Election

• White House grilled on Harris’ gun ownership, mandatory gun confiscations.
• Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, and three times is enemy action. In endorsing California’s total handgun ban proposal, Harris set herself apart from even Dianne Feinstein and Gavin Newsom, both of whom considered the project to be a step too far.
• Kamala on the Heller decision.
• “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – Isaiah 5:20
• Vance vs. Walz: A “reasonable” infringement?
• Tim Walz Says Rights Shouldn’t Depend on Geography (Except the Right to Carry).

“You really, really, really don’t want either candidate to serve as President of the United States? OK, have you thought about nominations for Supreme Court justices in the coming four years? Have you considered which vice-presidential candidate will be casting tie breaker votes in the Senate? Have you thought about what happens in Congress because of the outcome on ‘down ballot’ races in which you really should have voted for a local representative?” – Gila Hayes

Litigation

• Friends. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) has joined 28 other states in filing an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court, asking the court to take up the appeal of Snope v. Brown in which the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Maryland’s ban on hundreds of styles of firearms. “The language of the Second Amendment is unambiguous and clear. The Fourth Circuit’s decision undermines both individual rights and the very principles of our Second Amendment,” said Fitch. “I am proud to stand with AG Labrador and my colleagues from across the country in defense of this fundamental freedom.”
• Knife Rights has filed a new federal lawsuit against the US government, challenging the constitutionality of portions of the Federal Switchblade Act (Title 15 Chapter 29 §1241). Knife Rights’ original lawsuit was improperly dismissed on standing grounds back in June.
• Knife Rights has also filed a federal lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s complete ban on switchblades (automatically opening knives) on Second Amendment grounds.
• A New Mexico judge this week upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction against movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.” Gutierrez-Reed asked the court to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter conviction or convene a new trial in the shooting death, alleging misconduct and suppression of evidence by law enforcement after Baldwin’s trial was ended in July for those reasons. I suspect this is not over.
• In her Banta v. Ferguson decision denying an injunction against Washington State’s ban on the sale of guns deemed by the state legislature as “assault weapons,” US District Judge Mary Dimke of the Eastern District of Washington told a whopper of a lie, saying “The majority of the existing authority favors a Second Amendment test requiring Plaintiffs to demonstrate that the weapons at issue are not only in common use for self-defense but also tailored to that end, or that the weapons at issue are otherwise not too dangerous or unusual.” We note that in typical court cases, witnesses are sworn to tell the truth, but the lawyers and judges aren’t. This ain’t over.
• The US Supreme Court goes back to work next week and we are waiting to see whether the justices grant certiorari to the 2-year-pending case Bianchi v. Frosh, which challenges Maryland’s ban on so-called “assault weapons.” In June 2022, the high court granted certiorari to the case, reversed a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding ban, and remanded the case back to the lower court to be reconsidered under new guidelines established in the Bruen case. Now we want the high court to once again grant review and actually hear the case, which could finally resolve the question of whether AR-15 and similar modern semi-auto rifles are protected by the Second Amendment, as the Constitution and God intended.
• Next week, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, an appeal of the Biden administration rule outlawing unserialized home-built guns. This one is about administrative overreach, not guns. You see, the definition of a firearm is explicit in federal law passed by Congress. The Biden administration has unilaterally redefined the term on its own. But presidents can’t change statutes.
• A month after a federal judge dismissed machine gun possession charges in Kansas based on the Second Amendment, federal prosecutors are appealing to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Following its victory ending California’s “1-in-30 days” firearm purchase ban, Firearms Policy Coalition announced that it has filed a new federal lawsuit to strike down New Jersey’s version of the law. The case is Struck v. Platkin.
• The Illinois Supreme Court has vacated a challenge to the state’s Firearm Owner’s ID card law and vacated a lower court’s ruling the law was unconstitutional.
• ATF Loses at Trial, Gun Store Owner Acquitted.

Grassroots Updates

• September 30, 2024
• October 2, 2024

Newsletters

• The October ACLDN and Rangemaster newsletters are out.

Studies

• Study Proves Legal Gun Owners Are the Sane Ones, “Gun Crime” [sic] is the Fault of Psychopaths.
• FBI Report Shows Dramatic Violent Crime Drop as 29 States Went Permitless.

• Gun-Free School Zone Laws & School Shootings (2024 Updated). Before the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSA), only two notable mass shootings had occurred on school campuses.  ince the passage of this legislation, many Americans can name over ten incidents without needing to research.
• Puerto Rico: May Issue to Shall Issue. More guns, less crime.

NRA

• Marion Hammer has resigned from the NRA BoD. That’s a good thing.

Enemies

• The City of Okeechobee, Florida adopted an illegal ordinance shortly before Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, which banned the sale of guns and ammunition and prohibited firearm possession in public by anyone other than law enforcement or members of the military. Police Chief Donald C. Hagan II is now claiming it was a misunderstanding and a mistake. The Mayor and City Council are now on record stating it was just a mix-up. Right. Rescinding the Bill of Rights is “just a mix-up.” Col. Blake and Cpl. O’Reilly, or so they claim.
• FakeBook and IdiotGram

The Only Ones

• Beaumont, MS Mayor Scotty Dailey was caught on video firing a shot into a gas station canopy during an argument with another customer over which way to enter/leave the pumps.
• LAPD raid goes from bad to farce after gun allegedly sucked onto MRI machine
• Former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Adrian Tsaroukian, 23, was arrested and jailed last month on facing felony charges of robbery and shooting at a car.
• The Seattle Police Department has somehow lost nearly two dozen guns in the last eight years. But, but, but, Seattle has a Responsible Storage Law that requires gun owners to keep their guns in a locked container when not being carried by them or under their control, and impose fines for crimes committed with an improperly stored gun.
• The Minneapolis, MN, Police Dept. has reported that Lesly Vera, a Mexican national, was sworn in on Thursday as the department’s first non-citizen officer. So, foreign nationals can officially disarm citizens on US soil.

DGUs

• Armed Citizen Shoots Robber Who Used Toy Gun in Stick-Up
• Tunica County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
• The Armed Citizen:
  • America’s 1st Freedom – September 27, 2024
  • American Rifleman – September 27, 2024
  • American Rifleman – September 30, 2024

Industry News

• Obit: Phil Spangenberger, 84
• Slide Fire Solutions – the company that pioneered bump stock technology – was forced to shut down in 2018 when the government imposed a ban on the sale and ownership of bump stocks, has announced it is back in business following a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal ban on bump stocks just a couple of months ago.
• Israel Weapon Industries – IWI US is opening a manufacturing facility in Anderson County, TN.
• Heckler & Koch is expanding its operations in the US with the launch of HK USA, a strategic initiative designed to bolster its US presence and meet growing US demands.
• Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are on an expected 1-2 week strike against 36 of the nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas, stopping the flow of about half of all goods shipped in containers in and out of the US. Those goods include ammunition and ammunition components. Do the math. FWIW, I absolutely abhor today’s labor unions. The ILA is demanding a 77% wage increase and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight. I miss President Reagan.

Tactics & Stuff

• Handloading: Stuck cases. (Clarification: Mr. Hoover says “A supplied cap slips over the die. Using the bolt with Allen head, screw the bolt until it bottoms out. Now comes the elbow grease part. Using the supplied Allen key, start backing the bolt out. The cap presses against the die as the brass is pulled out.” That ain’t right, as “backing the bolt out” would only unscrew what you just screwed in. The bolt threads into the tapped primer hole and as you tighten it forward (clockwise), the bolt head mashes the cap against the die body, and the bolt threads pull the brass case out of the die and into the cap. There is no “backing out” of the screw/bolt until after you successfully extract the case from the die and then need to disassemble the bolt/cap/case.)
• Make your own .45 ACP shotshells for pest control. I load a few pistol shotshells but am unwilling to do this much work.
• Thoughts on ammo. Ayoob.
• Ammo review: Federal .380 ACP Hydra-Shok.
• Flashlight techniques.
• Protecting Houses of Worship:
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
• Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
• Oil & grease.
• Longest Confirmed Sniper Kills.
• Fish hook removal.

Products

• As gun sales cool, a number of rebates are popping up, just in time for Christmas. However, September 2024 marks the 62nd month in a row that has exceeded 1 million NSSF-adjusted background checks in a single month.
• Taurus USA, Heritage and Rossi announced that from October 1, 2024, through January 15, 2025, when you purchase a Rossi R95, Rossi R92, or Heritage 92 firearm, you’ll also receive a free Rough Rider Revolver.
• P7Pro – The Legendary P7 Reborn in The USA.
• More on Caldwell’s innovative VelociRadar chronograph. $500.
• Crosman’s latest addition to its product lineup is the Crosman Full Auto M1. This innovative BB gun combines the classic M1 Carbine design with cutting-edge technology, delivering an exhilarating full-auto shooting experience that airgun enthusiasts will love. The Full Auto M1 is a CO2-powered carbine air rifle that can fire up to 1400 rounds per minute with a velocity of up to 430 feet per second.  Just $140 for a full-auto that uses cheap ammo. They also have AR-style full autos for a bit more coin. I’m thinking snake gun.
• G9 Defense has introduced Safari Ammunition with Shape Charge Technology designed for safari and dangerous game hunters. G9 Safari’s lead-free Shape Charge Technology uses brass bullets designed to penetrate deeply while creating large, permanent wound cavities by forcing a hydraulic jet into the surrounding tissue. The bullets’ patented shape propels fluid outward, increasing the wound diameter and ensuring devastating effectiveness, and “easily cut through thick hide and heavy bone, providing consistent and reliable penetration.” Available in:
  • .375 H&H 300 gr. 2600 FPS 4503 FT-LBS
  • .416 RIGBY 400 gr. 2400 FPS 5116 FT-LBS
  • .416 REMINGTON 400 gr. 2400 FPS 5116 FT-LBS

“I’ve learned it is better if they (criminal attackers) survive to be prosecuted. I will be cleared if they survive to be convicted. That’s actually true. I’ve had a couple cases in which the shooter got summary judgment because of conviction of the attacker.” – John Chapman, esq.

 

“Once I was assigned to patrol, I was still out of the habit of carrying a knife [due to previous corrections assignment – JP] which was a mistake. I responded to a roll over traffic crash only to find a female trapped upside down by her seat belt and I had nothing to cut her out with. Fortunately, an off-duty firefighter arrived shortly thereafter and cut her free. Once the scene was stable, he looked at me and said, ‘Where is your knife?’ to which I had to reply I did not have one. He stared at me with a look of bewilderment and said, ‘do you think if your job requires you to carry a gun that a knife would be a good idea?’ Message received.” – Dave Spaulding