A background check before CHECKING OUT a gun show? This is guilty until proven innocent on steroids and a Constitutional violation of epic proportions.
Folks, it’s become perfectly clear that this isn’t about reducing gun violence, it’s about restricting as many of your Constitutional rights as possible. I can’t help but ask myself why President Obama and his band of anti-rights, gun grabbers want to make it as difficult as possible for responsible and law abiding citizens to even look at a firearm? I’ll let you decide for yourself, but I can’t come up with an answer that isn’t truly terrifying.
Arizona’s newest (and most “progressive”) Congressional Representative has been noticeably absent in the current debate on gun rights since she was sworn in earlier this year. That’s now changed, and she’s finally responding to her constituent’s letters. I just received her response to one of the many emails I’ve sent regarding gun rights, and I’ve posted it below. Looks like she’s going to try and play both sides – not surprising, considering the number of Republican and Democrat gun owners in her district.
Dear Ms. XXXXXX,
Thank you for contacting me to share your views on the issue of gun violence. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your position on this very important issue.
I believe strongly in the Second Amendment and that it guarantees individuals the right to own and bear arms. I also believe that it’s time for Congress to have a serious discussion on how we keep our kids, schools, and neighborhoods safe. This means discussing how we care for the mentally ill and how expanding universal background checks can be most effective.
I recognize that only a small minority of those afflicted with mental illness may ever become violent and believe that we can strengthen mental health services to help minimize that possibility. At the same time, we can and should prevent access to guns for the small minority of the mentally ill who are dangerous.
We cannot let politics get in the way of doing the right thing for our kids, families and the millions of responsible gun owners. As a former social worker at Sunnyslope and Shaw Butte Elementary schools in Phoenix, I understand the importance of this issue and am committed to having a discussion with all sides of the debate to pass legislation that helps protect all Americans. Should legislation regarding this issue be considered by the House of Representatives, I will keep your views in mind as we work on this complex and important subject.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. I encourage you to visit my website at http://sinema.house.gov for up-to-date information, press releases, and other information.
Sincerely,
Kyrsten Sinema
Member of Congress
Thank you for the response, Ms. Sinema. If you’re serious about having that “discussion with all sides of the debate”, I am more than willing to have that discussion with you at any time, any place. You know how to reach me.
If you live anywhere near Tucson Arizona, you have an opportunity on Saturday to participate in the “national conversation on gun control”, or at least support the only pro-rights person member on the panel. Widely praised Second Amendment scholar, author and attorneyDavid T. Hardy will be the only pro-gun/pro-rights member of the panel. Mr. Hardy will represent your rights, and be the only voice of reason, in the discussion about “common sense gun control ideas.”
From Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik:
Beginning at 2pm at St. Marks Church (3809 E. Third Street – a block west of Alvernon) I’ll be participating in a forum with several other people to discuss the issue of common sense gun control ideas. Also on the panel will be Pam Simon (January 8th survivor and member of Demand A Plan,) State Representatives Bruce Wheeler and Victoria Steele, State Senator David Bradley, and Tucson Attorney and gun rights advocate David Hardy. Possible attendees will also be Representatives Grijalva and Barber – depending on schedules and what’s going on out in D.C.
The forum is scheduled to last until 4pm.
There will be opening remarks by the panel members, and then questions from the audience. I know each of the people ho are on the panel and it is my expectation that this will be an opportunity to listen to varying viewpoints on this volatile topic in a way that is non-confrontational and respectful. With this topic, that’s not always the case.
If you live near the Tucson area and value your right to bear arms, your attendance is critical to demonstrate to the Tucson City Council that they can’t justify trampling your freedoms using sham “forums” like this one.
A truly grassroots 2nd Amendment Rally was held at the Arizona Capitol last Saturday. Turnout estimates for “High Noon at the Capitol” have ranged from a crowd of 400 people at any given time, to more than 1,500 total based on the number of hand outs distributed.
A producer must have decided the story needed to be more dramatic and scary, did some editing, then ran the story again. The edits turned it into a “Gun Rights/Anti-Obama Rally” about “a small army, armed with hundreds of assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns took to the front lawn at the capitol today”.
ABC15 Reporter, Steve Kuzj, was a good guy and ran a fair story. Please send him a thank you note if you get a chance. Trusting in Mr. Kuzj’s good nature, Jacqueline elected to discuss gun rights, the Sandy Hook shootings, and what should be done to reduce violent murder. The reporter was initially confused about the rally, since he had an announcement that claimed it was supposed to be an Anti-Amnesty rally. He also noted that he would need an opposing view for “balance” in the story, but that there were no anti-rights people counter protesting. Unfortunately, the two or three anti-gun/anti-rights activists in Arizona were busy, so he had to use Facebook comments for balance. It must have been challenging to find a few anti-gun quotes that didn’t include personal attacks, profanity, or delusional thinking.
KPHO CBS-5 did a drive-by hit-piece about an “Impeach Obama Rally”. When contacted by rally attendees about the deceptive story, KPHO adamantly argued that their story was correct. Eventually, they provided a link to an ALIPAC (Americans for Legal Immigration PAC) Facebook event page as the source for their story. Unfortunately, nobody actually organized their national event and only 350 people even “Liked” the event page. Even worse for KPHO, it appears the Washington based ALIPAC planned their event for 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EST (9:00 to 11:00 Arizona time), while the 2nd Amendment Rally was from noon until 2:00 Arizona time. Yes, a local news station “covered” the story of armed people at the capitol by looking at the wrong event page on Facebook and “constructing” the rest of the story. On the KPHO Facebook page, they blamed the gun-rights rally organizers for the story.
it was presented to us as a rally to “Impeach Obama”. The initial information we received said nothing about gun rights. We expected a few dozen people and weren’t even sure we were going to cover it. It was a surprise to see all those people there and the biggest issue was the 2nd amendment. We would not have even known about the event except for 2 viewers who sent us the first info with links to an Impeach Obama Facebook page. No one involved in the gun rights issue bothered to tell us about the rally. Next time perhaps they will.
I guess KPHO doesn’t believe it is their job to publish accurate stories.
Despite what the “media” and anti-rights, gun-control proponents would like you to believe, women are a big part of the firearms community. There were plenty of women at the Second Amendment Rally at the Arizona Capitol yesterday, and here are just a few of the lovely ladies of all ages that came out to show their support for gun rights.
Robb Allen has a great post about citizen engagement in legislation and how you need to be involved to get good laws, specifically good gun laws. He notes that legislators aren’t experts on the issues they legislate. That’s where you, the engaged and informed citizen, have a duty to write, call, or visit your elected officials. Deeply flawed bills can be derailed by investing a little of your time in the process. Stopping bad bills from becoming law is cheaper, easier, and safer than trying to overturn a bad law in our court system.
For instance, a politician trying to “do something” might be extremely uninformed about the standard magazine capacity for a firearm. For the ambitious legislator, limiting magazine capacity might sound like a great way to “do something” about crime. Making it a felony to possess a magazine that can hold more than ten rounds will prove that the politician is really serious when he/she/it is trying to do something about crime. A courteous meeting with your politicritters could educate them about the range of standard capacities available, how the law will unjustly criminalize their voting base, negatively impact the poor, minorities, and women.
The alternative is; bad laws, a loss of rights, and hours wasted on internet forums complaining about how NRA let you down because they didn’t airdrop a team of lawyers and lobbyists in to rescue you from the city council/legislature/Governor your fellow citizens elected. At the local and state level, it’s your job to engage your representatives!
Even if NRA has a lobbyist in your state, that lobbyist doesn’t have as much influence as large numbers of constituents calling a state senator, flooding a representative’s inbox with email, or overloading the governor’s phone system.
The NRA is the 800 pound gorilla for Federal gun legislation and elections. At the state level in Arizona, the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) and the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association (ASRPA) are our 800 pound gorillas when it comes to gun rights. If your state has an NRA affiliate like ASRPA, or a comparable Citizens Defense League, you should join immediately. In California there is CalGuns and Florida has Florida Carry. Just about every state has a group fighting for their resident’s rights.
After you’ve joined a group that protects your rights, you need to participate as well. These groups get a reputation as 800 pound gorillas because their members demonstrate that they are watching, voting, and dethroning bad politicians.
If you don’t interact in the process, you are dependent on a few dedicated volunteers and a generous individual or two to protect your rights and interests. If you aren’t gaining ground in your state, it’s probably time for you to get involved.
It’s time for the special election primary race for those seeking to win Representative Gabby Giffords’ recently vacated seat. The Republican special election primary is set for April 17, 2012, and the special election is scheduled for June 12. The Republican race for the seat is heating up now that several candidates have announced their campaigns.
The choices so far in the Republican Primary are:
Arizona State Senator Frank Antenori was the first to declare his candidacy for the seat. Senator Antenori is an Army Special Forces Veteran who co-authored the book, Roughneck Nine-One: The extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-Team at War, about his experiences at the Battle at Debecka Pass in Iraq. His record on gun rights is great. Antenori’s experience as a legislator, his A+ AzCDL rating in 2010, and proven voting record give him a distinct advantage in the race.
Jesse Kelly will run again for the AZ Congressional District 8 seat. In 2010, Kelly was narrowly defeated in the race with Ms. Giffords. He served in the Marines for four years. After the tragic Tucson shooting at the Gifford’s event, Kelly was vilified by Democrats for his prior campaign events where supporters could shoot M16s with him. I’ll take that as a sign of his pro-gun credentials.
Martha McSally announced her intention to run for the vacant seat yesterday. Ms. McSally is the first woman to fly an Air Force fighter in combat. She is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 2010. She has also served as a national security adviser to Senator Jon Kyl. At this time, her website does not list her positions on current issues.
So far, the only candidate to come forward for the Democrat primary is Giffords’ aide Ron Barber.
The current race would allow the winner to serve in the seat through the rest of this year. The winner will need to simultaneously run in the Fall general election, but in the newly redrawn Congressional District 2 to keep the seat. The Republican contenders should make this race very interesting to watch.
While reading the transcript of President Obama’s gun control speech this morning, I came across this shocking statement:
