A WordPress Blog-THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse. ALL CONTENT FROM HTTPS://RATHEREXPOSETHEM.BLOGSPOT.COM MOVED TO THIS NEW BLOG, MAY 2020
ABOVE: Congress 101 – Confirmation, Impeachment, Oversight, And Spending, iStock-1154438278
Louisiana Republican Congressman Mike Johnson, elected Speaker of the House Wednesday, is described as “a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader” by the Associated Press and Greensboro, NC News & Record, and a look at his record shows him to be squarely on the side of the Second Amendment.
According to NBC News, Johnson voted against Joe Biden’s “modest new gun law,” and his voting record “has earned him a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action.”
In November 2017, Johnson co-sponsored H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, issuing the following statement: “The constitutional right to keep and bear arms should not be confined by state lines. Our legislation ensures that law-abiding citizens who obtain a concealed carry permit are not denied their rights when traveling to other states. I am a concealed carry permit holder myself and will continue to support measures in Congress that preserve the Second Amendment.”
Earlier this month, he met with representatives of Women for Gun Rights, formerly known as the D.C. Project, posting a message on “X” (formerly Twitter), in which he reported, “It was great to catch up with the Women for Gun Rights representatives today to discuss the safeguarding of our Second Amendment rights.”
In July, he was among the sponsors of the Preserving Rights of Tenants by Ensuring Compliance to (PROTECT) the Second Amendment Act. According to an announcement from his office on July 25, this legislation “would secure the Second Amendment rights of Americans who live in rental properties whose landlords receive financial assistance from the federal government. More specifically, this proposal ensures that landlords and rental property managers cannot unlawfully restrict firearm ownership of tenants.
“Tenants’ Second Amendment rights should not be subject to the whims of a landlord or property manager, especially those receiving federal assistance,” Rep. Johnson said at the time. “I will always fight back against any effort to unlawfully restrict our constitutional rights.”
All of this suggests gun owners have a friend in Johnson, which may become more important in 2024 when gun rights versus gun control is destined to become part of the presidential and congressional election cycle.
The Waco Herald Tribune describes Johnson as “A lawyer specializing in constitutional issues.”He is conservative enough to have gained the support of maverick Republicans who have kept the House in what some have described as “chaos” over the past 20-plus days since Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker.
The Second Amendment has been under attack since Biden took office in January 2021. He famously declared during a CNN Townhall broadcast that he wanted to prohibit the sale of not only modern semiautomatic rifles but also 9mm pistols, probably the two most popular firearms in the country. The Second Amendment Foundation has used the video clip of him saying so as the centerpiece in a series of television advertisements for more than a year.
According to Fox News, Johnson picked up the Speaker’s gavel with 220 votes over the 209 cast by lockstep Democrat for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. If that vote signaled anything, it is that Democrats hold their ranks tight—much tighter than the majority Republicans—which could spell trouble for Johnson and his GOP caucus allies heading into 2024.
As reported Wednesday by TheGunMag.com, the three main contenders to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein are all anti-gun California members of Congress. All three—Representatives Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee—returned questionnaires to The Trace indicating they support so-called “universal background checks,” waiting periods on gun purchases, raising the minimum age for purchasing guns to 21 years, and support for a national “red flag” law.
While it may seem that gun rights and the Second Amendment remain intact on Capitol Hill, it is by the slimmest of margins, with Republicans controlling the House by a handful of votes, while the Senate remains under Democrat control.
Johnson was the fourth Republican nominee for the Speaker’s post. The Greensboro newspaper noted former President Donald Trump supports Johnson, which may or may not, be to his advantage as the House gets back to doing the people’s business over the next few months.
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.
FOX News senior strategic analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane weighs in on Israel's ground offensive plan and potential terror groups using U.S.-manufactured weapons.
Biden soaks up the sun during multiple global crises
Americans were beheaded and there is no outrage from the Biden admin: John Ratcliffe
NJ Senator Bob Menendez Poses with EveryTown and Moms Demand Action, IMG menendez.senate.gov
To say U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has been a thorn in the side of the firearm industry would be an understatement. The gun-controlling politician has railed for stricter gun control, called for bans on entire classes of firearms, taken money from gun control groups to advance a gun ban agenda, and has done all he could to undo the export reforms for the firearm industry to reduce redundancies and regulatory costs associated with export licensing while increasing national security.
America might now have a better insight as to why Sen. Menendez wanted more control over those exports.
Serious Corruption Charges
Sen. Menendez, along with his wife Nadine Arslanian and several executives, was indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a corrupt bribery scheme. Sen. Menendez was charged with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible, and home mortgage payments. Those payments were allegedly in exchange for the senator using his position to grease the skids for businesses and the government of Egypt between 2018 and 2022.
He’s also charged with promising to disrupt a criminal investigation and prosecution related to one businessman, and the senator recommended President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. Attorney for New Jersey be someone “who Menendez believed could be influenced by Menendez” regarding the prosecution of one of the businessmen he was allegedly involved in the corruption scheme.
The FBI reportedly discovered more than $480,000 in cash in Sen. Menendez’s home while executing a search warrant in June 2022, “much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe.” Agents found envelopes of cash inside jackets bearing the Senate symbol and Sen. Menendez’s name.
The senator and his wife were charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion. The charges allege Sen. Menendez took bribes to benefit the businesses and the Egyptian government, “including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing,” over which the senator has oversight as the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman, and Ranking Member previously. Sen. Menendez allegedly provided non-public information to intermediary businesses, after which one businessman texted an Egyptian official stating,
“The ban on small arms and ammunition to Egypt has been lifted. That means sales can begin. That will include sniper rifles among other articles.”
Gun Control for Thee…
Ironically, Sen. Menendez introduced legislation to prevent arms sales to human rights abusers. S. 1025 would increase Congress’ role in reviewing arms exports. That’s even as the State Department noted significant human rights issues in Egypt in a 2022 report. Human Rights Watch, a watchdog group, reported that Egypt’s government was responsible for nationwide repression and causing one of the country’s worst human rights crises in many decades. He even signed a letter in September to President Joe Biden urging him to reverse the USML-CCL reforms, claiming, “The State Department is also better equipped than Commerce to assess the human rights and security impact of arms exports.”
This might explain why Sen. Menendez despised those firearm export reforms that were finalized under the Trump administration. Those are the U.S. Munitions List to Commerce Control List reforms that transferred licensing of small arms exports from the State Department, over which Sen. Menendez had control, to the Commerce Department. The reforms streamlined the export process, removing duplicative processes, but also raised the bar for ensuring end-user checks were vetted before any export could leave the United States.
This isn’t the first time Sen. Menendez has been charged with corruption. A bribery trial in 2017 involved a wealthy Florida eye doctor accused of buying Sen. Menendez’s influence by providing him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions. The judge in that case declared a mistrial after the jury was hopelessly deadlocked after more than six days of deliberations. It is worth noting he was not exonerated of those charges. The DOJ declined to retry him.
Defiance
Sen. Menendez remains defiant. Due to Senate Democratic Caucus rules, he was forced to resign his position as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, but he has said he “is going nowhere” and promises to run for re-election. He retained Abbe Lowell, the lawyer representing Hunter Biden in his tax and firearm cases, to tackle his own federal corruption charges in court. Pressure is building on Sen. Menendez to walk away from the Senate altogether.
New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy has called on Sen. Menendez to resign. This isn’t because Gov. Murphy has suddenly become a critic of New Jersey’s senior senator. He’s concerned that the corruption scandal could cost antigun politicians a reliable seat. If Sen. Menendez were to resign, Gov. Murphy could appoint a new senator to serve the remainder of his term, which expires in January 2025. He has already gained a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.). The New York Post reported that New Jersey Republicans are closely watching developments.
The charges are serious, and Sen. Menendez will have his day in court to defend against the charges. The firearm industry, which he has used as a political punching bag, is very interested in learning just how gold bars ended up in his home, stacks of cash in his suit coats, and why he was so adamant that all firearm exports be run through his committee.
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
Now ask yourself who’s paying for all this, and how “Republican” they really are. (Republicans for Ukraine/Facebook)
“We’re Republicans standing for Ukrainian freedom,” theRepublicans for Ukraine websitedeclares. “We are amplifying the voices of Republicans who believe that the United States should be a steadfast friend to democracies like Ukraine and a fearsome enemy to aggressive dictatorships like Russia.”
It’s a divisive issue. Seeing a larger nation, and one that has traditionally been a communist tyranny and enemy of the United States, invade a smaller neighbor and wreak mass death and destruction produces a visceral reaction of horror, especially with the near-universal support for widening American provisioning and involvement from the legacy media. On the other hand, George Washington’s “Farewell Address” admonition that “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world” drives hesitation among Constitutionalists to exercise caution against provoking escalation.
It’s true that Ukraine arming its citizens was an inspiring move and a great way to point out the cognitive dissonance of Democrats cheering that on while imposing disarmament edicts on their own constituents at home. It’s also true that the cognitive dissonance extended to some on the right, quick to parrot the Russian line while ignoring one of the greatest examples of why a populace should own military weapons. And it was forehead-slapping disappointing to see the government reverse course and order the Ukrainian Territorial Defense to turn in weapons “for storage.”
It’s a mess, no doubt. Factor in credible evidence of Ukrainian corruption going all the way to the top (of which the Hunter and Joe Biden-Burisma scandal is just a small part), Russia being increasingly hemmed in by NATO (recalling the U.S. reaction in the Cuban Missile Crisis), charges of Naziism, demands territorial self-determination in sectors with dominant Russian populations, and ceaseless pleas for more American dollars and military equipment at the risk of widening the war, and it’s not unfair to wonder if there might be a better way to cool things down and reach peaceful agreements than the present course of engagement escalation.
Republicans for Ukraine make it clear which course they choose, and they even give Republican representatives grades based on how they voted on appropriations. Without doing a detailed analysis of the entire document, it’s nonetheless curious that Second Amendment stalwarts like Thomas Massie and Chip Roy are rated “Very Poor” while Biden Bipartisan Gun Bill backer Dave Joyce and Giffords endorsee Brian Fitzpatrick are both rated “Excellent.”
That makes fair the question of those funding the Republicans for Ukraine website: “Who are these guys?”
You can’t tell from a Who.Is search—the domain is privately registered to a proxy. But a footer at the bottom of the website tells us all we need to know:
“From what we know now, the shooter had acquired his automatic weapon legally just days before the shooting. Who, besides law enforcement and the military, really needs a weapon designed for the battlefied [sic]? Really. It is time we look [sic] a hard look at our gun laws. We can protect the Second Amendment, which I wholeheartedly support, and the right to bear arms in a sane and balanced way.”
It’s fair to ask, “With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats?”
It’s also fair to ask, “If this is the best they can do with ‘standing for freedom’ in this country, why should we trust their judgment on what America’s involvement should be in Ukraine?”
And it’s especially fair to wonder what the useful idiots who lent their names and faces to this Astroturf effort are really about (116 Facebook followers and they’ve got money for ads? Really? And not one of them looks like he’ll take part in any resulting fighting?).
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.
Once you send the petition, please click the button below to email every single Democrat in the Legislature, demanding they sign the petition to call for a special session to impeach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Please do not miss this step. We will keep a running tally of all the representatives who have signed the petition certification form.
If the prompt to contact your legislators doesn’t work, the email copy and email addresses are below the petition.
If the above button did not work, below is what you need to email legislators:
Header: Impeach Gov. Lujan Grisham
Email Body:
Dear Legislator,
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham violated her oath to uphold the Constitution by taking away our rights as citizens to exercise our Second Amendment. The governor’s attacks on our rights and her oath, claiming they are not “absolute,” warrant her impeachment.
As a New Mexico voter, I ask you to uphold your oath to the Constitution and sign and mail back to the Legislative Council Service (LCS) the certification form (petition) to initiate an extraordinary session for the impeachment of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. This form was emailed to you by LCS at 5:21 p.m. on Monday, September 18, 2023. If you do not do so, it will be assumed you support her lawless, unconstitutional actions, which means you are complicit also.
Thank you for upholding the Constitution and the oath you swore to it.
Hunter Biden To Appear In Person For Arraignment On Gun Charges
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse on July 26, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
United States Magistrate Judge from the District of Delaware, Christopher Burke, has declared that Hunter Biden, 53, must not receive “special treatment” regarding his request to appear virtually for his first court hearing on federal gun charges.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was charged by Special Counsel David Weiss with making an untrue statement during his purchase of a firearm and making a false statement regarding information required to be kept by a federal licensed gun dealer. He was additionally charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
On Tuesday, Hunter’s lawyers explained to the court that he will not be pleading guilty while asking for his first court appearance to take place virtually. This was something that Weiss’ team was opposed to in a filing on Wednesday.
Hunter Biden is going to now plead not guilty to a gun charge that he had previously made a deal to plead guilty to
He was very clear publicly that he had been an active drug user when he lied on the background form to buy a gun
Therefore, the Magistrate Judge announced on Wednesday afternoon that he will not be allowing Hunter to appear in court by video conference. He also explained that the president’s son should not be receiving special treatment.
“In the end, the Court agrees with both the Defendant and the Government, that Defendant should not receive special treatment in this matter — absent some unusual circumstance, he should be treated just as would any other defendant in our Court,” Burke stated in the filing.
The 53-year-old’s in-person court appearance has been scheduled for October 3rd at 10 a.m. in Delaware.
In Weiss’ opposition filing, it was stated that there are “serious felony gun charges at issue in this case.”
Ultimately, the federal firearm charges are the first charges Weiss has brought against Hunter since becoming a part of the special counsel status.
“Hunter Biden possessing an unloaded gun for 11 day [sic] was not a threat to public safety, but a prosecutor, with all the power imaginable, bending to political pressure presents a grave threat to our system of justice,” Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell expressed in a statement earlier this week. “We believe these charges are barred by the agreement the prosecutors made with Mr. Biden, the recent rulings by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional, and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court.”
Hunter has been in predicaments similar to this case previously. Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to a case in October 2018, when a firearm owned by Hunter was found inside a trash can outside a market in Delaware.
According to a Fox News review, a firearm transaction statement reported that Hunter purchased a firearm earlier that month. On the firearm transaction report, Hunter responded negatively when he was asked if he was an “unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”
“An in-person hearing is important to promote the public’s confidence that the defendant is being treated consistently with other defendants in this District and in other Districts,” Weiss’ team wrote in a letter to the federal Magistrate Judge on Wednesday.
“Moreover, the previous arraignment held in connection with this matter was anything but routine because the defendant and his previous attorney were not prepared to answer the Court’s questions,” the special counsel added.
Burke initially scheduled the arraignment for September 26th but decided to change the date to October 3rd.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
New reports have suggested President Joe Biden will announce on Friday the first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention.
White House Staff Secretary Stefanie Feldman is leading the new department, according to The Washington Post and Politico. Feldman has previously worked on the Domestic Policy Council and oversees the gun policy portfolio at the White House.
Activists claim the new department will help the Biden administration coordinate across the federal government on gun-related topics and help Biden show leadership when it comes to gun violence prevention.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 500 shootings in the United States where four or more people were injured or killed.
In January, a combined 117 groups sent a letter to Biden urging him to create the federal office of gun violence prevention, a $5 billion fund for community violence intervention programs, a ban on foreign-made weapons, education campaigns on gun safety, stronger Federal Trade Commission regulations on firearm marketing, and a descriptive plan on the enactment of the Safer Communities Act passed last year.
“Unfortunately, gun deaths and injuries continue to ravage our country, impacting Asian American, Black and Brown communities, and neighborhoods all across the country,” the groups wrote to Biden. “While Congress must continue to prioritize gun violence prevention, you have the opportunity to act boldly by announcing a comprehensive plan of action to reduce gun deaths at the State of the Union on February 7, 2023.”
In June 2022, the president signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which increased background checks for people under 21 who purchase firearms.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
In a recent turn of events, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has backed down from her initial “emergency public health order” that had attempted to suspend Second Amendment carry rights throughout the state’s most populated county and city. This decision was heavily influenced by a temporary restraining order issued by a federal District Court Judge, which hindered the enforcement of the Governor’s original ban.
As per the new modifications, the suspension on carry rights has been lifted for Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque. However, this ban will still apply to “parks or playgrounds where we know we’ve got high risk of kids and families,” stated Grisham. Although the exact specifics of this amendment remain somewhat ambiguous, the Governor held an hour-long press conference in an attempt to clarify her stance.
The initial order, introduced on September 8th, 2023, imposed a 30-day suspension of open and concealed carry rights in Bernalillo County, home to Albuquerque. This sudden move by the Governor was met with significant resistance, inciting multiple lawsuits and calls for her impeachment.
The adjustment to the order came after an engaging courtroom debate. Lujan Grisham mentioned during a press briefing that there’s a considerable distinction between a suspension and a ban. While emphasizing her concerns about the ongoing issues related to gun violence and public safety, she cited the tragic incidents of three children, including an 11-year-old, who were recently victims of gun violence. This, coupled with convenient and questionable statistics showing a “43% increase in gun death rates” in New Mexico from 2009 to 2018, attributed to the Governor’s decision to classify gun violence as a statewide public health emergency.
Critics of Lujan Grisham’s measures have come from all corners. Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina stated his reluctance to enforce the order, and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen voiced his concerns about potential infringements on constitutional rights. As expected, gun-control supporters like Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, praised the Governor’s efforts as both brave and essential, even if the order’s legality remains a point of contention.
Reflecting on the blowback, the Governor commented, “When you try to build consensus on gun violence measures, you cannot.” If further challenges arise in the upcoming October hearing, Lujan Grisham mentioned the possibility of approaching the legislature for a resolution.
Maybe if the Governor focused on criminals instead of law-abiding gun owners, she could actually get to the consensus she claims to want.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland protect the Second Amendment rights of New Mexicans from the unconstitutional actions of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
In a letter to Attorney General Garland, the senators urged the Department of Justice to respond swiftly to Governor Lujan Grisham’s unconstitutional Executive Order 2023-130, which violates the individual right to bear arms upheld in cases like District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also signed the letter.
“Governor Grisham has issued an order which is being used to blatantly trample on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) must act swiftly to stop this unconstitutional power grab,” wrote the senators.
“While the public health order may invoke state law to authorize this unconstitutional infringement, it should be no match for the authority which the DOJ has to enforce our rights under the U.S. Constitution. That is why we are calling on you to enforce the Constitution and intervene on behalf of the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to stop this unconstitutional act from standing,” the senators continued.
“By preventing certain New Mexicans from exercising their constitutional rights to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home, Governor Grisham is violating the Second Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article IV of the Constitution. This is a chilling action, and it is imperative that your Department act immediately to show that this kind of unconstitutional abuse will not be tolerated in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States,” the senators concluded.
Hunter Biden Indicted On Gun Charges By Special Counsel
US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden exits Holy Spirit Catholic Church after attending mass with his father (out of frame) in Johns Island, South Carolina on August 13, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN’s Sophia Flores 11:50 AM – Thursday, September 14, 2023
On Thursday, the younger Biden was indicted by special counsel David Weiss in connection to a firearm he purchased in 2018. He was charged with making false statements on a federal firearm form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person. The three charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 25 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
In June, it appeared that both sides reached a plea agreement. The agreement would’ve forced the 53-year-old to plead guilty to the charges. Hunter would’ve entered a pretrial diversion program, which would’ve allowed him to avoid prosecution on a felony gun charge. The July plea collapse was unexpected and instead, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In 2018, Hunter purchased a firearm from a Delaware gun store. When signing federal forms to purchase the weapon, he lied on federal forms by stating he was not using or addicted to any drugs. At the time, Hunter was allegedly addicted to crack cocaine. It is considered a federal crime to lie on the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) form or to possess a firearm as a drug user.
This indictment comes days after Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced an impeachment inquiry against the 46th president.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Republican officials in New Mexico announced a lawsuit against Gov. Michell Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and the State Secretary of Health over a controversial new rule banning the carry of firearms in Bernalillo County where Albuquerque is located.
Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, answers one of the most common questions we've received here in the last couple of days as we have covered the grotesque incursion into individual liberties as Governor Michelle Lujan Griffin has suspended the Constitutional Rights of hundreds of thousands of her citizens because she believes she knows how to keep her communities safe. Can she be impeached? How is it done in New Mexico? Well, we actually just read the New Mexico state constitution so that we talk about all of that and much, much more so that we can arm ourselves with education.
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
WARNING: Liberal Logic Ahead, iStock
The unilateral action by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declaring a ban on civilian possession of a firearm, whether open or concealed, in public “to remain in effect for the duration of the public health emergencies. . .” is unconstitutional, unconscionable, and illegal.
But, apart from the illegality of Grisham’s Public Health Order on Second Amendment grounds and U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen rulings,,,
…the Order runs afoul of New Mexico’s own state Statutes!
This latter matter has not yet been discussed. We do so here.
We begin with the phrase “Gun Violence,” which appears in the Governor’s Public Health Order. For the longest time, the Anti-Second Amendment establishment has raged over this thing, “Gun Violence.” The idea implicit in ‘Gun Violence,’ if one insists on the expression, is that of ‘Criminal Violence’, where a criminal uses “a gun” in the commission of a crime. In that commonsensical view the phrase ‘Gun Violence’ simply denotes criminal use of guns, nothing more.
So why not eschew talk of Gun Violence for the appropriate expression, ‘Criminal Violence’?
Doing so would drive public policy where it belongs, on crime and criminals and away from the mechanism criminals sometimes employ, although not invariably, to do their horrible misdeeds.
But Democrats and Progressives don’t want to talk about crime and criminals. They don’t even want to talk about criminal use of guns. They only want to talk about guns and reducing the number of them, and that creates a real problem.
For, who is it that owns and possesses most of those “guns?” The answer is tens of millions of innocent, rational, responsible, law-abiding citizens.
And why do tens of millions of Americans wish to keep and bear guns?
Well, they do so for many reasons, all lawful, and one of which stands out as predominant: self-defense.
But little mention of this finds its way into the public square because Democrats and a sympathetic Press won’t allow it. They don’t want it. Anti-Second Amendment elements in Government, in the Press, and in the greater society have their own uses for ‘Gun Violence.’ It is they, after all, who have coined the expression.
And that phrase is the driving force behind the Governor’s Public “Health” Order.
Boiled down to its essence, the tacit message conveyed is this:
“Guns are a virus, a virulent contagion, and like all virulent contagions, must be rooted out, quarantined, and eradicated, and I, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, intend to do just that!”
The idea of Guns as a virulent contagion is not a novel idea. It goes back decades.
In 1995, in an Academic Article, Don Kates and others wrote (Guns And Public Health: Epidemic Of Violence Or Pandemic Of Propaganda?) about the strategy to deny one’s exercise of the natural law right of armed self-defense by viewing guns as a health menace. The article’s writers referred to this strategy as “The Public Health Agenda.”
“In 1979 the American public health community adopted the ‘objective to reduce the number of handguns in private ownership,’ the initial target being a 25% reduction by the year 2000. Based on studies, and propelled by leadership from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the objective has broadened so that it now includes banning and confiscation of all handguns, restrictive licensing of owners of other firearms, and eventual elimination of firearms from American life, . . . .
This follows the health advocate sages’ avowed intention to promote the idea that firearm ownership is an evil and that its elimination is a desirable and efficacious means of reducing violence.” From “Guns And Public Health: Epidemic Of Violence Or Pandemic Of Propaganda?”, 62 Tenn. L. Rev. 513, Spring, 1995, by Don B. Kates, et. al.
Viewing “Gun Violence” as a medical matter is inane. It involves tortuous use of a literary device, metaphor, as a mechanism upon which to design and implement public policy.
The metaphor is that guns are like a virulent plague and must be stamped out. And Governor Grisham’s Order is based on the metaphor of “Guns As Virulent Virus.” She attempts to apply the metaphor to law. That is absurd.
Our free Constitutional Republic is grounded on law, not metaphor.
Nonetheless, Grisham trusts that she can skate around the Second Amendment issue and the constraints of State law by focusing on guns as a public health menace. She hopes that no one will bother to notice the card trick and the use of metaphor she employs to do this.
Unfortunately, pervasive and undeniable lunacy doesn’t prevent ideological fanatics who wield immense power from thrusting their lunacy on everyone else, embroiling us all in their nightmarish reality.
So, why isn’t anyone attacking the Governor’s lunacy head-on? That is where attention should first be directed.
Grisham cites several New Mexico State Statutes. Do they offer her support? Let’s see.
“A. A state of public health emergency may be declared by the governor upon the occurrence of a public health emergency. Prior to a declaration of a state of public health emergency, the governor shall consult with the secretary of health. The governor shall authorize the secretary of health, the secretary of public safety and the director to coordinate a response to the public health emergency.”
But the pertinent question here is whether the mere possession of guns in public equates with “Gun Violence” such that this “Gun Possession” qua “Gun Violence” falls within the legal definition of a ‘Public Health Emergency’ under New Mexico law.
“As used in the Public Health Act [Chapter 24, Article 1 NMSA 1978]:
A. ‘condition of public health importance’ means an infection, a disease, a syndrome, a symptom, an injury or other threat that is identifiable on an individual or community level and can reasonably be expected to lead to adverse health effects in the community; . . . .”
So, then, Does “a condition of public health importance” include “Gun Violence” qua “Possessing Guns in Public” under New Mexico law?
No, it does not. This kind of thing does not fall within the purview of New Mexico’s “Public Health Act” and, therefore, cannot be construed as a “Public Health Emergency” under New Mexico law, as shown below.
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 12-10A-3 is the applicable “Definitions,” and Section. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 12-10A-3 (G) defines the phrase, ‘public health emergency.’
“‘Public health emergency’ means the occurrence or imminent threat of exposure to an extremely dangerous condition or a highly infectious or toxic agent, including a threatening communicable disease, that poses an imminent threat of substantial harm to the population of New Mexico or any portion thereof.”
Does the phrase “exposure to an extremely dangerous condition” that appears in the afore-cited statutory section embrace “Gun Violence” qua “Possessing Guns in Public” under New Mexico Law?
Such an idea would be a stretch—an impossible stretch. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 12-10A-2 explains why.
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 12-10A-2 (Purposes of the Act) says,
“The purposes of the Public Health Emergency Response Act [12-10A-1 NMSA 1978] are to:
A. provide the state of New Mexico with the ability to manage public health emergencies in a manner that protects civil rights and the liberties of individual persons; [emphasis added]
B. prepare for a public health emergency; and
C. provide access to appropriate care, if needed, for an indefinite number of infected, exposed or endangered people in the event of a public health emergency.”
Paragraph “C” implies the presence of an ongoing and serious chemical, biological, or epidemiological hazard, causing illness to many people. Such a health emergency is objective and the harm caused to many is measurable and extensive.
A health emergency does not include criminological problems, sociological concerns, or matters deriving from political biases or animosities.
Moreover, Paragraph “A” makes abundantly clear that any declaration of a public health emergency must be conducted in a manner that “protects civil rights and the liberties of individuals.”
The right of the people to keep and bear arms is one such fundamental civil right that requires protection when the New Mexico Governor declares, as here, a “Public Health Emergency.”
But how can the exercise of a fundamental civil right, the right of the people to keep and bear arms—that the governor implies is a public health emergency (for that is what the New Mexico Public Health Order targets), and one that must be harshly dealt with—truly be considered a health emergency under New Mexico law when that health emergency is the very fundamental civil right that must, as New Mexico law makes clear, be protected during an emergency?
The answer is: It cannot! That is the crux of the problem for Grisham and her “Public Health Order.”
Governor Grisham’s Order is legally incoherent, incompatible with State Statute, logically inconsistent, and, on analysis, overtly nonsensical.
We hope someone challenging Governor Grisham’s “Public Health Order” in Federal or State Court will make that argument.
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.
Happy Monday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Trenzino continues to feel that cheery couples on tandem bicycles have actual skeletons in their closets.
A common refrain we hear from anti-Second Amendment leftists goes something like this: “Don’t be ridiculous, we don’t want to take your guns.” It’s a way of dismissing our well-founded concerns that American leftists, if given the chance, will become fascists who won’t hesitate to abrogate even our God-given rights.
Yeah, we’ve met them.
Of course, variations on the above line are always — yes, always — offered as part of a larger conversation in which they then say something along the lines of: “OK, not all of your guns, just the ones that we’ve deemed super extra scary.”
It’s a testament to how adept leftists are at lying that they’ve been able to make claims like this while keeping straight faces for so many years.
As we know, however, they’ve all been emboldened by the success they had using the United States Constitution as a birdcage liner during the pandemic, and they don’t mind letting their masks (punish pandemic reference definitely intended) slip more and more.
According to every map that I have, New Mexico is still in the United States of America. Its governor seems to find that inconvenient. This is from Rick’s latest on the subject:
But New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is defending her order, claiming it was necessary to protect “public health,” and besides, her oath to uphold the Constitution was not “absolute.”
“No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute,” she retorted after being asked whether her order violated her oath of office to “uphold the Constitution.”
I guarantee you that Gov. Stalin Grisham will not be the last Democrat to use the COVID-inspired “public health” nonsense as an excuse to oppress the good citizens of this country. They take to tyranny like ducks to water over there in Dem Land. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the Democratic National Committee has spun off a little think tank to ponder new ways to use public health panic to shred the Constitution.
It’s beyond naive to think that any Democrat who shrugs off fealty to the Constitution via a sworn oath won’t continue throwing rules out the window. Now, more than ever, Democrats truly believe themselves to be above and/or outside any laws they find irritating.
Like open or concealed carry laws.
Disarmament is the endgame for every Democratic politician who blathers on about “assault weapons,” the “need” for an AR-15, or the odious “common sense gun reforms.” They’d prefer to enact tyrannical agendas on a populace that is meek, compliant, and unable to resist. Ambitious commies like New Mexico’s pantsuited nightmare chief executive know that people who are heavily invested in the First and Second Amendments won’t merely roll over and play gulag for them.
At present, the overreaching anti-2A zealots eventually run into a judge or a court that says, “Yeah…no,” to their attempts to turn legal gun owners into criminals overnight. If they get another few years to tweak the judiciary, the Bill of Rights will become a museum piece.
Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, heads back down to New Mexico to see all the development, and there have been many since Gov. Grisham decided that she had the power to suspend her citizens' Second Amendment Rights. Even some of America's most notorious gun grabbers, including David Hogg and Ryan Busse, have publicly spoken out against this gross overreach. Several law enforcement agencies have said that will NOT enforce the order and the lawsuits have started to fly. NAGR is the first to the party so we go over their lawsuit today so that all of you can arm yourself with education. Read NAGR's complaint here. https://gunrightsfoundation.org/wp-co... Read NAGR's motion for a TRO here. https://gunrightsfoundation.org/wp-co...
With the legislative session beginning in less than a week, a brand-new measure has been introduced that would outlaw large-capacity (above 9 rounds) gun magazines in New Mexico. "As I'm looking, there is not one gun in this cabinet that would be allowed under the proposed law. Similarly, here, as I'm looking in this case, there would again not be one gun that would be permitted under the new law," said the owner of the Los Ranchos Gun Shop in New Mexico, Mark Abramson. Abramson has been providing New Mexico's gun owners with weapons for more than 40 years. But a newly proposed house measure would change the kinds of firearms he has been selling for years. "The Smith and Wesson M&P is one of our top-selling guns. It just wouldn't be allowed. Because Smith and Wesson will not make a magazine that only handles nine rounds because we'd be the only state in the union with that restriction," explained Abramson. The reality is that a reduced-capacity magazine necessitates magazine changes while you are defending yourself from criminals. As a result, defending yourself will be unfair to criminals who won't follow the requirement that there must be 9 or fewer bullets in a magazine.
(@RepMTG) 
