Category: Safety

What the ‘Castle Doctrine’ means in Missouri
In 2017, Missouri expanded the state’s Castle Doctrine which created a stand-your-ground right

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Understanding Missouri’s Castle Doctrine
On January 1, 2017, new rules for gun-owners in Missouri went into effect.

One of the changes was the expansion of the state’s Castle Doctrine which created a stand-your-ground right.

The Castle Doctrine is a common law doctrine that allows residents to use deadly force against anyone, based on the notion that their home is “their castle.” Basically, if an intruder violates the sanctity of your home, and you believe they intend to do you harm, you should be able to protect yourself or others against an attack…………

More specifically, a person does not have a duty to retreat:
(1) From a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining;

(2) From private property that is owned or leased by such individual; or

(3) If the person is in any other location such person has the right to be.

 

I wonder why…….

Report: Gun Sales Surging in Minnesota

The trifecta of coronavirus fears, George Floyd protests, and the push to defund the police has resulted in surging gun sales in Minnesota.

CBS 4 reports it all began with fears of virus-related civil unrest leading to record background checks for gun sales in March 2020.

The number of background checks conducted in Minnesota in March represented a 20-year high.

Then came the May 25 death of George Floyd and the subsequent riots, after which Frontiersman Sports owner Kory Krouse said the demand for guns went through the roof.

Krouse said, “People are really scared coming in here. We had a three, four hour wait just to get up to the counter during the height of … the rioting.”

As a result of the surge, gun store inventories are down and ammunition is scarce. Continue reading “”

You don’t say……

Report: Shootings Surge After NYPD Disbands Anti-Crime Unit

Reports indicate that shootings in New York City surged last week following the NYPD’s decision to disband its plainclothes anti-crime unit.

The New York Post reports the unit was disbanded on Monday, June 15, 2020, and the week ended with “28 [shooting] incidents and 38 victims.”

During the same week in 2019 there were only 12 shootings.

An law enforcement source told the Post, “This is what the politicians wanted — no bail, nobody in Rikers, cops not arresting anyone.”

The source added, “All those things equal people walking around on the street with guns, shooting each other.”

During the same week in 2019 there were only 12 shootings.

An law enforcement source told the Post, “This is what the politicians wanted — no bail, nobody in Rikers, cops not arresting anyone.”

The source added, “All those things equal people walking around on the street with guns, shooting each other.”

Do tell………..

The Anti-Police Rioters Finally Got Me To Buy My First Gun
With weak mayors and powerless police, we have little choice but to take our safety into our own hands.

I bought a gun last weekend. It’s not a purchase I wanted to make, and I pray I never have to use it, but with mayhem recently engulfing cities across the United States, I and many others are biting the bullet and purchasing firearms.

Mine is a Springfield 9mm — something small enough to fit in my nightstand or under my driver’s seat should I have to visit one of America’s many war-torn cities. But it’s powerful enough to do the job.

Continue reading “”

You don’t say……

The Riots and Protests Will Make Gun Ownership More Popular
In their lack of trust and security, people will turn to the Second Amendment

Not in a million years, not if all the nation’s prestigious public-relations firms were mobilized for the cause, could gun manufacturers have conceived of a more effective advertising campaign for their product than the “defund the police” movement.

Of course, realizing that a flagrantly anti-cop message might not sit well with a public still sweeping up shards of glass left by rioters in city centers across the country, Democrats and their media allies moved quickly to temper the movement’s message. But whatever “defund the police” ends up meaning in practice, it highlights a gaping disconnect between the Left’s anti-cop rhetoric and their anti-gun rhetoric about the Second Amendment.

Continue reading “”

Anti-Antifa Movement –
Armed Patriots Guard Entrances To Seattle-Area Neighborhood

What started as peaceful protests two weeks ago in Seattle, Washington quickly turned into a compilation of looting and rioting in the Emerald City and surrounding suburbs. Gov. Jay Inslee activated the National Guard but the Pentagon has told National Guardsmen deployed to the nation’s capital not to use firearms or ammunition, and has issued orders to send home active-duty troops that the Trump administration amassed outside the city in recent days, a sign of de-escalation in the federal response to protests in the city.

Some residents in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue weren’t waiting for authorities to protect them. Video shows several armed citizens standing guard over the entrance to their neighborhood.

In addition to several vehicles they used to block the roadway, at least two of the residents held firearms to further deter anyone intent on causing problems in the neighborhood, the video showed.

Youtube is apparently censoring anything ‘anti antifa’ so the original video is available at the linked article.

Well, Youtoobie reinstated the vid after I buttonholed the idjits to specify the precise problem they had…So:

 US city bans no-knock warrants after woman’s death

The city of Louisville in US state of Kentucky banned “no-knock” warrants Friday after a black woman was killed in her home earlier this year by police, sparking widespread outrage.

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old health care worker, was killed by police in March, shot eight times in her home as police officers and her boyfriend exchanged gunfire while police attempted to carry out a drug sting. The officers requested and were granted a no-knock warrant by a local judge.

The Louisville City Council voted 26-0 to pass what is known as Breonna’s Law on Thursday. It prohibits any local law enforcement from seeking or participating in the execution of a no-knock warrant, which allow officers to enter a premise without prior notification, according to the local WLKY television network.

It further mandates officers wear body cameras while executing a search warrant after the three who fatally shot Taylor did not have them.

Mayor Greg Fischer signed the measure into law on Friday, describing the law as a “victory.”

NSSF: West Palm Beach Mayor’s Gun Ban Exposes Flaw in Florida Law

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) says that West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James’ ban on gun and ammo sales prior to the George Floyd protests exposes a flaw in Florida law.

On June 3, 2020, Breitbart News reported that James banned the sales of guns and ammo as part of a State of Local Emergency, issued in anticipation of riots.

James’ emergency declaration put in a place a 72-hour ban on “the sale of, or offer to sell, with or without consideration, any ammunition or gun or other firearm of any size of [sic] description.”

His declaration also prohibited “the intentional display by or in any store or shop of any ammunition or gun or other firearm of any size or description.”

James’ declaration also banned law-abiding citizens from carrying guns in public places for self-defense.

NSSF Public Affairs Director Mark Oliva said, “According to Florida law, if a local mayor declares a state of emergency, they are required to suspend the sale of firearms and ammunition.” The law is Statute Title XLVI, Chapter 870.

Oliva said, “The actions of the West Palm Beach mayor to declare an emergency exposed a flaw in Florida’s statute that violates the Second Amendment and the constitutionally-protected commerce-in-arms. The ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights and legally defend their lives begins with their ability to approach the gun counter and purchase a firearm.”

He added:

The mayor of West Palm Beach signed an emergency declaration that triggered this denial of his citizens to legally obtain firearms and ammunition, while at the same time he acknowledged through his own declaration there was an emergency that put his citizens’ lives and property at risk. This was signed knowing the police in his city would not be able to respond to emergency calls to protect lives. This is unconscionable that a law would tell citizens that rioting, looting and mayhem is running rampant in the streets of their city and at the same time deny those vulnerable citizens the ability to lawfully obtain the resources they need to defend themselves and their loved ones. The National Shooting Sports Foundation will be working with Florida legislators to propose a change in this law when Florida General Assembly returns to Tallahassee.

As protests continue, lawmakers consider ‘stand your ground’ gun bill

COLUMBUS — During a period of civil unrest over racial injustice, the Ohio House is considering legislation to give gun owners the right to stand their ground in public places and use deadly force in self-defense.

“They just don’t get it, do they?” said former state lawmaker Tom Roberts, president of the Ohio NAACP, which opposes the bill.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, said in a written statement: “By putting the so-called Stand Your Ground or Kill at Will bill on the agenda during a week of chaos and racial unrest, Republican leadership is showing Ohio what their true values and priorities actually are. The decision to hear this bill also tells the thousands of Ohioans who have flooded the streets in towns and cities all over the state that their voices do not matter.”

House Bill 381, co-sponsored by state Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, received a hearing Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, who has the power to block or move any bill, said no decision has been made yet on whether the legislation will get a floor vote this week. He didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Dayton Daily News about Sykes’ criticism.

Rasmussen: Majority Oppose Cutting Local Police Budgets

Only 27 percent of the survey respondents want to reduce police budgets, and 14 percent are undecided, according to Rasmussen.

Sentiments run along party lines, the new report revealed. Republicans are more reluctant than Democrats or Independents to cut police funding, and “those under 40 like the idea a lot more than their elders do.”

Another disturbing revelation of the Rasmussen poll is that 16 percent of Americans think most police officers are racist in the aftermath of Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody May 25. That’s up 10 percent from a year ago, Rasmussen said.

However, 67 percent “still rate the performance of their local police as good or excellent.”

But officials in Minneapolis, Seattle and other cities are joining the anti-police chorus. Minneapolis Council President Lisa Bender told CNN, “We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe.”

In Seattle, Councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda tweeted, “How many people have to call for the police to be defunded before the Mayor embraces radical change?”

She added, “The problem is–the weapons aren’t illegal, the tactics aren’t illegal, the riot gear isn’t illegal. We have allowed them, we have funded them, and that is why WE need to change.”

The Rasmussen survey found other interesting opinions.

“Even among blacks,” Rasmussen said, “only 27% think there are too many cops, although that compares to 15% of whites and 17% of other minority Americans. Blacks (36%) are more enthusiastic than whites (25%) and other minorities (24%) about defunding the police and channeling that money into more social services.”

The survey was conducted June 7-8 by Rasmussen Reports with a+/- 3 percentage point margin of sampling error and a 95 percent level of confidence.

Another revelation is that 77 percent of adults say crime remains a serious problem in the country today with 38 percent saying it is “very serious.”

What happens if police agencies are “de-funded” or dismantled and rebuilt?

According to CNN, what happened in Camden, N.J. might provide a hint. The story noted, “Before its police reforms, Camden was routinely named one of the most violent cities in the US. Now, seven years after the old department was booted (though around 100 officers were rehired), the city’s crime has dropped by close to half. Officers host outdoor parties for residents and knock on doors to introduce themselves. It’s a radically different Camden than it was even a decade ago.”

But will the Camden model work elsewhere?

In some communities, including Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and the cities of Snohomish and Kirkland in neighboring Washington, citizens tried a different approach to fears of violent protest. They turned out in big numbers, visibly armed. It apparently had a deterrent effect, since there have been no problems in any of those communities.

Perhaps a quote in the Spokane Spokesman-Review summed it up.

“I think there are two types of people,” Coeur d’Alene’s Mike Marquardt said. “The good people who are here to get a message across, and we are here to support and protect them. Then there are those who come to take advantage of the situation and cause trouble. We are here to protect against those.”

Auto Defensas Para Mi! (I called it)

If You Want To Know What Disbanding The Police Looks Like, Look At Mexico
The rise of vigilante groups in Mexico offers a hint of what happens when institutions fail and civil society collapses. America should be paying attention.

One of the most visible and insistent demands of the Black Lives Matter movement is the abolition or disbandment of the police—or at the very least defunding them, which taken to the extreme would amount to the same thing. “Abolish the police” has become a rallying cry among protesters and a litmus test for elected officials seeking to ally with them.

What comes after the police have been abolished remains unclear. Protesters and politicians alike are hazy on details, preferring instead to talk about “reimagining public safety” and throwing around vague terms like “community policing.”

Of course, in concrete terms what would happen if a city actually disbanded its police department, as the Minneapolis City Council pledged to do over the weekend, is that the county sheriff’s office or the state police—or perhaps even federal law enforcement—would step into the vacuum and the city would have almost no say in how it was policed or what policies county and state law enforcement agencies adopted.

But let’s say these ultra-progressive municipal governments could get their wish and abolish the police in their cities entirely. What would happen? Inevitably, an armed group would emerge and impose a monopoly on the use of force.

If you want an idea of how that works, look to our southern neighbor, Mexico, where over the past decade endemically corrupt police departments in some areas have been supplanted by autodefensas, or local self-defense militias. But before you get too excited about the prospect of paramilitary autodefensas policing American cities, understand that in Mexico these groups are a mixed bag at best—and at worst they’re not much better than the corrupt local police and cartel gunmen they replaced. More importantly, their mere presence in Mexico was and is a disturbing sign of societal decay…………….

Aside from Minneapolis—where on Saturday the mayor, Jacob Frey, was booed and heckled out of a rally after saying he didn’t support “the full abolition” of the police—cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and Toronto are taking steps to reduce funding for law enforcement, in some cases redirecting tens of millions of dollars to various community programs while slashing police budgets.

Make no mistake, “defund the police” doesn’t mean “reform the police.” It means take the money away, which means fewer police on the street—and in the case of Minneapolis, apparently no municipal police on the street.

That local elected officials would even consider such policies is deeply troubling. America might not be a failing state overrun with drug cartels and corrupt politicians, but it is sliding in the direction of Mexico. We have declining levels of confidence in our institutions and declining levels of trust across society in general. The fabric of our civic life is fraying badly, and calls to abolish the police are a sign of that.

Despite the insistence of the protesters, getting rid of law enforcement won’t usher in a more just or equitable order. But it will invite new arrangements for security, as it did in Mexico. These arrangements, however well-intentioned, will fall prey to the same corruption and unaccountability as the forces they replace, especially if the underlying causes of societal decay are left to fester.

Alan Gottlieb & Dave Workman: Violent city protests justify strong Second Amendment rights

Non-stop news coverage of riots in major cities across the country have suddenly underscored the importance and relevance of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, guaranteeing the ability of private citizens to protect their lives, property, neighborhood businesses and one another from violent anarchists.

Gun sales have spiked upward an estimated 80 percent over the same period last year. New data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation suggests that some 40 percent of all gun buyers in recent weeks were first-timers. They’ve been purchasing semi-auto pistols, semiautomatic modern sporting rifles and shotguns, in that order of preference.

When two looters tried to break into a South Philadelphia gun store, the owner fatally shot one suspect with his Bushmaster semi-auto rifle that gun prohibitionists like to call an “assault weapon.” The other suspect fled.

In Santa Monica, Calif., the owner of a liquor store stood in front of his business with an AR-15 rifle to discourage looters.

In Scottsdale, Arizona, armed citizens gathered at a jewelry store to prevent it from being ransacked.

In Washington state, dozens of armed citizens provided volunteer security to a Bonney Lake business, a commercial district in downtown Snohomish and businesses in Kirkland, outside Seattle. All of those places were alerted that rioters who had trashed downtown Seattle were apparently planning to spread their violence to the suburbs, but armed citizens discouraged them.

Unfortunately, in places such as New York City and Chicago, which have strict anti-gun-rights laws, business owners couldn’t defend their property.

To suggest the Second Amendment is obsolete is indefensible. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many people suddenly remembered the Second Amendment and prepared for the worst. The same principle applies now as we’ve watched small, fragile businesses just beginning to recover from COVID-19 closure orders destroyed by anarchists and looters to whom the name George Floyd — the Minneapolis man whose death sparked national protests — means nothing.

These people aren’t grieving citizens, they’re criminals. They’re not demonstrating against police brutality, they’re exploiting a tragedy to fulfill a wanton need to destroy and loot, and they are organized. Where they may get away with it because police may be under orders to use minimum force, that’s not a certainty when confronted by armed citizens, and they know it. There is a significant deterrent effect with an armed populace.

Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd observed, “The people in Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns…”

The Second Amendment is, and always has been, designed to provide law-abiding citizens with the means to defend themselves during emergencies. America’s cities are under attack and the public has a right to defend their lives and property. The Second Amendment makes that possible.

COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO STANDS UP…ANTIFA STANDS DOWN!

If you ventured to downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho last night you would think you had entered a Militia family reunion. No one has an accurate count of how many heavily armed citizens came out to support peaceful protestors and protect local businesses and citizens against shipped in ANTIFA members but it was certainly HUNDREDS, perhaps over a THOUSAND.

“We just drove downtown Coeur d’Alene. It is packed with armed citizens. I’ve never seen so many AR-15s in my life. There’s at least a thousand armed citizens walking on the sidewalks and the streets are packed with cars and trucks with guys in the back with AR-15 and American flags everywhere. We saw two protesters wearing their little black clothing and black masks and sitting on a step quietly with their little poster board sign saying “our system sucks!” Guess why they’re being so polite.”~Keith Gibson, Coeur d’Alene resident.

Word got out that ANTIFA was going to ship in rioters to mingle with peaceful protestors in our quiet little town…and indeed they did as several white Mercedes vans were seen with dozens of people that didn’t belong in our community. It was also made known that they were planning to use the local WINCO store as their staging ground. After learning this, a well organized local group of concerned citizens set up a post in the parking lot to ensure that these unwelcomed invaders clearly understood that the citizens of Coeur d’Alene would have ZERO tolerance for any type of violence or destructive behavior in our town.

Concerned Citizen removing crowbar from ANTIFA member

Don’t tell me you’re peaceful and bring a crowbar to a protest…. not in our town… Was happy to remove it from their possession as we escorted him to his vehicle [ and just to clarify the guy in the beard handed me the crow bar when I requested it, His name is Sam and he did get that guy to leave ] Brett Surplus, Coeur d’Alene resident

The downtown area of Coeur d’Alene, Id was wall to wall with armed citizens, who protected the city for the entire night. Many had posts directly in front of local businesses while others walked the sidewalks making their powerful presence known…………

Thankfully, more people see the pro-gun control intellectual’s vacuous vapidity, and basically are telling them where to go and how to get there.

2 Million First-Time Gun Owners in First Half of 2020 Alone

As concerns over self-defense became more pronounced in 2020, initially during the cornonavirus hysteria and then during the current spate of protests and riots, two million Americans became first-time gun owners.

Earlier this week Breitbart News reported that May 2020 shattered the record for the number of National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) checks performed in a given May. FBI numbers show 3,091,455 NICS checks were conducted in May 2020, easily surpassing the previous record of 2,349,309 checks set in May 2019 and dominating the numbers from any other May since records began to be kept in May 1999.

Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting reported that May 2020 gun sales were up 80 percent over sales in May 2019, and they explained the vast majority of the guns sold were handguns. This suggests self-defense is of paramount concern for gun buyers.

Breitbart News reported March and April 2020 both set records for NICS background checks as well.

The number of checks conducted in March 2020 was so high it was not only a record for March but a record for any single month, period. The most checks for any month since the NICS system was adopted in 1998.

Americans are choosing guns rather than gun control.

Auto Defensas Para Mi!™ ( I oughta get some T-Shirts printed up with that)
Families in Florida guard their neighborhood, some with the dreaded AR-15 *gasp* Horrors! Zut Alors!,  and the milquetoast press have the vapors.

Vigilante residents wield their rifles as they block their street in Florida to guard against looters

A group of residents including children held rifles and other weapons as they blocked their road to ‘guard it from looters’.

Footage of the group, who were standing next to their cars to block the street, was posted on website LiveLeak and appears to have been filmed in Belleview, Florida.

The residents were allegedly guarding their street to stop looters after stores in many parts of the country were raided during nationwide unrest caused by the death of black man George Floyd.

The video of the guarding residents was filmed by a family in a passing car.

They are seen driving past them before using a roundabout to drive back the other way.

The group, who number at least 12, are standing next to their cars and some are holding rifles.

One man is wearing a military-style helmet, combat boots and pants and is holding a rifle.

As the family pass the residents, an older woman in the car says, ‘he has a gun in the black shirt’ as she refers to the man in the helmet.

A girl in the car then adds: ‘This is in Belleview.’

The residents were allegedly guarding their street to stop looters after stores in many parts of the country were raided during nationwide unrest caused by the death of black man George Floyd

Changing Your Carry Depending on Your Environment

Change. We’re in the middle of it. Millions of people have purchased their first guns over the last few months. Riots, looting, theft, attacks, murders. We see it daily on the news. Smart people know, or have just realized, that the police can’t be everywhere, and it highly unlikely they will be close when you are attacked.

You are your own first responder. Are you prepared?

Trainers across the country are being flooded with calls asking for private lessons. That’s good.

Let me explain something that’s not obvious to new gun owners, but which can make a big difference in your ability to have a self-defense handgun with you. It requires change.  Specifically, it means you have to change your handgun as conditions change.

I’ve been carrying a pistol since about 1976. Big guns and small guns, big calibers and small calibers, double stack and single stack, short barrels and longish barrels, revolvers and autoloaders. Why so many types?

There is no one handgun that works for every situation.

You have many types of footwear so that you can have the right function for each activity. Tennis shoes, dress shoes, casual shoes, hunting boots, rubber boots, slippers, etc.

Once you get into carrying you quickly realize the need for various sizes of handguns.

Let me give examples of what I have carried, using just one gun manufacturer. I have carried Springfield Armory pistols for many years. I recently bought the XDm 4.5-inch barrel model in 10mm. Why? Because sometimes I’m in the woods where bears, mountain lions, and wolves live. I really like the idea of having 15 rounds in the magazine of special (deep-penetrating) 10mm ammo with me. It’s a full-size pistol, and it is not light weight when fully loaded. That’s okay because I use a good gun belt and a good holster to handle the weight.

But that’s not what I would carry in most concealed carry situations. For that, I often have opted for two Springfields. The XDs single stack is a dream. Slim, great trigger, and you can get a 10-round mag. Honestly, it’s just hard to go wrong there. I can conceal it when wearing almost anything, especially when I use a tuckable holster. I’ll admit, though, that I like the idea of more ammo, so I have more often carried my XDm 3.8 Compact (now discontinued). The logical replacement for that pistol is the even smaller Hellcat in 9mm, and I’d use the 13-round mag as standard. It’s incredibly small and easy to carry.

When I’m going to spend several days at a shooting school, I’ll opt for a full-size 9mm. Easier to shoot. Ammo is fairly inexpensive. I would go for the XD-M Elite 4.5 and a bag full of magazines.

Now, if you are into style, you might just want to add a sweet 1911 to the mix.  Every serious handgunner needs at least one, and after the first magazine of ammo, you’ll fall in love with the trigger. If I could have only one 1911 from the Springfield line, I just might go for the new Ronin Operator in 9mm.

You match the gun to the situation. Where are you carrying? What kind of clothes? Open carry or concealed carry? Just a cover garment or deep concealment? What’s your body type? Pocket carry?

Experienced gun folks know we must change guns from time to time. This example was just using one brand. You can mix and match, of course. You might want to have a revolver in the mix. Just don’t get locked into the idea that now you have “the” gun you need.

Oh, and put serious time and money (!) into the best training you can afford.  A shiny new gun will never replace the vital skills you get from serious instruction.

Be safe. Be kind. Stay dangerous. ~ Tom

Tom Gresham

Liberal politicians who order police to stand down are the same people who want to ban guns

By John R. Lott Jr. –

Minneapolis and other major cities have finally re-opened, at least to looters and arsonists. For three days, police in Minneapolis and St. Paul were ordered to stand down as rioters destroyed their cities. In New York City and Washington, D.C., on Monday night, police stood by as looters destroyed parts of those cities.

The same politicians who ordered police to stand down and released prison inmates are the same people who want to ban guns. These politicians prevent citizens from protecting themselves, at a time when police protection cannot be depended on.

For three days, police in Minneapolis and St. Paul were ordered to stand down as rioters destroyed their cities. Sadly, so many of the victims of this violence have been blacks. Black store owners have lost their businesses. In these heavily black areas, blacks will lose their jobs. Black shoppers worry they “have nowhere to go now.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said it’d be “ridiculous” to break up demonstrators who violate crowd-size rules for the coronavirus. The president of the NAACP is asking police nationwide to stand down to preserve the peace.

In Minnesota, you face a $25,000 fine if you open your business during the current COVID-19 lockdown, but criminals effectively have immunity. The few who were arrested for violent acts in Minneapolis were quickly bailed out of jail with financial help from Joe Biden’s presidential campaign staffers.

As of Sunday morning, more than 255 businesses had been destroyed in the Twin Cities. The looting was extensive. Many large companies have reported that they are “temporarily or indefinitely closed.” Officers even abandoned their own police station, which was then set on fire by protesters.

Across the country, police have had orders to stand down.

“Tonight, I watched Seattle burn. Seattle is dying, by fire, looting, weakness of the political leadership,” wrote Seattle KVI radio talk-show host Kirby Wilbur. “We watched on TV as our law enforcement stood by while vandalism, looting, assaults, pure chaos reigned in the streets of our downtown business district.”

But the violence in Minneapolis would have been much worse if people hadn’t been able to defend themselves and their businesses with guns. As The Wall Street Journal reported, “African-American owners of GM Tobacco told me they were armed and ready to protect their business — and that they stand in solidarity with those who seek justice for [George] Floyd.” Visible from the front of the store was Minneapolis’ Third Police Precinct, which rioters set on fire.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. People may remember the Korean store owners who successfully used semi-automatic rifles to protect their businesses during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

One searches in vain for Democratic politicians who have reprimanded the rioters. On Saturday, after several nights of riots, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, egged on demonstrators by calling for a continuation of the “righteous protests” and necessary routing out of the “racism” that she said is endemic in Minnesota.

Twitter didn’t seem to mind incitement to violence by liberals such as Colin Kaepernick. He tweeted that “revolting is the only logical reaction. … We have the right to fight back!” Others on Twitter are calling for “a violent rebellion against an entire system.”

Democrats in Minnesota have been forceful advocates for gun control. Mr. Walz and Mrs. Smith have been strongly endorsed by Michael Bloomberg’s gun-control organization, Moms Demand Action. They have supported banning some semi-automatic guns based solely on superficial appearance. They also support limits on magazine sizes.

Especially in a riot, semi-automatic firearms that reload automatically are much more useful for self-defense than are single-shot weapons. Hopefully, the presence of a gun by itself will deter an attack, but if you have to open fire it will be a big help to not have to constantly manually reload.

My research shows that police are the single most important factor in deterring violent crime. But the riots have shown yet again that politicians frequently won’t let the police do their jobs when they are most needed.

The riots have shown several things that liberal politicians don’t seem to understand. The police themselves know that they normally arrive on the scene after the crime has occurred, and that having a gun is by far the safest course of action when you are confronted by a criminal. It is also the most vulnerable in our society — namely blacks who live in high-crime cities — who benefit the most from having the option to be able to defend themselves.

Bedford County Supervisors OK militia resolution

The Bedford County  (VA) Board of Supervisors approved a resolution at its Tuesday, May 26, meeting recognizing a militia within Bedford County, pursuant to the Second Amendment.

When questioned who was over the Bedford County militia, Chairmen John Sharp of District 4 said that the board was not over it. He also said that it’s a formal recognition that they have a right to exist.

“Unless there is some constitutional reason why they can’t own a firearm, I don’t have an issue with it,” said Sharp.

He said it’s like a move on a chessboard, and that they are playing chess with Richmond right now.