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Obama – Gun Onwers Have Nothing to Fear From Me

December 8, 2008 by vagunrights

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

December 3, 2008 by vagunrights

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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Update on Hunting with Hounds

December 2, 2008 by vagunrights

Posting has been light.  I was on a family vacation last week and I am just catching up.  I found some updated information on the Hunting with Hounds issue over on Andy Thompson’s RTD Outdoor Blog.  Based on Andy’s post, DGIF is “in the middle of the regulatory process” and will be working with the General Assembly Sportsman’s Caucus on any changes to Virginia’s “Right to Retrieve” law.  You can find more information here.

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AR-style Rifles in Short Supply

November 21, 2008 by vagunrights

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

November 21, 2008 by vagunrights

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

November 19, 2008 by vagunrights

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

November 17, 2008 by vagunrights

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

November 14, 2008 by vagunrights

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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Obama “Scrubs” Transition Web Site

November 10, 2008 by vagunrights

The Obama transition team was apparently taken aback by all of the Internet chatter on such things as his gun control proposals and his mandatory public service proposals because the change.gov web full of 20 some policy headings that included specifics in each category like “Urban Policy” etc., has been replaced with simply this paragraph:

The Agenda

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden have developed innovative approaches to challenge the status quo in Washington and to bring about the kind of change America needs.

The Obama Administration has a comprehensive and detailed agenda to carry out its policies. The principal priorities of the Obama Administration include: a plan to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives.

Stay tuned.  I’m sure the scrubbing will not change his left wing agenda – just the transparency with which it is going to be carried out.

Update: Thanks to the folks over at Pink Pistols, those who did not see the original agenda pages on the Obama Transition web site are now able to see them.  Someone thinking ahead scanned the pages and uploaded them so the world can still see the leftest turn this country is about to take.  You can see the gun control proposals here by scrolling down to page four of the document.

Hat tip to Big Gay Al at Yahoo’s Gun Issues Group for pointing me to this.

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The Story That Will Not Go Away

November 8, 2008 by vagunrights

Another local Richmond television station (WRIC TV8) ran a segment last night on gun sales – this time the angle is the run is a by-product of the Obama election victory.  Before the stories were how people were preparing for a possible Obama win.  Gun owner fears were correct – yesterday the Official Transistion web site went live and under “Agenda” you will find a section on “Urban Policy” and under that section you will find a section on “Crime and Law Enforcement.”  That section states:

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama 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 who shouldn’t have them. 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, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

ABC Nightline ran a segment last night on the surge in gun sales as a reaction by gun owners to the Obama Victory. 

AR-15s appear to be in short supply according to the story.  They also had to take the “drive-by” swipe at the NRA saying the organization had scared gun owners into believing Obama was going to take our guns.  Shouldn’t expect anything less from the media.  Fact is NRA never said Obama was going to take our guns – they did warn that he would do everything he could to make it harder to buy new ones – guns like semi-auto firearms.  NRA was right.

I said Obama would try to strike while the iron was hot and it appears I was correct.

Gun Owners, we are in for a rough four years.

Update: A gun shop owner in Arizona was interviewed for a Reuters story and he shares my thoughts on this issue:

I’d rather that (Republican Sen. John) McCain got in and there’s not a big scare and we just followed our normal sales,” Chee told Reuters, rather than say right now we are going to make a lot of money for a few months, and then in a few months, possibly, our business could be shut down.

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