NRA-ILA : Feinstein Introduces "Assault Weapons" Reauthorization Bill

DiFi's at it again. Sen. "Turn 'em all in Mr. and Mrs. America" has introduced S. 2498 to reauthorize the Clinton "assault weapon" ban. Details and contact information can be found at the NRA-ILA website.

More VPC grim faerie tales

The Violence Policy Center dishes up another whopper. Their latest bit of hysteria is over the S&W .500 revolver which, the VPC claims, is a "vest-busting 50-caliber handgun draws a bead on every law enforcement officer in America". Never mind that the least expensive model has an MSRP of $1017.00. I'm sure that every homeboy in America will rush right out and buy one at that dirt cheap price. And it's easily concealable too.

Well...

It is if you're built like Callista Flockhart and you're wearing Michael Moore's clothing.

Greece admits defeat on gun ban

During the upcoming Olympic Games, Greek officials will be looking the other way when foreigh, armed guards arrive protecting visiting athletes. The Greek constitution bans foreigners from carrying firearms. But, Greek authorities are quietly admitting that they cannot enforce this ban.

The other type of pro-choice

Newsday.com's Susan Cheever writes about purchasing a firearm and later giving it up in a discussion of Caitlin Kelly's "Blown Away: American Women and Guns". Following a break-in where she was nearly raped, Ms. Cheever purchased a .22 pistol. Some time later, after getting married and having children, she got rid of the gun.

Many of us will disagree with her logic in parting with the gun. Even she seems to question her reasoning. She admits that a gun is a "great equalizer". The average woman can easily use a firearm to defend herself in combat against a much larger and more powerful male attacker. It was, never the less, her choice to dispose of the gun; just as it was her choice to purchase it in the first place.

Those who oppose the right to keep and bear arms would rob her, and other women, of that choice. They've decided that they will dail 911 and take their chances if the time comes and they demand that you do the same.

Some people just never learn

In Canada, NDP leader Jack Layton stated that his party will attempt to interfere with US gun laws. Canada's problem with blackmarket guns isn't, as one might simplistically imagine, due to the government impeding legal trade. It's apparently due to our "lax" gun laws. Layton stated: "We're proposing going across the border to the U.S. and actively engaging in lobbying to have gun-control laws in the U.S. strengthened."

Not content with causing problems at home, some Canadian politicians still insist on spreading trouble elsewhere; usually here in the US!

I guess that he's OK with guns as movie props

... but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't understand what the "assault weapon" ban is about.

Gov. Aaaahnold sent a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein supporting an extension of the "assault weapon" ban. Schwarzenegger claims “The renewal of the federal ban on assault weapons is a prudent, common sense effort to limit the prevalence and availability of dangerous weapons and protect public safety”. However, these guns are neither prevalent nor dangerous. They represent a fraction of the long guns in the US civilian inventory. They are almost never used in crimes. They are ballistically identical to many other common sporting arms. And, when compared to many popular hunting rifles, they aren't particularly "powerful". They are no more dangerous than Grandpa's huntin' rifle.

Public safety has not been enhanced by the ban. Not one bit of evidence suggests that the ban has had any effect on violent crime. If there were such evidence, then the ban would merit discussion. However, ten years of experience has shown that the discussion has ended; it has proved to be a useless law. Useless laws have no place on the books. Even less deserving are useless laws that touch upon an area of law specifically addressed by the Constitution.

Whether DiFi likes it or not, the right to keep and bear arms is part of the Law of The Land. Despite her unique interpretation of the phrase "the People", any law that threatens what may be an individual liberty ought to be eyed with suspicion. She could be right; but if not, then the American People have had their rights abused for the last ten years for no good reason. The ban should be allowed to sunset.

In a cost-benefit analysis, the ban fails the test. It has no benefit and high potential risk. Our Governor is a skilled businessman. He should be able to recognize this.

A handy site

Some of the links on this blog may lead to sites that require you to register before you can view the content. We try to avoid that; however, if the poster has a cookie set for that site, they may not realize that they're even logged on. If you do not wish to register, and thus hand over a bunch of personal information, head over to BugMeNot.com. BugMeNot is a database of usernames and passwords for sites such as the LA Times, the NY Times, and the Washington Post. You can thus view the content without having to waste time telling the site that your real name is "Dona Juana Bespammed", you're a female born in 1905, and you live in the 90210 ZIP code.

Rewrite the Second Amendment?

Professor Richard Skidmore of Pierce College asks "Rewrite the Second Amendment?" That is quite obviously what the "9th Circus" would like to do. After pointing out how important the right of individuals to keep and bear arms was to the various state ratification conventions in the 1780s, Prof. Skidmore asks...

Did the 9th Circuit judges abrogate the history of our nation, ignore the grievances that compelled us to separate from England, discard the debates of the Federalists and Anti-federalists, legislate from the bench which is not their responsibility, and thus compel another re-writing of our natural history to justify their decree, relying on the general ignorance of the people to allow their decisions to stand? A simpler question is: What part of "shall not be infringed" is not understood?

I guess that those T-shirts one sees at gun shows are more sagacious than previously imagined.

More from north of the border

The leader of Canada's Conservative Party vows war on crime rather than guns. Stephen Harper wants to scrap the infamously expensive gun registry program and use the money to fight actual crime. The hoplophobes and their Liberal allies want nothing to do with such a plan. No surprise there.

Kerry's mysterious foreign supporters ID'd at last

WorldNetDaily.com may be hot on the trail of John Kerry's foreign supporters. Kerry was taking some hits for implying that foreign leaders support his election. Now this photo...

...hanging in a Ho Chi Minh City museum may have unmasked these mysterious foreigners. Perhaps Kerry wasn't lying after all!

Recovering from a foot wound...

Michelin Tires has ended its relationship with the anti-hunting group American Humane Society. A donation program to the AHA will conclude at the end of a current bobble-head promotion. Michelin dropped the relationship after sportsmen found out about the program and contacted the company. Michelin apparently had no idea that they were donating money to an anti-hunting group. Hunters can feel free to use Michelins again on their SUVs and pickups this fall as they go off in search of yummy venison. (Just don't get that silly bobble-head between now and June 25th!)

Speaking of data points...

Some in Massachusetts are realizing that they are providing data points supporting the theory that gun control does not lower violent crime rates. 6 years after passing "the toughest firearms laws in the nation", violent crime has been spiking. Both the State police and the Executive Office of Public Safety have questioned the effectiveness of the Commonwealth's gun laws. About all they can show from the data they have is that the laws have been driving legitimate gun dealers out of business.

On a side note, ya gotta love this picture from the Milford Daily News and its caption...

Richard Callaghan, owner of Callaghan Firearm Sales in Marlborough, shows off a recent acquisition -- a working reproduction of an English Brown Bess assault rifle used between 1715 and 1835.
(Allan Jung photo)

(Not meaning to pick nits, but the Brown Bess wasn't a rifle; it was a musket.)

Another data point?

Polling suggests that Brazil may be joining Britain, Australia, Canada, and a host of other states in providing us Americans with yet another data point supporting the theory that gun control does not lower violent crime rates. Brazil will be having a plebiscite on a law to allow the state to harrass potential (legal) gun buyers by questioning their sanity. Those buying on the black market are, I suppose, presumed sane.

(If memory serves, Brazil has been steadily tightening its gun laws over the past few years. None of their laws have had any effect on rime.)