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Archive for the ‘gun rights’ Category

Gun Show Loophole Bill Advances to Vote on Final Passage

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on January 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Senator Henry Marsh’s SB 1257 advanced to Third Reading today and set up a vote on final passage as soon as Friday, January 30.  Virginia gun owners need to call their senators now and urge them to oppose the bill and vote no.

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Grad student killed at Va. Tech

Posted in gun rights, tagged , on January 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

A female Virginia Tech graduate student was stabbed to death decapitated yesterday.  The victim lived at the graduate center. Authorities identified the suspect as Haiyang Zhu, 25, of China. He was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond, accordin to university spokeman Larry Hincker.  The assault took place in the center’s cafe, Au Bon Pain.

Sadly, the university has made it impossible for students to protect themselves against such attacks because they prohibit students, faculty, and other staff from carrying firearms on campus and school property.

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It’s Official

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , , on January 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

For all of those people who said President Obama would have too much on his plate to promote gun control – this from the White House “Urban Policy” Agenda web page:

Address Gun Violence in Cities:Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.

They basically moved the text from the transition web site to the official White House web site.  Apparently these are far enough up on his list of priorities to be posted on the White House Agenda web page.

Hat top to David Codrea of The War on Guns.

UPDATE: How did I miss the “making guns in this country childproof” in the Obama agenda?  That appears to be an addition to what was on the Transition web page.   Does this mean he is going to make the use of trigger locks mandatory? Does this mean “Smart Gun” technology requirements?

Hat tip to the Campaign Spot.

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Gun Bills Moving Quickly in General Assembly

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , on January 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

There are over 20 firearm related bills so far that have been introduced for the 2009 Session of the Virginia General Assembly and we still have three days before the filing deadline.  The usual suspects like closing the “gun show loophole” and gutting Virginia’s preemption statute are part of the list.  Also, there is a bill (SB 1166) that would more than double the fee paid by the purchaser of firearms for background checks.  If the bill passes the fee will increase from $2 to $5.  This is all done solely to try and close the projected $4 billion hole in the budget.  If the fee increase was to pay increased costs associated with the background checks that would be one thing but it isn’t, they want to balance the budget on the backs of gun owners.

You can find a complete list of the firearm related bills here.  Gun owners need to contact their State Senators today and urge them to oppose the gun purchase tax.

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Gun-show loophole takes center stage today

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , on January 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The Virgina Crime Commission meets this morning at 10:00 AM to determine whether to support legislation addressing the so-called “gun show loophole.”  Its at the top of the agenda so we should know their decision before noon.  I’m betting no on “loophole” legislation but its any body’s guess if they go another route such as creating a definition for what type or how many guns sold make an individual a dealer to try and passify the moonbats – which it won’t.

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More Firearms Legislation Introduced at General Assembly

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , on January 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

With the start of the 2009 Session of the General Assembly a couple days away, four additional firearms related bills have been introduced.

HB 1734– Introduced by Delegate Brenda Pogge, amends various processes, procedures, and requirements for obtaining a Virginia concealed handgun permit. Among the amendments is a provision that allows permit applications to be submitted and returned by mail, and specifies that the court may not require any additional information with a permit application other than what is required or authorized by § 18.2-308. If a current permit holder wishes to obtain a replacement permit indicating a change of address, the permit holder is no longer required to provide proof of the new address.

HB 1741– Also introduced by Delegate Pogge, increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the possession or transportation of certain firearms by persons under the age of 18.

HB 1748– Another bill introduced by Delegate Pogge, clarifies that no locality may require a person who has previously been issued a concealed handgun permit in the Commonwealth to submit to fingerprinting for a new permit. (There have been reports that some localities have tried to continue requiring fingerprints for permit renewals.)

HB 1821Democratic Delegate Joe Johnson has introduced a bill to repeal the ban on carrying concealed in a restaurant serving alcohol.  A person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on the premises. A person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club shall inform a designated employee of the restaurant or club of that fact. A person who consumes alcohol in violation of the provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and a person who becomes intoxicated in violation of the provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

HB 1822 Delegate Johnson has also introduced a bill exempting concealed handgun permit holders from the prohibition of carrying a firearm on to the property of a public, private, or religious elementary, middle, or high school.

SB 877 – Senator Steve Martin of Chesterfield introduced this bill and it clarifies that retired law-enforcement officers from anywhere in the United States, District of Columbia, or territories of the United States are not subject to Virginia’s concealed handgun laws, if such officer meets the requirements of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004. The federal law allows retired officers with more than 15 years aggregate experience, who are certified annually on handgun proficiency, and meet other requirements, to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the United States.

The restaurant bill could make it through the House and Senate again but I have no doubt that Governor Tim Kaine will veto it like last year.

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Obama to Move Swiftly on Guns

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on January 9, 2009| 2 Comments »

Or so it seems based on commentary from folks close to the firearms industry.  The best information on all of this came last Sunday when a number of knowledgeable people were guests on Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk radio program.  These experts included The Shooting Wire‘s Jim Shepherd (by far the best segment of the program), and The War on Guns‘ David Codrea.  Shepard is a longtime veteran of the media and he has well placed sources who tell him that the new administrationwill move on the so-called assault weapons ban sooner rather than later.  Shepard was on the program for the entire second hour with the most important parts of his analysis coming in the last ten minutes.  I can’t do it justice here so I recommend you listen to his comments yourself.

Codrea’s comments were made during the first hour of the program.  Today he also linked to a post by Michael Bane that talks about how the administration will multi-task by taking on the recession and guns at the same time.

Basically, Bane says his insider source explains due to the fact Obama has taken such a beating from the “moonbats” on the left over the Rick Warren inaugural invocation and the fact Obama is installing a third Clinton administration, he has to “rebuild his left-wing creds.”  Taking on the assault weapons ban so soon will burn a huge amount of political capital, but it will “drive a stake in the ground” to prove Obama means what he says about “change” regardless of the consequences.  Plus, the Republicans are so disorganized and the Blue Dogs in his own party are less likely to band together early in his administration that striking early makes sense.  The source also posed that the “gun lobby” is as weak now as it is ever going to be.

After the reaction to his economic stimulus plan by members of his party in the Senate I don’t know if I completely agree with the Blue Dogs not rebelling this soon but the reasons for a quick strike given by Bane’s source (there were a total of six) make sense to me.

Needless to say there are storm clouds on the horizon for gun owners and they are getting darker as January 20th approaches.

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Another Story about Gun Sales in ’08

Posted in gun rights, tagged , on January 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

This one from Colorado.  According to the Rocky Mountain News,  gun sales reached record levels in Colorado in 2008.  The paper said many attributed the increase to fears that Barack Obama’s election will mean tougher firearms laws.  The paper reports that background checks to clear buyers exceeded 200,000 for the first time in history.   More than a quarter occurred after the Nov. 4 election.

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First Virginia Anti-Gun Bill of 2009 Introduced in General Assembly

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , on December 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The first anti-gun bill has been introduced for the 2009 session of the General Assembly. Senate Bill 832, introduced by Senator Mamie Locke, would allow localities to adopt ordinances that prohibit firearms, ammunition, or components or combinations in community or recreation centers, administrative buildings, or public libraries owned or operated by the locality during an official meeting of the governing body.

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Obama Nominees Have Consequences for Gun Owners

Posted in gun rights, hunting, tagged , , , , , on December 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Gun owners have already been treated to the nomination of anti-gun Eric Holder as Obama’s pick for Attorney General.  Wh should be wary of who he may pick at Interior and EPA as well.

On Friday, December 12, Greg Lawson, Director of Communications for the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance was on NRA News‘  Cam and Company.  Lawson talked to Cam Edwards about the speculation surrounding who will become President-elect Barack Obama’s Secretary of the Interior.  Lawson said two names have moved to the head of the pack: U.S. Representatives Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Mike Thompson (D-CA).

Rep. Grijalva is a favorite of the anti-hunting crowd.  He received a 100 percent rating from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in each of the last six years.  In Defense of Animals, another large anti-hunting organization, issued an action alert to its followers asking supporters to contact the PResident-elect’s transition team and urge Rep. Grijalva’s appointment.  Additionally, the HSUS’ legislative arm has come out in support of Rep. Grijalva.  Of interest to gun owners, Grijalva was rated an “F” candidate by the NRA in 2008.

Rep. Thompson’s HSUS approval rating last year was 58 percent.  Thompson is a sportsman, a member of the Congressional Sportsmen Caucus, and was endorsed by the NRA-PVF in 2008, receiving a rating of “B+”.  The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance signed a letter, along with other conservation organizations, encouraging his consideration by the new administration.

While many of the daily issues that affect sportsmen are dealt with at the state government level, the Secretary of the Interior wields great influence, overseeing key conservation agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Interested sportsmen are encouraged to contact the Obama transition team and let them know their thoughts on this nomination.  You can contact the head of the team, John Podesta, by faxing 202-682-1867 or emailing John.Podesta@ptt.gov.  You can also click here and send your comments directly to the transition team web site.

Over at EPA, Lisa Jackson’s name has surfaced as a possible nominee to head EPA.  Jackson played a pivotal roll in New Jersey’s cancellation of its balck bear hunting season.  As head of EPA she could do the bidding of the anti-hunting groups by setting rules related to the use of lead ammunition – rules that could be detrimental to hunters and shooters.  She could also play a role in reducing access to public land for hunting.  While the Interior Department has over site of federal lands, the EPA could use environmental concerns as a means of trying to restrict use of those lands.

Sportsmen and gun owners need to remain vigliant.  If Obama appoints individuals with verifiable anti-hunting records, it will be one more sign that Obama’s rhetoric on the campaign trail was meant to divert attention form his real record on issues important to gun owners and sportsmen.

Update: The Campaign Spot is reporting that Obama has chosen Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior.  In 2004, Salazar received a “D” rating from the NRA-PVF but he has been no friend of HSUS.  According to Project Vote Smart, his ratings from HSUS have been no better than 50% and have mostly been 0-25% support for HSUS legislation.

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