Category: Safety

 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.”

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.

‘1992 Roof Koreans’ segue into ‘2020 Roof Mexicans’
And we now come to the times when Americans have their own version of ‘Auto Defensas‘, which, when you get right down to it, isn’t such a bad idea anyway.

Armed Neighborhood Groups Form In The Absence Of Police Protection

Cesia Baires knocks on the three apartment doors above her restaurant and a neighboring taqueria just before curfew.

A woman opens the door. Her two young children are inside.

“Remember,” she says to them in Spanish. “Same thing as yesterday. I’m going to come check on you. If there’s anything you guys need, give us a call right away.”

Meanwhile, a few men climb through the window and on to the roof to set up semi-automatic weapons as the curfew begins in Minneapolis. It’s something Baires never thought she would have to do as a small-business owner, but then she found out these apartments were occupied.

“Material things we can replace, that’s true,” she says. “But there are families up here. These aren’t empty buildings.”

As break-ins and fires raged in the first days of mass protests over the killing of yet another black man in an encounter with police, the city seemed to descend into a security vacuum. She says the police disappeared from this neighborhood. That’s when she and others started forming patrols to include people with licensed weapons.

“I’m the one that’s checking everyone,” she says. “If you’re up here with a gun and you’re not supposed to be here and you don’t have a license to carry, then I don’t allow you to even go to the rooftop. Only people with guns are on the rooftop.”

But is this a path to vigilante justice?

“It’s not something that I would want, but we’ve seen how, for at least the first couple days, we were left alone,” she says. “There were no cops that would come around. So what are we to do? Just stand there and do nothing?”

Her group — Security Latinos De La Lake — is one of many neighborhood watch groups sprouting up across the Twin Cities and in other parts of the country as dozens of mostly peaceful protests continue every day, sometimes in the face of violence from law enforcement: tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. The Twin Cities have largely calmed, but Baires says she wasn’t even able to get through to 911 until Monday.

When asked about the lack of police presence, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department said in an email that the department is facing an “unprecedented situation.” He added that citizens who need help should call 911. The department is also aware of these neighborhood groups. In fact, the police chief and officers have met with some, and the department is not concerned as long as they’re following the law………..

 

This Is Why We Need Guns

Defending their lives and their property as they see fit is exactly what those who have been abandoned by the authorities are doing in droves.

‘Only the cops need guns” simply could not live forever alongside, “The cops are racist and will kill you.” And so, at long last, the two circles of the Venn Diagram have filed for an amicable divorce. In the end, the differences proved irreconcilable.

At least, they proved irreconcilable without descending into farce. I have been told more times that I can count that “if you want to own an AR-15, you should join the army or the police.” Oh, really. Why? So that I can be pulled back when the rioting starts, lest I inflame those wielding bricks and Molotov cocktails? So that I can be called a fascist, acting in the service of a dictator? So that I can be part of the problem? In light of the new fashions, these old injunctions look rather silly, don’t they? “You don’t need 15 rounds; you’re not a cop! Also, the police are corrupt from top to bottom, and should probably be abolished.”

Pick one, perhaps?

In The New Republic, Matt Ford argues that the police were a mistake per se. They have, Ford writes, “become the standing armies that the Founders feared.” As it happens, unreconstructed small-r republican that I am, I have more sympathy for this idea than many might expect. But I’m sure as hell not going to entertain it at the same time as I subordinate my unalienable right to bear arms to the personal prejudices of the bureaucracy and commentariat. Don’t call the cops! Also, wait three months for a gun permit! Again: Pick one.

In any case, the idea that the existence of police officers in some way negates the right to bear arms has always been a ridiculous one. Police are an auxiliary force that we hire to do a particular job — there to supplement, not to replace, my rights and responsibilities. Every time we debate gun control in the United States, I am informed that the Sheriff of Whatever County is opposed to liberalization. To which I always think, “So what?” My right to keep and bear arms is merely the practical expression of my underlying right to self-defense. That, as a polity, we have decided to hire certain people to take the first shot at keeping the peace is fine. But it has no bearing on my liberties.

Happily, defending their lives and their property as they see fit is exactly what those who have been abandoned by the authorities are doing in droves. Like father, like son, we have seen the return of the Rooftop Koreans — supplemented, this time, by Rooftop African-Americans, Rooftop Hispanics, Rooftop Pakistanis, and the rest. The NAACP is helping to organize armed patrols of minority-owned business. Gun sales are up by a staggering 80 percent over this time last year. During the coronavirus lockdown, there was a public debate over whether gun stores should be deemed “essential.” During this outbreak of rioting, such an inquiry seems quaint. Now, as ever, there is no greater prophylactic against a criminal on the rampage than a loaded firearm in the hands of a free man.

“America has a gun problem,” they said.

We‘ve had the gun control narrative screamed at us like crazy for over a decade. Americans cannot be trusted with firearms & would likely “shoot first” in all kinds of situations, especially those they perceive as threatening. 1/

And definitely those that involve minorities. Trigger happy & whatnot. The gun situation is obviously highly dangerous, right? Well American cities are knee deep in protests, riots, & destruction. Yet shootings in response are crazy low. 2/

If ever there was a time such irresponsible, gun wielding Americans would go nuts, it would be now. And yet…that’s not the case. Thousands have taken to their businesses & streets armed to deter, but few have needed to or been willing to engage their firearms. 3/

What is going on? If it was a gun problem & reckless American problem, would we not have bodies piling up? We don’t, because what many of has said repeatedly is true. Use of lethal force is the LAST resort & even in the face of chaos & destruction, we are hesitant to use it. 4/

If the media & Dem narrative about guns & their owners were true, it would be a fucking bloodbath. Yes, people are deterring looters with armed defenders. Yes, the suburbs are doing the same. But no one is willy nilly shooting people, even bad actors. 5/

Even all those Bubba MAGAs who are “muh rebel flag, muh gun” wielding racists, who we were told would are dangerous af & would shoot POC without provocation, are not rounding up their boys to do…anything. 6/

If a lot of this is truly white supremacist infiltration & they intend to fuel the mayhem, why would they not be loading trucks armed with their AR-15s to go intimidate & impose their will? To gun down abusers & get their own kind of justice? 7/

All of this completely betrays the anti-gun argument that citizens cannot be trusted with foreakrs. It’s amazing how so many blue checks & others, once shitstorms came to their neighborhoods, are admitting that they are now looking into armed self defense. 8/

“Just call 911.” Welp, they are overwhelmed & telling people to fend for themselves given the current strife. “Just call the police.” The same police you have deemed racist & inadequate? “Only police & military should be armed.” How is that working out, y’all? 9/

No. You are the only one that is responsible for and can be held accountable to your family, friends, & property. Do what you must. I hope you are armed. fin/

 

Louisiana: Package of Pro-Gun Bills Heads to the Governor’s Desk

Four pro-gun bills have been passed by the Louisiana Legislature and will now be sent to the desk of Governor John Bel Edwards for his signature.

House Bill 746, sponsored by Rep. Ray Garofalo, allows those who lawfully possess a firearm to carry concealed for self-defense during a mandatory evacuation under a declared state of emergency or disaster.

House Bill 781, sponsored by Rep. Blake Miguez, establishes that firearms and ammunition manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers are “Essential Businesses” that shall not be prohibited from conducting business during a declared disaster or emergency.  HB 781 further prevents law-abiding gun owners’ rights from being infringed during proclaimed curfews.

House Bill 140, sponsored by Rep. Blake Miguez, prevents local authorities and municipalities from imposing restrictions to prohibit the possession of a firearm.  Preemption legislation is designed to stop municipalities from creating a patchwork of different laws that turn a law-abiding citizen into a criminal for simply crossing a jurisdictional line.

House Bill 334, sponsored by Reps. Bryan Fontenot, Blake Miguez and Charles Owen, authorizes a concealed handgun permit holder to carry a concealed handgun in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other similar place of worship, with permission from church leadership.

Anti-gunners Quiet as Armed Citizens Protect Businesses, Communities

These armed citizens showed up to provide security to a store in Minneapolis during the disturbances over the death of Gerald Floyd. (Screen snip, YouTube, The First)

Gun prohibition lobbying groups have been noticeably silent in the wake of reports from around the country that armed citizens are fighting back against rioters and looters exploiting the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, turning out to protect their neighborhoods, and business districts.

When a South Philadelphia gun shop owner fatally shot a man trying to break into his store early Tuesday morning, WCAU News reported it happened “amid heightened looting concerns.”

The fatal shooting might be a warning to a criminal element that has hijacked public demonstrations over the Floyd incident, for which four Minneapolis officers have been fired and one has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Instead of peacefully protesting, criminals and anarchists have looting and pillaging across the map, leaving large metropolitan areas in shambles, if not ashes, and now it appears some good people have had enough and they are visibly arming to fight back.

Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida stated publicly, “The people in Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns… And if you try to break into their homes to steal, to set fires, I’m highly recommending they blow you back out of the house with their guns.”

In Lynchburg, Va., armed citizens have been providing volunteer security to a restaurant in their city, according to WSLS.

Out in Washington State, armed citizens have appeared to provide voluntary security to a Bonney Lake gun shop, a commercial district in downtown Snohomish and businesses in Kirkland, located northeast of Seattle. These appearances have not been designed to incite violence, but to deter people intent on committing violent acts. So far, it appears to be working. Credible threats of mob violence in Kirkland and Snohomish haven’t materialized.

Through it all, anti-gun-rights organizations have been remarkably silent. The exception came Monday from anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, which tried to portray their gun prohibition crusade as a battle against racism.

“The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, and the countless other murders of Black people in the United States that don’t make headlines are beyond heartbreaking,” Everytown’s fund raising message begins.

“For generations, Black and brown communities have been dying at the hands of all forms of racism and white supremacy, and have also been the disproportionate victims of gun violence – including by the police,” the narrative continues. “The racist and senseless murders we’ve seen across the country are horrific and inexcusable, as are the President’s reckless, racist, and incendiary calls for additional violence.

“Our mission to end gun violence is linked to a crisis that is centuries older – systemic racism,” the gun control group’s message contends. “Black lives matter, and we must do everything in our power to dismantle anti-Black racism and white supremacy. We are learning from and listening to Black and brown led organizations across the country. We are supporting organizations – particularly those led by Black people and other people of color – committed to ending gun violence and the impact of racial injustice.

“In solidarity with the organizations leading the fight against racism and white supremacy,” the message declares, “we ask, if you are able, to support groups that are working locally at the intersection of racial justice and gun violence prevention…”

But not a peep about armed citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights to discourage looters and rioters; their silence, some activists suggest, is deafening.

Melissa Denny, owner at Pistol Annie’s Jewelry & Pawn in Bonney Lake, Wash., a community southeast of Tacoma, posted on Facebook that armed volunteers had appeared at her business.

Meanwhile, it appears, no similar volunteer effort has been mounted by the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility.

As noted recently by AmmoLand News, Nicholas Murray Butler, once president of Columbia University, observed in 1931, “The vast population of this earth, and indeed nations themselves, may readily be divided into three groups. There are the few who make things happen, the many more who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens.”

Armed citizens are literally making things happen by preventing things from happening, while the reaction from the gun control lobby has been crickets.

Savage Beating During Dallas Riot Illustrates Why We Defend Second Amendment.

Gun control activists don’t really see the point of guns, at least for the most part. Quite a few will work to curtail your ability to purchase a gun but have no qualms about owning them themselves. It’s different when they buy guns, after all, because they’re all good and pure and stuff.

However, they will often question you about why you have a gun, whether you’re carrying at the moment or whether it’s your AR-15 at home in the safe.

“Why do you think you need something like that?” they ask.

Well, because stuff like this can happen (some might find the following video disturbing):

I’ve personally seen this video, which comes from a riot in Dallas over the weekend, from a couple of different angles. This was reportedly a man who was trying to protect his business from looters, and we see how that worked out for him.  Some reports claim he had some kind of a bladed weapon, like a machete, but all seem to agree that he didn’t have a firearm.

It’s my understanding that, despite appearances to the contrary, the individual pictured here survived.

That said, it’s absolutely awful what we’re seeing all over the country right now. What happened to George Floyd was an absolute tragedy and from what I’ve seen, it never should have happened.

However, how does this help?

Unfortunately, if people don’t have the means to defend their property and, more importantly, their own lives, some predatory jackwagons are going to do what they want in a case like this. It’s important to note that rioters don’t actually care all that much about George Floyd. Oh, their outrage may have brought them out to what were supposed to be protests, but that’s not what it became about. It became about seeing how much they could take from people who had nothing to do with any of this.

Yet, let’s imagine if that man in the video had been armed with an AR-15. With a 30-round magazine, he’d have clearly been able to engage any and all of his attackers. Likely, though, he wouldn’t have needed to. Instead, the rioting turdnuggets would have seen the weapon and decided to look for an easier target.

While that sucks because it means someone else is going to be victimized, it’s also the best you can do. If every store owner had an AR-15 handy during a riot, I somehow suspect that looting would become a relic of the past.

Let’s just call it a hunch.

Well, maybe they’ll go into vapor lock?

Trump’s Mere Mention of the Second Amendment Sent Progressives Off the Deep End

During President Donald Trump’s nationwide address on Monday evening, he announced his intent to use all federal resources to help stop the rioting and looting that’s taking place across the country. He also mentioned that he would protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, including the right to keep and bear arms. Naturally, progressives and those who hate the Second Amendment were up in arms over the mention of the Second Amendment….

Here’s what these folks fail to understand: the Second Amendment is there to protect our freedoms, including our First Amendment rights, but it’s also there for self-defense.

Oh, they understand that alright. They just don’t like the idea that people they disagree with and don’t like can tell them where to go and what to do with their brand of politics…and make it stick.

Relying on cops to protect you when they’re trying to keep rioters from looting and literally burning down cities, it’s up to you to protect yourself, your family and your property. Even when there aren’t massive riots taking place across the country, it can take cops minutes, sometimes even hours, to arrive to a person’s call for help (depending on where they live and how well-staffed their police and/or sheriff’s department is).