Archive for the 'Gun Control' Category

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The number of shootings, gun murders and suicides using firearms is rising across the country.

Mass shootings are commonplace in the U.S. and although they get most of the attention, they don’t happen nearly as often as a shooting on the street or in a home. Philadelphia and other large cities are setting records for gun deaths but here in Central Pennsylvania, not a week goes by that we don’t hear of a shooting nearby.

No one has been able to identify any one reason why gun violence is increasing – other than the availability of guns.

The “one reason” for “gun violence” is the gun. Apparently, they’ve never heard of sin but ascribe voodoo-like powers to inanimate objects. The New Religion truly is an irrational scattershot of bazaar beliefs and dogmas disconnected from reality.

So when you deny sin and the reality of the state of man’s soul before God, naturally, you find a fake religionist who ascribes to the same worldview of blaming objects for the actions of men.

A new group — the Saving Lives: Ending Gun Violence Committee — is led by the religious community, in particular Pennsylvania’s Episcopal Diocese,  is calling for tougher gun laws.

On The Spark Tuesday, The Rev. Jennifer Mattson, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Lancaster and Chair of the committee outlined the laws the group is advocating for,”Limiting purchases to one handgun a month to make it harder for illegal handgun trafficking to occur, an extreme risk protection order, which would be a temporary judicial removal of (guns)... Prohibition on the sales of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition style magazines, which, by the way, are the weapons most typically used for mass shootings, and then a prohibition on the sale and the possession of ghost guns. So these are the parts of guns that are kits that can be available that people can then put together their own gun that wouldn’t have identifying markers or information, which can make it more difficult actually, for law enforcement to solve crimes.”

The article goes on to explain that a piece of parchment grants rights to us, again, devoid of the knowledge and understanding of God’s existence, let alone a rational and healthy fear of the Almighty as Creator and Lawgiver. Read the rest of the drivel if you want to.

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According to the White House some of the changes that the executive order will make include expanding background checks by expanding the statutory definition of a firearms dealer. It will also require Attorney General Merrick Garland to prevent former federally licensed dealers, who have had their licenses revoked or surrendered, from engaging in the business of firearms.

The attorney general will also be required to release the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records from inspections of dealers that were in violation of firearms laws.

The order will require the secretary of transportation to work with the Department of Justice to “reduce the loss or theft of firearms during shipment” by engaging with carriers and shippers.

The White House said that the gun industry will be held “accountable” by providing “more information regarding federally licensed firearms dealers who are violating the law.”

The order will require law enforcement agencies to issue “rigorous requirements regarding NIBIN data submission and use of this tool.” The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) allows law enforcement to match fired casings to the guns from which they were fired. This makes it easier for law enforcement officials to connect multiple crimes and catch shooters.

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Biden is also directing his cabinet to encourage “the effective use” of the new orders by partnering with law enforcement, health care providers, educators, and other community leaders.

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The order will also close the “boyfriend loophole” which had allowed spousal domestic abusers to have their gun rights taken away but not unmarried ones.

There are several perfidious things here.  I’ve highlighted the first item.  What this means, as best as I can tell, is that a single violation means that the FFL has to turn over records of sales, which undoubtedly will go into the development of a registry.

He’s going to make transportation of firearms and ammunition even more difficult and costly than it is now.

Finally, be careful who you buddy up with.  Your firearms collection will depend upon it.

A comment was posted on this article here at TCJ by BAP45: “Great stuff but I’m surprised you linked inrange.”

I didn’t author the article, my co-writer did.  However, I suspect he simply copied the entirety of the linked article (the part he lifted out) for perspective and context.  It’s fine.

Apparently, the video was done by someone named “Karl.”  I have never watched InRange TV, don’t know who Karl is, and had no idea why anyone would bring this up.

So I did a little digging.  Apparently, there’s a lot of water over the dam on this guy, as well as online fights between him and folks at ARFCOM.

This thread is gruesome.  Karl is apparently a socialist, perhaps a member of ANTIFA, defends exposing children to “drag queens,” and according to the thread there is a video of him admitting to being a priest in a satanic “church.”

Gross.

I had no idea and am not familiar with these people at all.  I don’t have the time necessary to fisk everything some guys do during the day (I have a day job), and I certainly don’t have time to fisk everything we link.

But everything that guy stands for is diametrically opposed to what I stand for, and vice versa.  I am a Christian, and Jesus is the Lord of Lords.  I defend liberty and firearms ownership not because I want to see little children exposed to drag queens, but because I don’t want that.  I want a godly society and liberty from tyranny.  I am a Christian libertarian.  Karl sounds like a jerk and an awful man.  I put him in the same category as gun controllers, regardless of what he claims.  Being made in God’s image is the only reason we have right to liberty and self defense.

Having said that, I don’t think his video was particularly useful or informative.  I think the NGSW is the wrong weapon for the future, and I’ve already said what I think the best option would have been: a barrel and magazine swap and change over to the 6mm ARC.

I won’t be proven wrong about this.

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Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases.

The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups. There had been hope that categorizing credit and debit card purchases would allow authorities to potentially see red flags — like significant ammunition purchases — before a mass shooting could happen.

After Visa and Mastercard announced their plans to implement a separate merchant category code for gun shop purchases, the payment networks got significant pushback from the gun lobby as well as conservative politicians. A group of 24 GOP state attorneys general wrote a letter to the payment networks threatening legal action against Visa and Mastercard if they moved forward with their plan.

There are also bills pending in several state legislatures that would ban the tracking of purchases at gun shops, which would have made it even more difficult for Visa and Mastercard to implement the categorization.

Washington Examiner (via MSN) is also reporting on this story, along with Bloomberg.

Oh, I suppose this isn’t a win for us and loss for the controllers.  I suspect it’s a strategic retreat.  They are retreating for some period of time.  The controllers never sleep and won’t let up their efforts.

Given the Fascist nature of the coupling of large corporations with the FedGov, I suspect we’ll see attempted action at the federal level to push this forward.  They’re just handing the football off to a different runner.

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A Missouri law banning local police from enforcing federal gun laws is unconstitutional and void, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes ruled the 2021 law is preempted by the federal government under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause.

“At best, this statute causes confusion among state law enforcement officials who are deputized for federal task force operations, and at worst, is unconstitutional on its face,” Wimes wrote.

Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a statement said he will appeal the ruling.

“As Attorney General, I will protect the Constitution, which includes defending Missourians’ fundamental right to bear arms,” Bailey said. “We are prepared to defend this statute to the highest court, and we anticipate a better result at the Eighth Circuit.”

The Missouri law had subjected law enforcement agencies with officers who knowingly enforced federal gun laws without equivalent state laws to a fine of $50,000 per violating officer.

Federal laws without similar Missouri laws include statutes covering weapons registration and tracking, and possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders.

Well then.  I expect we’ll see all city, county and state LEOs enforcing immigration laws and arresting illegals now, right?

Oh, wait.

Consider the irony.  States like NY, NJ, California and Illinois get to infringe upon rights outlined in the 2A despite what the Bruen decision said, but when states don’t have these corresponding laws to the FedGov, they have to enforce them anyway.

It’s almost like the scales are always tilted toward infringement, yes?

Gun Owners of America has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against the ATF concerning the pistol brace rule.  The motion can be found in its entirety here.  The motion concludes as follows.

The fact that the Final Rule technically presents a (forced) choice does not absolve it of its unconstitutional sins. As the Fifth Circuit observed in BST Holdings v. OSHA, “the loss of constitutional freedoms ‘for even minimal periods of time … unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.’” 17 F.4th 604, 618 (5th Cir. 2021) (burden on liberty interests posed by vaccination mandate was irreparable harm) (quoting Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976)). The vaccination mandate in BST Holdings “threaten[ed] to substantially burden the liberty interests of reluctant individual recipients put to a choice between their job(s) and their jab(s).” Id. Here, the Final Rule imposes a similar choice, forcing individuals to choose between destroying their property or prosecution.

When the government is a party, the balance-of-equities and public-interest factors merge. See Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435 (2009); Texas v. United States, 809 F.3d 134, 187 (5th Cir. 2016) (same). A court therefore must weigh whether “the threatened injury outweighs any harm that may result from the injunction to the non-movant” and whether “the injunction will not undermine the public interest.” Valley v. Rapides Parish Sch. Bd., 118 F.3d 1047, 1051, 1056 (5th Cir. 1997). There is no harm to ATF from pausing enforcement of the Final Rule and maintaining the status quo. The Final Rule claims to “enhance[] public safety,” 88 Fed. Reg. at 6481, yet ATF is able to point to only two handgun braces (out of millions) that have been criminally misused, see 88 Fed. Reg. at 6495. Even then, there is no evidence that those crimes could not have been committed using a different firearm. Weighing against this are the very real and ongoing irreparable harms to Plaintiffs discussed above. Indeed, the public is served when the law is followed, and “there is generally no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action.” Wages & White Lion Invs., LLC, v. U.S. Food & Drug Admin., 16 F.4th 528, 560 (5th Cir. 2021) (citation omitted). The balance of equities and public interest weigh heavily in favor of an injunction.

GOA and GOF have members and supporters nationwide. Exhibit 13 at ¶ 6. The geographic scope of interests presented, as well as the complications inherent to a piecemeal implementation or injunction of the Final Rule, which impacts criminal prosecutions and fundamental rights, support this Court granting nationwide relief.

For the foregoing reasons, this Court should preliminarily enjoin Defendants from enforcing the Final Rule.

Our friend Stephen Stamboulieh is one of the attorneys in this case.

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Lawmakers are poised to let Floridians carry guns, without the need for a concealed weapons permit. In a strange crossfire, though, the pro-gun bill is drawing heat from both sides of the battle over access to firearms.

So-called ‘constitutional’ carry advocates are angry because they want people allowed to openly display weapons, a step not allowed in the legislation. Supporters of more gun limits call it crazy to give more untrained Floridians the opportunity to wield guns.

But the delicately crafted ‘permitless’ compromise has the support of the Florida Sheriffs Association and other law enforcement groups, who balk at open carry. A question hovering: Will DeSantis sign a bill that doesn’t satisfy Second Amendment ideologues?

I’ve written on how this so-called “constitutional carry” bill is a farce, a phantom put forward by workers of magic and flim-flam artists.  I’ve also written DeSantis to tell him that no one will be happy with this outcome.

The progs will hate him for it, of course.  But this doesn’t appease those who want their liberty recognized by law.

No one wins.  It means nothing.  It’s worthless.

Will DeSantis sign it?

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Biden made the comments at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday night.

“I know it may make some of you uncomfortable, but that little state above me, Delaware is one of them, has the highest rate, one of the highest rates of gun ownership. But guess what? We’re going to ban assault weapons again come hell or high water and high capacity magazines. When we did it last time to reduce mass deaths,” Biden said.

These are signs of a demented old man who doesn’t know what’s going on around him.  First, those sentences make no sense.  The second bolded sentence is a sentence fragment and thus incomplete.  Also, it bears no relationship to the preceding sentence.  The man is losing it.

Second, the horse left the barn long ago.  He’s down the road and into the bush now.  There’s no getting him back in.  Semiautomatic pistols and handguns are ubiquitous.  They’re everywhere, carried on a daily basis even if your local Karen can’t see them.  You see, we’ve made it like that.  We’ve made it to where gentlemen don’t openly display their weapons.  Like criminals or those who are ashamed, everybody hides them now.  Karen’s can’t see them, and because of that, they don’t know that so many exist.

But they do.  Multiple tens of millions of them.  And they won’t be confiscated or turned in.

Further, the Bruen decision has now made it impossible for there to be a national ban on semiautomatic weapons.  A new AWB is a pipe dream.

Deal with it.

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Only three states fully prohibit the open carry of firearms by citizens, and I bet you’d be surprised to hear Florida is among them. Yes, we frustratingly find ourselves in the company of New York and Illinois on this issue. And Republican leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, appear poised to keep it that way under the misnamed “constitutional carry” bill that is expected to pass this session.

Gun owners saw right through the façade when House Speaker Paul Renner threw a press conference at the end of January to celebrate introduction of the “constitutional carry” bill.

On the one hand, it does go a long way in restoring the rights of our residents and visitors alike to carry arms in public for self-defense without a permit. On the other hand, the bill falls short of every constitutional carry law in the country by quietly omitting the right to carry openly.  So our leaders are trying to appease one side and fool the other.

I drove eight hours to testify at a hearing earlier this month on the current bill, and walked away ecstatic when witness after witness demanded the addition of open carry. In contrast, when pressed about open carry afterward, sponsor state Rep. Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenny) apathetically stated the bill “is what it is as filed.” Meanwhile, Brannan’s sentiments were shared by Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).

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The same old arguments about bad people getting guns and “Wild West shootouts” materializing in the streets will be raised, but we have a mountain of evidence from other states to refute these claims. And to clarify, this legislation has nothing to do with acquiring firearms – rather it only authorizes those who already own firearms legally to carry them in public without government permission.

Now is the chance for Gov. DeSantis to once again step in and snag victory from the clutch of defeat by the members of his own party in the Legislature. While he’s catching some flak over other Second Amendment missteps, DeSantis can prove the doubters wrong with this issue by demanding open carry before anything gets his signature.

We don’t want watered down legislation. We want the great leap that other states have taken, which will put Florida at the forefront of liberty on another critical issue and far away from New York, Illinois and Washington, D.C. I’m urging Florida’s leadership to get it done – the right way!

Luis Valdes is the Florida state director for Gun Owners of America, a nonprofit, grassroots lobbying organization. He is a former police officer and detective.

The so-called “constitutional carry” Florida is pushing is not constitutional carry.  There is nothing in the constitution about the government telling men how they must carry their weapons.  What they’re doing is a sham, a fakery, and an insult.

It’s a trick perpetrated by carnival barkers and flim-flam artists.

The Florida legislature has failed that they even have to be told to do this, and even greater that they’re refusing to do it.  This is all a gigantic failure, and while I like what I see in DeSantis, if he claims on the campaign trail that he recently passed constitutional carry, I’ll point out the lie each and every time I see it.

He should make it clear to the legislature that unless this bill includes open carry, he won’t sign it.  That the current bill doesn’t include it is totally irrelevant.  They can work through the night to pass the right language.  So in addition to being flim-flam artists, the legislators are liars for pretending in front of constituents that there is nothing they can do about it.

They can always rectify errors.

Maybe they were already a member.  I don’t often follow Minnesota politics, but this one is a doozey.  If you value your firearms and live in Minnesota, you will have to move if this bill passes.