Does the Second Amendment Cover the Right to Carry Concealed?

Towards the end of the video, we have two references to lower-court decisions. Naturally, our pro-gun commenters often mention the one but never mention the other.

The Tenth Circuit said the Second Amendment conveys no right to concealed carry of a firearm. That's the one our lying friends ignore.

Intrepid Reporter Emily MIller Uncovers the Unspeakably Evil Conspiracy to Allow a Double Standard

Conservative Read

Is there a double standard in Washington, D.C. when it comes to gun politics? Are gun control supporters given certain allowances that gun owners and gun rights advocates are not privy too?

It appears that’s the case if one is to accept a new report by intrepid journalist Emily Miller, the Opinion Editor of the Washington Times.  

Miller investigated how Sen. Dianne Feinstein obtained the “illegal” firearms she displayed at a D.C. press conference earlier this year when the senator from California rolled out her 2013 Assault Weapons Ban.

Those firearms included a Bushmaster XM-15, a Tech 9 handgun, Smith & Wesson M&P15, a Glock 19 with an extended magazine, among others.  According to the District’s strict gun laws, it is illegal for anyone to possess these firearms whether it’s in the city or on federal property.

So, how did Feinstein get her guns?  After invoking rights under the Freedom of Information Act, Miller uncovered the following:

On Dec. 24, 2012, lobbyist Chuck DeWitt contacted Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, “Sen. Feinstein has asked us to bring examples of assault weapons used in the worst incidents over the past few years,” DeWitt wrote.

Lanier agreed to help supply some of the firearms while the rest would come from the Philadelphia Police Department, however it was on the condition that the media would be kept in the dark on where the guns came from.

Please make “no mention of the fact that the weapons came from D.C. or were recovered by MPDC in the official language or speeches,” said Keith Williams, the commander of the MPD’s Crime Scene Investigation Division to Feinstein’s press secretary, Tom Mentzer.

Aware of the law, Mentzer was worried that if Feinstein didn’t disclose where the weapons came from, she’d be accused of possessing illegal firearms.

“By not mentioning where the weapons came from, we open ourselves up to the same charge against David Gregory,” Mentzer replied in an email.

Now, here’s where the alleged double standard kicks in.  Shortly after the California senator introduced her AWB, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wanted to bring a AR-style rifle and a semiautomatic hunting rifle to a Senate Judiciary Committee on Feinstein’s ban.

The two pro-gun senators wanted to demonstrate to the committee that the ban is really about cosmetics, e.g. pistol grips, barrel shrouds, flash suppressors, etc. and not about how the two semiautomatic weapons function (they function the same) but the request was denied due to the district’s strict gun laws.

As Miller reported, in the wake of this denial, Feinstein’s staff gloated: “I was gratified to hear Sens. Cruz and Graham complaining that getting weapons into their hearing today was ‘unworkable,’” Mentzer emailed Williams and another officer with a news story about the Republicans not being able bring in even a legal rifle. “I find you guys ENTIRELY practical, for the record.”

California's 5150 Rule for Gun Prohibitions is a Model for the Country

SF Gate

Having achieved something close to mythic status in California pop culture, the state's "5150" hold for people in psychiatric crisis is being looked at by national gun-control advocates and some experts as a way to get help for mass shooters before they open fire.

Named for the section where it appears in California's Welfare and Institutions Code, 5150 lets mental health professionals commit those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others to a care facility for as long as 72 hours.

If professionals believe a person requires further hospitalization, they can extend the stay for two weeks. Patients committed for that length of time are automatically entitled to a hearing that allows them to argue for their release.

Under California law, hospital admission in these circumstances triggers a report to the state Department of Justice's Armed Prohibited Persons System. Those who have been detained on a 5150 hold cannot possess or own guns for five years, though the law permits them to petition to regain firearms rights.

Both sides are NOT to blame for the current budget mess

Late in the evening of September 30, 2013, the House Rules Committee Republicans secretly changed the rules of the House so that the ONLY Member allowed to call up the Senate's clean CR for a vote was Majority Leader Eric Cantor or his designee -- all but guaranteeing the government would shut down and stay shut down. Previously, all Members had the right to bring such bills up for a vote. Democracy has been suspended in the House of Representatives.



Of course, the US needs a real parliament where failing to pass a budget bill would result in a dissolution of parliament and new elections.

On the other hand, given how fractious US politics are, the US would go through more governments than Italy.

No other country shuts down its government in the same way the U.S. does.

That's not to say that other nations don't have budgetary disagreements and worse. They do. But "for most of the world, a government shutdown is very bad news — the result of revolution, invasion, or disaster," says Anthony Zurcher at BBC News. Seriously, "even in the middle of its ongoing civil war, the Syrian government has continued to pay its bills and workers' wages."

Syria's not alone. "Countries like Pakistan and Colombia have had civil wars, coups, financial crises, even defaults but never a government shutdown," says Erik Voeten at The Washington Post's Monkey Cage blog.

Gohmert: McCain Supports Al Qaeda - Obama and Reid Shut the Government Down

Mass Shootings are Accelerating in Frequency and Gravity since the AWB Expired

This is a repeat post for Greg who, in a recent comment, put his fingers in his ears, began stomping his feet and called us liars for suggesting such a thing.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Governor Brown Vetoed the Rifle Ban but Signed 11 Other Gun Laws

San Jose News

Some of the other bills Brown signed will require long-gun buyers to earn safety certificates like those already required of handgun buyers; ban conversion kits that allow people to turn regular magazines into high-capacity magazines; and extend from six months to five years the prohibition from owning firearms for those who have described a credible violent threat to a psychotherapist.

Gun rights activists are grateful that Brown vetoed Steinberg's SB374, but the governor still "signed the most sweeping set of gun control bills in the nation into law today," Kerns said Friday. "There will be a political price to pay for this."

She said her group will examine Friday's signings, pore over roll calls of lawmakers who voted for them "and determine if there are grounds for legislative recalls," especially "any legislators who voted wildly out of step with their districts. ... We may even go out and talk to some of their constituents, hold a town hall or three."

Still, Brown ultimately rejected seven of 11 bills that the National Rifle Association had urged him to veto.

Easily the most controversial gun bill signed by Brown was AB711 by Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-South Gate, to ban use of lead ammunition in hunting by mid-2019.

He issued a signing message that said lead endangers wildlife, but noted that the new law lets the state Fish and Wildlife Department suspend the ban if the federal government prohibits nonlead ammunition because it's considered armor-piercing.

"It is time to begin this transition and provide hunters with ammunition that will allow them to continue the conservation heritage of California," Brown wrote.