GUN MANUFACTURERS SHOULD THANK WAYNE LAPIERRE FOR THEIR PROFITS

Gun manufacturers

The naïve, supposed 5-million membership of the National Rifle Assn. think wacky Wayne LaPierre, head of the NRA, works on their behalf in the gun rights movement. He doesn't. He works for the gun manufacturers and it is obvious from recent profits his work has been extremely successful. Here's a report from the Guardian on the profits of two leaders in this industry: Smith & Wesson Holdings, up 150.1% in the last five years, and Sturm Ruger, up 370.6% in the same period. These profits also carry over into the retail side of the gun business: Dick’s Sporting Goods and Cabela’s, up 168.7% and 423.1% in the same five years, respectively. Now I am in full support of the U.S. capitalistic system but these profits--produced on the bloody deaths of hundreds of innocent children and adults--are abhorrent. You would think the American public would agree but they are still in their unconscionable apathetic mood while the deaths continue.

JUSTICE ANTHONY M. KENNEDY COULD DECIDE GUN CONTROL FATE

Adam Winkler...Gunfight

SCOTUS has refused to hear several gun control cases brought by the National Rifle Assn. that would allow broader open and concealed carry. Although D.C. v. Heller only clarified possession in the home, carrying a firearm outside the home is still up for grabs. The Courts have ruled against straw buyers--those purchasing guns for a third party--so what's left is background checks and open and concealed carry outside the home. Congress will probably eventually rule on the background check issue; only an idiot cannot see the benefits of making sure who is buying guns. But SCOTUS must address the 2nd Amendment issue of whether a citizen can lawfully carry a gun outside his or her home for protection.

The key vote could come from Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy; he joined the liberals in the straw buyer vote. Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who wrote Gunfight: The Battle Over the Rights to Bear Arms in America, thinks Kennedy is "willing to read gun control laws broadly." Winkler also thinks Kennedy "...insisted that the opinion establishing the individual gun ownership right, District of Columbia v. Heller, contain language that it was not calling into question reasonable restrictions on gun ownership. The door is obviously open and Kennedy could be our man.

GUN CONTROL'S NEXT FIGHT: CARRYING FIREARMS OUTSIDE HOME

True, background checks should be the primary goal for now and it looks like there is a surge in gun control support with maximum spending for those in Congress favoring the issue in November. Both Bloomberg and Gabby Giffords groups are investing heavily to offset the lies and propaganda of the National Rifle Assn. But the NRA lost in February when the Supreme Court refused to hear its cases on the right of gun owners to carry firearms outside their homes for self-defense. Another case originating in New Jersey seeking the same kind of decision was also dismissed by SCOTUS. The irony is John Drake can carry his Glock, Model 30, .45-caliber handgun in public in 38 states across the country. The District of Columbia 2008 decision upheld the individual's right to possess a gun for protection in the home. But it is widely believed that this was not meant to give the approval for the carrying of firearms outside the home.

NRA BEGETS CLIVEN BUNDY BEGETS JARED AND AMANDA MILLER BEGETS MORE VIOLENCE

Salon has made it perfectly clear how the U.S. Government mucked up the Cliven Bundy standoff by sticking their tails between their legs and simply retreating like cowards. Rick Perlstein said, "What should be judged a watershed in American history instead became a story about one man’s racist rants." He goes on to talk about how Bundy inspired Jared and Amanda Miller's killings in Nevada and then two more shootings in California. Perlstein concludes, as do most gun control advocates, that gun deaths have become a lifestyle in America, tragically, an accepted one. Apathy over the loss of your favorite college football team is one thing. Apathy over your neighbor's child's death from a gunshot wound is something else entirely.

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO NEEDS TO CLEAN UP HIS ACT BEFORE COMPLAINING ABOUT WHITEHOUSE

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona has one of the biggest mouths in law enforcement, if not the whole country. He constantly feeds the media for publicity and seems to relish getting his picture on TV or in print. He is a six-time elected Sheriff which either speaks to his competency or the incompetency of the voters of Arizona. Based on the following, I would go with the latter. After accused of racial profiling, Judge had to appoint a court monitor to keep him honest. A Dept. of Justice investigation was eventually closed after two years. Federal Judge ruled in 2008 and again in 2010 jail conditions violated constitutional rights of prisoners. The list goes on. And, of course, there is Arpaio's absurd pursuit of Obama's birth certificate conspiracy using a bunch of laughable volunteers to do his dirty work. But Arizonans keep electing him. Go figure.

TIME TO REPEAL OR AMEND 2ND AMENDMENT

The NRA's 2nd Amendment

That headline is guaranteed to get the attention of gun nuts all over the world. In the past comments have been so vicious and often life-threatening that I decided this go around with my blog not to allow them. But I know what you will say so consider yourself said but not really heard. I am not alone on this; much better minds than I have come to the same conclusion. Bill Maher said the NRA stands for "Nuts, Racists and Assholes," Very appropriate considering some past comments mentioned above. The blog,  Gun Control Now speaks to the constant argument by gun rights radicals that the 2nd makes gun control illegal. It says "The 2^nd amendment was predicated upon the maintenance of state militias—something that has become irrelevant in the face of our federal armed services—and is not something that should have allowed individuals to claim the right to own weapons."

Further, Chief Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger—a Republican—talking about the 2nd Amendment said...

“…one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word ‘fraud,’ on the American public by special interest groups that I’ve ever seen in my life time. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies—the militias—would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires.”

From another point of view Jerry Large of the Seattle Times says...

“I don’t believe the Second Amendment was ever intended to support the kind of gun craziness we contend with today, but since it’s always used to ward off any common-sense gun reforms, maybe we ought to just fix the Constitution and be done with it.”

But he admits this kind of talk just makes some Americans "...embrace their guns even more tightly..."

WHO CARES WHAT DICK CHENEY, ESPECIALLY HIS DAUGHTER, SAYS

Dick Cheney to the American public

First of all, here's the man who orchestrated the U.S. into the Iraq War on an outright lie, touting the weapons of mass destruction. And second, he later tried to convince the American public that Saddam Hussein was in on planning the 9/11 attacks. The man lies when the truth is better and he has the gall to criticize Obama's handling of the current crisis in Iraq. But writing the op-ed with his daughter is laughable; what the hell does she know about foreign policy? There is something inherent about being in political office...whether you are qualified or not. Paul Waldman on CNN says 4,500 Americans died in Iraq, and between 100,000 and 400,000 Iraqis died with the U.S spending at least $800 billion. And I won't even get into the Halliburton scandal. George W. Bush may have been the worst President but Dick Cheney was certainly the biggest conniving shyster to ever serve in the U.S. government.