Buzz Paths

A few thoughts on President Obama’s 23 point gun control proposal.  It is a natural reflex of gun rights advocates to perceive any attempt at gun control to be an intentional attack by liberals on the 2^nd Amendment with the ultimate goal to abolish it.  While this is no doubt true of many gun control advocates, there is also no doubt that many of these folks are driven by the altruistic heartfelt need to “do something” when acts of violence like Sandy Hook and Columbine shock our country.   Who wouldn’t want to do something to stop such violence?

Tiring of the rancor over this subject, for a change I prefer to opine on the President’s proposals from a simple and detached aspect of the practicality and cost of applying them rather than engage in the usual duel of wills between pro and anti-gun control proponents.   The non-extremist tone of this opinion may seem droll, but it is intended and hopefully appreciated.

In general without going point by point though all 23 of the President’s proposals, there should be no objection to any proposal that seeks to expand or enhance background checks to keep convicted felons and persons with mental and emotional instability from owning guns whether the sale if the guns occur in gun stores or at gun shows.  Enhancing background checks is not an attack on the 2^nd Amendment and it is madness not to endorse that.  Background checks in the course of person-to-person sales of privately owned guns is far trickier to accomplish, and I wish nothing but luck and success to the person who is intelligent enough to come up with an effective and efficient way to do it.  This increasingly hypothetical someone would certainly not be me. 

When it comes to the actual hardware, so much emphasis is placed on the guns themselves and their ammunition capacity, including legally limiting the amount of bullets a gun or magazine can hold.  Because there are clearly so many ways that a person bent on carrying a high volume of ammunition to commit mayhem can do so regardless of how the hardware is regulated or changed, the only people who are ultimately regulated, are the law abiding responsible gun owners who don’t need to be regulated.  From a cop’s perspective, our worst fear is encountering violent criminals armed with more ammunition than we have, but again the reality is that these criminals cannot be expected to abide by rules that regulate ammunition capacity.  The uncomfortable conclusion therefore, is that to truly eliminate violent criminals’ access to high capacity magazines, it would be necessary to embark on a total mass confiscation of these magazines from everyone, even if it takes a house-to-house, car-to-car, building-to-building search across America.  I am not being facetious – this is literally what would have to be undertaken in order to truly accomplish this goal.  I don’t think even the most anti-gun person would find such a sweeping intrusion on freedom tolerable.  It won’t happen.

Let’s ponder a scary analogy to the above.  I have long wondered how long it would take for Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-like enemies of America to up the ante in their jihad, and get around to employing their most insidious terror techniques here in America that they have used with alacrity and great success overseas – the car bomb.   By comparison, as shocking and terrifying as the mass school shootings in our country were, all things considered, there have not been a great number them.  Yet as we are seeing now, it doesn’t take very many of them to bring the demand for regulation, if not outright ban of weapons by those who truly believe that doing so would prevent the violence.  It begs the thought, if America experienced a few car bombings in the heartland with typical body counts of 50 to 80 dead, would there be the same type of hue and cry for the regulation or banning of car ownership?

Here’s the point of the analogy.  Although it would certainly be hoped for, there can be no certainty, no assurance, or evidence to show there is even a mere likelihood that the strict gun control measures on hardware sought by gun control advocates would have any effect on gun violence.  Even so, the President and gun control advocates would implement these measures based on nothing more than the hope and a possibility that they might.  But if we were to compare this to the mass casualty causing car bombings, we would absolutely know with certainty that by banning car ownership we would eliminate car bombings.  Yet the President, and the same folks who would impose strict gun controls or bans with an uncertain result, would never think of banning or regulating car ownership even though doing so would bring an absolute certainty of ending the carnage of car bombs.  They would never think of it, nor would I, for good reason, because attempting such an undertaking and upheaval to our society would be ridiculous.  And that is the point and the question posed by the analogy.  Why would we visit such an upheaval on our society with no certainty of positive results on one hand, but then never think of visiting an upheaval on our society with a certainty of positive results.   I’m Just provoking thought.

The next conundrum is that the emotionally charged demand for immediate hard line gun control measures stemming from tragedies like Sandy Hook actually causes the opposite effect of what those measures are intended to accomplish.  The fevered threat of impending strict gun controls results in a bonanza of gun buying and selling by people who believe they need to beat the implementation of the controls.  The result is more guns out in the populace than before, exactly the opposite effect of the goal.

Finally, we come to the price tag, the bean counting.  Initial reports put the cost of the President’s gun control plan at $500 million.  As we know, no program ever proposed by a politician on the left or the right ever comes close to an original estimate, and if I were to make a prediction, to accomplish everything in the President’s plan would likely run into billions.  We’re talking about 50 states here.  When it comes to spending this much money the bean counters like to see more certainty, and if not certainty, at least some evidence of probability.  It is true that you can’t put a price on a life, and whether you’re on the right or the left politically, we all want to put a stop to violence.  But with our country’s economy circling the drain, purely speaking in terms of economics and not 2^nd Amendment debates, it’s just not the time to pour billions into a plan with so much uncertainty and lack of expectation of positive results. 

The parts of the President’s plan that focus on background checks, education and the like are much more important and have better promise for a positive impact than the parts that focus on the guns and ammunition.    The best hope for curbing gun violence is a plan that focuses on the people, not the hardware.

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Here is a list of the executive actions taken by President Obama on gun violence, as provided by the White House.

These are separate from the main proposals unveiled by the President on Wednesday at the White House, which include a ban on assault weapons, universal background checks for all gun sales (even private sales) and a 10 round limit on ammunition magazines.

I have added my comments below each “action”.

1. Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system

This is being done and has been done for years. Nothing new.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

Nothing new here either. This has been the law of the land for years. The States have not been entering the information.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

What incentives? Throwing more money at them? They are already required to enter the information into the database and don’t.

4. Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

Well… Let me get this straight… Eric Holder and Obama give thousands of guns to drug cartels, criminals, illegal aliens through the Fast & Furious Scheme. Law Enforcement officers get killed. Thousands of civilians get killed and he want ERIC HOLDER to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks! Am I missing something here? So when are he and Eric Holder going to jail?

5. Propose rule-making to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

They already do this. Nothing new.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

They already do this. Nothing new.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

The NRA has been running one for over 50 years. nothing new.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

This is being done constantly not only by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but also by the safe and lock manufacturers. Nothing new.

9. Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

Nothing New. Has been done for years.

10. Release a Department of Justice report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

Nothing New. Already being done.

11. Nominate a new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Waste of time.

12. Provide law enforcement, first-responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

Nothing new. Constantly being done in training.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

Nothing new. Already being done for years.

14. Issue a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

What a waste of time and money! You prevent gun violence by enforcing the already existing laws.

15. Direct the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun-safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

Keep Eric Holder out of it. He gives guns to criminals. The private sector has innovative new technology coming on the market constantly. In fact as I write this the largest gun show on the planet is being held in Las Vegas. Shot Show is for the industry only and debuts the newest, latest in the firearm industry.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors from asking their patients about guns in their homes.

It already says they can’t.

From Obamacare:

(c) PROTECTION OF SECOND AMENDMENT GUN RIGHTS.—

‘‘(1) WELLNESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS.— A wellness and health promotion activity implemented under subsection (a)(1)(D) may not require the disclosure or collection of any information relating to—

‘‘(A) the presence or storage of a lawfully- possessed firearm or ammunition in the residence or on the property of an individual; or

‘‘(B) the lawful use, possession, or storage of a firearm or ammunition by an individual.
‘‘

(2) LIMITATION ON DATA COLLECTION.—None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used for the collection of any in- formation relating to—

‘‘(A) the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition;

‘‘(B) the lawful use of a firearm or ammunition; or

‘‘(C) the lawful storage of a firearm or ammunition.

‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON DATABASES OR DATA BANKS.—None of the authorities provided to the Secretary under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or an amendment made by that Act shall be construed to authorize or may be used to maintain records of individual ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

Nothing new. Has been done for years already.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school-resource officers.

What incentives? Throw more money at the schools? Let the local scholl districts decide what they want to do.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

Nothing new.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

Nothing new.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

Nothing new. It’s been law since 2008. As part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the mental health parity requirements found in ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code have been expanded and made permanent. (Public Law 110-343, Division C, Section 512) The new requirements become effective for plan years beginning after October 3, 2009 (i.e., January 1, 2010 for calendar year plans), although a special rule applies to plans maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. New regulations should be issued by the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury within the coming year.

22. Commit to finalizing mental-health parity regulations.

See answer to #21

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan on mental health.

Isn’t that what they should have been doing for the past 4 years? Isn’t that part of their JOB?!

Obama must have studied method acting at Julliard. How he can pull this sham off is unbelieveable!

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This is from Guns America:

Quick Links:

Find and Contanct your Representative in the US House by Zip Code:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Contact Your Senators :
http://www.senate.gov/

There is an old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” This week the media is trying to convince us that support for Senator Feinstein’s anti-gun legislation is weak, but if we are not PRO-ACTIVE, the legislation will pass as written. You will wake up just in time for SHOT Show with new laws that make your AR-15 a Class 3 weapon. This means that if you want to keep your tactical rifles, you will have to register them, pay a $5-$200 tax, and notify the government if you intend to take them out of state. You will also completely waive your 4th Amendment rights to reasonable search and seizure. ATF will have the right to knock on your door and inspect the weapons anytime they want. You will also see an end to standard capacity magazines. This isn’t a threat. It isn’t political posturing. Diane Feinstein and the anti-gun machine have already introduced the legislation, and it will be rammed through Congress and signed by the President if we do not Stand As One and act today.

Please contact your legislators immediately, and post the links above to your discussion boards. Also please contact all of the gun companies you do business with and ask them to take action now and don’t sit on their resources in reaching out to the gunowners of America. All of them have mailing lists, and all of them are sitting on them pretending that they don’t have any responsibility, while doing record business in the stuff that is going to be banned or regulated. This 2nd Amendment crisis is not about KA-CHING. We call out to Midway USA, Gunbroker, Brownells, Sportsmen’s Guide, Cabelas and all the firearms and accessory manufacturers. If you have a list, use it. We must Stand As One if we are to defeat this threat to our freedom. Aside from one NRA-ILA email notifying us about the legislation, even the NRA has been silent. Facebook isn’t enough. Our testing has shown that the effectiveness of Facebook is very small. You MUST EMAIL YOUR LISTS THIS WEEK before the legislation gains public support. We are about to enter a dark time in 2nd Amendment freedom and political wrangling from the NRA isn’t going to cut it this far out from an election. The legislators need to hear from us, that we will work to defeat them in their next election bid.

This is not an alarmist position. The anti-gun machine was prepared for this opportunity, and they are very well organized. Senator Feinstein herself admitted that she has been working since last year to investigate all of the loopholes from the last “Assault Weapons Ban” and eliminate them. That means that this time there will be no thumbhole stocks, no sawed off flashhiders, no California “bullet buttons.” It is almost as though the anti-gunners allowed the old ban to end in hopes of making a better one this time. This legislation is extremely comprehensive and if it passes, every tactical rifle in America will instantly become a Class 3 weapon. No new guns will be produced at all, effectively shuttering every AR-15 manufacturer in the country.

Don’t be fooled by the pollsters this time, for or against. They key point in this legislation is that we are more than a year from the start of the next campaigns for the mid-term elections. The anti-gun lobbyists, as you read this, are contacting the House and Senate members trying to convince them that American voters are not going to punish them for voting for new and sweeping gun control. Few politicians actually stand for anything, so how we react is paramount to defeating this legislation. Your must notify your legislators that you are watching their vote and that you will work to defeat them in their next election bid if they vote for any new gun legislation that comes out of the Sandy Hook shootings. Over 500 people have been killed in Chicago this year, the most gun restrictive city in the USA. We will not sacrifice our 2nd Amendment rights because the media is up in arms about the slaughter of 20 white kids by a mentally disturbed individual who stole his mommie’s guns.

Also don’t think that the Supreme Court is going to help us on this one. The legislation clearly identifies the approach to grandfathered weapons as a tax, and the Supreme Court has recently dealt with this issue on Obamacare, and refused to strike it down. Our swing vote, the George W. appointed Justice Roberts, has already demonstrated that he will not strike down major legislation from the bench if he can find a way to avoid it, and this tax approach to our guns won’t even make the Supreme Court. You may think that the original 2nd Amendment guaranteed us the right to the same guns at the government (muskets at the time), but there is plenty of Federal case law from the 1986 machinegun ban that has laid the groundwork for this Feinstein bill. It will pass, and it will stand.

If we Stand As One this week, the legislation will be stopped. Please contact your reps in the House and your Senators today. Mobilize your friends and family. Email everyone in your contact list. And most importantly post the direct links above (not to GunsAmerica) to every single discussion board, blog or forum to which you frequent.

As we have tried to explain already, GunsAmerica is all alone out here in this fight. Please encourage the gun websites you do business with to join our Stand As One campaign and email their mailing lists to fight this game changing legislation. We are all NRA Life and Endowment members here at GunsAmerica, yet nothing has come from NRA. Our competitors Gunbroker have sent nothing, apparently content with the spike in business. Midway USA has a huge list, yet nothing has come from them. Brownells is in the news for selling 3 1/2 years of magazines in one day, yet nothing has come from their email list. And worst of all, Cheaper Than Dirt actually announced that they would stop selling guns online, supporting the public opinion against our guns. Sportsman’s Guide even had the nerve to send a happy go lucky “After Christmas” sale email on AR-15 accessories. Don’t boycott these companies. Contact these companies! We have to stand together or we are going to lose. Now is not the time to argue and sit on our resources of huge email lists to America’s gun enthusiasts. We Stand As One!

Some of you got upset at us calling Alex Jones a turd in the punchbowl of 2nd Amendment freedom, but it is the truth. The conspiracy theory websites do not stand with us on this one, though they claim that they do. A lot of young people are caught up in a conspiracy theory mindset that is preventing them from seeing the forest through the trees. 2nd Amendment rights were never about hunting, and there has always been an out in the open “conspiracy” against them. if you espouse big government control and oversight of all Americans, you obviously don’t want free thinkers to be armed. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to figure out that Diane Feinstein wants to watch and control all Americans, and disarming us is an important step for her and her ilk. Alex Jones and his gang may seem well intentioned, but what they really want is internet traffic. They want to sell you the movies and the water purifiers and the survival food and the male enhancement pills, PERIOD. Guns are just the latest thing on the conspiracy theory bandwagon because it “gets the buzz going.” They may be gun loving Americans at heart, but what is driving them today is the almighty but ever weakening $$$ dollar.

Diane Feinstein doesn’t care how much survival food you have in your bunker . But what she does have is the actual power to halt the production of an entire class of firearms and magazines, and she plans to do that, this week. Get out of your armchair and get into action.

This quote from a recent article in the Russian newspaper Pravda urging us to not give up our 2nd Amendment freedom says a great deal:

Do not be fooled by a belief that progressives, leftists hate guns. Oh, no, they do not. What they hate is guns in the hands of those who are not marching in lock step of their ideology. They hate guns in the hands of those who think for themselves and do not obey without question. They hate guns in those whom they have slated for a barrel to the back of the ear.

We must Stand As One!

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