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Archive for the ‘gun rights’ Category

NRA-PVF Campaign Ads Hit the Air

Posted in gun rights, hunting, Politics, tagged , , on September 23, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Virginian Karl Rusch appears in an NRA ad targeting hunters urging them to defeat Obama on November 4th.

His son, former Marine Staff Sgt. Kurt Rusch, a veteran of the Iraq war, appears in an ad targeting veterans, that talks about how they fought to protect the very freedom that Obama threatens.

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Is it True Love or Just a Passing Fad

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , on September 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Cute interactive Q  & A for gun owners to see if Obama agrees with you – courtesy of the NRA Political Victory Fund.

Hat tip to Sebastian.

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Would a President Obama Really Respect the Second Amendment

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on September 20, 2008| 1 Comment »

Or is he just waiting until he has the votes in congress before doing what he would really like to do with respect to guns? Listen closely to his answer to a question he took at a Duryea, PA, glass factory.  After using the same tired code words of “gun safety” to describe ending private sales at gun shows, shutting down gun dealers as he proposed in 2000 and taking a swipe at the NRA, he lets slip what is the only thing that would keep a President Obama from doing what his record clearly shows he would like to do if he could.

Obama claims the NRA opposes “gun safety” measures but it is the NRA that has done more to promote real gun safety than any other organization – pro-rights or anti-rights. Through the Eddie Eagle program, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, millions of children have been taught the basic message that if you see a gun, “Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area, Tell an Adult.” Through various other programs of the NRA, millions of new gun owners have learned the safe handling and use of a firearm.

It’s clear Barack Obama knows nothing about what is real gun safety and he is no friend of gun owners.

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Obama Rolls out “Sportsmen for Obama”

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

That’s right – in Minnesota earlier this week Obama’s campaign rolled out a sportsmen network, with a pledge to protect hunters’ gun rights, expand and restore habitat for hunting and fishing, and enhance programs that teach youth about outdoors activities.

Obama’s campaign is working to repel the NRA push to inform gun owners that Obama is an enemy of the Second Amendment that includes reminding gun owners of the candidate’s inartful statement during the primaries about the tendency of small-town Americans to “cling to guns or religion.”

Included in Obama’s effort are radio ads that Obama is running in several key states, including Virginia, that feature Ray Schoenke, President of the astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA). As mentioned in a post yesterday, Schoenke tells listeners that “Barack Obama and John McCain will both make sure we can keep our guns.”

Apparently not all gun owners and hunters know Obama’s record when it comes to firearms and ammunition. According to an article on Townhall.com, during the roll out of the Obama sportsmen group, a Minnesota hunter said “Tell me where Senator Obama says `I want stricter controls on who can hunt and when’ or ‘I want to ban shotguns and rifles,'” said Jarve, a member of Obama’s Minnesota sportsmen chapter. “Where has he said that? He hasn’t.”

Well, lets see, Obama voted to:

  • allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry to continue;
  • voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate “assault weapons,” but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen;
  • voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting;
  • endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition;
  • supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America;

All of the above would affect the ability of hunters to participate in their sport either directly or indirectly. So, while he may not have come right out and said so, Obama has either proposed or voted for measures that would restrict the availability of firearms and/or ammunition for hunting and sport shooting.

Never mind the fact that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting.

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NSSF Running New Ad Encouraging Gun Owners to Vote

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on September 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has a new ad that you will probably see run on all of the outdoor television networks.  You can see the ad below.

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AHSA’s Schoenke Appearing in Ad for Obama

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , , on September 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Well, I figured the astro-turf gun group American Hunters and Shooters Association would be supporting Obama in the general election since they went all out for him in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary earlier this year.  I was in Dallas earlier this week and when I spoke with my wife on the phone Tuesday night, she told me she heard “some football player” doing an Obama commercial on the local conservative talk radio station (WRVA) in Richmond.  The “some football player” is none other than former Redskin player Ray Schoenke.   Sure enough,  Sebastian over at Snowflakes in Hell had posted on the subject earlier in the day via Ahab.

In the ad, Schoenke says:

“This is Ray Schoenke.  I played football with the Washington Redskins.  Now I’m president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association.  It’s important to me that our next president protects our Second Amendment rights to own guns, and to defend ourselves.  Barack Obama and John McCain will both make sure we keep our guns.”

I guess Schoenke did not hear Obama say in Pennsylvania that he opposes our right to self defense because he opposes concealed carry.  But, this ad is not as much about trying to persuade gun owners that Obama is no threat to gun owners as it is to try and get gun owners to vote for Obama based on other issues (i.e. put us at ease that Obama will not restrict our gun rights so it’s okay to think about other issues like the economy).  Schoenke launches an attack on McCain reading straight from the Democrat’s talking points. 

Now, this blog is about gun rights so I will not get into the other reasons that I am also supporting McCain but I will say even though I am not a one issue voter, gun rights are at the top of my list and if a candidate is bad on guns, he or she is going to have a hard time getting my vote because I believe that my right to keep and bear arms protects all of my other rights.

The fact is, Obama has no interest in protecting our gun rights anymore than Schoenke gives a rats rear end about the rights of hunters and shooters.  His group is a front for the Democrats.  It was organized and funded by people (including Schoenke) who have a long history of supporting anti-rights groups like the Brady Campaign as well as other gun control groups.  Schoenke recently wrote over on the Huffington Post that his is a “typical American family on guns.”   For those not familiar with it, the Huffington Post is where the loony left meets to spread disinformation on guns and other topics of interest to liberals.

Anyway, Schoenke writes:

“My wife doesn’t hunt. She doesn’t even like guns. But, she does appreciate my love for hunting and guns – and we share a deep commitment to preserving our environment. And, I accept that she was a financial supporter of the Brady Campaign. And, I also support her and respect her opinions. On guns, we’re like James Carville and Mary Matalin – happily married, on different sides, but still respectful of each others’ views. “

What Schoenke does not tell you is that if you go to Opensecrets.org and do a search on Ray Schoenke, you wil find that he has given to the Brady Campaign too.  In fact, not only has he given to the Brady Campaign but to almost every big name anti-gun candidate and congress critter – including Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Bob Torricelli, Teddy Kennedy, and Bill Clinton.  Do a search on all of the people associated with AHSA and you will find they are a who’s who when it comes to gun control.

So, tell your pro-gun friends, if they hear Schoenke on their radio station talking about a “fake to hide the ball”, that it’s Schoenke and Obama doing the fake – faking support for your gun rights to hide Obama’s real record on guns.

Listen to Ray Schoenke Shilling for Obama here.

If you want more information about AHSA you can here.

Hat tip to Sebastian, Ahab, and Cam Edwards.

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NRA Obama Brochure

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , on September 11, 2008| Leave a Comment »

NRA has a brochure on the NRA-ILA web site that you can download and distribute at gun shows, gun shops and gun clubs.  Give one to your pro-gun friends that may not have decided for whom they will vote.  If they care about their gun rights, this brochure should be a big help in convincing them Obama is not good for gun owners.

 

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Roanoke Times Pushes New Fix for “Gun Show Loophole”

Posted in gun rights, tagged , on September 11, 2008| 2 Comments »

This morning’s Roanoke Times is running an editorial titled “Find a way to narrow the gun show loophole.” It’s a response to a hearing held by the Virginia Crime Commission this past Tuesday. You may recall that before the Senate Courts of Justice Committee spiked Governor Tim Kaine’s “gun show loophole” bill for good in January, it referred it to the Virginia Crime Commission for study.

During the hearing, pro-gun legislators made it clear while there is no “loophole” and thus they have no interest in passing a law that closes something that does not exist, the law is unclear on who is a dealer and who is a private seller. Senator Ken Stolle of Virginia Beach suggested that a way to clear this “confusion” would be to set a threshold for the number of guns sold, to determine who escapes federal requirements.

The Times applauded members of the Commission for “not getting bogged down” in the arguments made by both sides of the issue and for considering other options. Then the Times offered their own – something along the lines of everyone entering a gun show would have to show an ID, undergo a background check, then get a credential that allows them to approach any vendor. I don’t know about you, but I go to gun shows to look around. I haven’t bought a gun at a gun show in years – I have dealers that I have relationships with in my area and those are the folks that I turn to when I want to purchase a firearm.

I will give the Times credit for originality, to an extent. This proposal sounds more like the one several years ago that would have required gun show promoters to register with the government and keep records of everyone who attends a show.

I’ve said it once and I will say it again – there is no gun show loophole. Studies conducted by the Clinton Justice Department showed that criminals rarely acquire their guns at gun shows. This is just one more attempt to put gun shows out of business. People like me who go to shows simply to browse and not purchase would be deterred by the requirement of having to wait for a background check before entering -thus reducing the profit margin of the promoter and some shows would likely go out of business. But, that is likely what folks like the Roanoke Times wants anyway.

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Sarah Palin’s Speech

Posted in gun rights, hunting, Politics, tagged , , , on September 4, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Boy, did Governor Sarah Palin really hit it out of the ball park last night. I especially liked her talking about her small town roots and her reference to Obama’s “bitter gun owners” comment. There was much to like in the speech however.

The pro-rights community has been excited about this pick since it was announced and many now have enthusiasm where before they were going to vote for McCain simply because Obama is so bad on our issue.

One such person is David Petzal over at The Gun Nut. On Friday after the pick he wrote, “I know very few people, including Republicans, who are enthusiastic about John McCain. He seems to be tolerated only as an alternative to Obama, who is intolerable to gun owners. There I was, prepared to hold back my rising gorge and vote for Old John M. …, and here he comes up with someone that I can actually be enthusiastic about from any number of standpoints, never mind guns and hunting.”

On on the subject of her hunting prowess, Petzal also posted on just what it takes to turn a moose into “moose burgers.”  I’ve never hunted moose (but it is on the list of hunts I hope to take before I leave this world) but could only imagine what it would take because it’s not like you just hike back a little ways into the woods to your tree stand and then drag out your kill after the hunt as I do with whitetail deer.  Petzal says shooting it is the easy part, the field-dressing “takes three people: one to do the actual hacking and slashing, one to push, shove, and hold legs, and one to stand there with a serious rifle waiting for a bear to show up. Packing it out, which takes yet another two people unless one of you is Clark Kent.”

Makes me like Palin even more.

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Jim Geraghty on Warner’s Keynote Address to the DNC

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on August 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

National Review Online has a good piece this morning from Campaign Spot blogger Jim Geraghty asking exactly why a guy (Mark Warner) who is running as someone who can work with Republicans, was asked to deliver the Keynote Address at the Democratic Convention – an address that usually defines what the party stands for and serves up some red meat in the process about the opposition.

Geraghty also does a good job bursting the bubble Warner and the media have created regarding his record as Governor. He writes that “in 2001 (Warner) called himself a ‘fiscal conservative’ and pledged not to raise the income or sales taxes, promising, as National Journal put it, ‘an end to old-style politics, regional divisions, partisan bickering and personal attacks.'”

Warner of course lied about raising taxes, raising them to the tune of $1.5 billion, with the help of the RINOs in the State Senate and three handfuls of squishy Republicans in the House. As Geraghty points out, because of Virginia’s “odd” one-election-and-you’re-out term limit rule, Warner never had to face the voters for breaking his word.  It’s likely he would have paid no penalty however as Jim Gilmore’s attacks on the subject today have gotten little traction.

As Geraghty notes, Warner is nothing if not an astute politician though as he rarely forgot that he headed a commonwealth that had recently been solidly Republican and he chose his battles carefully. He never crossed the NRA, thus allowing him to now tout on his “Sportsmen for Warner” web site the five very good pieces of legislation that he signed as Governor – bills that included the first parital roll back of Virginia’s handgun rationing law; full pre-emption (making the General Assembly the only law making body in Virginia that can pass gun control laws and ending a patchwork of confusing gun laws); and, signing Delegate Bill Janis’ bill introduced at the request of the Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA) that gave greater protections to gun ranges.

But, gun owners need to ask and get in writing the answers on two key questions.  Gun owners need to ask Warner whether he has changed the position he took in 1996 and 2001 where he supported the Clinton Gun Ban (known as the misnamed “assault weapons” ban) and whether he will support Supreme Court nominees like Alito and Roberts who ruled the D.C. Gun Ban unconstitutional or, if like Obama, he would oppose Alito and Roberts type of justices and instead support justices like Ginsburg, and Breyer who voted to throw the 2nd Amendment on the ash heap of history.

Geraghty also noted that Warner rarely touched any controversial social issues, writing that Warner bragged of eliminating “more than 50 agencies, boards, and commissions — and thousands of positions in state government.” Until 2004, Warner spent a lot of time on unglamorous, noncontroversial good-government initiatives, criticizing state agencies for using “outdated business practices.”

Does anyone really believe that if Warner is elected to the U.S. Senate where he may have as many as 59 like minded colleagues (if you believe Chucky Schumer’s latest bragging about their election prospects), unfettered by having to deal with a majority controlled by the other party, that he will be the “radical centrist” that he says he wants to be.

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