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.
not4morewars has this interesting tidbit from Iowa.
Iowa "Shall Issue"
The House did not call a caucus to discuss our bill Saturday. They have told us that, in spite of this past Friday being the "last day" of the session, it will be Monday afternoon at the earliest before our bill gets a vote called. Could even be Tuesday.
So we wait.
We'll regroup on Monday and see what the day brings.
No worries. The House leadership says the bill will still get a vote, and it will pass. The final vote in the House Public Safety Committe was 17-3, and that bodes well for us.
TG's Food for Thought:
If, as so many people claim, guns are the underlying cause of violent crime, how come it is so very rare (so very rare, I've never heard of one) that violent crimes happen at gun ranges?
OMwordTHRUdaFOG found this interesting article:
Kirkland pot grower barred from buying guns
link
A medical-marijuana activist who shot an intruder in his home during a shootout this month has been barred from buying guns because he's a pot patient, according to an e-mail sent Tuesday by authorities.
Merry (the author of this last Tuesday's diary) has this for us today:
Fear: I notice a common theme in the postings in our RKBA diaries by anti-gun people. That theme seems to be fear. Fear of guns, fear of violence, the accusation that we, the gun-owners, are somehow fearful. I am reminded of the litany in the novel Dune, 'Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death...' I think it's understandable, but all too common, to be
afraid of something that you haven't had too much experience, or bad experiences, about. I was reminded of it this morning, while walking the dog around my neighborhood. There was a gentleman crossing a side street in front of me. Looked normal, dressed casually, but a closer look revealed the holstered pistol at his side. Would most people be afraid the guy was about to draw and start randomly shooting? No, in Colorado, most people would assume he's a law enforcement individual in plain clothes. So what makes it different when people see a guy in Starbucks, for example? I live in an area where most people own guns, and a lot of them have guns in their vehicles and homes, but I am certainly not fearful of any of them. Now, if someone started waving their handgun around, or pointing a shotgun at another person, yes, I'd be fearful! But it's a big difference from 99.9% of the gun owners I have known, and it's really unlikely I would use a gun against another person, except in an extreme situation of self-defense, and likely not even then. I find it more likely I'd run away, and find a way to alert law enforcement.
Next week we'll have a Tuesday diary from this guy:
Here's a preview:
I spent a year in Vietnam as a grunt and a lrrp. Sure, I killed people, in a variety of ways, till I got sick to death of it. I left the army not wanting to hold a gun again.
But time goes by. Things change, and so do people. The most galvanizing event in my life was when someone smashed his way into my house, New Years monrning , 1984. I didn't have a gun then, I had a young child in the house.