How I Spent My Weekend

While the Complementary Spouse spent the weekend playing with our granddaughter Olivia, I spent the weekend at Andrew Branca's The Law of Self Defense Level 1 and Level 2 classes. They were held at the Triangle Shooting Academy in Raleigh, NC. 

I learn best by taking notes and I came home with pages and pages of notes. There was so much information presented that I will be digesting and processing what I learned for weeks. I plan to go through my handwritten notes and type them out so as to reinforce what I learned and to make sure I'll be able to translate my semi-legible scribblings while it is still fresh in my mind.

Speaking generally, we think we know what legal self defense is but I'd wager even most criminal lawyers don't know what it takes to be legitimate. Legally, self defense is composed of five parts and all must be present for it to be valid. If you are missing even one small part, then it all falls apart and you will be at the mercy of either prosecutorial discretion or 12 people who couldn't get out of jury duty.

The five parts are:

• Innocence

• Imminence

• Reasonableness

• Avoidance

• Proportionality

Another key thing to remember about the law of self defense is that it has developed out of not only the black letter law but appellate rulings involving people named Poo Poo who date drug addicts and 16-year old baby mamas out clubbing. These people are not the squeaky clean plaintiffs like a Dick Heller or an Otis McDonald or a Rhonda Ezell that you find in Second Amendment civil rights case brought by Alan Gura. They are what they are and the consequences of their actions impact us legally every day as we go about our daily lives and try to stay alive and out of trouble.

We discuss DGUs or defensive gun uses every episode of the Polite Society Podcast. It is always the most downloaded segment of each show. Knowing what I know now I will be looking at these DGUs with a much more critical eye.

I attended Andrew's live classes. Both the Level 1 and Level 2 classes are available online. Given that each cost $249, you may not be able to afford that and I can understand that. Nonetheless, you should buy a copy of his book, The Law of Self Defense, 3rd Edition. I'd buy the paperback edition so that you can make notes in it and highlight passages. Better yet, get the paperback edition and then purchase the Kindle version which is only $2.99 if you have the paperback.

You hope you never are ever involved in any incident involving armed self defense. If you are, then you must, as Andrew continually pointed out in the class, win both the physical battle and the legal battle. The first you need to win to preserve your life and the second you need to win to preserve your freedom.

Texas GOP Makes Brilliant Hire

The Texas GOP named my friend (and fellow co-host of the Polite Society Podcast) Rachel Malone as their new Operations Director. The announcement was made on Wednesday in the release below.

Texas GOP Statement on the Hiring of Rachel Malone as the Operations Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

Austin- The Republican Party of Texas is proud to announce the hire of Rachel Malone to serve as the Operations Director. Rachel comes to the RPT after an extensive history as a grassroots activist in Texas, and has hosted countless legislative days at the Texas State Capitol and trained activists across the state on how to engage the legislature.

RPT Chairman James Dickey said this about the hiring of Rachel: “I could not be more proud to have brought Rachel on board. Her expertise in Party organization, legislative processes, and the RPT Platform will allow our Party to function at a high level within the grassroots, the backbone of our Party. Without question, Rachel is the perfect fit for the Party and we look forward to her contributions to the RPT.”

For those that don't know, Rachel is a certified instructor for the Texas CHL, a Massad Ayoob Group certified instructor, the founder of Texas Firearms Freedom, and, last but not least, a professional musician. Rachel was also formerly a Shoot Boss for Project Appleseed. That someone who has been so intimately involved in the gun culture is now in a position of influence within the Texas Republican Party can mean nothing but good things for gun rights in Texas.

Congratulations to Rachel and congratulations to the Texas GOP for showing the intelligence to hire someone of Rachel's caliber.

Constitutional Carry Passes Vote In NC House But.....

House Bill 746, the Omnibus Gun Bill which contains a provision for permitless concealed carry, passed its first two votes on the floor of the North Carolina House yesterday. The bill will have its third and final vote on Thursday. It passed on a vote of 65 yea, 54 nay, and 1 not voting. All weakening amendments were either defeated or tabled.

This should be a moment of joy and celebration for gun rights supporters in North Carolina and the nation. It should be except it isn't. The bill if it passes the North Carolina State Senate will almost certainly be vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC). For the bill to have been veto-proof it required 72 yea votes. In other words, the bill needed either a few Democrat supporters which was unlikely or fewer Republican defections.

Now the question that remains is whether those eight Republicans are anti-rights, have been bought off by Michael Bloomberg and his hired guns, or both. It is too soon to see if campaign contributions will be made by Bloomberg to any of these eight. Nonetheless, it appears that Bloomberg's hiring of lobbyist Chris McClure was a smart tactical move given McClure's Republican connections. As for their stand on gun rights, most of them were considered wobbly given their ratings by GRNC with only two having 3 stars or better ratings.

So the question remains as to whether any of the "Elite Eight" or "Elitest Eight" (as they are called by Grass Roots North Carolina) will change their vote Thursday.

In the meantime, here are the eight Republicans that voted against constitutional carry and against their own party's platform. Links to their legislative webpage are in the captions below each picture.

Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover)

Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford))

Rep. John Fraley (R-Iredell)

Rep. D. Craig Horn (R-Union)

Rep. Frank Iler (R-Brunswick)

Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson)

Rep. Samuel Watford (R-Davidson)

Rep. Linda Hunt Williams (R-Wake)

You can read GRNC's alert on the defection of these eight Republicans here. It contains a pre-written email to send to them.

If these eight had voted against funding abortions or against free lunches for school kids you know the Democrats would be sending their minions to demonstrate in front of their homes and offices. The news media would run the story as the lead item on the local broadcast. I rarely see gun rights supporters adopting their Alinskyite tactics. The only exception I can think of is the demonstrations by activists from the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) outside the home of Senate President Steve Sweeney after the death of Carol Bowne who was murdered while waiting for a carry permit. I can't say whether or not these type of demonstrations would be effective in North Carolina but they certainly would get the media's attention.

UPDATE: A reader who is active in North Carolina gun rights politics sent me this by email and he is 100% correct.

With respect to your article, I would add only that what matters is not how the eight voted today, but rather how they would vote on an override. Many who oppose the bill will vote for an override out of loyalty to their party.

HB 746 passed its Third Reading yesterday on a vote of 64-51. Rep. Craig Horn and Rep. Sam Watford who are mentioned above did not vote as they had excused absences. Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) did vote and he voted for passage.

The Omnibus Gun Bill has been ordered engrossed and will now be sent to the North Carolina State Senate for their consideration.

Recall On Ruger Mk IV Made Before June 1st

Ruger just issued a recall on their new Ruger Mark IV pistols including the 22/45 made before June 1, 2017. There is the potential for the pistol to fire if the safety is between safe and fire.

See the recall notice issued this evening.

The Best Shills A Billionaire's Money Can Buy

HB 746 has been reported favorably out of both the House Judiciary IV and Finance Committees. Among other things, this bill would allow permitless concealed carry by anyone 18 and above who is legally entitled to possess a firearm. In other words, this bill would bring constitutional carry for concealed firearms to North Carolina.

As you can imagine, the usual suspects are lining up against it. The Raleigh News and Observer reports that the North Carolina chapter of the Moms Demand and Everytown, Americans for Responsible Solutions, and the leftist advocacy group Progress NC are joining forces to defeat HB 746. They have also commissioned "polls" which purport to show the majority of North Carolinians are against constitutional carry.

The mainstream media is doing its part by finding "hunters" and "gun owners" who oppose the bill as this tidbit from the N&O shows.

John “Curly” Brazelton of Havelock, a former Marine who belongs to a hunting club, said in an interview with The N&O last week that everyone in his hunting club opposes the idea of eliminating concealed-carry permits.

“We all have them,” Brazelton said. “We have the best law in the country right now.”

Of course the proposed law does not eliminate NC Concealed Handgun Permits. They will still be available for those who want to take advantage of reciprocity from those states that recognize the North Carolina permit.

However, all of this pales in comparison to the amount of money that Mike Bloomberg is spending on registered lobbyists. Not content with all the free support he is getting from the mainstream media and their efforts to find "gun owners" who oppose constitutional carry, he has hired a fleet of lobbyists from some of the leading North Carolina law and lobbying firms.

Knowing he has to convince just enough Republicans to side with the Democrats so that any anticipated veto of the bill by Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) cannot be overrode, one of Bloomberg's primary hires is lobbyist Chris McClure. McClure is a native of Haywood County where I resided for many years and made his bones working for Mark Meadows and Patrick McHenry. He also served as Executive Director of the NC Republican Party. The North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research ranked McClure the 24th most effective lobbyist in 2013. I'm sure his effectiveness rating is now higher.

Grass Roots North Carolina has more info on the other shills - I mean lobbyists - hired by Bloomberg to curtail constitutional rights in the Tar Heel State. They also request that you help stiffen the spine of the Republicans to withstand this onslaught.

Is NC For Sale? Bloomberg Thinks So.

Yesterday we broke the news that Michael Bloomberg and his collection of astroturf gun grabbing organizations have purchased the service of several registered North Carolina lobbyists in an attempt to bring their dangerous big-government, anti-freedom agenda to North Carolina. Despite their staggering losses (constitution carry is now the law in 16 states), they continue to burn up the out-of-state millions that Bloomberg has pledged to whittle away your freedoms, and they're now bringing paid Bloomberg mercenaries to the table to do their legislative dirty work. Worse yet, they've been stoking media fears by making wild (and untrue) claims about Gun Omnibus Bill H746. Some of their wildest gesticulations are around allowing law-abiding North Carolinians to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. Despite the usual fear-stoking and prognostications about blood in the streets, the evidence from the other 13 states that now allow permitless carry suggests the opposite -- that empowering people to defend themselves and their families correlates to a reduction in violent crime. As a supporter of Grass Roots North Carolina, you value transparency and accountability. You know how important it is to follow the law in letter and spirit, and you know that public officials need to be held accountable for all of their actions. Because lobbyists are bought and paid for by special interests, the law requires that they be registered. In that spirit, we'd like to introduce you to the bought-and-paid-for "Everytown" influencers that are now working hard to further Michael Bloomberg's agenda in North Carolina. Go ahead and contact them if you'd like to, but if you do make sure you keep the tone polite, and if you call them, only call once. Be a role model of polite civility, and demonstrate that law-abiding gun owners are model citizens. Meet lobbyist Christopher McClure (chrismcclure@brookspierce.com, 919-882-2502) of the law firm Brooks Pierce. Despite his long history of voting in Republican primaries (why don't you look up his voter registration, which lists his home address as 223 Crisp St., Durham, NC), Chris now finds himself with the unenviable task of convincing lawmakers (many of whom proclaimed to be staunchly pro-second amendment) to do Michael Bloomberg's bidding. Meet Lobbyist Elizabeth Biser (ebiser@brookspierce.com, 919-882-2508), also the law firm Brooks Pierce. Her long history of voting in Democratic primaries (address withheld) is more in line with what we'd expect from a paid freedom-grabbing Bloomberg shill. Meet Brian Lewis (brian@newframellc.com, 919-413-2580). His company, New Frame LLC, is on the Bloomberg take. Like Elizabeth, Brian has a long history of voting in Democratic primaries (his home address is listed in the voter rolls as 114 Southwold Dr., Cary, NC), suggesting that he, too, might be sympathetic to anti-freedom causes. Meet Skye David of New Frame LLC (skye@newframellc.com, 812-881-0200). It's surprising that a person who claims to advocate for victims of domestic violence would align herself with a group that seeks to empower domestic violence aggressors by disarming their victims. Skye's voter registration is recent (address withheld), but her alignment to Bloomberg's blood money make her politics plainly clear. Meet Christy Jones (christy@newframellc.com, 336-905-0428), the third leg of the New Frame LLC Bloomberg anti-gun lobbying tripod (address withheld).

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
EMAIL NC HOUSE REPUBLICANS: Use the copy/paste email list(s) below, and the copy/paste text under ‘Deliver This Message.’ With paid, anti-gun lobbyists now working in Raleigh to thwart your Natural rights, it is more important than ever for you to keep in touch with your Representatives. Larry.Yarborough@ncleg.net; Susan.Martin@ncleg.net; Frank.Iler@ncleg.net; Chris.Malone@ncleg.net; Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net; John.Szoka@ncleg.net; John.Sauls@ncleg.net; John.Faircloth@ncleg.net; John.Blust@ncleg.net; Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net; Lee.Zachary@ncleg.net; Harry.Warren@ncleg.net; Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net; Rena.Turner@ncleg.net; Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net; Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net; John.Fraley@ncleg.net; Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Suggested Subject: "Pass HB 746 Now; Represent the Voters, Not Bloomberg's Paid Lobbyists"   Dear Representative: I understand that a vote on the omnibus gun rights had to be postponed last week due to late-night budget negotiations. That is disappointing, but I also understand the bill will be brought to the floor for a vote this week. That's good news. I am writing today to ask you to vote ‘Yes’ on this bill on the House floor, and to vote ‘No’ on any weakening amendments. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental human right, and North Carolinians are finally making headway in rolling back the oppressive erosion of this right that has taken place in recent decades. Let’s keep that freedom trend going! On that same note, I would also remind you that strong support for “constitutional carry” is an explicit part of the Republican Party’s 2016 platform (see page 12), just as gun rights in general are. With this fact at the forefront, I can see no reason for any Republican to shy away from supporting this gun-rights legislation. In fact, among other things, pro-Second Amendment policy is precisely what voters had in mind when they chose you as their representative. We are aware of the Bloomberg-funded lobbyists that are whispering in your ear. Do you really want to align yourself with Bloomberg's carpetbagging mercenaries?Represent voters, and not the big-money, anti-gun interests from New York City! I’ll be eagerly awaiting more news on this topic from Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts. Respectfully

D-Day Plus 73 Years

I can't help but compare the young men - boys really - who stormed the beaches of Normandy with the young men of today. Those young men's formative years were during the Great Depression. It didn't matter if they were "Harvard men" or eighth grade drop-outs they had all lived through it and were impacted by it. There are some Millennials who are made of the same stern stuff as the infantrymen and combat engineers who came ashore that day but they are few and far between.

The men above had to wade ashore in chest high water wearing heavy, impregnated uniforms. They then had to make their way up across the wide beach and over the bluffs in the background. the Germans rained fired down upon them. If they survived that, then their battle to defeat the Germans and to establish a beachhead began.

To put their odds of making it off that beach into perspective, here are the casualty counts (killed, wounded, missing) by landing beach from West to East. This does not count the airborne and glider landings.

•  Utah (US) - 589 
• Omaha (US) - 3,686
• Gold (British) - 1,023
• Juno (Canadian) - 1,242
• Sword (British) - 1,304

The casualty rates in the first waves ran as high as 50% The number of men killed on D-Day was traditionally given as about 2,500. However, more recent research by the US National D-Day Memorial Foundation puts the number as much higher. Their estimate derived by checking unit reports and names of individuals killed put the American number of deaths at 2,499 and other Allies at 1,915 for a total of 4,414.

I think it is important to remember the sacrifice of these men as so few of them are alive today. I would hate to see this fade from memory.

Monday Morning Humor Or Look What I Found Cleaning The Garage

Now that the Complementary Spouse and I have finished cleaning out my late mother's house for the soon-to-be new owner, we have been working on a place for all the stuff I thought about keeping. Thus, we spent a good part of this past weekend cleaning our garage and reorganizing stuff.

In the process I found this old cardboard IDPA/USPSA target. I'm not sure if it was mine or just one I picked up at the range. (Yes, I know that whomever this belonged to needs to work on their grip as the shots were grouping low and left.)

The Complementary Spouse suggested hanging it outside of our front porch as a bad guy scarecrow as that big center mass hole might give any thug, home invader, or other miscreant second thoughts.

That's an interesting idea but I'm not sure what Massad Ayoob or Andrew Branca would have to say about that. As it is, the target will be going to our local recycling center and not to our front porch.

Omnibus Gun Bill Finally Moving In NC General Assembly

HB 746 is finally moving forward in the North Carolina House of Representatives. This bill, the Omnibus Gun Changes, favorably passed out of the House Judiciary IV Committee yesterday. It will now go to the House Finance Committee for review. The most important feature of this bill is that it provides for constitutional carry or permitless carry of concealed handguns. Open carry without a permit has been the law in North Carolina since 1922 thanks to the NC Supreme Court's ruling in State v. Kerner.

Grass Roots North Carolina has issued an alert thanking those on the House Judiciary IV Committee who voted in favor of sending this bill forward. They also note that Rep. Sam Watford (R-Davidson) has said he has plans to introduce weakening provisions to this bill even though constitutional carry is part of the 2016 NC Republican Platform.

From GRNC:

ONE STEP CLOSER

Good news! Today, freedom lovers scored a big victory in the House Judiciary IV Committee … Your efforts are paying off! Due to the hard work of gun rights supporters like you over the last several weeks, the omnibus gun bill, which includes constitutional carry, has cleared its first major hurdle. It is exciting to report that this evening, the House Judicial IV Committee voted 9 to 6 to move the bill to the next step, and all weakening amendments were defeated. Kudos to the ‘Critical Nine!’ Thanks to Sponsors & Outspoken Supporters Many, many thanks to the bill’s courageous sponsors and other representatives who actively supported this bill. The sponsors are: Rep. Jay Adams, Rep. Beverly Boswell, Rep. Chris Millis, Rep. Larry Pittman, and Rep. Michael Speciale. We can also thank Rep. George Cleveland and Rep. Bert Jones for their outspoken support during the committee meeting. Well done, all! A Couple More Hurdles On Thursday (6/1), the bill will be shuttled to the Finance Committee. Once it’s through Finance, it’s off to the House floor. It’s possible that this important bill could land on the House floor for a vote as early as Thursday afternoon, so kindly follow up with the 'Immediate Action' below as soon as possible.  One Republican Plans Unforced Error The hurdles mentioned above may be set relatively low, as long as Republicans live up to their party’s platform, which has a very strong stance on gun rights, and specifically supports constitutional carry. Unfortunately, there is one hurdle that may come in the form of an “unforced error” by one or more Republicans. It sounds as though, in defiance of Republican and Second Amendment principles, Rep. Sam Watford (Davidson County) is planning to offer weakening amendments in an attempt to water down this omnibus bill. Make no mistake, GRNC will oppose ANY weakening amendments to this gun bill, whether they come from Rep. Watford, or anyone else. We will oppose these amendments, insist that other House members vote against them, and we’ll be keeping tabs on who does what. In fact, we encourage you to phone Rep. Watford right now, and politely insist that he not propose anything that would weaken the right of the people to keep and bear arms. His legislative office phone number is 919-715-2526. You can politely remind him of the strong, pro-gun stance taken in the 2016 Republican Platform. The Next Step The victory in committee is great news, but we need to keep reminding legislators that voters are serious about their right to keep and bear arms. Let’s keep the pressure on, and make sure everyone in Raleigh knows what the people expect. Below, see how you can easily email House Republicans to do just that. Before you know it we’ll have constitutional carry here in North Carolina!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
EMAIL NC HOUSE REPUBLICANS:  Use the copy/paste email list(s) below, and the copy/paste text under ‘Deliver This Message.’ PHONE REP. SAM WATFORD: Politely tell him that gun voters are watching and we will not accept weakening amendments to the omnibus gun bill. Remind him of the very strong, pro-gun stance spelled out in the 2016 Republican Platform, and ask him to live up to that platform. His legislative office number is: 919-715-2526. CONTACT INFO NC House Republicans Email *List(s): Dean.Arp@ncleg.net; John.Bell@ncleg.net; Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.net; John.Blust@ncleg.net; Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net; John.Bradford@ncleg.net; Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net; Mark.Brody@ncleg.net; Dana.Bumgardner@ncleg.net; Justin.Burr@ncleg.net; Mike.Clampitt@ncleg.net; George.Cleveland@ncleg.net; Jeff.Collins@ncleg.net; Debra.Conrad@ncleg.net; Kevin.Corbin@ncleg.net; Ted.Davis@ncleg.net; Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net; Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net; Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net; Andy.Dulin@ncleg.net; Jeffrey.Elmore@ncleg.net; John.Faircloth@ncleg.net; Carl.Ford@ncleg.net; John.Fraley@ncleg.net; Holly.Grange@ncleg.net; Destin.Hall@ncleg.net; Kyle.Hall@ncleg.net; Jon.Hardister@ncleg.net; Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net; Cody.Henson@ncleg.net; Craig.Horn@ncleg.net; Julia.Howard@ncleg.net; Pat.Hurley@ncleg.net; Frank.Iler@ncleg.net; Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net; Bert.Jones@ncleg.net; Brenden.Jones@ncleg.net; Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net; Donny.Lambeth@ncleg.net; David.Lewis@ncleg.net; Chris.Malone@ncleg.net; Susan.Martin@ncleg.net; Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net; Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net; Allen.McNeill@ncleg.net; Tim.Moore@ncleg.net; Gregory.Murphy@ncleg.net; Larry.Potts@ncleg.net; Michele.Presnell@ncleg.net; Dennis.Riddell@ncleg.net; David.Rogers@ncleg.net; Stephen.Ross@ncleg.net; Jason.Saine@ncleg.net; John.Sauls@ncleg.net; Mitchell.Setzer@ncleg.net; Phil.Shepard@ncleg.net; Bob.Steinburg@ncleg.net; Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net; Scott.Stone@ncleg.net; Larry.Strickland@ncleg.net; John.Szoka@ncleg.net; John.Torbett@ncleg.net; Rena.Turner@ncleg.net; Harry.Warren@ncleg.net; Sam.Watford@ncleg.net; Donna.White@ncleg.net; Linda.Williams@ncleg.net; Larry.Yarborough@ncleg.net; Lee.Zachary@ncleg.net *Spam filters or email program limitations may cause the need to send more than one email, to cover the entire list of representatives. If so, the list above is split into three pieces, for your convenience.
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Suggested Subject: "Vote 'YES' on Omnibus Gun Bill without Weakening"   Dear Representative: I understand that the omnibus gun bill has cleared the House Judicial IV committee (J4), and is on its way to the Finance Committee. I also understand the bill passed though J4 without any weakening amendments. This is fantastic news! A big ‘thank you’ to the sponsors of this bill and to others who actively supported it. I am writing today to ask you to vote ‘Yes’ on this bill if you happen to be on the Finance Committee, to vote ‘Yes’ on this bill on the House floor, and to vote ‘No’ on any weakening amendments. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental human right, and North Carolinians are finally making headway in rolling back the oppressive erosion of this right that has taken place in recent decades. Let’s keep that freedom trend going! On that same note, I would also remind you that strong support for “constitutional carry” is an explicit part of the Republican Party’s 2016 platform (see page 12), just as gun rights in general are. With this fact at the forefront, I can see no reason for any Republican to shy away from supporting this gun-rights legislation. In fact, among other things, pro-Second Amendment policy is precisely what voters had in mind when they chose you as their representative. For reasons that are quite clear, voters expect you to support this bill in committee, on the House floor, and without weakening amendments. Please do so. I’ll be eagerly awaiting more news on this topic from Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts. Respectfully,