Category Archives: Gun Rights

Interesting times

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I’ve been told by someone who should know:

there aren’t any people working in the ATF licensing center (except one person from management) until after the shutdown-furlough.

Interesting. What happens to businesses with FFLs? My guess is that if their license expires, even though they attempted to renew in a timely manner, then they have to stop selling firearms. At what point would such a requirement be an infringement upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms?

NICS is supposedly up. But there are going to be some FFLs with a deadline rapidly approaching.

Interesting times.

Quote of the day—Wykeina Davis

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I believe that there should be security cameras and full body scanners everywhere in public places to prevent mass shootings. The Second Amendment is not beneficial to anyone, it remains a threat to others due to people taking it into consideration of their rights to commit crimes.

Wykeina Davis
May 2018
Say Yes To Gun Control
[It’s not just guns they want removed from society. It’s the elimination of individual rights.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Alan Gottlieb

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The gun control crowd invariably loses its voice when a bad guy is shot while committing a crime. Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action scream loudly when they push restrictive gun laws to disarm honest citizens, but when an intended victim is able to win in a deadly confrontation, they quickly stick their heads in the sand and pretend nothing happened.

Their silence is not only deafening, it is deadly.

Alan Gottlieb
January 9, 2019
CHICAGO INCIDENT ANOTHER CASE OF GUNS SAVING LIVES, THANKS TO LAWSUITS, SAYS SAF
[I have nothing to add.–Joe]

Quote of the day—Christine M. Flowers

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It’s time to take my life into my own hands, forget about all of the anti-gun rhetoric that I hear bandied about by those who exploit tragedy for their own political purposes, and make 2019 the year that I stop expecting others to look out for me.

Christine M. Flowers
January 10, 2019
Why I’m ready to buy a gun | Christine Flowers
[Changing the culture one new gun owner at a time.—Joe]

A financial prediction

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Get Ready for a Financial Assault on the Second Amendment:

California Democrat Maxine Waters is the new chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. To judge from the party’s past behavior and the various proposals emanating from the left, Waters’s Democrats are going to pressure banks, credit unions, and payment companies to severely curtail and even terminate their relationships with firearm manufacturers, licensed gun retailers, and law-abiding citizens exercising their right to purchase and own firearms. In other words, they will use political pressure to force private institutions into creating social policy that threatens constitutional rights.

I’m a little skeptical. If they thought they could get the legislation through, sure. But just through “political pressure” without the support of the Whitehouse seems like a stretch. Still, it might be worthwhile to consider moving your accounts to a friendly bank or credit union if some banks bow to “political pressure”.

Quote of the day—Patrick J. Buchanan

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In identity politics, loyalty to race, ethnic group and gender often trump the claims of party. The diversity Democrats celebrate is one day going to pull their party apart, as the social, cultural and racial revolutions of the 1960s pulled apart the party of FDR and LBJ.

Patrick J. Buchanan
December 28, 2019
2020: Year of the Democrats? Maybe Not
[Via email from a reader.

It’s something to think about and act upon when the opportunities become available. The reader also suggested some possibilities to help with the conflict:

  1. Get prepping articles in left wing web sites. If there are left wing groups saying not so fast with gun control we win. We could write leftist views of the need to prep not emphasizing defense. Then send it to starving leftist writers to rework and publish (perhaps with a small payment). Once people think about prepping (e.g., lack of police protection) that defense will follow.
  2. Target selected identity groups that have natural conflicts with other groups. Eg. Jewish white women are not welcome at the women’s march.
  3. Target intergroup conflicts. For example, Muslim groups are inherently anti-gay. Lesbians don’t want to have sex with transwomen. Freedom for one means less freedom for others.
  4. Advocate for causes that will cause internal conflict within the left. Example pregnant women are being discriminated against by planned parenthood.
  5. Develop supporting memes.

The best defense is a good offense.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Damon Root

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Since joining the Court in 1993, Ginsburg has, in case after case, proven herself to be a reliable champion for the liberal side. When the Court declared the University of Michigan’s affirmative action program for undergraduate admissions unconstitutional in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), Ginsburg accused the majority of turning a blind eye toward “the stain of generations of racial oppression [that] is still visible in our society.” When the Court came within one vote of declaring the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), Ginsburg denounced the “stunningly retrogressive” idea that Congress might lack the lawful power to force individuals to buy health insurance.

Damon Root
January 5, 2019
The Case of the Notorious RBG
Examining the life and legend of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
[Barb and I recently watched both of the recent movies about Ginsburg (RGB and On the Basis of Sex). Assuming the movies are mostly true, she did some really good work knocking down numerous sexual discrimination laws. We really enjoyed them. And gun rights advocates can learn from her strategies—pick your battles, clients, and venues carefully.

What the movies didn’t even hint at was some of the Constitutional warping, and mutilating, decisions she participated in. See the source for the quote above for more on that.

In somewhat related news:

Ginsburg misses third consecutive day at Supreme Court

Her absence Monday marked the first time in more than 25 years on the court that she missed an oral argument due to her health.

Perhaps she will consider retiring. She has earned the rest.—Joe]

Quote of the day—BigWallSection @peter_and_louie

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There is no infringement in keeping track of your guns, registering them, transferring title, spot raids by ATF to make sure you don’t mistakenly sell them without reporting, or lose them. No infringement on responsible owners.

BigWallSection @peter_and_louie
Tweeted on January 7th, 2019, deleted by January 8th, 2019.
[This is what they think of, and occasionally share in an unguarded moment, the right to keep and bear arms.

I wonder if cell phones were treated as such (for all intents and purposes a modern day “printing press” and all around “free speech” tool) he would still adhere to this opinion.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Steve Pomper

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What is clear is the danger of groups and people who advocate Trask’s position. Trask clarified WAGR’s goals. “This is the first part of our comprehensive gun violence prevention initiative that’s going to make major changes in Washington State’s law and do some big reforms [emphasis mine].”

Okay, now I’ll agree with Trask. His and WAGR’s positions are quite clear: Infringe on Washingtonians’ gun rights in any way possible until you can find a way to completely usurp American’s gun rights.

Steve Pomper
January 4, 2019
Gun Store Owner ‘Resists’ State’s New Gun Law
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Daniel Gannon

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Gun control now has a new precedent: The agenda of the president is more important than due process and the Constitution.

Daniel Gannon
January 4, 2019
Gun rights eroding. You were warned.
[This has been true for, probably, 200+ years. Still, it’s good to have it clearly articulated.—Joe]

When will they figure out they are stupid and give up?

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It happened again:

Police in Vermont say they can’t conduct mandated background checks required by a new law on private gun sales. The Department of Public Safety last month told lawmakers they are not allowed to access the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System used to vet gun transfers by licensed firearm dealers.

Signed by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott last year among a spate of gun control laws, Act 94 requires virtually all gun transfers, including those between private parties, to first clear a background check. The problem is that Vermont is one of 36 states and territories that do not have a “point of contact” access to NICS, forcing them to rely on the FBI for all firearm background checks performed in the state. While federal firearms license holders can run their checks through the system, the state cannot.

This also happened in Nevada too.

Some of these people pride themselves on their ignorance of guns and gun laws but you would think after one major blunder they would cure their ignorance. One has to conclude they are stupid. I suspect the problem is that as people capable of remedying their ignorance do so they have a high probability of changing sides.

This doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. But it does mean it is a weakness that may be vulnerable to attack.

Quote of the day—Budd Schroeder

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We look at the gun-free zones as laughable for criminals because for them, it’s a killing field. They can go and do their dastardly deeds – if you would – without fear of somebody being there to stop them.

Budd Schroeder
January 4, 2019
Niagara County DA says she will not prosecute SAFE Act provision
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Associated Press

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Prosecutors told the judge that Burke, who has publicly opposed the National Rifle Association and proposed multiple gun-control ordinances over the years, had 23 guns at his offices alone.

Associated Press
January 3, 2018
Powerful Chicago council member charged in federal probe
[You probably will have to put some special effort into finding where it says which political party Alderman Ed Burke belongs to. But you can take an educated guess and almost for certain get it right in about 100 milliseconds.—Joe]

Quote of the day—William Strauss and Neil Howe

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An impasse over the federal budget reaches a stalemate. The president and Congress both refuse to back down, triggering a near-total government shutdown. The president declares emergency powers. Congress rescinds his authority. Dollar and bond prices plummet. The president threatens to stop Social Security checks. Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. Default looms. Wall Street panics.

William Strauss and Neil Howe
1997
The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy
[See also: 2019 FROM A FOURTH TURNING PERSPECTIVE.

Via email from Chet.

Extremely “interesting times” ahead—if the prophecy is correct.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Alan M. Gottlieb

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Our challenge of the California Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA), if the high court accepts it for review, could be a critical wake-up call to lower federal courts that continue to employ what they call an ‘interest-balancing approach’ to deciding gun control cases because that strategy is forbidden by the 2008 Heller decision. It is time to bring a halt to what is essentially a revolt by the lower courts against the landmark Heller opinion, and the Pena case could provide that vehicle.

Alan M. Gottlieb
SAF founder and Executive Vice President
December 2018
SAF SEEKS SUPREME COURT REVIEW IN CHALLENGE OF CALIF. HANDGUN STATUTE
[One of the key things at issue in this lawsuit is that microstamping cannot be practically implemented yet California insists that all new gun designs incorporate it. This results in a ban on the sale of new gun designs. And as older guns cease to be manufactured this will result in no new guns being legally offered for sale in California.

This would appear to me to be a good starting point to build precedence for a strong Second Amendment.

See also: Order that gun makers do impossible en route to Supremes.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Robert Spitzer

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They’re not going to attract women, they’re not going to attract ethnic minorities, they’re not going to attract mainstream Americans, because they’re too far down the path of kind of rabid, apocalyptic, angry, defensive style that has increasingly been their meat and potatoes for 20 years. I don’t think the needle’s going to move a whole lot in the year to come.

Robert Spitzer
December 30, 2018
Professor at SUNY Cortland
2018 Was A Bad Year For The NRA, And The Worst Could Be Yet To Come
[Those who call the NRA extreme always make me smile. Just keep thinking that.

I know lots of gun owners who refuse to join the NRA. Without a single exception it is because the NRA gives in too easily.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Andrew M. Cuomo

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Ladies and gentlemen, this nation is in crisis. The social fabric is fraying and it is nearing its breaking point. We must stand up to this tyranny once again. Not with muskets the way our founders did. But with our voices and our votes and with the power and example of our action here in New York.

Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York
December 17, 2018
Cuomo declares NY independent from federal government
[From the same article:

His agenda, which includes marijuana legalization, gun control measures, and environmental protections, is New York’s Declaration of Independence, Cuomo said.

I like this response:

The new state motto could be Freedom through Over-Regulation. Or, how about, True Liberty Flows from Tyranny?

It’s like Lyle says sometimes. Cuomo wants independence from the Federal Government so he will have, “freedom to do wrong.”—Joe]

This will generate some interesting data

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Brazil’s ‘Tropical Trump’ president elect says he will allow all Brazilians without criminal records to own guns as part of his pledge to relax firearms legislation:

Brazil’s far-right President-elect says that on taking office he will allow citizens without a criminal record to own guns.

Jair Bolsonaro, who takes office in January, made the statement on Twitter as part of his election campaign to loosen gun laws.

The ex-army captain’s message appealed to many Brazilians who want to use guns for self-defense amid sky-high levels of violent crime.

Currently possession of firearms is tightly restricted in Brazil. Civilians must pass through a long process, and the sale of weapons is limited to small calibers.

However gun violence is a problem in Brazil and in 2017, the country set a record for murders with more than 63,000 people killed.

63,000 murders in a population of about 210,000,000. Wow! It will be interesting to see what allowing people to effectively defend themselves does to the murder rate.

This is also interesting because it is counter to the perception of gun bans and heavy restrictions are the norm outside of the U.S. Don’t let the anti-gun people get away with that lie.

The Czech Republic has generally been relaxing their gun laws over the last 20 years. Both firearm licenses and concealed carry licenses are shall issue.

When anti-gun people talk of “civilized countries” being disarmed ask them if they are saying population of Brazil and the Czech Republic are barbarians or are they going to admit they are ignorant, misinformed, and/or lying.

Quote of the day—Adam Winkler

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Where did Michaels Bellesiles go wrong?

Not when he took on the gun lovers. They’re used to being attacked. Not when he made a surprising discovery about an important facet of live in early America. Historians do that all the time. Bellesiles went wrong, where so many anti-gun people go wrong, by hoping that appearances are all that matter.

Adam Winkler
2011
Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America
[Bellesiles was the author of the completely discredited book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture

Winkler is not known for being a friend of gun owners. I have been hesitant to purchase his book simply because I didn’t want money going to him. I had run out of Audible books I really wanted to listen to and this book was suggested as being of possible interest when I was looking for other books. In a moment of somewhat desperation for another book I purchased it.

I’m a little over 10% of the way through the book and I don’t really have much to complain about in terms of what I would suspect to be false or misleading. He appears to be factual and fair. If I find information to the contrary as I continue listening I’ll let you know.

You might question that assessment when I he uses the phrase “gun lovers” in the quote above. He also refers to “gun grabbers” so I give him a pass on the “gun lovers” language.—Joe]

Quote of the day—BJ Campbell

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Germany has almost eight times more guns than Ireland, but Ireland has three and a half times more gun homicides than Germany, by rates. Why is that? Well, let’s be honest with ourselves for just this once on the internet. It’s because Germany is full of Germans, and Ireland is full of Irish. Culture.

Consider some off-graph data for a moment. If we combine the USA suicide rate and homicide rates into one rate, of all methods and not just guns, we get 4.9 + 13.4 = 18.3. South Korea’s suicide rate alone is 24.1 per 100k, and they’ve got almost no guns. Waive it away though, because oh, that’s cultural.

Now let’s look at Ye Olde Red White and Blue Outlier: The United States of America. Let’s compare our country to the other countries in the plot. We got the country kicked off by repeatedly coating tax collectors with searing hot tar and covering them with chicken feathers, moved on to shooting them, and then we won the war in no small part by applying the emerging concept of “interchangeable parts” to firearms. You’ve heard that AR-15s are basically build-a-bear rifles made of interchangeable parts, right? Since our storied and violent beginning, we’ve been at war 225 of our 242 years of existence. We nuked two cities. We have troops stationed in 150 different countries. When we want to eradicate poverty, or illicit drugs, or terrorism, what do we do? Declare “war” on them. At the beginning of every baseball game, we hoist a flag with a star for every territory taken by force from the natives and singing a song about rockets and bombs.

BJ Campbell
March 30, 2018
The Magic Gun Evaporation Fairy
[Interesting insights.

Campbell also made QOTD with his post from March 13th as well.—Joe]