In recent days, we’ve seen a senior proponent of the full capacity magazine ban reveal that she didn’t have a clue how either magazines or stripper clips worked, and neither apparently did her research assistants.
It was a moment of absolutely monumental cluelessness. It’s as if a denizen of Capitol Hill was pushing legislation to limit how much fuel you could have in your vehicle’s tank, and to limit your family car to low speed…and you discovered that the legislator had never driven an automobile and didn’t know a steering wheel from a spare tire. Not long before that gaffe, we saw Governor Cuomo push through the SAFE Act in New York State, not only limiting the public to seven cartridges in the magazine but crafting the legislation so sloppily that he and his minions didn’t realize they had written it to apply to police as well. This sort of thing reflects a level of ignorance on a par with the politician who, last year, made it clear he thought an island would tip over if too many people were located on one side of it,
or the candidate last year who declared that women’s bodies had some magic mechanism that kept them from getting pregnant if they were raped.
Such things should be taught in civics classes, as a warning to the electorate.
In the wake of it all, thankfully, more middle-of-the-road citizens are re-examining the whole “assault weapons/high capacity magazines” propaganda blitz, and seeing the mendacity and futility hidden therein. Yet pundits still tell us that the shining hope of the gun prohibitionists is “reasonable, common sense universal background checks.” Here, stalwart gun owners’ civil rights activist David Kopel explains all the bad stuff that hides in the proposed legislation: National Review.
I really didn’t see an obvious demonstration of a lack of knowledge on how magazines work. I did not some major confusion about “magazine clips” that would cause a DI apolexy. I made the case for standard capacity magazines sometime back in the Washinton Times. I also noted that the legislation proposed by people with little or no knowledge of either firearms or the dynamics of violent encounters ignored established reality.
I note some deeply buried class warfare in these proposals. The proposed background checks would not be free. I can forsee cases where an estate wouldn’t have sufficient resources to cover the fees associated with carrying out the bequests in the will. Without a will, I can bet a whole lot of family heirlooms would end up sold rather than remaining in the family.
Lies told again and again are soon believed, and the uneducated masses believe what the are told.
And to whom is this a surpise? Anything with Schumer’s name on it should be automatically pressumed to be against liberty.
Rep. DeGegette; If you just remember to keep your mouth shut, people won’t know how goofy you are!!!!!!
I’ve met Schumer in person. He is as much a gland-handing grinning idiot that way is he appears in his weekly press conferences to curtail more freedoms, I mean to announce his latest legislative bolus.
Mas, you forgot Maxine Waters (I think it was her) wanting NASA engineers to drive the Mars Rover to where the astronauts put the flag. Either she knows something we don’t…or she’s just another idiot in Congress.
W.R. Moore – “I really didn’t see an obvious demonstration of a lack of knowledge on how magazines work.”
The congresswoman thought that once magazines were empty they were used up, done, finished, couldn’t be used again, couldn’t be reloaded. THAT is “…an obvious demonstration of a lack of knowledge on how magazines work.” Worse, her staffers tried to cover for her and made the stupid statement that she meant “clips” and everyone knows that “clips” can’t be reused.
Before anyone can propose a law about anything, they should have to take a test on the subject to demonstrate some understanding of it.
Sheesh.
ECS
And to think that these prime candidates for the Darwin Award wield legislative powers, and Vote too?
Easy to see why America is no longer the greatest Nation on Earth.
More agenda pushing. No real solutions.
Magazines being used up like bullets was obvious if you used your ears.
Something not getting nearly enough coverage in all this talk about background checks is the fact that the VAST majority of those who do not pass an NCIS are NOT prosecuted. A report by the Justice Dept for 2010 shows of the 6 million checks run, 76,000 failed and of those only 4,000 referred for prosecution. The number actually prosecuted is less than half of that, yet they are selling more background checks as being necessary.
The Devil will be in the details. Just because they call it the Sweetness and Light Bill, and that the intent of the title is reasonable doesn’t mean that the title accurately or completely reflects what is in the bill. Bait and switch is an old politico trick. You can bet, because removal of all firearms is the goal, any bill proposed will try to move things in the direction of registartion of firearms/owners/ammunition, or punitive insurance and warrentless searches. No further compromise on 2nd Ammendment Rights. I am a law abiding citizen whose right is God-given, a natural right emphasized in the Bill of Rights, and I don’t appreciate being treated like a crimminal.
WR Moore, the Diana DeGette link shows that she thinks magazines are single-use, or something similar. She doesn’t seem to be aware that mags might be, you know, RELOADED.
It seems to me that these are the same individuals depicted in the TV advertisement where the young woman says that “she read it on the internet” and therefore it must be true. Then her French-model boy friend arrives whom she met on the internet, who is anything but a model or French.
If lawmakers cannot show a proficiency in the technology they are inacting legislation to control, they should be forced to abstain from that legislative action. That might reduce the number of absurd laws that are inacted.
But, alas, that’s not likely to happen, either.
Mas
You may wish to review this article also.
http://www.policeone.com/active-shooter/articles/6188512-Police-Citizens-should-act-to-stop-mass-shootings/
Mike
Cognizant thought evidently is not required to graduate from Harvard, Yale, or Princeton law school. One would think if you were attempting to remove an inalienable right from we the people, one at least would study up on the subject at hand. Realize these are mind numb ideologues following an evil puppet master.
If our Dear Leader had his way, would background checks and firearms registration be required in all 57 states of the union? Obama claimed to have visited 57 states, so there may be more we haven’t heard about.
I wonder if the Anointed One considers Kenya a state of America? If
so, then maybe he really thinks he’s eligible to be President of the U.S.
I’ve been following the Colorado thing on Michael Bane’s blog as he’s been fighting against it. Bloombergs lawyers and lobbyists were driving this. The woman who doesn’t know bullets from clips, magazines or magazine clips is ignorant, but what Marx would call a “useful idiot” One would think she would keep her mouth shut but for some reason they need to show the world how much they don’t know. Unfortunately what they don’t know affects everyone.
I have been reading the safe act in NY state was a Bloomberg concoction shoved on lawmakers that didn’t get to read any of it before the vote and now regret it.
From what I’ve read Bloomberg will be trying these same tactics in other Dem run states.
And, President Obama is again trying to use the poor victims and their parents of the Newtown, Conn massacre to advance his agenda, even though none of his proposals would have prevented that atrocity. The Current president calls out against the murder of children while supporting “Late Term Abortion”, and sees no conflict in that stance. This will be a definitive time for America’s future philosophy of Freedom and Morality!
@WR Moore
Many of these proposed laws start looking very bad when lined up against the equal protection clause.
As for lack of knowledge, yes it was obvious, and their post-facto reasoning is laughable. Who makes high capacity clips? I’ve seen them in 5, 8, and 10 round varieties. Do they know that clips are also reusable, at any rate?
I don’t know about most folks but I continue to find my self shaking my head and yelling at the TV ever time the news brings up gun control stories. My goal is to bring anyone that has a gun “adverse opinion” to the range and provide education to demystify the issue and expose the false doctrine that our misguided politicians are spewing on the main stream media. I will assume that most folks are not stupid but just ignorant. We need to not push away the people that are against guns but do our best to educate so that common sense prevails. Then again I am a hopeless optimist.
This is a telling moment, and if we don’t pay attention, we may miss the significance of it. What we are seeing is evidence of some sort of psychological abnormality that is becoming endemic in our political class.
Just what sort of person can be so monumentally stupid, ignorant, and wrong, yet still feel qualified to run for high office? Either we have a person who is too dumb to realize that she is a fool, or we have someone who is maliciously stupid, willing to incompetently drive the car off the cliff, as long as she is the one driving. Someone who would see everything around her destroyed, rather than admit she is incompetent.
This is the type of fool we elect to high office in this country, and it is not an accident. The press used to be the last refuge of truth. They used to be the ones who tried to expose frauds, scoundrels, and other forms of sub-competent or malicious. This is no longer the case, and we are poorer for it. Now, the press is simply an appendage of the leftists, and truth is not a value they hold dear. Victory is what they want, by any means, and at any cost.
Clips or magazines, it’s more than obvious these yay-hoos don’t know what the blazes they’re talking about when they say they can’t be re-used…
i think there is an inverse relationship between ease of life and most people’s involvement in politics – the higher the easement, the lesser the politics. i think majority of people in the US have had the privilege of not having to be involved with politics. they don’t care. they don’t bother to get informed with the details. that is the root which stems ignorant politicians.
sadly, it may be necessary for some hardships for people to realize they need to care, get informed, get involved and make a difference.
Mas, I don’t want to beat you up too badly over this but your snide comments about Todd Akin might be worth re-thinking. The political left has sooo co-opted the media that it is really impossible to have an intelligent discussion on topics like abortion/rape. But after 40 years of biological readings, degrees etc, I want to let you know that the good Mr. Akin wasn’t that far off on his comments. Mammals have long been observed to have behaviors that lamestream media don’t want to touch with a 10foot pole. So the scientific information just heads right to Orwells memory hole. FYI..just to introduce to you the topic in a popular treatment here is an article from just last year.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/02/23/the-bruce-effect-why-some-pregnant-monkeys-abort-when-new-males-arrive/#.UWQvH0rherk
Who’s bigger fool; her or the people that elected and then re-elected her? Contact NRA-ILA and volunteer to help elect a good representative.
Hi Mas,
I don’t know how else to get this message to you so am posting it here. Sorry if it’s a bit off topic. I sent to Dave and Ilene as well via email.
I live in Arizona and I saw on the news today something that troubled me. As you’re no doubt aware, Mark Kelly (Gabby Giffords husband) is agitating for “common sense” gun control and acting as if he represents responsible gun owners.
NOT! Check out the video that shows him taking target practice with a Glock 9mm and using ROCK LEDGES for a backstop! Amazing, as his wife and her mother sit on the porch, and the news crew is no doubt even closer.
The full CNN video is at http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/04/08/CNN-Gabby-Giffords-Still-Loves-The-Gun-Culture and many other sites if you search “Mark Kelly target shooting”.
This guy has no clue about safe backstops. He does NOT speak for me, for Arizonans or for truly responsible gun owners.
Thanks, had to vent that. Keep up your good work.
..
Bloomberg’s Gun Group to Even Score With Lawmakers
By Sarah Parnass | ABC OTUS News – 5 hrs ago.. .
.
ABC OTUS News – Bloomberg’s Gun Group to Even Score With Lawmakers (ABC News)
A coalition of U.S. mayors released plans this morning to take members of Congress to task for what the group perceives as votes against gun control.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will give lawmakers a letter grade and issue a scorecard based on their gun-policy record, group spokesman John McCarthy said.
The system is intended to counterbalance the National Rifle Association’s scoring political candidates on their friendliness toward gun owners.
The NRA’s letter ratings have typically translated to monetary support for candidates who score favorably, and the organization has used the process as a tool of influence on hot-button political debates, like the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
Politicians tout their NRA “A” rating as testimony to their commitment to protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
But Bloomberg’s grades will mostly measure the opposite, taking aim at some of the NRA’s A-listers like Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., for any votes they make against gun control, according to The Washington Post.
The grades will take into account stances members of Congress have taken on past legislation, as well as upcoming votes.
Bloomberg said he wants Congress to understand that “the NRA is not the only one scoring them.”
“For decades the NRA has been the only voice talking about guns,” he told reporters today. “They’re up in arms someone’s telling a different story.”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns includes about 900 mayors from across the country, according to Bloomberg. Members of the organization have pushed for universal background checks and an assault-weapons ban since days after the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
In the weeks after Sandy Hook, lawmakers seemed to have momentum toward passing restrictions on gun ownership and sales, but fervor for gun control in Washington has cooled in recent weeks, despite President Obama’s multi-state push to promote his package of tougher laws.
More than a dozen Republicans, led by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said they will block a vote on any gun control legislation that comes up in the Senate.
Obama, speaking before families of Sandy Hook students Monday, condemned such efforts, calling them “political stunts.”
“They’re saying they’ll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions,” Obama told the crowd in Connecticut.”They’re saying your opinion doesn’t matter and that’s not right. That is not right.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urged Republicans to put aside their filibuster plans for the sake of Newtown victims.
“It is impossible to prevent every senseless tragedy, but we owe it to our children to at least try,” Reid said. “I hope Republicans will stop trying to shut down debate, start engaging on the tough issues we were sent to Washington to tackle.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Senators unveil deal on gun sales background check
Senators announce deal on background checks for gun sales; Dems likely to thwart GOP delays
By Alan Fram, Associated Press | Associated Press – 59 mins ago.. .
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. listens at left, as Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa. announce that they have reached a bipartisan deal on expanding background checks to more gun buyers, Wednesday, …more
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two pivotal senators announced a bipartisan deal Wednesday on expanding background checks to more gun buyers, an agreement that could build support for President Barack Obama’s drive to curb firearms violence.
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., said their accord would help keep firearms from criminals and the mentally ill. Subjecting more firearms purchases to federal background checks has been the chief goal of Obama and gun control supporters, who promote the system as a way to prevent criminals and other potentially dangerous people from getting the weapons.
The agreement between two of the most conservative members of each party was expected to make it even likelier that the Senate’s initial vote Thursday to begin debating gun legislation will succeed, despite an effort by conservatives to block consideration of the measure.
Even so, the ultimate fate of gun legislation remains unclear, clouded by opposition from the National Rifle Association and many Republicans and moderate Democrats in the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-run House. Many critics say the effort would violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms and burden law-abiding gun owners.
“Truly the events at Newtown changed us all,” said Manchin, referring to the Connecticut town where 20 first-graders and six educators were shot down in December, launching the country into renewed debate over gun violence. “Americans on both sides of the debate can and must find common ground.”
“I don’t consider criminal background checks to be gun control,” said Toomey. “I think it’s just common sense.”
In a written statement, the NRA was critical.
“Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools,” the statement said. It said policymakers should focus on fixing the country’s mental health system and on gang violence.
“President Obama should be as committed to dealing with the gang problem that is tormenting honest people in his hometown as he is to blaming law-abiding gun owners for the acts of psychopathic murderers,” the NRA said.
The White House issued a written statement from Obama, saying he preferred stronger steps but still hailing the deal as progress.
“It recognizes that there are good people on both sides of this issue, and we don’t have to agree on everything to know that we’ve got to do something to stem the tide of gun violence,” the president said.
The administration was continuing its effort to pressure Congress on gun control on Wednesday as first lady Michelle Obama visited Chicago, the Obamas’ hometown, where authorities say 29 current or former students have been shot in the past year.
Currently, the background check system covers sales only by licensed gun dealers. The compromise would apply the system to all commercial sales, such as transactions at gun shows and online. The sales would have to be channeled through licensed firearms dealers, who would have to keep records of the transactions.
Private transactions that are not for profit, such as those between relatives, would be exempt from background checks.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who led an earlier unsuccessful effort to strike a bipartisan background check deal, is backing the compromise after changes were made from an initial version of the deal between Manchin and Toomey, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe details of the talks.
The changes included eliminating language that would have required states to recognize permits to carry concealed weapons issued by other states and eliminating language that would have limited background checks to sellers who sell at least five guns annually, said the aide.
Some Republicans might vote to begin debate on the legislation but eventually oppose the measure on final passage. Other parts of Obama’s gun effort already seem likely to face defeat, including proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The gun legislation Reid wants the Senate to debate would extend the background check requirement to nearly all gun sales. Reid would try to replace that language with the Manchin-Toomey compromise once debate begins, a move that would require a vote.
The overall gun bill also tightens federal laws against illegal gun sales and slightly increases federal aid for school safety.
Thirteen conservatives have signed a letter saying they will block consideration of the measure, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he will back that move. That will force Democrats to round up 60 votes to overcome the conservatives.
At least eight Republicans have said they want to begin debate or have indicated a willingness to consider it, a number that would be expected to grow if the background check agreement proves successful.
Some moderate Democrats were remaining noncommittal and could oppose opening the gun debate. There are 53 Senate Democrats and two independents who lean Democratic.
Amid the maneuvering, relatives of some Newtown victims are lobbying to support gun curbs. And Obama has been calling senators from both parties to push for the gun bill.
“People should listen to what we have to say and move the debate forward,” said Mark Barden, who lost his 7-year-old son, Daniel. “It’s not just about our tragedy. Lots of kids are killed every day in this nation. We have to help lead the change.”
Dear Massad,
Any law that isn’t good enough/acceptable for application to the Military & Police, certainly is NOT good enough/acceptable for The People! Thank you.
With Liberty and Free $peech?,
Cliff
Note to self: in the future, do not attempt critical analysis in the wee small hours of the morning.
Having said that, I recall a comment by Dorthy Sayers Lord Peter Whimsey: “That’s a distinction without a difference.” with respect to the attitude to standard capacity magazines by the lady in question.
I am utterly unable to reconcile this article with it’s title ( *This* is what I consider a ‘non sequitur ;)’
Never mind, spotted it in the last paragraph. Mea Culpa.
SNL’s Take on the Background Check Proposal
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/gun-control-col…
Someone should show them a standard deer hunting cartridge like a 30-06 in comparison to a 5.56/223 next time this comes up. It’ll sure take the wind out of the sails behind the super-powerful rounds and WMD argument.