U.S. House Passes NRA-backed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Legislation

From The Buckeye Firearms Association By Chad Baus, Thu, 11/17/2011

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an important self-defense measure that would enable millions of Right-to-Carry permit holders across the country to carry concealed firearms while traveling outside their home states. H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, passed by a majority bipartisan vote of 272 to 154. All amendments aimed to weaken or damage the integrity of this bill were defeated.

“NRA has made the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act a priority because it enhances the fundamental right to self-defense guaranteed to all law-abiding people,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “People are not immune from crime when they cross state lines. That is why it is vital for them to be able to defend themselves and their loved ones should the need arise.”

H.R. 822, introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), allows any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes.

This bill does not affect existing state laws. State laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within each state’s borders. H.R. 822 does not create a federal licensing system or impose federal standards on state permits; rather, it requires the states to recognize each others’ carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards.

As of today, 49 states have laws in place that permit their citizens to carry a concealed firearm in some form. Only Illinois and the District of Columbia deny its residents the right to carry concealed firearms outside their homes or businesses for self-defense.

“We are grateful for the support of Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, Majority Whip McCarthy, Judiciary Chairman Smith and primary sponsors Congressmen Stearns and Shuler for their steadfast support of H.R. 822. Thanks to the persistence of millions of American gun owners and NRA members, Congress has moved one step closer to improving crucial self-defense laws in this country,” concluded Cox.

No Shame: Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Latest Round of Anti-Gun Rights Editorials Void of Journalistic Integrity

From The Buckeye Firearms Association By Gerald Valentino, Tue, 11/15/2011

Just when it seemed like the Ohio establishment media can’t sink any lower, the crazed ravings of Chris Evans of The Cleveland Plain Dealer remind us of how far they will go to destroy the private ownership of firearms. The editorials in question should also shatter any notion held by the general public that the establishment media plays fair when it comes to the gun issue.

Taken individually, each editorial is best described as a poorly argued, one-sided anti-gun rant devoid of logical foundation, proper research or any semblance of journalistic standards, or journalistic integrity. Together, they expose Chris Evans and the editors at The Plain Dealer as little more than exploitative tabloid hacks more concerned with pushing their ill-conceived agenda than creating thought provoking discourse.

The total lack of restraint shown in his most recent anti-gun screed, entitled “NRA calls the tune and kids pay the price,” includes a claim that the National Rifle Association is a front for illegal gun sales, a notion so outlandish that it creates questions about whether Mr. Evans has lost his mind. As unbelievable as it may seem, however, calling the NRA a front for illegal gun sales is far from the craziest assertion made by Chris Evans on the gun issue.

That title goes to the baseless claim, made by Evans in another editorial, entitled “Bring Accountability to Gun Shows,” that guns shows are “Tupperware parties for criminals” – a statement that is easily refuted by a Department of Justice study that traced guns used in crimes and found less that 1% came from gun shows.

Any journalist researching the issue of illegal gun purchases couldn’t avoid finding the DOJ study because it is widely cited on the Internet and in newspapers. That means Chris Evans flouted all reasonable journalistic standards by ignoring a study from an unbiased source like the DOJ, or is so bad at his job that he missed a piece of evidence that a 3rd grader could easily have found.

By allowing his personal bias against guns to cloud his professional viewpoint on the issue, Chris Evans committed one of the mortal sins for a journalist. He also painted himself into a corner, because once on record as a vehement gun-grabber, he is forced to stick to that position. That forces him to use shoddy research techniques, unfounded theories, and what can only be described as false statements to bolster his argument.

So, when he failed to find a shred of statistical evidence to prove his claims that felons are getting most of their guns at gun shows, and that the NRA is a front for illegal gun sales, Evans chose to back up his flawed premise with anecdotal evidence, and evidence from anti-gun advocacy groups. Anecdotal evidence is a favorite weapon of the anti-gun crowd because it is nearly impossible to refute, and often allows them to sprinkle their propaganda with stories that tug at the public’s heartstrings.

In this case, Evans uses the tragedy of a prospective veterinary student shot during a back to school party as the emotional trigger. He is hoping people are outraged by such a senseless event that they suspend critical thinking in the process of holding someone responsible.

If the emotional blackmail is stripped from either editorial, however, we are left with a sad attempt to vilify guns and gun advocacy groups. We are also left with a misguided attempt to blame pro-gun advocacy groups for the villainous actions of common street thugs.

As we know, street thugs don’t obey the law, and the various anti-gun schemes dreamed up over the last 50 years hasn’t put a dent in their ability to get a gun. They have only succeeded in disarming law-abiding Americans, leaving them as easy prey for armed criminals.

If anti-gun advocates truly cared about keeping the criminal element from getting a gun, they would spend their time demanding that law enforcement use all the tools at their disposal to stop illegal gun transactions. Instead, they get anti-gun law enforcement administrators like Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath to conspire with them in their crusade to destroy gun rights.

But, according to the premise put forth by Chris Evans, Chief McGrath is also to blame for gun crime because he failed to enforce local gun ordinances in the past. Once again, had Evans properly researched the issue, he would find that very few prosecutions took place under Cleveland’s now defunct assault weapons ban. Since including that information in his editorials would have cut the knees from under his arguments, Evans disregarded them, just as he disregards integrity and journalistic standards in order to push a logically flawed anti-gun agenda.

Chris Evans, and his bosses at The Plain Dealer, should be ashamed of their actions. But it is more likely they are so blinded by hatred of guns, and gun owners that they are convinced of the righteousness of their actions.

Gerard Valentino, a former military intelligence analyst, is a member of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation Board of Directors and the author of “The Valentino Chronicles – Observations of a Middle Class Conservative,” available through the Buckeye Firearms Association store.

 

Sarah Palin: “Fire Eric Holder”

From The Buckeye Firearms Association By Chad Baus, Tue, 11/15/2011

Former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has joined a growing number of people calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to step down in the wake of Operation Fast and Furious, an ATF-led gun-running operation which resulted in more than 2500 guns being smuggled to Mexican drug gangs, and led to the deaths of two, possibly three U.S. agents and more than 200 Mexicans.

Palin posted an op-ed on her Facebook page on Thursday, Nov. 10. From the op-ed:

It’s tempting to get distracted with the horse race aspect of electoral politics during a primary season. But as pundits talk about “who’s up and who’s down” in the 24 hour news cycle, we must keep our eye on the ball with the Obama administration. They rely on distraction to skirt responsibility, but we’re going to hold them accountable for their corruption and incompetence.

When the stories about Operation Fast and Furious first broke, it sounded too crazy even for this administration.

Why would any government official with an ounce of common sense think it’s a good idea to facilitate the smuggling of thousands of guns into the hands of violent Mexican drug cartels? That’s what Operation Fast and Furious did.

You might think Eric Holder’s Department of Justice was setting up a sting operation in which our federal agents would swoop down and arrest the bad guys the minute the guns traded hands. But that’s not what happened. Eric Holder’s DOJ had American gun dealers sell weapons to “straw purchasers” tied to drug cartels without actually following the movement of the guns as they were then sold to Mexican drug lords. They apparently thought this so-called “gun-walking” operation would help them chart the path of gun smuggling, but they didn’t have a plan to actually control the weapons’ movements as the guns were allowed to “walk” into Mexico. All Holder’s DOJ did was arm violent criminals. What manner of fools do we have working in this administration? What’s next? Supplying nuclear weapons components to the Iranians so we can track their activities?

Paling went on to note that “when an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives blew the whistle on this operation, the DOJ leaked sensitive information about him to the press. This week, the former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, who was ousted in the wake of the scandal, admitted to being the leaker.”

And where is President Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder in all of this? When did he first know about the operation? In his testimony to the House Oversight Committee on May 3, 2011, Holder stated, “I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.” But the DOJ’s own documents prove that Holder had been receiving briefings on Fast and Furious for nearly a year before that date. In other words, our government’s top law enforcement official, Eric Holder, lied to the American public. He finally admitted this week to the Senate Judiciary Committee, “In my testimony before the House committee [on May 3], I did say a few weeks. I probably could have said a couple of months. What I said about a few weeks was inaccurate based on what happened.”

When the nation’s highest law enforcement official lies to the American people, he must go.

And if he claims that he didn’t lie, then how else do we explain this situation? He’s either lying or he’s so grossly incompetent and lazy that he didn’t read important life and death briefings from his deputy attorney general and didn’t know about this deadly operation run by people under him. So, which is it? Incompetent, lazy, or lying? No matter which explanation fits, he needs to go.

Holder conceded this week, “I have ultimate responsibility for what happens in the department.” He can prove it by resigning. And if he refuses to resign, then President Obama – with whom the bucks ultimately stop – can prove that he respects honesty, transparency, and accountability in his administration by firing Holder.

I stand with the members of Congress who are calling for Holder’s resignation. I stand with the family members of Brian Terry who are demanding transparency and accountability. Mr. President, where do you stand?

Palin added post script to the end of her op-ed, issuing a direct challenge to President Obama, saying “It can be argued that some elements of this scandal give the appearance of perhaps being intended to be used to infringe on our Second Amendment rights. I invite our President to correct concerned Americans if they’re wrong on this.”