Uncategorized

Overreach In Pitt County, NC

February 20, 2025 by

Grass Roots North Carolina has issued an alert about the actions of the Pitt County (NC) County Commissioners. The commissioners have passed a firearms ordinance that makes discharge of a firearm between certain hours a misdemeanor. In the meantime, they are also considering a change to their zoning ordinances that make the discharge ordinance a moving target. I guess one should not be surprised that this is coming from a county named after a British prime minister.

From the GRNC Alert:

PITT CO. CONTINUES ITS OVERREACH
ITEMS ON AGENDA FOR 2/24/2025 MEETING

“In Pitt County’s desperate attempt to “do something” about their imported criminal problem, they can’t seem to accurately define exactly what needs to be prohibited… In their repeated rewrites, they can’t even conform regulations to what the state already has in statute.

It’s hard for them to make up definitions. “Propellants” are used in modern cartridges, not “explosives”. But it’s not our job to help them accurately rewrite their infringements.PITT CO.’s Latest firearm ordinance Discharging A Firearm at Night, criminalize “firearm” discharges at night between the hours of 9:30 PM until 6:30 AM as a Class 3 misdemeanor and a fine of not more than $500 and/or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days.At most, this should be a civil infraction or covered by a noise ordinance. This is a ham-fisted clumsily attempt to address noise complaints with overreaching criminal consequences.

The ordinance is also a moving target dependent upon fluid “zoning” regulations and definitions changeable under Pitt County Zoning Ordinance 12.  It’s just bad rulemaking open to interpretation and changeable via whim.  Emotionally charged language criminalizes and over penalizes what should at most be infractions of law.

Further more, this likely conflicts with the NC General assembly’s latest rulemaking on “downzoning” and has criminal implications.  How can this possibly be enforced without complicated interpretations of zoning law. And why should any consequences be determined or adjudicated through a “zoning” board of appeals. 

GRNC is of course against unlawful,  irresponsible and dangerous behavior that results in firearms rounds crossing into or across another person’s property or public areas. However, the Discharging a Firearm Across Property Lines ordinance is unnecessarily full of emotionally charged language with examples such as “parks”, “childcare facility”, “Schools”,  “medical facility”, “park” or “recreational area”.  Are other areas, locations not named, or not included not significant?  These areas need to be removed, and legally defensible language used. 

GRNC urges every citizen to oppose these unnecessary infringements and write Pitt county commissioners: “GRNC strongly urges you to oppose the proposed ordinance. If the commission insists on passing this ill conceived ordinance into law, at least reduce the penalty for discharge of a firearm at night to a civil infraction.”

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
 CALL & EMAIL PITT CO. COMMISSIONERS: If you previously called, please do it again!   Using the contact information and copy-and-paste message below, you can make your outrage heard to these meddling bureaucrats.

ATTEND THE FEB 24th MEETING: The Pitt Co. Commission plans to vote on the ordinance on FEB 24th. We must again pack this meeting with angry gun rights voters.  The meeting will be held at 6:00 PM at the Mark Owens, Jr. Auditorium,  Pitt County Agricultural Center 403 Government Circle Greenville,  NC 27834, Commissioners’ Auditorium, Greenville, NC 27834. A GRNC representative will be at the meeting.  

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO GRNC: Help us fight gun control while we promote Second Amendment principles. Please CLICK HERE to contribute. Bear in mind that GRNC is an all-volunteer organization, so you can be sure your donations are put to the best possible use. Any amount helps, and any amount is appreciated.

CONTACT INFO   Copy & paste list: (Note: The copy and paste list does not include Commissioner Lauren White, who opposes the ordinance.

To express your thanks for her opposition, you may email her at her e-mail address listed below):  rochelle@rochellebrown.net;  ann.floydhuggins@pittcountync.gov; benji.holloman@pittcountync.gov ; king2006mac@yahoo.com; Chris.Nunnally@gmail.com; pittcounty.commissionerd2@gmail.com;  mark.smith@pittcountync; mac1958@centurylink.net

Phone numbers (all numbers 252 area code): Rochelle Brown  702-1987 Ann Floyd Huggins 252-757-1444 Benji Holloman 714-6311 Melvin C. McLawhorn 327-6559 Christopher Nunnally 917-7374 Mary Perkins-Williams 751-6686 Mark C. Smith 916-5171 Mac Manning 341-0001

Lauren already opposes the ordinances: So please give her your appreciation Lauren White, 341-5522,  laurenashley318@yahoo.com
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Oppose PITT CO. Shooting Ordinances”  

Dear Commissioner,   PITT CO.’s Latest firearm ordinances criminalize “firearm” discharges at night between the hours of 9:30 PM until 6:30 AM as a Class 3 misdemeanor and a fine of not more than $500 and/or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days. At most this should be a civil infraction or covered by a noise ordinance. This is a ham-fisted clumsily attempt to address noise complaints and an imported criminal problem.

The ordinance is also a moving target dependent upon fluid “zoning” regulations and definitions changeable under Pitt County Zoning Ordinance 12.  It’s just bad rulemaking open to interpretation and changeable via whim. 

Furthermore, this likely conflicts with the NC General assembly’s latest rulemaking on “downzoning” and has criminal implications.  How can this possibly be enforced without complicated interpretations of zoning law. And why should any firearms consequences be determined or adjudicated through a “zoning board of appeals. 

GRNC and everyone, are of course against unlawful, irresponsible and dangerous behavior that results in firearms rounds crossing into or across another person’s property or public areas. However, the Discharging a Firearm Across Property Lines ordinance is unnecessarily full of emotionally charged language and locations with examples such as “parks”, “childcare facility”, “Schools”, “medical facility”, “park” or “recreational area”.  Are other areas or locations not named not included or not significant?  These areas need to be removed, and legally defensible language applied.

I and GRNC strongly urges you to oppose the proposed ordinance. If the commission insists on passing these ill conceived ordinances into law, at least reduce the penalty for discharge of a firearm at night to a civil infraction.   Respectfully,
Uncategorized

Brownells And SAF Celebrate 2A Day

February 20, 2025 by 1 Comment

The Second Amendment Foundation is the beneficiary of Brownell’s 2A Day. 4% of sales – not just profits – will go to SAF, GOA, and Iowa Firearms Coalition.

Celebrate 2A Week w/ $25 Off $250+ Orders – Use Code: FREEDOM
Brownells’ 2A Day is all about celebrating our Second Amendment rights—and what better way to do that than with an epic giveaway? One lucky winner will take home a Smith & Wesson Model 19 Classic, plus ammo, gear, and a $500 Brownells gift card to stock up on whatever else they need.

What’s in the Prize Package? Smith & Wesson Model 19 Classic – A legendary revolver, reborn
1,450 Rounds of Ammo – Federal .357 Magnum, CCI Blazer 9mm, and Remington .223 NATO
Hornady RAPiD Safe – Secure your firearms with RFID access
Magpul Santini Eyewear & DAKA Gear – Tactical storage and polarized protection
$500 Brownells Gift Card – Because there’s always something else to add to the kitDon’t miss your shot—enter now for a chance to win!

Enter The Giveaway

The event runs until February 23rd.

Uncategorized

NRA Voting Facts

February 17, 2025 by 6 Comments

Our friends at the Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association have been doing a deep dive into the voting statistics of the NRA. I used to say about 5% of voting members voted in each recent election. I was wrong. It is only marginally more than 3%! I have seen a greater turnout for municipal elections for coroner and Soil & Water Commissioner.

What this means is that the members of your average moderate sized gun club, if NRA voting members, could swing an election. The difference between being on the Board and being a runner-up is usually somewhere around 325 votes.

Uncategorized

Donald, What Are You Thinking?

February 13, 2025 by 5 Comments

Semafor.com reported yesterday that Sarah Rogers of Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, has been nominated by President Trump to the the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. This is confirmed by the White House as her name was included in a list of over 50 nominations for various positions that must be confirmed by the Senate.

Brewer firm photo

The nominations include a New York lawyer, Sarah Rogers, who has defended the National Rifle Association on free speech grounds and litigated against content moderation. Her appointment to be the under secretary for public diplomacy — a role that had, in the Biden administration, been involved in efforts to combat false information on social media, signals that the Trump administration is planning to globalize its push to force social platforms to allow a wider range of speech…

Rogers has no obvious foreign policy experience, but brings a similar point of view on key issues around speech and social media platforms. A partner at the New York litigation boutique Brewer, Rogers represented the National Rifle Association alongside the ACLU in a winning appeal to the Supreme Court last March. She also represented the NRA against the New York State Attorney General, who was seeking to dissolve the organization, which the NRA beat back on First Amendment grounds.

I will acknowledge that Rogers was a co-counsel along with Bill Brewer and Noah Peters on NRA v. Vullo. However, and this is an important point, the counsel of record and the heavy lifter in this case at the SCOTUS was First Amendment law expert Professor Eugene Volokh of UCLA Law. Once the ACLU was brought into the case, you had as many as 10 of their attorneys working on the case while Prof. Volokh remained the Counsel of Record.

While Judge Cohen did mention the First Amendment in his ruling taking dissolution off the table in People of NY v NRA et al, it seems to me to be more of an after thought. He only devoted one paragraph to that argument. More important in his 42-page ruling was whether or not the New York Attorney General alleged facts sufficient to meet the standard for judicial dissolution. He found that she did not. He said you could not conflate “the Individual Defendants with the NRA writ large for purposes of dissolution is inappropriate here for the reasons” he discussed earlier. He went on to say it was the members of the NRA who had suffered the most harm and not the general public.

Rogers did participate in most of the hearings in the New York case as the primary litigator for the NRA. I will give her that.

Trump has in the past shown a certain affection for those educated at Ivy League schools. Rogers satisfies that criteria with an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and a law degree from Columbia. The Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy heads the Bureau of Global Public Affairs (PR for the USA) and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (cultivating personal ties with current and future global leaders). Without trying to be snarky, she will be running the fluffier stuff at the State Department.

While Ms. Rogers will be taking a cut in pay, I’m going to say it probably is worth it to get away from Bill Brewer and his shenanigans. Down the road, I’m sure she will be able to parlay her experience as an Under Secretary of State into a prime partnership with a New York or DC law firm.

Uncategorized

Who Is Seth Haan Really?

February 11, 2025 by 2 Comments

I wrote about the troll Seth Haan the other day because of his attack on Jeff Knox. An astute reader who took the time to go back through some of his posts on the 24 Hour Campfire Forum noticed something interesting. Look at the next few screen captures and see if you see it.

You will notice “Seth” consistently used the first person plural when referring to the Board of Directors as well as the old guard’s slate of candidates. As in, “the recent reforms we supported” and “we need to keep our members”, etc.

Is “Seth” a mere pen name or nom de plume for a member of the Board of Directors that is supporting the cabal? If you were talking about others in a group that didn’t include yourself, you would use “they” or the third person plural and not “we” which is the first person plural.

“Seth” consistently ignores requests to identify himself in the various forums. There is never something like “I’m just a concerned member” or the like. He did say he had met a number of Board members at events put on by the NRA and, interestingly enough, SAF.

It is obvious that “Seth” doesn’t like Jeff Knox as he once again attacked him in a post on the Smith & Wesson Forum today. As for those of us running on the reform slate, you can see for yourself his opinion of me and my fellow reformers.

If I were an opportunist, I would have sucked up to the old regime years ago so as to get on the Board and get rewarded with African safaris for my loyalty. As it is, my two trips to South Africa last year were paid for out of my own pocket and I consider it money well spent. I guess I just don’t know how to properly play the role of an opportunist.

So if you are reading this “Seth”, let us know who you really are. Enquiring minds want to know.

Uncategorized

Sign The Official Envelope!

February 11, 2025 by

This important reminder comes from the Falls Township Rifle & Pistol Association.

They have this important advice:

The biggest gains that can be made for reform leadership are through NRA voting members who don’t typically vote. If you’re recruiting from the ranks of new or infrequent board election voters, don’t let them get caught up in the thousands of ballots that get tossed out each year as invalid.

Aside from arriving late and casting too many votes, “No Authentication” is a top preventable mistake made with ballots that will keep them from being counted.

Uncategorized

Letter On Electioneering

February 11, 2025 by 1 Comment

A letter went out today to the Board of Directors signed by Bob Barr, Bill Bachenberg, Mark Vaughan, and Doug Hamlin concerning statements that cross the line when it comes to campaigning for the Board. I don’t know what precipitated this letter nor do I know if it is aimed at any one in particular. It could just be a general warning letter to Board members to “keep it clean”.

That said, it could be aimed at the reform slate for daring to call the old guard or Wayne’s enablers the “cabal” and urging voters not to vote for them. Conversely, it could be aimed at the troll named “Seth Haan” who I called out for his attack on Jeff Knox.

I will say that I’ve tried to be objective in my push for the reform slate which includes me. Likewise, it is my considered opinion that there are some running to keep their Board seats whose past behavior makes them unworthy of your vote and I stand by that.

It is time to replace what has long been a passive Board with an activist Board that will work to reform, rebuild, and rejuvenate the NRA. That can only come from electing the slate of reformers found at ElectANewNRA.com. I might add Mark Shuell to the list as he has been endorsed by Jeff Knox.

If you are a voting member and have not yet voted, I would encourage you to do so ASAP. If you have been disgusted by the grifting of the past and just turned your back on the NRA, I say to come back and help make a positive change. Voting participation in the past has been atrocious and that has worked to the cabal’s advantage. Now is the time to change that!

Below is a copy of the letter sent to the Board:

Officers’ letter to the Board – 2-10-2025Download
Uncategorized

Not Protected By The Second Amendment

February 9, 2025 by 2 Comments

In a decision issued this past Thursday, a panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said that suppressors were not weapons protected by the Second Amendment. The case involved firearms dealer George Patterson of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The BATFE was investigating him for certain reporting violations and had obtained a search warrant of his premises. During their search, they found a suppressor made from a kit that was neither serialized nor registered in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), and 5871. A grand jury indicted him on that charge and Patterson moved to have the indictment dismissed. He argued that the National Firearms Act’s registration requirements violated the Second Amendment. The US District Court for Eastern Louisiana dismissed his motion and he appealed to the 5th Circuit.

The opinion of the court was by Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod who is a George W. Bush appointee. Interestingly, she also wrote the opinion for the en banc decision in Cargill v. Garland that found that bump stocks were not machine guns.

After examining a number of decisions in other circuits that had concluded that suppressors were not weapons, Elrod wrote:

A suppressor, by itself, is not a weapon. Without being attached to a firearm, it would not be of much use for self-defense. And unless a suppressor itself is thrown (which, of course, is not how firearms work), it cannot do any casting or striking.3 See United States v. Hasson, No. GJH-19-96, 2019 WL 4573424, at *4 n.5 (D. Md. Sept. 20, 2019) (noting that a suppressor “could be thrown at someone like a shoe or a baseball, which, most would agree, are not arms protected by the Second Amendment”). While a suppressor might prove useful to one casting or striking at another, that usefulness does not transform a gas dissipater into a bullet caster…And while possession of firearms themselves is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment, possession of firearm accessories is not. Id. Accordingly, Peterson has not shown that the NFA’s registration scheme burdens a constitutionally protected right.

She also dismissed his argument that a suppressor should be considered a “‘‘proper accoutrements’ that render the firearm useful and functional'” per US v Miller noting that a firearm can still be fired absent a suppressor. His other argument pointed to Ezell v. Chicago but again Chief Judge Elrod dismissed that argument saying that the use of a suppressor is not necessary to the use of a firearm. Thus, she dismissed his appeal of the motion to dismiss from the District Court.

So this leads to the obvious question, if a suppressor is not considered a weapon and merely an accessory, then why is it regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934? The obvious answer is that it should not be.

There are currently bills in both houses of Congress that would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act. The first to be introduced was HR 404/ S364 – Hearing Protection Act. This bill introduced by Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-WY) would remove suppressors from the NFA, eliminate the $200 tax, prohibit states from imposing any taxes on their purchase other than normal sales taxes, and allow their sale with a simple background check. This bill is supported a number of organizations including  American Suppressor Association (ASA), the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA). 

A second bill, the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act, has been introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in the Senate and by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) in the House. The SHUSH Act is supported by National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It goes further than the Hearing Protection Act in that it removes suppressors entirely from Federal regulation.

From Sen. Lee’s press release:

The SHUSH Act aims to:

  • Eliminate federal regulation of suppressors as firearms under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA).
  • Remove existing taxes, fees, and registration requirements associated with suppressors.
  • Allow current or retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms with suppressors.
  • Preempt state regulations on the manufacture, transfer, transport, or possession of suppressors.
  • Strike provisions requiring mandatory minimum sentences for suppressor possession in certain cases.
  • Exempt suppressors from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  • Provide a provision for a refund of the $200 transfer tax for anyone who purchased a suppressor within two years prior to the enactment of the bill.
  • If passed, the SHUSH Act will work alongside the Hearing Protection Act to further deregulate suppressors and remove them from the Gun Control Act of 1968.

I would support passage of both laws but I must say I really like the SHUSH Act better. The question is, of course, getting either bill through the Senate.

Given that the courts are refusing to treat suppressors or silencers as protected by the Second Amendment and are considering them merely accessories, now is the time to treat them like they are in countries around the world. That is, an accessory sold over the counter without regulation that protects hearing, mitigates recoil, and reduces noise pollution.

H/T Marc E.

Uncategorized

Beware Of Trolls

February 7, 2025 by 2 Comments

Someone by the name of Seth Haan has been promoting the old guard or cabal ticket on a number of firearms forums. These include ArfCom, the 24 Hour Campfire Forum, and the Smith & Wesson Forum. He is usually a new member of the forum and no one seems to know who he is nor does he answer questions regarding his identity. His posts usually start off by reposting something NRA President Bob Barr wrote that appeared on Ammoland.com.

Seth or whoever he really is has been openly mocked as a troll on all of these forums. The usual response is “any list the has Bob Barr on it will never get my vote.” Many then go on to ask who Jeff Knox or Tim Knight has endorsed. Other responses to Seth will also suggest going to ElectANewNRA.com and voting for the reform slate.

It is one thing to be a troll supporting the cabal. However, it is another thing when that transforms into a diatribe about Jeff Knox who he characterizes as “a bitter old man.” The diatribe is below:

Jeff Knox frequently starts his attack on his fellow Board members with “This is not some sort of personal vendetta.” and launches on an attack full of ridiculous claims . Of course it is a personal vendetta. He’s been on a crusade to get revenge against NRA and certain board members ever since he and others were not elected to the NRA Board by the voters over 25 years ago.

Most of what Jeff Knox says is distorted, inaccurate, innuendo, speculative and in some cases even ridiculous. This is why the voters gave him and his cronies the boot in the late 90’s.

He claims that NRA has been a failure for the past 20 years. Where is the evidence? NRA spent over $60 million to help get Donald Trump elected in 2016 and now we have a pro-Second Amendment majority in the Supreme Court. Was that a failure? NRA helped elect numerous successful pro-gun candidates in federal, state and local elections over the past 20 years. NRA helped pass numerous pro-gun laws. Where is the failure?

Knox is acting like a democrat propagandist. He blames board members for nonexistant “failures over the past 20 years”. Its all just gaslighting, bloviating, fear mongering.

One of Knox’s more ridiculous statements was his suggestion that the NRA should have fired its attorneys right in the middle of the New York court case! Yes, during the actual negotiations to conclude the case against NRA, Jeff Knox supported firing NRA’s attorneys! What was his reason? To save NRA money in legal fees!!!

And what would have happened to the NRA if it had actually fired its attorneys? It would have had to hire new attorneys at a great cost to the NRA to have new attorneys come up to speed. Unless maybe Jeff was figuring that NRA should have gone into court nekkid as a jaybird, before God and everybody, without any attorney at all?

And now Jeff Knox has the temerity to post his ridiculous attack on board members who opposed firing NRA’s attorneys during the actual court proceedings. He actually expects you to not see through this nonsense.

Jeff Knox is just a bitter old man, desperately seeking revenge for events that happened a quarter century ago.

I’m going to be blunt. Seth Haan or whoever the troll really is can go fuck himself. Jeff has been a friend for many years. He has stood like an Old Testament prophet while being despised and scorned for telling the truth year after year. In 2019, he accurately foretold what would happen if the Board circled the wagons, defended Wayne, and tried to muddle through.

Jeff was absolutely correct that Bill Brewer should have been fired long ago. After Judge Cohen took dissolution off the table, it was time to seek a settlement. I sincerely doubt that any settlement reached at that stage would look much different that what was contained in the Final Order. The difference is the NRA would have saved much of the $200 million spent on Brewer and his colleagues. This is money that could have gone towards rebuilding the Training Department to educate all the new Covid-era gun owners. This is money that could have gone into 2A litigation. The list goes on.

I have gotten off topic a bit. My intent was to warn you about a nasty troll pushing the cabal. However, when this troll attacked Jeff, I could not let that pass without a response.