The Right of the People – Why Elites Hate the Second Amendment

Money lets you buy what you want. Now that many of our Deep Blue cities have defunded the police and crime has exploded, people with money are buying off-duty police officers to stop crime in their neighborhoods. Though recently covered in the news, the use of private security is an expansion of a long-term trend. What should make news are the billionaires trying to disarm the rest of us.

Rich people live in gated communities and walled compounds. They have their own security force. Some wealthy families have their own private security detail that lives with the owners inside their walled compound. It may have fancy flower beds on the outside, but it remains a castle in disguise.

Watch the progression as the elites worked to disarm us and protect themselves.

  • First, the elites buy armed security officers for trips or special events in public.
  • They buy armed security details for their homes, offices, and for their vacation homes.
  • They pay for legislation that let them travel with their own armed officers.
  • They make “campaign donations” so legislators disarm the common man who the elites see as a threat. We need to show “proper cause” to be issued a carry permit. The elites buy retired law enforcement officers for their security detail. Perhaps a banker can get a permit because he handles money. Perhaps a jeweler can get a permit because he has valuables in his store. In contrast, we are denied a permit because we want to defend our children. Our treasure is deemed less important than theirs.. unless we first make a significant campaign donation.
  • The elites pressed for legislation outlawing inexpensive firearms. That started after the civil war to prevent recently freed black men and women from having firearms to resist armed gangs like the Klu Klux Klan and the Night Riders. Even then, honest citizens were disarmed yet political gangs had no trouble getting guns. That is true today as well.

Today, the gun-prohibitions have become more subtle. Today the elites impose time-consuming training requirements and expensive licensing requirements before the common man can own a gun. Some legislative proposals demand that we are re-licensed every six months, far more often than most police officers.

Today, we’ve seen the elites buy academic and media organizations to promote civilian disarmament. The familiar adage that if it bleeds, it leads is neither true nor adequate to describe today’s reporting on armed defense. The hired media emphasizes the thousands of times we see a criminal use a gun. The same news media ignores the millions of times that honest citizens use a firearm for legal self-defensive. The media bias is glaring once you know the truth.

Today, the elites pay for multimillion-dollar political and legal campaigns to pass laws that disarm the common man.

Of course, everyone has the right to armed defense. Just buy your own police force as I did for my family. See how simple?

Thanks, and I’ll be sure to follow you for more personal safety tips, but that doesn’t work for us and ours.

We don’t have our own motorcade and security detail. We have to go out at in public at all times of the day and night. We and our families are far more likely than the elites to encounter a criminal. The victims of crime are disproportionally poor and minorities who are live, work, and travel in high-crime areas. Unfortunately, the gun-control laws are written to serve the elites, rather than to serve us.

The elites are wrong. The rich are never safe when criminals flourish by victimizing the poor. Time and again, it is the ordinary citizen who is the first responder to stop violent crime. We use a firearm to make us equal to the task of defending our family. The elites want the use of arms reserved to themselves. Rather than being a problem for society, the armed citizen is the defense that protects our communities. We know that because we live there. We see what happens outside the walled compounds.

The common armed citizen is the moral elites of our society. We are more law abiding than the police. We protect our family and our neighborhoods. Now, we have to carefully watch what our politicians are doing as legislators too often try to disarm us.

It is the right of the people to go armed, not the right of the elites.

A deeper look at Boulder’s gun control measures.

Boulder, as part of a coordinated regional effort, is looking at a half-dozen new laws aimed at curbing gun violence. A final vote is scheduled for June 7; three hours have been set aside for a public hearing.

City council earlier this year first discussed the idea of bringing back a 2018 ban on assault weapons, struck down by a court in March 2021, just days before the King Soopers shooting. A change in state law now allows local measures to surpass Colorado restrictions “in certain cases.”

“The primary change enacted to comport with state law is the removal of language providing that lack of knowledge of the illegal characteristics of a firearm is not a defense,” staff explained in notes to council. Colorado law now states that local ordinances on the sale, purchase or possession of guns “may only impose a criminal penalty for a violation upon a person who knew or reasonably should have known that the person’s conduct was prohibited.”

Boulder’s proposed ordinances were released Thursday evening. Very little changed from council’s February discussion. The assault weapons ban is there, along with a 10-day waiting period to purchase firearms, a ban on open carry in public places and restrictions on concealed carry in “sensitive places” such as city facilities, protests, churches, preschools, etc. (Find a full explanation of proposed laws below)

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He literally can’t even read off the teleprompter anymore

America increasingly is not just gun country but permitless concealed carry country

Second Amendment advocates scored a string of victories in recent years to expand to 25 states the right to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, or what is known as “constitutional carry.”

The trend is poised to continue and tip the balance to more than half the U.S., with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, pledging to get a constitutional carry law through the Republican-run Legislature.

Gun control activists and some law enforcement view the trend as a threat to public safety because it enables people to carry concealed firearms without background checks or other requirements such as firearms training.

Gun rights advocates say background checks and other safeguards are applied nationwide for handgun purchases.

Except for Vermont, which has never regulated carrying guns, states only recently adopted permitless carry. A wave of Republican-run states began passing constitutional carry laws in 2010 after a concerted lobbying effort by the National Rifle Association.

Iowa, Montana, Texas, Utah and Tennessee adopted constitutional carry laws last year. In 2019, Kentucky, South Dakota and Oklahoma approved permitless concealed carry. From 2010 to 2017, laws went into effect in Arizona, Wyoming, Arkansas, Maine, Kansas, Idaho, Mississippi, West Virginia, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Missouri.

Alaska was early to permitless concealed carry, making it state law in 2003.

The popularity of constitutional carry, Bearing Arms Editor Cam Edwards said, is that the constitutional right to bear arms “shouldn’t require a permission slip.”

He said the success of constitutional carry is a continuation of the right-to-carry movement that began in the mid-1980s.

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If it looks like anything close to a real gun, and it’s used like a real gun, the possessor gets treated like it’s a real gun.

Man shot to death in Phoenix after pulling out airsoft gun

PHOENIX — A man with an airsoft gun was shot to death at a Phoenix gas station early Sunday morning by a man with a real gun.

Police were called out to a shooting near Camelback Road and I-17 around 5 a.m. and found 31-year-old Sergio Cruz with a gunshot wound.

An investigation found that Cruz was in an argument with the shooter over someone they both knew. At that point, police say Cruz pulled out an airsoft gun and pointed it toward the man who then responded by shooting Cruz in the chest with a handgun.

Global Warming Was Going to Destroy Skiing, Then the Snow Fell

Vail, Colorado concluded its skiing season on May 1 a year after the Denver Post warned that “climate change is shrinking the Colorado ski season”.

It’s almost as if some higher power has made a point of mocking doomsday predictions by climate pagans who think the weather can be changed by raising taxes and driving Teslas.

But like a Gore-Tex parka, the climate consensus is impermeable to mere snowfall.

A week after Vail Mountain announced that it was extending its skiing season for “the longest continuous season in Vail Mountain history” just after 9 inches of snow fell in early March, a local news station wondered, “With warmer winters, what will happen to the ski industry?”

It may have to extend to June.

In February 2022, Denver broke weather records to hit the coldest temperature in 109 years. At a balmy -7 degrees, the latest outbreak of global warming plunged the city down to a low that had not been seen since 1899.

Still not done mocking Al Gore, March temperatures at Denver International Airport broke a new low with -3. The last time that happened was 1932. Or back before Gore Sr. had even graduated from law school to begin his family’s long slimy political career.

Talk about an inconvenient truth.

Even as activists and resort owners were crying to the media that the entire skiing industry was about to disappear because there would be no more snow, it snowed for the first 9 out of 10 weeks of the year. That was the most starting snow that there had been in 63 years.

“It’s supposed to snow in Denver — but maybe not quite like it has this year,” a local media outlet reluctantly conceded.

This is what happens when the weather makes a mockery of the climate consensus.

The climate must “hate science”.

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I don’t use it, I’ve never used it, I have no plans to use it. The lawsuit by Fried is a political stunt to gain votes from stupid people. The prohibition is under Federal laws and that’s the job of Congress to change that, not some bunch of bureaucraps

Marijuana, Guns, and Federal law

Federally, the use of marijuana is prohibited. Despite that, many states have legalized it and some even allowed people to even use it recreationally.

You see, the states can legalize it all they want, but the federal prohibition means that, technically, you can’t use it and lawfully own a firearm.

A lawsuit is trying to change all of that.

While California lawmakers are looking to further curb people’s access to guns, an effort by a Florida official to loosen federal regulations may have an impact for gun owners in California and across the nation, especially those who rely on medical marijuana.

A lawsuit has been filed against the federal government over its policies that bar medical marijuana patients from owning a gun.

Leafly Senior Editor David Downs, who calls the U.S government’s cannabis regulations unconstitutional, breaks it down.…

Does the lawsuit even have a chance when cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug?

What it does is raise pressure and temperature in Washington, D.C. with regard to a fix for this major conflict. In California there are an estimated 4.2 million gun owners, and a quarter of California adults have a gun in their home. Meanwhile, we have about 3.9 million cannabis users in California.

Could this legal case be a stunt?

It’s certainly keeping up with politicians carrying the banner of their constituents and raising around what they think are salient issues to consumers.

We see marijuana policy being very much bipartisan, and Florida is kind of the perfect place you’d see someone try to assert not only their gun rights but their medical marijuana rights on top of it. Fried is essentially saying guns are legal, cannabis is legal, and people shouldn’t have to choose.

Obviously, this is part of a longer interview.

As for whether this is a stunt, I think it kind of is and isn’t. The lawsuit in question is the one filed by Nikki Fried, which we’ve covered previously. Fried is trailing in the Democratic primary for governor and is desperate to accomplish something she can hang her hat on.

Yet Fried has also been pretty pro-marijuana for some time, so this is actually consistent with her beliefs in that regard.

Of course, she’s also been fairly anti-gun as well, so…

Regardless, it’s past time that the federal government adjusts its thinking on marijuana.

You see, a schedule 1 drug is one that has no medical benefit. That simply doesn’t apply to pot. While I don’t consider it the miracle drug many do, it does have medicinal uses, which means it belongs in schedule 2 at a minimum.

Especially because some of those medicinal uses could be of profound benefit to gun owners. For example, it’s good for anxiety and depression. That may translate into fewer suicides–roughly two-thirds of what are termed “gun deaths” every year–and may even translate into lower violent crime rates.

All in all, this is something that needs to happen.

Well, to be honest, I think SloJoe knows little beyond what he had for breakfast, if that. It’s his puppet masters that we have to be worried about

The War Is Getting More Dangerous for America, and Biden Knows It

If you just followed news reports on Ukraine, you might think that the war has settled into a long, grinding and somewhat boring slog. You would be wrong.

Things are actually getting more dangerous by the day.

For starters, the longer this war goes on, the more opportunity for catastrophic miscalculations — and the raw material for that is piling up fast and furious. Take the two high-profile leaks from American officials this past week about U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war:

First, The Times disclosed that “the United States has provided intelligence about Russian units that has allowed Ukrainians to target and kill many of the Russian generals who have died in action in the Ukraine war, according to senior American officials.” Second, The Times, following a report by NBC News and citing U.S. officials, reported that America has “provided intelligence that helped Ukrainian forces locate and strike” the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. This targeting assistance “contributed to the eventual sinking” of the Moskva by two Ukrainian cruise missiles.

As a journalist, I love a good leak story, and the reporters who broke those stories did powerful digging. At the same time, from everything I have been able to glean from senior U.S. officials, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity, the leaks were not part of any thought-out strategy, and President Biden was livid about them. I’m told that he called the director of national intelligence, the director of the C.I.A. and the secretary of defense to make clear in the strongest and most colorful language that this kind of loose talk is reckless and has got to stop immediately — before we end up in an unintended war with Russia.

The staggering takeaway from these leaks is that they suggest we are no longer in an indirect war with Russia but rather are edging toward a direct war — and no one has prepared the American people or Congress for that.

Vladimir Putin surely has no illusions about how much the U.S. and NATO are arming Ukraine with matériel and intelligence, but when American officials start to brag in public about playing a role in killing Russian generals and sinking the Russian flagship, killing many sailors, we could be creating an opening for Putin to respond in ways that could dangerously widen this conflict — and drag the U.S. in deeper than it wants to be.

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Pro-Abortion Domestic Terrorists Firebomb Wisconsin Pro-Life Non-Profit.

I’m so glad we all know what the theme of this summer’s riots will be and can finally start our shopping and planning! To no one’s surprise, Leftist brownshirts have quickly spasmed from caterwauling to committing terrorism in their quest to interfere with the official business of the Supreme Court. And anyone else who dares to hold pro-life views had better watch their back, too.

On Mother’s Day Sunday, a violent incident occured in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. (You may recall Madison earned its place on the Leftist extremism map in 2011 when union thugs, students, and assorted radicals occupied the state house for over a month in an attempt to derail Gov. Walker’s public union reforms. The goons ultimately failed, the reforms passed, and Walker was re-elected, lol.)

Madison police and fire departments were called to the office of Wisconsin Family Action (WFA) around 6 a.m. on Sunday after a passer-by reported smoke coming from the building. The flames were extinguished and thankfully, no one was injured. Investigators found a smashed window and at least one molotov cocktail that had failed to ignite. A fire inside the office burned books and damaged furnishings. Additionally, the building exterior was covered with spray-painted graffiti, including the anarchy symbol (an A inside a circle, also used by Antifa), the anti-police tag “1312” (which stands for ACAB — All Cops Are Bastards), and the threatening phrase, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”

“We condemn violence and hatred in all forms, including the actions at Wisconsin Family Action in Madison last night,” said Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and “We reject violence against any person for disagreeing with another’s view.” But Evers also felt the need to say, “We will work against overturning Roe and attacks on reproductive rights by leading with empathy and compassion. We will defend what we believe in with our words and our voices — in the streets, in halls of government, and at the ballot box.”

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes also issued a mealy-mouthed statement. “The Madison Police Department understands members of our community are feeling deep emotions due to the recent news involving the United States Supreme Court,” read the very first line. So, you know — if WFA didn’t want to get firebombed and vandalized, it shouldn’t have worn that short pro-life skirt.

“Early Sunday morning, our team began investigating a suspicious fire inside an office building on the city’s north side,” the statement continues. “It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted. Our department has and continues to support people being able to speak freely and openly about their beliefs. But we feel that any acts of violence, including the destruction of property, do not aid in any cause.” Is this the weakest law enforcement statement ever?

“The irony of this happening on Mother’s Day is very poignant,” said WFA President Juliane Appling, who was at a Mother’s Day event at her church when she received word of the damage to her organization’s offices. “I pray that this doesn’t happen to anyone else. This needs to stop right now.” Too bad she’s not the police chief.

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May it fall on them like a ton – or three – of bricks

Everytown’s shouting that the sky’s falling

Nearly every colleague I have, whether here at Bearing Arms, over at AmmoLand News, or the numerous content creators I know all over the web, everyone seems to agree the anti-freedom caucus is coming unglued just thinking about NYSRPA v. Bruen. Now I certainly don’t want this to turn into a A League of Their Own kind of moment and say “We’re gonna win!” only to have our star player drop the ball, but I really do think we’re going to win. Based off an email a friend and tipster sent me, the gun grabbing anti-civil rights crowd thinks the same. In preparations for what’s likely to be an upset to the ilk of Nanny Bloomberg and the rest, Everytown for Gun Safety sent out the following e-blast begging for money:

In the next few weeks, we expect the Supreme Court to decide on a key New York state gun law in NYSRPA v. Bruen. If the Court sides with the gun lobby’s agenda, the future of critical gun safety laws could be at risk across the country.

We MUST be ready to elect Gun Sense Candidates and turn out the vote in the midterms. Just this week, several Gun Sense Candidates (including former Moms Demand Action volunteers!) won elections up and down the ballot in their primaries.

We need to get to work now if we’re going to show up for Gun Sense Candidates and secure victory at the ballot box in the midterm elections. The future of our gun safety laws depends on it.

Donate now to the Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund so we have the resources we need to support Gun Sense Candidates across the country before this year’s crucial midterm elections.

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately by clicking one of the dollar amounts:

The likes of all the progressives that hate freedom are collectively grabbing at their chests telling Elizabeth that they’re on their way in their best Fred Sanford impersonation. But what we’re seeing in this email is just another disgusting manipulation of the facts. “If the Court sides with the gun lobby’s agenda…” Really? “…the future of critical gun safety laws could be at risk across the country.” I don’t think they could get much more hyperbolic than that.

The reality is the Court, should it rule to answer NYSRPA’s prayer for relief, is not “siding” with any lobby. The Court would be siding with having to reiterate something that’s plainly written in simple English in the Bill of Rights, and further expanded on in several Supreme Court Opinions; notably Heller, McDonald, and Caetano. The court has already surmised that at the time of founding “bear” meant to “wear” or “carry” a firearm. As if they really should have needed to do so.

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Jack Carr Rips Politicians Trying To Restrict The Second Amendment, Reminds People It’s A ‘Natural Right’ To ‘Defend The Gift Life’

Jack Carr isn’t a fan of people trying to restrict the Second Amendment.

I sat down with the legendary author and former SEAL to discuss a variety of topics, and I asked him what his thoughts were on politicians applauding arming people in other countries while at the same time supporting gun control in the USA. His answer didn’t disappoint!

“You can’t make this stuff up. It’s insane to me that the hypocrisy, I’m sure there’s hypocrisy all through politics, but particularly on this issue on the left wanting to restrict your rights to own a firearm, to defend the gift of life, something that is explicitly written down as the Second Amendment, and it’s a natural right. You know, it’s not given to us by the government. It’s just written down so that the government can’t restrict it. That’s a natural right,” Carr explained when talking about the Second Amendment and hypocritical politicians.

You can listen to his full comments below.

Man shot intruder at home on West Side; suspect later escaped from ambulance
Suspect eventually taken to hospital in stable condition

SAN ANTONIO – A man who broke into a West Side home overnight was shot by the homeowner and later tried to run from officers, according to San Antonio police.

The incident happened just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday near Wilmot and Knoke streets, near North General McMullen.

Police said the man tried to break into the home and the homeowner, a man in his 50s, grabbed a gun and shot the suspect twice.

The suspect ran away but was found by emergency medical services down the road.

He was loaded into the ambulance and was about to receive treatment, but he became angry and escaped from the ambulance, police said.

Police officers were able to capture him again. He had gunshot wounds to his right elbow and right thigh and had cuts from jumping over a barbed-wire fence.

He was taken to University Hospital in stable condition.

The incident is under investigation.

Homeowner shoots and kills naked suspect who tackled wife on lawnmower

LIZELLA, Ga. — Investigators in Georgia say a homeowner shot and killed a naked man who attacked the homeowner’s wife while she was mowing the lawn.

Bibb County Sheriff’s deputies said in a news release that a 67-year-old woman was cutting her grass using a riding mower when a naked man tackled her.

The victim’s husband tried to pull the suspect off her, but was then attacked himself. When the suspect started to attack his wife, the husband got his gun and shot the suspect, WSB reported.
Deputies identified the suspect as 25-year-old Wade McElhenny, but did not offer any motive for the attack or say whether the suspect knew the victims.

McElhenny died from gunshot wounds to the chest, WSB reported.

The woman who was attacked was taken to the hospital, where she was listed as stable. Her husband had minor injuries and was treated at the scene, deputies said.

Observation O’ The Day
The problem with the climate cult isn’t even trying to fix a car while it’s running. It’s trying to fix a car while it’s running and they have no idea how a car runs to begin with. We don’t know enough to “fix” anything. We don’t even know enough to know if anything is wrong. And chances are our influence on the climate is much smaller than they wish to think.–Sarah Hoyt

The Ocean Is Still Sucking Up Carbon—Maybe More Than We Think.

Recent studies looking at carbon-sequestering microbes suggest we still have a lot to learn about the ocean’s biological carbon pump.

By Nancy Averett 3 May 2022

A newly discovered marine microbe has a “mucosphere” that chemically traps other microbes and their nutrients—including carbon. Credit: Nature Communications, CC BY 4.0

The ocean plays a critical role in carbon sequestration. Phytoplankton, which live on the warm, light-filled surface, suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere for food. They also need nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from colder, heavier, saltier water that upwells into warmer layers. When phytoplankton die, they sink, bringing some of the carbon and other nutrients they consumed with them back to the ocean depths.

Key to this circular process, known as the ocean’s biological carbon pump, is the vertical mixing of the surface and deeper water layers, which occurs through such mechanisms as currents, winds, and tides. However, because higher ocean temperatures cause greater stratification of these layers, traditional scientific models have long predicted that as the planet warms, this process would be disrupted, phytoplankton would be unable to thrive, and the ocean would sequester less carbon.

Now, two studies have shown the limits of such models. One found evidence that phytoplankton may become more efficient as the ocean warms. The other reported the discovery of a new, widely distributed ocean microbe species that also has the potential to sequester carbon.

​​“We often view the response of ocean carbon cycling to global warming as an on-off switch, but these results show it’s a dimmer switch and has some flexibility to take care of itself,” said Mike Lomas, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine and lead author of the first study, published in Nature Communications.

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First prosecution of San Diego’s “ghost gun” ban shows how worthless the law really is

San Diego, California is one of several cities in the state that have banned the possession of “ghost guns” in recent months. Anyone caught with an unserialized firearm in the city is now subject to criminal charges, but the first case to actually get to the sentencing phase is a perfect demonstration of just how useless the new ordinance really is.

The ordinance, authored by San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert (a name that sounds like it would also be good for a Disney villain), in essence mirrors existing California law, which already prohibits the possession of an unserialized firearm. The San Diego ordinance specifically creates a misdemeanor offense to possess or sell any firearm that does not have a serial number on it, which is supposed to make criminals think twice about carrying a home-built gun around. As of March of this year, the law wasn’t having any impact on violent crime, with homicides up 80% compared to the same time period in 2021 and 77 unserialized firearms seized by police. There were also 295 serialized firearms seized by police, which is another sign that going after “ghost guns” isn’t going to stop the individuals committing the shootings in the city.

But none of that matters to the virtue-signaling politicians in San Diego, including von Wilpert, who are instead now eagerly singing the praises of the “ghost gun” ordinance now that someone’s been sentenced for violating the law.

“The city’s novel ghost gun ordinance is an effective tool for removing untraceable firearms from the hands of criminals,” City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said. “We thank Councilmember Marni von Wilpert for bringing forward this ordinance, which keeps San Diego at the forefront of our nation’s battle against gun violence.”

… “It’s clear from this conviction that San Diego’s landmark ghost gun law is starting to work to stop the proliferation of dangerous, untraceable firearms in our community,” said von Wilpert.

Is it though? I realize I haven’t actually said what the sentence the defendant received here, so let’s delve a little deeper into the events that led to 23-year old Rene Orozco having the dubious distinction of being the subject of a press release by the city attorney.

Orozco’s arrest apparently didn’t make the news at the time, but according to the Elliott’s account he was arrested after fleeing from police and leading them on a car chase through San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, allegedly tossing the unserialized gun as he then continued to try to elude officers on foot.

Would Orozco would have avoided arrest and prosecution if the gun he’d been caught with had a serial number? Of course not. So what exactly is the point of a misdemeanor charge for possessing a “ghost gun” when he could already be charged with illegal possession of a weapon for simply having a gun in the first place. Then there are the charges of eluding police, tampering with evidence, and any number of traffic misdemeanors that were committed during the police pursuit. But the City Attorney needs to show that this new ordinance is working, and so Orozco was charged with having a ghost gun, and now gets to experience firsthand the draconian punishment that will surely cause him to rethink the decisions he made.

He was sentenced last week to 45 days in custody and one year of probation. As a result, his driver’s license will be suspended from six months and he is prohibited from owning firearms for a year.

45 days in custody with good credit time means that Orozco will likely spend about three weeks in the county lockup, which doesn’t sound like much time considering how scary “ghost guns” are supposed to be. And again, he could have gotten that same sentence just by charging him with misdemeanor crimes in California state statute that have nothing to do with unserialized firearms. What’s the point?

San Diego’s “ghost gun” ordinance is pure political theater; designed to have an impact on the electorate, not armed criminals. As long as politicians like von Wilpert can convince constituents that she’s “doing something” to address their fears about violent crime, she doesn’t have to bother coming up with doing something that actually works. And in California, “doing something” means putting another gun control law on the books that at best is worthless, and far too often ends up harming the law-abiding instead of curtailing violent criminals.

Pointless Red Flag Laws

“Red flag Laws”, which allow police to seize the firearms of people accused of being at risk to misuse them, have been passed in 19 states. Do they do what proponents say they do? A recent study by Veronica Pear, PhD and Garen Wintemute, MD, and co-authors says the answer is clearly, “No”. It appeared as “Firearm Violence Following the Implementation of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order Law” on JAMA Network April 5.

In looking at California’s Red Flag law they used methods that are better than those of earlier similar studies. They focused especially on San Diego, whose city attorney was a strong proponent of Red Flag Law use and looked at what changed when California’s Red Flag law went into effect. Using data from hospital reports they studied injuries due to aggressive use of guns. They looked as well at self-harm using guns, again reviewing hospital reports.

Based on data from a number of California counties, trends through the years 2005-2015 were determined regarding aggressive use and self-harm. The authors wanted to see If adopting California’s Red Flag law was followed by a reduction in these incidents below the trends predating the law’s going into effect, which occurred in 2016. Examining 2016-2019 they found that neither aggressive use of firearms nor self-harm from gun use was reduced by the new law. In fact, they found that after the introduction of the law the number of acts of self-harm involving firearms exceeded the prediction, although this result was not statistically significant.

The authors say that their methods were more rigorous compared to others who have examined these questions. Another strength of their study was that itincluded injuries rather than just deaths. They emphasize that one factor in finding no change following the new law may be the availability of illegal guns: if the government takes away guns held legally, those who want to harm themselves or others may seek to obtain guns illegally.

Different states have adopted these laws under different labels, including: Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Orders, and Risk Protection Orders. Gun Violence Restraining Orders is the term used in California. “Red Flag Law” is a general term that encompasses all these.

Proponents stress their potential to prevent harm although, as this study by Pear and associates indicates, this is highly questionable. At the same time, the threats to Constitutional rights are minimized or ignored, which go beyond just threats to the Second Amendment. These threats include undercutting the right to due process. Is the person whose gun may be seized entitled to the presumption of innocence? What is the standard of proof – clear and convincing evidence? Or just a preponderance of the evidence? Is the subject entitled to legal representation? Shall rules for the admissibility of evidence be followed?  Readers can no doubt think of other similar questions.

Strangely, if a Red Flag process leads to your losing your guns in Indiana, they may be destroyed! If you lose your driver’s license, is your car crushed? If you’re disbarred, are your law books burned?

Throughout their report Pear et al stress the shortcomings of laws in preventing violence, and with regard to aggression the authors pay little attention to the perpetrators.

The NRA has seemed to tread cautiously on Red Flag Laws. This may involve not wanting negative press regarding this issue to contaminate efforts to support the Second Amendment in other ways. The NRA has at least called attention to the due process issues, some of which are noted above.

The bottom line: There’s little to recommend Red Flag Laws. The findings of this study reinforce what gun owners have been saying all along. The surprise is that it comes from Wintemute’s group, which usually finds ways to endorse firearm restrictions. 

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Russian warship Admiral Makarov ‘on fire after being hit by Ukrainian missile.’

Russia’s massive Admiral Makarov warship has reportedly been hit by Ukrainian missiles causing it to burst into flames.

The Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate was on fire this morning in what would be a fresh blow for warmonger Vladimir Putin, a number of unconfirmed reports suggest.

It was said to be close to Snake Island in the Black Sea, where a rescue operation was underway involving multiple aircrafts and rescue boats.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko took to his Telegram channel to report the ship had been hit by Ukrainian neptune missiles.

He said that the ship had been hit by Ukrainian attacks and was “badly damaged”, but remained afloat for now.

In his post, he wrote: “Yes, yes, you understood everything correctly! The God of the seas takes revenge on the offenders of Ukraine.

The Russian Navy's frigate Admiral Makarov

The Russian Navy’s frigate Admiral Makarov (  Image: REUTERS)

“The Admiral Makarov frigate was laid down in February 2012 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, launched in September 2015. And in 2022- oh, when he took part in the murder of Ukrainians, he went towards the cruiser “Moskva”, where he was supposed to!”

His reports were backed up by Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko who said: “Admiral Makarov frigate is on fire off the coast of Snake Island.

“According to preliminary data, the ship was hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles.

“Now enemy aviation is operating in the ship’s disaster zone, and ships of the Russian Navy have come out of the temporarily occupied Crimea to help the sinking ship.”

Alongside that, a number of unconfirmed reports said the warship was hit by Ukrainian missiles near the Sevastopol naval plant in Crimea, on the Black Sea.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added a ‘+1’ to their boats column in their daily report on Russian losses this morning, which they tweeted out.

Early reports suggest these images show the burning frigate

Early reports suggest these images show the burning frigate  ( Image: Twitter)

Continue reading “”

Clare police investigating home invasion, where homeowner shot and killed alleged intruder

CLARE, Mich. (WJRT) May 5 – The Clare Police Chief is one of the witnesses of a shooting, as an alleged suspect in a home invasion is shot by the homeowner.

It was around six this morning in Clare when a 911 call was made from a homeowner saying someone broke into his house.

The home is attached to a popular business in the city and police say they got to the home in about two minutes.

Clare Police Chief David Saad was just getting to work when the 911 call went out that there was a home invasion in progress on McEwan Street.

McEwan Street runs through the heart of the city of Clare, population of about 3,200

It was six o’clock in the morning when police chief David Saad was just getting to work and was called to this home for a reported break-in.

“My officer and I arrived at the scene, it was six am so I was just coming into service as well as him, when we responded down over here, we received the call, and as we were making entry into the residence that’s when the shots went off,” says Saad.

Saad was in the home and saw the gunshots being fired.

He says the suspect in the home invasion was shot to death. The male homeowner, Saad and the officer were not injured.

The Michigan State Police Crime Lab was on the scene collecting evidence throughout the afternoon. The shooting happened in a home connected to the popular Dairy Phil restaurant.

“A separate residence is in the back, but the individual that owns the Dairy Phil also lives in the back residence,’ he says.

Saad confirms it was the owner of the Daily Phil that shot the man. He did not want to comment on whether the home invasion suspect had a weapon of any kind.

“To my knowledge they are not acquainted to each other,” he says.

He says gun used in the shooting was registered to the homeowner. Saad says its not typical for a home invasion to occur at that time of the day.

“Pretty uncommon around 6 am, most of the time they occur in the middle of the night,” he says.

The chief did not release the name of the man who was shot and he says once their report is done, it will be sent to the prosecutor’s office to review.