My Blog

Tag: Gun Issues

  • On Newton CT

    I wrote this as a comment on the Chicago Tribune story:

    While our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Newton CT the sad reality is that 18 children and 6 adults killed is what we in Chicago call the “Second and Third Week in July” every year.

    Where is our national media attention? When will New York (liberal) reporters be seen in Englewood and Garfield Park interviewing parents of the slain?

    I hate to play the race card but I see no other reason why Chicago’s murders are ignored by the national media. Most of Chicago’s victims are black while in Aurora CO and in Newton CT the victims are mostly white.

    While you ponder the sadness today over yesterdays events in Newton CT please also keep in mind the hundreds of (mostly black) children gunned down every year on Chicago’s city streets.

  • US Guns Sales Booming

    Mel Bernstein, owner of Dragonman Arms in Colorado Springs, told KOAA-TV that sales of semi-automatic weapons had boomed in recent days.

    He said: “We’re going from normally six to eight guns a day, to 25. I stocked up, I got a stockpile of these AK-47s, we’re selling these like hot cakes. Luckily I had an idea of what was going on because it happened with Clinton.”

    Mr Bernstein said he normally orders up to 7,000 rounds a week from distributors but could now only get hold of 3,000 because of demand.

    John Kielbasa, owner of Fernwood Firearms in Hankins, New York, told CNN: “Sales are up. I had a guy waiting here first thing in the morning (the day after the election.) He came in, bought two AK-47s. It’s going to be good for me for business.”

    via Telegraph.

    Again from the U.K.  No U.S. paper wants to touch this right now.  They wrote all about it before the election when it would drive gun-control folks to the polls.  Now, it’s the other side of the sword; Obama is the greatest gun salesman of all time.

    Even if Obama manages to slip something by the Congress the damage is done.  12.7 million background checks in 2008 alone.  The number’s only gone up… every year since.  Obama in office is responsible for 5 – 6 million new guns sales since 2008.  Crazy.

  • IL Voters in 10 counties Want Concealed Carry

    Residents in some Illinois counties sent a message to lawmakers this week: Give citizens the right to carry concealed weapons.

    Measures supporting concealed carry were on the ballot Tuesday in at least 10 mostly rural counties — Adams, Bond, Henry, McDonough, Mercer, Randolph, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stephenson and Warren — and passed overwhelmingly in every one.

    The votes were nonbinding because local law cannot override state law. But advocates say they hope to build pressure on lawmakers to support concealed carry.

    Illinois is the only state where carrying a concealed weapon is entirely illegal.

    via DailyHerald.com.

    Hat Tip to Stranger over at Extrano’s Alley for the story.  Being in Cook County where it’s illegal to even think about owning a gun, I did not even know these referenda were on the ballot.

    Kudos to the rest of the state for standing up to The Machine.

  • Bloomberg Turns Down National Guard Over Guns

    Bloomberg has reportedly turned down additional help from the U.S. National Guard. “We don’t need it,” Bloomberg insists, despite pleas from the boroughs for back-up. “The NYPD is the only people we want on the street with guns.”

    via TheBlaze.com.

    Do I have this right?

    New Yorkers would rather starve than have someone with a firearm bring them something to eat?  If so then they deserve to starve.

  • British Terror Cell Wanted to Violate Sharia Law for AK-47s

    A British terror cell allegedly planned to buy five AK47 assault rifles by borrowing £100,000 in loans, a court heard.  …

    In one conversation recorded by the police the group are discussing how to obtain weapons.

    Naseer said that “out there in the market: “You can buy M16 you can buy AK.”

    He added: “You can get grenades, you know grenades? Fifteen hundred pounds for one grenade.”

    He said: “I’m trying to do that…take out loan.

    “Get about 100 grand then you get four five AK’s ready.”  …

    Naseer justified attacking non-believers because they have “sex like donkeys”, orgies and took drugs. He said: “They wanna you know have sex like donkeys on the street, they wanna club, act like animals and why shouldn’t we terrorise them, tell me that?”

    via Business Insider.

    Oh where to begin?

    For the record, I don’t believe anything about this story.  It’s just too over the top.  I’m a big believer that truth is stranger than fiction but rarely does it play out so perfectly; impossibly perfectly.  Anyway…

    It’s common knowledge that Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees (known as riba, or usury) for loans of money.  So it makes me wonder how these Islamists were going to take a loan for the weapons.  Unless of course they are hypocrites.

    Next, what are they talking about buying these military grade weapons that are illegal in the UK, and in the US, and well just about everywhere?  How is this possible?  How can someone acquire something that is illegal?

    As for the donkeys, I’ll let you draw you’re own conclusions.

  • CPD Brass Wants Tighter Gun Tracking

    Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said today that he would like to see gun owners in Illinois have to report when their weapons are stolen, lost or sold – steps he said would lower the number of firearms in the hands of criminals.  …

    “We keep trying to pass comprehensive gun legislation,” he added. “And my recommendation is to really start small. The fact is that if there was a requirement to report the loss, transfer or theft of a firearm in the state of Illinois, that would significantly limit the number of firearms in the city of Chicago.”

    via Chicago Tribune.

    Media simply reports what the man says as gospel and doesn’t ask any questions.

    Please tell us Mr. McCarthy how part one, a “requirement to report the loss, transfer or theft of a firearm” leads to part two, and “significantly limit the number of firearms in the city of Chicago?”

    Person A has a gun.  Person A goes on vacation and while gone Gang-Banger B breaks into Person A’s house and steals Person A’s gun.  Person A reports to the police that the gun has been stolen.

    First, Person A is going to file a report b/c guns are expensive and he or she is going to want to make the insurance claim that the gun was stolen.

    Second, Person A is going to file a report b/c they don’t want the police knocking at their door when the gun is used in a crime.

    But just in case that’s not enough…  let’s just say we do create a new law to force Person A to notify the police that the gun was stolen.  Now just exactly what is the police going to do with that information to keep the stolen firearm out of the city of Chicago?

    I would really like to know.  Where is the nexus between knowledge of a stolen gun and action that keeps that gun out of the city?

    Can someone please explain?

  • Cook County’s New Business Killers, a/k/a Taxes

    Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed budget calls for a 1.25 percent tax on businesses that buy “non-titled” items like office supplies, equipment, building materials and even artwork from outside the county’s borders.  …

    County businesses would be allowed to purchase these goods up to $2,500 without any penalty, county officials said. The businesses are responsible for self-reporting the purchases to the county’s revenue department. A Preckwinkle spokesman said the county expects most businesses will comply.  …

    The tax is among several initiatives Preckwinkle announced Thursday during a budget presentation, which also called for an additional $1 tax per pack on cigarettes, a 5-cent tax on bullets and an additional $25 tax on gun purchases.

    “We’re proposing (these taxes) to subsidize health care,” Preckwinkle said. “Cigarette smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and gun violence is incredibly expensive.”

    The cigarette tax is expected to generate $25.6 million additional revenue in the coming year, and the taxes on guns and bullets are anticipated to bring the county an extra $1 million over the course of 2013.

    via Daily Herald.

    Shear insanity.  There are so many problems here it’s hard to know where to begin.

    As to the increase in the cigarette tax… this is a proven loser.  In 2006 the county earned over $200 million annually from cigarette taxes.  Then they doubled the tax.  Revenue fell to around $131 million.  Now she wants to raise the tax again… that’s the worst thing you can do.  If you want more revenue from cigarettes you need to LOWER the tax rate, not raise it.  The problem here is that Preckwinkle, like all Democrats, do not understand or even believe in the Laffer Curve.  They’re honestly just dumb that way.

    How about this tax on bullets?  Well I currently buy a box of 100 rounds out at the Wal-Mart in Villa Park for about $30 + sales tax, or around $33.  Now Preckwinkle wants to add $5 to that box.  Guess what Toni?  I will NOT be buying my ammo in Cook County anymore.  So you’re not going to raise $5 from me… you’re going to lose the $3 in sales tax.  Your “bullet tax” is going to cost the County money…. Lots of money.  Like the cigarette tax, this idea is a net loser.  You know what else, you won’t even be able to claim that I “use” the product (in this case bullets) in Cook County b/c pretty soon all the shooting ranges in the county will go out of business.  So I’ll go shoot in Indiana.  That will be more tax revenue lost.

    Lastly, what is up with this office supply tax?  Preckwinkle actually has the stones to call this tax “pro-business” thinking that people will simply comply and buy all there stuff from within the county.  That’s laughable.  She’s such a fool.  How about this Toni; ya think that someone might just open their business in Will, DuPage, or Lake county instead of Cook County?  Guess what Toni, you just made all the office buildings on the North side of Lake Cook road more valuable than the ones on the South side.  Same goes for 191st Street on the south.  You’re now creating another incentive for people to (a) open their businesses outside the county, and (b) move their businesses outside the county.  This tax will cost many many times more than whatever revenue it brings in.

    Cook County needs new leadership or it’s going to die.

     

  • 12-year-old Girl + Shotgun > Large Bad Man

    A 12-year-old girl is being hailed a hero for shooting a home intruder after she hid with a gun in the closet.

    Kendra St Clair, from Oklahoma, was home alone when she heard someone break in.

    She called her mother and asked what she should do, and her terrified mom told her to get the gun and hide in the closet and stay there until she thought the coast was clear.

    But when she emerged from her hiding space and went to the back door, she saw the intruder was still trying to break in and ran back into the closet.  …

    ‘When I was back there (in the closet) on the phone with 911, I heard the bathroom light turn on that was leading to the closet. And when I saw the door handle turn, I shot him.

    via Daily Mail Online.

    I wrote before about how guns are great equalizer for self defense; especially for women.  Self defense is one of the basket of rights we inherit from our creator.  It does not come from the government; it cannot be taken away.

    All rational people would hate to think of what would have happened — how differently this situation could have turned out — if this little girl did not have that shotgun.

    Shame on those who would take it away from her.

  • CCW in Illinois? Without State Action?

    In the only state that doesn’t let its residents walk around with concealed firearms, a northwest Illinois county could become the testing ground for gun enthusiasts who want a clean sweep for their Second Amendment rights.  …

    The county has scheduled a pair of hearings this month to determine whether it should allow people to carry guns within Winnebago borders. The proposed ordinance – which was written after officials received a petition with more than 11,000 signatures this year – would contradict state law.  …

    Webster, a local tree nursery owner and a longtime National Rifle Association member, wrote the proposed ordinance himself after receiving the petition in August. It would let people carry guns in Winnebago if they had proper training and possessed a Utah permit, which is recognized in neighboring Midwestern states and has no residency requirements.

    via Chicago Tribune.

    People are clever.  Even in Illinois.  I have a Utah CCW, and a Florida.  I also have a few other tricks up my sleeve which means I’m generally able to carry most of the time.  But this is good news for law abiding citizens of Winnebago County.

    This sort of movement could move statewide.  I can see a result whereby it was legal to carry in some counties but not all.  Such a decision would force the state to act.  This is basically what happened in Ohio, California, and few other states prior to those states creating their own CCW laws.

    Going to be confusing for awhile here.  But this is a step in the right direction.

  • SUV as Deadly Weapon

    Two people were struck by a hit-and-run driver after a fight outside a River North neighborhood bar early Sunday morning, police said.

    via Chicago Tribune.

    Although it’s not reported here, the news from police on the scene is that this was a street fight where the fight’s loser went to his car and then used it to run over the fight’s winner.

    Another example of people who are intent on hurting other people proving they can do so without using a firearm.