Greatest Threat Today?

I know Twitter is a wasteland but sometimes I just cannot help myself. With Elon Musk completing his purchase of it soon, it may get better. Nonetheless, you can find some interesting things there.

Given how the media, Joe Biden, and the Democrat Party are constantly saying the greatest threat today is armed, right wing, extremist, white supremacists, this Zoom webinar put on by Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions fits the bill.

While Josh Horwitz is not one of the featured speakers, this sounds like something right out of the old Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) playbook. Horwitz was always harping on “insurrectionists”. When he wrote stuff like that, he was talking about people who really didn’t like Barack Obama more than anything else.

While I will be on vacation on November 1st, I’m going to try and listen in on what is sure to be a scintillating (!) presentation. I just registered and added it to my calendar. It is times like this that I wish the late Mike Vanderboegh were still alive. I know he’d have something to say about it.

Expect CSGV To Shout “Insurrectionist!” For The Next 4 Years

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) must be ecstatic. The presumed election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will allow them to return to using their favorite epithet from the Obama years.

Insurrectionist!

If you criticized the Lightbringer, you were an insurrectionist. If you were pro-gun, you were an insurrectionist. If you knew the purpose of the Second Amendment was to stand up to a tyrannical government, you were an insurrectionist.

Josh Horwitz, the head of CSGV, wrote long diatribes in the Huffington Post accusing the gun rights activists and especially the NRA of being insurrectionists. He even wrote a whole book on it.

They suffered through four long years of the Trump Administration where they couldn’t use the term “insurrectionist”. While there was true insurrection going on in the bowels of the Deep State, that couldn’t be criticized because, you know, Orange Man Bad. Besides, that was resistance and not insurrection. Resistance was good and proper in their febrile brains.

However, it seems there was a protest by conservatives in Oregon. As the tweet below indicates, that must be insurrection. It is hypocritical given how they have ignored the violence wrought by Antifa just 50 miles up the road in Portland. However, hypocrisy and the gun control lobby have long been friends so I guess it is par for the course.

A Trip Down The Anti-Gun Memory Lane

Miguel at Gunfreezone.net pointed out a tweet yesterday by Ladd Everitt that brought back memories.

Ladd had been the Director of Communications for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) before he headed off to be Executive Director of George Takai’s anti-gun organization One Pulse for America. He and CSGV’s Executive Director Josh Horwitz loved nothing better than labeling gun rights activists and Second Amendment supporters as “insurrectionists” back during the Obama years. It was their favorite epithet and Josh wrote long articles about insurrectionism for the Huffington Post as well as a book entitled, “Guns, Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea.”

Here is an example from 2011 when this blog wasn’t even a year old. It was in reference to the Tucson shooting of then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) and others.

Sadly, Saturday’s tragedy was both predictable and inevitable. Insurrectionist rhetoric—which posits that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to take violent action when they believe that our government has become “tyrannical”—was once confined to the dark corners of gun shows and the Internet. In today’s America, however, it has become a “mainstream” idea that is widely promoted by movement conservatives, high-profile media figures, and even elected officials and candidates. Tucson was not unique—since the conservative wing of the Supreme Court embraced the insurrectionist idea in the D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008, there have been numerous threats and acts of violence against government officials.

Ladd hated pro-gun politicians like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) whom he labeled an “insurrectionist thug”. That should been Senator Insurrectionist Thug.

We in the gun blogging community actually took great pride in getting under the skin of Ladd. A post I did about Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) using the tragic death of her husband for political gain got me labeled a “gun extremist”. That was when I knew my blog had arrived and was gaining traction.

My friend Kurt Hofmann, who at the time was the Saint Louis Gun Rights Examiner, had patches printed up. If I remember correctly, Kurt was a definite target for Ladd and CSGV. I had to do some digging this morning but I found some of the patches and stickers that they each had made up. I probably have more around if I dig deeper.

Kurt now writes the Enemy at the Gate column for S.W.A.T. Magazine. It has been a few years since I’ve seen Kurt in person but we had some damn good discussions over a beer at his local watering hole.

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of this blog. I don’t know how many years that is in blog years but it is a lot. I know many have said the day of the blog is over with but I am a contrarian and just can’t accept that. Many of the gun bloggers have gone on to other things but there are still some of us plugging away at it. People like Sebastian, SayUncle, Tam, Old NFO, Weerd Beard, and T-Bolt were blogging before me and are still blogging. We as a community are better for it.

Ladd was correct about one thing. We are the unorganized militia. We just aren’t the “private white militia of a fascist dictator”.

Demanding Moms Channel CSGV In Comments About Lobby Day

When Ladd Everitt was the communications director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic), it was a favorite tactic to characterize Second Amendment supporters as “gun extremists”. CSGV’s Executive Director Josh Horwitz took it a step further by calling those who opposed the Obama Administration‘s efforts “insurrectionists“. I was one of those called a “gun extremist” when I challenged the sainted Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) over some of her comments.

In a news release about the VCDL’s Lobby Day next Monday, Moms Demand Action channels CSGV and calls it a “gun extremist rally”.

On January 20th, gun extremists – including out-of-state militia groups – will descend on the Virginia General Assembly, hoping to intimidate lawmakers into rejecting the democratic will of the people who, by wide margins, want (and voted for champions of) common-sense gun safety laws.

The Democrats won control due to court-ordered redistricting. The plan was devised by California-based special master Bernard Grofman of U. California – Irvine and intended to be most favorable to Democrats. It was approved in a 2-1 decision with Obama-appointed Judges Barbara Keenan and Arenda Allen in the majority. Republicans who opposed the new districts called it “legal indefensible” because it was so slanted towards the Democrats.

They portray Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions as “lawless county resolutions”.

Lawless County resolutions, or as gun extremists call them, ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ resolutions, which threaten that officials will  disregard their duty to enforce duly enacted and constitutional laws, have no legal force. The resolutions also threaten the safety of communities nationwide by fostering distrust in law enforcement and may deter people from reporting individuals that may hurt themselves or others.

Since when did promoting respect for God-given, Constitutionally-protected rights become a threat to the safety of communities? That is the kind of argument one would have expected from racial segregationists who opposed school integration in the face of Brown v. Board of Education.

Overflow crowd at the Amelia County hearing

The news release continues and throws in “militia”, “white supremacist”, “Charlottesville”, and “Civil War” for good measure. I’m surprised they didn’t include “Boogaloo” as well. Remembering that Everytown and Moms Demand have the best PR flacks that money can buy, it is obvious that they want to scare both African-Americans and suburban “soccer moms” with this rhetoric. This is the sort of thing that Matt Bracken warned about in his comments on Lobby Day characterizing it as a Charlottesville-style setup.

They end this screed with a few words about their ultimate boogeyman – the NRA.

The NRA has yet to make any public statement disavowing the January 20th event or the various militia groups planning on attending. However, the NRA’s people and rhetoric are intertwined with the January 20th rally. The NRA put out a formal statement supporting the Lawless County resolutions, and former NRA TV personalities like Cam Edwards and Antonia Okafor are listed as speakers at the rally. The NRA has taken out billboards throughout Virginia ominously and baselessly warning of coming “confiscation” of firearms.

While the NRA hasn’t “disavowed” the VCDL’s Lobby Day, they haven’t supported it either. Instead, they came up with their own rally being held today. As to “baselessly warning” about confiscation, a magazine ban without grandfathering certainly meets the standard for confiscation.

We know the Demanding Moms don’t respect the Second Amendment. It is increasingly clear that they don’t support the First Amendment rights of their opponents. The First Amendment ends ” the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That is exactly what the many thousands of Virginians and their supporters from other states will be doing on January 20th.

Insurrectionism! The CSGV Answer For Everything

I was looking to see what the reaction of the gun prohibitionists was to BATFE’s decision to postpone any immediate decision on M855 and their proposed framework. After checking the Brady Campaign’s website and finding nothing, I came to the conclusion that I’d have to start slumming it. Yes, I went to the Facebook page of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic).

I knew I’d find off the wall comments there and I wasn’t disappointed. However, these comments came from CSGV and not one of their followers who project their own violent tendencies upon us.

When asked why we “prize” green tip bullets, the answer was not because they are cheap or because they are accurate. The official answer was, not unexpectedly, “because of insurrectionism.” And in response to another person who asks why citizens need “armor piercing” bullets, the official answer is to kill law enforcement officers and military service members when we sense “tyranny”.

When I read these answers to the Complementary Spouse, she just looked at me like I was insane and then said, “Are they really that stupid?”

I’m not sure if Ladd is that stupid but I’m sure he would have made a good commissar if he had grown up in Stalin’s USSR.  He certainly is good at spouting the party line no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

Those Damned Insurrectionists

Historian Walter Borneman has an article in today’s Wall Street Journal on the War of 1812. Borneman is the author of “1812: The War That Forged a Nation”. He is also the author of “The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King” which I am in the process of reading.

Borneman’s article discusses Congress’ declaration of war on Great Britain and the political fallout from it. Generally, it split along party lines with the Federalists being opposed to war and the Jeffersonian Republicans in favor of it.

While the war issue in 1812 was not rigidly defined along party lines, Federalists generally opposed the war while Jeffersonian Republicans (forerunners of Andrew Jackson’s Democrats) favored it. Two years later, the most antiwar of the Federalists went so far as to convene at Hartford, Conn., and debate constitutional amendments designed to weaken the central government. Some insist that they debated outright secession.

What amuses me about this is that Ladd Everitt of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) considers himself one of the world’s leading experts on James Madison and his political writings and thoughts. He is also of the firm belief that the Federalists never meant for the Second Amendment to protect an individual right to bear arms.

I wonder what Ladd would have to say about his collective right Federalists being, in his words, “insurrectionists”. That, by the way, is the epithet that he and his boss Josh Horwitz throw at those of us who hold that the Second Amendment is both an individual right to keep and bear arms as well as a bulwark against a tyrannical government.

More “Insurrectionists” Than I Imagined -#EFAD Is Number Two

The favorite epithet that the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic) and their leaders love to throw at gunnies is “insurrectionist”. It doesn’t matter which end of the political spectrum you are on, if you believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms then you are labeled an “insurrectionist”.

Imagine their consternation to see that the number two book on the Top 100 Free Kindle books is none other than Matthew Bracken’s Enemies Foreign and Domestic. That is because in their worldview this is one of the classic insurrectionist novels for its portrayal of an out-of-control ATF and the armed response from Ranya Bardiwell, Brad Fallon, and friends. It ranks right up there with John Ross’ Unintended Consequences as subversive literature in their narrow-minded opinion.

Matthew Bracken is making this book available for free in Kindle format until March 5th. Frankly, he is hoping the attention given the book will start a discussion and has penned an essay called “Gangster Government, and Sakarov’s Immunity” that should serve as a basis for discussion. I would suggest downloading that as well.

I have all three books in Bracken’s EFAD triology and I paid full price. You can get the first volume for free if you go to Amazon.com and download it. Here is the link to make it even easier.

I’ve been re-reading it today and I had forgotten how engrossing the book really is. It will keep you hooked. Now pass on the link to friends and family and encourage them to download it so we can continue irritating Josh, Ladd, and others of their ilk.

If They Are Going To Call Us Insurrectionists, Might As Well Get The T-Shirt

The gun prohibitionists love to characterize those of us who care about our Second Amendment rights as “insurrectionists”. This is especially true of Ladd Everitt and Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic).

Frankly, if standing up for one’s Constitutional rights makes one an “insurrectionist” then I wear their epithet proudly. So proudly in fact that I bought the T-shirt.

The quotation on the shirt is from Thomas Jefferson and reads, “The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” That works for me.

The T-shirt is available from Gadsden and Culpepper in black and coyote for $12 plus shipping.

And for the FTC bureaucrats who have too much time on their hands, my only relationship with Gadsden and Culpepper is as a customer and I bought my coyote Militia of One T-shirt at retail.