Anti-gun group, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, rolled into Arizona this week, along with their latest tool paid poster boy, Colin Goddard. Mr. Goddard was wounded during the 2007 Virginia Tech Shooting, and is now using his cred to assist the Brady Campaign with their efforts to take guns out of the hands of lawful citizens.
I am very sorry that Mr. Goddard ended up in the middle of the Virgina Tech mess, but I must question his logic. The idea that the nightmare he endured has motivated him to fight against a person’s right to defend them self is just astonishing to me. Virgina Tech was a gun-free “safe zone” when the shooting occurred, and Mr. Goddard is advocating that the colleges and universities in Arizona stay that way. Wouldn’t that mean that others are doomed to suffer the same fate (or worse) as Mr. Goddard if these misguided policies are allowed to stay in place?
I was thinking about attending one of the “forums” this week, and asking Mr. Goddard in person about his decision to fight to continue to be a victim, but fellow blogger Tam’s recent post on the subject reminded me why I generally stay away from the anti-gunners, either in person or on the interwebs:
I don’t really care about the statistics or the efficacy (or lack thereof) of gun control laws. My right to own a gun (or anything else, for that matter) is not contingent on what other people do with that right. It wouldn’t matter if everybody else on the planet misused their firearms every day, that doesn’t have a thing to do with me or mine
* Senator Gallardo is the sole sponsor of AZ SB 1586, which would require federal background checks on all firearm sales (including private) at any “firearm show” (broadly defined to include almost any gathering where firearms might be sold). Another “we’ve got to do something” bill that does nothing but restrict the freedom of law abiding citizens.
New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg is at it again, this time he’s committing Federal felonies in Arizona to prove the “need” for a national gun registration database. The media is happily parroting Bloomberg’s press releases, confirming that a felony was committed at an Arizona gun show. The problem is, the illegal acts were done by Bloomberg and his “investigators”.
Bloomberg paid people to go to a gun show and buy handguns for him. Something the Mayor wouldn’t legally be able to do, as he is not a resident of Arizona. This is a straightforward Straw Purchase, defined as the illegal purchase of a firearm by one person for another. A felony committed by Bloomberg’s people, punishable by a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison.
These transactions occurred between Bloomberg’s private investigators, Kroll, Inc and private individuals (not gun dealers). Kroll doesn’t list any locations in Arizona, so I’d love to know how the straw purchasers came up with the Arizona driver’s licenses presented to the gun seller during the transactions. I hope Bloomberg’s people didn’t violate Arizona’s Criminal Impersonation (ARS 13-2006) and Forgery (ARS 13-2002) laws.
From the ABC News article, Bloomberg and his anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) want to require a background check and permanent record of every firearm sale that, “would be archived in the background check database”. They want a national gun registration database and they’re willing to do anything to get it.
Will ATF’s Project Gunrunner go after Bloomberg? Will the Attorney General of Arizona pursue these alleged crimes? Or will the so-called “good” intentions of a rich man in NYC trump the rule of law?
UPDATE II: The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reports that the Bloomberg’s office claims that “the investigators were Arizona residents and broke no laws”. If no laws were broken, will anyone call Bloomberg out on his deception and false proclamations of illegal sales?
So you’ve slept off the Slurpee hangovers, given some high-fives, and perhaps done some gloating on Facebook or Twitter. Now what?
I think Arizona talk radio station KFYI’s Mike Broomhead said it best. NOW IS WHEN THE WORK BEGINS.
It’s feet to the fire time, folks. The politicians (on both sides) got elected because they promised us the moon and stars, cuter puppies and a major decrease in spending and government intrusion. They made these promises to get our votes, and while I would bet the farm they don’t expect us to hold them to it, we have to keep the pressure on.
We need to remind incumbent and newly elected politicians alike that the “work” they did to convince us to vote for them was merely a prelude to what we expect them to do for us on a daily basis. I’m sure your boss expects you to do the work you’ve been asked to do, so why should we expect anything less of our politicians?
Day 2 of the 2010 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Charlotte proved to be a packed day, just like the first day of the NRA convention. Staying in the center of town made for a short walk to Charlotte Convention Center and the few panhandlers I saw didn’t pester me. I should note that Charlotte’s panhandlers did have the newest and cleanest clothes I’ve seen on beggars anywhere, the Charlotte Observer should be proud.
Honored American Veterans Afield, also known as HAVA, has a booth in the main lobby area. We’ve written about the great work HAVA does, backed by the outdoor industry, to help injured and disabled soldiers transition back to civilian life. I participated in their fund raising raffle and happily departed with a few HAVA branded Smith & Wesson lockback knives. We hope you’ll support their efforts too. Despite the large attendance at the show, I was able to get a photo of the HAVA booth in main lobby area.
(Click on the pics for a larger version)
Honored American Veterans Afield
Even though the lobby was fairly easy to navigate, the show floor was very active and crowded around the popular booths.
NRA Meeting & Exhibits floor on Saturday.
Lauer Weaponry, maker of Duracote gun paints, had a display of custom painted firearms. I looked at the graffiti laden Manhattan paint scheme momentarily before this brightly painted AR-15 with a rail mounted .45 caught my eye, then apparently blinded me.
Lauer Weaponry displayed their Bloomberg edition gun paints, along with a Manhattan themed rifle, complete with graffiti.
I’ve been meaning to learn more about Buz Mills – Gunsite owner and candidate for Arizona Governor. Yesterday, I received a Buz Mills brochure in the mail, and I was struck by a simple, yet powerful statement made on the back cover:
BUZZ MILLS
Committed Conservative
Successful Entrepreneur
NOT A POLITICIAN
Sounds good, but I’m going to need to know more. If he’s half as good as he sounds, I’m all in.
Looks like I’m not the only one that’s liking what they’ve seen so far. Rasmussen Reports conducted a telephone survey of likely voters in Arizona last week , and in a head-to-head match up with Terry Goddard (current AZ Attorney General), Buz Mills leads Goddard 43% to 37%.
Sebastian over at Snow Flakes in Hell notes that Arizona has a slew of pro gun rights legislation in the pipeline this year. The proposed laws include the Firearms Freedom Act, legalizing defensive display of a firearm, allowing university professors to carry guns on school grounds, and eliminating the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed weapon (HB 2347 and SB 1102).
There would still be an advantage to obtaining a permit; carrying a gun into a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol would require one, and the permit would be valid in some other states. Permit holders can also buy new guns without a background check.
Permit reciprocity between states, restaurant carry, and an easier process for gun purchases would still make it advantageous to obtain a Concealed Carry Weapons Permit. Under the proposed law, a CCW permit would also prevent law enforcement from confiscating a weapon possessed lawfully by a CCW permit holder. As expected, the sky is falling for gun banning, anti-civil rights groups like the Violence Policy Center and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
“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.”
No, Ms. Rand, criminals won’t be affected by any changes to our gun laws. Stricter gun laws never encumber criminals, just law abiding citizens. If you could get criminals to comply with laws, then we wouldn’t call them criminals.
“You have no laws meant to reduce gun violence and protect the public, and you have an active gun lobby there that wants to do away with even the bare threshold of laws you do have,” said Ladd Everitt of the Washington, D.C.-based national Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Contrary to what Everitt believes, we have a plethora of laws intended to reduce all types of violence, including violent crimes involving firearms. I’m sure that Everitt would be comforted to know that we still have capital punishment in Arizona. If the death penalty isn’t a good enough deterrent against gun violence, a background check surely isn’t going to stop it. Perhaps, these groups should campaign against violent people, instead of inanimate objects.
As a lifelong Arizona resident and a CCW permit holder, I support the passage of all of these bills, with one exception. I have reservations about Senate Bill 1102 allowing concealed carry without a permit. Arizona is a battleground against human and drug trafficking through our Southern border with Mexico. Phoenix has the second highest rate of kidnapping in the world, human smugglers often have running gun battles on our freeways, and home invasions have become routine.
We have a systematic failure to enforce several existing laws, due to vote pandering policies that circumvent the rule of law. These corrupt policies prevent law enforcement officers in many municipalities from arresting human smugglers and criminals, unless they have solid proof a serious crime has occurred. Allowing police to enforce all laws would solve this problem. Otherwise, our carry laws are one of the few ways law enforcement officers have to easily distinguish law abiding citizens from criminals.
Law abiding citizens open carry weapons, or carry with a CCW permit and notify an officer when encountered under current laws. A criminal won’t have a permit and can be easily removed from the streets for the weapons violation alone. If the bill allowing concealed carry without a permit passes, we will take away an effective tool for removing criminals from the streets.
I know my position puts me at odds with AzCDL, but I believe that passage of this bill will provide effective ammunition for the anti-civil rights groups. As an unintended consequence, these groups will be able to disingenuously point to any crime involving a firearm and claim that the crime is due to our “lax laws”, when the lack of enforcement our existing laws and borders would be the true cause. I believe passage of SB 1102 could cause the pendulum to swing against lawful gun owners, undoing much of the headway made on fully restoring our 2nd Amendment rights.
