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Colorado Gun Business Exodus Begins

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller HiViz Shooting Systems, a gun-parts manufacturer in Fort Collins, Colo., will move its operations up the road to Laramie, Wyo., making good on its threat to pull up its Colorado roots after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law several controversial gun control measures earlier this year.

Of the businesses planning to leave the state for the same reason, HiViz is the first to announce its new home.

“The decision to relocate the company was difficult, and choosing the proper location was essential to our continued growth within the industry,” said president and CEO Phillip Howe in a press release. “We look forward to settling into our new home in the firearm friendly state of Wyoming.”

Wyoming was chosen not just for its gun-friendly atmosphere, but also its tax advantages and because Laramie is less than an hour from its current location, allowing existing employees the option of commuting.

Read more from this story HERE.

New California Law Forces Gun Owners to Fund Gun Seizure Program

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Photo Credit: APGov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at taking handguns and assault rifles away from 20,000 Californians who acquired them legally but have since been disqualified from ownership because of a criminal conviction or serious mental illness.

The measure, the first of several gun-related bills to reach the governor, allocates $24 million in surplus funds to hire dozens of additional special agents to tackle a backlog of 40,000 weapons in the hands of people not allowed to possess firearms.

“This bipartisan bill makes our communities safer by giving law enforcement the resources they need to get guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals,” said Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governor.

The state operates a database that cross-references a list of gun owners with those disqualified later from owning guns. But, budget cuts have prevented the state Department of Justice from keeping up with the growing number of people on the list.

State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced SB 140, which takes the money from fees paid when people buy guns and allocates it to a three-year campaign to take guns from those ineligible to have them.

Read more from this story HERE.

In One Day, 20 Shot in Chicago; Officials Blame the Weather, We Blame the Officials

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Photo Credit: Irish Central According to the Chicago Tribune’s May 1 edition:

“At least three people were killed and 17 wounded in shootings across Chicago overnight as the city saw its warmest weather in seven months.” See article.

In the past, Chicago’s Chief of Police Garry McCarty, has blamed warm weather for his city’s gun violence, along with pointing the finger of blame at Sarah Palin and “government sponsored racism.”

By using this metric, if the weather keeps heating up we can expect more gun violence to erupt on the streets of Chicago. Where’s Al Gore?

According to the Tribune article, “warm weather” is behind the outbreak of gun violence, not the lack of enforcement of some of the toughest anti gun laws in the United States.

Checking statistics in different countries known for their warm weather and violence, the following stats were observed:

In Afghanistan for the entire month of April a total of 17 coalition force personnel were killed, see report.

In a recent 5 day period in all of Iraq, a total of 25 civilians and police were killed, see report.

Chicago, one of our nation’s biggest cities outpaced the violence in 2 war torn countries.

Instead of pointing the finger of blame at outside forces, perhaps it’s time for the people of Chicago to point the finger of blame at their leaders.

Not long ago, NRA’s President Wayne LaPierre noted Chicago had the nation’s toughest gun laws, yet was failing to enforce them. He noted that if federal gun laws already on the books were enforced, instead of putting even more restrictions on gun legal ownership, it could help solve the city’s violence problems. See story.

La Pierre had also called on federal officials to bring in forces to patrol Chicago’s streets in order to restore order: “We need a federal task force, if it takes 500 agents; if it takes a thousand agents, go into Chicago.”

The law abiding citizens of Chicago deserve to have safer streets and adding more laws to the over 9,000 gun laws already on the books isn’t going to make any difference.

Chicago’s violence is not due to the weather, the NRA or Sarah Palin, it’s due to the lack of will by city officials to enforce the law.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

Holder Threatens Kansas Over New Gun Law

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photo credit: USDAgovKansas Governor Sam Brownback received a letter today from Attorney General Eric Holder threatening action against the state should it enforce SB102, the pro 2nd Amendment law Brownback signed into law last month.

The new law declares that the federal government has no power to regulate guns manufactured, sold and kept only in Kansas.

Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas.

The legislation made it a felony for a federal agent to enforce any law, regulation, order or treaty regulating ammunition made, sold and kept in the state because the federal government does not [have] “interstate commerce” authority over such items.

The law became effective only a week ago, but already Holder has leapt into action, firing off a letter to the governor of Kansas threatening to take “all appropriate action including litigation if necessary” to prevent the state of Kansas from protecting the 2nd Amendment. (Amazing for a guy who didn’t even know about his own department’s gun-running operation, Fast and Furious until months after a border patrol agent was killed by one of its guns.) But when a state passes a law he doesn’t like – this Attorney General is FAST!

Read more from this story HERE.

Nullification: Alabama Lawmakers Vote to Ignore New Federal Gun Control Laws

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Photo Credit: APThe Alabama Legislature is telling the federal government and others to back off on gun control.

The Senate passed legislation Tuesday declaring that “All federal acts, laws, orders, rules or regulations regarding firearms are a violation of the Second Amendment.” It also says federal laws in violation of the Second Amendment shall be considered null and void in Alabama. The vote was 24-6.

The sponsor, Republican Sen. Paul Sanford of Huntsville, said the bill resulted from hundreds of emails and calls he received from his north Alabama constituents concerned that Congress might enact new gun regulations or restore the previous ban on assault weapons. He said the assault weapon ban is an example of federal regulation that he considers a violation of the Second Amendment.

Democratic Sen. Bobby Singleton of Greensboro, who voted against the measure, said state law can’t trump federal law. “This bill is null and void on its face,” Singleton said.

In the House Tuesday, members voted 76-22 for a proposed constitutional amendment that would require Alabama’s courts to use “strict scrutiny” when reviewing any new gun control laws. That would require proponents of the laws to show a compelling interest for the regulations and that they be narrowly tailored.

Read more from this story HERE.

Hornady: Ammo Shortage Fueled by Civilian Demand Due to Political Pressures

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Photo Credit: Daily CallerHornady, a major U.S. ammunition manufacturer, is doing everything it can to meet the high demand for bullets that it says has been “all fueled by rumors and conjecture” and has put pressure on gun stores across the country.

“The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours,” according to Hornady. “Empty retail shelves, long backorders, and exaggerated price increases on online auction sites – all fueled by rumors and conjecture – have amplified concerns about the availability of ammunition and firearms-related items.”

Ammunition manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the run on ammunition that began in the wake of President Barack Obama’s re-election and the deadly shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut that left 20 children and six adults dead.

“Every time there’s a comment about some sort of gun control… that triggers a negative response among firearms owners, because they see it as a limiting factor,” Paul Erhardt, an editor for the Shooting Wire, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“The demand breeds demand in a lot of ways,” Erhardt said, adding that the uncertainty over supply caused by the media and political conditions has firearms owners rushing to purchase what ammo is available.

Read more from this story HERE.

Manchin: Gun Control Bill to be Reintroduced

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Photo Credit: Ryan StantonBy Associated Press. One of the architects of failed gun control legislation says he’s bringing it back.

Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday said he would re-introduce a measure that would require criminal and mental health background checks for gun buyers at shows and online. The West Virginia Democrat says that if lawmakers read the bill, they will support it.

Manchin sponsored a previous version of the measure with Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. It failed. Read more from this story HERE.

Taking Dead Aim at Joe Manchin’s Pathetic Voting Record

By Daniel Horowitz. Do you want to know the definition of pathetic? It’s someone who aggressively brandishes his pro-gun credentials in a campaign commercial, and then proceeds to invest his time into expanding gun control laws. In other words, Joe Manchin is pathetic.

Just how unpopular is Obama with the voters of West Virginia? He lost all 55 counties last year in the general election, and 41% of Democrat primary voters to a man sitting in jail. That’s why Joe Manchin lacks the moxie to air a commercial saying, “I’m Joe Manchin, and I approve this message because West Virginia needs a senator who will stand with Barack.”

Instead of manning up and letting his constituents know he is a gun-grabbing, Obamacare-supporting leftist, Joe Manchin ran a TV ad depicting himself shooting a rifle – taking “dead aim” – at a cap and trade bill. Now he is working indefatigably to pass gun control, even after his bill was defeated. During the gun debate, he also voted against an amendment that would have required a judicial ruling to determine if a veteran is dangerous before he is banned from buying guns. I’m sure the many veterans in West Virginia would appreciate that. Read more from this story HERE.

Gun Control Advocates Have Scored a Major Victory that Nobody is Talking About

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Photo Credit: YahooThis week G.E. Capital Finance announced that it would no longer finance gun purchases, becoming the latest in a string of companies that have decided to leave a large amount of money on the table rather than risk their reputations on the gun business.

It’s one of the few places where the high-profile publicity campaign in support of increased gun control has led to a real world result.

Last week advocates for gun control were dealt a humbling blow when legislation to require background checks at gun shows publicly flopped on the floor of the Senate after weeks of work.

Despite the political defeat, however, something very interesting has happened in the private sector.

GE is based in Fairfield, Conn., and several employees have children in Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the December mass shooting, according to the WSJ. Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, had a meeting with employees after the shooting. This, among other reasons, led to the lender ending financing for guns.

Read more from this story HERE.

When Will Enough Be Enough America?

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Photo Credit: The Daily SheepleThe truth is that I cannot recall in my lifetime when our government has been so corrupt, so filled with lawless individuals who only think of themselves and not what is truly best for Americans.

America has a government that is slowly strangling the liberty out of its citizens and even though there are plenty of conservatives who rail against it, work to change it, and understand what is coming if we fail, the difficulty is that those in our government (aided and abetted by the media) do what they want to do anyway, often in total disregard for the rule of law. It’s not only maddeningly frustrating, but it goes against the very core of the Constitution.

America is a Constitutional Republic and I’m sure you know that. As such, we elect individuals who are duty bound to uphold and protect the Constitution upon which this country is founded. We do not elect individuals so that they will do what the perceived majority wants done. That kind of government is a Democracy, which America is not.

Even Obama gets this confused with his remarks about 90% of Americans wanting stricter gun control. First of all, he’s lying because that percentage is something he pulled out of the vapid environment in his head. Secondly, it does not matter if 100% of Americans wanted greater gun control measures to be enacted. That percentage has nothing to do with anything and he knows that, but simply refuses to acknowledge it. The Constitution clearly defines the 2nd Amendment as the right to keep and bear arms and it shall not be infringed. Simple. Clear. Definitive. Elected officials are supposed to do all in their power to protect, uphold, and defend the Constitution, not engage in every subterfuge they can think of to circumvent or overturn it.

We have a Congress that passed Obamacare without even reading it and now is secretly trying to exempt themselves (and their staffs) from it that very legislation they created. They couldn’t care less about us.

Read more from this story HERE.

Polls Showing Public Support for Gun Control Skewed, Inaccurate

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Photo Credit: Washington TimesGun owners often scratch their heads over national polls on gun control issues because the responses are so radically different from their own views and those of their friends and family.

On Wednesday, Pew Research and the Washington Post released a poll showing that more Americans have more negative than positive feelings about the Senate’s inability to pass gun-control measures. The survey showed that 47 percent were either “angry” or “disappointed” while 39 percent were “ very happy” or “relieved.”

However, the methodology skews to show more support that actually exists. Pew/Washington Post polled 1,002 adults, but the best public opinion polls ask registered voters because they are the one who will affect the outcome of election. According to a recent Fox News poll, only 26 percent of registered voters support stricter gun control laws. Registered voters are also more likely to closely follow politics. The poll showed that just 39 percent of respondents followed the Senate debate “very closely.”

The question posed by phone gave no context for those unfamiliar with the details of gun policy: “As you may know, the U.S. Senate voted DOWN new gun control legislation, including background checks on gun purchases. Which word best describes how you feel about the fact that this gun legislation did not pass?”

Read more from this story HERE.