Eric is nothing if not determined….. and patient.

Measure derided as the ‘Make Murder Legal Act’ killed in Missouri Senate committee

JEFFERSON CITY — A Missouri Senate panel on Thursday terminated a proposal one county prosecutor called the “Make Murder Legal Act.”

The official name of the measure is Senate Bill 666, which the sponsor, Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Battlefield, said he didn’t choose.

Members of the GOP-controlled Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee failed to advance the bill out of committee on Thursday.

Burlison, however, told the Post-Dispatch that he could bring the measure back as an amendment to other firearms legislation he’s sponsoring.

“There are multiple ways to pass language,” Burlison said.

The legislation would’ve established a presumption that a defendant acted reasonably in self-defense when they use force against another person.

“I refer to it as the ‘Make Murder Legal Act,’” Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver, a Republican representing the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said in a Senate committee hearing last week.

“What we are doing with this bill is … basically saying the 6,500 assaults that are committed every single year in Missouri — that every single one of those are automatically presumed to be self-defense,” Oliver said.

Burlison said the claims are overblown.

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Propaganda O’ The Day

Amazingly…..I bet well before the election campaign season really kicks in we’ll be told the pandemic is over, we’ll have more good jobs for the jobless, homes for the homeless, the rise of the oceans will begin to slow again and our planet start to heal once more…..Just another booooster now and then……

Fauci says U.S. is exiting ‘full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19,’ 

The “full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19” is finally on the way out as virus cases quickly fall across the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week.

Fauci added that he’s optimistic all COVID restrictions will end “soon,” and that even means lifting mask mandates. That has started already as the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday announced that the K-12 mask mandate will end on Feb. 28.

Fauci’s comments about the pandemic come as COVID cases plunge following the massive surge of omicron variant cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

“As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated,” Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical advisor, told the Financial Times.

“There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus,” added Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

While Fauci said he’s hopeful all virus restrictions will soon end, he cautioned that local officials could bring back measures if there were community flare-ups.

“There is no way we are going to eradicate this virus,” Fauci said. “But I hope we are looking at a time when we have enough people vaccinated and enough people with protection from previous infection that the COVID restrictions will soon be a thing of the past.”

“It will depend on who you are,” Fauci said. “But if you are a normal, healthy 30-year-old person with no underlying conditions, you might need a booster only every four or five years.”……………….

They made movie(s) about this.

A Black Hawk helicopter flew for the first time without pilots.

a helicopter with no one on board

February has already been a big month for autonomous flight. For the first time, this past Saturday, and then again on Monday, a specially equipped Black Hawk helicopter flew without a single human on board. The computer-piloted aircraft was being tested as part of a DARPA program called Alias, and the tests took place out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The retrofitted whirlybird was controlled by a Sikorsky-made autonomy system. As part of that system, the helicopter has a switch on board that allows the aviators to indicate whether two pilots, one pilot, or zero pilots will be operating the chopper. This was the first time that a Black Hawk was sent into the air with the no-pilots option, so that the computer system was handling all the controls. While these were just test flights, they hint at a future in which the Army could potentially send an autonomous helicopter on a dangerous rescue mission—and have no one on board it at all.

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I think 25,000,000+ AR ‘style’ rifles can be termed  “in ‘common use™’”
Now where have I read ‘common use’ before…Oh! Oh! Oh! Mistah Cahtahr!
I’ll take Caetano V Massachusetts for $500, Alex
So, guns in ‘common use’ are especially protected by 2nd amendment restrictions on goobermint?
Who Da Thunk It!

Common Use: Academic Survey Shows Over 30% Of Gun Owners Have Owned AR Style Rifles

Wake Forest sociology professor David Yamane is an active analyst of America’s gun culture and runs the Gun Curious blog. He also teaches a course in the sociology of guns. In his latest Light Over Heat video, Dr. Yamane calls attention to a survey done last year by Georgetown Professor William English.

From the survey’s abstract . . .

This report summarizes the findings of a national survey of firearms ownership and use conducted between February 17th and March 23rd, 2021 by the professional survey firm Centiment. This survey, which is part of a larger book project, aims to provide the most comprehensive assessment of firearms ownership and use patterns in America to date. This online survey was administered to a representative sample of approximately fifty-four thousand U.S. residents aged 18 and over, and it identified 16,708 gun owners who were, in turn, asked in-depth questions about their ownership and their use of firearms, including defensive uses of firearms.

English is also the author of a paper last year titled The Right to Carry Has Not Increased Crime: Improving an Old Debate Through Better Data on Permit Growth Over Time.

In the 2021 national survey, English set out to, among other things, determine exactly how prevalent AR-pattern rifle and “high capacity” magazine ownership really is among America’s gun owners. That’s not merely an academic question as the Heller decision established the “common use” standard for firearms that can’t be regulated out of existence by hoplophobic politicians.

What exactly constitutes “common use” is, of course, an angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin, you-know-it-when-you-see-it style subjective legal question. But as Professor Yamane notes, Professor English’s survey found that just over 30% of gun owners report ownership (past or present) of an AR-15 style rifle. He also found almost half of gun owners surveyed report owning “high capacity” magazines, those that hold over 10 rounds of ammunition.

Yamane isn’t an attorney and neither are we. But English’s survey has turned up AR ownership by roughly 25 million (higher than the number usually quoted) and “high capacity” magazine ownership by close to 50 million gun owners (which seems low to us).

As Yamane puts it . . .

If we look at one-third to half of gun owners, I would say that ownership of AR-15-style rifles and high or standard capacity magazines is fairly common empirically.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Whether you’re a fan of the “common use” standard or not, that’s the law of the land right now. And data such as these demonstrate — quite clearly — that any efforts to limit magazine capacity and ban scary-looking firearms are, by any measure, unconstitutional. That’s hopefully something that the Supreme Court’s pending decision in the New York case and others will help to further clarify.

See Professor English’s full 2021 National Firearms Survey results here.

IIRC, this is similar to Maryland’s law where you can possess magazines, you just can’t sell them in the state, and that means you can buy all you want when out of state and bring them back.
I’m not going to ‘fisk’ the release, but if the mentioned – noted anti-gun – Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health “study” and  – also noted anti-gun – Violence Policy Center, doesn’t set off your ‘Fraud!” alarm, nothing will.
And the last:
“There is currently no split or controversy in the federal courts of appeal on this issue. The United States Supreme Court has allowed appeals court decisions upholding these laws to stand.”
is – at best – disingenuous propaganda, as the 9th Circuit Court just recently overturned a District Court decision that ruled the California magazine ban was unconstitutional and this case hasn’t reached the Supreme Court for consideration yet. If that isn’t a ‘controversy’, I don’t know what is. So, the Washington State Attorney General merely confirmed he’s just another lying politician.

Washington [state] Senate passes legislation to ban sale of high-capacity magazines in historic vote

OLYMPIA — Today, the Washington state Senate passed Attorney General Request legislation sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, banning the sale of high-capacity magazines in Washington by a 28-20 vote. The bill prohibits the sale of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. This is the sixth session the Attorney General has proposed this legislation. Today’s vote marks the first time a limit on magazine capacity has passed a chamber of the Washington Legislature.

Senate Bill 5078 prohibits the sale, attempted sale and distribution of high-capacity magazines. It does not prohibit the possession of high-capacity magazines. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

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Letters to the Editor: You don’t have to shoot someone to use a gun defensively

To the editor: Dr. Steven J. Sainsbury pushes the absurd claim there are only 2,000 defensive gun uses per year. (“Thinking of buying a gun for self-defense? Don’t do it,” Opinion, Jan. 31)

The claim overwhelmingly relies on counting defensive gun uses reported in news articles, but that is a dramatic undercount because the vast majority of successful self-defense cases don’t make the news. Ninety-five percent of defensive gun uses involve merely brandishing a gun, and less than 1% involve the attacker being killed or wounded.

But most news stories only report on cases where attackers are killed and brandishings are ignored.

Seventeen national surveys find an average of 2 million defensive gun uses per year. The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey puts it at around 100,000. Both show the 2,000 claim to be ridiculous.

Finally, the article labels me as a “gun rights advocate,” not a researcher who has held academic positions at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Stanford and Yale. I have also been a senior advisor for research at the U.S. Department of Justice.

John R. Lott Jr., Missoula, Mt.

This would have been an addition, a further restriction on RKBA by adding ‘dating partners’ to the original list of relationships that the ‘Lautenberg amendment’ added to the list of people who be permanently prohibited from lawfully possessing a gun. In other words, more gun control.

Lawmakers rolling out Violence Against Women Act without ‘controversial’ provision

A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement on legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that forgoes a key provision that drew opposition from gun rights advocates.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) was joined by co-authors Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in announcing the legislation at a press conference on Wednesday.

Actress Angelina Jolie, who has been working with lawmakers to promote the legislative effort, was also in attendance with other advocates, along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who have also been involved in the push.

If passed, it would mark the first time in nearly a decade that the bill has been reauthorized — a move advocates have said is necessary to update the legislation to adequately meet the needs of those it is designed to protect.

“Together, we drafted a bill that preserves the good work of the last reauthorization bill in 2013,” Feinstein said, adding the bill will strengthen “existing programs to support survivors and to prevent and to respond to domestic violence, and that’s dating violence and sexual assault and stalking.”

Feinstein said the legislation will seek to enhance and expand services “for survivors of domestic violence, including survivors in rural communities, LGBT survivors,” as well as survivors with disabilities, and strengthen the criminal justice response to domestic violence.

However, Feinstein added that the bill “is not perfect” and will not address the so-called boyfriend loophole, despite recent efforts by the lawmakers to have it included in the legislation.

In late December, lawmakers unveiled a framework for their reauthorization proposal that outlined a provision advocates said would partially close the loophole by prohibiting individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence against a dating partner from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition. Similar restrictions apply to spouses or formerly married partners under current law.

The move marked the latest attempt by lawmakers to go after the loophole in recent years, after previous efforts were attacked by gun rights groups and Republicans as unnecessary “gun control,” though proponents have said it would save lives.

“The boyfriend loophole is a play straight from the Biden gun control agenda. It’s just gun control,” Aidan Johnson, director of federal affairs at Gun Owners of America, said in an interview last month opposing the provision.

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Robbery victim shoots 17-year-old in self-defense, 4 teens charged

BOWIE, Md. — A group of four teens has been arrested and charged after allegedly attempting to rob a victim just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Bowie police said they were called to the 14900 block of Health Center Drive for reports of gunshots and a robbery, which is near the Bowie Health Center.

According to police, the victim was approached by four suspects who had handguns. The victim then took out his own handgun, which police believe they did in self-defense. The victim ended up shooting one suspect

Police say the victim did end up shooting one of the suspects.

The group then fled the scene, according to police. Police found the 15-year-old suspect nearby and the 17-year-old suspect was identified after turning himself in for treatment of his gunshot wound.

The other two teens were found after crashing a car that police said was reported stolen in Virginia. Prince George’s police found the car, the teens and two firearms after the incident in Glendale.

In total, police have now arrested and charged a 15 and 16-year-old, of Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro, as well as two 17-year-olds from Hyattsville and Bladensburg. The three oldest teens have been charged as adults.

Bowie Police Chief John Nesky held a news conference Wednesday to confirm the details.

“These individuals are dangerous people. That’s evident by their actions last night,” Nesky said in the conference in response to a question from WUSA9’s Scott Broom. “I believe that this is probably part of a larger trend we are seeing in the area and around the region, especially as it pertains to juvenile crime . . . If you don’t have those supports systems, if you don’t have any other kinds of guardrails or systems, you’re going to get these kinds of actions.”

States one step closer in uphill, unconventional approach to amend Constitution, limit federal govt power
17 states have passed the resolution calling for a convention of states

A state senator calling for constitutional amendments said that “overreach on the part of the federal government” has forced states to attempt reform in a way never accomplished before.

The Nebraska Legislature passed a resolution Jan. 28 calling on states to begin the formal process to pass constitutional amendments that would limit the federal government’s spending and jurisdiction, as well as set term limits for members of Congress.

“What’s driving this as much as anything is overreach on the part of the federal government,” Nebraska state Sen. Steve Halloran, who sponsored the resolution, told Fox News.

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Shooting death ruled justifiable after juvenile shoots back at intruder

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — A recent homicide at a Columbia apartment complex has been determined to be justified after a man tried to break into an apartment and was shot by a juvenile, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

On Sunday, February 6, around 5 p.m., deputies responded to Gable Hill Apartments on Ross Road after receiving reports of an unresponsive man.

Upon their arrival, deputies say they found a man inside of an apartment who was deceased. He appeared to have a gunshot wound to the upper body and evidence of a shooting was observed in the apartment, according to investigators.

During the investigation, deputies say they discovered that two juveniles were at home when they saw a man trying to break in. The juveniles hid but when the man entered the apartment, he fired at them. Deputies say one of the juveniles shot back with a weapon that was in the home and struck the intruder.

“We continue to lose young people to gun violence,” Richland County Sheriff Leon said. “This community problem will only continue until we get parents and young people involved in the solution. Let’s pray and work together before we lose another life.”

Concealed carry holder shoots man who is armed with a knife in Rogers Park

A concealed carry holder who was investigating a domestic disturbance at his neighbor’s home shot a 19-year-old man who was armed with a knife on Tuesday evening, police said. After being shot, the injured man, still armed with a knife, encountered responding Chicago police officers who deployed a Tazer to take him into custody, according to a CPD report.

Officers were called to the 1500 block of West Juneway Terrace to handle a domestic incident around 10:43 p.m. One of the calls came from the concealed carry holder, who told police that he heard a loud argument coming from his neighbor’s residence, police said in a media statement.

The CCL holder went to the neighbor’s home where a woman was in a confrontation with her 19-year-old son, who appeared to be in the midst of a mental episode while holding a knife, the CPD report said.

Police said the CCL holder left the area, but the 19-year-old followed him with the knife and “continued to approach” the man. The neighbor drew his gun in an alley and shot the 19-year-old, striking him once in the leg, according to the CPD report.

When patrol officers arrived in the area, they encountered the 19-year-old walking down the street toward them with a knife in his hand, the police report said. The officers used a Tazer to gain control of him and placed him in custody.

EMS took the 19-year-old to St. Francis Hospital, where emergency workers determined that an injury to his leg, initially believed to be a self-inflicted cut, was a gunshot wound. He was listed in good condition, police said.

EMS also checked out the 19-year-old’s mother for a minor injury to her hand.

Area Three detectives are investigating the incident.

Hypocrisy O’ The Day

From The Atlantic ,which is a laugh, as the staff there were rabid pro-mask/pro lockdown……up until the politics changed.

Open Everything. The time to end pandemic restrictions is now.

Observation O’ The Day

Hamburglar shows truth of mass shoplifting — it’s not about poor, it’s about money-making thieves.

“If shoplifting is a crime of poverty, now an article of progressive faith, how come shoplifters tend to hit the high-end shelves? . . . And why is it that the craft beer is carted off, but rarely the low-end brews? Easy. Because the bodegas that are fencing the goods aren’t interested in canned meat, off-brand ice cream or skunky beer. They want the good stuff. And now things have gotten so bad that even Al Sharpton is torqued.”

5th-graders learn to shoot guns by using school gym as target range

A school district in Wyoming posted pictures of 5th and 6th grade students shooting targets with air rifles in a school gym.

A school district in Wyoming recently used a gymnasium as a shooting range, training fifth and sixth grade students in marksmanship during PE. Hot Springs County School District #1, in the small town of Thermopolis, shared photos of the sharpshooting session in a Feb. 2 Facebook post, and it quickly caught the attention of thousands.

McClatchy News has obtained a screengrab of the Facebook post, which is no longer publicly available. In the pictures, the children are seen aiming air rifles across the gym at a set of targets propped up against the bleachers with what appears to be plywood.

Often a child’s introduction to the world of firearms, air rifles generally use gas stored in a small canister to propel a BB or pellet out of the barrel at relatively high speed. While far less lethal than true firearms, they can cause serious harm in some circumstances. “All students passed their safety test and have been sharpening their skills,” the post said.

As of the morning of Feb. 8, the post had garnered 13,000 reactions and 5,700 comments and had been shared over 60,000 times. For perspective, the population of Thermopolis is around 2,700.

“This is what America needs more of,” one comment read.
“Education and responsible firearm ownership.”
“This is so awesome! Probably one of the safest schools in the country too,” a commenter wrote.
“I need to find a school like this for my son once he’s old enough!”
“CA masks their kids, Wyoming teaches marksmanship,” said another.

Of the nearly 6,000 comments, most are in support of the district.

Well, he’s a politician which means he’s a professional liar.

Beto’s about-face on AR-15s: “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone”

Virtually every poll in the state of Texas shows Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke’s gubernatorial campaign is in serious trouble, but the biggest sign that the Democrat is failing to make inroads with Texas voters came on Tuesday, as O’Rourke was stumping for votes in Tyler.

Here we are in 2022, and suddenly O’Rourke has a very different message for Texas voters.

Speaking to reporters, O’Rourke also took a question about his controversial stance on guns and remarks made in 2019 about taking away AR-15s and AK-47s.

“I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment,” he said. “I want to make sure that we protect our fellow Texans far better than we’re doing right now. And that we listen to law enforcement, which Greg Abbott refused to do. He turned his back on them when he signed that permitless carry bill that endangers the lives of law enforcement in a state that’s seen more cops and sheriff’s deputies gunned down than in any other.”

So the guy who said he was coming for our guns now claims he wants to defend the Second Amendment, yet in the same breath declares that protecting our right to keep and bear arms means criminalizing carrying a gun without a government permission slip? Does he actually think anyone is going to buy his supposed newfound respect for the Second Amendment when he keeps belittling it?

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Unless you’ve had a grounding in how the Stoner system really works, a good set of tools and Technical manuals, and a certain amount of experience working on ARs (like say having been a military and/or civil service small arms repairer as I was) you may wind up better off buying either a whole factory built rifle, or factory built uppers to go with factory built lower. From my experience, the manufacturers, especially those that have or have had military contracts, don’t just meet the standards of the Technical Data Package, but purposefully exceed it.

Is It Better to Go Factory or Build a One-Off AR-15?

The Hard Truth About Costs Associated with an AR

You can build your own AR! You could probably also buy a better AR with included liability protection (in the form of headspacing and specification pairing) and a brand name cohesive look for less than the build price.

Sure, price isn’t always everything, but it matters, especially when you can get factory integrated high end rifles with desirable third party accessories or brand collaborations, and it costs less than the parts total for your buildout.

Is it always the truth that factory builds are cheaper or offer more bang for the buck? No. In fact, for large swaths of time in the past 15 years there were periods where builders enjoyed a parts glut on the market and the manufacturers were more expensive for the same thing as what you could build for a couple hours (or less) of assembly time.

Right now, it’s pretty close to even, with a slight advantage on the low end side of the market for the factories over a parts build.

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I Was Anti-Gun And A Pregnant Mother When Home Invaders Broke Into My House

(SOFREP invites reader submissions for publication. Today we offer you this harrowing story from one of our members named Marcie who writes about how a home invasion while she was pregnant and home alone with her other child changed her entire worldview when it came to gun ownership.)

Few people would look at me now and think that, but yes, I used to believe that guns were a danger to society.

The media likes to show us gun violence all the time, with the insinuation that it’s the gun, not the person, who did the crime. Rarely do they show you examples of guns being used in self-defense. Most people who promote gun control live in quiet neighborhoods where residents see guns as almost alien.

But if you have ever lived in a dangerous place, then you know the importance of guns. That’s what happened to me when I moved to Tolleson, Arizona, two years ago.

I moved there to live with my husband, who is a firefighter. After moving, my husband needed to leave town for training. So I was left home alone, pregnant with our child. I didn’t mind too much, as I thought it would be a little staycation. I couldn’t go anywhere, anyway, since our clunker of a car was in the shop.

In hindsight, I should have known that no car being at our home for an extended period made the wrong people think that both of us were gone. Sure enough, that happened. When two thieves broke into my home through the kitchen door, it happened so suddenly that I had no plan of action. My heart racing, I ran into the bathroom where I thought it was safe and took out my phone.

I frantically started to call 911. However, my phone could not get through to a responder. The bathroom was a dead zone for phone service where I lived. However, my phone was connected to my WiFi. I contacted my sister on Facebook, and she managed to call 911.

As I waited for the police to come, my heart continued to race. What if the police did not respond in time? There are many cases of the police taking too long to respond to a situation that requires immediate action, as many factors can delay response time.

As I heard the thieves rustling around the house, I wondered what they would do. Steal my TV or jewelry? That was replaceable. However, what if they found me and did something horrifying to my unborn child and me?

All these worries soon subsided, luckily, as the police did arrive in only a few minutes. After seeing the police approach my door, the thieves immediately ran away, their pockets empty. One bystander told me the thieves were armed as I was filing a report. Once again, those thoughts about what the thieves could have done to me immediately raced to my head.

It was at that point I realized I needed to arm myself. Since then, I have never left home without a pistol. I have to protect myself, my husband, and our two-year-old daughter. Chances are, you have someone you want to save. I recommend arming yourself as well with an easy-to-access pistol.

Speaking of pistol, what’s my favorite? As a woman, I wanted something easily concealable that I could fire at a moment’s notice. I wanted something powerful yet easy to use for a more petite frame.

Upon research, I chose the SIG Sauer P365. This 9mm pistol is a little under 6 inches wide and slightly above 4 inches tall, making it perfect for concealing. Despite its small frame, it holds ten rounds and packs quite a wallop. Any woman can use it to even the odds if a thief enters their home. With its small trigger, it doesn’t matter how small you are. You can fight back.

That’s my story. Since having a gun, I’ve felt safer, and I’ve found a new hobby to enjoy. If you’ve been interested in owning a firearm, now is the time to do so. I hope this article helped you learn where I’m coming from when advocating for guns.