Thomas speaks

Justice Clarence Thomas rarely asks questions during arguments presented before the Court. Today he just did in a gun case:

“… Thomas’ questions came Monday in case in which the court is considering placing new limits on the reach of a federal law that bans people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns. Thomas asked the Justice Department lawyer defending the government’s prosecution whether the violation of any other law suspends a person’s constitutional rights …”

Interesting. I wonder if he will end up being the heir to Antonin Scalia in being the intellectual anchor for an originalist interpretation of the Constitution.

3D printed gun bill moves

A-381A, relates to the manufacture of “undetectable” firearms, has been advanced to 3rd Reading and can be voted on by the Assembly at any time.

Variations of this bill have been around for years, think Glock 7, but this is the first one to mention 3D printed guns as a justification for the bill.

There is no Senate companion so it likely isn’t going anywhere.

Trump’s problem in a nutshell

Putting aside all other personal beefs I have with The Donald, there is one underlying problem that cannot be ignored.

That is, there has not been a single poll showing he can beat Hillary Clinton in the general election.  I have yet to see either the candidate himself or any of his supporters say how they plan to address this issue.  It will not just go away on its own.

SAFE challenge halted for now

Due to Justice Antonin Scalia’s untimely demise, NYSRPA’s lawsuit challenging the SAFE Act has been halted.

I figured this was going to happen, but it still stings nonetheless.

I have to stress that this is only a temporary setback.  Other good gun cases are still active around the country that may prove helpful over the long term to our cause in New York.  That is the way to play the game, by thinking long term.  Where will we be in 5, 10, 20+ years down the line?

In the meantime, everyone should continue to fight the good fight.

The root of the GOP’s Trump problem

I admit that early on I did not take Donald Trump’s candidacy seriously.  The reason is simple:  The man is a gigantic clownstick.

Given the sheer volume of crap that could be used against him I assumed he would be taken out early on by the party machine.  That obviously did not happen.  I could not pin down the why.

Now the truth comes out:  None of the remaining candidates did serious opposition research on Trump.

Unbelievable.

There is still time to act.  It is just a matter of one (or more) of the remaining candidates having the cajones to act, launch a full frontal attack on him, ignore the critics, and not stop until the majority of the country look at Trump the way these Irish people do.

 

An erection lasting longer than 4 hours

The Daily News is not done:

“While big-money peddlers of death play dumb, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams shows savvy with a promise to help move bullet-riddled America to the sane adoption of smart guns. Adams says he’ll deliver $1 million from his budget to whichever New York college delivers the most promising plan for a firearm whose trigger can only be pulled by its authorized user — much like the smartphones most of us use every day …”

Introducing the new Google-edition Glock 17, powered by Android-Marshmallow.

Guns are nothing like smart phones.

“… The beep, who’s an ex-police captain, also signed up the NYPD to test prototype high-tech firearms as the winning school develops them — trial runs that Adams hopes will drive smart guns’ adoption by law enforcement and beyond …”

Good. Mandate that the NYPD use them first and see what happens.

“… No measure could more obviously prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands — of toddlers, of criminals, of madmen, of terrorists. But scared off by boycott threats from the National Rifle Association and other gun cultists, the industry shelved smart-gun development long ago …”

Untrue. People have been trying to make “smart guns” since at least the early 70s. Decades of failure should be an indication there is a flaw in the concept.

“… In picking up where the gun industry fears to tread, Adams joins President Obama, who in his January executive orders on gun safety directed his departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice to also sponsor technology research. Brooklyn’s borough president has already succeeded in rousing NRA fanatic-in-chief Wayne LaPierre from his deep, dark cave, to have a spokesperson insist: “We’ve never been against the development of the technology. We’ve just been against the mandated use of it.” …”

Awhile back NRA reviewed the Armatix iP1.

It’s crap.

“…If that’s really true, let’s see the NRA match Adams’ $1 million award.”

It is not Eric’s money, it belongs to the taxpayer. If he really believes in this let him put up his own money to fund a startup.  I’d suggest the same to the Daily News, but they’ve been losing money hand over fist already.

Gun control forum planned in Rochester

Failed Assembly candidate turned NYAGV mouthpiece Gary Pudup will be having a gun control presentation next Tuesday, March 1 at the Central Library of Rochester.

Hail to the King, Baby

Why is it so hard to get good people elected and the bad ones removed, especially in New York?  Decades of gerrymandering:

“… “When the district lines are drawn to favor one party over another, it becomes fait accompli — whoever the Democrats choose in a Democratic district, the Democrat will win, hands down,” said Dick Dadey, the executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens Union. “It amounts to more of a coronation.” …”

Hail to the King, Baby.

Abort, Retry, Fail?

Antigunners at the Daily News are getting an erection over this:

“College students in Brooklyn are about do to something the National Rifle Association has refused to — build a smart gun …

NRA is not a manufacturer.

“… Borough President Eric Adams has tasked college students with developing technology that would allow a weapon to be fired only by an authorized user. The NYPD will help test the designs …”

Eric knows a lot about gun safety.

“… “The NYPD’s range officers will help work out the kinks,” said Adams, who thought of the idea after the murders of Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in 2014. “We want to do something the NRA has prevented gun manufacturers from doing.” …”

The NYPD has yet to work out the kinks with regular guns.

“… Adams turned to borough colleges — the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Pratt University and New York City College of Technology among them — to work on the project. The one with the best proposal gets $1 million from Adams’ budget to advance the program …”

Ahh, there just had to be a public monetary component in all this.  Eric has a history of spreading it around.  God bless Tammany Hall.

“… The plan already has been blessed by City Hall. “The city is proud to take the lead in anti-gun violence strategies, and looks forward to testing out this new gun technology,” a spokeswoman said. The NRA didn’t respond to requests for comment.”

They were too busy laughing.

My Hero, Zero

The Governor responded to claims he is planning a 2020 presidential run:

“… “Zero. I have given it zero thought,” Cuomo said in New York City. “Is that a clear enough answer for you?” For emphasis, Cuomo then repeated the word “zero” in Spanish and Italian …”

Zero is my hero.

“… The Cuomo White House speculation has been fueled largely by New York Post columnist Fred Dicker …”

Fred hates Cuomo.  I wonder if he just messing with him?