In National Review. The subject is the late happenings in the Senate, and the background check system. It’s worth a read.
Category: Gun Rights
Obama’s Gun Policies Unpopular with Millennials
Just one in four younger Americans believe the nation is headed in the right direction, and a majority of so-called Millennials disapprove of President Obama’s gun control initiatives, according to a new Harvard University poll …
…Â The pollsters said that reflected “disapproval with President Obama’s proposals more than with legislative results in Congress.”
Millennials don’t seem to have the same appetite for fighting culture wars that Baby Boomers do, and that’s could become an issue for both parties.
Monday Morning News Dump
Greetings everyone. It was a mad weekend, but I’m fortunate to have largely finished my office renovation, and gotten it ready for carpet. I was supposed to be at this place two weeks ago, but this happened. But in the mean time, I’ve been collecting interesting stories.
The New Jersey Second Amendment Society puts in a call to the New Jersey State Police to ask about background checks taking so long. In New Jersey, they’ve never heard of an instant background check.
Joe Manchin: Beating a dead horse.
Lyle shows that deodands are alive and well, despite how enlightened we modern folks think we are.
Executive orders, round two. The Gun Control Act gives the President broad authority to regulate guns and ammunition. If he goes for broke, it will be painful. Also, our opponents are regrouping.
Gun control background checks yield a great many false positives. I agree with Dave that “enforcing current law” against people denied is effective rhetoric, but in practicality NICS gets it wrong much of the time, and even when it’s right, many of those people are no threat to society.
Cuomo is admitting that his drop in the polls is largely because of gun control. But I thought gun control was widely popular?
Anti-Gun Folks: All Talk, No Activism. Migel notes CSGV is irrelevant. I agree. Bloomberg is the number one enemy of the Second Amendment now.
Miguel has an amusing take on Mom’s Demand Action’s latest info graphic.
UPDATE: Forgot one: I had Kevin’s uberpost hidden in my work tabs.
Things Getting Better? Or Further Becoming Two Americas?
While the anti-gun folks weren’t looking: “Fifteen states have enacted laws regarding guns so far this year, more than 80 percent of them increasing gun rights.” h/t Dave Hardy. Of course, this is further division into Two Americas., with the “blue” states getting more anti-gun, and the “red” states getting more pro-gun. Where will Pennsylvania fall? What about the other states that are solidly Democratic, but have a gun tradition? That is the big question. There are examples of bluer states that have remained relatively free in terms of guns, like Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota. But how long will those states hold out with a Democratic Party that’s dedicated to eradicating the Second Amendment? Colorado hasn’t fared so well in its flirtation with going blue from purple. Washington State is not out of the woods either, since it looks like we’re going to be facing a ballot fight there.
Thursday Mini Dump
Hopefully this doesn’t run me out of stories for the day, but gun news is still running pretty hot out there, so I’ll risk it.
Gun control thoughts after the Boston Marathon.
During the manhunt in Boston, 69% of voters wanted a gun. Also interesting is that less than half of Americans are upset about the Senate gun vote. So much for the 80-90% number.
The upcoming gun control jihad. Some people just don’t know when they are beaten. Not that we’ve beaten gun control, mind you, but Bloomberg is gun control’s future. Groups like CSGV and Brady have become largely irrelevant in the debate.
Another analysis of why NRA won and gun control lost, by Mother Jones.
Hey, even true blue Western states don’t like gun control much.
Some lies on guns are even too much for the New York Times.
USA today misleads on gun dealer inspections. It’s worth noting that as the gun control crowd is attempting to make FFLs the only entities that can legally transfer guns in this country, they are simultaneously trying to reduce the number of FFLs out there.
Senate Rules and the Gun Control Vote
Chris from Alaska has an analysis. I really question whether they actually wanted something to pass. There was certainly a path forward for some kind of bill, even if the pot had to be sweetened over what Manchin-Toomey tried to do. It’s been quite telling that each time this issue has gotten hot, they’ve had a pure background check bill they’ve been capable of advancing, but it’s always rejected because the bill lacks sufficient provision to assure that all guns are “papered.”
Harry Reid Proposes New Background Check Bill
Requiring folks to pass a background check before buying powders. I’d note that Massachusetts already requires a license to buy reloading components, and that didn’t stop the bombers. And would we really prefer jihadists start mixing up ANFOÂ and other improvised high explosives? If high explosives were used instead of gunpowder, the death toll would have been higher. These were crude devices.
Explosives regulations are even dumber and more easily thwarted than gun regulations. I made black powder in my basement as a kid, and managed to get a hold of the ingredients before we had this Internet thing. Today it’s even easier. What then? Background checks for potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal? Are we going to require Home Depot to run background checks on fertilizer? Check the terror watch list before delivering home heating oil? It’s ridiculous.
Some Pics from the PA Capitol
Thanks to Twitter follower David:
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Definitely bigger than previous years, but not overwhelming. I’ve seen the crowd at that rally as large in previous years. A big reason for that, I think, is that PA currently isn’t under threat, given that the GOP controls all three branches of the PA state government, and statements by House leadership and the Governor made it clear early on there wasn’t going to be any of that crap here we’ve seen in neighboring states. Not having to deal with a state fight in the middle of a federal right was hugely beneficial, and we owe Governor Corbett and House leadership a debt of gratitude for holding the line and allowing us to focus federally.
It looks like the big legislation in Pennsylvania now will be preemption enhancements, to actually give it some teeth. It’ll be starting in the Senate, having been introduced by Senator Richard Alloway. While I think preemption enhancement is important, I’d also like to see the state come to a deal on the “Florida Loophole” issue by removing the remaining discretion from LTC issuing authorities, including Philadelphia, granting universal reciprocity to out-of-state licenses, and clarifying that the Attorney General may not alter, modify, or rescind reciprocity agreements except at the behest of the reciprocal state. I’d be willing to trade that for a requirement that PA residents need a PA LTC in order to lawfully carry concealed, rather than a foreign license or permit.
Another, and better alternative to liberalizing the LTC regime, would be to push constitutional carry. But despite the shout out by Rep. Saccone for his bill at the rally today, I’m not going to hold my breath that the votes will be there for quite some time. At least we’ve gotten to the point where we’re getting a bill introduced. That, at the least, means there’s enough interest in it among the gun rights community that we’ve become a constituency to be pleased, and that’s a start. But in the mean time we have a city that does not fairly issue and Attorney General who thinks dinkering with longstanding reciprocity agreements is a fun pastime.
Biden Announces New Gun Control Legislation
Not the Biden you’re thinking of. Fresh off a recent legislative victory on banning private transfers in Delaware, Beau Biden wants some more gun control:
The DOJ could then ask a judge to prohibit the person from owning or possessing a gun. The judge also could order the seizure of any guns that the person owns. In the case of a troubled child, authorities could seize any guns owned by a parent or guardian with whom the child is living.
It needs to be adversarial. If my rights are going to be removed, I ought to be able to contest that. If it’s just a judge issuing orders based on the word of government officials, that does not amount to due process in my book, and ought to be unconstitutional.
Also, we have a long tradition in this country of eschewing corruption of blood. It’s interesting that the left, newly emboldened after the late election victory, is slowly trying to do away with limits on governmental power that have served civilized society for hundreds of years. Taking my guns away because my kid is troubled?
With the exception of being a may-issue, but mostly does issue state, Delaware’s gun laws haven’t been too bad for a state that’s been pretty deep blue for a while now. It’s a shame to see that changing so quickly, but it was probably inevitable. The Democrats were afraid to be seen as the Party of Gun Control for the better part of two decades, and so in many of these states there has been an uneasy stalemate. But with Obama declaring the Democrats the Party of Gun Control again, and the Democrats believing the Republicans are finished in states like Delaware, the stalemate is over, and now they are doing to us what they can. Part of this is demographic, especially in states like Delaware. But part of it is the utter failure of the Republican Party in the Northeast, which is now spreading into the Mid-Atlantic states as well.
If gun owners don’t start thinking of ways to turn around some of these states, I expect the divide between the Two Americas I have spoken about here will continue to deepen, with blue states not having gun rights to speak of, and the rest of the country continuing to liberalize their gun control laws. What truly worries me is where Pennsylvania will fall on that divide.
Greetings to All in Harrisburg
Today is the annual 2nd Amendment Rally. I had actually planned to go this year, even up until a few days ago, because I thought it would be important to make this a big year. But other circumstances have intervened, and to tell the truth, I’m a bit burnt out on gun rights events, and didn’t relish the idea of driving to Harrisburg at 6 in the morning only to have to come back in the afternoon and work until I can’t stay awake anymore. If anyone’s there who can get a good crowd shot, let me know and I’ll post it.