Category: You Can’t Make This Up

*cough* Declaration of Independence *cough*

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This moron is the type of domestic enemy we swear oaths to defend the nation against. And he’s a Senator.
Since he doesn’t agree with the quotation, even though he may reside in the U.S. and even have been born here, he is not an American since these are some of the fundamental first principles the nation was founded on.

D.C. Activist Criticizes Trump for Putting Blame on Individual Criminals

Even the BBC has admitted that violent crime has fallen in Washington, D.C. since Donald Trump’s declaration of an emergency in our nation’s capital, but some local activists insist that the surge in law enforcement, including federal officers and members of the National Guard, is political theater at best, and perhaps even counterproductive.

When President Donald Trump announced his federal takeover of Washington, D.C., he conjured images of a dystopia where “caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets” to justify his heavy-handed response.

But those who study and work on preventing youth crime in the district say the president is acting on a caricature of the city, and his decision to flood the streets with soldiers will do little to solve the issue.

Nick Wilson, senior director for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress, called Trump’s crackdown “political theater that is disconnected from what we’re seeing here in D.C.”

Wilson would prefer things like a national ban on so-called assault weapons, universal background checks, and a host of other gun control laws that are already in place in Washington, D.C. In fact, as we reported yesterday, federal agents have been actively enforcing some of D.C.’s draconian laws, including multiple arrests for possessing a firearm without a license. You’d think Wilson would be thrilled to see those arrests, and maybe he is, but even the staunchest gun control activists can’t publicly praise Trump without risking condemnation from their fellow liberals.

The dumbest comment in the Time article comes from a local community activist, who is incensed that Donald Trump is trying to hold criminals responsible for their actions.

Tia Bell, who founded a gun violence prevention nonprofit aimed at young people in the city, says Trump’s villainization of D.C.’s youth misses the point.

“It’s a misalignment, because the blame is on the individual and not the systems and structural violence,” she says. “Our youth are angry—they feel like the media perpetuated a lot of narratives about them that led to this blame and criminalization.”

The media made me do it is one hell of an excuse for committing a violent crime, isn’t it?

You know a really good way to not get blamed for violent crime? Don’t commit one.

Even if you believe that there are root causes like poverty and broken families that can exacerbate crime, it’s still individuals who are committing violent carjackings, home invasions, and street robberies. These individuals may feel empowered and emboldened to commit these crimes because of D.C.’s lackadaisical approach to juvenile crime and truancy, and if Bell wants to fix those broken systems I’m with her 100%, but the fact remains that most juveniles in D.C., even those living in the most adverse environments possible, aren’t out there robbing, raping, and carjacking D.C. residents and visitors.

It’s a disservice to those kids to decide that individuals shouldn’t be held accountable for their own actions. In fact, I’d argue that, no matter how good Bell’s intentions might be, by casting crime as the product of “systems and structural violence” or media narratives, she’s essentially telling juveniles who aren’t breaking the law that there’s something wrong with them, not the juvenile offenders.

I’ve expressed my own concern about Trump’s crime crackdown leading to arrests for simply possessing a gun without a license, which contradicts his stance in support of permitless carry, but Bell’s concern is that Trump hasn’t taken a public health approach to gun violence, “addressing it like a ‘disease.’”

Bell believes the problem in D.C. cannot be solved with more guns.

“Federal violence cannot end violence in the communities—only we can,” she says.

I have no problem, at least in theory, with community violence intervention efforts that seek to reduce crime without putting more people behind bars for possessory gun offenses. The issue, though, is that while Bell might believe in a “public health approach” to “gun violence”, that approach all too often involves treating gun ownership itself as a disease that needs to be eradicated. Bell might not like the surge in law enforcement on the streets, but I doubt she’d be in favor of repealing D.C.’s draconian laws surrounding gun ownership either.

If these activists want to question Trump’s heavy-handed approach to fighting crime, they should at least be willing to do the same when Democrats turn our right to keep and bear arms into a criminal offense. Somehow, though, their “public health” approach always leaves plenty of room for putting more gun control laws on the books.

ATF says concealed carry ‘puts everyone involved at risk’
When will the ATF’s civil rights violations end?

by Lee Williams

The millions of law-abiding Americans who have chosen to carry a concealed firearm are putting “everyone involved at risk,” the ATF announced this week in a post on X.

“Take a look into our world. This is a scenario @ATFWashington frequently faces when combatting violent crime and maintaining public safety. Many people attempt to conceal firearms on their person or belongings which puts everyone involved at risk. #MakeDCSafeAgain #ATF,” the ATF posted.

As you can imagine, ATF’s message received hundreds of overwhelmingly negative responses including many that are not fit to reprint.

“Concealed carry is not the issue—you are. Millions of law-abiding citizens carry concealed every single day without incident. Concealed carry saves lives. Disarming people and vilifying them on social media doesn’t,” Ammoland News posted.

Noted Second Amendment scholar and attorney Mark W. Smith asked a prominent Justice Department civil rights attorney in a post on X to “speak with the Washington ATF field office about the Second Amendment and the Bruen decision. I suspect their social media person lacks the relevant knowledge.”

Aiden Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, tweeted “Try reading Heller, McDonald, Bruen, and the Second Amendment again, tyrants.” In his tweet, he added a picture of the Bruen decision.

The Firearms Policy Coalition tweeted simply: “Your existence puts everyone at risk. AMIRITE?”

“Times have changed. This isn’t 1934,” firearms trainer and author Ranjit Singh posted.

The ATF posted their tweet at 9:05 a.m., Thursday.

Twenty-seven hours and thirty-seven minutes later, the ATF “corrected” their post.

“EDIT-Take a look into our world. This is a scenario @ATF Washington frequently faces when combatting violent crime and maintaining public safety. Many CRIMINALS attempt to conceal firearms on their person or belongings which puts everyone involved at risk. #MakeDCSafeAgain,” the ATF posted.

Takeaways

Most gun owners will not buy ATF’s response, changing “Many people …” to “Many CRIMINALS …”

The reasons for this is simple: We all know too well that the ATF has never understood the massive difference between law-abiding gun owners and criminals.

To the ATF, everyone who owns a firearm is a criminal. This has become their modus operandi. They treat every single gun owner as a criminal.

If you need proof, look at the ATF’s recent history. Look at how they treated Patrick “Tate” Adamiak, Mark “Choppa” Manley, Russell Fincher or Brian Malinowski.

The ATF sent their SWAT teams to raid the homes of all four men, but not a single illegal item was found, even though Adamiak is serving a 20-year sentence for made-up crimes, and Malinowski was shot and killed in his home by ATF Agent Tyler Cowart.

That the ATF actually views concealed-carry as a crime is not a surprise. What is surprising is that no one has done anything about it, at least not yet.

It is definitely time for President Donald J. Trump to end the ATF.

But, or course it’s a deceitful scam.

Gun Control Group Now Offering Firearms ‘Instruction’

The term “gun safety” has different meanings depending on where you stand on the Second Amendment. For those who despise our right to keep and bear arms, “gun safety” translates to “gun control”, and the best way to practice gun safety is to not own a gun at all. T

Those of us who respect and appreciate the Second Amendment, though, “gun safety” means being safe and responsible around firearms. It doesn’t have nearly the negative connotation that “gun control” has, which is precisely why anti-gunner Michael Bloomberg named his group Everytown for Gun Safety, not Everytown for Gun Control.

According to National Shooting Sports Foundation senior vice president and general counsel Larry Keane, Everytown is now trying to move into the realm of actual gun safety, by launching a new firearms training initiative.

The program was recently outlined at the National Conference of State Legislatures, and NSSF staff had a first-hand view of what the gun control group is pushing; a broad initiative called “Train Smart”, which includes a “Gun Ownership 101” class… and eventually, a full eight-hour training course.

Everytown’s “Train Smart” initiative will also host “Raise Standards in Your State” classes, which isn’t even an attempt to hide their efforts to convince people to press for permits and licenses, and instructor certifications, which amazingly can now be provided by the newest firearm training program in town.

Lastly, if those aren’t enough, Everytown’s “Train Smart” plans to offer a “Train Smart Gun Safety & Marksmanship” class, which ought to be hoot, since the gun control group has yet to shoot straight on anything they say. That’s going to be an eight-hour class to teach people how to handle and use firearms responsibly and serve as a role model for others. Topics covered in this class are the same as the other two shorter classes, except they’ll also talk about suicide prevention, de-escalation tactics, pistol marksmanship and… wait for it… “and much more.”

There’s no word if those classes will include any range time – or that any gun range would want to host Everytown to do it.

As Firearms Policy Coalition’s Rob Romano pointed out, the goal here seems to be to force gun ranges to host these Everytown courses, and to force would-be gun owners to get their mandated instruction from a group that doesn’t believe you have a right to keep and bear arms.

We’ve already seen states like California move to disqualify classes taught by NRA certified firearms instructors from satisfying training requirements and substituting state certified instructors instead. It’s not hard to imagine lawmakers in Sacramento (and Trenton, Boston, Albany, and other blue-state capitals) mandating that folks have to go through training taught by Everytown instructors before they can purchase or carry a firearm.

In fact, by making their pitch to attendees at the National Conference of State Legislatures conference, Everytown is already laying the groundwork for their plan to force their way into gun stores and ranges. There’s a reason why the anti-gun group wanted to let state-level lawmakers know about their new offerings; so they can start making laws that mandate attendance in an Everytown taught “gun safety” course before you can exercise your Second Amendment rights.

The biggest problem Everytown will face is coming up with instructors who are willing to work with them. As Keane notes, right now there’s no word on whether the group’s eight-hour course will include any range time, but I’m betting that it won’t. In order to satisfy the training requirements they’ve helped to put on the books in states like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, though, Everytown will need instructors who provide range instruction, not just anti-gun talking points. My guess is that it’ll be far easier to get anti-gun legislators to sign on than actual firearm instructors, but that could end up being a feature, not a bug, if it means that it becomes much harder to get access to the training required to bear arms in public or even keep a gun in the home.

Read the whole thing. The deadhead’s friends and family treat him like some sort of hero, and complain about intended victims being armed.

Dad of 20 was shot and killed when he tried to rob someone getting off the bus, cops say
D’Anthony Reaves, 44, had 12 biological children and eight stepchildren

An Atlanta father of 20 was fatally shot last month while allegedly attempting an armed robbery, police say.

On July 19, D’Anthony Reaves, 44, was killed outside the Greyhound bus station on Forsyth Street around 5:30 a.m. He was shot twice in the face and once in the arm, according to police.

In a Wednesday update, Atlanta homicide detectives said their investigation determined the case should be classified as a felon killed by a private citizen. Police said Reaves was in the middle of an armed robbery when he was shot.

Reaves was shot by someone getting off a bus, his family told WSB-TV. The Independent has contacted Atlanta police for comment.

Reaves was a father to 12 biological children and eight stepchildren, ranging from ages 10 to 31. Ten of them attended his funeral at North Avenue Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta on August 2, which boasted a line of mourners stretching to the parking lot.

“Seeing everybody come out as one big community was really nice, and we really appreciate all the extra support because we’re gonna need it,” Sha’Miracle Brown, one of Reaves’ daughters, told Fox 5 Atlanta, adding that their father was well known across Atlanta communities.

“My dad was like a crazy dancer, but I will always remember the music standpoint. Because some of us make music, all of us are musically inclined, and some of us play instruments. So my dad passed that musical gene down to all of us,” Brown said.

“He loved his kids. You could ask anyone, any single person, and they would say we were his pride and joy. I don’t think there’s a room we could walk into that he did not mention us or our accomplishments or our accolades.”

Reaves’ family plans to start a foundation to support his children and help fathers leave the streets and rebuild their lives.

“We’re fixing to open up the D’Anthony Reaves foundation so we’ll be able to serve his kids so they’ll be taken care of,” Deoinetea Hightower Reaves’ brother told the outlet. “We got the Power for the Fathers represented for him as well, where we help the fathers get off the street and get their lives back together.”

Hightower added that he is pushing Greyhound to end its policy allowing guns across state lines and urging Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to tighten gun laws to keep firearms away from young people.

Further details about the shooting were not available.

Make it make sense: Gun grabbers come out against fighting crime

A gun control nonprofit that wants to disarm Americans has come out against President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., crime crackdown.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, known these days as Brady: United Against Gun Violence, issued a lengthy statement on Monday condemning Trump’s ongoing D.C. crime crackdown.

The statement began by describing the one-day Jan. 6 riot as “the worst outbreak of mass violence in recent District memory.”

Recall that only one person died during the riot: Rioter Ashli Babbitt. Meanwhile, 99 people have been murdered in D.C. this year alone.

The statement continued by using possibly falsified crime data to claim violent crime in D.C. “has fallen precipitously since 2023 and were at a 30-year low the day the president returned to the Oval Office.”

Hilariously, the statement attributed this alleged low to the Biden administration’s otherwise widely panned policy decisions.

According to the White House, the reality is that “D.C.’s murder rate is roughly three times higher than that of Islamabad, Pakistan, and 18 times higher than that of communist-run Havana, Cuba.”

The statement from Brady president Kris Brown concluded with her suggesting that Trump’s federal police are the ones “endanger[ing]” D.C. residents, not the hordes of violent criminals running the streets.

“We cannot allow the president to suggest that federalized police is an appropriate response to any and all challenges; or that federalized police do not further endanger the public, especially Black and Brown communities who live and work in or visit D.C.,” it read.

So, in other words, the same people who want to disarm Americans, thus making them prey to criminals, also want to effectively disarm the police, making residents even more prey to criminals. It makes no sense, especially when you factor in how the locals actually feel.

Last year, dozens of business groups with offices in D.C. penned a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser expressing “deep concern about the alarming increase in violent crime across our city.”

 

“D.C. is quickly becoming a national outlier in rising crime, and the trends are alarming,” the letter read. “Our organizations are primarily based in the downtown business district, where there have been horrifying acts of violence.”

“Innocent people in neighborhoods across the city have been targeted in robberies, carjackings, and seemingly random acts of violence,” the letter continued.

D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton has also raised concerns about the city’s violent crime epidemic.

“We stand with the President in recognizing that Washington, D.C., cannot continue on this trajectory,” he said in a statement. “Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits.”

He reiterated this during an appearance this week on Fox News’ “America Reports“:

 

As for Brady, last year it also came out against self-defense, arguing that guns “are rarely used successfully in self-defense.” The stunning claim prompted a fact-check from Breitbart.

“Academic work by Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck shows that, at a minimum, guns are used to protect life and property at least 760,000 times a year,” the fact-check reads.

Yes. I am much more concerned about how Maine allows non-citizens to be police occifers

Illegal Immigrant Lands Police Job in Maine—Then Tries to Buy a Gun

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an illegal immigrant and Jamaican national after he attempted to purchase a firearm for his work as a reserve police officer in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) flagged his attempted purchase on July 25th.

Evans legally entered the U.S. through Miami International Airport in September 2023 on a visa that required him to leave by October 1st, but he never did.

ICE has raised several concerns over how an illegal immigrant was able to secure a job as a police officer, according to Fox News. Patricia H. Hyde, the acting field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston, said, “This case raises serious concerns. We will continue working to ensure that individuals who violate immigration laws and pose potential threats to public safety are held accountable.”

Old Orchard Beach Police told Fox News they brought Evans on as a seasonal officer after he passed a full background check, physical, medical screenings, and required law enforcement training. They then sent his paperwork to the Department of Homeland Security for verification, where they told the Department that Evans was eligible for work. His Employment Authorization Document listed an expiration date of March 2030.

The Old Orchard Beach Police Chief, Elise Chard, said:

Our department and our community relied on the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program to ensure we were meeting our obligations. We are distressed and deeply concerned about this apparent error on the part of the federal government. We take our legal responsibilities very seriously. We intend to investigate this matter thoroughly and determine what additional steps may be necessary moving forward.

Maine is one of multiple states that allow non-citizens to work in law enforcement. As a seasonal officer, Evans would not be issued a service weapon.

The important thing to note is that there are armed antifa thugs embedded in these protests.
And they’re STUPID.
So follow the ‘Stupid Rules™’:
Don’t go Stupid places, with Stupid people, at Stupid times, and do Stupid things.

Innocent bystander mistakenly shot dead at Utah ‘No Kings’ protest was ‘Project Runway’ designer
Police chief confirms victim was ‘not the intended target’ when peacekeepers fired at suspect carrying rifle

An innocent bystander who was a fashion designer that appeared on “Project Runway” died over the weekend after he was shot during a “No Kings” protest in Utah, police said Sunday.

The victim was identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a Samoan designer who appeared on the hit Bravo show and a married father of two.

He was shot during the Saturday protest, which attracted around 10,000 people, and died later that night, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said.

“Our victim was not the intended target,” said Redd, who added that Ah Loo, 39, was just participating in the march.

Redd said Ah Loo was mistakenly shot by one of two event peacekeepers in neon vests who opened fire after a suspect, identified as Arturo Gamboa, 24, ran toward the crowd with a rifle.

They saw Gamboa pull out a rifle before raising it in a firing position before moving toward a crowd of protesters, Redd said. One of the men in the vests fired three times, striking Gamboa and the victim, who later died.

Gamboa was wounded and was allegedly found with a rifle and a gas mask in his backpack. Paramedics took Gamboa to the hospital. Detectives later booked Gamboa into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on a charge of murder.

Two SWAT medics performed life-saving care on the victim before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died, police said. The shooter was cooperating with investigators, police said.

Gamboa, who did not fire a shot, doesn’t have any criminal history, the chief said.

Ah Loo appeared in Season 17 of “Project Runway” in 2019 and returned for “Project Runway Redemption.” He also created couture for cast members of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” and was invited by the late Queen Elizabeth II to present his collection at Buckingham Palace during London Fashion Week, the New York Post reported.

Utah state Rep. Verona Mauga told KSL-TV that she was with Ah Loo hours before he was killed.

“Afa is a person who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities. He believed that everyone was deserving of basic human rights,” Mauga said. “And that’s why he was there. He was with his community and he was with people he cared about, marching and rallying for all of those things that make our community, like, really great.”

An online fundraiser to pay for Ah Loo’s funeral has raised more than $200,000.