Posts Tagged ‘Gun Owners of America’

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LinkSwarm For May 24, 2025

Friday, May 23rd, 2025

Memorial Day weekend looms, $96 billion in green fraud, two terminal cases of prostate cancer revealed, Bernie admits Democrats are a threat to democracy, the Supreme smacks down the idea than transsexual rights are more important than democracy or free speech, plus Chinese doctor hanky-panky, revenge porn, a weed heist and a Nazi Muslim Only Fans model.

It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!

  • “Joe Biden Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.”

    Former President Joe Biden, the oldest president in U.S. history, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his personal office announced on Sunday afternoon.

    Biden, 82, was diagnosed last week after he had dealt with increased urinary symptoms and is currently reviewing treatment options.

    “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” a spokesman for Biden’s personal office said in a statement….

    The Gleason score of 9 in Biden’s diagnosis suggests an aggressive form of cancer likely to spread quickly. He will likely require chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and forms of pain management to tackle the illness.

    What are the odds they’ve known he had cancer for years and didn’t tell the American public so the ghost in the machine could keep pumping out billions in graft? Speaking of which…

  • The Biden Administrations shoved $93 billion in graft green energy loans on its way out the door.

    During a blistering Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was visibly floored after Energy Secretary Christopher Wright dropped a bombshell: the Department of Energy handed out a staggering $93 billion in loans and commitments during the final 76 days of the Biden administration, a figure that more than doubled the loan total from the previous 15 years combined.

    Kennedy, in classic fashion, drilled in with precision. “The 76-day period you’re talking about, that’s the period between the time that President Trump was elected and President Biden left office. Is that right?”

    “That is correct,” Wright confirmed.

    Kennedy didn’t mince words when he asked how any agency could properly vet such massive spending in such a short window. “How do you do due diligence on one loan, much less $93 billion?” he asked.

    Wright’s answer was damning.

    “I think it’s probably pretty clear it wasn’t done in many cases,” he said. “There were commitments made from businesses that provided no business plan, no numbers about their own financial solvency, or how this project actually worked.”

    The senator appeared almost incredulous and asked for clarity: “So, so you’re telling me that the Department of Energy in the 76-day period before their boss was gonna leave office, gave or loaned money to, to entities that had no business plan?”

    “Correct,” Wright replied bluntly.

    (Hat tip: Charlie Martin at Instapundit.)

  • Andrew Schultz gets Bernie Sanders to admit that the Democrat Party is a threat to Democracy.

    Andrew: Over the last four elections, Democrats – we felt – that we didn’t have a say on who could be president … I felt like the Democratic Party completely removed the democratic process from its constituents, and I think they need to have some accountability of that.
    Bernie: No argument here.
    Andrew: 2016 … it felt like they stole it from you. And I’ll be honest, it broke my heart when you supported them.

    …
    Akassh [Singh]: Could we not also say ostensibly there hasn’t been a fair primary for the Democrats since 2008, are they not also a threat to democracy?
    Bernie: Yes. Fair enough. That is, yeah. I’m not gonna argue with that point.

  • The Supreme Court rules that, no, you can’t overthrow democracy just because someone disagrees with the radical transexual agenda: “Supreme Court Orders Maine House to Restore Vote of Lawmaker Censured over Post Criticizing Trans Athlete.”

    The Supreme Court ordered the Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday to restore the vote of a Republican lawmaker who was censured after she wrote an online post defending fairness in women’s sports and criticizing the intrusion of a trans-identifying male athlete into female competition.

    Maine Representative Laurel Libby filed the emergency appeal to the Supreme Court while a lawsuit over the social media post plays out. In the post written earlier this year, Libby criticized a male high school athlete who won a girls’ track meet, and included in the post the male student’s name.

    The Democrat-controlled Maine House decided that Libby’s post violated ethics in identifying the student, and when she chose not to apologize, Libby was subsequently banned from speaking and voting on the House floor.

    Supreme Court justices sided with Libby 7-2 with Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.

    “The U.S. Supreme Court just restored the voice of 9,000 Mainers!” Libby said on X. “After 2+ months of being silenced for speaking up for Maine girls, I can once again vote on behalf of the people of House District 90. This is a win for free speech — and for the Constitution.”

  • “Mexican National Indicted on Charges of Human Trafficking, Material Support for Drug Cartel. Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez allegedly trafficked humans and narcotics on behalf of the cartel.”

    A Mexican national was charged for allegedly providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by the Western District of Texas — the first indictment of its kind in the nation.

    Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez allegedly assisted the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) with obtaining grenades, as well as trafficking humans, firearms, and narcotics “on behalf” of the criminal organization.

    The 39-year-old Mexican woman was charged by the court with “conspiracy to smuggle and transport aliens in the United States, straw purchasing and trafficking in firearms, bulk cash smuggling conspiracy, and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute,” the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) shared on Friday afternoon.

    Navarro-Sanchez was joined in her indictment by two other co-defendants: Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez and Gustavo Castro-Medina, also both Mexican nationals facing similar smuggling, trafficking, and straw purchasing charges.

  • The Democrat Party’s confederacy of dunces.

    Three hundred years ago, the remarkable satirist Jonathan Swift wrote, “When a true Genius appears in the World, you may know him by this infallible Sign; that the Dunces are all in Confederacy against him.”

    Now, you might not be President Trump’s biggest fan. Perhaps you are glad that he has returned to the White House but look forward to one of his capable lieutenants succeeding him in four years. But I would argue that never has a larger collection of absolute idiots assembled to oppose an American leader, and for that reason alone, Donald J. Trump is probably a genius. (And a very stable one at that!)

    Right now, Democrats are waging a public relations campaign in support of criminal illegal aliens. They are trying to make military-aged males with gang tattoos look sympathetic. Sure, many of them have been accused of engaging in human-trafficking, drug-smuggling, identity theft, and fraud, but Democrats say these “new” Americans are just like us. Sure, foreign nationals are regularly accused of rape and murder across the United States, but Democrats are quick to point out that “old” Americans commit heinous crimes, too. Sure, illegal aliens are a huge financial burden to the prison system, welfare programs, health care, public schools, and local communities, but Democrats insist that it’s “racist” to tell the truth out loud.

    While President Trump is rounding up violent criminals who have no right to be in the United States, Democrats are crying in front of cameras and promising to bring them back to a neighborhood near you. In four months, they’ve shown more love for foreigners who broke into our country than they’ve ever shown for American victims of transnational cartels!

    (Hat tip: Director Blue.)

  • “The Texas House voted overwhelmingly to approve a proposed state constitutional amendment that will allow denial of bail to certain violent suspects.”

    In a Monday bipartisan vote of 133 to 8, House members approved Sen. Joan Huffman’s (R-Houston) Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 5 that allows judicial officers the discretion to deny bail to defendants charged with murder or capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, trafficking of persons, and continuous trafficking of persons.

    Bail may also be withheld for aggravated assault if the person caused serious bodily injury or used a weapon.

    Hopefully this will result in fewer citizens being killed by the criminals that Soros-backed prosecutors love letting back out on the street.

  • President Trump and congressional Republicans have ended California and other blue states war on internal combustion cars.

    Congressman Kevin Kiley’s resolution to save gas cars from extinction in 2035 in California has passed Congress and heads to President Trump’s desk, where he will sign the measure.

    The resolution revokes the EPA waiver secured in 2020 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and eleven other states, aimed at getting rid of gas cars and attempting to switch to all-electric vehicles.

    Guess which party rules over the woke states blindly following Newsom’s disastrous proposal.

    1. California-Socialist
    2. Colorado-Democrat
    3. Delaware-Dummocrat
    4. Maryland-Dummocrat
    5. Massachusetts-Taxocrat
    6. New Jersey-Democrat
    7. New Mexico-Democrat
    8. New York-Democrat
    9. Oregon-Socialist
    10. Rhode Island-Democrat
    11. Vermont-Communist
    12. Washington-Communist
    13. District of Columbia-Stupidcrat

    Newsom sought the waiver from the Executive Branch. Now he’s suing the Executive Branch to say it doesn’t have the right to take away his waiver.

    Gavin Newsom’s presidential ambitions hardest hit…

    (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)

  • “Two Israeli Embassy Aides Murdered Outside Capital Jewish Museum; Suspect Chanted ‘Free Palestine.'” Acceptance of Jew murder seems to be rapidly climbing the list of core Democratic Party ideological beliefs…
  • Curioser and curioser: “Father Of DC Shooting Suspect Was Democrats’ Honored Guest At Trump Congressional Address.”

    The father of the suspected gunman in the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, was the honored guest of a far-left lawmaker at President Trump’s joint address to Congress back in March, the New York Post reported.

    Eric Rodriguez is an anti-Trump SEIU member who also spoke at a Democrat press conference ahead of Trump’s address.

    His son, accused killer Elias Rodriguez, 30, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after allegedly gunning down Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to become engaged.

    “Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,” a spokesperson for Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) told the Post Thursday night.

  • In the wake of the Biden announcement, Scott Adams announces that he too has metastasized prostrate cancer and only months to live. Presumably numerous other Scott Adams will continue to run on other simulations…
  • “A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students.” Of course they have.
  • “Trump Signs Cruz’s ‘TAKE IT DOWN’ Act Banning ‘Revenge Porn’ Into Law. Both President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump threw their support behind the bill prior to its passage.” Like many attempts to regulate cyberspace, the bill is long on good intentions and shorter on the ability to actually regulate a global Internet.
  • “Texas House Passes $140,000 Standard, $60,000 Elderly Homestead Exemption Increases.” Good. Business tax relief is evidently still pending.
  • Five Supreme Court justices recuse themselves from a case because they all had publishing deals with one of the companies involved. The last time that happened, Learned Hand was writing decisions…
  • Cop spawn-camps active shooter in Las Vegas.
  • “Gun Owners of America Endorses Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.” That’s a good endorsement, as anyone challenging an incumbent senator needs all the help they can get. It’s also insufficient; Jerry Patterson had the pro-gun vote locked up in his four-way Lt. Governor’s race against David Dewhurst, Dan Patrick and Todd Staples in 2014, and he still came in fourth place…
  • Interesting story about a leading married doctor in China who just got kicked out of his job and the CCP because he pulled strings for not one but two of his would-be baby mommas.
  • Was social justice games ruiner Sweet Baby Inc. created by the Canadian government? Some evidence suggests so, but this seems far from conclusive.
  • Bill Maher and Woody Harrelson’s Hollywood weed shop ransacked by thieves. Is this enough to finally make Maher vote Republican?
  • Asmongold has been highlighting the case of pro-jihad Twitch streamer Hasan Piker for quite some time now, saying that his support for terrorism could be a big danger to Twitch’s advertising revenue screens. Following the DC jihad shooting, Piker was called out by name on CNN
  • Good news! The movie adaptation of Howard Waldrop’s A Dozen Tough Jobs is going forward with a script by Joe R. Lansdale and George R. R. Martin producing.
  • Dispatch from the crazy years: “Hijab-clad Muslima who gave National Socialist salutes is OnlyFans model.”
  • I’m still not entirely convinced that D-Wave has a functional quantum computer, but their revenue is up 509%, so someone sure seems to think they do.
  • “Democrats Considering New Strategy Of Complaining Loudly Every Day About Trump.”
  • “Trump Asks When He’ll Get To See The Elves And Hobbits On His Middle East Tour.”
  • “America Is Just As Unprepared Now For A Giant Monkey Climbing Skyscrapers As We Were In 1933.”
  • “Experts Say AI Unlikely To Replace Government Bureaucrats As It’s Not Soulless Enough.”
  • “New Subscription Service Sends Dads A New Pair Of Cargo Pants Every 9 Years.”
  • This dog obviously lacks Red Bull:

    (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

    • I’m still between jobs. Feel free to hit the tip jar if you’re so inclined.





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    Posted in Budget, Crime, Democrats, Guns, Regulation, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Supreme Court, Texas, Waste and Fraud | 2 Comments »

    Gun News Roundup for May 21, 2024

    Tuesday, May 21st, 2024

    A few tidbits of gun news, so let’s do a roundup.

  • “Texas, Gun Owners of America Secure Court Order Against ATF.”

    After the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed a new rule expanding federal firearm license (FFL) requirements, the Office of the Texas Attorney General and Gun Owners of America filed a joint lawsuit challenging the rule, and on Sunday secured a federal court order blocking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing the rule against certain plaintiffs.

    The DOJ claimed the rule was to help implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), but critics, including Cornyn, say the Biden administration violated the law and the Constitution in proposing the rule.

    The rule has prompted Cornyn to file a resolution of disapproval in the U.S. Senate seeking to strike it down legislatively.

    Under the rule, gun owners would be forced to obtain an FFL and perform background checks before selling firearms in a wide range of new circumstances, including if they rented a table at a local gun show.

    However, the court order by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk compares the language of the BSCA against the new rule, highlighting how FFL requirements evolved from the original statute contained in the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986 to the current statutory language in the BSCA, and finally compared that to the new rule.

    The FOPA required those “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms to have an FFL. It defined such persons as one “who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms.”

    The BSCA changed the “engaged in the business” definition, broadening it by eliminating the requirement that a person’s “principal objective” of purchasing and reselling firearms must include both “livelihood and profit,” by shortening the requirement to just someone who predominantly earns a profit, Kacsmaryk explained.

    He also noted the BSCA did not alter an existing exemption for a person who “makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.”

    Kacsmaryk wrote the new rule likely violated statutory laws in several ways, beginning with the requirement that a person who sells a single firearm or discusses selling a firearm could be subjected to licensure requirements under the rule conflicts.

    Another provision he said likely runs afoul of the BSCA is the prohibition of firearms obtained for personal protection from being counted among the guns a firearm owner may sell from their personal collection.

    “Nothing in the foregoing text suggests that the term “personal collection” does not include firearms accumulated primarily for personal protection — yet that is exactly what the Final Rule asserts,” Kacsmaryk wrote, adding the DOJ’s defense of that provision is “untenable.”

    “I am relieved that we were able to secure a restraining order that will prevent this illegal rule from taking effect,” Paxton said in a statement on the order. “The Biden Administration cannot unilaterally overturn Americans’ constitutional rights and nullify the Second Amendment.”

  • And speaking of Cornyn gun legislation, he filed a bill to undo the Biden Administration’s attempts to ensnare ordinary Americans in ATF regulations:

    en. John Cornyn (R-Texas) took up two pieces of Second Amendment-related legislation last week, filing a resolution of disapproval aiming to shoot down a proposed rule by the Biden administration to require federal firearms licenses (FFL) for most private gun sales, and a separate bill seeking to relax taxes imposed on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposed a rule that greatly expands the circumstances in which someone is required to hold an FFL in order to sell a firearm, and when someone must conduct a background check on a potential buyer.

    In proposing the rule, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said its purpose was to finalize the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), legislation authored by Cornyn that passed in 2022. However, Cornyn says the rule violates congressional intent.

    The rule would greatly expand upon the circumstances in which someone is required to obtain an FFL, including if they rent a table at a gun show, make firearm purchases in an amount that exceeds their reportable income for a specific period of time, create records that track profits and losses from firearm sales, or any combination of a litany of details that could result in requiring a license.

    According to Cornyn, the BSCA was motivated after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that killed 19 children and two teachers. He also provided the mass shooting in Odessa as an example of what the bill was intended to prevent.

    Addressing media questions regarding the resolution, Cornyn pointed out that the Odessa gunman was known to suffer from mental illness. He obtained the rifle used in the city-wide shooting spree from a Lubbock man who was purchasing bulk rifle parts from the internet, which he would assemble into functional rifles and sell as part of a regular business.

    The man who sold the AR-15-style rifle to the Odessa gunman, Marcus Braziel, was convicted of acting as an unlicensed firearm dealer and failing to conduct a background check that would have prevented the sale of the rifle.

    “Those making a living or profit for a business motive was the focus of the law, not those casually buying or selling their personal guns,” Cornyn told reporters.

    “This rule is proof that the Biden administration is a dishonest broker, and Congress must hold it accountable for its actions in favor of its gun-grabbing liberal base over the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,” Cornyn added in a statement on the resolution.

    The resolution currently has 45 co-sponsors in the Senate.

  • The NRA has some new officers, and there are a few surprises.

    Bob Barr representing the Old Guard did win the Presidency. The vote was 37-30. Then the surprises began. Bill Bachenberg from the reform slate went head to head with Blaine Wade for 1st VP and won 36-31. Following that, reformer Mark Vaughan, president of the Oklahoma Rifle Association, beat Tom King 35-31. King really represented the Old Guard and his defeat was a sea change in attitude on the Board.

    Second, and what I consider the biggest surprise, Doug Hamlin, Executive Director of Publications and the reformer’s choice for EVP, beat Ronnie Barrett for EVP/CEO. There is some talk that Hamlin is intended as an interim choice while a nationwide search is conducted.

    The excessive power that Wayne LaPierre gathered to the Executive Vice President position is part of the problem with the office, and is what let LaPierre turn the NRA into his own personal fiefdom. A lot of that should be stripped away and returned to the board.

  • More NRA news: The move to Texas resolution failed. Short term, there’s no question that move to Texas was planned as a Hail Mary to extract LaPierre from the legal troubles his corruption had ensnared the NRA in, and in that it failed. Long term, it probably is in the best interest of the NRA to move to Texas, as the state is a lot more friendly to gun rights, both politically and culturally, than either New York or Virginia.
  • And speaking of NRA news, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Dwight covered his trip to the convention, so if you’re interested in that, head over there and just keep scrolling.

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    Posted in Guns, Regulation | 4 Comments »

    Texas Sues Biden Over New ATF Rule

    Thursday, May 2nd, 2024

    Another day, another Texas lawsuit against Biden Administration “legislation by regulatory fiat” overreach.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alongside Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Gun Owners of America Texas director Wes Virdell, held a press conference on Wednesday morning announcing the filing of two lawsuits against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding new rules about private firearm sales.

    U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced new rules adding definitions of certain terms under the Safer Communities Act that will expand the circumstances requiring individuals to obtain Federal Firearm Licenses (FFL) and perform background checks to sell guns. This is to close the so-called “gun show loophole,” which has been a priority for the Biden administration.

    If they are talking about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, there’s absolutely nothing in the text of the act about closing any “gun show loophole.”

    Texas’ lawsuit was filed on the morning of May 1, 2024 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division. It was filed by Texas with the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah; Jeff Tormey; Gun Owners of America; Gun Owners Foundation; Tennessee Firearms Association; and the Virginia Citizens Defense League also listed as plaintiffs.

    Kansas’ lawsuit was filed on the morning of May 1, 2024 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Delta Division. It was filed by Kansas alongside the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, with Phillip Journey, Allen Black, Donald Maxey, and the Chisholm Trail Antique Gun Association also listed as plaintiffs.

    Both lawsuits seek declaratory and injunctive relief.

    “Today, Texas is leading a multi-state coalition that is suing to stop the final rule issued by the ATF that criminalizes private firearm sales. Biden’s latest effort to unilaterally curtail our constitutional rights is completely illegal,” said Paxton in his speech.

    “Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights. This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government.”

    Kobach also spoke at the announcement of the lawsuits.

    “Biden’s latest attempt to strip away the Second Amendment rights of Americans through ATF regulations will make many law-abiding gun owners felons if they sell a firearm or two to family or friends. This rule is blatantly unconstitutional. We are suing to defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans,” said Kobach.

    “Until now, those who repetitively purchased and sold firearms as a regular course of business had to become a licensee… This rule would put innocent firearm sales between law-abiding friends and family members within reach of federal regulation,” the Kansas court filing reads. “Such innocent sales between friends and family would constitute a felony if the seller did not in fact obtain a federal firearms license and perform a background check.”

    While not at the announcement, the attorneys general of Utah and Mississippi both offered statements in the lawsuit’s press release.

    “Nearly 40 years ago, Congress condemned ATF for targeting innocent gun owners instead of focusing on felons, calling ATF’s actions ‘reprehensible.’ Congress even changed the law to limit ATF’s authority. But ATF is at it again, this time trying to require a citizen selling even a single firearm to obtain a license. Utah is proud to join the 26 states — in three separate lawsuits— protecting their citizens from this bureaucratic overreach.” said Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.

    “By seeking to treat every legal gunowner as a commercial gun dealer and every gun sale or trade into a commercial transaction, this rule unmasks the Biden Administration’s anti-gun agenda in ways many of its other actions have not. The Second Amendment could never have contemplated this kind of regulation and it will not withstand scrutiny in the courts. On behalf of Mississippi gunowners, we are proud to stand with the citizens who have come forward in this lawsuit,” said Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

    Twenty-five states are suing the ATF across both lawsuits. Florida has also filed its own suit against the ATF for declaratory and injunctive relief about the same rule.

    For those counting along on the home game, that’s more than half the states in the union suing the Biden Administration over their latest attempt at gun legislation by fiat.

    This is not the first lawsuit that Paxton has filed against the ATF this year. In February, the State of Texas sued the ATF over the Biden administration’s recent decision to redefine firearms with pistol braces as short-barrelled rifles under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

    Complete civilian disarmament has been a longterm goal of the Democratic Party, and to that end they would love to ensnare ordinary Americans in FFL laws and paperwork for private firearms transactions, despite such restrictions never being contemplated by the founding fathers. In the post-Bruen judicial landscape, expect the courts to be extremely skeptical of unconstitutional firearms regulation, especially those with no basis in the underlying statute language, and expect Paxton to notch another victory over the Biden Admistration in his belt.

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    Posted in Democrats, Guns, ObamaCare, Regulation, Republicans, Texas | 11 Comments »

    Gun Owners Of America Issue Texas Endorsements

    Saturday, February 24th, 2024

    Gun Owners of America have issue their Texas election endorsements. Let’s do the Texas statehouse candidates first (all Republicans):

  • Texas State House District 2: Brent Money
  • Texas State House District 17: Tom Glass
  • Texas State House District 21: David Covey
  • Texas State House District 33: Katrina Pierson
  • Texas State House District 53: Wes Virdell
  • Texas State House District 55: Hillary Hickland
  • Texas State House District 60: Mike Olcott
  • Texas State House District 64: Andy Hopper
  • Texas State House District 65: Mitch Little
  • Texas State House District 71: Liz Case
  • Texas State House District 72: Stormy Bradley
  • Texas State House District 121: Marc LaHood

    • Covey, Olcott and Case were also endorsed by President Trump.

    GOA also made the following non-House race endorsements:

  • Judge Criminal Court of Appeals Place 7: Gina Parker
  • Criminal Court of Appeals Presiding Judge: David Schenck

    • Parker and are both running against judges who ruled Paxton can’t prosecute voter fraud cases.

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    Posted in Democrats, Global Warming, Guns, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors | 4 Comments »

    Gun Owners of America Join Forces With Ken Paxton To Sue ATF Over Gun Brace Regulation

    Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

    Gun Owners of America and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton join forces to sue the Biden Administration.

    More lawsuits are pouring in against the Biden administration’s recent decision to redefine firearms with pistol braces as short-barrelled rifles (SBR) under the National Firearms Act (NFA), with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gun Owners of America (GOA) filing a joint lawsuit seeking to block the rule.

    The lawsuit, State of Texas v. ATF, was filed in the Federal Southern District Court of Texas on Thursday, joining two other lawsuits filed in federal district courts in Texas. Those include a challenge filed by attorneys with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in the Northern District, and a challenge filed in the Eastern District by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).

    GOA called their lawsuit “the most comprehensive” among those filed, writing, “Our complaint makes clear that the agency’s rule violates the Second Amendment ‘text, history and tradition’ standard set forth by the Supreme Court in its recent Bruen case.” GOA also said their case argues the rule violates several other constitutional provisions, including being an “invalid” exercise of taxing authority.

    Paxton also released a statement on the lawsuit, saying he is hopeful they prevail in blocking the rule.

    “This is yet another attempt by the Biden Administration to create a workaround to the U.S. Constitution and expand gun registration in America,” Paxton said in the release. “There is absolutely no legal basis for ATF’s haphazard decision to try to change the long-standing classification for stabilizing braces, force registration on Americans, and then throw them in jail for ten years if they don’t quickly comply. This rule is dangerous and unconstitutional, and I’m hopeful that this lawsuit will ensure that it is never allowed to take effect.”

    The GOA announcement:

    Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden Pistol Brace Ban with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

    This new rule, which took effect on January 31st of this year, will force Americans to register or destroy their approximately 40 million lawfully owned brace firearms within 120 days, or face possible felony charges.

    Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:

    “Millions of Americans are facing a very tight deadline to destroy or register their lawfully owned property under this draconian new rule. We hope the court will hear the pleas of gun owners across the country who will be irrevocably harmed by this rule, and GOA stands ready to fight it at every turn.”

    Sam Paredes, on behalf of the board for GOF, added:

    “This rule will have some of the most wide-reaching impacts nationwide in the tyrannical history of gun control. We the People will not tolerate this abuse.”

    You can read the text of the lawsuit here.

    Having a state Attorney General join your lawsuit tends to do wonders to establish standing to sue the federal government. Like bump stocks, ATF has decided to retroactively make an entire class of widely-owned firearms accessory illegal, along with turning millions of lawful gun owners into felons for continuing to possess the same accessories they had already lawfully purchased. The composition of the Supreme Court has changed since Gundy v. United States was decided, and the current court may be much more inclined to reign-in delegation of congressional powers to regulatory agencies.

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    Posted in Guns, Regulation, Supreme Court, Texas | 3 Comments »

    John Cornyn Booed Over Guns

    Monday, June 20th, 2022

    Last month, Gun Owners of America blasted Texas Senator John Cornyn for playing footsie with the usual gun grabbers. (And not for the first time.) There have been a lot of pieces on why red flag laws (part of Cornyn’s pander) are unconstitutional garbage, to pick just one bad idea from the still nebulous proposal.

    Given that, it’s no surprise that Cornyn was booed at last week’s Texas GOP convention.

    Before he could get a word out, the boos descended upon Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) during his speech at the Texas GOP convention.

    After getting up to the podium, about a minute and a half went by before Cornyn could even begin his speech. The crowd’s objections were a direct response to the role Cornyn is playing in the U.S. Senate in bartering a gun reform bill pushed in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.

    Cornyn knew full well he was walking into the lion’s den, stating, “I will not approve any restrictions for law-abiding gun owners, and that’s my red line. And despite what some of you may have heard, that’s what our plan does.”

    Citing conservative lodestar William F. Buckley, the founder of National Review, Cornyn added, “Someone needs to stand athwart history, yelling stop.”

    Each time he repeated this formula, the crowd returned fire, yelling “Stop!” at Cornyn.

    The senior Texas senator did receive some applause when touting Trump-appointed judges and pro-life legislation, and when criticizing critical race theory and rising crime rates.

    Right after Cornyn left the stage, Attorney General Ken Paxton took the stage and delivered a tacit shot at the senator — with whom he has sparred before.

    “We have some Republicans who are trying to run from the fight (to preserve gun rights), and we need to remember their names next time they’re on the ballot,” Paxton warned. Earlier this month, Paxton said Texas “will be the first to sue” if the federal government passes a gun bill that “infringes on our Second Amendment Rights.”

    Here’s some video to judge for yourself:

    If it’s just a matter of “enforcing existing laws” as Cornyn states, why isn’t he holding hearings on why the Biden Administration refuses to enforce those laws? Why cooperate with the party that seeks complete civilian disarmament rather than actually stopping criminals?

    Says Michael Quinn Sullivan: “The senator seemed stunned by the response, clearly not expecting grassroots activists to understand what he had been pushing in Washington with the Democrats.”

    The longer Cornyn has been in office the squishier he’s gotten (a sadly familiar pattern), not only on gun control but also illegal alien amnesty. He’s gone from “pretty reliable conservative” to someone whose feet you have to hold to the fire to keep from drifting left on the latest burst of media hot air, and the latest chorus of boos shows that Republican activists know it.

    The imperfect status quo in gun laws is vastly preferable to any “reform” the current congress is likely to cook up.

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    Posted in Elections, Guns, Republicans, Texas, video | 8 Comments »

    The Long Road To Texas Constitutional Carry

    Sunday, June 20th, 2021

    Though the 87th legislative regular session was a very mixed bag, among the good bills to actually make it to the end of the sausage factory was constitutional carry, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed that and a host of other Second Amendment bills this week:

    Gov. Greg Abbott signed a number of pro-Second Amendment bills that were approved by the state legislature earlier this year at a press conference at the Alamo on Thursday.

    “We gathered today at what truly is considered to be the cradle of liberty in the Lone Star State,” said Abbott.

    The governor said they were holding the press conference “where men and women put their lives on the line, and they lost their lives, for the ultimate cause of freedom.”

    “They fought for freedom. They fought for liberty, and that includes the freedom to be able to carry a weapon.”

    Legislation that the governor signed, which will all go into effect on September 1, includes:

    • Senate Bill (SB) 19: prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions from contracting with any business that discriminates against firearm businesses or organizations.
    • SB 20: requires hotels to allow guests to store their firearms in their rooms.
    • SB 550: removes the specific language in state code that handguns must be worn in a “shoulder or belt” holster, allowing individuals to utilize any type of holster.
    • House Bill (HB) 957: exempts Texas-made suppressors from federal regulations surrounding the noise-reducing accessories.
    • HB 1500: removes the governor’s ability in state code to regulate firearms during a disaster declaration.
    • HB 1927: the “constitutional carry” bill that allows nearly all Texans over the age of 21 who can legally possess a handgun to legally carry it in public without a special permit.
    • HB 2622: the “Second Amendment sanctuary” bill that prohibits state and local government entities from enforcing certain types of potential federal firearm regulations that are not included in state code.

    “[The Alamo defenders] knew the reason why somebody needed to carry a weapon was far more than just to use it to kill game that they would eat. They knew as much as anybody the necessity of being able to carry a weapon for the purpose of defending yourself against attacks by others,” said Abbott.

    The governor pointed to the ongoing border crisis as a reason for Texans needing to be armed to defend themselves “against cartels and gangs and other very dangerous people.”

    HB 1927, the Firearm Carry Act of 2021, takes effect September 1, so idiots blaming the Sixth Street shooting on it are talking out their ass.

    In an email, Gun Owners of America Texas Director Rachel Malone notes that it took a decade to reach this point:

    For me, the journey began ten years ago, in 2011. I became aware of the licensed open carry bill that the Texas Legislature was considering, and I figured that all the politically-involved people would do the work to pass it. How hard could that be? This is Texas, after all.

    I was shocked when I heard that the bill had died without even receiving a vote….

    When I showed up in 2013 for the legislative session, there were about half a dozen dedicated grassroots Texans who spoke up with me to end the permit requirement. That year, our words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

    However, when all the significant gun bills in 2013 died, many more Texans came to the same conclusion that I had in 2011: you shouldn’t take it for granted that someone else will do the work to protect your rights.

    During the next several legislative sessions, in 2015, 2017, and 2019, increasing numbers of Texans began showing up when it mattered — not merely at protests or rallies, but actually beginning to do the work inside the Capitol.

    It was a long, uphill battle that not only took a lot of work and effort, but one that was ignored or fought by state congressional leadership along the way:

    Constitutional carry has been a top priority for the Republican Party of Texas and gun owners across the Lone Star State for a long time.

    In fact, constitutional carry was the first “legislative priority” approved by the delegates to the Texas GOP’s convention a decade ago.

    Even as the list of party priorities expanded to eight over the years, constitutional carry has remained one of the party’s top goals for the legislature, as 20 other states—including Vermont—enjoy some form of permitless carry.

    Despite this fact, however, the bill had not received much traction in the Texas Legislature in recent sessions. In 2019, for example, the bill was sent by then-House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to a committee led by Democrat State Rep. Poncho Nevarez (Eagle Pass), where it was not even given a hearing. Bonnen himself even referred to supporters of the legislation as “fringe gun activists.”

    That same year, the legislation was not even filed in the Texas Senate.

    So entering the legislative session at the beginning of 2021, the fight to pass the bill looked like an uphill battle. As the session began, numerous bills were filed in the House to remove the permit requirement to carry handguns, while State Sen. Drew Springer (R–Muenster) filed similar legislation in the Senate.

    When committee assignments were announced in early February in the Texas House, new hope appeared for passing the bill.

    Instead of appointing a Democrat to chair the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee that has traditionally blocked constitutional carry legislation in the past, House Speaker Dade Phelan appointed Republican State Rep. James White (Hillister).

    White, a known supporter of constitutional carry who had previously filed a bill to implement it in a previous session, was joined on the committee by four Republicans who had been endorsed by Gun Owners of America, an organization that has heavily advocated for constitutional carry, including State Reps. Cole Hefner (Mt. Pleasant), Matt Schaefer (Tyler), Jared Patterson (Frisco), and Tony Tinderholt (Arlington).

    Ultimately it was Schaefer’s House Bill 1927 that made its way out of the committee and onto the House floor.

    On Thursday, April 15, after several hours of debate and attempts by opponents to derail the legislation, the bill passed the House by a vote of 84 in support and 56 in opposition.

    While most Democrat efforts to amend the bill were rebuffed, so too were some efforts by Republicans to strengthen the bill. One amendment that would have lowered the age from 21 to 18, for example, was strongly rebuked.

    Notably, the lone Republican to vote against the bill was State Rep. Morgan Meyer (R–Dallas), while some Democrats like State Rep. Leo Pacheco (San Antonio) and Terry Canales (Edinburg) joined Republicans in support of the legislation

    With the bill having passed its first major hurdle, attention quickly turned to the other chamber.

    Just a few days after the bill’s passage in the House, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the issue did not have enough votes to pass the Senate.

    Almost instantly, activists began to light up Senators’ phone lines, demanding to know which Republicans were secretly blocking the bill behind the scenes.

    Then, the Senate began to act.

    First State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R–Georgetown) filed a new bill on the subject that was almost immediately referred to the Senate Administration Committee, chaired by Schwertner himself.

    Then, seemingly overnight, Patrick created a new committee called the Senate Special Committee on Constitutional Issues. The only bill referred to the committee? HB 1927, the constitutional carry bill that passed the House the week prior.

    Patrick then promised a vote on the issue in the Senate, even if it didn’t have the votes to pass, a move that would be considered highly unusual in the chamber, where normally authors must show they have the votes to pass their bill before it is brought up for consideration.

    On May 5, the bill finally passed on an 18-31 party-line vote in the Senate. Due to amendments added in the Senate, the bill was sent to a conference committee, where members from House and Senate work to come to an agreement on which version of the bill will ultimately be sent to the governor.

    On May 24, with just a week left in the session, the bill received final approval by both chambers.

    Texas is actually fairly late to the game in passing Constitutional Carry:

    35 years ago, it was illegal in 16 states (including Texas) for a civilian to carry a concealed weapon. Only Vermont did not require a pistol permit.

    Working through the slow process of going state to state to change the law, the revolution happened.

    First came the switch from no permit to may permit. That placed the decision on issuing permits in the hands of elected sheriffs, which explains why California and New York have not budged. Democrat sheriffs pocket a lot of money from patrons who want to carry.

    Then came shall permit. This put the onus on law enforcement to show why a person should not carry a concealed weapon.

    Finally, came freedom. 19 states no longer require the state’s permission to carry a concealed weapon.

    What happens next? Well, as with open carry and campus carry, expect the gun grabbing crowd to predict horrific bloodshed from constitutional carry that never materializes, because it hasn’t happened in any other state that passed constitutional carry. Indeed, the three safest states in the union (Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire) are all Constitutional Carry states.

    It’s been a long, hard road to get to this point, but it shows that dedicated activists can overcome establishment opposition and inertia to pass pro-freedom laws. And every pro-freedom law passed makes it that much harder for the leviathan state to take away those rights in the future.

    There are no lost causes in American history because there are no won causes, and the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

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    Posted in Guns, Republicans, Texas | 4 Comments »

    Gun Owners of America Blast John Cornyn

    Wednesday, June 9th, 2021

    Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America sent out an email blast yesterday accusing Texas Senator John Cornyn of attempting to sell out gun owners:

    We have an emergency on our hands.

    While preparing to fight back against the ATF’s unconstitutional regulation of pistol braces, we learned some disturbing news…

    Senator John Cornyn — a Republican who should be pro-2A — is quietly making a deal with the rabid anti-gunner, Chris Murphy, to pass universal background checks.

    We need EVERY gun owner in America to take action right now to prevent what would be Armageddon for the Second Amendment.

    The language seems overwrought in that direct mail we’re-all-going-to-die-unless-you-donate way. Is there some truth to it? Apparently so:

    After years of failed attempts to pass a firearms background check bill, two senators think they have a path to agreement — at least on one key component of a deal.

    Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have been quietly negotiating a way to bolster background check rules by making a small but consequential tweak to current law, which they say would close an unintended loophole in the system that has led to preventable mass shootings.

    House-passed legislation to require background checks on nearly all gun purchases has stalled in the Senate. But Murphy and Cornyn, who have been negotiating behind closed doors with little fanfare, believe they may have a formula that can attract broad support from both parties.

    Bipartisan, of course, means that the Stupid Party and the Evil Party get together to do something stupid and evil. Or, in this case, Republicans go squishy in the face of Democrat demands. The NBC makes it sound innocuous:

    Specifically, they want to clarify who is required to register as a federal firearms licensee, or FFL, and thus conduct FBI checks on a buyer before selling a gun. The senators say an ambiguity in the law has enabled unlicensed sellers to transfer weapons to dangerous people who skirt the background check system.

    That is, until you realize that Democrats probably want everyone selling even one gun to register for an FFL. Cornyn’s reassurances are…not reassuring.

    Cornyn said he’s motivated to close the loophole after it was exploited by the shooter in Odessa, Texas, who couldn’t buy a firearm from a licensed dealer due to mental health problems.

    “But then he went to an unlicensed dealer who bought parts and assembled those — but basically was in the business of manufacturing firearms,” he said. “But because he was not a federal firearms licensee — because he was evading that requirement — he didn’t do a background check and this guy got this AR-15 lookalike and killed a lot of innocent people.”

    I suspect this is another feint in the Democrats’ battle on 80% lowers, which is part of their campaign to ban all AR-pattern modern sporting rifles, which is a front in their greater war to completely disarm all law-abiding citizens.

    Media coverage makes it sounds like there are scores of basement gunsmiths cranking out AR-15s from parts kits and selling them willy-nilly. (And honestly, given the current panic buying, that’s probably not the worst business model out there.) If that were the case, I’m pretty sure current legislation gives the ATF plenty of scope to shut down unlicensed firearms factories. And if they’re not, additional legislation isn’t going to help that goal, but only provides an additional means by which the federal government can ensnare and harass law-abiding citizens.

    I’ve asked Senator Cornyn (yesterday via Twitter, today via email) to comment on the report, but thus far I haven’t heard back.

    It’s bad enough that Democrats are trying to use their razor-thin legislative majorities to ram through their gun-grabbing legislation without Republicans defecting. No Republican should agree to any changes in gun laws while Democrats are in control.

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    Posted in Guns, Regulation, Texas | 10 Comments »

    Gun News Roundup for December 20, 2020

    Sunday, December 20th, 2020

    Been a while since I did a gun news roundup, but a few items of interest caught my attention:

  • About that ammo shortage:

    Demand actually was on the upswing before the year 2020 even began. Then the dumpster fire that is 2020 wrought havoc on both gun and ammunition availability. This is a pure demand-driven issue. The government guys who may or may not be in black helicopters are not interested in small rifle primers or .22 Long Rifle. Good luck finding either on the shelf.

    How bad is it? Let me give you some anecdotes.

    Just two weeks ago, I received a call that probably should not have surprised me.

    “Do you have any .30-30?” This was not a question I was expecting. I mean, after all, there might be some parachute-cord-wrapped lever-actions somewhere if they haven’t been snarfed up, but .30-30 ammo? Really?

    It seems the friend of a friend was heading out on a hog hunt and left it too late to buy ammunition. Nowhere in northern Virginia could you find a box of .30-30 on the shelf. He was headed for a wild boar trip and had exactly four rounds. I dug into my personal stash to make sure his hunt wasn’t ruined, but this is a symptom of a much larger issue today.

    Back in April, one of our field editors received a call from a pretty prominent gun shop asking, “How much 9 mm do you have?” He answered and was told that he would be paid twice what he paid for it, and a truck would be there tomorrow.

    A friend at Hornady recently reached out to me to ask that I spread the word. What’s going on with ammunition is nothing sinister, nor a conspiracy. It is simple supply-and-demand. In fact, it’s hyper-inflated demand like no one has ever seen. I certainly haven’t in the 30 years that I’ve been paying attention to such things.

    Much has been made of the fact that guns, especially guns suitable for personal defense, have been hard to find. It would stand to reason that, with gun sales at an all-time high, ammunition will not take long to follow. At first, it was 9 mm Luger and .223 Rem., with local outages of things like .300 Blackout and 7.62×39 mm. It is not because the ammunition makers are not working all-out. American ammunition makers have all increased output and productivity as much as they can. They are making more ammunition than they ever have before. As soon as it goes into distribution, it is gone.

    Despite this, they are being hammered by their customers who ask, “Where is the ammo?“ It’s not being diverted to top-secret government contracts. It’s being bought by your friends and neighbors before you.

    Snip.

    With the COVID-19 pandemic, protests, riots and then the most rabid anti-gun platform ever introduced being pushed by the Democratic party, it’s no wonder that people have increased their demand for guns and ammunition. When a candidate for national office—even a poorly performing one—utters, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,” what did you think was going to happen?

    This is not even attributable to supply-chain problems, with the exception of the Remington ammunition plant in Arkansas. That plant was sidelined by the sale of the company by an Alabama bankruptcy court. Talk about a series of unfortunate events. One of the largest plants in the country couldn’t make ammo at full capacity because of the financial problems of its parent company. The good news is that Vista Outdoor picked up that facility, and the Vista team is very good indeed at making ammunition. I am told after the first of the year, ammunition will be flowing out of that plant, and many of its workers will be rehired.

    We have been through conditions similar to this before, but nothing like this. It’s to the point that waterfowlers looking for ammo are having a hard time because people looking for defensive loads have decided that steel BBs are better than nothing.

    A friend at a major retailer told me one of his managers was approached by a customer who found a box of .38-55 sitting alone on the shelf. He asked if there was anything in the store that would shoot it, as it was the only box of ammo there.

    This is a great year to be in the replica-cowboy-gun business, but for entirely different reasons than usual. I personally watched a fellow who entered the gun shop wanting a Glock and left with a Uberti single-action revolver in .45 Colt simply because it was the only handgun in the store. Once that was gone, the shelves were bare.

    I have spoken with representatives of every major ammunition company in the United States, as well as quite a few importers. It’s not that they aren’t trying to meet the demand. It’s just the demand is so high that as soon as product enters commerce, it’s gone. There’s an insatiable appetite out there now, and once rumors about ammo being in short supply start leaking out, much like the many primer scarcities we’ve had over the years, the demand increases. Panic begets more panic.

  • Speaking of the ammo shortage, Borepatch sees signs of it at the Palmetto Gun Show in Florida:
    • Ammo was at a premium. Pricing was high and it looks like dealers were buying out other dealers before the show started (and then marked each box up). While I’m not enormously well stocked, I’m well stocked enough not to have to spend $20 for 50 .22LR (!). I mean, seriously?
    • There was a LOT of Donald Trump stuff there, and not in a let’s clear out the old inventory sense. People were walking around in MAGA hats and there was what looked like a lot of fresh inventory being scooped up by the crowd. However this plays out, The Donald is not fading away. Oh, yeah – several vendors had “Biden Is Not My President” T-Shirts for sale and I saw more than one dude walking around in them.
    • Didn’t see any tables of Nazi memorabilia. Might be the first gun show I’ve been to that didn’t sport that.

    The last point accords with my own experience at the San Antonio gun show in October.

  • I’ve supported many of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent lawsuits, but not this one: “Texas attorney general accuses firearms website of price gouging at start of pandemic.”

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused the Fort Worth-based website Cheaper Than Dirt, which primarily sells firearms, ammunition and hunting gear, of price gouging at the start of the pandemic.

    The AG’s office identified over 4,000 sales that involved price gouging and has directed Cheaper Than Dirt to pay $402,786 in refunds to consumers, according to court documents filed this month.

    Over 100 people have complained to the AG’s office about Cheaper Than Dirt, the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this year.

    The same week that Gov. Greg Abbott made a pandemic-related disaster declaration in Texas, ammunition orders to Cheaper Than Dirt substantially increased. In response to the increased demand for its products, the website raised the prices on hundreds of its products, according to the AG’s office.

    The Texas AG’s office has identified ammunition as a necessity and, as a result, is arguing that those price hikes were against the Texas Business and Commerce Code. The code forbids businesses from “taking advantage of a disaster” by selling “fuel, food, medicine, lodging, building materials, construction tools or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price.”

    This is sheer folly dressed up as righteousness. The market pays what the market will bear, and prices adjust to meet demand. As the first of today’s roundup links note, this year’s ammo shortages are overwhelmingly driven by consumer demand. High prices are the market’s signal to bring more capacity online to meet demand. Short-circuiting that signal helps no one. Paxton’s lawsuit displays an amazing ignorance of basic economics.

    To drive home the scale of the current panic buying, I checked on both Cheaper Than Dirt and ammo.com for .45 ACP ammo prices and both were completely out, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. The cheapest price over at AmmoSeek is 68 cents a round, up considerably from from the 50 cents I paid at the San Antonio gun show two months ago.

  • The Texas chapter of Gun Owners of America has put videos for gun owners to navigate the 87th Texas legislative session:
    1. Bill Survival 101 (Slide deck)
    2. The TLO Website
    3. Talking to Legislators (Slide deck)

    Useful information if you want to help influence the legislative process.

  • Smith & Wesson sues New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for violating their First and Second Amendment rights. In New Jersey Attorney General is an appointed position, and Grewal was appointed by Democratic Governor Pat Murphy in 2018.
  • KR Training’s December newsletter, including the class schedule through March 2021. Plus the KR Training blog has lots of historical firearms training tidbits.

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    Posted in Economics, Guns, Texas | 5 Comments »

    Bill Filed To Regulate SWAT Teams

    Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

    The filing season has started for next year’s 87th Texas Legislature, and Rachel Malone, Texas Director of Gun Owners of America, sent out an email highlighting various gun-related bills (both pro- and anti-Second Amendment) in the forthcoming session. One entry that caught my eye was Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) HB 579, which would regulate the use of SWAT teams.

    The part that caught GOA’s eye was Sec. 1701.753. (c) “The existence of a legally owned firearm in the home of an individual does not in itself constitute evidence of an imminent threat.” That would indeed be an improvement in further normalizing lawful gun ownership. I also approve of the use of mandating body cams for SWAT team members. Indeed, every uniformed peace officer should wear a film body cam at all times while on duty. They provide invaluable evidence by good cops and discourage bad behavior by the few bad apples.

    I’m a bit more ambivalent about the bill outlining the acceptable use cases for SWAT teams. There is a real concern about the increasing militarization of low enforcement, but such guidelines are better promulgated at the local rather than state level.

    The fact that a small band of radical Social Justice Warrior idiots want to abolish the police shouldn’t keep us from examining good-faith efforts to reform police practice where possible. Better and more extensive use of force and deescalation training is any idea that both Republicans and Democrats should be able to get behind. (Well, you would think, except Democrats killed South Carolina Republican Tim Scott’s crime reform bill.) Eliminating civil forfeiture without trial is another area for bipartisan reform.

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    Posted in Crime, Guns, Texas | 2 Comments »

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