Governor Cuomo has signed A-10204/S-7436 into law. The bill creates a possession exemption allowing students to use handguns during safety/proficiency classes offered by schools. Some upstate colleges have shooting programs. It is a minor win for our side.
The script
The Huffington Post reports that Frank Lautenberg is refusing to pull his his 10+ round magazine prohibition amendment from the cybersecurity bill:
“… Lautenberg said he has no intention of waiting to debate his proposal. “I’m not prepared to do that,” Lautenberg told The Huffington Post. “We want to connect safety with reality. And the reality is that we lose more people every year to gun murder than we do in the military … It is ridiculous.” Lautenberg said his amendment “belongs in a security measure” like the cybersecurity bill and said he plans to keep pushing it until it gets heard on the Senate floor …”
I’m not buying it. There aren’t the votes in either chamber to pass this and everybody knows it. This is all an act. Here what I think the script is going to be:
- Egged on by the leftist media, Lautenberg, McCarthy, etc. keep mouthing off about gun control. The general public shows no interest in the issue.
- Something else comes along (like the political conventions later this month), and the media loses interest.
- Lautenberg pulls his amendment. Politicians and leftist media outlets blame the NRA, ignore the fact that they were the only ones pushing it in the first place.
- Antis try pressuring candidates up and down the ticket to support their issues. An overwhelming majority blows them off.
- The antis further descend into madness.
Actions speak louder than words
Jackie Hilly from NYAGV wants the candidates to “speak their minds” on gun control.
Both Obama and Romney have addressed the issue. She just doesn’t like that their position is to blow her off.
Intimidation tactics
The antis (more like one antigunner and her media allies) are trying to intimidate Assemblyman Steve Katz over a campaign fundraiser to be held at a training center which features a virtual shooting gallery:
“… Jackie Hilly, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, was sharply critical of the event’s theme. “It is appalling when people are still suffering,” Hilly said of the event’s proximity to the 12 deaths and nearly 60 injuries from a Colorado movie theater shooting. “I think it is in poor taste while people are out there still having funerals for people who were killed by rapid-fire weapons,” she said. “There would have been better ways for him to arrange a fundraiser and it is his responsibility to know how his fundraisers are promoted.” …”
They’re trying to intimidate him and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos who will be guest speaker. They want to shut Katz up and shame Skelos into allowing the microstamping bill to come up in the Senate during a special session later this year.
The appropriate thing to do in this situation is to tell the Journal News (which has a long history of antigun activism) and Jackie Hilly to go fuck themselves. Unfortunately, I think Steve is too polite to do that so the next best thing is to just ignore them. Nobody in the district is clamoring for more gun control.
Like they have a choice
Some nonsense from The Hill:
“Democratic gun reformers are giving President Obama a pass as they push support for tougher gun laws …”
Like they have a choice in the matter. It is blindingly obvious that there aren’t the votes in either the House or Senate to pass anything on the antis agenda. Advocates even admit that in the article:
“… [Rep. Mike Quigley] is quick to note that there hasn’t been a single House hearing on guns since he arrived on Capitol Hill more than three years ago. Indeed, when he requested such a hearing in the last Congress when Democrats controlled the chamber, party leaders rebuffed him. “I never thought the issue would get to this point where we can’t even have a conversation,” he said …”
So, how exactly are the antis giving Obama a pass on the issue? That makes it sound as if the antis have a lot more power than they really do and are doing the President a favor by letting him slide so he can focus on other things:
“… Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Congress’s loudest voice for tougher gun laws, also declined to poke Obama on the issue, suggesting the president is focused on things like the economy that resonate with a much greater number of voters. “I do believe the President of the United States … believes in what we believe in,” she said this week. “But there are other things that, right now, [are] on everybody else’s plate.” …”
What crap. They just cannot admit that the gun control is a fringe issue and that there isn’t the political will to move the agenda.
Pirro slams Bloomberg
Good commentary from Jeanine Pirro especially considering she has an antigun record almost as bad as Bloomberg himself.
Schumer’s soundbite
Chuck Schumer wants to attach an amendment to a cybersecurity bill prohibiting the sale of magazines holding 10+ rounds:
“… Schumer defended the Brady law and assault weapons ban on the floor Thursday evening, perhaps in preparation for the coming fight with Republicans and gun rights activists …”
This is nothing more than a PR stunt. There aren’t the votes to pass it in the Senate, not that it will even come up:
“… Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday the Senate’s schedule is too packed to even have a debate on gun control. Asked if the Senate might debate the issue next year, Reid said: “Nice try.” …”
Yep. Nice try Chuck.
Still nothing
The antis and their leftist media allies have been screaming for the past week for more gun control. What it got them? Still nothing. Both Romney and Obama are avoiding the issue:
“… On Wednesday the two candidates finally elaborated on the issue, and offered divergent opinions. In an interview with Brian Williams, Romney suggested that no new gun legislation is needed, and made a confusing statement about suspect James Holmes obtaining weapons illegally (later his campaign acknowledged that Holmes bought guns legally, and said he was referring to the bombs in Holmes’s apartment). On Wednesday evening while speaking before the National Urban League convention, Obama said he supports greater gun control. It was his most in-depth discussion of the issue as president, yet Obama was vague on what exactly he plans to do …”
Not true. Both candidates positions are perfectly clear: they want nothing to do with gun control. They know the issue is a stinker with the American public and they know that associating with antigun advocates hurts them politically. The antis simply refuse to accept that.
Nothing
Nothing.
That is what the antigunners are going to get out of the massacre in Colorado. The usual suspects, Mayor Bloomberg, Carolyn McCarthy and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, are doing their blood dance, encouraged by leftist media outlets who are unwilling to accept their declining relevance in shaping public opinion in the 21st century.
“Gun control advocates sputter at their own impotence.”
Yep. And they cannot understand why.
Neither of the presidential candidates wants to talk gun control. Congress isn’t interested, except for Frank “The Walking Dead” Lautenberg. The antis have nothing left except lame PR stunts destined to fail.
Romney speaks on guns, not 2A
Mitt Romney is attacking Obama on guns, but not on 2nd Amendment issues:
“Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney lashed out Tuesday at President Obama for a lack of “transparency’’ in invoking executive privilege to withhold Operation Fast and Furious documents. In a release headlined “Transparent Hypocrisy: Obama’s Fast and Furious Broken Promises,’’ Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said: “President Obama’s pledge to be transparent has turned out to be just another broken promise.’’ … “If we want to talk about transparency, the real issue is why has this president used his presidential power and executive privilege to keep the information about the Fast and Furious program from being explained to the American people?’’ Romney said …”
Fast and Furious is a big scandal and a legitimate topic of discussion for the candidates. While Romney’s record on the 2A is poor, he could have at least mentioned in passing the concern that many in the mainstream have that the operation was set up as a backdoor way of promoting gun control.