As protests continue, lawmakers consider ‘stand your ground’ gun bill

COLUMBUS — During a period of civil unrest over racial injustice, the Ohio House is considering legislation to give gun owners the right to stand their ground in public places and use deadly force in self-defense.

“They just don’t get it, do they?” said former state lawmaker Tom Roberts, president of the Ohio NAACP, which opposes the bill.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, said in a written statement: “By putting the so-called Stand Your Ground or Kill at Will bill on the agenda during a week of chaos and racial unrest, Republican leadership is showing Ohio what their true values and priorities actually are. The decision to hear this bill also tells the thousands of Ohioans who have flooded the streets in towns and cities all over the state that their voices do not matter.”

House Bill 381, co-sponsored by state Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, received a hearing Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, who has the power to block or move any bill, said no decision has been made yet on whether the legislation will get a floor vote this week. He didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Dayton Daily News about Sykes’ criticism.

Rasmussen: Majority Oppose Cutting Local Police Budgets

Only 27 percent of the survey respondents want to reduce police budgets, and 14 percent are undecided, according to Rasmussen.

Sentiments run along party lines, the new report revealed. Republicans are more reluctant than Democrats or Independents to cut police funding, and “those under 40 like the idea a lot more than their elders do.”

Another disturbing revelation of the Rasmussen poll is that 16 percent of Americans think most police officers are racist in the aftermath of Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody May 25. That’s up 10 percent from a year ago, Rasmussen said.

However, 67 percent “still rate the performance of their local police as good or excellent.”

But officials in Minneapolis, Seattle and other cities are joining the anti-police chorus. Minneapolis Council President Lisa Bender told CNN, “We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe.”

In Seattle, Councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda tweeted, “How many people have to call for the police to be defunded before the Mayor embraces radical change?”

She added, “The problem is–the weapons aren’t illegal, the tactics aren’t illegal, the riot gear isn’t illegal. We have allowed them, we have funded them, and that is why WE need to change.”

The Rasmussen survey found other interesting opinions.

“Even among blacks,” Rasmussen said, “only 27% think there are too many cops, although that compares to 15% of whites and 17% of other minority Americans. Blacks (36%) are more enthusiastic than whites (25%) and other minorities (24%) about defunding the police and channeling that money into more social services.”

The survey was conducted June 7-8 by Rasmussen Reports with a+/- 3 percentage point margin of sampling error and a 95 percent level of confidence.

Another revelation is that 77 percent of adults say crime remains a serious problem in the country today with 38 percent saying it is “very serious.”

What happens if police agencies are “de-funded” or dismantled and rebuilt?

According to CNN, what happened in Camden, N.J. might provide a hint. The story noted, “Before its police reforms, Camden was routinely named one of the most violent cities in the US. Now, seven years after the old department was booted (though around 100 officers were rehired), the city’s crime has dropped by close to half. Officers host outdoor parties for residents and knock on doors to introduce themselves. It’s a radically different Camden than it was even a decade ago.”

But will the Camden model work elsewhere?

In some communities, including Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and the cities of Snohomish and Kirkland in neighboring Washington, citizens tried a different approach to fears of violent protest. They turned out in big numbers, visibly armed. It apparently had a deterrent effect, since there have been no problems in any of those communities.

Perhaps a quote in the Spokane Spokesman-Review summed it up.

“I think there are two types of people,” Coeur d’Alene’s Mike Marquardt said. “The good people who are here to get a message across, and we are here to support and protect them. Then there are those who come to take advantage of the situation and cause trouble. We are here to protect against those.”

New Video Exposes the Armed Antifa ‘Militia’ Who Want to Abolish the Police

On Tuesday, Project Veritas released the third of its antifa video exposes. This undercover video exposes the armed branch of antifa who want to abolish the police and identify as the leftist movement’s “militia.”

“Redneck Revolt,” also known as the “John Brown Gun Club,” identifies itself as the “militia wing of antifa.” A Project Veritas journalist infiltrated the North Carolina chapter in 2018.

While Redneck Revolt supports gun ownership, local leaders condemned the National Rifle Association.

In the video, a Redneck Revolt leader insists, “I hate the NRA. The NRA is a white supremacist terrorist organization.”

“This particular group sees themselves as armed revolutionaries. They’re all about the working class,” the Project Veritas journalist explains. “So they share these communist, anarchist ideals that the working class should run the country with no government and they believe in total abolition of everything, including the police.”

She reported that Redneck Revolt was also part of the riots in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017. “Charlottesville was comprised of your typical Antifa black bloc measures. There were also Black Lives Matter. There were multiple chapters of Redneck Revolt that went to Charlottesville and acted as the militia wing of the anti-fascist movement,” she said.

Following the example of John Brown, the abolitionist who led the raid on Harper’s Ferry in order to arm the slaves for an uprising, Redneck Revolt aims to arm black Americans.

“One of their missions is to arm minorities. They feel that black Americans and minorities are disenfranchised by gun laws and permit fees,” the Project Veritas journalist reported.

The journalist recalled going to the gun range with Redneck Revolt, calling the experience “especially stressful and scary” because “they had guns” and because “I was wired with a camera, so the entire time that I was there at the gun range, especially while we were shooting guns, I was constantly worried that something would come unattached or a wire would show.”

Ultimately, the undercover journalist found herself booted from the group because she posted on Facebook her support for a candidate for sheriff. “That’s where they said to me, that’s where we fundamentally disagree. We don’t believe in reform of any kind. We believe in complete abolition of the system itself, including police.”

……………

The revelation of antifa’s armed “militia” should terrify Americans — but it also reaffirms conservative opposition to gun control. The Redneck Revolt is correct in its suspicions that restrictions on gun ownership trace back to a desire to prevent black Americans from being able to defend themselves. It seems ironic that so many leftists who insist police are racist seem opposed to the idea of black people arming themselves for defense against them. Redneck Revolt is at least ideologically consistent in supporting black gunowners even as it is utterly inconsistent in demonizing the NRA.

In advocating the abolition of police and presenting itself as a militia, Redneck Revolt seems to be making a play to replace the police and become a form of private security force. I’d take the police — with all their faults — over antifa militants any day of the week.

Auto Defensas Para Mi! (I called it)

If You Want To Know What Disbanding The Police Looks Like, Look At Mexico
The rise of vigilante groups in Mexico offers a hint of what happens when institutions fail and civil society collapses. America should be paying attention.

One of the most visible and insistent demands of the Black Lives Matter movement is the abolition or disbandment of the police—or at the very least defunding them, which taken to the extreme would amount to the same thing. “Abolish the police” has become a rallying cry among protesters and a litmus test for elected officials seeking to ally with them.

What comes after the police have been abolished remains unclear. Protesters and politicians alike are hazy on details, preferring instead to talk about “reimagining public safety” and throwing around vague terms like “community policing.”

Of course, in concrete terms what would happen if a city actually disbanded its police department, as the Minneapolis City Council pledged to do over the weekend, is that the county sheriff’s office or the state police—or perhaps even federal law enforcement—would step into the vacuum and the city would have almost no say in how it was policed or what policies county and state law enforcement agencies adopted.

But let’s say these ultra-progressive municipal governments could get their wish and abolish the police in their cities entirely. What would happen? Inevitably, an armed group would emerge and impose a monopoly on the use of force.

If you want an idea of how that works, look to our southern neighbor, Mexico, where over the past decade endemically corrupt police departments in some areas have been supplanted by autodefensas, or local self-defense militias. But before you get too excited about the prospect of paramilitary autodefensas policing American cities, understand that in Mexico these groups are a mixed bag at best—and at worst they’re not much better than the corrupt local police and cartel gunmen they replaced. More importantly, their mere presence in Mexico was and is a disturbing sign of societal decay…………….

Aside from Minneapolis—where on Saturday the mayor, Jacob Frey, was booed and heckled out of a rally after saying he didn’t support “the full abolition” of the police—cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and Toronto are taking steps to reduce funding for law enforcement, in some cases redirecting tens of millions of dollars to various community programs while slashing police budgets.

Make no mistake, “defund the police” doesn’t mean “reform the police.” It means take the money away, which means fewer police on the street—and in the case of Minneapolis, apparently no municipal police on the street.

That local elected officials would even consider such policies is deeply troubling. America might not be a failing state overrun with drug cartels and corrupt politicians, but it is sliding in the direction of Mexico. We have declining levels of confidence in our institutions and declining levels of trust across society in general. The fabric of our civic life is fraying badly, and calls to abolish the police are a sign of that.

Despite the insistence of the protesters, getting rid of law enforcement won’t usher in a more just or equitable order. But it will invite new arrangements for security, as it did in Mexico. These arrangements, however well-intentioned, will fall prey to the same corruption and unaccountability as the forces they replace, especially if the underlying causes of societal decay are left to fester.

Doesn’t pay to step into Mokhtar Bel Mokhtar ‘s shoes.

French forces kill al-Qaida’s North African commander.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — French forces have killed Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaida’s North Africa affiliate, the France’s defense minister announced late Friday, in what would be a major victory for France after years of battling jihadists in the Sahel.

There was no immediate confirmation of his death from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, which has made millions of dollars abducting foreigners for ransom over the years and made large swaths of West Africa too dangerous for aid groups to access.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly tweeted that Droukdel and several of his allies were killed Wednesday in northern Mali by French forces and their partners. It was not immediately clear how his identity was confirmed by the French.

The Four Horsemen of America’s Apocalypse

It takes a lot to build a civilization, and though it is much easier to destroy a civilization, it takes a lot to do that, too.

But now we have four roots of evil that are guaranteed to do so.

No. 1: Victimhood.

The first is victimhood. The more people who regard themselves as victims — as individuals or as a group — the more likely they are to commit evil. People who think of themselves as victims feel that, having been victimized, they are no longer bound by normal moral conventions — especially the moral conventions of their alleged or real oppressors.

Everyone knows this is true. But few confront this truth. Every parent, for example, knows that the child who thinks of him or herself as a perpetual victim is the child most likely to cause and get into trouble. And criminologists report that nearly every murderer in prison thinks of himself as a victim.

On a societal scale, the same holds true — and being on such a larger scale, the chances of real evil ensuing are exponentially increased. One of the most obvious examples is Germany after World War I. Most Germans regarded themselves as victims — of the Treaty of Versailles; of a “stab in the back” German government; of the British, Americans and French; and, of course, of the Jews. This sense of victimhood was one of the most important factors in the popularity of the Nazis, who promised to restore German dignity.

That millions of black Americans regard themselves as victims — probably more so today than at any time in the past 50 years — can only lead to disaster for America generally and for blacks specifically. While victims generally feel free to lash out at others, they also go through life angry and unhappy.

No. 2: Demonization.

The second of the four ingredients of this civilization-destroying witches’ brew is demonization — demonizing a group as inherently evil.

That is being done now with regard to the white people of America. All — again, all — whites are declared racist. The only difference among them is that some admit it and some deny it. The notion that whites are inherently evil has long been associated with Louis Farrakhan. But it has apparently migrated out from his relatively small following to many blacks, even those who might consider Farrakhan a kook. Former President Barack Obama, hardly a Farrakhan follower, described America as having racism in its DNA. That is as close to inherently and irredeemably evil as it gets; you cannot change your DNA.

In that sense, not only are whites demonized, but America is, too. Unlike traditional liberals, the left regards America as a moral cesspool — not only racist but, according to The New York Times, founded to be so. The New York Times has created a history of America that declares its founding not in 1776 but in 1619, when the first black slaves arrived. The American Revolution was fought, according to this malign narrative, not merely for American independence but in order to preserve slavery, a practice the British would have interfered with. This “history” will now be taught in thousands of American schools.

The combination of victimhood and demonization alone is dangerous enough. But there are still two more horsemen galloping toward the looming apocalypse.

No. 3: A Cause To Believe In.

Most Americans throughout American history found great meaning in being American and in being religious — usually Christian. Since World War II, we have lived in a post-Christian, post-nationalist age. Until very recently, Americans would have found the expression “for God and country” deeply meaningful; that term today, on the left, is risible and execrable.

But people need something to believe in. The need for meaning is the greatest human need after the need for food. Leftism, with all its offshoots — feminism, environmentalism, Black Lives Matter, antifa — has filled that vacuum. In Europe, communism, fascism and Nazism filled the hole left by the demise of nationalism and Christianity. Here it is leftism and its offshoots.

No. 4: Lies.

The fourth and most important ingredient necessary for evil is lies. Lies are the root of evil. Ironically, slavery itself was made possible only because of the lie that the black was inferior to the white. Nazism was made possible thanks to the lie that Jews were not fully human. And communism was built on lies. Lenin, the father of Soviet Communism, named the Soviet communist newspaper “Truth” (“Pravda”) because truth was what the Communist Party said it was.

The New York Times, CNN and the rest of the mainstream “news” media are becoming our version of Pravda.

Objective truth doesn’t exist on the left. The universities have already declared “objective truth” as essentially an expression of “white privilege.” See what happens to a student who says in class, for example, that “men cannot give birth.”

The public self-debasement demanded of anyone who differs with the left — like New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees just did when he said not standing for the national anthem desecrated the flag and those who have died for it — happens almost daily. The only difference between this and what dissidents underwent during Mao’s Cultural Revolution is that the self-debasement here is voluntary — thus far.

Last week, when this Jew saw a store in Santa Monica with a sign reading “black-owned business” so as to avoid being destroyed, it evoked chilling memories.

That’s how bad it is in America today.

BP employee shoots man who pulled out a gun and attempted to reach cash register in Berkeley

BERKELEY, Mo. (KMOV.com) — A BP gas station employee shot a man who allegedly pulled out a gun and refused to leave the business, police said.

The St. Louis County Police Department said the man showed his gun inside the BP at 4403 N Hanley Road in Berkeley and refused to leave when asked. The man then tried to enter where the store clerk and the cash register were. An employee then pulled out a gun and shot the man.
Police said the man was taken to a hospital for life saving treatment.

Man shot, killed after carjacking off-duty KCSO deputy on Highway 99

A man was shot and killed by an off-duty Kern County [California] Sheriff’s deputy after attempting to steal the deputy’s personal vehicle on northbound Highway 99 north of White Lane on Sunday morning, KCSO said.

The series of events led to traffic being halted on both sides of Highway 99. The northbound lanes in the area of the shooting were especially backed up, with traffic diverted off the highway.

The suspect, whose identity is currently unknown and will be released by the Coroner’s Office, first committed a residential burglary in the 3600 block of Eisenhower Avenue and stole a vehicle at around 8:45 a.m., according to a sheriff’s news release. Bakersfield Police Department officers were dispatched to investigate that part of the incident.

The suspect then crashed the stolen vehicle in the 3400 block of Eisenhower Avenue and fled on foot onto Highway 99 north of White Lane, KCSO said in its news release.

He then stopped the off-duty deputy’s personal vehicle, which was traveling north, and entered the vehicle, attempting to steal it, KCSO said. A physical struggle occurred and the deputy shot the suspect, who died of his injuries at the scene, the sheriff’s office reported in a news release.

The name of the off-duty deputy, who suffered minor injuries from the altercation, has not yet been released. The deputy was placed on routine administrative leave.

At the scene, the carjacking and death of the suspect was being investigated by KCSO and the burglary was being investigated by BPD.

Woman shoots and kills intruder in Scalp Level home

A man who forced his way into a Scalp Level [Pennsylvania] home late Sunday was shot and killed after he ignored warnings to leave the residence, investigators said.

Thomas Deal, 45, of Scalp Level, was confronted by the Second Street home’s owner while coming up her basement stairs, Windber Police Chief Andrew Frear said.

The woman warned Deal that she was armed, he said.

Then, she fired after he continued to ascend the stairway despite multiple warnings to “Leave my home” and “Get out,” Frear said.

Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said the incident occurred just before midnight. The man was struck once in the head, Lees said.

An autopsy Monday confirmed the man was at close range – less than six feet from the shooter – when he was struck, Lees added.

Lees, whose primary duty is to determine the cause and manner of death, ruled the shooting a homicide due to a gunshot head wound.

Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer, who is responsible for determining whether charges are warranted, said it appears the shooting was justified – and that the woman was acting in self-defense.

An investigation is not yet complete, but Neugebauer said the residence, home to a family of three, was broken into late at night by a stranger who apparently wouldn’t back down.

Pointing to Pennsylvania’s Castle Doctrine, the district attorney said residents have the right to use deadly force against aggressors who illegally enter their residences – if they believe they are at risk of serious injury, rape or death.

He described the invasion as “random” – adding there are no indications the woman and Deal knew each other. That was corroborated by the Scalp Level man’s own family, Neugebauer said.

“The case will be subject to a full review … to see if it meets the (doctrine’s) guidelines,” he added, noting that the autopsy and police report will be part of the investigation.

Frear said the man forced his way into the home through a basement door. Deal was not armed or carrying anything when he was walking up the stairs, Frear said.

“We may never know why he went inside that house,” Neugebauer said.

Frear said his department has investigated a few break-ins involving Scalp Level homes recently, in those cases, the actor was someone residents recognized.

“In this case, (the family) did not know who he was,” Frear said.

Antifa is Heir to Germany’s Red Army Faction, Daughter of Terrorist Ulrike Meinhof Says

The only real difference between Antifa and the old Baader-Meinhof Gang of West Germany is that Antifa has no prominent leader and its members hide their identities, says German historian Bettina Röhl.

Of all people, she should know. Röhl’s mother was the notorious German terrorist Ulrike Meinhof.

“The militant Antifa only lacks the prominent faces compared to the RAF” or Red Army Faction, which the Baader-Meinhof Gang became, writes Röhl in Zurich’s influential Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

Meinhof, whose activism started as a “peace” activist in opposition to rearming the West German army and building American nuclear weapons, grew more extreme and defended the 1972 terrorist massacre of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich.

Röhl writes about Antifa in Germany, where the movement began. The Center for Security Policy’s Kyle Shideler gives a quick study of Antifa’s German origins in The American Mind.

Antifa is a coward by comparison, in the eyes of Meinhof’s daughter, a strong critic of terrorism. Says Röhl, “Out of cowardice, it practices covering its [members’] faces and keeping their names secret.”…

Sister of Suspected ISIS Terrorist Shot Dead While Trying to Stab Florida Cop

The sister of a man accused of planning a mass shooting for ISIS was shot dead moments after lunging at a Florida cop with a huge butcher knife, according to dramatic video released by police.

Footage shows the unidentified officer calmly walking up to Heba Momtaz Al-Azhari, 21, on a bench outside Temple Terrace police HQ Friday after she lured him out by asking for help, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

She appeared to reach into a bag — with the officer suddenly lurching back as she tried to stab him in his body, the footage shows.

Just because the bug is still going around and we have some people protesting, doesn’t mean the moslems are slacking off.

DOJ: Man Plotted Attack in Tampa Bay Area on Behalf of ISIS

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa man is facing federal charges after investigators say he plotted a possible attack and tried to give “material support” or resources to ISIS.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 23-year-old Muhammad Momtaz Al-Azhari was an ISIS supporter who was plotting an attack on behalf of the terrorist organization. Al-Azhari had previously acquired a Glock pistol and a silencer and had “expressed admiration for Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen” and was looking to “carry out a similar mass casualty shooting,” according to DOJ.

According to court documents, Al-Azhari’s criminal record includes previous terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia. He was accused of planning to travel to Syria to participate in jihad and join terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government. He served three years in Saudi Arabia and was removed to the United States in 2018.

Gun Control advocates now patrolling neighborhoods while armed

My goodness it doesn’t get any more mind boggling and hilarious than this. We’ve all heard of Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison and his spearheading of the dismantling of the Minneapolis PD. Well, he is helping take matters into his own hands (don’t mind the goofy “white supremacist“ BS spin, but whatever):

Citizen patrols organize across Minneapolis as confidence in the police force plummets

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s approaching 2 a.m., and City Council member Jeremiah Ellison is patrolling his neighborhood in a black sedan when the smell of smoke wafts through the open driver’s side window.

Several black-owned businesses had been destroyed in this area — considered the heart of the city’s black community — in recent fires that investigators have deemed “suspicious.” Neighbors suspect right-wing militias, and social media has been abuzz with purported — but unverified — sightings of masked white men in pickup trucks holding semiautomatic assault rifles.

The rumors have only fueled the unease that has spread through this community since the death of George Floyd, who lost consciousness under the knee of a police officer on Memorial Day. A video of Floyd’s gasps for air triggered massive protests and violent riots that started in this Midwestern city before spreading throughout the country.

Now Ellison — the son of former congressman Keith Ellison — is on patrol, hoping to catch the next fire before it destroys another business owner’s livelihood. He’s also ready to contend with danger of the more human sort, if needed.

As the car fills with the acrid scent of burning chemicals, Ellison tells his friend in the driver’s seat to pull over. Before they come to a stop, Ellison, 30, flings open the door and jumps out with a pistol in one hand and a small fire extinguisher in the other. He walks briskly down the street, scanning the block for the origin of the fumes.

“I was excited to fight over the budget. I don’t think anybody could have pictured this,” Ellison later said, noting that even as a city official, he can’t control how the police respond to the fires and other threats. “This was something I could do.”

So, no problem there, we support that (except he seems ready to fire when no immediate threat to life or property is present), but as we’ve seen over and over again over the past few weeks, these are the SAME PEOPLE that support gun control when it suites their needs:

YET ANOTHER do as I say, not as I do politician. Either way, as each day goes by it seems, more and more nails are put into the coffin of gun control and the activist groups that push for it (and that’s a good thing).

More Than Ever, It’s Time to Unleash the Power of ‘No’

For way too long, too many conservatives and other normal people have failed to deploy our most potent weapon in the defense of free thought and expression – the utter refusal to go along with the demands of the carnivorous left. As has been said before by me and others, we need to introduce these spoiled brats to the concept of “no.”

This is a critical moment, and how we react now will determine if our future is citizenship or serfdom. The Democrats’ kinetic operation that was the rioting has failed, the violent thuggery egged-on and enabled by half-wit MSNBCNN talk-holes, feckless lefty pols, and the blue check jerk-stapo ended up appalling the voters, and not just Republicans. The grave strategic error of sending the masked marauders of Marxism marching into limo lib enclaves like Beverly Hills convinced a lot of people who hate Trump that maybe law and order isn’t such a bad thing after all. Defund the police? Yeah, that’s a tough sell outside a sociology department. Mansions and BMWs burn just like churches and police cars do.

The rioting was really an information operation, and a failed one. There were two big problems for the furious rioters. One was that normal people saw no connection between protesting the treatment of George Floyd and looting big screens from the local Target, except that both disgusted them. The second issue was the inability to identify a specific enemy. Who exactly was the person supporting the killing of George Floyd? What was the name of the person who said, “Yeah, that was a good thing”? Across the spectrum, liberal to conservative, people were appalled at what they saw on the video. Even Judge Mom, a former deputy district attorney, said she would have considered charging it as first-degree murder under California law. Talk about unity – America was united in the conclusion that his treatment was a crime. So, the left had a real problem because there was no individual to apply Alinsky Rule 13 to: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

But a larger, more comprehensive information operation is still ongoing, one in which a bunch of pampered SJW stormtroopers, aided and abetted by the weak and frightened elder caste of liberals occupying the heights of the establishment, are attempting to define the tolerable range of ideas and expression within our culture. In a shocking turn that would surprise only stupid people, the tolerable range of ideas and expression they wish to establish corresponds exactly to the ideas and expressions they agree with. The Venn diagram of what they think and what they allow to be thought is a single circle.

The rest of us are expected to shut up, and thereby concede and recognize their mastery over us.

We could do that, sure.

Or we could tell them “no.”

I’ll go with “no.”

Look at what’s happening. You had a U.S. senator articulating a position that polls say 58 percent of Americans agree with, that riots should be suppressed with military force if necessary – and the New York Times’s nursery erupted with silly infants babbling that this idea makes them “unsafe.” And worse, the editorial board – which at least used to pretend to harken to the idea of free expression – folded like one of Eric Swalwell’s cheap, stinky suits.

Think of what would happen if the editors at the NYT said “no” to these glorified interns………….

NYT Article Pushes Idea That Guns Cause Suicide – Why They Are Wrong

The New York Times recently published yet another article pushing the narrative that owning a firearm increases the risk of suicide.  To most people, this seems logical – but I know that the reasoning leading to this conclusion is false.  I have a great deal of experience with suicide, thanks to 10 years experience in EMS.  As a result, I absolutely know that every study I have ever seen on the issue of guns and suicide is pure bunk, as is this article.  Here’s why.

1) As anyone who has ever been a first responder knows, the vast majority of so called “suicide attempts” are not in fact attempts to commit suicide.

Never the less, that will be the admission diagnosis.  So when is a suicide attempt not a suicide attempt?  Answer: When it is done to manipulate someone or as a “cry for help” – and this intent affects the method chosen.

This is something that I, as an EMT and Paramedic saw all the time.  For instance, we would get a call for an “overdose”.  Arriving at the scene, we would find the person who had overdosed, usually on some over the counter medication.  They had then called the person they wished to manipulate and informed them that they had taken pills in an effort to kill themselves.  Of course, this person then either rushes over to the overdose “victim” or calls 911.  We would arrive and typically find a fully awake patient who now would be placed on a mental health hold due to “attempt suicide”.  Frequently they would be interacting with the person they called.  In many cases they claimed to have taken such a small quantity of pills that it was clear there was no attempt to harm themselves.  Of course, everyone goes forward as if the person really wanted to die.  We would then transport the person to the county hospital on a mental health hold.  They would be admitted as “attempt suicide”, method “medication overdose”.  For every actual suicide attempt I responded to in my 10 years in EMS, I responded to 50 to 100 of these “non-suicide suicide attempts”. 

The problem arises when someone does a statistical study for suicide attempts and methods.  All of these “non-suicide suicide attempts” are counted as actual suicide attempts that did not succeed.  The false conclusion is reflected in the following quote from the NYT article:

“Many suicide attempts are impulsive, and the crisis that leads to them is fleeting,” Dr. Miller said. “The method you use largely determines whether you live or die. And if you use a gun, you are far more likely to die than with other methods, like taking pills. With guns, you usually do not get a second chance.”

That conclusion is written based on faulty information.  The vast majority of people who take pills do not want to die.  Those who use firearms or other deadly methods do.

2) People chose a suicide method based upon their desire to live or their desire to die.

The second lesson I learned as an EMT/Paramedic is that people who really want to die choose a method that is quick and sure.  They do not want to be found and saved.  While the act seems impulsive to those left behind, it has been considered and likely planned for a long time.

In the US, where firearms are available, they are frequently chosen. however, they are not the only method of ending one’s life quickly.  People use rope to hang themselves, they jump from high places and use many other methods.

Even the flawed research supports this conclusion.  Again referring to the NYT article we learn this on paragraph TWELVE:
“Another possibility was so-called reverse causation: that many buyers were bent on suicide before they bought the gun. The findings did provide some evidence of that. In the month immediately after first-time owners obtained their weapons (California has a 10-day waiting period), the risk of shooting themselves on purpose was nearly 500 per 100,000, about 100 times higher than similar non-owners; after several years it tapered off to about twice the rate.”
3) The data from the rest of the world completely refutes the article’s conclusion.
First, the nations that have the highest suicide rates frequently have very low to no legal firearms availability.  These nations include Russia 26.5 (93% higher than US), Belarus 21.4 (56% higher) and South Korea 20.2 (47% higher).  Somehow, people in these nations are able to commit suicide at very high rates without access to firearms.

Second, when we compare similar English speaking nations, that widely differ in their access to firearms, we do not see a huge difference in the suicide rates:

UK (2018) suicide rate of 11.2 per 100k population – firearms in 4% of homes.
US (2017) suicide rate of 14.0 per 100K  population – firearms in 45% of homes.
Canada (2017) suicide rate of 11.3 per 100k population – firearms in 28% of homes.
(Stats from Wikipedia or other official sources)
It is especially notable that Canada has seven times the firearms availability as the UK and virtually the same suicide rate.  If firearms are the factor this article claims, Canada’s suicide rate should be much, much higher.

4) Finally, it is a practical impossibly to eliminate all suicide methods that those who truly wish to die might use.

Even this chart from an anti-gun rights source
shows that as firearms are made less available
suicides do not go down.  People simply use
other methods.
In the UK the most common method is hanging – yet no one is trying to eliminate access to rope and other cordage.  We cannot eliminate access to every high place, or to traffic, or quick acting poisons, and the list goes on.  If we are going to reduce the suicide rate in the US, gun control is not the answer.  That’s why some mental health professionals are speaking out against the idea.
Why do gun control advocates push gun control as the answer to suicide?  Well, as gun ownership and concealed carry have skyrocketed, the murder rate has dropped by 50% and violent crime has plummeted.  Their answer has been to push their own “gun death” figure that combines all firearms related deaths.  However, about 66% of these deaths are suicides.  If people realize that gun control has no hope of reducing suicides, those who are anti-gun rights lose their most powerful argument.   That is why they will continue to push this lie.

Suspected burglar shot, killed by resident in Pierce County

ELK PLAIN, Wash. – A suspected burglar was shot and killed Sunday morning by a resident of a home in the Elk Plain area of Pierce County, sheriff’s officials said.

Deputies responded to the home, in the 20700 block of 46th Avenue East, at about 5:20 a.m. after receiving a 911 call about a burglary and shots fired, said Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

The burglary suspect was found dead of a gunshot wound inside the home.

The occupants of the home, an elderly woman who owns the residence and her adult son, were not injured.

A preliminary investigation found that the homeowner’s son awoke to the sound of rustling inside their home. The son armed himself with a handgun and found a burglar standing next to a safe in the home, Troyer said.

The resident reportedly confronted the suspect and the suspect came at him. The resident fired at the suspect, striking and killing him.

Deputies located a stool and broken window that appears to be the point of entry used by the suspect, Troyer said.

The deceased burglary suspect has not been identified.

Homeowner shoots suspect during an attempted home invasion

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (KTUL) — The Broken Arrow Police Department says an alleged suspect is dead and another on the run after an attempted home invasion Saturday night.

The BAPD says about 10:35 p.m., officers were dispatched to a reported first-degree burglary call.

While on the way to the call, officers were told that the homeowner had shot one of the suspects and at least one suspect had run from the scene.

When officers arrived and they found a male deceased in the front of the residence.

Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators are interviewing witnesses and processing the scene for evidence.

The deceased man’s information is not being released until positive identification and next of kin notification can be made.

Kansas Legislature Passes Emergency Powers Legislation Protecting 2A

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- The Kansas Legislature adjourned from its Special Session after passing Emergency Powers Legislation, House Bill 2054. House Bill 2054 prevents the Governor from using emergency powers to seize ammunition or limit the sale of firearms during a declared state of emergency, including for Covid-19. This bipartisan measure will now be sent to Governor Laura Kelly’s desk for her signature.

Thank you to those lawmakers who voted in support of this important legislation, as well as the original resolution during the 2020 Legislative Session.

Alan Gottlieb & Dave Workman: Violent city protests justify strong Second Amendment rights

Non-stop news coverage of riots in major cities across the country have suddenly underscored the importance and relevance of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, guaranteeing the ability of private citizens to protect their lives, property, neighborhood businesses and one another from violent anarchists.

Gun sales have spiked upward an estimated 80 percent over the same period last year. New data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation suggests that some 40 percent of all gun buyers in recent weeks were first-timers. They’ve been purchasing semi-auto pistols, semiautomatic modern sporting rifles and shotguns, in that order of preference.

When two looters tried to break into a South Philadelphia gun store, the owner fatally shot one suspect with his Bushmaster semi-auto rifle that gun prohibitionists like to call an “assault weapon.” The other suspect fled.

In Santa Monica, Calif., the owner of a liquor store stood in front of his business with an AR-15 rifle to discourage looters.

In Scottsdale, Arizona, armed citizens gathered at a jewelry store to prevent it from being ransacked.

In Washington state, dozens of armed citizens provided volunteer security to a Bonney Lake business, a commercial district in downtown Snohomish and businesses in Kirkland, outside Seattle. All of those places were alerted that rioters who had trashed downtown Seattle were apparently planning to spread their violence to the suburbs, but armed citizens discouraged them.

Unfortunately, in places such as New York City and Chicago, which have strict anti-gun-rights laws, business owners couldn’t defend their property.

To suggest the Second Amendment is obsolete is indefensible. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many people suddenly remembered the Second Amendment and prepared for the worst. The same principle applies now as we’ve watched small, fragile businesses just beginning to recover from COVID-19 closure orders destroyed by anarchists and looters to whom the name George Floyd — the Minneapolis man whose death sparked national protests — means nothing.

These people aren’t grieving citizens, they’re criminals. They’re not demonstrating against police brutality, they’re exploiting a tragedy to fulfill a wanton need to destroy and loot, and they are organized. Where they may get away with it because police may be under orders to use minimum force, that’s not a certainty when confronted by armed citizens, and they know it. There is a significant deterrent effect with an armed populace.

Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd observed, “The people in Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns…”

The Second Amendment is, and always has been, designed to provide law-abiding citizens with the means to defend themselves during emergencies. America’s cities are under attack and the public has a right to defend their lives and property. The Second Amendment makes that possible.

NY Times editorial page editor James Bennet resigns amid staff fury over Tom Cotton op-ed.

The New York Times announced Sunday that Editorial Page Editor James Bennet is resigning — amid reports of anger inside the company over the publication of an op-ed from Sen. Tom Cotton about the George Floyd unrest last week.

Bennet had apologized late last week after previously defending the piece, titled, “Send in the Troops.” Cotton, R-Ark., called for the government to deploy troops to help