Ghosts are voting in California...

There is apparently no limit to the insanity in California. For the umpteenth time in the long and sordid tale of AB-50, the California Assembly voted on the bill and the bill lost by a 35-36 margin. That was voting by the rules.

But the rules seem to matter very little in Sacramento. Shortly after voting to send the fifty caliber ban to a well-deserved grave, California Democrats called for a "re-vote" and we watched as a handful of Democrats pressed the vote button at their own desk, then calmly walked to the empty desk of another member of the Assembly and voted a second time. This, we learn, is what California Legislators call "Ghost Voting." Nobody there is shocked because "they do it all the time." Ah, I see...

The Smallest Minority reports on a claim by the Fifty Caliber Institute that the .50 ban in California failed on the first attempt, and only passed with the help of the supernatural.

This sort of bullshit is exactly why we have a Second Amendment. The Fifty-Caliber Institute is trying to lobby the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to veto the bill because of the ghost-voting. I doubt it will be an easy sell, but he is a Republican who ran on a promise to shut down political bullshit like this, and the bill apparantly includes spending provisions that won't exactly have a positive effect on California's already near-bankrupt coffers. I'd say that adds up to a chance, especially since the ghost-voting will provide cover if he wants it.

So stop by the Fifty Caliber Institute and contact Arnie. You might want to check out their fundraiser raffle while you're there. Here's some suggested text for your email:

Governor,

Recently, the California legislature passed "AB50", a bill that certain elements have been trying to pass for a long time. Up until now, they have failed with a consistent 35-36 vote, including one immediately before this bill passed on a re-vote. The most recent vote, however, succeeded only due to the practice of "ghost voting". If you are not aware of this practice, it involves legislators present voting "for" legislators not present -- literally voting twice. Simply put, some of the legislators who were not present had their votes stolen from them and recorded without their consent.

It is in your power to put a stop to this practice simply by vetoing this bill. This is exactly the kind of political abuse that you ran for office to stop, and this is your chance. Stand up to the games the legislators are trying to play, and insist on an honest vote.

I oppose AB50 because I am a gun owner and I believe in the Second Amendment rights of all US citizens, including citizens of California. As an immigrant, you have undoubtedly taken classes or education concerning the Constitution of the United States. Most likely this education avoided the subject of the Second Amendment. You may have been told that the Second Amendment is outdated, or refers to the National Guard. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to keep and bear arms, a right that has served us well throughout our history. AB50, by banning a large class of firearms almost never used in crime, is a clear violation of the Second Amendment.

But I do not ask you to veto AB50 because it violates the Second Amendment. That argument has little power in your chosen state of residence, where corrupt politicians have forgotten the duties of honest government. I ask you to veto it because it was passed only through blatant fraud. More, I call upon you as an American and an honest man: it is your duty to veto this fraudulent bill. I invite you to contact the Fifty-Caliber Institute[1] and verify their account of the fraud, and I hope that you will do so, and take appropriate action.

If you stand up to this political corruption, you can show the legislators that you will not stand for bullshit. If you sign the bill into law because you are afraid of political consequences, however, you will prove only one thing: that you are the real "girly-man" in California.

1: http://www.fiftycal.org/

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