2014 will be a crucial year in the fight to preserve gun rights

After holding off an unprecedented assault on the 2A throughout 2013 gun rights supporters should feel proud of their accomplishments. Despite a nearly perfect storm of MSM (aka journolists) coordinated narrative, an emboldened second-term president and a perfect tragedy to exploit public sentiment, the Universal Background Checks Gun Registration scheme stalled in the US Senate.

However it is up to every supporter of the 2A to stay engaged in 2014. Here are a few compelling reasons why:

• Americans have the right to defend themselves. Can you live with yourself knowing that you stood idle when he enemies of Liberty destroyed this disabled man’s right to defend himself from the heartless criminals who tied him up and threw him into his yard while they robbed him? 
• Bloomberg’s MAIG and Moms Demand Action Disarmament are ramping up efforts to invest large sums of money into elections and lobbying for anti-gun policy at the state and federal level. The balance of power in Congress is precarious and it will only take a couple votes to pave the way to pass sweeping gun control laws if we are not active participants in the midterm elections. The UBC bill only failed by a few votes and that is well known in the beltway
• Congress plays a part in approving the appointment of Supreme Court Justices. The split on the nations highest court is razor-thin on the 2A and if you think the POTUS won’t nominate a Civilian Disarmament supporter you’re a fool. There is a lot at risk if The Dems and RINOs gain the slightest bit in Congress. 
• Losing ground in midterm elections will almost certainly push the Overton Window even farther left and result in extreme gun control policy. The cartoon above is disturbingly accurate (although slightly out of season)

Don’t get me wrong on trashing the Democrats – I’m not a blind supporter of the Republicans either– the last GOP Administration trampled the rights of Americans too. However the Dems are the party of Gun Control and overall they are too bold and extreme with their policies. It’s up to everyone who enjoys their Freedom to be an active participant in the political process. There is too much at stake to be asleep at the wheel in 2014.

ATF 41P updates & rumors

One of the “under the radar” gun control activities the POTUS has been working on pertains to BATF. Along with getting a White House pick for Director of the agency a couple executive orders were issued for ATF rule changes. You see, the ATF can change many of its rules without having to pass laws through Congress.

41P proposes to make these changes to the National Firearms Act (NFA), which governs possession of items like the ones pictured above: 

The Department of Justice is planning to finalize a proposed rule to amend the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) regarding the making or transferring of a firearm under the National Firearms Act. As proposed, the rule would (1) add a definition for the term “responsible person”; (2) require each responsible person of a corporation, trust or legal entity to complete a specified form, and to submit photographs and fingerprints; and (3) modify the requirements regarding the certificate of the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO).

The first two changes are annoying but not horrible. The requirements change to require a CLEO signoff for corporations and trusts, however, is a big change. People who qualify as CLEO are typically elected officials- and a large number of them choose not to sign on any NFA items- so people cannot obtain them. That’s called gun control, ladies and gentlemen. Which of course is exactly what the DOJ and White House want.

The strange thing is that initial speculation was that this rule change would be slammed through in record time- especially with the public comment period ending the week of the anniversarry of the tragedy in Newtown, CT. But the link above indicates that the rule change won’t take effect until June 2014. That leaves people who want to purchase NFA items time to get paperwork filed – GunTrustLawyer is a good place to read up on the process if you are interested. 

And for a jaw-dropping rumor (and it’s only a rumor right now)–I ran a cross a claim that a Class 3 (NFA) firearms dealer says his ATF examiner said that the whole rule change is a “No go” and that “nothing has changed, or is expected to“. Wow- if that proves to be true it would be a collossal FAIL for the White House on expanding gun control. I’m tempering my hopes but it’s a very pleasant thought, isn’t it?  If you can substantiate this rumor please leave a comment below citing the source.

The 2A Scores Some Legislative Victories

  

Despite having some weaker representation in DC than we would like, supporters of the 2A have had some good results in the legislative arena recently. Mind you this was earned through our hard work to make it known in DC that the 2A is not negotiable. Here are a couple notable legislative wins:

Undetectable Firearms Act extension:

This one flew through Congress in record time. The bottom line is that while this extension of the original ban limits 3-D printing of plastic guns its impact is minimal. Comrade Schumer was very interested in expanding the bill to limit all sorts of firearms parts – including polymer magazines – so there was the potential for some real damage to the 2A. However this idea didn’t go far and the only reason why is the pressure WE put on Congress. They are aware that supporters of the 2A are awake and mobilized. No way would they take a risk right before Midterm election year. 

The POTUS will flaunt is as action taken on gun control now as the agitprop spins up and he and his cronies use murdered children as props in their political agenda. But think about it- no significant control legislation survived Congress this year. 2013 was the best chance in decades for significant gun control at the Federal level despite incredibly strong pressure from the White House. We need to pick our spots to focus our pushback and this wasn’t one of those spots. 

California AG loses Waiting Period Challenge

This is a significant win for CalGuns- who are fighting infringement in one of the most over-regulated states. This challenge is against California’s 10-day waiting period gun laws for people purchasing firearms. 

“The fact that a federal judge saw these laws for what they are — baseless restraints on the exercise of a fundamental civil right — is monumental,” explained Gene Hoffman, Chairman of The Calguns Foundation. “California’s waiting period laws for those who own guns is not Constitutional and this order really underlines the point.”

Any time a gun control law is ruled unconstitutional it helps the 2A. However we all need to remember that overturning law is a long and difficult road. We are always better off preventing bad legislation from becoming law. We have to remain vocal and vigilant because the enemies of Liberty Progressives are working around the clock to destroy our freedom. IOW:

• Stay informed on legislation in your state and at the federal level
• Vote in every election- and know your candidates
• Press your like-minded friends and neighbors to vote– every vote counts because the nation is nearly split at 50% each way 
• Be vocal- emails, calls and letters to your elected officials have never been more important

As far as enemies of the 2A go- be especially wary of Brandon Webb- he is a former Navy SEAL who wants to try to infiltrate the board of the NRA. He is no friend to the 2A and it is up to every NRA member to keep is cancer out of our organization. We have momentum on our side but we cannot go back to sleep or polite silence. Stay strong and have heart- we can and will preserve our rights.

The real threat to ammo manufacturing

There has been lots of reporting on the closure of the Doe Run primary lead smelter in MO this week. Plenty of hysterical ravings about an impending ammunition shortage in 2014 and general doomsday predictions that all bullet material will have to be exported for processing and reimported. That’s not true- as noted by Emily Miller and Bob Owens. 

However there is a real threat to the production of bullet material in the US- and its part of the Obama Administratration’s War on the 2A. I have a couple friends who work in the lead industry who help supply ammunition manufacturers. Lately their insight into ammunition rumors has been pretty useful. With that as a backdrop here are a few ongoing attacks on ammo manufacturers that the MSM overlooks in its reporting:

• The EPA has been at war against lead for several administrations and the Obama Administration has finally imposed regulations on a major producer of domestic ammunition that will limit their ability to manufacture lead bullets (I promised not to name them but its a name everyone would recognize). With strong White House backing the EPA went full press on this company and they had to cease in-house projectile manufacturing and switched to buying up processed material at a much greater expense
• Executives at that well-known ammo manufacturer have expressed concerns that they were only the first name on a White House ‘hit list’ and that the EPA will be expanding these attacks to the rest of the ammuntion producers as quickly as it can
• The EPA has not levied any new or heavy handed regulations on the battery manufacturing industry – which is interesting because battery manufacturing employs about 24,000 people while the ammunition manufacturing industry employs nearly 45,000 people. Way to look out for the economy, Washington!

Once lead processing for bullets is limited and eventually regulated out of existance with selective enforcement of EPA and state-level regulations (like CA where lead projectiles are banned) what are our options? Well steel and copper come to mind. Both are classified in many cases as ‘armor piercing’ projectiles and subsequently outlawed in as many places as Progressives can get laws passed. Is it clear where this road leads? It’s more sneaky gun control, nothing more.

 

There is only one way to derail this train – be an active and informed voter. Drag EVERYONE you can with you to the polls (so long as they agree on our candidates). Stay vocal to your Congressional and State reps- let them know how angry you are that businesses are being regulated out of existance at a time where the economy desperately needs support.

 

Bonus lead industry rumor: all the major manufacturers are planning to bring new rimfire lines up in the coming months — that means .22 ammo should enjoy a resurgence very soon. Provided the manufacturers can keep the cost of projectiles down.

 

Talking Turkey about Gun Control

This Thanksgiving, Bloomberg’s MAIG wants Americans who hate freedom to pick fights at the dinner table by feeding them a list of talking points to bring to the dinner table. The interwebs are flooded with a bunch of agitprop like this:

This won’t fly at the Fifteen’s dinner table because breakfast in this family typically looks like this:

 Would you forgo the turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner in favor of tofu? Same here. In that same spirit let’s make sure that the low-character MAIG members enjoy a side of Documented Truth to debunk their so-called “Myth”s. It’s poorly written dribble but here are clarifications to the arguement in each MAIG Myth/Truth agitprop pair:

MAIG Myth#1: We don’t need more gun laws, we just need to enforce the laws already on the books

Bloomberg claims that 40% of firearm sales occur without background checks. FACT: Likely less than 5% of sales are done without background checks.

MAIG Myth#2: The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Here the enemies of Liberty falsely claim that the proliferation of firearms across America has led to the highest murder rate in the developed world. Never mind the fact that 2.5 million Americans successfully use firearms to defend themselves from violent criminals each year.  The right to defend yourself notwithstanding, adding limitations to firearms won’t do anything to stop murder rates in the US. FACT: Handgun crime has doubled in Britain since their ban and violent crime in both Britan and Australia has increased since they banned firearms.

MAIG Myth#3: New gun laws are unconstitutional.

Agreed- however limitations need to be reasonable and policies must be effective and enforceable. Eric Holder’s DOJ memo states very clearly that a national gun registry will be required to make any new gun control laws effective. So what’s the endgame here- universal gun registration? 

MAIG Myth#4: Criminals don’t follow the law, so expanding background checks will only affect law-abiding citizens.

This is one of the most laughable talking points in the list – MAIG claims that background check laws should be expanded because “since 1998 the system has blocked gun sales to over 2 million people”.  If these people were actually dangerous criminals, then please explain why 0.055% of failed background checks in 2012 were prosecuted? 

MAIG Myth#5: Gun violence isn’t a gun issue- it’s a mental health issue.

Another emotional ploy to refocus the arguement on guns. Because guns. Only a fool would think that there is not a link between mental health and the recent rash of spree killings. However the MAIG talking point is to reiterate his claim about the US and its murder rates. To put this in perspective take a look at murder rates across the world and look where the US fits in. 

Before we leave this topic though let’s look at the detail behind this problem with murder rates in the US- where exactly are the highest murder rates in Amercia?  Why yes- cities with the most strict gun control laws also suffer from the highest per capita murder rates in the nation. 

Whew! All that debunking sure works up an appetite. I’m headed for the dinner table. 

Keeping an Eye on Congress

Fascinating headlines on the Civilian Disarmament front this week:

• Dems vow passage of background check bill
• Gun reformers lobby to finish the job on background checks
• Background checks bill would get ‘a couple more votes now’

First and foremost remember that this call for ‘background checks‘ is really a bill designed to strip law-abiding American citizen of their natural right to defend themselves. Now consider a few facts:

• What convenient timing for the lapdogs of tyranny to parrot the message being carefully coordinated by the White House to manipulate public sentiment as we head towards the one year anniversarry of the tragic events in Newtown, CT
• Even with the supposed new votes the Senate still falls short of the 60 votes required to pass the Universal Background Checks Gun Registration bill 
• The October 2013 Pew Research Poll states that public support for stronger gun control laws remains at pre-Newton levels 
• 2014 is a midterm election year- it would be very risky to pass legislation that flopped so badly just a few months ago
• The approval rating of the POTUS is at an all-time low of 39% – and most Americans do not consider the White House trustworthy 
• There are only 14 legislative days left for the House in 2013

That all adds up to slim chances for gun control success in Congress and a low likelihood of passing something late at the 11th hour like the Affordable Care Act or New york’s unconstitutional SAFE Act. Watch this space for updates- if an anti-2A bill gets momentum on Capitol Hill you can find out here.

The Open Carry Conundrum

Open Carry has been a hot topic lately – from the Starbucks watery “policy change” to the grossly over-exaggerated interaction between all 4 members of Moms Demand Action and a Texas-based Open Carry Advocacy group in Arlington. Its a tricky subject to tackle – I realized this while reading a thought-provoking article – here are a few salient excerpts:

[regarding gun bans like those that infringe on Chicago, California, Washington DC, etc] However government justified those laws, I can tell you one thing for certain: they did not enact those laws as a response to citizens openly carrying firearms. Were people parading around Chicago with openly carried handguns? Around Washington D.C. with openly carried and operable firearms? Around the nation with openly carried “assault riles”? Around schools with openly carried firearms? Obviously not. The government entities who passed laws that criminalize ownership and possession of firearms passed those laws because they want to disarm citizens, period...

Regardless of the legislative/legal history of criminalizing ownership and possession of firearms, let’s look at this in a simple and pragmatic way.  What good is a “right” if we cannot exercise the right for fear that we will “lose” the right?  Does that not mean the right is already lost?  

The logical paradox should be obvious and yet no one seems to see it.  What kind of strategy is this?  Are we hoping to save the right to carry openly until we really “need” it, only to be banned then? Don’t think for a second that government or anyone else will be content with banning open carry.

I wholeheartedly and passionately support the right for Americans to defend themselves. This includes the natural rights not granted by but preserved by The 2A for all law-abiding American citizens. However this passion and proud display of these rights is being used to hurt the RKBA.

In today’s political and social environment the War on the 2A is being waged by expanding on and exploiting disinformation and the fears of the low-information, often hoplophobic general public. These are people who don’t know much about firearms, have never fired a gun and could fall either Pro or Anti 2A depending on the experiences they have- whether in person or more commonly through mass media. This segment of America is the group that could have the greatest impact on the RKBA – because they are the ones who will affect future elections and to some degree the actions of politicians holding office. So how is disinformation being used to manipulate that group against the 2A?

• Unbiased journalism has given way to Journolism – you can see these coordinated behaviors persist in breaking news reports all the time. The mainstream media is parroting civilian disarmament rhetoric every time there is an opportunity
• Hollywood has not done the 2A any favors -thanks to misrepresentation of firearms in the movies many people believe that a firearm with a standard capacity magazine can fire endlessly, blow up cars, and so on
• A more recent phenomenon is the Astroturfing– fake grassroots organizations who work at cultivating public sentiment for a cause on behalf of corporations or politicians. Enter Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action

Shannon Watts claims to have been a stay-at-home mom from Zionsville, IN for the past five years. However that’s where the lies and questionable background begin :

• Shannon Watts is a new alias- her LinkedIn profile indicates that as recently as June 2012 she was employed as President and Founder of VoxPop Public Relations under the name Shannon Troughton
• Shannon Watts (Troughton) also worked in executive PR positions for small time companies like GE Heathcare and Montsano, where she did her part to conceal labeling of genetically engineered foods for the public. Basically Shanmon Watts is a crafty, world class PR expert
• A popular Shannon Watts tactic is to try to discredit anyone who opposes the viewpoints she is hired to cultivate – common tactics include filing false harassment claims against people who disagree with her views and engage her in civil public debate and blocking any Twitter or Facebook followers who are not fanatical supporters of her misguided rhetoric

Now that you know all of that take a look at the photo at the top of this post. Watts orchestrated the photo outside her pathetic 4-member MDA meeting and then used her media contacts to manufacture a story that she could manipulate into excessive mainstream media coverage. All with a goal of portraying open carry advocates and every other gun owner in America as a misogynistic bullies who thrive on intimidating those who disagree with them.

 

The problem is that it is up to every single American gun owner to carefully think through their actions and especially interactions with others. People like Shannon Watts get endless free media coverage – and like it or not the public is exposed to those sound bytes and headlines. 

 

The circumstances in America that led to this point suck. But we can’t change that immediately. I’m not saying that you need to hide your beliefs or even refrain from open carry. However it’s easy to scare uneducated people – and one even mildly bad experience with an open carrier can turn a voter against the 2A for life. As for myself I plan to refrain from open carry and work on taking noobs to the range to convert them into 2A fans for life.

 

 

Recent Shootings Underscore the Flawed Logic of Gun Control

Los Angeles, CA. Paramus, NJ. Washington, D.C. Three areas with the strictest gun control laws in the U.S.- CA and NJ are 1 and 2 on the Brady Campaign Disarmamenet scorecard. Despite the incredibly strict laws in those places, three very high-profile shootings recently occurred in these areas. 

But how could that be possible? The goal of all those gun control laws is to make America safer, isn’t it? The typical rants from the Civilan Disaramament Industrial complex dwell on a few core ideas. One of these ideas is that America’s murder rates could be quelled by enacting stronger gun control laws. The problem with this line of thinking is that it’s simply not true. It may not be obvious because the Journolists (mainstream media)have been very good at bombarding the airwaves with a steady stream of ‘news’ to make it seem like there is an epidemic of mass shootings underfoot across the US. So please explain the facts outlined in this chart (homicide rates per 1000 people, source: FBI.gov ):

There has been and continues to be a steady decline in the homicide rate per 1000 people in the United States. Note that during the Clinton A-Word Ban homicide increased but again decreased drastically after that legislation expired. 

Still not convinced? Let’s use the Massachusetts case for gun control as another example. In 1998 MA passed the strictest package of gun control laws on record at that time. Among other hardships imposed on law-abiding citizens it included:

…banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked. …One of the state’s leading anti-gun activists, John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence, joined the applause. “The new gun law,” he predicted, “will certainly prevent future gun violence and countless grief.” It didn’t.

Legal gun ownership in MA plummeted from 1.5 million in 1998 to just 200,000 in 2002. This must be a great success- MA must be one of the safest states in the union nowadays- right? Unfortunately the result of these laws in MA has been sharp increases in homicide by firearm:

This graph is the opposite of the trend the first chart shows. Lots of sources exist for this data. Gun control emboldens criminals because they can be confident that they can commit a crime and the only firearm present will be the one the criminal has. That’s correct- criminals don’t care about laws! Even gun control laws that promise to make America safe. 

Of course the Civilian Disarmament Industrial complex has an answer for these inconvenient facts: outlaw all firearms in America. The problem is that other states won’t follow suit. If that’s a factual solution then why aren’t homicide rates or crime at all on the rise in states that border MA? This approach has also been attempted in much of Europe. Look at the results in countries where handguns are banned vs their neighboring nations:

Another sneak attack on the 2A underway

Troubling news from the US Supreme Court: the DOJ  (Eric Holder’s US Department of Justice) is arguing that international treaties can override the US Constitution. The case is Bond vs. United States and the DOJ is arguing that the Federal Government can prosecute a person for violating an international treaty. 

How does that have anything to do with the 2A? Quite a bit as it turns out- remember when the White House signed the UN Weapons International Gun Registration and Confiscation Treaty? While signing the treaty, Secretary of State John Kerry said:

“Make no mistake, we would never think about supporting a treaty that is inconsistent with the rights of Americans, the rights of American citizens, to be able to exercise their guaranteed rights under our constitution.“

How interesting DOJ would follow up so quickly to try to set a legal precedent that an international treaty could supersede the US Constitution. This SCOTUS decision could have vast implications on the rights of every American citizen- Senator Cruz characterized what’s at risk if the High Court rules in favor of the DOJ :

“That is a radical interpretation of the treaty power. That is what is at issue in Bond: does the treaty power enable the Federal government to circumvent the structural limitations on the authority of the Federal government?”

<bl
</bl

It’s important to remember that the Senate would have to ratify the UN Arms Treaty to actually make any of its provisions enforceable, and the current body is strongly opposed to the treaty. The problem is that all treaties signed by the US but not ratified by the Senate remain in limbo forever. At any time in the future the treaty could be revisited by the Senate and the approved. 

This is troubling attempt to lay the groundwork for canned gun control including: registration, ammo control and ultimately confiscation- just add an Anti-2A Senate majority. Watch this space for updates.

What is the Civilian Disarmament Movement up to these days?

Earlier this year the gun control civilian disarmament movement won big at the state level in Colorado, New York and strengthened its stranglehold on California. They also lost big at the federal level with Universal Background Checks Gun Registration. But the POTUS swore to return with new energy and to get gun owners’ little dogs too.

Despite the best efforts of the Journolists, public support for expanded gun control is back to pre-Newtown levels – about 48%. So what is the Progressive Machine doing to press the agenda forward?

Officials from the White House Office of Public Engagement, which reports to senior Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, are now carrying the administration’s gun control efforts. OPE officials hold a regular meeting with the major gun control groups known as the Gun Violence Table…

The weekly sessions often include OPE Director Paulette Aniskoff or official Paul Monteiro along with representatives from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action, the Center for American Progress, Organizing for Action and Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Wow- talk about the forces of evil roundtable – let’s run down the scandals staining the character of some of these enemies of Liberty:

• Mayors Against Illegal Guns but don’t forget about these 16 examples either
• Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence
• Moms Demand Action  
• Americans for Responsible Solutions 

 And of course these amazing humanitarians wouldn’t let a chance to dance in the blood of victims go to waste:

The groups are coordinating a November lobbying effort and planning events to commemorate the first anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., massacre last December.

This effort is part of a long term strategy to keep giving these ‘community’ organizers press time to help fan the flames of a grassroots movement to drive gun control back onto the Congressional agenda. How sneaky is it to coordinate the lobbyists in weekly sponsored meetings at the White House and then turn them loose for preferential media coverage? 

It’s all with a goal of convincing the low-information voters to rally in support of expanded gun control. The split is so close right now (nearly 50-50) that they could turn the tide without a lot of effort. The mainstream media (MSM) has all their speaking points ready to roll and gleefully reports them every chance they get. This isn’t about debating the Antis- it’s about recruiting that 2-3% of Americans to support their cause. Most people don’t know that gun violence is down 49% since 1993 – even including recent high-profile mass shootings. Most people are to aware that gun crimes have all steadily trended down as firearms ownership has increased among law-abiding citizens in the US (refer to the infographic above). Sadly the MSM won’t let that cross the eyes or hears of the public. 

We can stop them though- here are 3 ways each and every one of us can help:

1. Vote in every election. Make sure you do it and you know which candidates support your issues ( preserving the 2A for example).
2. Make sure your like-minded friends and relatives also vote. Talk to them about the elections and make sure they know which candidates are supporting your issues.
3. Be an ambassador for the 2A: take someone shooting for the first time. Show them how enjoyable shooting can be. Don’t talk politics or gun control – just enjoy some range time. Don’t do things to intimidate people who don’t understand firearms ownership. The deck is stacked against gun owners because the media is always demonizing them. Prove them wrong and this can make a difference too.