gun rights

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The 2012 Democrat Platform On Firearms

September 4, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Democrats finally released their platform yesterday evening. With regard to firearms and firearm rights, it is a study in contrasts with the Republican platform which was ardently pro-gun rights. It is full of the gun prohibitionists’ favorite codewords like “commonsense” and “reasonable” along with their usual so-called respect for the Second Amendment.

Firearms. We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements – like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole – so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.

If you wondered what a second Obama term meant for gun owners the road map is right in front of us. Private sales will be outlawed which is what they mean by their use of the oxymoron “gun show loophole”. Moreover, when they say they will reinstate the assault weapons (sic) ban, you can rest assured that it won’t be like the Clinton-era ban which had many loopholes in it. They will have learned their lesson from before and you can expect any new ban to be draconian.

Elsewhere in the platform, the Democrats talk about future Supreme Court nominations and applaud the selections of both Sotomayor and Kagan.

That’s why President Obama appointed two distinguished jurists to the Supreme Court: Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Moving forward, we will continue to nominate and confirm judges who are men and women of unquestionable talent and character and will always demonstrate their faithfulness to our law and our Constitution and bring with them a sense of how American society works and how the American people live.

You should remember back to Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings where she declared that the Second Amendment was settled law. She promptly then was one of the dissenting votes in McDonald v. Chicago. If just one of the majority in Heller and McDonald dies or retires during a second Obama term, you can fully expect your Second Amendment freedoms to be at risk. You should also remember that most cases never advance beyond the District Court and Circuit Courts of Appeal and that stacking these courts with anti-gun appointees will also put your rights at risk.

The Democrats have said what they plan to do in a second Obama term and I believe them. As a gun owner and one that believes in gun rights, I plan to do everything I can to make sure that second term never happens.

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From The GOP Platform On Gun Rights

August 31, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Republican Party Platform has gotten a number of mentions for how pro-gun it is from both the blogosphere as well as the mainstream media. Of course, Pravda on the Potomac aka the Washington Post has to headline their story, “In wake of mass shootings, Republican Party platforms calls for expanded rights for gun owners”. The new head of the Brady Campaign, Dan Gross, tells the Post that “by making these changes, Republican leaders have ‘put themselves farther out of touch with their constituents.'” Dan, of course, is merely wishing that were true.

So what does the Republican Platform – We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government – really say about firearms and gun rights? You can see for yourself below.

The Second Amendment: Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms

We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizen’s God-given right of self-defense. We call for the protection of such fundamental individual rights recognized in the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago affirming that right, and we recognize the individual responsibility to safely use and store firearms. This also includes the right to obtain and store ammunition without registration. We support the fundamental right to self-defense wherever a law-abiding citizen has a legal right to be, and we support federal legislation that would expand the exercise of that right by allowing those with state-issued carry permits to carry firearms in any state that issues such permits to its own residents. Gun ownership is responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend their homes and communities. We condemn frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners. We oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our Second Amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips or magazines or otherwise restoring the ill-considered Clinton gun ban. We condemn the reckless actions associated with the operation known as “Fast and Furious,” conducted by the Department of Justice, which resulted in the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and others on both sides of the border. We applaud the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in holding the current Administration’s Attorney General in contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with their investigation into that debacle. We oppose the improper collection of firearms sales information in the four southern border states, which was imposed without congressional authority.

With the exception of overturning the Hughes Amendment and removing silencers from the NFA, I think it hits all the high points of what we have been fighting to achieve.

The NSSF Blog which strongly endorses this platform now wonders if the Democrats will come out with a similarly strong worded platform in favor of gun rights. 

Now as the Democratic National Convention approaches, we can hope for a campaign platform statement on the right to keep and bear arms that is as straightforward, respectful of our history and of recent Supreme Court decisions as the reasonable members of that party can achieve. We will not hold our breath, but we can hope.

I’m not holding my breath either.

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Ryan On Guns

August 11, 2012 by 16 Comments

With Mitt Romney’s pick of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to be his running mate, I wanted to know where Ryan stood on guns and gun control. I know where Ryan stands on economic issues but what about guns.

It’s a good record. He has been both rated A and endorsed by the NRA-PVF going back to at least 2002. The archives don’t go back any further than that.

Gun Owners of America rates him an A. They define this as “A & A- Pro-Gun Voter: philosophically sound.”

On The Issues has this on his record on gun rights:

  • Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
  • Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
  • Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1. (Jun 1999)
  • Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record. (Dec 2003)
  • National cross-state standard for concealed carry. (Jan 2009)
  • Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC. (Mar 2007)
  • Allow reloading spent military small arms ammunition. (Apr 2009)

More recently, he was a co-sponsor of HR 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, and HR 615, the Collectible Firearms Protection Act, which allows M-1 Garands and M-1 Carbines to be repatriated without State Department approval.

Ryan is also an outdoorsman. He reportedly proposed to his wife Janna at his favorite fishing lake in Wisconsin. Moreover, in what will drive the PETAfiles nuts, he includes pictures of deer and turkey that he shot on his Congressional campaign website. Here is Ryan with a nice 8-pointer.

With regard to the contempt vote for Attorney General Eric Holder, Ryan said Holder brought it upon himself for stonewalling the Oversight Committee in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. The video of this interview can be seen here.

On the Department of Justice’s handling of the “Fast and Furious” operation:

Paul Ryan: Attorney General Eric Holder brought this upon himself. He has been stonewalling Congress for 16 months and, yes, he can avoid this if he brings the documents that have been requested for months.

NeilCavuto: Do you think a lot of cynics will say quickly that this is along party lines and this is sort of like a Republican cabal to embarrass the Attorney General and embarrass the White House. What are you saying?

Paul Ryan: I think what’s embarrassing is “Fast and Furious.” It is something that should never happen ever again and we need to get to the bottom of it. All Congress is doing is its job, detailed in the Constitution, to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. We have separation of powers for a very important reason, to preserve liberty and limits to government, and this is being infringed upon by this stonewalling so we are just doing our jobs here in the Legislative Branch.

 Finally, here is what a much younger Paul Ryan had to say to C-Span about gun control laws back in 1998 when he was a Congressman-elect. (Thanks to TTAG for the pointer on this.)

 
As a gun owner, I think Mitt Romney made a good choice with the pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate. As an American, I think he made an even better choice because of Ryan’s determination to not pass the buck on fiscal issues to another generation.  
UPDATE: More on Ryan and the Second Amendment from HotAir.com. Also has another picture to drive PETA nuts not that they aren’t already.
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On, Wisconsin!

June 6, 2012 by 1 Comment
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!
Grand old Badger State!
We, your loyal sons and daughters,
Hail thee, good and great.
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!
Champion of the right,
“Forward”, our motto,
God will give thee might!
 Last night was a mostly good night for the GOP in Wisconsin. I say mostly because they lost one of the State Senate recall elections which will give the Democrats control of the Wisconsin State Senate by a 17-16 margin.
Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (R-WI), and three Republican state senators won their recall elections yesterday. The lone Democrat to win was John Lehman who beat the incumbent Van Wanggaard in Racine. Lehman had previously held that State Senate set so he wasn’t an unknown to the voters and, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that district is one of the most competitive in Wisconsin.
Regarding John Lehman, he had served in the State Assembly for five terms and then one term in the State Senate. The only thing I can find on his campaign website regarding gun rights is this:

We cannot afford to have concealed weapons in our schools and we need to trust our local elected officials when deciding where weapons are permitted or prohibited.

Other than that, I’m not sure how a Democrat controlled State Senate will impact gun rights in Wisconsin. According to Wisconsin Gun Owners, both Lehman and Wanggaard were rated “F” on gun rights in their first match-up in 2010. Moreover, Wanggaard was not one of the sponsors of the bill approving shall-issue concealed carry in Wisconsin though he did vote for final passage of the bill. That bill passed the State Senate 25-8 which means it was passed with both Democrats and Republicans voting for it.

As with anything political, only time will tell how the change in control of the Wisconsin State Senate will impact gun rights in the Badger State.

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Quote Of The Day

May 9, 2012 by 4 Comments

In today’s Las Vegas Sun, there was a letter to the editor from a retired law enforcement officer by the name of Bruce Kerley. He didn’t specify where he served in law enforcement other than in “a Midwest suburban police department.” It well could have been a suburban Chicago department given his letter.

While the purpose of the letter was ostensibly to warn citizens to be careful when carrying a firearm especially in encounters with police, I think the true purpose of the letter was to complain about the great unwashed, i.e., you and me, being allowed to carry concealed.

His letter brought this response from “Emthree”:

I appreciate the difficult work performed by law enforcement officers in this country. But when an officer reaches the point where his concern for personal safety does not permit him to recognize the Constitutional rights of other Americans, it’s time to find a new line of work.

I could not have said it better myself.

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Sign Of The Times

March 23, 2012 by

My sister-in-law saw this flyer posted just inside the doorway of Crown Candy in St. Louis yesterday. Cindy, who will be a special correspondent for the blog at the upcoming NRA Annual Meeting, knew I’d be interested. She also said she saw her first billboard for the Annual Meeting.

If you have ever watched that quintessentially American show, Man Versus Food, then you may have heard of Crown Candy. In their Five Milkshake Challenge, you have 30 minutes to drink all five milkshakes. On this challenge, Adam failed.

I take it as great sign that you see flyers like this in a place like Crown Candy which usually has a line outside waiting to get in.

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Like I Said – An Attractive And Effective Spokesperson For Gun Rights

February 25, 2012 by 5 Comments

Emily Miller of the Washington Times was on Fox and Friends Weekend this morning to speak about the rise in gun ownership and gun use by women. I think she is correct when she attributes it to the desire for increased self-protection.

I think she did an excellent job in her interview. As I wrote earlier in the week, the unintended consequence of D.C.’s draconian gun laws was the creation of a new spokesperson for gun rights.

Watch the latest video at <a href=”http://video.foxnews.com”>video.foxnews.com</a>

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Creating A Gun Rights Activist

February 9, 2012 by 4 Comments

Emily Miller just wanted a gun for protection at home. The District of Columbia still wants to delay the process as long as possible and put up as many bureaucratic roadblocks as possible the Heller decision notwithstanding. The end result is that as of today Emily Miller is officially a gun owner as she picked up her Sig P229 pistol and took it home. She is also now a gun rights activist.

Now, this series is far from over. As I’ve found, the hurdles placed before gun owners do not end here. I need to figure out the laws on getting ammunition and transporting the gun to a state that allows practice shooting.

Most of all, I intend to keep pushing the Council of the District of Columbia to rewrite the its laws to make them fair and constitutional for law-abiding Americans.

Emily has already testified before the DC City Council about her experience in obtaining her gun permit and her Sig P229. I fully expect that she will keep pushing the DC City Council to bring their gun laws in line with the rest of America.

There is an old saying that says politicians shouldn’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the ton. This is exactly what DC just did as Emily is a senior editor at the Washington Times and I think that they will rue the day that they made it difficult for her to defend herself.

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United Way Pledges

September 27, 2011 by 4 Comments

Now is about the time that companies start their United Way Campaigns. I know our parent company is really pushing it this year and is looking for 100% participation. They will even match my contribution at 50%.

If you don’t specify an agency, your contribution goes into the UW General Fund and is spread out amongst the recipient agencies. Some of these you may like and some you may not. Some may even be actively working to restrict gun rights.

There is an alternative. You can designate the organization to receive the money. They don’t publicize this much but you can do it. The only requirement is that the organization be a 501(c)3 non-profit.

So how can you combine the United Way with the fight for gun rights? Simple – designate your gift to go to the Second Amendment Foundation. They are a 501(c)3 non-profit and are eligible to receive United Way monies. Their ID number for the United Way is 91-6184-167-501-C3.

It is something to consider.

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Other Gun Rights Measures Gaining Traction In Congress

April 26, 2011 by

Much attention has been placed on HR 822 – National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act – and rightfully so. It now has 171 co-sponsors and, hopefully, will have more after Congress gets back from its district “work” break. Besides this bill, there are a number of other gun rights measures starting to gain traction in Congress if measured by the number of co-sponsors.

HR 58, the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act, which was introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) now has 93 co-sponsors including a number of Blue Dog Democrats. Under current law, you are allowed to purchase a long gun at a gun shop outside the state of your residence if it is allowed by your state of residence and the state in which the transaction takes place. HR 58 would change this to include pistols and revolvers. Moreover, it would more broadly define state of residence for those in the military.

The next bill that is starting to pick up steam is Rep. Denny Rehrberg’s Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act of 2011 (HR 420). This bill would create a 90-day amnesty period for veterans or their families to register firearms subject to the National Firearms Act. The firearm must have been acquired outside of the United States while serving in the Armed Services and must have been acquired prior to October 31, 1968. The bill also would allow the firearm to be forfeited to the U.S. and then transferred to a museum. It forbids the destructions of any firearm forfeited to the U.S. HR 420 now has bi-partisan support from 103 co-sponsors. One side effect of this bill is that it could start the process to re-open the NFA Registry that was closed due to the Hughes Amendment in 1986. If it is opened for vet bring-backs, why not re-open for new weapons?

Also dealing with collectible firearms is HR 615, Collectible Firearms Protection Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). While written broadly to include other firearms, it is aimed at allowing the repatriation of the M-1 Garands and M-1 Carbines that the South Korean government is seeking to sell U.S. importers. This bill now has 71 co-sponsors.

A bill to do away with gun control in the District of Columbia, HR 645, has 99 co-sponsors. This bill was sponsored by Arkansas Democrat Mike Ross and is supported by a broad coalition of Democrats and Republicans. The bill would remove the DC District Council’s authority to restrict firearms, repeal the ban on semi-auto firearms, repeal the registration requirements, authorize ammunition sales, and repeal the ban on the sales of handgun ammunition.

The final bill that seems to be gaining some traction is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform Act of 2011. Introduced as HR 1093 in the House and S 835 in the Senate, this bill is a repeat of a similar bill introduced in the 111th Congress. The bill is a comprehensive approach to reforming the way that ATF deals with licensed firearms dealers among other things. It institutes a graduated system of penalties for minor record-keeping errors doing away with the all or nothing current approach. Moreover, it forbids the Attorney General from using the number of warnings issued or fines levied by an ATF agent as the basis for a bonus or promotion. This bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and it has 82 co-sponsors. In the Senate, the bill was introduced just a couple of weeks ago by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID). Significantly, the first co-sponsor in the Senate is Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee which will be where hearings are held on this bill.

It is still relatively early in the 112th Congress but a number of pro-gun rights bills have gained traction. The difficulty will be in seeing that they get the hearings they need and then the support in both the House and Senate.