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Story by Jeff Charles
Category: Cops
U.S. Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas.) introduced the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Protection Act of 2023 (H.R. 2620) — a bipartisan bill aimed at strengthening and enhancing criminal penalties for thefts of firearms from federally licensed firearm retailers. Penalties would include minimum sentences of three years in prison for burglary and five years in prison for robbery.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), between 2017 and 2021, there were over 2,254 burglaries and robberies of FFL dealers. Over 28,000 firearms were stolen during this period, many showing up at crime scenes.
The legislation is designed to send a strong message to the violent criminals engaging in these illicit activities, as well as provide for safer communities, assist law enforcement and protect the livelihoods of firearm retailers.
“During my career in law enforcement, I saw firsthand how FFL dealers were targeted by criminals. This legislation will ensure that those who rob and burglarize federally licensed gun dealers receive adequate punishment for their crimes,” said Congressman Rutherford.
The Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2023 has received support from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
“This bipartisan legislation is what true gun safety looks like. Congress is sending a clear message that the safety of our communities is nonnegotiable and targeting firearm retailers to steal guns in order to commit further crimes is intolerable,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for NSSF. “The firearm industry is grateful to Congressmen Rutherford and Cuellar for reaching across the aisle to provide those firearm retailers who follow the law the protection they deserve. This legislation assigns the responsibility for crime where it belongs — with the criminal. These are real solutions that make our communities safer.”
The Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Protection Act has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
From NE Austin (TX) — not to be confused with the City of Austin — comes this cheery news:
According to the Austin Police Department, at around 5:31 a.m., officers responded to a call in the 7600 block of Bethune Avenue, where a female resident reported a man attempting to break into her home through the door and a window. The caller then stated that the male suspect had entered the home, followed by the sound of gunshots.
Upon arrival at the scene, the APD officers and EMS medics found the male suspect dead. APD says the preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect was shot by one of the residents in self-defense.
The interesting part of the story to me is that the dead goblin is not, as one might think, a teenage choirboy, but a sixty-something asshole. Whatever. Asshole is asshole, regardless of age, and dead is dead. (Thankee, Reader Brad for the alert.)
A suspected catalytic converter thief was stabbed to death in a driveway early Friday morning in Los Angeles County, California, CBS News reported.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a house in South El Monte on the 1100 block of Thienes Avenue at 2:37 a.m. and found a man dead at the scene, sheriff’s Lieutenant Michael Gomez said.
“Deputies made contact with the resident of the house, who said he had been sleeping when he heard people outside tampering with his car. He went outside to investigate, where he was confronted by three to four people. An altercation ensued and one man was fatally stabbed,” according to the report.
Investigators said two or three other suspects fled the scene and were last seen driving eastbound on Thienes Avenue. Gomez said tools left at the scene indicate the suspects were attempting to steal catalytic converters.
The deceased suspect, between 35 and 45 years old, was found lying partially underneath a car in the driveway. The weapon used is believed to be a kitchen knife, according to investigators.
Investigators detained and interviewed the resident. Two other people were allegedly inside the house at the time of the incident, officials said.
————————————————————————————— Two things about this comes to my feeble mind. In that Richard Ramirez the serial killer was caught messing with somebodies car. (Don’t ever mess with a car in LA as you WILL inherit the wind of some serious violence)
The other thing is that if the Cops won’t or cannot do their job. Then the neighborhood even here in wimpy LA will!
by Jeffrey H. Anderson
Abraham Lincoln described America as a nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Today’s Left portrays America as a nation conceived in slavery, and dedicated to the perpetuation of racial oppression. When CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell asked Joe Biden in the summer of 2020, “Do you believe there is ‘systemic racism’ in law enforcement,” Biden answered, “Absolutely. But it’s not just in law enforcement. It’s across the board. It’s in housing. It’s in education. It’s in everything we do.”
Such assertions of “systemic racism,” both in our police forces and in America writ large, are the topic of the latest issue of the American Main Street Initiative’s Quick Hits: “Are Cops ‘Systemically Racist’—and Is America?” Quick Hits are readable four-pagers, chock-full of key information on important issues of the day.
During the same summer Biden told America that its cops and its broader society are systemically racist, the Bureau of Justice Statistics—the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Justice—undertook a meticulous examination of the demographics of those who commit crimes and those who are arrested for crimes. I was the director of BJS at the time, and this inquiry was led by Allen J. Beck, Ph.D., who was the top-ranked statistician at the bureau and had begun his tenure there during the Reagan Administration. Our aim was to see whether police disproportionately arrest alleged offenders of one racial group or another—that is, whether police appear to be biased against, or in favor of, any particular race.
The results of this inquiry were released in mid-January 2021 and are discussed in the newly released Quick Hits. BJS compared victims’ accounts of who committed crimes against them (rather than relying upon cops’ own reporting) with the arrest records of police. For serious nonfatal violent crimes reported to police, BJS found following:
- White people accounted for 41 percent of offenders and 39 percent of arrestees;
- Black people accounted for 43 percent of offenders and 36 percent of arrestees;
- Asians accounted for 2.5 percent of offenders and 1.5 percent of arrestees.
None of these differences between the percentage of offenders and the percentage of arrestees of a given race were statistically significant. (The findings are limited to nonfatal crimes for the simple reason that murder victims are unable to identify their assailants.)
In other words, the best available evidence suggests that, in terms racial demographics, cops are arresting those who actually commit the crimes. As the Quick Hits says, “Far from providing evidence of ‘systemic racism,’ such statistics provide evidence of systemic justice.”
The latest Quick Hits also highlights other illuminating statistics. For example, according to victims’ own accounts, a whopping 70 percent of violent incidents involving black victims also involved black perpetrators. BJS writes, “Among black victims, the percentage of violent incidents perceived to be committed by black offenders (70%) was 5.8 times higher than the representation of black persons in the population (12%).”
Despite such high rates of intraracial violent crime committed against black residents, however, black Americans on the whole are victimized by violent crime at rates similar to other Americans. To quote Quick Hits, “The reason for this is that there are comparatively few violent crimes committed by white (or Hispanic) residents against black residents.” Indeed, violent incidents involving black offenders and white victims were 5.3 times as likely as those involving white offenders and black victims—a huge disparity.
Again, all of these statistics are according to victims.
“Our history shows that America is a nation conceived in liberty, which fought for and won the freedom of the English colonists and later of the slaves,” the new Quick Hits concludes. “And while today’s race-obsessed Left seeks to re-instill a divisive race-consciousness, the evidence indicates that the actions of our police forces are consistent both with the hard-won colorblind ideal and with our founders’ dedication to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
—————————————————————————– It always strikes me funny on how no matter what. This GREAT Nation of ours always comes to the right way to do things. Which is why I love it so!!!!!!!!!!!!!Grumpy
Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson died this past June 15. He was 80 years old. For almost 30 years he served the state as a Texas Ranger and you can read about is life in the two great books that he wrote, “One Ranger” and “One Ranger Returns.” Following his retirement, Joaquin ran an investigation & security company and also served for many years as a director of the NRA.
Ranger Jackson and I became friends back in the 1970’s when a North Texas car theft investigation took me to Jackson’s area of South Texas. After I moved to Southwest Texas and was elected a county sheriff, Jackson and I worked a number of cases together, including a manhunt in the canyons along the Pecos river for a man who had brutally murdered his girlfriend. Having spent a good deal of time with Joaquin Jackson, I can safely say that he married the only person that he was ever afraid of.
Like a lot of us, Ranger Jackson favored the 1911 pistol in .45 ACP caliber. His constant companion was a Colt Lightweight Commander with Mexican silver & gold stocks on it. In addition to that, he always had a Winchester Model 94 carbine, with an 18-inch barrel, close at hand. If things got really bad, Joaquin also had a Remington semi-automatic shotgun and a selective-fire M-14 in the trunk of his car.
What I really enjoyed about Joaquin Jackson was the fact that, for all of his adventures and dealings with criminals, he never lost his sense of humor. He loved life and you just naturally laughed a lot when you were around him.
He was also a very strong supporter of a citizen’s right to own firearms. We worked in an area that had, and still has, quite a number of gun owners. That never bothered Joaquin. He knew that those same gun owners were there to help us and all we ever had to do was to call on them. Later in life, he was led down the primrose path by a reporter and was hornswaggled into making statements that sounded like he didn’t think that citizens ought to own an AR-15. I can assure you that he did not truly feel that way and he learned a valuable lesson about talking to the press.
Joaquin Jackson was a friend, a family man, and a Texas Ranger. Above all, he was a Texas Ranger, the kind that the folks in our state are so proud of. Finally, he was my friend and I miss him.
Enough Lying. It’s Democrats, Not Republicans, Who Are to Blame for Most Child Gun Deaths | Opinion
The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee made a stop in New York City this week, in order to “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.” As witnesses, the hearing featured the family members of victims of gun violence in New York, as well as other victims of Bragg’s soft on crime approach.
Family of Johnny Gaston, who was recently murdered, attend a House Judiciary Committee field hearing on violent crime in New York on April 17, 2023 at the Javits Federal Building in New York City. Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has been a leading critic of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since he announced that a grand jury had indicted former president Donald Trump in an alleged hush money scheme to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels before the presidential election in 2016. Bragg has criticized the congressional inquiry as unconstitutional.© Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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MSNBC‘Understanding gun violence is in the numbers’: Parkland father on AR-15 being 25% of weapons sold
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House Democrats did their best to smear their Republican colleagues as attempting to pull off a stunt to distract from the indictment of former President Donald Trump. At times, they called the witnesses props, and accused the Republicans of not caring about crime and violence because if they did, they would support Democratic efforts to enact gun control.
“Gun violence is now the leading cause of death of children in America and kills 40,000 Americans a year, and my colleagues vote repeatedly against even the most common sense gun violence prevention measures,” said Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) during the hearing.
But invoking gun control measures at a hearing about crime is gaslighting at its best, as was the invocation of the statistic that gun violence kills 40,000 children a year. A closer look at that statistic shows that it is Democrats who are failing most of those kids, not Republicans.
The numbers come from a new report out of the Pew Research Center, which found that gun deaths among children have risen by 50 percent in just two years. The report analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and revealed that in 2022 alone, there were over 2,500 gun deaths among children aged 0-17. This marks a significant increase from 2019, when there were just over 1,700 gun deaths.
The report found that homicides were the largest category of gun deaths among children in 2021, making up 60 percent of the total, followed by suicide, which made up 32 percent. Accidental gun deaths accounted for five percent.
But gun deaths by homicide and gun deaths by suicide were not evenly distributed among from different communities. The report found that Black children were five times as likely as white kids to die from gunfire. Forty-six percent of gun deaths involved Black victims, though they account for just 14 percent of the U.S. population. Meanwhile, white kids were more likely to die by suicide.
And unfortunately, given what we know about this data, gun control restrictions are not likely to make a big impact in putting an end to these deaths, for the simple fact that most of those shooting children and teens are doing so with illegally-obtained firearms.
Those arguing for more gun control measures cannot adequately explain how these laws would save lives. Criminals who engage in violence do not obey laws, so simply passing more laws will not necessarily prevent gun violence. The vast majority of criminals commit their crimes using firearms that they obtained illegally. More restrictions on lawful gun owners will do nothing to address this issue, though it may endanger people who would otherwise be able to protect themselves.
People like Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who made headlines after getting into a shouting match with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) over gun control, love to scream about how the government needs to limit gun ownership as a means of curbing gun violence. Yet, in Bowman’s own district, gun crimes have risen considerably despite New York having some of the strictest gun laws.
After suicide, most gun violence is gang-related, a problem that’s complex and requires a multifaceted approach that addresses root causes such as poverty, substandard education, and a lack of opportunities, as well as better, more effective, and more consistent policing. And making it more difficult for law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms will not address this problem. It will only endanger them.
Research shows that the overwhelming majority of defensive gun uses are never reported to law enforcement or the media; a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that there are up to 3 million defensive gun uses per year in the United States.
These statistics demonstrate that guns can play an important role in self-defense and personal protection. It could also enable adults to defend their children from gun violence.
The numbers coming from the Pew Research Center study should be disturbing to any American of conscience. But the bottom line is that targeting lawful gun owners will not make a dent in the number of gun homicides among children and teens. Addressing the root issues that lead to more violent crime, along with dealing with the issue of illegally-obtained guns, will save more lives. The question is: When will our politicians get on board?
Jeff Charles is the host of “A Fresh Perspective” podcast and a contributor for RedState and Liberty Nation.
The views in this article are the writer’s own.
“During its April 6 meeting, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council unanimously approved an ordinance change exempting police car and body cam videos from the tribe’s public records law,” Holly Kays of the Smoky Mountain News reports.
“The vote comes on the heels of a Dec. 13, 2022, Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT response in which officers fired at Murphy resident Jason Harley Kloepfer after he opened the door to his home with his hands held above his head, according to a home security video Kloepfer posted Jan. 18.”
AmmoLand Shooting Sports News reporting included that video in January, followed up by articles questioning the deliberate indifference to this story by major media, a presentation of the Calls for Services recording and transcript with timeline, and documentation of charges dropped against Kloepfer at the request of the individual who set events in motion with a 911 call followed by the District Attorney’s recusal of herself from the case over perceived legal conflicts and questions of other potential conflicts on the part of investigators.
The interests of gun owners in a complete and transparent investigation are clear: Kloepfer was evidently shot as a first reaction by tribal Indian SWAT because of the presumption based on a 911 call from a neighbor that he was armed and dangerous. Any gun owner who might find himself wrongfully accused, whether it be due to a “red flag” complaint or other confiscation order could have his life, and the lives of those he lives with, put in immediate danger. As evidenced by an armed homeowner fatality in a recent wrong house raid, the victim doesn’t even have to be the subject police are looking for.
Without strong checks and balances to ensure police accountability, the danger to all citizens, armed or not, will remain, and it’s not unfair to wonder what part editorial bias might play in the media’s lack of interest in the Kloepfer story. The notable exception is Smoky Mountain News, which has been on top of this story from the start. That’s no small show of commitment when close-knit connections on the part of powerful and seemingly immune local civil authorities are considered.
As things stand, particularly noting “Video of the Dec. 13 shooting had been subpoenaed — but two weeks later, criminal charges against Kloepfer were dismissed and the subpoenas were never executed,” any assumptions outside that civil authority loop about bodycams are speculative. That makes it paramount that investigations receive credible oversight to ensure they are transparent and complete.
This is especially true since, during the Tribal Council meeting, “concern about placing such a strong barrier to public access of law enforcement recordings” was minimal, and “the few representatives who offered comment indicated they saw protection for officers as the priority and cited a desire to give [Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Carla] Neadeau ‘what she wants’ in this matter.” The ordinance was submitted by Neadeau, and states “It is not feasible nor in the public interest to subject recordings made by body-worn and in-car cameras to the EBCI’s [Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s] public records law…”
That’s facilitated by North Carolina state public records law, which “provides that these recordings can be released to the public only by court order.”
Chief Neadeau and the Tribal Council are effectively saying what’s in the police’s interest is in the public’s interest and they’re codifying that into law. And with the lack of concern by major media to inform the public, no one but a handful of citizens will be the wiser.
The unanimously passed ordinance, awaiting action from “Principal Chief Richard Sneed, who has 30 days to either sign it, veto it, or let it pass into law unsigned,” follows:
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
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Paint me surprised by this!
