Category: Firearms

ATF Fraud Finally Recognized by National Media

BY DAVID CODREA

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/atf-fraud-finally-recognized-by-national-media/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

If the whistleblower’s accusations are true, and if something is done about it, the abusive ATF employees will end up felons, like on this sign. (ATF/Facebook)

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “A CBS News investigation uncovered allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives,” CBS News claims in a breaking exclusive. “A whistleblower said he lost his job after he flagged the alleged violations to his superiors.”

The gist of it revolves around fraudulent pay practices, with certain employees reaping millions in unearned Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP). The ironic thing is, the feds are prosecuting an Illinois police officer for fraudulent timekeeping because his department had received federal funds and he now faces up to 10 years in prison. That means some of these  “time bandits” could end up becoming “prohibited persons.”

It’s no surprise that anchor Norah O’Donnell’s takeaway is that ATF needs a permanent director, a not-so-subtle swipe at the rejection of gun-grab zealot David Chipman’s confirmation rejection.  While it’s true that widespread time reporting abuses point squarely at management either not doing its job or deliberately encouraging a culture of corruption, Chipman, as this column will show after walking through some past reports for background, is alleged to be part of the problem.

The very words “fraud, waste, and abuse” reflect the knowledge that it goes back to a time over a dozen years ago when whistleblower website CleanUpATF.org announced to the world:

“Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (BATFE or “ATF”) have repeatedly given false testimony, concealed substantial waste, fraud and abuse, abused their lawful authority, and waged systematic campaigns of reprisal against their own employees that dare to speak out. This website is intended by members of the ATF community to promote restoration of integrity, accountability and responsibility to ATF’s leadership, and regain the trust of the American taxpayer.”

Working on a plan conceived by my colleague and partner in exposing ATF’s criminal Operation Fast and Furious “gun-walking” operations, the late Mike Vanderboegh, we created a campaign and contacted representatives, senators, and especially the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to call for hearings into the very serious allegations. If ATF agents were willing to put their careers on the line, the American people deserved to know if they were merely disgruntled employees trying to make trouble or if there was something to what they were complaining about.

As expected, in no small part because Mike and I were not “authorized journalists” with the commensurate reach to draw mass national attention, and mostly because the committee was controlled by Democrats at the time, deliberate indifference reigned, and nothing was done. Had it been, had corrupt management practices been seriously investigated, another revelation, a little over a year later, might not have been made and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, ICE Agent Jaime Zapata, and untold hundreds of Mexican nationals killed with “walked” guns might still be alive.

This was the first ripple that caught our attention only because we were still regularly monitoring CleanUpATF:

“Word is that curious George Gillett the Phoenix ASAC stepped on it again. Allegedly he has approved more than 500 AR-15 type rifles from Tucson and Phoenix cases to be “walked” to Mexico. Appears that ATF may be one of the largest suppliers of assault rifles to the Mexican cartels! One of these rifles is rumored to have been linked to the recent killing of a Border Patrol Officer in Nogales, AZ. Can anyone confirm this information?”

This was the beginning of an intensive investigation into what turned into Fast and Furious. We established, and importantly, validated insider contacts, and reported on developments we were uncovering, all the while pleading with politicians and the media to not take our reporting for a fact, but to verify the truth for themselves. The main goal was to obtain whistleblower protection against retaliation from Congress, which soon proved to be the case. ATF’s Chief Counsel used my report to try and ID and then punish the initial CleanUpATF poster.  The Department of Justice leaked Privacy Act-protected documents to the press in an effort to discredit whistleblower John Dodson.  And further reports showed retaliation fears kept other agents from coming forward.

Initially, though, increasingly frustrated at the story being ignored, we put the by then Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on public notice and let the newly Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee (and the NRA) know they were being reported to gun owners as AWOL and it was past time to start doing their damn job.

Two months and 156 reports after initially breaking the story, CBS News did its historic interview with whistleblower Dodson.  Vanderboegh and I, who worked with her on the front end, were both pleased with Sharyl Attkisson’s reporting and with the original and award-winning information she was able to uncover. We were less pleased with a CBS anchor claiming they broke the “Gunwalker” story.

So, history repeats itself, and once more CBS News is out there “leading” the establishment pack on ATF “fraud, waste, and abuse.” Except there’s another story no one wants to look into, and that brings us back to the Chipman allegations I referred to near the start of this piece, and again with history repeating itself, they have their genesis over at CleanUpATF:

“The problem is, that Chipman has been manipulating the Bureau-sponsored contractor to pad the Best Qualified List (BQL) with friends. The net effect is that the truly qualified people are not being considered for the positions. It has also been stated that Chipman has delivered HIS version of the BQLs for these contract positions, demanding his buddies be placed at the top of the list. Yep, fraud. That simple. Yep, the 5th floor knows.”

And history keeps right on repeating itself with another open letter to ranking Senate Judiciary Committee member Chuck Grassley asking for an investigation and to make that part of the confirmation hearings. History once more repeated itself when that entreaty was ignored by the politicians and the press.

Meanwhile, David Chipman is still out there being a leading voice for the Giffords disarmament effort (and still with a shot at being Biden’s “gun czar”)  and getting all the media attention he wants. Maybe a dozen years from now, someone will break the news of “fraud, waste, and abuse” claims by ATF insiders about him.

Here’s a fun fantasy: Wouldn’t it be a hoot if someday he ends up “prohibited”?

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

David Codrea

_______________________________________________________________________

ATF Whistleblower Exposes Rampant Fraud

ATF Employees Are Stealing Millions From You And Me!

Did ATF Just Get Caught Stealing Taxpayer Dollars?!?

New rule would greatly expand ATF power

Check out our video on the ATF's proposed rule 2021R-05, and how you can submit a comment to fight this impending infringement! The new rule greatly expands ATF power and treads over your right to keep and bear arms! Visit FightATF.com to submit a comment to the ATF!

Joe Biden’s Executive Orders On Gun Control: Expansion Of The ATF, End Of Homebuilt Firearms

BY JOHN CRUMP

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/atf-whistleblower-exposes-rampant-fraud/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

WASHINGTON D.C. –-(Ammoland.com)- A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) whistleblower exposed Bureau administrative employees fleecing the American taxpayers for possibly millions of dollars.

The whistleblower only identified as Joe told CBS that multiple employees filed for and received “LEAP” pay even though they did not qualify for the bonus scale. LEAP stands for “Law Enforcement Availability Pay.” It is meant for paying law enforcement officers for on-call hours where they are required to work long and odd hours. The pay is not meant for non-law enforcement employees of the ATF, and non-LEO is expressly prohibited from collecting the income. The ATF pays a rate of 25% over base pay. If an employee makes a base salary of $100,000, that officer could be paid $125,000 with LEAP pay.

“If you were functioning in an administrative capacity, you don’t qualify for the pay. So, you’re not supposed to get it,” Joe said. “A lot of people were getting it.”

In 2016, the whistleblower noticed the problem of administrative employees claiming LEAP pay shortly after taking a job as an information specialist in the ATF’s Human Resources department. Joe reported the violations to his supervisors. Instead of rewarding him for finding fraud, his employee review was downgraded from “fully successful” to “minimally successful.” Last summer, the ATF fired Joe for “unacceptable performance,” which he believes was retaliatory for his discoveries.

Last year, a lawyer for the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) claimed the agency found “a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing.” The OSC is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose mission is to investigate whistleblower’s claims.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) performed an audit on ATF employees filing for and receiving LEAP pay. The audit turned up at least 94 employees that collected LEAP pay when they were not entitled to the money. OPM stated that the ATF engaged in “prohibited personnel practices.” OPM suspended the ATF’s ability to create specific jobs for “no less than six months.”

OPM did not state the fate of the ATF employees that defrauded American taxpayers out of taxpayer’s money. It is not known of any disciplinary action or if the employees were forced to pay back the money. The exact amount of funds incorrectly paid out to administrative employees is also not known. It is also not known for how long the fraud has been going on inside the Bureau.

A recent AmmoLand News story recently highlighted a leaked video conference call where Acting Director Marvin Richardson announced the ATF’s goal to double in size over the next five years. Many in the gun world worry that this goal, along with the mismanagement of current funds, could affect gun rights and waste money that could be used for things like clearing out the NFA backlog.

Some gun rights groups and government waste watchdogs see this uncovered fraud as yet another example of an out-of-control agency abusing its power and changing the rules as it sees fit. Many believe that the ATF works outside the law by changing definitions to meet its political goals and sees the firing of Joe as internal political payback.

The ATF did not respond to AmmoLand’s request for comments.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

Thanks, Joe! Taliban Gives Tajik Jihadis U.S. Made Weaponry and Vehicles

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2021/10/05/thanks-joe-taliban-gives-tajik-jihadis-u-s-made-weaponry-and-vehicles-n1521963;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

They warned us this would happen. As the Taliban moved into Kabul in August, Taliban commander Muhammed Arif Mustafa told CNN: “It’s our belief that one day, mujahedin will have victory, and Islamic law will come not to just Afghanistan, but all over the world. We are not in a hurry. We believe it will come one day. Jihad will not end until the last day.” Then in early September, another Taliban commander declared: “We are happy that we are victorious. We fought for 20 years. We want Islamic law, and not just in Afghanistan.” Old Joe Biden’s handlers boosted these aspirations by allowing the Taliban to take control of billions of dollars worth of American weaponry and military vehicles, and now the Taliban have begun to share this largesse with other jihadis. They’ve now fitted out Tajik jihadis with the best in American equipment.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Monday that “the Taliban has provided Tajik militants based along the border with Tajikistan with new military vehicles, weaponry, and other equipment over the past two weeks, security sources in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan say, amid an ongoing military buildup on both sides of the frontier.”

Tajik jihadis “based in Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan have been seen with U.S.-made weaponry and vehicles, including Humvees, with some of them wearing American combat gear, according to an official with Tajikistan’s state border services.”

This is a recent development: “The militants, who were previously seen carrying Kalashnikov rifles and driving old pickup trucks, received the new supplies during the past two weeks, according to the Tajik official, who spoke under condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.”

The recipients of this American bounty are “known in Afghanistan as the Tajik Taliban.” They are members of a jihad group known as Jamaat Ansarullah (Assembly of the Helpers of Allah). This group was “established by Tajik nationals a decade ago with the goal of overthrowing the secular government in Dushanbe.”

The Taliban work closely with these Tajik rebels: “In June, Tajik officials raised concern that one of the banned group’s commanders — Muhammad Sharifov (aka Mahdi Arsalon) had been put in charge of security in five border districts in Badakhshan after they were seized by the Taliban. Last month, Tajik security officials said they were reviewing reports that the militants were planning to infiltrate into Tajikistan, an allegation rejected by the Taliban.”

While all this has been happening, the Taliban have also been cozying up to the People’s Republic of China: The jihadis reportedly “‘removed’ ethnic Uyghur fighters from Badakhshan — which also shares a 76-kilometer border with China. The militants from the Turkestan Islamic Movement were relocated to other provinces, including Nangarhar in Afghanistan’s east, the former Afghan military official said. The Al-Qaeda-linked Turkestan Islamic Movement is designated as a terrorist organization by Beijing and the United Nations. Beijing blames the group for unrest in its northwestern Xinjiang region.”

Related: So Much For ‘Amnesty’: Taliban Going Door-to-Door Executing U.S. Allies

Why wouldn’t the Taliban come to the aid of a fellow jihad group? Because there may be larger considerations involved, at least in the short term. Back in July, Taliban spokesmen stated that they considered China a “friend” and would not allow the Uyghur jihadis to operate on Afghan soil. They reiterated this in September. The Taliban likely calculated that Chinese aid was more important than jihadi solidarity and that since Islamic law forbids jihadis to fight against an enemy they have no chance of defeating, there was no point in taking on China anyway.

The Taliban clearly had no such hesitation regarding fighting against the United States, for obvious reasons. And now, after Old Joe and his handlers made them the most sumptuously equipped terror organization in the entire world, they are in a position to share the wealth. The materiel our woke military left behind for the Taliban while our top brass was busy making sure that no one did anything to offend the jihadis on the way out will now be used to destabilize the region even further. Joe Biden’s legacy as president of the United States may not only be the global weakness of the country abroad and the corruption of its governing institutions at home; Dotty Old Joe may also end up being the world’s most successful jihad terror enabler since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In any case, thanks to Joe Biden and his woke generals, the Tajik jihadis are now superbly equipped. They’re likely to show their gratitude in ways that will cause even more headaches for the over-generous, appallingly misruled country that inadvertently equipped them.

SO LONG MASSACHUSETTS: The Reason Behind firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson’s Tennessee Move TO GREENER PASTURES

BY JIM GRANT 

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/greener-pastures-the-reason-behind-sws-tennessee-move/#axzz78bjFDd6u;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The decision to move a flagship manufacturer isn’t easy. It’s also not hard when legislators target industry for destruction.

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- The decision to move a flagship manufacturer isn’t easy. It’s also not hard when legislators target industry for destruction.

That’s the case with Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., which recently announced it will move its headquarters and a large portion of its manufacturing from Springfield, Mass., to Marysville, Tenn. The company has been rooted in western Massachusetts since it was founded in 1852. In 2023, it will open the doors to its new manufacturing facility and headquarters nearly 900 miles south.

That’s not an easy decision. The company will invest hundreds of millions to build a new production plant. It will consolidate warehousing from Missouri to the Tennessee location. That’s where Smith & Wesson will transition the production of semiautomatic pistols and rifles, while revolvers will continue to be produced in Massachusetts. That move will require transferring 750 jobs.

“This has been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us, but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left with no other alternative,” explained Mark Smith, Smith & Wesson’s President and CEO in a press release.

Tightening Grip

In other words, it was about corporate survival. Massachusetts has become increasingly hostile to gun owners and gun manufactures. The state has among the strictest gun control laws in the nation. State lawmakers banned Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) in 1998. State Attorney General Maura Healey expanded that crackdown on lawful firearm ownership with a 2016 Enforcement Notice that alleged firearm retailers were violating the state’s law by making small tweaks to certain firearms. The Enforcement Notice warned retailers those so-called “copies” or “duplicates” of the firearms specifically listed in the state law were illegal for sale, but that notice was vague and NSSF, along with two Bay State retailers, challenged the notice in court. Attorney General Healey agreed to clarify the notice after two years of legal wrangling.

This was an example of the hostility state authorities held against firearm industry members, but it was a status quo. Smith & Wesson could manufacturer their popular M&P 15 line of MSRs, but they weren’t available for sale to law-abiding citizens in their own state.

The decision point came when lawmakers directly targeted the firearm manufacturer’s ability to do business. Dual bills were filed in the state legislature (HD 4192/SD 2588) that would prohibit firearm manufacturers from manufacturing MSRs. The proposal includes banning so-called “assault weapons” and magazines capable of holding 10 or more cartridges.

“We are under attack by the state of Massachusetts,” Smith told reporters. The move is anticipated to cost $125 million “that I didn’t want to spend.”

Smith explained in the press release that the proposed Massachusetts legislation would prevent Smith & Wesson from manufacturing MSRs, despite the fact they are lawfully owned by citizens in 43 other states. There, they’re used for lawful purposes by law-abiding owners daily, including uses for recreational target shooting, hunting and self-defense.

That would have also meant Smith & Wesson would have been forced to sacrifice products that comprise 60 percent of their reported $1.1 billion revenue. There are over 20 million MSRs in circulation today and they are the most popular selling centerfire rifle on the market.

Strictly Business

“Honestly, we know we could have defeated it this session,” Smith explained to media. “But it will be back the next session and the session after that. I just can’t operate with that big a risk hanging over the company. We only started this process once the bill was filed. Then and only then.”

Smith & Wesson expects it will be two more years before their firearms bear Tennessee markings, but they’re not the only one to leave. Troy Industries, also a manufacturer of MSRs and parts, announced their own relocation earlier this year. Beretta U.S.A. moved manufacturing from Accokeek, Md., to Gallatin, Tenn., and Barrett Firearms is headquartered in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Other companies left their traditional home states for friendlier business climates when it became clear legislatures became hostile to their industry.

Massachusetts’ lawmaker attacks on Smith & Wesson were purely political. They don’t like firearms and even after they successfully banned their own citizens from owning the MSRs made in their state, they attempted to export their gun control by jeopardizing a leader in the firearm industry. Not so with Tennessee.

“Our pro-business reputation, skilled workforce, and commitment to the Second Amendment make Tennessee an ideal location for firearms manufacturing,” said Republican Gov. Bill Lee in a press statement.  “We welcome Smith & Wesson to The Volunteer State and are proud this U.S.-based brand has chosen to relocate from Massachusetts. Thanks for your significant investment in Blount County and for creating 750 new jobs”

Smith & Wesson’s response isn’t political at all. It’s just good business.

About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org

National Shooting Sports Foundation

 

 

Afghanistan: Taliban arms jihadis in Tajikistan with US equipment

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/10/afghanistan-taliban-arms-jihadis-in-tajikistan-with-us-equipment;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The Biden legacy.

“Taliban Said To Have Rearmed Tajik Militants And Moved Uyghur Fighters From Chinese Border,” RFE/RL, October 4, 2021 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

KHATLON, Tajikistan — The Taliban has provided Tajik militants based along the border with Tajikistan with new military vehicles, weaponry, and other equipment over the past two weeks, security sources in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan say, amid an ongoing military buildup on both sides of the frontier.

The sources also told RFE/RL on October 4 that the Taliban has also “removed” ethnic Uyghur fighters from an area close to Afghanistan’s small border with China.

Tajik militants based in Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan have been seen with U.S.-made weaponry and vehicles, including Humvees, with some of them wearing American combat gear, according to an official with Tajikistan’s state border services.

A former Afghan military officer based in Badakhshan confirmed the allegation….

Latest Survey Reveals Women Now Nearly Half of all New Gun Buyers

Latest Survey Reveals Women Now Nearly Half of all New Gun Buyers

BY BOB ADELMANN

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/latest-survey-reveals-women-now-nearly-half-of-all-new-gun-buyers/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

According to the most recent 2021 National Firearms Survey, almost half of all new gun buyers in the last two and a half years have been women. There were 7.5 million brand new gun owners since January 2019, and 3.4 million of them were female. Among those women, more than a quarter of them were black.

The survey also noted that among those new gun owners 55 percent were white, 21 percent were black, and 19 percent were Hispanic.

A previous survey issued in July provided even more details about gun ownership in the United States. That survey found that nearly a third of all American adults owned at least one firearm. That translates into more than 81 million Americans who are armed. And that number keeps growing. In 2020, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there were more than 21 million background checks completed on people purchasing firearms, up an astonishing 40 percent from the previous year.

That same survey revealed that more than half of those gun owners carry a firearm on their persons for self-defense purposes, with an estimated 21 million of them carrying concealed.

The survey further revealed that about a third of those gun owners have used a firearm to protect themselves or their property. It estimates “that guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 1.67 million incidents each year.”

In sum, 58 percent of gun owners are male, 42 percent are female. And approximately a quarter of blacks own at least one firearm while 28 percent of Hispanics own firearms, nearly 20 percent of Asians own firearms, and 34 percent of whites own firearms.

Those new gun owners are taking their purchases seriously as nearly a quarter of them have subsequently taken at least one gun class, and many have become proficient in the handling of their firearms.

Much of this surge in private gun ownership may be ascribed to the breakdown of law and order by BLM and Antifa groups, the defunding of local police, and the threat of additional gun regulations emanating from the present administration.

This makes the job of turning the United States into a “gun-free zone” — necessary for those working to turn the country into a communist dictatorship — ever more difficult. There are an estimated 100 million U.S. households where a firearm is present, and the task of disarming them would be incomprehensibly difficult.

The reason? Whether each new gun owner realizes it or not, he or she is taking advantage of the freedom to own a firearm guaranteed by the Second Amendment. This peculiar, and vital, freedom is what distinguishes the U.S. from every other nation on the planet. And as long as that freedom is recognized, and enjoyed, it presents a nearly insurmountable stumbling block to those who would disarm the populace in preparation for their New World Order.

Nevertheless the war against the private ownership of firearms in America continues. Earlier this month William Malzahn — with the imposing title of Acting Deputy Director of Office of Conventional Arms Threat Reduction, Bureau of International Security & Nonproliferation at United States Department of State — told the 7th Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty:

I have come from Washington, D.C., this week to take the floor on the agenda item Treaty Universalization to underscore the continuing commitment of the United States to responsible international trade in conventional arms … the Arms Trade Treaty is an important [tool] for promoting those controls internationally.

This treaty is the one that President Donald Trump “unsigned” at the National Rifle Association’s 2019 annual meeting.

As long as the present administration presses forward in its efforts to disarm the American people, the ownership of private firearms by those people is likely to continue and even accelerate, making the task of tyrants ever more difficult.

BIDEN’S White House Withdraws Chipman’s ATF Nomination But Eyes New Position As “Gun Czar”

BY JOHN CRUMP

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/09/white-house-withdraws-chipmans-atf-nomination-but-eyes-new-position-as-gun-czar/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

WASHINGTON, D.C. –-(Ammoland.com)- The White House plans to pull the nomination of David Chipman for the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

David Chipman was an ATF special agent before leaving the Bureau to work for a private company called Shot Spotter. He served as its Vice President of marketing. Shop Spotter has face criticism from activists for being infective and targeting minority neighborhoods. Several major localities have canceled contracts with the company over these concerns. A Chicago Inspector General report shows the system only to be effective 9% of the time.

After his stint with Shot Spotter, Chipman went on to help Bloomberg start Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The organization morphed into Everytown for Gun Safety. He then went to work for Giffords.org. Giffords is an anti-gun organization founded by Gabby Giffords after being shot in a Safeway parking lot during a campaign stop.

When Biden nominated Chipman, anti-gun groups like the Brady Organization and Everytown celebrated. People in the political world saw the nomination of Mr. Chipman as payback to anti-gun groups that backed Biden and dumped massive amounts of money into the past Presidential election cycle.

Chipman faced harsh criticism from gun rights groups for being an open anti-gun advocate. They also believed that Chipman was nominated for political reasons. Chipman has even suggested in the past that rifles that take detachable magazines should be regulated like machine guns because he believes it speeds up the rate of fire.

The gun world united to stop him from being confirmed. Significant pressure was upon Democratic Senators from conservative areas such as Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. Every national gun group launched some sort of campaign to stop Chipman from being confirmed.

At the same time, past racist comments allegedly made by David Chipman surfaced from his time at the ATF. Mr. Chipman made statements accusing black agents of cheating on tests because of their high scores. He insinuated that they couldn’t have scored as high as they did without cheating.

The anti-gun lobby credited the gun-rights movement with killing Mr. Chipman’s nomination.  Brady United accused gun organizations of running a “smear campaign.”

Executive Director Igor Volsky of rabid anti-gun group, Guns Down America, accused the Biden Administration of breaking its promises to the anti-gun lobby.  Anti-gun zealot Fred Guttenberg also blamed the White House for not getting Chipman confirmed.

But We Are Not Done with Chipman

Even though the Biden Administration is pulling Mr. Chipman’s nomination for head of the ATF, they are still looking for a position for him in occupy. This search for a job leads gun rights advocates to worry that the White House might appoint him to the “Gun Czar.” Biden in the past has considered Beto O’Rourke for the position.

A Czar is a position created within the White House without oversight from Congress. These positions are controversial because there is no oversight from Congress. Many people see these positions as the Executive branch overstepping its boundaries to appoint people to jobs that could never make it through a confirmation hearing.

Gun rights groups are demanding that the White House drop the search for a job for Mr. Chipman. They claim that David Chipman’s inability to make it through a confirmation hearing in Congress should disqualify him for all other positions within the White House, including a “gun czar.”

Gun Owners of America (GOA) Director of Federal Affairs agrees that Chipman is not fit to serve in any position within the federal government dealing with guns. He implores the Biden Administration from trying to find Chipman a job.

“David Chipman’s opposition to the Bill of Rights earned him the opposition of every Republican senator, and unanswered allegations of racism undermined his support among Democratic senators,” Johnston told AmmoLand News.

“Chipman’s disgust for the Second Amendment makes him uniquely unqualified to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives—or any other public office for that matter. The Biden Administration should cease all efforts to ‘find another role” for this anti-constitutional rights activist who failed to earn the support of the United States Senate.”

The battle over David Chipman continues, but gun owners won a hard-fought battle.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

Leftists Urge Biden to Go Around Congress, Create New Gun Control Office

BY LUIS MIGUEL

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/leftists-urge-biden-to-go-around-congress-create-new-gun-control-office/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The gun-control lobby is growing impatient.

With major gun-control legislation yet to materialize and Biden’s nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) stalled in the Senate, gun-control activists are calling on the Democrats to create a White House office.

In a letter addressed to Biden this week, four gun-control advocacy organizations lamented that Biden’s policies on firearms “fall significantly short of the promises you yourself made while running for the presidency.”

“Your administration is hard at work pursuing important priorities from infrastructure reform to reducing the disastrous impacts of climate change,” they wrote. “But with rising gun deaths and the heightened threat of armed political extremism, gun violence can no longer be seen as a back burner issue.”

The White House has nominated David Chipman to lead the ATF. As The New American has reported, Chipman has called for banning all “assault-type” weapons, including AR-15s. 

When pressed in the Senate to give a definition of assault weapons, Chipman replied, “Any semi-automatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine above the caliber of .22, which would include the .223 which is largely, you know, the AR-15 round.”

Under such a definition, nearly every semi-automatic rifle would be banned — which is surely the aim of Chipman and Biden.

The prospective ATF head’s sordid record with regard to the Second Amendment has kept him from getting support from the few key Democrats needed to confirm, and thus his confirmation languishes in the Senate more than four months since he was nominated.

As a result, the gun-control activists who wrote to Biden urged him to establish a White House office led by an aide that does not need Senate confirmation, similar to Biden’s White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. Additionally, they called on him to use the “bully pulpit” to sell gun control to the public and then push legislation through Congress.

Politico notes: 

The groups — Guns Down America; March for Our Lives, which formed after the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting in 2018; Newtown Action Alliance, created in the wake of the 2012 school shooting in Connecticut; and Survivors Empowered, established after the Aurora, Co. theater shooting in 2012 — are seeking a meeting with White House officials and vowed to continue to push Biden to live up to his campaign promises.

“The president promised bold action over and over again … but he’s not really using all of his powers to tackle the issue of gun violence,” said Zeenat Yahya, deputy policy director of March For Our Lives. “When he wants to get things done, he does it. We’ve seen the infrastructure proposals, the Covid relief plan.… So I think it’s really up to him to get moving on these things.”

Biden supporters are beginning to worry that Democrats could be hurt in the midterms next year if he does not show legislative results on some of the key issues he promised to deliver on, including gun control, immigration, and police reform.

“We went to bat for him during the 2020 elections because he put forth the strongest gun violence prevention platform in modern history.… We need the president to take action,” said Newtown Action Alliance chair Po Murray. “We want to be able to drive voter turnout on this and it’s going to be really challenging if we don’t have any wins.”

Earlier this year, Biden announced gun-control executive orders banning “ghost guns” and “pistol braces” and ordering the Justice Department to write model “red flag laws” so that it’s easier for states to adopt them.

On the campaign trail, Biden said he wanted to repeal the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Doing so would make it easier for gun manufacturers to be held civilly liable for people who commit crimes with their products. Using that logic, should car manufacturers also be held responsible for all bodily and property damage made by irresponsible drivers?

He also affirmed a desire to “close the Hate Crime loophole” by enacting legislation prohibiting anyone “who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate or bias in its commission,” from purchasing or possessing a firearm.

Constitutionalists must see to it that Biden’s gun-control agenda goes nowhere.

Full List of American War Weapons Lost In Afghanistan

American War Weapons Lost in Afghanistan

BY DAN WOS (Dan Wos, Author of – Good Gun Bad Guy; Host of The Loaded Mic)

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/08/full-list-of-american-weapons-left-afghanistan/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- No one has done more to strengthen the ability of the Taliban in their mission to perpetrate evil on the World than Joe Biden. While desperately trying to destroy the 2nd Amendment, Democrats are simultaneously handing over $83 billion worth of training and equipment to the enemy in a botched retreat from Afghanistan.

Aside from the fact that the Biden Administration pulled our military out while leaving unarmed and defenseless American Citizens behind, the enormous list of weapons and true military hardware that was gift-wrapped and handed to the Taliban is of great concern. The list of military equipment left behind in Afghanistan as a result of this haphazard military evacuation is extensive and includes the following:

American Aircraft, Equipment & Armored Vehicles

  • 2,000 Armored Vehicles Including Humvees and MRAPs
  • 75,989 Total Vehicles: FMTV, M35, Ford Rangers, Ford F350, Ford Vans, Toyota Pickups, Armored Security Vehicles, etc.
  • 45 UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters
  • 50 MD530G Scout Attack Helicopters
  • ScanEagle Military Drones
  • 30 Military Version Cessnas
  • 4 C-130s
  • 29 Brazilian made A-29 Super Tucano Ground Attack Aircraft
  • Heavy Equipment, Including Bull Dozers, Backhoes, Dump Trucks, Excavators

=208+ Aircraft Total

At least 600,000+ Small arms M16, M249 SAWs, M24 Sniper Systems, 50 Calibers, 1,394 M203 Grenade Launchers, M134 Mini Gun, 20mm Gatling Guns and Ammunition

  • 61,000 M203 Rounds
  • 20,040 Grenades
  • Howitzers
  • Mortars +1,000’s of Rounds
  • 162,000 pieces of Encrypted Military Communications Gear
  • 16,000+ Night Vision Goggles
  • Newest Technology Night Vision Scopes
  • Thermal Scopes and Thermal Mono Googles
  • 10,000 2.75 inch Air to Ground Rockets
  • Reconnaissance Equipment (ISR)
  • Laser Aiming Units
  • Explosives Ordnance C-4, Semtex, Detonators, Shaped Charges, Thermite, Incendiaries, AP/API/APIT
  • 2,520 Bombs
  • Administration Encrypted Cell Phones and Laptops ALL operational
  • Pallets with Millions of Dollars in US Currency
  • Millions of Rounds of Ammunition including but not limited to 20,150,600 rounds of 7.62mm, 9,000,000 rounds of 50. caliber
  • Large Stockpile of Plate Carriers and Body Armor
  • US Military HIIDE, for Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment Biometrics

This is the information you are not supposed to have. According to Forbes, the Biden Administration is not helping transparency by “hiding key audits on Afghan military equipment.”

A GAO spokesman said “The State Department requested we temporarily remove and review reports on Afghanistan to protect recipients of US assistance that may be identified through our reports and thus subject to retribution.” However, the reports included no recipient information.

Never in American history have we seen such military failure.

The idea that American Citizens left behind in Afghanistan, would be left defenseless as Taliban fighters go door to door seeking them out while using the weapons this Administration left behind, leads any logical thinking person to believe that there were ulterior motives. This is a mistake that a group of third-graders playing backyard tag wouldn’t be so foolish to make. The top priority is to get your teammates to safety, but apparently, the Biden Administration had a different plan.

While Joe and his Cover-Up Queen, Jen Psaki, praise their Administration’s actions and try to convince American Citizens that leaders around the World support this decision, former Commander of British Troops in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, spoke out specifically on the effects this decision will have on NATO.

“President Biden has just completely destroyed it’s (NATO’s) credibility. Totally destroyed it, single-handedly. What we face now is a terrorist threat coming out of Afghanistan that is greater than the terrorist threat before 911.”

He added, “People have been talking about impeaching President Biden. I don’t believe President Biden should be impeached. He’s the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, who’s just essentially surrendered to the Taliban. He shouldn’t be impeached. He should be court-martialed for betraying the United States of America and the United States Armed Forces.”

President Trump implied that Joe Biden’s decision lacked intelligence and common sense. “Leaving our Military till the end was such a simple decision that anyone with intelligence and common sense would have made.”

If the Democrat’s goal was really to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people, wouldn’t Taliban fighters be at the top of that list?

New data reveals just how much danger the Biden Administration has put American Citizens in. In an effort to save face, Pentagon Press Secretary, John Kirby, said some equipment was destroyed. However, new photos of Taliban fighters using American weaponry is surfacing every day. It is unclear exactly how many weapons have fallen into the hands of the Taliban, but according to the Hill, even the Biden Administration has acknowledged it’s a “fair amount.” 

 

 

So while Democrats are trying desperately to disarm American Citizens, they are simultaneously arming foreign terrorists to the teeth and beyond. Is this sheer incompetence or something else?

It will take articulate strategy and extreme force to repair the damage Joe Biden and his Administration have done. The effects the World will endure as a result of this colossal failure will be felt decades, possibly centuries into the future.

The Afghanistan debacle also reveals the left-wing gun hypocrisy here at home. Isn’t it interesting how we don’t see Shannon Watts and her angry mob of gun-grabbing misfits pleading to get “actual” weapons of war out of the hands of real Terrorists? This, even at a time when those weapons are pointed directly at defenseless, fellow Americans immediately after their “President” has abandoned them. Instead, Everytown is ramping up articles painting lawful, American gun-owners as Terrorists. The shameful behavior of these anti-American groups never seems to reach its pinnacle and the incompetence of this administration is likely to result in the loss of American lives.

The 2nd Amendment is not a privilege.
It’s your right.

Dan Wos

Readers: Feel free to download and share the above graphic on social media with proper credit, attribution, and links to AmmoLand News.

About Dan Wos, Author – Good Gun Bad Guy

Dan Wos is available for Press Commentary. For more information contact PR HERE

Dan Wos is a nationally recognized 2nd Amendment advocate and Author of the “GOOD GUN BAD GUY” series. He speaks at events, is a contributing writer for many publications, and can be found on radio stations across the country. Dan has been a guest on the Sean Hannity Show, NRATV, and several others. Speaking on behalf of gun rights, Dan exposes the strategies of the anti-gun crowd and explains their mission to disarm law-abiding American gun owners. The Loaded Mic

 

Joe Biden Is Now the World’s Top Arms Supplier to Terrorists

BY BRYAN PRESTON

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/bryan-preston/2021/08/25/is-joe-biden-now-the-worlds-top-arms-supplier-to-terrorists-n1472560;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

The dust hasn’t settled in Afghanistan. The crisis that has erupted since Joe Biden decided to abandon Bagram Air Base and the rest of Afghanistan will continue long past his arbitrary August 31 deadline. After that, the people of that country will be subjected to pogroms the likes of which have not been seen since the Vietnam communists and the Khmer Rouge swept across southeast Asia, killing untold numbers along the way. A refugee crisis is already underway and will eventually become a major issue for Afghanistan’s neighboring countries and Europe. It’s no exaggeration to say that Biden has destabilized much of the world along with fracturing U.S. alliances across the board.

Afghanistan may well descend into a full civil war. ISIS, or ISIS-K, is now present in Afghanistan, and reportedly is a bitter enemy of the Taliban. There remain tribes and groups in that country resolutely opposed to Taliban rule. The main questions concerning them are whether they will continue to put up a fight, and how long can they last? They lasted 20 years while the NATO allies had troops in the country, and for years before that during the Taliban’s first rule. But the Taliban 2.0 control more territory than they did on 9-11 and have new aces to play.

Joe Biden has made the task of anyone who opposes the Taliban extremely difficult going forward. They will not have U.S. combat, intelligence, or advisory services at their backs. They will not have American airpower to call upon. Biden continually refers to “over-the-horizon” anti-terror capability, but that’s nearly non-existent and may dissolve further as America’s standing collapses. Those Afghan groups will also fight against a Taliban that has reportedly captured billions of dollars in American military hardware.

Thus far it hasn’t been possible to get a straight answer out of the Biden administration as to how much functional gear was left behind. That’s not likely to change at any point, though Congress can and must investigate if for no other reason than to determine the extent of the threat the Taliban can pose within and outside of Afghanistan. It could be one of the better-armed military forces in Central Asia, if not the world.

 

The Hill looked at just how much gear may be in play. Its findings are both eye-watering and extremely worrying.

Between 2003 and 2016, the United States transferred 75,898 vehicles, 599,690 weapons, 162,643 pieces of communications equipment, 208 aircraft, and 16,191 pieces of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment to Afghan forces, according to a 2017 Government Accountability Office report.

From 2017 to 2019, the United States also gave Afghan forces 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, among other equipment, according to a report last year from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

As of June 30, Afghan forces had 211 U.S.-supplied aircraft in their inventory, a separate SIGAR report said.

At least 46 of those aircraft are now in Uzbekistan after more than 500 Afghan troops used them to flee as the government in Kabul collapsed over the weekend.

Some undetermined number of those aircraft will not function for long, not without aircraft maintenance crews. So expect the Taliban to contract with China for that work. Biden denied maintenance to the Afghan government, which is one reason it collapsed so quickly. It lacked air support, which was one of its key advantages over the Taliban, which up to now had no air force. As long as the Taliban looks the other way regarding China’s treatment of the Uighurs, it’s likely to get aircraft services from its new partner. Or Russia. They won’t be picky about it. So the Taliban has gained the aircraft to build up an air force. It may lack pilots for now, but Pakistan, China, or Russia may help train some.

Setting all of that aside, let’s assume maybe half of those vehicles were functional when Biden ordered the hasty and unprotected withdrawal of American forces. Assume the same for everything else, which is being very generous to Biden. There was a program to disable some of the weaponry and detonate some of the explosives before the withdrawal, but that could not have been an exhaustive enterprise. Certainly, none of the gear that had been given to the Afghan military was disabled, and much of that has been surrendered to the Taliban. No doubt much of all this gear is functional and is being used. We know this because the Taliban are appearing in propaganda videos using U.S. vehicles, uniforms, and weapons. They’re being seen in media reports doing the same. There’s no question that the Taliban are armed with the gear Biden left behind. According to Rep. Jim Banks, the gear goes well beyond guns and trucks.

Stunningly, Banks said the Taliban is now in possession of “more Black Hawk helicopters than 85 percent of the countries of the world.”

While the weapons are extremely concerning, Banks said the U.S. technology left behind will be devastating to the Afghan people in the hands of the Taliban.

“They have night vision goggles, body armor, and unbelievably, the Taliban now has biometric devices which have the fingerprints, eye scans and biographical information of all of the Afghans who helped us and were on our side over the last 20 years,” he explained.

The total value of the gear left behind may be around $85 billion. Let’s assume that just half of it is still functional. That’s still a massive infusion of arms and gear to the Taliban. The Biden administration can quibble over one thing — the Afghan Taliban is not technically designated as a terrorist group — but the Pakistani Taliban is.

Recommended: SCOTUS Rules Against Biden on the Border. What Next?

There is no question in most people’s minds what the Afghan Taliban is. It’s a brutal, extremist, repressive armed insurgency (at least) that never broke with al-Qaeda, and is now the ruling emirate government of Afghanistan. The Biden administration would be unwise to play word games over this, but unwise actions seem to be all they know how to take.

It can’t quibble with this: Joe Biden’s decision has led to vastly upgrading the Taliban’s arsenal, making him the world’s top arms supplier to them because he chose to leave American weapons behind (before choosing to leave Americans behind, which he is in the process of doing right now). He also donated a country to them, a country that more than 2,300 Americans died to keep out of their hands. No other country is donating more than $42 billion (about half of the $85 billion in gear reportedly left behind) in modern military gear to the Taliban or any other similar group. Most countries can’t even come close to affording that.

Biden has also armed the Taliban at the very same time he has thrown the border wide open and seeks to make it more difficult for law-abiding Americans to exercise our Second Amendment rights of self-defense.

No Vaccination, No Guns: a Secret Plan For Gun Confiscation

BY EVAN NAPPEN

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/08/no-vaccination-no-guns-gun-confiscation/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- In this episode Gun Lawyer Evan Nappen puts the two pieces together and explains their plan. Both parts are being separately promoted by Obama apparatchiks, Rahm Emanuel & Juliette Kayyem

  • 1) HR 4980 has been filed in Congress to put all unvaccinated persons on the No Fly List.
  • 2) The No Fly, No Buy, Gun Control law has been bouncing around since 2018 and has Bipartisan support.

That’s how they plan to do it.

“I’m Evan Nappen and welcome to Gun Lawyer. Well, you know what folks? Today, it boils down to this. No vaccination, No guns. Now you may think, what does getting a COVID vaccination have to do with my ability to have firearms and exercise my Second Amendment rights? Well, I’m going to explain to you exactly what it has to do with, and it is an incredible threat that you need to be aware of.

Let me start by just talking about some things you may not know about the COVID vaccination. Even talking about a COVID vaccination, the lamestream media and big tech overlords they don’t you even talking about this, but we are going to talk about it. Let me just make it clear. There is a database of every individual who has received a COVID vaccination. You may not be aware of that; you may not even know about it. They do not make a big deal about it. But that database is there because this is an experimental vaccine, and they need to track you and it for medical and health purposes. So, there is a legitimate reason to do it. But regardless of that, this database exists. Listen above as I explain their plot…”

About Evan Nappen

Known as “America’s Gun Lawyer,” Evan Nappen is above all a tireless defender of justice. Host of the praised “Gun Lawyer” Podcast, author of eight bestselling books and countless articles on firearms, knives, weapons history, and the law, a certified Firearms Instructor, and avid weapons collector and historian with a vast collection that spans almost five decades, it’s no wonder he’s become the trusted, go-to expert for local, industry, and national media outlets. Called on regularly by radio, television, and online news media for his commentary and expertise on breaking news, Evan has appeared on countless shows including Fox, CNN, Court TV, WOR-New York. As a creative arts consultant, he also lends his weapons law and historical expertise to an elite, discerning cadre of movie and television producers and directors, and novelists. He also provides expert testimony and consultations for defense attorneys across America.

Evan Nappen
Evan Nappen

IRAQVETERAN 8888: “Taliban Confiscate Civilian Firearms”

In this video, we discuss the recent news of the Taliban collecting firearms from civilians in Afghanistan after a very swift takeover. When arms are confiscated from a civilian populace, what follows will never be good regardless of the promises made, and more tyranny and oppression are sure to occur. The US gun control debate is over.

President Biden Surrendered US Arms to Terrorists. He Wants Yours

Terrorist iStock-1222645991

Disarming the populace and telling them that the government will protect them. Where have we heard that line before? IMG iStock-1222645991

BY JIM GRANT & LARRY KEANE

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/08/president-biden-surrendered-us-arms-to-terrorists-he-wants-yours/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- The devastating visuals of Taliban fighters sweeping through Afghanistan that led to the fall of the Afghan government and the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy revealed a disturbing reality. President Joe Biden was willing to leave billions of dollars’ worth of high-tech weapons in the hands of the Taliban but is determined to strip law-abiding U.S. citizens of their God-given right to keep and bear arms.

One media outlet described the Taliban seizure of U.S. weapons as the “motherlode.” The equipment was supplied by the United States to the Afghan National Army. That included mine-resistant vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Humvees. One report described the seizure of U.S.-supplied guns as “enormous.” Taliban fighters are swapping worn AK-47s for U.S.-made M-4s and M-16s.

Another report detailed that containers full of small arms were seized, including one instance in which 900 guns were seized. Taliban commanders bragged to reporters they had new weapons that could be used on the battlefield.

Press photos circulated of Taliban forces carrying near-new M-4 rifles, topped with thermal imagers. This was just days before Taliban forces released Al Qaeda prisoners from their cells as they entered Kabul.

‘Nobody Needs That…’

These arms are all in the hands of the Taliban, and it must be assumed by Al Qaeda. There are already reports of Taliban fighters rounding up weapons from Afghans.

“We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians,” a Taliban official told Reuters.

That’s eerily similar to the rhetoric President Biden has been telling the American public.

“There’s no reason someone needs a weapon of war with 100 rounds, 100 bullets, that can be fired from that weapon. Nobody needs that, nobody needs that,” President Biden said from the White House Rose Garden in April. He tweeted the same claim in February, throughout his presidential campaign and even going back to his term as vice president.

He later upped the ante mocking gun owners who said they need firearms as a check against a tyrannical government. President Biden said that they’d need jet fighters and made a thinly-veiled reference to using nuclear weapons against U.S. citizens.

President Biden nominated David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Chipman also mocked gun buyers and would ban the Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR), which he refers to as an “assault rifle,” but couldn’t define it to senators. All the gun control cards are still yet to be played. President Biden might be eyeing more gun control bids and doing so on the international stage.

Global Gun Control

The Seventh Conference of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty will meet in Geneva at the end of the month. This is the same group that then-Secretary of State John Kerry signed onto a treaty in 2013 that would have made U.S. firearm manufacturing and American gun ownership subject to international oversight. The treaty was never ratified by the U.S. Senate.

President Donald Trump announced in 2019, “We’re taking our signature back.” That officially ended the U.S. involvement in the United Nations meddling in U.S. firearm manufacturing and gun rights of American citizens. NSSF praised the decision.

All eyes will be on the Biden administration and what moves will be made to subjugate God-given rights, protected by the Constitution, to international gun control. President Biden has made no secret of his intent to whittle away America’s gun rights. His respect for international arms control, though, is duplicitous. It stretches from the notorious and illegal Operation Fast and Furious gun-walking scheme while he was vice president. That operation sent untraced guns across the U.S-Mexico border that ended up in the hands of cartels and even used to murder Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

It wasn’t the last time. The bungled Benghazi operation that happened under then-Vice President Biden’s watch that left four dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, was tied to illegal weapons trafficking. The Obama National Security Council refused a U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee investigation into the information of covert weapons trafficking to Libyan rebels. The Obama administration’s Department of Justice later dropped charges against an arms dealer for his part in the scheme. Now, he’s left billions in military weapons in the hands of known terrorists.

That’s the pattern for President Biden. He has overseen bungled operations that put guns into the hands of America’s enemies. Yet, he vilifies the firearm industry as “the enemy.” This is the industry that provides law-abiding Americans the means to exercise their Second Amendment rights, the tools for law enforcement to keep communities safe, and the small arms for our military to protect America.

President Biden’s gun policies are making Americans vulnerable and emboldening America’s enemies.

About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org

 

BIDEN’S ATF NOMINEE David Chipman FAILS TO ADMIT HE Pushed US Gun Control On Communist China TV

GOP Senator Calls Out Chipman For CCP Propaganda

At today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called out David Chipman, nominee to be Director of the ATF, for his appearance on Chinese state TV.

David Chipman Took Part in Communist, Chinese Propaganda to Push Gun Control 

Rumble — Erich Pratt on David Chipman's Chances to Lead the ATF

55% of Republicans ‘Back Potential Use of Force to Preserve American Way of Life’

BY: DAVE WORKMAN

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/07/55-of-republicans-back-potential-use-of-force-to-preserve-american-way-of-life/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

A new George Washington University survey reveals divided sentiments about using force to preserve America’s way of life.

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- A stunning George Washington University poll conducted in June revealed that “Over half of Republicans (55%) supported the possible use of force to preserve the ‘traditional American way of life,’” while also finding that 47 percent of Republicans think there may be a time when “patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.”

Another finding listed in the survey is that Republicans are far less likely (21%) than Democrats (83%) to say that “changing the nation’s gun laws is very or somewhat important.”

As reported by The Hill, “support for principles like free and fair elections, free speech and peaceful protest was nearly unanimous among Democratic and Republican voters.”

However, The Hill also noted, “Republicans were significantly less likely to have a strong amount of faith in local and state elections. Eighty-five percent of Democrats expressed trust in local election officials, with 76 percent saying the same of state officials, compared to 63 percent and 44 percent, respectively, for GOP voters.”

What this survey actually accomplished was to show the continuing, and perhaps widening divide between Democrats and Republicans on gun rights, and how political partisans disagree in their understanding of what the Second Amendment is really about. As grassroots gun rights activists repeatedly remind one another on social media, it’s “not about duck hunting.”

Considering the reductions to police departments in some major cities over the past year—a result of the “defund police” movement and an apparent decline in morale among police officers due to what they see as a lack of support from elected officials—it probably should not be surprising to see an increasing number of citizens concerned about having to act as their own first responders in life-threatening emergencies.

Amid the turmoil of 2020 and continuing into this year, gun sales have continued briskly in many parts of the country. Some estimates have put the number at 8 million new, first-time gun owners have joined the firearms community.

Back in April, The Hill reported on another survey, this one a Morning Consult-Politico tracking poll, that found 64 percent of registered voters support stricter U.S. gun laws, while 28 percent do not.

Alarming to gun rights activists, that survey also found 46 percent of respondents “said that limiting gun ownership was more important than protecting the Second Amendment, while 44 percent said that gun ownership rights were a higher priority.”

In May, Pew Research released a report citing eight “key facts about Americans and guns.” This poll also illustrates the divide between party philosophies on the Second Amendment.

According to Pew, the eight points are:

  • Around half of Americans (48%) see gun violence as a very big problem in the country today.
  • Attitudes about gun violence differ widely by race, ethnicity, party and community type.
  • Roughly half of Americans (53%) favor stricter gun laws, a decline since 2019.
  • Americans are divided over whether restricting legal gun ownership would lead to fewer mass shootings.
  • There is broad partisan agreement on some gun policy proposals, but most are politically divisive.
  • Americans in rural areas typically favor more expansive gun access, while Americans in urban places prefer more restrictive policies.
  • More than four-in-ten U.S. adults (44%) say they live in a household with a gun, including about a third (32%) who say they personally own one.*
  • Personal protection tops the list of reasons why gun owners say they own a firearm.

(*There is an interesting aspect to this question on gun ownership, and it came up recently in an Elway poll conducted in Washington State. When survey participants were asked whether anyone in their household owned a firearm, 42 percent said “yes,” 44 percent said “no,” but a sizeable number (14%) declined to answer. It is becoming more frequent that gun owners refuse to answer such a question because they do not believe it is anyone’s business whether they own a gun. Washington, incidentally, is a state with about 7.3 million residents, and there are currently more than 625,000 active concealed pistol licenses in circulation. That translates roughly to about one in nine or ten adults in the state who are licensed to carry, and roughly 20 percent of them are women.)

Among the prickliest of issues may be that 80 percent (or more) of Democrats “favor creating a federal database to track all gun sales and banning both assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, majorities of Republicans oppose the proposals,” Pew said.

Gun owners have long opposed a federal gun registry, a sentiment that could be more

However, 72 percent of Republicans “support allowing people to carry concealed guns in more places and allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns in K-12 schools (66%)” Pew added. Democrats, on the other hand, are largely opposed. Only 20 percent support broader concealed carry and 24 percent supported the idea of armed teachers.

The George Washington University poll revelations about the differences between Republican and Democrat responses underscores the concern American gun owners have about the push to change the nation’s gun laws and make them more restrictive under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the Pelosi-Schumer Democrat majority on Capitol Hill.

The political landscape could change dramatically in November 2022, largely driven by those concerns. Between now and then, however, activists will have their hands full blocking the gun control schemes that have already been introduced, and those yet to be revealed.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Dave Workman

U.S. Lawshield Experiences Record-Breaking Growth; Membership Exceeds 700,000

U.S. LawShield Banner

BY F. RIEHL

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/07/u-s-lawshield-record-growth-membership/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Houston, Texas – -(AmmoLand.com)- U.S. LawShield, industry leader and America’s largest provider of Legal Defense for Self-Defense coverage, announces record-breaking expansion and significant new customer acquisitions with membership exceeding 700,000. Targeted market demographics, strategic marketplace opportunities, and new gun ownership continues to drive growth.

“With millions of Americans seeking gun ownership for the first time, U.S. LawShield provides a much-needed resource for education and protection,” said P.J. Hermosa, CEO of U.S. LawShield. “Satisfied customers are renewing at increased rates, and they enjoy a variety of member benefits, educational opportunities, and the peace of mind we offer. Folks new to gun ownership have the most questions and need for knowledge, and we’re here to help them,” he added.

U.S. LawShield(R), Legal Defense for Self-Defense

The backbone of U.S. LawShield is its army of Independent Program Attorneys. Members receive exclusive access to the U.S. LawShield AttorneyResponse 365 24/7/365 emergency hotline, where lawyers answer every call immediately. “Our attorneys are well-versed in state-specific gun laws and Second Amendment legislation, and they answer more than 2,000 calls every month from people in crisis across the country,” said Hermosa.

“Our passion is educating consumers and advocating for lawful self-defense. The folks who choose to carry firearms and lawfully defend themselves deserve the unrivaled safeguarding U.S. LawShield provides,” Hermosa stated. “Our values and vision have positioned us to deliver the best solutions in the industry, and sustained growth is on our horizon.”

Throughout the company’s history, U.S. LawShield has remained true to its core premise of Preserving Freedom for Good.

“Protecting folks from the potential of injustices in our legal system after acts of self-defense is critically important as more Americans choose to own firearms lawfully,” said Hermosa. “We’re proud to educate our members in self-defense law and empower them to handle life-threatening situations with confidence.”

About U.S. LawShield

Since 2009, the mission of U.S. LawShield remains unchanged. We believe in Preserving Freedom for Good™ by educating our 700,000+ members and 6,000+ facility partners in self-defense law; empowering them to handle critical, life-threatening situations with confidence; protecting them from potential injustices in the legal system after acts of self-defense, and challenging the status quo regarding the affordability of legal defense. Our higher purpose is to create a united community of responsible individuals who believe in liberty and the inalienable right of self-defense.

For more information on U.S. LawShield and its legal defense for self-defense programs, visit the website at www.uslawshield.com.

U.S. LawShield

 

Only Armed Citizens Can Defend Our Constitutional Republic Against The Marxists

Opinion:
Social And Political Volatility And Upheaval In America Is Deliberate

BY ROGER KATZ

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/07/armed-citizen-defend-constitutional-republic-against-marxists/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

New York – -(AmmoLand.com)- Perpetrating and perpetuating the myth of “systemic racism” in American society serves the Neo-Marxist and Neoliberal Globalist goal of creating volatility in society and social upheaval.

The Harris-Biden Administration at the behest of their Neo-Marxist and Billionaire Globalist handlers, along with the Marxist Democrat Party leadership, need societal volatility—demand that volatility—if they are to succeed in overturning a free Constitutional Republic, transforming it into an obedient vessel of a new Autocratic Marxist-Globalist world trans-superstate structure, spanning the entire globe.

To that end, they have cunningly devised many strategies. One that they have had the most success with involves the application of “race” and “racism” to everything Americans hold dear and holy, corrupting it, desecrating all of it—profanely, erroneously claiming that the very foundation of our Nation is rooted in the subjugation of Africans and their descendants.

These Neo-Marxists have deliberately thrust upon Americans a fairy tale surrounding slaves and slavery, claiming that race and racial identity is the defining feature of American society; that racism and the incitement of racial hatred are endemic to America; that “white extremism” and “white supremacism” are prevalent throughout society, endemic to the core of our Nation even though the fact of the matter is that white extremism and white supremacism is de minimis, representing no tenable threat to the stability of American society. Such instability and volatility that exists and is extant in the U.S. are manufactured by Marxist Democrat Party leadership and the Harris-Biden Administration, itself, not by infinitesimally small and hardly influential groups like the KKK.

The volatility and instability evident in society is a product of Government policy. It is seen in the Harris-Biden Administration’s open borders policy.

It is seen in its dismissive attitude toward soaring violent crime permeating society and toward a curious permissive attitude held toward criminals and psychopathic and psychotic lunatics, given incredible latitude to prey on hapless, innocent Americans. And it is seen in the Administration’s cavalier attitude toward agitators belonging to rabid Marxist, Anarchist groups—in particular, “Black Lives Matter” and “Antifa” and other such groups—that have caused and continue to cause mayhem and substantial damage to the institutions of a free Republic.

Thus, in propounding a basis to upend a free Constitutional Republic that Democrat Party Marxists and the Kamala Harris and Joe Biden marionettes desire to accomplish and fully intend to accomplish so long as they can maintain power, it behooves them to resort to chicanery to confuse Americans and to create dissension among Americans.

In much that the Democrat Marxists and the Executive Branch puppets do to bring about a rupture of society they must, at present, resort to psychological measures.

The salient tool of the propagandists is language and the manipulation of it to affect a desired response in the target population, a willing compliance to authority, and to obtain a desired outcome—the destruction of American culture and society and subjugation of the masses; ergo the Propagandist resorts to the manipulation of “race.” And he operates with complete abandon in generating volatility in society through the device of “systemic racism” and “white extremism.”

Why Do Democrat Marxists And Executive Branch Puppets Suffocate Americans With These Ludicrous Notions Of ‘Race’ And ‘Racism And ‘Systemic Racism’?

The Marxists and Neoliberal Globalists utilize the vehicles of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ and ‘systemic racism’ because they know Americans are acutely sensitive to the concepts—hence the expansive use of these words to drive a wedge among Americans, to cause an ever-widening rift among Americans that cannot be bridged; to change Americans’ perceptions of themselves, to soften them up, and make Americans amenable to the transformative influences of Marxism. And the extensive, intensive use of these concepts in the media is having the desired effect.

What Is ‘Race,’ Really, And Is It “Really” Real?

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says this about ‘race’:

The concept of race has historically signified the division of humanity into a small number of groups based upon five criteria: (1) Races reflect some type of biological foundation, be it Aristotelian essences or modern genes; (2) This biological foundation generates discrete racial groupings, such that all and only all members of one race share a set of biological characteristics that are not shared by members of other races; (3) This biological foundation is inherited from generation to generation, allowing observers to identify an individual’s race through her ancestry or genealogy; (4) Genealogical investigation should identify each race’s geographic origin, typically in Africa, Europe, Asia, or North and South America; and (5) This inherited racial biological foundation manifests itself primarily in physical phenotypes, such as skin color, eye shape, hair texture, and bone structure, and perhaps also behavioral phenotypes, such as intelligence or delinquency.

Both in the past and today, determining the boundaries of discrete races has proven to be most vexing and has led to great variations in the number of human races believed to be in existence. Thus, some thinkers categorized humans into only four distinct races (typically white or Caucasian, Black or African, yellow or Asian, and red or Native American), and downplayed any biological or phenotypical distinctions within racial groups (such as those between Scandinavians and Spaniards within the white or Caucasian race). Other thinkers classified humans into many more racial categories, for instance arguing that those humans “indigenous” to Europe could be distinguished into discrete Nordic, Alpine, and Mediterranean races.

The ambiguities and confusion associated with determining the boundaries of racial categories have provoked a widespread scholarly consensus that discrete or essentialist races are socially constructed, not biologically real.”

This Essentialist notion of race was taken as self-evident truths, and it tore Germany and the rest of the world apart, leading to a conflagration commencing in 1939 with the outbreak of the Second world war.

Jump to present-day America. The use of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ as a weapon—this time by the Harris-Biden Administration and Marxist Democrats—are again on full disgusting and noxious display.

The propagandists have taken a cue from the race proponents of Nazi Germany although with a decidedly peculiar twist.

This time it isn’t the German Nordic white “Herrenmensch” who is extolled but the purportedly black “Untermensch,” albeit the rabid Anti-American Anti-white current head of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, Kristen Clarke, has unabashedly argued that it is the “black race” that is markedly superior to the “white race.” See article in LA Times, referring at the end of the article to remarks of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which explains why Republicans opposed her confirmation to head the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.

“In opposing her nomination, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement Monday that Clarke had a ‘long history of statements that place the nominee on, frankly, the far-left fringe of the political spectrum . . . This is not the right nominee for a crucial post at a crucial time. ’”

See also an article in the North State Journal:

“Kristen Clarke, Joe Biden’s nominee for assistant attorney general of the United States, once promoted racist pseudoscientific quackery, arguing that the human brain was structured in a way that makes Black people superior to white people, and that “human mental processes” in the brain have chemicals that imbue one race with “superior physical and mental abilities” and “spiritual abilities.”

After confirmation, Clarke says, as reported in fox news, that she doesn’t “necessarily” hold to those beliefs.

In other words, Clarke still professes a belief in this nonsense, but she cannot be overt and explicit about it.

For those who would interject “race” into politics, then it must be faced head-on, rationally, logically, especially in those instances where one accepts the reality of “race” in a concrete, absolute biological sense, and dares to extol the righteousness and superiority of this or that “race.”

But what we are seeing is that the would-be Destroyers of our Nation have used the concept of ‘race,’ and ‘racism’ and continue to use “race” and “racism” as an odious political device, a tool, a bludgeon, a battering ram directed against our Nation, against our People, and against our Constitution—with the aim of destroying all of it and replacing it with something loathsome, something detestable, reprehensible. And they seek to erect their evil societal construct to ensnare and enslave us all.

Patriots…make sure your are prepared, stay heavily armed and always extremely dangerous. America is counting on you.

 

About The Arbalest Quarrel:

Arbalest Group created `The Arbalest Quarrel’ website for a special purpose. That purpose is to educate the American public about recent Federal and State firearms control legislation. No other website, to our knowledge, provides as deep an analysis or as thorough an analysis. Arbalest Group offers this information free.

For more information, visit: www.arbalestquarrel.com.

Arbalest Quarrel

 

RED ALERT: Deranged tyrant nominated to head ATF says anyone uttering “hate speech” online should have all their guns confiscated by armed federal agents

Image: RED ALERT: Deranged tyrant nominated to head ATF says anyone uttering “hate speech” online should have all their guns confiscated by armed federal agents

BY J.D. HEYES

SEE: https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-07-07-nominee-head-atf-hate-speech-online-all-guns-confiscated.html;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

(Natural News) One of the problems with having Marxists in the White House is that they tend to choose left-wing extremists to serve the administration, and that is certainly the case when it comes to David Chipman, the man the Biden regime has nominated to serve as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

For one, Chipman only seems concerned about the “firearms” part of his regulatory position.

In an obscure interview with the BBC in 2019, Chipman came out and said that anyone who posts “hate speech” online ought to be subjected to having their firearms confiscated by armed federal agents, because the First Amendment and Second Amendment to the Constitution, he suggests by default, are not inalienable rights but rather those that are only granted by government.

“We really need to do more to monitor hate speech on the internet,” Chipman argued, going on to suggest that then-President Donald Trump’s speech was hateful as well and should also be regulated.

“But we also have to do more to curb that same speech being presented by our president and other elected public officials,” he went on.

Questions: Who are “we” and what “more,” exactly, should be done?

“The FBI, other federal agencies, have a tough job responding to these threats when they don’t currently (our emphasis) have the authority to remove weaponry just because people are saying hateful things,” he added.

Of course, “hateful things” is very often in the eye of the beholder, and when that speech arbiter happens to be a well-armed federal agency, that gets really worrisome really quickly.

It’s bad enough that a guy like Chipman has even been nominated to lead one of those armed federal agencies, but this guy literally would have jailed our founding fathers for their “hate speech” about liberty and freedom against the British Crown’s tyranny while at the same time confiscating their firearms.

The framers literally wrote and states literally ratified the First and Second Amendments to be able to be a) critical of government; and b) armed while being critical of government. Chipman and those in government like him want to punish Americans in the same way King George did before the American Revolution.

The one good thing is that Chipman may actually lack the votes in the evenly divided Senate to win confirmation. Yes, the Senate is currently split 50-50, Republicans and Democrats with Kamala Harris providing the tie-breaking vote, but he may not get all 50 Democrats.

Fox News reported late last month:

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced President Biden’s nominee to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on a party-line vote, setting the table for an uncertain confirmation effort on the Senate floor. 

Republicans, all of whom voted against David Chipman in the 10-10 Judiciary Committee vote, have raised alarms about Chipman’s alleged hostility toward guns – citing his past comments and his previous work with gun control groups like Giffords and Everytown. It’s likely all 50 Republicans will vote against the nominee on the Senate floor. 

“After meeting with Mr. Chipman, listening to Mainers, and reviewing his record, I have decided to vote against Mr. Chipman’s nomination to serve as the ATF Director,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement ahead of the Judiciary Committee vote. “In recent years, Mr. Chipman has been an outspoken critic of the firearms industry and has made statements that demean law-abiding gun owners.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a constitutional originalist, echoed most Republicans when he said of Chipman that he’s leery of his “agenda… to take away Second Amendment rights from law-abiding citizens while violent criminals are loose on our streets.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blasted Chipman for saying in a Reddit post a few years back that anyone who fails a gun background check should be arrested.

“We don’t arrest people before they commit crimes. That’s the sort of thing that’s reserved for bad post-apocalyptic dystopian novels and movies,” Lee said.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com

Mom-At-Arms.com

Cuomo Declares FAKE ‘Gun Violence Disaster Emergency’ In New York State

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Gov. Cuomo Imagines: New York Needs a ‘Magic Wall’

Gun Industry Fires Back At Cuomo's 2A Attack

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared war on guns and the firearms industry.

BY DAVE WORKMAN

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/07/cuomo-declares-fake-gun-violence-disaster-emergency/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Anti-gun New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has issued an executive order declaring a “gun violence” disaster emergency in the Empire State, reportedly allowing him to “tap into $138 million in state funds” to pay for efforts to combat what he calls an epidemic.

The announcement came Tuesday as Cuomo was appearing at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, according to NBC News. The new twist or truth, according to published reports, is that this allows Cuomo and other officials to treat violent crime involving guns as a public health emergency.

“This new strategy treats gun violence as a public health crisis, using short-term solutions to manage the immediate gun violence crisis and reduce the shooting rate,” NBC News reported.

According to Forbes and other publications, New York City has reported a spike in homicides. The state is “on pace” for 621 gun-related murders so far this year, up from last year’s total of 594 for the entire year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. According to the New York Daily News, 51 people were shot in New York over the July 4 holiday weekend, including 26 in just New York City. Shootings are up 38 percent over the same time period in 2020, the Daily News added.

The Gothamist reported June saw 165 shootings including 33 homicides in New York City, although far-left Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday was talking about a decline in city crime during the month. The newspaper said June 2020 produced 205 shootings and 43 slayings.

In the process of declaring war on guns, Cuomo said he would sign legislation sponsored by Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy (D-Albany) that will “make it easier to sue gun companies for gun violence.”

He inked that legislation promptly.  That tactic was tried in the early 2000s as municipalities with liberal administrations around the country tried to bankrupt the firearms industry with a series of “junk” lawsuits, leading Congress to pass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act prohibiting such legal harassment.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation immediately said it will “challenge to overturn the law.”

“This law is unconstitutional, plain and simple,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “It is abhorrent that Governor Cuomo is rehashing a decades-old failed playbook that was rejected by courts in the 1990’s and early 2000’s.”

Keane accused Cuomo of “blame shifting for his administration’s failures to prevent crime by pointing fingers at firearm manufacturers.”

 

NSSF said in a prepared statement that the law “is in contravention to federal law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), and the legal foundations of tort law.”

Cuomo’s plan calls for efforts to “get illegal guns off the streets” and prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands. While there is no clear definition of what are “illegal guns”, how he intends to accomplish that may become one more gun control campaign that impacts more law-abiding New Yorkers than it does the criminal element.

 

The governor also announced the creation of an “Office of Gun Violence Prevention,” which seems to be a growingly popular idea aimed at creating a taxpayer-funded bureaucracy to promote gun control legislation.

Cuomo’s executive orders will also require police departments to share data, NBC News reported.

Part of the millions of dollars Cuomo plans to devote to this effort will be used to create jobs and “community activities” for so-called “at-risk youth,” the Daily News reported. An estimated 21,000 jobs will be created this summer at several agencies, including the NYC Hospitality Alliance, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the State Parks.

But the New York Post raised an interesting issue. This sudden declaration of war on gun-related crime comes at a time when Cuomo is “facing multiple probes tied to sexual harassment allegations and the cover-up of nursing home deaths from COVID-19.”

This could raise questions about whether this is a Cuomo effort to distract the public and the news media from those troubles.

The governor wants to create a council on “gun violence prevention.”

“Everything is on the table,” he reportedly said. “We all want the same thing, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Post also noted that State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Lockport) criticized Gov. Cuomo for “declaring another emergency” just “days after finally relinquishing his emergency powers.” He’s spent the past year exercising emergency powers. Now, he’s found another emergency.

But Ortt observed, “These heinous acts of violence and the victims affected deserve real solutions — not political grandstanding.”

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Dave Workman

Leaked ATF Guidance: Private Gunmakers Are Criminals, Terrorists & Extremists

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/06/atf-guidance-private-gunmakers-criminals-terrorists-extremists/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Leaked ATF Report: Private Gunmakers Are Criminals, Terrorists & Extremists

Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- If there is any federal agency that can be counted on to create a problem just to justify their own existence it is certainly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

When it comes to overhyping the next “threat” to the homeland – regardless of the facts – the ATF seldom disappoints.

The embattled agency’s latest piece of creative fiction is a warning about “privately made firearms” or PMFs, and it should serve as a warning to gun owners, homebuilders, and everyone else who values their civil rights.

An ATF document titled “First Responder Awareness of Privately Made Firearms May Prevent Illicit Activities” was published last week by the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT).

“JCAT is a collaboration by the NCTC, DHS, and FBI to improve information sharing among federal, state, local, tribal, territorial governments and private sector partners, in the interest of enhancing public safety,” the document states. “This product is NOT in response to a specific threat against the United States. It provides a general awareness of, considerations for, and additional resources related to terrorist tactics, techniques, and procedures, whether domestic or overseas.”

To be clear, the ATF and JCAT consider homebuilt firearms “terrorist tactics, techniques and procedures,” even though Americans have been making guns legally in their homes since before there even was a United States of America.

The document was never supposed to be leaked to the media or the public and is exempt from discovery through the federal Freedom of Information Act, but some freedom-loving soul published it online yesterday despite its ominous warning:

“WARNING: This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. Do not release to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need to know without prior approval from NCTC, DHS, or the FBI. This document may contain US Person information deemed necessary for the intended recipient to understand, assess, or act on the information provided. Additionally, this document may contain information exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).”

“Criminals and violent extremists continue to seek ways to acquire firearms through the production of privately made firearms (PMFs),” ATF’s document warns. “PMF awareness and identification can aid

PMF recovery, prevention of illicit activities including terrorism, and overall first responder and public safety.”

Evidently, even the ATF was worried that their door-kickers might go too far, again – they can’t afford another Waco or Ruby Ridge – so they included a subtle warning before things get out of hand.

“NOTE: Many of the activities described herein may involve Constitutionally protected activities and may be insignificant on their own. Action should not be taken solely based on the exercise of Constitutionally protected rights.” Yep, those pesky Constitutional rights tend to get in the way.

Much of the advice the ATF passes on to First Responders would be laughable, were it not for the fact that Americans have a right to make firearms in their own homes. Apparently, that doesn’t matter. If you’re found with 3D printers, printing mediums such as plastic, ceramic, or metal spools, or place what the agency considers to be too large of an order online, you’re going to be suspected of terrorism or violent extremism even though your actions are perfectly legal.

I have written about the need to abolish the ATF before because no one seems capable of reining in the rogue agency or forcing them to accept the fact Americans actually do have constitutional rights.

This is more important now than ever before, because Biden’s nominee to head the ATF, David Chipman, is a paid anti-gun activist who would definitely take the agency in the opposite direction.

If Chipman is confirmed by the Senate, this leaked ATF report is just a warning of more serious civil rights violations yet to come.

The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.

About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

 Subscribe 

Why Does Lloyd Austin Refuse to Define ‘Extremism’?

BY TYLER O'NEIL

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2021/06/26/why-does-lloyd-austin-refuse-to-define-extremism-this-army-definition-should-raise-alarms-for-conservatives-n1457375;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Even though the Department of Defense (DOD) carried out a military-wide “stand-down” training on “extremism” early into Joe Biden’s tenure, the DOD still has not promulgated an official definition of extremism. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin refused to give a definition at a congressional hearing this week, and on Thursday, the DOD confirmed to PJ Media that it has not adopted a definition. However, a working definition that the Army Recruiting Command apparently uses to screen applicants should raise alarm bells for conservatives.

“I’m very concerned about the recent order that you have conducted regarded looking at so-called ‘extremism,’ and I have sent to you two letters, Mr. Secretary, asking for the definition of what the Department of Defense views as ‘extremism,’ and have not heard back from you yet,” Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) told Austin at a hearing on Wednesday. “Could you just share with me, does the Department of Defense have a definition of extremism?”

Austin did not answer Hartzler’s question. He assured her, “I believe that 99.9 percent of our troops are focused on the right things, embracing the right values, each and every day. Small numbers of people, in this area, can have an outsized impact on our organization.”

Recommended: EXCLUSIVE: The DOD’s ‘Extremism’ Working Group Confirms Fears of a Free-Speech Crackdown

“We are focused on extremist behavior, not what people think or political ideas or religious ideas, but extremist behavior,” Austin insisted.

“So, do you have a definition of what extremism is and what that behavior is?” Hartzler asked.

“Again, we’re focused on behavior,” Austin repeated, dodging the question.

“Well, you had a stand-down and you had a pause over the entire military for an entire day to do training to talk about this, and you don’t have a definition yet of what the purpose was and what extremism is?”

“The purpose was to have a discussion with our troops and our leaders on the issue of extremism, and that was very productive,” Austin said.

Hartzler brought up a new DOD screening procedure, asking, “What, specifically, would you be screening for?”

“Our screening is focused on screening those applicants that are coming into the military. We want to make sure that we’re bringing in the right type of people, quality of people,” Austin replied.

“So, if someone says that they’re for President Trump, would that be viewed as extremism?” Hartzler pressed.

“As I said earlier, this is not about politics. I want our troops to participate in our political system,” Austin replied. “That’s what they’re fighting to defend. But I will also say that we will continue to be a diverse and inclusive organization.”

Recommended: Whistleblowers Explain How Biden’s Woke ‘Extremism’ Training Is Tearing the Military Apart

PJ Media reached out to the DOD on Thursday, and a spokesperson confirmed that the Department had not put out any guidance defining extremism. However, various training materials used for the military-wide “stand down” to combat “extremism” follow the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) playbook for demonizing conservatives through the biased application of terms like “discrimination.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) shared the reports of whistleblowers who said the DOD pushed “anti-racist” and Marxist critical race theory (CRT) materials in trainings to combat “extremism.” One whistleblower said his or her unit was forced to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. One Army officer said his general officer told him “that the entire U.S. Army is racist.” Earlier this week, Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended teaching CRT in the military and repeated CRT propaganda against the Constitution.

This context suggests that the DOD may hesitate to define “extremism” because its likely definition will involve demonizing conservative views. Indeed, on Wednesday morning, a communique sent to Army Recruiting Command — and first reported by PJ Media’s Stacey Lennox — presented a slanted definition of “extremism.” The DOD has not adopted this definition, but it seems the Army is using this definition to screen applicants.

The document laid out an illogical definition of extremism: “Extremism is defined as an individual that advocates for any of the following:

  1. Hatred or intolerance on the basis of race, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
  2. Creating or engaging in discrimination based on race, color, sex (including gender identity), national origin, religion, or sexual orientation.
  3. Use of force or violence or unlawful means to deprive individuals of their rights to achieve political/religious/discriminatory goals.
  4. Support for terrorist or criminal organizations or objectives.
  5. Overthrow of the U.S. Government by force, violence, or sedition.
  6. Subversion (i.e., violations of law, disobedience to lawful orders or regulations).

It stands to reason that the U.S. military would define extremism to include advocacy for the “overthrow of the U.S. government by force, violence, or sedition,” and that aspect of the definition seems unassailable. Subversion may also count as extremism, so long as the definition does not exclude certain forms of civil disobedience that should fall under the First Amendment’s speech protections. Support for terrorist or criminal organizations also seems a reasonable aspect of an extremism definition.

Recommended: EXCLUSIVE: Army Finally Defines ‘Extremism’ When It Comes to Screening Out ‘Hate Group’ Members

The use of force or violent means to deprive people of their rights may also reasonably fit a definition of extremism. While Stacey Lennox was right to warn about the Left applying rights language to abortion and other issues, opposition to abortion should involve reasoned debate, not violence.

However, the first two aspects of this Army definition should raise red flags for conservatives.

Conservatives do not support “hatred or intolerance on the basis of race, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or ethnicity,” but the Left often twists the definitions of “hate” on these hot-button issues. For example, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) routinely brands mainstream conservative and Christian organizations “hate groups” due to their opposition to the Left’s narrative and activism on LGBT issues, Islam, and immigration.

In the wake of a scandal involving claims of racial discrimination and sexual harassment that saw the SPLC fire its co-founder and lose its president and legal director, a former SPLC employee outed the “hate-group list” as a “masterstroke of [the founder]’s marketing talents.” This seemed to confirm claims that the hate group list is a cynical fundraising scheme, rather than a legitimate report.

The “hate group” accusation also gives the SPLC a way to destroy its political enemies. Former SPLC spokesman Mark Potok also revealed an animus against the organizations on the list. He said the SPLC’s “aim in life” is to “destroy these groups.” In 2012, a deranged man targeted the Christian non-profit organization the Family Research Council (FRC), aiming to kill everyone in the building and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich into his victims’ faces. He told the FBI he targeted FRC due to the SPLC’s “hate group” accusation. The SPLC has not dropped that accusation.

Democrats have endorsed the SPLC’s “hate group” accusations, while some Big Tech companies and some corporate boards have also adopted this twisted weaponization of the “hate” label.

In a similar vein, Biden’s definition of civil rights law would implicate many social conservatives in “discrimination” — especially when it comes to “gender identity.”

According to the Biden administration, the “discrimination” that fits the second part of the Army recruiting definition of “extremism” would apply to one person who refers to biological males who identify as female with male pronouns, who advocates for excluding biological males from women’s sports, or who warns against the abuses of subjecting gender-confused children to chemical castration, among other things.

Biden has even fought to resurrect an Obama-era HHS rule that would force Roman Catholic doctors to perform transgender surgery, in violation of both Catholic teaching on sexuality and the Hippocratic oath. If refusing to perform transgender surgery counts as “discrimination,” that might make every Catholic medic in the military an “extremist.”

Recommended: Head of the Joint Chiefs Repeats CRT Propaganda Trashing the Constitution

Without a definition of “extremism,” the DOD cannot allay conservatives’ fears about the whistleblower reports and about the Biden administration’s radical twisting of civil rights law. While the DOD claims to be formulating an official definition, Austin’s decision to stonewall Hartzler instead of giving her even a working definition seems mighty suspicious. The Army Recruiting Command’s slanted definition only underscores conservatives’ worries.

POLICE STATE NJ Senator Menendez Panders to Constituents Over Chipman for ATF Head

NJ Senator Bob Menendez Poses with EveryTown and Moms Demand Action, IMG menendez.senate.gov

NJ Senator Bob Menendez Poses with EveryTown and Moms Demand Action, IMG menendez.senate.gov

BY JOHN PETROLINO

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/06/nj-senator-menendez-panders-to-constituents-over-chipman-for-atf-head/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- The matter of David Chipman’s confirmation process to lead the ATF is still in flux. Advocates have been urging everyone to reach out to their senators about voting against the confirmation of Chipman. The rehashing of anything Chipman-related really does not have to happen again. However, what of the senators that are known anti-civil rights, proponents?

NJ Senator Bob Menendez

One such senator, Bob Menendez from New Jersey has a rather hubris and obnoxious form letter that he sends to those that write to him on the subject. Take a read:

Dear Constituent,

Thank you for contacting me to express concerns regarding David Chipman, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).  Your opinion is very important to me, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you.
 

 
On April 7, 2021, President Biden announced his nomination of David Chipman as Director of ATF.  Mr. Chipman previously served as a special agent at ATF for over 25 years.  If confirmed, Mr. Chipman would be the agency’s first permanent director since 2015.

 

As a former ATF agent and an advocate for sensible gun safety laws, I believe Mr. Chipman is prepared to lead the ATF’s efforts to help prevent gun violence and save lives in communities across the country.  I also believe that, as a gun owner himself, Mr. Chipman will strongly defend the rights of citizens to use legal firearms responsibly.

 

Mr. Chipman’s nomination currently awaits consideration before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not a member.  Please rest assured that I will keep your views in mind when his confirmation comes before me for a vote.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of further assistance.  I invite you to visit my website (http://menendez.senate.gov) to learn more about how I am standing up for New Jersey families in the United States Senate.
NJ Senator Bob Menendez

Including the letter in full was probably not necessary, as I’m only going to focus on certain parts. However, in the spirit of fairness to ole Robert, I left the missive unchanged for everyone’s unbiased review.

Some of what Menendez said is factually based. Yes, Chipman was nominated by the Biden-Harris administration. Yes, Chipman would be the first permanent director since 2015 if confirmed. That’s about all where the “facts” lay. The first falsehood that should be pointed out is that Menendez states:

Your opinion is very important to me, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you.

On its face, this statement is flat-out false. If Menendez cared about the opinion of the constituents who write to him in opposition to the confirmation of Chipman, there is a high probability the same people do not support all the legislation he’s introduced or supported in order to advance the anti-freedom caucus’ agenda. Menendez supports legislation such as:

  • S.1558 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021
  • S.1131 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) HEAR Act
  • S.974 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act
  • S.736 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Assault Weapons Ban of 2021
  • S.529 — 117th Congress (2021-2022) Background Check Expansion Act

That’s just a smattering of the bills that Menendez supports in this session of congress. This is not an extensive investigative piece, but suffice it to say if someone is against Chipman, they’re probably against those bills. We can politely reply:

No Bob! I know my opinion is not important to you, so please do not pretend it is. We’d not be having this correspondence if you respected my opinion, which happens to align with the Bill of Rights. Whereas, your opinion and actions are contrary to freedom.

Next piece to look at:

As a former ATF agent and an advocate for sensible gun safety laws…

As discussed time and time again, Chipman worked for the “anti-gun”, read anti-civil rights, lobby. Chipman does not advocate for “sensible gun safety laws”, he is a prohibitionist, like you. Further, it has been proved that more laws do not equal less crime. If that were the case, the state you hail from, New Jersey, would be one of the safest in the country. But instead, New Jersey has some of the most violent and crime-ridden cities in the nation. The only city that has shown any appreciable advancement in curbing crime is Camden, once the murder capital of the US, saw shootings drop in 2020.

I also believe that, as a gun owner himself, Mr. Chipman will strongly defend the rights of citizens to use legal firearms responsibly.

To think that Chipman, a former ATF agent, does not himself own firearms would be grossly obtuse. Many former law enforcement personnel own firearms. There are many reasons why they might, but none of which are prevalent to the conversation. Plenty of politicians, political hacks, and congresscritters that are members of the anti-freedom caucus own guns. How about you Bob? Do you own any firearms? Owning a gun does not make someone an advocate for firearm liberties or would cause them to “defend the rights of citizens”. I actually know what I’d refer to as anti-gun gun owners, and it’s frustrating talking to “them”. Speaking of Chipman’s firearms, isn’t there a little drama about that which surfaced recently involving him losing his service weapon?

In closure, don’t thank us for our thoughts. You don’t mean it, so don’t say it. The public at large would have more respect for you if you were unapologetic on this subject and just said:

“Ya know, I’m gonna confirm Chipman because I think he supports the same gun control agenda that I do. He may not know what an ‘assault weapon’ is, but by golly, he wants to take them all!”

 

John Petrolino is a US Merchant Marine Officer, writer, author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on General Gun Safety & Use and NRA certified pistol, rifle, and shotgun instructor living under and working to change New Jersey’s draconian and unconstitutional gun laws. You can find him on the web at www.johnpetrolino.com on twitter at @johnpetrolino and on instagram @jpetrolinoiii .

John Petrolino
John Petrolino

 

1 … 8 9 10 11 12 … 16