Liberty Maven

The purity of Ron Paul has ruined my opinion of politicians. Frank Wolf, the current incumbent in Virginia’s 10th congressional district is a perfect example. The man has been in office for 28 years. If we could plot his conservative voting record on a graph over those 28 years it would look like this:

Yet for some strange reason many conservative minded voters in his district (my district) think he walks in the shoes of Ronald Reagan. The simple truth is that many voters in this district just aren’t paying attention. A perfect example appeared today in the editorial section of the Great Falls Connection newspaper.

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Yes, there is a question about whether Vern McKinley, a Ron Paul Republican will get the endorsement of the NRA. However, the other day a friend of the family told us that they received a political alert mailer that criticized Frank Wolf on several Second Amendment related votes and views and touted Vern McKinley as being the candidate NRA members should vote for in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. She mentioned the mailer was received about 3 weeks ago and that she did not keep it.

I have no reason to believe this friend would lie. It is not surprising the NRA would do such a thing since Wolf voted against repealing the DC gun ban and McKinley has received a 100% rating from the Virginia Gun Owners Coalition.

However, until it is confirmed the question mark remains.

There has been much criticism to go around about the official Ron Paul campaign dropping the ball here and there during the Presidential race. Much of the criticism came from his own supporters. Questioning his campaign strategy has become easy to do in hindsight, especially when you now have Ron Paul clone campaigns in overdrive across America for comparison.

By all measures Ron Paul has been an extreme advocate of the Second Amendment. In 2003, he introduced legislation that would make any gun control advocate want to shoot themselves or something else in frustration.

Specifically, my legislation repeals the five-day waiting period and the “instant” background check, which enables the federal government to compile a database of every gun owner in America. My legislation also repeals the misnamed ban on “semi-automatic” weapons, which bans entire class of firearms for no conceivable reason beside the desire of demagogic politicians to appear tough on crime. (Source)

Also, during his Presidential run he has repeatedly stated that 9/11 may never have happened if airline companies were allowed to arm their employees. This is some of the strongest advocacy for the Second Amendment from any politician. It is interesting then that the NRA gave Ron Paul a ‘B’ in 2006 largely believed to be due to him opposing the NRA compromise on gun locks legislation. Apparently, when a candidate sticks to the original intent of the Second Amendment it is grounds for negative points, according to the NRA.

The Gun Owners of America (GOA) are a different story. They gave and still give Ron Paul an A+ rating, as it should be.

There is no doubt Ron Paul is serious about our Second Amendment rights, but could he have gained the support of a Second Amendment celebrity? Someone like Dick Heller, who has taken the Second Amendment all the way to the Supreme Court? A local Virginia Ron Paul Republican, Vern McKinley is campaigning at the “Nation’s Gun Show” this weekend, and there have been reports that Dick Heller is hanging out at his table.

It’s no secret that we (Liberty Maven) love the McKinley effort to unseat Frank Wolf in Virginia’s 10th District. Truthfully, following our interview with him, we have become Vern McKinley fanatics, and for good reason. Frank Wolf voted against repealing the DC gun ban, so it is not surprising that Heller would be supportive of McKinley’s campaign as well. (NOTE: Grassroots supporters of McKinley are holding a money bomb for him on May 1st, check it out and pledge a few bucks or more at the website.)

Perhaps the timing just wasn’t quite right, but it would have been a perfect political move for Ron Paul to seek Dick Heller’s endorsement. They tried to make waves with the Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) endorsement, but it barely made a wimper. There’s a good case that gaining the endorsement of Dick Heller would have done the same. Once a candidate is dubbed ‘unelectable’ by the media, endorsements only get mentioned in passing. Then again things may have been different.

At least it would have been a counterpunch to the face of the NRA for giving Ron Paul that ‘B’ rating.

Beginning today the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in the DC Gun Ban case. A final ruling is not expected until June or July. This is a landmark case. The last time a gun control case was heard in the Supreme Court was 1939. The court will rule on the 2nd amendment directly. The conventional wisdom is that there is a somewhat decent chance that the gun ban in DC will be ruled unconstitutional creating a precedent for reexamining gun control laws in other states.

McCain has come out in support of the challengers side. Obama and Clinton have stated they believe in the second amendment, but also believe the federal government has the power to make gun control laws. I wonder how they interpret the phrase “shall not be infringed”?

For more information on the case see this BBC news write-up. And watch the recent Reason.tv video piece by Brian Doherty.

While it is refreshing to read articles like this for the information it provides, it does have a slight bias, in my opinion, that the idea of loosening the concealed carry laws is a bad thing. At least the article quotes both sides of the issue.

“It’s insane,” says one Dallas officer, who asked not to be named. “They basically destroyed the concealed gun law. We’re letting drug dealers with Glocks under the seat go and say have a nice day. In the past we could have charged them at least with a weapons violation and confiscated the gun. Texas is wide open now. It’s a huge story. This has just gone under everyone’s radar.”

And the opposing view is short and sweet:

“It’s a law for honest people and good citizens to stand their ground,” McDonald says. “Now you can defend yourself in a carjacking. You don’t have to retreat.”

The discussion continues in the comments section by a comment from the Executive Director of the Texas State Rifle association, James Dark.

As far as police officers being upset about this new law, you will always be able to find some that are. However, CLEAT, the largest law enforcement lobby in Austin, specifically DID NOT oppose the bill, and expressed no problems with it to our lobbyist in Austin.

The arguments for and against the 2nd amendment continue. If we are to just read the 2nd amendment and treat it as the “supreme law of the land” then all gun control laws should be abolished. How can one read any ambiguity in the words, “shall not be infringed”?

If you don’t like something in the Constitution, then change it through an amendment, don’t just ignore it. After all it really is supposed to be the “supreme law of the land.”

Read the full article in the Dallas Observer here.