Tag: #GunVote

GOSAFE is Not Maine Strong

Following the senseless killings in Lewiston on October 25, 2023, Maine Strong has been appearing all around the state as proud Mainers rally together to support the families of those impacted. Mainers are also demanding answers from the US military, the mental health system and law enforcement for their abominable and inexcusable failures to use the tools already at their disposal and perfectly capable to have prevented this horrific tragedy. Seeing more evidence that the government will never be able to protect them, they are purchasing home and carry defensive firearms and taking training classes in even greater numbers. 

What isn’t Maine Strong is the state’s supposedly “Independent” Senator Angus King’s knee-jerk gun control bill. Called the ”Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act”, it is co-sponsored by the usual gun-control zealot politicians. It shreds any sense of Constitutionality while laughing proclaiming it “Protects Americans’ Second Amendment Right”. It also misses the point that government failures should never be the basis of new gun control laws. 

Here is their summary of the GOSAFE act: 

The GOSAFE Act regulates firearms based on the inherently dangerous and unusual lethality of their internal mechanisms, as opposed to focusing on cosmetic features that manufacturers can easily modify.

If enacted, the bill would regulate the sale, transfer, and manufacture of gas-operated semi-automatic weapons by:

Establishing a list of prohibited firearms;
Preventing unlawful modifications of permissible firearms;
Mandating that future gas-operated designs are approved before manufacture; and
Preventing unlawful firearm self-assembly and manufacturing.

Protects Americans’ Second Amendment Right

The GOSAFE Act protects Americans’ constitutional right to own a gun based on a firearm’s established use for self-defense, hunting or sporting purposes.
The GOSAFE Act accomplishes this by including exemptions based on maximum ammunition capacity according to a firearm’s individual class: a rifle, shotgun, or handgun.

This capacity must be “permanently fixed” meaning the firearm cannot accept a detachable, high-capacity magazine that would increase the number of rounds that can be fired before reloading and make reloading easier.

Exemptions include:
.22 caliber rimfire or less firearms
Bolt action rifles
Semi-automatic shotguns
Recoil-operated handguns
Any rifle with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
Any shotgun with a permanently fixed magazine of 10 rounds or less
Any handgun with a permanently fixed magazine of 15 rounds or less
Limits High-Capacity Ammunition Devices

The GOSAFE Act limits a firearm’s ability to inflict maximum harm in a short amount of time by directly regulating large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
The bill would limit the number of rounds that large capacity ammunition feeding devices are permitted to carry to 10 rounds of ammunition or fewer.
Additionally, the GOSAFE Act makes conversion devices, including bump stocks and Glock switches, unlawful.

Improves Public Safety Response & Protects Law Enforcement
The GOSAFE Act will force would-be mass shooters to reload their guns more frequently — giving people time to flee and law enforcement time to arrive on the scene – while also maintaining law enforcement access to regulated firearms, so law enforcement continues to have the tools they need to respond to a mass shooting event.

Creates Optional Buy-Back Program
The GOSAFE Act will prevent stockpiling of these lethal firearms and large capacity magazines, and also ensure no one loses the value of any firearms they currently have, by establishing a voluntary buy-back program, which would allow firearm owners to voluntarily turn over and receive compensation for non-transferrable firearms and magazines as defined by this legislation.

Back on July 8th, 2019, I wrote about a previously unknown group of gun control extremists who proposed banning the semi-automatic mechanism. The idea wasn’t given much attention because it was so preposterous. In reality, it was a draft of things to come put out to see how much opposition it would attract in the real world. Guess what? It has been used by the states of Washington and Massachusetts in their definitions of so-called “assault weapons” and now it’s mainstream.  As they described it at the time: 

“Now, the most severe gun-related problem facing our society is the proliferation of guns containing a semiautomatic mechanism.” Their organization “is working to achieve legislation that will ban the semiautomatic mechanism in any gun sold or owned in Massachusetts. These are weapons that were designed for military and law enforcement purposes only and not for the general public. Revolvers, lever-action, pump-action, and bolt-action guns cover the full spectrum of civilian needs, whether they are hunting, personal protection, or home protection. The semiautomatic mechanism for guns has no place in civilian hands.”

Sound familiar?  

The misguided Senator’s proposal would set the standard of firearm technology back to pre-1885 technology when the first semi-automatic firearm was produced. 

Wrapped up in this ban would be: 
Gas operated pistols, which encompasses all the AR/AK pattern and similar pistols.
Depending on the interpretation of gas-operated, even blowback pistols could be included. 
Their definition of “permanently fixed” (meaning the firearm cannot accept a detachable, high-capacity magazine) would mean ZERO modern magazine fed firearms would be legal as any could be utilized with a so-called “high-capacity” magazine as well as a neutered low-capacity one. 
Voluntary buy-backs, a misnomer since the government never owned your firearms in the first place, have a nasty tendency to become mandatory buy-backs. 

NOWHERE in the proposed legislation does it say how they’ll be getting guns out of the hands of criminals, cracking down on their illegal use or hold those who unlawfully use them against others accountable, only restricting the rights of the law-abiding. 

It’s also important to realize the glaring logic flaws in the Senator’s proposal. The false claim of “force would-be mass shooters to reload their guns more frequently” has never been shown to be true and even a cursory look at previous criminal acts reveals lower capacity magazines have been successfully used in shootings. In addition, stating a “gas-operated semi-automatic” firearm does not fall under the constitutional right to own category for self-defense, hunting or sporting purposes ignores the well documented use of firearms in this country. 

While the Senator’s bill should be dead on arrival, it’s important to note the well-placed timing, post-tragedy for maximum impact. Remember the gun control mantra of “Never let a good crisis go to waste”.  The tragic loss of life is simply an opportunity to progress an agenda that couldn’t get traction before.

Even if this bill could gain enough RINO votes to pass and be signed into law, it is obviously constitutionally flawed in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen’s text, history, and tradition test. But keep in mind this is ONLY with the current make-up of the United States Supreme Court. Should the court majority be flipped from the current 5-4 conservative led court either by court packing, a forced removal of a Justice, a retirement or death, this decision will most likely be revisited and reversed at the Court’s first opportunity. 

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. 

Senator King wants to be reelected to his third term as a Senator from Maine in November 2024. I believe it’s time for new representation for the State of Maine.  

Maine deserves better. 

Bob

Semi-Automatic Mechanisms – The New Assault Weapons https://oddstuffing.com/archives/577

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Engaged In The Business

Lost among all the headlines was the story of the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) new rule proposal updating who is considered “Engaged in the Business” of selling firearms and therefore, must obtain a Federal Firearms License (FFL). While it may sound like a simple administrative update, it’s really a huge new law and with a hidden goal in mind, universal background checks to feed the national gun registry, all by administrative action. The public comment period for this new rule is closing on December 07, 2023. 

Essentially, the new administrative rule is using another wild interpretation of the so-called Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) as it’s justification. Similar to the interpretation used by the Education Department to shut off funding to schools with hunter safety and firearm programs, this is a new set of administrative rules not supported by law. 

The new rule will greatly expand the list of individuals who must obtain a FFL in order to sell firearms from their personal collection. The proposed rule also tightens the rules for obtaining and keeping a FFL for traditional dealers. 

A couple of highlights: 

Broadens the activities that require an FFL: The proposed rule establishes presumptions concerning activities that necessitate an FFL, such as renting a display table at a gun show, labeling firearms with price tags, offering another firearm for sale after one sale, and earning a profit on sales. 

New requirements for obtaining an FFL: The proposed rule modifies the requirements for obtaining an FFL, including additional background checks for applicants, enhanced scrutiny of an applicant’s business plans, and imposition of new corporate entity requirements.

New recordkeeping requirements: The proposed rule imposes new recordkeeping requirements on FFLs, including requirements to retain copies of bills of sale issued to buyers in transactions involving firearms.

The rule goes into great detail of the circumstances which would subject someone to having to get a FFL, as well as a detailed financial cost analysis of why getting a FFL is absolutely, positively NOT a burden to people wanting to sell from their collection. While there are many, Many, MANY actions which would require a FFL, it seems the main one is to make a profit on what is being sold, rejecting the premise that some things actually increase in value over time and individuals having the ability to buy and sell their own property. 

Requiring individuals obtain a FFL would subject them to the full range of ATF rules and regulations for manufactures and dealers, including preapproval inspections, record keeping, background checks, and periodic unannounced audits of their premises, or homes for home-based FFLs, by the ATF and even their own state regulators.

This comes at a time when the ATF is attempting to shut down as many current FFLs as it can using draconian interpretations of minor rule violations as “willful acts”. This new rule would simply cast a much larger net for shutting down more firearm sales. 

What doesn’t seem to be mentioned is there is no consideration of individuals who live in the most gun-controlled states like Massachusetts or California where state and local licensing is also required and home-based FFLs are no longer allowed. It seems individuals in these states are not a concern for the ATF since they already have universal background checks.

What is the impetus for this rule change? I have no doubt it is a backdoor means of achieving a critical gun control goal unobtainable through legislative means. Specifically, a federal law mandating universal background checks to feed the national gun registry. 

By mandating private sellers must become FFLs, all sales must be conducted on a Form 4473 with a background check. While universal background checks themselves have consistently proved ineffective at crime or violence reduction, the paper trail created DOES record/register every sale to an individual. These records are now routinely collected at periodic dealer inspections and, against current law, entered into a national database. A comprehensive national gun registry is a vital element for future confiscation efforts. 

There is still time to make a comment, and I do recommend you do. Will your comment be so legally and morally profound it will stop the ATF from implementing new regulations? HELL NO! The comment period is simply an annoying legal formality the government must follow, even though they’ve already made up their mind as to what they are doing. They must review each and every submission, even if it’s by the summer intern breezing through at lightning speed. 

What it DOES do is assist in the lawsuit which must follow their ill-advised implementation. Every voice of dissent helps. It doesn’t have to be a long, detailed or a legalese type dissertation, just what you believe is wrong by putting this new regulation in place. It DOES need to be profanity free, as those are disregarded. 

The link to the proposed rule, a mere 31 pages long, and to make a comment is below. I respectfully ask you to take a few moments and add your voice to those who are opposed to this overreaching and unjustified gun control action. 

Bob

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/08/2023-19177/definition-of-engaged-in-the-business-as-a-dealer-in-firearms

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Feeling Safer vs. Being Safer

In case you missed it, more and more Americans are choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights, much to the abhorrence of the gun control elitists who prefer you be unarmed, helpless victims in waiting. We The People continue to recognize they are solely responsible for their own safety and need to have the very best tools at their disposal to be safe. 

Firearm purchases in the last few years have set records month after month. Estimates place October 2023 at approximately 1.33 million firearm sales, an increase of 8.3% over October 2022. With this, the total number of privately owned firearms is now estimated at 500 million, up from 393 million in 2018, and nearly doubling since 1996. The current US population is approximately 340 million. 

A recent poll (see image) from decidedly left leaning NBC news found 52% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a firearm. This is up from 2019 (46%) and 2013 (42%). While the percentage of firearm owning families does skew higher for republicans (66%), independent (45%) and democrat (41%) family numbers are still significantly higher.  

I can tell you from my own experience running a small, members only range/sporting club, political affiliation means absolutely nothing when it comes to firearm ownership. Wanting to protect yourself and your family is the deciding factor. 

Does this sound like Americans are embracing the gun control propaganda that firearm ownership is bad? No, in fact it is quite the opposite.

Personal protection is the reason Americans site most for owning a firearm (60%) followed by hunting (36%) and recreation/sport (13%)*. Following the Hamas attack and shooting in Maine, sales of concealed carry firearms began to spike, along with tactical shotguns and AR-15 platform rifles. Interest and attendance at conceal carry and other firearm classes has also increased.

There’s a big difference between feeling safer and being safer. For years the anti-gun crowd has tried to convince you that taking away your firearms or severely limiting your ability to buy or use them, will make you “feel” safer. Of course, this is nothing but a bold-faced lie. Their ever-increasing strict gun control laws target ONLY the law-abiding citizenry and have never done anything to keep the criminals from acquiring and using firearms against you. Now add in the so-called “criminal justice reforms” such as no bail, not prosecuting violent criminals with crimes and the mass release of offenders already serving time, and it’s easy to see why gun control laws targeting the law-abiding only make you less safe. 

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

But then the argument is the police are always there to protect you, another lie. In case after case where people have sued the police for not doing enough to protect them, all have ruled the police have zero legal responsibility to protect you. This isn’t to say most law enforcement officers don’t want to, but there is absolutely no way they can be there 24/7. Add to this the so-called “criminal justice reforms” and the defund the police movement approach coveted by many left leaning cities, and you have departments which can’t even respond to emergency calls within hours. 

Being safer is having the knowledge and capability to protect yourself and your family, in your home or out in public, with the best tools available for the job. But it goes beyond that. Being safer means taking the responsibility of owning, carrying and using firearms seriously. It not only means the right equipment it means training in the use of your firearms as well as situational awareness, de-escalation techniques and non-lethal self-defense tools, because not every situation is a deadly force one. It means knowing the law and knowing what your personal, moral, and ethical limits are. It means having an emergency plan for your home and when you are in public. It means constantly assessing what is going on around you and how you are going to mitigate those risks. 

But I’m going to take being safer one step further. It means doing everything you can to ensure a safer environment for the next generation of your family. It means stopping asinine, do-nothing gun control laws that have never made the public safer in their tracks. It means voting out your political representatives at the local, county, state, and federal level when it becomes clear they will not follow their oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, ALL the Constitution. It means finding and electing new representation who will or, maybe standing up yourself.  

Feeling safe means nothing if you aren’t actually safe. Reject the gun control lies and propaganda and decide what is right for you and your family. 

Bob

*The percentage adds up to more than 100% due to multiple responses. 2013 Gallop poll.

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Walk A Mile In The People’s Shoes

In the wake of unspeakable tragedies, the gun banning politicians celebrate the opportunity presented by the deaths of innocent victims by a mentally deranged gunman. They do this by coming up with new and inventive laws to infringe on the rights of the law-abiding citizenry, while doing nothing to punish or prevent those who break the thousands of laws most of us live by, and the criminals simply ignore. Perhaps it’s time to remind them of how we the people actually live since they seem to have lost their perspective after arriving in the hallowed halls of Congress. 

Following the tried-and-true oppression principle of “You never let a serious crisis go to waste”, the gun control zealots flood the airwaves, news, and social media with emotional messages to “do something” following the horrific deaths of innocent victims. Facts don’t matter at a time like this, only that they have the ONE and ONLY solution that will stop so-called ‘gun violence’ once and for all – 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.

The truth is the only thing gun control laws are successful at is turning law-abiding citizens in to law-abiding victims. When you legislate away people’s rights and ability to protect themselves and their families at home and in public, while giving criminals a free pass to continue committing crimes and escalating violence with no repercussions, you are going to get exactly what you see happening – every terrorist, criminal and thug targeting your helpless residents. 

Unlike the politicians and the elitists who line their pockets, the average everyday American doesn’t have local, state, and federal law enforcement providing them with security briefings and on-site armed protection when they travel. Everyday Americans don’t get to have venues they visit checked and cleared, members of the public background checked and screened for weapons, and armed security surround them in a security bubble when they go among the masses. Everyday Americans don’t have state of the art security systems at their homes monitored by the Capitol Police with priority response from local authorities.  

Everyday American’s provide their own security. They are their own first responder. They are the ones who go into public by themselves and face the dangers the politicians no longer allow the police or courts to deal with. They go out day and night to work, to shop, to see other people, for entertainment and to enjoy life. Nobody is there watching over them and increasingly so now, nobody is going to come right away when they call for help in time of need, assuming they can stop fighting for their life long enough to call for help.

That’s why millions of Americans choose firearms for their protection in their homes and in public. They don’t have firearms to impose their will upon others, they do it to keep themselves and their families safe. They choose the best, most capable firearms they can afford and effectively use. This means modern semi-automatic pistols with standard capacity magazines on their person. This means modern semi-automatic rifles with standard capacity magazines in their homes. Why? Because criminals will always, ALWAYS be able to get their hands on the latest and greatest weaponry regardless of the gun laws. No gun control law has ever disarmed criminals, and none ever will. They only disarm their intended victims, making them an easy, soft target. 

But hey, you’ll probably be okay in public with your unloaded revolver or semi-automatic with a neutered magazine locked up and stored separately at home with your double barrel shotgun. 

Out in the real world our politicians have forgotten, firearms are used to defend and save lives every single day. A 2013 CDC (Centers for Disease Control) study found civilian defensive use of firearms outnumbered felonious use by a rate of 3 to 1, to the tune of 2.5 to 3 million uses per year. This is the average, everyday American protecting themselves and their families. Period. 

Will you ever see your gun control politician, lobbyist or activist elite taking the city mass transit, walking to work, stepping over the drug needles and human waste, trying not to get assaulted by the thugs and mentally ill, without their security teams in tow? Of course not. 

You see, they’re not completely anti-gun, they just want to have all the guns there to protect them, NOT you. You need to be disarmed, but they – through their always armed with the best defensive firearms known to man security teams – are not. If they’re not willing to live their life as a disarmed victim in waiting, why should you? 

For all you gun banning politicians, it’s time to stop lying to the people about gun control and just admit their safety means nothing to you.

Bob

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Presidential Election 2024 Ballot Predictions (Political Post)

It’s that time again! The 2024 elections are just one year away so it is time to make the predictions for the Democrat’s Presidential candidate. So just as before, I’ve placed my first and second choices in an envelope, sealed in a mayonnaise jar under Funk & Wagnall’s back porch to be opened following the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. 

Despite the current storyline, it will be a drama filled path to the name at the top of the ballot. My analysis of the potentials is below. 

Before we discuss who it will be, let’s discuss who it will NOT be. It will not be the current President, Joe Biden. Sadly, our President’s physical and mental health are deteriorating by the day. Despite the propping up and excuses for his blunders, it’s questionable if he’ll even make it to the end of his current term to say nothing of a second term. Combine this with this involvement in his family’s under-the-table overseas business ventures and he’s just not going to be on the ballot. 

I stand by my previous opinion that he was never intended to be the Democrat’s nominee, only a lightning rod to attract scrutiny away from the real candidate. But when the real candidate, Kamala Harris, crashed and burned before even the first primary, the party had nobody else in a position to win. His choice of Harris as a running mate was so he could step aside and allow her to become President after two years, giving her the last two years of his term and two terms of her own.

Coincidently, it will also NOT be Vice President Harris. As if her being forced to drop out before the first primary in the last election wasn’t foretelling enough, her performance as Vice President has been worse. From her patented word salad answers to her maniacal nervous cackle when she doesn’t have an answer, to the fact she hasn’t accomplished anything she has been tasked with, she is the most unpopular vice president in recent history, potentially all of history. Her biggest success right now is being the President’s impeachment insurance policy. Even though she looks good on paper, the first woman/person of color Vice President, NOBODY wants her as president, even the Democrats. 

At some point between now and the Democratic National Convention, although I’m betting it will be at the convention itself, the President will step aside and open the door to a new candidate. He will likely cite heath or the desire to spend his retirement time with family. I’m saying it will be after the caucuses and primaries which normally select the candidate. After all the normal vetting who will be the next nominee is FAR too critical of a decision to be left to the voting peasants. As history has showed us, the Democrat party can pick whomever they choose, regardless of ‘voter’ preference. 

Actual Candidates

As of now, there are two declared Democrats running.  

Marianne Williamson, an author, and speaker with no political experience except for unsuccessful runs for the House of Representatives in 2014, President in 2020 and again now for President in 2024. 

Dean Phillips, a second term Representative from Minnesota with very little name recognition outside his own state & district. 

Neither have the connections, experience, or name recognition to put them ahead of anyone. Presumably they are running to justify printing primary ballots and show how strong the President’s numbers are. 

Potential Candidates

Hillary Clinton, yes, the blast from the past, the original election denier will be back! It’s no mistake she is on the speaker circuit again and the Clinton Global Initiative is back and accepting big dollar donations around the world. These donations aren’t for whatever supposed charity work they are peddling now, it’s for access. And access to an ex-President and ex-Presidential candidate doesn’t do diddly. Hillary was denied that big chair and still wants it, bad. She wants to go down in history as the first female President of the United States. All the more reason the current Vice President isn’t going to get the party nod.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has said he will not run against the current president, will now be free to publicly announce his candidacy. It’s not like anyone doesn’t know he’s already running. His proposal for the so-called “right to safety” 28th Amendment has given him an excuse to campaign around the country. And travel he has, in the US and internationally to raise his visibility, prop up his international credentials and distance himself for the failure that is California and his own hypocrisy. SOMEHOW, he convinced actual presidential candidate Republican Ron DeSantis to debate him in a contest which; win, lose or draw, he will come out ahead. Newsom has the money, all the right family, business and political connections and can string together a sentence without sounding foolish, even though he’s usually lying through his teeth. 

Michelle Obama, someone with zero political experience of her own, she would be running on hubby’s popularity and being a woman/person of color. If successful, she would usher in the fourth Barack Obama presidential term. She would also achieve the first ever FLOTUS to POTUS conversion, something Hillary wanted. Hey, would you want to be the one that tells Hillary that Michelle Obama is the first FLOTUS to POTUS? Ooooo.. Not me. 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is also rumored to also be in the mix. Whitmer highly controversial COVID-19 policies put COVID patients back into nursing homes and has weaponized the state’s DOJ to persecute Republican lawyers and electors while ignoring the rampant voter fraud occurring in her state.   

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is also potentially in the mix despite his past racist comments, tax fraud controversies and his elimination of cash bail in Illinois. But then, this is what billionaires do. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Tulsi Gabbard would have been on this list, but both have left the Democrat party. Kennedy is now running as an Independent. Gabbard who has teased she is going to run hasn’t said how. Knowing the infinitesimal chances of success as an independent, she’ll likely run back to the Democrat party as the ‘moderate’ option, even after saying the party was “under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness.”

So why do I waste my time speculating on such things? Because if you don’t pay attention to what is going on with the opposition party, all you’ll get is the propaganda being spewed out by the media. These candidates are diametrically opposed to the rights and liberties I hold dear, and we need to keep a close eye on what they are doing. 

Place your bets and grab the popcorn. It’s going to be quite the show! The mayonnaise jar will be cracked open on August 26, 2024. 

Bob

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Lewiston

Maine is often referred to as a one big, small town. It is also recognized as the safest state in the country. Yet we are still not immune from unspeakable acts of violence. Following the horrific events that unfolded last week in Lewiston, the people of Maine have many questions about what happened. As the ugly and uncomfortable facts slowly emerge, the Mainers want answers, not new useless, feelgood laws.  

The immediate reaction for most Mainers to the shooting and shelter in place warning while the manhunt continued was to be prepared. Those with firearms had them ready. Those without quickly sought them. Maine is a constitutional carry state, one of the contributing factors to our safest state in the nation rating. 

But this didn’t stop the gun control politicians, lobbyists, and ultra-left zealots from immediately stepping up to the cameras and announcing their traditional post-tragedy solution, the ONLY solution to the problem, MORE gun control. This began within HOURS of the shooting, while victims were still bleeding, fighting for their lives and the dead not even cold. The ONLY cause for this was declared to be so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines. Although one local politician also stated this was a racist attack even though the shooter and all the victims were white. According to this politician, “The motive is he’s white”. 

Gun control politicians from the President and Vice President on down called for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines, an Australian-style mandatory “buy back” and door-to-door confiscations. 

While we wait for all the pieces to be put together, there are some disturbing things to contend with. 

Following threats to shoot up an Army Reserve base, the shooter, who clearly had mental health issues, was sent to a military hospital in New York for two-weeks of evaluation and treatment for schizophrenia and hearing voices. It is still unresolved if this would constitute an involuntary commitment, and thus render him prohibited to buy or possess firearms. Local law enforcement in Maine were made aware of his threats to commit mass murder and that he had guns by local colleagues and family members. Local law enforcement made ‘some’ attempts to contact him, but apparently did not follow through with it. Finger pointing about this incident has already begun. 

Maine has what is called a “yellow flag” law which allows police, and the police only, to petition a judge to force someone to temporarily give up their guns and blocks them from buying additional firearms if they are deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others. Unlike so-called “red flag” laws, Maine’s law requires a mental health evaluation before a judge decides to take away a person’s guns. In addition, Maine, like all 50 states and the federal government also have civil or involuntary commitment laws.  Yet despite the credible threats to the public, neither route was ever pursued. 

Then there is the question of the venues themselves. At least one of the two where the shootings occurred was posted as a “gun free” zone, and the second is believed to be also. 

Maine is a constitutional carry state where no government issued permit is required to carry a concealed firearm in public for self-defense. However, Maine law does allow establishments which sell alcohol to post their property as a gun free zone. Lewiston is also in the more left leaning area of the state, so the possibility of running into armed citizens is likely going to be less. 

It is well established that 98% of all mass shootings in the United States since 1950 have occurred in gun free zones. The reason is deadly simple. Shooters prefer places where nobody can shoot back at them so they can kill more people.

Keep in mind civilian owned firearms stop crime five times more frequently than to commit them. In just the last few years, armed civilians have stopped dozens of what otherwise would have been mass public shootings and dozens more active shooting attacks. 

Sadly, in response to this horrific tragedy, all three of Maine’s congressional members have crumbled, turned their backs on their oaths of office and prior pledges to defend the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of their state and the rest of the country. Each has now committed to passing more ineffective gun control laws. As always following the senseless loss of life, and without waiting to determine the facts of the case, they listened to the loudest voices in the room. Well, let’s just say the only voices they allowed in the room with them, the gun control lobbyists. 

Another federal or state “assault weapon” ban would produce the exact same results as the last federal “assault weapon” ban, and every state “assault weapon” ban in existence today. No measurable reduction in crime or homicides. What it would do is deprive the honest, law-abiding citizenry the ability to use the best suited and most effective tools to defend themselves and their families against criminals who for some odd reason choose to ignore gun control laws when they seek to rape, rob, assault, and kill. 

Banning firearms because of their cosmetic ‘features’ or so-called “large capacity” magazines is simply a bottomless legal trap to continue to add more and more firearms to it, such as all semi-automatics, pump actions, lever actions, “sniper (hunting) rifles”, etc. etc. until the people are effectively disarmed.

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

Perhaps if our elected officials want to pass a new knee jerk reaction law, they can start by making one that says all the previously passed laws have to be used before new ones are considered. The government’s failure to use all the tools already at their disposal is NOT a valid reason to add more laws just to make depriving people of their rights easier. 

A recent quote from Dana Loesch sums it up nicely. “The rights of the innocent are not determined by the evil of criminals.”

Bob

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California’s Assault Weapon Ban Ruled Unconstitutional 

On Thursday, October 19, 2023, Federal Judge Roger T. Benitez issued a ruling in Miller v. Bonta. The case challenged California’s so-called “Assault Weapons” ban. Judge Benitez ruled the law was unconstitutional but stayed the ruling for 10 days to allow the State to appeal. This is a significant ruling as it struck down the law utilizing the latest U.S. Supreme Court tests brought in by New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen. 

Of course, this isn’t the first time Judge Benitez has ruled on the Miller v. Bonita. He ruled the so-called “Assault Weapons” ban unconstitutional on June 4, 2021. It has been in appeals since that time and returned to him for reconsideration in light of NYSRPA v. Bruen.

The 79-page ruling is well written and concise, as all of Judge Benitez’s rulings have been. It precisely details how California’s laws do not past the text, history, and tradition test, nor any of the previous Supreme Court’s Second Amendment tests. He also refutes, at times brutally, some of the State’s experts, testimony, and evidence. 

The full ruling is linked below, and I encourage you to take the time to read it so you will understand not only the ruling, but what ‘logic’ the State of California is using against you. 

Here are a few significant quotes from the ruling: 

The California legislature, at a time in the past when the lower courts did not recognize an individual’s right to keep firearms and in a state that has no constitutional analogue to the Second Amendment, balanced that interest above and against its law-abiding citizens who wanted these firearms for self-defense.

However, among the American tradition of firearm ownership, there is nothing like California’s prohibition on rifles, shotguns, and handguns based on their looks or attributes. Here, the “assault weapon” prohibition has no historical pedigree and it is extreme.

The State says criminals already have and favor using guns described as “assault weapons.” Rather than being outgunned, many citizens want these same firearms as a defense against criminal attacks. Americans today own 24.4 million modern rifles (i.e., AR-15 platform and AK-47 platform rifles), according to the State’s expert. Of the AR-15 rifle owners surveyed, 61% said one reason they acquired their gun is for home defense. Consequently, while criminals already have these modern semiautomatics, the State prohibits its citizens from buying and possessing the same guns for self-defense. At the same time these firearms are commonly possessed by law-abiding gun owners elsewhere across the country. Guns for self-defense are needed a lot because crime happens a lot. A recent large-scale survey estimates that guns are needed defensively approximately 1,670,000 times a year.

Another report, originally commissioned and long cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are between 500,000 and 3,000,000 defensive gun uses in the United States each year. That is a lot of situations where Jane Doe needs a firearm to defend herself and her family. Trial testimony from hoodlums is not needed to prove that a homeowner brandishing an AR-15 can be a strong deterrent to criminal attackers. But when brandishing does not stop an attack, Jane needs an effective defense. That is where an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle can come to the rescue. And although this Court focuses its analysis on rifles, California’s ban also includes such common weapons as semiautomatic shotguns with removable magazines and semiautomatic handguns with threaded barrels.

End quotes

As expected, the State of California immediately appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals where it is certain to be indefinitely stayed pending rehearing and its inevitable and expected overturn. It remains to be seen if the Ninth Circuit will once again violate its own rules as it did with the appeal of recent ruling in Duncan v. Bonta, the ban on so-called “large capacity magazines”, and have the same en banc panel that heard it previously rule on the stay. 

Judge Benitz’s rational in this case is logical, reasonable, and above all, is legally sound. When viewed through the lens of the Constitution, Second Amendment, and the relevant U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment rulings, there is no other logical conclusion than what he came to. The problem is activists judges who are more interested in social agenda and political affiliations warping the definitions of these same elements to support a completely different conclusion. That is the case’s next hurdle in the Nutty Ninth. 

One last quote from the ruling: 

Punishing every good citizen because bad ones misuse a gun offends the Constitution. A state supreme court in 1878 said it succinctly: “If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege.”

Bob

https://saf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MIller-Decision-2023.pdf

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Being Necessary To The Security Of A Free State

In the wake of the atrocities, loss of life and the kidnapping and killing of innocents in Israel, accounts of heroic actions to save the lives of families and other have emerged from the carnage. These stories share a common element, the individuals and groups who made the lifesaving difference had access to firearms and  ammunition with the training and ability to use them. Civilians having firearms saves lives. It’s as simple as that. 

It is important to note that Israel does not have the equivalent of our Second Amendment. Despite the whole genre of off-duty female Israeli troops carrying an M4, firearm ownership in Israel is not common. Firearms there are strictly controlled and residents who do have permits are only allowed 50 rounds of ammunition. 

As a direct result of the horrific attacks, Israel announced it was significantly modifying their permit process to allow more civilian ownership, as well as increasing the number of rounds permitted to 100. They will also be distributing 10,000 assault rifles to civilian security teams in border areas. 

Call these groups by whatever name you will; civilian security teams, guardians, or neighborhood watch, but they all fall under our definition of militia.

The Second Amendment

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.

What is the militia? Well first off, it’s not what our news media has tried to convince you of. Their typical portrayal is of the most radical, right-wing outcasts made up of old, overweight white guys in camo running around in the woods spouting off anti-government rhetoric. Nor is it what the gun-control zealots tell you, the state-run National Guard. 

From the very beginning of our nation, the militia was every able-bodied male in the community, each of whom was expected to supply their own arms and equipment. Their charter was incredibly simple. To protect the community from threats. It shouldn’t be any different 247 years later. 

Today it is small groups of concerned people coming together for the safety of their church, their businesses, and their community. These groups continue to make a real difference in our country time and time again. Your own ‘militia’ could be family, friends, or entire neighborhoods. It doesn’t have to don camo and run around in the woods; it only has to be able to work together in an emergency, for any type of emergency. 

You may be saying to yourself, there’s no way something like what happened in Israel could happen here. We’re the United States of America! We’re a superpower! BULLSH!T! Israel is among the very best, if not the best in the world at stopping terrorists. Yet this horrific attack still occurred. If it can happen there, it can occur in any nation on the planet, including here.

Keep in mind the deadliest terrorist attack in history was here in the United States on 09/11 with 2977 victims killed and thousands more injured. What makes you think that of the millions of people who have entered our country illegally across our open southern border in the last three years, many of them military aged males, couldn’t do the same thing here? 

Just this weekend, the Director of the FBI, who is typically laser focused on monitoring and controlling the exigent threat of religious and conservative parents speaking out at school board meetings, issued a warning about the rise in violent extremism to the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference. 

If you think the government will protect you, remember what happened around our country with the BLM/Antifa “fiery but most peaceful” riots. Despite over $2 billion in damages and at least 25 people dead, their intent was only to assault, steal, loot, damage, burn, destroy, and intimidate the cities they attacked. Local, state, and federal law enforcement could do very little to stop it even if their political leaders had allowed them to.  

We are now in a position in our country where many of our city’s defunded, demoralized and highly restricted police departments can no longer handle even their day-to-day calls. Response times for emergencies in some cites extend into hours. Who is going to keep you safe until the police finally show up? 

Remember YOU are the one responsible for you and your family’s safety, 24/7, 365 days a year, at home or in public, no matter what the situation. 

If a firearm is the right tool for you, make sure you have one and sufficient ammunition. Carry it with you always. Get training for you and your family with your firearms. Get training in first aid and trauma care. Seek out others in your family and your community who can help each other in times of need. Work together for everyone’s safety. 

Bob

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Super Hunter: Second Amendment Crusader! (Satire)

In our darkest hours, a new hero has emerged in our struggle against Second Amendment infringements. Using his close familial connection to the ‘Large Fella’ himself and influence in all the right TLAs (three letter agencies), he is fighting the for the rights of those, like him, who are being penalized for daring to use alternative pharmaceuticals. Fear not fellow patriots, Super Hunter is here!

As you may recall, Super Hunter faced a cruel and inhumane first-time offender diversion program for his multiple felony gun law violations. When his plea bargain, which included several misdemeanor charges for millions of dollars of undeclared income, fell apart, it put him in real danger.  Now indicted on three counts related to his lying on a form purchasing a gun and possessing a gun as an admitted illegal drug user, the full weight of the federal law could very well fall on him. 

But good news! One of the charges alleging he broke the law against drug users having guns, has already been dropped. I have no doubt this will be a President… ummm, precedent setting move. Illegal drug users around the country are no doubt experiencing a collective sigh of relief. 

Super Hunter’s lawyers have already given notice they intend to challenge the constitutionality of this law. They are pointing to a case making its way through the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based on the NYSRPA. v. Bruen decision’s new text, history, and tradition test. 

Super Hunter unquestionably has some skin in this game. Actual felony convictions could jeopardize his membership in the Washington DC bar, which thus far through his self-documented drug addiction and prostitute use, as well as aborted plea deals, remains in good standing. It could also hinder future international business deals with foreign leaders and underworld business tycoons who we all know have a serious aversion to being associated with less than reputable members of powerful political families.  

A win here could be enormous for the industry. The market potential for drug users who would be running, well, somehow finding their way to their local gun store is substantial. They will of course be faced with the age-old dilemma of whether they have drug money or gun money to spend. But let us not forget the health benefit for gun store clerks who will no longer have to suffer (RES) Rolling Eye Syndrome from constantly having to deal with people trying to use their medical marijuana card as a form of identification. 

It is speculated the only reason the federal government has not legalized drugs and removed that annoying question 21(f) on Form 4473 is because they have nothing to gain. This of course isn’t true. When cigarette tax revenue started drying up do to Stop Smoking campaigns, states found a replacement income with marijuana licensing and sales taxes. Afterall, the states knew marijuana is safe to sell and use when licensed and taxed. Therefore, the answer is federal licensing and tax!

Why should just the states get all the benefits of drug regulation? Federal AND state control can both exist. Federal licensing of drug dealers, a Federal Ph(F)armaceutical Licensee (FFL) will bring in revenue, as can prosecution of non-licensees who are engaged in the business. The best part is the federal government already has a model for this. 

This is definitely a case for Second Amendment advocates to watch. Some say the most likely outcome here is the case being plea bargained down to misdemeanor, dismissed outright or even pardoned, rendering his constitutional challenge moot. However, we all know Super Hunter will reject all that! He’s going to stick with it all the way to the United States Supreme Court so medical and recreational drug users around the country can legally obtain and possess firearms.

Carry on Super Hunter. Carry on. 

Bob

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