Category: Gun Rights

I Think This is Called Winning

According to Say Uncle the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting had 71,139 people in attendance. Just remember that according to the anti-gunners the issue of gun rights is declining in the United States and it’s only a matter of time until nobody cares about gun rights in this country.

Isn’t it funny how everything the anti-gunners claim is always going to be just a matter of time? They claim that it’s only a matter of time until blood runs in the streets after any pro-gun bill is passed which has yet to happen. It reminds me of Keynesian economists who claim it’s only a matter of time until an economy recovers when the government starts spending tons of money which also never ends up happening.

Gun Rights Omnibus Bill Judiciary Committee Hearing Wednesday Morning

H.F. 1467, the gun rights omnibus bill passed the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee last week and is now scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday May 4th. If you can make the hearing you should appear as a strong presence usually encourages the committees to vote in favor of the bill being heard at the Capitol.

The hearing will be at 8:15 a.m. in room 10 of the State Office Building. Regardless if you can make it you should also contact the members of the committee and urge them to support the bill (contact information for the members of the committee can be found at the last link of this post).

Minnesota H.F. 1467 Passes Public Safety Committee

H.F. 1467, the omnibus gun rights bill passed the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee with a 10 to 7 vote. Now the bill will move to the House Judiciary Committee for yet another round of fun and games. We’re making progress, now let’s just hope we can get this bill through and finally have castle doctrine and stand your ground laws in Minnesota.

If you want to watch a video of the debate an archive is available here.

Senator Frank Lautenberg Hates Due Process

A story recently surfaced dealing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) so-called “terrorist watch list” and the rights of those on it. This post will demonstrated two things; how bias can be spun into two identical stories and that Frank Lautenberg is a complete asshole.

To demonstration the first point I direct you to this story and this story. The one from The Greenfield Reporter is titled More than 200 people on US terror watch list were able to legally buy firearms in 2010 while the Fox News article is titled FBI: 247 People on Terror Watch List Bought Guns in U.S. in 2010. It’s seldom that I can actually point to Fox News as being less biased but this is one of those rare cases.

The proper title The Greenfield Reporter should have used was More than 200 people not convicted of any crime by any court of law were able to legally buy firearms in 2010. This title would be far more factually correct as those on the FBI’s “terrorist watch list” haven’t actually been put through trial and found guilty of anything. There is a vast difference between having your name on the FBI’s “terrorist watch list” and being a terrorist. Although this escapes Lautenberg the difference is quite obvious in that a terrorist is somebody who has committed an act of terror while a person appearing on the FBI’s “terrorist watch list” have done nothing.

In this country the right to keep and bear arms stops the second you’ve met one or more criteria points. If you have been convicted of a felony, domestic abuse, have been diagnosed as mentally ill, etc. you can not legally possess a firearm in the United States. What all of these criteria points have in common is that you must have been convicted of them, not simply accused (although some politicians are trying to change this as well because they’re assholes).

Here is where I demonstrate that Lautenberg is a complete asshole:

It is not illegal for people listed on the government’s terror watch list to buy weapons. For years, that has bothered Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who is trying again to change the law to keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

Lautenberg is trying to take away a right guaranteed in the United States Constitution without so much as due process. I’m not surprised a “representative” from New Jersey is looking to enact a backdoor gun control measure by making it illegal to purchase a firearm just because the FBI thinks you have the same name as somebody they suspect might have ties to a terrorist maybe. The criteria for getting on the FBI’s watch list is secret so it wouldn’t be difficult to toss on anybody’s name.

I will also come out and say that it’s a good thing that 247 people on the FBI’s “terrorist watch list” were able to buy firearms. Those people have done nothing illegal. Their only “crime” is appearing on a list controlled by a government agency. If such criteria becomes acceptable for denying a person his or her rights then we’re all fucked because each of our names makes an appearance on dozens of government operated lists.

Bias Survey Finds Biased Results

Need a complete non-shocker for today? Apparently the Violence Policy Center have released a definitive survey which shows gun ownership rates are down:

Almost one-third of U.S. households report having any guns in the home — the lowest level ever since the survey began in the 1970s, a survey indicates.

The report by the Violence Policy Center is an analysis of data from the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The report says household gun ownership peaked in 1977, with 54 percent of households reported having any guns.

What this actually means is the rate of people willing to tell those idiots at the Violence Policy Center that they own firearms has gone down. A good chunk of gun owners are very private people and we’ve become more private about what we own as politicians have been trying to take those possessions away from us. If somebody contacts me and asks if I own firearms I don’t even respond but simply hang up. What I own is my business and the business of those whom I’m willing to inform.

I’m sure the National Rifle Association (NRA) could do a similar survey and get completely opposite results. Surveys are just quick methods of getting whatever results you desire, nothing more. In order to create an authoritative piece of research you need to be able to verify your results with something more than what somebody answered on a questionnaire.

What is even more interesting is the fact that the rate of National Instant Criminal Background Checks (NICS) have been quite high leading to the fact that the number of people buying firearms from federally licensed dealers has been increasing.

Mexico is Suing American Gun Manufacturers

It appears as though Mexico hasn’t gotten the memo about the United States government smuggling guns into their country and instead opting to attempt lawsuits against American gun manufacturers. That probably makes a little bit of sense since the United States government isn’t going to allow itself to get sued but as the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) points out Mexico still doesn’t have a case:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, respects the work of President Calderon to willingly take on his country’s powerful drug cartels; however, we are disappointed that he would seek to hold law-abiding American companies responsible for crime in Mexico. This is especially troubling given investigative reports that show more than 80 percent of the firearms recovered in Mexico do not come from the United States. The most recent of these reports, from the independent research group STRATFOR, determined that less than 12 percent of the guns Mexico seized in 2008 came from the United States.

Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), firearms traced in Mexico were originally sold at retail not recently, but, on average, 14 years earlier. This is completely inconsistent with any notion that a flood of newly purchased firearms are being illegally smuggled over the border. And let’s not forget that no retail firearm sale can be made in the U.S. until after an FBI criminal background check of the purchaser has been completed.

Have fun wasting money you don’t have Mexico. Maybe you should spend that money on fixing your failing state instead. Then again Mexico probably has just as likely a chance of accomplishing that as successfully suing American gun manufacturers so the point is really moot.

NRA Convention Expecting 65,000 People

Wow the National Rifle Association (NRA) Convention this year is expected to have 65,000 people in attendance. The area tourism industry expects $23.7 million to be spent by these 65,000 people. How’s that for a stimulus plan?

How many people attended the last Brady Campaign event? Did it even break the double-digits? Who knows, they certainly aren’t bragging about their numbers. Yet another reason why we win, we far outnumber them. We’re also good for local economies to boot.

Hearing on Gun Rights Omnibus Bill Thursday

The Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (GOCRA) have just dropped word that there will be a hearing about the recently introduced gun rights bill on Thursday. The hearing will be in Room 10 of the State Office Building at 10:15 a.m.

GOCRA is asking for as many people to show up as possible. Also remember you can’t carry at the State Office Building unless you’ve submitted prior notification. Thankfully GOCRA has posted a nice guide about submitting the required notification.

New Hampshire Hearing on Permitless Carry Today

The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee is having a hearing on a bill that would turn the state into another territory where people can exercise their right to self defense unhindered. The bill in question is HB 330. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is also pushing people to ask members of the Committee to consider an amendment:

However, an important amendment is still needed. The NRA, along with its state affiliate – Gun Owners of New Hampshire (GO-NH) – is supporting the Luther Amendment, an omnibus amendment to clarify certain provisions in HB 330. In addition, this amendment would keep the existing law in place for individuals 18 years of age or younger to possess a firearm for hunting under certain conditions.

Hopefully the bill makes it out of committee and gets passed into law. It would be nice if the free state was a little more free.

SAF Sues Massachusetts Over Their Gun Ban for Legal Alien Residents

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has quickly risen to being my favorite gun rights organization. Although they don’t have nearly as much money as the National Rifle Association (NRA) I feel SAF is better utilizing what they have by suing government entities that try to bar second amendment rights from people in the United States.

Their latest lawsuit is against Massachusetts. SAF is none to happy with the state’s law that prohibits legal alien residents from owning firearms:

The lawsuit alleges that Christopher M. Fletcher of Cambridge and Eoin M. Pryal of Northboro – both legal resident aliens – have been specifically denied the ability to obtain a Firearms Identification Card or a License to Carry of any kind. Before moving to Massachusetts, Fletcher lived in California, where he had a Basic Firearms Safety certificate and Handgun Safety certificate, which allowed him to purchase and own firearms including handguns. Pryal, who is married to a citizen of this country, and had a shotgun certificate and international dealer’s license while living in the United Kingdom.

SAF is really good at playing it smart with these lawsuits. They manage to find the best people who have been wronged by the government but have a background that makes it hard to argue said persons should be barred the right to bear arms.

It seems SAF really wants me to donate more money as they keep doing awesome things like this. Well I’m more than happy to oblige them.