Tag: gunvote

Vote Early, Vote Often

Ahh, the end of the election season. Never is there more information being pushed at us from all angles than by people demanding our vote. We get commercials, snail mail, email and banner ads in all our browsers and social media. We have billboards, banners and signs of all shapes and sizes along our drive home. We get knocks on our door, we get calls on our phones, we get everyone we know pushing an agenda that, if we had any ‘common sense’ at all, we would wholeheartedly agree with and vote the way they want us to. If the past two years hasn’t made you want to move to that little off-grid cabin in the woods, nothing will.

First, let’s set things straight about the news media. There is no such thing as impartiality any more. The days of being able to trust what you hear on the network news died with Uncle Walter. Everyone has an agenda or angle to push. Consider this when you see only glowing, positive stories about one side of an issue, and hateful, negative stories about the other side. Just look at the photos of candidates they publish. Supported candidates have nicely composed and dignified looking pictures. Opposition candidates look like they’re about to sacrifice a goat. That’s not journalism, that’s just supermarket tabloid trash. I’d like to think we are better than that.

Then there are the so-called ‘truth’ sites that claim to expose what’s really going on in whatever it is they oppose. More times than not, it’s an isolated fact or opinion that’s expanded upon with more and more conjecture until the end result is SPECTACULAR!! If this is true, then this must be true, which makes this true and this true and this true! I call this compounding idiocy and it seems to be the driving force behind too many stories.

Of course, there are the satire news outlets that take a snippet of real news and turn it into an entertaining parody. Taken as intended, they are pretty damn funny. Sadly, some of our elected officials and professional journalists have been duped into believing these stories are true and shared them as facts that prove their particular point of view. I suppose that in and of itself is even more amusing than the original spoof.

The good news is tomorrow is Election Day. Nationally we’ll be choosing a President and Vice President, as well as the direction of our Supreme Court for at least the next two generations. We’re choosing the majority rule of our Senate and House of Representatives. Closer to home we are deciding everything from Governors, state representatives, county and city council members, school, fire, water and everything else boards. We’ll be deciding on what we want to be taxed on, and how much and what will be legal and illegal in our states and home towns.

Arguments about the Electoral College aside; our vote is the single most important part of our representative democracy. This is how we hold our government responsible for what they do. If we don’t make an informed decision about what we are voting for, or worse – don’t even participate; we are giving up our say in our country and our lives. Every vote in every election really does count.

In the final 24 hours before voting begins, you can expect a litany of sensational stories and last minute pleas to sway your vote. A lot of it will be crap meant to inflame our emotions and distract us from what is really important. If you look close enough, and generally in the opposite direction, you’ll find what you really need to pay attention to.

For those of you who have already voted by absentee or mail in ballot, I thank you. I may not agree with what you voted for, but I respect you for actively participating. For those of you who will be headed to the polls tomorrow, know that stepping into that voting booth and making your selections is the cornerstone of the American democratic system. It is a privilege envied by many around the world who do not have this right.

Lastly, even though the Cubs have just won the World Series, this isn’t Chicago in early 1900’s. Vote early, but please vote only once.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2016elections, #gunvote, #voteearlyvoteoften, #ivoted, #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

Gun Control Equals Discrimination

Here is my bold statement of the week. If you believe in gun control, you believe in discrimination.

The whole concept of gun control is to keep guns out of the hands of someone else. In order to do this, you have to have people WITH guns in the first place. These chosen people will be the only ones allowed to have guns. You, as someone who won’t have guns, will be safer because only THEY will have guns. At least that’s what you’re told.

So what’s wrong with this progressive utopian dream? Well, to start off with gun control only takes firearms from the lawful citizens. It never has and never will take firearms away from criminals. Remember, the definition of criminal is someone who doesn’t obey the law. Why in the world would you believe adding more laws about not owning firearms would take firearms away from people who don’t obey the law in the first place? Guns are their tools of the trade and, with lawful citizens not being able to own firearms, it makes their job all the easier.

If you think new gun control laws are going to make it harder for criminals to get them, think again. Smugglers move tons upon tons of drugs and goods into and out of this and every other country every day of the week. Firearms of every description are already part of program. Don’t believe it? Take a look at how many firearms the London UK police or law enforcement in Australia seize every day. These aren’t World War II relics someone dug out of grandpa’s old Army footlocker. These are state of the art, modern semi and full automatic firearms being brought in to feed the criminal demand. How is making this a little bit more illegal than it already is going to change this?

And let’s take a look at who is promoting this gun control agenda, a close-knit group of politicians and ultra-wealthy elitists. The political gun control extremists have police and federal agents to protect them 24/7. At home, traveling or making appearances in public, law enforcement officers we pay for guard them. The economic elite employ private security companies drawn from the ranks of the best police, federal agencies and the military. They are well trained and well armed to keep the elite safe. These are the people telling you you will be safer unarmed.

Who isn’t safer with more gun control? You and everyone else that can’t afford the privilege of having armed security protect them. Your publicly sponsored protection is the law enforcement agency of wherever-you-are-at-the-time. They will respond to your call for help after something bad has happened to you as quickly as possible, anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more.

The more economically disadvantaged you are, the less likely you’ll be able to defend yourself and the more likely you are to be victimized. Firearms, or any force multiplier for that matter, are costly. Add in ammunition and training and you’ve got a very expensive entry point into self-defense. Now add in the additional government imposed transfer, license and permit fees, special “gun violence prevention” fees and “anti-gun violence” taxes on ammunition and you’ve essentially priced the right to effective self-defense out of the hands of people who need it the most.

Politicians often say they ‘stand with the people’ when in reality they stand with them just long enough to ask for their money and votes – and only at arms length with their armed security in between. Once the election is over the closest the ‘people’ get to them is seeing their motorcade speed by on the way to meet with the other elites.

You are responsible for your own safety at home, at work, traveling, shopping or out for a walk with your family. Allowing a group of political and economic elite to take away your right to self-defense, a privilege they enjoy and will never give up, is wrong. Being wealthy or politically connected shouldn’t be the deciding factor in whether or not you can defend yourself.

Your safety, your life, your family’s life may mean nothing to them but it means everything to you. If you aren’t fighting to defend your rights today, you may not be able to defend your life tomorrow.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #guncontrolequalsdiscrimination, #gunvote, #2ndamendment #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

A Fight Worth Losing

I read an article recently that really disturbed me. The gun control / ban elitists were predicting a clean sweep of new gun control initiatives in Maine, Washington and Nevada during this year’s general election. Much of the success they were attributing to the massive amount of money they had poured into these initiatives compared to that of the national gun rights groups. Funding here had all but dried up for fights that were not considered winnable.

I find this disturbing because without the support of larger state and national organizations, it is nearly impossible for local grassroots groups to successfully fight off the extremely well funded and well organized national gun control / ban elitists who are systematically chipping away at their rights. Propped up by billionaires who have no interest in the Bill of Rights for anyone other than themselves, they are pouring millions into these states to buy all the votes they can.

The people living in these states are fighting for their core constitutional rights, and eventually for their actual lives as they are faced with losing their ability to defend themselves and their families. Why are these fights not worth fighting?

I understand the realities of national politics and that appearance is everything. Appearing invincible can dissuade others from fighting you in the first place. However I also understand that an advantage not used is a disadvantage.

I am reminded of a story from my past; a K-9 officer with a new drug detection dog. When called to assist another department with a vehicle stop or search, he would not deploy his dog unless he first evaluated the circumstances and was completely convinced a hit by his dog would produce the desired contraband. He explained he was protecting his dog’s stats so they would be more solid for future court cases. With this approach, his dog had an impeccable search record. The unintended consequences however were that other officers would not call for K-9 search assistance when he was working. A powerful advantage that could have been used in a wide range of situations was not in order to protect a reputation.

We can’t always pick and choose the fights we fight. Sometimes they are thrust upon us and we have no choice but to fight the best we can. More than a few of us can recall a time in our lives where we walked into a situation and quickly realized – yup, I’m gonna get my ass kicked today. Bloodied and bruised, most of us survive these things and wind up a little stronger and wiser because of it.

But what about fights that involve others? Here we have more than just our own flesh or reputation to think about, we have to consider what the fight means for them. We fight to help those who cannot win alone. We combine our efforts and fight side-by-side. Tested by adversity, we forge alliances that might never have been possible and become stronger together.

Not fighting can have far more consequences beyond losing the single battle we avoid. It demoralizes those who are committed to the cause and can set up a series of future defeats when our adversary no longer sees us as a threat to their cause. This is what we are witnessing in Maine, Washington and Nevada. Small victories on prior campaigns exposed weakness that are now being exploited to take even more rights away from law abiding firearm owners.

No one goes into a fight intending to lose and let’s face it no one likes to lose. But sometimes, the fight is more important than the outcome. Sometimes fighting the good fight and losing is better in the long term than the victory would have been. Our history is full of tragic losses that inspired and invigorated populations to be better and stronger than they ever thought possible.

In 430 BC, King Leonidas lead a combined Greek city-state force of roughly 7,000 men, including his infamous 300 Spartans to stop Xerxes Persian army estimated in the hundreds of thousands. After holding the Persians for seven days, three of them in combat at Thermopylae, Leonidas learned he was being flanked and dismissed the vast majority of his troops, remaining to cover their retreat. While nearly all that remained were killed, Leonidas’s fight turned out to be critical to the eventual defeat of the Persian army the following year. His response to the Persian king’s demands for his weapons remains as inspirational for us today as it was then; Molon Labe – Come and take them.

With the lack of support from state and national organizations during the recent unsuccessful Veto Gunmageddon ballot measure signature drive in California, I’ve heard a lot of patriots denouncing these groups’ inaction and cancelling their memberships. This is a sad and not entirely unexpected result of feeling like someone you support is not supporting you in a time of urgent need. Even though we all have the same goals, the lack of cohesion and cooperation on these critical local and state issues only serves to further fracture the firearms community and set us all up for more losses at a time when we should be working together.

Wanting to win every fight is natural, but sometimes you have no choice but to fight the fight you are handed. Sometimes the fight itself is the prize and the unity it creates, the community it inspires, the passion it invokes in others is worth far more than the cost of not winning. Sometime, it really is a fight worth losing.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndamendment, #constititution, #billofrights, #Thermopylae, #molonlabe, #wearesparta! #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

The Cost of National Gun Control

You probably didn’t see the story this summer of 11 family members who were slayed in their home by an alleged rapist seeking revenge against the victim whose complaint had incarcerated him. Among the victims were two girls eight and nine years old as well as a pregnant woman. The family members were each shot multiple times and slashed, and it appeared the suspects attempted to decapitate one of them.

Why didn’t you see this story? The cold-blooded murders occurred in hamlet of San Jose El Mirador, Coxcatlan, in the central state of Puebla, Mexico. It is located a little southeast of the capital, Mexico City.

Why do we care about what happens in another country? Other than the horrible loss of human life at the hands of despicable, sub-human individuals, it’s a precautionary tale for the rest of the world.

When the United States government and gun control activists compare “gun violence” rates, they pick and choose the countries they include so as to make the US look worse in comparison. They call this exclusive list the “advanced” or “industrialized” countries. Our neighbor to the south is not on this list. For reference, when looking at worldwide violent death rates, Mexico ranks 15th and the United States ranks 85th out of 172 nations.

Apparently Mexico, who continues to capture more and more of the United States’ manufacturing in automotive, both in components and assembled vehicles, machinery, medical and electronic equipment, plastics, iron and steel products, isn’t advanced or industrialized enough to be part of the comparison. In reality, it’s because Mexico’s gun control environment is a textbook case of failure.

Mexico does recognize the right to keep and bear arms as a constitutional right under Article 10 of the Mexican Constitution of 1857. However, numerous revisions throughout its history have restricted this right nearly out of existence. Openly carrying a firearm or carrying a concealed firearm is virtually forbidden to private citizens unless authorized by Secretariat of National Defense. Personal protection firearms, up to nine long guns and one handgun, are only permitted in the residence, only when registered by the federal government and only of the type and caliber permitted by law. Separate special permits must be obtained to have a firearm in a place of business and to transport it between locations.

Is this beginning to sound familiar?

There is one and ONLY ONE place to legally purchase firearms and ammunition in Mexico. It is the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales operated by the Mexican military on a secure base in Mexico City. As a result of the extraordinarily tight gun control laws for legal possession, very few Mexican citizens are able to obtain the permits or travel to this one legal store to purchase them.

Of course this has had no impact on the criminal possession of firearms. Smuggled into the country, the black market trade in firearms creates an abundant illicit supply. While the United States is often blamed for the proliferation of illegal firearms, including those allowed to come in from our own government, they come from every corner of the world and include such items as rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and full automatic rifles and pistols. Despite the rhetoric, these are not items you can pick up at any local shop in Phoenix.

Following the United States narrative for ever restrictive gun control measures, in August 2016 at the Second Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty of the United Nations, the Foreign Minister of Mexico called on the US to implement a new “assault weapons” ban. She blamed Mexico’s rampant gun crime on the lax US laws citing the absence of a ban on “assault weapons”. She even parroted the US government myth that in the US it is “as easy to get guns as it is to get a liter of milk or a box of cereal.”

Disarming the law-abiding citizen is never, ever going to disarm the criminals. Its only effect is to transform the people into a population of victims. No matter how big or how well armed the government is, it will never be able to prevent the violence or reduce the death toll caused by disarming the people.

While you think about the ongoing deterioration of your own Second Amendment rights, take a moment to think about the victims around the world who are not able to defend themselves and are not among those as being important enough to protect themselves.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndamendment, #thecostofguncontrol, #mexico, #victimsofviolence, #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

Why even bother to vote in California?

Does this sound like the little voice in your head? Your political views lean a little towards the right, you may be republican, libertarian, or just not quite as far left as others. You support constitutional rights and freedom. You’re looking at the upcoming elections and thinking; why even bother? It’s not like my one vote is going to matter in this far left, progressive-democrat stronghold. Truth be told, your vote does matter and in more ways than you think.

I agree this election season is a bit on the depressing side. Our presidential choices are not ideal. Should I vote third party? It’s an option, but for me I don’t see the leading third party candidates as strongly supporting the issues I’m the most concerned with. I’m also less comfortable with the third party candidate process. We’re just hearing about them now with a few months to go until the elections. Yea, I get that the media outlets don’t cover them as much, but it’s still not clear enough.

I look in my own county and I can’t find out who is running in opposition to the usual democratic candidates. My county’s GOP site doesn’t list any candidates for the state congressional districts and not even a mention of any of the various city councils, county boards, school boards – or any of the other elected seats in the county. Has nobody stepped up? Maybe this is our problem.

Even in some of the most conservative areas of the country, residents are waking up and finding laws have been passed which do not reflect the values of the community. Instead, externally dictated agendas are driven by extremist politicians who ran unopposed and have now cemented their power in local government. And we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

By not having solid candidates running for seats at every level, we’re ceding the decisions about rights and liberty to people who have no interest in protecting them. I get the fact that running for even a local political office is an expensive proposition. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Even at a local level, elections can turn into full scale pissing matches. The higher you go the more expensive it gets, the more time it consumes and the nastier it is. Let’s not forget, nobody likes to lose either. Going through an election and having your candidate lose can also be demoralizing to those who were energized during the campaign.

But guess what? The people WERE energized and they can be energized again. It may take a few elections to win the one or two seats, but they can be won. Left wing voters may always outnumber centrist or right leaning ones in this state, but it doesn’t mean we give up. If we want to have a voice in the decisions made in California, we need to have someone speaking for us.

Finally, and I believe most importantly, we must actually vote. As odd as it may sound, there are still a lot of folks out there who have not registered to vote. Registering to vote can be done online in just a couple of minutes. The link to do so in California is at the end of this post. The deadline to register for this year’s general election is October 24th.

Keep in mind your vote is more than just a choice between candidates and ballot questions; it’s a message to everyone else. With the news media covering the elections with up-to-the-minute tallies of every race in the nation, it’s easy to become compliant. Some will see their candidate or choice losing and not even bother going in. Others will see a clear victory ahead and decide it’s not worth the drive in to the polling station. Delicately put, that’s CRAP! Even a loss with a strong showing is going to demonstrate the support behind it and maybe, just maybe, be won the next time around.

Every seat at every level in every election is important. YOUR one single vote for the right choice is the way to protect the liberty, rights and values our nation was founded on. As important as it was to the patriots who created our country, it is as important today to preserve it going forward.

The elections are in 73 days.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration

Bob

#oddstuffing, #vote, #gunvote, #elections2016, #2ndAmendment, #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

Veto Gunmageddon – Getting Your Rights Back

For those who are paying attention to California gun laws, it’s time to get your rights back.

A quick review: On July 1st, California’s Governor signed six draconian gun control laws, then quickly fled the country. After his return, he signed one more. ALL of these laws target law abiding firearm owners and their legally owned firearms. NONE target criminals or have anything to do with criminal behavior or making anyone except the criminals safer. The one bill presented to him that would have targeted criminal behavior, he vetoed. Welcome to Kalifornistan.

These news laws are:

  •  Expands the definition of “assault weapons” and ban their sale or transfer (AB-1135, SB-880)
  •  Requires an ID and background check to purchase ammunition (SB-1235)
  •  Keeps records of gun owner’s ammunition purchases (SB-1235)
  •  Requires a background check to loan a firearm to someone other than a close family member (AB-1511)
  •  Bans possession of ammunition magazines that accept more than 10 rounds. (SB-1446)
  •  Makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly make a false report that a firearm has been lost or stolen (AB-1695)
  •  Requires a serial number on all firearms (AB-857)

Enter Carlsbad CA businessman Barry Bahrami and Veto Gunmageddon. Bahrami started Veto Gunmageddon to bring back the firearms rights to the law-abiding citizens of California. Seven referendums were created, one for each oppressive new law.

This is a referendum process and will be an up or down vote for the gun control measures signed this year. Each of these referendums needs 365,880 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. If the signatures are received by August 29, 2016, the referendums will be placed on the November 8, 2016 general election ballot. If the signatures are received by September 29, 2016, the referendums will qualify for the November 2018 general election.

A couple of facts about Veto Gunmageddon: This is a 100% volunteer run program. Unlike other state sponsored ballot measures where pay-for-signature staff is used, volunteers are coordinating and distributing all the materials and collecting all of the signatures. Donations are being accepted to help cover the cost to print and distribute the materials. Firearms retailers, ranges, sporting goods stores, restaurants, private businesses of all types and sizes around the state are lending their time and space to collect signatures. This is the epitome of a grassroots effort in action.

Right now this is our best opportunity to get our constitutional rights restored. The California legislature used every backdoor, underhanded, unethical, immoral and yes, very likely illegal tactic they could to cram these misguided measures through the Democratic controlled legislature. Dissenting voices were not allowed and complaints about the lack of transparency and improper legislative procedure fell on deaf justice ears. This is our chance to let our voices be heard.

I know many of the estimated eight to 12 million firearms owners in California are leaning towards or registered Democrats. The good news about these referendums is you can vote to keep your rights without having to give up your party unity.

Can the Veto Gunmageddon initiatives qualify for this year’s election? I sure hope so. This year’s general election is going to set the foundation for the preservation or destruction of individual rights for generations to come. It would be a shame to waste the chance to tap into a potential record setting voter turnout.

Can Veto Gunmageddon win? I wish I knew. As with any issue thrown out to the voters, November 8th could be a huge victory or crushing defeat. All I know is we MUST try. We MUST fight to restore our rights before we have no rights to fight with or fight for.

I urge each and every one of you to go to the Veto Gunmageddon website at www.vetogunmageddon.org, locate a petition site and sign all seven BEFORE August 29th. If you have the time and ability to do it, please consider hosting the petitions or volunteering your time to help gather signatures, or donating to the cause.

You MUST be a registered voter to sign as well as help collect signatures. If you are not registered to vote in California yet, you can register to vote online at: http://registertovote.ca.gov

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndamendment, #gunvote, #gunvoteca, #vetogunmageddon, #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

Criminology 101 – California Style

 

Understanding crime and criminals is the basic element in being able to promote public safety. But I’m going to say there’s an even more basic step that needs to be mastered, understanding who the criminal is.

Witness the State of California and the latest legislative session in Sacramento, California as evidence. Under the pretense of pubic safety, the administration passed sweeping, draconian gun control legislation against whom? Law-abiding citizens. The ONE firearm related bill that made it to the Governor’s desk that would have actually targeted criminals, the people who break the laws, was vetoed.

But then, California has a history of coddling its criminals at the expense of the law-abiding citizenry. The adverse effects of Proposition 47, which reclassified many crimes as misdemeanors, put more criminals back on the streets and increased the crime rate in every city and town in the state, is well documented. Nationwide we’re told it’s now discriminatory to call people criminals or convicts. The new politically correct term for them is “justice involved individuals”. Why hold people responsible for their own illegal actions when it’s possible to blame the law-abiding for discriminating against them.

Keep in mind the anti-gun zealots have bought into the theory of “everyone is a law abiding citizen, until they’re not”. Since the law-abiding own deadly weapons of war, death and destruction, it’s only a matter of time before each of them will go off on a killing spree of their own. Since we don’t have a Minority Report inspired PreCrime Department to arrest people before they commit their crimes, it’s far more efficient to just to go after all gun owners. Everyone should lose his or her rights because someday, somewhere, someone is going to break the law – maybe, or maybe not.

The problem with this logic is that everyone is being punished for something they did not and never will do. The vast, Vast, VAST majority of legal firearm owners will never commit a crime, to say nothing of committing a crime with their firearms. Add to this the estimated one to two million lawful defensive uses of firearms – outnumbering felonious uses by 30 to 80 to one, by law-abiding citizens in the United States each year. According to the gun banners, these incidents never occur and the Good Guy With A Gun is merely a piece of gun lobby fiction. To this I reply: Read the news for yourself.

To make the public “safe”, our politicians are pointing to law-abiding citizens and lawfully owned firearms and saying: This is the problem; this is why you can’t feel safe in your home, your office or on the street. Your friend, your neighbor, your store clerk, your doctor, your bus driver, your lawyer, your programmer and your family – the people who bought their firearms lawfully, own them lawfully and use them lawfully – these are the people to blame. So our politicians make laws that turn these otherwise law-abiding people into criminals and take away their firearms. Then and only then will you be safe.

Of course, banning firearms is only going to remove the firearms from the people who legally own them. The criminals, the ones who illegally own them, are not going to line up to drop off their newly banned guns, the guns they already are banned from owning in the first place.

It’s time for California to wake up and smell some reality. Instead of coming up with laws that target the law-abiding, target the people who are committing the crimes. If you commit a crime, you should be punished. Yes, it really is that simple.

Instead we coddle our “justice involved individuals”, we reduce and eliminate penalties for committing crimes and we tell the rest of the nation that we shouldn’t hold people who commit crimes responsible for their own actions, now or any time in the future. In a nation where there are no consequences for breaking the law, who is going to bother to follow it?

How exactly is this promoting public safety?

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndAmendment, #gunvote, #californiacriminology101, #mewe, #oddstuffing.com

Executive Orders & Voter Apathy

Executive orders, the cure all solution when there is no mandate from the people, legislative body or even logic. Most commonly referenced as actions by the President of the United States, executive orders are not dribbling down to the State level.

Following the Governor of Oregon into the realm of non-mandated and abusive anti-gun regulations is this week’s Massachusetts Attorney General’s reinterpretation of the state’s “assault weapons” laws. She felt the sale of “copycat” rifles, semi-automatic rifles that strictly complied with the law, violated the spirit of the state’s 1998 “assault weapon” ban. Massachusetts’ newly defined test is if a firearm’s operating system is essentially the same as that of a banned weapon, or if the gun has components that are interchangeable with those of a banned weapon, it’s a “copy” or “duplicate,” and it is therefore illegal.

The Attorney General’s decision certainly isn’t backed up by facts from her own state, which shows only a tiny fraction of deaths from any kind of rifles in the past seven years. In reality it’s just about banning more legally owned firearms.

When the anti-gun elite started going after the so-called “weapons of war”, they focused on the features claiming they made the firearms “more lethal”. Cosmetic qualities like pistol grips, adjustable stocks, barrel shrouds and flash suppressors, all of which have nothing to do with making a firearm more or less treacherous. When the firearms industry responded by producing firearms without these “evil features”, the anti-gun crowd had to adjust. In Massachusetts’s case, it’s now the mechanical features that operate the firearms that are considered “more lethal”.

Of course this will never end. One of the bills that did not pass this year’s California legislature was to reclassify all semi-automatic, magazine fed firearms as “assault weapons”. Most certainly it and others like it around the country will return next year as the next incremental step in disarming the population.

So where does voter apathy play into this? Sadly, it’s very simple. Since the firearm community is so badly fractured, there is little chance of any of these abusive decisions being reversed. Non-black rifle owners don’t see a threat to their firearms so they haven’t fully engaged. Many who just own deer hunting rifles or duck hunting shotguns are sitting on the sidelines. The same holds true for cowboy action shooters, curio & relic collectors and muzzleloaders. But the truth is, the threat to all of us is real. The political references to Australian-style confiscations, which targeted semi-automatic as well as pump rifles, shotguns and of course handguns, is preview of what is to come for the United States.

There’s one more element of these anti-gun laws and orders to consider. As select anti-gun states around the country are coming up with new and unusual ways of stripping firearms away from law-abiding citizens, other states are strengthening their Second Amendment protections. As laws are challenged around the country and conflicts arise in the judicial Circuits, the inevitable appeals will reach the United States Supreme Court. With the passing of Constitutional Jurist Antonin Scalia, the best any appeal can currently hope for is a four-to-four tie, upholding the lower court ruling brought before it. With the audacity and blatant rights infringements being offered up around the country, you can be sure they are betting on a split court and an anti-Second Amendment majority coming in January 2017.

We also have to consider that the nature of the Court’s rulings can be so limiting in scope as to be little help for the masses. Think of it as betting on which one of the two pigeons sitting on the branch above your freshly washed car is going to poop first. Just because you win doesn’t mean you don’t get crapped on.

All of this brings us to one critical reality for firearms owners. We need to come together right here and right now. We can no longer afford to stay within our circle of like-minded friends and resist only when it impacts us personally. We need to fight each of these infringements on our rights as if the law had our name and our personally owned firearms written at the top of it. We need to fight every law, every ordinance and every executive order like it is our last chance because one day soon, it will be.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndAmendment, #2A, #executiveorders, #gunvote

National Disarmament Day?

Without question, the ultimate goal of the gun control movement is complete civilian disarmament. While feigning respect for the Second Amendment, they have been working tirelessly towards their goal for years with incremental “common sense” restrictions to “keep the public safe”. Limits on the types, brands and styles of firearms you can own, how many you can purchase, where and when you can carry your firearm for protection and limits on the type and amount of ammunition you can purchase are common. Add in a host of new laws on who can be stripped of their right to own a firearm without due process of law and they are well on their way towards the presumptive Democratic nominee’s desire to abolish the Second Amendment.

So, why not give them a day to try this grandiose plan out? We’ll call it National Disarmament Day and it will be on Monday, November 7, 2016, the day before the general elections. It will be 24 hours of gun control paradise.

Since the law abiding firearm owner is the only target of all the current and proposed gun control laws, on National Disarmament Day all lawful firearm owners will leave their firearms at home. You may have and use your firearms at HOME only. Outside the home, there will be no open or concealed carry. No carrying your firearm in your vehicle or at your place of business. No armed guards and no bonded, licensed or private armed security of any kind. The only ones legally armed in public will be law enforcement.

Understandably, there are some who will not want to go along with this plan. The good news is this is several months away and you have time to put in for the time off or close your business for the day. You may want to stock up on a few essentials ahead of time.

What will November 7, 2016 look like? One of two things will happen.

The first possibility is nothing will occur. There will be no crime, no violence and zero shootings. All of the legally owned firearms normally circulating in public will be gone. It will be the most peaceful day this country has ever seen.

The second possibility will look a little like the movie The Purge. Those who have the ability to protect themselves in their own homes will do so successfully. Those who venture out will be subjected to the wrath of an unchecked criminal element that will not hesitate to victimize anyone they come across. Businesses will be unable to protect themselves and will be looted. Law enforcement will quickly be overwhelmed and the National Guard, put on standby by the Governor of each state, will be activated to restore order. The number of injured and killed will be staggering.

Ready to sign up? Just go to www ARE YOU FREAK’N NUTS!?!?!

NONE of the “common sense”, “for the children”, disarm the law abiding citizen laws will ever do anything to disarm or discourage any criminal. In fact, it only emboldens them further. We are already at the point where the criminal or thug-terrorist has no fear of the law, the police or the courts. The only element they still fear is their victim. If that potential victim can adequately defend themselves, they will move on to a softer target. There is always a softer, easier target. They will go to a place and to people who do not have the ability to defend themselves. They will go to a “gun free zone” where they can act with impunity.

If you’re asking who in their right mind would go along with something like this, just look at the laws in place and being enacted or proposed in places like California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. This is the utopian vision of the gun control. It is brought to you by a group of political and economic elite who will never have to worry about their own security or the safety of their families.

Would you send your family out in public on National Disarmament Day? If the answer is no, then don’t allow your community, your state or your nation to become National Disarmament Day EVERY day.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndamendment, #righttobeararms, #nationaldisarmamentday #getoutandvote!

2016 – The Year of the Butthurt Party

As the lead up to the 2016 general elections continue, more candidates are dropping off as the major candidates continue. As this quadrennial spectacle draws nearer to its climax, we see the emergence of the next great political group, the Butthurt Party!

Who are the Butthurt? These are the diehard supporters of the candidates that didn’t make it this far. They have been the fiercest, most vocal followers of their chosen one – and the most critical, rabid anti-whomever their candidate was running against. Their lawn, car and clothing are covered equally with pro-my candidate logos and slogans and anti-whomever logos and slogans. It’s been a bitter fight and they have been all in from the get go. If their candidate doesn’t win, they won’t vote at all!

But there’s a problem. Their candidate wasn’t selected. What do they do now?

As all primary and caucus contests do, they pit candidates from their own party against each other; the winner will go on to the final contest against the other party’s candidate in the general election. You know, sort of like the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only with more teeth and less civility.

You’ve spent months learning all the reasons why your candidate’s opponent is completely incompetent to lead – and now you’re expected to throw your support behind them in a show of party unity? You’re supposed to ditch all of your candidate’s logos, slogans, stickers and t-shirts for your hated opponents and be happy about it? What madness is this??

Welcome to the Butthurt Party of American politics.

One of the biggest issues with the way our political process operates is during all the run-up contests; the party members have been trashing the living crap out of each other to come out on top. Now they, and all of us, are challenged with how to turn all that hate and discontent towards each other into hate and discontent towards the rival party.

We’ve already seen some of the ‘reconciliation’ process begin. Stalwarts of the party are withholding their support until they can have meetings and, well… presumably negotiations over issues and points of power that are important to them. This is supposed to bring them, and their loyalists on board and ready to go into the general elections.

But what of the hard-core, anybody-but-my-candidate’s-opponent supporters? Will they be able to make that leap of faith or will they do as they are promising now and just not vote at all?

Here’s what it boils down to. For better or worse, we have a two party political system, especially at the national level. Like many people, I too wish there were more options available. But while there are always third party candidates, the elections are going to be decided by the two major parties.

It’s time to take a look at what is really important to you and decide if you can support what the candidates have to offer. Will it ever be 100% of what YOU personally want? Hell no! (If that’s what you expect then why isn’t your name on the ballot?) While you’re at it, also take a look at what the other candidate is offering and decide if you not voting is in your, or the country’s best interest.

Californians: Monday, May 23, 2016 is the last day to register for the June 7th primary.

If you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #elections, #getoutandvote, #butthurt

*Image from the great folks at ActionFigureTherapy.com