Dan Bongino: Defend Yourself at All Costs

The nation learned of another horrific act of violence that took place, this time in Maine. The shooter killed 18 people across two sites. Reports indicate that the shooter spent time in a mental health facility this past summer.  At this writing, he has not been caught.  And, this is no suprise, there have been renewed calls for gun control, especially to ban so-called "assault weapons". According to the Wall Street Journal, President Biden released a statement Thursday that said "Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, to enact universal background checks, to require safe storage of guns, and end immunity from liability for gun manufacurers." But as podcast and radio host Dan Bongino pointed out on his show today, criminals and those who wish to commit violence don't care about gun control. Instead, he said we need to have a mind set to defend and protect those we love at all costs.  He also talked about the need to continuously train so you are prepared if something happens.

Bloomberg Continues to Push Terrorist Watchlist Gun Control

After looking none too swift on Monday morning, telling Katie Couric that he bet Saturday's failed attempt to detenate a car bomb in Time Square was perpetrated by a "mentally deranged person or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something," he was on Capitol Hill today along with his Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, telling a senate committee that the nation needed more gun control laws - specifically a law that would make it harder for a terrorist to get guns. Never mind the fact that the alleged would-be bomber, Faisal Shahzad, attempted to use an SUV, propane and gas tanks, and about 100 pounds of the wrong kind of fertilizer.

Bloomberg is once again asking that people on the "Terrorist Watch List" be excluded from being able to purchase a firearm.

If society decides that these people are too dangerous to get on an airplane with other people, then it's probably appropriate to look very hard before you let them buy a gun.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)responded:

I believe my right to own a gun shouldn't be infringed because some nut is going to take a gun and use it wrongfully -- I just think you should prosecute them very swiftly and forcefully.

Graham continued that calling for legislation barring suspected terrorists from purchasing guns was "not appropriate," due to the terrorist watch list having "so many problems".

But that doesn't matter to Bloomberg. He, like all of his gun control friends, will take the opportunity of any tragedy, or in this case, near tragedy, to trot out proposals that offer no real solutions, but instead serve their political purpose.

Guns Sales Ease Back to Normal Levels?

Michael Bane posted this yesterday;

More and more I'm hearing that not only is the run on ARs over, the pipeline is starting to backup with unsold black rifles. This from our DRTV Forums. To be sure, AR variants are now available over the counter in many gun stores and some on-line outlets.

May background checks were up 15.4%. The May increase followed a 30.3 percent increase in April, a 29.2 percent gain in March and rises of 23 percent in February, 28 percent in January, 24 percent in December and 42 percent in November when a record 1,529,635 background checks were performed. We don't have June numbers yet but it is possible they are more in line with May numbers. There was some question as to whether the May number was because sales were cooling or if it was due to the lack of stock in stores resulting in a lower number of sales.

What goes up eventually has to come down and this was bound to happen at some point. The benefit may be that prices will also come back to earth and those who waited to make that next purchase will see a dividend for their patience.

If sales are declining to a more realistic number, it remains to be seen what if any impact this will have on manufacturers and the industry as a whole. The firearms industry was the only one that was weathering the recession (though some sectors of the industry were clearly hurting). Last month we saw one casualty in the family - Knight Rifles - a manufacturer of in-line muzzleloading rifles. The hunting end of the firearms industry was not seeing the massive sales increases that tactical rifles and some handgun models experienced. I can't speak for all hunters but I have two firearms I use for deer season - a muzzleloader and a .30-30.

I haven't purchased a new deer hunting firearm in four years. A lot of other hunters may be like me. Add that to the declining number of hunters and it is not a good recipe for continued growth. Some manufacturers, like Remington and Smith and Wesson, have diversified their lines by purchasing other manufacturers but Knight was known for in-line blackpowder rifles and while some people may upgrade to the next new model, many don't, which is why we need to constantly introduce new people to the shooting sports and especially hunting or we will see a lot more "Knights" in the future.

Hat tip to Michael Bane and Sebastian.

Obama's Disdain for the Middle America

Much has been written in the blogosphere about Obama's "Bitter" comments (some have said the more appropriate title for the comments is "Clingy") so I will try not to rehash what has already been said. For those who have not read his comments, he said to a group of wealthy contributors in San Francisco that:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Note that he is not only speaking about folks in the Keystone state but small towns all over the Midwest (and I would suggest all over America). His explanations for his comments have made them sound worse than they did originally. I also think that the comments about how these "bitter" people cling to religion will come back to bite him more than the comment about guns.

I have to give him credit though. Hillary Clinton pounced on the comments and started sounding like the best friend of gun owners. Obama's retort was pretty good. Obama noted that Clinton seemed much more interested in guns since he made his comments than she had in the past.

"She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley. Hillary Clinton is out there like she's on the duck blind every Sunday. She's packing a six-shooter. Come on, she knows better. That's some politics being played by Hillary Clinton."

Clinton has responded with a TV ad.



Rush Limbaugh suggested on his program today that for most of the last couple of months, Obama has been on cruise control but with Clinton picking up steam in Ohio and Texas and at one time leading big in Pennsylvania, he has had to campaign again. And, he has started saying what he really thinks, and he has a very elitist view (similar to what the last two Ivy League graduates that the Democrats nominated) - thus his comments about God, guns, and small town America.

I think it is particularly striking that he made these comments on "Billionaire Avenue" in San Francisco.

Hillary - Shooter

Yes, that is what we are supposed to believe, that Hillary Clinton in her younger days first shot a gun at her family vacation property at Lake Winola. According to the article, this is where she "first shot a gun...learned to ride horses, to fish and swim." These vacations at the lake located in the Pocono Mountains helped form her family and working-class values.

Remember the slogan complete with a French Poodle that NRA-PVF used against John Kerry in 2004 - "That dog don't hunt." The same can be said for the Senator from New York.

Hat tip to Gun Law News.

Bloomberg At It Again

Having been proven wrong by ATF on the availability of gun trace data, Mayor Bloomberg has come out in favor of another gun control scheme that should not see the light of day. On Monday, Bloomberg joined with New Jersey Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy of Jersey City, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton, and a mother of a shooting victim, to announce that he plans to push congress to pass Lautenberg's bill to prohibit anyone on the terrorist watch list from purchasing a firearm.

Now we all know how accurate this watch list is. Remember that Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, was blocked from boarding flights because his name triggered a similar name on the government’s no-fly list. And, there are no due process protections when a name ends up on the watch list. But facts have never gotten in the way of Bloomberg in his thirst for publicity. Hopefully, with the departure of Alberto Gonzales, the Justice Department will withdraw its support for the bill. You can read more about Bloomberg's latest pet project here.

Roanoke Times on Gun Toting Mascots

The Roanoke Times actually made some common sense points this morning in an editorial urging a local school to return the flintlock pistols to the school's pirate mascot. Buena Vista's Parry McCluer High School has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to guns on campus. That policy became ludicrous when school officials disarmed their mascot in a new logo.

The principal, Haywood Hand, thought the image of the flintlock wielding pirate was in conflict with the school's gun ban. So he ordered the logo redrawn without guns. The Times chastises the school administrators to focus on real things that could make a campus dangerous, not a cartoon pirate.

Virginia's Changing Demographics and Gun Rights

I have written in the past (here and in VSSA's publication - The Bullet) that more liberal minded urbanites and suburbanites moving into rural areas are driving the fight that we have been engaged related to gun ranges. Much of this is liberal anti-gunners escaping the Beltway after retirement but a friend who is a political consultant said this also explains why Henrico County, a western suburban county in the Richmond area, has voted for Democrats two out of the last three statewide elections (with George Allen squeaking out a win in the county over Jim Webb last year). In Henrico, the arrival of the Philip Morris national headquarters brought with it many New York liberals.

Jim Beacon over at Beacon's Rebellion analyzes this in more detail after House Speaker Bill Howell's comments about the states "newest residents" and how they may not embrace the "share values we have in Virginia." Most commentators and Democrat detractors have focused on immigrants (both legal and illegal) in discussing this comment - trying to drive a wedge in this important election year. But Beacon, understanding what Howell was getting at, writes about the massive influx of out-of-staters, mostly northerners, into Virginia and how it is altering the commonwealth's political complexion. This will not only impact who controls the State Capitol but has implications for gun rights as well. It is no secret that as you move north from Virginia, that with the exception of Pennsylvania and Vermont, guns are tightly regulated.

Beacon's comments are worth the read. While he does not talk about guns, gun owners should think about the changes he does mention and what they will do to our issue by extension. I agree that the changing demographics are "something that we have to adjust to." I rework the question Beacon poses by substituting "changing economy" and "economic opportunity" with guns and gun rights to get the following: Will northern-born voters bring the same values and re-create the same kind of political climate that constricted the rights of gun owners in their home states? Are the attitudes of the newcomers toward guns and role of government compatible with Virginia maintaining its gun rights friendly atmosphere? Bottom line: Is Virginia's government destined to look more like New York's and New Jersey's and less like North Carolina's and Georgia's? If so, what will that mean for our firearms freedom?

You can read Beacon's post here.

Police Departments May Soon Be Hit With Ammo Shortage

National Public Radio (NPR) reported yesterday that local police departments are being hit by the same problems shooters have seen for sometime now - rising ammo prices and even shortages in some cases. There are several reasons for this - one being the strain that the military action in Iraq and Afghanistan have put on supplies. The other is the fact that the Chinese and India economies are growing and are putting a strain on raw materials like lead and copper which in turn are driving up prices for those materials.

On a personal note, my favorite shotgun shells have almost doubled in price over the last couple years.

According to NPR, over the past month, newspapers across the country have published stories suggesting that police departments could soon be hit by a nationwide ammunition shortage. Ammunition prices have increased along with copper and other commodities. And that, analysts say, has prompted some gun owners to stockpile ammunition.

You can here the NPR report here.

State Senator Ken Cuccinelli Needs Your Help

Pro-Gun Sen. Ken Cuccinelli Needs Your Help! With the November 6 general election rapidly approaching, now is the time when pro-gun candidates need your help with their volunteer activities. Pro-gun stalwart Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37th) has a number of volunteer opportunities with which he needs assistance. If you live in western Fairfax County (37th State Senate District) and are able to help out with one or more volunteer activities like delivering yard signs, walking neighborhoods, or volunteering in the campaign office, it would be of great benefit to our mutual cause! For more information about these activities or other opportunities to help, you can contact Sen. Cuccinelli's campaign manager, Mike Joyce, at(804) 536-6067, or via e-mail at mike@cuccinelli.com.

D.C. Appeals Gun Ban Decision to Supreme Court

As expected, Mayor Fenty announced yesterday that the District of Columbia is appealing the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision throwing out the city's gun ban. In his announcement, made on the steps of the Police HQ, Fenty said "This city does not need more guns."

The gun ban crowd is not exactly happy with this decision as they have been quoted as saying the DC law is not the most defensible. The city outright bans handguns not registered prior to 1976 and only allows rifles and shotguns if they are unloaded and secured with a trigger locked, and stored in a different location than the ammunition - thus making them useless for self-defense.

Some in the gun rights community are equally apprehensive. There are only four sure votes that we believe can be counted on our side on the Court. The swing vote, Anthony Kennedy, could go either way. It also is not a done deal that the court will hear the case. If not, D.C. will have to scrap their law and come up with something else - likely one that bans carrying guns outside the home. In any case, most legal eagles believe the Court if it hears the case will likely make a narrow ruling with little national impact other than to settle the question of whether the 2nd Amendment protects an individual or collective right. We should know by November if the court will hear the case and if they do, expect a ruling likely the last day of the term in June - right smack in the middle of a presidential election.

You can read about the District's decision and any possible national impact by clicking here. I hope to upload a link in the next couple of days to audio of the Independence Institute's Dave Kopel discussing the issue with NRANews' Cam Edwards as heard on the Tuesday night show.

Ammo Prices Skyrocket

A hat tip to Dave Hardy at arms and the law for this article. You have probably noticed the increasing prices. This article explains some of the reasons why. Likely gone are the days of the $3.00 box of shotgun shells. The article was printed in the August 12 edition of the Dallas Morning News.

Welcome to the New VSSA Blog

Welcome to the new Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA) blog. This will be a place to get the latest in news on what is going on in the Virginia General Assembly as well as any attacks on our firearm freedom in Virginia's 133 localities. Over the past year, Virginia gun owners have been subjected to proposals to restrict their ability to discharge a firearm on private property. These attacks have come from rural localities like Lousia and Albemarle that are becoming more suburban as uncontrolled growth continues across the Commonwealth. VSSA has been on the frontlines, working with the NRA, to keep our members and gun owners in general informed about these attacks.

Be sure to visit the VSSA web site at www.myvssa.org for more complete information and if you are not already a member, join thousands of other Virginia gun owners and add your voice to that of our members. We are only as successful as the strength of our membership.