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More JAMA Flim-Flam: Flawed Study Takes Aim at “Stand Your Ground”
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An incisive rebuttal to the study published in National Review points out that even taken at face value, the findings have virtually no significance for public policy. Indeed, the JAMA authors admit near the end of their paper that “[o]ur study examined the effect of the Florida law on homicide and homicide by firearm, not on crime and public safety.”
This caveat is necessary because “the study” completely ignores the essential question of whether the firearm-related deaths it focuses on arose from unlawful aggression or lawful self-defense. |
IL: Gun paranoia in the age of Trump
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But in an era in which facts don't matter, the president should have saved his breath. In 2008, LaPierre dismissed Obama's promises: "Never in NRA's history have we faced a presidential candidate ... with such a deep-rooted hatred of firearm freedoms." The NRA insisted Obama planned to ban all handguns, ban "use of firearms for home defense," increase federal taxes on guns and ammunition by 500 percent, and require a federal license to buy a gun. |
TX: Dallas Morning News: Let’s talk about gun regulation
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The editorial board at the Dallas Morning News has published a piece that says America’s inability to even talk about gun regulations is “literally killing us.”
“The election of Donald Trump has given this country an unexpected opportunity — some breathing room to talk about gun violence without anyone fearing that Congress might delete the Second Amendment or the White House could send troops to the door to confiscate our rifles,” reads the editorial. |
Justice Alito on Gun Rights Decisions: ‘What Would Scalia Do?’
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According to The Washington Post, Alito summed up the such matters as “constitutional fault lines,” saying, “Sometimes the earth starts to tremor and people get worried about what’s coming.”
He pointed to District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) as one of the times when the tremors could be felt. Americans watched and waited and the court ruled that “the Second Amendment actually means what it says,” according to Alito. It reaffirmed that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right possessed by Americans from birth.
Alito cited Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s dissent in Heller, which he said “provides a road map for denaturing Heller without actually overruling it.” |
Guinness Refuses to Validate NRA World Record
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From all accounts the plan went off without a hitch, and the 1,000 present achieved the world record. The event was well-documented with visual evidence, leaving no question as to whether the attendees’ goal was reached.
Unfortunately, when NRA contacted Guinness World Records to register the triumph, Guinness refused to recognize the record. The reason for Guinness’ refusal is not clear, as a search of the organization’s records database shows that they recognize a host of firearms-related records.
Whether or not Guinness’ decision not to recognize the record was politically motivated, NRA, Henry Repeating Arms, and the attendees of the 1,000 Man Shoot deserve to have their achievement validated. |
A Chance for Trump to Show ‘Firearms Freedom’ Support
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The defendants were relying on the Kansas Second Amendment Protection Act, a duly enacted law citing Second, Ninth and Tenth Amendment protections against federal infringements, declaring:
“Two Kansans face up to a decade in prison for making and selling silencers without registering them with the federal government or paying the special taxes,” Wichita CBS affiliate KWCH12 reported Tuesday. “They say it’s allowed under state law. But a federal jury says it’s illegal.” |
Trump should protect Second Amendment
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Donald Trump’s pledges to protect the Second Amendment brought millions of beleaguered American firearms owners to the polls this month.
One thing Trump can do to assure them that he deserves their trust would be to instruct his attorney general early in 2017 to name a special assistant whose job would be to protect Second Amendment rights.
Over the years, the Department of Justice has taken action against various other civil and constitutional rights abuses. It is time for the DOJ to prosecute violations of the Second Amendment and federal laws including the Firearms Owners Protection Act. |
Five Guns For Terrified Liberals In A Trumpian World
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This has led to the interesting situation of many progressives who had cheered on Hillary and her radical anti-gun campaign now determining that they’re not so anti-gun anymore. Instead, they’ve been motivated by fear to buy guns for self-defense.
A number of liberal gun groups are picking up on this, as are some conservatives and libertarians such as author and firearms instructor Larry Correia, who recently penned A Handy Guide For Liberals Who Are Suddenly Interested In Gun Ownership, which begins: |
Howard Stern Backs Trump’s Plan for Interstate Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Law
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Radio talk show host and entertainment icon Howard Stern used the considerable reach of his SiriusXM platform on Tuesday to voice his support for a national interstate concealed carry reciprocity law.
This law has been NRA’s number one legislative agenda item for several years. And with the election of Donald Trump as president, as well as pro-gun majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress, the prospects for such a law have never looked better.
Trump has formally endorsed the concept of interstate reciprocity in a position paper published on his campaign website and in a number of other public statements. According to his position paper: |
KS: Kansans caught in the crossfire of bad state law
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When members of the Kansas Legislature enthusiastically supported in 2013 the politically popular “Second Amendment Protection Act,” some people raised concern that the law – which said federal law had no bearing on guns and ammunition produced and sold only within Kansas – might run afoul of federal gun laws.
One of those people was U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who issued a letter to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback warning that federal officials would continue to enforce laws in Kansas and that any efforts to thwart them would be met with litigation. |
Tumultuous Week Reinforces Importance of Trump’s Election Victory
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Although no legitimate group is contesting the validity of the election results, protests – some violent – have caused property damage, snarled traffic, and involved at least one shooting (by reputed “gang associates” armed with a Tec-9). Agitators have stoked rage and panic with fake “hate” incidents. Democrats are lashing out at senior party leaders. Pro-Clinton college students have collapsed into anguish, unable to handle their academic responsibilities. High school students have walked out of school en masse. People have taken to social media to openly call for Trump’s assassination and the assault of his wife, and a college lecturer talked about shooting white people. |
Federal “Smart Gun” Standards Set a High Bar
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...the specifications would appear to preclude most existing approaches to “personalized” handguns, including grip recognition, fingerprints, and the inputting of codes. RFID would theoretically be possible, but the gun would still have to meet stringent requirements for reliability, durability, and versatility taken from actual handgun solicitations issued by the federal government.
At the end of the day, though, two required specifications seemingly would render the whole exercise moot. The first requires the system to “default to a state to allow the pistol to fire” in the event the “security device” malfunctions. The second requires the operator to be able to “quickly reset or disengage” the security device if a malfunction occurs. |
FL: Florida Man’s Gun Business Silenced by Government Bureaucracy
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So although his dream is to manufacture a newly designed suppressor for profit, and his county admits they cannot restrict him from doing so, he’s still being told no – despite the fact his friend is doing the exact same things just miles away.
“It’s a little discouraging that some people are allowed to do it but I’m being excluded from it,” Mondale said.
The issue was even brought to the state’s Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the county does have the ability to give Mondale the approval to make suppressors, just as they did the other man a few miles from Mondale. |
WI: Wisconsin State Representative Aims to Arm Staff, Parents at Private Schools
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Kremer’s legislative efforts will target private schools first, then he intends to introduce similar bills to extend campus carry into public K-12 schools and onto college campuses.
“When I was an airline captain, we didn’t publicize to post-9/11 passengers if there was a pilot carrying in the cockpit. Why would we do that in our schools? Would it not be more effective to publicize, as other states do, that you don’t know if, or who, will be ready to protect students at a moments notice in a school setting? There is a lot of good in this world, but also evil,” Kremer continued. “The public must remain vigilant and lawmakers proactive regarding the security and safety of their constituents, especially those who are most vulnerable.” |
TX: Grocery Store Clerk Shoots Suspect Allegedly Chasing Him with Machete
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According to the Herald Democrat, the clerk told police he was in the parking lot “preparing to close the store” when the suspect allegedly walked up to him and screamed at him. The clerk looked at the suspect and noticed he was pulling something out of his waistband. The clerk took off running, “fearing the suspect had a gun.” When he looked back he saw the suspect was allegedly chasing him with a machete.
The clerk was chased into an alley where he was able to draw his handgun and fire a shot at the suspect, wounding him “in his upper torso.” The suspect fled the scene, and “a few minutes later a call was received from a resident of an apartment in the 900 block of East Wells requesting an ambulance for a male who had been shot.” |
PA: Fatal Shooting; Expired Permit; no Charges
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The District Attorney cited the fact that Pennsylvania is an open carry state in explaining his decision:
“If he had possessed the gun out in the open he wouldn’t have even needed a permit to carry at all,” Weintraub said. “Most importantly he used that gun to save his own life and the life of the intended victim, the pizza shop owner.”
If the DA had been an avid proponent of a disarmed population, the victim might have had to fight an expensive court battle. A decade ago, that would have been more likely. But today, many people have been educated about the Second Amendment, their rights, and the realities of armed defense of self and others. Public perception and attitudes have changed. |
ME: More Mainers voted on referendums than on presidential race
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An analysis of unofficial tallies by The Associated Press indicates the greatest discrepancy was in the referendum to expand background checks for gun purchases. On that question, which was defeated, there were 13,307 more votes cast than in the presidential contest in Maine.
All told, 754,857 votes were cast for the gun control measure. That's about 1.8 percentage points more than the 741,550 tallies in the presidential race.
That underscores the importance of the Second Amendment in Maine and the hunting tradition. Voters in the 2nd Congressional District rejected the proposal, while 1st Congressional District voters supported it. |
FL: Gun Store Gives New Gun to Man Who Saved Florida Deputy
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Now, by law, the bystander’s gun had to be confiscated and taken in as evidence during the investigation.
Fortunately, however, a local gun store heard about this incident, and was not going to let this citizen hero walk around unarmed.
Enter Mark Williams, the store manager at Shoot Straight Gun Store. When he heard about what took place, he reached out to the sheriff’s department to set up a visit for the bystander to come pick out a shiny new gun free of charge. A class act that should not go unrecognized. |
Trump Appoints Staunch Conservative Mike Pompeo as CIA Director
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In 2011, Pompeo voted to approve the extension of the Patriot Act's roving wire taps and to cut federal funding of National Public Radio. A few years later in 2013, Pompeo co-sponsored an opposition to the U.S. becoming a signatory to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates the international trade of arms. Pompeo opposed on the grounds that the Treaty posed risks to national security and second amendment rights. In reality, the Arms Trade Treaty aims to limit prolonged conflicts and unregulated arms transfers globally. |
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