SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR SEEKS TO MUZZLE SECOND AMENDMENT ADVOCATES … AND THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley loves shooting guns … and won’t ever pass up a media opportunity to highlight her affinity for firearms.
Unfortunately, when it comes to your right to keep and bear arms – Haley isn’t quite so accommodating. In fact last year her own law enforcement agency habitually violated state law by failing to renew concealed weapons permits (CWPs) for Palmetto State gun owners.
Really … it’s true. And as a direct result of her administration’s negligence and incompetence, thousands of law-abiding South Carolina gun owners saw their Second Amendment rights denied.
Now Haley is once again enraging gun rights advocates … this time over her support for a controversial “ethics reform” bill.
As we noted in this post, the “ethics reform” being championed by Haley is a step in the wrong direction on multiple fronts – most notably the giant muzzle it would place over those who dare to criticize big government.
Don’t take our word for it … here’s an independent analysis of the legislation, which Haley supported before her office had even bothered to read the bill.
Earlier this week FITS exclusively reported on efforts by the National Association for Gun Rights to defeat this bill – efforts which have since been confirmed by the group’s leader.
“Yes, the National Association for Gun Rights is involved in fighting against H 3954, the so-called ethics reform bill,” said Nathan Barnes, a senior field operative for the organization. “We have sent multiple emails to our members in the state, passed out flyers in opposition to the bill, and are calling our members and connecting them directly to their senator’s offices to voice their opposition to the bill. We have also put calls through to Governor Haley’s office.”
Haley has had enough of those calls, though … and has decided to get a jump-start on the censorship envisioned by her so-called “ethics reform” legislation.
According to an email from the organization’s media office, “Governor Nikki Haley is now making veiled threats against the National Association for Gun Rights.”
“After hundreds of members responded to our email yesterday, urging Governor Nikki Haley to put an end to H3954, the ‘Anti-Free Speech’ Bill, Governor Haley instructed the State Ethics Commission to have a ‘friendly chat’ encouraging us to back off,” the email continues.
Wait … what? Haley is trying to use a state agency to censor gun rights advocates?
Hear that Second Amendment supporters? Not only does Nikki Haley’s administration want to keep you from receiving your concealed weapons permits (CWPs) in a timely fashion, she’s now threatening to silence your voice of protest against a bill that would … wait for it … limit your free speech.
And this coming from a “pro-gun conservative?” In the “most Republican state in America?”
Wow …
“It’s outrageous that Governor Haley would try to use the State Ethics Commission to try to pressure gun owners to back down,” the National Association for Gun Rights email continues. “But make no mistake – we will never back off when it comes to protecting your Second Amendment Rights.”
Good for them … neither will we.
Nikki Haley needs to learn that the Second Amendment isn’t a photo opportunity, it’s a basic freedom. In fact based on her attempt to censor the free speech gun rights activists, it seems she needs the same object lesson when it comes to the First Amendment.
95 comments
The Great Governor of Colorado recently met with the County Sheriffs regarding their concerns over gun laws and according to some the Governor basically told the Sheriffs to fuck off
I doubt if the Gypsy Queen will be as direct as the Great Governor of Colorado but in her own way she has done the same
Mickey shooting a damn bird!!!!
Haha! Didn’t she learn anything from the First Admendment fiassco a couple years ago? Of course not.
Maybe she’s taking a crash course through the Constitution, one amendment at a time?
Oh shit, what happens when she reaches the 4th?
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision by the United States … The district court’s decision was based upon the 9th Amendment, and the court …
Haley and Graham are pro-life unlike Ervin and Sheheen.
They both understand that using the 9th Amendment to allow mother’s to butcher and murder their own children is evil and wrong as a so called ‘right to privacy’.
No crash course needed.
I knew it.. You are GT on thorazine….. Well I am glad that is settled.
Of course not. Don’t you know she’s not all there.
Haley is a proven liar, proven on many occasions!
Wilbur Smith
Lexington Medical Center
Savanna River Sellout to Georgia
Daughter winning beauty pageant
DOR breach
Employment Workforce incompetence
Removal of Darla Moore
DHEC Board removal
Templeton appointment
Kitzman appointment
Failure to report campaign contributions in accordance with law
Destruction of Govt. emails
Could not remember flying first class to China with Sanford
Affairs with Folks, Marchant
DSS child murders
Now Pinson testifies, “It is EASY to imbezle money from Haley’s Dept. of Commerce Grant Program”!!! (today’s State News!! 6-20-2014)
She and her brother Barry O are one in the same!!!
Obama should have never been reelected, neither should Ohaley!
Don’t forget the fabricated pageant disqualification.
what about her claim that she was abused by babysitter as child?
Hilarious.’John Boy’ the liberal psycho defending the First Amendment.
I just love it when liberals talk about the Constitution when muslim Obama has shredded it!
Yawn….same old spew.
Bet you love it, when con-serve-atives use it for war.
If you swap the fore grip on that AR to a dildo she probably wouldn’t be gripping it so tight. You have to spec them to the users strengths.
If you aren’t a member of a ‘well regulated militia’, you don’t have a ‘right’ to ‘keep and bear arms’.
Read the Constitution. The 2nd Amendment is one of the shortest and clearest and to the point…if you are a strict constructionist.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed.
Most people accept that the former half is a reason to grant the latter half (i.e. the right itself). They certainly didn’t mean that we should restrict gun ownership to just those in a militia, that much is obvious to anyone. Even countries with strict gun control allow hunters to own rifles, even if they have to jump through a ton of hoops to get and keep it.
I do believe the former half does give government the power to pass regulations, though, but only to a certain degree.
There again , who determines the degree ? Where do you stop. That is why we gun owners say NO. All the feel good laws are fine when rational people use them. But it only takes one nut job lawyer or judge to screw up the whole thing. Therefore NO gun control, NO time . NO way. Problem solved.
Smirks is okay with the ‘militia’ radical Islamist terrorists and criminals in this country having guns. He just don’t want law abiding American citizens to have guns.
“the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
Is that clear enough for you, dipshit, or do you want to play the semantics game some more and instruct how the usage of the “comma”, changes the entire meaning.
Read first, then speak. comma.
My question: Why the F*#k do you and Obama want Americans to be defenseless?….I do think if something went down, most every soldier in the US would side w/ the people, not Obama, and the leftists…..
So even if you could take our ability, as individuals, to light up, your Sissy-@$$…I doubt it’d do you any good. The people trained, w/ the gov’t guns…would blow you the F*#k to kingdom come….That’s just the reality of who, and what you are…You are too stupid, lazy and incompetent to earn wealth…and you’re too coward to take it…from a real American…
That’s what you have facing you…Dumb@$$…
“Earn wealth?” In your case, more like “abuse the system and employees, skirt the law, and anything goes until you get caught.” Funny, but it takes underpaid and mistreated cops like me to keep the people you cheat and abuse from simply killing you. You depend on people you underpay to allow you to keep the wealth you claim to have earned. At some point, those underpaid civil servants are going to start looking the other way when it comes to rich folk -you made your money in a less-than-sterling manner, so let you get dealt with the same way.
GT, I’ve faced being made dead more times than I can count, every time in service to my community. The only thing you’ve ever served is your own self-interest. Who, again, is the REAL AMERICAN????
real amerika, is against faggots who think pubs who like young boys and faggot sex under a Christian guise can do what they want.
Are you slobbering drunk dude…or that D*#n ignorant?
Both ? You ?
Explains a lot.
Good for you, just talk and BS, I wish you went to war somewhere. Faggott
Keep on, repub-LIE-CONS spin anew every time.
You come across as pretty a non-creative, and not very thoughtful person. You do have a lot of hate for your country, yourself and others.
Christ does offer an answer, if you call on Him. And I mean that seriously.
Get your shit together, and be a man for once. You know pubs are done.
I’ve always respected law enforcement…I had no idea pieces of $#!* like you are hiding behind a badge.
Maybe the liberals are right, when they say what stupid Mother-*#kers go into police work. You prove them right.
Do you respect James Metts ?
Metts is a criminal. Not law enforcement. Just like Truth-monger claims he is a policemen, but represents himself as a bottom-feeding dolt….
And as Obama got elected to be president, but he turned out to be a F*#k#d up piece of S#!t…So I guess if Barack got away w/ being a big liar, Metts did the same…
People, not being what they say there are, is not uncommon.
Just the tip of your crap. Nikki is next.
Redneck please. You people are so simple-minded. It took em 40 F*#king years to get Metts. You slow Dumb@$$. You’re a pretty punch-drunk and Stupid son of a B!*ch…like most liberals.
Hey, it’s a start, just like a Dem in the whitehouse for 8 years, looks like another 8 coming up.
Except they’ll change the name to The Kremlin if that happens.
You killed ’em, why ?
Quit going to war at a drop of a hat faggot. What does the middle east have ? Oil ? Name the democrats into oil, then repub-LIE-CONS ?
You do know the UN passed more than a dozen resolutions warning Iraq. Several countries also Imposed sanctions and 40 nations teamed w/ the US, and the full support of Congress, after Clinton threatened war several time…
You F*#king Uninformed IDIOT!!!!!….
Do you know Irag had NO WND’s ? Do you know many US servicemen were killed for nothing ?
My question: Why attack a country not responsible for 911 ? Why spend 30 Trillion from another country for nothing ? Why kill US Servicemen for nothing ?
You are a liberal cliche, Dumb@$$ robot. How old are you, 16?
If I gave you the answer AGAIN..You’re Too F*#king Stupid to comprehend it.
Obviously you don’t understand the legal precedent that came from the Supreme Court decision in the case “Heller v. District of Columbia”
Those diagnosed as ‘mentally ill’ should not be allowed to ‘keep and bear arms’.
Liberalism is a disease and mental illness.
If you voted for Obama you should NOT be allowed to own a gun.
Please submit your weapon.
No way Buz.
If you voted for Bush, you should confined to an asylum.
Hmm…you must be on the Lerner email list.
Thanks.
No, I’m on the Enron “documents to shred” list.
So, is Lapierre a liberal? He isn’t mentally fit to serve so he shouldn’t be able to bear arms.
Only a White Republican should have that advantage. With a shoot to kill pass, especially if a minority is present.
“Well regulated” meant well organized back in the time frame the Constitution was written.
http://www.constitution.org/cons/wellregu.htm
I AM a member of a “well-regulated militia”. In the 1700’s, the unorganized militia was every free man 17-60, and “well-regulated” meant properly equipped. In fact, it was common for laws to require housholds to maintain firearms and ammunition. You have to understand the english language at the time of writing to accurately gauge intent.
NAGR mass e-mail. The reference to Nikki Haley as “Obama’s unlikely ally” probably did not set well with her.
http://www.scoutdoornews.com/forum/showthread.php?24780-Why-is-Governor-Nikki-Haley-helping-Barack-Obama
[Excerpt]
Why is Governor Nikki Haley helping Barack Obama?
For months President Obama and the IRS have attempted to force organizations like the National Association for Gun Rights to turn over donor and membership lists.
Thanks to the hard work and mobilization of our 4 million members and supporters, we are still free to keep voters informed of where candidates stand without fear of retribution.
But in South Carolina, the fight continues with Obama’s unlikely ally. . . Governor Nikki Haley.
Just this month, Nikki Haley came out in support of H 3945, the “Anti-Free Speech Bill.”
This is stupid. The right to free speech is not the right to anonymous speech. The public has a right to know who is paying to get people elected. You don’t have the right to anonymously pay money to influence legislation.
Most of the Federalists and Anti- Federalists were written anonymously as are our posts at fits.
Recently Brendan Eich lost his job as CEO of Mozzilla, because of a political contribution. That has a chilling effect on free speech.
If you allow unlimited anonymous money to flood the political system, this country will not be worth saving. You will have government to the highest bidder. You have the ability to speak, to the extent people will listen without identifying who you are. You do not have the right to pay money to politicians without people knowing who you are.
Mr. Erich’s speech was not chilled. Perhaps his willingness to attempt to use money to influence legislation was chilled, but that is not the same thing. Besides, if you are arguing that employers should have no right to fire an employee whose exercise of free speech affects their business, then we should pass a law saying so. I wonder if Mr. Erich would have agreed to that when he was CEO? Would he have been willing to protect the free speech of his employees. I would bet not.
Haley loves to have those photo ops with her holding guns but she has done piss little to advance gun rights in SC since taking office as Governor. She did nothing to talk up or promote the Restaurant Carry OR Constitutional Carry bills. Yeah, she signed the Restaurant Carry bill which we really did expect of her, but nothing more.
She is lukewarm in her support of gun rights.
Ethics legislation appears to be done for this year.
SC ethics reform bill dies
http://www.thestate.com/2014/06/19/3518613/sc-ethics-reform-bill.html
[Excerpts]
COLUMBIA, SC — The Senate failed to take a vote on an ethics bill Thursday the final day of the legislative session, killing the biggest possible change in laws regulating legislators in two decades
The House approved the bill two weeks ago. The Senate also took up the measure two weeks ago as time was running out on the regular session, but Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, filibustered the bill.
Senators came back for a three-day extended session this week but could not take up the ethics bill before time ran out as opponents ran out the clock on the final day.
An ethics bill can be reintroduced in January when a new two-year legislative session begins.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said an outcry from what happens with public corruption allegations against House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, might push ethics law changes, including ending House and Senate members policing themselves. The S.C. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday about whether accusations that Harrell misused campaign money and used his position to influence his business should be handled first by the court or the House Ethics Commission.
Hopes for getting a vote on the ethics bill died quickly Thursday as a 5 p.m. deadline loomed for the session to end for the year.
Sen. Kevin Bryant, an Anderson Republican who opposed the measure, took the podium soon after the Senate convened at 10 a.m. and began a 5 1/2-hour filibuster on a different bill that would allow voters in some counties to consider a tax hike for schools.
Several motions to end the debate failed to get the two-thirds support from the Senate.
Senators typically don’t like shutting down their colleagues, but ethics-reform proponents said those who opposed ending Bryant’s filibuster did not want to take up the changes of the rules over lawmakers.
Most Senate Democrats in the Senate along with libertarian Republican senators voted to keep the filibuster going on most occasions. The alliance shows the ethics issues was not about partisanship but about doing what’s right, said Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican whose mini-filibuster later Thursday killed the bill’s chances.
The ethics bill finally was brought up with 90 minutes before the session was set to end. Bill backers tried to push ahead.
GOOD!!!!
Haley and her PEBA Board just voted the 2% pay raise away for state employees. So glad she is going to lose this year and be out of the governors mansion.
2%? Damn Latisha. Assuming you are a ‘state employee’ and making 30 Grand a year in SC that is another 600 bucks a year or $1.68 a day!
Shit.You can’t buy a 40 of MB Ice for that.
Me thinks you got an Obama phone , on Medicaid and voted for our muslim pResident.
You should have signed THE ‘petition’. You MAY have got a better deal. :-)
Fuck you racist pig fucking asshole. I have seen you comment here many times and its apparent you live in a mobile home probably smoke meth and don’t have a godamn tooth left in your mouth.
STFU you whitey hating savage. BTW, you just described your entire family. Now go find a fire and d!e in it.
Considering how Haley ALSO allowed disability payments for police and fire crippled in the line of duty to be reduced by 17% starting Jan 1, 2014, her disdain for public employees is clear. Oh, and for those of us who serve our community, we never wanted to be rich… we just expected to make enough to support a family in a middle-class life. We aren’t allowed to bargain collectively to protect our pay, benefits, or rights. We depend on the integrity and fairness of elected officials and the public for fair treatment….. and that obviously isn’t happening.
Todays State News has an article, on the trial for the Pinson guy, from SC tate saying how easy it is to embezzle money from Haley’s Department of Commerce!
Haley fired many competent, qualified people and took control of programs and money for her cronies to manage. What did we get corruption and stealing of State and Federal funds!
Way to go Haley! You need to GO!http://www.thestate.com/2014/06/19/3518468/trial-witness-former-sc-state.html?sp=/99/205/&ihp=1
What are you and Tango having for dinner tonight ? PORK, the other white meat ?
This has absolutely nothing to do with gun rights. This article is stupid. This is about lack of transparency. The Taxpayers have a right to know who is bribing their public officials..
I just took a big dump. I feel much more better now.
Aye, but do you smell better? That is the question. Usually, I don’t smell so fresh after taking a dump, at least until I get out of the bathroom.
I really really like Nikki’s ass!!! I’d like to play the drum part in Hotel California on those delicious buns.
It would probably be more fun to play “Barracuda” on them. Of course, I wouldn’t complain if she let me play “Hotel California” on them.
We all agree on freedom of speech but we seldom discuss the merits of anonymous speech. Requiring organizations to reveal there donors is a way silence free speech by preventing anonymous speech.
Most of us post here anonymously. I do it because I don’t believe politics should enter in to anyone’s work or business relationships. The founding fathers understood the importance of anonymous speech. Most of the Federalists and Anti – Federalists papers were written anonymously. Recently, the CEO of Mozzilla lost his job because of his political advocacy. That is a road this country doesn’t need to go down. People should be able to express there opionions without fear of retribution on the job or in business.
The ethics bill was a attempt to silence anonymous speech.
Nope. It was an attempt to silence POLITICAL speech. Period. Read what would happen to anyone who spoke about ethics violations the Ethics Committee cleared!
Posting here anonymously is speech. Giving money to politicians is not speech. You have a right to free speech. If people will listen you can write it down and publish it freely under a pseudonym. But you do not have the right to use money to influence politicians anonymously. There is absolutely no benefit to that. In fact there is a huge detriment to that. That means the richer you are the more speech you have. Which is total BS.
if you do not want a company to be able to fire an employee because his speech or attempts to influence legislation with money affects their business then we should pass a law saying so. I’ll bet companies will be lining up to back that law.
Ethics bill that do not guarantee transparency as to who is giving money to politicians are worthless. If you cannot see who is giving money to politicians there will be no ethics. Government will always go to the highest anonymous bidder. Which is what SC has now and why its listed as one of the most corrupt states in the country.
The CEO of Mozilla lost his job because he hurt the company he worked for, not because he exercised free speech. Maybe people in his position should have to think about that before they start trying to buy politicians.
As for the Federalist, they were anonymous because they were afraid of being arrested by the Government. There is no risk of that today. We cannot protect people from the consequences of their speech as it relates to private citizens. We can only protect them from action by the government, and that is all we should do.
The whisper campaign in Lexington County: The sad case of the Susan Wilkes murder.
Read more: http://scdigest.blogspot.com/
If all you are going to do is shill for your blog, why not go ahead and pony up for an ad on this blog
Thought you were against freebies
That’s hilarious…If FITS paid me back for all the traffic I’ve attracted to his site, I could buy a new 2,500-sq-ft. house. Make that 2 houses in Obama’s horrible economy.
Actually, the site would be better without you.
The country is better off w/o fools like you and Obama…but there is nothing I can do about that….
yes you can, you can move to another State, Country, Planet
bye, bye
Get Obama’s D*!*k out of your mouth, Blue-Bib. LMAO..
GT’s site doesn’t have readily accessible posting as does FIts. It is one of those sites where you have to join some dipshit social media to post on.
Thank God for Fits and its open and uncensored posting. Although I am seeing some (potentially) troubling signs of possible censorship. Thus far, they seem to be for good cause so let’s hope it doesn’t expand.
I’ll get that fixed CIC.I just wanted to see what the market would support, and track hit count, based on content only.
I’ll have some major upgrades in time. I do have a REAL job, too. So I cannot devote the time I’d like to, to it.
Also: I 100% agree w/ you about FITS and the ability for anybody to post. He should have banned me long ago. Many sites are not real fond of real truth. That is FITS top benefit. Of course it may be a Disqus rule.
Will is a pretty good moderator but remember this is still a SC government site and your ip is recorded. Will, Strom and the state police know who you are, your fellow posters don’t. Use the ‘tor browser’, it helps but its not fool proof.
I went to wikipeia, found this: In 2013 a Swedish group called Researchgruppen obtained and exposed a large number of anonymous Disqus identities through the API system.[19] The group co-operated with the Bonnier tabloid Expressen, who subsequently confronted several politicians with allegedly racist, misogynic and derogatory sentiments. Researchgruppen, which include people from the far left, said their database contained millions of comments from Disqus users around the world who are at risk of de-anonymization. [20] [21] [22] In March 2014, Expressen and Researchgruppen won the investigative reporting award Guldspaden. [23]
So, you are entitled to a free ride on skippy’s site because you can type
Ironic that you blast daily those who think they are entitled to free food, free cell phone and free health care simply because they can stand upright
Kinda makes you sound and look like a kissing cousin to the same cockroaches you claim to despise
No: I’m entitled because I SAY THE F*#k I am…and some ignorant F#K like you can’t stop me…That’s why Dumb@$$..LMAO….
You sound like some Government @$$hole…who thinks you own the right to free speech, and social media…Think again, IDIOT….
Two little love birds sitting in a tree…
A liberal and GT K- I – S- S – I – N – G …
First comes the freebies, then love, then comes marriage,
Soon pops out their little bastard Libertarian baby in the cute red white and blue baby carriage.
Bill is dead. Move on.
My understanding about this group, is that it was founded and its board members are all Ron Paul supporters. Many of their claims are questionable at best. I have gotten emails and flyers that don’t really support their claims. If You google the name, there are many discussion boards on established gun rights groups that are questioning their legitimacy.
Ron Paul supporters? Oh my! God forbid that people actually THINK about issues rather than accept what is spoon fed them by the political parties, the media, and other sources of hype. We can’t have that!
Clearly a photo op. She would sport a nice bruised shoulder with that grip. One shot would be all it took, right Will? (sorry had to say it)
She is clearly pandering to the right, but leaning to the left, clandestinely.
The provision of the ethics reform bill in question did NOT threaten the rights of gun owners. It only provided that, like most states in the U.S. and the federal government, South Carolina would require disclosure of donors if — and only if — a group advocates for or against candidates in an election. Groups that exclusively comment on issues and provide unbiased candidate information would not have been affected. In short, this is nonsense.
Certainly a hit piece on Haley. Now, not living in her state, the only way that I judge her is by the statements that she has made publicly. The ones that I recall seem to be well thought out and reasonable. Adjusting government employee salary to match that paid to non-government workers seem to be over due.
I think this author should have presented the other side to these statements rather than just one side.