From Ron Capshaw via Human Events

For those who believe, like the administration that Second Amendment enthusiasms are expressed solely by the black-helicopter-fearing Right, I offer a decided socialist.

George Orwell, who Christopher Hitchens once wrote, was “conservative about many things but not politics,” nevertheless would be more in tune today with the anti-gun control crowd than any fellow socialists.

The easy riposte to this claim from the Left would be that it is only natural that a former coolie-crushing colonial policeman such as Orwell would be a gun enthusiast.

But Orwell viewed gun control through a socialist and not any law-and-order lens:

That rifle hanging on the wall
of the working-class flat or labourer’s cottage
is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there.

These sentiments were not based on any theory, but hard worn experience. As a soldier on the Loyalist side during the Spanish Civil War, Orwell was aware that it was only the citizenry breaking into the armory that initially repelled Franco’s fascist rebellion. When Stalin sought to import his murderous purge trials into Spain, and thus kill off any leftist opposition, his first order of business was confiscating their weapons. Having the misfortune of belonging to a Trotskyite militia, Orwell engaged in street fighting with these gun confiscators.

This is one excellent article.

According to a poll of police officers, according to Richard L. Johnson writing at Human Events, the vast majority of police officers believe honest citizens should be permitted to own and carry firearms.

Seeing as the police are the ones who are most directly involved with enforcing the law and are in a position to be exponentially more knowledgeable about and experienced with addressing crime, if it’s okay with them, the anti-gun politicians really ought to consider keeping their mouths shut and keeping their corrupt, all politics all the time, greasy fingers off our Second Amendment rights.

Almost to a man, police officers think gun owners are dangerous. Cops strongly believe the best way to reduce crime is to ban “assault weapons,” high capacity magazines and small, concealable handguns. They also believe that the best way to solve crimes is to establish a comprehensive, national database of firearms and gun sales.

Or at least, that’s what anti-gun politicians and the media would like you to believe.

Truncating…

What is the truth? Cops trust citizens with guns. In a recent PoliceOne.com survey of more than 15,000 active duty and retired law enforcement officers, more than 90 percent surveyed believe that citizens should be able to carry concealed firearms “…without question and without further restrictions.” That’s not a typo: better than nine out of ten cops believe citizens should be able to carry concealed guns “without question.”

When asked what would be most likely to help prevent “large scale shootings in public,” the most popular response was “more permissive concealed carry policies for civilians.” Additionally, when asked what impact a legally armed citizen could have made at the spree killings in Aurora, Colo., and Newton, Conn., 80 percnet of officers responded that “casualties would likely have been reduced.”

More…

70 percent of officers are opposed to a national database of firearm sales.

Nearly 96 percent of officers do not believe magazine capacity restrictions will reduce violent crime.
Almost 80 percent believe that eliminating private transfers of firearms will not reduce violent crime.
More than 80 percent of officers believe that an “assault weapon” ban will have no effect, or will actually worsen, violent crime.
Similarly, more than 85 percent believe President Obama’s proposed gun control legislation would have either no effect, or will worsen the safety of police officers.
When asked their opinion on what is the biggest cause of gun violence in the United States, only 4.4 percent of officers responded that guns are “too prevalent and easy to obtain.”

The article is here.

First, it looks like the state legislature of Maryland, thanks to their treasonous (and I say treasonous because they are, legalese notwithstanding, violating the Second Amendment rights of their taxpaying residents) contempt for their citizens’ right to keep and bear arms, are about to lose a prominent local employer and tax revenue generator.

New legislation is forcing gun manufacturing company Beretta to uproot and take their business elsewhere.

Established in 1526, Beretta holds the distinction of being the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world. The U.S. factory is located in Accokeek, Maryland, and has been a staple of the local economy for years.

Beretta warned that stricter gun control laws would push the company outside of state lines, but that didn’t stop Maryland legislators. Jeffrey Reh, a spokesman for Beretta who also serves as the President of Stoeger Industries under Beretta, announced that the company would begrudgingly uproot and take its business elsewhere. He said, “We don’t want to do this, we’re not willing to do this, but obviously this legislation has caused us a serious level of concern within our company.”

He added that Beretta paid approximately $31 million in taxes, employs 400 people, and had invested $73 million in the business over the past several decades. Despite being such a prominent player in the local economy, Beretta was unable to prevent legislators from passing tighter gun control laws. Ironically, Beretta manufactures some firearms that are now banned in Maryland.

Republican state Delegate Anthony J. O’Donnell lamented: “Losing [Beretta] would be a big disappointment. Maryland has a reputation for having a horrible business climate, and this would be one more nail in the coffin.”

This is a prime example of oily, sleazy, corrupt, self serving politicians valuing party politics over the welfare of their constituents, but then again, as Seth likes to say, “the people get what the people vote for.”

Popping the champagne corks, meanwhile, we apparently have something to celebrate.

Mike Lee Hammers the Final Nail in The UN Small Arms Treaty Coffin

On Wednesday Senator Mike Lee became the 34th co-sponsor of S. Con. Res 7, a resolution expressing opposition to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The treaty contains several troubling provisions that could prevent the United States from coming to the aid of its closest allies, as well as limit the constitutional rights of Americans. Senator Lee was the 34th co-sponsor of the resolution introduced by Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, which gives the opposition more than enough votes in the Senate to block ratification of the treaty.

“The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty is deeply flawed, which is why a majority of senators recently voted to stop the administration from continuing to push it,” said Senator Lee. “I have great concerns that this treaty can be used to violate the second amendment rights of American citizens, and do not believe we should sign any treaty that infringes on the sovereignty of our country. I am pleased to join 34 of my colleagues in signaling to this administration that the UN-ATT is a non-starter in the senate.”

As of Tuesday the resolution had 33 co-sponsors but it was Lee who officially put the final nail in the coffin. The UN-ATT requires 67 Senate votes to ratify and now the maximum possible number of votes in favor of the treaty would be 66. It is now officially a “non-starter.”

Joining Lee (R-UT) in co-sponsorship of the resolution are: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Max Baucus (D-MT), John Boozman (R-AR), Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Dean Heller (R-NV), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rand Paul (R-KY), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), John Thune (R-SD), Pat Toomey (R-PA), David Vitter (R-LA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The resolution, introduced by Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, quickly gained support of 33 fellow Senators.

And finally, some sensible local legislation in Nelson, Georgia.

Things, as they say (whoever “they” are) seem in some ways to be looking up as Americans (even some Democrat politicians) and local legislatures respond to oppressive left wing attempts to legislate away our Second Amendment rights.

This video, featuring NRA commentator Colion Noir, is right to the point and 100% spot-on….

Speaking of it, it appears that Colorado, because of the state’s anti-Constitution politicians, is about to lose an up-and-coming hundred million dollar company, along with the tax revenues from some 600 jobs.

From Godfather Politics…

In February, firearms company Magpul informed members of the Colorado state legislature that they would leave the state if the anti-gun laws being considered were passed and became law.
Magpul is a relatively new company founded in 1999.

Today they employ 600 people and generate close to $100 million in sales. Their primary business is the manufacture of 30 round clips and other accessories for assault and assault-style weapons, most of which is purchased by the US military.

Doug Smith, COO of Magpul, “If we’re able to stay in Colorado and manufacture a product, but law-abiding citizens of the state were unable to purchase the product, customers around the state and the nation would boycott us for remaining here. Staying here would hurt our business.”

Luckily, however, not all states are run by these anti-Constitution marxists.

Once word got out that they were looking to relocate out of the state, they began to receive offers from states like Texas and South Carolina to bring their business to these more gun friendly states. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sent Smith a letter telling him that South Carolina believes in the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.

The next state Magpul moves to will only gain what the leftist governor of Colorado is throwing away.

The article is here.

This one is good, before Wayne LaPierre’s appearance, they give fast video clips of various lefties (the usual suspects) calling him crazy and making other, more extreme statements about a man whose life is dedicated to preserving our rights under the Second Amendment, then the NRA’s CEO/Executive Vice President comes out to the podium and gives an excellent, spot-on speech.

Enemy of the Second Amendment Dianne FrankenFeinstein has suffered a setback to her well laid plans, as it were.

From The Hill

Reid guts Senate gun control bill

The gun control bill headed for the Senate floor bears little resemblance to the far-reaching proposal President Obama unveiled after the deadly shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided the federal assault weapons ban will not be a part of the base bill, and warned Tuesday an expansion of background checks to cover private sales might not make the cut either.

Instead, a bipartisan measure cracking down on straw purchasing and illegal trafficking of firearms will serve as the foundation of firearms legislation.
That is a significant blow to Obama, who recently touted that the Senate Judiciary Committee had advanced “three of the most important elements of my proposal to help reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country.”

Obama’s three pillars have been reduced to one, with the bill facing an uncertain future in the GOP-led House.

Reid (heh heh) it all here.

From the Washington Times:

Hollywood might be a liberal town, but there are plenty of celebrities who own guns — and they’re not afraid to use them.

An E! Online report quotes gun owner Angelina Jolie talking about her willingness to protect her family: “If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them.”

She isn’t alone. Whoopi Goldberg of “The View” and James Earl Jones are both NRA members. Even Donald Trump — who spoke exclusively to The Times in November on the issue — and “The Avengers” star Jeremy Renner admit to owning firearms.

“I own guns and I don’t think guns kill people, I think people kill people,” Mr. Renner said recently.

Jennifer Lopez and Robert DeNiro are among a group of stars whose official gun-owning status is unknown, but have applied for a license to carry one, E! reports.

It’s really good to know that even among all those ultra-lefty Hollywoodians, there are indeed some people who stand firmly behind the Second Amendment. Some of the names we already know are believers in our right to keep and bear arms, others are, at least to me, something of a surprise.

Wow, here are a few examples from the link just above…

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is pro-gun. He said, “I have always been fascinated with guns. I grew up in America so granted, it is part of our heritage and it is written into the laws of how this country is run.”

Perry adds, “I’ve been fascinated with all kinds of weapons my whole life. And as I have been able to afford to acquire pieces, here and there I started to collect.”

Bad girl Angelina Jolie has always enjoyed guns. She previously said, “I bought original, real guns of the type we used in “Tomb Raider” for security”.

The beautiful actress adds, “Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one. And yes, I’d be able to use it if I had to… If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them.”

Angelina Jolie’s fiance, Brad Pitt, said about guns, “America is a country founded on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s very strange, but I feel better having a gun. I really do.

“I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel the house is completely safe, if I don’t have one hidden somewhere. That’s my thinking, right or wrong.”

In fact, Pitt gave Jolie a $400,000 shooting range as an engagement gift.

NRA member and actor James Earl Jones previously stated, “The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose.”

Popular 80s actor Christian Slater keeps things simple, saying, “It’s better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.”

Rapper/actor Ice-T, whose real name is Tracy Morrow, supports the second amendment.

Ice-T said, “The right to bear arms is because that’s the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt.”

“Diehard” star Bruce Willis has very good points to make in support of guns. The action star previously said, “Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then the only people who have guns are the bad guys.”

Shock jock Howard Stern may not seem like a pro-gun type of guy but admits, “I am licensed to own a gun and in fact I own several guns.”

Stern said, “While I’m not really a gun enthusiast, I believe that people who particularly live on The Island (Long Island) in a home should have a gun to protect it.”

Of course, there’s Clint,

We’ve heard actor Clint Eastwood say his catchphrase “Go ahead and make my day”, but seems to feel the same in real life. Eastwood said, “I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”

And, also a big of course:

We all know where rocker Ted Nugent stands on guns.

Nugent talked of other celebrity gun owners previously, saying, “The guys at Metallica support the Second Amendment … I just bought a number of guns for Joe Perry of Aerosmith. And when I performed in the Howard Stern movie, I was approached by Howard, who showed me his .32-caliber Seecamp pistol.

“I was approached by Ozzy Osbourne and talked about his German 9mm Luger. Everybody supports the common pulse of defending one’s self, which is why our founding fathers wrote the Second Amendment.”

It’s nice to know there are some people in the entertainment biz who, in support of our precious Second Amendment, aren’t part of the mad, hell bent for leather liberal rush to abolish the U.S. Constitution….

At least, the dispute over the Obama/Biden attack on our Second Amendment rights is certainly hot and getting hotter by the minute. I won’t even bother going into the basically treasonous assault on the rights of gun owners in New York State by fascist Andrew Cuomo or the hot air blown strongly in New York City by contemptible weasel cum mayor Michael Bloomberg.

With Texas and Wyoming (so far!) working on legislation to illegalize federal interference with gun rights in their states, a sheriff in Oregon declaring that his county will not acknowledge any new federal anti-gun legislation and gun rights advocacies fighting the feds every step of the way, this issue is certainly going to continue getting hotter…

As Bonehead Biden epitomized the selective policies of liberalism (whatever suits their agendas of the moment),

During the National Rifle Association’s meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and the White House gun violence task force, the vice president said the Obama administration does not have the time to fully enforce existing gun laws.

Jim Baker, the NRA representative present at the meeting, recalled the vice president’s words during an interview with The Daily Caller: “And to your point, Mr. Baker, regarding the lack of prosecutions on lying on Form 4473s, we simply don’t have the time or manpower to prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that answers a question inaccurately.”

What kind of a crock is that, coming, no less, from the White House?

And from One News Now

Lawmakers and gun advocates are sounding off on President Obama’s 23 executive actions involving gun violence, as well as the dozen or so actions that he has called on Congress to approve.

Obama is taking 23 separate actions on his own, using his presidential powers, but says it is up to Congress to “make a real and lasting difference” by imposing new gun restrictions. His proposals, introduced Wednesday in the nation’s capital, include universal background checks and bans on military-style assault rifles. But he acknowledged he faces a tough fight to get those measures approved on Capitol Hill.

Indeed he might. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) appeared Wednesday afternoon on Tony Perkins’ Washington Watch on American Family Radio. The senator has issues with the approach being taken by the president.

“My concern still is whether or not he is going to usurp this authority and do it on his own,” said Paul. “We set up a country with checks and balances [because] we didn’t like the king to have all the balance of power — so we separated the power. In fact, one of the people we based this on was the writings of Montesquieu. He said it was very important to do this, or else you will have tyranny.”

Obama, said the Kentucky Republican, “has shown a tendency to go around Congress when he can’t get his way — and that worries me.”

And that is why Senator Paul plans to take some legislative action. “We’ll be introducing some legislation to try to rein in his authority to do things by executive order. That’ll be coming by the next week or so,” he stated. “We’ll also be looking very carefully at these executive orders to see if any of them go afoul of the Second Amendment.”

Appearing on the Fox News Channel this morning, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) called the president’s actions “misguided.”

“Here’s my point: the impetus for all of this is the shooting in Connecticut, right? That’s what led to this — and yet nothing he’s proposing would have prevented Connecticut,” said Rubio.

“… It appears to me[that] this is stuff they’ve always wanted to do, and now this [tragedy] has created the political climate to pursue it — and it’s not going to solve the problem,” . Washington, DC, had some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and when they passed them violence skyrocketed.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) agrees with Rubio, saying “very few of his recommendations have anything to do with happened” in Connecticut.

“Guns require a finger to pull the trigger,” Perry says in a press release. “The sad young man who did that in Newtown was clearly haunted by demons and no gun law could have saved the children in Sandy Hook Elementary from his terror.”

He adds: “… The piling on by the political left, and their cohorts in the media, to use the massacre of little children to advance a pre-existing political agenda that would not have saved those children, disgusts me, personally. The Second Amendment to the Constitution is a basic right of free people and cannot be nor will it be abridged by the executive power of this or any other president.”

Egregious issues

A gun rights organization also is skeptical about President Obama’s 23 executive actions aimed at curbing gun rights. Sam Paredes is on the board of directors of Gun Owners of America.

“[The executive actions] would do nothing to impact crime, nothing to stop murders, nothing to stop the criminally insane from committing their atrocities,” he tells OneNewsNow. “So we are very skeptical and are prepared to challenge them any way we can, whether it’s in Congress or through the courts.”

Paredes and GOA feel several of the president’s proposals that were particularly egregious. “The so-called assault weapons ban and the high-capacity magazine ban; the mandatory background checks for all purchases — we think that those issues are the most egregious; a clear violation of the Second Amendment.”

Paredes says it is fortunate that Obama will not be able to put those severe restrictions in place without congressional approval.

We must now hope that the politicians quoted in the above article do something highly uncharacteristic of GOP politicians of late: Follow through, stick to their guns (pun intended) and show some real spine by beating back this blatant assault on the rights guaranteed us by our Constitution, instead of just offering up the usual bluster to pacify their constituents and then giving in to the forces of the left.

From Vision To America:

A Republican state lawmaker in Wyoming has introduced legislation to prohibit enforcement of federal gun control measures that Vice President Joe Biden is likely to recommend next week.

State Rep. Kendell Kroeker (R-Evansville) has put forward a bill making it a felony to enforce in Wyoming any federal ban on assault weapons or high-capacity gun magazines, two proposals that Biden’s gun control task force is likely to present to President Barack Obama on Tuesday. The task force’s recommendations, of course, would have to be passed by Congress and signed by Obama in order to become law.

Kroeker said his bill, which would hit federal agents with up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine for attempting to enforce such bans in Wyoming, is designed to be proactive in preserving gun rights.

Emphasis mine.

What a splendid way to keep Herr Obama’s Anti-Second Amendment Gestapo out of ones’ state!