Friday, November 1, 2019

Our Gun Violence Problem: What If ...?

But we have to keep public safety the top priority and find a way to do that without trampling on anyone's 2nd Amendment rights. Reducing the number ...

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While the authoritarian socialist left loves being called 'liberal', they really hate liberty

While they began their assault on liberty with the 2nd amendment, they have expanded the front to include the 1st amendment. Their obsession with ...

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Detroit Justifiable Homicides 25x National Average, Murders Lowest in 50 years

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- In 2018, Detroit had 25 times the national average of reported justifiable homicides. The police chief of Detroit, James Craig, supports the residents' right to self defense. He supports the issuance of concealed carry permits. From detroitnews.com:

The county's report shows there were 289 homicides in Detroit in 2018, although the county lists all homicides, whereas Detroit, like most cities, doesn't include justifiable homicides in its report because those aren't crimes.

Assistant Detroit Police Chief David LeValley said there were 18 justifiable homicides in the city last year. Including those in the city's count raises the number of homicides to 279 — 10 fewer than the county reported.

Detroit's population in 2018 was listed as 672,662. The number of murders in Detroit were listed as 261. This equates to a homicide rate of 38.8 per 100,000 population. It is the second highest city in the nation. However, the number of murders are considerably lower than they were in 2012, just before Chief Craig took over. The numbers of murders are the lowest in 50 years. The population of Detroit has dropped; thus the rate of murders is still high. The rate was 55.2 per 100,000 in 2012. In 2012, the interim police chief, Chester Logan, blamed the homicide rate on guns.

The rate of reported justifiable homicide in Detroit in 2018, was 2.68 per 100,000. About 6.5% of the homicides in Detroit are reported as justified.

Tucker Carlson noted, on his show, that many people in Detroit are exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Rick Ector, a Second Amendment activist and a firearms instructor, has worked for years to increase the number of women in Detroit who are legally armed.

Homicides in the United States in 2018, from the FBI UCR. 16,214.   The number of justifiable homicides by private citizens was recorded at 353.  The population in the United States was estimated at 327.2 million. The rate of reported justified homicides in the U.S.A. was .108 per 100,000 population. The murder rate in the United States in 2018 was 5.0 per 100,000 population.

The Detroit rate of recorded justifiable homicides is 25 times the recorded national rate of justified homicides. Detroit's murder rate is 7.76 time that of the United States. Using the murder rate as a scale, Detroit has recorded 3.2 times as many justifiable homicides per murder, as are recorded in the United States, on average.

The number of murders recorded by the FBI matches those recorded by the police in Detroit for 2018, at 261 murders.

Why are the recorded number of justified homicides in Detroit so far above the national average?

The police chief in Detroit, James Craig, has served there since 2013, for seven years. He has embraced concealed carry and supports armed citizens and their right to self defense.  It is to his benefit, and to the benefit of his department, to accurately collect and identify justifiable homicides.  Justifiable homicides are not recorded as murders in the FBI UCR. But, they are not necessarily counted as justifiable homicides either. The FBI UCR definition of a justifiable homicide is very restrictive. According to two different studies, the FBI UCR only catches about 20% of justifiable homicides.

Award winning criminologist, Gary Kleck (page 111-114) estimates justifiable homicides are between 7.1 and 12.9 percent of total homicides. Detroit's figure of 6.5% approaches the lower end of that estimate.

There are probably over 1600 justifiable homicides a year.

It is likely Detroit's police are still missing many justifiable homicides. Most of Detroit's homicides, about 50%, remain unsolved.  While trust in the Detroit Police is starting to rebuild, there are decades of distrust to overcome. Many of Detroit's residents, if faced with the potential of walking away from a justifiable homicide, rather than reporting it to police, are likely to do so.

A convicted felon is more likely to be involved in a justifiable homicide than an upright citizen; and far more likely to be reluctant to report it to police.

The minimalist numbers of justifiable homicides are often reported by those who wish for a disarmed population, as evidence that self-defense is rare.

There is evidence the reporting of justifiable homicides is low.

Justifiable homicides, by themselves, are a poor indicator of defensive firearms use. A law-abiding gun owner's purpose is to prevent injury to himself or others, not to kill offenders.

Justifiable homicides are only those extreme cases where the offender makes such horrible judgments in the victim selection process, that they die as a result.

Justifiable homicides are a tiny percentage of defensive gun uses, probably less than one-tenth of one percent, as several surveys show national defensive gun uses at between 500,000 and three million per year.


About Dean Weingarten: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 recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

The post Detroit Justifiable Homicides 25x National Average, Murders Lowest in 50 years appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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CCRKBA Declares Democrats Have ‘Hidden Agenda Behind Impeachment’

Opinion

Impeachment iStock-Cn0ra-1090918824.jpg
CCRKBA Declares Democrats Have ‘Hidden Agenda Behind Impeachment’ IMG: iStock/Cn0ra

BELLEVUE, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today declared there is a “hidden agenda” behind the impeachment efforts of House Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi and it is designed to tie up the U.S. Senate and derail efforts to confirm more pro-Second Amendment judges to the federal courts.

“It is clear to us that Capitol Hill anti-gunners are doing everything in their power to prevent confirmation of conservative judges who will adhere to the Constitution,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “By burdening the Senate with this nonsense, Democrats believe they can prevent confirmation of pro-Second Amendment judicial nominees during the final year of President Donald Trump’s first term.”

Gottlieb noted that the president is fulfilling perhaps his most important campaign pledge, which was to bring balance back to the federal courts. Restoring that balance could be the president’s greatest legacy, he said.

“The same people pushing impeachment have been staunch allies of the gun prohibition lobby,” Gottlieb observed. “Anti-gunners have been horrified since Day One of Donald Trump’s presidency that he was actually determined to rein in the activist federal court system by nominating judges who understand there are ten amendments in the Bill of Rights, and that the Second Amendment really means what it says.

“More than eleven years after the landmark 2008 Heller ruling and more than nine years after the 2010 McDonald decision,” he continued, “some courts still act as though neither of those Supreme Court rulings existed. But the president has been filling court vacancies with solid, intelligent jurists who understand the difference between regulated privileges and constitutionally-enumerated, fundamental rights. Capitol Hill anti-gunners and their gun prohibitionist friends can’t stand it, and they’re using the impeachment crusade as a smoke screen to distract the Senate from doing its duty.

“This isn’t about impeaching the president,” Gottlieb stated. “This is about impeaching our Second Amendment rights. I guarantee that American gun owners are going to remember this in 2020.”


Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear ArmsWith more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

The post CCRKBA Declares Democrats Have ‘Hidden Agenda Behind Impeachment’ appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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FPC: Why Politicians Are Dead Wrong About Red Flag Laws

Once a seizure order is issued by the closed court, state-sanctioned “swatting” occurs.
Once a seizure order is issued by the closed court, state-sanctioned “swatting” occurs.

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- In the era of “just do something” public policy, legislators on both sides of the aisle are pitching red flag legislation as a moderate form of gun control; one having a positive impact on mental health reform while simultaneously keeping Americans safe. Nothing could be further from the truth, and what these politicians won’t tell you is that their position is unsupported by evidence and riddled with far-reaching, unconstitutional implications for everyone.

So what happens when someone is subjected to a red flag seizure? Any of a number of acquaintances – a family member, teacher, roommate, or even a co-worker or former co-worker, can file a petition with the court to have an individual’s rights stripped from them. This means that people with a merely tangential relationship to a respondent can file a petition, and because most red flag laws have no measures to deter malicious filing, they leave the door open for malicious people to bring forth unsupported accusations.

When the petition is filed, an initial hearing is typically held without the subject person present, so he is completely unable to defend himself. The standard of proof is substantially lower here than what would be required had an actual crime occurred, and as such it’s incredibly easy for the order to attach with little to no evidence.

Once a seizure order is issued by the closed court, state-sanctioned “swatting” occurs. The police can show up unannounced at the person’s door, potentially catching him off-guard. This is a recipe for catastrophe, because the police can be mistaken for intruders. Even if the police identify themselves during a seizure, a combination of insufficient training and heightened anxiety still puts human life in unnecessary peril; red flag laws have already resulted in at least one confirmed death when a surprised homeowner answered the door and was shot by police during a brief argument.

Assuming the police are successful in safely executing the seizure order, not only do they take the respondent’s firearms, ammunition, and magazines, several states also revoke the subject person’s concealed carry license, which can be costly and time-consuming to replace or reinstate. Following the initial seizure, the order remains standing for two to three weeks unless a final hearing is held.

Unlike in a criminal trial, the subject person has no right to legal representation during final hearings, which often means spending thousands of dollars in legal fees if they want a competent defense. Even if a person is innocent and goes deep out of pocket for a lawyer, they might still lose their rights. The evidentiary standard for a final hearing is even lower than the initial hearing – “preponderance of the evidence” – which means the difference between the state keeping or returning the respondent’s firearms is essentially a coin toss. If the person loses, the state may keep his property for up to a year, and in New Jersey, indefinitely unless a court terminates the order at a later date.

Red flag laws raise several red flags of their own: they victimize the poor, deny Due Process, and allow the State to seize property for a substantial amount of time when a crime hasn’t even occurred, leaving people defenseless in their own homes. Legislators can’t prove they are effective in deterring violence, and they ironically amplify the stigma against people with mental health issues. Not only are these laws ineffective, they may even deter people from seeking the help that they desperately need, creating the threat politicians claimed to be addressing. To learn more about the specifics of these laws, their history, and FPC’s policy position, you can read more here. To take action against Red Flag Laws, go to StopRedFlagLaws.com


About FPCFirearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)(4) grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to defend the People’s rights—especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms—advance individual liberty, and restore freedom.

Firearms Policy Foundation (https://ift.tt/2dE21lZ) is a 501(c)3 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPF’s mission is to defend the People’s rights and promote individual liberty through research, education, and legal action programs.

The post FPC: Why Politicians Are Dead Wrong About Red Flag Laws appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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Holding Trump District Democrats’ Feet To The Fire Over Impeachment Vote

Opinion by Congressional Leadership Fund

Holding Trump District Democrats' Feet To The Fire Over Impeachment Vote
Holding Trump District Democrats' Feet To The Fire Over Impeachment Vote

WASHINGTON – -(AmmoLand.com)- In case you missed it, Congressional Leadership Fund – the super PAC endorsed by House GOP Leadership – went up with new digital ads targeting all 29 Trump District Democrats who voted for impeachment yesterday. See highlights from press coverage as well as the new ads below.

CLF “didn’t waste any time trying to make hay of House Democrats’ vote”

BLOOMBERG: “The GOP didn’t waste any time trying to make hay of the House Democrats’ vote to begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Moments after the House’s 232-196 vote… a super-PAC that supports House Republicans began an online ad campaign targeting voters in the districts of 29 Democrats who represent areas won by Trump in 2016.” (“GOP Ads Target House Democrats on Impeachment,” Bloomberg, 10/31/19)

FOX NEWS: “House Democrats in red districts who voted for the House resolution setting rules for the Trump impeachment inquiry are already under attack after a political action committee dedicated to boosting Republicans launched a digital ad campaign Thursday.” (“Republican PACs are already attacking vulnerable Dems who voted for impeachment resolution,” Fox News, 10/31/19)

“A boon to their efforts to retake the House”

CNN: “But beneath the display of party unity, many Democrats in competitive districts took pains to explain their vote, while Republicans boasted that it would be a boon to their efforts to retake the House … The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican Super PAC, announced on Thursday that it would air new digital ads against all 29 Democrats in those districts who voted for the resolution.” (“Vulnerable Democrats face new challenge following an impeachment vote,” CNN(https://ift.tt/2qbH9bW), 10/31/19)

“Republicans plan to deploy the inquiry as a cudgel”

POLITICO: “Either way, Republicans plan to deploy the inquiry as a cudgel against Democrats who touted moderate messages and promises to work across the aisle in their 2018 campaigns. From a tactical standpoint, party leaders said the ongoing inquiry has helped them recruit candidates and boosted their small-dollar donations. … The Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP leadership-aligned super PAC, released digital ads Thursday morning hitting 29 Democrats in Trump-won seats who backed the resolution and said those members would face “their constituents' wrath” in November 2020.” (“Few Party Defections Among Vulnerable Members On Inquiry Vote,” POLITICO, 10/31/19)

“The ads underscored the complicated messaging for vulnerable Democrats”

ROLL CALL: “The ads underscored the complicated messaging for vulnerable Democrats when it comes to impeachment. The vote Thursday involved the process for opening the impeachment inquiry, not whether Trump should ultimately be impeached… But that clarification hasn’t stopped Republicans from attacking Democrats” (“Meet the two Democrats who broke with their party on impeachment,” Roll Call, 10/31/19)

“Put many Democrats from districts won by President Donald Trump on the spot”

BLOOMBERG: “The 232-196 vote on Thursday blessing the inquiry, without any Republican support, put many Democrats from districts won by President Donald Trump on the spot by forcing them to decide whether to back an investigation that’s all but certain to result in impeachment. It’s a vote Republicans hope to capitalize on a year from now when those Democrats face re-election. … the Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, said it’s launching a digital ad campaign targeting 29 Democrats from Trump districts who were key to their party winning the House majority in 2018. (“Pelosi Goes All-In on Impeachment But Now Must Win Over Public,” Bloomberg, 10/31/19)
And don't miss what they're saying about our ads on local television…


Congressional Leadership Fund

Congressional Leadership Fund

The Congressional Leadership Fund is a super PAC exclusively dedicated to winning a Republican Majority in the House of Representatives. www.congressionalleadershipfund.org

The post Holding Trump District Democrats’ Feet To The Fire Over Impeachment Vote appeared first on AmmoLand.com.



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Legal Rights

Of course one of the biggest rights in discussion today is found in the 2nd Amendment, the Right of the people to Keep and Bear Arms. This stems from ...

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