'Packing' the Park

WarOnGuns Correspondent Remarks reports:

I was watching the Tampa NBC affiliate (WFLA) Sunday morning news and saw that there was a Tampa Stop the  Gun Violence Crusade rally in a park. There was a quick distance shot of the crowd, and there were more people on the stage than there were in the crowd. Other shots disguised the low attendance by using close-ups. 

They're not the only "news" outlet engaging in  "editorial discretion." "The community is planning to pack Ragan Park again," the 10 Tampa Bay teleprompter reader assures viewers at the end of her "report."

Flawed Firearms Thinking

Longtime correspondent Andrew Massimilian had another letter published in the paper. I pasted a screen capture on the WarOnGuns Placeholder site because you'd otherwise need to subscribe to read it online. [More]

A Conspicuous Absence

WarOnGuns Correspondent Jess got a donation solicitation email from Hung Cao, one of 10 Republicans running to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District, and asks:

David,   Got a read, vis-a-vis 2A, on this guy?

Without digging any deeper, I note he doesn't consider it an important enough issue to mention it in his website's "Policies" section aside from the briefest of mentions about guns. His version of "the security of a free State" appears to be "Back the Blue" and the standing army, and if he brings RKBA up now, it will be a tactical afterthought.

I can't tell you about the others because I haven't had time to look. I may not do that because the incumbent is a doctrinaire gun-grabber Democrat who won last time by a landslide (56%-43%). We know from the Youngkin campaign that Republican "strategists" view bringing 2A up to the electorate as toxic, so I'm not sure putting more time into this is worth my while. 

Good for the Goose

 Chicago, Boston, DC Get Vax Passport Rules [More]

As WarOnGuns Correspondent Jess asks:

Sooooo, why don't we demand their vax passport rules be turned into voter ID laws?

Yep. Democrat cities are those that bellow the loudest about "disenfranchisement." How are they going to make sure people incapable of obtaining an ID aren't segregated out of restaurants?

Trying to Re-up to No Avail

Received via email from WarOnGuns Correspondent Jess:

On the 25th, this month, I renewed my NRA Instructors creds, for 2 years. While I was on the site, I tried to make an address and telephone number change. When I got to that page, I couldn't get the cursor to come up in any of the spaces I wanted to change. It was like the page was "dead". Also, when I pulled up the image of my "new" creds, it had the same expiration date of my current creds, 10/30/2021. I tried doing this on two different days; same result. I also tried calling the 703-267-1500 number for that division, but got the same recording both times I called. I left a detailed message, as to the problems, both times I called. Basically said "There's no one here to take your call", and to leave a message and your number and your call will be returned. No one has called. So......is there anybody still working at NRA HQ, or have they all jumped the sinking ship in light of all their legal woes?

If you have insights into this, please share them in "Comments."

My Kind of Razzmatzz

Chicago Gun Violence: 461 Shootings Reported in July, Up 15% From Last Year [More]

And tangentially-related from WarOnGuns Correspondent 1Gat:

CBS 2's Tara Molina is tracking 12 armed robberies, nine of them reported in less than an hour Thursday night and it appears they are connected to another robbery spree Tuesday. [Watch]

Forget it, Jake. It's Chi-Town.

We're the Only Ones Winning Enough

 When cops and America’s cherished gun rights clash, cops win [More]

Well, yeah, We're generally already home at the end of our shifts, so they get priority.

I had an email conversation with WarOnGuns Correspondent 1Gat about the overworked contention that "most regular officers support the right to bear arms," and I agree with him that such claims don't appear to outweigh the "only following orders" side of things.

There's a way to test that for anyone who disagrees. Simply inform your favorite LEO that you are peaceably bearing arms without a required permit in a "gun-free zone" or show him that you peaceably keep a firearm the government says you're not allowed to have, and you can prove to yourself how supportive he is.

As Steven Crowder says, change my mind.

[Via Roger J]

Spider & the Fly

The Cuba Protests - The Communist Regime Strikes Back [More]

Including the one in DC...

UPDATE: WarOnGuns Correspondent Jess directs our attention to Counterpunch with Trevor Loudon to learn how communists have been subverting this country.

Field Report

 This just in from a WarOnGuns Correspondent:

I am in California for work.  When and while I am here I am on a relatively remote ranch but within the sphere of influence of the Bay Area. I keep a radio/police scanner on 24/7 to listen for fire and area Emergencies or information. My scanner particularly targets Contra Costa, Alameda, and Solano counties.

It has been a trend over the last year and has now become common that the subject and or address of EVERY CALL is run for past history and weapons. I hear over the radio every day “Negative for weapons” or “positive for firearms” and have even heard the presumed number of weapons owned. 

This is deeply concerning both from the standpoint of police showing up armed and primed for confrontation but also from the standpoint of the ca database that all compliant subjects are supposed to use being used in real-time as a tool against them.

ALSO ... on a tangential note ... I don’t think people understand how closely they are tracked by their devices. I often hear of hang-up calls and dispatch telling responders that the caller was “within 30’ of x”

This level of monitoring is concerning. FYI.

 Yep. FYI.

Conversion Therapy Help is Just a Click Away

 WarOnGuns Correspondent CDT sends:

We'll have your mind straightened out in no time. Us or the people we report you to...

The Commie Slur Vanishes

Looks like CSGV is trying to erase tracks and hope no one notices.

Here's the current version of their McAwful press release. Compare that with what they originally put out:

Major deletions without explanation, correction, retraction, or apology? What kind of editorial standards and just plain integrity must one have to just erase stuff and not tell anybody when trying to solidify political power? 

UPDATE: I no sooner get done posting this and see that WarOnGuns Correspondent Mack H sent me a link to VCDL's response:

Lori Haas and CSGV owes VCDL a public apology for, and a retraction of, the false, completely baseless, and legally libelous accusation that VCDL is a domestic terrorist organization.

And if they don't...?

UPDATE: As of this writing Internet Archive links result in a "503" error message.

You Can't Stop the Signal

 Ghost Guns: Hobbyists, Hackers, and the Homemade Weapons Revolution [More]

I have not read this but WarOnGuns Correspondent DDS tells me:

I've read the "look inside" sample and it looks like a pretty good read.  So I ordered a copy.

I'll ask him to let me know what he thought of it when he's through.

You'll Get No Argument from Me

From WarOnGuns Correspondent Jess, via email:

I read somewhere, a few days ago, that the reason that there were so many people to be interviewed at that congressional hearing last week, was so that no one could get a good grilling, particularly Chipman. Might I suggest that if the commie-dims try to pull that shit again, our side will automatically vote no on all the others and only question the turd that they really want to light up.Chipman, in this case. Of course this would first require a spine implantation for a number of those that are allegedly on our side.

The operative word being "allegedly"...

I'm waiting for Susan Collins to drop one in the punch bowl.

Point/Counterpoint

 CALIFORNIA FORCED TO COMPLY IN SHARP v. BECERRA RIFLE REGISTRATION CASE [More]

WarOnGuns Correspondent SamAdams1776 is not sharing in the enthusiasm and sends this response:

[Open in new tab to enlarge]

I typically base my concerns on core purpose grounds.

For the Record

 WarOnGuns Correspondent Dave Licht tells me he still hasn't received an answer to his query about what one supplier would do with records of polymer 80 frame purchases should ATF show up and demand them.

I think we can assume suppliers would surrender records on demand, including the auction and personal sale meet-up ad sites. It's not like they enjoy any form of lawyer/client or journalist/source privilege, and what we see happening with that weasel Michael Cohen shows the state holds the cards anyway.

Some of the "blame" for this falls on our "gun rights leaders," who brokered prior restraints as a "compromise" and then turned a deliberate deaf ear to BIDS as a way to mitigate some of the damage by removing personal identifiers from transfers.

Tangentially related:

John Crump has put together an outstanding report on AmmoLand titled "ATF Agents Showing Up At Homes of Unfinished 80% Gun Frame Dealers, Don’t Let Them In ."

100% Answer?

WarOnGuns Correspondent Dave Licht asks a fair question in response to an email ad:

[Enlarge to view]

If he gets a reply he'll share it.

Strictly Speaking

 By including “strict scrutiny” language, lawmakers close the door on future policymaking and threaten current safeguards. [More]

Who does Evan Mantler think he is? "Conservative" Hugh Hewitt? (WarOnGuns Correspondent Andy M tells me Hewitt "Referred to himself as a Romney Republican and on domestic policy,  a Susan Collins Republican.")

[Via Michael G]

Reply to All

I got an email from a WarOnGuns Correspondent encouraging me to write an article about how Donald Trump's inconsistent approach to RKBA might have contributed to his loss and also urging me to put up a Paypal widget in the sidebar. This started out as a one-one-one reply, but then I decided I'd post it here and send him the link.

About the closest I came to that was with a warning in advance: "2020 is Trump's to Blow with Gun Owners."

I'm not sure I'd be capable of finding credible data showing the number of gun owners who were discouraged from voting because of that. It would take somebody like John Lott to do a survey with credible metrics, otherwise, it would just be my mere opinion. As regulars here know, I'm big on substantiating links.

In re Paypal,  no sooner would I have it set it up than some lefty snitch would rat me out as a "hater" and get me demonetized. I also don't want readers feeling I am beholden to them or owe special access. I recall Vanderboegh, who was kind of preoccupied at the time, getting dressed down in comments over at SSI for neglecting to thank an indignant contributor who now viewed him as an ungrateful bastard, and I just don't need that.

The blog is like a midway sideshow to get people to read my articles and enter the big tent. The "circus owners" are the ones who pay me. Besides, in truth, I can't even get most readers to do the simple, near-effortless, and costless stuff that really would help me.

It is what it is. If I wanted to be popular, I'd be writing about the Kardashians or something.

Recognising Foreign Influence

 For those departing or entering US government service in this transition period, beware new approaches via social media. Foreign spies often use fake social media profiles to connect to those with info they want. Before linking with someone you don’t know, understand the risks. [More]

WarOnGuns Correspondent TM wonders why a U.S. intelligence agency warning us to be on guard against foreign influence would use British spelling for "organisation" and "realise" in the slides at the end.

I note who else spells like that and wonder if they're outsourcing security...

And There is No New Thing Under the Sun

 Mariana uncovers a supply chain of American firearms being smuggled into the hands of drug cartels, fueling record levels of gun violence in Mexico. [More]

Gee, where have we seen the media hand-wringing over that before?

You can't watch it unless you tell them your "TV provider," and since I don't have one, it looks like I'll need to rely on your comments to find out if I missed anything.

WarOnGuns Correspondent "Bondmen," who sent me this link provided his review:

The iron road she calls it, meets with all the players here and in Mexico and ends with an ATFer in Phoenix who's about to retire. Makes a play on emotions at the end to solidify feelings against all the guns coming from America killing all the Mexicans, with their fingers on the trigger. Same problem we have in our inner cities in many respects, turf wars, revenge, and all too often, silence.

Proximate and ultimate causes abound. I focus on the dope user in America whose filthy lucre greases the wheel that turns day and night supplying the goods so strongly desired here by users; the greed of operators in Mexico who want to control it all so warring on others there who want the same. Guns are the tool. What would they use if they couldn't get the guns? Blades, bombs, ropes, compound bows - the work would be up front and close for sure.

The prices paid in Mexico for firearms is astounding. Saw only firearms and no ammunition change hands in her expose.

It made me think about the demoncraps in district of corruption who were so deathly afraid of a few unhinged rioters in the Capitol last week. Oh boy they haven't seen anything until they see how bad it is in Mexico with state actors and cartels going at it in spades. The state surrendered and now they admit Mexico is a Narco State. What does that make US now I wonder, besides a burgeoning one party Commie State?

The cartel enforcer - sicario - she talked to at the end who works for El Chapo's son - check out his eyes when he talks. Spooky, cold, cool killer there with many a notch in his young belt. These young guns have few economic opportunities that compare to working for local drug lords where they get great excitement and fast, heated action along with a feeling of belonging.