Category: RKBA
New firearm owners shaking up gun culture and American politics
HARRISBURG — Richard Reisinger, of New Bloomfield in Perry County, leaned in as David Walker of Savage Guns, a Massachusetts-based firearm company, showed him how to work a new innovation that allows the owner to adjust a gun for right- or left-handed users.
“I have grandchildren; some of them are left-handed, some are right-handed, so now if you purchase a gun, all you have to do is place this on the handle and it accommodates either, so you buy one gun and multiple kids can shoot it,” Mr. Reisinger said, admiring the practicality of the design.
“It is really nice.”
Mr. Reisinger — who was visiting the Savage booth at the Great American Outdoor Show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex recently — said he comes from a long line of hunters, a tradition he now enjoys with his grandchildren.
“I do a lot of whitetail hunting at the moment — but with grandchildren, I’ll take them out to hunt pretty much anything that they’re interested in. I love coming to the outdoors show because I get to see, and touch, and feel a lot of different firearms that I might be interested in down the road,” he explained.
Mr. Reisinger — like dozens of other people interviewed that day — said gun ownership is about a lot of things: “Putting food on the table and providing for my family, self-protection and the motor and dexterity skills it sharpens when you go target practicing. You meet more and more new gun owners all of the time; most of them said they bought their first gun for those exact same reasons … they found all of it personally empowering.”
This is a truth that conflicts with our culture’s misconceptions about who “the American gun owner” really is and what his or her motivations are for enjoying firearms. If you turn on the national news or log onto social media, you’re likely to find lawful gun owners portrayed as cultish, backwoods white males who have a gluttonous appetite for violence.
Gun owners see themselves quite differently — and their demographics and motivations don’t fit neatly into the stereotypes.
Despite the millions spent in digital advertisements by gun control advocates like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the appeal of gun ownership is only increasing. Of all the firearms sold last year, 30% — 5.4 million purchases — went to new gun owners, according to a retailer survey conducted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
A new interest in self-sufficiency, caused by collapses in our supply chain, has also led to an explosion in applications for hunting licenses.
According to Stateline, a Pew Trust initiative, many states across the country saw a dramatic rise in both men and women taking a hunter safety class for the first time — with states like Michigan seeing a 67% hike in new hunting license buyers in 2021 compared with 2019, including a 15% increase in female hunters.
People who would never have considered owning a gun were now curious about hunting to provide for their families — and about target practice to learn how to defend themselves and their homes.
Arizona: House Passes School Pick-Up Drop-Off Bill
A number of pro-gun bills have continued to advance in Arizona.
On Thursday, the House passed House Bill 2414 by a vote of 31-27. It allows law-abiding citizens to store their loaded firearms in their locked personal vehicles while parked on school grounds. This ensures that parents are able to pick-up and drop-off students without first having to stop and unload their firearms before driving onto school grounds, or deviating from their route to park off-campus. So-called “gun-free zones” are arbitrary boundaries that only disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless while doing nothing to deter criminals. HB 2414 has been transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed House Bill 2166. It exempts firearms and firearm safety equipment, such as gun safes and gun locks, from state transaction privilege and use taxes. This recognizes that the government should not be placing additional cost barriers on citizens who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and who wish to safely store their firearms. HB 2166 will next be considered in the House Rules Committee.
The House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 2473. It prohibits public entities from entering into contracts worth $100,000 or greater with businesses, unless they certify that they do not discriminate against firearm businesses. Anti-gun banks and their executives have expressed interest in denying services to the firearm industry as a way to further their political agenda and impose gun control by making such business impossible when legislatures won’t bend to their will. Banks should evaluate firearm businesses like any other business and consider financial risk, rather than ideology, in their decisions on providing services. This ensures that Arizona taxpayer money does not go to such businesses. HB 2473 will next be considered in the House Rules Committee.
The House Military Affairs & Public Safety Committee passed House Bill 2448. It requires school districts to offer age-appropriate firearm safety instruction to students in grades six through twelve. This legislation will help empower youths with this basic knowledge of respecting firearms “from a qualified individual with a focus on safety rather than from popular culture and various forms of media.” HB 2448 will next be considered in the House Rules Committee.
FYI; All data pulled from massshootingtracker.site which freely and openly admit their definition of ‘mass shooting’ isn’t what the FBI uses for its Uniform Crime Report (and which just happens to increases the number of incidents)
Here are a few tidbits according to the data provided for 2021:
California has the 3rd highest number of mass shootings (54 by their definition).
New York was 5th with 41.
Both have had magazines and AR bans for 28 and 9 years respectively.
Inversely Alaska, Idaho, New Hampshire, and South Dakota have had only 1 mass shooting with no such gun control laws.
Hrmmm. I think I see the possibility of a pattern emerging. It’s like gun control doesn’t just not work, it makes the problem worse!
Gun crimes grab most media attention, while gun use in self-defense gets merely a fraction: experts
People using guns in self-defense overwhelmingly don’t even lead to a criminal being killed or wounded, one crime watcher says
Americans across the country have used legal guns to defend themselves and thwart crimes, but the reports often fly under the radar and most people are unaware how often guns are used in self-defense cases.
“Having a gun is by far the safest course of action when people are facing a criminal by themselves,” Dr. John Lott, an economist and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, told Fox News Digital. He pointed to women in particular, who “behave passively” and are “about 2.4 times more likely to end up being seriously injured than a woman who has a gun to protect herself.”
As crimes skyrocketed in major cities since 2020, instances of women using guns to protect themselves and stop crimes have repeatedly played out.
“Thank God I had my gun, or I’d probably be dead right now,” a Chicago woman with a concealed carry permit said in October after two would-be carjackers approached her outside a bank.
“Thank God I had my gun, or I’d probably be dead right now.”
— Chicago crime victim
In New Orleans just last week, a mom and Air Force veteran pulled a gun on a man who tried to get into her car while she was sitting in gridlocked traffic with her 2-year-old son. She wasn’t forced to fire the weapon and the suspect took off.
‘Dramatic undercount’
Lott said that, in a typical year, the media reports about 2,000 defensive gun use stories, but he added “that is a dramatic undercount, because the vast majority of successful self-defense cases don’t make the news.”
STUDY SHOWS CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMITS SOARED DURING PANDEMIC, RECORD YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE
Lott said there are about 2 million defensive gun uses per year, according to the average of 18 national surveys.
The Heritage Foundation, which launched a database tracking how often guns are used in self-defense cases, cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which looked at various studies and found “that Americans use their firearms defensively between 500,000 and 3 million times each year.”
Reading through the Heller SCOTUS decision, these mandatory ‘safe storage’ bills like this one are all unconstitutional.
Storage bill a litigation and laundering scheme in disguise
So-called “safe storage” of firearms is a serious matter, however it’s been greatly politicized. The term “safe storage” needs to be replaced by the more applicable term “responsible storage”. Trying to cram the individual storage needs of every American into a statutory definition is impossible. What gun owners know and somehow escapes the anti-freedom caucus, the storing of a firearm might be “safe” in one home or location, but not necessarily “safe” in another. Just like the ignorant and obtuse opinions of our congresscritters who trend left of center are varied, so are the needs of gun owners. There’s no one size fits all solution to the storage debate.
On February 8, 2022 Congressman Andy Levin from Michigan introduced a new so-called “safe storage” bill, but in reality it seems to be a cloaked effort to open the doors for litigation against gun owners, and create a grant program to siphon funds into schools that subscribe to the pinko “shall always be locked up” mentality. On H.R.6639 – Protect Children Through Safe Gun Ownership Act:
Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), member of the House Education and Labor Committee and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, today unveiled his Protect Children Through Safe Gun Ownership Act. As many as 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one loaded and unsecured firearm. Children finding easy access to firearms contribute to preventable tragedies, such as school shootings, youth suicides and unintentional shooting deaths among children. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
The bill includes three main provisions to protect children from unsecured firearms: limitation on the transfer and use of handgun by minors, a new gun storage requirement and robust funding for the Department of Education to create a grant program centered around gun safety and safe storage education for parents and children.
The claim that “Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens” is a so-called statistic that needs to be buried and put to rest. Even on Everytown’s page noting this misleading “statistic” they say this includes “children” up to the age of 19. Without going too far into to weeds, it’s difficult not to when we’re being fed so many lies all the time, let’s look at another statistic.
West Virginia: Senate Passes Keep, Bear, and Drive with Arms Act
Yesterday, the Senate voted 33-1 to pass House Bill 4048, the WV Keep, Bear and Drive with Arms Act. It will now go back to the House for concurrence. Please ask your delegate to CONCUR with the Senate on HB 4048 WITHOUT further amendments.
House Bill 4048 affirms that it is lawful to possess loaded and/or uncased long guns in vehicles. This ensures that law-abiding citizens may carry the firearms of their choice, in the manner of their choosing, with them in vehicles. Given that West Virginia already has constitutional carry, law-abiding gun owners should be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights with long guns while traveling throughout the state.
Look! Another Issue Dems Want to Sweep Under the Rug Until After the Midterms.
It never ceases to amaze me how Democrats always feel like they can’t show their true colors until after an election.
With their party expected to take a huge beating at the ballot box in November, Democrats fighting tough battles to save their careers are distancing themselves from the unpopular Joe Biden as well as key issues in their party platform. House Democrats are actually being advised to deny supporting amnesty and open borders, critical race theory, or defunding the police in order to salvage their campaigns.
And yet, there’s still another issue Democrats won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, either … at least, not until after the midterms. You know, when it’s safer.
That issue is gun control.
Despite Joe Biden calling for more gun control legislation, members of his party have “little appetite” for pursuing it before November, reports The Hill. Two gun control measures passed the House in March of 2021, but have gathered dust in the Senate since.
And with good reason: it’s a political loser for them. Most adults want existing laws to be enforced, not new laws to be passed.
Even Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who once boasted, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,” now says that he’s “not interested in taking anything from anyone.”
And Democrats really think we don’t know what they’re doing.
No Shots Fired in 9 of 10 Defensive Gun Uses
Although defensive gun uses (DGU) happen every day, they often go unnoticed. Many people are surprised to learn that in 95% of DGUs, the victim doesn’t fire a shot. Let’s discuss the implications of these numbers and what it means for the everyday carrier.
How many DGUs per year —
Multiple studies (18 or so that I know of) put the number of annual defensive gun uses in the United States between 100,000 and 3.6 million. So if you throw out the highest and lowest survey numbers, the average sits at about 2 million instances where someone uses a firearm in self-defense.
No matter what number you accept, it’s clear people use firearms every day to defend life.
One of the many reasons the actual number of DGUs is hard to nail down is that around 95% don’t involve a single fired shot. Because of this, most go unreported to police. The media barely covers incidents where someone shoots a gun in self-defense. They certainly don’t report on DGUs with no shots fired.
If you’re interested in reading more about the research behind these DGU numbers, consider this 2019 book from author John Lott called “More Guns, Less Crime.”
We researched the topic of armed citizens and their effectiveness in limiting the number of people killed in mass shootings. Here is a link to what we found.
¡Grupos de Autodefensas para mi!
‘We’re scared’: People worry about shooting spikes in Spokane, turn to self defense for protection
SPOKANE, Wash. — Shootings are up in Spokane. It’s been a trend for years, and people and police are trying to get a handle on the issue.
So far this year, there have been 21 shootings, according to Spokane Police.
Here’s a breakdown of the rise in shootings over the years:
- 2018: 36 shootings
- 2019: 52 shootings
- 2020: 94 shootings
- 2021: 152 shootings
There were 10 shootings in just this past week police are still investigating. One of those happened at Gordon and Division where the victim fired back at someone who shot bullets into his living room, narrowly missing the family inside. Since that shooting, neighbors say they’re organizing a crime watch team to fight the issue. The man shot at says he won’t leave his home without a gun again.
Another drive-by shooting in East Spokane on East 5th Avenue and South Fiske Avenue has one mom ready to move out for good.
“We’re scared,” said Jamie Anderson. She has a son who says hasn’t slept well since the last shooting. “We’re trying to move out of this area and into a better area.”
The shooting spikes across the city are something police are worried about.
“It certainly is a troubling one that we want to try and get a handle on get under control,” said Nick Briggs, a Corporal with the Spokane Police.
He adds this rise in gun violence is a national trend, but they are concerned about the local increase and are working to find the people committing the shootings.
Gun shop owners say people are handling their own safety instead.
“They have to take their own precautions and do what they feel is necessary to keep their families safe,” said Jeremy Ball. He’s the owner of Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop.
He says his gun sales haven’t gone down since the start of the pandemic. High sales are the “new normal.” Last year, the nation saw the second highest amount of guns sold on record. At Ball’s shop, he says he seeing more first time gun owners buying small compact guns they can keep on them.
“We’re still seeing lots and lots of sales in small compact guns that people are using as carry weapons,” he said.
Anderson says she owns a gun but even that isn’t giving her the protection she wants.
“If a stray bullet comes through my door, we can’t stop that or it comes through my wall, we can’t stop that,” she said.
Police say people need to be careful with self defense. It’s a complicated issue if you don’t know the rights you can use to stay safe.
“It gets to be a very convoluted and complex legal analysis in terms of what somebody can and can’t do,” Briggs said.
What Briggs said you should do is report any information about these crimes and others to police as they work to keep Spokane safe. They also added in relation to other cities similar in size, the city still has a relatively low crime rate. Major Crimes and the Spokane Regional Safe Streets Task Force are actively investigating these recent shootings.
Alabama: Constitutional Carry Advancing to Floor
Yesterday, the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee voted 8-5 to pass House Bill 272, the constitutional carry bill. It will now advance to the House floor, where it will be considered tomorrow morning. The House still needs to first approve a budget isolation resolution (BIR) for it. Please contact your state representative and ask them to SUPPORT a BIR for HB 272, decline any amendments, and also SUPPORT it on the floor.
Constitutional carry strengthens Alabamians’ right to self-defense by allowing any law-abiding adult who is at least 21-years-old and legally eligible to obtain a carry permit, to carry a handgun without first having to obtain government permission. This ensures that citizens have their right to self-defense without red tape, delays, or fees. It does not change who is eligible to obtain a carry permit. It also does not affect previously issued permits, and allows citizens who still wish to obtain a permit in order to carry in other states recognizing Alabama’s permits, to do so.
Again, please contact your state representative immediately. Ask them to SUPPORT a BIR for HB 272, decline any amendments, and also SUPPORT it on the floor.
Wisconsin: Senate Passes Two Self-Defense Bills
Tuesday the Senate passed two bills to improve self-defense in Wisconsin. They now go to Governor Tony Evers for his consideration. NRA thanks the sponsors and all the lawmakers who voted in favor of these bills. Please contact Gov. Evers and ask him to sign Assembly Bills 518 and 495 into law.
Assembly Bill 518, sponsored by Representative Rick Gundrum (R-58), passed on a voice vote. It grants universal recognition to concealed carry permits held by non-Wisconsin residents, issued by any other state. It repeals the requirement that such recognition be only for permits from states on an arbitrary list maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. This reform recognizes that visitors traveling to Wisconsin should not be left defenseless simply by crossing a state line.
Assembly Bill 495, sponsored by Representative Robert Brooks (R-60), passed the Senate by a vote of 20-17. It allows adults who are licensed to carry firearms, to drive onto school grounds to pick-up or drop-off their students without first having to unload and store away their firearms in their vehicles. So-called “gun-free zones” simply disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless against the criminals who ignore such arbitrary boundaries.
Arizona bill to remove tax on gun sales advances
PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers are moving to help make the purchase of guns just a bit more affordable.
By a 6-4 margin, the House Ways and Means Committee voted Wednesday to exempt the sale of firearms from the state’s 5.6% sales tax. HB 2166 also would impose the same preclusion on cities.
“It’s my view that firearms should not be out of reach of anyone based on income,” Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, told colleagues. “It should be as affordable as possible.”
The bill now requires a vote of the full House.
Also exempt from taxes would be the sale of safety accessories, ranging from gun safes or cases to certain interlocks to prevent a weapon from being fired unless first deactivated by someone who is supposed to have access.
Individual affordability aside, Kaiser said what his bill also would do is end the financial disadvantage of firearms dealers.
Spokane County Sheriff: Magazine bans do nothing to stop violence
(The Center Square) – Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told legislators Wednesday that there was no evidence that banning the sale of high-capacity firearm magazines deterred violence and that the ban was likely to be found unconstitutional.
“There is no evidence that this type of ban is going to decrease violence in Washington, none whatsoever,” said Knezovich.
He was addressing the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee that is reviewing Senate Bill 5078, which passed in that chamber by a 28-20 vote last week…………….
Overwhelming Opposition to WA Magazine Ban Bill…
Legislation that would ban so-called “high capacity magazines” in Washington State—scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday morning before the state House Civil Rights & Judiciary committee—had garnered almost 15,000 “con” notifications prior to the hearing, while less than 1,000 “pro” notifications had been logged.
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5078 would prohibit ammunition magazines for rifles or pistols exceeding 10 rounds. Larger capacity magazines already in possession would be still allowed.
But Evergreen State gun owners are unified in their opposition to the measure, which was requested by anti-gun Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson and sponsored by Bellevue Democrat state Sen. Patty Kuderer, with a handful of co-sponsors, all Democrats.
The hearing was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The bill has already passed the Democrat-controlled Senate on a party-line vote 28-20. It is scheduled for a committee vote on Friday.
“….getting rid of the permits would amount to “defunding the police” and endanger law enforcement officers.”
That’s a new take on the old “The sky is falling, the sky is falling, there will be blood running in the streets!™”
It was said about permitless carry by the anti-civil rights Nervous Nellies in every state before it was passed…..And-It-Never-Happens.
Alabama House committee approves permitless pistol carry bill.
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the permitless carry of pistols in the state, sending an Alabama House GOP priority bill to that chamber.
The 8 to 5 vote on the bill from Rep. Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle, took place after an hour of contentious debate that crossed party lines.
Stringer argued that the legislation would allow law-abiding citizens to carry weapons without fear of legal retribution, and said permit laws did not deter crime.
“The fact of the matter is criminals don’t adhere to laws,” Stringer said. “They don’t obey the laws we have now. We cannot legislate an evil heart from Montgomery.”
The bill passed with an amendment that would require gun owners to declare that they were carrying firearms when asked by a police officer. But there was confusion about a second amendment proposed by Rep. Proncey Robertson, R-Mount Hope, that appeared to create separate penalties for bringing firearms in areas where they are currently restricted and led Stringer to call Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, not a member of the committee, to explain it.
Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla, a retired assistant sheriff for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, said getting rid of the permits would amount to “defunding the police” and endanger law enforcement officers.
Kansas Republicans introduce anti-gun owner discrimination law
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Kansas Republicans have introduced an anti-discrimination bill in the Senate, which would prevent discrimination against those involved in the legal trade of guns or ammunition.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, Republican Senator Kellie Warren (R-11) says she sponsored the Firearms Industry Nondiscrimination Act. She said the legislation is imperative to protect the Second Amendment rights of Kansans.
Senate Bill 482 would block attempts to discriminate against those involved in the legal trade of firearms or ammunition.
“The leftist mob has a radical agenda designed to circumvent our constitutional rights in order to re-engineer society by attacking the gun trade,” said Warren. “Knowing their policies are deeply unpopular in Kansas, they seek to enforce their agenda through woke corporations seeking to cancel our right to bear arms and bully those involved in the commerce of firearms and ammunition. That’s why I’m proud to join with the Republican leadership in the Senate to sponsor the FIND Act.”
Warren said similar bills have been signed into law in states like Texas as conservative leaders look to block “Corporate Gun Control” attempts.
“The FIND Act is incredibly important legislation that needs to be passed in order to protect our 2nd Amendment Rights,” Warren noted. “The gun trade in Kansas should be protected, not punished, and I stand with them in defending their rights and protecting them and their employees.”
Warren, who currently chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has also thrown her hat into the Attorney’s General race.
Senators Larry Alley (R-32), Renee Erickson (R-30), Ty Masterson (R-16) and Rick Wilborn (R-35) also sponsored the bill.
Hypocrisy O’ The Day
Gun control and BLM propagandist tries to shoot a Louisville Kentucky candidate in the race for mayor
Activist Quintez Brown charged in attempted shooting of Louisville mayor hopeful Greenberg
A Louisville activist has been identified as a suspect in the attempted shooting of mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg — a case that has drawn national attention and unproven accusations of radicalism amid a tense racial and political climate.
Quintez Brown, 21, was charged late Monday with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment after Greenberg was shot at in his campaign headquarters that morning.
No one was injured in the shooting, but a bullet grazed Greenberg’s sweater and shirt.
Live updates:Quintez Brown pleads not guilty to attempted murder, judge sets bond at $100K
Brown, a former intern and editorial columnist for The Courier Journal, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday, where a judge set his bail at $100,000.
The Parkland Shooting Was Proof Positive That Gun Control Doesn’t Work
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was a tragic event. Particularly so in that could have been prevented. Not prevented by enacting more gun control laws. It could have been prevented by the proper administration and application of law enforcement and school administration.
But since the shooting four years ago, those who so clearly failed to do their jobs that day and in the years before have laid the blame for the massacre on law-abiding gun owners and the inanimate object the killer used.
Nikolas Cruz was a known threat. He was known by the administrators of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward County Public Schools, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
Here are some interesting facts about the shooter in the years leading up to his rampage.
Feb. 5, 2016: A Broward County Sheriff’s deputy is told by an anonymous caller that Nikolas Cruz, then 17, had threatened on Instagram to shoot up his school and posted a photo of himself with guns. The information is forwarded to BSO Deputy Scott Peterson (the same officer who failed to act during the shooting), a school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Sept. 23, 2016: A “peer counselor” reports to Peterson that Cruz had possibly ingested gasoline in a suicide attempt, was cutting himself, and wanted to buy a gun. A mental health counselor advised against involuntary committing Cruz. The high school said it would conduct a threat assessment.
Sept. 28, 2016: An investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families rules Cruz is stable, despite “fresh cuts” on his arms. His mother, Lynda Cruz, says in the past he wrote a racial slur against African Americans on his book bag and had recently talked of buying firearms.
Sept. 24, 2017: A YouTube user named “nikolas cruz” posted a comment stating he wants to become a “professional school shooter.” The comment is reported to the FBI in Mississippi, which fails to make the connection to Cruz in South Florida.
Nov. 1, 2017: Katherine Blaine, Lynda Cruz’s cousin, calls BSO to report that Nikolas Cruz had weapons and asks that police recover them. A “close family friend” agrees to take the firearms, according to BSO.
Nov. 29, 2017: The Palm Beach County family that took Cruz in after the death of his mother calls the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office to report a fight between Cruz and their son, 22. A member of the family says Cruz had threatened to “get his gun and come back” and that he has “put the gun to others’ heads in the past.” The family does not want him arrested once he calms down.
Nov. 30, 2017: A caller from Massachusetts calls BSO to report that Cruz is collecting guns and knives and could be a “school shooter in the making.” A BSO deputy advises the caller to contact the Palm Beach sheriff.
Jan. 5, 2018: A caller to the FBI’s tip line reports that Cruz has “a desire to kill people” and could potentially conduct a school shooting. The information is never passed on to the FBI’s office in Miami.
Note: this timeline does not include the 39 times Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to complaints about Cruz’s behavior.
Also, back in 2013, the Broward County School Board adopted a program in which they don’t relay information to police about troubled students. NPR reported in Fla. School District Trying To Curb School-To-Prison Pipeline . . .
It’s a move away from so-called “zero tolerance” policies that require schools to refer even minor misdemeanors to the police. Critics call it a “school to prison pipeline.”
Under a new program adopted by the Broward County School District, non-violent misdemeanors — even those that involve alcohol, marijuana or drug paraphernalia — will now be handled by the schools instead of the police.
Cruz was banned from carrying a backpack at school after bullets were found in his backpack. Cruz was expelled from MSD in 2017 after a fight with his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
Again, Cruz gets a pass under the Broward County School Board’s official policy of requiring that schools don’t inform the police about non-violent incidents with troubled youth.
“There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus,” Maths teacher Jim Gard told The Miami Herald.
784.011 Assault. —
(1) An “assault” is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.(2) Whoever commits an assault shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
A liberal, feel-good program stepped in the way of enforcing laws we have on the books. Cruz’s actions including fighting and making threats against students and teachers clearly constituted assault.
It is possible that Nikolas Cruz could have been Baker Acted and received the needed medical attention he required. But that wasn’t the case and sadly, 17 people lost their lives as a result.
But let’s go a step further and look directly at the issue of gun control.