The answer to that is dubious right now, with with the comments of Rep. Diana DeGette at a meeting in Denver, CO. While participating in a Denver Post forum on gun control she began talking about how magazines are bullets and will decrease in numbers as people shoot them.  The video can be found here.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is drawing national ridicule for an inaccurate statement she made Tuesday about magazines (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

What’s the efficacy of banning these magazine clips? I will tell you, these are ammunition, they’re bullets,” She said.

She continuing that statement with “ the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them, she number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will be shot and there won’t be any more available.”

The comments she made drew a laugh from the audience.

According to Juliet Johnson, the spokesperson for Rep. DeGette, the congresswoman “misspoke.” She also told the Denver Post that “The congresswoman has been working on a high-capacity assault magazine ban for years and has been deeply involved in the issue; she simply misspoke in referring to ‘magazines’ when she should have referred to ‘clips,’ which cannot be reused because they don’t have a feeding mechanism,”

So which is it? Clips can be reused as well, so they are not going to disappear as they are used.  So even with the correction that was issued from her office, the correction is also wrong.  So some are saying that it can be definitively state that Rep. DeGette has absolutely no idea what she is talking about when it comes to ammunition feeding devices for firearms.

When Rep. DeGette introduced a bill earlier this year to ban so called high capacity magazines.  Rep. DeGette makes the claim that what she calls high capacity magazines “have enabled high numbers of casualties in almost every recent mass shooting in American history.”

What her statement shows is the complete lack of knowledge about firearms, their parts and how they function.  Yet Rep. DeGette feels that she is qualified to try to pass legislation about something that she doesn’t even understand. Many online forums, from second amendment to hunting forums are discussing this very topic online right now.

Many are beginning to ask what else our elected officials have worked on, or passed in the way of restrictions without knowing anything about the topic.  Earlier this year there was general outrage over the warrantless search portion of the ban on so called “assault weapons.”  Senators Kine and Kohl-Welles claimed they didn’t even know that there was a provision in the bill that would allow law enforcement to come into your home to inspect your assault weapons without a warrant, or cause.

“I frankly should have vetted this more closely.” Senator Kohl-Welles told Danny Westneat for this article in the Seattle Times.  Even though Sen. Kohl-Welles sponsored the same bill, with the same language three other times in the past.

When we are subject to laws that lawmakers pass “on our behalf.” I one would venture a guess that they would either research the topic themselves, or have a staffer that does some research, and gives them relevant information.  But more often we are seeing that the opposite is true, especially with gun control.  Our elected officials have no idea what they are talking about, and yet we, the citizens, are the ones that will lose in the end.

I like many have been living this day minute by minute.  Getting the news about the tragedy as it unfolds.  We are a nation of vultures, ready to sit by a news source all day just for more tidbits of juicy and unpleasant details.  But I finally sat down and decided I needed some time to think about how best to approach this, and how it made me feel as a person, as a citizen of our great nation.

The gun prohibitionists, anit-gunners, gun grabbers, gun control advocates or whatever name you call them spent today dancing in the blood of over 70 people that were killed or injured as a result of the tragic events in Aurora, CO.   They have taken to the news sources, blogs, twitter and facebook to play on the emotions of others to see their side of the argument.  They are using the lives of those people to further their agenda.  They are using the lives of American citizens in order to make you see their side of the argument.

So to those that would look for where we as a gun community begin, where we start to fight those of us that would strip us of our rights.  Now is not the time.  There are families grieving a loss, there are families that are thankful to still be together.  Now is the time to support them, the people of Aurora, CO and everyone else in this nation.  No matter who you are, or what side of the isle you come from we were all shocked and saddened by the events of last night.

I love my country and the people in it.  If I did not, I would not have spent five years of my life protecting it in the military.  Now is the time to comfort your neighbor and to tell the people in your life that you love them and cherish them.  Now is not the time to grandstand and use the emotions of this day for your agenda, whatever that agenda might be.

Now is the time to do something selfless, send a card to Aurora, CO.  Reach out to someone involved and let them know that good people still exist in our country no matter what side they stand for.  Thousands of people have lost faith in humanity right now, the victims and all of the family’s have lost sight of the good in people.  We as a nation need to come together to show them they are not alone, and that the act of one person is not a representation of everyone.

Now is not the time to further your agenda, and now is not the time to be having the discussions that is already going on.  Now is not the time to be writing about how many laws were broken or how this monster got the tools he did to commit this heinous act.  Now is not the time to divide up, and draw lines in the sand.  Like me, hate me or whatever you want.  But deep down we all know that I am right.  We are quick to further our beliefs, and not stop to think about the lives that are in shambles because of the event that we are using.  There is always a human element that we tend to forget.

Now is the time to heal, as a nation, as American’s and restore the faith in humanity.

I am conducting this research because I am working on an article about firearm education.  So, if you know someone like this… Please have send them the link below, it will really help me out, and when I complete the project I am working on, hopefully benefit the gun community as a whole.

Thanks!

Link to Survey: http://bit.ly/NdHOg2

So here it is…  There is an audio file after the description for your listening pleasure…

February 10, 2012 I was detained in my local Walmart after going to pick up my prescription that were ready. I walked in, past an officer that in their car and already there talking to someone else about something else on my way into the store.  I went in to the pharmacy, stood in line, sat down for a few while they finished up something. Then I checked out, and left the store. No one said anything, no one went running, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.  When I walked out there was an officer pulling up and getting out of his car. I took note and kept walking to my car. Then I heard this guy screaming “OFFICER! OFFICER! Over there!” He was pointing in my direction. I started my recorder and waited for contact because I didn’t want the officer to be able to use my plates against me, so I choose to stay away from my car.  Which is also why I choose to not “walk and talk” as suggested…

Click play and it will play the audio file of the encounter.

No guns signs could crop up in a town near you…

State preemption was designed so that all the laws in the state regarding the carry of firearms were exactly the same from border to border. The intent behind the state preemption statute was to do away with a patchwork of gun laws across the state that it law-abiding gun owner would have to navigate through if they were traveling anywhere within the state. So what does this look like for the average gun owner? It looks like a patchwork of gun laws that would be nearly impossible to keep up with and to be able to follow each law and keep up with the laws of each city that you travel through on a daily basis.

Imagine trying to take a trip from Seattle to Ellensburg, you would pass through six different cities and two counties. Now imagine that you wanted to carry your firearm with you and make sure you stay within the law. Imagine having to research and understand the eight different statues just to make the two-hour drive from Seattle to Ellensburg. What you could also end up running into is local cities with a complete ban on handguns like San Francisco passed in 2005. This would mean that you would need to detour completely around that city, possibly adding hours to your trip just to comply with the law.

What this creates is a hardship on the average citizen that wishes to comply with the law. It does nothing to deter a criminal from using a gun. We already have state laws on the books that cover illegal use of a firearm; we also have statutes the cover unlawful carrying or handling of firearms. So how any municipality thinks that creating more laws is going to have a significant impact on gun crimes is beyond comprehension. Handgun bans have been proven to not be effective in actually cause’s violent crime rates to go up.

Looking at San Francisco’s crime data in 2006 there were 86 homicides in the city. That was one year after Proposition H was passed by voters banning all private handgun ownership within the city of San Francisco. In 2008 the ban was repealed by the courts affirming the rights of the citizens. In 2009 a year after the ban was struck down homicides were down by nearly half. While that evidence appears to be anecdotal; it also goes to show that there is a correlation between banning firearms out rights and crime rates. In 2003 and 2004 the two years prior to Proposition H homicide rates in the city of San Francisco were 69 and 88, respectively. In 2005 is when the rate spiked and there was 96 homicides that year, the high rate of homicides is maintained for all three years but the handgun ban was in place. Only dropping off when the courts repealed the handgun ban.

What we need to look at is enforcing the laws that we have on the on the books already, and not making more restrictive laws. Whether it is federal law, state law or even local ordinances the police and prosecutors need to enforce the law to the best of their ability. They need to stop allowing people to enter into plea agreements in order to keep their conviction rates up. Many times criminals are allowed to plead guilty to lesser crimes for reduced sentences. If a change in gun violence is the answer we are looking for, then we need to ask the right questions and work within the laws that we already have.

Rahwa Habte engaging in mock violence.

Recently the Town Hall Seattle held a public safety meeting with Seattle city leaders as the panel. On the panel was a young woman by the name of Rahwa Habte, and organizer for OneAmerica. OneAmerica is an immigrant empowerment group, and self-promotes being the largest immigrant rights group in Washington State. Rahwa Habte spent her time in the panel that night denouncing violence, all forms of violence.

So it would seem shocking to find a picture of her and someone with the twitter handle @selutitu mock sword fighting, and pretending to kill someone with a sword. This is rather shocking to find posted by someone claiming to denounce all violence. On her biography on her organizations website it states that “Rahwa has led, taken part in and supported numerous campaigns, actions and grassroots efforts to…end violence in all its forms.”

This seems to highlight the amount of hypocrisy that the anti-gun movement is willing to partake in. What is sad about this photo it that it glorifies violence, and make a mockery of people that have been killed. While some might claim that sword violence is not prevalent. A quick search reveals a several stories, such as actor Michael Brea killing his mother with a sword and a landlord that killed his tenant with a sword. So is this just harmless fun, or is it a troubling that someone against violence would think this is ok behavior to engage in? Or is this troubling behavior for someone who is looked up to in their community for answers? We already know it is deplorable behavior for someone that is such a “community leader” against violence.

An email has been sent to OneAmerica for their comments on their organizer’s behavior. As of this writing no reply has been received and the photos is still posted to her twitter account here.

The panel at the Seattle public safety meeting.

According to Town Hall Seattle Communications Director Anthony Detrano for, the Second Amendment Foundation was invited but declined to participate. Ray at the Second Amendment Foundation did confirm that an invitation was extended, but was unable to attend due to prior commitments out of the country. What is troubling about just inviting one organization is that we are in an area that has a number of knowledgeable organizations. The Washington Arms Collectors have a new president, John Rodabaugh who would have been a good addition to the panel, or even the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms might have been able to participate. And those are just the big names in second amendment rights. There are plenty of other local organizations as well as individuals that would have been good additions to the panel as well. But none of them were invited.

Seeing through all the feel good measures, there was still two individuals on the panel that were pushing for gun-control. Mayor Mike McGinn and Councilmen Bruce Harrell both spoke of removing preemption from Washington State law, and being able to make their own laws for Seattle. The other side of the anti-gun agenda was when Bruce Harrell said “that is what is known as a bad ruling, by the way,” when one panelist brought up the cases Heller v. District of Columbia and McDonald v. City of Chicago. The tone of Councilman Harrell all night was that of taking guns away, leading some gun rights supports to cry foul at not being able to speak up for their rights.

Many frustrated gun rights advocates were very dismayed at the way that questions were handled during this event. Questions were to be written down, handed to an usher and then vetted though not only Anthony Detrano the Communication Director, but also though the host for the night, Program Director Bob Redmond. Many supports believe that the decision to have this in a private venue was not a coincidence. One gun rights supporter was even harassed by an usher for booing Councilman Harrell. “This was held at a private venue so they controlled the questions and they could tell you to leave if they didn’t like what you were doing,” he said. This column writer was even told by an usher that “first amendment rights don’t count here, this is private property,” When asked about why he was threatning to kick someone out of the venue. This led many to call this northing more than a dog and pony show and not a serious discussion of solving the violence problem.

Many people, from both sides of the argument, were frustrated by last night’s event because there were no answers. Even the director of Ceasefire Washington, Ralph Fascitelli told KOMO News “people are frustrated, they want answers and they are not getting it [sic].” While many from the pro-gun side are not fond of the tactics used by Ceasefire Washington, they felt they had to agree with his statement. Much of what was said last night was the same thing that was said that morning by the mayor, leaving no new ideas on the table and more rhetoric about guns to wade though. Even the police administration could not keep their stories straight. Yesterday KING5 ran a story that Seattle Police Deputy Chief Nick Metz said that 81 guns have been stolen in Seattle this year. Last night Chief Diaz said that “there have been 90 reported gun thefts so far this year.” So which is it? In a city the size of Seattle a disparity of 9 cases is pretty large. Lest we forget that in 2005 then Police Chief Gil Kerlikowski’s service weapon was stolen out of his parked car, so even Seattle Police is contributing to the gun violence. To date there has been nothing to suggest that the gun has ever been recovered.

Many people are now waiting, wondering what the next move will be in this way on violence. One question last night did stand out, and was a good example of the problem at hand.

“Why the emphasis on gun violence? [sic] Long before guns came into play, violence has already occurred. The basic problem is violence. Let us discuss the basis of that problem rather than distractedly focusing on the tools of violence. Don’t treat the symptom, why not treat the cause.”

The problem is violence, whether it is gun violence, knife violence or even sausage violence. The gun is only a tool, without someone to make the gun function it is simply an inanimate object that is incapable of committing crimes on its own. What we need to do is start to prosecute people for the crimes they commit and stop letting them plead out to lesser crimes.

Meanwhile the Seattle City Council is still working on changing state law to better suit the needs of the city. And the Brady Campaign is still working on changing our state law to become a shall issue state.  The Seattle Police have also taken steps to remove illegal guns from the streets of Seattle. Deputy Chief Nick Metz said that over 360 illegal guns have been pulled off the streets this year. Metz did say:

Tonights “Public Safety: A Community Conversation,” with the mayor and city officials should be the cities time to get more of the information out to the public about their plans to stem the violence in Seattle. Many pro-gun and anti-gun groups will be in attendance to find out what the plan is. The meeting tonight is free with RSVP, and details can be found here if you plan to attend.