Guns and the Law Part I
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the landmark case McDonald v. Chicago. Mr. McDonald lives in the city of Chicago and wants to own a handgun for self and home protection. His neighborhood is one of the most violent in the city but Chicago’s draconian gun laws makes handgun ownership nearly impossible for the average citizen. When the Supreme Court ruled in DC v. Heller that the gun laws in the District of Columbia were too strict and denied citizens their 2nd Amendment Rights, Mr. McDonald filed a similar suit. Read more
Yahoo News Shows Anti-Firearm Bias
Yahoo news posted a story today about the Supreme Court’s upcoming docket. The Court has agreed to hear 55 cases this year. The Yahoo story highlights some of the cases, like the President’s request to block the release of photos showing detainee abuse, whether financial strategies or management principles can be patented and a dozen other issues.
From all of these cases, including hearing whether the 2nd Amendment applies to the states, Yahoo has a picture of a police officer holding up an anti-gun right poster. There are no other pictures. In fact the story’s opening paragraph is about Sonia Sotomayor being the first Hispanic justice. But her photo isn’t shown. It is clear that Yahoo is biased against your 2nd Amendment Right, which is fine if expressed on the editorial page. But when bias becomes part of the hard news, that news organization becomes suspect and should be avoided.
Washington Post Gets It Half Right
In an online editorial today, the Washington Post championed a change in gun control laws through the Supreme Court. Sometime next year The Court will hear McDonald v Chicago, in which Chicago residents challenged the constitutionality of that city’s broad and strict gun laws. Read more
Supreme Court Grants Cert For Local Gun Control Laws
The Supreme Court decided this morning to hear whether draconian local and state gun control laws violate the 2nd Amendment. These laws make legal ownership of firearms practically impossible because of bureaucratic hurdles and high fees that are structured to keep average citizens from exercising their 2nd Amendment Right. Don’t be surprised if anti-gun nuts gear up their propaganda and protest machine in an attempt to influence The Court. Read more
9th Circuit To Sit On 2nd Amendment Ruling
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held en banc arguments yesterday on a firearm rights case. Since the landmark case, DC v Heller, federal appellate courts have differed as to how Heller impacts state and local gun control laws. In Heller, the Supreme Court held that an individual has the right to own firearms on federal land and that the District of Colombia’s gun laws infringed on this right. The question now is how does the 2nd Amendment apply to the states? Read more
Firing Back: Gun Dealers vs. Car Dealers
One of the biggest complaints that the anti-firearm crowd has about gun shows is that supposedly guns can be sold without background checks. The argument is that firearms can pass through many hands, and supposedly enter some gray market. The problem with this logic is that if a gun is legally purchased at ANY point it enters the system. If the gun is used in a crime it can still be traced back to that owner. If the owner illegally sells it, such as to a criminal, that last “legal” owner could be traced back to the gun. Thus these so-called straw purchases aren’t really all that common – or certainly not as common as the mainstream media has made out.
The other problem with this complaint is that the anti-firearm zealots, along with the mainstream media expect everyone to act like a licensed dealer. This is a problem because some individuals, including this reporter, can’t really become dealers. It isn’t that I’ve broken any law, but based on where I live I can’t get into the “guns business.” I can still legally buy and sell guns, and have to report everything to the police – at least anything that comes through New York City. For many individuals who only buy and sell a few guns, there is no reason for them to become “gun dealers” either. There is an extensive process to go through, paperwork to maintain, and essentially it becomes your job.
This is the case even if you just want to on the rare occasion set up a table at a local gun show, or even bring in a rifle to sell to another collector. The anti-gun crowd says these purchases are a problem because the guns change hand and could end up in criminals’ hands. Yes, this could happen, but should the bulk of legitimate buyers and sellers be made to suffer?
Now imagine that to buy or sell a used car you had to become a used car dealer? This is essentially what the anti-firearm crowd is asking for when it comes to guns. And actually, it would take everything a step further, this would mean making sure that when you sell a car the person has a license, insurance, isn’t wanted for a crime, etc. So instead of relying on the person to be responsible for all these things, you as the seller of a car would have to do this work. But given the direction this country is headed, it probably won’t be too long.
Firing Back: My Guns Aren’t “On the Street”
Time and time again, politicians including my own mayor (Mike Bloomberg of New York City) talk about how tougher firearm laws get guns off the street. But let’s consider a few points. Nearly all my firearms are stored out of state, and I do this because it is the ONLY legal way I can keep these guns. So most of the year I have no access to these firearms. If I had them in New York City these would be safely locked away as well. Either way these guns would never be “on the street.”
There have been countless gun buy back programs across the country with the intention to “get guns off the street.” And the bigger problem is that the mainstream media continues to praise these events for helping “get guns off the street,” while at the same time labeling anyone standing up for firearm rights as a “gun nut.” The point that we’ve tried to make time and time again is that criminals probably aren’t handing in their guns for cash.
Worse, there have even been increases in thefts of firearms in the days leading up to such events. And why not? Most of these are events are cash for guns, no questions asked. Perfect way to score some fast money. Steal a gun, hand it in, and the evidence of the crime is melted down. The problem of course is that such firearms were never on the street. But something tells me that many criminals will continue to be on the streets and armed.
Rachel Maddow: Guns Shouldn’t be Brought Home
Thank you to our friends at NewsBusters.org for catching a piece we missed. Earlier this week MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow was on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and discussed on how a first date she went shooting. She adds that she regularly used to take the staff of her radio program to a New York City pistol range. So far so good… but then she makes this statement:
“I like making liberals shoot guns – I just don’t think we should be allowed to bring them home.”
Well, I for one agree. I don’t like bringing liberals home either. They tend to argue with me, and bring up stupid points. But Ms. Maddow actually meant guns shouldn’t be brought home. That’s a great example of a stupid point to bring up. Why bother learning to shoot, or rather I should say attempt to learn to shoot if you can’t bring the gun home. Now I’m not saying you’re going to shoot at home, but learning to shoot is beyond pulling the trigger. Any good shooter knows how to strip and clean a firearm, and any good shooter knows you need to take care of your firearm. Think of it this way Rachel, seriously bowlers don’t use the lane’s balls. Serious golfers don’t use the course’s rental clubs. So why should shooters be forced to use the range’s rifles or pistols?
And there is a case to be made for the fact that you could store your firearms at the range. That’s great, unless you have an event to go to, or want to shoot elsewhere. In other words you set up an impossible scenario for serious targeting shooting. Worse Rachel, you make it impossible for hunters and collectors. As a collector I really don’t like the idea of my guns having to be stored somewhere. If I want to go see a collection of firearms I’ll go to a museum.
Gun Research Study Misses Mark
You have to question any study that gets the key facts wrong. KCRA reported how a new study from the University of California found that “a major source of weapons in violent crimes in Northern California” were purchased at gun shows? The report was titled, “Inside Gun Shows What Goes on When Everyone Thinks Nobody’s Watching.” This claims to include undercover video at guns show in 19 states to spot illegal gun sales. Read more
Troy Police “Try to Get Guns Off Streets”
No one wants guns on the streets and in the hands of criminals, but the way the mainstream media keeps on reporting about it, it seems like a bigger deal than it actually is. And the latest example of this is from News10.com in Albany, New York. The site is reporting:
“The Troy Police Department is trying to get guns off city streets. The department is getting ready to hold its first ever gun buyback program.”
