Survival And Prosperity

Some Chicago Clergy Push For Statewide Gun Registration, ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

Some men and women of the cloth in Chicago are joining Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Pat Quinn in their push for more gun “control” in the state of Illinois. Lolly Bowean wrote on the Chicago Tribune website Friday night:

In an attempt to call attention to the city’s increasing violence, a coalition of Chicago clergy announced an effort Friday to gather 100,000 signatures on a petition to support legislation that would require gun owners statewide to register their weapons.

The citywide petition drive, starting this weekend and continuing until the state legislature reconvenes in November, seeks to send a message to elected officials that the owners of assault weapons should have to register the devices, said the Rev. Ira J. Acree, who helped organize the movement.

“Our sons and daughters are dying and being gunned down,” said Acree, who is pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin, a community that has been hit hard by gun violence. “Rifles, AK-47’s and machine guns should not be in the hands of ordinary citizens. Nobody needs an assault weapon that was made for the military.”

Rifles “should not be in the hands of ordinary citizens?”

From the Chicago Clergy Coalition website:

Petition for Common Sense Gun Legislation

The recent gun violence that killed six year old Aliyah Shell in Little Village and 7 year old Heaven Sutton on the Westside as well as the massacres in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater and against the Sikh Community in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, demonstrates that we must stop the senseless killings by fire arms. We believe that requiring handguns to be titled like cars and banning military style assault weapons from our communities are two reasonable solutions to save lives. We urge lawmakers to enact stronger common sense gun laws to protect our communities from this epidemic known as gun violence.

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

According to Bowean, the Coalition consists of around 130 ministers of all faiths from throughout the city.

Stay tuned…

Source:

Bowean, Lolly. “Clergy call for statewide gun registration.” Chicago Tribune. 7 Sep. 2012. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-clergy-call-for-statewide-gun-registration-20120907,0,6465754.story). 10 Sep. 2012.

Tags: AK-47, assault weapons, Chicago, Chicago Clergy Coalition, gun bans, gun control, gun registration, handguns, Illinois, Ira J. Acree, machine guns, Pat Quinn, Rahm Emanuel, rifles

Signs Of The Time, Part 48

Blake Lively? Never heard of her. Until this morning, that is. From the FOX 411 blog yesterday afternoon:

Blake Lively is on the cover of Marie Claire this month, promoting her new film “Savages.” The actress opened up about her desire to break away from the role that made her famous, as well as her newest character…

On the hardest part of getting ready for her role in the new film, ‘Savages’: “I went to the gun range and learned how to shoot a gun for the first time. It was awful. I asked myself, ‘Why were these things ever invented?’

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Perhaps one of her colleagues- Bethany- might help answer that question…

YouTube Video

As our ancestors found out, rocks aren’t the greatest tools for self-defense.

Not even those free ones.

Tags: Bethany movie, Bethany Prince, Blake Lively, Krinkov, machine guns, Peter Van Horn, Savages movie, Totally Awesome Guns & Range

Questionable Ipsos/Reuters Poll About Gun Rights And Regulations

Questions abound concerning an Ipsos poll on gun rights and regulations that was recently conducted for Thomson Reuters. From the Ipsos press release this morning:

Washington, DC – These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters from April 9th-12th, 2012 about gun rules and regulations.

• The NRA is a reasonably popular organization. Unsurprisingly, favorability towards the NRA is stronger among Republicans but a majority of Democrats have a favorable attitude towards the organization.
• As comparison points, we also asked about the NAACP, ACLU and AARP. AARP has the strongest favorability rates of the four organizations. Favorability towards the ACLU and NAACP are both strongly influenced by partisan ID.
• Americans are broadly supportive of restrictions or regulations on gun ownership.
• Only 6% say there should be no or very few restrictions on gun ownership.
• 62% oppose allowing people to bring a firearm into a church, workplace or retail establishment.
• 91% support background checks for gun purchasers.
• 69% support limiting the number of guns a person could purchase in a given time frame.
• 74% support laws limiting the sale of automatic weapons.
• However, Americans are also broadly supportive of a number of pro-gun laws including:
• Majorities support concealed carry laws and allowing the use of deadly force, both in homes and public places.
• Framing this discussion, Americans remain concerned with crime and are concerned about what is to be done about it.
• Almost half of Americans think crime rates are going up in their communities.
• Significant majorities do not think police can stop all crime from happening
• As a consequence, large majorities believe regular people need to step up to prevent crimes (leading to the Trayvon Martin incident).

I’m surprised the poll asked about automatic weapons (i.e. machine guns, according to actual survey question) as opposed to semi-automatic firearms. Machine guns are already highly restricted for law-abiding citizens. I wrote back on June 6, 2011:

According to the well-known firearms resource website GunCite.com, which focuses on a “comprehensive presentation of gun control and Second Amendment issues; analysis of firearms statistics, research, and gun control policies”:

It has been unlawful since 1934 (The National Firearms Act) for civilians to own machine guns without special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department . Machine guns are subject to a $200 tax every time their ownership changes from one federally registered owner to another, and each new weapon is subject to a manufacturing tax when it is made, and it must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in its National Firearms Registry.

To become a registered owner, a complete FBI background investigation is conducted, checking for any criminal history or tendencies toward violence, and an application must be submitted to the ATF including two sets of fingerprints, a recent photo, a sworn affidavit that transfer of the NFA firearm is of “reasonable necessity,” and that sale to and possession of the weapon by the applicant “would be consistent with public safety.” The application form also requires the signature of a chief law enforcement officer with jurisdiction in the applicant’s residence.

Since the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of May 19, 1986, ownership of newly manufactured machine guns has been prohibited to civilians. Machine guns which were manufactured prior to the Act’s passage are regulated under the National Firearms Act, but those manufactured after the ban cannot ordinarily be sold to or owned by civilians.

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

GunCite also adds:

Twenty-five states have no further restrictions on civilian ownership of machine guns (some require registration with the state) than what is required by federal law. Other states have either placed further restrictions or outlawed operable machine guns to civilians entirely.

As existing laws mean automatic firearms are already highly-regulated for law-abiding citizens, and it’s semi-automatic guns (one trigger pull, one shot only) that are presently under attack by gun “control” supporters, in a poll about gun rights/regulation one would reasonably expect a question about limiting firearm sales to be about semi-automatics rather than machine guns.

In addition, note the following excerpt from the press release:

As a consequence, large majorities believe regular people need to step up to prevent crimes (leading to the Trayvon Martin incident)

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Now, the original poll question:

Regular people need to step up to help prevent crime from happening

So where did “(leading to the Trayvon Martin incident)” come from?

Scratching my head about this poll.

You can read the entire press release and access the survey data on the Ipsos website here.

Tags: AARP, ACLU, automatic firearms, BATFE, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, CCW, concealed-carry, crime rates, deadly force, Democrats, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Firearms Owners' Protection Act, gun backround checks, gun control, gun laws, gun regulations, GunCite.com, Ipsos, Ipsos/Reuters poll, machine guns, NAACP, National Firearms Act, National Firearms Registry, National Rifle Association, NRA, police, Republicans, semi-automatic firearms, Thomson Reuters, Trayvon Martin

Al-Qaeda Inspiring Gun Control Supporters To Disarm Americans?

Something tells me certain anti-gun individuals/groups will be using the incorrect statements made within this video as “justification” for more gun control.

-Except from my June 6 post about a recently-released Al-Qaeda video in which U.S.-born interpreter/spokesman Adam Gadahn, aka “Azzam the American,” called on Muslims living in the West to use the “tools” available to them- “easily-obtainable firearms”- to wage war against the “enemies of Islam.”

Sure enough, citing this video and the threat of terrorism, the Violence Policy Center, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Legal Community Against Violence, and States United to Prevent Gun Violence, along with fourteen state and regional “gun violence prevention” organizations, sent President Obama a letter dated June 7, 2011, asking for more gun control measures to be implemented.

-Excerpt from my June 8 post

And now, there’s this from Devlin Barrett in the Metropolis blog on the Wall Street Journal website yesterday:

A gun control group founded and funded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg is launching a new television ad this week using al Qaeda propaganda to urge the closing of the so-called gun show loophole.

The Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, whose membership includes about 600 mayors, said the ad will run on cable news channels.

The commercial features al Qaeda video of American-born spokesman Adam Gadahn…

Yep, it’s that same video they’re using. The one in which “Azzam” erroneously states:

You can down to a gun show at the local convention center, and come away with a fully-automatic assault rifle without a background check, and most likely, without having to show an identification card.

But as I pointed out in that June 6 post:

Knowledgeable firearm enthusiasts will tell you that “Azzam” is incorrect, as fully-automatic assault rifles, or “machine guns,” are extremely difficult to legally obtain in the United States. According to the well-known firearms resource website GunCite.com, which focuses on a “comprehensive presentation of gun control and Second Amendment issues; analysis of firearms statistics, research, and gun control policies”:

It has been unlawful since 1934 (The National Firearms Act) for civilians to own machine guns without special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department. Machine guns are subject to a $200 tax every time their ownership changes from one federally registered owner to another, and each new weapon is subject to a manufacturing tax when it is made, and it must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in its National Firearms Registry.

To become a registered owner, a complete FBI background investigation is conducted, checking for any criminal history or tendencies toward violence, and an application must be submitted to the ATF including two sets of fingerprints, a recent photo, a sworn affidavit that transfer of the NFA firearm is of “reasonable necessity,” and that sale to and possession of the weapon by the applicant “would be consistent with public safety.” The application form also requires the signature of a chief law enforcement officer with jurisdiction in the applicant’s residence.

Since the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of May 19, 1986, ownership of newly manufactured machine guns has been prohibited to civilians. Machine guns which were manufactured prior to the Act’s passage are regulated under the National Firearms Act, but those manufactured after the ban cannot ordinarily be sold to or owned by civilians.

Disappointingly, the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns ended up incorporating Gadahn’s untrue statements about fully-automatic firearms into their TV ad to scare John and Suzi Q. Public into contacting their congressperson to push for more gun control.

Yeah, Main Street really appreciates being deceived at a time when confidence in their elected leaders continues to erode.

But, before I get off-topic, since it’s not too difficult for just about anyone to obtain that information about machine guns, the following just begs to be asked:

Is Gadahn and the Al-Qaeda propaganda machine completely inept… or are they more devious than most probably give them credit for?

Consider this. If I’m a Muslim living in America who is suddenly inspired by this video, and proceed to stop by the local gun show asking about fully-automatic weapons, think that won’t send up a big red flag? It seems outrageous that Al-Qaeda would disseminate such erroneous information to sympathizers in the United States. The terrorist organization might as well be booking them reservations for an extended stay at Guantanamo.

However… what if Al-Qaeda’s propaganda arm meant to include those incorrect statements about machine guns in the video, anticipating (correctly) that supporters of gun control in the United States would use it to push for more controls on firearms?

Perhaps Gadahn clued them in that it would only be a matter time before some group, like the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, used Al-Qaeda’s video and its untrue statements as part of some scare campaign to impose more gun control in the United States.

Which ultimately benefits Al-Qaeda should an “American Mumbai” or some other operation targeting the United States mainland happen to be in the works.

The less armed citizens around that could thwart an operation, the better, in the terrorists’ minds.

And wouldn’t it be something if Al-Qaeda went so far as to start contributing funds to gun control efforts in an attempt to push disarmament along faster?

Devious, indeed.

As devious as the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns using terrorist propaganda containing falsehoods to push their agenda.

But that’s politicians for you.

[Editor's note: It has come to my attention that at 23 seconds into the TV ad the following appears at the bottom of the screen in small print- "Terror suspects can buy semi-automatic assault rifles from private sellers with no background check." Some people are claiming that the presence of this "disclaimer" means the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns have alerted the audience about the incorrect nature of Gadahn's statement concerning fully-automatic guns. However, if the group was so concerned about potentially deceiving the public with this erroneous claim, why didn't they just edit this statement out, like they did with other portions of the original Al-Qaeda video?]

Source:

Barrett, Devlin. “Al Qaeda Stars in Bloomberg’s Gun Control Push.” Metropolis. 28 June 2011. (http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/06/28/al-qaeda-stars-in-bloombergs-gun-control-push/?mod=google_news_blog). 29 June 2011.

Tags: Adam Gadahn, Al-Qaeda, American Mumbai, automatic firearms, Azzam the American, Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, federal government, gun control, local government, machine guns, Muslim extremists