Gun Control Advocates Mystified that New Yorkers Would Turn To The Second Amendment

Opinion
By Larry Keane

iStock Jonathan Barbour

More than half of New Yorkers now believe their state is in decline and won’t get better soon. Go figure, crime is listed as the Number 2 reason for the reported despair – behind only the cripplingly high cost of living. Recent events have led to a surge in crime leaving countless New Yorkers feeling susceptible to the violent wills of criminals.

The feelings aren’t political either, as according to a new Siena College poll, there’s wide agreement among each party affiliation – Republican, Democrat, and Independent – that violent crime remains a serious issue. At least 64 percent of each respective group says so.

“In assessing the severity of problems facing New York, there is, surprisingly, considerable agreement among Democrats, Republicans, and independents,” Siena College poster Steven Greenberg said of the findings.

Unfortunately, there’s some bad news-good news, though, for residents of the Empire State who want to exercise their right to defend themselves with a firearm as things are likely getting a lot worse before they get any better.

Bad And About to Get Worse

It’s no surprise crime has remained a top concern for New Yorkers. It’s been that way for several years and top city officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, haven’t done nearly enough to get tough on criminals. The mayor blamed the media for covering rampant crime, blaming them for scaring city residents and keeping crime in the headlines.

“Residents start their day picking up the news, the morning paper, they sit down, and they see some of the most horrific events that may happen throughout the previous day,” he bemoaned. That was in July, just a few months ago when more than 70 percent of city residents said they were either very or somewhat concerned about crime. The “tough on crime” mayor has yet to offer any solutions.

Adding to the mix are George Soros-backed soft-on-crime prosecutors like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who refuses to prosecute criminals when they are arrested. On his first day in office, he announced he would not prosecute several different types of crime, giving criminals free rein on the city in the name of “racial equity” in the system. DA Bragg even admitted he himself was concerned about Gotham’s crime situation, stating, “When one of my family members gets on the train, I get a knot in my stomach.”

Now, a new report from the New York City Police Department shows the bad situation is about to get a lot worse for law-abiding New Yorkers who just want safety. According to pension data, 2,516 NYPD cops have left so far this year, not counting December totals, marking the fourth highest number in the past decade. The data reveals the departures are likely not about money for the men and women in blue. The number of cops quitting before they reach the 20 years required to receive their full pensions skyrocketed from 509 in 2020 to 1,040 so far this year — an alarming 104 percent increase, according to the New York Post.

Police remaining in the force worry the exodus will only get worse because the city plans to cancel the next five Police Academy classes, shrinking the nation’s largest police force to the smallest that New York City has fielded in decades.

Good News in a Bad Situation

It’s not just the city-level politicians who are making life worrisome for New Yorkers. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul hasn’t helped. New York is already one of the strictest states for gun control laws in the country for the restrictive and subjective “may issue” concealed carry permit laws that were in place just a few years ago. Once the U.S. Supreme Court struck down “may issue” laws in its Bruen decision, the governor didn’t hold back her disdain for the court’s decision.

She called the decision “disturbing,” “frightful” and “shocking.” In the wake of Bruen, she doubled down with even more restrictions on law-abiding New Yorkers who want to arm themselves for protection.

But in a bit of good news in the meantime, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit just struck down portions of Gov. Hochul’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act, her legislation enacted in response to Bruen. According to The Hill, the Second Circuit judges’ ruling blocks three provisions. The judges invalidated a requirement that concealed carry permit applicants must disclose their social media accounts and struck a provision banning gun possession by default on private property. The judges also prevented the state from enforcing a gun possession ban at places of worship.

“The State points to no historical law conditioning lawful carriage of a firearm on disclosing one’s pseudonyms or, more generally, on informing the government about one’s history of speech,” the judges wrote about the social media requirement. While the ruling is good news for law-abiding New Yorkers, the rest of the law remains intact for now and is unlikely to be the last word in the fight as the dispute could ultimately be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cause and Effect

With increased violence in cities across the country, lax prosecutors showing favor to criminals over victims and police departments losing thousands of cops to protect innocent civilians, it’s no wonder why so many are turning to the Second Amendment to be their own best line of self-defense.

Chris Cheng, who testified in the U.S. Senate in 2021 about the historic rise in minority gun ownership, stated it plainly when he testified before Congress.

“The past year-and-a-half or so with COVID-19 has been a pressure cooker… When you couple that with calls to defund the police and taking law enforcement officers off the street… it makes citizens like me less safe,” Cheng said. “If I can’t have law enforcement there, then it is a rational conclusion that individual citizens like myself would opt to utilize my Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm and use that firearm in lawful and legal self-defense,” he testified.

That was two years ago, and in places like Cheng’s California or in New York, crime is still a major concern. Gun control politicians who continue to push for more restrictions on law-abiding citizens just aren’t getting it. As a result, more Americans are buying firearms than ever before. If these politicians continue to fail their employers, they, too, may be shown the door.

 

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About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org

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Heading into 50th Year, Second Amendment Foundation Redefines ‘Full Court Press’

The Second Amendment Foundation will hit a milestone in 2024, it’s 50th anniversary. iStock-697763642

The Second Amendment Foundation is about to celebrate a milestone—its 50^th anniversary (founded in August 1974) —and as the organization moves into 2024, it does so with a full head of steam that has placed it at the forefront of gun rights litigation across the country.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb has become a nationally recognized leader in the Second Amendment movement. SAF’s motto is “Winning Firearms Freedom, One Lawsuit at a Time.” During the past year, SAF has moved the ball ahead, with victories in California, West Virginia, New York, Texas, Maryland and elsewhere. The group works with some of the best attorneys in the country, specializing in Second Amendment cases.

By Gottlieb’s count, SAF has at least 55 legal actions currently in progress, and more are on the horizon. Simply put, SAF is redefining the term “Full Court Press.”

For example, on Dec. 21, a federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction against the state’s “sensitive places” law in a case known as May v. Bonta. Other plaintiffs in the case are Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of California, the California Rifle & Pistol Association and eleven private citizens.

That win came just days after a federal appeals court in New York struck down an Empire State law requiring private property owners to post signs allowing concealed carry on property open to the public as part of a massive decision dealing with several separate challenges of the Empire State’s post-Bruen gun control legislation.

December started with a win in a SAF case known as Brown v. ATF, in which U.S. District Chief Judge Thomas S. Kleeh, a Donald Trump appointee, at the Northern District of West Virginia held that the prohibition on handgun sales to young adults in the 18-20-year age class is “facially unconstitutional…as applied to Plaintiffs.” His 40-page ruling probably gave anti-gunners headaches.

The list could go on and on. SAF’s gold star case so far was its June 2010 landmark Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, a ruling which left many in the media flustered because they had considered the gun rights movement to be one big monolithic block of social Neanderthals known generically as “NRA.” During the past dozen years, however, the establishment media has learned there is more than one organization fighting on the front lines to defend the right to keep and bear arms.

Indeed, SAF has been in the trenches, not just with litigation but education. Along with its sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, SAF has sponsored and hosted the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference. This event attracts grassroots activists and leading Second Amendment advocates from across the country for a weekend of panel discussions, reports on litigation and legislation, and the thing gun prohibitionists fear the most: networking by pro-rights activists.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

Certainly related to this issue was the October federal court victory in California when U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb granted a preliminary injunction against Golden State statutes prohibiting gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds and on state-owned property. In this case, SAF was joined by &L Productions (Crossroads of the West), the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Asian Pacific American Gun Owners Association, the Second Amendment Law Center and four private citizens.

In his ruling, Judge Holcomb—another Trump appointee—wrote, “Here, the Court finds sufficient evidence that SB 264 and SB 915 have a viewpoint-discriminatory purpose. Legislative history shows that the goal of the two statutes is to end gun shows in California, and, while the opinions and statements of legislators are not dispositive of viewpoint discrimination…those statements are circumstantial evidence that the statutes disfavor the lawful commercial speech of firearm vendors.”

Remarking on this case, SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, a practicing attorney based in Pennsylvania, observed, “Judge Holcomb’s opinion catalogues the unconstitutionality of California’s law in an exacting manner, finding it violates the First and Second Amendments, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The State’s attempt to ban gun shows on state property could not rightfully withstand constitutional scrutiny and we are pleased with the Court’s decision.”

Back in September, when New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an unconstitutional edict banning the right to bear arms in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County, SAF was one of the first groups to march into federal court challenging her ban. It didn’t take U.S. District Judge David H. Urias, a Joe Biden appointee, long to issue a temporary restraining order, which put another star in SAF’s win column.

In August, SAF took a bold step by announcing its “Capture the Flag” project, which focuses on abuses and misapplication of “Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO)” statutes which have been adopted by 21 states and the District of Columbia. These are the so-called “red flag” laws which raise concerns among many in the gun rights community about due process, or a lack thereof.

“Capture the Flag,” according to SAF’s Kraut, will initially focus on “Red Flag” laws in six states: California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington.

Looking ahead to their Golden Anniversary observance, there is also good reason for SAF and its 720,000-plus members and supporters to look back as well. Over the years, according to a note on SAF’s website, the group has been involved in more than 260 court cases.

From all indications, the Bellevue, Washington-based group is just getting started.

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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.

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Jews, Israelis, Sovereign Citizens, …You Can’t Trust Them With Guns

Opinion

John Farnam Signature M4 Rifle

“It’s always good to have lifeguards nearby, but it’s better to learn how to swim!” ~ Sam Rosenberg.

Joe R Biden’s Administration is, even today, still refusing to sell 27000 US-manufactured M4 rifles to Israel, for emergency defense.

There are those within the JRB Administration who express concern that some of these rifles could “end up” in the hands of (Heaven forbid!) Israeli civilians, who might actually keep them in their homes for personal/home defense (a drill many Israelis sincerely wish they had practiced prior to 7 Oct 23).

“Armed Jews” still apparently represent a truly frightening thought to leftist politicians, both here and ironically in Israel itself!

They worry that these weapons might be used to threaten innocent domestic Palestinians (even though no such assaults have occurred).

And yet, JRB nonchalantly abandoned many times that number of American military-grade M4s in Afghanistan during his panicked, helter-skelter “withdrawal” in the summer of 2021. One can only wonder where all that forsaken

American military equipment ended up.[read Hamas] I think it is safe to say that none of it ended up in the hands of Israelis!

The real issue here is that even governments that profess to be “enlightened” still don’t trust the very citizens who put them in power.

The concept of “armed citizens” (Jews and everyone else) is always morbidly scary to aspiring autocrats who contemptuously look down upon the rest of us and see nothing more than a motley assortment of fools, bigots, clowns, and buffoons, their words!

They don’t even trust members of our own (un)armed services, who have courageously volunteered to defend our nation.

Leftist politicians will never respect us as sovereign citizens. We will always scare them. They have regard for none of us despite their less-than-honest rhetoric.

This absolute reality was well known to our Founders, which is precisely why we have a Second Amendment as part of our Constitution, and it is, therefore, no mystery why leftists are trying so desperately to get rid of it!

“I never feel unsafe, except for when the majority is on my side.” ~ Criss Jami.

/John

Read Related:

• Full List of American War Weapons Lost In Afghanistan ~ VIDEO
• Afghanistan Weapons Abandoned By Biden Administration Appear In Hamas Terror Attacks

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About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc

As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor, John Farnam will urge you, based on your beliefs, to make up your mind about what you would do when faced with an imminent lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance if any. Defense Training International wants to ensure that its students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or in-actions.

It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to Planet Earth. Mr. Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com

John Farnam

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T-Mobile To Fine Text Providers For Sending Messages About Guns

T-Mobile To Fine Text Providers For Sending Messages About Guns iStock-1021725772

T-Mobile new terms of service (TOS) policy will fine companies advertising guns over its network using A2P messaging (SMS, MMS, Short Code, Toll-Free, and 10DLC).

BREAKING: @TMobile has quietly updated their TOS to include fines for content they don’t agree with.

Beginning on January 1, 2024, they will be fining users who commit perceived violations on their bandwidth.

Who knew in America that the phone providers would now be policing… pic.twitter.com/spdzxGxtjx

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 24, 2023

The policy is not just firearms specific and doesn’t affect peer-to-peer messaging (P2P). P2P messaging is between two or more retail customers. The new policy only affects third-party text message providers such as Vonage and Bandwidth.com.

Screen shot from the Vonage website

When a company sends a text message to its customers, it is usually not directly from that business. Businesses use third-party text providers that manage all A2P communications for that company. These third-party A2P providers are the targets of the new fines by T-Mobile. The end user or the gun companies will not be fined unless directly contracted with T-Mobile or a third party that uses T-Mobile directly such as Vonage or Bandwidth.com

The new TOS states that the fines will be between $500 and $2000 for each violation (sev-0), depending on the severity level.

Tier 1 violations are phishing, smishing, or social engineering attacks. These messages are illegal and intended to steal personal information, including financial information, to defraud the end user. A Tier 1 violation results in a $2000 fine per message. The TOS reads:

“Tier 1: $2,000, for phishing, smishing, and social engineering”

“Social Engineering refers to the practice of targeting individuals in a way that manipulates individuals to reveal private information like credit card numbers, or social security numbers.”

A Tier 2 violation is a message containing anything federally illegal or illegal in any state. These products could be CBD, cannabis, or solicitation. One thing that is of particular concern for gun owners is that there are different gun laws in different states. Some states have magazine restrictions, while others ban certain types of firearms. The differences in the laws could mean a text message advertising a standard 30-round magazine could lead to a $1000 fine. The TOS reads:

“Tier 2: $1,000, for illegal content (included content must be legal in all 50 states and federally).”

A Tier 3 violation deals with SHAFT content. SHAFT stands for sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco. This tier is the most concerning to gun owners and firearms companies. By advertising any of these products, the third-party text provider could face a $500 per message fine. The TOS reads:

“Tier 3: $500, for all other violations including, but not limited to, SHAFT.”

Jared Yanis of the Guns and Gadgets YouTube channel contacted the T-Mobile customer support line and spoke to several managers. None of these employees knew about any changes to the TOS but stated they wouldn’t be aware of changes until the new TOS goes into effect. The new TOS is due to go into effect on January 1, 2024.

AmmoLand News reached out to the T-Mobile media relations department to get a comment. We could not get a specific comment, but the representative verified the new policy details and verified that it will be in effect on New Year’s Day unless something changes between now and then.

A T-Mobile Community Manager also confirmed the changes on the T-Mobile official support page.

“Hello all,” HeatherM, the support manager, wrote. “These changes only apply to third-party messaging vendors that send commercial mass messaging campaigns for other businesses. The vendors will be fined if the content they are sending does not meet the standards in our code of conduct, which is in place to protect consumers from illegal or illicit content and aligns to federal and state laws.”

T-Mobile could be worried about being sued by states where items are illegal for allowing advertisers to use its platform. New Jersey has sued a gun show in Pennsylvania because New Jersey residents attend the show. California has sued Defense Distributed, and other states have sued Polymer80. The cell phone provider might be concerned about states coming after them.

Whether the decision was made for liability or moral reasons, gun owners need to take a stand. Even though there is no plan to fine non-commercial customers, it hurts our constitutionally protected rights by attacking the companies and businesses that sell to gun owners.

Bandwidth.com has now placed the original announcement behind a password-protected wall. Vonage’s announcement is still live on its site as of the time of writing.

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About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

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‘New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence’ Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

Opinion

iStock-mrgao

As we wrote earlier this year, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) – like many elected Democrats – has shown that she has few scruples against infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, as well as overlooking her own oath of office, if it means the possibility of advancing a radical gun-control agenda.

“No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute,” she memorably replied when a reporter challenged her “public health emergency”- based gun ban.

The governor’s September 8 executive order (since amended and renewed) initially imposed a 30-day ban on carrying firearms in public places under the guise of “a statewide public health emergency.” That order directed all state and political subdivisions “to comply with and enforce all directives issued pursuant to this order” and included a requirement that state agencies conduct monthly inspections of licensed gun dealers to “ensure compliance” with the law. A subsequent “public health” order issued and later renewed by Patrick Allen, Secretary of the New Mexico Health Department, included a requirement that the New Mexico Department of Public Safety “organize safe surrender events” (a.k.a. gun “buybacks”).

A wave of lawsuits challenging the governor’s actions coincided with many state and local officials voicing their opposition to the orders. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen called her order “unconstitutional,” adding it “will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law-abiding citizens for their constitutional right to self defense.” Likewise, San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari, on behalf of the New Mexico Sheriffs Association (NMSA), advised that the NMSA “does not support the governor’s temporary suspension of legal concealed carry and open carry firearms. This will directly impact law abiding citizens.” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez took the unusual step of informing Lujan Grisham that his “duty to uphold and defend constitutional rights” took precedence over his statutory obligation to defend state officials when they were sued in their official capacity. “I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.”

Another public official who expressed “deep concern” about Lujan Grisham’s September order was the president of the New Mexico Chiefs of Police Association, the City of Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe. By using public health, the “governor has taken the focus off crime,” he said, and her “knee-jerk reaction to curtail the rights of every citizen, rather than focusing on lawbreakers who plague our communities, can’t be justified.”

Chief Hebbe’s municipality was scheduled to hold a gun “buyback” this month in conjunction with the private group New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, but the “plans to partner” in the buyback were “suspended” by the city. The city manager announced that, “[b]ased on questions received from the public, [the “public” was AmmoLand News’ David Codrea] Chief Hebbe and I determined it was apparent the program had not received enough advance education and community collaboration prior to scheduling this event.”

The group, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV), runs gun buybacks across the state in which gift cards are reportedly offered for each gun turned in. It has also been active in pushing all kinds of gun control measures at the legislative level. One of its “legislative priorities” since 2013 has been ensuring the passage of Senate Bill 8, a “universal background check law” that requires almost all private sales of firearms in the state be made using a federally licensed firearm dealer, with a NICS background check of the buyer “before taking possession of the firearm.” Senate Bill 8 (now N.M.S.A. § 30-7-7.1) was signed into law by Governor Lujan Grisham in 2019.

The statute defines a “sale” as “the delivery or passing of ownership, possession or control of a firearm for a fee or other consideration,” where “consideration” means “anything of value exchanged between the parties to a sale.” A failure to comply is a crime. The very few exemptions include sales to a law enforcement agency; otherwise, each party to an unlawful sale in violation of § 30-7-7.1 “may be separately charged for the same sale.”

At the time Lujan Grisham signed the bill, she warned law enforcement officials (who opposed the bill as ineffective) to “follow the law.

They will enforce this law, they will do their job and duty,” she said. She repeated her warning a year later, when a news report looked into whether the law was as “pointless” and “unenforceable” as its opponents claimed. The report quoted a message from the governor’s office that made it clear that the police and sheriffs’ “role is law enforcement – they don’t get to decide to not do so because they don’t like it,” and concluded with a bitter dig. “Perhaps if some sheriff’s offices spent a little less time blatantly flouting critical public health policies, they would be more able to invest their time in protecting their communities from gun violence.”

Allegations have since emerged that the NMPGV has been carrying out its own “unwanted firearm” collection program in Farmington. Recent news reports (so far, here and here) have raised questions about these buybacks in light of the background check law. The “organization [NMPGV] posted late Saturday on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, [that] it had gone house by house in Farmington to dismantle ‘unwanted firearms’ after the city government pulled the plug on a gun buyback event.” That article included a photo of several firearms that had been cut in half. The article cites the co-president of NMPGV saying that gift cards were made available, but that the “majority of participants did not even want [one].” A state legislator, Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park), posted a message on X calling on law enforcement to investigate.

San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari – likely keeping in mind the governor’s remarks that law enforcement have no other option but to enforce the law – says he has nothing against the group but is now looking into the matter to ensure “they’re operating lawfully like everyone else.” “Reviewing the law I do not see where they are exempt from having to undergo a background check and are required to like anyone else… A sale is taking place (gift cards $100 and up), it is advertised as a purchase and called a ‘buy back.’”

The investigation is pending along with a possible opinion from the State Attorney General. Of course, persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

In the meantime, the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (“Defending the 2nd Amendment in New Mexico since 1935”) seized the opportunity to post its own tongue-in-cheek take on this situation on X, along with a running commentary as events continued to unfold.

Shoutout to @NMPGVnow for joining forces with the “rogue sheriffs” and “bad-faith critics” by refusing to comply with laws criminalizing private firearm transfers in NM. #2a https://t.co/iZ80RFU906

— NM Shooting Sports Association (@NM_SSA) December 17, 2023

These are the same people who often testify as “expert witnesses” for gun control bills in the NM Legislature… https://t.co/V1k2twXD6z

— NM Shooting Sports Association (@NM_SSA) December 17, 2023

“Shout out to [New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence] for joining forces with the ‘rogue sheriffs’ and ‘bad-faith critics’ by refusing to comply with laws criminalizing private firearm transfers in NM,” the gun group wrote. Another post helpfully pointed out that the NMPGV “are the same people who often testify as ‘expert witnesses’ for gun control bills in the NM Legislature.”

One commentator responded with, “it’s even funnier when you realize they [NMPGV] made an unregistered SBR…”.

This has the makings of one of those sublime moments when a gun control measure backfires emphatically on the very people who aggressively promoted it while at the same time exposing the possibility that the “bad faith” naysayers may have been right all along. (After all, who can forget Nevada’s Question One?)

Read Related: New Mexico Anti-Gun Group Investigated for Breaking Gun Laws

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About NRA-ILA:

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org

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The ‘Most Memorable Gun Violence Journalism of 2023,’ According to the Trace

The ‘Most Memorable Gun Violence Journalism of 2023,’ According to the Trace, iStock-1420114631

The Trace, the propaganda arm of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s antigun empire, recently published their picks for “The Most Memorable Gun Violence Journalism of 2023.”

If there was a Pulitzer Prize category for gaslighting or agitprop, the 14 stories highlighted by the Trace would all be serious contenders.

CNN leads the list, of course, with their entry “Gun violence has affected most families in the US, new survey finds,” which was published in April. CNN’s journalists based their story on data from the long-debunked Gun Violence Archive.

“Mass shootings have escalated in recent years, reaching a record pace in 2023,” the story states. “There have been at least 146 incidents so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, leaving more than 200 people dead and hundreds more injured.”

Any data from the Gun Violence Archive, we have shown numerous times, is about as reliable as a $20 Rolex. Keep in mind the GVA claims there were 417 mass shootings in 2019. The FBI says there were 30, because it uses a much narrower and realistic definition.

This year, the GVA claims there have been more than 72,000 shootings, of which 636 were mass shootings — an average of more than 1.7 per day.

Rolling Stone tried again to reenter the world of investigative reporting with “Mass Murder Is a Choice. The Gun Industry Made It,” which was published in November. The Trace said the story provided a “highly detailed, historical look at AR-platform rifles, shedding light on how the gun industry has marketed these weapons in ways that appeal to mass shooters.”

“The mass murder in Lewiston was a tragedy, but not an accident. It is a choice. And it’s one that the gun industry made, and has doubled down on — pushing tens of millions of massacre-ready weapons on the American public,” the story states.

Massacre-ready? Really?

The last time Rolling Stone tried its hand at serious investigative reporting it failed miserably. Journalism schools still study the magazine’s infamous “Rape on Campus,” series, which falsely accused members of a college fraternity of gang rape. Columbia University called the series “a journalistic failure at every level.” Other journalism thinktanks were less kind. The left-leaning Poynter Institute named the Rolling Stone story one of its “Errors of the Year.”

This is Rolling Stone’s investigative pedigree.

The New York Times was lauded for its “Army Ammunition Plant is Tied to Mass Shootings Across the U.S.” which we debunked in November.

Everything you need to know about the newspaper’s “investigation” into the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is summed up in the story’s secondary headline:

“In recent years, the factory has also pumped billions of rounds of military-grade ammunition into the commercial market, an investigation by The New York Times found, leaving the ‘LC’ signature scattered across crime scenes, including the sites of some of the nation’s most heinous mass shootings.”

In other words, mass shootings are not just the fault of the mass shooter. The ammunition manufacturer bears responsibility as well, the newspaper would have you believe.

As we pointed out in our story, the Biden-Harris administration chose to target ammunition manufacturers as part of their war on guns, so they turned to their loyal sycophants at the Times to write a hit piece about the storied Lake City Plant, which has been making ammunition since World War II.

The Washington Post published actual crime scene photos from 11 mass murders in a photo essay titled “Terror on Repeat: A rare look at the devastation caused by AR-15 shootings,” which was published in November.

In a sidebar, in which the newspaper attempted to justify their use of overly sensational and graphic photos, the Post’s editors claimed the AR made them do it.

“Like other news organizations, we cover the effects of these tragedies when they occur. But because journalists generally do not have access to crime scenes and news organizations rarely if ever publish graphic content, most Americans have no way to understand the full scope of an AR-15’s destructive power or the extent of the trauma inflicted on victims, survivors and first responders when a shooter uses this weapon on people,” the story states.

The Post’s photo essay took the gun ban industry’s penchant for blaming an inanimate object rather than the murderer pulling the trigger to new lows. Also, there’s a key point the editors missed: All crime scene photos are shocking and disgusting, regardless of the type of weapon used. By far, the most graphic crime scene photos I’ve ever taken involved cuttings, not shootings.

Bloomberg News’ contribution to the Trace’s list is still a head-shaker. Its story, titled “How the US Drives Gun Exports and Fuels Violence Around the World,” blames Sig-Sauer Inc. for a mass murder at a nursery school in rural northeast Thailand, which left 36 people dead.

“The killer’s gun, a Sig Sauer P365 — touted by the company as small enough to easily conceal yet able to hold 13 rounds — had traveled more than 8,000 miles from a factory on New Hampshire’s rocky seacoast to Thailand’s lush Nong Bua Lamphu province. It was part of a growing number of semiautomatic handguns and rifles exported by American gunmakers and linked to violent crimes,” the story inexplicably states.

About the only thing factual in the story was the disclaimer Bloomberg News publishes every time one of their staffers writes about guns:

Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Takeaways

The 14 stories picked by the Trace have much in common. They’re long on opinion and short on facts. They make cheap sensational claims, which are not supported. The stories editorialize and attempt to persuade. They do not inform. They’re designed to influence public opinion with emotion rather than reason.

There’s another commonality: Most of the stories were published late in the year during the height of awards season. Journalists want their stories to be fresh in the minds of contest judges, who start reading entries early in the year. When a newspaper releases an investigative series in November or December, it’s clear it’s their annual contest entry designed to win awards. Journalism is one of the most self-congratulatory industries on the planet. Careers are made or lost based on the number of awards a story can bring home.

It’s too bad none of the scores of journalism contests out there yet offer a fake news category. If one did, the 14 stories chosen by the Trace would be award winners.

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.

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About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

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Another Revolver Saves the Day in Polar Bear Attack

Another Revolver Saves the Day in Polar Bear Attack iStock-1364796505

On Sunday, March 24, 2013, a determined polar bear made a fatal error in the prey selection process. The six-year-old healthy male would not be deterred from getting at two humans in a cabin located on Svalbard (administered by Norway) at Hornsund on the island of Spitsbergen. Hornsund is the most southern fjord on the southern tip of the Island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, about 140 km south of Longyearbyen.

The incident was reported in newsinenglish.no in 2013. The incident is confirmed in the PBHIMS database obtained by AmmoLand, which includes many reports of polar bear attacks that happened in the Svalbard archipelago. In the PBHIMS database, the incident is number 132. It has not been included in the pistol defense database before because the type of firearm used was not mentioned in the PBHIMS.

Several interesting facts are gleaned from the two separate reports. This was the second time the bear was at the cabin on March 24th. It had been driven off with “several means” previously and came back.

The couple inside the cabin went to extreme lengths to avoid shooting the polar bear, which was forcing its way into the cabin through a window. They fired four warning shots. Their defensive firearm was a revolver, which most commonly hold six cartridges. After firing four warning shots, they would only have one or two shots remaining before the necessity of reloading.

Reloading can involve considerable stress when a polar bear is forcing its way into your residence. The incident is listed as self-defense by both the Svalbard administration and in the FOIA database obtained by AmmoLand. This was considered to be a predatory attack. The couple, a man and a woman, were in their 40s. The most common revolver caliber used for bear protection in Svalbard is the .44 Magnum. .44 Magnum revolvers normally have five or six chambers in their cylinders. Firing five full-power .44 Magnum cartridges inside a small cabin will likely cause measurable hearing damage.

Not only did the couple fire warning shots, but they also threw “lighted candles” at the bear. The phrase “lighted candles” may be a minor translation error, although translation from Norwegian to English is said to be fairly straightforward.  Throwing a “lighted candle” does not seem to be a significant bear deterrent. Most candles will be blown out when thrown.

The picture taken under the authority of the Governor of Svalbard shows an open window with what appears to be a sturdy shutter with a heavy beam below the window. Perhaps the bear tore off the shutter, or it may have been removed by occupants to allow more light into the cabin while it was occupied.

This is another case where an extremely rapid shot to the central nervous system was not required for an effective defense. Four warning shots were fired. The bear was forcing its way into the cabin, allowing plenty of time for an aimed shot. The shot proved effective at neutralizing the threat by killing the polar bear. The polar bear weighed 671 lbs (305 kilograms). It was a medium-sized adult male polar bear. The bear was found to be healthy and in good condition, with plenty of fat, sharp claws, and healthy teeth.

The government of Svalbard recognizes .44 Magnum handguns as useful for protection against polar bears, although they do not allow them to be rented for the purpose. A more rigorous procedure is required to be able to carry a .44 Magnum for polar bear protection than is required to carry a high-powered rifle. Bear spray and/or pepper balls are not allowed for protection against polar bears in Svalbard.

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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.

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As 2023 Wraps, WaPo Targets Guns Again, Ignoring Lessons from WA, CO

The Washington Post is ending the year with another effort to erode the Second Amendment by promoting a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”

Buried about 20 paragraphs into a massive 5,000-plus report clearly aimed at stirring public emotion toward a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” the Washington Post tells about a handful of U.S. Senators—all Democrats—who now regret and wish they could change their votes on gun control legislation following the Sandy Hook tragedy.

The story is detailed and well-written, and it deserves to be read by Second Amendment activists, perhaps for no other reason than to understand how “the other side” thinks and reasons.

The important passage says this: “The senators’ changing views also reflect how the Democratic Party has moved in recent years toward supporting more aggressive gun control.”

There could be no clearer signal about what American gun owners—and especially the millions of peaceable citizens who own modern semiautomatic rifles and pistols—will face in the New Year, at the hands of Democrats, whose party has come to be known as the “Party of Gun Prohibition.”

The WaPo article adds, “Many Democrats had long refused to consider strict gun limits, blaming their party’s steep losses in the 1994 midterm elections on the enactment that year of an assault weapons ban. The ban’s expiration in 2004 preceded a new era of soaring semiautomatic weapons production, escalating after Sandy Hook, that has made the AR-15 the country’s best-selling rifle. Today, a well-financed advocacy network — sparked by the 2013 defeat in the Senate and supercharged by the mobilization of young people after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. — has heightened pressure on Democrats to unify around stronger gun-control policies.”

This year’s passing of career gun ban advocate Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not likely slow them down. Neither will concerns about the November 2024 elections.

The story details efforts by Sandy Hook parents to push gun control policies.

One of the takeaways from the story is not what was said, but what was missing: Any examination of why restrictive gun controls fail. Simply put, criminals do not obey gun control laws.

Two recent examples can be found in Colorado and Washington state, both which have earned high marks from the annual scorecard from the Giffords gun control lobbying group, for passing new restrictions during the past year.

Published crime data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 show homicides in the state have gone up, from 312 in 2020 to last year’s 386.

Denver Post archives also tell an interesting story. In the Feb. 9, 2018, the newspaper lamented 56 slayings in the city in both 2017 and 2016. By March 14, 2022, the Denver Post was reporting this about 2021: “Ninety-six people died in Denver homicides last year, the highest number recorded since 1981 and a toll that’s left dozens more families devastated by the elevated level of violence that’s ripped through the city over the past two years.”

Colorado imposed a “high capacity magazine” ban, driving one business out of the state. The Legislature repealed state preemption allowing local control of gun laws.

Out in Washington, Giffords gave the state an “A-“ grade for passing restrictive gun laws—which, incidentally, only seem to have impaired the rights of honest citizens—while the homicide number has gone steadily up. As reported by TheGunMag.com (formerly GUN WEEK), passage of restrictive gun controls over the past few years, including bans on “large capacity magazines” and the future sale of modern semi-auto rifles, Seattle has set a new homicide record this year.

Data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs annual crime report shows the number of reported homicides go from 194 in 2019 (FBI) to an alarming 394 in 2022 (WASPC).

As reported in TheGunMag.com, Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Washington-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, has called out anti-gunners, who have been silent.

“Seattle, and the whole of Washington State, is proof positive that passing laws which only impact honest gun owners accomplish nothing to reduce violent crime,” Gottlieb said earlier this month. “We warned people in 2014 that Initiative 594 would not prevent murder or mayhem, and we were right. We told Seattleites in 2015 the tax on guns and ammunition in their city would not prevent shootings or slayings, and we were right. We cautioned voters in 2018 that Initiative 1639 would not keep guns out of the wrong hands, and we were right, again. In fact, we have consistently been right about public safety issues while the other side is only interested in public disarmament.

“How many more people must die before the gun ban bunch publicly acknowledges they’ve been wrong all along,” he wondered. “What will it take to compel Gov. Jay Inslee, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and their wealthy elitist anti-gun cronies to admit their agenda has failed miserably?

“The time has come for Washington State lawmakers and voters to roll back the extremist gun control measures, stop penalizing law-abiding gun owners and gun buyers for crimes they didn’t commit, and try a different tack,” Gottlieb suggested. “Almost three decades ago, we championed Hard Time for Armed Crime and Three Strikes laws. The public overwhelmingly supported both measures because instead of punishing the good guys, they concentrated on the bad guys. It’s time for that spirit to be revived.”

Meanwhile, the WaPo report was accompanied by a 742-word editorial calling upon members of Congress to act.

“It should be impossible to read The Post’s series on the AR-15-style rifles without realizing something is deeply wrong in the country — including, of course, its permissive gun laws,” the newspaper said. “The last installment in the series, published this week, shows that some of the politicians whose job it is to make those laws are beginning to rethink things. More of their colleagues should follow suit.”

There is no small irony in the WaPo’s unwavering support for more gun control, essentially advocating for restrictions on the Second Amendment, while another Gottlieb group—the Second Amendment Foundation—has been feverishly defending the First Amendment rights of free speech and the press in a case challenging a restrictive California law regarding firearms advertising in a publication titled “Junior Sports Magazine.”

Equally informative are some of the reader responses to the WaPo editorial. Most reveal a revulsion of the right to keep and bear arms, to the point of some calling for repeal of the Second Amendment. But a few others argue that an “assault weapon” ban will not survive a court challenge, “nor measurably lessen gun deaths.”

With the new year just days away, gun owners who consider themselves activists should read and study the WaPo story and editorial, because the thoughts and emotions expressed in those words reflect a mindset which is coming after your rights.

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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.

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‘I Relied on Others,’ ‘Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,’ & Other Memorable Excuses

Opinion

Propaganda, ahead. iStock

After two former Georgia election workers sued Rudy Giuliani for falsely accusing them of committing massive fraud in 2020, his attorney argued that the real culprit in that calumny was The Gateway Pundit. Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit publisher Jim Hoft, who faced a separate defamation lawsuit by the same plaintiffs, was arguing that his website “fairly and accurately reported on the claims made by third parties, such as Trump’s legal team,” which Giuliani led.

This month’s $148 million verdict against Giuliani suggests that jurors were not swayed by his attempt to shift the blame for his baseless allegations. His consolation prize is top billing in my annual list of memorable moments in buck-passing, several of which involved the tireless peddler of Donald Trump’s “stolen-election fantasy”.

‘Really Crazy Stuff.’ That was Rupert Murdoch’s private description of Giuliani’s baroque conspiracy theory, which Fox News nevertheless helped promote. Although the outlet, like Hoft, blamed Giuliani et al. for the tall tale, its frequently credulous coverage of his allegations against Dominion Voting Systems resulted in a $787 million defamation settlement last April.

‘I Relied on Others.’ In October, Jenna Ellis, a member of Giuliani’s “elite strike force team,” pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting false statements. Even while admitting that she had failed to fact-check the team’s election fraud claims, Ellis tried to mitigate her responsibility, saying, “I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I, to provide me with true and reliable information.”

‘There’s Nothing There.’ In January, we learned that President Joe Biden, who had slammed Trump’s “totally irresponsible” handling of classified records, also had retained sensitive material he was not supposed to have.

“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said, taking refuge in the passive voice. “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there.”

The Mask Slips. In May, after former White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci conceded that face masks had, at best, a modest overall impact on coronavirus transmission during the pandemic, CNN’s Erin Burnett noted that his admission seemed to contradict what Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other public health officials had been saying for three years. Murthy implausibly blamed ever-shifting science, saying “sometimes guidance does evolve over time as you learn more,” which “can be disconcerting.”

‘Concerns Have Been Raised.’ A year ago, the World Journal of Oncology retracted an eyebrow-raising study claiming that nicotine vapers face about the same cancer risk as cigarette smokers. Blaming the study’s authors, who failed to address post-publication “concerns” about their “methodology,” “data processing,” “statistical analysis” and “conclusions,” the journal’s editors did not explain why they and their peer reviewers had overlooked these and other glaring deficiencies.

Black Market Boosters. Nearly three years after New York supposedly legalized recreational marijuana, state-approved stores remain scarce and account for a tiny percentage of sales. Instead of admitting their complicity in this fiasco, state officials are promising a crackdown on the unauthorized vendors who have proliferated because the industry is hobbled by heavy taxes, burdensome regulations, and maddening red tape.

‘Percocet via Snapchat.’ At a Republican presidential debate in September, Vivek Ramaswamy blamed deaths from fentanyl disguised as pain pills on “bio-terrorism” abetted by social media. He conveniently overlooked the fact that such hazards are a product of the prohibition policies that he supports, which create a black market where the composition of drugs is uncertain and unpredictable.

‘Floored and Shocked.’ In August, after five of his deputies admitted torturing two men during an unlawful home invasion, Rankin County, Mississippi, Sheriff Bryan Bailey said he was “floored and shocked” by the “horrendous crimes” of “these few individuals.” Yet Bailey’s underlings had been committing similar abuses for nearly two decades, generating multiple complaints and lawsuits. “I’m gonna fix this,” he promised while insisting he was oblivious to that pattern of brutality.

“I’m gonna make everyone a whole lot more accountable.”

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About Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @JacobSullum. During two decades in journalism, he has relentlessly skewered authoritarians of the left and the right, making the case for shrinking the realm of politics and expanding the realm of individual choice. Jacobs’ work appears here at AmmoLand News through a license with Creators Syndicate.

Jacob Sullum

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Baltimore’s ATF Lawsuit Really Only Targets ‘Law-Abiding’ Gun Dealers

Maryland prohibitionists and their useful idiot followers are doing everything to stop “gun violence” except what works. And they sure pick safe and protected venues to do it. (Delegate Heather Bagnall/Facebook)

“Baltimore sues ATF over gun data denied in public information request,” The Baltimore Sun reports. “The lawsuit, filed alongside gun control advocates Everytown Law on Monday, challenges a decision made by the ATF to reject a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the city this fall for information including the top ten sources of guns used in crimes in Baltimore from 2018 to 2022.”

It figures Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown would team up with a Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns city and its gun-grabbing Mayor Brandon Scott.  It’s also fair to figure ATF’s new “leadership” under citizen disarmament zealot and Director Steve Dettelbach really doesn’t mind being sued. If he “loses,” that will undermine the Tiahrt Amendment, an appropriations provision that currently forbids ATF to release information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation.

His boss wants it, his boss’s supporters want it, and face it, he wants it. After all, it’s only taxpayer money the administration will spend “defending against” it, and this is a chance to advance a long-time gun prohibitionist priority. Because the other thing Tiahrt does is blocks any data released in those investigations from being admissible in civil lawsuits against gun sellers or manufacturers, and that’s unacceptable to the people whose mission is to force gun dealers to close shop and to cut off “legal” source of supply to citizens.

That doing so will just mean the only sources left open are the “illegal” ones hardly matters to power monopolists who look at more “gun violence” as a “beneficial” way to gin up demands for more “gun control” edicts. Along with chilling private sales by arbitrarily changing the term “engaged in the business,” ATF has been rushing a full-court press on “legal” sources with so-called “zero tolerance” FFL revocations.

Add to this subversion from the bench, as with the Jimmy Carter-appointed federal judge, John L. Kane — may his treasonous, idiot name live in infamy — who went through so many legal contortions his head disappeared when he ruled the Second Amendment doesn’t include a right to acquire arms. As Constitutional scholar Edwin Vieira Jr. noted in Kolbe v. Hogan:

“This reliance on a permanent private market for firearms guaranteed that most militiamen, through their own efforts, could always obtain firearms suitable for both collective and individual self-defense, and forestalled tyranny by precluding rogue public officials from monopolizing the production, distribution, and possession of firearms.”

“There is no reason why the identities of gun stores that are the top contributors to gun violence in Baltimore should be kept hidden from the public and from city officials,” Mayor Scott asserted in his press release announcing the joint public/private (i.e., “fascist”) lawsuit.

Of course, there are, and the pre-Dettelbach ATF stood by them:

“BATFE has fought for years in the federal courts to keep trace records confidential, because they contain information (such as names of gun buyers) that could jeopardize ongoing investigations—not to mention law enforcement officers’ lives. For example, a suspected gun trafficker could search publicly released information for names of “straw purchasers” he had used to buy handguns, or for traces requested on guns he had sold. That information could lead him to names of officers, informants and witnesses against his crimes.”

The other “reasons” are obvious: The prohibitionists want to sue dealers out of existence and are using spurious allegations parroted by their complicit media partners to add another con to their repertoire of rights swindles.

They know if there really were “bad apple gun dealers” flouting the law, an ATF that destroys livelihoods for seeming kicks would have them shuttered and their inventories and records confiscated in no time. No one has more incentive to dot all the “i’s” and cross all the “t’s” than an audited-up-the-uh… wazoo FFL.

That Baltimore’s own law-enforcement can initiate a trace whenever they recover a gun from a crime scene isn’t “good” enough for them, because they know that’s not the way violent street criminals get their guns. Per DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics’ survey of prisoners who “had possessed a firearm during their offense:

“Among these, more than half (56%) had either stolen it (6%), found it at the scene of the crime (7%), or obtained it off the street or from the underground market (43%). Most of the remainder (25%) had obtained it from a family member or friend, or as a gift. Seven percent had purchased it under their own name from a licensed firearm dealer.”

It’s not licensed dealers deliberately turning a blind eye to gamble it all on a bad sale with bad odds to an obvious risk.

What’s unknown, and would be fair to ask (especially since ATF is always trying to work around it and moaning about not having a searchable gun purchase database), is how many homicides have been solved where the major clue was a gun found at the crime scene belonging to its original “legal” purchaser. With all the howling going on to mandate confiscation-enabling registration, it would be nice to put that into perspective and look at bang for the buck as far as that pretense goes.

As indicated, demands to gut Tiahrt are hardly new, and Democrats have shown no aversion to playing fast and loose with the law to undermine it. Back in 2011, I reported on Rep. Adam Schiff trying to weasel his way “to allow Congressional committees to be included on the list of entities to which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms can disclose part or all of the contents of the Firearms Trace System database,” and asked a question that will probably forever remain unanswered: “How did Sen. Feinstein get ATF gun trace data in violation of [the] Tiahrt Amendment?”

The quest continues. It’s not like “progressives’ actually have any new ideas.

What obvious is Scott and the city fathers have no solutions for reining in violent crime because to do so would involve cracking down on the lawless relatives of their Democrat constituents who keep them in power. We know it, Everytown knows it, and they know it.

And the thing is, if they get this infringement, it’ll just be on to the next, moving right down the Everytown ban list. Denials shielded in “commonsense” lies notwithstanding, of course they’re talking about taking your guns. All of them. All you’ve got to do is listen.

But they’ll gulp down, whatever they can get, one bite at a time.

So, they put on these public horse and pony shows, and the media sends credulous “reporters” out to trumpet political frauds taking credit for a temporary dip in this year’s still shameful homicide numbers — as if their policies will do anything but ensure more over the years to come.

When that happens, and it will, they’ll blame your guns. And you.

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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.

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