Glenn Beck at the NRA Celebration of American Values event:
He sweats a lot.
Receiving award.
After the speech, on the way out. Not the best shot. He was walking and signing something at the time.
Bloomberg knows he’s going to lose
Incorporation is coming and Mayor Mike knows it. From the NY Times, “Bloomberg Plan Would Simplify Gun-Permits“:
“The Bloomberg administration announced on Friday that it was moving to simplify the process for New Yorkers to obtain gun permits, thus speeding up a set of byzantine licensing requirements that gun-rights advocates have long criticized as among the most restrictive in the country. Administration officials said that the move was forged by a City Hall focused on efficiency and that it would allow for better investigation of applicants who might not qualify for a gun while more swiftly satisfying those fit to have them …”
Bullshit.
“… “If I were working for the mayor in New York, in the legal department particularly, I’d be saying: ‘Are we sure we can defend these laws? Are there things to do, ahead of time, that will make it easier for us to defend them?’ ” said Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “I would be surprised if that were not the thinking.” …”
Helmke speaks the truth (for once).
They can’t defend the Sullivan Act. It’s been kept alive through decades of poor legal challenges and bad court decisions. None of this addresses the core issue of discretion and the need for a license just for possession of a handgun. This is just an attempt to buy time. New York operates under the notion that there is no right to own a gun. Incorporation will change that and force New York, including New York City, to accept that.
Tough, yet classy
NRANews at the NRA annual meeting
Kagan ‘not sympathetic’ to gun rights
From Bloomberg.com, “Kagan Was ‘Not Sympathetic’ as Law Clerk to Gun-Rights Argument“:
“Elena Kagan said as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk in 1987 that she was “not sympathetic” toward a man who contended that his constitutional rights were violated when he was convicted for carrying an unlicensed pistol. Kagan … made the comment to Justice Thurgood Marshall, urging him in a one-paragraph memo to vote against hearing the District of Columbia man’s appeal. The man’s “sole contention is that the District of Columbia’s firearms statutes violate his constitutional right to ‘keep and bear arms,’” Kagan wrote. “I’m not sympathetic.” …”
I figured that sooner or later something like this would turn up.
Guns in parks on agenda
A-7183C, Prohibits the possession of concealed firearms in any national park or national wildlife refuge system, is on the Tourism committee agenda for Monday, May 17.
Microstamping passes Assembly
Bills stuck in Codes
All these bad bills failed to make it out of Assembly Codes today:
- A-3477, Increases the types of firearms that are to be included in the firearm ballistic identification database.
- A-4431, Requires defendant’s full cooperation with any law enforcement officer or district attorney who is investigating or prosecuting unlawful gun trafficking.
- A-5272, Prohibits the attendance of children under eighteen years of age at gun shows or stores by classifying such attendance as unlawfully dealing with a child.
- A-5368, Makes it illegal to sell component parts of a pistol or firearm to any person who does not possess a valid pistol permit.
- A-5695, Enacts provisions relating to the trafficking of weapons and for the firearm, rifle and shotgun ballistic identification bank.
In the past 18-19 years I’ve been following gun legislation this I cannot recall ever seeing an antigun bill that was put on the Assembly Codes agenda fail to be moved out of Codes at that time.
Gun Owners for Carl
Carl Paladino followed through on creating his Gun Owners for Carl coalition. Tom will be overseeing it. See coverage of the announcement here and here.
Schuyler Co. opposes gun control bills
The Schuyler Co. Legislature unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to the gun control package the state legislature passes each year. Chenango, Delaware, Erie, Herkimer, Niagara, Ostego, Rensselaer, Seneca and St. Lawrence already passed similar resolutions and I believe one or more of those counties sent copies of their resolution to all other counties in the state.