JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNVEILS PROPOSED GUN RESTRICTION RULE
6/7/21
Washington DC, United States
The Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled on June 7 a proposed rule that would apply regulations for rifles to pistols equipped with certain stabilizing braces.
The rule states that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives should determine on a case-by-case basis whether a particular gun, when configured with a stabilizing brace, “bears the objective features of a firearm designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder and is thus subject to the NFA [National Firearms Act].”
“The use of a purported ‘stabilizing brace’ cannot be a tool to circumvent the NFA (or the GCA) and the prohibition on the unregistered possession of ‘short-barreled rifles,'” the proposed rule states, with GCA serving as an acronym for the Gun Control Act of 1968. Stabilizing braces are used to bolster the stability and accuracy of guns.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register. Members of the public will have 90 days to submit comments.
Also on June 7, the DOJ published model legislation that it claims will make it easier for states to create laws governing risk protection orders. Such orders—sometimes known as red flag laws—which a number of states have begun to allow in recent years, authorize courts to temporarily bar people from owning or accessing firearms.
Under red flag laws, people—including family members—are able to petition a court to bar gun access by asserting a person’s possession or receipt of a gun will pose a danger or risk to themselves or others. Courts review the application before deciding whether to bar the person from owning or receiving guns.
“The Justice Department is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Today we continue to deliver on our promise to help save lives while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. We welcome the opportunity to work with communities in the weeks and months ahead in our shared commitment to end gun violence.”
Mark Olivia, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade group for the gun industry, told The Epoch Times NSSF “will examine the proposed rule and seek input from our members, including firearm manufacturers.”
The NSSF will provide public comment on behalf of the firearm industry at the appropriate time, he said.
The proposed order and model legislation was crafted in response to a directive from President Joe Biden in April. Biden, a Democrat who entered office in January, decried the number of shootings in America and said that the actions he wants to take don’t impinge on the Second Amendment.
The Gun Owners of America, a gun owners group, previously said that Biden’s proposals were unconstitutional.
“Joe Biden knows he cannot beat gun owners in Congress, so instead he’s abusing his executive authority—throwing the full weight of the federal bureaucracy behind his attack on gun owners,” Erich Pratt, the group’s senior vice president, told members in an alert.
Biden and other Democrats have tried to enact new gun ownership restrictions in Congress but have faced Republican opposition. Republicans largely favor other ways to bring down the number of shootings, such as increasing budgets for law enforcement.
Democrats cheered the Biden administration’s moves, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who called them “solid steps” that show Biden’s “consistent commitment to stopping gun violence.”
However, “new laws are necessary, not just executive initiatives,” he said.
Source: Epoch Times
Washington DC, United States
The Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled on June 7 a proposed rule that would apply regulations for rifles to pistols equipped with certain stabilizing braces.
The rule states that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives should determine on a case-by-case basis whether a particular gun, when configured with a stabilizing brace, “bears the objective features of a firearm designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder and is thus subject to the NFA [National Firearms Act].”
“The use of a purported ‘stabilizing brace’ cannot be a tool to circumvent the NFA (or the GCA) and the prohibition on the unregistered possession of ‘short-barreled rifles,'” the proposed rule states, with GCA serving as an acronym for the Gun Control Act of 1968. Stabilizing braces are used to bolster the stability and accuracy of guns.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register. Members of the public will have 90 days to submit comments.
Also on June 7, the DOJ published model legislation that it claims will make it easier for states to create laws governing risk protection orders. Such orders—sometimes known as red flag laws—which a number of states have begun to allow in recent years, authorize courts to temporarily bar people from owning or accessing firearms.
Under red flag laws, people—including family members—are able to petition a court to bar gun access by asserting a person’s possession or receipt of a gun will pose a danger or risk to themselves or others. Courts review the application before deciding whether to bar the person from owning or receiving guns.
“The Justice Department is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Today we continue to deliver on our promise to help save lives while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. We welcome the opportunity to work with communities in the weeks and months ahead in our shared commitment to end gun violence.”
Mark Olivia, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade group for the gun industry, told The Epoch Times NSSF “will examine the proposed rule and seek input from our members, including firearm manufacturers.”
The NSSF will provide public comment on behalf of the firearm industry at the appropriate time, he said.
The proposed order and model legislation was crafted in response to a directive from President Joe Biden in April. Biden, a Democrat who entered office in January, decried the number of shootings in America and said that the actions he wants to take don’t impinge on the Second Amendment.
The Gun Owners of America, a gun owners group, previously said that Biden’s proposals were unconstitutional.
“Joe Biden knows he cannot beat gun owners in Congress, so instead he’s abusing his executive authority—throwing the full weight of the federal bureaucracy behind his attack on gun owners,” Erich Pratt, the group’s senior vice president, told members in an alert.
Biden and other Democrats have tried to enact new gun ownership restrictions in Congress but have faced Republican opposition. Republicans largely favor other ways to bring down the number of shootings, such as increasing budgets for law enforcement.
Democrats cheered the Biden administration’s moves, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who called them “solid steps” that show Biden’s “consistent commitment to stopping gun violence.”
However, “new laws are necessary, not just executive initiatives,” he said.
Source: Epoch Times
California’s assault weapons ban overturned as federal judge compares AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife
A U.S. federal judge overturned California's 32-year-old ban on assault weapons on June 4, describing it as a "failed experiment." (Reuters)
6/5/21
California, United States
A federal judge Friday night overturned California’s longtime ban on assault weapons, saying the state’s law was unconstitutional and that prohibiting such firearms for decades was “a failed experiment.”
In a 94-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California said that sections of the state ban in place since 1989 regarding military-style rifles violate the Second Amendment. Benitez characterized the assault weapons Californians are barred from using as not “bazookas, howitzers or machine guns” but rather “fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”
Source: Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/05/california-assault-weapons-ban-overturned/?outputType=amp
California, United States
A federal judge Friday night overturned California’s longtime ban on assault weapons, saying the state’s law was unconstitutional and that prohibiting such firearms for decades was “a failed experiment.”
In a 94-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California said that sections of the state ban in place since 1989 regarding military-style rifles violate the Second Amendment. Benitez characterized the assault weapons Californians are barred from using as not “bazookas, howitzers or machine guns” but rather “fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”
Source: Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/05/california-assault-weapons-ban-overturned/?outputType=amp
POWDER KEG: 61% SAY UNITED STATES ‘ON VERGE OF CIVIL WAR,’ 52% ALREADY PREPARING
10/2/20
United States
A majority of Americans are bracing for the possibility of a politically-fired civil war, and more than half are already stockpiling food and other essential items to survive and fight back, according to a new survey shared with Secrets.
In the survey, 61% said that the United States is nearing a second civil war, including a shocking 41% who “strongly agree” with that assessment.
And 52% are so convinced that it is just around the corner, or after Election Day, that they are putting away food and other essentials, an historic expansion of the prepper movement that has been brewing for years, now driven by fear and coronavirus-induced shortages.
“This is the single most frightening poll result I’ve ever been associated with,” said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, one of the three firms, along with the Sports and Leisure Research Group and ROKK Solutions, that conducted the “Back-to-Normal Barometer” survey.
Secrets has been following the series of surveys that have been sizing up the state of the nation and business since the coronavirus crisis hit. Of all the studies so far, this is the first to raise majority concerns about a potential war.
It comes as the 2020 presidential race is getting hot, with both sides ginning up support from radicals, and clashes a regular thing. It also comes as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to conduct heated protests to the point of riots in some cities.
During the first presidential debate, President Trump, while agreeing to decry racially-motivated groups, told the so-called Proud Boys, a militarized group that supports him, to "stand back and stand by." The president also repeated his concerns that Democrats are scheming to steal the election.
Predictably, it’s the political extremes who are most ready for war, with 52% of very liberal, 52% of very conservative, 32% of somewhat liberal, 34% of moderate, and 35% of somewhat conservative respondents saying they believe the statement “I’m concerned that the U.S. could be on the verge of another civil war.”
The virus is also playing a big role in the nation’s anxiety. A majority of those who are stockpiling food and essentials are doing so because of concerns COVID-19 will spike, as many in government are predicting.
Already in several cities, including in the Washington suburbs, major stores including Sam’s Club and Costco, are reinstituting limits on items such as canned foods, bottled water, and paper goods.
“We have been conducting surveys of consumers and employees since the beginning of April in order to help industries make strategic decisions in the month ahead. The current data shows an alarming trend that that extreme political polarization of our country has a majority of Americans concerned that our country could be a powder keg ready to explode into a Civil War,” said Ron Bonjean, a partner at ROKK Solutions.
Source: Paul Bedard; Washington Examiner
United States
A majority of Americans are bracing for the possibility of a politically-fired civil war, and more than half are already stockpiling food and other essential items to survive and fight back, according to a new survey shared with Secrets.
In the survey, 61% said that the United States is nearing a second civil war, including a shocking 41% who “strongly agree” with that assessment.
And 52% are so convinced that it is just around the corner, or after Election Day, that they are putting away food and other essentials, an historic expansion of the prepper movement that has been brewing for years, now driven by fear and coronavirus-induced shortages.
“This is the single most frightening poll result I’ve ever been associated with,” said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, one of the three firms, along with the Sports and Leisure Research Group and ROKK Solutions, that conducted the “Back-to-Normal Barometer” survey.
Secrets has been following the series of surveys that have been sizing up the state of the nation and business since the coronavirus crisis hit. Of all the studies so far, this is the first to raise majority concerns about a potential war.
It comes as the 2020 presidential race is getting hot, with both sides ginning up support from radicals, and clashes a regular thing. It also comes as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to conduct heated protests to the point of riots in some cities.
During the first presidential debate, President Trump, while agreeing to decry racially-motivated groups, told the so-called Proud Boys, a militarized group that supports him, to "stand back and stand by." The president also repeated his concerns that Democrats are scheming to steal the election.
Predictably, it’s the political extremes who are most ready for war, with 52% of very liberal, 52% of very conservative, 32% of somewhat liberal, 34% of moderate, and 35% of somewhat conservative respondents saying they believe the statement “I’m concerned that the U.S. could be on the verge of another civil war.”
The virus is also playing a big role in the nation’s anxiety. A majority of those who are stockpiling food and essentials are doing so because of concerns COVID-19 will spike, as many in government are predicting.
Already in several cities, including in the Washington suburbs, major stores including Sam’s Club and Costco, are reinstituting limits on items such as canned foods, bottled water, and paper goods.
“We have been conducting surveys of consumers and employees since the beginning of April in order to help industries make strategic decisions in the month ahead. The current data shows an alarming trend that that extreme political polarization of our country has a majority of Americans concerned that our country could be a powder keg ready to explode into a Civil War,” said Ron Bonjean, a partner at ROKK Solutions.
Source: Paul Bedard; Washington Examiner
SUSPECT WHO SET FIRE TO POLE RELEASED
8/24/20
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
As stated, FNN has an update on the arson situation at Coronado Park in Downtown Albuquerque, at around 4:30pm MST the suspect was released by police. Police and fire have wrapped up the scene and took off. ACPS Patrol will be notified to keep tabs on the suspect.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
As stated, FNN has an update on the arson situation at Coronado Park in Downtown Albuquerque, at around 4:30pm MST the suspect was released by police. Police and fire have wrapped up the scene and took off. ACPS Patrol will be notified to keep tabs on the suspect.
MAN SETS POLE ON FIRE
8/24/20
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
At around 3:00pm MST, a man set an electrical pole on fire at Coronado Park in Downtown Albuquerque. Police, fire, and fire police arrived on scene. It is unknown whether the suspect will get charged with arson. There will be updates as this story develops.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
At around 3:00pm MST, a man set an electrical pole on fire at Coronado Park in Downtown Albuquerque. Police, fire, and fire police arrived on scene. It is unknown whether the suspect will get charged with arson. There will be updates as this story develops.
Fire Police investigating the pole that was set ablaze