Viewpoints

From NRANews.com:The biggest case the Supreme Court has handled in years doesn't merit a single question from the likes of Tom Brokaw and Jim Lehrer. The vice presidential debate was also devoid of questions about your gun rights, thanks to moderator Gwen Ifill.

I write this on October 8, 2008, the day after the second presidential debate. By the time this magazine arrives in your postbox, the election will be just days away, or it has already concluded. I admit I’m in a grim mood, because I believe I have seen the future, and the future has shown me that Barack Hussein Obama will become the 44th president of the United States. This is not an outcome I desire, and I’m sure a fair number of Gun Tests readers will vote for Obama. But what I saw last night in the debate depressed me, because I don’t think John Sidney McCain III will win I believe McCain is a great man, and I have the utmost respect for his accomplishments. But, it seems to me, he hasn’t been willing to do what it takes to win. He may simply be too good a person to play by Chicago rules. Though the McCain/Palin ticket will get all the votes in my household, my 18-year-old son, my wife, and I all see the same thing: McCain just isn’t that strong a candidate for conservatives. My wife and son will vote for McCain for reasons in addition to the 2nd Amendment—they factor in the economy, national defense, and other topics—while I simply look at how my gun rights will be protected, or not protected.

I write this on October 8, 2008, the day after the second presidential debate. By the time this magazine arrives in your postbox, the election will be just days away, or it has already concluded. I admit I’m in a grim mood, because I believe I have seen the future, and the future has shown me that Barack Hussein Obama will become the 44th president of the United States. This is not an outcome I desire, and I’m sure a fair number of Gun Tests readers will vote for Obama. But what I saw last night in the debate depressed me, because I don’t think John Sidney McCain III will win I believe McCain is a great man, and I have the utmost respect for his accomplishments. But, it seems to me, he hasn’t been willing to do what it takes to win. He may simply be too good a person to play by Chicago rules. Though the McCain/Palin ticket will get all the votes in my household, my 18-year-old son, my wife, and I all see the same thing: McCain just isn’t that strong a candidate for conservatives. My wife and son will vote for McCain for reasons in addition to the 2nd Amendment—they factor in the economy, national defense, and other topics—while I simply look at how my gun rights will be protected, or not protected.

…A Fairfield, Alabama, man attempting to rob another man in Pleasant Grove was shot and killed by his intended victim, police say.

The FBI presented these data in the 2007 edition of Crime in the United States, a statistical compilation of offense and arrest data as reported by law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.

The Associated Press reports that gun control is playing a complicated role in the 2008 campaign.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels does not have the authority to ban guns on public property, says State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Rifle Association has endorsed Senator John McCain for president, despite years of attacks on his gun-policy positions.

According to the chief political correspondent for The Washington Times, Gun control has emerged as the toxic issue of the 2008 presidential campaign, especially among Democratic blue-collar and labor-union households.

FactCheck.org is an excellent project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. It a non-partisan organization which provides factual evaluations of the claims of and about political figures. I have cited it in my own writing, and will continue to do so. However, that FactCheck has a well-deserved reputation for accuracy and good judgment does not mean that its work is infallible, as the The Volokh Conspiracy has pointed out previously. The Encyclopedia Britannica also has a well-deserved reputation for accuracy and impartiality, but the Britannica sometimes contains errors or overstatements.

November’s presidential election won’t just determine who will reside in the White House for the next four years—it could also determine the future impact of the recent Supreme Court Heller decision on your Second Amendment rights.

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI)--an association of the nation's leading manufacturers of firearms, ammunition and components based in Newtown, Connecticut--has released a statement in response to an AP article about the failure of New York and Maryland's ballistic imaging databases.