By Sabrina Tavernise & Robert Gebeloff -3/9/2013
The number of American households with guns has declined over the past four decades, a national survey shows, with some of the most surprising drops in the South and the Western mountain states, where guns are deeply embedded in the culture.
The gun ownership rate has fallen across a broad cross section of households since the early 1970s, according to data from the General Social Survey, a public opinion survey conducted every two years that asks a sample of American adults if they have guns at home, among other questions.
The rate has dropped in cities large and small, in suburbs and rural areas and in all regions of the country. It has fallen among households with children, and among those without. It has declined for households that say they are very happy, and for those that say they are not. It is down among churchgoers and those who never sit in pews.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Rape Victim Pleads for Choice to Carry
By Kimberly Weeks
Gun control. It’s pretty broad topic and no matter who you are, you’ve probably heard a lot about it lately, especially if you live in Colorado, the epicenter of the national gun control debate.
Fear of firearms keeps most of my college-aged peers from owning or carrying a gun. Going into my junior year at the University of Northern Colorado, I was one of them. I had grown up around my dad and brother’s shotguns and hunting rifles, but I didn’t believe I needed a weapon to defend myself. The very idea of carrying a handgun made me uncomfortable. Nothing would ever happen to me in Greeley, Colorado.
Then, everything changed in the early hours of a mid-May morning. I was sleeping in my college-area apartment when a stranger broke in through a closed window. He snuck into my bedroom. I awoke to a man covering my face with a shirt and didn’t stop for the next two hours as he raped me. I had no choice. I didn’t scream, I didn’t cry, I just prepared for this man to kill me.
Gun control. It’s pretty broad topic and no matter who you are, you’ve probably heard a lot about it lately, especially if you live in Colorado, the epicenter of the national gun control debate.
Fear of firearms keeps most of my college-aged peers from owning or carrying a gun. Going into my junior year at the University of Northern Colorado, I was one of them. I had grown up around my dad and brother’s shotguns and hunting rifles, but I didn’t believe I needed a weapon to defend myself. The very idea of carrying a handgun made me uncomfortable. Nothing would ever happen to me in Greeley, Colorado.
Then, everything changed in the early hours of a mid-May morning. I was sleeping in my college-area apartment when a stranger broke in through a closed window. He snuck into my bedroom. I awoke to a man covering my face with a shirt and didn’t stop for the next two hours as he raped me. I had no choice. I didn’t scream, I didn’t cry, I just prepared for this man to kill me.
Some Communities Consider Mandating Gun Ownership
By Associated Press writers Phillip Lucas and Todd Dvorak
AUGUSTA, Maine-- A town of 140 people in the U.S. state of Maine is considering an ordinance making gun ownership mandatory, the latest of a handful of communities nationwide to pass or consider such a rule even though the measures are widely considered unenforceable.
Communities from Idaho to Georgia have been inspired to "require" or recommend their residents arm themselves ever since a gunman killed 26 youngsters and educators Dec. 14 in a school in Newtown, Connecticut, and raised fears among gun owners about an impending restriction on Second Amendment rights.
Although it is only a handful of communities these measures reflect a growing divide in the U.S. between those like President Barack Obama who believe guns need to be more strictly regulated and supporters of the powerful gun lobby the National Rifle Association, which maintains that more guns keep people safer.
While generally more liberal states with large urban centers like New York and California lawmakers have been introducing more stringent gun control laws, more conservative, rural areas have been going in the opposite direction.
AUGUSTA, Maine-- A town of 140 people in the U.S. state of Maine is considering an ordinance making gun ownership mandatory, the latest of a handful of communities nationwide to pass or consider such a rule even though the measures are widely considered unenforceable.
Communities from Idaho to Georgia have been inspired to "require" or recommend their residents arm themselves ever since a gunman killed 26 youngsters and educators Dec. 14 in a school in Newtown, Connecticut, and raised fears among gun owners about an impending restriction on Second Amendment rights.
Although it is only a handful of communities these measures reflect a growing divide in the U.S. between those like President Barack Obama who believe guns need to be more strictly regulated and supporters of the powerful gun lobby the National Rifle Association, which maintains that more guns keep people safer.
While generally more liberal states with large urban centers like New York and California lawmakers have been introducing more stringent gun control laws, more conservative, rural areas have been going in the opposite direction.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Right to Self-Defense
By Andrew P. Napolitano - 3/7/2013
In all the noise caused by the Obama administration's direct assault on the right of every person to keep and bear arms, the essence of the issue has been drowned out. The president and his big-government colleagues want you to believe that only the government can keep you free and safe, so to them, the essence of this debate is about obedience to law.
To those who have killed innocents among us, obedience to law is the last of their thoughts. And to those who believe that the Constitution means what it says, the essence of this debate is not about the law; it is about personal liberty in a free society. It is the exercise of this particular personal liberty -- the freedom to defend yourself when the police cannot or will not and the freedom to use weapons to repel tyrants if they take over the government -- that the big-government crowd fears the most.
In all the noise caused by the Obama administration's direct assault on the right of every person to keep and bear arms, the essence of the issue has been drowned out. The president and his big-government colleagues want you to believe that only the government can keep you free and safe, so to them, the essence of this debate is about obedience to law.
To those who have killed innocents among us, obedience to law is the last of their thoughts. And to those who believe that the Constitution means what it says, the essence of this debate is not about the law; it is about personal liberty in a free society. It is the exercise of this particular personal liberty -- the freedom to defend yourself when the police cannot or will not and the freedom to use weapons to repel tyrants if they take over the government -- that the big-government crowd fears the most.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Gun Debate: Gun crime prosecutions on decline, amid call for more laws
By William La Jeunesse - 2/25/2013
In radio and billboard ads across the country, the federal government is telling potential gun buyers "don't lie for the other guy." The campaign message is intended to stop those with clean criminal records from buying firearms for felons who legally can't buy guns on their own.
The message underscores the full-court press in Washington to adopt sweeping new gun control laws, from universal background checks to a ban on military-style rifles and large ammunition magazines.
However, recent studies show the Obama administration has not enforced many gun laws already on books -- with gun crime prosecutions hitting a decade low in 2011, down 40 percent from their peak under President George W. Bush in 2004, according to federal data crunched by Syracuse University. The SU study prompted 23 House Republicans on Friday to call on President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute more people for gun-related crimes.
In radio and billboard ads across the country, the federal government is telling potential gun buyers "don't lie for the other guy." The campaign message is intended to stop those with clean criminal records from buying firearms for felons who legally can't buy guns on their own.
The message underscores the full-court press in Washington to adopt sweeping new gun control laws, from universal background checks to a ban on military-style rifles and large ammunition magazines.
However, recent studies show the Obama administration has not enforced many gun laws already on books -- with gun crime prosecutions hitting a decade low in 2011, down 40 percent from their peak under President George W. Bush in 2004, according to federal data crunched by Syracuse University. The SU study prompted 23 House Republicans on Friday to call on President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute more people for gun-related crimes.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Missing the Mark on ‘Gun Control’
By Jake Berube - 2/25/2013
In recent months the debate over gun control has taken center stage. It is an emotionally charged issue, to be sure. After a series of high profile shootings, including those in Aurora, Colo., and Newton, Conn., it is obvious that people are anxious to find a solution to these heartbreaking occurrences, but there is serious disagreement on how this goal should be pursued.
I am sympathetic to the arguments for gun control on an emotional level. It seems to reason that if the government restricts access to guns in any way, there would be fewer guns, and, in turn, less violence. This argument, however, is a logical trap because it assumes several premises that upon closer examination are proven false.
In recent months the debate over gun control has taken center stage. It is an emotionally charged issue, to be sure. After a series of high profile shootings, including those in Aurora, Colo., and Newton, Conn., it is obvious that people are anxious to find a solution to these heartbreaking occurrences, but there is serious disagreement on how this goal should be pursued.
I am sympathetic to the arguments for gun control on an emotional level. It seems to reason that if the government restricts access to guns in any way, there would be fewer guns, and, in turn, less violence. This argument, however, is a logical trap because it assumes several premises that upon closer examination are proven false.
Black Leaders Speak out for Gun Rights
By: Neil W. McCabe - 2/22/2013
Led by conservative activist Star Parker, the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, more than a dozen black leaders spoke out in favor of gun rights at a press conference at Washington’s National Press Club.
“The call for universal background checks as qualifiers for constitutional rights invokes painful memories of Jim Crow laws and Black Codes,” said Parker, who was an unsuccessful California GOP congressional candidate in 2010.
Parker said the press conference was called during Black History Month because the lessons learned by the black experience in America teach that all Americans should be able to exercise their gun rights.
The press conference was dedicated to the tradition of abolitionist and civil rights leader Frederick Douglass, she said. “Douglass reminded us: ‘A man’s rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box.’”
Led by conservative activist Star Parker, the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, more than a dozen black leaders spoke out in favor of gun rights at a press conference at Washington’s National Press Club.
“The call for universal background checks as qualifiers for constitutional rights invokes painful memories of Jim Crow laws and Black Codes,” said Parker, who was an unsuccessful California GOP congressional candidate in 2010.
Parker said the press conference was called during Black History Month because the lessons learned by the black experience in America teach that all Americans should be able to exercise their gun rights.
The press conference was dedicated to the tradition of abolitionist and civil rights leader Frederick Douglass, she said. “Douglass reminded us: ‘A man’s rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box.’”
Monday, February 25, 2013
Concealed-carry Law Signed in Arkansas -Today!
By United Press International - 2/25/2013
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, describing himself as an enthusiastic backer of gun rights, has signed a concealed-carry law.
Darr, a Republican, was standing in as acting governor Friday for the state's Democratic governor, Mike Beebe, who had said he would let the bill become law without signing it, KHOZ-AM, Harrison, reported.
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, describing himself as an enthusiastic backer of gun rights, has signed a concealed-carry law.
Darr, a Republican, was standing in as acting governor Friday for the state's Democratic governor, Mike Beebe, who had said he would let the bill become law without signing it, KHOZ-AM, Harrison, reported.
Are gun owners the new smokers? . . .Agenda 2013
By The Oregonian - 2/25/2013
Oregon gun owners cheered by the demise of Sen. Ginny Burdick's proposals to ban large magazines and scary-looking semiautomatic weapons should leave the champagne in the fridge for the time being. The Legislature's gun-control advocates are still hard at work, and the direction in which they're heading would create problems for law-abiding citizens over the long term and, perhaps, do nothing to enhance public safety.
We're leery of slippery-slope arguments, but two concepts supported by Burdick and Sen. Floyd Prozanski, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, could grease the transformation of concealed-handgun policy into something resembling smoking policies around the state. Sure, it's legal to smoke, but the places in which you can do it keep disappearing. A bill considered this week would even prohibit people from smoking in vehicles in the presence of minors.
Oregon gun owners cheered by the demise of Sen. Ginny Burdick's proposals to ban large magazines and scary-looking semiautomatic weapons should leave the champagne in the fridge for the time being. The Legislature's gun-control advocates are still hard at work, and the direction in which they're heading would create problems for law-abiding citizens over the long term and, perhaps, do nothing to enhance public safety.
We're leery of slippery-slope arguments, but two concepts supported by Burdick and Sen. Floyd Prozanski, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, could grease the transformation of concealed-handgun policy into something resembling smoking policies around the state. Sure, it's legal to smoke, but the places in which you can do it keep disappearing. A bill considered this week would even prohibit people from smoking in vehicles in the presence of minors.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Shooting Victim Accuses President of Standing with Thugs and Criminals
Columbine Survivor Pens Powerful Letter to President Obama on Gun Rights
By Guy Benson - 2/22/2013
The Left routinely ascribes absolute moral authority to grieving victims in furtherance of their political agenda. Their agitprop is often manipulative and exploitive, but it works. Appeals to facts and reason aren't enough anymore; persuading the public increasingly requires emotional appeals. Even if they find it inherently unpalatable, conservatives must promote people whose personal stories offer counter-narratives to liberals' tragic parade of victimhood. Katie highlighted one such case earlier this week, and now The Blaze has another. This open letter is a must-read -- not only for the case it lays out, but because of its author's personal history (click through for the full, unedited missive):
By Guy Benson - 2/22/2013
The Left routinely ascribes absolute moral authority to grieving victims in furtherance of their political agenda. Their agitprop is often manipulative and exploitive, but it works. Appeals to facts and reason aren't enough anymore; persuading the public increasingly requires emotional appeals. Even if they find it inherently unpalatable, conservatives must promote people whose personal stories offer counter-narratives to liberals' tragic parade of victimhood. Katie highlighted one such case earlier this week, and now The Blaze has another. This open letter is a must-read -- not only for the case it lays out, but because of its author's personal history (click through for the full, unedited missive):
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Crime Control or Gun Control?
By J. Randall O'Brien - 02/20/2013
"According to the latest polls," Jay Leno cracked, "50 percent of Americans say we are a divided country; the other 50 percent say we are not." Laughter doeth good like a medicine.
If Americans are divided over gun control, we are not over crime control. In order to improve our chance of reaching consensus on one important avenue of diminishing a national problem, should we not accurately define what our problem is? And would it not be prudent to focus our national problem-solving conversation upon that which unites us, rather than that which divides us? Perhaps, then, our focus should rest upon crime control rather than gun control.
We Americans love our guns. (For full disclosure: I have owned guns since childhood, volunteered to serve in Vietnam [101st Airborne Infantry], and own guns today.) The data claim there are 300 million firearms in America (114 million handguns, 86 million shotguns, 110 million rifles). The estimated tally of assault weapons (semiautomatic rifles with military-style features, including detachable magazines holding 10-100 rounds) numbers roughly four million.
"According to the latest polls," Jay Leno cracked, "50 percent of Americans say we are a divided country; the other 50 percent say we are not." Laughter doeth good like a medicine.
If Americans are divided over gun control, we are not over crime control. In order to improve our chance of reaching consensus on one important avenue of diminishing a national problem, should we not accurately define what our problem is? And would it not be prudent to focus our national problem-solving conversation upon that which unites us, rather than that which divides us? Perhaps, then, our focus should rest upon crime control rather than gun control.
We Americans love our guns. (For full disclosure: I have owned guns since childhood, volunteered to serve in Vietnam [101st Airborne Infantry], and own guns today.) The data claim there are 300 million firearms in America (114 million handguns, 86 million shotguns, 110 million rifles). The estimated tally of assault weapons (semiautomatic rifles with military-style features, including detachable magazines holding 10-100 rounds) numbers roughly four million.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Stand Your Ground! - The Castle Doctrine of Delf-defense
By Bruce N. Eimer, Ph.D. - 5/18/2012.
The “stand your ground” law greatly benefits senior citizens, who may be physically unable to retreat.
“A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked (3) in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. declared in Brown v. United States on May 16th, 1921 in a case that upheld the “no duty to retreat” maxim that “detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.” In this spirit, in recent years, a growing number of states have passed so-called Castle Doctrine laws protecting a home owner’s right to use deadly force in self defense, without mandating a duty to attempt to retreat first, when the home owner’s life is being imminently threatened by an intruder or home invader.
The “stand your ground” law greatly benefits senior citizens, who may be physically unable to retreat.
“A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked (3) in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. declared in Brown v. United States on May 16th, 1921 in a case that upheld the “no duty to retreat” maxim that “detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.” In this spirit, in recent years, a growing number of states have passed so-called Castle Doctrine laws protecting a home owner’s right to use deadly force in self defense, without mandating a duty to attempt to retreat first, when the home owner’s life is being imminently threatened by an intruder or home invader.
Teacher refused to grade report on guns
By Fil Alvarado
A Denton,Texas teacher allegedly refused to grade two student reports because they were about guns. Now one mother is demanded answers and an apology.
Marshall Williams said he and his classmates were told by Mr. Dewey Christian at Denton High School to write a report on anything that they were interested in using different types of sentence structures. He chose to write about the Fort Worth gun show.
But then he said his English teacher told him he would get a zero on the assignment because of the topic.
A Denton,Texas teacher allegedly refused to grade two student reports because they were about guns. Now one mother is demanded answers and an apology.
Marshall Williams said he and his classmates were told by Mr. Dewey Christian at Denton High School to write a report on anything that they were interested in using different types of sentence structures. He chose to write about the Fort Worth gun show.
But then he said his English teacher told him he would get a zero on the assignment because of the topic.
Progressive Left Disarms American Woman
Forum Comment - "Women! If you are attacked by a rapist. . . just grab a ball point pen"
By Michelle Malkin
If radical gun-grabbers have their way, your daughters, mothers and grandmothers will have nothing but whistles, pens and bodily fluids to defend themselves against violent attackers and sexual predators. Women of all ages, races and political backgrounds should be up in arms over the coordinated attack on their right to bear arms.
In Colorado this week, male Democratic legislators assailed concealed-carry supporters and disparaged female students who refuse to depend on the government for protection. The Democrat-controlled House passed a statewide ban on concealed-carry weapons on college campuses, along with several other extreme gun-control measures that will undermine citizen safety and drive dozens of businesses out of the state.
By Michelle Malkin
If radical gun-grabbers have their way, your daughters, mothers and grandmothers will have nothing but whistles, pens and bodily fluids to defend themselves against violent attackers and sexual predators. Women of all ages, races and political backgrounds should be up in arms over the coordinated attack on their right to bear arms.
In Colorado this week, male Democratic legislators assailed concealed-carry supporters and disparaged female students who refuse to depend on the government for protection. The Democrat-controlled House passed a statewide ban on concealed-carry weapons on college campuses, along with several other extreme gun-control measures that will undermine citizen safety and drive dozens of businesses out of the state.
Monday, February 18, 2013
You Know, The 2nd Amendment Is Really About Gun Control
By William Teach - 2/18/12013
Progressives are searching far and wide to make a case to disarm the American public and leave guns only in the hands of Government.
In 2008 the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment did secure the right of law-abiding, responsible adults to have handguns in their homes for protection. Yet the court went out of its way to acknowledge that most forms of gun regulation remain constitutionally permissible. “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited,” Justice Antonin Scalia, explained. In a sentence the NRA and many gun-rights extremists apparently missed, Scalia wrote that the Second Amendment is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”
Let’s say that again: Justice Scalia, hero of the most intransigent conservatives in the country, stated unequivocally that restrictions of Second Amendment rights are constitutional.
Progressives are searching far and wide to make a case to disarm the American public and leave guns only in the hands of Government.
In 2008 the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment did secure the right of law-abiding, responsible adults to have handguns in their homes for protection. Yet the court went out of its way to acknowledge that most forms of gun regulation remain constitutionally permissible. “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited,” Justice Antonin Scalia, explained. In a sentence the NRA and many gun-rights extremists apparently missed, Scalia wrote that the Second Amendment is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”
Let’s say that again: Justice Scalia, hero of the most intransigent conservatives in the country, stated unequivocally that restrictions of Second Amendment rights are constitutional.
Olympic Arms refuses to sell to NY cops
By Washington Times - 2/18/2013
Washington-state-based firearms manufacturer has announced that it no longer will be doing business with New York law enforcement, in response to the state's sweeping new gun laws on private citizens.
Olympic Arms, a manufacturer of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles, made the announcement Tuesday as New York will begin imposing an assault weapons ban on its residents.
"Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines," the company wrote on its official Facebook page. "We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States."
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's assault-weapons ban allows law enforcement agencies to purchase assault-style weapons, but Olympic says it no longer will serve the state's first responders, Fox News writes.
"It didn't make sense that citizens can't have what police departments have," Brian Schuetz, Olympic's president and co-owner, told the Times Union newspaper.
Washington-state-based firearms manufacturer has announced that it no longer will be doing business with New York law enforcement, in response to the state's sweeping new gun laws on private citizens.
Olympic Arms, a manufacturer of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles, made the announcement Tuesday as New York will begin imposing an assault weapons ban on its residents.
"Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines," the company wrote on its official Facebook page. "We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States."
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's assault-weapons ban allows law enforcement agencies to purchase assault-style weapons, but Olympic says it no longer will serve the state's first responders, Fox News writes.
"It didn't make sense that citizens can't have what police departments have," Brian Schuetz, Olympic's president and co-owner, told the Times Union newspaper.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
No Guns for the Police
From www.ncgunblog.com
Seven gun manufacturers/distrubtors have said that they would not be selling firearms to State and local governments that could not also be sold to the residents of that State. With Olympic Arms refusing to sell anything at all to any government agency in New York, I think we have the makings of a large-scale boycott.
LaRue Tactical 2-8-13
Olympic Arms 2-12-13
Extreme Firepower Inc, LLC Date of policy unknown, reported 2-13-13
Templar Custom 2-13-13
York Arms 2-13-13
Cheaper Than Dirt 2-15-13
Bullwater Enterprises 2-16-13
Grass Roots North Carolina has petitioned SIG, Smith & Wesson, and Glock asking these three major companies to boycott sales to anti-gun states. The NYPD authorizes three handguns for duty use, made by these three companies.
Seven gun manufacturers/distrubtors have said that they would not be selling firearms to State and local governments that could not also be sold to the residents of that State. With Olympic Arms refusing to sell anything at all to any government agency in New York, I think we have the makings of a large-scale boycott.
LaRue Tactical 2-8-13
Olympic Arms 2-12-13
Extreme Firepower Inc, LLC Date of policy unknown, reported 2-13-13
Templar Custom 2-13-13
York Arms 2-13-13
Cheaper Than Dirt 2-15-13
Bullwater Enterprises 2-16-13
Grass Roots North Carolina has petitioned SIG, Smith & Wesson, and Glock asking these three major companies to boycott sales to anti-gun states. The NYPD authorizes three handguns for duty use, made by these three companies.
Guns and Self Defense - Cato Institute
By The Cato Institute
Support the cause of liberty
The Cato Institute stands in defense of the traditional American principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
Gun control proponents want legislation that will restrict access to firearms. The rationale for such legislation is to reduce accidental shootings and the criminal use of guns against people. But if harm reduction is the goal, policymakers should pause to consider how many crimes--murders, rapes, assaults, robberies--are thwarted by ordinary persons who were fortunate enough to have access to a gun. Gun control proponents cannot deny that people use guns successfully against criminals, but they tend to play down how often such events take place.
At http://www.cato.org/guns-and-self-defense is a map that categorizes the use of various weapons in self defense in the US.
Two additional points are worth noting. First, the map is not comprehensive. Criminals will often flee the scene when they discover that their intended target has a gun. With no shots fired, no injuries, and no suspect in custody, news organizations may report nothing at all. Thus, it is important to remember that news reports can only provide us with an imperfect picture of defensive gun use in America. Second, when a citizen is able to shoot an attacker or hold a rapist or robber until the police arrive, it is very likely that more than one crime has been prevented because if the culprit had not been stopped, he could have targeted other citizens as well. The bottom line is that gun owners stop a lot of criminal mayhem every year.
Support the cause of liberty
The Cato Institute stands in defense of the traditional American principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
Gun control proponents want legislation that will restrict access to firearms. The rationale for such legislation is to reduce accidental shootings and the criminal use of guns against people. But if harm reduction is the goal, policymakers should pause to consider how many crimes--murders, rapes, assaults, robberies--are thwarted by ordinary persons who were fortunate enough to have access to a gun. Gun control proponents cannot deny that people use guns successfully against criminals, but they tend to play down how often such events take place.
At http://www.cato.org/guns-and-self-defense is a map that categorizes the use of various weapons in self defense in the US.
Two additional points are worth noting. First, the map is not comprehensive. Criminals will often flee the scene when they discover that their intended target has a gun. With no shots fired, no injuries, and no suspect in custody, news organizations may report nothing at all. Thus, it is important to remember that news reports can only provide us with an imperfect picture of defensive gun use in America. Second, when a citizen is able to shoot an attacker or hold a rapist or robber until the police arrive, it is very likely that more than one crime has been prevented because if the culprit had not been stopped, he could have targeted other citizens as well. The bottom line is that gun owners stop a lot of criminal mayhem every year.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Message for Gun Control Advocates: 'Real assault weapons' are already illegal
By Joel Gerhrke - 1/24/2013
The Washington Examiner
As Senate Democrats unveiled an “assault weapons ban” encompassing a variety of rifles, shotguns, and pistols, the newest lawyer in the U.S. Senate pointed out that “real assault weapons” have been illegal since 1934.
“Washington politicians shouldn’t be taking advantage of recent tragedy to try to push an aggressive gun control agenda,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a statement today. “Real assault weaponsmachine gunsare already functionally illegal, and they have been since 1934. This proposal would have done nothing to prevent the terrible murders in Newtown, but it would limit the constitutional liberties of law-abiding citizens.”
The Washington Examiner
As Senate Democrats unveiled an “assault weapons ban” encompassing a variety of rifles, shotguns, and pistols, the newest lawyer in the U.S. Senate pointed out that “real assault weapons” have been illegal since 1934.
“Washington politicians shouldn’t be taking advantage of recent tragedy to try to push an aggressive gun control agenda,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a statement today. “Real assault weaponsmachine gunsare already functionally illegal, and they have been since 1934. This proposal would have done nothing to prevent the terrible murders in Newtown, but it would limit the constitutional liberties of law-abiding citizens.”
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Democrats Say Turn in Your Weapons or Face Jail
By Jim Hoft - 2/14/2013
Missouri Democrats introduced an anti-gun bill which would turn law-abiding firearm owners into criminals. They will have 90 days to turn in their guns if the legislation is passed.
Dana Loesch Radio reported on the new legislation being pushed by Missouri Democrats:
Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution.
Here’s part of the Democratic proposal in Missouri:
4. Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution:
(1) Remove the assault weapon or large capacity magazine from the state of Missouri;
(2) Render the assault weapon permanently inoperable; or
(3) Surrender the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the appropriate law enforcement agency for destruction, subject to specific agency regulations.
5. Unlawful manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale, or transfer of an assault weapon or a large capacity magazine is a class C felony.
UPDATE: It’s not just Missouri…
Minnesota Democrats Introduce Law to Confiscate Guns… Using Same Language as Missouri Democrats.
Missouri Democrats introduced an anti-gun bill which would turn law-abiding firearm owners into criminals. They will have 90 days to turn in their guns if the legislation is passed.
Dana Loesch Radio reported on the new legislation being pushed by Missouri Democrats:
Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution.
Here’s part of the Democratic proposal in Missouri:
4. Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall have ninety days from such effective date to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution:
(1) Remove the assault weapon or large capacity magazine from the state of Missouri;
(2) Render the assault weapon permanently inoperable; or
(3) Surrender the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to the appropriate law enforcement agency for destruction, subject to specific agency regulations.
5. Unlawful manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale, or transfer of an assault weapon or a large capacity magazine is a class C felony.
UPDATE: It’s not just Missouri…
Minnesota Democrats Introduce Law to Confiscate Guns… Using Same Language as Missouri Democrats.
Are 2nd Amendment rights absolute?
By Chuck Sweeny - 2/13/2013
Gun advocates tell me the amendment “means what it says,” in other words, it’s an absolute statement. But its application isn’t absolute. It’s complicated.
Here’s what it says: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
The founders assumed that the amendment guaranteed an individual right. In recent decades, gun-control advocates have contended the amendment is no longer relevant because our professional Armed Forces guarantee the nation’s security.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to interpret the right to keep and bear arms when it heard a case called Heller v. Washington, D.C., in which a man challenged that city’s ban on handgun possession. Mr. Heller, a special police officer whose job was to guard a federal building, tried to get a city permit to keep a handgun in his home; he was denied.
Gun advocates tell me the amendment “means what it says,” in other words, it’s an absolute statement. But its application isn’t absolute. It’s complicated.
Here’s what it says: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
The founders assumed that the amendment guaranteed an individual right. In recent decades, gun-control advocates have contended the amendment is no longer relevant because our professional Armed Forces guarantee the nation’s security.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to interpret the right to keep and bear arms when it heard a case called Heller v. Washington, D.C., in which a man challenged that city’s ban on handgun possession. Mr. Heller, a special police officer whose job was to guard a federal building, tried to get a city permit to keep a handgun in his home; he was denied.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Greatest Gun Ever
By: Ted Nugent - 7/3/2012
Through my rifle’s optics I watched the 14 steel plate topple over 1,000 yards away. A broad grin of satisfaction grew upon my face. It would stay there all day.
After touching off literally hundreds of thousands of rounds over my lifetime of dedicate aim small miss small marksmanship discipline, making my first 1000 yard shot on my new Discovery Channel TV program is unquestionably the pinnacle of my ballistically coefficient life.
I have achieved the ultimate gun nut American dream by being trained by the greatest snipers the world has ever known, being one of the lucky few to get so much trigger time with the heroes of the US Military and law enforcement. I have spent my life studying guns, admiring guns, shooting guns, fondling guns, cleaning guns, buying guns, wearing out guns, going to gun shows, writing about guns, promoting gun ownership, giving guns as gifts, and teaching others about guns. I’m the gun guy, a loud guitar Dirty Harry with a ponytail.
Through my rifle’s optics I watched the 14 steel plate topple over 1,000 yards away. A broad grin of satisfaction grew upon my face. It would stay there all day.
After touching off literally hundreds of thousands of rounds over my lifetime of dedicate aim small miss small marksmanship discipline, making my first 1000 yard shot on my new Discovery Channel TV program is unquestionably the pinnacle of my ballistically coefficient life.
I have achieved the ultimate gun nut American dream by being trained by the greatest snipers the world has ever known, being one of the lucky few to get so much trigger time with the heroes of the US Military and law enforcement. I have spent my life studying guns, admiring guns, shooting guns, fondling guns, cleaning guns, buying guns, wearing out guns, going to gun shows, writing about guns, promoting gun ownership, giving guns as gifts, and teaching others about guns. I’m the gun guy, a loud guitar Dirty Harry with a ponytail.
Print and fire: 3D printing could muzzle new gun laws
By Perry Chiaramonte - 1/13/2013
Gun owners who can't buy high capacity ammo magazines because of new laws have another option: Print them.
Gun control measures passed or proposed in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre have targeted magazines that can feed 30 rounds or more into the firing chambers of AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns. New York has banned magazines holding more than seven rounds, and a federal bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
But the laws are at least one step behind technology. Using 3D printers and schematics available on the Internet, gun owners can manufacture a fully functional, plastic magazine clip. Plans are free, although getting access to a 3D printer may prove expensive, at least for now.
Gun owners who can't buy high capacity ammo magazines because of new laws have another option: Print them.
Gun control measures passed or proposed in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre have targeted magazines that can feed 30 rounds or more into the firing chambers of AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns. New York has banned magazines holding more than seven rounds, and a federal bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
But the laws are at least one step behind technology. Using 3D printers and schematics available on the Internet, gun owners can manufacture a fully functional, plastic magazine clip. Plans are free, although getting access to a 3D printer may prove expensive, at least for now.
Blacks: Both victims and Perpetrators
By Walter E. Williams - 2/13/2013
There's a story told about a Paris chief of police who was called to a department store to stop a burglary in progress. Upon his arrival, he reconnoitered the situation and ordered his men to surround the entrances of the building next door. When questioned about his actions, he replied that he didn't have enough men to cover the department store's many entrances but he did have enough for the building next door. Let's see whether there are similarities between his strategy and today's gun control strategy.
Last year, Chicago had 512 homicides; Detroit had 411; Philadelphia had 331; and Baltimore had 215. Those cities are joined by other dangerous cities -- such as St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., Flint, Mich., and Camden, N.J. -- and they also lead the nation in shootings, assaults, rapes and robberies. Both the populations of those cities and their crime victims are predominantly black. Each year, more than 7,000 blacks are murdered. Close to 100 percent of the time, the murderer is another black person.
There's a story told about a Paris chief of police who was called to a department store to stop a burglary in progress. Upon his arrival, he reconnoitered the situation and ordered his men to surround the entrances of the building next door. When questioned about his actions, he replied that he didn't have enough men to cover the department store's many entrances but he did have enough for the building next door. Let's see whether there are similarities between his strategy and today's gun control strategy.
Last year, Chicago had 512 homicides; Detroit had 411; Philadelphia had 331; and Baltimore had 215. Those cities are joined by other dangerous cities -- such as St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., Flint, Mich., and Camden, N.J. -- and they also lead the nation in shootings, assaults, rapes and robberies. Both the populations of those cities and their crime victims are predominantly black. Each year, more than 7,000 blacks are murdered. Close to 100 percent of the time, the murderer is another black person.
NYC Murder Rates same as Brazil
By Frank Rosario and Bob Frederics - 2/13/2013
East Harlem and the nation of Brazil have something in common and it has nothing to do with delicious food.
The Manhattan neighborhood’s 21 murders per 100,000 residents mirrored the rate in the crime-ravaged South American country, according to a Columbia University study that compared every city precinct’s homicide rate with a UN member.
New York finished 2012 with 419 homicides an average of just 3.8 killings per every 100,000 residents.
East Harlem and the nation of Brazil have something in common and it has nothing to do with delicious food.
The Manhattan neighborhood’s 21 murders per 100,000 residents mirrored the rate in the crime-ravaged South American country, according to a Columbia University study that compared every city precinct’s homicide rate with a UN member.
New York finished 2012 with 419 homicides an average of just 3.8 killings per every 100,000 residents.
US Attorneys General file amicus brief in 2nd Amendment case
By Jacques Couret - Senior Online Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens joined a bipartisan coalition of 19 Attorneys General that filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case that challenges a New York law they claim infringes on the constitutional right to bear arms.
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens joined a bipartisan coalition of 19 Attorneys General that filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case that challenges a New York law they claim infringes on the constitutional right to bear arms.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
US - Left, right clash at latest hearing on guns
By Associated Press - 2/12/2013
WASHINGTON - The plague of gun violence makes it plain that current firearms restrictions are insufficient and new federal limits are needed, a top Democrat said Tuesday at a Senate hearing on gun control. Parrying that, a Republican said gun rights must be protected, even amid horrors like the mass shooting of school children in Connecticut.
"There are too many families who now face an empty seat at the dinner table" because of gun violence, said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. He said that while opponents of stricter gun limits claim that existing laws simply need to be better enforced, "that's not enough. There are so many gaps in those laws."
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Maine Gov Addresses Gun Rally Supporting 2nd Amendment
By A.J. Higgins - 02/08/2013
More than 100 tea party Republicans and constitutionalists braved sub zero wind chill today for a rally outside the State House in support of the Second Amendment. One of many protests held across the country, the Maine gathering attracted the attention of Gov. Paul LePage.
Gun control opponents rally outside the Maine State House in support of the Second Amendment.
Largely absent from the Maine political stage since his unsuccessful primary bid in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, Blaine Richardson stepped to the microphone outside the State House, as the snow blew sideways, and took a moment to reflect on divine providence.
"If we could just take a moment to thank God for bringing us together here, to protect our God-given rights," Richardson said. "We're here particularly for the 2nd Amendment today. Let's find the strength to carry this message across the state of Maine."
More than 100 tea party Republicans and constitutionalists braved sub zero wind chill today for a rally outside the State House in support of the Second Amendment. One of many protests held across the country, the Maine gathering attracted the attention of Gov. Paul LePage.
Gun control opponents rally outside the Maine State House in support of the Second Amendment.
Largely absent from the Maine political stage since his unsuccessful primary bid in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, Blaine Richardson stepped to the microphone outside the State House, as the snow blew sideways, and took a moment to reflect on divine providence.
"If we could just take a moment to thank God for bringing us together here, to protect our God-given rights," Richardson said. "We're here particularly for the 2nd Amendment today. Let's find the strength to carry this message across the state of Maine."
Friday, February 8, 2013
Gun Control Democrats Hide Gun Control Behind the 2nd Amendment
By Evan McMorris-Santoro - 2/7/2013
Members of the House Democratic gun violence task force put a heavy emphasis on the Second Amendment when they rolled out their policy recommendations Thursday. From speaking directly hunters to telling a personal story of a family defended from roving bands of racist thugs, Democrats praised the right to posses firearms and promised they’re not ever going to touch it as they work to reduce gun violence after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.
Members of the House Democratic gun violence task force put a heavy emphasis on the Second Amendment when they rolled out their policy recommendations Thursday. From speaking directly hunters to telling a personal story of a family defended from roving bands of racist thugs, Democrats praised the right to posses firearms and promised they’re not ever going to touch it as they work to reduce gun violence after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Who owns guns in the US Congress?
Commentary - Read the following with the perspective that 100% of US congressmen (and women) and some of their family members have available armed body guards 24/7/365.
By GOP Staff
Republicans in Congress are much better armed than their Democratic counterparts -- a fact that helps explain the deep partisan divide as Congress gears up for its first major votes on gun control in a decade.
One hundred nineteen Republicans and 46 Democrats declared themselves as gun owners in a USA TODAY survey of lawmakers.
There is no uniform public record of gun ownership by members of Congress, and it is not part of the information lawmakers are required to reveal in their annual financial disclosure forms. So USA TODAY and the Gannett Washington Bureau contacted every congressional office to ask: Does the lawmaker own a gun?
The results show a partisan -- and regional -- divide. Only 10% of Republicans who responded said they do not own a gun, while 66% of Democrats said they are not gun owners.
By GOP Staff
Republicans in Congress are much better armed than their Democratic counterparts -- a fact that helps explain the deep partisan divide as Congress gears up for its first major votes on gun control in a decade.
One hundred nineteen Republicans and 46 Democrats declared themselves as gun owners in a USA TODAY survey of lawmakers.
There is no uniform public record of gun ownership by members of Congress, and it is not part of the information lawmakers are required to reveal in their annual financial disclosure forms. So USA TODAY and the Gannett Washington Bureau contacted every congressional office to ask: Does the lawmaker own a gun?
The results show a partisan -- and regional -- divide. Only 10% of Republicans who responded said they do not own a gun, while 66% of Democrats said they are not gun owners.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Woman Shoots an Intruder
By GOPUSA Staff - 2/5/2013
Imagine what could have happened. A mother and six-year-old child are at home when she hears a noise inside her house. When she checks, she finds not one, but three armed intruders demanding money. One of the men pulls out a roll of duct tape to use on her. What happened next? She made it to her gun and shot one of them.
The wounded suspect was later arrested at a local hospital.
"When I saw three of them, I knew I was in a lot of trouble. I said, 'The TV is the most expensive thing I own. You could take that through the front door and go with it,' and they said, 'No, the money, the money,'" said Erin.
Erin said she had to think fast as the men headed towards her son's room. The mom said she distracted the men as she rushed to get her gun.
"Somehow the way it happened, as they were going down the hallway, I told them sometimes I keep money under the mattress, which is not true. But I needed to get to where my gun was," she said.
At this point, Erin said she prayed for something to distract them so she could grab her gun. She said her prayers were answered when her dogs ran in and started barking.
"They all turned around and looked. I grabbed my gun, cocked it, I turned and shot him right in the stomach," said Erin.
Two of the intruders escaped, but the other one wrestled the gun away from Erin before he took off running as well. Channel 2 News reports that "Adrian Granados-Yepez, 27, of Tomball, was arrested at Memorial Hermann Hospital Monday night, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound."
Would the police have been able to do ANYTHING to help her? No. She did what she had to do and thankfully, she had a gun.
Imagine what could have happened. A mother and six-year-old child are at home when she hears a noise inside her house. When she checks, she finds not one, but three armed intruders demanding money. One of the men pulls out a roll of duct tape to use on her. What happened next? She made it to her gun and shot one of them.
The wounded suspect was later arrested at a local hospital.
"When I saw three of them, I knew I was in a lot of trouble. I said, 'The TV is the most expensive thing I own. You could take that through the front door and go with it,' and they said, 'No, the money, the money,'" said Erin.
Erin said she had to think fast as the men headed towards her son's room. The mom said she distracted the men as she rushed to get her gun.
"Somehow the way it happened, as they were going down the hallway, I told them sometimes I keep money under the mattress, which is not true. But I needed to get to where my gun was," she said.
At this point, Erin said she prayed for something to distract them so she could grab her gun. She said her prayers were answered when her dogs ran in and started barking.
"They all turned around and looked. I grabbed my gun, cocked it, I turned and shot him right in the stomach," said Erin.
Two of the intruders escaped, but the other one wrestled the gun away from Erin before he took off running as well. Channel 2 News reports that "Adrian Granados-Yepez, 27, of Tomball, was arrested at Memorial Hermann Hospital Monday night, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound."
Would the police have been able to do ANYTHING to help her? No. She did what she had to do and thankfully, she had a gun.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Last Word on the 2nd Amendment!
By Jim Delaney - 1/30/2013
Intuitively, I had always believed that the 2nd Amendment protected my inherent right to keep and bear arms for my own personal safety; that this right was derived from “natural law” irrespective of any right to same which may have been specifically granted or denied by either the United States or any of the States.
Further, I had always believed that since the federal government was not specifically granted the right to restrict my right to self-protection, that, in accordance with the enumerated powers of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the federal government did not have the right to in any way deny my right to self- protection; that, similarly, since the right to self-defense is an inherently natural right that no State could abridge or otherwise deny that right as well.
In light of the recent District of Columbia v Heller (2008) decision in which SCOTUS struck down DC’s handgun ban as well as its ban on loaded, operable firearms for DC residents’ self-defense and the McDonald v City of Chicago case which protected the right to keep and bear arms from infringement by local governments, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to explore the meaning of the 2nd Amendment for myself.
Intuitively, I had always believed that the 2nd Amendment protected my inherent right to keep and bear arms for my own personal safety; that this right was derived from “natural law” irrespective of any right to same which may have been specifically granted or denied by either the United States or any of the States.
Further, I had always believed that since the federal government was not specifically granted the right to restrict my right to self-protection, that, in accordance with the enumerated powers of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the federal government did not have the right to in any way deny my right to self- protection; that, similarly, since the right to self-defense is an inherently natural right that no State could abridge or otherwise deny that right as well.
In light of the recent District of Columbia v Heller (2008) decision in which SCOTUS struck down DC’s handgun ban as well as its ban on loaded, operable firearms for DC residents’ self-defense and the McDonald v City of Chicago case which protected the right to keep and bear arms from infringement by local governments, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to explore the meaning of the 2nd Amendment for myself.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Green Berets Sign Letter Supporting 2nd Amendment
By Blake Miles · 1/29/2013
The following letter was disseminated and signed by over 1,000 current and former Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets) in support of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, specifically as a defensive measure against tyranny. The letter was compiled through the joint efforts of current and former Special Forces personnel over at www.ProfessionalSoldiers.com, and quietly disseminated for signatures among secure, vetted circles.
Protecting the Second Amendment – Why all Americans Should Be Concerned
We are current or former Army Reserve, National Guard, and active duty US Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets). We have all taken an oath to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.…” The Constitution of the United States is without a doubt the single greatest document in the history of mankind, codifying the fundamental principle of governmental power and authority being derived from and granted through the consent of the governed. Our Constitution established a system of governance that preserves, protects, and holds sacrosanct the individual rights and primacy of the governed as well as providing for the explicit protection of the governed from governmental tyranny and/or oppression. We have witnessed the insidious and iniquitous effects of tyranny and oppression on people all over the world. We and our forebears have embodied and personified our organizational motto, De Oppresso Liber [To Free the Oppressed], for more than a half century as we have fought, shed blood, and died in the pursuit of freedom for the oppressed.
The following letter was disseminated and signed by over 1,000 current and former Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets) in support of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, specifically as a defensive measure against tyranny. The letter was compiled through the joint efforts of current and former Special Forces personnel over at www.ProfessionalSoldiers.com, and quietly disseminated for signatures among secure, vetted circles.
Protecting the Second Amendment – Why all Americans Should Be Concerned
We are current or former Army Reserve, National Guard, and active duty US Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets). We have all taken an oath to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.…” The Constitution of the United States is without a doubt the single greatest document in the history of mankind, codifying the fundamental principle of governmental power and authority being derived from and granted through the consent of the governed. Our Constitution established a system of governance that preserves, protects, and holds sacrosanct the individual rights and primacy of the governed as well as providing for the explicit protection of the governed from governmental tyranny and/or oppression. We have witnessed the insidious and iniquitous effects of tyranny and oppression on people all over the world. We and our forebears have embodied and personified our organizational motto, De Oppresso Liber [To Free the Oppressed], for more than a half century as we have fought, shed blood, and died in the pursuit of freedom for the oppressed.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Guns: Only for the Rich and Elected!
By JW Ross
It is becoming increasingly clear that "WE THE PEOPLE" are once again being led to slaughter.
Just as in the 1930's when Hitler planned his "RISE" and fashioned laws that confiscated the guns of law abiding Germans (specifically the Jews and the gypsies), our law makers, the White House, and the Department of Justice are crafting laws that restrict the use and ownership of guns by the folk. These restrictions however DO NOT apply to the law makers, members of the White House, government employees in general, and "brown shirt" government paramilitary groups like the TSA.
While my right to defend myself and my family are being in part or wholly curtailed by the newly proposed anti-gun laws, ALL of the government officials and their families, the media, corporate/Wall Street moguls, and Hollywood celebrities will continues to have armed protection at home and in the public.
To those who today support gun control . . .the day will come when the people you voted for are no longer in power. . .How well will you sleep then!?
Worth Remembering . . .
It is becoming increasingly clear that "WE THE PEOPLE" are once again being led to slaughter.
Just as in the 1930's when Hitler planned his "RISE" and fashioned laws that confiscated the guns of law abiding Germans (specifically the Jews and the gypsies), our law makers, the White House, and the Department of Justice are crafting laws that restrict the use and ownership of guns by the folk. These restrictions however DO NOT apply to the law makers, members of the White House, government employees in general, and "brown shirt" government paramilitary groups like the TSA.
While my right to defend myself and my family are being in part or wholly curtailed by the newly proposed anti-gun laws, ALL of the government officials and their families, the media, corporate/Wall Street moguls, and Hollywood celebrities will continues to have armed protection at home and in the public.
To those who today support gun control . . .the day will come when the people you voted for are no longer in power. . .How well will you sleep then!?
Worth Remembering . . .
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Cost of FREEDOM
By JW Ross
I wish I could be more upset re: the deaths at Newtown School.
Every time I read (or listen) to the hand ringing and chest beating on the TV and in the newspapers about the "deaths of 20 children and six teachers", I think of the millions who stand with them as innocents butchered at the hands of those who wish to supress freedom in just the last century.
Whether it is those who were killed with purpose in the gas chambers, or those who simply were collateral damage when the Russian took Berlin, or the Germans lay siege to Stalingrad (for example). . .the numbers are numbing but demand a perspective and our reason, not our passion.
What is the lesson to be learned . . .?
In the face of this tragedy do we call for gun control or prohibition as the Progressives of the past (Nazi's, Communists, and Fascist) did? And as many Progressives do today?
Or do we accept that guns are "tools of freedom", as are words, our persons, and our lives. History shows clearly that the cost of disarmament is not hundreds of lives, or thousands, but millions.
Rather than victims, those of us who realize that FREEDOM cannot be compromised, must embrace "the children" of Newtown School as martyrs who gave their lives to a mad man who wished to take their, and our, FREEDOM away with a gun.
And we must gather strength and comfort from Thomas Jefferson's words. . ."The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
We can be sorry. . .but we must be resolute.
I wish I could be more upset re: the deaths at Newtown School.
Every time I read (or listen) to the hand ringing and chest beating on the TV and in the newspapers about the "deaths of 20 children and six teachers", I think of the millions who stand with them as innocents butchered at the hands of those who wish to supress freedom in just the last century.
Whether it is those who were killed with purpose in the gas chambers, or those who simply were collateral damage when the Russian took Berlin, or the Germans lay siege to Stalingrad (for example). . .the numbers are numbing but demand a perspective and our reason, not our passion.
What is the lesson to be learned . . .?
In the face of this tragedy do we call for gun control or prohibition as the Progressives of the past (Nazi's, Communists, and Fascist) did? And as many Progressives do today?
Or do we accept that guns are "tools of freedom", as are words, our persons, and our lives. History shows clearly that the cost of disarmament is not hundreds of lives, or thousands, but millions.
Rather than victims, those of us who realize that FREEDOM cannot be compromised, must embrace "the children" of Newtown School as martyrs who gave their lives to a mad man who wished to take their, and our, FREEDOM away with a gun.
And we must gather strength and comfort from Thomas Jefferson's words. . ."The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
We can be sorry. . .but we must be resolute.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Guns: More women choose to defend themselves
By The Decatur Daily - January 25, 2013
Whitney Wright vows to never let herself be as powerless as she felt nearly two years ago when a convicted felon came into her business and locked himself in a back office with her.
Wright was so unnerved that she was unable to form the words to tell the man, armed with a knife, fresh out of prison and smelling of alcohol, to leave the Decatur real estate and property management business she owns with her husband.
The man confided he was homeless and on drugs, and demanded money. He took off when Wright received a phone call, and was later caught and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
The confrontation ended without violence or injury, but it made a permanent impact on the 38-year-old mother.
Whitney Wright vows to never let herself be as powerless as she felt nearly two years ago when a convicted felon came into her business and locked himself in a back office with her.
Wright was so unnerved that she was unable to form the words to tell the man, armed with a knife, fresh out of prison and smelling of alcohol, to leave the Decatur real estate and property management business she owns with her husband.
The man confided he was homeless and on drugs, and demanded money. He took off when Wright received a phone call, and was later caught and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
The confrontation ended without violence or injury, but it made a permanent impact on the 38-year-old mother.
LIST: Firearms to be BANNED
On Thursday, January 25, 2013, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) unveiled legislation that would, among other things, reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that was in effect from 1994-2004.
Here are the makes and models of the firearms that Feinstein wants to ban:
Rifles: All AK types, including the following: AK, AK47, AK47S, AK–74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, NHM90, NHM91, Rock River Arms LAR–47, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK–47, VEPR, WASR–10, and WUM, IZHMASH Saiga AK, MAADI AK47 and ARM, Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S, and 86S, Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS
All AR types, including the following: AR–10, AR–15, Armalite M15 22LR Carbine, Armalite M15–T, Barrett REC7, Beretta AR–70, Bushmaster ACR, Bushmaster Carbon 15, Bushmaster MOE series, Bushmaster XM15, Colt Match Target Rifles, DoubleStar AR rifles, DPMS Tactical Rifles, Heckler & Koch MR556, Olympic Arms, Remington R–15 rifles, Rock River Arms LAR–15, Sig Sauer SIG516 rifles, Smith & Wesson M&P15 Rifles, Stag Arms AR rifles, Sturm, Ruger & Co. SR556 rifles; Barrett M107A1; Barrett M82A1; Beretta CX4 Storm; Calico Liberty Series; CETME Sporter; Daewoo K–1, K–2, Max 1, Max 2, AR 100, and AR 110C; Fabrique Nationale/FN Herstal FAL, LAR, 22 FNC, 308 Match, L1A1 Sporter, PS90, SCAR, and FS2000; Feather Industries AT–9; Galil Model AR and Model ARM; Hi-Point Carbine; HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, HK–PSG–1 and HK USC; Kel-Tec Sub–2000, SU–16, and RFB; SIG AMT, SIG PE–57, Sig Sauer SG 550, and Sig Sauer SG 551; Springfield Armory SAR–48; Steyr AUG; Sturm, Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rife M–14/20CF
All Thompson rifles, including the following: Thompson M1SB, Thompson T1100D, Thompson T150D, Thompson T1B, Thompson T1B100D, Thompson T1B50D, Thompson T1BSB, Thompson T1–C, Thompson T1D, Thompson T1SB, Thompson T5, Thompson T5100D, Thompson TM1, Thompson TM1C; UMAREX UZI Rifle; UZI Mini Carbine, UZI Model A Carbine, and UZI Model B Carbine; Valmet M62S, M71S, and M78; Vector Arms UZI Type; Weaver Arms Nighthawk; Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine.
Here are the makes and models of the firearms that Feinstein wants to ban:
Rifles: All AK types, including the following: AK, AK47, AK47S, AK–74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, NHM90, NHM91, Rock River Arms LAR–47, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK–47, VEPR, WASR–10, and WUM, IZHMASH Saiga AK, MAADI AK47 and ARM, Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S, and 86S, Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS
All AR types, including the following: AR–10, AR–15, Armalite M15 22LR Carbine, Armalite M15–T, Barrett REC7, Beretta AR–70, Bushmaster ACR, Bushmaster Carbon 15, Bushmaster MOE series, Bushmaster XM15, Colt Match Target Rifles, DoubleStar AR rifles, DPMS Tactical Rifles, Heckler & Koch MR556, Olympic Arms, Remington R–15 rifles, Rock River Arms LAR–15, Sig Sauer SIG516 rifles, Smith & Wesson M&P15 Rifles, Stag Arms AR rifles, Sturm, Ruger & Co. SR556 rifles; Barrett M107A1; Barrett M82A1; Beretta CX4 Storm; Calico Liberty Series; CETME Sporter; Daewoo K–1, K–2, Max 1, Max 2, AR 100, and AR 110C; Fabrique Nationale/FN Herstal FAL, LAR, 22 FNC, 308 Match, L1A1 Sporter, PS90, SCAR, and FS2000; Feather Industries AT–9; Galil Model AR and Model ARM; Hi-Point Carbine; HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, HK–PSG–1 and HK USC; Kel-Tec Sub–2000, SU–16, and RFB; SIG AMT, SIG PE–57, Sig Sauer SG 550, and Sig Sauer SG 551; Springfield Armory SAR–48; Steyr AUG; Sturm, Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rife M–14/20CF
All Thompson rifles, including the following: Thompson M1SB, Thompson T1100D, Thompson T150D, Thompson T1B, Thompson T1B100D, Thompson T1B50D, Thompson T1BSB, Thompson T1–C, Thompson T1D, Thompson T1SB, Thompson T5, Thompson T5100D, Thompson TM1, Thompson TM1C; UMAREX UZI Rifle; UZI Mini Carbine, UZI Model A Carbine, and UZI Model B Carbine; Valmet M62S, M71S, and M78; Vector Arms UZI Type; Weaver Arms Nighthawk; Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine.
States’ crime rates show scant linkage to gun laws
By David Sherfinski
President Obama has called for stricter federal gun laws to combat recent shooting rampages, but a review of recent state laws by The Washington Times shows no discernible correlation between stricter rules and lower gun-crime rates in the states.
States that ranked high in terms of making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also tended to have tighter gun laws but their gun-crime rates ranged widely. The same was true for states that ranked poorly on disclosure and were deemed to have much less stringent gun-possession laws.
President Obama has called for stricter federal gun laws to combat recent shooting rampages, but a review of recent state laws by The Washington Times shows no discernible correlation between stricter rules and lower gun-crime rates in the states.
States that ranked high in terms of making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also tended to have tighter gun laws but their gun-crime rates ranged widely. The same was true for states that ranked poorly on disclosure and were deemed to have much less stringent gun-possession laws.
Krauthammer: The Roots of Mass Murder
By: Charles Krauthammer - 12/20/2012
Every mass shooting has three elements: the killer, the weapon and the cultural climate. As soon as the shooting stops, partisans immediately pick their preferred root cause with corresponding pet panacea. Names are hurled, scapegoats paraded, prejudices vented. The argument goes nowhere.
Let’s be serious:
Every mass shooting has three elements: the killer, the weapon and the cultural climate. As soon as the shooting stops, partisans immediately pick their preferred root cause with corresponding pet panacea. Names are hurled, scapegoats paraded, prejudices vented. The argument goes nowhere.
Let’s be serious:
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Guns and the President of the U.S.
By Andrew P. Napolitano - 1/24/2013
Here is an uncomfortable pop quiz: Who has killed more children, Adam Lanza or Barack Obama? We'll hold off on the answer for a few paragraphs while we look at the state of governmental excess -- including killing -- in America. But you can probably guess the correct answer from the manner in which I have posed the question.
We all know that the sheet anchor of our liberties is the Declaration of Independence. The president himself quoted Thomas Jefferson's most famous line in his inaugural address earlier this week. He recognized that all men and women are created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The president would no doubt like to modify the word "created" to read "shall be maintained," since his presidency seems dedicated to keeping us equal, not in terms of equality of rights and opportunity but of outcome. He has dedicated himself to using the coercive power of the federal government to take from those who have and give to those who don't. Under the Constitution, charity is a decision for individuals to make, not the government.
The FACTS About Assault Weapons and Crime
Forum Comentary: Mr Lott Jr is the most respected advocate for the 2nd Amendment
By JOHN R. LOTT JR.
Warning about "weapons designed for the theater of war," President Obama on Wednesday called for immediate action on a new Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He said that "more of our fellow Americans might still be alive" if the original assault weapons ban, passed in 1994, had not expired in 2004. Last month, in the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) promised to introduce an updated version of the ban. She too warned of the threat posed by "military weapons."
After the nightmare of Newtown, their concern is understandable. Yet despite being at the center of the gun-control debate for decades, neither President Obama nor Ms. Feinstein (the author of the 1994 legislation) seems to understand the leading research on the effects of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. In addition, they continue to mislabel the weapons they seek to ban.
By JOHN R. LOTT JR.
Warning about "weapons designed for the theater of war," President Obama on Wednesday called for immediate action on a new Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He said that "more of our fellow Americans might still be alive" if the original assault weapons ban, passed in 1994, had not expired in 2004. Last month, in the wake of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) promised to introduce an updated version of the ban. She too warned of the threat posed by "military weapons."
After the nightmare of Newtown, their concern is understandable. Yet despite being at the center of the gun-control debate for decades, neither President Obama nor Ms. Feinstein (the author of the 1994 legislation) seems to understand the leading research on the effects of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. In addition, they continue to mislabel the weapons they seek to ban.
Quick Review - The Second Amendment & the Right to Bear Arms
By Chad Brooks - 1/22/2013
At the center of the gun control debate, few things are as hotly disputed in the United States as the Constitution's Second Amendment.
History of the Second Amendment
At the center of the gun control debate, few things are as hotly disputed in the United States as the Constitution's Second Amendment.
History of the Second Amendment
Man Shoots Dogs to Save Boy, Could Face Charges
By GOPUSA Staff - 1/12/20
An 11-year-old boy was riding his bike when he stumbled upon three unleashed pit bulls. The dogs began attacking the boy and continued until a neighbor shot one of the dogs with his gun. Since the incident happened in Washington, DC, which has strict gun-control laws, the neighbor could face criminal charges.
An 11-year-old boy was riding his bike when he stumbled upon three unleashed pit bulls. The dogs began attacking the boy and continued until a neighbor shot one of the dogs with his gun. Since the incident happened in Washington, DC, which has strict gun-control laws, the neighbor could face criminal charges.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Pro Gun lobbyist ready to give up
By: Alan Korwin - 12/17/2012
A gun lobbyist, traumatized by the evil in Newton, Conn., under pressure by reporters for an interview, asked me desperately for help. What is he supposed to say? How can he respond to such slaughter, how can he defend guns in the light of this massacre? He is at his wit’s end, ready to give up, throw in the towel. Help me please, he implores. What can he say in the face of such an abomination? There are no words. And there aren’t any.
Why does the media only cover guns in the face of such tragedy? Why don’t they discuss it when we can examine the subject coolly and rationally, and maybe get somewhere?
A gun lobbyist, traumatized by the evil in Newton, Conn., under pressure by reporters for an interview, asked me desperately for help. What is he supposed to say? How can he respond to such slaughter, how can he defend guns in the light of this massacre? He is at his wit’s end, ready to give up, throw in the towel. Help me please, he implores. What can he say in the face of such an abomination? There are no words. And there aren’t any.
Why does the media only cover guns in the face of such tragedy? Why don’t they discuss it when we can examine the subject coolly and rationally, and maybe get somewhere?
Women vs the 2nd Amendment
By The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 1/21/2013
'When Wisconsinites were polled last year about a new state law allowing possession of concealed weapons, most men supported it.
But women were overwhelmingly opposed.
In fact, no other issue in Marquette Law School's broad and frequent polling of Wisconsin voters last year so divided the sexes -- not Medicare, "Obamacare," gay marriage, taxes, school funding, collective bargaining, recalls, mining, military spending, abortion or immigration.
In one January 2012 poll, the gender gap on "concealed carry" was a massive 27 points -- 59% approval among men, 32% among women.
'When Wisconsinites were polled last year about a new state law allowing possession of concealed weapons, most men supported it.
But women were overwhelmingly opposed.
In fact, no other issue in Marquette Law School's broad and frequent polling of Wisconsin voters last year so divided the sexes -- not Medicare, "Obamacare," gay marriage, taxes, school funding, collective bargaining, recalls, mining, military spending, abortion or immigration.
In one January 2012 poll, the gender gap on "concealed carry" was a massive 27 points -- 59% approval among men, 32% among women.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Bill Clinton: Don’t trivialize gun culture!
By: Byron Tau - 1/19/2013
Former President Bill Clinton warned a group of top Democratic donors at a private Saturday meeting not to underestimate the passions that gun control stirs among many Americans.
“Do not patronize the passionate supporters of your opponents by looking down your nose at them,” Clinton said.
“A lot of these people live in a world very different from the world lived in by the people proposing these things,” Clinton said. “I know because I come from this world."
Former President Bill Clinton warned a group of top Democratic donors at a private Saturday meeting not to underestimate the passions that gun control stirs among many Americans.
“Do not patronize the passionate supporters of your opponents by looking down your nose at them,” Clinton said.
“A lot of these people live in a world very different from the world lived in by the people proposing these things,” Clinton said. “I know because I come from this world."
Actor's 2nd Amendment interpretation based on faulty research
By Daniel Wattenberg - 1/22/2013 The Washington Times
Ya think Danny Glover is scripted much?
When the leftist actor-activist told students at Texas A&M Thursday that the Second Amendment right to bear arms had its origins in a Federalist Era push for states’ rights to suppress potential slave rebellions and American Indian insurrections, many wondered at the possible sources for his unexpected claims about constitutional history.
It now appears that Mr. Glover, the character actor best known as Mel Gibson’s sidekick in the bloody “Lethal Weapon” films, was parroting without citation an argument posted by a talk radio host two days before at the feisty leftist news and opinion site Truth-out.org.
Ya think Danny Glover is scripted much?
When the leftist actor-activist told students at Texas A&M Thursday that the Second Amendment right to bear arms had its origins in a Federalist Era push for states’ rights to suppress potential slave rebellions and American Indian insurrections, many wondered at the possible sources for his unexpected claims about constitutional history.
It now appears that Mr. Glover, the character actor best known as Mel Gibson’s sidekick in the bloody “Lethal Weapon” films, was parroting without citation an argument posted by a talk radio host two days before at the feisty leftist news and opinion site Truth-out.org.
18 of 20 Top Newspapers in the US Push Gun Control in Editorials
By Jan Morgan - 1/22/2013
At one time, newspapers were America’s source for news and current events. Today it’s a completely different story.
While President Obama has declared a push to ban or limit types of guns, the nation’s major newspapers are nearly unanimous in their support of gun control. The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and other most-popular papers led the list.
Neutral Journalism: Of top 20 circulating newspapers, 18 pushed gun control in editorials from Dec. 15, 2012 to Jan. 11, 2013.
Pushing Gun Control: 97 percent of the gun editorials (89 out of 92) promoted gun control or attacked the NRA.
At one time, newspapers were America’s source for news and current events. Today it’s a completely different story.
While President Obama has declared a push to ban or limit types of guns, the nation’s major newspapers are nearly unanimous in their support of gun control. The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and other most-popular papers led the list.
Neutral Journalism: Of top 20 circulating newspapers, 18 pushed gun control in editorials from Dec. 15, 2012 to Jan. 11, 2013.
Pushing Gun Control: 97 percent of the gun editorials (89 out of 92) promoted gun control or attacked the NRA.
Do Gun Control Laws Control Guns?
By Thomas Sowell - 1/22/2013
The gun control controversy is only the latest of many issues to be debated almost solely in terms of fixed preconceptions, with little or no examination of hard facts.
Media discussions of gun control are dominated by two factors: the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment. But the over-riding factual question is whether gun control laws actually reduce gun crimes in general or murder rates in particular.
If, as gun control advocates claim, gun control laws really do control guns and save lives, there is nothing to prevent repealing the Second Amendment, any more than there was anything to prevent repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that created Prohibition.
The gun control controversy is only the latest of many issues to be debated almost solely in terms of fixed preconceptions, with little or no examination of hard facts.
Media discussions of gun control are dominated by two factors: the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment. But the over-riding factual question is whether gun control laws actually reduce gun crimes in general or murder rates in particular.
If, as gun control advocates claim, gun control laws really do control guns and save lives, there is nothing to prevent repealing the Second Amendment, any more than there was anything to prevent repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that created Prohibition.
Anti-gun State "births" Remington Guns
By GOPUSA Staff - 1/22/2013
ILION, N.Y. - The big brick Remington gun factory pieces together military-style rifles in a state that has just banned their sale after a string of mass shootings led to a national outcry over civilian ownership of them.
Residents of Ilion see the issue far differently: The gun factory is a major local employer and a source of pride for almost two centuries.
As Mayor John Stephens put it, "Remington is Ilion. Ilion is Remington."
Little wonder that residents in this blue-collar stretch of the Mohawk Valley are defending Remington after state lawmakers banned the sale of semi-automatic rifles like the Bushmaster weapon made there. The move came after the weapon was linked to gunmen in the deadly Connecticut school shooting and in the Christmas Eve slayings of two firefighters in western New York.
Remington employee Tom Bradle said don't blame the guns in mass shootings, blame the shooters.
ILION, N.Y. - The big brick Remington gun factory pieces together military-style rifles in a state that has just banned their sale after a string of mass shootings led to a national outcry over civilian ownership of them.
Residents of Ilion see the issue far differently: The gun factory is a major local employer and a source of pride for almost two centuries.
As Mayor John Stephens put it, "Remington is Ilion. Ilion is Remington."
Little wonder that residents in this blue-collar stretch of the Mohawk Valley are defending Remington after state lawmakers banned the sale of semi-automatic rifles like the Bushmaster weapon made there. The move came after the weapon was linked to gunmen in the deadly Connecticut school shooting and in the Christmas Eve slayings of two firefighters in western New York.
Remington employee Tom Bradle said don't blame the guns in mass shootings, blame the shooters.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Was the 2nd Amendment Created to Defend Against Slave Revolts?
Forum Comment: Sadly, Danny Glover finds, like many race-baiters, any right to be race based (except his right to be misinformed) . . .
By Gary DeMar - 1/19/2013
A meme is going around by a number of people claiming that the Second Amendment “the right to bear arms” was put in the Constitution to protect slavery. The following is from actor Danny Glover who spoke to a group of students at a Texas A&M University:
“‘I don’t know if you know the genesis of the right to bear arms,’ he said. ‘The Second Amendment comes from the right to protect themselves from slave revolts, and from uprisings by Native Americans.
“‘A revolt from people who were stolen from their land or revolt from people whose land was stolen from, that’s what the genesis of the second amendment is,’ he continued.
By Gary DeMar - 1/19/2013
A meme is going around by a number of people claiming that the Second Amendment “the right to bear arms” was put in the Constitution to protect slavery. The following is from actor Danny Glover who spoke to a group of students at a Texas A&M University:
“‘I don’t know if you know the genesis of the right to bear arms,’ he said. ‘The Second Amendment comes from the right to protect themselves from slave revolts, and from uprisings by Native Americans.
“‘A revolt from people who were stolen from their land or revolt from people whose land was stolen from, that’s what the genesis of the second amendment is,’ he continued.
Friday, January 18, 2013
An Assault Rifle . . .from your printer!
By Sebastian Anthony - 7/26/2012
An American gunsmith has become the first person to construct and shoot a pistol partly made out of plastic, 3D-printed parts. The creator, user HaveBlue from the AR-15 forum, has reportedly fired 200 rounds with his part-plastic pistol without any sign of wear and tear.
HaveBlue’s custom creation is a .22-caliber pistol, formed from a 3D-printed AR-15 (M16) lower receiver, and a normal, commercial upper. In other words, the main body of the gun is plastic, while the chamber where the bullets are actually struck is solid metal.
An American gunsmith has become the first person to construct and shoot a pistol partly made out of plastic, 3D-printed parts. The creator, user HaveBlue from the AR-15 forum, has reportedly fired 200 rounds with his part-plastic pistol without any sign of wear and tear.
HaveBlue’s custom creation is a .22-caliber pistol, formed from a 3D-printed AR-15 (M16) lower receiver, and a normal, commercial upper. In other words, the main body of the gun is plastic, while the chamber where the bullets are actually struck is solid metal.
"We the People" vs the U.S. Government
Forum Commentary - The United States is the only government in the world who's powers are constricted by "We the People (actually the States)" . .The purpose of the U.S. Constitution was to create a federal government of very limited powers -- all of those not specifically given to the Federal government remain with "the people". The Right to Bear Arms (or 2nd amendment) is one of them.
By Andrew P. Napolitano - 1/18/2013
If you have listened to President Obama and Vice President Biden talk about guns in the past month, you have heard them express a decided commitment to use the powers of the federal government to maintain safety in the United States. You also have heard congressional voices from politicians in both parties condemning violence and promising to do something about it. This sounds very caring and inside the wheelhouse of what we hire and pay the federal government to do.
But it is clearly unconstitutional.
By Andrew P. Napolitano - 1/18/2013
If you have listened to President Obama and Vice President Biden talk about guns in the past month, you have heard them express a decided commitment to use the powers of the federal government to maintain safety in the United States. You also have heard congressional voices from politicians in both parties condemning violence and promising to do something about it. This sounds very caring and inside the wheelhouse of what we hire and pay the federal government to do.
But it is clearly unconstitutional.
Assault Rifles vs Abortion
“The death of a hundred people is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.”- Joseph Stalin
Doug Patton - 1/18/2013
A little more than a month ago, 20 innocent children were savagely and senselessly slaughtered in their classroom at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, a fact now being used by an opportunistic president to further his agenda. That same day, 150 times that many innocent children were savagely and senselessly slaughtered in America’s abortion mills. The next day, the same thing happened. And the day after that. And the day after that.
Doug Patton - 1/18/2013
A little more than a month ago, 20 innocent children were savagely and senselessly slaughtered in their classroom at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, a fact now being used by an opportunistic president to further his agenda. That same day, 150 times that many innocent children were savagely and senselessly slaughtered in America’s abortion mills. The next day, the same thing happened. And the day after that. And the day after that.
Al Jazeera Still Promoting;Gun Violence; and Terrorism
Forum commentary - Curiously at a time when the world is filled with very bad guys with guns (and bombs), the President of the United States seems demonstratively unwilling to speak out against this world-wide Jihad. At the same time he pursues policies that defund our military and disarm the populace. Curiously.
By Cliff Kincaid - 1/18/2013
A major Islamist terrorist threat has emerged in Africa, and Al Jazeera is right in the middle of it, as usual. President Obama is largely AWOL, so the left-wing, socialist president of France has taken the lead and is committing military forces to stopping the threat.
Playing a familiar role, Al Jazeera has been airing sympathetic coverage about the Muslim terrorists and running “exclusive” interviews with terrorist leaders from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), whose symbol is an AK-47 rifle and a black flag rising from the globe.
President Obama on Wednesday held a news conference about “gun violence” in the U.S. but has been slow to do anything about the violence and terrorism (or the AK-47's) that threatens Africa.
By Cliff Kincaid - 1/18/2013
A major Islamist terrorist threat has emerged in Africa, and Al Jazeera is right in the middle of it, as usual. President Obama is largely AWOL, so the left-wing, socialist president of France has taken the lead and is committing military forces to stopping the threat.
Playing a familiar role, Al Jazeera has been airing sympathetic coverage about the Muslim terrorists and running “exclusive” interviews with terrorist leaders from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), whose symbol is an AK-47 rifle and a black flag rising from the globe.
President Obama on Wednesday held a news conference about “gun violence” in the U.S. but has been slow to do anything about the violence and terrorism (or the AK-47's) that threatens Africa.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Guns don’t kill people, mentally ill do
By: Ann Coulter - 1/16/2013
Seung-Hui Cho, who committed the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, had been diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder as a child and placed under treatment.
But Virginia Tech was prohibited from being told about Cho’s mental health problems because of federal privacy laws.
At college, Cho engaged in behavior even more bizarre than the average college student. He stalked three women and, at one point, went totally silent, refusing to speak even to his roommates. He was involuntarily committed to a mental institution for one night and then unaccountably unleashed on the public, whereupon he proceeded to engage in the deadliest mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.
The NRA's Bright Idea: A TSA Agent (with a Gun) in Every Elementary School?
By Elspeth Reeve
The National Rifle Association's proposal to put armed guards in every single school in America was unimaginably tone-deaf, but it's not unimaginable. After a public outcry for security, we've had a massive nationwide effort to hire thousands of security agents for low wages relatively recently. You might know it as the Transportation Security Administration, which recruited 45,000 security screeners in response to Sept. 11. You know, the people who are supposed to prevent terrorists from boarding planes but are better known for making a lady drink her own breast milk to prove it wasn't explosive.
The NRA is essentially proposing hiring a workforce of security agents even larger than the TSA's screeners there are roughly 99,000 schools in the country and tasking them with monitoring every single person who passes through the halls. Except these agents will also have guns. "If it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said on Meet the Press. Anyone with familiarity with government hiring practices might use that word.
The National Rifle Association's proposal to put armed guards in every single school in America was unimaginably tone-deaf, but it's not unimaginable. After a public outcry for security, we've had a massive nationwide effort to hire thousands of security agents for low wages relatively recently. You might know it as the Transportation Security Administration, which recruited 45,000 security screeners in response to Sept. 11. You know, the people who are supposed to prevent terrorists from boarding planes but are better known for making a lady drink her own breast milk to prove it wasn't explosive.
The NRA is essentially proposing hiring a workforce of security agents even larger than the TSA's screeners there are roughly 99,000 schools in the country and tasking them with monitoring every single person who passes through the halls. Except these agents will also have guns. "If it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said on Meet the Press. Anyone with familiarity with government hiring practices might use that word.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Dispelling the Myths of Hoplophobia (irrational fear of firearms)
By: Doug Edelman - 1/9/2013
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre and in the looming shadow of efforts and proposals to restrict legal access by law abiding citizens to firearms ranging from limiting magazine capacity to outright bans and confiscation; it is important to separate fact from fiction and answer the argument of those who would seek to abridge the 2nd Amendment rights of ordinary Americans.
It has been said that every time there is a mass shooting, someone tries to take guns away from the people who didn’t do it!
The fact is that most gun control advocates are frightened of firearms, have never owned, held or fired a gun, and hold misconceptions about both the hardware and the right to bear it. So let’s set the record straight and address these directly.
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre and in the looming shadow of efforts and proposals to restrict legal access by law abiding citizens to firearms ranging from limiting magazine capacity to outright bans and confiscation; it is important to separate fact from fiction and answer the argument of those who would seek to abridge the 2nd Amendment rights of ordinary Americans.
It has been said that every time there is a mass shooting, someone tries to take guns away from the people who didn’t do it!
The fact is that most gun control advocates are frightened of firearms, have never owned, held or fired a gun, and hold misconceptions about both the hardware and the right to bear it. So let’s set the record straight and address these directly.
Friday, January 11, 2013
2nd Amendment: The right to shoot tyrants, not deer
By Andrew P. Napolitano - 1/10/2013
The right of the people to keep and bear arms is an extension of the natural right to self-defense and a hallmark of personal sovereignty. It is specifically insulated from governmental interference by the Constitution and has historically been the linchpin of resistance to tyranny. Yet the progressives in both political parties stand ready to use the coercive power of the government to interfere with the exercise of that right by law-abiding persons because of the gross abuse of that right by some crazies in our midst.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, he was marrying the nation at its birth to the ancient principles of the natural law that have animated the Judeo-Christian tradition in the West. Those principles have operated as a brake on all governments that recognize them by enunciating the concept of natural rights.
The right of the people to keep and bear arms is an extension of the natural right to self-defense and a hallmark of personal sovereignty. It is specifically insulated from governmental interference by the Constitution and has historically been the linchpin of resistance to tyranny. Yet the progressives in both political parties stand ready to use the coercive power of the government to interfere with the exercise of that right by law-abiding persons because of the gross abuse of that right by some crazies in our midst.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, he was marrying the nation at its birth to the ancient principles of the natural law that have animated the Judeo-Christian tradition in the West. Those principles have operated as a brake on all governments that recognize them by enunciating the concept of natural rights.
Americans are too smart for gun control?
By Michael S. Brown - 1/10/2013
History of restriction is one of utter failure . . .
In the wake of the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn., politicians and journalists who hate to see guns in the hands of ordinary citizens turned into a raving mob who sensed that victory over their enemies was near.
Reality is now starting to set in. There are several reasons why we probably won’t see any new laws and certainly no laws that will prevent school attacks. The first reason is that the American people are now seeing the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the anti-gun lobby.
For years, we have been promised that President Obama and his party would never move against lawful gun owners. Now that he is not facing any more elections, the promise is forgotten. Who doubts that this was the plan all along?
History of restriction is one of utter failure . . .
In the wake of the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn., politicians and journalists who hate to see guns in the hands of ordinary citizens turned into a raving mob who sensed that victory over their enemies was near.
Reality is now starting to set in. There are several reasons why we probably won’t see any new laws and certainly no laws that will prevent school attacks. The first reason is that the American people are now seeing the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the anti-gun lobby.
For years, we have been promised that President Obama and his party would never move against lawful gun owners. Now that he is not facing any more elections, the promise is forgotten. Who doubts that this was the plan all along?
Our 2nd Amendment right: The militia is the key
By Alan Keyes
Any effort to disarm the American people is unlawful. That is clear according to the “laws of nature and of nature’s God” and the clear, plain language of the Constitution. Moves to disarm the people are unequivocally the benchmark of a design “to reduce them under absolute despotism.”
Despotism is Barack Obama’s purpose and the purpose of any and all forces in our society who support his bid to render Americans defenseless. Some of his less astute supporters are already sighing aloud about the need for dictatorship. Others, less imprudent, slyly promote the notion that to secure ourselves against madmen and terrorists we have no choice but to surrender to government all means of defending ourselves against either. Their policy is “Disarm and trust the government.” But when those in government become, or make use of madmen and terrorists (as the totalitarian Communists and Nazis of the 20th century did), what then?
Any effort to disarm the American people is unlawful. That is clear according to the “laws of nature and of nature’s God” and the clear, plain language of the Constitution. Moves to disarm the people are unequivocally the benchmark of a design “to reduce them under absolute despotism.”
Despotism is Barack Obama’s purpose and the purpose of any and all forces in our society who support his bid to render Americans defenseless. Some of his less astute supporters are already sighing aloud about the need for dictatorship. Others, less imprudent, slyly promote the notion that to secure ourselves against madmen and terrorists we have no choice but to surrender to government all means of defending ourselves against either. Their policy is “Disarm and trust the government.” But when those in government become, or make use of madmen and terrorists (as the totalitarian Communists and Nazis of the 20th century did), what then?
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Second Amendment. . .“the first law of nature”!
By RD Skidmore - 1/9/2013
Every man having a sense of humanity detests seeing families destroyed, innocent children sacrificed and promising lives snuffed as witnessed at Sandy Hook School. The argument that reducing the number of guns will produce a safer society beguiles the public, promotes politicians and fails to hold wicked people accountable for their actions.
While gun rights supporters assert that the Constitutional Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bears arms is an inalienable individual right just as freedom of speech or religion, and confirmed by the our Supreme Court. Gun opponents assert this right pertains only to collective bodies such as the militia, the military, police or National Guard.
The Washington Post states: “[T]he sale, manufacture, and possession of handguns ought to be banned…[W]e do not believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep them.
Every man having a sense of humanity detests seeing families destroyed, innocent children sacrificed and promising lives snuffed as witnessed at Sandy Hook School. The argument that reducing the number of guns will produce a safer society beguiles the public, promotes politicians and fails to hold wicked people accountable for their actions.
While gun rights supporters assert that the Constitutional Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bears arms is an inalienable individual right just as freedom of speech or religion, and confirmed by the our Supreme Court. Gun opponents assert this right pertains only to collective bodies such as the militia, the military, police or National Guard.
The Washington Post states: “[T]he sale, manufacture, and possession of handguns ought to be banned…[W]e do not believe the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep them.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Coulter: Doing the research the New York Times won’t do
By: Ann Coulter - 1/9/2013
In Sunday’s New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal claimed, as the title of her article put it, “More Guns = More Killing.” She based this on evidence that would never be permitted in any other context at the Times: (1) anecdotal observations; and (2) bald assertions of an activist, blandly repeated with absolutely no independent fact-checking by the Times.
There is an academic, peer-reviewed, long-term study of the effect of various public policies on public, multiple shootings in all 50 states over a 20-year period performed by renowned economists at the University of Chicago and Yale, William Landes and John Lott. It concluded that the only policy to reduce the incidence of, and casualties from, mass shootings are concealed-carry laws. The Times will never mention this study.
In Sunday’s New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal claimed, as the title of her article put it, “More Guns = More Killing.” She based this on evidence that would never be permitted in any other context at the Times: (1) anecdotal observations; and (2) bald assertions of an activist, blandly repeated with absolutely no independent fact-checking by the Times.
There is an academic, peer-reviewed, long-term study of the effect of various public policies on public, multiple shootings in all 50 states over a 20-year period performed by renowned economists at the University of Chicago and Yale, William Landes and John Lott. It concluded that the only policy to reduce the incidence of, and casualties from, mass shootings are concealed-carry laws. The Times will never mention this study.
First . . .“2nd Amendment Preservation Ordinance.”
By Mark Kessler
2nd Amendment Preservation Ordinance
AN Ordinance, which shall be known and may be cited as the “2nd Amendment Preservation Ordinance.”
To prevent federal, State or local infringement on the right to keep and bear Firearms, Firearms accessories or ammunition ; nullifying all federal, state or local acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States along with section 21 “Right to Bear Arms of the Pennsylvania constitution.
THE PEOPLE OF THE BOROUGH OF GILBERTON DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
2nd Amendment Preservation Ordinance
AN Ordinance, which shall be known and may be cited as the “2nd Amendment Preservation Ordinance.”
To prevent federal, State or local infringement on the right to keep and bear Firearms, Firearms accessories or ammunition ; nullifying all federal, state or local acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States along with section 21 “Right to Bear Arms of the Pennsylvania constitution.
THE PEOPLE OF THE BOROUGH OF GILBERTON DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Pennsylvania Police Chief Proposes ’2nd Amendment Preservation’ Ordinance
By Aaron Dykes - January 3, 2013
Demand a Real Plan: Nullify Unconstitutional Gun Control
The town is small, but the message is clear: do not infringe.
A police chief in Gilberton, Pennsylvania, a small burough in Schuylkill County with a population of only 867 people, is proposing a ’2nd Amendment Preservation’ Ordinance that he plans to present to the city council during its January 24, 2013 meeting.
The ordinance, if adopted, would formally require the city to “enact any and all measures as may be necessary” to prevent the violation of the 2nd Amendment by any federal, state or local entity.
In addition to formally recognizing the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, Chief of Police Mark Kessler, who wrote the proposal, also pointed out the additional protection under the Pennsylvania constitution which specifically recognizes the “Right to Bear Arms” under Sections 21.
That section reads, in full, “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.”
The proposal would further require the local government to nullify “all federal, state or local acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment” and declare them to be invalid within Gilberton Borough limits. The right to nullify unconstitutional laws is granted under the 10th Amendment to Constitution, which further reserves powers not explicitly granted to the (limited) federal government to the states and the people.
Police chief Mark Kessler confirmed an e-mail detailing his proposal by phone, indicating that he didn’t expect the ordinance would “do much” beyond sending a message to those in the media and Washington, yet he stated he felt the need to stand up to those demanding gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy.
From Infowars.com
Demand a Real Plan: Nullify Unconstitutional Gun Control
The town is small, but the message is clear: do not infringe.
A police chief in Gilberton, Pennsylvania, a small burough in Schuylkill County with a population of only 867 people, is proposing a ’2nd Amendment Preservation’ Ordinance that he plans to present to the city council during its January 24, 2013 meeting.
The ordinance, if adopted, would formally require the city to “enact any and all measures as may be necessary” to prevent the violation of the 2nd Amendment by any federal, state or local entity.
In addition to formally recognizing the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, Chief of Police Mark Kessler, who wrote the proposal, also pointed out the additional protection under the Pennsylvania constitution which specifically recognizes the “Right to Bear Arms” under Sections 21.
That section reads, in full, “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.”
The proposal would further require the local government to nullify “all federal, state or local acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment” and declare them to be invalid within Gilberton Borough limits. The right to nullify unconstitutional laws is granted under the 10th Amendment to Constitution, which further reserves powers not explicitly granted to the (limited) federal government to the states and the people.
Police chief Mark Kessler confirmed an e-mail detailing his proposal by phone, indicating that he didn’t expect the ordinance would “do much” beyond sending a message to those in the media and Washington, yet he stated he felt the need to stand up to those demanding gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy.
From Infowars.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Two-Faced Union Bosses Help Shape Obama’s Attack On 2nd Amendment
By LaborUnionReport - 1/8/2013
“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms.” Barack Obama (Washington Times, 6/30/08)
In the run up to Barack Obama’s 2008 election, despite his radical past and anti-2nd Amendment record, union bosses far and wide tried to portray Obama as a pro-Constitution moderate who supports the 2nd Amendment.
However, as America’s gun-toting union members are about to find out–and much of America already knows–not only is Barack Obama a gun control advocate, but Obama is using his union ties to help disarm Americans.
“I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms.” Barack Obama (Washington Times, 6/30/08)
In the run up to Barack Obama’s 2008 election, despite his radical past and anti-2nd Amendment record, union bosses far and wide tried to portray Obama as a pro-Constitution moderate who supports the 2nd Amendment.
However, as America’s gun-toting union members are about to find out–and much of America already knows–not only is Barack Obama a gun control advocate, but Obama is using his union ties to help disarm Americans.
Buchanan: America’s Coming Gun War
By Patrick J. Buchanan - 1/8/2013
Eight days after the massacre of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary, where each child was shot with a Bushmaster .223, The Nation’s Gun Show, the biggest east of the Mississippi, opened.
“A line already snaked around the building shortly after the three-day event began at 3 p.m., and the parking lot was jammed” at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va., wrote Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post:
“With an AK-47 slung over one shoulder, Marco Hernandez offered one word when asked why he was in the overflow crowd at the gun show.”
“Obama,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the possible gun ban.”
Eight days after the massacre of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary, where each child was shot with a Bushmaster .223, The Nation’s Gun Show, the biggest east of the Mississippi, opened.
“A line already snaked around the building shortly after the three-day event began at 3 p.m., and the parking lot was jammed” at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va., wrote Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post:
“With an AK-47 slung over one shoulder, Marco Hernandez offered one word when asked why he was in the overflow crowd at the gun show.”
“Obama,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the possible gun ban.”
Sunday, January 6, 2013
More Guns = More Killing?
By Elisabeth Rosenthal - 1/5/2013
In the wake of the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, the National Rifle Association proposed that the best way to protect schoolchildren was to place a guard a “good guy with a gun” in every school, part of a so-called National School Shield Emergency Response Program.
Indeed, the N.R.A.’s solution to the expansion of gun violence in America has been generally to advocate for the more widespread deployment and carrying of guns.
I recently visited some Latin American countries that mesh with the N.R.A.’s vision of the promised land, where guards with guns grace every office lobby, storefront, A.T.M., restaurant and gas station. It has not made those countries safer or saner.
In the wake of the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, the National Rifle Association proposed that the best way to protect schoolchildren was to place a guard a “good guy with a gun” in every school, part of a so-called National School Shield Emergency Response Program.
Indeed, the N.R.A.’s solution to the expansion of gun violence in America has been generally to advocate for the more widespread deployment and carrying of guns.
I recently visited some Latin American countries that mesh with the N.R.A.’s vision of the promised land, where guards with guns grace every office lobby, storefront, A.T.M., restaurant and gas station. It has not made those countries safer or saner.
Friday, January 4, 2013
The AR-15: The gun liberals love to hate
By: David Keene - 1/2/2013
Politician after politician have joined the television talking heads in calling for a new “assault weapons ban” patterned after the ten-year Clinton ban that was allowed to lapse in 2004 after Justice Department and private studies concluded it had no impact whatsoever on murder and violent crime rates and had become a symbol of wrong-headed governmental attempts to restrict firearms ownership in this country.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called for reinstituting the old Clinton ban to outlaw the sale, transfer and possession of such guns in the future while grandfathering those already in the hands of private parties. Others, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have gone so far as to suggest “confiscation” or forced “buy back” programs “to get these weapons off the street.” In the last week dozens of commentators, reporters and politicians have said they support the 2nd Amendment, but would support an “assault weapons” ban because such weapons aren’t used for hunting and have no purpose other than to kill people.
Politician after politician have joined the television talking heads in calling for a new “assault weapons ban” patterned after the ten-year Clinton ban that was allowed to lapse in 2004 after Justice Department and private studies concluded it had no impact whatsoever on murder and violent crime rates and had become a symbol of wrong-headed governmental attempts to restrict firearms ownership in this country.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called for reinstituting the old Clinton ban to outlaw the sale, transfer and possession of such guns in the future while grandfathering those already in the hands of private parties. Others, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have gone so far as to suggest “confiscation” or forced “buy back” programs “to get these weapons off the street.” In the last week dozens of commentators, reporters and politicians have said they support the 2nd Amendment, but would support an “assault weapons” ban because such weapons aren’t used for hunting and have no purpose other than to kill people.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Novel Idea - Liability Insurance for Gun Owners!
By David Sherfinski - 1/1/12013
Hoping to get beyond the debate over new gun-control laws, a group of economists and legal scholars is floating another plan they say could cut down on spree shootings: require all gun owners to carry liability insurance, similar to what automobile owners must have.
The plan, which was floated in Illinois' legislature in 2009, draws the ire of gun-rights groups who say it infringes on Americans’ Second Amendment rights and unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners. But backers say it offers a way to ferret out potentially dangerous or unstable criminals from the ranks of gun owners without having the federal government enact outright bans.
Hoping to get beyond the debate over new gun-control laws, a group of economists and legal scholars is floating another plan they say could cut down on spree shootings: require all gun owners to carry liability insurance, similar to what automobile owners must have.
The plan, which was floated in Illinois' legislature in 2009, draws the ire of gun-rights groups who say it infringes on Americans’ Second Amendment rights and unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners. But backers say it offers a way to ferret out potentially dangerous or unstable criminals from the ranks of gun owners without having the federal government enact outright bans.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Germany Compiles First Nationwide Gun Register
From AP
Germany has compiled a national register of firearms for the first time. Figures previously held by a multitude of local authorities have been centrally pooled as part of efforts to curb gun violence.
Germany's new national firearms registry established that there were 5.5 million legal guns in private ownership nationwide.
Figures compiled in what has been described as Germany's first reliable nationwide firearms count also showed there were 1.4 million registered owners - an average of approximately four weapons per listed individual.
Germany has compiled a national register of firearms for the first time. Figures previously held by a multitude of local authorities have been centrally pooled as part of efforts to curb gun violence.
Germany's new national firearms registry established that there were 5.5 million legal guns in private ownership nationwide.
Figures compiled in what has been described as Germany's first reliable nationwide firearms count also showed there were 1.4 million registered owners - an average of approximately four weapons per listed individual.
Why the 2nd Amendment?!
By Walter E. Williams
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing." - Adolf Hitler.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, said: "The British are not coming. ... We don't need all these guns to kill people." Lewis' vision, shared by many, represents a gross ignorance of why the framers of the Constitution gave us the Second Amendment. How about a few quotes from the period and you decide whether our Founding Fathers harbored a fear of foreign tyrants.
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing." - Adolf Hitler.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, said: "The British are not coming. ... We don't need all these guns to kill people." Lewis' vision, shared by many, represents a gross ignorance of why the framers of the Constitution gave us the Second Amendment. How about a few quotes from the period and you decide whether our Founding Fathers harbored a fear of foreign tyrants.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Armed Civilians Really do Capture, Kill, Stop Mass Shooters
By: Eugene Volokh -12/16/2012
Backers of laws that let pretty much all law-abiding carry concealed guns in public places often argue that these laws will sometimes enable people to stop mass shootings.
Opponents occasionally ask: If that’s so, what examples can one give of civilians armed with guns stopping such shootings? Sometimes, I hear people asking if even one such example can be found, or saying that they haven’t heard even one such example.
Backers of laws that let pretty much all law-abiding carry concealed guns in public places often argue that these laws will sometimes enable people to stop mass shootings.
Opponents occasionally ask: If that’s so, what examples can one give of civilians armed with guns stopping such shootings? Sometimes, I hear people asking if even one such example can be found, or saying that they haven’t heard even one such example.
Friday, December 28, 2012
2nd Amendment Rights - Bullet Proof?
By Bob Greenslade
Following the recent school shooting in Connecticut, American citizens have once again displayed their total ignorance concerning the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Second Amendment. Facebook postings, comments to so-called news articles and letters to the editor are calling for repeal of the Second Amendment. These individuals believe the right to own a firearm is based on the Second Amendment and the right will vanish if the Amendment can be repealed. Unless the Second Amendment created the right, then repeal of the Amendment cannot constitutionally abolish the right.
Following the recent school shooting in Connecticut, American citizens have once again displayed their total ignorance concerning the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Second Amendment. Facebook postings, comments to so-called news articles and letters to the editor are calling for repeal of the Second Amendment. These individuals believe the right to own a firearm is based on the Second Amendment and the right will vanish if the Amendment can be repealed. Unless the Second Amendment created the right, then repeal of the Amendment cannot constitutionally abolish the right.
U.N. Debates New Anti-Gun Treaty
By Louis Charbonneau - Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:13pm EST
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Monday to restart negotiations on a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms, a pact the powerful U.S. National Rifle Association has been lobbying hard against.
U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because U.S. President Barack Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney before the November 6 election if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge U.S. officials have denied.
The NRA, which has come under intense criticism for its reaction to the December 15 shooting massacre of 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, opposes the idea of an arms trade treaty and has pressured Obama to reject it.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Monday to restart negotiations on a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms, a pact the powerful U.S. National Rifle Association has been lobbying hard against.
U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because U.S. President Barack Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney before the November 6 election if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge U.S. officials have denied.
The NRA, which has come under intense criticism for its reaction to the December 15 shooting massacre of 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, opposes the idea of an arms trade treaty and has pressured Obama to reject it.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Guns in Schools Can Save Lives
By John R. Lott Jr. - December 26, 2012 9:02 am
USA Today - Has anyone noticed that these mass shootings at public schools increased after the 1995 Gun-Free School Zone Act? Passed with good intentions, banning guns would supposedly make schools safer.
But law abiding citizens, not criminals, obey these bans. Instead of making places safer, disarming law abiding citizens left them sitting ducks.
USA Today - Has anyone noticed that these mass shootings at public schools increased after the 1995 Gun-Free School Zone Act? Passed with good intentions, banning guns would supposedly make schools safer.
But law abiding citizens, not criminals, obey these bans. Instead of making places safer, disarming law abiding citizens left them sitting ducks.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
When ‘Assault Weapons’ Saved Koreatown
By Ryan James Girdusky - 12/23/2012 06:12 PM
Opponents of assault rifles best argument is. . ."there is NO situation or circumstance where a citizen might need an assault rifle." This writer begs to differ. -Editor
This year marked the 21st anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, sparked by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused of beating the now-deceased Rodney King. During the five days, mobs around Los Angeles looted stores, burnt 3,767 buildings, caused more than $1 billion in property damage, and led to the deaths of more than 50 people and left another 4,000 injured. A story that has been forgotten since then is that of the brave storeowners in Koreatown who fended off mobs with handguns, rifles and assault weapons.
On the second day of the riots, the police had abandoned much of Koreatown. Jay Rhee, a storeowner in the area, stated to The Los Angeles Times, “we have lost faith in the police.”
Monday, December 24, 2012
An individual right: Obama and the 2nd Amendment?
EDITORIAL - Unionleader.com
In his Wednesday press conference on gun control, President Obama said something hugely important. He said that he agreed with the historical understanding of the Second Amendment, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008, that it protects an individual (not a collective) right to keep and bear arms.
"Look, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms," he said. That might sound perfectly ordinary to most Americans. It is the whole point of the Second Amendment, after all. But that is not how the political left has misinterpreted the amendment for a long time.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Good Guys with Guns - National Rifle Association
By Wayne LaPierre - President NRA
The National Rifle Association’s 4 million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters join the nation in horror, outrage, grief and earnest prayer for the families of Newtown, Connecticut … who suffered such incomprehensible loss as a result of this unspeakable crime.
Out of respect for those grieving families, and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment. While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent.
Now, we must speak … for the safety of our nation’s children. Because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one nobody has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works?
The National Rifle Association’s 4 million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters join the nation in horror, outrage, grief and earnest prayer for the families of Newtown, Connecticut … who suffered such incomprehensible loss as a result of this unspeakable crime.
Out of respect for those grieving families, and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment. While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent.
Now, we must speak … for the safety of our nation’s children. Because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one nobody has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works?
Teachers Support Guns
By Michelle Celarier - December 21, 2012 6:45 am
NY Post - America's teachers are facing a $100 million conundrum.
That's roughly the amount various teacher pension, school and retirement funds have invested in the publicly traded stocks of four gun makers, according to regulatory filings.
It's a problem that has sent them scrambling since a 20-year-old man used a semiautomatic rifle in a massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
They are being forced to choose between the typically reliable investment in gun makers and the public outcry for decisive action.
NY Post - America's teachers are facing a $100 million conundrum.
That's roughly the amount various teacher pension, school and retirement funds have invested in the publicly traded stocks of four gun makers, according to regulatory filings.
It's a problem that has sent them scrambling since a 20-year-old man used a semiautomatic rifle in a massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
They are being forced to choose between the typically reliable investment in gun makers and the public outcry for decisive action.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Elder: Gun Violence - Let's Shift the Odds in Favor of the Good Guys!
By Larry Elder - December 20, 2012 6:55 am
The unimaginable horror of Sandy Hook jumpstarts another "national conversation" about firearm violence. President Barack Obama, promising "meaningful action," said: "We will have to change. ... We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end."
Let's examine four of the "commonsense" measures frequently proposed by "gun control advocates":
One, closing the "gun show loophole." What gun show loophole? Restricted from selling at guns shows prior to 1986, a licensed dealer today requires a background check whether he sells guns at a store, a gun show or the back of his SUV.
The unimaginable horror of Sandy Hook jumpstarts another "national conversation" about firearm violence. President Barack Obama, promising "meaningful action," said: "We will have to change. ... We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end."
Let's examine four of the "commonsense" measures frequently proposed by "gun control advocates":
One, closing the "gun show loophole." What gun show loophole? Restricted from selling at guns shows prior to 1986, a licensed dealer today requires a background check whether he sells guns at a store, a gun show or the back of his SUV.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
We Know How to Stop School Shootings
By Ann Coulter - 12/19/2012 07:05 PM
In the wake of a monstrous crime like a madman’s mass murder of defenseless women and children at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school, the nation’s attention is riveted on what could have been done to prevent such a massacre.
Luckily, some years ago, two famed economists, William Landes at the University of Chicago and John Lott at Yale, conducted a massive study of multiple victim public shootings in the United States between 1977 and 1995 to see how various legal changes affected their frequency and death toll.
Landes and Lott examined many of the very policies being proposed right now in response to the Connecticut massacre: waiting periods and background checks for guns, the death penalty and increased penalties for committing a crime with a gun.
In the wake of a monstrous crime like a madman’s mass murder of defenseless women and children at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school, the nation’s attention is riveted on what could have been done to prevent such a massacre.
Luckily, some years ago, two famed economists, William Landes at the University of Chicago and John Lott at Yale, conducted a massive study of multiple victim public shootings in the United States between 1977 and 1995 to see how various legal changes affected their frequency and death toll.
Landes and Lott examined many of the very policies being proposed right now in response to the Connecticut massacre: waiting periods and background checks for guns, the death penalty and increased penalties for committing a crime with a gun.
A 21st Century Witch Hunt
By Michelle Malkin - December 19, 2012 6:58 am
In the aftermath of the horrific Newtown, Conn., school massacre, Americans from all parts of the political spectrum agree that we need to pay more attention to mental health issues. Public death threats and incitements to violence must be taken seriously. The incendiary witch hunt against law-abiding, peaceful gun owners is neither noble nor effective. It's just plain insane.
Over the past week, I've witnessed a disturbing outbreak of off-the-rails hatred toward gun owners and Second Amendment groups. Whatever your views on guns, we can all agree: The Newtown gunman was a monster who slaughtered his own mother, five heroic educators and 20 angel-faced schoolchildren. He ignored laws against murder. He bypassed Connecticut's strict gun control regulations, and he circumvented the Sandy Hook Elementary School's security measures. Every decent American is horrified and heartsick by this outbreak of pure evil.
In the aftermath of the horrific Newtown, Conn., school massacre, Americans from all parts of the political spectrum agree that we need to pay more attention to mental health issues. Public death threats and incitements to violence must be taken seriously. The incendiary witch hunt against law-abiding, peaceful gun owners is neither noble nor effective. It's just plain insane.
Over the past week, I've witnessed a disturbing outbreak of off-the-rails hatred toward gun owners and Second Amendment groups. Whatever your views on guns, we can all agree: The Newtown gunman was a monster who slaughtered his own mother, five heroic educators and 20 angel-faced schoolchildren. He ignored laws against murder. He bypassed Connecticut's strict gun control regulations, and he circumvented the Sandy Hook Elementary School's security measures. Every decent American is horrified and heartsick by this outbreak of pure evil.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Gun-Rights Advocates Should Fear History of Second Amendment
By Saul Cornell - Dec 18, 2012 4:45 AM EST
On Sunday, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer went on CBS’s Face The Nation and argued that people who support gun control “have to admit that there is a Second Amendment right to bear arms”.
Schumer’s effort to reach out to the gun-rights community may be well-intentioned, but it is also deeply ironic. If the nation truly embraced the Second Amendment as it was originally written and understood, it would be the NRA’s worst nightmare.
On Sunday, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer went on CBS’s Face The Nation and argued that people who support gun control “have to admit that there is a Second Amendment right to bear arms”.
Schumer’s effort to reach out to the gun-rights community may be well-intentioned, but it is also deeply ironic. If the nation truly embraced the Second Amendment as it was originally written and understood, it would be the NRA’s worst nightmare.
More Guns - Less Murder
By Thomas Sowell - December 18, 2012 6:55 am
Must every tragic mass shooting bring out the shrill ignorance of "gun control" advocates?
The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.
If gun control zealots had any respect for facts, they would have discovered this long ago, because there have been too many factual studies over the years to leave any serious doubt about gun control laws being not merely futile but counterproductive.
Places and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, D.C., is a classic example, but just one among many.
Must every tragic mass shooting bring out the shrill ignorance of "gun control" advocates?
The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.
If gun control zealots had any respect for facts, they would have discovered this long ago, because there have been too many factual studies over the years to leave any serious doubt about gun control laws being not merely futile but counterproductive.
Places and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, D.C., is a classic example, but just one among many.
Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown
By David Kopel
There were 18 random mass shootings in the 1980s, 54 in the 1990s, and 87 in the 2000s.
Has the rate of random mass shootings in the United States increased? Over the past 30 years, the answer is definitely yes. It is also true that the total U.S. homicide rate has fallen by over half since 1980, and the gun homicide rate has fallen along with it. Today, Americans are safer from violent crime, including gun homicide, than they have been at any time since the mid-1960s.
Mass shootings, defined as four or more fatalities, fluctuate from year to year, but over the past 30 years there has been no long-term increase or decrease. But "random" mass shootings, such as the horrific crimes last Friday in Newtown, Conn., have increased.
There were 18 random mass shootings in the 1980s, 54 in the 1990s, and 87 in the 2000s.
Has the rate of random mass shootings in the United States increased? Over the past 30 years, the answer is definitely yes. It is also true that the total U.S. homicide rate has fallen by over half since 1980, and the gun homicide rate has fallen along with it. Today, Americans are safer from violent crime, including gun homicide, than they have been at any time since the mid-1960s.
Mass shootings, defined as four or more fatalities, fluctuate from year to year, but over the past 30 years there has been no long-term increase or decrease. But "random" mass shootings, such as the horrific crimes last Friday in Newtown, Conn., have increased.
One in 300 Million
By Neil W. McCabe - Editor, Guns & Patriots
The Dec. 13 mass shooting at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Conn., is an unspeakable tragedy. The victims, most of them first graders, were behind locked doors and beginning the school day with no idea of what was to follow.
In our age, there is only one other tragedy that comes close to what happened in Newtownand sadly, other places too, the mass casualty airliner crash. There too, too many completely innocent individuals are lost to us at once.
In the mainstream media, there is a big difference in how these two occurrences are treated. In the case of the airliner disaster, whether caused by weather or by terrorists, we are told over and over again that the actual percentage of deaths by flying passengers is very smallso small that it would be foolish not to fly over such concerns.
But, what are we told after a mass shooting at a school?
In sharp contrast, we are told that because one individual out of 300 million went on a rampage, the rest of the 300 million Americans must forgo a right acknowledged in the Bill of Rights as existing before the founding of our current Republic.
While we are looking at percentages, Larry Pratt, the president of Gun Owners of America, points out: "What a lethal, false security are the Gun Free Zone laws. All of our mass murders in the last 20 years have occurred in 'Gun Free Zones."
I am not convinced that because a school in the Nutmeg State did not have an armed guardor teacher, groundskeeper or cafeteria worker, we need to ignore the Bill of Rights.
The Dec. 13 mass shooting at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Conn., is an unspeakable tragedy. The victims, most of them first graders, were behind locked doors and beginning the school day with no idea of what was to follow.
In our age, there is only one other tragedy that comes close to what happened in Newtownand sadly, other places too, the mass casualty airliner crash. There too, too many completely innocent individuals are lost to us at once.
In the mainstream media, there is a big difference in how these two occurrences are treated. In the case of the airliner disaster, whether caused by weather or by terrorists, we are told over and over again that the actual percentage of deaths by flying passengers is very smallso small that it would be foolish not to fly over such concerns.
But, what are we told after a mass shooting at a school?
In sharp contrast, we are told that because one individual out of 300 million went on a rampage, the rest of the 300 million Americans must forgo a right acknowledged in the Bill of Rights as existing before the founding of our current Republic.
While we are looking at percentages, Larry Pratt, the president of Gun Owners of America, points out: "What a lethal, false security are the Gun Free Zone laws. All of our mass murders in the last 20 years have occurred in 'Gun Free Zones."
I am not convinced that because a school in the Nutmeg State did not have an armed guardor teacher, groundskeeper or cafeteria worker, we need to ignore the Bill of Rights.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Progressives Hope Supreme Court Will Restrict Concealed Carry
By Mark Sherman - December 17, 2012
Washington (AP) - The next big issue in the national debate over guns whether people have a right to be armed in public is moving closer to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A provocative ruling by a panel of federal appeals court judges in Chicago struck down the only statewide ban on carrying concealed weapons, in Illinois. The ruling is somewhat at odds with those of other federal courts that have largely upheld state and local gun laws, including restrictions on concealed weapons, since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling declaring that people have a right to have a gun for self-defence.
In 2008, the high court voted 5-4 in District of Columbia v. Heller to strike down Washington's ban on handgun ownership and focused mainly on the right to defend one's own home. The court left for another day how broadly the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution may protect gun rights in other settings.
Legal scholars say the competing appellate rulings mean that day is drawing near for a new high court case on gun rights.
Washington (AP) - The next big issue in the national debate over guns whether people have a right to be armed in public is moving closer to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A provocative ruling by a panel of federal appeals court judges in Chicago struck down the only statewide ban on carrying concealed weapons, in Illinois. The ruling is somewhat at odds with those of other federal courts that have largely upheld state and local gun laws, including restrictions on concealed weapons, since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling declaring that people have a right to have a gun for self-defence.
In 2008, the high court voted 5-4 in District of Columbia v. Heller to strike down Washington's ban on handgun ownership and focused mainly on the right to defend one's own home. The court left for another day how broadly the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution may protect gun rights in other settings.
Legal scholars say the competing appellate rulings mean that day is drawing near for a new high court case on gun rights.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Top 10 Concealed Carry Guns
By: Mark Walters - 12/7/2010
This article is sure to generate a ton of emotion and that is a good thing. A “top ten” list of anything is going to be helpful to some, controversial to many and just plain flat out wrong to others. No matter what I put on the list or where I may rank it, someone is certain to tell me I’m right just as someone else is certain to tell me I’m wrong. (That’s what makes America great)!
So, here we go.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Why long-gun registries don’t work and never did!
Gary A. Mauser - December 11, 2012
In March, Stephen Harper’s Canadian government reversed decades of increasing restrictions on civilian firearms, scrapping the controversial long-gun registry on grounds that it was wasteful and ineffective. Gun laws, the prime minister correctly said, should focus on criminals rather than law-abiding citizens such as farmers and hunters.
Some claim that this Conservative policy flies in the face of a mountain of evidence, and even represents an assault against reason. Canadian voters seem divided on this issue, as well as some basic related questions: Are firearms in the hands of ordinary citizens a serious threat to public safety? Is registration an effective approach to controlling misuse? How useful was the long-gun registry to police? This article will answer some of those questions.
In March, Stephen Harper’s Canadian government reversed decades of increasing restrictions on civilian firearms, scrapping the controversial long-gun registry on grounds that it was wasteful and ineffective. Gun laws, the prime minister correctly said, should focus on criminals rather than law-abiding citizens such as farmers and hunters.
Some claim that this Conservative policy flies in the face of a mountain of evidence, and even represents an assault against reason. Canadian voters seem divided on this issue, as well as some basic related questions: Are firearms in the hands of ordinary citizens a serious threat to public safety? Is registration an effective approach to controlling misuse? How useful was the long-gun registry to police? This article will answer some of those questions.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Tyrants Beware . . . the 2nd Amendment
By Bart Wilburn
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
As simple as these word are, we have been arguing about what they mean for a long time. Part of the problem is that many people engaged in the argument do not interpret the 2nd Amendment with respect for its historical context, but rather in light of what they want it to mean in support of their purposes. If we want to be honest about it, we must look to the origins of the amendment to understand it in the context of the framing of the U.S. Constitution, and only then can we consider it in our present context. The issue is further complicated by the fact that an increasingly large proportion of the U.S. population has no experience in the use of arms; they see arms as irrelevant to their lives at best or a threat at worst. This is important because the 2nd Amendment is always susceptible and becomes vulnerable when too many think it is an archaic artifact.
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
As simple as these word are, we have been arguing about what they mean for a long time. Part of the problem is that many people engaged in the argument do not interpret the 2nd Amendment with respect for its historical context, but rather in light of what they want it to mean in support of their purposes. If we want to be honest about it, we must look to the origins of the amendment to understand it in the context of the framing of the U.S. Constitution, and only then can we consider it in our present context. The issue is further complicated by the fact that an increasingly large proportion of the U.S. population has no experience in the use of arms; they see arms as irrelevant to their lives at best or a threat at worst. This is important because the 2nd Amendment is always susceptible and becomes vulnerable when too many think it is an archaic artifact.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Lock Your Doors and Load Your Guns
December 1, 2012
By Bobby Eberle
A city attorney in California is taking heat for comments made during a recent city council meeting. Faced with a bankrupt city government and cutbacks to the police force, the official told citizens to "lock their door and load their guns" as a way to fight crime. Was this over the top or simply telling it like it is?
As reported by CBS in Los Angeles, San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman spoke before a group of about 150 local residents. They are frustrated and worried about the growing crime rate and falling police response times.
By Bobby Eberle
A city attorney in California is taking heat for comments made during a recent city council meeting. Faced with a bankrupt city government and cutbacks to the police force, the official told citizens to "lock their door and load their guns" as a way to fight crime. Was this over the top or simply telling it like it is?
As reported by CBS in Los Angeles, San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman spoke before a group of about 150 local residents. They are frustrated and worried about the growing crime rate and falling police response times.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Concealed Carry -- Only for a few?
November 28, 2012
By: Mark Wachtler
Two separate cases, each arguing basically the same question, have been making their way through the American federal justice system. The cases involve a fundamental Constitutional question. Does the 2nd Amendment guarantee the right to keep and bear arms…outside the home? The first of two US Appeals Courts has just returned a verdict, and that verdict is no.
The 2 cases
One case is regarding a New York law and is in the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The other case involves a Maryland law and is in the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. In each case, state legislatures enacted laws that restricted the right to carry concealed firearms outside of the gun owner’s home.
By: Mark Wachtler
Two separate cases, each arguing basically the same question, have been making their way through the American federal justice system. The cases involve a fundamental Constitutional question. Does the 2nd Amendment guarantee the right to keep and bear arms…outside the home? The first of two US Appeals Courts has just returned a verdict, and that verdict is no.
The 2 cases
One case is regarding a New York law and is in the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The other case involves a Maryland law and is in the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. In each case, state legislatures enacted laws that restricted the right to carry concealed firearms outside of the gun owner’s home.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Disarm and Conquer
By Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D. - November 26, 2012
Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787
DATELINE: Warsaw, Poland, 1943
In the Spring of 1943, the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, having become aware the Nazis were deporting the remaining Jews to the gas chambers of Treblinka, took up arms, whatever they could nd, and rebelled against the German occupiers. These determined insurgents had only homemade Molotov cocktails and a handful of small arms, revolvers, pistols, and a few military or hunting ri es. It took vastly superior Nazi forces to subdue the rebels, and the Germans suffered up to 300 casualties in pacifying the city.(1)
Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787
DATELINE: Warsaw, Poland, 1943
In the Spring of 1943, the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, having become aware the Nazis were deporting the remaining Jews to the gas chambers of Treblinka, took up arms, whatever they could nd, and rebelled against the German occupiers. These determined insurgents had only homemade Molotov cocktails and a handful of small arms, revolvers, pistols, and a few military or hunting ri es. It took vastly superior Nazi forces to subdue the rebels, and the Germans suffered up to 300 casualties in pacifying the city.(1)
Friday, September 28, 2012
No Bullets. . .No Guns
By JW Ross
The purpose of 2nd AmendmentPA.com is to promote the birthplace of the 2nd amendment. However, when the very existence of the 2nd amendment in the Bill of Rights is in jeopardy, I feel that I owe my readers a truthful discussion of this reality.
The reality, in a new Obama term, of the appointment of one or two progressive judges to the Supreme Court is certain - as one or more Justices are reaching retirement by choice or for health reasons. President Obama has clearly indicated by his most recent appointment to the Court that he seeks out very progressive appointees who have made it clear that they do not support the 2nd amendment.
He has also made it clear, in numerous statements, that the 2nd amendment should be "revisited", what many say is code language for, "abolished". The appointment of one new Justice by Obama would move the court from approval to the disapproval of the tenets of the 2nd amendment.
The purpose of 2nd AmendmentPA.com is to promote the birthplace of the 2nd amendment. However, when the very existence of the 2nd amendment in the Bill of Rights is in jeopardy, I feel that I owe my readers a truthful discussion of this reality.
The reality, in a new Obama term, of the appointment of one or two progressive judges to the Supreme Court is certain - as one or more Justices are reaching retirement by choice or for health reasons. President Obama has clearly indicated by his most recent appointment to the Court that he seeks out very progressive appointees who have made it clear that they do not support the 2nd amendment.
He has also made it clear, in numerous statements, that the 2nd amendment should be "revisited", what many say is code language for, "abolished". The appointment of one new Justice by Obama would move the court from approval to the disapproval of the tenets of the 2nd amendment.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Original Intent of 2nd Amendment - AK-47s
By Earl Schwartz
The authors of the amendment clearly intended to guarantee citizens the right to the kinds of weapons issued to ordinary infantry, not only to the specific type of firearm available when the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
Consider what the amendment says: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Given that all able free men between 18 and 45 had to be enrolled in the militia (see Statutes at Large, 2nd Congress, 1st Session, 271), the militia clause amounts to a promise that citizens can have the weapons needed to defend the security of the state. Nowadays that means, at the least, an ordinary infantry weapon such as an M-16 or an AK-47.
One might argue that such a promise is anachronistic in this age of sophisticated warfare. Even in the 18th century most understood that militia men could not stand up to well-drilled professionals. But the Second Amendment still says what it says. Don't like it? Repeal it, if you can.
The Columbian, WA
The authors of the amendment clearly intended to guarantee citizens the right to the kinds of weapons issued to ordinary infantry, not only to the specific type of firearm available when the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
Consider what the amendment says: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Given that all able free men between 18 and 45 had to be enrolled in the militia (see Statutes at Large, 2nd Congress, 1st Session, 271), the militia clause amounts to a promise that citizens can have the weapons needed to defend the security of the state. Nowadays that means, at the least, an ordinary infantry weapon such as an M-16 or an AK-47.
One might argue that such a promise is anachronistic in this age of sophisticated warfare. Even in the 18th century most understood that militia men could not stand up to well-drilled professionals. But the Second Amendment still says what it says. Don't like it? Repeal it, if you can.
The Columbian, WA
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Perspective On the 2nd Amendment
By Neil W. McCabe, Editor Guns & Patriots
When a plane crashes with 100, 200 even 300 people killed. The main stream media constantly reminds us how very, very safe flying actually is. You know this is true.
When one or two or five madman out of 300 million Americans in a given year goes on a rampage with firearms, what does the MSM say?
I don't have to tell you. Turn on your radio or TV right now are hear that it is time to instill gun control on the rest of the 300 million who did not go on a rampage.
In the case of the attack on the Sikh temple, some reporters focused on the heroism of the temple leader. He died trying to stop the killer with his ceremonial knife. This was the right lesson. Sadly, he died defending the people and temple he loved.
Imagine now if the leader had a gun.
Conceivably, if the temple leader was armed with gun, he could have put the killer down--saving more lives and his own.
Of course, were that to happen, the main strean media would never mention it. Go figure.
From - GunsandPatriots@email.humanevents.com
When a plane crashes with 100, 200 even 300 people killed. The main stream media constantly reminds us how very, very safe flying actually is. You know this is true.
When one or two or five madman out of 300 million Americans in a given year goes on a rampage with firearms, what does the MSM say?
I don't have to tell you. Turn on your radio or TV right now are hear that it is time to instill gun control on the rest of the 300 million who did not go on a rampage.
In the case of the attack on the Sikh temple, some reporters focused on the heroism of the temple leader. He died trying to stop the killer with his ceremonial knife. This was the right lesson. Sadly, he died defending the people and temple he loved.
Imagine now if the leader had a gun.
Conceivably, if the temple leader was armed with gun, he could have put the killer down--saving more lives and his own.
Of course, were that to happen, the main strean media would never mention it. Go figure.
From - GunsandPatriots@email.humanevents.com
Sunday, August 12, 2012
2nd Amendment Strangled by Regulation
By JW Ross
The Universal Health Care Bill is turning out to be the Trojan Horse that the critics predicted.
The bill is written with such broad strokes that almost "anything" can be construed to be under the purview of "health care" (and health care administrators).
Now it is the 2nd Amendment.
With any game changing laws on the "right to own and bear arms" awaiting the appointment of a new justice to the Supreme Court, opponents are now trying to regulate guns as if they were a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol?
Doctors call for public-health approach to controlling gun violence
By Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol?
Yes! say public-health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.
What we need, they say, is a public-health approach to the problem, like the highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago, even as the number of vehicles on the road rose.
The Universal Health Care Bill is turning out to be the Trojan Horse that the critics predicted.
The bill is written with such broad strokes that almost "anything" can be construed to be under the purview of "health care" (and health care administrators).
Now it is the 2nd Amendment.
With any game changing laws on the "right to own and bear arms" awaiting the appointment of a new justice to the Supreme Court, opponents are now trying to regulate guns as if they were a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol?
Doctors call for public-health approach to controlling gun violence
By Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol?
Yes! say public-health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.
What we need, they say, is a public-health approach to the problem, like the highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago, even as the number of vehicles on the road rose.
Monday, August 6, 2012
India - Women & the 2nd Amendment
By Dwaipayan Ghosh - TNN Aug 4, 2012
NEW DELHI: It could be a new measure of women's emancipation or just a passing fad, but Delhi Police has been stumped by the huge number of working women seeking gun licences. The trend is partly a response to the city's lawlessness but may also reflect the growing need of women to be in control, claim senior officers.
In the past two years, Delhi cops have received over 900 applications for guns from women. While year 2010 saw around 320 applications, the figure had grown to around 500 in 2011. But it's not only the numbers that's a break from the past. There's a change as well in the reasons cited by women for bearing arms.
NEW DELHI: It could be a new measure of women's emancipation or just a passing fad, but Delhi Police has been stumped by the huge number of working women seeking gun licences. The trend is partly a response to the city's lawlessness but may also reflect the growing need of women to be in control, claim senior officers.
In the past two years, Delhi cops have received over 900 applications for guns from women. While year 2010 saw around 320 applications, the figure had grown to around 500 in 2011. But it's not only the numbers that's a break from the past. There's a change as well in the reasons cited by women for bearing arms.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Illinois: Governor Abuses Amendatory Veto Powers to Propose Semi-Auto Ban
NRA - August 1, 2012
Quinn uses a previously NRA-Backed Ammunition Purchase Reform Bill as Vehicle for Gun Ban
Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) vetoed the NRA-backed ammunition purchase reform bill, Senate Bill 681, after this common sense legislation had passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Illinois legislature (previously reported on here). In a crass attempt to exploit the recent tragedy in Colorado and seek media attention, Quinn used his Amendatory Veto powers in a foolhardy attempt to impose more draconian gun control in Illinois. Quinn rewrote the entire bill as an amendment to the Illinois Criminal Code that includes an onerous ban on the manufacture, possession, delivery or sale of commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms (inaccurately referred to as “assault weapons”), .50 caliber rifles and cartridges and “high capacity” magazines in Illinois. Quinn’s amendment additionally tramples on the rights of Illinois citizens by creating a de facto statewide registration scheme for currently-owned firearms and magazines.
Quinn uses a previously NRA-Backed Ammunition Purchase Reform Bill as Vehicle for Gun Ban
Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) vetoed the NRA-backed ammunition purchase reform bill, Senate Bill 681, after this common sense legislation had passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Illinois legislature (previously reported on here). In a crass attempt to exploit the recent tragedy in Colorado and seek media attention, Quinn used his Amendatory Veto powers in a foolhardy attempt to impose more draconian gun control in Illinois. Quinn rewrote the entire bill as an amendment to the Illinois Criminal Code that includes an onerous ban on the manufacture, possession, delivery or sale of commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms (inaccurately referred to as “assault weapons”), .50 caliber rifles and cartridges and “high capacity” magazines in Illinois. Quinn’s amendment additionally tramples on the rights of Illinois citizens by creating a de facto statewide registration scheme for currently-owned firearms and magazines.
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