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We start with Chicago this week, where again multiple reports of shootings throughout the week have dominated the news. In fact, the news reports are overwhelming, even making it difficult for us to pin down exactly how many there were. One killed, 15 wounded on St. Patrick’s day shootings, another two killed and 11 wounded all over the city since Friday afternoon. Another 10 people were injured since Saturday afternoon. One report states at one point, 21 people were shot in almost as many hours. And yes, this is the same Chicago where failed mayor Rahm Emmanuel has spent the last few years trying to control guns. The violence persists, nonetheless.
In other failure news: California, the testing ground for national gun control, is going after gun stores. An Assembly Bill in the state would work in practice to shut down almost every gun store in the Golden State. The bill would prohibit a licensee business premises on residential properties, allow local authorities to further restrict requirements beyond state law, and require store owners to have a liability policy of a minimum of 1 million per incident to cover liability arising from theft, sale, lease or transfer of a firearm or ammunition, or any other operations of the business and business premises. It would also require stores to have full color video surveillance of sufficient quality for facial recognition in all firearm and ammunition storage locations, immediate store exterior, and parking lot. The system would run at all business hours and be set to record if motion was detected at other hours. Footage would need to be recorded and kept for five years. This is a clear effort to drive up the costs of running a gun store. The fact is, if this bill passes, it will destroy small businesses and create a demand for guns for which the only supply is the illegal trade.
As you may have heard, Secretary Hillary Clinton is doing rather well in the Democratic Primary (she’s likely to be the nominee). You also know that Hillary isn’t a big fan of guns, and she really hates the NRA. What you don’t know is that Hillary and some pretty important groups in leftist policy (like the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence) have made statements and drafted positions aimed at making gang members feel less victimized by society. That’s right, because gang members are the victims. Clinton and the LCPGV also believe cops to be basically awful, saying that racism is inherent in many police forces. There may be some wacky candidates out there, but none of them makes me more afraid for my rights than Hillary.
Finally this week, President Obama made good on his promise and on his constitutional duty and nominated a judge for the vacancy left on the Supreme Court by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He’s nominated Merrick Garland, a judge from the D.C. Circuit. However, the new nominee does not have a strong pro-gun history; in fact, he would be considered by most to be anti-gun. He decided that D.C. v. Heller warranted review, and while this mattered little as the Supreme Court ultimately affirmed the lower court’s decision, it does show Garland to be rather anti-carry, at the least, and anti-gun at the worst. This throws the court out of balance. Scalia was perhaps the strongest pro-gunner on the Court, and his proposed replacement is likely to vote with the liberals on the bench.