Vote Tomorrow As If Your Gun Rights Depend Upon It

Because they do.

Many things the Republicans do don’t thrill me. However, both Heller and McDonald were 5-4 votes. Justices Scalia and Kennedy are both 78 years old. The only justice that is older is Justice Ginsberg at 81. All three could live years more or all three could die in the next two years giving President Obama up to three appointments to the Supreme Court. A Republican majority in the US Senate is the only fire wall we have to prevent three anti-gun justices.

Almost as important are the appointments to the District and Appeals Court level. These are lifetime appointments and we have seen how many of these judges have struggled to find any justification they can to deny Second Amendment rights.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and their #Gunvote campaign have got it right in the video below. The Senate is the key.

I-594: The Claim And The Reality

Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility is the pro-gun control group funded by billionaires that is pushing I-594 in Washington State. This initiative, if passed, would mandate background checks for all sales and transfers.

One of their ads claims that you can buy guns at gun shows and off the Internet with “no questions asked”. The ad shows someone typing in the URL for Gunbroker.com. I have purchased a couple of firearms off of Gunbroker.com myself over the years. They were either shipped to my local dealer where I had to fill out a Form 4473 and be checked or they were shipped to me directly because it was a firearm considered a curio or relic. I have a C&R FFL.

You can see this ad below:

Steve Urvan, CEO of Gunbroker.com, took exception to this ad impugning the reputation of his company. In the release below, he points out the reality.

Recently a Washington state gun control lobbying group called The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility published an advertisement and YouTube video that included a scene in which GunBroker.com was typed into a browser. The video includes the words “NO QUESTIONS ASKED” and states that criminals who fail background checks can go online and buy guns.

This ad is both misleading the public and impugning the reputation of GunBroker.com by depicting our company’s name being typed into a search engine with the direct suggestion that we would enable an illegal transfer of a firearm. This is false and certainly libelous.

As we clearly state on our website, all transactions on GunBroker.com are made in full compliance with all federal state, and local laws, using licensed federal firearms dealers as transfer agents. Federal law requires those dealers to run a background check on the buyer. There is a strict compliance system in place and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms audits dealers for compliance.

The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility obviously did no research when creating this ad. Every listing on the GunBroker.com site states, in red letters for emphasis:

“Firearms may only be shipped to a licensed dealer (FFL Holder)”.

The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility needs to act responsibly themselves. We demand that they take down their erroneous ads and videos and apologize to GunBroker.com and the voters of Washington State for this irresponsible misrepresentation in the pursuit of their political agenda.

Regarding background checks and specifically I-594, I urge all www.GunBroker.com members to take the time to get out and vote on Tuesday November 4 and defeat anti-gun bills like I-594 and anti-gun legislators. Below are some links you may find useful:

https://www.voteno594.com/
http://www.nssf.org/gunvote/
http://www.nraila.org/
Sincerely,

Steve Urvan,
CEO, GunBroker.com

GRNC Recommendations

Early voting ended Saturday in North Carolina. Despite having fewer days allocated to early voting, 17.4% of all registered voters have already voted. This is an increase 1.9% over the 2010 midterm election. More importantly, over 100,000 more registered Democrats have voted early than did in 2010. This is attributed to get out the efforts of the Democrats.

While both sides increased their turnout and both sides are touting it as a good sign for their candidates, gun rights supporters who haven’t voted need to get to the polls on Tuesday. I don’t think I need to reiterate what is at stake.

As a help for when you go to the polls, I’m publishing Grass Roots North Carolina’s recommendations for the US Senate and House and the North Carolina Senate and House.

While I can’t speak for other areas of the state, NC Representatives Ramsey, Moffitt, and Presnell have been extensively targeted by out-of-state money flowing into PACs. All three are good on guns and all have been recommended by GRNC. Rep. Michele Presnell (R-Haywood-Madison-Yancey) went so far as to ask my friend Tim who owns a local surplus store what she could do to help gun owners. He suggested uniform signage for stores like the Texas 30.06 requirement and she was quite interested in it.

GRNC-PVF CANDIDATE RECOMMENDATIONS
 

District #/Name
US SENATE NC HOUSE (cont’d) NC SENATE
TILLIS 059: HARDISTER 001: COOK

061: FAIRCLOTH 002: SANDERSON
US HOUSE 062: BLUST 004: SCOTT
001: RICH 063: ROSS 006: BROWN
002: ELLMERS 065: JONES 007: PATE
003: JONES 067: BURR 008: RABON
004: WRIGHT 068: HORN 010: JACKSON
005: FOXX 069: ARP 011: NEWTON
006: WALKER 070: HURLEY 012: RABIN
007: ROUZER 071: MCCANN 013: WHITE
008: HUDSON 073: ZACHARY 015: FULGHUM
009: PITTENGER 074: CONRAD 016: MITCHELL
010: MCHENRY 075: LAMBETH 017: FULGHUM
011: MEADOWS 076: FORD 018: BAREFOOT
012: COAKLEY 077: WARREN 019: MEREDITH
013: HOLDING 078: MCNEILL 023: LOPEZ-CARTER

079: HOWARD 024: GUNN
NC HOUSE 081: BROWN 026: BERGER
001: STEINBURG 082: PITTMAN 027: WADE
002: YARBOROUGH 083: JOHNSON 029: TILLMAN
003: SPECIALE 084: TURNER 030: RANDLEMAN
004: DIXON 085: DOBSON 031: KRAWIEC
005: PIERCE 086: BLACKWELL 033: BINGHAM
006: LAWSON 087: STARNES 034: BROCK
008: MARTIN 088: BRYAN 035: TUCKER
009: BROWN 089: SETZER 036: HARTSELL
010: BELL 090: STEVENS 038: RIVETTE
011: MARTIN 091: HOLLOWAY 039: RUCHO
013: MCCELRAFT 092: JETER 041: TARTE
014: CLEVELAND 093: JORDAN 042: WELLS
015: SHEPARD 094: ELMORE 043: HARRINGTON
016: MILLIS 096: ADAMS 044: CURTISS
017: ILER 097: SAINE 045: SOUCEK
019: DAVIS 098: BRADFORD 046: DANIEL
022: SMITH 103: BRAWLEY 047: HISE
025: COLLINS 104: CABLE 048: APODACA
026: DAUGHTRY 105: SCHAFFER 049: CRAWFORD
028: LANGDON 106: LOWE 050: DAVIS
033: WHITLOCK 107: ALEXANDER
036: DOLLAR 108: TORBETT
040: AVILA 109: BUMGARDNER
041: MURRY 110: HASTINGS
044: BUTTON 111: MOORE
045: SZOKA 112: HAGER
046: JONES 113: WHITMIRE
050: CHANEY 115: RAMSEY
051: STONE 116: MOFFITT
052: BOLES 118: PRESNELL
053: LEWIS 119: CLAMPITT
055: BRODY 120: WEST
056: CARTER

Shakeup In Connecticut Race For Governor

Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-CT) is probably none too happy over Independent candidate Joe Visconti dropping out of the race for governor and endorsing Republican challenger Tom Foley. A recent Quinnipiac University poll had Foley and Malloy tied with Visconti pulling in 7 percent. However, if Visconti was out of the race, the Republican Foley moved into the lead.

Foley described Visconti’s move and endorsement as a surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear from him, but I’m glad I did,” Foley said at the sports bar. “I think an endorsement – bringing everybody together behind my candidacy [for] voting Gov. Malloy out of office for the record he has – is very important to me. [Visconti has] made a commitment to get a message to all his supporters to vote for me. He’s already out on the Internet and social media, telling his supporters to vote for me.

The Malloy campaign characterized the withdrawal and endorsement as further proof that Foley will double down on his promise to repeal the draconian post-Newtown laws. These laws were pushed and signed by Malloy.

“Tom Foley just doubled down on his plans to repeal Connecticut’s strict smart gun law that has made our neighborhoods, our schools and our streets safer,” Malloy spokesman Mark Bergman said. “Make no mistake, Tom Foley is in the pocket of the right wing extreme gun lobby, and today’s announcement is further proof.”

Foley had received the endorsement of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League.

David Codrea has written extensively on this race. He noted that many Connecticut gun rights activists wondered about Visconti’s commitment to the Second Amendment and wonder if his being in the race wasn’t just an effort to torpedo Tom Foley.

While it comes late in the campaign and with his name remaining on the ballot, Visconti’s move may, just maybe, be enough to put Foley over the top. As it is, Mike Bloomberg has invested $1.7 million in getting Malloy re-elected. Malloy is right up there with John Hickenlooper on the list of Democratic governors I’d like to see defeated on Tuesday.

H/T David Codrea

An Unintended Allegory

An allegory is defined as a symbolical narrative. I saw the ad below this morning and was struck by how accurately it portrays the response of the left to anything they don’t want to hear. The kid who states the obvious to the tour guide must be shut up.

While the ad people at Mars, Inc. probably didn’t intend for this left-right Twix ad to be seen as anything other than an ad for their candy, it is the perfect allegory for how the left reacts. What they don’t want to hear, they call “hate speech” or “offensive speech” which must be regulated or drowned out.

We in the gun rights community have seen this on a regular basis. A pro-gun ad is banned at the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Comcast and Google have banned ads for firearms and ammunition. The FDIC and Department of Justice’s attempt to equate gun and ammo retailers with porn as seen in Operation Choke Point in nothing more than an extension of the left’s moves against speech.

Trick Or Treat?

We consider ourselves the grinches of Halloween. We turn out the lights, go out for the evening, and don’t give out candy to kids.

So we wake up to this on November 1st.

There has got to be an inch and  half to two inches of snow on the ground. It’s not like we live in Fargo or International Falls or something like that. We live below the Mason-Dixon line for god sakes! I’ll admit we live at about 2,100 feet above sea level but it is in the valley and not on the mountain top.

On November 5th, These Become Target Stands

If your neighborhood or town is like mine, you are seeing political yard signs everywhere. Some are for candidates you like, some are for those you despise. They are generally made of heavy paper or, if the candidate was really spending some money, a corrugated plastic. If you look closely at the two in the foreground, you can see the ribbing from the corrugation. These signs usually are attached to wire stands.

Now, in most places, it is illegal to take these signs before Election Day unless some schmuck puts it on your property without asking permission.

However, after the polls close on November 4th, all of these signs can have a new life as target stands. You can tack your paper targets on the face of these signs and shoot away. While they aren’t at the height of many target stands, I think they’d do just fine for rimfire stands or for just plinking.

Think of it this way – the price is right, you are cleaning up the roadsides, you are “repurposing” them, and, if you hate the candidate in question, it will give you plenty of perverse pleasure in blowing away his or her sign.

UPDATE: I’m guessing this husband of a Delaware Democratic incumbent just wanted to get an early start on gathering some target stands.

I Got Me Them Hickenlooper Blues

Thanks to National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea and his co-writers Cyd Lantz and David Simpson we have the lyrics to The Hickenlooper Blues. They along with their producer Peter Gould have created this great parody of Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and his various excuses for bringing gun control to Colorado.

Share this with your friends. David suggests other places to share this video. This is an extremely close election – too close really – and Hick needs to be sent back to his brew pub.

Last Refuge Of A Liberal Scoundrel

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, then accusations of racism must be the last refuge of a liberal scoundrel. Accusations can come in both overt and covert forms.

For example, coming out and saying that Senator X is a racist or that some act that he or she committed was racist in intent would be an overt accusation. At least these accusations are forthright.

Covert accusations are much more insidious. They rely upon code words. Code words like Trayvon, Ferguson, and stand your ground.

So it is with the latest ad from Sen. Harry Reid’s Senate Majority PAC. Listen to the radio ad that they are playing in North Carolina aimed at African-American voters. Pay attention to the segment starting at 0:24 to 0:30 as captured from the airwaves by well-known North Carolina conservative blogger Sister Toldjah.

You heard correctly. The ad says, “Tillis even led the effort to pass the type of stand your ground laws that caused the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.” It doesn’t matter that Florida’s stand your ground law was not invoked in George Zimmerman’s trial nor that they confuse passage of the castle doctrine with stand your ground laws. It is still using covert accusations of racism to encourage black voters to turn out for Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC).

And to be honest, Speaker Tillis did not lead the effort to pass HB 650. It was Rep. Mark Hilton (R-Catawba) and Sen. Buck Newton (R-Nash). The best you can say is that Tillis did not impede the efforts to pass this omnibus bill that reformed North Carolina’s gun laws. Moreover, HB 650 was signed into law by Democrat Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) should repudiate this racist ad but we all know she won’t. She needs the “black vote” and Harry Reid will go as low as he needs to in order to secure it for her.