Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, news stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

[Rhode Island] Guns for Ivy Leaguers? Texan student at Brown University thinks so, in a tongue in cheek op-ed:

... Granted, I did live a solid eight years of my life in Texas - the real Texas, not the bastion of liberalism that is the city of Austin. My friends and peers in Rhode Island seem to have a very different opinion about firearms than that of my high school friends. Here, they claim that guns "harm people," that an accident could cause "fatal injuries" to occur. But once you tear down their rhetoric and statistics, you just might find that gun control advocacy is little more than a support group for children who can't handle a real man's weapon.

I have no doubt that the powers that be will approve of this most noble cause, and that URI and the other state schools will make the same decision that Brown made three years ago. That is why, in order to keep ourselves ahead of the pack, I suggest that Brown set a new trend. It is time for the University to start arming its students.

Believe me, this could be the dawn of a bright new age for Brown. Imagine the improvements that could be made to freshman orientation for the class of 2013. Along with receiving an orientation packet, room key and ID card, they could receive a shiny new Glock .22, a favorite firearm among the majority of police departments in America. In addition to attending class meetings regarding diversity, alcohol consumption and sexual harassment, they could host a gun safety fair. Instead of your ordinary unit activities, residential peer leaders could hold shooting contests.

In fact, an entirely new position, the Firearms Peer Counselor, could be created to provide support and guidance for the new students as they adjust to their newfound freedom (courtesy of the Second Amendment). Of course, where the WPCs and RCs dispense condoms and dental dams for students in need, the FPC would dispense rounds and earplugs.

There would be benefits for upperclassmen as well. Late-night walks, once deemed too risky without the reassuring presence of a pair of SafeWalk escorts, would become a trendy and relaxing new exercise option. The location of the former Smith Swim Center could be rather easily (and cheaply) converted into a shooting range. With a little ammunition, maybe Students for a Democratic Society could finally stage a successful protest. ...

Mike Stollenwerk takes the Wall Street Journal to task for its misuse of terminology:

... Red faced, I did not dare look up as I incredulously read the newspaper correction over and over:

"U.S. law-enforcement officials have seen a spike in heavy-caliber rifles heading to Mexico. A World News article Saturday incorrectly quoted William D. Newell of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives describing a spike in machine guns. "Machine gun" is a technical term for a classification of a firearm that doesn't describe the type of weapon he was referring to."

...
Misuse of the term “machine gun” to describe ordinary run of the mine rifles by the Wall Street Journal goes to show you that when it comes to guns, the mainstream media knows no shame. Labeling a machine gun a “technical term” for certain rifles is about as kookie as saying a tank is a special type of automobile. ...

Writing at LewRockwell.com, Michael Gaddy thinks there's no political or judicial support for the Second Amendment:

... Another serious mistake 2A supporters could fall into would be to believe that the Obama administration will be too busy with the economic storm to move for draconian firearms legislation. The chaos that will result from the Keynesian economic approach now being employed by this administration will eventually lead to the rapid breakdown of law and order as the desperate and criminal-minded seek to secure the property of others. The state will then convince Boobus the only way to stop the violence will be to seize all privately owned firearms. Magnify the chaos and violence in the aftermath of Katrina by thousands of US cities and the picture should become clear. The state’s answer to the violence in New Orleans was to seize the firearms of law-abiding citizens. It will happen again. ...

More states seek to assert their Tenth Amendment rights:

Last week, HUMAN EVENTS reported that eleven states, Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas, had all “all introduced bills and resolutions” declaring their sovereignty over Obama’s actions in light of the 10th Amendment.
...
This week, HUMAN EVENTS is happy to report that five more states have decided to invoke the 10th as well.

These five -- Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana, and West Virginia -- have all begun their action under the 10th Amendment in a bid to protect themselves from what they view as nothing less than an unconstitutional usurpation of power on the part of the Obama administration. ...