If it's blue, you can go there. If it's been struck out, you've been there, but if it's been a while you might want to check it again!
Firearm Ban
April 19, 2009
For those of you out there which are under the impression that President Obama is going to ban the majority of firearms and make it next to impossible for a law abiding citizen to own a gun, here are two article from the news yesterday showing just how unlikely gun laws are to happen.
This article lists a most shocking result of votes on the ban. 22 democrats voted with 40 republicans to NOT reinstate the ban, and furthermore 65 democrats went on to state they would oppose ANY weapon bans introduced.
"Merely hinting at renewal of the assault weapons ban provoked 65 House Democrats, many from swing districts, to warn the Obama administration that they would "actively oppose" any revival." San Francisco Chronicle
The second is from ABC News, which has traditionally been more of a democratic news source. ABC News
Obama has decided now to focus on legislature to stop the flow of weapons into and out of the U.S. and Mexico.
Take a few minutes to search the internet, and you will find that gun control is most likely not going to happen any time soon. Although not likely to happen, I doubt the Obama administration is likely to give up though. After all, as Al Gore once pointed out, "A leopard doesn’t change his stripes." (Yes, leopards have spots, not stripes.)
Now, I have heard that Obama has renewed the Clinton ban on assault weapons and added 150 new guns, including all semi-automatic handguns. i have searched all over the internet and have yet to find one legitimate news source for this particular policy. According to most sources, he WANTS to renew the original ban permanently on the semi-automatic military style assault weapons. I have not found anything to imply he wants to ban all semi-auto handguns. It would however, re-ban the high capacity magazines for weapons, or any magazine which holds more than ten rounds. Also, just as in the original, this would do nothing to stop the sale of guns manufactured before the bill took effect, and there are a LOT of guns already out there.
I'm not arguing for or against a ban, as on one side, the second amendment does guarantee us the right to bear arms, but should there be a limit to that? What is acceptable? A hunting rifle? What about a shotgun? What if it is a semi-auto, gas powered, 30 round, high powered assault rifle? If all of those are okay, then what about a grenade? Is it an arm? By definition, yes. So should we all have grenades? What about a light, anti tank rocket launcher? Again, it's an arm, and the 2nd amendment says we have the right to bear and keep arms. What if some moron decides to use it to kill a squirrel in his back yard and instead blows up a nearby school? Some would argue that wouldn't happen, but think about all of the accidental shootings which occur each year with a weapon that can only hit one at a time. Then there is the law enforcement side of it. I know I never want to get out of my car only to have some tweaked out felon toss a grenade under me or decide now would be a good time to try out his new rocket propelled grenade launcher. Weapons become more and more deadly by the day, so do we protect our rights, our safety, or do we compromise? Who really needs a fully automatic sub-machine gun? Most officers are never trained to shoot a full auto, and the ones that are still occasionally miss. If you unload 30 rounds at an intruder in your house with an assault rifle, only to hit him with five, what happens to the rest? The walls don't stop them. They go right next door and kill your neighbor's child. Who is at fault? Remember, guns don't kill people. Obviously this is a very complex topic which needs more thought than just "The right to bear ANY arm" or "Nobody should own a weapon."
If someone can send me some links to some legitimate sources regarding Obama's intentions, I would appreciate it. And please, no conspiracy theorist sites.
The cold wind blew across the barren field. Where once was lush, green grass, now was a pure, white blanket of snow. The wind blew hard that day, harder than it seemed to have blown for a long time.
“Global warming,” he thought to himself. “What a joke. Tell my toes it’s getting hotter, they could use the warmth.”
Footprints raced across the snow. Some impressions were light, then after a few steps there would be heavy tracks. After a few more feet, the impressions in the snow easily revealed where the person who left the tracks had stopped to catch their breath, only to take off again attempting to leave light, untraceable tracks. It didn’t do any good. There they were, a dead giveaway leading off into the distance, over a nearby hill.
“Of course he picks the coldest day of the year to do this.” He said to himself, the breath from his mouth seemed to crystallize as it came out. “What am I doing out here?”
He had already crossed about twenty acres of frozen ground. Ice formed on his belt and gear, around his heavy parka, and on his feet. Behind him, in the far distance, you could still make out the flashing red and blue lights of his patrol car parked alongside the road where the fugitive wrecked the car he had stolen.
“I could just say I lost his tracks, and get back in my nice, warm car.” Although a warm heater sounded nice, he kept on walking. He knew he had to. The fugitive, in such a rush, had no coat, no shoes, and only a thin, orange inmate jumpsuit. He wouldn’t survive long as cold as it was. “It must be minus 5 degrees out here, if not worse.”
He wasn’t far off. Seven below zero was what the weatherman had said last, with the wind chill dropping to almost 20 below. The wind blew so hard, it picked up the snow and hurled it into his face like thousands of little bees, all eager to sting. Still, he trudged on.
After what seemed hours, he crested the top of the hill, and on the other side was quite a site. It appeared the hill was much steeper on the opposite side. After about a two hundred yard drop, there was a small lining of trees, but the wind blew so hard they could hardly be made out. What caught his attention though was the odd snow pattern. In was quite apparent that in the fugitive’s attempt to get away, he went for quite a tumble down the snow covered hillside. The wanted man was only about five foot nine and weighed roughly one-sixty, but the trough he left behind looked as if a passenger jetliner had tried to land on its belly. “Well, if he wasn’t cold before.” Was all he could chuckle about, for he knew that after a tumble like that, his prey would be soaking wet from the snow, and most likely injured.
He hurried down the hill as best he could, but it still took a good fifteen minutes to reach the tree line. He was cold, his feet hurt, he couldn’t feel his nose anymore, and his cheeks looked like little frozen tomatoes. He had walked the entire trek while wearing boots, plenty of layers, gloves and a thick parka, and yet he was exhausted from the exposure. How the runner had managed to get so far simply amazed him.
After reaching the trees, he paused to look around. The tracks seemed to go everywhere, as if a desperate man struggled even more desperately to find a place to hide. But the wind, cold and lack of cover had taken its course on the man. Freezing, shivering, and near death, he propped himself up against a nearby tree and waited.
Whether awaiting rescue or simply certain death, the officer couldn’t say. He approached the man parked against a tree. As any hunter can tell you, the most dangerous time to approach your prey is when it’s corned with no way out. Even when death in inevitable, that is when the target can become the most dangerous.
Shivering, wet, covered in ice and desperate, the fugitive raised his right hand out of the snow, revealing the silver barrel of a .45 magnum revolver. He leveled it at the officer’s chest. Perhaps it was the cold getting to him, or simply he was just too tired to notice, but the officer just stood there. For nearly a minute, both men stared at each other. Neither of them could say a word. Would this be the end? One, death by cold, the other a bullet?
The desperate fugitive was sapped. His strength was gone, he was dying and he knew it. Unable to move, he knew his only chance to stay alive was with the person he had at gunpoint. He didn’t care, he would rather have died than go back to prison. Fate has a funny way of never giving one what they want though, and as he used every last bit of strength left in him, he squeezed down on the trigger.
No click, no bang, just a final sigh as the man knew he was caught. The gun, after being covered in snow and ice for so long after rolling down the hill, simply did not go off. It was frozen stiff. His arm dropped to the ground as the resignation overtook him. He gave in to the cold, and to the fear, and to his captor.
The officer took the gun from the man and placed it in his coat pocket. He knelt down beside the man. Grabbing the man’s left arm, he wrapped it around his neck and stood the man up. Overhead, he could hear the rescue helicopter approaching. There was a clearing about three hundred yards away, all he had to do was get there. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Actually, due to an overabundance of interest this past week, I have not posted much. Some of you might notice a post or two missing. This is not an apology to anyone, so don't even think it is. However, what I had posted really started to bother me. I'm not one for behaving in that manner and so I felt it only right to remove it. So in it's place, I found this:
If you are ever sitting around the house, wondering how to get your wife out of your hair so you can actually enjoy an afternoon nap, do what I did! I bought my wife a job! As soon as she opens, she'll be spending every day (except Sunday) tending to her new fabric store, Sew Crafty! Now, I can finally get some rest and relaxation in (well not yet, but as soon as it's opened!)
