RKBA is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who also have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion. RKBA stands for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
KV: Our Tuesday diarist didn't show up. Apologies to all who were expecting a diary on Tuesday.
Shadan:
And remember, only the police are sufficiently trained and skilled in the use of their weapons to be allowed to carry guns:
Backfires from broken-down van draw bullets from KC police
Phillip Ransom thought he had trouble Thursday night when his old van broke down on the side of the road, booming out backfires.
But that was when his troubles really began.
Two Kansas City police officers, mistaking the van’s backfires for gunshots, began firing at it.
* * *
Fortunately he was not hit. At least three bullets hit the van. Ransom said he did not know how many shots were fired.
"I wasn’t counting," he said. "But it sounded like a lot.
Even better, these idiots managed to shoot out some of the windows in their own squad car, evidently while exiting the vehicle. Read the article, and think just HOW MANY violations of safe weapons handling they must have made in order to pull of such a stupid stunt.
I suspect that someone's gonna be sent for remedial training. If they're lucky.
Fog dude:
mandatory minimum five-year enhancements 4 gun possession
In a unanimous decision Monday, the Supreme Court upheld the sentences of two men who received mandatory minimum five-year sentencing enhancements for possessing a gun during the commission of a drug offense. Under federal law, the presence of a weapon merits the five-year sentence, which must run consecutive to any other sentences.
In appealing their sentences, both men pointed to a 1998 revision of the 1968 federal gun control law. In that revision, Congress added a new preface saying the gun enhancement would apply "except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is provided." Both men argued that their longer sentences on related charges should have voided the additional five years on the gun convictions.
Monday's ruling is just one more indicator that the Supreme Court is not overly concerned about long, sometimes decades long, prison sentences meted out to drug offenders who possess guns, whether or not the weapon was used or displayed. The poster boy for the injustice of the gun sentencing enhancement is Weldon Angelos, a Salt Lake City pot dealer and aspiring rap music empresario who is now serving a 55-year sentence because he carried a pistol as he went about his business, even though he never shot or threatened anyone or brandished his gun. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction in 2006.