How Concerned Should Gun Owners Be About Biden's Office of Gun Violence Prevention?

 On yesterday's Bearing Arms Cam and Company, Cam Edwards asked that question:

Well, for starters the gun control lobby won’t just have a seat at the table in the Biden administration. Going forward they’ll have their own office in the White House.. at least as long as a Democrat occupies the executive mansion. Ranjit describes the move as “a dark development, an ember that should be taken with the seriousness of a five-alarm fire, because that’s what it’s going to lead to,” and I don’t disagree, though it also has the potential to turn into a dumpster fire for the anti-gun groups and the Democratic establishment intent on weaponizing the federal government against a fundamental civil right.

I don’t expect the move will have much of an impact on the actual policies coming out of the executive branch, given that the gun control lobby already has Biden’s ear and full-throated support. Biden’s announcement is part payback for the support of gun control groups like Everytown, Giffords, and Brady, which will play a large role in staffing the new office after giving him their ringing endorsement for re-election a couple of months ago. But it’s also a transfer of wealth of sorts, funneling taxpayer money to “gun violence prevention efforts” around the country, many of which are aimed more at eradicating gun ownership than crimes in which a gun is used.

Cam went on to say there are a small number of cities and states that have already established similar offices and that none of them have done anything to actually reduce violent crime. He used the example of  Colorado's Office of Gun Violence Prevention and how it was the subject of a not so positive audit earlier this year which noted that after almost two years, little money had been distributed to the organizations that were supposed to benefit from the creation of the office.

You can hear the entire discusion below.

Richmond Mayor Blames Gun Owners for Spike in Homicide in the City

 Bearingarms.com's Cam Edwards has the story here.  As Cam reported, Mayor Levar Stoney said:

… “I’m incredibly concerned,” Stoney said. Adding, “No, it’s not the 1990s, that’s not the case, but still, when a person loses their son or daughter to gun violence, that’s a problem for all of us.“

He said that he believes Chief Gerald Smith is doing everything he can with the resources he currently has. Stoney emphasized that the department can’t just solve crimes but also has to prevent them.

“So, whether there are weapons and firearms and fire power we see in these communities we’ve got to get these guns off the street,” Stoney said.

You notice that he does not delineate between criminals using firearms and firearms in general.  Stoney is known for being vehemently anti-rights.  You can watch Cam's full discussion below.

Bearing Arms Editor Cam Edwards Talks with a Parkland Dad Ryan Petty

The below episode of Bearingarms.com's Cam and Company is a must see.  Host Cam Edwards spoke with Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was murdered at in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  Besides discussing comments by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Besides discussing those comments, Cam and Mr. Petty talk about the 2A community.  It's a great conversation.

Republicans Start from Behind in Election by not Challenging Seats Held by Dems

Yesterday, Jim Geraghty from National Review joined Cam Edwards on Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co. to talk about what’s at stake in this year’s elections.  Cam noted that there is a troubling sign from Republicans: the large number of seats currently held by Democrats that aren’t even being contested. He rightly pointed out that you can’t win if you’re not even competing, and before a vote is even cast Democrats and gun control advocates are already halfway to their goal of 51 seats in the House of Delegates. Jim Geraghty pointed out that if gun control groups are successful at flipping Virginia’s legislature, you can be certain they’ll take their game plan to dozens of other states in the 2020 election cycle.  Take a look at the interview below.

House Impeachment Inquiry Puts Brakes on White House Gun Control Talks

Yesterday, Cam Edwards of Bearingarms.com interviewed Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation.  Gottlieb talked discussed his thoughts on where congress may be headed.  At the beginning of the program, Cam mentioned that the White House has put the brakes on discussions related to gun control with the House of Representatives talk of impeachment.  You can hear Cam's report and the interview below.

VSSA Talks Governor Northam's Gun Control on Cam and Company

Legislative Director David Adams was on NRATV's Cam and Company last night talking about the Governor's call of a gun control special legislative session.

Vote Nick Freitas in the GOP Primary June 12th

Gun owners have an opportunity to nominate a true champion of the Second Amendment on June 12 to run against anti-gun U.S. Senator Tim Kaine in November.  While all three GOP candidates have responded to the NRA Questionnaire in strong support of our firearms freedom (based on their NRA-PVF ratings), one candidate stands head and shoulders above the rest, and that candidate is Delegate Nick Freitas.  Because of his strong record in the General Assembly, Delegate Freitas has earned the endorsement of the NRA Political Victory Fund and has earned the support of the Virginia Shooting Sports Association.  Readers of this blog may recall earlier this year, we shared a floor speech that Delegate Freitas made in support of our rights during the General Assembly session.  The video of the speech went viral and has had over 16 million views.

Delegate Freitas enlisted in the United States Army after High School. Following the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Nick served two combat tours as a Green Beret in the Middle East. After Nick’s service as a Green Beret, he became Director of Operations for a service-disabled, veteran-owned defense contractor. Nick is currently serving his second term as a Virginia House of Delegates member, originally elected in 2015.   Nick and his wife, Tina, and their three children live in Culpeper, VA.

Gun owners need to do all they can do between now and June 12 to help Delegate Freitas win the primary.  You can find out how to contact the campaign by clicking here.

Yesterday, Delegate Freitas spoke with NRATV host Cam Edwards.  He spoke about the 2017 off-year elections where Virginia went from a two-thirds pro-gun rights majority to a one-vote majority in the House of Delegates. Freitas also said progressives don't want a few "common sense" limitations - they want to gut the Second Amendment. He said it's time to respect the constitutional rights of gun owners. They must stop trying to use the government to disarm us.  You can watch the entire interview below.

Dave Kopel: Gun Ban for Young Adults Would Be Wholly Unconstitutional

Dave Kopel, Research Director at the Independence Institute, and Joseph Greenlee, a fellow at the Millennial Policy Center in Denver, had this op/ed at www.TheHill.com yesterday making the case that banning 18-20 year-olds from buying rifles and shotguns is unconstitutional.  Beyond laying out why such proposals are unconstitutional, Kopel and Greenlee profer this question:

Some young adults 18 to 20 are married with children. These families deserve to protect themselves as much as any family does. If these adults are not mature enough to be trusted with firearms, then logic would suggest that they are not mature enough to marry in the first place.

For that matter, perhaps they are not mature enough to vote If they cannot be trusted with a squirrel rifle, how can they be trusted to elect leaders who wield nuclear weapons?

Kopel was on NRATV's Cam and Company yesterday and talked in more detail about the article.  Read it at the above link.  It makes some great points.  We'll see if those points come up in the NRA lawsuit against Florida's new law.

More Gun Bills on Senate Courts Docket Wednesday Afternoon

Senate Courts of Justice meets again this afternoon and a number of gun bills are on the Docket, including handgun rationing, rolling back preemption, a bill allowing firearms in church during regularly scheduled services and a bill extending the amount of time a Concealed Handgun Permit is valid from five to 15 years.  Below is the complete list.

S.B. 79

Patron: Lucas

Firearms on school property. Adds public, private, or religious preschools and child day centers that are not operated at the residence of the provider or of any of the children to the list of schools where possessing a firearm on school property or on a school bus is prohibited. Under current law, the list of such schools only includes public, private, or religious elementary, middle, or high schools.

S.B. 155

Patron: Edwards

Control of firearms; chambers of local governing bodies. Allows a locality to adopt an ordinance that prohibits firearms, ammunition, or components or a combination thereof at any regular or special meeting of such local governing body, provided that notice of such prohibition is publicly posted and the meeting room is owned or operated by the locality.

S.B. 338

Patron: Peake

Firearms in courthouses. Allows a person who may lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to carry a firearm or ammunition for a firearm into an area courthouse that is being used exclusively for purposes other than judicial proceedings outside of the courthouse's normal hours of operation.

S.B. 350

Patron: Peake

Concealed handgun permit; expiration date. Extends from five to 15 years the validity of a concealed handgun permit.

S.B. 351

Patron: Peake

Firearms in locked vehicles; immunity from liability. Provides that no person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business owner may (i) prohibit a person who lawfully possesses a firearm from storing that firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle, (ii) take any adverse employment action against an employee or contractor for lawfully storing a firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle, or (iii) search an employee's or contractor's motor vehicle or require that an employee or contractor consent to such a search as a condition of employment. The bill allows a person to petition a circuit court for an injunction to enforce his right to lawfully store a firearm or ammunition for a firearm in a locked motor vehicle. The bill provides immunity for any person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business owner in a civil action for any occurrence resulting from the use of a lawfully stored firearm or ammunition for a firearm. The provisions of the bill do not apply to (a) property owned or controlled by the federal government, (b) vehicles on property controlled by an employer required to develop and implement a security plan under federal law or regulation, (c) property on which a person is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, (d) vehicles owned or leased by an employer or business entity and used by an employee or contractor in the course of his employment, or (e) personal vehicles while such vehicles are being used for the transport of consumers of programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

S.B. 372

Patron: Chafin

Carrying dangerous weapon to place of religious worship. Repeals the statutory prohibition on carrying a gun, pistol, bowie knife, dagger, or other dangerous weapon, without good and sufficient reason, to a place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held at such place.

S.B. 385

Patron: Lucas

Purchase of handguns; limitation on handgun purchases; penalty. Prohibits any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period and establishes such an offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill exempts from this provision (i) persons who have been issued a certificate by the Department of State Police under certain circumstances and with an enhanced background check, (ii) law-enforcement agencies and officers, (iii) state and local correctional facilities, (iv) licensed private security companies, (v) persons who hold a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit, (vi) persons whose handgun has been stolen or irretrievably lost or who are trading in a handgun, (vii) purchases of handguns in a private sale, and (viii) purchases of antique firearms.

S.B. 434

Patron: Wexton

Restoration of firearms rights; convicted felons. Requires the court to find by clear and convincing evidence that a person convicted of a violent felony, whose civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority, who has petitioned for a permit to possess or carry a firearm is not a risk to public safety and poses no present or future danger to himself or others prior to granting the petition and issuing the permit. Current law provides for a standard of good cause shown.

S.B. 442

Patron: Howell

Allowing access to firearms by children; penalty. Provides that any person who leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any person under the age of 18 is guilty of a Class 6 felony. Current law provides that any person who recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of 14 is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

S.B. 479

Patron: Reeves

Use or display of firearm during commission of a felony; killing or injuring police animals; penalty. Adds maliciously shooting, stabbing, wounding, or otherwise causing bodily injury to or administering poison to any animal used or trained by a law-enforcement agency, regional jail, or the Department of Corrections to the list of felonies for which a separate penalty is prescribed if a firearm is used during the commission of the offense.

S.B. 493

Patron: Carrico

Possession of concealed handguns; concealed handgun permit holders at public institutions of higher education. Allows any person who possesses a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit or a concealed handgun permit from another state that is recognized by Virginia to carry a concealed handgun on the property of, in buildings owned by, or at events hosted at public institutions of higher education. The bill provides an exception that may prohibit firearms in facilities operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or a campus police department of a public institution of higher education if such facilities are located on the property of or in buildings owned by a public institution of higher education.

S.B. 538

Patron: Hanger

Expansion of courthouses to contiguous property. Provides that expansion of a courthouse to contiguous land within the same county or city shall not trigger a referendum requirement. The existing statute refers only to relocation within the same county.

S.B. 653

Patron: McPike

Dangerous weapons; place of religious worship. Requires a person to have the express authorization of a place of religious worship to carry certain weapons to such place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held. Current law requires such person to have a good and sufficient reason to do so.

S.B. 742

Patron: Spruill

Prohibition of sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms magazines and firearms; penalties. Prohibits any person from importing, selling, bartering, or transferring a firearms magazine designed to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A violation is a Class 6 felony. The bill prohibits a person from carrying semi-automatic center-fire firearms with more than 10 rounds of ammunition in a public place; under existing law, this prohibition applies only in certain localities and only to such firearms if the firearm holds more than 20 rounds of ammunition. The bill also increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony the penalty for carrying a semi-automatic center-fire firearm and a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered in a public place. The bill redefines "assault firearm" by reducing from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" and prohibits a dealer from selling, renting, trading, or transferring from his inventory such an assault firearm to any person. The bill also reduces from more than 20 to more than 10 the number of rounds of ammunition that a firearms magazine will hold in order to be defined as an "assault firearm" for purposes of possession or transportation by a person younger than 18 years of age and increases the penalty from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony for a person younger than 18 years of age to possess or transport a handgun, an assault firearm, or a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered, with some exceptions.

S.B. 797

Patron: Howell

Protective orders; possession of firearms; penalty. Provides that it is a Class 6 felony for a person who is subject to a permanent protective order (i.e., a protective order with a maximum duration of two years) for subjecting another person to an act of violence, force, or threat to possess a firearm while the order is in effect, which is equivalent to the existing penalty for possession of a firearm by a person subject to a permanent protective order for family abuse. The bill also provides that such person may continue to possess and transport a firearm for 24 hours after being served with the order for the purposes of selling or transferring the firearm to another person.

S.B. 811

Patron: Marsden

Protective orders; possession of firearms; surrender or transfer of firearms. Provides that a court shall order a person subject to a protective order to (i) surrender any firearm possessed by such person to the local law-enforcement agency of the county or city where such person resides or to sell or transfer any firearms possessed by such person to a firearms dealer within 24 hours after being served with a protective order or (ii) certify in writing that such person does not possess any firearms and file such certification with the clerk of the court that entered the protective order within three days after being served with a protective order. The bill also provides that within 48 hours after surrendering or selling or transferring all firearms, such person shall certify in writing that all firearms possessed by such person have either been surrendered or sold or transferred and file such certification with the clerk of the court that entered the protective order.

I also had the opportunity yesterday to speak with Cam Edwards of NRATV's Cam and Company and give a legislative update.  Bills have yet to move in the House but the Senate is moving quickly to dispose of firearm related bills.  The last day to introduce legislation if Friday. 

New Lynchburg Range Set for Grand Opening Saturday

Roanoke indoor range and firearms retailer SafeSide Tactical will officially open their new location in Lynchburg on Saturday. The new indoor, state-of-the-art shooting range located in what was originally a 1940s lumber processing mill is in its "soft opening" now.  The range will offer firearm safety and training courses, conference spaces, retail space and 22 shooting lanes.

Co-owner Mitch Tyler told the Lynchburg News & Advance: “It’s a growing interest. I was told by the range designers that more ranges will open this year [2017] across the country than Starbucks.”

According to the News & Advance, SafeSide serves three types of customers: members of law enforcement, first-time gun buyers and regular shooters.

“First-time gun buyers don’t want to go into an old school gun shop,” he said. “We present a facility like this, for someone who’s not a gun person can still feel comfortable. They go from never holding a gun to making an educated decision on what gun to buy. We built the facility to cater to them.”

Tyler was spoke with NRATV's Cam and Company on Thursday about the new range and Saturday's Grand Opening.

Dave Kopel on "Kolbe vs Hogan" and the Racist Roots of Gun Control

The Independence Institute has filed an amicus brief in the case of Kolbe v. Hogan (VSSA has also joined a State Association Amicus opposing the 4th Circuit ruling).   It's an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Fourth Circuit's ruling supporting Maryland's "assault weapons" ban.  In the ruling, the majority opinion said so-called "assault weapons" can be banned because they are like "M-16s" and are "weapons of war", made for "mass carnage".  

Independence Institute Research director Dave Kopel was on NRATV's Cam and Company yesterday and said the Fourth Circuit used a shred of the Heller decision to claim that semi-automatic rifles are "weapons of war." It is not only unconstitutional, it is a danger to law enforcement. Police officers are not carrying weapons designed for "mass carnage." They are using appropriate firearms for lawful defense of their lives and the lives of law-abiding citizens.

Kopel also talked about his latest article in The Hill on the racist roots of gun control laws. Guns protect Americans from white supremacists, while gun control laws protect white supremacists.

New Indoor Shooting Range to Open in Lynchburg

Last week, WSET 13 gave viewers an inside look at a new shooting range scheduled to open in Lynchburg. The facility will be more than 55,000 sq. ft, offer dozens of shooting lanes, a retail store and classes for anyone from the beginner to expert.

"I think one of the stigmas with gun ownership is not everyone takes the time to get properly trained," said Mitchell Tyler, the co-owner of SafeSide Tactical, And that's what SafeSide Lynchburg says they are here for.

The $5 million facility will have eighteen 25-yard pistol lanes and four 100-yard rifle lanes. 

Yesterday, Mitch Tyler appeared on NRATV to talk more about the range:

CDC Study on Gun Related Deaths of Children Misses Key Point

On Monday, CNN and The Trace shouted almost duplicate heads to report on a new CDC study on gun related deaths of children.  CNN's read "Guns Kill Almost 1,300 US Children Annually," while Bloomberg's anti-gun mouthpiece The Trace screamed "19 Children Are Shot in America Everyday."  Jacob Sullum of  Reason.com and  Dr. Robert Young of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership both did a great job of debunking the study and media reports.  Let's start with the CNN and Trace reports.

The CDC study on which both of these articles are based was just published in the July issue of Pediatrics.  CNN and Trace use the study to craft sensational headlines in the hope of moving public opinion to support gun control.  Both cherry pick incidents to add credibility to their headlines.  For instance, the CNN report begins with the case of a third-grader accidentally shot in the stomach at school by another student and another describes a baby accidentally shot by his father.  You are left with the impression that these are typical situations that occur often.  In fact, the CNN article says:

About 21% of those injuries are unintentional, similar to the third-grader's case.

The Trace breaks down the different types of death and writes regarding unintentional gun deaths, that both younger and older children commonly died while playing with a gun, without telling the reader that such occurrences are rare.  

Jacob Sullum points out in his Reason.com article that 78 percent of the deaths were 13-to-17-year-olds.  Of those, 53 percent were homicides, and 38 percent were suicides. Less than 4 percent were accidents involving children 12 or younger, so the examples cited by CNN are anything but typical.

Sullum reminds us that circumstances matter:

The circumstances matter, of course, because solutions that might make sense for one sort of gun death may be irrelevant to another. Safe gun storage and handling, for example, can keep third-graders from taking guns to school in their backpacks and prevent infants from being injured by careless rifle cleaning. But they cannot reasonably be expected to have much of an impact on gang violence. The authors of the Pediatrics study found that 40 percent of the homicides involving teenagers grew out of "arguments" (presumably including black-market disputes, a phenomenon created by drug prohibition), 31 percent were "precipitated by another crime," 21 percent were gang-related, 9 percent were drive-by shootings, and 7 percent killed bystanders. Some of those categories overlap.

The homicide rate among minors (17 or younger) rose by 17 percent from 2002 to 2007, then fell by 36 percent from 2007 to 2014. The suicide rate, by contrast, fell by 23 percent from 2002 to 2007, then rose by 60 percent from 2007 to 2014. Deaths from gun accidents, the scenario emphasized by CNN, fell steadily during the study period. In fact, the researchers note, "unintentional firearm death rates have been steadily declining for several decades."

It's all about driving an agenda.  Dr. Robert Young of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership told Cam Edwards of NRATV's Cam and Company on Monday that is exactly what this study is - an agenda-driven study. He told Edwards that when you look at the data on a state-by-state basis, you find there are outliers in both directions. Dr. Young said there is no causal relationship demonstrated in the data. He also said the age range is capped at 17 instead of 20 in order to help get the desired result. Dr. Young said that safe gun storage is important and something that all gun owners should take seriously. But, passing unenforceable storage or "smart gun" laws will do nothing to increase safety. 

Frank Miniter: Five Things You Need to Know About Suppressors

Earlier this week, columnist Frank Miniter wrote an article posted on the America's First Freedom web site that was titled "Five Things You Need to Know About Suppressors."  In that article, Miniter starts off by writing:

There is an old joke that the “official NRA handshake” is a person saying “What?” as he or she cups a hand behind one ear.

I never liked this joke, as it makes light of a serious issue. Decades ago many gun owners didn’t think it was a big deal that they didn’t wear earplugs or muffs when hunting and at the range. Many shooters who grew up in that culture now have hearing loss or problems with tinnitus (ringing in their ears). Massive public education—much of it from the NRA—taught us about the dangers of shooting without ear and eye protection.

Miniter goes on to write the five things that people need to know about suppressors, things like the type of technology, and do they really make a gun "whisper quite." But to me, the most important thing he shares is how they work - information you can use when writing to your legislators when the Hearing Protection Act comes up for a vote to encourage them to support it:

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that a decibel (dB) level greater than 140 can cause permanent hearing loss. Silencerco’s research has estimated that a silenced .22 LR rifle gives off about 116 dBs, a silenced 9mm pistol makes about 125 dBs, a jackhammer about 130 dBs and an unsuppressed .223 rifle about 165 dBs. So suppressors can lower the dB level below the detrimental 140 dB level. But OSHA also says that, over time, anything over 85 dBs can damage hearing. The point is, for the most part, even someone firing a suppressed firearm should still wear hearing protection.

Miniter writes that a bullet moving faster than the speed of sound also creates something called a "mini sonic boom" that suppressors will not eliminate, making the Hollywood myth that silencers or suppressors turn gunshots into a "pffft" noise is "nonsense."

Yesterday Miniter appeared on NRATV's NRANews Cam and Company to talk more about the article.

Former Head of Interpol Says Armed Citizens Can Save Lives

Independence Institute Director of Research Dave Kopel had a great piece at the Volokh Conspiracy this week on former Interpol Secretary-general Ron Noble's new video examining the Westgate Mall mass shooting in Nairobi and how armed citizens saved hundreds of lives.  In the post, Kopel says in Noble's video, we see the difference between a "moderate" gun control advocate and folks like Katie Couric, who is making the rounds with a new gun ban film:

As Noble explains, his 14 years of close involvement in global counterterrorism changed his perspective on gun control. This week, he has published a video about the 2013 mass shootings at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. The video, “Armed Citizens Can Help Stop Terrorist Massacres Like Nairobi and Paris,” shows graphic footage of the attack and of the response of armed citizens. During the lengthy and well-planned attack, more than 60 innocent people were murdered. As Noble explains, the death count would have been hundreds more if not for the armed citizens who intervened. As Noble puts it, “This is not an American argument, nor a political argument. In these horrific situations, law-abiding armed citizens have helped protect others and literally saved lives, and the world should be made aware of this reality. . . . In the hands of law-abiding citizens, guns can and do save lives.”

Noble still favors a variety of non-prohibitory gun regulations that I do not. Yet the global question is not about the exact scope of Second Amendment rights in the United States. In Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States, mass shootings have become all too common. The perpetrators may be terrorists, gangs or people with mental illness. (The last category overlaps significantly with the first two categories.) The global question is about reducing the number of innocent people who are murdered. Among the important steps in saving lives is acknowledging that victims of mass attacks are necessarily their own first responders. As Westgate Mall demonstrated, when innocent victims have the tools of defense, innocent lives are saved.

On Tuesday, Kopel appeared on NRANews.com's Cam and Company and discussed his post at the Volokh Conspiracy as well as the new video Noble has posted on Vimeo.

Big City Chiefs Push More Gun Control As Solution to Rising Crime

A couple days ago D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier hosted fellow chiefs from Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore and other cities to discuss their rising violent crime.  The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) convened the meeting after a survey of its members showed police in many cities are seeing more crimes committed with firearms and more killings.  According to the Washington Post, which ran a story on the meeting, four of the nation’s largest cities — New York, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia — recorded a rise in homicides by mid-July compared with the same period in 2014.  That same Post report noted, unsurprisingly, that those in attendance want to push for more gun control to respond to the problem:

Among the recommendations that came out of the summit, the chiefs called for more stringent gun laws, including harsher penalties for gun crimes and the use of high-capacity magazines.

“We’re going to shooting scenes now where you’ve got more and more victims being shot, you’ve got more spent rounds being collected as evidence and we’re finding more and more high-capacity magazines involved in these shootings,” Manger said.

Yesterday, the Atlanta Chief of Police George Turner spoke to NPR, and he pointed to the real problem - a small number of repeat offenders. This at a time when President Obama and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, among others, want to roll back many tough on crime measures that were put in place in the 90s.

Chief Turner hit the nail on the head when he talked about repeat offenders - people that should be in prison but aren't. On Monday, Cherylyn Harley LeBon, contributing fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, discussed the increase in violent crime in Baltimore and other U.S. cities with NRANews' Cam Edwards.  The city of Baltimore has seen a record number of homicides this year, 189 by the end of July. July 2015 was the single deadliest month in 43 years.

The solution is not more gun control, it is more criminal control.

Everytown Making Things Up on Background Checks

Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety has gone on the attack against Cabela's, the retailer where the racist murderer who shot nine people in a Charleston Church last month bought his gun.  Last Friday, the FBI admitted it was it's error that allowed the sale to be completed.  So, you might ask, why is Everytown going after Cabela's.  Because of what they are now calling and "NRA backed loophole in the law" that allows someone to take possession of their firearm is the retailer has not received a NICS rejection of the transaction within three days.   This from Guns.com:

This has former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety and the affiliated Moms Demand Action pushing a large national firearms retailer to close what they are calling, “The Charleston Loophole.”

Both groups are mounting a social media campaign asking the Nebraska-based Cabela’s to halt allowing guns to transfer with a delay status unresolved after the three day period. With some 60 stores and a large direct marketing arm, Cabela’s had more than $3 billion in revenue in 2014.

“Retailers have the right — and responsibility — to delay a gun sale until a background check is completed,” reads a post from Everytown. “But Cabela’s, one of the largest gun retailers in the country, will sell to anyone after three business days, even without a completed background check.”

Here are the facts about background checks:

When a delay response is received, this indicates that information supplied on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473 has been matched with information contained in the National Crime Information Center, the Interstate Identification Index, and/or the NICS Index. Complete information is not always available and a further review of these records is necessary. The NICS exhausts all efforts to retrieve current record information by contacting law enforcement agencies, i.e., local, state, federal, courts, etc. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 allows three business days to obtain this information prior to the transfer of the firearm. The Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) is not prohibited from transferring the firearm after three business days have passed; however, the FFL is not required to transfer the firearm.

But facts never get in the way of Bloomberg's minions when it comes to exploiting a tragedy.  Katie Pavlich wrote about this at Townhall.com and spoke about the article and Everytown's false claims on NRANews.com.

Dave Kopel on Doctors and Your Gun Rights

In the new America's First Freedom, Independence Institute research director Dave Kopel writes about the growing practice of physicians asking their patients about gun ownership and gun storage practices. In the article, Kopel shares the stories of patients who have answered these questions and then been subjected to visits from Child Protective Services.

In San Francisco, a man honestly answered his doctor’s questions about whether there were guns in the home. A short time later, Child Protective Services arrived at the residence, and demanded to be let inside so that they could inspect whether the guns were locked up.

There are also instances when patients refused to answer, and had their doctors end their doctor-patient relationship.

In Ocala, Fla., Amber Ullman took her 4-month-old baby to a pediatrician for shots and a checkup. When she refused to answer the gun question, the doctor terminated the relationship and the mother was given 30 days to find a new pediatrician.

Earlier this week, Kopel appeared on Sportsman Channel's NRANews Cam and Company to discuss the article.

BIll Janis on NRANews Today

VSSA and NRA-PVF Endorsed candidate Bill Janis will be on NRANews' Cam and Company today at approximately 2:40.  With the GOP Primary for the 12th Senate District being held tomorrow, this is a good opportunity for Janis to speak directly to gun owners and sportsmen on the importance of voting in tomorrow's primary.  Bill Janis is the only candidate in the 12th District race with a proven voting record supporting the rights of Virginia gun owners.  Two of the other three candidates responded to the NRA-PVF survey with answers that indicated they support our rights and one candidate (Siobhan S. Dunnavant) failed to respond indicating that she is indifferent or out right hostile to our rights.  But Janis has a voting record which is why VSSA endorsed him over the other candidates.

If you can't listen live to Bill at 2:40 on NRANews.com,  you can download the podcast via ITunes or directly from the NRANews site or listen On Demand on IHeart Radio later this evening.  We will also post the interview on this blog early this evening.

Republicans Prepare Pro-gun Riders for Appropriations, Obama Finalizing New Restriction Regulations

Over the past two days, there have been reports that a battle is brewing on firearm rights that will likely come to a head in the fall.  On the pro-rights side, Republicans have included riders in the Commerce Justice and Science appropriations to prohibit the use of funding to support restrictions on our rights.

Lawmakers are bracing for a showdown on Capitol Hill over gun provisions in a bill to fund the Justice Department (DOJ).

House Republicans are seeking to roll back a number of controversial gun regulations from the Obama administration, but not without a fight from Democrats.

Some of the provisions would block DOJ from banning military-style assault rifles and high-powered bullets for handguns, and collecting information about certain guns sales.

These provisions are expected to be offered as so-called appropriations riders, which means DOJ’s funding would be contingent on federal authorities following these rules.

It’s an opportunity for congressional Republicans to withhold funding from the agency unless the Obama administration backs down from certain gun regulations.

Or as the National Rifle Association sees it: "We need to stop the Obama administration from bypassing Congress on gun control,” said NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker.

But Democrats are bitterly opposing the gun riders. They see it as a dirty trick by the GOP to beat back gun safety measures.

Obama has theatened to veto the appropriation bill for several reasons, including the firearm related riders?

On the second front, Obama, knowing he can't get new restrictive laws through Congress, is planning to use Justice Department regulatory power to go after our rights.  It's known as the "Unified Agenda" and in the case of domestic abusers and the mentally ill, some would say these type of people should not have access to firearms, but when you dig deeper, it's all in the eye of the beholder.   You see, Obama wants to expand the definition of things like Domestic Violence and Mental Illness, as Jazz Shaw at Hot Air notes:

The appeal to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers is a powerful one, particularly in today’s media climate. And to be sure, actual perpetrators of domestic violence should not be trusted with weapons if they have so little control over their temper. But as with all things, such instances need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Blanket bans for misdemeanor convictions such as the one being proposed can wind up sweeping all sorts of folks into the net, such as the Florida woman recently charged with slapping her annoying husband during an argument. Does anyone think she should be included based on nothing more than that?

Obama also wants to expand the definition of what constitutes being mentally ill.  Then there is  the proposal having to do with the elimination of NFA trusts.  Items like suppressors require law enforcement approval.  In states like Virginia, the approval process can vary from locality to locality and be very arbitrary.  VSSA has worked to streamline this process in Virginia and this year for the first time our efforts led to a bill passing and going to the governor.  Unfortunately, Governor McAuliffe vetoed the bill.  NFA Trusts have become very popular to address this issue. Currently only the person setting up the trust must go through the approval process.  Beneficiaries of the trusts do not.  This allows items to be passed down through families or allow those beneficiaries to use those items while the owner is living.   Obama is proposing that everyone, including beneficiary's of NFA Trusts must undergo the approval process. 

On yesterday's Sportsman Channel's NRANews Cam and Company, host Cam Edwards talked with NRA-ILA' s media liaison Catherine Mortensen about the new proposals that the administration expects to be ready by November: