News run-down… IL politics and more!

Folks, don’t let the mainstream media beat you down with their incessant drumbeat to further their far left-wing, freedom-hating agenda.

If they weren’t relying on hysteria to further their failed cause, they wouldn’t be “rushing” all of these proposals at us and trying to push them through overnight.

So, here’s are a list of stories circulating today, starting with Illinois-centric stuff:

From Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax. 

I don’t particularly like this guy’s politics, but he’s well-attuned to what’s going on in the General Assembly and state politics…  And while there are some quiet, inside negotiations that Miller never finds out about until everyone else knows them, he does have a lot of sources that feed him information selectively.  “A Look Ahead” pretty much sums up where we’re at on the right-to-carry issue.  Given that someone who doesn’t like guns wrote it (Miller), I see this as good news for the good guys and bad news for ICHV, Gov. Quinn and the merry band of gun haters out there.

A look ahead

The question now becomes whether the NRA can hold on to its majorities in the Legislature in the face of a strong and panicked push by the other side to pass a restrictive bill in line with last week’s court opinion. The ruling specifically mentioned as reasonable keeping guns out of schools, government buildings and businesses that don’t want them and further stated that “a person who carries a gun in public but is not well trained in the use of firearms is a menace to himself and others.”

But Vandermyde said gun-rights supporters came out of the woodwork after the appeals court decision was handed down. He claimed that several black legislators had previously confided that they’d like to vote for concealed carry but couldn’t. Now, Vandermyde said, many of them pledged to side with the NRA.

The NRA’s coalition may be tough to hold together, however, if Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn, Speaker Madigan and the strongly anti-gun Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) team up to pass a restrictive concealed-carry bill. Several legislators who might like to support concealed carry also have jobs with the city and state or have loved ones who do.

But the NRA and Vandermyde don’t actually have to pass a bill. They just have to make sure that the other side cannot. And anyone who has been around the legislation process for more than a minute knows that killing a bill is always a lot easier than passing one.

If the NRA successfully delays legislative action until the 180-day time limit has passed, then, barring any further delays, the state’s current gun restrictions would be declared unenforceable.

Despite last week’s mass shooting, I wouldn’t bet too much money against the gun guys at the moment.

Here’s some other wheeling and dealing going on, also per Capitol Fax:

Black Caucus chair has a new concealed carry trade idea

* An interesting proposal…

Rep. Will Davis, a Homewood Democrat and leader of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, said Phelps has a good opportunity to negotiate legislation with common-sense restrictions.

Many caucus members traditionally favor gun control, but Davis is willing to talk about a deal: He’ll offer Chicago-area support for concealed-carry in exchange for downstate agreement on a process to clear some criminal records, an issue that black lawmakers have pushed because youthful convictions often keep law-abiding adult constituents from getting jobs.

But [Rep. Frank Mautino] agreed with Phelps that given the court ruling, gun advocates no longer need to bother with deal-making.

Rep. Davis had earlier proposed putting Black Caucus votes on concealed carry if Cook County was exempted from the bill That idea was flat-out rejected.

* The mental health issue is important because there are some huge holes in tracking people with mental issues. We’ll have to see if that problem can be worked out…

At the same time, Mautino wants a measure that ensures people carrying weapons are trained and do not have mental health problems.

And such restrictions, according to Rep. Al Riley, are what lawmakers should take from the Connecticut tragedy.

“What’s clear is that any bill that we have, have some safeguards along the lines of mental health … and training,” said the Olympia Fields Democrat, who voted against Phelps’ last concealed-carry bill. “At minimum, if someone is going to carry a deadly weapon, loaded, on their person, no matter what comes up, you would think that they should have the bare minimum of training to be able to use the weapons that they propose to carry.”

And this gem from Capitol Fax as well:

Quinn wants assault weapons ban passed in January

* Well, you knew this would be coming…

Gov. Pat Quinn says the time for an assault weapons ban in Illinois is now.

The Chicago Democrat says the shooting in Connecticut, particularly the loss of so many children, should appeal to people’s consciences. A gunman left 20 children and six adults dead at an elementary school.

He said Monday at an unrelated event in Chicago that he has reached out to top lawmakers and sponsors of a proposed assault weapons ban. The governor says lawmakers should consider the ban when they reconvene for the lame duck session in January.

You knew this would be coming if you read GunNews last month.  Quinn’s just got some hysteria to float his non-starter idea at the moment.

Next up…

Leading gun-rights advocate wants teachers armed with weapons

Springfield, IL (Sun-Times) — One of Illinois’ leading gun-rights advocates urged state lawmakers Monday to pass legislation that would give school districts authority to arm school principals, teachers and even custodial staff with concealed weapons.

“The problem we have is a gun-free zone. We have a gun-free zone around a school. Every crazy person knows that. And so, the gun-free zone is like a magnet for the lunatics. He or she knows there won’t be any resistance there,” said Richard Pearson, executive of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Pearson told the Chicago Sun-Times that lawmakers should pass a school-safety bill next spring, including the concealed carry authority for educators, as a response to last Friday’s Connecticut school shootings.

So there’s a FFL software company that thought it would be a swell idea to suspend sales for a day.  Gun owners made clear their irritation with that idiocy:

Coloseum Software “Recants” Pledge

As reported at Days of Our Trailers and others, Coloseum Software asked for a one day, “Don’t Sell Guns” day in January. They have since “recanted.”

…Backlash. That should tell you all you need to know about how the Newton School Shooting won’t change the essential calculus of the Gun Rights debate.  The gun grabbers whine and cry on TV and on Twitter, but the real economic pain is brought by gun owners.

I just don’t get it. Every time something bad happens we have one more self-Zumboing. …

And speaking of self-Zumbo-ing:

Cheaper Than Dirt

This, I found over lunch hour, from the company who gave us this (below) after BHO was elected in 2008:

UPDATE:  I was sent over to CTD’s website this afternoon:

Seriously, if you’re doing business with Cheaper Than Dirt, you’ve got rocks in your head…

CSGV: The Company you keep.

Or so goes the title at a wonderful post by Miguel at The Gun Free Zone.  Screencap below probably his.

I’ve appeared representing Guns Save Life on a host of media outlets (including international outfits like the British Broadcasting Corporation scheduled for a video story tomorrow, Dec. 19th), but if al Jazeera ever called me, I’d hang up.

While we’re talking Miguel, who I’ve never met, but seems like quite a guy, he’s got a post about some tweets sent by a fellow who lives in the area of the CT tragedy.  I hate tweets, but this is telling:

Read the whole story, including a narrative by Mr. Flashman himself.  The other side wouldn’t know decency if it hit them upside the head.

Dick’s has pulled a K-mart following this massacre, and in a knee-jerk reaction, just alienated a lot of informed gun owners.  K-mart was very susceptible to knee-jerk reactions back in the 90s into early 2000s.  We see what a big success K-Mart is today.

Dick’s Sporting Goods removes guns from shelves following Connecticut school shooting

(Star-Ledger) – A major sporting goods retailer has pulled all guns from its store nearest to Newtown, Conn., according to a report on CNN.com.

Twenty children and six staff members were fatally shot Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown by a 20-year-old man who then took his own life.

Dick’s Sporting Goods has also suspended sales of certain semi-automatic weapons from all its stores across the country.

Cerberus selling Freedom Group

(CNN) – Private equity firm Cerberus has put U.S. firearms maker Freedom Group up for sale following Friday’s killing of 20 children and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.

Freedom Group includes Bushmaster, maker of the rifle used in the shooting at the schoolin Newtown. Cerberus bought Bushmaster in 2006 before adding another 10 makers of firearms, ammunition and accessories to the group.

“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” Cerberus Capital Management said in a statement.

Cerberus will hire advisers to carry out a sale of the company, and return the money to its investors, which include the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).

Cerberus is in the business of buying companies on the cheap and selling them after turning them around.  Emotions-based decisions are usually poor business decisions, but cut them some slack because rumor had it that Freedom Group has been for sale for some time.  This could be a potential windfall for someone, given that firearms sales are one of the few brights spots in the Obama economy.

NBC drops 3-Gun Nation.

That’s okay.  NBC was dropped at my house a couple of Sundays ago, courtesy of the make-up wearing man named Bob Costas who strayed off the sports commentating and offered his bigotry-laced opinions on gun control after a KC Chiefs player killed his girlfriend/mother of his child and then offed himself at the team’s training facility.  The following week he was mum about alcohol control or car control after a Dallas player killed a team-mate in a drunk and reckless driving crash.

(Three Gun Nation website) – In response to the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., the NBC Sports Network has placed an indefinite moratorium on the broadcasting of any gun-related outdoor programming.

With the network’s decision, “3-Gun Nation” will no longer be airing on NBC Sports Network, effective immediately.

Do yourself a favor:  cut the cable.  Comcast owns NBC.  Sure wish I had a decent ISP that wasn’t Comcast!

Stories on eliminating the make-believe protection of Gun-Free zones.

Column: Gun-free zones provide false sense of security  from Instapundit’s Reynolds in the USA Today.

People don’t stop killers. People with guns do also by Reynolds back in 2007 at the NY Daily News.

And then you’ve got BHO

Obama Call For Change Exploits School Massacre.

I understand it didn’t go over so well among local families.

When we realized he was bringing up gun politics during the speech, things at the bar got REALLY REALLY UGLY…. People were yelling 4 the bar owner 2 “turn that shit off,” shaking their heads & exclaiming in disbelief their anger that he had gone there.

Let’s Have That Conversation About Guns

Really, a conversation means both sides get to talk.  Not that freedom eschewing gun haters get to lecture.  This one is a gem.

Wait, we can’t have that conversation. In fact, we’re not supposed to have what people might commonly describe as a “conversation” at all. We’re supposed to shut-up and listen as liberals, barely masking their unseemly delight at the opportunity, try to pin the murder rampage of one degenerate creep on millions of law-abiding Americans who did nothing wrong. The conversation is then supposed to end with us waiving our fundamental right to self-defense.

Because that is what the goal is – a total ban on the private ownership of firearms. There’s always another “common sense” gun law which fails because it is targeted at law-abiding citizens and not criminals, thereby inviting another round of onerous new restrictions until finally no citizen is keeping or bearing anything more than a dull butter knife.

Well, almost no citizens. “Gun control” means all guns under the control of the government and available only to it and, of course, to politically connected cronies. Gun-grabbing poser Michael Bloomberg is going to be surrounded by enough fire power to remake the movie Heat. He’s always going to be protected. The purpose of gun control is to ensure that we aren’t.

So let’s have that conversation, and let’s lay the cards on the table. Modern firearms (which really aren’t that modern) are highly effective weapons in the hands of an evil little freak who gets off shooting children. They are also highly effective weapons in my hands when defending my children from evil little freaks.

Liberals ask why I need these weapons. The answer is simple. I’m going to be as well-armed or better armed than the threat. Period.

Here’s the fact – bad people are going to have guns. And if you’ve ever smoked a joint, you are disqualified from arguing that prohibition works.

…Let’s talk about “gun free zones” too. Liberals love talking about “science” and “logic,” yet their magical thinking when it comes to guns is staggering. Let’s call “gun free zones” what they are – killing zones.You don’t see mass shootings at gun shows, police stations or NRA conventions. Bad people go where they know there are defenseless victims. “Gun free” means that the innocents are defense free. A soldier in a sister unit to mine years ago was killed at Ft. Hood, where personal weapons are banned and military ones are in safes. He was shot while trying to attack the traitor with a chair.

Let’s talk about allowing some personnel at schools to be armed – and simply dismissing the idea with the declaration that it its “absurd” is insufficient. Israel arms some teachers – let’s look at their example. There are bad people out there. You can’t wish them away.

And let me end this brief conversation with a question: Is there anyone who doesn’t wish someone else at Sandy Hook had a gun?

Vulnerable pols

Last but not least:  Make no mistake.  There’s plenty of Democrat Senators at risk in 2014.  If they get squishy on guns, ask them how they would like to be unemployed.  Ask them if they recognize that guy pictured above.  (That’s former Indiana senator Richard Lugar.)