Category Archives: Gun Rights

Depression

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I’m very depressed today. I can’t even blame it on Internet sex (it should be safe for work). It’s the election. I voted yesterday and I think that started it.


Then at the cafeteria at work there is a woman that for some reason has been particularly friendly to me. She recognizes when I show up at a different time than usual and always wants to talk a bit (it’s time to introduce her to my wife…). Yesterday she asked if I was excited about “the big day tomorrow”. I told her I was rather depressed about it actually–it is the choice between the lesser of two evils. I then asked if she was excited about it. “I. Am. SO. Excited. About it.” she said. I wanted to tell her how many people were murdered last century by attempts to make socialism work. Was she excited to be a part of the next attempt? Was she looking forward to adding her body and the bodies of millions of others to the pile?


It’s the Second Coming or something. Once the Messiah is on his throne all will be forgiven, all will be peace and love.


I see ethics, rules, and the law do not matter to them. I see Brown Shirts.

Sweet!

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It’s not a felony conviction and prison time but it amounts to a fine for attempting to infringe the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

Obama’s playbook of deception

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John Sigler, NRA President, has an article on Barack Obama’s playbook of deception on guns. In it he articulates the carefully crafted words and phrases used by Obama and friends in their attempt to deceive Americans about guns and where they came from. Examples:



The bait-and-switch gimmick of employing rhetorical tricks to hide very real gun control agendas, and to create a fraudulent history to assure that “your gun record does not define your candidacy” are the central lessons offered in a political/propaganda playbook or script proffered by something called the Third Way.


…


The problem that progressives have on the gun issue has far less to do with the typical policies they espouse than the rhetoric they employ.” – The Third Way


“It’s critical that progressives recognize that only an aggressive outreach strategy to gun owners will ensure that your opponent’s message about your gun record does not define your candidacy.” – The Third Way


He doesn’t mention it but there is another source for Barack Obama’s rhetoric. I have an Americans for Gun Safety document from 2003 which provides the details of the research done which contributed to the “Third Way” plans published in 2006 and earlier this year.


From the 2003 document comes this advice (next to the last page):



Our gun rights come with the responsibility to keep them out of the hands of criminals terrorists and children.


I support gun safety measures like criminal background checks on all sales at gun shows and tough enforcement of existing gun laws.


I agree with President Bush that we need to renew the ban on assault weapons.


I take a back seat to no one in support of second amendment rights but I also support requiring criminal background checks at gun shows and continuing the ban on assault weapons.


From 2006 (read the document for the details of what these steps mean):



Step 1: Reject the Conventional Wisdom on Guns


Step 2: Own the Second Amendment

Step 3: Redefine the Issue from Gun Control to Gun Safety


Step 4: Criticize Conservatives for Failing to Enforce Existing Gun Laws


Step 5: Promote Centrist Gun Policies with Centrist Language

Step 6: Take Your Message Directly to Gun Owners – Don’t Let Your Opponent Define You


Step 7: Implement Your Gun Plan and Watch the Gun Votes Roll In 


Here is what they say about guns in September 2008:



One of the greatest predictors of voting behavior is gun ownership, and roughly 45% of the nation has a gun in the home. For most of the past eight years, John McCain has been enemy number one among NRA enthusiasts (based on his authorship of the gun show loophole bill and campaign finance reform). He has now made amends with NRA leadership and the choice of Palin makes this a NRA dream ticket. (See the cover of this week’s Newsweek.)


Be aware that while Americans generally hate special interest groups, they have a modestly positive view toward the NRA. At the same time, they are tired of the fight on this issue like on other culture issues. We suggest the following message:


I take a back seat to no one in support of Second Amendment rights, but those rights don’t extend to terrorists and criminals. That is why I support the John McCain bill to close the gun show loophole.


Conservatives are up to their old tricks. There is no argument over the Second Amendment; they just want to pick a fight and divide this nation for short term political gain.


Progressives should make clear that they support both an individual’s Second Amendment right to own firearms for protection, collection, and sport, and also reasonable restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. There is no contradiction in this message, and it’s also popular. A poll we conducted on guns revealed that 89% of voters believe the Second Amendment confers an individual right to own firearms; however, 73% believe that the right allows for reasonable restrictions.


Nowhere do they say “progressives” need to change their objectives. They only need to change their language.


Barack Obama is reading his lines from anti-gun people who have been carefully researching for years what words work best so the target audience hears what they want to hear while still leaving him open to ban certain guns and destroy gun shows.


Paul Simon could have been singing about what Barack Obama is hoping will happen with gun owners:



All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.


Paul Simon
Recorded 1968
The Boxer

I’m envious

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It’s been a long time since I got hate mail like this. And for me it was just the one person.

Some people have all the fun.

I need to go blow up some pumpkins tomorrow to make myself feel better.

If you can’t win fairly

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I call myself a loser if I lose when everyone plays by the rules. Obama supporters lie and cheat. It’s what socialists do. It’s in their rule book (written by Marx).


Update: The link above is broken. Here is the original content I was linking to:



NRA-ILA Alert Members of Deceptive Tactics By Obama Supporters


Friday, October 31, 2008
Fairfax, VA–The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today sent the following email alert to members following reports of deceptive phone calls in support of Barack Obama. The callers falsely claim to be from NRA and attribute Senator John McCain’s pro-gun voting record to that of Obama.


Dear NRA Member,
It has come to our attention that with Halloween upon us, the Barack Obama campaign and its allies are up to dirty political tricks.


NRA members in key presidential battleground states have informed us they have received deliberately misleading phone calls from someone professing to represent the NRA, asking voters to support Barack Obama. This is an absolute and intentional lie.


NRA has long been on record as opposing Barack Obama, as Barack Obama has long been on record as opposing the rights of law-abiding gun owners. For example, Barack Obama:




    • Voted to allow the prosecution of citizens who use a firearm for self-defense in the home (Illinois Senate, S.B. 2165. 3/25/04);

    • Voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to put America’s firearms industry out of business (S.397, vote 219, 7/29/05);

    • Voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting (United States Senate, S. 397, vote 217, 7/29/05);

    • Supported a 500% increase in federal taxes on guns and ammunition (Chicago Defender, 12/13/99);

    • Voted to ban hundreds of rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting, including single-shot, over-under and side-by-side shotguns (Illinois Senate SB 1195, 3/13/03); and,

    • Proposed restrictions that would close 90% or more of all gun stores in the U.S. (Chicago Defender, 12/13/99).

For more information on the TRUTH about Barack Obama’s hostility toward the Second Amendment, please visit http://www.gunbanobama.com/.


If you receive a call to this effect, please know that it is a deliberate attempt by Barack Obama supporters to mislead gun owners. Our opponents know that you can make the difference in this election, and they’ll stop at nothing to try and deceive you!


Thank you for your support, and remember to “Vote Freedom First”! on November 4th.
Sincerely,
Chris W. Cox
Executive Director, NRA-ILA

Clearly stated

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It’s amazing to me. I’ve been reading more of the comments on mainstream news articles about Obama and guns. People say things like “Obama has clearly stated he supports the Second Amendment”.


Well, yes, he has said that. But he also says on his website:



  • Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn’t have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

    • He clearly states he supports a gun ban. That is his way of supporting the Second Amendment?


    One commenter wrote:



    Also, Obama doesn’t want to take your gun away. He has stated that he does not see why citizens need semi and fully automatic weapons. That’s it.


    My response was:



    “That’s it.”?? That would eliminate about half the the firearms currently being sold and nearly all of my guns. Let’s translate that into 13th Amendment infringement language instead of Second Amendment infringement language: “Our candidate just wants to enslave Jews, Blacks, Asians, Mexicans, Muslims, Catholics, and homosexuals. That’s it.”


    It just doesn’t get any more clearly stated than that yet they can’t seem to get why we are upset with Obama’s position on guns.


    Here is a video with Chris Cox of the NRA on Fox News and Fox only quotes the part of Obama’s website where he says he supports the Second Amendment. Not the part I quoted above where he says he wants to ban guns.


    What media bias?


    Update: And via Sebastian I find we now have audio of him saying he supports a Federal ban on concealed carry laws. That is how he “supports” the Second Amendment.

    What they think of us

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    There is a huge gap between the world viewpoints of the reality that I live in and that of some other people:



    While most nations recognize that absolutely no good can come of exposing children to guns at a young age, we live in a gun culture that promotes romantic notions of generations of families hunting and shooting together.


    …


    Sadly, it took us no longer than 5 minutes to find a broad range of videos, showing what could be considered in some cases to be blatant child endangerment.


    There is no telling how many more of these videos exist on the Internet or how many other children have participated in or been exposed to these kinds of events– but no doubt it’s expansive if you have the time to do the research.


    There is no mistaking it, as these images show, this is an outrageous problem unique to American culture that is perhaps more common than many of us even realize.


    No so called “enlightened” country could possible delude themselves into thinking this is normal behavior that should be protected even under the loosest interpretation of the Second Amendment.

    The gun pushers in the gun lobby have gone too far as have the sponsors and supporters of these events. This kind of activity needs to be exposed and outlawed immediately. Children’s lives are at risk and as adults, we need to demand that our lawmakers do more to protect them from dangerous activities like these.


    Think about it. While you are taking your kids to swimming or soccer, these kids–encouraged by their parents and other trusted adults–are blasting away at their target.


    This issue of children firing machine guns, encouraged and emboldened by parents, demonstrates to us the need to change our perspective and the way we think about gun culture in the United States.


    We are in a culture war. Their objective is to extinguish the last great hope for freedom on this planet. Our objective can be no less than to completely and totally defeat them.

    One of my better rants

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    Via Sebastian, who is called a wacko, I found the USA Today article about Cooper getting fired. It says “he [Obama] has said he respects the Second Amendment.”. Numerous commenters say similar things. I left a couple comments:

    Obama says he supports the Second Amendment. He also says he wants to ban guns.

    He can’t have it both ways. His record of the past is clear. His words of the future are clear and consistent with his record. The only reasonable conclusion is that he is attempting to deceive voters here and now by saying “he supports the Second Amendment”.

    And:

    If this were about someone donating money to the KKK, the company then found it was facing a boycott, and the company fired the idiot that donated money to the KKK then almost everyone would agree it was the right thing to do.
    Well guess what–gun ownership is a specific, enumerated right, in the Bill of Rights (read the D.C. v. Heller decision).
    Who would vote for someone that said, “I support the 13th Amendment but I also believe we can have reasonable regulation of blacks to keep them in their proper place.”?
    Senators Obama and Biden and the people that vote for them are to the gun owners what the KKK was to blacks.

    Maybe I’m competing for a more extreme title than the “wacko” title given to Sebastian but these guys really got me annoyed.

    Update: It’s time to put them on the defensive. I left another comment:

    Melo_D wrote: Are you comparing Obama to the KKK?

    The nonviolent aspects of the KKK–yes. He has publicly stated on his website he wants regulated and ban guns. This is infringing on a specific enumerated right just as if someone wanted to regulated and ban blacks (or other oppressed minority) from certain aspects of society.

    Melo_D wrote: Less guns= less violence.

    I have Just One Question (https://blog.joehuffman.org/2004/12/14/just-one-question/) for you:

    Can you demonstrate one time or place, throughout all history, where the average person was made safer by restricting access to handheld weapons?

    Homework assignment

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    Via Ry. Post Zumbo, post Cooper. How many more are there out there than need to get their asses kicked for supporting Obama in this election? Gentlemen, we can out them. We have the technology. We have the capability to spend our dollars only with those gun companies that support our specific, enumerated, individual right to keep and bear arms.


    So, lets do it.

    The rest of the story

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    As pointed out in comments (Lyle in the second comment) it would be very interesting to know “What in the world were you thinking?”


    Caleb is putting some effort in to answering the question.

    Putting the ugliness behind us

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    In regards to Cooper Firearms incident it appears the board of directors has taken swift and decisive action. David has the story.


    It’s the power of the Internet at work. It’s a new world out there.

    Voting in Washington State

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    The Washington Arms Collectors have done the homework for gun owners in Washington State. Here are their recommendations.


    The NRA has some advice for everyone in the states.

    Quote of the day–Glenn Reynolds

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    Brian Doherty’s Gun Control on Trial is to the Heller case what Richard Kluger’s Simple Justice is to the Brown decision—an essential history made up of equal parts legal theory and personal struggle, presented in page-turning fashion.


    Glenn Reynolds
    Professor of Law, University of Tennessee
    Founder, Instapundit.com
    From What Others Have Said on the Cato website about the book.
    [You can preorder the book on Amazon for only $11.53. I was interviewed for this book. I don’t know if I actually made it into the book but I’m buying a copy to find out and get the rest of the story.–Joe]

    NRA checks FactCheckers

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    Do you think Newsweek will pick this up?



    A new story by Brooks Jackson on the FactCheck.org website once again shows that FactCheck cherry-picks “facts” to suit its anti-NRA, anti-gun, anti-self-defense agenda—an agenda that the American people do not share.


    …


    Obama has also supported a federal ban on carrying concealed handguns, even though 40 states now respect this right. Obama’s home state of Illinois is one of only two that provide no means whatsoever for people to carry guns outside the home for self-defense. In the Illinois state senate, Obama even sided against crime victims by opposing a bill that would have allowed people who receive protective orders—such as domestic violence victims—to carry firearms. Why? Because, in his words, “authorizing potential victims to carry firearms would potentially lead to a more dangerous rather than less dangerous situation.”


    With all this information from independent sources readily available, why did Jackson and FactCheck choose to highlight facts and details that bolster only one side of the story? Is it because the points they chose to highlight advances their preordained beliefs? Do Brooks Jackson and FactCheck have an intrinsic bias against gun owners?


    These are legitimate questions that we encourage everyone to ask before buying Brooks Jackson’s or FactCheck’s perspectives.


    Maybe after the election and hell freezes over.

    Hopes of being eaten last?

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    Via reader and blogger William I received this link regarding Cooper Firearms:



    Dan Cooper, a proud member of the National Rifle Association, has backed Republicans for most of his life. He’s the chief executive of Cooper Arms, a small Montana company that makes hunting rifles.


    Cooper said he voted for George W. Bush in 2000, having voted in past elections for every Republican presidential nominee back to Richard Nixon. In October 1992, he presented a specially made rifle to the first President. Bush during a Billings campaign event.


    This year, Cooper has given $3,300 to the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. That’s on top of the $1,000 check he wrote to Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2004, after he was dazzled by Obama’s speech at that year’s Democratic National Convention.


    Perhaps his hope is that Barack Crocodile Obama will eat him last.*


    I know I won’t be doing any business with Cooper and I hope other gun owners don’t either.


    Update: Sebastian has similar things to say.

    Update2: Sebastian does the research on Cooper’s donations. To say Cooper is trying to put a spin on the story is being generous. He needs to be taught a lesson similar to the one learned by Smith & Wesson a few years ago.

    Update3 (10/29/2008): It appears David may have the final word on this bit of ugliness. They apparently didn’t need the full lesson–just a reminder.


    *Rewording the old saying, “An appeaser is one who feeds the crocodile in the hopes they will be eaten last.”

    Potowmack Institute blind spot

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    I’ve briefly mentioned these guys before but they have updated their website for our current election. They haven’t become any more connected to reality since the last time I visited:



    The McCain Campaign has denounced Barack Obama for his tenuous association with William Ayers, characterized as a domestic terrorist who hates America. Sarah Palin has her own associations with those who espouse insurrectionist and secessionist doctrines. The doctrines are pervasive in the present political culture. Are these the people who love America?

    The problem is both embrace the National Rifle Association’s childish political fantasy. A member of the NRA’s National Board wrote in the Washington Post in 1989:


    Ayers can only be faulted for acting out the NRA’s childish political fantasy. The Obama Campaign can be faulted for the failed political leadership to turn the whole issue around on the McCain Campaign and exploit the opportunity the courts have given to bring rationality to firearms policy. See below. The gun rights militants need not worry that political and intellectual leadership will emerge anywhere else.

    Their most glaring flaw in the above is they seem incapable of distinguishing between violently overthrowing our constitutional established republic (as Ayers attempted) and defending the freedoms guaranteed by the constitution from a tyrannical government attempting to infringe those rights.


    As near as I can tell the person or persons at the Potowmack Institute regard all governments as equally valid and deserving of having a monopoly on the use of force. This is a false assumption. The truth is that no government is deserving of a monopoly on the use of force. No government can legitimately claim to possess powers that the individual also does not have and were granted to the government by the individuals. The individuals may grant the government a monopoly on the use of force in certain circumstances such as when declaring war on a foreign state, enforcing contracts, or punishment of criminals. But those are limited monopolies and are subject to revocation by the people.


    There are other uses of force the government may never have a legitimate monopoly on such as the use of force to defend ones self and other innocents against imminent serious injury or death. Any government that claims to have a such a monopoly on the use of force is an illegitimate government.

    I wasn’t imagining it

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    Several years ago while debating gun control with someone I claimed the crime numbers from the U.K. were known to be erroneously low. I had read that somewhere but when confronted for proof I looked all over the net for several hours without being able to find my source.


    Kevin reports on the story that “just broke”.

    Quote of the day–Barrett Tillman

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    Tell me why you think a woman should ‘lie back and enjoy being raped’ instead of shooting a rapist dead with the handgun in her handbag.


    Tell me why black Americans should submit to being lynched instead of shooting the lynch mob dead.


    Tell me why homophobes should be free to beat up homosexuals without the risk of being shot.


    Watch Schindler’s List and tell me again why only the police and military should have guns.


    Tell me why you think police should be able to shoot an attacker to save their lives but I shouldn’t.


    Tell me why I shouldn’t have the best means of defending myself — a semiauto firearm with a standard capacity magazine.


    Tell me why a woman’s right to choose should not include weapon, mag size and ammunition.


    Tell me why you think I shouldn’t be able to defend my life or my freedom.


    More than that, tell me why you should not have that right!


    Barrett Tillman
    Via Alan Korwin October 25, 2008 — Liberty Poll Grows

    Because Criminals Have Rights Too…

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    …We must advocate tougher gun restrictions.  I found this on Oleg’s blog.




     


    and part two, “The Carjackers”;




     


    That’s the way to do it!  Humor.  Blistering sarcasm actually– illustrating absurdity by being absurd.  There is no other proper response to the anti-rights movement.  Not at the moment.

    Muggers for Obama

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    I doubt this is part of their official campaign:




    A knife-wielding man robbed a McCain-Palin campaign volunteer and etched a “B” into her face after he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the woman’s car, Pittsburgh police said.


    But socialism does inspire and in fact outright demand (read Karl Marx) violence to achieve Utopia.


    So I’m not surprised.

    In 2004 there were hundreds of reports of Republican campaign offices being vandalized and worse. There was something like 10 or 20 Democrat campaign offices damaged in the same time frame.

    In the big scheme of things–think about willingness of Stalin, Hitler, Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, etc. and their followers to use force to implement socialism. Barack Obama and his followers come from a long line of violent political ancestors. That doesn’t even count the “white collar” crime activities they engage in like the governor’s election in Washington state last time where in King County (Seattle area) there were more votes counted than there were registered voters.


    Democrats and crime? Typical. Who do you think some of the most dependable democrat voters are? Why do you think democrats want to register people to vote in prison and those with criminal records?


    And the gun bans? If you wanted to get put on your tin-foil hat you could hypothesis they want to enable criminals so the political “leaders” can acquire more power to “protect the little guy”. Hitler sent his goons out to break things then claimed he needed more power to “protect the people”. What Schumer, Feinstein, Obama, and the others are doing is just a low level, indirect means of accomplishing the same thing. That they have supporters taking it to the next level is just showing us the trend and their roots more clearly.


    They hate us and they hate freedom and they are certain they are right. That gives them justification for anything they do that furthers their cause. Think I’m exaggerating? Then read this. Here is a sample:



    If a kid in a red state finds his daddy’s handgun and blows his head off, we’ll feel terrible (we’re like that), but we’ll try to look on the bright side: At least he won’t grow up to vote like his dad.


    This is the mindset of the socialists. This is the mindset that resulted in socialist governments murdering tens of millions of their own citizens in the 20th century. This is the mindset of muggers for Obama.


    Update: The attack on the girl was probably a hoax (H/T to Sebastian).