Democrats Love Symbolism...When Abridging Your Rights

Tuesday, January 8th is the eight anniversary of when then-Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was shot at an event in Tucson. The killer obtained his Glock at a licensed gun shop after going through a FBI-run NICS check. Keep that in mind for later. At the time, the shootings were blamed on "insurrectionist ideology", "weak" gun laws, and the lack of a permanent BATFE director among other things. Just like with the Parkland murders, the failure of school officials and the local sheriff contributed to the shootings and not the lack of a background check.

Thus, it should be no surprise that on Tuesday, a bill will be introduced by House Democrats that will mandate universal background checks. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly have been pushing universal background checks for years. They sent this out earlier today - along with the requisite beg for money to abridge your rights.

Here's some news I think you'll be quite happy to hear:

This Tuesday, January 8, Democrats in the House of Representatives will introduce bipartisan universal background checks legislation.

We fought to elect this Congress -- one that will stand up to the gun lobby -- and right away, they are delivering. The bill is H.R. 8, a symbolic action that will mark the 8th anniversary of the shooting in Tucson. It is also testament to all of our work moving the needle on this issue.

Gabby will be there for the announcement and we'll be ready to fight to get this thing passed.

But you know the gun lobby, they won't go down without a fight, especially on this issue. So we have to ask:

Can you make a $3 donation to Giffords PAC? We'll put it right to work in the fight to pass universal background checks.

This is a big deal, and we'll have a lot more soon. But right now, we're gearing up for what's sure to be a tough fight on this issue. So thanks for chipping in.

All my best,

Mark Kelly

My guess that the only thing bipartisan about this bill will be one or two RINOs like Rep. Peter King (R-NY) as a co-sponsor.

According to Politico, the bill will be number H.R. 8 to commemorate the date. The bill will be introduced by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

“Since the shooting at Sandy Hook, the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has been fighting for a chance to pass legislation that will help save lives,” Thompson said in a statement. “Finally, with our new majority that ran on helping to prevent gun violence, we will introduce a bipartisan, universal background checks bill. We will hold hearings, we will have a vote, and this legislation will finally pass the House.”

“In communities across America, courageous survivors, families and young advocates are showing outstanding courage and persistence in demanding an end to the horrific scourge of gun violence in our nation,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is an honor to join Congressman Mike Thompson and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords to answer their call by taking the first step to pass commonsense background checks – which 97 percent of the American people support.”

Notice those supposed poll numbers in support of "commonsense background checks". According to Pelosi, it is 97%. Was this supposed to be a gift to Threepers as the stalwart 3% that oppose this legislation? Why it was only yesterday it seems that Bloomberg, Giffords, and the rest of the gun control industry were saying it was a mere 90%.

So-called universal background checks are a solution in search of a problem. Criminals will continue to obtain firearms and the expectation that they will go through a NICS check is ludicrous. Moreover, as we have seen in the mass shootings which the news media and the gun control industry seem to feed on, the firearms were obtained from legitimate sources after a background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was completed. Finally, a law such as this is unenforceable absent a total registration of the 300-600 million firearms thought to exist in the United States.

Making Gun Control A Cult Of Personality

First there was the National Council to Control Handguns which became Handgun Control, Inc. for the next 20 years. Eventually this morphed into the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. In making this name change in 2000, Handgun Control, Inc. did two things. This helped to soften their image from control to merely prevention. Just as importantly, by deciding to rename the organization after Jim and Sarah Brady, HCI was aiming to make sympathetic figures the face of gun control.

Now that the Bradys have passed away, gun control needs to regain its cult of personality. Mike Bloomberg is not sympathetic nor is home-wrecking, socially and politically ambitious Shannon Watts. However, Gabby Giffords does make a sympathetic figure.

Playing up this cult of personality was the announcement today that Americans for Responsible Solutions will now just be called Giffords. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (sic) which used to be known as the Legal Center Against Violence will now be the Giffords Law Center. Finally, their PAC will be known as Giffords PAC. Giffords is also now subtitled, "Courage to fight gun violence."(sic)

From their press release:

“Addressing a problem that almost took my life will be the cause of my life,” said Congresswoman Gabby Giffords upon the announcement of her namesake gun violence prevention organization. “I’ve seen great courage when my life was on the line. But I’ve also seen great courage as we’ve fought to save lives from gun violence. Every day I meet brave Americans who are standing with me in the fight for a safer future—from law enforcement officers and military veterans, to parents, community leaders, and concerned voters. When we stand together, stand up for our children, and use the full power of our voices and votes, I know that we can make change happen.”

“When people think of Gabby, they think of courage, determination, and grit—and it’s exactly those characteristics Americans need to channel in order for us to save lives from gun violence and make our communities safer,” said Captain Mark Kelly, co-founder of Giffords. “When Gabby and I began this journey, we knew this wouldn’t be an easy fight. The gun lobby has been selling a message of fear to the American public for years. It’s used its money to scare lawmakers into following its extreme ideology—and it’s made talking about guns culturally divisive, despite the fact that the majority of gun owners support stronger gun laws. A safer America requires changing that dynamic. We need more people to show the courage to stand up for what’s right and we need more elected officials to show the courage to take action.”

It is probably a smart move on the part of these gun prohibitionists to reemphasize Gabby Giffords as the face of their organization. She is a sympathetic (and pathetic) figure who survived an assassination attempt in the prime of her life and seems to have regained some of what she lost from her injuries.

With the renaming of the organization, the image of Gabby Giffords will always be more important than the reality. The image is that of the courageous survivor who fought back and is now leading the fight against "gun violence" (sic). The reality is that we don't really know what level of mental capacity she retains given her servere brain injuries and that she very well could be more of a puppet than an actual leader. As for her husband Mark Kelly, the image he wants the world to see is that of a devoted husband caring for his grievously wounded spouse and seeking to protect others from what happened to her. However, when I look at the reality of today's Mark Kelly, words like "puppet master", "leech", and the male equivalent of "gold digger" come to mind. Obviously, I don't think much of him as he seems to have abandoned the oath he took as an officer to support and defend the Constitution in favor of political and monetary gains.

It will be interesting to how well gun control uses the cult of personality to make political gains. Time will tell.

Here, Let Me Rewrite That For You

Imagine you recently got this email. It came from either the buggy-whip manufacturer's association or Earth First. Either way, they were anti-automobile because cars don't fit their agenda. In other words, while they are being chauffeured around in stretch limos, they don't want the roads crowded with the likes of you.

Here's the email:

For the first time in a decade, auto sales are down in the United States.

So it’s no wonder deregulating mufflers is at the top of the automobile manufacturers lobby’s agenda. They need to find new ways to make money, regardless of the cost to our communities, and making this policy priority a legislative reality would mean big business for auto manufacturers.

But here’s the dangerous truth: if mufflers were deregulated and sold without any oversight, they could be sold without background checks. And when that happens, they can easily get into the hands of dangerous people. That puts us all at risk, because mufflers make it more difficult for law enforcement to locate speeders, and easier for criminals to quietly escape.

But it appears Congress may move forward on the deregulation of mufflers anyway. But before they do, we have a chance to make our voices heard:

Sign our petition calling on Congress to REJECT any legislation that would deregulate the sale of automobile mufflers.

Automobile mufflers can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to up to $2,500 for the most expensive muffler sold by Quiet Cars. This is big business.

But the profits to a few manufacturers will never be as important as the safety of our communities across the country. That’s why making your voice heard is so important.

You are probably thinking that mufflers are a good thing and you'd be right. Among other things they reduce noise pollution. You won't be woken up in the middle of your afternoon nap anymore when an unmuffled car drives by your house.

Of course, the real email from Mark Kelly aka Mr. Gabby Giffords of Americans for Responsible Solutions (sic) is talking about silencers and suppressors for firearms. My rewriting of his email was to show just how ridiculousness of his position. I could go on but I think you get it.

Ideologues Versus Science

There is currently a battle going on between anti-science ideologues and those committed to a health-related change in the laws based upon science. You have doctors, public health advocates, and civil rights advocates on one side and you have the New York Times and anti-health prohibitionists on the other side. I am talking about the battle between those for and opposed to the Hearing Protection Act of 2017.

The New York Times weighed in the battle with an absurd editorial entitled "Echoes of Gunfire Hurt Tender N.R.A. Ears". As per their usual, they conflated the number of deaths attributed to the use of a firearm to include intentional deaths (suicides), they misrepresented the intent of Congress for adding suppressors to the National Firearms Act, and they created a strawman by insisting the public would be at risk because "ShotSpotters" would not be able to hear gunfire.

The annual tally of 30,000-plus gun deaths accounts for just a tiny fraction of the total shots fired, most of which miss their targets but terrorize neighborhoods. Amid the lethal cacophony, the police in more than 90 cities here and abroad seek to reach the scene of the latest gun troubles more quickly by using an audio detection system called ShotSpotter, which triangulates the sound of gunfire onto computer maps. Police officers in major cities hail these precise early alarms of where the latest shooting is.

Yet despite these advances, the National Rifle Association argues, self-servingly, that noisy guns are a public health hazard. With the help of supporters like President Trump’s son Donald Jr., a gun hobbyist, it wants to roll back an 80-year-old federal law that tightly controls the sale of firearm silencers. Immune to irony, the N.R.A.’s congressional friends have introduced a measure called the Hearing Protection Act, which contends that the sound of gunfire is hard on the ears of gun owners.

“What about the rest of us?” the nation’s unarmed majority might well ask. When it comes to public health, the noisier a gun is, the better the chances for innocent bystanders to hit the ground and for police officers to apprehend the shooter.

I guess reading the Washington Post is beneath the editorial board of the New York Times. The Post reported only four days earlier that the CEO of ShotSpotter said their devices had detected suppressed gunfire in the past and would be able to detect it in the future with some fine-tuning.

Then there is Mark Kelly aka Mr. Gabby Giffords of Americans for Responsible Solutions (sic) who has been leading the charge against suppressors.

From a fundraising email:

One of those bills would lift restrictions on the sale of firearm silencers.

Now, I don’t want to give the impression that firearm silencers work like you see them in the movies — where someone fires a gun and it wouldn’t wake a person sleeping in the same room.

But silencers do suppress sound and light when a weapon is discharged, and that makes them attractive accessories for criminals who want to conceal their crimes.

Attractive accessories for criminals? Really? Actually, criminals want to scare the shit out of you with the noise of a firearm report because it tends to make victims more compliant.

You would think someone who had been around jet engines like Kelly would have an appreciation for the damage that loud noises do to hearing. I know I do because every day for me is like a hot summer night in Mississippi where the crickets, cicadas, and tree frogs keep up an incessant noise. That is what tinnitus sounds like to sufferers like me.

On the rational, scientific side of this debate are groups like Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. They have just released a position paper in favor of suppressors to prevent hearing loss. The four primary authors of the paper are all board-certified physicians specializing in otolaryngology or ear, nose, and throat issues. The following is from their executive summary of the paper:

Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is a real public health problem:

The causal relationship between loud noise exposure and irreversible hearing loss has long been recognized by medicine and the U.S. government.

NIHL is permanent and untreatable. Prevention is the only possible intervention.

Demonstrable need:

NIHL is the most prevalent service-connected disability among Veterans.

Per the CDC, 15% of adults aged 18 and over (or nearly 38 million American) have hearing problems.

Over 100 million Americans who own guns are at risk for gunshot-induced NIHL. Auditory injuries are sustained by bystanders the same as by shooters.

Nearly all gunshots exceed the noise threshold for instant damage to the hearing cells of the inner ear. And their explosive blast generates 1,000 times the force on the eardrum than the noise itself.

Benefit of suppressors:

Muzzle blast sound levels from most firearms range from 140 to over 170 decibels. 120 decibels is considered the maximum safe level for short exposures (the intensity of a car horn 3 feet away). Ear plugs and/or ear muffs only reduce noise by 20-30 decibels.

Evidence supporting the need for greater use of firearms suppressors comes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders, the Centers for Disease Control, as well as academic and military research.

Muzzle-mounted suppressors are vastly superior to ear protectors, providing 50% greater noise reduction. Only suppressors can make most modern firearms safe for hearing, as noise at gun ranges routinely reaches 160 decibels.

I would urge readers to study the position paper issued by Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership. It provides great graphics and is extensively sourced. Moreover, unlike most doctor's handwriting, it is both readable and understandable!

Our first suppressor arrived this week after a wait of over three-fourths of a year. As I said in that post, can you think of any other consumer product for the health and safety of both the purchaser and the general public for which you have to ask the government for permission to take possession of it on top of paying $200 for the privilege? It is time for Congress to act on the established science of hearing loss and pass the Hearing Protection Act.

Is This The Best They Can Do?

Now that the Hearing Protection Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate the wailing and gnashing of teeth is beginning to be heard from the gun prohibitionists. Just today I received the following in my email from the Space Cowboy aka Mr. Gabby Giffords aka Mark Kelly of the Americans for Responsible Solutions.

John - With Donald Trump set to take office in just three days, the gun lobby and their allies in Congress have set their sights on a pair of bills that will make our communities far less safe from gun violence. One of those bills would lift restrictions on the sale of firearm silencers. Now, I don’t want to give the impression that firearm silencers work like you see them in the movies — where someone fires a gun and it wouldn’t wake a person sleeping in the same room. But silencers do suppress sound and light when a weapon is discharged, and that makes them attractive accessories for criminals who want to conceal their crimes. Before Trump takes office, it’s important we lay down a marker on this issue. Add your name and tell Congress to REJECT any legislation that lifts restrictions on the sale of firearm silencers, action that will make it harder for law enforcement to do their job and make it easier for criminals to get away with crimes. The gun lobby will tell you that this legislation is designed to protect people’s hearing, but the truth is that it’s a massive financial giveaway to the corporations who manufacture and sell firearm silencers. The safety of our communities is more important than the manufacturers' bottom lines. Thank you for adding your name. Mark Kelly Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC

You want to say, "Really, Mark? Is this the best you can come up with?" A suppressor suppresses sound and light and thus make them attractive accessories for criminals. Flash suppressors for rifles are legal in most states and do not require any license, permit, fee, or registration.

The same could be said for common items like bed pillows, oil filters, 2-liter Coke bottles, and potatoes. All of these common items could be used by thugs, murderers, and criminals to muffle the sound of the firearm and possibly reduce its flash.

Having reported on hundreds of defensive gun uses on the Polite Society Podcast I have yet to come across mention of a criminal having a suppressor in his or her possession while committing an assault, robbery, home invasion, or murder. Indeed, more often than not, these miscreants use the loud sound of a firearm discharge to attempt to cow their victims. They aren't worried about the police because most times they anticipate being gone by the time the police arrive.

What Kelly is not saying is that treating silencers and suppressors like ordinary firearms still requires a NICS check as they are going to be transferred by FFLs. You would still have to fill out a Form 4473 and felons, drug abusers, those convicted of domestic violence, etc. would still be prohibited from purchasing and possessing a suppressor. While I might want a suppressor to be sold like replacement mufflers for a lawnmower at Ace Hardware, these bills are a good first step in an effort to reduce noise pollution and protect the hearing of hunters and shooters.

Hyperbole And Lies

We have come to expect both hyperbole and lies from the gun prohibitionists. The email I received today from Mr. Gabby Giffords (aka Capt. Mark Kelly, USN (Ret)) of Americans for Responsible Solutions contained both. The letter was advocating the addition of people on the so-called terrorist watch list to the NICS banned list.

Kelly's lie was particularly egregious but not surprising.

Just a few years ago, al-Qaeda encouraged potential terrorists to to take advantage of loopholes in our laws, saying "America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle, without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?"

While this is a quote attributed to al-Qaeda, no effort was made to correct it. Just as I learned in catechism classes, there are sins of commission and sins of omission. This was a sin of omission as he knew full well that fully automatic firearms are covered under the National Firearms Act, that they are highly regulated, and that the supply of new firearms is constrained by the Hughes Act.

By repeating the lies of terrorists, he was trying to sow fear in the minds of the uninformed. He then blames the evil "gun lobby" for blocking efforts to expand the NICS banned list which conflates those of us who oppose using the terrorist watch list with terrorist themselves.

The reason Mark Kelly has to use lies and hyperbole is that his argument is weak. If he had a good argument, he could just state the facts. Since he doesn't, he can't.

If This Holds Up, It Will Be A Big Slap In The Face To Gabby Giffords And ARS (Updated)

Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly have a lot invested in keeping her old Arizona seat Democratic. It is currently held by Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ) who was Giffords' congressional district director. He was wounded in the same attack that injured Giffords.

Giffords and her gun control organization Americans for Responsible Solutions have poured approximately $2 million into the district for ads attacking Col. Martha McSally USAF (Ret). McSally lost to Barber for the same seat in 2012. According to the latest Federal Elections Commission reports, they put in over $500,000 in the first half of October alone.

Americans for Responsible Solutions had been running the ad below which was inaccurate. They removed it 24 hours before it was supposed to go off the air. Politico ran a full story on Giffords' and ARS' misleading attacks on McSally. They claimed it was because McSally reversed her position on stalkers and guns.



Thus, it has to be a big slap in the face to Gabby, Mark, and Americans for Responsible Solutions to see McSally leading Barber by 36 votes with the ballots from Cochise County yet to be counted.

Technical problems with voting machines in Cochise County have delayed results in the region’s most-watched race, but it could bode well for GOP challenger Martha McSally.

She and Democrat Ron Barber, the incumbent, were separated by only 36 votes, according to the latest totals this morning.

However, Cochise County tallies are missing and McSally was expected to have another strong showing in the county she won in 2012 by 59 percent to 41 percent.

 McSally currently has 78,785 votes to Barber's 78,749 with 49 precincts uncounted.

If things go the way that they should, McSally will win this race. Assuming that happens, it will be amusing to see how Giffords and Kelly and their henchmen at Americans for Responsible Solutions spin the result. There is just no way to do it without looking foolish.

UPDATE: According to the official Arizona Secretary of State election returns, Martha McSally is leading  Rep. Ron Barber by 2,078 votes with all precincts reporting. The final unofficial tally is 90,345 votes for McSally and 88,267 votes for Barber.

No word yet from Giffords. Barber's camp released a statement that they are waiting for the early ballots to be counted and won't concede until then. There is no time stamp on their statement so I don't know if it was before or after McSally took a 2,000 vote lead.

UPDATE II: Even with more early and provisional ballots having been counted, Martha McSally still maintains a slight lead over Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ). It now stands at a 363 vote lead with McSally having won 98,918 votes and Barber 98,555. This reminds me in a way of when Al Franken first won over Norm Coleman in Minnesota. It was not declared over until enough votes had been found to put the Democrat in the lead.

The Tucson Daily Star reports that Barber has sent out a fundraising appeal for a recount. They report this is unusual because the state would pay for any recount. As it is, unless the margin drops to 200 votes, a recount is not ordered.

UPDATE III: Martha McSally maintains a 341 vote lead going into Monday. There are still reported to be 9,000 provisional ballots left to be counted in Pima County.

The McSally campaign has threatened a lawsuit to stop the counting of those ballots that don't have the required signature from an election official. Barber's campaign officials are calling this an effort "to disenfranchise" voters. I guess what the Barber folks really object to is having their ballot box stuffing called out.

I just hope that McSally isn't "Al Franken'ed" by Arizona election officials. The good news is that Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett is a Republican.

Costing The Anti's Some Money

I got an email the other day from Mark Kelly (aka Mr. Gabby Giffords) offering me a copy of the new book that he and Giffords just wrote.

Gabby and Mark wrote a new book that's coming out at the end of this month. It's called Enough, and it's about why they are working to keep America safe from gun violence.

We know that some people might contribute less than the book costs, and that's OK.

 I took them at their word. While I tried to contribute what the book was worth - $0.01 - it wouldn't let me. However, it did let me contribute a mere buck.

The way I figure it the cost of postage using Media Mail is at least $2.69. The book which has a MSRP of $25 and is selling for $18.63 on Amazon must cost them at least $5 a copy.

Thus, for an investment of $1, I'm costing Americans for Responsible Solutions a minimum of  $7.69. That is a net $6.69 that can't be used to take away my civil rights.

Now I'm not suggesting you do this but if you'd like to take them up on their offer, go here. You'll end up costing them some money and you'll be able to keep an eye on what the anti's are up to.

UPDATE: As a commenter below has mentioned, it now takes a $25 or more donation to get the book. At that price, they can keep it.

Thanks for your interest in supporting Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC. This promotion has ended at this time. However, you can still receive a copy of Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly's book Enough with a donation of $25 or more on this page.

Nonetheless, it reads as if those of us who "donated" a buck will still get the book.

Take this as a reminder that our opponents may be misguided, misinformed, and malcontents but they aren't stupid. I'm guessing, though I have no proof, that they woke up to the number of low donations that they started getting.

Sean Meets Gabby And Mark

Actually that is a misleading headline as Sean Sorrentino wasn't one of the 14 hand-picked "gun owners" chosen to sit down for a "discussion" with Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly in a Raleigh BBQ restaurant.

He tells me that he did get to see them...from a distance as they exited the side door of the restaurant surrounded by "a phalanx". Hmmm.

Sean has an excellent after-action report of the Giffords-Kelly whirlwind visit to Raleigh and the media's reaction to it. The headlines are not quite what Americans for Responsible Solutions would have liked.

Sean and the rest of his hastily assembled group of friends did a great job yesterday. It shows what real grassroots action looks like.

Guess Who's Coming To Town! (Updated)

The Tar Heel State will be "graced" tomorrow by a visit by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. They are supposed to be somewhere in the Research Triangle - Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill - area but they seem to be very coy about just where. I guess they don't want what happened to them in North Dakota to happen to them here.

Grass Roots North Carolina would like to properly welcome them. They are offering a reward of a 100 rounds of either 5.56 or 7.62x39 ammo to the first person to locate them.

More from GRNC below:

Yet they hide their "Rights & Responsibilities" tour's July 7 Raleigh stop from gun owners they purport to represent!

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and astronaut husband Mark Kelly, who fancy themselves the next Sarah and Jim Brady, having been touring the country to push for what they claim are just "background checks." In truth, of course, the federal proposals they advocate would criminalize mundane behaviors such as gifting a gun to your mother and would further their hidden agenda to turn the computerized "National Instant Criminal Background Check System" (NICS) into a defacto gun registration system.

To divide and conquer gun owners, they claim to be shooters and have posed for photo ops of Giffords flinching off a few shots in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Gee, whiz, they say, they're just gun owners like the rest of us and, of course, we all support "background checks," right?

Gun control carpet-baggers in NC TOMORROW

Although their website lists Raleigh as a tour stop, it is the only stop for which the group refuses to provide a precise time and location, indicating they learned from our counter demonstration to greet "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" two weeks ago, in which GRNC's counter demonstrators outnumbered MAIG's participants.

Indeed, they are refusing to release the details to the public, leading one to ask: Why are they hiding from the gun owners they claim to represent? Last night, the Raleigh News & Observer said:
"Details have been withheld until Friday night, and even now the precise location has not been publicly disclosed. Reporters will be given information once they are confirmed.

"All that's known now is Giffords and Kelly will go shooting at a local sporting clay range in the morning, followed by a roundtable discussion with gun owners, and then a picnic with local members of their gun-control group, Americans for Responsible Solutions. The couple will meet with reporters after the roundtable."

'Where's Gabby?'

Since Rep. Giffords and her hubby say they want a "roundtable discussion with gun owners," GRNC would like to give it to them. So in a variation of that old child's game, "Where's Waldo?" GRNC now asks you to play "Where's Gabby?"

In fact, we will give 100 rds of free 5.56mm or 7.62x39mm ammo to the first person who identifies the Raleigh-area "sporting clay range" and time for Gabby and Mark's little get together. Please contact GRNC President Paul Valone immediately at: president@GRNC.org.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

Contact your club or range and ask if Gabby and spouse are scheduled to arrive. If so:

• Ask those in charge to rescind their invitation, but not too soon: It would be most effective if it occurred AFTER arrival of the media - that will surely have received invitations.
• Contact GRNC: Email GRNC President Paul Valone at President@GRNC.org with details.
• Prepare to counter-protest: Please RSVP to Sean@SeanSorrentino.com with your name, mobile phone number, and the number of people you can bring. The probable time is 11:00 AM. Once we obtain details, we will call you.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Contact GRNC President Paul Valone with Gifford's event information at: president@grnc.org.

UPDATE: It looks like the location has been confirmed.

Gabby Giffords Anti-Gun Roundtable

Gabby Giffords and husband plan anti-gun roundtable tomorrow morning at Pit Barbeque, 328 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC at 10 am...

GRNC has received word that Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will be hosting an anti-gun roundtable tomorrow morning at Pit Barbeque in Raleigh. The event will take place some time around 11:00 am. We need as many pro-gun people as possible to begin showing up around 10:00 am. This will be an anti-freedom lovefest that the media will use to back their false claims that you want more gun control. It is up to you to stop this from happening. By your showing up and defending your viewpoint, you can steal their thunder and prevent their making a case for taking more of your rights.

BE THERE!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

Be at:

Pit Barbeque, 328 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC at 10 am tomorrow, Sunday.

UPDATE II:  It appears that you had to be one of the "select" to have met with Giffords and Kelly. According to WRAL, they met with 14 selected individuals who were members of their new gun control organization.

After a trip to a shooting range, they met at The Pit restaurant in downtown Raleigh with 14 hand-picked members of the organization, all of whom are gun owners, to lobby for expanded background checks.

"Gabby and I are both gun owners. I've served in the military for 25 years," Kelly said. "We are strong supporters of the Second Amendment."

 It is hard for me to see just what they accomplished in their trip around the nation other than gathering a bit of media attention. IF they really wanted to draw major attention to themselves in North Carolina, Giffords and Kelly would have joined the disgruntled progressives in their so-called "Moral Mondays" outside the North Carolina General Assembly. Not that I'm trying to give them ideas but there is a major bill awaiting concurrence before the NC House that significantly advances gun rights.

The Raleigh News and Observer has more on the meeting.

Raleigh was the last stop on the couple’ seven-city Rights and Responsibilities tour. The ARS is hosting small roundtable discussions with gun owners, victims of violence and others. Giffords is expected to head to Asheville next for more rehabilitation therapy. She has aphasia as a result of her injuries and struggles to speak and walk.

“Hello, Raleigh. Stopping gun (violence) takes courage,” Giffords said, reading from a statement. "The courage to do what’s right. The courage of new ideas. I’ve seen great courage when my life was on the line. Now is the time to come together. Be responsible. Democrats, Republicans, everyone. We must never stop fighting. Fight, fight, fight people. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you. Thank you.”

Fourteen people were invited to be part of the roundtable discussion. About half said they were gun owners and 10 of the 14 knew someone who had been shot or killed by guns.

The best comments on the Giffords-Kelly visit comes from Sean Sorrention of An NC Gun Blog who was interviewed by the N&O reporter.

“(They’re) having a roundtable discussion with gun owners and somehow our invitation got lost in the mail,” said Sean Sorrentino, a representative for Grass Roots North Carolina.

Sorrentino said criminal-background checks violate citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

“It’s saying I have to prove my innocence before I can use my Second Amendment rights,” he said.

Now I'm going to say something that might be considered impolitic or not judicious but it has been at the back of my mind since Giffords has re-emerged in public. I don't mean to be insensitive or "a meany" though I will be accused of it by the gun prohibitionists. The mention of Giffords coming to Asheville for more rehab makes me wonder just how capable she is of coherent and rational thought. Every time she speaks in public it is from a simple, pre-written statement or with the words being put into her mouth by her husband Mark. She always seems to have some sort of a "handler" at her side. It is as if she is a puppet or wind-up doll being used to promote someone else's agenda which I find quite sad.

I don't know enough about traumatic brain injuries to know whether having a bullet travel through the left side of your brain is worse than the concussive force of an IED explosion. One would have to assume it is much worse. I feel for Ms. Giffords for what she has been through. She didn't ask for a madman who passed a NICS check to shoot her. That said, I have this nagging feeling that just won't go away that she is just not capable of having an opinion on gun control one way or another and that she is being used by her husband and others. I also wonder if she wrote or could she even compose the comments she read at the event today.

UPDATE III: Links to video reports on the event are below. I would note that both Sean Sorrentino and Bill Foster represented the position of gun owners quite well. Moreover, it is interesting that the media is invited to the event but not any of the rest of us.

WRAL Raleigh

WNCN NBC 17

Ghoulishness

Let's just say that I didn't particularly like the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and the policies he pushed. That said, I've tried to avoid posting about his death as I didn't want to be seen as dancing on his grave.

I received an email this afternoon that I found crass, insensitive, and ghoulish. It was sent by the "sainted" Gabby Giffords and her AR-buying hypocrite of a husband Mark Kelly. The letter (see below) asks that Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) appoint a gun prohibitionist to replace Lautenberg and concludes with a request for a contribution.

For God's sake, Lautenberg's corpse has barely begun to relax from rigor mortis and they are using it for political purposes. They really have no shame.

John - Frank Lautenberg spent a career working tirelessly to reduce gun violence in our country. He authored important legislation to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, and one of the final votes he cast was in support of expanded background checks. He was wheeled down to the floor for that vote, as his colleagues applauded his determination. Senator Lautenberg cannot be replaced. However, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie must now select a successor. And he should pick one who supports expanding background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the deranged. Earlier this year, a Quinnipiac University poll found that ninety-six percent of New Jersey residents support expanding background checks, including ninety-five percent of gun owners. These are staggering numbers, and Governor Christie should consider the will of New Jersey voters while making his selection. Sign our petition calling on Governor Christie to honor Senator Lautenberg's legacy and select a successor who will vote 'YES' to expand background checks for gun purchases. http://action.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/christie As we move closer to a second vote on background checks, this decision could make the difference between passing background checks, or another crushing defeat. That's why your signature is so important. We'll make sure Governor Christie receives it. All the best, Gabby and Mark

New Jersey Native Threatens To Replace AZ Senator Over His Pro-Gun Stance

In one of the more amusing news stories today, Mark Kelly, gun control advocate and husband of Gabby Giffords, is threatening to "replace" Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in 2018 if Flake doesn't vote for gun control.

Kelly was reacting to Flake's announcement -- posted Monday night on the senator's Facebook page -- that he will oppose a bill by conservative Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Penn., that would expand background checks to include people attempting to buy firearms from private individuals at gun shows or on the Internet. The bill is being offered as a compromise to amend a bill with a more sweeping background check requirement.

But Flake said on his Facebook page that he believes the bill would still go too far.

"Manchin-Toomey would expand background checks far beyond commercial sales to include almost all private transfers -- including between friends and neighbors -- if the posting or display of the ad for a firearm was made public," Flake said in his posting. "It would likely even extend to message boards, like the one in an office kitchen. This simply goes too far."

Kelly still thinks he can persuade Flake to come around on the Manchin-Toomey amendment "when I talk to him about why his concerns are unfounded."

If that doesn't work, then maybe the Orange, New Jersey native will threaten to hold his breathe and stomp his feet to get his way. For some reason I think that is destined to failure as well.

If This Guy Tries To Sell You An AR, It's A Trap!

If a kinda short balding guy with a wispy moustache who looks like the guy in the picture below tries to sell you a used Sig M400 for a good price and you aren't a resident of Arizona, you might want to ask for some identification. If the name is Mark Kelly, you better run because it is a set-up.

As has been reported many times and many places, Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords and born again gun control advocate, recently purchased a used Sig M400 AR-15 clone from a Tucson gun shop. He bought it when he didn't think anyone was looking. Once held up to public scrutiny, his alibi became he bought it to show how easy it was to purchase and that he was going to turn it in to the Tucson Police Department.

Now it seems, if his comments in the video below are to be believed, he is going to try to sell the AR-15 to someone across state lines in a private sale. However, that would be illegal under 18 USC Section 922(a)(5). That section of the law which is part of the Gun Control Act of 1968 states that it is unlawful:

(5) for any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) to transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in which the transferor resides; except that this paragraph shall not apply to (A) the transfer, transportation, or delivery of a firearm made to carry out a bequest of a firearm to, or an acquisition by intestate succession of a firearm by, a person who is permitted to acquire or possess a firearm under the laws of the State of his residence, and (B) the loan or rental of a firearm to any person for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes;

In other words, unless you are a dealer you can't sell a firearm to someone who resides in another state. To be legal, the sale has to go through an FFL who will log the firearm into his bound book, a Form 4473 is filled out, the NICS check is run, and then and only then, can the firearm be transferred. The statutory maximum for violating 18 USC 922(a)(5) is 5 years.

Moreover, willful receipt of a firearm from an unlicensed person such as Mr. Kelly from out of state is a violation of 18 USC 922(a)(3) which also carries up to 5 years of imprisonment.

So the bottom line is if you are not a resident of Arizona and Mark Kelly tries to sell you any firearm, run! It's a trap and TV cameras will be nearby.

Supporting A Bill That Would Not Have Changed Things

Mark Kelly, the husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Gifford (D-AZ) and co-founder of American for Responsible Solutions, has jumped on the gun control bandwagon with both feet. Tomrrow, he will be testifying in favor of Colorado HB 1229 which would mandate background checks for all firearms sales in that state.

The news comes from Fox 31 Denver. They were alerted to it from an email put out by Ceasefire Colorado.

The group Ceasefire Colorado, in an email Sunday alerting supporters to join Kelly and Maisich at the Capitol Monday, is explicit about the high stakes of Monday’s hearing — and the potential impact of Colorado lawmakers on the national gun control debate.

“We are done with gun lobby bullies writing our laws, and we are committed to lead the way to a new perspective on responsible gun ownership,” the email states.

Maisich is Patricia Maisich who was one of the people who tackled the gunman* in Tucson and who has now become an advocate for gun control.

While Kelly will be testifying in support of the bill to expand background checks it should be noted that the gunman in Tucson passed the FBI-run NICS check when he purchased his Glock 19. Presumably, the gunman would still have passed a NICS check for a private sale.



*While many news outlets have no hesitation in publishing the names of the shooters in mass shootings, I chose not to do so. I remember their actions but I refuse to give them the publicity that they sought by their actions.

I Find This Kinda Sad

Americans for Responsible Solutions has released their first ad in time for the State of the Union address tomorrow.

After watching it, I found it kind of sad and bordering on pathetic. I really have to question how much of what Gabby Giffords is saying comes from her own thoughts given her traumatic brain injury. That is, how much of this is Giffords as opposed to Mark Kelly putting the thoughts in her head and the words in her mouth.

We should remember that the young man that shot Rep. Giffords did pass a FBI-run NICS check before he bought his Glock. He may not have passed it if his aberrant behavior at the community college had been reported to authorities. Moreover, the Pima County Sheriffs Office was reportedly aware of the young man and his threats and did nothing. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a Democrat, preferred to blame the Tea Party and "inflammatory rhetoric".

Senate Judiciary Committee: “What Should America Do About Gun Violence?”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has set January 30th as the date for a hearing on "gun violence" according to a posting on the committee's website.

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled “What Should America Do About Gun Violence?” for Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.

Witness List

Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

On

“What Should America Do About Gun Violence?”

Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216
10:00 a.m.

Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.)
Americans for Responsible Solutions
Tucson, AZ

Nicholas Johnson
Professor of Law
Fordham University School of Law
New York, NY

James Johnson
Chief of Police
Baltimore County Police Department
Chair, National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence
Towson, MD

Gayle Trotter
Attorney and Senior Fellow
Independent Women’s Forum
Washington, DC

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
National Rifle Association
Fairfax, VA

I learned of the hearing thanks to a post by Stranger at Extrano's Alley. He thinks that with the exception of Wayne LaPierre all the participants are anti-gun.

The first four witnesses are anti’s. Mark Kelley is Gabrielle Giffords husband, and the titular head of an anti-gun group. Given that every restrictive gun law in history has driven violent crime rates sky high, it would be more accurate to say Kelley is head of a pro-crime group.

Chief Johnson is an anti-gun activists as is Trotter. The same comments apply to Johnson and Trotter that apply to Kelly.

I must respectfully disagree on part of his comments. Mark Kelly and Chief James Johnson are most definitely anti-gun activists. However, from what I know of Professor Johnson he is most definitely not an anti-gun activist. Professor Johnson is a co-author with Dave Kopel of the first law school casebook devoted to the Second Amendment - Firearms Law & the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy. Likewise, Gayle Trotter recently penned an article saying that gun control disarms women.

While this hearing seems to be an effort to push the Obama Administration's gun control agenda, three of the five witnesses are on our side. This might not turn out as bad as some think it will.

Interesting Connections

Americans for Responsible Solutions is the new PAC formed by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. It will seek to promote candidates that pursue "solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership."

Their registration with the Federal Elections Commission has now been processed and is available on-line.  They list their official address as an office complex adjacent to Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC.

Their custodian of records is Vickie Winpisinger. Ms. Winpisinger serves or has served as treasurer for a number of other PACs and political campaigns with connections to Democrats. They include the House Majority Fund and Gabby PAC. She also was the campaign treasurer for Democrats including Nydia Velazquez, Eric Massa, Mike Ross, John Lewis, and Giffords. Winpisinger's late father William was the long-time president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and big in left-wing circles.

The treasurer of the PAC is Texas personal injury lawyer J. Steven Mostyn. He is currently serving as the president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. According to the website Texas Trial Lawyer Watch, Mostyn gave over $10 million in campaign contributions in the 2010 election cycle plus another $400,000 to the Democratic Governors Association. There is even a website called The Truth About Steve Mostyn. According to the Dallas Morning News and Bloomberg, Mostyn has donated $1 million to Americans for Responsible Solutions.

According to a story in Time, Mostyn is good friends with Gifford's husband Mark Kelly as well as Democratic consultant Paul Begalia.

Until then (Newtown), the couple had decided to avoid the activist path, treating the 2011 Phoenix shooting largely as a personal trauma that needed to be dealt with in private. “It’s not what we wanted to do,” he said. But now they went all-in, drawing up plans for two new organizations: a nonprofit to build grassroots support for changes to gun laws and a super PAC to run ads supporting members of Congress on the issue. Kelly decided to start working full time on the effort and began calling those he thought could help.

One of his first calls was to Steve Mostyn, a wealthy trial-lawyer friend from Houston who happens to be one of the biggest contributors to Democratic super PACs. Like Kelly and Giffords, Mostyn is a gun owner. He sleeps with a handgun by his bed, in a safe that opens by his fingerprint. He has a gun range on his West Texas ranch and invites friends out to shoot. But when Kelly called, Mostyn had just dropped off his 5-year-old daughter at school. “I told him it was time,” Mostyn says.

The subject of gun laws was on his mind even before Sandy Hook. A few months earlier, he bought a couple of pistols, both with high-capacity magazines, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition for his gun collection at a local gun store. “The kid who walks me out to the car says to me, ‘It looks like you are going to start a war,’” Mostyn says, noting his shock at how easy it was to stock up on enormous amounts of lethal firepower.

“I’m not anti-gun. I’m just not pro-dumbass,” he continues, citing the more than 30,000 Americans who die every year from guns, mostly from suicide. “We’ve got a gun problem. That’s what differentiates us from other cultures.” He told Kelly he would seed the new group, which they called Americans for Responsible Solutions, with $1 million and begin fundraising with a goal of more than $14 million to support members of Congress in the 2014 elections who cast tough gun votes. “If a representative wants to vote their conscience, we are not going to allow you to bully,” he said of the NRA. “We will counter.”

 $14 million to support representatives who "want to vote their conscience" sounds like an effort to buy votes for the gun prohibitionists.  Like I said when last week, we need to keep a close eye on this group just like we do on Bloomberg.

You Knew This Was Coming

With all the publicity that ABC News has been using to promote Diane Sawyer's "exclusive" interview with former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, I just had a bad feeling about it. That doubled when they said Giffords and Kelly would be announcing a new initiative and had recently met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

I was right.

Giffords and Kelly look to become the new Jim and Sarah Brady.

Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News

They are calling their initiative Americans for Responsible Solutions. Interestingly, according to the webpage it is a political action committee. It is obvious that they mean this PAC as a cover for politicians just like the American Hunters and Shooters Association. The difference is that they evoke much more sympathy than AHSA could ever hope to do.

Giffords and Kelly say they want to propose "commonsense solutions" to "curb gun violence" (sic). Their proposals mirror some of those of Bloomberg and MAIG. They want universal background checks for private sales and they want magazine restrictions. Reading their op-ed in USA Today and the ABC News article, I don't see any mention on banning semi-automatic rifles.

They make strong efforts to portray themselves as gun owners with Kelly noting he had recently purchased a firearm at Walmart and that they have two guns at home "in a safe". In their op-ed they describe themselves as "a Western woman and a Persian Gulf War combat veteran who have exercised their Second Amendment rights" who aren't out to take your guns.

I think you will see a strong effort by them to try and marginalize the NRA as being fringe or extremist.

Special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe have used big money and influence to cow Congress into submission. Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties. Rather than conducting a dialogue, they threaten those who divert from their orthodoxy with political extinction.

As a result, we are more vulnerable to gun violence. Weapons designed for the battlefield have a home in our streets. Criminals and the mentally ill can easily purchase guns by avoiding background checks. Firearm accessories designed for killing at a high rate are legal and widely available. And gun owners are less responsible for the misuse of their weapons than they are for their automobiles.

Forget the boogeyman of big, bad government coming to dispossess you of your firearms. As a Western woman and a Persian Gulf War combat veteran who have exercised our Second Amendment rights, we don't want to take away your guns any more than we want to give up the two guns we have locked in a safe at home. What we do want is what the majority of NRA members and other Americans want: responsible changes in our laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence.

We saw from the NRA leadership's defiant and unsympathetic response to the Newtown, Conn., massacre that winning even the most common-sense reforms will require a fight. But whether it has been in campaigns or in Congress, in combat or in space, fighting for what we believe in has always been what we do.

 Watching the interview above as well as others they have given, you have to wonder how much of this is Mark Kelly as opposed to Gabby Giffords. She has had a traumatic brain injury and has made a great recovery. That said, after such an injury I would think - and I'm not an expert - that it would have to affect the thought processes and the ability to make rational decisions in some way. Kelly does most of the talking for them while Giffords looks at him and utters a little something here and then.

Make no mistake, Giffords, Kelly, and Americans for Responsible Solutions are a threat to gun rights. They present a sympathetic face, their agenda scarcely differs from that of Bloomberg and his Illegal Mayors, and the mainstream media have signed up to be their propaganda agents.