As Capitol Hill buzzed with word of the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton, the most anti-gun President in American history, Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia, Chairman of the House Task Force on Firearms and CCRKBA 1997 Legislator of the Year, more Representatives had become cosponsors of H. Res. 304, his measure to provide for a formal congressional impeachment inquiry.
Cosponsors of H. Res. 304 as of this writing include Reps. Cass Ballenger of North Carolina, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, Tom Campbell of California, Helen Chenoweth of Idaho, Larry Combest of Texas, Barbara Cubin of Wyoming, John Doolittle of California, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, Duncan Hunter of California, Sam Johnson of Texas, Jack Kingston of Georgia, Ron Lewis of Kentucky, Jack Metcalf of Washington, John Mica of Florida, Ron Paul of Texas, Richard Pombo of California, Frank Riggs of California, Dana Rohrabacher of California, Matt Salmon of Arizona, Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Pete Sessions of Texas, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Linda Smith of Washington, Mark Souder of Indiana, Cliff Stearns of Florida, Bob Stump of Arizona, Todd Tiahart of Kansas and Don Young of Alaska.
“Last November,” said Barr, “I introduced legislation to begin an impeachment inquiry, because it is the only constitutional way to resolve serious allegations of abuse of power by our nation’s highest elected leader.
“I am pleased to see more and more other Members realizing that until we complete an impeachment inquiry, our nation will continue to suffer from a lack of leadership as the President is left to twist slowly in the wind. If he has abused his office, an inquiry will be the first step in his removal from office.
“An impeachment inquiry is now a virtual certainty. Further delay will only postpone the inevitable and further damage the power and prestige of the office of the Presidency and of the United States.”
In Lawrence, Massachusetts, THE EAGLE-TRIBUNE editorialized against the Bay State’s new anti-gun law, claiming its supporters are “living in a state of delusion.”
The new law, according to the TRIBUNE, “requires gun owners to lock their weapons up or install trigger locks.
They face felony charges if they fail to do so.
“The law also bans the sale of certain ‘assault weapons,’ guns with high-capacity magazines and cheap handguns like the so-called ‘Saturday Night Specials.’ It makes illegal sawed-off shotguns and guns that cannot be detected by metal detectors. It prohibits those convicted of certain crimes from owning guns and imposes tougher sentences on those committing crimes with guns “It attacks law-abiding gun owners, dramatically increasing the fees on the permits required to own firearms.
“Our legislators believe that if they just pass the right mix of laws, no one will ever die, or be hurt, or be poor or suffer in any way. Too many of us have the save misguided faith.
“There is merit to some aspects of the law – making gun owners responsible for safe storage is one.
“But those who believe the new gun law means there will be no more deaths by gunfire in Massachusetts are living in a state of delusion.”
In St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, bowing to safety concerns, are carrying guns for the first time in its 127-year history, reports THE WASHINGTON POST. The 315-member force halted recently the tradition of responding to calls unarmed. Constables now carry their revolvers in holsters instead of the trunks of their cars, officials said. The force is the last on in North America to begin carrying weapons.
“Nothing excites the derision of progressives more than hunters, particularly those with guns, “Alexander Cockburn commented recently in THE NATION. “I must say I’ve become more benign toward the gun-toters over the years,” continues the controversial writer. “A couple of weeks ago ‘Gary Trudeau had a cartoon ridiculing Charlton Heston, now President of the NRA, for admitting to possession of 12 guns. I saw this on returning from a chat with an 82-year-old neighbor down the road here in Petrolia, Curly Wright, who hauled down his gun safe to display an arsenal of 19 rifles of one sort of another, with numberless handguns on the upper shelf, two or three shotguns and no doubt enough ammunition to blow us halfway to Japan.
“Aside from the matter of the Second Amendment – I’ll give them that, if they give us the other ones – I find the hunters more appealing and often more skeptical of established order than the bikers bounding along the path munching their Power Bars.”
From Kansas City, Missouri, Kevin L. Jamison, Attorney at Law for the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance, writes that “a referendum on a concealed carry permit system has been scheduled for a referendum in Missouri. WMSA fought the proposal to put CCW to a referendum.
“Despite our opposition, the decision has been made, we will have a referendum. There is no point in continued argument, and many points to putting aside differences.
“Gun owners cannot afford to lose this referendum. A loss on this referendum will kill chances to pass CCW in Missouri, and probably nationally, in our lifetime. If we lose, our movement will be seen as being weak, the legislature will swing its support to the prohibitionists, and we will begin to lose the rights we still have.
“The WMSA Board of Directors has unanimously voted to rejoin the Missouri Legislative Issues Council (MoLIC) and to vigorously and without reservation support the referendum. We will raise money for the referendum; we will argue in support of the referendum, we will mobilize our members to vote for the referendum. We will coordinate our efforts for the referendum through MoLIC and carry out any possible action which will aid the referendum for CCW in Missouri.”