by I saw this today on the /gunpolitics subreddit of Reddit.
I had to laugh but it is true in California.
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NRA Annual Meeting In Houston Canceled
The 2021 NRA Annual Meeting scheduled for Labor Day Weekend in Houston has been canceled. The official reason given was due to COVID-19.
The email sent out to the Board of Directors from NRA President Carolyn Meadows included this announcement:
Due to concern over the safety of our NRA family and community, we regret to inform you that we have decided to cancel the 2021 Annual Meeting & Exhibits. This cancellation applies to all events and meetings that were scheduled in Houston. We will provide future notification regarding a rescheduled date for the annual Meeting of Members.
We make this difficult decision after analyzing relevant data regarding COVID-19 in Harris County, Texas. We also consulted with medical professionals, local officials, major sponsors & exhibitors, and many NRA members before arriving at this decision. The NRA Annual Meeting welcomes tens of thousands of people, and involves many events, meetings, and social gatherings. Among the highlights of our annual meeting are acres of exhibit space featuring the latest and greatest firearms, the display of countless accessories, and the offering of adventures and group gatherings that many travel hundreds, and some even thousands, of miles to experience. We realize that it would prove difficult, if not impossible, to offer the full guest experience that our NRA members deserve. The NRA’s top priority is ensuring the health and well-being of our members, staff, sponsors, and supporters. We are mindful that NRA Annual Meeting patrons will return home to family, friends and co-workers from all over the country, so any impacts from the virus could have broader implications. Those are among the reasons why we decided to cancel our 2021 event.
We would like to thank our members, attendees, exhibitors, and staff for their understanding and support. We are grateful for the many contributions of the George R. Brown Convention Center, state and local officials, community organizers, area hotels, and countless event venues across Houston. We receive enormous support from Houston and the State of Texas – and we hope to return to the Bayou City for a full annual meeting experience.
The NRA looks forward to a Celebration of Freedom in Louisville in May 2022. In the meantime, we will support many other NRA local events and smaller gatherings – in a manner that is protective of our members and celebrates our Second Amendment freedom.
We wish continued health and safety to our entire NRA family.
I hate to say it but I’m kind of relieved. I just wasn’t feeling the excitement about it that I normally do. I’ll miss seeing some friends but more were probably staying away.
2021 NRA Board Election Results
The unofficial election results for the NRA Board of Directors has been released. First, off no write-in candidate was elected meaning that neither Frank Tait nor Rocky Marshall gathered enough votes. Second, everyone who was nominated and didn’t drop out was elected to either three year or one year terms.
Three year terms in order of votes received:
Ronnie Barrett
Carrie Lightfoot
Wayne Anthony Ross
Carolyn Dodgen Meadows
Edie P. Fleeman
Owen Buz Mills
Jim Tomes
Don Saba
Bill Miller
Maria Heil
Donald J. Bradway
Robert J. Wos
William Bachenberg
Scott L. Bach
Kim Rhode
Craig Swartz
Joel Friedman
John C. Sigler
Janet D. Nyce
Niger Roy Innis
David G. Coy
John L. Cushman
David A. Keene
James L. Wallace
Dean Cain
For one year terms:
Anthony P. Colandro
Antonio Hernandez
James Chapman
It is my understanding that there will not be an election for the 76th Director at the NRA Annual Meeting. The nominees for 76th Director are traditionally those who were on the ballot that did not get elected in the regular election. With everyone on the ballot being elected, I guess the argument is that there are no nominees for 76th Director. That said, Charlton Heston was elected as the 76th Director based upon being a right-in candidate. Somewhere along the way the bylaws got changed to remove this possibility.
An alternative explanation could be that Wayne’s trick of using expense-paid “volunteers” from the NRA Members’ Councils of California to campaign for his selected candidate has come to light. Not only was it exposed in the Gangster Capitalism podcast last year but it is now part of the New York Attorney General’s amended complaint (see paragraphs 311 and 312.)
It could also be that he has so many loyalists elected that he doesn’t need to waste our member’s dues to elect just one more.
A Tale Of Two Women Murdered
29 years ago today, a mother holding holding a baby was murdered by FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi. Her name was Vicki Weaver. While charges were dismissed against Horiuchi based upon “federal supremacy”, the US government eventually paid out $3 million to settle a wrongful death suit. Then FBI Director Louis Freeh disciplined 12 agents over the Ruby Ridge standoff but Horiuchi was not one of them. He contended that Horiuchi had acted appropriately.
James Bovard has a series of stories from over the years on the Ruby Ridge standoff and murder.
Lest we forget, the whole mess was started by our friends at the BATFE who alleged that Randy Weaver, Vicki’s husband, sold two sawed-off shotguns to an informant in violation of the NFA.
Fast forward to January 6, 2021. A lieutenant with the Capitol Police shot an unarmed Ashli Babbitt during the so-called “capitol insurrection”. An insurrection implies a coordinated attack. The FBI just released information that there was scant evidence that it was a coordinated effort to overturn the election results.
Yesterday, that unnamed officer was officially exonerated for killing Babbitt. The Department of Justice had already said they would not be bringing charges.
Law professor Jonathan Turley does not agree that the officer involved met any standard for shooting an unarmed person. He is also critical of fellow law professors for essentially considered Babbitt fair game as she was part of the January 6th “insurrection” (that wasn’t).
As Piers Morgan notes, if you or I had been the one who shot a US Capitol Police officer, we would be named. Transparency in government demands that that this officer be likewise named. Heck, we know about Lon Horiuchi but not this guy.
You can argue whether Ashli Babbitt was murdered or not. At the least in my opinion, it was manslaughter and the officer doing the shooting should be held accountable just like many other law enforcement officers have been held accountable over the last two years.
The bottom line is that the government gets away with doing it to you but you don’t get away from doing it to government. I am reminded of Dave Hardy’s excellent book “I’m from the Government and I’m Here to Kill You: The True Human Cost of Official Negligence”. The book covers everything from the Texas City ammo ship explosion to Operation Fast and Furious. In no case was any Federal official ever charged. Indeed, future Chief Justice Warren Burger argued for the DOJ that no compensation should be paid to the families of the 600 killed in the Texas City explosion.
Tweet Of The Day
It seems that Everytown Law and the Brady United are trying to get the Federal Trade Commission to come down on Smith & Wesson for false advertising. You can read their letter here.
However, as Rob Romano of the Firearms Policy Coalition points out, their argument might backfire on them elsewhere. That said, neither Everytown nor Brady have any problem with hypocrisy.
Next time Everytown or Brady calls any of Smith & Wesson's rifles a "weapon of war," remind them that they just told the FTC that "there is no evidence that the military uses such products." https://t.co/2FUfmj9vnV pic.twitter.com/fvbCzEnDIX
— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) August 19, 2021
Needed For Uber In Kabul?
I stumbled across this auction of a 1959 Saladin 6×6 armored car. It supposedly has a 76mm main gun but I’m thinking it is probably demilitarized. With a current high bid of only $1,500, you probably could afford to have it restored and to buy ammo for it. I somehow doubt that Lucky Gunner has ammo for it but you never know. They both are in Knoxville.
From what I’ve read about the Saladin, it held a crew of three. Therefore, if you want to provide safe Uber service to the airport in Kabul for American couples, it would be just the thing. It might not be comfy but it would be safe.
How could the Taliban object? It is named after that great Muslim warrior Saladin!
When You See These Pictures, You Think This
I think by now we all have seen pictures like the one below of piles and piles of M4 carbines captured by the Taliban.
And we probably have all had either a feeling of disgust or maybe even a thought like in the meme below.
Historical Ignorance Is No Excuse
As philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Taken a step further, historical ignorance is no excuse for opposing a law meant to write a wrong.
In this case, it is the 1919 law originally entitled “an act to regulate the sale of concealed weapons in North Carolina.” Both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly have voted to repeal this law and have sent HB 398 to the governor’s desk where it is likely to be vetoed.
One of the leading opponents of the repeal is Sen. Natasha Marcus (D-Mecklenburg). A lawyer and community organizer, Marcus proudly proclaims her membership in Moms Demand Action. She is a graduate of Hamilton College in New York and the Duke University School of Law.
In her opposition to the repeal, the AP reports this:
The local pistol permit requirement began in 1919 during the Jim Crow era, and some bill supporters argue it’s still preventing law-abiding black residents from obtaining weapons. But a local NAACP leader spoke against the bill earlier Wednesday, and Marcus said such opposition is evidence to her that the current permitting system isn’t racist.
Just because a local NAACP leader spoke against the repeal does not confer racial neutrality upon the law. I’m sure if Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC) who is black had condemned the existing law as discriminatory and based upon a desire for white supremacy – which it was – that Sen. Marcus would ignore it and call Lt. Gov. Robinson just a tool of the NRA.
For Sen. Marcus’ edification and education, here are some links that illustrate the history as well as the disparate impact of the law:
By historian Clayton Cramer – North Carolina’s Permit to Purchase Law: The Rumble Seat of Gun Control Laws?
By Nicholas Gallo in the North Carolina Law Review – Misfire: How the North Carolina Pistol Purchase Permit System Misses the Mark of Constitutional Muster and Effectiveness
Finally, a couple from myself – “An Act to Regulate the Sale of Concealed Weapons in North Carolina” – Part I and “An Act to Regulate the Sale of Concealed Weapons in North Carolina” – Part II
I do not hold the fact that Sen. Marcus was born and bred in New York against her. My mother was born and raised in New York and Paul Valone who has been tireless in the fight to overturn this Jim Crow law is also a New York native.
I do hold her ignorance of North Carolina history against her. I also find it contemptuous that she uses the testimony of a NAACP leader as her justification for saying the law is not racist. To be perfectly frank, she couldn’t care less whether it was or was not racist. All that matters to her is that it is gun control of which she is a card carrying supporter.
Democrats Vote To Preserve Jim Crow Law
Every Democrat in the North Carolina Senate save two voted against the repeal of the pistol purchase permit. As I and others have noted many times, the history and purpose of this bill passed in 1919 was to disarm black North Carolinians.
The only two Democrats who didn’t vote against repeal of this Jim Crow law were Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene, Pitt) who didn’t vote and Sen. Ernestine Bazemore (D-Beaufort) who had an excused absence. By contrast, every Republican supported the repeal with the exception of Sen. Bob Steinburg (R-Camden) who had an excused absence.
HB 398 had already passed the NC House of Representatives with bi-partisan support.
The bill has passed its 2nd and 3rd readings and has been enrolled. It now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk where undoubtedly he will continue the Democrat’s support of a law conceived in racism. A law that research in the North Carolina Law Review has shown still discriminates against blacks.
In a day and time when I get virtually daily emails from liberal groups denouncing Confederate statues as racist symbols and college buildings being renamed due to the segregationist past of their namesakes, I find it hard to comprehend just how strongly Democrat legislators, both white and black, cling to a law conceived in racism. Not only was it conceived in racism but the law still has a disparate impact on minorities.
I guess Democrats are more afraid of white women funded by a New York billionaire than they are of their own minority constituents. Go figure.
HB 398 Coming To Vote In NC Today
HB 398, the repeal of North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit, will be coming up for a vote in the NC Senate soon today. That may even be today as it has passed both the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. The NC House has already approved the repeal with a bipartisan majority. Undoubtedly, Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) will veto it and it will come up for an override. Pressure needs to be put on both Republicans and Democrats in the NC Senate to pass the bill and then to vote for the override.
Grass Roots North Carolina has been leading the fight on this for years. They sent out the following alert last night. I have sent my letters and I’d encourage you to do so as well. On the letter to Democrats, I added that we take down Confederate monuments as “racist” – shouldn’t we repeal a law that is actually still discriminating against blacks?
| Action Vital to Repeal Purchase Permits |
HB 398 to repeal our Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit law passed the Senate Rules Committee today and heads to the floor for a vote as early as tomorrow. Please contact all members of the NC Senate immediately! In today’s committee hearing, articulate defense of the bill was provided by sponsor Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba), Sen. Chuck Edwards (R- Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania) and Sen. Ralph Hise (R- Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Yancey). The usual leftist whining was made by Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake). Thanks are also due Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Rules Chair Sen. Bill Rabon for moving HB 398 in a timely fashion. GRNC president Paul Valone testified to the committee, noting both the racist origins of the law. (which is being racially applied even today), and the fact that GRNC has so far had to sue two sheriffs to get permits issued in the 14 days required by statute even as broad scale civil unrest causes thousands of new gun owners to unsuccessfully seek permits. After his testimony, Chaudhuri commented that it was acceptable that gun owners should have to sue sheriffs merely to exercise their rights. As usual, Marcus and representatives of North Carolinians “Against Gun Violence” (formerly North Carolinians for Gun Control) promulgated mistruths about guns being purchased without background checks at gun shows and online sales, blithely ignoring the reality that the same laws apply in those venues as anywhere else. Amusingly enough, Marcus admitted the Jim Crow discriminatory origins of a law which is being used even now to disproportionately deny guns to minorities, meaning that in the interest of banning guns, Democrats are now defending racism. Perhaps most ironic was Marcus’ claim that she is “not anti-gun” but merely “anti-violence,” which not only belied the fact that she and others like her always support restrictions on gun ownership, but also attempted to falsely cast gun rights supporters as “pro-violence.” Alert Writers needed. Click here for more information… Support “Rights Watch International” Learn more about Rights Watch International You shop. Amazon Gives. (What is Amazon Smile?) |