’ll find excuses to mail some letters this summer just to have an excuse to use them.
If the Post Office is interested in making some money off of these, they should ask if NRA would put up promotional posters at the NRA convention in Indy and note that the post office downtown is only a 15 minute walk from the convention center. They might try to claim that it’s only honoring his Hollywood work, but they really need to look at the fact that they need to make money. This event happens to provide a very targeted audience – regardless of the motivation to buy.
