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2nd Amendment Tag

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on December 22, 2015 16 Comments
Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel received a rockstar reception at her conservative party CDU's annual convention in Karlsruhe. Merkel received a nine-minute-long standing ovation from the party delegates for a speech in which she refused to put a fixed limit on migrant intake. Germany is expecting to take as many as 1.5 million migrant this year. With each migrant expected to bring 4-8 family member in the short-term, the real number for 2015 alone could be well over 7 million. However, some odd 30 party delegates dared to question Merkel's stand on mass migration -- out of roughly 3000 attending delegates. That's 99 percent approval by the party cadre for Merkel's open border policy. Even Stalin-era purges didn't East-German dictators that level of support. The British newspaper Independent reports:
[I]n her keynote address to more than 3,000 Christian Democrat (CDU) delegates at a party congress in Karlsruhe, Ms Merkel effectively threw down the gauntlet to the rest of Europe and insisted that it share the burden in helping to solve the problem. “We face the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War,” she told the party faithful. Appealing to other EU members for help she called for solidarity, saying that Europe faced a “historic test” and insisting: “The fight for a unified Europe is worthwhile – of that I am deeply convinced.” Ms Merkel conceded that overcoming the problems facing Germany, which has accepted over a million migrants in 2015 alone, amounted to a “giant task”. But the Chancellor flatly refused to accept demands from within her own ranks to set an “upper limit” on the migrant influx, or for the installation of Berlin Wall-style fortifications and controls on Germany’s borders.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 22, 2015 32 Comments
The 9/11 terror attack changed the way Americans think about and law enforcement / the feds treat hijacked airlines, and San Bernardino and Paris are changing the way that Americans think about "active shooter" situations in the gun-free zones in which they tend to occur. Previously, office workers were taught to hunker down and hide (under a desk, for example) if they could not get away from the building.  This is a bad plan.  Now, however, "active shooter training" for office workers does not recommend hiding, which was often in plain sight; instead, the recommendation is to fight back—with books and other objects that can be used to "distract" a terrorist or assailant. The Washington Post reports:
Spooked by a year of high-profile rampages, hundreds of companies and organizations like NeighborWorks are racing to train their workers how to react to a shooter in their workplaces. And after decades of telling employees to lock down and shelter in place, they are teaching them to fight back if evacuating is not an option. The idea: Work as a team to disrupt and confuse shooters, opening up a split second to take them down.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 11, 2015 22 Comments
In stark contrast to French president Francois Hollande's strong response to the Paris terror attacks, Obama gave a half-hearted address to the nation four days after the San Bernardino terror attack . . . and busied himself with gun control. According to the AP, the Obama administration is working on an executive order that would "close the gun show loophole":

President Barack Obama's advisers are finalizing a proposal that would expand background checks on gun sales without congressional approval.

White House adviser Valerie Jarrett says the president has asked his team to complete a proposal and submit it for his review "in short order." She says the recommendations will include measures to expand background checks.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 06, 2015 14 Comments
Recent remarks by Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. are going viral. In an address to a large audience, he urged students to obtain gun licenses and arm themselves. Falwell was obviously talking about the terrorists who carried out the attacks in San Bernardino, but as you'll see below, he had to clarify his statement. Bradford Richardson reports at The Hill:
Liberty University president urges students to carry guns, ‘end those Muslims’ The president of the Liberty University is urging students to carry concealed weapons on campus in order to “end those Muslims” who would attack the campus. “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” President Jerry Falwell, Jr., told students at convocation Friday, according to the News & Advance.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 06, 2015 20 Comments
In the wake of the "there've been more mass shootings than days in the year" hysteria, Australia's former deputy prime minister, Tim Fischer, is pushing for "better travel warnings" for Australian travelers to the U. S. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
"Three hundred and fifty two mass shootings in the USA so far this year but about 80 a day you don't hear about," Mr Fischer told ABC News on Thursday. "All [are] unacceptable because the US is not stepping up on the public policy reform front. But have we not reached the stage where the Smart Traveller advice of [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] needs to be muscled up?" Mr Fischer said a person is 15 times more likely to be shot dead in the US than in Australia and that travel advice should reflect this, as it does for Mexico.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 05, 2015 25 Comments
Anne posted this report and video back on January 22, 2013, Veteran stands up for 2nd Amendment at Chicago anti-gun forum. In light of open calls by The NY Times and others to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens, it seems worth running again. The event was an anti-gun forum organized by the New Trier (Illinois) Democrats as a “space for real conversation.” When panelist Lee Goodman of the Stop Concealed Carry Coalition responded to a question about the original reasons for including the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights by saying “it didn’t matter [what their intentions were],” and that it no longer was needed, combat veteran Kevin Tully spoke up: The video taken by Anne, embedded below, has over 700,000 views so far. Here is the key exchange:
Veteran: Sir, sir. While you’re standing up. I’ve sat here [inaudible] and I’d like to agree with the professor. Everyone standing in this room right now, especially the veterans in the room right now, know, that we are all Americans. The problem with this country right now is it’s us and it’s f***ing them. We need to stop this crap.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 05, 2015 80 Comments
In a front page editorial, something that hasn't been done in 95 years, the New York Times is calling for the confiscation of certain kinds of guns and ammunition. The piece makes no distinction for the motives behind recent shootings. It also ignores the fact that gun violence is declining. Many Americans are beginning to realize that our country is under attack and that we're at war whether we like it or not. The fact that the New York Times is calling for disarming citizens makes them look as out of touch as the president they helped elect. Here are some excerpts:
End the Gun Epidemic in America All decent people feel sorrow and righteous fury about the latest slaughter of innocents, in California. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are searching for motivations, including the vital question of how the murderers might have been connected to international terrorism. That is right and proper.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 04, 2015 25 Comments
As we are learning more about the radical Islamic terrorists responsible for 14 deaths in San Bernadino, California, the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats are wasting no time in pushing for more gun control. The media started clamoring for gun control before the buildings were even cleared, and Obama was quick to leap onto his soapbox and stammer on about the need for gun control. Watch: Note the new language here: "gun safety laws."  We'll be hearing this again, I'm sure.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 03, 2015 28 Comments
In Israel, as the Knife Intifada was in full swing in early October, the Mayor of Jerusalem urged those with gun permits to carry for defense of themselves and others against random and surprise attacks. https://twitter.com/NirBarkat/status/652065143942160384 It was a variation on the theme, "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away." Now a Sheriff in Ulster County, NY, north of New York City, has urged residents to do the same in light of recent terror attacks like that in San Bernardino. The local CBS News affiliate reports:
All licensed handgun owners in Ulster County should carry their pistols. That’s the message Thursday from the Ulster County Sheriff. Ulster County is located about two hours north of New York City.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 03, 2015 43 Comments
In this particular tale of media hit job turned embarrassment, we have what might be one of the best public displays of gun ignorance presented as fact I've ever seen. The only things missing are a barrel shroud and a couple rounds of rubber bullets. Gizmodo reporter Wes Siler thought he'd pegged Republican Presidential Candidate Senator Ted Cruz as a gun safety hypocrite. Last weekend, the Junior Senator from the Lone Star State went pheasant hunting. Note the unloaded, break-action shotgun resting on Cruz's shoulder.

Posted by Amy Miller on November 03, 2015 18 Comments
Back in October, I covered a Gallup poll that showed the majority of Americans don't support a handgun ban. At the time, only 27% of Americans said they would support such a ban. Two studies covered by Legal Insurrection later that month revealed that the Obama Administration's renewed push for stricter controls and limited carry actually runs contrary to the social science of controlling violence and keeping people safe. The thing is, you'd never know it with the way the mainstream media covers issues like gun control, urban violence, and the Second Amendment. The scope and tragedy of deaths due to gun violence aren't just fodder for "very special episodes" of shows like Dateline---they're chum in the water for an opportunistic media determined to forward the interests of anti-gun, pro-regulation activists. Case in point: in the wake of the Umpqua Community College shooting in Rosebud, Oregon, the New York Times unleashed an apparent expose on Sheriff John Hanlin, drawing out his past, pro-gun thought crimes and using them to turn the conversation away from mental illness and toward the Brady Campaign's push for Hanlin's firing---and a strict, anti-gun agenda. We saw it coming from a mile away, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. We as conservatives have learned not to trust the media when it comes to reporting on guns---which is what makes this next video so refreshing. Atlanta-area journalist Ben Swann has committed a cardinal sin: he looked directly into the camera and defended the Second Amendment. Watch:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 01, 2015 23 Comments
In the 48 hours immediately following the GOP debate, Ted Cruz's presidential campaign raised over a million dollars.  His performance during the debate included some significant comments directed at the moderators that resulted in the highest score pollster Frank Luntz has seen in his career conducting debate focus groups. The Business Insider reports:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had arguably the most memorable moment from Wednesday night's Republican primary debate on CNBC when he slammed the moderators. But for Frank Luntz, the veteran GOP pollster who ran a focus group during the debate, the results were clear. "I have been doing this since 1996 and tonight is a special moment. I've never tested — in any primary debate — a line that scored as well as this," Luntz said after the debate on Fox News' "The Kelly File."
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Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 30, 2015 21 Comments
As Obama stumps for gun control in Chicago, an interesting case has been filed in an effort to protect both religious liberty and the Second Amendment.  An Amish man from Pennsylvania attempted to purchase a gun via legal channels and was denied because he did not have a photo id, and he did not have that photo id because of his religious beliefs. The Amish in Lancaster Country believe that a photograph of themselves is the equivalent of a disallowed "graven image" and thus refuse to allow themselves to be photographed.  This is a religious exemption/exception that has been readily acknowledged and accepted by state and local government who have issued photoless ids and drivers' licenses to Amish people. The Washington Post reports:
In a suit that brings together the Second Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an Amish man filed a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania last week because he wants to buy a gun without the required photo ID — and because getting that photo ID would violate his religious beliefs.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 26, 2015 30 Comments
In the twilight of his administration, President Obama is renewing his fight for stricter gun control laws. Tuesday, President Obama will travel to his hometown Chicago. But he's not there to visit family, the President is headed to Chicago for one reason -- to renew the fight for gun control. The LA Times reports President Obama will be speaking to the International Association of Chiefs of Police and there he will make his case for tougher gun laws.
Obama will talk about the need for tougher gun laws with police chiefs gathered in Chicago on Tuesday, aides say, as part of a broader conversation about violence and how police can work more effectively with their communities to combat it. He’s traveling to Chicago simply because that’s the site of the annual gathering of the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, but advisors say he’s well aware of the symbolism in returning to his hometown amid this debate. Chicago has long been a battleground for both pro- and anti-gun forces. Three decades ago, in the wake of the assassination attempts on President Reagan and Pope John Paul II, the City Council banned new sales and registration of handguns in the city in 1982. Chicago was the first major city to take that step. Now, with Obama renewing his rhetoric about more gun control in the wake of massacres at a church in South Carolina and a community college in Oregon and considering imposing gun safety rules by executive order, critics once again are pointing to the president’s hometown for proof of the folly.

Posted by Amy Miller on October 19, 2015 14 Comments
A Gallup poll released today shows that the vast majority of Americans do not believe that handgun ownership should be limited to "authorized" persons like police or other law enforcement officials. Only 27% of Americans say they support this type of ban (with 72% opposing); additionally, 43% of Americans say they have a gun somewhere in the home, with 28% saying they own one personally. gallup handgun possession october 2015 chart

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 16, 2015 41 Comments
Despite popular opinion in favor of second amendment rights, Hillary Clinton has made gun control a centerpiece of her White House bid. Speaking in New Hampshire Friday, Clinton was asked about gun control. "Recently Australia managed to get away, or take away tens of thousands, millions of handguns. In one year, they were all gone. Can we do that? If we can’t, why can’t we?" Clinton responded saying Australia's eradication of firearms was "worth considering" on a national level.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on October 15, 2015 24 Comments
Enunciation saves lives. Ok, maybe not. But it probably prevents needless miscommunications like this one in Kyle, Texas. According to KVUE:
When a Lehman High School student asked for some chewing gum, another person misheard and thought the student said the word "gun," causing a scare on campus. School officials investigated the concern while students were held in their extended class periods. Later, Hays County CISD sent a letter out to parents stating: "The safety of our students is always foremost on our list of priorities, so we take these concerns seriously," the letter read in part. "We continue to encourage students to report anything they see or hear that causes them concern. Fortunately, in this case, it was a misunderstanding and there was no threat to our school or need to conduct a lock down." The investigation had little to no disruption to students' schedules, officials said.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 15, 2015 10 Comments
There was plenty of talk about gun control and the NRA at the Democratic Party debate Tuesday night. These talking points make great fodder for a progressive audience but ignore the truth. Good people need to be able to defend themselves from bad people. A new ad from the NRA features a man who lived through the horror of World War II and ultimately made it to America. He reminds us of the importance of the Second Amendment in this new ad from the NRA. Transcript via the NRA News website:
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