#FactsMatter – Odd Stuffing

Reform or Abolish the ATF?

With the incoming administration selecting a new cabinet and the directors of key government agencies, many of us are anxiously awaiting word of who will take the reins of the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). While the Second Amendment community is generally in agreement there needs to be great deal of reform in the agency, some are calling for it to be outright abolished.

Of the areas the ATF is responsible for, firearms are by far the most visible and controversial. In fact, I don’t think any of us could name a recent action by the ATF where alcohol, tobacco or explosives was the subject. Firearms is also the only one of the ATF areas protected by the Second Amendment.

Certainly, the ATF has had many infamous incidents over the years. Ruby Ridge, Waco, and most recently the shooting of a Little Rock, AR airport director in his home during a pre-dawn raid. While none of the incidents resulted in the ATF or their personnel being found at fault, their decisions to use deadly force when myriad other options were available in all these cases have created calls for the ATF to be disbanded.

The mass collection of inventory and sales records from FFLs around the country by taking copies and photos of their A&D (acquisition and disposition) books, unrelated to investigations or audits, combined with their own admission of creating a database, albeit with alleged “limited” search capabilities, in violation of federal law, has only intensified these calls.

ATF has also been targeting FFLs with their new Zero Tolerance Policy where even minor, paperwork errors are considered “willful violations” and falsification of records, resulting in mandatory revocations of licenses. This has increased to now at least triple of historical revocations. The result is what the left-wing extremists have been trying to achieve for decades, a steadily decreasing number of retail firearms establishments.

Adding fuel to the fire has been their use of their own administrative reinterpretations of the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 to create new legal restrictions, without the authority of Congress.

Bump stocks are an excellent example of the issues within ATF. Unregulated for years even after numerous ATF evaluations, they were shoehorned into the NFA as a “machine gun” and outlawed. Owners were given a short grace period to turn them in. It took a United States Supreme Court decision in June 2024 to strike down the erroneous definition and administrative rule. Even with this decision, the ATF website still has the invalid Final Rule, How to Destroy, Small Entity Compliance Guide and Bump Stock Q&As with the outdated information, along with a short section on the Supreme Court ruling against it.

A fresh “Abolish the ATF” bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives, the previous one receiving no action. Yet even with a razor thin republican majority in the House and Senate, and a republican President, there is very little chance of this visibility bill ever seeing the light of day given the establishment entrenched RINO members.

Still, the abolish the ATF supporters are calling for the incoming President to administratively do away with the agency and divide their current responsibilities amongst other federal agencies and the states. Given the past abuses of constitutional rights, federal law and their own rules and regulations, call for abolishing the ATF are well founded. The issue beyond that decision comes from where the essential functions should go.

The most logical destination would be the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) as it has the depth and investigative and administrative knowledge to handle the ATF’s current responsibilities. They already handle the background checks for FFL’s (Federal Firearms Licensees) through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

But as soon as you say FBI, you have to face the reality that the nation’s former premier law enforcement agency has become an anti-rights, anti-constitution, anti-freedom, anti-firearm, partisan haven whose motivation and investigations have made it the de facto hired muscle of left wing extremists. The FBI itself is facing calls for massive reform, reorganization and purging. Therefore, adding additional regulatory and enforcement responsibilities for a constitutionally protected right to an agency which has showed a clear distain for American rights would be a disaster.

Then again, any federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice would be just as disastrous given the DOJ’s partisan and selective targeting of anyone inside or outside the government who doesn’t think the way DOJ does.

While the President-elect has nominated strong and committed replacements as leaders of the DOJ and FBI, the establishment regulars are already rallying their forces to oppose them at every turn.

Pushing some of the responsibilities down to the states would also be a trainwreck. Anyone who has had to deal with the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Firearms (CA DOJ BOF), the state of Kalifornistan’s own state level version of the ATF (because the ATF doesn’t do what they need them to do) knows what a nightmare of bureaucratic nonsense they are. Every fringe level gun control concept they can dream up comes to life here and is administered with unwavering severity.

While several deep blue states have similar state level departments, imagine if every blue leaning state had their own mini-ATF to regulate firearms within their borders. Aside from a bizarre patchwork of conflicting laws from state-to-state, firearm sales and use would become a privilege based on your state of residence instead of a constitutionally protected right.

I would favor a reform approach, although that may be due to folks from my generation preferring to fix broken things instead of throwing them out. However, I fully acknowledge it will be a long, difficult struggle. The ATF didn’t get to the condition it is in today overnight, and it will certainly not be reformed overnight either. Even with strong leadership and executive support from the White House, it could take decades to realign the agency back into working with the firearms industry and the public on safety and regulations, instead of trying to crush and eliminate it.

Despite the best efforts of the left-wing anti-gun extremists, the Second Amendment, firearms, ammunition and the will to bear arms are not going away. Millions and millions MORE Americans are choosing firearms to protect their families inside and outside of their homes every year. Having an ATF administration that understands this and will refocus the agencies efforts on those who are actually doing harm should be the goal going forward.

Bob

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The Second Amendment in 2025

I’ll be honest, I did not expect this outcome from the elections. Like many people, I knew the “official polls” showing the candidates in a dead heat going in the final days of the campaign were bogus. I figured these poll numbers were being used as ‘target totals’ for them to hit when the voting started. While the election results, a Republican House, Senate and White House are a very positive thing for the Second Amendment community, it doesn’t mean all our hopes and dreams will come true. We need to look at reality and remain focused in our efforts.

The good news first. The current administration, and its subsequent extension had the Democrat candidate been victorious, was openly hostile towards Second Amendment rights. While publically claiming “We’re not taking anyone’s guns away”, they also supported “a mandatory buyback program” (literally confiscation/taking guns away), a national so-called “Red Flag” law (taking guns away without due process) and the desire to search private residences of law-abiding citizens without a warrant for gun control compliance checks, “Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean that we’re not going to walk into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your affairs.”

But that’s only part of what has happened. The ATF’s focus was shifted from partnering with the firearms industry to targeting dealers for inconsequential administrative omissions, closing record numbers of Federal Firearm Licensee dealers each year. An “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” was created at the White House and staffed it with the most biased, extremist, anti-gun activists in the country, to attempt to bribe and influence states into adopting their radical gun control positions.

Let us not forget about the current administration’s signature gun control achievement, the dubiously titled “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act”. Supported by the Democrat party and a handful of their most favored RINOs, it is a collection of horribly written and ill-defined laws which can be interpreted any way the gun control community desires.

So, for the Second Amendment community, getting the administration out of power is a very good thing. But will it bring a reversal of attitudes in D.C.?

The former President/President-elect’s comments offer hope for what he will do.

“In my second term, we will roll back every Biden attack on the Second Amendment – the attacks are fast and furious – start the minute that Crooked Joe shuffles his way out of the White House”.

“Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated on my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day”.

“I will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege, and I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your 2^nd Amendment does not end at the state line”.

However, we also must remember some of his record from his first term.

Banned bump stocks (since reversed by the United States Supreme Court).
Signed “Fix NICS” to expand prohibited persons faulty database.
Supported Red Flag gun confiscation laws.
Supported raising the minimum age to purchase firearms.
Supported TAPS Act, government monitoring of social media for firearms statements.

We also must consider the Republican majority in the House and Senate is absolutely razor thin and there is already a concerted effort by the Democrats and RINO members of both houses to thwart any and all of the President/President-elect’s agenda, no matter what it is. Just as a President cannot create gun control laws solely by executive order, a President cannot reverse gun control laws by executive order.

One of the biggest areas where the President can have an impact is with house cleaning and reforms in the Department of Justice, FBI and ATF. The selective targeting of Americans based on their political ideology must come to an end.

Will it be easy? Absolutely not! The corruption in these departments runs deep and it will take some very determined leadership to make a difference. Let’s not forget that some of the people in these very organizations who worked for the President/President-elect during his first term, were the same ones who set up the false flag operations to get him out of office and prevent him from ever winning the office again.

Going into the new year with the new administration, we need to remain focused on influencing not only our federal representation, but our local and state ones as well. Far too many of them have lost all accountability to their constituents and are more interested in their own political power. If they are not willing to follow their oath of office and represent our interests, it’s time to recall them or vote them out.

Then of course, there are the court cases. Your unlimited tax dollars will be used to argue against your rights while your donations will be used to argue for them. Lawsuits and appeals go on for years and years in the hopes of reversing an unconstitutional law. Meanwhile the lawyers on both sides are the big winners and your rights are on hold.

The ONLY way to keep more gun control laws from being passed is to STOP electing people who will not protect our natural, constitutionally protected rights.

Bob

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Gun Vote 2024

Some call me a single-issue voter. Well, yes and no. While my thing is advocating for Second Amendment rights, my selections in the voting booth are a little deeper than that. Every topic is important including crime, immigration, education, international relationships, the economy, the environment, etc. etc. etc. However, the litmus test for me is a candidate’s support of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If I can’t trust them to support and defend the very basic construct of our nation, then why would I trust them with anything else?

Will I ever support a candidate who believes in restricting my First Amendment right to free speech because it goes against what they say? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who wants to restrict my First Amendment right to religion by discriminating against one religion while promoting others? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who wants to sensor my First Amendment rights to a free press because some press publishes things they don’t like? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who has vowed to violate my Second Amendment rights by unconstitutional, do-nothing gun control laws to confiscate my firearms, limit what I can and cannot legally purchase, how I can purchase them and limit the places where I am allowed to defend my own life in public? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who believes it is acceptable to violate my Fourth Amendment rights by barging into my home without a warrant to determine if I am being responsible with my possessions? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who believes it is acceptable to violate people’s Fifth Amendment rights to due process because of their political ideology? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who wants to do away with the Electoral College and allow only the largest population centers to elect the President of the United States? No.

Will I ever support a candidate who wants to pack and reorder the United State Supreme Court because they issue rulings that they don’t like? No.

For these and many more reasons, I shall vote on Tuesday, November 5^th, 2024.

Vote wisely.

Bob

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Gas Prices & Elections (Pre-Election Day Rant)

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed the falling gas prices lately. Prices have been falling for the past few months. Yesterday, I paid the lowest price I’ve paid in the past 3 ½ years, the club price of $2.67/gallon, down 70 cents in the past six months. Normally, I’d be celebrating and saying how good life is, but I know this is a completely artificial, pre-election price reduction to convince people the economy really is good under the current administration, and we should vote to keep the same people in office. Yea, I’m not falling for it.

Why am I convinced this is just a political game? The US is currently involved in three proxy wars, two of them in the middle east. Normally, this would be raising the prices at the pump from the time the first bombs dropped until long after everyone has gone home. We also have an administration that is 100% hostile to the fossil fuel industry and is actively trying to shut it down. Their so-called green initiatives are pushing solar and wind as the replacement for electric grid power and trying to mandate electric cars only for the country. That’s not going to happen with low gas prices.

Personally, I have no issues with solar or wind for power or electric cars and trucks, as an OPTION. However, I do have a very strong objection to them being forced down our throats as a government mandate. I also know they are not as green or as ready for primetime as the government likes to say they are.

Electric cars have been around a lot longer than most people realize. The first electric cars were invented way back in 1830’s. Rechargeable batteries came in in the 1860’s making them a lot more practical. Innovation has come and gone over the years with cheaper cars with gas engines and cheap gas prices, then gas shortages and higher gas prices pushed the electric car from the spotlight, then pulled it back in later. Environmental concerns now dominate the argument for electrics, even if they really aren’t as green as they pretend. The so called “path to net-zero emissions by 2050” is a lie.

While we do have some truly exceptional electric cars out there right now, I still don’t believe they are ready for primetime. The current class of batteries used for power are horribly heavy, overly expensive and an environmental disaster to mine and manufacture. Battery life is an issue both in the disposal of the hazardous materials and the cost of replacements, often more expensive than the value of the electric car itself. Even the best-in-class electrics suffer from range limitations and slow refueling times when compared to gas powered cars. Cold weather performance, a real concern for those of us in the northern parts of the country, is huge problem.

The promised nationwide network of charging stations, funded by $7.5 billion in public funds from the current administration, has produced only seven stations with a total of 38 charging spots in two years. Charging stations are prone to outages and long lines for those that are in service. Inexplicably, some are powered by onsite diesel generators or connected to gas or coal generation sites, the very dirty technology the electric cars are supposed to be eliminating.

Of course, even if everyone did go out and buy a pricy new electric car right now, the United States power grid would never be able to handle it. Nothing better illustrates this than the State of Kalifornistan who in 2022 passed a new law banning the sale of gas-powered cars in the state by 2035, then just days later told people not to charge their electric cars because of anticipated stress on the California power grid from a heat wave. This in the state with the only power companies in the WORLD that can’t operate electric lines when it’s windy out and shuts them down for “safety”.

Despite the government and environmental activists push, consumers have not been going electric. Major automakers around the world have been pulling back on their electric car and truck manufacturing after losing billions and having huge inventories they can’t move.

So what does this have to do with gas prices at the pumps in the run up to the general elections? It’s purely to convince you to keep the same people with the same priorities in office for another four years.

What’s going to happen AFTER the elections? Prices at the pump are going to start going up, and up and up. It’s not so much a matter of when, it’s how fast and how much. I’m betting it will be immediately after the elections and will steadily rise back to the peak prices we’ve seen over the past 3 ½ years, and beyond.

The why is the easiest to understand. Nobody is going to willingly give up the convenience and reliability of their gas-powered car and truck if they can afford to fuel it. The only way to force people into higher priced, heavy, unreliable, range limited, slow refueling, cold weather adverse, environmentally dubious electric cars is to mandate it and make gas prices so high you have no other option.

BUT… you can’t do that if you don’t win the elections.

Between now and when you cast your ballot on Tuesday, November 5^th, I recommend filling up your tanks and gas cans one last time at these nostalgic prices and consider what you want to happen on November 6^th.

Vote wisely.

Bob

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The Electoral College (An Election Year Rant)

In what seems to be the norm for a general election year, opponents of the Electoral College are again hyping how unfair it is and how it needs to be eliminated. This horrible relic of electing the President/Vice President from the founding of our nation was put in place as a balance between population centers and rural areas. Naturally, the folks in charge of the population centers are the ones who are calling for its elimination.

As you probably suspect, this is coming from the port side of aisle, the same ones who want to pack the United States Supreme Court with five new Democrat appointed Justices to ‘eliminate politics in the Court’ as well as impose term limits on the Justices, all because they don’t like their rulings. While the Democrat candidates for President and Vice President have both advocated for this, their campaigns have been forced to walk back their stance in the face of strong opposition. But that hasn’t stopped the rest of the political/pundit/sycophant crew from keeping it in the press.

Why do we have the Electoral College? The Founders of our country studied the history of nations around the world and designed our government so as not to fall into the same trap as so many others had. In short, the Electoral College was put in place to elect the President/Vice President by our Founders who were afraid of democracy, hence why our country is a Republic not a pure Democracy. They were concerned about “the tyranny of the majority” and created the Electoral College to preserve “the sense of the people”.

The number of electoral votes a state has equals its number of Senators (2) plus its number of Representatives in the House of Representatives. With this system, each state is guaranteed a minimum of three electoral votes. 538 electors chosen by their states award all their votes according to the winner of the popular vote in their own state, except Maine and Nebraska who have a slightly different system.

The Founders recognized there needed to be a balance between the densely populated urban areas and the more sparsely populated rural ones. Today, urban areas are predominately liberal/Democrat and rural areas tend to be conservative/Republican. With a direct, popular vote, a handful of urban areas in our country would determine the President in every single election.

As with every election loss, we saw a renewed call to abolish the Electoral College following the Democrat candidate’s loss in the 2016 elections. Claims that the election was “stolen” and the “will of the people” was ignored because the candidate with the most votes didn’t win the most votes from the Electoral College.

Attempts to do away with the Electoral College have all failed in Congress as it is recognized for what it is, a power grab from one side that would eliminate the voice of rural America.

Not to be outdone, an alternate attack was created called The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). It is an attempt to nullify the Electoral College without actually abolishing it. Participating states would award their Electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who won the popular vote in that individual state.

Following the 2016 elections, there were increased drives across the country that were being courted to join the Compact. Popular themes included “one person one vote” and “make your vote count”. People were promised that politicians would be forced to campaign for votes in every state not just the most populous areas. Of course, that’s not true. Outright lies such as “This is patently undemocratic and undermines confidence in the people that we are truly a democracy” are common.

Sadly, my home state of Maine bought into this lunacy in 2024 with its liberal controlled legislature and joined the NPVIC, bringing the total committed electoral votes to 207 of the 270 needed.

The sad reality is a true popular vote election would see the candidates trying to appeal to the handful of urban population centers that currently make up the majority of the popular vote. A few swing states might be in play as a counter to an unwinnable urban center for a candidate, but the rest of the country would have no say or influence on the presidential election. Their votes, their opinions, their needs, would be too small to matter.

So why is eliminating or nullifying the Electoral College so important to them? Because playing by the rules would require coming up with a candidate, platform and strategy that appeals to the entire country instead of one that is supported by just the handful of urban population centers where furthest-from-center message is better received.

Rules matter, especially when it comes to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. When you look at the checks and balances our Founding Fathers built into the establishment of our country, understand they did this for a reason. They looked at world history and knew what had worked and what had failed. Our country is what it is today because we have held true to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, not in spite of it.

By the way, for those who oppose the Electoral College, ask them how they feel about the United States Senate. The Founders designed Congress with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with two members from every state as a balance, exactly for the same reason. If the Electoral College gives too much weight to small, rural states, certainly allowing the smallest state of Wyoming to have the same number of Senators as the largest state of California would be considered unfair as well.

Should we redesign the Senate to be population based like the House? Or how about just eliminating it completely since we already have a population-based chamber with the House of Representatives? I’m sure the high population states will be more than charitable to the low population ones. And if they didn’t like the decisions that were made, who cares! It’s not like they could do anything about it.

When someone is trying to convince you to change the foundation of our nation to advance their one-sided political purpose, you can bet your life you will not be on the side to benefit.

Yes, your vote this year matters.

Bob

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I’m From The Government, I’m Here To Help

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, we are learning more about the devastation it caused to parts of our country. The loss of life, and the damage in some areas is truly catastrophic. More than a week after, some of the people impacted have yet to be contacted. While there have been isolated reports of looters, the good news is scores of volunteers have rallied to do whatever they can to save lives and minimize the suffering of the people in that area. But then, there is the government.

The areas most impacted were interior portions of the country not normally on the track of Atlantic hurricanes. This greatly contributed to the damage with entire communities virtually wiped out, including all roads and infrastructure. Yet, the response is no different than it would be for any emergency in any area. Search and rescue the survivors, assist those who need it, and begin recovery efforts.

The outpouring of response from volunteers across the country has been monumental. Private airplanes, helicopters and drones have come to the area and self-organized to provide assistance. Supplies are being carried into the areas by every means possible including by air, truck, ATV, motorcycle, bicycle, horses, mules and by foot.

But then, there is the government. State and local resources, where they still exist in these areas, have been overwhelmed. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has reportedly been slow to respond and has brought with it the full depth of the government’s bureaucracy and red tape slowing relief efforts to a crawl. Many reports are coming out indicating FEMA and other government agencies are blocking aid going into the disaster area, confiscating supplies, setting up no fly zones, blocking runways, and threatening arrest of those actively involved in providing relief. The federal government of course deny all these reports and dedicated a page to “rumor response”. I guess it boils down to who you think is a more trustworthy source of information, the volunteers or the government.

In any case, you would think the government agency responsible for emergency response in disaster situations would embrace every single volunteer and scrap of aid brought to help rescue victims and alleviate suffering. You would expect them to help coordinate resources for the most effective response. But that isn’t what is happening on the ground. Those in charge seem to be more concerned with getting the credit for any aid rendered than actually saving lives.

Somewhere along the line, FEMA seems to have lost its way from directing emergency responses. The current goals of the agency reflect a far more progressive agenda.

Goal 1: Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management
Goal 2: Lead Whole of Community in Climate Resilience
Goal 3: Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation

Does this sound like an agency laser focused on disaster response and recovery? We’ve also been told FEMA is running out of funds for this hurricane season. Given the millions of dollars siphoned out of the department for housing our new “asylum seekers” and “migrants”, it’s not at all surprising.

President Ronald Regan is famously quoted as saying the nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government, I’m here to help.” It still holds true today.

What does this mean for you?

For the Hurricane Helene response, please give if you can. My recommendation is to contribute to the volunteer groups who are on the ground right now and working around the clock to save lives and help the victims.

For you and your own family, use this as a wakeup call and get yourself better prepared for an emergency. As horrible as it sounds, every natural or man-made disaster is an opportunity for the rest of us to lessen the impact of these events in our own lives.

The old rule of thumb used to be you needed 72 hours of supplies in a disaster until the government response can reach you. As we’ve come to learn, this is no longer the case. Consider what you would need for your family, pets included, to sustain yourself for a time you believe is reasonable. Be sure to include water, food, medical supplies, first aid, protection from the elements, communication, transportation and self-defense.

There are numerous credible resources available in your community and online that can help you and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Seek out something that works for you. Remember, a little bit of planning now goes a long, long way in a crisis.

This is also a good time to get to know your neighbors. Yes, even for us anti-social types. Our nation was built by neighbors coming together in time of need for everything from simple tasks, to emergencies and self-defense. They used to have a word for these types of groups, be we dare not speak it.

It’s sad to say, but when our government shuns self-sufficiency and members of the community coming together for a common good outside their explicit control, they consider it a threat to public safety. We’ve seen the same thing when states and municipalities attempt to severely restrict law-abiding citizens the ability to defend themselves in public as well as their own homes. The government prefers you to be 100% dependent on them for your safety instead of you and your community being independent.

Fortunately, we have a choice in how we live our lives, just as we have a choice who represents us.

Yes, your vote this year matters.

Bob

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The Second Amendment BUT Crowd

The runup to the general elections always bring out the worst of the so-called Second Amendment supporters. These are the ones who make statements that start off by saying “I support the Second Amendment, but…”. The BUT is always some form of unconstitutional gun control that is the exact OPPOSITE of supporting the Second Amendment. The campaign trail expectation is we will think other firearm owners and Second Amendment supporters, like ourselves, believe in gun control, so WE should also believe in gun control. HA!

The Second Amendment is short, sweet and abundantly clear.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Despite the left’s false claim it only covers the ‘state militia’ or some other creative reinterpretation of it, the Second Amendment does NOT grant the right to bear arms. It merely denies the government the authority to infringe upon the preexisting right to bear arms.

Pen & Teller have a classic, simple explanation of the Second Amendment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx23c84obwQ

When you hear a presidential candidate say “This business about taking everyone’s guns away; Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anyone’s guns away,”

BUT this same candidate has also campaigned on a mandatory gun buyback of so-called “assault weapons”.

What is a mandatory gun buyback? We’ve seen these in other countries (Australia, New Zealand, etc.) Certain or all firearms are declared unlawful and anyone who owns one must turn it into the government for compensation. Of course, the government didn’t sell these firearms to the people in the first place, so they aren’t really conducting a ‘buyback’ and the fixed amount they pay for everyone’s firearm is rarely going to be the fair market value. And what if you don’t want to sell your firearm to the government? Well, that doesn’t matter, it’s mandatory. You can voluntarily give it to them for the set amount they will give you or they can come take it from you when they charge you with possessing an illegal gun.

This isn’t just a case of semantics. Paying someone for something that you mandate they must give you, when they don’t want to give it to you, is still taking.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why the other gun control zealot goal of universal background checks is so important, how do you think they know you didn’t turn in your newly illegal gun?

Let’s also look at another previous statement from the same presidential candidate when discussing a previous San Francisco measure mandating “safe storage” in your home.

“Just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean that we’re not going to walk into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible and safe.”

That’s not just violating your Second Amendment rights, it’s also violating your Fourth Amendment rights. What part of the Constitution could ever be interpreted to allow random government searches of firearm owner homes?

Gun control is a bottomless pit of progressively draconian regulations on the law-abiding population that is somehow, someway supposed to alter the criminal use of guns. What happens instead is the increasingly disarmed law-abiding population turns into the victim population.

Let’s go back to California for an example. California is at the forefront of all things gun control and is proud of the highest possible ratings from the gun control groups. They famously claim, “gun laws save lives”. But the reality on the ground is exact opposite.

California led the nation in active shooter incidents in 2021 and 2023 despite having the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. Overall crime and violence in California is rampant and getting worse every day. The mass exodus of businesses continues as companies cannot provide a safe environment for their employees or customers, or maintain a profitable business due to the widespread, uncontrolled thefts.

What does California have to show for all their gun control laws? Some of the highest levels of crime in the nation; rivaled only by those areas where gun control of the law-abiding is also a priority. But they do have a solution. Can you guess what it is?

Remember, gun control does absolutely nothing to increase public safety and the answer to fix that shortcoming is always to implement more gun control.

So, this election season, anytime you hear someone say ‘I support the Second Amendment, but… “, you should immediately question their motivation. More likely than not, it’s an anti-gun sponsored talking point trying to convince you that you too as a firearm owner should support gun control, you know… for your own safety.

Yes, there are some actual firearm owners and Second Amendment “supporters” out there who, now that they have THEIR firearms, don’t care about anyone else’s rights. These folks will figure out too late that the rights they are not standing up for were in fact their own.

Yes, your vote this year matters.

Bob

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Crime – The Means to Control

Last week I wrote about how crime is up even though our elected officials say it is down. Why the disconnect? Well, this is election season and the folks in charge want you to believe everything they’ve been doing has reduced crime and made you safer. It’s also a sell job to get you to believe more of the same thing will bring crime down even further. Naturally, it’s all a lie. Crime is skyrocketing and people are being victimized like never before. And what’s worse, it’s all part of the plan to implement tighter controls on YOU.

The strategy is playing out across the nation. Activist billionaire funded prosecutors are elected in ultra-liberal enclaves promising to reform the systematically racist and unfair criminal justice system. What they do instead is immediately publish lengthy lists of crimes they will refuse to prosecute, ignoring state and local laws and the will of the people and legislatures who created them.

Police are defunded and new laws and restrictions placed on them so they cannot do their jobs. No bail laws are created because the current system is racist and unfair, and anyone who does happen to get arrested is back out on the street within hours. Those who do make it into the court system are given slap-on-the-wrist sentences and returned to the streets. Those already in the jail/prison system are released early because of new, more lenient sentencing reforms. Prisons are closed and the overall capacity of the system goes down, further justifying the need to release prisoners early.

Is all of this sounding familiar?

What happens in the cities, towns and neighborhoods is not only inevitable, but predictable. Crime surges. Businesses and the local citizenry are understandably angry and frighted. They demand protection from the government. The government responds with the same answer they’ve always given, more government control.

Let’s head back to San Francisco for an example. Rampant crime and unsafe streets have caused an exodus of large and small businesses. The government must look like they’re doing something to fight the influx of retail crime. The solution? 400 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras placed around the city.

Yup, that’s right, the ultra-left population celebrated the introduction of voter approved, government expedited video cameras around the city as a measure to stop the wave of organized retail theft plaguing the city.

Of course, these cameras don’t just capture those involved in retail theft. They vacuum up every single car (and everything else) that passes by them. You going to the store? Logged. You going to work? Logged. You taking the kids to school? Logged. You heading into or out of the city? Logged. 24/7. Retained for as long as the city wants to.

If you’re thinking it’s a little 1984/China Social Credit System, you’re right. Every movement is captured for later analysis. And with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming more common place, it’s even easier.

Perhaps a comment from Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and sixth richest man in the world, will help to understand where this is heading. He recently shared his thoughts on the future of AI-powered surveillance tools.

“.. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on.”

What you are witnessing is a problem intentionally created by the government so the people, desperate for safety, would accept the solution they offer, even though it will be used to infringe on their rights and more tightly control them.

For those of us interested in Second Amendment rights, we already know this strategy. I’ve written before that there is no gun control without dead children (Sacrificing Our Children – https://oddstuffing.com/archives/973). As disgusting as this is, anti-gun extremists are more than willing to sacrifice our children to obtain the greater goal of gun control and civilian disarmament.

The tactics are clear. Remove police officers from schools for alleged ‘explicit and implicit racism’ and an imagined ‘school-to-prison’ pipeline. Ban schools from arming teachers and staff. Ban any civilian from carrying a firearm on any school property. This leaves the unarmed and undefended schools as soft and appealing targets for deranged would-be killers. After someone takes advantage of this, they jump on the bandwagon before the children’s bodies are cold and the injured have stopped bleeding and call for the one solution, the ONLY solution they have, more gun control.

Remember, gun control does absolutely nothing to increase public safety and the answer to fix that shortcoming is always to implement more gun control.

Increasing crime, especially violent crime, only helps to implement more restrictive gun control laws on the victims. None of their so-called “solutions” ever impact the perpetrators, the ones actually committing the crimes. They must be free to commit more crime to help implement more gun control.

Yes, your vote this year matters.

Bob

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Less Reporting = Less Crime?

We’ve been hearing a lot from the President and the Democrat party about how their polices have made us safer and crime is down. They point to the FBI’s latest crime statistics showing just how much crime has fallen. But has it really? Does this match what you see in your neighborhood/town/city, in your local news, or when talking to your friends and neighbors? Unfortunately, the truth is literally the opposite.

Let’s take San Francisco, CA as an example. I wrote about San Francisco crime and the resulting mass business exodus last year (https://oddstuffing.com/archives /1063) and sadly things have only gotten worse.

Nearly every day there is a report of another retailer closing their San Francisco store. And I’m not talking about the multitude of family run, mom & pop shops who have been the lifeblood of their local neighborhoods for decades and nobody in San Francisco politics care about, I’m talking about the big, national brands where the wealthy people shop. These are businesses which have been open in the city for 10, 20, 30 plus years. You’d think that would give the city something to think about, but no.

Why are they closing? Crime. Rampant, uncontrolled crime. Not only are the stores being looted daily thanks to the softer-than-soft on crime state and city policies, but the businesses cannot provide a safe environment for customers or staff. Violent assaults are common as is property damage, drugs and harassment from the city’s homeless and criminal population.

Violence on the street is out of control and getting worse. When city officials do say something about it, usually because a celebrity was robbed, injured or killed, it’s defended as being “an isolated incident”. What’s actually rare is the city’s acknowledgement of the violence. By the way, take note of the agencies NOT reporting to the FBI below.

So why are we being told crime is down?

The latest FBI statistics do show crime is down, but what they don’t tell you is that conclusion is based on incomplete data. In 2021, the FBI went to a new NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) for compiling and reporting data and would only accept police reports through the new system. Not all departments were able to make the switch and as a result, more than 6,000 law enforcement agencies out of 18,000 total in the United States did NOT submit their data. That’s a full 1/3 of the reporting agencies. And another 24% only reported partial crime data. While a few smaller, rural agencies might not influence the totals much, the non-reporting agencies include the Los Angeles Police and Los Angeles County Sherriff, New York City Police, Phoenix Police and San Francisco Police. For the state of California, only 49% of the law enforcement agencies, covering 48% of the population reported. You can check to see if your agency reported at: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/08/15/see-if-police-in-your-state-reported-crime-data-to-the-fbi

Keep in mind that in 2020, the year before the latest change, 16,000 agencies reported their data. Why the massive drop in reporting? Money and political priorities. Having been in law enforcement and being responsible for the department’s data submissions during a previous FBI reporting shift, a lot of work needs to be done by individual agencies. But it’s also not like these things happen overnight. Changes like this are years in the making.

So based on incomplete data, including no submissions from some of the largest, most crime infested areas of the country, the FBI declares crime is down. Did they include a clarification, a caveat or even an asterisk with an impossibly tiny font footnote explaining this was based on partial data? Of course not! The former premier law enforcement agency of the country, the ones everyone looks to for accurate, unbiased information, is once again purposely withholding the truth for the sake of partisan politics. The FBI and politicians who are saying crime is down are lying.

For a better assessment of what is going on, look at the just released Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS asks about 240,000 people each year whether they have been victims of crime to measure reported and unreported crime.

Between 2020 and 2023, rape increased by 42%, robbery by 63%, and aggravated assaults by 55%. Note the survey does not include homicide as that is most often reported to police.

Since 2020, the NIBRS and NCVS have been moving in opposite directions. The FBI has been finding fewer instances of crime, but people are simultaneously answering in greater numbers that they have been victims of crime.

Other than the massive gap in reporting data, there’s another reason why reported crime can be lower. When the public loses faith in the criminal justice community – the police, prosecutors, courts, and jails/prisons – they are less likely report a crime. If the police don’t show up, don’t make an arrest, or the prosecutors won’t file charges, suspects are released on no bail and take revenge against the victim, courts don’t hold people accountable and prisons let convicts out years to decades early, the public won’t see any advantage to reporting the crime.

The problem of course is the crime isn’t going to go away, it’s only going to continue to get worse and worse. Victims and those who do not wish to become victims, will continue to flee high crime cities and states in search of refuge elsewhere, just as the businesses already have. Those who cannot get out will continue to be victimized.

What will the defund the police, don’t charge the offender, don’t hold the criminal accountable and release anyone who has been ‘justice contacted’ progressive politicians do?

Well guess what, their response is all just part of the plan.

Bob

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Garland v. Cargill (Bump Stocks) & Why This Is Important

On June 14, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Garland v. Cargill, the bump stock case. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court ruled the ATF exceeded its authority in declaring bump stocks as machine guns. The ruling, which relied on the exact text of the National Firearms Act (NFA), said a bump stock did not qualify as a machine gun since they did not fire more than one round automatically per trigger pull. As such, the ATF could not regulate them through administrative action and only congressional legislation would empower them to do so.

The ruling, concurring and dissent opinions are in the single link listed below. I encourage you to read them and decide for yourself what is based on fact or the filter of politics.

Also note this is not about the June 28, 2024, ruling that abolished the Chevron Deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, however that ruling will undoubtably impact the ATF going forward.

First off, many people, myself included, consider bump stocks a foolish range toy with limited practical use unless you’re shooting at the broad side of a barn. I’ve shot with them on a couple of occasions, and they are finnicky as hell. Sadly, they were used against a barn size target in Las Vegas in 2017 which prompted the ATF ban. Regardless, the point isn’t the type or practicality of the accessory, it’s the ATF’s administrative and systematic banning of more and more firearm and firearm related accessories that is the issue. A bit here, a bit there, and suddenly there’s very little left.

It’s also important to note the ATF previously said bump stocks were NOT machine guns or subject to the NFA on at least 10 separate occasions through several administrations, consistently concluding that semi-automatic rifles equipped with bump stocks cannot “automatically” fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger”. A bump stock equipped rifle cannot operate automatically since just the right amount of forward pressure must be applied with the support hand to the forward handguard. Because the shooter slides the rifle forward in the bump stock, each shot is fired by a single function of the trigger.

The National Firearms Act defined ‘function of the trigger’ to include not only a single pull of the trigger but also any ‘analogous motions’. The ATF contends that one such analogous motion that qualifies as a single function of the trigger is sliding the rifle forward to bump the trigger.

Here is the important part. Had the ATF definition of bump stocks been upheld, then every semiautomatic rifle could be considered a machine gun since it is possible to achieve the same effect using something as simple as a rubber band or a belt loop to ‘bump’ the trigger.

The ruling also took note of the Ithaca Model 37 shotgun, a firearm the ATF has ruled is not a machine gun even though it can fire more than one shot with a single function of the trigger. The Model 37 is famous for its ability to “slam fire” by holding down the trigger and operating the pump action. But since it does not do this “automatically”, requiring the operator to move the slide with the support hand, it is not a machine gun.

The ATF declaring bump stocks as machine guns was a purely political decision made in the aftermath of the horrific 2017 Las Vegas shooting. As we’ve seen over and over again, the sickening mantra of “Never let a good crisis go to waste” was invoked in order to administratively slip in a targeted ban against an ‘evil’ gun accessory, while casting a net that would someday be used to ban every semiautomatic rifle.

This text of the ruling clearly identified what is and is not a fully automatic firearm, as well as specifying the proper course of action to change the NFA must come from Congress. In response to this ruling, a bill entitled Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act was introduced.

Pay attention to the language it uses:

“(A) any manual, power-driven, or electronic device primarily designed, or redesigned, so that when the device is attached to a semiautomatic firearm the device—
“(i) materially increases the rate of fire of the firearm; or
“(ii) approximates the action or rate of fire of a machinegun;

“(B) any device, part, or combination of parts, that is designed and functions to materially increase the rate of fire of the firearm, by eliminating the need for the operator of the firearm to make a separate movement for each individual function of the trigger; or
“(i) materially increases the rate of fire of the firearm; or

“(C) a semiautomatic firearm that has been modified in any way that—
“(ii) approximates the action or rate of fire of a machinegun.

Using this definition, any semiautomatic firearm potentially used with a belt loop, rubber band, hell even Jerry Miculek’s finger, could be declared a machine gun, subject to the NFA and banned. And THAT is absolutely the intention.

Fortunately, it was blocked from unanimous consent passage by a single Senator who said, “It’s not really about bump stocks, this bill is about banning as many firearm accessories as possible. It’s an unconstitutional attack on law-abiding gun owners.”

It is highly unlikely this will be the end of this topic. The outcome of the 2024 general elections, control of Congress and the White House could bring new interest in this and other gun control priorities. Any new laws would likely immediately be challenged and again appealed to the United States Supreme Court based on the Bruen ruling.

Yes, your vote matters.

Bob

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-976_e29g.pdf

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