Category Archives: Politics

Quote of the day—Lauren Footman

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We, as Americans, demand the right to live free from gun violence. Historic disinvestment in communities and unregulated access to guns equals more gun deaths. It’s really that simple.

Lauren Footman
Director of Outreach and Equity at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence,
Via email on July 6, 2021
[Apparently Footman is unaware of a well known truth:

Every complex problem has a solution which is simple, direct, plausible—and wrong.

Henry Louis Mencken
Modified from the original in his 1920 collection of essays called “Prejudices: Second Series”.

She is also flat out wrong about there being the possibility of a right “to live free of gun violence.”

It comes as no surprise to find an anti-gun advocate expressing ignorance and falsehoods. It’s part of their culture.

Respond and prepare appropriately.—Joe]

Quote of the day—David Codrea

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I’d argue that one of the most in-your-face tyrannical phrases ever constructed is:

“RESTRICTED FOR GOVERNMENT OR LAW ENFORCEMENT USE ONLY”

David Codrea
June 29, 2021
Second Amendment will be Nullified if ‘Common Use’ is Restricted to ‘Popularity’
[A far more appropriate, and almost never used phrase, is found here:

Law Enforcement Restrictions

…

Governments that are unfriendly to basic human rights are not allowed the use…

It appears most people are of the opinion that our public servants are actually masters of the public. This attitude needs to change.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Brandon Smith

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Political elites see California as their own little kingdom with their own special laws, and they plan to eventually spread those laws across America using California as the model. But, if such laws are overturned as unconstitutional, then the precedent actually works in reverse. Now, the leftists are concerned that an overturned gun ban in CA means more blue states will follow and their entire gun grabbing scheme will go out the window.

Brandon Smith
June 11, 2021
The Real Reasons Why California Leftists Are Terrified Of The AR-15
[The optimist in me sees the extremist gun restrictions in California gun as an opportunity. They have pushed things far past what normal people could possibly view as reasonable it makes it easier to get precedent set in our favor.

Once we have a firm defensive line we can then attack at whatever weak spot we chose and establish another firm defensive line. That is how we achieved shall issue concealed carry and how we are getting constitutional carry. That was mostly in the legislative domain but the same battle plan should work in the domain of the courts.

I would love to see, as Lyle demands, prosecutions of the perpetrators. But, the same reason California presents itself as an opportunity for us makes the prosecution angle difficult or perhaps impossible. The political jurisdictions with the best opportunities for prosecutions are the jurisdictions least likely to be friendly for prosecutions. We can escalate failures in the courts to friendly territory, but we cannot initiate prosecutions in friendly territory —Joe]

Quote of the day—Mark Truppner

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With the increase in firearms across the state, Bonta partnered with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to call on Californians to utilize the state’s red flag laws – Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs) and Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs). GVROs and DVROs can help local law enforcement temporarily recover firearms or prevent the purchase of firearms by individuals who have shown a probability to commit violence. Red flag laws can be a proactive tool to help prevent gun violence.

Mark Truppner
July 2, 2021
Attorney General Bonta Releases 2020 Gun Sales Data
[“Prevent crime” by confiscation of a constitutionally protected property.

What is the proper action to be taken to prevent Bonta and his ilk from committing the crime of deprivation of rights under color of law?—Joe]

Quote of the day—Adam Winkler

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If you’re a gun-rights group challenging the law in California then you want to be before Judge Benitez. He has become the most vigorous defender of gun rights in the federal courts today.

Adam Winkler
Law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
June 21, 2021
California Gun-Control Battles Sparked by One Judge’s Decisions
[I hope Benitez is well protected. He is a major player in getting the long standing infringements on our rights overturned.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Kat Timpf @KatTimpf

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The government is made up of people in power who wanted to be in power and I think it’s important to remember that.

Kat Timpf @KatTimpf
Tweeted on June 25, 2021
[Never forget there are people who openly claim, “I was born to regulate.” There are also people who believe they are “born to rule”. They may be less public about it but they exist.

Power is addicting for these people. They get a thrill out of wielding power. And as time goes on to achieve the same thrill requires more and more power.

I suspect this was one of the reasons for the U.S. Constitution to have enumerated powers. Of course, as a practical matter, that didn’t last long.

A case could be made for nominations for political office to be made via lottery system. Perhaps then people would see the advantages of minimizing the power of government to the bare minimum of what cannot be done well via the private sector. But I suspect some other “lesson” and “solution” would be discovered to enable power hungry monsters to take over government.

I’m certain as long as there is a need for governments there will be a need for the citizen option of rooftop vetoing government overreach.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan

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Here’s how you take on #BigTech:

-Speed up the legal process to break them up.

-Take away their liability protections by killing Section 230 as we know it.

-Create a private right of action to sue the companies when they censor you.

We’re drafting a bill to do just that.

Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan
Tweeted on June 23, 2021
[I would like to see 1,000 old laws wiped from the books for each new law they pass. Even then, I would like to see serious discussion on how we can achieve the desired goals without any new laws.

That said, something along these lines does have some appeal.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Lee Williams

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More than 61% of the country has drawn a line in the sand — telling the federal government not to infringe upon their God-given and constitutional rights. The movement ceased being “symbolic” a long time ago.

Despite the good professor saying it’s not a “good look” for the NRA, neither the NRA nor any other civil rights organizations have anything to do with it. This is a pure grassroots movement. It’s organic. It’s hyper-local. It’s about citizens standing up to their government — period. No one person or organization is pulling any strings.

That NPR and other outdated members of the legacy media are now belittling and downplaying Second Amendment sanctuaries shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. They’re scared, after all, but not nearly as scared as the politicians. The movement positively terrifies them. It strikes at their very core. It tells them very plainly that we will not comply with their tyrannical edicts.

Lee Williams
Chief Editor Second Amendment Foundation Investigative Reporting Project
June 23, 2021
No, NPR, there aren’t 400 Second Amendment Sanctuary counties in the US — there are 1,930
[See also here.

This one of the vectors which will help us retain our 2nd Amendment rights.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Gad Saad

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Utopians believe that the world could be a perfect place except for this one group that is stopping the world from becoming a perfect place.

Gad Saad
May 31, 2021
Woke Ideology Mimics Precursors to Totalitarian Slaughter, Experts Say
[See also this YouTube video.

We are facing “Woke” and Marxist utopians infiltrated into government, schools, and many large businesses. They are accumulating power and each concession of power increases their lust for more.

History shows us this is a well worn path to genocide.

Prepare accordingly.—Joe]

Quote of the day—José Niño

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The ATF has been an object of ire for many gun owners because of the agency’s grossly unconstitutional actions, ranging from its gruesome crackdown against innocent civilians during the Waco Massacre of 1993 to the infamous “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal that resulted in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010.

If there is one institution that should be defunded, if not outright abolished, it’s the ATF.

José Niño
June 20, 2021
A Bipartisan Team of House Representatives is Trying to Hold the ATF Accountable
[Probably 99% or more of the current Federal government is unconstitutional. But starting with the worst of the worst is better than nothing at all.

That said, as Publius said recently:

I think we should get rid of the unconstitutional laws first, then get rid of (no longer necessary) enforcement.

Otherwise I think it’s an exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. There are MANY alphabet soup agencies who would be willing to take up the slack in your scenario, and I would bet that they would be hiring a lot of ex-ATF agents to do the work.

I could also it also being done simultaneously with a single bill. Or, I could see it being done incrementally with things funding decreasing as they eliminate regulation of suppressors, then short barreled rifles, sawed off shotguns, eliminate FFLs, etc..

But in some ways this doesn’t address the basis of many of the complaints. There really should be a bunch of ATF people prosecuted and sent to prison. But firing them and elimination of the laws they are enforcing would probably be enough to satisfy most people.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Toni Wellen

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I have friends who own AR-15 rifles; they enjoy shooting them at target practice for sport and fervently defend their right to own them. But I cannot accept that their right to enjoy their hobby supersedes my right to send my own children to school, a movie theater, or a concert and to know that they are safe. Can the answer really be to subject our school children to active-shooter drills — to learn to hide under desks, turn off the lights, lock the door, and be silent — instead of addressing the root cause of the problem and passing legislation to take AR-15-style weapons out of the hands of civilians?

active-liberty-drill-cagle

Toni Wellen
June 18, 2021
Why AR-15 Assault Weapons Must Be Banned
[So many errors in so few words:

  • It’s not a “right to enjoy a hobby”.
  • No one has a right to “know they are safe”.
  • The “root cause of the problem” is not the existence of firearms. It is evil people with a desire and willingness to commit evil acts.
  • “Passing legislation” does not take guns out of the hands of civilians. Men with guns take guns out of the hands of civilians.

Lessons to be learned, at least in regards to the useful idiots, does not apply to all:

  • Anti-gun people are not fully connected with reality.
  • They think of gun ownership, at best, as a hobby.
  • They think gun owners value their “hobby” more than the lives of children.
  • They do not understand rights.
  • Rather than people, they believe inanimate objects are an agent of cause and crime.
  • They believe “passing legislation” can fix human problems when it is actually human action (or acts of nature/god) which fix human problems.
  • Never let anyone get away with telling you, “No one wants to take your guns.”

There are none so blind as those who will not see.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Kevin Baker

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Well, poverty won the war on poverty, and terror is still thriving…

I can’t wait for the war on guns.

WarOnDrugs

Kevin Baker
Posted on Facebook June 18, 2021
[Drugs are consumables. So it should be as easy as, “Just ban them an they will all be gone in a few months.” Right?

There are, at most, a few hundred active terrorists in this country. So it should be as easy as, “Just put them on a list, watch them, then arrest them every time they do something as innocuous as littering and they get a hint and leave or flip out and the cops can shoot them?” Right?

Guns are not consumables. They can easily last 100 years if properly cared for. There are something like 80 to 100 million gun owners in the U.S. in possession of hundreds of millions of firearms.

I know I’m not the first to have said this, but people are not setting new gun buying records nearly every year for the last 10 years with the expectation they would peacefully turn them in when they were banned.

Do the numbers and provide an estimate on the probability of success of a “war on guns”.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Tim Pool @Timcast

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I already have the right to bear arms wherever I choose

its the criminal state and the police that prevent me from doing so

Tim Pool @Timcast
Tweeted on April 26, 2021
[And so is in most of the world for many decades. The people, world wide, have a lot of work to do once we set the example and have the criminals in our country taken care of.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Brandon Smith

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Gun control is the big line in the sand for most law abiding conservatives and moderates, and we have grown tired of the debate because it’s no longer a debate, it’s a imposition of ideology and cultism. All the facts are on the side of gun owners. All the legal protections are on the side of gun owners. All the moral dynamics are on the side of gun owners. As long as we stand our ground, there is nothing that leftists can do about it.

They can continue to lie, they can continue to threaten and they can continue exploiting emotional arguments, but they’ll NEVER get the guns.

Brandon Smith
June 11, 2021
The Real Reasons Why California Leftists Are Terrified Of The AR-15
[I have nothing to add.—Joe]

The Importance of Arming Minority Groups

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I received an email from Richard Douglas a few weeks ago. We exchanged a few more emails* and then on Monday he sent me the following guest post. All links in this post are to posts of his on other sites.

The 2nd Amendment is constantly under fire in the United States, especially with firearms and their control being one of the many political platforms that politicians use to capture votes. Politics being ‘war by other means’ means that nothing is off the table when it comes to a political campaign.

So, through means of propaganda, there has come to be a particular type of image of what a 2nd amendment activist looks like, often a bigot, belligerent, uneducated, and in some locales flavored with a criminal undertone.

These are tactics used to inspire fear because fear sells and buys votes. This is a difficult position that 2nd Amendment activists find themselves in, because of the rhetoric involved and the fact we are talking about guns, which are inherently dangerous tools for a reason.

This is why it is important for 2nd amendment activists to find new ways to support their cause and doctor their public image. Politics is an ever-changing battlefield. You can lose old allies, and new ones fluctuate like the weather.

Image Therapy

Politicians often point towards criminal behavior as a reason to place restrictions on firearms. Recently mass shootings have captured the public eye and make for an easy target. These incidents and behaviors make it easy to label that guns themselves are the problem while ignoring the social and mental health of the individuals who perpetrate those crimes and atrocities.

This creates a very negative stereotype against firearm activists, and with the NRA recently being caught in a scandal, it doesn’t necessarily make it easy to rehabilitate the image of firearm activists.

So perhaps it’s time to adopt a new approach through proactive inclusivity.

Minority Groups are Common Targets of Hate

Groups like the LGBT community have long been the target of aggression and hate crimes. Historically speaking, on November 27th, 1978, an openly gay politician of San Francisco named Harvey Milk was assassinated by a political rival.

Earlier that same year on July 5th, a group of teenagers armed with baseball attacks, who admitted they were intentionally targeting homosexuals, randomly attacked people who were gathered in Central Park of New York City. A place where people of the LGBT community gathered often.

The list goes on…

Clearly, if there was a need to arm and protect a segment of the population, groups that represent the socially disadvantaged such as the LGBT, would make a strong case. By actively recruiting and offering discounts on training and firearms to this group would very much make the statement:

“Enough is enough, and we will not be idle while members of our community are being attacked and forced to live in fear.”

As far as moral and ethical statements would go, this would be a good one.

This type of action actually has historical precedent, such as the Black Panthers forming an armed patrol to protect their own communities at a time when police violence against African Americans was at an all-time high.

By exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, they made a statement that garnered national attention and brought about social action.

As is Your Right

If this message calls to you and you are a rights activist for the 2nd Amendment, then you can start your own group in your community. In the small southern towns I grew up in the gay community is highly sequestered, and growing up my gay friends lived in fear of being the target of ‘gay-bashing.’

You better believe I’d step up to bat if any of them were attacked. Educating this population on firearms safety and carry and practicing with them may give them the courage they previously wouldn’t have.

Becoming a firearms instructor is an option for the average citizen. Though licensure requires intimate knowledge of each action class and previous experience with firearms.

So knowing your equipment, the history of your selected weapons class, and showing proficiency will go a long way to obtaining a license to teach.

Here are the pistol optics I trust with my life, they are dependable and proficient.

The Importance of Action

“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” – John Stuart Mill (1867) **

This statement Mill made at his inaugural address at St. Andrews still holds just as true today as it did when he made the statement. This is why we have the second amendment, to resist oppression with force if necessary.

You have the right to bear arms, and as a 2nd Amendment activist, nothing could show your support of minority groups like educating and arming them. It would go a long way to establishing your reputation in your community and beyond as a Good Samaritan.

Author Bio
Richard Douglas writes on firearms, defense and security issues. He is the founder and editor of Scopes Field, and a columnist at The National Interest, 1945, Daily Caller and other publications.

* This is the email thread:

From: Richard Douglas
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 9:20 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Subject: The National Interest contribution

Hey Joe,

Can I contribute an article to your site?

Thanks,
Richard
Columnist for The National Interest, 1945 and Cheaper Than Dirt

PS: I don’t charge a penny. I’m just trying to get my name out there 🙂

From: Joe Huffman
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 4:00 PM
To: Richard Douglas
Subject: RE: The National Interest contribution

Perhaps. What do you have in mind?

Joe Huffman
Cell: 208-301-4254

From: Richard Douglas
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2021 8:53 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Subject: Re: The National Interest contribution

Awesome! Here are a couple of topic ideas I could write about:

  1. Why 2nd Amendment Advocates Need to Unite with the LGBT and Minorities
  2. Protect Your Political Enemy’s Freedom of Speech

I’m also down for ANY other topic ideas 🙂
Thanks,
Richard

From: Richard Douglas
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 11:14 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Subject: Re: The National Interest contribution

You got it!

I’ll start working on it right away and will send it over within the next couple of days.

—

** There is some question who should be given credit for this.

Quote of the day—Milo Yiannopoulos@m

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What happens in America in the next 50 years matters more to the human species than the Industrial Revolution. More than the Reformation. More than both world wars. We are living through the most significant time since Jesus Christ walked the earth.

Milo Yiannopoulos@m
Posted on June 13, 2021
[I’m willing to accept the hypothesis as plausible. But I’m going to need more evidence to be convinced.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Ritchie

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All these governments are law-abiding until they’re not. Then they sometimes become heavily armed mass killers.

Ritchie
June 13, 2021
Comment to Quote of the day—George Skelton
[Excellent response to those who say something similar about innocent gun owners.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Victor Davis Hanson

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Our 21st century revolutionaries are multibillionaires with flip-flops, tie-dye T-shirts and nose rings, but with the absolute power and desire to censor how half the country communicates — or cancel them entirely.

They don’t flock to campus free-speech areas; they are the campus administrators who ban free speech.

They don’t picket outside the Pentagon; they are inside the Pentagon.

They don’t chant “eat the rich”; they are the rich who eat at Napa Valley’s French Laundry.

They don’t protest “uptight” values, because they are more intolerant and puritanical than any Victorian.

They don’t believe in racial quotas based on “proportional representation,” because they are racists who demand underrepresentation of “bad” racial groups and overrepresentation of “good” groups. The color of our skin is their gospel, not the content of our character.

…

Our revolutionaries hate dissent. They destroy any who question their media-spun hoaxes.

Truth is their enemy, and fear is their weapon. Sixties paranoid revolutionaries warned about George Orwell’s “1984,” but our revolutionaries are “1984.”

Victor Davis Hanson
June 10, 2021
This Isn’t Your Father’s Left-Wing Revolution
[There are some astute observations here.—Joe]

Quote of the day—George Skelton

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All these bad guys are law-abiding until they’re not. Then they sometimes become heavily armed mass killers.

George Skelton
June 7, 2021
Column: An AR-15 is like a pocket knife? Maybe federal judges shouldn’t get lifetime appointments
[This is just one item which illustrates my point. From the same article is another item:

“The Bill of Rights prevents the tyranny of the majority from taking away the rights of a minority,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

Sure, but in a democracy, there’s also something called majority rule.

I sometimes give people such as him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they do not really understand the content and/or intent of the Bill Of Rights, right? Skelton makes it clear he understands and that he wants to do away with it.

He understands the BOR protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority and he wants that protection eliminated. He understands innocent until proven guilty and wants to replace it with guilty until (never) proven innocent enough to own a common firearm.

Respond appropriately.—Joe]

It’s just a law—it doesn’t have to make sense

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I was reading the latest ATF FFL Newsletter and ran across something I found interesting:

an FFL/SOT (Class 2 manufacturer of firearms) who manufactures a silencer part for the sole purpose of repairing a registered silencer 1) is not required to mark the part; 2) is not required to register the part on ATF Form 2; 3) is not required to submit and receive an approved ATF Form 3 to transfer the part to FFL/SOT; and 4) is not required to maintain records of manufacture or other acquisition and records of disposition (A&D) pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 923(g), 26 U.S.C. § 5843, 27 CFR § 478.123, and 27 CFR § 479.131, provided the part is transferred to an FFL/SOT for the purpose of repairing a registered silencer.

If someone other than an FFL/SOT wants to acquire a silencer part, that part must be marked in accordance with regulations and registered by filing a Form 2. A Form 5 must be filed if the part is being acquired by a government entity. A Form 4 must be filed if the part is being acquired by an unlicensed person or FFL who is not qualified under the NFA.

So… if you don’t tighten the end cap on your suppressor, it works loose, and you spew the end cap and all the baffles all over the lake you can’t purchase new components from the manufacturer and repair it yourself. You local dealer can purchase the parts and repair it for you.

In either case you end up with a new set of serialized components. But in one case you and the manufacturer spend some quality time in Club Fed and are never again allowed to own a firearm. In the other case you go about your business as you see fit.

It’s just a law. It doesn’t have to make sense.