Quote of the day—Dan O’Kelly

If you have a problem with the truth, who’s the bad guy?

Dan O’Kelly
February 7, 2020
Former ATF agent at center of legal dispute over AR-15
[The answer should be obvious. The problem is that the truth is a problem for a lot of people and they will insist the truth teller is the bad guy. Worst than that telling the truth can make you the enemy. And frequently it’s not just the enemy of one or a few people. You can be enemy of the state. In some countries that can get you prison or even death sentence.

O’Kelly is telling the truth and making himself the enemy of a lot of people. Fortunately, in this country he is unlikely to earn official sanctions from the government even though he is certainly making a lot of people in government very uncomfortable.

I wish him well in his continued truth telling.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dave Ellis

Why a certain sector of elected officials, whose job is to serve the public, are hellbent on trampling individual rights, boggles the minds of clear thinking folks. I believe it has to do with power and control. The battle over gun control is not really about guns; it is about control.

Dave Ellis
February 3, 2020
St. Lawrence Co. gun owners seek to declare 2nd amendment sanctuary
[It may boggle your mind at first. But gradually it makes sense as you see it all around you. And what cements it is when you discover that not only do some people think like this:

And it is a thrill; it’s a high… I love it; I absolutely love it.  I was born to regulate.  I don’t know why, but that’s very true.  So as long as I’m regulating, I’m happy.

But, a lot of people think like that. They absolutely get off on coming up with ideas for controlling other people “for their own good”. Some people even literally believe they need to be in control of other people’s money because they know how to spend it better than the people who earned it.

These type of people are those who seek political office. And they are the type of people who should be kept away from the levers of political power. And when those type of people became too numerous and too powerful, that is why we have the Second Amendment.—Joe]

Quote of the day—José Niño

As the days go by, the School House Rock version of politics that Americans have been accustomed to has increasingly become a distant memory, thanks to DC’s thorough embrace of managerial politics. So, no matter who’s in charge, politics is business as usual, which means more government growth at the expense of local jurisdictions and civil society. However, politics is the art of the possible, especially when people appreciate the value of American federalism and all of its implications. The opportunities are endless, provided that people break free from the conventional wisdom they’ve been fed about political action and start acting locally. Gun rights issues could be the catalyst that kicks off a decentralization revolution America desperately needs.

José Niño
February 6, 2020
What’s Next for the Virginia Sanctuary Movement?
[It’s a pleasant thought. But I’m far from convinced it has a high probability of turning out that way.

Also by José Niño: How Gun Control Became an Instrument of Tyranny in Venezuela.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Gary North

It is true that the Swiss surrender their ammo back to the local armory at the end of each summer’s training. It is also true that the political tradition of democracy is so deeply ingrained that it would be impossible for any Swiss government to refuse to return those weapons the following summer. The Swiss are not a disarmed population. They simply let the government store the ammo during the year. The attitude is not that the government lets the citizens have access to weapons. The attitude is that the citizens allow the government to store the ammo.

Gary North
December 24, 2012
In Defense of the Second Amendment
[H/T to Chuck Petras @Chuck_Petras for bringing this to my attention.

There are some interesting observations and history in his post.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Kevin M. Washington

As a nation we need to live up to the principles of America and that means devotion to the nation and its people.

Self centered elites who break the law all the time for personal gain of power and money are a criminal class. They are not in any way interested in devotion to our people or our country.

Kevin M. Washington
January 28, 2020
Anti-2A lawmakers completely ignore facts, push sweeping gun control legislation
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Does anyone still wonder why?

This is what the political left say about Trump supporters on national television:

Just imagine what they say when they think they have some privacy.

Oh! That’s right. We don’t need to imagine. We have the video.

Does anyone still wonder why they want to take our guns?

Quote of the day—Constitutional Lawyer‏ @Constit71567558

IMO the Second Amendment has outlived it’s useful life and should be repealed. There, I said it.

Constitutional Lawyer‏ @Constit71567558
Tweeted on January 17, 2019
[If he were a real constitutional lawyer of any competence he would know repealing the 2nd Amendment was of little importance:

The right there specified is that of ‘bearing arms for a lawful purpose.’ This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed; but this, as has been seen, means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress.

Chief Justice Morrison Waite
U.S. Supreme Court
U S v Cruikshank
92 U.S. 542 (1875)

It’s settled law.—Joe]

That’s me!

It’s possible I noticed this before but it’s hard to say. The Firearms Blog has a picture of me at the event which inspired Boomershoot: At the bottom of the post is a picture from the 1997 Blanchard Blast.

I stumbled across this while reading Deplatformed: How Big Tech Companies & Corporate America Subvert the Second Amendment (very well done). This post linked to PSA: Microsoft’s ban on using its services to promote guns. Having worked there, and my daughter still working there, this is extremely annoying. And that blog post led to the Microsoft Gun Club post where the picture was found.

Quote of the day—Xavier Becerra

Under intermediate scrutiny, “[i]t is the legislature’s job, not [the courts’], to weigh conflicting evidence and make policy judgments.” Pena, 898 F.3d at 980 (quoting Kachalsky v. Cnty. of Westchester, 701 F.3d 81, 99 (2d Cir. 2012)). Based on the summary judgment record, and the decisions of the six federal circuit courts upholding ten-round LCM restrictions, section 32310 is constitutional under the Second Amendment.

Xavier Becerra
Attorney General of California
October 7, 2019
APPELLANT’S REPLY BRIEF
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

____________________

VIRGINIA DUNCAN, RICHARD LEWIS, PATRICK LOVETTE, DAVID MARGUGLIO, CHRISTOPHER WADDELL, AND CALIFORNIA RIFLE & PISTOL ASSOCIATION, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, Plaintiffs and Appellees,

V.

XAVIER BECERRA, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA; AND DOES 1-10, Defendant and Appellant.
[See all the court filings in this extremely important case.

Interesting claim. What appears, to this non-lawyer, to be the claim is that if the standard of review is “intermediate scrutiny” then no constitutional protection exists. It’s open season on whatever, supposedly, protected right the legislature takes aim at.

It would appear such decisions and thought processes are in need of a serious reset.—Joe]

Quote of the day—McChuck

The Democrats want you dead and gone, and your culture not just destroyed but forgotten.  To finish the job, they need to take your guns from you.  They have already stolen your votes by importing millions of foreigners and federal government drones.  They silence your voices from the media.  They hide the crimes commit against you in the news.  Their corrupt judges rule from the bench with an iron fist in a black robe.  They bankrupt you with inflation and debt.

When the soap box has been burned,
When the ballot box has been stolen,
When the jury box has been corrupted,
That only leaves Pandora’s box.

May God have mercy upon their souls, for we must have none.
God help us all.

McChuck
December 29, 2019
Virginia
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Andy Ngo @MrAndyNgo

I’m not sure I would say they are shocking to the people I hang out with most of the time. It’s more like, “Yeah, that’s what we have suspected for a long time.”

Thanks for the confirmation that I need to spend some more time at the range.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Judge James Carr

Misapplying the law for a long time provides no immunity from scrutiny.

Judge James Carr
U.S. Federal Judge Norther District of Oho
December 2019
Design of AR-15 could derail charges tied to popular rifle
[Gun shops are in Washington state are selling complete AR lowers with the upper as a separate item to bypass the current “assault weapon” restrictions.

It’s a good start. Now, the judges need to stop misapplying the 2nd Amendment and remove bans, licensing, and background checks from the legal books.

H/T to Rolf.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Wendy Patterson @Jetsgurl46

Iran killed 1,500 protesters and the American media yawned. Iran ordered everyone to attend the Terrorist Generals funeral and 56 Iranians were killed in a stampede. The media gave it an honorable mention. Iran shot down a plane killing 176 people and the media tried to blame it on President Trump.

How can any sane person vote Democrat after witnessing Democrats defend the Iranian regime after they caused so many deaths?

Wendy Patterson @Jetsgurl46
Tooted on January 11, 2020
[As Seventeen76 @Factnews replied:

@Jetsgurl46 you answered your own question with “any sane person”

Harsh. But fair.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Don Kilmer @donkilmer

Anyone who hasn’t figured out that antigun legislation is cultural warfare, and not public safety policy-making, isn’t paying attention.


The disarming of political/cultural opponents is not done for the benefit of the group that is disarmed.

Don Kilmer @donkilmer
Tweeted  on January 09, 2020
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—David Foster

It’s very important to note that every single one of the above 14 phenomena and categories of people is either closely associated with the Democratic Party or is covered for by the Democrats. Yes, there are some threats to free speech from the conservative side as well, but they are not nearly as powerful as those associated with the Democrats, nor are they growing and converging at the same alarming rate.

David Foster
January 4, 2020
The Multi-Front Attack on Free Speech
[It’s not just your guns they hate. It’s your freedom.

It’s not about crime. It’s about control.

Take appropriate action.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Dan Patrick

Let’s be very clear to the American people that Joe Biden is dangerous. He’s not just an idiotic person who says impossible, absurd things, and he’s not just naïve, but he’s dangerous. Americans will have to understand, whether you believe in owning a gun or not owning a gun, that the Democrats are dangerous.

Dan Patrick
Texas’ Lt. Gov.
January 2020
Presidential Candidates’ Gun Control: Average Americans Can’t be Trusted
[Politicians, in general, are dangerous. But that doesn’t mean that some aren’t more dangerous than others. And, to best of my knowledge, the most effective way to reduce the risk is to limit their power to specific enumerate areas.

Unfortunately we haven’t been doing that very well. It’s time to end that. It’s time to start prosecuting the most egregious violators. Biden and Bloomberg would be good candidates but they would be tough nuts to crack. It would be better to start with some small town mayor or city council person who doesn’t have the resources of a Bloomberg.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Chris Hill

Virginia is the state that is testing this unlawful, unconstitutional, Second Amendment gun grab. If this is where it begins, then this is where it will end.

Chris Hill
Founder of Three Percent Security Force
January 2010
Prospect of gun control in Virginia draws threats, promise of armed protest
[We live in interesting times.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Alexander Hamilton

If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State. In a single State, if the persons entrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.

Alexander Hamilton
Federalist No. 28
[Via Walter E. Williams.

One could easily conclude Hamilton words were intended for this decade.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Erik Simonsen

The same people who feel it’s necessary to give driver’s licenses to defiant law-breakers are the same ones trying to pass this nonsense. When did we become a state that put lawbreakers first, while attacking the rights of hard-working, law-abiding citizens?

Erik Simonsen
New Jersey Assemblymen-elect.
December 20, 2019
Proposed N.J. gun law would mandate $50k insurance policies for all gun owners
[Answering the rhetorical question, evidence would indicate it was shortly after getting a socialist/communist majority in the state.

If you read the article you also find this interesting bit:

Governor Murphy signed an executive order in September making it practically impossible for a legal gun owner to obtain a firearms insurance policy. Attacking gun insurance as a gun ownership “enabling” concept has become a popular trend in blue states as of late.

So, the governor, through executive action has essentially banned people from obtaining firearm liability insurance (the NRA Carry Guard insurance). And:

A-6003 sponsored by Patricia Egan Jones (D-5) mandates that each New Jersey gun owner obtain a minimum of $50,000 in liability insurance at the time of purchase.

New Jersey is the one state that I refuse to visit until their oppressive gun laws are repealed or I can get a varmint hunting license for the politicians who created and/or perpetuate this tyranny.

These people need to prosecuted. I look forward to their trials.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Rob Morse

Big-government politicians in both parties want more government so that political payoffs continue. These politicians have no use for limited government and free citizens.

Rob Morse
December 25, 2019
What We Learned from the Bloomberg Effect in Virginia
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]