NRA Targets New York Times
- Thread starter PriddyBoy
- Start date
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/opinion/standing-ground-against-the-nra.html
Standing Ground Against the N.R.A.
Two years after nine churchgoers were shot to death in a horrific gun spree in Charleston, S.C., tone-deaf state lawmakers are considering a measure to allow South Carolina residents to carry guns — openly or concealed — without the need to obtain a state weapons permit.
Representative Bill Crosby supports gun rights but felt obliged to warn the House as it approved the measure last week that “all it does is it makes these good ol’ boys who like to have guns strapped to their hips not conceal them.”
The Republican-controlled House passed the dangerous laissez-faire gun bill only after limiting debate. They thereby demeaned lawmakers’ First Amendment rights in the rush to further enshrine the Second Amendment.
The carnage at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church against African-American worshipers was carried out by a racist gunman who was able to buy his weapon because of shoddy enforcement of gun control laws. Yet, rather than focus on tighter gun safety, lawmakers yielded once more to the National Rifle Association’s agenda to freely arm the public and enrich the gun industry. The toll the proliferation of guns takes on the nation was made clear yet again on Monday when gunfire broke out at an elementary school in San Bernardino, Calif., leaving two adults and one child dead and one student critically injured.
The gun lobby is pushing hard in South Carolina for passage of the no-permit measure in the Senate, and for an assortment of other retrogressive measures in other statehouses. In Florida, the legislature is nearing final approval of a bill making the state’s notorious Stand Your Ground law even more dangerous by giving people accused of killings greater leeway to claim self-defense and immunity.
The measure would shift the burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors, who would have to show “beyond a reasonable doubt” at a pretrial hearing that a defendant’s claim of self-defense was not valid. That “will do nothing more than increase the carnage that has been inflicted on our communities,” warned one legislator, Bobby DuBose, citing research that the original Stand Your Ground law had increased homicides and diminished victims’ rights.
Fortunately, some statehouses whose members defend gun ownership seem interested in improving public safety. In Vermont, the House passed a bill last month to allow the police to confiscate temporarily the firearms of people accused of domestic abuse. This is a grave problem nationally. The bill would let officers take guns away for up to five days after heated domestic incidents, even if a firearm was not involved. “This to me isn’t about guns, per se,” said Representative Chip Conquest, a gun-rights advocate. “It’s about protecting people at a time when we know they’re particularly vulnerable from a weapon that we know is often used.”
Standing Ground Against the N.R.A.
Two years after nine churchgoers were shot to death in a horrific gun spree in Charleston, S.C., tone-deaf state lawmakers are considering a measure to allow South Carolina residents to carry guns — openly or concealed — without the need to obtain a state weapons permit.
Representative Bill Crosby supports gun rights but felt obliged to warn the House as it approved the measure last week that “all it does is it makes these good ol’ boys who like to have guns strapped to their hips not conceal them.”
The Republican-controlled House passed the dangerous laissez-faire gun bill only after limiting debate. They thereby demeaned lawmakers’ First Amendment rights in the rush to further enshrine the Second Amendment.
The carnage at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church against African-American worshipers was carried out by a racist gunman who was able to buy his weapon because of shoddy enforcement of gun control laws. Yet, rather than focus on tighter gun safety, lawmakers yielded once more to the National Rifle Association’s agenda to freely arm the public and enrich the gun industry. The toll the proliferation of guns takes on the nation was made clear yet again on Monday when gunfire broke out at an elementary school in San Bernardino, Calif., leaving two adults and one child dead and one student critically injured.
The gun lobby is pushing hard in South Carolina for passage of the no-permit measure in the Senate, and for an assortment of other retrogressive measures in other statehouses. In Florida, the legislature is nearing final approval of a bill making the state’s notorious Stand Your Ground law even more dangerous by giving people accused of killings greater leeway to claim self-defense and immunity.
The measure would shift the burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors, who would have to show “beyond a reasonable doubt” at a pretrial hearing that a defendant’s claim of self-defense was not valid. That “will do nothing more than increase the carnage that has been inflicted on our communities,” warned one legislator, Bobby DuBose, citing research that the original Stand Your Ground law had increased homicides and diminished victims’ rights.
Fortunately, some statehouses whose members defend gun ownership seem interested in improving public safety. In Vermont, the House passed a bill last month to allow the police to confiscate temporarily the firearms of people accused of domestic abuse. This is a grave problem nationally. The bill would let officers take guns away for up to five days after heated domestic incidents, even if a firearm was not involved. “This to me isn’t about guns, per se,” said Representative Chip Conquest, a gun-rights advocate. “It’s about protecting people at a time when we know they’re particularly vulnerable from a weapon that we know is often used.”
If the NRA was truly a conscionable organization advocating the responsible ownership and possession of firearms, they would fight these states eliminating requirements to obtain concealed carry permits. They would instead be advocating for training to be required to obtain a concealed carry permit. I'll bet NRA trained and certified instructors are not happy with this new legislation. Too many idiots are carrying concealed with absolutely no clue of what the laws are because they have received no training. There was a post just the other day on social media where people were saying they were going to start carrying concealed on Marshall's campus because of the drug problem and they read somewhere where the "property owner" had to ask you to leave the property first before you could actually be charged. This was in error and only applies to a private property owner who asks you to leave the property, not public property such as schools, courthouses, etc.
I'm not the typo nazi at all, but isn't it "boggles"? Or I may be wrong with how I use the phrase. Made me chuckle.
Trump find those millions of illegal voters or are you just bullshitting fake news too? Illegal voters are the GOPs bigfoot.
I have no problem with people having an ID to vote. Makes it legal and nobody can question the outcome. Back home, my friend ran an article in the local paper about how more people voted in the election for sheriff than were living in the county. Gilbert was where he lived. Teh sheriff sent a deputy to his house and put him in the hospital. Arch Moore ordered another election and was quoted as saying "hopefully, there will be fewer people voting this time around." The reason liberals, like yourself, are against it is that liberals are patently dishonest.
Voting is one of our most sacred duties as citizens. It is right and proper that those votes be protected. Therefore, showing proof of identity and eligibility to vote is crucial and simply the right thing to do in a country with 11,000,000 (at least, perhaps more) illegal aliens. It is not a hardship and ID's are required for almost anything you do in the U.S. anyway.