June 2016 – Page 7 – Shall Not Be Questioned

How To Use Your Billions to Win

I keep saying that our opponents are not against money in politics, they are just against your money in politics. To that end, Bloomberg has bought up all the free add space in the Las Vegas market from September up to October and through the election:

Nevadans for Background Checks made a huge ad buy today in Vegas, buying all of Sept. and Oct. and through election. pic.twitter.com/r8Qzz0SStE

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) May 27, 2016

This effectively prevents our side from being heard on Nevada’s Question 1. Bloomberg is using his billions to silence your voices. Our voices. We’re only going to win this with grassroots, folks. We simply do not have the money to play this game at Bloomberg’s level. We have to beat him with people on the ground. If we don’t, he’s going to come back again, and again, and again, and keep playing this game until we lose half a dozen more states like California, New York, and New Jersey are lost.

So what can you do if you’re a Nevada, or even I dare say a California gun owner?

Talk to people and make sure they understand this has nothing to do with background checks. They want the registry they can get out of all that 4473 data.
Make sure they know Bloomberg’s proposal means even temporary transfers are unlawful. It’s literally illegal to hand a friend a gun except under limited exception.
The proposed law is entirely unenforceable and will only result in widespread lawlessness.
Criminals have no trouble getting around background checks. California has all the laws these people want and more, and their violent crime rate is still higher than Nevada’s.

Also, make sure people know this is Mike Bloomberg meddling in their affairs. This is no grassroots movement of people. It’s a carefully crafted illusion that you can buy if you have enough money like he does. The entire gun control movement is funded by one megalomaniacal rich billionaire who can’t mind his own damned business. If they don’t believe that, then why won’t Everytown reveal what percentage of their funding comes from Mike Bloomberg.

Local Good Guy with a Gun

An armed robber who had a shotgun and zip ties targeted a local pharmacy this morning. Fortunately, the owner takes security seriously and has a video surveillance system that allowed him to see the shotgun before the robber got into the store. The owner also had a gun that he pulled, and he fired at the surprised bad guy.

I think the best part of this encounter is that the owner quickly called the police who could catch the getaway driver who was still waiting outside since he figured his buddy would be a while – trying to clear out the entire pharmacy after at least taking the owner hostage, if not killing him. Easy arrest, and hopefully easy clean-up inside.

UPDATE: And our really, really local outlet reports that the van was stolen out of New Jersey.

UPDATE II: And now we have the folks coming out that says the shotgun-toting robber with zip ties was engaged in a non-violent offense and didn’t deserve to be shot despite his willingness to shoot his victim. When I looked at the rest of the page, it didn’t appear to be a parody account. He seems to really believe that the pharmacist defending his own life committed murder.

And for the record, my right to bare arms is my right to wear sleeveless shirts and dresses. My right to bear arms, however, protects my right to defend myself from armed robbers ready to kill over access to drugs.

UPDATE III: And this is why I voted for our DA:

District Attorney David Heckler wholeheartedly agreed.

“There is no thought that we would prosecute the shooter in this case. He was entirely justified in his conduct, and frankly should be commended,” Heckler said.

“From what I can see, he performed a public service in taking out this fella,” Heckler continued. “The fella asked for what he got and he got it.”

UPDATE IV: And, it gets even better. The getaway driver admits he’s a criminal on probation – driving a stolen car to an armed robbery. It will be curious to see how long his record is back in New Jersey, as well as that of the dead thief who has yet to be identified.

All That Matters is the Narrative

Charles C.W. Cooke asks the relevant question about the UCLA murder-suicide:Â â€œWhat law â€” specifically â€” would have prevented yesterdayâ€™s shooting?â€

Typically, those who favor more gun control argue that Americaâ€™s â€œpatchwork quiltâ€ of rules and regulations help those who would do harm to slip through the net. Furthermore, they contend that adding further barriers would prevent young men with evil intent from getting hold of lethal weaponry in the first instance. But it is hard to see how such criticisms can apply here, in response to a crime that could have been carried out with a double-barreled shotgun from 1872.

Good thing California recently decided to ban guns on college campuses, or someone might have gotten hurt. Like many mass shooters, the gun was legally purchased by someone who had a clear background. Notice how the media dropped the mass shooting in Houston like a hot potato and then gravitated to the ULCA shooting? Probably because the Houston story quickly defied the preferred narrative, and the narrative is what’s most important to the gun control operatives with bylines.

The Wronged Are Coming Out of the Woodwork

Yellow Journalism Ahead Following up on the Katie Couric and HBO fiasco, yet another Second Amendment activist is accusing the media of warping their words. In this case, words were twisted by the New York Times to make it seem like said activist was pro-registration. Of course the Times piece in question is a great example of PropagandaÂ masquerading as journalism in and of itself. It’s worth noting that to whatever extent the National Firearms Act is “gun control that actually works,” it still lead to a ban 52 years later, so the New York Times can go to hell when it comes to their proposal to expand the NFA. If anything, we’re going to drive in the opposite direction.

Remember, the press has a narrative it’s trying to drive. If you don’t talk to them at all, which is what I recommend, you don’t risk becoming part of that narrative. If you do, against all better sense, decide to talk to Propagandists for the other side, record everything, and call them out when they twist your words. There’s plenty of friendly news outlets these days that will eat that stuff up.

NRA Seems to be Preparing a Serious Campaign Against Nevada Ballot Measure

Local news is reporting NRA has hired a campaign manager to run the campaign to stop Bloomberg’s Question 1 on the November ballot. A few days ago they were promoting a new infographic:

November will be here before you know it, take action NOW- Donâ€™t let @MikeBloomberg NYC your Gun Rights #2A #Nevada pic.twitter.com/GnfW91PRtI

— NRA (@NRA) May 31, 2016

The fight in Washington State seemed to be mired in strategy disputes, but hopefully we’ll have a unified front in Nevada and at the least trim Bloomberg’s margin if not outright beat him. Remember that Bloomberg also has a ballot measure up in Maine as well.

Ballot fights are hugely expensive, and while Bloomberg has the money to keep doing this, he might be reluctant to blow a lot of money on a risky proposition. We have to make these ballot measures risky for him. As long as it’s a sure thing, he’ll keep doing it. Bloomberg is already back in Washington State for another slice of the cake in 2016.

“Philadelphia Up To Its Old Tricks”

The quote in the title is from NRA Pennsylvania State Liaison John Hohenwarter, in an Inquirer article about Philadelphia’s new “gun safety” bills. Any time the media promotes the other side’s preferred terms like “gun safety” they cease to be journalists and instead make themselves propagandists. The bill in question is a “safe storage” law that is a middle finger raised directly at the Heller decision. But as we saw with the Jackson case, the Supreme Court is unwilling to enforce this provision of Heller, even while Justice Scalia was still alive.

John Hohenwarter is right though. The City can pass all the ordinances it would like, but it can’t enforce them. That would raise standing and allow us to defeat the ordinance. Eventually we’ll get enhanced preemption once again, where we don’t have to wait for enforcement. It may take another eight years, but eventually we’ll get it.

Man Bites Dog: New York Times Comes Out Against Gravity Knife Ban

This is honestly something I’d never thought I’d see:

But the modern knives sold in countless stores bear little resemblance to the knives that were the original subjects of the ban.Â Many people, including carpenters, construction workers and stagehands, have no idea that their knives can be made to open with a flick of a wrist â€” a skill many New York police officers have developed. Most donâ€™t know that simply possessing such a knife breaks the law.

The article goes on to note that a law office that handles such cases for defendents charged under this law says of the 254 of its clients, only four were charged with intent to use it unlawfully. How much do you want to bet of those four, they were arguable self-defense cases?

If even the New York Times agrees, it’s time for this stupid law to go. This is a good time to remind folks that Knife Rights is doing good work, and succeeding even in places no one would have argued success was achievable. But the fact is that gun rights today have far greater protections than those who choose to carry knives even for reasons unrelated to self-defense.

Begun, These Ice Cream Wars Have

When Sebastian was telling me the tales of different types of ice cream trucks he had available to him growing up based on whether he was at home or visiting an aunt or grandmother, I joked that there were ice cream truck turf wars that kept those boundaries in line.

I was joking because in America the idea that one would get violent over ice cream – especially when trucks often sell different types of ice cream novelties and cones – is just completely absurd. It’s insane.

But, apparently, the NYT reports that it’s the typical business model in New York City. It started out with trademark infringement that resulted in more than $765,000 in legal awards (that haven’t been paid by the offender), but then it elevated to surrounding competing trucks and beating on them. A driver for New York Ice Cream, the offending company, admits that they get physical with other drivers in an effort to enforce “turf” illegally. There’s apparently a decades-long history of violence among other companies, too. One driver in 1969 was kidnapped and had his truck blown up. More recently, a couple was beaten to critical condition with a wrench.

Talk about New York Values. It’s amazing that the city wants to leave the victims unable to defend themselves. Well, it’s not shocking since we’re not talking about America here.