Articles by Herschel Smith

Changes come to form 4473.

“Non-binary” is added in the sex field options, too. The section inquiring if the transferee is under indictment for a felony would also now ask, “…or are you a current member of the military who has been charged with violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and whose charges have been referred to a General Court Martial?”

In addition, the question regarding whether the person has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor of domestic violence would, if approved, include,“…or are you or have you ever been a member of the military and been convicted of a crime that included, as an element, the use of force against a person as identified in the instructions?” A variety of boxes and questions have been moved for clarity and continuity, apparently, and the “county” of residence field now includes “Parish/Borough.”

So what if you were referred to a general court martial and were acquitted?  I’ve never agreed with the notion anyway that problems with a dishonorable discharge should affect recognition of God-given rights.  But that’s the difference, yes?  I see this right as God-given, the state sees itself as the source.

But thank goodness that “Non-binary” is now officially recognized as a sex option.  I won’t have to lose sleep over that any longer.

Via David Codrea, TTAG reports that this is apparently so.

But with the likes of Palmetto State Armory and others utterly offering complete AR-15s for under $400 right now there’s likely not much profit in AR platform rifles.

It shouldn’t been seen as a shock, though. Colt has bowed out of the civilian AR market due to lack of sales. There is an overabundance of product and a relative lack of demand since President Trump’s election in 2016.

It appears that the combination of the “Trump Slump” and Remington’s poor management have killed two well-known names in the AR-15 world.

It seems to me that if you’re going to make MSRs these days, they must fall into one of two categories.  The first is high end rifles and pistols, e.g., Daniel Defense, LaRue Tactical, BCM, CMMG, and the second is the budget gun, e.g., PSA.

There is a huge difference in price point, and there just doesn’t seem to be a big market for the middle of the road price point.

Raleigh News & Observer.

A group that spent millions of dollars in Virginia to help flip the legislature is planning to spend money in North Carolina aimed at the General Assembly and gun laws.

All 170 seats in the state House and Senate are up for election this year.

The Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, the political arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, is spending $250,000 on a digital ad campaign to pressure the General Assembly to pass gun safety legislation like a red flag bill proposed in the 2019 session by Democratic state lawmakers.

Everytown for Gun Safety PACs spent $2.5 million on campaigns in Virginia in 2019. The group is affiliated with Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which was co-founded by Bloomberg, is also part of Everytown, as is Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action.

The first ad, called “North Carolina: On Notice,” will run on Facebook and be targeted to suburban women and African African women voters. It notes that 1,300 people die by gun violence each year in the state.

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control showed that there were 1,430 firearms deaths in 2017 in North Carolina. In 2016, it was 1,409 deaths, and in 2015, 1,289 deaths.

Any changes in North Carolina’s gun laws has so far been supported by Democrats and opposed by many Republicans. In January, 50 members of the Republican House Caucus signed a letter supporting counties that declare themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries” and are opposed to any new gun regulations.

Everytown also released poll results from Global Strategy Group that shows majority support for stricter gun laws. The poll of 602 likely voters found that 79% supported red flag laws and 54% supported stronger gun laws. The poll also showed that 64% of respondents agreed it is “possible to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people while also protecting the rights of gun owners.”

An N&O fact-check showed that most Americans support stricter gun laws, including an increasing number of Republicans. In North Carolina, a poll by the conservative policy group Civitas Institute showed 58% of likely voters said laws around gun sales were not strict enough.

Everytown and Moms Demand Action criticized state lawmakers who went to Virginia for a gun rights rally in January in their announcement Monday.

“Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action volunteers are now calling on the legislature to act by passing gun safety measures, including extreme risk legislation,” the groups said in a news release.

Democrats proposed two gun regulation bills in the 2019 session, but they did not make it out of committee in the Republican-led General Assembly. House Bill 454, a “red flag” bill, would allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge for what is known as an extreme risk protection order, which would restrict a person’s access to firearms if there was evidence of them posing danger to themselves or others.

With the wrong mix of people in power, Bloomberg and Everytown will bring everything they brought to Virginia further South, including whatever they don’t manage to get passed in Virginia.

Here’s a note about North Carolina.  Mecklenburg and Wake counties control the state.  They are the behemoths, and if we don’t stand strong, we’ll be run over by them.  I fear that North Carolina is actually more fertile ground for Bloomberg’s plans than Virginia.

The controllers never stop, are well resourced, and are tireless.  We must match them.  If you’re a North Carolina reader, please don’t focus on football jerseys, stupid games and parties.  You must be in the fight.  I expect to be involved in the same armed rallies in North Carolina that we saw in Virginia.

If you’re not a North Carolina reader, we’ll soon need your prayers and participation in rallies.

Can we count on you?

Via David Codrea, this ridiculous report.

MARION (WSIL) — A proposed bill in Springfield aims to curb gun violence in Illinois with a new tax.

The Assault Weapon Retailers Tax Act, or Senate Bill 2468, proposes a 10% tax on assault weapons and magazines with more than 10 rounds. The bill defines assault weapons as “guns that accept large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”

Randall Gustafson, a salesman a Pro Gun & Indoor Range in Marion, says all guns have the potential to be labeled assault weapons under the proposed bill. “Just about every gun out there is going to have the capability to hold more than 10 rounds.”

Some lawmakers think the tax could lead to an increase in private purchases, but Gustafson believes gun owners are going to pay the tax eventually.

“As [guns] become worn or used, you want to refresh it and make it new. So you’re going to hit up a store,” Gustafson said. “You’re going to end up having to pay this tax one way or the other.”

The revenue will go into a Firearms Tax Fund to boost programs preventing gun violence in state-owned buildings and schools. Gustafson says he’d support the bill if he knew which programs are being funded.

“What are these programs actually going to spout off about?” Gustafson asked. “Are they actually going to teach children what firearms are used for?”

You’ll support the tax?  So you believe that government has a right to hold the RKBA hostage to the king’s ransom?

He ends with a tip of the hat to teaching the children.  So this is all “for the children.”  At the buyer’s expense, not the taxpayer, or the parents of the student being taught.

That doesn’t make it okay with me.

If you’re into this sort of thing.  $4000+ is out of my range.

T.L. Davis.

… the federal government has not been a faithful defender of individual rights. It has not been a trustworthy custodian of public funds. It has not lived up to expectations of limited government as it was charged with at the passage of the charter. It has not sought the security and safety of its people, but has been willing to subject them to unnecessary dangers such as diseases, crime and corruption in favor of optics. The federal government has allowed and even encouraged a rogue element within its bureaucracy to attempt and continue a coup to overturn the will of the people. It has not sought equality before the law or due process for the people, but has afforded it in the extreme to government employees. It has not faithfully defended its borders, a foundational purpose for its creation. It has tolerated and encouraged a cultural war on its own people, dividing them, pitting them against each other as a means of diverting the public attention from their corruption and fiscal irresponsibility. It has come to look upon the source of its power, wealth and success, the people, as mere tax slaves.

And I would emphasize that this ins’t due to malfeasance – this isn’t mere ineptitude.  No, the motivations run deep, and they involve the destruction and terraforming of what was once a great country.

Newsletter 024.

News from Lumberton, N.C.

LUMBERTON — A resolution in support of the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment right to bear arms was approved by the Robeson County Board Commissioners Monday by a vote of 6-1 after hearing from state Sen. Danny Britt Jr. and Rep. Brenden Jones.

“The Second Amendment right to bear arms is under attack,” said Britt, a Republican from Lumberton. “Illegal use of guns is not a reason to take away the legitimate constitutional rights of citizens to bear arms.

“I have heard from many folks in Robeson County on this issue. We ask that you oppose any efforts to restrict those rights and to reject any law that adds a burden on the Second Amendment.”

Rep. Jones, a Republican from Tabor City, said pending legislation in Virginia to ban assault weapons and require background checks on all gun purchases is a part of the “war” on the Constitution. He said Robeson will be the first county in Southeastern North Carolina to adopt the so-called gun sanctuary resolution, and Columbus and Bladen counties are poised to follow.

“Once a right is lost, we can never get it back,” Jones said. “We are one election, one court decision away from losing those rights.”

Presented with four options, the commissioners selected the first. It includes language to support the denial of access to a gun by court order, County Attorney Rob Davis said.

Commissioner Jerry Stephens was the lone dissenting vote. He said the commissioners already have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the state of North Carolina, and this resolution makes it seem like the commissioners don’t uphold the Constitution.

“Why did you come without public in support of this resolution?” Stephens asked Sen. Britt. “How may folks contacted you, two or three or 20?

“I have not gotten the first call. You called it a war, but I haven’t heard about any war.”

Commissioner Pauline Campbell asked why there is a “rush” to adopt the resolution.

“You should not feel rushed if you support the Second Amendment,” Britt said.

Campbell replied, “I fully support the Constitution and the laws of North Carolina and swore an oath affirming that.”

The resolution is a symbolic one, as Davis noted that if North Carolina passes a law on gun ownership, Robeson County has no option but to enforce it.

“This board is not a judicial body that can reject a law on constitutional grounds,” Davis said.

“All this means is we are going to support the Constitution,” Commissioner Raymond Cummings said.

What a weak-kneed, panty-waist statement by a bunch of quisling cowards.

“Symbolic.”  Backpedaling as he goes.

“This board is not a judicial body that can reject a law on constitutional grounds.”  Or in other words, “We’re not the almighty’s judiciary high priesthood in black robes and we can’t reject something our betters and superiors did.  Excuses not to do it.

“All this means is we are going to support the Constitution” (more watering down), so finally they found the gumption to pass a watered down resolution that, listen closely, “includes language to support the denial of access to a gun by court order.”

So in other words, their very 2A resolution includes support for “red flag orders,” the most unconstitutional of all gun control laws.

As I’ve said, these resolutions hold all of the power that the commissioners, Sheriffs and various county and local militias vest in them and are willing to back up with force, not one iota more, not one iota less.

In one case, a county may restrict their own budgets from being used for enforcement of these laws, combined with intent, determination, training, organization and willingness to prevent agents of the state and FedGov from enforcing those same laws.  This is the strongest example.  It’s for real men, those with spine, spirit and character.

The next is a mealy-mouthed statement of support combined with directions not to use county funds to enforce said laws.  This is the next strongest resolution, a weak one at best.  This is for the weak and terrified among us.

The third case is a statement of support, combined with an acquiescence to red flag laws right out of the gate, with an understanding that the whole thing is merely symbolic.  This is for communists.

So Robeson County declared itself to be a 2A sanctuary, but we know it’s a lie, so the good thing about this is that the good people of that county now know who to throw to the curb, and how to do it.

One of the great things about this whole process is that the communists have a chance to self-identify.  They can hide their intentions, but in this case they’ve made no attempt whatsoever at hiding the fact that they are quislings and traitors.

When a state senator and representative speak in such stark and honest terms and a board of local nitwits can’t even bring themselves to show backbone, it’s time to tell them to get lost.

Do I have readers in this AO?

Military.com.

LAS VEGAS — An Israeli company, working with Sig Sauer, recently showed a version of its high-tech, smart-shooter technology that the U.S. Army is currently evaluating in its Next Generation Squad Weapon Fire Control competition.

Smart Shooter Ltd. demonstrated its SMASH Fire Control System at a Sig-hosted range day for SHOT Show 2020. The SMASH is designed to help improve the accuracy of any shooter engaging stationary or moving targets in both day and night conditions, said Devin Schweiss of Smart Shooter Inc.

The SMASH “allows you to acquire, lock on and engage targets” using a weapon-mounted optic and special pistol grip that “allows the weapon to fire only when it’s a guaranteed hit,” he said.

“We are currently competing in the Next Generation Squad Weapon Fire Control competition … with a similar technology,” Schweiss told Military.com. “We are still adapting it, but it’s going to be a pretty good solution.”

Last summer, Army weapons officials invited defense firms to design and build prototypes of an advanced fire control system to go with service’s Next-Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW), a 6.8mm system that includes rifle and automatic rifle variants to replace the M4A1 and M249 squad automatic weapon in infantry and other close-combat units.

Smart Shooter has teamed with Sig, which was selected by the Army, along with teams from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. and Textron Systems, for the final phase of the NGSW effort. If all goes well, the service plans to begin equipping infantry brigade combat teams with both NGSW variants and fire-control systems in the first quarter of 2023.

The SMASH features a lock button that’s mounted on the weapon’s handguard. The shooter looks through the SMASH optic, places the crosshairs on the target and presses the button to mark the target with a tiny rectangle.

As the information is fed back into the computer, the shooter keeps the crosshairs on the target and pulls the trigger, but the weapon will not fire unless the sights are lined up properly. If the target moves suddenly, the shooter continues to keep the crosshairs on the target. When the shot is lined up, the SMASH will fire the weapon, Schweiss said.

As opposed to, you know, like, um, maybe, perhaps, teaching shooters to shoot.

I’m sure this will work out swimmingly.

WiscoDave sends this video.  If a monkey can do it, then there’s no reason to stress test an AR-15 to see how many rounds we can put through it without cleaning before we destroy it.

In our discussions about fisking your local Sheriff and his deputies for their views of your rights, especially in the context of working towards constitutional Sheriffs who will prevent agents of the state and federal government from infringing on gun rights, it’s been easy to overlook a very important aspect of your local AO.

In a lot of urban and suburban areas, it’s commonplace to have separated law enforcement duties and authority between the Sheriff and a city or county/city police department.  The Sheriff, under this framework, is responsible for serving warrants, security of the court, juries and the jail system.  The police department is responsible for law enforcement in all other areas.

The pretext for this separation, which likely happened either from a state referendum or a change to state laws, is that the Sheriff, who is an elected officer, can then use his status to show favoritism to those who donated to his campaign, who are his friends, and family.  Conversely, he can punish his enemies.

True enough, this has happened on too many occasions in American history, and where this has been done, the Sheriffs have themselves to blame for it, at least in part.  But this also removes the highest elected law enforcement official from public review and voter approval.  The other side of the sword cuts deep.

I assumed that this is the way Prince William County law enforcement works, since these are police officers, not deputies.

This is a remarkable video, made even more so by the fact that they knew they were being videoed and were still as abusive as they are.  To begin with, photography isn’t a crime, and these officers know it.

They repeatedly make the claim that “we need you … ” normally ending in something like identify yourself.  But the fact of the matter is that no one talks the law or rights.  They don’t really need anything of the sort, they just want to fill out the right paperwork and put another name on a watch list.

They also repeatedly ask his “intent and purpose” with said videography.  Again, that’s not important and isn’t any of their business.  They have no constitutional right to know this information.  They place this in the category of “suspicious activity,” but suspicious activity isn’t a crime.  His detention wasn’t a legal “Terry Stop,” and the police officers greatly add to their problem later in the video.

When he was asked to remove his face cover, the videographer smartly asked them what they would do if he was a Muslim wearing head/face cover and it was his religious beliefs.  They clearly state that they wouldn’t be able to force him to obey the order, and this is highly problematic because this means they won’t apply the law equally to everyone.  The law is either constitutional or it’s not – regardless of religious views.

They further demand his DOB, which again isn’t based on any real need to know that information outside of putting him on a watch list.  Then they ridiculously claim that he’s “disturbing the peace” since everyone is now watching him, that fact being based solely on the fact that the police stopped him.  The police were the ones disturbing the peace, not him.

The legal problems this police department presents for itself are overwhelming, and if this individual has the money to pursue it, they are in for a legal fight.  Finally, when the individual demands their identification, they claim they are under no obligation to supply that because “we’re law enforcement.”

The arrogance and haughtiness would be staggering if it weren’t for the fact that it is ubiquitous.  I almost know what to expect these days when I view these videos.

The contact information for the department is: policedept@pwcgov.org.

The contact information for the chief of police is: bbarnard@pwcgov.org.