A Gun Controller? In Charge of Drug Policy?

Another gun control zealot has been named to a key leadership post in the Obama administration, but it is raising eyebrows.

Specifically, why are an individual's opinions on gun control being touted as the reason for his pick to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy?

Jeff Soyer at Alphecca has some thoughts, and links to several stories. This guy, who looks to be as bad as AG Eric Holder on the Second Amendment, has even demonized hunting shotguns as a tool for "hunting people."

Irrational, scary, nonsensical. Is this truly the "change" people say they voted for?

Florida Ammunition Shortage The Tip Of The Iceberg

Updated: Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 2:23 pm -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation issued an email recently alerting dealers that most manufacturers are working three shifts, 24/7 to try and meet the demand, but they are still six months behind in supplying enough ammunition to dealers.

The Huffington Post reported earlier this month that the shortage is driven by the wars in Iraq and Afganistan and police agencies stepping up training after the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States. Interestingly, the Post does not mention that private citizens have been stocking up on ammunition based on President Obama's well documented history of support for gun control measures and concerns over civil unrest in uncertain economic times. Frankly, many police agencies across the nation have curtailed their ammunition purchases because their budgets are close to being broke, meaning there is little extra money left for practice ammunition. Here in Central Ohio, at least one big police agency has scaled back the hours the range is open for qualifying -- not because of a shortage of ammo but because it simply doesn't have the budget for purchasing ammunition for practice. Which has resulted in officers buying and using their own ammunition for qualification purposes.

Further, there is a raw materials shortage. Which any hand-loader will tell you has been the case for nearly a year. Do you know what the world price for scrap brass is today?

And so on . . .



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Actually, the shortage is across the United States, but in Florida in particular firearms dealers and outdoor sports retailers are having a tough time keeping ammunition on the shelves. Worse, they are having trouble getting deliveries.




As pretty much everyone knows, sales of firearms and ammunition are up across the nation after the change in administrations in the White House. The anti-gun history of both the president and most of his key advisers, as well as the leadership of Congress, has thinking people ..well, thinking. And they are acting.



Its not surprising. Even here in the Buckeye State firearms sales are up, and people who have never before owned firearms are taking safety, marksmanship and CCW classes. Attendance at gun shows is up, as well, as people become more enlightened about the very liklihood of restrictions on either firearms purchases or possession. I have met people from urban areas and suburbs, alike, all saying the same thing. They have never been to a gun show before and they don't like the administration's nor the Congress' viewpoints on firearms and gun control.



It used to be said that Bill Clinton armed America when he pushed through the ban on so-called "assault weapons" in the early 1990s, and talked of restrictions on civilian access to ammunition. He is solely responsible for guns and ammo flying off the shelves over those next several years. Today, it is Obama and Company who are arming America. Its not about race, its not about a political party. It is about the Second Amendment and a right that an increasing number of Americans have never thought about . . . until now. It is about a president and his minions trying to have it both ways on the one civil right that protects the entire Bill of Rights.


Here in Ohio we are fortunate to have a pro-gun democrat governor in Ted Strickland. But his lieutentant governor, Lee Fisher, is not so friendly to lawful firearms ownership. Fisher, a former national board member of Handgun Control Inc., now known as the more civil-sounding (but just as dangerous) Brady Campaign, is forming an exploratory committee to look into a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by George Voinovich. Voinovich didn't like CCW, but he never pushed anti-gun legislation. Fisher, on the other hand, would likely be an advocate for increased gun control, a theory which has yet to prove it can do anything to fight crime.



There have been spot shortages around the nation regarding ammunition. With so few ammunitino manufacturers left in the U.S., and the U.S. military being the biggest customer right now, don't look for self defense, hunting and sporting ammo to be plentiful anytime soon.

Teacher Suspended For Photo With Gun On Her Facebook Page

How someone can be suspended from their job for exercising a constitutional right is beyond me, especially when it is only a photograph on a social networking site. It's not like the woman took a firearm into her school. And what is with the colleague who was "concerned"?

More than one school watcher is hoping the school system gets their collective pants sued off on this. The big mystery is why the teacher accepted the suspension.

Read it here.

Five Takes on DC v Heller

A new Ohio State Law Journal piece is out and the analysis of the Heller decision, which showed that the District of Columbia's draconian ban on handguns was grossly unconstitutional, is pretty comprehensive. Five major points are covered in this law article.

It is authored by Brannon P. Dennon, Cumberland School of Law, and Glenn Harlan Reynolds, University of Tennessee College of Law.

Worth reading. Take a look, make a copy then pass it on.

White House Regulatory Czar Advocates Banning Hunting, Giving Animals Rights To File Lawsuits

This is interesting.

In a 2007 speech at Harvard University, Cass Sunstein, President Obama's pick to be White House Office of Administration and Regulatory Affairs, said he advocated banning hunting eating meat. The regulatory czar, as the position is generally called, is responsible for every regulatory agency in the country, such as the EPA, and will oversee all administration rules.

This man will have power that most Americans do not understand.

In a 2004 book entitled, "Animal Rights -- Current Debates and New Directions," Mr. Sunstein advocated giving animals legal rights (with human beings as their advocates) to sue in court. In 2004 he also authored a book called, "The Second Bill of Rights." Here he essentially argues that our rights as Americans are inalienable, but are granted by the state. And can be taken away by the state.

Many opinions from the left and the right about this appoint ment. PETA and friends are rejoicing. Sportsmen and sportswomen are wary, as they should be.

Says the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom: "Think about every outrageous idea PETA and the Humane Society of the United States have ever had, and imagine them all having the force of federal law. This doesn't look good for hunters, ranchers, restaurateurs, biomedical researchers, or ordinary pet owners."

Without question, this is food for thought. Of course, Mr. Sunstein would not want that food to be meat. Change truly has come to Washington DC.

Don't ANY Of These People Pay Their Taxes?

Soooo . . .

Just so I have this right: The count is now up to four -- FOUR high-profile individuals who have been nominated to key posts in the Obama administration who are creating problems for the "transparent," "corruption free" new way of thinking in Washington DC. The most egregious being newly annointed Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (who oversees the Internal Revenue Service) whose ignorance of federal tax law was branded as no big deal. The latest being Rep. Hilda Solis, secretary of labor designee, whose Senate confirmation hearing was abruptly cancelled today when word got out that her husband yesterday had quietly, and quickly paid off tax liens against his business -- some as old as 16 years.

Two appointees dropped out of the running, though one -- Tom Daschle -- tried to tough it out.

Remember, every one of these folks, and thousands more who want to work for the new administration, were asked if they owned a gun when they filled out job applications. Amazing -- especially considering that if such a question about someone's religion were asked, there would be outrage. That such a question would appear on a job application was appalling to many. A shock, to say the least, since it has nothing to do with most positions in the departments of labor, state, justice, agriculture, defense, and so on. In was designed to be intrusive and controversial.

Which brings us back to the current tax scofflaws that seem to be pervasive among the new administration. Apparently missing from the job application that received so much international attention and scorn . . . was a question about whether job applicants pay their taxes.

Once again this all begs the question, "do any of these people pay their taxes?"

And Another Thing . . . The Curious Case of Michael Steele

The republican base is none too charged up about Michael Steele, the newly elected head of the GOP.

And before the bigoted Left starts shouting "racism," no, it isn't because he is an african-american. Steele, known for his "outside the box" creative thinking (something I admire) has another problem that bugs mainstream Americans: He simply isn't exactly friendly to firearms owners and the lawful ownership of competition rifles.

Judge him by the interview he gave to the Washington Post in 2006:

"Society should draw lines. What do you need an assault weapon for, if you're going hunting? That's overkill. But I don't think that means you go to a total ban for those who want to use gun for skeet shooting or hunting or things like that."

So what exactly does that mean? He apparently has never heard of "the slippery slope." Its bad enough when you know the enemy ahead has four years to push through an agenda that is known to make crime rates go up -- its worse when you have to guard your flanks (and sleep with one eye open) wondering whether the party that historically has been on the side of individual liberties might try a kidney punch when you aren't looking.

Holder AG Vote Set For Today

Though President Obama promised change (and hope), it is likely not good news for firearms owners.

In his confirmation hearings, Eric Holder, who is expected to be voted on the full U.S. Senate today as Attorney General, stated what many have worried over -- his contradictory beliefs about the Second Amendment.

In 2001, Holder brazenly tried to link gun shows to terrorism, parroting the propaganda of billionaire Andrew McKelvey`s anti-gun group Americans for Gun Safety in his column, op-ed, in the Washington Post.

Worse, during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the past few weeks, Holder stated that the Second Amendment means what the Supreme Court says it means . . . and then went on to declare that the Court's decision in Heller leaves plenty of room for such things as closing the so-called "gun show loophole," restricting so-called "cop-killer bullets," and reinstituting a ban on so-called "assault weapons."

So much for supporting the Second Amendment. So much for a new day in Washington.

As the Citizens Committee For the Right To Keep and Bear Arms has stated in a recent news release, democrats in Washington are showing that they continue to be the party of gun control. Never mind that gun control actually endangers lives and has done nothing to combat crime.

I have called Sen. Voinovich's office here in Ohio, but do not expect my lame-duck U.S. senator, who already has announced he will not seek re-election, to do anything to make his voice heard on Mr. Holder's troublesome nomination. Voinovich, a moderate to left-leaning republican, opposed concealed carry reform when he was governor here.

The vote is today. Call your senator and urge them to vote against the Holder confirmation. If for no other reason than to send a message to President Obama.