LonelyMachines

Since Paul Helmke stepped down last year, Dennis Henigan has been serving as active president. Today,  the Brady Campaign announced  that Daniel Gross would be taking the reins. Gross was formerly the director of the  Center to Prevent Youth Violence . I can't find much about their funding. They were previously known as PAX, who received a  $200,000 grant  from the Joyce Foundation in 2004, but the trail appears to stop there. Given that the Brady Campaign's budget has fallen into the four-digit range , I'm curious as to whether this guy is bringing in further funding, as they can't be paying him much. Or, it might just be a part-time gig for him to build his resume.

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 144 into law, making open carry of any sort a misdemeanor. Since 1967, there's been a loophole in § 12031 that allows an unlicensed citizen to carry a handgun, as long as it's visible and unloaded. It's a questionable mode of carry, but at least it's an option when others are not available. Now, Californians don't even have that. Who's to blame? Portantino? Brown? Nope. We are. For over 40 years, the whole technicality was something of an open secret, but it was never front-page news. That is, until a bunch of pro-gun folks decided it was their mission to make it an issue. They wanted controversy, and they succeeded. Now, California citizens are worse off, and the Brady Campaign can chalk up a win. Losing is still losing , no matter how righteous some thought they might have been. This didn't have to happen. (Adam Winkler has a new book out called Gunfight , which traces the history of gun control in Ameri...

I was incorrect in a previous article, and I'd like to post a correction.  Steve Perry, the beloved singer from arena rock band Journey, is not running for the Republican Presidential nomination.  I regret the misunderstanding and assure the readership that swift punishment will be meted out.  There will be demerits. As it turns out, the actual candidate is Rick Perry, shown here displaying some truly wretched muzzle and trigger discipline: Way to set an example, Rick. The Brady Campaign wasted no time putting the shot to good use, issuing a press release on the matter. The Republican primary campaign has hardly begun and already it is being dominated by extremists. None as scary as Rick Perry who brazenly carries weapons — concealed and revealed. Even on the campaign trail! Only an egotistical extremist would carry a loaded weapon into a crowd — encouraging others to do so.  Is this where America is headed? Is this the America you want for our nation’s children? Heck, why not?  L...

I came home to two different emails tonight. The news is good, and unintentionally amusing. Both messages regard Monday's Department of Justice announcement that gun dealers in the southwest would be required to report multiple sales of rifles to the ATF. The first is from the NRA-ILA: House Committee Passes Amendment to Defund Illegal Obama Firearm Sales Reporting Requirement Today, during consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16. The Rehberg Amendment, which was strongly supported by NRA, will defund the Justice Department’s controversial and illegal move requiring federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles. That...

There aren't many details yet, but Paul Helmke, current President of the Brady Campaign, has announced his retirement .  He served since 2006. Bringing him on was a shrewd move for the Brady Campaign. Helmke was ostensibly a Republican. He presented himself as a moderate, and he was a master of spin who helped tailor their image accordingly.   Under Helmke, we started hearing phrases like "sensible gun laws" and "reasonable regulation" more often. He vehemently opposed the Heller case, but immediately after the decision, he pronounced it a victory for their agenda.  He deftly turned a direct idealogical loss in the McDonald case into a set of talking points about what current and potential restrictions would or wouldn't pass constitutional muster. Ten years ago, this guy could have been truly frightening, but his tenure came a bit too late.   The culture and the debate have changed, and even he couldn't render the Bradys' message palatable t...

Plaxico Burress caught the pass that won the Giants the 2007 Super Bowl.  Nine months later, he caught a bullet in the leg.  He'd been carrying a firearm in a New York nightclub, tucked into his pants with no holster.  The weapon dropped down his pants leg, and when he tried to catch it, he depressed the trigger. He was later arrested and served two years in prison for illegally carrying a firearm.  Now he's out, and he's working for the Brady Campaign.  According to their press release , [H]is direct, and painful, experience with a gun in a nightclub in 2008 had taught him a lot of lessons. It had taught him, ultimately, that guns make everything worse. Of course, professional football players are experts on gun safety, just like they're experts on the humane treatment of animals. Hoping to slow their decline into utter irrelevancy, the Brady Campaign will grab at whatever straw they can.  Adding a celebrity like Burress to the roster doesn't really help, though....

Nobody knows for sure what made Clippy snap.  Perhaps it was the cocaine.  Maybe it was the way Steve Ballmer would sneak up and grope him when they were alone in the break room.  For all we know, he hit the breaking point when he turned on the television and saw himself being voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. All we know is that the 21st century wasn't being kind to Clippy, and he wasn't taking it anymore. One January morning in 2000, he showed up at the Microsoft offices in Redmond with a Glock 19 and a 33-round magazine.  There would be blood.  Oh yes, there would be blood. However, Clippy's rampage was cut mercifully short by the fact that he lacked fingers and was unable to operate the gun.  King County deputies arrested him on weapons charges.  He took an insanity defense, and he's currently getting the help he needs. I wish the same could be said of the Brady Campaign.

The Brady Campaign sent me an email this morning to let me know who they're endorsing for tomorrow's mid-term elections.  I have to say, the list is pretty thin .  This could be due to the fact that they only have $5,661 in cash to spend this cycle. Mayors Against Illegal guns gave $150,000 to the Raben Group to spend on something , though I don't know what.  Founder Robert Raben also sits on the board of directors of the Alliance for Justice , a group that represents several progressive political causes, but doesn't seem involved in gun control. Josh Sugarmann's Violence Policy Center currently shows a balance of zero .  That's a bit odd, since the Joyce Foundation has pumped roughly $2.1 million into various other groups under the ostensible heading of "Gun Violence."  Still, that money appears to be targeted towards university and community research programs, rather than towards political endorsements.

Some folks may remember last summer's dust-up over this. There was a bill before Congress to get the District of Columbia a seat in the House. John Ensign tacked the Second Amendment Enforcement Act onto it, and it became something of a poison pill. Democrats were unable to excise his amendment, and if the District was to get a house seat, they'd have to comply with the Heller ruling. Rather than risk abandoning the District's unconstitutional and disastrous regulations, Congress chose to simply drop the whole matter completely. Well, history repeats itself, though rarely this quickly. This year's version quickly found the Ensign amendment attached to it, and again Congress chose not to decide. Paul Helmke's response was to gloat, calling the whole thing a "Faustian bargain" and voicing his pleasure that the District would be sticking to its guns, even if it cost them something advocates of DC statehood consider to be a huge priority. It all raises a ...

I've had an on-again-off-again relationship with Starbucks for as long as I can remember.  Their prepared drinks are spendy, but as a guy who grinds his own, I've found their Cafe Verona to be very versatile, and the Ethiopian Sidamo balances nicely with steamed milk. I'd never really considered their policy on guns.  Heck, it's a coffee shop .  It's frequented by pseudo-intellectuals whose offspring are white kids with dreadlocks.  Despite the lack of any signage stating so, I'd always assumed they wouldn't be too fond of guns. Therefore, it came as something of a pleasant surprise to find out that they're not caving to pressure from the Brady Campaign to ban guns from their stores. I may have to spend more money there.

Well, it looks like I agree with Sarah Brady on one thing, at least. The Brady Campaign gave President Obama an "F" rating on gun-control issues in a report issued this week [pdf] . In just one year, Barack Obama has signed into law more repeals of federal gun policies than in President George W. Bush’s eight years in office. From the repeal of Reagan Era rules keeping loaded guns out of national parks to the repeal of post-9/11 policies to safeguard Amtrak from armed terrorist attacks, President Obama’s stance on guns has endangered our communities and threatened our national security. That first sentence is particularly telling.  Obama knows the new truth when it comes to gun control:  paying lip service to it is a great rhetorical ploy, but attempting to follow through is political suicide.  Now he's in a rather unenviable position: he was expected to support gun control, but he lacks the wherewithal to do so.  As such, he's being branded a turncoat by the very pe...

Here it is Monday, and the administration is keeping quiet about the climate-change fraud conundrum.  The only word I've heard comes from climate czar Carol Browner, who stated, I'm sticking with the 2,500 scientists. These people have been studying this issue for a very long time and agree this problem is real (...) [people calling for action] are a very small group of people who continue to say this isn't a real problem, that we don't need to do anything. At least she stops short of calling us "deniers" or "flat earthers." Which is better than I can say for Al Gore.  His new book is called, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis , and it opens with this happy quote from Deuteronomy:  "I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gore thinks very highly of himself.  He's on a crusade to save us from our own worst instincts, much like his wife was in th...

So, they got theirs up just under the wire.  The Brady Campaign brief is pretty much exactly what I expected. The whole thing is about "reasonable regulation" and "public interest." Without weighing in on incorporation, they simply beg for a standard of review that's as close to rational basis as they can get without calling it such. They dig pretty deep ( Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. ?) to prove that strict scrutiny doesn't usually apply across the board for civil liberties, and they seem to encourage such a situation. If anything, the Left needs to tread very carefully when praising infringements on 1st and 4th Amendment rights. Their usual arrogance comes through on page 5: Gun policy is best determined as it always has been in this country: in the political arena, without courts second-guessing reasoned legislative judgments. I guess they didn't read this week's 7th Circuit opinion, because they rest part of t...

The deadline for amicus curiae briefs in the McDonald case is November 23. Chicago filed for an extension , and their brief is now due on December 30. Two Senators and two Representatives have drafted a brief in support of the plaintiffs, and we'd like to see it receive as many signatures from other legislators as possible. Please contact your congressmen and ask them to sign this brief.

When FN Herstal came out with the 5.7x28mm cartridge (and the accompanying Five-seveN pistol) a few years back, there was a bit of hand-wringing in certain circles over its ability to pierce body armor. Bear in mind, the 5.7mm is really a souped-up .22 WMR , not some >5000 ft/s barnburner.  It's not the first (or only) gun made that'll punch through body armor.  Yet, everyone got their panties in a bunch over it.

SA 1618 is an amendment to S. 1390, a bill authorizing appropriations for the Department of Defense for the 2010 fiscal year.  The amendment seeks, [t]o amend chapter 44 of title 18 , United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another State that grants concealed carry permits, if the individual complies with the laws of the State. There are 21 cosponsors including Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Orrin Hatch of Utah. Naturally, the Left is pissed, which means it stands a chance.

They're sticking to their guns, so to speak. Despite watching their agenda slip away, the Brady Campaign continues to put a sunny face on things. Their response to the 9th Circuit Nordyke decision reads, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld Alameda County’s ordinance banning possession and sales of firearms on county-owned property, that was enacted to end gun shows on county fairgrounds. “We are pleased that the court recognized that the Second Amendment does not prevent state and local governments from enacting common-sense gun laws,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Actually, that's not the case at all. The ruling narrowly allowed Almeida County to ban guns from county-owned property. It did not allow anything further. To the contrary, the main story with the Nordyke case was that the 2nd Amendment is incorporated against State and local governments through the Due Process clause of the 14th. Of course, they don'...