by Bob Morrison, like Ronnie Barrett, is none too thrilled by comments of Mexican President Felipe Calderon concerning the U.S. firearms industry. He was interviewed by Cam Edwards of NRA News about Calderon’s comments.
Ronnie Barrett Responds To Felipe Calderon
Cam Edwards interviewed Ronnie Barrett, NRA Board Member and head of Barrett Firearms, on the claims by Mexican President Felipe Calderon that the American gun industry is responsible for thousands of deaths in Mexico.
UPDATE: Welcome visitors from SteveQuayle.com. If you’d like to know more about Operation Fast and Furious or the ATF’s involvement in gun-running to Mexico, I have plenty of posts on it. Just do a search on “Project Gunwalker”.
NC: One Signature Away From Having The Castle Doctrine
With the State House voting 80 to 39 to concur with the State Senate version of HB 650, the State of North Carolina is just one signature away from being protected by the Castle Doctrine.
HB 650 has been ordered engrossed and sent to Gov. Bev Perdue for her signature. I have not heard any comments that would seem to indicate she plans to veto the bill. I hope she doesn’t forget she was endorsed by the NRA when she ran for Governor in 2008.
Sean at An NC Gun Blog has more on the bill and the vote. Thanks to him we have the vote which has not yet been reported on the General Assembly site.
UPDATE: WRAL is reporting that Perdue could well sign HB 650.
But other bills are likely to get a warmer reception, and Pearson said H650 Amend Various Gun Laws/Castle Doctrine might be among them. “As you know, the Governor is a lifetime NRA member,” Pearson said. “She understands and supports gun rights. She’ll have to read it carefully, of course, but she tends to be pretty moderate on guns.”
You sure wish that Perdue’s media person Chrissy Pearson would differentiate between “lifetime NRA member” and NRA Life Member.
UPDATE II: Below is how the State House voted on the motion to concur (that is, pass) with the Senate version of HB 650.
Ayes
Democrats: Alexander, K.; Brisson; Crawford; Earle; Faison; Graham; Hill; Lucas; McGuirt; McLawhorn; Spear; Wilkins; Wray
Republicans: Avila; Barnhart; Blackwell; Blust; Boles; Bradley; Brawley; Brown, L.; Brown, R.; Brubaker; Burr; Cleveland; Collins; Cook; Current; Daughtry; Dixon; Dockham; Dollar; Faircloth; Folwell; Frye; Gillespie; Guice; Hager; Hastings; Hilton; Hollo; Holloway; Horn; Howard; Hurley; Iler; Ingle; Johnson; Jones; Jordan; Justice; Killian; Langdon; LaRoque; Lewis; McCormick; McElraft; McGee; McGrady; Mills; Moffitt; Moore, T.; Murry; Pridgen; Randleman; Rhyne; Sager; Samuelson; Sanderson; Setzer; Shepard; Stam; Starnes; Steen; Stevens; Stone; Tillis (SPEAKER); Torbett; Warren, H.; West
Noes
Democrats: Adams; Alexander, M.; Bell; Bordsen; Brandon; Bryant; Carney; Cotham; Farmer-Butterfield; Fisher; Floyd; Gill; Glazier; Goodman; Hackney; Haire; Hall; Hamilton; Harrison; Insko; Jackson; Jeffus; Keever; Luebke; Martin; Michaux; Mobley; Moore, R.; Owens; Parfitt; Parmon; Pierce; Rapp; Ross; Tolson; Wainwright; Warren, E.; Weiss; Womble
Republicans: None
Excused: McComas (R)
The only thing that stands out about this vote is that Speaker Tom Tillis did vote on this bill. He has only voted 92 times out of a possible 1179 votes. This is not due to being a slacker but the tradition that the Speaker only votes on critical issues. I’m glad to see that he wanted to go on record as being for the amending the various firearms laws and, more importantly, the Castle Doctrine.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Is Not Pleased With ATF
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ) released a statement yesterday after listening to the Operation Fast and Furious hearings. She is not a happy camper – nor should she be given the impact of Project Gunwalker on her state.
Statement by Governor Jan Brewer
Federal Operation Fast and Furious placed Arizonans at risk
“I am outraged by findings in a new Congressional report that alleges federal agents were instructed to stand aside and do nothing as up to 2,000 weapons were illegally purchased in Arizona and resold. In many cases, the end result appears to have been the arming of violent drug cartels south of the border.
“During Operation Fast and Furious in 2010, according to this report, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms were ordered to simply track these „straw buyer‟ weapons sales but not intervene. Longtime federal agents have now testified before Congress that allowing these weapons to leave the premises, a practice generally known as „gun walking,‟ was a marked departure from accepted law enforcement practices.
“ATF agents lost track of many of these weapons, including assault weapons and .50 caliber sniper rifles. A significant number undoubtedly found their way to Mexican drug cartels. Tragically, two AK-47s traced back to Operation Fast and Furious later turned up at the crime scene near Rio Rico, Arizona, where Arizona Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by bandits. Authorities are still looking for the murder weapon.
“If the allegations contained in this Congressional report are accurate, then Operation Fast and Furious endangered the lives of innocent people on both sides of the border. The people of Arizona deserve answers from the Department of Justice and ATF as to how this could have been sanctioned, let alone encouraged. We may never know how many weapons illegally sold as part of this operation later turned up at a crime scene. But the connection between this failed federal operation and the death of Border Patrol Agent Terry is clear. The Congressional report puts it best: „The death of Border Agent Brian Terry was likely a preventable tragedy.‟”
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Anti-Hunting Campbell-DeFazio Amendment Voted Down in Congress
The NRA-ILA sent this out this evening:
Fairfax, Va. – A proposal by Congressmen John Campbell (R-CA) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) to prohibit necessary and legal practices used to effectively manage wildlife and predator species was overwhelmingly defeated today in the House of Representatives. The amendment to H.R. 2112, the Agriculture appropriations bill, was strongly opposed by the NRA and other pro-hunting organizations. It was pushed by the Humane Society of the United States and other radical anti-hunting groups.
“Wildlife and wildlife predators cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage annually to natural resources, public infrastructures, private property and agriculture,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “We will continue to oppose efforts like the Campbell-DeFazio Amendment that seek to diminish essential wildlife and predator management programs that protect our hunting heritage.”
The amendment would have drastically reduced funding to the Wildlife Service Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Program (WS), which is authorized by Congress to manage a program to decrease human-wildlife conflicts throughout the United States, including damage from predator animals.
Coyotes and other predators have decimated a great deal of the mule deer, moose and elk populations throughout the United States. As it stands, lethal predator control remains the best tool we have for keeping large predators in balance with existing habitat and the prey they require.
“This was yet another defeat for the anti-hunting agenda being pushed by the Humane Society of the United States”, concluded Cox. “The NRA will continue to fight to protect America’s hunting heritage from those who seek to eliminate it.”
-nra-
Misplaced Priorities
Unless you have been in a cave, the lead story in the news for the past couple of weeks as reported by the mainstream media has been about this man.
He is in the news because he was an idiot. He is married but sent a picture of his crotch to some female “admirer” living in the Seattle area. He thought it was going out privately but he sent it by Twitter.
You have heard very little in the so-called major media about this man who died in service to our country.
The first man is, of course, now-former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY). I won’t bore you with the details except to say he is a narcissist and an idiot. The second man is U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry who was killed in Rio Rico, Arizona while on stake-out intercepting illegal aliens and drug smugglers. It is likely that he was killed with a firearm that was allowed to “walk” under an ATF operation called Fast and Furious.
The media has been following the Weiner story 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since it broke. As to Project Gunwalker and Operation Fast and Furious, only Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News and William LaJeunesse of FoxNews have been reporting on it. It has been virtually ignored by ABC News, NBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
Let’s think about this for a minute. The first episode involves sexting, virtual cheating, and stupidity on the part of a venal man. The second episode involves a Federal agency who some believe – and I include myself – engaged in an operation who’s major purpose was to build support for new gun control laws. That operation involved straw purchases, subversion of their agency’s sworn duty, and allowing smuggling of guns into another sovereign nation in violation of that country’s laws. Two Federal law enforcement officers are now dead as well as an estimated 150 or more Mexican citizens thanks to the use of these “walked” firearms in the hands of the narco-terrorists.
What the hell is wrong with the mainstream media in this country that they virtually ignore a scandal that surpasses Iran-Contra and may border on Watergate to concentrate their efforts on a former darling of the Left who screwed up? The only thing hurt by Weiner was his family, his reputation, and his pride.
As I said, misplaced priorities.