Ghosts are voting in California

On the heels of the supernaturally-assisted passage of AB-50 (banning .50 caliber rifles), California has enacted a measure requiring ammunition vendors to collect information and fingerprints from those buying ammunition. I got the tip from this thread on The High Road.

As if those two weren't enough, there are also reports that SB1140 passed; that's a Brady Campaign measure creating a misdemeanor offense for "keeping a handgun where a person knows or reasonably should have known a child is likely to gain access to it", as well as what they call a "wobbler" (some kind of sometimes-misdemeanor, sometimes-felony thing I think) for "storage of a firearm in proximity to ammunition".

The information demanded by the state on each ammunition purchase includes:

• Date of transaction
• Name, address, and date of birth of the purchaser
• Driver's license or other ID number, including state of issuance
• Brand, type, and amount of ammunition
• The signature of the customer
• The name of the salesperson
• The right thumbprint of the purchaser

Yes, that's right. In order to buy ammunition in California, you are required to provide a fingerprint! And there are provisions for inspection of these records at any time (during normal business hours), by any employee of the District Attorney or the Department of Justice, which means no warrant is necessary.

And guess what? There are exceptions for two classes of people: police officers and concealed-carry permit holders. Before you start celebrating about the latter, California is NOT a shall-issue state, which means that those holding concealed-carry permits are the political cronies of the legislature and nothing more -- such luminaries as Dianne Feinstein are exempted from the law, but no ordinary peon in California can get a concealed-carry permit.

I wonder if these bills passed by a "ghost vote" too? I wonder if Arnold will sign them? Since I asked him to veto AB50, I'm going to write a follow-up email asking for an investigation of these bills on ghost-voting grounds. Please send your own letter to his email address: governor@governor.ca.gov. As always, please drop a comment on this post if you send an email.

Governor,

Recently I wrote to you regarding the practice of "ghost voting" in the California legislature. This practice was used to pass AB-50, a measure banning the sale of .50 caliber rifles in California, which had languished for a long time in a very close vote. However, the legislature eventually passed the bill 45-32 when your legislators abandoned honor and decency to cast false votes for legislators not actually present! I wrote to you asking you to veto a bill passed through clear fraud and abuse of the legislative system.

I am writing to you now because two addition bills on the topic of firearms have also passed your legislature. These bills are SB1152 and SB1140. They are bills which are offensive to the Second Amendment and to any free people. SB1152 requires a fingerprint to purchase ammunition. How would you feel about being required to provide a fingerprint before making a speech protected by the First Amendment? SB1140 makes it a criminal offense to store a handgun in a manner useful for self-defense. Do you own a handgun, Governor? How is it stored? You may already be a felon.

But because of the way AB-50 was passed, I urge you to investigate the passage of SB1152 and SB1140. I urge you to find out whether these measures, too, were passed by "ghost voting". If they were, regardless of your feelings about the Second Amendment, I urge you to veto all three bills (AB50, SB1152, SB1140) due to their abuse of the people's trust. If your legislators can't be trusted to respect the sanctity of the opposition's votes with a nanny to watch them, it is your responsibility as governor to administer the spanking.

I recognize that if the Democrats in your legislator are "girly-men" as you have accused them of being, they may find the spanking more enjoyable than might be wished. But if you prefer to let them spank you with this legislation, who then is the "girly man"?

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/

If you send an email or a letter, please leave a comment too.