NRA Has Me Shaking My Head Again

The NRA Annual Meeting is little more than two months away. They are finalizing their speakers and seminar presenters as they should. One of the seminar presenters is John Correia who is a trainer, self-defense analyst, and all around nice guy.

John’s YouTube channel has 2.42 million subscribers with millions and millions of views. If you click here, you can see his introduction to his channel.

John is putting on six classroom seminars over the course of the NRA Annual Meeting weekend. These are free to Annual Meeting attendees. In a state that will be going permitless carry just in time for the Annual Meeting, seminars on the do’s and don’t’s of protecting yourself and loved ones would seem to be critical to me. His training is evidence-based and is real world.

John is not getting paid to present these seminars. However, presenters such as John have gotten their travel expenses compensated for in the past as well they should. I know my good friend David Yamane had his hotel and travel expenses covered when he spoke at the National Firearms Law Seminar back in 2019 in Indianapolis. I know because David told me.

I saw a post from John today on Facebook that just had me shaking my head.

Just a single point of data, but it is true. I was asked by the NRA to kind of headline a training push at NRAAM this year, and so asked to do 6 classroom seminars over the weekend. I agreed and all I asked in return was two coach plane tickets and a pro-rata share of the Airbnb I am renting for ASP staff for the weekend.

They initially agreed but yesterday emailed to tell me that they no longer can offer any reimbursement for speakers travel or any honorarium.

I guess that failed bankruptcy filing and making sure WLP has a nice jet to fly on and new suits costs too much to think about the people who will actually help your constituents at your conference.

Le sigh. We will still be there, and I will still do a seminar every day because it will help the attendees and the overall RKBA. But as a benefactor patriot whateverthehell level life member I am right now, it’s frustrating to see the organization miss the mark so often.

John wasn’t asking for a private Gulfstream charter with a suite at the Four Seasons. He was asking for coach tickets and a pro-rata share of his Airbnb.

Do you think Wayne flies coach and stays at an Airbnb to save on the NRA’s expenses?

If you listened to just a few minutes of his rambling testimony during the abortive bankruptcy trial you know the answer to that.

All I can say – as many of us have said over and over – WTF NRA?

GRNC: Override Cooper’s Veto Of SB43

Grass Roots North Carolina released an alert yesterday evening urging people to contact those legislators on the bubble. It is time for them to decide if good people who merely want to protect their fellow churchgoers are more important or is party more important.

You know my feelings on the subject. I think the veto was not only disingenuous but evil.

OVERRIDE GOVERNOR COOPER’S VETO OF SB43
Since 1995, the majority of North Carolina churches have had the protections that SB43 would have extended to all places of worship. Guns have been present in those places for decades as a lifesaving protection against evil. 

Despite solid bipartisan majorities in the legislature who voted not once but TWICE to send this bill to his desk, despite the thousands of emails and calls last week to the Governor’s office imploring him to correct an injustice recognized by all, Governor Cooper chose not to follow the will of North Carolinians but the dictates of the leftist anti-liberty lobby instead.

A veto override in both chambers will be required to remedy this clear and present danger to churchgoers across the state.  

The antis object to the people being able to defend themselves based on a fanatical fear that someone, somewhere, sometime in the distant future may casually leave a gun laying around. Uncaring that they are endangering children because they are deathly afraid that guns might be present in certain places.
Those who obtain a concealed carry permit have to undergo extensive background checks and training.  They invest time and money in the proper holster and equipment to safely carry their firearms.  

History has shown there is a far greater risk from crime or mass murderers than those who have show  themselves to be of exemplary character in obtaining a concealed carry permit.
We know we can count on the Republican members of the General Assembly to vote in favor of an override, but can we count on the support of the Democratic legislators who previously supported the bill to do the same?

We need the Democrat legislators to stand firm on their principles and not give in to political pressure and vote WRONG.  

The following members of the NC Senate: Senators Sarah Crawford, Don Davis, and Kirk deViere; and members of the NC House: Representatives Charles Graham, Abe Jones, Brian Turner, Shelly Willingham, and Michael Wray, along with Senate Leader Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore need to hear from you TODAY that we expect a veto override vote to be scheduled and won without delay.   Those who would vote to deny this equal protection under the law for all, and certainly those who would change their prior vote of support for a blindly partisan vote of opposition will have blood on their hands if violence is perpetrated against a church unjustly prohibited to use all means available to protect themselves and their congregations during worship services.

We need not a thousand calls and emails but tens of thousands to demand the immediate override of this veto. 

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

Call the following list of Democratic Representatives along with Senate Leader Pro Tempore Berger and House Speaker Moore: 

Senate Leader Pro Tempore Phil Berger         (919) 733-5708
Senator Sarah Crawford                               (919) 733-5850
Senator Don Davis                                       (919) 717-8363
Senator Kirk deViere                                    (919) 733-5776
House Speaker Tim Moore (R)                       (919) 733-3451
Representative Charles Graham (D-47)          (919) 715-0875
Representative Abe Jones (D-38)                   (919) 733-5758
Representative Brian Turner (D-116)             (919) 715-3012
Representative Shelly Willingham (D-23)        (919) 715-3024
Representative Michael Wray (D-21)              (919) 733-5662

Hello, my name is (name). I am calling to direct the legislature immediately take action to override the dangerous veto of Senate Bill 43 (Protect Religious Meeting Places) and expect you to remain true to your previous votes in support of this measure.  Don’t allow some churches to be singled out for violence merely because of petty partisan politics.  I will be following this matter through GRNC legislative alerts.  Thank you.”

Email members of the Senate: 


Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov;
Sarah.Crawford@ncleg.gov;
Don.Davis@ncleg.gov;
Kirk.deViere@ncleg.gov

Email members of the House:

Tim.Moore@ncleg.gov;
Charles.Graham@ncleg.gov;
Brian.Turner@ncleg.gov;
Shelly.Willingham@ncleg.gov;
Michael.Wray@ncleg.gov
 
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE


Suggested Subject: “Don’t Single Out Certain North Carolina Churches for Violence
”  
 
Dear Legislator:
 
Since 1995, the majority of North Carolina churches have had the protections that SB43 would have extended to all places of worship. Guns have been present in those places for decades as lifesaving protection against criminals and mass murderers who are stopped by silly rules or signs about massacre zones.

Those who object to the people being able to exercise their common sense civil right of armed self-defense do so based on the feeble excuse that someone, somewhere might leave a gun laying around. Those who take on the solemn duty of defending their family and their fellow man undergo extensive background checks and training and they invest a lot of time and money to safely carry their firearms. 
 
They do not just leave them lying around as some would have you believe. Those who object to SB43 are endangering certain people based on a rare possibility instead of the real threat of crime or a mass shooting.  They are rendering people unsafe based on this belief. 

It is time that you step up to protect the people of North Carolina and override the governor’s veto. You voted twice previously to support this legislation and I now expect you to remain true to your previous votes in support of this measure. I will be following this matter through GRNC legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

PSA’s In Your Face Response To Biden

I imagine most people by now have heard about President Biden’s speech where he said you needed F-15s and nukes to take on the US government. Of course there are always those naysayers ranging from the Viet Cong to the Taliban to just about everyone in the gun culture.

The memes have abounded as social media has shown.

Palmetto State Armory is going one step beyond the memes. They are now offering “Tyranny-15” stripped AR lowers for pre-sale.

It is a pre-order item going for $79.99 with about a 12 week lead time.

I have to hand it to them. This is about as in your face as it gets from its name to the engravings. Even the serial number string of TJEFFERSON xxxx recalls Thomas Jefferson’s 1787 “Tree of Liberty” letter where he said the “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” This was the quotation that Biden mangled in his speech.

Illicit Manufacturing Awareness?

I was passed the unclassified document below by a friend of a friend. It is published by the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Center Team. The ostensible purposes is to make “first responders” aware of “privately made firearms”. It was just published on June 22nd but not made public. It contains a notice that it is for official use only and not to be made available to the public, the media, or other personnel without authorization from DCTC, DHS, or the FBI.

Just like all the 3-D printing files out there, you cannot stop the signal. If I have it, others have it.

While it contains the disclaimer that “many of the activities described herein may involve Constitutionally protected activities and may be insignificant on their own”, the whole tenor of the six page document is that only criminals, terrorists, and domestic extremists (from the right) would ever engage in making their own firearms. I guess that would make the Gun Maker’s Match recently held in Florida a gathering of “domestic terrorists”. No matter that the sponsors included 2A Gaming, Brownells, GOA, and the Firearms Policy Coalition among others.

JCAT asserts that awareness of PMFs (personally made firearms) can enable first responders to aid in their recovery, prevent illicit activities such as terrorism, and promote public safety. It then goes into how a RMVE group used a foreign instant messaging service to post files on 3D printing and machining. In government speak, RMVE is a “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group. In other words, despite the assertions of Attorney General Merrick Garland that they are everywhere, it is referring to the handful of white supremacists.

In my opinion, this demonization of 3D printing and machining and personally made firearms is all part of the same campaign to outlaw the sale of 80% lowers/frames and the like.

Read the document for yourself and make your own decision on its purpose.

Today I Learned…

Today I learned, by reading academic literature, that by engaging in trophy hunting or merely desiring to do so, I am:

  • Engaging in male supremacy by seeking a trophy of my “conquest”
  • Taking part in an ongoing rehearsal of Western imperialist history
  • Seeking to subjugate and conquer “subhuman” (their words) indigenous peoples
  • Partaking in perpetuating the racist and sexual norms of oppression and social exclusion
  • A human supremacist
  • Not a conservationist
  • Alarming and social reprehensible
  • Violating the dignity of nonhuman animals
  • Entrenching my Western narrative of supremacy which is underpinned by my chauvinistic, colonialist and crudely utilitarian anthropocentric attitude.

​Who would have thought I was “guilty” of all of that just for wanting to go on a once-in-a-lifetime hunting trip to Africa.

Evidently, that is the opinion of Dr. Chelsea Batavia, a postdoc fellow in the Dept of Forest Ecosystems and Society, at Oregon State University

The paper, The Elephant (Head) in the Room, can be found here.

This same lead author also thinks tsetse fly eradication is not ethically justified. This is despite almost 70 million Africans who are at risk for sleeping sickness. The disease, by the way, is fatal without treatment.

Batavia was also one of the star’s of the anti-hunting Humane Society of the US’s YouTube diatribe on trophy hunting.

At Academia.edu, I subscribe to be notified of articles about wildlife conservation, Africa, and trophy hunting. Most articles are much different but I do find it instructive to know what is going on in academia as they are teaching (supposedly) the next generation of wildlife biologists.

Reactions To Biden’s Speech on “Gun Violence”

There is nothing like a good old Joe Biden word-salad speech as shown below to inspire some good, down-home snarkiness.

Oh, where to start. I guess we’ll go with Miguel from Gunfreezone.net.

Let’s move on to Dana Loesch who is always good for some snark.

Moving on to Maj Toure.

How about this from firearms patent attorney Ben Langlotz.

We have to get in a meme using Sponge Bob.

A new hashtag has been created!

Now to a serious comment. I do sincerely believe that Joe Biden is showing age-related cognitive decline. I see similar behaviors to what I saw in my own mother who suffered from dementia for years before she passed away. However, while we can laugh and make fun of Biden’s speech, we need to realize that it will be his authoritarian administration using the jack-booted thugs of BATFE (potentially led by Chipman) and other agencies carrying out these anti-self defense policies. They are not demented and they are evil and they will use lawfare. If lawfare fails, they will use deadly force backed by false narratives parroted by a compliant media. Biden’s speech was the side-show; the implementation of these evil policies will be the main event.

Did David Chipman Say Blacks Cheated To Pass Promotion Exam?

We know that David Chipman served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of BATFE. He served in that position from November 2006 until March 2009. While serving in that position, he is alleged by a fellow BATFE Special Agent to have made disparaging remarks about the number of African-Americans who had passed the BATFE promotion exam to be ASAC’s. That agent filed a complaint with the EEOC about the comment.

“Wow, there were an unusually large number of African American agents that passed the exam this time. They must have been cheating.”

The Daily Caller spoke with another former ATF Special Agent who said Chipman’s comments spread throughout the Field Division.

The former Detroit-based ATF agent, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, did not personally witness Chipman making the comment, but recalled colleagues talking about how Chipman “made this remark that all the African Americans must be cheating because there’s no way they could get these scores.”

“He made this remark in front of a bunch of witnesses,” the former Detroit-based ATF agent said. “It spread like wildfire at the agency. It got tremendous blowback, as it should. Here you have a middle manager saying something like that with absolutely no proof.”

Chipman was asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) about any EEOC reports and responded that there had been two. He went on to add that they had been resolved without any finding of discrimination. Chipman then added that his ATF personnel file remains under the control of the Federal government.

Chipman has been very reticent about providing his personnel record for public review. According to Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, this is a big red flag based upon his own 13 years serving as a Senate staffer. As a result, AAF filed a Freedom of Information Act request on April 20th requesting documents relating to “all complaints, grievances, requests for investigation, or investigatory documents related to employee misconduct, harassment, malfeasance, or other violations of the standards of professional conduct” concerning Chipman. They filed another request in May after being told his records had been sent to the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives.

As you might expect out of the Biden Administration, this request has been stone-walled with no definitive answer. Thus, the American Accountability Foundation filed a Federal lawsuit in US District Court for DC seeking these documents. They are seeking a formal response from BATFE to either comply with or deny the request. They then ask for these documents to be released as they believe records are still being held within BATFE.

Do I think Chipman could have made these remarks? I do because I think he is arrogant enough to have made them and because too many other agents have some recollection of it. Do I think it probably was swept under the table at the time? Sure. The BATFE management has a history of protecting their fair haired children and it appears that Chipman was one of those.

The FOIA lawsuit is below:

D.D.C.-21-cv-01669-dckt-000001_000-filed-2021-06-22 by jpr9954 on Scribd

Keep The Pressure Up Against Chipman

Tomorrow is the committee vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on David Chipman’s nomination to head BATFE. If you haven’t contacted your own senators, do it now. In addition, contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as well. The alert from Grass Roots North Carolina has both their email contact and phone numbers.

Do it before it is too late.

THIS IS SERIOUS!!  ATF NOMINEE CHIPMAN  HAS MADE MILLION+ LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
IF THE CHIPMAN CONFIRMATION IS ALLOWED TO PASS IT WILL SPELL DISASTER FOR YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Joe Biden has found a special someone who hates your liberties as much as he does and wants to have that Waco Whacko head up the ATF or is it the “AFT” (to quote Biden).  

 CHIPMAN HAS MADE IN EXCESS OF A MILLION DOLLARS LOBBYING AGAINST YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!

When Chipman champions “gun safety” the real meaning behind the lie is ‘No firearm protection from criminals for you’ indeed, Chipman’s advice for you in these dangerous times is to”Buy stronger deadbolts for the exterior doors of your home”.  

Mr. Chipman sidled up with Mike Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety (safety for criminals only) and is a Senior Policy Advisor for Gifford’s ANTI-GUN GROUP.

What kind of a nut does Mr. Chipman have to be, to believe that the demoralized and defunded police will get to your home in time to save you in those precious seconds when death is at your door? He didn’t care about the children burned to death at Waco, no doubt he doesn’t care about YOUR safety either.

What level of fear (of someone or something) would it take to tempt any Senator to betray their oath to uphold the Constitution by confirming someone who is against YOUR right to keep and bear firearms to head up the ATF?  Chipman was unable (or unwilling) to describe to Congress what he considers to be an “assault weapon”-how could he possibly be qualified to lead the ATF ?   Someone who believes that firearms are scary and should be so heavily regulated as to make the Second Amendment useless is not qualified to do anything but lobby for the anti-gun left.

A stronger deadbolt is a road bump to disaster if you have no means to protect yourself from the criminal kicking in your door-or breaking your window. 

A FIREARM IS A SHIELD NOT A SWORD! Chipman’s worldview envisions an American populace without the means to protect itself-criminals would have no fear of immediate consequences. Senators who might vote to confirm this man must understand this danger-why would any Senator betray the Constitution they took an oath to uphold?  

 A VOTE TO CONFIRM CHIPMAN IS AN ANTI-GUN VOTE AND WE SHOULD TREAT IT AS SUCH.  CHIPMAN MUST NOT BE CONFIRMED!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!  

Call AND email Senators on the Judiciary Committee: The links below will take you to a website form. These are not email addresses. Just click on the link and it will take you to the form.
Dick Durbin, Chair  https://www.durbin.senate.gov/contact/email Washington, D.C. 20510  p: 202.224.2152 Springfield, IL 62703 p: 217.492.4062
Chuck Grassley    https://www.grassley.senate.gov/contact/questions-and-comments  Washington, D.C. 20510  P: 202.224.3744 Sioux City, IA 51101  P: (712) 233-1860
Patrick Leahy   https://www.leahy.senate.gov/contact  Washington, DC 20510  p: (202) 224-4242 Burlington, VT 05401  p: (802) 863-2525
Lindsey Graham    https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact-form Washington, DC 20510   P: (202) 224-5972 Columbia, SC 29201  P: (803) 933-0112
Dianne Feinstein  https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me Washington, D.C. 20510    Phone: (202) 224-3841 Fresno, CA 93721 P: (559) 485-7430
John Cornyn  https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/node/5853  Washington, DC 20510    P: 202-224-2934 San Antonio, TX 78205 P: 210-224-7485
Sheldon Whitehouse  https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/email-sheldon  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-2921 Providence, RI 02903 P: (401) 453-5294
Amy Klobuchar        https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-amy  Washington, DC 20510     P: 202-224-3244  Moorhead, MN 56560 P: 218-287-2219  
Chris Coons  https://www.coons.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion  Washington, DC 20510    P: (202) 224-5042 Dover, DE 19901 P: (302) 736-5601
Ben Sasse    https://www.sasse.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-ben  Washington, DC 20510      P: 202-224-4224 Kearney, NE 68845 P: 308-233-3677
Richard Blumenthal    https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact  Washington DC P: (202) 224-2823
Washington, DC, 20510    P: (202) 224-2823
Josh Hawley    https://www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley  Washington, D.C. 20510     P: 202-224-6154 Kansas City, MO 64106 P: 816-960-4694
Mazie Hirono      https://www.hirono.senate.gov/share-your-opinion  Washington, DC 20510    P: (202) 224-6361
Honolulu, HI 96850 P: (808) 522-8970
Tom Cotton     https://www.cotton.senate.gov/contact/contact-tom   Washington, DC 20510     P: (202) 224-2353  Jonesboro, AR 72401 P: (870) 933-6223
Cory Booker    https://www.booker.senate.gov/contact/write-to-cory Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-3224  Camden, NJ 08103 P: (856) 338-8922
John Kennedy    https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/email-me-form  Washington, DC 20510     P: (202) 224 462 Baton Rouge, LA 70809  P: (225) 926 8033
Alex Padilla      https://www.padilla.senate.gov/  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224–3553 Fresno, CA 93721  P: (559) 497–5109 
Jon Ossoff        https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/contact/contact-form/ Washington, DC 20510    P: 202-224-3521 Atlanta, GA 30305 P: 470-786-7800
Marsha Blackburn   https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/email-me  Washington, DC 20510       P: (202) 224-3344 Jonesborough, TN 37659  P: (423) 753-4009

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: Do Not Confirm David Chipman ATF Nominee

Dear Senator___________
I am contacting you today to demand that the Biden nominee for leading the ATF be rejected without compromise. David Chipman has no business leading an agency that has as it’s mission statement “…to protect communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations….” when he is so dedicated to removing the legal means of citizens to protect themselves from criminals via firearms. 

David Chipman is as anti-Second Amendment as they come and there is no place more dangerous than a gun free zone as we can see in Chicago and many other American cities right now. David Chipman is a danger to my safety and that of my family.

I will continue to monitor this important issue through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. Any vote for Chipman will be considered a vote against gun owners. 

Respectfully,

Brownells To Donate To Firearms Policy Foundation

I received a press release yesterday from Roy Hill with Brownells. It was announcing that Brownells will donate 2% of sales on American-made products from yesterday until July 4th to the Firearms Policy Foundation. You can read the full release at the end of this post. I applaud them for doing this as I think the Firearms Policy Foundation is a great organization and I have donated to them multiple times. They are the 501(c)(3) component of the Firearms Policy Coalition.

Now think about this. The Chairman of Brownells is Pete Brownell. He is a former president of the National Rifle Association and was a board member for many years. He has been rather quiet as the controversies surrounding the NRA have played out over the last couple of years. By contrast, Larry Potterfield of Midway-USA seems to have bought into Wayne LaPierre’s line that nothing is wrong and all has been put right. While I am not knocking Mr. Potterfield, I think it speaks volumes that Brownells is donating to the the Firearms Policy Foundation and not to the NRA or its foundation.

The full press release is below:

GRINNELL, Iowa (June 22, 2021) – Brownells will take a stand for freedom and declare support for the Second Amendment by donating 2% of sales on American-made products from June 22 through July 4, 2021 to the Firearms Policy Foundation.

The Firearms Policy Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that supports the charitable legal, research, and education programs of the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Law, the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

“FPF and FPC have been effective partners in the defense of freedom,” said Brownells Chairman of the Board Pete Brownell. “Freedom is never free, and over these 13 days, your purchase helps defend our gun rights.”

“We are honored to have the Brownell family and Brownells team standing with us in this incredibly important and pivotal time,” said FPF Chairman and FPC President Brandon Combs. “Their generous support of our work to defend the rights of the People and expand liberty evidences their resolute commitment to the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms and will allow us to apply critical resources to issues that affect millions of law-abiding people.”

The FPF is a key contributor to many important pro-rights efforts, including a Second Amendment challenge to California’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” (Miller v. Bonta) that resulted in a post-trial judgment and permanent injunction against the challenged regulations, the first such victory in United States history, as well as recently filed challenges to Nevada’s new confiscatory ban on home-built firearms (Palmer v. Sisolak) and Illinois’ ban on handgun carry by law-abiding adults under the age of 21 (Meyer v. Raoul). 

To learn more about how to support the restoration and expansion of freedom, liberty and gun rights, visit the Brownells “Take Action” page.

Keep Calling Senators!

If you wondered whether if calling your senators to oppose the Chipman nomination is having any impact, see the tweet below. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was considered one of the squishy votes on the nomination that could go either way. She had now come out against David Chipman’s nomination to head BATFE.

From the article in the Bangor Daily News referenced in the tweet:

In a statement released by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine on Monday, Collins characterized Chipman’s background as “unusually divisive,” saying he had “made statements that demean law-abiding gun owners.”

“I am concerned that his confirmation would do significant damage to the collaborative working relationship that must exist between ATF, the firearms industry, sportsmen and women, and other law-abiding gun owners exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Collins said.

The calls are working. The Senate switchboard number is 202-224-3121. The operator will connect you to your senators’ office. I would also suggest calling their offices around the state. It will magnify the impact of the opposition to Chipman.

Finally, if you live in Arizona, West Virginia, or Montana, bombard Senators Sinema, Manchin, and Tester with your calls. Click on their names for the office phone numbers.