The Romney reality

On: By: admin

At last count, Mitt Romney has 430 delegates.  At least 1144 delegates are needed to secure the GOP nomination.

Rick Santorum has 185 and Newt Gingrich has 106.  Even if one of them drops out (which I don’t see happening), it still leaves Romney with a big lead that I don’t believe either of those guys can overcome.  Like it or not, he’s going to be the one going up against Obama this fall.  We need to start looking at potential VP candidates to make up for Romney’s shortcomings, especially in the RKBA area.

Like anyone cares

On: By: admin

George Pataki endorsed Mitt Romney.

Meh.  As if a milktoast RINO’s blessing is what’s been missing from Romney’s campaign …..

Ruling likely to stand

On: By: admin

Constitutional lawyers the Baltimore Sun spoke with regarding the case against discretionary licensing think the ruling will be upheld.  In a nutshell:

“… “The idea here is that if this is a constitutional right, like all the other constitutional rights, then you shouldn’t need the government’s permission to exercise it,” said Randy E. Barrett, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington …”

Exactly.

The antis’ aren’t giving up though:

“…  Jonathan Lowy, director of the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project, said it’s “perfectly reasonable and prudent for Maryland to have law enforcement decide who has a demonstrated need to carry loaded guns in public.”  “There’s a whole other level of risk that the public is exposed to when civilians carry loaded guns on public parks, streets, in restaurants, what have you.”  Lowy called the decision a “very dangerous precedent” that is not supported by case law and said he expects it to be reversed …”

Really?  According to the first story the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2010 ruling that the 2nd Amendment likely extends outside the home.  If that’s true, I don’t see them overturning the decision.

Senate companion to H.R. 822

On: By: admin

An e-mail blast from Human Events says that a Senate version of H.R. 822 will be introduced soon with significant Democrat support.

Discretionary gun licensing unconstitutional

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A federal judge has ruled that Maryland’s discretionary CCW system is unconstitutional.  According to the AP:

“… U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg says a requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to carry a handgun infringes their Second Amendment right to bear arms. He says it isn’t sufficiently tailored to the state’s public safety interests …”

This doesn’t do anything immediately for us, but long term this is good news for New York as I believe that Maryland’s law was written using the Sullivan Act as a guide.

Bloomberg in a snit

On: By: admin

Virginia just repealed their one-gun-a-month law.  Of course, Mayor Mike did not like that:

“… Bloomberg, one of the country’s top advocates for tough gun laws, said dismantling the law will enhance Virginia’s reputation as the gun-running capital of the East Coast.  “Virginia is the No. 1 out-of-state source of crime guns in New York, and one of the top suppliers of crime guns nationally,” Bloomberg said …”

If this is true then it means that the law wasn’t deterring criminals so scrapping it will have no negative effect.  Therefore Bloomie has nothing to complain about.

Romney didn’t listen

On: By: admin

A few weeks back I suggested Mitt Romney should avoid talking about gun issues.

He didn’t listen:

“… At a town hall here, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, in response to a question about gun control, “I have guns myself.”  “I believe in the Second Amendment, I’ll protect the second amendment, I have guns myself,” Romney said today at the town hall meeting at Capital University. “Not going to tell you where they are.  Don’t have them on myself either, alright.” …”

Dumb move.

Calling out Peralta on microstamping

On: By: admin

Senator Jose Peralta sent a letter to Gov. Cuomo asking that he including microstamping in the state budget.

I call BS on that:

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association would like to correct the gross misstatements made by Senator Jose Peralta in his letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding his proposed firearms microstamping bill S-675B.

First, there is not a single independent study demonstrating the technology actually works. Several studies, including those done by the Suffolk County Crime Lab in Hauppauge and the University of California, Davis, conclude the technology does not work. Sen. Peralta has no basis for claiming “microstamped characters have been shown to transfer perfectly up to 95% of the time.”

Second, Sen. Peralta’s bill explicitly states that “microstamp-ready” firearms must put unique codes on spent cartridge cases on at least two places. The one and only way to comply with this would be a total redesign of all pistols made over the past 120 years, assuming that is even possible as the only place to make the second marking is inside the chamber when the round is fired making it difficult, if not impossible, for a gun to function properly. Sen. Peralta’s statement that “microstamping may cost as little as $0.50 per gun” is equivalent to saying that pigs could fly if only they’d grow wings.

The microstamping proposal has been becoming increasingly unpopular in Albany over the years as evidenced by the decreasing number of legislators supporting it. People know it’s a fraud. Sen. Peralta is trying to pass a bill that cannot be complied with in order to effect a total prohibition on all new pistols sold in the state. He just does not have to courage to come right out and say that. 

UPDATE: The Times Union noticed that people are posting their opinions on microstamping to his Facebook page and he responded with this:

A file won’t defeat microstamping technology. It might, however, render the gun inoperable.

There are two places where microstamps will be put on semi-automatic guns. The firing pin and the breech face. The microstamp itself is not visible to the naked eye. So, first of all, you need a microscope to see it on the firing pin. And even if you were able to do that, trying to file off or file down the microstamp would destroy the firing pin and the gun would be inoperable. The microstamp on the breech face is entirely within the structure of the gun and cannot be accessed without taking the gun apart. Again it would render the gun inoperable.

New York in primary play

On: By: admin

According to the Press & Sun-Bulletin, New York could be relevant in the GOP primary despite it’s late date:

“… Despite New York’s position at the end of the primary schedule, April 24, New York’s GOP chairs are beginning to think the state’s 95 delegates could mean a lot to candidates … The state’s impact on the race will vary depending on the outcomes of several primaries that are scheduled before it … There will be 15 more primaries or caucuses before New York gets to vote, including Texas, which holds the second-highest number of delegates, 155, and whose primary is tentatively scheduled for April 3.  California has the most delegates at stake, with 172, and its primary is June 5. New York has the third most … most GOP leaders think the primary will factor into deciding the party’s candidate, if only because of a change in the system from previous elections.  For this year’s primary, New York will no longer be a “winner-take-all” state.  Delegates will now be apportioned among candidates on the ballot based on the voting results …”

I haven’t seen any polls yet, but I’d give Mitt Romney the edge in the state by a considerable margin.

The myth of antigun relevance

On: By: admin

The antigunners allies at ThinkProgress and Media Matters are claiming that the NRA’s endorsements don’t mean that much:

“… The organization’s stamp of approval, it is believed, not only sends a clear message to Americans who own guns, but brings with it indispensable grassroots organizing muscle that can make all the difference in House and Senate races … Many interest groups endorse candidates, but it is fair to say that few find their endorsements as eagerly sought as the National Rifle Association.  And there may be a few races here or there in which an NRA endorsement has a meaningful impact on an election’s outcome.  But it seems clear that those cases are few and far between …”

The antis are really getting desperate if they’re peddling this.  If gun owner endorsements didn’t matter candidates would not seek them out.  In just the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten:

  • 3 fundraising invitations from incumbent state legislators
  • 1 invitation to a re-election campaign kickoff for an incumbent state legislator
  • 1 fundraising invitation from a Congressional candidate
  • 1 request for a candidate questionnaire from a state legislative candidate
  • 1 request for an endorsement from an incumbent county office holder

This is probably more love than the sum total all of the antigun groups nationwide have gotten from ’12 candidates thus far.  The antis aren’t even talking about elections anymore.  They’re in hysterics over the abject failure of their Starbucks boycott.  This is why their legislative agenda is failing.  Politicians don’t see the antis as being willing or able to back up their positions at election time.