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Gun Question to Potential Appointees Might Explode Debate

CitizenSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800

Barack Obama is firing away seven pages of detailed questions to wannabe presidential appointees, but one inquiry has gun rights activists upset. The question states:

“Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

Politico reports that the Obama team says it just wants to verify legal ownership of firearms, but others accuse Obama of potentially denying employment based on an applicant's gun ownership.

Do you think Obama is putting Second Amendment rights in the line of fire or just trying to avoid embarrassing situations (think Dick Cheney shooting a man in the face)?

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Briefing Book! Domestic Abusers Can Purchase Guns

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:30:26 -0800

Law: Supreme Court sides with domestic abusers? Court likely to uphold decision that allows those with domestic abuse convictions to purchase guns. — Jezebel
England: Has it hit bottom yet? Bank of England could slash interest rates to 0 percent. — Donklephant
GOP: What did big business say to the neocon? If they IM'd: Republican factions. — 23/6
Babies: Guess who's expecting? The pregnant man is pregnant again! — lilsugar
Northeast: Possible for fiscally conservative and socially liberal Republicans dying out in the Northeast to survive? The key is to cut spending and the size of government. – Red State

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The Democrats Are Coming! Boom in Gun Sales After Election

LibertySugar — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:00:01 -0800

Making sure to exercise their Second Amendment rights before it's too late, firearm fans have gone on a shopping spree. Gun shop owners report record sales since Tuesday, suspecting that customers fear a Democratic federal government could curtail the right to bear arms with new gun control laws. In fact in October, there were 15 percent more background checks issued for new purchases.

Barack Obama's stance on gun control shouldn't cause too much panic in the gun-carrying community. The president-elect has said that he "will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns." He also believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, just as the Supreme Court decided earlier this year. Even so, Obama does support national legislation against carrying concealed firearms, and he may reinstate the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons.

If you're a gun enthusiast, do you feel like your rights will come under fire from the new Democratic leadership, or are you comforted by the fact that a lot of other problems might push gun control to the bottom of the agenda?

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500 Guns Swapped For Cash in Harlem: Are Buybacks Good?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:00:42 -0700

In tough economic times, people are trying to make money any way they can — and one surprising example sneaks in community service too. In Harlem this weekend, five churches offered cash for weapons – no questions asked. Rifles, handguns, and shotguns were brought to the churches on Saturday and in return the unarmed were given a $200 bank card.This program, sponsored by the NYPD and Manhattan DA’s office, was created over a dozen years ago in an effort to get guns off the streets and has been met with great success. So far about 5,000 have been removed from New York and over 500 of those in this last buyback. Two weeks ago Brooklyn churches purchased over 400 firearms.Critics and proponents are at odds over the efficacy of gun buyback programs. Skeptics say, "It's like trying to drain the Pacific with a bucket. More guns are going to flow in." Though Oakland held a popular buyback this Spring where more than 1,000 guns were swapped for $170,000. Is cash an effective way to drain dangerous weapons from the streets?Source

500 Guns Swapped For Cash in Harlem: Are Buybacks Good?

Yes! Anything that gets a gun off the street is one step toward safer communities.

It's possible it reduces crime a bit but it won't eradicate the problem completely.

No way. Gun buybacks don't get guns back from the truly dangerous, it's a waste.

Other. I'll fire off my opinion in the comments.

Do Teachers With Guns Make a Secluded School Safe?

LibertySugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:45:25 -0700

Teachers in a 110-student Texas school district can soon carry guns at school. Those advocating the new policy argue that teachers and students feel unprotected because the school is 30 minutes from the closest sheriff. Staff that want to carry a gun must have a Texas concealed gun license, be approved by the district, receive crisis-management training, and use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.The district's superintendent thinks the guns are a great idea: When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog.

While it's important for school staff to take the possibility of violence seriously, having multiple guns on campus sounds like it could present a danger in itself.Source

Do Teachers With Guns Make a Secluded School Safe?

Yes. You can't wait 30 minutes for the sheriff to arrive in an emergency.

No. School security can have a weapon, but not teachers!

No way! There should be no guns on campuses. Schools are not war zones.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

NRA to Montana: Obama a Threat to Gun Owners

CitizenSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:35:08 -0700

Clear Shot? NRA to Montana: Obama a Threat to Gun Owners The National Rifle Association said Wednesday that Barack Obama's campaign is trying to mislead voters about his past support of gun control, calling the Democratic candidate "a poster child of the extremist, elitist gun control movement." The group was responding to recent remarks by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who supports gun rights and told reporters this week that Obama "ain't ever going to take your gun away." The NRA said Schweitzer was misrepresenting the candidates' positions.

Texas Man Cleared of Shooting Burglars — Victory For Justice?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:15:19 -0700

It's a big day for guns in the news: new Georgia laws go into effect allowing residents to carry concealed weapons into parks, restaurants, and onto public transportation, and in Florida, employees and customers will now be able to conceal firearms on private property if locked in a car. Then there's this story: Joe Horn, a 62-year-old Texan has been cleared by a grand jury yesterday after he fatally shot two men he suspected of burglarizing his next-door neighbor's home.Horn's case has sparked controversy between those who think he acted illegally and recklessly, and those who praise his swift action. Horn's attorney says, "he wasn't acting like a vigilante. He didn't want to do it," and that he's not a "wild cowboy" who shot unprovoked after he saw the two suspected burglars carrying bags out of windows of his vacationing neighbor's home. His lawyer says Horn was a scared man who was trying to defend his neighbor's home when the burglars came onto his property and threatened him, "He was scared. He was in fear of his life."The details of the night are recorded in a 911 call, where a dispatcher urges Horn, "Don't go outside the house. You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think." Horn responded, "You want to make a bet? I'm going to kill them." Both suspects were shot in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun. After the incident, he called back saying, "I had no choice. They came in the front yard with me, man. I had no choice. Get somebody over here quick." The case illuminates part of the complicated relationship between guns and crime — in this instance, was the jury correct in letting him go? Was Horn acting in self-defense? Source

Texas Man Cleared of Shooting Burglars — Victory For Justice?

Absolutely. Horn did what he had to do to defend himself, justice prevailed.

It's unclear, though since the victims were both shot in the back, I have my doubts.

No! He didn't have to go outside! That's the only reason he had to "defend" himself.

Other. I'll tell you what I think in the comments.

Pulling Trigger, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Right to Arms

CitizenSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:48:48 -0700

The Supreme Court has just ruled that Americans do have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. It's the justices' first huge ruling on gun rights in US history, with the justices charged with deciding whether the Second Amendment provides an individual right, or whether it only extends to militias as a collective right.

In the 5-4 ruling, the court struck down Washington DC's 32-year-old ban (one of the strictest in the nation) on handguns as being at odds with gun rights spelled out in the Second Amendment. The court has not meaningfully interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." To see details on the decision,

Seattle's Schizophrenic Shooter Had Valid Gun Permit

LibertySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:00:19 -0700

A mentally ill man who shot three people at a music festival in the Pacific Northwest last week had obtained his weapon with a valid concealed weapon permit. A bullet from his Glock 19 handgun hit three victims last Saturday while Grainger was fighting another man. The bullet passed through a man's nose, another's wrist, finally ending up in a woman's leg.

22-year-old Clinton C. Grainger suffers from anxiety and schizophrenia and has been receiving treatment for a meth addiction since he was 18. Grainger's issues did show up as disqualifying conditions when he applied for a gun permit in January 2007. A mental illness diagnosis alone is not enough to restrict a citizen's right to bear arms under Washington state and US federal law.

To find out what federal law is regarding mental illness and gun permits,

Children in India Burn Their Toy Guns to Protest Violence

CitizenSugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:00:00 -0700

This image is heartwarming and breaking at the same time. In Gauhati, India, children are protesting the violence that surrounds them by setting fire to their toy guns. The kids lit the blaze in response to the continuing violence in the Manipur region where at least 17 rebel groups have been fighting for autonomy. Nearly 5,000 people have been killed over the past 10 years.

The children gleefully threw their guns into a bonfire, most of them AK-47 and M-16 rifles and cheered as they were destroyed. Some of the children even wore placards reading, “We hate toy guns. We love football." The guns in India were toys — though some children shoulder real weapons in times of war. To see the light at the end of this tunnel,

Car Salesman Offers Gas or Gun With Purchase. Your Choice?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:45:53 -0700

With all the news of car trade-ins, it was really only a matter of time before dealerships got creative with promotions. One in Missouri is drawing customers with a choice of a free gift — $250 bucks in fuel for your new ride, or a free semiautomatic handgun. The dealer who dreamed up the incentive says it's really about protecting yourself in tough economic times. "It's a choice — protection or gas. We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt." So which option is winning?"Right now we're running 80 percent toward the gun," said the salesman behind the promotion. (I wonder if the lady in this pic chose the piece over the pump too?) Apparently the firepower isn't a novelty for his customers. "I get in a vehicle to bid a trade, there are guns in the seats, guns in the back windows. Everybody has a gun — there's no backlash."One customer said, "Love guns, we all need to have guns. Guns or gas or fuel, I'll take the gun anytime." The dealership makes it all legal by handing out a certificate for the gun — the customer has to pass the background check on his own. The local police chief is OK with the promotion — just as long as the weapons aren't handed out at the dealership.Is this harebrained or brilliant? Is there a problem with making a semiautomatic gun a gift-with-purchase? Which would you pick?Source

Car Salesman Offers Gas or Gun With Purchase. Your Choice?

Come on! The gas. The last thing we need is more firepower on the streets

Not sure, but imagine someone in a Prius with a semiautomatic on the front seat? Hot.

The gun. Why not? If it's all legal, the man makes a point. We all need protection.

Neither/both/other. I gotta tell you what I'm thinking in the comments.

Take Your Guns to Work — Crazy or Constitutional?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:00:06 -0700

The passing of Charlton "Cold, Dead Hands" Heston, might have me in the NRA frame of mind, but this story jumped out at me: Lawmakers in Florida passed a bill yesterday that will allow most residents to bring a gun with them to work.The bill allows workers to keep guns in their cars for self-protection, passed the Florida Senate 26-13, and heads to Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to be signed into law. Some job sites are still no-gun zones, including nuclear power plants, prisons, schools and companies whose business involves homeland security.A Republican lawmaker said of the bill, "The second thing they wrote about in that constitution was the right to bear arms. It was what was dear in their hearts." Critics say the measure takes away business owners' rights to decide what happens on their property and puts workers and managers at risk from armed and disgruntled employees.Dozens of workplace shootings occur every year. Some studies have shown that work places where guns are allowed are more likely to suffer workplace homicides than those where guns are prohibited.Does this sound like a just application of the second amendment, or a recipe for disaster?Source

Take Your Guns to Work — Crazy or Constitutional?

Crazy. Guns do not belong in the workplace. The "protection" causes problems.

Constitutional. That's the beauty. People get to make their own safety decisions.

Sadly, both.

Other. I'll tell you in the comments.

Packing Heat, Rosaries: Priests Bear Arms to Protect Churches

CitizenSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:00:19 -0700

Thieves are figuring if they're already committing a sin, they might as well go large. A recent spate of church robberies is forcing some Russian priests to consider bearing arms to protect their religious icons. One such attack inside the Golden Ring in Russia (near Moscow, with long historical ties to orthodox Christianity) ended with thieves holding a priest at automatic gunpoint while they relieved the church of its prized medieval icon.

The brains behind the Glocks for Jesus plan? The police. Acknowledging that abysmal area roads would make responding to calls for help too little, too late, the authorities have advised priests to apply for licenses and carry firearms. The thieves know the police can't get to churches in time and have taken to using off-road vehicles. This combined with rising drug and alcohol addictions, fuel the thieves' quests for the valuable pieces and also makes them more violent.

The diocese does not see carrying guns as a solution, and according to a spokesman the plan is fundamentally flawed. "Of course it's nonsense for priests to have a gun. . . there must be a state program to protect churches. It is not only up to the church to defend itself because this is everyone's heritage."

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Picture It: 2nd Amend. Activists Practice 1st Amend.

CitizenSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:30:18 -0700

Photo of the day: A gun-ownership supporter demonstrates outside of the Supreme Court today. The right of Americans to keep guns will be tested in the Supreme Court for the first time in seven decades when it hears a challenge over Washington DC's restrictions on gun ownership.

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