GFZs
The “Just In Time Bowling Alley,” in Lewiston, Maine, where a deranged man killed 8 of the 18 people killed during his massacre spree last week, was a Gun Free Zone that had a sign on the front door reading, “We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing Firearms into this building, and we would appreciate it if you left them in your vehicle. Please keep our atmosphere family-friendly.” The Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant where the other 10 murders took place is also reported to be a gun-free zone with a sign posted.
Meanwhile, the local police commissioner said of the massacre “there’s a mental health component to this.” No kidding.
Action Item
You can add your name to GOA’s letter opposing President Biden’s dancing-in-the-blood gun ban proposal in the wake of the Maine massacres.
Litigation
In the case Miller v. Bonta, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a bogus ruling last Saturday that California’s assault weapons ban will remain in force while the state attorney general appeals a lower court decision declaring the 30-year-old measure unconstitutional. A divided three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit blocked the injunction issued last week by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego from taking effect while the case remains under review, and the panel unanimously agreed that the state’s appeal in support of the gun law would be heard on its merits on an “expedited” basis. Benitez had already granted a stay of his injunction pending appeal. We are skeptical about the 9th Circuit’s definition of “expedited.”
On Nov. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Rahimi. At issue is whether Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 922(g)(8), violates the Second Amendment by prohibiting persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. A decision is expected by the end of June.
DGUs
- The Armed Citizen
A 12-year-old boy was arrested and charged with armed carjacking in connection with an attempted carjacking that led to the death of his 13-year-old accomplice, Vernard Toney Jr., when the pair tried to carjack a federal security officer who was waiting in his car to start his shift in Washington, D.C. last Saturday night. It turns out that Vernard was arrested in May for a string of nine carjackings.
Related: D.C. jail has no more room for juvenile felons.
Liars
“If you shoot with an AR-15, let’s say you shoot a deer, you can’t eat it because you basically demolish the animal.” – The View’s Joy Behar
We note that “Behar” is an anagram of “rehab.”
“It is harder to buy Sudafed than an AR-15 in Maine.” – Shannon Watts, the chickenheaded demanding mommy
We note that to buy an AR at retail in Maine you must:
- Pass a FBI NICS check
- Be age 18 or older
- Show a valid state or federally issued picture ID with your street address on it
- Fill out a Form 4473
- Undergo a waiting period if between the ages of 18 and 21
- Face felony charges if you lie on the Form 4473
Judge Benitez Schools Historian Saul Cornell on playing fast and loose with the Facts.
Enemies
- Big Brother is coming to your door. Just say no.
- More on the Biden ATF’s war on FFLs.
- Hamas’ brutal actions in the Middle East could inspire other terrorist attacks, including by violent extremists in the U.S., FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Tuesday. “We also cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil,” Wray told the Senate Homeland Security Committee. But if they come sailing down in this area on their little paragliders, they will likely be dead before they hit the ground. Just sayin…
- A new Gallup Poll found that 49% of Democrats polled favor a handgun ban. Frankly that’s one I could live with – ban Democrats from having guns.
- FBI raids gun ban group
- ASPCA reminder
Friends
We have a report that Old Glory Bank will work with companies harmed by Operation Choke Point, and offers a peer-to-peer payment alternative to PayPal, Venmo, Zelle and others.
The Only Ones
The man who committed the massacres in Maine last week was a Sergeant 1st Class with the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment at West Point, NY. We have reports that the man was NOT a firearms instructor in spite of contrary stories, and that he was listed as a federal firearms prohibited person by Maine’s State Bureau of Identification. There is also hard evidence that civilian law enforcement authorities had received multiple timely, explicit warnings about the man in the months leading up to the massacre both from family and from the Army, where his superiors had recently banned him from handling firearms and ammunition at his home reserve base and tried to persuade him to retire from the Reserve and seek psychiatric help.
Oklahoma state representative Justin Humphrey (R) – who has served as a law enforcement officer for more than 30 years – is requesting that numerous agents from the ATF be jailed and punished for their involvement in a felonious raid on a law-abiding gun dealer. Humphrey prepared a probable cause affidavit that he presented to the Oklahoma Attorney General, which outlines the crimes and civil rights violations he believes ATF agents committed when they sent a 12-man SWAT team to the Tuskahoma, Oklahoma home of Russell Fincher, an FFL who also teaches high school and serves as a Baptist pastor. “The Oklahoma Attorney General referred it to the U.S. Attorney General, but we want to get it to a state grand jury,” Humphrey said. “We don’t want the feds investigating the feds.” (Such prosecutions are long overdue. – JP)
Related background (H/T Stephen Wenger & his list member):
Boundary County, Idaho, prosecuted FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi for manslaughter for killing Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge. The feds removed the case to federal court and pled qualified immunity for Horiuchi. The federal district court judge agreed with the qualified immunity claim and dismissed charges. Boundary County appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Ninth Circuit. A three-judge panel reversed both the dismissal on qualified immunity and the removal to federal court, and remanded the case back to Boundary County for continuation of the state manslaughter prosecution. However, by then the Boundary County Attorney had changed and the new County Attorney was unwilling to devote the resources necessary to prosecute the heavily defended case. Charges were dropped. Subsequently, the feds got an en banc review of the panel’s decision. Then, the en banc Ninth Circuit reversed the reversal of the district court by the three-judge panel on the qualified immunity issue.
Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Officer Nicholas Kehoss has been charged with third-degree assault and cruelty after he shocked a compliant shoplifting suspect three times with a stun gun, including when the man was on the ground apologizing.
Hong Kong court dismisses firearms charge against Wash. state senator.
NRA Audit
Military
The U.S. Air Force and Space Force have raised the age limit for new enlisted and officer recruits to 42.
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Newsletters
- The ACLDN and Rangemaster (pdf link) November newsletters are out.
Especially note the President’s Message regarding relaxation of Network coverage when carrying “illegally.”
Industry News – Lake City update
We were sent a Facebook post from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant stating, “Joint Munitions Command has not changed its policy regarding commercial production at Lake City. Lake City has not cancelled commercial contracts.”
Tactics & Stuff
“If you are armed and within range of an active shooter, your safest course of action will be to shoot the killer as quickly as possible.” – Greg Ellifritz
- Stay the blankety-blank-blank away from riots. “Demonstrations” and “protests” are riots.
- Avoidance. Just do it.
- 6 Principles for Talking to the Police After a Self-Defense Shooting. A reminder.
Industry News
The Commerce Department announced a surprise 90-day suspension of export licenses for civilian “semiautomatic and non-automatic” firearms, ammunition and “optical” sights around the world last Friday. The freeze doesn’t apply to Israel, Ukraine and about 40 other countries that are part of an export-control agreement, although the U.S. has threatened to stop supplying rifles to Israel after their national security minister was seen handing them out to civilians. Apparently the RKBA is good enough for us but no one else. And why isn’t the U.S. government handing out rifles to U.S. civilians???
Products
- A best budget scopes review.
- SSK Firearms’ updated Contender, the SSK-50.
- Area 419 has high-end shooters’ gear.
We previously reported on Federal Premium’s new 12-gauge, 2¾-inch magnum No. 1 Buckshot load, # P154 1B. Federal has now announced another new 12-gauge Power-Shok Buckshot load, # F127 1B, with 16 pellets of No. 1 Buck at 1,325 fps, a Triple Plus wad system and granulated plastic buffer. The Premium P154 1B load ($16/5) offers copper plated shot, while the Power-Shok F127 1B load ($10/5) counters with lead shot and the Triple Plus wad.
Barnes Defense 20 Gauge #3 Buckshot is a 2.75″ load with 17 pellets at 1140 fps. But it is apparently a limited run item.
Hornady’s new .22-caliber Advanced Rifle Cartridge, the 22 ARC is claimed to “rival the 22-250″ while fitting in a standard AR-15 platform with its 2.26” OAL. Three loads were announced: an 88-grain ELD Match, a 75-grain ELD Match in the BLACK lineup, and a 62-grain ELD-VT in the V-Match lineup. However, no velocities were given by press time.
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“If you have friends who don’t have or carry guns get rid of them. If you have friends who know you carry a gun and they don’t, trust me — some day in a public place they’ll volunteer you for a fight you don’t want to be in.” – Clint Smith