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Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 03.17.10 by R. Lee Wrights “The controversy over guns and Starbucks provides us with an opportunity to understand the relationship between gun rights and property rights. The gun-control crowd is upset with Starbucks because the chain is permitting people to openly carry firearms into its stores. They say that this is carrying the right to keep and bear arms too far.” (03/17/10) Link: http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2010-03-17.asp Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: L. Neil Smith Posted on 03.15.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Recently, somebody directed my attention to an article, ‘Socrates’ Gun’ by Daniel Johnson on the website of the Salem (Oregon) News, questioning just about every aspect of the character of individuals who make the choice to exercise their unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to openly carry personal weapons in public. For some reason, Mr. Johnson appeared to be particularly upset by a photo he’d come across on a firearms website of people with guns on their hips, enjoying a barbecue in what looked like a park somewhere. He went to great lengths to explain how phony and affectatious they looked to him. To someone who has seen sights like this hundreds of times over the past forty years, it seemed perfectly natural and relaxed.” (03/14/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle561-20100314-02.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: SAF staff Posted on 03.15.10 by R. Lee Wrights “A new Rasmussen poll has revealed that an overwhelming majority of Americans reject the notion that cities have a right to ban handguns, siding with the Second Amendment Foundation’s position in its lawsuit to overturn the Chicago ban. Oral arguments in the SAF case were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. Court observers predict the high court will overturn the Chicago ban, thus incorporating the Second Amendment to state and local governments through provisions in the 14th Amendment.” (03/15/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3965 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Nolan Chart Author: Kenn Jacobine Posted on 03.11.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The current Supreme Court has a golden opportunity to set the record straight with regards to individual guns rights under the 2nd Amendment. The debate over the years has been very contentious with both sides misquoting the Founders’ statements about gun rights to suit their purposes. The Founders made a lot of statements about gun rights and how they apply to citizen militias. Understanding that at that time citizen militias meant ‘all citizens capable of military service’ it is easy to come to the conclusion that the 2nd Amendment bestows a right to gun ownership to all individual Americans. Fortunately for America, it appears the Supreme Court will come to the same conclusion later this year.” (03/11/10) Link: http://www.nolanchart.com/article7495.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review Author: J. Neil Schulman Posted on 03.11.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Madison writing in the Federalist Papers knew that no matter how many weapons systems are in service to protecting the establishment powers, nothing can prevent the people from eventually reaching a point where merely by refusing to cooperate the system collapses in on itself. It’s not just guns that would come out in the streets when that happens. It would be SUV’s, iPhones, IEDs, and — in general — the indignation and ingenuity of millions of people who have their garages, attics, and basements filled with so much lethal junk that even I — a science-fiction writer — can’t imagine the havoc they could create if the Middle Class American ever really got pissed off. The Supreme Court of the United States is the mediator between a nation of potential revolutionary maniacs and an establishment that exists — no shit, really — only by their sufferance.” (03/10/10) Link: http://jneilschulman.rationalreview.com/2010/03/a-bad-case-of-liberty/ Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Jack Hunter Posted on 03.11.10 by R. Lee Wrights “When the City of Chicago banned all handguns recently, countless Americans rightly cried foul. When it looked like the Supreme Court might overturn the ban, gun-rights advocates cheered the decision. But while their heart is in the right place, their enthusiasm is not, as what gun-rights advocates are really cheering is the federal government assuming even more power.” (03/10/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=678 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Dallas Libertarian Examiner Author: Garry Reed Posted on 03.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “What could be better for rabid Walmart-hating lefties than a shooting at Walmart? On Sunday an off-duty sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man who burst into a Walmart during a gunfight with police in Commerce, Texas (60 miles northeast of Dallas). What could be better for rabid gun-hating lefties than a shooting anywhere? On Monday a man wounded a father and son in a Dallas office building and then shot himself in the head when police arrived. There just has to be a way to spin this to the benefit of the Kill Zone-creating self-defense deniers on the political left.” (03/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yf372ta Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Freedom Politics Author: Thomas J. Lucente Jr. Posted on 03.07.10 by R. Lee Wrights “McDonald v. City of Chicago, a Supreme Court case in which oral arguments took place Tuesday, is perhaps one of the most important cases since the end of the War for Southern Independence. The case deals with a patently un-American handgun ban in Chicago. Fortunately, it appears the court is going to rule the ban unconstitutional and return a little bit of freedom to the American people.” (03/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ylhzas4 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: A Passion for Liberty Author: Tibor R. Machan Posted on 03.07.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Over the years the distinction between public and private spaces has become obscured. Which is why Starbucks is finding it so difficult to insist that customers do not carry weapons while in their establishment. It is because over the last several decades a doctrine of public accommodation has developed in the law such that when some area is adjacent to a public sphere — a street or road or park — it no longer enjoys private property rights, the authority to determine what happens there.” (03/04/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ydcdyky Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review Author: J. Neil Schulman Posted on 03.07.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “In an age when Tea Party is supposed to describe a political movement, I’ve often wondered at how few actual beverages are involved. I mean, the actual Boston Tea Party was a minor bit of terrorism to protest a tax on tea. It was a one-time deal. Nobody was going out every weekend dumping tea in Boston Harbor. It’s no wonder the focus of a movement that started out with Ron Paul supporters looking for something else to do when the 2008 candidacy of Ron Paul ended quickly lost its focus, then becoming targets for hostile takeovers by establishment Republicans and neocons. But Starbucks — which does actually sell real cups of tea — now finds itself, willy nilly, at the center of a controversy that would be of interest to many real grassroots Tea Party activists.” (03/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yarpfvg Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Reason Author: Brian Doherty Posted on 03.04.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Scalia asked Gura early in his 20 minutes of argument time on Tuesday: ‘Mr. Gura, do you think it is at all easier to bring the Second Amendment under the Privileges and Immunities Clause than it is to bring it under our established law of substantive due … process? … Why are you asking us to overrule 150, 140 years of prior law, when — when you can reach your result under substantive due — I mean, you know, unless you are bucking for a — a place on some law school faculty …?’ Scalia, reputedly a constitutional originalist, flashed some ugly colors with that laugh-provoking comment: He’d rather go with the easy precedential flow — even given a substantive due process argument that he openly admits he thinks is wrong but which he’s ‘acquiesced’ to — th[a]n vindicate the actual intentions of the framers of a very important constitutional amendment.” (03/04/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/03/04/guns-for-all-privileges-and-im Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Alan M. Gottlieb Posted on 03.04.10 by R. Lee Wrights “The Washington State Supreme Court has issued a precedent-setting opinion in the case of State v. Christopher William Sieyes which holds that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights ‘applies to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment.’ This outstanding opinion was authored by Justice Richard B. Sanders, a Supreme Court veteran who clearly understands the history of both the state and federal constitutional right to keep and bear arms.” (03/04/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3930 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Center for a Stateless Society Author: Alex R. Knight III Posted on 03.04.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Where in the Constitution is the U.S. Supreme Court even authorized to ‘interpret’ that same document? And if numerous rulings by that same body have held the the amendment in question guarantees an individual right to both keep and bear arms, doesn’t and shouldn’t that make all further discussion moot? If it is generally and historically accepted that self-defense is a right of all individual human beings before the sheer lunacy of government-creation even begins, doesn’t it qualify, rather, as mere common sense (partial apologies to Thomas Paine) rather than something that must be legislated and then endlessly challenged, interpreted, and intersticed with myriads of exceptions and special qualifications?” (03/03/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/1976 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Cato Institute Posted on 03.03.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Bearing arms in DC,” featuring Tom G. Palmer. [MP3] (03/03/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/cato030310 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Audio and Video | |
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Source: Wall Street Journal Author: Randy E. Barnett Posted on 03.03.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Imagine you are a visitor from another planet reading the U.S. Constitution. You come to the 14th Amendment, where it says: ‘No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.’ Might you not think this must be a pretty important provision? Now suppose you are told that, for over 135 years, the Supreme Court has, with one exception, entirely ignored that language. Might you question whether Supreme Court justices were bound by the written Constitution? Had you been seated in the Supreme Court yesterday to hear oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago, your suspicions might well have been confirmed.” (03/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ycblehh Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fox News Forum Author: John Lott Posted on 03.02.10 by Steve Trinward “In the 2008 Heller decision, the Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and gunlock requirements. Unsurprisingly, gun control advocates predicted disaster. They were wrong. What actually happened in our nation’s capital after the Heller decision ought to be remembered tomorrow as the Supreme Court hears a similar constitutional challenge to the Chicago handgun ban. … Armageddon never arrived. Quite the contrary, murders in Washington plummeted by an astounding 25 percent in 2009, dropping from 186 murders in 2008 to 140. That translates to a murder rate that is now down to 23.5 per 100,000 people, Washinton’s lowest since 1967.” (03/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ybfzdle Filed under: 2AM Commentary and CANDi Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Hawaii Reporter Author: Ilya Shapiro and Josh Blackman Posted on 03.02.10 by R. Lee Wrights “In the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. Because the District is a federal enclave, however, the court stopped short of deciding whether the Second Amendment applies to the states — and whether individuals can assert its protections against gun regulations in places like Chicago, New York and San Francisco.” (03/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yfdjegf Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Spectator Author: Doug Bandow Posted on 03.02.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “At the end of the day, McDonald is likely to be a repeat of the Heller decision, incorporating the Second Amendment in a narrow 5-4 decision. However, the decision presents the thorny question of how far lawyers should go in advocating particular ideological views that may detrimental to their clients. The most clean-cut and powerful argument for incorporation of the Second Amendment is undoubtedly based on the decades of Supreme Court precedent incorporating various Bill of Rights protections under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, application of the Privileges or Immunities Clause might result in a broader and more unrestricted right to bear arms. This is the tension at the heart of the McDonald case.” (03/02/10) Link: http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/02/guns-before-the-court Filed under: 2AM Commentary and CANDi Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Cato Institute Posted on 03.02.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Why McDonald matters,” featuring Timothy Sandefur. [MP3] (03/02/10) Link: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cato030210 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Audio and Video | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: GOA staff Posted on 03.01.10 by R. Lee Wrights “He’s like a playground bully — on steroids! According to a recent poll, only 23% of the American people want Congress to pass the anti-gun ObamaCare bill. And the President’s response to this? He believes Americans are just too stupid to understand what geniuses like him, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are trying to do for us.” (03/01/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3903 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Reason Author: Damon W. Root Posted on 03.01.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on March 2, 2010 in the landmark gun rights case McDonald v. Chicago, the Second Amendment won’t be the only thing on the justices’ minds. That’s because when it comes to protecting constitutional rights from the depredations of state and local governments, the Court must obey the 14th Amendment, which commands: ‘No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.’ McDonald will therefore turn on whether the right to keep and bear arms applies to Chicago via the 14th Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause or via its Due Process Clause.” (02/26/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/02/26/getting-the-14th-amendment-rig Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: PA Luty Posted on 02.25.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “In 1900 the British government trusted the people with firearms and to be their own guardians. Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the Marquess of Salisbury said he would ‘laud the day when there was a rifle in every cottage in England.’ However in 1903 Britain passed its first ever ‘gun control’ law, a minor one requiring a permit to carry a handgun and restricting the age of purchasers. It was the first toe over a slippery slope towards complete firearms prohibition. In 1919 the British government, in fear of communist insurgents and domestic and foreign anarchists, passed its first sweeping anti-gun laws (under the smokescreen of crime control) even though gun related crime was almost non existent in the England of the day. British subjects could now only buy a firearm if they could show ‘a good reason’ for having one and the firearm certificate system that we have today (implemented and abused by police) was introduced.” (02/21/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle558-20100221-07.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Reason Author: Steve Chapman Posted on 02.15.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Among the many groups that opposed Barack Obama’s presidential race, few were more certain or vehement than gun rights organizations. ‘Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history,’ the National Rifle Association announced. ‘Obama is a committed anti-gunner,’ warned Gun Owners of America. So it’s no stunner that after a year in office, the president is getting hammered by people who have no use for his policy on firearms. The surprise is that the people attacking him are those who favor gun control, not those who oppose it.” (02/15/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/02/15/obama-spurns-gun-control Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Anthony Gregory Posted on 02.12.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Many opponents of gun control support the war on drugs, and many critics and reformers of America’s drug laws tend to believe in gun control. Conservatives tend to fall into the first category and liberals into the second. In reality, these two issues are more similar than many people might think.” (02/11/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=592 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: Mark Quon Posted on 02.11.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “1.Assume all guns are always loaded … Self explanatory. Everytime you pick up a gun, always treat it as if it were loaded. Check to ensure that it is in the desired condition. Be certain that it’s loaded before placing on your nighstand/holster; or at the range always take a sec to be sure you’re loaded and [have] one chambered before the start of a drill. Conversely, always double check to see that it’s empty before disassembling for cleaning or dry practice. When you get distracted or put your down for even a sec re-check it once you pick it up again. You have nothing to lose by double checking it’s status but to cut corners even once is to invite unnecessary tragedy.” (02/07/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle556-20100207-06.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Reason Author: Brian Doherty Posted on 02.10.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Alan Gura, lawyer for the Chicago plaintiffs whose right to effectively defend their lives in their own homes has been abridged by the city’s ban on handgun possession, previously won 2008’s D.C. v. Heller, the case establishing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess weapons against federal encroachment. Gura is responsible, then, for the rehabilitation and revival of one constitutional amendment already. In McDonald, rather than merely extending the Second’s reach, he is aiming to rehabilitate and revive the 14th Amendment as well. However, the Supreme Court’s decision in late January to grant 10 of Gura’s 30 minutes of oral argument time to the National Rifle Association (NRA) seems likely to hurt chances that the Court will take the more dramatic route laid before them.” (02/10/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/02/10/the-nra-muscles-into-mcdonald Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Michael Boldin Posted on 02.08.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Around the country, twenty two states are currently considering a bill known as the ‘Firearms Freedom Act.’ This bill declares that guns, accessories, and ammunition made within a state, sold within that state and kept in that state are not subject to federal laws or regulations under the ‘Interstate Commerce Clause’ of the Constitution. Montana and Tennessee passed a Firearms Freedom Act into law in 2009, and a number of states are moving that direction in the 2010 legislative session.” (02/08/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=591 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Kevin Tuma Posted on 02.07.10 by R. Lee Wrights Cartoon. (02/06/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3787 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Disloyal Opposition Author: JD Tuccille Posted on 02.04.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “I’ve never understood the urge that some people have to ‘register’ allegedly dangerous objects, substances or creatures with the government. Fans of registration act shocked that anybody could object — after all, we get to keep our dogs, guns, cars and what have you — without acknowledging that their preferred policies fail to minimize the supposed risks of whatever they’ve targeted while maximizing the dangers inherent in forcing public interaction with law-enforcement. Take the case of Joe Fiorito. He’s a columnist for the Toronto Star and a citizen of the land up north where ownership of anything that goes ‘BANG’ is tightly regulated by the government. A generally reliable fan of the expansive state, Fiorito has acquired a new-found skepticism toward gun registration after a recent run-in with the law.” (02/04/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9ldu7o Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner Author: Kent McManigal Posted on 02.02.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Comparing America and England, and the respective dominant ‘cultures’ of each, gave me an idea. Why not encourage all the gun-haters and otherwise self-hating, socialism-loving people to emigrate to England where guns are illegal and where self-defense is now routinely punished more harshly than aggression? Then there would be plenty of room to encourage all the freedom-loving people of England to immigrate, with or without government ‘permission,’ to America.” (02/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8z9s2f Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Author: Vin Suprynowicz Posted on 01.31.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Mr. Mitchener handed over his driver’s license and a concealed carry permit. ‘Officer Rogers immediately asked if I had a weapon on me, to which I replied yes. She asked me to turn around, spread my legs and place my hands behind my back, to which I complied. As she attempted to handcuff me, she said that she was doing this because she ‘wanted everyone to be safe.’ …’ The officer was so short she had to keep asking Charlie to bend his knees to make himself ’shorter’ as she struggled to get the job done.” (01/31/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9a4xm3 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Author: Tom O'Connor Posted on 01.24.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “A rash of recent letters to the Post-Dispatch supported the unfettered, fundamental Constitutional right to keep and bear arms (2nd Amendment). One letter suggested that if more people were armed, people might think twice about doing bad things. Curiously, however, the author went on to say: ‘I don’t mean that everyone should be able to carry a gun, just the folks who have applied for a concealed-carry permit and have completed the proper courses.’ Now, I’m confused. Do 2nd Amendment supporters believe in restrictions or not?” (01/21/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yz7bbzv Filed under: 2AM Commentary and LTE | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 01.19.10 by R. Lee Wrights “The New York Times has another silly editorial on gun control. The paper’s editorial board is calling for a renewal of the assault-weapons ban, which expired in 2004. The paper’s justification? ‘A survey of more than 130 local police chiefs and officials found 37 percent reporting an increase in assault weapons in street crime,’ along with other evidence indicating an increased criminal use of assault weapons.” (01/19/10) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=537 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner Author: Kent McManigal Posted on 01.18.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The Albuquerque theater negligent discharge incident has some very instructive lessons for those of us rational enough to pick them out. This case, making the unfounded assumption that the media reports are correct, concerns a man who had his revolver slip out of his pocket during a movie, hit the floor and discharge, striking a woman in the foot. Of course, this has the hoplophobes wriggling with scarcely-concealed glee. They see it as an opportunity to further criminalize guns and gun owners. Even the police are calling the shooting ‘accidental’ yet are charging the man in connection with the shooting.” (01/18/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yznvlwg Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: GOA staff Posted on 01.18.10 by R. Lee Wrights “By the end of the month, President Barack Obama is expected to give the State of the Union address. Oh, what a year it’s been. It was almost a year ago that President Obama took his oath of office. But soon after he raised his right hand and promised to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution, Americans became engaged in the fight of their lives to safeguard their liberties. The extremist Obama administration began pushing an anti-gun, socialistic agenda of the kind that most Americans have not seen in their lifetimes.” (01/18/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3692 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Author: Dave Workman Posted on 01.06.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “Let’s face it, 66-year-old Johnny Lee Wicks — the man who opened fire at a Las Vegas, Nev. federal building Monday, killing retired Las Vegas Police Sgt. Stanley Cooper, 72, who was working as a security guard — was living proof of the abject failure of gun control laws. Wicks, according to the Washington Times, had a criminal background that included murder and drug charges in Memphis, Tenn., in the 1970s and assault and rape charges 20 years ago in California. He did time in prison for killing his own brother in March 1974, a sentence that originally was set at 55 years but was reduced to 12 to 15 years after an appeal, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.” (01/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ybtcv7v Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: the Libertarian Enterprise Posted on 01.05.10 by Mary Lou Seymour
Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle551-20100103-03.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 01.04.10 by R. Lee Wrights “Over the years, I’ve had conversations with Europeans about gun control. Not surprisingly, they have been very critical of America’s ‘gun culture’ — that is, the widespread ownership of guns among the American people. They have extolled the situation in Europe, where gun-control laws preclude people from freely owning guns, arguing that such laws make for a more peaceful society.” (01/04/10) Link: http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2010-01-04.asp Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Knoxville Gun Rights Examiner Author: Liston Matthews Posted on 01.03.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “Let’s start with those of you are just thinkin’ about it. Here are a few suggested resolutions for you: 1. Resolve to decide early in 2010 whether or not you are going to take personal responsibility for yourself and your family, whether at home or away. When the barbarians are at the gate, will you be prepared to defend the castle until the cavalry arrive (in nine or ten minutes)? 2. If you resolve to defend the castle, then the next thing is to determine what measures to take, between minimal and extreme. Do you have good locks on the doors? What about an alarm? Is it monitored? Do you and your neighbors watch out for each other? Are you prepared for a home invasion, of which we have seen too many of lately?” (12/31/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yba2rfo Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Reason Author: Damon W. Root Posted on 01.03.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “We don’t let the states ‘experiment’ on the First Amendment. Should the Second Amendment receive any less respect?” (12/31/09) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/31/laboratories-of-repression Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: CCRKBA staff Posted on 01.03.10 by R. Lee Wrights “The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has vowed to monitor legislative reaction to three different police shootings in Washington State to make sure the proposals do not ultimately violate people’s rights if they become law. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today reminds the ACLU that the right to keep and bear arms is a constitutionally-protected right, and demands the same protection from legislative abuse as any other civil right.” (01/02/10) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3617 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: Russell D. Longcore Posted on 12.28.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “How many millions of words have been written about the Second Amendment? Starting with the 1856 Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court, to the National Firearms Act of 1934 and up to this day, Americans have seen infringement upon infringement piled upon them. But, do you remember in your lifetime hearing of ANY of those regulations that dealt with the security of a Free State? Could it be that the arguments made over the last 150 years about gun control … the laws and regulations passed by states and the Federal governmen t… and any talk about personal safety, crime prevention, hunting and sport shooting … have been a clever diversion away from the clear intention of the words of the Second Amendment?” (12/28/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle550-20091227-04.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: SAF staff Posted on 12.27.09 by R. Lee Wrights “A ten percent drop in murders during the first six months of this year at a time when gun sales were up dramatically is more proof that there is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, the Second Amendment Foundation said today. The FBI released data Monday that shows murders dropped by 10 percent from the same period in 2008. Meanwhile, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that during the first six months of this year, gun sales were up.” (12/27/09) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3591 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: CCRKBA staff Posted on 12.27.09 by R. Lee Wrights “A proposal to ban so-called ‘assault weapons’ in Washington State shifts the blame for recent violent crimes from the perpetrators to every law-abiding gun owner in the state, holding them and their firearms responsible for crimes they did not commit, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. ‘This is a proposal by three vehemently anti-gun rights state lawmakers who are exploiting two recent murders in an effort to push a political agenda they have had for several years,’ said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.” (12/26/09) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3587 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: L. Neil Smith Posted on 12.20.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “This so-called ‘peace sculpture’ is generally called ‘the Knotted Gun.’ I’m sure that the sculptor would want his name mentioned. The Python’s barrel, which in real life would be a ridiculous eighteen inches long, is tied in an overhand knot, the muzzle pointing up, in representation of a nasty old weapon that has been rendered harmless. In fact, such a gun would be far from harmless, it would blow up upon being fired, injuring or killing the shooter and any close bystanders. The sculptor, in the bucket-headed manner typical of all victim disarmament advocates, has found a way to covert a revolver into a grenade.” (12/20/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle549-20091220-02.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Buckeye Firearms Association Author: Gerard Valentino Posted on 12.17.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “The terrorist attack … at Fort Hood, Texas brought the lack of security at such a large military base directly into homes across America. Leaders of the pro-gun movement, and many soldiers, weren’t quite as shocked because they knew most military bases are considered ‘gun-free zones,’ … Whether [the] attack on American soldiers was sponsored by one of the bigger terrorist organizations is irrelevant since it gave terrorists a road map to complete similar attacks in the future. You can bet our enemies learned valuable lessons from his ability to kill so many of our best and brightest in such a short period of time. In one fell swoop, he taught terrorists where millions of Americans are essentially defenseless.” [editor’s note: Fort Hood wasn’t a “terrorist” attack - TLK] (12/17/09) Link: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7022 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner Author: Daniel White Posted on 12.16.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “In 1941, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights which were added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day. It isn’t really surprising that a national holiday celebrating the first ten amendments to the Constitution would be ignored by many people, most of whom aren’t even aware the holiday exists. A couple hundred years have weathered much of the patriotic spirit to little more than flag waving in early July. Even some of our Founding Fathers would probably be ok with not commemorating the day since they were opposed to a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution in the first place.” (12/15/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yawmet6 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and LAND Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Reason Author: Damon W. Root Posted on 12.15.09 by Thomas L. Knapp “Chicago currently maintains that the Second Amendment should have zero authority over its gun control regime, arguing that the city should enjoy ‘the greatest flexibility to create and enforce firearms policy’ and that ‘Firearms regulation is a quintessential issue on which state and local governments can ‘serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” But of course the Supreme Court would never allow Chicago to try a novel ‘experiment’ like banning free speech, so why should the Second Amendment enjoy any less respect than the First Amendment does?” (12/15/09) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/15/does-the-second-amendment-appl Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review Author: J. Neil Schulman Posted on 12.15.09 by Thomas L. Knapp “[T]he Supreme Court’s Heller ruling was 5-4, and if the Court shifts to an anti-Second Amendment make-up, Heller could be short-lived. Second Amendment politics is therefore still critical and politically motivated murders using firearms — particularly those identified with conservative causes — could once again swing the balance of public opinion against the Second Amendment. We’ve had two political murders identified with conservative causes — both using firearms — within as many weeks.” (print publication 07/09, posted 12/14/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ydt8m36 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AmmoLand Author: Chris Knox Posted on 12.10.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on our blessings, including the blessings of liberty and on the sacrifices our forebears made for us. With that in mind, son Brandon and I wrapped up our Thanksgiving observations slung into battle rifles on the firing line at the beautiful, newly remodeled and re-christened Joe Foss Shooting Complex near Buckeye, Arizona.” (12/10/09) Link: http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/10/appleseed-shooting-event/ Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: State Bill News Author: Peter Marcus Posted on 12.07.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Colorado is at the center of a national debate concerning gun control, revolving around moves to ban guns at two of the state’s universities. The most recent move comes as a proposal by Colorado State University’s public safety and president’s cabinet to ban students from carrying guns on campus. Their recommendation flies in the face of the students’ will, with the governing body voting 21-3 last week in support of keeping CSU a conceal-and-carry campus. As the debate in Fort Collins continues, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is currently appealing a lower Colorado court decision that dismissed a suit filed last year by the group seeking to overturn the University of Colorado’s gun ban.” (12/07/09) Link: http://www.statebillnews.com/2009/12/gun-control-on-campus/ Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: L. Neil Smith Posted on 12.07.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “In a blazing triumph of ignorance, stupidity, bigotry, and junk science, members of the Colorado State Board of Agriculture — by bizarre historical accident, the governing body for Colorado State University — have decided they would rather see a coed raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, than see her with a gun in her hand. Regrettably, they have made this indefensible decision, not just for themselves, but for thousands of students, faculty, visitors, and staff who must now brave the hazards of a well-advertised criminal free-fire zone, simply to attend classes, do their jobs, move from one location to another on the campus, and return home again each night. Screw democracy, screw the republic, screw the Constitution, screw the Second Amendment, screw decent common sense and decades of established scientific fact regarding the vital necessity and efficacy of armed self-defense. We might as well just call the place ‘Screw U.’” (12/06/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle547-20091206-02.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Habersham County Conservative Examiner Author: Stan Transue Posted on 12.06.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Those who are willing to commit acts of violence are rarely intimidated by the possibility of criminal prosecution. This fact is demonstrated daily. In the paradoxical world of disarmament politics, outlaws are rewarded for their criminality while harmless individuals are penalized for obeying the law. The result is both predictable and proven: gun control encourages gun crime.While we neednt look farther than our own neighborhoods, England provides a stark example of our future if gun control advocates get their way. In a 2002 Reason Magazine article, Gun Control’s Twisted Outcome, Joyce Lee Malcolm documents the escalation of violence that has rocked England under rigid gun bans.” (12/05/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yj2l5pp Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Cheyenne Gun Rights Examiner Author: Anthony Bouchard Posted on 12.01.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Not only should we be careful in what we wish for, but we should be ever so diligent when drafting pro gun legislation. One of the greatest evils against the Bill of Rights is legislation that doesn’t pass the constitutional test. This can happen even when the legislators have the best of intentions. … Let’s review Alaska-carry and the infringement on a citizen to inform a police officer that you have a firearm and how you must allow the officer to disarm you for their safety. Maybe that sounds good on the surface but does it pass the constitutional test? Absolutely not!” (11/30/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yfj8cs9 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Gun News Dailly Author: Ralph Waller Posted on 11.29.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “The only reasonable solution is for the government to get out of the business of restricting access to legal products through high taxation, regulatory restrictions or by encouraging antagonistic and harassing litigation for the purpose of driving up the retail price beyond its normal market value. Anything that is done to excessively drive up prices does nothing but encourage criminal activity when certain price barriers are achieved, regardless of the product.” (11/28/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ycvvajk Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Buckeye Firearms Association Author: staff Posted on 11.29.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “The Buckeye Social Strike Force is a team of smart, dedicated pro-gun patriots who use the power of social bookmarking to share stories that appear on our website with millions of other citizens in Ohio and around the U.S. When you join the Buckeye Social Strike Force, you agree to share at least one item on our website each week with whatever social sites you use. The more items you share, the more social sites you share them on, the more impact you will make.” (11/27/09) Link: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/social-strike-force Filed under: 2AM Commentary and LAND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Daily Monitor [Uganda] Author: Muniini K. Mulera Posted on 11.23.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “A woman, you see, is too weak to whip, let alone murder a man, except with a gun, poison or witchcraft. The use of iron bars to kill is the exclusive privilege of men, or so the thinking goes. Two days after the General’s death, a 14-year-old girl in Bushenyi allegedly killed one Josephat Mpigika, a 40-year-old man who had tried to rape her. She reportedly killed him with a rock accurately aimed at his head. The police arrested her. Her relatives reportedly refused to stand by her. Her teachers did not bother to check on her. The local council leaders left the matter to the police. The country went about its business as usual. Only FIDA, the Association of Ugandan Women Lawyers, came to her legal rescue.” (11/23/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ygqgbac Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Reason Author: Steve Chapman Posted on 11.23.09 by Thomas L. Knapp “Last week, the body of Chicago school board president Michael Scott was found in the Chicago River with a single bullet wound in his head. The big story was that this powerful, well-connected public official had, according to the county medical examiner, committed suicide. The less-noticed story was that he did it with an illegal weapon. After all, handgun ownership is not allowed in the city of Chicago, which has one of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and Scott killed himself with a .380-caliber sidearm. Unlike most Chicagoans, Scott could have been a legal handgun owner. Because he had it before the ban was enacted, he was allowed to register and keep it. But the police department says he never did. By having it in the city, Scott was guilty of an offense that could have gotten him jail time. Amazingly enough, he was not the first local public official to take the view that firearms restrictions are something for other, ordinary people to observe.” (11/23/09) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/23/gun-control-chicago-style Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: War on Guns Author: David Codrea Posted on 11.17.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “‘In the railway part of the attack, two of the terrorists indiscriminately fired at passengers with AK-47 assault rifles.’ That they retrieved from their checked-in luggage? What? No? They weren’t even passengers on any train? They smuggled themselves, their AK-47s, grenades, etc., into the country on small boats that came ashore from the Arabian Sea? So what the hell does this have to do with the Amtrak amendment? Nothing? Then why even bring it up?” (11/17/09) Link: http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2009/11/all-aboveboard.html Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Disloyal Opposition Author: JD Tuccille Posted on 11.16.09 by Thomas L. Knapp “Most of us would probably think that a man who found himself being followed down a dark street by two people at midnight and turned to ask, ‘why are you following me?’ while holding a folding pocket knife pointed down along his leg was just being careful. His actions seem especially reasonable when you know that he put the knife away upon hearing that his apparent stalkers actually meant no harm. But in New Hampshire, Dustin Almon was convicted of a misdemeanor because the two fellow pedestrians were plainclothes police officers.” (11/16/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yjnt2bn Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Author: Vin Suprynowicz Posted on 11.15.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Hasan reportedly had fired more than 100 rounds, requiring him to change handgun magazines several times — Sgt. Todd said Hasan was reloading again when he shot the suspect. Why didn’t any of the hundreds of Army personnel in the room shoot back, ending his killing spree far sooner? Because they couldn’t. Among President Bill Clinton’s first acts upon taking office in 1993 ‘was to disarm U.S. soldiers on military bases,’ the Washington Times points out. But mass murderers do generally have a harder time of it in Texas, nowadays, thanks to the legislative response to the second deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, which also occurred in Killeen, Texas — home to Fort Hood. In 1991, George Hennard drove his pickup through the window of a Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen, jumped out and began firing two pistols at the defenseless customers and employees inside, killing 23. As Jacob Sullum pointed out in his syndicated column in last week’s Review-Journal, one customer, Suzanna Hupp, saw Hennard gun down her parents. Mrs. Hupp later testified that she had brought a handgun with her that day but, to her bitter regret, left it in her car, as required by state law. Hupp ran for and was elected to the Texas Legislature, where she was able to win passage of a ’shall issue’ law that requires authorities to issue a concealed carry permit to any resident who meets certain objective criteria. Unless they join the Army.” (11/15/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yzwaypl Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Hot Air Author: Doctor Zero Posted on 11.14.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Some 15,000 Americans died last year because they didn’t have it. As many as five million more experienced a significant reduction in their quality of life, including mental and emotional trauma as well as diminished health, without it. Although large majorities of those Americans fortunate enough to have it are satisfied with what they have, many of the poor who need it most desperately simply cannot afford it. The government already exercises a great deal of control over it. Lives could be saved if we made its purchase mandatory, and subsidized those of limited means, to make ownership universal. No, not health care. Guns.” (11/13/09) Link: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/11/13/guns-or-butter/ Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Naples News Author: Edward Wimberly Posted on 11.14.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “The title to this commentary was drawn from a 1788 quote by one of our founders, George Mason. Although his quote is more than two hundred years old, it remains as current now as it was then. Some things have simply not changed. Those regimes seeking to assert and maintain absolute control over the citizenry will always try to disarm them first … Without exception, an unarmed citizenry is one that can be effectively bullied and coerced and are readily controlled by the government. By comparison, a well armed citizenry is an ominous threat to any police or military force who would seek to exert control over them. It is for this reason that our founding fathers introduced the Second Amendment into the U.S. Constitution.” (11/12/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ykz29xq Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Daily Sound Author: Randy Alcorn Posted on 11.14.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “There is little to salvage from last week’s mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas, but there are some stark realizations this heartbreaking horror exposes. One is the wishful but mistaken notion that such incidents can be prevented by laws prohibiting or strictly restricting access to firearms. The Second Amendment not with standing, U.S. military bases prohibit unauthorized personnel from carrying firearms on base. Access to military weapons is carefully restricted and weapons are secured in armories. Never the less, even within the well regulated conditions of a military base, a man was able to acquire and conceal two powerful personal handguns which he used to murder 13 people and wound dozens of others. The argument that a prohibition against firearms will eliminate the possession of firearms by anyone is clearly refuted by the ample empirical evidence that prohibition simply does not succeed in its intended objective when the subject of the prohibition is something that enough of the population wants. No matter how draconian the restrictions or dire the legal consequences prohibition is defeated by desire.” (11/10/09) Link: http://www.thedailysound.com/opinion/111009rot Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Herald Online Author: Jesse Trimble Posted on 11.14.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “I’ve always been a history buff at heart and more recently an avid gun enthusiast, but most importantly, a supporter of Second Amendment rights. There’s a difference between just shooting guns and knowing the vast history behind our right to do so. The United States, as a country and before it was a country, has had a long history of flags — specifically, flags relating to our independence …. However, my personal favorite is a flag that may be better known to Texans. … The flag I’m talking about — recently gaining popularity among conservatives and gun-rights activists — originally was called the ‘Come and Take It’ flag, or Molon labe, a Greek phrase that means ‘come and take them.’” (11/10/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yfqhc5w Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fox News Forum Author: John Lott Posted on 11.12.09 by Steve Trinward “It is hard to believe that we don’t trust soldiers with guns on an army base when we trust these very same men in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shouldn’t an army base be the last place where a terrorist should be able to shoot at people uninterrupted for 10 minutes? After all, an army base is filled with soldiers who carry guns, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case. … The unarmed soldiers could do little more than cower as Major Nidal Malik Hasan stood on a desk and shot down into the cubicles in which his victims were trapped. Some behaved heroically, such as private first class Marquest Smith who repeatedly risked his life removing five soldiers and a civilian from the carnage. But, being unarmed, these soldiers were unable to stop Hasan’s attack.” (11/10/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ydl58v5 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and CANDi Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: J. Neil Schulman @ Rational Review Author: J. Neil Schulman Posted on 11.09.09 by Thomas L. Knapp “If George Washington had learned that soldiers under his command had died from a turncoat attack within an American Fort — not because arms weren’t available for his men to defend themselves but because an American officer didn’t trust American soldiers to bear arms — I’m fairly certain that American officer would have been summarily executed by the same firing squad as the turncoat. Yet radio talkers debate only whether the shooter was driven by ideology or madness, and have no anger — or even questions — about a sixteen-year-old Department of Defense policy that five days ago left both G.I.’s and civilians on an army base in Texas as defenseless as toddlers in a preschool.” (11/09/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yjpad6a Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Hot Air Author: Madison Conservative Posted on 11.09.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “So wait … the ammunition being used is available only to law enforcement and … military? Why, yes it is, according to FN’s own website. You can buy and use a number of different rounds for that pistol for self-defense, target shooting, or whatever legal purpose you wish, and police officers are at no more risk than if you had picked up a package of 9mm rounds at Wal-Mart. I guess adding in the little detail about Hasan only being able to purchase the AP rounds due to being a member of the military might have blown their argument. Must have just slipped their mind. It even slipped the mind of the writers of the above news article, since the blue-tipped rounds in the included picture indicate that they are, in fact, not armor piercing.” (11/08/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9bswbo Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Gun News Daily Author: Ralph Weller Posted on 11.08.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “In my last article I described what it’s like on Fort Hood, as well as all U.S. Army installations. It’s like Chicago. The only people armed are the post law enforcement agency such as Military Police or the Federal Police and those intent on criminal activity. Soldiers are not armed with loaded firearms ever, except during periodic weapons qualification. Private ownership of firearms is generally ok providing the firearm is locked up in a designated armory on post/base. The soldier does not have immediate access to their private firearms. Having a firearm in the sleeping quarters or military housing is against regulations and is subject to a court martial. The bottom line solution is simple, arm officers and non-commissioned officers with side arms.” (11/08/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yfz5mqt Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Austin Gun Rights Examiner Author: Howard Nemerov Posted on 11.08.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Yesterday at Fort Hood, disgruntled Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan murdered 12 soldiers and wounded 31 others before being shot and captured. These soldiers were entrusted to carry fully automatic, military assault rifles when deployed to Afghanistan, where the shooter was about to be sent. But in America, these same soldiers are disarmed when on base. From the Associated Press: ‘Soldiers at Fort Hood don’t carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises.’” (11/06/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yzxdn3q Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Beckley Register-Herald Author: John Blankenship Posted on 11.08.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Gun owners take heart. The Constitution is on your side. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Still, the right of citizens to bear arms is often discussed in heated tones and emotional language.Political assassinations, workplace violence and school shootings inevitably spark public outcries for control of firearms. These demands are frequently countered with refrains such as ‘When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.’ If we bypass such rhetoric and look at the issue from a constitutional standpoint, however, we learn that there is ample legal justification for the right to bear arms.” (11/05/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yjggjdx Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Alan Gottlieb and Joe Waldron Posted on 11.08.09 by R. Lee Wrights “Writing in the Boston Globe, reporter Susan Milligan noted that the Democratic Party, ‘long identified with gun control, is rethinking its approach to the gun debate, seeking to improve the chances of its candidates in Western states where hunters have been wary of casting votes for a party with a national reputation of being against guns.’ Later, she notes that a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ‘acknowledged that gun control supporters have done a poor job of framing their arguments in ways that do not make lawful hunters fear their lifestyle is under attack.’” (11/07/09) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=3322 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Campaign For Liberty Author: Jacob G. Hornberger Posted on 11.08.09 by R. Lee Wrights “With the massacre at Ft. Hood, we once again see the consequences of gun control. Remember what the gun controllers say: that once gun control is imposed, would-be murderers will obey the gun-control law by resorting to some other form of murder. At least the killers won’t use a gun, the gun-controllers exclaim, because gun possession is now against the law.” (11/07/09) Link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=337 Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Author: Vin Suprynowicz Posted on 11.08.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Gun-rights proponents have noted that Amtrak always allowed passengers’ guns on its trains, deciding to ban them only after the 2001 terror attacks. Amtrak and its defenders in Congress have argued that the government-owned passenger line needs more time before it can ‘allow’ firearms onto trains. ‘We don’t think we’ll be able to do that March 31 deadline, and, of course, finding the funding to make all of that happen,’ said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm. Failing to meet the deadline and missing out on the $1.5 billion in appropriated funds — its entire funding request for 2010 — would bring a ‘cessation of train service nationwide,’ Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper wrote to the appropriators last month. Mr. Kulm pointed out Amtrak trains and stations lack security systems seen at airports, baggage cars that are separate from passenger areas and a secure baggage loading area. Under its current policy, only law enforcement officers can bring guns onto its trains, he said. Read it again. Because American train stations lack the insane strip-search lines, X-ray machines, and ‘turn your head while I grope you’ protocols that have been installed at our airports, it doesn’t much matter who is or isn’t ‘allowed’ to carry a self-defense handgun onto a train, according to official Amtrak ‘policy.’” (11/08/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8geb2x Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Los Angeles Gun Rights Examiner Author: John Longenecker Posted on 11.05.09 by Mary Lou Seymour “Governance in this country is really nothing more than service to the electorate. We govern ourselves by way of executives we hire to do things for us on our authority, and it is nothing more. It is not any greater wisdom of theirs, it is not greater information, and it is not greater knowledge. It is in other countries, but not here. Public servants operate in the United States under supervision and consent; ours. They do not supervise us, we supervise them. When they squawk about this, we have an indicator of a real problem, and more problems to come. Their refusal to honor the wishes and sometimes demands of the electorate signals their intention to rule us and not the other way around.” (11/05/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yh4gvmp Filed under: 2AM Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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