The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
It’s possible that former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was Mike Bloomberg’s model Mayor Against Guns. Nagin organized a gun confiscation plan that he actually got away with for a little while until they city was taken to court.
Now, underscoring the need that Bloomberg had to get away from keeping his gun control brand associate with mayors, Ray Nagin has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for bribery and money laundering.
Well, the decision on San Francisco laws was unpleasant news late yesterday, but at least California gun owners can be happy that one Second Amendment opponent isn’t quite as likely to be a threat in the future. Sen. Leeland Yee was just arrested on bribery and corruption charges, and the FBI is apparently raiding his offices at the moment.
UPDATE: Link has been updated. It would seem Dick Black actually voted for the law, and was raising concerns about false accusations.
Just remember when you lament that we don’t get Republicans willing to stand up for say, repealing the Hughes Amendment or weakening the National Firearms Act, that they absolutely are willing to go waaaay out on a limb for the only people in the right coalition that are as good at organizing and manipulating government as the progressive left. Gun owners are a force because we are capable of delivering some epic punishment when politicians displease us. We are good at the stick, but not so much the carrot. The religious-right is far better at the carrot than the stick. In some ways the carrot works better. The stick will make them leave you alone. The carrot will actually get them to dance for you.
Apparently they’ll dance even if it means losing. One can argue that the “War on Women” is overblown and unfair, and maybe Dick Black was only raising a point about evidentiary standards. But the reason that attacks like this work is because voters buy into it. Why? That’s the question the Republican coalition needs to keep asking itself.
Right now, if all goes according to schedule, Sebastian and I are likely in the National Archives looking over the Civil War pension applications from two of his ancestors and one of mine. This new genealogy hobby has opened the door to new political issues for us since, as you might expect from an overly expansive government, there are efforts to shut down resources utilized by genealogists. Since someone, somewhere might possibly misuse data, we must ban the estimated 80 million genealogists in the country from access to vital information!
What I found interesting and relevant to post on this blog was a peek at the influence of NRA on the political process compared to some other interest groups.
Back in 2012, there was a hearing held on the uses and value of the Social Security death records, and genealogists were not even on the witness list. In fact, it goes further than that:
No genealogist has ever been permitted to testify at a hearing regarding the SSDI. Melinde Lutz Byrne, at that time President of the American Society of Genealogists, sat in the hearing audience when Commissioner Astrue uttered his remarks. Her in-person testimony was banned by Chairman Sam Johnson.
Can you imagine a situation where Congress would refuse to listen to any pro-gun group at all on any major gun issue? Let’s face it, even if they only invite NRA to try and pick on them, even anti-gun lawmakers tend to want to hear from the opposition for at least political points. That doesn’t mean they take the pro-rights arguments seriously, but at least they allow a voice to be heard. The genealogists can’t even be heard – not even once.
I just found that to be an interesting little perspective on how hard gun owners have worked to be taken seriously. Now we just need some 2014 election wins to help remind lawmakers why they should keep listening to us.
The District of Columbia has changed their registration law, and they estimate as many as 40-50,000 gun owners may face up to a year in jail if they don’t make an effort to learn about the change in the law.
On Jan. 1, DC gun owners will have 90 days to jump through the entire gun registration process all over again. This means in person stops at the police department and all sorts of bureaucratic headaches. However, not jumping through these hoops (all over again) will mean that in 180 days, they are illegally possessing firearms and will face jail for it.
The media is highlighting that there are concerns that not all gun owners will learn about this change in the law, and that could cause unintentional non-compliance with extreme consequences.
The issue of Massachusetts gun licensing delays is getting attention from non-gun sources, and they highlight the reports of nearly 1,000 gun owners who have had their licenses delayed past the point of the state breaking its own laws.
The article highlights a Senate Democrat who notes that this squarely falls on the shoulders of the Deval Patrick administration, and they include the fact that Attorney General Martha Coakley is refusing to investigate why the state government is violating the law, nor will her office even answer public questions on the matter.
Sadly, this isn’t new to Massachusetts gun owners. The government there has had a history of delaying licenses that are needed in order to continue lawfully possessing your guns. It was an issue when I lived there and had to get my gun license.
That latest Anthony Wiener scandal:Â I couldn’t make this stuff up. Mild mannered politician by day… every woman’s superhero by…. eeew. I wouldn’t want to use the phone booth after he’s changed into that particular alter ego.
Attorney General Eric Holder believes that we go too far in allowing law-abiding citizens to defend their lives in attacks by criminals:
Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods. (emphasis added)
Speaking about broader self-defense laws beyond the Zimmerman case, Holder calls putting the duty on the law-abiding citizen to retreat from attackers “common sense.”
Okay, so maybe the slogan in the title is a bit over-the-top and not really that catchy. Regardless, it sort of sums up the content of a letter that NRA is mailing to 200,000 voters in West Virginia.
The letter will outline why NRA opposed Manchin-Schumer-Toomey, and it will also highlight that Manchin intentionally mislead voters on his views on this very specific policy when he was running for office.
I guess this shows that Sen. Manchin really is allowing Obama to rub off on him. It looks like his election promises are now reaching their expiration dates.
According to a very initial report from WOWK, it seems the criminal charges against the West Virginia teenager who wore an NRA t-shirt to school have been dropped.
As Sebastian said when I informed him of this update, the news of the dropped charges should have come with an apology letter that acknowledges they never should have brought them in the first place. Obviously, that’s unlikely.
I was hearing reports about attempts to organize rallies, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones who highlighted that the judge who banned the media from the courthouse in this case and the district attorney who oversees the two prosecutors who not only brought charges, but then tried to silence the boy and his family, are elected. They can still be sent home during the next election.
