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Newsbits
Nov 27, 2018 Jurisprudence, Politics, State Legislation Leave a comment
Tuesday’s Newsbits:
Jurisprudence:
- SAFE Act court challenges set for new year
- Pro-Gun Organization Petitions SCOTUS to Hear a Case Regarding Handguns
- Gun Owners of America have submitted an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. New York City
Legislation:
- Dem wanting social media scrutiny for gun-license applicants has violent, tax-delinquent past: reports
- Under new Senate bill, Internet postings would be scrutinized as part of handgun buying process
- Checking social media before gun license approval, yes or no?
Politics:
Lawmakers propose including social media in gun background check
Nov 26, 2018 State Legislation Leave a comment
Newsbits
Nov 22, 2018 Elections 2018, Jurisprudence, Local Legislation, Politics 3 Comments
Thursday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
- DA says he will not prosecute SAFE Act provision ruled unconstitutional
- Gun-license lawyer gets 12 months in jail for bribing NYPD sergeant
- Feds: DeBlasio Donor Lied on Gun Permit App But Bribed Cops to Get it Approved
- Court: NRA lawsuit against NY Gov Andrew Cuomo over “blacklist” can go forward
Legislation:
Politics:
Proposal requiring gun owners open up social media and online searches
Nov 21, 2018 State Legislation Leave a comment
Current bill was introduced as S-9191, but it will have to be reintroduced with a new number in January at the start of the 2019-20 session.
Newsbits
Nov 19, 2018 Jurisprudence, Politics, State Legislation Leave a comment
Monday’s Newsbits:
Jurisprudence:
- The NRA Will Have Its Day in Court
- Amid confusion, part of SAFE Act will stop being enforced in Erie County
Legislation:
Politics:
Have not learned a thing
Nov 17, 2018 Elections 2018, Moonbattery, Politics Leave a comment
If there was any doubt as to whether or not the Republicans learned anything from the last election, the answer is No, they haven’t.
NEWS: John Flanagan has been re-elected as #nysenate GOP leader over Cathy Young.
It was a 14-9 vote, per @JamesTedisco pic.twitter.com/7yYT3aJz4I
— Jimmy Vielkind (@JimmyVielkind) November 16, 2018
The list of nine GOP senators who backed Catharine Young's #nysenate leadership challenge to John Flanagan are:
Amedore, Tedisco, Robach, Ortt, Funke, O’Mara, Helming, Serino and Young
— David Lombardo (@poozer87) November 16, 2018
Promises, promises
Nov 16, 2018 Federal Legislation, Politics Comments Off on Promises, promises
The Washington Post reports:
“Newly ascendant Democrats are promising congressional action on gun control amid a rash of mass shootings … Pelosi vowed to push for a range of actions to stem gun violence, including restrictions on high-capacity magazines and a measure allowing temporary removal of guns from people deemed an imminent risk to themselves or others …”
I doubt that. I expect a bunch of noise with little action.
Pelosi knows even if the House passes something the Senate won’t take it up. The gun control agenda has been waning for years because the fringe advocates have never been able to deliver a political payoff to electeds who promote the agenda. That has not changed.
Another shakedown
Nov 16, 2018 Gun Industry, Politics 1 Comment
There have been some attempts, most recently with Ruger, to impose backdoor gun control regulations through company shareholders of both firearms manufacturers and sporting good retailers like Walmart.
That tactic is getting traction with antigun politicians:
“As part of an effort to address gun safety issues and reduce investment risk, a coalition of institutional and private investors with combined assets of more than $4.83 trillion has created a framework for engaging with companies that manufacture, distribute, sell, or regulate products within the civilian firearms industry …”
What sort of investors?
“… Signatories include CalSTRS, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Florida State Board of Administration, Maine Public Employees Retirement System, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, TIAA’s Nuveen, OIP Investment Trust, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Rockefeller Asset Management, San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, State Street Global Advisors, and Wespath Investment Management. …”
State pension funds and companies which manage them and are beholden to (antigun) politicians.
“… [Christopher Ailman, chief investment officer at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)] insists that working to help reduce gun violence is part of their business. “This is part of the holistic picture of being an asset owner. It’s absolutely within our fiduciary duty to engage and try to bring about change,” said Ailman …”
No, your fiduciary duty is to provide maximum return to investors with minimum risk.
What exactly do they want?
At the heart of the framework are five main principles to guide institutional investors’ approach to affecting change within the firearms industry:
Principle 1: Manufacturers should support, advance, and integrate the development of technology designed to make civilian firearms safer, more secure, and easier to trace.
They mean things like microstamping and “smart guns” neither of which work.
Principle 2: Manufacturers should adopt and follow responsible business practices that establish and enforce responsible dealer standards, and promote training and education programs for owners designed around firearms safety.
NSSF and NRA already do this, but I guarantee that isn’t what these guys are looking for.
Principle 3: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should establish, promote, and follow best practices to ensure that no firearm is sold without a completed background check in order to prevent sales to persons prohibited from buying firearms or those too dangerous to possess firearms.
Universal background checks and gun owner databases.
Principle 4: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should educate and train their employees to better recognize and effectively monitor irregularities at the point of sale, to record all firearm sales, to audit firearms inventory on a regular basis, and to proactively assist law enforcement.
Hold dealers responsible for 3rd party misuse, strict liability.
Principle 5: Participants in the civilian firearms industry should work collaboratively, communicate, and engage with the signatories of these principles to design, adopt, and disclose measures and metrics demonstrating both best practices and their commitment to promoting these principles.
Basically show they have adopted the current gun control agenda.
“… Ailman emphasized that the group of investors isn’t looking to be an antagonist to the companies involved in the firearms supply chain, but to work with them to improve their product, similar to the way safety advocates in the 1980s successfully lobbied for nationwide seatbelt laws …”
Baloney. This is what nearly bankrupted Smith & Wesson and antigun advocates know it.
Essentially these largely unaccountable pension funds want to throw their fiduciary responsibility out the window and devalue their investments by forcing companies to engage in practices that hurt their business. There are some “socially conscience” firms which engage in this sort of behavior, but individuals can choose whether or not to put money in them. Government pension funds by and large do not give retirees that option. This is the perfect example of why public pensions should be converted over to private Roth IRA accounts which individuals manage themselves.
Leadership vote Friday
Nov 15, 2018 Politics Comments Off on Leadership vote Friday
State of Politics reports that soon-to-be-former Majority Leader John Flanagan has called for a GOP leadership vote tomorrow.
I’ll keep it simple:
No to Flanagan and No to Cathy Young, in that order.