Category: RKBA

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.

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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.

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Rahm Emanuel: Hey, Let’s Strip Gun Owners of Due-Process Rights

The former Chicago mayor’s big idea is not new — and not constitutional, either.

In another case of poll-driven confirmation bias, Democrats have overestimated the popularity of their gun-control efforts as another House bill is reportedly “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

Alas, the bill didn’t stall because of the infamous filibuster — though demanding a 60-vote threshold for legislation predominately aimed at red states shut out of the lawmaking process would be entirely legitimate — but because moderate Democrats like Joe Manchin and Jon Tester would likely have a difficult time supporting the House efforts. Manchin, who wrote a more modest “universal background check bill” a few years ago, represents a state where an estimated 54 percent of households have guns. In Montana, the number is over 52 percent.

But Democrat Rahm Emanuel has an idea. The only way his party can pass gun-control legislation, he argued on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, is by focusing less on firearms and more on people. He reasons Democrats should compromise with Republicans by focusing on “criminals,” “mental health,” and the No-Fly List.

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Productive Dialogues Don’t Begin With Forfeiting Our Gun Rights

Guns are a hot-button issue in this country and they have been for a while. For better or worse, there’s a lot of arguing that goes on and none of it is particularly pleasant. Not when the country already feels like it’s on the brink of civil war.

There needs to be some way we can sit down and calmly discuss the issue.

However, there are ways that aren’t really going to fly.

Over at Ammoland, noted firearm instructor Rob Pincus penned a post with Dan Gross, a former president of the Brady Campaign, talking about establishing a productive dialog.

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“Productive Conversation” ? My conversation goes like this:
What is it about “shall not be infringed” do you not understand?

Guns in America: Ending the Culture War & Starting a Productive Conversation

(Ammoland) Editors Update 03/29/2021: This is not the opinion of AmmoLand News.  It seems we are old school in that we still publish opposing points of view on controversial topics. Our regular readers all know where the ownership of AmmoLand News stands on the issue and we have 10,000’s of articles and over a decade of advocating for the RKBA. Sorry if we offended anyone but we still have the balls to print various opinions, for good or bad. And deciding whether they are right or wrong is left up to you, our readers, to decide. That is why we are one of the few media outlets left where you can freely leave a comment …uncensored. ~ Fredy Riehl, Editor in Chief.

Open Letter By Dan Gross, Former President of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence & Rob Pincus

USA –  -(AmmoLand.com)- Although many other issues have understandably dominated the news cycle, we are at a critical moment for guns. Over the last year, gun sales have reached unprecedented levels, as have gun-involved homicides, and the House has recently passed H.R. 1446, The Enhanced Background Check Act of 2021, which is currently being debated in the Senate. Recently, a wave of tragic mass shootings has put the gun issue in national headlines as President Biden has called on the Senate to pass the background check bill, adding that he supports a ban of “assault weapons.”

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When even the hard core anti-gun demoncraps acknowledge it;
“It’s Dead Jim”

Chris Murphy: Unlikely to Get 60 Votes on Universal Background Checks

During a March 28, 2021, interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) admitted that Democrats probably cannot round up 60 votes for the universal background check legislation contained in H.R. 8.

Host Chuck Todd pointed out that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) have both made clear they do not support H.R. 8.

Todd suggested that Manchin and Tester believe the bill is “too broad” as written.

He then asked Murphy if there is any chance of getting the 60 votes for the bill that Democrats need in order to secure passage.

Murphy responded, “I think it’s unlikely that H.R. 8, as it’s written today, can get 60 votes, but I don’t think it has to change very much in order to get the sufficient number of votes.”

Earlier in the interview, Murphy said, “Don’t count us out.” He added, “I’ve gotten a lot of calls from Republicans in the Senate who don’t want to fight this fight any longer because the NRA’s authority is fading; the anti-gun violence movement’s impact is increasing. I think we have a chance.”

On Sunday, Breitbart News reported that the NRA has witnessed a surge in membership that continued in January 2021 and continues even now.

The NRA’s Andrew Arulanandam noted that the civil rights organization is “gaining 1,000 new members a day” just from people signing up via the Internet.

Tennessee- Constitutional Carry Legislation Heads to Governor Lee’s Desk for His Signature

Monday, the Tennessee House gave final approval to NRA-supported Constitutional Carry Legislation, Senate Bill 765 /House Bill 786.  This important measure now heads to the desk of Governor Bill Lee for his signature.  Following a large misinformation campaign from faux-gun rights organizations and gun control proponents to derail this outcome, Tennesseans will finally be able to utilize their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.

House Bill 786 /Senate Bill 765 allows any law-abiding adult who is legally eligible to obtain a carry permit, to carry a handgun without first having to obtain government permission. It does not affect previously issued carry permits, and allows citizens who still wish to obtain a permit in order to carry in other states recognizing Tennessee permits, to do so.  Sometimes called permitless carry, Constitutional Carry would ensure that no honest, hard-working Tennessean is ever left defenseless while waiting for government permission or wading through red-tape. Bottom line: The VAST majority of Tennessean’s will be able to carry a handgun WITHOUT a permit when this becomes law. Period……

Schumer wants to deem all gun parts as ‘ghost guns’ “any part as a firearm”

Democrats Face Gun Legislation Dilemma as Support for House Background Check Bill Breaks Down.

Senate Democrats punted on taking up House gun-control bills on Friday, acknowledging that the restrictions put forward by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) were “dead on arrival,” according to senior Senate aides.

Facing pressure from gun-control activists and Democratic elected officials alike, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) told colleagues on Thursday he would bring background check legislation to the floor shortly after the Senate returns for business on April 12.  But with Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), Jon Tester (D., Mont.), and Susan Collins (R., Maine) publicly stating their opposition to House-passed background check bill H.R. 8, Democrats must find a viable replacement. The political environment makes that a nearly impossible task, according to multiple Senate aides. 

A senior Republican aide said H.R. 8’s requirement that licensed gun dealers perform background checks nearly every time someone sells or even lends a gun to another person is a non-starter. 

“H.R. 8 is just dead on arrival,” a senior Republican staffer said. “Period. It doesn’t have the votes. Not only does it not have the votes quietly it doesn’t have the votes loudly because Manchin and Toomey are out there opposing it.” 

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It’s always ‘a good first step’ with them and why they call themselves “progressive” because the word implies that they’ll never stop but keep progressing onwards (to their Marxist/Commie  warped idea of ‘utopia’).
As for me, I call them ‘enemies domestic’

Chris Murphy Outlines Other Gun Laws Democrats Can Pursue Once Universal Background Checks Secured

During the March 28, 2021, airing of NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Chris Murphy (D) outlined additional gun control that could be considered once universal background checks are in place.

His comments came after host Chuck Todd asked if it is a “political impossibility” to secure regulation of certain categories of firearms at this time.

Murphy responded, “I think right now, our best chance to get something passed is universal background checks. And I think that the theory of the case is once we can convince Republicans that the sky doesn’t fall for you politically when you support a reasonable expansion of something like background checks, you can move on to other interventions.”

Murphy then described what some of the “other interventions” might entail, lauding the gun owner permitting system in Connecticut as well as the broadening of factors that will land an individual on the prohibited purchasers’ list.

Eight days after the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas attack, Murphy pushed universal background check legislation, referring to it as the “North Star” for Democrats, regarding gun control.

Ironically, the Las Vegas attacker passed background checks for firearms, so universal background checks would have done nothing to hinder, much less prevent, that attack.

Equally ironic, the March 22, 2021, Boulder, Colorado, attacker acquired his gun via a background check as well.

Moreover, Colorado already has universal background checks. Breitbart News noted Colorado adopted the universal checks in 2013.

So the people don’t want what the ruling class is trying to cram down their throats.
I wonder why?
Doesn’t the goobermint have nothing but our best interests at heart?

Thumbs down on gun control, won’t stop shootings: Rasmussen.

A new survey of voters following this week’s mass killing at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store found that most do not believe more gun control laws will stop the shootings.

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey said by a margin of 51% to 39% that “stricter gun control laws” will not prevent shootings like the one in Boulder.

In two other questions, the survey indicated that the public is eager for another answer than more anti-gun laws.

For example, likely voters surveyed, 49% to 46%, said the nation does not need more gun laws.

And in a second about whether it is “completely possible to prevent mass shootings,” a significant 64% said “no,” including 53% of Democrats.

The survey is one of the first to follow the Boulder slaying of 10 on Monday. President Joe Biden and other Democrats have called for more anti-gun laws. But others have said that a broader approach, including mental health, must be considered.

Early reports said that the shooter had mental health issues, purchased his weapon legally, and was known to police.

Applause
When the feds won’t keep up, the states step up.

Texas House hears constitutional carry, other gun bills after fed hearing on gun control

Numerous gun rights supporters packed the Texas Capitol to express support for constitutional carry, an issue that the House Homeland Security Committee debated through the night that continued past 5 a.m. Friday.

The hearing came a few days after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun control after a Syrian migrant shot and killed 10 people in Colorado on Monday.

The Republican Party of Texas, Gun Owners of America, Young Americans for Liberty, Texas Gun Rights and many Texas gun owners have advocated for more than a decade during a Republican-controlled state legislature that a bill be passed to allow constitutional carry.

Constitutional carry laws allow individuals to carry a firearm without a restriction in place by their state government. In a constitutional carry state, no licensing or training is required to legally carry a firearm. Some states with unlicensed carry have implemented certain policies to restrict who can carry and how. Some states have an age restriction, requiring carriers to be 21 years old or older, to be a resident of the state, or only allow concealed or open carry. ConcealedCarry.com lists the regulations related to constitutional carry by state.

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I figure every knows about Ted Nugent’s pro-gun political stand. It’s interesting that more rockers are out there with more or less the same point of view.

System of a Down and Scars on Broadway guitarist Daron Malakian has declared his stance on gun control, calling guns “essential tools for self-defense.”

Upon re-sharing a video by Instagram user GunDrummer, which shows him drumming and shooting along to System of a Down’s “BYOB,” Malakian wrote, “Guns are essential tools for self-defense! And they make great percussive instruments as well!”

The end of his caption contained several hashtags, including “2nd Amendment,” “Defund Gun Control” and “Guns are Loaded,” which is a song by Scars on Broadway. See his post below.

All That Remains’ Phil Labonte said, “Any gun laws are infringements. That’s the definition of infringe. The justification for the law is ‘it will reduce murders’ but it clearly does not. So there is no good justification for violating the constitution.”

With the exception of the two songs they released in the fall, the members of System of a Down spent the majority of 2020 going back and forth about their American political beliefs — particularly frontman Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan. Tankian admitted that it is frustrating being in a band with his “political opposite” on American issues, however they completely see eye-to-eye on Armenian topics.

Wyoming: Permitless Carry Strengthening Legislation Passed out of Senate Committee

Yesterday, the Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed legislation that enhances Wyoming’s Permitless Carry laws, House Bill 116.  The measure now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.

House Bill 116 expands Wyoming’s permitless carry law, which has been in effect since 2011, to all law-abiding adults, not just Wyoming residents who have resided in the state for at least six months. This ensures that visitors and new residents have their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.

Time to Stand Up for the Second Amendment More than Ever.

“Rahm Emanuel, call your office. You said it—‘Never let a serious crisis go to waste!’ And we got one, baby—two white supremacists shooting up the joint in Atlanta and Boulder. The president’s into it already. Bye-bye assault weapons and those thousand round mags Hollywood lefties love to show off in their movies. We might even get ‘im to ban cap guns by executive order. … What? He wasn’t a white supremacist? His name was Al-what? … Like Al Ky-Duh? … They wiped his page off Facebook? … Why’d they do that? … Zuck must’ve had a good reason. Anyway, what about the guy in Atlanta? He was offing Asian girls in a massage parlor. What’s more white supremacist than that? … Yeah, yeah, Harvard and Yale. They’re the real ani-Asian racists but … Sex addict? … Sex addict! … Andrew Cuomo didn’t kill anybody … or did he?”

You get the idea.

That might be the beginning of a stand-up act bya conservative comic, a tryout anyway, in a provincial city, but these are the days we are living in—more insane by the minute.

It is, however, the very moment we must stand up for the Second Amendment more than ever.

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The Growing Desperation (And Dangerousness) Of The Gun Control Movement

Gun control activists are growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that even with Democrats in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, their agenda is still in doubt on Capitol Hill. A new piece at POLITICO highlights the palpable sense of desperation starting to emanate from anti-gun organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and its affiliate Moms Demand Action, where activists know that their window of opportunity to put new restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms is closing. The razor-thin Democratic majority in the House and Senate could very well disappear after the 2022 midterms, and activists

For the gun reform movement — a centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s agenda for at least a quarter century — the question this week has become, if not now, when?

… It’s a pivotal moment for gun politics. The history of midterm elections suggests Democrats are at risk of losing the House next year, shrinking their window for legislative victories.

“The time is definitely now,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of the gun-control group Giffords. “We can’t wait.”

There’s a muddled message coming from the anti-gun advocates. On the one hand, they say that now is the time, knowing that they’re likely to lose ground in next year’s elections, but they’re still trying to spin their movement as one that’s growing in popularity across the country.

Tom Sullivan, a Colorado state lawmaker who sought elected office after his son, Alex, was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, said the climate surrounding gun legislation has “obviously” shifted — as evidenced by his own election and those of other survivors of victims of gun violence, including Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, whose teenage son was shot to death in 2012. Gun control was a winning issue for Democrats in some congressional swing districts nationally in the midterm elections in 2018.

“We can run on this issue, and we can win elections on this issue,” Sullivan said. “Quite obviously, the tone has changed.”

At the federal level, Democrats and gun control activists lost ground in the House, and were it not for the absolute sh*tshow in the Georgia Senate runoffs, Republicans would still be in control of the U.S. Senate. The gun control movement didn’t receive a mandate in the 2020 elections, but they have to act like they did because they know that they’re likely to be in an even worse position after the midterms.

In that sense, the gun control groups are right that this is the best position for the movement in decades, but that doesn’t mean that they’re still in a great position to get what they want. As long as it still takes 60 votes to pass most legislation through the Senate, the prospects for new gun control laws is murky at best. That’s why you’ll be seeing more calls from gun control groups to nuke the filibuster in the coming days and weeks.

The gun control debate has put more pressure on Democrats to abandon the legislative filibuster in the Senate, broadening the range of constituencies lobbying for the change. Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter was killed in Aurora and who now advocates on behalf of survivors of gun violence, said, “The best thing that can happen right now — the one thing I would give everything up for — is get rid of the filibuster so we can pass some laws.”

If the filibuster goes away, the least of our worries will be the passage of gun control bills like H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446. At that point, Democrats would try to ram through Biden’s gun ban and a host of new infringements on our Second Amendment rights, while also passing legislation like H.R. 1 that’s designed to ensure a permanent Democratic majority in Congress. One party rule is completely antithetical to the very idea of the United States, and it would be nothing less than a legislative coup. I’m not worried about my Second Amendment rights if the filibuster were to disappear. I’m worried about the future of the nation itself.

South Dakota: Governor Noem Signs Multiple Pro-Gun Bills into Law

This past week and weekend, Governor Kristi Noem signed multiple pro-gun and self-defense bills into law.  These important measures work to further strengthen and protect the Second Amendment right to self-defense in the Mount Rushmore State.  Those measures enacted are outlined below:

Senate Bill 100 provides protections for gun stores, ranges, or any other entity that engages in the lawful selling or servicing of firearms, components, or accessories. SB 100 also prevents the prohibition, regulation, or seizure of citizens’ Second Amendment rights during a declared State of Emergency.

Senate Bill 111 reduces the cost for some types of concealed carry permits.

House Bill 1212 clarifies the use of force under South Dakota’s Stand Your Ground laws.  The bill enhances your right to self-defense by strengthening and explaining when justifiable force can be used in defense of person and property, so long as the individual is not engaging in an unlawful activity and is in a place they’re allowed to be.

NRA thanks Governor Kristi Noem for signing these important pro-gun bills into law, as well as the sponsors and legislators that worked to usher them over hurdles and through the legislature.  Also, thank you to NRA Members and Second Amendment supporters who continuously contacted their lawmakers, voicing their support of Senate Bill 100, Senate Bill 111, and House Bill 1212.​

The author has it wrong. There are no ‘unintended‘ consequences. The demoncraps want exactly what you get.

Unintended Consequences of More Gun Control

As I watched the Senate hearing on gun control this week, I cringed at some of the gun control proposals promoted in the name of public safety. Many people want to “do something” to stop what some call “gun violence.” I call it violence because I realize that violence is a behavior, not an object.

Guns are used every single day in the United States to protect innocent lives. It is a point often overlooked by gun control proponents who choose to ignore justifiable defensive use of guns to protect innocent lives.

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No matter what SloJoe babbles on about ‘his’ 1994 gun ban, the facts are:

“A large amount of research has been done on the federal assault weapons ban that was in effect from 1994 to 2004. It has consistently found no statistically significant impact on mass public shootings or any other type of crime.”

The Data files for the data used below is available here.

A large amount of research has been done on the federal assault weapons ban that was in effect from 1994 to 2004.  It has consistently found no statistically significant impact on mass public shootings or any other type of crime.

This holds true even for research funded by the Clinton administration. Criminology professors Chris Koper and Jeff Roth concluded in a 1997 report for the National Institute of Justice, “The evidence is not strong enough for us to conclude that there was any meaningful effect (i.e., that the effect was different from zero).”  Messrs. Koper and Roth suggested that it might be possible to find a benefit after the ban had been in effect for more years. In 2004, they published a follow-up NIJ study with fellow criminologist Dan Woods. They found: “We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence. And, indeed, there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.”

Dr. John Lott and others have done similar research on both state and federal assault weapons bans.  They’ve found no evidence that any such ban reduced the frequency or deadliness of mass public shootings or had a beneficial impact on any other crime rate.  The third edition of “More Guns, Less Crime” (University of Chicago Press, 2010) examined the impact of federal and state assault weapon bans both before, during, and after the federal ban was in effect.

Even a 2014 survey by the left-leaning ProPublica concluded that despite some claims by Democratic politicians, there was no compelling evidence that the federal assault weapons ban had any impact on any type of crime.

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