NRA Leader: Media Are ‘One of America’s Greatest Threats’

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association, labeled the media in a speech Friday, calling them “one of America’s greatest threats.”

 

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is courtesy of Gage Skidmore. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Florida: Minimum-mandatory gun sentences need revamping

Minimum-mandatory sentencing sounds like a good idea, because it keeps judges from imposing lighter, or no sentences upon dangerous criminals. But while legislators hold judges feet to the fire with broad-brush mandatory sentencing laws, many decent, non-dangerous people are being victimized with excessive penalties that they don’t deserve.

I would call upon the governor and the state representatives of Florida to reconsider these draconian mandates that strip judges of all discretion from considering extenuating circumstances in each and every case. We’ve gone too far in punishing people with minimum sentences just because they happened to be in possession of a firearm at the time of the alleged “crime.” I cite two particular Florida cases which serve as examples of overly “harsh” penalties imposed upon decent people whose back were to the walls in moments of domestic in-tranquility.

Our justice system has lost its sense of justice and humanity. Decent people who are no threat to society languish in prison for decades based on sentencing technicalities that strip judges from using judicial discretion. Meanwhile, dangerous criminals still roam the streets while honest and productive citizens languish in jail cells, leaving kids stripped of fathers and mothers.

Example One: Marissa Alexander, 31, Jacksonville. In 2012, this mother of a three small kids, holding a master’s degree and working at a job, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison. Her crime: Firing a gun toward a wall as a warning shot during a domestic fight with her estranged husband, who was under a restraining order.

Charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prosecutors offered a plea deal for reduced charges, but she declined, feeling she was guilty of no crime. The jury found her guilty, compelling the judge to sentence her to 20 years, based on laws that give judges no discretion.

Said Circuit Judge Donald Jacobsen: “If it weren’t for the minimum mandatory aspect of this, I would use my discretion and impose some separated sentence, considering the circumstances of this event.”

The insanity of such cruel and harsh punishment is incomprehensible. Even if she showed poor judgment, there was no justifiable reason to incarcerate a productive, law-abiding human being for 7,300 days. The state not only punished Alexander, but three kids will grow up without a mother.

Example Two: Orville Wollard, 53, Davenport. This family man, gainfully employed, had been coping with a problem whereby his live-at-home daughter was often abused by her violence-prone boyfriend.

On May 14, 2008, Wollard was called at work by his wife, advising of a volatile situation at the house. He later saw that his daughter had a black eye. Having had arm surgery, Wollard was no match for the young man in a physical altercation. The boyfriend was ordered out of the house but refused.

The fighting escalated until Wollard retrieved his legally owned firearm. After the angry boy punched a hole in the wall, he confronted the older man. Wollard fired a shot into the wall. The boyfriend left. No one was hurt. Weeks later, the boyfriend called police and filed a report.

Wollard was prosecuted and convicted of the same crime as Alexander. As in that case, and because he was in possession of a firearm at the time of a felony, the judge was duty bound under minimum mandatory laws to sentence this good and decent man to 20 years in prison, wrecking his life and the life of his family.

At the sentencing, Wollard spoke to the court: “This person assaults my daughter, he threatens me, I protect myself. No one is injured, and I am going to prison. I would expect this from the Soviet Union not the United States.”

The state Clemency Board and/or Florida governor have the power to grant pardons and/or clemency when miscarriages of justice are wrongfully imposed against citizens. Alexander and Wollard certainly qualify for consideration.

Florida: Four pro-gun bills headed to Governor Rick Scott

“The seventh week of the Legislative Session was yet another exceptionally busy and successful week.  Four more pro-gun bills passed the legislature and are headed for the Governor’s desk,” reports the NRA-ILA.

The blue underlined bill numbers are the most current versions of the bills. You can simply click on those links to read the bills. A new version is prepared every time a bill is amended (changed) in committee.  If, there is no blue link that means the newest amended version is not yet available.

On Monday, April 21, 2014

HB-255 Discriminatory Insurance Practices by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Shalimar)
SB-424 Discriminatory Insurance Practices by Sen. Tom Lee (R-Brandon)

Both bills were on Special Order Calendar in the House Monday.  Since SB-424 had already passed the Senate, SB-424 was substituted for HB-255 and approved for the Third Reading Calendar and debate on the following day

On Tuesday, April 22, 2014

SB-424 by Senator Tom Lee PASSED THE HOUSE by a vote of 74-44.  The bill now goes to the Governor for final action.

SB-424 by Sen. Tom Lee & Rep. Matt Gaetz Discrimination by Insurance Companies is a bill to stop insurance companies from refusing to issue a policy, or refusing to renew a policy or canceling a policy, or charging unfair rates based on the lawful possession and ownership of a firearm or firearms or ammunition.  Such actions constitute unfair discrimination and are actionable.  Further, the bill protects privacy rights by prohibiting insurance companies and their agents from disclosing information on firearms and firearm ownership of its applicants and policyholders to others.

On Wednesday, April 23, 2014 

SB-1060 Zero Tolerance/Pop Tart Bill by Sen. Greg Evers (R-Baker)
HB-7029 Zero Tolerance/Pop Tart Bill by Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala)

Both bills were on Special Order Calendar in the Senate Wednesday.  Since HB-7029 had already passed the House, HB-7029 was substituted for SB-1060 and approved for the Third Reading Calendar and debate on the following day.

SB-544 CW License App/Tax Collectors by Sen. Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby)
HB-523 CW License App/Tax Collectors by Rep. James Grant (R-Tampa)

Both bills were on Special Order Calendar in the Senate Wednesday.  Since HB-523 had already passed the House, HB-523 was substituted for SB-544 and approved for the Third Reading Calendar and debate on the following day.

On Thursday, April 24, 2014

HB-7029 by Rep. Dennis Baxley PASSED THE SENATE by a vote of 32-6.  The bill now goes to the Governor for final action.

HB-7029 Zero Tolerance/Pop Tart Bill
 by Rep. Dennis Baxley & Sen. Greg Evers is a bill to stop some of the unbelievable actions by school administrators against children who behave like children and point fingers at each other pretending to shoot guns, or wear NRA T-shirts to school, etc.

SB-546 CW/Public Records/Tax Collectors by Sen. Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby)
HB-525
 CW/Public Records/Tax Collectors by Rep. James Grant (R-Tampa)

Both bills were on Special Order Calendar in the Senate Thursday.  Since HB-523 had already passed the House, HB-523 was substituted for SB-544 and approved for the Third Reading Calendar and debate on the following day.

On Friday, April 25, 2014

HB-523 by Rep. James Grant PASSED THE SENATE by a vote of 35-0.  The bill now goes to the Governor for final action.

HB-523 CW Applications
 by Rep. James Grant & Sen. Wilton SImpson is a bill to allow the Division of Licensing to designate qualified Tax Collectors to conduct the “Fast-Track” concealed weapons licensing application process in their respective counties.  This brings the process closer to the people and makes it more convenient for applicants.

HB-525 by Rep. James Grant PASSED THE SENATE by a vote of 37-1.  The bill now goes to the Governor for final action.

HB-525 CW Public Records
 by Rep. James Grant & Sen. Wilton Simpson by Rep. Jamie Grant is a bill to prohibits Tax Collectors & their employees from disclosing identifying information of applicants and license holders.

TO RECAP: A total of 5 pro-gun bills are now on the way to the Governor:

HB-89 Threat of Force
SB-424 Insurance Discrimination Prohibition
HB-7029 Zero Tolerance/Pop Tart Bill
HB-523 CW Applications/Tax Collectors
HB-525 Public Records Exemption/CW License Holders Information

STILL NEEDS TO PASS:

HB-209 Firearms/Mandatory Evacuation has passed the House and still needs to pass the Senate.  It will be up in the Senate next week.

RELATED STORY: Georgia Gov. Signs Bill Allowing Guns in Churches, Bars, and School Zones

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is courtesy of The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Bundy Ranch, Nevada: Has the American Spring begun?

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Dennis Michael Lynch with militia members at Bundy Ranch, NV. Photo courtesy of Bud Parriott. For a larger view click on the photo.

The internet is ablaze with stories about what is and has happened at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada. When this all began I never expected that the federales would back down in the face of armed citizen militia members.

ABC NewsLiz Fields, via Good Morning America, reports, “A Nevada cattle rancher appears to have won his week-long battle with the federal government over a controversial cattle roundup that had led to the arrest of several protesters. Cliven Bundy went head to head with the Bureau of Land Management over the removal of hundreds of his cattle from federal land, where the government said they were grazing illegally. Bundy claims his herd of roughly 900 cattle have grazed on the land along the riverbed near Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, since 1870 and threatened a “range war” against the BLM on the Bundy Ranch website after one of his sons was arrested while protesting the removal of the cattle.”

“I have no contract with the United States government,” Bundy said. “I was paying grazing fees for management and that’s what BLM was supposed to be, land managers and they were managing my ranch out of business, so I refused to pay.”

Here is an amazing Facebook post on DML Daily from Dennis Michael Lynch:

Its me DML. Today was insane. I got the best footage. I was in the heart of it all. In fact, I think I may need an appointment with a psychiatric specialist because I took the firs[t] step and walked alone toward snipers who told me I needed to retreat or else they’d shoot. I did not turn back and they continued to warn ne [sic] but i ignored the warning. Eventually, everyone behind me started coming forward and there was no way they could stop us. 

Amon Bundy later said to me, “Man you have guts like I’ve never seen.” I replied, “No, you do. Had you not stood up to the BLM, me and the other thousands of Americans wouldn’t be here.”

Today was a victory and a tremendous step towards taking back America. My footage and story of events will be on The Kelly File this Monday. Right now I’m going to drink a few scotches because it is sinking in that I had 40 plus AR15 riffles (sic) pointed at my head. 

i didn’t have a camera guy today — i shot all the footage myself — so the only proof that says I was in NV is this shot that i inadvertantly grabbed while I tried fixing the camera. However, I am sure other people captured the heated stAndoff when I was in it. More importantly, I captured everything that took place including BLM giving back the cattle. Great Americans stood up today. So many excellent new friends. Heroes all over Nevada and around America came together. One of the best days of my life. 

America won today!!!!!

I must agree.

RELATED STORIES:

UPDATE: Sheriff Announces BLM Will Cease Operation…
‘Serious concern about safety of employees and public’…
Backdown Comes Hours After Reid/China Land Grab Report…
Confiscated Cattle to be Released…
‘Control Our Borders, Not Our Ranchers!’
Wild horses targeted for roundup in Utah rangeland clash…

RELATED VIDEO FROM ABC NEWS:


ABC US News | ABC Business News

RELATED PHOTOS:

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EDITORS NOTE: The photos used in this column are courtesy of Dennis Michael Lynch – DML Daily. 

Florida: Threat of Force to Stop Attackers PASSES

House Bill 89 by Representative Neil Combee and Senator Greg Evers is on its way to the Governor. On April 3rd, 2014, HB-89 passed the Florida Senate by a vote of 32-7. In the Senate, 6 Democrats and 1 Republican voted against the bill:

Republicans voting against the bill were:   John Legg (R-Lutz)

Democrats voting against the bill were:  Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens), Dwight Bullard (D-Cutler Bay), Arthenia Joyner (D)-Tampa), Gwen Margolis (D_Miami), Jeremy Ring (D-Margate), Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale)

Having previously passed the Florida House by a vote of 93-24, the bill  is now making its way to the Governor’s desk.

According to Marion P. Hammer, USF Executive Director and NRA Past President, “HB-89 is a bill to stop abusive prosecutors from using 10-20-LIFE to prosecute people who, in self-defense, threaten to use deadly force against an attacker as a means to stop an attack. Some anti-gun, anti-self-defense prosecutors have been abusing the 10-20-LIFE law to prosecute average citizens who displayed a weapon or gun in self-defense to make an attacker back off. Average citizens who never would have been in the system if they had not been attacked and in fear for their own safety, are being persecuted and prosecuted for defending themselves.”

“Because citizens took responsibility for their own safety, some prosecutors treat them like criminals and make them victims of a judicial system. 10-20-Life was passed to stop prosecutors and judges from slapping gun-wielding criminals on the wrist so they could quickly clear cases. The 10-20-Life law was never intended to be used against citizens who, in an act of self-defense, threatened the use of force to stop an attacker, including the unwise use of a warning shot. Yet, that’s what some prosecutors are doing. They are willfully and knowingly violating the intent of the law,” notes Hammer

RELATED STORY:

It’s Not About Warning Shots — The 10-20-Life law is being misused By Marion P. Hammer December 7, 2013

Nothing in SB-448 and HB-89, the House Companion, allows warning shots nor do they promote or encourage warning shots.

Warning shots are not safe. Nonetheless, when people are in fear for their lives or the lives of loved ones, they might fire a warning shot rather than shoot someone. People make mistakes and do irrational things when in fear of death or injury. That doesn’t mean they should go to prison for 20 years when there was no injury or harm done.

Warning shots are an unsafe result of the glorification of such conduct in movies and on TV. No one is recommending warning shots.

Nonetheless, a father should not be prosecuted under 10-20-Life for firing a warning shot. No harm was done yet a father was sent to prison for 20 years for firing a warning shot to stop an attacker from harming his daughter.

A mother should not be charged under 10-20-Life for firing a warning shot to stop an attack by an abusive ex-husband. It caused no injury and no harm yet she was prosecuted and sent to prison for 20 years. These are not isolated cases.

The simple truth is the intent of the 10-20-Life law is being violated. The law was intended to be used to lock up criminals who use guns during the commission or attempted commission of crimes.

It was intended to stop prosecutors and judges from slapping gun-toting criminals on the wrist so they could quickly clear cases.

The 10-20-Life law was never intended to be used against citizens who, in an act of self-defense, threatened the use of force to stop an attacker, including the unwise use of a warning shot. Yet, that’s what some prosecutors are doing. They are willfully and knowingly violating the intent of the law.

The cold hard reality is that some prosecutors are treating law-abiding people like criminals. People who never would have been in the system had they not been attacked and in fear for their own safety are being prosecuted. Self-defense is not a crime, it is a right and prosecutors are trampling those rights.

The threat of force in self-defense should have the same protection as actually shooting someone in self-defense. You should not be required to shoot an attacker to have the protection of the law.

The issue is not warning shots, it’s about protecting people from the abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

Marion P. Hammer is a past president of the National Rifle Association and executive director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

The 10-20-LIFE Law is a Minimum Mandatory law that mandates specific penalties for criminals who use guns to commit crimes:

10 years in prison for pulling a gunduring the commission of a crime.

20 years in prison for shooting a gun during the commission of a crime.

25 years to Life in prison if you shoot someone during the commission of a crime.

For more information on Florida’s 10-20-Life go here:  10-20-Life – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Today’s Totalitarianism

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FREEMAN April 2014 Edition.

When people go around armed with mobile phones and makeshift shields, what are the powers that be to do? Recent events in Venezuela and Ukraine suggest no status quo is safe when popular movements are networked and determined.

The trouble is, the world has not yet learned to be networked and determined as a permanent alternative to State control. After any revolution, a networked and determined people could be self-governing, though this rarely happens; revolutions remain as likely to usher in something not much better—maybe even worse—than what preceded them. Egypt is currently living out a version of this.

Most people still default to the idea that a more benevolent leviathan is going to make everything okay. And there are always would-be leviathans waiting in the wings. The hope that they’ll be less brutal is just that—hope. After regimes are toppled or swept aside, strongmen, puppet governments, or hostile neighbors are almost always well positioned to take and keep power. Problems return.

Further, when you strip off a dictator like removing a scab, what’s left underneath is often a factionalized people.

In the case of the Ukraine, it appears there’s a Russian-speaking faction that is sympathetic to Putin. There is a Ukrainian nationalist faction that is decidedly not into wearing any more totalitarian yokes, but that flirts with notions of ethnic purity, blood, and soil. There is yet another faction that fancies itself European and thinks the European superstate is the right umbrella. And on and on. Foreign powers may also have helped set a match to the tender—the United States, the EU, and Russia are all prime suspects.

In the case of Venezuela, however, the protests seem to have originated primarily among the young who are tired of shortages and suppressed freedoms that come from the Bolivarian state. CNN reports:

The weeks of protests across Venezuela mark the biggest threat President Nicolas Maduro has faced since his election last year. Demonstrators say they have taken to the streets to protest shortages of goods, high inflation and high crime.

Opposition protesters and government officials have traded blame for the violence for weeks.

The current Venezuelan leader argues that brutal suppression is justified; his charismatic predecessor, Hugo Chavez, thought the same thing. And in the mind of the State, it almost always is:

Think about what the U.S. government would do if a political group laid out a road map for overthrowing President Barack Obama, Maduro said.

“What would happen in the United States if a group said they were going to start something in the United States so that President Obama leaves, resigns, to change the constitutional government of the United States?” Maduro said. “Surely, the state would react, would use all the force that the law gives it to re-establish order and to put those who are against the Constitution where they belong.”

Surely it is a bizarro-world justification in which such regimes appeal to any Constitution in the same breath as President Obama, who thinks of the U.S. Constitution as quaint, brittle toilet tissue. But then again, Maduro is right that the U.S. government has all the power it needs to suppress any serious popular uprising—and, one expects, wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

What about states with determined but unconnected people? North Korea is still squirming along under a totalitarian thumb, as the portly Kim Jong Un takes leads from his father and grandfather, whose advice can be summed up in the dictators’ dictum: “A weak fist wipes away tears.” The highest echelon in Pyongyang reserves its fists for striking down and holding down its people—a determined, but sadly unconnected people. Thus the Hermit Kingdom could stay in penury and subjugation for many more years.

Wherever one lands on the continuum between pacificism and hostile interventionism, it is difficult not to let one’s feelings for oppressed people guide his thoughts away from either pragmatism or principle. And yet we must take care: Meddling in foreign affairs rarely ends up in any sort of postwar stability, liberation, or liberalization. It’s frustrating to see Putin get away with it. And we certainly wouldn’t want to live next to such a regime. But the simple fact that the United States could bomb or sanction Russia into even more suffering by no means guarantees a positive outcome if the United States does. The last 40 years of American military misadventures demonstrate that.

A couple of our readers challenged our publishing sentiments with respect to Ukraine. For example, we lent our pages to an anonymous Ukrainian journalist early on, when few outlets were reporting much of anything at all. Indeed, we got this story out relatively early. While we stand by any peoples longing to be free, we remain uncertain about the extent to which foreign meddlers were involved in the uprising, much less whether such meddling was warranted.

In any case, if The Freeman takes any position on matters like these, we side with peoples against illiberal States, realizing all the while that self-determination can be an imperfect process carried out in a world of opportunistic state actors and Hobbesian calculi. And of course we hope that determined and connected people can learn to do more than throw off power. We hope that someday, they can keep it and lock it away from the totalitarians forever.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is courtesy of FFE and Shutterstock.

Florida Sheriffs Association is anti-Second Amendment

Florida Carry reports, “Thursday March 27th 2014, the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) openly testified against Second Amendment rights to the Florida House Judiciary Committee saying, “In our opinion, there is a difference between owning a firearm and carrying one concealed on your person. Owning a firearm is a right; carrying it concealed is a privilege; and it is a privilege that is earned…” In what can only be viewed as contempt and distrust for law-abiding gun owners, the Florida Sheriffs Association went on to say that during an emergency you are “least likely to use a firearm in a safe and responsible manner”. Think about that. The Sheriffs are telling your legislature that when you are under attack by looters and rioters, you should be disarmed because you will be the irrational person in the situation.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/qogTYo4mPuo[/youtube]

The Florida Sheriffs Association was testifying on HB-209 Firearms During Mandatory Evacuations by Representative Heather Fitzenhagen and others.  The final vote on the bill by the House Judiciary Committee was 17-1.  Committee members, all 12 Republicans and 5 of 6 Democrats stood up for Second Amendment rights.

If you want to watch the complete House Judiciary Committee hearing on this bill, along with questions and debate by Legislators who are members of the committee, click here and at the bottom of the screen and in time bar, move it to 1:40:00 to start the hearing on this bill.

According to Florida Carry:

The Sheriff’s Association also told the committee that “there is plenty of time before hurricane season starts to go out and get a concealed weapons permit so you can carry on your person.” This is completely false. Hurricane Season starts June 1st, only 62 days from now. Even if you already have your training certificate, your fingerprinting done, and have the $112.00 in fees ready to spend today, appointments at the regional offices are booked up to six months out and applications by mail are currently taking more than 90 days.

In other words, FSA is saying your Second Amendment right to BEAR arms can only be exercised if you have the time and money to get a license to carry a concealed handgun.

The Sheriffs go on to claim that “Given modern technology, the approach of storms can be predicted days in advance; and the last second flight scenarios are just not realistic.” Anyone who has tracked approaching hurricanes knows this to be false.

A similar law to the one that we are trying to fix was struck down in North Carolina in 2012. The federal court there said:

“[T]he statutes here excessively intrude upon plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights by effectively banning them (and the public at large) from engaging in conduct that is at the very core of the Second Amendment at a time when the need for self-defense may be at its very greatest.” Bateman v. Perdue, No. 5:10-CV-265-H, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47336, (E.D.N.C. Mar. 29, 2012)

In 1987 the Florida Sheriffs Association also opposed concealed carry, saying at the time that citizens should be forced to carry firearms openly so they would be able see who has guns. Once concealed carry passed, they turned around and pushed for the ban on open carry — which was legal until 1987. In 2011 the FSA opposed a bill that would have restored the open carry of handguns.

The fact is that the Florida Sheriff’s Association has opposed every right to bear arms bill that has ever been offered.

While the FSA may have some sympathy for people’s the Right to Keep Arms at home, it is obvious that the group has disdain for the Right to Bear Arms for self-defense. At the same committee hearing, Assistant Adjutant General for the Florida Army National Guard Maj. General Don Tyre spoke in support of the bill that will allow law abiding Floridians to take their guns with them during a mandatory evacuation order without the need for a concealed carry license.

We call on you to contact your local Sheriff and ask if the Florida Sheriff’s Association is representing their values. Is lobbying against the right to bear arms during an emergency how they are honoring the oath that your Sheriff swore to defend the constitution? Does your Sheriff really support the Right to Bear Arms?

RELATED STORY:

Harvard Study: No Correlation Between Gun Control and Less Violent Crime
Florida cops keep spy technology docs secret

California State Senator Leland Yee offered to set up arms deal with Islamic jihadists for $2 million in cash

There is no indication that Leland Yee is a true believer. He just wanted to make a buck. And in this age when Islamic jihadists and supremacists are awash with cash, the temptation can be too much for corrupt and short-sighted Infidels. And he knew what kind of entity he was dealing with: “According to Senator Yee, Mindanao was largely populated by Muslim rebel groups who were fighting the federal government. Yee continued by saying the Muslim rebels had no problem ‘kidnapping individuals, killing individuals, and extorting them for ransom.’” Nor would the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have spared Yee himself, if this deal had gone through and he had then proved useful to them as a hostage or a dead body — despite his services to them.

“The Indictment Against Leland Yee Puts ‘The Wire’s’ Clay Davis to Shame,” by Scott Lucas for San Francisco Magazine, March 26:

If you thought the charges against Leland Yee would be bad, you had no idea. As in, he offered to set up an arms deal with Islamic rebels for $2 million in cash. As in, he makes corrupt politician Clay Davis from The Wire look like George Washington. You can read the whole affidavit here, but it’s really, really long, so we’ve gone ahead and pulled out the highlights. The allegations (and for now they are only that—allegations) are cinematic, staggering, and remarkable in their scope. Here they are, in descending order of sheeeeeeeeeeeit:

Yee told an FBI agent to give him a shopping list of guns: “Senator Yee asked [the agent] to provide an inventory list of desired weapons […] [The agent] told Yee he would deliver $2,000,000 cash.”

Yee could arrange from some serious firepower: “[The agent] asked about shoulder fired automatic weapons. Senator Yee responded by saying the automatic weapons are the equivalent to the “M16″ Automatic Service Weapon […] [The agent] asked about the availability of shoulder fire missiles or rockets. Senator Yee responded ‘I told him about the rockets and things like that.’”

Yee took personal responsibility for delivering the weapons:  ”Senator Yee said, ‘We’re interested’ in arranging the weapons deal […] and said of the arms dealer, ‘He’s going to rely on me, because ultimately it’s going to be me. [The agent] stated he would compensate Yee for brokering the relationship and arms deal.”

Yee was in it for the cash: “Senator Yee said, ‘Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money. Do I think we can get the good? I think we can get the goods.’”

Yee masterminded a complex scheme to import illegal weapons: “Keith Jackson [a political consultant who worked as Yee’s fundraiser] told [an agent] that Senator Yee had a contact who deals in arms trafficking. This purported arms dealer was later identified. Jackson requested [a campaign donation] on behalf of Senator Yee, for Senator Yee to facilitate a meeting with arms dealer with the intent of [the agent] to purportedly purchase a large number of weapons to be imported through the Port of Newark, New Jersey. During a meeting […] Senator Yee discussed certain details of the specific types of weapons [the agent] was interested in buying and importing.”

Yee had connection with Filipino rebel groups: ”Keith Jackson advised that Senator Yee had an unidentified Filipino associate who was supplying ‘heavy’ weapons to rebel groups in the Philippines.”

Including Muslim terrorists: “According to Senator Yee, Mindanao was largely population by Muslim rebel groups who were fighting the federal government. Yee continued by saying the Muslim rebels had no problem ‘kidnapping individuals, killing individuals, and extorting them for ransom.”

In specific the Moro Islamic Liberation Front: “[The agent] asked about the major Muslim organizations in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. Senator Yee responded by saying ‘M.I.L.F.’”

Yee allegedly wasn’t making up the identity of his arms dealer: “This purported arms dealer was later identified.”

And, Russian arms dealers: “According to Senator Yee, the arms dealer source the weapons from Russia.”

Yee knew he was on the wrong side of the law: “Despite complaining about [the agent’s] tendency to speak frankly and tie payment to performance […] Senator Yee and Keith Jackson […] never walked away from quid pro quo requests.”…

Yee yearned for a different life: “Senator Yee stated he was unhappy with his life and said, ‘There is a part of me that wants to be like you […] Just be a free agent out there.” Senator Yee told [the agent] that he wanted to hide out in the Philippines.”

RELATED STORY: FBI Arrests Anti-Gun California Senator on Firearm Trafficking Charges

Wildlife is Thriving Because of Guns and Hunting

Since the late 1930s, hunters, target shooters and the firearms industry have been the nation’s largest contributors to conservation, paying for programs that benefit America’s wildlife and all who love the outdoors.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Interior just announced that firearms and ammunition manufacturers contributed a record $760.9 million in excise taxes in 2013 through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program.

National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has created the below infographic, “How Wildlife is Thriving Because of Guns and Hunting,” to illustrate how “we as an industry and as sportsmen are the greatest contributors to wildlife conservation in America, providing nearly $9 billion over the past 76 years.”

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The Plan for Police Nullification

“I [sic] give my left n** to bang down your door and come for your gun,” said the cop. This statement, made by Branford, Ct., police officer Joseph Peterson in a Facebook conversation earlier this month, created quite a blogosphere firestorm. Internet commenters from Sacramento to Saratoga struck a note of defiance and e-shouted the ancient words of Spartan King Leonidas, “Molon labe!” On the other side there’s Ct. governor Dannel Malloy (D), who said to a gun owner at a March 13 town-hall meeting that the anti-Second Amendment set won and “you lost.” But it occurs to me that in-your-face actions can go both ways.

Pondering this brings to mind yet another type of response to the (anti) Constitution State door-banger: from law-enforcement officers (LEOs) vowing not to enforce unconstitutional gun laws. One of them, a retired career detective responding to Officer Peterson’s statement that his job is only to enforce the law — and that he must do so no matter what form it takes — called Peterson a “fool” and wrote, “Part of the filtering process in criminal justice IS the police choosing whether or not to enforce a law at a particular point in time on a particular person.” This gets at an important point: the “good soldier” cop argument is bunk. No LEO tickets everyone driving 31 in a 30 zone, many laws are on the books but not enforced at all, and no moral cop would obey a command to round up all members of a certain ethnic group for extermination. Police use discretion all the time.

And, if our constitutional rights are to be secure, we need fewer Officer Petersons in the world and more, let’s say, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. We don’t need good-soldier cops — we need good-citizen cops.

The solution to this problem lies in the LEO selection process. If your area is electing a sheriff, there must be an explicit litmus test:

  • Will you protect constitutional rights?
  • And will you disobey unconstitutional orders, no matter their origin?

Any waffling or hesitation should disqualify the candidate. We need LEOs who won’t just yes us to death, for electoral ambitions have a way of greasing the tongue. We need LEOs who are passionate about the issue, stout-hearted cultural and constitutional warriors. And while we can’t read minds, remember this: if you want to know what a person wants you to believe he believes, listen to what he says. If you want to know what he really believes, listen to how he says it. While some people are A-list actors, it’s hard to fake true passion.

But even this isn’t enough. The candidate must also agree to incorporate as part of regular deputy training a comprehensive course on the U.S. Constitution. This course must reflect what is called a strict “originalist” view of the document, but what is really just the only lawful, correct view. (It would be silly to call someone who follows the rules of poker an originalist and someone who doesn’t a “pragmatist.” The latter is called a cheater.) It must emphasize that an unconstitutional law is no law at all.

This brings us to something else Gov. Malloy said to the gun owner at the town hall: “[W]e have courts. Courts are where the constitutionality of things are [sic] decided.”

Actually, no, they’re not.

Courts are where the courts’ position on constitutionality is decided.

As for actual constitutionality, that’s an objective reality that cannot be changed by cheaters who rationalize that rules can be “living” (which is convenient when you‘ve assumed the power of life and death over them).

And “assumed” is the operative word. Nothing in the Constitution grants the courts the power to be the ultimate arbiter of the document’s meaning. So who did grant the courts this power?

The courts themselves!

Chief Justice John Marshall took it upon himself to assert this right in the 1803 Marbury v. Madison decision. This started the transition from the rule of law to the rule of lawyers.

This is why the LEO Constitution course must also incorporate Thomas Jefferson’s correct position on the courts’ role. Our third president wrote in 1819 that he denied “the right they [the courts] usurp of exclusively explaining the constitution…,” saying that if that right became status quo, “then indeed is our constitution a complete felo de se.” That’s Latin, of course.

It means “suicide pact.”

And no American has an obligation to be party to a suicide pact.

Jefferson went on to explain, “For intending to establish three departments, co-ordinate and independent, that they might check and balance one another, it has given, according to this [judicial review] opinion, to one of them alone, the right to prescribe rules for the government of the others, and to that one too, which is unelected by, and independent of the nation.” Quite right. And if the courts can unilaterally decide that they have ultimate-arbiter power, guess what?

We can unilaterally decide they don’t.

Yes, in-your-face actions can go both ways.

As for law enforcement, what if you can’t vote for your head LEO because you live in a city in which the mayor appoints a police chief? Then the litmus test a sheriff would have to pass must be applied to a mayoral candidate. If he’s a Bolshevik Bill unwilling to appoint a Constitution-loving-and-fearing chief who will institute the aforementioned Constitution course, tell him sorry, but only true Americans need apply.

As first responders, LEOs can also be first persecutors or first protectors. What they actually will be is up to us.

RELATED STORY: Rep. Keith Ellison: I Wish Democrats Would Come Out Against the Second Amendment

Dial “D” for Murder: Democrat controlled U.S. cities as bad as deadliest 3rd World countries

In 2013 World Net Daily reported, “Those pushing President Obama’s gun-control agenda often portray the United States as one of the murder hot spots of the world, but the numbers tell a different story. Even more revealing, gun murders in the U.S. are concentrated in big cities that typically have the strictest gun-control regulations. And it is those cities’ gun murder rates that are comparable to the rates in some of the deadliest countries in the world.”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/g_D2DFY3_5A[/youtube]

Richard Florida from The Atlantic reported, “A number of U.S. cities have gun homicide rates in line with the most deadly nations in the world.”

  • If it were a country, New Orleans (with a rate 62.1 gun murders per 100,000 people) would rank second in the world.
  • Detroit’s gun homicide rate (35.9) is just a bit less than El Salvador (39.9).
  • Baltimore’s rate (29.7) is not too far off that of Guatemala (34.8).
  • Gun murder in Newark (25.4) and Miami (23.7) is comparable to Colombia (27.1).
  • Washington D.C. (19) has a higher rate of gun homicide than Brazil (18.1).
  • Atlanta’s rate (17.2) is about the same as South Africa (17).
  • Cleveland (17.4) has a higher rate than the Dominican Republic (16.3).
  • Gun murder in Buffalo (16.5) is similar to Panama (16.2).
  • Houston’s rate (12.9) is slightly higher than Ecuador’s (12.7).
  • Gun homicide in Chicago (11.6) is similar to Guyana (11.5).
  • Phoenix’s rate (10.6) is slightly higher than Mexico (10).
  • Los Angeles (9.2) is comparable to the Philippines (8.9).
  • Boston rate (6.2) is higher than Nicaragua (5.9).
  • New York, where gun murders have declined to just four per 100,000, is still higher than Argentina (3).
  • Even the cities with the lowest homicide rates by American standards, like San Jose and Austin, compare to Albania and Cambodia respectively.

“Yes, it’s true we are comparing American cities to nations. But most of these countries here have relatively small populations, in many cases comparable to large U.S. metros,” notes Florida.

There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: Soap box, ballot box, jury box and ammo box. Use in that order.

The relentless attacks on the right of citizens to keep and bear arms continue. However, even the often misguided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has found restrictions on the right of citizens to carry arms in public places unconstitutional. The title for this column was a comment posted by CrookShanks on the Daily KOS website.

The Hawaii Free Press Reports:

Hawaii restrictions on gun carrying (essentially) held unconstitutional–for now

Volokh: The case is Baker v. Kealoha (9th Cir. Mar. 20, 2014), and it’s unsurprising: The same Ninth Circuit panel struck down the California restrictions on gun carrying last month in Peruta v. County of San Diego, and the Hawaii restrictions are in important respects similar to the California ones — both basically bar people from having guns to defend themselves in public places (unless they have licenses that can be issued or not at the discretion of local law enforcement, and that are in many places very hard to get). The Baker decision says that it “remand[s] for further proceedings consistent with Peruta, but the writing is on the wall….

read … The Washington Post

Daily KOS Readers Support Second Amendment

DK: Shall issue concealed carry looks like it might be on its way in the Aloha State. I might be jumping the gun a bit when I say the list of may/no issue states continues to shrink but considering the recent trends in regards to concealed carry, I think it’s a safe bet.

What would shall issue in Hawaii look like? Anyone have any theories? Reciprocity?

I look forward to the comments.

read … Read the Comments — They’re positive

RELATED VIDEO: Baristas Now Carry Guns at Spokane, WA Coffee Shop

[youtube]http://youtu.be/0U1EzKS3ItM[/youtube]

RELATED STORY: Workbook teaches kids that Second Amendment includes gun control

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of the Assault Prevention blog.

America Spirals Down the Socialist Sinkhole

America for its first century and a quarter was home to a capitalist system and philosophy that took it from a largely agricultural economy to one that saw the rise of its vast industrial base. In 1913 that changed with the creation of the Federal Reserve, a banking cartel, and the introduction of income taxes. It was a time that gave rise to socialist ideas focused on a central government that controls all aspects of the economy and the lives of citizens.

In 1917 the Bolsheviks seized control of Russia and began implementing Karl Marx’s and Vladimir Lenin’s Communism. That lasted about seventy years until the Soviet Union collapsed for the simple reason that neither Communism nor its cousin, Socialism, works. Freedom and justice go hand-in-hand with successful economies.

Even Communist China seeks to operate with a capitalist economy, participating in international trade organizations, and a banking system that supports business and industry. It retains political control. What we have been witnessing over the last century and this one is the assertion of more and more federal control by our own government.

In Venezuela, its citizens are in the streets protesting its Communist government. In the Ukraine, elements of its citizenry overthrew a president who preferred to ally with Russia than the European Union.

As an advisor to the free market think tank, The Heartland Institute, I receive their publications and visit their website for a great treasure of timely, pertinent information about trends and events in the nation. I recently received its quarterly report that led off with a commentary by its president, Joseph Bast, with whom I have been a friend for many years.

Drawing on a quote by Ronald Reagan who warned against “the anthill of socialism” Bast took a look at the Obama years with devastating accuracy for they are in so many ways a reflection of what is so wrong about socialism.

“Attacks on basic American freedoms are occurring at such a frantic pace and in such disparate arenas that it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture,” wrote Bast, pointing to the 2013 State of the Union speech by Barack Obama. “His top priorities were overhauling immigration laws, passing new gun-control legislation, expanding early childhood education, and raising the minimum wage.”

With surgical analysis, Bast dissected Obama’s policy objectives.

“Illegal immigration is down dramatically since the Great Recession started.”

“Gun-control laws don’t reduce crime, but armed citizens do.”

“Early childhood education programs don’t produce benefits that last more than a year or so.”

“And only six percent of the population is paid the minimum wage, and the overwhelming majority move quickly to better-paying jobs.”

It is Obama’s communist ideology that prompted these and other actions. It is his immersion in Chicago politics that has corrupted the Internal Revenue Service. It is his weakness regarding American exceptionalism that has caused him to back away from global leadership. It is his bashing of “millionaires and billionaires” that reflects his belief in “income inequality” when everyone wants to join their numbers and many do. The disaster of Obamacare reflects his desire to expand government control of the nation’s health system and reduction of the health insurance industry to a handful of selected companies.

“Why not propose pro-jobs policies like removing unnecessary regulations and taxes—like the highest corporate income taxes in the world—to improve the business climate?” asks Bast. “Why not support pro-consumer health care reform, like replacing the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance with an individual tax credit that rewards people for being smart consumers of health care without rationing and without erecting a massive bureaucracy?”

Clearly Americans have taken notice of an economy that has not emerged from the 2008 financial crisis. They have seen how horrid Obamacare is, losing health care insurance plans they liked and being denied their patient relationship with physicians of their choosing, all while driving up their costs.

“Obama and the folks around him are trying to create a new economy that looks a lot like the ones liberals in the 1960s and 1970s imagined: lots of central planning, income redistribution, the illusion of world peace, and windmills.”

“Achieving this transformation requires destroying existing institutions in finance, health care, energy, and education.”  That’s what Communism/Socialism does.

The danger of what Obama is doing is becoming obvious to a growing body of Americans, though not yet enough to curb and reverse it; those who prefer the welfare programs and those whose liberal indoctrination and addiction prevents them from seeing what so many others do.

“The national government and its sycophants in the mainstream media tell us everything is going great, but the truth apparent all around us is nearly exactly the opposite.”

“We can search for and report the truth, talk to our friends and neighbors, and make sure they know what is at stake in November,” wrote Bast.

A good place to start is the Heartland website. The next thing to do is vote in the midterm elections to eliminate those in Congress who are part of the destruction and to replace them with those who want to put a stop to it.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

Black conservative leaders: NRA created to protect freed slaves

A year ago Black conservative leaders discussed how the NRA was created to protect freed slaves. These Black conservative leaders discuss the reason the NRA was founded and how gun control is an effort to control people. This is the full version of that discussion:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/jKMi023Ofro[/youtube]

 

The Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) hosted a group of prominent figures from the African American community at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, February 22nd [2013] at the National Press Club to speak out against gun control legislation currently being considered on Capitol Hill.

CURE is the largest black conservative think tank in the nation and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

CURE organized the news conference in response to concerns shared by black conservatives that the Senate proposed laws will restrict their ability to defend themselves, their property and their families. They are also concerned that the proposed gun control legislation puts too much power in the hands of politicians.

“I believe that it is our duty to stand together and challenge the proposals currently on the table in the Senate, which invoke painful memories of Jim Crow laws and black codes,” said CURE president and founder, Star Parker. “Black history is rife with government demands for background checks in order to qualify for constitutional rights. All Americans should be concerned.”

Star Parker, a nationally syndicated columnist and other noted thought leaders, authors and speakers will make the case against the type of gun control measures President Obama and his liberal allies are proposing. While the group believes that Sandy Hook was a national tragedy, they oppose its use as an opportunity to advance government control and strip any American citizens of their constitutional rights. In the middle of Black History Month, CURE is calling for a serious national dialogue about the impact of gun control on the black community.

“We want to inform United States senators that we will be notifying urban pastors, business leaders and other black voters of their legislators’ position on the Second Amendment—especially blue senators in red states currently up for re-election.” The news conference is to rally behind the tradition of former slave and great American orator Frederick Douglass who said, “A man’s rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.”

DAFR fights for the inalienable firearms rights of responsible disabled Americans. Disabled Americans have unique needs when exercising their 2nd Amendment rights. The mission of DAFR is intertwined within five basic areas of focus.

These areas consist of:

1. The introduction of firearms for self-defense to disabled Americans.
2. Shooting sports program and organized competition for disabled Americans and wounded veterans.
3. Oversee firearms legislation and research their impact on Americans with disabilities.
4. Offer assistance to responsible disabled Americans in order to exercise their 2nd Amendment right.
5. Educating the public and elected officials about how disabled American firearms owners have unique needs that must be met when exercising their 2nd Amendment right.

We have also become concerned with recent legislation that is proposed throughout the United States in reaction to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. With that, our organization has taken a clear stand on various bills, public acts and proposed laws that we deem would be disadvantageous to responsible disabled firearms owners. DAFR intends to shed light on the fact that many Disabled Americans can only use certain types of firearms such as the highly adaptable AR 15 rifle platform. A ban or other serious restrictions on the AR 15 rifle as well as certain other firearms will have an adverse effect on the rights of thousands of disabled Americans.

RELATED LINKS:

http://www.dafr.org

http://www.facebook.com/DAFRUSA

http://www.twitter.com/DAFRUSA

Disabled Americans for Firearms Rights: http://www.dafr.org.

List of Florida’s anti-gun mayors released

The grassroots Florida TEA Party (FTP) has released a list of Florida mayors who are anti-Second Amendment.

In an email FTP states, “It’s getting pretty crazy out there. With so many states attempting to pass legislation to limit and/or eradicate the gun rights granted by the United States Constitution to its citizens, the Second Amendment Coalition of Florida thinks you should know who some of the offenders in Florida are.”

Here are your Florida Mayors Against Gun Rights:

Susan Gottlieb
Aventura
Jean Rosenfield
Bal Harbour
David Coviello
Biscayne Park
Barbara Sharief
Broward County
Greg Ross
Cooper City
James Cason
Coral Gables
Judy Paul
Davie
Cary Glickstein
Delray Beach
Walter B. Duke
Dania Beach
Bruce Mount
Eatonville
Daisy Black
El Portal
John P. “Jack” Seiler
Ft. Lauderdale
Glenn Singer
Golden Beach
Charles Sanders
Greenwood
Samuel Henderson
Gulfport
Joy Cooper
Hallandale Beach
Peter Bober
Hollywood
Ken Schultz
Hypoluxo
Patricia Gerard
Largo
Barrington Russell
Lauderdale Lakes
Richard J. Kaplan
Lauderhill
Howard Schieferdecker
Maitland
Tomás Regalado
Miami
Carlos Gimenez
Miami Dade County
Oliver G. Gilbert
Miami Gardens
Lori C. Moseley
Miramar
Connie Leon-Kreps
North Bay Village
Jack Brady
North Lauderdale
Lucie M. Tondreau
North Miami
Douglas A. Gibson
Oak Hill
John Adornato
Oakland Park
Myra Taylor
Opa-Locka
Buddy Dyer
Orlando
 
Shelley Stanczyk
Palmetto Bay
Frank C. Ortis
Pembroke Pines
Cindy Lerner
Pinecrest
Diane Veltri Bendekovic
Plantation
Thomas A. Masters
Riviera Beach
Philip K. Stoddard
South Miami
Rick Kriseman
St. Petersberg
Norman Edelcup
Sunny Isles Beach
Michael J. Ryan
Sunrise
Daniel Dietch
Surfside
John Marks
Tallahassee
Jeri Muoio
West Palm Beach
Eric H. Jones
West Park
Daniel J. Stermer
Weston
Gary Resnick
Wilton Manors
To learn more visit FLORIDA TEA PARTY – The Grassroots Florida Tea Party at: http://floridateaparty.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network