Quote of the day—John R. Lott, Jr.

Like many other mass public shooters, the Buffalo shooter targeted defenseless people. He even wrote in his manifesto: “Attacking in a weapon-restricted area may decrease the chance of civilian backlash. Schools, courts, or areas where CCW are outlawed or prohibited many[sic] be good areas of attack. Areas where CCW permits are low may also fit in this category. Areas with strict gun laws are also great places of attack.” The national media refuses to report other explicit statements by attackers explaining why they pick the targets they do. Nor do they report the fact that 94% of mass public shootings occur in places where civilians are banned from having firearms.

John R. Lott, Jr.
President, Crime Prevention Research Center
December 15, 2022
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
[Emphasis in the original.

Via David Hardy who also says this:

Read it all, this is great material, probably best I’ve seen on the topic.

Prepare appropriately and spread the word.—Joe]

Red flag law is unconstitutional

The good news just just keeps coming:

The New York law that enables the confiscation of guns from people who haven’t committed a crime is unconstitutional, a state Supreme Court judge has ruled.

This red flag law, or the Extreme Risk Protection Order law, lets individuals—including police officers—petition a court to allow the seizure of firearms from a person they believe poses a threat to themselves or others.

If a judge agrees, the judge can direct law enforcement to take guns from the person in question.

The law, which took effect in 2019, has led to the issuance of more than 1,900 removal orders.

However, the law is in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Second and 14th amendments because it doesn’t “sufficiently protect a citizen’s rights,” state Supreme Court Judge Thomas Moran said in a ruling in late December 2022.

The answer I want to know is when are the prosecutions of the criminals who created these laws going to start happening?

Bump stock ban unconstitutional

Good news:

Today the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regulation extending the federal prohibition on machineguns to “bump stocks” is unlawful, as Eugene noted in a post below. In Cargill v. Garland, the judges split 13-3 on the merits, and the 13 in the majority divided on the rationale. Eight of the judges concluded the statute is unambiguous. Five additional judges concluded that, insofar as the statute is ambiguous, it should be interpreted not to cover bump stocks under the Rule of Lenity.

As I have said before, it is not unreasonable to assert that my grandkids will be participating in machine gun sporting events in high school.

My dream will have been realized.

Quote of the day—Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith

You have no “checks and balances” of power in your country unless you have an armed citizenry to counteract an armed State.

This is what the UK doesn’t understand.

Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith
Tweeted on January 4, 2022
[Or, perhaps the people in power do understand and prefer there not be checks and balances on their power.

I’m of the opinion the U.S. should sanction countries which infringe upon the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. But, I will grant we need to do far more in our own country before we have the moral highroad on the issue.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Joe Patrice

There are two kinds of lawyers in this world: the ones who understand Bruen as an unprecedented and ahistorical Supreme Court power grab rewriting the Second Amendment to create an individual right to gun ownership over and above the power of the states, and the ones who collect fees from gun dealers and manufacturers.

Joe Patrice
January 4, 2023
Lawyer Challenging NY Gun Regulations Accidentally Says Quiet Part Out Loud
[And then there is the type of lawyer that couldn’t make it in the legal profession and now demonstrates why by writing ill-informed opinion pieces and/or deliberate lies.

There are so many profoundly wrong things in this post that I have to believe he either did not read the Heller and Bruen decisions and/or he is deliberately lying.*—Joe]


* A third possibility is the sky is a different color in his universe.

Quote of the day—Midnightstimepasser

Never ever, EVER give up your firearms. It’s the only thing standing between us and complete subjugation. Not Law Enforcement, not the Constitution, not some judge in a black robe, not the military.

I will give up my guns when the cops, military, government and criminals are disarmed. Until then, bugger off.

Midnightstimepasser
January 3, 2023
Comment to Ice-T on gun control and why he disagrees with it.
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Roque Planas

States with permitless carry could become the majority before the year’s end.

Roque Planas
January 1, 2023
People Can Now Carry Guns Without A License In Half Of America’s States
[This is what I call a good start.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Just the News Staff

Democrats with ambitions of broad gun control in the United States face a major stumbling block in their efforts to enact those policies: American voters themselves.

Gun rights remain broadly popular in the United States, even after years of Democratic efforts to turn high-profile mass shootings into major gun control initiatives.

A long history of gun ownership, coupled with robust constitutional protections for firearm ownership here, have led to one of the largest private gun stocks in the world.

The enduring popularity of guns in the U.S. was underscored by a recent RMG Research poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen, one that earlier this month found some support for new gun laws among voters  but far more overwhelming favorability toward gun rights.

Just the News Staff
December 30, 2022
As Democrats ramp up gun control, a supermajority in U.S. think gun ownership good for society
[This is essential. Over time, SCOTUS rulings will match the culture more than the culture will match SCOTUS.

Keep up the good work. Take a newbie to the range.

Yesterday I took a new coworker to the range. He is former military and likes guns but all his guns were stolen a year or so ago and had not replaced them. I took him to the range and let him shoot several of my handguns and introduced him to Steel Challenge like shooting (with multiple paper targets) and USPSA stages. He said he really enjoyed that and it was nothing like he had ever done before. He plans to get a new gun soon. I plan to take him to a Steel Challenge match when the weather gets better.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Kate Anderson

Black perpetrators were responsible for 69% of physical or verbal assaults, Asians made up 17%, Hispanics accounted for 11% and white attackers committed 3%.

Kate Anderson
December 29, 2022
REPORT: 97% Of Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes In New York Were Committed By Other Minorities
[To my Jewish readers, prepare appropriately.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Matthew Varisco & Kristen Detineo

Based on the above, partially complete Polymer80, Lone Wolf, and similar pistol frames with any kind of indexing or material removed from the front or rear fire control cavities for installation of the trigger mechanism and sear, or slide rail attachments to connect the trigger mechanism and sear to the frame, have reached a stage of manufacture where they “may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted” to a functional frame. As examined, they are classified as a “frame” and also a “firearm,” as defined in the GCA, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3)(B), and implementing regulations, 27 CFR 478.12(a)(1), (c). They are classified as firearms even if they are not sold, distributed, marketed, or possessed with any associated templates, jigs, molds, equipment, tools, instructions, or guides.

Matthew Varisco
ATF Assistant Director
Enforcement Programs and Services
Kristen Detineo
ATF Assistant Director
Field Operations
December 27, 2022
Impact of Final Rule 2021-05F on Partially Complete Polymer80, Lone Wolf, and Similar Semiautomatic Pistol Frames
[I look forward to their lawyers justifying this ruling and the existence of their agency in light of the Bruen decision. The ATF did not exist at the time of the creation of the 2nd or 14th Amendment.

I hope they enjoy their trials.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Matthew Rice

As the Supreme Court assesses the emergency brief, it is increasingly likely that Second Amendment jurisprudence will take center stage in this term.

Matthew Rice
December 27, 2022
Gun Rights Advocates Seek Supreme Court Intervention to Block New York Restrictions
[Since Heller was nearly 15 years ago, I expect SCOTUS will be hearing appellate court rulings regarding the 2nd Amendment for at least another 15 years.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Noah @noah_anyname

How do we combat propaganda? Censorship isn’t working. Even the most pro-censorship people will admit that getting companies like twitter to censor propaganda is hard. We can do better. I know that people can do better. You just have to try.

Noah @noah_anyname
Tweeted on April 20, 2022
[This is really late game thinking.

Just keep saying no to Stalinists like this until you are out of ammo. Then attach the bayonet and continue to defend yourself as long as you can.—Joe]

Quote of the day—DonKilmer @donkilmer

Civilization itself rests on an understanding of when, why, and how violence is essential to preserving the peace.

DonKilmer @donkilmer
Tweeted on December 25, 2022
[See also, why the gun is civilization.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Brown Eyed Susan @smc429

image

Brown Eyed Susan @smc429
Tweeted on November 11, 2022
[It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier!

Via In Chains @InChainsInJail.

How about, “You fear shopping because you might see someone exercising their constitutionally protected rights? Let me buy you a one way, no return allowed, ticket to Venezuela, China, or North Korea.”—Joe]

This will not end well

The entire reason for government is to protect the rights of the people. Portland politicians apparently think otherwise:

Portland throws out hundreds of criminal cases due to public defender shortage

A shortage of public defenders in Portland, Oregon, has led courts to dismiss hundreds of criminal cases and delayed justice for scores of other victims whose cases have languished in a backlog for months.

Between February and December of this year, Multnomah County dismissed 300 cases because no public defender was available to represent the defendants, according to the Multnomah district attorney.

In all, the district attorney’s office said, nearly 2,500 felony cases were affected this year by a lack of public defenders.

“The courts are put in the position of releasing defendants without prosecutors having so much as an opportunity to request bail or release conditions. And it’s not getting any better,” District Attorney Mike Schmidt said in a statement last month.

“This sends a message to crime victims in our community that justice is unavailable and their harm will go unaddressed,” Schmidt said. “It also sends a message to individuals who have committed a crime that there is no accountability while burning through scarce police and prosecutor resources. Every day that this crisis persists presents an urgent and continuing threat to public safety.”

Oregon, primarily due to the influence of Portland, has passed laws that would have halted all gun sales if the courts had not stopped the enforcement of those laws. There are very few hypothesis consistent with the evidence. Nearly all of them lead one to conclude politicians need to be prosecuted or removed from office via other means.

This will not end well.

Quote of the day—David Scott

I’ve always wanted to get a handgun, But I haven’t really had a reason to get one until now. The main thing I’ve been hearing from people is to keep a firearm or something else for self-defense.

David Scott
November 30, 2022
Armed to The Teeth: University of Idaho Students Packing Heat Following Murder of Four Classmates
[They can thank Mike B. and others who spent years getting the University of Idaho and other Idaho higher education schools to comply with the law of the land.—Joe]

Supersonic rifle bullet at 5000 meters

Via email from Rolf.

The 14.9x102mm SOP wildcat cartridge:

.. is made by necking down a 20mm Vulcan autocannon shell casing. It was developed as a collaborative project among members of the Snipers Hide online forum. It has undergone several revisions since 2010.

It’s usually loaded with a hand-crafted low-drag 1,690 grain solid copper bullet, which it fires at roughly 3,350 fps. The projectile itself is roughly 4 inches long, with driving bands and an aggressive rebated boat tail to reduce base drag.

The sectional density is around 0.70, which is an astoundingly high measure of the mass-to-diameter ratio. It’s very heavy for it’s caliber, nearly a quarter pound.

The ballistic coefficient is about 1.85, which is an astoundingly high measure of how aerodynamic the bullet is during flight.

And, of course, because it is more that .50 caliber (for now) it must be registered as a “destructive device.”

Wow. Nice ballistics! But I wouldn’t want to pay the price to feed it.

Quote of the day—Gary Kleck

You can’t understand any significant aspects of the gun-control debate once you eliminate defensive gun use. It becomes inexplicable why so many Americans oppose otherwise perfectly reasonable gun-control measurements. It’s because they think it’s gonna lead to prohibition, and they won’t have a gun for self-defense.

It’s not complicated.

Gary Kleck
December 15, 2022
Emails Show CDC Removed Defensive Gun Use Stats After Gun-Control Advocates Pressured Officials in Private Meeting
[Before you get involved with a debate with someone about the CDC removing defensive gun stats from their website insist they answer a different question first. Why is the Center for Disease Control involved with private gun ownership?

Private gun ownership can be a legal issue. In this case the courts and/or the Department of Justice might have valid reason to weigh in on it.

If you want to push the envelope, gun ownership can related to criminal statistics and the FBI collects the data on that.

But the CDC? They have a long and dirty history of conspiring to deprive citizens of their specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms. They need to stay in their lane or plan on enjoying their trial.—Joe]

Another step in the right direction

Texas withdraws appeal to court order blocking gun law that banned adults under 21 from carrying firearms:

“We applaud Texas for doing the right thing and accepting the district court’s ruling against its law prohibiting 18-to-20-year-old adults from carrying firearms in public,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPC’s senior attorney for constitutional litigation. “Not only do young adults have the same constitutionally protected right to bear arms as all other adults, they are also among the reasons we have a Second Amendment, Constitution, and Country in the first place.”

Pittman noted the Second Amendment does not contain any mention of age as a restriction, unlike other portions of the Constitution.

“To start, the Second Amendment does not mention any sort of age restriction,” he wrote. “This absence is notable—when the Framers meant to impose age restrictions, they did so expressly.”

This only the Fifth Circuit. I would not be surprised to see the Ninth Circuit tap dance their way into believing they can set the age as 65 and over. Then the next day saying “Red Flags” laws allow confiscation for people over 60 because they are of unfirm mind.

Just use a whistle

Via Cal Skinner:

image

And from the comments:

I have 5 daughters that I have furnished rape whistles to… they all go Bang

That works for me. And except for the one in England, all my daughters have their whistles.