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.
Money quote from Superpowers and the Second Amendment:
Thus I believe the calculus changes when a superhero sets out to bear his or her powers against others in public (e.g. goes out to fight crime). Luckily, many superheroes already identify themselves with costumes or visible displays of power (e.g. Superman, the Human Torch). Beyond that, most states offer concealed carry permits to the public, usually after a thorough background check and safety & marksmanship training. It may well be that the Constitution requires that if a state will grant a concealed carry permit for a firearm then it must do the same for an otherwise lawful superpower.
As Hunting Declines, Conservation Efforts Suffer
Hunting’s popularity has waned across much of the country as housing tracts replace forests, aging hunters hang up their guns and youngsters sit down in front of Facebook rather than venture outdoors.
The falloff could have far-reaching consequences beyond the beginning of the end for an American tradition, hunting enthusiasts say. With fewer hunters, there is less revenue for a multibillion-dollar industry and government conservation efforts.
"As paradoxical as it may seem, if hunting were to disappear, a large amount of the funding that goes to restore all sorts of wildlife habitat, game and nongame species alike, would disappear," said Steve Sanetti, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Fewer hunters are involved in the sport each year. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 33 states had declines in hunting license sales over the last two decades. The sharpest drop was in Massachusetts, where there has been a 50 percent falloff in hunting license sales during that time.
Millions of Americans still hunt, of course, and some states have had increases in license sales over the last 20 years. But the overarching decline has outdoor advocates worried.
Suburban sprawl has consumed prime hunting land, forcing many hunters to choose between driving for hours to get to the woods or staying home.
Fewer youngsters are taking up hunting, too.
"Fifty years ago, a lot of kids would hunt and fish and be outside," said Mark Damian Duda, the executive director of Responsive Management, a natural resources research group in Virginia. "Now it’s easier to sit in your playroom and play video games."
In Massachusetts, the lost revenue has hampered the state’s habitat restoration efforts and its ability to repair its vehicles.
Michigan has had a 31 percent drop in license sales over the last 20 years, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. As a result of the ensuing revenue losses, wildlife officials have not been able to fill 35 vacant positions and have taken a less-detailed approach to managing the deer population.
In Pennsylvania, license sales have dipped 20 percent over the last two decades. The state’s game commission has cut spending by about $1 million in the last two years, cutting back efforts to repopulate pheasants, leaving 30 positions unfilled and asking employees to repair their own vehicles, Feaser said.
Decreasing license sales in Wisconsin, one of the nation’s destination spots for deer hunting, has not been as drastic, falling 2.5 percent over the last 20 years. But the drop-off has grown steeper in the last decade. License sales for the state’s traditional November firearms deer hunt dropped 9 percent from 2000 to 2009.