Category: Safety

Tennessee governor plans to sign bill that would let teachers carry guns in schools
Lee alluded to the pushback from Democrats, saying, “There are folks across the state who disagree on the way forward.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday that he planned to sign a bill state legislators sent to his desk this week that would allow school staff members to carry concealed handguns on school grounds.

“What’s important to me is that we give districts tools and the option to use a tool that will keep their children safe in their schools,” Lee said at a news conference Thursday after he shared his plans to sign the legislation.

Under state law, Lee, a Republican, has the option to sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.

The Republican-controlled state House passed the measure Tuesday largely along party lines roughly a year after a shooter opened fire and killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville. The state Senate, which is also controlled by the GOP, passed the measure this month.

Lee on Thursday highlighted the legislation’s requirements that faculty and staff members wishing to carry concealed handguns on school grounds complete a minimum of 40 hours of approved training specific to school policing every year. They also must obtain written authorization from law enforcement, he noted.

“There are folks across the state who disagree on the way forward,” Lee said Thursday, adding that he thought the legislation would allow school districts the opportunity to decide “at the local level what is best for the schools and the children in that district.”

But the measure drew criticism from Democrats like state Rep. Bo Mitchell, who referred to the Covenant shooting in remarks on the House floor.

“This is what we’re going to do. This is our reaction to teachers and children being murdered in a school. Our reaction is to throw more guns at it. What’s wrong with us?” Mitchell said.

Tennessee isn’t the only state to have approved legislation allowing teachers to carry guns. At least 26 states have laws permitting teachers or other school employees to possess guns on school grounds, with some exceptions, according to the Giffords Law Center, a gun violence prevention group.

What’s Old Is New Again, and Militias Are the New Black

Thanks to a successful leftist smear campaign, most Americans now see militia members as being nothing more than drooling, wacko, camo-clad, right-wingers sipping Black Rifle coffee in their backyard pillbox, stupidly unaware the FBI has a drone watching them from above.

Militias date back to the origins of the United States and earlier. They were created for the same reasons we are seeing a resurgence in militias today: to stand up against a government that can’t be trusted.

From MilitaryHistoryNow.com:

Perhaps the strongest cultural tradition to transfer from England to its colonies was the distrust of a standing army that could enforce the crown’s will and circumvent parliament. England’s strength lay in its navy, which was out of sight – and often out of mind – and could not project power inland. The army was not considered a gentleman’s occupation and soldiers were looked upon as mere pawns.
Founding Father James Madison understood the need for militias better than most.
“Because since inception, militias have been tasked with stopping those who hold public office from exceeding their authority or those seeking to enact legislation outside of their operating charter,” Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers, which is “a crucial check against incremental encroachment by the state.”
Madison was on a roll:
Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprizes of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of.

The Founding Fathers knew something few seem to realize today: power corrupts horrible people. Thus, they wrote the need for a militia into the 2nd Amendment: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Leftists like to pretend there are differing interpretations of the 2nd Amendment, but it seems incontestable to me. Armed militias are a necessary segment of our freedom. Easy peasy, unless you’re a demented communist.

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I actually know people who are more scared of knives than guns.

Never Underestimate The Danger Of Edged Weapons

A recent video out of Tucson, Ari., shows us the right way to respond to a man threatening you with a sword. But, if you’ve never thought too much about how you’d respond to such a thing, it’s worth taking a few seconds to mentally run through that scenario, because misconceptions about blades and guns are all over the map in society.

But first, let’s look at the video:

Obviously, this guy isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and his connection with reality wasn’t very solid. He decided to do some emotionally intense sword practice in a hotel parking lot, screaming and waving his sword around, probably not unlike the Star Wars Kid. When hotel management told him to stop, he ignored them. So, the sheriff’s department had to come out there to let him know that he couldn’t keep doing that.

When deputies arrived, he refused to put the sword away (which he had sheathed by then). Why? Because he was “trying to achieve greatness with the katana”. Then, of course, he had to ask the rhetorical question of whether katana practice is allowed in the United States. That’s an obvious “yes”, but it’s generally not tolerated in a parking lot. Instead of seeing that maybe he should have gone out to some forest or BLM land, he kept arguing the issue with deputies, telling them he’s “hella responsible”.

He then tried to explain that he’s related to a Greek god, and that if anyone wants to kill him, he’s going to be hard to kill. Then, he drew the sword and advanced on deputies with predictable results.

While the guy’s idiocy is pretty funny, you do have to feel bad for the guy because it ended up costing him his life. But, it doesn’t help you much if you find yourself explaining your empathy for the guy’s mental shortcomings if you’re doing that explaining at the pearly gates (or whatever you think you’d find after getting killed).

The fact is, a sword or even a knife can be more deadly than getting shot by a gun. Worse, it takes 1-2 seconds to draw a pistol from its holster and fire it (the above video is a fancy version of the Tueller Drill), allowing a person with a blade to inflict a fatal injury on you before you can draw. So, the police were right both to back away and increase the distance, draw and fire on him as soon as he advanced on them. There’s just no spare time to “shoot it out of his hand” or “shoot him in the leg” (things idiots think police should do in such situations).

So, if you ever see someone acting crazy with a knife or a sword, don’t get too close. In fact, leave if you’re not being paid to deal with the guy. Such a confrontation can cost you everything. But, if you have to deal with such a person, don’t assume that you’re invincible because you have a gun, because the distance you can shoot from can disappear quick when someone’s running toward you.

Californians Arming Up for Self-Defense as Illegals Flood into Cities

Californians are arming up for self-defense as the U.S. Border Patrol carries out street drop-offs of illegal immigrants in and around cities like San Diego.

The New York Post reported that “roughly 125,000 migrants have been released onto the streets in the San Diego area since September,” and many area residents are reacting by purchasing firearms and ammunition for themselves and their families.

Cory Gautereaux owns a gun store, Firearms Unlimited California, in northeast San Diego and he has seen business increase as more and more illegals are let loose on the streets.

Gautereaux said, “The problem for people that live around the gun store is the street dropoffs.”

He added, “That’s driven business to us.”

On October 11, 2023, the Daily Mail noted that the Border Patrol “[released] 13,000 migrants onto San Diego streets in a month due to overflowing shelters.”

The Post pointed out that gun shop customer Keith Carnevale echoed Gautereaux’s observations, “My wife and I have had home defense guns for many years. Recently, though, with all the stuff that’s happening south of the border and all the people coming over, my concerns have broadened.”

Carnevale indicated his whole family is now armed.

California has more gun controls than any state in the Union. Those controls include a ten-day waiting period for gun purchases; this means Californians who fear for their lives and go to a gun store to acquire a firearm for self-defense have to wait ten business days before taking possession of the gun.

Officials: “No increase in gun violence since ‘constitutional carry’ law

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and the Spartanburg City Police said they have seen no uptick in gun violence since the controversial bill dubbed “Constitutional Carry” was signed into law on March 7.

The law directs millions of dollars into free gun safety programs, while making it legal for any adult to openly carry a handgun in public without a permit.

It still remains a rule that only an person 21 years of age or older can purchase a handgun.

Before the law was enacted, adults 21 and older were able to both purchase a handgun and carry it in public.

Last month, Spartanburg-based state Sen. Josh Kimbrell (R) said the law would not normalize gun violence.

“If you’re going to pull out a pistol in public and point it at someone because you are pissed off that they took your parking space, we’re not allowing that,” Kimbrell said.

Spartanburg-based gun store T&K Outdoors said they’ve seen an increase in customers.

“Firearms are a dangerous item. They’re not toys. You must be safe with them,” said Danny Ley, a T&K Salesperson.

A manager at the store said they emphasize gun safety and will never allow a customer to leave a store with a gun they purchased until they’ve educated the customer.

“When the customer leaves here they have a better understanding of how guns work [and] how they need to be safe with it,” said Kyle Marlow, a T&K outdoors manager. “And we are an open book, we don’t believe any question is too dumb.”

Be Alert.

There has been a lot of unofficial chatter, and even a few official statements of concern, over the possibility of terrorist attacks in the U.S. (thank you open borders!). Quite a few of us think it is a given. Something that happened at Church yesterday makes me even more concerned.

A young male came into the Church during the service, wearing dark clothing that had the air of a delivery uniform, with one of those urban draw-string backpacks on. Under one arm he was carrying what looked like a (decent sized) cardboard box with a delivery label on it. He came in and sat down (most were standing at the time) and stayed a while.

My first thought was ‘heck of a time for a delivery’ and the second thought was ‘uh oh.’ I kept a discrete eye on him, and it turns out the friend sitting next to me was keeping an even stronger eye on him. He got up and left, and my friend went to be sure he was leaving and see where he went — which was to the church across the street.

Now, this could be entirely innocent, however… The box was more than large enough to have held a single SMG or multiple regular pistols with spare mags. It could have held one or more explosive devices (may have walked over to be sure nothing left on the floor or secured under a pew despite not seeing any indication he had tried to access the box). My friend’s thought was to be sure he wasn’t going out to arm up before coming back in. Both of us, I think, have a concern he was casing churches in the area.

Could be innocent. Could be recon. Know I’m going to have an eye out and am inclined to see about giving an unofficial heads up to some LE types.

To all of you out there: keep your head on a swivel, have a plan, and be prepared. Things are such I will be amazed if biological material does not impact the rotary impeller and soon. Keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Amid crime surge, vendors in Bogota turn to hired guns

On the streets of a Bogota neighborhood where a businessman was killed for refusing to pay protection money, retired soldiers sporting weapons and camouflage gear keep a watchful eye on every movement.

Similar “self-defense” groups have sprung up all over Colombia’s capital, a city of some eight million people that has experienced a surge in robberies and killings since the beginning of the year.

As fear has risen in step with crime, residents and business owners are taking matters into their own hands in a country with low levels of trust in the authorities.

“We are taking care of security. There are armed people here, but within the law. We are not illegal, we are military pensioners and the traders are paying us,” one of the sentinels told AFP in Bogota’s 7 de Agosto neighborhood, a bustle of autoparts shops.

Wearing ski masks and military-style boots, the men refused to give their names. Some said they were paid by shop owners — several of whom confirmed to AFP they were relying on hired guns to protect their lives and possessions.

Other patrolling guards claimed they work with the “Gaula” — official law enforcement divisions created in the police and military to combat kidnapping and extortion — a still all-too prevalent crime in Colombia as in other countries with a presence of drug gangs.

But Gaula officials told AFP the non-uniformed sentries have nothing to do with them.

“Civilians have no place” in the fight against extortion, insisted Colonel Cristian Caballero, commander of the Military Gaula in Bogota.

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FBI Figures Show Crime Fell as Americans Stocked Up on Guns in 2023

FBI figures reported by NBC News on March 19, 2024, show that crime fell during 2023, a year in which there were over one million background checks a month for gun purchases.

On July 4, 2023, the Washington Examiner noted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks for gun purchases have been over a million a month for 47 straight months.

On March 19, 2024, Breitbart News spoke with National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Mark Oliva and he said it has now been 55 consecutive months of one million-plus NICS checks.

This means, leading up to 2023 and throughout 2023, Americans were pouring into gun stores to acquire firearms, yet “fourth-quarter numbers” reported by NBC News showed “a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime.”

Former CIA analyst Jeff Asher commented on the lower crime figures, saying, “It suggests that when we get the final data in October, we will have seen likely the largest one-year decline in murder that has ever been recorded.”

There was a similar situation after gun sales surged in 2013. Breitbart News pointed out that private gun sales skyrocketed during 2013 with 21,093,273 background checks, and, according to the FBI, “offenses” in the categories of violent crimes and property crimes decreased during the first six months of 2014.

On a broader scale, Breitbart News observed a 2012 Congressional Research Service study showing gun ownership jumped from 192 million privately owned guns in 1994 to 309 million in 2009. At the same time, the “firearm-related murder and non-negligent homicide” of 6.6 per 100,000 Americans in 1993 fell to 3.6 per 100,000 in 2000 and as far as 3.2 per 100,000 in 2011.

An Armed Citizen’s Guide on What To Do When Calling 911.

PICTURE THE SCENE: You’re about four minutes into your worst wak­ing nightmare. You had to pull your gun and use it; that’s the bad news. The good news is, you’re still alive. You know that because you can still smell the gun smoke and feel your heart pounding with adrenaline. The would-be offender is dead, or at least isn’t moving. It was him or you, no doubt about that. And because you’re confident you’re justified in your actions, it’s time to fulfill your obliga­tion as a responsible and law-abiding person and notify the police.

But not so fast. You may have pro­tected yourself against a deadly threat, but now it’s time to protect yourself against potential recrimination. Ev­erything will be scrutinized by police, prosecutors and maybe a jury, starting with the call you’re about to make. For you, and almost every other defensive shooter, 911 is the first point of contact with the justice system. What you say matters. Get this one wrong, and your 911 call could play out on broadcast news , turn your community against you and feature prominently for some enterprising prosecutor who might have crowed in the last election that getting guns off the street is a priority, but doesn’t distinguish between crimi­nals and law-abiding gun owners.

You can’t panic. It’s just the rest of your life that could change based on the words you pick…at exactly the time when your nervous system is still try­ing to claw itself back down to normal from almost dying.

Don’t blow it.

HISTORY

The use of a three-digit emergency number got its start in the United Kingdom with the advent of the 999 call system. Under the Johnson Admin­istration, the Federal Communications Commission hatched a plan for the 911 call system with AT&T in the late 1960s. Soon after, states began building their own networks. While only half of resi­dents in the United States had access to 911 by the end of the Reagan Admin­istration, most of the U.S. is served by some form of the system today.

And yes, despite what you may read on the windows of pickup truck cabs or at gun-friendly thrift shops, most people do call 911. (Those stickers can potentially create trouble for you by the way in the event of a defensive shooting, but that’s another story for later.) According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) there are more than 3,000 911 call centers in the United States, field­ing some 240 million emergency calls each year.

If your scene is safe and the threat is contained, it’s time to make an impor­tant call.

 

911 Fact: When Does the Recording Begin?

Everything you say on the 911 call will be recorded and submitted as evidence. To the surprise of many, though, that recording begins the second you push that last 1. Before the operator even picks up the call, the recording has begun. It’s important to know this because you may be having a private conversation with someone about the event and potentially say something that can be caught in a recording and be used against you in court.

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Az Senate approves extension of “castle doctrine” self-defense law

PHOENIX – A Senate committee approved an expansion of Arizona’s “castle doctrine” self-defense to make it apply not just in someone’s home and yard but on any property they own or control after a fiery debate on Thursday.

The fight between Republicans backing what the sponsor of House Bill 2843 originally framed as a needed protection for farmers and ranchers against Democrats who said it targeted migrants.

But in debate at the Judiciary Committee that lasted an hour, Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa, the sponsor of the measure, said it had nothing to do with migrants and only makes a minor change to the existing law.

“It just makes it clear to judges in what circumstances you can raise a defense in court,” Heap told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That, however, is not how Heap sold the measure when it went through the House.

He told colleagues that the law was needed specifically to give ranchers and farmers tools they need to stop large number of migrants from crossing their lands. Those remarks during testimony in an earlier House committee hearing were widely reported in various news media.

During that much more sedate House hearing last month, Heap said the change would simply give legal cover for property owners to threaten to use deadly force to evict a trespasser on vast swaths of the state’s open ranch and farm land. If they actually used deadly force, they’d have to show they were themselves threatened.

Heap tried to walk back those statements on Thursday, saying the change in law he was proposing had nothing to do with immigration. But the damage was done.

“My first question would be why were you surprised that the attention that this has brought is what it is,” Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, asked Heap.

Heap said statements he was quoted as making at that hearing were inaccurately conveyed.

But numerous Democrats read directly from transcripts during Thursday’s hearing. And a review by Capitol Media Services of Heap’s testimony confirmed it.

Republicans, however, slammed the media for crafting an inaccurate narrative. Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said it does not change existing law that only allows someone to shoot in defense of themselves or someone else.

“Yet all the opponents of this bill have blanketed the news media with ‘you can use deadly force in your house and now we’re taking it outside,'” said Kavanagh. “The result will be some people may be killed because of misinformation gun control people against this bill have spread all over the place.”

He said people who believe that could end up being charged with homicide because they thought the reports were accurate.

“Let’s stop the misinformation,” he added.

“This bill does nothing but expand the area of the existing law, which doesn’t allow deadly force purely for trespass,” Kavanagh said. “And decent people who were misled by that lie will end up being prosecuted for criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter because they thought that they could shoot to kill in their house.”

Others, however, said the effects of what Heap is proposing are significant.

Anne Thompson, a volunteer for Moms Demand Action, a group that pushes for strong gun laws, urged the panel not to broaden the state’s self-defense laws.

“Unfortunately, the ramifications of this bill can be dehumanizing and can provoke vigilantism and escalate conflicts to violence,” Thompson said.

Marilyn Rodriguez, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, warned that enacting the measure would be misread by ordinary people – namely the farmers and ranchers Heap initially said he was trying to help.

“Often, it is applied so broadly by individuals and then held up by law enforcement as a means to shoot and kill trespassers who are marching across your farmland at the border,” Rodriguez said.

Arizona has several trespassing laws on the books, including one that already allows a property owner or manager to order someone to leave their land and to ask law enforcement officers to compel them to do so or be arrested.

The change in law that Heap is proposing is in the actual self-defense law. Currently, that law applies only to a residence or a residential yard.

The measure was passed by the committee on a 4-3 vote, with only Republicans in support.

“Every week I’m amazed by the egregious types of bills that we hear in this committee and other committees and as we vote for them in the (majority Republican) makeup of what exists now,” Hernandez said. “The fact that we’re trying to expand legislation that would encourage killing and shooting that would result in death is wild to me.”

Republicans continued to push back, calling the narrative embraced by minority Democrats false.

“I am disturbed by the amount of misinformation and politicking taking place from the left side of the dais today,” said Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson. “And if you read the bill, you would see that your arguments have nothing to do with the bill. You’ve clearly not read the bill.”

That prompted one last eruption during the hearing, this one from Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe.

“I clearly read the bill, aloud, to the audience, so do not accuse me of not reading the bill,” Epstein said.

“Misinformed, misinformed,” Wadsack shot back.

Heap said during House meetings that he was pushing for the change because of concerns with ambiguities in the current law raised by prosecutors in Yuma and Yavapai counties. But the two county attorneys, Jon Smith in Yuma and Dennis McGrane in Yavapai, told Capitol Media Services they had not asked for the law to be changed.

McGrane said a recent case in his county did involve questions about how the law it applied in specific circumstances. He said, though, someone outside his office raised it with a lawmaker.

No charges in NYC subway shooting; Brooklyn DA cites “evidence of self-defense”

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn district attorney said Friday he will not be filing any criminal charges right now against the shooter in Thursday’s subway shooting due to self-defense.

The chaotic scene happened right during the evening rush and unfolded on videos posted across social media.

On Friday, the NYPD responded to the terror witnessed on board.

The news briefing that took place in the afternoon made clear what the investigation had concluded at the moment — that the passengers of the train had to act and disarm an attacker with a gun, including the man who police say shot the attacker with it.

A few hours later, the DA’s office followed suit.

Cellphone video obtained by CBS New York of the inside the moving A train shows the terrifying situation as it escalated during Thursday afternoon’s rush hour. It left a 36-year-old man in critical condition after being shot in the head. However, on Friday afternoon, the DA’s office said it would not be charging the man who pulled the trigger, saying in a statement, “Evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges.”

“It was incredible what people from the community did yesterday, people who tried to intervene,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

Maddrey and NYPD officials say the 36-year-old man aggressively approached a 32-year-old man, eventually pulling out a gun that was wrestled away. Police say the 32-year-old then shot the alleged attacker in the head with his own gun.

Police said they also want to talk to a woman who had a sharp object or knife and stabbed the 36-year-old man during the confrontation. She was apparently traveling with the 32-year-old man, CBS New York’s Lori Bordonaro reported.

Police released video they say shows the attacker entering the subway from the emergency exit before the incident, without paying a fare. During the briefing Friday, NYPD officials centered their focus on that.

“Sometimes people ask why would we do such a big operation for people not paying a $2.90 fare,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said. “We are seeing a small group of people doing these operations that don’t pay their fare that are recidivists, that have warrants.”

The witness who shot the dramatic cellphone video describes to CBS New York the terrifying moments on board the moving train.

“I see blood coming out when they’re on top of each other,” the woman named Sherri said. “He pulled out the gun, and I said, ‘It’s time to go.'”

Other New Yorkers chimed in on the violence underground.

“I’m a New Yorker. I’ve been here my whole life, so I know the subway culture,” Aaron Mealy said. “If an altercation happens on the subway, you can’t get off until the next stop, so it’s best to de-escalate the situation.”

“We can’t say, ‘Oh, this happened on the subway, the subway is dangerous.’ No, there’s a bigger issue, and if we don’t address those issues it’s gonna keep happening, whether it’s on a bus or the street,” Nysheva Starr said.

CBS New York asked Mayor Eric Adams about the shooting at an event on Friday morning.

“These random acts of violence send the wrong message. I’m really pleased with the police department being there to apprehend and make sure other people are not injured,” he said.

Over the last several weeks, the mayor and Gov. Kathy Hochul have both made a point to stress the importance, not of the numbers, of whether people feel safe, which is part of the reason why the National Guard was called in. But during Friday’s news briefing, Deputy Commissioner Daughtry pointed out that while many saw what happened Thursday, millions got to their destination safely.

So far this year, there have been eight shooting victims in the transit system. In the same period last year, there was just one. There have also been 17 gun arrests, versus eight last year.

“Be not afraid of any man;
No matter what his size;
When danger threatens, call on me;
And I will equalize!”
-Colt’s revolver advertisement, 1870s

“Put your trust in God….but keep your powder dry!”
-Oliver Cromwell, 1642

Terrorism is a disease. Constitutional carry is the cure
FBI’s latest terrorism warning is dire and should not go unheeded.

FBI Director Christopher Wray must be frustrated. He issued one of the strongest terrorism warnings earlier this week, but few seemed to notice and even fewer seemed to care. Instead, the legacy media remained fixated on the testimony of former special counsel Robert K. Hur, who concluded that Joe Biden committed multiple federal crimes but was too incompetent to stand trial. While Hur’s findings were certainly newsworthy, they were not news. Most of the country already knew Old Yeller’s best days are behind him.

Wray’s warning, however, was dire. He told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that known or suspected terrorists were infiltrating the country across the wide-open southern border using counterfeit documents. One of the smuggling networks, he said, has ties to ISIS. Add to this the thousands of unknown border crossers from countries that hate us, and the more than 80,000 military-age males from China, and you have a terrorist hellbroth just waiting to bubble over.

“The threats from homegrown violent extremists that is jihadist-inspired, extremists, domestic violent extremists, foreign terrorist organizations, and state-sponsored terrorist organizations all being elevated at one time since October 7, though, that threat has gone to a whole other level,” Wray said. “And so, this is a time I think for much greater vigilance.”

We should thank Director Wray for his timely information and for his candor. This is precisely why we have fought so long and so hard to restore our Second Amendment rights, so that law-abiding Americans no longer have to bend a knee and beg the Crown to sell them back their constitutional rights in the form of a permit to carry defensive arms. Constitutional carry levels the playing field, making it easier for the good guys and gals to lawfully carry arms.

In the 29 states that now offer some form of constitutional carry, when a terrorist rears their ugly head — be they a card-carrying ISIS member or a lone-wolf jihadist — Americans can take immediate action without waiting for First Responders to arrive, assess the situation, plan and then respond.

Time and time again, we have seen how judicious marksmanship can end a madman’s murderous plans.

  • In 2015, an off-duty police officer shot two home-grown terrorists who were trying to gain entry to an exhibit at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, which featured images of Muhammad. ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) took credit for the attack — their first upon American soil.
  • In 2019, 71-year-old Jack Wilson dropped a 43-year-old shotgun-wielding madman, who had fatally shot two parishioners at the West Freeway Church of Christ in a Fort Worth suburb, with a single round to the head.
  • In 2022, Elisha Dicken fired 10 rounds from his Glock at a madman who was shooting people inside an Indiana shopping mall. Eight of Dicken’s rounds struck the bad guy, who was 40-yards away. Dicken was carrying his Glock lawfully because of Indiana’s recently enacted constitutional carry law.

Despite these and many lesser-known examples, the left and the legacy media they control still consider an armed response by a private citizen a fantasy. Instead, they continue to push the laughable Run, Hide, Fight response.

One of the most important lessons learned after last year’s Hamas attacks is that terrorists are capable of much better planning than most thought possible, especially when paired with a state sponsor such as Iran. There is no reason not to believe a terrorist group would be even more prepared for an attack on American soil. Their target analysis will likely include the possibility of armed opposition. In other words, the terrorists are more likely to focus on a target where concealed carry is heavily regulated if not impossible, and civilians have no option other than to run, hide or fight.

Despite our misgivings about the FBI and how it has been weaponized by the Biden-Harris administration, Wray’s warning should not go unheeded. However, now is not the time for paranoia. The main goal of terrorism is to terrorize. They want us to overreact, change our lifestyle and curtail our own freedoms.

Instead, use the time Wray has given us to service or upgrade your EDC. Replace batteries. Re-confirm zero. Buy those extra mags you’ve wanted. Most importantly, go to the range and train. Shoot up your old defensive ammo and replace it with new.

There are 21 states that do not offer any form of constitutional carry, including several that make it nearly impossible for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves. This will prove to be a deadly mistake and it must change. Once your EDC is prepped, please help make that change.

Constitutional carry saves lives and it should be the law of the land. Every American should enjoy their God-given right of self-defense, regardless of where they live.

Utah governor signs bill encouraging teachers to carry guns in classrooms
Republican Spencer Cox approves legislation for firearms training that critics say incentivizes educators to bring guns on to campus

The Utah governor, Spencer Cox, has signed a controversial bill aimed at encouraging teachers to carry a gun or keep one in their classroom.

The legislation will fund annual training for teachers on how to defend classrooms against active threats, as well as safely use firearms in a school setting.

Michelle Oldroyd learns techniques during a free tactical training class for school teachers at a gun range in Hurricane, UT on June 6, 2018. Michelle is 53 years old, teaches 9th Grade, and shoots a Walther PPS.

The proposal builds upon a state law enacted last year that waived concealed-carry permit fees for teachers.

Taken together, the laws are aimed at incentivizing teachers to bring guns into their classrooms – a move that has been hotly contested by gun violence prevention advocates, who argue that more guns on campus does not equal better safety for students.

Utah is one of 16 states that allow school employees to carry guns in K-12 schools. State law currently allows people to carry firearms on public-school property if they have permission from school administrators or hold a concealed firearm permit, which requires a criminal background check and completion of a firearms familiarity course.

The new bill does not prevent teachers with a permit who are not involved in the program from carrying a gun on school grounds. Those who participate in the training program will be shielded from civil liability if they use the gun at school while “acting in good faith” and without gross negligence, according to the bill.

School districts also cannot be held liable if a participating teacher fires their weapon.

“We worked closely with the department of public safety to make sure we have all the necessary safeguards in place in this bill,” Cox’s office said in a statement. “We all want schools where our kids are safe and can thrive.”

Utah’s public schools have not seen any mass shootings on campus. But two students were killed and one was injured after they were shot by a then 14-year-old in a January 2022 shooting outside a high school. The next year, several schools were the targets of automated hoax calls reporting an active shooter.

The bill would cost the department of public safety about $100,000 annually. County sheriffs would appoint instructors to lead the course, which participating teachers would be expected to retake each year.

Some Utah educators, including retired public school teacher Stan Holmes, voiced concern that the half-day training would not be enough to prepare teachers to respond properly in an emergency. Holmes, a US army veteran, said he had taken a tactical training course offered by the state, which he referred to as “a joke”.

“I left unconvinced that all graduates could handle themselves in a crisis situation,” he said. “Parents of children in Utah schools have no reason to trust that the so-called educator-protector program trainings would be any better.”

Teachers participating in the program who choose not to carry the gun on their person would be required to store it in a biometric gun safe, which uses unique biological data such as a fingerprint or retinal scan to verify the owner’s identity. They would have to pay out-of-pocket for the storage device.

Jaden Christensen, a volunteer with the Utah chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in a statement published by Everytown for Gun Safety: “Let’s keep our educators centered on what they do best – teaching. We should be working on finding ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands and out of the classroom – not inviting them into our schools.

“It’s shameful that this new law will do the opposite.”

HB 119 is one of two bills that focuses on how to navigate campus-safety guns being in the hands and classrooms of teachers. The other, HB 84, which was signed on 13 March, updates the parameters for storing a gun in a classroom and creates a protocol for teachers, staff and parents to report concerning or threatening behavior.

In a statement to the Guardian, Cox’s office referred to HB 84 as a “significant piece of a multi-pronged effort to increase school security”.

I’ve got a phone number for him; 1-800-CRY-BABY

Dem mayor howls as pastor leads gun-toting citizen patrol to combat violence, clean up streets

Armed citizens are patrolling the violent streets of Hartford, Connecticut as the Democrat mayor decries people with guns taking the law into their own hands.

Minister Cornell Lewis launched the Self-Defense Brigade after Archbishop Dexter Burke demanded patrols following violent crime breaking out in Hartford. The group of citizens are patrolling the violent areas of the city while cleaning up the streets.

Burke remarked, “We are going to bring an armed security that’s going to walk the streets with individuals, help them to the bus stop. Help them to the grocery store and patrol the area,” the Daily Mail reported.

“We are legally armed, and we are patrolling,” Lewis told NBC Connecticut. “The people on Garden Street came to us and asked us for help.”

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Gun Control Activists Admit They Overreacted to This Concealed Carry Case

Gun control advocates have spent the past two years losing their minds over the Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, a case that affirmed citizens’ right to publicly carry a firearm for self-defense.

One of the commonly repeated criticisms of Bruen has been that the high court’s ruling is dangerous because allowing ordinary peaceable citizens to carry concealed handguns in public would increase rates of gun violence.

In a strange twist of events, some of those same gun control advocates now admit—unintentionally and with no sense of irony—that violent crime rates are actually on the decline in those restrictive gun control states forced by Bruen to recognize the right to bear arms in public.

Giffords, a prominent gun control advocacy organization, previously condemned the Bruen decision as “extremist,” arguing that it would “drastically affect the safety of a large swath of the U.S. population” by “escalating gun violence, leading ever more people to feel unsafe in their own communities.”

Two years later, while retweeting an article that criticizes conservatives for asserting that President Joe Biden’s failed border policies are partially responsible for an increase in crime rates (even though significant evidence suggests that this claim is false), Giffords now highlights a claim that crime rates are actually falling.

Gun control advocates can’t seem to get their story straight. Crime rates often appear to increase or decrease depending on whichever is most useful to the gun control narrative.

The truth is that lawful gun owners—and concealed carry permit holders, in particular—have never been the driving force behind criminal gun violence. At the same time, the right to keep and bear arms in self-defense offers ordinary Americans significant protection against threats to life, liberty, and property.

Almost every major study has found that Americans use their firearms in self-defense between 500,000 and 3 million times annually, according to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2021, the most comprehensive study ever conducted on the issue concluded that roughly 1.6 million defensive gun uses occur in the United States every year.

For this reason, The Daily Signal publishes a monthly article highlighting some of the previous month’s many news stories on defensive gun use that you may have missed—or that might not have made it to the national spotlight in the first place. (Read other accounts here from past years)

The examples below represent only a small portion of the news stories on defensive gun use that we found in February. You may explore more using The Heritage Foundation’s interactive Defensive Gun Use Database. (The Daily Signal is the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation.)

  • Feb. 5, Jackson, Mississippi: After arguing over text messages with a contractor for a water utility, police said, a man drove up to the house where the contractor was working and opened fire. The contractor and a member of his crew returned fire, striking the assailant three times. While fleeing, the wounded attacker soon crashed his getaway vehicle. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, police said.
  • Feb. 5, Marysville, Washington: Three armed men in a stolen car approached a homeowner as he pulled into his driveway, police said. The homeowner, also armed, engaged his assailants in a shootout, apparently hitting at least one, until they ran away. After an hourslong manhunt involving drones and K-9 units, police detained one suspect with a gunshot wound. Neither the homeowner nor anyone else in the neighborhood was injured, police said.
  • Feb. 6, Philadelphia: A gunman began shooting at a mechanic outside an auto shop, wounding a 12-year-old boy, police said. The boy’s father, who was getting his car fixed and wasn’t the gunman’s intended target, drew his own handgun and fired back to defend himself and his son until the gunman fled. The mechanic was seriously wounded, police said. The boy, who suffered a grazing wound to the head, was treated and released from a hospital.
  • Feb. 10, Tipp City, Ohio: An armed resident fatally shot two pit bulls who wandered onto his property and attacked his own dog, police said. The resident initially tried to scare off the pit bulls by yelling and firing a warning shot from his rifle. As the two pit bulls became more aggressive, however, he used his handgun to protect himself and his dog.
  • Feb. 11, Surprise, Arizona: After an argument broke out between customers waiting in a Taco Bell drive-through, a man got out of his car and threatened the occupants of another vehicle with a gun. A passenger in that car, also armed, fatally shot the gun-wielding assailant, police said.
  • Feb. 13, Houston: A man sleeping in the back seat of his truck used his AR-15 to shoot and kill an armed burglar who broke into the vehicle and tried to rob him, police said. The assailant had already burglarized other vehicles in the same parking lot, investigators said.
  • Feb. 19, Swansea, Massachusetts: A courier depositing money at a bank drop box was accosted by two armed robbers who forced him to the ground and tied his hands behind his back, police said. The robbers tried to disarm the courier, a concealed carry permit holder who had a holstered gun on his hip. When the courier resisted, the robbers pepper-sprayed him. But he was eventually able to free one hand, draw his gun, and fire three rounds at the robbers, causing them to flee in a stolen U-Haul van. A suspect was later arrested and charged with several offenses, including armed robbery with a firearm, police said.
  • Feb. 21, Memphis, Tennessee: A woman shot and wounded the father of her children after he smashed a window, forced his way into her home, and assaulted her, police said. The two had gotten into an argument earlier that day over alleged infidelity, and the woman put his belongings outside for him. When the man arrived, he became confrontational and then violent, police said. The woman fled the house but he followed, prompting her to shoot him once in the leg before asking a neighbor to call police.
  • Feb. 22, Palm Beach, Florida: During a road-rage incident, a man pointed his handgun at another driver who had two children in his car, police said. Fearing for his and his children’s lives, the other driver pulled out his own gun and fired it at the assailant in self-defense. The assailant was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
  • Feb. 27, Nashville, Tennessee: A rideshare driver fatally shot a passenger who became agitated during the ride, then pulled a gun on him and started making threats. The rideshare driver first called 911 by using an “SOS alert” on his smartwatch, which was also connected to his wireless headphones. That call was eventually disconnected because the dispatcher didn’t pick up on the driver’s “quiet hints” about the situation. The driver made a second call about 15 minutes later, after he had apparently been able to access his own gun and shoot the would-be kidnapper.
  • Feb. 28, Atlanta: Police said an armed man confronted his ex-girlfriend and her family outside her home, then fired shots into the air. After he refused to leave, the ex-girlfriend’s mom shot and wounded the man, who was detained by law enforcement.

Even during the “safest” times, we will never live in a society where violent crime ceases to exist, or where law enforcement can protect the innocent from every harm.

The right to keep and bear arms always will remain essential to a free state, and law-abiding Americans always will be the first line of defense for themselves and their loved ones against threats to their life, liberty, and property.

Gun control activists’ reactions to the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision never were based in reality. They were emotion-driven responses designed to evoke irrational fear in people who didn’t know any better.

We’re glad they’re finally willing to admit they got it wrong.

¡Grupos de Autodefensas Comunitaria Para Mi y Tu!

And when the Police won’t, or can’t do their job……

Armed citizen patrols start in Hartford amid violence concerns.

A new controversial armed citizen patrol has launched in Hartford.

Organizers say the people will be legally carrying as they walk around parts of the city where violence has taken a toll.

Though some – including the city’s mayor – are raising concerns about the effort.

In Hartford’s North End on Saturday, a group of people looked to patrol and clean up Garden Street.

“It was important  to come out here because we believe that we have to keep the community safe, keep the community clean. And we’re doing this by being out here for a few hours, clean up the community, pick up the trash,” said Marcus Long, of Hartford.

Garden Street has seen its share of gun violence including a double homicide in February, which is what prompted the push for civilian armed patrols.

“We are legally armed and we are patrolling,” said Cornell Lewis, the founder of the Self-Defense Brigade. “The people on Garden Street came to us and asked us for help.”

While there did not appear to be open carry – which is banned in Connecticut – organizers previously told us those armed would be licensed and have concealed weapons.

They were part of Minister Cornell Lewis’ Self-Defense Brigade.

“We are not vigilantes. We are a group of people that are disciplined and trained. We go to the shooting range,” said Lewis.

The effort faces opposition including from an anti-violence group and the Hartford mayor.

Mayor Arunan Arulampalam wrote in part:
“Our community has seen so much pain and trauma, and what we need is for those who love this city to do the hard work of healing that pain.”

The mayor added that the city did not need people being trained to walk the streets with guns and trying to take the law into their own hands.

Earlier, there was a talk about gun rights including how to get a permit, safe storage and carry and personal use.

The founder of the brigade says they plan to do the patrols a few times a week. “We’ll be patrolling at night. So it’s not just a one-time thing. It’s going to be on a consistent basis,” said Lewis.

Organizers argue the patrols are needed and they have plans to expand them to other parts of the city.

 

Lifesaving Skills Every Gun Owner Should Know

With regard to home or personal defense, everyone knows the line: “When seconds matter, help is minutes away.” Such logic is the reason many of us carry daily or keep a firearm bedside. But what about those moments outside the home, perhaps in a remote location? We are indeed our first responder but it remains important to understand the term “first responder” applies to more than just those personnel carrying a sidearm.

A critical situation — when emergency medical services are necessary — can happen anywhere, and it may occur when no threat is present. It could be a rural range, when you and friends are stretching the rifle out to a mile.

Or in the backcountry, chasing elk. Accidental discharges — whether user or equipment error — are a scary reality. They happen.

In these moments, that line we can recite like the Pledge of the Allegiance becomes: “When seconds matter, help is hours away.”

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