Now I know a lot of Democrats and not all of them are Anti-Gun. But you get the idea.
Just remember the old mantra “follow the money”!
(“If it bleeds, it leads! Which in turns means higher circulation, which means more money/)
Category: Anti Civil Rights ideas & “Friends”
Sturm, Ruger Laying Off About 50 Workers Around the Country
Valley News Staff Writer
Friday, January 05, 2018
- By Jordan Cuddemi
Newport — Sturm, Ruger & Co. is in the process of laying off about 50 workers, or about 2.7 percent, of the company’s workforce, a top executive for the gunmaker said on Friday.
Ruger Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Reid Sr. said the layoffs are happening companywide, and he isn’t sure how many of the roughly 1,300 workers at the Newport location would be affected.
“It was for the needs of the business and tied to employee performance,” Reid said of the layoffs. “At Ruger, we routinely adjust our workforce.”
Reid, who is based in Ruger headquarters in Southport, Conn., said the company focused most of the layoffs on “indirect labor positions” such as marketing, sales and engineering, and not on employees directly involved in production.
Ruger Vice President and General Counsel Kevin Reid Sr. said the layoffs are happening companywide, and he isn’t sure how many of the roughly 1,300 workers at the Newport location would be affected.
“It was for the needs of the business and tied to employee performance,” Reid said of the layoffs. “At Ruger, we routinely adjust our workforce.”
Reid, who is based in Ruger headquarters in Southport, Conn., said the company focused most of the layoffs on “indirect labor positions” such as marketing, sales and engineering, and not on employees directly involved in production.
Ruger employs between 1,800 and 1,900 people around the country.
He declined to comment on the timeline for the layoffs.
Ruger has three manufacturing locations: in Newport; Prescott, Ariz.; and Mayodan, N.C.
It also has a precision metals branch in Earth City, Mo., according to Ruger’s website.
Reid shied away from commenting on whether a third-quarter sales decrease impacted the layoffs, but noted that the company has “been in a fluctuating market, which I don’t think is lost on anybody.”
Ruger, a publicly traded company, has seen its stock price decline for the past 12 months, reflecting weaker sales and lower profits. Stocks fell from a high of $68 per share in July to $53.35 at closing on Friday.
U.S. gunmakers enjoyed robust sales some five years ago following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., amid fears that new gun-control legislation sought by then-President Barack Obama would be enacted.
However, since President Donald Trump took office, firearms sales have slowed. Reid on Friday noted that a Republican-led administration, under Trump, has meant “less fear of legislation,” which plays into the market.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.
Sometimes you just want to turn the media off
George Frey/Getty Images
With 2017 quickly drawing to a close, Breitbart News thought the timing right to review the top 25 defensive gun uses (DGUs) of 2017.
And while it must be noted that these 25 examples are only a smidgen of the hundreds of thousands of DGUs that occur each year–see the academic work of Florida State University’s Gary Kleck–they nonetheless present a well-rounded summation of the various locations and circumstances in which law-abiding citizens use guns to defend their own lives and the lives of others.
Here are the top 25 DGUs of 2017:
January 2, 2017–Kay Dickinson was attacked while entering her Wilmington, North Carolina, apartment. WWAY repoted that Dickinson had just gotten off work and was going into her apartment at Colonial Parke when she was attacked.” The suspect held her at gunpoint, “beat her and then tied her up with a broken belt in her bedroom.” She was able to work free, retrieve her gun, and kill the suspect.
January 12, 2017–An concealed carry permit holder saw an Arizona State Trooper being beaten on the side of Interstate 10. The permit holder pulled over, asked the Trooper if he needed help, then intervened when the Trooper answered in the affirmative. The permit holder ordered the attacker to stop, then shot him dead after he refused to comply. It turned out that the suspect had shot the Trooper before the permit holder arrived, then climbed on top of him in a rage and began beating him on the side of the road. The permit holder saved the Trooper’s life.
January 20, 2017–Charlotte, North Carolina’s Kim Badger was attacked in “broad daylight” by a home invasion suspect armed with a baseball bat. WCNC reported that the attacker struck Badger with the bat, then pursued her through the house. Throughout the attack Badger fought to deny the suspect control of a knife that was on a counter and, eventually, to deny him access to a sword. Badger’s teenage son joined the fight to keep the suspect away from the sword. As the son fought, the mother retrieved her gun and shot the suspect dead.
January 29, 2017–Two masked suspects entered West Philadelphia’s Eagele’s Corner Chinese takeout and “announced a robbery.” According to 6 ABC, police indicated that two store owners were present at the time and one of the owners pulled a gun and opened fire. The owner opened fire, causing both of the suspects to flee. One of the suspects was struck by the owner’s gunfire and was arrested after his accomplice drove him to the hospital for treatment.
February 9, 2017–A legally armed citizen in Holland, Michigan, shot and critically wounded a suspect who would not stop assaulting a woman inside a convenience store. Holland Police issued a press release recounting the incident by explaining that “the suspect violently punched the victim several times and threw her down to the ground, and it is at that point that the [armed] customer arrives and tries to intervene.” The suspect then turned and attacked the customer who was trying to intervene, leading the customer to open fire. The suspect was shot twice and hospitalized in critical condition.
March 8, 2017–A home invasion suspect who approached a family was shot and killed by the father after refusing to accept food stamps in lieu of money. WBRZ quoted East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore saying, “The [father] was at his own home with his family and was confronted by another individual who was armed. There was a scuffle which eventually led to shots being fired and the person who came to the home was shot and killed.” The father offered the suspect food stamps prior to fighting and eventually killing him.
March 9, 2017–A Houston, Texas, smoke shop owner was shot multiple times yet managed to pull his own gun and kill one of two robbery suspects. ABC 13 reported that customers were in the store when the two suspects entered. Those customers called 911 and the dispatcher could hear the sound of gunshots in the background. The store owner was hospitalized in critical condition after the uninjured suspect fled the scene.
March 21, 2017–A 21-year-old suspect kicked in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment door, then died after being shot multiple times. As it turns out, the ex-girlfriend’s brother was in the Detroit apartment and opened fire on the suspect. Police responded to find the suspect had a gun and had left his car parked in the street with the engine running.
April 14, 2017–A homeowner in Pierce County, Washington, awoke to the sound of someone trying to enter his home around 3:30 a.m. The homeowner retrieved a gun and went to investigate, ultimately firing one shot and killing 28-year-old Viktor Starovevrov. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call of shots fired and arrived to find Starovenrov beyond hope of survival. A 32-year-old woman and three-year-old girl were asleep in the house when the invasion was foiled.
April 23, 2017–A St. Louis 7-11 clerk was taking a smoke break around 3:50 a.m. when a robbery suspect approached and attempted to rob her. The clerk pulled her own gun and exchanged fire with the suspect, shooting him multiple times. The suspect’s wounds proved fatal. The clerk was also wounded in the gunfight, yet was in stable condition following the incident.
May 3, 2017–An Arlington, Texas, man described by witnesses as an “active shooter” was shot and killed by a concealed carry permit holder in Zona Caliente Sports Bar around 6:15 p.m. WFAA reported that the armed suspect shot and killed the bar manager and was then was engaged by the permit holder, who shot the aggressor dead. Police explained that the permit holder intervened out of fear that inaction would lead to a further “loss of life.”
May 12, 2017–A female homeowner shot and killed a suspect who allegedly brought his sevem-year-old son along for the home invasion. The San Antonio Express-News reported the suspect allegedly tried to break in through a window in the very room where the homeowner happened to be asleep. The woman heard the suspect trying to make entry into her home, armed herself, and fired at least two rounds. Police arrived in time to transport the alleged intruder to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
May 18, 2017–A home invasion suspect wearing only underwear was shot and killed after breaking into a pastor’s home in Cypress, Texas. The suspect entered the home around 2:00 a.m. and attacked the pastor and his wife. As the intruder went room to room looking for other would-be victims, he came upon an extended family member who was armed. That family member shot and killed the intruder, saving others in the home from coming under attack.
May 29, 2017–An armed neighbor in Ada, Oklahoma, came to the rescue of three children who were being drowned by their father. Cash Freeman was alerted to the situation when a terrified 12-year-old ran to his house to say the estranged father had taken the children from the mother and was trying to drown them. Freeman arrived to find the father holding three-month-old twins under water. Freeman shot the father twice, killing him and saving the children.
June 7, 2017–An Indianapolis mother protected her children by opening fire and killing a home invasion suspect who struck in broad daylight. Fox 59 reports that the mother heard someone trying to get into the apartment, then came to face-to-fact with 19-year-old Michael Hawkins. She opened fire at that point and Hawkins dropped dead “inside the doorway.” The mother and the children were not harmed.
June 17, 2017–A man was shot and killed by his ex-girlfriend after he allegedly threatened her and showed up to her house with an “assault rifle.” The incident occurred in Florida’s Pasco County around 10:30 pm. According to Fox 13 News, law enforcement officials said 45-year-old Frank Harrison had “previously threatened his ex-girlfriend.” When she saw him approaching her home she opened the front door and shot him dead before he could enter.
July 17, 2017–With a car thief on the lose near her family’s home 17-year-old Kimber Wood called her dad and asked if she could retrieve one of his guns to keep close at hand for self-defense. Her father said yes, so Kimber retrieved the gun and was ready when the suspect entered the house. Kimber and the suspect came face to face, only to have to him flee when she pointed the gun at him and ordered him to leave the home. She chased him as he fled and fired a warning shot to assure him that she knew how to use the gun.
July 31, 2017–A Katy, Texas, grandma opened fire on two home invasion suspects, leaving one dead. According to ABC 13, Harris County Sheriff’s deputies said the 60-year-old grandma was home alone when two suspects allegedly entered through the garage. Deputy Thomas Gilliland said, “Both were armed with pistols. She confronted both suspects, retrieved a handgun and fired several times at both subjects.”
August 5, 2017–An elderly homeowner in Lakewood, Florida, shot and killed a home intruder. The homeowner was in the home with his wife when they heard the suspect make entry. He grabbed a gun, confronted the suspect, then killed him. Law enforcement officials did not report how many times the suspect was shot, only that he was dead when responding officers arrived.
September 6, 2017–Three Taco Bell employees opened fire and killed an armed robbery suspect in Cleveland, Ohio. According to Fox 8, police said two suspects entered the store “wearing masks and ordered the employees to the ground at gunpoint.” There were multiple employees in the store at the time and three of them responded by opening fire. When officers arrived the suspect who had been fatally wounded was lying face down and a gun was still in his hand.
September 14, 2017–An Indianapolis father shot and killed an intruder who burst through the front door and rushed into the apartment. The father’s two young children were home at the time of the foiled invasion. CBS 4 quoted Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer Aaron Hamer, who said, “It appears [the suspect] was yelling to get into the residence because he believed his kids were in the house. It turns out the kids inside did not belong to him.” The father and his two children were not harmed.
September 18, 2017–A female accountant shot and critically wounded a suspect who broke into her office as she was there typing alone. The suspect was fleeing police when he entered the office and the accountant asked to stop coming at her before she pulled the trigger and shot him in the neck. The suspect survived being shot, but has to undergo rehab to learn how to walk again.
September 24, 2017–Two home invasion suspects rushed into a Bridgeville, Maryland, home around 11:55 pm. Police indicated that at least one of the suspects was armed. The homeowner, home alone at the time off the invasion, wrestled with the armed suspect and shot was fired, killing the suspect. The suspect’s body was lying in the kitchen when police arrived. The homeowner was not injured.
November 5, 2017–Stephen Willeford was in his home in Sutherland Springs, Texas, when his daughter rushed inside to let him know someone was shooting congregants at the First Baptist Church. Willeford grabbed his AR-15 and a handful of bullets and ran barefoot toward the church in order to confront the killer. Upon arriving, Willeford took a defensive position behind a truck and exchanged fire with the killer, shooting him twice. The killer fled the scene after Willeford shot him, driving roughly 11 miles before taking his own life. Willeford proved anew the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
December 6, 2017–A father with a handgun license shot and killed an armed suspect who confronted the father and his family in a Popeye’s restaurant. According to Fox 29, the suspect pointed a gun at the father and “demanded his property.” The father asked that his family be released, then pulled his own gun when the suspect became distracted by individuals walking out the restroom. The father shot the suspect multiple times, killing him on the spot.
The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting or plinking, but protecting our lives and liberty from threats as they arise. The top 25 defensive gun uses of 2017 show that law-abiding Americans understand this and are putting their guns to good use.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
Untraceable “Ghost Guns” On the Rise, But Are They Legal?
Gun enthusiasts and hobbyists have long been building their own firearms by purchasing lower receivers or kits and other parts needed to assemble a firearm.
The lower receiver is a small block of metal about the size of a deck of cards where the trigger mechanism is housed and where bullets pass through. A gun cannot function without it. A finished lower receiver is the piece of the firearm regulated by federal law and must contain a serial number stamped into it.
Technology today and the hundreds or even thousands of websites selling lower receivers, kits, and parts over the internet makes it even easier. There are no background checks required to purchase these lower receivers or kits.
There are no federal restrictions on an individual making a firearm for personal use, so long as it does not violate the National Firearms Act (NFA), according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The ATF has long held that items such as receiver blanks, “castings” or “machined bodies” in which the fire-control cavity area is completely solid and un-machined have not reached the “stage of manufacture” which would result in the classification of a firearm per the Gun Control Act of 1934 (GCA). That stage is “80 percent complete.” ATF regulations hold that receiver blanks that do not meet the definition of a “firearm” are not subject to regulation under the GCA.
Furthermore, under federal law, no serial numbers are needed on firearms that are built for personal use, making them untraceable by law enforcement.
By leaving the lower receiver unfinished— meaning only partially drilled — it fails to meet the ATF’s requirement of being more than 80 percent complete and is therefore not considered a “firearm” subject to regulations. Buyers can finish the receivers at home by finishing the drilling.
The ATF refers to such guns as unfinished receivers, though they’re also called 80 percent receivers, home built firearms, or “ghost guns.”
And it’s all perfectly legal.
These self-assembled and untraceable “ghost guns” are becoming increasingly more popular amongst gun enthusiasts across the country and is becoming big business for parts manufacturers and for dealers selling kits.
Elite Custom Railing in Holly Hill, Florida, for example, specializes in unfinished lower receivers for a do-it-yourself AR-15. A company spokesperson said they sell between 100 and 150 lower receivers each day.
It is just one of six companies in Volusia County alone engaged in manufacturing and/or selling kits or unfinished receivers that allow buyers to assemble military-style, semi-automatic rifles at home.
Another Volusia County company, Stone Mountain Gold ‘n Guns in DeLand, will sell the “80% receivers” to a customer only in person and not over the internet as others in the county do. A manager said he will complete the sale only if he feels comfortable with the person buying the receiver. Stone Mountain sells about 20 a month, according to the manager.
The ATF and some law enforcement agencies have expressed a concern about these homemade firearms, believing that the availability of the untraceable receivers will encourage criminals and terrorists to start building their own weapons.
Port Orange Police Chief Thomas Grimaldi said in an interview in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, “We’re making it easy for the criminals. I have a concern — a huge concern over that.”
Mary Salter, ATF Tampa Field Division public information officer, believes some criminals are purchasing non-serialized and therefore untraceable firearms because their intent is to commit crimes.
“ATF, and law enforcement, in general is seeing homemade firearms without serial numbers at crime scenes,” Salter said. “Tracing firearms found at crime scenes to the original purchaser is a valuable tool in law enforcement,” Salter added. “When a homemade firearm is found at a crime scene, investigators are left with a dead end, where a trace of a firearm may generate valuable investigative leads.”
“With advancements in technology in regards to 3D printers,” Salter said, “CNC milling machines, and the availability of receiver blanks, it has become much easier for a person to build a firearm. “When a “homemade firearm is found at a crime scene, it means investigators are virtually left with a dead end,” said Salter.
And in California, Graham Barlowe, resident agent in charge at the ATF’s Sacramento Field Office, said he started seeing crimes involving untraceable guns about two years ago. In November of this year, Barlowe’s undercover agents arrested eight men for manufacturing and selling illegal firearms, seizing about 90 un-serialized firearms out of the more than 230 illegal firearms found. His agents have also found electronic mills that carve a complete receiver in 12 minutes.
“It is one of the biggest problems in Northern California for our office, if not the biggest problem,” Barlowe says. He estimates that his office has seized about 500 un-serialized receivers since 2013.
The Santa Monica shooter, John Zawahri, used a rifle made from parts he purchased online to kill himself and five others on June 7, 2013.
And in neighboring Arizona, between 2009 to 2011, ATF reported that it seized 191 of the 80 percent receivers in Tucson that were headed to Mexico to be assembled, possibly by cartels.
In Florida, law enforcement officials claim the unregistered guns can make it easy for criminals to arm themselves with untraceable weapons.
However, others disagree with that assessment, claiming the skill and equipment necessary to build the firearms is anything but easy and, therefore, makes this approach more costly and time-consuming than simply acquiring an already completed firearm. A milling machine (or at least a milling guide kit), for example, can cost around $1,500, and it could take weeks to complete an AR-15 kit.
And to complete an unfinished lower receiver, a person must carefully mill or drill out a portion of the inside of the receiver, which can take many painstaking hours. Without a properly milled lower received, a functioning firearm would be impossible to produce.
Many believe manufacturing a homemade weapon is generally too costly, too troublesome, and too expensive for criminals.
Furthermore, FBI statistics indicate semi-automatic weapons are used in less than one percent of crimes in the U.S. Most criminals use handguns, and most guns used in crimes are stolen. Criminals looking to buy a weapon can get them from private sales without a background check and do not have to go through the trouble and expense of building their own rifle.
Rob Dunaway, President of American Spirit Arms in Scottsdale, Arizona, says most of the customers who buy the incomplete receivers are people who like to personalize their semi-automatic rifle and or more worried about changes to the gun laws.
“Some people buy them to store them for potential future use,” Dunaway said.
Previous attempts to regulate “ghost guns” in California failed, when a bill that would have allowed the manufacture or assembly of homemade weapons but required the makers to first apply to the state Department of Justice for a serial number that would be given only after the applicants underwent a background check, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014.
However, earlier this year, Gov. Brown did sign a bill requiring people who build guns from these 80% receivers to register them and get a serial number. That law takes full effect in 2019. — by Michael Wisdom, Senior Contributing Editor, Texas & U.S. Law Shield Blog
Texas to Allow Guns in Churches Unless Expressly Forbidden
Texas concealed carriers can bring firearms into places of worship, provided it is not strictly forbidden. (Photo: Shelby Knowles/The Texas Tribune)
Anyone with a Texas concealed carry permit may bring a firearm into a house of worship unless expressly forbidden, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled last week.
The ruling comes in the wake of a mass murder at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church that saw the deaths of 25 churchgoers one Sunday last month.
“If a church decides to exclude the concealed or open carrying of handguns on the premises of church property, it may provide the requisite notice, thereby making it an offense for a license holder to carry a handgun on those premises,” Attorney General Paxton wrote in his opinion.
“However, churches may instead decide not to provide notice and to allow the carrying of handguns on their premises. Unless a church provides effective oral or written notice prohibiting the carrying of handguns on its property, a license holder may carry a handgun onto the premises of church property as the law allows,” he continued.
Rulings from the attorney general have the force of law in Texas unless the state legislature passes contrary legislation.
Earlier this month Lt. Governor Dan Patrick asked Paxton to clarify the issue as congregations and church members work to mitigate another shooting. Patrick and other state leaders have been putting a spotlight on church security in the last several weeks, according to the Texas Tribune.
“I think that Texans have a history of taking care of themselves, a history of responsibility and freedom at the same time,” former Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan told the New York Times. Sullivan said he was considering bringing a concealed firearm to church on Sundays following the attack in Sutherland Springs. “There is no wrong place to carry a gun any more.”
SEE ALSO: Texas Hero Speaks Out About Stopping Church Shooter with AR-15
Texans who carry concealed handguns must already look out for signs posted outside businesses that ban firearms. Texas Penal Code 30.06 signs ban the possession of firearms. And Texas Penal Code 30.07 signs ban openly carried firearms. All signs must be posted conspicuously and printed with one-inch letters using the exact same language. Which results in signs that measure roughly four square feet.
While the signs are not difficult to print or obtain, Paxton’s ruling does shift the responsibility to churches who do not want guns on their property, Ed Scruggs, vice chairman of Texas Gun Sense, told USA Today.
“Some churches might not have wanted to do that because the laws says the signs have to be a certain size and that could detract from a church’s appearance,” Scruggs continued.
Paxton’s ruling goes into effect immediately.
Palm Beach Post: Selling Guns at Shopping Malls is No Bueno
Dick’s Sporting Goods is not a magnet for carnage, despite what the author of the op-ed posits. (Photo: Wikipedia)
Selling firearms at shopping malls is a horrible idea, argues Rick Christie, a staff writer from the Palm Beach Post.
“You can purchase a lot of things at the mall nowadays, from candles to cars,” he opines in a recent op-ed. “But a hunting rifle? No. Too many targets. Too little security. And too much individual instability.”
What led him to sound off on the subject is news that Dick’s Sporting Goods might move into The Gardens Mall, in Palm Beach. Dick’s, as we all know, sells firearms and ammunition.
Christie’s argument hinges on various tired anti-gun arguments. To give you the rundown: There is “just something wrong about this,” it has a “disregard for public safety,” makes it “easier” for bad guys or careless gun owners to hurt people, “a criminal could smash the window and grab it,” it’s harder on security officers, and concealed carriers might get confused and shoot a gun purchaser.
My favorite is the last one because it takes the absurdity to a whole new level. Christie actually quoted local Police Chief Stephen Stepp to make that point.
“You go with an expectation at the mall that you’re not going to see somebody walking through the mall or walking through the parking lot with firearms,” said Stepp.
Stepp went on to explain the mindset of concealed carriers who see folks purchasing or returning long guns at Dick’s. “They may say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be the hero’ and take out this guy they perceived as a threat.”
That is so detached from reality it is laughable. Pretend a father is walking into Dick’s to return a Ruger 10/22, accompanied by his young son. Now, I’m just going to go up and shoot them both in the face because they are a “threat” and I want to be a hero. Give me a break!
For the vast majority of concealed carriers, a gun is a defensive weapon. Not an offensive one. Something to deploy only when things go (to use Clay’s phrase) pear-shaped. If there’s even the slightest bit of unease about a potential individual, or situation, the goal is to get outta dodge ASAP. Call the cops. Be a good witness, as they say. The notion that every gun owner wants to be Wyatt Earp is part of the pathology of anti-gunners.
SEE ALSO: Small Town in Tizzy over Gun Store Name
Most people, regardless of there experience carrying, understand the basics of threat assessment. Intuitively, they know the difference between a casual shopper and “Hey, there’s something off about that guy.” They also know the difference between a guy carrying a newly purchased rifle in a box and a crazed psycho loading, pointing, aiming and shooting one in public. The latter situation requires some sort of intervention, the former does not.
The only people that are going to have trouble with guns being sold at Dick’s are the hoplophobes. Those with an irrational fear of guns. Those who see a gun, any gun, and think, Oh my god! This father and his ten-year-old boy are dangerous. But thankfully, they’re so afraid of guns that we don’t have to worry about them shooting anyone or trying to take matters into their own hands.
With over 600 Dick’s stores nationwide, many of which presumably sell guns and are close to malls and shopping centers, there is no evidence to suggest that these retail outlets are magnets for carnage or reckless vigilantism. None whatsoever. Like every other anti-gunner out there, Christie’s fears are widely overblown.
NBC Infographic Ends Debate on Banning ARs
NBC ran an article this week, titled, “America’s rifle: Why so many people love the AR-15.”
Within the article was an infographic that should pretty much shut down the debate for banning AR-pattern rifles. See below:
(Infographic: NBC News)
Turns out ARs aren’t the death machines the media makes them out to be. They “account for relatively few murders,” as NBC notes. Gun grabbers should put this info in their disarm-America-peace pipe and smoke it.
Of course, they’ll argue that ARs are used in mass shootings (as NBC did in the video below). That’s why we need to ban them. But the truth is almost any firearm can be used to kill a bunch of people in a short amount of time, especially in gun-free zones, in places where there is little, if any, armed resistance. The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people — with handguns.
Shall we ban handguns? Well, gun banners tried that. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence used to be known as the Coalition to Ban Handguns. Why did it change its name? Maybe because public support for banning handguns has consistently wanned over the past three decades.
SEE ALSO: Salon: ‘U.S. was actually founded on gun control’
Why does the public by and large oppose banning handguns? Because as many times as bad people use handguns to do bad things in this country, more good people use handguns to defend themselves, their loved ones and their property. Handguns are fundamentally tied to one’s right to self-defense. Take handguns away and you’ve effectively taken the Second Amendment away.
What this all boils down to is that it’s not the gun that matters. It’s the person behind the trigger. We can ban either category of firearms and we’d still have gun murders and mass shootings. Heck, we can even ban all firearms and we’d still have gun murders and mass shootings. Just like they do in Europe.
As always, fighting crime is a function of taking bad guys off the streets. The weapons — guns, cars, pipe bombs, knives, bats, etc. — they use are immaterial.
Connected, Skirts Own Policies
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017
With 42 states and the District of Columbia now recognizing the Right-to-Carry, California’s retrograde may-issue Carry Concealed Weapon licensing regime is atypical.
However, a recent state audit of three of California’s CCW license issuing authorities shows that Los Angeles County does operate much like another large jurisdiction, New York City, when it comes to granting licenses.
That is, licenses are reserved for the well-connected and officials don’t bother to follow the rules when issuing them.
Under California law, a sheriff of a county may issue a CCW license to an applicant upon receiving proof,
(1) The applicant is of good moral character.
(2) Good cause exists for issuance of the license.
(3) The applicant is a resident of the county or a city within the county, or the applicant’s principal place of employment or business is in the county or a city within the county and the applicant spends a substantial period of time in that place of employment or business.
(4) The applicant has completed a course of training as described in Section 26165.
Statute does not further define “good moral character” or “good case,” which gives a local sheriff’s department significant discretion to determine the criteria necessary to acquire a permit in their jurisdiction.
Los Angeles County has a written Concealed Weapons Licensing Policy that elaborates on what the sheriff’s department considers sufficient “good cause” to merit a license. The policy states,
good cause shall exist only if there is convincing evidence of a clear and present danger to life, or of great bodily harm to the applicant, his spouse, or dependent child, which cannot be adequately dealt with by existing law enforcement resources, and which danger cannot be reasonably avoided by alternative measures, and which danger would be significantly mitigated by the applicant’s carrying of a concealed firearm.
Moreover, the policy makes clear that “No position or job classification in itself shall constitute good cause for the issuance, or for the denial, of a CCW license.”
It is exceedingly difficult for a law-abiding citizen to meet Los Angeles County’s criteria for a CCW license. Los Angeles County has issued 197 licenses to its 10.2 million residents. This works out to about 1 license for every 50,000 residents.
The audit, conducted by the California State Auditor, researched samples of 25 CCW licenses issued by three sheriff’s departments, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, and San Diego County.
For Los Angeles, the auditors concluded that the county “did not completely adhere to its policies when issuing any of the 25 CCW licenses we reviewed.” The researchers also determined, “Los Angeles issued all but one of these licenses without the level of documentation it expects to demonstrate that the applicant has met the good cause requirement.”
Rather than require the level of documentation for “good cause” outlined in their policy, Los Angeles County simply granted licenses to the well-connected. The auditors found the following,
22 of the 25 CCW licenses we reviewed were issued to applicants with professions that connected them to the law enforcement community: the individuals were former or current law enforcement officers, judges, court commissioners, retired federal agents, and deputy district attorneys.4
In fact, we found that of the 197 licenses that Los Angeles had issued that were active as of mid-August 2017, only nine were issued to applicants outside of that community.
As pointed out earlier, Los Angeles County’s written policy states that “No position or job classification in itself shall constitute good cause for the issuance, or for the denial, of a CCW license.”
The auditor’s report shares the story of a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who did not provide information of a personal threat to his safety on his license application, as required under county policy.
This judge was granted a license. The report then contrasts this case with that of a worker who stated that he wanted a license because “he worked in undesirable and remote areas and carried large amounts of cash.” This individual’s application was denied. The audit report called Los Angeles County’s practices judging “good cause” for issuing licenses “inequitable.”
The auditors also found that Los Angeles County failed to obtain requisite documentation concerning some licensees’ residency, “moral character,” and training.
In contrast to Los Angeles County, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has a more lenient policy concerning “good cause.”
At the direction of Sheriff Scott R. Jones, Sacramento considers self-defense or the defense of other sufficient to meet the “good cause” requirement.
This has resulted in far more permits being issued in Sacramento County than Los Angeles County. With a population of 1.5 million, Sacramento County has 9,130 CCW license holders.
Sacramento County’s shall-issue carry regime is part of what prompted the state audit.
In a letter responding to the auditor report, Jones explained that following the failure of legislation put forward by NRA F-rated Assemblymember Kevin McCarty that would have made it more difficult for ordinary Californians to acquire CCW licenses statewide.
The Assemblymember targeted Sacramento and other shall-issue carry jurisdictions for retribution. Jones’s letter notes, “Assemblymember McCarty threatened on social media on December 21st, 2016, to use the legislative audit function to intervene in my and others’ CCW permit processes because of his legislative failures. This audit is a consummation of that threat.”
However, the audit didn’t come to McCarty’s desired conclusions. The state auditor did not recommend that his legislation be adopted. Further, concerning Sacramento’s policy, the auditor report explained,
Although we believe the differences between Sacramento’s criteria for good cause and the criteria of the other two departments are most likely the reason for the higher number of licenses it issued during the period we audited, we cannot conclude that a higher rate of license issuance is necessarily a harmful effect of local discretion.
The California State Auditor’s office was right to describe Los Angeles County’s permitting procedure as “inequitable.” May-issue licensing regimes have always been ripe for this type of abuse.
In the early 20th century, New York’s Sullivan Law was used to prohibit immigrants from owning handguns. In the 1950s, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was denied a carry permit in Alabama.
This year, officials from the New York City Police Department’s License Division were indicted on federal corruption charges for what amounted to selling handgun licenses.
Members of Los Angeles County’s law enforcement community should be able to exercise their Right-to-Carry for the defense of themselves and others.
However, the county’s law-abiding residents should have that same opportunity. Until California and the small handful of holdout jurisdictions join the 21st century and respect the Right-to-Carry, these abuses will continue.
Of course, given ongoing federal litigation and legislative efforts on the Right-to-Carry, sometime soon the regressive politicians of these backwards enclaves may no longer have a say in the matter.