Month: April 2013

Uncategorized

NSSF – No To Manchin-Toomey

April 16, 2013 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has come out strongly against the Manchin-Toomey amendment. They have issued an Action Alert aimed at retailers but applicable to all of us.

They object to prioritizing NICS checks coming from gun shows over those at retail counters and the measures that could put a FFL’s license at risk.

The U.S. Senate is expected to begin debate tomorrow on The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, S. Amdt. 715, proposed by Sens. Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Toomey (R-Pa.). This measure will slow down all storefront FFL checks on weekends by requiring that gun show checks must be COMPLETED before a non-gun show check can be completed.

Prioritizing gun show checks over storefront checks will harm storefront FFLs’ businesses. Weekends, when gun shows take place, are the busiest time for storefront FFLs who may not be able to run checks for their customers. Tell your senators that it’s unacceptable to prioritize the Second Amendment rights of private party transferees over the rights of storefront FFL customers. Congress should provide adequate resources to NICS so that ALL checks are done instantly.

While S. Amdt. 715 is not the universal background check bill opposed by 86 percent of federally licensed firearms retailers, it does not address critical product liability concerns for retailers processing private party transfers and imposes record-keeping responsibilities that could result in license revocation for even simple mistakes. Tell your senators not to put your livelihood on the line.

Call or write your U.S. senators and tell them to VOTE NO on the flawed Manchin-Toomey Amendment and on any bill that does not present real solutions to making our communities safer.

Find your elected officials here.

Uncategorized

GRNC – Hagan Says Your Vote Doesn’t Matter

April 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

A number of people who called Sen. Kay Hagan’s office today were told by staff she planned to vote for the Manchin-Toomey amendment according to Grass Roots North Carolina. I can’t really say I’m surprised given the reports that she is one of the more frequent guests aboard Manchin’s boat Black Tie. I wouldn’t be surprised if she also uses the CCRKBA endorsement of Manchin-Toomey amendment as cover.

GRNC has issued another alert regarding Hagan’s position along with a call for people to demonstrate outside Sen. Richard Burr’s district office in Winston-Salem tomorrow.

From their alert:

Sen. Kay Hagan vows support for universal gun registration!

US Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC, GRNC-1) plans to vote for the Toomey-Manchin “compromise” amendment to S. 649 which will come up for a vote possibly as early as tomorrow. After months of sitting on the fence and testing the political waters, Sen. Hagan and her office staffers are no longer hiding behind vague comments as to her position on the bill. Several GRNC members have called Senator Hagan’s office today and the response from her staff was united: Senator Hagan will vote for the Toomey-Manchin amendment to S. 649. When several GRNC members pointed out over the phone that it may cost Hagan their votes in her re-election campaign next year, the answer from her office was simple: “you probably wouldn’t vote for her anyway”…

Toomey-Manchin “compromise” not what it appears

While some pro-gun advocates are singing the praises of the amendment, others such as David Kopel are pointing out the deceptions within. In an article published today, Kopel makes a factual observation which exposes the amendment for what it is: a complete and total sellout. In his article, Kopel makes two key points:

1. The provision which claims to outlaw national gun registration in fact authorizes a national gun registry.

2. The provision which is supposed to strengthen existing federal law protecting the interstate transportation of personal firearms in fact cripples that protection.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV, GRNC-0) is trying to push S. 649 through with no open debate, and Senator Hagan seems more than willing to vote for the bill without actually reading it and with no regard to how her constituents feel about the amendment or the bill itself. As we suspected from the beginning, her mind is made up- even before all the facts are known about the bill.

Stand with GRNC at Sen. Burr’s district office to voice your displeasure

On Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM, GRNC will be holding a demonstration at Senator Richard Burr’s district office in Winston-Salem to deliver the message that his sellout by voting for S. 659 will not be tolerated, and that if he votes for the Toomey-Manchin “compromise” described below, we will work to remove him from office. As always, please “dress for the press” — no offensive signs or clothing. Please note that firearms at demonstrations are prohibited by law. Suggested themes for signs: “Richard Burr: 2nd Amendment Sellout?” and “Burr: Vote ‘NO’ on Toomey-Manchin”. Please RSVP with number of people attending to: Volunteer@GRNC.org Yes, it’s a work day: BE THERE ANYWAY!

Burr’s office is at: 2000 West 1st St., Suite 508, Winston-Salem, NC 27104. BRING LOTS OF FRIENDS! It you live too far away from this office, visit other district offices, which can be found at: http://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

  • Call Senator Kay Hagan Tuesday between 9am-11am and voice your displeasure over her intended vote.


  • Call Senator Richard Burr and press him to vote “no” on the Toomey-Manchin amendment.

  • Attend the demonstration at Sen Burr’s office on Tuesday morning at 10:00 am!

CONTACT INFO

Senator Kay Hagan (202) 224-6342
Senator Richard Burr (202) 224-3154

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Vote “No” on Toomey-Manchin Amendment”

Sample phone message for Sens. Burr and Hagan:

Dear Senator:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will bring S. 649, the most recent scheme for universal gun registration, to the Senate floor after Easter. Be aware that I consider none of the gun control proposals in the Senate to be acceptable, and will not accept “compromise” on the issue.

Nor am I fooled by procedural machinations such as trying to amend other legislation to include a ban on so-called “assault weapons” or standard capacity magazines, either for the purpose of slipping such legislation through with less opposition, or for the purpose of giving “cover votes” to candidates who are weak on the Second Amendment.

In fact, I expect you to vote “no” to the Toomey-Manchin amendment, as well as S. 649 when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

I look forward to your support, and will closely monitor your actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

Uncategorized

Kachalsky Has Cert Denied By SCOTUS

April 15, 2013 by 1 Comment

In the list of orders issued today by the US Supreme Court was an order of certiorari denied for Kachalsky et al v. Cacace et al. This was the case from New York which challenged the Sullivan Law and its restrictions on carry.

As an article in Reuters notes, just because the Supreme Court didn’t grant cert to Kachalsky, doesn’t mean they won’t do it in another carry case. The twin Madigan cases from Illinois still could be appealed from the 7th Circuit as could Woollard from the 4th Circuit. As Sebastian notes, there could be a number of reasons the Court didn’t want to take up this case. One of his commenters notes that Adam Winkler speculated the Court didn’t want to take up the issue while the gun issue is in the news and before Congress.
It could be. 
Still I’m a little disappointed that the Supreme Court didn’t take up the issue now regardless of why they didn’t. It would have been interesting to have been a fly on the wall while the Justices were debating whether to take the case.

Uncategorized

Could It Be He’s An Actor?

April 15, 2013 by

The NRA released a video ad this morning that takes aim at Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors’ ad that feature a bearded guy on the back of a pickup truck. The ad suggests that the actor – and we have to assume that given his lack of gun handling skills – take one of the NRA’s gun safety classes.

I like it. Punching back twice as hard is the way to go.

Uncategorized

A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations

April 15, 2013 by 5 Comments

Clint Eastwood’s character “Dirty Harry” Callahan uttered the famous words, “A man’s gotta know his limitations”, in the movie Magnum Force.

So it is with gun rights organizations and their leaders. In the past I’ve criticized the NRA-ILA and Chris Cox for claiming credit for Heller and McDonald when the latter was a project of the Second Amendment Foundation. At the time, I also said in an ideal world there would be a division of labor with the Second Amendment Foundation and Alan Gura doing litigation and the NRA-ILA handling the lobbying of Congress. Those are, and continue to be, the strengths of the respective organizations.

Thus, when news broke that Alan Gottlieb and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms was claiming credit for the Manchin-Toomey “compromise” on gun background checks, I was dismayed and, to be perfectly frank, outraged.

It’s time to get real. The Second Amendment Foundation does litigation really well just as the NRA-ILA does lobbying at the national level really well. Just as the NRA is only so-so when it comes to gun rights litigation, SAF’s 503c4-affiliate, the Citizens Committee is only so-so on lobbying. Neither are really as effective at the state level as the state-level organizations such as ISRA, CalGuns, GRNC, or Virginia Citizens Defense League among many others.

Alan Gottlieb and CCRKBA had no business getting involved in writing Manchin-Toomey. Gun control legislation was slowly dying in the Senate until the “grand compromise” revived it. The gun prohibitionists have already jumped on Alan’s statement. Mark Glaze, executive director of Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors, called it “a helpful development” in the Washington Post. Conversely, groups like the CalGuns Foundation and Cal-FFL are not that enthused about it even if it might make things a little easier in California.

There are neither enough goodies nor poison pills for the opposition to make Manchin-Toomey palatable to me. To put it bluntly, I think Alan Gottlieb screwed up royally on this one. The sad part is that it will probably hurt gun rights litigation, which his organization does well.

As I said in the headline to this post, a man’s gotta know his limitations.

UPDATE: Second Amendment scholar and attorney Dave Kopel does an excellent job dissecting the supposedly “pro-gun” portions of Manchin-Toomey and concludes that they are actually very strong anti-gun provisions. He calls its a “bonanza of gun control”. It should be noted that Dave has been both a speaker and attendee at a number of the Gun Rights Policy Conferences put on by CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation.

Uncategorized

GRNC Refuses To Pull Punches

April 15, 2013 by

After hearing that CCRKBA endorsed Manchin-Toomey today, it is refreshing to see an organization stand firm. Grass Roots North Carolina is not backing down in their opposition to any form of gun control including the lesser background checks of Manchin-Toomey.

From their release:

Stop Toomey-Manchin Sellout NOW!

– Make calls to sellouts who voted for ‘universal gun registration’
– Show up at Sen. Burr’s district office to voice your displeasure

DEMONSTRATION AT BURR’S OFFICE:

On Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 AM, GRNC will be holding a demonstration at Senator Richard Burr’s district office in Winston-Salem to deliver the message that his sellout by voting for S. 659 will not be tolerated, and that if he votes for the Toomey-Manchin “compromise” described below, we will work to remove him from office. As always, please “dress for the press” — no offensive signs or clothing. Please note that firearms at demonstrations are prohibited by law. Suggested themes for signs: “Richard Burr: 2nd Amendment Sellout?” and “Burr: Vote ‘NO’ on Toomey-Manchin”. Please RSVP with number of people attending to: Volunteer@GRNC.org Yes, it’s a work day: BE THERE ANYWAY!

Burr’s office is at: 2000 West 1st St., Suite 508, Winston-Salem, NC 27104. BRING LOTS OF FRIENDS! It you live too far away from this office, visit other district offices, which can be found at: http://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Update: Vote is on Tuesday

On Thursday, both Senators Richard Burr (R) and Kay Hagan (D) sold out gun owners by voting for the “motion to proceed” which will bring “universal gun registration” bill S. 649 to the Senate floor for debate this Tuesday. Hagan has been doing her best to camouflage her stance on the issue, while Burr had previously said he would support the Rand Paul filibuster, before switching sides and voting to proceed. Burr’s claims that he did so only when promised an open amendment process ring false: The most certain way to kill the bill would have been to deny it a floor vote.

‘See a shrink, lose your guns’

Sen. Harry Reid’s original version of S. 649 would criminalize a huge array of lawful behaviors such as loaning a gun to your mother, loaning a gun to a friend to hunt, or even leaving one at home with your spouse for more than 7 days.

The first amendment to be offered, on Tuesday, is the “compromise” worked out by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Although you’re being told it is “better” because it protections for gun owners, those “protections” have holes you could drive a truck through.

As is invariably the case, this “compromise” defines a process in which you lose slightly less than under the original proposal, but you still lose! Worse, the Toomey-Manchin measure described by Gun Owners of America as “See a shrink, lose your guns” is a very real threat.

Says “US News & World Report”: “Toomey and Manchin’s legislation clarifies that doctors can enter mental health records into the national background check system without it being a violation of privacy laws.”

Similar measure triggers confiscations in NY

Thanks to the vagueness of Title 18 of the US Code of Regulations, a single doctor’s report could potentially trigger the loss of your gun rights without any type of hearing or due process. If you want to see how that works, check New York State, which recently adopted a similar proposal. As reported by Fox News and others, authorities have begun confiscating guns from lawful gun owners — in some cases, even the wrong gun owners.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

Vote likely Tuesday

Burr says he opposes the Toomey-Manchin amendment…but he also said he would filibuster the S. 649 motion to proceed, and we all know how that worked out. Hagan probably wants to vote for it and then claim it as a pro-Second Amendment vote. It is not.

If the Toomey-Manchin amendment passes on Tuesday, it will hurt our chances for killing S. 649. Stopping Toomey-Manchin will probably kill the bill. Accordingly, you need to deliver a LOUD & CLEAR message to both Burr and Hagan (and Republican turncoats from other states) that if they vote for the Toomey-Manchin amendment, they should start looking for a new job.

  • EMAIL & CALL Sen. Richard Burr at: (202) 224-3154 Contact Sen Burr


  • EMAIL & CALL Sen. Kay Hagan at: (202) 224-6342 Contact Sen Hagan

  • CALL: Republican sellouts who voted for the S. 649 motion to proceed

CONTACT INFO

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte (202) 224-3324
Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss (202) 224-3521
Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (202) 224-5754
Maine Sen. Susan Collins (202) 224-2523
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (202) 224-4521
Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson (202) 224-3643
Arizona Sen. John McCain (202) 224-2235
Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (202) 224-6253
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven (202) 224-2551
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk (202) 224-2854
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (202) 224-5972
Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (202) 224-3344
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey (202) 224-4254
Nevada Sen. Dean Heller (202) 224-6244

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Stop Toomey-Manchin Sellout NOW!”

Dear Senator:

Your vote for the motion to proceed on S. 649 will be forever reflected as a vote against the Second Amendment. What happens next is up to you: Either you can mitigate the damage by voting against the Toomey-Manchin sellout, or you can once again betray gun owners and the Constitution.

Understand that I do not consider this “compromise” to be anything other than a sellout of Second Amendment interests. The supposed protections if promises gun owners are false, and its dangers to gun rights are very real. As gun owners have told you before: We will not compromise on this issue.

In fact, if you continue to vote against gun rights, I encourage you to look for another job; in your next election, gun owners will work to remove you. I will continue to monitor your performance via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

Uncategorized

No Shame

April 13, 2013 by 2 Comments

I realize that the concept of shame is an old-fashioned one and that it seems out of place in the post-modern world. Thus, the attempt by the White House to shame the Congress into passing gun control comes across as both quaint and manipulative.

The latest instance is using the mother of one of the children murdered in Newtown to deliver President Obama’s weekly radio and Internet address. It has been released as a YouTube video and MP3 file in addition to the transcript below.

Remarks of Francine Wheeler
The President’s Weekly Address

Hi. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not the President. I’m just a citizen. And as a citizen, I’m here at the White House today because I want to make a difference and I hope you will join me.

My name is Francine Wheeler. My husband David is with me. We live in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

David and I have two sons. Our older son Nate, soon to be 10 years old, is a fourth grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our younger son, Ben, age six, was murdered in his first-grade classroom on December 14th, exactly 4 months ago this weekend.

David and I lost our beloved son, but Nate lost his best friend. On what turned out to be the last morning of his life, Ben told me, quite out of the blue, “ I still want to be an architect, Mama, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.”

Ben’s love of fun and his excitement at the wonders of life were unmatched His boundless energy kept him running across the soccer field long after the game was over. He couldn’t wait to get to school every morning. He sang with perfect pitch and had just played at his third piano recital. Irrepressibly bright and spirited, Ben experienced life at full tilt.

Until that morning. 20 of our children, and 6 of our educators – gone. Out of the blue.

I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief.

Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.

Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home – the same firehouse that was home to Ben’s Tiger Scout Den 6. But other times, I feel Ben’s presence filling me with courage for what I have to do – for him and all the others taken from us so violently and too soon.

We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us.

When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all. Then, after the President spoke in Hartford, and a dozen of us met with Senators to share our stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward.

But that’s only the start. They haven’t yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And a lot of people are fighting to make sure they never do.

Now is the time to act. Please join us. You can talk to your Senator, too. Or visit WhiteHouse.gov to find out how you can join the President and get involved.

Help this be the moment when real change begins. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

While I feel sorrow for the family, their grief at losing their son is not a reason to pass measures that are at once both ineffective in stopping another Newtown shooting and an infringement on the Second Amendment guarantees. If the White House and their fellow gun prohibitionists were really serious about trying to avert another Newtown, they would be looking at mental health issue and school security measures such as arming and training teachers.

To get a better perspective on grief and its misuse here, read Michael Bane’s post entitled “Riverdance in Blood”. I recommended it earlier this week and I’m doing it again. As he notes, the grief of the victims drives them to demand a solution to insoluble problems which is the case with Mrs. Wheeler above.

Uncategorized

CalGuns Sues The “Best-Looking Attorney General”

April 12, 2013 by 3 Comments

The CalGuns Foundation on behalf of itself and seven individual Californians is suing California Attorney General Kamala Harris over delays in the processing of firearms background checks. California has a statutory 10-day waiting period. However, the California Department of Justice has been instructing dealers in some cases to delay the release of firearms to their eligible purchasers.

From the CalGuns release:



The Calguns Foundation and 7 Californians Sue Attorney General Kamala Harris, DOJ Over Gun Delays

SAN CARLOS, CA – The Calguns Foundation has filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven California residents today against Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, and DOJ Bureau of Firearms Chief Stephen Lindley. The case challenges the DOJ’s policy of requiring some firearm purchasers to prove their legal standing to take possession of acquired firearms and forcing them to wait beyond the statutory 10-day waiting period.

One plaintiff in the case, Daniel Schoepf of Long Beach, California, was denied his fundamental right to keep and bear arms for self-defense even after DOJ told him that he was legally eligible to purchase and possess firearms.

In 1984, Schoepf was detained in Los Angeles County for having two tablets in his pocket that were later discovered to be common, non-prescription pills. The detectives subsequently released Schoepf and no charges were filed. In 2006, DOJ firearms section Program Manager Steve Buford sent Schoepf a letter stating that he was eligible to purchase and possess firearms; however, in 2012, DOJ reversed that position and instructed Schoepf’s local firearms dealer to hold back delivery of Schoepf’s gun.

“I know I’m not alone in this, that DOJ is wrongly denying many Californians their Second Amendment rights just like they are mine,” said Schoepf. “I’m not a criminal and certainly not a disqualified convict but am a law abiding citizen with my Second Amendment rights fully intact. They left me no choice but to fight this injustice in court.”

“Over the past year, the DOJ has been directing California gun dealers to delay the release of firearms to people eligible to possess them – sometimes indefinitely,“ said Jason Davis, attorney for The Calguns Foundation. “The DOJ simply has no legal authority to justify their policy.”

The DOJ claims that these delays are primarily due to lack of information in their criminal history databases. In a July 2011 Los Angeles Times article, assistant attorney general Travis LeBlanc said the DOJ’s criminal records database system was “shoddy,” with the ‘guilty’, ‘not guilty’, or ‘case dismissed’ disposition information missing for about 7.7 million of the 16.4 million arrest records entered into the database over the last decade – and presumably much more for older cases.

“In essence, the DOJ is relying upon their improperly-maintained database to deny the fundamental rights of individuals,” said Gene Hoffman, Chairman of The Calguns Foundation. “That policy is entirely unacceptable and we look forward to putting an end to it.”

The attorney for plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Victor Otten, agrees.

“Our clients follow the law and so should the DOJ,” said Otten. “The DOJ is gleefully enforcing a policy that deprives my clients of their civil rights. The arrogance of the Department to think that it can abrogate the Constitution and statutory duties set by the Legislature is very unsettling.”

“This case really underscores the value of our DOJ Watch program,” said Brandon Combs, Executive Director of The Calguns Foundation. “Attorney General Harris’s hostility towards some civil rights predictably resulted in a shift away from former Attorney General Brown’s correct application of the law – and we are here to hold her accountable.”

The lawsuit is entitled Schoepf, et. al. vs. Kamala Harris, et. al. A copy of the complaint may be viewed or downloaded at http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cgf_dros-delay-complaint.pdf.

The description of California AG Kamala Harris in the title comes from President Obama’s inappropriate remarks made recently.

Uncategorized

Peter King And Mike Thompson To Introduce Toomey-Manchin In The House

April 12, 2013 by 5 Comments

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) have announced they will be introducing the House version of the Toomey-Manchin amendment on Monday.

“I will be introducing, along with Mike Thompson [D-Calif.], basically the House version of the Manchin-Toomey bill on Monday or Tuesday at the latest,” the New York Republican said, referencing the bipartisan agreement on background checks reached this week between Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

He said the legislation will “replicate” what was agreed to by those senators, a bipartisan deal that expands background checks for commercial gun purchases, including those made at gun shows.

King noted that Toomey’s conservative credentials make it easier for House Republicans to vote for background checks.

In my opinion, Peter King is and has always been a big government statist type. Seeing him introduce a gun control bill is not a surprise as he has supported them many times in the past.

Thompson is a self-described Blue Dog Democrat and gun owner. Thompson says he is familiar with assault rifles as he carried one in Vietnam – over 40 years ago. While I thank him for his service, that was a long time ago.

He issued a statement yesterday hinting towards this House bill and applauding the Senate for passing the motion to process on S. 649.

“Today Senate Republicans and Democrats voted overwhelmingly to reject the shameful filibuster that attempted to deny Americans a vote on legislation that will reduce and prevent gun violence.

“Background checks are the first line of defense against criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from getting guns. That’s why the American people, gun owners, NRA members, and even many House Republicans support background checks.

“The bipartisan background check legislation that I will introduce and will be voted on in the Senate is enforceable, will save lives, and respects the Second Amendment rights of law abiding Americans. It’s time for Congress to act. The American people are getting a vote in the Senate. They deserve one in the House.”