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McDonald Victory Makes This 4th of July Really Worth Celebrating, Says SAF
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"The Second Amendment Foundation's landmark victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, which incorporates the Second Amendment to the states, makes this weekend’s 4th of July 'really worth celebrating,' said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb."
"'I cannot think of a more auspicious moment for Americans to celebrate freedom, liberty and America's birthday than on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling that underscores what those terms are all about,' said Gottlieb. 'The right to keep and bear arms has long set our country apart from other nations, and has been the foundation upon which our other civil rights have remained in existence.'" ... |
A New Birth of Freedom: The 14th Amendment
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... "That's how the Fourteenth Amendment has been reduced to protecting due process, rather than the essential rights it ostensibly protects. So that, in this week's extension of Second Amendment rights, four of the justices in the majority could base their decision on the usual, largely arbitrary interpretation of what constitutes due process."
"But the fifth justice concurring in this decision -- the Hon. Clarence Thomas -- decided he wasn't playing this game any longer. He could read the Fourteenth Amendment and, however long its plain meaning had been ignored, he proposed to resurrect it. In whole ... And that includes not just the right to bear arms, as in this case, but the whole Bill of Rights and beyond." ... |
Safer Streets 2010 and Gun Control: Gun laws becoming too suspicious now
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"Gun control itself has to be getting very suspicious to non-gun owners. The reaction of gun ban entities is just vicious. It has a defiant, even retaliatory cast to it. 90 million gun owners - especially the older ones - have long distrusted gun control's motives, especially when it comes to defiance of the law. The Supreme Court's recent decision to incorporate the second amendment deletes now a dodge some had been using to deny Americans their civil rights. With little cover now, the blatant contempt for the people is evident even if you don't own a gun." ... |
In self-defense, Part I
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"Washington State's self-defense statute is pretty clear, and it has stood the test of time and investigative precedent; that is, this column cannot recall a case in King, Pierce or Snohomish counties ... when prosecutors have made a wrong call on a true self-defense slaying."
"A while back, I collaborated with Alan Gottlieb – whose Second Amendment Foundation emerged as the victor in the recent Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago – on a book we called America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age. We've shared bylines on some other books*, but this particular effort seems to have struck a nerve with readers. In this book, we explain why lethal self-defense is moral." ... |
Tens of thousands of Americans capitalize on Utah's concealed-firearms permits
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"Tens of thousands of Americans throughout the country have been issued concealed-firearms permits from the state of Utah and are allowed to legally carry their guns in 32 other states." ...
"According to the Bureau of Criminal Identification, the division of the Utah Department of Public Safety that issues the permits, 241,811 permits have been granted--almost half of those were given to nonresidents ..." ...
"Peter Hamm ... doesn't approve. 'I think it's absolutely shameful and ludicrously irresponsible to say that anybody anywhere who wants one of our concealed-carry permits ... can just log on to our Web site and pay 60 bucks and that's all she wrote,' Hamm said ..." ... -------
Submitter's Note: You know Pete I tried doing what you said and the state of Utah wants a whole bunch more than just 'logging in and paying $65'. |
McDonald, gun ownership, and the non-violent restoration of safer streets
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"In Part I, I wrote about the spiritual reawakening of Independence and the epiphany that Independence itself serves to discredit government programs which operate as a poor substitute for the armed citizen. I used the word 'impeaches' for those boondoggle programs."
"In Part II and Part III, let us look at how this is done non-violently to further impeach the anti-gun hysteria and the smear which the left is offering as its best evidence against the armed citizen. ..."
"I often speak of the ubiquitous armed citizen, the idea that armed adults are in such sufficient numbers that thugs begin to notice ... This ubiquitous armed citizen becomes a ubiquitous deterrent of crime for both business and pleasure." ... |
Glenn Beck Praises Author of 2nd Amendment Picture Book for Children
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"Nordskog Publishing introduces With My Rifle by My Side: A Second Amendment Lesson by Kimberly Jo Simac, their inaugural release under the Young Heart Books imprint. ..."
"Glenn Beck, on his July 2 TV show, ... said he would read it to his son and pointed out that it is about the 2nd Amendment."
"This is more than just a picture book. The appendix for parents and grandparents contains gun safety guidelines, links to programs for children, and Founders' quotes to introduce a 2nd Amendment study."
"Written for children 8 and younger, the book tells two stories at once: A boy's initiation into rifle safety and hunting; and his awakening to the solemn necessity of firearms for preserving personal and national liberty. ..." ... |
Did sitting high court justice lie to Congress?
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FULL TEXT BELOW:
To the editor:
Sonia Sotomayor lied -- under oath during her confirmation hearings -- to the Senate about her views on the Second Amendment granting an individual right to bear arms. Last week, she voted in favor of Chicago's handgun ban. Isn't that perjury? An impeachable offense? Why is no one is holding her to account?
Don Koch
Las Vegas -------
Submitter's Note: I posed the same impeachment question to one of my lawyer friends who stated "not a chance, even if someone had videos of her beating puppies and molesting young children." |
Elena Kagan's problems with the truth
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"Ordinarily, a column that takes a public figure to task for deliberate falsehoods would concern specific examples of prevaricating. My commentary today on Elena Kagan ... is no exception. But her problems with the truth go beyond that. They concern the foundations of our nation." ...
"Kagan’s acceptance of these misrepresentations was on display in her questioning by Sen. Thomas Coburn of Oklahoma about the existence of natural rights existing prior to the government which exists to secure them. Sen. Coburn’s specific concern was with the Second Amendment’s affirmation of the right to keep and bear arms, recently upheld by the United States Supreme Court as an individual right." ... |
Natural Reluctance
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"From last week's confirmation hearings, we learned that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan likes to eat in Chinese restaurants on Christmas. She did not say how she spends Independence Day, but evidently it does not involve reflecting on the meaning of our founding document."
"According to the Declaration of Independence, people create government to protect their pre-existing, inalienable rights. Yet when Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., asked Kagan whether armed self-defense is one of those rights, she professed agnosticism."
"'I don't have a view of what are natural rights independent of the Constitution,' Kagan said. In two days of testimony replete ... her silence on natural rights was one of the most disturbing things she didn't say." ... |
The Fury of an Idiot Scorned
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"In the event that this story is true, it would appear that President Obama's classless low blow at the Supreme Court in this year's State of the Union address may end up being significant for more than Alito's silently mouthed rebuttal, after all:" ...
"... Under normal circumstances, it would be preposterous to suggest that a Supreme Court Justice would either change their vote or their decision about when to retire based on an insult (perceived or real) delivered by the man who would name their successor. In fact, the very suggestion is insulting to both the intelligence and integrity of the Justice in question ..."
"However, in Kennedy's case, the suggestion is more than plausible; it is totally believable." ... |
Kagan: 'No view on natural rights'
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"Elena Kagan has disqualified herself from serving on the U.S. Supreme Court with her statement under oath that she has no view of 'natural rights,' says the man leading a letter-writing campaign to the U.S. Senate."
"'In all my years of observing hearings in Washington, I don't think I've ever been more stunned and disappointed by the testimony of a Supreme Court nominee than I was with Elena Kagan,' said Joseph Farah, spearhead of the 'Stop Kagan Campaign,' ... 'This is someone, who, from her own testimony, doesn't believe in the Declaration of Independence ... This is someone who claims she doesn't have a view about 'natural rights' –- those that real Americans believe are unalienable and God-given.'" ... |
Thomas' principled jurisprudence in arms case
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... "Last month Justice Clarence Thomas delivered a similarly decisive opinion in McDonald v. Chicago ..."
"The other eight justices argued whether that right was fundamental enough to apply to the states under ... 'due process of law.' Since the 1940s the justices have been arguing whether various federal rights were fundamental enough to apply to the states under this clause. ..."
"Thomas, writing separately, declined to apply the due process clause. Rather he argued that the Second Amendment applied to the states because the right to keep and bear arms under the 14th Amendment's command that 'no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.'" ... |
Some review of the fallout from McDonald vs. Chicago
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"As we celebrate the country's 234th birthday today, we have the opportunity to reflect on some of the rhetoric and reaction to the recent McDonald vs. Chicago ruling. Both sides of the gun debate seem to be pleased with the ruling, which essentially incorporates the Second Amendment of the Constitution down to the state level. The pro-gun side is happy because the right to possess firearms in the home is now guaranteed to all citizens, and the anti-gun side is happy because state or local laws regarding the possession of firearms outside of the home (and in some cases, even inside the home) were not touched." ... |
Armed With No Facts: Justices' Bill of Wrongs
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FULL TEXT BELOW
Bill O'Reilly's column regarding the four Supreme Court justices who voted against the Second Amendment right to bear arms is clear and logical. However, I don't believe he goes far enough ("Why We Have Gun Rights," PostOpinion, July 2).
The right to bear arms precedes the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers did not "allow the new American citizens the right to bear arms," they protected a right that was always there.
The four justices who voted against the Second Amendment -- John Paul Stevens, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- swore on oath to uphold the Constitution.
They chose, instead, to follow their own progressive agenda and make law. In short, they lied. |
NRA Supporting Chicago Residents New Suit Against Mayor Richard Daley and the City of Chicago
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... "Just four days after the Court struck down the nearly 30 year-long handgun bans ... Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago enacted the most restrictive anti-gun ordinance in the United States. In the words of ... the top attorney for the City: 'We've gone farther than anyone else ever has.' ..."
"'The Supreme Court told Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago that it has to respect the Second Amendment. By enacting this ordinance, their response is 'Make Us',' said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. 'The NRA will not rest until Chicago's law-abiding residents can exercise the same freedoms that our Founding Fathers intended all Americans to have.'" ... |
Gun control: Justices must uphold, not reinterpret, the Constitution
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... "... Such blanket bans [as the Chicago gun ban] are in response to the illegal use of handguns, but are poorly thought out and fraught with flaws and unintended consequences, the most obvious of which is that law abiding Chicagoans ... have had their most effective means of self-defense outlawed by the city of Chicago, leaving them vulnerable to criminals who still have their guns."
"It is ludicrous to suggest that the Framers ever intended for such a preposterous situation to be created."
"Gun control is another of the many areas where good intentions fall victim to reality: In the real world gun control laws do not control guns. What they do most effectively is to disarm potential victims." ... |
Gun bans kill black people
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... "The majority ruling explained how the 14th Amendment was enacted to uphold gun rights for blacks."
"The McDonald ruling said Chicago homicides in 2010 equal the death toll of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan combined this year."
"In Chicago, 80 percent of the victims are black."
"'If, as petitioners believe, their safety and the safety of other law-abiding members of the community would be enhanced by the possession of handguns in the home for self-defense, then the Second Amendment right protects the rights of minorities and other residents of high-crime areas,' the ruling states." ... |
U.S. Supreme Court Gun Ruling is Only the First Shot, According to Professor Michael Lawrence, Associate Dean of Law at Michigan State University College of Law
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The following is an opinion editorial provided by Professor Michael Lawrence, Associate Dean of Law at Michigan State University College of Law ..."
"The McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court decision that the Second Amendment is fully binding on state and local governments is cause for celebration - even among those deeply concerned about gun violence in the United States."
"First, nothing in the Court's decision prevents state and local governments from continuing to impose meaningful regulations on the possession of firearms. The Supreme Court explained that the Second Amendment 'limits (but by no means eliminates) their ability to devise solutions to social problems that suit local needs and values.'" ... |
Gun Rights Are Civil Rights
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"Reading the opinions in McDonald v. Chicago, you might think it was as much a civil-rights case as a gun case." ...
"This does not show that modern gun controllers are racist, or even that the modern gun-control movement has 'racist roots,' as some have suggested — the concerns that motivate Sarah Brady are neither the same as nor descended from the concerns that motivated racist southern governments. But this does show that when a government has the ability to forbid gun ownership, it has the ability to render groups it dislikes helpless to defend themselves. Regardless of whether modern gun control accomplishes its purpose of reducing crime ... a free society should fear a government with such power." ... |
Race cases win gun rights for all
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"Lobbyists for gun rights owe black Americans a historical debt of gratitude."
"The U.S. Supreme Court reminds us of this debt in its recent decision to overturn Chicago's sweeping prohibition against handgun possession. That decision rests on more than the Second Amendment. It also rests on the 14th Amendment, which brought equal protection to freed slaves after the Civil War."
"How times change. An amendment that helped blacks protect themselves from Ku Klux Klan terrorists now is being used to help protect a black Chicago man from gangbangers." ... |
Racist pols go straight back to disarming blacks
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... "History is, of course, repeating itself. Just as Southern states subverted black Americans' right to vote through intimidation and discriminatory eligibility requirements, Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley has just signed handgun-licensing legislation that violates both the spirit and the letter of the McDonald decision ..."
"The Chicago handgun-licensing laws enacted just four days after the Supreme Court ruling include four hours of mandatory training and testing (at the prospective handgun owner's expense), tri-annual licensing fees and registration ..." ...
"While Chicago's laws will be applied equally, regardless of race, it's clear that crime-plagued, low-income black Americans will find it hardest to satisfy their requirements ..." ... |
High Court gun rights ruling could have far-reaching impact
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"Chicago mayor Richard Daley wasted no time last week preparing a new and restrictive gun ordinance after the U.S. Supreme Court ... effectively kicked the city's ban on handgun ownership to the curb."
"Daley offered up what he said would be the strictest gun ordinance in America. It would ban gun shops in Chicago and prohibit gun owners from stepping outside their homes with a gun, even on their porch ..."
"If it passes, the proposal might or might not eventually withstand a legal challenge, but one thing is for sure: In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision affirming Americans' right to own a gun no matter where they live, a spate of proposed laws and lawsuits testing the limits of the decision are sure to follow." ... |
Greetings from the land of guns and religion
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"It's that time of year when postcards from traveling friends and family arrive in our mailbox with pretty pictures of beaches and mountains ... On the back of the card usually a few scribbled thoughts like 'Wish you here.'"
"In keeping with that summer tradition I thought I'd send along 'Greetings from Pennsylvania.' You’ll have to use your imagination to see the full color photo of the Liberty Bell and the panoramic view of Independence Hall ... On the back of my postcard I’ve written a special message: 'Having fun here in PA clinging to our guns and religion.'"
"Thanks to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling we may indeed keep our guns for some time to come. ..." ... |
Gun Control Advocates Should Applaud the Supreme Court
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"The Supreme Court ruled last week that state and city governments must respect the individual right to bear arms that is guaranteed by Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ..."
"Advocates of gun control have decried the ruling because they believe guns cause crime and that gun control laws, by gun reducing gun availability, reduce crime. ... both arguments for controls are flawed."
"Many crimes do not require an armed perpetrator, and numerous weapons can substitute for guns ... Even if guns encourage or facilitate crime, guns potentially prevent crime ..."
"Existing evidence indicates that the availability of guns plays a small role in causing crime and that gun control does little to reduce crime. ..." ... |
Here's a look at the Supreme Court and gun rights
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"There's a new sheriff in town. Not literally, but by the Supreme Court's apparent reckoning in McDonald v. Chicago, a gun-rights case, there just as well might be 300 million of them."
"What the court decided, in a 5-4 decision, was that the 30-year-old handgun bans in Chicago and nearby Oak Park, Illinois were unconstitutional infringements on the right to bear arms as protected by the Secondnd Amendment."
"There's a lot to chew on here, so let's start at the top." ... |
Debate Continues Over US Gun Laws
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"New local gun laws follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Americans' Constitutional right to gun ownership applies nationwide."
"Legal challenges and debate continue a week after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that Americans have a right to own a gun for self defense anywhere they live. The Court said the Constitutional right to gun ownership applies nationwide, in response to a challenge of a gun ban in ... Illinois."
"But the court also said the ruling limits - but does not eliminate - the ability of states to devise solutions to social problems that, in the decision's words, 'suit local needs and values.'"
"So gun rights supporters and those who favor more restrictions on firearms are vowing to fight on." ... |
One Vote Away From Tyranny
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... "The pronouncement in McDonald v. City of Chicago is not only a great relief but among the most historically important things the Supreme Court has ever done to protect the citizenry from tyrants ..."
"Many things have been said about gun-ban proponents: They are ignorant of or turn a blind eye to history. ... The policy arguments they do make are inane, based as they often are on contrived facts and outcome-driven 'studies' (junk social science)."
"I believe all that is largely true."
"But another observation I heard seems particularly convincing: It’s not so much that gun-ban proponents dislike guns; it is that they dislike the people who like guns." ... |
Gun Control Ruling, Victory for Proponents & Opponents?
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"Earlier this week the Supreme Court held that Americans have the right to bear arms anywhere they live." ...
"And gun supporters were pleased with this decision: 'As a former Sheriff and a gun owner,' said Congressman Brad Ellsworth in a public statement, 'This ruling is an important victory for the Second Amendment and responsible Hoosier gun owners.'" ...
"While gun supporters agreed with the ruling, gun control advocates were not upset: 'We are pleased the Court helped guide the government to what we think is a common sense solution to stopping gun violence,' stated Daniel Vice, Senior Attorney with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence." ... |
IA: Conservative justices vote to reduce crime
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FULL TEXT BELOW
It's interesting to note that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling embracing gun rights was issued without the support of a single justice appointed by a Democrat.
The pro-Second Amendment justices were all appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush I, and George Bush II.
This landmark ruling will lower crime, and may well mean fewer criminals. Some who may have flirted with a life of crime will now not go that way, others will shy away, and still others will get blown away.
- Todd Blodgett, Clear Lake |
CT: Will State Gun Laws Get Shot Down?
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"Last week, Carlton S. Chen, general counsel at Colt's Manufacturing Co. in West Hartford, was celebrating the Supreme Court's ruling in McDonald v. Chicago. ...
"But he doesn’t believe the ruling will have much of an impact in terms of his home state's firearms laws. 'In Connecticut, no,' Chen said. 'I'd be surprised if there's a challenge to any gun laws.'"
"That's because the state is relatively friendly to handgun owners' rights, said Chen, who is an avid shooter and member of several gun clubs."
"But Torrington attorney Rachel M. Baird, who litigates gun ownership cases, predicted that 'there’s going to be a huge amount of litigation' in the state as a result of the Supreme Court ruling." ... |
CA: Neighbor feud in Santa Cruz Mountains spawns gun rights battle
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"Deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where cedar trees and bramble mark a property line, it is easy to see how a boundary feud between neighbors can rage out of control like a summer wildfire."
"That is what happened four years ago to Barbara Saldinger, a Stanford-educated medical doctor. And now she finds herself in the midst of a high-priced, high-stakes legal odyssey that has turned her into a crusader for the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, even if that right is just to keep a BB gun at your hip to protect your property."
"Saldinger was convicted in Santa Cruz County in 2007 for toting that BB gun as she shooed her neighbors off her horse farm while shouting threats their way. ..." ... |
WI: Gun restrictions aren't reasonable (second letter)
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"Reasonable? How can those who supported unconstitutional laws depriving people's ability to defend themselves be trusted to enact reasonable legislation? ..."
"What is reasonable to haters of our Second Amendment will always be onerous to patriots who cherish the freedoms guaranteed in our Bill of Rights. Why should we the people bargain and compromise away our rights to revisionists who deny the obvious intent of our founders to empower citizens, not government?"
"Recall when the British tried to enforce their version of reasonable restrictions at Lexington and Concord. If Americans hadn't stuck to their guns in April 1775, we couldn't have celebrated this July 4."
"Freedom is reasonable. Independence is reasonable. ..." |
MN: Gun ruling will echo in Minnesota
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"The recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court extending the constitutional right to keep and bear arms to states and local units of government was greeted with contradictory views in Minnesota. This newspaper deemed the decision to be a 'landmark ruling.' But high-placed participants in the gun-control debate viewed it with indifference." ...
"Whenever adversaries like this agree, it is likely that they are either both right or both wrong. In this case, it is the latter. Their insouciance overlooks the huge impact that the Supreme Court ruling could have in Minnesota." ... |
A small-caliber Supreme Court ruling
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"As much as it disappointed gun-control advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court's latest pronouncement on the Second Amendment does not gut all state and local firearms laws. Far from it."
"Justice Samuel Alito carefully reiterated a key element of the 2008 District of Columbia case ..."
"'Longstanding regulatory measures' are not in jeopardy, Alito wrote ..."
"However one may feel about the historical meaning of the Second Amendment, the majority's opinion provides the basis for a common-sense compromise on this hot-button issue: Respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and marshal law enforcement against those who have no business owning a weapon."
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There's still plenty of room for sensible gun laws
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... "As a police chief, I know first hand the threat that handguns pose to law enforcement officers and other first responders like firefighters and paramedics. In order to do our jobs effectively, we need comprehensive public policies that keep handguns out of the wrong hands. I am talking about the need to preserve and enhance laws that keep handguns away from criminals, gang members, the mentally ill and others who would visit harm upon our citizens. I am talking about laws that make sure that firearms are stored safely, especially around children." ... -------
Submitter's Note: Not that I would ever stoop to ad hominen attacks, but Chaska MN is a town of a little over 24,000 people. So why does Chief Knight have four gold stars on his shoulders? |
Court Wrong On The Chicago Gun Case
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"Most discussions of constitutional rights naturally turn on the content of the protected right, whether it pertains to speech, religion, property, contract--or guns. The genius of the American Constitution lies in specifying a sound list of rights to protect against government interference"
"This celebration of individual rights should not conceal, however, this second question in a federal system: Against which government, national or state, are these right secured? This 'incorporation' issue came to the fore in the Supreme Court's hotly contested decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago ... It was a vintage conservative-liberal split."
"Count me a 'liberal' on this one. ..." ... |
Supreme Court shoots down gun ban -- Relaxed gun laws may put people at risk
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"The right to bear arms has been debated for many years now ... Despite that, the 'right to bear arms' is not a good idea."
"Why do you need to carry around a pistol? It seems like the only reason people do this in some cities is for one purpose: Because they can. The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership and gun homicide in the developed world."
"Besides police and other government-employed personnel, who has or needs firearms besides criminals? In the U.K., the crime rate for rapes, burglaries and muggings is about the same as in the U.S. The only difference is that when it comes to murders, the rate is about one-fifth. So why in the world did the Supreme Court just support more potential murders?" ... -------
Submitter's Note: Who besides criminals needs guns? How about the people criminals prey upon; people like my 83 year old mother, my 5'2" wife, my friend who needs a cane to walk, my sister with her bad heart, people in wheelchairs, people walking alone or in a pair when confronted by a gang, homosexuals confronted by 'queer-bashers', blacks, orientals, hispanics, anyone who is visibly different confronted by racists and the fearful. |
US churches pledge to keep up struggle against handgun abuse
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"The National Council of Churches USA says it found the US Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in favour of gun ownership to be 'disappointing,' but emphasises that the ruling does not negate the possibility of enacting laws to reduce gun violence." ...
"The Rev Dr Michael Kinnamon, NCCUSA General Secretary, said the ruling highlights the urgency of a [NCCUSA] resolution passed in May 2010 calling on local, state and federal legislators 'to enact reforms that limit access to assault weapons and handguns.'"
"'Ending Gun Violence, A Resolution and Call to Action,' pointed out the fact that 100,000 Americans are shot or killed by guns each year, and that every day an average of 300 Americans are victims of gun violence." ... -------
Submitter's Note: So they aren't fighting firearm abuse so much as firearm ownership. |
CA: California gun laws in line of fire
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"The list is tragically long."
"Five children dead at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, 1989. Nine dead at 101 California St. in San Francisco, 1993. Nineteen wounded in the North Hollywood shootout, 1997. ..."
"Thousands of others have died needlessly but attracted little attention. No state has shed more blood because of gun violence than California."
"And no state has done more to combat the carnage. ..." ...
"... Despite gun advocates' claims to the contrary, the effort has had an impact."
"... gun-related deaths have declined at a greater rate here than in the rest of the nation. Do we really want to gamble that it's coincidence? Last week's Supreme Court ruling in time could leave us with no choice." ... |
SC: As the times change, so should Constitution
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The U.S. Supreme Court just reaffirmed the 2-year-old 'right to bear arms' decision by expanding it to include all state and local governments." ...
"The problem with the Second Amendment is that when it was written guns were cap-and-ball weapons, allowing only one shot at a time and about one minute or longer to reload. ... If the founders had known what today's handguns were capable of and the carnage they cause, they probably would have worded the Second Amendment to clearly restrict handguns to militias. ..." ...
"The Constitution should not be viewed as a stagnant, static set of rules that can't be modified as circumstances dictate." -------
Submitter's Note: Phil is absolutely correct, which is why the Founders provided a mechanism for amending the Constitution, so that it can "be modified as circumstances dictate." |
Angle's guns vs. government views deserve condemnation
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Contrary to what is espoused by some, the Second Amendment was not written to protect the rights of all individuals to carry guns. Otherwise, during slave days it would meant African-Americans could carry guns."1
"The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate out of Nevada, Sharron Angle, is a dangerous person. She says that if the right wing does not get its way, it should2 resort to using the protections given by the Second Amendment to confront the government. What do you suppose would happen if a left-wing communist made the same statement?"
"There was a day when such a person would have been considered a kook and locked up as an anarchist."3 ... -------
Submitter's Note: 1Ooh, swing and a miss! Read your history: slaves were not A) people or B) citizens. 2 Actually what she said was "I'm hoping that we're not getting to Second Amendment remedies" 3And there was a day when a black man was tortured and killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman. The past is not always better. |
When Harry Met Sharron
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "... Since [Angle's] late-surging triumph against favored opponents in the June 8 primary, the 60-year-old former state legislator has been assailed for her provocative statements and accused of ducking nonfriendly media. ..."
"The problem is that there is an awful lot of baggage to dump. ... Angle has sought to backtrack from comments (aired on multiple occasions) that Americans are stocking up on ammunition because they are 'distrustful of government' and prepared to 'fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways.' Confronted for the first time with details of Angle's views on Morning Joe today, anchor Joe Scarborough threw up his hands and pronounced the GOP candidate 'gone' in November. ..." ... -------
Submitter's Note: The problem is, there are and awful lot of people stocking up and preparing to fight for their freedom. Dismissing those who try to warn you of the problem only makes it more likely that there will be bloodshed. |
Big Brother is reaching for your gun
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Attention, all gun owners — On June 28, the Supreme Court ... handed down a decision that allows you to keep your guns for a while longer."
"Four of the judges ... voted to take away our guns."
"Obama is about to put another woman on the court with the same attitude. Fortunately for us, five fellows ... saved our guns for us."
"We were all raised knowing we had the Second Amendment to our Constitution as our authority to own guns. Look over your shoulder — Big Brother is reaching for your gun." ...
"Our only hope is to deny him this rubber stamp Congress. A slate of conservative candidates are introducing themselves to you. Meet them, talk to them, tell them what you want and how we are hurting." ... |
IA: More fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the changing Iowa firearms laws
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"On January 1, 2011, all residents of Iowa will follow the same set of rules in order to obtain an Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons. Currently, the ability of any citizen to obtain an Iowa PCW rests completely on a judgment call of each of the 99 Sheriffs in the state. Some Sheriffs, such as those in Jones, Cedar, Polk, and Dallas Counties, issue permits with no restrictions, no undue justifications, and very few hurdles. Others, such as those in Emmet, Dubuque, Harrison, and Jasper Counties, issue very few permits, permits with debilitating restrictions, or permits with justifications that are unreasonable. In between are Sheriffs who run the entire range between reasonable and unreasonable. ..." ... |
IL: Senator sees hope for concealed carry law in Illinois
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"Each year Sen. John O. Jones has been in Springfield, he has introduced or co-sponsored concealed carry legislation."
"This January, he intends to introduce legislation again."
"But this time, because of a Supreme Court decision about Chicago's gun ban, Jones thinks the legislation may move forward."
"'The last few years, only two states, Illinois and Wisconsin, have been without concealed carry rights,' Jones said. 'We've tried and tried to convince Chicago legislators that people have the right to bear arms. The court ruling means we've been right all along.'" ... |
IN: New gun law now in place
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"It is considered the most controversial law to take effect in Indiana this year: Now for the first time, employers cannot stop employees from taking a gun to work as long as the employees have a permit to carry and keep it locked in their cars and out of sight."
"Gun rights advocates call it a victory for the Second Amendment." ...
"But what do business owners say about their rights?"
"'If private property means anything, it means if you own it, you can say who can come on it and what they can bring,' said Ed Roberts, legal counsel for the Indiana Manufacturers Association." ... -------
Submitter's Note: Ed and the IMA will no doubt start lobbying for the repeal of the civil rights acts of the '60's. After all, if private property means anything, it means if you own it, you can say if Coloreds can come on it', right? |
NY: Gun control legislation derailed
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NYSRPA-PVF
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"Legislation brought before the state senate recently, known as the microstamping bill, has generated quite a bit of publicity. The measure is gun control under the guise of crime prevention. I voted against the bill and am pleased to say it was pulled from the senate floor after failing to garner enough support for passage."
"The legislation (senate bill 6005) would mandate the use of a patented, sole-source technology called 'firearms microstamping,' that would, in theory, imprint the make, model and serial number of the firearm onto the cartridge case when a gun is fired. ..."
"Independent studies have concluded that microstamping, as proposed in this bill, is flawed, unreliable and easily defeated by criminals." ... |
OK: Oklahoma conservatives shoot the breeze at gun range
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"The debate is welcome. And so are the guns. That's how it is every Friday at H&H Gun Range, where dozens of conservative political enthusiasts gather with lawmakers ... to talk politics."
"The group calls itself the High Noon Club, and it is a growing force in state and local conservative politics."
"Rep. Paul Wesselhoft ... was one of the more than 60 people who attended Friday's meeting."
"He also was one of at least eight candidates for offices ranging from district judge to state representative to governor who introduced themselves to the group."
"'There are very few places where you can go and have an open forum,' Wesselhoft said of the club. 'You're not expected to be uniform in your opinion here, and that's good.'" ... |
A breath of cool northern Wisconsin air
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"Last week the Supreme Court, in McDonald v Chicago, determined that the Second Amendment is incorporated to state and local governments, in additon to Federal enclaves, such as Washington, DC."
"Only time will tell how government officials in Knoxville, Knox County, and other Tennessee locales will respond."
"We hear now, by way of Of Arms and the Law, that a DA in Wisconsin has decided to not prosecute certain gun cases:" ... |
Mayor Daley, Sen. Burris: Meet DA Gerald R. Fox of Jackson County, WI
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"Washington State could use some guys like Jackson County, WI District Attorney Gerald R. Fox, a fellow who might give Chicago Mayor Richard Daley heartburn and Illinois Sen. Roland Burris (a Democrat, naturally) a cardiac."
"While Burris was busy bylining an opinion piece for The Hill about the travesty of Monday's 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago — the Second Amendment Foundation's historic victory that essentially destroys the Windy City's 28-year-old handgun ban — Fox was telling reporters that, because of the ruling, he is no longer going to enforce several anti-gun regulations in the Badger State." ... |
Bidding ends for Liberty scholarship, another begins
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"The online charity auction for a four-year scholarship to Liberty University ended on July 6 ... The second auction for a Liberty University Online scholarship has now begun and bidding will start at $5,000."
"Proceeds from the auction benefit Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally to be held in Washington, D.C., in August ..."
"Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. appeared on Glenn Beck's radio program on June 25, to discuss the auctions for the scholarships."
"'We are doing this because ... the Restoring Honor Rally is to recognize our Second Amendment rights [and] honor the service members who fight to protect our freedoms,' Falwell told Beck. 'That’s just something that is dear to what we believe.'" ... |
NC: It's a right some want to protect
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"It’s nothing for 21-year-old Jay Jay Eldridge to strap his .40-caliber handgun to his right hip, whether it's to go eat a barbecue plate at Stamey's or just stroll down the street."
"But a resident in his ... neighborhood didn't know that and recently called the police on him."
"'You know, when the cops get a call that there’s a guy walking around with a gun, a few of them show up,' Eldridge said. 'So, three cops show up. They just asked me questions — 'Are you 21?' and stuff like that.'"
"'The first thing the cop said to me was, 'I know you’re not doing anything wrong. I got a call, so I got to check you out.'"
"Eldridge ... openly carries a gun for his own protection and because, well, it's lawful." |
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QUOTES
TO REMEMBER |
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. Indeed I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order. — Adolf Hitler, April 11, 1942. (Source: "Hitler's Table-Talk at the Fuehrer's Headquarters 1941-1942", Dr. Henry Picker, ed. (Athenaeum Verlag, Bonn, 1951).) |
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