The saying “nothing succeeds like excess” has been attributed to Oscar Wilde.  It seems that Wilde has been channeled by our President, and by Dianne Feinstein, and others leading the full-court press against gun owners’ civil rights in the last few weeks.

From the Boston Herald newspaper, we learn that the anti-gun Vice President designated by our anti-gun President to lead an impartial Washington review of the “gun violence” issue (to which no one from the gun owners’civil rights side has been invited, apparently) has promised anti-gun Boston Mayor Menino sweeping new gun laws by the end of this month.   This pleases the seriously ill Mayor Menino, who wonders aloud to reporters how guns can be in the hands of murderous young criminals.  Given that before Menino or I or anyone reading this was born, laws were in place against murder and against giving guns to murderers of all ages, we can only hope that the mayor’s health soon recovers to where he can think normally.

A summary of Senator Feinstein’s bill, now before Congress with a mandate to rush it through before clear-thinking people can stop it, can be found here.  And if you think THAT’S over the top, check out the bills introduced in the last few days in Illinois, which would have basically limited residents of that state to revolvers, Old West and WWI-period rifles, and double barrel shotguns. HB815  HB1263

Over the top? OH, yeah!  Guns you can’t bequeath to your children.  Property legally purchased and responsibly owned, to be confiscated? Or – the history-proven first step toward confiscation – “registered”?  And, of course, tens of millions of law-abiding American citizens suddenly “criminalized.”

The Illinois bill seems at the moment to be out of play…but it is by no means off the table yet.  READ the damn thing: it’s the very definition of “Draconian.”  The precedent it would set for criminalization of other lawfully-owned property is nothing less than terrifying.

Are they going this far over the top to create an illusory paradigm in which what last November would have been long-established, Supreme Court approved civil rights, are now bargaining chips for some politically correct “middle ground of compromise”?  Damn sure looks that way. Or have we seen the opening of something much more frightening, much more insidious, and with much more potential to send the nation most associated with freedom down a slippery slope that is so steep it could never again be ascended?

Think about it. The demands in the Illinois bill, which even the day after the Newtown atrocity would have been seen by impartial observers as over the top, have now become a reality on the legislative dockets.

Write your representatives in Washington, and at the state level. The anti-gunners are going state level too, with New York (confiscation in the air there!), Florida, Colorado and other states facing this.  Let them know, politely but firmly, that this is over the top, and that Reality is still the baseline of reason.  And if you’ve let them know already, write them again and remind them.

1 COMMENT

  1. I don’t think Senator Feinstein’s bill is an attempt to get a “middle ground of compromise”. I think the health care bill and several other recent examples are proof of the current thinking of many in the federal government. If anything I think in their mind this bill is only a first step.

  2. I find it truly bizarre that there is an obsession about gun bans to stop school violence. Whenever this topic comes up, I remind people that the Columbine Massacre occurred during the Clinton-era ban, and that there were no assault weapons used. Furthermore, there were multiple chances to have stopped the attack before it happened. An assault weapons ban had zero impact on that tragedy, and there is no evidence to support the idea that a weapons ban would have had an impact on Sandy Hook either. Claiming that the problem is guns is a dodge- we need to address mental health, particularly juvenile mental health. We as a society need to have candid conversations about the mental health of our young people. As far as “gun culture” goes, my experience (admittedly limited) has been that people who grow up in homes where guns are kept and used lawfully have a respect for guns, and also tend toward being more respectful of themselves, their peers, and authority figures in general.

  3. The Illinois State Rifle Association just announced that Chicago’s Dem cabal is going to try for another vote on Sunday night (seems like strange timing, if it’s such good legislation??) on both HB 815 and 1263.

    While I’m all for fighting the good fight, Gov Quinn will have an additional 7 state senators and 5 state reps on the Democrat side of the aisle in the next session, so this seems inevitable. I’m still forwarding notices and carpet-bombing e-mail inboxes from every account I can find, but it’s not looking good.

  4. I would love to write my senators but here in Nazifornia they are Fiendstein and Boxer who are all out determined to ban all guns. For everyone that has generally sane senators, please write them and urge them not to trample our second amendment rights.

  6. Been writing and pushing others to write. All I can say is that if these laws pass there will be some that consider a NFA violation with a minimum of 10 years in prison equal to a death penalty. The punishments will not fit the non-crimes. This doesn’t end well.

  7. Illinois Modern Firearms Ban Bill Back in Play on Sunday

    . .

    ISRA NOTICE:
    A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM ISRA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RICHARD PEARSON
    January 4, 2013 – The Week in Review – The Unabashed Arrogance of the Gun Control Movement
    As most of you know, this has been a very tense week for the law-abiding Illinois firearm owner. As most of us were getting ready to ring in the New Year, Senate President John Cullerton and his band of gun controllers were secretly preparing a major offensive against your gun rights. We got wind of the pending attack on your 2nd Amendment rights early in the week and immediately called together our lobbyists and strategic planners to build a defense. When we finally saw the public release of the Cullerton plan mid-week, we were shocked at what we saw. Based on recent events, we fully expected to see legislative proposals to ban so-called “assault weapons,” and so-called “high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.” However, those affronts to your rights paled in comparison with what Cullerton’s proposal entailed. Here is a sampling of the extremist proposals advanced by Cullerton’s gun-grab plan.The Illinois State Police would be given full control over the design and operation of commercial gun ranges in the state. That control would extend from the design of the bullet backstops to qualifications of range employees and even to the color of the paint on the walls of the men’s room. The State Police would determine the hours of operation, what types and calibers of firearms could be discharged at the range, and even a minimum number of square feet. Every range customer would have to undergo a background check and each customer’s visit would be logged by the range operator. Any Illinois law enforcement agency could conduct unannounced and warrantless inspections and searches of ranges at any time. Those searches and inspections would extend to range customers and their property. That means that the Chicago Police Department would have the authority to raid a range in Peoria and roust the customers of that range. The bottom line is, this range regulation proposal has the sole objective of running commercial shooting ranges out of business. We had never seen anything like this before, but the intent was clear.

    – All semi-automatic firearms would be either banned outright, or be so severely taxed and restricted that ownership would be impractical. We expected to see attempts to ban or regulate AR and AK type firearms, but what we saw in Cullerton’s proposal carried that to an extreme. Cullerton’s gun ban would extend to all semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns. Additionally, many pump action rifles and shotguns would be banned as well. This ban would include such classics as the 1911 and the M1 Garand. Of course, all Glocks, Sig-Sauers, and other popular pistols would be banned as well. Estimates are that about 50% of rifles and 80% of handguns lawfully-owned by Illinois citizens would be subject to ban and confiscation under the Cullerton gun ban.
    A bizarre and convoluted scheme to register all “ammunition feeding devices” capable of holding more than 10 rounds – including magazines, stripper clips, drums, etc. Since none of these devices possess serial numbers, owners of these devices would essentially register them under the “honor system.” Of course, we all know how well criminals stick to the honor system.

    The two bills containing these provisions, HB0815 and HB1263, were both assigned to the Senate Public Health Committee for review. This committee is notoriously anti-gun and is stacked 6 to 4 with antigun Democrats under Cullerton’s thumb. On Wednesday night, the two bills came up for hearing before the Senate Public Health Committee. During debate of these two bills, we heard straight from the horses’ mouths what the intents and purposes of these bills were. Sitting there listening to the sponsors and their supporters was a very maddening experience.

    Committee testimony given by the anti-gunners confirmed that the gun control movement holds firearm owners in deep contempt. During testimony, the gun controllers claimed that the range restriction bill would actually preserve 2nd Amendment rights while providing public safety. The gun controllers acknowledged that most semiautomatic firearms would be banned, but that people who wished to shoot semiautomatics should be reassured because they would be able to go to an approved range and legally rent semiautomatics to shoot. In other words, you should not be upset about surrendering your $5,000 target rifle because you can still go down to an approved range and get a junker out of the rental case to plink with. This was one of the most condescending lines of testimony I have ever heard levied against the right to keep and bear arms – and the anti-gunners uttered it with completely straight faces. The gun controllers really need to keep in mind that the 2nd Amendment says “keep and bear arms,” not “rent arms.”

    Of course, nowhere in any of the testimony given by the bills’ supporters was there any mention of how these restrictions and bans would affect criminals. In fact, the bill proponents became extremely defensive when pro-gun witnesses mentioned anything about violent gun-toting criminals. It was clear that the proponents’ focus was solely on lawfully held firearms. In not so many words, the supporters of these bills claimed that they were good “first steps” to achieving a “civil society.” In the twisted world-view of the anti-gunners, law-abiding citizens are standing in the way of a civil society, not criminals.

    As most of you may know, the two bills passed out of the Public Health Committee by 6-4 and 6-3 votes. The next step would be a vote on the floor. Late Thursday, the newspapers were reporting that the sponsors are delaying a vote on the bills because they do not have enough support for passage. Please, don’t be fooled by such claims. These bills are alive and well and can be called up for a vote at any time.

    In writing this note, I thought I’d give you a taste of what the ISRA lobbyists experience every day in Springfield. We could not continue to do what we do without knowing that you, the law-abiding citizen, has our back. Your support is crucial to our success – we do all we do for you. So, with that in mind, there are a few things I’d like you to do:

    1. Remember that these anti-gun bills are eligible for a full vote of the Senate at any time up through next Wednesday. Do not be lulled to sleep by media claims that the bills are dead.

    2. Keep an eye on your email for any alerts the ISRA issues regarding these bills or any other anti-gun activity.

    3. Please consider giving the ISRA a generous monetary donation so we may continue the fight for your rights.

    Thanks for your time,

    Richard A. Pearson
    Executive Director
    Illinois State Rifle Association

  8. Evil is on the move not just criminals,”law makers” have mostly gone evil as well. Evil thrives when good men (and women) do nothing to stop them

  10. Written, emailed, called… And I’m scared at least ‘some’ of this crap is going to become Law! Re the Illinios bill, heard from a friend out there that the dems will make one more try early next week.

  12. Sandy Hook Backlash Grows

    “The police chief in a Connecticut city [Waterbury] halted permits for gun shows, saying he’s concerned any firearms purchased there might one day be used in a mass shooting.” usatoday.com‘s report is hardly an isolated example of the anti-gun backlash in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School spree killing. “Texas transportation officials, in the wake of last month’s school shooting in Connecticut, are suspending the use of freeway message signs in Houston to provide directions to firearms-related events,” wfaa.com reports. Hoffman’s Gun Center’s Facebook page reveals that the New Britain Connecticut gun dealer “will require a Ct. State Pistol permit to purchase ‘Assault Style’ center fire rifles.” A petition to end AR sales at Walmart’s garnered some over 100K signatures. Meanwhile, liberal pundits continue to call for repeal of the “inconvenient” Second Amendment (e.g. Vanity Fair).

  13. IL Rep. Acevedo’s Assault Weapons Ban Amendment

    Because gun grabbers never sleep, Illinois Representative Edward Acevedo just filed an amendment establishing an “assault weapons” ban to an otherwise innocuous bill (SB-2899) titled the Probation and Probation Officers Act. The text of Rep Acevedo’s amendment is here. Oh, and it’s not just an AWB. It includes registration of existing firearms, too. And hi cap magazines. The privilege for which Illinois gun owners will have to pay. That’s right, LOLers, you’ll have to plunk down cash to register each item. Separately. Think of it as a gun and magazine ownership tax. Because that’s what it is. Read it and weep.

  15. So Mas, you have stated the ills of all of these bills. They are illegal and in violation of the 2nd amendment on their very face. If they do decide to confiscate our guns, which would violate the constitution, what will you do in the face of such tyranny? I’m curious to hear what you will do in the face of such illegal actions being that you are a sworn law enforcement officer, as I am, and have sworn an oath to defend the constitution from threats foreign and domestic.

  17. I just believe they are going to go all out this time with the blessing of rhino’s like McCain. The folks who are not part of the gun culture always fall for “reasonable gun control”. I suppose my wife and I will be as you said “a new class of criminal” as I know to many folks from countries that have had their firearms taken away.It’s not pretty.

  18. Both my (Republican) Rep & Sen voted for the fraud fiscal cliff bill giving obama trillions more to buy democrats job security in DC.
    My congressman is the biggest disappointment, his job has 2 parts, 1st is photo ops and second is to simply sit in his Mr. Congressman chair.
    Will those 2 lift a finger to save the 2nd amend? Go along to get along. Looks like I’ll eventually be a felon.
    We’re in deep kimchi shipmate.

  19. When is enough..enough…When and where
    will the MNRA,GOA,2 nd amendment, NGRA,and various leaders in the gun community..draw the line in the sand and stop wasting time and money fighting theses same traitors in the rigged courts…so you win in court and the anti gun crowd ignore the results and comes back with more and meaner requirements…Time for the true Americans and not the politicians and their ilk to Lock and load …end of debate…When and where and who…States Attn..need to bring suit against the senators and reps both local ,state and federal who seek to overthrow our Constitution…If the militias where still in existence…they could move to arrest the traitors..they are not so it leaves only the individual members of the states militias..whci are all state citizens..to do battle…we as a free men and woman can not lose this issue…traitors in congress must be identified and addressed…no compromise on our God given rights and means…long live the Republic

  20. Mass, I hate to sound really hopeless but I am. Do you really think writing to our state reps will resolve anything? Do you really think they even care about how and if we as law abiding gun owners have a God given rights of self defense and the defense of loves ones from criminals in the society? No they really don’t care. They have their own armed guards and with one phone call they can send the SWAT team to their homes to protect their families. Yes they are privileged and are not peasants. Sorry to sound so negative but I really am weeping. What is happening to the land of the free?

  21. What a mess. You folks over in illinois once the elections rolls around, may not be able do much. But here in other states we may be able get them out of office.

    I’ve voiced my opinions to my officials, and I remember what happened the last time they pulled this. Maybe this country of ours will shrink after all, oppresion is oppresion. History is a great teacher. Even though its happened to other countries its going to have to happen here also, it seems like it anyway.

    We think we’re free now, but wait till later. Maybe some states will break away? I’m not saying I want this. Making everyone who owns a gun a criminal, I only hope will wake people up.

    Not to mention, I only own a revolver crowd, or I only own a hunting weapon crowd. Those nice people will will have some cold water thrown in faces. We maybe able to change things then.

  22. I haven’t read any of the other comments yet, so just consider mine free of “influence” from the others.

    In talking with several other like-minded individuals (over both the Internet as well as in person), we have generally reached a consensus in regards to new (potential) anti-gun laws. It’s pretty simple:

    No concessions
    No compromise
    No compliance

    I don’t think much else needs to be said. Other than, as you said, to tell our representatives the same.

  23. Illinois, the second most corrupt state in the Union, home of Rahm Emanuel, Rod Blagojevich, and Pizzeria Uno, is apparently planning on crapping on the Constitution and feels that it can do so with impunity. I am beyond appalled and shocked. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever see the Left get completely unhinged, even during Vietnam (although they came close then).
    This cannot end well. When they come for our guns, what will happen then?

  25. What does it say when the Illinois ban couldn’t get enough votes to pass – even in Illinois? It says that the antigun agenda now is a lost cause as far as Washington is concerned – because if it couldn’t pass in Illinois, it has ZERO chance of getting enough House votes from the heartland.

  26. Learn from history: ALL THE WAY DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE: GUN PROHIBITION IN ENGLAND AND SOME LESSONS FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES IN AMERICA http://www.guncite.com/journals/okslip.html

    An interesting aside. You will note that the above document is named “okslip.html” Yet when you enter “okslip” in Google you get (oxlip):
    About 176,000 results (0.21 seconds)
    Showing results for oxlip
    Search instead for okslip returns:
    About 29,400 results (0.16 seconds) and on Page 3 you finally find ALL THE WAY DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE: GUN PROHIBITION IN ENGLAND AND SOME LESSONS FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES IN AMERICA. This started after Google decided to block all gun, ammunition and knife advertisements from their shopping channel in the summer of 2012. It seems that Google censorship covers more than advertisements.

  27. HELLO !!!!!
    Some people have been saying for decadess that ANY and ALL gun registration is just one step closer to total confiscation of all firearms from the public.

    So why is this situation a suprise to so many gun owners?

  28. Bear with me. You will love this:

    (Bork was a Supreme Court Judge 1987>)

    Arkansas Democrat Gazette newspaper, Weds. Jan 2, ’13, Editorial page 4B, Column titled, “Robert Bork, Verb”, By Pulitzer Prize winning editor, Paul Greenberg….

    “…..Scholar and logician that Robert Bork was, he wouond up making and idolatrous doctrine of ORIGINAL INTENT, insisting that the intent of the Founders is all when it comes to constitutional interpretation, which gave his law a brittle and vulnerable character. For a constitution that cannot change cannot grow. And all living things must grow or die.

    Judge Bork never recognized that the Constitution lives, too, and that his suffocating literalism would not save it so much as mummify it. (‘A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation’- Edmund Burke)……”

  29. How else do you get around the courts? They say that Illinois concealed carry ban is unconstitutional – fine. We’ll make it ok to carry but then restrict the types of guns you can legally own to ones so impractical that it becomes impossible to do so. How about making only single shot .22’s with 14 inch barrels be the only handgun that is legal to own in this state?

    How soon will the law makers just decide that they don’t need to listen to the courts anyway? The President has decided he doesn’t have to enforce laws he doesn’t like and has refused to deport those who are illegally in our country. If he can brazenly look the other way on an existing law why wouldn’t he look the other way on a ruling about an existing law he doesn’t agree with?

    Once they confiscate your weapons you’ll never get them back even after a court rules in your favor. We know who these people are and we know what they believe in. If the American people are stupid enough to put them in positions of power we deserve what we get.

    First they made their assault on the religious
    And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a God fearing man

    Then they made their assault on the families
    And I didn’t speak out because I was single

    Then they a made their assault on traditional marriage
    And I didn’t speak out because I had no wife

    Then they made their assault on the guns
    And I didn’t speak out because I had no rifle

    Then they made their assault on the freedom of speech, lawful assembly, and expression
    And I didn’t speak out because I really didn’t care

    So when they finally made their assault on my individual freedom and sovereignty

    There was no one left to act

    Cling to your God and guns. We need both in the days to come.

  31. As an Illinois resident, I’m so mad I could spit nails. Who do these quasi-dictators think they are? The time to rebel against this liberal anti-gun mob was before the last election. Writing them now is just a waste of time. Hell most of us saw this coming and did nothing. Sure I voted but all of my state legislators are pro-gun anyway. My state legislator is retired FBI and is a staunch 2A supporter. I guess I’ll write him and see what the odds are that this will pass. I have just sent in my membership in our State Rifle Association.

    These ass—- aren’t doing this for the children. They aren’t doing this to save lives as they say. On average 10 people per day die in drowning accidents. Look it up. That’s 3650 deaths per year, far above the deaths attributed to mass murderers. So why don’t they mandate swimming classes for people. They want our guns and it is as simple as that. They gerrymandered our state and now have a strangle hold on our government. When taking office they swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, they are nothing but traitors. They deserve no respect, and no quarter. When our country was founded we had real statesmen. Now we have just self-absorbed despots that have developed a ruling class. The same type of tyranny that our ancestors came here to get away from.

    My forefathers fought in the Revolutionary War, The War between the States (Civil War) and WWII. I’ll be damned if I’ll let complacency

  32. Remember 1994. We are one of the most, if not the most powerful voting bloc in the country. If memory serves, the NRA has more than doubled it’s membership in the last 20 years.
    We have 2 supreme court decisions in our pocket. Per Heller; we have the right to keep and bear arms “in common use at the time”. The AWB is flat out unconstitutional. Per McDonald, that right is applicable to the states.
    The republicans hold the congress and we have the numbers to bend them to our will. Write your reps and let them know that this is our line in the sand.
    I’m in favor of gentle persuasion when possible but if that doesn’t work we have the power to serve up a humiliating defeat to these people.

  33. Our recent succes has lead us to be over confident. When people like President Obama appoint people like Vice-President Biden it has meaning. They are both the strange kind of political creature that seems to succed where others don’t (despite thier other wise seeming incompetence). These people have some large “markers” to pay off. I expect “something” to come out of this effort.

    This battel will be fought in the House. It’s time for every body to figure out who the key players are and pound them. You don’t want to just contact your congressman. Start looking at who thier main backers are and encourage them to help us stand our ground. Hold a meet and greet with the congress person.

    In ’94 I help get a pro-gun person in my congressional district. I’ve been working on it ever since. Guy’s it takes more work than phone calls and letters; those are a start.

  34. Gun Ban Bills Are Breaking Out All Over

    The outrage surrounding the New York Journal News’ decision to publish an interactive map with the names and addresses of pistol permit holders wasn’t enough to put off anti-gun Connecticut officials. “The names and addresses of about 170,000 handgun permit holders in Connecticut, now kept confidential by law, could be made public under a proposed bill that pits gun owners against would-be reformers in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 Newtown school massacre,” courant.com reports. Dargan [above left] claims he introduced the bill “to have a discussion” about guns after “the worst school tragedy in history, with kids who are just learning how to tie their shoes gunned down by a madman.” Dargan’s bill may not make it to law, but that won’t stop him grandstanding trying. And the post-Sandy Hook legislative push for new gun control laws continues to grow throughout America . . .
    The Empire State may soon become the Emperor’s State as Governor Cuomo sends in his shock troops to infringe upon Americans’ Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. “A breakaway group of Senate Democrats vowed Friday to help Gov. Andrew Cuomo pass the strongest assault-weapons ban in the country,” usatoday.com reports. “Sen. Jeffrey Klein, a Democrat from the Bronx, N.Y., who heads the now-five-member Independent Democratic Conference, said after a 90-minute meeting in Cuomo’s office that the group supports the governor’s legislation ‘wholeheartedly’ and that he hopes it will be passed as soon as possible — preferably this month.”The Gov’s legislative cabal is staying schtum about the ban’s detail, which are rumored to include registration and confiscation of modern sporting rifles. Cuomo is keeping his powder dry until Wednesday’s State of the State address. “It is unclear what type of gun-control legislation Senate Republicans might support,” the paper says, assuming they will support some kind of legislation. Not good.The Providence Rhode Island City Council has boldly gone where anti-gun Democrats around the country are going to go. The Council passed a resolution in support of State bill 2573, eliminating the Ocean State’s gun control law preemption statute (which prohibits cities and towns from passing their own gun laws). If 2573 goes through, the Council will implement a ban on the “sale, use and possession [emphasis added] of all semi-automatic firearms within Providence.”
    On January 27, the Burlington Vermont City Council will consider changing its charter to enable the seizure—yes, seizure—of all semi-automatic “assault weapons” and magazines by the police. As in the Renaissance City, Burlington is legally prohibited from going its own way gun control-wise in a state that allows [permitless] concealed carry. It’s not just blue states that are making gun rights advocates blue. Although it’s not a gun ban bill per se, deep in the heart of Texas “City of Austin and Travis County officials plan to take steps to ban gun shows on city- and county-owned property — and potentially even curtail them on private property within the city limits, the American-Statesman has learned.”

  35. Guess it’s a good thing I can probably shoot better with my muzzleloader than most UN Bluehats can with their AK’s B-)

    I find it quite disturbing that the class of people that brought Hitler to power in Germany (rich, jewish bankers and diamond merchants) are the ones targeted by him for extermination . . . do they think by supporting the current regimn it will be any different with a islamic sympathizing Jihadist USAG and POTUS.

    Guess people never really learn by their mistakes, how many millions will die because of our own fed.gov and the idiocracy of their own adgenda to rule like a turd world dictatorship. The leader of Sudan, wanted by the World Court for murder and genocide is gwtting US dollars because Barry says it’s okay, Syria is getting US Dollars even though they support terrorism. Egypt is getting weapons, even though it’s now run by a terrorist movement. How many other Nations that want nothing but to see the fall of our Nation recieve our money and support. Now barry wants to pass what amounts to another sedition act making free speech a crime, following in the footsteps of supposedly great former presidents like John Adams, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt . . . all who trampled the rights given to us by our very own Constitution. The US has a very long history of denying it’s citizens the Constitutional Rights that are supposedly guarenteed

    I guess Jefferson was right about sometimes the Tree of Liberty needing watered by the blood of patriots and tyrants

  36. And you will be required to register your holy book where?

    And your license to practice your faith will be granted by whom?

    Not to mention the freedom of speech.

  37. Licensed to Carry folks here in MA, already a challenged species, are as nervous as anyone. Menino is an aged fool. LTC people don’t kill people here, drug dealing inner city folks kill each other and innocent neighborhood people. If they want to reduce gun violence in Boston, legalize drugs or stop and frisk people in high crime areas as legal.

  38. I know you all will hear about this if you haven’t already, but here’s the viral letter sent to Feinstein by a Marine named Joshua Boston.

    ———————————–
    Senator Dianne Feinstein,

    I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

    I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.
    I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

    I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

    We, the people, deserve better than you.

    Respectfully Submitted,
    Joshua Boston
    Cpl, United States Marine Corps
    2004-2012

  39. As I read these posts, I sense fear for the future. There is nothing to worry about, because liberal politicians are wimps. I see the slippery slope we are on, but it will not end in violence.

    I cannot predict the future, but I will give it a try anyway. Liberal politicians will enact more draconian gun laws, then we gun owners will say, “We will not comply. Unconstitutional laws are null and void.” The liberal politicians will shriek at the police, “Arrest those fellows!” Then the police will reply, “We will not comply. We do not have to obey unlawful orders.” Then the liberal politicians will sit down and pout. They will only pursue their dreams of world domination until those dreams begin to cost them. Americans will not resort to violence against each other. The good Americans will always be prepared to defend themselves, but will loathe to actually do it. The liberal politicians could command others to fight for them, but they will never use anything to fight with other than words. They are wimps. Life is too good in America to spoil it with violence. Who wants to give up our restaurants, movies, sports and music? We have too much to lose.

    If I am wrong about this, well, the sooner I die, the sooner I get to Heaven. The Constitution is worth dying for. How could I refuse to fight for our Constitution right here when so many have done our fighting for us overseas since 1898?!

  41. Old Fezzywig, Boy I hope that you are correct, but if you are the one poor schmuck who catches a felony charge for failing to register in some liberal state, who is going to rally to that guy’s side? Who is going to pay his familys bills while he awaits trial? It’s going to be the individual who suffers first and his only hope would be the collective rallying of all 2nd amendment backing citizens. My biggest fear is that people talk a big game and then decide that Sunday football playoffs are more important than helping John Doe defeat draconian gun laws on Main Street USA. I sit in a heated kitchen, belly full while writing this. I know that if “we” commit to helping that guy who’s been arrested for failing to register it’s going to be cold, dangerous, uncomfortable and once “we” commit, we risk losing all that we have. It’s gut check time.

  42. Fezzywig, I sure hope you’re right.

    I have an idea that might help avert civil chaos… let’s take over the “conversation” and make it about the debt/deficit, infrastructure, education, the economy, entrepreneurs… let’s let the spotlight on guns move on to something else. Let’s keep ’em busy putting fires somewhere else. Sure, we’ll keep just as close an eye on what’s going on with 2nd A legislation… and be ready to oppose it, civilly and politically. But the media spotlight absolutely needs to be directed elsewhere… the petitions need to be about something else: like Congress’ job to prepare and keep to a budget… and then Mind Their Own Business… and stop sticking their nose into the American People’s business.

  43. Bret, I think you may have answered your own question–you swore to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic–are the folks willing to disregard OUR Second Amendment rights your friends or your enemies?

  44. We should first understand the difference between a right and a privilege. A right is that you don’t need any one’s permission to exercise it and can not be regulated. A privilege is where you need permission to do something. So what is it? What is the second amendment? A right or a privilege? I don’t see it listed on the “Bill of Privileges”… or maybe I do…

    The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. -Thomas Jefferson

    Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable . . . the very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that is good. -George Washington

    The Constitution shall never be construed….to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. -Samuel Adams

  45. Illinois Firearms Ban Bill Dies in Committee, Not on Agenda for Lame Duck Session
    TTAG has just learned from Todd Vandermyde, legislative guy for the NRA, that the Illinois gun ban bill has died in committee. Specifically, that the chairman for the committee refused to bring the bill to vote. Here’s his email:
    The chair annouced they would not be calling the gun ban for a vote

    Back story is they were short on votes and still tinkering with language, amidst the uprising of gun owners.

    Expect the bill to be resurrected if and when the Democrats are able to swing the votes in their favor. The official statement from the Democratic committee chairman, Elaine Nekritz: It is clear that we will need bipartisan support in order to take floor votes on gun safety and marriage equality this week. We will take some time to work on these important issues to advance them in the near future. The executive committee has been delayed, but we still intend to hold a hearing on marriage equality shortly.
    It was also announced that similar bills would not be on the agenda for the rest of the lame duck session. Unfortunately, since the next assembly is even more Democrat than before, that might not be such a good thing.

  46. White House considers broader U.S. gun control: report
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House is weighing a far broader approach to curbing U.S. gun violence than just reinstating a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. A working group led by Vice President Joseph Biden is seriously considering measures that would require universal background checks for gun buyers and track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, the newspaper said.

    The measures would also strengthen mental health checks and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the Post said. The approach is backed by law enforcement leaders, it said.

    President Barack Obama assigned Biden the job of designing the strategy after the massacre at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school last month that killed 20 children and six adults.

    To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful gun lobby.

    They include rallying support from Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses, the Post said.

    NEW YORK MAYOR

    The White House has been in contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a gun control advocate who could emerge as a surrogate for the administration’s agenda, the paper said.

    The Post cited several people involved in the administration’s talks on gun control for its story. They included Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.

    The White House had no immediate comment on the Post story. A White House spokesman told the newspaper that Biden’s group was in the middle of its review and had not decided on its final recommendations.

    The NRA has successfully lobbied federal lawmakers to stop major new gun restrictions since a 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. The ban also prohibited ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

    When asked if Congress will entertain new gun regulation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that lawmakers needed to see Biden’s recommendations.

    “There will be plenty of time to take a look at their recommendations once they come forward,” he said.

    McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said that for the next three months Washington’s debates would center on federal spending and the rising debt.

    Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, an NRA member, said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopolous” that the reported proposals were “way in extreme” and would not pass.

    In a statement, New York Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand urged Biden to include in his proposals measures to prevent trafficking in illegal guns and to make it harder for felons and the mentally ill to get firearms.

    (Reporting by Ian Simpson and Roberta Rampton. Editing by Sandra Maler)
    .

  47. Sandy Hook Spree Killer Changed Magazines “Multiple Times”
    “As police wrap up at least the crime-scene portion of their investigation into Lanza’s murderous spree that left 26 people dead in the school, including 20 first-graders, the earplugs [found at the scene] are not the only evidence that shows Lanza might have carried habits either from the shooting range or the virtual world of video games into his real-world massacre,” courant.com reports, oddly. “Lanza changed magazines frequently as he fired his way through the first-grade classrooms of Lauren Rousseau and Victoria Soto, sometimes shooting as few as 15 shots from a 30-round magazine, sources said.” Well that ought to change the debate over magazine capacity legislation. Or not. More info after the jump . . .
    Investigators have not said how many shots Lanza fired with the Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle after he entered the school by firing half a dozen rounds through the glass at the school entrance. Sources said that he fired approximately 150 rounds during the shooting spree.
    [NB: TTAG’s sources report that the killer fired 76 rounds before his Bushmaster AR experienced a “stovepipe” at which point the killer threw his gun away.]
    Besides the earplugs, he was wearing all black clothes under a drab olive green utility vest with pockets filled with 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster.

    Which means that even without the AR in his hands, Lanza would have stood out walking up to Sandy Hook. FWIW. [h/t RC]

  48. Bank of American to Spirit Arms Gun Dealer: FOAD

    You may recall that McMillan Arms had a parting of the way (to put in mildly) with the Bank of America back in April of 2012. Since then we’ve heard other stories of BofA’s anti-firearms machinations. A midwest gun dealer reported that BofA gave them the old heave-ho in July, after 16 years of no-problem banking. Another tipster told TTAG that the bank was requiring telephone authorization for customers in Florida purchasing firearms at gun stores. And now this from American Spirit Arms‘ Facebook Page. The punctuation is bad but the story is even worse . . .

    All,

    My name is Joe Sirochman owner of American Spirit Arms and I wanted to share my recent experience with Bank of America .(which we have been doing business with for over 10 years)…. Everyone is familiar with the latest increase in guns sales , dealers selling out of inventory , Manufacturers back logged for months , large revenue all generated in the last two weeks …. American Spirit Arms is no exception to the overwhelming demand . What we have experienced is that our web site orders have jumped 500 % causing our web site E commerce processing larger Deposits to BANK OF AMERICA ..Well, this through up a huge RED Flag with Bank of America . So they decided to hold the deposits for further review , meaning that the orders/payments that were coming in through the web ,( being paid by the customer and that were shipped out by American Spirit Arms ),the BANK was keeping (UNDER REVIEW )..as you could imagine this made me furious…

    After countless hours on the phone with BANK OF AMERICA I finally got a Manager in the right department that told me the reason that the deposits were on hold for FURTHER REVIEW …

    HER EXACT WORDS WERE …
    ..” WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULD NOT BE SELLING GUNS and PARTS ON THE INTERNET “

    …I flipped the F**k Out and told them that they have no right to make up their own new rules and regs..that we are a firearms Manufacturer with all the proper licensing FFL (Federal Firearm license ), SOT and that we follow all Federal and All
    States’ rules and regulations on shipping Firearms and parts ..and that we are also Audited by ATF and Homeland
    Security on a regular basis … She said that she understands that but that the deposits will be released After they have a
    Chance to review and clear them …I told her that This was unacceptable and the those deposits (that were a week old by now ) needed to be released ASAP, that we are a small business and rely on the revenue to run and stay operational.
    After that being said another Manager got involved and released one of the deposits (to help out )… So far to date after
    Two weeks of sales only 1/3 of collected internet sales have been released ..I am still pissed and looking for another
    Bank and options …
    I just thought the public should know ..

    I will keep everyone posted on new developments ..

    Sincerely

    Joseph P Sirochman
    American Spirit Arms
    16001 N Greenway Hayden Loop
    Suite B
    Scottsdale AZ 85260
    480-367-9540 phone
    480-367-9541 fax

  50. A few points:

    1. Don’t despair. Republicans own the house and if they let a stupid law through they will all be out of a job Jan 2015, and they know it. Dems lost the house and the senate in 1994, everyone remembers that. The statist gun grabers did not vote Repuplican and voting for a stupid law means no job, even if the media warms up to them. The minute everyone gives in to the despair the house Republicans will say way fight this? Write, call, fax the congress critters.

    Besides enabling voter fraud, Barry’s campaign strategy was in part to discourage probable Romney voters from voting, with targeted advertising implying that all politicians are the same, etc. All along the claim was that Obama wasn’t going to push for gun control, and see, he didn’t the first term so why would he the second? A lot of smarter-than-thou people claimed the opposition to Obama was just NRA paranoia–and now they are proven wrong. The tables would be turned if stupid laws go thorugh. People would be motivated to turn out at the mid-terms to punish those who voted for the laws, and the sort of “my grand-pappy was a Democrat and so-am-I, even though I go to church, am pround of the military, own guns, etc.” person would either switch sides or just stay home. That means the Senate switching to the Republicans in 2016 which means Barry Sotereo gets impeached for any one of a number of crimes he has commited.

    2. Make the point in every converstation that any weapon would have had the same outcome. A bunch of six year olds guarded by a plate glass and a few unarmed and untrained women teachers? Come on, a double barreled shot gun, a revolver, anything would have sufficed to do what was done. A strong man with an axe from Wal-Mart could have done what was done, as revolting as it is to think about. The news media all but admitted to this when early reports implied the rifle was left in the car (hence the two pistols must have been used), but if only a semi-auto rifle could have been used, why weren’t any “experts” out there in the first days saying that there was no way this was done with the two pistols?

    3. Make the point that the proposed gun laws would not have prevented it. Registration, waiting periods, etc.–CT already had those! So making Texas and Tennessee have them also somehow fixes this? Making things expensive, going to a NFA style tax, etc.–the mother was loaded, money was not an object to her. Again, just the gun grabers going down their pre-existing wish-list, in other words: taking adantage of the deaths.

    4. Make the point that the perp here, as in pretty much all the recent mass shootings, was a mentally distured young man on anti-depressant and/or psychotropic drugs. The evidence is that such drugs may, after long use, or after they are withdrawn, actually increase violent tendancies in the mentally ill. The solution is in Newton: in Newton there is an abanonded state mental hospital that used to house ~ 4,000 mentally ill people. Starting in the 1960’s the feds took over from the states. The fed’s grand idea was to give the mentally ill monthly disability checks, set up some outpatient clinics, and suggest they go there for their Thorazine. The reality is that Thorazine and similar drugs probaly make people more, not less, violent in the long run. A lot of the mentally ill ended up homeless (no problem, push for more welfare), in prison (no problem, tripple the number of prison beds), and/or committed violent crimes (no problem, ban guns). If the whole scheme was cooked up by people trying to collapse America, they did a darn good job. State hospitals were not perfect, but they should have been reformed, not just closed for true schizophrenics or violent bipolar people. This is mental illness, not mental health. Any push for better mental health = more tax money to have a therepist do grief counseling for Gramma when Gramps passes on. Facts are, people don’t know why people become schizophrenic, and they don’t know what cures it. Best option is to provide save haven from them and let the patient see if they can sort their sanity out (which has worked before–it seems as many people, if not more, were cured from shcizoprenia in the 19th century as in the 20th).

    5. Make the point that if a) any weapon would have done and b) no one gets involuntarily committed even if they tell the shrink that Lord Bazo from Venus is telling them to kill little kids, that c) any “gun free” zone is a death trap. Again, just like we went to the expensive, assinine, and degrading TSA instead of the common sense Isreali approach to air port security, we are ignoring the Isreali approach to school security. If a teacher is trained and wants to be armed, let them. How about letting some National Guard people do their service in schools? Why is going “gun free” in a school going to work, when the President thinks he has to have a couple of hundred heavily armed secret service agents everywhere he goes? Why not just declare a gun free zone around the President, if that sort of thing works? Why not declare gun free zones in a fifty yard radius of armored bank trucks? Or banks?

    6. The house should “do something” by putting forth legislation to put names on the instant check system when people are prescribed a psychotropic drug. That could be appealed by getting a clean bill of health from a Doctor. Ironically, that is the one thing that might have kept Brady from beign shot–Hinkley Jr was on vallium when he tried to kill Reagan. Would not have stopped this most recent incident, but may have stopped Virgina Tech and the Gifford’s shooting. The gun-grabbers will oppose this, as they want such incidents to exploit.

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