Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

Are gun owners facing a 'perfect storm'?
Submitted by: John Pierce
Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-3253-Minneapolis-Gun-Rights-Examiner

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... "I was reminded of this [Perfect Storm] phenomenon earlier this week when I visited the Drudge Report only to find that Senator Arlen Specter had switched parties. ..."

"As I thought about the implications of this unexpected development, I began to fear that this might be the final factor that allows the anti-civil-rights forces to submerge gun owners in the fury of a perfect storm of gun control."

"... If the democrats achieve a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, then the precious system of checks and balances that allows our two-party system to protect the interests of all citizens begins to break down. The party in the majority need not listen to any voice other than their own." ...
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KABA Note: See Mike Vanderboegh's piece The "Gun Lobby" is YOUR last line of defense ... for a Three Percenter's take on the issue.

The 'Night Watchman' Must Be a Private Security Guard
Submitted by: Larry

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"After a few years of studying Austrian economics, one question continues to puzzle us: why would anyone who understands free markets still believe the state is necessary? Free markets require that each person be secure in his person and property, a condition that can never be attained under a state." ...

"A state claims a monopoly on the use of force in its territory. Who, then, can protect the other people in that territory against state aggression? No one, to the extent the state has successfully imposed its 'rule of law.' The state, heavily armed and ruling defenseless people, is perpetually tempted to use aggression to enforce its will, rather than limit itself to merely responding to offenses against individuals and property." [emphasis added] ...

Why the Lies About Guns Going to Mexico?
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Auturo Sarukhan, appeared on a CBS news program recently and repeated a lie we have heard for many months about the violence in Mexico. The ambassador says Americans are to blame for the violence wrecked on his country by the Mexican drug cartels because 'most of the guns confiscated by Mexican police can be traced back to the United States.' That is not true, but the way that claim has been accepted by American politicians and the mainstream media raises suspicions about a hidden agenda." ...

"... A spokesman for the ATFE, Matt Allen, has now 'clarified' the number and admitted that only 17% of the weapons found at crime scenes in Mexico have been traced to the U.S. ..." ...

One hundred days in: citizen disarmament lobby is getting restless
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"One hundred days into the Obama presidency, he seems still to be enjoying the honeymoon with most of the special interest groups that supported his candidacy. ..."

"One of the rare exceptions to the nearly worshipful ratings, though, was from the forcible citizen disarmament lobby. While they express cautious optimism about the future, they've made pretty clear that with the election of the most rabidly anti-gun president in history, coupled with huge majorities of Democrats in both houses of Congress, and an almost uniformly radically anti-gun Cabinet, they're a bit disappointed with what they see as a lack of action so far." ...

Does Violence Policy Center represent the People? (Part 1)
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"In order to justify their political agenda, gun control organizations often claim that 'most Americans' support various restrictive laws ..." ...

"Violence Policy Center (VPC) considers itself to be an influential player in promoting gun control policies which will ostensibly make the public safer:" ...

"The question is: Does Violence Policy Center actually represent the public's views?"

"One way to determine if an organization has true public support is to see if they garner a certain amount of membership dues. ..." ...

"... A basic (free) member of GuideStar can access the latest three years� tax returns of Violence Policy Center. Examining these tax forms highlights some interesting trends." ...

Argument shot full of holes
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"Despite the fact that there are already countless laws on the books, Mr. Cornell and his ilk feel that the only solution is to create even more useless laws that do nothing but restrict lawabiding citizens from owning firearms. News flash: Criminals are criminals because they don't follow the rule of law. Rather than restrict the firearms that law abiding Americans choose to use for sport and personal protection, why not simply enforce current laws?"

"Ballistically, there is absolutely no difference between an AK-47, an AR-15, and dozens, if not hundreds, of sporting and hunting firearms. Just because a rifle is black and looks evil is no reason to restrict its use by law-abiding Americans." ...

9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling sets the stage for another precedent-setting Second Amendment decision
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"When United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia penned the majority-opinion in the landmark Heller decision last year, he was roundly criticized by legal scholars (primarily from the dissenting position) for having created a document that left many legal questions regarding firearms unanswered."

"Justice Scalia's response was simple: the broad decision was written, and the lower courts would use the Heller decision to create legal precedents from other cases going forward. In other words, precedent-setting cases on the nuances of the matter of the individual right to keep and bear arms ... would follow."

"Seems Justice Scalia was as on target with that estimation as he was in the majority opinion." ...

2nd Amendment? How about a 28th?
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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... "Just another few weeks in a country that sees 85 people killed[sic] each day, 30,000 killed each year, 65,000 injured every year, and more than one million killed since 1964�all by firearms. The carnage continues."

"Is this really the price we must perpetually pay for our historic commitment to unfettered[sic] and universal[sic] ownership of virtually any[sic] and every[sic] type of firearm?"

"These events have not gone unnoticed. Some have suggested, as they did after Columbine and Virginia Tech, that if only a secretary or a nurse had had a 'carry permit,' these gun slaughters could have been thwarted before so many died. ..." ...
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Submitter's Note: According to Dr. Lott, every mass public shooting in the country in recent decades has occured in a 'gun free' zone.

Guns do kill people, more now than ever
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"Spring is in the air and blood is on the streets, a few months early." ...

"While the seemingly endless list of people and places involved in this tragic trend can make our heads spin, some sociologists and law-enforcement officials say there's even more to come. And Americans, feeling no control over this phenomenon, simply shake our spinning heads ..."

"Guns don't kill people, some of us say, people kill people. It's the numbing mantra of the NRA. But, beyond a certain point, that mantra clearly becomes little more than annoyingly clever rhetoric."

"Haven't we reached that point? Isn't it time to admit that we could indeed have control -- real control -- over this phenomenon?"

"It's called gun control." ...
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Submitter's Note: Okay Joanne, so what specifically are you suggesting we do that hasn't already been tried and failed elsewhere?

You can visit your guns
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"It's astonishing how dumb-witted gunners can be when they get all lathered up. Recent hysterical letters from NRA lemmings, hollering about Barack Obama and his legions invading homes to seize those prized guns and bullets is just baloney on a grand scale."

"How about melting all guns into plowshares and Americans taught to enjoy some other type of outdoor activity, like smelling newly sprouted flowers? As long as guns can be grabbed up, easily, by any recently 'gone buggy' lunatic, then the thinking behind eliminating gunnery altogether makes the most, and only sense. ..." ...
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Submitter's Note: Let me see if I've got this straight: gunnies are paranoid and 'dumb-witted' for thinking the gov't is going to seize our guns, therefore the gov't should seize our guns? Huh?!

Gun Control without gun laws
Submitted by: kirt armantrout

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"Ever since Al Gore lost the presidency in 2000, the national Democratic Party has avoided the issue of gun control ..."

"Political reality makes even a modest gun law a difficult legislative sell. But if the Obama administration really cares about limiting gun violence, it could pursue a different strategy ..."

"Modern government ... buys guns by the crate."

"What is striking is that the government buys guns from manufacturers who also sell them to criminals�either knowingly or by willfully overlooking the behavior of the retail outlets that the gun companies use as their distribution system ..."

"This prompts a simple question: Why do we buy guns from companies that permit their products to be sold to bad guys?" ...

Sharp shooter: Brooklyn teen gives NRA a smart lesson in gun control
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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"Of the many arguments that can and should be made for toughening New York's gun control laws, few match the simple power of what 17-year-old Kristine Arroyo of Brooklyn said and did yesterday in Albany."

"Kristine was behind the microphone at a rally of 250 fellow high school students organized by New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. ..."

"Then she noticed that a dozen or so [NRA] members ... had stopped by to listen. Earlier, she had overheard one of their number saying that people like her need an 'education' on the meaning of the Second Amendment."

"So Kristine asked the mostly black and Latino kids in her audience to stand up if they knew someone who had been shot to death. About 200 rose to their feet, probably three-quarters of the crowd." ...
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KABA Note: A more pertinent question would have been 'Stand up if you know someone who has been shot to death by a lawful gun owner.

TX: Student killed after forcing way into apartment
Submitted by: RSG

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"An 18-year-old Fort Worth man killed Tuesday afternoon inside a north Fort Worth apartment had apparently forced his way inside, armed with an aluminum bat, when he was shot by one of the apartment's residents ..."

"Derek Splawn ... had been upset with the apartment's 18-year-old resident and had reportedly threatened in an earlier telephone conversation 'that he was tired of this and he was going to come over there,' ..." ...

"'Before he could get the door shut, the man [Splawn] pushed the door open and had taken several steps inside the doorway in the direction of the [18-year-old],' ..."

"... the 18-year-old, in turn, picked up a shotgun he kept in the home and fired once, striking Splawn in the face." ...
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KABA Note: Another "child victim of gun violence" for the Bradys to celebrate.

OH: Ohio Sheriff wants help stopping gas station robber
Submitted by: Daniel White
Website: http://www.OhioCCW.org

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"The Medina County Sheriff's department is asking residents to help identify a man suspected in a string of gas station robberies in their county and have released photos from a recent robbery."

"The suspect has been targeting service stations along the highways and uses a handgun to intimidate clerks into compliance. So far, there have been no injuries, but authorities are concerned that could change." ...

"One thing I did note from one story about the crime spree is the usual 'I can't believe it happened to me' statement by one of the victims."

"'You don't think it would happen out here in the suburbs. We're not up by Cleveland and Akron, those big cities,' said Molli Kulmala, the first known victim of the robberies." ...

New York 'gun day' showcases false crime-fighting promises
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"I thought New York, like the rest of the country, was supposed to be struggling in today's economy:" ...

"So with people worried about things like...uh...basic survival, and their 'leaders' looking for new ways to wring even more out of them, how is it the state has $500,000 laying around for the SNUG program ('that's 'guns' spelled backwards')? And how are they going to blo...uh...allocate it?"

"The money would be used to provide intervention in hospitals, to hire people to talk to gang members who are shot, right in the emergency room to keep them from retaliating."

"You're kidding, right? Tell me you're kidding."

"But wait, there's more ..." ...

Meeting the Hate, Part III: breaking the cycle
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"It is because liberals are so counter-intuitive. It's quite simple: the liberal track record stinks and is utterly incompatible with liberty in this country."

"Take fighting crime, for instance, a topic in the news this week on gangstas and guns. Liberals are the very last to understand how simple it really is. I am so filled with ample examples of being told about reality by the very people who cannot seem to grasp reality. Liberals have so much excess baggage and so many hang-ups of their own that they simply cannot see what will really work: Integrity. They are partially out of touch with reality because their personal defense mechanisms and reality distortion devices are working perfectly." ...

Montana seeks to test states' rights
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"Montana has passed an interesting law, HB246, firing a shot across the bow of the government in Washington, challenging their control over guns manufactured, sold, and used inside the state of Montana. In 2005, a similar situation occured in California when a marijuana user named Angel McClary Raich tested the commerce clause of the Constitution. The courts held that the federal government could control strictly domestic marajuana because it was indistinguishable from the stuff grown anywhere else. To address this precedent, Montana intends to stamp each gun 'Made in Montana' to distinguish their weapons. Practically speaking, this doesn't change much. ... As a test of states' rights however, this could be huge. ..." ...

Obama's National Park Service bureaucrats won't defend visitors' civil rights
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"'The National Parks Service has announced it will not challenge a court order that temporarily stops the late-term Bush administration policy of allowing CCW-permit holders to carry in National Parks.'"

"That's the news media's backwards way of saying the bureaucrats running the National Parks are delighted they don't have to allow CCW-permit holders to exercise their civil rights in the parks, at least for now."

"U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a temporary injunction, favoring a lawsuit brought by gun-control and environmental activists. She gave the Interior Dept., which runs the parks, until April 20 to respond." ...

NRA Accuses Brady Campaign of Misleading Public on Gun Shows
Submitted by: Opposing Views
Website: http://www.opposingviews.com

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"Last week, in a typically misleading move designed to bolster their political agenda rather than reduce violent crime, the Brady Campaign released a report calling for background checks on 'all gun sales in America, including at gun shows.' The Brady report was intentionally designed to correspond with, and bolster, a 'gun show loophole' bill (S. 843) introduced this week by fanatical anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). ..."

"Paul Helmke ... said in the group's press release, 'We can do this. It will have no impact on any law-abiding gun owner in the country.' Of course, that is absolutely false�the proposal will ONLY impact law-abiding gun owners, including any law-abiding person selling a firearm to a law-abiding buyer. ..." ...

Montana lawmakers have it right with new statute on self-defense
Submitted by: Dave Workman
Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner

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"Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer this week signed into law a new self-defense statute that will 'steal the thunder' from gun prohibitionists who invariably whine that armed citizens might 'take the law into their own hands.'" ...

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"On the other hand, disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer certainly wins an award for brass gonads for his recent piece on Slate.com headlined Gun Control without Gun Laws: How Obama can used government procurement regulations to limit gun violence."

"Spitzer is something of an authority on 'procurement,' but it would be nice if he would not try to restore his tarnished image by taking on the gun issue, and it would be doubly nice if someone would tell this sleaze that guns and hookers aren't exactly the same thing." ...

NY: Proposal calls for registry of weapon offenders
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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"City residents convicted of a felony firearm possession crime in Utica would be required to register their home address and other personal information under a law proposed Wednesday by Mayor David Roefaro."

"The gun registry would require those charged in Utica with second- or third-degree criminal possession of a weapon to register with the city police department for four years following their completion of their sentence ..."

"'Illegal guns are the cancer of this very country, borne out of the criminal's disregard for others and for humanity itself,' Roefaro said."

"Information in the registry ... would be available to police officers who now often know little about the criminal histories of the people they encounter." ...

NY: N.Y. Democrats expect gun-control measures to pass
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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"Democratic lawmakers said yesterday that they are confident they have enough support to pass a bill to require that semiautomatic guns come equipped with technology that etches a serial number on each bullet starting in 2011."

"The legislation passed the Assembly on Tuesday. [Senator] Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, said he believes the bill will pass in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 32-30 majority over Republicans." ...

"Schneiderman said he believes another of his bills, which would require relicensing of firearms every five years, has a good chance of passing. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, is the Assembly sponsor." ...

NY: Nassau DA lobbies for shell case-imprinting technology
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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"Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and local police lobbied Wednesday for passage of a bill requiring some handguns to have shell case-imprinting technology that can aid in solving crimes."

"The technology, called microstamping, involves engraving identification information onto a bullet cartridge as the gun is fired. When spent casings are found, police can use the identification code to trace the gun's owner." ...

"Rice said the technology would 'strengthen prosecutions of the guilty and help exonerate the innocent.'"

"'No shooter has the right to hide behind a blank shell casing,' Schimel said. ..." ...
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KABA Note: "No shooter" except criminals! This is settled law: Requiring criminals to register weapons violates their Fifth Amendment rights.

NY: 'Gun day' brings out those for, against gun control
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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"The fight against gun and gang violence in Albany and New York is getting some state help. It's coming in the form of a $500,000 grant from the SNUG program, that's 'guns' spelled backwards."

"The money would be used to provide intervention in hospitals, to hire people to talk to gang members who are shot, right in the emergency room to keep them from retaliating."

"The money would also fund school programs to dissuade kids from joining gangs."

"That program was just one of the things talked about at the State Capitol building Wednesday, where crowds of people were rallying for and against gun control laws." ...

ID: Rescue Mission benefits from growing unease over gun rights
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"When Nampa gun store owner Roberta Regnier offered a chance to win an AR-15 rifle for anyone who brought in two cans of food, she got 7,000 entries and collected 10 tons of food for the Boise Rescue Mission."

"The winning ticket was drawn on April 15."

"The raffle piqued so much interest that Regnier's Alpha Omega Services is doing another one - the shop's third - this time for a new, 1927-style Tommy gun."

"Other businesses are catching on."

"Sheepdog Ammo in New Plymouth donated 1,000 rounds of ammunition to Regnier's raffle."

"Archery Outfitters of Nampa is holding its own 'Food for Bow and Arrows' drive with a bow hunting package as the prize." ...

Driver Attacks Royal Parade in the Netherlands
Submitted by: Bruce Krafft

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"Five people were killed and a dozen wounded Thursday when a car sped into a crowd at a festival in the town of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, narrowly missing an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and members of her family."

"Dutch officials said that minutes later, the driver admitted that he had aimed his car at the royal family, but they gave no details as to a possible motive." ...
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H/t to David Codrea who notes: "You know what we need for cars? Licensing and registration."