Joe Manchin Shows His Anti-Gun Colors Again
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 7 months ago
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is a self-described “law-abiding gun owner, hunter, card-carrying life member of the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment advocate.”
But on Thursday, he said he “strongly” opposes an NRA-backed bill in West Virginia that would nix permit and training requirements for people carrying concealed guns.
“I have always supported a West Virginian’s right to bear arms,” Manchin said in a statement. “Senate Bill 347 would allow a person to carry a concealed gun without a permit or requirement of safety training and that is irresponsible and dangerous to the people of West Virginia.”
The bill passed the state House earlier Thursday, and the state Senate on Wednesday. Still, Manchin said it was a bad idea.
“There is not one West Virginian whose Second Amendment rights will be infringed without this bill,” Manchin said. “In West Virginia, we believe in gun sense, which is common sense, and it only makes common sense for concealed carry applicants to receive proper training. I commend the brave legislators who voted no and represented their constituents who know that this is irresponsible.
West Virginia is a tradition open carry state (with some limited preemption). So Joe believes that covering the gun with a shirt means that people needed training and certification by the state that they don’t if they open carry. Well, Manchin voted for Obamacare, so his voting record is about as lousy at it gets.
When a politician (or anyone else) begins a conversation with “I support the right of the people to own and bear arms, but … ,” or “I believe in the second amendment, but … ,” ignore the balance of their remarks. They are liars.
Joe doesn’t get a vote in the West Virginia legislature, so his constituency can tell him to butt out. It’s none of his damn business.
On March 16, 2015 at 4:58 am, 191145 said:
Well, Joey, if we taught our children gun safety and shooting skills when they are young, instead of wrapping them in bubble wrap, there really wouldn’t be a need for “requiring” safety training, now would there ? Teach your children about and how to shoot firearms, and if you lack the knowledge, find someone who has it, and learn together . Be a good parent and teach your children how to be safe around firearms . PS screw Manchin .
On March 16, 2015 at 11:33 am, Archer said:
Amen, brother.
The Mrs. and I just took the “required” training for our state’s CCW permit. It … was a waste of time. We walked in knowing more about handgun safety and self-defense law than was covered in the class (and not to nit-pick, but one portion of the material was categorically incorrect; the information was valid, but the “title” they used refers to another legal concept entirely — I’ll be taking that up with them later). The instructor said I was the first person in any class — and they’ve given plenty — who could recite the 2nd Amendment verbatim.
But, legal requirements are legal requirements, and we now have the signed pieces of paper that say we’re “trained” so we can apply and get our CCW permits.
(FWIW, I don’t mean to rip on the instructors too badly; they covered what they’re legally required to cover, plus some extra that they’re not required to but did anyway. It’s just that, literally, a few weeks tooling around Legal Insurrection [especially Andrew Branca’s excellent and informative posts] and random gun blogs will cover firearm safety, self-defense law, and carry options in more depth.)
On March 17, 2015 at 6:49 am, Hognose @ WeaponsMan said:
Hersch,
I wonder if this means Manchin has run the numbers and is so discouraged about 2016 he’s sucking up to his fellow DC Democrats in, essentially, a bid for post-Senate employment?
He’s up for election next year, and just as WV has become hostile to DC insiders, he’s become more and more of a DC guy. (At least, that’s how it looks to me, from my perch far away from West By God Virginia). Media disintermediation means it’s harder for any random Senator $#!+head to be one guy in Georgetown and a completely different guy on the hustings. For a guy like Manchin who used to play good-ol-boy at home and mock his “hillbilly” voters to his DC pals, the 21st Century is getting to be a hazardous area.