Two weeks to the day that a heavily armed radicalized Muslim couple killed 14 people at a work holiday party in San Bernardino, California, President Barack Obama tried to reassure Americans nervous about terrorism. Flanked by top officials at the National Counterterrorism Center, Obama said there are no “specific and credible” threats to the homeland. New polls indicate more Americans are concerned about a terrorist attack than gun violence, although one survey shows seven in 10 believe mass shootings have become a normal part of American life.
The right to bear arms is among the most hotly debated constitutional issues. Demands for stricter gun control laws grow louder with each inexplicable act of violence: Sandy Hook, Columbine and, now, San Bernardino. The gun lobby and its supporters are no less pained by these tragedies, but say no law can stop a determined individual from buying a weapon. It is a familiar debate – one that continued on the week that first of the victims of San Bernardino were laid to rest.
Please, Please Convince Me Gun Control Will Work
Cynthia M. Allen – Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ironically, gun crimes are highest in cities with strict gun laws, like Washington, D.C., and Chicago, which should suggest to policy leaders that other factors are at play….
…Gun-control proponents argue that a ban on “assault weapons” would be a helpful step. But, as writer Rich Lowry points out, a study backed by the Department of Justice concluded that a prior version of the assault weapons ban would have effects on gun violence that were “small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.” …
I am eager to be convinced with facts, not emotions or politics, that proposed measures to increase gun control would save lives. But I’m still waiting.
This April 28, 1999 file photo shows a woman standing among 15 crosses posted on a hill above Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in remembrance of the 15 people who died during a school shooting on April 20, 1999. (AP)
Pull the Trigger, Guvs: The Nation’s State Chief Executives Must Do Much More to Keep Guns out of Dangerous Hands
The Editors – New York Daily News
Governors, who typically control state police, should take the lead in prosecuting when prohibited individuals attempt to buy guns and fail background checks.
They should require state and local law-enforcement to systematically track all guns used in crimes — and use the data to identify the largest sources of crime-enabling guns in their states.
They should conduct background checks for those with concealed-carry permits on a monthly basis to ensure that individuals remain eligible to wield weapons….
They should systematically grade gun dealers — to sanction those that run roughshod over sane regulations.
And more. Many governors — 32 of whom are Republican, and every bit as cowed by the NRA as the typical member of the House and Senate — will refuse to fill the vacuum created by a cowardly Congress.
Guns Have Always Been Regulated
Saul Cornell – The Atlantic
The Second Amendment was not designed to hobble government regulation.
At the time, men arrived for military service already armed with guns the government required them to purchase. Contrary to [Supreme Court justices] Thomas and Scalia, the law did not countenance Americans simply showing up with whatever weapons they owned—that is, what was in common use….
In other words, the Founders recognized that if left to the free market and people’s own preferences, America’s militias would be prepared to hunt turkeys, not fight a powerful European standing army….
The various militia regulations enacted by states in the colonial period and after the adoption of the Second Amendment specified what weapons were required to meet the legal obligation of citizens to serve in the militia. Failing to report to the militia properly armed with the right weapon could result in fines. If the Founders had understood the Second Amendment in the way Scalia and Thomas suggest, the United States would likely have lost the American Revolution.
“We will not be terrorized.” President Obama’s message after San Bernardino terror attack:
Obama Admin Is Willing to Run Roughshod Over Constitution for Gun Control Agenda
Daniel Mitchell – CNSNews
The New York Times just released polling data showing that a majority of Americans are against banning so-called assault weapons. Look at the bottom line and see how the numbers have dramatically moved in the right direction.
In reality, the types of guns that some politicians want to ban operate the same as other rifles (one bullet fired when the trigger is pulled), and they’re actually less powerful than ordinary hunting rifles….
You may remember that I wrote last week about the White House’s attempt to deny 2nd-amendment rights to people who get unilaterally placed on the no-fly list without any due process legal rights….
The 5th Amendment constitutionally guarantees that American citizens can’t be deprived of their rights in the absence of some sort of legal process.
The Obama Administration wants to preemptively curtail 2nd Amendment freedoms based on the arbitrary whims of bureaucrats.
In this Jan. 14, 2013 file photo, white roses bearing the faces of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are displayed on a telephone pole near the school in Newtown, Conn. (AP)