Testing, 1, 2, 3…

Posted on April 15, 2022 | Comments Off on Testing, 1, 2, 3…
Lickspittle and Dickspittle

Now let’s see if I can add a link. [More]

And a quote:

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.

Comments Off on Testing, 1, 2, 3…

Posted in Uncategorized

Dec. ’08 and going back

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on Dec. ’08 and going back

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter

December 1, 7:14 AM
 

Dear Nancy…

Gun Rights Examiner readers who have been here since the beginning, lo, these many weeks ago, will recall one of my first concerns involved police arresting gun owners who open carry–a legal practice that can still result in dangerous encounters with law enforcement officers who may not know that (or may know and act anyway). To that end, I wrote a letter to Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers,

putting her on notice that Ohio law is being violated by those we rely on to enforce it, that it is public knowledge she knows of this, and that it is her duty to use the powers of her office to ensure all public officials are in compliance with Ohio laws. Basically I’ll be asking her to formally notify every police official in the state that open carry is legal, that liabilities exist for continued interference with it, willful and otherwise, and to put the ball in their court to ensure their officers are trained…

The above graphic is my USPS Domestic Return Receipt, proof that her office received my letter.

Will it do any good? Well, not at forcing action out of her. She’s been as effective at setting up precautions against abuses as she was in the “Joe the Plumber” affair–and held to even less account for it. As she’s in the final days of her term, I wouldn’t expect to see her shake up the status quo.

Which doesn’t mean it’s been a wasted effort. A wall is built of many bricks, and this one may yet prove useful should a gun owner needlessly suffer while the state knows danger exists yet fails to act. Plus, along with earlier actions, it provides a foundation for continued efforts that may yet bring needed change.

One guy who does promise a shake-up is Rogers’ successor, Attorney General-elect Richard Cordray, who

said he hopes to conduct a review of the Ohio Constitution, which hasn’t been done in over three decades, to see if any of the state’s guidelines are outdated or nonconforming.

Have I got an opportunity for him. I’m going to send him a similar letter to the one I sent his predecessor. It will be interesting to see if a politician given an “A” rating by NRA will be more responsive, don’t you think?

 

Ohioans for Concealed Carry have some “Safe Holiday Shopping Tips.” Check them out and be careful out there.

Topics: Gun Rights , Open Carry , Election 2008

The aim of mayors

December 2, 7:51 AM
 

We’re having a gathering of eagles, and I didn’t know about it. I don’t suppose many did, as our local “government watchdog” press hasn’t exactly been trumpeting the event:

Aim of Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition is stopping flow of illegal guns into cities…

Area mayors and state legislators will gather today in Cleveland to hear how other large cities deal with gun trafficking and violence.

It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. Wonderful. The men and women who preside over the most violent areas of the Republic are going to tell us what needs to be done. The politicians who keep you and me defenseless before armed criminals while relying exclusively on the “only ones” to react after the violence has happened, are going to share their expertise in making us safer.

Oh, but what’s wrong with going after illegal guns?

What, you mean like owning a personal defense handgun in Chicago? Good luck with that, unless you’re a connected alderman.

Or how about getting a license to carry in New York City? Well, maybe if you’re Donald Trump or Robert DeNiro.

What we’re going to hear instead are pejoratives like “Iron Pipeline,” which is really code-speak for imposing big city restrictions on areas outside their jurisdiction where peaceable armed citizens conduct themselves just fine. See, there are an estimated 20,000+ gun laws in this country, and they figure 20,001 followed by 2, 3, 4, etc. might just do the trick.

So they’ll start by trying to end private sales. And demanding licensing of a right and registration of property. Oh, and banning this gun because it’s too large, that gun because it’s too small–what’s been called “Goldilocks gun control,” because none of them are “just right.”

The goal is for them all to be illegal.

That is, unless they’re carried by police, or by one of the Mayors Against Guns’ taxpayer-funded bodyguards.

Let’s meet a few coalition members, shall we?

Say “Hi” to Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham, AL, just cuffed by the feds the other day.

Then we have Frank Melton, of Jackson MS, Sharpe James of Newark, Samuel Rivera of Passaic…

And who could forget Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit? Or Sheila Dixon of Baltimore?

Coalition members all. And these are just the ones I could find quickly this morning, after noticing the Plain Dealer story. Kind’a makes you wonder how the law-abiding status of the Mayors Against Guns coalition would stack up against, say, the membership of the NRA.

It also kind’a makes you wonder why they’re so desperate to disarm you and me, and what the mayors are really aiming at.

———–

Teach your children well

Here’s another one from the “Only Ones” files:

Monroe police say Chief Greg Schwarber accidentally shot himself in the leg at his home on Todhunter Road Friday afternoon.

The Chief said he was teaching his daughter about gun safety and shooting technique shortly before the accident.

Say the word, chief. I know the Mayors Against Guns deem badged uniform-wearers more capable and trustworthy, but I’ll be happy to teach you both how to avoid shooting yourself.

By the way–if an ordinary citizen negligently discharged a firearm in a residence and endangered others, I’m just wondering if they’d, you know, face charges or something…?

 

For more gun rights info: Visit David Codrea’s online journal, The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

Topics: Anti-Gunners , “Only Ones”

House of blues

December 3, 9:29 AM
 

Yesterday, we anticipated the arrival of anti-gun mayors in Cleveland for a public discussion of their plot against Liberty. They did not fail to disappoint.

Nor, we shall see, did our friends in the media.

Before getting into that, I’d like to explore a bit about some of the hosts. We saw from the Plain Dealer announcement the witches gathering was held at The House of Blues. I see they’re headlining the “2K Sports Bounce Tour featuring Q-Tip & The Cool Kids with The Knux.”

That wouldn’t be the same Q-Tip arrested for assault?And that’s The Knux pushing violent gang retaliation as a means of obtaining street justice? To their credit, I can’t find much on The Cool Kids, aside from vulgar lyrics, but compared to much of the genre, they come off like choir boys. I’m too square to know if “I’m a Murder Club dope pedal rider” means much more than “Golly, I sure am swell.”

At $25 to $74 per admission, that’s a nice deal the Blues folks have–and what with the mayors meeting, it looks like they get to play both sides against the middle.

But I digress.

As for the principals behind the mayoral gathering, two are credited:

The Cleveland branches of the National Council of Jewish Women and Citizens for Safety are sponsoring today’s event.

The latter organization is enigmatic. There is a group with that name out of Massachusetts, which is where featured mayor Tom Menino hails from, but there’s very little information available other than they are a “crime prevention” 501(c)(3) public charity accepting tax-deductible contributions, which, according to the IRS means:

The organization will not, as a substantial part of its activities, attempt to influence legislation (unless it elects to come under the provisions allowing certain lobbying expenditures)…In general, if a substantial part of the activities of your organization consists of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, your organization’s exemption from federal income tax will be denied.

That a Form 990 has not yet been posted on Guidestar (activists–you know about this resource, right?) could mean a couple things: They’re new, or their income was below the $25,000 requirement to file one. In any case, my sense is they’re what some gun bloggers have termed an “astroturf” (as opposed to “grassroots”) group.

Barring any breaking news of import that shoves this to the back burner, tomorrow I’ll talk about the other sponsor, National Council of Jewish Women, and I’ll compare their activities against those of another organization, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

And the day after that I hope to explore how Cleveland media have once again failed the people they are supposed to serve. It’s enough to give a gun rights activist the blues.

 

Only 29 spots left for the Buckeye Blast. Click here to find out what I’m talking about.

Topics: Anti-Gunners

A standoffish former chief

December 4, 7:29 AM
 

I was going to continue with my follow-up on the anti-gun mayors’ forum, but some ongoing breaking news pushes that off the front burner for today:

RAVENNA, Ohio — An Ohio sheriff says deputies are in a standoff with a former police chief accused of firing a shot at his adult son.

The story says he “resigned…in 1998 after pleading guilty to using a firearm while intoxicated.”

And it wasn’t just him:

Five Ravenna police officers were disciplined for their involvement in a Dec. 4 gathering at an officer’s home that led to the recent indictment and resignation of Police Chief Michael Swartout.

Calling in sick so they could booze it up. Drinking before their shift. And the chief setting the example for them all by “discharging a weapon from a vehicle and having a weapon while intoxicated.”

And then we learn the chief’s wife “wife, a police dispatcher, was fired for attempting to listen to and to record conversations during the investigation of her husband.”

Does anyone still think putting on a uniform establishes proof of judgment, morality and training to where police are the “only ones” who can be trusted with guns?

Because that’s the ultimate message of the mayors’ coalition, which I hope to get back to tomorrow.

————–

Women-Only Pistol Class

Faith Ferkel has found a universal concern among Ohio women who want to use firearms to protect themselves. Many of the women who would like to obtain a concealed weapon permit are intimidated by the thought of taking the state’s mandatory Basic Pistol course with a room full of men.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry has a great article about women and guns. Click here to read it.

It’s true. When we were living in LA, my wife took Paxton Quigley’s course, and really enjoyed and got a lot out of it.

 

Want more gun rights commentary? Visit David Codrea’s online journal, The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

Topics: Police , Concealed Carry , “Only Ones”

More ‘gun control’? Oy vey!

December 5, 7:18 AM

First, an update from yesterday’s report of the “standoffish” former police chief:

Former Ravenna Police Chief Michael Swartout peacefully surrendered to authorities…after a standoff that lasted more than 35 hours.

Here’s the thing:

Swartout resigned as police chief in 1998 after pleading guilty to charges that he threatened to shoot and kill one of his officers at a Christmas party. In 2004, he was arrested for domestic violence against his wife and his 22-year-old daughter.

One of the reasons I use the term “only ones” is to point out how a different standard can apply in terms of both privileges and immunities. Who among us who are not LEOs think we could get away with threatening to shoot a cop and suffer no criminal repercussions–assuming we survived the experience? And domestic violence qualifies one to become a “prohibited person,” forbidden to own guns under the Lautenberg amendment. Which means either the system gave the chief a pass, or we have yet one more example of “gun control” laws being ignored by the non-“law abiding.”

What a surprise that would be.

—————-

Meanwhile, before we were so rudely interrupted

…I’d planned on talking about the second sponsor of the Mayors Against YOUR Guns conference, the National Council of Jewish Women. I know you’re just dying to meet them–or could be if they have their way.

My radar goes up when I hear terms bandied about like “social justice,” not because I don’t believe in it, but because certain groups have appropriated it as code-speak for–how did Mr. Obama put it?–“spread[ing] the wealth around.” Then I hear “progressive” (and I like progress as much as the next guy, as long as we’re not progressing toward national socialism), and I have to ask myself what they mean by it. And as for being “inspired by Jewish values,” I frankly get baffled: Aren’t the “progressives” the same ones who scream for separation of church and state? Yet they’re imposing those values on the rest of us through gun law advocacy?

In the case of gun rights, what they mean by “progressive” is clear, Here are some recent press release titles:

NCJW Urges Reauthorization of Assault Weapon Ban

NCJW Outraged by Repeal of DC Gun Ban

NCJW Denounces Passage of DC Gun Bill

NCJW Urges Renewed Effort on Gun Control in Wake of Tragedy at Virginia Tech

NCJW Urges Renewal of Assault Weapon Ban

NCJW Deplores Gun Decision, Warns of Court’s Direction

NCJW Urges Congress to Protect Public Safety

And if you need further enlightenment on how our legislative “progressives” view gun ownership, perhaps this will help.

Next week I intend to examine whether or not this commu… uh… progressive group has the market cornered on “Jewish values” and guns. If you don’t already know him, I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite patriots, Aaron Zelman, executive director of Jews of the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

Until then, you might be interested in listening to an interview he did a while back with probably the smartest, best-looking, nicest and most humble guy I know.

—————-

From the Examiners

Sounds like I’m pretty rough on “progressives,” doesn’t it? I sometimes get agitated. Let me make things up by directing you to the Birmingham Progressive Politics Examiner, who gives us further enlightenment on one of my favorite Mayors Against Guns, the recently-arrested Larry Langford.

Also, the Miami Veterans Affairs Examiner just posted “Vets and Guns.”

 

 

It looks like Ohioans for Concealed Carry is almost there in terms of a location for their Holiday Meet and Greet-Cleveland on Dec.13. I’d like to attend if I can, and I’ll let you know when they’ve agreed on a place. You can see plans for all Ohio locations on their forum.

Topics: Gun Rights , Police , Anti-Gunners , Announcements , “Only Ones”

‘Gun control’? One Jewish group says ‘Never again!’

December 8, 7:33 AM
 

Logo courtesy JPFO

On Friday we discussed the anti-gun efforts of the National Council of Jewish Women, a group that claims to be “inspired by Jewish values.”

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership would disagree. Billed as “America’s most aggressive defender of firearms ownership,” the “twin goals” of JPFO are:

To destroy “gun control” and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone…Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.

They’re not a lobbying organization. Their work is done through education, via books, videos, pamphlets…

JPFO Executive Director Aaron Zelman is particularly authoritative on the subject of Jews and “gun control,” (JPFO originated the convention of using quotation marks around the term, to highlight that it is, in fact, a euphemism for citizen disarmament.)

I asked Mr. Zelman his thoughts on the National Council of Jewish Women’s support for disarmament. Here’s what he told me:

Jewish organizations that embrace ‘gun control’ have obviously not learned from history nor do they understand or accept Jewish teachings and commandments concerning self defense.

They probably do not have a clear understanding of the Sixth Commandment,in the original, the wording is “thou shall not murder” and over the centuries has been misinterpreted to say “Thou shall not kill.” Even in the film “The Ten Commandments” they get it wrong, and so the confusion about self defense continues.

In our film “2A Today for the USA,” we strive to help folks better understand self defense.

Another problem with the Jewish stance on “gun control” is the belief that big government is good and will protect you, yes they really do believe this nonsense. A book with the title “The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State” covers a couple hundred years of this lunacy.

I encourage you to spend some time over at the JPFO website to learn more, to let your gun owner friends know about them, and to support the important work they do by becoming a member and by purchasing and sharing some of their educational materials.

—————–

Activist news

Buckeye Firearms Association has made their Firearms Forums radio program available online via podcasts you can download.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry helped in the successful petition effort to allow concealed carry in National Parks. They’ve also announced their locations for the Holiday Meet and Greet this coming Saturday evening.

 

 

Want more gun rights commentary? Visit David Codrea’s online journal, The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

Topics: Gun Rights , Second Amendment , Anti-Gunners , Announcements

 

Tre Crips say ‘Turn in those guns’

December 9, 7:40 AM
 

We spoke earlier of the “community organizer” in Denver who wanted to hold a gun “buyback” and pointed to Cleveland as his template.

There was a hitch. Things didn’t go as planned.

[Alvertis] Simmons held a press conference at the park Friday afternoon complaining about the city’s unwillingness to let him conduct the gun buy-back operation…

It seems guns aren’t allowed in city parks. Oops.

As an aside, I’m sure violent criminals respect that restric…uh, never mind…

One person died Tuesday evening after a shooting in Curtis Park, Denver police said. Officers were looking for the shooter who is described as a teenage male.

Gee, he wasn’t a peaceable armed citizen. What a surprise.

The thing is, park officials still think promoting citizen disarmament is a grand idea:

“We want him to have the rally, even though his application had no language about buying back guns.”

Why this public employee’s interest should go beyond cleaning restrooms, mowing lawns, emptying trash and replacing lights on the basketball courts is beyond me, but there is one civic-minded group whose advocacy and endorsement is worth noting:

“The Tre Crips gang has told me they’re tired of the violence. They want to stop using guns. Six of them told me they would be here tomorrow to turn their guns in,” Simmons said.

Ah. The Tre Crips gang. The young worthies who

are violent gang members who make their living selling drugs, dealing with guns…

You know: these guys.

Well, heck, if they think it’s a good idea for people to turn in their guns, who am I to argue?

Fortunately, all is not lost:

Simmons said he didn’t want to risk something going wrong by holding the rally without a permit. So he’s going to have a gun buy-back program at the New Covenant Christian Church…He won’t need a permit to hold it in the church, he said.

Assuming after knowing about Simmons’ documented history of assault, shoplifting and threatening that people still think he’s a better custodian of their guns than they are.

 

 

What were things like for gun owners 50 years ago?Click here for a free download of GUNS Magazine’s Dec. 1958 issue.

Topics: Anti-Gunners , Gun “Buybacks”

 

‘You got to protect yourself’

December 10, 7:55 AM
 

At the risk of stepping on the Cleveland Browns Examiner’s turf, I’m going to suit up and talk about his team.

You’ve probably heard about the Plaxico Burress case. The Giants wide receiver is in a heap of trouble for shooting himself in the leg while “illegally” carrying a gun in a New York City nightclub. That has earned him the wrath of Legion of Doo… uh… Mayors Against Guns mastermind “Furious Mike” Bloomberg.

Enter Mike Ditka, showing more bone-in meat between his ears than that 30 oz. “Tomahawk” ribeye they serve at his namesake restaurant:

I don’t understand the league, why can anybody have a gun? I will have a policy, no guns, any NFL players we find out, period, you’re suspended.”

Good grief.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel showed a much more reasoned approach:

“I did give the team a reminder about guns yesterday,” Crennel said Thursday. “If you have a gun and you haven’t taken a gun safety course, then maybe you should take one. Then, hopefully, you can prevent an accident like what happened to Plaxico.”

Essentially sound advice.

OK, I’ll argue with him over the gratuitous “if you don’t have a gun, then those gun accidents don’t occur.” That fails to account for the rarity of negligent discharges when proper gun handling is practiced, and totally dismisses the protective benefits of being armed. Still, when he says

“I told them they need to be up on gun laws in different states, particularly the ones they reside in…Or if they have a gun and are traveling between states, they need to know the laws there, as well,”

I can’t disagree, if only to know what you’re putting on the line if you decide you’d rather risk being judged by 12 than carried by six….

I understand cornerback Brandon McDonald’s sentiment, and agree with him about doing what you can to avoid risky situations. Thing is, sometimes the wolf comes to your door anyway. Especially doors with “No Guns” signs posted.

It really all distills down to the statement from the unnamed defensive lineman, elegant in its brevity, simplicity and truth:

“You got to protect yourself. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

Yep.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry’s Daniel White has more on the NFL and guns–Commissioner Roger Goodell proves himself as meaty above the neck as one of Ditka’s “Fridge Burgers.” Go. Read.

Topics: Gun Rights , Anti-Gunners

Dial 911 and die

4 comments

December 11, 8:10 AM

by David Codrea, Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner

cove photo ©1999 by Richard W. Stevens

We’ve been focusing on gun “buybacks” lately because of the ones they held in Cleveland and Akron. While part of me says anyone oblivious enough to turn in a defense tool for a gift card has made their choice, another part wishes I could give them a copy of a book that’s been part of my collection for over nine years, and is just as relevant today as when I first got it: “Dial 911 and Die.”

Written by attorney Richard W. Stevens based on an idea by JPFO’s Aaron Zelman, the book illustrates a simple truth, codified in state laws across the land. Per Stevens:

The government owes no duty to protect individuals from criminal attack.

That means if they fail to do so, they incur no liability. They escape it in two ways, Stevens tells us: Through immunity and through a “no duty” rule. In other words, crime victims cannot sue the police for failing to protect them unless a specific “special relationship” is found by a court–instances such as when the citizen is a witness, a court has ordered their protection, specific promises were made…but even then we’re assuming the victim will be able to seek damages. That won’t do you any good if you’ve been damaged to death.

Stevens goes on to give examples from all of the states, summarizing their legal position and providing real life examples of people who relied on the police for protection they didn’t get.

The inarguable conclusion, of course, is if the state can’t and won’t protect you, you need to be able to protect yourself.

Buy this book.

————

Ask for it in writing

Stevens’ book gives me an idea.

I wonder how many “buyback” gift card recipients would be willing to complete the transaction if they first presented the cops doing the collecting with a simple card and asked them to sign it? The text would go something like this:

GUN SURRENDER PROTECTION CONTRACT

The [Name of Law Enforcement Agency] agrees that a special relationship exists between our department and [Name of Individual Surrendering Firearm] by virtue of his/her turning in a working firearm to us. Because we have encouraged him/her to be personally defenseless, we hereby agree to assume responsibility for his/her personal safety and protection, and admit liability should we fail in this duty.

[Signature/Title/Date]

I’d like to print a bunch of these up on 3 X 5 cards and hand them out to people before they turn in their guns, and urge them to ask the police to sign the card before handing over their weapons. I’d love to see the face of the officer receiving one and hear the ensuing conversation.

I wonder what the police would do if their refusal to sign caused the citizen to change their mind? I wonder if they’d just let people walk away with the gun they brought in spite of the “no questions asked” promise?

————

Today’s “must reads”

The first comes from Buckeye Firearms Association. Chairman Jim Irvine gives us an eyewitness account of the mayors conference we’ve been talking about in the Gun Rights Examiner column.

Daniel White of Ohioans for Concealed Carry shows us the dangers of making restaurants that serve alcohol “No Guns” zones, and makes the case for changing the law.

Are you a regular Gun Rights Examiner reader? Why not tell a friend, and share links with other gun rights websites?
Topics: Gun Rights , Police , Gun “Buybacks” , Self Defense

Outside the box

December 12, 7:50 AM
 

As activist gun owners, we often times find ourselves frustrated because we’re unable to get our message “outside the choir.” We find ourselves feeling besieged by gunbashers stereotyping us as yahoos, politicians exploiting that to erode our rights, and media voices inclined toward perpetuating ignorance and bias.

We have a tough time getting anybody to listen to our message but ourselves.

How we go about changing that will be a subject for many columns to come. But in my years of promoting a peaceable armed citizenry, I’ve found our biggest impediment comes from within. Opportunities are squandered due to apathy.

This morning we have new opportunities to make our voices heard by two different audiences.

The first are the sports guys. Cleveland Browns Examiner Aaron Calafato has written about the Plaxico Burress incident.

What I think I can do is give a regular football fans perspective on the whole situation.

He does a good job of it, too. That doesn’t mean I embrace everything he’s written, but notice he’s willing to consider (and publicize) the issue, he sees a protective benefit to guns, and he concludes that ultimately, you must protect yourself. That’s an excellent start for someone who doesn’t “claim to have… knowledge or expertise.” What a great platform he’s given us to build on.

Our second opportunity comes from what many of us will consider an unlikely source, Karen Harper, the Birmingham Progressive Politics Examiner. Just look at this recent headline:

Corruption in Birmingham: anti-gun rights, anti-gay rights Larry Langford

I’ve read this lady’s opinions, both in her column and in comments she’s made on other Examiner articles. I can tell you right now we’re many times political polar opposites, but look at this: She understands when we talk “gun rights,” we’re talking human rights.

The few correspondences I’ve had with her, based on Examiner business and what we can do to maximize the potential of our respective columns, have been helpful and cordial. And now she’s given us a forum to appeal to her readers.

And here’s where I assume the role of nag. I have a challenge for those of you who come here every day.

What are you going to do with these opportunities? First of all, are you going to click on the hyperlinks and visit the referenced columns? Are you going to read what the writers say?

Then are you going to take advantage of the “Comments” utility to make your thoughts known, and use it as a further opportunity to invite and persuade the authors and their readership to take a closer look at the gun issue?

————–

OFCC Holiday Meet and Greet reminder

Click here for all Ohio locations. The Cleveland event will be Saturday, Dec. 13, 6:00 pm at the Cracker Barrel – 5100 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, OH 44144. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, my plans are to attend.

OFCC also announces they have a scholarship winner. Go meet him and read his award-winning essay. Can you think of anything more important than encouraging the next generation to embrace Liberty?

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has produced two handbills to share with the soldiers and peace officers in your life. Click here to see them and print them out.

Topics: Gun Rights , Announcements

No rush to judgment

December 15, 7:34 AM

The good news is, it looks like the 8-year-old Cleveland boy shot by his 11-year-old brother is going to be OK.

The boys found the gun in [their grandmother’s] car, but police said the weapon belonged to the boys’ aunt. The kids were playing “gangster” when the shooting occurred…

The grandmother “asked people not to rush to judge her.”

“I want everybody to know that this was an accident,” she said.

The estranged grandfather summed up his thoughts:

He…said he was not angry with his ex-wife because the boys found the guns.

“Kids are gonna be kids,” Lonzel Hicks said. “Kids get into things you don’t think they can get into.”

This is a sad situation, compounded with the boy’s mother being in prison for beating them with an axe handle. Where their father is is unclear.

We can sympathize with the struggle the grandmother endures having responsibility for the boys, and we can agree with her need to be able to protect herself, but the truth is, this could have all been avoided.

It’s no rush to judgment to attribute this to ignorance and negligence on the part of all involved.

The solution for that, of course, is not avoidance. It’s education, including age-appropriate training for children.

————-

OFCC Meet & Greet

My wife and I attended the Cleveland event on Saturday evening. It was a great turn-out and also great to meet some of the folks I’ve been email corresponding with. I believe they’ll post a follow-up report for all the cities, and I’ll make sure to provide a link in the Gun Rights Examiner column.

————-

“An armed society is a polite society”

Check out Dallas/Ft. Worth Libertarian Examiner Garry Reed’s column about the St. Louis alderman who says his constituents should arm themselves. Good stuff.

————-

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Yep, today is the day. JPFO has lots more.

Also, I just got an email this morning about the Second Amendment Book Bomb. They’re asking gun activists to celebrate the day by buying a copy of, and spreading the word about Stephen P. Halbrook’s “The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms.” Click here to learn more.

Authorized Journalists: If you don’t know what those are, you haven’t been hanging around The War on Guns enough. It’s also the title of my newest “Rights Watch” column for Guns Magazine, and is now online.

Topics: Gun Rights , Kids and Guns , Self Defense

A lesson to be learned about guns

December 16, 7:45 AM

The Daniel Petric trial is underway.

Petric is the teenager who shot his parents, killing his mother, because they had taken away his video game.

His father, Mark, put the game in a lockbox in the parents’ closet. He also kept a 9 mm handgun in the box, according to prosecutors.

Daniel Petric took the gun and the game out of the box, they said.

We don’t know the dynamics going on in that family. What we do see in the aftermath might be indicative:

“You’re my son,” Mark Petric responded. “You’re my boy…He was always her little boy,” Mark Petric told the judge.

That and:

He was homebound for a year with nothing to do but watch television and play video games.

Really? Nothing?

There are no solutions for this family. Sometimes, broken things cannot be repaired.

But are there answers we can take away from this?

Commentator “Appletart” thinks so, and I highlight it because it is a sentiment gun owners must be able to address:

There’s a lesson to be learned here:

Don’t keep a loaded gun in your house.

Most people think they are going to use these guns for self defense when someone breaks into their house, but what happens much more often is that the gun ends up being used on a family member in a situation like this.

This is the anti-gun position distilled down to the basics. I know what I’d say in response, but I do enough talking around here.

There is, indeed, a lesson to be learned, and I’m curious to see if it has been. So I’m going to relinquish the floor. How would you respond to the assertion that it’s too dangerous to keep a loaded gun in the home?

Just to let you know, this is not the only question I intend to pose over the coming days. I’m asking for a reason I’ll make clear in later columns.

————

Holiday Meet & Greets Fun for All!

Here’s the follow-up on OFCC’s get-togethers. I was glad to see so many come out to the Cleveland event.

Oh, and just a reminder: Their supply of 2009 calendars is limited. Fortunately, they’ve also knocked five bucks off the price. Important dates in history, pro-gun quotes, the photography of Oleg Volk…you know you want one.

Want to keep up with the latest field dispatches in The War on Guns? Click here and bookmark for daily updates.

Topics: Crime , Morality , Announcements , Kids and Guns

‘A Christmas Story’ revisited

December 17, 7:48 AM

A Christmas Story House & Museum, illustration
by Ryan Tinnerman

We’ve talked about A Christmas Story House before, and their 25th anniversary event. I think the movie is an important one for gun owners for several reasons, obviously revolving around the Red Ryder BB gun.

There’s the desire to own one, certainly something we as gun owners are pleased to see in our children. There’s anti-gun prejudice (“You’re gonna shoot your eye out, kid!”) to be overcome. And because of the way it’s presented, the goal, the quest and the victory are shared by all in the audience. This is the essence of social norming, and it’s a positive empathy that can only benefit us–especially if watched with young children.

You’ll get a chance to see the film again. TBS is holding a marathon, starting on Dec. 24 at 8:00 pm, where they’ll show 12 consecutive screenings.

Also, and this seems kind of cool, although I haven’t seen it to give an informed review, the Cleveland Playhouse is presenting a live-action version through Dec. 21.

The last time I wrote about Cleveland’s landmark A Chrismas Story House, I promised a follow-up on how their 25th anniversary festivities went. The folks there told me this:

“A Christmas Story” 25th Anniversary Celebration & Convention was very successful, attracting more than 4,000 fans of the movie to the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel and A Christmas Story House & Museum. Both the fans and the actors from the movie had a wonderful time. Lines outside of A Christmas Story House were very reminiscent to the grand opening of the house two years ago. People traveled from near and far, including fans from Florida and Washington state.

If people missed out on the 25th anniversary convention, they are still welcome to visit A Christmas Story House & Museum which is open-year round. For hours, directions and other information, you can encourage your readers to visit www.achristmasstoryhouse.com. Also, there is a gift shop there, so if you want a leg lamp (they come in various sizes, from a small nightlight to a giant inflatable for your lawn) or other movie-related items, you can get your holiday shopping done there as well as online.

Why not make plans to visit with your family over the holidays?

—————

Ken Blackwell for RNC Chair?

Buckeye Firearms Association has the story.

“Returning to our core philosophy” sure sounds good to me.

You know: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights…

—————

The right demeanor?

Ohioans for Concealed Carry tell us why it’s so important, especially while holiday shopping.

Don’t forget to order your 2009 OFCC Calendar! They’ve knocked the price down 25%, so act now because they don’t have an unlimited supply.

Topics: General , Announcements , War on Christmas

Criminals for gun control

December 18, 7:18 AM

Because of efforts in Cleveland and Akron, we’ve spent some time in this column discussing those most futile of gestures, gun “buybacks.”

Let me now tell you about one in Philadelphia, or more specifically, about its sponsorJoseph Mammana:

Sentencing has been postponed until February for a felon-turned-philanthropist who faces prison time on a federal gun charge.

…He had sponsored a gun buyback program…

Wait a minute…he wanted you and me to turn in our guns, but when it came to his own protection he kept “a loaded handgun in a master-bedroom nightstand”?

There’s a word I’m thinking of, hyp…hypo… I just can’t think of it right now, but I’m sure it’ll come to me.

Thing is, we can find plenty of examples of criminals for gun control.

Just a few days back, we talked about the Tre Crips in Denver thinking about maybe turning in some of theirs–that is, had the proposed “buyback” itself not been illegal (but you have to admit–asking people to turn in their guns at a “No Guns” park is kind of funny).

Then there’s one of my favorite gun control advocates:

Hector “Big Weasel” Marroquin, 51 — who founded the one-time city-funded group “No Guns” in 1996, purportedly to work against gang and gun violence in the inner city — is charged with the sale of an assault rifle, a machine gun, two pistols and two silencers…It is his second weapons-related arrest in as many years.

And there are plenty more. We could talk about Barbara Graham, the Million Mom March activist who shot the wrong man trying to avenge her son. Or another Million Mommy, Annette Stevens, who worked to disarm you and me while “illegally” possessing a gun and drugs. Or Amy Fisher, who shot her lover’s wife in the face in an unprovoked sneak attack.

Or how about an advocate for gun free schools? Are you ready for this one? Eric Harris.

I could go on. And on.

And you’ll notice I haven’t even touched on the real big timers, you know, the criminals in government who want to disarm us…

But the point is made. I’ll leave you now with the words of a recognized authority. We’d all do well to heed them:

Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun.

That was Mafia underboss and hit man Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, by the way, just in case anyone wants to challenge his credentials…

Want more gun rights commentary? Make David Codrea’s The War on Guns a daily stop.

Topics: Anti-Gunners , Crime , Gun “Buybacks”

A champion of gun control

December 19, 7:15 AM

Cleveland Scene is profiling three local books on influential people. The one I’m interested in is “Fighting the Unbeatable Foe,” an apparent paean to the late Senator Howard Metzenbaum.

Why?

Diemer has what could be called institutional knowledge of Metzenbaum’s life and career, having covered him for almost a decade. He does a fine job portraying this champion of gun control, abortion rights and people over business.

A “champion of gun control…”

I guess that all depends on the meaning of the word “champion.”

We can cut to the chase on this guy–no need to list his many attempts at subverting your right to keep and bear arms–and there were many.

We can learn all we need to know about this “champion” from a comment he made about the Clinton gun ban:

Anti-gun Sen. Howard Metzenbaum complained that the Clinton ban didn’t go far enough, saying, “until you ban them all, you might as well ban none.” But, it “will be a major step in achieving the objective that we have in mind,” he said.

Ban them all. The objective that we have in mind.

Remember that the next time someone from the “common sense gun control” crowd uses the “No one wants to take away your guns” line.

Of course they do.

And they’ll keep at it until they figure out how.

That is if we let them.

Our forebears fought foes who thought they were unbeatable. Let us prove ourselves worthy of their sacrifices.

——————-

Speaking of common sense gun control…

Ohioans for Concealed Carry’s Daniel White shares his thoughts on how senseless it really is.

Speaking of OFCC…

They’re hosting their fifth annual “Fun n’ Gun,” a basic tactical training day. Click here to learn more.

Want more gun rights commentary? Make David Codrea’s The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance a daily read.

Topics: Gun Rights , Anti-Gunners , Announcements

Big gap after Dec19

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Outside the box

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on Outside the box
December 12, 7:50 AM

As activist gun owners, we often times find ourselves frustrated because we’re unable to get our message “outside the choir.” We find ourselves feeling besieged by gunbashers stereotyping us as yahoos, politicians exploiting that to erode our rights, and media voices inclined toward perpetuating ignorance and bias.

We have a tough time getting anybody to listen to our message but ourselves.

How we go about changing that will be a subject for many columns to come. But in my years of promoting a peaceable armed citizenry, I’ve found our biggest impediment comes from within. Opportunities are squandered due to apathy.

This morning we have new opportunities to make our voices heard by two different audiences.

The first are the sports guys. Cleveland Browns Examiner Aaron Calafato has written about the Plaxico Burress incident.

What I think I can do is give a regular football fans perspective on the whole situation.

He does a good job of it, too. That doesn’t mean I embrace everything he’s written, but notice he’s willing to consider (and publicize) the issue, he sees a protective benefit to guns, and he concludes that ultimately, you must protect yourself. That’s an excellent start for someone who doesn’t “claim to have… knowledge or expertise.” What a great platform he’s given us to build on.

Our second opportunity comes from what many of us will consider an unlikely source, Karen Harper, the Birmingham Progressive Politics Examiner. Just look at this recent headline:

Corruption in Birmingham: anti-gun rights, anti-gay rights Larry Langford

I’ve read this lady’s opinions, both in her column and in comments she’s made on other Examiner articles. I can tell you right now we’re many times political polar opposites, but look at this: She understands when we talk “gun rights,” we’re talking human rights.

The few correspondences I’ve had with her, based on Examiner business and what we can do to maximize the potential of our respective columns, have been helpful and cordial. And now she’s given us a forum to appeal to her readers.

And here’s where I assume the role of nag. I have a challenge for those of you who come here every day.

What are you going to do with these opportunities? First of all, are you going to click on the hyperlinks and visit the referenced columns? Are you going to read what the writers say?

Then are you going to take advantage of the “Comments” utility to make your thoughts known, and use it as a further opportunity to invite and persuade the authors and their readership to take a closer look at the gun issue?

————–

OFCC Holiday Meet and Greet reminder

Click here for all Ohio locations. The Cleveland event will be Saturday, Dec. 13, 6:00 pm at the Cracker Barrel – 5100 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, OH 44144. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, my plans are to attend.

OFCC also announces they have a scholarship winner. Go meet him and read his award-winning essay. Can you think of anything more important than encouraging the next generation to embrace Liberty?

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has produced two handbills to share with the soldiers and peace officers in your life. Click here to see them and print them out.

Topics: Gun Rights , Announcements

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NOVEMBER 2008

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on NOVEMBER 2008
Nov. 1 – 24 not yet retrieved.

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch

November 25, 7:10 AM
 

Before preparing those delicious holiday meals, first you need to procure the food.

What in the world does that have to do with the Gun Rights Examiner column?

D’Arcy Egan of The Plain Dealer explains:

The Hunters Feeding the Hungry program, developed in 1989 by Safari Club International, and Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry are seeking donations of hunter-killed venison. The game meat has been a staple for food kitchens and food banks in past years and is helping both meet increasing demands this winter.

Tell me that’s not a worthwhile program, one that not only helps those less fortunate at a time when most of us are giving thanks for our blessings, but also one that does much to reverse a negative stereotype of gun owners and hunters promulgated by those who would like to end both gun-owning and hunting.

So what would this time of year be without a Grinch? Fortunately, he has not turned his sights on Ohio (yet), but he’s already made appearances elsewhere:

“Food pantries in Iowa have been given approval to resume serving venison to the needy, read the National Shooting Sports Foundation press release. “Earlier, anti-hunting entities had convinced state officials the meat was tainted by lead. Similar scare campaigns in North Dakota and Minnesota resulted in venison for the homeless being discarded.”

The message from some was clear: Gunners need not apply.

A North Dakota program that distributes venison to the needy will accept only deer killed with arrows, fearing that firearm-shot meat may contain lead fragments.

They were awaiting a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report was delayed and they, if you’ll pardon the expression, pulled the trigger on the program.

And the upshot (sorry again) of the study when it was released? Ready?

[H]unters actually have a lower blood lead level than the average American.

Don’t the killjoy do-gooder Grinches have something better to do this time of year? Hey, I know, maybe they could conduct a gun “buyback”…?

————

Speaking of which…

I got a kick out of the comments on Ohio “buybacks” posted over at Officer.com. I think those of you who have been following related reporting here at Gun Rights Examiner will, too.

Just like Cleveland

November 26, 8:32 AM
 

Having others want to emulate you can be a good thing.  It means they admire you or what you do, and want to be like you.

So who’da thunk Denver, of all places, would want to be just like Cleveland?  Except in this case, well, you’ll see:

Simmons said a local basketball coach who asked not be named gave $100 for the program. More community support is needed, he said, pointing to a Nov. 22 gun buyback program in Cleveland that collected more than 300 guns.

Gun owners were offered incentives in exchange for their firearms, including free tickets to a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and gas and grocery cards. Simmons urged Denver’s professional sports teams to step up and offer similar incentives.

“If Cleveland can come up with 324 guns, Denver ought to be able to match that,” Simmons said.

Trust me, Coloradans.  In this case, you don’t want to follow our lead.

————

A Christmas Story weekend

It’s nice to see the word getting out:

Though the house is open year round, this weekend is the big 25th Anniversary Celebration and Convention. Special events include appearances by actors from the movie, the premieres of two documentaries about the film, rides in the original fire truck used in the movie and the unveiling of newly-acquired costumes for the A Christmas Story House Museum.

We talked about this here, and announced their online sale of Red Ryder BB guns here.  For more information, visit their website.

What’s funny is, there’s someone else who wants to be just like Cleveland, in this case,  The Times NWI.com’s Mark Kiesling, who writes:

Cleveland stole our ‘Christmas Story’

Ordinarily I’d be tempted to say something like “In your face!”and caution how sour grapes make for poor holiday fare, but it’s actually a pretty good retrospective, and it’s pretty clear he had fun writing it.

————

Monster  on the loose

Ohioans for Concealed Carry tells us there’s one in Newark, and he’s preying on the elderly.  If we haven’t done so already, now would be a good time for all of us who have older loved ones to do what we can to check in on and enhance their safety and security.

Assuming they’re physically capable, when was the last time you took your Mom and/or Dad to the range?

 

For more gun rights info: Visit David Codrea’s online journal The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance

Topics: Announcements , Gun “Buybacks”

Night of the evil Butterball

November 27, 8:19 AM
 

This is my traditional Thanksgiving essay from WarOnGuns.

Attacks by roving flocks of wild turkeys are on the increase around suburban Boston–AP

Time was, the turkey was considered a game bird. The Pilgrims at Plymouth feasted on them. Generations later, Ben Franklin considered it such a useful fowl that he nominated it for the national bird.

Of course, this was in the days when the right to bear arms was taken for granted, when free people hunted turkeys for sustenance, all the while honing marksmanship that would serve them well in time of need.

Flash forward to present-day Boston, a place of sacred tradition, the literal forge for our heritage of individual liberty. Except Boston is now a place where traditions have been betrayed. Its current overlords have succeeded in disarming the whole people in a way that General Gage could never have conceived possible.

So successful have these rulers been that the city that gave us Sam Adams and Paul Revere is now a city under siege, and this is fittingly ironic if you think about it, by wild turkeys. So helpless and hapless are Boston’s modern-day patriots, they can do little except retreat from the aggressive gobblers, escape, hole up and plead for rescue from the very authorities that enforce public impotence.

This is what the heirs of The Sons of Liberty have been reduced to. This is what they have allowed, and in many cases, demanded. Human beings, with dominion over the earth, scurrying from turkeys. The tolerated degradation of the masses is damned near complete.

This does not escape the notice of those who impose their tyranny upon us. What new outrage are they now free to impose? What can’t they do? After all, we’re talking about subjects who would cede their birthright to birds.

The greasy-lipped masters have to be laughing like hell as they reach across their table of plunder and rip off another drumstick…
Topics: Gun Rights , Second Amendment , Anti-Gunners , Morality , Self Defense

 

Kids ‘n guns

November 28, 10:18 AM
 

Photo courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right

A home invasion has been repelled. And guess by whom:

A break-in at an Ashtabula home forced a teen to open fire, and a man accused of breaking in is recovering after being shot.

The suspect was shot by a teen who was home alone with his brother and police said the young man did the right thing.

Now hold the phone a dang minute here. What happened to all that “expert” advice we’re being fed? What happened to keeping the gun separated from the ammunition and separately locked away? For that matter, if we’re to believe these same experts, why did the homeowners even have a gun in the house in the first place?

What happened to kids taking a pledge never to touch a gun as part of their “education”?

And what would the outcome have been had Ohio done as the “experts” insist and passed “child access prevention” laws, to hold gun owners “accountable for leaving guns accessible to kids?”

Well, we know what happened in California, where they had such a law and where it was obeyed:

[T]wo innocent children died needlessly, victims of California’s “safe storage” gun laws.

Can you imagine the horror of being murdered by a pitchfork-wielding madman? And to reconcile that with what finally did stop him: being shot, albeit by the “only ones.” All because a teenager trained in the use of firearms had no access to one–by law?

What do you think might have happened in Ashtabula had a brave boy not defended himself with available means?

And since when do blanket ignorance and avoidance produce superior results over age-appropriate training and discipline?

———-

Cops and robbers

Well, I guess it’s technically not robbery if you get a gift card and some basketball tickets for a $1,000 gun–but it sure ain’t a fair trade.

Ohio blogger “Hairy Hobbit” presents a conversation between cops about the Cleveland gun “buyback.”

Their conclusion?

Don’t think for a moment that the bad boys turn in the tools of their trade.

 

 

Want to meet fellow Ohio gun owners in your area? Ohioans for Concealed Carry invite you to attend a “Holiday Meet and Greet.”

Topics: Announcements , Kids and Guns , Gun “Buybacks” , “Only Ones” , Self Defense

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The 11th Hour

November 3, 6:29 AM

This is it. Tomorrow will be the most crucial national election affecting gun rights I’ve ever seen, and I was born in the Truman administration.A concerted effort has been targeted at sport shooters and union members concerning Barack Obama’s purported… Read More
Topics: Gun Rights , Second Amendment , Election 2008

A reminder and some news

November 2, 8:40 AM

As I announced the other day, Tom Gresham has invited me to be a guest on his radio program, Gun Talk, today during the 2:00 pm hour (EST).The link on his name will take you to his home page, where you can click on “Listen” to get a list of… Read More
Topics: General , Election 2008 , Concealed Carry , Announcements

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Rest in peace

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on Rest in peace
October 31, 6:37 AM
 

Buckeye Firearms Association has just received word from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) that the NO GUNS signs at state rest stops have been ordered removed. In the telephone call to Buckeye Firearms Association Leader and NRA Election Volunteer Coordinator Rick Jones, ODOT stated that their legal department has confirmed with multiple state departments that the signs are to be removed.This action is in response to passage and implementation of Senate Bill 184, which included several major fixes to Ohio’s concealed handgun licensure law, including a change designed to allow patrons of rest stops to use the facilities without having to disarm.

 The law took effect September 3, but concealed handgun licensees (CHL’s) continued to report seeing the problematic signs at highway rest stops.
“Problematic”?  How ’bout outrageous? Illegal…? Words I can’t post here also come to mind.
So state officials have been dragging their feet for 2 months, and negligently endangering the public, who can’t be expected to know there are circumstances that trump the “official” sign mandating their helplessness? That’s inexcusable and shameful.
But good on BFA and NRA—while they shouldn’t have had to expend resources to get the government to follow the law (just like they shouldn’t have had to expend resources to correct the record on Democrat anti-gun hypocrisy), their follow-through has just ensured that Ohio’s chain of designated criminal empowerment zones has ceded some islands to rationality.
It’s not like they’ve been havens of tranquility.
Even in broad daylight, the Ohio State Highway Patrol warns that anyone could become a target.
Anyone. At any time.
I don’t have a source cite for the following anecdote, but it was told to me by a trusted woman about a female friend of hers.
The lady in question was traveling on business and had to pull into a rest stop to use the facilities. It was late, and there was only one other car in the lot, parked away from the structures, away from the lights. She took her purse, containing her concealed firearm, inside with her.
As she emerged from the stall, she saw a man blocking the entrance, leering at her.
“Hey baby, we’re gonna have some fun now,” he sneered.
Without batting an eye, and in hindsight wondering how she kept her composure, she drew her pistol and aimed it at center mass.
“Yes,” she replied in a grim tone, “we are.”
The blood went from his face. Cursing, calling her all kinds of vile names, he backed off and got out of there. She made tracks for her car, locked the doors and sped off, just as the shakes took hold. But she got away. Unharmed. Alive.
What do you think the outcome would have been had she not been armed? Does it sound like this cowardly animal would have shown mercy to crying, to pleas, or does it sound like that would have just turned him on?
If “gun free zones” worked, we’d have never had Columbine, never had Virginia Tech. But you, I and anyone rational knows that criminals do not obey laws—that’s why they’re criminals. The only thing such laws guarantee is a disarmed victim pool.
How dare anyone demand defenselessness of another human being!
———–
Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner on national talk radio program
Tom Gresham has invited me to be a guest on his radio program, Gun Talk, this Sunday during the 2:00 pm hour (EST). Tom, of course, is a nationally recognized figure, quite famous in the gun community. You can read his bio here.
I was on his show a few years back and had a great time—the guy is a gentleman and the kind of host who makes it easy to converse. What will we talk about on Sunday? Per Tom:
This’ll be fun. Lots to talk about.  Election, Cooper, the media, gun owners who get it and those who remain clueless about the election and the continued efforts to strip them of their rights…We’ll take calls and make it something between a Round Robin and a free-for-all!
You can find radio stations throughout the Republic here. If there’s nothing local, you can also listen over the Internet via Live Feed.
I hope you can join us, and I hope some of you call in and get through. The number is 866-TALK GUNS (866-825-5486).
I’d love to talk with you. As Tom says, this’ll be fun!

 

Want more gun rights commentary and news? Visit David Codrea’s online journal, The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

 
Topics: Gun Rights , General , Crime , Morality , Concealed Carry

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Placeholder-Unrecovered Link

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Truth and consequences

October 30, 6:53 AM

The problem of societal violence is not with “America’s gun culture.”Just look at the defiant core of this group, the heavily armed gun activist members of the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, Jews for the Preservation of… Read More

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Campaign hypocrisy on guns? From Ohio Democrats?

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on Campaign hypocrisy on guns? From Ohio Democrats?
October 29, 7:19 AM
 

From Buckeye Firearms Association:

Earlier this year, State Representative Ross McGregor and 75 percent of the Ohio General Assembly voted in favor of your right to defend yourself and your children from violent criminals – criminals who don’t care about “No Guns” signs.
Now the Ohio Democratic Party is attacking McGregor, a Republican, for siding with victims who don’t want to be helpless if they or their children are violently attacked.
The party has put out two mailers decrying McGregor’s support of Senate Bill 184, Ohio’s Castle Doctrine bill, attacking him for “mak[ing] it easier to bring guns onto our children’s school grounds.”
“The truth is,” the state gun rights group points out, “that the only thing SB184 changed regarding schools was about the ability for concealed handgun license-holders to pick up or drop off their child from a designated point on school property.”
Seems reasonable. These citizens have a right to keep and bear arms, and citizens in compliance with SB184 are the most peaceable in the state. And it’s not like those intent on evil will be stopped by mere rules. So if you’re not projecting your own ignorance and trust issues, what’s the problem?
Besides, and explain this, ODP Chairman Chris Redfern, “a majority of its own caucus members in the House, including Chairman Redfern himself, voted for this popular legislation, and…a supportive Democrat governor, Ted Strickland, enthusiastically signed it into law.”
Unbelievable. I wish.
This past Sunday, they “took our message to the voters in McGregor’s House District 72, in the form of an advertisement in Clark County’s Springfield News-Sun.”
Good stuff. Go read it. It’s a shame they have to spend precious resources to mitigate someone else’s lack of ethics.
And if you don’t know about it, they also have a radio program every Sunday night from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. WHK 1420 AM, Cleveland, hosted by Chairman Jim Irvine, covering guns, shooting, hunting, self defense, concealed carry, and of course, the Second Amendment.
Follow this link for more information, including how you can call in to the show, and how to listen via live stream from anywhere in the country.
—————————–
Featured Ohio Gun Blogger: The Ready Line
I’ve invited Ohio gun bloggers to send me relevant posts to share with Gun Rights Examiner readers.
Brent Greer of Columbus shares his thoughts on the upcoming election in “Battleground Ohio”:
Where a great idea in early voting has been abused. Where well-meaning efforts to register new voters is resulting in fraud. Where anti-gun groups that call themselves pro-gun are trying desperately to convince firearms owners they have nothing to fear from a candidate whose political record is littered with anti-gun initiatives, support and relationships. Where a wink and a smile has people fainting at mere words that cover no legislative accomplishments, all in the name of “change.”
A long-time civil rights activist, former newspaper reporter, editor, columnist and PR practitioner, Mr. Greer also serves as Secretary (and a past chairman) of The Peoples Rights Organization, Ohio’s oldest statewide grassroots firearms rights organization (a permanent link in my sidebar, by the way).
If you’re an Ohio gun blogger and have an article you think would interest and educate area gun owners and general readers, send an email to dcodreaAThotmailDOTcom with “EXAMINER” in the subject title. As I said in my inaugural post, “[W]e have a unique and unprecedented opportunity here, courtesy of Examiner.com, to employ their resources and reach to get our message heard outside “the choir.” Let’s use it… Let’s not make this MY Examiner page–let’s make this OUR Examiner page.”
Want more hard-hitting gun rights commentary and news? Make David Codrea’s The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance a daily stop.

 
Topics: Gun Rights , Anti-Gunners , Election 2008 , Morality

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What’s ‘in store’ for the disarmed

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on What’s ‘in store’ for the disarmed
October 28, 6:58 AM
 
Two violent thugs caught on tape taking over Joe’s Market on the city’s near Eastside. Now the victim is turning to 19 Action News for help.
I’m not sure what help 19 Action News will be—the deed is done, and based on results, the proprietors of Joe’s are helpless if someone decides the place is an easy, low-risk opportunity.
“When it happened, no way to fight back,” reporter Ed Gallek intones.
“You’re thinking in your mind that you’re going to die,” Yahia Joseph tells the camera, “like this is the end of your life.”
“We heard the trigger, too,” his female colleague who fears to be identified recalls, “we heard the… click of the gun.”
“Remember, those folks heard the clicks of the guns cocking,” Galleck reminds us. “How long ‘til the thugs pull the trigger?”
Thing is, Ed, we don’t know they didn’t. You’re the one who says they were cocking “guns,” plural. The terrified witness says she heard them pull the trigger on the “gun,” singular. Who, at this point, can say if the victims were saved by a malfunction?
Contrary to your assertion, Ed, there is a way to fight back, and your viewers would do well to know about it. Because while some will advise to just “give them what they want,” a fair question might be “What if what they want is to kill you after they have the money?”
Here’s another recent account that ended differently, when “86-year-old Albert Yapell shot and killed the knife-wielding suspect as he was attempting to rob the Cleveland Aviary.”
Oh, no fair! The guy brought a knife to a gun fight. Apples and oranges.
At close quarters, you might be surprised to learn that a knife attack can often happen so suddenly there’s no time to draw a gun, but OK, I’ll come up with another example.
The place is Hawthorne, California, the scene, the 99 Cents Plus Mini Market. Two predatory teenagers have decided the store is a low-risk target, with vulnerable prey. This is the third robbery at the place in two months. It’s not as if the cops are around. And when you’re an easy mark, word spreads on the street…
To that end, one approaches a 62-year-old female clerk and sticks a gun to her head, a machine pistol according to the news accounts…
The woman’s 12-year-old grandson grabs a hidden handgun and fires at one of the attackers, killing him and causing his accomplice to flee.
Two thugs with an automatic against an armed 12-year-old. And a happy ending.
But what if things had gone differently? Well, if you want to trust your life to reptiles twisted and vile enough to put a submachine gun to your grandmother’s head, I won’t stop you. I merely point out that some of us will not go gentle into that good night, but without the means, without that choice I talked about yesterday, trusting the benevolent intentions of sociopathic predators is all you’ll have.
Meanwhile, as we saw last week, Mayor Jackson and Chief McGrath are doing their best to make sure they’re the “only ones,” supporting all kinds of citizen disarmament edicts designed to make it tougher for you and me to be armed. They’ve even gone to the absurd step of sponsoring the “Enough is Enough Gun Buyback” (how do you buy back something you never owned in the first place?), and a supplemental event to round up—get this—toy guns.
This, of course, while rendering people who would trade their safety for a gas card defenseless, has no impact whatsoever on the predatory underclass of feral  criminals who obtain their guns the old fashioned way—by stealing them. To that end, Frank is part of a coalition of elite urban mandarins that make up New York mayor Mike Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns,” a group that never saw a gun they didn’t want to make illegal (For some reason, I always get them confused with Lex Luthor’s “Legion of Doom” on the old “Superfriends” cartoon show).
That way, I guess they can all lend him at least their sympathy when they read about two shotguns being stolen in the past month from Cleveland police cruisers, that are now (what’s that phrase they always use?), “on the street.”
——————
This business of armed robbers in area business establishments affects more than just the employees, of course. What do we as customers do if we find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And Ohio’s concealed carry law provides for businesses to post “No Guns” signs, meaning if you want to go in, you need to render yourself just as helpless as the…uh…help. So look for the sign and make your choices accordingly.
To that end, our friends at Ohioans for Concealed Carry have established a “Do Not Patronize While Armed” database.
OFCC Director Daniel White tells me “One thing we do stress is that the DNPWA database is not a boycott. It is
simply a service to CHL holders to let them know that these are locations where you must disarm if you choose to patronize their business. Of course, many choose not to do business with someone who would disarm them, but that is a personal choice.”
Agreed, that is an important point to stress, as many of the establishments have a “D” liquor permit, making them prohibited areas by law. That said, if you see a business that’s not in the OFCC database, please consider sharing that information with them, and by that, with all of us.
And thanks, OFCC! I see Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner columns being featured on your home page and am gratified you find them worth sharing.
Not to ignore another Ohio gun group, tomorrow I’m going to check in on some of the good work being done by the Buckeye Firearms Association. Both they and OFCC are included in my links list in the right-hand sidebar, and I also tap into their feeds so you can get their latest news and updates.

Are you an Ohio gun blogger? Do you have a recent post that would interest area readers? Shoot an email to dcodreaAThotmailDOTcom with “EXAMINER” in the subject along with a link to your post, and we can discuss giving it a mention here.

Topics: Gun Rights , Police , Crime

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When did self defense become morally wrong?

Posted on June 10, 2017 | Comments Off on When did self defense become morally wrong?
October 27, 6:36 AM
 

If I’m missing something here, I wish someone would educate me. After all, only a fanatic clings to beliefs that are demonstrably wrong, and I’ve always tried to open myself up to counter-arguments and challenges to my convictions.

If someone violently attacks me or my family, is it wrong for me to resist? Are you saying I do not have an unalienable right to life?
Forget about me. How about your elderly mother?
If someone, say with intent to rob, beat, rape and kill attacks her, would she be morally at fault for protecting herself?
How about it? Does this elderly woman have the right to repel a monster?
Yes or no?
I suspect, if put in those stark terms, the outcome of most polls would shift dramatically in favor of the right to individual defense. This, in turn, opens the door to discuss which means of defense is most effective at deterring an assailant, especially one who can brutally overpower his intended victim.
The message for which those of us in the pro-Second Amendment camp are vilified is no more complicated than this: Each of us has a right not to be hurt by someone else, and if someone tries to hurt us, we have a right to protect ourselves.
The corollary to this fundamental truth is equally simple: We cannot effectively protect ourselves without possessing the means of defense.
Let me ask another basic question. What is a right?
Is it something that is granted by a government authority? If so, how does that differ from a privilege? Can something that is granted be withheld? Can something that is licensed be revoked?
Are rights not unalienable? Do they not precede the establishment of government? Are they not, in fact, outside the authority of government? Does our Second Amendment say the right it articulates “may be infringed” or “shall not be infringed”?
Someone once defined pure democracy as two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner. Recognizing the dangers of mob rule, our Bill of Rights defined some of the areas where the individual would be immune to the will of the collective. What this means is, no matter how many of us disagree with you, we cannot lawfully use force to shut you up, to suppress your political views, or to make you worship in the way we see fit. We cannot break into your house and search your property without probable cause and a legal warrant. We can’t torture you into confessing to a crime. Barring behaviors on your part to disqualify yourself through incarceration, we cannot strip you of your right to keep and bear arms.
Still, there are those among us who would decry this right as being the product of a different era, as being outdated, irrelevant, and an actual detriment to life, liberty and happiness in our modern era of enlightenment.
To these people I would ask: what about human nature has changed?
In the past century that has seen two world wars, continual violent political upheaval, genocide and systemic, brutal tyranny and repression, has humanity truly demonstrated a benevolence and maturity that distinguishes our era from those that preceded us? In a culture that breeds gang warfare, rampant violence, city-crippling riots and a national murder rate measured in the tens of thousands, how can anyone credibly claim that the need for individual defense is a relic of the past?
And ultimately, what is this “outdated” Second Amendment really about, if not the preservation of a free people when all other options to defend life and liberty have been exhausted? Against all enemies, individual and aggregated, foreign and domestic. Here is where we must face the core meaning of the awesome power and responsibility that this “obsolete” right places squarely in the hands of We the People. Because, ultimately, what this right guarantees you is not a gun, but a choice. A choice, in the final analysis, to submit to evil or to fight it, literally.
You can’t pass this off on your neighbor who has time for these kinds of things. You can’t hire someone to come out and do this for you. You can’t elect someone to represent you on the green. You must make a choice, and then you must act upon it.
Would you shrink from this decision? If so, can you morally wrest this choice from someone who refuses to relinquish it, and do so under force of state-controlled arms?
———————
Writer Jack Burton sent me a link to his article “Answers for those who think that ‘gun control’ is the best for America” that rebuts many of the myths perpetrated to justify citizen disarmament. I recommend you consider what he says.

 

For more commentary by David Codrea: Visit his online journal, The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

 
Topics: Guns , Gun Rights , Second Amendment , General , Morality

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