Michigan Supreme Court kicks campus carry ban case back to lower court

A challenge to the University of Michigan’s ban on firearms on campus is still underway after the state’s Supreme Court sent the case back to the Court of Appeals with instructions to re-consider its ruling in light of the Bruen decision.

At first glance, this looks like a relatively easy case. The Supreme Court said that “schools” were among those few “sensitive places” where there’s a historical tradition of banning firearms, so that must mean that the university’s gun ban is in-line with the Constitution, right? As Michigan Supreme Court Justice David Viviano wrote in a concurrence to the order sending Wade v. University of Michigan back to the court of appeals, it’s not nearly as cut and dried an issue.

To support its threshold analysis, the Court of Appeals relied on the statement in Dist of Columbia v Heller, 554 US 570, 626-627 (2008), that the Second Amendment did not disturb “longstanding prohibitions on . . . laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings . . . .” In the present case, the Court of Appeals’ entire “historical analysis” was to examine one dictionary from 1828 to determine whether universities were considered “school[s]” in 1868.

Even if one concludes that the Court of Appeals reached the correct result, this paltry review of the main question is inadequate. Moreover, it is not at all apparent that Heller’s brief discussion of sensitive places was intended to establish a rule that all entities historically known as “schools” could permissibly ban firearms, meaning the only question that would remain for future cases is whether the entity at issue was considered a “school.” Nor is it even clear that the Court meant to include universities and colleges in its reference to “schools,” let alone to say that such locations can completely ban firearms. See Note, Guns on Campus: Continuing Controversy, 38 J C & U L 663, 667-668 (2012) (noting that Heller did not address guns on university campuses or define “schools” to include higher education).

Viviano went on to describe two different areas of historical analysis that he’d like to see from the appellate court. First, whether there were any similar regulations dealing with bearing arms on university and college campuses at the time the Second and Fourteenth Amendments were ratified. Viviano notes that in his own initial analysis he’s found some laws that contain “partial restrictions”, but none that come close to the complete ban in effect on the University of Michigan campus.

The second line of historical analysis suggested by Viviano is whether or not traditional college campuses are even a good historical analogue for “large modern campuses like the University of Michigan’s.” Viviano wonders whether modern campuses are “so dispersed and multifaceted that a total campus ban would now cover areas that historically would not have had any restrictions?”

The University of Michigan itself occupies nearly one-tenth of Ann Arbor. Many areas on campus, such as roadways, open areas, shopping districts, or restaurants, might not fit the “sensitive place” model suggested by Heller—they may instead be more historically analogous to other locations that did not have gun restrictions. And because the campus is so entwined with the surrounding community, the ban might also burden carrying rights on locations outside campus, as many individuals will regularly go from campus to off-campus environments, even in a single trip; because they cannot bring a gun on campus, they will not feasibly be able to bring the gun to the off-campus locations either.

It’s an excellent point, and one that strikes at the heart of several of the post-Bruen restrictions on the right to carry that we’ve seen implemented or introduced in blue states over the past four months. Bans on concealed carry in public transportation, for example, not only prevent those who rely on it from being able to bear arms while on a city bus or subway, but throughout the course of their daily routine as well.

With the case going back to the court of appeals it will likely be several months before we get a decision, and Justice Viviano’s concurrence suggests that upholding the U of M gun ban won’t be as easy as gun control activists are hoping for. We’ll keep an eye on this case for any future developments, but in the meantime Michigan gun owners should be aware that the ban remains in effect for the time being.

Neighbors wake to news of deadly shooting by off-duty border patrol agent

SAN ANTONIO – A deadly shooting by an off-duty U. S. Border Patrol agent early Friday morning has left people at one West Side apartment complex a bit rattled.

San Antonio police say the agent told officers it happened after he interrupted a car burglary at the complex, located near Ingram Road and Highway 151, around 2 a.m.

The agent told police he caught that man and three others breaking into a vehicle and confronted them. He said one man pointed a handgun at him, while someone else shot at him. The agent said he pulled his own weapon, hitting the man in his left armpit.

Police say the burglary suspects then carried the wounded man to a car and drove off. Investigators later learned he had been dropped off at a hospital, where he died.

Back at the apartment complex, Brian Malott and his wife were trying to make sense of the gunfire that woke them up. “She jumped up and went to the window. I said, ‘Babe, hit the ground. Go! Get down!’,” he said.

A few minutes later, Malott said he heard his neighbor, the border patrol agent, calling to him from outside. “He told me, he said ‘Neighbor, someone was in your truck. Come out quick.’ So I came out. He had already, he got one of them,” Malott said.

As it turned out, Malott’s pickup is the vehicle the suspects had targeted. He says they took a gun from the center console in his truck. He believes it is the same weapon the man pointed at the agent just before he was shot.

“The gun was laying here in a pool of blood,” he said, pointing to a wet spot on the ground.

Others, meanwhile, slept through the entire commotion, but woke later to the news. Matthew Rios said he was surprised by the shooting, but not by the car break-ins.

“It’s definitely been a problem here,” Rios said. He said a relative who also lives in the complex had her vehicle burglarized several times recently.

Rios said just Thursday morning, he discovered his car had been stolen.

“Walked up to the parking space and there’s glass all over the floor and then the car was gone,” he said. While the break-ins may not have been unexpected for Rios, he says the deadly outcome did come as a bit of a shock.

 

I say use a chainsaw, like Marcel Ledbetter did. 

Firearms Policy Coalition

Yesterday, a Texas federal judge struck down 922(g)(8)

Before Bruen, the Second Amendment looked like an abandoned cabin in the woods.
A knot of vines, weeds, and roots, left unkempt for decades, crawling up the cabin’s sides as if pulling it under the earth. Firearm regulations are that overgrowth. Starting with the Federal Firearms Act in 1938, laws were passed with little—if any—consideration given to their constitutionality.
That is, until the Supreme Court intervened in Bruen.

No longer can lower courts account for public policy interests, historical analysis being the only tool. But after growing unchecked for almost 100 years, today’s tangle of gun laws has left lower courts with a gordian knot.
And after engaging with this Nation’s tradition of firearm regulations several times already, the Court’s unanswered question is whether Bruen demands lower courts manicure the Second Amendment’s landscape by scalpel or chainsaw.

…this Court’s opinion says nothing about whether a state court could remove someone’s guns through conditions of release or a restraining order.

“But if the Second Amendment can be read separate from the First as the Government argues, the history of disarming someone because of political allegiance oaths could be used to justify disarming political dissidents today.

Another problem is that § 922(g)(8) prohibits possession of a gun even if the state court order doesn’t. Indeed, § 922(g)(8) does not require that the court order prohibit possessing a gun.

More Oregon sheriffs vow not to enforce high capacity gun magazine ban if Measure 114 passes

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – At least two more Oregon sheriffs have said they do not intend to enforce Measure 114 if it passes and becomes law.

Michelle Duncan, the sheriff of Linn County, announced on the organization’s Facebook page on November 9, the day following Election Day, that she would not enforce the magazine capacity limit.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing the passage of Ballot Measure 114, which creates a required permitting system in order to purchase firearms AND bans gun magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. This is a terrible law for gunowners, crime victims, and public safety,” wrote Sheriff Duncan on Wednesday. “I want to send a clear message to Linn County residents that the Linn County Sheriff’s Office is NOT going to be enforcing magazine capacity limits.”

FOX 12 visited Linn County on Thursday and talked to a pawn shop owner who said people had been coming in regularly to buy magazines and guns, anxious about what comes next.

A spokesperson for the city of Albany, which is in Linn County, told FOX 12 it will follow the law but understand the measure will likely be challenged in court.

Later the same day on Nov. 9, Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen posted to Facebook to agree with Sheriff Duncan.
“I agree 100% with Sheriff Duncan! This is an infringement on our constitutional rights and will not be enforced by my office! This is an infringement on our constitutional rights and will not be enforced by my office. This measure will only harm law abiding gun owners and result in wasted time with additional redundant background checks.”

Other news outlets have reported that Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe also intends not to enforce the ban. But FOX 12 has not been able to independently verify that.

As of Friday afternoon, Ballot Measure 114 was learning slightly toward passing with 32,089 more yes votes than no votes. The Associated Press estimates 85% of the ballots in Oregon have been counted.

Another Odds and Ends Day

And now for something completely different.  I never said anything about the idea of the Pandemic Amnesty from that woman at the Atlantic.  Frankly, I didn’t have anything worthwhile to add; I would have just been another voice saying, “like hell.”  Yesterday, though, I got an email that I just had to share.  Some time ago (I really don’t remember) I subscribed to the OpenVAERS Red Box Report, a group that tries to extract useful information from the official Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and sends out an update a couple of times per month.  I think it’s OK to post their email in full, and since it dives into an enormously important area that isn’t well known, it needs to be shared.

Covid-19 vaccines were not tested in pregnant women.

In spite of having no data, the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended Covid-19 shots for pregnant women.

But as soon as these shots rolled out it was apparent that they can lead to reproductive harms. Women reported that periods were longer, more painful, and more irregular following Covid-19 injections and reports of miscarriage/stillbirth abounded.[1]

Rather than investigate the matter, the FDA, CDC, and mainstream media engaged in an elaborate campaign to cover up and censor the adverse outcomes for women.

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I’ll consider that ‘global warming’ may be a crisis when the people who tell me it’s a crisis start to act like it’s a crisis themselves

Four hundred private jets arrived in Egypt during COP27 as climate delegates are accused of ‘hypocrisy.’

Climate delegates were accused of hypocrisy after 400 private jets arrived in Egypt for COP27.

Numerous posts on social media criticised delegates for travelling by private jet to the UN climate summit.

Posts and reports included various estimates for the number of such planes bringing delegates to the gathering in the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Climate delegates were accused of hypocrisy after 400 private jets arrived in Egypt for COP27 (File image)

Egyptian sources corroborated widespread claims that some 400 private jets landed during COP27.

Some media cited lower estimates by flight-trackers, though there may have been private flights that were not logged by monitoring services.

One misleading post in Spanish claimed there were as many as 1,500 private jets. It was accompanied by an old photograph of planes from an aviation forum in Las Vegas.

‘More than 400 private jets landed in the past few days in Egypt,’ a source close to the Egyptian aviation authorities, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Thursday.

‘There was a meeting ahead of COP27, and officials were expecting those jets and made some arrangements in Sharm el-Sheikh airport to welcome those planes.’

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Watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher is dead at 76.

Comedian Gallagher, famous for smashing watermelons onstage with a hammer, passed away Friday morning at age 76. The prop comic’s longtime manager confirmed his passing in a statement to TMZ.

According to the report, the comedian died of massive organ failure while at a hospice in Palm Springs, California. Gallagher had reportedly been sick for quite some time, having suffered multiple heart attacks over the years, starting in 2011, when he collapsed onstage in Minnesota. He also suffered a cardiac episode the following year, right before he was supposed to perform in Texas.

Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr. was born on July 24, 1946, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He also lived in Ohio and Florida before enrolling at the University of South Florida, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering — and then, apparently, never looked back.

The funnyman broke into the mainstream after a stint on the Johnny Carson show in 1975, followed by a string of comedy specials for the Showtime network. He quickly became one of the most recognizable comics in the US.

Gallagher

Gallagher’s signature stunt was the “Sledge-O-Matic,” in which the performer used a giant mallet to pulverize vegetables, fruit and other objects to comedic effect. Initially starting as a spoof of the Ronco Veg-O-Matic commercials, it quickly became the entertainer’s most legendary bit and a major subject of parody.

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Phoenix police investigate Circle K shooting; store clerk claims self-defense

Phoenix police are investigating a shooting that occurred early Thursday morning at a Circle K near 35th Avenue and Greenway.

Officers responded to the area just before 2:00 a.m. after receiving calls about a shooting, Phoenix police spokesperson Sgt. Melissa Soliz said in a statement.

When police arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound.

According to the statement, preliminary information indicates that the man who was shot and the store’s clerk got in some form of fight that ended in the clerk firing a gun at the man.

Soliz said the unidentified store clerk was interviewed by Phoenix police and claimed the shooting was in self-defense.

The gunshot victim, who is unidentified, was transported to the hospital with serious injuries where Soliz says he is now recovering.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Student-Loan ‘Forgiveness.’

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked President Biden’s student-loan “forgiveness” plan in response to a lawsuit from the Job Creators Network Foundation (JCNF).

The conservative advocacy group filed a suit in October arguing that the Biden administration violated federal procedures by not allowing borrowers to provide public comment before the program was unveiled.

Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas called the plan an “unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power” and noted the program failed to go through standard regulatory processes.

“No one can plausibly deny that it is either one of the largest delegations of legislative power to the executive branch, or one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States,” Pittman wrote in a 26-page opinion.

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BLUF
The study follows on the heels of Moderna’s third-quarter earnings report released Nov. 3. The 2022 sales forecast for its COVID-19 vaccine was lowered to between $18 billion and $19 billion in revenue, down from $21 billion.

Study: Myocarditis risk 2 to 3 times higher from Moderna than Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Nov. 7 (UPI) — The incidence of myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — is two- to threefold higher after a second dose of the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine than the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, a study released Monday says.

But Moderna tells UPI the benefits of its vaccine “significantly outweigh” the risks.

Males under age 40 who received the Moderna vaccine were shown to have the highest rates of myocarditis, and the researchers said the study’s findings support the idea of recommending specific vaccines for certain populations to maximize benefits and minimize adverse events.

But the scientists underscored that cases of heart inflammation as a serious side effect from either mRNA vaccine are rare overall — also stressed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said it is actively monitoring the situation, and by the manufacturer itself.

The most common symptoms of myocarditis are chest pain, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, and a rapid or irregular pulse, says the National Institutes of Health. Heart inflammation can lead to serious complications, including heart failure, shock or death.

Moderna, in an emailed statement provided by spokesman Luke Mircea-Willats, said its “mRNA-1273 has been administered to hundreds of millions of people worldwide and has been shown to be effective against both the original strain of the virus and its major variants.

“Regulatory agencies around the world have stated that the benefits of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines significantly outweigh the risk across all age groups. Vaccination against COVID-19 continues to be a critical tool in overcoming the impacts of the global pandemic.”

According to Moderna, myocarditis is a known, though “very rare” risk associated with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and, “when it does occur, cases are generally mild and resolve after a few days with treatment and rest.”

And, “at a population level,” current evidence indicates the risk of myocarditis after COVID-19 infection is much higher than after COVID-19 vaccination, Moderna said.

Moderna stressed that patients’ health and ensuring the safety of its vaccines is its top priority, noting it “shares all adverse events data with regulators and has a robust pharmacovigilance function, ensuring any adverse events are recorded and shared with the regulator in line with local regulations.”

Results from the new study, which appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, “generally align” with findings from previous studies into indirect comparison of COVID19 mRNA vaccine product safety, the researchers said in their paper.

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Oregon sheriff says she won’t enforce magazine ban

While the outcome of Oregon Measure 114 is still technically up in the air, it looks like the gun control ballot measure will pass by a narrow margin.  With about three-quarters of the estimated vote already counted the magazine ban and permit-to-purchase laws are ahead 50.8-49.2, but most of the remaining ballots are expected to come from Multnomah and Washington counties, where support for Measure 114 is running high.

Once the election results are certified, which will likely be next week, the measure has 30 days before it takes effect. Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan, however, says she has no plans to enforce the ban on magazines that can accept more than ten rounds of ammunition.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing the passage of Ballot Measure 114,” Duncan said in the release on social media, “which creates a required permitting system in order to purchase firearms AND bans gun magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. This is a terrible law for gunowners, crime victims, and public safety.”

The Sheriff continued, “I want to send a clear message to Linn County residents that the Linn County Sheriff’s Office is NOT going to be enforcing magazine capacity limits.”

Duncan stated the measure is “poorly written” and that Linn County Sheriff’s Office will work to find “the best course of action to take on permitting.”

“I want to ensure anything we do or don’t do will not hinder gunowners’ rights to purchase firearms, intentionally or unintentionally.”

Duncan went on to tell residents that she’s hopeful a lawsuit will be filed immediately following the certification of the results; a hope that other sheriffs have expressed as well. Otherwise, as Klamath County Sheriff Chris Kraber warns, gun sales in the state could soon stop completely.

Many questions have arisen as to what will happen to the rights of gun owners in Oregon if it passes. Myself, and other Sheriffs, often rely on the analysis of our legal advisor(s) through our Oregon State Sheriffs Association. Having reviewed the BM 114 and the legal analysis received, the following opinion is my understanding of the likely next steps in the unfortunate event it passes. For the record, I believe BM 114 to be an unconstitutional restriction on the right to possess firearms.

  • If passed it will take effect “30 days after passing.”
  • Firearms dealers will have “180 days” to dispose of large capacity magazines.
  • Firearms dealers will not be able to sell a firearm to anyone without a permit; since the permit system does not exist, all legal firearms sales in the State of Oregon will stop until a permit system is established. Because of this, there is a strong likelihood a federal judge will “stay” the measure until a permit process is established or the constitutionality of the measure is decided in what will likely be a court challenge.
  • Court challenges often take years. One such challenge is underway on a California magazine ban that was sent back to the 9th Circuit Court by the US Supreme Court for reconsideration due to a recent Supreme Court decision in the NY Rifle v. Bruen case.
  • If a court challenge occurs and BM 114 is determined to be unconstitutional it will then likely be reviewed by the 9th Circuit Court.
  • If you currently own magazines capable of holding more than “10” rounds, you should document that you have them in your possession before this measure can take place due proving they weren’t purchased after the ballot measure passed. (i.e. a dated picture)

None of these possible outcomes effects our current Concealed Handgun Licensing program provided by the Sheriff’s office. Many questions will likely come up in the next few weeks and I will keep you apprised of them.

Funny how the group behind Measure 114 never explained to voters exactly what would happen if their gun laws actually passed. Their well-funded campaign promised “safe schools and communities” if Measure 114 was approved, but Lift Every Voice Oregon didn’t say anything about Oregonians being unable to purchase a gun at all while the state writes the particulars of the permit-to-purchase system. Based on the tight election results, Measure 114 isn’t a particularly popular measure, and I suspect that the chaotic rollout to come is going to leave many voters with buyers remorse.

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More Reasons Anti-Gun Policymakers Are Wrong About Armed Self-Defense

Despite the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which clearly affirmed the right of lawful Americans to carry a firearm for self-defense outside the home, many state and local politicians continue to try to pass more-restrictive laws on firearms carry.

As this was being written, the New Jersey legislature was pushing for a ban on guns in so-called “sensitive places,” while in Longmont, Colo., city councilors were considering similar restrictions.

Unfortunately for the citizens in those jurisdictions, these policymakers ignore the fact that guns are used in self-defense well over a million times each year; in fact, four separate instances of armed self-defense in the last week of October show just how wrong-thinking these gun-ban advocates are.

On Halloween night in Spring, Texas, a woman was moving her car into her driveway when two men—one with a handgun, the other with a rifle—allegedly approached her from behind, then forced her back into her home at gunpoint.

According to a report from local media, the woman’s roommate, who was inside the home, heard her screaming and emerged, armed with a handgun to confront the intruders. During the confrontation, he appears to have shot one of the alleged criminals in the abdomen.

Fortunately, neither the woman nor her roommate were hurt. At last report, police were still looking for both of the suspects that entered the home, as well as another suspect that drove them away.

Just two days earlier, an Alabama woman proved that a loaded firearm is much more effective protection than filing a protective order. In the 1:15 a.m. break-in in Hatchechubbee, Ala., the victim shot her estranged husband once in the abdomen.

According to reports, the woman had previously filed an order of protection against the intruder, but it had expired the week before. She was in the process of having the order reinstated when the break-in occurred.

That same day, in Ferguson, Mo., a man who was attacked by alleged carjackers shot one of the three men, who he said was holding a gun, and who he claimed had reached for his car door handle.

Later that morning, a man in a nearby neighborhood looked out of the window of his home and saw what he thought was a body in his backyard, according to a report. Police believe the dead man—who was dressed in a black hoodie, black sweatpants and black tennis shoes—was likely one of the attempted carjackers.

Lastly, in Edinburg, Texas, on Oct. 25, a woman likely feared for her life when someone broke into her house through the garage and tried to get into her bedroom. According to media reports, the woman warned the man that she had called the police and that she was armed.

The man apparently didn’t believe her and, unwisely, continued his attempt to break into the bedroom. That’s when the woman shot him through the bedroom door, ending the attack.

Investigators later found the suspect in a nearby open field with a gunshot wound to the arm. He was arrested and was being held at the Hidalgo County Jail with a $750,000 bond. The woman was shaken up, but unharmed.

The next time a cynical anti-gun politician tells you normal citizens never successfully use firearms for self-defense, just tell them to read the NRA’s Armed Citizen column.

This flashlight doubles as a stun gun for self-defense!

NEWS – If you’ve been considering buying a close contact self-protection device, the StrikeLight 2 is an interesting choice. Not only will this handheld gadget perform as your trusty flashlight with 3 light modes (700-lumen high mode, 150-lumen low mode, and a red beam that won’t wreck your night vision), it’s also a stun gun. With a 20kV zap and audible crackle warning noise, it will hopefully make any attacker think twice about messing with you. The Taser StrikeLight 2 is USB-C rechargeable and is priced at $169.99 directly through taser.com and Amazon.

How midterm elections could impact the firearms industry — or not

As midterm election results continue to roll in, Americans are still waiting to find out which party will control the House or the Senate and whether they might be impacted by how the chips fall.

But firearms industry insiders and Second Amendment advocates say the results of the federal elections will have little to no impact on them at all, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans win either chamber.

Gary Ramey, CEO of Liberty Ammunition, says the House and Senate outcomes will not significantly impact the sale of ammunition or firearms.

“Ammo and firearms are purchased by consumers with personal safety concerns,” Ramey told FOX Business. “Rhetoric from the left won’t affect that.”

Delta Defense director of government affairs Katie Pointer-Baney agrees, noting that the millions of new gun owners include folks of all political stripes.

“The firearm industry as a whole has seen tremendous growth over the past few years because of this crime wave that has gripped the country — and, of course, as people feel more unsafe,” Pointer-Baney says. “The defunding of law enforcement, all this kind of confluence of issues (mean) more people are taking on the responsibility of protecting themselves and their loved ones, and using a firearm is a most efficient tool to do so.”

Amid crime wave, gun shop owner Ross Osias ‘constantly’ sees first-time buyers

“Honestly, I don’t think that’s changing, even if Republicans take control,” she added. “I think it’s sort of like we’re not going back.”

The NRA says it is committed to its mission no matter what, too.

“The NRA remains steadfast in its efforts to protect and promote the Second Amendment regardless of which party is in power,” spokesperson Amy Hunter said in a statement. “The 2022 midterm elections are no different. While the nation awaits the full results, we will continue to work tirelessly to defend the rights of law-abiding Americans as anti-gun politicians have proven time and time again they will stop at nothing to advance their gun control agenda.”

Regardless of how federal control plays out, the results of state and local races might affect business.

Ramey says there will be an increase in ammunition sales in states that elect so-called “soft-on-crime candidates” and that he has already seen an increase in business in those states that he expects to continue.

He noted that while Second Amendment fears exist, states have moved toward supporting constitutional carry — and the industry tends to see growth on personal safety fears and state actions.

“Our biggest business cheerleader is President Biden,” Ramey said. “Every time the President or a Democrat makes outlandish comments, our business picks up.”

“Especially when he talks about bullet speed or taking out a lung,” Ramey added of Biden. “That’s what self-defense ammo is supposed to have and do. We appreciate his support.”

Police: Man armed with large landscaping rock fatally shot by homeowner in Fairfax Co.

OAKTON, Va. — Officers are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred outside a Fairfax County home Wednesday evening.

Around 6 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting at a home in the 11400 block of Waples Mill Road in Oakton, Virginia.

A man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release.

Police claim that the homeowner then went back inside his house and got a firearm. At some point, the man reportedly got inside the home with an object that appeared to be a large landscaping rock. The homeowner then fired his gun and shot the man. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives are still working to identify the man shot. Preliminary evidence suggests the homeowner and man did not know each other.

Police say the homeowner was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the shooting.

The homeowner’s two children, wife and another adult were inside the home during this incident. Police said no one else was hurt.

Detectives are investigating this case as a self-defense fatal shooting.

“Hopefully, when we can positively identify this individual we can maybe start putting some puzzle pieces together,” said Second Lieutenant James Curry with the Fairfax County Police. “Again, preliminarily, we don’t have any reason to believe there was any connection between the homeowner and this man,” Curry said.

Police say they did receive a call for a strange man in the neighborhood earlier in the day Wednesday, but when officers arrived they did not see him. They are still trying to determine if it was the same man who was shot.

Police explained that they are interviewing neighbors and hope to review security video from the neighborhood that may show what happened.

Stay with WUSA9 for further updates.