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Archive for the ‘gun rights’ Category

Join Me In Supporting the Second Amendment Book Bomb

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , , on December 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Today is Bill of Rights Day – the day that the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution were approved. What better day for the Second Amendment Book Bomb. Please join me in helping Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA) Life Member, Stephen Halbrook, push his new book “The Founders Second Amendment” ahead in the rankings for Amazon, in order to promote the Second Amendment. If you don’t have a copy already, I highly recommend getting one for yourself and a friend. If you already have a copy, it makes a Christmas Gift. Click on the link above for more information.

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Spotsylvania Repeals Fingerprinting and Crime Commission Punts on Loophole

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , , , on December 10, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Spotsylvania County Repeals Fingerprinting Requirement for CHP Applicants
On a unanimous vote last night, the Spotyslvania County Board of Supervisors voted to repeal the requirement that concealed carry permit applicants be fingerprinted.  This was sold by the Board staff as a cost saving measure and as localities struggle with balancing their budgets in an economic downturn, more localities may see the value in doing away with the fingerprinting requirement.  This is an opportunity for gun owners to contact their local governing board and suggest that the locality could save money be eliminating the fingerprinting requirement if they have such a requirement (not all localities do).
 
Virginia Crime Commission Delays Vote on Gun Show Loophole Legislation
The Virginia Crime Commission met yesterday and heard testimony on possible legislation to address the so-called “Gun Show Loophole” but put off a vote on recommending legislation until January 13th.  At the meeting both pro-rights and anti-rights citizens spoke, with many on the anti-rights side being family members of victims or survivors of the Virginia Tech shootings.  The press covered this heavily yesterday and articles about the meeting are plentiful.  The Virginian Pilot reported that during a break, Senator Ken Stolle, vice chair of the commission said that the commission would probably approve a strict background-check  requirement at gun shows, but to  survive, the recommendation would need majority support from members of  both parties on the commission.  Stolle said “That’s not going to happen.”   The Pilot reports that Delegate Dave Albo, the commission chairman, and Stolle both floated the idea of having a state trooper stationed at each gun show with a computer available to conduct  voluntary background checks for private gun purchases. A State Police  representative said that could be done if it’s funded and Stolle said that proposal could likely get majority support on the commission. 
 
So, at a time when the state budget faces a shortfall of $2.3 billion, we are going to pay a State Trooper overtime (because that’s what it would be – an off duty trooper in uniform getting paid overtime) to sit at a gun show and see if anyone comes up wanting him to conduct a background check.  I understand Senator Stolle wanting to offer something in the hope that we can finally stop seeing these gun show bills every session but this proposal is not going to please the anti-rights side because it is not mandatory and if it were to pass, it gives Governor Kaine a vehicle to make it mandatory with an amendment or sending down a substitute bill that would not go to committee but would hit the floor for an up or down vote.
 
Gun owners need to make it known between now and January 13th when the commission meets again that there is no need for gun show legislation.  Key on the pro-rights members of the commission – Delegate Terry G. Kilgore, Delegate Beverly J. Sherwood, Senator Kenneth W. Stolle, Delegate Robert B. Bell and Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell and urge them to oppose any recommendation from the commission that would impose background checks for private sales at gun shows.  Also ask them to oppose any proposal that would commit taxpayer funds in these tight budget times to pay for a state trooper at gun shows for voluntary background checks when there is no evidence it would be a wise use of taxpayer money.  It is very likely the trooper would spend the entire weekend twiddling his thumbs.

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Tonight on NRA News with Cam Edwards

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2008| 5 Comments »

I will be on NRANews‘ Cam & Company tonight to talk about the Virginia Crime Commission gun show legislation and the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ recommendation to repeal the fingerprinting requirement for concealed handgun permit applicants. You can also hear me on the NRANews Daily News with Ginny Simone at 5:00 PM this afternoon.

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Obama – Gun Onwers Have Nothing to Fear From Me

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged on December 8, 2008| Leave a Comment »

According to an AFP report, Barack Obama said yesterday during a press conference that gun owners have no reason to stock up on guns.

“I believe in common sense gun safety law, and I believe in the second amendment. And so, lawful gun owners have nothing to fear. I’ve said that throughout the campaign. I haven’t indicated anything different during the transition, and I think that people can take me at my word.”

Obama always adds he has no intention of  “taking away folks’ guns.”  True enough. But he has made statements that make it very clear he plans to make it as hard as possible, or in some cases impossible, to get certain types of guns. I think actions speak much louder than words and given Obama’s past record, and the fact that he has announced a very anti-gun nominee for Attorney General, gun owners should be very wary.

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Do Gun Distributors Compete with Gun Dealers

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on December 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Jim Shepherd writes in today’s Shooting Wire that one of the consequences of the run on tactical rifles is that some of the distributors that service gun retailers end up competing with the folks they are supposed to be servicing. Shepherd writes:
More than one dealer is complaining that one distributor is not only raising prices to dealers, they’re selling that same inventory direct to consumers – for the same price. …As one former dealer told me, “it’s always been up to the dealer to make his own money, a distributor can sell to anyone they please as long as the transaction is completed through an FFL.” But, he confided, he wouldn’t bet on the distributor winning any friends in the dealer ranks.  Some call it an example of supply and demand; others say it’s no different than the “entrepreneurs” who snapped up all the available plywood in their areas and trucked it to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. There, they sold that plywood to disaster victims – at astronomical markups.

You can read all of Shepherd’s article here.

Uncertainty is driving gun sales – uncertainty about the economy and political uncertainty. But on the political side, Obama can’t do anything the day he takes office and the legislative process means that it will be weeks, if not months before any potential gun control bill comes up for a vote. So for now, as demand for these firearms continue to outpace manufacturing capacity, patience should be the word of the day.

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AR-style Rifles in Short Supply

Posted in gun rights, tagged , , , , , , on November 21, 2008| Leave a Comment »

On of the hottest items in the increase in gun sales the last couple of months has been AR style semi-automatics.  Many dealers are reporting they are sold out and manufacturers are trying to fill orders as quickly as possible.

Jim Shepherd over at the Shooting Wire reports today that:

…the gorging on AR-style rifles and semiautomatic pistols continues unabated. In fact, some retailers tell us that consumers upon hearing there are no AR-style rifles available (a commonly heard story growing even more common daily) are immediately snapping up semiauto pistols and ammunition.

Sebastian told Ahab on Gun Nuts Radio earlier this week that buyers can take a long view.  Obama does not take office until January 20th.  It’s not like on January 21st that he signs a gun ban.  The bills will not be introduced until the new congress convenes and then they have to wind there way through committee before making to the floor for a vote.  “We are talking weeks if not months after Obama takes office,” Sebastian said.  He’s right.  If you don’t have the money right now to make a purchase or your favorite dealer is out of the firearm you want to purchase, you have some time before you have to worry about a ban becoming law.

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Prince William Gun Range, Gun Sales Increase and Gun Shows

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , on November 21, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The President of the Virginia Shooting Sports Association spoke with NRA News’ Cam Edwards on Wednesday night and they talked about several topics of interest to gun owners.

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Holder at Justice a Diasater for Gun Owners

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on November 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Word is Barack Obama has chosen another Clintonista, former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as the next Attorney General.  Holder is no friend of the Second Amendment.  Dave Kopel writes in this month’s NRA magazine America’s First Freedom that Holder was one of the individuals that signed on to the Reno amicus brief supporting the D.C. gun ban in the Heller Case.  That brief claimed that every Justice Department since Franlin Roosevelt through Clinton always believed that the Second Amendment did not protect an individual right to guns for personal use.  After the decision came down from the Court that the Second Amendment does indeed cover an individual right to keep and bear arms Holder complained it would mean greater access to firearms and more guns on the street.

Obama is batting three for three on attacking gun owners.  First he appoints Clinton’s gun control point man, Rahm Emmanuel, as his Chief of Staff.  Then he posts a very specific gun control agenda on his transition web site.  Now he appoints Eric Holder as Attorney General.

If you are not an NRA member and a member of your state gun rights (all of them) organizations, join them today because we are going to need every gun owner in this battle.

Update: More on Eric Holder can be found here.

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Gun Rights Activists React to Obama Questionnaire

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on November 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Last week the blogosphere was all abuzz with talk about question number 59 on the Obama Employment Questionnaire.  That is the question asking prospective administration employees

“Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun?  If so, provide complete ownership and registration information.  Has the registration ever lapsed?  Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

Jake Tapper, ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent, referred to the questionnaire this morning on his blog as a list of “intrusive and extensive” questions.   

Cam Edwards covered the topic extensively on his Thursday and Friday shows and NRA’s Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre was interviewed by NRA News‘ Ginny Simone about what has become known as “question #59.”  Tapper writes that South Carolina Congressman Jim Demint has also jumped into the fray saying,

“I am deeply disturbed that President-elect Obama is asking job applicants whether they or members of their family own guns. Millions of law-abiding Americans own firearms and they should not be discriminated against. The questionnaire already seeks information about illegal activity so there is no reason to ask this question unless the Obama Administration plans to use it to discriminate based on lawful activity. For this reason, I will seek to enact legislation to prohibit this type of discrimination.”

Is this much to-do about nothing?  Obama’s minions say yes.  They told Tapper that the question is not about discriminating against gun owners, but is meant to insure anyone with a gun has one within the “parameters of the law.”  They compare question #59 to the one about whether the prospective employee has had run-ins with the law over any law or regulation, or ever gotten a traffic ticket of more than $50 in fines.

Bill Bennett’s guest host this morning, Kevin Wall, said the questionnaire is a way for the Obama transition team to make sure they don’t run into the problems that Clinton ran into to with some of his nominees in the first term.

Forgive me it I think something else is afoot.  Obama has shown a disdain for guns and gun owners his entire public life.  This is just one more reason not to trust the guy when it comes to our gun rights.

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HSUS and Lead Ammo

Posted in gun rights, hunting, Politics, tagged , , on November 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

As Virginia’s hunters await the opening of general firearms deer season on November 15th, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the largest anti-hunting lobby in the country, is pushing for a nationwide ban on lead ammo.  Using a recent CDC study by the North Dakota Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they claim the preliminary findings show North Dakotans who ate wildlife killed with lead bullets had higher levels of lead in their blood than people who ate little or no meat from wild animals.  

 The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) immediately responded with these facts from the study:

1. Consuming game harvested using traditional hunting ammunition does not pose a human health risk.

2. Participants in the study had readings lower than the national average and well below the level the CDC considers to be of concern.

3. Children in the study had readings that were less than half the national average and far below the level the CDC considers to be of concern.

4. The study showed a statistically insignificant difference between participants who ate game harvested using traditional hunting ammunition and the non-hunters in the control group.

5. Hunters should continue to donate venison to food pantries.

Just as anti-gun groups know that a total ban on gun ownership is nearly impossible, the anti-hunting groups know an outright ban on hunting would be equally impossible to achieve.  So as anti-gun groups seek other ways to make it harder for gun owners to exercise their rights, the anti-hunting groups seek to dismantle the culture of hunting and banning lead ammunition is the first step of this larger political mission.

They have already won this battle in California and sensing they will have a friendlier ear in the White House, they have set their sights on the entire nation.

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