Category: Safety

1st-Time Gun Ownership Reportedly Spikes as Anti-Gunners Realize 2nd Amendment Freedom Is Vital

Leave it to a worldwide existential crisis to align moral values.

As toilet paper and hand sanitizer fly from store shelves, be certain to count something else in, as well: guns. Lots of guns.

According to one report, gun sales have dramatically increased.

And what’s more, so have gun sales to first-time buyers.

“I’ve sold 12 handguns in two hours,” Gabriel Vaughn of Sportman’s Arms in Petaluma, California, told KTVU.

“People that tell me that they don’t like guns, but they’re here to begrudgingly buy one,” Vaughn said. “If it makes somebody feel safe, sure, and they’re legal to own one, then sure.”

Ammunition sales are also spiking. According to Yahoo Finance, sales at Ammo.com are up by 68 percent. Alex Horsman, Ammo.com’s marketing manager, knows why.

“We know certain things impact ammo sales, mostly political events or economic instability when people feel their rights may end up infringed,” Horsman said. “But this is our first experience with a virus leading to such a boost in sales.”

“A lot of our customers like to be prepared. And for many of them, it’s not just face masks and Theraflu. It’s knowing that no matter what happens, they can keep themselves and their families safe.”

Exactly.

Sometimes it takes a crisis that puts everyone at risk for folks to rediscover fundamental moral values — like having the means to protect themselves and others.

These values are so intrinsic to our humanity that they made their way into America’s founding documents, namely the Constitution.

Under uncertain, stressful conditions, plenty of folks come to a conclusion they might not have reached otherwise: It’s best not to take chances.

In other words, firearms are just as essential to a family’s crisis supplies as water, foodstuffs and medicine…………

Why I Bought AR-15s for My Sons

According to the Washington Post, 91% of Trump coverage by the three broadcast networks, which include ABC, is negative.  When a right-wing lunatic massacred people of Mexican descent at an El Paso Walmart in August 2019, the networks blamed the attack on Trump’s “hateful” rhetoric about immigrants.

ABC News promptly produced a story to support the mainstream media’s narrative that violence by Trump-supporters had reached epidemic proportions.  Twisting itself into a pretzel in an attempt to justify the charge, the network scoured the country for instances where bad apples among the 63 million people who voted for Trump perpetrated violence allegedly inspired by him.  After an exhaustive search, ABC News came up with a grand total of 36 violent crimes where Trump’s name was invoked.

Some quick math: 36 bad apples divided by 63 million Trump voters equals 0.0000005.  In other words, ABC News hyped a story about violent acts allegedly perpetrated by zero point zero zero zero zero five percent of Trump’s supporters.  That’s five hundred-thousandths of one percent.  Some epidemic.

If ABC News ever decides to do a connect-the-dots story about Democrat bad apples who commit political violence, here are a few examples they can include:

The deranged 24-year-old who murdered nine people in Dayton, Ohio was an Elizabeth Warren–supporter who had been incited by the Democratic Party to hate Republicans, ICE, and the police.

Having been taught to hate Republicans, a Bernie Sanders–supporter shot and nearly killed GOP rep. Steve Scalise.

After Rep. Scalise was shot, Republican rep. Claudia Tenney received an email that read, “One down, 216 to go.”

Seventy-one-year-old female staffer for California GOP rep. Dana Rohrabacher was knocked unconscious by Trump-hating Democrats during a protest outside Rohrabacher’s office.

The FBI arrested man for threatening to assassinate Republican rep. Martha McSally over her support for Trump.

Trump-hating Democrats threatened the children of ICE contractor’s employees.

Trump-hating Democrats fired multiple shots through the window of a San Antonio ICE office in a targeted attack against the agency that enforces nation’s immigration laws.

Trump-hating Democrats angrily confronted DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a D.C. restaurant.

According to a hidden camera investigation, Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC sent paid protesters to incite violence at Trump events.

A Trump-hating Democrat waitress in Chicago spat in Eric Trump’s face.

Peter Fonda: “Trump’s 12-year-old son should be ripped from his mother’s arms and put in a cage with pedophiles.”

A Democrat college professor was arrested for beating Trump-supporters with a U-shaped bike lock.

A tweet by a Democrat front group promoted the gruesome murder of ICE agents with step-by-step instructions:

A hate-filled Democrat threatened to kill Trump-supporters at the re-election headquarters of his GOP congressman.

“I’ll f— you up!”: A Democrat instructor assaulted conservative students at anti-Trump campus protest.

Trump-hating Democrats terrified Tucker Carlson’s wife and children at home while he was at work: “Tucker Carlson, we will fight!  We know where you sleep at night!”

A 17-year-old girl was punched in the face by Trump-hating Democrat.

A decapitated animal carcass left on the porch of a DHS staffer.

A car with a Trump bumper sticker was spray-painted and its tires slashed.

A pickup truck with Trump stickers was made a total loss after being set on fire.

A minority man was pummeled in the face for wearing a MAGA baseball cap.

A Trump-supporting immigrant from Africa was beaten by Trump-hating Democrats.

A Trump-supporter was knocked unconscious by Democrat protesters.

WATCH: A white Democrat slaps the MAGA hat off the head of a black man.

WATCH: A black Democrat rips the MAGA hat from a 16-year-old’s head and throws a soft drink in his face.

A student carrying a Trump flag was beaten by eight Trump-hating classmates.

An elementary school student was beaten by classmates over voting for Trump in a mock election.

A Trump-hating student yelled, “You support Trump!  You hate Mexicans!” at a female classmate before ripping her victim’s earrings off.

A black man in a MAGA hat was called a “n—–” by Cheesecake Factory employees.

Trump-hating Democrats assaulted two women wearing MAGA hats.

A 19-year-old Democrat threw an 81-year-old man wearing a MAGA hat to the ground.

WATCH: A Black Trump supporter was sucker-punched in the face by a white Democrat.

A hate-filled Democrat was arrested for ramming a truck into a Trump voter registration tent filled with volunteers.

A 34-year-old Democrat was arrested for assaulting a 15-year-old Trump-supporter at a polling site.

A Trump-supporter in New Jersey was attacked with a crowbar.

To whatever extent the journalistically corrupt networks reported any of the above incidents, the coverage was fleeting at best, and not once, to the best of my knowledge, have they ever “connected the dots” of such violent incidents, as ABC News did in its political hit job on Trump.

What has happened to the modern Democratic Party?

Just days after the 2016 election, six members of the Democrat front group Red Guards/Austin were arrested for violent attacks on supporters of President Trump.  The six communist revolutionaries are pictured below in booking photos taken by the Austin Police Department.

A few weeks later, after Trump took office, a nighttime protest by Occupy Oakland, another Democrat front group, called on Trump’s opponents to “Become Ungovernable” by inciting chaos across America.  A tweet by the communist group boasted this: “We won this night.  We will liberate this land.  We will fight fascists.  We will dismantle the state.  This is war.”  And war is exactly what was declared by the Democratic Party’s “resistance” to a lawfully elected president, a war on our constitutional system of electing the country’s leader.  Dating to the time Donald Trump became the GOP nominee, the Democratic Party has given a wink and a nod to Red Guards Austin, Occupy Oakland, and every other communist group in America to violently act out hatred not only against Trump, but his supporters as well.

Here’s why I bought AR-15s for my sons: when Lenin was asked how the Bolsheviks planned to keep the Russian masses from listening to counterrevolutionaries, he replied in so many words, “We must teach our followers to direct unbridled hatred toward our opponents.”  A half-century later, Saul Alinsky taught Lenin’s “teach them to hate” strategy to the post-1960s Democratic Party, which turned it into an art form.

In August 2016, before Trump was even elected, frenzied rank-and-file Democrats in Minnesota put Lenin’s strategy into practice by repeatedly punching an elderly man in the kidney and spitting on other attendees who were forced to walk a gauntlet of political hatred as they left a Trump fundraiser in Minneapolis.  Please take 30 seconds to watch how successful the Democratic Party has been at inciting its followers to direct seething hatred toward Republicans.

To the best of my knowledge, not a single prominent Democrat forcefully condemned the outrageous incident in Minneapolis, or hundreds upon thousands of others like it.  And why would they?  With invaluable help from the Clinton campaign and the DNC, their own “resistance” movement has intentionally incited anti-Trump violence at every turn.

When a political party teaches its followers to hate the other side, things are not likely to end well.  If Trump is re-elected, I fear that the party of Marx, Lenin, Alinsky, and Obama will quietly turn loose its dogs of war in a seditious attempt to destabilize America, to make it “ungovernable” until Democrats regain power.  If that happens, widespread anarchy will follow.  And that’s why I bought my law-abiding sons AR-15s and enough ammunition to defend themselves — and their country — against a possible bloody insurrection incited by a once-honorable party that has betrayed the constitutional republic it swore to protect and defend.

Anthony Fauci says coronavirus crisis could last 8 weeks

In a series of interviews with Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, Fauci gave his bleak assessment of what is still to come

White House coronavirus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday morning that the current state of crisis in the US would last for two months and that ‘it’s all on the table’ in terms of how much more severe things may become.

In a series of interviews with Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, Fauci gave his bleak assessment of what is still to come.

‘It’s certainly going to get worse before it gets better…there’s no doubt we have not peaked yet,’ he said.

Asked directly if America was heading towards a complete shutdown like China and Italy, he would not rule it out.

‘I’m not sure we’re going to get to that.

‘I think that would be really rather dramatic, but I can tell you that all things are on the table.

‘We just have to respond as things evolve over the days and the weeks,’ he said.

There has been a dramatic shift in tone from the government in the last several days.

At the start of the week, President Trump was advising Americans not to panic and even said the virus would ‘go away’.

He then shut the border to Europeans, and said on Thursday that even US citizens who test positive for the virus would not be allowed to come home.

Fauci’s prediction was that there will be at least another several weeks of the current mode of crisis, but that it could last up to two months.

‘It will be at least a matter of several weeks. It’s unpredictable, but if you look at historically how these things work, it will likely be anywhere from a few weeks to up to eight weeks.

It’s Not Just Food And Hand Sanitizer — Panicked Coronavirus Shoppers Are Stocking Up On Guns And Body Armor

I remember someone opining that since concealable body armor (not the ‘tactical’ plate carriers and IBA gear but the level II stuff that will stop the vast majority of handgun rounds, although the former does have a place in the inventory), was so available these days, that many people ought to take into account that people bent on mayhem will probably be wearing it (think ‘Smite Them Hip and Thigh‘ people) and should also consider getting it themselves depending on where they lived.

Stores across the country selling ballistic body armor, tactical gear, and firearms are seeing a huge increase in sales due to the worsening coronavirus outbreak in the US………

“I think with the way things have escalated quite quickly around the world and in the US in just the last couple of weeks, it’s very hard to tell what’s going to happen next, and I believe it is better to be safe than sorry,” Kevin Lim, the owner of Bulletproof Zone, a tactical gear retailer, told BuzzFeed News. “That’s what our business is about, after all, keeping people safe.”

According to Matt Materazo, the founder of Gladiator Solutions, a ballistic body armor and tactical outfitting store, the coronavirus outbreak has changed the kind of orders his store has received. He said typically the majority of his business has been big bulk orders from the law enforcement and the first responder communities. Now, it’s a lot of small orders.

“We don’t usually get these one, two sales,” he told BuzzFeed News. “They’re not particularly preppers, they’re people who are seeing what’s going on and saying to themselves, ‘where is this going?’”

Materazo wouldn’t share specific sales numbers, but said the increase has been considerable. “I do of course get a certain amount of my business from the prepper community, but the majority of the uptick isn’t coming from the prepper community, it’s the general civilian population,” he said.

The surge in interest around tactical gear due to the outbreak is happening across the country. Many of the stores BuzzFeed News reached out to had posted messages on their websites apologizing for longer-than-normal wait times due to higher-than-usual demand.

Coronavirus drives gun sales in San Gabriel Valley area among Asian Americans who fear being attacked

Gun sales in the San Gabriel Valley, a region east of Los Angeles, have soared in recent weeks among Asian Americans who fear being attacked over the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to reports.

Attacks on Asian Americans have been on the rise amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Earlier this month, a video emerged on Facebook of a man on a New York City subway spraying Febreze at an Asian subway straphanger, the New York Post reported. Police are investigated the incident as a hate crime.

And last month, an Asian woman was attacked at a New York City subway station. A man noticed that she was wearing a face mask and called her a “diseased b—-.”

At Arcadia Firearm & Safety, a gun store in San Gabriel Valley, owner David Liu told CBSLA he’s had a surge of sales in recent weeks from Asian American customers who are concerned over the possibility of similar attacks.

In the City of Industry, the store Gun Effects and Cloud Nine Fishing, has also experienced more Asian American customers buying firearms.

“Our staff is not accustomed to this kind of rush,” owner Dennis Lin told KABC. “But this made it really, really crazy.”

Lin said he believes the fear over the coronavirus is exaggerated.

“Just people discriminating,” he said. “We forget, we’re all people. We’re in America, we’re not in China.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asians make up slightly less than 30 percent of the San Gabriel Valley’s 1.85 million residents.

11 Examples of Bloomberg’s Folly on Defensive Gun Use

Earlier this month, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked how he justified his push for more stringent gun control when he is guarded by an armed security detail.

Bloomberg’s response? He is a wealthy businessman and politician who faces threats that normal Americans do not, so it’s just fine for him to pay others to protect him with guns that he’d put the rest of us in prison for possessing.

The reality is that Bloomberg, as a wealthy white man living in upper-class neighborhoods, is statistically far less likely to be a victim of violent crime than most other Americans.

But you’d never know it from the way he spends hundreds of millions of dollars advocating gun laws that reserve armed protection for the special few.

Every day, many Americans without Bloomberg’s wealth and power rely on the Second Amendment—not private security—to defend themselves against threats to their lives and livelihoods. In fact, almost every major study on defensive gun use has found that Americans use their firearms defensively between 500,000 and 3 million times each year.

Last year, The Daily Signal began a monthly series highlighting just some of the countless times that the right to keep and bear arms made all the difference for ordinary Americans whom Michael Bloomberg wants to disarm. (You can read the stories from January 2020 here.)

February similarly provided ample evidence in favor of an armed citizenry and against Bloomberg’s claim that only the select few can be trusted with guns.

  • Feb. 2, Arlington, Texas:  An armed neighbor came to the rescue of an elderly woman who was being attacked by pit bulls, pulling the dogs off her and shooting one of them when it continued its attack, police said. The woman survived, but suffered serious bite injuries to her head and neck. Other neighbors, alerted by the gunshot, soon arrived to help tend to the woman’s injuries and stop the bleeding.
  • Feb. 4, Spotsylvania County, Virginia:  When a neighbor called for help after discovering a man in the process of burglarizing her car, a good Samaritan and his wife jumped into action, pulling their vehicle in front of the fleeing thief and yelling at him to stop. Police said the thief drew a firearm, but the good Samaritan also was armed and shot him once in the leg. Police charged the man with several offenses, including brandishing a firearm and petit larceny.
  • Feb. 8, St. Mary’s, Ohio:  A woman shot and killed her husband during a domestic dispute in which he physically assaulted her and threatened to stab her with a knife, police said. The woman immediately called 911 and told a dispatcher: “He was beating me. He was going to kill me. He had a knife.” Although police initially took the woman into custody, her arrest photo shows clear injuries to her face and neck consistent with self-defense. A grand jury declined to indict the woman.
  • Feb. 8, West Salem, Ohio:  When a pitchfork-wielding man tried to kick in his door, a homeowner grabbed his handgun and held the man at gunpoint until police arrived. Police discovered that, in addition to the pitchfork, the man had a loaded firearm, drugs, and a wallet belonging to another homeowner in the neighborhood. Police charged the intruder with burglary and said he is a suspect in several other armed offenses in the area.
  • Feb. 12, Yellow Springs, California:  A well-known Hollywood stuntwoman and her husband attempted to ambush the stuntwoman’s ex-husband and his new wife outside the ex-husband’s home, police said. The ex-husband got out of his car to get his mail when the stuntwoman and her husband opened fire on the couple with multiple guns. The ex-husband, however, was a concealed carry permit holder and armed. He returned fire, ultimately killing both attackers.
  • Feb. 14, Palm Bay, Florida:  A man used his firearm to defend himself and his girlfriend from the woman’s armed ex-boyfriend, who attacked them in their home on Valentine’s Day. Police said the ex-boyfriend stole a handgun from a friend’s mother, shattered the couple’s glass door, and threatened them with the handgun. The woman hid with her young son in a bedroom as her boyfriend retrieved his own gun and got into a shootout with the ex-boyfriend. Both men were wounded, and the ex-boyfriend fled, police said. They arrested him when he checked himself into a hospital; he faces several felony charges, including attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
  • Feb. 18, Spencer County, Kentucky:  A man returned home in the early afternoon to discover an intruder inside. He confronted the intruder, ultimately shooting and killing him in self-defense.
  • Feb. 22, Allouez, Wisconsin:  A concealed carry permit holder used his firearm to defend himself from a robber without firing a single round, police said. The permit holder was plowing snow when a man approached, held a large knife to his chest, and demanded money. The permit holder said he would get his wallet from his truck. He retrieved his firearm from the door frame, and the would-be robber fled when he saw it.
  • Feb. 24, Elmore County, Alabama: A homeowner used his handgun to defend his wife and young child during a confrontation with an irate neighbor. The neighbor – who had previous confrontations with others in the neighborhood – began banging on the homeowner’s door at 4:55 a.m. When the homeowner answered, police said, the neighbor shouted expletives and tried to rob him. The homeowner, fearing his neighbor was reaching for a gun, shot him several times in self-defense, wounding him.
  • Feb. 27, Chicago:  A concealed carry permit  holder defended herself from a robber who pulled a gun on her and demanded her property. The woman retrieved her own handgun and exchanged fire with the robber as he fled.

Michael Bloomberg is more than wealthy enough to afford to pay armed men to protect him. Most Americans are not so fortunate.

We don’t have former law enforcement officers on hand when the convenience store we’re in gets robbed. We can’t rely on an armed detail to jump to our defense when we’re assaulted. We don’t live in gated communities with 24/7 security.

We have only our Second Amendment rights. And they are worth insisting upon.

Asian-Americans stock up on guns over fears of coronavirus backlash

‘Roof Koreans’ isn’t just a meme. Those store owners made sure their businesses were protected during the LA riots when the police ran away. That the Asian community still stocks up today shouldn’t be a surprise.

While panicked Americans have been purchasing bundles of toilet paper, water and other supplies because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Asian Americans have instead been reportedly stocking up on guns out of a fear of backlash — and justifiably so.

The panic is especially prominent along the liberal coasts.

“[T]here’s an acute fear among Asian-Americans that the virus’s origins in China will spark a violent xenophobic backlash. Along the West Coast, where the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in the United States have occurred, those fears seem to be spurring a surge in gun sales,” The Trace, a far-left outlet, reported Friday.

“People are panicking because they don’t feel secure,” David Liu, the Chinese American owner of Los Angeles’ Arcadia Firearm and Safety, said. “They worry about a riot or maybe that people will start to target the Chinese.”

State lawmakers seek to expand when Tennesseans can use deadly force in self-defense

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) — The Tennessee House this week passed two proposals addressing how state residents use deadly force.

The first measure would allow a person to kill to prevent a sexual assault.

Franklin Rep. Brandon Ogles sponsored the bill. He explained to colleagues on the House floor when the bill would allow deadly force.

“Rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child is justifiable use of deadly force in self-defense, also in defense of a third party.”

A second bill would allow victims of human trafficking to use deadly force in their own defense.

That bill was inspired by the Cyntoia Brown case. Brown was sentenced to life in prison at 16 for fatally shooting a man who paid Brown’s trafficker to have sex with her. She was pardoned by then Gov. Bill Haslam after serving 15 years.

Both bills passed the House unanimously. Ther are now awaiting consideration by the State Senate.

I’m a proud gun-owning Republican because of my feminist beliefs. And I think Bernie Sanders is dangerous
My parents are Democrats, but I realized at college that I was more conservative than them

The demoncrap partei thinks he’s dangerous too. Not because they are against his politics, but that he’s so open about it and most people in the U.S. value their freedom, liberty, personal property and bank account.

I’m a Texas native, born and raised in Dallas. However, my parents are Nigerian immigrants, so I didn’t have the stereotypical Texan upbringing you’re probably imagining.

When I was five years old, my dad went to prison for a drug trafficking crime. In an era where mandatory minimums were king, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He would eventually get out in 18 for good behavior.

Most of my early life was spent with three younger siblings, a single immigrant mother, grandparents that lived with us, and a deep, dark secret. It was shameful to talk about my dad with Americans, much less the Nigerian community. Because of that, my mother grew more and more isolated from the Iarge Igbo community in Dallas we had once been close to. For me, friends became much more vital, much more accepting and much more familiar than family.

I developed a strong sense of community. And that community didn’t have to look, act or talk like me to help me feel like I belonged. In high school, my close circle of friends spread the gamut of Asian countries: Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani. Because my mother is a registered nurse, she was able to command an income that enabled us to stay in the middle-class area that my dad moved us into prior to imprisonment. Because of her stable position, we didn’t have to suffer the instability of moving from place to place — a fate that many families in a similar situation to us were often subjected to.

My parents were Roman Catholic Democrats and I, for the most part, accepted that political ideology. Ironically enough, that was right up until I went to college. After a series of events, one being my conversion into the Protestant faith, I slowly realized that my conservative beliefs did not match the party I was in at the time. And just as ironically, another big factor in my political conversion was my feminist beliefs.

When I was a child, aged five, I was raped by a family member while we visited them in Nigeria. From that time onward, I was on a quest to gain my power and dignity back. I achieved that by empowering myself and other women to be independent, free and capable.

That line of thinking inevitably led me to the Second Amendment. The movement to protect our Second Amendment rights was smack-dab in the middle of college campus conversation back in 2012, because of the concealed carry on campus legislation that was being hotly debated on the Texas capitol floor.

It made sense to me to advocate for a law that allowed law-abiding, capable, independent women like myself and my fellow peers to take safety into their own hands. Speaking up to about the rights of people to defend themselves is not only a calling but an outright ministry for me. The concealed carry on campus bill passed in 2015 and was implemented in 2016 and 2017. Shortly after, I started an organization that seeks to empower women through the Second Amendment.

All of this led me here to Colorado in 2020. I met the love of my life in 2018, moved to Colorado and married him in 2019. Despite the obvious weather and terrain differences, moving from Texas to Colorado was a pretty seamless one. I recognized right away the same freedom-loving, independent spirit in politics that I found in Texas. And a state that still respected a personal right to defend oneself was a state that I believed could actually empower women.

What I find the most beneficial in Colorado law is that it is not incredibly cost-prohibitive to become a certified firearms instructor. This has allowed me to teach all classes completely free for women in the community looking to get a concealed carry permit or just to get more self-defense training and knowledge in general.

The very first thing I do in each class is to ask every woman to stand up, introduce themselves and say why they are here, what brought them to my class. The introductions alone always take about half an hour. Women stand up and talk about their stories of surviving domestic violence, abuse, or sexual assault. Single mothers stand up and share their stories of realizing that they were the only person between a man or woman intent on doing harm to them and their children. The stories are both inspiring and heartbreaking. And it gives me much joy to sign their certificates and thank them for coming at the end of each class…………

The women I work within the community have extremely diverse political and ideological beliefs. But one thing I see is very clear. To those women, their right to own and carry a firearm of their choice has nothing to do with Democrats, Republicans, Bernie vs. Biden, or Donald Trump. It has to do with their individual liberty to decide to never to be a victim again. Just like my own political journey that has spanned from Democrat to Republican to whatever I choose to be in the future, I can, as a fellow survivor and an overcomer, fully support that.

Study Proves Mass Shootings Are NOT Becoming More Common

The researchers also noted that more kids are killed each year in incidents involving pools and bicycles than in all the school shootings combined.

Of course, this study didn’t get a whole lot of attention in the mainstream media. That’s not surprising. After all, they seem to be personally invested in selling the idea that our kids aren’t likely to survive to graduate because of some maniac with an AR-15 is going to kill them all. Yet looking at the average over the last 25 years, it’s easy to see that more students are killed in car crashes than by mass shooters.

So why does everyone freak over these?

For one thing, it’s not about the total numbers. It’s about the number of people killed per incident. It’s not about how many have been killed in the last quarter of a century or what the annual average. If a dozen die in a single incident, that’s an even bigger tragedy but if you spread those deaths over an entire year, it’s a statistic.

That’s what’s fueling much of this nonsense.

PREPARING FOR CORONAVIRUS:
Getting ready for the possibility of major disruptions is not only smart; it’s also our civic duty

This applies to all “prepping” as a general concept. The better you can look after yourself and yours, the less of a drain you are on emergency resources. The press wants to treat prepping as selfish, but it’s actually the opposite.

As the new human coronavirus spreads around the world, individuals and families should prepare—but are we? The Centers for Disease Control has already said that it expects community transmission in the United States, and asked families to be ready for the possibility of a “significant disruption to our lives.”

Be ready? But how? It seems to me that some people may be holding back from preparing because of their understandable dislike of associating such preparation with doomsday or “prepper” subcultures. Another possibility is that people may have learned that for many people the disease is mild, which is certainly true, so they don’t think it’s a big risk to them. Also, many doomsday scenarios advise extensive preparation for increasingly outlandish scenarios, and this may seem daunting and pointless (and it is). Others may not feel like contributing to a panic or appearing to be selfish.

Forget all that.

Preparing for the almost inevitable global spread of this virus, now dubbed COVID-19, is one of the most pro-social, altruistic things you can do in response to potential disruptions of this kind.

We should prepare, not because we may feel personally at risk, but so that we can help lessen the risk for everyone. We should prepare not because we are facing a doomsday scenario out of our control, but because we can alter every aspect of this risk we face as a society.

That’s right, you should prepare because your neighbors need you to prepare—especially your elderly neighbors, your neighbors who work at hospitals, your neighbors with chronic illnesses, and your neighbors who may not have the means or the time to prepare because of lack of resources or time……

Staying home without needing deliveries means that not only are you less likely to get sick, thus freeing up hospitals for more vulnerable populations, it means that you are less likely to infect others (while you may be having a mild case, you can still infect an elderly person or someone with cancer or another significant illness) and you allow delivery personnel to help out others.

Guns and behavior

Dear elected representative, I am Angie from TC High and we are learning more about guns and school shootings and speaking our opinions about it and I guess we are now writing to you. So I gotta start somewhere.

This gun situation needs to be brought up more in schools, anywhere it can influence a person to not do this type of thing. I remember in middle school we talked a lot about opioids and discussed almost every day. And have checkups on kids psychologically and do more studies to see the red flags for this behavior.

But don’t take away guns. It’s not the guns killing people; it’s the people killing people. The Second Amendment says we have a right to keep and bear arms so you can’t really take away our guns. Help the people who are thinking of doing this thing. We have to keep America safe if we want to have better lives and a better future.

Angie Maddasion

Traverse City

Gov. Andy Beshear signs bill requiring school resource officers to carry guns

Despite calls from civil rights groups to veto the legislation, Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday signed a bill requiring school police to carry guns.

All Kentucky schools are now required to have at least one armed police officer under state law, effective immediately.

While understanding opposition to the measure, Beshear said at a press conference Friday he could not allow officers to not have the weapons they may need in confronting a school shooting.

“I simply cannot ask a school resource officer to stop an armed gunman entering a school without them having the ability to not only achieve this mission, but also to protect themselves,” Beshear said. “We must be able to stop the worst of the worst.”

Signing Senate Bill 8 is best for the state as a whole, he continued.

Moving forward, Beshear said his administration will work on training officers to “start addressing the reason some kids might not feel safe because of a police officer.”

Beshear’s decision comes after the bill passed the Senate and House with large bipartisan margins, making a veto almost guaranteed to be overridden.

Gun stores, firearm instructors notice number of women buying guns on the rise

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) – New numbers show more women have a gun at home and local gun stores and teachers of firearm classes say they notice the difference.

That study shows, since 2017, the number of women buying guns has been on the rise. Some site social media, but others say now is the time women are taking things into their own hands when it comes to safety.

Boys move over because lately, more girls just wanna have guns!

Mark Whitlock Jr. will tell you. He’s the vice president of Mark’s Outdoor Sports in Vestavia.

Violent Crime Rate Continues to Drop as AR-15 Ownership Rises

Despite some claims to the contrary, the United States is in a solid decline in the violent crime rate over the last couple of years. According to some preliminary data sourced from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crime rates have dropped in the first half of 2019 when compared to the first half of 2018. This is a trend that has continued with consistency since 2017.

Despite ongoing pressure being put on gun owners by various anti-gun organizations, the rate of ownership has continued to rise. In particular, the amount of “sporting rifle” ownership has continued to grow rapidly. Some would have you think that an increase of sporting rifle ownership would lead to higher violent crime rates, however, data shows this is simply not the case.

 

Violent Crime Rate Continues to Drop as AR-15 Ownership Rises

Violent Crime Rate Continues to Drop as AR-15 Ownership Rises

 

When looked at through an objective lens, firearms manufacturers and owners are some of the most scrutinized and tested in regards to following the laws and regulations of the land. Both the firearms and ammunition industries have to work with and ultimately cooperate with not only federal agencies but local law enforcement agencies as well to maintain compliance standards.

Violent Crime Rate Continues to Drop as AR-15 Ownership Rises

Violent Crime Rate Continues to Drop as AR-15 Ownership Rises

On that note, as a whole, firearms commerce in the United States has continued to increase since 2013 according to the  Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. Firearms in the American market are more prevalent than ever despite the declining violent crime rate.

As shown by the above graph, beginning in 2008 and continuing through 2013 there was a sharp rise in the manufacturing of all firearms as a whole. Of significant note, Pistols and Rifles accounted for the majority of the firearms made, which would include AR-15’s or “sporting rifles”. What’s even more interesting is the drastic record-breaking 11,497,441 firearms manufactured in 2016.

To further back up the notion that an increase in firearms would not be responsible for an increase in violent crime, John Hopkins University just concluded a study that shows that there is no evidence to suggest that “Assault Weapon” bans would reduce mass shooting events.

 

Wisconsin Church Self-Defense Bill Hearing

On February 20th, the Senate Committee on Insurance, Financial Services, Government Oversight and Courts will hear Senate Bill 822 to improve the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and their loved ones in churches.

Senate Bill 822 affirms that law-abiding adults with a license to carry firearms for self-defense may do so in places of worship unless the property is specifically posted to prohibit carry. This ensures that such decisions involving security are left up to individual places of worship rather than the government mandating a one-size-fits-all solution. So-called “gun-free zones” simply disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless against criminals who ignore arbitrary boundaries.

No Evidence ‘Assault Weapon’ Bans Reduce Mass Shootings

A study released by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health declares there is no evidence “assault weapon” bans lead to a lower “incidence of fatal mass shootings.”

Expanded Background Checks Don’t Lower Mass Shooting Rate

A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found expanding background checks does nothing to lower the mass shooting rate.

Researchers did claim licensing requirements like those in Connecticut help reduce the number of mass shootings, but their study omitted the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 26 were killed at the school and another victim was killed in a private home.

In other words, a study which claims licensing reduces instances of mass shootings omitted one of the most often cited mass shootings in U.S. history, even though that shooting occurred in a licensing state.

Moreover, John Hopkins’ criteria for licensing laws allowed them to bypass Illinois which, in turn, allowed them to sidestep the never ending gun crime of Chicago.

But the study was clear there is no evidence tying “assault weapons” to a lower incidence of mass shootings.

Johns Hopkins Study:

Firearm Purchaser Licensing Laws Linked to Fewer Fatal Mass Shootings
BANS ON LARGE-CAPACITY MAGAZINES WERE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH FEWER FATAL MASS SHOOTINGS AND FATALITIES
Firearm purchaser licensing laws that require an in-person application or fingerprinting are associated with an estimated 56 percent fewer fatal mass shootings in states that have them, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The study analyzed fatal mass shootings in 45 states between 1984 and 2017 and the association between the rates of those shootings and the presence of various firearm laws.

The study was published in a February 2020 special issue on mass violence in the U.S. in the journal Criminology & Public Policy.

The researchers also found evidence that laws banning large-capacity magazines, defined as those that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, were associated with significant reductions in the rate of fatal mass shootings with four or more fatalities and the number killed in those shootings. >>>>The size and precision of the estimated effects of LCM bans varied across many statistical analyses presented in study.<<<<

(in other words, our evidence depends on our point of view because the numbers really don’t add up)

“After each horrible mass shooting, there are always policy debates on how they can be prevented,” says lead author Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and Bloomberg Professor of American Health in Violence Prevention. “One side often calls for expanding background checks to private purchasers, and the other usually calls for fewer restrictions on civilian gun carrying. Our findings indicate that neither of those prescriptions are associated with lower rates of fatal mass shootings. What does appear to work to reduce mass shootings are licensing laws and laws banning large-capacity magazines.”

(But later on down the page they admit that magazine laws have to be ‘controlled for’  – in other words numerically skewed to fit a preconceived idea – …so the above is a lie, right??)

In their analyses, researchers identified 604 mass shootings involving four or more victim fatalities; a total of 2,976 victims were killed in these incidents. Approximately 28 percent (842) of victim fatalities were from domestic-related shootings, 61 percent (2,057) were from non-domestic related shootings, and it was unclear among the remaining 11 percent (77) of victims whether the shooting was domestic-related. Most mass shootings had four to six victim fatalities.

As for licensing, federal law requires licensed firearm dealers—but not private sellers—to initiate a background check before the purchase of a gun. Firearm purchaser licensing laws require even more: a direct application to a law enforcement agency that conducts background checks, often aided by fingerprint-based identity verification of the applicant. Under such laws, a license or permit to purchase is needed for sales by private individuals as well as licensed firearm dealers. Nine states—Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina—and the District of Columbia currently have some form of firearm purchaser or owner licensing laws.

Previous research shows that firearm purchaser licensing laws are associated with reductions in rates of firearm homicides and suicides.

(Did they conveniently forget Chicago?) 

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, a database of homicide records voluntarily reported to the FBI by local law enforcement agencies, from 1984 to 2017. Data for Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Montana were excluded due to significant gaps in reporting.

(What are these ‘significant gaps’? Is it that the stats from these states don’t jibe with the anticipated outcome…hmm?)

The Supplementary Homicide Reports collects information on the number of victims, weapon(s) used, circumstances or motive, and the relationship between the offender and the first victim. Shootings connected to gang or illegal drug-related activities were excluded from the analyses.

Due to voluntary reporting policies, the FBI’s database did not include several high-profile mass shootings, including the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting, 2012 Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting, and the 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting. The researchers addressed these gaps by using data from Stanford University’s Stanford Mass Shootings in America database and the Gun Violence Archive to identify 33 additional fatal mass shootings.

In their study, the researchers made a comprehensive list of all the mass shootings between 1984 and 2017 and categorized the events based on whether the shooter had a domestic relationship (family or intimate partner) to one of the victims. The researchers’ analyses estimated the independent association between annual rates of fatal mass shootings in states and the presence of various state and federal gun laws, while controlling for differences in demographics, social and economic conditions, alcohol consumption, deaths from drug overdoses, and national trends in fatal mass shootings.

Types of firearm laws examined in the study included regulation of civilian concealed carry; extensions of background check requirements at the point of sale for private transfers; prohibitions for non-felony violence, including restraining orders for domestic violence; assault weapon bans; and large-capacity magazine bans.

The study also examined purchaser licensing laws that required in-person application to a law enforcement agency or other fingerprint-based identification of applicants, regardless of whether the sale was by a licensed gun dealer or a private seller. Seven states—Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York—and the District of Columbia currently meet that criteria and were analyzed in the study. Three additional states—Missouri, Michigan, and Nebraska—were also included in the analyses based on their purchaser licensing laws; during the study period, these states repealed all or part of their licensing requirements.

The study did not find significant associations between the incidence of fatal mass shootings and concealed carry laws, comprehensive background check laws without licensing requirements, or firearm prohibitions for violent misdemeanor convictions and domestic violence restraining orders. Although researchers did not find a clear association between firearm restrictions for domestic abusers and reduced fatal mass shootings, other research has shown these laws do reduce intimate partner homicides.

In addition, the study did not find an independent association between assault weapon bans and the incidence of fatal mass shootings after controlling for the effects of bans on large-capacity magazines.

“Evidence Concerning the Regulation of Firearms Design, Sale, and Carrying on Fatal Mass Shootings in the United States” was written by Daniel W. Webster, Alexander McCourt, Cassandra K. Crifasi, Marisa D. Booty, and Elizabeth A. Stuart.

The study was supported by The Joyce Foundation and Dr. Webster’s professorship funded by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

(The Joyce Foundation…That right there is the tip off. TJF is and always has been one of the more rabid anti-gun/anti-self defense entities in the U.S. Just another scrap piece of proselytizing from the controllers.)

Women With Firearms: 23 Truths You Should Know

  1. You can never have too much ammo. It’s amazing how quickly one or two people can shoot through 100 rounds or more in a single target practice.
  2. If you’re smart, your firearms will be common calibers. It will be easier to find ammo and easier to get replacement parts.
  3. If you’re even smarter, you’ll own firearms that are of popular makes and models. It will be easier to find a gunsmith capable of making repairs and handling customized requests.
  4. Unless you’re at the range every day, it’s hard to get too much practice. If the range masters know you by name, that’s a good sign that you’re getting enough practice!
  5. It’s a mistake to limit your practice to shooting at a piece of paper under optimal conditions. Take classes that will challenge your shooting skills in high-pressure scenarios. Until the adrenaline is really pumping and your brain feels scrambled, you’ll never know how you’ll respond in a life or death situation. (Note: The first time I was firing a gun under pressure, I got so rattled that I was using my non-dominant eye.  I was fortunate that any shots hit my target!)
  6. A shotgun should be at or near the top of your list when it comes to firearms for home defense. Your choices are the 12 gauge, 20 gauge and the 410. Once you’ve made your decision, get to the range and practice, practice, practice. When it comes to stopping power, a shotgun can’t be beat. According to the study, 50 percent of women with firearms have at least one shotgun and 56 percent have a semiautomatic pistol.
  7. Don’t fall into the trap of buying the smallest gun at the store. Believe it or not, a larger gun will be more comfortable and will shoot more accurately. Read my reviews of the Sig Sauer Mosquito, Walther P22 and Ruger Mark III.
  8. Learn how to clean your own gun. Learn how to completely dismantle it (field strip), clean each part, and put it back together.
  9. Your safety is your responsibility. Not your husband’s, nor the police, nor your kids.
  10. A gun isn’t the end-all when it comes to personal or home security. Think in terms of layers: Situational awareness, home security systems, a watchdog, cacti or rose bushes along the back fence. It all adds up to more peace of mind and less dependence on any one strategy.
  11. If a gun isn’t possible or desirable in your circumstances, come up with Plan B. One of my friends keeps a baseball bat near the front seat of her minivan. Another always has the most powerful pepper spray on the market in her purse, and yet another keeps an 18″ length of steel rebar wedged between the driver’s seat of her car and the middle console. Whatever your choice, always be aware of the location of your weapon, practice using it, and be comfortable with the thought that one day you may have to use it.
  12. Don’t listen to celebrities and politicians who go on hysterical anti-gun rants. Remember, they can afford armed bodyguards and state-of-the-art home security systems. (Interesting that it’s okay if their bodyguards are armed but they don’t think law-abiding citizens should be able to own and carry guns.) I am my kids’ armed bodyguard.
  13. Practice rapid firing when you’re at the range. If your life, or that of your children’s, is ever on the line, and your only choice is to draw your gun, your best tactic will be multiple, rapid shots at the bad guy(s).
  14. Don’t assume you will only ever have to deal with a single bad guy. Just like roaches, bad guys stick together. You may very well be confronted with several all at once. Keep that in mind.
  15. There’s a reason why experts prefer to keep their sidearms concealed. Open carry is okay if you’re trying to impress people, but it also makes you a target. According to the study by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, more than 42 percent of women with guns have a concealed carry permit.
  16. Your life should never depend on a gun you’re afraid to shoot. If the recoil is too powerful, if the trigger pull is too heavy, if firing it hurts your hand, do not plan on using that gun as a defensive weapon. Sell it. Give it away, but whatever you do, have a gun you are comfortable with and actually enjoy shooting. If that life or death moment should ever come, there cannot be even a moment’s hesitation due to fear of using your gun.
  17. If you choose to carry your handgun concealed, practice drawing it from its holster or from its concealed location. And then practice another hundred times.
  18. It’s a really good idea to keep an extra loaded magazine in your purse, the glove compartment, wherever it will be safe and easily accessible.
  19. You just might be able to easily handle a larger caliber of handgun than you think at first. Don’t underestimate your ability.
  20. Nothing beats not being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  21. Be willing to back down in a confrontation or willing to run or call for help. Your goal is to survive, not show off to the world your awesome marksmanship skills.
  22. Every gun-nut has his/her own opinion about the best make, model, caliber, shooting stance, etc. Be willing to listen but keep in mind that they are just opinions.
  23. Don’t get overly cocky just because you have a firearm in the house, your purse, or have a certificate from your shooting range for completing an advanced course. Law enforcement officers miss their target in a shooting confrontation about 70% of the time. Think about that.