Category: Goobermint

It’s not guns. It’s the hands the guns are in.

Countries with strict gun control hit by recent mass shootings and gun violence
Denmark, South Africa, and Sweden have all attempted to combat gun violence despite strict restrictions

South Africa, Denmark, and Sweden have been combating a wave of gun violence and mass shootings despite strict gun control laws in all three countries.

South Africa was the latest to see a mass shooting, with at least 19 people being killed in two separate shootings last week in Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg. In Johannesburg, 15 people were killed and many more injured when a gunman opened fire on patrons in a bar. A similar scene played out the same night in Pietermaritzburg, where two men entered an area bar and opened fire on patrons there, killing four people an injuring eight.

The two shootings happened despite tight gun regulations in the country, with GunPolicy.org rating South Africa’s firearms regulations as “restrictive.” Civilians in the country are not allowed to possess semi-automatic weapons without a special endorsement, while handgun ownership is permitted but only after obtaining a license under specific circumstances.

South Africa’s strict restrictions have led to a large black market for guns in the country, with almost 13,000 people being arrested in the country for illegal possession of firearms in 2020/2021, according to the Associated Press. 

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Not surprising for demoncrap tyrants

Gavin Newsom’s Weird Idea of ‘Freedom’
Newsom resembles a pathetic owner of a once successful but now run-down, high-priced gas station without clients.

In a run-up to what is likely to be a 2024 presidential bid, California Governor Gavin Newsom hit upon the bizarre idea of boasting in commercials that California is America’s true “free” state.

Part of his ad campaign is to attack Florida—currently run by Newsom’s possible rival, Governor Ron DeSantis.

Yet, with the most burdensome regulations and high tax rates, Newsom’s California is arguably the most unfree state in the union.

In return for these steep costs, the state’s public institutions, infrastructure, and services are among the country’s worst.

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Not surprising for demoncrap tyrants

Politicians Defy the Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Right To Bear Arms
Several states are retaining subjective criteria for carry permits or imposing new restrictions on gun possession.

After the Supreme Court upheld the right to bear arms last month, some states promptly complied with the ruling by eliminating subjective requirements for carrying a gun in public. But other states are either dragging their feet or refusing to acknowledge the decision’s implications.

The Court said New York had violated the Second Amendment by requiring “proper cause” to carry handguns for self-defense, a standard that gave local officials wide discretion to reject carry-permit applications. But anti-gun politicians have other tricks up their sleeves, including similarly vague standards and bans on firearm possession in specific locations, that will invite further litigation to vindicate a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.

New York responded to the Court’s rebuke with a law that eliminates the “proper cause” requirement but specifies a long list of “sensitive locations” where gun possession is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Those restrictions will make it impractical or legally perilous for many permit holders to actually exercise the right recognized by the Court.

In addition to listing myriad places where permit holders may not carry firearms, New York’s law bans guns in all private establishments open to the public unless they post conspicuous signs announcing that they are deviating from the default rule—a step many business owners will be reluctant to take. A bill backed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta takes a similar approach.

New York’s law retains a requirement that permit applicants demonstrate “good moral character,” an assessment that includes perusing their social media posts. Bonta likewise maintains that California’s “good moral character” standard remains constitutional, and he suggests that controversial opinions could be disqualifying.

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment specialist, thinks such a wide-ranging inquiry is “clearly unconstitutional.” Volokh notes that “the government can’t restrict ordinary citizens’ actions—much less their constitutionally protected actions—based on the viewpoints that they express.”

Although Massachusetts dropped its “good reason” criterion for carry permits, it still requires that an applicant be “a suitable person to possess firearms,” a standard that leaves considerable room for subjective judgments. The same vague requirement applies in Connecticut, where Attorney General William Tong has promised to resist any changes to the law.

Delaware requires that a carry-permit applicant demonstrate “good moral character” and “a good reputation for peace and good order.” The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), an industry group, reports that Delaware officials are taking a “wait and see” approach, meaning the law probably won’t be changed without additional litigation.

In Rhode Island, the attorney general “may issue” a carry permit based on “a proper showing of need,” while local licensing authorities “shall issue” a permit “if it appears” that the applicant is “a suitable person to be licensed” and either “has good reason to fear an injury to his or her person or property” or has “any other proper reason” to carry a handgun. Attorney General Peter Neronha seems to think his state’s rules are different enough from New York’s that no reform is necessary.

“This Case Involves a Religious Psychic Trying to Break a Family Curse by ‘Cleaning’ ‘Dirty’ Money”
By contrast, Hawaii Attorney General Holly Shikada last week said a concealed-carry applicant in that state will no longer be required to show he represents “an exceptional case” and has “reason to fear injury” to his “person or property.” Maryland and New Jersey recently dropped similar requirements: “good or substantial reason” in Maryland and “justifiable need” in New Jersey.

Even before the Court’s ruling, the vast majority of states either did not require permits for carrying firearms or had “shall issue” carry-permit laws, meaning applications generally were approved as long as gun owners met objective criteria. Those policies recognize, as the Court did, that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” cannot be treated as a privilege for the lucky few.

Some politicians still seem determined to reject that point. They will not respect their constituents’ rights until new constitutional challenges force them to do so.

Biden Getting Lost and Confused Leaving Air Force One

It’s only a very short clip of Presidentish Joe Biden getting lost and confused after exiting Air Force One in Israel today, but it reveals so much.

The video hasn’t broken widely yet, so some might doubt its authenticity.

I did at first, too.

But Biden is clearly wearing the same suit and tie seen in “legit” news stories seen today, and the announcer to my ears sounds Israeli.

Also, I don’t see any of the weird motion artifacts you usually see in deep fake videos, like that doctored video supposedly showing Biden putting a Medal of Honor recipient’s medal on backward.

Here’s the clip; judge for yourself if it’s fake or he’s increasingly senile:

“What am I doing now?” Biden asks before being guided — first visually and then with a physical prompt — to his place on the red carpet.

“YOU. WALK. ON. THE. RED. CARPET.” I wanted to shout at my computer screen.

This guy holds the nuclear codes, or at least presumably does, and he has to be reminded to walk down the middle of the carpet laid down just for his arrival. It would be sad if it weren’t so frightening.

UPDATE: Yikes. It isn’t just real; it’s worse than we first thought.

It’s a testament to the human body’s autonomic systems that can sustain life even when the brain is nothing more than cottage cheese.

Biden Dismisses Record-High Inflation News As ‘Out-Of-Date.’

President Joe Biden responded to news of inflation reaching a fresh four-decade high by arguing that the report is outdated.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 9.1% between June 2021 and June 2022, according to a Wednesday morning report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, exceeding the Dow Jones estimate of 8.8%. While Biden acknowledged that the inflation reading was “unacceptably high,” he deflected by asserting that the data are “also out-of-date.”

“Energy alone comprised nearly half of the monthly increase in inflation. Today’s data does not reflect the full impact of nearly 30 days of decreases in gas prices,” he said in a statement, noting that gas prices have fallen by $0.40 since June. “Those savings are providing important breathing room for American families.”

Indeed, gas prices fell to $4.63 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to AAA. Yet national average gas prices in early June surpassed $5.00 per gallon — a reality reflected in the most recent inflation report. Gas prices were $2.38 per gallon ahead of Biden’s inauguration and $3.53 ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Biden added that “other commodities like wheat” fell sharply since the June report, which showed the price of cereals and bakery products rising 13.8%. However, high fuel and fertilizer prices are levying heavy cost pressures on farmers across the world.

However, Biden assured the nation that “tackling inflation” is his “top priority.”

“Inflation is our most pressing economic challenge,” he continued. “It is hitting almost every country in the world. It is little comfort to Americans to know that inflation is also high in Europe, and higher in many countries there than in America. But it is a reminder that all major economies are battling this COVID-related challenge, made worse by Putin’s unconscionable aggression.”

While responding to the May inflation report last month, Biden likewise characterized inflationary pressures as “Putin’s Price Hike.” Biden also claimed that inflation is “worse everywhere” than in the United States — even though the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, South Korea, and Japan are all seeing lower rates of inflation, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Among other actions, Biden committed to bringing down the price of gas by continuing his “historic release of oil from our strategic petroleum reserve.” Though the policy of releasing one million barrels of oil per day was touted by the White House as an “unprecedented” move to “provide a historic amount of supply” to Americans facing high prices, a report from Reuters showed that at least five million barrels of oil were exported to European and Asian nations during the month of June — including to a Chinese firm with links to Hunter Biden.

Referring to declining oil prices, Biden also asserted that “oil and gas companies must not use this moment as an excuse for profiting by not passing along savings at the pump.” He has also called on gas stations — which earn margins as low as 1.4% on their fuel — to bring down their prices.

Biden vowed to “urge Congress to act, this month, on legislation to reduce the cost of everyday expenses that are hitting American families,” including prescription drugs, utility bills, and health insurance premiums. Many Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow Biden to control prices, such as by declaring an “energy emergency” to stop fuel companies from selling at prices deemed “unconscionably excessive.”

Onondaga County DA on new concealed carry social media review law: “it’s unenforceable”

Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick is calling a new law set to take effect September 1st “unenforceable.” Anyone who wants to apply for a license to carry a concealed weapon in New York State will have to hand over access to their social media accounts, starting September 1st. “I thought it was somebody pranking me, but sadly it’s true,” said Fitzpatrick. He says he and other leaders in law enforcement were not included in decisions about this law. His biggest worry is how to enforce it.

“You know how much money was allocated to the sheriff’s departments in the state of New York to enforce this, and the state police? Not a dime,” said Fitzpatrick.

John Jay College Associate Professor Adam Scott Wandt says he can see where state leaders are coming from in response to signs allegedly missed from mass shooting suspects on their social media accounts; despite this, the law might not be practical. “They’ll need money, they’ll need training, they’ll need ways of enforcing the new law, and that’s something that always should be taken into account by the legislature,” said Wandt.
They will also need people to do research on all the accounts that come in. Fitzpatrick says he will meet with police departments and the Sheriff’s office in the coming weeks to figure out what they can do, but it very well could be nothing. “People are being shot out there and I’m sitting here in an office reading about your trip to Disney World? It’s unbelievable the lack of thought and foresight,” said Fitzpatrick.

Professor Wandt says the weeks and months after the start date in September will be telling, and pushback could make way to the Supreme Court. “There’s no doubt in my mind that there will be challenges in the near future to this new law. Whether or not they’re successful, is a whole other story,” said Wandt.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s office got back to CNY Central Monday, with a statement saying “Governor Hochul signed landmark legislation to strengthen New York’s gun laws and bolster restrictions on concealed carry weapons. The comprehensive new law—drafted in close collaboration with the Legislature—is devised to align with the Supreme Court’s recent decision inNYSRPA v. Bruen and provides licensing officials with relevant information to complete thorough background checks for individuals seeking concealed carry permits.” Hochul’s Office also saying this is one various tools that are now in their toolbox to determine whether an applicant can obtain a gun permit.

The answer is that he’s too senile.

Biden Is Too Old to Be President Says — the New York Times?

When the New York Times begins to question your fitness for office, maybe retiring to your Rehoboth beach house doesn’t look like such a bad idea.

It’s extraordinary for a partisan news outlet like the New York Times to publish an in-depth look at such an “uncomfortable” issue as the president’s age. But the 2,500-word article makes a case that Republicans could never make without being accused of partisanship.

Joe Biden is too old to be president. The Times doesn’t come out and say it, but they quote plenty of other people — close aides, friends, and Democrats — who admit that Biden is showing his age and that it might not be such a great idea for him to run for president in 2024.

Mr. Biden’s public appearances have fueled that perception. His speeches can be flat and listless. He sometimes loses his train of thought, has trouble summoning names or appears momentarily confused. More than once, he has promoted Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “President Harris.” Mr. Biden, who overcame a childhood stutter, stumbles over words like “kleptocracy.” He has said Iranian when he meant Ukrainian and several times called Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, “John,” confusing him with the late Republican senator of that name from Virginia.

It’s not a state secret. Biden’s difficulties with age are well known to foreign leaders, who tried their best to cover for him last month during his trip to Europe.

During his European trip last month, foreign leaders followed his lead while protectively treating him like a distinguished elderly relative. At a photo opportunity, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany gently pointed Mr. Biden in the direction of the cameras. Just before a meeting, a reporter twice shouted a question about getting grain out of Ukraine. When Mr. Biden could not hear the question, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, rescued him. “We’re working on it,” Mr. Johnson responded.

Those aides closest to Biden try their best to hide his infirmities, but it’s a nerve-wracking job to prevent the president from embarrassing himself.

But they acknowledged Mr. Biden looks older than just a few years ago, a political liability that cannot be solved by traditional White House stratagems like staff shake-ups or new communications plans. His energy level, while impressive for a man of his age, is not what it was, and some aides quietly watch out for him. He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe.

“I do feel it’s inappropriate to seek that office after you’re 80 or in your 80s,” said David Gergen, a top adviser to Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. “I have just turned 80 and I have found over the last two or three years I think it would have been unwise for me to try to run any organization. You’re not quite as sharp as you once were.”

Experts on age say there’s no evidence Biden is incapacitated, but even partisan “experts” question whether he should run again. Jay Olshansky, a longevity specialist at the University of Illinois Chicago, told the Times that “there’s no evidence that the age of Biden should matter one ounce” in your vote for president. But what if he wins re-election?

Still, Professor Olshansky said it was legitimate to wonder if that would remain so at 86. “That’s the right question to be asking,” he said. “You can’t sugarcoat aging. Things go wrong as we get older and the risks rise the older we get.”

OK, professor. It won’t matter “one ounce” that Biden is going to be 86 after his second term. We’ll just cross our fingers and hope that things won’t go wrong in his second term.

Biden’s approval rating has dropped off the edge of the earth. It’s down to 30%, according to the Civiqs tracking poll. Biden is deep underwater with voters in every age bracket, every educational level, and both genders. Biden’s age may be of secondary concern to Democratic Party primary voters given Biden’s hugely unpopular stewardship of the nation.

Of course, Biden’s age is a legitimate issue — now that Democrats are making it one. It may be a little premature, but it’s a pretty safe bet that Biden is not going to run for re-election. The question now becomes one of timing. Biden may wait until after the midterms. He may even want to give Kamala Harris a leg up and resign from the presidency “for health reasons.” Giving Harris the “incumbent” tag may help her in the primaries, but she’d still be toast in the general election.

The Democrat’s gamble of presenting Biden as a “sane” alternative to Donald Trump has failed. And there’s no one on the horizon for Democrats who have the heft or stature to fill the leadership void.

A Biden Tax Hike Kicked in That Affects Everything From Soap to Lightbulbs

An excise tax hike on household items that was buried in President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package last year went into effect on July 1, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

A roughly $13 billion tax increase on 42 chemicals, metallic elements and critical minerals was included in Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Common household items like rubber, soap, concrete, plastics, lightbulbs and electronics will be impacted.

Superfund chemical excise taxes were previously in place between 1987 and 1995, according to the IRS. The infrastructure package, which the White House called “a once-in-a-generation investment,” triggered the re-implementation of the taxes.

Funds from the reinstated excise tax will be partially directed to the Superfund Trust Fund, which is administered through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and responsible for “cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters.”

The tax impacts Americans who import, produce or manufacture qualified chemicals, Bloomberg Law reported. Importers, producers and manufacturers will pay between $0.48 and $9.47 per ton in tax on chemicals, the outlet reported.

Republicans have been critical of the Biden administration for imposing the taxes amid soaring inflation and supply chain crises. Inflation reached 8.6% in May from a year prior, which is the fastest increase in 40 years.

“The fake infrastructure bill was drafted to raise taxes on and kill jobs in Louisiana specifically,” Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said last year upon introducing a bill with other Republicans to eliminate the Superfund taxes. “Its Superfund Tax will increase taxes on our petrochemical industry by $1.3 billion, and that’s going to endanger good jobs at a time when inflation is already ravaging Louisiana families.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the EPA. The IRS declined a request for comment.

New York Tells Supreme Court ‘Thank You, Sir. May I Have Another?’

New York has made a return appointment for Constitutional scrutiny of their gun-carry laws.

Almost immediately after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s previous law over the subjective nature of its “proper cause” clause, New York is back with a beefed-up and even more subjective “good moral character” clause. In addition to requiring multiple references, the newly-passed standard for issuing gun-carry permits includes a social media review. Instead of relying on objective standards, such as an applicant’s record of convictions or mental health commitments, the state is doubling down on the subjective judgment of its permitting officials.

Instead of judging whether somebody has “proper cause” to carry a gun based on specific threats to their life, state officials will now judge whether or not they are of “good moral character” based on their tweets and Facebook posts. It’s difficult to see how the outcome will be any different.

It’s difficult to see how the legal fight will be any different either. Except, perhaps, how quickly New York loses.

New York is defying the Supreme Court. And it’s not trying to hide that fact.

“With this action, New York has sent a message to the rest of the country that we will not stand idly by and let the Supreme Court reverse years of sensible gun regulations,” Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado said in a statement.

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Sounds Like Japan Needs Some Gun Laws.

Shinzo Abe was 67.

I really don’t want to hear that this sort of thing only happens in America. Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, and none of those laws stopped this lunatic from making his own gun and shooting a politician with it. Laws mean nothing to the evil and the insane.

The NRA didn’t do this, unless there’s a Nipponese Rifle Association.

And once again, our media is a disgrace. Here’s how NPR decided to remember Shinzo Abe:

The man who was just assassinated was divisive and arch-conservative, huh?

And here’s their second attempt, after they deleted that one:

“Ultranationalist.” Well, maybe the third time will be the charm.

And of course, the worst president in the history of the United States had to say something stupid:

Shinzo Abe was assassinated on Japanese soil with a homemade gun, and now this moron and his staffers are using it to push gun control in America. I can’t wait for November……..

Gov. Hochul: Here’s What the Data Actually Says

It only took 30 seconds, that’s all. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul held a press conference calling back her state’s legislature for an “extraordinary” session to pass more gun control after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s restrictive and subjective “may issue” pistol permit license scheme.

In 30 seconds, she vocalized why her gun control agenda is destined to fail.

Failed Approach

Gov. Hochul exclaimed, “I’m absolutely shocked,” after the Supreme Court held in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm in public for self-protection. She shouldn’t be. It only takes a simple reading of the actual amendment.

She called her state’s Democratically-controlled legislature back to Albany to restrict where licensed conceal carry permit holders can lawfully carry their firearms. The new laws include even more restrictive provisions like background checks and a state database for ammunition purchases, increased training requirements to obtain the permit, a mandatory sit-down, in-person interview and even requiring applicants to submit social media accounts for content review.

“Do you have the numbers to show that it’s the concealed carry permit holders that are committing crimes? The lawful gun owner will say you’re attacking the wrong person,” asked Albany-based CBS 6 News anchor Anne McCloy. “It’s really people that are getting these guns illegally that are causing the violence, not the people that are going to get the permit legally and that’s the basis for the whole Supreme Court argument. Do you have the numbers?”

“I don’t need to have numbers,” the governor shot back. “I don’t have to have a data point to point to to say this is going to matter.”

That’s what is called “the tell.”  These laws aren’t aimed at stopping criminals. They’re designed to rob law-abiding citizens of their rights.

What’s The Data Say?

Some estimates suggest New York has more than 200,000 concealed carry permit holders. For the entire United States, it’s over 21.5 million. These are law-abiding gun owners that meet state requirements and were approved after an FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) verification. New York is one of the states with the most stringent conceal carry requirements.

The actual data shows that concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding people in America. The Heritage Foundation’s 2019 data says, “… concealed-carry permit holders accounted for 801 firearm-related homicides over a 15-year span, which amounts to roughly 0.7% of all firearm-related homicides during that time.”

A Fox News report paints a picture Gov. Hochul would rather ignore. According to the FBI, Census Bureau, and Rand Corporation data, states with lower rates of gun ownership and more restrictive gun control – like New York – have more firearm murders per 100,000 residents as a percentage of the gun-owning population than states with high gun owner rates.

New York ranks fifth, with just 19.9 percent of households saying they possess a firearm and 1.53 firearm homicides per 100,000 residents. The Violence Policy Center attempted to “fact check” a claim about concealed carry holders committing fewer crimes but ended up “revealing” there were 37 firearm incidents (not specifically intentional homicide) involving concealed carry permit holders between May 2007 and May 2022. That’s less than 2.5 per year in the entire country.

Crime rates, especially in New York City, continue to climb.

Gov. Hochul and Albany Democrats praised themselves for their “fast work” to jam through more restrictions on law-abiding New Yorkers. The policies won’t stop criminals from perpetrating their crimes. It will, however, turn law-abiding New Yorkers into criminals overnight when enacted in a few months.

Gov. Hochul isn’t to be bothered with facts.  She doesn’t need the data or the science. She doesn’t even need to focus laws on holding criminals accountable. When it comes to gun rights, Gov. Hochul needs only the echo chamber of New York’s legislature to nod in agreement as they strip New Yorkers of their rights.

Failure after failure like this and it’s not so difficult these days to actually consider that they’re not ‘failures’.

BLUF
Watch for even more revelations and reactions from politicians demanding more gun control laws as this story continues to unfold. While it is clear authorities in Highland Park are focusing on prosecuting Crimo, the gun prohibition lobby has already shown its intent to use this crime to advance its agenda, despite the fact that laws anti-gunners have already pushed into place did not live up to their promise of preventing violent crime.

True to form, anti-gunners have yet to acknowledge their restrictive gun control measures did not prevent the attack, and they have quickly steered away from that inconvenient truth by demanding more laws.

World-Class Gun Control Failure: Truth About Highland Park Emerges

Predictably emerging from the intense investigation into the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois are revelations that laws already in place to prevent such crimes failed miserably, but instead of acknowledging poor enforcement of existing statutes, anti-gun politicians and their far-left supporters simply want to pass more restrictions.

Buried in all the coverage about the Highland Park shooting that so far has claimed seven lives and left dozens more wounded was the acknowledgment by USA Today that the Chicago suburb banned so-called “assault weapons” nearly ten years ago and the Supreme Court “later declined to hear an appeal seeking to overturn the ordinance.”

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering actually signed the gun ban ordinance, the story noted.

Fox News reported that Rotering, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show stated, “I think at some point the nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving the murder of dozens of people with legally-obtained guns. If that is what our laws stand for, then I think we need to re-examine the laws.”

However, speaking on Fox News, former homicide detective and Fox News contributor Ted Williams observed,“Let me say that Illinois has some of the most stringent gun laws in this country. They have red flag laws. They have universal background checks…so all of these things were in place in some kind of way. Some way [somehow], this slipped through the cracks.”

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Highland Park Mayor Rotering Says the Nation Is ‘Enslaved to Guns,’ Calls for Nationwide Ban

The disconnected and feckless responses of local leadership to the shootings in their cities over the July 4th weekend have been nothing short of abysmal. If you do a perusal of the cities that suffered violence this past weekend, you’ll find that the majority are run by Democrats.

Color me shocked.

My colleague Sister Toldjah wrote about the truly disgraceful and tone-deaf response by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to a mass shooting in Philadelphia.

During a press conference, Kenney – after going on a rant about gun violence – essentially told a CBS Philly reporter in so many words “f*** it, I can’t wait to get out of here” because he could never stop worrying about what would happen next in the city that elected him:

“There’s not an event or a day where I don’t lay on my back and look at the ceiling and worry about stuff. So everything we have in the city over the last seven years, I worry about. I don’t enjoy Fourth of July, I don’t enjoy the Democratic National Convention. I didn’t enjoy the NFL draft. I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time. So I’ll be happy when I’m not here, when I’m not mayor and I can enjoy some stuff.”

When he was asked to confirm that he was “looking forward to not being mayor,” Kenney responded with a smile and said “yeah.”

He’s a Democrat, of course.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering is no better. Instead of updating the national press about the ongoing investigation into shooter, Robert “Bobby” Crimo, and the state of the survivors, Rotering is pushing the gun control narrative, complaining to NBC’s Meet the Press NOW that this nation has not done enough to stop gun violence.

“People need to recognize these guns are absolutely meant to destroy human life. And again, I question national leadership’s decision to allow these to continue to be in the United States.”

It’s as if Rotering thinks Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can just wave a magic wand and make them all go away. Rotering acts like there is no such thing as the Constitution and the Second Amendment, let alone human agency and free will. Not to mention those pesky Supreme Court decisions from Heller to Bruen which continue to uphold that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.

The founders failed to include a mass shooter clause, much to the Democrats’ chagrin.

At least Rotering admits that Illinois and Highland Park already had gun control measures in place before the July 4th shooting occurred.

As much good as it did them.

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Well, it’s not the guns that are the problem. It’s the hands the guns are in.

When Gun Laws Don’t Prevent Gun Crime

On Monday, in the city of Highland Park, Ill., a deranged goblin of a man opened fire on a July 4 parade, killing seven innocent people and wounding three dozen others. After an intense search, the culprit was apprehended and taken into custody. Yet again, a mass shooting has sullied America.

And, yet again, it is unclear what lawmakers can do to prevent the next one. Just weeks ago, the Senate passed a gun-control bill that Chris Murphy described as “the most significant piece of anti-gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years.”

Today, posturing as if nothing has been done recently, Democrats are asking for more. But what, exactly, does that mean? A red-flag law? Illinois already has one. A permitting system for the purchase and ownership of guns? Illinois has that, too. “Universal” background checks? That’s already Illinois law. What about “assault weapons” and “high-capacity” magazines? Highland Park has banned both since 2013. Concealed carry?

That was prohibited at the parade under an Illinois law that renders it illegal to carry firearms at “any public gathering held pursuant to a license issued by any governmental body.” Straw purchasing? That’s already illegal, and, besides, the gun was obtained legally. Can the courts be blamed, perhaps? They cannot. In 2015, the Seventh Circuit upheld Highland Park’s ban on “assault weapons” and “high-capacity” magazines, and the Supreme Court then declined to take up the case. As for Heller, McDonald, and Bruen — thus far, nothing that has flowed from them even intersected with this case.

California added Montana to a list of states banned from state-funded travel in 2021.
Because they are, relatively speaking, so rare and so unpredictable — and because America is so free — mass shootings remain one of the most intractable forms of crime. The ubiquity of firearms all but guarantees that a person who wishes to obtain one will do so before too long. The breadth of the First Amendment makes it tough to track threatening or unusual conversations. Absent a set of reforms that would gut the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, there is no way for American authorities to keep tabs on everyone who comes across as a little weird.

But if states are going to institute systems designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, it is not too much to ask that they use them. In the aftermath of almost every mass shooting, we learn that the suspect was “known to authorities” — which, in almost every case, means that the shooter was known to his community, too.

And so it was here. The Highland Park shooter did not spring ex nihilo from the shadows; he repeatedly telegraphed his intentions. In one video, uploaded in August 2021, he foreshadowed his attack on the July 4 parade. In another, he dramatized a school shooting. In a third, he fantasized about getting into a shooting war with police. Per officials in the city, local cops had interacted with him twice in 2019 — once when he attempted suicide, and once when he threatened to “kill everyone” and had 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword confiscated as a result. Illinois has a broad “red flag” law in place, and it requires gun buyers to have a current permit. Why, we must ask, did these incidents not trigger prophylactic action?

We would put a similar question to the press. Study after study after study shows that mass shootings are highly “contagious,” and that, as NPR put it in 2019, “intensive media coverage seems to drive the contagion.” This is a free country, and its media must be free to act as they see fit. But perhaps they could see fit to take that into account? As of Tuesday afternoon, every major press outlet in the United States remains fixated upon the shooter. In our fame-drunk culture, this indulgence can be deleterious. A little less of it would be welcome. As a matter of course, we ask gun owners to be responsible, and we ask citizens to be vigilant. Is it too much to ask the press whether the need to squeeze a few extra clicks out of a story is worth the risk of encouraging the next shooter?

And beyond that? Beyond that, Americans would do well to set incidents such as this one in their proper context. Random acts of violence are, indeed, terrifying, but they are terrifying because they are so rare. When allocating our limited time and resources, we ought to remember that while the most spectacular criminals garner all the attention, a devastating attrition continues unabated in the background. On the day before the shooting in Highland Park, 15 people were killed in Chicago.

Thus far in 2022, there have been 250 murders in Philadelphia, 175 murders in Los Angeles, and 102 murders in Washington, D.C. Bringing down those numbers will take hard work, intelligent policing, a willingness to enforce the laws already on the books, and a commitment to engaging with the problem in its most common form — and not just when it provides clicks, outrage, and a chance to poke one’s political enemies in the eye.

Biden advisor on Thursday:
Americans Need To Pay More for Gas To Defend ‘Liberal World Order.’

Today, from the senile clabberhead

Hmmmm. Didn’t know they had one. Oops! I been a baaaad boy.

The Second Amendment Isn’t Only Guns: Virginia’s Switch Blade Ban Died Today.

Knife Rights’ Virginia Switchblade Ban Repeal Bill, SB 758, is effective today (July 1). The possession, carry, sale, purchase and manufacture of automatic (switchblade) knives will be legal in the state.

NOTE: The concealed carry knife bans in Virginia, including of switchblade (automatic) knives, will still remain in effect: “If any person carries about his person, hidden from common observation, (i) any dirk, bowie knife, switchblade knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, … or (v) any weapon of like kind as those enumerated in this subsection…”

Holding a Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit doesn’t allow concealed carry of an automatic (switchblade) knife.

Knife Rights will never stop until all archaic knife restrictions in Virginia are repealed.

With the repeal in Virginia, only five states remain with a complete ban on civilian possession of switchblade (automatic) knives. Knife Rights has led the effort to repeal switchblade bans or restrictions in 19 states, starting with New Hampshire in 2010. Repeals have since been enacted in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Altogether, Knife Rights’ efforts have resulted in 39 bills repealing knife bans in 25 states and over 150 cities and towns since 2010.

And how much of that sticks to the fingers of his cronies?

Secretary Buttigieg to Spend $1 Billion to Combat Racist Highways

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is on a mission. He’s looking for highways with a racist past and is aiming to “help reconnect cities and neighborhoods racially segregated or divided by road projects.” Buttigieg is examining interstate highways, built with federal dollars, “where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” said Buttigieg in a speech announcing the $1 billion “Reconnecting Communities” program.

“How it was built”? What does that mean? Does that statement refer to the racial makeup of businesses and residents? This is just more of the “disparate racial results” of government action, not because there was a racist intent behind it.

We’re told that these divisions deliberately targeted black neighborhoods because, well, racism, of course. States and communities will be able to “apply for the federal aid over five years to rectify harm caused by roadways that were built primarily through lower-income, Black communities after the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.”

There are perhaps thousands of communities across the United States “harmed” by the building of the interstates. How many towns and cities that the Interstate Highway System bypassed withered and died on the vine because of an arbitrary decision by some soulless bureaucrat in Washington?

Associated Press:

“Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we‘ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” said Buttigieg, who was announcing the pilot program later Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama. He described Reconnecting Communities as a broad department “principle” — not just a program — to address the issue with many efforts underway.

“This is a forward-looking vision,” Buttigieg said. “Our focus isn’t about assigning blame. It isn’t about getting caught up in guilt. It’s about fixing a problem. It’s about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done with taxpayer dollars.”

Does this sound like it’s going to “mend what’s broken”?

New projects could include rapid bus transit lines to link disadvantaged neighborhoods to jobs; caps built on top of highways featuring green spaces, bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to allow for safe crossings over the roadways; repurposing former rail lines; and partial removal of highways.

Is there a reason there are few “green spaces, bike lanes and pedestrian walkways” in these neighborhoods now? Just asking.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the program the “woke-ification” of federal policy, which isn’t entirely accurate. This is good old-fashioned government goodies going to a favored constituency. There’s nothing remotely “woke” about it.

Justice Thomas referenced such shenanigans in the Bruen decision itself.
To be clear, even if a modern-day regulation is not a dead ringer for
historical precursors, it still may be analogous enough to pass constitutional muster. For example, courts can use analogies to “longstanding” “laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings” to determine whether modern regulations are constitutionally permissible. Id., at 626. That said, respondents’ attempt to characterize New York’s proper-cause requirement as a “sensitive-place” law lacks merit because there is no historical basis for New York to effectively declare the island of Manhattan a “sensitive place” simply because it is crowded and protected generally by the New York City Police Department.

and (at the end of footnote 9)
….because any permitting scheme can be put toward abusive ends, we do not rule out constitutional challenges to shall-issue regimes where, for example, lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.

May just be me, but I read that as Justice Thomas slyly daring New York, and other states, to enact crap-for-brains laws like this.

Actually, not very much

How will the new federal gun law affect Missouri? It’s complicated
In 2021, Gov Mike Parson signed the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which bars local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun laws.

The federal gun safety bill passed with bipartisan congressional support in June was heralded as the first notable piece of federal gun legislation in nearly 30 years. Yet Missouri won’t feel its full impact — yet.

Missouri will benefit from the millions of dollars in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act set aside for mental health, crisis intervention and school safety programs. Retiring Sen. Roy Blunt co-sponsored the mental health component of the legislation.

But the provisions in the bill related to gun monitoring programs or red-flag laws cannot yet be implemented by state law enforcement because in 2021, Missouri passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), which bars local law officials from enforcing federal gun policy and could fine them for doing so.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Missouri statute in February and the law is currently being challenged in Cole County court by St. Louis city and Jackson County. There isn’t a timeline on when the case could be settled, but until it is, SAPA is in effect in Missouri.

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