CD-22 race in the news

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The Observer-Dispatch reports on incumbent Congressman Sean Hanna and the race for his seat, “Hanna battling 2 others for 22nd Congressional District.”  Gun issues get a brief mention:

“… The moderate Republican from Barneveld faces two opponents in his bid for a second Congressional term, representing a district that stretches from Oneida County to Binghamton … He pointed out his high ratings with conservative organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Rifle Association …”

This is true.  Hanna voted for H.R. 822.

Next week’s agenda

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Some of our friends in the legislature are making some noise on our issues.

Assembly Codes Committee agenda for Tuesday, May 22:

  • A-3929, Clarifies that licenses to carry firearms may be issued to non-resident individuals.
  • A-6083, Authorizes the possession and use of a single shot .22 caliber rifle by a person eleven years of age on a rifle range while supervised at an indoor or outdoor shooting range.
  • A-9086, Creates a process for the issuance of a temporary permit to carry or possess a firearm for persons who are not residents of the state of New York; provides an affirmative defense to possession of a loaded firearm by certain persons and provides reciprocity for persons licensed in other states.
  • A-9719, Allows individuals, duly licensed out-of-state to carry a pistol or firearm, authority to carry such weapon within New York state for a limited duration with proper documentation.

Senate Code s Committee agenda for Tuesday, May 22:

  • S-2361, Provides that restrictions regarding the carrying of  concealed weapons and licenses therefor shall be by statute only.  This one isn’t so good as it does not make the state shall issue and licensing agents may simply refuse to issue any licenses if they are not permitted to restrict them.

The sinking ship

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The headline says it all, “Alarm Grows Among Dems About Obama’s Chances“:

“It has taken months of bad news, but Democrats increasingly believe that President Obama might just lose his re-election bid.  The latest wake-up call comes in the form of a New York Times/CBS poll showing Republican Mitt Romney in the lead not just among registered voters overall, but with women and independents …”

That’s good, but I’m still not seeing the love for Romney.  I think his increasing numbers have more to do with disgust with Obama as opposed to support for Romney, especially with gun owners.  Romney needs to close the deal.  He could do that either by picking a solid gun guy as his running mate and/or supporting the reciprocity bill in Congress.  Just a a short and sweet statement like “As President I would sign H.R  822 into law.”  Anything more than that would come across as sucking up and not be believable considering his less than perfect record on the issue.

One Schimel out

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It looks as if Mark Schimel won’t run against his estranged wife Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel afterall.

It’s still early so maybe the GOP will still be able to field a strong challenger for her this fall.

Second Chance Campaign

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Here is the video Mayor Bloomberg paid for featuring Trayvon Martin’s mother. It’s part of his newest antigun initiative against self-defense laws.

Given Bloomberg does not have all the facts on the case, it’s a bit odd that he’s chosen to pick sides on it.  If there is solid evidence that George Zimmerman acted in self-defense as he claims, Mayor Mike is going to look really stupid.

/a

Schimel v. Schimel

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A cage match would seem more appropriate:

“The War of the Roses is erupting on Long Island, where a Nassau County man is set to challenge his estranged wife for state Assembly.  Mark Schimel has been given the Nassau County GOP nomination to seek the Great Neck seat that currently belongs to his estranged wife — Democrat Michelle Schimel …”

I was hoping they’d put up a decent candidate to run against her as she is prime sponsor of microstamping and most of the antigun crap in the Assembly.

“… Frank Moroney, the North Hempstead town GOP chairman, admitted there were concerns the race could degenerate into a bitter, personal battle, but insisted the GOP leaders urged him several times to keep it classy.  “One of the things we made clear is we want this to be a very dignified, issue-oriented campaign,” Moroney said …”

Not likely.  While it may have some entertainment value I seriously doubt she’s going to be challenged on her positions, especially gun control.

Bloomberg has made America less safe

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Legislative Report #20

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Legislative Report #20 is now online.

Obama picking a fight

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Obama looks to be picking a gun fight he does not need.  Fox News reports:

“President Barack Obama has threatened to veto a Department of Justice appropriations bill House Republicans passed because, among other things, it includes a provision that blocks a gun control law his administration used Operation Fast and Furious to pass.  The Obama administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote, and began implementing, a new rule that would require gun dealers in the four U.S. states that border Mexico to report sales of multiple semi-automatic rifles to the ATF.  In the 2013 fiscal year budget for the Department of Justice and related agencies, House Republicans inserted a rider, or condition, that would force the ATF to not implement that rule …”

First off,  ATF simply does not have the legal authority to implement that rule.  This alone should have been enough to keep the Administration from getting involved with it in the first place.  Although NRA lost their first lawsuit against it, they are appealing.

Second, the “Fast and Furious” gun running scandal is a hot issue which isn’t just going to go away.  It looks as if Eric Holder is going to be charged with contempt of Congress over his refusal to provide satisfactory answers over it.  It makes no sense for Obama to bring up an issue where it appears likely that a top official in his administration is going to be hit with criminal charges.

Third, this plays right into the NRA’s election strategy of painting him as a gun grabber.  He’s already in trouble with the voters and the antigun label is going to cost him even more votes.  He lost 40% of the West Virginia Democrat primary to a guy who is in jail.

There is no way for Obama to put a positive spin on this.  What was he thinking when he made his veto threat?

CoBIS cost to manufacturers

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NSSF rep. Jake McGuigan brought up an interesting fact at today’s Sportsmen’s Caucus’ breakfast: CoBIS was costing gun makers $7 per gun to ship compliant guns into New York with spent shell casings.  Over it’s 11 year lifetime that adds up to gun owners paying an extra $2.5 million dollars on top of the estimated $4 million taxpayer dollars spent each year to keep CoBIS up and running.  Total damage: approximately $47 million dollars wasted.