Clipmarks | Gun law Clips

The U.S. Needs to Open Up to the World

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:38:15 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: It's better for everybody to have a stake in society than to have a resentful underclass bent on wrecking things. To many Americans, this sounds like socialism, big government, the nanny state. But so what? The result is: Europe has less gun crime and homicide, less poverty and arguably a higher quality of life than the U.S., which makes a lot of us wonder why America doesn't want some of what we've got.

America as a gated community won't work, because not even the world's sole superpower can build walls high enough to shield itself from the intertwined realities of the 21st century. There's a better form of security: reconnect with the rest of the world, don't shut it out; stop making enemies and start making friends. Perhaps it's asking a lot to expect America to act differently from all the other empires in history, but wasn't that the original idea?

Clip Source: www.time.com

Europeans have always looked at America with a mixture of fascination and puzzlement, and now, increasingly, disbelief. How is it that a country that prides itself on its economic success could have so many very poor people? How is it that a country so insistent on the rule of law should seek to exempt itself from international agreements? And how is it that the world's beacon of democracy can have elections dominated by wealthy special interest groups?

"How can a country that has produced so much cultural and economic wealth act so dumb?"

When Europeans make such criticisms, Americans assume we're envious. "They want what we've got,"

Europeans tend to regard free national health services, unemployment benefits, social housing and so on as pretty good models of human progress. We think it's important — civilized, in fact

This isn't just altruism, but an understanding that having too many losers in society hurts everyone.

The Tyranny of Paramilitary Police Raids and SWAT Teams

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:36:27 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: Great article and podcast from CATO on police extremism (terrorism) that is akin to fascism and contrary to the principles of "proportionate" responses to evidence of crimes, etc. The recent example of a Mayor in Maryland being held at military-style gun point (with his wife and mother-in-law), after they shot his dogs is what sparked this issue more. These "over the top" police tactics must be stopped.

Police increasingly are "swarming", using their paranoid principle of "overwhelming force", which is overwhelmingly irrational, yet is supported by politicians who want to appear "tough on crime", while being ridiculous.

They mention in the short podcast that what you see on TV is not representative of what really happens commonly in these SWAT and other raids.

Clip Source: www.cato.org

Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America

Americans have long maintained that a man’s home is his castle and that he has the right to defend it from unlawful intruders. Unfortunately, that right may be disappearing. Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home.

These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers.

Clip Source: www.cato.org

Podcast (MP3)

Tags: police state, police powers, constitution, law enforcement, war on drugs, swat, crime

Palin's Lawyer: Monegan Fired for 'Rogue Mentality'

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:41:04 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The filing includes a July 17, 2007, e-mail Palin sent to Monegan in which Palin complains that a proposal to restrict gun sales to people who make death threats would still allow her former brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, to carry a gun, despite the Palin family allegation that Wooten once threatened to kill the governor's father.

"Amazing," the e-mail says. "And he's still a trooper, and he still carries a gun, and he still tells anyone who will listen that he will 'never work for that b----' (me) because he has such anger and distain towards my family."

The papers add that even if Palin had asked the public safety commissioner to fire a state trooper "based on documented acts of violence and other improper conduct," that wouldn't violate the state Ethics Act "because the public generally shares a common interest in public order and safety."

Monegan's attorney didn't immediately return a call for comment.

September 15th, 2008 06:40 PM

Clip Source: www.adn.com

Walt Monegan lost his job as public safety commissioner because he resisted Gov. Sarah Palin's budget policies and ultimately showed "outright insubordination," say papers the governor's lawyer filed today with the state Personnel Board.

The filing includes a slew of e-mails from top Palin aides, including one from her budget director, Karen Rehfeld, saying she was "stunned and amazed" that Monegan appeared to be working with a state legislator to seek funding for a project Palin had previously vetoed.

It was Monegan's "rogue mentality" on budgeting and other policy issues that got him fired in July, not his alleged refusal to dismiss a state trooper who was involved in a messy divorce with the governor's sister, the filing says.

The papers were filed in support of the governor's request that the Personnel Board drop an ethics complaint Palin herself lodged requesting an investigation into whether she fired Monegan because of the family feud.

Tags: public safety commissioner, job separation for outright insubordination, budgeting, firearm sales, former brother-in-law trooper wooten

Georgia Newspaper Puts Obama in Crosshairs

Wed, 21 May 2008 21:18:56 GMT

clipped by: dulios

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Georgia Newspaper Puts Obama In Crosshairs

Via Wonkette, a small paper serving the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, Georgia called the Roswell Beacon is drawing fire for running a cover that depicts Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama in the crosshairs of a gun sight. The cover image promotes a story by freelance reporter Alan Sverdlik, who penned the article "he was curious how law enforcement agencies were handling the increased number of threats lodged against Obama by white supremacist groups" in the Fulton County area. Sverdlik has told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had no input on the cover design that accompanied the article.

Tags: obama, georgia, assassination, white supremacy

Beer for My Horses: Toby Keith's Ode to Lyching

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:45:56 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: During the days when Toby Keith's "Grandpappy" stalked the Jim Crow South, lynching was an institutional method of terror employed against blacks to maintain white supremacy. According to the Tuskegee Institute, between the years 1882 and 1951, 3,437 African-Americans were lynched in the United States, mostly in the heart of Dixie. Felonious assault and rape (read: corrupting "the flower of white womanhood") were the two most frequent justifications for lynch mob actions.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Well a man come on the 6 o'clock news
said somebody's been shot
somebody's been abused
somebody blew up a building
somebody stole a car
somebody got away
somebody didn't get to far yeah
they didn't get too far

Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street
For all the people to see

That Justice is the one thing you should always find
You got to saddle up your boys
You got to draw a hard line
When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune
And we'll all meet back at the local saloon
And we'll raise up our glasses against evil forces singing
whiskey for my men, beer for my horses

We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds
too much corruption and crime in the streets
It's time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground
Send 'em all to their maker and he'll settle 'em down
You can bet he'll set 'em down...

Untrained Informant Killed During Sting

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:04:13 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Former FBI agent Brad Garrett, an ABC News consultant, says it made no sense to use an inexperienced person like Rachel for a gun deal.
"You have her make the phone call, you have the bad guys come into the picture and you never have her go to them," said Garrett, a veteran of scores of such undercover deals.
"You arrest them in the park and she's never exposed to the gun or the dope," said Garrett.
In the Hoffman case, police sent her out alone, with only one or two officers trailing her.
The chief concedes she had not received any training as a confidential informant, or CI, before the dangerous mission.
"As far as the training she receives, as far as training for, as a CI, we don't provide training for CIs," Jones told 20/20.

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

No training. A botched drug sting. A dead 23-year-old college graduate.

But authorities in Tallahassee, Fla., have yet to take any action against the police responsible for an undercover operation that led to the death of Rachel Hoffman, a recent graduate of Florida State University.

Police Chief Dennis Jones, interviewed for tonight's 20/20 broadcast, says he does not accept that his department is in any way responsible for the death of the young woman

"Do we feel responsible? We're responsible for the safety of this community," Jones said, labeling Hoffman a "criminal" because she was caught twice with a baggie of marijuana

"People we use as confidential informants are people that are familiar with the drug trade," the police chief said

her friends say she refused to inform on friends who smoked grass

Instead, say the friends, police pushed Hoffman to work undercover against two men considered much bigger in the drug scene, and to try to buy a gun

Clip Source: blog.puppetgov.com

[Video]

Tags: law

Southern U.S. town proud of its mandatory gun law

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:06:32 GMT

clipped by: travislaborde
clipper's remarks: not many Democrats there I bet

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Southern U.S. town proud of its mandatory gun law

The town north of Atlanta had little prominence until it passed a gun ordinance in 1982 that required all heads of a household to own a firearm and ammunition.

The Kennesaw law has endured as the town's population has swelled to about 30,000 from 5,000 in 1982.

"When the law was passed in 1982 there was a substantial drop in crime ... and we have maintained a really low crime rate since then," said police Lt. Craig Graydon. "We are sure it is one of the lowest (crime) towns in the metro area.

"There's been no move to get rid of the law. Why would you?"

Tags: politics

Europe's Love Affair With Barry

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:46:57 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: a more "European" (that is, a more social-democratic) America, which at last casts off some of its nastier capitalist habits. An America that is a lot more like us Europeans who have forgone power politics and sovereignty in favor of communitarian politics and integration...

After Inauguration Day, alas, Europe and the world will not face a Dreamworks president, but the leader of a superpower. Whether McCain or Obama, the 44th president will speak more nicely than did W. in his first term. He will also pay more attention to the "decent opinions of mankind." But he will still preside over the world's largest military, economic, and cultural power.

This vast power differential is what Germans and Europeans don't quite fathom in their infatuation with Obama. Their problem was not Mr. Bush, but Mr. Big--America as Behemoth Among the Nations, unwilling to succumb to the dictates of goodness that animate post-heroic, post-imperial, and post-sovereign Europe.

Clip Source: www.babalublog.com

It's like an exorcist fantasy: Once we can send Bush off into the desert, like the scapegoat of the Israelites, we will be able to love America again.

There are two problems buried in this fantasy. One, Barack Obama is possessed of a pliable identity that oscillates between Barry and Barack, between White and Black, between the Harvard Law Review and the Chicago slums, between a leftish voting record in the Senate and a right-of-center message on the stump. He is neither saint nor softie, but the most consummate power politician to come out of Chicago since Richard Daley the Elder. Following classical electoral ritual in the U.S., Obama has been moving steadily to the right, be it on the death penalty, gun control, or Iraq. Europeans haven't quite processed his pilgrimage to the center, and if they have, they seem not to care...

Clip Source: www.babalublog.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.babalublog.com

This, of course, is Europe's favorite dream: a post-Bush America cut down to size and chastened, a meeker and more modest America

Tags: obama, europe, politician, socialist, harvard law, chicago slums, richard daley

Weighing Parole For Killers

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:27:12 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: I guess we could argue that there should be no parole for killers, and that would be a black and white argument. I'm sure black and white feels pretty damn good to the victim's families.
One thing I would like to say is I think some on CM feel as though clippers must agree 100 percent with the clip or we wouldn't clip the article. Not true, at least in my case and I welcome polite, concise, adult conversation on any clip. Opposing views are always welcome and can lead to meaningful dialog and in the spirit of that, I feel this clip asks the reader to dig deep on the concept of forgiveness in our society. Is that concept worth considering? The answer can be a very complex one with good arguments on both sides.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Lawrence spent 24 years in state prison for murdering her lover's wife with a gun and a potato peeler while in a jealous rage. A model inmate, she received a second chance at freedom last summer when a court ordered her released. Since then, she has reunited with family in Los Angeles and tried to re-integrate into society at age 61.

But Lawrence may have to return to prison instead, if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can convince the California Supreme Court that she remains a threat to public safety. That she has had no problems with the law in a year of freedom is irrelevant, the governor's office said; she should not have been let out.

When should a killer be set free? What are the limits, if any, on the governor's power to decide? Are such factors as an inmate's prison record and age ever more significant than a horrendous crime committed decades ago?

Unenlightened in law enforcement

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:25:00 GMT

clipped by: cdobbs
clipper's remarks: I would have to agree, why is it the highly educated are so stupid. Ah right, they lose all their common sense somewhere along the way.

Please read the full story.

Clip Source: www.ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com

In last week’s Monday Blog Post I shared jail house interviews with you from two men who killed for nothing more than cigarettes and pocket change as evidence of why you should have a gun, training, and a Concealed Weapons Permit so you can carry a gun EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

If you have ever visited Washington DC, I’m sure you recognized that if you travel just a few blocks away, in any direction, from the park-like areas of monuments and government buildings, you are in the middle of urban blight that any law abiding person would want and need a gun for self defense protection.

It truly amazes me how our government, with all their tax dollars, manpower and entitlements for the underprivileged have not been able to clean up their own backyard!

NRA sues San Francisco to overturn public-housing gun ban

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:03:50 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Raise your hand if you think that more guns in public housing is going to result in fewer gun deaths.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

NRA sues to overturn S.F. gun ban in city housing

SAN FRANCISCO — The National Rifle Association sued the city of San Francisco on Friday to overturn its ban on handguns in public housing, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the nation's capital.

In San Francisco, the NRA was joined by the Washington state-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and a gun owner who lives in the city's Valencia Gardens housing project.

Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city will "vigorously fight the NRA" and defended the ban as good for public safety.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that the Supreme Court ruling didn't address gun bans on government property and that he is "confident that our local gun control measures are on sound legal footing and will survive legal challenges."

Tags: law, violence, crime, news, u.s.-news, guns

Supreme Court Upholds 2nd Amendment, right to bear arms is personal

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:35:03 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: but see even Scalia's "but" statements. They still want to "infringe". The idea of having a permit would be repugnant to Patrick Henry and the colonists of 1776. Notice how close this vote was, 5 to 4 by the Supremes, and even the most conservative do not deny some restrictions may be applied. "Shall not be infringed" is illegible to them apparently.

So go buy yourself a Glock and learn how to safely use it. It's best to buy from private owners to keep yourself out of the "infringement" of federal data-bases which tracks gun sales, and could be accessed under PATRIOT ACT provisions upon any government desire to do so.

My question is, what about the 4th amendment? This should be the next focus of challenges.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Americans have right to guns under landmark ruling

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Individual Americans have a right to own guns, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday for the first time in history, striking down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital.

The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years the high court has addressed the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It rejected the argument the right to keep and bear arms was tied to service in a state militia.

Justice Antonin Scalia said for the majority the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with militia service and to use it for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense in the home. However, he said the new right was not unlimited.

The court struck down two parts of the country's strictest gun control law adopted in Washington, D.C., 32 years ago -- the ban on private handgun possession and the requirement that firearms kept at home be unloaded and disassembled

Tags: constitution, gun rights, 2nd amendment

Gun Owners tired of hiding weapons - embrace 'open carry'

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:59:27 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Debatable?! 'part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm as common an accessory as an iPod. Called "open carry" by its supporters' . Is a mighty effective method to keep hoods at bay, I'd say...

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Packing in public: Gun owners tired of hiding their weapons embrace 'open carry'

Bill White, 24, a graduate student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, wears his Colt pistol when he goes to his local Starbucks in Westminster, Colo.

Those who wear their guns in full sight are part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm a common accessory.

Out, about and armed

PROVO, UTAH -- For years, Kevin Jensen carried a pistol everywhere he went, tucked in a shoulder holster beneath his clothes.

In hot weather the holster was almost unbearable. Pressed against Jensen's skin, the firearm was heavy and uncomfortable. Hiding the weapon made him feel like a criminal.

In most states there's no law against that.

part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm as common an accessory as an iPod. Called "open carry" by its supporters

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

When Jensen bought a Glock and the dealer threw in an external hip holster, he began researching the idea of carrying the gun in public and came upon OpenCarry.org.

Tags: gun owners, weapons, guns, automatic, semi-automatic, arms laws, opencarry.org

Forget free gasoline! Car buyers want free guns

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:57:21 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Local law enforcement took calls from the media after the promotion was announced, but found nothing wrong with what the dealership is doing.
"They're not doing anything illegal," said Lt. Randy Beshore of the Butler Police Department. "I think the misconception is that people thought they got the handgun right there at the dealership."
Even so, the dealership has received threatening phone calls.
"Someone who said they were with the ATF called and said 'You need to shut down this promotion right now or we're shutting you down.' I told them to bring their attorneys, I don't know if [the call] was real or fake," Muller said.

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

A Missouri car dealership is triggering interest by offering customers free guns or gasoline with any purchase, and despite the skyrocketing price of fuel, patrons are going for the guns.

"We are aware of the gasoline and crime problem in America," states an ad on the website of Max Motors. It goes on to note it "wants to be part of the solution and not part of the problem."

What we're doing is giving everyone who buys a new or used vehicle a free handgun," said Mark Muller, the dealership's owner. "We have guns to display, but we can't actually give them a gun, so what we do is give them a coupon for a local gun dealer here in town so they can pick out any gun they want. We recommend a semi-automatic."

The certificate is good for either $250 at Alton Arms or for $250 worth of gas. Muller told WND no one has chosen the gas so far

"I don't see what the problem is, we have a right to bear arms. It's in the Constitution and the reason we have [Amendment] No. 2 is to protect No. 1."

Tags: guns, gasoline

Armed America - Why do you own a gun?

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:42 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Interesting, hard-hitting & debatable...

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Armed America:
Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KYLE CASSIDY
208 pages, hardback. In bookstores everywhere & at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jerry and Colin and their Browning Citori's.

Jerry: We are our own last line of defense. I haven't seen a compelling argument from the anti's as to why law abiding citizens shouldn't have guns

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jessica with her Kahr P9 and Samantha

Jessica: I'm just one little girl in the world.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jean and Fleming and his Winchester .410 model 42

Fleming: I was born and raised 12 miles down the road from where Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed -- this was in 1935.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Beth, Paul, Gavin and Emma
AK-47, Bersa .380, Ruger P345

Paul: My family had guns the whole time I was a kid. then i went off and joined the army and went away and come back. I

Tags: arms, ammunition, guns, gun laws, usa