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Archive for August 25th, 2008

Concealed Handgun Permit Applications Continue to Rise

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on August 25, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Virginia residents continue to file into circuit courts throughout the state at a record pace this year, according to statistics from more than 50 jurisdictions analyzed by the Daily News-Record.  According to the News-Record, in 2007, the number of concealed-weapon permits issued jumped roughly 60 percent from the previous year in Virginia.  Numbers for the first six months of 2008, show that most jurisdictions are on pace to surpass those numbers.

My home county of Chesterfield, as well as Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties are all on pace to break records, according to local statistics. In Fairfax County, a locality that has some very anti-gun elected officials (Ken Cuccinelli being the exception), 1,501 have been issued in the first six months of 2008; last year, 2,201 were issued; and, in 2006, 1,449.

Texas and other states have seen similar increases.  While no one can say with certainly what is driving the increase, it is very possible that people have finally figured out that the job of the police is not to protect individuals, that the job of self defense is the responsibility of the individual.  High profile mass killings probably have also played a role in the increase.  Finally, politics may also be playing a role in the uptick in applications.  Vigilant gun owners know that the Supreme Court decision in D.C. vs Heller was razor thin.  The next president may appoint as many as three new justices so it is critical that a pro-rights candidate win this year.  That’s why gun owners must do all they can to insure that Barrack Obama does not march into the White House on January 20, 2009.

The Obama campaign spokesman in Virginia is disputing that politics has anything to do with the increase in permit applications.  Kevin Griffis, the Virginia communications director for the Obama campaign, told the News Record that there is no correlation between the increase in concealed-weapons permits and the presidential election, saying it’s “a Republican talking point.”

Griffs continued by calling the claim that Obama is anti-gun a “systematic smear effort by the NRA.”   He went on to call the NRA “an arm of the Republican Party.” Citing the fact that 2007 was not a presidential election year, he said the NRA saying that Obama is anti-gun is “just as absurd as the e-mails going around suggesting Barack is not Christian” and called the NRA claims in the advertisement false.

You can hear me discuss the increase in permit applications on NRANews’ Daily News with Ginny Simone at 5:00PM today.  The interview will likely replay on Cam and Company tonight around 9:40PM.

 

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Joe Biden’s Anti-Gun Record

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged on August 25, 2008| Leave a Comment »

This year’s Democratic ticket is likely the most anti-gun pair that has ever run- besting even Clinton/Gore and Kerry/Edwards.  Obama’s record is well documented at www.nraila.org/obama – including his votes to ban most all rifle ammunition commonly used by hunters and sportsmen and supporting a proposal that would close almost all gun shops in the country.  Biden is just as bad.

Senator Biden has a long anti-gun record. Beginning in the late 1980s, he voted against the NRA position on most issues. He received an “F” rating from the NRA in 2002.

Sen. Biden was the lead sponsor of the Senate crime bill in the 103rd Congress (S. 1607), to which the Clinton Gun Ban amendment was attached. (The crime bill that eventually passed was the House version, but it still included the gun ban.)

Biden voted for the ban on a stand-alone vote in 1993 ( Feinstein amendment, vote no. 375, 11/17/93) and voted to extend the ban in 2004 as an amendment to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (vote no. 24, 3/2/2004), and included a renewal of the ban in his crime bill last year along with gun show restrictions (S. 2237, title VI).

In the 101st Congress, 1990, Biden introduced two crime bills, S. 1970 and S. 1972. S. 1970 proposed banning the AR-15 and similar semi-automatic firearms, and provided that the Treasury Secretary and Attorney General could recommend to Congress any other firearms (regardless of type) to be designated as “additional assault weapons.”S. 1972 proposed banning the purchase of the same guns unless the seller and buyer fill out and maintain copies of a 4473 or equivalent document, essentially just requiring private sellers to maintain records.

Biden reiterated his support for the ban (in fact, took credit for authoring it) in response to a question at the the CNN/YouTube debate this year (referenced in Saturday’s post). He also campaigned on the issue, and used the other side’s usual talking points in his campaign ads and letters to constituents in the ’90s. Even before the Feinstein amendment, Biden introduced crime bills that contained semi-auto bans (see bottom).

Hat tip to my friends over at the Yahoo Gun Issues group.

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