Self-Ownership and the Right to Self-Defense

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By Dr. Wanjiru Njoya

Self-defense is an ancient common law right under which necessary and reasonable force may be used to defend one’s person or property. As Sir Edward Coke expressed it in 1604: “The house of everyone is to him as his Castle and Fortress as well for defense against injury and violence . . . if thieves come to a man’s house to rob him, or murder, and the owner or his servants kill any of the thieves in defense of himself and his house, it is no felony, and he shall lose nothing.”

The meaning of reasonable force has always been heavily context-dependent, considering the facts of the case including the intentions of the parties. If a trial were to become necessary in the scenario described by Coke, the court would have to establish that the intruders were indeed thieves intent on robbery or murder, or at any rate that the homeowner reasonably believed this to be the case. The use of force to defend oneself from an attack inherently carries the risk of causing the attacker’s death, making it necessary to ascertain that this was not merely a homicide masquerading as self-defense. Otherwise, anyone could shoot another and argue that he thought it was an intruder, as happened in the Oscar Pistorius case.

If the attacker shoots first, it is not unreasonable to shoot back. Difficult cases arise where the attacker is unarmed or armed only with the natural weapons of his own fists. The old common law rule, as reported by the Michigan Law Review in 1904, was that

it was not necessary the assault should have been made with a deadly weapon, but that an assault with the fists alone, if there was apparent purpose and ability to inflict death or serious bodily injury, was sufficient to justify the killing in self-defense. . . . a mere battery by the fists alone, will not justify an homicide, even where there is a great disparity of physical power, without a plain manifestation of felonious intent.

The felonious intent of the attacker (intention to inflict death or serious bodily injury) has long been treated as key to justifying killing the attacker, and such intention could only be judged in all the circumstances of the case. Mere words would not suffice, as one might shout, “I’ll kill you!” with neither felonious intent nor ability, and conversely an intention and ability to kill may be exhibited clearly without any words being uttered.

In the context of comparative law, Uwe Steinhoff controversially goes further to argue that self-defense ought to be lawful even if the attacker did not use his fists: “An attack need not involve physical force; rather, an attack is every threat of violation or actual violation of an interest that is protected by law (that is, of a right) insofar as this threat stems from human action.” Steinhoff distinguishes between an “attack” and “harm” as in his view one is still entitled to defend oneself against an attack without waiting to see the degree of harm, if any, that might result from the attack.

Imagine a scenario where a weak and puny man launches himself at a weightlifting champion with intention to cause harm, only for the attacker’s fists to bounce ineffectually off his victim (as happened once to Arnold Schwarzenegger). In Steinhoff’s view, the victim in this case, bigger and stronger than his attacker though he may be, would nevertheless have a right to defend himself with a reasonable degree of force.

The aim of mentioning these examples is not to comment on the current law, which is too heavily circumscribed by legislation and case law to permit brief summary. The aim here is instead to highlight some of the difficulties in ascertaining the boundaries of self-defense. Legislative rules are typically detailed and encompass numerous conditions and exceptions.

For example, in New York, “deadly physical force” generally cannot be used unless

“the actor reasonably believes that such other person [the attacker] is using or about to use deadly physical force. Even in such case, however, the actor may not use deadly physical force if he or she knows that with complete personal safety, to oneself and others he or she may avoid the necessity of so doing by retreating.”

That is easy to state, but in reality, how would one “know that with complete personal safety” violence can be avoided by retreating? In many circumstances where deadly force is used or threatened, there are no guarantees of “complete personal safety.” In Steinhoff’s example, it is rarely clear that there is no other way to save Snow White other than by taking out the evil queen: “Yet one is certainly allowed to tackle the evil queen with physical force in order to prevent her from giving the apple to Snow White if there is no other way to save Snow White.”

It is in practice often difficult (though not impossible) to show that there was no other way to avert the threat other than by use of deadly force, primarily because decisions must often be made in split seconds. The point here is that on a test of reasonableness, it would not suffice simply to say “there was no other way”—it would be necessary to show this to be in fact the case. It is one thing to understand clearly the meaning of self-defense and another to ascertain whether defensive action is justified on the facts of specific cases.

Natural Law and Natural Rights

From a natural law perspective, the right to self-defense is an element of the right to self-ownership. Self-defense entails the right to wield force in defense against any forceful invasion. As Murray Rothbard explains:

If every man has the absolute right to his justly-held property, it then follows that he has the right to keep that property—to defend it by violence against violent invasion . . . for if a man owns property and yet is denied the right to defend it against attack, then it is clear that a very important aspect of that ownership is being denied to him.

That is no more than a starting point, as it is still necessary to ascertain the scope of the right to self-defense. Rothbard asks:

How extensive is a man’s right of self-defense of person and property? The basic answer must be: up to the point at which he begins to infringe on the property rights of someone else. . . . It follows that defensive violence may only be used against an actual or directly threatened invasion of a person’s property—and may not be used against any nonviolent “harm” that may befall a person’s income or property value. (emphasis added)

It is by no means straightforward to decide what “directly threatened invasion” means in specific cases. In Rothbard’s example, where “someone approaches you on the street, whips out a gun, and demands your wallet,” the threat is clear. However, he notes that an invasion or threat of invasion need not be “actual physical aggression” but may include intimidation or even fraud, which is “implicit theft” and thus a threat against one’s property. Rothbard insists however that the threat must be direct, overt, and clear; it must be “palpable, immediate and direct,” not “vague and future.”

Rothbard cautions that “in the inevitable case of fuzzy or unclear actions, we must bend over backwards to require the threat of invasion to be direct and immediate . . . the burden of proof that the aggression has really begun must be on the person who employs defensive violence.” Thus, violence can only be deployed in response to violence: “It would clearly be grotesque and criminally invasive to shoot a man across the street because his angry look seemed to you to portend an invasion,” and the response to a violent threat must be proportionate: “The criminal, or invader, loses his own right to the extent that he has deprived another man of his.” To shoot dead a shoplifter, for example, would be disproportionate: “In fact, the storekeeper has become a far greater criminal than the thief, for he has killed or wounded his victim—a far graver invasion of another’s rights than the original shoplifting.”

It would indeed be grotesque to summarily execute people for shoplifting, but that assumes a simple case where it is clear that the invader is intent only on shoplifting. The case would be different in circumstances where it is impossible to distinguish between a mere shoplifter and an intruder whose intention, as far as can be ascertained under the circumstances, seems reasonably to be to cause grave bodily harm. For example, in the case of Tony Martin, the outcome turned on the fact that the burglars were in the process of fleeing when he shot at them:

Fearon, 29, and 16-year-old Fred had travelled from Newark in Nottinghamshire on the evening of 20 August to raid Bleak House, the semi-derelict farm building in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk . . . Upon hearing them, Martin came down from an upstairs bedroom and opened fire with a pump-action shotgun. Martin claimed to have been acting in self-defence; prosecutors argued he had anticipated the pair and lay in wait for them.

The case would have been different if he had shot them on entry rather than exit. After all, it may not have been clear to him whether the burglars’ intention was merely to burgle or to cause him bodily harm. He could in theory have called out to the intruders, “Halt and state your intentions!” in the manner of a soldier on patrol, but most criminals intent on causing harm are unlikely to yield peacefully to such an inquiry.

In the common law context, these issues are all components of reasonable force. Deadly force used in response to a threat that is neither direct nor immediate but is merely speculative or remote would not count as reasonable.

Peaceful Adjudication of Disputes

To avoid these difficulties, common law jurisdictions have long upheld a strong policy preference for the peaceful settlement of disputes and have constrained as far as possible the deployment of force. In Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc. (1997), the supreme court of Wisconsin observed in a case of trespass that one reason why the state steps in to vindicate violations of property rights is to discourage people from resorting to “self-help” remedies. In this way, courts hope to discourage people from deploying force in defense of their own rights:

In McWilliams, the court recognized the importance of preventing the practice of dueling, by permitting juries to punish insult by exemplary damages. Although dueling is rarely a modern form of self-help, one can easily imagine a frustrated landowner taking the law into his or her own hands when faced with a brazen trespasser.

The policy goal is “the preservation of the peace” or “providing an incentive for plaintiffs to bring petty outrages into court” instead of resolving the dispute by rashly throwing down the gauntlet in a fit of temper. For example, the case in the Michigan Law Review cited earlier involved parents fighting over the aggravating behavior of their children:

On the morning of the murder, the defendants were passing Hallgarth’s premises when he hailed them and a heated conversation ensued over some difficulty about Gray’s children at school. Hallgarth leaping over the fence, but without weapons of any kind except his bare fists, advanced in a threatening manner upon Gray, who thereupon drew his pistol and warned him to desist.

The reasoning behind the legislative regulation of self-defense is to discourage people from leaping over fences and resorting to fisticuffs in disputes with their neighbors. Most jurisdictions also prohibit or strongly discourage self-help in property disputes, especially in the context of tenancies, in favor of calling the authorities to deal with any violation of the owner’s rights:

It would still be necessary to prohibit forms of self-help, such as padlocking, because of the foreseeable and, therefore, unnecessary one-on-one confrontation. . . . It does not take a mystic or a psychologist to see the possibilities for violence and conflict in these scenarios. A lockout attempt, whether done face to face or like a thief in the night when the occupant is away, can be a provocative act. “It is difficult to imagine a more volatile situation from which extreme violence could be reasonably anticipated than the surreptitious removal of a man’s home, whether it be a rented one or a mortgaged one.”

The question libertarians must nevertheless ask is whether the state is justified, in its attempt to keep the peace, in limiting the right to self-defense. Even if we stipulate that the state is a parasite and everything the state does is therefore inherently wrong, it would still be necessary to address the question of how peaceful interaction can be maintained in situations where human beings are wont to fly off the handle and take potshots at each other with or without weapons. Human nature being what it is, this problem would also arise for private defense agencies to which people in a libertarian society had voluntarily subscribed.

To avoid violent conflict in a dispute resolution, it is certainly a good idea to encourage peaceful adjudication. It is however important to reiterate that the right being vindicated through such adjudication is not the right to a fair trial but, according to Rothbard, the right to self-defense:

Presumably, a free market will tend to lead to most people choosing to defend themselves with those private institutions and protection agencies whose procedures will attract the most agreement from people in society. In short, people who will be willing to abide by their decisions as the most practical way of approximating the determination of who, in particular cases, are innocent and who are guilty. But these are matters of utilitarian discovery on the market as to the most efficient means of arriving at self-defense, and do not imply any such fallacious concepts as “procedural rights.”

Agreeing to resolve disputes through arbitration proceedings, for example, or any other institutional form of dispute resolution must therefore not be taken as a reason to undermine the right to self-defense. The right to self-defense rests in the person whose property right is violated and not in society or in the state. Thus, the individual also has a natural right to bear arms as an emanation of the right to self-ownership. As Rothbard explains: “Every man has the absolute right to bear arms—whether for self-defense or any other licit purpose.”

*****

This article was published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute and is reproduced with permission.

Gun Groups Sound Alarm About New DOJ ‘Red Flag’ Law Center thumbnail

Gun Groups Sound Alarm About New DOJ ‘Red Flag’ Law Center

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By The Daily Caller

Gun groups are sounding the alarm about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new center aimed at helping states enforce red flag laws.

The DOJ launched its National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center on Saturday to offer assistance to law enforcement officials, social services providers and others who implement red flag laws, which permit judges to temporarily strip individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others of their ability to possess firearms. The center, which will be run by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, was started with a $2 million DOJ grant funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed in 2022, according to the White House.

“Red flag laws are inherently a violation of the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments because they allow for the confiscation of legal firearms from law-abiding citizens without due process based on anonymous accusations,” the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Thus, they have no place in American Jurisprudence.”

President Joe Biden and the DOJ will use the center to “continue their abuse of the constitutional rights of all Americans,” NAGR said.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the center’s announcement that it was “the latest example of the Justice Department’s work to use every tool provided by the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to protect communities from gun violence.”

“The launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center will provide our partners across the country with valuable resources to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others,” Garland said.

Twenty-one states, along with the District of Columbia, have passed ERPO laws, according to the DOJ’s press release.

What the hell is this evil?
A Federal Red Flag center;
We did not authorize this.
Announced, of course, just hours after the omnibus passes. https://t.co/IkuK0aTeV8

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 23, 2024

NAGR Vice President Ryan Flugaur told the Daily Caller News Foundation his organization blames Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who led Republican negotiations on the bill, for the “mess.” Flugaur said it should stop Cornyn from becoming the next Republican Senate leader.

Fifteen Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the BSCA in 2022.

The violence and devastation that will flow from the newly announced “DOJ Red Flag Resource Center”–– funded by the 2022 Bipartisan “Safer Communities” Act––will fall squarely on the shoulders of @JohnCornyn, @MittRomney, and their anti-rights Fudd co-conspirators: https://t.co/ZrDUIgTYSj pic.twitter.com/kvhVpTRyCZ

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) March 23, 2024

Gun Owners of America Director of Federal Affairs Aidan Johnston told the DCNF the office was “being created simply to pressure and bribe states into adopting these laws in exchange for more federal money.”

“For example, Michigan enacted a gun confiscation law within a few months of receiving a Cornyn-Murphy ‘grant.’” he said. “The People should demand their state lawmakers push back and never sell out your rights for 30 pieces of silver.”

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the state’s red flag bill into law in May 2023. The state was awarded a $7,945,884 DOJ grant in February 2023 “to help combat gun violence and enhance behavioral health and crisis care programs,” which was made possible through the BSCA.

Thirty-three members of Congress, led by Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall and Republican West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney, alleged in a letter last July that the DOJ illegally gave grant money to states that did not have red flag laws to “create and implement extreme risk protection order programs.”

“Every single ‘red flag’ gun confiscation law in the United States lacks due process because the government can convene a hearing and take your firearms away without you or your attorney ever being present to counter the claims being made,” Johnston told the DCNF.

AUTHOR

KATELYNN RICHARDSON

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXCLUSIVE: Gun Owners Of America Comes Out Swinging Against John Cornyn After He Announced Bid For Senate Leader

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

DOJ Creates New Federal ‘Red Flag’ Center To Seize Firearms From Law-Abiding Americans [But Not Illegals] thumbnail

DOJ Creates New Federal ‘Red Flag’ Center To Seize Firearms From Law-Abiding Americans [But Not Illegals]

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By The Geller Report

Apparently the Democrat regime’s gun control mania only applies to law abiding American citizens but not illegals. An Obama judge U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman recently ruled illegals can carry guns.

This all goes back to the relentless war on our first amendment – free speech. Once you criminalize speech (under the Orwellian ‘hate speech), all of our other rights come crashing down, like dominoes.

What the hell is this evil?
A Federal Red Flag center;
We did not authorize this.
Announced, of course, just hours after the omnibus passes. https://t.co/IkuK0aTeV8

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 23, 2024

DOJ’s Sinister Scheme: Seizing Guns from Law-Abiding Citizens!

President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) made a significant announcement on Saturday with the launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, catching some congressional Republicans off guard. Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized in a press release that the new center aims to equip law enforcement officials and other stakeholders with resources to prevent individuals deemed dangerous from accessing firearms. ERPOs, commonly known as “red flag” laws, enable authorities to confiscate guns from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others, with provisions to prevent them from purchasing or possessing firearms for the duration of the order.

Garland framed the establishment of the center as a proactive measure in leveraging the tools provided by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to address gun violence. The DOJ’s initiative underscores the administration’s commitment to utilizing all available means to enhance public safety and prevent potential tragedies involving firearms.

The newly launched National ERPO Resource Center includes a website offering a plethora of resources and guidance for stakeholders involved in implementing red flag laws. It provides training and technical assistance to various professionals, including law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and mental health professionals, involved in executing laws aimed at curbing access to firearms for individuals deemed risky.

Additionally, the center’s website features a comprehensive state-by-state guide on red flag laws across the country, offering specific information on each state’s ERPO legislation. Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia have enacted red flag laws, reflecting a growing trend in adopting measures to address concerns related to gun violence and mental health.

Republican lawmakers, however, expressed surprise and concern over the DOJ’s move to establish a federal resource center for red flag laws. Some, like Representative Thomas Massie and Senator Mike Lee, voiced opposition to the initiative, questioning its authorization and raising concerns about potential overreach by the federal government in matters traditionally regulated by states.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

RELATED ARTICLES:

Why Red Flag Laws Failed Miserably in the Case of ‘J4TH Mass Murderer’ Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo, III

Obama Appointed Judge Rules Illegals Can Carry Guns

RELATED VIDEO: Why Red Flag Laws are a Violation of the 4th, 5th and 14th Amendments

POST ON X:

On the New York ERPO form, just the fact that someone recently purchased a firearm could be considered a “red flag”https://t.co/W2h7DpxHVi pic.twitter.com/CyjqBHUl5o

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 23, 2024

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Obama Appointed Judge Rules Illegals Can Carry Guns thumbnail

Obama Appointed Judge Rules Illegals Can Carry Guns

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By The Geller Report

The Democrat war on Americans escalates.

Apparently their gun control mania only applies to law abiding American citizens.

Illegal Immigrant Can Carry Guns: Federal Judge

By: Epoch Times, March 19, 2024:

An illegal immigrant was wrongly banned from possessing guns, according to a recent ruling.

A federal law, Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, bars illegal immigrants from carrying guns or ammunition. Prosecutors charged Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, the illegal alien, in 2020 after he was found in Chicago carrying a semi-automatic pistol despite “knowing he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States.”

U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman rejected two motions to dismiss, but the third motion, based on a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, triggered the dismissal of the case on March 8.

“The noncitizen possession statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores,” Judge Coleman, appointed under President Barack Obama, wrote in her 8-page ruling. “Thus, the court grants Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss.”

Lawyers for Mr. Carbajal-Flores had argued in the most recent motion to dismiss that the government could not show that the law in question was “part of the historical tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms.”

In 2022, the Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment “presumptively protects” conduct that is covered by the amendment’s “plain text.”

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO EXPOSÈ: Secretary of Defense Personnel, “Why Not Just Have An Open Border?” thumbnail

VIDEO EXPOSÈ: Secretary of Defense Personnel, “Why Not Just Have An Open Border?”

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By O’Keefe Media Group

BREAKING INSIDE THE PENTAGON: Associate Director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense says, “Why not just have an open border?” “Tear down the wall.”

“I think we should repeal the Second Amendment and take the guns all away!” says Jason Beck, who has a classified security clearance and works for the Department of Defense. Beck, who uses a fake name Aidan Grey in his meetings with a disguised James O’Keefe, describes his extremist policies, including “mobilizing the national guard” to confiscate guns from people’s homes. Beck says he wants a “monopoly on state violence,” a concept he describes as “‘We [the government], are the only ones with guns.”

Jason Beck works in Total Force Requirements & Sourcing Policy in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense. This office oversees the Department of Defense and acts as the principal defense policy maker and adviser to the President of the United States. Beck says he helps “writes answers for testimony” of “the department’s senior leadership – basically they go over to the Hill for hearings on the department’s posture.”

In this shocking footage we get an INSIDE look as Jason Beck tells James O’Keefe: “we need to pack the Supreme Court,” ban the United States Senate, and abolish the electoral college. He also discusses his “bottom surgery’ being painful and the changes to his plumbing.

OMG got a concerning peek under the lid of Pentagon policymaking when James O’Keefe went undercover to have dinner with Jason Beck, the Associate Director in Total Force Requirements & Sourcing Policy for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Headquartered in the Pentagon, the Secretary of Defense oversees the Department of Defense (DoD) and acts as the principal defense policy maker and adviser to the President of the United States. The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s security.

Oddly enough and never explained, Beck introduced himself to O’Keefe as Aidan Grey. His name was not the only thing Beck was confused about as he detailed his bottom surgery to change his sex, explaining to desired love match O’Keefe: “The plumbing is different.” It is in this mind frame Beck, who has classified security clearance, conducts his work. Beck stated that he helps write answers for senior DoD officials for their testimony before Congress in Posture hearings, is “trying to get policies in place” to revise DoD policies for issues including contracts with private military contractors like former CEO of Blackwater Erik Prince, and implements DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives throughout the DoD, the nation’s largest government agency. When O’Keefe asked about the recent controversy surrounding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hiding his health condition and surgery from the White House, Beck admitted “the way they hid it was really strange um, nobody knew?”

The most disturbing aspect of OMG’s undercover footage of Beck was how he harbored views not only antithetical to the mission of the agency for which he works but also to the very tenets of our government. Beck expressed how he wanted to work on the State’s Monopoly on Violence – the idea that government is “the only legitimate purveyor of violence and enforcement of force, so, we [the government] are the only ones with guns” – something our Founders knew inevitably leads to government tyranny. Nonetheless, Beck advocated for the repeal of the Second Amendment and for the National Guard “to take them [guns] all away,” similar to the forced integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. To ensure individuals within the National Guard followed orders to confiscate Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms, Beck justified packing the United States Supreme Court with a leftist majority so legislation banning all guns could not be overturned as unconstitutional.

Addressing border security, which ensures the security of our nation – the very mission of the DoD, Beck harbored extremist views entirely out of line with the majority of Americans. He claimed the recent immigration bill was “really racist” and wanted to “tear down the wall” even when public health emergencies would allow for the removal of illegal immigrants under Title 42. Instead, Beck demanded: “Why not just have an OPEN BORDER.” He maintained the border is “not a security crisis” and any belief dangerous individuals are coming across the border are “just made up.” It was apparent Beck had not seen OMG’s ongoing border coverage exposing piles of discarded ID cards from China, Venezuela, Cuba, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt found by OMG Citizen Journalists or OMG’s exposé on No Mas Muertas where OMG’s undercover immigrant was held at gun point by Spanish-speaking men who looked and acted like cartel members. Thus, perhaps the only thing more disturbing than Beck’s hatred of Constitutional rights was his ignorance of documented facts and current events. In fact, DoD officials testified before the House Armed Services Committee this week acknowledging concern about an anticipated mass migration into the United States from an incredibly dangerous and unstable Haiti.

The power wielded by Beck influencing DoD policy according to extremist anti-Constitutional views and IRS officials like Alex Mena unconstitutionally using AI to view the contents of our private bank accounts reveals a modern federal bureaucracy that is dangerously unaccountable. We can only hope that OMG and its army of Citizen Journalists continue to expose government corruption and turn the tide.

EDITORS NOTE: This O’Keefe Media Group video exposé is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Historic Business Remington Flees New York For Georgia After 208 Years thumbnail

Historic Business Remington Flees New York For Georgia After 208 Years

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By The Geller Report

Remington is leaving Ilion, N.Y., ‘after two centuries, abandoning upstate for a gleaming new factory in Georgia. With it goes the village’s identity.’  so wrote the New York Times.

NY village ‘losing its soul’ as nation’s oldest gun manufacturer flees blue state for Georgia

Remington is the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer

“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”

“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”

Remington, the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer, told union officials late last year that company chiefs at RemArms, the current version of Remington Arms, made the decision to end its New York manufacturing come March. The remaining operations located in Ilion will move to Georgia, where company leaders say the firearms industry is supported and welcomed.

Residents of the New York village, which is located roughly 230 miles northwest of New York City, are bracing for the manufacturer to officially move, which some say will take part of the town’s identity with it.

A view of the Remington Arms Co., Inc. compound in the middle of Ilion, New York, on Feb. 1. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in early March. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off,” Jim Conover, a retired Remington employee who began his career there in 1964, told The Associated Press.

A furnace operator and technician at the factory, Frank “Rusty” Brown, told the outlet that he and generations of his family worked at the facility and noted he and his wife will be out of jobs.

“My mom worked there. My dad worked there. My wife works there with me now. My daughter works there with me now. My second daughter works there with me now. And my son-in-law works there,” Brown said. “So it’s a double-hit for me and my wife: two of us out of a job.”

The closure of the New York location will result in about 300 people losing their jobs in a town of roughly 7,600. The mayor of Ilion told the Daily Mail that the village is expected to lose $1 million in revenue due to the move, in addition to other local businesses taking a financial hit.

”It’s like the town is losing its soul. It’s almost like losing a family member. That’s the thing that people are struggling with, the nostalgia, the history. It feels like we are losing the identity of the town,” Stephens told the outlet.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Historic Business Remington Flees New York For Georgia After 200 Years thumbnail

Historic Business Remington Flees New York For Georgia After 200 Years

/in , , , , , /by

By The Geller Report

Remington is leaving Ilion, N.Y., ‘after two centuries, abandoning upstate for a gleaming new factory in Georgia. With it goes the village’s identity.’  so wrote the New York Times.

NY village ‘losing its soul’ as nation’s oldest gun manufacturer flees blue state for Georgia

Remington is the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer

“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”

“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”

Remington, the nation’s oldest gun manufacturer, told union officials late last year that company chiefs at RemArms, the current version of Remington Arms, made the decision to end its New York manufacturing come March. The remaining operations located in Ilion will move to Georgia, where company leaders say the firearms industry is supported and welcomed.

Residents of the New York village, which is located roughly 230 miles northwest of New York City, are bracing for the manufacturer to officially move, which some say will take part of the town’s identity with it.

A view of the Remington Arms Co., Inc. compound in the middle of Ilion, New York, on Feb. 1. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in early March. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off,” Jim Conover, a retired Remington employee who began his career there in 1964, told The Associated Press.

A furnace operator and technician at the factory, Frank “Rusty” Brown, told the outlet that he and generations of his family worked at the facility and noted he and his wife will be out of jobs.

“My mom worked there. My dad worked there. My wife works there with me now. My daughter works there with me now. My second daughter works there with me now. And my son-in-law works there,” Brown said. “So it’s a double-hit for me and my wife: two of us out of a job.”

The closure of the New York location will result in about 300 people losing their jobs in a town of roughly 7,600. The mayor of Ilion told the Daily Mail that the village is expected to lose $1 million in revenue due to the move, in addition to other local businesses taking a financial hit.

”It’s like the town is losing its soul. It’s almost like losing a family member. That’s the thing that people are struggling with, the nostalgia, the history. It feels like we are losing the identity of the town,” Stephens told the outlet.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

“Not The Way It Works”: Attorney Opposing Bump Stock Ban Repeatedly Explains To Liberal Justices How Guns Work thumbnail

“Not The Way It Works”: Attorney Opposing Bump Stock Ban Repeatedly Explains To Liberal Justices How Guns Work

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By Katelynn Richardson

Editors’ Note: There are two issues in play here. First is the public issue – some justices are fundamentally ignorant about how a gun works. Bump stocks enhance the trigger action, but can be removed and are not integral to the trigger mechanism itself. This confusion is evident by the questions asked by some of the justices, who happen to be female, and perhaps never had much experience with either guns or other mechanical devices. We don’t mean that in a sexist sense as we know plenty of women who shoot well and understand how a trigger works. However men, at least in the past, often got their first firearms in their teens or earlier, messed with cars and such, more often served in the military, and generally had more mechanical experience and frankly are more interest in mechanical things. Secondly, it is not for the ATF or other branches of the administrative state to stretch the wording of laws to create new legislation. Legislating is the job of Congress, the elected representatives of the people. If there is merit in banning “bump stocks”, that is the task of Congress.

The attorney opposing a Trump-era ban on bump stocks repeatedly corrected the Supreme Court’s liberal justices on the operation of semi-automatic firearms during oral arguments Wednesday.

The liberal justices frequently pointed to the fact that a bump stock allows a semi-automatic to fire at the same speed as a machine gun, making it “functionally” like an automatic weapon. Jonathan Mitchell, the attorney representing the U.S. Army veteran who challenged the ban, Michael Cargill, said the speed is not what matters; it is the operation of the trigger itself.

“It’s factually incorrect to say that a function of the trigger automatically starts some chain reaction that propels multiple bullets from the gun,” Mitchell told Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. “A function of the trigger fires one shot, then the shooter must take additional manual action.”

The case, Garland v. Cargill, challenges the bump stock ban enacted by the Trump administration following the 2017 Las Vegas concert mass shooting, which was implemented by interpreting the definition of “machine gun” in the federal law restricting the transfer or possession of machine guns to encompass bump stocks. Mitchell argued that the government’s interpretation fails on two counts: a bump stock does not make a gun automatic, and it does not change the trigger mechanism to allow more than one shot per function.

The National Firearms Act defines a “machine gun” as a weapon that automatically shoots more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.” Bump stock devices enable semi-automatic rifles to fire quickly by using the weapon’s recoil to help “bump” the trigger against the finger.

Justice Elena Kagan argued that the law was intending to restrict “anything that takes just a little human action to produce more than one shot.”

“That’s just not the way they wrote the statute,” Mitchell replied. With a bump stock, he explained that the trigger still needs to reset every shot, and there is only one shot fired for each function of the trigger.

“I view myself as a good textualist,” Kagan said. “But textualism is not inconsistent with common sense. A weapon that fires a multitude of shots with a single human action, whether it’s a continuous pressure on a conventional machine gun, holding the trigger, or a continuous pressure on one of these devices on the barrel — I can’t understand how anybody could think those two things should be treated differently.”

In response to a question from Justice Samuel Alito, Mitchell noted Congress could have had policy reasons for excluding bump stocks from the definition of machine gun, such as the way it can help people with disabilities like arthritis.

“Even a person with arthritis, why would Congress think they needed to shoot 400 to 700 or 800 rounds of ammunition under any circumstance?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked. (RELATED: MARK CHENOWETH: Will SCOTUS Finally Send ATF’s Bump Stock Ban Back To Congress?)

Several of the conservative justices expressed some level of skepticism of the government’s argument.

“Intuitively, I’m entirely sympathetic to your argument. It seems like, yes, this is functioning like a machine gun would,” Justice Amy Coney Barret told U.S. Principal Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher. “But looking at that definition, I think the question is, why didn’t Congress pass that legislation to make this covered more clearly?”

Justice Neil Gorsuch worried that the reinterpretation of the definition — which occurred after both Democratic and Republican prior administrations declined to include bump stocks in the definition of machine guns — suddenly rendered up to half a million Americans federal felons. Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concern that the rule would “ensnare” people who were unaware of the change.

At one point, Gorsuch appeared incredulous that people would “sit down and read the federal register.”

“That’s what they do in their evening for fun,” he joked. “Gun owners crack it open next to the fire and the dog.”

*****

This article was published by The Daily Caller News Foundation and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Trio Submits Proposal To Ban Tracking Firearms Through Purchases thumbnail

Trio Submits Proposal To Ban Tracking Firearms Through Purchases

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By Alan Wooten

Restricting the use of a merchant category code to track transactions for firearms and ammunition sales has been proposed by Republican U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Richard Hudson of North Carolina, and Andy Barr of Kentucky.

The implementation of the MCC, as it is commonly known, happened in September 2022 by the International Organization for Standardization. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express paused the implementation, and Hudson said he’s questioned it from the outset.

A release from Hudson says the proposal would “preempt California’s newest attempt to single out and surveil law-abiding firearm and ammunition owners.” News broke last week that American Express, Visa and Mastercard would go forward and track gun store purchases in the state.

In a release, Lawrence G. Keane, National Shooting Sports Federation senior vice president and general counsel for the Firearm Industry Trade Association, said, “The Biden administration has already proven they cannot be trusted to respect the private firearm transactions of law-abiding citizens. Without a warrant, federal agencies collected financial information on private firearm and ammunition transactions to create an illegal government watchlist of gun owners. Representative Elise Stefanik’s legislation would rein in federal overreach to use the private financial transactions of law-abiding citizens against them for political means.”

Stefanik said such tracking is a violation of constitutional rights.

She said in a release, “I share the concern of law-abiding gun owners across our nation that have voiced their fear that such tactics will work to serve the radical Left’s anti-gun agenda. I will always stand up for our Second Amendment rights as Americans and provide a critical check to any entity attempting to encroach on our liberties.”

Hudson said, “Gun grabbing liberals will stop at nothing to take away your Second Amendment rights. This is unacceptable, dangerous, and a first step to gun confiscation.”

Barr said the privacy of purchases is not negotiable. Randy Kozuch, interim executive director of the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the NRA, said the merchant category code for firearms retailers “is nothing more than a scheme to surveil law-abiding gun owners.”

Amalgamated Bank made the request to set up the code. At the time, New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to the three major credit card companies urging them to support the move. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, running for election that fall, gave her support as well.

Twenty-one state attorneys general responded with a letter to the credit card companies’ leaders requesting they not support the MCC.

Montana, in 2023, banned the practice.

*****

This article was published by The Center Square and is reproduced with permission.

TAKE ACTION

The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.

Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.

Please click the following link to learn more.

Truth Comes Out About Kansas City Super Bowl Chief’s Victory Parade Shooting — The Shooters are Black! thumbnail

Truth Comes Out About Kansas City Super Bowl Chief’s Victory Parade Shooting — The Shooters are Black!

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By Royal A. Brown III

Two black teenagers shooting at each other charged with the murder of Radio DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan and of 22 others, 11 of which were children.

This is reason we’ve heard little about this mass shooting except for more cries for Gun Control by Marxist Democrats. This shooting doesn’t help their gun control messaging.

Every mass shooting over last several decades have been done by mentally deranged or gang member teenagers with guns obtained illegally and/or Islamic terrorists; and/or transgenders out for revenge and/or someone identified on social media as a sociopath but ignored by law enforcement and school officials and/or some combination of these factors but never a law abiding conservative/Trump supporter.

The left continues to blame guns and push gun control despite all the evidence that the cause is not guns but deranged, evil, demons behind the guns. With the most draconian gun control they would still obtain guns illegally.

In the unlikely circumstance they couldn’t obtain guns illegally, they would most likely use some other means to kill like explosives, knives, vehicles running over people or car bombs, et. al.

WATCH: Moment Two Minor Teens Get Into Heated Exchange Before Shooting Up Kansas City Chiefs Parade

By 

This story disappeared quickly.

Two minor [black] teens were arrested and charged last week in connection with a fatal shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs parade.

BREAKING: Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Police order crowds away from Union Station after multiple shots ring out while Super Bowl champs celebrate win pic.twitter.com/g0vstfvaXm

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 14, 2024

“Two [black] juveniles were charged on Thursday, February 15, 2024, by the Office of the Juvenile Officer related to the incident at the Chiefs’ rally on February 14, 2024,” the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri said on Friday.

One woman was killed and 22 others were injured. At least 11 children were injured.

TMZ obtained video of the two minor teens who got into a heated exchange before shooting up the Kansas City Chiefs parade.

Video via TMZ:

Read full article.

Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

Dem Senate Candidate And Gun Control Advocate Has Shelled Out Thousands For His Own Private Security thumbnail

Dem Senate Candidate And Gun Control Advocate Has Shelled Out Thousands For His Own Private Security

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By The Daily Caller

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas, who is challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, has given thousands to a private armed security company despite his history of supporting gun control.

The Senate candidate is a vocal critic of the Second Amendment, supports firearm regulation and has backed anti-police measures in Congress. Allred’s campaigns have disbursed thousands to Eagle Protective Group, which offers private armed security, as well as hundreds more to individuals who appear to be police officers for security, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.

In 2023, Allred’s Senate campaign doled out over $2,500 to the private armed security company, according to FEC filings. Another $900 was given to Daniel Ramirez, Jorge Cardenas and Beatriz Diaz, all of whom appear to be deputy constables for the county of El Paso.

Allred’s congressional campaign has given $14,496.89 to Eagle Protective Group since its 2018 launch, FEC data shows. The campaign also paid a combined $2,040 for “event security” to two other individuals.

Despite his payments to the private armed security company and to individuals who appear to be police officers, Allred has voiced opposition to the right to bear arms, voted for various forms of gun control and against provisions to support law enforcement.

In 2018, the Democrat said it would’ve been “better” if the Second Amendment “hadn’t been written.” Allred has also been critical of the National Rifle Association (NRA), to which over 400,000 Texas belong.

Allred supported the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order of 2021, a red flag gun law, and voted for the failed Assault Weapons Ban of 2022. The congressman opposed a provision that would’ve made it easier for victims of domestic violence to purchase a firearm.

The congressman also opposed a 2020 measure that would’ve required Washington, D.C., to provide “adequate and continued funding” to the police as the city saw a surge in crime. The congressman voted against condemning the Defund the Police movement in 2021.

Cruz is one of the most vulnerable incumbent Senate Republicans running for reelection in 2024. His seat is currently characterized by The Cook Political Report as in the “Lean R” column along with Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

A National Public Affairs survey released on Feb. 9 found Cruz and Allred tied at 44%, with 12% of Texas general election voters remaining undecided. Other polling for a potential matchup indicates Cruz is largely favored to retain the seat, with the Republican leading Allred anywhere from one to 16 points, according to FiveThirtyEight’s compilation.

Texas went for former President Donald Trump in both 2020 and 2016. The former president is likely to be on the ballot in November against President Joe Biden, who the RealClearPolitics average shows Trump is beating by nearly nine points in the Lone Star State.

Allred’s campaign did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

MARY LOU MASTERS

Contributor.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

On Utopian Pacifism thumbnail

On Utopian Pacifism

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By Alan Korwin

I’m a Utopian Pacifist. Although I’ve written ten successful books on American gun law*, I support no weapons of any kind on the surface of the Earth, in an era of enduring peace, prosperity, harmony, and abundance.

It turns out this is impossible (utopian). The problem is The Four Horsemen of Human Havoc: angry, hungry, stupid, and wicked.

So I support disarming everybody, bad guys first. This is also utopian.

Until then, I find it hard to justify disarming any innocent sane person.

If I could wave a wand and make guns disappear, the brutal communist Chinese dictatorship would make new ones. And the Italians (Beretta), Brazilians (Taurus), Russians (AK-47), Austrians (Glock)—all armed nations would be in business making the Iron River. Including basement tinkerers.

Wands are fiction but you can imagine a gun-free world—just think back to pre-gun times.

What you get is Genghis Kahn with rampaging hordes, Julius Caesar and Roman Legion crucifixions, Vlad the Impaler, universal serfdom, and endless millions horribly murdered. A gun-filled world paradoxically turns out to be more civilized, with safer neighborhoods—even though evil people and government tyrants rampage constantly. Our guns help control them.

A gun-filled world is actually more civilized than a gunless one, with sword- bearing bad guys committing slaughter against weaker people.

Many people—maybe you—are misled about all this for two reasons. One, you get no real education on the subject, and two, because if it’s in the news, and it’s about guns, it’s probably 100% wrong, leaving you misinformed. Let me support that.

For example, we saw saturation coverage recently about four people shot in Philly. They weren’t shot, they were murdered. The media’s subtle word choices affect everything. Murder is a crime. Murder puts the emphasis on the murderer. Media promotes and protects criminals, for complex reasons. Shooting on the other hand is a sport, an honorable long-running sport. The media plays this down. Shooting is the second most popular participant sport, ahead of the elitist game of golf (#3). The media avoids this hard fact altogether.

Your entire perception shifts when you confront the criminal act, which media for many reasons disguises or avoids. Seven thousand inner-city black murders annually (FBI stats, 19 per day) aren’t solved, prosecuted—or covered. How would your perception shift if that got saturation coverage? When so-called “gun control” becomes crime control we’ll be closer to peace.

At least one million DGUs (Defensive Gun Uses) every year are censored. How would your perceptions change if you faced saturation coverage of lives saved and crimes prevented by the presence of a citizen’s gun, which more often than not isn’t even fired?

You benefit from armed neighbors—a serious crime deterrent, the “free-rider” effect—hidden from view. Police call those vanquished criminals “the good-riddance factor.” You’ve never heard this before, right?

We also face hidden medical problems, hoplophobia—which is fear of weapons. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Ed. 5) and legacy media obscure that. Inaccurate easy focus on guns should be on criminals, mental derangement, and lack of impulse control. Criminal ideation, which isn’t just displayed but promoted in modern media, plays a role as well.

The Nation Is Clearly Divided About Guns

America basically has two camps: The “Just leave us alone,” camp, and the “We want to control you” camp. These are irreconcilable human and political characteristics. They divide (imperfectly) into two political parties. You know which is which.

If you ever entertained this utopian idea, “They should just take all the guns away”—ask yourself, “Who is they”? Who makes them give up their guns? Should we just leave “them” armed because the police are so good? And how would mass disarmament be enforced against armed people? That delicate balance of power between armed “officials” and an armed public is what created the freest nation ever known. That was our Founders’ brilliance—evil exists, give the innocent a literal fighting chance.

Look deeper at crime prevention. That, and self-defense, are honorable things, recognized in the Bible and since the earlier Code of Hammurabi (c. 1755 B.C.). Innocent life and your homes are precious. These need protecting. Our strict American self-defense laws are clear, proper, and deserve support, especially considering corruption in leadership, judicial systems, and among authorities. Angry, hungry, stupid, and wicked people pose a relentless threat.

The Bottom Line

You and I aren’t required to protect ourselves, which is good. Instead, you are free to do so, or non-violently “let lions eat you” and your family. I support this. It’s a matter of pacifism and free choice. We can also use anything at hand, or the best things available, to protect ourselves and survive—at your own option. Do nothing and perish if you choose, saving lions. But it is unjust and tyrannical to compel me or anyone to die for lack of good tools or arbitrary morality that puts lions ahead of me.

When thoughts turn to banning arms “for safety,” remember: In dictatorships, the spoken word is recognized as more dangerous than arms. “We would not allow ourselves to be challenged with guns, why would we allow that with words, when that is far more dangerous.” –Josef Stalin. Guard with jealous attention against those who would infringe on your speech.

A closing thought about news reports:

Watch out for “we” and “I think” and “saturation coverage.” These are clues, “tells,” that you’re not getting news. “I think” means news has ended and opinion follows. Read that line again. And always figure out who “we” is and their agenda. When all so-called “news” reports are the same, they’re coming from one source, that’s not good, recognize that. Also, distinguish between conspiracies, which are constant and real (e.g., government agencies colluding with big tech to affect elections), and conspiracy theories (like a secret society eating babies in a pizza parlor basement) that are lunacy.

I stand by my philosophy and await the day when evil evaporates and guns are no longer needed. Until then, the Marines have it right: Peace through superior firepower. Do not submit to elitist demands to disarm you.

*****

This article was published by Page Nine and is reproduced with permission from the author.

Alan Korwin is a nationally recognized expert on gun laws in various states.  *See his work at GunLaws.com.

TAKE ACTION

As we move through 2023 and into the next election cycle, The Prickly Pear will resume Take Action recommendations and information.

NRA CEO Reveals Why He Resigned During Fraud Trial Brought By Letitia James thumbnail

NRA CEO Reveals Why He Resigned During Fraud Trial Brought By Letitia James

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By Harold Hutchison

National Rifle Association(NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre testified Tuesday in his New York fraud case that the reason he was resigning from his post because he was diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease, according to Stephen Gutkowski of The Reload.

The 74-year-old LaPierre, who announced his resignation effective Wednesday on Jan. 5 for health reasons, told a New York court that the disease affected his neural functioning and was a form of dementia, Gutkowski posted on X. LaPierre testified in the NRA fraud case brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, that he was not diagnosed for four years and that doctors had ordered him to retire, according to Gutkowski. (RELATED: NRA Scores Court Victory Against NY AG Letitia James)

James, who is also prosecuting former President Donald Trump in a civil fraud case, sued the gun rights organization in August 2020, seeking the group’s dissolution. A New York judge, Joel M. Cohen, ruled that James could not seek dissolution of the NRA in March 2022. James made a number of statements that were hostile about the NRA during her 2018 campaign for attorney general. James claimed that LaPierre and other top executives at the NRA diverted “millions of dollars” for their personal use.

“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” Wayne LaPierre said according to a release from the NRA announcing his decision to step down. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”

Late-stage Lyme disease symptoms include difficulty concentrating, also called “brain fog,” which is a form of brain damage, as well as nerve damage or polyneuropathy, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

James vowed to “target the NRA” in a July 2018 release by her campaign, vowing to “investigate the legitimacy of the NRA as a charitable institution.” “The NRA is an organ of deadly propaganda masquerading as a charity for public good,” James claimed in the release.

“The NRA holds [itself] out as a charitable organization, but in fact, [it] really [is] a terrorist organization,” she told Ebony magazine.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, LaPierre also testified about several overseas safaris and trips, Gutkowski reported, saying he would not have taken them had it not been for a hunting show he was filming.

NRA general counsel John Frazer also testified Tuesday, saying he was appointed to the position after working as an attorney for two years, according to Gutkowski. Frazer also told the court he had been unaware of several major decisions, including the gun-rights group’s effort to file bankruptcy and re-incorporate in Texas, Gutkowski posted. (RELATED: ‘We Don’t Need Lectures’: Pence Rips Demands For Gun Control After Louisville, Nashville Shootings)

The bankruptcy court denied the NRA’s effort to file for Chapter 11 reorganization in May 2021, noting in its opinion “the NRA is financially healthy” and that the gun-rights organization “made progress since 2017 with its course correction.”

James and the NRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

*****

This article was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation and is reproduced with permission.

Image Credit: YouTube screenshot

TAKE ACTION

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Whistleblowers Allege ATF Is Drafting Rule That Could Effectively Ban Private Firearm Sales thumbnail

Whistleblowers Allege ATF Is Drafting Rule That Could Effectively Ban Private Firearm Sales

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By The Daily Caller

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is working on a rule that could effectively ban the sale of firearms between private individuals, agency whistleblowers told a watchdog group.

Empower Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog representing one of the Hunter Biden Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers, says that ATF whistleblowers informed it of a 1,300-page document being drafted by the agency that would require background checks for all firearm sales, including those between two private individuals. The new rule would “effectively ban private sales of firearms from one citizen to another,” according to a press release from Empower Oversight.

Empower Oversight submitted a records request to the Department of Justice seeking more information about the rule.

The rule would “violate the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution,” according to Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt. Leavitt also said the rule would “circumvent the separation of powers in the Constitution.”

Empower Oversight points out that the ATF’s rule could redefine individuals who occasionally sell guns as being “engaged in the business of dealing in firearms,” thus requiring them to acquire a Federal Firearms Licensee and run background checks on whoever they’re selling to.

In the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, Congress established that the term “engaged in the business” of selling guns “shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby.”

Leavitt pointed out that the courts would likely strike down the rule and argued that it is likely a ploy to fire up the Democratic base during an election year.

Private background checks are popular with voters, according to polling data.

A poll conducted by Morning Consult and Politico in 2022 found that 81% of registered voters supported background checks at gun shows and for private transfers.

Support for background checks is lower among Republicans than among Democrats. A 2021 Morning Consult and Politico poll found that 77% of Democrats supported background checks for all gun purchases, compared to just 53% of Republicans.

While Americans are open to background checks, banning certain kinds of firearms is unpopular among Americans.

Only 27% of Americans supported banning handgun ownership as of October 2023, according to Gallup. An April 2023 poll conducted by Monmouth University found that more Americans opposed an “assault weapons” ban than supported it.

The Biden administration has consistently pushed for stricter gun laws.

President Joe Biden pushed a rule that forced people who owned pistols with arm braces to register them as short-barreled rifles, Politico reported. Pistol braces remain legal as states and gun rights groups sue the ATF over the rule.

Registering a short-barreled rifle with the ATF carries a cost of $200. The National Firearms Act, the law requiring the registration of short-barreled rifles, was last updated in 1986.

Short-barreled rifles are illegal in some states.

Biden also banned the sale of firearm parts lacking serial numbers, which can be used to construct “ghost guns,” and has continuously pushed for a so-called assault weapons ban, according to Fox News Digital.

Some gun rights groups are ready to fight the ATF’s rule should it come to fruition.

“The records of these sales will eventually end up in the ATF’s firearm registry database,” director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America (GOA) Aidan Johnston told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The ATF maintains a registry of firearms sales, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Johnston said GOA is “actively preparing to take legal action if and when Joe Biden’s administration releases their rule change.”

Empower Oversight and the ATF did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

AUTHOR

ROBERT SCHMAD

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: Federal Court Strikes Down Pennsylvania Law That Hamstrung Young Gun Owners

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Dem-Backed Bill Would Force Gun Owners To Buy ‘Liability’ Insurance In Washington State thumbnail

Dem-Backed Bill Would Force Gun Owners To Buy ‘Liability’ Insurance In Washington State

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By The Daily Caller

Legislation pending in the Washington state legislature would force gun owners to purchase insurance.

Democratic State Sens. Patty Kuderer and Javier Valdez of Washington introduced SB5963, which would force insurance companies to ask prospective customers if they own firearms, and to then advise them of the state requirement to own liability insurance, according to the text of the legislation. The legislation did not specify any penalties for those who do not have insurance, nor does it require any specific level of coverage.

As part of their effort to make gun ownership too onerous, Washington Democrats are pushing a bill to force gun owners to hold liability insurance.

Anti-gun legislator Patty Kuderer, whom I don’t think has ever handled a firearm, is responsible for this bill.

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) January 30, 2024

“By setting this requirement, Washington attempts to reduce the risk and subsequent cost of hardships of gun accidents,” Kuderer claimed during testimony on the legislation at a Monday hearing of the Washington State Senate Law and Justice Committee, according to local newspaper The Olympian. “This bill achieves these goals and reallocates costs without compromising any Second Amendment rights. This is true because this requirement does not regulate, limit or control the manner or method in which people may keep or bear arms. Instead, it simply says you must have liability insurance.”

Kuderer claimed during her remarks that deaths and injuries from firearms cost Washington state $169 million a year during her remarks, saying the bill “provides financial incentive for responsible arms carrying.”

A similar proposal was passed by the city of San Jose, California in 2022, while Los Angeles County enacted a similar requirement in February 2023 after a mass shooting. Democrats in the United States House of Representatives proposed a similar bill in 2013 following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, but it did not become law.

Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney ripped the legislation, calling it an attack on Second Amendment rights.

“This is yet one more way that Olympia has seen fit to put a cost at simply existing,” McKinney told The Olympian. “And in this case, putting a cost to exercise their constitutional right to simply protect themselves.”

The legislation is scheduled for a vote Tuesday. If passed, the full Washington state House of Representatives will take the bill up for consideration, according to The Olympian.

“The NRA strongly opposes Senate Bill 5963, misguided legislation that unfairly burdens law-abiding gun owners with unnecessary insurance mandates,” NRA Washington Director Aoibheann Cline told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This bill not only infringes on Second Amendment rights but also exacerbates housing affordability issues, potentially making home ownership unattainable for many.”

SB 5963 fails to address crime and broadly impacts all gun owners, including those ineligible for the required policies. It’s an intrusive measure that risks increasing insurance costs and disproportionately affects low and middle-class gun owners,” Cline added. “The NRA stands with gun owners in rejecting this bill and urges strong opposition to protect our constitutional rights.”

Kuderer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

HAROLD HUTCHISON

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘What Other Judicial Outrage Must We Endure?’: Dems Call For Expanding SCOTUS After String Of Losses

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TIM SCOTT: “The Mayor of East Palestine said Joe Biden can come January 2025 when he is no longer president” pic.twitter.com/zwDgP7DmsN

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 1, 2024

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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Pentagon’s Special Ops Office Holds Book Talk On ‘Far-Right’ Domestic Terrorism

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By The Daily Caller

  • A Department of Defense office overseeing special operations invited two terrorism experts to discuss their new book on far-right terrorism in the U.S., screenshots obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.
  • The invitation appeared to go out via email to “all” staff of SO/LIC, the acronym for the Pentagon’s office overseeing special operations and irregular warfare.
  • “Serious acts of terrorism have erupted from violent American far-right extremists in recent years, including the 2015 mass murder at a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the book’s synopsis, which was also included in the email, reads.

A Department of Defense (DOD) office invited two experts to discuss their new book on far-right terrorism in the U.S. as part of a new series featuring guest speakers, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

The invitation appeared to go out via email to “all” staff of SO/LIC, the acronym for the Pentagon’s office overseeing special operations and irregular warfare, according to screenshots obtained exclusively by the DCNF. Bruce Hoffman, a professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Jacob Ware, a research fellow at CFR, were scheduled Tuesday to present their book, which traces right-wing domestic terrorism through U.S history, including the Ku Klux Klan and groups involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots seeking to reverse the 2020 election. 

“Reminder to please join us at 1200 tomorrow morning via Teams (link below) for this virtual brown bag book talk event — renowned terrorism scholars Dr. Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware. Their new book, God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America was released earlier this month,” the invitation, dated Jan. 29 at 9:51 a.m., reads.

“This is the first of what we hope will be a series of brown bag events featuring internal and external speakers,” it said, and was signed by the “FO Team.”

The reminder included a brief description of the book and links to the author’s biographies in documents on the internal office drive.

“Serious acts of terrorism have erupted from violent American far-right extremists in recent years, including the 2015 mass murder at a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the book synopsis, which was also included in the email, read.

“They are the latest flashpoints in a process that has been unfolding for decades, in which vast conspiracy theories and radical ideologies such as white supremacism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and hostility to government converge into a deadly threat to democracy,” it said. “This talk, derived from the speakers’ new book, God, Guns, and Sedition (Columbia Univ. Press) discusses the rise of far-right terrorism in the United States, the impact of U.S. domestic terrorism on our foreign policy and our allies, and policy recommendations to counter far-right terrorism.”

The email did not explain why domestic terrorism, a problem outside of the DOD’s purview, was selected as the topic for the first book talk or who approved it. The DOD didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

.@PentagonPresSec: “Today, @SecDef is directing several immediate actions [from the extremism Stand Down] and the establishment of the Countering Extremism Working Group (CEWG) as we continue to address this issue proactively.” pic.twitter.com/NAopzKvkna

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) April 9, 2021

Hoffman and Ware have engaged in presentations and other media to promote their recent release, according to a DCNF review.

The Pentagon initiated a stand-down after the Jan. 6 riots and ordered a review of extremism present within the ranks of U.S. military personnel. Fewer than 100 service members were identified as having participated in extremist activities, but the Pentagon’s focus on right-wing views may have worsened a polarization problem.

Despite two years of work, the Pentagon failed to understand domestic extremism and may have inflated the issue, to the possible detriment of cohesion within the ranks, according to a DOD-funded study released in December.

“God, Guns and Terrorism” opens with a description of an anti-government group in 2020 advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government, spurred by former President Donald Trump’s social media incitement, a sample of the book on Amazon.com shows. It then describes the “accelerationist” ideology, which the authors say motivates many right-wing anti-government groups, as a “white power strategy to foment violence and chaos as a means to seize power.”

The two recently co-authored an editorial arguing that far-right threats of violence in support of the MAGA agenda is splintering the Republican party. GOP support for Trump could inspire a repeat of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, they said.

“The violent far-right extremist movement is neither loyal to the GOP nor concerned about protecting its own candidates or elected officials. It is an anti-government underground fueled by election denialism and driven by the worst authoritarian impulses,” they wrote.

Ware and Hoffman didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Investigative reporter, defense.

RELATED ARTICLE: Biden Pentagon’s Efforts To Crack Down On ‘Extremism’ May Have Harmed Military, DOD Study Finds

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The United States is being overwhelmed https://t.co/kR0zRcp8FK

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2024

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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What Is Your Time Worth? – A Great Second Amendment Event In Phoenix, AZ

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By Tim Rafferty

In an ever-changing, fast-paced society, we are constantly asking ourselves, is THIS worth my time? Answering this question sometimes requires a calculation involving money, but other times it is hard to put a dollar amount on our time. And very often it comes down to answering, “What’s in it for me?”

RidersUSA, a non-profit located in Arizona, invites you to spend a few hours of your time on February 17th, 2024 at the 11th Annual Celebrate & Protect the Second Amendment celebration in Phoenix.

This event is a family-friendly, festival-style outdoor affair with great Speakers, fun shopping booths, and delicious food trucks! We always have gorgeous weather and our arena is filled with historical monuments and statues. Joining us are hundreds of pro-freedom moms, dads, friends, and neighbors who understand that “What’s in it for them” is community, networking, and protecting our precious and unique inheritance of freedom. RidersUSA has assembled nearly thirty powerhouse Speakers from all across the nation who will bring their knowledge and inspiration to this ever-growing event. By spending a little bit of your time at this event, you will get and give hope to others in supporting and protecting one of our fundamental rights, the Second Amendment, our right to keep and bear arms. Bring the kids! Our junior Patriot Park is sponsored by Great State Alliance. Pack a lawn chair and a sun hat, and be prepared to be inspired by the speakers to continue the good work to protect your right to defend yourself, your family, and your home. The event kicks off at 10:am with a Motorcycle Parade and the day is jam-packed with fun activities through to 2pm.

RidersUSA is a true Grassroots organization and the Celebrate & Protect the Second Amendment Rally is a grassroots effort, which means that many of our speakers travel from all across our State and Country on their own budget and time. Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation travels from his home in Washington State each year to speak. Alan says “This rally is going to be the most important gun rights event in Arizona this year. We need you there so our voice is heard loud and clear by every legislator.” US AZ Congressman Andy Biggs CD5 will be speaking and says “Anti-gun zealots are unleashing a full-frontal assault on our God-given, constitutionally protected Second Amendment gun rights. I don’t accept these attacks, and neither should you.” Jared Yanis, owner of the YouTube channel Guns n Gadgets with over 650,000 subscribers is traveling from Johnson City, Tennessee to speak and he says, “The 2nd Amendment is extremely important! And because of that, your local politicians need to HEAR FROM YOU regarding bills that affect your safety!”

Jared is right. And, while your time carries great value in influencing your local lawmakers, it also inspires the event’s sponsors to invest their time to help produce this important event. Come by their booths and thank them for their support of the Second Amendment. Our Platinum sponsor, MMP Guns manager Byron Vaughn comments, “We have come to a point where we can only depend on ourselves to save the Second Amendment and this will come from joining together, recruitment and education.” Other sponsors include Midas Gold, Western Outdoor Times, Great State Alliance, Gunsite Academy, and Chandler Custom Cycles. Our partners for the past 6 years, GunFreedomRadio and AZFirearmsAuction, will also benefit from your attendance as confirmation of the importance of their partnering with us for the event. Owner, Cheryl Todd, says “We all do ordinary things to keep our loved ones safe. We own fire extinguishers, use seatbelts, and lock the doors to our homes. Owning firearms is simply another way to protect those we love.”

RidersUSA’s 11 Annual Celebrate & Protect the Second Amendment, at the Arizona State Capitol/Wesley Bolin Plaza in Phoenix Arizona, will highlight 25 speakers, 50 vendors, a food court, and a Junior Patriot Park for the kids. Come early, bring a lawn chair, and experience a great celebration. Go to 2ARallyAZ.com to get all the details and register for this free event with free parking. We think it will be well worth your time!

*****

Tim Rafferty is the Chairman of RidersUSA’s Celebrate & Protect the Second Amendment.

TAKE ACTION

As we move through 2023 and into the next election cycle, The Prickly Pear will resume Take Action recommendations and information.

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Personal Self-Defense with Rabbi Cary Kozberg on DISSENT Television

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By Dr. Rich Swier

Rabbi Cary Kozberg has served as a pulpit rabbi, campus rabbi, and long-term care chaplain.

Rabbi Kozberg is a Certified Healthcare Chaplain with the National Association of Jewish Chaplains.

Rabbi Kozberg has been interested in personal self-defense for over four decades and has extensive training in the use of small firearms.

He recently completed the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy’s handgun qualification test with a perfect score.

Please watch our wide ranging discussion with Rabbi Kozberg on why Jews and Americans must arm themselves, now more the ever, to protect our families, neighborhoods, community and Constitutional Republic.

©2024. DISSENT Television with host Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

Get Trained! A Beginner’s Guide On How To Get Started and What To Expect thumbnail

Get Trained! A Beginner’s Guide On How To Get Started and What To Expect

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By Matt Olivier

Editors Note: There are multiple factors driving record firearms purchases. Certainly, the “summer of riots” in 2020, and the casual law enforcement response to it were important. The Covid pandemic and the “lock down” caused great concern. Then we have the Soros-funded DAs and the defunding of the police. First, reduce the number of police, and then don’t prosecute the criminals the reduced number of police can apprehend. Then empty the prisons and put more hardened criminals in and among the population. Let a large number of unvetted illegal aliens in the country. This is the Democrat playbook. This has stretched law enforcement response times in most jurisdictions, and for crimes against property, sometimes there is little or no response at all. Americans of all types are learning they cannot depend on the government to protect them because the government has been infiltrated by those who think enforcing laws is discriminatory. Democrats can be deadly. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, “In December 2023, firearm sales totaled more than 1.7 million NSSF-Adjusted FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) verifications processed for a gun purchase and boosted the streak of more than 1 million firearm sales per month to 53 months in a row.” About 30% of all purchases are from first-time buyers. Who is buying? Women make up perhaps 40% of new buyers, especially African American women. Jews have become active buyers. A somewhat surprising surge is coming from the LGBTQ community. Overall, there has been a broad surge in buying across racial and ethnic groups. This has resulted in a large number of people who now own a gun, but are not familiar with the laws regarding deadly force or marksmanship, gun handling, or maintenance.  Just because you can do the Hoki Pokie doesn’t mean you are ready to dance on Broadway.  If you have recently acquired a gun, or even have had it for years sitting in a drawer, get training and follow the author’s common sense suggestions.

So, you’ve taken one of the best self-defense decisions you can and decided to get some formal training.  Now what?  Where to start?  There are so many options to choose from.  Let me walk you through how I did it, not so long ago.

First, and foremost, decide how much time you can devote to your training…can you only spare one day?  A weekend? Or an entire week?  This will help dictate what training you should look for.  If you can only afford to take one day out of your schedule, you may need to stay local and look for training in your area.  A weekend?  Maybe you can make it a little farther…perhaps up to 5-6 hours away from home so you can get there after work on Friday, still get a good night’s sleep, and train the weekend before heading home on Sunday evening.  Dedicating a full week takes more planning, but gives you more options as you now have a weekend before and after to get there and back.

Ok, you know how much time you have.  Start doing some research.  Decide what type of training you are looking for…self-defense? Close quarters?  Vehicle?  Security (places of worship, sanctuaries, etc), long-range rifle?  Sporting rifles?  Shotgunning?  The options are almost endless.  The internet is equally endless and will get you started on what are options for your training needs and desires.  Check out your local ranges; many offer routine training, and some offer ad hoc classes where they bring in a trainer.  Some trainers tour the country to teach and use different local ranges all over.  Also don’t forget to research recommendations from past students, this will give you a good feel for what to expect, not only with course content, but instructor qualifications and expertise, facilities, usefulness of the training, amenities, etc…

Once you find one that fits your schedule and travel constraints, don’t forget to look at your budget!

By budget, don’t just look at the cost of the training, but look at transportation (airline, rental car, gas), hotel, and food.  Make sure you have all of that planned and factored in.  Don’t forget to look at the curriculum and make sure that you also budget accordingly for ammunition costs  (some courses will have you shoot 1000+ rounds, which adds up), and don’t forget the gear you may not have…knee or elbow pads, flashlight, etc…

Having gone through that process a few times, I decided that I needed some formal self-defense training and that a weeklong course would suit my schedule and needs.  Looking at available options, I settled on the granddaddy of them all and booked a basic pistol self-defense class at Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona.  This course, named the 250 class, would hopefully provide me with some good, solid, fundamentals.

Gunsite, founded by the late Colonel Jeff Cooper in 1976, is the premier gun-fighting school in the world.  Teaching not only marksmanship, but also gun-handling and The Combat Mindset, and with around 3,000 acres, over twenty different ranges, around fifty instructors, both men and women, who have a background of military, law enforcement, or have a high degree and experience of training in their field, the training experience offered is almost unlimited. From basic pistol square range, to indoor and outdoor simulators, long-range rifle, and force-on-force, there isn’t much that you can’t train on there, and it makes for a perfect venue to test and evaluate weapons.

I eagerly booked my class, and hotel room for the week, found a good flight and rental car, and impatiently waited.

During the wait, I went through endless permutations of what gear I should take.  Being founded by Jeff Cooper, there is a strong penchant for the 1911 pistol at Gunsite, but my research told me that any handgun of acceptable caliber would be adequate.  There was no need to buy a new pistol (darn, I was looking for a good excuse to buy another gun!).  If you aren’t sure of what pistol to take, or if you live in a more restrictive locality where handgun possession is difficult, ask your training facility if they rent pistols.  Many do, and that can be a viable option.  Already having a few 1911 pistols in my collection, I decided to use my Ruger SR1911 in 45 ACP.

Once you’ve settled on a handgun, make sure you have an adequate holster.  Most facilities, instructors, and gun people will insist on a sturdy holster made of either leather or some sort of hard polymer, like Kydex, that will provide not only a secure and sturdy means to carry your handgun but will also ensure ease of re-holstering it once finished using your handgun.  Being more of a traditionalist, I knew I wanted a leather holster.  I contacted my good friend Rob Leahy at Simply Rugged Holsters, who set me up with one of his wonderful leather Holsters, the Cuda, which is designed for both concealed carry and range use.  With the holster, I also purchased three single magazine pouches, so I could carry my spare magazines on my belt.

Spare magazines…wait a second, how many would I need and did I have enough?  A quick check with Gunsite confirmed that it would be best to have at least 6 magazines…one for in the gun, 2-3 for on my person, and a few spares, as magazines tend to hit the gravely and dusty Arizona deck during reloads and can get damaged.  Ok, I had enough spares, but what else did I need?

A sturdy belt, check.  Hat, check.  Safety glasses, check.  Hearing protection, check (I strongly recommend electronic hearing protection as these help hear instructions and basic communications, but good old ear plugs work just fine too).  The Gunsite 250 class does have some teaching of different shooting positions such as prone and kneeling, so I opted to bring some knee pads, just to be safe (and I wasn’t sorry), which I found used at a local Army surplus store.  Is there some nighttime shooting?  Flashlight, check.

I also made sure I had lip balm, sunscreen, and a pair of comfortable shoes.  On the topic of shoes, make sure you bring a pair of shoes that you will be comfortable in being on your feet for 8+ hours a day.  You don’t necessarily need combat boots, but a good pair of hiking shoes that have been broken in will make the experience much more comfortable.  Your training class is not the right time to break in your new hiking boots!  One item I didn’t think of ahead of time, but went and bought during my class, was athletic tape.  I didn’t adequately anticipate the rubbing, chafing, and blisters on my hand from shooting all those rounds and found that a few pieces of strategically placed surgical tape helped protect my hands and fingers.  Trust me, your nicely checkered front strap can feel like a cheese grater after only a few hundred rounds over a few days.  I now keep a roll or two of tape in my range bag all the time.

It’s also not a bad idea to have a cleaning kit with you, just in case. Even if it’s just a basic kit with some rags, a bore brush or bore snake, your favorite lubricant, etc.  It can sure come in handy!

Some training facilities will have ammunition for sale there, others will require you to bring your own.  Make sure you find out before you get there and make the necessary preparations.  Shipping ammunition to yourself ahead of time can get expensive but is an option; so is stopping at a sporting goods store on your way there, but I’d strongly recommend you don’t wait until the last minute to roll into the only place in town, 5 minutes before close on the day before the class and risk finding out that they were cleaned out of your caliber ammunition by other students also waiting for the last minute and beat you to it.

Don’t forget medication, emergency contact information, range of necessities such as snacks and water (hydration is critical!).  A small range bag helps carry your gear easily, along with some ammo.  You don’t need anything fancy, but something sturdy enough.

Once you have all of your gear (did you make your list and check it twice?), make sure you get some good rest before and during your class.  You need to be fresh and alert, not only to maximize your training and learning but, most importantly, to be safe to yourself, other students, and the instructors there with your gun handling.  This is much more easily done when you are well-rested and alert.

Now it’s time to train!  Get to your class on time, be safe, and don’t be afraid to ask questions; that’s why the instructors are there.  Maximize your training opportunity by taking advantage of repetitions (for example, if one relay isn’t full, ask the instructor if you can jump in and shoot again!).   The old cliché of practice makes perfect applies here.  Enjoy your training, have fun, and learn how to be better.

Remember, proper preparation prevents poor performance!

Well, you’ve read my thoughts, from personal experiences, now get trained and let me know what you have learned from your own experiences on how to better get ready for the next training.

See you on the range!

*****

This article first appeared on Gun Blast. and is reproduced with permission from the author.

TAKE ACTION

As we move through 2023 and into the next election cycle, The Prickly Pear will resume Take Action recommendations and information.

Code 20 Explained thumbnail

Code 20 Explained

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By Jim Horn

The distribution of this information is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. You have a First Amendment right to read and share this, or to not read it.

CODE 20 EXPLAINED

We are in troubling times that may be moving towards a violent conflict. President Trump was robbed of his 2020 re-election; the Communist Biden/Harris/Obama cabal are working to enslave us; both Islam (Islam is an ideology, not a race) and Communism are mortal existential threats along with the People’s Republic of China. The Deep State is real. They’re accountable to NOBODY and they’re hellbent on ERASING your rights and enslaving you.

We Americans have been so tolerant that we tolerate those who will not tolerate us! This must end.

OATH: At one time or another, most of us have sworn a sacred oath that included language to protect and defend our Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic. Protecting that Constitution is our main mission. The Democratic Communist Socialist Party (DCSP) government have forsaken that oath – have opted to be traitors. All traitors should face the harshest of mortal consequences for being turncoats.

CODE 20: A decorated former Marine Corps battle planner coined this idea. He fought in Vietnam where Marines successfully used special team tactics against the Communists. He coined CODE 20 as a modern movement to take on anti-Americans in government, in society, in our nation who hate you, your First Amendment guaranteed free speech rights, and the guarantor of free speech, the Second Amendment.

The “CODE 20” refers to a desired number of active patriotic activists in a Zip Code. A CODE 20 does not mean that a group must have exactly 20-members. A group can have as little as three or more than 50 members.

We are a secret society. Large secret societies are NOT secret because, in America, the haters of liberty and freedom will infiltrate such a secret society, plant agents’ provocateur to lure members into doing things that are unwise or illegal so that they (the FBI, DOJ, etc.) can jail them. That’s what happened on January 6, 2021.

CODE 20 are stand-alone operations, unattached to any entity.

The haters are determined to make our great America into a third world banana republic ruled by corrupt criminal racketeers and politicians and those who fund and support them. They pulled the rug out from under more than 75-million American voters in 2020. This cannot be tolerated. We know who our enemies are. [The 2020 election hijacking was perpetrated on we-the-American-people by criminals.]. [To quote Biden: “We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization.”] Of the more than 75,000,000 Trump voters are many Democrats and 40+% are minority voters (anti-Trump Republicans and RINOS voted for Biden).

CODE 20 does not have a traditional Command and Control structure. It would be too easy for our enemies, the freedom hating corrupt criminals (the swamp) in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, and their instruments of terror to identify and take action against us. By being small independent groups focused on legitimate pro-American goals and objectives of our own choosing we can remain anonymous and be incredibly effective and influential.

From Maine to Hawaii, Alaska to Florida and in the territories, there are thousands of zip codes. Within a given zip code, teams of about twenty+- patriots (thus, CODE-20) can self-organize to form powerful independent cells or several cells in highly populated zip codes. Independent cells can act against evil and corrupt politicians, Communists, the lying information media (the Main Stream Pravda), social media oligarchs such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, corrupt civil servants, groups, companies, even so-called religious groups (such as Islam), unions, and much more.

CODE 20’s are powerful, determined, skilled, imaginative and capable activists of all stripes united to defeat the enemies of the American Republic. Strong, smart, tough men and women built this nation and strong, smart, tough women and men will preserve it. We are mostly very nice people – but we must be just as un-nice when necessary.

Patriots in America are under attack:

Tucker Carlson Issues Dire Warning: Our Country Is ‘Changing Faster Than It Ever Has, But Not Through Democratic Means’

Our First Amendment (dreaded by tyrants) rights of free speech and assembly are under attack; and our rights to own and bear arms are under attack. Social media Haters are blocking us so that we cannot freely talk to one-another. We are overcoming this.

Action can take many forms such as attending public meetings and calling out corruption in venues such as school boards and teacher unions, neighborhoods, city (planning commission, city council), county, and even statewide entities. We can learn how to effectively approach and influence political leaders:

Here’s another one,

We absolutely must, take both conventional and unconventional steps to preserve and protect our fragile Republic. One very important thing is to get going now to be INFLUENCERS and activists. Become election poll workers and volunteers to make certain that vote tallying is not messed with. Get rid of tallying machines built and/or controlled by outsiders. We must participate as workers and observers to ensure that every legal ballot is counted – once; that no phony ballots sneak into the counting process in the dark of night; that vote counting machines are not doctored so as to cancel votes or switch votes. Ideally, all foreign made machines should be scrapped – tossed out. Use ballots that we certify and manually count or visible hard ballots, either paper or punch cards that can be verified by individual voters or truly non-partisan monitors throughout the process. Everything must be tabulated in an open, transparent process (no black boxes) that does not employ any computerized gadgetry vulnerable to hacking or manipulation.

Our voting/tabulating machines must be:

  • American made.
  • Transparent – Visible.
  • Stand alone with no external wires or power supply cords.
  • Battery powered.
  • Tempest protected.
  • Shielded from the full spectrum of RF interference.
  • Tamper proof.

Everybody with functioning brain cells must rain again and again on any and all officials involved in any way and every way to get the above done, to restore viability, integrity, efficiency, TRUST. This must be done before the next national elections take place.

Influencers gather contact information on officials and leaders in their community such as Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, politicians, church and community leaders, etc., and send information that these officials may not otherwise receive; about crooked officials, about enemy ideologies such as the Marxists, the Communists, Moslem Brotherhood, Antifa, BLM, The Council on American-Islamic Relations, anarchists etc. Influencers can do it anonymously or put their name on what you send. Sending by postal mail is most effective. You can use latex gloves to keep your fingerprints from papers and envelopes that you don’t lick.

Public activism is good. Peaceful activism is good. There may be times where less peaceful means may be useful to protect ourselves, to get appropriate attention and action. Patriots stand up for America and do it in a way that commands respect, or even causes great fear among enemies; taken to disable or to cause physical damage, or even something more extreme. We cannot officially condone any deadly actions by a CODE 20 group, team, or individual. Neither will we condemn such actions if carried out in the spirit of protecting our Republic, our Constitution, our culture. This is why this is a self-managed but awesomely powerful movement that the haters of our country cannot use to identify other CODE 20 groups, etc.

CODE 20 will be the STORM!

Most of us may from time to time feel a need for a guideline or set of procedures to help us. Self-education or self-training is essential along with self-governance, and one such tool that has been used successfully by domestic terrorists is the book by Saul Alinsky titled: RULES FOR RADICALS. This is available by special order in bookstores like BARNES and NOBLE, etc., along with other guidelines that can actually be used to help and protect you as you destroy the haters. While it is a tool of the haters there is much valuable information that you can use in your CODE 20 groups.

Being a meaningful or effective political activist is not for the faint of heart: We are warriors, not necessarily combatants, but activists in bringing the haters down. Each CODE 20 group needs all types of people: writers, public speakers, researchers & investigators, fundraisers, computer geeks, logicians, attorneys, performers, everything, and, yes, militant people willing and capable of getting physical if or when necessary. Carrying out acts overtly as well as covertly need to be carefully managed to protect ourselves and team members. We make bad government quake in fear!

EXTREMISM IN DEFENCE OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC AND CONSTITUTION IS A VIRTUE!

Within days of BiDung being installed in your White House, some haters called for interning All Republicans/Conservatives (you and I) in camps. Some haterts have openly called for the extermination of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, etc. One Main Stream Ptalking head suggested using killer drones to hunt us down and to kill us. They can get away with declaring or supporting such on TV, MSN outlets, social media, etc. if we let them. When they do, we can sit on our backsides, contact the FBI and file a whiny complaint about being threatened; or track them down and cause them to seriously regret threatening us. Some Patriots are reciprocating, calling for the extermination of liberals. All is fair in war. Disable their cars, fires, whatever! Scare their families like they are doing to us.

We have a moral and ethical right to discuss or even apply vigilantism when our government, our federal, state, county, city and local courts and law enforcement refuse or are unable to serve we-the-people. When our civil and legal rights are breached, we rightfully lose confidence in a system that is presently increasingly hostile to every day citizens. (example: The January 6 mistreatment of many innocent demonstrators at the U.S. capitol).

According to the dictionary, being a full fledged vigilante involves becoming armed and possibly using weapons to enforce laws and deal with criminals. For the purpose of the CODE 20 movement, we can consider being a vigilant MILITIA going after and working to influence, punish, or otherwise deal harshly with delinquent or hateful officials and authorities with letter writing campaigns, contacting news media and publishing stories, using phones, the internet, posters, and more, etc., including organizing uprisings.

Possible militia actions: demonstrations, boycotts, vandalize the haters’ property, damage Communist Chinese (mainland, not Taiwan) goods in stores (just damaged packages can cause a product to be gotten rid of). Don’t buy or consume anything from Islamist or Communist countries from hater supporters such as COSTCO, Starbucks, Amazon, Target, etc. Raise hell about your tax dollars being sent abroad to fund terrorists determined to eliminate us (Taliban, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Communist China, etc.).

Finding good quality candidates that can run in local elections, where often the turnout is less than 10% isn’t hard . . . but it is vital. We need good guys on planning commissions, school boards, community boards, city councils, everywhere.

In the 2022 elections note that the Democratic movement had thousands of local and national Political Action Committees to raise billions of dollars to fund their operations and candidates. They did well.

Each CODE 20 group can/should establish one or more Political Action Committee/s (PACs) to raise funds both for operations and fund/support political and related programs in support of winning elections. Make up a list of targets and needs. List them in priority order, take action. Apply every tactic to the haters that they use against you. Do it! Attack everything they treasure. Discourage them. Frighten them. More.

We can start identifying haters, Communist/Marxist, and Sharia compliant Islamic Jihadi operatives and enterprises at the local level. Disrupt them in any and every way possible. Expose them for what they are in the local community. Nearly every city has one or more Democratic party headquarters. Ruin them, and when they repair, mess them up again. The same with Moslem Forward Operating Bases (FOB), i.e. Mosques, Madrassas, Islamic centers, etc. They’ve been doing it to us. Reciprocate…..

Political Islam (the Moslem Brotherhood, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Moslem Student Unions, etc.) are mortal existential enemies of the American Republic, of moral, ethical civilization. Never forget this and know that they may come after you, I, and every decent citizen in our nation. Islamic entities are very subtle at times but they are a major part and parcel of our enemies. They have Mosques (Forward Operating Bases), Madrassas (Islamic schools), stores, and many other tools working against us. At every opportunity damage their signs, property, etc. When they have their month of fasting or other holidays, set up bar-b-q grills (with “CODE-20 MILITIA” signs and posters) nearby and cook pork. It will drive them nuts. On every 9/11 anniversary drive by their Mosques at prayer time and make noise using horns, sirens, fireworks, etc.

Note that just about every mosque has a secret armory (hidden) stocked with weapons, poisons, explosives, and chemicals, etc. The armory is often called a RABAT, and if not hidden in the Mosque itself, it is nearby and is where they plot and prepare against us and even commit honor murdering (no longer in the news because they took this practice underground to avoid unpleasant publicity) of their rebellious women and girls, and others who greatly displease them.

Moslems are active participants with the BLM movement, Antifa, and other anarchist movements. They are to be exposed, opposed, and obstructed at every opportunity. Work to get Moslem Student Unions expelled from high schools, colleges, universities.

Keep track of their local activities. Learn when they buy property and start planning to build a mosque or other facility. They lie to Planning Commissions. Go and call them (and their supporters and fellow travelers, such as Interfaith groups) out. Explain to decision makers that trash will accumulate in streets, sewage lines can become overwhelmed, traffic congestion will occur, that they will park illegally, that Mosques are places where criminal plans are formed, weapons are stashed; they will build minarets and blast out (at over 200db) their five-times daily calls to prayer, and more. We can make it work in our favor. I was a leader in a small city where we blocked/cancelled a proposed 44,000 square foot mega-mosque. I have advised others in how to mess successfully with mosque projects. Do all that you can to make their lives miserable.

Venturing into places like the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is taking a step into ENEMY TERRITORY. Be careful.

Here is a place where one can find a Congressional friends and foes list: https://www.educationviews.org/keep-this-handy-america-sold-out-by-pontius-pilate-and-cowards/. From this you can identify your Communist, Moslem, Democrat, Socialist, RINO, and swamp dwelling haters and also decent leaders as regards who support liberty during contested elections. Find the names of enemy congress people and senators near you. Get their local office addresses and go there with a handful of fingerprint free notices to hang on car windows in their parking lots where you can hang something like: ATTENTION, personal vehicles in this area are subject to being damaged because you share parking spaces with (for example – Congressman Schiff). Do it a couple of times per year and that staff will find themselves harassed and even afraid – a successful militia/guerilla activity. This tactic can be used against enemies of the Republic at county, city, and other levels.

Use your many skills, talents, abilities, and imagination to devise whatever will work. Support that which is good.

Protect your identity. Use cryptonyms (pseudonyms) within your CODE 20 group so that you cannot be outed using your real name. Nobody should maintain a list of real names together with their cryptonyms. If the FBI/enemy captured it the whole group would be compromised. You could in some instances use a Democratic politician’s surname when going to public political meetings, etc. to challenge the haters.

Don’t trust DHS, the BATF, IRS, FBI or DOJ, etc. They are underhanded and badly compromised. As the world we once knew is increasingly hostile to citizens and patriots who care, be wary.

The Democrats, political Islam, Antifa, and BLM thugs and anarchists are the equivalent of Hitler’s Brown Shirt thugs and they may even get information fed to them by traitorous elements within the government. Remember always that the FBI, DOJ, and others are colluding with and protecting traitors such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barak Hussein Obama, John Kerry, Kamal-a Harris, the Joe Biden crime syndicate, Eric Swalwell, etc.

Use only cash or untraceable gift cards for purchases in connection with your CODE 20 activities.

Get armed up. Learn and apply gun safety. Learn how to stash your guns & ammo away from intrusive cops and ground penetrating radar (Obama put down looking radar in a chopper in every county). Check this out: Guns, Gun confiscation, Gun Control, Gun Politics and Ammo & Guns: Protect Them. Ghost guns are not illegal.

Make copies of this and hand distribute them in your community, within your zip code, in neighboring zip codes. Email this to others, post it on social media, make copies and mail them; blast it all over the country.

SECURITY: We have many enemies. Beware of imposters. Meet with your members in person, never repeating regularly at the same location. Do not communicate electronically (email, messenger, phone, zoom, etc. unless encrypted). Letter (snail) mail is an incredible tool. You can go to this site and download a PDF on Insurrection

“Good Germans” in Hitler’s Germany did nothing to offend the regime. Neither did they do anything to protect or to save decent, innocent people from extermination. Know where you stand.

A good read written by General Mike Flynn:

To gain an insight into what seems to be coming our (your) way (and to get some points on how to proceed as mayhem sets in): https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/insurrection-and-violence-a-citizens-guide.

God Bless!

©2024. Jim Horn. All rights reserved.

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