Gun Rights Groups Hit Back After VA AG Says Second Amendment Sanctuaries Have ‘No Legal Effect’

The Virginia Defense League and Gun Owners of America, the gun rights group that is spearheading the Second Amendment sanctuary movement in the commonwealth, responded to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s statement that called the sanctuary resolution as having “no legal effect.”

The VDL and GOA sent a letter to their supporters and urged them to resist any unconstitutional gun control law the General Assembly passes in the new session next year.

“It is apparent that AG Herring and Governor Ralph Northam believe that Virginia localities have a duty to actively assist the Commonwealth in the enforcement of any law enacted by the General Assembly. These officials appear to believe that such blind obedience is required irrespective of whether a law violates the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Constitution, or is manifestly destructive of the preexisting rights of the People of Virginia,” the groups wrote. “This radical view is demonstrably false, and ignores the significance of the fact that local officials are required by law to take an oath to support the federal and state constitutions above the laws enacted by the General Assembly.”

The VDL and GOA said Governor Ralph Northam and Herring are wrong in their assessment counties must always implement laws passed since they “have taken exactly the opposite legal position” when it came to sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.

Northam vetoed two bills in March that would have banned localities from becoming sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants and would have required law enforcement agency to notify federal authorities if they had illegal immigrants in their custody.

“The safety of our communities requires that all people, whether they are documented or not, feel comfortable, supported and protected by our public safety agencies,” Northam said at the time.

“Thus, three times in three consecutive years (2017, 2018, and 2019), Governor Northam used his office to support the right of Virginia’s localities to declare themselves sanctuary cities and counties, refusing to help with the enforcement of federal immigration laws, based on mere policy differences with those federal laws,” the gun rights group said.

The VDL and GOA stated there is nothing new with people not obeying illegal and unauthorized government acts, adding, “If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority, since the higher authority is acting illegitimately and unconstitutionally, and without legal authority.”

An overwhelming number of counties in Virginia have declared themselves as Second Amendment sanctuaries, promising to not enforce any gun law deemed as unconstitutional.

A few Virginia sheriffs voiced their support for counties becoming gun sanctuaries to Townhall, giving the movement critical backing.

“I am in favor of the Second Amendment Sanctuary. I believe we need to send a message to Richmond that our citizens will take a stance. My deputies and I take an oath to uphold the Constitution and that’s what we will do,” said Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie Compton.

U.S. Gun Sales Near Record High as Violent Crime Rate Drops
Gun-related crimes fell 68 % and violent crimes 48.6 % in the same period that more guns were sold in the U.S.

Violent crime dropped by 48.6% in the U.S. in the same period that saw the record number of arms purchases: 423 million firearms, according to recently released data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Firearms-related accidents alone declined 68 percent between 1986 and 2018, a period in which U.S. citizens purchased 8.1 billion rounds of ammunition.

“These figures show that the United States has a strong desire to continue buying firearms for lawful purposes,” Joe Bertozzi, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told American Military News.

“The continued popularity of guns demonstrates that Americans have a keen interest in protecting themselves and their homes,” he added.

American citizens have the right to defend themselves. They have been able to counteract crime as opposed to what is happening in Latin American countries where the hyper-regulation of arms has granted a monopoly to law enforcement, state security forces, and criminal groups that act above the law, such as organized crime groups.

Caracas, Venezuela, which lost the right to carry arms under Hugo Chavez, is the most striking example of the city with the most homicides. Now Mexico, with more than 100 homicides per day and the second most violent city in the world, Acapulco, is living through the most violent year in its history and shows how the rigid law restricting the bearing of arms leaves the law-abiding citizen vulnerable.

Meanwhile, in the United States, more and more citizens have legal access to firearms. More than 25 million people registered in 2019 to carry guns in the US.

According to the FBI, 202,465 people registered to buy weapons on the biggest selling day. The gun registry process involves authorities corroborating whether the person has a criminal record.

This was the second-highest figure in history. The highest was in 2017 when 203,086 people filed their information for review in a single >
Both historical dates coincided with “Black Friday,” which falls on the last weekend of November, the day when there are massive discounts across the country.

Compared to last year, there was an 11% increase in domestic sales. At the end of November 2018, there were 182,093 registered arms buyers. As Christmas and New Year approaches, the numbers continue to rise.

In rural states like North Dakota, the number of buyers increased by up to 20%. According to Cody Schuh, owner of Shooters Inc., the political climate always contributes to a spike in sales. But he says this year was noteworthy. People not only stocked up on ammunition but also bought new rifles and pistols.

“Now we’re beginning to see that individuals buy weapons because they want to be safe without being told to do so by the state,” Schuh said.

It should be noted that the figures show the number of buyers, not the number of weapons. In October of this year alone, 1.2 million firearms were sold in the USA, 10.8% more than in October 2018.

Also, in October, the FBI reported that it reviewed the profiles of 2.4 million potential buyers, the highest record in a given month. In October last year, it was 2.3 million.

According to Small Arms Analytics and Forecast, 1.1 million firearms were sold in the U.S. in September of this year, 11% more than in September last year.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms and overthrow an abusive government with a militia.

“What this tells us is that Americans vote with their wallets when it comes to the ability to exercise the Second Amendment,” said Mark Oliva, director of public relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Oliva says that this phenomenon is interesting, because contrary to the will of politicians who openly demand to restrict the Second Amendment, citizens are supplying themselves with weapons.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution speaks of the right of every American citizen not only to bear arms but to arm a militia if the government abuses its power and exceeds its functions.

Oliva considers FBI data to be the most accurate barometer when measuring arms sales and argues that this is not just a whim or coincidence but a “meaningful investment.”

He argues that U.S. citizens choose to invest their hard-earned money to exercise their rights, unlike the politicians seeking to restrict their ability to defend themselves.

The Democratic Party wants to remove Trump from power, but to deprive citizens of the right to rise against a tyrannical government.

For example, the Democratic Party demands greater control when carrying arms and has the backing of at least 150 companies that demanded greater control before the Senate. But sales show that millions of people disagree.

The irony is that the same party that seeks the removal of President Trump, whom they consider to be abusing his power, is the one that wants to deprive citizens of the ability to remove a tyrant from power.

This reflects the actions of the Democratic Party. They demand that the high and mighty state be the one to remove Trump from power, not “the people” they claim to represent.

Meanwhile, those with a more libertarian or conservative political orientation refuse to give more power to the state, much less to take away their right to self-defense.

For history has shown that every tyranny is established once it disarms its citizens. This is what happened in Cuba through Fidel Castro’s speech “Guns? For what?”

Sixty years later, Cuba is still run by the same family. Twenty-five million people in the U.S. showed with their weapons that they are not willing to risk the same thing happening in their country.

They are safer both from crime and the possibility of the emergence of tyranny. That is why they are literally in charge of their self-defense.

Virginia’s Second Amendment attack

By WALTER WILLIAMS

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam apologized for his medical school blackface stunt, but he will have much more to apologize for if he signs into law a bill that attacks Virginia residents’ Second Amendment rights.

The measure is Senate Bill 16, which would ban “assault” firearms and certain firearm magazines.

Since Democrats have seized control of Virginia’s General Assembly, they are likely to push hard for strict gun control laws. Those laws will have zero impact on Virginia’s criminals and a heavy impact on Virginia’s law-abiding residents who own, or intend to own, semiautomatic weapons for hunting or their protection.

As a friend once explained to me, “I carry a gun because I can’t carry a cop.”

I am proud of my fellow Virginians’ response to the attack on their Second Amendment rights. Firearm owners in the state have joined with sheriffs to form Second Amendment sanctuary counties. That means local authorities will be required to protect Second Amendment rights in the face of any attempt by Virginia’s General Assembly to abrogate those rights.

Eighty-six counties – over 90 percent – in the Virginia commonwealth have adopted Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions. Spotsylvania County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a resolution declaring that county police will not enforce state-level gun laws that violate Second Amendment rights.

Sheriff Chad Cubbage said, “Be it be known that the Page Sheriff hereby declares Page County, Virginia, as a ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary,’ and that the Page County Sheriff hereby declares its intent to oppose any infringement on the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”

Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins made a vow during a Board of Supervisors meeting, where the board unanimously agreed to declare the county a Second Amendment constitutional county, to “properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

In an attempt to appease residents’ resistance, Northam suggested there would be a ban on only the sales of semiautomatic rifles. He would allow gun owners to keep their current AR-15s and similar rifles as long as they registered them. Otherwise, they must surrender the rifles.

I’d urge Virginians not to fall for the registration trick. Knowing who owns what weapons is the first step to confiscation. Northam further warned, “If we have constitutional laws on the books, and law enforcement officers are not enforcing those laws on the books, then there are going to be consequences, but I’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.”

Some Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill say that local police who do not enforce gun control laws should face prosecution and even threats of the use of the National Guard.

Virginians must heed the words and capture the spirit of their two most distinguished residents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. These resolutions referred to the federal government, but are just as applicable to state governments in principle.

They said: “Resolved, That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government … and whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.”

Too many Americans view the Second Amendment as granting Americans the right to own firearms to go hunting and for self-protection. But the framers of our Constitution had no such intent in mind. James Madison, in Federalist Paper No. 46 wrote that the Constitution preserves “the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation … [where] the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote: “What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.”

Similar quotations about our Founders’ desire for Americans to be armed against the possible abuses of government can be found at https://walterewilliams.com/quotations/arms/.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

 

Second Amendment Sanctuary Cities For The Win.

It’s glorious how the normal people of Virginia are rising up to reject Governor Blackface … or is it Governor KKK-klothes? He can’t seem to remember which one he was in the photo, meaning he had probably donned both creepy get-ups at some point. Yay, our Democrat betters! In any case, the people are telling him, “No, we’re not letting you goose-stepping Bloomberg bots take our guns,” and it is especially glorious that the means to make this righteous commitment is a new, and not garbage, sanctuary movement.

I’ve always been an advocate of playing by the left’s new rules, and this is a great opportunity to new rules the libs good and hard. We got your sanctuary right here, pinkos.

See, the left decided that Virginia, whose northern reaches are now full of government workers and other garbage people, needed to turn blue. With tons of lib donor money and the aid of a typically inept state GOP (I know those feel here in California), they managed to just barely grab control of both houses of the legislature. With Governor Byrd-Jolson in charge, they immediately promised to do away with the Second Amendment. They announced that they were going to confiscate the citizens’ scary guns and do all sorts of other things to show those disobedient, probably Jesus-loving rubes who was boss.

Except, as Chairman Mao – who you think these dorks would appreciate more – pointed out, power grows from the barrel of a gun, not out of a mean tweet.

Instantly, everyone outside the garbage counties locked and loaded their freedom and so the Second Amendment sanctuary movement began. County after county, and many cities, all committed to resisting if the state tried enforcing unconstitutional gun laws against normal citizens. And it was beautiful. The Dems wet themselves.

Remember, these normals won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t mess with them. They work, raise children, pray, and they keep guns for the defense of themselves, their families, their communities and their Constitution. They didn’t get the memo that said they were supposed to just roll over and become subjects instead of citizens.

After all, Virginians aren’t Canadians.

Neighbor uses shotgun to stop Christmas Eve burglar

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A man who was allegedly trying to break into cars in a northeast Albuquerque neighborhood was caught red-handed by a resident.

Dwight Rivera said he woke to the sound of screaming early Tuesday morning and found his neighbor had pulled a shotgun on a man attempting to break into his car.

“This morning early at three o’clock my RING went off and I saw a man with shotgun and yelling at somebody and I thought it was just a fight but it was somebody breaking into the car and he caught him red-handed,” Rivera said.

Rivera said he could hear his neighbor yelling commands at the alleged burglar over his security system.

“‘Stay down or I’ll blow your head off. Don’t move!’ And he was complaining that ‘Oh my back is hurting me, I have to get up,’ and he said if you move ‘I swear I’ll shoot you’ and you hear this on the RING,” he said.

Police eventually responded and arrested Dakota Estrada. This was the fourth time since September that Estrada has been arrested for breaking into cars.

“These guys should be put in jail for doing this stuff. I could have been shot by the crossfire. This is crazy. And around Christmas time this is even more crazy,” Rivera said.

Estrada was charged with auto burglary. He will make an appearance in court later this week.

1 suspect dead, 1 hurt after attempting to rob fireworks stand

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Two suspects were shot after they attempted to rob a fireworks stand on Christmas Eve in west Harris County, officials say.

It happened at a stand located at 4820 Highway 6 at around 8:30 p.m.

According to a tweet posted by Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, three to four men tried to rob the stand when two of them were shot by an employee.

“He’s supposed to be stumbling behind the strip center. Possibly 2 shot. One for sure is probably going to be confirmed,” dispatchers told paramedics at the scene.

Gonzalez says the employee ‘disarmed one of the males’ and shot at the suspects.

“It either results in someone being in prison or someone ending up dead,” Gonzalez said. “In this case the owner was, from early indications, trying to protect himself and the location from robbery.”

One of the suspects who was shot died at the scene, while the other was sent to the hospital. His condition was not released.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the injured suspect as 30-year-old Derrell Ridley. He has nine prior charges with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Spokesperson: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Has ‘No Plans to Call in National Guard’

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has no plans to use the National Guard against residents in Second Amendment sanctuary counties, according to a spokesperson.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky saying, “[Northam has] absolutely no plans to call in the National Guard.”

The clarification of Northam’s position comes after Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) suggested the governor use the National Guard to force compliance with any newly passed gun controls.

The Washington Examiner quoted McEachin saying, “I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law. That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.”

Northam’s decision not to call in the National Guard at this time also follows Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins’ vow to “deputize thousands” to defend gun rights.

Jenkins said:

Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions. “Red Flag” laws without due process will create enormous conflict as well.

America has more guns than citizens and murder has long been illegal. At best, the proposed gun restrictions will disarm or handicap our law-abiding in their defense and possibly cause a criminal to choose another tool for evil.

Jenkins added, “If necessary, I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

What We Learned from the Bloomberg Effect in Virginia

There is a lot we can learn from the recent elections in Virginia. Democrats now hold the majority in both houses of the legislature, the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of state.

To touch the obvious highpoints-

  • Money talks. When your local representative is elected to office because billionaire Michael Bloomberg bought his victory, then the representative doesn’t speak for you. He speaks for Bloomberg.
  • Politicians who take large campaign contributions can propose disastrous laws so long as the contributions continue. Bloomberg’s political contributions becomes essential while the local results of legislation becomes superfluous.
  • News outlets accept money to run campaign advertisements. Beyond their personal biases, the media’s commercial incentives further distort their ability to report honestly on an election.
  • Big-government politicians in both parties want more government so that political payoffs continue. These politicians have no use for limited government and free citizens.

All elections have consequences. Unusual elections have unusual consequences. Even before they took office, the Virginia Democrats advanced Bloomberg’s agenda.

  • Virginia Democrats proposed to outlaw zoning for new single-family homes and thus to punish the people who live outside the dense urban centers that make up the core Democrat constituency. Living in your own home is now racist.
  • Virginia Democrats proposed to disarm honest citizens in and near the state capital. Democrats don’t trust the people who elected them.
  • Virginia Democrats proposed to disarm adults under 21 years of age. That means you could be a young police officer and carry a gun when you’re on duty, you could also be old enough to be married and have children, but you wouldn’t be old enough to buy a gun to protect your family when you’re off duty. Only a true believer thinks that makes sense.
  • Democrats proposed to outlaw firearms in common use for the last hundred years. In the name of “freedom and democracy”, they want to outlaw the tools that gave us our freedom and democracy. Honest gun owners across the state said they would not comply. Police officers and Sheriff’s deputies also said they would not comply.
  • Virginia Democrats proposed to illegally use the National Guard to go door to door and forcibly confiscate firearms from honest gun owners. That is how you start a civil war.

If gun control laws in other states are a guide, then these gun prohibition laws would not apply to the legislators themselves. If I’m wrong and the laws apply equally to our rulers, then Bloomberg’s money can buy a full time security detail for every Democrat legislature and their family.

You, on the other hand, are on your own.

The publicly stated rationale is that these power-grabs are for “the public good” and to reduce “gun violence”. If this bigotry against gun owners runs true to form, then in the name of public safety we’ll ask the police to disarm honest citizens who are less danger to the public than the police. In the name of public safety, we’ll establish more “gun free zones” where criminals hunt for disarmed victims. The mainstream media will publish the gun-prohibition talking-points but ignore that crime has fallen while gun ownership has soared.

There is some good news as well. Today, we have the alternative media and it is harder than ever to fool all the people all the time. Unfortunately, you still have to get off the couch to vote once you’re informed about the issues.

Today, we have the alternative media and it is harder than ever to fool all the people all the time.

Talking points are easy and progress is hard. Actions to reduce urban violence would be to reverse Democrat regulation and let industry make more jobs. We’d stop the government programs that destroy our families. We’d end the disastrous drug-prohibition laws that turn our Democrat-controlled cities into war zones as immigrant drug gangs fight for turf. That won’t happen because this contest is about political power rather than being about violence or prosperity.

Prohibition is a foolish and dangerous quest. I’d respect billionaire Bloomberg if he tackled our ruinous drug prohibition scheme, but instead, Bloomberg chose to assaults our individual right of self defense. Drug lords would probably attack Bloomberg if he tried to make drugs legal. I think Bloomberg judged that honest gun owners in the US were safer scapegoats for failed Democrat policies. I hope a wise judge will stop Bloomberg’s foolishness before too many of us are hurt or killed.

On the plus side for liberty, billionaire Bloomberg created a hundred thousand activists who might change the next elections in Virginia. Looking across the state, there were over 90 meetings to establish second-amendment sanctuaries in December. 112 local governments voted to ignore unconstitutional infringements on the right to bear arms.

2A Sanctuary in Virginia

We’ve seen the second-amendment sanctuary movement spread into other states. Why don’t you go to your county board and start a sanctuary county where you live.

1775…again?

When people desperately trying to avoid a fight are left no choice but to fight, they are often the fiercest fighters imaginable.

The reason being an explosion of righteous anger – of berserker fury – directed at the bullies who will not leave them be.

Governor “Coonman” Northam of Virginia is such a bully.

He intends to rescind the current, ancient and long-acknowledged legal right of Virginians who aren’t criminals to possess more than single shot rifles and pistols – by criminalizing anyone who does possess them. These newly minted “criminals” will then be required to turn in their formerly legal firearms to the government or be subject to Hut! Hut! Hutting! by armed government workers sent by the Coonman to enforce his criminal acts.

This is a recipe for 1775.

Another bully – Thomas Gage, the British military governor of Massachusetts – attempted a “Coonman” in that year, which lit the fuse of what became the Revolutionary War. He sent armed government workers – Redcoats – to confiscate the weapons of the colonists – who had finally had their fill of being bullied. These long-ago AGWs eventually gunned down several colonists on the village green at Lexington.

Word of the massacre spread and the people rose in response, fighting back with whatever means available, harrying the column of armed government workers as it made its way back toward Boston, some 18 miles away.

The fury incited by that long-ago “Coonman” was subsequently described by himself:

“These people show a spirit and conduct against us they never showed against the French . . . They are now spirited up by a rage and enthusiasm as great as ever people were possessed of and you must proceed in earnest or give the business up. A small body acting in one spot will not avail, you must have large armies making diversions on different sides, to divide their force. The loss we have sustained is greater than we can bear. Small armies cannot afford such losses, especially when the advantage gained tends to do little more than the gaining of a post.”

Eight years later, those furious colonists finally succeeded in getting the bullies off their backs – permanently.

They probably never imagined that homegrown bullies even worse than “Coonman” Gage would eventually arise to torment them.

The current “Coonman” may not realize just how very tired the people are of being bullied – and how willing they are to fight, if a fight is forced upon them.

The “Coonman” feels confident. He has the full weight and force of the government and all its means at his disposal. He has legions of armed government workers available to enforce his writ.

But he hasn’t got the fury – and that is something he ought to reckon with, before it it is too late.

If this thing starts, it will not end until one or the other side is no longer capable of fighting. It will be no-quarter-given. It will be awful.

But it will be righteous.

And it may be necessary.

 

Male suspect shot after home invasion near Gulf Beach Highway

The crook Crook.

The home invasion happened just before 6 a.m. on Redoubt Avenue and Gulf Beach Highway, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) tells Channel 3.

ECSO says the suspect has been identified as 37-year-old Jonathan Crook.

Deputies say he faces a non-life-threatening injury to the shoulder.

Reports add that Crook was banging on the homeowner’s door when the owner wouldn’t let him in. Crook was still trying to force his way in when the homeowner fired shot.

Crook then fled and drove himself to the hospital.

Robbery suspect fatally shot outside of Bay Point convenience store

1 The ‘store gun’ is in a drawer instead of on the clerk.
2 The clerk wants to get in a fisticuffs match with a guy that has a gun
3 It’s apparent that either the crook’s gun is a toy, the crook has no ammo or he doesn’t really want to shoot, probably due to an ill-informed notion of Florida’s “3 Strikes and You’re Out” law
4 The nearest I can tell, the fatal shot by the clerk was made right as the crim was running away from behind the counter and the adrenaline rush kept him from knowing he was already dead. (Again a good lesson on ‘just because you’ve made a good – as in lethal – shot, it doesn’t mean the bad guy is out of action’.)

A convenience store clerk shot and killed an assailant who assaulted and pistol whipped him during a violent robbery Sunday night in Bay Point — a harrowing attack that was captured on video, officials said.

Kamal Sandhu, owner of Kam’s Market on Port Chicago Highway, said two men entered the store around 11 p.m. with the intention of robbing the place. One of the men pistol-whipped a cashier and held the employee at gunpoint while rifling through the cash register.

“They had a little struggle,” Sandhu said.

In video footage from a camera facing the counter, two men — one dressed in a black sweater with his face covered by a cloth and dark sunglasses; the other wearing a blue jacket, a green hoodie and a backpack — walk into the store from the front entrance and go in separate directions.

The store clerk, putting away money behind the counter, glances at the men but remains focused on his work. The man in black keeps walking before crouching near the end of the counter.

Four seconds later, he approaches the clerk, pointing a gun from his waist. He grabs the clerk and pulls him out of the way before smacking him in the head with the gun. The clerk falls to the ground and the man grabs a stack of bills.

The clerk’s hand reaches for the register, but the man pushes him down as he grabs what appears to be a yellow bin. The thief starts snatching more cash from the register, placing it in the yellow bin, while the clerk puts his hand on his head where he was hit with the gun.

But in a moment the robber looks away, the clerk opens a drawer — blood now flowing from his head — where a gun can be seen. The thief spots him and hits the clerk again while trying to shut the drawer.

The men struggle for six seconds, at which point the thief gets a grasp of his gun and hits the clerk on the head two more times.

The second man who had walked into the store jets out the door.

The clerk stands up, makes eye contact with the thief who had just pistol-whipped him — the two each holding a gun — before the thief runs away without the bin of cash.

Another man runs to the clerk behind the counter, touches him on the back, picks up the gun, tucks it behind his pants and jogs out of the store.

Investigators later determined the clerk had shot his assailant during the attack, said Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

Responding deputies found the robber suffering from a gunshot wound on the ground near the store at the intersection of Lynbrook Street and Desanie Way officials said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately released.

Belleville neighbor shoots armed intruder at apartment

BELLEVILLE IL— The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an incident in which police say an armed intruder was shot twice in an apartment Tuesday afternoon.

Police say that just before 4:30 p.m., a 20-year-old armed man tried to steal a woman’s car in a parking lot near Elmway Court.

He wasn’t able to steal the car, according to police. The man went to a nearby apartment building, breaking several windows, and held a group of people inside an apartment at gunpoint, they say.

Police believe a neighbor heard a commotion in the apartment and came to the residence armed. The neighbor saw the intruder and shot him twice, police say.

Police arrived and helped get the intruder to a hospital.

The man has injuries that aren’t life-threatening, and police have not reported any additional injuries.

Signature Gathering to Repeal Gun Control Measure Turns Ugly in WA

An ambitious grassroots effort to repeal a gun control initiative passed by Washington State voters in 2018 allegedly turned ugly over the weekend when one of the highest profile volunteer signature gatherers was apparently the victim of verbal attacks by two different men outside a major sporting goods outlet, when both of them made remarks that could be interpreted as threats.

Jane Milhans, a veteran rights activist, certified firearms instructor and president of the Tacoma Rifle & Revolver Club—who also is a home invasion survivor—told liberty Park Press one of the men actually asked her, “Do you want me to shoot your now, or later?”

According to Milhans, when two other volunteers confronted the man a few minutes later, he apparently denied making the statement and drove away.

Apparently the police were not called.

Sorry Democrats: New Zealand’s gun confiscation program just failed miserably

Almost every Democrat running for president supports so-called “gun buybacks.” Too bad they don’t work.

Proposals range from Joe Biden’s voluntary gun buybacks to the more radical mandatory confiscation proposed by Cory Booker. (He still misleadingly calls it a “buyback.”) So it’s worth examining how such buybacks played out recently in New Zealand, which passed a ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons and a mandatory gun buyback program after a tragic shooting in April.

The deadline for the mandatory gun buyback program was Friday. The New Zealand program successfully led to the compensated confiscation of 51,000 of the targeted firearms. But as the left-leaning Guardian  newspaper reports, this is out of an estimated 170,000 such guns currently in circulation. And there are still a minimum of 1.2 million legally owned firearms in New Zealand on top of that.

This means that many people ignored the demand that they turn in their guns and trust the supposedly benevolent government to protect them from themselves.

And it’s almost certainly safe to say that those who surrendered the 51,000 semiautomatic guns will skew heavily toward the law-abiding, nondangerous end of the spectrum. Thus, getting these guns off the street in this fashion only tends to disarm the good guys, leaving their society at large more at risk, not less. Americans use firearms in self-defense hundreds of thousands of times per year, analysts estimate, usually without firing a shot.

One must avoid drawing direct conclusions based on how policies affect countries with different populations, characteristics, and societal norms. But rough comparisons can be fair, for what they’re worth. And the massive failure of what was a sweeping, bipartisan gun control measure in New Zealand bodes poorly for how more obstreperous Americans would react to the partisan, contentious gun control measures Democrats are contemplating.

Moreover, assuming that American gun owners complied in similar proportions, common sense dictates that those planning to use their guns to commit crimes would be among the last to comply. Meanwhile, millions of people in the United States who pose no threat would become criminals overnight. They could face incarceration or even deadly consequences if police really do go around kicking in doors to seize guns, as failed presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke once called for.

And even in the case of a voluntary buyback, it is far less likely to attract guns that are going to be used in crimes.

All in all, New Zealand’s mandatory buyback program is a massive failure. But don’t expect that to change the minds of most Democratic presidential candidates. They’re concerned with what polls well among the Democratic base — not with what actually works.

Channelview resident opens fire, killing 3 suspects inside his home

Don’t mess with Texas.

Deputies say two men were inside a home when they heard commotion coming from outside. One of the men looked out and saw three suspects dressed in all black trying to break in.

The man exited his room with a shotgun and opened fire on the suspects, shooting three of them.

During an exchange of gunfire with the suspects, the man was also shot. He was transported to the hospital in serious condition.

“I want to just warn people that if it turns out that you’re breaking into somebody’s home, regardless of the circumstances, that eventually you’re gonna end up dead or you’re gonna end up in jail,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

Man armed with knife shot, killed by homeowners during home invasion

A man was fatally shot after he broke into a Manistee County home with a knife and assaulted the occupants inside, according to Michigan State Police.

On Dec. 22 at 1:30 p.m. troopers were sent to a report of a home invasion and shooting on 1st Street in Copemish.

MSP said a 29-year-old Copemish man, identified as Nathan Reed, forced his way into a house while brandishing a knife when a man and woman were inside.

There was a physical struggle and one of the occupants shot Reed with a firearm.

Police said Reed died at the scene from gunshot injuries.

The woman was treated for a minor head injury at the scene and was released while the man was uninjured.

Masked gunman killed after shootout in Lauderhill home invasion

A Lauderhill homeowner traded gunfire with a masked intruder and killed the assailant early Saturday, police said.

Officers responded to the home in the 4400 block of Northwest 16th Street after a 911 call about 12:45 a.m. They found a dead man and a weapon.

“There was a masked gunman on the floor, deceased,” said Lt. Michael Santiago, spokesman for Lauderhill police.

The homeowner fired a few rounds from his gun “out of his own fear and protection,” Santiago said. “After he got into the firefight inside his house, he fled the scene to contact police.”

‘Child’ gun deaths.

The gun control groups like to include all deaths through age 19 as children.  Here are the 2016 breakdowns by category and age.  Click to enlarge.

Accidental deaths (all firearms types)

Homicides (all firearms)

Suicides (all firearms)

None of these are wonderful, but notice that mostly these include the gang member age range: 15-19

Second Amendment Sanctuaries Started in 1774

The capture of Virginia’s legislature by Democrats, who also command the executive branch, has unleashed a spate of bills to criminalize millions of law-abiding gun owners and send them to the penitentiary. The most radical proposal, Senate Bill 16, would make it a felony to possess an ordinary semiautomatic rifle with harmless features like an adjustable shoulder stock, a flare launcher, and a muzzle device to reduce kick.

Reflecting trends in states as diverse as Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, and Washington, where politicians have declared a war against gun owners, about half of Virginia’s counties have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. County governments and elected sheriffs pledge not to enforce unconstitutional diktats that violate the right to keep and bear arms.

Sanctuary places are the darling of “progressive” jurisdictions determined to hide and harbor criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities. Progressives now accuse officials of being “vigilantes” for seeking to protect American citizens from imprisonment for exercising their constitutional rights.

Spearheading the war on Virginia gun owners is Gov. Ralph Northam, best known for his gig in blackface or Klan attire, and for calmly endorsing post-delivery abortion, that is, infanticide. To divert attention from the backlash, he is moving to criminalize all sorts of innocent conduct that has been lawful in the Commonwealth since Jamestown was settled in 1607.

It’s as if “the Redcoats are coming” again. Northam’s counterpart in 1774 was Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor, who took measures to disarm “disloyal” Virginians led by Patrick Henry. The patriots were arming and organizing themselves into independent companies to protect their rights.

None other than George Washington formed the Fairfax Independent Militia Company. “Threat’ned with the Destruction of our Civil-rights, & Liberty,” wrote George Mason, the volunteers pledged that “we will, each of us, constantly keep by us” a musket, six pounds of gunpowder, and 20 pounds of lead.

That was a lot of ammo. There’s a parallel here to the “large capacity” magazines that Northam wants to ban. And there’s an irony that Fairfax County is now the center of the blue wave that supports Dunmoresque gun bans.

The rest is history. In 1775 the Redcoats marched to seize colonists’ arms at Lexington and Concord and the Americans repulsed them. The inhabitants of Boston were ordered to turn in their guns, which were seized by British General Gage. The Continental Congress cited this perfidy in the Declaration of Causes of Taking Up Arms.

Nothing like that will happen today. Counties that have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries make clear their dedication to use all lawful means to protect their constitutional rights. Law-enforcement authorities have scarce resources and must choose how to allocate them. Work to solve murders and robberies, or track down gun owners because they have rifles with those oh-so-deadly pistol grips or adjustable stocks? That’s a no-brainer.

But those who support filling the prisons with law-abiding citizens just because they have, for instance, a rifle that will also shoot flares — which is nothing more than a distress signal — should remember our history. The Second Amendment was adopted to prevent exactly those kinds of infringements……………..

 

Second Amendment sanctuaries reflect the will of people who value the Constitution

As leftist politicians continue to threaten the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans, citizens are standing up for themselves.

Dozens of counties in California, Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, Texas and elsewhere have voted to become “Second Amendment Sanctuaries,” declaring that sheriffs in those counties will not enforce gun-control legislation that violates the Constitution.

In New Mexico, 29 of the state’s 33 county sheriffs signed a resolution earlier this year opposing sweeping gun-control bills proposed in the state legislature. Most recently, Virginia made headlines as more than 40 counties joined the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement that is sweeping the nation.

A February NPR article noted that “professional discretion is a constant feature of policing,” as law enforcement officers do not have the time nor the resources to enforce every single law every time one is broken. It is customary for police to decide which laws are a priority and whether pursuing lawbreakers to the full extent of the law is worthwhile. In the case of extreme gun laws, sheriffs have expressed several concerns: the laws are ineffective and unenforceable, they put police officers at increased risk, and they infringe on the Second Amendment rights enshrined by the Constitution.

“(Senate Bill 8, a background check bill) … does nothing to protect citizens and is unenforceable,” the New Mexico Sheriffs Association wrote in a letter earlier this year. “We also oppose House Bill 83 (a red flag gun-confiscation law), as it violates due process and puts law enforcement in a more dangerous situation and does nothing to protect citizens. This bill could disarm the very people trying to defend their lives and personal property.”

There is concern that the sanctuaries undermine the will of the people (though such concern was notably not expressed when counties declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants); however, sheriffs are elected officials. Sheriff Bob Songer of Klickitat County, who has vowed not to enforce Washington state’s Initiative 1639 — a package of gun-control laws — told NPR, “As an elected sheriff and a constitutional sheriff, I believe it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and, more specifically, violates the Washington state Constitution.”

In an interview with Reuters, Songer expressed the attitude prevailing among Second Amendment sanctuary sheriffs: “Unfortunately for the governor and the attorney general, they’re not my boss,” Songer said. “My only boss is the people that elected me to office.”

These sanctuary resolutions are the last resort for voters in rural areas whose lifestyles and views are not represented by urban voters and lawmakers. As Reuters reports, the sanctuary movement “is exposing the rift between rural and urban America as much as the one between the Republican and Democratic parties, as small, conservative counties push back against statewide edicts passed by big-city politicians.”

Zach Fort, president of the New Mexico Sport Shooting Association, told Gunpowder Magazine (of which, full disclosure, I am the editor), “There’s a lot of pessimism shared by those who want to protect their gun rights right now. A lot of people think they’re being railroaded and not being listened to.”

New Mexico Sheriffs Association President Tony Mace expressed a similar frustration, “When this legislation is drafted every session, we are not invited to the table,” he told Gunpowder Magazine. “Our voices are falling on deaf ears. They’re not giving our point of view any attention at all. … If they’re not going to listen to us, then we are going to use their tactics against them. I, like the other sheriffs, was elected to protect our citizens’ constitutional rights. And that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

In sum, Second Amendment sanctuaries are sheriff-led movements. Sheriffs are elected by the people of the counties they oversee, and if the people agree with sheriffs that the Constitution remains the supreme law of the land, then Second Amendment Sanctuaries are the supreme fulfillment of the rights and freedoms the Constitution protects.

Deadly shooting at DeKalb gas station was in self-defense

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – Police investigated a deadly shooting near Interstate 20 in DeKalb County Saturday night.

Police confirmed one person was shot and killed at the Texaco gas station off Gresham Road. The shooter stayed on the scene and police have determined the shooting was in self-defense.

Police told Channel 2′s Lauren Davis that surveillance video shows the driver of a purple car was inside the car. When the victim drove up, the man got of a car and went over to the purple car.

Investigators said the two drivers got into an argument with each other. Multiple shots were fired, killing the victim.

The car that the victim arrived in drove away. The alleged shooter stayed at the scene.

Shop owner kills two masked men after attempted robbery

An attempted robbery turned deadly for three masked men Friday night.

Fresno Police say the three had gone into Smoke N Vape on Blackstone, near Cambridge, around 9 p.m.

They tried to rob the place, but were instead confronted by the owner.

Police say he fired several rounds, hitting at least two of the men.

The third man ran away from the scene.

The two men died shortly after.

Attempted home invasion ends in gunfire

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – North Charleston Police say two would-be home invaders were fired upon by one of two victims Friday afternoon.

Police responded to the 7900 block of Crossroads Drive shortly before 4:30 p.m. on a report of a possible home invasion and shots fired, according to North Charleston Police spokesperson Karley Ash.

Ash said a couple was inside an apartment when two people knocked on their door. When the man opened the door, the two grabbed him, Ash said.

The girlfriend grabbed a gun and fired at the two men, striking one of them, and both ran away, police say.

Police say they do not believe the attempted home invasion was a random attack.

“After speaking with the victims detectives believe that there was a relationship between the victims and the suspects, and that there is no cause for alarm for the community,” Ash said.

Police say they have good leads on the suspects’ identities and are working to locate and arrest them. Police have not released the identities of the two suspects.

U.S. Army Investigates Cadets Over OK Hand Gestures, Finds No Wrongdoing

The U.S. Military academy has concluded its investigation into cadets who flashed the “OK sign” during a live broadcast of an Army-Navy football game.

The findings of the West Point investigation were that “the cadets were playing a common game, popular among teenagers today, known as the ‘circle game’ and the intent was not associated with ideologies or movements that are contrary to the Army values.”

President Trump Signs Defense Bill Creating Space Force

SPaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace FORCE!

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARYLAND — Flanked by two fighter jets and in front of a giant American flag, President Trump on Friday signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that officially created the Space Force, the sixth and first new military branch since 1947.

“For the first time since Truman, we will create a brand new American military service,” Trump said. “You will witness the birth of the Space Force. That’s a big moment and we’re all here for it.”