Tag: shameonus

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

Shame On Us

2016 will be a pivotal year for Second Amendment rights in this country. A Presidential contest between a pro & anti 2A candidate awaits us this November. The incoming President will select a successor for Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and will likely place another three Supreme Court justices during his or her term in office. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. At the state level, even traditionally pro-2A states are being forced to fight gun control initiatives. In my own State of California, the Assembly is rushing through an unprecedented list of anti-firearm owner laws to beat the legislative deadline. Citizens along with state and national groups have been fighting furiously against what has been termed Gunpocalypse and Gunmeggedon and are hoping for some small reprieve from the Democratic Governor when the bills reach his desk.

But with all our focus on national and state matters, we seem to have forgotten to keep track of what’s been going on in our own backyard.

Last week in my own hometown, the City Council passed a one-year extension to a so-called urgency ordinance for a moratorium on new commercial operations engaged in the sale of firearms, ammunition and / or explosive devices.

A little background: The original Urgency Ordinance was passed on September 2, 2015 establishing a temporary 45-day moratorium for new firearm business licenses. It was the result of concerned citizens discovering there were four firearms retailers in the city and a fifth was in the process of being established. An initial attempt to regulate current and future retailers with a wide-ranging licensing ordinance, which in effect zoned the entire city out of bounds, failed. A much simpler local licensing proposal was successfully implemented and the zoning requirements were pushed over to the Planning Department.

On October 14, 2015 the City Council extended the moratorium for an additional 10 months and 15 days to allow the City staff time to adequately study the appropriate land use regulations. This extended the original date to a full year. Combined with last week’s extension, the City now has a two-year temporary, urgency moratorium.

The four existing firearms retailers in the City were notified of this extension, including one, which was planning a relocation that would not be possible during the moratorium period.

Included in the justifications for this extension were the retirement of the Community Development Director in February 2016 and the retirement of the City Manager in December 2015. Also noted was the potential impact of the recent Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling regarding zoning and gun shops in Alameda County – a restriction on firearms retailers within 500 feet of a residential area.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is significant as it held the Second Amendment extended to the buying and selling of firearms. “The panel held that the Ordinance burdened conduct protected by the Second Amendment and that it therefore must be subjected to heightened scrutiny—something beyond mere rational basis review.”

Back here with my hometown City Council, there was no discussion of the progress made to date on the new zoning regulations or whether the delay was in fact reasonable. There was no commitment to any milestones or whether it would be completed by the next moratorium expiration date. There was no public comment. There was no debate. The ordinance passed unanimously.

The erosion and subsequent elimination of our Second Amendment rights come from all levels. It occurs not only in the legislative chambers in Washington D.C. and Sacramento C.A, but also in our local town halls. Each incremental intrusion on the Bill of Rights, each “common sense” regulation, each new rule, restriction, license and fee, pushes us further down the path of losing our rights all together. We all need to pay very close attention to what is going on at every level.

Shame on us. No, scratch that… shame on me.

Bob

#oddstuffing, #2ndAmendment, #moratorium, #shameonus