The NRA makes a deal with the devil
While I am a gun owner and a strong proponent of second amendment rights, I’ve never been too fond of the National Rifle Association. They aren’t all bad, but I am seriously turned off when they make compromises with our rights, the latest of which is a doozy. It appears that the NRA has made a deal with Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats, signing away our first amendment rights. In return, they (not we) get an exemption from the draconian regulations.
‘Shotgun Sellout’: House Democrats cut special deal with NRA
House Democrats held a shotgun wedding between campaign finance “reformers” and the National Rifle Association today in announcing a carve out for the powerful gun lobby in a bill responding to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.The “Shotgun Sellout” exempts large organizations from the most burdensome regulations of the DISCLOSE Act, “Democratic Incumbents Seek to Contain Losses by Outlawing Speech in Elections,” while pistol whipping genuine grassroots groups.
“The Democratic majority has decided that established, powerful interest groups should be exempted from the proposed draconian regulations, while small advocacy groups should have their voices silenced by the DISCLOSE Act,” said Center for Competitive Politics President Sean Parnell. “Exempting the National Rifle Association from these regulations while local groups such as the Oregon Firearms Federation would face stifling regulations if they choose to exercise their First Amendment rights simply cannot be considered ‘reform.’”
“This sort of special carve out for an established interest group is just the kind of insider manipulation that gives the public the sense that Congress is unresponsive to the concerns of ordinary Americans,” said Allison Hayward, CCP’s Vice President of Policy. “How can it be that invasive and onerous disclosure requirements are proper when applied to small, regional interest groups but not large, wealthy national groups?”
“This exception could serve to entrench political organization, discourage local participation in civic groups, and undermine the civic involvement that Alexis de Tocqueville identified as uniquely American and one of America’s great strengths,” she added.
According to Capitol Hill sources, the Rules Committee will likely hold a Wednesday hearing to advance the DISCLOSE Act to the House floor by the end of the week.
John Lott, Ilya Shapiro talk Heller and Gun Ban case with Judge Napolitano
Last week Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano welcomed guests John Lott and Ilya Shapiro to discuss the McDonald “Gun Ban” Supreme Court case and 2nd Amendment state incorporation. Not surprisingly, all 3 guests agree that the 2nd Amendment should apply to the states.
The expectation among the experts is that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of 2nd Amendment incorporation when they release the opinion sometime this summer (June or July).
Gun control has seen better days
Following the 2008 Heller decision, and the much anticipated Supreme Court decision on the Chicago Gun Ban case,there’s likely never been a more positive time for gun rights advocates than right now.
The New York Times is reporting on this very fact in an article entitled, “Seeing Loose Gun Laws as Still Too Tight“:
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s permissive gun laws gained national attention last year when a man openly carried an AR-15 rifle to a protest outside a speech by President Obama.
Now, gun rights advocates are hoping for even fewer restrictions on where they can have a firearm. Among their top goals is to make Arizona the third state where it is legal to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Bills in the House and the Senate would also eliminate background checks and training classes for people to carry hidden guns.
“That’s sheer insanity,” said M. Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center. “If you remove the background check requirement, you’re literally writing a death sentence for law enforcement officers, family members, just people in the street.”
But supporters say criminals will carry concealed weapons regardless of the law, so gun restrictions affect only law-abiding citizens.
“All we’re doing is handcuffing good people, restricting their constitutional, God-given right to carry and perhaps their ability to defend their families,” said State Senator Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican sponsoring the bill.
The bill comes a year after Arizona eased restrictions on gun owners, most notably giving people the option of carrying a weapon into a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol unless the establishment has banned firearms.
It also comes amid a national trend of states loosening gun laws. In 2009, states passed 47 laws easing restrictions, more than three times the number of new laws tightening them. Forty-eight states allow people to carry a concealed weapon; all but Alaska and Vermont require a permit.
Read the entire article here. This is very encouraging, but we must not rest in the fight against the “antis”.
Interesting read on the NRA’s role in Supreme Court Chicago gun case
The Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro has some interesting words about the NRA’s role in the Chicago gun ban case that is going to be heard by the United States Supreme Court on March 2nd later this year.
Sadly, it’s also typical of how the NRA has behaved throughout this case and before that during the Heller litigation — sabotaging Alan [Gura] at every turn and showing again and again that, even in the face of winning arguments that fully support its legal positions, the NRA prefers to seek glory for itself rather than presenting the strongest case for its purported constituency of gun owners.
Read the full article at Cato.org.
Chicago gun ban Supreme Court case discussed on Freedom Watch
Earlier this week the upcoming landmark Supreme Court case to decide if the 2nd Amendment applies to the states was discussed on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s Freedom Watch show. Check it out below.
The Armed Citizen- NRA News
- Washington Post calls for more gun control laws, including a new semi-auto firearms ban, blames U.S. gun laws for Mexico violence and makes excuses for Eric Holder February 5, 2012
- Virginia: Bills saying it is all right to use deadly force against intruders in your home are moving easily through the General Assembly. February 4, 2012
- Washington: Two Firearms-Related Bills Going to the House Floor! February 3, 2012
- GOA Alerts
