"It's déjà vu all over again".

Massad Ayoob

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."    Winston Churchill

DÉJÀ VU IN MISSOURI by Massad Ayoob

In his post, Massad Ayoob explores the apparent similarities between the treatment of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown as public opinion is effectively, however cynically, shaped.

Answering Why? To what end? is left to the reader...   

Title from one of the great thinkers of our age: Yogi Berra

Michael Brown/ Ferguson MO Riot 2.0

Instructive dynamic: MO State Police adopt a nonconfrontational stance to great media and political acclaim, ...aaaaand, wait for it...  After day's calm, a storm erupts overnight in Ferguson

StL Post-Dispatch

'There are no police': Ferguson store owners guard businesses; cite lack of police response

Police presence in question during overnight looting in Ferguson

Ferguson police stand down; Looters run wild again; Local store owners plead for help: ‘Where the cops at?'

Weak police response in Ferguson confirms necessity of self-defense, gun ownership

Armed citizens defend Sam’s Meat Market in Ferguson

StL Post-Dispatch

HT: Fox News, StL Post Dispatch, Twitchy.com

This is an object lesson: law-abiding citizens can and will be sold down the river for political correctness and the politicians' personal gain. You have to be strong, capable and take responsibility for your own safety at all times.   

Gun Laws Hang Over CO Gov Midterm Hopes

From Fox News

CO Gov John Hickenlooper (D-ork) - Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/14/colorado-gov-hickenlooper-struggles-to-fend-off-gop-rival/?intcmp=latestnews

Here's hoping that Colorado voters are wise enough to stuff this Bloomberg shill.  

This Week's Activism Requests

OK, more like suggestions, but strong suggestions.  I'll try not to ask for much, but there are important goings-on afoot.

(source)

First, via David Codrea:

[Representative Chris] Stewart [D-Utah] has introduced H.R. 4934, the Regulatory Agency Demilitarization Act, “To prohibit certain Federal agencies from using or purchasing certain firearms, and for other purposes.”

This is huge, and by huge, I mean HUGE.  It's worth reading David's whole piece, and looking into the actual proposed legislation (PDF warning).  If it's enacted with no amendments, it does a few things:

1. It prohibits federal regulatory agencies* from purchasing firearms no later than 30 days after enactment.
2. It requires the Comptroller General to provide Congress an annual report detailing every SWAT and SWAT-style tactical team operating under all regulatory agencies, including the people, training, weapons, criteria for activating the team(s), how many times they were activated each year, and the annual cost of training/maintaining the team(s).
3. It removes firearm carry authority, arrest authority (with or without a warrant), and search/seize authority from Offices of Inspector Generals and their subordinates.

Item #3 is the most impressive, I think.  The proposal would completely strike subsection 6(e) of The Inspector General Act of 1978 (read subsection (e) here) -- which basically gives the Attorney General authority to grant firearm and arrest authority to whoever he (or she) wants -- including this little gem:

[6(e)](6) A determination by the Attorney General ... shall not be reviewable in or by any court.

WTF?  No judicial oversight?  Separation of powers, anyone?  That's gotta go!

Do your research.  Call your Congresspeople.  Ask them why regulatory agencies like the Dept. of Education, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and the Small Business Administration need SWAT teams.

And if you're on Twitter, spread the word with the hashtag, "#DisarmRegulators".

Simple enough (source)

Second, via Dave Workman, if you live in Washington State -- or if you know anyone who does -- spread the word about the pending ballot battle between Initiative 591 and Initiative 594.  I-594 is being pushed by "gun control" groups and is backed financially by extremely wealthy "Seattlites" and out-of-state interests, including everyone's favorite former mayor, good ol' Michael Bloomberg.  Among other things (it's 18 pages long!), it would criminalize most firearm transfers without background checks, including letting a buddy borrow a firearm for a hunting trip -- you'd have to run a check to give the firearm to your buddy, and he/she would have to run another one on you to give it back.

I-591, on the other hand, is a simple, single-page proposal that says Washington State background checks must comply with a national standard (currently the NICS system for retail purchases only), and that authorities CANNOT seize firearms without due process (preventing a repeat of "Hurricane Katrina"-style disarmament).  It is supported by the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs (WACOPS), the Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association (WSLEFIA), and at least seven county sheriffs.

This is a ballot battle, so calling representatives won't help.  We need to get the grassroots going on this, and so far, it hasn't been going as well as we'd hope (no offense to NRA members).  "Yes" on I-591, "No" on I-594.

Shaneen Allen & family (source)

Third, consider donating to the legal defense fund for Shaneen Allen.  Charlie Foxtrot covered this earlier in the week, but it bears repeating.  This has already gone too far, but it's far from over for Ms. Allen, and counting on Gov. Chris Christie to step in and do the right thing is foolhardy at best.

(Note to libertarians and parental-rights activists: This hasn't been mentioned in the news -- at all -- but as a single mother, while she's in prison, her children will be wards of the State, with ALL that entails.  Think about that.)

Finally, also from Charlie earlier this week, there's a raffle benefiting "American Sniper" Chris Kyle's family.  If you have anything left after supporting Shaneen Allen, there's some REAL nice stuff up for grabs.  Tickets are $10.

That's about it for now.  As always, hug your family.  Here's to hoping for some good news this week.

(* - The proposal naturally exempts some federal agencies whose duties include actual law enforcement.  It's intended to target strictly regulatory agencies with no law enforcement functions.)

[UPDATE] Post updated to reflect No Mas' re-assumption of his previous nom de guerre, Charlie Foxtrot. Nothing else has been changed. [/UPDATE]

Ruminations on Riots

I’ve lived through two - two and a half riots. I was just a spud during LA’s Watts Riots. I barely remember my grandparents suddenly appearing in our backyard and everyone staring at a thick tree-trunk of smoke in the sky. I wondered why my Grandmother sobbed, not understanding that their house was only a few miles from the flames. I also remember my Father putting a target pistol in the car on our way to church. 

Twenty seven years later, I stood in my own yard, staring at three solid walls of smoke surrounding my newly purchased house. I had helped guide some company employees out of downtown Long Beach, pulled my girlfriend out of her trendy, but sketchy, apartment, then came home to stare at the encroaching smoke with an equally black pit in my stomach. 

I remember it was eerily quiet – no one was on the road. Civilization had abandoned us; most everyone, including the cops, crouched inside their stucco huts. The only sounds were occasional sirens – and gunshots. Lots of gunshots.

I had never felt so alone, so utterly exposed. Fires raged less than a city block away, but there were no firemen, no cops, no National Guard. Just me. Stupid me. I didn’t know any neighbors; but I did have a few firearms. However, they were better suited for busting clays or bunny-rats. I didn’t even have enough ammo to fill the few magazines of my wildly inaccurate Mini-14. If push came to shove, I was going to get it sideways. 

Fortunately, the Rodney King Riots ended after three - four days; too late for 53 people. The cops reappeared in a rush when a copter’s searchlight pinned a car to the curb near the head of our street. Cruisers and HMVs came out of nowhere and the six young male occupants were quickly cuffed and stuffed. The cops took at least two long guns into evidence and then vanished again. However, the smoke walls were losing their solidity and eventually vanished, too. The smell of smoke took a very long time go away.   

Now, twenty-two years later, I’m living through another riot – virtually. The GF – 'scuse me, The wife – is in St Louis, while I’m in LA. Thankfully, so far at least, the Michael Brown Riot isn’t anywhere near as vicious as the Watts or Rodney King riots. However, the locals are very aware of the tensions that course beneath the city. 

Again, I’m helpless – unable to protect the one I love. However, she lives in a neighborhood of deer hunters, has her Cowboy Action Shooting guns, and we moved some of my mil-surps with her. (Parlez-vous Mosin? SKS? Sardine cans?) The neighbors have organized for protection and truly appreciate my wife’s contributions (not without a raised eyebrow or two.) She's as safe as anyone can be in St Louis.  

I’m left 2600 miles away to ruminate on riots.

It can get ugly when civilization’s leash is slipped. No one is truly safe; cars can deliver the insanity anywhere. TV, Twitter, Facebook, whatever, can excite the unstable far away. Your putative protectors may go missing; overwhelmed or simply busy defending their own. And it can all happen in a heartbeat: you’re there with yourself and what you’ve got. Ready?

When the smoke suddenly engulfs you, you might have to fight very hard to stay alive. A mob is a heartless, cruel beast. One of the firearms that our Dear Leader is so desperately trying to eliminate is uniquely suited for self-defense in a riot. Light, handy, capable, accurate, easy to shoot, limited penetration, with a large magazine capacity: carbines like the AR-15 just might be the best choice available. Our readers need to have something to resist the anarchy.

Although mindless, the mob can be reasoned with. Pointing intimidating pieces of hardware at it seems particularly effective. Stories abound of home and shop owners facing down rioters with their SKS, AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. Often, the mob turns tail without the need to fire a shot: a Win-Win. Some of their neighbors, without such communication tools, died.

There are predictions of increasing social disruptions and riots, with all the ongoing demographic shifts, racialist expectations, employment participation rates, and the overarching economic problems. The possibility of a political shift with the Nov 14 elections is upsetting to some elements. It seems prudent to look at your particular situation and prepare. 

Several interesting webpages:

Social Unrest
Prepare for a Riot
Preparing & Reacting To Riots 

Best advice: Don't Be There. If You Are, Be Strong.  
 
The possibility of having to face rioters alone, however remote (if you are lucky) is just one of a host of excellent reason to fight for all of your Second Amendment rights - without compromise.      

Federal Judge Rules AR-15′s Are “Dangerous and Unusual"

BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules AR-15′s Are “Dangerous and Unusual,” Not Protected by 2nd Amendment

Bad news for Maryland gun owners.

A Bill Clinton appointed judge had to combine ignorance, illogic, fear and a very flexible interpretation of the Second Amendment and recent Supreme Curt decisions to come up with this ruling.

Read the timely analysis at Gun Save Lives.  

It's Easy for Them to Say...

... They've never "been there."

I previously posted about the video ad "Everytown For Gun Safety" released -- entitled "Will You Stop This?" -- and the reaction from the normally-left-leaning co-hosts of ABC's "The View."

Well, it appears it's epic failure at its intended message is growing.



Rachel Lucas, SaferOregon founder
(image source: S-J article)

Rachel Lucas, founder of the non-profit group SaferOregon and the survivor of a violent rape, has written a strongly-worded piece for the Statesman-Journal.  She describes the Everytown video and cites the anti-gun stance of someone who has not been a victim at some point, is merely "academic":

Like me, three of the four women on the panel had faced real life-threatening situations where their lives, and in some cases, their children's lives, were in real danger. Two of the women had faced home intruders and one had dealt with a stalker. Only the woman who had not faced these dangers was against having a gun for self-protection.
For her, it was academic. But it isn't for us.

This is an amazingly clear picture of the one holdout's position: She's never "been there," so she doesn't know.  She's never experienced the fear, the helplessness.  She's only read/heard about it -- her knowledge is purely academic.

If she had been there and experienced it (and I hope and pray to God she never has to), she might think differently about owning and carrying guns, and about those who choose to do so.

That's not all.  Ms. Lucas also criticizes the "usual advice" for women -- especially in Illinois (part 2, and part 3)* -- in the event of an impending sexual assault:

But nothing that I was trained to do during the attack itself was helpful at all. Not a thing.

I'll admit I've never been a victim of a violent crime.  But I don't think you have to have been a victim to speak out about this, or to prepare for the possibility, nor do I think victimhood, in and of itself, lends any moral authority to one's arguments.

I do, however, think it takes a special kind of arrogance to say, "Nobody should have guns" -- especially to those who have been victims -- in order to make one's self feel safer**.  And I think that previous victims who use their experience for personal growth and refuse to be victimized again have more credibility -- if not authority -- than those who don't.

(Hat tip: Dave Workman)

* - And really, how sick are the advice-givers when part of the screed is, "Don't fight back, ever"?  "Lie back and think of England," anyone?  WTF?

** - It's particularly ironic that people with an academic understanding (i.e. objective) demand "solutions" to make themselves feel (subjectively) safer, when most research indicates that they're objectively less safe, regardless of how they feel.

Update: NJ Seeks To Jail Mom 10 Yrs For Mistake

If you've lost Insty, you've lost America:
Carrying a gun way worse than beating your wife: USA TODAY Column by Glenn Harlan Reynolds (InstaPundit.) There are laws for the rich and famous - and laws for us.

Recommended reading. NJ's draconian gun laws are just one of the nation-wide efforts to make exercising Second Amendment rights confusing and dangerous.

Tom Gresham (GunTalk Radio) proposes renting NJ billboards to shame District Attorney Jim McClain.    

Overambitious NJ Governor Chris Christie has yet to weigh in.

Shaneen Allen Legal Defense Fund

This young mother of two made an innocent mistake and brought her Pennsylvania legal CCW pistol into New Jersey. Now, the rabidly anti-gun state is massing its full power to jail her for three and a half ten+ years for a "crime" without intent or a victim.

Even by the debased standards of a corrupt New Jersey, this is a travesty. Please help Shaneen Allen fight this insanity with a donation to her legal defense fund here.

And fight hard for National Reciprocity. Rights know no borders.

James Brady -- Murdered?

Many (most?) of us suspect the area in and around Washington, DC is a reality-free zone. A North Virginia medical examiner has done nothing to quash that suspicion, ruling that James Brady was murdered in 2014 – 33 years after being shot.     

Jim Brady and Ronald Reagan - Fox

First, all due respect to James Brady. A madman severely injured him in the service of this Nation and the Reagan Administration. The brain damage was so severe that only miraculous luck, modern medicine and Jim Brady’s will to live prevented the attack from actually being murder. Furthermore, we've little compassion for the assailant. In a rational society, he should have been circling Dante’s Inferno long ago.

Most commentators are at a loss to explain the ruling. According to the Washington Post, there's little chance of a murder prosecution. Common law holds an assault can only be murder if the victim dies within a year and a day. A jury of average intelligence (yeah, we know) would likely find the 33 year span difficult to swallow. The madman has already been found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murders. The Post lists another handful of good reasons against further prosecution. Like it or not (and we don’t), the attacker will probably never pay for the suffering he caused. But, this is a nation of laws, however imperfect, and we should be thankful for that.

James Brady Surrounded by Antis Frank

 Lautenberg. Paul Helmke and Sarah Brady - AP

Whatever the medical examiner’s reasons: simple-minded bureaucracy, Brady family pressure, political intrigue or something else; the anti-gun industry will certainly relish the chance to wave Jim Brady’s bloody shirt once again.   

HT: Emily Miller, FOX News

Raffle For Chris Kyle's Family

Want to support the family of a true American hero, stick a finger in the eye of a douchenado and have a chance of winning one of several uber-cool rifles (.338 - .300 WinMag - 7.62 - 5.56 -- I'll be in my bunk), a SIG pistol, knives and other swag?  All for ten bucks?  Send the ten bones to AmericanSnipers.org's Chris Kyle Raffle.

BTW, Chris Kyle's two books: American Sniper and American Gun are really worth a read.

HT: Miggy at GunFreeZone and  OldNFO at Nobody Asked Me.... 

Verdict in Detroit "Front Porch" Shooting

Gun news has been fairly slow this week, so I've been following the Israel/Gaza conflict and the trial of Theodore Wafer, a Detroit homeowner charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Renisha McBride.

Andrew Branca, a Massachusetts defense attorney who runs the Law of Self Defense blog, has been providing coverage as best he can (the judge forbid live streaming of the trial, so news has been coming out via Twitter) in his column over at Legal Insurrection.

Well, yesterday, the jury returned a verdict:

Defendant Theodore Wafer

Theodore Wafer has been found guilty of Second Degree Murder/Voluntary Manslaughter and weapons charges 

The jury has returned a verdict of guilty of second degree murder/voluntary manslaughter and weapons charges in the trial of Detroit homeowner Theodore Wafer for the front porch shooting death of Renisha McBride in the early morning hours of November 2, 2013.  Trial Judge Hathaway has ordered Wafer imprisoned immediately, pending sentencing.

(You can see the day-to-day coverage/commentary here, if you're interested, but it's quite a bit of reading.)

There are a number of take-away lessons from this, but here are the big ones that stick in my mind:

1. Obey the rules of gun safety.  This should really go without saying, but Wafer's initial statements to the police indicated he had shot McBride by "accident."  This damaged his claim of self-defense because self-defense is an inherently deliberate act.  His defense team -- led by Cheryl Carpenter -- tried to portray the statement as the layman's use of the word "accident" (i.e. unintentional, reflexive) -- as opposed to the legal definition (e.g. unforeseeable, unpreventable) -- but if his finger hadn't been on the trigger, it's highly unlikely the gun would have "gone off" in the first place.
2. Know the condition of your defensive firearms at all times.  Related to the first (and yes, "all guns are loaded," and all that), if you're keeping firearms for self-defense, it would greatly benefit you to know for certain whether or not it's loaded, whether or not there's a round in the chamber, and whether any safeties are on or off.  Another statement he made was that he didn't know there was a round in the chamber (he did know it was loaded), which further damaged his self-defense credibility.
3. Don't open the door.  Another weakness in his self-defense claim was that, when he heard McBride pounding on the locked screen door at ~4:30 a.m., he went to investigate, but made the mistake of opening the steel front door.  Michigan law includes the front porch as part of the home for self-defense purposes, but if you're afraid for your life in the event of a home invasion, why would you open the door?  Haven't we seen enough crime and horror movies to know that never ends well?  (OK, that last was tongue-in-cheek, but still....)
4. Don't talk to the police.  At least, don't talk to the responding police until after you've had a chance to talk with your attorney.  Be polite, cooperate, but don't make statements; they can and will be used against you -- just like the Miranda rights say, whether or not the police have read them to you -- so don't give them an opening.  Just say, "I will cooperate, and I'm more than willing to provide a statement, but I'm still frazzled and I'd like to wait until I can calm down and consult with my attorney."  They'll want an immediate statement, but there's no law compelling you to provide one.  Better to wait until you've had a chance to process the events, to compose yourself, and to discuss with competent defense counsel what you should say.

Now, I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, so this list should not be considered legal advice.  However, most of these are offered elsewhere, consistently, by professional self-defense instructors and attorneys, and when you think about it, they're pretty reasonable and (dare I say it?) "common-sense."  It's also a good idea to understand the laws of your state regarding self- and home-defense, but that, along with item #1 above, should go without saying.

Benjamin Franklin. Smart guy.
(image source: Wikipedia)

The long and short is, if you're going to keep firearms for self- or home-defense, it's beneficial to have a plan for using them ahead of time, before they're needed.  Cover all your bases, and revise it as you learn more.  What will you do?  What will you say to responding police?  Any plan will likely go right out the window if/when the unthinkable happens, but it's better to have a plan -- any plan -- than to try to wing it in a life-or-death situation.  Start thinking about that now.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." -- Benjamin Franklin

So, what will you do?

Shaneen Allen Legal Defense Fund

This young mother of two made an innocent mistake and brought her Pennsylvania legal CCW pistol into New Jersey. Now, the rabidly anti-gun state is massing its full power to jail her for three and a half ten+ years for a "crime" without intent or a victim.

Even by the debased standards of a corrupt New Jersey, this is a travesty. Please help Shaneen Allen fight this insanity with a donation to her legal defense fund here.

And fight hard for National Reciprocity. Rights know no borders. 

Follow the Money

Not just the money, but that's a start.

It's now coming out that "Everytown for Gun Safety" - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Michael Bloomberg - has been partnering with merging with buying up state-level "gun control" groups.

Remember when Hizzonner pledged $50 million of his own money to help build "grassroots" support for "gun control"?  This is apparently how he intends to do it.  Corporate takeovers, starting in Washington and Nevada.

So, how do we tell if we're dealing with real grassroots, or a Bloomberg front?  Follow the money - or in this case, the IP registration.

David Codrea,
National Gun Rights Examiner

From David Codrea, checking into the new group, "Nevadans for Background Checks":

Looking for the organization’s name leads to a one-page safenevada.org website, with no other information outside of what it is they’re trying to do and why, a press contact email, and that the information is “© Paid for by Nevadans for Background Checks.” Who these “Nevadans” are is left unstated.

A Who Is domain registry search shows the site registrant is masked through Domains By Proxy, LLC, of Scottsdale, Ariz. The “Nevadans” trying to influence public policy evidently do not want that public to know who they are.

Looking the group up in a Nevada Secretary of State corporation search shows the “Reservation Holder” for the business entity name is one Margaret Rohlfing, who provided an address of “575 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. That is the address for Venable LLP, the law firm representing Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown in trademark registration. Again, how anyone involved can claim to be a "Nevadan" is not addressed.

That's not the end of the rabbit hole - click through for the rest - but you get the idea.  The "Nevadans" group is run from out-of-state, and has no in-state membership to speak of.

Gun rights - both ownership and politics - is a popular, grassroots, "every man's (and woman's)" movement.  Contrary to the mainstream media reports, we don't have endless financial resources.  But in the end, the money doesn't count.  Popular support counts.  People count.  Votes count.

"Gun control," on the other hand, has no grassroots.  This latest attempt to "buy" the appearance of grassroots speaks volumes.

(David reports on gun rights at Examiner.com, runs the War On Guns blog, writes the monthly "Rights Watch" column for GUNS magazine, posts articles for the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and contributes to The Shooters Log.  If you're not following at least some of his stuff, you're missing out on a lot of first-rate information, insight, and analysis.)

(NOTE: This post had originally gone live yesterday, Aug. 5, at about 10:40 PDT, but I took it down temporarily in order to keep the scheduling of posts more consistent.  I offer my apologies to anyone who may have read it and tried to link to it - all 3 of you. ;) )

Jim Brady Has Died

James Brady, Press Secretary for the Reagan Administration, and later a figurehead for Handgun Control, Inc. and the follow-on Brady Campaign, and has died.

Thirty-three years ago, Jim Brady was critically injured in an attack that nearly cost President Reagan his life. Policemen Delahanty and McCarthy also fell badly hurt. Brady was so severely injured that all three networks pronounced him dead. The shooter was judged not guilty by reason of insanity, has been "cured", and now enjoys trips outside his mental facility.

James Brady

Although much mischief has been done in his name, we should never forget that Brady was desperately hurt in service to this Nation. A madman sentenced him to years of living with a disabling brain injury. That others opportunistically took advantage of his prominence and his injuries does not diminish his honorable service. We do ourselves and our causes no credit if we demean the man and his pain. 

Godspeed, Mr. James Brady. Rest in Peace. Thank you for your Service.

And pardon our dust as we grind the Brady Campaign into well-deserved irrelevance.
 

State Gun Law Website

The wife and I are a thoroughly modern couple: she’s in Missouri, I’m in California, and we hope to someday soon to be together again in Texas.  

One of the many, many complexities this life brings is managing all the different gun laws in the states where we live, meet, train, or pass through. California is, of course, a nightmare. Missouri is much better, but has it’s vagaries. Tejas is very good – but they somehow don’t allow open carry of handguns. You just never know. The wife has recently gotten her CCW (Yay!), but has been reluctant to carry outside her state in fear of violating some random law. And the case of the young mom running afoul of New Jersey’s draconian anti-gun laws didn’t help her concerns.    

It was time to get edumicated.
 

Choose a State - www.handgunlaw.us

www.handgunlaw.us is a highly respecteded internet site. It seems well organized, complete and informative. Importantly, the site had been updated the day before. The info is immediately available; not hidden behind a paywall. I liked the way the info was organized: with a click on a state in the US map, a multi-page (13 in the case of Texas) summary of the state’s gun laws appeared. Right up front it identifies that TX is a Must Inform state. The summary covers much more than CCW rules and regulations; it touches on transportation and safe storage laws, deadly force, chemical sprays, knives, etc. It looks complete - to a Californian.

Handgunlaw.us Summary of Texas Weapon Laws

I shudder to think what Cali's "summary" looks like.

Recommended.