Crap For Brains Quote O’ the Day
Sen. Nia Gill (D- Essex) pushed back on some of Durr’s claims about the bill violating the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s June ruling……
“This is an exercise in legislation that we must do in order for the court to determine the legislative constitutionality of it,” Gill said.

Fast-tracked bill to limit concealed carry stumbles as constitutional concerns mount

A fast-tracked bill to limit concealed carry in New Jersey hit a snag Thursday when Assembly leaders yanked it from a scheduled vote, conceding its broad restrictions could fold under constitutional scrutiny.

The canceled vote came the same day a Senate panel approved the bill along party lines — and with about 15 amendments that appear to be aimed at appeasing critics who have vowed to fight any new law in court. The bill, introduced two weeks ago, has already been approved along party lines by three Assembly committees.

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden), one of the bill’s sponsors and the majority leader in the Assembly, said legislators plan to revise language in the bill to ensure “it’s directly in line with our legislative intent.”

“That may help constitutional arguments at the end of the day,” Greenwald said. “There’s a focus on making sure that it’s not too broad, not too vague, and that it withstands a challenge.”

Greenwald said lawmakers still aim to pass the bill by the end of November.

“Obviously, the day that the governor signs it, there’s going to be legal challenges — those against it have already made that clear,” said Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), another bill sponsor. “So we’re just doing everything we need to do to cross our t’s and dot our i’s. There’s no lack of resolve. If anything, we’re even more determined to get something to the governor’s desk.”

Legislators say they drafted the bill to counter the uptick in gun usage they anticipate after about 300,000 gun owners applied for concealed carry permits in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that affirmed a constitutional right to carry. In that ruling, the nation’s highest court struck down a New York law requiring gun owners to prove a reason why they need to carry a concealed gun, prompting New Jersey to remove its similar “justifiable need” requirement.

New Jersey’s bill would create new hurdles for gun owners seeking carry permits and carve out 25 categories of sensitive places where guns are prohibited, which range from beaches to bars to parks.

But gun rights advocates have singled out various provisions of the bill they find problematic — and grounds for a court challenge. A federal judge in New York last week temporarily halted a similar ban there on guns in sensitive places, citing constitutional concerns.

Some of the amendments made to New Jersey’s bill since its introduction have addressed critics’ concerns. After gun supporters complained about one provision that would allow the state’s 565 municipalities to define their own sensitive places where guns would be banned, lawmakers amended the bill to remove it.

Scott Bach, president of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, on Wednesday sounded the alarm about other language in the bill referring to “weapons.” Such vague wording could refer to any everyday tool, including mops, kitchen cutlery, and knitting needles, the association warned in an alert to members.

Greenwald on Thursday conceded the weapons verbiage was one tweak legislators would make before rescheduling the bill for a full Assembly vote.

We’re just doing everything we need to do to cross our t’s and dot our i’s. There’s no lack of resolve. If anything, we’re even more determined to get something to the governor’s desk.
– Assemblyman John McKeon

Earlier in the day, during the Senate’s Law and Public Safety Committee, Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex), the committee’s chair, agreed some unclear language in the bill needs further consideration.

The committee made 15 amendments to the bill. Two amendments would remove requirements that someone with a carry permit stopped by police produce the gun for inspection and show proof of liability insurance. Two more would allow active and retired law enforcement officers to carry a handgun in sensitive places where the public can’t take them.

Still, supporters and critics spent nearly three hours debating the bill Thursday, with some especially testy exchanges between the panel’s Democratic members and Sen. Ed Durr (R-Gloucester), whose political campaign centered on Second Amendment rights.

 Sen. Ed Durr (R-Gloucester) testifies against a bill that would limit concealed carry at the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee on Oct. 27, 2022. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) 

“If I were to sit here and list all the problems with this bill, we’d be here until sometime next week,” Durr told the panel.

Durr especially objected to the increased fees proposed in the legislation, complaining they would “make it impossible for a person of modest means to protect him- or herself.”

He questioned the state’s ongoing effort to reduce its prison population while tightening gun control at the same time.

“You were making room (in prison) for all the responsible but unlucky gun owners who are going to unintentionally violate this bill,” he said.

Sen. Nia Gill (D- Essex) pushed back on some of Durr’s claims about the bill violating the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s June ruling.

“I’m a lawyer,” Gill told Durr.

He responded, “I’ve seen many lawyers get things wrong.”

Gill retorted: “I’ve seen legislators get them wrong too.”

After almost three hours of testimony, the panel advanced the bill.

“This is an exercise in legislation that we must do in order for the court to determine the legislative constitutionality of it,” Gill said.

It’s already obsolete as the McDonald and Bruen rulings made ‘judicial scrutiny’ out of bounds for a fundamental right, but it does enshrine RKBA in the Iowa Constitution.

Iowa sheriffs endorse gun rights constitutional amendment

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa sheriffs are speaking out in support of a proposed gun rights amendment to the Iowa Constitution. But not everyone thinks it’s appropriate for sheriffs to endorse political issues.

Iowans will vote on the so-called “Second Amendment” bill on Nov. 8.

“Whenever one of my constituents loses a freedom it’s my fault. It’s our job to speak out,” said Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington.

Wethington is one of six Iowa sheriffs officially endorsing what he calls the freedom amendment. It says, in part, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” and is basically creating an Iowa gun rights amendment similar to the second amendment in the federal constitution.

“It needs to be in the Iowa constitution, just simply for the fact that if you have your Second Aamendment rights violated, the way it is now, you have to wait until your time in a federal court. It can be dealt with in a state level now,” Wethington said.

Many Iowa sheriffs are also endorsing Brenna Bird for Iowa attorney general. And they appear in a new political advertisement for Bird, the Republican candidate running for Iowa attorney general against incumbent Tom Miller.

“Those 74 sheriffs, they want a new attorney general,” Bird said.

But Drake University political science professor Dennis Goldford wonders about the ethics of law enforcement endorsements.

“The difficulty is while people are entitled to their own opinion, when people have a certain authority over others, whether it’s law enforcement, employers, professors, teachers whatever, they’re in a position to make people subordinate to that authority is uncomfortable at best,” Goldford said.

But Wethington disagrees.

“When I ran for office and was elected I did give up my First Amendment rights, not only is it my right, to speak my mind, but it’s also my duty as an elected official who has a sworn oath to protect the constitution,” he said.

Only six Iowa sheriffs publicly endorsed the firearms amendment, but the Iowa Firearms Coalition says many more are also in support.

THE AYOOB FILE
READERS KNOW MASSAD AYOOB AS A WRITER, BUT HE’S ALSO A LEADER

American Handgunner and GUNS Magazine readers have known Massad Ayoob over the years for his insight and careful analysis of self-defense incidents, and for his several books on the subject, but there’s another side of this multi-talented fellow with the deep voice and New England accent.

He also serves as president of the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights organization that has become the national leader in firearms litigation. It’s also where I hang my hat as editor and communications director. It was a SAF case — McDonald v. City of Chicago — which won a Supreme Court ruling that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. It is SAF, sometimes with national and/or local partner organizations, which now has nearly 40 active lawsuits challenging restrictive gun control laws across the states.

And it is SAF, along with the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, which annually sponsors the Gun Rights Policy Conference. This year, the event was in Dallas, Texas, and it was Ayoob — a pal of mine for decades — who delivered opening remarks and later on the agenda, some timely and important tips on how to win the “gun battle.”

Suffice to say, Ayoob did it with a style all his own; a bit of activist, some diplomat, a dash of cop humor and a heavy dose of reality.

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Georgia Supreme Court Allows Residents to Sue to Keep Confederate Statues

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that residents may sue county governments for removing Confederate monuments, but people who do not live in the county do not have the standing to sue.

The court on Tuesday upheld an appeals court dismissal of lawsuits filed by Sons of Confederate Veterans against Newton and Henry counties because the group lacked standing — because its members do not live in the community.

However, the court upheld the case brought by Newton County resident T. Davis Humphries, who sued after her county voted in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue.

Constantine’s Vision of the Cross ~ Early Accounts and Backstory

ΕΝ ΤΟΥΤΩ ΝΙΚΑ otherwise, IN HOC SIGNO VINCES


Constantine’s great victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place on October 28, AD 312. The day before — October 27 — is the date traditionally given for the miraculous vision and dream which Constantine experienced prior to the battle. This vision has been the subject of debate in both scholarly and popular imagination for hundreds of years. But what really happened on that day 1,705 years ago that changed forever the course of human history?

As a prelude to the famous accounts of this vision, it should be noted that Constantine also seems to have had pagan theophany in the early years of his reign. Writing sometime between AD 307 and AD 310, an anonymous Gallic panegyricist describes Constantine’s presence on the frontier as almost miraculous in restoring order after a barbarian incursion. He explains the reason why as follows:

“Fortune herself so ordered this matter that the happy outcome of your affairs prompted you to convey to the immortal gods what you had vowed at the very spot where you had turned aside toward the most beautiful temple in the whole world, or rather, to the deity made manifest, as you saw. For you saw, I believe, O Constantine, your Apollo, accompanied by Victory, offering you laurel wreaths, each one of which carries a portent of thirty years. For this is the number of human ages which are owed to you without fail—beyond the old age of Nestor.”
[In Praise of the Later Roman Emperors, page 248-50]

This reputed vision of Apollo took place at least two years prior to Constantine’s more famous vision of a cross in the sky. Interestingly, this vision fits in well with the Christian accounts of later events.

Constantine saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing this inscription: conquer by this. At the sight, he himself was struck with amazement and his whole army also.
― Eusebius

Federal Judge Upholds California ‘Ghost Gun’ Ban, Rules Gun-Making Not Protected by Second Amendment

California’s attempt to stop people from building their own firearms can move forward.

That’s the decision federal district judge George H. Wu, a George W. Bush appointee, delivered late last week. Wu determined the Second Amendment’s text does not cover the building of firearms, ruling against gun-mill maker Defense Distributed (DD) in its challenge of AB 1621. The judge argued California’s law banning the possession of unserialized firearms, as well as parts or specific tools used to make them, does not run afoul of gun-rights protections under the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.

“Though it leads with a recognition of the primacy of Bruen’s ‘plain text’ point, DD seeks in its opening brief to jump ahead in the analysis to a historical/tradition assessment (and to jump ahead in Bruen to that decision’s discussion of how to conduct such an assessment),” Judge Wu wrote in his ruling rejecting a request for a preliminary injunction against the law. “But it has effectively attempted to avoid the necessary threshold consideration – does the ‘Second Amendment’s plain text’ cover the issue here? No, it plainly does not. AB 1621 has nothing to do with ‘keep[ing]’ or ‘bear[ing]’ arms.”

The decision presents a novel interpretation of the standard for reviewing gun laws set in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires judges to strike down laws that implicate Second Amendment rights unless they match a historical analogue from the founding era. Wu is among the first federal judges to grapple with the new test and possibly the first to determine the text of the amendment only covers owning and carrying guns, not making or selling them. If his approach to reading the scope of what activities are protected by the Second Amendment as relatively limited becomes influential among other judges, it could result in them upholding many modern restrictions.

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When the reality of econuttery is finally realized, it gets the boot.

Wind Farm in Germany Is Being Taken Down for Expansion of Coal Mine

In the throes of an energy crisis, a German energy company is moving forward with plans to dismantle a wind farm adjacent to its coal mine in order to expand operations.

The removal of one of the wind farm’s eight wind turbines occurred last week, with two more coming down next year and the rest getting removed by the end of 2023.

Recognizing the “paradoxical” nature of the situation, Germany energy company RWE, which operates the Garzweiler coal mine, said it’s necessary.

“We realize this comes across as paradoxical,” RWE spokesperson Guido Steffen told the Guardian. “But that is as matters stand.”

The expansion comes in tandem with a plan to temporarily return three of RWE’s lignite-fired coal units to the market, a decision that was approved by Germany’s cabinet. The units were previously on standby.

“The three lignite units each have a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW). With their deployment, they contribute to strengthening the security of supply in Germany during the energy crisis and to saving natural gas in electricity generation,” RWE said in September.

“Originally, it was planned that the three reserve power plant units affected would be permanently shut down on September 30, 2022, and September 30, 2023, respectively,” RWE added.

Germany’s cabinet approved the decision to bring back the idled coal units to boost energy supplies, as energy imports remain hindered by the Russia-Ukraine War.  (Fox Business)

The ministry for economic and energy affairs of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, meanwhile, is urging RWE to reconsider its plans.

“In the current situation, all potential for the use of renewable energy should be exhausted as much as possible and existing turbines should be in operation for as long as possible,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.

Mother hiding with children shoots burglar through door

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hidalgo County deputies say a man was arrested after breaking into a home Tuesday night and attempting to get into a woman’s bedroom where she was hiding with her children.

The woman, however, had a gun, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said.

Identified by law enforcement, Carlos Garcia, 36, was found by deputies in an open field with a gunshot wound. He was medically cleared and then arrested on a charge of burglary of a habitation with intent, the sheriff’s office said.

At about 9:13 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, deputies and deputy constables responded to a emergency call about a burglary of a home in progress in rural Edinburg.

Upon arrival to the home, deputies talked with the homeowner, who told authorities that man had broken into their home through the garage. The homeowner said the man tried to get into the bedroom where she and her children had locked themselves to hide from the intruder.

“The homeowner warned Garcia that the police had been called and she had a gun,” the sheriff’s office stated. “When Garcia refused to leave and continued to try to get into the bedroom, the homeowner shot once through the door.”

Man hit sister’s boyfriend with a brick during assault, police say
Garcia then fled the home, authorities said.

Deputies found Garcia about 100 yards away in an open field with a gunshot wound to his left arm. Garcia was provided medical care and then booked into the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center.

The case remains under investigation.

I would have already done so. licenses or not.

Leaders Urge Christians To Defend Selves After Militants Kill 70

BENUE, Nigeria (BP) – Leaders in Benue, Nigeria, are seeking to give Christian farmers AK-47s for self-defense after suspected militant herdsmen killed at least 70 Christians in several days of attacks there.

“We are standing on our request for the federal government to give us a license for our Volunteer Guards to bear AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons,” Morning Star News on Oct. 25 quoted Anthony Ijohor, a spokesman for Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom. “The security agencies have been overstretched and, that being the case, our people have to defend themselves.”

Gabriel Suswam, an area senator and former Benue governor, also called on Christians to defend themselves.

“Since the federal government has gone to sleep and does not care about the security of the people,” Leadership Nigeria quoted Suswam Oct. 22, “it is time for them to rise up and defend themselves. We cannot continue to allow herdsmen terrorists to keep on killing these peasant farmers and destroying their property.”

Balanced Christian Man Bundle Thumbnail Ijohor and Suswam made the comments following days of attacks during the week of Oct. 16 by terrorists suspected to be militant Fulani herdsmen. More than 70 residents in majority Christian areas of Benue state were killed, more than 100 were injured and thousands were displaced, Morning Star reported.

“In just two days, over 70 Christians were killed by Fulani militiamen in Gbeji community in our local government area,” Morning Star quoted Terumbur Kartyo, chairman of the Ukum Local Government Council in Benue. Udei and Yelewata villages were also attacked, Terumbur told Morning Star.

The killings were likely revenge attacks following the alleged killing of five Fulani herders in three different incidents on Oct. 18, Morning Star said, referencing remarks by a Benue state police official who was not named in the report.

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Well, maybe because demoncraps like criminals?

NY Gov. Hochul Doesn’t Know Why Putting Criminals in Jail is ‘So Important’ to Challenger Lee Zeldin.

In the race for governor of New York, Republican Lee Zeldin has been hammering Democrat Kathy Hochul on crime and it has been working.

Last night, during their only debate, Zeldin kept up the pressure on this issue and it led to one of those definitive debate moments that people remember.

This is when Hochul lost the debate. The New York Post reports:

‘Don’t know why that’s so important’: Hochul baffled when Zeldin talks jailing criminals during NY gov debate

Gov. Kathy Hochul stunningly said she didn’t know why it’s “so important” to lock up criminals when confronted by Republican challenger Lee Zeldin over the state’s controversial bail reform law during their first and only debate Tuesday night.

Zeldin, who’s pledged to declare a crime emergency and suspend cashless bail if elected, brought up the issue midway through the televised face-off.

“My opponent thinks that right now there’s a polio emergency going on but there’s not a crime emergency — different priorities than I’m hearing from people right now,” the outgoing congressman from Long Island said.

“They’re not being represented from this governor — who still, to this moment…hasn’t talked about locking up anyone committing any crimes.”

Hochul responded by saying, “Anyone who commits a crime, under our laws, especially with the changes we made to bail, has consequences.

“I don’t know why that’s so important to you,” the incumbent Democrat added. “All I know is that we could do more.”

Here’s the video

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And people wonder why #teamheadsonpikes is getting noticed

BLUF
The brutal and vengeful behavior of these school officials should not surprise us. Many government officials nationwide — most of whom are generally on the left — now seem to think they are should be immune from any criticism at all. To their minds, any dissent is the equivalent of violence that must be squelched by any means necessary.

May the next few elections remove such people from power, forever.

Today’s blacklisted American: School officials in Florida and Michigan retaliate against parents for being involved in their kids’ schooling.

As I did last week on October 20 and 21, today’s blacklist column will cover two stories, both of which are similar and show a pattern of abuse by those in power.

The October 20th story focused on hospitals blacklisting nurses, either for being white or Christian. The October 21st story told the story of teachers being fired for opposing the introduction of the queer agenda in toddler daycare and in elementary schools.

Today’s story describes how school officials in two different states instigated investigations designed solely to destroy the livelihood of parents, simply because those parents questioned the way those officials were doing their job.

Note that in all three cases, the nurses, teachers, and parents were blacklisted simply because they had expressed in public a disagreement with the policies of those in charge. Apparently, to those now in charge, the first amendment has been suspended, so that any dissent against them can be punished harshly.

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It’s not just that I can’t afford even one of the guns. I can’t even afford the ammo he went through. And you do not shoot reloads, but ammo especially made for them.

This was taken at the ‘Big Sandy’ shoot where a course of fire is shooting at a remote controlled toy plane.

BLUF
“The right to carry is here, and it’s here to stay, and everybody’s got to get used to that,” Bach told the outlet. “This angry fist-shaking by various states like New York and New Jersey is going to blow up in their faces. They can pretend that Bruen doesn’t say what it says, but it’s only going to come back to bite them.”

New York court rulings against gun law may signal trouble for similar New Jersey bill

A gun restriction bill backed by top Democrats in New Jersey is already facing legal threats after the Supreme Court affirmed a constitutional right to carry and sparked challenges to New York ‘s similar gun law.

Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, the New Jersey bill’s main sponsor, is pushing the legislation to prohibit licensed gun owners from bringing firearms into nearly 25 “sensitive places” while imposing stiff barriers for people seeking gun licenses. The bill made it out of committee via a party-line vote this week and has the backing of Gov. Phil Murphy , who has vowed to sign it into law.

If enacted, the legislation could be a tough road ahead in light of two federal court rulings in New York that held the Empire State’s new gun law fails the test established in the summer high court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen .

Just last week, a federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on a provision of a New York gun law that made it a felony for a person with a concealed carry gun license to bring a firearm into churches or other houses of worship. That ruling came just weeks after a separate lower court ruled that much of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act , signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul , failed the Bruen test. Since then, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court has restored much of the act while a three-judge panel decides on a motion to stay the lower court decision.

New Jersey’s Bill A4769 features many similar components that have been subject to judicial scrutiny in light of the 6-3 high court opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas .

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Harrisburg resident shoots man who broke into his home

A man allegedly shot while breaking into a Harrisburg home Friday is now facing criminal charges, police said.

Keon J. Washington, 32, kicked in a back door of a home in the area of Disbrow and Carnation streets around 4:45 p.m. Friday and was confronted by the homeowner, according to city police.

Police said the homeowner — who legally owned a firearm — gave Washington warnings to stop and leave before shooting Washington.

Washington was found in the North 17th and Carnation streets area a short time later, armed with a large butcher knife, police said. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police charged Washington with trespassing, attempted burglary, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person.