Litigation
- SCOTUS has granted review of Garland v. Cargill, 22-976. Whether bump stocks are machine guns.
- U.S. District Court for District of Columbia (decision here – pdf link):
“The otherwise illegal possession of a firearm may be justified, so as not to be criminal, if the weapon is held in lawful self-defense. This case presents the question of when precisely that legal justification ends—whether it is the instant a person realizes the threat has subsided or if it instead extends to a period allowing the person to reasonably relinquish the weapon. The trial court instructed the jury, as the government now maintains, that the justification ends the moment the person appreciates that the threat animating the right to self defense has subsided, so that they must effectively drop the gun in that instant or otherwise lose their justification defense. In appealing his conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, Saeve Evans counters that the justification defense logically extends to a short period after the person realizes the threat has subsided, so that they have a reasonable opportunity to promptly dispossess themselves of the weapon. We agree with Evans and reverse his conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.”
- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Maryland’s handgun qualification law is unconstitutional. Under Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Law, people are prohibited from purchasing, renting or receiving a firearm unless they have a valid state-issued handgun qualification license. The unconstitutional requirement will remain in effect until the federal court issues a mandate for the licensing process to cease. In other words, the Maryland State Police will ignore the court until forced to comply. Perhaps we should use literal force.
- Oregon Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio, the presiding judge in Harney County in rural southeast Oregon, has ruled (pdf link) that Measure 114, Oregon’s recent voter-approved gun control law, violates the state constitution. The law requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm, and it bans high-capacity magazines. I have news for you; it also violates the U.S. Constitution.
- “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge after actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the set of the movie, was indicted last month in New Mexico on a charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment on Oct. 1, 2021. The “Rust” killing occurred on Oct. 21, 2021.
- Future Litigation: ATF Claims Solvent Traps Were Always Unregistered Silencers.
- A little more info on U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez and his rulings. Gold.
- A blind pig… Stalwart liberal on New York’s top court says she would strike down gun law.
Action items
- You know that the BATF has proposed a new rule (ATF 2022R-17) that could – and knowing them very likely would – be interpreted as requiring one to possess an FFL to make even one “profitable” gun sale. This is a very clear contravention of federal law. And of course should you successfully obtain an FFL, they are looking for the very first opportunity to revoke it. You can submit a comment on the proposed rule here.
- Congress is trying to ban plastic guns, and perhaps guns with plastic parts. Send a letter to your elected representatives here.
Prohibited person
- The man who shot and killed a security guard at a New Hampshire psychiatric hospital in Concord two weeks ago was not allowed to have guns, ammunition, or any other weapons following his arrest and involuntary mental hospital admission in 2016, according to court records.
History Lessons
- A Well-Outfitted Militia: German Translation of the Second Amendment Offers Insight.
“History does not always repeat itself. Sometimes it just yells, ‘Can’t you remember anything I told you?’ and lets fly with a club.” – John W. Campbell Jr.
Enemies
- The leaders of March for Our Lives gun ban group and the Sunrise Movement environmental protest group reportedly signed a letter to President Joe Biden warning that young people wouldn’t vote for him unless he forced Israel to stop attacking Hamas.
- Hamas is evil. Period.
NRA
- According to former NRA Director Rocky Marshall (pdf link), sometimes when NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre and his cronies embezzled funds from our organization, the corrupt board and staff simply added the embezzled amounts to the crooks’ salaries in order to “not have a tax problem.” I think they should have an incarceration problem.
Statistics & Studies
- More guns, less crime. Murder Rate Fell 6.1% After Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision.
- More than half of voters in the United States (52%) say they or someone living in their home owns a gun, the highest number recorded by an NBC News national poll since the survey first presented the question in 1999. 66% of Republicans, 41% of Democrats and 45% of independents polled said there was a gun in their home. We also know that a significant proportion of gun owners will not disclose that to pollsters, so these numbers are certainly low; perhaps very low. Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling firm, conducted the poll for NBC News/The Wall Street Journal.
“Our study adds to the decades of evidence that gun buybacks — as we currently operate them — do not make a meaningful contribution to reducing gun crime… …the data haven’t shown that gun buyback programs improve public safety…” – Jerry H. Ratcliffe (Temple University Department of Criminal Justice professor) and Marc Huffer (graduate student in the same program), publishers of an evaluation of Philadelphia’s gun buyback program in the journal Injury Prevention. Well, duh.
- About those school shootings. Caveat: the JAMA and anyone who uses the pseudo-term “gun violence” or “gun crime” doesn’t really know what they’re talking about.
Gun Ownership Stats
- In case you need a reference.
Over There
- After the UK abandoned support for its voluntarily-armed police officers involved in shooting incidents and leaving them to swing in the wind, the authorities are unsurprisingly dealing with a serious lack of armed officers to deal with the ever-increasing violent crime wave across the marshmallow-soft nation. Now they say they may have to require officers to carry guns for the first time in history. I bet that doesn’t work either unless they quit criminalizing legitimate self defense.
Over Here.
- Washington, D.C.’s city council in the summer of 2020 voted to slash millions from the police budget. Now, as homicides surge in the nation’s capital, liberal council members want more cops. That’s pretty much a snapshot of the idiots occupying Washington.
The Only Ones
- Former Jackson, MS police officer Torrence Mayfield has been indicted – again – on federal firearms charges. We first reported on Mayfield back in April.
- Six more Colorado cops have been charged with failing to intervene to prevent or stop a fellow police officer from using excessive physical force, a misdemeanor, after they did not intervene to stop the actions of former sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Buen, who attacked and fatally shot a man after a standoff in 2022 after the man had called for help with his stuck SUV. Buen and his supervisor were previously charged with more serious offenses.
- Naming names in Rankin County, MS. Not just the half dozen cop thugs who deservedly went to prison. This is why we have penalties of death and life without parole.
- Related, and interesting. How Medical Examiners Shield Violent Cops From Scrutiny. But we have a rumor that there is additional information not reported by Mr. Balco.
DGUs
- We previously reported on this DGU event in Los Angeles. After the sheriff’s office then revoked the victim’s gun permit, that story has been blowing up.
- The Armed Citizen
- Bystander shoots, kills robbery suspect at Dollar General
Record Shot.
- Ukrainian sniper claims new world record after picking off Russian soldier from 2.36 miles away using “Lord of the Horizon” gun. I hope he’s getting plenty of ammo.
Tactics & Stuff
“In many units the armorers—and sometimes even an officer—will conduct what amounts to a ‘white glove’ inspection, wherein the troops will be kept ‘busy’ by performing useless, and sometimes harmful, ‘cleaning’ in order to satisfy the whims of despots and buffoons.”
- Defensive shotgun stuff.
- The Belgian Air Force’s new C-UAS (Counter Unmanned Aerial System, i.e. drone defense) is Benelli M4 semi-auto shotguns with high brass steel shot loads. Testing shows them to be effective.
- Holsters & mag pouches.
- The Israeli Method. Don’t.
- Getting old. Too late – I’m already there.
- Airport gun theft.
- Apparent biometric lock failure (more here).
Industry News
- Vista Outdoor – Colt CZ deal falling through? Colt CZ Group SE is a joint stock company organized under the laws of the Czech Republic, according to SEC filings.
Sales.
- FBI’s NICS reported a record number of unadjusted background checks on Black Friday 2023. This year’s number of 214,913 checks are up 5.5% from the previous record set in 2017 and 10% from last year. Black Friday 2023 was the third-busiest day in the history of the FBI’s background check system.
Products
- Just a reminder to be very careful of gun stuff related internet sales scams.
- Vihtavuori Powders were loaded by more than 50% of the competitors surveyed during the F-Class Nationals and is the Number 1 powder choice of Benchrest, Long-Range F-Class, and USPSA competitive disciplines.
- FN has holiday rebates through the end of the year.
- CZ’s 457 Carbon rimfire rifle weighs less than 5 lbs.
- Hot on the heels of the re-release of the Marlin Dark Series, Ruger has just announced the re-release of the Marlin Model 1894 Classic lever action chambered in .357 Magnum. $1239.
- Savage has announced the new innovative KLYM Series of straight-pull rifles. Only $2700 for the 110 versions and $3300 for the Impulse versions.
- Mission First Tactical drinkware. Cool coolers.
- Bereli has flamethrowers 23% off and free shipping. I’m gonna be needing one.
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The mayor in Jaws is still the mayor in Jaws 2. Local elections are important.
“The ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.” -Voltaire