Doctoral student opines lying gun owners aren’t being reached with ‘responsible’ messaging

There’s no lack of progressive think tanks out there that claim they’re not coming for our guns, they just want to promote “safety.” The New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center is one of those groups that claims to be all about safety, however they never put out any studies, materials, or articles, on the responsible and law-abiding gun owner, nor any material about the corporeal topics of gun use or ownership. A recent study done by a doctoral student at the GVRC has her claiming foul over potential untruthful survey results.

In a study published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, researchers found that based on their answers to a variety of other questions, a group of individuals appeared as though they might be falsely denying firearm ownership when directly asked by researchers.

While some of these individuals resemble what previous research indicated to be a typical American firearm owner (e.g., white, male), others looked quite different (racial or ethnic minority, female, living in urban environments), highlighting that the landscape of firearm ownership in the United States may be shifting.

“Some individuals are falsely denying firearm ownership, resulting in research not accurately capturing the experiences of all firearm owners in the U.S.,” said Allison Bond, lead author of the study and a doctoral student with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. “More concerningly, these individuals are not being reached with secure firearm storage messaging and firearm safety resources, which may result in them storing their firearms in an unsecure manner, which in turn increases the risk for firearm injury and death.”

This hiccup that Bond has highlighted is a valuable feature in our evolution in my opinion. Unequivocally, I will personally stand by these statements – until the medical field shows they’re unbiased – I don’t suggest exposing whether or not you’re a gun owner to anyone associated with it, without relevant cause. I salute the people that elected to “falsely deny” their firearm ownership – even though a false denial would be a double negative, but I’m not the PHD student here.

What’s really hubris, troubling, and disgustingly elitist is that Bond has this concern that because “these individuals,” which I’m going to read as meaning “those/these people” – the ones that are “racial or ethnic minority, female, living in urban environments” – who smartly elected to lie to the center, they’re too obtuse to get proper “messaging.” Whatever Bond considers safety resources, it’s rather opinionated to assume those people won’t get them because they don’t trust those conducting the study. Bond is beyond out of touch here.

The Rutgers GVRC has done nothing but put forward an abstinence-only approach to firearms ownership. There’s never any research done on, or paper they put out, that highlights the positive elements of owning guns. Every rabbit hole they go down has a result that has to do with more regulations. Fortunately many of the regulations they’d want to see implemented would be considered unconstitutional if looked at properly with an unbiased approach.

After following the GVRC acutely since anti-gun Governor Phil Murphy instituted them, pumping taxpayer’s dollars into this gibberish, their main objective seems to have an ends in requiring firearms to be stored in a 100% unusable state. That condition goes directly against the Heller decision I might add. This has been my suspicion for a while and this study/reporting on it helps fortify that hunch.

Bond leaves out that every single brand new firearm sold in the United States includes a user manual. Nearly all handguns come with a lock and hard lockable case. In those manuals, there’s general instructions on so-called proper storage. Anyone walking into a gun store to purchase a firearm is approached with plenty of resources in the form of capitalism and altruism. At a shop, there’s generally someone wanting to help new gun owners to be safe, in addition to the fact businesses can only profit by selling more firearm safety devices.

The problem with Bond’s assertion that those people don’t get appropriately schooled on what she considers proper storage and safety rules is that Bond – and her ilk – try to squeeze everything into a one-size-fits-all solution. If we asked Bond or anyone else over at the GVRC about proper storage, they’re going to tell you firearms need to be stored unloaded, in a locked container, and ammunition stored in a separate locked container. I suspect Bond is not going to say that it makes sense to have a loaded firearm in the home for self-defense. The thought of storing a firearm in a night stand loaded, if appropriate for the given household, would be looked at with horror.

To people like Bond and groups like the GVRC, self-defense via firearm use is abhorrent. So keeping a firearm stored in any condition for ease of use would go against their biases. It’s unfortunate these alleged people of science don’t come standard where bias is completely removed. Follow the science – pish posh to that for these purposes.

The rest of the “safety resources” includes what? I’ve never heard the GVRC advocate that gun owners should take an NRA or USCCA training course to learn how to use a firearm. No, safety resources are going to come in the form of their own abstinence-only branded “education.” If groups like the GVRC advocated for people to take such branded training – by name – they’d have some credibility.

There’s an undertone that Bond was making about those people not being exposed to resources because of these “false denials.” Beyond their silly survey, what’s Bond and the GVRC doing to “educate” respondents? Do they offer self-described gun owners these important resources when respondents say they own guns? And in what form are these resources?

The study indicates a percentage of firearm owners may not feel comfortable disclosing their ownership status. Among those identified as potentially falsely denying firearm ownership, many were women living alone in urban environments.

The study indicates a good portion of people that have the right idea. While I’m all in favor of accurate data collection, I cannot support supplying any information about whether or not one is a gun owner to the GVRC or groups like it. Physicians and doctors out there may take exception to my advice here, but too bad. When the authors and groups behind these so-called studies make a good faith effort to not inject their anti-gun conclusion before the study has even concluded, then we can have a chat about being honest. They all claim they’re not about “making policy,” but that’s total and complete malarkey. I’ve chatted with the “I just want to save lives, I’m not about policy making” doctors, and I conclude they’re lying after reading their rhetoric and papers.

One of the other things that’s hinted at when talking about messaging is not said in the piece covering the study. Read into comments made by the GVRC executive director:

“There are several reasons some firearm owners might feel uncomfortable disclosing that they own firearms,” said Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and senior author of the study. “These results serve as an important reminder that we should not assume we know everything about who owns firearms and that we should ensure that our efforts to reach firearm owners can resonate with broad audiences we might not realize would benefit from the message.”

Anestis left out one of the newer en vogue buzzwords that all readers need to be aware of. With the narrow exception of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and a few other very limited number of groups, if the phrase “credible messenger” is in the literature, run. While I have read some reporting in NSSF – who makes a good faith effort to protect firearm owners and the industry – literature where credible messenger was used, generally speaking, only grossly anti-gun think tanks use it.

The mechanism for these groups is for them to find the right person, to talk to the right people, using them as a puppet to get their own message out. That’s it. It’s agenda driven and has everything to do with policy and culturally appropriating as many people as possible – to their way of thinking.

To all “those people” out there…the “racial or ethnic minority, female, living in urban environments,” welcome to the fray. There are resources out there, which I”m sure you’re well aware of, should you need any. With Second Amendment supporters, there’s an entire community of people that are more than willing and happy to help each other, including you.

Continue to go with your gut and learn there are trustworthy organizations out there.  Let’s call the other groups those who utilize their alleged academic “achievements” to bend pseudoscience into a conclusion that results in our disarmament. Judging by Bond’s complaints, many of you have already figured this out. Kudos for that.

June 26

4  – Emperor Augustus adopts his stepson, Tiberius.

1830 – William IV, age 64,  becomes king of Britain, Ireland and Hanover on the death of his elder brother, George IV of the United Kingdom, setting up his niece Victoria as the heir apparent.

1870 – Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the U.S.

1906 – The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans

1917 – American Expeditionary Forces begin to arrive in France during World War I.

1918 – Allied forces under General John J. Pershing and James Harbord defeat Imperial German forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince in the Battle of Belleau Wood.

1934 – President Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, establishing credit unions.

1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat. 

1945 – The United Nations Charter is signed

1948 – The first supply flights begin during the Berlin Blockade.

1953 – Lavrentiy “Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime” Beria, head of the MVD, is arrested by Nikita Khrushchev

1963 – U.S. President Kennedy states “Ich bin ein Berliner” (‘I am a Berliner’ or ‘I am a Jelly Doughnut’, depending on the correctness of your German)  in West Berlin after the East German puppet government erects the Berlin Wall.

1974 – The Universal Product Code (the Bar Code) is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

1975 – 2 FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders and sentenced to 2 consecutive terms of life imprisonment.

1977 – Elvis Presley holds his final concert in Indianapolis, Indiana at Market Square Arena.

1997 – In the case of Reno v. ALCU, the Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act is unconstitutional.

2003 – In the case of Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court rules that gender based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.

2012 – The Waldo Canyon fire descends into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs burning 347 homes, and killing 2 people.

2013 – In the case of United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court rules that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional

2015 – In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court rules that under the 14th amendment, the states must recognize same sex marriages.

Man called ‘hero’ for stopping shooter at Turnberry Towers Friday

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A resident at Turnberry Towers near Karen and Paradise is calling a building employee a hero after a gunman walked in and fired shots at the front desk on Friday.

Channel 13 spoke with the resident to get their story. Law enforcement has not confirmed the following details.

According to the resident, a man wearing a helmet had an AR-15 and other weapons when he entered the towers Friday afternoon.

This is when the resident tells us the man fired shots in the area of the front desk, shattering glass which is shown in pictures they have provided to us.

The resident says it was an employee of the towers who stopped the attack, and thinks they are a hero who deserves recognition for stepping in.

Channel 13 is working to confirm details surrounding the employee’s identity and their role in the events of June 23.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast

Conservative Supreme Court justice hit pieces: We are being lectured on ethics by scoundrels.

“Wait till the next empty shoe drops.”

That’s how law professor Josh Blackman concludes a discussion of The New York Times’ open-mouthed discovery that law schools have summer study-abroad programs and sometimes they recruit celebrity professors, even Supreme Court justices, to teach them.

The Times believes it has found a scandal because George Mason’s Scalia Law School has one of these programs and seeks Supreme Court justices to teach in the summer.

My law school has one of these too. So does Blackman’s.

He comments: “Shocker! A DC law school works hard to connect its students with the leaders of the profession. My own law school has organized similar programs in the past with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Ginsburg. (My students described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.)”

But, you see, the law school and the justices involved here are conservative, so the Times thinks — or, more accurately, wants its readers to think — there must be something nefarious going on, perhaps “collusion.”

Why, George Mason’s legal clinic sometimes files friend-of-the-court briefs in the Supreme Court, which the paper would like you to believe is some sort of conflict of interest.

Never mind that schools like Harvard and Yale were — until recently, anyway — much closer to many justices on the court than this.

(Note that every member of the court except Amy Coney Barrett is an alumnus of Harvard or Yale.)

There’s nothing there, but the Times doesn’t care.

The Supreme Court has ruled against the left on guns and abortion and is expected to strike down affirmative action any day now.

Thus it must be delegitimized in any way possible.

Continue reading “”

June 25

1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the protestant Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and electors of Germany.

1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the Constitution.

1876 – At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, troops of the 7th Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen led by Sioux Chiefs; Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Gall and Cheyenne Chiefs; Lame White Man and Two Moons

1901 – H.R.-Chief Lone Bear- Bartle is born in Richmond, Virginia.

1910 – Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes” which is not further defined.

1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at Gettysburg for the Great Reunion of 1913, the 50th anniversary of the battle.

1940 – The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.

1943 – Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis

1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is published.

1948 – Due to the blockade of travel from West Germany into Berlin by the Soviets, a supply airlift campaign – Operation VITTLES – from airbases in West Germany and elsewhere, to Tempelhof airfield in Berlin is organized

1950 – North Korean troops begin an invasion of South Korea

1960 – 2 cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency, William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell  leave for vacation to Mexico, and from there defect to the Soviet Union.

1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

1996 – The Khobar Towers apartments in Saudi Arabia is truck-bombed, killing 19 U.S. servicemen.

1998 – In the case of Clinton v. City of New York, the Supreme Court rules the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.

2009 – Actress Farrah Fawcett dies, age 62 of cancer and singer Michael Jackson dies, age 50 of a drug overdose.

Is there an equivalent Russian term for “kabuki theater?”
Mario Nawfal
BREAKING: THE COUP IS OVER | WAGNER’S RETREATING
This official statement from Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group and the leader of this coup, says it all. I don’t think anyone expected this: “They were going to dismantle PMC Wagner. We came out on 23 June to the March of Justice. In a day, we walked to nearly 200km away from Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters. Now, the moment has come when blood may spill. That’s why, understanding the responsibility for spilling Russian blood on one of the sides, we are turning back our convoys and going back to field camps according to the plan.”
The President of Belarus, Lukashenko, has been in talks with Prigozhin all day and has taken credit for the peace agreement. Prigozhin accepted the terms of Lukashenko’s agreement and agreed to halt the movement of his forces and return back to his bases. The agreement also guarantees security for fighters of PMC Wagner. It seems that the attempted coup has come to an end, and Prigozhin, along with his men, will return to their bases.
Reports of Wagner forces not only leaving Moscow Oblas, but also leaving Rostov. Russian media reports that criminal cases have already been dropped from Yevgeny Prigozhin and that Prigozhin and his forces will receive FULL IMMUNITY Restrictions on the movement of vehicles have been lifted from the Voronezh region which saw clashes earlier during the coup.
MY THOUGHTS: – I did not expect this would end peacefully with a deal as it seemed both sides seemed at the point of no return – I have no idea how Prigozhin and Putin can both operate in Russia with what just transpired, and I also have no idea what will happen with the war in Ukraine but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a peace deal reached.
Today was another example of citizen journalism replacing mainstream media with UNBIASED and UNCENSORED live breaking news. 
I am fried, been awake for more than 30 hours, initially doing a piece with former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan before shifting to the Coup piece which is at 21 hours and counting. Time for me to finally sleep!

Reports are that units of Wagner Group are on the way there from Rostov
Buying mercenaries’ services has always been problematic
Rule 49. Every client is one missed payment away from becoming a target and every target is one bribe away from becoming a client.

Russian elite leaves Moscow on private planes en masse.

Russian oligarchs and politicians are leaving Moscow en masse on private planes, some of which have already landed outside the Russian Federation.

Source: Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), a Russian website focused on investigative journalism.

Details: For example, Vladimir Putin’s Il96-300PU, which is equipped with army control equipment, flew from Moscow to St Petersburg. The aircraft disappeared from the radar near Tver in Russia.

In addition, the second presidential plane, a Tu-214PU, departed from Moscow to St Petersburg at 14:44, which is also equipped in case of war. It disappeared from the radar over the Russian town of Gatchina.

A business jet belonging to oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, a Bombardier BD-700, took off from Moscow today at 11:30 and landed in Baku at 15:04 (Moscow time). The flight was scheduled for yesterday evening.

An aircraft belonging to Denis Manturov, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, took off from Moscow at 07:00 and landed in Dalaman, Türkiye at 12:06.

Oligarch Vladimir Potanin’s Gulfstream G650 business jet is expected to take off from Moscow to fly to Istanbul today at 17:00

A Bombardier Global Express XLS belonging to state-owned company Inter RAO [headed by Boris, the son of Putin’s friend Yury Kovalchuk – ed.] took off from Moscow and landed in St Petersburg at around 15:00 (Moscow time).

Ordinary residents of the Russian Federation are unlikely to be able to fly anywhere today, as the prices for air tickets to visa-free countries have skyrocketed. For example, a ticket for a direct flight from Moscow to Yerevan costs up to 200,000 roubles [about US$2,363 – ed.] and to Dubai – up to 350,000 roubles [about US$4,136 – ed.]. There are no tickets left for Istanbul, Astana and Tbilisi.

Background:

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed that the regular Russian army had launched a missile strike on the Wagnerites’ rear camps. Prigozhin claimed that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had arrived in Rostov, where he personally conducted an operation to wipe out the mercenaries.

According to Prigozhin, 25,000 of his mercenaries are allegedly going to “restore justice”. At the same time, he asked not to call their actions a “military coup”. Prigozhin added that Shoigu had fled Rostov like a coward and “this creature will be stopped”. The Russian Defence Ministry called the information a provocation.

Honolulu, state of Hawaii coughs up six figures to sailor forced to give up his guns over mental health counseling

To be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about this. While I’m glad that the city of Honolulu and the state of Hawaii are being forced to cut a check to Michael Santucci, the roughly $130,000 he’ll receive after his Second Amendment rights were violated doesn’t seem nearly enough to make up for the harm that was done to him.

Santucci was an active duty member of the Navy in 2021 when he sought a permit to possess a firearm in the home. After acknowledging that he had recently received mental health counseling, his application was rejected by the Honolulu PD on the grounds that he’d allegedly admitted to a significant mental health disorder. Not only was his permit denied, but the firearms he had previously lawfully purchased were seized by the Honolulu police.

In truth, Santucci was homesick, and simply wanted to talk to a counselor at Tripler Army Medical Center. Santucci ended up suing after his permit was rejected, and last year a federal judge ruled in his favor, declaring that Santucci had not demonstrated any sort of significant mental health disorder that would disqualify him under the Hawaii law while leaving the statute itself untouched.

After the judge’s ruling, the city and state settled with Santucci. The state of Hawaii agreed to fork over some $28,000 for Santucci’s trouble, while the city of Honolulu agreed to a $102,000 figure. Santucci still hasn’t received a check from the city, but it looks like one will soon be cut.

A Honolulu City Council committee Tuesday approved the city’s portion of the settlement — $102,500 — which goes to the full council next month.

The lawsuit by Michael Santucci alleged that the HPD seized his guns and that it held up his permit application in 2021 because he wrote down on his firearms questionnaire that he had recently received mental health counseling.

His lawyer said police had violated Santucci’s constitutional rights.

“Mr. Santucci’s case sort of demonstrates the attitude that HPD has toward people owning firearms. I think they view it really more as a privilege rather than a constitutional right,” said Santucci’s lawyer Alan Beck.

I’d say that’s an understatement on Beck’s part, and it’s not just limited to the city of Honolulu or its police department. As we reported earlier this week, local departments like the Honolulu PD are denying permits to anyone who possesses a medical marijuana card, and Gov. Josh Brown recently signed a carry-killer bill that prohibits lawful concealed carry in the vast majority of publicly accessible spaces, including all businesses by default.

The Democrats in charge of Hawaii’s government are doing everything they can to keep the islands gun-free and have displayed no concern or consternation about treading over a fundamental constitutional right in the process.

Because of Santucci’s legal actions the city of Honolulu has changed its questions on the firearms permit application, which will hopefully prevent this particular infringement from happening in the future. When it comes to getting the state to actually start treating the right to keep and bear arms as the fundamental right that it is, however, attorneys like Alan Beck and organizations like the Hawaii Firearms Coalition and the Hawaii Rifle Association still have their work cut out for them.

Always with the ‘but’………
Makes you wonder what he thinks about rights protected by the 4th and 5th amendments.

Tulsa police chief suggests nation transform response to gun violence

As mass shootings plague the country, Tulsa’s police chief is comparing the violence to 9/11 and urging a more comprehensive response. KWGS’ Max Bryan sat down with Chief Wendell Franklin for StateImpact. Please note, both the audio and transcript have been edited for length and clarity.

MAX BRYAN: So to begin, after the Saint Francis shooting, you said you would leave gun laws up to the state legislature, but by the end of that month, you had told media outlets that permitless carry was causing problems in Tulsa, and you reiterated that point after the mass shooting at Allen Outlet Mall in Texas last month. So my first question is what led you to decide to speak out?

WENDELL FRANKLIN: Well, because I don’t think that we’re moving the needle on anything. If you compare what we’re faced with 9/11, 9/11 occurred and it totally transformed America, totally transformed how you travel on airlines. No longer can you go to the terminal and see a loved one off or see someone come back. All of that is a sterile area. The federal government took over all airline security and there was this more robust effort to deal with and address some of the terrorist activities that were taking place. Fast forward to even structures, how structures were built, no longer are you building structures that have parking garages that you can access underneath a building. You can’t do that anymore. Today, all of that’s controlled. And any future buildings, those are not even a part of the actual building structure. They move those off to the side now, and here we are today, where we’ve recognized that we have some issues that need to be addressed, and we are operating as though everything is normal, and I don’t think everything is normal.

MB: So you’ve also criticized a lack of regulation of untraceable ghost guns and straw purchasing. Recently you indicated you would support regulating the purchasing of high-powered weapons like AR-15s. Is there anything you can add to that list today?

WF: Ultimately, I’m a Second Amendment guy. I own guns of course. But I’m okay giving up some of that freedom, right? We had to give up some of that freedom after 9/11. I’m okay with waiting three days, five days, or whatever to get my firearm if I go out and purchase another firearm. So I’m okay with a pause to allow for weapons to be purchased and allow the government and the gun companies to look at the background and do a thorough check before that gun goes to someone.

MB: Have you spoken to any members of the legislature about our state’s gun laws?

WF: In passing, I have. It’s a topic that’s not really brought up a whole lot and it’s something that gets glossed over quite a bit.

MB: How have those conversations gone?

WF: It’s an immediate pivot to some other topic. No one really wants to talk about it.

MB: Okay. So in December, you told me the second amendment was tricky. How do you balance challenges, or excuse me, changes that you believe will prevent crime with enforcing laws made by lawmakers who believe the second amendment means expanding firearm access?

WF: Ultimately, law enforcement, we are the experts. We’re the subject matter experts at protecting America, right? Protecting our cities. We should be utilized in that manner. I am charged with protecting this community. And if there are better ways of protecting it, I think we should be looking at those better ways to protect it. Anything that we do, ultimately, we give up something to have that protection. You know, we put seatbelt laws in place, I’m not exactly sure when, probably the 1980s, I think. And we mandated that everyone starts wearing a seatbelt, and it took some time for people to grab hold of that. But if you look today it is an automatic thing that people put on their seatbelt when they get into a vehicle. You feel uncomfortable not wearing that seatbelt. I think again, we give something up to get safety for, for something safe. I think that’s where we are today. We are going to have to give up some things. And I think there are some things that we can give up for a safer community.

 

Silencers/Suppressors are in Common Use for Lawful Purposes

U.S.A. — The number of legal suppressors or silencers in the United States shows they are in common use for lawful purposes.  As of January of 2023, the ATF shows there were over 3.1 million silencers or suppressors legally owned in the United States for lawful purposes. In January of 2020, there were 1.8 million. Over the last three years, the number of legal suppressors has increased by an average of 450,000 suppressors per year. By the end of 2023, it is reasonably expected there will be over 3.6 million suppressors in the United States of America. To own these suppressors, the owners have gone through a complicated and lengthy process, often taking a year or more to process their applications for tax stamps. The federal government requires tax stamps to purchase a silencer legally.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects “arms ‘in common use at the time’ for lawful purposes like self-defense” and arms that are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.” Such arms are “chosen by American society,” not the government.

Silencers/Suppressors are in Common Use for Lawful Purposes
Silencers/Suppressors are in Common Use for Lawful Purposes

American society chooses what arms are in common use. The government does not make the choices. By choosing to possess arms, the people choose what is in common use. It is the possession of the arms which determines whether they are in common use or not.  Possession of arms is a use of the arms. In Heller, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled:

The Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.

In the Caetano decision, the Heller pronouncement was emphasized and magnified. When an arm was invented has nothing to do with whether it is protected under the Second Amendment. What matters is if the arm is in common use for lawful purposes. This was particularly emphasized by Justice Alito and Justice Thomas. From Caetano, concurrence by Justice Alito, joined with Justice Thomas:

The more relevant statistic is that “[h]undreds of thousands of Tasers and stun guns have been sold to private citizens,” who it appears may lawfully possess them in 45 States. People v. Yanna, 297 Mich. App. 137, 144, 824 N. W. 2d 241, 245 (2012) (holding Michigan stun gun ban unconstitutional); see Volokh, Nonlethal Self-Defense, (Almost Entirely) Nonlethal Weapons, and the Rights To Keep and Bear Arms and Defend Life, 62 Stan. L. Rev. 199, 244 (2009) (citing stun gun bans in seven States); Wis. Stat. §941.295 (Supp. 2015) (amended Wisconsin law permitting stun gun possession); see also Brief in Opposition 11 (acknowledging that “approximately 200,000 civilians owned stun guns” as of 2009). While less popular than handguns, stun guns are widely owned and accepted as a legitimate means of self-defense across the country. Massachusetts’ categorical ban of such weapons therefore violates the Second Amendment.

This was the first time SCOTUS put a number on what is “common use.”  Some may consider two hundred thousand items in the United States of America high, but this applies to many items. When legal suppressors were nearly banned by taxes of ten times the price of the item ($20 would buy most suppressors; the tax was/is $200), there were far fewer of them. In 2006, there were 150 thousand legally owned silencers in the USA.  Sometime between 2006 and 2011, the 200 thousand mark was passed. ATF records do not seem to be available from 2006 to 2010. In 2011, there were 285 thousand legal silencers.

The ATF and Biden administration’s strategy is to claim silencers are not “arms” but are only an accessory. It is difficult to see how they can claim silencers are not “arms” but are very dangerous.

The Texas case, Paxton v. Richardson, appears to be the most likely case to resolve this issue at this time.  In the case, Texas Attorney General Paxton has argued the common use, Second Amendment case, as well as persuasive arguments against the use of taxation to attack rights protected by the Second Amendment.

Judge Mark Pitmann heard the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment in the case on June 15, 2023.

Once you realize that to these people “democracy” means “rule by Democrats,” it all makes sense.

ON MERRICK GARLAND, A SMOKING GUN

Merrick Garland, no doubt one of the worst political hacks ever to hold the position of Attorney General, has sworn that U.S. Attorney David Weiss was in charge of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden and made all the charging decisions. Whistleblowers have denied that claim, and have said that Garland’s Department of Justice interfered with, and essentially deep-sixed, the investigation, so that Hunter got off with a ridiculous slap on the wrist, and was back attending a state dinner at the White House a day or two later.

That is America’s two-tier system of justice in action.

But it gets worse. Gary Shapley is the IRS employee who is the key whistleblower on the fake Hunter investigation. His boss at the IRS was Darrell Waldon. This email is from Shapley to Michael Batdorf, who is with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division, with a copy to Waldon. It describes a meeting that apparently included David Weiss:

The key language:“Weiss stated that he is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed. I believe this to be a huge problem–inconsistent with DOJ position and Merrick Garland testimony.”

Shapley asked Waldon to “comment if I miss something.” Waldon’s reply:

This exchange prompts two questions:

1) Is the evidence against Joe Biden piling up so fast that he may be unable to finish his term, as the Democrats have planned?

2) Is there now enough evidence to begin impeachment proceedings against Merrick Garland?

June 24

109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 25 miles northwest of Rome to the city. It remains in use for 1500 years and most of it still stands to this day

1230 – During the Spanish Reconquista, the forces of King Ferdinand III of Castile besiege city of Jaén in the southern Spanish area of Andalusia, defended by the Taifa of Jayyān.

1314 – During the first war of Scottish Independence, the Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce

1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland

1813 – In the Battle of Beaver Dams,  near Thorold, Ontario, a British and Kahnawake Indian combined force defeats the United States Army during the War of 1812.

1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million dollar contract.

1922 – The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.

1938 – Pieces of a meteor, estimated to have weighed 450 tons when it hit the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.

1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.

1948 – In retaliation for the introduction of the West German Deutsche Mark which caused economic upheaval in the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviets begin blocking overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin as a negotiating tactic to have issue of the new currency halted, beginning the ‘Berlin Blockade’.

1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on the NBC network.

1957 – In the case of Roth v. United States, the Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

1973 – The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a homosexual hangout located on the 2nd floor of the 3 story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Killing 32 people.

1975 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, a Boeing 727, encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York’s JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers and crew on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time.

1994 – Piloted by a known, reckless, daredevil ‘hot dog’ past its operational limits, the crash of a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane Washington – killing all 4 crew aboard – is video recorded in detail and later used for training purposes.

2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.

2021 – The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 residents.

2022 – In the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, returns such authority to the individual states and overturning the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).