Alphecca, by Jeff Soyer » Gun Politics

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 14 Jun 2013 09:09 am

Sen. Schumer says that Mayor Bloomberg’s ads are counterproductive:

“Frankly, I don’t think Bloomberg’s ads are effective,” Schumer told Time magazine in an interview for the new issue. “The mayor of New York City putting ads against people in red states is not going to be effective.”

[ . . . ]

According to Schumer, one senator told him that constituents had shrugged off the ad, because the accent was all wrong.

That and the pro-gun control actor in the ad violated three gun safety rules in 30-seconds.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 14 Jun 2013 08:35 am

Being Pro-Gun Is Not A Losing Position, Even in CT

From David Codrea:

A political theme being advanced by “progressives,” that pro-gun support is going to cost politicians their seats, got a harsh reality check Tuesday when Republican Samuel Belsito captured the Connecticut State Legislature’s 53rd House District. The special election, held to replace Democrat representative Bryan Hurlburt, who resigned to take a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, marks the first time a Republican has won the district in 40 years, The Journal Inquirer reported.

Much more at the link.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 28 May 2013 08:31 am

Rumors of the NRA’s Death Are Premature

Lefties and progressives LOST on the Senate gun control bill, so that must be proof of the demise of the NRA.

Yeah, they’ve only picked-up a million new members in the last six months, defeated a “universal background check” bill that would have made felons of almost everyone, and Kelly Ayotte’s approval ratings (contrary to what this article implies are still positive. BTW, another good guy, Marco Rubio, is running support ads for her in NH to counter the Bloomberg ones. Which brings us to . . .

The article also discusses the rise of Nanny Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group and political funding efforts to unseat those senators who voted “no” on the senate bill. He may unwittingly be helping Republicans gain seats in 2014. Heh. And, that has Democrats worried:

Pryor isn’t the only one. Senate Democrats up and down the caucus, from West Virginia’s Joe Manchin to Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, have been trying to warn Bloomberg off his strategy of running ads that attack vulnerable Democrats over gun control votes. And it’s not because they disagree with what Bloomberg is after—a new law to require background checks for guns bought online or at gun shows. Rather, they think keeping the Senate in Democratic hands in 2014 is more important than any single Senator’s vote on guns.

Meanwhile, the NRA is so powerless that they’ve managed to stall an “AWB” in Rhode Island.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 28 May 2013 08:20 am

CO Traitors Face Recall

Pardon my ‘over-the-top’ rhetoric but if you want to infringe the Constitution and the Second Amendment, you’re a traitor in my eyes. From the AP:

A handful of Democratic state lawmakers in Colorado face recall petition efforts in what looks to be the first wave of fallout over legislative votes to limit gun rights. In an era in which recall efforts are booming, from governor’s offices down to town councils and school boards, the Colorado efforts will serve as the first test of gun-rights groups’ ability to punish elected officials who expanded gun control laws after last year’s Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., shooting massacres.

Two efforts in Colorado have already failed but it looks like Senate President John Morse could be in trouble.

Good. Liberals will scream, but they had no problem organizing recalls in Wisconsin.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 24 May 2013 08:40 am

CT’s Stag Arms Being ‘Courted’

Mark Malkowski owns Stag Arms, in Connecticut. He’s considering moving the company that makes AR-15’s to another state that still respects the Second Amendment. Besides a personal pitch from Texas Governor Rick Perry, he’s receiving a bevy of solicitations. From the NY Times:

When he came back from a gun industry lobbying trip to Washington in April, he said that virtually everywhere he had gone in Congress, people were pitching the virtues of their states as places to do business.

“Senator Lindsey Graham did it, so did Paul Ryan, Texas, Oklahoma, well, all of them,” he said. “And this is what I came back to when I opened the mail. Indiana, Arkansas, Maine, the Oklahoma House of Representatives; this is from Jackson County, Kansas; this is from Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama. They just keep coming in.”

More at the link.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 23 May 2013 08:00 am

Gay Rights and Gun Rights; Perfect Together

With apologies to former NJ Governor Thomas Keane, the natural right to self-defense and the natural right for consenting adults to dig who they dig is combined in a new ad campaign. I’ve always said that minorities who are targets for violence should be the first ones embracing the 2nd Amendment.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 16 May 2013 08:14 am

I Hope Our Opposition Doesn’t Read This

An article at Forbes on why the NRA is so effective.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 10 May 2013 09:17 am

Senators Standing Firm Against Anti-Gun Ad Campaigns

From (ironically) Bloomberg News:

U.S. senators are resisting pressure to reconsider their opposition to expanding background checks for firearm purchasers, a centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s bid for new gun-control measures.

Republican Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Democrats Max Baucus of Montana and Mark Begich of Alaska are among senators targeted in television ads or by protests outside their offices organized by groups supporting stricter gun laws.

In a fundraising letter yesterday, Ayotte said opponents “can’t bully me into changing my vote” against gun background checks. The opponents, she says, are Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Ayotte might just convince me to move to the other side of the (Connecticut) river.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 08 May 2013 11:18 am

Why We Need More Gun Control

From the Denver Post:

Gun-related homicides and other crimes involving guns have fallen sharply over the last two decades in the United States, but most Americans believe firearms crime is higher now than 20 years ago, according to an analysis and a separate poll released on Tuesday.

I wonder why most Americans think that gun crimes are up?

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 04 May 2013 08:59 am

Sarah Palin at the NRA Convention

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 04 May 2013 08:36 am

Imagine if He’d Won the Nomination and then the Election . . .

Kinda’ like those commercials, “I coulda’ had a V8!”

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 02 May 2013 09:02 am

MN: No New Gun Control Laws This Year

Several state legislatures rushed through all sorts of draconian gun control laws — taking political advantage and postures following the Newtown incident. Minnesota Democrats wanted to, but for the moment (or year) gun owners are safe. From Twin Cities News:

Prospects for stricter gun laws were slim at best before House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said Wednesday, May 1, that the House would not vote on the issue.

“It just appears the groups on either side of the issue weren’t able to reach common ground,” Thissen said. “I do believe we can get there at some point, but I don’t think we can find that place this session.”

Good. let the issue continue to cool off instead of passing a bunch of half-cocked, ill-conceived rules that only effect the law abiding.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 01 May 2013 08:38 am

Mossberg and Connecticut: Not Perfect Together

Nice, in-depth article about Mossberg firearms and whether or not they will leave CT.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 25 Apr 2013 09:19 am

Sen. Ron Johnson on Why He Voted Against Senate Gun Bill

Well for starters, he’s a Republican from Wisconsin. Okay, he doesn’t mention that in his article. Instead, he points out:

. . . More importantly – and after all the speeches and politicking by the anti-gun lobby - nothing in Senator Schumer’s bill, or the Manchin-Toomey alternative, would have prevented the tragedy in Newtown, nor prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Much more at the link including why he co-sponsored a bill by Sen. Grassley that would have strengthened background checks without infringing on other rights. And this:

If the proponents of the Schumer bill were serious about reducing gun violence, they would have supported the Grassley bill once it was apparent their own plan would fail. They did not. This leads one to believe they cared more about scoring political points than finding a real solution.

I care deeply about preventing crime. But I also care about freedom. I wish there was a magic wand that could prevent these senseless tragedies. But there isn’t – and there certainly isn’t one in Washington.

Indeed.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 22 Apr 2013 08:59 am

Facebook Shuts Down Store’s Page Over Gun Giveaway

From Opposing Views:

Facebook has closed down the page of a Pittsburgh gun store that was running a contest to give away an AR-15. Erik Lowry, the owner of Pittsburgh Tactical Firearm, also had a secondary page he created shut down. He has yet to be contacted by Facebook about the matter.

More at the link.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 18 Apr 2013 05:04 am

More Details on Senate Vote

From KnoxNews:

The roll call was 54-46 in favor, short of the 60 votes proponents needed. Just four Republicans voted to expand the checks while five Democrats voted no, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who backed the expansion but switched his vote to give himself the right to demand a new roll call in the future.

By agreement between GOP and Democratic leaders, all amendments debated Wednesday needed 60 of the Senate’s 100 votes to pass. While all failed, all received more than 50 votes but two: the proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

So, for the sake of political maneuvering, Reid voted against the bill.

More interesting, even if the background check bill had passed, clearly there was no way a ban on “assault weapons” or magazines that hold more than 10-rounds would have. That’s encouraging.

As some pundits are known to say, “Don’t get cocky.” We like to think that maybe new gun control measures at the federal level just won’t fly. But, it was only 19-years ago that President Clinton got his 1994 AWB passed. Dems paid a price for that in elections (especially Al Gore) but it has happened and can happen again.

Stay vigilant, brothers and sisters.

Gun PoliticsJeff Soyer on 17 Apr 2013 06:46 pm

Senate Gun Control Bill Dead

From Fox News:

The Senate on Wednesday defeated a background check amendment seen as the linchpin to Democrats’ gun control bill, dealing a major setback to President Obama — who lashed out at opponents in unusually blunt terms during remarks from the Rose Garden.

“All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington,” Obama said.

The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold.

“Shameful?” Really? I thought it was one of Washington’s (meaning Congress’s) best days in a long time.

I’m going to relate a brief story. Way back in October of 2002, when I first started this blog, I emailed Andrew Sullivan. Back then he actually WAS conservative on most issues. [Now-a-days liberal media likes to call him a “conservative” even though he hasn’t been even close in years.]

I emailed him that I was starting a “conservative” blog that would concentrate on gun rights. He emailed back with encouragement and I distinctly remember him using the phrase, “No fucking compromise.”

Well, he certainly did, but I have not. For weeks now I’ve been saying that the Manchin-Toomey bill should be rejected. Instead, I’ve written here, Republicans should simply stand together and with the help of a handful of Democrats from conservative districts, the Senate can reject ANY gun control legislation.

This afternoon, that happened. Common sense prevailed and the conservatives in Congress sent the liberals, and Obama, and — yes — the media a really strong message: No fucking compromise. No compromising the Bill of Rights. No compromising the Second Amendment. No compromising the natural right of self-defense.

I guarantee you that the MSM (Main Stream Media: NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, CNN, the NY Times, WaPo, et al) will be saying that “The Republicans” or “the NRA” or “The Right Wing” defeated a “common sense” or “reasonable” gun control measure “supported by 349% of Americans” and on and on and on.

Good. Let them all stew in their own froth. [Cute - ed.] [Thanks - Jeff]

Let the media spin begin. Keep your powder dry.

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