Viewpoints

The Department of Defense has announced it has scrapped a new policy that required destruction of fired military cartridge brass.

John Lott, Jr., noted gun-rights advocate and author of Freedomnomics, had a reasoned response to recent shootings in Alabama and Germany, which spurred new calls for gun confiscation:

NEW YORK -- Putting an end to nine years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear New York City's request to continue a lawsuit that sought to hold firearms manufacturers responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms.

A new ruling by a federal appeals court means managers in a growing number of states must accept that their employees have the legal right to keep guns in their cars at work, said attorney James P. Anelli, an attorney in law firm LeClairRyan's Labor and Employment Group.

On Feb. 26, John R. Lott, Jr. wrote this on the Fox News website: It is pretty hard to seriously argue that a new so-called 'assault weapons' ban would reduce crime in the United States. Even research done for the Clinton Administration couldn't find that the federal assault weapons ban reduced crime.

The NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) published a response to the ABC News item last week about Attorney General Eric Holder's comments that the Obama Administration will seek to ban some imported semi-autos, misrepresented as assault weapons.

From Barron's, the financial publishing firm: 'The stay-at-home hobbyist speculator crowd has been manically betting that societal unrest will have us all arming ourselves.'

ABC News reports what gun owners feared from Eric Holder: A statement that the Obama Administration will seek to ban currently legal semi-auto rifles and other self-defense firearms.

Well, Barack H. Obama has been sworn in as president. Eric Holder has been confirmed as attorney general. The FBI has reported that 10 of the highest-traffic NICS days of all time have occurred since the November election. Friday, November 28, 2008, saw 97,848 clearance requests—22,716 more requests than the second-highest day, Friday, December 22, 2006. Rounding out the top five were Saturday, December 23, 2000 (74,891); Tuesday, December 23, 2008 (73,427); and Saturday, November 6, 2008 (71,832). What’s more interesting about November 6 and three other top-ten days—Friday, November 14, 2008 (69,526); Saturday, November 15, 2008 (70,528); and Saturday, December 20, 2008 (71,409)—was that they didn’t occur on Black Fridays or the last shopping days before Christmas. Coincidence? I think not

Well, Barack H. Obama has been sworn in as president. Eric Holder has been confirmed as attorney general. The FBI has reported that 10 of the highest-traffic NICS days of all time have occurred since the November election. Friday, November 28, 2008, saw 97,848 clearance requests—22,716 more requests than the second-highest day, Friday, December 22, 2006. Rounding out the top five were Saturday, December 23, 2000 (74,891); Tuesday, December 23, 2008 (73,427); and Saturday, November 6, 2008 (71,832). What’s more interesting about November 6 and three other top-ten days—Friday, November 14, 2008 (69,526); Saturday, November 15, 2008 (70,528); and Saturday, December 20, 2008 (71,409)—was that they didn’t occur on Black Fridays or the last shopping days before Christmas. Coincidence? I think not

JUNEAU - Governor Sarah Palin encouraged U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to support recently adopted regulations allowing concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges. Secretary Salazar has directed a review of the regulations that were approved by the previous administration.

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Brady Campaign has released its annual state scorecards, which the group claims 'rate each state on the strength of its gun laws.'