Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

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Heh – Feinstein’s AWB Amendment Fails

April 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) got the vote she demanded on her Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

And as expected, she lost. Big time!

The vote was 40 aye, 60 nay.

I’m a bit surprised that Bob Casey (D-PA) voted FOR the bill. I’m sure that will go over well with all the gun owners and deer hunters in Pennsylvania.

The only thing this vote did was allow some red-state Democrats to claim they voted against gun control. I noted that Kay Hagan and Mary Landrieu who both voted for Manchin-Toomey voted Nay on this.

UPDATE: Below is the roll call vote by position. It tells me two things. First, that there are 40 hard core gun prohibitionists in the Senate. Second, Senate seats that were winnable in 2010 and 2012 by Republicans went to anti-gun Democrats due to weak, ineffectual, or stupid Republican nominees. I’m talking about Wisconsin, Virginia, Delaware, and especially Missouri.

YEAs —40
Baldwin (D-WI)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Coons (D-DE)
Cowan (D-MA)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)		 Harkin (D-IA)
Hirono (D-HI)
Kaine (D-VA)
Kirk (R-IL)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA) 		Nelson (D-FL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs —60
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Enzi (R-WY)		 Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (D-SD)
Johnson (R-WI)
King (I-ME)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lee (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ) 		McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (D-VA)
Wicker (R-MS)
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“Jumped-Up Refugee From A Zoning Board”

March 15, 2013 by 2 Comments

The title of this post comes from a description of Sen. Dianne Feinsten (D-CA) made by Tam in a post back in February. I loved it then and I especially love it now that DiFi is all butt hurt over the eloquent thrashing she took from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

Ted Cruz asked DiFi whether she thought Congress could likewise limit the right of the people under the 1st and 4th Amendments as she is seeking to do with her Assault Weapons Ban of 2012. As you can see in the video below, DiFi gets all huffy about it. Three male Democrats also have to jump in because it seems that they are worried that a woman can’t make a strong enough argument or so it would seem.

After the committee business meeting, DiFi had to run to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to wrap the mantle of victimhood across her shoulders. She said, “Well, I just felt patronized. I felt he was somewhat arrogant about it.” CNN is still playing the clip below of DiFi whining about her treatment as I saw just this morning on TV in a local McDonalds.

Did DiFin really say she put her fingers in the wounds of George Moscone and Harvey Milk? Hmnm. I wonder when DiFi will get around to telling people that fellow Supervisor Dan White didn’t use an AR or an AK or even an FN-FAL to murder them. No, Dan White used a S&W Model 10 in .38 Special – a plain old everyday revolver then used by police forces around the country.

20 years in the Senate and 9 years as the accidental mayor of San Francisco still doesn’t make one a expert on Constitutional matters. Nor does it seem to engender any real respect for it either. She is, and will always remain, what Tam described her as – a meddling harpy and a jumped-up refugee from a zoning board.

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CCRKBA Blasts Passage Of S.150 Out Of Committee

March 14, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms issued a statement this afternoon blasting the party-line vote on Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.

From their statement:


CCRKBA BLASTS PARTY-LINE PASSAGE OF FEINSTEIN GUN BAN MEASURE

BELLEVUE, WA – Thursday’s strict party-line vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to move anti-gun Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s measure banning so-called “assault weapons” was an insult to millions of law-abiding American citizens who own such firearms and have harmed nobody, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.

“Instead of banning the most popular firearm in the country,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “we need to ban politicians who assault our rights. We are appalled and disappointed that Sen. Feinstein and her cronies have advanced this measure, which demonizes firearms that are used thousands of times each year to protect lives and property from criminal attack.”

Gottlieb noted that FBI crime data says that rifles of any kind are used in only a fraction of violent crimes annually, “yet Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have allowed this legislative travesty to move forward.”

“Demonizing certain firearms, and by default the people who own them, has become a scapegoat strategy by politicians who have allowed a broken justice system to release violent offenders back on the street while disarming their potential victims,” Gottlieb said. “By focusing their energy on disarming law-abiding citizens, politicians like Sen. Feinstein are perpetuating a myth that firearms cause crime. That’s as foolish as believing that cars cause drunk driving.”

Sen. Feinstein acknowledged that her legislation faces an uphill battle when it reaches the full Senate.

“We will encourage our members to contact their senators about this legislation,” Gottlieb said. “Public policy and constitutional rights should not be subject to the whims of gun prohibitionists who are quick to exploit the crimes committed by a few crazy people, in order to advance their agenda of public disarmament.”

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Feinstein Gets Her Way

March 14, 2013 by 3 Comments

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) got her assault weapons ban (sic) – S. 150 – out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today on a 10-8 party line vote. It now goes to the full Senate.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) offered four amendments to the bill which were all defeated on an 8-10 party line vote. His amendments would have made exceptions for those in rural areas; for those who had obtained a protective order; for those who certified they were the victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking; and for those people who were residents in a county or municipality that borders Mexico to protect themselves against the narco-terrorists. I think Cornyn’s intention was to put the Democrats on record as anti-rural, anti-woman, and anti-self defense.

The votes on Jane Kelly to be an Appeals Court judge in the 8th Circuit and on Kenneth Gonzales to be a District Court judge in New Mexico were held over.

 The results of the business meeting as reported are below:

Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 14, 2013
The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting to consider pending nominations and legislation on March 14, 2013.

Agenda

I. Nominations

Jane Kelly, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit
Held Over

Kenneth John Gonzales, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico
Held Over

II. Legislation

S. 150, Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 (Feinstein)
Ordered Reported by Roll Call Vote, 10-8

Amendment ALB13181 (Cornyn)
Failed by Roll Call Vote, 8-10

Amendment OLL13116 (Cornyn)
Failed by Roll Call Vote, 8-10

Amendment OLL13117 (Cornyn)
Failed by Roll Call Vote, 8-10

Amendment OLL13118 (Cornyn)
Failed by Roll Call Vote, 8-10

The webcast of the meeting for anyone with the stomach enough to watch it is here.

UPDATE: According to Politico, the White House is urging swift action on Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. Press Secretary Jay Carney had this to say:

“Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary committee voted to send the full Senate an important piece of legislation to help keep weapons of war off America’s streets,” Carney said Thursday. “As you know, banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines is an important piece of the president’s plan to reduce gun violence.

“We urge congress to swiftly vote on and pass this legislation and other common-sense measures like requiring a background check for all gun purchases and cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchasers. There’s been significant progress this week on these proposals and the president welcomes that. We urge congress to keep it up.”

Frankly every time I hear the words “common sense” out of Jay Carney or President Obama’s mouth, I shudder at the perversion of the English language.

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S.150- Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

January 25, 2013 by 6 Comments

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced S.150 – the Assault Weapons (sic) Ban of 2013 – to much hoopla yesterday. She may have even pulled a David Gregory when she used 10 firearms prohibited by the District of Columbia in her presentation. While the bill as it stands may not even get enough Democrat votes to pass the Senate, I have the feeling that it will be used as a negotiating tool.

S.150 has 17 original co-sponsors and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] – 1/24/2013
Sen Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] – 1/24/2013
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] – 1/24/2013
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE] – 1/24/2013
Sen Durbin, Richard [D-IL] – 1/24/2013
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] – 1/24/2013
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] – 1/24/2013
Sen Levin, Carl [D-MI] – 1/24/2013
Sen Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] – 1/24/2013
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD] – 1/24/2013
Sen Murphy, Christopher S. [D-CT] – 1/24/2013
Sen Reed, Jack [D-RI] – 1/24/2013
Sen Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] – 1/24/2013
Sen Schatz, Brian [D-HI] – 1/24/2013
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] – 1/24/2013
Sen Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] – 1/24/2013
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] – 1/24/2013

While there are no Republican co-sponsors to this bill, the Washington Post reported today that Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is working with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on other gun control measures.

The full text of S.150 is not yet up on the Library of Congress’ Thomas server. However, a full text copy have been loaded on Scribd and can be found here. Appendix A lists a large number of single-shot, double-barreled, pump, bolt-action, and some semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that would be expressly exempted from the provision of S.150.

To be frank, Appendix A reads as if some staffer sat down with old copies of Gun Digest and started copying names. For example, it exempts the Ithaca Model 87 pump shotgun but makes no mention of the Model 37. The Model 37 was renamed the Model 87 for a brief period of time and then reverted back to the original name of Model 37.

A summary of the provisions of S.150 can be found here. While grandfathered firearms were not put under the National Firearms Act as previously speculated, it still contains onerous provisions. It contains a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms and forbids the sale or transfer of grandfathered magazines. Grandfathered firearms would be allowed to be sold but must go through a FFL and a NICS check.

If you haven’t written to your congressman or senator, start now. Even if you live in California or one of the states of her fellow-traveler co-sponsors, write anyway. Don’t let anyone say they didn’t get letters, emails, and faxes in opposition.

As Leon Trotsky, one of the fathers of the Communist Revolution, said to his Menshevik opponents, and it could just as readily be applied to Feinstein, her bill, and its backers, “You are pitiful, isolated individuals! You are bankrupts. Your role is
played out. Go where you belong from now on—into the dustbin of
history!”

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Feinstein’s Other List

January 25, 2013 by 3 Comments

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is all about lists. In addition to her list of firearms with ugly (to her) cosmetics, she has thoughtfully provided a list of those people and organizations who don’t support your constitutional rights. One might go so far as to refer to it as an “enemies list”.

In addition to the usual politicians and gun control groups, Feinstein lists a number of religious, medical, education, and other non-profits supporting her Assault Weapons (sic) Ban of 2013. I would say it provides a convenient list of the groups who won’t be getting my charitable donations.

I would add one caveat. Many of the groups listed are national umbrella organizations whose endorsement is for themselves only and not for their member organizations. For example, Catholic Charities USA is listed as an endorser of Feinstein’s bill. As I give substantial donations to my diocesan Catholic Social Services and have been a member of its board of directors in the past, I sought clarification on this endorsement from the executive director of the diocesan organization. He informed me that this endorsement only covers Catholic Charities USA and not the many diocesan Catholic
Charities or Catholic Social Services who are constituent members. I’m sure that this may be the same for a number of the other organizations listed.

Below is the complete list of those people and organizations who have lent their name in support of Feinstein’s bill.

Law Enforcement

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
International Association of Chiefs of Police
Major Cities Chiefs Association
Police Executive Research Forum
Police Foundation
Women in Federal Law Enforcement
Chaska (Minn.) Police Chief Scott Knight, former chairman of the Firearms Committee, International Association of Chiefs of Police
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck
San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne

Localities

U.S. Conference of Mayors
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Anthony Smith
Boston City Council

California mayors

Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan
Petaluma Mayor David Glass
Pleasant Hill Mayor Michael Harris
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner
San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido
Santa Cruz Mayor Hilary Bryant
Saratoga Mayor Jill Hunter
Tiburon Mayor Emmett O’Donnell

California cities

Calabasas, Calif.
Lemon Grove, Calif.
Los Angeles
Stockton, Calif.
Ventura, Calif.
West Hollywood, Calif.

Gun safety (sic)

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Violence Policy Center
Washington CeaseFire

Education and child welfare

20 Children
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Federation of Teachers
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Child Welfare League of America
Children’s Defense Fund
Every Child Matters
Moms Rising
National Association of Social Workers
National PTA
National Education Association
San Diego Unified School District

Religious

African Methodist Episcopal Church
Alliance of Baptists
American Baptist Churches of the South
American Baptist Home Mission Societies
American Friends Service Committee
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
Camp Brotherhood
Catholic Charities USA
Catholic Health Association
Catholic Health Initiatives
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Catholics United
Church of the Brethren
Church Women United, Inc.
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Dominican Sisters of Peace
FaithsAgainstGunViolence.org
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Health Ministries Association
Heeding God’s Call
Hindu American Foundation
Interfaith Alliance of Idaho
Islamic Society of North America
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Reconstructionist Movement
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Mennonite Central Committee, Washington Office
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of Churches
National Episcopal Health Ministries
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Pax Christi USA
PICO Network Lifelines to Healing
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness
Progressive National Baptist Convention
Rabbinical Assembly
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
San Francisco Interfaith Council
Sikh Council on Religion and Education, USA
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sojourners
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
United Methodist Women
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Washington National Cathedral
Women of Reform Judaism

Health care

American Academy of Pediatrics
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Surgeons
American Public Health Association
Doctors for America
National Association of School Nurses

Other

Alliance for Business Leadership
American Bar Association
Black American Political Association of California
Grandmothers for Peace International
National Parks Conservation Association
Sierra Club
TASH
Washington Office on Latin America

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I Like The Cut Of His Jib

January 25, 2013 by

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the junior senator from Texas and the former Solicitor General of Texas. He was responsible for organizing the amicus brief from 31 states in support of Heller in DC v. Heller.

Today he fired back at Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her Assault Weapons (sic) Ban of 2013.


Washington politicians shouldn’t be taking advantage of recent tragedy to try to push an aggressive gun control agenda. Real assault weapons—machine guns—are already functionally illegal, and they have been since 1934. This proposal would have done nothing to prevent the terrible murders in Newtown, but it would limit the constitutional liberties of law-abiding citizens. And gun control doesn’t work – the empirical data overwhelmingly demonstrate that strict gun-control laws consistently produce more crime and more murders.

The Second Amendment exists to ensure that law-abiding Americans can protect their homes and families, and I look forward to helping lead the fight to defeat this bill and to protect our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

I’m glad we have such a strong Second Amendment advocate in the Senate.