August 17, 2018 Newsletter by Jeff Pittman
Parkland Update
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, head of Florida’s state-appointed commission investigating the Parkland school massacre, said last week, “If he had somebody in there with a gun, they could have mitigated this. There were opportunities for staff to have intervened if they had been armed.”
But nobody was armed and 17 people died.
Meanwhile, we have a report that he Broward County School Board had ordered metal detectors for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, site of the massacre, then changed their minds and built a new weight room instead. The Board also reportedly hired 15 new UNARMED security monitors (remember the commercial?) for the new school year.
Assume they are your kids. You decide.
Election
The NRA has endorsed temporarily-appointed US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in her election bid to retain the seat in November. Hyde-Smith hit the ground running this summer by introducing several pro-gun bills.
Sandbox Long Shot
In June, a British SAS sniper blew away an ISIS commander in Afghanistan from more than a mile away with a single shot from an old .50 BMG machine gun.
Everything’s bigger in Texas
New Mexico Update
Remember last week’s news that Muslim extremists were caught in New Mexico allegedly training children to commit school shootings? This week we have a report that the compound where child abuse and murder were performed along with the “training” has been demolished by the police. Destroying evidence before any trial. But then we also hear that four of the five suspects are expected to be released with GPS monitoring. One wonders on whose side are the authorities.
DGU
A 15-year-old North Carolina girl shot and killed her mother’s boyfriend who was strangling her mother. The man had threatened the mother several times previously, and four days prior had assaulted the woman and fired multiple rounds inside their residence to threaten and terrorize her. The man was a convicted felon and had two active domestic violence protection orders against him from two different women in Indiana and Ohio.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Enemies
A change in policy announced Monday night by Shopify, an e-commerce platform used by more than 600,000 merchants to conduct online sales, will essentially shut down the sale of semiautomatic guns, gun parts and accessories over the internet by retailers who use Shopify. Since Shopify’s platform is entirely proprietary, the information stored on their platform cannot be easily transferred to another online platform. Tobias Lutke, founder and CEO of Shopify, also deleted a post detailing the company’s commitment to free speech this week and republished a modified version in which Lutke said the company’s previous commitment to allowing retailers to use the platform so long as they did not violate any laws because of the brand’s dedication to the principle of free speech was “too idealistic and functionally unworkable on the fast moving internet.” Instead, he said Shopify would no longer remain neutral on products legally sold through its platform and instead “will have to make decisions based on [poor – JP] judgement.”
Louisiana’s Bond Commission voted this week 7-6 to block Citigroup and Bank of America from underwriting any of the $600 million financing for a new interstate highway project, because the companies had said they would work only with retailers who agreed to new restrictions on gun purchases — rules stricter than what the law requires. The Commission said it wouldn’t tolerate that kind of bullying over a constitutional right. So there.
The Only Ones
Former DEA Special Agent Joseph Michael Gill, 42, of Tucson, pleaded guilty this week to one count of dealing firearms without a license. Gill, a former supervisory special agent who was assigned to the Nogales office, was found to have sold multiple firearms that he bought from licensed dealers on the website GunBroker.com. The ATF said Gill had engaged in approximately 645 transactions.
Products
Where to find 3D printed gun files online. But don’t expect to get a good gun.
Swift Bullet Company’s new High Grade loaded ammunition is “virtually hand crafted, hand inspected, and is water tight sealed.” It is available in 31 rifle and handgun calibers and features A-Frame, Scirocco and Break-Away Solid bullets.
Browning is expanding its offerings of the X-Bolt rifles to include two new models. The X-Bolt Medallion Safari Grade rifle featuring a new deep polished blued fluted heavy sporter barrel with gold accented engraving, an engraved polished blue receiver, a gloss finish checkered Grade IV/V walnut stock, and rosewood fore-end tip cap and pistol grip cap. Various calibers, around $2K. The Hell’s Canyon Long Range X-Bold Rifle features a Cerakote Burnt Bronze finish, a fluted heavy sporter barrel, and a composite stock with A-TACS AU Camo Dura-Touch Armor Coated gripping surfaces with a palm swell. Various calibers, around $1250.
You’ve seen the buckets of ammo. But Natchez SS has drums of it in 5.56 and 7.62 NATO. Must be a barrel of fun.
The SwiftShield is a portable, virtually indestructible, reinforced carbon-steel freestanding bracket designed to brace any outward-opening door from being opened from the outside. Inward swinging designs are coming soon. Think classrooms, offices, etc. during an attack. $140.
Grabagun.com has Taurus PT111 9mm carry guns for just $227 shipped.
Speer has a new 10mm Gold Dot Personal Protection load with a 200 gr. GDHP at 1100 fps.
Quote
“I believe the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution’s Second Amendment…
I respect the Second Amendment, but I also believe that we have a collective interest in keeping guns out of the hands of those who want to harm the innocent….
I will work with my colleagues to protect the rights of gun owners, while respecting the rights of each state to determine how best to protect its citizens….”
—Â US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the LIAR.
