Carolina Politics Online

One thing is clear, regardless of whether we have Governor Haley or Governor Sheheen next year, South Carolinians can rest assured that their Second Amendment rights will be safe from assault (by the state government, anyway).  Nikki Haley has secured the endorsement of Gun Owners of America which is not surprising.  Republicans tend to fare better with firearm groups than Democrats do, but that’s not to say that Vincent Sheheen is a slouch on the issue.  Sheheen also has a pretty strong record of defending the right to bear arms.

“Few things are as clearly defined as the right of individual Americans to own and use firearms,” Haley said in a statement accompanying her Gun Owners of America endorsement.

“I hold a concealed weapons permit myself, and as governor, I will continue to fight against any government infringement on the Second Amendment,” she said.

Sheheen said that he owns a gun, leads the S.C. Sportsmen’s Caucus and has ties to the National Rifle Association.

“I have repeatedly worked with the NRA to protect the gun ownership rights of South Carolinians,” Sheheen said in a statement. “There is no candidate that is a stronger supporter of Second Amendment rights and as governor, I will make sure the rights of citizens to own guns are never infringed.”

Neither candidate highlighted a specific threat to the public’s right to own firearms.

The August Chronicle

Like most Americans, I’m thankful that the Supreme Court recognized the right of Americans to possess a firearm in defense of themselves and their families.  It is statistically proven that cities which have implemented gun bans have seen their share of violent crimes increase and when the bans are done away with violent crimes decrease.  Case and point, Washington D.C.

What disturbs me about the ruling is that it was arrived at by a mere one vote majority, a vote of 5 to 4.  This should have been a unanimous ruling, but the four left wing members of the SCOTUS apparently feel that state and local government should be able to usurp your Constitutional rights.  One judge could have made that possible.  This should serve as a dangerous reminder to all Americans just how important the presidential election is.  It is the President who nominates these justices to the Supreme court and the lower appellate courts.

Today was day one of the NRA’s annual convention which this year is being held right here in Charlotte.  According to the Charlotte Observer, about 16,000 people went through the convention center today to participate in the various activities and listen to speeches by well known Second Amendment supporters like former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and famed actor Chuck Norris.  About 70,000 people are expected to attend by the time the event is over.  In fact, your truly was extended an invitation to attend for free being that I am a “respected” (ahem..) member of the alternative media community.  Unfortunately, time is a luxury for me and I never have nearly enough of it so I could not attend.  Plus, I just returned yesterday from a very relaxing vacation at the Outer Banks and even though I was home today my mind was still laying on the beach getting badly sunburned so I wasn’t ready to jump back into the fray and spend all day in uptown. Besides, I wouldn’t have been allowed to carry my gun on my person anyway, so where is the fun in that? Obviously if you allow 70,000 wingnuts who cling to their Bible and their guns to carry them with them they are going to shoot the place up, right?

Here are the speeches in full given by Sarah Palin and Chuck Norris today, courtesy of the Charlotte Observer.

South Carolina State Representative Bakari Sellers (D-Denmark) has introduced legislation that would allow people to keep a handgun under the seat of their car.  The state law already allows for us to keep guns in a closed compartment in our car.  Yours truly keeps one in his arm rest between the seats because if someone tries to take my car they’re going to have their brains splattered across the asphalt.  The usual opposition has already arisen, as is typical when someone tries to expand our Second Amendment freedom.

Law enforcement officers also have concerns. Jarrod Bruder, executive director of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association, says officers already have one of the most dangerous jobs there is. “By allowing a handgun to be held underneath the seat instead of the proper storage compartments, it’s just one more level of danger that is added to their job,” he says. “And we’re here to represent officers and make sure they come home safe to their family.”

WSPA-TV

I understand that police officers have a dangerous job, but their personal safety does not usurp my Constitutional rights.  They are aware of the danger when they take the job.  Bruder’s objection doesn’t really make any sense anyway.  How is having a gun under the seat any more dangerous than already having one in the car in the first place?  I can reach into my arm rest and pull out my gun just as easily than if it were under my seat.  There is no reason why this bill shouldn’t pass, but it’s not uncommon for illogical fear to become an obstacle in getting legislation through.

My opinion, however, is that we should just completely do away with all of these little rules and exceptions and mirror Arizona, Vermont, and Alaska in embracing permitless concealed carry.  The Second Amendment states that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.  It’s a hassle in South Carolina and most states to carry a weapon because you have to jump through so many hoops in order to get a permit: training, classes, application fees, etc.  Now I think anybody who intends on carrying a gun should be trained on how to handle it, but that should be an individual’s conscious decision, not a state law mandate.  If these requirements get in the way and inhibit folks from being able to exercise their Constitutional rights they should be done away with.  South Carolina should become the fourth state to allow concealed carry without a permit.

The National Rifle Association it holding it’s annual meeting and exhibit in Charlotte this year.  It will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center located at 501 South College Street.  The show hours are:

Ironically, nobody is permitted to carry a firearm with them because North Carolina state law prohibits the carrying of firearms in the Charlotte Convention Center aside from the likelihood that an armed NRA convention would probably be the most safe place to be in the entire country.

James Carville once described Pennsylvania as being Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in the middle.  While I spent many years in Pittsburgh and consider that my “home” I was originally born in the Alabama part of the state and still have one sister and many extended family members there.  Even up there in the redneck mountains of Williamsport the extent of expressing our new year cheer when I was a kid was banging pots and pans outside at my grandmother’s house and pissing off some of the neighbors.  I never even thought about emptying my revolver into the air, but I guess the hillbillies in Williamsport, PA had nothing on Concord, NC.

The Concord Police Department wants to remind residents that firing a gun into the air is not the way to ring in the New Year.

The definition of celebratory gunfire is the shooting of a firearm into the air in celebration.

Law prohibits discharging a firearm into the air, and if caught, violators will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, according to a statement from the Concord Police Department.

“It’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember,” Concord Police Department spokeswoman Capt. Betty Crump said. ” It’s important that everyone is aware of the potential dangers.”

The Independent Tribune

Gee, real sorry I missed this.

Wow, is this South Carolina or South Central LA?

Yes, but Allen, of Greenville, is grabbing attention for a little-known statewide office, adjutant general.

The adjutant general is in charge of the South Carolina’s Army and Air National Guard, serves on the board of visitors for The Citadel and holds many other related responsibilities.

Maj. Gen. Stan Spears, a Republican, holds the position, but he hasn’t said publicly whether he’ll seek another term. He has held the job since 1995.

Allen, also a Republican, will hold his “Machinegun Social” fundraiser from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 26 at Allen Arms Indoor Range, 1210 Poinsett Highway in Greenville. Allen is a combat veteran who served in Korea and Vietnam.

The campaign will give away a $700 semi-automatic AK-47 after the event. To get a chance to win the gun, sign up for the free giveaway by filling out an entry form at Allen Arms (the owner is no relation to the candidate).

The Post and Courier

It’s definitely an attention getter alright, out of the box thinking at its finest.  I don’t know how politically savvy it really is, though.  In principle, the gun give away doesn’t bother me, it’s more of the model of said gun.  AK-47s have a pretty negative connotation associated with them since they seem to be the firearm du jour of your friendly neighborhood gang and inner city thug who love to “pop a cap in yo cop ass.”  I would go more with some kind of expensive decorative pistol that can be proudly displayed, yet still deployed for that good ole American home invasion.

Senator John Thune (R-SD) has sponsored an amendment to the hate crimes legislation that will be voted on tomorrow (July 22) that will allow citizens with concealed carry permits in their state to legally carry in any other state in the country that also permits concealed carry.  Call our U.S. Senators now and tell them to support this amendment.

South Carolina

UPDATE: The bill failed 58-39 (it needed 60). Both N.C. Senators, Burr and Hagan, voted for it.

A third-year sociology and psychology student at the College of Charleston said hearing that it’s now legal for firearms to be in enclosed compartments in vehicles on her campus makes her feel anything but safe.

But that’s exactly what soon could be the case since South Carolina’s concealed weapon permit (CWP) holders now can legally have firearms in closed compartments of their car while on school property, furthering the reach of the pro-gun-rights activists and angering the anti-gun-rights movement.

“I think they should not be anywhere near a school or near any sort of students in our teenage years,” Christeen Faucette, 20, said. “If people know there could be guns in a car next to them, it could definitely affect the college campuses and schools with crime.”

The Post and Courier

Yeah, I think it could definitely affect the schools with crime as well, as in cutting it down since would be criminals would know that people on the campus could now have access to a firearm to stop them.

Now enter the ill informed bed wetters.

“I think the more places that guns are allowed, the more chance there is of more injury and gun violence,” said Evelyn Dolven, the South Carolina Million Mom March chapter spokeswoman.

Dolven, a 70-year-old retired public school teacher, said she doesn’t think having guns on campus would increase safety, even in the event of a shooting.

“It’s best to leave protection to the people who are trained to protect, such as the campus police and the campus security people,” Dolven said.

Right, because the campus police at Virginia Tech were oh so affective at preventing the thirty something deaths they had when Fu Man Chu went on a rampage a few years ago.

I would like to introduce Miss Faucette and Ms Dolven to a gentleman and hero named Joel Myrick of Pearl City, Mississippi.  Myrick was the vice-principal of Pearl High School on October 1, 1997 when a 16 year old student went on a shooting rampage.  Myrick kept a gun in his car and when the shooting began retrieved the gun and stopped the student from shooting anyone else.

Luke would be Luke Woodham, the 16-year-old who is charged with slashing his mother to death with a butcher knife and then opening fire on his classmates with a rifle. He is accused of killing Lydia Dew, 17, and his former girlfriend, Christina Menefee, and wounding seven other students, leaving them bleeding on the polished floor of the school cafeteria.

Roy Balentine, the principal, dashed out of his office when he heard the first shots.

“I ran out to see if something possibly malfunctioned,” he said. “I was hoping that’s what it was, but I knew it sounded like gunshots.”

He saw Woodham, about 15 or 20 feet away, wearing a big, blue coat and holding a rifle. Balentine dangled both arms to show how Woodham held the rifle low out in front of him.

Fearing Woodham would come for him next, Balentine ran to his office to call the police. As he dialed, more shots rang out. More students fell.

Minutes later, Assistant Principal Joel Myrick chased Woodham down outside the school, held him at bay with a .45-caliber automatic pistol he kept in his truck in the school parking lot. He forced Woodham to the ground and put his foot on the youth’s neck.

“I think he’s a coward,” Myrick said. “I had my weapon pointed at his face, and he didn’t want to die.”

Lubbock-Avalanche Journal

Amazingly, we have to keep reminding people like Faucette and Dolven and all the others apparently too weak to be willing to defend themselves that criminals like Luke Woodham don’t obey the restrictions of gun free zones. If they cared about the law then they probably wouldn’t be criminals, would they.

Sales at York County gun stores and pawn shops have as much as doubled since November’s election of a Democrat for president, local gun merchants report, as customers fear tighter gun control measures could be on the horizon. And since then, the number of federal firearm background checks required to own a gun have surpassed previous years by 25 percent to 50 percent a month, FBI statistics show.

Many gun owners at Nichols Store recently said they were concerned the Obama administration would make it more difficult to own a gun. The hunters, hobbyists and self-defenders said they frequent the store several times a month to buy supplies.

The Herald

Are people overracting to the Obama administration?  Yeah, probably, but it’s understandable why.  Neither Obama nor the far left wing that is currently in control of the Democrat party have been friends to gun owners and the Second Amendment.  Throw that in with the recent Supreme Court ruling in Heller v D.C. in which the court only upheld an individual right to bear arms by a 5 to 4 margin (it should have been 9-0) it’s quite reasonable for people to speculate that a possible attempt at some kind of gun grab by the government is on the horizon.

I own a gun.  I’m not running out and stockpiling ammo because I don’t think we’re that close to anything like that kind of tyranny yet.  There are plenty of pro-gun Democrats in Congress who would never support restrictive firearms legislation and can’t because of the districts they represent.  But, the path we’re on will no doubt bring us to a showdown over this issue with the Feds some day and when that happens, you’d better take cover.  It will be bloody and ugly.

An Irmo pizza delivery man ambushed by a group of young men shot and killed one of his assailants, an Irmo High School senior, late Saturday, causing the others to flee, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said this afternoon.

When Miller exited his car, the young man began to beat him. Miller saw two other men come out of a nearby woods and began running away. As he ran, he drew a .45 caliber Taurus handgun from a fanny pack. As the man continued to beat him, Miller fired, hitting him in the upper torso. The shots caused the two other men to run off.

The State

My applause to Mr. Miller!  Hopefully this incident will make other young, misguided children think twice before pulling this kind of stunt.  This man may have very well saved his own life by being armed, but no doubt members of the anti-gun crowd will be weaping for the 17 year old dead thug.  Frankly, he should have shot all four of them.

I am curious, however, to follow up on how Pizza Hut handles the situation.  I remember reading a story a year or two ago about another pizza delivery driver who also shot an assailant who tried to rob him and he ended up getting fired by the pizza place he was employed by for having the gun on him.  I don’t remember which company it was.

Relatives and neighbors expressed shock over the death of Sturgill, whom they said had been an honor student and musician. His family said he planned to join the Army, with a goal of becoming an airborne ranger, after graduating from Irmo High School this year.

Yeah, everyone is always “shocked.”  They can never “imagine” how this could happen.  I guess Sturgill found out the hard way that boys who steal and assault other people don’t become army rangers.

Here are his compriates now sitting behind bars.

What a clean cut group of responsible looking youth, especially the kid with the troll doll hair.

U.S. House- N.C. Delegation

2009 BUDGET, CONGRESSIONAL PAY: Voting 245 for and 178 against, the House on Wednesday sent the Senate a $410 billion appropriations bill (HR 1105) to fund agencies now on stopgap budgets. The bill denies a congressional pay raise in 2009.
Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Larry Kissell, D-8; Heath Shuler, D-11; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13
Voting no: Walter Jones, R-3; Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10

EARMARKS, ETHICS PROBE: Voting 226 for and 182 against, the House on Wednesday killed a motion (H Res 189) to open an Ethics Committee probe of suspected links between House members’ receipt of campaign contributions and their sponsorship of earmarks that benefit the contributor. A yes vote was to kill the motion.
Voting yes: Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Shuler, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Kissell, Myrick, McHenry
Not voting: Butterfield
Hope and change… hope and change. And something about the most ethical Congress in history. Yeah, anyone else remember any of that? Didn’t think so.

BANKRUPTCY, MORTGAGES: Voting 224 for and 198 against, the House on Thursday set debate rules for a bill (HR 1106) that gives bankruptcy courts authority to ease the terms of mortgages on principal residences in Chapter 13 proceedings. Final action on this part of President Obama’s anti-foreclosure plan was then delayed for several days. A yes vote was to advance the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Jones, Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler
Because it’s so obviously the government’s job to step in and protect people who bought property they can’t afford from all those big bad banks. Whatever happened to contracts being, I don’t know… binding? Or the government staying out private business?

PRIMATES AS PETS: Voting 323 for and 95 against, the House on Tuesday sent the Senate a bill (HR 80) to ban interstate commerce in nonhuman primates such as chimpanzees. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller.
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry
And now the government does what it does best- react to problems in all due haste… after the ape sh-t’s already hit the fan. I don’t think I have a problem with this, and I’d go further. As Libertarian as I am, there are too many irresponsible pet owners out there who are hurting other people by having these crazy animals. I think states should start licensing these things, charge a big fee, and make sure only a responsible person is allowed to own a chimp, or a 25-foot Burmese Python.

U.S. Senate

SECRETARY OF LABOR SOLIS: Voting 80 for and 17 against, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed Hilda L. Solis, 51, a member of Congress from California, as the 25th U.S. secretary of labor. A yes vote was to confirm Solis.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R

D.C. CONGRESSIONAL SEAT: The Senate on Thursday passed, 61 for and 37 against, a bill (S 160) expanding the House of Representatives from 435 to 437 seats by establishing the District of Columbia as a congressional district and awarding Utah a fourth congressional district. D.C. presumably would elect a Democratic representative and Utah a Republican. The new members would take office in 2011. The bill is now before the House. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Hagan
Voting no: Burr
How telling is it that the U.S. Senate can do something blatantly unconstitutional, and no one bats an eye? The Constitution clearly says that only states get representatives. D.C. is NOT a state. Hopefully this will be overturned. Kay Hagan and her 60 comrades should be ashamed of themselves for violating their oath to uphold the Constitution.

RETROCESSION TO MARYLAND: Voting 30 for and 67 against, the Senate on Thursday rejected a plan to give the District of Columbia full representation in Congress by ceding nearly all of its 69 square miles back to Maryland, from which it was created in 1790. The amendment was offered to S 160 (above). A yes vote backed retrocession.
Voting yes: Burr
Voting no: Hagan
What the hell does Richard Burr have against Maryland?

D.C. GUN LAWS: Voting 62 for and 36 against, the Senate on Thursday amended S 160 (above) to deny the District of Columbia government authority to enact laws restricting private ownership or use of firearms. In part, the amendment would negate laws such as D.C.’s prohibition on gun ownership by persons voluntarily committed to mental institutions and its bans on armor-piercing sniper rifles and military-style semiautomatic weapons. A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Burr

FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: Voting 87 for and 11 against, the Senate on Thursday amended S 160 (above) to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating its Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to air competing viewpoints on hotly contested issues. The doctrine’s repeal in 1987 cleared the way for the rise of talk radio. A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Burr
It’s official- Kay Hagan has finally done something I agree with. Good job Kay!

Gun Owners of America

Thursday, January 29, 2009

 

It was a disappointing result, to be sure. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the nomination of Eric Holder yesterday by a 17-2 vote.

Only Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John Cornyn (R-TX) voted against the anti-gun nominee for Attorney General.

One of the things that gravely hurt us in committee was Senator Orrin Hatch’s support for Holder. Even though Hatch holds a lukewarm “C” rating with GOA, he is generally viewed as “pro-gun” on the Hill. His support for Holder certainly pulled a lot of Senators with him from his side of the aisle.

I wonder what Holder believes that a citizen should able to do to protect themselves in their own house? As a Endowment (Life) member of the NRA I believe that Holder is a threat to the US Constitution.

The Bush Administration has struck down a Reagan era restriction on the banning of firearms in national parks.  That means while you’re camping and hiking through the Smokey Mountains now you can keep Ole Bessie with you.  The anti-gun alarmists have already turned their Fruit of the Looms into a fudge factory.

A group representing park rangers, retirees and conservation organizations said the rule change will lead to confusion for visitors, rangers and other law enforcement agencies.

“Once again, political leaders in the Bush administration have ignored the preferences of the American public by succumbing to political pressure, in this case generated by the National Rifle Association,” said Bill Wade, president of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

“This regulation will put visitors, employees and precious resources of the National Park System at risk.

Asheville Citizen-Times

Like who?  Who is going to be put at risk as you’re camping out in the middle of the mountains, the other zero people within a 30 mile radius?  If anything, this makes hikers and campers a lot more safe from attacks by wild animals or in case they do run into some nut bag from disturbia.  Take a qualude, Mr. Wade and chill out.  Everywhere you go you’re around someone who is carrying a gun and unforunately, you’re still here, aren’t you.

South Carolina has a tax free sale today on firearms all across the state so run out and stock up before it’s too late to prepare for the Gulag.

So much for “I support the Second Amendment,” and so much for the notion of “change.”
Media reports say President-elect Barack Obama has selected Eric Holder as his Attorney General, and that Holder may already have accepted the offer. Holder, as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno during the Clinton Administration, said that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right, but instead protects the right to have a firearm
when serving with a militia. After leaving office, Holder stuck to that assertion when he signed Janet Reno’s brief to the Supreme Court in the Heller case, which stated, “The Second Amendment does not protect firearms possession or use that is unrelated to participation in a well-regulated militia.”

I would like Dan Blue to respond to this appointment. Is Dan Blue against the 2nd Amendment? Is Dan Blue against the other parts of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Since the Nov. 4 election, thousands of people have flooded gun dealers because of the belief that an Obama presidency – backed by Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress – will bring tighter gun control laws. After seeing that Obama supports making permanent the 1994 assault weapon ban, gun lovers are determined to beat him to the punch.

The result has been Christmas come early for dealers. Jim’s Gun Jobbery in Fayetteville sold more guns on a recent Saturday than on last year’s Christmas Eve, typically one of the busiest days of the year.

The Sun News

This doens’t surprise me.  Barack Obama’s record on guns is abysmal.  He has supported just about every gun control or confiscatory law that he has voted for in his political career.  The assault weapons ban was a joke to begin with.  The classification of what makes a gun an assault weapon has mostly to do with the grip, not the amount or speed of rounds that are fired from it.  Furthermore, only about 3% of gun crimes were committed with so called assault weapons prior to the 1994 ban which expired a few years back.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rebecca Yount

October 29, 2008
(828) 441-2006

National Rifle Association Endorses McHenry

HICKORY – The McHenry for Congress campaign today announced that the National Rifle Association (NRA) Political Victory Fund endorsed the reelection of Congressman Patrick McHenry and awarded him an “A” rating for his pro-Second Amendment voting record.

In a letter to Congressman McHenry, the NRA wrote, “During your tenure in the House, you consistently supported a strong commitment to the Second Amendment and our hunting heritage.  We urge our members and all other gun owners and sportsmen in the tenth congressional district of North Carolina to vote for your reelection to the U.S House of Representatives.”

Last year, Congressman McHenry co-signed an amicus brief submitted to Supreme Court in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.  The amicus brief argued that the Second Amendment was intended to protect an individual’s right to gun ownership.  On June 26 of this year, the Court permanently enshrined this individual right in overturning D.C.’s ban on handguns.

At the time, Congressman McHenry said, “The right to bear arms is a basic, fundamental right in this country.  I’m glad the Supreme Court made it clear that this right is guaranteed to every individual citizen by the Second Amendment.  Shame on the four justices who blatantly disregarded the explicit text of our Constitution.”

“The sportsmen of Western North Carolina know that Patrick McHenry is a straight shooter.  He can count on our support on Election Day,” stated Monty Woods of Lenoir, Chairman of Gun Owners for McHenry.

Patrick McHenry is a member of the National Rifle Association and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, a bipartisan group of allies for sportsmen in Congress.

###

NRA-ILA

Hello, my name is Rich Pearson and I have been active in the firearm rights movement for over 40 years. For the past 15 years, I have served in the Illinois state capitol as the chief lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association.

I lobbied Barack Obama extensively while he was an Illinois State Senator. As a result of that experience, I know Obama’s attitudes toward guns and gun owners better than anyone. The truth be told, in all my years in the Capitol I have never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner than Barack Obama.

If you are a dedicated gun owner that believes in the 2nd Admendment you should not vote for Barack Obama. Obama has served on the most anti-gun foundation in America and was supporting the DC gun ban before he flopped on it. I’ll believe that Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman before I believe Obama was not very good friends with William Ayers.