Congress Can’t Write Plainly  by Tom Reynolds

Per the Gateway Pundit: According to federal guidance circulated among hunting education groups and shared with Fox News Digital, the Department of Education determined that, under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed last year, school hunting and archery classes are precluded from receiving federal funding. The interpretation could impact millions of American children enrolled in such programs.  (Emphasis added.)

The actual law, [Section 8526 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

(20 U.S.C. 7906)] including the above change, reads as follows (the bold sections are the ones of concern)

7906. Prohibited uses of funds

No funds under this chapter may be used—

(1) for construction, renovation, or repair of any school facility, except as authorized under this chapter;

(2) for transportation unless otherwise authorized under this chapter;

(3) to develop or distribute materials, or operate programs or courses of instruction directed at youth, that are designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual;

(4) to distribute or to aid in the distribution by any organization of legally obscene materials to minors on school grounds;

(5) to provide sex education or HIV-prevention education in schools unless that instruction is age appropriate and includes the health benefits of abstinence;

(6) to operate a program of contraceptive distribution in schools; or

(7) for the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon, as defined in SECTION 930(G)(2) OF TITLE 18, or training in the use of a dangerous weapon.

This sounds like schools may not use funds to support things like archery and hunter education since they involve the use of a dangerous weapon.

But wait…

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas was a key person in getting the bill passed.  Blaze Media reports that: “…Cornyn and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina penned a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona this month stating that they believe the Department of Education is misinterpreting the BSCA provision regarding school funding. The senators noted that it was intended to prevent education funds from being used for school resource officer training, which is funded under a different provision. (Emphasis added.)

"We were alarmed to learn recently that the Department of Education has misinterpreted the BCSA to require the defunding of certain longstanding educational and enrichment programs — specifically, archery and hunter education classes — for thousands of children, who rely on these programs to develop life skills, learn firearm safety and build self-esteem."

"The Department mistakenly believes that the BSCA precludes funding these enrichment programs…Such an interpretation contradicts congressional intent and the text of the BSCA."

If Cornyn is correct and he is not C Y Aing, wouldn’t one think that Congress, with all its resources, should be able to write a simple statement that is clear and does not need interpretation (that’s called full employment for lawyers, of which John Cornyn is one.)

But what if Cornyn is C Y Aing and the statement does apply to archery and hunting?

It’s not as big a deal as made out to be.  It’s called the interchangeability (fungibility) of funding.  (It’s also called full employment for accountants.)

Any school that wants to continue funding these activities takes money out of an ‘approved’ area and transfers it to fund archery and hunting.  Then, the school uses the federal money that can’t be used for archery and hunting for that ‘approved’ area that was just shorted.

The only problem with the latter is that it gives liberal school administrators the ability to kill archery and hunting by not doing anything. 

SCOPE will keep you informed as we learn more.

Chevron  by Tom Reynolds

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, has agreed to reconsider one of its foundational decisions, Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council (the Chevron Doctrine.)

The Loper Bright case involves small vessels that fish for Atlantic Herring.  Why should gun owners be interested in a case involving the Chevron Doctrine?  In three letters: A T F. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

The Chevron doctrine established that courts ordinarily should defer to policymaking decisions made by federal agencies, (such as ATF for example.)  SCOTUS held that “a court may not substitute its own construction of a statutory provision for a reasonable interpretation made by the administrator of an agency.” This Chevron doctrine “directs courts to accept an agency’s reasonable resolution of an ambiguity in a statute that the agency administers.” 

This doctrine has allowed federal executive branch agencies, such as the A T F, to run wild, unchecked by either Congress or the courts.  Don’t believe that?  According to the legal database Lexis Nexis, federal courts have cited Chevron in over 19,000 different judicial opinions.

Liberal judges were happy to adhere to the Chevron doctrine because it transferred power to the uber liberal administrative state (the Swamp.)  Conservative judges adhered to it for a different reason; because they obeyed the rule of law as handed down by SCOTUS.  The net result being the unrestrained growth of the Swamp’s rulemaking power, which we are seeing in the A T F’s anti 2nd Amendment rulings. 

Defenders of Chevron argue that agencies typically have far greater expertise in the areas they regulate than judges, and thus are more likely to make wise policy decisions.  (This interpretation would make Pete Buttigieg, as Transportation Secretary, more of an expert in transportation than, say, any cab driver or grocery delivery boy in NY City?  We should defer to his expertise?)  

Chevron defenders also state that overruling Chevron would make the United States less democratic. They argue that overturning Chevron would concentrate authority over federal policymaking within the unelected court, which would shift power away from the other two branches, whose leaders are elected.

This argument ignores that Chevron switched the lawmaking authority from the legislature and put it in the executive branch, which violates the very first sentence of the very first Article and the very first Section of the Constitution. 

Their position also ignores Article III of the Constitution which vests the judicial power in SCOTUS.

(But violating the Constitution has never been much of a moral impediment to the Left.)

2nd Amendment defenders are probably aware of the A T F’s recent actions on: pistol stabilizing braces; homemade suppressors / silencers; that frames and receivers are the same as fully functional firearms; ghost guns; bump stocks; among others.  The A T F has also increased its attempts to drive Federal Firearms Licensees out of business.  Adhering to Chevron makes the A T F’s word the final word.

And it’s not just 2A that would be affected.  Last year, Biden proposed a Disinformation Governance Board to protect us from thoughts and ideas that vary from the approved federal government’s position.  Under Chevron, government agencies would decide what is protected speech under the 1st Amendment and judges would defer to the agency’s decision as the experts.

Chevron is still the law but SCOTUS has been inching its way to overturning Chevron.

Multiple organizations have filed briefs in support of overturning Chevron.

The Atlantic Leal Foundation said: “A federal agency should not be able to hide behind Chevron while arrogating to itself a pivotal power…that the Constitution assigns exclusively to Congress."

The Firearms Policy Coalition brief says: “Chevron violates Article III by transferring from the judiciary to the executive the ultimate interpretative authority to say what the law is…It violates Article I by incentivizing Congress to abdicate its legislative duties and delegate legislative authority to the executive. As a result, Chevron accumulates legislative, executive, and judicial powers in a single branch of government—which the Founders considered the very definition of tyranny.”

2A defenders too often focus narrowly on issues that have the word gun in them while missing other issues that will have as much effect on their 2nd Amendment rights.  We need to be informing them that the Left is always looking for the backdoor to stripping us of our Constitutional rights.  We also need to ally with other organizations that may not be directly 2A centric but believe, as we do, in preserving the Constitution.

We are probably a year away from a decision on this, but let’s hope SCOTUS keeps recognizing that past liberal precedents reflect a judge’s wishes and not the written law as approved by the founding fathers in the Constitution.

Challenge the Lies  by Don Smith/Tom Reynolds

Wayne County Chairman Don Smith is one of our more active SCOPE members and when he saw a cartoon in the Times of Wayne County which blamed mass shootings on ‘assault weapons’ and absolved mental health issues of being a cause, he had to reply.  Below is his response.

One of your misguided cartoons in the July 23rd issue requires clarification due to an obvious exaggeration. You are attempting to stigmatize a rifle commonly owned by law abiding citizens as a despicable firearm. You are likely hoping readers will interpret the gun as an “assault weapon”.

It would be far better to educate your audience rather than attempt to mislead them. “Assault weapon” is an invented term. In the firearm lexicon, there is no such thing as an “assault weapon”.  A judge once commented at a Wayne County SCOPE meeting that the “assault weapon” encountered most often in his courtroom was a “sneaker”.

In most cases, so-called “assault weapons” are functionally identical though less powerful than hunting rifles, but they are cosmetically similar to military guns.

Nationally, “assault weapons” were used in 1.4% of crimes involving firearms and 0.25% of all violent crime before the enactment of any national or state “assault weapons” ban. In many major urban areas (San Antonio, Mobile, Nashville, etc.) and some entire states (Maryland, New Jersey, etc.) the rate is less than 0.1% according to Dr. Gary Kleck in his book “Targeting Guns”. Dr. Kleck is a criminologist and professor emeritus at Florida State University. 

There are many reasons people prefer to use these firearms:

• They are easy to operate.

• They are reliable in outdoor conditions (backpacking, hunting, etc.)

• They are accurate.

• They are good for recreational and competitive target shooting.

• They have value in many self-defense situations.

Don did what we all have to do when we see the emotional exaggerations and lies of the leftist media - he responded with facts. 

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by misinformation on ‘assault rifles’ and our 2nd Amendment rights.  But most people only hear the drumbeat of the leftist media, Hollywood, the education industry and Democrat politicians.  If we are to keep our rights, we must do what Don has done and openly challenge this propaganda.

One small step but a giant step for our rights.

Under the Radar  by Tom Reynolds

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano is one of the more active legislators and can often be found addressing a SCOPE meeting.  Last Monday, he spoke to the Steuben County SCOPE Chapter about some legislation that probably slipped below your radar.  All of the legislation is intended to further cement the anti-2A left’s power through election law changes.

A05874 and S350 provide that any legal challenge to the constitutionality of the election law shall be brought in the following designated courts:

first judicial department: New York county;

second judicial department: Westchester county;

third judicial department: Albany county;

fourth judicial department: Erie county.

Previously, one could make an election law challenge in your local NY Supreme Court before a locally elected judge.  Now you have to travel and none of these courts are located in central New York.

Micromanaging these court venues means cases will be heard in a select few venues that just so happen to have extremely high concentrations of Democrat representation.  (Purely a coincidence?)

A07632A and S07394A expand absentee voting. Near-universal absentee ballots will greatly increase the risk of election fraud. 

So, the opportunity for election fraud is increased and it will be more difficult to take a case to court.

A4282b and S3505b provides that certain local elections (outside of New York City) shall now be in an even-numbered year.  Changing the election cycle will undoubtedly drown local issues out at the expense of national ones.

Note that it will not change School Board elections which typically have the lowest turn out and are held in schools instead of the regular election places.

One change that may not have gone below your radar is that the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court in Albany ordered, on July 13th, that New York State’s congressional map be redrawn.

Pursuant to a referendum in 2014, in NY State, redistricting occurs through the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), which is bipartisan and evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. However, if the commission fails to reach a decision, the state legislature — which has a sizable Democratic majority — can and did impose a map of their own. That happened in 2022, prompting lawsuits claiming that the legislature’s maps were partisan gerrymandering. 

The maps drawn by the legislature were so partisan that even the leftist Court of Appeals struck them down.  The 2022 district lines were ultimately drawn by a neutral, court-appointed expert and were thought to be competitive.

Too competitive for Democrat tastes.  Republican areas ended up with Republican congresspersons.

Appeals of the latest decision are imminent.

Speaking of the Steuben County Chapter:

Steuben SCOPE is a very active chapter which meets twice a month and it has speakers and contributes to local 2A causes such as the Steuben Chapter of Armed Woman of America and high school trap shooting teams.  It supports state SCOPE, advertises 2A issues in the media and supports 2A defense lawsuits.

A few years ago, the only conservative radio talk show in the Central NY Southern Tier (Steuben / Chemung area) was bought up and conservative talk radio disappeared in that area.

Then, WLNL (The Bell) AM 1000 started airing conservative talk radio.  The station recently had a fund raiser.  Steuben SCOPE offered a $1,000 challenge grant to the fund raiser, which was matched.

The fundraiser offered a prize, chosen by lottery, of a Keuka Lake boat tour for 11 people.  The Steuben Chapter won that prize!

Happy sailing!

NDAA  by Tom Reynolds

The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) funds our nation’s military. It’s a “must-pass” bill, so it attracts lots of amendments that would not pass on their own. Most of those amendments fail and we wish a similar fate to Senator Chris Murphy’s attempt to use the NDAA to further the left’s war on guns.  He is making several attempts to deny our military their 2nd Amendment rights.

Senator Murphy (D-CT) is introducing an amendment to NDAA to require that any firearm on a military installation must be stored and locked in the home and all ammunition stored separately.

The requirement that firearms in the home be kept inoperable is unconstitutional because the Court concluded in Heller v D.C. that requirement “makes it impossible for citizens to use them for the core lawful purpose of self-defense.” 

That pesky Constitution messes up another great liberal idea!

The amendment would also require all privately-owned firearms to be registered with military base authorities, which would include firearms legally purchased and kept off-base; the firearm may never be brought on the base. 

Senator Murphy’s goal here may be a national firearm registry, starting with all gun owners in the military. That registry, by the way, is against the law.

Murphy’s amendment would also allow the Defense Secretary to collect all gun owner information for both military and civilian employees; “… if such information is necessary for the purposes of injury and mortality prevention.”

Injury prevention is so broad that liberals would drive a fire truck through it.

And again, that’s the start of that illegal national firearm registry.

Murphy also submitted another amendment that would force a federal seven-day waiting period for the purchase of any firearm and a four-day waiting period for ammunition purchases on military installations.

Another of Murphy’s laws was an amendment that “prohibits the possession of privately owned firearms that are not related to the performance of official duties on property of the (Defense) Department by anyone who does not live on property of the Department.”

Like many Senators who try to use the military for political purposes, Murphy has never actually served in the miliary, so he does not seem to be aware that many military members don’t live on base.  Retirees also patronize on-base recreational shooting ranges.  It would also deny those same individuals the opportunity to hunt on military installations.

And Murphy was not alone.

In 1988, Congress passed a bill banning “undetectable” firearms. It was reauthorized in 2013 and now the Undetectable Firearms Act might be up for permanent reauthorization, hidden in the NDAA. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is working with Republicans in the Senate to get the bill’s reauthorization attached to the NDAA.

The problem with undetectable firearms is that they are not undetectable.  The slide, barrel, firing pin, and many other parts are produced using metal. The brass, lead, or copper in ammunition would set off metal detectors.

Perhaps we could put this issue to bed by letting Senators Murphy and Reed attempt to fire an undetectable, all plastic / polymer firearm so they can experience what happens!

It’s useless to think that New York’s Senators could be persuaded to use common sense where 2A is concerned. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand recently announced the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act; federal legislation that would ban online distribution of blueprints for the 3D printing of firearms and help prevent the proliferation of “ghost guns.” 

“Ghost guns” has many definitions, one of which is the scary way of saying undetectable.

While Senators Schumer and Gillibrand are unresponsive (as in brain dead on 2A issues), we should let the people who vote for them know how misguided the Democrat leadership’s anti 2nd Amendment efforts are.

Wit and Wisdom of Joe Stalin  by Tom Reynolds

Joseph Stalin said, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.”  He should know.

The Soviet famine of 1930–1933 impacted major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union(USSR).  A major contributing factor to the famine was the soviet government’s First Five Year Plan.  This plan was created by Joseph Stalin to improve the Soviet Union's industrial and agricultural policies. (It reversed a previous policy that had included free market and capitalism.) 

As a part of the Soviet famine of 1930–1933.  The Holodomor (to kill by starvation) was a Stalin-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians.  Some historians conclude that the famine was planned by Joseph Stalin in order to eliminate a Ukrainian independence movement.  (Why does that sound familiar?) 

Estimates are that 5.7 to 8.7 million people died of famine across the Soviet Union.

Have you eaten?  Feeling hungry? Think what it would be like to die of starvation.  The famine’s victims might only have been a statistic to Stalin, but try to put the experience of starving to death on a personal level and it is no longer a statistic.  Then try to imagine people starving to death because of a misguided government program that considers 8.7 million dead as collateral damage.

The lesson from history is that a government plan that was well intended (industrialize Russia) caused unbelievable hardship and death.  Imagine that…a government plan failed.  Can we see any modern equivalent like…say…the government’s plan to make electricity the prime if not the only energy source, under the guise of climate change necessity.  What could go wrong? 

And speaking of starvation, the antidote to starvation is food.  Food grows on farms (a fact of which not everyone seems to be aware.)  The European Union has decided that farms are bad for the environment!

The Nature Restoration Law was first introduced by the European Commission in June 2022. The bill allows for 30% of all former peatlands currently ‘exploited’ for agriculture to be restored and partially shifted to other use by the end of the decade, a figure rising to 70% by 2050.

Who knew farmers were ‘exploiting’ the ground?

Land currently used to grow food will no longer be used for that purpose. 

What could go wrong?

Farmers in Ireland and the Netherlands are protesting. 

But in the Netherlands’ defense, they are also trying to get their woke credentials stamped in other ways.  The new Miss Universe Netherlands is a transgender man.  Obviously, the judges were not interested in his nether regions.

Speaking of Stalin…

By 1936, Stalin's fear of losing his position drove him into authorizing the ‘Great Purge’ which was largely conducted by the NKVD (the secret police of the USSR). The NKVD removed* (see definition of removed in next paragraph) central party leadership, Old Bolsheviks, government officials, and regional party bosses.  Eventually, the purges removed* the Red Army and military high command.  Later the NKVD began targeting certain ethnic minorities for removal.*

In 1938, Stalin reversed his stance on the purges.  He criticized the NKVD for carrying out *mass executions and subsequently executed Genrikh Yagoda and Nikolai Yezhov, who headed the NKVD during the purge years.

Scholars estimate the death toll for the Great Purge (1936–1938) to be roughly 700,000.  The leadership of the USSR had been obliterated.

“Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.” 

Apparently, the true history of socialism is not a required course for journalism, political science or PhD courses.  Do journalists, political scientists and teachers expect that they will be the chosen few who lead the world into the new world order?  Do they have any idea how journalists, teachers, and any others who competed for political leadership roles in socialist countries ended up under Stalin, Mao, Castro, where there was no Bill of Rights to protect them.

By the way, in a socialist country, all leadership roles are political.  Except for the leaders of the revolutions.  You know, people like Stalin, Mao and Castro.

Fortunately, reading about this history is a 1st Amendment right and nobody in the U S government would attempt to take our Free Speech right away from Americans.    

Just like they would never take away the right to protect ourselves under the 2nd Amendment.

As Lenin so aptly put it, these supporters of socialism are just ‘useful idiots’ who will eventually be disposed of by the government when they are no longer useful or if they should mutter any ‘misinformation’ about the regime in charge.

SUBJECT: 2023 Yearly Banquet Cancellation and Formation of 2024 Planning Committee

S.C.O.P.E. apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this announcement. 

It is unfortunate to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the 2023 yearly banquet has been cancelled. We understand the anticipation and excitement surrounding this event, and we share in the disappointment of its cancellation.

As we look ahead, we are committed to ensuring a successful State S.C.O.P.E. 2024 banquet, which will be held in late September or early October. We are excited to announce the formation of a dedicated banquet committee that will play a crucial role in organizing and ensuring the success of this important event.

The 2024 banquet presents us with a unique opportunity to generate tremendous energy, educate the masses, and engage supporters, particularly during the heart of the 2024 election season. Our rights are at stake, and by coming together, we can make a significant impact. The banquet committee will be responsible for various tasks, including determining the territory and selecting a suitable venue, securing compelling guest speakers, planning an informative program, and collaborating on the menu.

We invite SCOPE members who are passionate about defending our rights and are willing to contribute their time and expertise to join the banquet committee. By volunteering, you will have the opportunity to shape an event that amplifies our message, energizes attendees, and empowers us to protect our 2nd Amendment rights during this critical time.

If you are interested in volunteering for the banquet committee or have any questions, please reach out to Rich Chapman at richiechap@me.com. Rich will coordinate the committee's efforts and provide further details regarding the planning process.

While we understand the disappointment of the cancelled 2023 banquet, we remain dedicated to our shared mission and look forward to creating an unforgettable experience at the State S.C.O.P.E. 2024 banquet. Your dedication and support are essential in making a difference.

Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your understanding as we focus on planning for the future.

Best regards,

Rich Chapman

Capital District / Saratoga County Chapter

Journalism?  by Tom Reynolds

In Monday’s email, SCOPE spoke about the Philadelphia shooter and emphasized that the media would omit pieces of the story that did not fit their Leftist agenda. 

While you were reading that email, the Gannett newspaper chain was distributing a story about that killer.  The story took up half of a page and headlined that the killer was agitated and erratic and gave examples such as he paced the floor wearing a bulletproof vest.

Oh yeah, it did get to add in that he had a “fervor for guns.” He was “armed and not in his right mind.”  (Gun control box checked.)

The story spent a lot of ink on his mental health issues and talked about the usual call for more attention to people with mental health issues.

But Gannett couldn’t find room to mention that he put online pictures of himself in a dress.  In the past, that would be a clear indication of a mental health problem but since Joe Biden invites Drag Queens to the White House, the mental health issues seem to have been remarkably cured.

The story also omitted any reference to the killer being black and his victims probably being black, (since the neighborhood was described as black.)  While Gannett could have corrected the misconception that blacks are mostly killed by whites; actually, the majority of black homicides are committed by blacks.  But doing that would have gone against the Leftist agenda, so there was no chance of that making the article.

And somehow the story missed that the killer was a Black Lives Matter supporter.  Imagine that!

____________________________

There can be no doubt that the Democrat leadership is rabidly anti-2nd Amendment while the Republican leadership, for the most part, is pro 2nd Amendment.  So, SCOPE is sensitive to the efforts to destroy any Republican candidates by the leftist media, like Gannett.

If you are paying attention to the early presidential candidates, you know that Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and a 2nd Amendment supporter, is running for president but trails Donald Trump by a huge margin.  Leaving nothing to chance, Gannett tried to drive a few nails into DeSantis’ presidential coffin.  They ran a full page story about how bad things are in Florida under DeSantis.

The first half-page article started out that DeSantis was “ramping up the state’s speed on capital punishment ahead of the 2024 election” in an attempt “to compete with his rival Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who used the death penalty to execute 13 federal inmates during his last six months in office.”  DeSantis is supposedly doing this “in large part because of his bid for president and to appear tough on crime.”

Per Gannett, DeSantis is killing people to compete with Donald Trump in killing people in order to get elected president.  Before this article, who knew that there was a race on?  

The other half of the page was headlined, Asian Americans Feel Targeted by (Voting) Laws.

And guess what governor signed a law that was causing this distress?  Hint: the state is directly south of Georgia and Alabama.

Oh yeah, that other big Red state, Texas, also came under fire for raising the penalty for illegal voting to a felony.

And Sunday’s Gannett op-ed had and editorial by a USA Today (Gannett) columnist titled: As GOP primary race heats up, it’s fearmongering season.  The piece isn’t worth commenting on but you can easily imagine what it said.

__________________________

Why are we spending time on non 2nd Amendment issues?

First, these are the anti-2A people in the media that are doing this.  If they win, 2A loses.

Generations of Americans have been propagandized by the government run school systems, the media and the entertainment industry.  As we head into next year’s presidential election, we can expect to see subtle stories, as above, that paint conservative candidates in the worst possible light, either by inclusion or omission.  We have to fight back and get the truth out.  If we do nothing, those that have been propagandized will never hear the truth and fall in line, just as the left wants them.

S.C.O.P.E. Legal Update July, 2023

Schuyler County’s SCOPE Chapter publishes a Legal Update each month.  Here is a look at the laws that were proposed and those that passed during this year’s NY State legislative session. 

Present and past monthly updates are available on SCOPE’s website under Schuyler Chapter page.

S.C.O.P.E. Shooters Committee On Political Education - Schuyler County (scopeny2a.org)

New York: 2023 Legislative Session Ends in Albany

While New Yorkers were snoozing last [month], multiple gun bills passed. Fortunately, most of those bills only cleared one chamber, but not the other. In order to become law, the legislation has to be approved by both chambers and signed by the Governor.

So what happened this year? The Assembly passed A.2084A which bans lead ammunition during the taking of game on state lands. The Senate companion bill remained in committee. The Senate passed several of its own bills without the Assembly companion bill being adopted. The Senate approved a 10-day waiting period on all firearm transfers by a vote of 42-19, but that legislation stalled in committee on the Assembly side. Several other bills had the same outcome:

• S.1892, which added ammunition to the list of items prohibited from being purchased or destroyed by those convicted of certain crimes, passed the Senate but did not advance beyond committee in the Assembly.

• S.2102 allows law enforcement to take temporary custody of firearms when called to domestic disputes. Again, the Senate adopted the bill without Assembly floor action.

• S.6980A is a child access prevention bill that mandates the dissemination of materials. New York already has a storage law, but this bill mandates the posting of loaded propaganda. It shared the same outcome as the previous two bills.

• Finally, S.138 was a terrible bill, which would have moved the certification of firearm instructors away from the NRA, to a state agency. The bill sponsor, Sen. Sean Ryan provided a telling justification for the bill. According to this anti-gun Senator, “The NRA has a monopoly on firearm training in New York. This bill will revoke that privilege from the chief opponent of our state’s gun laws.” That shocking admission translates into the real purpose behind the bill – political payback.

New York continues to push gun control. Incredibly, what we did not see this session was any sort of an attempt to fix New York’s soft-on-crime criminal justice system or bail reform. Again, that is because this is about politics and not public safety.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20230613/new-york-2023-legislative-session-ends-in-albany

Here is the list of relevant gun control bills which passed this session:

• A-2209/S-816, Makes clarifying changes to the definition of imitation weapon.

• A-5092/S-4879, Provides that the legislative body of the county of Westchester shall fix the fee to be charged for a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver and provide for the disposition of such fees. • A-5791A/S-6238A, Defines the term mass shooting for purposes of emergency response measures and access to emergency funding.

• A-5835/S-3436, Exempts applications for an Extreme Risk Protection Order from requiring an index number fee.

http://www.gunpoliticsny.com/?p=27151

New (proposed) legislation strives to combat ghost guns in NYC

Rep. Ritchie Torres says the bill is an effort to get ghost guns off of the street while expanding gun-free school zones. The legislation would also go further than current regulations, ultimately requiring manufacturers of ghost gun kits to be licensed under the Gun Control Act.

https://brooklyn.news12.com/new-legislation-strives-to-combat-ghost-guns-in-nyc

New York to propose legislation criminalizing printing ghost guns at home

New York will try to make it a crime to print a gun at home.

Lawmakers are responding to a surge in gun crimes committed with untraceable firearms, known as ghost guns, increasingly being created using a 3D printer.

Under current New York law, someone who possesses or distributes a 3D printed gun can be charged with a misdemeanor.  A proposed new law would make it a felony to manufacture a gun using a 3D printer.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-york-propose-legislation-criminalizing-printing-ghostguns/story?id=99798986

For educational and discussion purposes only. Not intended as legal advice.

Kennedy on Kamala  by Tom Reynolds

Fox News’ Trace Gallager had Senator John Kennedy as his guest this past Friday.  The subject of Vice President Kamala Harris’ garbling of words came up.  Kennedy pointed to her horrid poll numbers and suggested that her history of word salad responses may be partly to blame.  (Not to mention being associated with the multiple leftist failures of the Biden administration.)

Kennedy said, “She’s struggling for a couple of reasons. Number one, she doesn’t appear to be prepared. Number two, no matter how well-prepared you are, you have to be able to express yourself. And with respect, I would say the vice president needs to work on being a little more articulate. Some…might say that based on her performances, that English is not her first, second, third, or even fourth language.”

Kennedy went on to say that Harris appears to stumble when she tries to “sound smart.”  (Kennedy knows how to use a knife in the sweetest southern accent!)

“But number three, you know, I think sound advice for anyone, politician or not, is always be yourself unless you suck. If you suck, have enough self-awareness to know you suck…”  (Or as Winston Churchill said more eloquently, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”  Of course, you have to be aware that you are in a hole.)    

Kennedy continued: “And I just don’t get the impression that the vice president is–she’s not being herself. She’s trying to sound smart instead of just saying what she believes and saying it in a clear articulate manner that the average American who’s busy can understand.”  (Even the average American who is NOT busy has trouble translating her words into understandable English.)

 

Some examples of “Kamal Speak:”

"We invested an additional $12 billion into community banks, because we know community banks are in the community…" 

"When we talk about the children of the community, they are the children of the community.”

"Culture is — it is a reflection of our moment and our time. Right? And present culture is the way we express how we're feeling about the moment and we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment. That is a reflection of joy. Because, you know…it comes in the morning."

"We have to find ways to also express the way we feel about the moment in terms of just having language and a connection to how people are experiencing life. And I think about it in that way, too."

"So I think it's very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders for us at every moment in time and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past but the future."

"We also recognize just as it has been in the United States, for Jamaica, one of the issues that has been presented as an issue that is economic in the way of its impact has been the pandemic." 

"I think that, to be very honest with you, I do believe that we should have rightly believed, but we certainly believe that certain issues are just settled."

We've got to take this stuff seriously, as seriously as you are because you have been forced to take this seriously." 

YouTuber “Ranting Monkey” summarized Harris’ oratorical ability: "Kamala will go down in history as the most quotable woman to even be a woman who makes quotes about quotes a woman might quote."

Whenever I hear someone talk about impeaching Joe Biden I remind them of who is the Vice President.