Posts Tagged ‘Gun Control’

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FEDS RESPOND TO FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT

January 21, 2010
FEDS RESPOND TO FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT LAWSUIT MOTION TO DISMISS “EXPECTED”
MISSOULA – The United States has made its first response to a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Missoula to test the Montana Firearms Freedom Act (MFFA), passed by the 2009 Legislature and signed into law by Governor Schweitzer.

The MFFA declares that any firearms, ammunition or firearms accessories made and retained in Montana are not subject to federal regulation under the power given to Congress in the U.S. Constitution to regulate commerce “among the several states.” The MFFA is a states’ rights challenge on Tenth Amendment grounds, with firearms serving as the vehicle for the challenge.

This lawsuit to validate the MFFA was brought by the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). The suit names U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as defendant, and is referred to as MSSA v. Holder.

The first response to the lawsuit by the United States is a Motion to Dismiss, submitted January 19th and considered to be a standard procedural maneuver in lawsuits against the U.S government . This motion seeks to avoid the legal merits by asserting that the Plaintiffs lack standing to sue, that a justiciable controversy does not exist, and that prevailing case law is against Plaintiffs.

MSSA President Gary Marbut, also a Plaintiff in the lawsuit explained, “The first import of this response is that the legal game is now on. There was some concern that the defendants would forfeit the game with no response in an effort to prevent this important issue from being adjudicated properly. We are now beyond that hurdle.” However, the Motion to Dismiss by Washington also seeks to sidestep proper adjudication.

SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said, “We are disappointed but not surprised that the government would try to kill this suit on standing, rather than arguing about the merits of the case.”

The MFFA concept has gained traction across the Nation since its passage in Montana. Tennessee has enacted a clone of the MFFA, and other clones have been introduced in the state legislatures of 19 other states, including: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. . Ten or more additional states are expected to introduce yet more MFFA clones in the next few weeks. (See: http://www.FirearmsFreedomAct.com)

The U.S.’s Motion to Dismiss and Brief in Support are viewable at: http://FirearmsFreedomAct.com/montana-lawsuit-updates/

MSSA and SAF have assembled a litigation team for this effort consisting of three attorneys from Montana, one from New York, one from Florida and one from Arizona. Lead attorney for the Plaintiffs is Quentin Rhoades, partner the Missoula firm of Sullivan, Tabaracci and Rhoades. Other interested parties from both in and out of Montana are preparing to weigh in on this issue of national interest and national importance as amicus curiae (friends of the court).

Marbut commented, “The FFA concept has created a firestorm of interest nationwide. Lots of people and other states are watching carefully to see how Montana fares in this challenge to overbearing federal authority and to Washington’s attempt to control every detail of commerce in the Nation, especially including activity wholly confined within an individual state. That level of micro management certainly was not the intent of our founders when they gave Congress limited power in the Constitution to regulate commerce ‘among the states’.” (See: http://FirearmsFreedomAct.com/what-is-the-commerce-clause/)

MSSA is the primary political advocate for gun owners and hunters in Montana, having gotten 54 pro-gun and pro-hunting bills through the Montana Legislature in the past 25 years. SAF is a pro-gun foundation in Bellevue, Washington, established to press the rights of gun owners primarily in judicial fora. SAF has been a party to numerous lawsuits to assert the rights of gun owners across the Nation.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Hunting Fishing and the Great Outdoors, Immigration, Law, Local Politics Colorado, Local Politics Wyoming, Men's Issues, mysandry, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Supreme Court Hands Down Key Campaign Finance Decision

January 21, 2010

While this is good news there is still McCain Feingold out there that needs to be destroyed. Along with the political careers of the sponsors… Partial overturns are meaningless.

Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, removing unconstitutional restrictions on the NRA’s ability to speak freely at election time.

The late Sen. Paul Wellstone had said during the original debate over this legislation that it was his intention to silence groups like the NRA. While the author of this measure had singled out the NRA, this law delivered a clear message to all American citizens: “Keep your mouths shut and stay out of our political debates.”

Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, said, “This ruling is a victory for anyone who believes that the First Amendment applies to each and every one of us. The majesty of free speech is that any American can roll out of bed and speak as freely as The New York Times, NBC or politicians. This is a defeat for arrogant elitists who wanted to carve out free speech as a privilege for themselves and deny it to the rest of us; and for those who believed that speech had a dollar value and should be treated and regulated like currency, and not a freedom. Today’s decision reaffirms that the Bill of Rights was written for every American and it will amplify the voice of average citizens who want their voices heard.”

The case originally centered on the FEC’s denial of Citizens United’s attempt to broadcast a film about Hillary Clinton through on-demand cable services in January 2008, but had broader implications in protecting the First Amendment rights of organizations like the NRA during election time.

Chris W. Cox, NRA-ILA chief lobbyist, said, “This decision today returns sanity to our political system. The First Amendment does not allow Congress to make laws denying Americans the right to speak out on issues, the right to assemble or organize on public policy issues, or the right to petition our government for redress of grievances.”

SOURCE

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Wyoming Senator Cale Case introducing a fix to conceal carry reciprocity

January 20, 2010

By Anthony Bouchard
Originally posted on examiner.com

Thumbs up to Senator Cale Case, he has introduced legislation to fix the conceal-carry blunder from earlier this year. SF 26 – Eligibility concealed weapons permit, will fix what Freuedenthal’s appointee decided was a problem.

Ultimately, WyGO / Wyoming Gun Owners supports legislation that lets anyone with a permit from any state carry in Wyoming. If an individual has a concealed carry permit from their own state, no matter what we interpret from their state law, who are we to say they cannot carry in Wyoming? Even if that state doesn’t reciprocate, we must lead by example.

Full Story

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, Local Politics Wyoming, News, Politics | 1 Comment »

Lautenberg and Bloomberg’s terrorist watch list

January 18, 2010

This is a tad stale, what with all the hoopla over the special election, and soon to be apparent thuggery employed by Martha the mysandryist Coakley, and epic fail obama in the get out the vote pogrom. But, this is precisely what happens when you elect big government authoritarian Chicago style politicians to positions where they can wreck havoc.

As we’ve reported before, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), encouraged by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, wants to prohibit anyone on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist from possessing a firearm. Yet, the list and its criteria are secret, and Lautenberg’s bill would criminalize the exercise of a constitutionally protected right while denying a person the opportunity to clear himself of accusations in a fair and open hearing before a court of law. Even today, thousands of people who aren’t terrorists cannot prevent the list from misidentifying them, causing them delays and embarrassment when trying to board commercial aircraft.

It’s one thing when an adult gets the run-around at an airport, because he or she has a name identical or similar to someone the FBI is watching. As the American Civil Liberties Union has pointed out, the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) “automatic selectee” list — its list of people who are not permitted to board an aircraft without being given the once-over by the agency’s machines and uniformed, latex-gloved personnel — is based on people’s names, not on physical factors like age.

But when the system is so unorganized that it cannot distinguish a kid from a terrorist, what’s going on here? Yesterday, the New York Times reported that for the last six or seven years, one of Lautenberg’s constituents — eight-year-old New Jersey Cub Scout Michael “Mikey” Hicks — hasn’t been able to get on a plane without being patted down like your average neighborhood hubcap thief with his palms on the hood of a police cruiser and a nightstick between his legs. Repeatedly mistaken for someone on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist since he was two years old, Mikey’s encounters with the federal government have consisted of, as his mother puts it, “Up your arms, down your arms, up your crotch, someone is patting your 8-year-old down like he’s a criminal.”

To say that the situation is ironic is a gross understatement. The government can’t or won’t get Mikey’s situation straightened out. And he isn’t alone. The Times says that of nearly 82,000 travelers who have applied through the Department of Homeland Security to get their names cleared from the watchlist during the last three years, 25,000 are still waiting.

Yet, the government failed to add to the TSA’s “no-fly list” the self-proclaimed al Qaeda-trained Nigerian Islamist fanatic who allegedly smuggled military high explosives aboard a plane bound for Detroit on Christmas Day last year and almost blew the plane to kingdom come. As the White House report on the incident concluded, there was enough information to have placed him on the “no-fly list;” he was already in the government’s international terrorist identities database (the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE). But, the government failed to recognize that he had a U.S. travel visa (which it could have revoked) because it had misspelled his name.

TSA can spell “Mikey,” however. Despite efforts by the boy’s parents and their congressman to get TSA to straighten out the error, the delays and pat-downs continue. Meanwhile, other non-terrorists tired of their airport delays have been able to get off TSA’s radar screen by changing their names or deliberately misspelling their names when purchasing a ticket.

Irrespective of how this relates to Second Amendment issues, we think — and more and more people are likely to agree — that while our fellow Americans in federal service have prevented virtually all terrorist attacks in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks, numerous problems with the watchlist apparatus remain and it is long past the time that these problems should have been corrected.

Mikey’s case, however, serves to remind us of the potential ramifications for the Second Amendment, if the watchlist is used by the likes of Lautenberg and Bloomberg to their nefarious ends.

SOURCE

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, Men's Issues, mysandry, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | Comments Off on Lautenberg and Bloomberg’s terrorist watch list

What a year it has been: GOA’s State of the Union Update on Gun Rights

January 14, 2010

GOA’s State of the Union Update on Gun Rights
— Despite intense opposition, GOA members made giant strides in 2009

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

“The real gun lobby in Washington is the GOA.” — Senator Tom Coburn, August 14, 2009

Thursday, January 14, 2010
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.

The President began placing gun-hating radicals in high positions of power — both in the executive department and in the courts — and he pushed a socialistic gun control agenda that kept gun owners busy throughout 2009.

Yet through it all, Gun Owners of America rallied the troops to oppose the President each and every step of the way.  Some battles we lost.  Others we won.  Some are still at a stalemate.

Regardless, this 2009 review should encourage you.  It shows that even though every institution in Washington is slanted against us, we can slow down, stop or reverse the march towards gun control.

And, yes, Gun Owners of America has won some incredible victories.  In some cases, our organization fought these battles alone — although in truth, we haven’t been alone because we represent thousands upon thousands of active gun owners like you who are all determined to preserve our liberties.

In 2010, we need you to stay with us.  It takes less than five minutes to go to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm and sign up.  By doing so, you will be joining — in the words of Senator Tom Coburn — the “real gun lobby in Washington.”

The fight will be intense for another year — at least until the elections this November.  We need you to stand with us to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

Until then, get ready for 2010 and be encouraged by what we accomplished together in 2009.

January – February

* President Obama nominates an anti-gun radical, Eric Holder, to the office of Attorney General.  GOA releases several alerts to mobilize the grassroots against Holder, and fights a lonely (uphill) battle against the nomination — as GOA is the only national gun rights organization lobbying against Holder.

In the end, Holder is confirmed, but not without cost to the President.  The fight over Holder represents the first step in a long effort to expose the President’s vulnerabilities, as his Approval Index drops more than 10 points during his first two weeks in office.  Leading up to the inauguration, Barack Obama was practically deified by many around the country, but now he is increasingly seen as being unable to shoot straight in selecting cabinet members.  By the end of the year, the President’s support will have dropped well below 50 percent.

* In a raw power grab, congressional Democrats try to gain three more seats in Congress (one in the House and two in the Senate) by bringing up the DC Voting Rights Act for a vote.  Three more legislators from Washington, DC would, undoubtedly, mean three more ferocious anti-gunners in Congress.

But GOA works with Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada to attach a provision to the bill repealing the DC gun ban.  The Ensign amendment passes in the Senate, causing the overall Voting Rights bill to be extremely distasteful to House Democrats.  The bill passes the Senate, but is pronounced D.O.A. in the House.

* GOA’s Larry Pratt appears on Fox Cable News’ Glenn Beck program to highlight the dangers of HR 45, a bill that would ban the possession of handguns unless gun owners registered themselves like sex offenders.

March – April

* Following Larry Pratt’s appearance on Fox’s Glenn Beck show, GOA begins its campaign against HR 45, mobilizing gun owners across the nation to inundate Representatives with thousands of postcards against the gun registration bill.  The legislation gains much fanfare in the pro-gun community, and in the Congress the bill remains locked up in committee.

* Even though many in the conservative movement think the passage of a socialized health care is inevitable, GOA issues its first of many alerts to warn gun owners about the dangers contained in the ObamaCare legislation.

May – June

* The members of GOA once again fight a solo battle (among national groups) in the effort to repeal the Reagan-era gun ban in the National Parks.  Gun Owners rallies the troops, asking them to contact their Senators in favor of a repeal amendment authored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).  The amendment passes the Senate and is signed into law by Memorial Day.

Senator Coburn praises the efforts of GOA members, saying that:  “Gun Owners of America was the most consistent and loudest voice on Capitol Hill in support of the effort to repeal the National Park Service gun ban.”

* Gun Owners of America wages another lonely battle to rally gunnies against the President’s anti-gun Supreme Court pick, Sonia Sotomayor.  Even though she was ultimately confirmed, GOA’s grassroots activists were able to help accomplish a tremendous feat.  To wit, there were 31 Republican Senators who opposed Sotomayor — which represents the most overwhelming show of opposition from Senate Republicans against a Supreme Court nominee in at least a generation.

* Gun Owners of America works in Tennessee to enact the nation’s first Firearms Freedom Act, a law mandating that guns which are made (and stay) in the state are exempt from federal gun restrictions.  Tennessee’s law is the first of its kind to become law, even though Montana was the first state to take up the issue.  Tennessee’s law went into effect in June of last year; Montana’s law in October.

July – September

* Gun Owners of America engages in a grassroots campaign to lobby squishy Republican Senators who are trying to reach a compromise on ObamaCare.  GOA’s message is:  We don’t want any socialized health care that can be used to infringe upon the rights of gun owners.  This campaign would ultimately be successful as every Republican would soon announce their opposition to — and vote against — the health care bill.

* The media begins picking up on GOA’s campaign against ObamaCare.  The newspaper of record on Capitol Hill reports that, “The Gun Owners of America group, which boasts more than 300,000 members, has been warning its ranks that the proposed healthcare legislation would compile the information of Americans into a government database.” (The Hill, August 21, 2009.)

* Another media outlet reports that, “Gun Owners of America (GOA) has been alone on the national stage in warning of the dangers of centralized health care to the rights of gun owners.” (Examiner.com, September 3, 2009)

* GOA spearheads a victorious campaign to support the Amtrak amendment in the U.S. Senate.  This amendment, offered by Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, allows law-abiding gun owners to safely and legally transport firearms when they travel on Amtrak.  The amendment is successfully attached to the transportation bill by a filibuster-proof margin of 63-35 and is later signed into law (in December).

October – November

* Gun Owners of America mounts an all-out offensive to rally gun owners to oppose the ObamaCare bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The bill passes narrowly by five votes.

* Given the increased media attention of GOA’s position — and the narrow vote in the House — the White House launches a broadside against GOA’s arguments, claiming there are no gun rights threats in the health care bill.  GOA publicly responds to the White House’s erroneous claims right before the Thanksgiving break.

Ironically, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will affirm GOA’s position less than a month later by including an amendment in the Senate version of the bill supposedly designed to allay gun owners’ concerns.  While the Reid “fix” will help in some small ways, it still leaves the majority of GOA’s concerns unaddressed.

* Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation file an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in support of four Chicago residents who are seeking to invalidate a city ordinance prohibiting them from owning or possessing a handgun in their own home (McDonald v. Chicago).  Oral arguments before the Court are scheduled for March 2, 2010.

December

* The very liberal Slate magazine ruefully declares:  “Score one for the Gun Owners of America” (December 20, 2009).  Slate’s declaration recognizes the fact that Majority Leader Harry Reid has tried to appease gun owners by placing a pro-gun “fix” in the bill.  But as mentioned earlier, the “fix” is more of a first step, as it falls short of addressing all the problems GOA has with the bill.

Senate Democrats later overcome a Republican filibuster with no votes to spare.  But despite this defeat, the ObamaCare legislation still has a long way to go.  GOA will continue to fight this bill — and all other attempts to enact gun control at the federal level — in 2010.

GOA will also be ramping up its efforts at the state level this year, most notably in leading the charge for Firearms Freedom and genuine (Alaska-style) carry reform.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO STAND WITH GOA THIS YEAR!

The ability of GOA to continue putting pressure on politicians depends on loyal activists like you. GOA has been the national leader when it comes to opposing the gun control in the socialized health care bill.

But don’t just take our word for it… listen to what others have been saying.  The media has declared that Gun Owners of America “has been alone on the national stage” and has “scored” legislative victories for gun owners.  Senator David Vitter (R-LA) said that, “GOA has led the national gun rights organizations in actively opposing Mr. Holder’s nomination….”

Our philosophy is to fight gun control without compromising our rights.  That’s why Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has called GOA the “only no-compromise gun lobby” in the nation’s capital.

We can only continue fighting for your rights as long as you continue to fight with us. You can stand with us today by joining GOA or renewing your existing membership at http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

Thank you for your support!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 2 Comments »

Blooberg Follies: Another one bites the dust!

January 8, 2010

Birds of a feather flock together a the saying goes. The Felon Mayor of New York City. Yes, that’s right, he is a felon irrespective of the shill judge that said otherwise. Think about it, if you or I set out to have a load of straw purchases of firearms we would be cellmates in some prison. So, the felon sets up a very dishonest organization, and goes to work with the goal of taking away your civil rights, and a whole slew of people jump on board his coat tails. Quite a a few figured out what he was up to, and quit. Others heard their constituents and left because they wanted to keep their jobs. Yet others, stayed in the flock. Yes indeed, these birds are all of a feather. Read on…

“Mayors Against Illegal Guns” Loses Yet Another Member!


Thursday, January 07, 2010
Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) has accepted a plea deal for perjury charges stemming from accusations that she did not report gifts she received from a local developer.  In a teary announcement yesterday, she resigned her post as the Mayor of Baltimore as part of the plea.

As you will recall, Dixon, a vocal member of “Mayors Against Illegal Guns,” was convicted last month of pocketing gift cards intended for Baltimore’s needy families.

Dixon now joins the ranks of disgraced anti-gun politicians like former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D) of Detroit.  Perhaps these folks should focus on abiding by the law themselves instead of persecuting law-abiding citizens.

“Mayors Against Illegal Guns” (MAIG) was founded and is funded by activist anti-gun billionaire and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a front group to lobby Congress to oppose important pro-gun reforms and support new federal gun control restrictions.  Despite its very misleading name, this national group of anti-gun mayors has lobbied Congress against national reciprocity of state Right-to-Carry permits, against much-needed reform of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), for regulating gun shows out of existence, and for repealing the Tiahrt Amendment that protects the privacy rights of law-abiding gun owners and limits disclosure of sensitive firearm trace data to protect law enforcement personnel and protect lawful gun manufacturers from bogus lawsuits.

SOURCE

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H.R. 45: Is this monstrocity back?

January 6, 2010
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NAGR Video Exclusive:  H.R. 45:  A Call to Action
Click on the image below to view NAGR Executive Director Dudley Brown speak out on H.R. 45, Barack Obama’s National Gun Registration and Citizen Disarmament Act.

If you cannot see the image above, please click here.

What can you do to help?
  • Forward this email to your friends and family.  Alert your fellow gun rights activists about this attack on our Constitutional Rights.
  • Complete our Citizen Action Form under the video. Just click the video above to be taken straight to the page.

  • Make a donation to the National Association for Gun Rights to help us continue our fight against H.R. 45 and President Barack Obama’s anti-gun schemes.

To help the National Association for Gun Rights grow, please forward this to a friend.

To view this email as a web page, please click this link: view online.

Help fight gun control. Donate to the National Association for Gun Rights!

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 5 Comments »

2010: Second Amendment in the crosshairs

January 4, 2010

Lots of issues will be on the table this coming year, and none will be more important than those that surround The Second Amendment. It is, after all is said and done that which protects the rest of the entire Bill of Rights.

The Epic Fail Administration and cohorts have shown what utter contempt they hold for the American people as well as the rule of law in their handling of the obamacare fiasco. Not to mention that while all that “debate” was unfolding the obamanites sold out America’s Sovereignty. Read about that HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and yes more HERE! Strong work Anthony!

The sheer arrogance of the current administration and Congress would be mind boggling, that is, if the strategy were not so transparent. I submit that they are well aware of what will happen come Judgment Day 2010. Their plan,as it were, is to do as much lasting damage to the United States as they possibly can in a short time, and to stack the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts to achieve what ever lasting effect they can shove down our throats.

Then we have this, from the dog that fetched the bone…

The Second Amendment faces a decisive year in 2010. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has called for new semi automatic gun bans despite their decade long record of fraud and failure, and despite his own Justice Department’s failure to fully or even half heartedly prosecute federal firearm felonies. Mr. Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have demonstrated their willingness to use cooked statistics to blame Mexico’s violent drug war on Americans and their Second Amendment rights. Anti gun leaders in Congress have introduced bills to ban guns, license gun owners, register guns, tax bullets, serialize ammunition, shut down gun shows and a hundred other schemes. They’re still there, proposing every nonsensical gun law they can imagine that only affect law abiding citizens, while criminals go about their evil business unfettered. Meanwhile at the United Nations, global citizen disarmament nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and freedom fearing dictatorships worldwide maneuver to impose their will on you through international treaties. But it is a new year. And, in a very crucial way, 2010 may be a year unlike any other in American history when the Second Amendment could, finally and truly, be recognized as a right for all Americans.

Read About It: The Washington Times
SOURCE

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A Happy New Year? Well on some fronts it is! Blackwater case over turned, but there are other troubling things out there

January 1, 2010

Well, the good news is that the folks from Blackwater had their case overturned, and the Iraqi’s are not pleased… We discuss this situation over at Texas Freds.

But, here at home the fight never ends either.

A few months ago, the National Association for Gun Rights first broke this incredible tale out of Shreveport, Louisiana.

At the time, no other gun rights organization had touched the story.  But when we tracked down the victim for an interview, we couldn’t believe what we heard, and we immediately sent out a nationwide alert.

The story went viral overnight.

If this tale of government abuse moves you, send it to a friend or family member to get the word out.

Welcome to Shreveport:  Your rights are now suspended.

According to Cedric Glover, mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, his cops “have a power that [. . .] the President of these Unites States does not have”:   His cops can take away your rights.

And would you like to guess which rights he has in mind?

Just ask Shreveport resident Robert Baillio, who got pulled over for having two pro-gun bumper stickers on the back of his truck — and had his gun confiscated.

While the officer who pulled him over says Baillio failed to use his turn signal, the only questions he had for Baillio concerned guns:   Whether he had a gun, where the gun was, and if he was a member of a pro-gun organization.

No requests for a driver’s licence, proof of insurance, or vehicle registration — and no discussion of a turn signal.

Accordingly, Baillio told the officer the truth, which led the police officer to search his car without permission and confiscate his gun.

However, not only does Louisiana law allow residents to drive with loaded weapons in their vehicles, but Mr. Baillio possessed a concealed carry license!

What does such behavior demonstrate, other than transparent political profiling — going so far as to use the infamous Department of Homeland Security report on “Americans of a rightwing persuasion” as a how-to guidebook, no less?

Mr. Baillio made no secret of his political affiliations: An American flag centers a wide flourish of pro-freedom stickers and decals on his back windshield.

In fact, when Baillio asked the officer if everyone he pulls over gets the same treatment, the officer said no and pointed to the back of his truck.

Baillio phoned Mayor Glover to complain about this “suspension of rights” only to find that his city’s morbidly obese “commander in chief” was elated at the story:  According to Glover, Baillio got “served well, protected well, and even got a consideration that maybe [he] should not have gotten.”

Thankfully, Mr. Baillio recorded a good bit of that phone call.  You can watch a video with the transcriptions here.  I’ve reproduced a chunk of the call below:

Baillio: (in the context of being asked about the presence of a gun) Well, I answered that question honestly, and he disarmed me.

Glover: Which would be an appropriate and proper action, sir. The fact that you gave the correct answer — it simply means that you did what it is you were supposed to have done, and that is to give that weapon to the police officer so he could appropriately place it in a place where it would not be a threat to you, to him, or to anyone in the general public.

[. . .]

Glover: My direction to you is that, had you chosen not to properly identify the fact that you had a weapon and directed that officer to where that weapon was located; had you been taken from the vehicle, and the officer, in the interest of his safety, chose to secure you in a safe position, and then looked, found, and determined that you did, in fact, have a weapon…then, sir, you would have faced additional, [inaudible], and more severe criminal sanctions.

Baillio: So what you’re saying is: I give up all my rights to keep and bear arms if I’m stopped by the police: Is that correct?

Glover: Sir, you have no right, when you have been pulled over by a police officer for a potential criminal offense [which would be what?! – DB] to stand there with your weapon at your side in your hand [Baillio’s weapon was nowhere near his side or his hand, and Glover knew that. – DB] because of your second amendment rights, sir. That does not mean at that point your second amendment right has been taken away; it means at that particular point in time, it has been suspended.

Will Grigg from ProLibertate, an excellent freedom blog, has this to say:

According to Glover, a police officer may properly disarm any civilian at any time, and the civilian’s duty is to surrender his gun — willingly, readily, cheerfully, without cavil or question.

From Glover’s perspective, it is only when firearms are in the hands of people other than the state’s uniformed enforcers/oppressors that they constitute a threat, not only to the public and those in charge of exercising official violence but also to the private gun owner himself.

NAGR spoke with Mr. Baillio, and he told us that he’s in the process of securing the official procedures and codes for firearm handling and private property confiscation for the Shreveport police department.

So far, the city has been half-heartedly cooperating with him.

“I felt sick,” Baillio told NAGR. “My uncles didn’t die for this country so I could surrender my rights like a wimp.  I felt terrible.  I was just thinking of all that my family has done for freedom in this nation — including dying — and here they are disarming me at a traffic stop.”

What to do?

  1. Read Luke’s commentary here, and participate in the discussion by leaving a comment.
  2. Send this around. This kind of behavior cannot go unchecked.
  3. Call Mayor Glover’s office to complain: (318) 673-5050.

I’ll leave you with one last consideration.  As a licensed firearms instructor in charge of a hundred different students every month, I’m often asked if citizens should voluntarily inform police officers of the presence of a firearm during a routine traffic stop.

While different states have different laws, my answer for Colorado citizens is an emphatic “No”: Colorado law doesn’t require you to volunteer that kind of information, and this case in Louisiana proves why, if at all possible, you should never invite trouble by doing so.

For Liberty,

Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights

P.S. NAGR maintains a gun rights blog that our members use to keep abreast of current gun rights developments.

Whether the news is coming down from Congress, the states, the ATF, Michael Bloomberg, Eric Holder, or even this particular autocratic city official, Luke will keep you ahead of the game and up to speed on the battle for your gun rights.

To visit the blog, click here or point your browser to www.NationalGunRights.org/Blog.

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, Men's Issues, News, Politics, Warfare, Wordpress Political Blogs | 3 Comments »

College student shoots home invader, saves 10 lives

December 30, 2009

From a relatively new organization we received this; Funny how the GMM (Government Mandate Media) has not splashed this all over the news screens. Or is it..?

Yet another reason to keep a gun in the house . . .

Several months ago, in the notoriously dangerous neighborhood of College Park in Atlanta, Georgia, two armed criminals broke into a house party of students.

After confiscating the group’s valuables, the invaders split the men and women up into different rooms.

Witnesses say the perpetrators then counted their rounds and discussed if they had “enough” ammunition.

The students believe the gunmen were going to rape and murder the entire group of students, who were celebrating a birthday at the end of the semester.

However, one male student, whose identity is being protected by police and local media, retrieved a handgun from his backpack and fired at the thug who was detaining the men.

(That is: One smart student had prepared for a night in College Park, Atlanta.)

The criminal fled the apartment under the threat of injury and never returned.

The student continuing on into the girls’ room, found the other thug, 23-year-old Calvin Lavant, preparing to rape his first victim.

The student exchanged gunfire with Lavant, lethally wounding him in the process.  Lavant fled through a window and died in front of his apartment, only one building away.

One of the female students was injured during the exchange, but doctors expect a full and complete recovery.

So what’s the point

A student saved the girls from rape, and saved the whole group of 10 people (including himself) from murder … and he did it with a handgun.

This is a perfect example of how ludicrous “big city gun laws” are.  What if this had happened in New York, Chicago, or any of the other big cities that criminalize their citizens’ self defense?

Yes, we would be reading an entirely different story — one so horrendous that we would shudder at the very words.

Either this whole group of friends would have been raped and murdered by these two sorry excuses for human beings . . . or the hero of this story would be facing prison time for firearm possession and murder.

Thankfully, however, Atlanta hasn’t outlawed self-defense yet.  And since someone had a gun and was willing to use it, innocent life was preserved.

Congratulations to the unnamed hero of this story.  You saved your friends’ lives.

In Liberty,

Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Hoplophobia, Law, mysandry, News, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

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