Christopher Gerrit Johnson found his plans to vote in Tuesday’s primary temporarily stymied at the Strasburg Police Department before authorities agreed he had a right to cast his ballot and allowed him to do so.
Johnson’s initial trouble in voting at Strasburg High School, his designated polling place, stemmed from a “no trespassing” order banning him from Shenandoah County Public Schools property. The order was issued after an incident in mid-December when Johnson entered Sandy Hook Elementary School with a board bearing the words “high powered rifle.”
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A gunman with an assault-style rifle killed at least six people in Santa Monica on Friday before police shot him to death in a gunfight in the Santa Monica College library, authorities said.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks told reporters the rampage began at a house in the coastal city before the gunman, dressed all in black, made his way to Santa Monica College.
Seabrooks said he killed two people in the house, which caught fire, two more people as he moved several blocks toward the campus, and then two more on campus.
He entered the library and fired on other people but didn’t hit them, Seabrooks said. Read more…
Much is being made of the Georgia mom who shot a home intruder with a crow bar multiple times with her .38 as a symbol of why America needs a gun in every home. Using this story as a case in point leaves most of us scratching our heads. So what? Good for the lady. Is the focus because she is ‘the little lady’ or because she had a .38 or because she hit the guy? I think most people totally support this individual, not because she is a woman but because she successfully protected her family and herself. This situation has nothing to do with extremism. A .38 isn’t a military-type weapon and she had the family gun in a gun safe.
What makes this story stand out or unique? Nothing I can see. No one is threatening to create a situation where this woman could not have a .38. I have a .38. No big deal. If I have one, it isn’t unique. To even suggest that any of the gun safety groups would alter the gun rights in the above situation is disingenuous at best. That isn’t what the national discussion is about. Most of us support the Georgia mother’s right to not only have this gun in her possession but also her right to use it in this situation.
The National Rifle Association kicked off its annual convention Friday with a warning to its members they are engaged in a “culture war” that stretches beyond gun rights, further ramping up emotions surrounding the gun control debate.
NRA First Vice President James Porter, a Birmingham, Ala., attorney who will assume the organization’s presidency Monday, issued a full-throated challenge to President Barack Obama in the wake of a major victory regarding gun control and called on members to dig in for a long fight that will stretch into the 2014 elections.
Additionally, Porter described the ‘fight’ as a ‘culture war.”
“This is not a battle about gun rights,” Porter said, calling it “a culture war.”
“(You) here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors,” said Porter, whose father was NRA president from 1959-1960.
Rob Heagy, a former parole officer from San Francisco, agreed with Porter’s description of a culture war.
“It is a cultural fight on those 10 guarantees,” he said, referring to the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. “Mr. Obama said he wasn’t going after our guns. As soon as the Connecticut thing happened, he came after our guns.”
That theme carried throughout the day and reached a crescendo in a 3 ½-hour political rally punctuated by fiery speeches from state and national conservative leaders.
Yawn. Not much has changed. Much chest thumping and knuckle dragging.
WASHINGTON — Adolphus Busch IV, heir to the Busch family brewing fortune, resigned his lifetime membership in the National Rifle Association on Thursday, writing in a letter to NRA President David Keene, “I fail to see how the NRA can disregard the overwhelming will of its members who see background checks as reasonable.” Read more…
There isn’t that much to say. Background checks help cut down on the wrong person getting a gun. Shame on those senators who voted NO.
So close but so far away. Patricia Maisch shouted out what many folks felt when the final vote was announced :
One gun control advocate, Patricia Maisch, shouted “Shame on you!” from the Senate balcony as the vote total was announced. In 2011, Ms. Maisch helped wrestle a magazine of bullets away from the gunman who shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, R-Ariz., and 18 others in Tucson. (post-gazette.comj)
Most Americans support background checks. To say no to background checks is definitely extremism. Those who voted no cow-towed to the 7% NRA extremism. 90% of the American people supported this bill. Those who voted no will have a surrprise waiting for them at the polls.
Good people have done the wrong thing. They caved to the pressure.
Nikki Geiovanni saw that something was wrong with Cho almost immediately. If she could tell, why couldn’t the other people tell? Why couldn’t Tech administration? Why didn’t someone step in when Nikki refused to teach him? Why was he allowed to buy a gun?
What has changed since that horrible, snowy day in Blackburg, 6 years ago? What has changed to at least attempt to keep the horrific events of that day from reoccurring? Nothing I am aware of. It’s even easier to buy a gun and mental health services have been cut back both statewise and locally.
The National Rifle Association said Wednesday the group is unequivocally opposed to the newly-struck compromise plan to expand background checks — and threatened that it may seek to penalize lawmakers who vote for what it deems “anti-gun” measures by giving them poor grades in their rating system.
The warning to members of Congress came just hours after a compromise on expanding background checks for gun purchasers was announced, a deal that the NRA itself participated closely in.
“Expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools,” top NRA lobbyist Chris Cox wrote in a letter sent to senators Wednesday night. “Given the importance of these issues, votes on all anti-gun amendments or proposals will be considered in NRA’s future candidate evaluations.”
The teenager had been drinking, and his friends drove him to his home in Sterling at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, law enforcement officials said. But instead of walking into his house on the quiet cul-de-sac, they said, the teen entered a similar-looking red brick home in the same block.
Inside, the startled homeowner confronted the teen, authorities said, before shooting and killing him. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office described the shooting as a homeowner killing an unknown intruder, although officials released few details about the shooting.
WARNING: Graphic simulations included regarding the Sandy Hook massacre.
Rachel Maddow reports on how much easier high capacity magazines made the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. She takes us step by step though the 5 minutes where 30 people are killed.
Ted Cruz has the audacity to speak down to Senator Dianne Feinstein. Cruz is no stranger to rudeness.
Dianne Feinstein’s bill that includes high capacity magazine restrictions as well as restrictions on certain weapons was voted out of committee by Democrats. No Republicans voted for her bill.
Many people who love guns and coffee particularly appreciate Starbucks. In the 12 states with unfettered rights to “open carry” a gun, including Virginia, and the 16 others that are mostly open carry, Starbucks has rebuffed attempts by gun control activists to keep guns out of the national coffee shop chain.
So on Friday, 2-22 (for the Second Amendment), gun rights supporters are holding “Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day,” and will be drinking their joe while openly packing their heat. In Northern Virginia, this is being organized by Ed Levine, who already has an “I Love Guns and Coffee” website (there are two) and mints a guns and coffee challenge coin, seen above. He wants 2-22 to be an annual day of support for Starbucks by gun owners.
I guess it is a good time to not go to Starbucks. I don’t like being around strangers carrying weapons. I know Scout’s argument about being able to assess the environment. I tend to be more the “you can’t judge a book by its cover” type. I see no reason to pack heat (unless its your job) in the suburbs of Northern Virginia.
I don’t feel one bit safer seeing someone armed in any store. In fact, most of the time I leave. I don’t know that pistol-packing Harry isn’t some crazed nut job who is getting ready to blow my brains out.
Ed Levine of Virginia Defense League is heading up the appreciation day here in Virginia. He has chosen 2-22 as the official gun owner Starbucks Appreciation Day. 2-22 represents the 2nd amendment.
Starbucks has taken the position that rather than engage in a political uproar, they will simply follow state law wherever the store is located. They are probably smart. They aren’t supporting any political cause, just following state law. I wonder what home office thinks of the alteration of their logo? Mr. Levine should not be surprised if he gets a call from corporate lawyers.
The Virginia General Assembly on Thursday passed legislation that would seal the records of all concealed handgun permits, handing a victory to gun owners who said the measure would ensure their privacy and perhaps their safety from criminals who might use such information to target them.
“We’ve been wanting this for years,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. “It wasn’t as much about guns as it was about privacy.”
The bill – which began in the evenly divided Senate as a measure that would shield only the identities of permit holders who also had protective orders – was later amended in the GOP-led House to prohibit disclosure of information on anyone with a concealed handgun permit.
The House’s version carried by a 76 to 23 vote. On Thursday, the Senate passed the amended bill by a vote of 31 to 9. It now heads to the governor’s desk.
Wayne LaPierre issued a statement to the Daily Caller in the form of an essay:
(excerpt)
Before I tell you how the NRA and our members are going to Stand And Fight politically and in the courts, let’s acknowledge that all over this country, tens of millions of Americans are already preparing to Stand And Fight to protect their families and homes.
These good Americans are prudently getting ready to protect themselves.
It has always been sensible for good citizens to own and carry firearms for lawful protection against violent criminals who prey on decent people.
I thought Rep. Jackson-Lee was going to hurl. However, she was very gracious.
Nugent was oily, put his hands on her when not invited to do so, and was oh so full of himself, but other than those tings, was polite, engaging and yes, braggiose. He kept his opinion of Hillary to himself.
He did suck up and try to entice her by with his remarks about black musicians in the early days of Rock n Roll which predated even Nugent. However the dig about Peter, Paul and Mary was just stupid. They were an entirely different genre of music.
So to all those who asked “Where’s the Nuge?” I hope I have answered your question. He really should have worn a tie. That’s just what you do. Hell, he could have even worn a bolo tie. A bolo would have allowed him to keep his Texas cred.
