By now, the controversial H.R. 45 Bill has been a topic of discussion across nearly ever dinner table in the country.  It’s also entirely possible these discussions have morphed into heated debates too.  This is an

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incredibly important bill that if passed, will affect the Constitution and will change the relationship Americans have had with their firearms ever since the framers of the Constitution hammered it out.  A few of the proposed guidelines are listed below; however, if you wish to view this extensive bill in its entirety, click here.

First, it’s important to know who Blair Holt is.  In May of 2007, a boy who attended Julian High School in Chicago, used his body to shield a girl who was about to get shot on a school bus.  She lived, but Blair Holt died as a result of his heroic efforts.

H.R. 45 outlines significant changes in the way we purchase, sell, store, use and move any firearms we are in possession of.  The repercussions if this law (provided, of course, it passes) is broken are incredible.  The changes will be drastic.  Before anyone will receive a firearm license, he will be required by law to provide to the Attorney General:

• A current passport-size photo
• Signed statement that authorizes the Attorney General to gather medical and mental health records
• The applicant’s place of birth
• Satisfactory completion of a written examination that is designed to promote gun safety and the applicant’s understanding of how to handle firearms, the risks of using a firearm and a thorough understanding of local, state and federal gun laws; and
• “Any other subjects as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate”

If the license is granted, the owner must renew his license every sixty months by undergoing the same procedures and paying a $25 renewal fee.

Other guidelines include failure to report a stolen or lost firearm within 72 hours of discovering its absence will be a crime.  If you relocate, either within the same state or elsewhere, failure to submit a fee and notification to the Attorney General will be a crime.  Suggested punishments include hefty fines, prison sentences (some of which would be felonies - which means, of course, those convicted would no longer be allowed to ever possess a firearm) or combinations of both prison sentences and fines.

Gun owners will be required to claim all firearms on his annual income tax returns.

These are just a few of the highlights of the proposed changes.  Understandably, this is an incredibly charged topic and the lines have been drawn in the sand.  These proposed changes will affect each of us on varying levels and will change the way our children and their children will see gun ownership.  Hopefully, the right solution can be found that won’t include such invasive laws; that said, those solutions need to be found now since many are pushing to have this bill passed in short time.

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Saturday marks the 35^th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation.  On August 8, 1974, after having denied any involvement in the infamous Watergate scandal, and under pressure from nearly every politician in Washington, Richard Milhous Nixon officially became the first president in United States History to resign from the highest office in the country.  Gerald Ford was sworn in the next day to take over the role of US President.

The Watergate Scandal had already begun to taint the waters during the 1972 presidential elections; still, Nixon was re-elected in a landslide against his Democrat opponent, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota.  By this time, five men had already been arrested in the middle of the night for their attempts to break into the DNC headquarters at Watergate Hotel in D.C., a large sum of money in the form of a campaign check for Nixon appeared in the bank account of one of the burglars and the FBI had already determined the attempted break-in was a result of a large spy and sabotage effort ordered by Nixon.  The American public either didn’t care or didn’t believe the accusations that were beginning to surface.

Among other illegal activities, the office of a psychiatrist, who had been providing counseling services to a former defense analyst, Daniel Ellsberg, was burglarized and his confidential medical records stolen.  Ellsberg was the first one who leaked the scandal that would eventually and permanently taint politics.

In an address in November, 1973, President Nixon announced to the American public, “I’m not a crook” and once again reiterated his innocence.  Still, he chose to resign nine months later.  After President Ford assumed the role of president, he pardoned Nixon of all charges relating to the Watergate case.  In his announcement, he said, “… I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.”; and in one fell swoop, the former president was absolved.

Former President Nixon died in April, 1994.

As bad as the latest political scandal is, the governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich has singlehandedly confirmed the very thing we have spent our lives hoping would never come to pass: the sale of politics.  For a vacancy to become a commodity with a price tag undermines every principle the framers had hoped would safeguard our Constitution.  Despite all of the other scandals politicians

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seem to bury themselves in, this is by far one of the most disgusting we’ve seen in this lifetime.  This one is a kick in the teeth to every foundation this country is built on.  In one fell swoop, he’s managed to drop jaws across political party lines, the citizens who voted him into office and the general public as a whole. 

He was arrested and released on Tuesday after federal prosecutors accused him of a one man “political corruption crime spree”.   Some of these crimes he’s accused of includes threatening one of the country’s largest newspapers, Chicago Tribune, if it refused to fire writers who criticized him, as well as his redefinition of “pay to play” for politics.  He has been accused of giving jobs, political appointments and contracts for hefty price tags. This evidence has been gained via wiretaps on his home and office phones and it’s been said some of these conversations would fit nicely into any of the Godfather movies with “tough guy” talk and profanity.  He refers to political peers as “Candidate 1″, “Candidate 2″ and so.  Unfortunately, these candidates he refers to as considerations to fill the seat left vacant by Barack Obama have had to release statements that no one in public office should have ever have to make.  They’ve reiterated their respect for the political offices they hold and have stated not only did they have no idea of what the governor was doing, but they were as disappointed as the rest of the country.  None of those considered for this vacant post are suspected of participating in this political auction.  Now, though, instead of an immediate replacement being named, it appears as though a special election might be the only solution that’s fair and will renew the faith of the state’s voters. 

He’s also accused of complaining about his inability to make good money as governor and said he felt ’stuck’.  If you’re interested, he makes over $175,000 a year as governor.  He’s also overheard negotiating a position for his wife and stated he was looking for a gravy position where she could make at least “150 grand” a year.  He was lining the remainder of this golden brick road to cover him after he left office as governor.  When the pompous governor answered the door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, his reply to the two FBI agents who’d announced they were there to arrest him was, “Is this a joke?”  That left it wide open - I don’t know if I’d have had enough self-discipline to keep from going into how the joke would ultimately be on him in ways he could never imagine.  I suppose that’s why I never considered that as a line of work.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to bite my tongue. 

In the past two days, he’s vehemently asserted his refusal to step down as governor.  That’s been met with the state’s attorney releasing a statement that he didn’t have to, they were taking immediate steps to remove him from office.  So you see, if it was a joke, it’s clearly on Governor Blagojevich.