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Gun Control Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 17, 2016 16 Comments
Jesse Hughes is the front man for Eagles of Death Metal, the band which was performing in the Bataclan theater during the Paris terror attack. The band is returning to finish their show and Hughes gave an interview to a French TV show. When guns came up, things got interesting and emotional. Eric Scheiner of CNS News reports:
Eagles of Death Metal Frontman: 'Did Your French Gun Control' Stop Anyone From Being Killed at Bataclan in Paris? In a recent interview with French iTélé, Hughes said that French gun laws did nothing to help the victims.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 14, 2016 48 Comments
The left comes up with this stuff faster than anyone can keep up with them. Just in time for Valentine's Day, the left-wing Cosmopolitan Magazine is pushing an anti-gun narrative under the heading of gunsplaining:
Why You Should Never Date a "Gunsplainer" We've all met mansplainers, but have you ever met a similarly dreadful gunsplainer? He's the type of guy who will attempt to hit on you by calling you "schnookums" and, like the mansplainer, he will condescend to you about why you're safer in a world where guns are easier to buy than Sudafed, or how a good guy with a gun is the best antidote to a bad guy with a gun.

Posted by Andrew Branca on February 04, 2016 35 Comments
In 2013, Maryland enacted its Firearms Safety Act (FSA). With its passage, effectively banning its residents from owning any of the large majority of semi-automatic rifles owned by American citizens (exceptions were made for retired law enforcement officers). The FSA also imposed other restrictions, such as banning certain standard-capacity magazines. Such laws are common in blue states, of course, and when challenged in the Federal courts on the grounds that they violate the Second Amendment they are typically subject only to intermediate (or lesser) scrutiny. Generally speaking, if the State can articulate virtually any purportedly reasonable basis for the gun law, it survives scrutiny. Merely uttering the words "public safety" is usually sufficient for this purpose. Of course, normally laws that arguably infringe an enumerated Constitutional rights are not subject to mere intermediate scrutiny, but rather they are subject to strict scrutiny. To survive strict scrutiny the law must advance not merely any governmental interest, but in particular a compelling governmental interest. It is perhaps arguable that "public safety" would serve to meet this requirement. In addition, however, the law must also be narrowly tailored to actually achieve that interest. It is this second requirement that almost invariably leads to the law in question being found to be unconstitutional. In a nutshell, then, if intermediate scrutiny is applied to almost any law, the law survives. If strict scrutiny is applied to almost any law, the law falls.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 31, 2016 31 Comments
Liberals in politics and media love to talk about the so-called gun show loophole. You've heard it a thousand times from Obama, Hillary, Bernie and countless talking heads. If these people are to be believed, anyone can waltz into a gun show and buy an automatic or semi-automatic weapon with no background check. The Heritage Foundation's Daily Signal recently cleared up some of these myths.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 08, 2016 26 Comments
Obama's "Guns in America" town hall event on CNN last night was a quiet event with plenty of respectful questions from the invitation only audience but failed to present any new ideas for dealing with gun violence short of making it harder for people to buy guns. Within the first 15 minutes, Obama complained that every time he tries to do something on guns, his message is distorted by his critics. ABC News reported:
Obama Slams Charge That He's Taking Away Guns as 'Conspiracy' The president quickly emphasized that he has "respect" for people who want a gun for hunting and sportsmanship, but it "makes sense to keep guns out of hands of people who would do others harm." Obama and moderator Anderson Cooper pointed out that the National Rifle Association was invited to participate in the forum, but declined to attend. Still, the president said he was "happy" to meet with the NRA to discuss his proposals.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 05, 2016 75 Comments
Obama can once again lay credible claim to the title of "Best Gun Salesman Ever." His recently announced policy changes on guns not only do nothing to discourage gun purchases, they if anything facilitate even greater volumes of gun sales, and in particular machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled rifles/shotguns, and other highly controlled "NFA" items.  The ATF guidance purported to close the "gun show loophole" (spoiler: it doesn't, because there isn't such a thing) and the ATF policy "change" on NFA items are both embedded at the bottom of this post. Warning: Like Obama himself, both documents are extremely wordy and with little real-world effect.

Obama is "Best Gun Salesman Ever"

This is entirely consistent with Obama's actual effect on gun sales over both of his terms, during which sales have skyrocketed compared to prior administrations. The past 7 years of the Obama administration constitute only 40% of the time the modern NICS system has been in place, but nearly 60% of all NICS checks run.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 02, 2016 37 Comments
Now that the holidays are over it's back to business as usual. In Obama's case that means pushing a pet issue with no authorization from congress. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Obama Ready to Act Alone on Gun Control President Barack Obama, who has bypassed a reluctant Congress on issues ranging from immigration to climate change, is preparing to take executive action on gun control, including expanding background checks on buyers. But even as he gets set to act, Mr. Obama has only limited levers he can pull without Congress, and any unilateral action will face hurdles similar to those it has encountered during earlier attempts to tighten access to guns.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 28, 2015 35 Comments
Virginia had an election in November which Democrats, including governor Terry McAuliffe, hoped would give them control of the state senate. They campaigned in part on gun control and lost, but that hasn't stopped them from pushing their agenda. After failing to achieve their goals through the democratic process, top Democrats are enacting gun control measures at the executive level. The Washington Post reported:
Virginia to stop recognizing concealed carry gun permits from 25 states

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 22, 2015 9 Comments
Recently in Nashville, a man decided to kick in the door of a house. Little did he know, the homeowner was at home and armed. Things didn't turn out well for the criminal. ABC News in Nashville reported:
Man shot after kicking in door to Madison home One man is in the hospital after being shot while attempting to break in a home. Police told News 2 that a man knocked on the door of a home in the 1700 block of Cumberland Station Blvd near Madison.

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 17, 2015 38 Comments
While everyone in the media was talking about the Republican debate yesterday, Obama quietly met with former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to discuss gun control. Jordan Fabian reported at The Hill:
Obama meets with Bloomberg to talk guns President Obama on Wednesday met with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ally of the White House on gun control. The meeting, which was not on the president's public schedule, comes as he is weighing new executive action on guns in response to a series of mass shootings that have marred his presidency. Obama huddled with Bloomberg "as part of the administration's continuing push to address gun violence in America," the White House said in a statement.

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 11, 2015 55 Comments
As you may have heard, gun sales are soaring following the terror attack in San Bernardino. In fact, Black Friday saw more applications for necessary background checks than ever before. According to Josh Earnest, the White House doesn't appreciate this. David Rutz reported at the Washington Free Beacon:
White House: Recent Surge in American Gun Sales is ‘Ironic and Tragic’ White House spokesman Josh Earnest called it “ironic and tragic” Thursday that a spike in American gun sales has occurred in the wake of mass shootings in places like San Bernardino and Colorado Springs. On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the FBI did 175,754 background checks, part of the seventh consecutive record-breaking month in gun purchases. Gun rights experts told the Free Beacon that recent terrorist attacks and the Democratic push for more gun control have fueled this surge.

Posted by David Gerstman on December 08, 2015 12 Comments
In the early days of blogging there was a blog called Oh, that liberal media, which regularly exposed instances of liberal media bias. In fact in the early days of blogging that was one of the top achievements of the blogosphere, to point out the easy political bias most supposedly objective news sources engaged in. I used to think that the blogosphere would serve as a necessary corrective to the media, but that hasn't happened. In recent years, I don't think that the criticism has had the same effect, even if in some ways the media cocoon has worsened. I think that conservative media critics have convinced all those who can be convinced of the bias and now either people accept the bias because they agree with it or look to alternative news sources because they don't trust the MSM. And the MSM started paying less attention to the criticism. Most of those who were persuadable have been persuaded. (As far as those who deny that such bias exist ... it's hard to deny when prominent journalists have boasted of the bias.) But I still believe that it's possible for the media to jump the shark. At some point the media will show that they are so hopelessly out of touch with most voters, that even non-ideological types would cease to believe them.

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 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 Mike LaChance on December 04, 2015 12 Comments
In the wake of the shooting in San Bernardino, politicians and activists on the left have once again renewed their push for gun control. The fact however, is that gun violence in the U.S. is going down. Max Ehrenfreund reports at the Washington Post:
We’ve had a massive decline in gun violence in the United States. Here’s why. Premeditated mass shootings in public places are happening more often, some researchers say, plunging towns and cities into grief and riveting the attention of a horrified nation. In general, though, fewer Americans are dying as a result of gun violence — a shift that began about two decades ago.

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 Leslie Eastman on December 03, 2015 37 Comments
We reported on the San Bernardino mass shooting yesterday, during which 14 people were slaughtered and 17 others wounded while attending a holiday party. San Bernardino is about 90 miles north of where I live, and the first I heard about the incident was when a series of Facebook emails were sent inquiring if I was alright. I was on my way to my consulting firm, and once there, I discovered a colleague was listening to police scanners. When the reports being broadcast indicated that IED's had been found, we both said the same thing: Terrorism. This is life in the "new normal". While President Obama was patting climate change activists for their powerful rebuke to ISIS, Syed Rizwan Farook, and his wife Tashfeen Malik apparenlty were organizing an attack involving automatic weapons and tactical military gear. But officials won't speculate about a motive:
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said investigators had not determined a motive for the shooting, in which 17 people were wounded. But an official at the FBI, which is working with local agencies, said he could not rule out terrorism as a motive.
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