Monday, November 30, 2020

CO Congresswoman-Elect Lauren Boebert Tells AmmoLand ‘I’ll Defend 2A’

Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert (CO-3rd District) talks to Ammoland about gun rights, self-reliance and carrying a sidearm as the owner of a restaurant in Rifle, Colo. (Photo courtesy Lauren Boebert)

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- Chat with Colorado Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert, the gun-toting restaurant owner who famously told gun-grabber Beto O’Rourke “Hell, no, you won’t take our guns,” and you might imagine Capitol Hill Democrats frantically yelling, “Incoming!”

Speaking via telephone to AmmoLand, the feisty 33-year-old mother of four who describes her Western Slope neighbors and constituents as “a bunch of rugged individuals full of grit and determination,” made it clear she will not back down from a Second Amendment battle. The potential for a congressional confrontation on gun control is more likely now than it has been in recent memory, with perennial anti-gunner Joe Biden evidently heading to the White House and his gun-grabbing running mate Kamala Harris prepping to be president of the Senate.

“I expect to be on the front lines of any gun control fight,” Boebert said. “Our constitutional right to keep and bear arms exists even in places that reject that fundamental principle. And in Washington, D.C.  I will always be a loud voice and strong advocate for all of our constitutional rights.”

She recalled driving three hours to an O’Rourke campaign event held in Aurora, with her Glock pistol on her belt, to “look him in the eye” and tell the former Texas congressman he was not taking anyone’s guns. It was a pivotal moment that may have ignited the political fire in her belly.

“I am not ashamed of standing for the Second Amendment,” she stated.

Boebert might be the female embodiment of the fictional Horatio Alger; a woman who decided to overcome the conditions of her youth ultimately becoming a symbol of the independence she represents.

“I am living the American dream,” Boebert said unabashedly, describing herself as a self-taught conservative. “I was raised in a Democrat household under failed Democrat policies. I started working at 15 years old and bringing mom home that first paycheck showed me that I can do a better job of taking care of myself than the government ever could.”

She left high school in her senior year, working at a local McDonalds where she was offered “a fantastic management position” where she would be making a very good wage. Boebert obtained a GED, and professed to enjoy learning, and says she excelled “in all of my classes.” But for her, there was “more value in the job.”

Ultimately, she founded the Shooters Grill in Rifle, a community on the Centennial State’s western slope along Interstate 70, several miles west of Glenwood Springs, which is famous as the final resting place of Dr. John Henry “Doc” Holliday, the famed gambler and pal of Wyatt Earp.

She openly carried a Glock pistol on the job because she often worked late and alone. She recalled how a man was fatally beaten outside the restaurant, which helped her reach the decision to be armed. Her staff began carrying, and the restaurant became nationally, and even internationally, famous.

While the gun rights issue may have brought her into the public spotlight, Boebert spent a year traveling across Colorado’s huge Third Congressional District, talking about the economy and jobs, energy and jobs, agriculture and jobs; the ability of those western Coloradoans to earn good livings and take care of themselves and their families rather than essentially becoming wards of the government.

She defeated the incumbent at the primary, and fended off a challenge from Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush in the general election, all the while making no secret she was also running as a counter to far-left Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her three colleagues known as “The Squad.” Boebert’s message evidently resonated from Craig to Cortez, and now she’s heading for Washington, D.C.

She made news recently for inquiring about carrying her pistol in the District, where she plans to be walking back and forth to work in a city with a homicide rate far higher than any community in her district.

With the Democrat House majority shrinking by several seats, they may not be able to press their full gun control agenda, but that may also depend upon the outcome of Georgia’s special election for the state’s two U.S. Senate seats, which occurs Jan. 5. Democrats and Republicans are both pouring fortunes into those races. If the GOP retains Senate control, that body will be the barrier to a presumptive Biden administration’s agenda. If Democrats capture both seats, all bets are off.

Looking at the foggy horizon, Congresswoman-elect Boebert is standing firm in her commitment to put her constituents first, and always work for their interests. But she will have limits, especially where their Constitutional rights are concerned.

“I’m always willing to work across the aisle,” Boebert said, “if it doesn’t grow government or cost the American people more money, and if the Democrats can’t agree on the Constitution of the United States of America, then I guess that’s where we draw the line. So, me having my constitutional right to keep and bear arms, if that prevents them from working with me for the good of the people, then maybe they need to reconsider being there at all.”



About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Dave Workman

The post CO Congresswoman-Elect Lauren Boebert Tells AmmoLand ‘I’ll Defend 2A’ appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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Olbermann Unwittingly Demonstrates Importance of Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Not that he’d have the guts to try that with a hat worn by a MAGA supporter. What do you think he’d like to do with those scissors to the Constitution? (Keith Olbermann/Facebook)

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Prosecute them all!” Former ESPN and MSNBC talking head Keith Olbermann demanded in a Tuesday YouTube video. “We want the prison so filled with Trumps and Trump flunkies and Trump apologists and Trump enablers, that we have to convert Trump buildings into new [redacted] Trump prisons.”

“When the policy differences are between maintaining American democracy and substituting racist one-party rule, you're [redacted] right that we want to criminalize policy differences that might exist between the outgoing administration and the administration that is about to take over,” Olbermann continued. “We … also want as many members as possible of this corrupt immoral anti-democratic outgoing administration indicted, arrested, tried, and imprisoned.”

And not just them. Including  “flunkies…apologists and … enablers” casts a net to include anyone who has supported President Trump and, more importantly, the promised agenda that got him elected. It also includes anyone in the media Olbermann wants the state to silence, case in point, when he demanded the arrest of Fox News host Tucker Carlson over something he never said (a Democrat operative had) about “Trump supporters own[ing] 60 to 70% of the guns.” Rather than being a man and apologizing about it, Olbermann hid by deleting his tweet.

Criminalize policy differences. Ignore Constitutional “speech and debate” protections. Ignore the First Amendment. Ignore due process. Seize property. Take citizens hostage at gunpoint and imprison them.

How very North Korean of him.

The thing is, as fascistic as Olbermann is proving himself to be, he’s hardly alone, and such demands have been echoed by other “progressives” of prominence.

His former MSNBC colleague Rachel Maddow wants to go after “officials” – for now. And we’re not limited to media loons. New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. has called for the prosecution of Donald Trump “and his enablers” for “treason.”

Guess what the ultimate penalty is for that.

To all of you gun-owning “Trump enablers” who are reading this, here’s a question you’ll need to consider: Do you intend to “go gentle into that good night”?

Because understand that the subversives intent on total domination demand a monopoly of violence. That’s why self-important hive insects like Olbermann are also demanding that the National Rifle Association be “branded for what it is — a terrorist organization.”

What must that make those of us who view the NRA as far too compromising? And what does the government do to “terrorists”?

A rational person who believes in freedom might say “Nuts to that,” and not just defy tyranny, but actively resist it. Isn’t that why the Founders considered the Second Amendment “necessary to the security of a free State?”

No worries. The same would-be totalitarians who want your guns have this to say about that:

“Number one: there needs to be a clear public response, that people who exercise this ‘right’ are not patriots, but traitors.”

And what happens to those?

Here are two more questions for you “Trump enablers” who refuse to go quietly:

When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris order you to pay for, register, and/or surrender your “weapons of war,” will you obey them?

Assuming enough don’t and then prevail, what are your thoughts on “unity and healing” with “flunkies…apologists and … enablers” like Keith Olbermann?


About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

David Codrea

The post Olbermann Unwittingly Demonstrates Importance of Right to Keep and Bear Arms appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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Everytown’s Anti-Freedom Effort Grinding Away in Times of COVID in NJ

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy @GovMurphy #GunViolenceAwarenessDay
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy @GovMurphy #GunViolenceAwarenessDay

New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- Governor Phil Murphy and his chummy buddies; the gun-grabbing, anti-freedom, anti-civil rights groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, et.al. have not skipped a beat in continuing to flex their influence and try to usurp the liberties of peaceful law-abiding citizens.

These attacks and displays persist, even during a time of a worldwide health pandemic.

Explored in “Never-Mind COVID Gov Phil Murphy, Don’t Forget Gun-Grabber Gabby’s Birthday!?”,  I brought to light the fact that the Giffords Center was still intent on cramming their rhetoric through, and was so confident as to request Governor Phil Murphy drop what he was doing to send a birthday greeting, smack dab in the middle of this COVID-19 mess.  Murphy was also focused on trying to inflict financial burdens upon the law-abiding, background check passing, citizens in New Jersey with proposals to increase the fees in order to exercise a constitutional right.  Some of the fee hikes would be 25 times more than the current amounts as if there are zero economic impacts from the pandemic.

COVID-19 may have slowed down the world, but it has not stalled those who want to strip us from our freedoms!

Taking a look through documents obtained by AmmoLand News, OPRA W163770, we can glimpse a bit more at the stronghold and complete symbiotic relationship New Jersey Governor Murphy has with those wishing to inflict harm to our natural ability to protect ourselves.  June 5th is allegedly observed as “Gun Violence Awareness Day.”  In preparation for this very “important” day, Paul Crupi (paul@cignj.com), The Vice President of Public Affairs at the Capital Impact Group (the lobbyist firm used by Moms Demand Action/Everytown), sent an email to Matthew Platkin, Chief Counsel to Governor Phil Murphy with the following request:

“I’m Reaching out on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety.  Everytown is organizing a social media campaign for gun violence awareness day on June 5.  Their idea is to mail orange ribbon lapel pins to elected officials, and ask the officials to post a message reflecting the importance of the day.  The social media post would be scripted and everything would be coordinated through Everytown.  Would Governor Murphy be willing to participate in this campaign?  Everytown needs mailing addresses, emails, and confirmation by May 5, if possible.  Please let me know!”

Fast forward to ”Murphy’s June 5th, 2020 Coronavirus Briefing Media”, the second paragraph in we have this nugget:

“I'm wearing orange, many of us are wearing orange today just to remind folks that today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. So to the victims of gun violence and to their families and survivors, we are with you in solidarity.”

Also on June 5th, Phil Murphy’s “Announcement of Intention to Nominate Fabiana Pierre-Louis As Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court”, he holds no punches diving in right after his salutation, with the first sentence:

“Before I begin, I wish to quickly acknowledge that today is Gun Violence Awareness Day, and, in solidarity with all victims of gun violence, and the surviving families of those we have lost, we are all wearing our orange. And, to them, we commit that New Jersey will continue to be a leader in the national fight to end senseless gun violence.”

Okay, but what about that social media campaign that Crupi, the mouthpiece of Everytown was talking about?  Turning to twitter take a look-see at Murphy’s tweet from June 5, 2020:

“On #GunViolenceAwarenessDay, we #WearOrange in solidarity with victims & survivors of gun violence. We’ve fought like hell to enact commonsense gun safety laws in NJ and we won’t stop until our kids, our communities & the country we love are free from the scourge of gun violence.”

Anyone notice Murphy tugging at his lapel, proudly displaying his orange ribbon?  Perfectly paired with his orange tie and pocket square?  We can all assume he had a big smug smirk on his face, but cannot see it due to his face covering, which was surprisingly not orange.  This is another glaring example of “If you ask, you shall receive – if you’re politically connected if you’re also anti-freedom if you’re a gun-grabber if you lobbied for him to get in office….”  and on it goes.

Interesting to note, apparently there are about 35 different potentials “meanings” of an orange advocacy ribbon.  However, there are only a couple for brown ribbons.  Now is a good time to start a new initiative.  During this COVID-19 pandemic, a horrible time, everyone should reach out to Murphy & our legislators, and request the wearing of brown ribbons to represent…well, use your imagination.  It has to do with Murphy’s performance as the Governor of New Jersey.

Requests for Murphy to join the #wearbrown campaign can be directed to the Office of the Governor: 1-609-292-6000 or if you prefer this online form www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/all/.  It’s the perfect time to tie up our executive and legislative resources by making such requests while the peasants in the state suffer.  #priorities


About John Petrolino

John Petrolino is a US Merchant Marine Officer, writer, author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on General Gun Safety & Use and NRA certified pistol, rifle, and shotgun instructor living under and working to change New Jersey's draconian and unconstitutional gun laws. You can find him on the web at www.johnpetrolino.com on Twitter at @johnpetrolino and on Instagram @jpetrolinoiii.

John Petrolino

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What Pro-Second Amendment Moves Are Possible With A Pro-Second Amendment Senate?

Take Action Time to Act
Take Action Time to Act

Georgia/United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Lately, we have noted what the stakes for the Georgia runoff elections include, both on the legislative front and in terms of secondary issues. Much of this has focused on various adverse actions or consequences of anti-Second Amendment extremism that they would be preventing. But there is also good stuff that a Senate controlled by Second Amendment supporters could do, even if Biden is president.

Oversight

One of the duties of Congress is to carry out oversight of the various executive agencies. This is in conjunction with the power of the purse which the Constitution has invested in the legislative branch. Oversight, when properly wielded does more than just shine the light on malfeasance or the failure to act – it can actually be one of those things that can shift the political landscape.

For instance, an oversight hearing for our favorite agency to hate, BATF, could spend a lot of time on the non-prosecution of crimes covered under 18 USC 922. Properly done, such a hearing, focusing, say on the violent crime in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore could reap huge benefits.

Lori Lightfoot has often liked to blame other states for Chicago’s violent crime, often because they are far more respectful of our Second Amendment rights. She and other big city mayors even try playing the race card when they are called out. But the fact is, running the guns to Chicago from out of state for use in criminal acts is itself a federal felony, and can net serious jail time. Oversight hearings could be very useful in highlighting the cynical division Lightfoot and others are using.

Legislative Proposals

Another option is to propose pro-Second Amendment legislation and to use the hearings to make the case to the American people. We have covered a number of pro-Second Amendment legislation in the past, including a privacy enhancement for gun owners from Senator Kelly Loeffler, legislation that would mark an effective resolution of the situation with AR pistols by Senator-elect Roger Marshall, and legislation that would restrict corporate gun control.

The fact is, by being able to hold hearings on legislation, elected officials can help make the case for these bills, but also again, highlight abuses as well. It’s one thing for a gun control law to be passed by elected officials. We know gun control laws usually don’t solve the problem, they punish innocent people for crimes and acts of madness they didn’t commit, and those that might be effective are never enforced. But you can vote elected officials out. On the other hand, what recourse is there when big corporations like Bank of America deny services based on the support of the Second Amendment, or for companies who seek to help Americans exercise their rights?

Funding

The fact is, controlling the power of the purse also means that the Senate can, in some ways, affect policy. Want to encourage local governments to work with BATF to enforce certain gun laws? Some conditions on grants would be a way to do that. Want to keep financial regulations from being misused to target gun makers? A little rider in some of those massive appropriations bills can accomplish that.

Is it the best way to accomplish the goals? No, at best the funding controls are stopgaps. But stopgaps still buy time, time to elect pro-Second Amendment officials and to improve the situation down the road.

The fact is, a pro-Second Amendment Senate can still take positive steps to protect our rights, even if Joe Biden ends up in the Oval Office. To ensure that pro-Second Amendment Senators can to protect our rights in that unfortunate situation, Second Amendment supporters need to back Loeffler and Perdue, then also support the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund and their Institute for Legislative Action, in order to be ready for 2022 and 2024.


About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

Harold Hutchison

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Sunday, November 29, 2020

Here Is Who Runs Things If Perdue & Loeffler Lose the Race for U.S. Senate

Opinion

Georgia US Senate Race iStock-Ivan Burchak 1272194764.jpg
Georgia US Senate Race iStock-Ivan Burchak

United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Things should not have come to runoff elections in Georgia. But they have. The stakes are extremely high for Second Amendment supporters. Just how high? Look at who will be running things or who could be running things if anti-Second Amendment extremists Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win the runoffs.

Here's what we know for sure:

Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader

If Chuck Schumer is Senate Majority Leader, at a bare minimum we will be facing a potential nuke. That’s the elimination of the filibuster – a protection that in 2013 saved tens of millions of innocent, law-abiding Americans who would have seen their Second Amendment rights infringed over a horrific act they did not commit (the Sandy Hook shooting).

What is worse is that the nuke would unleash campaign finance “reform” that would, in essence, rig future campaigns and election against Second Amendment supporters. The first line of defense for the Second Amendment has always been the exercising of our First Amendment rights. Schumer will go after our First Amendment rights, then he will move to pack the courts so that the resulting stooges appointed will ratify the denial of our ability to even make the argument, then our Second Amendment rights become easy pickings.

Now, for the awful possibilities:

Attorney General

Should he take office on January 20, 2021 we know that whoever Joe Biden appoints will be hostile to our rights. The name doesn’t really matter. We’ll see no defense of unjust infringements on our rights. We’ll see a refusal to prosecute various crimes, often while the same big-city mayors blame states that respect the Second Amendment. Then, there is the chance this Attorney General may be tasked with various prosecutions, whether of Trump officials or if they will join with the tyrannical Cuomo-James regime in New York.

Secretary of the Treasury

BATF is not part of the Treasury Department any longer, but this position could still matter. Why? Because Treasury still has the Internal Revenue Service, and you can bet that one thing we will see is an army of Lois Lerner wannabes being unleashed against Second Amendment supporters.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman

Who would have thought that Dianne Feinstein would have been the least bad option for Second Amendment supporters?

Well, she is going to be stepping down as the top Dem. So, it’s good news in once sense. The problem is, who replaces her? Will it be Sheldon Whitehouse, who has not only spouted conspiracy theories about the Federalist Society, but who also sought to use RICO against opponents of his environmental policies? Or would it be Richard Durbin, the number two Democrat, who was one of five Senators who threatened the Supreme Court over the New York City gun case? How about Mazie Hirono, who thinks one’s political views are determinative of guilt?

Literally, it would be a case of picking your poison. These would be avowed enemies, and they would be willing to act on that animus, targeting you for your rights.

That does not have to be the case. To build a firewall to protect our rights, Second Amendment supporters need to back Loeffler and Perdue, then also support the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund and their Institute for Legislative Action, in order to be ready for 2022 and 2024.

 


About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

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Firearms Policy Coalition Sues PA Over Handgun Carry Laws

Conceal Carry SIG 226 iStock-460151141
The FPC sued over Philly's ban on concealed carry IMG iStock-460151141

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- Yesterday, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and three individuals filed a new federal Second and Fourteenth Amendment lawsuit against Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen, the County of Allegheny, and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Colonel Robert Evanchick challenging their laws and policies that infringe on law-abiding individuals’ right to bear arms in public. The case, Cowey, et al. v. Sheriff William Mullen, et al., can be found at FPCLegal.org.

Yesterday, Sheriff Mullen, the County of Allegheny, and their Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) closed the Firearms Division. The FPC Legal team took immediate action to prepare and file the lawsuit, which challenges the county defendants’ policies and practices, including the Firearms Division closure, as well as the Commonwealth’s ban on carrying firearms, all of which work to prevent the plaintiffs and FPC’s members, and others like them, from exercising their fundamental right to bear arms in public.

The plaintiffs' counsel, Adam Kraut, FPC’s Director of Legal Strategy, Raymond DiGuiseppe of The DiGuiseppe Law Firm, and Joshua Prince of Civil Rights Defense Firm, are serving the defendants with the new lawsuit today.

“The Commonwealth’s criminal laws, and the shutdown of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Firearms Division, among other laws, policies, and practices we challenge in this case, make it impossible for our clients to lawfully carry firearms in public, in violation of their fundamental right to bear arms,” said FPC’s Adam Kraut. “Allegheny County residents who do not have a license to carry firearms are now being completely denied their rights on pain of severe criminal penalties. We look forward to vindicating the rights of our clients and all who wish to carry firearms in public for self-defense.”

“As the Supreme Court just days ago made clear, governments may not ignore the Constitution and prevent people from exercising their rights even during a pandemic,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “The defendants’ unconstitutional laws and policies have made it impossible for law-abiding people to exercise their right to bear arms. That is a policy choice that the Constitution takes off the table. Through this case, other FPC lawsuits, and many more cases that will be filed very soon, FPC will continue fighting forward and work to restore the People’s right to keep and bear arms across the United States.”

Firearms Policy Coalition and its FPC Law are leading the Second Amendment litigation space, having recently filed several major federal Second Amendment lawsuits including challenges to the State of Pennsylvania’s ban on carrying and Philadelphia’s Gun Permit Unit policies and practices (Fetsurka v. Outlaw), Pennsylvania’s ban on carrying by adults under 21 years of age (Lara v. Evanchick), California’s Handgun Ban and “Roster” laws (Renna v. Becerra), Maryland’s carry ban (Call v. Jones), New Jersey’s carry ban (Bennett v. Davis), New York City’s carry ban (Greco v. New York City), the federal ban on the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition by federal firearm licensees (FFLs) to adults under 21 years of age (Reese v. BATFE), and others, with many more cases being prepared today. To follow these and other legal cases FPC is actively working on, visit the Legal Action section of FPC’s website or follow FPC on InstagramTwitterFacebookYouTube.


About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend constitutional rights—especially the right to keep and bear arms—advance individual liberty, and restore freedom through litigation and legal action, legislative and regulatory action, education, outreach, grassroots activism, other programs. FPC Law is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Second Amendment and adjacent fundamental rights including freedom of speech and due process, conducting litigation, research, scholarly publications, and amicus briefing, among other efforts.

Firearms Policy Coalition

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Friday, November 27, 2020

How Much Ammunition is Produced for the United States Market?

Image courtesy Dean Weingarten

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- For the second time in a decade, demand for ammunition has outstripped supply in the United States. The first ammunition bubble was from 2012 to 2017. The next started in 2020.

Ammunition manufacturers have increased their capacity. In the face of increased demand, it has not been enough. Ammunition plants are running 24/7 to make profits while demand is high. Shortages still exist in the United States. Common calibers have disappeared from store shelves. Prices have risen. Panic buying and purchasing for private stockpiles have increased.

Those who purchased a stockpile in the interval between ammunition bubbles from 2017 to 2020 are considered wise and foresighted. At one point in October of 2018, .22 rimfire ammunition was available at 2.5 cents per round.

How much ammunition is being produced and purchased in the United States market?

During the .22 rimfire bubble, the productive capacity was increased from about 4 billion rimfire rounds to 5 billion rimfire rounds per year. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has estimated total ammunition produced for the United States market in 2017 at 8.1 billion rounds. In 2018, the total ammunition production for the United States was estimated at 8.7 billion rounds. The numbers for 2019 should be published in December of 2020.

A reasonable extrapolation puts the amount of ammunition produced for the United States market at somewhat over 9 billion rounds, of which 5 billion are rimfire and 4 billion are centerfire rifle, pistol, and shotgun rounds in 2020.

To put those numbers in perspective, the capacity of the U.S. military to produce small arms ammunition is 1.6 billion rounds per year. 99% of small arms ammunition for the military is produced at the Lake City ammunition plant in Independence, Missouri. From alu.army.mil:

Over 99 percent of all small-arms bullets (5.56-millimeter [mm], 7.62-mm and .50-caliber) consumed by the Army under its Title 10 responsibility to supply and equip its forces are manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.

Lake City is the last of the World War II ammunition plants still in operation. All the rest have been shut down and decommissioned. In World War II, the U.S. produced 21.6 billion rounds of small arms ammunition per year. Most of the ammunition plants were shut down immediately after the war. During the Korean war, 4 plants were brought back into service. Now only the Lake City plant is operational. From jmc.army.mil:

After VJ day, all small caliber production plants except Lake City and Twin Cities were closed.Years later, the Korean Conflict would only require operation of six small caliber ammunition plants to meet wartime requirements. Five plants were utilized in the Vietnam War and amazingly today‟s production is able to meet requirements of 1.5 billion rounds per year by operating one facility, Lake City with Alliant Tech systems (ATK) as the current operating contractor. Modernization of production lines and new technologies has provided the abilities to meet this mission with a reduced infrastructure. Additional rounds are procured from General Dynamics and provided by NATO forces to meet total requirements. 48

Ammunition manufacturing capacity, for the United States market, is about 9 billion rounds per year. About 5 billion are rimfire, about 4 billion are centerfire.

Small arms ammunition capacity for the U.S. military is about 1.6 billion rounds per year. It is all centerfire ammunition.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

Dean Weingarten

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Thursday, November 26, 2020

‘Safety’ Tips from Gun Prohibitionists Have Hidden Agenda

NSSM-2020-OpenHouse
The NSSF promotes programs like First Shots which helps introduce new young shooters to the basic safety protocols of firearms. IMG NSSF.org

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Gun sales are way up, in Pennsylvania and across the country. And many are first-time owners,” The Philadelphia Inquirer notes in a “Philly Tips” column. “Here’s what you need to know about gun safety.”

Gun owners can be forgiven if that assertion causes their antennae to go up. The mainstream press, what I call the DSM (Duranty/Streicher Media), has not exactly been supportive of the right to keep and bear arms. Plus, we have seen too often how the term “commonsense gun safety laws” is contorted by gun-grabbers (with little actual knowledge of firearms and shooting) to mean more infringements that won’t do a thing to stop evil people from doing evil things and stupid/lazy people from doing stupid/lazy things.

So, the initial questions ought to be: Who are the experts? What are their qualifications? Do they have an observable agenda?

Scott Charles is the first “authority” we meet, presented as “a gun violence educator and trauma outreach coordinator for Temple University Hospital.”

He says he’s a gun owner, but if he has any specialized training/credentialing that give him notable credibility as a gun safety expert, whoever wrote up his Temple Safety Net profile failed to list them. Instead, we find he has been “an at-risk youth specialist for the State Department of Education [and] assisted in the development of a statewide rite of passage program for young African American males.” He went on to get some degrees that have nothing to do with firearms and has been featured on network television, PBS, and a “documentary” about urban criminals using guns. He’s received some community awards, one of them being from CeaseFire PA, a group that used to admit it was about “gun control.”

So what are Charles' “gun safety” qualifications? If you didn’t give him time to look it up on the internet, would he know who Jeff Cooper was and be able to explain his rules? Would he be able to tell you what to do about safety issues shooters may encounter at the range like misfires or hangfires? Could he even tell you what those are? Maybe he could. Maybe we just need to see a relevant CV. Maybe.

“As a gun owner and someone who sees the consequences of gun injury, this is something we should take seriously,”  Charles pontificates. “We have a lot of novice, first-time gun owners taking that gun home where there are children, and the data we have says that firearm is most likely to be used to harm somebody in the home.”

So we see him adopting the gun-grabber talking point that guns in the home are more dangerous than not having them in the home. But he nonetheless says he has them in his home. Agenda much? Then you go to his Twitter page and his political predispositions make it all clear.

Our next “expert” source is Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown and a recitation of its propaganda about children and unsecured guns. Apparently, the Inquirer’s press release writer … sorry, reporter … couldn’t find an organization that actually trains gun owners (and trainers and police) in use and safety, so figured who better to approach than billionaire-funded citizen disarmament zealots?

To be fair, he also consulted ATF. That is fair, isn’t it?

The bottom line, the gun-grabbers demand government edicts to lock up your safety, taking the decision away from you. And to lock your ammunition up separately. That way, should you ever need to access your gun to defend against an intruder, no doubt he will be impressed with how thorough you are about mandatory “safety.” The problem, of course, is that it adds a couple of time-consuming steps that would make Joe Biden’s recommendations to either fire your shotgun blindly off the balcony or through your front door problematic.

Of course, there are situations where it makes perfect sense to lock guns up to prevent unauthorized access. No responsible gun owner argues otherwise. The point is each situation can be different and there is no one-size-fits-all approach, no matter what these “experts” tell us. And presuming that there is, and then mandating storage, has resulted in things like pitchfork murders, as opposed to responsible young people being able to protect themselves and others.

The fact remains, things like cable locks, when used by irresponsible idiots, can actually create a false sense of security which in turn results in risky practices like leaving guns lying around. It brings to mind the people who believe childproof medicine caps mean kids can’t take them off.

Two cautionary tales from years past come to mind.

The first was from Gambino crime family underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, who said:

“Safety locks? You will pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins.”

The second was from another self-styled “gun safety” authority:

“Dennis Henigan of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence drops the ball in front of a roomful of reporters, while trying to prove the efficacy of Saf-T-Lok, a purportedly easy-to-use combination lock in the gun's grip. Henigan fumbles and fails to unlock the gun in a well-lit room with no intruder at the door… Finally disengaging the safety, he apologizes, ‘Most people aren't as klutzy as I am.'” -From “Lawyers, Guns and Money” by Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, Feb. 1, 1999

You have to wonder how he’d do with it in the dark, startled from sleep, fumbling frantically while his heart pounds, his hands shake, and an unknown someone draws closer…


About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

David Codrea

The post ‘Safety’ Tips from Gun Prohibitionists Have Hidden Agenda appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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Kyle Rittenhouse out on $2 Million Bail in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Kyle Rittenhouse: Are People under the age of 18 Forbidden from Open Carry in WI?
Kyle Rittenhouse: Are People under the age of 18 Forbidden from Open Carry in WI?

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- Kyle Rittenhouse, the young defender of lives and property during the Kenosha riots, who shot three mob members who attacked him as he ran from them, was released on bail from Kenosha County Jail, on Friday, 20 November 2020.

The Kenosha County Court Commissioner, Loren Keating, set bail at $2 million, after Rittenhouse's attorney, Mark Richards, asked for bail to be set at $750,000.

In Wisconsin, no bail bond system is allowed. Therefore the entire $2 million bail was raised through donations to the #Fightback site. Kyle attempted to turn himself in shortly after the shootings but was told by police to “go home” in the chaos of the riot. From fox23.com:  

Rittenhouse appeared in court by video conference for his initial appearance Monday. He was extradited to Wisconsin last week after being held for weeks at a juvenile detention center in Lake County, Illinois.

The 17-year-old turned himself in to police in Antioch, Illinois, one day after the shooting. Records show he tired to surrender to a Kenosha police officer earlier, hours after the shooting, however, he was told to go home.

Kyle Supporters across the country have been outraged by what is considered a political prosecution, in spite of ample video evidence of self-defense. Included is a charge of “Possession of a Dangerous Weapon by a Person Under 18”. The charge does not even apply to Kyle, because it does not apply to people over 16, except in special circumstances, which were not germane to Kyle.

The persecution of Rittenhouse has become a popular cause on the Left, with unfounded charges of “White Supremacy”.  They claim Kyle provoked the attack by being armed. An example of the irrational argument comes from bloomberg.com:

The trouble begins when you start applying the legal rules to someone in Rittenhouse’s situation, namely, someone who has carried an AR-15-style weapon to what is intended to be a peaceful protest. In a commonsense universe, this act itself would appear to be a provocation.

Yet under Wisconsin law, adults are entitled to carry around their licensed firearms in public places. An open-carry law means that prosecutors would have a tough time convincing a jury that simply carrying an assault rifle counts as a provocation.

People on the Left claim a black person who did the same as Kyle would not be alive, or would not be given bail. But the facts show otherwise. Kyle's attackers have not been charged. The one clear attacker who seems to have escaped unharmed is black and has not been identified, although there is enormous video evidence with clues that could be used to identify him.

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was quickly freed and the charges against him dropped. Kenneth Walker is black.

Justice should be blind, not based on skin color.

If someone chases a person and tries to violently take their rifle, the rifle carrier is not obligated to wrestle for the firearm.  The rifle possessor can shoot the attacker to prevent them from taking the rifle and using it against them. From powersfirearmstraining.com:

Firearms and Unarmed Aggressors

As noted above, if the client used a deadly weapon, especially a firearm, to defend himself against an unarmed attack, the attorney will have a difficult time convincing the jury that the client acted in self-defense.

If the client is armed with a firearm, and the aggressor is aware of the firearm and tries to close in on the client, the client is justified in firing before the parties begin wrestling over the firearm. Many police officers are killed with their own firearms.27 Officers are trained in specific retention techniques to avoid having their service firearms taken away and used against them; a client will rarely have the benefit of this training. Police react to an effort to grab an officer’s handgun as an attempt to kill the officer with that handgun; the client should be able to do so too.

Police use-of-force doctrine also allows officers to shoot unarmed aggressors running towards them. As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit noted: “A reasonable officer would not be expected to take the risk of being assaulted by a fleeing man who was so close that he could grapple with him and seize the gun. Our recitation of these events is a discussion in slow motion of an incident that took place in a matter of seconds.[The officer] had no time for the calm, thoughtful deliberation typical of an academic setting.”28 Similar logic should apply to citizens as well.

There are many examples in the law. Someone who violently tries to illegally disarm you is considered a deadly threat by the justice system.

Those who have rallied to Kyle's defense believe they are working against a corrupted political system.

Can anyone reasonably believe if Kyle were black, any charges would be brought against him?

Yes. Charges would be brought. It is not Kyle's skin color that is deemed most important. Rather, he dared to assert his rights to be armed and to defend self and property against a Leftist mob. Justice Clarence Thomas is not considered to be “authentically black” by the Left.

Those who stand for Kyle and the rule of law have been vilified by the left.  Actor Ricky Schroder has already been threatened.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

Dean Weingarten

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Illegal 3D Printed Guns in Europe by Popular Front (Video)

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- The 26-minute video is an interview by Jake Hanrahan of the Popular Front, and a demonstration of the FGC-9. The video is on the way to becoming one of his more popular productions. As of November 23, 2020, it had over 70,000 views, basically on the first day.

The video starts with commentators obsessing over “ghost guns” in the United States. This may be clever editing to keep Youtube censors off the track.  The concern over untraceable guns in the United States is ludicrous. There are hundreds of millions of untraceable guns in the United States already.

The premise of the video is an interview with JStark1809, the primary designer of the 3D printed FGC-9 semi-automatic 9mm pistol/carbine.

The interview was conducted at some point in Europe: JStark1809 agreed to an interview with Jake Hanrana of Popular Front.  From Popular Front:

Popular Front is conflict journalism done differently. We report on the parts of war big media rarely acknowledges, and talk to people they'll never find. We don't have corporate bugmen trying to dictate what we do either. This is all independent, funded by members through subscriptions and sponsorship. 

Popular Front is detailed, niche, and for everyone. You don't need a PhD or an invite to a journo dinner party to be in on this. We do serious work, but we don't take ourselves too seriously. We want no frills, and no elitism.

The video shows a workshop which may be in an apartment, but could be in nearly any occupied space.  Reloading equipment is shown set up on a work table. Perhaps it was set up specifically for the interview. For security purposes, that would be prudent.

Much of the interview is explaining how JStark1809 worked to create a self-sustaining, distributed network to create and distribute information on how to print and assemble practical, self-made firearms. The Internet was the primary means to gather and use the information.

Some time is spent on how difficult it would be to stop this distributed, anonymous information-sharing network.

The central point is anyone with a few hundred dollars, starting with very little skill and one and a half to two weeks of work can make the FGC-9 in a bedroom.

Hanrahan says the technology is incredibly dangerous.  The United States stands as a counter-example.

JStark1809 says he is willing to give up a little security for a lot more freedom.

JStark1809 says he stands for Freedom of Speech and the right to keep and bear arms.

The scene then moves to a place deep in a forest. A suppressed FGC-9 is fired repeatedly to show the effectiveness of the semi-auto design.

Hanrahan tries to make the point that power should not be had by the wrong people. Who decides who the wrong people are? Keeping guns away from most people, to attempt to keep them from some, has not worked.

Access to guns has not increased crime in the United States, or in Switzerland. Removing easy access to guns has not reduced murder rates in Europe, India, Brazil, or elsewhere. One of the commenters at the site states the argument succinctly. From the comments:

The argument isn't, and has never been, about whether people should have guns or not, that pandora's box was opened long ago. It's about WHICH people should have guns and in that case, the only just answer is everyone.

In the United States, suppressors are tightly controlled. In much of the rest of the world, they are not. A suppressor is shown and used on the FGC-9.

Some comments about the suppressor on the FGC-9:

Asking where he got the suppressor but not where he got the gun components? Just follow the thought process to its logical conclusion.

 
Most suppressors are perfectly legal in Europe. You can buy them with no paperwork even in the police state called the UK.
 
(snip)
 
same here in NZ, even after the new asinine gun laws. The assumption is that you already legally own the gun you’re attaching it to, so there’s no reason to restrict them.

Suppressors can be made on 3D printers. Most of the ones I have seen have been for .22 rimfire. 9mm suppressors could be 3D printed, but might require a hybrid technology similar to the FGC-9 design to last for very long.

Firearms are 500-year-old technology. People have been making their own firearms as long as firearms have existed.

The FGC-9 is an example of the futility of attempting to keep firearms away from someone who is determined to have them.

The video is worth watching to see the FGC-9 in action, and to see a European's distrust of ordinary people having access to common firearms.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

Dean Weingarten

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Georgia Senate Runoffs Will Decide The Fate Of These Bills

New Right-to-Carry Case Filed; Second Amendment Advocates Seek Injunction Against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Public Safety Commissioner Gary Vowell, Cherokee County, and Probate Judge Keith Wood
Georgia Senate Runoffs Will Decide The Fate Of These Bills

Georgia/United States Senate – -(AmmoLand.com)- What sort of stakes are we facing with the Georgia Senate runoffs? Perhaps the best way to get a handle on them is to look at some of the legislation that could get a path forward based on the results of those elections. So, we will look at some legislation that could get a potential boost – or which could languish unpassed – should Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue lose their bids.

So what could get a boost if they lose? Here’s six really bad bills that could get new life – should Chuck Schumer be in the majority.

Help Empower Americans to Respond Act

When we covered this legislation over the summer, we noted that it did to suppressors what Eric Swalwell wanted to do to modern multi-purpose semiautomatic rifles. Should Joe Biden hold on to win the White House after the litigation has passed, this is the sort of bill Second Amendment supporters could see him push, and if the filibuster is nuked, they would have to trust the likes of Joe Manchin and Jon Tester to keep it from passing.

Firearm Safety Act of 2019

Biden has vowed to come after firearms manufacturers. This bill, which was also covered over the summer, would be one way for him to do it. It would allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate firearms. In essence, it hands over the power to ban guns to unaccountable bureaucrats.

The 3D Printed Gun Safety Act

This bill, which we covered earlier this year, is a two-fer in terms of violating the Bill of Rights. Not only does it go after our Second Amendment rights, it targets the First Amendment as well. You can bet that this bill will be pushed by a Biden Administration, especially if they control the Senate.

The Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act

When we covered this early this year, we noted that anti-Second Amendment extremists want a gun registry, and are not above methods that create it through the back door. This would be one effort, easily painted as a “clerical” amendment to disguise its intent of destroying privacy for gun owners.

The NICS Review Act

Another method that could enable a Biden Administration to create a registry of gun sales would be to adjust some of the legal provisions regarding the National Instant Check System. This bill, which we analyzed earlier this year, mandates the retention of records for at least 90 days. Sneaky move… but one we will be waiting for.

Stop Home Manufacture of Ghost Guns Act of 2020

This legislation, one of the last covered here before the election went into high gear, could also be a priority for a Biden Administration that has an anti-Second Amendment House and Senate to ram bills through. In this case, it would target those who make their own firearms, even though there are already laws in place to target the misuse of firearms or for when prohibited persons have them.

These six bills are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many other anti-Second Amendment proposals that have been introduced in the House and Senate in just this Congress. Not to mention what Biden could do with the stroke of a pen. To build a firewall to protect our rights, Second Amendment supporters need to back Loeffler and Perdue, then also support the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund and their Institute for Legislative Action, in order to be ready for 2022 and 2024.


About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.

Harold Hutchison

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