assault weapons ban

Uncategorized

Police Report On Raleigh Murders

October 26, 2022 by 2 Comments

The Raleigh Police Department has released a preliminary report on the October 13th mass casualty event in which five people were murdered and two wounded. The killer is a 15 year old juvenile whom authorities have not publicly identified though some media sources have published it. However, He is currently in the hospital in critical condition from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman indicates that she intends to charge him as an adult.

The next day before most details were known, President Joe Biden released a statement on the murders. Included in the statement was a renewed call for a new assault weapons ban.

For the lives we’ve lost and the lives we can save, I took historic action to stop gun violence in our nation, including signing the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. But we must do more. We must pass an assault weapons ban. The American people support this commonsense action to get weapons of war off our streets. House Democrats have already passed it. The Senate should do the same. Send it to my desk and I’ll sign it. 

Having read the police report, there are a few things that stand out. First, the killer was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and a large knife. He did not have any “assault weapon” (sic). Second, the first victim was the killer’s 16 year old brother who had been both shot and stabbed. Third, the killer covered almost 2 miles on foot from the first murder until he was taken into custody. Fourth, there is no word on how he obtained the firearms. Finally, the most important question goes unanswered: why?

We don’t know why he killed his brother, we don’t know why he continued the killings, and we don’t know how he obtained his firearms. We do know that he did not have “an assault weapon”. His family asserts that there were no warning signs that their son “was capable of doing anything like this.” If he survives, I hope we do get some answers as he goes to trial.

Uncategorized

JAMA Viewpoint On “Assault Weapons”

September 27, 2022 by

I was sent an embargoed article that appears in the September 27th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article is by Philip Cook of Duke University and John Donohoe of Stanford University. It is entitled “Regulating Assault Weapons and Large-Capacity Magazines for Ammunition.” I have embedded the full two-page article below.

Both Cook and Donohoe have a history of research that supports gun control. Their op-ed proposes the regulation of certain semi-automatic firearms with features that they deem objectionable as well as a ban on large capacity magazines (sic). Their premise is that enacting such laws will decrease mass murders and the lethality of them.

They note that while the House of Representatives has passed such a ban that it probably would not pass the Senate. Thus, they are calling upon states to take the initiative to enact new assault weapons bans along with magazine bans.

They rely upon three major sources to back up their claims that such bans would be effective. First, they refer to a RAND Corporation study examining previous studies on the effectiveness of the Clinton AWB. While acknowledging that RAND found these studies “inconclusive”, Cook and Donohoe say “logic” would say the bans had a positive impact. Second, the authors then look at Australia which banned possession of all semi-automatic weapons and forced a “buyback” (sic). They say there has been only one mass shooting in Australia post-ban. What this ignores when applied to the United States is that Australia has over ten times the land area of Texas while having about four million less residents. Finally, they look at a study of “32 experts” conducted in 2016 and published in the New York Times in 2017. The “experts” deemed a new AWB as the most effective policy to prevent future mass murders. Looking over the list of “experts”, only four names stand out as not being anti-gun: David Kopel, John Lott, Gary Kleck, and Eugene Volokh. The rest were the usual suspects including Daniel Webster and David Hemenway.

While this article is being published after the Bruen decision, it seems to ignore the realities of it. For example, concurrent with the Bruen decision, the Supreme Court vacated the 9th Circuit’s ruling in Duncan v. Bonta and remanded it back for rehearing consistent with the new standards. Just this week, the 9th Circuit remanded the case back to Judge Roger Benitez and the District Court for “proceedings consistent with” the Bruen decision. This case was a challenge to California’s magazine ban. Similarly, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded a Maryland case on an assault weapons ban back to the 4th Circuit.

Based upon text, history, and tradition, I would find it very (!) hard to find any justification that would support the proposed bans of Cook and Donohoe in a way that would be consistent with the Bruen decision. Whether the intended audience of physicians or even the physician editors comprehend this is unknown. That said, you have to believe that a retired professor of public policy and a professor of law understand the implications of Bruen and choose to ignore it.

Uncategorized

“to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited”

July 30, 2022 by 9 Comments

HR 1808 passed the House this evening by a vote of 217-213. Interestingly, the Clerk of the House still has not released the roll call vote on the bill even though it was 1 1/2 hours ago.

All bills have to have a “purpose” stated. The official purpose of HR 1808 is “To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.”

To ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited? In other words, the elites on the Democrats side plus the two Republican turncoats don’t want minorities, Red Staters, the working class, or anyone else who is part of the Great Unwashed to be armed with anything that might just threaten their grip on power.

Given there are over 24 million semi-automatic rifles in circulation, I think those who voted for this bill are just spitting in the wind. Also banned would be any semi-auto pistol with a threaded barrel and any semi-auto shotgun with a pistol or bird’s head grip whose tube held more than 5 rounds. I don’t even want to estimate the number of standard capacity mags in existence.

Unless the Republicans in the Senate cave entirely, this bill will be dead on arrival there.

Uncategorized

Unintended Consequences Of An AWB

July 29, 2022 by

If Congress in its infinite wisdom (sic) were to pass a new assault weapons ban on semi-automatic firearms, it might just increase the number of suicides. That would be an incredibly sad unintended consequence of the law.

I had the opportunity to meet Sarah Joy Albrecht at the SHOT Show this year. She founded a non-profit called HoldMyGuns.Org. It works through a network of Federal Firearms Licensees to have them hold a person’s firearms during times of mental health crisis or personal need. This is 100% voluntary on the part of the firearm owners and provides them safe, off-site storage. When the crisis has passed, they reclaim their firearms.

It is voluntary, government is not involved, and the firearms are held by someone who has been vetted by Hold My Guns. Those holding the firearms for the individual are both licensed and insured.

So how would a new AWB impact this effort to reduce suicide and assist those having a mental health crisis?

Sarah Joy posted this on Twitter this morning.

The gun prohibitionists style themselves as concerned citizens whose only motivation is “gun safety” and the reduction of crimes committed with firearms. The reality is that they don’t give a big rat’s ass if Joe Bob cannot find a safe location for his firearms during a mental health crisis and ends up killing himself. It only adds to their statistics. It is time to call them out on it as well as the politicians who kowtow to them.

Uncategorized

AWB On The Floor Today

July 29, 2022 by 1 Comment

Nancy Pelosi must have twisted a lot of arms and changed her mind. It is now being reported that HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, and HR 2814, Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2022, will considered today. The latter bill is the repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

My feeling is that Pelosi was pissed off that the Senate Republicans stalled passage of the PACT Act and this is retribution. The problem for Republicans with the PACT Act, as I understand it, was not with the intent of the bill but the funding. Punchbowl News puts it that it was a move by Republicans in response to the Manchin-Schumer agreement on “build back better”.

NSSF sent this out by email:

CRITICAL ALERT REMINDER: ‘ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN’ VOTE TODAY
These Bills Could Be Voted on Today!
Contact Your U.S. Representative This Morning At (202) 224 3121! 

Anti gun leaders in the House called an emergency meeting last night to employ a seldom used tactic that would expedite consideration of both the so-called “Assault Weapons” ban, and the bill to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Both bills could be voted on by the full House of Representatives today!

It is unclear if Speaker Pelosi has the votes needed to pass the bills at this moment, so it is critical that you call your U.S. Representative TODAY and urge a “NO” vote on H.R. 1808, the so-called “Assault Weapons Ban” of 2022, and H.R. 2814, the so-called “Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act.”

The Firearms Policy Coalition was likewise warning about this last evening.

I am now reading that the rule allowing consideration of the bills has passed 216-205.

Uncategorized

Pelosi Puts AWB On Hold

July 28, 2022 by 2 Comments

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has put the vote on HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, on hold.

Yesterday, she posted this:

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on negotiations around a package of public safety bills the House will consider:

“For safer communities, Members have been working on a package of critical public safety bills.  As those discussions are continuing, it is clear that the House will reconvene in August in order to vote for the Reconciliation bill.  We are grateful to all our Members for promoting our shared values reflected in specific legislation that we can all support.

“Right now, we are preparing to take up the CHIPS and Science Act from the Senate and Members are engaged in advocating for the PACT Act in the Senate.”

In other words, she could not round up enough votes to pass the new AWB so Democrats are going to focus on the exposure of veterans to toxins. At least that will help those that served.

As Emily Miller observed:

It’s called whipping the vote. And when you whip and don’t have the 218 needed, you pull the bill to avoid a public relations debacle.  Pelosi had to yank the bill because a few Democrats from moderate districts didn’t want to vote on an unpopular gun grab bill months before elections. 

That said, Pelosi has during the break to twist arms. Don’t consider the bill as being dead.

From Stephen Gutowski’s The Reload:

The fact it doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate regardless of what the House does has added to the difficulty of the election-year vote as well.

John Bresnahan, who has spent decades covering Capitol Hill and co-founded Punchbowl, said the bill isn’t doomed yet. He said Pelosi needs more time to try and please progressive members and those from the Congressional Black Caucus as well as moderates. The former want the ban and limits on how police funds can be used, while the latter are leery of the ban and pushing for the funding.

“I think the window is still open,” Bresnahan told The Reload. “When you get that close, you don’t just walk away from it.”

He said Pelosi can afford up to four defections from Democrats and still be able to pass the bill. With somewhere over 210 members already on record supporting the bill, leadership only needs to bring a few more on board. The failure to corral a vote before the recess is a notable setback, but Bresnahan said Democrats have until the end of September to figure out how to get their caucus to agree.

So keep writing and calling your representatives. This is especially true for those readers represented by a Democrat who might be on the fence. Remind them of 1994 and what happened to Democrats in that election.

Uncategorized

Democrats And A New AWB

July 21, 2022 by 7 Comments

…and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1, Reason in Common Sense

Democrats in the US House of Representatives are struggling to find the final votes needed to pass HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. While the bill does have 212 co-sponsors, it needs 218 votes to pass. As Politico notes, they are still trying to find the final votes needed to pass the bill. They might get a vote or two from Republicans like Rep. Adam Kinzinger (RINO-IL) and Rep. Chris Jacobs (RINO-NY) both of whom are retiring after this session. Even if it does pass the House, it will go nowhere in the Senate.

The last time Congress passed an assault weapons ban, the Democrats lost the both houses of Congress. The Republicans picked up 8 seats in the Senate and 54 seats in the House. Even House Speaker Tom Foley (D-WA) lost his seat.

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), a six-term congressman who just lost his primary to extreme leftist, anti-gun, Liz Warren-endorsed Jamie McLeod-Skinner, did remember what happened after passage of the ’94 AWB. Moreover, it is not like Schrader is even remotely pro-gun.

From Politico:

“This is a bill that destroyed the Democrats in ‘94. I guess, do we really have a death wish list as Democrats?” said Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), who will not be on the ballot in November as he has already lost his primary.

The Oregonian centrist is one of more than a half-dozen Democrats either opposed to or undecided on the legislation, many from rural districts where gun safety laws are more contentious. Part of Schrader’s argument: Democrats would risk stomping on their latest bipartisan gun bill by passing something that goes further but will not become law: “It undermines what we already did and reemphasizes to all the people in America that are not hardcore urban Democrats that our party’s out of touch.”

The Republicans have long been referred to as “the stupid party” for their propensity to snatch defeat out of the mouth of victory. This time it looks like the Democrats are well on their way to being the stupid party. But, then again, as the Instapundit always says, “Don’t get cocky”.

UPDATE: The National Shooting Sports Foundation updated their estimate of modern sporting rifles in circulation. It is now over 24 million. That certainly meets the “in common use” standard.

Below is their chart showing a year-by-year estimate of the number produced, imported, and exported.

Uncategorized

When They Say They Don’t Want To Ban Guns…

March 29, 2021 by 1 Comment

When the gun prohibitionists say they don’t want to ban guns but merely regulate them or some of them, point to this.

A friend passed it to me and it contains at least 75 instances going back to 1993 where there were calls to ban guns.

2020 Presidential candidates that have advocated gun confiscation.
[or any synonyms thereof: mandatory buy back etc, virtual confiscation/permission requirements ]

https://betoorourke.com/gun-violence/
Beto O’Rourke[Actual and virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://medium.com/@corybooker/corys-plan-to-end-the-gun-violence-epidemic-ab377d9fb112
Cory Booker:
Cory’s Plan to End the Gun Violence Epidemic
[virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/gun-violence
Elizabeth Warren

https://noqreport.com/2019/10/27/front-runner-elizabeth-ersatz-warren-now-demanding-gun-confiscation/
[Actual & combined with virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://ericswalwell.com/endgunviolence/Eric Swalwell
[Actual and virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://joebiden.com/gunsafety/
Joe Biden: The Biden plan to end our gun violence epidemic
[virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://issues.juliancastro.com/disarming-hate/Julián Castro
[virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right]

https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/17/kamala-harris-force-gun-owners-sell-assault-weapons-government/
Kamala Harris Would Force Gun Owners To Sell Their Assault Weapons To The Government
[Forced compensated confiscation]

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/14/mandatory-buyback-assault-weapons-kirsten-gillibrand-1462712
Kirsten Gillibrand suggests support for mandatory buyback of assault weapons
[Actual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for an unalienable human right].

https://medium.com/the-moment-by-pete-for-america/an-action-plan-to-combat-the-national-threat-posed-by-hate-and-the-gun-lobby-5752a68c954e
Pete Buttigieg
[virtual confiscation/governmental permission requirements for unalienable human rights].

2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/us/politics/Ralph-Northam-Virginia-democrats.html
[NYT] VA Governor Northam “has not ruled out confiscating assault weapons from gun owners.”

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kristine-marsh/2019/11/04/behar-advises-2020-dems-dont-tellwait-until-you-get-elected-then
Behar Advises 2020 Dems: ‘Don’t Tell…Wait Until You Get Elected Then Take Guns Away’</a>.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Beto-O-Rourke-claims-he-hasn-t-talked-about-14563106.php
Beto O’Rourke claims he hasn’t talked about confiscating guns

https://www.c-span.org/video/?464471-1/house-judiciary-committee-hearing-assault-weapons
Dr. RaShall Brackney, Chief of the Charlottesville Police Department [Paraphrasing] “Any weapons that can be used to kill people should be banned”

https://marchforourlives.com/peace-plan/
A Peace Plan for a Safer America [Demands for compensated confiscation as well as virtual confiscation of all guns in addition to a licensing requirement for an unalienable human right]

https://noqreport.com/2019/07/12/iowa-senator-claire-celsi-gets-snippy-2nd-amendment-defender/
Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi dictatorial senator threatens to take guns by force if the gun owner wasn’t “nice” to her.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/1/18683860/democrats-2020-gun-control-mass-shootings
Vox: Democrats have been discussing the same ideas on guns for 25 years. It’s time to change that.
[Virtual and actual gun confiscation, requiring governmental permission for an unalienable human right].

https://twitter.com/Nate_McMurray/status/1143390664341807104?
Nate McMurray YEP. I’M COMING FOR YOUR AR15
[Congressional candidate calling for gun confiscation]

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-gibson-guns-legislation-weaponizing-20190625-story.html
La Times: Banning semiautomatic weapons won’t solve America’s gun problem
[Detailing why just getting rid of semi-autos won’t be enough]

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/illinois-state-senator-maybe-its-best-to-just-grab-all-the-assault-weapons-guns-after-all/
Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison: “Maybe it’ll just be a confiscation and we won’t have to worry about paying the fine.”

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2019/05/14/goosebumps-cnns-baldwin-camerota-cheer-hogg-family-push-mass-gun
‘Goosebumps’! CNN’s Baldwin, Camerota Cheer Hogg Family, Push Mass Gun Confiscation

https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2019/04/20-years-after-columbine-guns-are-the-problem-guns-need-to-go-commentary.html
Syracuse.com: 20 years after Columbine: ‘Guns are the problem. Guns need to go.’ (Commentary)

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1108562224514326528
Bernie Sanders: We must follow New Zealand’s lead.. ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1108908752865054720
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Ban bump stocks, semiautos, &amp; high cap mags designed to kill people

2018

https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/november-december-2018/a-real-longterm-solution-to-gun-violence/
Washington Monthly: A Real Long-Term Solution to Gun Violence
;[Forced nationalization of the arms industry, compensated confiscation]

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a25235545/gun-buyback-national-gun-registry-success-gun-control/
Harper’s Bazaar: Why We Need to Ban Assault Rifles

href=”https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/11/ban-all-semiautomatic-firearms/
Mother Jones: Ban All Semiautomatic Firearms

https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/columnists/mcdermott-the-gun-ban-that-worked/article_23d189b9-7ce1-55f8-bca6-a0b5c2f6c23a.html
stltoday.com: The gun ban that worked [Virtual gun confiscation – the demand to require governmental permission to possess an unalienable human right]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/25/toronto-shooting-handgun-ban-canada
The Guardian: ‘Why does anyone need a gun?’: Toronto shooting prompts calls for handgun ban

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a20747292/nra-guns-take-them-away
Esquire: Okay, Now I Actually Do Want To Take Your Guns

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/03/ban-assault-weapons-buy-them-back-prosecute-offenders-column/570590002/
Ban assault weapons, buy them back, go after resisters: Ex-prosecutor in Congress

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/3/17174160/assault-weapons-ban-research-study
Vox: Why an assault weapons ban can’t address America’s gun problem

https://twitter.com/Emma4Change/status/988036115579002881?
Emma González [March for our Lives]:
Removing the assault and semi-automatic weapons from our Civilian society, instituting thorough background checks and mandatory waiting periods (and raising the buying age and banning the production of high-capacity magazines) are the ways to stop shootings in America.

http://www.charlottenewsvt.org/2018/03/21/ban-military-style-assault-weapons-sake-children/
The Charlotte News: Ban military-style assault weapons for the sake of our children

https://www.vox.com/2015/10/5/9454161/gun-violence-solution
Vox: What no politician wants to admit about gun control “taking a huge number of guns away from a huge number of gun owners

http://www.naacp.org/latest/opinion-gun-safety-freedom/
NAACP President OPINION: Gun Safety Is about Freedom [Australian style gun confiscation – making gun owners an offer they can’t refuse ]

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/25/maine-voices-yes-we-want-to-take-away-your-guns-the-case-for-civilian-disarmament/
Maine Voices: Yes, we want to take away your guns

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/27/robinson-dont-let-the-absurd-ploy-to-arm-teachers-distract-you/
Mercury News – Eugene Robinson
Robinson: Arming teachers is absurd — ban military-style assault rifles

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/02/22/want-to-end-gun-violence-mr-president-get-rid-of-guns.html
The Star: Want to end gun violence Mr. President? Get rid of guns

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-skelton-florida-shooting-gun-control-20180219-story.html
La Times: No one becomes a mass shooter without a mass-shooting gun

https://www.designmom.com/a-gun-ban-is-inevitable/
It’s Too Late. You’ve Lost Your Guns.

2017

https://splinternews.com/ban-guns-1820487148
Splinter news: BAN GUNS

https://www.redhawksonline.com/2017/11/13/las-vegas-shooting-response-keep-or-eliminate-guns/
Redhawks Online: Guns must go

https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/11/10/hand-over-your-weapons/6IxJLanMKGak7RvCLipwbN/story.html
Boston Globe: Hand over your weapons

https://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/2017/11/10/renew-ban-military-style-assault-weapons/851942001/
News-Press – USA Today Editorial Board: Renew ban on military-style assault weapons

https://crooked.com/article/bring-gun-fight/
Dan Pfeiffer: What to Bring to the Gun Fight [national gun registry, Tracking and limiting purchases of ammunition and a national gun buyback program]

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/354513-eugene-robinson-gun-control-should-include-buyback-program-like-australias
Eugene Robinson: Gun control should include buyback program like Australia’s

https://www.mediaite.com/online/washington-post-editorial-board-calls-on-trump-to-pass-gun-control-end-this-american-carnage/
Washington Post Editorial Board Calls on Trump to Pass Gun Control: ‘End This American Carnage’
[Members of The Washington Post Editorial Board]

https://theweek.com/articles/729108/ban-guns
The Week: Ban guns

https://planamag.com/ban-guns-amend-the-constitution-a9c288c20965?gi=aede7377ca64
Plan A Magazine: Ban Guns. Amend the Constitution.

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/03/opinions/ban-semiautomatic-weapons-and-save-lives-sachs/
(CNN) Sachs: Ban semiautomatic assault weapons and save lives

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/for-gods-sake-america-just-ban-guns
Prospect magazine: Dear America: it’s time to grow up and ban guns

2016

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/needed-domestic-disarmame_b_8739712.html
Huffington Post: Domestic Disarmament, Not ‘Gun Control’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/assault-weapons-must-be-banned/2016/06/13/0d6a58f4-3195-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html?
Washington Post – Eugene Robinson: Assault weapons must be banned in America

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/08/opinions/bell-obama-guns/index.html
W. Kamau Bell [CNN]: I want Obama to take away your guns

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-nelson/cant-we-just-put-the-damn_b_8939952.html
Huffington post: Can’t We Just Put the Damn Guns Down?
http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4cb82e24/sc/27/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A160C0A10C0A70Canderson0Ecooper0Eguns0Econspiracy0In0I8936530A0Bhtml/story01.htm
Anderson Cooper:“Speaking only for myself, watching Obama get repeatedly accused of wanting to take people’s guns away makes me sort of wish he’d just do something to earn that accusation. May as well!”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/07/president-obama-isn-t-taking-people-s-guns-but-maybe-he-should.html
The Daily Beast: President Obama Isn’t Taking People’s Guns—But Maybe He Should.

2015

https://newrepublic.com/article/125498/its-time-ban-guns-yes-them
New Republic: It’s Time to Ban Guns. Yes, All of Them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/opinion/end-the-gun-epidemic-in-america.html
The New York Times: End the Gun Epidemic in America
[First Front Page Editorial In 95 Years] This editorial published on A1 in the Dec. 5 edition of The New York Times. It is the first time an editorial has appeared on the front page since 1920.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/yes-they-want-to-take-your-guns-away
The Daily Beast: Yes, They Want to Take Your Guns Away

http://www.c-span.org/video/?328774-1/hillary-clinton-town-hall-meeting-keene-new-hampshire&amp;start=2831
Hillary Clinton: “In the Australian example, as I recall, that was a buyback program.”…..“I think it would be worth considering doing it on the national level”

href=”https://www.vox.com/2015/10/5/9455025/us-gun-violence
Vox: Becoming a gun-free society would be hard. But we should still try.

href=”https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/5/1427845/-Effective-Gun-Control-A-National-Semi-Auto-Ban
Daily Kos: Effective Gun Control – A National Semi-Auto Ban

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-gun-free-society/2015/10/04/6da29040-69c4-11e5-9ef3-fde182507eac_story.html
Washington Post: A gun-free society

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/01/statement-president-shootings-umpqua-community-college-roseburg-oregon
Obama: “We know that other countries, in response to one mass shooting, have been able to craft laws that almost eliminate mass shootings. Friends of ours, allies of ours — Great Britain, Australia, countries like ours. So we know there are ways to prevent it.”

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/columnists/ensley/2014/11/22/stop-insanity-ban-guns/19426029/
Tallahassee Democrat – Stop the insanity: Ban guns

2014

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/10/remarks-president-qa-david-karp-ceo-tumblr
Obama:;A couple of decades ago, Australia had a mass shooting similar to Columbine or Newtown. And Australia just said, well, that’s it — we’re not seeing that again. And basically imposed very severe, tough gun laws.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-gun-control-ban-homicides-suicides-20140528-story.html
La Times: You say gun control doesn’t work? Fine. Let’s ban guns altogether.

2013

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/gun-control-we-need-domes_b_2718536.html
Huffington Post: Gun Control? We Need Domestic Disarmament

2012

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/12/21/1172661/-How-to-Ban-Guns-A-step-by-step-long-term-process
Daily Kos: How to Ban Guns: A step by step, long term process

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/nyregion/cuomo-says-he-will-outline-gun-measures-next-month.html?_r=1&amp;
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo: “Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option — keep your gun but permit it.”

href=”https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/ban-all-guns-now/Content?oid=2147131
Detroit Metro Times: Ban all guns, now

href=”https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/why-gun-control-is-not-enough/
Opinionator – New York Times: Why Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/273753-house-dem-calls-on-people-to-turn-in-your-guns
House Dem: ‘Turn in your guns’

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/first-get-rid-of-the-guns/
Eugene Robinson: First, Get Rid of the Guns

https://www.economist.com/blogs/lexington/2012/12/gun-control
Economist The gun control that works: no guns

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/get-rid-of-the-damn-guns_b_1694753.html
Huffington Post: Get Rid of the Damn Guns

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/24/1077374/-Yes-conservatives-we-want-to-take-away-your-guns
Yes conservatives, we want to take away your guns…

2011
https://tucson.com/news/opinion/editorial/reinstate-ban-on-military-style-assault-weapons/article_d2687749-92aa-5d92-93bf-475d1beea35b.html
Arizona Daily Star: Reinstate ban on military-style assault weapons

1993

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-28/local/me-6058_1_gun-violence
La Times – Taming the Monster: Get Rid of the Guns

Uncategorized

Is That Like Double Secret Probation?

March 23, 2021 by 1 Comment

Not wasting any time in not letting a tragedy go to waste, there have been renewed calls for more gun control after the murders in Boulder, Colorado. The usual suspects have weighed in as has President Biden.

President Biden is calling on the Senate to pass both so-called universal background checks and an assault weapons (sic).

President Biden on Tuesday implored the Senate to pass new gun control measures in the wake of a mass shooting that left 10 dead in Boulder, Colorado, this week.

Biden said he didn’t “want to wait another minute, let alone an hour,” to act on gun violence.

He urged the House and Senate to ban “assault weapons,” as he said he did as a senator.

“I got that done as a senator. It brought down mass shootings, we can do it again,” Biden said. “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again.”…

The president also called on the Senate to pass two House bills that closed loopholes on background checks, including the Charleston loophole.

“These are bills that received votes with both Republicans and Democrats in the House. This is not and should not be a partisan issue. This is an American issue that will save lives, American lives. And we have to act. We should also ban assault weapons in the process,” Biden said. 

So if I understand Biden and the gun control cabal correctly, if only there was a ban on high capacity magazines and guns with cosmetics they don’t like as well as a background check on every gun transfer then we would not have another mass murder?

Sounds great until you take into account two facts that completely blow away their arguments.

Fact 1: Colorado has background checks on all firearms transfers, both public and private.

Fact 2: Colorado passed a 15-round limit on magazines back in 2013. Now it is my understanding that the Colorado Supreme Court may have invalidated that ban.

We don’t know yet how the murderer obtained the firearm at this time. Even with a ban in place, an angry, paranoid person such as this murderer is reputed to be would not let violating a gun control law stand in the way of something doing something heinous.

One last thing. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but sometimes life feels like a Matt Bracken novel where the killer is merely a pawn for more government control.

Uncategorized

Wayne And DiFi Have A Symbiotic Relationship

March 12, 2021 by 3 Comments

I know this will either sound like heresy or cynicism but what would Wayne LaPierre and Dianne Feinstein do without one another?

Think about it.

Now that Feinstein has reintroduced her perennial assault weapons ban bill, Wayne will be able to send out hundreds of thousands emails and fund raising letters saying he needs the money to fight “Feinstein’s gun grabbing.”

Conversely, Feinstein will be able to use Wayne and the NRA as her personal whipping boys calling them “obstructionist insurrectionists” to both fund raise and to seek support for her bill.

Behind closed doors where no one can see either of them together, I would not be surprised to find out that they have a cordial relationship. Both are Beltway insiders who have been in DC for long, long time. Wayne became Executive VP in 1991 and Feinstein was first elected a year later in 1992.

Of course, that is just speculation but it is hard to see one existing without the other.