SCC Blog

How the Recent Debt Ceiling Law Affects Gun Owners
Friday, 05 August 2011 11:26

Well, the hot debate which dominated the nation for several weeks has finally simmered down. The debt ceiling deal is now law, and both sides of the political aisle are arguing over who won and who lost.

But one thing you won’t hear about — in fact, we may not fully know the answer for several months — is how much gun owners lost in this recent deal.

To quote Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from earlier this week:

The Super Committee [created by the new law] limits the constitutional check of the filibuster by expediting passage of bills with a simple majority. The Super Committee is not precluded from any issue [including gun control], therefore the filibuster could be rendered moot.

Get that? The law raising the debt ceiling creates a Super Committee (in other words, a Super Congress) which will give its recommendations for balancing the budget. This Super Congress can include ANYTHING in its legislation, including gun control.

And none of it can be filibustered or amended!!

Well, you might think, the Super Congress’ recommendations still have to be voted on by each house of Congress. Surely, we can find enough congressmen to shoot down any anti-gun recommendations.

Maybe, maybe not … because here’s the problem. Whatever this super-committee reports in November, including gun control, will HAVE to be passed — or the Pentagon loses a total of $800 billion (effectively shutting it down).

How many pro-gun congressmen will feel they have to “hold their noses” and vote for the Super Congress’ legislation to prevent a total of $800 billion from being cut from the Department of Defense?

The key will be who gets appointed to this Super Committee. Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will pick six members — as will House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell, for a total of 12 members.

But if the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats can cower a single Republican into going along with their radical agenda -– using the threat of a massive defense cut totaling hundreds of billions of dollars -– then we could be stuck with additional gun control.

We already know that the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats are going to vote in lockstep. What if the only Republican vote they need is a RINO like John McCain or Lamar Alexander?

The question answers itself.

By the way, this debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.

Please check and see how your Representative and Senators voted, and make a point to speak to them during the summer recess.

ACTION: Your representative and senators will be holding town hall meetings in August. Attend them. Speak at them.

Tell your representative and senators, politely but firmly, that you are disgusted by Congress’ debt limit “compromise.”

TALKING POINTS:

1. There is NOTHING in the debt ceiling deal which prevents the Super Committee from including other issues like gun control in its legislation. (The Super Committee has virtually unlimited authority under subparagraph 401(b)(3)(A)(i).)

2. Whatever the Super Committee puts in the bill is unamendable and non-filibusterable. In other words, the House and Senate must conduct an up-or-down vote on the Super Committee’s legislation.

3. You have put a gun to the head of every congressman by forcing them to choose between devastating Defense Department cuts ($800 billion in total) or blindly adopting the Super Committee’s legislation, which could include gun control, tax increases, etc.

4. This debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.

5. IF YOUR REP. OR SENATOR VOTED “YES” ON THE DEBT CEILING, THEN ASK HIM THIS: Considering the fact that two-thirds of the American people support a “cut, cap and balance” approach, why would you vote for a debt ceiling bill that could, ultimately, strap me with additional gun control proposals?

The key to winning public policy battles

Why do Republicans seem to keep losing? GOA founder and chairman Sen. H.L “Bill” Richardson (Ret.) answers that question in the book “Confrontational Politics.”

During 22 years of legislative experience, Sen. Richardson found that the only thing that got things done was confrontation.

Democrats typically understand confrontation, like it and use it. Conversely, Republicans do not understand confrontation, don’t like it and flee from it.

Please read the article below.

US Rating Cut by S&P for First Time on Deficit Reduction Pact

Friday, 05 Aug 2011 08:49 PM

More ways to share…
Mixx
Stumbled
LinkedIn
Vine
Buzzflash
Reddit
Delicious
Newstrust
Technocrati
Share:
More . . .
A A |
Email Us |
Print |
Forward Article

*
*

*
*

The U.S. had its AAA credit rating downgraded for the first time by Standard & Poor’s on concern spending cuts agreed on by lawmakers to raise the nation’s borrowing limit won’t be enough to reduce record deficits.

S&P dropped the ranking one level to AA+, after warning on July 14 that it would reduce the rating in the absence of a “credible” plan to lower deficits even if the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit was lifted. The U.S. was awarded the top credit ranking by New York-based S&P in 1941. It kept the outlook at “negative.”

‘The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics,” S&P said in a statement today.

Demand for Treasuries has surged even with the specter of a downgrade as investors saw few alternatives to the traditional refuge during times of risk as concern increased global growth is slowing and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis is spreading. The action could still hurt the U.S. economy over time by increasing the cost of mortgages, auto loans and other types of lending tied to the interest rates paid on Treasuries. JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimated that a downgrade would raise the nation’s borrowing costs by $100 billion a year.

Moody’s, Fitch

“It’s a reflection of the fact that we haven’t done enough to get our fiscal house in the order,” Anthony Valeri, market strategist in San Diego at LPL Financial, which oversees $340 billion, said in an interview before the downgrade. “Sovereign credit quality is going to remain under pressure for years to come.”
___________________________________________________________

‘You Opened My Eyes to the Catastrophic Enormity of This Financial Debacle’
Debt ceiling ‘medicine will become the poison,’ according to famed economist. Brace for economic meltdown. Watch the Aftershock Survival Summit Now, See the Evidence.
_____________________________________________________________

Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings affirmed their AAA credit ratings on Aug. 2, the day President Barack Obama signed a bill that ended the debt-ceiling impasse that pushed the Treasury to the edge of default. Moody’s and Fitch also said that downgrades were possible if lawmakers fail to enact debt reduction measures and the economy weakens.

The measure raised the nation’s debt ceiling until 2013 and threatens automatic spending cuts to enforce $2.4 trillion in spending reductions over the next 10 years.

S&P put the U.S. government on notice on April 18 that it risks losing its AAA rating unless lawmakers agree on a plan by 2013 to reduce budget deficits and the national debt. S&P indicated last month that anything less than $4 trillion in cuts would jeopardize the rating.

‘Grand Bargain’

“A grand bargain of that nature would signal the seriousness of policy makers to address the fiscal situation in the U.S.,” John Chambers, chairman of S&P’s sovereign rating committee, said in a video interview distributed by the ratings firm on July 28.

Obama has said a rating cut may hurt the broader economy by increasing consumer borrowing costs tied to Treasury rates. An increase in Treasury yields of 50 basis points would reduce U.S. economic growth by about 0.4 percentage points, JPMorgan said in a report, citing Federal Reserve research and data.

“The hope is that we could keep Treasuries pure, limited to interest rate risk,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., said in a Bloomberg Television interview before the announcement. “The minute you start downgrading away from AAA, you take small steps toward credit risk and that is something any country would like to avoid.”

Relative Yields

Treasury yields average about 0.70 percentage point less than the rest of the world’s sovereign debt markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show. The difference has expanded from 0.15 percentage point in January.

Investors from China to the U.K. are lending money to the U.S. government for a decade at the lowest rates of the year. For many of them, there are few alternatives outside the U.S., no matter what its credit rating.

“Yields are low in the face of a downgrade because there is nowhere else for people to go if they don’t buy Treasuries because they want to be in safe dollar assets,” Carl Lantz, head of interest-rate strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG, one of 20 primary dealers that trade directly with the Federal Reserve, said before the announcement.

Ten-year Treasury yields fell to as low as 2.33 percent in New York, the least since October.

Bond Dealers

The committee of bond dealers and investors that advises the U.S. Treasury said the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency “appears to be slipping” in quarterly feedback presented to the government on Aug. 3. The U.S. currency’s portion of global currency reserves dropped to 60.7 percent in the period ended March 31, from a peak of 72.7 percent in 2001, International Monetary Fund data show.

“The idea of a reserve currency is that it is built on strength, not typically that it is ‘best among poor choices’,” page 35 of the presentation made by one member of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from firms ranging from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Pimco. “The fact that there are not currently viable alternatives to the U.S. dollar is a hollow victory and perhaps portends a deteriorating fate.”

Members of the TBAC, as the committee is known, which met Aug. 2 in Washington, also discussed the implications of a downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating. “None of the members thought that a downgrade was imminent,” according to minutes of the meeting released by the Treasury.

A U.S. credit-rating cut would likely raise the nation’s borrowing costs by increasing Treasury yields by 60 basis points to 70 basis points over the “medium term,” JPMorgan’s Terry Belton said on a July 26 conference call hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. The U.S. spent $414 billion on interest expense in fiscal 2010, or 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, according to Treasury Department data.

“That impact on Treasury rates is significant,” Belton, global head of fixed-income strategy at JPMorgan, said during the call. “That $100 billion a year is money being used for higher interest rates and that’s money being taken away from other goods and services.”

© Copyright 2011 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.

Read more on Newsmax.com: US Rating Cut by S&P for First Time on Deficit Reduction Pact
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama’s Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

SAF’S FINAL U.N. ATT REPORT

FINAL REPORT on the Third Preparatory Committee (Prep Comm) meeting for the Arms Trade Treaty that ended on July 15, 2011.

By Julianne Versnel, Second Amendment Foundation Director of Operations

With the Chairman’s Draft Paper distributed on July 14, 2011, it is apparent that small arms and ammunition will be included in the ATT final draft that will be hammered out at the month-long negotiating conference in July 2012. Small arms and ammunition have been the focus of much of the discussions by the delegates. While this was expected from many less developed states, the vehement and strident comments suggesting the scope of the proposed ATT be broadened by Australia, Sweden, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway were somewhat surprising.

This meeting had over 375 requests for registrations by NGOs and other interested parties. This was not a meeting open and specific permission had to be received so that registration could even be made. This is an unprecedented number.

A member of the UN staff asked me on the first day of the meeting why there were so many people who wanted to attend this conference. The First and Second Prep Comms meetings had had about 100 and 125 NGOs in attendance respectively. As the week progressed, the answer to the question became obvious. This conference is about firearms and ammunition. Just as this is an emotional issue that elicits strong feelings from Americans, so it is in the rest of the world.

The great majority of those attending were from organizations that deal almost exclusively with small arms. On July 14, 2011, NGOs were allocated one hour to make statements. Control Arms, a Survivors’ Declaration and IANSA spoke and were followed by remarks by the National Rifle Association, World Forum for the Future of Sports Shooting Activities and Defense Small Arms Advisory Committee. There was no presentation that discussed any part of the scope of the treaty beyond firearms and ammunition.

The fourth and final Prep Comm is to take place in mid February 2012. While this has been described as a technical conference, there is little likelihood that there will actually be further discussion for expanding the scope and reach of the ATT to be presented the following July.

The Second Amendment Foundation remains vigilant in covering the progress of the upcoming United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >

Copyright © 2011 Second Amendment Foundation, All Rights Reserved.
Second Amendment Foundation
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-7012
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@saf.org

Below you can read first the letter entitled “Too many Guns” from a gentleman in Treasure Island, Fl. Following will be my reply to that gentleman which will be in the next edition of The Palm Harbor Beacon.

” Too many guns ”
Re:Editorial, June 30, about Largo and Clearwater Police taking hundreds of guns off the streets by offering $50 and $100 gift cards.

Editor, about a month ago, having nothing better to do, I attended a gun show for the first time at the fairgrounds in Tampa. I arrived in about 15 minutes before the doors opened and found about 100 people standing in line to pay the $8 entrance fee.

Once inside, the gun dealers had long tables displaying hundreds of guns of all types. I had sticker shock over the prices of the guns. Name brand guns $500 and up, way up. Assualt $1,200 to more than $3,000.
If one has a Florida concealed weapons permit, he can pay for the gun and take possession on the spot. Without the permit, a three day waiting period. I was informed by a sales guy for a big gun dealer that so many were being sold, there would be more than an hour wait to fill out the paperwork to buy a gun.
I witnessed dozens of guns being delivered.
Almost eveery weekend there are dozens of guns show like this in Florida. Four times a year at the Tampa Fairgrounds.
It would appear the efforts of the police to remove guns is a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of new ones being sold just at these shows.

RM
Treasure Island

Below is my response being published in The Palm Harbor Beacon :
Editor: This in response to the “Too many guns” letter published July 15 by Mr. RM of Treasure Island.
Gun shows in our state draw large crowbs for at least three reasons; the Florida State Constitution supports our nation’s Second Amendment rights, our state has large population of men and women who enjoy the shooting sports; and lastly; the current administration in Washington, D.C. is not friendly toward The Second Amendment causing many to fear the loss of their constitutional right.
You are correct in saying that people who have their concealed carry permit can take possession on the day of purchase but; are you aware that the permit itself is checked too ensure that no suspensions or revocations are on the individual permit before the person can actually take possession? If a permit holder gets charged with a misdemeaner or felony, the permit is pulled and placed under suspension within two hours until the issue is legally settled. In other words, the permit is suspended and the permit holder cannot carry concealed until the law says so. Holders of concealed carry permits are responsible citizens; otherwise they would carry concealed without a permit which is illegal. According to the NRA, studies indicate firearms are used more than 2 million times a year for personal defense, many times without a single shot being fired. Gun “buy back programs” conducted by our law enforcement agencies are a good idea to tryb to rid our streets of illegal weapons but most of the firearms acquired there are brought in by people who have legal possession of unwated or old firearms andthe buy back programs an easy way for them to get rid of these unwanted firearms.
Having attended gun shows in the past, you are correct in saying that many guns are sold. But your wording makes it sound like this is a bad thing. The guns are being sold legally (unlike what the BATFE has been accused of), to people who are follwing the letter of the law in order to enjoy their Second Amendment rights and the pursuit of their hobbies whether those hobbies are hunting, competition or for self-defense.

Two questions: What is an assualt rifle by your definition? Does it encompass all types of rifles, or just the “black rifles” and any other military style rifle?
Anything can be turned into an “assualt weapon”. The pen is said to be mightier than the sword yet one can use a pen to defend themselves if that is all they have.
Sir, please remember that the gun buy back programs are in attempt to get stolen and illegaly purchased guns off the streets. Please do not chastise those citizens who are follwing the law.

Dennis Rogers
NRA Certified Instructor
Palm Harbor