The Escalating City-State Battle Over Guns
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 7 months ago
This month, the South Carolina House of Representatives made it clear that they don’t want anyone’s hands on their guns—not national leaders, and certainly not local ones. To keep Washington’s interference at bay, representatives introduced a bill that would let the state consider seceding from the country if the federal government were to start confiscating legally purchased firearms. But they also launched an inward-facing attack, introducing a “Second Amendment Protection Act” that would enforce extra punishments on cities that act to “restrict [gun] access beyond that which is provided by state law.”
South Carolina already has harsh state preemption policies that weaken localities’ ability to pass their own gun regulations, as do 42 other states. So why is it passing a new one?
The answer may lie in a bold piece of legislation passed this December by the city of Columbia, in what has become the most recent manifestation of a city-state battle over guns—waged while the federal government sits most of it out.
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To challenge these sweeping allowances, some cities are quietly—and elsewhere, loudly—pushing their own gun reform agendas. In March, Lincoln, Nebraska, followed Columbia to become the second city to ban bump stocks. (City council members called the ban a largely symbolic move, but one that brings them closer to becoming a safer “city of law and order.”) And on April 3, Deerfield, Illinois passed a bill prohibiting the possession, sale, or manufacturing of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines—to the dismay of the NRA. Gun owners in the city have until June 13 to get rid of their assault rifles, or face steep fines.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin will take the helm of the U.S. Council of Mayors as president in May, and has already expressed a commitment to making city-level gun control a priority. He’s been strategizing with mayors from Little Rock, Arkansas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida, which just voted to join the lawsuit against Governor Rick Scott over preemption. “I think you’re going to see an interesting, thoughtful wave of policy-making [next year],” said Benjamin. “Creative policy-making, and litigation strategies that will allow us to do our jobs.”
Hey, it’s almost as if there is no more South and the culture has gone. And the American culture has completed fractured into a million pieces. And families are far-flung, and there is no national recognition of liberty and rights, much less state or even city, with whomever wants doing whatever is right in his own eyes.
And its almost as if America is a disaggregated collection of disparate, unconnected and unrelated self-serving entities vying for position and power, as if the only thing left is family (if we can bring them back together), community and tribe.
I wonder just how that happened?
On April 25, 2018 at 8:35 am, Ned said:
The Deerfield case is their perfect gun control petri dish. Make guns illegal, but don’t actively go after them. Just fine into oblivion anyone caught with one.
No house to house searches. Just regulations making something illegal. The perfect snitch-culture law.
Knock off just a few a week. Preferably raid the house while the owner is at work. This isolates everyone and makes them feel alone. What to do? Have a plan.
On April 25, 2018 at 9:17 am, Pat Hines said:
I speak to South Carolina and no other state.
Every proposal to restrict self defense tool access comes as a result of those not of our culture holding office in the state and local legislatures or councils.
In 2012 I took a look at those areas, by county, that voted in the majority for Barack Obama, in each case, those counties were majority black. They also elect black legislators. In addition to those counties, the state senate and state house office holders in areas that surround colleges and universities also elect persons not of our culture.
Those proposing these ordinances and bills, while not 100% black, are more than 80% black. Those who object to these facts may do the research themselves to verify my statements.
Blacks, contrary to the opinions of some, do not consider themselves southern, of the southern culture, and really do hate whites almost universally. That means that they’ll vote to disarm us consistently.
On April 25, 2018 at 10:12 am, Fred said:
A few thoughts.
Localities have always tried to exert a certain amount of control. This is good, until the swiftly approaching day, nobody wants to free anymore. Even the right doesn’t want to be free. It wants power to run things its way.
Trying to make everything a national issue, primarily by fedgov propaganda which the people eat up, is detrimental in the long term to societal structure which is eternally; family, tribe, local. It always bugs me when church folk talk about praying for some girl that national media has made it’s current tragedy whore. (I don’t watch TV, so I’m like, ‘What?’) I want to grab them by the neck and ask if they took their struggling neighbor a huge lunch to share with 2 days of leftovers left behind.
Thirdly, The recession is coming. Not making any wild eyed claims of doomsday here but a lot has been happening during a pretty stable and consistent, albeit sluggish, economic expansion. The next downturn, even a simple regular old recession, will expose a lot more festering sores. Broke cities may cut services which could lead to a martial situation.
Fourth, mobility matters. Used to be, in a stable society, putting down roots was the best way to success and security for your family/tribe. If not already located in a desirable situation, increasingly the ability to get to ‘safe areas’ will be a requirement.
All of these are a result of and point to more instability as America’s society continues to fracture. The times they are a changin’.
On April 26, 2018 at 6:21 am, DAN III said:
Mr. Smith,
“I wonder how that happened.”
Incrementalism. Incrementalism eradicating national culture, American history and Christian values. All of this conducted over the last 55 years, if not since 1913.
FUSA is well on it’s way toward a government like the Third Reich of 1933. Tyranny against the common man by those one calls “government”, is rampant. From localgov up through and into fedgov, the rot is endless. Today’s public servant is self-serving. We have become the servants to the scum of government.
Until the people organize to freshen the Tree of Liberty with the blood of tyrants and Patriots, this nation will be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Verify your zero. Make peace with your God.
On April 26, 2018 at 7:01 am, Talktome said:
How dead people are on this subject. The mass media has effectively neutered any voice that doesn’t slavishly support gun control, really abolishment. Lincoln making themselves safer by banning bump stocks? Does anyone even think when they spew nonsense like this? It’s all feel good bs without logic. Logic would tell you, if you want to ban something, ban criminal behavior (actual criminal behavior, not the bs petty infractions our “heros” in blue seem so fond of enforcing) in all forms, and enforce those specific laws equally across the entire populace of the country. That this absolutely doesn’t happen, that certain classes are not held to account, even cheered for breaking the law, well -it sends the very clear message that their stances on legal/illegal have no foundation and they are simply seeking favor from their demographic and political supporters. A pox on all of them. I fear the country is too far gone, the current system too profitable to be changed from within. Our entire country is a sham – theft, graft, lies, emotions are the new currency of the culture. Every single actual problem we have here is clearly rooted in corruption, lies, rent seeking, and a just us system that would be a joke if the consequences weren’t so devastating. We already had to do this once. I suppose the disarming is a reaction to the possibility someone might actual read and grasp what the Declaration of Independence was talking about. The current crop of “leaders” is worse than any king.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
On April 26, 2018 at 7:17 pm, Jim said:
The southeast is gone. I moved to Knoxville Tennessee from northern Nevada and I’m freaking shocked by the number of socialists and communists in this state. Will be moving back to Nevada by August. The South is lost.
On April 27, 2018 at 9:21 pm, Ned said:
@ Jim. I heard similar things. I’m wondering how old these socialists and communists are. I see a lot of commies coming out of colleges these days. Welfare must stop. That could help.
Problems is, I see lost of “wealthy” people who are also basically voting against their own interests. It’s not like they can’t pay more taxes if they really wanted to.
Lots of folks forget there’s a lot more to the state of Nevada than Las Vegas. Glad to see there’s a few of us in Nevada. Godspeed.