Those guys in South Carolina really know how to stick it in the face of the gun prohibitionists. Palmetto State Armory is selling AR lowers with the logo #ONEMORE engraved on it. They are even on sale this weekend.
If I needed another AR lower, I’d certainly consider it. As it is, I have too many builds planned with the parts bought and not enough time.
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Delta’s decision reflects the airline’s neutral status in the current national debate over gun control amid recent school shootings. Out of respect for our customers and employees on both sides, Delta has taken this action to refrain from entering this debate and focus on its business. Delta continues to support the 2nd Amendment.
This is not the first time Delta has withdrawn support over a politically and emotionally charged issue. Last year, Delta withdrew its sponsorship of a theater that staged a graphic interpretation of “Julius Caesar” depicting the assassination of President Trump. Delta supports all of its customers but will not support organizations on any side of any highly charged political issue that divides our nation.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian went a bit further the next week in a memo to Delta employees as reported by the Washington Post.
Caught in a maelstrom over his company’s decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian said Friday that his intention had been to “remain neutral” and “remove Delta from this [gun control] debate.” Delta, he said, is now planning to end discounts “for any group of a politically divisive nature.”
He went on to say:
“Our people and our customers have a wide range of views on how to increase safety in our schools and public places, and we are not taking sides,” he wrote. “Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate.”
The key words you keep hearing from Delta are “neutral status”, “not taking sides”, and “refrain from entering this debate”. That was what Ed Bastian and Delta were saying at the beginning of the month.
So what did they do in light of today’s gun control march?
Delta Air Lines has donated three round-trip charter flights that allowed hundreds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students to participate in the “March for Our Lives” protest against gun violence in Washington.
Delta said the donation is “part of our commitment to supporting the communities we serve.”
Ed Bastian and Delta Air Lines must be suffering a bout of cognitive dissonance if they think ending a discount for NRA members and then giving three round-trip charter flights to students advocating gun control is neutrality. These actions are about the furthest thing from neutrality that I could imagine.
My last flight with Delta will be in May to attend the NRA Annual Meeting. That ticket was paid for before the change in Delta policy and it is non-refundable. Over the last 20 or so years, 90% or more of my air travel has been on Delta. No more.
Jim Scoutten is the host and producer of Shooting USA. He’s been doing this for 25 years and his shows have been on everything from ESPN to the Outdoor Channel. Each time he has moved it has been because of pressure from anti-gun executives.
The major broadcast and cable channels have prohibited any form of firearm advertising for years. 25 years ago we struggled with ESPN in the first year of our gun show series when Colt was a sponsor, but couldn’t advertise their guns. Since then we’ve moved three times to new networks as each was taken over by anti-gun New York City-based owners. We’re pleased to make our television home now on the pro-second amendment Outdoor Channel.
He has a very interesting editorial up at the Outdoor Wire and the Shooting Wire today which is where the above quote comes from. It is entitled “The Incredible Shrinking World of Social Media”. In it, he describes how the algorithms of YouTube and Facebook limit who sees videos. Moreover, age restrictions are often put on conservative videos to prevent them from influencing young minds. Another factor Jim describes is how poor internet service in rural areas limits the access of those who would be most interested in watching streaming video.
I would urge you to read the whole thing.
The quote of the day comes from Miguel Gonzalez of Gun Free Zone blog fame. It was in response to a post on Facebook noting that Kroger grocery stores were removing gun magazines that have “assault weapons” (sic) in the stories.
Miguel’s comment from Facebook is brutal but spot on:
Standard version:
Good German businessmen who pride themselves in the righteousness of the Reich, should not have these unclean Zionist publications for sale in their places of business. Removal is a must alongside anything else related to it.
Palatable version:
Good American businessmen who pride themselves in the righteousness of “Do It For The Children”, should not have these unclean gun publications for sale in their places of business. Removal is a must alongside anything else related to it.
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The Gun Collective is a YouTube channel devoted to all things firearms including firearms law. Adam Kraut, whom I have endorsed for the NRA Board of Directors, is part of The Gun Collective. I ran into these guys at Industry Day at the Range while at the SHOT Show. They were creating video content for their YouTube channel.
As you might expect, they will be massively impacted by the new YouTube policy singling out firearms for special rules. In response, they made this video which has been viewed over 255,000 times on Facebook and over 58,000 times on YouTube. Their YouTube channel has over 125,000 subscribers.
One thing I’ve started doing is reporting pro-gun control videos as offensive. For example, Everytown had a video pushing North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit system. I reported it as supporting Jim Crow laws conceived by white surpremacist Democrats which is totally correct. You might find other videos from Brady, Giffords, the Demanding Mommies, or Everytown which you find incorrect or offensive. Report them. It may seem trite but it is time we went on the offensive and started calling them on their lies. Their goal is nothing less than the destruction of the gun culture and I’m not going to stand by and do nothing.
One of the more popular sub-reddits on Reddit.com was r/gundeals. It was one of the first places I went to see if a dealer was having a sale.As of today, it is gone thanks to a new Reddit policy.
From Bloomberg Technology on Reddit’s response to criticism:
Subreddits banned from the site under the new policy include r/GunDeals, r/GunsForSale and r/AKMarketplace.
The policy change invoked a lively discussion on the platform. A number of Reddit users specifically expressed frustration about the loss of r/GunDeals, arguing that the group does not actually conduct sales but links to deals offered elsewhere. The company responded: “Because this policy forbids facilitating the transactions, it impacts communities that are dedicated to connecting buyers and sellers. We want to emphasize, though that communities dedicated solely to discussion about guns and gun ownership are not impacted by this change.”
I never once saw an individual selling a firearm or accessory on /r/gundeals. Rather it was always a post with a link to a company’s website. It also have a feature where you could say you were looking for a deal on X and people would respond if they knew of such a deal.
Other gun related subreddits banned include /r/brassswap, /r/airsoftmarket, and /r/airsoftmarketcanada.
Here is the full statement from Reddit’s administrators:
Hello All—
We want to let you know that we have made a new addition to our content policy forbidding transactions for certain goods and services. As of today, users may not use Reddit to solicit or facilitate any transaction or gift involving certain goods and services, including:
- Firearms, ammunition, or explosives;
- Drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, or any controlled substances (except advertisements placed in accordance with our advertising policy);
- Paid services involving physical sexual contact;
- Stolen goods;
- Personal information;
- Falsified official documents or currency
When considering a gift or transaction of goods or services not prohibited by this policy, keep in mind that Reddit is not intended to be used as a marketplace and takes no responsibility for any transactions individual users might decide to undertake in spite of this. Always remember: you are dealing with strangers on the internet.
EDIT: Thanks for the questions everyone. We’re signing off for now but may drop back in later. We know this represents a change and we’re going to do our best to help folks understand what this means. You can always feel free to send any specific questions to the admins here.
What this is saying is that guns should be treated just the same as hookers, blow, and fake IDs. Gee thanks, Reddit. Ooops, I see that hookers still have their own subreddit. There is also a subreddit for selling used panties. Go figure.
However, there is another option. The website Voat, kind of an alternative Reddit, now has a gundeals subforum. I believe those that started the subforum were the administrators of the /r/gundeals subreddit. The number of users is going up by the minute.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has weighed in on YouTube’s new policy regarding firearms-related videos. NSSF also notes that they themselves have over 500 videos uploaded to YouTube.
The NSSF statement:
YOUTUBE’S NEW POLICY PROVIDES CAUSE FOR CONCERN
YouTube’s announcement this week of a new firearms content policy is troubling. We suspect it will be interpreted to block much more content than the stated goal of firearms and certain accessory sales. Especially worrisome is the potential for blocking educational content that serves an instructional and skill-building purpose. YouTube’s policy announcement has also served to invite political activists to flood their review staff with complaints about any video to which they may proffer manufactured outrage.
Much like Facebook, YouTube now acts as a virtual public square. The exercise of what amounts to censorship, then, can legitimately be viewed as the stifling of commercial free speech, which has constitutional protection. Such actions also impinge on the Second Amendment.
Facebook Precedent
In what we see as a parallel situation, Facebook has repeatedly shut down the pages of legitimate and reputable firearms retailers that were following Facebook’s own rules. The interpretation depended on the reviewers, the vast majority of whom have little familiarity with our business practices, let alone our products, and many of whom do not even do their work from American soil.
Both First and Second Amendment rights are essential to the liberty we enjoy as American citizens. In a very real sense, the de facto curtailment of First Amendment right of its firearm related business users, YouTube is edging toward simultaneously infringing upon the Second Amendment rights of the customers of these affected businesses.
Commerce in Firearms is Essential
As Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote in his 36-page opinion, “Our forefathers recognized that the prohibition of commerce in firearms worked to undermine the right to keep and bear arms.”
This argument can be logically extended to social media platforms. It is time that social media platform management realizes its broader collective responsibility since it commands so much of today’s virtual public square. Suppressing the expression of First Amendment protected political speech and of commercial speech is wrong, even if they think they are acting in the public interest. The resulting impingement of lawful commerce in firearms that brings with it the infringement of Second Amendment rights is equally wrong and it should stop.
A day or so ago YouTube changed their policies regarding firearms. This is in addition to earlier changes to policy that banned the showing of bump fire stocks as well as the demonetization of many firearms-related YouTube channels.
Here is the new official policy:
Policies on content featuring firearms
YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms. Specifically, we don’t allow content that:
- Intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sales (e.g., private sales by individuals) or links to sites that sell these items. These accessories include but may not be limited to accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g., bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds).
- Provides instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories such as those listed above. This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.
- Shows users how to install the above-mentioned accessories or modifications.
Report content that violates this policy
You can report videos that you believe violate this policy by flagging the video.
Instructions on manufacturing ammunition? That is called reloading and has been a part of the shooting sports since time immemorial.
Instruction on manufacturing homemade silencers/suppressors? Those would be legally called Form 1 suppressors or silencers and are perfectly legal provided the $200 tax is paid along with the requisite background check. I currently have two Form 1’s approved and am deciding on how I want to proceed.
Insofar as reporting inappropriate videos, the gun prohibitionists have been trying to sabotage some of the more successful firearms-related YouTube channels. It has happened to Hickok45 and to others.
YouTube is a subsidiary of Google. Both are private companies entitled to set their own policies and discriminate against the gun culture if they so wish. This is not a constitutional issue as the First Amendment concerns only governmental abridgement of free speech. In the days of bulletin board systems (BBS) and private forums, this was not a real major issue. However, as social media has been increasingly aggregated into a few major corporate players – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google – their censorship is a problem. Unfortunately, there are not currently many viable alternatives. Full30 is great but it is limited. MeWe hasn’t really taken off as a Facebook alternative. The list goes on.
I suggest downloading those YouTube instructional videos that you like. There are plenty of ways to do it and I’m sure you can find them on the Internet. Content creators would be advised to back up their channels.
Probably the best comment on backing up a channel was this by Othais of C&R Arsenal.
Or you can go full bore like Ian and Karl.
UPDATE: Bloomberg Technology is covering this and included this comment from InRange TV aka Ian and Karl.
InRange TV, another channel devoted to firearms, wrote on its Facebook page that it would begin uploading videos to PornHub, an adult content website.
“YouTube’s newly released released vague and one-sided firearms policy makes it abundantly clear that YouTube cannot be counted upon to be a safe harbor for a wide variety of views and subject matter,” InRange TV wrote. “PornHub has a history of being a proactive voice in the online community, as well as operating a resilient and robust video streaming platform.”
If anyone knows about streaming video it is the porn industry!
Just as a reminder that the NC Joint Legislative Committee on School Safety meets tomorrow in Raleigh. I’ve posted a couple of appeals for people to attend at least part of the day. Here is the latest one from GRNC.
If you can be there, be there!
LIBERTY NEEDS YOUR VOICE IN DEVELOPING NC’S SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN
They Urgently Need YOU. Attend the Meeting For School Children’s Safety. MEETING DETAILS:
WHAT: House Select Committee on School Safety WHEN: Wednesday, March 21, 9:00 AM (arrive an hour early if possible) WHERE: Legislative Office Building, Rm. 643
300 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC
(directions: https://www.ncleg.net/help/directions.html)NOTES: Dress for the press. Please dress professionally with no inflammatory slogans or the like on clothing. Arrive early. To deal with any parking issues, and to make sure you get a seat. Arriving at least one hour early is recommended. Here is a link for posting this to social media:
https://www.grnc.org/defend-your-rights/recent-grnc-alerts/996-grnc-alert-03-18-18-help-develop-nc-s-school-safety-planWednesday, state legislators are hearing arguments that will inform life-and-death decisions regarding school security.
This Meeting Needs Your Voice – Please be there
At the state legislature, the House Select Committee on School Safety will be meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 AM. There may be opportunities for public comments, and it is critical that this not be a one-sided discussion.You Need to be there, or the anti-gun left is going to run the show with your children’s lives at stake.Due to the deadly serious nature of this topic, if you’ve never been to a committee meeting before, now is the time!Below, find details on the upcoming meetings.Gun-free Zones: the Psychotic-Killer Loophole
The most effective way to reduce mass public shootings is for our elected officials to wise up and eliminate dangerous gun-free zones (GFZs).Along with improved security provisions, such as fewer unlocked entrances and generally beefed up security, the most effective way to protect school children is to proclaim that any attack will likely be met with rapid armed resistance from an unpredictable source; that source would be teachers and other school personnel.Remove the Shackles
Of course, teachers who do not want to carry defensive weapons should not be required to. However, the SHACKLES MUST BE removed from those willing to mount effective resistance should the worst occur.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
- EMAIL THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS: CLICK HERE to generate one of two email messages, and then CLICK HERE to send an email to the other half of the committee Republicans. After each click, check your email program. An email should have been generated for you. Simply add you name to the bottom and hit ‘send.’ (This ‘click’ method likely won’t work with gmail. Please use the delivery method/information listed under ‘Deliver This Message‘ if using gmail).
If an email was not generated automatically, or wasn’t generated properly, send the email using the copy/paste email list and the copy/paste text provided below, under ‘Deliver This Message.’- ATTEND THE SCHOOL SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING: It’s critical that the public be involved in these meetings, especially because it’s the safety of the citizenry’s own children that is being debated. Practical and effective solutions from concerned citizens like you must be discussed, and ought to dominate the conversation. But without you there to speak, or at least to support the speakers by your presence, that may not happen. Please attend. Find the meeting details below.
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Allen.McNeill@ncleg.net, Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net, Brenden.Jones@ncleg.net, Chris.Malone@ncleg.net, Cody.Henson@ncleg.net, Craig.Horn@ncleg.net, Dana.Bumgardner@ncleg.net, David.Lewis@ncleg.net, Donna.White@ncleg.net, Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.net, Harry.Warren@ncleg.net, Holly.Grange@ncleg.net, Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net, Jason.Saine@ncleg.net, Jeffrey.Elmore@ncleg.net,
Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net, John.Bell@ncleg.net, John.Faircloth@ncleg.net, John.Torbett@ncleg.net, Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net, Justin.Burr@ncleg.net, Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net, Larry.Strickland@ncleg.net, Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net, Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net, Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net, Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net, Stephen.Ross@ncleg.net, Ted.Davis@ncleg.net
*Due to the limitations of some email programs and some spam filtering systems, it may be best to send this email in multiple groups. Use the copy/paste emails above, as separated into groups, to send the message to the respective set of recipients.Suggested Subject:“For School Safety: End Gun-Free Zones”Dear Committee Member:I am writing today in reference to your service on the House Select Committee on School Safety.
Since the recent disturbing events in Florida, all the usual gun-control voices have called for all the usual ineffective and unconstitutional schemes. None of these useless and ominous notions are acceptable, and I insist that you not lend them credence during your upcoming committee meetings. I do expect you to discuss school security concepts that are actually effective and will truly result in the protection of school children.Removing the shackles from school employees who have concealed handgun permits would be the simplest and most effective solution. The legislature could do this almost immediately by removing the dangerous gun-free zone (GFZ) status from school buildings and grounds. Teachers and other school staff are no danger to students. If they were, we wouldn’t allow them unfettered, daily access to our children. Yet, the threat of swift armed resistance from an unpredictable source is a highly effective deterrent. This is why a full 98% of all mass public shooting since 1950 have occurred in so-called “gun-free” zones. Should the worst occur, teachers defending their students with deadly force is not such a terrible thing when you imagine the alternative. Indeed, no imagination is necessary, as recent events have shown us exactly what the alternative looks like.
A large number of teachers are already willing and ready for classroom carry. A recent Elon University Poll of North Carolina teachers (which skewed heavily Democrat) revealed that roughly 20% of teachers are open to the idea of concealed handguns in the classroom. Consider that the number of every day citizens who legally carry a gun in our state is something less than 10%. This means the number of teachers willing to consider classroom carry is at least twice the number in the general population who already carry a handgun. This is great news, and further evidence that dangerous GFZs have run their course.
Our children’s very lives are at stake. I demand that your time on the School Safety committee be used to consider and implement only practical and effective policies. I will be monitoring your actions on this matter through Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.
Respectfully,
Last year, Florida Carry got some grief from Marion Hammer and the NRA due to their stance on some bills in the Florida legislature. Notwithstanding that – and showing that they are united in their support of gun rights – they have passed on the following alert from the NRA and Marion Hammer. I think it shows class on their part.
The alert concerns a move by the anti-gun forces to diminish gun rights in Florida through putting constitutional amendments on the ballot. One need only looks at the moves by Bloomberg and Everytown to force so-called universal background checks through referenda. They succeeded in Washington and Nevada but failed in Maine.
From Florida Carry:
DATE: March 19, 2018
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past PresidentACTION NEEDED NOW
Some
of the members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC)
are very anti-gun and they are proposing and pushing gun ban and gun
control amendments to put in the Florida Constitution.Commissioners will be voting on these amendment soon. Links to these amendments are listed at the bottom.
Among these amendments are:
*An
“assault weapons” ban which bans the distribution, sale, transfer, and
possession of so-called assault weapons and any detachable magazine that
has a capacity of more than 9 rounds. (Makes possession illegal with
no compensation provided for those already possessed that must be
surrendered)*A
ban on any semi-automatic rifle that is able to accept a detachable
magazine or has a fixed magazine capable of holding more than10 rounds.
(that means almost all semi-automatic rifles)*A
ban on the sale and transfer of “assault weapons” and defines
“transfer” as the conveyance “from a person or entity to another person
or entity WITHOUT any conveyance of money or other valuable
consideration.” (Note: to “convey” between persons without compensation
could mean the simple act of handing the firearm to another person
while hunting, on the range, or anywhere)*A 10 day waiting period (excluding weekends and legal holidays) on all firearms to facilitate a background check.
*A ban on the purchase of any firearm by a person under 21 years of age.
*A ban on the sale, transfer and possession of bump stocks and other devises, tools, kits, etc.
Please email CRC Commissioners and tell them to OPPOSE gun control amendments!
PLEASE DO IT NOW !!! They could be voting on these amendments at anytime
IN THE SUBJECT LINE PUT:
VOTE AGAINST GUN CONTROL AMENDMENTS
(To send your message to all just Block and Copy All email addresses into the “Send To” box)(Depending on you email program you may need to add commas or semicolons between each email)jose.armas@flcrc.gov
pam.bondi@flcrc.gov
lisa.carlton@flcrc.gov
timothy.cerio@flcrc.gov
hank.coxe@flcrc.gov
jose.diaz@flcrc.gov
erika.donalds@flcrc.gov
don.gaetz@flcrc.gov
emery.gainey@flcrc.gov
anna.gamez@flcrc.gov
brecht.heuchan@flcrc.gov
marva.johnson@flcrc.gov
darlene.jordan@flcrc.gov
arthenia.joyner@flcrc.gov
fred.karlinsky@flcrc.gov
belinda.keiser@flcrc.gov
frank.kruppenbacher@flcrc.gov
tom.lee@flcrc.gov
gary.lester@flcrc.gov
patricia.levesque@flcrc.gov
roberto.martinez@flcrc.gov
rich.newsome@flcrc.gov
chris.nocco@flcrc.gov
jeanette.nunez@flcrc.gov
jimmy.patronis@flcrc.gov
sherry.plymale@flcrc.gov
darryl.rouson@flcrc.gov
william.schifino@flcrc.gov
chris.smith@flcrc.gov
bob.solari@flcrc.gov
chris.sprowls@flcrc.gov
john.stemberger@flcrc.gov
pam.stewart@flcrc.gov
jacqui.lippisch@flcrc.gov
carolyn.timmann@flcrc.gov
nicole.washington@flcrc.govPROPOSED AMENDMENTS:
by 