Elites Losing Climate and Gun Argument

Michael Barone (via Glenn Reynolds) argues that elites are "out of touch" on climate change and gun control: Many years ago, political scientists came up with a theory that elites lead public opinion. And on some issues, they clearly do. But on some issues, they don't. Two examples of the latter phenomenon are conspicuous at a time when Barack Obama enjoys ...

Heller Denied D.C. Gun Permit

Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned Washington, D.C.'s 32-year-old ban on handguns and established that the 2nd Amendment provided an individual right to own guns, was denied a handgun permit by the District yesterday. He was among the first in line Thursday morning to apply for a handgun permit. But when he tried to ...

D.C. Bans Guns with Red Tape

The District of Columbia has made it legal for residents to own a handgun after being so ordered by the United States Supreme Court.  But they're not making it easy. The plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned Washington's strict 32-year-old handgun ban was among the first to arrive as the city started registering firearms.  Dick Heller showed up early ...

Gun Control Irony Alert

Under the provocative headline "The Thugs Win the Case," WaPo columnist Colbert King sniffs of the Supreme Court's ruling yesterday in Heller, There's one group of District residents absolutely unfazed by today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling shooting down the District's strict handgun ban: the dudes who have been blowing away their fellow citizens with abandon since the law was put on ...

Female Gun Market?

Megan McArdle has some interesting thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision today overturning DC's handgun ban. As she readily admits, you can get better legal analysis elsewhere. This, however, is a unique contribution to the debate: There is a distressing lack of attention to the female market in gun companies. I want something with accuracy and stopping power, but ...

Tokyo Stabbing Spree

A crazed Tokyo man has killed seven people in a stabbing spree. A man who police said "was tired of life" drove into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday and then went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's premier electronics and video game district, killing seven people and wounding 10, authorities said. The deadly lunchtime assault happened in Akihabara district after the ...

Lunch With Instapundit

I just had a lunch with Glenn Reynolds, who was in town to speak to the NRA Convention about Heller. We discussed such things as local politics, the high amusement value of the Democrat Presidential primary, Joss Whedon returning to Fox, and the fact that while the overall quality of movies is declining there are actually more TV shows ...

Gun Owners Not Uneducated, Poor, or Bitter

Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks steps past the politics of "Bittergate" and looks at the actual facts. Barack Obama said of people in small town American that, "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." ...

On Bitterness, Cynicism and Frustration

So I'm just now getting around to following "bittergate"--the blogospheric furor that has erupted from Barack Obama's sociological observation that people vote on cultural issues because they don't trust the government on economic issues. (My colleague James has covered this matter here and here.) For further reference, here is the particular portion of the speech at issue, which ...

Obama on Guns, God, and Hate in Rural America

Barack Obama's foray into pop psychology, trying to explain why rural Pennsylvanians aren't warming to him and are asking him to talk more about patriotism, is causing quite the stir in the blogosphere. "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now ...

Our Fine Government at Work

A man who mistakenly brought a load gun to Ronald Reagan National Airport was arrested by the TSA. At first glance you might think, "Well duh. Sounds like government is doing its job for once." Not so fast. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A passenger who went through an airport security checkpoint -- before remembering that he had a loaded gun -- ...

Dog Bites Man: Gun Crimes Down In Michigan Since Passage Of CCW Law

Michigan sees fewer gun deaths -- with more permits (Detroit Free Press): Six years after new rules made it much easier to get a license to carry concealed weapons, the number of Michiganders legally packing heat has increased more than six-fold. But dire predictions about increased violence and bloodshed have largely gone unfulfilled, according to law enforcement officials and, to the extent ...

Sorry, I just remembered . . . I am armed

SupCt agrees to hear DC gun ban case: In a decision that could affect gun control laws across the nation, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to carry a gun.... The Supreme Court agreed to step in because the issue has caused a deep split in the lower courts. While a majority of ...

Supreme Court Punts on D.C. Gun Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning declined to take action on D.C.'s appeal of an appellate court decision last March striking down its ban on handguns. Linda Greenhouse provides background: Both sides in a closely watched legal battle over the District of Columbia’s strict gun-control law are urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. If the justices agree — a ...

Neal Boortz May Be Pulled from Virginia Radio Station

David Grant reports for the Collegiate Times that nationally syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz' show may be pulled from Pulaski, Virginia's WFNR AM for some controversial remarks he made in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. Boortz echoed a theme expressed by many that the victims were “standing in terror waiting for (their) turn to be executed.” ...