Why we carry:
Category: Safety
As many of you know, I am a life-long student of the history of the American West, especially the lawmen and outlaws. Just yesterday, I read a piece about a frontier lawman, in this case Wyatt Earp, pulling his handgun and hitting a troublemaker over the head. In fact, this “buffaloing”, as they called it was quite common and considered a proper response to certain threats and conduct.
Of course, back in those days the old single actions that most folks carried were robust enough to take such abuse. The more modern double-action revolvers and semi-automatics could be more easily damaged and possibly cause a negligent discharge. The only time I saw someone hit with a gun was when a fellow officer hit a thug over the head with his DA revolver, causing the gun to discharge and wound two bystanders.
In time, courts and juries began to take a dim view of using the handgun as a club. And our good, modern training, with an emphasis on safety, along with modern less-lethal options like OC spray and tasers, has pretty much caused the practice to be a thing of the past.
Another thing that a western historian will notice is the old-time practice of leaning on the butt of a rifle or shotgun with the muzzle resting in the dirt, possibly allowing foreign objects to get into the bore of the gun. Even worse are the photos of individuals resting the gun muzzle on the toe of their boot. Sadly, in more recent times, it has been the practice of some shotgun competitors; something that I hope is currently being discouraged. Years ago, I had a friend who had a horribly mangled right hand from resting it on the muzzle of his loaded .410 shotgun; it’s a wonder that he had a hand at all.
In my own case, as a young officer, I attended numerous law enforcement firearm classes. One thing that they had in common was the fact that no one said anything about keeping your finger off the trigger, much less keeping it out of the trigger guard entirely. To my knowledge, the first that this was emphasized was in conjunction with Jeff Cooper’s Modern Technique of the Pistol in the late 1970s. We now call it Gunsite’s Rule #3, the Golden Rule, and there is no telling how many negligent discharges and injuries this training has prevented.
Sadly, the old-time handgun men had to learn the hard way what worked and what didn’t work, what was safe and what wasn’t. In the interim, the National Rifle Association began to put gun safety into the forefront of all firearms training and individual firearms instructors have followed suit. Nowadays, just about any firearms class you attend begins with a safety lecture and that is exactly as it should be.
We certainly can, and should, enjoy the history, stories, and photos of our frontier days. But we should also take time to be thankful and mindful of the great advances that have been made in terms of gun safety. A lot of the old-time gunmen might have lived a lot longer if they had had the same training that is available to the modern shooter.
An America Without Gun Rights Would Look Like Mexico, Not Australia
Every mass shooting inevitably leads those on the left to call for a ban on “assault weapons,” and this time is no different. Thus begins the barrage of calls for “sensible gun laws” on social media, from network pundits, and via Vice President Kamala Harris herself, using Australia or New Zealand as the models. These unarmed countries, they tell us, prove you can strip citizens of their ability to own firearms and live in a nonviolent utopia. Is that the likely outcome of such a ban in America?
Thought experiment, leaving aside the issue of a right enshrined in the Constitution: If Americans allow their firearms to be outlawed and then confiscated, would we in fact, become like Australia or New Zealand?
If we gave up AR-15s and then a mass shooting took place where a semi-automatic handgun was used, opponents of gun rights would take those too — the same with a shooter with a hunting rifle, then a shooter with a shotgun, and on and on. We know where this leads. It can’t end with “military style” firearms. A confiscation of AR-15s would eventually lead to a complete ban on almost every gun. How long would that take? Five years, 10 years? It wouldn’t take very long once the ball is rolling and mass shooters move to handguns and shotguns, which would quickly be banned as the public’s demand for “safety” would be too much for politicians to stand against.
Cut to a Republican senator being interviewed on CNN the day after a mass shooting where a 9mm handgun was used: Senator, just a few months ago you voted to ban AR-15s because scores of children were killed in a school shooting. Today, with more dead children, you won’t support the banning of semi-automatic handguns? How can you tell those parents why the shooter was able to legally obtain a Glock 19 that, like the AR-15s that you voted to ban, allowed the shooter to fire many rounds and reload in a matter of seconds? What’s the difference, senator? Do those dead children think it was better to be shot by a handgun rather than a long gun? Senator?
That lawmaker would crumble, and so would others. What would we be left with? A technical right to keep and bear arms that practically renders that right meaningless.
How do we know this? We know this because we have seen this before in Mexico.
So, it’s confirmed. He was another nutjob, this time one on a vendetta, that the authorities knew about, but “the system” let slip through the cracks, by incompetence, inability or negligence.
Maine law enforcement officers investigating last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston have shared evidence that suggests the U.S. Army reservist Robert Card, who killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar, may have intentionally targeted individuals at those locations.
On Tuesday, Maine State Police and the Maine Department of Public Safety released a trove of documents on Card, including search warrants, affidavits, criminal records and more that shed light on a possible motive after Card, 40, carried out a deadly rampage at the Schemengees Bar and Grille and Just In Time bowling alley that also wounded 13 other victims on Oct. 25.
According to multiple witnesses, including Card’s brother and son, Card knew people at both locations and may have believed they were calling him a “pedophile.” Card experienced a similar incident over the summer when he accused fellow members of his Army Reserves unit of calling him a pedophile. The incident prompted Army officials to have him undergo a mental health evaluation.
One affidavit reveals Card’s brother told police that the eventual mass shooting suspect thought there was a “conspiracy” involving people “accusing him of being a pedophile.”
State police interviewed a witness just hours after the shooting began, who said Card believed local businesses, including Schemengees Bar and Grille and the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, were “broadcasting online that Robert was a pedophile.” Card, according to his brother, also believed that some businesses were spreading rumors of him being a pedophile online.
Another witness interviewed by police said Card specifically mentioned Joey Walker, the manager of Schemengees Bar and Grille, as one of the people who he thought had disparaged him, according to an affidavit filed in a request to access Card’s cell phone records. Walker was among those killed.
The same witness, whose name was redacted, told police he previously traveled with Card to both the bowling alley and bar, and that Card knew people at both locations.
Well, if the goobermint would have secured the border…….
‘A Time for Vigilance’: FBI Dir. Christopher Wray Warns of Heightened Threats to the Homeland
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday morning. The hearing was titled “Threats to the Homeland.”
In conjunction with his appearance, Wray submitted a 15-page statement covering the following topics:
- Key Threats and Challenges
- National Security
- Terrorism Threats
- Cyber
- Foreign Intelligence Threats
- National Counterintelligence Task Force
- Transnational Repression and Other Counterintelligence Threats
- Criminal Threats
- Violent Crime
- Transnational Organized Crime
- Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking
- Reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
But it was Wray’s testimony regarding the heightened risk of attacks here in the U.S. that really caught the attention. This exchange between Wray and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) highlights the danger of the times.
WRAY: What has now increased is the greater possibility of one of these foreign terrorist organizations directing an attack in the United States. We haven’t seen evidence that it’s actually happening yet, but what we have seen is — and I listed them off in my opening remarks — one terrorist organization after another calling for attacks.
SCOTT: We should wake up.
WRAY: It is a time to be concerned. We are in a dangerous period.
SCOTT: So, is the FBI able to track all threats and prevent these individuals from conducting an attack on U.S. soil?
WRAY: I couldn’t say that we’re able to detect all individuals. The people that we know about — as Secretary Rumsfeld used to say, ‘the known-known’ — we’re quite good at, together with our partners. But it is the unknown-unknown that I worry about quite a bit.
SCOTT: So, Director Wray, can you say that we do not have either individual foreign terrorists or terror cells affiliated with foreign groups currently operating in the United States?
WRAY: Well, we’re not — we’re not tracking that, but again, I come back to what it is: The gaps in our intelligence are real, and it’s something that we have concerns about.
SCOTT: So, Director Wray, so…what would you say right now to the American public — because, like, in my state, I’ve got a significant Jewish population. They’re scared to go to synagogue, Chabad. They’re scared to send their kids to day schools. So — but it’s not just them. It’s other individuals, like my daughters called me and said: Should they be sending their kids to school? What would you tell Americans right now about the threat today as compared to before?
WRAY: This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance. We shouldn’t stop conducting our daily lives, going to schools, houses of worship, and so forth. But we should be vigilant. You often hear the expression “If you see something, say something.” That’s never been more true than now. And that’s probably partly why the American people are reporting more tips and leads to us and we’re pursuing those threats and leads as vigorously and responsibly as we can.
Wray acknowledged the very real threat of terrorist groups like Hamas conducting attacks on U.S. soil.
California Democrats Disarm Synagogues
Here’s a story I missed from September that takes on an even more sinister cast in retrospect.
Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of a new Second Amendment lawsuit challenging multiple parts of California SB2, which unilaterally declares numerous locations as “sensitive places” where California will now ban the carry of firearms by licensed, law-abiding Californians. The complaint in Carralero v. Bonta can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.
“SB2 restricts where persons with licenses to carry a concealed weapon may legally exercise their constitutional right to wear, carry, or transport firearms. And it does so in ways that are fundamentally inconsistent with the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen,” argues the complaint. “The Second Amendment does not tolerate these restrictions. This Court should enter judgment enjoining their enforcement and declaring them unconstitutional.”
“With Gov. Newsom’s signing of SB2 today, California continues to exhibit its disdain for the rights of Californians, the U.S. Constitution, and the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPC Action Foundation’s General Counsel and Vice President of Legal, and FPC’s counsel. “Unfortunately for California, and contrary to Governor Newsom’s misguided statements, the state does not have the power to unilaterally overrule individual rights and constitutional protections. Fortunately, courts across the nation have already struck down laws just like SB2, and we expect the same result here.”
FPC is joined in this lawsuit by three individuals, Orange County Gun Owners, San Diego County Gun Owners, and California Gun Rights Foundation.
If Democrats actually revered the Supreme Court as much as they claim to, Bruen would have ended their attempts to pass Second Amendment infringing legislation. But the goal of disarming the civilian population is only slightly less sacred a Democratic Party cause than taxpayer-funded abortions. So they soldier on trying to thwart the Constitution.
Here is the relevant text of SB2.
This bill would remove those exemptions, except as specified. The bill would make it a crime to bring an unloaded firearm into, or upon the grounds of, any residence of the Governor, any other constitutional officer, or Member of the Legislature. The bill would also prohibit a licensee from carrying a firearm to specified locations, including, among other places, a building designated for a court proceeding and a place of worship, as defined, with specific exceptions. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Well, it’s not like any particular houses of worship are under particular threats from particular terrorist organizations, now is it?
Just four years ago on the last day of Passover, a man armed with a rifle burst into a synagogue in Poway, near San Diego, fatally shot one woman and injured three other congregants, including the synagogue’s rabbi.
A year before, an even more horrific attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 dead.
In the aftermath of the attack on Israel, many American Jews are arming themselves. But in California, not only will Jews and worshippers in other faiths be banned from protecting themselves in their houses of worship, but would-be killers will know that potential victims in “sensitive” areas will be unarmed.
Everywhere in the west, the radical left is protesting to support Hamas, despite (or perhaps because) of the latter’s calls to completely destroy the Jews. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom and California Democrats are disarming law-abiding Jewish American citizens in their synagogues.
What are the odds?
The Bloody Failed Experiment of Gun-Free “Death” Zones
After watching senseless killings in Gun Free Zones time and time again, logical-thinking people start to consider the fact that deaths occur in these locations because people can’t defend themselves when under attack. Mainstream media, in coordination with the Democrat party, is highly tuned in to this awareness and works effortlessly to counteract that thought process through an endless stream of propaganda, rhetoric, and gun-blaming.
They know that logical-thinking people are aware of their anti-gun fear campaign. Still, they also know that there is a good portion of Americans who can be easily manipulated into believing the anti-gun lies.
We wonder how, if they know that they are putting good people in danger with their false narrative, Gun Free Zones, and dangerous gun restrictions, they can continue this experiment in unnecessary loss of human life?
We ask this question, coming from a mindset that holds human life in high regard, which is why we can’t understand their motives. Our intent is to see that innocent life is protected, which is why we keep and bear arms. The gun grabbers’ intent seems to be keeping innocent life as vulnerable as possible. Without loss of life, and the vulnerability of American Citizens, the political left has no fuel to drive their anti-gun agenda.
The biggest culprit of unnecessary and preventable death is the Gun Free Zone. It is also becoming quite apparent that the Gun Free Zone is a valuable tool for gun restrictions. At a certain point, the gun-grabbers start to look foolish for continuing dangerous policies with no remorse, but the Gun Free Zone brings with it death, and an excuse to blame guns for human violence. This is the main driver for gun-restriction support.
Don’t believe me? Ask yourself why it is that left-wing media and politicians will start blaming firearms, with total disregard to the suffering families and loss of life before the victims are even removed from the scene.
There are several reasons for this immoral behavior, including the fact that a good portion of our Country values politics over morality.
This could be a result of the demonization of Judaism and Christian values in our society. It could also be the fact that there is a concerted effort to teach people to devalue human life if it doesn’t benefit them.
BLUF
For the last couple of generations, we in the West have told ourselves that we have changed. We told ourselves that we are beyond violence. And we told ourselves that everyone else was too. But that was a lie.
Accept That Savagery Is the True Nature of the World – and Deal With It
If you want an indicator of how lost Western civilization has become, go to your kids’ school and check their rules on fighting. Most likely, you’ll find out if two kids get into a fight, both get suspended, regardless of whether one was a punk bully who started it and the other was simply defending himself or some little kid. This is a moral disaster, of course – violence in the defense of what is right is a moral obligation and a symbol of a greater rot within society. This is the kind of rule created by middle-aged, divorced cat women who can neither find nor satisfy a man and live in a tranquil bubble of affluent, frivolous safety and security created by their harder, worthier forbearers who understood the world’s true nature.
The true nature of the world is savagery.
The world’s true nature is that good is forever pitted against evil.
That has never changed. What happened over the last 70 years or so was an interregnum of peace in the West, created by violence against barbarians and facilitated by people willfully looking away from the butchery still continuing at the fringes of the map. The West managed to build a civilization that was – for the first time in history since perhaps the Pax Romana – generally internally peaceful. And the West convinced itself that this was normal.
But it was not normal. It was an anomaly, a glorious one, but an anomaly nonetheless. The world is not a peaceful place, and it never was, and it never will be. Despite the best efforts of the arrogant left, human nature has not changed. Human nature is vicious and cruel. Rousseau’s noble savage nonsense, which we are still dealing with today in the form of eager sophomores in Che t-shirts slobbering over Hamas psychopaths – is a giant fraud. Savages are not distinguished by their nobility. Their savagery distinguishes them. And we need to find the moral strength to do what is necessary to defeat them.
Maine shooting: Lewiston police were warned about Robert Card weeks before massacre
Police were alerted to ‘veiled threats’ by Card, a US Army reservist
Mass murderer Robert Card, who killed at least 18 people in a gruesome massacre in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, was reportedly on state authorities’ radars as early as mid-September.
Card gunned down at least 18 people and wounded 13, after opening fire on a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, causing the worst mass shooting in the Pine Tree State’s history. He was found dead Friday night after a two-day search, with officials concluding that he shot himself in the head.
Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that they were alerted to “veiled threats” by Card, a U.S. Army reservist, after he threatened soldiers at a southern Maine National Guard Base in Saco.
When authorities visited Card’s home and couldn’t find him, they dropped their investigation.
“We added extra patrols, we did that for about two weeks,” Saco Police Chief Jack Clements explained. “The guy never showed up.”
“Never came in contact with this guy, never received any phone calls from the reserve center saying, ‘Hey, we got somebody who was causing a problem,’” he added. “We never got anything.”
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry alerted every law enforcement agency in Maine after the Army Reserve informed his department, but also could not find Card after a welfare check to his residence.
“We couldn’t locate him,” Merry said.
The FBI told AP that they were not aware of suspicious activity from Card, explaining they “did not have nor did [we] receive any tips or information concerning Robert Card.”
“[The background check system] was not provided with or in possession of any information that would have prohibited Card from a lawful firearm purchase,” the agency added.
Georgia Lieutenant Gov Wants To Pay Teachers $10,000 Annually To Carry Guns On Campuses
Georgia Republican Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would annually pay school teachers $10,000 to carry a gun at school in an effort to increase safety on campuses.
“One of the most critical duties we have as public servants is to protect those who are most vulnerable – including all of Georgia’s children,” Jones said in a news release.
Jones said the legislation would use state funding to ensure Georgia’s school systems and teachers have the option to receive proper firearms training and certification. The plan also calls for stricter guidelines for existing school safety plans and to distribute more money to schools that hire school resource officers with police certification, The Associated Press reported.
“We feel like this is the best way to prepare faculty, but also prepare law enforcement and the system however we can,” Jones reportedly said at Austin Road Elementary School in Winder on Wednesday, adding the state should take more “proactive” measures to prevent school shootings.
Republican State Sens Max Burns and Clint Dixon joined the Lt. Gov. in crafting the 2024 legislative priority to increase school safety, contending that protecting children and their classrooms is their first responsibility.
Maine Mass Shooting Doesn’t Justify More Gun Control. Here’s Why.
On Wednesday night, there was a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that has left at least 22 people dead, and many more injured at various locations. The suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, remains at large, and a manhunt is underway. According to reports, the suspect went to multiple locations, including a bar and a bowling alley.
Naturally, Democrats were quick to jump in with calls for more gun control. But make no mistake about it, this incident doesn’t prove the need for more gun control at all. It actually proves that existing gun control measures aren’t being enforced. How so? Well, according to information released to the public so far, we know that the suspect has severe mental health problems and was previously known to law enforcement.
According to a Maine law enforcement bulletin, Card “recently reported mental health issues including hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco.” Card was also reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer.
Let that sink in for a moment. Here’s a man with mental health problems who threatened to shoot up a base. Can anyone explain why he was a free man in the first place, let alone still in possession of firearms?
As Tom Knighton at our sister site Bearing Arms notes, “Maine has their own version of a red flag law. This is the kind of stuff we’re told red flag laws are for, and yet it doesn’t seem anyone bothered to use it.”
It’s inevitable that Joe Biden will deliver remarks at some point about the shooting, and it’s a safe bet he’ll blame the NRA and congressional Republicans—his favorite scapegoats for gun violence. But the NRA has consistently called upon the federal government to tackle the issue of mental illness and violence. In 1966, the NRA stated, “The time is at hand to seek means by which society can identify, treat and temporarily isolate such individuals,” because “elimination of the instrument by which these crimes are committed cannot arrest the ravages of a psychotic murderer.”
As Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms notes, if the suspect “was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, that would have precluded him from legally purchasing or possessing a firearm. A voluntary commitment, on the other hand, wouldn’t necessarily have resulted in a NICS denial after he was released.” However, if Card “did self-report mental health issues including a threat to shoot up an army base and was committed to a mental health facility, that likely would have been seen as ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that he presented a danger to himself or others.”
When existing mechanisms to keep guns away from the mentally ill aren’t used, that’s not a reason for more gun control that won’t actually solve the problem.
The Mass Killer Checklist is progressing nicely.
Shooter known to authorities. ✔
Shooter known to have mental issues. ✔
Shooter warned about engaging in future acts of violence. ✔
All info about this particular shooter released within 4 hours of event. ✔
It is like there is a script that must be faithfully followed.
PS: The 3-week Copycat warning is now running.
Prepare accordingly.
Shooting Illustrated Interviews: John Correia
What can we learned from someone who’s watched over 40,000 real-world violent encounters?
Concealed Carry Holder Attacked by Pro-Palestinian Protestors Won’t Face Charges For Firing Shot
A rally to support Israel in Skokie, Illinois over the weekend turned chaotic and violent when about 200 pro-Palestinian protestors showed up outside the banquet hall where the rally was taking place.
Though police were on hand to keep the two sides apart, at one point a smaller group of protestors broke away from the crowd, with one of them apparently yanking an Israeli flag off of a motorist’s car. When the man got out of the car to get his flag back, he was quickly surrounded by the mob, and ended up firing a shot into the air to get them to back away.
The man was quickly taken into custody by Lincolnwood police, but was released on Monday after Cook County prosecutors determined the man was acting in self-defense.
The 39-year-old man, who prosecutors declined to name, was released from police custody. In a statement issued Monday, prosecutors said the man, a Firearm Owner Identification Card and Concealed Carry License holder, had “no criminal history.”
“After reviewing the evidence, which includes surveillance video and witness statements, we have determined the individual … acted in self-defense upon being surrounded by a crowd and attacked by some of those individuals,” according to the statement.…
Hatem Abuddayeh, the national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said the state’s attorney’s office was “absolutely wrong” in releasing the man, who he said “endangered hundreds.”
He blamed America’s political leaders, specifically President Joe Biden and some elected officials in Illinois who have voiced support for Israel, for stoking the attacks.
“Our leaders are responsible for the attacks,” Abuddayeh said. “The state’s attorney’s office has a responsibility of keeping people safe … These are the things that put us in danger.”
C’mon now. First of all, this wasn’t an attack, at least not on the part of the concealed carry holder. He was defending himself against an attack from an angry mob, and honestly showed remarkable restraint (if not the smartest gun handling) by firing a warning shot into the air rather than taking aim at any of the individuals who were attacking him.
The pro-Palestinian protesters had a First Amendment right to be there, but no one had the right to take his property off his car, and they certainly didn’t have the right to attack him when he tried to get his flag back.
“I don’t think [pro-Palestinian protesters] are gonna be dissuaded from wanting to do more and being public in their support for their people and their demands of our government,” Abuddayeh said. “But it’s a message to our community that the people in charge don’t care that we’re being attacked.”
Alison Pure-Slovin, the Midwest regional director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which organized the Israeli solidarity event, said prosecutors likely decided not to press charges because the man “didn’t feel safe.”
“He was afraid because he was accosted by other people,” Pure-Slovin said. “The United States of America guarantees free speech. You should not be accosted because of your beliefs.”
Pure-Slotkin is absolutely right, and it’s true for both sides. If the concealed carry holder had been driving by and decided to accost the people protesting the pro-Israel event by threatening them with a gun, he should and would have faced charges. But that’s not what happened here, and it sounds like Abuddayeh is grossly twisting the facts to suit his own cause.
Fed up people leaving crime-ridden cities, blame Biden.
A majority of people have had it with the surge in crime and are leaving and avoiding dangerous cities, trying to cope with the wave of shootings and carjackings or simply giving up on their situation, according to a new law enforcement survey.
The National Sheriffs’ Association/TIPP survey shared with Secrets shows that many blame President Joe Biden and his open borders agenda for the surge.
“Americans are experiencing an increase in crime in their neighborhoods over the past year,” said Sheriff Jim Skinner of Collin County, Texas, and the chairman of the association’s government affairs committee.
“Most Americans are dissatisfied with President Biden’s crime control policies, notably Republicans and independents. Weak immigration policies contribute to an increase in crime. Dissatisfaction spans ideological lines, with conservatives, moderates, and liberals all expressing concerns about these policies,” he added in an analysis of the new survey.
While government reports are conflicting on whether crime has surged beyond city limits, inside cities such as Washington, D.C., the rise in carjackings, holdups, and theft has risen dramatically and often the attacks are filmed and posted online.
As a result, many believe crime is up and some people are deciding to leave dangerous cities.
Skinner said, “As a result of increased crime, many American families have been impacted, with some feeling helpless and even considering relocating. Others have reported coping with the changes. Communities facing rising crime rates have witnessed reduced visitation or abandonment, highlighting the tangible consequences of increased crime on people’s behaviors and choices.”
What’s more, people are avoiding crime areas. According to the analysis, “Communities with increased crime are being abandoned. For example, nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents have either reduced or stopped visiting communities with increased crime. While a third (34%) have reduced, another 29% have stopped altogether.”
Law enforcement, and especially the National Sheriffs’ Association, had a good relationship with the Trump administration but not with the Biden White House. Skinner said that the group has reached out to the White House with some ideas to cut crime, but they have not heard back.
Skinner listed the group’s ideas for curbing crime. They include:
- Increasing border security and doing more to stop the illegal importation of drugs.
- Prosecuting gun crime. “Armed criminals committing murder with guns will not simply put down their weapons because the law bans the weapon. Violent criminals will always find a way to obtain a gun,” the agenda said.
- Reevaluating no bail laws.
- Doing more for mental health.
Troubled Times Part II: There’s more to being prepared than just guns and ammo.
Last week I talked about safety measures during times of civil unrest. Most recently, the FBI is warning of the possibility for terrorist activity in this country and suggesting that folks shelter in place. As I mentioned, this shelter-in-place idea is not a bad one because the defender nearly always has the advantage.
Too often, in times like these, people focus on their choice and selection of guns and ammunition. While there is nothing wrong with this, I would suggest that it is only one of several considerations for keeping you and your family safe until things can be straightened out.
A decent medical kit would also be an excellent addition to your home defense plan. And, along with that would also go some first aid training. It could be extremely important to know how to stop bleeding, treat certain wounds and deal with the effects of shock. It is a really good idea for the entire family to have this training since you never know who will need the treatment and who will be available to apply it. Right in line with that is to make sure that there is an adequate supply of prescription medicines that the family members might need. Civil unrest is not the time to run out of blood pressure medications for example.
It also might be that you have to wait out a few days with your power cut off. Do you have enough non-perishable foods to get you by? How is your supply of extra batteries? When you think of just getting by for a few days until order can be restored, your list might get longer than you expected.
Mind you, I am not predicting some sort of doomsday event. However, we need to realize that there are people in this world who would like nothing better than for that to happen to us. I don’t think there is a need to start digging a bunker in your back yard or to build a survival camp in some wilderness area. But it is time to consider that you might just have to stay home for a few days while our police and other officials get order restored (or even recovering from a weather event like a hurricane, tornado or snowstorm).
So look beyond your guns and ammo and try to focus on the big picture. Start making that list of necessary items and give some serious thought to all of the ways you will need to protect yourself and your family.
It bears repeating that my first squad leader was a font of practical wisdom, usually doled out in pithy maxims. One I already knew, but liked how he put it was:
“I’ve found that experience is the best teacher, and the best experience is someone else’s as it’s usually less expensive and less painful.”
A word to the wise should be sufficient
What we Should Learn from the Attack on Israel
Terrorists attacked innocent victims in Israel. This is a war of ethnic cleansing. The victims were chosen precisely for their innocence. The murdering terrorists sought out the vulnerable and the harmless. This attack was a show of force, a show of violence, and a show of brutality. It was Hamas and their Iranian enablers saying that they are willing to be barbarians. They wanted other nations to hold them in awe. I don’t think it will work out that way. An Israeli politician said you can’t negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you. Here in the United States, there are things we can learn from both the Israeli civilians and from the Israeli government.
We watched over a thousand of Israelis die at the hands of armed terrorists. Many more were wounded. Women and children were murdered or kidnapped. Those are exactly the results you would expect. The point is not that the attackers were some type of super-warriors. Those are simply the results that any trained combatant would expect when disarmed victims face armed attackers. It didn’t need to unfold that way.
Let me resize the attack so US readers have a sense of proportion. Keeping the percentages the same and with its larger population, this attack would have killed almost 60-thousand US citizens. That is about twenty times the number of people who were killed at Pearl Harbor in 1941, or during the attack on September 11th in 2001.
Where Israelis were armed and on alert, they defended themselves very well. Examples include Kibbutz Nir Am and Kibbutz Mefalsim. There we also saw the sort of results we expected. Attackers need to outnumber defenders by a ratio of over six-to-one in order to advance. The terrorists did not bring that number of attackers to bear so the defenders prevailed.
In the United States of America, I noticed that another million of us went out to buy guns and ammunition in the week after the attack. Most of these were first time gun buyers. Again, ordinary citizens like us came to some far-reaching conclusions. They recognized that the world is not safe. People who look just like them are capable of horrific acts of violence. Law enforcement and other government authorities will only arrive long after the attack is over. Far from being conclusions drawn from worse case estimates, I think those conclusions are simply a sober evaluation of the truth.
Repost- How Armed Israelis Stopped Terrorists
I may not know a lot, but I know when to ask someone with more experience. I read reports of armed Israeli citizens stopping the Hamas terrorists who attacked their kibbutz. There are important differences between a deliberate terrorist attack and the armed defense that happens every day in the US. I asked Ben Branum for his opinion on these events. Ben is a marine, a civilian contractor for the military, an instructor in church security, and a civilian firearm instructor. We talked for about an hour about the recent attack on the kibbutz Nir Am.
Give us a listen on Ben’s site, Modern Self Protection Podcast or listen to the mp3 from Libsyn.
Jewish Americans Arm Themselves in Wake of Israeli Horror
“There’s another order coming from Hamas to kill the Jews. I happen to be Jewish, and I don’t want to be killed.”
That’s the succinct explanation Joshua, a doctor in Los Angeles, gave for why he decided to buy his first gun this week. He’s far from alone. New owners and trainers alike described scenes of gun stores and safety classes full of Jewish Americans hoping to protect themselves from the kind of slaughter that played out on October 7th when Hamas terrorists streamed over the border into Israel and ruthlessly slaughtered more than 1,400 men, women, and children.
“I was at a local gun store a couple of days ago, where my wife was doing her firearms training test, and it was full,” Joshua, who–like several others who spoke to The Reload for this story–did not want his real name revealed in large part due to safety concerns, said. “There was a line outside to get in for people to do their tests, or buy firearms, or practice on the range. And I would say it was 90% Jewish people and Israelis.”
He said the motivation of those in line was clear.
“We all know what happened in Israel. It was a horrific attack on civilians by Hamas with the tally now up close to 1,500 dead,” Joshua said. “It’s the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust. I never thought I’d say this, but it’s almost worse than the Nazis. They buried the bodies or cremated the bodies. The Nazis hid their atrocities. Hamas is live streaming their atrocities where they kill babies, shoot the elderly waiting at bus stops, rape women, and mow down young people at a music festival for peace.”
35-year-old Simon, an Israeli-American also living in Los Angeles, recoiled at the awful attacks. Then he too bought a gun.
“Watching the events unfold in Israel since October 7th has been gut-wrenching and unreal,” he told The Reload. “Unfortunately for us Jews around the world, our security situation has worsened. Now is the time to arm myself and protect my family. So, I’ve decided to purchase my first firearm and undergo firearm, general situational awareness, and home defense training.”