Category Archives: Gun Rights

Stalin, Hitler, or McCarthy?

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I’ve been looking at the parallels of the cancel culture, riots, and looting of today in the U.S. to other times and places in history.

Numerous times I’ve mentioned Gulag Archipelago both on this blog and in private conversation with my children and others. The survivors of those times wrote of the truth not being “politically correct” and to speak the truth could result you being “reeducated”, sent to a slave labor camp, or being executed. But, as far as I know, they lacked the riots, thuggish mobs, and looting.

In Nazi Germany the removal of all Jews from government jobs and universities warrants at least a mention. The Brown Shirts, thuggish mobs, and looting ignored by the government certainly are a good match for what we are seeing today in some locations. But the removal of people from their jobs wasn’t because of their political beliefs and/or speech.

After reading Bari Weiss’s letter of resignation from the New York Times (via email from Paul K. and Reason Magazine which has a good article on the topic) another potential parallel was brought to my attention. From Weiss’s letter* (emphasis added):

The paper of record is, more and more, the record of those living in a distant galaxy, one whose concerns are profoundly removed from the lives of most people. This is a galaxy in which, to choose just a few recent examples, the Soviet space program is lauded for its “diversity”; the doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned; and the worst caste systems in human history includes the United States alongside Nazi Germany.

Even now, I am confident that most people at The Times do not hold these views. Yet they are cowed by those who do. Why? Perhaps because they believe the ultimate goal is righteous. Perhaps because they believe that they will be granted protection if they nod along as the coin of our realm—language—is degraded in service to an ever-shifting laundry list of right causes. Perhaps because there are millions of unemployed people in this country and they feel lucky to have a job in a contracting industry.

Or perhaps it is because they know that, nowadays, standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits. It puts a target on your back. Too wise to post on Slack, they write to me privately about the “new McCarthyism” that has taken root at the paper of record.

McCarthyism certainly cost a lot of people their jobs (watch The Front, if for nothing other than the credits at the end which are incredibly sobering). And it was about political correctness of a type. But the thuggish mobs, riots, and looting are missing as well as the political persuasion of the villains being anti-Marxist rather than pro-Marist as we have in the circumstances of today.

The fictional dystopia of 1984 could be considered a match in many ways but it takes place deep in the depths of the fierce suppression of speech, written word, and even many thoughts are forbidden. Something closer to our present circumstance and non-fictional is preferable.

I’m left with less than great matches. Sunday evening I suggested to my children they read Gulag Archipelago. Kim eagerly asked for the spelling but Jaime protested that unless it offered a solution then she didn’t want to get even more depressed and upset by our current situation. That’s a valid point. And furthermore, without great parallels how can I shed light on what to expect next or what to suggest as a remedy? And then there are so many variables such as our technology lending itself to vastly superior suppression of free speech than the previous examples. On the other side of that coin is that same technology also can also be a tool for the enabling of free speech and punishment of the evil doers. And, of course, 100s of millions of guns and billions of rounds of ammunition in the possession of the persecuted also is a variable not present in any of the historical scenarios.

The McCarthyism parallel is by far the least tragic of the outcomes, but it is also the worst match so I’m going to dismiss it.

The conclusion am am left with is that the all the reasonably good historical parallels lead to really bad situations. We must do our best to avoid going in that direction.

I keep thinking that with more and more evidence such as Weiss’s letter, the lessons learned from CHAZ/CHOP, and the continuing destruction in other cities, Portland Oregon in particular, that there is a good chance of a political turn around in the November elections. We should work at making a political solution the most likely outcome while ensuring a 2nd Amendment solution is a last resort and crystal clear that if needed it will be used and will be overwhelming successful.

* I intended to extract a paragraph of the letter for a QOTD but nearly every paragraph would have qualified. I would like to suggest you read the entire letter.

Quote of the day—Alan Cohn for Congress @AlanMCohn

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This is sick. Nobody in America should own an AR-15. PERIOD. The sale and transfer of all assault weapons needs to be banned. It is one of the most important steps we can take to reduce mass shootings in this country.

Alan Cohn for Congress @AlanMCohn
Tweeted on July 12, 2020
[Via a tweet from Law Firm of SolitaryPoorNastyBrutish&Short
@AubreyLaVentana.

This could only be partially true, at best, if the mass shootings Mr. Cohn is interested in preventing is that of rioters threatening to harm innocent people and their property.

I suppose that’s possible.

More likely is that Cohn is just a common liar advocating for evil like most other anti-gun politicians.

Just remember, “No one wants to take your guns”.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Moa

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They are not ‘liberals’. They are Leftists. The same people who slaughtered over 100 million of their fellows citizens in the last century once the Leftists gained unchallenged power.

Of course, the reason the Left has been working for decades to disarm you is so they can send the leftist-controlled mob to kill you and loot what you worked so hard for. Which means this is all well premeditated.

The Left are not accidentally incompetent, they are not confused, they are not mistaken. They are evil. You are their enemy and they will lie about their intentions until you are defenseless and then they can reveal what they really want to do to you and your family.

Moa
June 29, 2020
Comment to Leftist Lunatics Dox and Threaten Armed St. Louis Couple Who Protected Their Home From Black Lives Matter Mob During Protest
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Lies and deception—It’s their culture

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From The More You Know.

From Brady United (formerly The Brady Campaign):

Steve Kerr thought bad things happened to other people – that his life was impenetrable, and that his family was immune to everything. Steve was consumed by basketball, but his life changed forever instantly when his father was senselessly shot and murdered outside his office.

That’s why Steve is working with Brady to elect gun safety champions. He knows that preventing pain and devastation for thousands of families across the country depends on stopping Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump’s inaction on gun violence.

From John Richardson:

Now you may be thinking that Kerr’s dad was the victim of a robbery or a school shooting given he was murdered outside his office.

And you would be wrong.

Kerr’s father, Professor Malcolm Kerr was a political scientist whose specialty was the Middle East. He had taught at the American University of Beirut. Professor Kerr continued his career at UCLA where he went on to become chairman of the political science department and then dean of the division of social sciences. Then in 1982 he returned to the American University of Beirut as its president.

…

1980s Beirut was a dangerous place with Maronite Christians, Druze, Sunni Muslims, and Shiite Muslims all vying for power. You could throw in the Palestinians, the Syrians, and the Iranians into the mix as well for good measure. If you were an American or other westerner in Beirut, you were a target. Kidnappings were rife along with murders and assassinations.

Professor Malcolm Kerr was just such a target as he was the head of one of the most prestigious institutions affiliated with America in Lebanon. On January 19, 1984, two gunmen fired two shots into the back of his head from a silenced pistol as he walked to his office.

Can anyone explain how “gun safety champions” elected in the U.S. could have prevented this tragedy?

Actually, don’t bother. It’s just another example of their their culture of lies and deception.

Quote of the day—Frank J. Fleming @IMAO_

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One of the most revealing bits of left-wing racism is how they think they can scare 2nd Amendment advocates with pictures of black people exercising their gun rights, i.e., they think the right will be as scared of minorities with guns as they are.

Frank J. Fleming @IMAO_
Tweeted on July 2, 2020
[I suspect another fear is that if black people realize they need to own a gun to protect themselves and their property from rioters and looters and it is leftist politicians who are blocking them from doing so they will become “woke” in a manner which is not favorable to the left.

A reminder; I provide free ammo and gun use for new shooters of any color and sexual orientation when they go to the range with me for the first time. Examples include:

Contact information is available via the “Contact” tab at the top of the blog.—Joe]

Quote of the day—BJ Campbell

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  1. If you’re on the Red Team quit worrying so damn much. You hold all the cards, and by cards we mean guns, and perhaps also tanks, so chill out. Give the Blues enough room to play so things don’t turn violent, but throwing around the brinkmanship card on silly stuff isn’t doing anyone any good, and may risk the “democracy” in general.
  2. If you’re on the Blue Team, for Christ’s sake don’t incite violence! Seriously. Antifa is the worst possible thing that could ever happen to the Blues, because they’re risking everything for basically nothing. In short: (again) Chill. Out. Play your cards slowly, please.
  3. If you’re like me, and don’t have a team nor do you wish to join one, maybe consider doing a little preparing. And lord help us all, if the actors make suboptimal choices and the thing does go hot, do what the Afghans do. Say “yes sir, no sir, he went that-a-way sir,” to whoever shows up to your door carrying a rifle, be their uniform Blue or Red.

BJ Campbell
July 6, 2018
Game Theory on the “Second Civil War”
[Via daughter Jaime.

Yes. This was published two years ago today.

Read the whole thing.

One of the unspoken takeaways I have from it is that the current violence by the political left, despite the warning by Campbell two years ago, is because of the realization they are losing. One should always change what your doing when you are losing. It may make you lose faster. But it offers a chance of breaking out of a situation you know is lost.—Joe]

Quote of the day—MTHead

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Ask yourself this. If some person was standing in front of you calling you a racist. Would you believe them? Now, between you and the person saying something like that. Who is better trained at arms? You going to let that person hurt you or your family? Especially with no police to restrain you? Americans are only going to play this game so long. Their not buying all those guns and ammo to make a profit on a shortage. They understand full well. I don’t think the AOC’s of the world do.

The only nightmares I have lately is of my gun jamming.

MTHead
June 29, 2020
Comment to Quote of the day—J. KB
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Not a contradiction

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Via Far Right Of Right@FarRightOfRight:

DefundThePolice

If you think this is a contradiction you probably made the mistake of thinking they were telling the truth when they said you don’t need guns because you have the police. As we have known for decades they have a culture of lies and deception.

With that established fact in mind we can generate hypothesizes and test them against the facts. If we include the newly established fact that they want to defund and abolish the police as we know it what can it mean?

The hypothesis which seems to best fit the data is our political opponents wish to harm us and/or take our property.

I’ve been collecting examples of “They want you dead” for some time now. The recent looting demonstrates the validity of the “they wish to take our property”. That they wanted us disarmed and dependent upon the police followed by defunding the police demonstrates not a contradiction, but consistency with this hypothesis.

Are there other hypothesizes which match the data? Are there other data points which invalidate my hypothesis?

Discuss. Then take appropriate action. Consider preparing for Boomershoot 2021. Sign up is here.

Quote of the day—Elizabeth Rogliani

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Why do I even worry about some silly little statues coming down or some silly little street names changing? Why do I care?

It is because the last time I didn’t care about this, I was a teenager. I have already lived through this thing when I was living in Venezuela. Statues came down — Chavez didn’t want that history displayed. And then he changed the street names. Then came the [school curricula]. Then some movies couldn’t be shown, then certain TV channels, and so on and so forth.

You guys think this can’t happen to you, I’ve heard it so many times. But always be on guard. Never believe something can’t happen to you. You’ve got to defend your country and your society or it will be destroyed.

We didn’t believe it could happen to us. Most Venezuelans — Cubans warned us — and we were like, ‘This is Venezuela, we know about freedom. That’s not going to happen here.’ Yet it happened. And there are literally a lot of people wanting to destroy the U.S.

Elizabeth Rogliani
June 22, 2020

‘Statues coming down’ is a big deal, Venezuelan actress warns
[The high these thugs get from destroying statues and buildings will fade and they will only be able to obtain that same high by escalation. If they are not stopped soon mass murder will be soon be required to sate their desires.

If you think things are happening fast now, don’t ever forget that in Rwandan things went from moderate tension to mass murder in 30 minutes*. The murders occurred at an average rate of about 8,000 per day for about 100 days. This sustained rate exceeded that of Nazi Germany with their gas chambers.

Hutu militiamen boasted they could kill 3,000 people an hour.**

We live in extremely “interesting” times. Prepare yourself.—Joe]

* Rwanda’s Genocide 1994—Supplement to Lethal Laws by Jay Simkin, Aaron Zelman, and Alan M. Rice page 10:

The UN reports that, “less than half an hour after the plane crash occurred, roadblocks manned by Hutu militiamen, often assisted by gendarmerie or military personnel, were set up at which the identiy cards of passers-by were checked and Tutsis were taken aside and killed137.

137. UN Documents, pp. 37-38.

** Ibid, page 1.

Rhode Island to change state name

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Via email from Paul K.:

Democrat Gov of Rhode Island Moves To Change State Name with Executive Order

The smallest state in the union has found itself in the crosshairs of the ongoing culture wars, as Rhode Island’s Democratic governor, Gina Raimondo, removed part of the state’s official name from several documents via executive order Monday.

While the Ocean State is known to the rest of the country simply as Rhode Island, it has had the official name “the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” since it became the 13th state in 1790.

Detractors of the name argue that the word “Plantations” invokes the legacy of slavery. As demonstrated by her decision to sign an executive order to eliminate part of the state’s name from government documents, the governor agrees with that analysis.

Apparently these people don’t realize the enormity of what they are doing by attempting to appease the terrorists. The simple version is:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller
First they came …

But it’s far more complicated than that. There is a deadly psychology that goes along with this. Sociopaths have muted emotion responses.

The thugs and terrorists who beat people because of their skin color or political persuasion and vandalize buildings and monuments and loot stores get a thrill they don’t get and perhaps have never experienced before in their lives. The high they get from this requires greater and greater levels of violence and domination of others to recreate.

Read The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, and/or Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, and/or Hitler’s Willing Executioners.And read my blog post from nearly 13 years ago: Drawing a line in the sand.

What these history lessons demonstrate is that there exist people who, once they “taste blood”, are never satisfied. They will not stop when they accomplish what you might think, and even they think, is their end goal. As they acquire more and more power without significant resistance there comes a point where they become genocidal and murder millions. It feeds that hunger for power and emotional high which can no longer be achieved with mere rioting, looting, and beatings of innocent people.

As they run out of victims the “purity test scores” to avoid death become higher and higher. Those who were once favored supporters become victims to the almost unstoppable murderous thugs. They “eat their own” after leaving rivers of blood in their wake.

These people must be stopped now. They must not be appeased.

New shooter report

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A few weeks ago I received an email from a blog reader in California:

To: blog@joehuffman.org
Subject: Recommended Firearms Trainer in Olympia

Students would be Son plus Future Daughter-in-law.  He has a shot a gun a few time at the range with me but she never has.  Both now want to conceal carry.  The own no guns.  They need basic training and purchase advice.  Any recommendations for trainers in their area?

I didn’t know anyone in the Olympia area but was ready to research things and recommend someone. I also offered to give them their first lesson if they could travel to my local range. They accepted my offer for some free training and last Friday we took over the training bay at West Coast Armory in Bellevue.

We did the usual safety briefing and eye dominance testing. Chris is left handed and left eye dominant. Marion is mostly right handed and right eye dominant.

Chris has shot a little more than described with the boy scouts and other random trips to the range. Very little pistol shooting but a fair amount of rifle shooting. So, I started with Marion to get her up mostly up to level.

I put a suppressor on a Ruger Mark III 22/45 Lite and showed her stance, grip, and sight picture. She did dry fire about a dozen times but complained the grip was too small. She was correct. She has large hands for a woman so I switch to an STI Edge for dry fire and then a different .22 pistol for live fire.

I repeated the mantra, “Trigger prep, sight alignment, squeeze, follow through” again and again as she dry fired. I watched the bobble of the muzzle as it happened less and less frequently. After she had many excellent dry fires in a row we went live from 10 feet away. She was tense and said she was nervous. She did just fine.

These are her first six shots ever and the associated smile:

image

After she emptied a couple magazines I brought Chris to the line and evaluated his skill level. He did well. I corrected his grip and found little else to do but let him empty a couple magazines as well.

Back to Marion. She had a tendency to have her elbows bent to much and the usual failure to lean forward. But she did well:

20200619_170957

Chris was shooting well without much input from me:

20200619_171351

I had to correct their grips a few times and encourage Marion to lean forward and straighten her elbows more. Chris had to be reminded several times to keep his finger off the trigger when he brought the gun down. That’s an extremely common problem with experienced shooters who didn’t get fairly disciplined instruction early on.

I switched back and forth between them increasing the difficulty by having them switch between targets for every shot. It was the drill I use for practicing Steel Challenge matches. I encouraged them to shoot as fast as they could while getting all their shots inside the rings. They went through about 150 rounds of .22 dumped into multiple targets. They did great. For a new shooter Marion’s speed was impressive.

I switch to them to unsuppressed:

20200619_172203

When I asked Marion if she was okay with the increased noise I got a look that indicated she thought that was an incredible stupid question. Okay. Time to change calibers then.

.40 S&W in the STI Edge with the powder puff loads I worked up for new shooters and shooting steel matches and silhouette targets to simulate self-defense shooting.

20200619_174304

They both did great. I put up two targets and had them put two rounds on one target then put two rounds on the other. Again, when asked about recoil and noise Marion’s facial expression told me far more about her tolerance than her verbal response of a couple dismissive words.

With their good shooting I moved them to more difficult targets. Two shots on one target then two on the other:

20200619_175309(0)

Again they both did great. Here is Marion’s first set of shots on the partial targets from 10 feet. Zero misses and only three D-zone hits:

20200619_17553020200619_175524

After they had finished off the two hundred rounds of the light recoil .40 S&W I brought I switched to 75 rounds or so of Major Power Factor USPSA loads I brought. Never have I had new shooters go through more than a couple magazines of even the low power .40 S&W.

After shooting a magazine of the USPSA loads I again asked Marion about the recoil. Her eyes didn’t roll, but I’m pretty sure that was her irritated with the stupid questions look.

With the higher recoil, my encouragement to shoot as fast as they could get shots on the paper, and some fatigue showing up the shots started getting a little less precise:

20200619_180728

It was pretty amazing. I didn’t get out the timer but I’m certain she was doing less than one second splits on both double taps and transitions.

Here is a sample of Chris’s shooting:

20200619_181129

20200619_18141620200619_181421

Great grouping for the speed at which he was shooting but the placement could be better.

As our time ran out we cleaned up the range and went outside to review. I pointed out Chris had to work on keeping his finger off the trigger and Marion had a tendency to point the gun too far to the left. It wasn’t breaking the 180 but it didn’t need to drift that far. I told them they did really well and I didn’t have any problem recommending they were ready, skill wise, for Insights General Defensive Handgun class. I don’t think I have ever told a new shooter that after just one lesson. They really did do great.

Quote of the day—Lawrence Keane

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These four associate justices could have voted to hear any of the 10 petitions, but not all four chose to bring the cases before the court. That’s telling in as much as it is disturbing. The fact that four justices who complained the court needed to hear Second Amendment cases passed on 10 chances to do so tells us much about the court’s “swing vote.”

One or more of the conservative justices are in essence telling us Roberts cannot be trusted to interpret the Second Amendment as written, or faithfully apply the precedents of the Heller and McDonald decisions. He ruled in the 5-4 majority in both those cases.

…

It’s going to take a new justice to stand up for American rights. The next president and Senate will determine whether the Second Amendment will mean anything in America or whether it will continue to be treated as a constitutional orphan.

Lawrence Keane
June 17, 2020
SCOTUS Gun Case Denials Signal Conservative Justices Don’t Trust Roberts With The Second Amendment
[Via email from Rolf.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Frank J.

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We don’t need democracy, we just need to trust angry mobs. Who can ever get the biggest mob and makes them the angriest should make the rules.

Frank J.
Random Thoughts: JK Rowling and Angry Screaming
June 17, 2020
[SCOTUS dropping (almost) all of the 2nd Amendment cases on Monday made the truth of the quote above all the more clear.

Monday was extremely depressing for me. I’ve been donating thousands of dollars per year to SAF and FPC to pursue these court cases, I write letters to representatives, I follow the rules, and urge others to do the same. And what are people going to learn from current events?

The lesson to many is going to be exceptionally clear. You are a fool if you follow the rules. The proper way to get your way, no matter how delusional you are, is to riot and loot. This will not end well. And all I will be able to do is say I tried and failed.

I still have a tiny sliver of hope. And that is Trump wins in landside this November, Republicans continue their hold in the Senate and another 2nd Amendment supporting SCOTUS justice or two are appointed by the end of 2024. By that time I will have been fighting this fight and following the rules for 30 years.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Firearms Policy Coalition

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The ATF exists exclusively to threaten Americans with the violent enforcement of unconstitutional laws. We believe firmly that the ATF should be abolished, and that all of the laws it was created to enforce should be repealed or struck down. The NFA, GCA, and every other law that threatens the People with disarmament and prison for exercising human rights are leprotic reminders of prior generations’ sins against our Republic, founding principles, constitutional guarantees, and human liberty itself. The sooner they are eliminated, the better.

Firearms Policy Coalition
FPC Statement on Possible ATF Action to Ban More Legal Products
June 17, 2020
[The ATF should be defunded long before local law enforcement. But that’s not the way it works.

Read The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 2: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, 1918-1956. It is trivial to draw the parallels to what we are going through today:

It’s a jungle, the consciousness of an orthodox Communist. It’s impossible-to make sense of it.

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Page 347.

Change some names and the location and you could believe Solzhenitsyn was talking about Baca in Albuquerque.

The evidence is extremely clear that we are traversing a track parallel to Solzhenitsyn’s dystopia. As he pointed out the criminal class is the natural ally of the communist. Hence they demand the abolishment of the police. Simultaneously the political left demands we give up our guns. Obviously, these acts are to protect their criminal allies.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Cesia Baires

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It’s not something that I would want, but we’ve seen how, for at least the first couple days, we were left alone. There were no cops that would come around. So what are we to do? Just stand there and do nothing?

Cesia Baires
June 3, 2020
Armed Neighborhood Groups Form In The Absence Of Police Protection
[Via email from Rolf.

One of the biggest problems that I see with the situation is the reduced force continuum. They can’t make a citizens arrest when there are dozens or hundreds of rioters and looters. The options are:

  • Presence. Be visible, observe and record the actions of the terrorists.
  • Verbally warn the bad guys.
  • Under certain circumstances use pepper spray.
  • Warning shots.
  • Shoot to stop.

When the terrorist are breaking windows and doors and looting can you legally shoot to stop them? If not, then the terrorists win. They will just walk through the force continuum available to you and it’s game over.

Email from Paul K. a few days ago:

My understanding is that, with rare exceptions, deadly force is unfortunately no longer permitted in defense of property.

It turns out that it depends upon the state. Here are a few links:

Paul’s assertion does not appear to hold in Idaho and Washington.—Joe]