That’s it, right there
The Second Amendment is absolute. Anyone who says otherwise is a tyrant.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) April 8, 2021
Category: RKBA
Here's Merrick Garland claiming AR-pistols are "concealable" because they have a brace instead of a stock
LOOOOOOOOL pic.twitter.com/J3w820FHlB
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) April 8, 2021
Merrick Garland thinks this is concealable because he's a moron. Seriously, can we get a video of him trying to stuff one of these down his pants? pic.twitter.com/KE7mcVBSQj
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 8, 2021
Now that we’ve gotten a good look at Garland as Attorney General, it’s apparent the country dodged a bullet from having him installed on the Supreme Court.
WH Cagey About Prospects for Gun Sales Background Checks
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday finessed a vexing question about the congressional logjam over a hot-button gun control issue: federal background checks for firearms purchases.
In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement of several executive actions aimed at curtailing gun violence, Psaki was asked if the White House believes Congress will actually pass two bills expanding checks.
“The president is going to lead the analysis of what is viable and doable to all of you,” she said, the Daily Caller reported.
“He is not vote counting himself,” she said. “He is also clear about challenges in moving forward with legislation that the Senate. He will continue to advocate for that just as he did today, this morning in the Rose Garden surrounded by some of the bravest and most courageous advocates for gun control, gun safety legislation in the country. He also is not going to wait.”
When pressed on how that communication between Biden and a divided Congress would go, Psaki replied: “I certainly would anticipate the president will arrange conversations with members of Congress.”
Ducey signs ‘Second Amendment sanctuary’ bill
Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill Tuesday evening that makes Arizona a “Second Amendment sanctuary” and bars law enforcement agencies in the Grand Canyon State from enforcing federal gun control measures, ignoring a last-minute plea from gun control groups urging him to veto it.
“We want him to know that his constituents don’t agree with this,” Sophia Carrillo, a volunteer with gun safety group Moms Demand Action said to Arizona Mirror Tuesday morning after the group delivered nearly 2,500 signatures urging him to veto the bill.
Moms Demand Action collected 2,485 signatures which they delivered to Ducey’s office Tuesdaymorning in the hopes that it will persuade the governor to veto House Bill 2111.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu, makes it illegal for local governments, the state and employees to enforce or cooperate with any federal law, act, treaty, rule or regulation that is “inconsistent with any law of this state regarding the regulation of firearms.”
This will leave North Dakota as the only state where only residents can carry concealed without a permit.
WYOMING TO ALLOW NONRESIDENTS TO CONCEAL CARRY WITHOUT A PERMIT STARTING JULY 1
CASPER, Wyo. — Starting July 1, both residents and nonresidents alike will be able to conceal carry in Wyoming without obtaining a special permit, provided they can legally possess a hand gun in the United States.
Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 116 into law on Tuesday which will give nonresidents the ability to conceal carry without a special permit once the new law goes into effect July 1, 2021.
Oregon GOP Minority Leader Facing Recall After Failing to Block Gun Ban Legislation.
“Oregon’s Republican Senate minority leader declined to join his fellow party members in a walkout over gun control legislation last month. His presence in the Senate (along with five of his closest GOP friends) allowed the body to reach a quorum of at least 20 members and bring legislation banning firearms in the capitol up for a vote…which, in the Democrat dominated Senate, passed easily.”
The left did nothing but expose their own racism.
Left Thought Conservatives Would Freak Over Black Gun Owners. They Were Wrong
For ages now, some in Democratic circles have sworn up and down that the best way to get the right to support gun control was to have legions of black gun owners.
You see, in their mind, the right only sees gun rights existing for white people. Minorities shouldn’t bother.
Except, that is USDA Grade “A” Prime male bovine excrement. No one on this side has ever believed that way. We may not agree with the things an armed black man or woman might be saying–then again, we might–but I’ll always stand in favor of their right to keep and bear arms, even against Republicans who suggest otherwise.
“Oh, but you’re the only one,” some might try to say.
“Gun ownership among Black Americans is soaring,” notes a headline in The Hill. So what? Why does the story come accompanied with a story of what is obviously meant to appear to be a scary paramilitary group of blacks? Are we supposed to think that black Americans who buy guns lawfully are going to organize themselves into roving bands of troublemakers? This fear is farfetched when it comes to white-nationalist militias and I see no reason to think that black-nationalist militias are something to lose sleep over either. Black Americans are legally buying guns for the same reasons Americans are legally buying guns: They don’t trust their government to look out for them. This fear is understandable.
Noted in the National Review story is that many liberals rejoiced at the story, figuring that now we’d start to see gun control support from the right. After all, this has long been their thinking.
An example:
I hate to break it to Sundevil3015, that’s not really how most of us view gun rights.
See, black men are the people statistically most likely to be shot and killed. Yes, many of those happen to be involved in gang activity, but many others are either bystanders or are unfortunate souls who confront criminals and get shot for their trouble. They’re good, decent people who should have the means to defend themselves, but often live in communities where that’s discouraged or even illegal.
That’s not right.
For me, I want to see every law-abiding citizen armed, both inside the home and outside of it. If all the good guys have guns, the bad guys have much more limited options, and violent crime all but vanishes. It won’t disappear completely, because that’s not human nature, but it will be such a pathetically low amount that it won’t even matter.
That includes black men and women. It includes Hispanic men and women, and Asian men and women, and any other group you care to name. <Insert Oprah: “You get a gun, and you get a gun, and everyone gets a gun!” here>
While there are exceptions, none of us are freaked out by black men with guns. We’re bothered by a media that expects us to be afraid of black men with guns. We’re bothered by a government that sees civilian firearm ownership as a threat to public safety despite the mountains of data telling us otherwise.
But black gun owners? For them I just want to know one thing: Where are you getting your ammo? I need some bad!
Sounds reasonable. Other people than I have pondered if demoncraps who spout off about gun control actually own gun company stock and use their rhetoric to increase the value of their ‘blind trusts’
First Quarter NICS Checks for Gun Sales Spurred by Gun Control Demands
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is reporting that the “NSSF-adjusted” figures for background checks related to gun sales in March were the second strongest for the month on record, and were likely spurred by calls for tougher gun laws following two high-profile mass shooting incidents.
“It is clear that firearm sales in March were driven by gun control calls from politicians to ban entire classes of firearms and enact onerous gun laws,” suggested Mark Oliva, NSSF public affairs director. “Americans continue to vote with their wallets when it comes to lawful firearm ownership.” Continue reading “”
In Colorado, They’re Cracking the Code on Gun Control: It Doesn’t Work
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Writing over the weekend in the Denver Post, George H. Brauchler—former district attorney for the Centennial State’s 18th Judicial District—wrote something that might be considered blasphemy among anti-gun politicians and gun prohibition lobbying groups.
Brauchler was discussing mass shootings in Colorado in a story headlined, “Gun laws may prevent some crimes, but mass shootings isn’t one of them.” He mentioned shootings dating all the way back to Columbine High School and included the carnage at the Aurora theater in 2012. His summation boiled down to this:
“But linking current federal and state legislation to preventing horrors like Boulder is mere political opportunism. We must continue to work to keep firearms out of the wrong hands, but we must also recognize that we cannot legislate away evil.”
Almost simultaneously, CPR was reporting that gun owners in the state “are gearing up to oppose any new proposed restrictions, despite the fact that the most controversial proposal has not yet been introduced.” The story quotes Mario Acevedo, a Denver novelist “who is both a Democrat and a gun owner.”
“Acevedo does not think new gun laws provide the solution,” the story reveals. “He said data has convinced him that gangs, drug trafficking and mental illness are the drivers of gun deaths, not firearms.”
Perhaps this excerpt from the story says it best, quoting Acevedo:
“Colorado passed the universal background check and the high capacity magazine ban that was done under the premise that it was going to prevent mass shootings. The state passed the red flag law, the ERPO [Extreme Risk Protection Order] that again was done on the premise of preventing mass shootings. And it didn’t.”
Colorado has seen its share of trouble over the past 20-plus years. But at least some residents are realizing what many in the Second Amendment community have been saying for years is correct:
Gun control doesn’t stop people from committing mayhem because those determined to harm other people will find a way to do it.
BLUF:
The problem is: Straight partisan victories will be nearly impossible in the Senate as long as the filibuster is in force for non-taxing-and-spending legislation – like new gun laws.
The filibuster is supposed to encourage bipartisanship – but given the new hyper-partisan reality, what it really encourages is gridlock.
Applause, because when Congress is in session, no one is really safe.
The political calculus on the gun issue has changed
President Biden will find it difficult – if not impossible – to get bipartisan support in Congress for new gun control measures, like a new assault weapons ban, which passed with bipartisan support in 1994 and expired ten years later.
Most gun control measures get broad public support, including requiring background checks for private and gun show sales (83 percent in a 2019 poll), a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines (61 percent) and a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons (57 percent). But what matters politically is intensity of support. Getting gun laws through Congress has always been difficult because of single-issue voting by gun rights supporters.
The gun issue drives their votes; for most other voters, it doesn’t.
David Codrea:
I guess anyone dumb enough to get their information from ABC13 WBKO, “Your Hometown Newsleader,” is dumb enough not to question whose voice “responsible gun owner” Matt Robeson really represents
Pro-reform gun owner says he wants to see more background checks and restrictions
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – A pro-reform gun owner says he wants to see more background checks and restrictions.
Former Bowling Green citizen Matt Robeson says he comes from a gun-owning family and is open to Biden’s proposed reform. This could include banning assault rifles and stricter background checks.
Following the mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia, lawmakers are meeting about possible gun reform legislation.
Robeson says guns that are sold or traded privately in Kentucky don’t require background checks.
I’ll take ‘Answers in the Negative‘ for $500, Alex.
Is A “Ghost Gun” Ban Really Needed (Or Workable)?
Two Democratic congressmen are pushing a bill to limit so-called ghost guns. This runs along with a push to get President Joe Biden to restrict incomplete lower receivers, doing essentially the same thing administratively.
H.R. 1454, introduced by Reps. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Brad Schneider (IL-10), seeks to redefine firearm kits as actual firearms. Currently, the ATF only classifies complete lower receivers as the actual firearm, which has created a cottage industry of incomplete receivers many people purchase to finish and build their own guns.
I know, because I’ve built one myself and it was a great time.
In a tweet, Espaillat said, “The Ghost Guns Are Guns Act is critical to addressing gun violence in the United States, and will undoubtedly save lives.”
Will it really?
See, we’ve seen a lot of news reports all about how the threat from so-called “ghost guns” was growing, but there tends to be a distinct lack of numbers. The few times they’re provided, they generally show that the “problem” is minuscule in relation to the broader issue of violence in our society.
Why is that? Well, I reached out to the ATF a while back to find out.
April Langwell, the chief of the Public Affairs Division of the ATF, noted that her agency was ill-equipped to provide any insight into how many such firearms were recovered. “ATF cannot provide a number of recovered crime guns that were privately made. For a number of reasons, ATF does not believe that the number of privately made firearms that has[sic] been reported to ATF would be indicative of, or representative of, the number of privately made firearms actually recovered by law enforcement.”
Langwell notes that the ATF typically provides tracing data on recovered firearms, yet many local departments may not submit information about homebuilt, and thus unserialized, firearms.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report lists, among other things, the number of violent crimes committed with different weapon types. While it contains numbers for handguns, rifles, and even fists, no information breakdown shows just how many of these firearms may have been ghost guns.
The FBI did not reply to requests for whether they tracked the information despite its omission from the report.
Concealable Assault-Style Firearms!? Anti-American Democrats Drop Made-Up Scare Term
Springfield, VA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Gun Owners of America (GOA) Senior Vice President Erich Pratt rebuked a call by 109 Democrat lawmakers who recklessly seek to add a made-up and undefined category of firearms referred to as “Concealable Assault-Style Firearms” to the National Firearms Act (NFA).
Concealable Assault-Style Firearms…!?
“The Democrats’ anti-gun ‘logic’ is asinine,” Pratt stated. “They think that criminals, who are willing to break the law to commit murder, will somehow be stymied by gun control restrictions and voluntarily submit to them. Instead of adding to the confusing complexity of the National Firearms Act — and thereby criminalizing honest gun owners — Congress should take up and pass legislation like the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act, which would remove Short Barreled Rifles from the NFA.”
Last Congress, the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act was championed by then Kansas Representative Roger Marshall. However, because of his leadership on Second Amendment, gun owners in the Sunflower State elected Marshall to the United States Senate. Now, Senator Marshall is continuing his defense of the Second Amendment by introducing the Senate companion, S. 803.
Pratt concluded, “Legislation like the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act is true ‘common sense gun legislation.’ The archaic and unconstitutional National Firearms Act is scoffed at by criminals while needlessly forcing honest gun owners to jump through hoops just to own certain types of firearms and accessories.”
Editors Note: Concealable Assault-Style Firearms is a perfect example of a fake issue in need of a fake fix to take away your God-given rights.
Let’s not discriminate. Everyone should oppose this.
Why African Americans should strictly oppose the war on guns
In the aftermath of the tragedy in which eight people, including six Asian women, were killed at massage parlors in Atlanta, Democrats are likely to use the unfortunate event as a rallying cry for more gun control as they have the bully pulpit in national politics in Washington.
We have seen significant measures from the new administration, including the White House statement on the anniversary of the Parkland high school shooting along with the urging of Congress to enact firearms restrictions. Congress has already passed a measure on universal background checks for private and public gun sales across the country.
Other recent mass shootings are likely to raise calls for more firearms restrictions. But these events have occurred in a tumultuous social and political climate where many are feeling more concerned about securing their personal safety and property. It is also ironic that the segment of the population that could be most likely to object to stricter gun control is African Americans, a core constituency of Democrats.
While gun sales overall were initially falling in 2017 after President Trump signaled a more favorable Second Amendment stance, they started to increase among African Americans, who anticipated a threatening rise in right wing radicalization. But sales dramatically rose in 2020 amidst the pandemic and raging social unrest in the wake of the killings of unarmed African Americans. They spiked again during the first weeks of the new administration. Over two million firearms were purchased in January, the third highest monthly gun sales, according to federal data.
Texas House Committee Reports Out Four Pro-Second Amendment Measures
Dear Texas NRA Member:
On Thursday, by a 6-3 vote, the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety voted out House Bill 1911, by Rep. James White (R-Woodville), and House Bill 1927, by Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), NRA-backed permitless carry proposals that would allow law-abiding citizens to carry a handgun without a state-issued License To Carry (LTC). It’s time for Texas to join the 20 other states that have legalized this personal protection option!
The existing LTC law would not be repealed under these measures. Criminals who are prohibited from possessing firearms (i.e., felons, fugitives from justice, individuals committed by the courts for mental illness, domestic abusers) would still be barred from carrying guns. This legislation would not prevent the enforcement of any laws broken by criminals who misuse firearms. These measures now move to the House Calendars Committee, which will determine if, and when, each measure is considered by the full House. Please contact your State Representatives and urge them to PASS PERMITLESS CARRY THIS SESSION!
Yesterday, the committee also voted out two additional bills: House Bill 918, by Rep. Ben Leman (R-Iola), which lowers the age eligibility requirement for a License To Carry to 18 for, and extends this self-defense option to, a person who has obtained an active family violence protective order or magistrate’s order of emergency protection; and, House Bill 1407, by Rep. Schaefer (R-Tyler), which allows a LTC holder to have a handgun in his or her vehicle that is visible and in a holster but not on the person – an important clarification, and an extension of legal, safe and practical carry options in one’s car or truck. These measures also head to the Calendars Committee, which will consider whether or not they will receive a House floor vote.
Majority of voters, including nearly half of Democrats, prefer to live where gun ownership is legal
A strong majority of U.S. voters in a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen – including nearly half of Democratic voters surveyed – say they would prefer to live in communities where gun ownership is legal.
Sixty-three percent of voters said they would prefer to “live where individuals are allowed to own guns.” Just 26% said they would prefer to reside “where guns are outlawed.”
The remaining 12% was unsure.
When broken down by political party alignment, the overwhelming majority of Republican voters – 83% – said they’d prefer to live in gun-friendly areas. Notably, nearly half of all Democratic respondents – 45% – said the same thing. Democrats have historically been more favorable to gun control than have Republicans.
Gun ownership has been established by the Supreme Court as a broad constitutional right. However, states have enacted restrictions on gun owners, which has resulted in some such as Texas having relatively high rates of gun ownership, while others like Vermont have significantly lower rates.
The survey of 1,200 registered voters was conducted by Rasmussen using a mixed-mode approach from March 25-27. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Click here to see the poll’s methodology and sample demographics.
Montana lawmakers advance bill to nullify federal gun bans
HELENA — A measure that would prohibit state and local law enforcement officials in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines is nearing passage in the state Legislature just a week after President Joe Biden urged Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted Wednesday 30-20 in favor of the measure. They are set to vote on the bill for a third and final time this week before the bill heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, who has not commented on whether he would sign the bill into law.
The bill would ban state employees from enforcing or implementing federal bans on firearms, magazines or ammunition………..
Arkansas senators declare federal gun laws null and void within state borders
Senate Bill 298 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), the “Arkansas Sovereignty Act of 2021,” aims to stop every federal gun law at the Arkansas border. Anyone who has ever taken a United States civics class will recognize the unconstitutionality of the bill. Still, Arkansas senators passed the measure by a vote of 28-7, and it now heads to the House side to be voted on there. Should it pass, it would then go to the governor’s desk.
All acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations of the United States Government, whether past, present, or future, that infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to 2the United States Constitution and Arkansas Constitution, Article 2, § 5, are invalid in this state, shall not be recognized by this state, are specifically rejected by this state, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state…………….
Gun Control Fails Violently- Democrats Call for More Gun Control
We saw two horrific examples of mass murder in the last few weeks. As usual, the initial news reports were wildly wrong. The initial reports claimed the attacks were by racist white men using assault weapons. They were wrong, but the false report served the political ends of the mass media and the politicians. The news reports deliberately failed to mention how the existing 20 thousand firearms regulations again failed to protect innocent people from violent attacks. Despite the shocking failure of gun-control laws, Democrat politicians called for more of the same.
Both politicians and pundits ignored the responses we know will reduce violent attacks. Unfortunately, the media and politicians are now part of the disease rather than being part of the cure to reduce mass public violence in the United States.
A murderer killed innocent women in Georgia. This murderer bought his gun legally. He bought his gun through the same purchase process at a gun store that tens of millions of us use every year. The murderer used the same sort of handgun that millions of honest citizens use to defend themselves every year. In short, the murderer looked like us.
This murderer passed his firearms purchase background checks when he bought his handgun. He was not a prohibited person before he committed his attack. Background checks have not done much to stop mass murderers. Background checks look back in history and mass murder isn’t a repeat crime. Time after time, we’ve seen people who went on to commit mass murder pass their background checks.
It is uncomfortable to imagine that a mass murder can look normal until he kills. It is uncomfortable to realize our gun-laws won’t protect us. This murderer didn’t bother to get his concealed carry permit because criminals don’t bother to follow gun-laws.
It would be nice if mass murderers were easy to identify ahead of time. They are not. They look like us and they act like us before they kill. They use the same firearms to harm others that we use to defend our families every day.
In Boulder, Colorado, a murderer killed innocent people in a supermarket. This murderer also bought his gun legally. He passed his background checks even though the FBI had a file on him. Like most mass murderers, and for the same reason, the murderer didn’t bother to get his concealed carry permit.
The grocery store this mass murderer attacked had a posted sign saying that customers should not carry firearms openly. A moments thought tells us that mass murderers won’t obey plastic signs. Again, honest citizens obey those gun-laws while murderers break the law. Gun-control may have disarmed the victims, but it did not stop violent criminals.
BLUF:
“So we have 10 years of data on how a national ban works. How do you think it worked? It is tough to prove causation, but I haven’t seen anyone even make a reasonably believable case it did anything at all.”
Words Mean Things: Grown Up Talk about the AR-15
Despite the fact that there are (certainly) millions of AR-platform rifles in the hands of (probably) millions of American civilians, they only draw significant attention outside of gun culture occasionally. Following mass homicide events in which they are used, I am bound to hear: “AR-15s are weapons of war that have no business in civilian hands.”
Although I will have a chapter called “Living with AR-15s” in the book I am currently writing, rifles are not really in my wheelhouse. So, I have tended to ignore them on this blog, though on my Gun Curious blog back in 2019, I re-posted an essay by Jon Stokes on “Why I ‘Need’ An AR-15”.
Obviously many are not open to information and discussion about AR-platform rifles, believing they are only good for hunting helpless people. But some do reasonably wonder why civilians should own these rifles. As someone who knew nothing about guns for most of my life, I appreciate this authentic wonderment, so I jumped at the opportunity to bring forth another set of answers to the question that I found in my social media.
The following open letter of sorts includes some technical information about AR-platform rifles, some thoughts on their use and usefulness, and some points of political philosophy concerning government regulation.
