Indianapolis Police Get It Right on First, Second Amendments

I’ve never been one to make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day, but I can think of about a million things more romantic than going out and protesting ICE with my sweetheart. I can’t imagine that an anti-ICE protest in downtown Indianapolis on Valentine’s Day is going to draw a huge crowd, but its organizers are hoping for a big turnout, include armed demonstrators.

If anyone is hoping that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will be cracking skulls and arresting those who dare exercise their First and Second Amendment rights at the same time, they’re going to be sorely disappointed.

A group called Strong Neighbor is hosting the protest at the Abraham Lincoln statue in University Park, at least partly in response to the comments by President Donald Trump and other administration officials suggesting there’s no such thing as peaceably carrying a gun at a protest after the killing of anti-ICE activist Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month.

Strong Neighbor calls those statements “an attack and dismissal of our constitutional rights,” though the group’s broader disagreement seems to be with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The following Monday, for instance, the group will be taking part in a “Gen Z Against ICE” protest. For those not interested in protesting, though, next weekend they’ll be hosting a “Potting Party” where attendees can “plant seeds you can take home, learn about hydroponics, and build community”. No word on whether lawfully possessed firearms will be welcome at either of those events.

In response to the planned protest, the IMPD put out a statement making it clear that there’s no conflict between the First and Second Amendment, at least from the agency’s perspective and that of state and federal law.

The presence of guns at a protest is both not a crime nor a reason for law to intervene, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department statement said.

Our team recognizes that the visible presence of firearms can make some community members uncomfortable or concerned,” the statement reads. “The IMPD recognizes and respects the constitutional rights of all members of the community to peacefully assemble and exercise free speech.”

That’s all that needs to be said, really. And so long as the “strong neighbors” who show up for the protest aren’t violent, I wish them well.

If, on the other hand, there are protesters who cross the line, as we’ve seen at another anti-ICE protest in Indiana, I suspect the IMPD is going to quickly move to take that individual into custody. Just pointing a gun at someone who’s not threatening you is a serious offense, as Ryan D. Hughes has learned. The anti-ICE demonstrator’s been charged with a felony and a misdemeanor for allegedly pointing a loaded shotgun at the driver of a van passing by the protest, as well as purportedly pepper-spraying several of his fellow protesters.

I sincerely hope that nothing like that happens in Indianapolis tomorrow, but as we’ve seen with other protests and counter-protests about ICE, they don’t just bring out the passionate. They have a tendency to bring out the nutballs as well.

Liberalizing concealed carry laws won’t lead to a return to the Wild West – though it wouldn’t be bad if it did. … in 19th Century cattle towns, homicide was confined to transient males who shot each other in saloon disturbances. The per capital robbery rate was 7% of modern New York City’s. The burglary rate was 1%. Rape was unknown. — David Kopel

Besides being St Valentine’s Day, February 14 is also another important date

The patent for the 1911 pistol was issued on February 14, 1911.

The Colt M1911 pistol, designed by John Moses Browning, was patented under U.S. Patent 984,519, which was filed on February 17, 1910 and officially issued on February 14, 1911. This patent covered the semi-automatic, recoil-operated design that became the foundation for the M1911, a firearm that would later be adopted by the U.S. Army on March 29, 1911. 

Columbia City shooting was self-defense, authorities confirm

Seattle police are investigating a shooting in Columbia City that officers say was an act of self‑defense.

A man was shot Thursday evening, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) confirmed.

Police officers were called to S. Angeline Street at approximately 6:30 p.m. after receiving reports that gunshots were fired. When they arrived, officers found a 33-year-old man who had been shot in the chest.

A short time later, a 27-year-old man called 911 and reported that he was involved in the shooting.

According to police, the 33-year-old man forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and assaulted the 27-year-old man, who is her current boyfriend.

Investigators said the younger man then shot the ex-boyfriend.

Seattle police released the shooter from custody, but the case remains open.

At last check, the man who was shot was in serious condition.

Political grandstanding has always been fraught with the danger that the politician and his staff are just stupid enough to make a public fool of the politician. And sometimes this stupidity should hurt.

DOJ Officials Claim Thomas Massie Just Made an Unbelievable Error

Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna may have gotten themselves into hot water after falsely accusing four men of being tied to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein in front of Congress.

The pair claimed that four names, which the Department of Justice redacted in the release of the files, were “powerful men” engaged in connected to Epstein, but those men were simply randomly selected for a police line up and had zero real connection to the case.

Massive and Khanna claim that the fault in the false accusations lies with Department of Justice officials, stating that the DOJ “illegally redacted names without explanation and then refused to give context for the names once they redacted.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon say that the pair jumped onto social media and in front of Congress to wave the men in front of the country rather than reach out to the DOJ for clarification beforehand.

The two have faced calls online to resign for airing the names of innocent men, with some saying that they have no interest in the victims and are only pursuing the matter for attention.

The Babylon Bee Ranks Humanity’s Worst Inventions

Since the invention of the wheel, many have pondered the greatest inventions of mankind. The Babylon Bee, however, is more fascinated by studying humanity’s worst inventions.

Here is an exhaustively researched list of mankind’s worst inventions — ranked:

  1. QR code menus – You’ll pry our germ-soaked paper menus from our cold, dead hands.
  2. TikTok – Yes, some of it is funny. But at what cost?
  3. Sin – Bad, but not quite as bad as QR code menus or TikTok.
  4. OneDrive – Save. My. Files. On. My. Own. Computer.
  5. Unskippable cutscenes in video games – If you want to make a movie, MAKE A MOVIE, NOT A VIDEO GAME.
  6. Ohio – No elaboration necessary.
  7. Mustard gas – Bad, but not Ohio bad.
  8. The designated hitter rule – BASEBALL IS NINE PLAYERS VERSUS NINE PLAYERS. THIS IS HOW GOD ALWAYS INTENDED IT TO BE.
  9. Zoom meetings – This includes Microsoft Teams.
  10. Communism – Hundreds of millions killed. Many more lives ruined. Still better than a Zoom meeting.

Think there’s anything that was missed? You’re wrong, this is a definitive list.

This level of stupid used to be fatal

The ATF Created a Backdoor Gun Registry. Lawmakers Want an Explanation.
Federal law bans the creation of a gun registry, but regulators made one anyway.

It has been illegal since 1986 for the federal government to establish a national firearms registry. As you might expect of the sort of people who gravitate to government employment, the bureaucrats at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), enabled by Biden-era policy changes, have taken that as a challenge. Now, members of Congress want answers from the federal gun cops about a vast gun registry database that could threaten the liberty and privacy of firearms owners. They have been stonewalled so far.

Lawmakers Question an Illegal Gun Registry

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