After a marathon debate in which several of the loopier measures were shot down (and many astoundingly foolish things were said), Colorado finally managed to pass a couple of new gun control laws, which now await the willing signature of Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat. These new laws expand background checks, requiring gun owners to pay $10 for such a check when transferring firearms, and impose a 15-round limit on the capacity of magazines.
(And here I thought gun control zealots were convinced that 10 rounds was the limit for virtuous magazines. Or was it seven? How many bullets do you need to shoot a deer, again? I recall New York’s gun-grabbing governor, Andrew Cuomo, clearly stating that it was less than ten. Maybe they have really big deer out in Colorado.)
But even before the governor gets to sign the bill, Fox News reports that local sheriffs are announcing they won’t enforce the new laws. Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said “they’re feel-good, knee-jerk reactions that are unenforceable,” and they give citizens “a false sense of security.”
Human Events
BEIJING, March 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and China will coordinate their reactions to US plans to boost its missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday.
The remarks follow Washington’s recent announcement this it has shelved plans for a European-based missile shield in favor of boosting its defenses in Alaska, which would give it coverage from a potential North Korean attack.
Beijing and Moscow oppose the deployment of missile shields, arguing that they undermine their own military strategies.
“The matter of missile defense has to do with global strategic balance, and China and Russia have similar views on it,” Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cheng Guoping said in Beijing.
“Russia and the People’s Republic of China have been cooperating on the matter for years, and we will only be strengthening collaboration in this direction,” he said.
US efforts to bolster its homeland missile defense follow threats by North Korea last week to attack the United States with its long-range missiles.
The US military intends to deploy 14 additional interceptors in Alaska by 2017 to counter the threat and install a radar station in Japan for early tracking of North Korean missiles.
Russian ambassador to China, Sergei Razov, also urged Moscow’s partners to “adjust their defense efforts to real challenges and threats” and said that no nation’s security effort should pose a threat to others.
Neither Cheng nor Razov elaborated on their countries’ possible reaction to US plans.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei earlier Monday said Washington’s adapted defense blueprint would “only intensify antagonism and not help to solve the problem.”
He also criticized “missile proliferation” in an apparent reference to North Korea’s December launch of a rocket to put a satellite into space that observers believe could serve as a precursor to Pyongyang developing the capability to launch long-range missiles.
Norther Korea carried out a nuclear test in February, prompting a new round of US-led international sanctions, which triggered the threats by North Korea to attack the United States.
Russia has for years vocally resisted US plans to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe, arguing that it would threaten the strategic parity between the two former Cold War foes.
RIA Novosti
MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) – More than 70 aircraft and some 1,000 troops will be deployed in a series of tactical drills in preparation for a large-scale exercise next week in northwest Russia, military officials said on Tuesday.
Preparations for the exercise, codenamed Ladoga-2013, have begun in the Republic of Karelia, and the Leningrad, Smolensk and Tver regions with tactical drills by fighters, bombers and army aviation.
Aviation to be used includes MiG-31 Foxhound and Su-27 Flanker fighters, MiG-25RB Foxbat interceptors, Su-24M Fencer attack aircraft, Su24MR reconnaissance aircraft and Mi-8 Hip multirole helicopters and Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters.
Ladoga-2013 will start next week over Lake Ladoga in Karelia, which borders Finland, the Western Military District operation command said.
RIA Novosti
