Wednesday, December 31, 2014

How Do We Keep Guns Away From Cop Killers?

The brutal assassination of two New York City police officers was an unspeakable tragedy.

For those of us with family members in law enforcement, it was a horrific reminder of the risks that police officers face each and every day.

For those of us who follow politics, it was an illustration of how fear mongering and propaganda have serious consequences.

And for those of us who believe deeply in gun rights, it was an illustration that even our most precious ideals sometimes have exceptions.

This tragedy made me realize that police need better tools to keep guns away from violent thugs. The unfortunate fact is that existing gun laws did nothing to stop cop killer Ismail Brinsley.

Brinsley was able to get his hands on a gun despite having been arrested fifteen times and having already spent four terms in prison. With no chance of passing a criminal background check, he bought the murder weapon – a Taurus P92 9mm – by turning to the black market and buying the gun illegally.

Stopping illegal gun purchases could mean passing laws that crack down on “straw purchasing” – where a legal gun owner purchases a weapon for a criminal. It could mean developing a better system for monitoring the gun ownership of convicted felons. It could mean developing a national database of the mentally ill, as the NRA has proposed.

Finding the right solution is not going to be easy. But the NYPD murders show that police need to be better equipped to protect themselves and the public from violent thugs with guns.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Is A Time For Joy, And Increased Caution

Christmas is one of the most joyous times of the year. Families come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the start of a new year and, most importantly, each other.

However, not everyone has these same positive sentiments. Home invasions and robberies have become increasingly more common around the holidays.

Last week the Fulton Hill neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia increased police patrols after two violent break-ins occurred within a mile of each other.

A few days earlier, thieves broke into a Superior Township, Michigan home and stole a slew of valuable personal items, including Christmas presents.

Families must be vigilant in warding off these Christmas grinches. Keep all doors locked, stow gifts out of sight of windows, and be mindful of strangers in the neighborhood.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Open Carry Texas Activist Kills Husband and Stepdaughter

Open Carry Texas gained national attention last summer for its habit of bringing large guns into crowded restaurants and stores. This tactic prompted ridicule from both the left and the right, even causing the NRA to call them “weird”.

Now the group is back in the news, and again it is for all of the wrong reasons. One of its members was charged with murder last week after shooting and killing her estranged husband and his stepdaughter.

Open Carry Texas member Veronica Dunnachie and her husband were in the middle of a divorce when the incident occurred. Immediately after committing the murders, Dunnachie drove to a local health center and confessed.

The media is now using the story of this “militia mom” to paint gun rights supporters as murderous psychopaths. Left-wing blogs and websites are having a field day posting pictures of Dunnachie posing with her firearms.

The media’s exploitation of this tragedy is nothing more than shameless opportunism. But it is also entirely predictable. By now, conservatives should know that anything we do that fits into their stereotypes will blow up into national news.

That’s why gun rights supporters and conservatives need to do a better job of quieting reckless and inflammatory groups like Open Carry Texas. The more we let these groups define us, the worse off we will be.

By welcoming someone like Dunnachie into their ranks, Open Carry Texas has proven yet again that fringe activist groups do more harm than good.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Dem Congresswoman: Facts “Not A Concern” In Ferguson Case

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton spoke for most liberals last week when she told Sean Hannity of Fox News that evidence is “not a concern” when it comes to the Darren Wilson case.

Norton’s comments came after Hannity asked her point blank whether she had actually reviewed the evidence from the Ferguson grand jury.

Her answer? Of course not.

“The evidence, that’s for you, that’s for the pundits, that’s not where I am,” she said, before launching into a familiar leftist screed about racism and police-community relations.

Hannity continued to press Norton about the circumstances of the case, pointing out that that Michael Brown had robbed a store prior to being stopped and that several witnesses testified that he charged Officer Wilson before the fatal shots were fired.

But Norton would have none of it, insisting that she didn’t want to “talk about the case” and preferred to focus on “what we should do going forward.”

Like too many of her left-wing acolytes, Norton prefers to stoke outrage rather than engage in a serious discussion about what happened in Ferguson.

The fact is that this tragedy could have been avoided if Michael Brown had simply followed orders instead of attacking a police officer and grabbing his gun. That kind of reaction is simply asking for trouble.

But far be it from leftists to let little things like facts get in the way of a valuable political opportunity.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The Media’s Hypocrisy On Criticizing Politicians’ Families

Republican Party staffer Elizabeth Lauten resigned from her post as communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee after criticizing Malia and Sasha Obama on Facebook last week.

Lauten’s post took issue with the Obama girls’ behavior at the annual pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey, saying that they were dressed like they wanted “a spot at the bar” and that they should have shown more “class”.

Lauten later issued a half-hearted apology, in which she admitted that she failed to consider how “hurtful” her words could be. The apology wasn’t enough, and yesterday she announced that she would be stepping down from her job.

Lauten’s comments about Sasha and Malia were uncalled for and inappropriate. But some liberal commentators are taking things a step further, declaring that personal attacks like this are a trademark of the Republican Party. According to Hot Air, a guest on CNN claimed that Republicans are uniquely apt to attack their opponents’ families because Republicans in general tend to be angrier and more irrational.

This is a completely ridiculous. If anything, it is Democrats who routinely smear their enemies’ families with personal attacks.

Remember the way the Bush twins were treated? Jenna faced constant ridicule for simple mistakes like sticking her tongue out at the White House press corps and for tripping and falling at a college party, leading to allegations that she had a drinking problem. Saturday Night Live even did an entire sketch mocking the twins in 2004.

And what about the Bristol Palin? During the 2008 presidential campaign, the press even went so far as to speculate that Palin’s fifth child was in fact Bristol’s.

It’s not just cable news and The Daily Show that attack Republicans families. When John Roberts became a Supreme Court justice in 2005, the Washington Post ran an entire editorial criticizing the clothing of his four and five year old children.

Elizabeth Lauten was out of line in publicly criticizing the appearance and behavior of Sasha and Malia Obama. But she was merely following in the tradition of the media and the Democratic Party.