"And A Healthy Appreciation For The Second Amendment"

Brian Kemp is a candidate in the Republican primary to be the next governor of Georgia. Kemp is currently the Secretary of State and was previously a state senator. He just put up an ad on Friday that has the anti-gunners howling. Kemp, the father of three daughters, is shown interviewing "Jake" who wants to date one of his daughters.

While a bit stereotypical - dad cleaning shotgun before daughter goes on date - it does get his point across. And, to be honest, I found it hilarious.




Even more of a hoot is to read the comments from all those aghast at his ad in the YouTube comments. From what some Georgia TV stations have reported there have been demands from the outraged (Outraged, I say!) to take down the ad. Only problem is that would violate FCC regulations which prevent the removal of a political advertisement.

Marijuana And Guns

Trainer John Farnam posted another of his Farnam's Quips this morning and it contains a very valid warning for anyone using marijuana whether medicinally or recreationally. Don't lie on your Form 4473 and say you aren't a marijuana user if you do pot.

From Farnam's Quips:

US Attorneys are currently prosecuting five men in ME for falsely claiming on Federal Form 4473 that they were not users of marijuana. Form 4473 must be filled-out for every retail gun purchase.

Marijuana use, medical or “recreational,” is a violation of federal law, even though some states, like ME, have “legalized” it, at least within state boundaries.

How a state can “overrule” federal law has yet to be explained to me in a way that makes any kind of sense. I am confused with regard to what the term “law” even means any more!

However, current implications for potential gun-owners are far easier to understand!

When you use marijuana, in any state and for any reason, forget about owning guns!

For sure, don’t attempt to purchase guns!

BATF doesn’t care what state you live in!

And since after exposure, traces of marijuana remain in your system essentially forever, any use of marijuana at any time in your life probably represents a “deal-buster” with regard to gun ownership!

The five men mentioned above are in for the “hassle of their lives.” Whatever the outcome, this “adventure” will be impoverishing, morbidly frightening, and essentially never-ending!

Another administration might look at this issue differently, but the current one is putting out the clear signal that they are coming after marijuana-users who attempt to buy guns- big time!

Don’t be “that guy!”

It needs to be said that in this case Federal law trumps (no pun intended) state law on marijuana use. It sucks especially if you have found relief using marijuana for medical issues. However, until such time as marijuana is legalized under Federal law, the use of marijuana will impact your gun rights and could end up with you becoming a felon.

North Carolina Police Chiefs Against Reciprocity

It is not news that many big city police chiefs are against national reciprocity for concealed carry. Earlier in April, the International Association of Chiefs of Police sent a letter to Congress expressing their disapproval for HR 38 and S. 446.

What should be news is the hypocrisy of those chiefs from North Carolina who have signed on to the letter. It is hypocritical to argue against reciprocity for North Carolinans with valid permits visiting any other state when North Carolina law recognizes ALL permits from other states. In other words, North Carolina General Statute § 14-415.24 (a) provides for universal reciprocity for out-of-state permits.

If your police chief listed below is one of the signatories to the letter, you might want to ask him or her why they think North Carolinians should have the same rights accorded to visitors to this state.

Police Chief Bernette Morris, Morehead City Police Department, Morehead City, NC

Chief of Police and Executive Director for Community Safety Christopher C. Blue, Chapel Hill Police Department, Chapel Hill, NC

Chief of Police Monroe Wagoner, Elkin Police Department, Elkin, NC

Chief of Police Gina Hawkins, Fayetteville Police Department, Fayetteville, NC

Chief of Police Jeff Prichard, Graham Police, Graham, NC

Chief Wallace W. Layne, Holden Beach Police, Holden Beach, NC

Chief of Police Timothy R. Summers, Kernersville Police Department, Kernersville, NC

Chief of Police Joel Johnson, Kitty Hawk Police Department, Kitty Hawk, NC

Chief of Police Allen Lawrence, Marion Police Department, Marion, NC

Chief of Police Tim Ledford, Mint Hill Police Department, Mint Hill, NC

Chief of Police James Wilson, Norwood Police Department, Norwood, NC

Chief of Police Ryan James Thompson, Pine Knoll Shores Police Department, Pine Knoll Shores, NC

Chief of Police Robert Hassell, Reidsville Police Department, Reidsville, NC

Chief of Police Kenneth J. Klamar, Sunset Beach Police, Sunset Beach, NC

Chief Daniel Wilcox, Cape Fear Community College PD, Wilmington, NC

Chief of Police Timothy J. Wenzel, Aberdeen Police Department, Aberdeen, NC

Chief of Police John Letteney, Apex Police Department, Apex, NC

Chief of Police Paul D. Burdette Jr., Beaufort Police Department, Beaufort, NC

Chief of Police John Phillip Harris, Jr., City of Brevard Police Department, Brevard, NC

Chief of Police Walter Horton, Carrboro Police Department, Carrboro, NC

Chief of Police James A. Reese, Emerald Isle Police Department, Emerald Isle, NC

Chief of Police Laura Fahnestock, Fuquay-Varina Police Department, Fuquay-Varina, NC

Chief of Police Ronald L Matthews, Garland Police Department, Garland, NC

Chief of Police Brandon Zuidema, Garner PD, Garner, NC

Chief of Police Michael Andrew Winters, Long View Police Department, Long View, NC

Chief of Police Erik S. McGinnis, Misenheimer Police Dept., Misenheimer, NC

Chief of Police David Ng, WakeMed Campus Police and Public Safety, Raleigh, NC

Police Chief C.T. Hasty Jr, Roanoke Rapids Police Department, Roanoke Rapids, NC

Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety Patricia D. Norris, Winston-Salem State University Police, Winston-Salem, NC

Chief of Police John J. Ruppe, Woodland Police Department, Woodland, NC

Chief of Police Jeff Harvet, Atlantic Beach police, Atlantic Beach, NC

Chief of Police Farron Gray Jester, Boonville Police Department, Boonville, NC

Moreover, just so we are clear as to North Carolina's place in the fight for national carry reciprocity, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-8) is the primary sponsor of HR 38.

Guess Who Will Be In Dallas On Friday

President Trump didn't think the White House Correspondents' Dinner was worth attending. From what I heard about it, he was right. However, a number of reports say that he will be attending the Leadership Forum at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas on Friday. A number of politicians from VP Mike Pence to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had already been scheduled to appear. My thought was that Pence was to be the stand-in for the President Trump at the event.






I'm sure this will guarantee that there will be protesters at the Annual Meeting. I've heard that Alyssa Milano will be leading the Holly contingent and I guess Shannon Watts will be there with the Demanding Moms for Illegal Mayors. However, this leaves open the question as to whether everyone's favorite (sic) David "Camera" Hogg will be there to lead the Children's Crusade Against Enumerated Rights.

An Interesting Use Of Venn Diagrams

We all learned about Venn diagrams when we were in elementary school. However, I sincerely doubt our teachers, no matter how liberal or even libertine, would have ever used this example.

I found this infographic on Reddit and it comes courtesy of LibationLab.com. This is an alcohol-related blog by M. Quinn Sweeney that seeks to demystify bartending and cocktails.

Humor On The Bench

Earlier this month, recently seated Judge Don Willett of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote his first opinion in case involving sentencing enhancements. Judge Willett when he was Justice Willett of the Texas Supreme Court was well-known for his humorous tweets on Twitter. Indeed the Texas House of Representatives named him "Tweeter Laureate". Given this background, you might expect his opinions to have a bit of humor woven into them and you wouldn't be wrong.

The case of US v. Maturino involved an appeal of the sentence received by Victor Maturino. Mr. Maturino thought he was buying 144 live grenades for a Mexican drug cartel. What he got was 143 duds and one live grenade. The other surprise for Mr. Maturino was that the ostensible seller was an undercover BATFE special agent who promptly arrested him when he handed over $35,000 in cash and took possession of the grenades (and other NFA items). The judge in the trial court gave Mr. Maturino an enhanced sentence because of the number of grenades involved in the illegal transaction. The appeal contended that he should have only been sentenced based on the number of live grenades he actually bought as opposed to the number he though he was getting.

The 5th Circuit rejected his appeal in an unanimous decision concluding that the trial court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines including an enhanced sentence was correct.

Judge Willett concludes:

Victor Maturino requested 144 high-explosive grenades; he received 143 non-explosive grenades. This is a sentencing appeal, though, and what matters for sentencing is what Maturino actively sought, not what he actually bought. Summing up, the sentencing court properly counted the number of firearms involved in Maturino’s offense and did not miscalculate his sentence under the Guidelines. Maturino’s plan for live grenades fell short, but close counts in horseshoes and hand-grenade cases.

All I'm going to add is that Judge Willett is an American treasure and I'd love to see him as a Justice on the Supreme Court.

Doing Good Works In Detroit

Firearms trainer Rick Ector started a program seven years ago to offer free introductory firearms training to the women of Detroit. Legally Armed in Detroit has now grown from 50 women trained in its first year to what may be 800 women trained this year.

The press released below from Rick will give all the details and how to pre-register which is mandatory. Rick is doing the good work and it is a pleasure to help publicize it.

Detroit, MI, April 28, 2018 -- Legally Armed In Detroit, a gun rights advocacy group, has announced that it will provide a free firearm shooting lesson at a southeast Michigan target range for 800 women interested in learning more about firearms and personal protection.

There will be no charge for the Firearm Instructor's safety briefing, the usage of a firearm, ammunition, and range time. Participation is 100 percent free for all attendees. No prior firearms training or experience is required of the women who desire to take advantage of the lesson. Further, experienced women merely desiring to improve their marksmanship skills are also welcome to attend.

The free shooting lesson offer was the brainchild of Rick Ector, an NRA Approved Firearms Trainer, after seeing a local television newscast of a young woman's body being discovered on an east-side Detroit street seven years ago.

This year's event will be the seventh consecutive year it has been conducted. In the first year only 50 women were trained. However, last year the event grew sufficiently to teach almost 600 how to safely operate a pistol.

This year's goal is 800 trained women over the day-long event. It is only with the cooperation of Ector's fellow Firearm Instructor colleagues and supporters across social media that this event could even be attempted and safely conducted.

Ector believes that there are many women in the state of Michigan who are curious about firearms and their role in self-defense but are reluctant to investigate due to fears. He said, "If giving women a free lesson by a credentialed professional translates into women just trying it, it'll be a productive use of my time."

The ladies FREE shooting event will be held on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at the Top Gun Shooting Sports Gun Range at 22050 Pennsylvania in Taylor, Michigan. FREE Advance Pre-registration is required for participation. Interested ladies should visit the following event page on Facebook for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/334945773576906/

Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW/CPL Class training in metro-Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in Firearm Safety and Personal Protection and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, National Public Radio, MSNBC, The Guardian, Townhall Magazine, The Politics Daily, and Aljazeera.

For more info about the free shooting lesson and Detroit Michigan CCW Classes, please contact:

Rick Ector

Web: Legally Armed In Detroit.
Email: detroitccw@gmail.com
Phone: 313.733.7404

Sorry For The Slow Blogging

I wish I could say I was away on a trip to an exotic destination. However, the reality behind my non-existent blogging this week is more prosaic. I got hit with acute bronchitis which brought with it fatigue and lethargy. In other words, I didn't feel like doing anything and certainly nothing that required thought.

However, I broke down and went to urgent care yesterday. I came home with three prescriptions and things are looking up. Not coughing incessantly is a pleasure.

With luck, I'll be back to 90% by Thursday morning when I leave for the NRA Annual Meeting. If there is anything you'd like me to check out, please let me know in the comment section.

Now back to our regular programming.