Gov. Roy Cooper

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Veto Overriden; Pistol Purchase Permit Repealed! (Updated)

March 30, 2023 by 2 Comments

The North Carolina House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to over-ride Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of SB 41. The vote was 71 aye, 46 nay, and 3 absent or not voting. The vote transcript has not been published as of this writing. I will update it later today when it is available.

SB 41 now goes into law. One of the everlasting stains of North Carolina’s segregationist, white surpremacist past is now erased. It only took 104 years. The Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit is now history.

Just as importantly, churches with attached private schools will be able to protect their congregations from those intent on doing evil. On the latter, the carrying of firearms is only allowed with church permission and only at times when students are not present including during extracurricular events.

I will be updating this post throughout the day with reactions.

UPDATE: The breakdown of the vote was finally posted yesterday. All 71 Republicans voted for the override. 46 Democrats voted no and 3 more had excused absences.

As I posted earlier, Carolina Forward wants Dems to eat their own. Interestingly, Rep. Cotham (D-Mecklenburg) says she had previously notified both the Speaker and Minority Leader she would be absent for a hospital procedure. Meanwhile, Rep. Brockman (D-Guilford) was reportedly being seen at an urgent care facility. Rep. Wray was an original sponsor of the repeal and it is thought this was his way of not voting “no”.

Rep. Willingham (D- Bertie, Edgecombe, & Martin) had previously voted for the bill and had said in reference to another bill that even with a veto he stuck by his vote. It is thought that knowing there would be two absences, he could vote no and be let off the hook by the Dems.

Bottom line, Speaker Tim Moore knew one way or another he had the votes going into yesterday morning.

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One Down; One To Go On Veto Override

March 29, 2023 by

Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) vetoed SB 41 on Friday. SB 41 would have repealed the pistol purchase permit, allowed churches with schools to protect themselves, and provided for a statewide gun safe storage initiative.

Today, the North Carolina Senate voted to override the veto by a vote of 30 aye, 19 nay, 1 excused. Every Republican state senator was present and voted for the override.

It now goes to the NC House of Representatives where an override vote appears to be on the agenda. The fact that is on the agenda would indicate that at least one Democrat has committed to vote for the override. With the current rules of House, the Speaker can call for a vote at any time without any notification or putting it on the agenda.

You may want to call the three Democrats or email them thanking them for their vote for SB 41 and ask them to stick with their vote. GRNC has more info here.

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Roy Cooper Issues Expected Veto Of Pistol Purchase Permit Repeal

March 24, 2023 by

Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) is nothing if not consistent in his opposition to removing impediments to gun rights. He issued his veto today of SB 41 which would have repealed the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit that his own party instituted in 1919. The General Assembly in 1919 had no African-American members and was under the control of Democrats who had regained control in 1900 on a platform of white supremacy. Even today, research shows that African-Americans are denied permits at a much higher rate than whites.

The veto also puts congregations of churches that have attached private schools as risk.

Cooper’s veto message stated, in part:

“Eliminating strong background checks will allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and reduces law enforcement’s ability to stop them from committing violent crimes. Second Amendment supporting, responsible gun owners know this will put families and communities at risk.”

SB 41 eliminates the current requirement that people have a valid permit from their local sheriff’s office before purchasing or acquiring a handgun. Under SB 41, sheriffs will lose the authority to issue or deny these permits based on criminal background checks and determining the safety and character of applicants.

The legislation removes sheriffs’ authority to refuse a permit based on signs of mental illness, domestic abuse incidents that might not be captured in a national database, or other indicators that a person could be a danger to themselves or others.

The bill also allows guns on some school properties, increasing the chances that children can find or access firearms at a time where gun offenses and suicides among North Carolina children is increasing.

Not stated in the veto message was the fact that the North Carolina Sheriffs Association did not object to passage of the repeal. Moreover, it is disingenuous to assume that a sheriff in a county as large as Wake, Mecklenburg, or Guilford – all of which have populations greater than half a million – knows everyone in his or her county that is mentally ill or doesn’t possess “good moral character.” Furthermore, the veto message ignores the restrictions in the bill that only allows possession of firearms on church property when students are not present. As such, it puts congregations with attached private schools at risk as they cannot protect themselves with volunteer church security teams.

Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, was quick to respond.

“As we predicted, anti-freedom Governor Roy Cooper wasted no time attacking the rights of gun owners. Worse, he attacked the ability of church-goers to protect themselves from attacks on religious institutions that are becoming all too common.

“It will be with great pleasure that GRNC will work to over-ride his veto of SB 41. Given that the bill passed by veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature, we have every confidence that we will deliver defeat to his doorstep.”

Unlike in past sessions of the General Assembly, an override of this veto stands a better than even chance of passage. The Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate and only need one Democrat to stick with their original vote or to be absent for it to pass in the House. The rules adopted in the House now allow Speaker Tim Moore to call for an override vote without notice which is an advantage here.

If you are a North Carolinian, I would urge you to contact your representative or senator and demand they override the veto. Do this even if you live in a district like I do where your state senator is a Constitutionally-ignorant, gun control advocate.

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Executive Order Establishes “Office of Violence Prevention”

March 15, 2023 by 2 Comments

I don’t know what it is with Democrats in the executive branch, both state and Federal, but they love their executive orders. On the same day that President Joe Biden released a new executive order on gun control, Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) released Executive Order No. 279 which established the North Carolina Office of Violence Prevention. While I have no confirmation that they were coordinated, I’d be very surprised if they were not.

Bloomberg’s North Carolinians Against Gun Violence (sic) was all a-twitter about this. They sent out a long gushing email and included a picture of Cooper signing the EO.

From NCGV’s missive:

North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and our coalition partners commend Governor Cooper for signing an Executive Order creating an Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) today. This is the first such office in the South. NCGV’s coalition partners include:  Community Justice Action Fund, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, Giffords, Equal Justice USA, Gate City Coalition, Boots on the Ground, NC Black Alliance, MomsRising, and the North Carolina Council of Churches….

Becky Ceartas said, “Today the Governor further demonstrated his dedication to preventing gun violence by creating an Office of Violence Prevention. He is focused on promoting evidence based public health solutions. Preventing gun violence takes a multifaceted approach. Coordination among state agencies and supporting grassroots programs are critical to addressing this problem. We need to address the root causes of gun violence.”

I note that Attorney General Josh Stein (D-NC) who would like to be Cooper’s successor is in the picture on the far right. Ceartas of NCGV was relegated to the back row and you can see her peering over the shoulder of the bearded African-American gentleman.

The Executive Order establishes two new organizations. First, there is the Office of Violence Prevention which will be a part of the Department of Public Safety. Second, it also establishes a Community Violence Advisory Board. The former is charged with working with existing North Carolina agencies such as Department of Health and Human Services and the new Community Violence Advisory Board.

The EO states that the Office of Violence Prevention may engage in activities that align with its mission. These include “offering training and technical assistance; issuing best practice guidance and model processes; facilitating cross-jurisdictional information sharing; conducting public awareness campaigns; sharing data and collaborating with research institutions; and identifying and applying for funding from federal and philanthropic sources.”

I can easily imagine monies will be sourced from the various Bloomberg Foundations as well as the Joyce Foundation and others. In terms of research institutions, I am sure Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions and Garen Wintemute’s program at U. Cal. – Davis will seek to be involved. I could foresee this morphing into the establishment of a new research program at one of the UNC constituent institutions as well.

Insofar as the Community Violence Advisory Board is concerned, the way the Executive Order is written, it would seem to preclude any involvement by those with real expertise in gun safety and violence prevention such as NSSF’s Project Childsafe, John Lott’s Crime Prevention Research Center, and the like. It states that the members of the Advisory Board consists “of individuals dedicated to the mission of the Office.”

Much about this new Office of Violence Prevention is public relations fluff which will have no impact on either violence or policy. It is intended to make the gun control industry and its players happy. However, where it could be dangerous to our rights is through reports and advice used to provide support or window-dressing for gun control measures in the General Assembly. We need to keep an eye on them as well as their budget requests. Without money, they exist only on paper which is where they belong.

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Gov. “Jim Crow” Cooper Vetoes Repeal of Jim Crow Law

August 31, 2021 by 2 Comments

As most of us expected, Gov. Roy “Jim Crow” Cooper (D-NC) vetoed HB 398 which would have repealed the 1919 pistol permit purchase law. That law was enacted by an all white, all Democrat, white supremacist General Assembly within months of a riot involving African-American WW I vets demanding their rights. The co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Earle A. Humphreys (D-Goldsboro), was the brother-in-law of US Sen. Furnifold Simmons who was the architect of the Democrat’s white supremacy campaign begun in 1898.

It was men like these veterans who terrified the white supremacists. They had been to war, they had defeated the Kaiser, and they had seen Paris so to speak.

National Archives

In his veto message to the General Assembly, Cooper said:

“Gun permit laws reduce gun homicides and suicides and reduce the availability of guns for criminal activity. At a time of rising gun violence, we cannot afford to repeal a system that works to save lives. The legislature should focus on combating gun violence instead of making it easier for guns to end up in the wrong hands.”

Bear in mind that the repeal of the law was endorsed by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and that all sales of handguns from dealer go through a NICS check by the FBI. Indeed, once in possession of a pistol purchase permit which is good for five years, there is nothing to stop either a felon or someone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from purchasing a handgun from a dealer or a private individual. The pistol purchase permit substitutes for a NICS check and would cover up the lie told by the convicted individual.

The law still requires the sheriff of the county to attest to the “good moral character” of the applicant. In counties with hundreds of thousands of residents or even a million plus, can Cooper and those opposed to the repeal of this law honestly say the sheriff really knows the residents enough to attest to “good moral character”? I think not.

As research on the application of the law in North Carolina’s most populous county – Wake – shows, blacks are still much more likely to be denied a permit than whites. Thus, while laws that are supported by both black and whites regarding voter ID are called discriminatory and “Jim Crow”, an actual Jim Crow law designed by its sponsors to discriminate against blacks and which it still does is vetoed.

A friend elsewhere commented that the pistol purchase permit is nothing but a poll tax on an enumerated right. He was right. The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution eliminated the poll tax for voting but Cooper’s action today keeps it in place with regard to the Second Amendment.

UPDATE: Paul Valone, President of Grass Roots North Carolina, released this statement on Cooper’s veto of HB 398:

“By vetoing House Bill 398 to repeal our Jim Crow-era pistol purchase system, Governor Roy Cooper has made it clear he places political posturing above actually taking action to eradicate racism. He has also shown that he doesn’t care about the thousands of North Carolinians who, amid civil unrest and “defund police” measures, have decided to buy guns to defend their families but are being obstructed by urban sheriffs who violate the law by delaying permits.

“Most ironic is Cooper’s claim that he vetoed the bill due to increasing ‘gun violence’ when, in truth, violent crime had been declining for decades until his own party caused urban homicide rates to skyrocket. Grass Roots North Carolina will be doing its dead level best to over-ride Cooper’s veto while showing the people of North Carolina exactly who their governor really is.”

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GRNC: Override Cooper’s Veto Of SB43

June 29, 2021 by 1 Comment

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,
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Gov. Cooper Continues To Put Churches At Risk

June 19, 2021 by 3 Comments

The North Carolina General Assembly passed SB 43 – Protect Religious Meeting Places with bipartisan majorities. The bill would have allowed concealed carry at churches with attached private schools outside of school and extracurricular hours. In other words, a church could have their own security team made up of church members during their church services. We have seen too many times that churches have become the targets of evil people.

Despite all the safeguards in place, Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) again vetoed a bill that would protected churches. He said in his veto statement, “For the safety of students and teachers, North Carolina should keep guns off school grounds.” According to WRAL, this was Cooper’s 55th veto since first taking office. It is important to note here again that the bill only impacted churches with private schools and that the definition of school hours was even more restrictive than the bill he vetoed in the last session of the General Assembly.

Riverside Independent Baptist Church, Lumberton, NC

The question now becomes will the Democrats who voted for the bill decide that it is more important to stand with the governor and party or with church people. In 2020, enough Democrats thought party was more important than church people and sustained Cooper’s veto of H652. The picture above is of Riverside Independent Baptist Church and Riverside Christian Academy. It is in the district of Rep. Charles Graham (D-Robeson) who voted in favor of the bill.

Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, did not hold back in his criticism of the veto. He said, in part:

“The legislation the Governor vetoed provided a simple carve-out in the law for churches associated with private Christian schools. This is the second time he has vetoed such legislation. His expressed concerns for rejecting the measure, however, were respected and addressed in this bill. His veto is, therefore, simply unreasonable.

“It is quite cost-prohibitive for many of the churches associated with private Christian schools to afford to hire off-duty police officers. Without this legislation, these churches are vulnerable to some crazed soul who might walk in and want to start shooting. The threat is real and urgent! 

“The Governor’s veto makes me wonder how long it’s been since he’s been to church. Surely he understands there are teachers and students in our Sunday School classes. Other churches are allowed to protect their teachers and students in Sunday Schools, but not churches connected with schools. It makes no sense. 

“Is there some personal animus by the Governor toward private Christian education? Or is he operating entirely as a liberal ideologue against it? Because he has now made it abundantly clear, if a church chooses to provide a Christian education to its community, it will not be allowed to defend itself against persons with murderous intent. That will undoubtedly work to quash any growth of church-sponsored schools.

He went on to add that if a mass shooting happened at one of these churches the blood of the slain would be on Cooper’s hand.

Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, also reacted strongly to the veto.

“Given that North Carolina concealed handgun permit-holders have been safely carrying in many churches since 1995, there is no rational reason for Governor Cooper’s veto of SB 43. It is disappointing but by no means surprising that Governor Cooper puts politics ahead of keeping religious meeting places safe from increasingly common violent attacks. 

“GRNC is calling upon legislators of both parties to over-ride the veto. If the effort fails and a church killing takes place in North Carolina as it has elsewhere, we will hold responsible both Gov. Cooper and those who support his veto.”

While calling the Democrats who voted for the bill as well as the many who just so happened to be absent the day of the vote could have impact, I suggest a different approach.

I think the churches impacted that are in the districts of these Democrats should organize a vigil or demonstration outside the home of each and every one of these legislators. I would make sure that there were a lot of elderly and young children in the crowd. They should stand their silently holding signs saying something like “Are we not worthy of protection?” I would make sure every media outlet in the region was alerted and on scene. The pastor should have a concise statement ready to give the press as well. Remember that if there is one thing politicians hate, it is being embarrassed in the media. The time for being meek and subservient is over.

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Ruger Expands In North Carolina

December 15, 2020 by 1 Comment

Ruger will be adding 60 new jobs at its Mayodan, North Carolina manufacturing plant. Along with the new jobs, it will be spending upwards of $10 million in capital improvements according to a story in the Greensboro News-Record.

The plant currently employs 490 workers. The new jobs will have an average salary of $44,033 per year which is $9,000 above the Rockingham County average.

The Rockingham County Commissioners also approved a performance-based economic incentives in a unanimous vote.

From the News-Record prior to the December 7th meeting:

The company has been made eligible for up to $150,000 in performance-based economic incentives from the One North Carolina Fund, which requires matching local incentives.

Rockingham Board of Commissioners are expected to approve Monday night a performance-based tax incentive worth up to $234,799, according to county manger Lance Metzler.

“We only know the company has seen considerable demand for its products, resulting in the search for a location to expand capacity,” Metzler said.

“They are such a good company to have as part of our community and offer some outstanding job opportunities to our residents with good-paying jobs.”

The expansion also generated a news release from anti-gun Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC). It must have killed him to say nice things about Ruger but money is money and jobs are jobs.

“North Carolina’s skilled workforce continues to make our state a smart choice for growing manufacturers,” Governor Cooper said. “Today’s expansion by Sturm, Ruger & Co. highlights our state’s commitment to growing with companies and is a strong investment in the future of Rockingham County.” 

The expansion is thought to be related to the acquisition of Marlin in the Remington bankruptcy. It is reported that production of the Marlin firearm line will be split between the Mayodan plant and Ruger’s Newport, New Hampshire plan.

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Roy Cooper, Brady PAC, And Systematic Racism

August 11, 2020 by 3 Comments

I just listened in on a public Zoom webinar with Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) hosted by the Brady PAC and the Democratic Governors Association. It featured Cooper, Wendi Wallace of the DGA, Brian Lemak of Brady PAC, and Kris Brown, president of Brady United.

I should note off the bat that the chat function and any way to ask questions was disabled. I imagine that was to prevent any awkward questions from being raised by the audience.

It started with Wendi Wallace who is the Deputy Executive Director of the DGA. She came to them from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund last year. She was praising the efforts of the governors of Nevada and New Mexico to bring more gun control to those states.

The conversation then switched to Brian Lemak and Kris Brown. Among the things they said is they are hoping that with Roy Cooper that they can make North Carolina into the next Virginia. In other words, to impose gun control from on high upon the people of North Carolina. They said they are making North Carolina one of their highest priorities at all levels – Federal, state, and even county commissions.

Finally they allowed Cooper to speak. He welcomed this opportunity to talk about “gun safety”. Cooper then started out by saying the usual boilerplate of I grew up on a farm, I am a gun owner, and I support the Second Amendment. He then segued into his support for “responsible gun laws” and talked about the campus shooting at UNC-Charlotte.

Cooper then went to talk about how Obama carried North Carolina in 2008 but that there was a Republican “backlash” in 2010 which allowed them to take both houses of the General Assembly. Not only that but those Republicans had the temerity to gerrymander the state to keep their seats. This led to the state “going backwards on gun laws”.

He said when he was elected in 2016 that the Republicans still held a super-majority in the General Assembly. Cooper said he had three tools with which to stop “bad legislation”: the bully pulpit, the veto, and executive orders. This is where he noted his veto of HB 652 saying guns didn’t belong in schools. I’m not going into that here with the exception of noting that the bill only applied to schools attached to churches and that no firearm were allowed during school hours including during extracurricular events.

As to executive orders, Cooper said he ordered the State Bureau of Investigation to send over 200,000 more names to the NICS system after it was discovered a number of convictions had not been reported. What he didn’t say and didn’t want the listeners to know is that for most of his tenure as Attorney General of North Carolina (2000-2016), the SBI was under his control. It was only moved from the Department of Justice to the Department of Public Safety in 2014.

Cooper moved on to existing laws including the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit law. He said he wanted to expand that law to include “assault weapons”. He thought honest and responsible gun owners would go along with that. Cooper also mentioned his support for red flag laws.

The discussion then moved into more political matters such as mail-in ballots, how the Brady PAC planned to focus on not only Cooper’s race but the race for Lt. Governor, the pandemic, etc. Then Cooper said how he said the fight against “systemic racism” need to be a priority.

This is where I exploded.

What more obvious an example of systematic racism exists than a law specifically passed to prevent African-Americans from having access to handguns, other concealable weapons, and pump shotguns! Historian Clayton Cramer found in his research that the impact of the law was “to grant discretion to local white officials to use their discretion to disarm nearly all blacks and some disreputable whites of deadly weapons.”

All four on the webinar today would have denied that gun control had its origins in keeping African-Americans disarmed. However, the record is what it is and it’s legacy is systematic racism that progressives say they abhor.

As to the rest of the webinar, I couldn’t take any more and turned it off.