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Home Front: Culture Wars
Gun Control Group Braces for Court Loss
2008-06-13
The nation's leading gun control group filed a "friend of the court" brief back in January defending the gun ban in Washington, D.C. But with the Supreme Court poised to hand down a potentially landmark decision in the case, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence fully expects to lose.

"We've lost the battle on what the Second Amendment means," campaign president Paul Helmke told ABC News. "Seventy-five percent of the public thinks it's an individual right. Why are we arguing a theory anymore? We are concerned about what we can do practically."
Which for you isn't much ...
While the Brady Campaign is waving the white flag in the long-running debate on whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms or merely a state's right to assemble a militia, it is hoping that losing the "legal battle" will eventually lead to gun control advocates winning the "political war."

"We're expecting D.C. to lose the case," Helmke said. "But this could be good from the standpoint of the political-legislative side."

The D.C. ban prohibits residents from keeping handguns inside their homes and requires that lawfully registered guns, such as shotguns, be locked and unloaded when kept at home.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the D.C. gun ban, the Brady Campaign is hoping that it will reorient gun control groups around more limited measures that will be harder to cast as infringements of the Second Amendment. "The NRA [National Rifle Association] won't have this fear factor," Helmke said.
Wanna bet? The NRA gives no ground and concedes nothing.
Brady Campaign Attorney Dennis Henigan said there are multiple gun control measures that would not run afoul of a Supreme Court decision striking down the D.C. gun ban. "Universal background checks don't affect the right of self-defense in the home. Banning a super dangerous class of weapons, like assault weapons, also would not adversely affect the right of self-defense in the home," said Henigan. "Curbing large volume sales doesn't affect self-defense in the home."
You were just talking about the NRA: do you think the NRA doesn't see through this? The Second Amendment isn't about home defense, it's about individual gun ownership. Individuals can't own military weapons but there's nothing wrong with an 'assault weapon' (which isn't 'super-dangerous' in the first place).
The Brady Campaign expects pro-gun groups to use the Supreme Court's decision in the DC case to challenge a gun ban in Chicago, the major city whose gun laws come closest to the nation's capital. Although the Brady Campaign expects the Chicago ordinance to be challenged, it thinks that it may survive because it does not have the restrictions on long guns like the ones found in Washington, D.C.

The Chicago law may also survive because a decision in the D.C. case will likely not resolve the issue of whether the Second Amendment applies to the states and other cities that are not federal enclaves.

Looking beyond the Supreme Court's D.C. gun ban case to the race for the White House, the Brady Campaign views Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as a better friend to gun control advocates than Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
No kidding: another reason for conservatives to swallow hard and vote for Johnny Mac in November.
But given that McCain stood by his support for closing "the gun-show loophole" during a recent speech to the N.R.A., the Brady Campaign president hopes that new gun restrictions can make headway regardless of who wins in November. "For John McCain to be the political candidate of the NRA shows how things have changed," Helmke said.
Then let's have Mr. McCain win, and then let's see ...
Posted by:Steve White

#14  'moose - not sure 'bout that one. I'd think all the big city elitist effeminate libz would be used to noise from the city not to be worried or react to noise. I think it has more to do w/them hating good old boys - unless Freud had it right along when he said that anyone who was afraid or off put by firearms had an underlying sexual disorder.

I've actually found that most chicks that claim to be afraid, against or just not like guns go hog wild their first time on the range under real adult supervision. Take a hippy skeet or trap shooting (don't try to stuff'em in the trap house no matter how tempting) and you'll have a convert w/in an hour.
Posted by: Chaviter the Wicked aka Broadhead6   2008-06-13 23:17  

#13  I agree wiht Anynmoose and others. Im lifetime NRA and I ahve been very po'd by thier compromises. RMGO (ROcky Mountain Gun Owners), SAF (Second Amendment Foundation) are worthy organizations. And there there is the REAL no-compromise gun rights organizatiohn - the GOA Gun Owners of America. (GOA is solid other than its stupid flirtations with Ron Paul due to a few nutobs at HQ)
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-06-13 20:42  

#12  And that would, by itself, be enough for me, SB 9312. But I do like his courage on Iraq.
Posted by: Bobby   2008-06-13 16:24  

#11  McCain's only positive attribute in my book is that he's not Hillary and he's not Obama.
Posted by: Sninert Black9312   2008-06-13 16:15  

#10  I dunno about McCain supporting 2nd Amendement rights. I tried to post an article the other day about McCain saying Bloomberg wasn't off his list of VP candidates. Not the same as saying he's on it, but he is a politician after all.
Posted by: Jack Croluque1720   2008-06-13 16:00  

#9  "Moose, I think you've got it.
The pansys are afraid of the noise.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-06-13 14:09  

#8  Moose, that might be part of it but I have friends who will not even touch a firearm. They are afraid of the firearm itself. If I take it apart they won't even touch any of the parts. That's a serious phobia.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2008-06-13 14:08  

#7  Broadhead6: I have reached a strange conclusion and would be interested on your take on it.

I think that a lot of anti-gun sentiment comes from people who are literally afraid of the *noise* guns make. That is, guns to them are scary and should be outlawed *not* because they are bullet launchers, but because they *startle*.

I know it sounds loopy, but I truly think that there are a lot of neurotics out there who freak out and have a panic attack when they hear a loud, unexpected or even anticipated noise.

We laugh at people who jump when they hear a loud, sharp noise. But a lot of them are terrified so much that they are messed up for an hour or more. It gives them nightmares.

Some veterans develop a strong physiological response to popping noises like guns or firecrackers, but very few become gun phobic because of it.

But what if there is a fairly common gun *noise* phobia that afflicts people even with very limited exposure to guns? Unlike most phobias, where there is little the phobics can do to prevent it, they might imagine gun control as "making the bad noises stop".

The fear of loud noises is called both Acousticophobia and Ligyrophobia. It would be interesting to see how prevalent they are among the gun control crowd.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-06-13 13:38  

#6  on behalf of the rest of us, thanks for your efforts Broadhead6.
Posted by: Sninert Black9312   2008-06-13 12:32  

#5  'moose is right. It's the grassroots RKBA groups at the state & local levels that really keep the politico's feet to the fire on RKBA issues. In ohio the Buckeye Firearms groups has really done well in getting the vote/word out about passing the new Castle Doctrine and firing up those "police chiefs" that tried to thwart the measure. We figure that 1 phone call from a constituent is equal to the opinion of 1,000 voters - that's why it's so damn important for you to call your congresscritters on any issue you deem necessary.

I'm a lifetime NRA member and I've had to call and bitch at NRA HQ about them giving high pro-RKBA ratings to Rinos and Dems that I know at the state level in MI & OH suck ass when it comes to supporting RKBA initiatives. Sometimes the NRA has done stuff that was a little too politically expedient for my taste but overall they're the big org that does get RKBA stuff done @ the nat'l level. Kind of like a better, faster, leaner GOP.

BTW - the panzies in the Brady group don't dislike guns per se, they dislike the supposed culture of those that do enjoy firearms - you know, the backward hick-NASCAR watching-deer hunting-beer swilling-racist that's clinging to his guns, religion, and that last copy of guns and ammo magazine...
Posted by: Broadhead6   2008-06-13 10:52  

#4  I'm waiting to see the new interpretation of what the Second Amendment says/doesn't say by this court before assuming anything. Why would anyone be surprised not to be surprised?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-06-13 09:20  

#3  I disagree, the NRA has ceded a LOT of ground in the past. They tend to make a common mistake, assuming that the gun control advocates care one whit for logic or compromise.

So the NRA offers concession after concession, while making reasonable arguments backed by statistics. In turn, the gun control advocates take those concessions and demand even more, all the while crystal clear about their own motives, and not wavering an inch.

They want a total ban on all firearm and ammunition sales and confiscation of firearms. And anything that advances that agenda they will take. Reason, logic and statistics are meaningless to them, as they do not advance their cause.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-06-13 09:07  

#2  Note to gun control advocates and voters.

If and when the gov't comes to take our guns, we WILL resist them.

But before we do, some might be inclined to take out those who put the takers into position to do the taking.

Just think on it.
Posted by: no mo uro   2008-06-13 06:10  

#1  to protect our homes we must also fear our own government.
Posted by: Sninert Black9312   2008-06-13 03:55  

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