Predicting Big Brother's Agenda: 4. Curtail Gun Owners' Rights [Probability 8.0 / U.S. Impact 8.5 / GOP Impact 3.2 / GOP Misery Index = 6.56] Obama strongly supports the right of cities and states to restrict gun owners' rights. So it was not surprising that more than 350,000 Americans rushed to buy guns the week after the election. Expect Obama to appoint judges who oppose the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Washington, D.C.'s, gun ban. No only will he have a chance to fill key vacancies of the nation's appellate courts, Democrats are pushing through a new judgeship bill that will create more judicial slots - all to be vetted and filled by the Democrat-controlled Congress... http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obamas_dirty_dozen/2009/01/23/174261.html Tangentially Related: ...We will enter his Administration as the United States, buoyed by an aggressive free market economy. We will exit his first year - and even the first hundred days - as France, burdened with massive government regulation, a vast public sector, and permanent middle class entitlements. And Obama will take care to arrange things so that massive and permanent political change accompanies his and protects his legislative achievements in the future... http://townhall.com/columnists/DickMorrisandEileenMcGann/2009/01/22/beware_obamas_trojan_horse?page=full --- From His Own Website...: ... Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent... Here's what it really means. The new administration plans to: * reinstate and expand the federal Assault Weapons Ban * repeal the Tiahrt Amendment and allow anti-gun activists to sue gun dealers and manufacturers out of existence * mandate criminal background checks for ALL firearm transfers, including private transactions * force gun manufacturers to include unproven and astronomically expensive "child-safe" features on newly-manufactured firearms... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6453 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4222/53/ --- The Gathering Storm: The deck is stacked against liberty and personal freedom: the President is anti-gun, the Vice-President is anti-gun, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is anti-gun, the Senate Majority leader is anti-gun, the Attorney General is anti-gun, as is the majority of congress. The group that claims it protects our 2A freedoms, the NRA, has compromised citizens into a terribly weak position as concerns our 2A rights. A staunch supporter of the NRA wrote the following when I confronted him with evidence of support by NRA leadership for multiple infringements of the very freedoms the NRA claims to defend. "In your examples, I'm dubious that Baker and LaPierre really believed what they were saying. Political BS, trying to keep the votes lined up. Doing their own con-job efforts on Congressional neutrals." ... http://www.lewrockwell.com/gaddy/gaddy43.html --- The Brady Surge: While the "political experts" try to lull us to sleep by claiming President Obama has better things to do than to push for restrictive gun control measures, anti-gun groups are mobilizing and nearly tripping over themselves trying to get their proposals to him as fast as they can. After sending Obama their wish list, they are now working on spreading their lies through the mass media. An article by Paul Helmke, Brady Campaign president, details their goals and is filled with faulty logic and bald-faced lies... (I have said before, I'd rather see the new regime's anti-RKBA plans unleashed earlier than later. In my estimation, that will increase our chances of making some changes in the 2010 congressional elections.) http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4224/53/ --- Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows: Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night. The surprising - and, for many Democrats shocking - decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, 42, from Hudson in Columbia County, was disclosed by the governor in calls to party officials and some members of the state's congressional delegation, many of whom said they were unhappy with the selection, sources said. Gillibrand, a mother of two occasionally resented by colleagues for being an aggressive self-promoter, was strongly backed for the post by Charles Schumer, the state's senior senator, who said a woman and an upstater was needed on next year's ticket... (Schumer and the NRA backed the same candidate?) http://www.nypost.com/seven/01232009/news/politics/dave_picks_gillibrand_as_liberal_dems_ho_151502.htm ...Others in the field, led by more senior politicians, including U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, criticized Gillibrand as recently as Thursday evening, saying her support of more conservative issues such as gun ownership rights was out of step with most New York Democrats. But Gillibrand is a proven vote-getter in an eastern New York district that sprawls from the mid-Hudson Valley to north of Albany. She defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2006 and won re-election last year by a wide margin... http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/23/paterson-picks-gillibrand-next-ny-senator/ ...Representative Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat and ardent gun control activist, said Thursday that if Ms. Gillibrand got the job, she was prepared to run against her in a primary in 2010. Ms. McCarthy was elected to Congress after her husband was killed in a gunman's rampage on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/nyregion/24choice.html?_r=1&hp --- HR 45 - Gun-Rights Licensing Test: Illinois congressman Bobby Rush, from Obama's home state and with a voting record on gun ownership as bad as Obama's, introduced a bill on the first day of the 111th Congress that shows what we can expect. If we don't defeat this bill, and others expected to follow it, gun owners will lose guns and the industry will suffer harm beyond description. Under HR 45, if you can't pass a complex test written by the U.S. Attorney General (described in detail below), pay the tax, give up fingerprints and a biometric-capable photo of yourself (that can be turned into a digital facial-recognition number and used as a de facto national ID), every gun you own will become contraband and subject to confiscation, while you stand trial before imprisonment. You'd think Bobby, a former black panther, would know better... (Analysis by Alan Korwin.) http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/01/21/gun-law-update-gun-rights-testing-planned-part-ii/ --- Rationing Doesn't Make Sense: New Jersey wants to ration Second Amendment rights to "one a month." But the reasoning behind their legislation doesn't add up. The New Jersey state Assembly passed the legislation just days ago. But in the Senate, it faces a lot of opposition- and for a lot of good reasons. New Jersey already has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the country. For example, you need a permit and approval from the state police just to buy an air gun in New Jersey. Buying a handgun there is tougher than in almost any other state. Yet Jersey's violent crime rates are almost triple those of its northern neighbor Vermont, which has few restrictions on gun rights, and where you can carry a concealed handgun without even getting a permit... http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=488 An Academic Study on the Fallacy of Most "Gun Control" Measures: http://lawreview.law.wfu.edu/documents/issue.43.837.pdf --- UN - Hands Off Our Guns: Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) instructed United Nations Ambassador nominee, Susan Rice, to ensure she preserves the gun rights of United States citizens while serving as U.S. representative to the U.N. "As our nation's top representative to the United Nations, the next United States U.N. Ambassador has an important responsibility to defend and protect our citizens' second amendment rights from international gun control." An "Arms Trade Treaty" that could threaten U.S. citizens' right to keep and bear arms doesn't recognize a county's sovereignty has been introduced in the U.N. The treaty could impose restrictions on gun ownership and place strict registration requirements on law abiding U.S. citizens. "The U.N. should not be interfering with our second amendment rights," Barrasso said. "The second amendment is not only right, it is a value and way of life we hold dear in Wyoming," Barrasso is a life member of the National Rifle Association. http://www.littlechicagoreview.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home&widget=full_story&content_instance_id=1800840&open=& --- Montana Bill Would Extend RKBA to Workplace: MT Representative Krayton Kerns (R-Laurel) is proposing a bill that he says is much more effective than the proposed "Castle Doctrine" legislation (see story). In addition to protecting yourself at home, Kerns' bill would allow a conceal-carry in Montana towns and would also allow for gun protection in the work place. Kerns says the other bills do not address all the issues: ""Those bills are very weak and they don't really accomplish much. They're a feel-good, pro-gun bill. We won't hinder gun rights by passing those bills, but we won't advance them a heck of a lot either. They're frosting. They're fluff." Kerns' bill is similar to one that failed in the 2007 legislative session, but he says many of the problems with that bill have been resolved. Kern's bill was just introduced and does not yet have a hearing date scheduled. http://www.kpax.com/Global/story.asp?S=9683260&nav=menu562_2/Global/category.asp?C=50892menu562_1_4_2 --- OSHA Claims No Preemption over Oklahoma Law: The federal agency in charge of workplace safety does not believe the Occupational Safety and Health Act pre-empts an Oklahoma law prohibiting employers from forbidding the storing of firearms in workers' cars, according to a letter filed in an appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Oklahoma has appealed an October 2007 federal judge's ruling, which said the 2004 state law conflicts with federal worker-protection laws, including the OSH Act. The letter stating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's position, from Thomas Stohler, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, to state Rep. Jerry Ellis, principal author of the Oklahoma law, was filed on the state's behalf by Washington, D.C., attorney Charles J. Cooper. Cooper said Stohler's letter makes clear that the federal law does not pre-empt the Oklahoma statute... http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=95327 --- Pennsylvania City Tables Gun Ordinance: The York City Council on Wednesday tabled a controversial gun proposal at the request of the mayor, despite four council members saying they oppose the legislation. The proposal, introduced by Councilwoman Toni Smith and backed by York Mayor John Brenner, would require gun owners to report lost or stolen guns within 72 hours. The legislation was aimed at cracking down on straw purchasers who illegally give or sell guns to others. Supporters said it would also encourage the state legislature to take up the issue, but opponents said it would criminalize victims and face costly legal challenges. Smith asked Wednesday that the proposal be tabled, citing the city solicitor's opinion. Councilman Cameron Texter said solicitor Shaleeta Washington gave council an opinion saying it would be best to wait because of a state law that prohibits municipalities from making their own gun laws... http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11522039 --- Kansas Prosecutors Likely to Gain Courthouse Carry: The Senate has voted for a bill that would let county, state and federal prosecutors carry concealed guns into county courthouses. There was no debate in the Senate. The measure now goes to the House, where Majority Leader Ray Merrick says he thinks the bill has ``a pretty good chance.'' A 2006 state law authorized concealed carry by qualified Kansans who obtain permits. The measure specifically bans concealed guns in ourthouses - with no exceptions for prosecutors. Other places where concealed weapons are banned include schools, churches and polling places. Businesses also can post signs saying no guns are allowed. The bill would require prosecutors to obtain concealed gun permits and to undergo additional firearms training. http://www.wibw.com/localnews/headlines/38170609.html --- Speaking of Richard Feldman: ...Feldman's previous efforts at getting along with gun controllers - the ones that caused his erstwhile allies at the NRA to turn on him and thereby led to this score-settling memoir - do not inspire much confidence in conciliation. In 1997, when Feldman was executive director of the American Shooting Sports Council, an industry group, President Clinton was contemplating legislation that would have required gun manufacturers to include "child safety locks" with their firearms. Feldman headed off this mandate by getting manufacturers to voluntarily include "child safety locks" with their firearms. That did not stop the Democrats from continuing to demand "mandatory child safety locks" in their 2000 platform... (Apologies for the wrong link, yesterday, for Feldman's Heller talk - the correct link is http://media-newswire.com/release_1084652.html.) http://reason.com/news/show/130857.html --- SCCC Chapter Forms On University of California Campus: To some observers, incidents like the Virginia Tech shooting of 2007 prove the need for tighter gun control. But to a growing group of students, such tragedies show that people on college campuses should be allowed to arm themselves for protection against school shooters. UC Davis psychology major Brendan Chan says such protection is "crucial in the minute or so that it takes police officers to respond." Chan is forming a local chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national organization lobbying for change in campus gun regulations... (Yolo County, where Davis is located is currently listed as having 275 active CWP's. However, a CWP issued in any California county is valid statewide unless restricted by the issuing authority.) http://www.fox40.com/pages/landing_local_headlines/?UC-Davis-Student-Challenges-Gun-Control-=1&blockID=191684&feedID=190 --- Oops, Wrong Garage: Authorities said a Springfield man came face to face with a burglar and ended up shooting him. Alvin Cobb said his wife noticed that their garage door was open, and when he went investigate, the burglar charged toward him. Cobb said, "Whoever he was he was right on top of me. He was at me attacking me and had his hand drawn back. I don't want to kill anybody, but I don't want anybody to hurt me either." According to Cobb, everything happened quickly. He said he did not have enough time to think. He was able to lift his arms to try to and defend himself and that is when a handgun he was carrying fired. "When he hit me the gun went off," Cobb said. "I know I shot him because he bled on me." The intruder took off, leaving a trail of blood around the block. Police were able to track the blood trail down the block but didn't find anyone... (This is a good example of why not to make statements in the aftermath of a shooting. Was the shooting intentional and justified or was it negligent because, due to a finger placed prematurely inside the trigger guard, "When he hit me the gun went off"?) http://www.whiotv.com/news/18542627/detail.html --- Bringing an Ice Scraper to a Gunfight: A man, 25, used an ice scraper to fend off two attackers - one armed with a knife and another with a handgun - early Thursday, state police said. The victim, whom police did not identify, was leaving his unidentified place of employment on Dulancey Drive in Portage Township about 1 a.m. Men wearing a red ski mask and a light blue ski mask ran toward him. The suspects demanded money. "Victim was cut on the face with the knife and struck in the head with the gun," police said in a release. The man struggled with the attempted robbers and was able to fight his attackers off. The suspects ran off empty handed. No other information was available. http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_022103506.html --- Behind the Scenes of the Sturgis Shooting Case: ...Four off duty, out-of-state LEOs and a firefighter, all members of the police motorcycle club called the Iron Pigs, get into a heated confrontation with some Hells Angels at a roadhouse during the annual bike rally in Sturgis, S.D. One of the cops shoots one of the HAs. A county grand jury indicts the officers and the fireman for CCW in a drinking establishment, a violation of South Dakota law. The law enforcement community reacts with major mixed emotions. If the charges stick, that would be the first successful challenge of the hard-fought and much-cherished federal legislation that allows off duty and retired peace officers to carry legally in any jurisdiction in the U.S. On the other hand, some asked, why did cops show the "poor judgment" of recreating on the same premises with outlaw bikers at an infamous event like the Sturgis rally? ... (I delayed sharing this link, awaiting the second part of the article, which has yet to be posted. However, I have added a related link below the first one.) http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/1774755-P1-Exclusive-Iron-Pigs-Hells-Angels-and-universal-off-duty-carry-Behind-the-scenes-in-a-critical-court-case/ http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/Ken-Wallentine/articles/1769365-P1-Exclusive-HR218-Explained/ --- NYPD to Release OIS Data: Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation Wednesday calling for the New York Police Department to release information about all weapons discharged by members of the department. The information will include details like the race, age and gender of anyone who is shot or shot at. This is something some politicians and organizations like the New York Civil Liberties Union have been pushing for. The bill comes as the department releases new figures showing there were fewer weapons discharges by members of the NYPD in 2008 than any year since they began compiling that information record going back to 1971. Last year, NYPD weapons discharged 105 times, both on purpose and by accident. That compares to 111 incidents in 2007 and 994 in 1972... (OIS: Officer-Involved Shooting.) http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=92635 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .