Category Archives: Gun Rights

Ever-Present Tool of Self-Defense

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Firearms “are an ever-present tool of terror.” We know that they’re used to intimidate. They’re used to coerce. They’re used to threaten people … and even when the gun isn’t being actively used or threatened, it is there and the victim knows it can be used or threatened, and so that leads to increased stress and increased terror over and above what is present in a relationship with domestic violence that doesn’t involve guns.

April Zeoli, Ph.D.
Associate professor and the policy core director for the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention at the University of Michigan
June 6, 2023
“Mass killers practice at home”: How domestic violence and mass shootings are linked

And completely overlooked in the article is that firearms are an ever-present tool of self-defense and that possession is a specific enumerated right.

Biden Spent Billions to Prosecute 31 People

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It’s already saving lives. There are fewer deaths occurring,

Joe Biden
President Unite States of America
June 16, 2023
The US passed a landmark gun deal one year ago. Is it working?

Really? How does he know? The FBI crime numbers cannot be trusted.

And from the same article:

The event comes as available data suggests the U.S. is seeing a year-over-year decline in murders nationwide. At the same time, mass shootings appear to be accelerating.

And the numbers they do claim are very telling:

At least 31 people have been charged in 17 cases under new federal straw purchasing and trafficking criminal offenses, data from federal prosecutors through April shows.

31?!!! And strawman purchases were already illegal. Out of probably 15 to 20 million sales they charged 31 people under, what they claim, is a new law. And they think this is success?

Denials stemming from enhanced background checks for people under 21 blocked more than 130 firearm purchases between November and April, Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, previously told USA TODAY.

How many of those 130 blocked purchases resulted in an increase in public safety? And how many of those block purchases resulted in a decrease in public safety?

And at what cost?

It created a $750 million funding pot to incentivize states to create “red flag laws,” closed the “boyfriend loophole” by adding convicted domestic violence abusers in dating relationships to the national criminal background check system, clarified the definition of a “federally licensed firearm dealer,” made it a federal crime to traffic in firearms, stiffened penalties for “straw purchases” made on behalf of people who aren’t allowed to own guns and enhanced background checks for buyers under 21.

The law also appropriated billions in funding for schools and mental health services. That includes $150 million for a national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, $250 million for states and territories to enhance community mental health services, $500 million to increase the number of school-based mental health providers and $500 million to train school counselors, social workers and psychologists. It also set aside $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives.

Billions were spent to prosecute 31 people and block sales to 130 people who, almost for certain, were not a threat to anyone.

And this is even with them playing their game by their rules instead of based on whether what they are doing is a violation of the Second Amendment, which it is.

They lie, they deceive, and they ignore the specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

I hope they enjoy their trials.

The Most Basic Gun Safety Law

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I’d like them to define “basic gun safety laws”.

Meanwhile, let’s note (again) that their rankings for gun laws does _not_ correlate with lower homicide rates … not even lower gun homicide rates.

Gun Facts @gunfacts
Tweeted on June 11, 2023

EverytownGunLawRankings

Nice graphic and explanation. But they are legally irrelevant. There is no gun law more basic than the Second Amendment.

This is Not Bad Faith

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In fairness, some ghost guns are also produced by the criminal element. And it’s also true that these firearms have become increasingly popular amongst prohibited possessors. But in a country that has largely traded any real concern for order, public safety, or property rights for legalized shoplifting, mass encampments of homeless drug addicts, and civil rights patronage schemes, one must remember that our government is simply acting in bad faith when it comes to gun laws like 05F.

If it were important to the government to stop gun crime, they would focus their efforts on St. Louis or Baltimore. But it’s not important to the government to stop these crimes, it’s important to the federal government to stop you from being able to defend yourself from them.

Lee Enphield
June 9, 2023
Ghost Guns Come Back to Haunt the Biden ATF

It is far beyond bad faith. They enable crime and then insist the victims not be allowed to defend themselves from the criminals. This is evil.

There is a solution to evil. The G0: 0% PISTOL.

Dunning–Kruger Effect on Display

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I think the time and energy it would take to ratify a 28th Amendment could be put to better use.

Instead of taking decades to secure approval of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the states, I believe a gun summit at Camp David — with gun-rights advocates, law enforcement and survivors — could hammer out new, commonsense gun safety measures in a matter of days.

Denny Freidenrich
Laguna Beach
June 12, 2023
Letters to the Editor: We need an answer on gun violence now, not Newsom’s 28th Amendment

I find it amazing how ignorant some people are and yet think they know the situation better than the people directly involved.

Alberta to Vote on Joining the U.S.

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Many conservatives who live in Alberta, Canada, have had a gutful of what they say is their government’s heavy-handed policies and are backing an effort to secede.

They want to carve out a new border and become the 51st of the United States of America.

…

A vote on the referendum in Alberta is set for June 30.

John Thompson
June 10, 2023
Canadian Conservatives Have Had Enough: Alberta To Vote On Becoming 51st US State

The referendum is unlikely to pass. But if they reach the point where secession is viable I think the U.S. should give it serious consideration.

Defiance

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ATF Says a Quarter Million Guns Registered Under Pistol-Brace Ban

The ATF told The Reload on Friday it has received just over a quarter million applications to register pistol-brace-equipped firearms. Registering the affected guns was one path toward avoiding possible criminal punishment for possessing the guns under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) after the agency implemented a rule reclassifying the firearms as subject to NFA restrictions. The ATF waived the tax requirement for registration to encourage owners to comply before the deadline.

“The final rule provided possessors of such firearms the option to comply with the registration requirements of the National Firearms Act through a tax-free process using either the ATF eForms System or a paper application process with a deadline for such applications of 11:59 PM (ET) on May 31, 2023,” Erik Longnecker, Deputy Chief of the ATF’s Public Affairs Division, told The Reload. “As of June 1, 2023, ATF received 255,162 applications for tax-free registration.”

That number represents just a fraction of the braced guns believed to have been sold in the decade since the ATF first classified a version as outside the scope of the NFA. In the impact assessment for the rule, the ATF estimated that three to seven million devices exist. However, the Congressional Research Service puts the number much higher at somewhere between 10 and 40 million.

That puts the registration rate for pistol-brace-equipped guns at between 0.6 percent and eight percent.

I’m surprised it is this high. The compliance rate for “assault weapon” bans and registrations is in the two to five percent range. And the pistol brace issues is just as bogus and without a serial number on the brace it is much more difficult to track down those who don’t comply.

Had people been able to wait until the court case they could have avoided registration and/or loss of their brace by joining SAF and/or FPC (see here).

Declare Gun Owners Terrorists and Send Them to Gitmo

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Should the government declare gun owners as terrorists and send them to Gitmo so that way guns can be banned without violating the Second Amendment?

Braydon Page
Question added on May 5, 2023

Trolls can be entertaining. But sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between those entertaining themselves and people who are completely serious.

Orwellian Freedom

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I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to help end our nation’s gun violence crisis.

The American people are sick of Congress’ inaction.

The 28th will enshrine 4 widely supported gun safety freedoms — while leaving the 2nd Amendment intact:

1) Raising the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21

2) Universal background checks

3) A reasonable waiting period for gun purchases

4) Banning the civilian purchase of assault weapons

Gavin Newson @GavinNewson
Tweeted on June 8, 2023

Emphasis added.

“Gun safety freedoms”? This is classic Democrat Orwellian speak. It ranks right up there when Democrats demanded freedom — to own slaves. And it deserves the same amount of respect.

See also what CCRKBA has to say about this.

I hope he enjoys his trial.

No Confusion

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For state legislators trying to respond to constituents’ concerns about rising rates of gun violence and mass shootings, this historical test — and the subjective manner in which judges deploy it — makes it difficult to determine which laws are constitutional and which ones are not.

Paul Blumenthal
June 7, 2023
The Supreme Court’s Gun Rights Decision Is Causing Confusion In State Legislatures

The only confusion is in their simple minds. And I have doubt about that. I think a strong case can be made that they know perfectly well what the Second Amendment and SCOTUS say.

It’s very simple. Shall. Not. Be. Infringed.

Only in Hindsight

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There used to be a meme in the prepper community to the effect of “How will we know when the SHTF?” How will we know when we are truly in the soup? The best answer I ever heard was from a man I met at Auschwitz in Poland, a man who had survived the hellish nightmare of the Balkan genocide. Couldn’t you tell, I asked him?

“Hindsight,” he said. “You can only tell in hindsight.”

Michael Bane
June 6, 2023
The End of the World as We Know It…and We’re Not Fine

I have nothing to add.

Oath of Office is Not a Trivial Inconvenience

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The Courts will indeed decide this issue, and in the meantime things like an Oath of Office appear to be nothing more than a trivial inconvenience, as it certainly is not adhered to as a rule here in Vermont.

Chris Bradley
President Vermont’s Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs
June 2, 2023
Vermont governor doubted gun control bill was constitutional, but he just allowed it to take effect

It certainly isn’t limited to Vermont. I would claim that 99.9% of all politicians in the country give it less thought than the Vermont governor. And it is not a trivial inconvenience to any of them. They do not even consider it.

There needs to a be a multitude of trials.

Top Gun Rights Organization Membership Salesmen

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Interest in SAF membership has been simply stunning. In our 49 years of existence, we have never experienced such a spontaneous organic groundswell of public interest, from all over the country. Not only does this show the importance of fighting these legal battles on behalf of our members, and American gun owners in general, it also underscores the degree of public interest in the arm brace issue. We are both proud and humbled by the surge in memberships from people who see SAF as leading the charge against the ATF’s flip on pistol braces.

Alan M. Gottlieb
SAF founder and Executive Vice President
June 5, 2023
SAF MEMBERSHIP SURGES AFTER JUDGE CLARIFIES SCOPE OF ARM BRACE INJUNCTION

Gun banners always make the best gun and gun rights organization membership salesmen.

Firearms Policy Coalition members also have immunity from prosecution for owning a pistol stabilizing brace.

Become members of both, just to make sure.

Can’t wait for a civil war

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No, it’s about a well regulated militia. That would be our military. You idiots that walk around with assault weapons either have really tiny penises or are cowards or both. I can’t wait until you idiots try and start a civil war. It will be OUR MILITARY that quells it.

Penelope Jane (Formerly LOVER OF DEMOCRACY) @PenneyJane2022
Tweeted on February 7, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier!

I think she will be “disappointed” should there be a civil war. I’ll bet she doesn’t even know what the phrase total warfare means and that it is more likely to occur in Ideological or religious conflicts,

First, Second, Fifth, and now Sixth Amendment

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Call it the long game. ‘gun control’ isn’t satisfied with attacking Second Amendment rights, or even First Amendment rights. Now, they’re targeting Sixth Amendment rights too. That’s the amendment that guarantees the right to be represented by legal counsel.

Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence and March for Our Lives, ‘gun control’ groups headed by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and antigun billionaire Michael Bloomberg, respectively, are canvassing campuses to convince law students to sign a pledge they won’t represent the firearm industry or firearm owners when it comes to protecting and preserving Second Amendment rights. The ‘gun control’ groups’ pledge peddles verifiably false claims to convince the aspiring lawyers that the firearm industry is responsible for violent crime in America.

Larry Keane
May 23, 2023
GUN CONTROL LOOKS TO DRY UP LEGAL TALENT FOR GUN INDUSTRY

The First, Second, Fifth (lack of due process with “red flag” laws, and now Sixth Amendment. Why not just openly declare they are opposed to all human rights and want us in chains, in jail, or dead? We all know it is true.

A Simple Dichotomy

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To me, the debate comes down to a simple dichotomy:

With an armed population, we run the risk of tragedies. With a disarmed population, we run the risk of genocide.

It staggers my imagination that, so very soon after the mass killings of the 20th century, so many people have lost sight of this.

Daniel Schwartz
May 28, 2023
Comment to Gun Control is About the Oppression of Minorities

I have nothing to add.

Secession, Not if, But What Now?

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Interesting point:

In many ways, America is already broken apart. When secession is portrayed in its strictest sense, as a group of people declaring independence and taking a portion of a nation as they depart, the discussion is myopic, and current acts of exit hide in plain sight. When it comes to secession, the question is not just “What if?” but “What now?”

I’m not sure I even have a reasonable guess to answers for the questions posed.

I could possibly see the Federal government collapsing due to the debt crisis and no individual states claiming responsibility. But that is about it. And then what happens? Do the Federal Assets get auctioned off to the highest bidders to pay off some fraction of the national debt?

It’s a big mess.

Gun Control is About the Oppression of Minorities

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This history of gun control is exceptionally ugly. Dating back to the colonial times in the 1600s in the New World, and before that in Europe and elsewhere, gun control was used to disarm various minority groups to leave them open to terror, oppression, and exploitation. Slaves, freed slaves, Native Americans/Indigenous Peoples as well as Catholics and others were targeted by colonial authorities and the early states with explicit gun control measures to keep them obedient and in line. These SAME laws are NOW being used to by gun control advocates to advocate for gun control TODAY. Gun control advocates are using the very existence of these laws as a legal basis to show that there is a “historical tradition” within the United States and preceding colonies as a claim to bolster the constitutionality of gun control today.

Keith Preston
May 27, 2023
(PROOF) RACIST History Of Gun Control Colonies + Early States [Part 1]

It should not surprise anyone that the gun control advocates of today are using the racist laws of yesterday. All gun control laws are ultimately about the oppression of a disfavored minority.

To successfully overcome these evil forces requires, among other things, a change in the state of mind. Make the debate about the evil of what these people are enabling and the implicit alignment with the racists who inflicted their evil upon others for hundreds of years.

They are Making it Easy for Our Lawyers

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For ANY firearm to be legal in New Jersey, it must now meet two criteria established by this law:

1) the firearm must be imprinted with a serial number; and

2) the serial number must be registered with a federally licensed manufacturer.

Under these requirements, the following types of firearms are now banned in New Jersey with no grandfathering or exceptions:

1) All pre-1968 rifles, shotguns, and handguns without serial numbers. Warning: Prior to 1968, there was no federal law requiring guns to have serial numbers.

2) All modern rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers with serial numbers, but are not registered with a federally licensed manufacturer. This would include most modern imported rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers, plus foreign firearms, and military surplus firearms from countries around the world, if these companies were not federally licensed manufacturers (e.g., Lugers, P-38s, Mausers, Arisakas, Enfields, SKSs, Carcanos, Webleys, Norincos, Mosins, etc.).

3) All BB guns without serial numbers. New Jersey includes BB Guns/Air Guns in its legal definition of a “firearm.”

4) All BB guns with serial numbers but are not registered with a federally licensed manufacturer. This would include most BB guns made, because there is no federal firearms manufacturing license required to make BB guns (e.g., Daisy, Crossman, Gamo, etc.).

5) All muzzleloading/black powder firearms without serial numbers. New Jersey includes black powder guns in its legal definition of “firearm.”

6) All muzzleloading/black powder firearms with serial numbers but are not registered with a federally licensed manufacturer. This would include most muzzleloading/black powder firearms made and/or imported because there is no federal firearms manufacturing license required to make or import muzzleloading/black powder firearms.
5) All antique firearms without serial numbers. Antique firearms are “firearms” under New Jersey law.

6) All antique firearms with serial numbers but are not registered with a federally licensed manufacturer. This would include most antique firearms because a federal firearms manufacturing license did not even exist at the time the antique firearms were manufactured.

Evan Nappen
May 26, 2023
New Jersey Politicians Enact Largest Gun Ban in U.S. History

Emphasis in the original.

What these ignorant and/or evil people don’t know is that when they make the law so egregious it becomes a cakewalk for our lawyers to take a healthy bite out of the law. That bite creates a precedent which makes the next bite easier than it would have without the first bit.

As irritating the stupid unconstitutional law is, it creates a slippery legal slope we can take advantage of.

Via email from Rolf.

No Concept of Rights

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Why is the lack of use of assault-style weapons in Washington state a point of argument against the ban?

It is just a matter of time when it happens. Better safe than sorry.

Gayle Sørlien
May 25, 2023
Comment to Group of local residents take legal action to stop Grant County sheriff from enforcing assault weapons ban

With logic like that:

  • All men should be imprisoned so they don’t rape women
  • All women should be put in chastity belts and the key held by their father until they are married and the key is given to their husband.
  • All high capacity fire starting devices should be banned to prevent arson.
  • Only the police should have vehicles which are capable of going over 40 MPH or traveling more than 10 miles without refueling.

Sørlien obviously doesn’t know and/or doesn’t care about rights. They only think in terms of government granted privileges.