Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Guns Guns: The Arkansas legislative solution
Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 7:03 AM
Another mass killing in New Mexico this week (five dead; military-style semi-automatic rifle used) sets a good tone for the Arkansas legislature. It will return to work today with gun violence high on its agenda. How?
* A House committee should whoop through a resolution, unsupported by specifics, that reacts with alarm to President Obama's outline of steps to take to make guns safer to the citizenry. It's bad. Obama proposed it. That's all the gun nuts of the Arkansas legislature need to know.
* Over in the Senate, it shouldn't take long for a committee to approve Sen. Bryan King's bill to allow concealed handguns in church.
So Arkansas asks and answers the pop quiz on guns.
Q: What to do about gun violence?
A: Oppose any and all responses that might inconvenience a gun manufacturer. Put more guns in public places, beginning with hidden ones in church. Address gun violence in schools with more guns in school (bills on this to come later this session.)
PS — I've been meaning to give a shoutout to the outdoor columnist over at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for coming up with a practical defense (pay wall) for the need for military-style semiautomatic weapons. They are the best legal option for mass killing tools given the current restrictions on sale of fully automatic weapons (isn't THAT a 2nd Amendment infringement, huh?) And why would anyone need a mass killing tool? Writes Bryan Hendricks:
Semiautomatic rifles with high-capacity magazines are important tools for managing feral hogs.Recreational hunting is a vital cog in managing feral swine, but it is only effective if you kill a concentration of pigs. That requires semiautomatic weapons capable of firing a lot of rounds quickly.
And if some innocent people get slaughtered, it's a small price to pay to have the ready availability of tools necessary to control feral hogs.
And speaking of feral hogs and why they proliferate in Arkansas. (Thanks, Dawn.)
Speaking of...
-
Riverfest Eve open line: Democrats rip Tim Griffin; Arkansas Tech joins no-gun list
May 23, 2013The line is open. Final words: * TIM 'TAR SANDS PIPELINE' GRIFFIN: It's no surprise that Republican Rep. Tiny Tim Griffin of Alberta, Canada, voted again last night to hurry up the Keystone XL pipeline. /more/
-
The guns and Bass Pro Shops open line
May 21, 2013The University of Arkansas president recommends that campuses remain gun-free. Bass Pro Shops is under construction in Otter Creek. /more/
-
'Stand your ground' laws increase homicides
May 17, 2013Count me unsurprised that enhanced legal protection for opening fire on people results in more gun deaths. /more/
-
Guns and the governorship: Asa Hutchinson continues to front for NRA
May 17, 2013In for a penny .... Asa Hutchinson, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, seems happy to be indelibly branded as the NRA's front man on guns as the calendar rolls toward the May gubernatorial primary. /more/
-
Guns and fetuses: A legislative review
May 16, 2013Crazy Davy Carter, the House speaker who is a potential Republican candidate for governor, won headlines all over today for remarks at a legislative conference in Hot Springs that Republicans need to move beyond guns and abortion to focus on issues more important to average Arkies. /more/
-
Morning report: Leaks, guns and welfare kings
May 14, 2013The morning roundup: * WHEN WILL REP. TOM COTTON PRAISE OBAMA'S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT? Republican mouthpieces are howling about the news that AP reporters' phone records were gathered by the Justice Department in an apparent investigation of leaks about a Yemen-based terrorist plot to bomb an airliner. /more/
-
A Blue Ridge morning — politics, pay raises, crime
May 11, 2013Greetings from Charlottesville, Va. I'm just down the street from Mr. Jefferson's university and heading to Monticello later this morning. /more/
-
Two-year-old dies from handgun shot to head
May 9, 2013From Texas, another accidental death of a child from a handgun in a house. /more/
-
Has Arkansas deregulated guns or not?
May 8, 2013John Lyon of Stephens Media examines at some length today a simmering topic in the gun nut community that is of general interest. /more/
-
'Powder, lead, walnut, brass and steel': Nate Bell's tribute to weapons
May 7, 2013Kind of a nicely written narrative from Rep. Nate Bell of Mena on what he says was a formative episode of his youth, when, he says, a 30-30 rifle gave him the backing he needed to scare a would-be intruder away from his Alabama home. /more/
- More »
Comments (38)
Showing 1-38 of 38
More by Max Brantley
-
Evening roundup
Some odds and ends have trickled in, so I'll round them up: * MARION BERRY: His family has sent a note to friends saying the former congressman went to UAMS with chest pains Saturday and had bypass surgery this afternoon.
- Mar 18, 2013
-
UPDATE: Arrest 'imminent' in Boston bombings; or maybe not
CNN reports: A letter to President Obama that was intercepted at an off-site facility has tested positive for ricin, the FBI says.
- Apr 17, 2013
- More »
Readers also liked…
-
Miller County: 'Judicial hellhole' to some, but not class action plaintiffs
You WANT to read this article in Fortune. It's about a case being argued today before the U.S. Supreme Court on whether interstate class action suits should be heard in state or federal courts.
- Jan 7, 2013
Event Calendar
-
Re: Vote fraud: Myth-busting in Ohio
Wow! Massive 0.002% "irregularities" which aren't further defined which could mean the person showing up…
- on May 24, 2013
-
Re: Mineral Springs schools — fiscal distress, but heckuva football field
It's time to remove competitive sports from schools, and put it in the private realm…
- on May 24, 2013
-
Re: Riverfest Eve open line: Democrats rip Tim Griffin; Arkansas Tech joins no-gun list
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Slideshows
-
May 16, 2013
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
