‘Merica:
Assassination attempt
I’ll not try to cover all the noise about last Saturday’s events and Keystone cops tactical errors, other than the following random thoughts. Suffice it to say that the evil sensationalizing media gets most of it wrong – many times laughably wrong. Likewise, the conspiracy theorists yammering 5 minutes after the event are mostly making up their THEORIES out of thin air, with NO evidence. Add to that the fact that we can’t really believe the Secret Service or the FBI.
The weird thing is, the assassin was rejected from joining his high school rifle team due to being a “comically bad shot,” once missing a target 50 feet away by about 20 feet to one side. Perhaps he was intentionally playing around and not really that bad of a shooter. I’ve never seen anyone shoot nearly that badly.
Here is the best brief synopsis of the events I’ve seen as of this writing (7/18) and without searching. My apologies for the fact that ABC incessantly repeats the assassin’s name.
Why do we have Secret Service agents who are 5’6″ trying to cover a guy who’s 6’3″? – Tom Gresham
I dunno, maybe for the same reason we have agents who can’t find their holster or who are more worried about their sunglasses or their protectee’s hat than about an active assassin. – JP
Loucius Hires III, Director of the Secret Service’s “Office of Equity” calls it a “mission imperative” and the “ultimate goal” to spread DEI within the agency. Well that explains it. We all thought the ultimate goal was to keep their protectees alive and safe.
There should be no flags or the like at these rallies, since they can be used by snipers to calculate ballistics. Angle of flag from flagpole divided by four gives approximate wind speed.
The SS might want to consider securing buildings and other likely sniper hides that are within a pistol shot from their protectee. That they didn’t is beyond my comprehension.
Shooting at someone from a distance doesn’t make one a “sniper,” no matter what the lamestream media says.
Election: Trump V.P. Pick J.D. Vance is Strong on the Second Amendment
The Left agrees.
Litigation
Baldwin walks. The New Mexico judge dismissed the “Rust” manslaughter charges against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning he could not be tried again, due to allegations that the prosecution hid exculpatory evidence (live ammo) from the defense. The ammo – allegedly from the movie set location – was “turned in” to the sheriff’s office by a “good Samaritan,” namely a good friend of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather, Thell Reed. This has fueled a motion filed by Gutierrez-Reed for a new trial or to have her case thrown out, which will likely be successful. Gutierrez-Reed was earlier convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case and is serving 18 months in prison.
US District Judge Toby Crouse of the District of Kansas has refused to block the enforcement in Kansas and 19 other states of a Biden administration rule requiring firearms sellers who are not licensed dealers to do background checks of buyers at gun shows, leaving Texas as the only state so far where a legal challenge of the rule has succeeded. Federal district Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk previously blocked its enforcement in Texas and against members of four groups. But Judge Kacsmaryk didn’t block it in three other states that joined Texas in its lawsuit – Louisiana, Mississippi and Utah.
The Firearms Policy Coalition announced a decisive victory out of the US District Court of New Jersey in its federal Second Amendment lawsuit (Francisco v. Cooke) challenging that state’s requirement for individuals to prove a “justifiable need”* to acquire a permit to carry a firearm. The Court has approved a consent order stating that the provision violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and that the defendants in the case are responsible for the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees and costs.
The Third US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Delaware’s bans of semiautomatic rifles and magazines that can hold over 17 rounds is constitutional. One wonders if the court ever read the Constitution.
A three-judge panel of the Eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Minnesota’s unconstitutional ban on concealed carry by young adults is in fact unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The lawsuit, known as Worth v. Jacobson, was filed by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and four citizens. Acknowledging that the right to keep and bear arms is a natural right, Circuit Judge Duane Benton reiterated, “First, the right to keep and bear arms ‘is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second Amendment declares that it shall not be infringed.'” Judge Benton adds, “Importantly, the Second Amendment’s plain text does not have an age limit…. Ordinary, law-abiding 18 to 20-year-old Minnesotans are unambiguously members of the people. Because the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the plaintiffs and their conduct, it is presumptively constitutionally protected…” We suspect that the state may request an en banc rehearing.
The Ninth US Circus Court of Appeals agreed Wednesday to reconsider the constitutionality of a 1968 federal law banning convicted felons from owning guns, setting aside its panel’s ruling that the law violated the right to bear arms, at least for those convicted of nonviolent felonies. A majority of the circuit’s 29 judges voted to refer the issue to another panel for a new hearing, an order that reinstates the law in the nine Western states covered by the court. The order drew an indignant dissent from Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a member of the earlier panel, who correctly stated the appeals court was “doing its best to subvert” the Supreme Court’s approach to firearms cases.
Enemies
- Follow up: Louisiana Attorney General Quashes New Orleans’ Illegal Gun-free Zone
- Federal staffers in favor of presidential assassinations. (FBI, Homeland Security Committee…)
The Only Ones
Illinois woman who called sheriff’s office over possible intruder killed by deputies. Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted and arrested on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Dallas Police Sgt. Thomas Michael Fry is accused of stealing firearms from the DPD from August of 2021 to July of 2022. Fry is accused of stealing the firearms from the Southeast Patrol Division where he was assigned at the time. In addition to the property theft charge, Fry is also being charged with three counts of theft of a firearm. Suspended with pay.
DGUs
- Last week the Israel Defense Forces released the results of its investigation into the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas on October 7, finding that the military had failed to defend citizens and that armed civilians had stepped in.
- Tupelo Man Catches Three Masked Intruders In His Home, Scares Them Off By Firing Gun
- Florida Man Uses Backup Gun to Shoot Robber After Primary Gun is Stolen
- Colorado Springs Police respond to shooting early Sunday morning
- One dead, one critically injured after shooting in New Hanover neighborhood
- The Armed Citizen:
Tactics & Stuff
- Three Cases When a Good Guy With a Gun Was Mistaken for a Bad Guy
- Master List of State-Issued Pistols
- Results of gun care product evaluation
Products
Want a Tommy Gun? “Almost the entire British supply” of WWII 1928 Thompsons has been found and is coming to market. Really.
Sig Sauer has moved from a 5-year warranty to an infinite lifetime warranty on its optics, including electronic and thermals. This includes products you already own. No receipt, no original owner required. Competitors, the ball’s in your court.
S&W’s new .380 ACP Bodyguard 2.0 features a double-stack magazine accommodating 10- or 12-round magazines and is styled like recent M&P pistols. It appears comparable to Ruger’s LCP Max. The Bodyguard 2.0 is 4″ tall, a bit under 1″ wide and weighs just 9.8 ounces unloaded. $450.
S&W has also released the SD40 2.0 ($350) and the M&P 9 Shield Plus with threaded barrel ($570).
Tailored for carry-size subcompact guns, the Holosun SCS Carry solar-charging enclosed reflex optic has a Multiple Reticle System, multi-sensor auto brightness system, brightness intensity override system, 20,000-hour power reserve, aspheric glass lens with zero distortion and RMSc-to-K adapter plate. $470
Can’t afford a behind-the-door home defense shotgun? How does $110 strike you?