Category: Goobermint

Italy: Total Lock Down Imposed to Contain Virus

Just Sunday, the Italian gubbermint quarantined the north of the country, now the whole shebang.

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte says travel restrictions are being imposed nationwide to try to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Conte said Monday night that a new government decree will require all people in Italy to demonstrate a need to work, health conditions or other limited reasons to travel outside the areas where they live.

The restrictions will take effect on Tuesday and like those in northern Italy will last until April 3., he said.

“There won’t be just a red zone,″ Conte told reporters referring to the quarantine order he signed for a vast swath of northern Italy with a population of 16 million over the weekend.

“There will be Italy” as a protected area, he said.

The premier also took to task the young people in much of Italy who have been gathering at night to drink and have a good time during the public health emergency that started on Feb. 21.

“This night life…we can’t allow this anymore,” Conte said.

Pubs had been closed in northern Italy, with eateries and cafes also ordered to close at dusk. Now that crackdown is extended to the entire country.

3 test positive for coronavirus in Maryland, Gov. Hogan declares State of Emergency‘

Boy, he didn’t hesitate, did he?

BALTIMORE — Three Maryland residents have tested positive for coronavirus/COVID-19, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced Thursday evening.

All three people with the virus live in Montgomery County — a married man and woman in their 70s and a woman in her 50s. All three are quarantined in their homes right now, are in good condition, and their symptoms are abating.

All three cases are also travel-related. The patients returned home from a trip overseas on February 20. Health officials would not say Thursday evening where they traveled to.

The patients did travel to a hospital to be tested for the virus, but health officials would not say which facility that was. Their specimens came back positive Thursday.

Hogan has declared a state of emergency to fast-track the response efforts and mobilize resources faster, but he stressed that Marylanders should remain calm and go to work and school as they normally would, while also taking reasonable precautions.

Wuhan Woman With No Symptoms Infects Five Relatives With Coronavirus: Study

Maybe like this?
A person can have it, show no symptoms, but still spread it?

(Reuters) — A 20-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, traveled 400 miles(675 km) north to Anyang where she infected five relatives, without ever showing signs of infection, Chinese scientists reported on Friday, offering new evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically.

The case study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, offered clues about how the coronavirus is spreading, and suggested why it may be difficult to stop.

“Scientists have been asking if you can have this infection and not be ill? The answer is apparently, yes,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who was not involved in the study.

China has reported a total of 75,567 cases of the virus known as COVID-19 to the World Health Organization (WHO) including 2,239 deaths, and the virus has already spread to 26 countries and territories outside of mainland China.

U.S. Prepares for Coronavirus Pandemic, School and Business Closures: Health Officials

So the CDC is advising ‘preparation’? Like they’re expecting something?

(Reuters) — U.S. health officials on Friday said they are preparing for the possibility of the spread of the new coronavirus through U.S. communities that would force closures of schools and businesses.

The United States has yet to see community spread of the virus that emerged in central China in late December. But health authorities are preparing medical personnel for the risk, Nancy Messonnier, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters on a conference call.

In coming weeks, if the virus begins to spread through U.S. communities, health authorities want to be ready to adopt school and business closures like those undertaken in Asian countries to contain the disease, Messonnier said.

“We’re not seeing community spread here in the United States yet, but it’s very possible, even likely, that it may eventually happen,” Messonnier said.

“Our goal continues to be to slow the introduction of the virus into the U.S. This buys us more time to prepare communities for more cases and possibly sustained spread.”

Secession fever spikes in five states as conservatives seek to escape blue rule.

You’ve got Oregonians seeking to cascade into Idaho, Virginians who identify as West Virginians, Illinoians fighting to escape Chicago, Californians dreaming of starting a 51st state, and New Yorkers who think three states are better than one.

Separation fever is sweeping the nation as quixotic but tenacious bands of frustrated rural dwellers, suburbanites and conservatives seek to break free from states with legislatures increasingly controlled by liberal big cities and metropolitan strongholds.

“Oregon is controlled by the northwest portion of the state, Portland to Eugene. That’s urban land, and their decisions are not really representing rural Oregon,” said Mike McCarter, president of Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho. “They have their agenda and they’re moving forward with it, and they’re not listening to us.”

In Virginia, the newly elected Democratic majority’s progressive legislation on issues such as gun rights has spurred “Vexit,” or “Virginia exit,” a campaign to merge right-tilting rural counties into neighboring West Virginia that organizers say has the potential to catch fire nationwide.

“To be honest, if this works — you’ve got a lot of red areas in this country that are totally dominated by a blue metropolis,” said Vexit2020 leader Rick Boyer, a former member of the Campbell County Board of Supervisors. “If it works in Virginia, there’s no reason it can’t reshape the political map.”

Such campaigns can only be described longshots — no state has split off since West Virginia was carved from Virginia in 1863 — but the growing interest comes as those living outside cities wrestle with the consequences of the 1964 Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. Sims.

The ruling established the principle of “one man, one vote,” effectively eliminating state legislative districts apportioned by county or geography instead of population, which hobbled in the influence of smaller and rural communities.

Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook, who has introduced a resolution to spin off Chicago and declare it the 51st state, said that “downstate voices are simply not being heard because we’ve been forced into this democracy that’s concentrated power into a small geographical area of the state.”

“Sen. Everett Dirksen said that with Reynolds v. Sims, the major metropolitan areas, the large population centers, are going to control the rest of the state, and that’s what’s happened with Illinois, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New York,” the Republican Halbrook said.

What? The published CDC numbers haven’t changed.
Looks like the city of Costa Mesa didn’t get the note to shut up, or something.
So, are there any more that we haven’t been told about?
We knew we couldn’t trust the figures coming from the Chinese goobermint.
Why we should trust ours any further is one to ponder.

Costa Mesa Seeks To Block Transfer Of Up To 70 Coronavirus Patients To City

COSTA MESA (CBSLA) – Costa Mesa is trying to block as many as 70 confirmed coronavirus patients from being transferred to the city.

Federal court papers filed Friday state that the federal government plans to transfer the patients from Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento to the former Fairview Development Center on Sunday. Last night officials began hearing of the plan by the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC to move between 30 and 76 patients to the state-owned land.

Some of the patients are from the Diamond Princess cruise ship from which more than 300 U.S. citizens were removed Monday.

City leaders say that they filed an injunction to stop the transfer in an effort to protect Costa Mesa residents.

“We have a lot of activity in the area.” said Mayor Katrina Foley. “So, it’s not the kind of area that’s isolated and that would be appropriate for quarantining people who have an infectious disease,” said Mayor Katrina Foley.

The largest concern is the lack of information, despite the fact that the patients are expected to arrive in a matter of days, said Costa Mesa fire chief Dan Stefano.

“There has not been an information flow, and in a situation like that, for us, it creates the greatest concern,” he said.

While it is known that the patients are California residents and some may be coming from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, city manager Loriann Farrell Harrison said the city needs to know more before feeling comfortable with the transfer.

“The reason that we have followed through with an injunction is because we don’t have a lot of information. We would like to know more about who the individuals are,” she said.

According to the injunction, the city of Costa Mesa seeks to stop the transfer until “an adequate site survey has been conducted, the designated site has been determined suitable for this purpose, all necessary safeguards and precautions have been put in place, and the public and local government have been informed of all efforts to mitigate risk of transmission of the disease.”

The same sickness that spread the coronavirus threatens to bring Hong Kong to ruin: the Chinese Communist Party.

Hong Kong’s democracy protests have been overrun in the headlines by the new, and in some cases deadly, coronavirus now spreading from the Chinese city of Wuhan.

But to wave aside Hong Kong’s massive democracy movement as last year’s news would be a terrible mistake. That movement has been the healthiest and most clarion response of modern times, anywhere on the planet, to the basic ailment long amplifying out of China — which, despite the current acute medical crisis, is not actually a viral disease, but instead the long-running tyranny of China’s communist party.

For Hong Kong, the medical face masks are nothing new. Huge numbers of Hong Kong’s protesters have been wearing them for months, not to ward off illness, but to protect themselves from identification and potential arrest by China’s quisling administration in Hong Kong.

China’s mishandling of its viral outbreak is now provoking questions abroad about the competence of its rulers and the reliability of whatever information they release. As the number of reported infections soars into the thousands, as the death toll enters triple digits and cases appear as far afield as Illinois, it’s clear that China’s authorities have botched this at every step.

First, they sat on the growing signs of an alarming new virus, doing little or nothing. Then they defaulted to blunt coercion, trying to forcefully quarantine more than 50 million people, while failing to provide them with the resources and leadership to fight the disease. Such projects as the high-speed construction of a 1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan for people stricken with the new virus make for impressive drone footage, but do not begin to address the real scale of the threat or the needs of millions of endangered and terrified people.

The core problem is that China, for all its high-tech gloss and high-speed trains, remains saddled with a communist-structured political system. However efficient this might look from afar, it is configured to promote repression, misery and ruinous error. Incentives are grossly skewed to promote the party line, never mind the realities. Inside mainland China, this is too often obscured by propaganda coupled with tight controls over any sign of dissent.

For clarity, turn to the recent scene in Hong Kong, where the British colonial legacy of rights and freedoms is under attack by China, but not yet gone. Calling on America and the rest of the free world to stand with them, Hong Kong’s people have been wielding their waning rights and freedoms via massive protests since last June, to signal a vital warning about China.

 

Gun Control Advocates Ignore the Data On Reciprocity

So much of the gun control debate is about things that might go wrong. Democrats, who just took control of the Virginia state legislature, are about to pass a law that will dramatically limit the ability of people with concealed handgun permits from other states to carry in Virginia. There haven’t been any problems with these permit holders, but that doesn’t matter for gun control advocates.

Currently, Virginia recognizes concealed handgun permits issued by all other states. Out-of-state permit holders can carry in Virginia as long as they follow local laws and carry photo identification.

The current rules came about in 2016 because Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring, a staunch gun control advocate, announced that he was going only to recognize the permits issued from five other states. Republicans who then controlled the state legislature fought back and took away Herring’s authority. The new proposed law will again give Herring control over whether permit holders from other states can carry.

It’s not easy for a truck driver to avoid troublesome state and city gun laws as he drives across the country with valuable merchandise. He can quickly run into trouble in “may issue” states such as New York, New Jersey, Illinois, or California, which give out few permits and require applicants to demonstrate sufficient “need.” Or imagine a single woman driving across state lines at night, hoping that her car won’t break down along the highway.

If state Democrats and Henning get their way, criminals will only need to look for an out of state license plates to know who to attack.

For most of the country, reciprocity is already a fact of life. The average state allows people with concealed handgun permits from 32 other states to travel freely. But the seven “may issue” states and D.C. pull down that average; only one of those seven states, Delaware, recognizes permits from any other state. These “may issue” states only give out permits to people who provide local public officials with a good reason for being able to defend themselves.

There’s no good reason not to issue permits much more generously. Permit holders are extremely law-abiding, losing their licenses for firearm-related violations at rates of thousandths or tens of thousandths of one percentage point.

Police rarely commit crimes, and they are convicted of misdemeanors or felonies at about one-twentieth as frequently as the general population. But permit holders are even more law-abiding, facing a conviction rate that is just one-tenth as often.

Some say that we should just rely on the police to protect us. But, unlike Michael Bloomberg, whose huge campaign donations made a big difference in Democrats taking control of Virginia, very few of us have trained security details. What happens when no one is there to help?

Washington State gun bills:

Specifically for or our readers in Washington state and anyone else interested. The link above is to the state legislature database where the bill number can be entered to see the whole enchilada.

HB 2555 By Representative Goodman
Concerning background check requirements for firearms classified as other under federal firearms laws.

HB 2569 By Representatives Wylie, Cody, Gregerson, Pollet and Tarleton
Authorizing pretrial detention for certain offenses involving firearms.

SB 6288 By Senators Dhingra, Pedersen, Frockt, Carlyle, Wilson, C., Kuderer Das Creating the Washington office of firearm violence prevention.

SB 6289 By Senators Dhingra, Kuderer, Lovelett, Darneille, Carlyle, Wilson, C. and Das Concerning the restoration of the right to possess a firearm.

HB 2467 By Representatives Hansen, Irwin, Griffey, Barkis and Wylie
Establishing a centralized single point of contact background check system for firearms transfers.
Referred to Committee on CIVIL RIGHTS & JUDICIARY.

HB 2411 By Representatives Orwall, Kilduff, Gildon, Leavitt, Paul, Cody, Davis, Pollet, Goodman, Wylie and Doglio Preventing suicide.

HB 2473 By Representatives Goodman and Wylie
Concerning domestic violence.
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY

HB 2202 By Representative Klippert
Exempting law enforcement from firearm safety training requirements for
semiautomatic assault rifle purchases or transfers.

HB 2305 By Representative Doglio
Concerning firearms laws concerning persons subject to vulnerable adult protection orders.

House Bills In Committee

Bill Flags Title Status Veto Date Original
Sponsor

HB 1022 Docs Pistol sales database H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Walsh
HB 1024 Docs f Firearm owners database H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Walsh
HB 1038 Docs Firearms/school employees H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Walsh
SHB 1068 Docs d High capacity magazines H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Valdez
HB 1073 Docs fd# Undetectable firearms H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Valdez
HB 1097 Docs Firearms/health information H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Walsh
HB 1098 Docs Unsafe storage of firearms H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2019 Walsh
HB 1203 Docs Lost or stolen firearms H Civil R & Judi 01/16/2019 Doglio
HB 1286 Docs fd# Assault weapons ban H Civil R & Judi 01/18/2019 Peterson
HB 1315 Docs f Concealed pistol training H Civil R & Judi 01/18/2019 Lovick
HB 1319 Docs Firearm open carry/local gov H Civil R & Judi 01/18/2019 Wylie
HB 1346 Docs f Lead exposure in youth H Civil R & Judi 01/18/2019 Pollet
HB 1374 Docs Local gov firearm regulation H Civil R & Judi 01/21/2019 Macri
HB 1439 Docs Concealed firearm permission H Civil R & Judi 01/22/2019 Doglio
HB 1464 Docs fd# Concealed pistol licenses H Civil R & Judi 01/22/2019 Goodman
HB 1511 Docs Firearm training/private H Civil R & Judi 01/23/2019 Klippert
HB 1530 Docs f# Weapons in certain locations H Civil R & Judi 01/23/2019 Davis
HB 1541 Docs Weapon possession/orders H Civil R & Judi 01/23/2019 Jinkins
HB 1671 Docs Confiscated firearm disposal H Civil R & Judi 01/28/2019 Dolan
HB 1763 Docs Active shooter event/schools H Civil R & Judi 01/30/2019 Young
HB 1774 Docs Extreme risk protect. orders H Civil R & Judi 01/30/2019 Jinkins
HB 1814 Docs Involuntary treatment act H Civil R & Judi 01/31/2019 Orwall
HB 2124 Docs CPL/firearm possession H Civil R & Judi 02/25/2019 Dufault
HB 2196 Docs ERPO issuance & enforcement H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Walsh
HB 2202 Docs Law enf./firearm training H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Klippert
HB 2223 Docs Firearm prohibit. liability H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Walsh
HB 2240 Docs d High capacity magazines H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Valdez
HB 2241 Docs e Assault weapons H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Peterson
HB 2301 Docs Competency to stand trial H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Kilduff
HB 2305 Docs Vulnerable adults/firearms H Civil R & Judi 01/13/2020 Doglio
HB 2467 Docs Firearm background checks H Civil R & Judi 01/14/2020 Hansen
HB 2519 Docs d Ammunition H Civil R & Judi 01/15/2020 Walen
HB 2555 Docs Other firearms/background H Civil R & Judi 01/15/2020 Goodman
HB 2571 Docs d Fish and wildlife violations H Civil R & Judi 01/15/2020 Goodman

Bills Out of Committee

SHB 1010 Docs Forfeited firearms/WSP H Rules C 03/21/2019 Senn
HB 1047 Docs Limited jdx. court comm’rs H Rules C 03/21/2019 Jinkins
HB 1149 Docs Sex. assault protect. orders C 258 L 19 05/07/2019 Jinkins
EHB 1465 Docs af# Pistol sales or transfers C 244 L 19 05/07/2019 Goodman
HB 1589 Docs f Correctional emps/firearms C 231 L 19 04/30/2019 Chapman
SHB 1648 Docs f Suicide awareness & prevent. H Approps 02/22/2019 Orwall
SHB 1739 Docs afd# Firearms/undetectable, etc. C 243 L 19 05/07/2019 Valdez
HB 1934 Docs f# Pistol license/armed forces C 135 L 19 04/24/2019 Caldier
SHB 1949 Docs f Firearm background checks C 35 L 19 04/17/2019 Hansen
ESSB 5027 Docs a Extreme risk protect. orders C 246 L 19 05/07/2019 Frockt
SB 5083 Docs Indian tribe records C 39 L 19 04/17/2019 McCoy
SB 5205 Docs af Incomp. for trial/firearms C 248 L 19 05/07/2019 Dhingra
SB 5508 Docs afd# Concealed pistol licenses C 249 L 19 05/07/2019 Fortunato
SB 5551 Docs af# Courthouse dog assistance C 398 L 19 05/13/2019 Dhingra
SSB 5560 Docs af# Elected officials/disputes C 463 L 19 05/21/2019 Padden
E2SSB 5720 Docs f# Involuntary treatment act S 3rd Reading 01/13/2020 Dhingra
SB 5782 Docs Spring blade knives S Rules 3 04/28/2019 Zeiger

One hundred years ago today, Prohibition began.

And thus began “The Roaring Twenties” where organized crime literally made millions while becoming entrenched in America and we’re still dealing with the consequences of the ‘good intentions’ of the prohibitionists.

Exactly a century ago today, Americans ushered in Prohibition.

A hundred years ago on Thursday, many Americans toasted their last legal toast at their favorite tavern, stocked up on their favorite brands, or, in the case of Charlotte Hennessey Smith, silent film actress and mother to famed actress Mary Pickford, bought out an entire liquor store.

Prohibition was ushered in on midnight Jan. 17, 1920. And as most people know, it wasn’t exactly followed so strictly.

 

 

Inconvenient Truths About Guns and Gun Control

Politicians and journalists often portray fiction as fact. It is easy to be opinionated, but hard to be informed. This came to mind as I listened to Virginia Democrats tell us we’d be safer if we were disarmed. What is the truth about gun-control laws? What politicians says a law will do might have nothing to do with what the law actually does. Lives are at stake when gun-control laws fail. Saying that the next gun-control law is necessary to stop violent crime admits that the 23 thousand firearms regulations already on the books didn’t work as advertised. It is a rare politician who admits how limited the government really is when it comes to public safety.

Fortunately, we’ve lived with firearms for several hundred years. We know some things that work. Here are a few inconvenient truths I’ve found after a few decades of study.

Inconvenient Truth: Most gun-related deaths are suicides, not murders. Unfortunately, restrictions on firearms have not reduced the rate of suicide. Fortunately, informed gun owners are reaching out to other gun owners who are dealing with mental illness. Mental health treatment works. We’re changing the gun culture for the better, no thanks to the politicians.

Inconvenient Truth: Most murders with a firearm in the United States are committed by members of criminal gangs. The police know who most of these murderers are. Gun-control laws that restrict the actions of honest gun owners have not changed the actions of known criminals. Most of the young people shot with guns are gang members who were shot by other gang members. Unfortunately, some of the victims are also innocent bystanders or victims of crime. Disarming the innocent victims doesn’t stop the criminals.

Inconvenient Truth: Background checks don’t reduce the rate of violent crime. Criminals don’t buy their guns at gun shops or gun shows. Criminals get their guns the same way they get their drugs; they get them illegally from other criminals. (By the way, there is no gun-show loophole. Every law that applies outside a gun show also applies inside a gun show.)

Inconvenient Truth: Honest gun owners do not cause crime. In fact, licensed concealed carry holders are both more law-abiding and more accurate with their guns than the police. Civilians with a permit to carry a gun in public are the most law-abiding group that sociologists can find.

Inconvenient Truth: Civilian gun ownership is the most cost-effective way to reduce violent crime.

Inconvenient Truth: Owning a gun does not make you more likely to be a victim of violent crime. It is true that people who live in high-crime areas are more likely to want a firearm for personal protection. People tend to be more sensitive about personal safety when someone they know have been victims of violent crime. Gun ownership is often a response to criminal violence rather than the cause of it.

Inconvenient Truth: Criminals don’t often take  a person’s gun and hurt them with it. There are more examples of victims disarming criminals than of criminals disarming victims.

Inconvenient Truth:  A sexual assault almost never becomes a rape if the victim is armed. The armed victim is such an uninviting target that the attacker usually runs away once he sees that the victim is armed.

Inconvenient Truth: Criminals don’t fight fair. There are usually several criminals attacking a single victim. We civilians are the first victims of crime. Police are our backup and usually arrive after the fight is over.

Here is one last inconvenient truth: Politicians often exempt themselves from the laws they pass. Some politicians own guns. They must think guns are useful. Some politicians have armed security. They must think guns make them safer. If politicians don’t live by the gun regulations they want for us, then the politicians don’t believe in gun-control.

I agree with what these gun-control politicians do even if I disagree with what they say, and that is the truth.

The world isn’t safe. If you don’t believe me, then ask a policeman who deals with criminals every day. The policeman wants a firearm because he lives in a dangerous world. Unfortunately, the average criminal will victimize over 20 civilians before the policeman catches him. That is why you and I need a firearm too. We have to protect ourself and our loved ones until the police arrive, and we only call the police after we’ve been attacked. There is no doubt that self-defense is inconvenient, but I’d rather be inconvenienced now than be a helpless victim later. To make matters worse, you don’t get to pick when you might be attacked. ;-(

Homeland Security Chief Orders Review Of State Laws Allowing Driver’s Licenses For Illegal Aliens

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ordered a review of state laws that allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and restrict data sharing with federal immigration authorities.

Wolf on Tuesday ordered all of the components of DHS to conduct a department-wide review of the state laws to determine how they affect their day-to-day operations, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The DHS chief’s directive indicates he is prepared to take aim against the state laws.

“Accordingly, I am instructing each operational component to conduct an assessment of the impact of these laws, so that the Department is prepared to deal with and counter these impacts as we protect the homeland,” Wolf’s memo read.

The memo follows implementation of New York’s “Green Light” law, and passage of a similar bill in New Jersey in December. Both laws not only allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses, but also restrict DMV data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security.

In New York, in particular, numerous county clerks have expressed reservation over the fact that illegal aliens can obtain a driver’s license with foreign documentation — arguing that such a policy paves the way for voter fraud, identity theft, and even terrorism. DHS had already voiced its opposition to a provision in the New York law that prohibits Homeland security Investigations, a division of ICE, from accessing DMV information — even if the agency is investigating serious crimes.

“Laws like New York’s greenlight law have dangerous consequences that have far reaches beyond the DMV,” DHS spokeswomen Heather Swift said Tuesday. “These types of laws make it easier for terrorists and criminals to obtain fraudulent documents and also prevent DHS investigators from accessing important records that help take down child pornography and human trafficking rings and combat everything from terrorism to drug smuggling.”

Gun Rights Groups Hit Back After VA AG Says Second Amendment Sanctuaries Have ‘No Legal Effect’

The Virginia Defense League and Gun Owners of America, the gun rights group that is spearheading the Second Amendment sanctuary movement in the commonwealth, responded to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s statement that called the sanctuary resolution as having “no legal effect.”

The VDL and GOA sent a letter to their supporters and urged them to resist any unconstitutional gun control law the General Assembly passes in the new session next year.

“It is apparent that AG Herring and Governor Ralph Northam believe that Virginia localities have a duty to actively assist the Commonwealth in the enforcement of any law enacted by the General Assembly. These officials appear to believe that such blind obedience is required irrespective of whether a law violates the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Constitution, or is manifestly destructive of the preexisting rights of the People of Virginia,” the groups wrote. “This radical view is demonstrably false, and ignores the significance of the fact that local officials are required by law to take an oath to support the federal and state constitutions above the laws enacted by the General Assembly.”

The VDL and GOA said Governor Ralph Northam and Herring are wrong in their assessment counties must always implement laws passed since they “have taken exactly the opposite legal position” when it came to sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.

Northam vetoed two bills in March that would have banned localities from becoming sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants and would have required law enforcement agency to notify federal authorities if they had illegal immigrants in their custody.

“The safety of our communities requires that all people, whether they are documented or not, feel comfortable, supported and protected by our public safety agencies,” Northam said at the time.

“Thus, three times in three consecutive years (2017, 2018, and 2019), Governor Northam used his office to support the right of Virginia’s localities to declare themselves sanctuary cities and counties, refusing to help with the enforcement of federal immigration laws, based on mere policy differences with those federal laws,” the gun rights group said.

The VDL and GOA stated there is nothing new with people not obeying illegal and unauthorized government acts, adding, “If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority, since the higher authority is acting illegitimately and unconstitutionally, and without legal authority.”

An overwhelming number of counties in Virginia have declared themselves as Second Amendment sanctuaries, promising to not enforce any gun law deemed as unconstitutional.

A few Virginia sheriffs voiced their support for counties becoming gun sanctuaries to Townhall, giving the movement critical backing.

“I am in favor of the Second Amendment Sanctuary. I believe we need to send a message to Richmond that our citizens will take a stance. My deputies and I take an oath to uphold the Constitution and that’s what we will do,” said Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie Compton.

Second Amendment Sanctuary Cities For The Win.

It’s glorious how the normal people of Virginia are rising up to reject Governor Blackface … or is it Governor KKK-klothes? He can’t seem to remember which one he was in the photo, meaning he had probably donned both creepy get-ups at some point. Yay, our Democrat betters! In any case, the people are telling him, “No, we’re not letting you goose-stepping Bloomberg bots take our guns,” and it is especially glorious that the means to make this righteous commitment is a new, and not garbage, sanctuary movement.

I’ve always been an advocate of playing by the left’s new rules, and this is a great opportunity to new rules the libs good and hard. We got your sanctuary right here, pinkos.

See, the left decided that Virginia, whose northern reaches are now full of government workers and other garbage people, needed to turn blue. With tons of lib donor money and the aid of a typically inept state GOP (I know those feel here in California), they managed to just barely grab control of both houses of the legislature. With Governor Byrd-Jolson in charge, they immediately promised to do away with the Second Amendment. They announced that they were going to confiscate the citizens’ scary guns and do all sorts of other things to show those disobedient, probably Jesus-loving rubes who was boss.

Except, as Chairman Mao – who you think these dorks would appreciate more – pointed out, power grows from the barrel of a gun, not out of a mean tweet.

Instantly, everyone outside the garbage counties locked and loaded their freedom and so the Second Amendment sanctuary movement began. County after county, and many cities, all committed to resisting if the state tried enforcing unconstitutional gun laws against normal citizens. And it was beautiful. The Dems wet themselves.

Remember, these normals won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t mess with them. They work, raise children, pray, and they keep guns for the defense of themselves, their families, their communities and their Constitution. They didn’t get the memo that said they were supposed to just roll over and become subjects instead of citizens.

After all, Virginians aren’t Canadians.

Spokesperson: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Has ‘No Plans to Call in National Guard’

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has no plans to use the National Guard against residents in Second Amendment sanctuary counties, according to a spokesperson.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky saying, “[Northam has] absolutely no plans to call in the National Guard.”

The clarification of Northam’s position comes after Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) suggested the governor use the National Guard to force compliance with any newly passed gun controls.

The Washington Examiner quoted McEachin saying, “I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law. That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.”

Northam’s decision not to call in the National Guard at this time also follows Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins’ vow to “deputize thousands” to defend gun rights.

Jenkins said:

Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions. “Red Flag” laws without due process will create enormous conflict as well.

America has more guns than citizens and murder has long been illegal. At best, the proposed gun restrictions will disarm or handicap our law-abiding in their defense and possibly cause a criminal to choose another tool for evil.

Jenkins added, “If necessary, I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

1775…again?

When people desperately trying to avoid a fight are left no choice but to fight, they are often the fiercest fighters imaginable.

The reason being an explosion of righteous anger – of berserker fury – directed at the bullies who will not leave them be.

Governor “Coonman” Northam of Virginia is such a bully.

He intends to rescind the current, ancient and long-acknowledged legal right of Virginians who aren’t criminals to possess more than single shot rifles and pistols – by criminalizing anyone who does possess them. These newly minted “criminals” will then be required to turn in their formerly legal firearms to the government or be subject to Hut! Hut! Hutting! by armed government workers sent by the Coonman to enforce his criminal acts.

This is a recipe for 1775.

Another bully – Thomas Gage, the British military governor of Massachusetts – attempted a “Coonman” in that year, which lit the fuse of what became the Revolutionary War. He sent armed government workers – Redcoats – to confiscate the weapons of the colonists – who had finally had their fill of being bullied. These long-ago AGWs eventually gunned down several colonists on the village green at Lexington.

Word of the massacre spread and the people rose in response, fighting back with whatever means available, harrying the column of armed government workers as it made its way back toward Boston, some 18 miles away.

The fury incited by that long-ago “Coonman” was subsequently described by himself:

“These people show a spirit and conduct against us they never showed against the French . . . They are now spirited up by a rage and enthusiasm as great as ever people were possessed of and you must proceed in earnest or give the business up. A small body acting in one spot will not avail, you must have large armies making diversions on different sides, to divide their force. The loss we have sustained is greater than we can bear. Small armies cannot afford such losses, especially when the advantage gained tends to do little more than the gaining of a post.”

Eight years later, those furious colonists finally succeeded in getting the bullies off their backs – permanently.

They probably never imagined that homegrown bullies even worse than “Coonman” Gage would eventually arise to torment them.

The current “Coonman” may not realize just how very tired the people are of being bullied – and how willing they are to fight, if a fight is forced upon them.

The “Coonman” feels confident. He has the full weight and force of the government and all its means at his disposal. He has legions of armed government workers available to enforce his writ.

But he hasn’t got the fury – and that is something he ought to reckon with, before it it is too late.

If this thing starts, it will not end until one or the other side is no longer capable of fighting. It will be no-quarter-given. It will be awful.

But it will be righteous.

And it may be necessary.

 

Sorry Democrats: New Zealand’s gun confiscation program just failed miserably

Almost every Democrat running for president supports so-called “gun buybacks.” Too bad they don’t work.

Proposals range from Joe Biden’s voluntary gun buybacks to the more radical mandatory confiscation proposed by Cory Booker. (He still misleadingly calls it a “buyback.”) So it’s worth examining how such buybacks played out recently in New Zealand, which passed a ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons and a mandatory gun buyback program after a tragic shooting in April.

The deadline for the mandatory gun buyback program was Friday. The New Zealand program successfully led to the compensated confiscation of 51,000 of the targeted firearms. But as the left-leaning Guardian  newspaper reports, this is out of an estimated 170,000 such guns currently in circulation. And there are still a minimum of 1.2 million legally owned firearms in New Zealand on top of that.

This means that many people ignored the demand that they turn in their guns and trust the supposedly benevolent government to protect them from themselves.

And it’s almost certainly safe to say that those who surrendered the 51,000 semiautomatic guns will skew heavily toward the law-abiding, nondangerous end of the spectrum. Thus, getting these guns off the street in this fashion only tends to disarm the good guys, leaving their society at large more at risk, not less. Americans use firearms in self-defense hundreds of thousands of times per year, analysts estimate, usually without firing a shot.

One must avoid drawing direct conclusions based on how policies affect countries with different populations, characteristics, and societal norms. But rough comparisons can be fair, for what they’re worth. And the massive failure of what was a sweeping, bipartisan gun control measure in New Zealand bodes poorly for how more obstreperous Americans would react to the partisan, contentious gun control measures Democrats are contemplating.

Moreover, assuming that American gun owners complied in similar proportions, common sense dictates that those planning to use their guns to commit crimes would be among the last to comply. Meanwhile, millions of people in the United States who pose no threat would become criminals overnight. They could face incarceration or even deadly consequences if police really do go around kicking in doors to seize guns, as failed presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke once called for.

And even in the case of a voluntary buyback, it is far less likely to attract guns that are going to be used in crimes.

All in all, New Zealand’s mandatory buyback program is a massive failure. But don’t expect that to change the minds of most Democratic presidential candidates. They’re concerned with what polls well among the Democratic base — not with what actually works.

From the vid commentary:

Virginia’s 2A: Section 13. Militia; standing armies; military subordinate to civil power.
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

44-1. Composition of militia.
The militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth who are citizens of the United States and all other able-bodied persons resident in the Commonwealth who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who are at least 16 years of age and, except as hereinafter provided, not more than 55 years of age.
The militia shall be divided into three classes: the National Guard, which includes the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard; the Virginia Defense Force; and the unorganized militia.

I do not think that it can be any more clear, on how much of a violation SB16-18-64 will be.