Where's the bill?

It's been a week. Where's the bill?

It's been over a week since Senator Dianne Feinstein held a news conference to introduce her so-called "assault weapons" ban.

Is this one of those infamous Democrat bills that has to be passed before we're allowed to see what's in it?

Feinstein's Senate Bill 150 is indexed on the government's Thomas site. But the text (as of 9:45 pm 1/31/2013) still has not been published. It's supposed to post on Thomas in about two days time.

What gives?

Us and them

While the Department of Homeland Security procures "select fire" AR-15 type Personal Defense Weapons for its people, the New York Post reports DHS is telling us civilians to run or reach for things like scissors if we come under withering gunfire from some crazed madman.

Photo from U.S. Homeland Security video.

Army special forces deploy to Galveston

Yeah. Another military urban training exercise.

Houston Chronicle reports:

The training will involve about 80 soldiers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in coordination with local law enforcement, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Noggle, an Army spokesman based at Fort Bragg, N.C. 

No civilians will be involved, he said. 

"We were invited by the city of Galveston to conduct joint training exercises to enhance the effectiveness of both services in order to better protect the residents of Galveston," Noggle said by email.

I get the idea that urban training helps troops be better equipped for possible urban environments on overseas deployments.  But exactly how does a mock military urban assault help "better protect" the residents of Galveston... or any other domestic locale?


Related: This strip at Day by Day Cartoon.

Urban myths and progressive performance

From Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon:

Thoughts to ponder

Via a minute long Ron Paul highlight reel:

Last week, Miami. Today, it's Houston

Via KTRK:

"So if you see the helicopters or hear gunfire, it's only a drill."

High profile military exercise over Miami

Machine gun fire... Blackhawk helicopters... as the military sweeps along the skyline in Miami.

Only a drill, says the reporter at WSVN TV.

On one hand, reporter says the police and military are conducting a joint exercise.

Then we're told the military is training for overseas deployment.

Are local police going to deploy with 'em?

If the government wanted to do something specific to make people more paranoid, send more folks out seeking additional personal arms and ammo, it might do something like this.

WFOR, the Miami CBS station, also had brief coverage.

How many global hot spots have commuter rail stations?

Just sayin'...


Update: This isn't the first high profile military exercise in the Miami area. Coconut Grove was "under seige" last May.

So what does disarmament accomplish?

New York Daily News features a first person account of a scholar who says he used his shotgun to scare away a burglar. And this scholar was so unnerved by the experience of prevailing (with no one hurt), that he shed himself of arms - vowing never to put himself in that kind of situation again.

If he hadn't had the shotgun, would he even be here to brag of his self-professed anti-gun enlightenment?

Does this guy think bad guys will steer clear of him because he's chosen to deny himself a means of resistance or defense?

As a young man, I too once reached for a gun. My wife and I heard a ruckus at the back door of our third floor apartment in downtown Portsmouth, Virginia. While she called police, I grabbed my Ruger 10/22 rifle, the only firearm I owned. I inserted the loaded magazine, pulled the bolt, putting a round in the chamber.

I had no intention of opening the door, but wanted to be ready if the fight outside came crashing through. Then I heard a scream from the woman who lived next door. Armed only with a broom, she'd opened her door and attempted to break up the fight.

By the time I opened my door, the two bloody guys had apparently suspended their altercation and were facing my neighbor. At least one had a knife. But the sight of a rifle sent them into full retreat down the stairs.

Never felt better about having a gun when it was over. But I also decided I wanted something more appropriate should such a situation ever happen again. So I picked up a used 12 gauge shotgun not long after.

More shred the Constitution talk

CBS News is the latest media outlet to give time and space to the Left's new pitch intended to yield more fundamental transformation.



Louis Michael Seidman is a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University. He's the same guy who penned the piece in the New York Times in late December.

Seidman does us favor by sharing his views. For starters, he helps frame the current attack on the Second Amendment in a larger context. While some seek to toss the Constitution in one bold move, others prefer to continue their assault on its expressed freedoms and protections line-by-line.

The originating CBS post with a transcript is here.

A display of hand guns?

Kids have been suspended from public school for similar displays.

But, to be fair, there's no official record telling us the president said "pew, pew, pew."

White House government photo

Did Obama tell a whopper?

If so, would a tall tale be a sign the White House sees its gun control push is stumbling?

Twitter was a-fire with snarky remarks after Obama's claims of skeet outings. There were tweets from media who want to see pictures.

Twitchy had a recap.

An editor who gets it

"This past week, with great showmanship, Obama squeezed the kids like triggers; he fired them like little emotional bullets into America’s heart to disrupt your ability to think clearly about what is happening to our country." ~ Tom Skoch, editor of the (Northeast Ohio) Morning Journal


We've heard from Skoch before. 

H/T: The War on Guns

Why the Left avoids talking Chicago violence

If you wonder why the Left doesn't play-up the gun violence in Chicago as it seeks to disarm the rest of us...

Could be because the Left knows if anyone looks too close, the violence there is more about poor individual choices, and reflects an urban society overcome by lost or misdirected values.

From Saturday's Chicago Tribune:

A man slain on the West Side early this morning had two brothers and a sister who also were fatally gunned down in the city, according to a close family friend. 

"He was the last one," said Laverne Smith, 30, who said his mother no longer has any children. "I know she's hurting." 

Smith said it's unthinkable this could have happened again to the family. 

"It's ridiculous," Smith said. "We need to get the guns off the street and build a good life for our babies. We need to really get together and stop fighting."

The Trib reports the family's latest victim had a lengthy arrest record and four felony convictions. Having done time in prison, he recently professed in a TV interview that he was trying to turn his life around.

He'd left a party being held to promote an aspiring rapper shortly before being shot.

Supply lags

If anyone thought a ban on so-called assault weapons would chill the market, think again.

Despite proposed federal legislation to require new layers of background checks and registrations, gun makers can't make guns fast enough to meet demand.

Stag Arms, a maker of AR variants and components reports a more than one year backlog on existing orders. If you want a Stag, they suggest you check local dealers who may be in line to get those pre-ordered by distributors.

From: Stag Arms

Stag Arms reports it has suspended taking new online orders for many items, but says it may be able to resume taking orders in March.

When seconds count

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is urging residents to know how to defend themselves. Sheriff David Clarke Jr comes right out and says it, response times lag, and you're on your own until help arrives. The sheriff's message has been released as a public safety announcement:

Podcast Powered By Podbean

WLUK TV, Milwaukee's Fox 11, has more on the sheriff's call to action, and some of the predictable response to it.


H/T: Ace of Spades HQ

The wisdom of the Constitution

"Healthy government, as that based upon our Constitution, is strife. It awakens anxiety, passion, fervor, and, indeed, hatred and chicanery, both in pursuit of private gain and of public good. Those who promise to relieve us of the burden through their personal or ideological excellence, those who claim to hold the Magic Beans, are simply confidence men." ~ David Mamet via Newsweek/TheDailyBeast

Slave or free?

Georgia's Slavery Control Act of 1755 stated:

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid that it shall not be Lawfull for any Slave unless in the presence of some white person to Carry and  make use of Fire Arms or any Offensive Weapon whatsoever Unless such Slaves Shall have a Tickett or licence in writing from his Master Mistres or Overseer...

Substitute government authority or authorization for terms like white person, master, mistress or overseer, and it sounds a lot like the kind of firearms restrictions government has imposed or seeks to impose on all of us now.

Speaking of movies

I did see this one recently:

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

Its message of conviction and resistance in the context of a fascist sheeple culture is unparalleled.

It too is available on NetFlix and through Amazon.

There's a trailer on YouTube.

"For Greater Glory"

Looks like an interesting film.

"In Mexico in the late 1920s, President Calles institutes a vicious ban on Catholicism that results in many deaths and prompts retired general Gorostieta to join the motley militia groups fighting to preserve religious freedom throughout the country."

Available on NetFlix. And Amazon.

Feinstein's bill: What it says, and reading between the lines

David Codrea at Examiner.com links to a copy of Senate Bill 150.

As of 8:55 am Saturday morning, the bill's still not posted at the government's Thomas site.

A quick read suggests that, despite their bluster, the gun banners are in retreat mode.

For example, most Ruger Mini-14s appear to be exempt from the ban even though they're about the same size, shoot the same ammo, and can provide the same sustained rate of fire as an AR-15, of  which all varieties would be banned.

Ruger Mini-30s are exempt too, and some might argue it's a better platform than the AK-47 counterpart.

Of course, mags for all of 'em would be banned under the bill. This remains an unacceptable condition. As Dianne Feinstein says, the intent is to dry up supply over time.

The bill's bad, but not as bad as its proponents promised it would be. Delays in presenting it have apparently been used to narrow its scope, with backers hoping the naive would go along seeing a longer exemption list. But some of the guns on the exemption list have designs dating back more than 120 years. At least one (a Henry 1860) predates the American Civil War. The list is intentionally padded.

Public protest has paid off. Resistance is working.

Let's keep up the pressure and push the Feinstein crowd into more than retreat. Based on their retrenchment so far, I'd say complete defeat is well within reach - if pro-gun pressure remains consistent. Even better if the outcry escalates.

We don't dare let up now.

American presidents with guns

A pictorial

There's that "F" word again

"Rahm goes fascist on firearms"

Don and I go live at one o'clock eastern

Gun control likely to dominate the show again this week.

Listen live. An On Demand playback link will be available after the show.

Update: The January 25th show's a done deal, and now available in replay.  Here's the direct link to the On Demand player. 

The secret war on ammo

"Fort Drum brass destruction threatens reloading supply and more"

Flocks bleat endorsement of Feinstein's bill

Details remain lacking on Senate Bill 150, officially known as "a bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes." The proposed legislation is sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein. If you go to Feinstein's official senate website seeking more information, here's her list of resources:

• Summary of the bill

• Endorsement list

• Bill text will be made public after the bill is introduced.

Click the endorsement list. What kind of flocks or sheeple endorse legislation sight-unseen?

Meanwhile, Senator Feinstein's bill enjoys a wave to mostly positive coverage in the media after yesterday's show and tell, complete with a display of guns she and her cohorts label as assault weapons (DHS has a different name for similar implements).

Many of those reporting or endorsing Feinstein's bill haven't bothered to disclose they've not only failed to read it, but that access to the text remains, as of this writing, available only in very tight circles. It's a sleazy strategy. If nothing else, it makes it impossible for others to assess the bill to speak to specifics, insuring media coverage remains mostly a cheer leading affair.

By the time the bill receives wider circulation, we'll be into a weekend cycle where most  Americans tune out from news and political affairs.

Feinstein's Senate Bill 150

Still no text by which to evaluate what's really in the proposed legislation.

From Thomas.gov as of 9 o'clock this morning:

The text of S.150 has not yet been received from GPO 

Bills are generally sent to the Library of Congress from the Government Printing Office a day or two after they are introduced on the floor of the House or Senate. Delays can occur when there are a large number of bills to prepare or when a very large bill has to be printed.

Thomas goes note the bill's latest title:

A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.

How many of those already advocating for the bill have even read the text of it?

Low information advocates, voters and media make for a dangerous crowd to follow.


Related update

Paper: Police need the ability to kill lots of people

Editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune:

"Assault weapons that can fire numerous times in seconds are designed for only one thing: killing large numbers of people. The military and law enforcement officers need that ability; ordinary law-abiding citizens do not." 

How many people do the police need to kill, and under what circumstances? The Trib doesn't say.

Never thought the day would come when American media would advocate for an American police state where authorities possess the means to conducted unchallenged mass killing. But taken at face value, that's what's expressed here.

I do not recognize what the media has become. Many have abandoned their role as champions of liberty and the rights of the people, and are now no more than puppets for a collectivist state.


H/T: Sipsey Street Irregulars

Playing out as predicted?

"I believe that the gun lobby is no match for the cross lobby." ~ Rev. Gary Hall at Sen. Feinstein's gun control news conference today.

He spoke with a flag in the background.

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” ~ Sinclair Lewis in It Can't Happen Here.

Some are more equal than others

So NBC's David Gregory is allowed to wave an illegal gun mag on TV if it serves to help scold the NRA, no prosecution.

But a non-elite uses a gun to rescue and possibly save the life of child, and the DC law enforcement apparatus digs deep, exploring every possible prosecution.

Where's the bill, Ms. Feinstein?

It looks like the senator from California again shows she's highly dependent on a compliant media and low information voters as she pushes forward with a proposed ban on assault weapons.

Senator Dianne Feinstein had a news conference earlier this today to say her proposed legislation has been introduced. She even had a list of weapons to be banned printed and handed out to journalists present.

But where's the text of the bill? It's apparently not yet listed at Thomas.gov. Were copies given to the media so that they might ask intelligent questions about the bill? Or was the senator more interested in spreading some spin, and displaying some gun hardware for journalists to photograph and then fret about later on TV?

Are there elements of the bill that would expand definitions, and subject other firearms to ban or licensing provisions?

The legislative push for gun control is shaping up a lot like the legislative push for health care reform. Politicians said one thing back then, but wrote something that took things in ways other than advertised.

Unfortunately, low information media and voters didn't learn from the heath care experience, and still don't hold the politicians responsible. So I expect similar games intended not to inform, but to herd the sheeple, to repeat under the guise of what's claimed to be action aimed at reducing gun violence.

If anyone has link to the full bill, I'd love to see it. And no, I'm not talking about Feinstein's prepared talking points. I want to see the actual bill.

Today's the day

"Citizens, turn in your weapons."

Dianne Feinstein is expected to go public with her gun ban bill later today.

Can't wait to see how far and wide her attempted attack on a constitutionally protected right goes.

Coming up on Friday's (January 25th) show

Last week, Don and I highlighted how Obama seemed to blink on gun control.

This week, we'll look how progressive lawmakers and gun control foot soldiers have doubled down on their efforts to make Obama's dream a reality.

Benghazi, the debt ceiling, and the irrational stock market may play into the January 25th show, but as we've been the past two weeks, expect this week's Don and Doug to be lean heavily toward efforts to uphold  gun rights.

Friday's show starts at 1:00 pm EST. We go for two hours on TalkSouthRadio.com.

A direct link to the show stream is available here.

Assault Weapons versus Personal Defense Weapons

Ya know those "evil" black AR-15s and similar rifles that Dianne Feinstein and Barack Obama label as assault weapons and swear are designed for only one thing - killing people?

Over at the Department of Homeland Security, they're referred to as personal defense weapons.

But unlike the ones available to civilians, at DHS, when they want personal defense with the ability to use "selective fire" - to be able to flip a switch and chose whether to shoot semi-auto, or spray a burst of bullets with a single trigger pull.

Don't take my word for it. Check out this DHS solicitation for, uh, Personal Defense Weapons.

Why are government employees allowed personal defense far in excess of what the president and progressive politicians want to allow free citizens of the United States to have?

H/T  Awr Hawkins at Breitbart.com

Something else to feed a Mosin

Popped up earlier today at SGAmmo.com.

A batch of low recoil ammo for the Mosin Nagant.

I shot some of this earlier this year. Fun. Fun. Fun.

A great practice round.

I am not affiliated with or compensated for referrals to this seller. I'm merely posting this because I know there are folks who've been caught short.

This low recoil ammo tames the Mosin, making it a good marksmanship trainer for newbies, teens, etc. From what I recall, it is corrosive.

Shooting holes through the gun control arguments

"I don’t need an AR-15 any more than Rosa Parks needed to sit at the front of that bus."

H/T: Sipsey Street Irregulars

Extend and pretend

No longer driven by sound economic fundamentals, the stock market is more like a junkie seeking out a cheap fix. For reasons explainable, the market forces now seem to think running up more debt is the solution to America's national debt problem.

Read the report from Reuters via the U.K. Daily Mail

The report contends a temporary extension of the debt ceiling would defuse the immediate crisis, give hope the global economy continues to mend.

Sounds to me like someone's smokin' financial crack.

More likely, such a deal just takes us a few months farther down the path to destruction. Just another excuse not to do anything that's actually constructive.

Even if traveled month by month, inch by inch, we're still on the highway to hell.

Blackmailer's paradox

When it comes to issues like the national debt or gun control, can the GOP find the backbone to walk away from Obama's irrational sucker's game?

Fidel Castro's "common sense" gun control pitch

I've had this as a draft since last September, somehow I overlooked posting it. Oh well, fits better now anyway.

Fidel Castro made his victorious post-revolution entry into Havana, Cuba on January 8, 1959. The next day, Castro's regime began collecting guns and disarming the population.

From Castro's address of January 9, 1959:

 I appeal to the public to disarm the ambitious. Why are clandestine arms being stored at this very minute? Why are arms being hidden at distinct points of the capital? Why are arms being smuggled at this moment? I tell you that there are members of certain revolutionary organizations who are smuggling and storing arms. All the arms that were found by the rebel army are stored and locked in barracks, where they belong. What are these arms for? Against whom are they going to be used? 

Against the revolutionary government that has the support of all the people? Do we have a dictatorship here? Are we going to take up arms against a free government that respects the rights of the people? We have a free country here. We have no censorship, and the press is free. The people can gather freely if they want to. There is no tormenting of political prisoners, no murders, no terror. When all the rights of the citizens have been restored--and an election for the purpose is going to be held as soon as possible--why do we need arms? Are we going to unseat the President with the arms? Are we going to set up revolutionary organizations? Are we going to have gangsters?   

Are we going to practice daily shooting on the streets of the capital? Why do we need arms? Yet I tell you here and now that two days ago elements of certain organizations broke into the San Antonio barracks, which are under the jurisdiction of Commander Camilo Cienfuegos and also under my jurisdiction as commander in chief of the armed forces, and carried away 500 small arms, (16?) machine guns, and 80,000 cartridges. I wanted to tell you about this and make use of the influence exerted by public opinion so that those who are planning any criminal adventure will not be able to recruit any troops to follow them. The theft of the weapons cannot be justified, because this is not a dictatorship. We are never going to use force, because we belong to the people. Moreover, the day that the people do not want us we shall leave. As soon as possible I will take the rifles off the streets. There are no more enemies, there is no longer anything to fight against, and if some day any foreigner or any movement comes up against the revolution, all the people will fight. The weapons belong in the barracks. No one has the right to have private armies here.

Governments that disarm their people always say it's for the greater good.

Within days of Castro's promises of civility, a wave of executions was underway. All at the urging of the people, of course.

Charlie Rangel on gun control

Congessman Charlie Rangel speaks proudly of the gun control package championed by Governor Cuomo, and rushed through the New York legislature.

In an interview on MSNBC, Rangel says the New York law could be a trailblazer for other states, but that some may resist such measures.

 "New York is a little different and more progressive in a lot of areas than some other states and some of the southern areas have cultures that we have to overcome.”

What exactly is he saying?

By what means does Rangel propose to, as he puts it, overcome those with different views on gun rights and of the Constitution than the ones he and his allies advance?

Is he talking brainwashing, as proposed by Eric Holder long before his rise to Attorney General? Or is Rangel talking something more direct, more forceful?

Do you see the change yet?

From: Chris Muir's Day by Day Cartoon:

Utah sheriffs write the president

Utah sheriffs say they they will defend citizens gun rights. A letter written on letterhead from the Utah Sheriff's Association says, in part:

"No federal official will be permitted to descend upon our constituents and take from them what the Bill of Rights — in particular Amendment II — has given them."

The full text can be read here. It's received widespread coverage in Utah.

The Deseret News 
StGeorgeUtah.com
KUTV
KCSG TV
The Salt LakeTribune

Against universal background checks

Likening Obama's self-declared "common sense" proposal for universal background checks to a Trojan horse.

Advisor apparently sees the Constitution and GOP as limiting Obama's goal of fundamental transformation

“What’s frustrating is that we don’t have a political system or an opposition party worthy of the opportunity.”

Collective action, seizing opportunity, remaking government

Are you sure this is Obama's speech, and not one of Castros? 

Mosins now hard to find

The most missing gun of the the current panic may not be the AR. You can still order those. And they're still making them.

But it dawned on me a couple of weeks ago, store racks have become void of the aged Soviet standard, the five shot, bolt action Mosin Nagant. These rifles were selling at most every gun store, gun show or pawn shop for about a hundred bucks or a little more right up until the gun grabbers starting pushing panic.

Mosin Nagant 91/30 with scout scope replacing rear  iron sight and an after-market butt pad

Last night I noticed something else. The cheap military surplus Russian or Bulgarian ammo supplies for the Mosins have dried up as well. Only a couple online sellers still showed some in stock, but one of them was selling spam cans of 440 rounds for $179, that's well over double what it could have been had for a month ago.

The Mosins are great rifles, but some of them can be fussy until you work out sticky bolt issues resulting from past service. And they can pack a wallop with their recoil if using their conventional ammo.

If you snapped one up, check it and clean it thoroughly. Consider adding a rubber butt pad to help tame the recoil. And if you're shooting mil-surp ammo, understand its corrosive nature and how to properly clean the rifle afterwards.

I'd like to think this particular rifle type and ammo outage is a short term thing. But even if supply catches up this time around, sooner or later, stockpiles of these Cold War and earlier relics will eventually be exhausted.

Update 6:21 pm EST 1/21/20013: Noticed a short time ago that SGAmmo.com has restocked surplus Russian ammo for Mosin. Sold by the 880 round case for $159.50, they've sold about five in the last 20 minutes. As of 6:20 pm EST, they have 287 cases in stock. Oops. Three more out the door. Now 284...

Update: Now fewer than 30 cases on hand as of noon on 1/22/2013.

Update: SGAmmo sold out of this batch of 7.62x54r just before 1:30 pm EST.

"Come and take it"

Things often backfire when tyrants seek to reclassify law abiding citizens as criminals. New York's new gun control law and its registration provisions may become a classic example.

From today's New York Post:

“I believe you will have people stepping forward, saying, ‘Here I am. See? I have what you call an assault rifle. Now come and take it away,’ ’’ said a gun-rights activist and boycott organizer. 

That’s exactly what state officials are worried about. 

“Many of these assault-rifle owners aren’t going to register; we realize that,’’ said a Cuomo-administration source who added that officials expect “widespread violations’’ of the new law. 

Are the progressives of New York (and in Washington DC) ready for what they're about to unleash?

The 2nd amendment is just an early target

Another voice on the Left ramps up expressions of public contempt for the broader Constitution. 

Granholm gives Obama an eerie title

In discussing gun control on ABC's This Week, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm today expressed that President Obama sees himself as the "Protector in Chief."

Granholm's comments on gun control begin about 3:51, with the protector remark coming at 4:51 in this video segment from ABC News:

Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News

Does Granholm realize the similarity to a title used by the Nazis as they began rolling over their neighbors?

The Gettysburg Times, March 15, 1939

Selling out the Constitution for sight unseen proposals

Gallup reports polling data suggests that 53 percent of Americans support new gun control laws advocated by the president. Gallup asked the question like this:

Next, as you may know, yesterday President Obama proposed a set of new laws designed to reduce gun violence in the United States. From what you know or have read about this, would you want your representative in Congress for or against these proposed new laws?

The fact that 53 percent of Americans voice support for binding laws where even the earliest of drafts haven't been made public simply blows my mind.

They've learned nothing from the Obamacare debacle. These are also likely some of the same people who previously signed mortgage deals, only to cry "not fair" when they didn't pay and were foreclosed on because they failed to understand the original conditions.

Will the slumbering masses move out of low information mode in time to see what's happening before it's too late?

"Disarmning Americans, arming terrorists"

"Obama is unwilling to trust Americans with an AR-15, but is willing to trust a genocidal terrorist group with Abrams tanks and F-16 jets." ~ Daniel Greenfield

Pro-gun rally in Buffalo

Looks like thousands turned out Saturday in Buffalo, New York in support of the Second Amendment, and in opposition to Governor Cuomo's gun ban. 

H/T and thanks to Sipsey Street Irregulars.

Massachusetts lawmaker wants privately owned guns locked up at approved central storage locations

A Massachusetts lawmaker has introduced legislation to bring a crackdown on gun and ammo availability in Massachusetts.

Natick Patch spells out what's in State Rep. David Linsky's bill:

·         Requires that all large capacity weapons and grandfathered assault weapons must be stored at gun clubs or target ranges.
·         Requires live shooting as part of the curriculum for a basic firearms safety course; this is not a current requirement.
·         Requires all applicants for gun licenses and FID cards to sign a waiver of mental health records for review to be destroyed after decision.
·         Imposes 25% sales tax on ammunition, firearms, shotguns, and rifles; dedicates funds towards firearms licensing, police training, mental health services, and victim’s services.
·         Brings Massachusetts into compliance with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
·         Limits gun buyers to one firearm purchase per month. 

Georgia capitol gun rights rally

Atlanta, Georgia, January 19, 2013

Assault weapon info

Click here, and use your arrow keys to scroll through the presentation.

Gun violence is a Democrat problem

Daniel Greenfield notes:

67% of firearm murders took place in the country’s 50 largest metro areas. The 62 cities in those metro areas have a firearm murder rate of 9.7, more than twice the national average. Among teenagers the firearm murder rate is 14.6 or almost three times the national average. 

Those are the crowded cities of Obamerica. Those are the places with the most restrictive gun control laws and the highest crime rates. 

Debunking the Left on slavery and the Second Amendment

The Left has moved to play a race card in its attack on the Second Amendment, and now spreads a narrative that the amendment was established to protect the institution of slavery.

Bob Owens, on his blog, takes the time to refute this bogus claim.

Know the facts. Understand history. Realize the Left targets our Constitution's protections of individual liberty as it seeks to fundamentally transform America.

Gun grabbers target Democrat Congressman

It appears a Georgia Democrat has drawn the wrath of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The anti-gun group has produced an ad that blends an ad from Congressman John Barrow and his aging hand-me-down firearms with video of what happened in Newtown.



When the grabbers say they only seek bans on military style weapons, remember this ad featuring an antique five shot revolver and an aged bolt action rifle that also likely holds no more than five rounds.

Protect your freedom. Defend the Constitution. Let your elected representatives know you oppose the anti-gun lobby's assault on the Second Amendment.

Different ammo, different results

Two different makes of .38 Special yielded vastly different impact profiles.

Both were 148 grain wadcutter bullets. But while one manufacturer's shot clean holes, the other's strikes made "keyholes." All the hits shown here were fired from a S&W Airweight at about 20 feet.

Why the difference?

We talked about it on today's (January 18th) Don and Doug.

Noonan: Obama's hostile terms

Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal:

So here is what is utterly remarkable: President Obama has been using the days and weeks leading up to his inauguration to show the depth of his disdain for the leaders of the other major party and, by inference, that party's voters, which is to say more or less half the country. He has been spending his time alienating instead of summoning. It has left the political air more sour and estranged. 

As a presidential style this is something strange and new. That has to be said again: It is new, and does not augur well

Obama blinked this week

President Barack Obama seemed to fall way short of the hype in the direct actions he took this week on gun control. In a way, he almost seemed as if he was trying to save face. Yet you'd never know it judging by the Republican reaction in Washington. I'm still seeing news reports of Republicans expressing desire to compromise on things like high capacity ammunition mags. Maybe they don't see what I  see.

DaybyDayCartoon.com

Many on the pro-gun side expected much deeper moves by the White House through executive order. Obama, for instance, could have used an executive order or other regulatory means to ban importation of what the gun control factions consider "assault weapons."

Previous presidents have banned importation of certain guns from certain countries. They've instituted limited bans on certain ammunition importation as well. Why didn't Obama move in similar areas?

I suspect millions of Americans, voting with their wallets to purchase guns and ammunition, have been a tremendous counter-force. On Wednesday, the president seemed to fall back to a softer-sell position. One that focuses more on anti-gun "research" and propaganda., and breaking down privacy restrictions between doctors and patients. Couching behind children as political props seemed to make him smaller, not stronger.

The heavy lifting has been handed back to Congress. And the president, while talking generalities about so-called "military style weapons" has failed to offer specific, written descriptions or draft legislation.

Obama, to a limited extent, also included more armed security in schools (liked the NRA suggested) in his package. The media mocked the NRA for advocating armed guards in schools, but gave Obama a pass for vowing to fund more "school resource officers."

Yes, there are signs the president and his gun control allies are becoming gun shy after their overreach since Sandy Hook. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who was first to jump on the gun-ban soapbox, has been invisible in the past few weeks.

Advocates for the Second Amendment must stand strong. The gun banners have blinked.

Let's hope Republicans in the Congress have the will to stand with the people and the Constitution as this debate moves forward, and not get caught up in their usual head-games of trying to appear reasonable to those who profess to be their ideological opposites.

Note: Don Dickinson and I will discuss, expand and perhaps debate some of these themes on today's (January 18) Don and Doug on TalkSouthRadio.com. The program starts at 1:00pm EST. 

Update: The January 18th program is available for playback On Demand.

Comrade Obama

If the head fits, paste it. From The People's Cube:

An amusing photo

If you think Barack Obama is good at exploiting American school children to soften his image and sell an agenda...  Check a real master at work.

Don and Doug back live on Friday, January 18, 2013!

Likely topics:

Assessing Obama's gun control moves thus far. What do 23 Executive Orders really mean?

Think of this as a chess game. There's more to come. We'll also look at some of the gun control action and proposals in some of the state legislatures.

Caught short on ammo? We'll offer some suggestions on how to stock up.

Gun control is clearly the most visible push of the Obama team right now. But what else are they tinkering with while the media goes ga-ga over gun control?

We'll talk about it Friday at 1:00pm EST at TalkSouthRadio.com.

For one-click listening, here' a direct link to the program.

Two nuggets from National Public Radio

Heard these while driving.

The first is an NPR story offering critical skepticism of mental health provisions in NY gun-grab law.

Also on NPR, the founder of Whole Foods says Obamacare is fascism. And no one challenged the assessment.

Obama fundamentally changes medical privacy

Anthony G. Martin writes at Examiner.com:

Doctors will be told that there is no legal barrier to their reporting on their patients to the federal government on the issue of guns. The executive orders also inform doctors that they are not prohibited by law from asking their patients if they are gun owners. 

Thus, the inherent, traditional privacy that has characterized the doctor-patient relationship is now gone, unless Congress rescinds the executive orders in question. Obama stated in one of the executive orders that his new Obamacare law contains no requirement of privacy and supersedes the healthcare portability act of 1998 in which Congress strengthened the privacy of healthcare patients. Obamacare wiped out all legal protections of privacy.

Perry slams the Obama executive order actions

Texas Governor Rick Perry says the measures announced today by president and vice president have very little to do with Sandy Hook:

In fact, the piling on by the political left, and their cohorts in the media, to use the massacre of little children to advance a pre-existing political agenda that would not have saved those children, disgusts me, personally. The second amendment to the Constitution is a basic right of free people and cannot be nor will it be abridged by the executive power of this or any other president.

Obama's gun grab plan compared to waging war on Nazis

Bob Schieffer at CBS News is getting old. And he's apparently gone senile.

In assessing Obama's speech outlining gun control agenda, Schieffer compared Obama's war on guns with FDR's war that destroyed Hitler and the Nazis:

Surely, passing civil rights legislation, as Lyndon Johnson was able to do; and before that, surely, defeating the Nazis, was a much more formidable task than taking on the gun lobby. This is a turning point in this country.

Earlier this month, in a discussion with NRA President David Keene, Schieffer seemed oblivious to the difference between automatic and semi-automatic firearms.



Why bother with facts when you're cheering an agenda?

Ruger advances on Obama news

Shares of gun maker Ruger (RGR) advanced 2.39 (4.98 percent) today,
with a big pop coming around the time of the president's comments.

Obama's anti-gun stimulus

At Least $4.5 Billion in New Spending for Gun Control

Obama looked tired

I didn't sense much fire in today's presidential push for gun control. And he leaned way too much on the references to past shooting victims and those kids on stage.

I haven't seen the texts yet, but the subjects of the twenty-three executive orders targeting gun violence seem just so-so considering all the build up. I am intrigued at how elements of Obamacare overlap with gun control in the presidential orders. And how government resources will be used to wage anti-gun research and media campaigns.

But in true Obama fashion, the prez hands all the heavy lifting on an unpopular push over to the Congress, apparently hoping Republicans there are too weak to stand against the Democrats' assault on our Second Amendment rights. I suspect O knows any Republican who votes for a gun or mag ban is likey to be voted out of office in 2014.

Today's the day

It lools like Mr. Obama is finally going to deliver the gun control plan that was reported to be coming nearly two years ago.

When the Democrats pretend it's about Sandy Hook, remember their whispers from long before.
From our archives:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2011

Obama team moves toward gun control

No hint yet exactly what it is, but President Obama plans to pitch gun control to the nation.

Selective leaks have begun to appear in sympathetic, carefully chosen media.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews was among the first to take it public:

“There is going to be a special presidential address on gun control. It has not been scheduled yet, but there is going to be one in the near future. Yes, you can take it from me."

This afternoon, Newsweek chimed in, saying the White House will unveil its proposal in the next two weeks:

"The White House said that to avoid being accused of capitalizing on the Arizona shootings for political gain, Obama will address the gun issue in a separate speech, likely early next month. He's also expected to use Arizona has a starting point, but make the case that America's gun laws have been too loose for much longer than just a few weeks."

What will be proposed hasn't been leaked yet. Odds are it will include a proposal to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has already presented a bill in the House to do so. McCarthy's bill is now known as H.R. 308, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act.

Assessments of Mr. Obama's gun control record and comments prior to the 2008 election my also provide insight of what he may propose. Now's a good time to go back and review pre-election analysis of Mr. Obama's record and comments on the subject.

With the House of Representatives now under the control of a Republican majority, there's little chance of a health care style cram-through of a gun control package.

But Mr. Obama may not even have expectations of winning passage of new gun control measures in the current Congress. It might be he's simply setting up the issue as a cornerstone of his 2012 re-election run. Gun control is traditionally a Democrat issue, and gun control was part of the party's 2008 platform:

"We believe the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation, but we know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact and enforce commonsense laws and improvements - like closing the gun show loophole, improving the background check system, and reinstating the assault weapons ban..."

Then again, Mr. Obama and his team may not wait on either Congress or the next election. They may attempt to go the regulatory route, allowing agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to impose piecemeal restrictions beyond what's been done on the regulatory level in the past.

Or the Obama gun control plan may combine these different strategies.

For now, the administration is releasing trial balloons, easing into the issue. But clearly, something is in the works. We should have a better grasp of what's afoot in the next couple weeks.

Children suspended for possessing hand guns

The kind with no bullets, just five fingers.

Rushing to beat potential Obama exec orders

At least one shooting sports retailer is rushing to get as many orders as possible shipped before the president acts unilaterally on gun control. I understand that some folks with backorders are getting this message from a major online shooting sports supplier:

We have been holding some products for you, waiting for other items to arrive so
we could ship your order complete.  However, we believe an Executive Order could
be released any day prohibiting the sale of certain products such as
high-capacity magazines, AR-15 parts and accessories, ammunition, and reloading
components (brass and bullets).  Therefore we have done a partial release of
your backorders to ensure that any of these items and other items we had in
inventory waiting to ship complete are all on their way, in case such an Order
is forthcoming.  You will receive a shipping notification shortly.  Other items
on backorder, that we have not yet received, are not affected by this partial
release.

Hard prison time proposed for possession of hi-cap mags

A bill introduced in the Georgia Senate calls for criminalizing possession of so-called assault weapons as well as detachable ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds.

Senate Bill 33, introduced by State Senator Donzella James, says in part:

71 No person shall transport, have in his or her possession with the intent to sell, or sell any
72 assault weapon or oversize magazine.  The possession of two or more assault weapons or
73 oversize magazines shall create a rebuttable presumption that possession is with intent to
74 sell.  Any person violating this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
75 conviction, shall be sentenced to a term of not less than ten nor more than 20 years in
76 prison."

James is a Democrat from Atlanta. Georgia's legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. Probably not much chance of James' bill going anywhere. But now you know what some Democrats have in mind for owners of modern firearms if given the chance.

Tench Coxe on the right to keep and bear arms

"The power of the sword, say the minority of Pennsylvania, is in the hands of Congress.

Tench Coxe, delegate to
the Continental Congress

"My friends  and countrymen,  it is not so, for THE POWERS OF THE SWORD ARE IN  THE HANDS OF THE YEOMANRY OF AMERICA FROM  SIXTEEN TO SIXTY.

"The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled  and accustomed to their arms, when  compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves. Is it feared, then,  that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have  no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. What clause in the state or [federal] constitution hath given away that important right ....  [T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but where I trust in God  it will  ever remain, in the hands of the people."

~ Tench Coxe, writing To the People of the United States,  in the Pennsylvania Gazette, February 20, 1788.


Tench Coxe and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, 1787-1823
William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Children as props

Been on the road most the day. While out, the radio said Biden and Obama will wait until tomorrow to announce their gun control action plan. I especially noted the report said they'll have children with them to help stage the event.

It's an old gimmick.

"Thanks to the Party,
Thanks to dear Stalin for a
happy, joyful childhood"

"Thank you, dear Stalin, for our happy childhood"

Newtown exploitation continues

The New York Times seems to fret that the nation's healing after Newtown may set in before the Leftists adequately exploit what happened to ram through their long-standing gun control agenda. 

Accurate?

If so, not a flattering resume for Chicago's gun-grabber police chief presented here.

Yeah, the same police chief who last year blamed the  Chicago's high crime rate on the Pilgrims.

Credit: Second City Cop

Germany called

Says it wants its gold back.

Way back when

Was a time in America when you could get a real battle rifle (none of that phony assault weapon terminology) delivered to your door. For around a hundred bucks.

Actually, you can still get home delivery on a Garand through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. There's more paperwork needed now. And today's prices start at $625 for a service grade military surplus Garand.

Obama tries to shift blame (or should we say credit) for the spike in gun sales

President Barack Obama made a heck of an odd-ball claim in his press conference today:

As far as people lining up and purchasing more guns, I think that we've seen for some time now that those who oppose any common-sense gun control or gun safety measures have a pretty effective way of ginning up fear on the part of gun owners that somehow the federal government is about to take all your guns away.  And there's probably an economic element to that.  It obviously is good for business.

First note how the president suggests those who oppose Democrats' gun control schemes lack common sense (Nothing like slipping a little Alinsky-like ridicule). He also fails to specify who these people might be who have instilled fear in gun owners.

However, I've spotted a few gun sale motivators over the past month. I'll quote three. And they're all the president's allies in the gun control pitch.

Start with Senator Dianne Feinstein on NBC's Meet the Press last month:

I'm going to introduce in the Senate, and the same bill will be introduced in the House - a bill to ban assault weapons. It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last month said he wanted gun control action on the state level:

Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option.

VP Joe Biden renewed the alarm in pro-gun circles last week, saying the president would act on gun control: 

The president is going to act. There are executive orders, there's executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required.

In the hours after Biden's comments, I personally witnessed a surge in business at three gun sellers in my area. At one, I simply witnessed a near empty parking lot go to near capacity. In the two where I went inside, Biden's words were a hot topic as arms and ammo passed from seller to buyers.

Mr. Obama's comment today was about as preposterous as one Sen. Feinstein made last month when she declared that guns are more lethal and powerful today than they were in 1994.

Why would anyone listen to the likes of those like Obama and Feinstein on gun control when they deliberately mislead to sell their positions? 

NY State Senator: Burglary tied to newspaper gun map

Brewster, N.Y. – 1/13/2013 – Today Senator Greg Ball (Patterson – R, C, I) announced that a burglary has been reported on Davis Ave. in White Plains, New York that evidently ties into The Journal News gun maps. It is reported that the burglar used The Journal News’ interactive gun map to target a home included on the map. Luckily the gun was locked up and no one was hurt.

Update: Newsday has more on the break-in.

The bigger agenda

"The Master of Hope and Change is out to kill any hope that there can ever be any form of relief from total government intervention. O understands the trouble with allowing the peasants to cling to their guns and bibles. The bibles preach a creed other than Obamosity and the guns maintain the illusion that there is any breathing room at all for the ordinary American." - Daniel Greenfield via Sultan Knish

Schumer wants retailers to stop selling what people are buying

From the New York Daily News:

Sen. Chuck Schumer will call for the nation’s largest gun retailers to voluntarily cease selling assault weapons while Congress debates stricter firearms legislation, the Daily News has learned.

The Daily News, which offers a link to a petition demanding more gun control in its online story, suggests the "moritorium" could be put in place by Saturday's Gun Appreciation Day being organised by pro-gun activists.

Should retailers expect disruptive protests at their stores if they don't comply with Schumer's moritorium? Will your favorite retailers bow to the pressure?

This may well be another sign Democrats do plan to go for broke, and make a full scale push for a ban this time. And that they'll up their efforts to provoke public scenes that they believe will be to their advantage.

Georgia legislature convenes tomorrow

Among proposed bills:

HB 35: Would allow designated school administrators to carry a gun on campus.

HB 29: A college Georgia Campus Carry Act.

It's not the NRA driving the surge in gun sales

NRA President David Keene rebuffs attempts by CNN's Candy Crowley to paint the organisation as one that pushes sales.



Meanwhile, firearms makers are among those directly urging Americans to resist the current gun control push.

Ruger offers suggestions and links here that includes an online form to let you send this message to your elected representatives.

Dear (Recipient), 

I am a law-abiding citizen and responsible gun owner. 

I am saddened by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, but I believe that efforts to impose new restrictions on me and other lawful and responsible owners like me are misguided. Did you know that violent crime with firearms has declined since the Federal "assault weapons ban" expired in 2004? 

Your focus should be on strengthening mental health care and improving the quality of data supporting NICS checks (National Instant Criminal Background Check System). Do NOT pass more gun laws; instead, work to enforce the more than 20,000 gun laws already on the books. 

I am your constituent and I vote. Please represent me. 

Sincerely,  

(Your contact information)

I personally prefer to write my own letters, I think they're more effective. My next letters to my congressman and senators will make mention of  indigenous claims by their colleagues pushing gun control, including Senator Feinstein's claim that guns are more lethal than they were in 1993.

More equal than others

From: Oleg Volk
Volk's post with commentary

Own a funky caliber firearm?

If you own a gun that shoots an older odd-ball cartridge, you may want to build a stash of the stuff if you can still find it.

I was some S&W Long .32s today. And even a box of .38 S&W in a store. Made me think.

These older, less popular rounds are still on the shelf because (drum roll), they fit less popular guns.

But when existing stocks are deleted, it may be a long, long time before ammo makers make time to do another run. Production's gonna be tied up a long time fulfilling existing backorders and restocking warehouses. Production capacity's going to prioritize the most popular rounds before restocking obscure stuff.

One more related observation, I haven't seen any .22 Long Rifle ammo in retail stores since before Christmas. And some online sellers have stopped taking back orders.

Guns still hot

In a store a short time ago. Line twelve deep waiting for service at the gun counter. Pistol ammo all but wiped out except for some .45 acp, and a half dozen boxes of .32 caliber stuff.

They still had a few boxes of .357 Magnum on the shelf - if you didn't mind paying a buck-39 per round and up.

Cleaning supplies looked picked over too. No more Hoppes #9 on the shelf.  Perhaps a sign people who are buying guns are learning to use 'em and clean 'em.

By the way, if you know someone who thinks everything is hunky-dory, take 'em for a stroll down a sporting goods ammo aisle. Let 'em see the bare shelves and watch the people picking over what's left. Then suggest to your friend that food could be next.