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GOA Helps Push Pro-gun Coburn Amendment Over the Hump — And Montana becomes a model state

May 14, 2009

Gun Owners of America Alert: Some good news for a change! 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

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Gun owners won a long-fought victory in the U.S. Senate yesterday with
the passage of an amendment to repeal the gun ban on National Park
Service (NPS) and National Wildlife Refuge System land.

GOA was the driving force behind this amendment and lobbied Senators
hard prior to the vote to get the provision passed. The amendment,
offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), passed overwhelmingly by a vote of
67-29. People can see how their Senators voted on the Coburn amendment
by going to:
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/votes/?votenum=188&chamber=S&congress=1111

NPS and Wildlife Refuge land is treated differently with regard to gun
rights than other federally controlled land. For instance, the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) allows state and local laws to govern firearms
possession. However, carrying firearms on NPS land and Wildlife Refuges
is prohibited, even if the state in which the land is located allows
carrying firearms.

The only way to legally possess a firearm anywhere on National Park land
is by having it unloaded and inaccessible, such as locked up in your
trunk.

This has created a patchwork of conflicting regulations. For instance, a
Virginia resident who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm can
legally carry on the Commonwealth’s roadways, but it is illegal to carry
on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a major thoroughfare in
Virginia under the jurisdiction of the NPS.

In the waning days of his administration, President Bush partially
reversed the ban, but even that half-way measure has been
single-handedly negated by an activist judge in Washington, D.C. The
Department of Interior has decided not to appeal that ruling, thus
leaving the gun ban in place.

The Coburn amendment will treat NPS land and Wildlife Refuges in the
same manner as BLM land. The amendment will in no way change or override
state, local or federal law, but will simply allow those laws — enacted
by legislation, not bureaucrats or judges — to govern firearms
possession.

The amendment was attached to a bill, H.R. 627, regulating the credit
card industry. The House passed its own version of the bill on April 30
by a vote of 357-70, and the Senate is expected to follow suit this
week.

The House bill does not contain the Coburn language, and is
substantially different in other respects. Therefore, a House and Senate
conference committee will have to iron out the differences between the
two bills. President Obama said he wants to sign a bill before Memorial
Day.

GOA will alert you once the conferees are appointed, as we need to put
the heat on the conference committee to keep the Coburn amendment in the
final bill.

Please stay tuned for further updates.

States Beginning to Resist Federal Intrusion

The epicenter of the earthquake you may have felt last month originated
in Helena, Montana.

That’s where Governor Brian Schweitzer signed the Montana Firearms
Freedom Act into law. This act basically states that if you build a gun
in Montana — and the firearm stays in the state — it is exempt from
federal gun control laws.

Several states have passed so-called Tenth Amendment resolutions in
recent years to protest the usurpation of power that the federal
government has engaged in. However, most of these resolutions have no
teeth.

What Montana has done is to actually interpose itself so as to protect
its citizens from the unconstitutional mandates that have been passed at
the federal level.

Gary Marbut, a former GOA Board Member and the current head of the
Montana Shooting Sports Association, is the intellectual author of this
legislation. He says that almost a dozen states are considering — or
have already introduced — similar bills. Marbut is expected to talk
about the new law on Fox’s Glenn Beck show this Friday (5 pm EST).

This effort is not the first act of interposition on Montana’s part.
This is the state that has effectively, by law, decreed that every
law-abiding citizen within the state is authorized to carry a firearm
within a school zone; the state that nullified the federal requirements
of REAL-ID (read: National ID card); and which had even threatened to
leave the union if the Supreme Court ruled against Second Amendment
rights in the Heller case.

Thank God for the state of Montana.

****************************

What’s Your Current GOA Status?

Obviously, we now face years of invigorated attacks on our gun rights.
Shutting down gun shows, prohibitions on specific calibers, another
semi-auto ban, and the anti-gun extremists’ Holy Grail of mandatory
federal licensing and registration of all gun owners — these are just
some of the horrors that we already know we’ll have to defeat head-on.
Meanwhile, we’ll take every opportunity to go on offense and advance the
Second Amendment.

It can’t be done without every single voice being counted. That’s why we
are asking you to consider making the commitment of becoming a Gun
Owners of America Life Member. By doing so, you put the politicians on
notice that neither you nor GOA is going away — that no matter who’s in
the White House, there is always going to be a solid wall of resistance.

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National Security Letters

May 14, 2009

National Security Letters have been used by many Presidents for a long time. Most often they are used as intended. A tool that will help the President guard the safety of the people of the United States. That has not always been the case, but it has been the norm.

There appears to be a new twist added by the current administration though. That being the broad brush approach to diverse groups of people from varied backgrounds that support or oppose various issues and causes. It’s not just the Libertarians being painted into this picture anymore. It’s a pretty large slice of the American pie. I first saw something about this a day or so ago, and was thinking about posting about it with commentary; however, Tracy at No Compromise, as usual, beat me to it. Read on…

The American government is officially out of control, and has murdered the Constitution! We the People have aided in this killing,  and it didn’t start with Faux-bama at the helm.

This slow crawl to utter control of us consumers (notice I said consumers,  and not Citizens, that’s another post for sure) has been going on for a very long time, and the only reason we see it more clearly right now is because American Citizens are using technology to expose the destruction of the Constitution and our self-sovereignty!

I posted the Fourth Amendment to remind you of your self-sovereignty, natural Rights and show you first hand with a contrast to our beloved Constitution what the federal government is doing to take away our un-a-LIEN-able natural, non-government issued, Rights we possess because we were born human beings!

Let’s start with this little tidbit of information,  the unclassified (meaning: not kept private) National Security Letter.  What is that you ask?

“A National Security Letter (NSL) is a letter request for information from a third party that is issued by the FBI or by other government agencies with authority to conduct national security investigations.”

On the face,  it all sounds really groovy, and protective of our Nation,  but let’s take a closer examination of what a “national security investigation”  might look like.

Recently, The Homeland Security released a so called “non-classified” report called Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

The writers stated that the purpose of the report was

to facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the United States. The information is provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States. Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.

Let me start with this statement:

Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.

The Feds don’t even make good liars anymore! Why is it that the Feds are trying to “influence domestic public opinion”?  It’s called brainwashing, but I digress!

Read More Here

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H.R. 2159 making the Constitution toilet tissue

May 11, 2009

I have many times said that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are a package. Take one part from them, and the whole thing falls apart. The ultimate goal of the authoritarians is the dismantling of our way of life. As noted on another WordPress blog this morning the failed “communitarian movement” sought, as a base statement that individual liberty is subject to communal liberty. That scholarly work was from 1996 and contrasted militia movements with communitarian’s as well as pointing out the similarities.

It seems that although the so-called movement has gone away it’s ideology has reached the halls of power. As expressed in proposed law by those that just absolutely hate liberty and freedom H.R. 2159 will deny rights to people simply based upon suspicion. The obamanites are learning though, they have tossed in leftest groups this time as well as those that they previously had branded as home grown terrorists. Read on…

By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily


Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.

A new gun law being considered in Congress, if aligned with Department of Homeland Security memos labeling everyday Americans as potential “threats,” could potentially deny firearms to pro-lifers, gun-rights advocates, tax protesters, animal rights activists, and a host of others – any already on the expansive DHS watch list for potential “extremism.”

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has sponsored H.R. 2159, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009, which permits the attorney general to deny transfer of a firearm to any “known or suspected dangerous terrorist.” The bill requires only that the potential firearm transferee is “appropriately suspected” of preparing for a terrorist act and that the attorney general “has a reasonable belief” that the gun might be used in connection with terrorism.

Gun rights advocates, however, object to the bill’s language, arguing that it enables the federal government to suspend a person’s Second Amendment rights without any trial or legal proof and only upon suspicion of being “dangerous.”

Are you ready for a second Declaration of Independence? Sign the petition promoting true freedom once again!

“[Rep. King] would deny citizens their civil liberties based on no due process,” objected Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America. “A ‘known terrorist?’ Look, if the guy has committed an act of terrorism, we shouldn’t have to worry about him being able to buy a gun; he should be in jail!”

Pratt further warned WND of the potential overlap of H.R. 2159 and a recent DHS memo that warned against potential violence from “right-wing extremists,” such as those concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty.

“By those standards, I’m one of [DHS Secretary] Janet Napolitano’s terrorists,” Pratt said. “This bill would enable the attorney general to put all of the people who voted against Obama on no-gun lists, because according to the DHS, they’re all potential terrorists. Actually, we could rename this bill the Janet Napolitano Frenzied Fantasy Implementation Act of 2009.”

;

WND Exclusive

HOMELAND INSECURITY

Next step? No guns allowed for right-wing ‘extremists’

Bill empowers attorney general to forbid firearms for those ‘suspected dangerous’

SOURCE

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Obamanomics explained

May 10, 2009 

            Who will help me plant my wheat?" asked the little red 
            hen.

"Not I," 
            said the cow.

 "Not I," said the 
            duck.

 "Not I," said the 
            pig.

 "Not I," said the 
            goose.

 "Then I will do it by myself," 
            said the little red hen, and so she did. She planted her crop, and 
            the wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden 
            grain.

 "Who will help me reap my 
            wheat?" asked the little red hen.

 "Not 
            I," said the duck..

 "Out of my 
            classification," said the pig.

 "I'd 
            lose my seniority," said the cow.

 "I'd 
            lose my unemployment compensation," said the 
            goose.

 "Then I will do it by myself," 
            said the little red hen, and so she 
            did.

 At last it came time to bake the 
            bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red 
            hen.

 "That would be overtime for me," 
            said the cow.

 "I'd lose my welfare 
            benefits," said the duck.

 "I'm a 
            dropout and never learned how," said the 
            pig.

 "If I'm to be the only helper, 
            that's discrimination," said the 
            goose.

 "Then I will do it by myself," 
            said the little red hen.

 She baked five 
            loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted 
            some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, 
            "No, I shall eat all five 
            loaves."

 "Excess profits!" cried the 
            cow. (Nancy Pelosi)

 "Capitalist leech!" 
            screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)

 "I 
            demand equal rights!" yelled the goose. (Jesse 
            Jackson)

 The pig just grunted in 
            disdain. (Ted Kennedy)

 And they all 
            painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the 
            little red hen, shouting 
            obscenities.

 Then the farmer (Obama) 
            came. He said to the little red hen, "You must not be so 
            greedy."

 "But I earned the bread," said 
            the little red hen.

 "Exactly," said Barack the 
            farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. 
            Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our 
            modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide 
            the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and 
            idle.."

 And they all lived happily ever 
            after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am 
            grateful, for now I truly 
            understand."

 But her neighbors became 
            quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she 
            joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats 
            smiled. 'Fairness' had been 
            established.

 Individual initiative had 
            died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared...so long as there 
            was free bread that 'the rich' were paying 
            for.

 EPILOGUE

 Bill 
            Clinton is getting $12 million for his 
            memoirs.

 Hillary got $8 million for 
            hers.

 That's $20 million for the 
            memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified, 
            under oath, that t hey couldn't remember 
            anything.

 IS THIS A GREAT BARNYARD OR 
            WHAT

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NRA ILA Alerts

May 10, 2009

H.R. 2296 — BATFE Reform Bill Introduced In U.S. House

capitolAs we reported last week, the companion bill to S. 941 — the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act” that was introduced by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on April 30-was introduced in the U.S. House this week.

Sponsored by Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio), H.R. 2296 is bipartisan reform legislation that represents the culmination of efforts to address BATFE abuses and problems highlighted in several congressional oversight hearings in 2006.  (To read more about those hearings, please click here.)  H.R. 2296 represents NRA-ILA’s latest efforts to pass legislation that will make it easier for gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law and regulations, while ensuring that criminals are punished accordingly.


Click here to vote in this week’s poll.

Polling Data Shows That Most Americans Oppose New Gun Control: Anyone who follows the news closely can tell you that, despite what a majority of the media’s anti-gun talking heads say, most Americans do not support more gun control. Faced with the new anti-gun administration, the economy, terrorism, gang violence, etc., gun and ammunition sales are soaring. And recent polling data once again prove that Americans value the Second Amendment and don’t want more restrictions placed on their freedom.

H.R. 2324–Aiming At Registering Gun Owners And Putting Gun Shows Out Of Business: On May 6, at a press conference with Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, U.S. Representatives Michael Castle (R-Del.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 2324–the “Gun Show Loophole Closing Act.” Masquerading as reform, H.R. 2324 would impose severe bureaucratic restrictions aimed at shutting down gun shows.

Joyce Foundation’s Investment In Violence Policy Center Yields Poor Return: The Joyce Foundation gives millions of dollars to the two or three radical anti-gunners that make up the Violence Policy Center, to put together white papers vilifying everything related to guns and gun owners. But after VPC’s latest effort, Joyce might want to reconsider whether it’s getting its money’s worth.

This week, VPC came out with one of its most trite and superficial bits of gibberish to date–an extraordinarily brief piece pointing out that Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, and Nevada are the five states that have the highest firearm-related death rates, and among the highest rates of gun ownership and “weakest” gun laws.

No Surprises Here: As reported in the April 3 Grassroots Alert, Richard Aborn, former president of Handgun Control, Inc. (now Brady Center) is running for Manhattan District Attorney. A story in the May 5 issue of The New York Times, notes that Aborn recently unveiled a five-point plan for combating gun violence in the city. Not surprisingly, it is laden with gun control provisions.

Aborn’s plan calls for “regional interdiction approach to gun trafficking; more gun buyback programs and a program in which parents could give the police permission to search homes for guns; a requirement that pistols sold in New York include micro-stamping technology; a five-year renewal process for handgun permits; and support for a national gun-control strategy.”

ILA Dinner and Auction At Annual Meetings: The Institute for Legislative Action will hold its Third Annual Dinner and Auction in conjunction with the NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday evening, May 15th.

dinnerThe Third Annual NRA-ILA Dinner and Auction will allow you to show your continued support for NRA-ILA, and enjoy a great evening filled with good food, friends, and an excellent live and silent auction. This year’s auction is dedicated to “Investing in our Firearms Freedom.”

For more information regarding this great event or to purchase tickets, please click here.

Supreme Court Plaintiff Dick Heller To Speak At Grassroots Workshop Breakfast! If you haven’t signed up yet for the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on May 15, being held in conjunction with NRA’s Annual Meeting, here’s another reason to do so.

phoenixDuring the free continental breakfast that proceeds the Workshop, Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the landmark D.C. v. Heller case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and affirmed the Second Amendment as an individual right, will be presenting remarks.

Mr. Heller will speak at 8:30 a.m., on the Heller decision and the need for continued and increased grassroots activism in order to protect the Second Amendment.

To read more about this Workshop, please click here.

SOURCE

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Thugs in the White House

May 8, 2009

Noted economist John Lott unloads on the White House.

Read it HERE

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Tom Ridge Drops Out as Pressure Against his Candidacy Intensifies!

May 8, 2009

Tom Ridge Drops Out as Pressure Against his Candidacy Intensifies!
— Plus, gun owners gain ground in opposition to Health Care Gun Ban

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

Friday, May 8, 2009

Earlier this week, GOA alerted email activists that certain prominent
Republicans were pushing former Department of Homeland Security Director
Tom Ridge to run against pro-gunner Pat Toomey in a Pennsylvania
primary.

GOA members flooded the Republican National Committee (RNC) office with
phone calls and emails, highlighting a few of Tom Ridge’s anti-gun
actions:

* As a Congressman, he provided the pivotal vote to pass the Clinton
semi-auto ban.

* As Governor, he signed into law the infamous Act 17, which registered
and taxed long gun buyers and placed other restrictions on Keystone
State gun owners.

* As the first director of DHS, Ridge opposed arming commercial airline
pilots in defense of terrorism.

In contrast, former Rep. Pat Toomey stood 100% for the rights of gun
owners.

GOA also sent a letter to every RNC official nationwide, assuring them
that gun owners and sportsmen would not accept an anti-gun candidate
like Tom Ridge.

Well, good news! Tom Ridge “decided,” with the help of
activism like
yours, to stay out of the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate race. He withdrew
his name yesterday.

That means Pat Toomey, who has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America
Political Victory Fund, could face Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen
Specter next November.

Specter, you may recall, provided crucial support to confirm gun-hating
Attorney General Eric Holder; was one of two Republicans to vote against
arming commercial airline pilots; and singlehandedly passed the
so-called economic “stimulus” bill, which contained several
provisions
of grave concern to gun owners.

Update on Health Care Gun Ban

Two weeks ago, GOA asked you to urge your Representative and Senators to
vote against the budget resolution conference report. The vote was a
key battle in the larger war over whether to create a national health
database which would allow BATF to troll your medical records for
information about whether your mental state subjects you to a gun ban.

Well, it looks like we took a couple of small steps forward, even though
the resolution passed the House and the Senate. The Senate only passed
the resolution by a 53-43 vote, which means that despite the pleas of
the Obama administration — thanks to your efforts — all Republicans,
plus Specter, Bayh, Nelson of Nebraska, and Byrd voted against the
conference report.

This means that, with all senators present, we are only about a half
dozen votes away from defeating the vast, hugely controversial health
package when it comes up for a final vote in September or October. And,
when the package is unveiled later this summer, we will have a good shot
at picking up the additional votes we need, based on its controversial
details.

****************************

Got Form Letters?

Recently, several legislators such as Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia have
been sending activists interesting form letters whenever those activists
contact them via GOA’s Legislative Action Center. Essentially, the form
letters state that a detailed reply will not be forthcoming because the
e-mail was generated through an “outside third party website,” or
include similar sentiments. This has some GOA supporters understandably
concerned that they are being ignored.

Rest assured, our contacts on Capitol Hill report that GOA-generated
e-mail IS being received and the contents noted by staff of the offices
in question. If the legislators choose to respond with a nothing-burger
form letter, fine. They know they have to pay attention to gun owner
concerns when the votes are taken. So please do not be discouraged if
you receive a less-than-forthcoming response. Your views are being
heard.

****************************

Just a note. So far I have received real responses from the Wyoming legislators. 😀

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Enzi, Barrasso: loop holes threaten gun rights

May 8, 2009

I love my new state! It is also a plus that I have no problems at all with all three of our Federal legislators! So far at least!

Enzi, Barrasso: loop holes threaten gun rights

Support bill to stop gun carry inconsistencies in national parks

May 6, 2009


Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., are pushing to protect second amendment rights in every corner of the nation, including a corner of Wyoming – Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Both senators are co-sponsoring the Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act, S. 816, which would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in national parks if the concealed weapons permit holder is authorized to do so on similar state lands in the state in which the national park or refuge is located.

“The Wyoming delegation has fought to open up national parks to responsible gun owners in the past and we won that fight. While the appeal of the rule to allow guns in national parks is a small setback, the pressure to do what is right and preserve second amendment rights in and out of national parks will not stop. The Wyoming delegation is turning up the heat,” said Enzi.

“The second amendment is a cherished right, and a value we hold dear in Wyoming,” said Barrasso. “Unfortunately the courts and gun control crowd in Washington are scheming to hijack our second amendment rights.”

Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.,is a co-sponsor of the House version, H.R. 1684.

In December 2008, a rule was implemented to allow concealed weapons in national parks and refuges. That rule was then challenged in court when President Obama took office and the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. ruled that an environmental study is needed before the new rule change can be accepted.

While the courts wait for a final decision on the environmental study Enzi and Barrasso are working to add co-sponsors to the bill to ensure Wyoming gun owners are not left in limbo.

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H.R. 2324 more of the same old same old

May 8, 2009

The usual haters of freedom and liberty are back at it despite what the impostor in chief says about interfering with the rights of the people. Using the same tired old arguments and the same tired old lies the anti-liberty crowd is back to finding a cure for a problem that doesn’t exist.

On May 6, at a press conference with Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, U.S. Representatives Michael Castle (R-Del.) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 2324–the “Gun Show Loophole Closing Act.” Masquerading as reform, H.R. 2324 would impose severe bureaucratic restrictions aimed at shutting down gun shows.

The bill is essentially a re-introduction of the failed H.R. 96, introduced in the 110th Congress. Despite changes from the Lautenberg juvenile justice amendment of 1999, on which the measure is based, H.R. 2324 fails to address gun owners’ most significant concerns. In several areas it is even more restrictive than past attempts to regulate gun shows. H.R. 2324 would create gun owner registration, massive new government red tape, and allow harassment of gun show organizers, vendors and attendees. The bill also ignores a glaring problem–multiple government studies prove gun shows are not a source of “crime guns.”

Anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a companion bill (S. 843) in the U.S. Senate in late April.

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to strongly oppose H.R. 2324; and please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to strongly oppose S. 843! You can call your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121.

SOURCE

Apparently, they haven’t heard the news…

WASHINGTON — Amid a wave of publicity about drug-related gun violence along the Mexican border and police killings in U.S. cities, an increasing number of Americans oppose new government efforts to regulate guns.

Recent nonpartisan polls show shrinking support for new gun-control measures and strong public sentiment for enforcing existing laws instead. So strong is the shift in public opinion that a proposed assault-weapons ban — once backed by 3 in 4 Americans — now rates barely 1 in 2.

Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, told reporters Tuesday that “every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control.”

A CNN poll conducted in April found that 39 percent of Americans wanted stricter gun-control laws, down from 50 percent in 2000.

Forty-six percent said the gun laws should stay as they are, while 15 percent said they should be loosened — up from 9 percent in 2000.

When asked to identify the best way to reduce gun violence, 61 percent of Americans said stronger enforcement of existing laws, while 27 percent opted for stronger laws, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll, also conducted in April.

Even an assault-weapons ban is not the political “sure thing” it once was. An April 23-26 poll by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found that support for curbing the sale of assault weapons and semiautomatic rifles has dropped from 75 percent in 1991 to 53 percent today.

Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said the latest polls confirm what his gun-rights group has been saying all along.

“We have adequate gun laws on the books to address every situation,” he said.

The shifting public mood on gun issues is one reason the Democratic administration is not trying to reinstate the assault-weapons ban that Congress let expire in 2004.

Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs says President Barack Obama believes that “we can make a significant dent in gun violence . . . through enforcement of the existing laws.”

Elected officials in California and Pennsylvania have responded to the killings of four police officers in Oakland, Calif., and three in Pittsburgh by calling for restoration of the decade-long ban.

Gun-control advocates have also pushed to revive the ban as a way to stem the flow of firearms illegally smuggled from the United States into Mexico.

But despite support for limits from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, Congress seems unlikely to act.

Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, called diminished public support for gun-control measures “a good thing.”

He said the recent poll findings will help lawmakers “resist pressure from this administration to pass more gun-control legislation.”

SOURCE

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Posted in Editorial, Opinion, Education, Gun Control, Law, Men's Issues, mysandry, News, Non Compos Mentis, Politics, Wordpress Political Blogs | 1 Comment »

Killing the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAPP)

May 8, 2009

Is this “Aiding and abetting” an invasion of the United States? I am of a mind that it is in fact nothing less than that. Unfunded mandates from the federale’s is nothing new but this takes it to new heights as the impostor in chief and his crime partners still refuse to enforce our laws. At least the ones that they decided are not worth enforcing. Our borders need to be secure, period. This is not an issue about citizens of a failed state called Mexico, it is about national security. American national security. Congress determined some time back that terrorist’s were indeed among us, with many of them gaining access to the United States via the people pipeline from Mexico. Yet Congress does nothing about it. The nation is in a deep recession, if not depression, and yet Congress does nothing about illegals coming into America and working here when Americans and legal immigrants go without any work, much less meaningful employment.

Use the GOA or NRA web pages to contact your elected representatives and tell them what you think about this horrid set of affairs.

Hat Tip to Anthony for bringing this to our attention!

Obama budget nixes aid for jailing illegal immigrants

By Ian Swanson and Walter Alarkon
Posted: 05/08/09 09:24 AM [ET]
President Obama voted in the Senate to provide additional funding for a program targeted for elimination by his budget that provides states a federal subsidy to offset the costs of jailing illegal immigrants.

Killing the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAPP) would save $400 million, according to Obama’s budget for fiscal 2010 released Thursday. It’s one of the largest non-defense discretionary cuts proposed in the president’s budget.

The program is popular with border-state politicians on Capitol Hill, however, making its elimination a tough sell to lawmakers, particularly from California.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has repeatedly pushed for additional funding for the program, and lawmakers from other states that have costs associated with illegal aliens have also offered support.

A bipartisan trio of House members from California have drafted a letter urging the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to restore funding for the SCAAP program. The three members, Reps. Mike Honda (D), Adam Schiff (D) and Jerry Lewis, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, are also asking the rest of the California House delegation to sign the letter, Honda’s office said.

As an Illinois senator, Obama co-sponsored an amendment offered by then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), now Obama’s secretary of state, that would have provided additional funding for the program. It also would have established a grant program to defray local government healthcare and education costs for non-citizens.

“Each year, the SCAAP program is underfunded,” Clinton said in 2006 comments urging support for her amendment. She cited a 2005 Government Accountability Office study that found local governments get only 25 percent of their costs reimbursed through the program.

“Throughout our country and in my state, there are counties and municipalities that are covering the costs of dealing with education, healthcare, and law enforcement without adequate or any federal reimbursement,” Clinton said. “So we have left our local and state governments to fend for themselves. They should not be left to bear these costs alone because it is not they who are making federal immigration policy.”

Another Obama Cabinet member, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, then a senator from Colorado, was also a co-sponsor.

Obama voted for the amendment, but it was defeated 43-52.

Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that has called for tougher border security, predicted it is “very unlikely” that Obama’s proposal to cut the program will be accepted by Congress. He noted that the Bush administration repeatedly tried to zero out the program, but always ran into opposition in Congress.
“It’s hard to justify getting rid of it honestly,” Krikorian said. “It’s a necessary program because the federal government is reimbursing states and localities for the federal government’s own mistakes.”

Krikorian, like Clinton in 2006, argued immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and if state and local jails are incarcerating illegal immigrants, it is because of failed federal policies.

According to the fiscal 2010 budget, Obama’s administration thinks resources used for the program could be better used to enhance federal efforts to curb illegal immigration.

“In place of SCAAP, the administration proposes a comprehensive border enforcement strategy that supports resources for a comprehensive approach to enforcement along the nation’s borders that combines law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts to investigate arrest, detail, and prosecute illegal immigrants and other criminals,” the budget states.

It emphasizes that the budget will provide funding for an additional 20,000
Border Patrol agents, and an additional $1.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement programs to support the quick identification and removal of illegal aliens who commit crimes in the U.S.

The Office of Management and Budget did not respond when contacted about this story.Should Obama’s budget cut all subsidies to states for jailing illegal immigrants? Sound off here!

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