IS Trump a "Second Amendment Defender"?

Some hopefuls espouse the opinion that Donald Trump it the savior of the Second Amendment because he has said the things that we want to hear. Such as:

Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons,” “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice.

Second Amendment Voter's Guide: Trump vs. Clinton - Breitbart
Comments to the article (above) include:

• • • • • • • 
              
  • 

    
    
    
    
    
    

    van trump

    
    

    On Second Amendment rights... Trump slays Hillary.

    
    

    
    
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     axle357

    
    

    on every issue Trump is miles ahead of hillary...anyone that would vote for any demarat is an anti american traitor...the dems want to destroy the country..Trump wants to save it.. › 

    
    
    
  • Wrong axle357
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  • Trumps support for the 2nd Amendment is just a pose.  He's not "for" the 2nd; he's "against Hillary".
  • Whatever position she takes, he takes the diametrically opposite political position. (Read History)
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  • I call that "Bold Talk for a One-eyed Fat Man", but Donald Trump is no Rooster Cogburn. 
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And any man who thinks he can "John Wayne" himself into the white house is just an opportunistic liar.

You know, like all the other candidates for the past 50 years.

Couric “Gungate” reporting

The Fraud In “Gungate” Is Real, And Should End Katie Couric’s Career – Bearing Arms

Bearing Arms has done a rather good job of summarizing the Couric "Shot Herself In The Foot" incident, and I won't attempt to gild the lily.   This link is offered in case someone in the firearms community has been on vacation on a mountain top and needs to catch up on the controversy.

But ... guns are ILLEGAL in England!

 Reading the comments of the British Press,  they wonder why President Obama can't just make it illegal to own guns in America, this solving the Crime Problem.  The Brits are gleefully eager to point out the mayhem of Gun Violence in America, but their skirts are not so clean.

 Brits are discovering that when guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns.    This is no longer just a passe "Ami" saying  now.  Even the average Limey is begging their own guv to "do something" in a society where it's illegal for them to resist home invasions with lethal force .... and privately wishing they had their own firearms instead of that ridiculous paring knife.

But the Bobbys are listening, and they've found a way to 'make things all better':

Police to offer rewards to criminals who reveal where guns are hidden:
Martin Evans, crime correspondent 25 MAY 2016 • 6:28PM

Scotland Yard is to offer cash rewards of up to  2,000 [pounds] to criminals in a bid to reduce the number of guns on the streets following a worrying rise in shootings over the past three months. Informants who tell the police where illegal weapons are located will be able to collect the reward providing the information leads to an arrest and prosecution.
 Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police justified the scheme insisting “this is the about getting the guns off the streets”. The initiative follows a spike in shootings across the capital since the beginning of the year with 122 weapons being discharged resulting in 62 people being injured and two killed.

Really?   Sixty-Two Victims in five months in a single city?

Well, it's not Baltimore (or Chicago or Cleveland or Detroit or ....) but it's A Start.

And WHY won't the Brits allow their own citizens to be armed?
Because there would be MORE Brits shot!

That a lot of those Brits shot would be the vicious predators probably doesn't escape them,
But British leaders are well aware. that if they allowed honest people to own firearms, there would still be Dead Brits; and even though that would think the ranks of career criminals, it would be political suicide.

They, like politicians everywhere, would rather see honest citizens slaughtered than to be the politico who granted them the right to self defense.

Why British Citizens aren't railing at their leadership is beyond me.

Oh.  Sorry, I forgot.
They're not Citizens ... they're "Subjects".

You know, like American Liberals want US to be.

(Oh, and BTW ... about the "Gun Buy-Back" schemes;   They don't work.)

Hero of the Month: Ms. Stacie Davis

"Your mama know you have this gun?"


Over 1000 to honor woman who took gun from 11-year-old boy walking down suburban Chicago street | WNYW: CHICAGO -

(Chicago City Leaders join) in honoring a woman who took a gun from an 11-year-old boy on a public street..  And well they should!.

The video which was recorded in Harvey, Illinois shows Ms. Stacie Davis confronting the 11-year-old boy on the sidewalk. Ms. Davis claims to have seen children behind a building where one of the young boys put a gun in his pants. After confronting the boy, Ms. Davis took the gun from the clearly agitated young boy. 

At 11 years of age, your heroes don't include your mother; it takes years of maturity to learn that the person most familiar to you is your best mentor.   Sometimes, even Hillary Clinton can be right: it does 'take a village'.

We've been writing for YEARS, here, about the need for Chicago citizens to take the lead in reducing violence in their neighborhoods.

And residents of other high-crime neighborhoods in major American cities.

Ms. Stacie Davis is the hero of the month for accepting the personal responsibility of teaching the youth of her neighborhood the lessons he may not be listening to at home.   It's not that this little boy hasn't heard the lesson, it's just that sometimes you need to hear it from ... someone else.

This lady might have saved a few lives in these few minutes out of her busy day.

She gives me hope..

Gas Hack

Wait ... you're old enough to drive, but don't know what side of the car your gas tank is on?
Maybe you should just take the bus.  Or else ...

How to Know What Side Your Gas Tank is On - PureWow:

Maybe you rented a car. Or maybe your brain is just tired. Either way, every time you pull into a gas station, you hesitate as you ask: Wait, which side of the car is my gas tank on again? Here, a ridiculously easy way to get it right every time.

Your Gas Guage Will Tell You!



Whatever you do, don't change your voter registration to "Republican".
You didn't pass the test.

One hand does not wash the other

California: YOU can't buy a gun, but uninsured illegals can own and drive a car!

On "The One Hand":
California is doing everything it can to deny its citizen the means to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

On "The Other Hand".
Illegal immigrants are easily granted a driver's license (no word on whether they must actually pass a test), but they don't have to carry insurance to drive a car:

 In the push to grant illegal immigrants driver’s licenses, Californians had been assured that doing so would spur them to get safety training and insurance coverage. Nearly a year-and-a-half later, there’s no evidence it worked.“It is hard to pinpoint whether the bill has had an impact or not,” said Jeffrey Spring, spokesman for the American Automobile Association’s California chapter. “We have no way of knowing.”

"They" can keep track of Californians who exercise their constitutional rights, but "they" can't find a way to know if licensed drivers are insured?

In my home state, when I bought a car I had to show proof of insurance before the dealer could deliver the car.  In fact, when I went to pick up the car my Insurance Agent was standing behind the sales agent's desk.   I had to pay the insurance premium on my new car before I received the title.

When I registered the car, I provided proof of insurance; if I'm stopped by a traffic patrolman, I'm expected to show license, registration, and proof of insurance.

When did the American Way change so dramatically that citizens have to prove our "legitimacy" to exercise a constitutionally protected right, but illegal aliens are protected from the kind of oversight which we expect our state governments to exercise in the public interest?

Let us reinstate the draft ... this time, for politicians

In time of war, we drafted "warriors".

In time of peace, why don't we draft politicians?

Anyone who actively seeks political office is suspect: they (often) want it too much to be trusted with the honor.

Witness: Hillary Clinton.  

She thinks that, by throwing a crumb toward the Gun Owners of America, she can coerce a few more votes toward her campaign.  As if we believe The  Wanna-Be Next Liar In Chief.

(As if we hadn't already learned from our Obama-Lesson!)

How clue-less can she be?

Hillary Clinton's Second Amendment - Reason.com:

"I know how important gun ownership, and particularly hunting, is here in northeastern Pennsylvania," Clinton told supporters in Dunmore last month. Regarding her gun control agenda, she said, "responsible gun owners have to stand up and say, 'This has nothing to do with my guns, my hunting, my sport shooting, my collecting.'" Self-defense is conspicuously absent from Clinton's list of legitimate things people do with guns. The Australian government, whose mass confiscations of firearms Clinton admires, takes a similar view. Australians must demonstrate a "genuine reason" for owning a gun, and personal protection does not count. But Australia has no Second Amendment. 

No, Hillary doesn't know anything at all about the importance of the Second Amendment.

Actually, Hillary is 'running' on the platform of "Let Bill Do It; He Knows What To Do!"

Are we suppose to cater to Hillary's attempt at an end-run on term limits for the Presidency?  Are we suppose to re-elect BILLARY?

Hillary Clinton plans to put her husband in charge of rebooting the American economy – the top issue of her presidential campaign. 'My husband ... I'm going to put in charge of revitalizing the economy because you know, he knows how to do it,' Clinton told a crowd in Kentucky Sunday. 'And especially in places like coal country and inner cities and other parts of our country that have been really left out,' she added, the Washington Post reported.The comment is a reminder that Clinton's election could amount just as much to a 'third term' for her husband than it would for President Obama, who already started campaigning for Clinton in effect with a slashing attack on Donald Trump during a commencement speech at Rutgers University Sunday. 

Frankly, I'm against putting Bill Clinton in charge of the economy ANYTHING!.  I don't think he knows how to do it ... and I never trusted the sleeze-bag-in-chief anyway.

Bill Clinton is "4F" in my book.  Him, and the horse he rode in on.

Knock-Knock, Kick-Kick, Bang-Bang

Elderly Homeowner Shoots Through Door, Kills Suspected Intruder - Breitbart:

According to WRAL [link], 71-year-old homeowner Paul Morgan said he and his wife were asleep when they heard the sound of someone kicking their front door. He grabbed the gun he keeps by the bed and went to the door, where his wife believes multiple suspects were allegedly trying to kick the door down. Morgan said he yelled for the alleged intruders to stop, but they allegedly continued trying to break the door open, so he opened fire. Police arrived to find one suspect lying dead on the sidewalk.

Channeling Paul Harvey for "The Rest Of The Story".

I absolutely do NOT condone shooting through a door.    Yes, it sounds like a home invasion, but it also sounds like a drunk at the wrong door, and several other possible scenarios.

We don't know how violent this 'attack' was, we have only one side of the story and that's all we ever will have.

Assuming the validity of the home-owner statements, four things seem evident from this account:

1. somebody beat the heck out of the door trying to get in
2. somebody didn't stop the assault when warned by the home-owner 
3. somebody is dead
4. The home-owner and his family are alive.

It will be interesting to follow this story, assuming we can.  I'm sure there is more to it than what we have already been told.

Farnam: "And you thought the 20th Century was bad!"

A friend of mine subscribes to John Farnam's  DTIQUIPS email list and forwards his daily notes to me.   It's a way to get the word out, which is important to many of us.

The topics vary, but in the context of the NRA Annual Meeting  the latest issue provided some content which I felt to be especially pertinent:

This afternoon, it was my honor to attend a sage and fiery lecture from my  long-time friend and colleague, Lt Col Dave Grossman.  Lecture hall was  jammed.  Standing-room only.  Dave’s uncanny ability to capture the attention of an audience is something the rest of us only dream about! Dave talked passionately, and with eminent authority, about the current  world situation, and the news is not good, as you might imagine.  Dave  encouraged us all to go armed, as armed teachers, parents, cops, and other good guys is the only proven deterrent to terrorist attacks.  Terrorists are  coming after our children, just as they do in Israel, and someone has to be  constantly in a position to skillfully and unconditionally protect them, with gunfire when necessary.  Welcome to the 21st Century. And, you thought the 20 Century was bad! Conversely, HRCs recent pseudo-sanctimonious pronouncement that “... no  problem was ever solved with a gun” are the words of a naive clown, and an  arrogant, self-serving twit.  

(Grossman link added)

Concur.

And adding, in the words of The Colonel:

"There aren't many problems that you can't fix,
with seven-hundred dollars and a thirty-ought six."

"Not on MY Watch!" She Said

They don't seem to be very progressive in the DC Giant Grocery Store.   I wonder how many of them were Democrats.

Woman Removed Man From Bathroom, Arrested | The Daily Caller:
(May 19, 2016)

A female security guard working at a Washington, D.C. grocery store was arrested Monday afternoon for physically escorting a man out of the women’s restroom after he refused to leave because he identifies as a woman. The shopper — a young, African-American male who identified himself as Ebony Belcher to local news outlets — reportedly passed the security guard on his way into the women’s restroom at a Giant grocery store in Northeast D.C. After seeing Belcher walk into the women’s restroom, the security guard followed him in and ordered the man to leave. When he refused, the security guard had to physically escort him out of the women’s restroom.

The evicted 'person' ("Ebony Belcher"?) called police, who arrested the guard.  

Belcher said he was "hurt":

... “the woman had no reason to put her hands on me,” adding that he was emotionally traumatized by the incident. “I’m hurt by this. It’s terrible… I’m distraught,” 

The genetic ladies in the ladies room were grateful to the guard.

 “If you was born a man go to the men’s bathroom. You got a penis go to the men’s bathroom. If you are born a woman go to the woman’s bathroom. Period!”

Labels:  "Fast and Furious"; "Good Cop/Bad Cop"; "Government"; "Liberal Wet Dreams"

Larry Elder Observations

36 Reasons to Stop Me Before I Tweet Again - Larry Elder:

1) "Political correctness" is just a fancy term for not telling the truth.
 2) Obama says he wants "mandatory" voting, as it is in Australia. Voter ID is "unduly burdensome" -- but forcing people to vote is not?!
 3) Obama says with "mandatory" voting, "You start getting 70-80 percent voting rates." Still not as high as the voting rates for dead people in Chicago!
 4) Democrats, the "party of freedom," want mandatory health insurance, mandatory employer-paid leave, mandatory minimum wage and mandatory voting.
 5) If illegals-turned-new-citizens would likely vote 80 percent GOP, instead of 80 percent Democrat, government would've sealed the borders tighter than a clam's behind.
 6) Government freebies eventually anger both those who pay and those who demand, "Where's mine?"

There are more Conservative Comments, follow the link.

I use to listen to Larry Elder on the radio, but radio in Oregon is "iffy" at best and not terribly conservative at worse.  Besides, I didn't like his debate style ... he wasn't as good "off the cuff" as he is when he has had time to think it through.   (Which is why I offered the contents of this think piece.)

Kentucky church group considers NRA members "enemies"

Gun safety advocates pray for NRA members holding annual meeting in Louisville:

 Cecil-Hinds, interim executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said many NRA members “are Christian people who believe that what they are doing is right”. “If we speak out against them without praying for them, then we do an injustice to God’s work in the world,” she said. “God calls us to be one body and love one another. Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ That’s why I do it.”

Hmmm ... so, NRA members are their "enemies"?  Legal, law-abiding firearms owners are their "enemies"?   People who are responsible gun owners are their "enemies" simply because they possess firearms?

I can't quite get my mind around this concept.

Isn't there a biblical injunction involved here?

Something like "Judge Not, Lest Thee Be Judged"?

If this group had been referring to criminals who use firearms for nefarious purposes, I would have understood.  But they are specifically targeting NRA members.

It hurts my feelings.  I may weep.

Please, spare me your sanctimonious self-righteous hypocrisy.   Whatever God you are praying to, it's not the father of He who said, in Luke 22:36: ''

"... the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one".

If y'all are that religious that you think you ought to pray for armed total strangers, maybe you ought to consider buying a gun; because "Don't Bring A Sword To A Gun Fight".

(Yeah, I made that one up.)

Wisconsin AG: "Lock Them Up!"

Morning Minute: AG Schimel on Solving Gun Violence | | wiscnews.com:

"We are not going to give in to those demands to make it harder for law abiding gun owners to exercise their second amendment rights...we're gonna find the people that are using guns to commit crimes and lock them up. That's how you solve the gun violence problem," 

(Attorney General Brad Schimel said last weekend at the Republican Party of Wisconsin state convention.)

Funny, I knew that Wisconsin had men, but I didn't realize they clanged when they walked.

California Metros Re-envision State

California Senate approves sweeping gun-control measures | Fox News: SACRAMENTO, Calif. –

Democrats in the California Senate approved a wide-ranging series of gun control bills Thursday, reviving an effort to significantly tighten California's already strict gun laws in the wake of last year's terrorist attack in San Bernardino. Lawmakers voted to outlaw the sale of assault weapons with easily detachable magazines and to require that people turn in magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. They also backed a variety of other measures aimed at restricting access to guns and ammunition or limiting the carnage they can inflict.

OLD California State Flag:

NEW California State Flag:

Doubleplus Ungood Badspeak

US Attorney General: 'We May Prosecute Climate Change Deniers'.:
(March 10, 2016)

The US Department of Justice has been considering whether people should be prosecuted for the offense of climate change denial. “This matter has been discussed. We have received information about it and have referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action on,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch, responding to a question from green activist Sen Sheldon Whitehouse at a Senate Judiciary Hearing.

 [emphasis added]

In George Orwell's tortured masterpiece "1984", citizens of Oceania could be prosecuted for thinking 'wrong thoughts'.  T

Today, in the era and the country where the First Amendment is first among our most treasured freedoms,, our government has been considering whether there are certain opinions which cannot be expressed.  It's not a matter of grammar; it's a matter of Thought Crime.

It appears that Orwell's premonition is now verified. It just took a little longer (32 years) for it to come about in America.

Let's call the crime  "BadSpeak", and make it a law.  Which will require a Constitutional Amendment .. eventually.
(But no hurry, as long as another Democrat is elected to hold the highest office in the land.)

Judging by the words and threats of the Attorney General of the United States of America ... we have finally caught up with George Orwell.

Aren't we so proud of ourselves today?

(H/T: Correa)

(PS: Yes, I did steal the title from a current internet blog.  It was too rich to resist.)

It's an "AMERICAN" thing; you wouldn't understand

The BBC article of October 4, 2015 *see below*, wonders why President Obama cannot, with a stroke of the pen and the support of Liberal congress-critters, impose "Common-Sense Gun Laws" to curb what they (the Brits and the American Liberals) assume would resolve all of the "Gun Violence" issues in America.

There are two reasons:

First: America is not a "Democracy"; it's a Republic

Second: The Constitution of the United States acknowledges (and guarantees) the right of Americans to "Keep and Bear Arms".

Why Obama is powerless to reform gun laws - BBC News:

 October 04, 2015: Can't the states do their own thing? In the Senate - which currently has 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats (or Democratic-supporting independents) - the individual state populations are the key. The votes of Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi in pro-gun Wyoming (population 584,153) have the same weight as gun-control-backing Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer in California (population 38.8 million).

Yeah, that's the "Republic" thingie.

As Thomas Jefferson said, "Democracy is nothing more than Rule By Mob"; and today Liberals Americans are 'the mob'.

Our "Democratic" president would dearly love to impose his bias upon free Americans.  It's a source of irritation to our Dear Leader that he cannot arbitrarily impose draconian restrictions on our freedoms.

Don't think that a lot of Congressmen wouldn't back him in this raid on Constitutional Rights, but the folks who started this experiment in liberty were smarter than the Brits, and Obama combined.  Which wasn't much of a challenge, as it turns out.

(Curious, that the "Constitutional Law Professor" who rules America today doesn't seem to 'get it'.)

(Go here for a discussion about the Electoral College)

If you're not confused, you were not paying attention.  The "Electoral College" concept is confusing to 99.9% of Americans (including me).  But one would be surprised if an American President who is also self-identifying himself as a "Constitutional Professor" didn't understand it.

Obama cannot impose arbitrary restrictions on Firearms Ownership (or in other words " .. is powerless to reform gun laws ...") because he's not a King.  He cannot rule by fiat.  He needs the support of BOTH houses of legislature, and he can't get it because those senators and representatives are dependent upon the good will of their electorate to get themselves re-elected next year.  Without the firm support of the Electorate (you and I),

And as Al Gore learned a few years ago, one of the EASIEST ways to lose an election is to infringe on the Constitutional Rights of the American Citizen.

Even if you're a Rabid Anti-gun Liberal, you don't want to seriously propose a Constitutional Amendment unless there is first a Constitutional Convention to support your ever-so-popular view.  And even then, it's still not a good idea because then there are "other issues" which might come arise, and you are likely to lose more than you might have gained.

ONE OTHER QUESTION:

We understand why Americans would want to ask this question.

But why is the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) involving themselves in this "purely American" issue?

It may be a matter of Schadenfreude;
They're so gleeful about their firearms-ban that they cannot bear to let American Freedoms demonstrate that their 'Violence" issues haven't been resolved by their draconian Gun Control measures (which are, by the way, not working!).

So they are violently (excuse the expression, NSFW in Britain) opposed to any other country which might be willing to accept a degree of 'gun violence' in protection of "Personal Freedoms" ..  thus allowing private citizens to defend themselves in their homes and in their persons.  Because if they let THAT example go without criticism, they might find themselves defending the logic in exposing their citizens to violence without allowing' them the means to defend themselves, their property, and their family.

That would be embarrassing.

People Still Being Shot In The People's Republic of Canada?

Toronto gun violence must be addressed by entire city, Rexdale pastor says - CBC.ca | Metro Morning:

A Toronto-area pastor says there's a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness in the city's Rexdale neighbourhood and it's a problem for the entire city to fix. On Sunday, a 35-year-old pregnant woman was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting while riding in the back seat of a vehicle in the area. 

What's this?   People are still being shot in Canada?
That's impossible!   Canada has many of the gun laws which American anti-gun groups have been trying to establish for years, and for the specific purpose of eliminating exactly the kind of tragedies described above!

Canada  (see link here)

(Cliff Notes Version: strict compared to U.S. laws. Ottawa sets gun control laws that may be supplemented locally.)

• 18 years or older to own a gun, licensed only, background check and public safety course
• 1995 Firearms Act: owner licensing
• Licensing of all long guns (since abandoned due to billions of dollars expense to enforce)

UK STOPPED GUN VIOLENCE:
The online newsletter BUSINESS INSIDER announced the success of the same Gun Control Safety measures that Canada (and other United Kingdom countries, for example) in an article titled:
"How Australia and Other Developed Countries Have Put A Stop To Gun Violence" by Walter Hinkley (January 15, 2013)

Perhaps this announcement was premature.   Gun Violence continues in Canada. Non-gun violence has peaked in countries where private citizens are not allowed to defend themselves with firearms against thug.  See "yobs", below.

HOW AMERICAN GUN DEATHS AND GUN LAWS COMPARE TO CANADA'S

The National Observer, in a December 04, 2015 article, observed that:

According to a StatsCan report from 2012 – the most recent year available – the U.S. suffered a total of 8,813 murders involving the use of firearms that year. Canada, in the same year, recorded just 172 firearms-related homicides.“When looking at firearm-related homicide rates in comparable countries, Canada’s rate is about seven times lower than that of the United States (3.5 per 100,000 population), although it is higher than several other peer countries. While Canada’s firearm-related homicide rate is similar to those in Ireland and Switzerland, it is significantly higher than the rates in Japan (0.01 per 100,000 population) and the United Kingdom (0.06 per 100,000 population),” states StatsCan’s findings, which do not include Quebec figures.

Note that Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world, even though guns are absolutely forbidden there.  UK has even more draconian firearms-ownership regulations ... but the rate of non-gun violence is higher there than both Canada and America combined, because Brits are not allowed to arm themselves in protection against assault by YOBS.

SUMMARY:

Yes, it's possible to dramatically decrease the number of gun-related murders by highly restricting or even eliminating the private ownership of firearms.

That just means that the criminals do not fear lethal resistance from their victims.
The odd thing is, when anti-gun folks laud the 'improvements' in a society where guns are highly restricted, or totally banned, they see higher rates of robberies and burgularies (including 'occupied dwelling' incidents, muggings, other assaults and murders by knives, bludgeons, and fist-and-feet.

The quality of life dramatically decreases when the public is not allowed the tools to defend themselves against even casual assault and robbery.

Ask any Brit, for example, or Australian who feels defenseless against young hoodlums who feel confident that they will not be met with an effective defense in a home invasion.

(1)

Police are confident their firearms database has not been compromised and say they do not believe there is any link between their inspection and the Mt Rumney home invasion.

(2) The Failure of Canadian Gun Control (Dave Kopel)

(3)

Published on May 15, 2013

The Gun Ban In Australia Caused Increase In Crime And Home Invasions

Two thousand angry Australians gather to demand their gun rights and justice. Ginny Simone reports that the people of Australia gathered at the feet of Parliament with signs and outraged chanting in protest of the country's gun bans. Interviewees from the crowd discuss the gun buyback that required citizens to surrender their weapons with the threat of jail, an event that resulted in the confiscation of over 6,000 guns. With millions of dollars spent and no reduction in crime and actual increases in crime including home invasions, from the gun bans, Australians demand the right to defend themselves and to feel safe in their homes.

You Get The Police Force You Deserve

British police reluctant to carry guns because of prosecution fears: Home News

 Police chiefs are struggling to recruit enough officers willing to carry a gun to tackle a Paris-style terror attack, because they fear they will be treated as criminal suspects if they use their weapon in the line of duty ... potential recruits were being deterred because of fears they could spend years under investigation after a decision to fire on a suspect ...

THIS is what you get when your "litigious society" is more focused on criticizing the cops than stopping the bad guys.

Curiously, the Brits are quick to criticize America for being a "Litigious Society":   and if you read both the lead article, and the article linked to in the preceding line ...  ^  ...

... then you have just learned the meaning of 'IRONY'.

You Can't Have It Both Ways

The usual Mantra of the "Leftist Liberal Gun-Grabbers" (but I repeat myself!) is that the NRA is the tool of the firearms manufacturers.

That would suggest that anything which widens the market for newly manufactured firearms would be a primary effort which the National Rifle Association would eagerly espouse to advance the fiscal well-being of their supposed "masters" .. the gun makers.

But what's this?

The NRA is backing laws to require LEOs to keep and resell confiscated firearms, rather than to destroy them?   Even if it means that the market for new firearms may be undermined?

NRA Keeps Killer Guns on the Market - POLITICO Magazine:

In the past eight years, 11 states have passed NRA-backed laws encouraging or requiring police to resell confiscated guns. The legislation is consistent with the guns-everywhere strategy the lobbying arm of the NRA has advanced at every level of government since the late 1990s—more guns in the hands of more people in more places. Dealers buy them in bulk from police departments and sell them to the public with no disclosure that such weapons were once used in robberies, assaults or homicides. In some notable cases, these guns are used to commit new crimes. Even so, efforts to expand these laws to other states are underway.

Either the NRA is the toady for the gun makers, or it's an advocate for the American Citizens who own (or want to own) guns.  As this article illustrates, you can't have it both ways.

Chuck Behind The Curve: Brady Kicks Politico Arse

Is Chuck Schumer developing a conscience?
Why else would he be dragging his feet on introducing another means-nothing anti-gun bull?

Gun-control group pushes Schumer, he obliges - POLITICO:

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence had organized a conference call for Monday afternoon designed to call out Schumer — normally a reliable ally of gun-control groups — for not yet introducing the bill. In a statement announcing the call, the organization proclaimed: “Senator Schumer falls through on promise to Brady Campaign.”

Chuck was a little bit slow dancing to the Brady tune this week, so they called him to account for his intransigence.   It required only a mild threat to get Chuck back on the gun-grabber bandwagon.

Under heavy pressure from an influential gun-control group, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that he would introduce legislation expanding universal background checks — following through on a months-long pledge to bring forward the bill.

One wonders: is he beginning to feel just a little bit used and abused?

One hopes so.

That's the usual fate of "Useful Idiots" when they exceed their "Sell-By Date".

H/T: Sipsy 

USPSA In The News

Alternative summer camp: where children learn to shoot assault rifles | US news | The Guardian:

A 15-year-old boy fires an assault rifle at human-shaped targets while walking through a desert shooting range. Whipping a pistol from a holster, another teen shoots rapidly at man-shaped targets that pop from behind barrels.

Oh, darn.

I don't know anybody who shoots at man-shaped targets.   Do you?




check it out here.

Unsafe At Any Speed: HillaryEMail

Clinton E-mail Trove Likely in Russian Hands | Frontpage Mag:

The mainstream media had sought to protect Hillary Clinton from revelations about Guccifer’s role in the hacking of her private e-mail server as long as it could. For example, NBC News reporter Cynthia McFadden had interviewed Guccifer from a Bucharest prison and elicited Guccifer’s first-hand account that Hillary’s server was “not safe at all.” NBC sat on this interview for more than a month. Only after Guccifer was extradited to the U.S. and appeared to be of interest to the FBI did NBC have to acknowledge the potential importance of what Guccifer had to say regarding Hillary’s unsafe server.

The repercussions of Hillary Clinton's "Not-So-Private" Email Server continue to resound,    Even though the  MSM gratuitously maintains its private job as Protector to the Queen, unsympathetic news/opinion websites dig deeper and discover increasingly ominous suggestions that her arrogance and self-perceived "I'm So Special I Don't Need To Obey The Rules" attitudes may have undermined the security of the United States.

If she is so mindful of her Liberal Preference as a candidate, how would she fare as the Leader of the Free World?

Barack Obama, you may soon be demoted to: "The SECOND Most Dangerous American President".


Hat Tip: Claire

 

The Force is weak in this one

It's pretty obvious the guy isn't married.
And we now know why.

PBS, "Armed in America" ... fair and balanced? You decide.

PBS, ‘Independent Lens’ to cover gun violence with special 2-night event | Newsday:

 “Armed in America” is theme for “Peace Officer,” “Armor of Light” Network says it is not taking an editorial stand on issue On Monday and Tuesday, PBS will devote most of its prime-time schedule to a two-night event built around the theme “Armed in America” as part the service’s ongoing coverage of gun violence. Two films under the “Independent Lens” banner will air, followed by town hall discussions moderated by former ABC News correspondent Michel Martin (now weekend anchor of NPR’s “All Things Considered”). (Both town halls were taped April 27 at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida.

PBS swears that it's not going to take an 'anti-gun' stance during these presentations.

I don't have television, or I would watch this just to hoot at their 'balanced presentation'.

But SOMEBODY ought to watch it!

When they call it "gun violence",  you can assume it will be talking about "Bad Guns!" and not about "Bad Social Violence".

And little time will be spent talking about the sociological aspects of violence; instead, they WILL be talking about Gun Control.

Because I gave up my television 20 years ago, if someone can find an online version of this 'series', I would be interested in watching what PBS has to say.

THIS is what Hillary WANTS?

Trump Parrots Right-Wing Media’s Bogus Claims About Clinton’s Gun Policies:

 May 9, 2016 12:53 PM EDT ››› JULIE ALDERMAN

 Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump echoed conservative media and the National Rifle Association by baselessly claiming that Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton wants to “abolish the Second Amendment” and “take your guns away.”
In fact, Clinton says that Second Amendment rights can be "protected" while the government also implements"common-sense" measures like universal background checks to keep guns from dangerous people.

As usual, the Left Wing Media torques the rhetoric to make their "presumptive candidate" look good ;; at least, as good as she can be made, considering that she is (a) a politician, and (b) a DEMOCRATIC politician, and (c) ergo, a liar.


In point of fact, Hillary actually said:

You know, Australia’s a good example, Canada’s a good example, [and] the UK’s a good example. Why? Because each of them had mass killings, Australia had a huge mass killing about 20 or 25 years ago. Canada did as well, so did the UK. In reaction, they passed much stricter gun laws. In the Australian example, as I recall, that was a buyback program. The Australian government as part of trying to clamp down on the availability of…weapons offered a good price for buying hundreds of thousands of guns and basically clamped down going forward, in terms of having more of a background check approach–more of a permitting approach ...

[emphasis added]

The Australian Gun Control Law Banned and Confiscated Guns!

The Australian "Gun Buyback Program" wasn't presented as an option: it was mandatory.

Australians  complied because they were required to, by law.  They didn't do this because it was their choice!   And receiving $500 for a firearms which might have cost you thousands of dollars was not appreciated as "a good price".

(THIS is what Hillary wants?)

Reason Magazine noted that

As a result, concluded one academic assessment, "Suicide rates did not fall, though there was a shift toward less use of guns, continuing a very long-term decline. Homicides continued a modest decline; taking into account the one-time effect of the Port Arthur massacre itself, the share of murders committed with firearms declined sharply. Other violent crime, such as armed robbery, continued to increase, but again with fewer incidents that involved firearms."

The thing which DID decrease in Australia was that fewer (as in "NONE") of Australia's honest law-abiding citizens had the means to protect themselves against' violent felons .. felons who had NO problems acquiring firearms!

England has had fewer murders by firearms; however their rates of violent crime has soared because, again, criminals no longer feared The Armed Citizen.  Hell, you can't even use a kitchen knife in London to defend yourself against a home invasion!


So let's go back to the  original statement by the egregious JULIE ALDERMAN:

TAKE YOUR BULLETS AWAY:

Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nominee, wants "to take your bullets away." He made the remarks during a May 7 rally in Washington state, according to CNN. From the CNN report:

Julie Alderman called that "a lie" by Donald Trump.

But is it?
Not if you accept that Hillary was sincere when she embraced the Australian Example..

Let's go back to Australia, whose firearms laws are so cherished by The Hillary::

Who can possess ammunition?

Section 65(3) of the Firearms Act 1996 prescribes that:

A person must not possess ammunition unless the person is:

1. The holder of a licence or permit to possess a firearm which takes that ammunition, or
2. They are authorised to possess the ammunition by a permit.

What requirements must be met to purchase ammunition?

Sections 65 & 45A of the Firearms Act 1996 prescribe that ammunition for a firearm may only be sold to a person who produces at the time of the sale:

1. Identification showing the name and address of the purchaser, and
2. A current firearms licence or permit for a firearm that takes the type of ammunition being purchased, or
3. A permit authorising the person to purchase the ammunition.

THIS is the model which Hillary Clinton thinks is "... a good example"?

(THIS is what Hillary wants?)

A Sign Of The TImes

Pol to seek bill requiring city to post signs on gun possession - NY Daily News:
(May 04, 2016)

 Councilman Dan Garodnick will introduce legislation this week to require the city to post signs on roads entering the five boroughs saying that it’s illegal to have a gun without a license from the city. Garodnick said the signs will send a message to would-be gun traffickers — as well as clueless tourists who have gotten busted for bringing their guns into New York. 

 Tourists ... maybe.  "Gun traffickers" ... not so much

But HEY!    This guy might be on to something.

Getting his name in the news.

Politicians:  "The scrabbling, scheming rabble in both houses who would foul their own nests for a line of good press or an edge in the next election"   (David Drake)

I thought I was The Only One ...

Clayton Cramer.: Foreign Policy Is A Pretty Straight-Laced Establishment Journal:

Rhodes and others around Obama keep on talking about doing all this novel thinking, playing from a new playbook, bucking the establishment thinking. 

But if that is the case, why have they given so much foreign policy power to two career hacks who never have had an original thought?
I mean, of course, Joe Biden and John Kerry. 

I guess the answer can only be that those two are puppets, and (as in Biden’s case) are given losing propositions like Iraq to handle.

I thought I was "The Only One" who recognized Joe and John  ... The Sock Puppet Twins ...as total clueless losers who never had a rational thought between them which was not handed down to them from their betters.

BTW: Joe ... in case none of your non-existent friends ever told you: letting loose a shotgun-charge of double-ought buckshot is NOT the best was to protect your home.

... when all you really need to protect your home is a pack of fire-crackers!
(They have the same effect, and they're a lot cheaper!)


And John .. you can take your thrown-away (unearned) medals from Viet Nam and find a place for them where the sun never shines.  Nobody thinks you were a war hero;  we all know you were a REMF!  Why don't you admit that you were fragged by your own crew?

Oh, this is GREAT Police Work!

Cops deploy StingRay anti-terror tech against $50 chicken-wing thief • The Register:

Annapolis police never found the thief but he represented just one of 17 occasions on which the city of 40,000 people used the device in 2011. Its use is far more prevalent in larger cities.
,,,
. New York City has used its StingRay more than 1,000 times since 2008.

There's a great meme which is never spoken of:

"If you have a tool, you will use it, even if you don't need it!"

(I just made it up.  Like it?)

Okay, here's a more familiar one:

"If you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."

I'm all for solving crime, and all that.
What I'm not all for is creating intrusive devices and techniques which intrude on our Constitutional "Right To Privacy" (I made that up, too)

All kidding aside, I'm concerned about the increasing encroachment of governments on the privacy rights of their individual citizens.

THIS IS HAUNTINGLY FAMILIAR!

Hatchet House

Hatchet range | WWOR: A hatchet throwing range is open in New Jersey.


Which reminds me ....

Channel your Inner Ed Ames




(Friday Night is the loneliest night of the week)

Mossberg and "Smart Gun" Technology

Yeah, right.

New Gun Technology Weds You to Your Gun | Digital Trends:
(May 03, 2016)

 Mossberg knows he faces an uphill battle when it comes to changing the negative opinions of both law enforcement and consumers regarding gun lock solutions. That battle will be won or lost in the long term, but in the immediate future, Mossberg is working on improving the firearm circuitry with the goal of shrinking it to fit inside the handgun. An internal board will restore the seamless appearance of the gun and will hide the technology from potential thieves who will of course be surprised when their stolen gun fails to operate.

... and the gun owner will be surprised when his gun fails to operate, for any of several reasons.

I'll accept Smart Gun Technology when it meets any number of 'technical' criteria:

• When the U.S. Army accepts it as the standard
• When all American Police Departments accept it as the standard
• When both these governmental groups have proved it in 10 years of on-the-job usage
• When the price of a 'smart gun' is the same as a "Stupid Gun" (or preferably less than)
• When you've proven that the technology can not be circumvented by an 'outside' influence (including the Feds with their Smart Gun Shut Down Technology) @TM
• When it's available in guns which are within my range of purchase price
• When the gun works every time, all the time, no matter whether I'm wearing the Ring of Fate or the Bracelet From Hell, and it can be made to reliably work for every member of my family

It's my life you're talking about.   It's a LOT more important to me than field-testing your flawed technology ... which you can't even figure how to fit it into a handgun!

So go back to the drawing board, Mister Mossberg, and think about not how what you can sell it, but what works for your prospective customers.

My guess is that you will never, ever, come up with a design which works for all of your customers.

In the meantime, do us (your prospective customers) the courtesy of no longer making bold, unfounded promises of "We'll make this work Real Soon Now", because we do not believe you.  

So STFU and go do your job.

So far, all we have is unfounded expectations and promises that "we really, REALLY want this to happen, real soon now"!

It's not going to happen in your life time.  Nor mine. 

 And the sooner you realize that, the sooner you're going to quit sinking your family fortune in pie-in-the-sky baloney and go back to making very, very good shotguns.

Which you're very, very good at.

Is "Gun Nuts" the new "N-Word"?

LETTER: Calling gun owners ‘gun nuts’ ill-informed:

I'm a Gun Nut.

My father was a Gun Nut, and so were most of his brothers.

I've been a Gun Nut for over half a century.

Thinking about it, I've devised an ad hoc definition of the term:

• I don't know, for sure, exactly how many guns I own
• I don't care to count them.  I just shoot them, and keep them clean  That's my job.
• I own guns I haven't fired for years
• I own guns I haven't ever fired (grandfathered)
• I shoot guns hunting, in competition, and sometimes I just go shoot them because I want to
• I reload my own ammunition
• There have been years when I have fired over 10,000 rounds in competition
• I introduced my  Significant Other to shooting 'for fun', after she realized that she would never see me on a Saturday if she didn't go to matches with me
• There have been years when I've spent over $3000 a year in shooting expenses; aa an Amateur
• I have a full gun safe, and extraneous guns tucked away in most rooms in my home
• I've given guns to my children, because I am not using them ... and maybe they will
• ... and I think they should
• If they don't use the guns, I don't care; I've done MY job!
• I buy primers by the sleeve, not by the 100-count flat
• I currently have 100 pounds of gunpowder in my loading-bench area
• I spent over $1500 on reloading tools
• I have four reloading presses
• I have a reloading press semi-permanently set up in my front room (I say "semi-permanently because it has been there for less than five years)
• When I vacuum my living-room rug, I pick pick up spilled powder and expended primers
• I got my first CHL license 50 years ago
• My garage is a mess, except I keep the area around my MAIN loading press (Dillon 650) clear
• I don't object to use of the word "gun" when referring to firearms.  I know what I mean, and I HAVE seen the movie "Full Metal Jacket"  .. in fact, I own a copy of the DVD
• Most of my friends are "Gun Nuts"
• I teach a class in "Introduction to USPSA" every month; have done so for the past 5 years

So when someone says that the term "Gun Nut" is "Ill-Informed", I say "Look at the source".

The term is only "ill-informed" if someone else says it.  

I don't have to apologize to anyone for who and what I am.  

The people who don't understand ... their opinion is not important to me.

Kansas U's reluctantly accept new Concealed Carry Laws. Miami, too!

Students voice concerns over concealed carry on college campuses | Myinforms:

 On Jan. 20, the Kansas Board Regents approved a revised policy that states, “Beginning July 1, 2017, any individual who is 21 years of age or older and who is lawfully eligible to carry a concealed handgun in Kansas shall not be precluded from doing so on state university campuses except in buildings and areas of buildings for which adequate security measures are provided, and except as otherwise prohibited by law.”
 [paraphrased]: This policy will still prohibit the open carry of firearms "anywhere on campus".

Also, the liberal professors/staff aren't comfortable with using their didactic teaching styles on armed citizens:

This debate isn't specific to Kansas. After Texas recently passed a similar law, Fritz Steiner, the dean of the architecture school at the University of Texas at Austin, announced he was leaving for a similar post at the University of Pennsylvania. His reason: the new law allowing guns in his classroom.

Texas is the eighth state to allow concealed weapons on its public, post-secondary campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The other states are Mississippi, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Wisconsin, Utah and Kansas. [sic]

It's hard to force draconian solutions on free citizens.

Perhaps the Universities may end up learning more from their students, than their students learn from them.


[MIAMI]

GUN-WALK PROMPTS COUNTER PROTESTS:

“I have no clue why they would want to carry a gun through our campus,” said Froehlich. “Maybe to somehow make us safe.”

Maybe these folks have something going for them.  

The key may be common courtesy.

California Dreaming ... MEDIUM

California All Rifles and; Shotguns Will Be Rationed - Fight Back:

Ever hear the story about the frog in the cook-pot?

You put a frog in a pot, and put the pot on the stove.  The frog is comfortable, and paddles around as if nothing has changed ... because it has not.
After a while, you turn the burner on to "LOW".  The frog is kewl with that.
Later, you turn it up to "MED".  Happy Frog sweats, but it's no big deal.
Finally, you turn the burner up to "HIGH", and you've got a stewed frog who was perfectly happy with being stewed because .. hey, it didn't seem like such a big deal at first!

Well, California is the Frog.  You're getting burned, and you don't even notice it because it's so GRADUAL!

You're The Stewed Frog

You live in California, and you're an elected official, and you really want to get re-elected for the rest of your life.  (the following criteria doesn't count if  your  first name is "jerry" or "alan".)

The first thing the politicians do is to vote to infringe upon the Civil Rights of your voters..

The first thing you, the voters,  do is to re-elect Democratic State Senators after they are dead.

If you stopped doing that .. that would help, don't you think?

(Geez, I've seen some clue-less electorates, but don't you agree that this is embarrassing?  In this state, if you're a DEMOCRAT, you don't even have to .... not only campaign, but BE ALIVE to be re-elected!  And you wonder why your Elected Democratic Representatives don't seem to stand up for your civil rights in California???)

Okay, let's talk about Firearms Ownership and the Second Amendment in California:

The Guantlet

2 Times I Was Glad I Had A Gun:

It was around 4:30pm and I walked to the bathroom and noticed a car in the parking lot. It was a white Honda accord with no plates and 5 people in hoods sitting in the car. I instantly thought something was off and heightened my awareness but went about my business. Around 4:45 I was starting to lock everything up and I went and peaked out a window to see if the car was still there, it was.

Dealing with a Perceived Threat: 

Peter had a problem.  Working at the office in an otherwise empty building, he saw some people loitering in the parking lot.  His was the only car in the lot.  He felt intimidated, and probably a little frightened.

He finished his work, and the group was still there.  Waiting, it seemed to him, for the owner of the lone car to come out.

He had several choices; he chose to leave the building and, on the way to his car, contrived to 'casually' display his concealed handgun in a way which was just barely "Brandishing".  He did not draw his weapon.

That worked.  The five men got into their car and left.

The comments on Peter's story lean heavily to the "Why Didn't You Call The Police?" side.

Perhaps he should have.  Maybe he just got lucky.  Possibly, potential attackers are inclined to fade away when they discover that their 'soft target' wasn't so soft, after all.

And maybe the five strangers finished their cigarettes and decided it was time to get back on the road if they wanted to get to Disneyland before it closed for the night.

EWWWWWWWW ...

Perhaps he should have have chosen the option which the comments are full of ("Why didn't you call the police?").   Maybe they're right; maybe it was a dumb stunt for Peter to actually go about his business without seeming to be intimidated.  Maybe he DID risk his life, for no good reason.

KORWIN: The Progressive’s Gun Myths

Alan Korwin says a lot of things I wish I could express so concisely.   So this week I'll be providing links to some of his commentary:  Here's the first one:

KORWIN: America’s Real Gun Problem - The Progressive’s Gun Myths - GunsAmerica Digest:

 Hillary keeps saying it, the “news” media hammers it, too many democrats apparently believe it like the gospel (though a lot don’t seem to believe in that): “We’ve got to defeat the big bad powerful evil gun lobby, namely the NRA.”

Priorities

from Dad's Deadpool Blog:

BATF hires Arizona to do their dirty work for them

David Codrea at "THE WAR ON GUNS" reported this:

Glendale, Ariz., Police Become Enforcers of ATF Gun Control:

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has entered into an agreement with the Glendale, Arizona, Police Department that makes the latter the unpaid enforcers of the former’s regulations, the Tenth Amendment Center reports.

Apparently, the feds are tired of catching all the heat for murdering citizens and burning down homes.

This must be cheaper than trying to hire agents with scruples.

Beyond the Bullet: The Cost of Gun Violence in Detroit

Beyond the Bullet: The Cost of Gun Violence in Detroit: A child's fight after becoming a shooting victim Little 9-year-old India Williams was shot while riding her bike two years ago. Her family hangs out with us for an afternoon, talking about…

(This documentary can be found here.)
The video expose starts with an opening statement by the reporter.  He speaks to how hard it is to cover this kind of story:

I've been on the streets for about 14 years, working nighst, going to a lot of these scenes.   And the same question keeps coming up:  "How do you do what you do?  Don't you bring this stuff home with you???"   Looking at the crying mothers, the crying brothers and sisters, those violent crime scenes throughout the city.  The answer is, 'of course I do. I'm human like everyone else, I try to bury it in my subconscious, but it still eats at me and bothers me every day.   I may go home and think about it for two or three days, but .. .unfortunately, it's 'on to the next story'.

Through the story, there are references  to brothers mothers and sisters.  But there are no references to fathers.  At all.