World News Heard Now Hears, and Reports on, M1 Story
Finally, others in the media are starting to pick up on the M1 story, and we thought we were the only reporters looking into the issue. Mary Bargeman at World News Heard Now has posted an interesting read titled “More Proof of Anti-Constitutional Agenda with Gun Sale Nix.”
As much of the mainstream media has gone out of its way to note that President Obama hasn’t instituted new anti-gun legislation, it is nice to see someone report that the administration is no friend of the gun lobby. In fact, this is the latest proof that the Obama administration is actually hostile to gun owners. Read more
Capitol Weekly Shows Anti-Gun Bias in Reporting on Gun Legislation
Maybe someone should tell the staff at Capitol Weekly, “The Newspaper of California Government and Politics” to watch some old episodes of Dragnet and just tell “the facts, just the facts.” The paper reported on “A graveyard for key bills at the 11th hour” and shows some serious anti-gun bias. Read more
Montana Firearms Act Ruled Unconstitutional, Brady Campaign Rejoices
Unfortunately this has been a good week for the Brady Campaign. The group’s President Paul Helmke seemed pleased to issue a statement in response to a U.S. magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss a lawsuit by groups in support of Montana’s “Firearms Freedom Act.”
“The gun lobby’s so-called ‘Freedom Acts’ would threaten public safety by circumventing lifesaving federal laws.”
Clearly, this shows Helmke’s and his group’s true colors. These people don’t want “reasonable” gun laws, they want a total ban on all guns, and it is clear as they rejoice over this ruling, and the ban on the importation of M1 rifles from Korea.
AP Reports on Failed Ban on Open-Carry, Sounds Disappointed
Someone at the Associated Press was probably hoping to write a piece on how California lawmakers passed a bill that would have made it illegal to carry unloaded guns in public, but instead the news service had to report that the measure failed.
AP noted:
“The Senate narrowly approved the measure… but it failed in the Assembly.”
Additionally, AP noted that lawmakers did not act on a second bill that would have made it a law requiring all long guns, including rifles and shotguns to be registered. AP also stated, “the bill fell short during an initial vote Monday.”
Is this a case of sour grapes from the AP? If so, too bad.
San Diego Tribune Doesn’t Hide Anti-Gun Frustration
In reporting on the open carry “ban,” writer Michael Gardner of The San Diego Union-Tribune noted, “‘Open Carry’ ban falls short in a surprise.” Was this really a surprise? The legislation had already failed to pass before, and many saw this as a last ditch effort.
But Gardner doesn’t stop with a biased headline; he offers this biased intro as well:
“Time ran out for legislation to ban the public display of unloaded handguns, a stunning development it he Assembly as the midnight deadline for passing most bills arrived before a vote could be taken Tuesday.”
That is wording we’d expect to read in an editorial, not a news feature.
Mainstream Media Finally Picks Up M1 Story, Brady Campaign Notes Concern
After nearly two weeks of silence from the mainstream media, FoxNews.com has noted that the Obama administration has blocked the importation of M1 rifles from South Korea. According to the story from FoxNews, the South Koreans wanted to sell one million M1 rifles to gun collectors in America – but numbers closer to 100,000 had previously been reported in the Korean media.
Not surprisingly, the anti-gun zealots have supported the move to block the importation of the guns. FoxNews.com quoted Dennis Henigan of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence as noting:
“Guns that can take high-capacity magazines are a threat to public safety. Even though they are old, these guns could deliver a great amount of firepower. So I think the Obama administration’s concerns are well-taken.” Read more
Bergen County Gun Buyback Includes Potentially Valuable Guns
We hate gun buybacks. We can’t say that enough. These in all likelihood fail to actually get guns off the streets, and pay gun owners in most cases a mere fraction of what the firearm was worth. We’ve reported on these events time and time again, but this past weekend a buyback in Bergen County, New Jersey just proved our point, as two potentially valuable World War II era handguns were amongst those handed in. Read more
Portland Mayor Tries to Impose New Gun Laws
OrgeonLive.com reported that Portland Mayor Sam Adams is attempting to follow other large city mayors by adopting strict new gun control laws, “that state lawmakers would not – or could not.” This has upped the ante in the war of words that is waging between Adams and local gun rights groups. Read more
National Gun Collectors Association Holds Gun Buy Back
Most of the time gun buybacks sound like a bad deal. Citizens are urged to hand in “old guns” for a gift card or a pittance in cash, and too often taxpayer money is used to support these events. But WTVO 17 via MyStateLine.com reported on a quite different type of buyback.
This event was held this past weekend by a group called The National Gun Collectors Association, which claims to have been partnered with a group called The International Military Collectors Association, and instead of just handing out a gift card, the group’s spokesman actually said they have a panel of experts and connections with dealers and collectors to make offers on firearms as well as military items. Essentially this was a large “motel buy,” a common dealer type event where an individual rents a room, places an add calling for items and waits for people to come by.
While we weren’t able to find any information about either of the aforementioned groups, it is nice to see that the emphasis was on collecting, not destroying the firearms.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Won’t Get NRA Endorsement
The NRA issued a statement this past weekend, noting the group will not endorse Senate Majority Harry Reid, who is fighting for his political career in this November’s upcoming mid-term election.
The official statement from the National Rifle Association:
Charlotte, NC -- In the coming days and weeks, the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) will be announcing endorsements and candidate ratings in hundreds of federal races, as well as thousands of state legislative races.
Unless these announcements are required by the timing of primary or special elections, the NRA-PVF generally does not issue endorsements while important legislative business is pending.
The NRA-PVF also operates under a long-standing policy that gives preference to incumbent candidates who have voted with the NRA on key issues, which is explained in more detail here. Read more
