Month: June 2021

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Sounds Like VCDL Has Grounds For A Defamation Lawsuit

June 10, 2021 by 1 Comment

It looks like the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) is up to its old tricks. The only thing that has changed is the players involved. It used to be Ladd Everitt and now it seems it is Lori Haas.

Ms. Haas sent out a press release on Tuesday, June 8th, that cheered the nomination by Virginia Democrats of Terry McAuliffe for governor. She touted McAuliffe’s position on gun control.

Also included in her statement was this:

Now is not the time to go back. Virginia cannot afford to elect Glenn Youngkin and his outdated and harmful stance on gun violence. His willingness to say anything for a vote is deeply troubling, as we’ve already seen him cozying up to those with deep ties to those at the forefront of the insurrectionist movement, like Senator Amanda Chase and the domestic terror organization, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. 

I am not a lawyer but calling any legitimate organization such as the Virginia Citizens Defense League a “domestic terror organization” sounds defamatory. I think it goes beyond legitimate and protected political speech.

The FBI has a definition of “domestic terrorism” that speaks to the issue.

Domestic terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.

Wearing an orange sticker that says “Guns Save Lives” is neither violent nor criminal. Neither is engaging in the political process and supporting a candidate such as Glenn Youngkin who believes in the Second Amendment.

If I were Phillip Van Cleave of VCDL, a letter from VCDL’s attorneys would be in the mail demanding a retraction of Ms. Haas’ statement along with an apology. If neither was forthcoming, then a lawsuit would be filed sooner than later.

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SCI Utah Chapter Had A Special Guest

June 8, 2021 by 6 Comments

I get a lot of press releases in my email. Most are somewhat interesting but not enough to prompt me to post about it.

I got one this morning on behalf of the Utah Chapter of Safari Club International. They raised $350,000 at their recent banquet. Having been in charge of a banquet and auction years ago for my local chapter of Trout Unlimited, I can assure you this is an astounding figure. If we made $20,000, it was considered a phenomenal amount.

$105,000 of this money will go to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources while another $210,000 will be spent by the chapter on DWR-approved wildlife conservation projects.

However, that is not what made this press release so interesting. Look at the picture below. Notice anyone that looks familiar. How about the guy in the blue sports coat?

If you said to yourself, “Damn! Isn’t that Chris Cox?” The answer would be yes. After getting stabbed in the back by the unholy alliance of Wayne LaPierre and Bill Brewer, he formed his own public affairs firm called Capital 6 Advisors. David Lehman, former Deputy Director of NRA-ILA and its General Counsel, is also now part of that firm.

Cox was the special guest speaker at the banquet. He had this to say:

“The incredible success of SCI Utah’s Annual Conservation Auction and Banquet demonstrates Utah’s strong support for our hunting heritage and right to keep and bear arms. The money raised at this event will ensure that wildlife species and their habitats will continue to grow and thrive. The enthusiasm and dedication from the chapter members clearly show that the future of hunting and conservation in Utah is in good hands.”

I am glad to see Cox starting to reemerge in public. I can only speculate how things might have been different in the 2020 elections if he had still been at the head of ILA. Maybe Trump would have still lost but I really think the Senate Majority Leader would still be Mitch McConnell and not that reptilian Chuck Schumer.

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NRA Ballots Are Arriving

June 8, 2021 by 2 Comments

I heard today that the ballots for the 2021 NRA Board of Directors’ election have started to arrive. It will come in the official journals of the NRA which include American Rifleman, American Hunter, America’s First Freedom, and Shooting Illustrated. If you are a either a Life Member of any category or a five-year continuous member, you are eligible to vote and should be receiving a ballot.

As I wrote back in November 2020, there are no petition candidates on the ballot. That means everyone on the ballot was selected by the Nominations Committee which is dominated by “friends of Wayne”. Of the people nominated, only Owen “Buz” Mills is worthy of your support. He had the fortitude to stand up for the members during the NRA bankruptcy proceedings. Everyone else on that list of nominees thought it more important to stay in Wayne’s good graces and not offend the powers behind the throne.

There are also two write-in candidates running for the board. It should be noted that no one has even been elected directly as a write-in candidate. Charlton Heston, as I understand it, was elected as the 76th Director because he did appear on a few ballots as a write-in.

The two write-in candidates are Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall. As Frank Tait notes, it is essential that their names be listed exactly as shown below or they will be disqualified. Rocky Marshall stood up when it was time to be counted and deserves to stay on the board.

I am a strong believer in bullet voting and these three are the only three I would encourage you to give your vote. Voting for 25 candidates dilutes your vote. You are giving equal weight to both your number one preferred candidate and your 25th preferred candidate.

There is one person on the ballot who should not get your vote. That is Carolyn Meadows. She has served as an enabler to both Wayne LaPierre and William Brewer and that is unforgiveable. As part of the Special Litigation Committee, she helped pave the way for the NRA to waste another $10 million on their abortive attempt at getting out of New York by way of bankruptcy. If only half of that money had been used in the Georgia US Senate run-off elections, perhaps there would not be a Senator Warnock (D-GA) nor a Senator Ossoff (D-GA). This would have been the bulwark needed to stop Joe Biden and his cronies plans to eviscerate the Second Amendment and our God-given rights to self-defense.

I will be voting for Buz Mills directly and for Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall by write-in. No one else will be getting my vote.

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DOJ Pushes Red Flag Laws Plus Pistol Brace Rule

June 7, 2021 by 2 Comments

We knew something was coming out on pistol braces as it has been signaled for a while now. The Department of Justice just released their notice of proposed rulemaking on pistol braces and have also said they will provide states with model “extreme violence protection order” legislation. The rule, if adopted, would make AR pistols with pistol braces an NRA item. I guess those who need a brace to shoot an AR pistol due to war wounds or other disabilities need to cough up $200. Evidently, DOJ doesn’t consider that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the BATFE nor to wounded veterans.

Here is the press release from Biden’s Department of Justice. I have highlighted a few things in it.

Justice Department Issues Proposed Rule and Model Legislation to Reduce Gun Violence

New Steps Would Enhance Enforcement of the National Firearms Act and Aid States in Drafting “Extreme Risk Protection Order” Laws

Today, the Department of Justice announced two new steps to help address the continuing epidemic of gun violence affecting communities across the country. First, the department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that makes clear that when individuals use accessories to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the heightened regulations on those dangerous and easily concealable weapons. Second, the department published model legislation to help states craft their own “extreme risk protection order” laws, sometimes called “red flag” laws. By sending the proposed rule to the Federal Register and publishing the model legislation today, the department has met the deadlines that the Attorney General announced alongside President Biden in April. 

“The Justice Department is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today we continue to deliver on our promise to help save lives while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. We welcome the opportunity to work with communities in the weeks and months ahead in our shared commitment to end gun violence.”

The department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make clear that the statutory restrictions on short-barreled rifles apply to pistols that are equipped with certain stabilizing braces and intended to be fired from the shoulder. The National Firearms Act imposes heightened regulations on short-barreled rifles because they are easily concealable, can cause great damage, and are more likely to be used to commit crimes. But companies now sell accessories that make it easy for people to convert pistols into these more dangerous weapons without going through the statute’s background check and registration requirements. These requirements are important public safety measures because they regulate the transfer of these dangerous weapons and help ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands. The proposed rule would clarify when these attached accessories convert pistols into weapons covered by these heightened regulations.

Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 90 days to submit comments.  To view the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, please see here.

The department also published model legislation and detailed commentary that will make it easier for states to craft “extreme risk protection orders” authorizing courts to temporarily bar people in crisis from accessing firearms. By allowing family members or law enforcement to intervene and to petition for these orders before warning signs turn into tragedy, “extreme risk protection orders” can save lives. They are also an evidence-based approach to the problem. The model legislation, developed after consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, provides a framework that will help more states enact these sensible laws.

To read the model legislation, please see here.

To learn more about the rulemaking process, please see here.

There is so much bull shit in the paragraph on pistol braces that it would keep most farms fertilized for generations.

As to the legality of it, I really don’t see how they can square it with the 6th Circuit’s ruling in GOA v. Garland in which that court found that only Congress can change definitions like this when a criminal penalty is involved. Trump really screwed up things when he pushed DOJ to ban bump stocks.

As to Merrick Garland, I owe Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a big thanks for keeping him off the US Supreme Court.

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NRA Drops Federal Case Against NY AG

June 5, 2021 by 1 Comment

The National Rifle Association voluntarily dismissed its case against NY Attorney General Letitia James in US District Court for the Northern District of New York. This case was filed virtually immediately after James filed for dissolution of the NRA in state court. The suit had accused James of violating the NRA’s First and 14th Amendment rights to free speech.

William Brewer III had this to say in a statement regarding the move to voluntarily dismiss the case.

Dropping the Albany case “will ensure that the NRA’s claims proceed promptly to discovery and a full vindication of its members’ rights,” NRA lawyer William Brewer said in a statement.

It didn’t take long for James to respond with a public statement.

“The NRA dropping its countersuit today in federal court is an implicit admission that their strategy would never prevail. The truth is that Wayne LaPierre and his lieutenants used the NRA as a breeding ground for personal gain and a lavish lifestyle. We were victorious against the organization’s attempt to declare bankruptcy, and our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no one is above the law.”

Given that Brewer and his firm were the architects of this legal strategy which they are now abandoning, it would be nice if they returned the money spent on legal fees for this case to the NRA.

We all know that will never happen. What it does underscore is how much money the NRA has wasted on legal fees paid to Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, with nothing to show for it. Whether it was the suit against San Francisco, the bankruptcy case, and now this, the only winner was Brewer.

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Quote Of The Day

June 4, 2021 by

Today is the 19th anniversary of Marvin Heemeyer’s one-man war against an oppressive bureaucracy in Granby, Colorado. The name may not ring a bell but a picture of his weapon of choice will.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Yes, that heavily “modified” Komatsu D355A is what became known as “Killdozer”. It was the instrument he used to destroy 13 buildings in Granby including the town hall. You may disagree with what he did and you may disagree on the details of the story. You might even thing he was an anti-government deluded lunatic who inspires “right wing preppers.”

However, Mr. Heemeyer did leave us with a great quote in notes that were found after his self-inflicted death.

I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things.

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My, My, My! Isn’t This An Interesting Coincidence

June 3, 2021 by 2 Comments

After I posted about David Chipman attending one of the inaugural balls with his then fiancee’ Tara, I had a comment on the post saying they met while she was a secretary at BATFE’s Washington headquarters. With a little research, I find this isn’t totally accurate. While I don’t know how Chipman met his current wife, I do know she had worked at the BATFE since 1995 in one job or another.

According to her LinkedIn page, she started as a receptionist, became a writer-editor with them, moved over to the Treasury’s Trade and Tax Bureau’s Congressional Office, back to BATFE as a program manager, and finally advanced to Division Chief, Executive Secretariat Division where she currently works.

The Executive Secretariat Division does such things a publish the internal newsletter, handle correspondence, write speeches, and handle the archives of BATFE. They are also responsible for the BATFE’s historical program. Indeed, Mrs. Chipman served as the acting historian for at least a period of time according to this BATFE Facebook post. She is pictured along with then Columbus SAC Trevor Velinor.

Beyond the obvious nepotism issue that Mrs. Chipman faces if, god forbid, her husband is confirmed as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, there is the little issue of conflicts of interest. Ideally, BATFE employees would be scrupulously neutral when it comes to gun politics. However, we know this is an ideal and not reality.

Mrs. Chipman has jumped on-board with the Demanding Moms’ “Wear Orange” for gun violence (sic) program as seen in this picture.

Not surprisingly, she has also donated to the Cult of Personality Known as Giffords and has publicized it on her Facebook page. Her Facebook page has plenty of other progressive issues that she virtue signals about as well.

She is, of course, free to make donations to whom she wishes and to let the world know it in an unofficial manner. That said, it just reemphasizes the importance of making sure her husband is never confirmed to head BATFE. Even if she resigned if her husband was confirmed, she would still have his ear and use that to reinforce her progressive and anti-gun views.

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Trophy Hunting Helps African Animal Populations

June 2, 2021 by 1 Comment

The British publication The Economist just produced a very interesting video on trophy hunting in Namibia. It makes the point that hunters and their money pays for conservation, provides meat to local communities, and provides an economic incentive to stop poaching and overgrazing.

You may not agree with trophy hunting and that is your right. However, bans on trophy imports, public shaming of hunters, and calls for banning it outright will eventually lead to the extinction of many species. Putting an economic value on wild animals, regulated hunting, and hunter-funded anti-poaching efforts have been shown to work.

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Do ATF Special Agents Go To Inaugural Balls?

June 1, 2021 by 4 Comments

The headline poses an interesting question. One would assume or just maybe hope that special agents working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives would be non-political or even apolitical. They are considered “Further Restricted Employees” under the Hatch Act.

In the case of Biden’s nominee to head BATFE, that would be a wrong assumption.

Below you can see David Chipman with his fiancee’ Tara at a presidential inaugural ball in 2009 for President Barrack Obama. While probably not a violation of the Hatch Act, it is a bit unseemly.

In January 2009, Chipman was still the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division. A couple of months later he got a promotion to a SAC position in the Washington headquarters. I’m sure it is just a coincidence.

Would it surprise anyone to know that Chipman is such a non-believer in OpSec that I was able to find his home address, its Zillow value of $874,000, Facebook pages for him, his now-wife Tara, his ex-wife Micki, and his two kids.