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Subtle Reminder From Sharyl Attkisson

January 13, 2013 by 3 Comments

The lead story on this morning’s CBS Sunday Morning was a report by Sharyl Attkisson about bribes and corruption within the US Customs and Border Protection. Narco-terrorists and illegal immigrant smugglers have been targeting CBP agents in an effort to have them turn a blind eye to smuggling of both drugs and humans. Since 2004, there have been 358 convictions of Customs and Border Patrol employees and their associates for this. Of course this is an important story and I’m glad Sharyl is on it.

However, that is not what I want to discuss. Instead it is a rather subtle reminder – intentional or unintentional – that was embedded in the story about Project Gunwalker. Just before a graphic came up showing the DHS Office of Inspector General’s report on the corruption convictions, the camera focused for approximately three seconds on the sign below.

Sharyl and her producers could have used any Border Patrol Station between Imperial Beach, California and Brownsville, Texas or any Ports-of-Entry from San Ysidro, California to Brownsville, Texas. Rather they chose the one Border Patrol Station that would remind observant viewers of Operation Fast and Furious. I can’t believe this is just a coincidence.

As it is, the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station is a constant reminder that Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty with firearms that were allowed to be smuggled to Mexico by the Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is also a reminder that while his killers have pled guilty to his murder, the Obama Administration is still sitting on thousands upon thousands of documents that may well point to complicity in the operation by those at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Finally, it is a reminder that BATFE managers such as former Phoenix FD SAC Bill Newell and his ASAC George Gillett still haven’t been fired and/or indicted for their role in this affair.

Thank you Sharyl for this reminder lest we forget.

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GRNC On Hagan’s Uncessary Infringements

January 13, 2013 by

As I wrote on Thursday, the form letter from Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) prattled on about “traditions of hunting”, “common-sense debates”, and how it was important that we not “unnecessarily infringe on the legitimate Second Amendment rights”.  Grass Roots North Carolina caught that “unnecessarily infringe” bit as well and has released an alert on it.

If you are a North Carolinian, I would urge you to read this and act. The Complementary Spouse and I have already sent in this message and will be calling on Monday.


Thousands of GRNC members have recently received a form letter from Sen. Kay Hagan (D-GRNC *) in response to concerns about the Obama/Biden/Feinstein anti-gun attack that is currently underway in Washington, DC.

In a painful attempt to appear supportive of our rights without actually supporting them, she has succeeded only in making it clear that her position needs significant correction. She writes,

“it is important that we not unnecessarily infringe on the legitimate Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners”

The Senator apparently does not appreciate that government cannot infringe upon fundamental liberties whether it is deemed “necessary” or not. It is also troubling to note she believes there are “legitimate” Second Amendment rights, which of course implies that some “illegitimate” ones also exist. Which ones are these?

She completes a trifecta of Second Amendment misunderstanding by raising her family’s “long tradition of hunting”. Grandpa’s side-by-side shotgun isn’t of much use against tyranny, is it?

HAGAN CAN’T HIDE HER LUKEWARM TREATMENT OF GUN RIGHTS

Sen. Hagan’s prior votes have earned her a GRNC “one star” evaluation, consistent with voting with gun owners 62% of the time. This is not a person we can be confident about protecting our interests in the largest battle to maintain gun rights in a generation. Hagan needs an attitude adjustment, and needs it now!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

Email AND call Sen. Hagan.

Call Sen. Hagan Monday, January 14th between 9 am and noon. If unable to call during these times, call when you can: 202-224-6342
Remind the Senator: the Second Amendment confirms and protects a fundamental liberty.
The right to keep and bear arms is not subject to perceived “needs”.
These rights SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!
Bans, limits, registration schemes and all other gun-related restrictions currently being “floated” are UNACCEPTABLE!
North Carolina gun owners will tolerate NO COMPROMISE!

CONTACT INFO

Email Sen. Hagan using her webform: http://www.hagan.senate.gov/contact/

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “No Compromise on ‘Obama Gun Ban'”

Dear Senator Hagan:

The Second Amendment confirms a fundamental liberty of North Carolinians to keep and bear arms. The need for this right is made clear within the Amendment itself: the “security of a free state” depends upon it. We have unfortunately seen how this is true following repeated attacks upon defenseless citizens within “Gun Free Zones” where these rights have been unconstitutionally usurped.

The right to bear arms has nothing to do with hunting or sports, it is necessary for defense of life, liberty and property. Such defense clearly requires effective, non-obsolete, militarily-relevant weapons. Thus, North Carolinians will tolerate no compromise with bans or restrictions of semi-automatic rifles, pistols or of magazine capacity.

You are free to pursue better management of the violently insane, and are encouraged to repeal the dangerous “Gun Free School Zones Act” of 1996. Any other cooperation with Obama/Biden/Feinstein proposed gun control is unacceptable. There can be no compromise with these anti-freedom plans.

Sincerely,

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An Idea So Off The Wall It Just Might Work

January 13, 2013 by 2 Comments

Gun control pushing politicians and their media supporters usually know squat about firearms. Most have seen the clip where Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) when asked what a “barrel shroud” was, answered she thought it was a “shoulder thing that goes up.”

In this vein, Frank J. Fleming has a suggestion about new gun control laws. Make them “pretend gun control”.

What we can do is pass a law banning a bunch of made-up things that
sound scary, and many gun control proponents already have great ideas
along this line. For instance, I read a column
in which Howard Kurtz mentioned a ban on high-magazine clips — we can
certainly do without something that nonsensical. And I’ve heard the
press before mention armor-piercing hollow points and plastic guns
(actually, I think we already banned that made-up weapon in the ’80s).
And as long as the NRA and Wayne LaPierre go apoplectic about it (“This
ban on sorcerer-enchanted guns is just a slippery slope toward
eliminating all witch-hexed weaponry!”), gun control proponents won’t
know the difference between this and actual gun control. And this will
help protect our most vulnerable people out there: politicians. Because
long after the gun control advocates move on to other things, like who
they want to tax next, gun owners will still be annoyed by any actual
gun control legislation. One of the greatest fears politicians have is
seeing an angry guy with lots of guns charging down the street, because
they know he’s probably on his way to commit an act of voting.

You know this idea is so off the wall that it just might work. While my preference is for no law, banning made up stuff just might satisfy those clamoring that “we must do something”.

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A Week’s End Tab Clearing

January 12, 2013 by 1 Comment

Sometimes there isn’t enough time and energy to write about all the stuff you come across. I guess I should do tab clearing posts more often but that would take time and energy. Nothing like a tautology to being the weekend!

Let’s start off with something to make you smile and a good reason that politicians should always register domains that have their name in them. Dimitrios Karra of Ares Armor, a gun parts and accessories store, has registered the domain SenatorFeinstein.com which will be a pro-gun site.

In other good news, the Sportsman’s Channel will now be broadcasting NRA New’s Cam & Co. live every weekday from 5-6pm EST beginning January 15th. This will help broaden the reach of pro-gun rights news. As Cam said about this move on his Facebook page, “It took 20 years, but I can now say I’ve gone from cable access to a national cable broadcast!” Congratulations and good luck to Cam on this venture.

In guns are icky news, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, a $155 billion pension system, said they will divest all their investments in firearms companies. They have stock in Ruger and Smith and Wesson as well as an investment in Cerberus Capital Management. Their investment totals $11.7 million or 0.00754 percent of their total holdings.  

Michael Z. Williamson’s “We need to regulate cars the way we regulate guns” has been making the rounds. He discusses things like the Car Dealer Loophole which allow individuals to sell their cars privately without going through a Federal Automobile Licensee who would conduct a background check through the Federal Bureau of Motor Vehicles.


In an editorial published yesterday in Investor’s Business Daily, IBD calls the response by the Obama Administration to Newtown “panicked gun control” that won’t stop the violence. As they note, “
Rushing to enact the left’s longtime dream of unconstitutional gun
control will not save lives. National gun databases would not have saved
the victims in Newtown, Aurora or Columbine.”

One of the things that reported the Obama Administration is eying is the use of Executive Orders to implement gun control measures. Joe Biden said as much but this article in the Washington Times points out that this is easier said than done.

Writing in the National Review Online’s The Corner, Charles C. W. Cooke argues that there is no way that Biden’s Gun Violence (sic) Task Force can make any meaningful recommendations about violence where firearms are involved. As he notes, ” But if you are earnestly concerned by America’s gun violence, and you
are of the view that a concerted effort could actually diminish its
frequency, then I’d presume that you might consider just a fortnight’s
work on the problem to be somewhat insulting.”

Cooke is referring to the announcement by Joe Biden that his task force will deliver its recommendations this coming Tuesday. Biden says that a consensus is emerging to have universal background checks and ban standard capacity magazines. I guess when you start calling gun prohibitionists by the Orwellian term “gun safety groups”, you can define consensus any way you want.

Dr. Janet Rosenbaum tries to argue that we should not use the examples of Israel and Switzerland as evidence that armed societies are less violent. Finen Respice shoots holes in her arguments here and her use of flawed statistics. The New York Times last Sunday tried to make similar arguments that more guns equals more killing using international gun control group IANSA and Harvard anti-gun researcher David Hemenway as their sources. They were examining cartel riddled Central and South America as their examples.

In a sign that Vanity Fair should stick to covers of nude pregnant women and who is the best dressed at the Oscars, they ran an article by Kurt Eichenwald suggesting that the Second Amendment be repealed. No offense against Mr. Eichenwald but his very name conjures images of black-shirted Nazi SS troopers kicking down doors after guns. I will say I do like the picture they used to illustrate the article – a classic Vietnam War era M-16 with a pencil barrel, triangular handguards, and no forward assist.

If you are like the millions who head to the coast of South Carolina in the summer for the beach and the sun, here is some good news. Horry County, South Carolina which is home to Myrtle Beach is looking at zoning changes to make the establishment of shooting ranges easier.

Finally, if you believe the AR-15 it too dangerous for the average person to own, then you should read this. It might make you feel better that the White House is having to do damage control over a report in the New York Times that the administration doesn’t realistically believe a new AWB is feasible. Just this once, I hope the Times is correct.

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Stuff We Don’t Need Right Now

January 12, 2013 by 5 Comments

Let’s be clear about one thing. We are the battle of our lives – a war even – for the hearts and minds of the ordinary American. It is not just enough to get all the gun owners on our side. We need middle America: the soccer mom who is apprehensive about the safety of her kids, the father who wants to protect his family, the gay couple who has one slur and one threat too many, everyone.

So when you have a well-known firearms trainer like James Yeager of Tactical Response say what he did, it doesn’t help. Below is an edited version of Yeager’s original video. If I understand correctly, Yeager took down the original video and substituted a somewhat less inflammatory version.

The controversy over this video and his original comments where he stated he was going to “start killing people” comments have caused the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to suspend his concealed carry permit.

In the video below from New Channel 5 out of Nashville, TN, you can hear his original comments.

NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather

From the News Channel 5 story:

“I’m not (expletive) putting up with this. I’m not letting my country be ruled by a dictator. I’m not letting anybody take my guns! If it goes one inch further, I’m going to start killing people,” he said in the video.

Yeager’s company, Tactical Response, is headquartered in Sandy, Tennessee and trains civilians in weapons and tactical skills. Yeager’s biography stated that he worked as a police officer for the Sandy Police Department as well as the Benton County Sheriff’s Office before starting his company. His certifications list him as a qualified instructor in dozens of firearms and weapons training classes, including being a Department of Safety Certified Firearms Instructor.

According to a spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, however, Yeager is not a currently not a Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security certified instructor, nor is Tactical Response a department certified school.

A later story from the station has the statement from the Department on his carry permit suspension.

“The number one priority for our department is to ensure the public’s
safety. Mr. Yeager’s comments were irresponsible, dangerous, and
deserved our immediate attention. Due to our concern, as well as that of
law enforcement, his handgun permit was suspended immediately. We have
notified Mr. Yeager about the suspension today via e-mail. He will
receive an official notification of his suspension through the mail,”
Commissioner Bill Gibbons said. 

Look, I can understand being mad. None of us like the idea of any new gun control laws much less one’s that may be the result of an Executive Order from President Obama. That said, you don’t spout off on YouTube for the whole damn world to see and especially the gun prohibitionists. It is just plain stupid and doesn’t help the cause of gun rights.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media has the story now. You can be sure that Yeager’s little tirade will be trotted out by the gun prohibitionists again and again.

Gee thanks, James. You are one dumb stupid fucking son of a bitch.

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SAF Says You First

January 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Second Amendment Foundation suggested that foes of guns should be the first ones to give up their own guns. That would include the guns of their bodyguards and other security personnel. I know this idea isn’t new but it is good to see a major gun-rights organization adopt this position.

From their release:


BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today challenged the nation’s leading opponents of gun ownership to “lead by example” and give up their own firearms and armed security before expecting the citizens, for whom they work, to surrender their ability to defend themselves.

“It seems clear from the direction the administration is going that it wants to severely restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners to purchase the firearms of their choice, “said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “and we think they should demonstrate their belief in their own programs by giving up their firearms and security first.

“That would include Joe Biden’s shotguns,” he added, “and the armed security now enjoyed by Senators Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

“It would especially apply to President Obama,” he continued, “who just signed legislation giving himself Secret Service protection for life, at the expense of taxpayers he wants to disarm.”

Gottlieb said the same principle should apply to anti-gun celebrities who have bodyguards while supporting legislation that would deprive average citizens from owning firearms for personal protection.

“For example,” he noted, “when I appeared with CNN’s Piers Morgan recently, he asserted that nobody needs an AR-15. The other day near Houston, a Texas teenager used an AR-15 to defend himself and his 12-year-old sister from a home invasion by shooting two burglars. Piers can choke on that.”

Gottlieb believes that public figures have no right to suggest gun bans for private citizens unless they first voluntarily give up their personal security.

“These anti-gun politicians were not elected to positions of royalty,” Gottlieb said. “They are citizens, with no more rights than any other citizen. They were elected to serve the public, not treat the public like serfs. If they want us to put our safety at risk, they should drop the pretense and give up their guns and guards before daring to suggest that anyone else do the same.”

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Democratic Senators Up For Re-election In 2014

January 11, 2013 by 4 Comments

The Instapundit mentioned this handicapping of those Senate Democrats at -risk up for re-election the other day. It was done by Moe Lane and offers his assessment of their re-election chances. The ranking leaves out four Democrats who are up for re-election – Coons, Durbin, Harkin, and Reed – and I’m assuming that is because they face no risk of losing.

Using Lane’s assessment as a starting point, I went back and added in each senator’s 2008 NRA-PVF rating and their current GOA rating. The chart with this is below:

State
Senator
Est. Risk
NRA (2008)
GOA (2012)
Alaska
Mark Begich
Serious Risk
AQ
D
Arkansas
Mark Pryor
Some Risk
C-
F
Colorado
Mark Udall
Some Risk
C
F
Louisiana
Mary Landrieu
Serious Risk
C
F
Massachusetts
John Kerry
Only if vacant
F
F-
Michigan
Carl Levin
Low Risk
F
F-
Minnesota
Al Franken
Serious Risk
F
F
Montana
Max Baucus
Some Risk
A+
D-
New Hampshire
Jeanne Shaheen
Some Risk
F
F
New Jersey
Frank Lautenberg
Only if vacant
F
F-
New Mexico
Tom Udall
Low Risk
C-
F
North Carolina
Kay Hagan
Serious Risk
F
F
Oregon
Jeff Merkley
Some Risk
F
F
South Dakota
Tim Johnson
Serious Risk
A
F
Virginia
Mark Warner
Low Risk
A
F
West Virginia
Jay Rockefeller
Low Risk
D
F

Of the five ranked as “Serious Risk”, two are A/AQ rated by the NRA, two are F rated by the NRA, and one is C rated by the NRA. While all of these senators should be the target of letters and calls regarding the various gun control proposals, the five at “serious risk” should be deluged with calls and letters from those of us who believe in the Second Amendment.

There is an old saying that goes a senator should be a statesman in his first two years, should be half politician and half statesman in the middle two years, and damn well better be all politician in the last two years. Let’s use that to our advantage in this fight for our gun rights.

UPDATE: Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced today that he will be retiring at the end of his term in 2014. That means a low risk seat in the chart above just became an open seat and one that can be picked up by a pro-gun rights candidate.

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Unnecesarily?

January 10, 2013 by 2 Comments

I got the first response today to my communication with my congressman and both senators regarding new gun control laws. It came by email from the office of Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC). The Armed Lutheran, another NC gun blogger, got a similar letter from Hagan’s office. You can read his analysis and response to letter here. Interestingly, my letter shown below mentions Feinstein’s gun control moves while his does not.

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the horrific tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue, and my thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and families of this senseless and appalling act of violence.

In the wake of the shooting in Newtown, which left twenty-six innocent members of the community dead, many of them young children, Americans across the country are searching for answers on how we can prevent such tragic events from happening in the future. I believe we must do all we can to put laws and policies in place to prevent future tragedies such as this one. Doing that will require a common-sense debate on a comprehensive approach that examines all relevant issues, including access to firearms, mental healthcare, and the prevalence of violence in video games and media. Additionally, Senator Feinstein has stated her intent to introduce legislation concerning access to firearms at the start of the 113th Congress. To date, that legislation has not been introduced. As always, it is important that we not unnecessarily infringe on the legitimate Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners.

Like you, I have always been an advocate for Second Amendment rights. My family, like the great state of North Carolina, has a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership, and I take great pride in that heritage. During my tenure in the North Carolina Senate I continuously supported the responsible use of firearms. As your United States Senator, I will always be committed to protecting these fundamental, constitutional rights.

Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns. If you would like to stay informed on my work in the Senate, you can sign up for my e-newsletter, follow me on Twitter at @SenatorHagan, or visit my Facebook page.

Sincerely,

Kay R. Hagan

I have to say that this letter doesn’t exactly fill me with the confidence that Hagan won’t bend to the will of the White House and Senate Democratic leaders. When I read something that says that it is important that “we not unnecessarily infringe on legitimate Second Amendment rights”, I want to know what the good Senator considers a necessary infringement of Second Amendment rights. Would mandated reduced capacity magazines meet her standard of being a necessary infringement? Likewise, would a ban on semi-automatic rifles with the wrong cosmetics be appropriate?

I am also wary of any politician who uses the phrase “tradition of hunting” when they are talking about Second Amendment rights. As we all know, the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or a sporting purpose and everything to do with an armed citizenry as a counterweight to a tyrannical government.

Hagan is up for re-election in 2014. She benefited from the Obama wave of 2008 as well as an inept campaign for re-election by Liddy Dole. She is rated as one of the Democratic senators who is in serious risk of losing her seat.

If you are a North Carolinian, write or call Hagan’s office on a regular basis. We need to keep pressure on her to do the right thing with regard to gun rights.

UPDATE: The Predator Intelligence blog is collecting and posting responses people from around the country have received to their letters. You can find it here. If you have a letter that you’ve received, send a copy to Jesse Smith at jsmith AT predatorintelligence DOT com. So far he has 25 of them posted including one from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).

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About What Was Expected

January 10, 2013 by

The NRA met with Vice-President Joe Biden today. From their statement below it is very evident that it was as much a waste of time and mere window-dressing for the Obama Administration as expected.

From the NRA-ILA release:


Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today’s White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals.

We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment. While claiming that no policy proposals would be “prejudged,” this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works – and what does not.

Sebastian’s statement on this meeting is correct and on the Obama Administration’s plan for gun control.

 The “national conversation” was a farce from the beginning. This was
planned “under the radar” to be executed the first pretext they had
after the election. The only remaining option is to fight.

The haste with which Obama and Biden want to enact laws and regulations, the orchestrated propaganda campaign in the media, and the hate towards gun owners by the anti’s makes me feel like I’ve stepped into an scene from Matthew Bracken’s novel  Enemies Foreign and Domestic.

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CCRKBA Responds To Brady’s “Not About 2nd Amendment”

January 10, 2013 by

Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign, said yesterday after Biden’s meeting with him and other gun prohibitionists that it wasn’t a debate about the Second Amendment. Alan Gottlieb of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms took great exception to that and issued this today.

Thursday, January 10th, 2013 .
.
BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today issued a bristling response to Brady Campaign President Dan Gross, who insisted as he left the White House meeting with Vice President Joe Biden that the current push for more gun control “is not a debate around the Second Amendment.”.
.
“The hell it’s not,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb declared. “The right to keep and bear arms is at the core of this anti-gun campaign, and Dan Gross knows it.”.
.
The Brady Campaign is one of several so-called “gun safety” organizations that have already met with Vice President Biden and his gun control task force. Gottlieb challenged that definition..
.
“The Brady Campaign and other such organizations are all about gun prohibition, not safety,” he said. “They’re not interested in safety when all they want is to disarm law-abiding Americans and taking the best means of self-defense away from crime victims while doing nothing to disarm criminals..
.
“The White House calling the gun prohibition lobby a ‘gun safety’ group is tantamount to suggesting that Ted Bundy was an advocate for battered women,” he said.

In comments to reporters, Gross insisted that “Words like ‘comprehensive’ and ‘broad’ don’t mean taking guns away from law-abiding citizens.”

“That statement is so demonstrably untrue it’s ridiculous that he expects anyone to believe it,” Gottlieb said. “Banning an entire class of firearms based primarily on cosmetics is taking them away from people. Imposing extremist regulations on the exercise of a civil right amounts to taking that right away and treating gun ownership like a privilege.

“Among gun prohibitionists,” he concluded, “the definition of safety is disarmament. Sure they’re not debating ‘around the Second Amendment,’ they’re trying to erode it and ultimately erase it from the Bill of Rights. We’re not going to let them get away with it.”