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Censorship Is Never The Correct Answer

January 11, 2021 by 5 Comments

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Do we really want to live in a world where any contrary thought must be censored, stamped out, and prevented from seeing the light of day?

This is what I saw this morning when I went to open Parler. We knew that Amazon’s AWS service was planning to cut it off because they thought the content “dangerous”.

From the WSJ:

The effective disappearance of Parler shows the growing breadth and effect of efforts by big technology companies to restrict content they label as dangerous after last week’s mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Amazon had said in a letter to Parler over the weekend that it had seen a steady increase in violent content on the site and said Parler’s efforts to remove it were inadequate.

Violent content, my ass! It is clearly a move to suppress any dissenting or contrarian voices. If your argument is so weak that it cannot stand up to criticism, then it isn’t that much of an argument to begin with.

What the Big Tech oligarchs need to fear, and indeed we all should fear, is that by removing ways for people to be heard that someone, anyone, who has nothing left to lose will engage in lone wolf attacks. Communication and the ability to be heard serves a moderating influence. With that gone, grievances fester and they harden putting all of us at risk.

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Knife Preemption May Come To South Carolina

January 6, 2021 by 1 Comment

A bill prefiled in the new session of the South Carolina legislature would add knives to the existing state preemption of firearm laws and regulations. H. 3551 was introduced by Rep. W. Brian White (R-Anderson). It simply adds the word “knives” to the list of items reserved to the state.

What a simple fix!

Many states already have firearms preemption laws on the books. The addition of just that one word could protect knife owners and users from the patchwork of local regulations and ordinances that might exist.

Knife Rights notes a similar bill passed the SC House unanimously in 2015 but got bogged down in the SC Senate. They add this about preemption:

Preemption prevents a patchwork of local ordinances more restrictive than state law which only serve to confuse or entrap law-abiding citizens traveling within or through the state. Preemption ensures citizens can expect consistent enforcement of state knife laws everywhere in a state.

There are 12 states that currently have a knife preemption law on the books.

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OCC Proposal Comments Close Tonight

January 4, 2021 by

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has proposed a regulation that would ensure fair access to banking and credit services. The regulation would ban things like the Obama Administration’s Operation Chokepoint which sought to cut off banking services to disfavored industries.

In the greater scheme of things, this regulation is more important for the health of the firearms industry than the recent ATF moves on pistol braces and 80% lowers/frames. Without access to credit and banking services, the firearms industry would have a hard time existing as would any business.

In its proposal, the OCC notes that certain non-quantitative risk measures have been used by banks to deny financial services.

The pressure on banks has come from both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors of the economy and targeted a wide and varied range of individuals, companies, organizations, and industries. For example, there have been calls for boycotts of banks that support certain health care and social service providers, including family planning organizations, and some banks have reportedly denied financial services to customers in these industries. (8) Some banks have reportedly ceased to provide financial services to owners of privately owned correctional facilities that operate under contracts with the Federal Government and various state governments. (9) Makers of shotguns and hunting rifles have reportedly been debanked in recent years. (10) Independent, nonbank automated teller machine operators that provide access to cash settlement and other operational accounts, particularly in low-income communities and thinly-populated rural areas, have been affected. (11) Globally, there have been calls to de-bank large farming operations and other agricultural business. (12) And companies that operate in industries important to local economies and the national economy have been cut off from access to financial services, including those that operate in sectors of the nation’s infrastructure “so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”  (13)

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is fully in favor of this proposed regulation. They note it doesn’t force banks to do business with businesses. Traditional credit worthiness measures as debt ratio, payment history, and ability to pay will remain in place. They go on to say this proposal will level the playing field by forcing banks to treat all businesses equally and fairly without consideration of banking executives’ personal political preferences.

The rule will apply to the largest banks in the country that may exert significant pricing power or influence over sectors of the national economy. It would require those banks to make their products and services available to all customers in the community it serves, based on consideration of quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established by the bank.

In other words, banks would be required to approve or deny their services based on merit and creditworthiness of individual borrowers. That would remove the “reputational risk” mask that banks hide behind when they force businesses to adopt gun control policies that are beyond the scope of federal, state and local laws or lose access to banking services.

Comments on OCC-2020-0042-0001 closes tonight at 11:59pm Eastern.

To make a comment, use this link: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=OCC-2020-0042-0001

As of this morning, they have received only 4,272 comments. There have been comments opposing it from gun control supporters as well as environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council.

I made a comment and I hope you take a few minutes to do so as well.

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Quote Of The Day

January 1, 2021 by 1 Comment

The quote of the day comes from an op-ed in the Washington Times. In it, Mark Houser and Matthew Larosiere discuss the inclusion of short barreled rifles and shotguns in the National Firearms Act of 1934. As originally written, the bill would have effectively banned all small concealable firearms and especially handguns. That was going too far for Congress and the handgun portion was stripped from the eventual bill that passed. However, they never got around to removing the language on minimum lengths for rifles and shotguns.

Having minimum lengths was necessary if you were going to ban handguns to prevent people from just cutting down a rifle or shotgun. However, once handguns were removed from the bill, it really served no purpose.

But even in 1934, exempting handguns from the NFA was necessary to secure sufficient support for its passage. And with the demise of the handgun ban, the minimum size rules now serve about the same function as a cancer-prone vestigial organ: They don’t accomplish anything useful, but they sure can get you into trouble.

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War Calibers?

December 31, 2020 by 2 Comments

Spain, like all European countries, has pretty extensive gun control even though it is the 7th largest exporter of firearms internationally. Every firearm and its owner is registered. This registry, controlled by the Central Inspectorate for Arms and Explosives, is updated monthly. It is estimated that there are 3 million firearms and 1.1 million owners registered with most being for either target shooting or hunting.

The Spanish gun rights organization ANARMA – Asociación Nacional del Arma de Espana – is concerned those numbers could be reduced even more if a proposal to prohibit certain calibers is adopted.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense maintains a list of calibers called “war calibers”. These are the calibers of rifles and ammunition that civilians are forbidden to own.

From LibreMercado (translated using Google translator):

The Government has just opened a new front against hunters and sports shooting fans. As denounced by the National Weapons Association (Anarma) , PSOE and Podemos threaten to confiscate thousands of rifles that, today, are legal, by classifying certain calibers as “war” and, therefore, prohibited for use by civilians. The popular .30-06 Springfield and 7.62x54R could enter that new black list , according to sources from the same association.

This new prohibition coincides in time with the new Arms Regulations , which came into force on November 5, and which has created great discontent in the field of hunting, sport shooting, arms collecting and historical recreation. Not in vain, several associations have filed an administrative contentious appeal in the Supreme Court against its entry into force.

Anarma denounces that, given the difficulties in prohibiting some weapons directly, the Government is studying expanding the current list of so-called “war calibers”, created in 1993 and which had not been touched for 27 years.

The ANARMA website goes into more detail on the calibers being proposed for addition to the prohibited list:

Well, presumably the ICAE has once again influenced the DGAM to expand the list of military calibers prohibited to civilians. These are as follows:

7.62x54R

.30-06 Springfield

.458 SOCOM

5.45×39 mm SOVIET

5.7×28 mm FN

4.6 x 30 mm

5.8×21 mm Chinese

5.8×42 mm Chinese

ANARMA is especially alarmed that 7.62x54R and .30-06 Springfield are on the list. The latter is the best selling caliber of rifles and ammo in Spain.

They go on to add –

In view of the list, we believe that behind it is a distraction strategy, which we call “Jack Reacher”. As in the movie, a lot of targets are attacked, in order to hide the motives of the one who really interests. In this case, the 7.62x54R, the cartridge that fires the Mossin-Nagant, the SVT-40, the Dragunov and the Izhmash Tiger. These last three semi-automatic rifles that have always been in the ICAE’s sights. As with the new regulation, you cannot prohibit them, since they have never been FUL-AUTO, so they intend to prohibit the caliber. Possibly some others of those proposed are rejected, thus giving the appearance of a process with some formality. In short, another tease of legitimate gun users and an attack on private property and our freedoms.

I think ANARMA is correct. This is a devious way to ban firearms. Instead of saying you can’t own a Winchester 70 in .30-06, just ban the caliber as a “war caliber”.

I wonder which came first for the anti-gun movement – “weapons of war” or “war caliber”? Either way, it is a deliberate attempt by the prohibitionists to confuse the un-informed.

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CRKT’s 2021 Knife Introductions

December 30, 2020 by

With no SHOT Show this coming year due to the pandemic, I think you are going to see a lot of line extensions of products with not many truly new products. Looking over the 2021 lineup of new knives from CRKT, you can see this. Knives like the Provoke folding karambit and the CEO flipper were introduced in past years and will be coming out in new colors.

The Ritual designed by Alan Folts might be the exception as it introduces a new mechanism along with a new knife.

The people at Knifecenter.com sat down with Ryan Pedersen of CRKT to go over the new introductions.

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Sportsman’s Warehouse Merging With Bass Pro Parent

December 26, 2020 by

I missed this when it was released on Monday, December 21st. The Sportsman’s Warehouse has agreed to be bought for cash by Great American Outdoors Group. This is the private holding company that owns Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, White River Marine (Tracker boats), and a number of resorts. It is headed by Bass Pro Shop’s founder Johnny Morris.

From their release:

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. and WEST JORDAN, Utah, Dec. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In an effort to better serve its loyal customers, Sportsman’s Warehouse has entered into a definitive agreement to join the Great American Outdoors Group, parent company of Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, White River Marine Group and a collection of nature-based resorts. The Great American Outdoors Group will remain a private company with a long-term view to do what is best for its customers, team members and conservation initiatives. As part of the agreement, Sportsman’s Warehouse will be acquired for $18.00 per share in cash.

The driving force behind the partnership is the two companies’ similar histories and highly complementary business philosophies and geographic footprints. Both entities share a passion with their customers for fishing, camping, hunting, boating and other outdoor activities. Likewise, both are highly acclaimed retailers with well-deserved reputations for a broad offering of outstanding brand name and proprietary products, superior customer service, deeply knowledgeable team members and an unwavering passion for conservation. Uniting together represents an unprecedented “win-win” opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts.

“We are excited to be joining the Great American Outdoors Group. This merger brings together the greatest brands in the outdoor industry. As we look to the future, the combined entities provide our passionate associates with greater opportunities to serve the outdoor enthusiast. I couldn’t be more proud of the nearly 8,000 Sportsman’s Warehouse associates and their success in building our brand over the last 33 years. We look forward to a smooth transition and building our partnership,” said Sportsman’s Warehouse CEO Jon Barker.

“Today is a happy day for our companies, outdoor enthusiasts and for the cause of conservation,” said Bass Pro Shops Founder and Great American Outdoors Group Leader, Johnny Morris. “As outdoor sports specialists with unwavering dedication to people who fish, hunt and enjoy the outdoors, we greatly admire the passionate team at Sportsman’s Warehouse for their commitment to their customers and the sports we all love. By combining our best practices, our aim is to give our customers a best-of-the-best experience while further uniting them to support conservation,” added Morris.

You may remember that Sportsman’s Warehouse was the winning bidder for the Tapco brand in the Remington bankruptcy auction. I’m not sure what their intention was for the brand but I’m thinking that it has more possibilities now that Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have been added to the mix.

As might be expected in any buyout, a couple of law firms have announced that they are seeking plaintiffs in an effort to sue Sportsman’s Warehouse’s board for breach of fiduciary duties. In other words, they sue, there is a settlement, and the law firms – not the shareholders – get the bulk of the money.

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FPC Explains ATF Actions

December 25, 2020 by

The Firearms Policy Coalition has posted a long Twitter explanation of what the withdrawal of the ATF’s Request for Comment may mean as well as digging deeper into the language used in both the withdrawal and the original document. It is well worth a read to comprehend what we are facing.

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Reflections On ATF’s Withdrawal Of Request For Comment

December 24, 2020 by 1 Comment

On the face of it, the ATF’s decision to withdraw their Request for Comment on “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’” is a win for the gun rights community. We organized, we submitted 67,401 comments (at last count), we got buy in from both the House and Senate, we made ourselves heard, and ATF backed down.

However, the more I think about it, the more I’m wondering if it wasn’t a feint by ATF to scope out the opposition.

I am reminded of this dialog from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story Silver Blaze. It is also known as The Case of the Dog That Didn’t Bark.

“Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

“To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

“The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

“That was the curious incident,” remarked Sherlock Holmes.

In this case, the dog was the gun control industry.

Did Brady United issue a call for comments? No. They did, however, urge people to get involved in the Senate run-off elections in Georgia and endorsed Raphael Warnock.

Did Everytown for Gun Safety issue a call for comments? No. However, they are calling for action to ban 80% frames.

Did Giffords issue a call for comments? No. They are instead asking you to contribute to both Warnock and Ossoff to flip the Senate.

Did Shannon Watts tweet about it? No. She seems more worried that President Trump is going to pardon the Tiger King guy.

In every case, there was absolutely nothing sent out or issued by any of these gun prohibitionists.

Do I think that Acting Director Regina Lombardo and Deputy Director Marvin Richardson would like to make pistols braces come under the regulations of the National Firearms Act? Hell, yes, I think they want that.

Could Lombardo and Richardson be Machiavellian enough to float the Request for Comment as a trial balloon or as way to distract the gun culture from other things?

Let’s look at the evidence.

Lombardo is a 29-year veteran of BATFE. According to her LinkedIn profile, she started as a Special Agent, spent over 7 years as an Attache’ for the ATF in Canada, and then had progressively higher promotion. She certainly has the bureaucratic chops needed.

What about Marvin Richardson? He has put up less about his career in his LinkedIn profile. Nonetheless, we know he has moved up from a Special Agent in Charge of the Denver Field Division to the number two position at ATF over the last 10 years. More importantly, he got promoted after he was found to have lied to the Office of Inspector General’s Office of Special Counsel. In bureaucratic speak, in an interview by OIG inspectors, he was found to have answered questions with “less than candor.” (OIG Investigation number OSC file number D1-07-0367). Nonetheless, despite what should have been a terminating offense, he was appointed as Chief of the ATF’s Professional Review Board and then to SAC in Denver. He knows how to survive and prosper in the wilds of bureaucracy. We also know he will lie when it suits his purpose.

I think the answer is yes, they are Machiavellian enough.

Both Lombardo and Richardson want to curry favor with the incoming Biden Administration. The Trace has already suggested that they go after pistol braces by reclassifying them. Moreover, both Lombardo and Richardson have prospered in what traditionally has been a white male led agency. They didn’t get to where they are by not playing the game very astutely.

So whether this was a trial balloon or a diversionary tactic, I think it served the purposes of Lombardo and Richardson. While we might not know their actual motivation or ultimate goals, we do know that somewhere, sometime, somehow they are going to come after us again. We should never forget that.

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FPC Has Perceptive Comment On ATF Blinking

December 24, 2020 by 2 Comments

The Firearms Policy Coalition, in their note on BATFE withdrawing their Request of Comment had a very perceptive on it that needs to be read. I think they are absolutely correct that BATFE may very well come back with something even worse.

While the ATF is apparently withdrawing this particular “guidance” at this time, the matter is still “pending further Department of Justice review,” which could lead to ATF taking different and potentially far more aggressive actions in the near future, especially under a Joseph Biden-led administration. Rather than publishing guidance, or conducting a rule-making process with notice and comment under the Administrative Procedure Act, such as the Trump Administration engaged in for its ban on bumpstock-type devices, the ATF and DOJ may simply begin to prioritize enforcement actions based upon their clearly erroneous and dangerously broad reading of the law, such as by arresting and prosecuting those who merely possess a stabilizing brace-equipped handgun.

“The National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act, along with their regulations, clearly state objective criteria as to whether a firearm is a short barrel rifle, short barrel shotgun, or any other weapon,” explained Adam Kraut, FPC’s Director of Legal Strategy. “It remains evident that ATF’s policy preferences are hostile to law-abiding Americans and the agency’s schizophrenic approach to addressing these issues places individuals at risk of prosecution for simply following and relying on guidance from the agency.”

“The ATF’s withdrawal of their proposed guidance should be the end of the road for this assault on lawful accessories and law-abiding gun owners, but we know better. FPC will continue to carefully monitor and evaluate ATF policies and enforcement practices for violations of the law and our Constitution, and as we have before, rapidly respond with forceful and appropriate action,” concluded Kraut.