Another perspective on Richmond from a collectivist.

The guy in Richmond with the “fifty-cal” assault rifle, along with many other dress-up warriors in battle fatigues, was at the Virginia State Capitol building to challenge Governor Ralph Northam and the new Democratically-controlled General Assembly’s proposal to enact a universal background check system and a ban on assault weapons and bump stocks.

[ … ]

Reports of the protest said that, unlike in previous years at the VCDL’s Lobby Day, many of the usual counter-protestors sat this one out. The heavily armed activists succeeded in scaring off their very threatening challengers: mothers who are terrified of gun violence in schools, and the survivors of shootings. “Ooh rah,” as the Marines say. What a tough bunch—intimidating a bunch of unarmed parents and children certainly requires a full complement of assault rifles of both the handheld and siderail-affixed variety.

Perhaps the saddest part of the gun-rights demonstration was how unnecessary it really was. The most extreme advocates among them would have us believe that any restrictions on gun sales or ownership will bring us one step closer to the government seizing every gun. But the fifty-cal is a far cry from a revolver in the drawer of your bedside table. It’s difficult to imagine how it would prove useful in quickly thwarting a home invasion unless one keeps it mounted and loaded on the kitchen counter. Imagine an America where you pull up to a stop light and the mini-van next to you isn’t sporting the latest Swedish luggage rack but two semi-automatic machine guns with laser scopes and night vision.

[ … ]

My fear is that this is exactly the kind of America the guy with the fifty-cal wants. That’s why he is the perfect posterchild for the very reasonable gun-safety laws making their way through Virginia’s legislature. There is not one Democrat in the Virginia General Assembly, not one member of Moms Demand Action, maybe not even one victim of gun violence who could make the case better. He is one of the most potent reminders that average citizen should not have military assault rifles.

Still, a tiny minority, backed by the powerful lobbying force of the National Rifle Association, has effectively prevented a nationwide restriction on civilian ownership of weapons of war. That needs to change. Otherwise, all of us will continue living in danger of seeing a fifty-cal up close and in action even if we’re nowhere near a battleship.

A thorough fisking of this commentary just wouldn’t be possible without a lot of time.  But a few things can be pointed out.

As with most commentators, she knows nothing about guns.  She says, “semi-automatic machine guns,” of which there is no such thing.  There is also no such thing as a .50 caliber assault rifle.  Assault rifles, by their very definition, use intermediate cartridges, not large bore cartridges.

But getting to the issue of world and life view, her true value judgments soon become clear.  “He is one of the most potent reminders that average citizen (sic) should not have military assault rifles.”  And she mentions the revolver in the drawer.

But what if the head of the household believes that a revolver in the drawer isn’t the best firearm for defending his home?  What if he has a multi-person home invasion to deal with?  According to Ms. Weeldreyer, you’re limited by whatever she thinks.

And what she thinks is that you, as the average citizen, have no right to any kind of weapon you want.  You’re limited by the state, because, according to her, the state has a monopoly on violence.  But you see Ms. Weeldreyer, states with monopolies on violence behaved like Uganda (under Idi Amin), Turkey (in the Armenian genocide), Cambodia (under Pol Pot), the Soviet Union (under the Bolskeviks), and Germany (under Adolf Hitler).  The history of gun control is as a pretext to awful things, and if Ms. Weeldreyer wants peace on earth, as much as their can be with the wickedness of mankind, she should do some study of the mass shootings that took place in the twentieth century and see just who did it.

But she doesn’t care about any of that.  The mere sight of guns anywhere is to her a threat, and thus, with her axiom being that only the government can be threats to people, you shouldn’t be allowed access.  Finally, her husband is a former military man.  So he took an oath to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

He could start by teaching his wife and being a real leader in the home.

House Bill 4168.

(4) Whenever the federal government assumes powers that the people did not grant it in the United States Constitution, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force;

(5) The several states of the United States of America respect the proper role of the federal government, but reject the proposition that such respect requires unlimited submission. If the government, created by a compact among the states, was the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers granted to it by the states through the United States Constitution, the federal government’s discretion, and not the United States Constitution, would necessarily become the measure of those powers. To the contrary, as in all other cases of compacts among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself as to whether infractions of the compact have occurred, as well as to determine the mode and measure of redress. Although the several states have granted supremacy to laws and treaties made under the powers granted in the United States Constitution, such supremacy does not extend to various federal statutes, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, regulations, or other actions which restrict or prohibit the manufacture, ownership, and use of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition exclusively within the borders of West Virginia. All such statutes, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, regulations, and other actions exceed the powers granted to the federal government except to the extent they are necessary and proper for governing and regulating land and naval forces of the United States or for organizing, arming, and disciplining of militia forces actively employed in the service of the armed forces of the United States;

(6) The people of the several states have given Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states”, but “regulating commerce” does not include the power to limit citizens’ right to keep and bear arms in defense of their families, neighbors, persons, or property, or to dictate as to what sort of arms and accessories law-abiding West Virginians may buy, sell, exchange, or otherwise possess within the borders of this state;

Of course, this is good and I applaud the representatives who sponsored this bill.  I encourage all West Virginia representatives and senators to vote in favor of this bill and make it become law.

However, just because the state is taking this stand doesn’t mean involvement in local and county politics can stand down.

The state law can be changed later, or it might not be honored.  Honoring this law would mean use of state agents and militia to interdict and stop agents of the federal government from enforcing unconstitutional gun control laws.  In fact, there are a number already on the books that are unconstitutional (namely, all of them).

So the question for the House and Senate is just this: How seriously are you going to take this, or do you see it as some sort of toothless resolution or statement of support to “send a message?”

If you see this as “sending a message,” then choose another way to do it until voters can cast you out of office and put patriots back it.

For the voters of West Virginia, you have some fisking to do, on both the state and county level.

From reader BRVTVS, Paul Harrell does an analysis of negligent discharges.  His analysis is comprehensive and incisive.

Following up our previous video, this one is a must see.  “All six of my six shots can be accounted for.”  That’s quite a statement.  I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to say that.

From Wiki page.

Lots of reference URLs at the link.

Now.  The trick here isn’t just to get the resolutions passed.  The picture above is just a map, nothing more, nothing less.  That’s only the first step.  Those counties and states have the framework of the law within which to work.  The next steps are harder and will require work.

You must get the county commissioners on your side.  You must get the Sheriff and his Deputies on your side.  And you must get the county commissioners on your side.

You must make sure they see their resolutions this way.

Mack is founder and president of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and gained prominence in the 1990s. He was a plaintiff in a successful lawsuit resisting requirements that law enforcement perform background checks on gun buyers as originally intended by the Clinton-era Brady Bill. He says he’s in touch with some of the sheriffs supporting Second Amendment sanctuaries today.

“A lot of those sanctuary cities and counties across the country don’t go far enough,” said Mack. “What do you do if they still come in and try to take law abiding citizens’ guns? [The sheriffs] need to actually intervene and interpose and not let it happen.”

That, combined with determined, trained, physically fit and well-armed and well-equipped militia determined and committed to the fight, should do the trick.

When agents of the state cross county lines to arrest people for state firearms violations, they are promptly arrested by militia, turned over to the county Sheriff, and thrown in jail for several months along with the drunks, abusers, thieves and murderers.  Weapons will be confiscated and split between militia and Sheriff’s department, vehicles and other equipment will be confiscated, and a permanent record of felonious criminal activity will be put on file for the state agents.

If there is a battle to be waged, let it be won.

News from Virginia.

AmmunitionToGo.com, an online ammunition retailer based in Houston, Texas, recently recorded a massive upsurge in their web traffic and sales in the state of Virginia. The company reports the number of Virginians accessing their website in 2020 has increased by 137 percent as compared to the same time period in the previous year. Their revenue from sales to Virginia accordingly increased by 174 percent. Virginia, once one of AmmunitionToGo.com’s top 20 markets, has skyrocketed to the top five among far more populous states including California and Texas. “I doubt that any other businesses are affected as much by politics as firearm and ammunition manufacturers and retailers,” said Brandon Black of AmmunitionToGo.com. “We’re now seeing a massive number of Virginia shooters stocking up on ammunition in anticipation of new laws that they believe will make it harder to purchase rounds legally.”

Americans are no strangers to stocking up on goods that will soon become prohibited. On January 16th, 1920, liquor store shelves were stripped dry before prohibition took effect the following day. Countless smokers filled their humidors with Cuban cigars in the days leading up to the 1962 trade embargo. John F. Kennedy himself bought 1,200. Bump stock manufacturers’ websites frequently crashed during the weeks preceding the 2019 ban — even

though the rifle accessories would not be grandfathered in legally. It would seem nothing quite drives up sales more than impending scarcity.

AmmoToGo.com’s current records, if accurate, tell a story of Virginians who are fervently stockpiling ammunition. The retailer’s sales have increased across the state. Below, you’ll see an assortment of Virginia cities and their increase in sales from 2019 to 2020 for January 1st through January 20th:

– Arlington – 339%

– Ashburn – Up 42%

– Charlottesville – 278%

– Fredericksburg – 161%

– Newport News – 102%

– Norfolk – 113%

– Richmond – 80%

– Roanoke – 155%

– Suffolk 76%

– Virginia Beach – 207%

You  mean to tell me that ammo sales in Arlington (around the beltway) and Ashburn (home of the CIA cloud) are up that much?

And Charlottesville, and Roanoke, where the last I heard was that they rejected 2A resolutions, has ammo sales up that much?

Say, you don’t suppose that these good men from those locations need to get involved locally and ensure that their Sheriffs and Deputies and County Commissioners and County attorneys are on board, do you?

So when’s the last time you worked as an emissary and evangelist for the cause?  It’s easy.  And fun.  And you have to be patient.  And you can’t call people ugly names and curse at them.  And you have to teach them.  And you have to go slowly.  And you have to invest a little time.  You’ll lose some converts, and you’ll win some converts.  Do it for the win column.

Reader AZ Guy.

I specifically attended SHOT to speak with FLIR about some of their products. To say they were jerks to me would be an understatement and I actually walked away mid-sentence from one of their smug talking-heads. Fortunately, right across the aisle was US Night Vision corp and David there was happy to spend over 10 minutes educating me. He confirmed what someone wrote above, that FLIR is more interested in 50-pack sales to dot gov and dot mil customers. David also said that Trijicon has better firmware glue between the sensor and the display compared to FLIR and suggested the Reap-IR model. A soon as everyone gets back home next week, I will give them my business. usnightvision.com

I think we’ve seen this song and dance before.

Philadelphia Enquirer.

Because this year, on MLK Day, a gun-rights rally took place in Virginia. The kind featuring thousands of mostly white people, many of them carrying guns, some allegedly from right-wing hate groups, and all united in their fervent desire to carry weapons that kill.

I support the right to keep and bear arms. But the spectacle of a reported 22,000 people — many of them white and armed — converging on the Virginia Capitol was reminiscent of a gigantic lynch mob, and it was chilling that such a gathering took place on the only national holiday honoring a black man.

Next up, UNC Radio.

According to Devin Burghart, an expert on white nationalism and far-right paramilitary organizations, the language of some who support the sanctuary resolutions in Virginia bears unmistakeable links to anti-government movements from decades past.

Specifically, Burghart points to the visible influence of the idea of “posse comitatus,” Latin for “power of the county.”

Burghart says the “posse comitatus” theory claims that the political will of the people is at its most potent at the county level, and as such, the most important holders of public office are county sheriffs.

“An elected Sheriff answers only to the citizenry,” wrote Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Virginia, in a recent Facebook post on the Sheriff’s Office page. “I will always respect the rule of law but I don’t need to wait for a court to interpret my duty for me.”

Sheriff Jenkins has been an outspoken supporter of the Virginia sanctuaries, vowing to deputize county residents to resist state laws regulating guns, should they pass.

“This notion of county supremacy and the ideas of the ‘posse comitatus’ that go all the way back to the 1970s, and the idea of the sheriff being the most important law enforcement officer in the land is one that has deep and deeply troubling roots in this country,” said Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. “The ideas originated in the racist right.”

Finally, NYT.

RICHMOND, Va. — Around 22,000 people came here on Monday to protest potential new restrictions on guns under consideration by the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly. Most of the protesters were outside the grounds of the State Capitol, and most appeared to be carrying weapons: handguns, shotguns, carbines and semiautomatic rifles. There were armed men in camouflage and military-style equipment threatening insurrection if the state’s elected representatives acted contrary to their wishes.

Walking through the crowds, I saw Gadsden flags emblazoned with “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Come and Take It” banners alongside “Blue Lives Matter” patches sewn into vests and T-shirts with oft-used quotations like Thomas Jefferson’s famous claim that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

The rhetoric may have been violent, but the overall event was calm — a “peaceful protest,” Brian Moran, the Virginia secretary of public safety, told The Washington Post. A model of democratic assembly.

But that “peace” can’t be separated from intimidation; progressive groups urged members not to go to the Capitol to avoid violent confrontation with extremists. There were no counterprotests or rival demonstrations. The Second Amendment had effectively limited the First.

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These dynamics carried over into the creation of the United States. At its founding, the United States was a white republic whose Constitution reflected settler preoccupation with racial control. As it grew and expanded, so would Americans’ racialized understanding of rights, responsibilities, personhood and citizenship.

“Radicalized understanding.”  “Racist.”  “White supremacy.”  “Deeply troubling.”  “Lynch mob.”

So let me break all of this down for you in four words.  Let me explain what all of this is about.  This is damage control.

They wanted violence.  They wanted negligent discharges.  They wanted fights.  They wanted arrests.  They got none of that.

Now, as if Bloomberg sent out the message that this was an awful event that the enemy won, his apparatchiks are doing damage control.  That’s how you know Richmond was a success.

The best thing of the three commentaries was this quote.

Mack is founder and president of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and gained prominence in the 1990s. He was a plaintiff in a successful lawsuit resisting requirements that law enforcement perform background checks on gun buyers as originally intended by the Clinton-era Brady Bill. He says he’s in touch with some of the sheriffs supporting Second Amendment sanctuaries today.

“A lot of those sanctuary cities and counties across the country don’t go far enough,” said Mack. “What do you do if they still come in and try to take law abiding citizens’ guns? [The sheriffs] need to actually intervene and interpose and not let it happen.”

Yes.  This.  And this is what I’ve been saying all along, haven’t I?

You need to fisk your local Sheriff and his deputies.  If they aren’t on board, they need to be replaced.  You need to fisk your county commissioners.  If they aren’t on board, they need to be replaced.

Then after lining up your assets, you can work your county attorney to ensure that he’s fully on board, or that he’s replaced soon enough by being fired by the very commissioners you put on the board.  The attorney is the linchpin of this whole process, because the commissioners aren’t going to do something he suggests against.  The Sheriff might (if it’s Sheriff Mack), but it would be better to fisk everyone and get all necessary parties on board.  That’s your leverage.  Understand it.  Use it.

Listen.  The second amendment sanctuary movement is a God-send.  This provides structure.  This provides the ability to turn national politics into local politics.  Bloomberg wanted to go local.  Very well.  He’s won some of the battles.  But by going local and getting everyone on board with the 2A resolutions, that affects not only local, but national politics and policy as well.

Do you understand?  This is your chance to become involved in local politics and have a national effect.

That’s why the communists are scared of the movement.  They should be.  It’s grass roots.  It’s organic.  It’s local.  Most of all, it’s righteous.