Second Amendment
August 20, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has produced a “public service announcement” urging repeal of the stand your ground provisions that are part of most states’ laws on self-defense. The ad features, naturally, the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case, even though that provision of Florida law had no application to the case–you can’t retreat when you are lying flat on your back–the defense did not invoke or rely on “stand your
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August 11, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The Left’s current focus on “stand your ground” laws is intended to obscure the fact that what liberals really want to do is abolish the concept of self-defense; or, at any rate, self-defense with a firearm. That objective was made crystal clear in this exchange between Chris Matthews and Mark Glaze, the executive director of Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun organization, the deceptively-named Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Matthews asked Glaze whether a
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August 11, 2013 — Scott Johnson
John Hinderaker called out Dick Durbin for his stupidity in “Is Dick Durbin the dumbest Democrat?” Recognizing the intensity of the competition for the laurels, John left the question open, but he found Durbin definitely to be in the running. But Durbin is worse than stupid. He is a bully and a thug. As John recounted, Durbin has been sending out letters to anyone he has determined to have funded
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August 8, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The competition is intense, but Durbin is definitely a contender. Here is the latest evidence: In preparation for a previously announced hearing on controversial “stand your ground” laws announced after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., sent letters to more than 300 possible corporate backers of the American Legislative Exchange Council, requesting their position on such policies in states
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July 15, 2013 — John Hinderaker
We first got to know Stephen Hunter when he was the Washington Post’s movie critic. He is best known as a successful novelist, and he happens to know a great deal about guns. This morning Stephen sent us his thoughts on the George Zimmerman verdict: 1.) Profiling. When the president calls for “calm” in the aftermath of the jury speaking, he is profiling. When police departments call in the manpower,
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July 4, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Power Line has a 4th of July tradition: Scott writes moving and profound meditations on the Declaration and the Founding, while I go to South Dakota and blow things up. Today finds me, once again, in my home town. This year we have firearms as well as fireworks on the agenda, so we will enjoy gunpowder in its manifold forms. I will update this post, or add new ones, over
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June 20, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I have been obsessed with immigration lately, because our country’s future hangs in the balance. But let’s take a break and focus on something more cheerful: firearms. Fun things have been getting delivered to my house lately. First, 1,000 rounds of 9 mm ammo from a source in another state, whom I was hooked up with via a Power Line reader. Then another 1,000 rounds of 9 mm, and I’m
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June 10, 2013 — John Hinderaker
We wrote here about an astonishing moment of insensitivity on the part of a Democratic member of Colorado’s legislature: A young woman named Amanda Collins mustered the courage to testify before a Colorado legislative committee on that state’s proposed gun ban legislation. Ms. Collins testified in opposition to a blanket ban on guns on college campuses, and described her own rape. She had a permit to carry a pistol but
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May 24, 2013 — Steven Hayward
One of my favorite Facebook groups is “2nd Amendment Hotties,” and apparently more than a few other people like it too, as it has something like 16,000 “likes” on FB. Would seem an omission not to share some of its awesomeness with Power Line readers, especially since we’re still in a too-long hiatus of beauty pageants worthy of John’s coverage. So enjoy this respite from scandalmania for a holiday Friday.
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May 18, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Beretta USA has been headquartered in Maryland for many years. But Maryland’s left-wing governor, Martin O’Malley, has just signed legislation that, among other things, bans the possession or use of average-capacity magazines. Beretta naturally views this as an insult to its products, its customers and its employees, and is looking for a new home. I like Beretta’s statement on the issue: The question now facing the Beretta Holding companies in
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May 11, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I wrote here about buying a new handgun, a SIG Sauer P938. The P938 is a 9 mm. pocket pistol, suitable for carrying. I got the Nightmare version: I was traveling on business last weekend, so today was my first opportunity to take my new gun to the range. My son and I shot for an hour this morning; we took all five of our pistols, but focused mainly on
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May 1, 2013 — John Hinderaker
For readers of a certain age, that might sound like the title of a Playboy article of the 1960s or 70s. But no: it is the NRA’s latest volley in its pro-gun rights campaign. It makes a lot of sense, too. Women are the fastest-growing demographic of gun purchasers, and manufacturers are increasingly catering to them with firearms designed specifically with women in mind. Ammunition makers, too: I recently saw,
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April 29, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I got a carry permit a couple of months ago, but my guns have been full-sized–an Armalite AR-24 9 mm. pistol, and a SIG Sauer Mosquito .22–and not really suitable for carrying. So I ordered a carry piece through a friend who owns a gun shop outside the Twin Cities. It arrived today, having rolled off the factory line on April 18. So I left work a few minutes early
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April 26, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Well, you know, who needs a 7-quart pressure cooker? Michael Ramirez puts the question into the context of the marathon bombers: I saw a poll where more than 60% of Massachusetts residents said they wished they had a gun when the marathon bombers were on the loose. Really, you wonder why it wouldn’t be 100%. You could be a victim, but why would you want to be? Why shouldn’t dopey
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April 17, 2013 — John Hinderaker
After his gun control proposals were defeated today in the Senate, President Obama gave a speech in the Rose Garden, surrounded by Joe Biden, Gabrielle Giffords, and Newtown parents. He went on what can charitably be described as an angry rant. If only he had shown this much emotion about, say, Benghazi! As usual, Obama’s approach was to demonize those who disagree with him: “The gun lobby and its allies
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April 17, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Expanded background checks, the only gun control measure that had a chance of passage went down to defeat in the Senate a little while ago, falling short of the 60 votes needed for cloture on a 54-46 vote. (The measure actually had 55 Senators in favor, but Harry Reid switched his vote to preserve his ability to call the measure up again at a later date.) Democrats Max Baucus, Mark
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April 16, 2013 — John Hinderaker
In the wake of Newtown, the media cheered liberal politicians who thought the moment had come to cut back on the Second Amendment. Liberal reporters gave enormous publicity to Dianne Feinstein’s proposals to ban “assault weapons,” which basically means semiautomatic rifles–by a wide margin, the least popular murder weapon in the U.S.–and standard-capacity magazines. But then a funny thing happened: most Americans didn’t buy it. The air quickly went out
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