Guns And The Laws That Govern Them

COLUMBIA- Gov. Nikki Haley expressed support for a bill Tuesday that
allows all South Carolinians to carry a weapon if they want to without
having to go through training or a criminal background check.

Known as "constitutional carry," the issue is being pushed by S.C.
Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, who is running for U.S. Senate.
Under the law, gun owners do not have to pass the required training
mandated by a Concealed Weapons License or be subject to a criminal
background check. "We believe in those liberties and those rights,"
Haley said following a news conference on a new law that allows those
with weapons licenses to bring their firearms into a bar or restaurant
that serves alcohol.

She said the right to carry a firearm is a safety issue.
"I think that criminals are dangerous," she said. "I've always believed that."
She added: "That's a bill that does have legs."

Bright said South Carolina should be more like Arizona, where gun ownership
is not controlled by the government. Even former felons are entitled to their
Second Amendment rights, Bright said. "Martha Stewart has a felony.
Should she not be able to protect herself?" Bright asked.
"This is the right to self-defense. We sit up in this ivory tower
and make decisions. ... People make mistakes in their lives and you say,
'I'm going to fundamentally take away your right to defend yourself?'
This debate is about 'Does the government know better or do the
people know better?'"

Haley stood with lawmakers and recognized Sen. Sean Bennett,
R-Summerville, and Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, who pushed the bill
in their respective chambers and received ceremonial pens. She also
recognized National Rifle Association lobbyist Anthony Roulette and
presented him with a pen for his work on the bill.

Haley and others said the new law is about safety.
"Crime goes down because criminals know they have to be more careful,"
Haley said.

Pitts, a retired police officer, was Haley's instructor when she took
the CWP training. "We all have a right to defend ourselves," he said.
"You are your first line of defense."

Not all agreed. Elaine Cooper, 60, told Haley that "it's not a nice day
in South Carolina." Cooper, who said she is a member of Moms Demand
Action for Gun Sense, said many business owners were fearful of the law.

"I don't understand where Nikki Haley is coming from," Cooper said later.
She said in three decades in South Carolina, "I've never been threatened,
I've never seen any violence."
[All emfasis has been added by David.]

Dear My Own Parenting Advice Column, I never thought this would happen to me: GunFAIL LVI
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/12/1274438/-Dear-My-Own-Parenting-Advice-Column-I-never-thought-this-would-happen-to-me-GunFAIL-LVI

This New Study Proves That Background Checks Save Lives
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/02/15/3297141/study-proves-background-checks-save-lives/

Even if we ASSUME that thay do,
DISCRIMINATION against "equal protection of the laws" is un-Constitutional.

It violates the Instrument that brought government into existence.
It woud END the legitimacy of government, if background checks
were done qua the right to defend your life.

Criminals will do whatever it takes
to arm themselves to their desire, using underground gunsmiths, if necessary.



David

How One Brown Student Shut Down The NRA
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/16/brown-student-nra-campaign-finance_n_4792311.html

How the NRA and Its Allies Helped Spread a Radical Gun Law Nationwide
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/06/nra-alec-stand-your-ground?

Here's some more self-defense cases for ya. I know you don't read them as you have me on ignore but here it goes anyways.

http://gunssavelives.net/self-defense/south-carolina-woman-shoots-and-kills-violent-abusive-boyfriend/

Rachel Maddow on gun regulation
http://on.msnbc.com/M89FkN

"As we’ve said numerous times in the past, guns are the ultimate equalizer.
They can easily allow someone smaller, slower, weaker or older
than their attacker to quickly gain the upper hand.

That’s exactly what happened in this story out of Orangeburg, SC."


That was true for me in 2005, after I got out of the hospital
for abdominal surgery. I had been so enfeebled that I was disabled from walking.
I remember thinking, as I left that I better not get into any fights
because I cud hardly even stand up. The only available self defense
was my .44 caliber Taurus Revolver Model 445.

People who support gun control, like Rex, have partnered up
with violent criminals, to defeat the defenses of their victims.

A woman was sitting in her parked car in Lafayette, La. when a man
approached the vehicle, opened the door, and grabbed her purse.
The woman responded by retrieving a gun and ordering the criminal
to drop her property, which he did. Police captured the thief,
who was held on $10,000 bail. (KATC, Lafayette, La. 02/11/14)

Rex wont read anything that disagrees with his world view.
In that respect he is the perfect repub.

It's all very well killing a person to save a few dollars but you need to be a full-blown materialist for it not to prey on the mind as you get older. You have devalued human life to a very low level and that includes your own.

I Like Rex, but I 'm pretty sure that he lacks the self-discipline to avoid sneeking a peek
at every post on his thread. He 's just hiding.





David

U bring out a good point, qua psychology, Spendius. We seldom agree.
My memory returns to a NYC Police Officer who was charged by a female black lunatic,
that was lunging at him with a sharp gardening tool in hand, in public, in front of many witnesses
all of whom confirmed the facts. The police officer became very upset at killing that lunatic.
He had psychological therapy. He grew worse in mental pain. He eventually committed suicide.




( Note that I do not say that he took his own life,
because he already HAD his own life, and it was therefore IMPOSSIBLE for him to TAKE it. )


Everyone is different, Spendius; unique. His reaction depends on
what he brought to the table in the first place. Introspectively,
I believe that my magnanimity woud (in large measure)
depend on my mood of the moment.





David

This is from Guns Save Lives:

"Wow, what a great story that highlights how semi-automatic rifles
can be used for home defense. That rifle was definitely a great equalizer
for a mother of two young children in Detroit when she was facing
down three armed home invaders.

According to WXYZ,

The mother tells Action News she “didn’t have time to get scared.”
When she heard the door to her home on Woodrow Wilson being kicked in,
she immediately warned the three teenage intruders and then opened fire.

One of the teens dropped a handgun on his way out the door.
He then tried to get back inside the house a second time, but was
again met with gunfire. Once again, he took off and all three were
arrested shortly after the incident by Detroit Police.

Police were able to apprehend all three suspects as they fled the area.
They are described as being teenagers. None of the suspects
were hit by the mother’s gunfire."

http://gunssavelives.net/self-defense/video-must-see-surveillance-detroit-mom-uses-semi-auto-rifle-to-defend-her-children-against-3-home-invaders/

Perhaps, with practice, the mother (and her children) will become better marksmen.

I relate to her remark of not having time to get scared.
That 's what happened when I was shot at years ago.
I just defensively grabbed my gun; no time for fear.
It brought half a smile to my face.





David

The Washington Times
Editorial
February 19, 2014

Laws are more than just symbolic gestures. Connecticut's General Assembly
must come to grips with this truth before its recent effort to “save lives”
ends up destroying them.

State law enforcement officials are now in the difficult position of
dealing with one of the most widely flouted laws since the end of the
55 miles-per-hour speed limit and Prohibition. If it’s really serious,
the state will have to find space to imprison 300,000 residents for
the next five years.

The first article of the Connecticut Constitution couldn’t be more clear.
“Every citizen has a right to bear arms
in defense of himself and the state,” it says.

Busybodies at the Capitol in Hartford decided that “every”
doesn’t really mean every, and it banned the semi-automatic
rifles that would be most useful in defense of the state. As of Jan. 1,
owners of arms that have a menacing appearance had to submit
registration paperwork to the state.

Only about 50,000 did so. There’s no way to know how many “assault rifles”
remain unregistered, but the best guess is that the new “gun safety”
law instantly created 300,000 felons.

Eager to exploit the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School
in Newtown, easily frightened lawmakers rushed to add yet more
hurdles to gun ownership in the state. Those wishing to possess a
pistol already had to pay fees, take tests and fill out paperwork to
obtain a firearms-purchase license.

Separate permission from the state was required just to buy ammunition
in a process that must be repeated every five years. Bearing arms outside
the home requires another permit that the state may, or may not,
issue at its discretion.

None of these hurdles prevent crime. The alleged perpetrator of the
Newtown massacre obtained his weapons by murdering his own mother,
in violation of the law. That’s what criminals do.

Reality is of little interest to Connecticut politicians when they’re
intent on making a statement. They thought that they could compel
everyone to think as they do about gun control by threatening those
who disagree with a felony. It didn’t work.

Faced with 300,000 potential offenders, officials must decide whether
to ignore the new law, or enforce it by sending SWAT teams to raid
the homes of anyone suspected of owning the most popular rifle in
America, the AR-15.

As author Radley Balko documented in “The Rise of the Warrior Cop,”
sending squads crashing through doors unannounced in the middle
of the night frequently results in death and injury for innocent bystanders.

Even family pets aren’t spared. Rampaging cops in Prince George’s
County, Md., for example, killed Chase and Payton, the gentle
Labrador retrievers belonging to Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo.
The cops expected to find drugs in the raid; instead, they terrorized
an innocent family.

Repeating similar scenes 300,000 times in Connecticut would create
the very “gun violence” that the misguided registration law was
supposed to prevent. Even if all of these citizens turned themselves
in peacefully, it would bankrupt the state.

Currently, Connecticut’s 15 prisons hold 16,839 behind bars at an
annual cost of $620 million. Full compliance with the gun law would
exceed the entire state budget at $55 billion.

We hope that calmer heads prevail in Hartford. Respect for the law
is essential for society, but this presupposes the laws themselves are
worthy of respect. The General Assembly must do what Congress did
in repealing the speed limit in 1995 and the states did in ending Prohibition
in 1933. If it saves just one life, it’s worth it.

[All emfasis has been added by David.]

Man draws gun, kills threatening dog
By Greg Ruland
Sunday, February 2, 2014

A father was forced to shoot a dog to death in front of a local grocery store
to protect his daughters who were under attack, the Grand Junction
Police Department reported.

Krystall Herrera, 42, was walking the dog, named Sugar, on a leash
shortly after 8 a.m. outside the Albertsons at 1830 N. 12th St.,
according to police.

Herrera told police that the leash became tangled around a stop sign
in a median in front of the store. As she attempted to untangle the leash,
Sugar broke free and ran toward a man and his two daughters,
who were walking nearby.

Herrera called to the dog, but Sugar did not stop. The dog began
biting one of the girls and pulling at her coat, police reported.

“The little girl pulled away and Sugar bit her again,” a police officer
wrote in a report.

At that point, the man drew a weapon and shot Sugar in
a hindquarter, according to police.

Sugar was unable to walk but was still moving, dragging herself along
the pavement. Herrera told the man to shoot the dog again and put her
out of her misery. The man shot Sugar again, but she did not die.

Herrera told the man to shoot Sugar again, “but he stated he didn’t
have the heart to do it,” according to police.

Sugar apparently died about the time animal control officers arrived
at the scene.

Herrera and two companions did not know the name of Sugar’s owner
and did not have permission to take her for a walk, police reported.

Herrera was arrested on an outstanding warrant and booked into Mesa
County Jail, according to police.

All involved in the incident agreed the man was justified in shooting the dog.
No citations were issued because “no criminal violations took place,” police said.

The police report did not say what breed the dog was. [That woud be racist.]

Rep. Jared Wright leaves loaded handgun in House committee room
http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/02/19/rep-jared-wright-leaves-loaded-handgun-house-committee-room/106136/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

A FB comment said: "Stupid and guns don't mix..."

Listen Up "Only Cowards Carry Guns"
http://martinshushu.blogspot.com/2013/01/listen-up-only-cowards-carry-guns.html

Comment:
Maybe the NRA wouldn't mind paying the hospital bills and funeral services of everyone who is injured by guns?

Florida Appeals Court rules public colleges,
universities can't regulate guns on campus
AP

A Florida appeals court on Tuesday handed down a potentially
far-reaching ruling that would block state universities from
regulating guns on campus.

The 1st District Court of Appeal _ in a rare opinion decided by the
entire appeals court _ sided with a University of North Florida student
and a gun rights group that challenged a university rule that bans
students on campus from storing guns in their cars.

In a lengthy decision that prompted a strong dissent as well as multiple
concurring opinions the appeals court ruled that the Florida Legislature
has pre-empted the regulation of guns by local governments and state agencies.

The court decided the state’s 12 public universities are covered by this 2011 law.
The ruling notes that while universities have the power to restrict
lawful conduct _ like drinking or smoking on campus _ that power does
not extend to regulating guns.
“Restricting recreational activities is a far cry from restricting a fundamental,
constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense,’’ wrote
Judge Clay Roberts whose opinion was supported by the majority of
the 15 judges who serve in the court.

Eric Friday, the attorney representing student Alexandria Lainez and
Florida Carry Inc., said the court had properly considered “the facts of this case”
and came to the right conclusion.

“The university does not have the right to pass rules and regulations
about who may have firearms,’’ Friday said.

A spokeswoman for UNF said that the university was reviewing
the case and had not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.

Judge Philip Padovano wrote a stinging dissent where he noted that
voters approved a constitutional amendment that created the current
stand-alone state university system that gave it powers different from other agencies.

“These opinions pursue differing legal theories but they all arrive at
the same conclusion: that a state university is powerless to prohibit students
from bringing firearms to school,’’ he wrote. “This remarkable conclusion
is not supported in the law, and with due respect for my colleagues,
I believe that it defies common sense.”

Padovano argued that no one would ever doubt that a university professor
could stop a student from making a religious speech in class even
though they have First Amendment rights to make the same speech elsewhere.

Judge Scott Makar argued that the Legislature has had a long history
of letting Floridians store guns in their cars and that universities did
not have unlimited authority.

“...If universities can regulate away a 2nd Amendment right, why not
a 1st Amendment one? Or one protected by the Fourth or Fifth Amendment?
The point is rhetorical, but nonetheless meaningful because campus
authority unchecked go astray of constitutional norms,’’ Makar wrote.

Florida law currently prevents anyone from possessing or exhibiting guns
on school campuses, including university and college campuses.

That same law, however, says the automatic ban doesn’t apply to guns
kept in cars. School districts, however, have the option to adopt policies
to prohibit guns in cars parked on campus. UNF attorneys tried to argue
that the university fell under this exception but that position was rejected
by a majority of the court.

[All emfasis has been added by David.]

I was not talking about magnanimity Dave. I was talking about self-interest.