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David Codrea

Holder to Testify Feb. 2 on DOJ’s Response to Fast and Furious

Eric HolderHouse Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been scheduled to testify on February 2 about the Department of Justice’s knowledge of, and response to, gunwalking that occurred in Operation Fast and Furious.

The Attorney General will be asked to address management deficiencies within the Department that occurred both during and after the conclusion of Operation Fast and Furious.  This will include the Department’s steadfast refusal to disclose information following the February 4, 2011 letter to Senator Grassley, which the Department has withdrawn because it contained false information denying allegations made by whistleblowers about Operation Fast and Furious. The committee’s investigation has found documentation that numerous members of the Justice Department knew the letter to Congress contained false information both before it was sent and later withdrawn.

“The Department of Justice’s conduct in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious has been nothing short of shameful,” said Chairman Issa.  “From its initial denials that nothing improper occurred, to efforts to silence whistleblowers who wanted to tell Congress what really happened, to its continuing refusal to discuss or share documents related to this cover-up, the Justice Department has fought tooth and nail to hide the full truth about what occurred and what senior officials knew.  Attorney General Holder must explain or reverse course on decisions that appear to put the careers of political appointees ahead of the need for accountability and the Department’s integrity.”

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley have led the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious.  In December 2011, the Justice Department explicitly informed the Committee that it would not deliver subpoenaed documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious created after February 4, 2011.  In interviews with committee investigators, senior Justice Department officials who had management responsibilities for Operation Fast and Furious have also refused to answer questions about decisions and conversations that occurred after February 4, 2011.

The hearing will occur in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.  The start time has yet to be determined.

For more information about the committee’s investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, visit the website at www.FastandFuriousinvestigation.com.

Source: David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended Tactical Rifle Resources
Gun Digest Book of the Tactical RifleGun Digest Book of The Tactical Rifle

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Own the Night: Selection and Use of Tactical Lights and Laser Sights

ATF Classifies Chore Boy Pot Scrubber Pads NFA Firearms

David Codrea's unregistered stockpile - for sale "off the books" to the highest cartel bidder. Chore Boy: the most trusted name in unregistered NFA firearms. Photo by David Codrea
David Codrea's unregistered stockpile - for sale "off the books" to the highest cartel bidder. Chore Boy: the most trusted name in unregistered NFA firearms. Photo by David Codrea

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Firearms Technology Branch has deemed “Chore Boy copper cleaning pads, along with fiberglass insulation,” a firearm, subject to registration and a $200 transfer tax, an official letter obtained recently by Gun Rights Examiner reveals.  The response to an attorney inquiry by John R. Spencer, Chief, Firearms Technology Branch, offers one of the more creatively restrictive assessments since ATF declared a shoestring to be a machinegun.

The rationale Spencer uses:

A silencer is a firearm per U.S. Code, subject to National Firearms Act registration and transfer tax requirements.

“[S]ound/gas absorbing materials manufactured from Chore Boy copper cleaning pads, along with fiberglass insulation, constitute a silencer…”

Therefore, it is illegal for an individual to replace deteriorated material within an already- registered suppressor without an approved ATF Form 1, ‘Application to Make and Register a Firearm,’” along with a “$200.00 making tax” and “a ‘no-marking’ variance…since there is no viable area in which to apply a serial number to the sound-absorbing material.” Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner

Breaking News: Source Claims ATF’s Tampa SAC Walked Guns to Honduras

Did ATF's Tampa office allow guns to walk to Honduras?Part of ‘Operation Castaway'?

Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  Tampa Field Division, ran a gun-running investigation that was walking guns to Honduras using the techniques and tactics identical to Fast and Furious, it was reported to these correspondents this evening via private correspondence from a proven credible source.

On 21 September, 2010, A. Brian Albritton, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida issued a press release on Operation Castaway:

United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton, Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of central and northern Florida Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operations, and Susan McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations, Tampa Field Office announce the initial results of Operation Castaway, an intensive and wideranging Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) firearms trafficking investigation conducted by ATF, ICE, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. ATF describes Operation Castaway as the most significant firearms trafficking investigation in Central Florida history.

According to court documents, a group of defendants connected to Hugh Crumpler, III, were involved in a major international gun trafficking operation. . . . Firearms like those involved in this investigation are often smuggled through Honduras and other Central and South American countries before being used in violent crimes in Mexico and other countries in the region. A number of the firearms trafficked by the defendants in Operation Castaway have been linked to violent crimes around the world.

The press release concluded, “This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Bishop Ravenel and E. Jackson Boggs. Operation Castaway remains an ongoing investigation.” Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended AR-15 resources for gun owners:

New! The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III

New! The Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. I

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. II

Gunsmithing the AR-15, How to Maintain, Repair & Accessorize

Find more gun books, DVDs and downloads at gundigeststore.com.

Anti-Gunners Counterattack on Gunwalker by Blaming Gun Laws, Smearing Issa

“As the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform focuses on alleged failures of the U.S. Justice Department’s program to stop gun trafficking to Mexico, a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) identifies the major force driving the criminal cross-border gun traffic: the gun industry’s cynical militarization of the U.S. civilian gun market,” a new Violence Policy Center  press release claims.

“Alleged.” Disgusting.  Josh Sugarmann should tell that to the survivors of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.  As should Elijah Cummings, whose deliberate indifference two years ago to complaints by ATF agents of bureau corruption and abuse ago makes him culpable for the results—which is why he’s fighting so hard to derail the proceedings.

The gun “controllers” don’t really care about the issue except to exploit it to advance their citizen disarmament agenda.

So rather than demand the truth in allegations with supporting documentation by Bureau whistleblowers that the government allowed guns to “walk” into the hands of the Mexican cartels, VPC tells us “U.S. Civilian Gun Market Has Become a Militarized Bazaar.”  Even though plenty of evidence suggest true military armaments come from approved U.S. exports to the Mexican government, as well as via smuggling operations though Central America. Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended AR-15 resources for gun owners:

New! The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III

New! The Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. I

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. II

Gunsmithing the AR-15, How to Maintain, Repair & Accessorize

Find more gun books, DVDs and downloads at gundigeststore.com.

Codrea to Lapierre: NRA Candidates Should Do More on Gunwalker Scandal

There are politicians on both sides of the aisle, in the House and in the Senate, who enjoy the benefits of NRA endorsements and financial support.

Why isn’t every single office-holding recipient of NRA generosity on record demanding full and open investigations into how the Gunwalker scandal came to be, who authorized it, what damage has been done, what dangers still exist, and who is behind the evident cover-up?

What reason do any of these beneficiaries of gun owner trust and benevolence have for not being vocal and tireless leaders in demanding something they owe us anyway — the truth?

And importantly, what reason could NRA possibly have for not making such leadership — that’s what we elect these people for, is it not? To be leaders? — one of the most important criteria by which they will be judged when it comes time for future political grades, and eligibility for continued endorsements and financial backing? Read More

Source: David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended AR-15 resources for gun owners:

New! The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III

New! The Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. I

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. II

Gunsmithing the AR-15, How to Maintain, Repair & Accessorize

Find more gun books, DVDs and downloads at gundigeststore.com.

Gunwalker: Issa Threatens Melson with Contempt for Noncompliance with Subpoena

“Chairman Issa Chastises ATF for Refusal to Comply with Subpoena,” an April 20 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform release declares.

“If you do not comply with the subpoena, the Committee will be forced to commence contempt proceedings,” the release promises.

The text of the complete release follows:

WASHINGTON. D.C. – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, in a letter to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Kenneth E. Melson, criticized the Director for failing to produce any documents in response to a subpoena issued March 31.  The subpoena was issued after ATF and Department of Justice officials failed to cooperate in good faith with the Committee’s investigation.

“The Department’s internal policy to withhold documents from what it labels pending criminal investigations may not deprive Congress from obtaining those same documents if they are pertinent to a congressional investigation – particularly in a matter involving allegations that reckless and inappropriate decisions by top Justice Department officials may have contributed to the deaths of both U.S. and Mexican citizens,” Chairman Issa wrote in citing Supreme Court precedents and previous Congressional investigations.  “Let me be clear … we are not conducting a concurrent investigation with the Department of Justice, but rather an independent investigation of the Department of Justice – specifically, of allegations that the reckless and inappropriate decisions of Department officials have created a serious public safety hazard.  We are asking for documents that relate to decisions such officials made.  Congress is legally entitled to all of these documents.”

Read more

Source: David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended Tactical Rifle Resources
Gun Digest Book of The Tactical Rifle

Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles

Own the Night: Selection and Use of Tactical Lights and Laser Sights

ATF Stonewall: “Your request is granted in part.”

“Your request is granted in part.” Photo: ATF Disclosure Division
“Your request is granted in part.” Photo: ATF Disclosure Division

“This is in reference to your Freedom of Information Act request for access to information maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” the response letter from Marilyn R. LaBrie, Team Leader, Disclosure Division begins.

The purpose of the request was to determine information provided to Sen. Chuck Grassley in a briefing he’d requested concerning “Project Gunwalker” allegations.

“Your request is granted in part,” LaBrie continues. “We are releasing the disclosable portions of the documents and withholding portions for the reasons shown on the cover sheet that accompanies the documents.”

“In part” is an understatement, but hardly unexpected, as this correspondent predicted:

And no, I don’t expect anything earth-shaking, but I do expect anything I get will be telling in terms of what it doesn’t say.

What it doesn’t say is anything at all having to do with the primary request for “all documents, to include agendas, presentations and handouts containing information” related to the briefing itself.  None were included in the response, nor was any acknowledgment even made that these were omitted.

Nor was there any apparent attempt to comply with the secondary request for “any memorandum, report, summary or other communication that describes what happened at the meeting, including a description of any oral briefing and what was said by both sides, and…copies of any such documents filed or stored, or designated for filing and storage, at the Office of Public and Government Affairs.” Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended Tactical Rifle Resources
Gun Digest Book of The Tactical Rifle

Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical
Rifles

Own the Night: Selection and Use of Tactical Lights
and Laser Sights

‘Pro-Gun Democrats’ AWOL from ‘Project Gunwalker’

Sen. Patrick Leahy and other "Pro-Gun Democrats" are stonewalling efforts to uncover facts about ATF Project Gunwalker.
Sen. Patrick Leahy and other "Pro-Gun Democrats" are stonewalling efforts to uncover facts about ATF Project Gunwalker.

“[T]his is not a political issue, but a corrupt bureaucracy issue,” the ATF employee posting under the screen name “Zorro” wrote in the CleanUpATF forum on Mar. 27. “There were problems throughout administrations and political party rule. This monster was fostered by both parties and multiple presidential administrations through lack of oversight and accountability.”

True enough.

Just like it’s not an issue of being pro- or anti-gun. It’s an issue of out-of-control government corruption resulting in murder, which all Americans should want to get to the bottom of.

Not that the Brady Campaign and their camp followers can be bothered with such distinctions. Rather than concern themselves with stopping “gun deaths” caused by the criminal actions of those helping promote the meme that it’s all the fault of weak U.S. laws and greedy gun shops, their primary focus has been to call for even more restrictions on American gun owners and even more power for an agency and administration that resorts to stonewalling and deception in the face of congressional inquiries.

Where the hell are the Democrats?

In fact, Sen. Grassley is hamstrung by the fact he is only the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrat Patrick Leahy chairs the committee, and he has shown zero interest in uncovering the truth. None of the “gun control” Democrats are interested in doing anything other than circling the wagons, protecting the administration, and seeing if advancing more restrictions might distract attention from the whole sordid mess.

So then where the hell are the supposedly “pro-gun Democrats”?

Why has not one stepped forward and demanded full and open investigative hearings in both the House and Senate?

Where the hell are all those NRA-endorsed Democrats? Max Baucus and Jon Tester would sure be nice allies to have, as the Senate is really where pressure on Leahy needs to come from.  Where the hell are they? And while he wasn’t “endorsed” last time out due to gun owner outrage (only financed), where the hell is that “true champion of the Second Amendment” Harry Reid? Read more

Source: David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner


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Standard Catalog of Firearms, 20112011 Standard Catalog of Firearms, 21st Edition.

Gun Digest 2011, 65th Edition

The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices 2010

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Project Gunrunner: Congressman Issa Subpoenas ATF After Stonewalling

“Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial ‘Project Gunrunner,’” the Committee announced in an April 1 press release.

The unwillingness of this Administration – most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms – to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling,” said Chairman Issa. “Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening.

Read more

Source: David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner


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ATF ‘Project Gunwalker’ Now ‘an international incident’

Mexico has questions for ATF in light of "Project Gun Runner."
Mexico has questions for ATF in light of "Project Gun Runner."

“FLASH! The government of Mexico has formally asked the United States for details of the ATF operation ‘Fast and Furious’!” Mike Vanderboegh reported yesterday morning on the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog.

“The Project Gunwalker* Scandal just became an international incident,” he told readers, linking to a post on Mexico.vg that was reporting:

The government of Mexico asked the United States for details of the ATF under Project Gunrunner, Operation name “Fast and Furious“ implemented by the U.S. Department of Justice that allegedly allowed thousands of weapons into the Mexico.

“Mexico requests info from U.S. on gun-running,” Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News confirmed.

Now, according to the statement, posted online by Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish), the Mexican government has requested detailed information about the “Fast and Furious” operation being conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Department of Justice.

*Note to newcomers to this story: “Project Gunrunner” is the name ATF assigned to its Southwest Border Initiative to interdict gun smuggling to Mexico. “Project Gunwalker” is the name I assigned to the scandal after allegations by agents that monitored guns were allowed to fall into criminal hands on both sides of the border through a surveillance process termed “walking” surfaced.


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ATF Corruption: A Journalist’s Guide to ‘Project Gunwalker’

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been spearheading the congressional investigation into the ATF scandal now known as Project Gunwalker.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been spearheading the congressional investigation into the ATF scandal now known as Project Gunwalker.

The following is a summary and time line of articles appearing on the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog and Gun Rights Examiner, reflecting original reporting on the developing “Project Gunwalker” story by Mike Vanderboegh and myself. That's the purposely ironic name I assigned it, a parody of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive's “Project Gunrunner,” and it refers to allegations by whistleblowing ATF insiders that:

  • ATF management was allowing potentially hundreds of semiautomatic firearms to be walked across the Mexican border in order to pad statistics used to further budget and power objectives.
  • Mexican authorities were kept in the dark, and protests that they should be informed were overridden, first by the Phoenix ATF office, and ultimately by higher-ups in Washington, DC.
  • A gun used in this operation was involved in a December 2010 incident in which a Border Patrol agent was killed.

The original allegations were posted on CleanUpATF.org. Vanderboegh and I, who have a history going back years of documenting allegations posted there, and pressing for congressional hearings to investigate the claims, were both contacted independently by various ATF insiders claiming to have corroborating information and documentation. Mike vetted his sources and I used my contacts to help validate that my informant was who he represented himself to be. Mike and I did what we could throughout our separate and coordinated investigations to test and corroborate what was being told. We also had a small circle of behind-the-scenes consultants, including firearms designer Len Savage, and a few other knowledgeable advisors, all with contacts and informed insights of their own, and all of whom have earned our trust over the years.

Our primary goal was to help arrange for protection for our sources, and quickly, as retaliation was feared. Because the allegations involved higher ups within the Justice Department, the added protection afforded by separation of powers was sought. Through various contacts and machinations that are documented in the following timeline, the whistleblowers came under the protective umbrella of Sen. Charles Grassley, a senior member of the Committee of the Judiciary.


Recommended AR-15 resources for gun owners:

New! The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III

New! The Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. I

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. II

Gunsmithing the AR-15, How to Maintain, Repair & Accessorize

Find more gun books, DVDs and downloads at gundigeststore.com.

Was Election a Victory for Gun Owners?

Add to this mix “pro-gun” Democrats and Second Amendment-friendly leadership in both chambers (assuming Sen. Reid still feels he needs to be), and yesterday appears to have been a good day for gun owners.

At the federal and state levels.

How did races in your state and district go?

I linked to some resources on Monday so that we could see how candidates were rated by NRA and GOA, as well as some other online resources, and encouraged readers to independently assess their options.  You can compare those to election results, courtesy of CSPAN. Click on tabs for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governors and Ballot Initiatives.

So doesn't this mean we're not going to see any more anti-gun legislation, at least at the federal level?  After all, we've retained a Senate Majority Leader we're told will strangle anti-gun legislation in its crib. And it takes both the Senate and the House to send a bill up to the President for signature. How can anything attacking our gun rights get through?

Are we safe?  Can we relax?

Does anyone think the anti-gunners are going to fold up their tent and go away?

Does anyone think politicians will now place commitment to principle over self-interest?

Does anyone think we're not one major “gun free zone” incident away from new opportunities for the citizen disarmament cabal to exploit? Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner


Recommended AR-15 resources for gun owners:

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15, Volume 3New! The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. I

The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. II

Gunsmithing the AR-15, How to Maintain, Repair & Accessorize

Find more gun books, DVDs and downloads at gundigeststore.com.

Will NRA Endorse Harry Reid?

Will NRA Endorse Harry Reid?

Why would NRA do that?

We're told Reid has been good on guns (NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre described him as "a true champion of the Second Amendment") and apologists for supporting him will tell you he has kept many bills from coming to the floor — if he is out as majority leader, we might get committed anti-gunners Dick Durbin or Chuck Schumer in his place.

Additionally, Reid was instrumental in opening a new shooting range, the Clark County Shooting Park.

Add to this a key component of NRA's endorsement policy.

NRA has an incumbent-friendly policy that dictates our support for pro-gun incumbents seeking reelection.

Reid has had some good pro-gun votes, which some may dismiss as reflecting political pragmatism as opposed to core principles, especially considering the attitudes of his Nevada constituents. But Erickson also presents a list of anti-gun votes the senator has cast, and these must also be factored into the mix. Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner



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Gun Digest 2011. Click hereGun Digest 2011, The World's Greatest Gun Book, 65th Edition

Gun Digest 1944-2009 3-DVD Set

Massad Ayoob's Greatest Handguns of the World

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Chicago Gun Case Brief Shows Brady Campaign Unreasonable

Brady Campaign files brief in McDonald Supreme Court Case[T]he Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms should not prevent citizens, through their elected representatives, from enacting the reasonable laws they desire and need to protect their families and communities from gun violence.

What they're saying in the Chicago case is essentially the same thing they said in the Heller Washington D.C. case: Gun bans are “reasonable” and consistent with the Second Amendment proscription that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

This does not surprise anyone who has been watching these Brady characters for any length of time. After all, we're talking a group that–in spite of putting on a kinder, gentler public face via a name change–still internally identifies itself by its original name: Handgun Control, Inc.

We're talking about a group that's founder admitted:

We're going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily — given the political realities — going to be very modest. . . . [W]e'll have to start working again to strengthen that law, and then again to strengthen the next law, and maybe again and again. Right now, though, we'd be satisfied not with half a loaf but with a slice. Our ultimate goal — total control of handguns in the United States — is going to take time. . . . The first problem is to slow down the number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns registered. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition-except for the military, police, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors-totally illegal. Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner

 

What Do Tuesday’s Elections Mean for Gun Owners?

The Doug Hoffman campaign apparently feared answering specific questions about guns would hurt his chances. What really hurt him was NRA-endorsed Dede Scozzafava betraying the Republicans and endorsing the Democrat.

Some will now portray this as a loss, because a Republican previously held that seat, and Scozzafava was nominally in the gun rights camp. But her actions in the final days of the campaign show she was no more to be trusted than, say Kirsten Gillibrand.

As for California's 10th Congressional District race, where John Garamendi won, Gun Owners of America gave David Harmer an “A” rating.  Still, this wasn't so much a defeat for gun owners as the result of two-to-one Democrat over Republican demographics.

Let's take a look at victorious NRA-endorsed governor-elect Bob McDonnell in Virginia:

A reader and blogger sent McDonnell and R. Creigh Deeds the Gun Rights Political Questionnaire and they both ignored it. McDonnell also refused to sign the Virginia Gun Owners Coalition Pro-Gun Pledge.

McDonnell supported a gun-banner to replace him as AG.

McDonnell claims to now be against one-gun-a-month laws, but when it was up for enactment, he voted for it.

And then we have the New Jersey gubernatorial race, where Chris Christie ousted anti-gun Jon Corzine.

I wouldn't dance too hard, especially after reading Christie's old campaign mailer calling for a ban on semiautomatic firearms, deceptively portrayed as “automatic”. But that didn't stop the Fudds from telling us they've done their “homework,” and portraying him as the sportsman's pal. Just in case you thought either Anthony P. Mauro, Sr., or the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance have any relevance whatsoever to freedom…Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner

Does Denying Guns to ‘Prohibited Persons’ Ensure Public Safety?

Should Martha Stewart be prohibited from owning guns? Why?
Should Martha Stewart be prohibited from owning guns? Why?

On Wednesday, we talked about a person prohibited from owning guns. Yesterday, we looked at the legally-defined classifications of “prohibited persons”.

Many self-described “law and order conservatives” who support the prohibition, but who also profess to believe in the Second Amendment, would do well to realize that running afoul of a “gun law” can result in felon status, particularly in locales that prohibit bearing arms–even if a threat exists. Do they really want to be “judged by 12” for that, or are they just certain they will never have that decision forced upon them?

I have some questions for discussion:

If someone is enough of a danger to himself and others to be institutionalized, why would that person be released if they remain a danger?

As for “illegal immigrants,” why is it some of the same government actors who hate private ownership of firearms insist on fighting deportation of violent gang members?

It's been my long-standing contention that anyone who can't be trusted with a gun can't be trusted without a custodian. Simply put, if you have proven too dangerous to yourself and others to possess a gun, or box cutters, or fertilizer or matches, you're too dangerous to be allowed unrestricted access to the rest of us.

And if you're not dangerous, then what purpose does the gun prohibition serve? Read more

Source: Gun Rights Examiner

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