Democrats and Guns

Party liberals have lost the debate

Amid so much other news, a Senate vote last week to allow loaded guns in national parks slipped under the media radar. The vote shows how the political cause of gun control is as dead as a mounted moose.

By 67-29, the Senate passed Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn's amendment to let law-abiding visitors carry legal firearms into national parks. This overturns a 1983 federal rule requiring that firearms be kept unloaded and in an inaccessible place such as a trunk of a car. The provision (now part of credit-card legislation) protects Second Amendment rights, and it preserves the right of states to pass firearm laws that apply consistently, even on federal lands.

As recently as the 1990s, guns in parks legislation would have provoked a Congressional uproar. But gun control has proven to be a consistent political loser, and last year the Supreme Court cast doubt on state gun bans. No fewer than 27 Democrats voted for Mr. Coburn's amendment, and the ayes included Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is up for re-election in Nevada next year.

Congressional liberals are furious, and are threatening to hold up the credit-card bill, much as they have held up Washington, D.C. voting-rights legislation to which Republicans attached gun-owner protections. Holding up both bad bills forever would be fine with us, but in any case it's clear liberals have lost the gun control debate even within their own party.

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New Jersey: Intruder shot: "A resident shot a man last night when the would-be intruder tried to enter a home in the Deserted Village of Feltville, authorities said. The shooting in the secluded section of Watchung Reservation occurred around 9 p.m. on Cataract Hollow Road, Union County Police Chief Dan Vaniska said. He said the victim, whose name and address were not available, was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition. "An unwanted guest forced himself into the residence and a resident responded by shooting him," Vaniska said at the scene. Details were scant last night, but Vaniska said the home's residents were brought to county police headquarters, where they were being questioned. It was not known where on the premises the shooting occurred, but a sedan parked near the porch of the two-story, wood-frame house had a shattered left rear window. Cataract Hollow Road is part of the historic Deserted Village of Feltville. The site in Watchung Reservation was inhabited by small businesses, a mill and families on and off from 1845 to 1916. Visitors can stroll the village, which includes homes the county leases."


California jewelry shop burglar fatally shot: "Sacramento County sheriff's detectives continue to investigate the fatal shooting this morning of a man they say was breaking into a coin and jewelry. The suspect was killed by the owner of the store on the 4900 block of Marconi Avenue. The 65-year-old owner has not been arrested, a sheriff's spokesman said. The district attorney will determine if any charges are filed against the owner, based on results of the sheriff's investigation. The shop owner was inside the store when the incident began at about 4:15 a.m. Investigators are gathering evidence that will help determine if the shooting was justified. Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said two men approached the store, which had been the target of another break-in on April 29. This time, the owner was inside and called the sheriff's department to report two men in their mid-20s and wearing black ski masks trying to enter. Curran said that as the owner spoke on the phone with department personnel, the person taking the call heard several gunshots. "Then the business owner said one subject was down in the parking lot," Curran said. Deputies arrived to find a body in the parking lot. Fire department emergency personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene." [Some reports say that the two burglars were brothers, on probation for burglary and suspected of committing other burglaries in the area].


ATF raid sends us all a message: “And the purpose of the raid? The compelling reason 15 heavily-armed police state ninjas used a battering ram on an unlocked door, assaulted and threw citizens to the ground, put guns to their heads, terrorized a man with a heart condition, destroyed and seized property, and generally trashed the place? Because a son who ‘was arrested 34 years ago at the age of 17 with a friend who had forged a check [and] hasn’t been arrested since’ was living with his gun owner father.”