Carolyn McCarthy – LonelyMachines

And Here We Go

It’s one day after Christmas, and we’re off to the races. Carolyn McCarthy is pushing to get her high-capacity magazine ban out of committee, where it’s been wallowing in obscurity since January of 2011. Bobby Rush is trying to revive the Blair Holt gun registration bill, as he’s done every year since 2000.

I don’t give either bill good odds of progressing, but if you’ve got a Representative on the Judiciary Committee, it’s worth dropping them an email. If yours is a Democrat, it’s even more important, since most of those on the committee have a history of supporting gun control.

In other news, Dianne Feinstein is proposing a national buyback program on so-called assault weapons. In case you’re not familiar with the idea, several major cities offer financial incentives for gang members and drug dealers to turn their guns in for gift cards or pittances of cash.

Never mind that those initiatives are a big expense to taxpayers and that they don’t work.

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Civil Rights Humor

Friday Quickies

Joe McCarthy? No, worse!

You too can be Irony King (or other monarch) of the week by going here and giving your address. They send you one of these bumper stickers free. The site says it’ll take 4-6 weeks to ship, but that’s still plenty of time before the primaries.

In other news, there’s a promising verdict from the North Carolina Superior Court (opinion linked at Volokh) upholding a felon’s right to keep and bear arms.

Before you flinch at that, bear in mind that one can be punished as a felon for crimes that do little or no real harm to anyone. Rehabilitation or decades of clean living don’t matter: a felony conviction of any sort is a lifetime ban from owning firearms. However, if the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental liberty (as the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald), can felons be denied its exercise forever? After all, they still have rights to freedom of speech and legal counsel, right?

Civil Rights

The Usual Suspects

1 comment

None of this is anything new, novel, or unexpected.

Carolyn McCarthy will be presenting a bill [pdf] on Tuesday, as yet un-numbered, to “prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.” Yes, she’s capitalizing on Saturday’s tragedy in Tuscon. Yes, it’s revolting. No, I really don’t expect any better out of her.

Before anyone panics, let’s remember that Ms. McCarthy has attempted to reintroduce the Assault Weapons Ban every single session since 2003. It has never made it out of committee. Tuesday’s bill will be met with the same crushing apathy. It will not pass.

Next, consider Peter King’s proposed bill to ban the carry of firearms within 1000 feet of a federal official. Such a thing is utterly unfeasible to implement. Would police have to pat down every WalMart customer when a local politician goes shopping? What happens when your Senator wants to go to the range?

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Civil Rights

When in Doubt, Blame the 2nd Amendment

Two other amicus briefs on behalf of the respondents in McDonald v. Chicago warrant mention. The first [pdf] is filed on behalf of the Villages of Winnetka & Skokie, Illinois. The other is written by Carolyn McCarthy.

You may remember Skokie from its brief cameo in the Blues Brothers. In their brief, they maintain that incorporation of the 2nd Amendment would violate Home Rule powers. They also worry that constituents will grow weary of seeing their government spend tax dollars defending unconstitutional regulations.

Another aspect of amici’s experiences should concern the Court. When Evanston and Winnetka repealed their more restrictive laws in 2008, it was not because their citizens or legislators had been persuaded by policy arguments like the ones advanced by petitioners, respondent NRA, and their amici–but rather because they determined that the costs of defending the laws in federal court were too high to have local taxpayers bear.

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