comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
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CCRKBA Blasts Hypocrisy over Rights for DC: The Citizens Committee for
the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today accused Congressional Democrats
of "world-class hypocrisy" for pulling a voting rights bill for
Washington, D.C. residents because Senate Republicans added an
amendment that would strengthen their gun rights, as affirmed in the
June 2008 Heller ruling by the Supreme Court… "Once again," he said,
"Democrats are revealing themselves as the party of restrictive gun
control. If the citizens of Washington, D.C., have a right to full
congressional representation, they also have a right to own the
firearm of their choice. For Democrats to argue that one right is more
important than another - especially after last year's Supreme Court
ruling on the Second Amendment - they are engaging in world-class
hypocrisy." …
…Unlike the Senate, House leaders were fully prepared to pass a
version of the bill without the gun amendment, enabling a conference
committee, tasked with resolving differences in House and Senate
versions, to keep the measure out of the final bill … that is, until
the NRA quietly hinted that procedural votes related to the measure
would be considered "test votes," potentially placing Democrats' NRA
"A" ratings at risk. Now the bill is on hold, and its advocates are
decidedly unhappy: Said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D),
"Members are reacting in knee-jerk fashion to the NRA." House Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pronounced the tactic, "not appropriate." …
Ignorance, Racism and "Gun Control": …So when President Obama says
"what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne," demographics must
not be excluded from the factors he thinks make Chicago and Cheyenne
dissimilar enough to warrant recognizing different rights. It's time
to speak plainly about this and stop being, as AG Holder recently
called us, "a nation of cowards" when it comes to race. It's a subject
I'll be exploring in the coming days and as I feel it is warranted…
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m3d4-Ignorance-racism-and-gun-control
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Why Gun Confiscation May Be Good for You: Let's take a look at the
silver lining in the cloud that is gun confiscation. Try to remember:
nothing is all bad. Economics are a big consideration. Black market
guns will likely be cheaper than they were at the gun shop or sporting
goods store. And no more serial numbers on guns or any of that silly
paperwork to fill out. There will be a market driven "trickle down"
effect on the end user's price. To your benefit. Doncha see? There are
at least 65 million gun owners in America today. That's probably as
large a percent of the nation as ignored alcohol Prohibition. 65
million potential customers for black market guns is an awfully
attractive business opportunity. And used-to-be gun owners will be
seriously motivated buyers. Having someone disarm you is a little more
edgy than being told you can't have a beer. Well … that may be
stretching it. But you get my point…
http://www.jpfo.org/kirby/kirby-confiscation-good.htm
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From the Website of the L.A. Times: Last week's announcement that 730
people across the United States had been arrested during a 21-month
investigation targeting Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel underscored the
scope of a simply-described cross-border problem that cannot be easily
solved. Cartel members smuggle drugs into the U.S., where demand is
insatiable and worth billions, and smuggle high-tech weapons from the
U.S. into Mexico to protect their interests against rival drug leaders
and Mexican authorities. About 6,000 deaths in Mexico during the last
13 months have been attributed to the narco-war, and it's feared a
similarly high level of drug-related violence will spill into the U.S.
But is reinstating a ban on the sale of so-called assault rifles in
the U.S. part of a solution? Probably not…
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/03/obama-should-no.html
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The Real Story on "Assault Weapons": What has erroneously been termed
an "assault weapon" is a semi-automatic firearm that fires just one
bullet with each pull of the trigger (versus a fully automatic firearm
-- machine gun -- which continues to shoot until the trigger is
released). Specifically, legislation has incorrectly defined an
"assault weapon" as a semi-automatic firearm that can accept a
detachable magazine and has two or more of the following cosmetic
features (it is these cosmetic features that distinguish the firearm
from other "non-assault weapons.")… (Linked page includes the old
Leroy Pyle video from the time when California's first Assault Weapon
Control Act was being debated – worth watching.)
http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-the-real-story-on-so-called-assault-weapons
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Don't Worry, Be Happy: The National Rifle Association warned in a
campaign ad that if Barack Obama were elected president he would try
to take away hunters' guns and ammo. But with pro-gun Democrats a
powerful force in Congress, it's already pretty clear there will be no
messing with Americans' right to bear arms. Twenty-two Democrats,
including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined Republicans
last week in a Senate vote to negate the District of Columbia's tough
gun registration requirements and overturn its ban on rapid-fire
semiautomatic weapons. More than 80 House Democrats voted for a
similar measure last year. "It was a pleasant surprise, but it's not a
huge surprise that elected officials are listening to their
constituents," said Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist… (This
article, credited to Associated Press, is remarkably similar to one
linked yesterday, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which lacked
such a credit. Is there an effort to lull gun owners into relaxing
their vigilance?)
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1457929,w-nra-gun-control-durbin-reid030309.article
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Gillibrand Denies Change on RKBA: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is
denying a flip-flop on the issue of gun rights, but gun rights
advocates are furious with her. Now, I should say I loathe the term
"flip-flop," because politicians ought to be free to change their mind
or evaluate new conditions or information. But in this case, gun
rights advocates say Gillibrand "flip-flopped" on guns because they
believe she's changing her position for political convenience.
Gillibrand's office says she's not changing her position at all… read
Senator Gillibrand's statement to Ken Mathison of SCOPE (Shooters'
Committee On Political Education) today. He was not impressed…
Incrementalism – The Latest Step: First it was "plastic guns" that
critics, including perennial anti-gun Senator Edward M. Kennedy,
hysterically claimed could become the weapon of choice of terrorist
because they did not show up on x-ray machines. But the "plastic gun"
turned out to be a myth, and the pistol once called a "terrorist
weapon" for its use of polymer components around a steel frame – the
Glock – is now the choice of American police officers. Then it was the
"semiautomatic assault-weapon," pilloried in the press because it
looked like a military firearm and had some cosmetic features some
people didn't like, and this allowed the fear-peddlers at the Violence
Policy Center (VPC) an opportunity to confuse people and gull them
into supporting a ten-year ban that accomplished nothing, especially
when it came to protecting the lives of police officers. One law
enforcement expert debunked claims by the gun prohibition lobby that
these semiautomatic firearms – which function identically to grandpa's
Remington or Browning shotgun he used to hunt ducks and geese – are
"the weapons of choice" of criminals…
The Ongoing Campaign Against Lead Bullets: Three years ago, Phillip
Loughlin made a choice he knew would brand him as an outsider with
many of his fellow hunters: He decided to shoot "green" bullets. "It
made sense," Loughlin said of his switch to more environmentally
friendly ammo, which doesn't contain lead. "I believe that we need to
do a little bit to take care of the rest of the habitat and the
environment - not just what we want to shoot out of it." …Some firing
ranges are banning lead for safety reasons. Lead bullets contaminate
military training grounds across the country and are the subjects of
many environmental cleanups… The Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources followed with its own study, which found that when lead
bullets explode inside an animal, imperceptible particles of the metal
can infect meat up to a foot and a half away from the bullet wound -
farther than previously thought… (Military "green ammo" uses sintered
tungsten bullets; tungsten may prove to be a more troublesome toxin
than lead. I was unaware that lead bullets explode inside game.)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/03/04/green.bullets/index.html
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What Stimulated the Gun-and-Ammo Market?: Since Obama's victory in
November, Smith and Wesson and Ruger, the only two publically traded
US gun makers, have experienced major increases in their stock prices.
Ammo manufacturers are running 24/7 attempting to keep up with demand.
Military-pattern semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15's and
AK-clones are expensive, stocked-out, or both. Are these price
increases "gouging," as some would say, or are they a natural response
to the forces of supply and demand? If these prices are elevated over
normal conditions, will they continue to soar upwards? To both
questions I say, "No, there is no gouging, prices will probably fall
in the future."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/mattis1.html
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Ammunition Shortage Analyzed: …The real fact of the matter is that the
military got the bulk of its small arms (pistol, rifle, machine gun)
ammunition from one contracted ammunition plant, and that plant wasn't
even running near capacity. The military's consumption clearly wasn't
to blame, and anecdotal evidence and statements from ammunition
manufacturers strongly suggested that police departments themselves
caused the 2007 ammunition shortage by purchasing far more ammunition
than they had in the past. But what is causing our current ammunition
shortages here in 2009? Much of the demand comes from continued high
law enforcement demand, the same demand that led to shortages two
years ago. Police agencies around the nation have become more
militarized in recent years and two trends within this militarization
have led to greater police ammunition demand…
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/nationwide-ammunition-shortage-hits-us/
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West Virginia Capitol-Carry Bill Explained: …Given several
inaccuracies in recent media reports, I want to clarify some of the
things the bill does and does not do. The bill repeals one statute
that generally prohibits weapons on the state Capitol Complex. Second,
it amends a separate statute prohibiting weapons in courthouses so
that the ban will apply only to those portions of the Capitol in
which the Supreme Court and its offices are located. Senate Bill 147
is hardly revolutionary. As in Oregon, New Hampshire, Virginia and
several other states that respect the rights of law-abiding gun
owners, the bill would permit us to exercise our right to keep and
bear arms around and inside our Capitol in the same manner as most
other public places…
http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/LetterstotheEditor/200903030089
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Campus Carry Supported in Texas: In June 1975, every indicator
predicted a good summer for America's seaside tourism industry-the oil
embargo had been lifted, the Vietnam War was over, and the stock
market was recovering. Instead, coastal tourism declined that summer,
primarily due to growing concerns about shark attacks. Ironically,
there were no fatal shark attacks in the U.S. in 1975. The national
epidemic of galeophobia (fear of sharks) originated not from any
real-life incident but from the June release of the movie "Jaws". A
terrifying fantasy caused otherwise rational people to lose sight of
reason and ignore the laws of probability (you're almost twice as
likely to pick the winning Powerball numbers as to be killed by a
shark in U.S. waters). A similar epidemic of baseless paranoia now
grips Texas. But the perceived threat isn't sharks; it's concealed
handgun license holders…
Oregon Student Loses Appeal, Will Sue: A Western Oregon University
student who had trouble with the police over a gun he was carrying has
learned that he is not welcome back on campus. Jeff Maxwell appealed
the university's decision to suspend him - and has just learned it was
denied. But as Rob Manning reports, Maxwell's allies plan to bring
legal action. 30 year-old former Marine Jeff Maxwell was arrested in
late January when police found him carrying a handgun on Western
Oregon's campus. But charges were quickly dropped, when the District
Attorney learned Maxwell had a concealed weapon permit. The
university, though, suspended Maxwell. He appealed, but was just
rebuffed…
http://news.opb.org/article/4422-wou-student-loses-appeal-allies-sue/
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Liberty University to Remain Gun-Free: Liberty University will remain
gun-free, trustees at the Baptist school founded by the late Jerry
Falwell decided March 3. Last year, Liberty's chapter of Students for
Concealed Carry on Campus asked university officials to change the
school's firearm policies to allow people with concealed-handgun
permits to carry weapons on campus. "Liberty University prides itself
in not adhering to 'political correctness' and is obligated to
consider the facts instead of simply adhering to politically popular
policies," the group appealed in an online petition. The petition said
current rules banning firearms on campus "only deter the honorable"
and that anyone intending to commit violence "would have no concern
for breaking a university rule." …
http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3900&Itemid=53
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Ohio DOT Has Removed All "No Guns" Signs: Last fall, Buckeye Firearms
Association was pleased to report that the Ohio Department of
Transportation (ODOT) had ordered all "NO GUNS" signs at state rest
stops and visitor centers to be removed. This action was in response
to passage and implementation of Senate Bill 184, which included
several major fixes to Ohio's concealed handgun licensure (CHL) law,
including a change designed to allow patrons of rest stops to use the
facilities without having to disarm. The law took effect September 3,
but people who carry concealed weapons (CCW) in Ohio continued to
report seeing the problematic signs at highway rest areas and visitor
centers… Buckeye Firearms Association has now received word from ODOT
Assistant Legal Counsel Heather Sullivan that "the districts have
reported all of the signs are down", and in fact that the last signs
were removed earlier today…
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6553
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Reprieve in San Diego: They received a reprieve Tuesday, but Elizabeth
Avalos and Monica Cedano know they probably won't get more. The duo,
award-winning shooters for San Diego High School's air-rifle team, are
relieved that the school board will allow them to compete through the
end of the school year, rather than immediately putting an end to all
campus marksmanship training. But happy? Not really. "Just a little
bit," said Monica, 16. The teammates are part of the district's Junior
ROTC marksmanship program, which the board eliminated two weeks ago in
response to criticism that air rifles, like other guns, shouldn't be
tolerated on campuses. The students and coaches who participate in the
program say the activity has been unfairly maligned by critics who
associate it with school and street violence…
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