Surprise: Concealed Weapons Permits Through the Roof

Having the Democrats in power again has certainly provided some much needed economic stimulus for one industry: firearms. And it didn't even require a billion dollar program that went broke after 5 days. From USA Today:

Interest groups on both sides agree that demand for permits is up because of economic uncertainty and concerns about a new president and a Democrat-controlled Congress.

"People pay attention to politics. … They're afraid of another effort" to try to enact more gun control, says Andrew Arulanandam, spokesman for the National Rifle Association. "Part of the concern is spurred by the economic downturn and fear that crime will go up."

Since violent crime has been dropping despite the economy going kaputz, I'd say that it has more to do with the traditional fears that the Democrats are coming for your guns (a characterization that lives on from the Clinton years). Even though the 2nd Amendment has not come under fire (yet), you can never be too safe these days.

Power To the People

From the always on-point Attack Cartoons

Lest we forget about the plight of Iranians during a barrage of croaked celebrities, it's very difficult to exercise any rights when the government has the ability to overpower its citizens with force. The Second Amendment enables the government to be perpetually afraid and mindful of its people and not the other way around. Certainly, non-violent demonstrations (MLK, Gandhi) are ideal, but in some cases, the people may have no other options. Shit, our country chucked the king out on his ass with violence for taxes that would seem benign nowadays. Look at what the Iranians have to deal with on a daily basis.

An Armed Society is a Polite Society

Here's some evidence of why Georgia's lax concealed carry laws benefit the general public. The only loser here is the crime scene clean-up crew sifting through brain matter splattered all over the keg. From WSBTV in Georgia:

Bailey said he thought it was the end of his life and the lives of the 10 people inside his apartment for a birthday party after two masked men with guns burst in through a patio door.

“They just came in and separated the men from the women and said, ‘Give me your wallets and cell phones,’” said George Williams of the College Park Police Department.

Bailey said the gunmen started counting bullets. “The other guy asked how many (bullets) he had. He said he had enough,” said Bailey.

That’s when one student grabbed a gun out of a backpack and shot at the invader who was watching the men. The gunman ran out of the apartment.

The student then ran to the room where the second gunman, identified by police as 23-year-old Calvin Lavant, was holding the women.

“Apparently the guy was getting ready to rape his girlfriend. So he told the girls to get down and he started shooting. The guy jumped out of the window,” said Bailey.

CNN Uses Graphic of Heavy-Caliber Machine Gun To Discuss "Assault Weapons Ban"

Cache Find in Mexico That an Assault Weapons Ban Would Have Little Effect On

Obama's trip to Mexico has ignited debate about how to curb drug cartel violence. Along with tanks and nuclear warheads, the above pictured weaponry is not legally allowed to be possessed by your average U.S. citizen. However, it was the featured graphic on an article discussing the pros and cons of Obama reinstituting the Assault Weapons Ban to halt trafficking South of the Border. It goes to show how we're failing to address the root problems of the violence in Mexico. From CNN:

Obama still supports reinstating the ban, as he did during the presidential campaign, but there are no plans to reintroduce it anytime soon, according to an administration official. Obama thinks more can be done to stop the illegal flow of weapons to Mexico within existing laws, the official said, noting that the president has taken steps to deploy more law enforcement to curb the illegal flows of drugs, weapons and cash in both directions across the border.

The Mexican drug cartels are often utilizing heavy weaponry that is only available to the military, and only about 17% of weapons seized in Mexico are being traced back to the states, but President Calderon of Mexico has been on a media blitz on American TV trying to drum up support for an Assault Weapons Ban in America. Certainly, we should take measures to assist Mexico in their war against the cartel thugs, but seeing how an AWB would have an effect on the violence is unclear. Mostly because the cartels could get and have gotten their weapons elsewhere and bringing weapons from the U.S. to Mexico is already illegal. Why not just enforce that law? The fact that the media continues to saturate this debate with little knowledge of already existing restrictions on firearms makes things more frustrating.

Also, another piece of disinformation is the DEA saying that the higher the bodycount in Mexico, the more successful the Drug War is being conducted. From NY Daily News:

The body count shows that Calderon's crackdown is "shrinking" the drug trade, and doesn't mean Mexico is becoming a failed state, another official said.

"It's not the harbinger of imminent failure, it's the signpost of success," said DEA intelligence chief Tony Placido.

Weird. If the purpose of the drug war is to protect people from self-destructive behavior, why is rampant cartel violence from people using corruption and murder to get an edge on the black-market beneficial to society? Obama doesn't strike me as a total numbskull on foreign policy, perhaps he'll finally realize that it's best to throw in the towel on the utopian promise of a drug-free America.

Attorney General To Re-impose Assault Weapons Ban

Nothing freaks out non-country club going conservatives like the prospect of jack-booted thugs from the government coming to seize your firearms. At best, gun control is a way to tamper down on an American sub-culture that might prove "problematic" for the administration. And at worst, it's the first step to rounding up "unenlightened" Americans for the 21st century gulags. That's why Obama's "bitter" comment proved so embarrassing for him during the campaign season, because many Americans value the importance of the reasons behind the 2nd Amendment with zero equivication. This might seem completely paranoid and maniacal to you (although I'm drifting further into that camp by the day), but it's difficult to understand any sort of rationale behind Attorney General Holder's announcement to re-institute the Assault Weapons Ban. From ABC:

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.

While Mexico is certainly having a crisis of security, the Mexican drug cartels are not using AR-15s, but grenades, RPGs, and automatic weapons which are not available in American gun shops. Don't expect Holder to re-think the decades long failed drug policies in America, because the man is a confirmed crusader. The left did their best in the 90s to disarm the American population by swarming like buzzards around human tragedy to portray every school shooting as the fault of the NRA. Michael Moore interviewing an Alzheimer's-ridden Charlton Heston during Bowling For Columbine showed their "by any means necessary" approach to this end. Sure, liberal weenies are funny as hell when they're crying about trees or screaming while being arrested, but these people are in charge now and their threat to freedom shouldn't be laughed off. Don't think bad shit can't happen here because it's America. [/end paranoid rant for the day]

Gun Buy-Back Program Goes Over Like a Lead Balloon in Denver

With the imminent collapse of society, firearms have been selling faster than Hannah Montana twat shots. So a program to buy people's guns back for a lousy 50 bucks predictably went down in flames. From the Denver Post (h/t Moonbattery):

Organizers of a supposed gun buy-back had dozens of people lining up to turn in their weapons, although only 15 were collected today for the Denver Police Department to destroy and melt down.

Held at New Covenant Christian Church in Denver to raise awareness about gun violence, the gun buy-back turned into a gun give-back event when the program could not afford to pay $50 as initially advertised.

The Rev. Reginald Holmes, a pastor at the church, said about 40 people with a total of 120 guns showed up but were turned off to the idea of just donating their guns.

"It's a tough economy, people want an incentive," Holmes said.

Denver Million Family March Organization leader Alvertis Simmons said a lack of response and support from the community has been an "appalling silence."

Sorry Ms. Simmons, but the only "appalling silence" would be a jam on your AR-15 when zombies were breaking down the door. Firearms and what you learned from the Road Warrior might be the only thing saving your ass when civil society falls apart. Just ask a Korean businessman in Los Angeles who was around in 1992.

This is an example of a touchy-feely social engineering program designed to sound good but is highly impractical, which Colorado has a history of. During the DNC this year, they had a carbon-offset program for attendees which raised a whopping $18.34 for a busted wind turbine. I see the Good Idea fairy is not just limited to staff officers in the military.