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Archive for April, 2016

Poll Shows Hillary Barking Up Wrong Tree on PLCAA

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on April 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton as been merciless in her attacks on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).  That is the law passed in 2004 that protects firearms manufacturers and retailers from attempts by the gun ban lobby to overwhelm the firearms industry with frivolous lawsuits for actions committed by third parties.  She has attacked her opponent Bernie Sanders for voting for the law and said the firearms industry is “…the only business in America that is wholly protected from any kind of liability. They can sell a gun to someone they know they shouldn’t, and they won’t be sued. There will be no consequences” during an Iowa campaign stop on October 7, 2015.    Politifact rated that charge “False” but that hasn’t stopped her from repeating it over and over again.

A new poll commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation indicates that despite this line of attack, Clinton has been unsuccessful in getting the public to agree that the law needs to be repealed.

Some 72 percent of those surveyed agree that the PLCAA “should be kept and we should punish the criminals who commit these acts not the law-abiding manufacturers and retailers of lawful products which get misused” instead of “this law should be repealed because the current protection enables manufacturers and retailers to sell guns to people who shouldn’t have them, because they know they cannot be sued and don’t face any consequences” (26 percent). Only 4 percent were not sure.

A majority of voters in all regions of the country say the statement about keeping PLCAA more closely reflects their opinion (Midwest: 70 percent, Northeast: 64 percent, South: 73 percent, West: 75 percent). This holds true even for a majority of those who cast a vote for President Obama in the last election (53 percent) and for a majority of non-gun owners (56 percent).

Referencing the poll, Forbes Magazine’s Frank Miniter believes her stance will backfire much as Al Gore’s did in 2000 when he made gun control a major part of his presidential campaign.

After coming out this strongly against a basic American freedom, Hillary will have a hard time pivoting to a less extreme position on gun rights. It will be especially hard for her given that the U.S. Supreme Court’s balance is so obviously at stake in this November’s election.

I don’t know that I completely agree with Miniter because there is one big difference between this year and 2000, Clinton’s opposition can’t get their act together.  The poll is however an indication that despite their best attempts, the gun ban lobby has been unsuccessful in moving the needle back to a time when most Americans were more disposed to support gun control than gun rights.  But as Sebastian suggests in the link referenced above, if Hillary wins, all of that may not make a difference because a couple or three Supreme Court nominations and there will effectively be no Second Amendment.

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Gun Owners’ Number One Goal – Defeat Hillary Clinton

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on April 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »

If it wasn’t clear before, it should be perfectly clear now that Hillary Clinton has gun owners in her sights.  She has made gun control the top focus of her campaign of late.  This from The Hill:

“I am here to tell you I will use every single minute of every day, if I’m fortunate to be your president, looking for ways to save lives so we can change the gun culture,” Clinton said to victims of the Newtown massacre in Hartford on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

And this from the Connecticut Journal Inquirer:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged Thursday to take on the powerful National Rifle Association lobby should she be the first woman elected president in November.

All of this at the same time that Associated Press article referenced in the Hill also noted a new Quinnipiac University Poll shows that gun control ranks very low with the electorate, even among Democrats.

That won’t stop Clinton though.  This is not the year for gun owners to sit out the election because they don’t like their choice of candidates.  Gun writer and outdoor personality Tom Gresham put it very well during his Gun Talk Radio program on April 17th.

Gun owners need to do everything possible to make sure Hillary Clinton is not elected in November.

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Frank Miniter: Gun Industry Executives Might Be Deposed In Sandy Hook Case

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , on April 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Last week, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis allowed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Remington, Camfour Inc., and the East Windsor Gun Shop to move forward.  The suit was brought by families of the victims of the Sandy Hook School shooting.  Previous attempts to hold firearms manufacturers accountable for the actions of third parties have been stopped by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.  The defendants in this case have asserted that the Act does not apply here as well.  The attorneys for the family believe they have found an exception known as a “negligent-entrustment claim”. Under that type of claim, a seller can be held liable for supplying a product to a person it reasonably could have known posed a risk to themselves or others.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Judge Bellis didn’t consider the merits of the claims by the families in her ruling.

One of the plaintiffs in the case wrote in USA Today that the case is not against manufactures, but against the AR-15 Rifle.

This case is not about all gun makers; it’s about the AR-15. Remington’s targeted marketing makes military-style massacres accessible to unscreened civilians. The company’s strategy is responsible for the Sandy Hook massacre. The families have a right, even a responsibility, to hold it accountable.

If that is the case, then why do FBI data show that Rifles/shotguns are used in only a small number of violent crimes compared to other weapons?  Fists are used to kill in twice to almost three times as many murders than rifles.  Even anti-gun law professor Adam Winkler admits that going after semi-automatic firearms will do nothing to reduce crime.

In the below video, author and columnist Frank Miniter talks about the lawsuit with NRANews.com Cam and Company host Cam Edwards. Miniter addressed the point about the AR-15 rifle and discussed how it is the single most popular semi-automatic rifle in the nation.


Originally aired on Cam & Co 04/21/16.

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After the First Shot

Posted in Shooting Sports, tagged , , , on April 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Natalie Foster and Julie Golub revisit three of the women from their Love at First Shot series for an update on their journeys since appearing on the show.

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Good Breakdown of New Rasmussen Poll on Gun Ownership

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , on April 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The Truth About Guns blog has a good breakdown of a new Rasmussen poll on gun ownership.  One of the interesting take aways is that whites are slightly less likely than blacks and other minority Americans to report the purchase of a gun in the past year. According to the TTAG post:

That’s a huge surprise; an important reflection of anecdotal evidence suggesting that minorities are taking to guns in record numbers.

There is also some not so good news in the poll – 44% of respondents think it is too easy to buy a gun in this country with only 36% saying it is about right.  That response should give those of us who consider impediments to purchasing a firearm an unconstitutional infringement on our right to keep and bear arms.  Overall though there is good news in the poll. Check out the entire post for more details.

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Northern Virginia Newspaper on The Challenge of Blocking Gun Shops

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on April 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The Sun Gazette opined yesterday on the subject of gun ban advocates attempts to stop gun shops from opening in Northern Virginia neighborhoods and the challenges they face in stopping them:

Over the past year, inside-the-Beltway gun opponents have gone 1-for-3, having successfully worked to scuttle plans for a gun store in the Cherrydale section of Arlington but then having watched, and fulminated, as Nova Firearms relocated to a larger and more prominent location in McLean and Nova Armory opened late last month on Pershing Drive in Arlington.

In each of those last two cases, officials in Fairfax and Arlington counties noted, correctly, that their hands were tied by state law prohibiting them from enacting zoning rules that would keep such shops out.

The Sun Gazette noted they don’t stay up at night worrying about gun shops in their neighborhood (writing that NOVA Firearms is two blocks from their office) but did express empathy for those who take a different view:

 …assuming they are actually serious about their concerns, rather than using the shops as convenient political whipping boys.

But that’s just the problem.  All of the noise made by the gun ban lobby is less about legitimate concerns with gun shops in the neighborhood (since they can’t point to any problems caused by gun shops operating in any area of the Commonwealth) and all about trying to stop legitimate businesses from being able to operate in the first place.  The Gazette said if the gun ban lobby wants to really have the power to stop gun shops from opening, they need to change the “hearts and minds” of Virginians  to affect legislative races in order to get the General Assembly to allow localities to ban gun shops from opening.  So far, the gun ban folks have only been successful in getting Northern Virginia legislators on their side.  It is up to us to make sure they don’t make any headway in other areas.

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