Obama appointed federal judge rules non-citizen "newcomers" have a right to carry; protected by 2A.

Newsweek: Undocumented Immigrants Have Right to Own Guns, Judge Rules.

A judge this month dropped gun charges against an illegal migrant in Illinois, sparking further debate about the rights associated with the Second Amendment.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Coleman of the Northern District of Illinois referenced lower court rulings in dismissing firearm possession charges against Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, who was illegally or unlawfully in the United States when he possessed a handgun in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago on June 1, 2020.

"The Court finds that Carbajal-Flores' criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding that he poses a risk to public safety such that he cannot be trusted to use a weapon responsibly and should be deprived of his Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense," Coleman, who was appointed under President Barack Obama, wrote in her eight-page ruling filed March 8.

Carbajal-Flores was charged under Title 18 of U.S. Criminal Code, which legally disallows undocumented individuals to possess firearms and ammunition "or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."

Meanwhile, democrats actively seek to pass legislation that prohibits some U.S. Military Veterans from owning guns.

⏬  March 19, 2024 ⏬

NRA-ILA: Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights.

[...] a partisan coalition of anti-gun Congressional Democrats – all but two of whom actually voted for the spending package – is now leaning on the VA to ignore or undermine the rider. In doing so, they are using the usual anti-gun tactics of fearmongering, misinformation, and gaslighting.
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The attempt came in a March 13 letter spearheaded by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), chairman of the so-called House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, to the Secretary of the VA, Denis McDonough, and was signed by 138 Democrat members of Congress.
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The claims in the letter, unsurprisingly, do not hold up to scrutiny and in some cases actually lend support to the rider itself.
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It's true that statutory law allows the VA to make a “competency” determination for the process of administering its own system of benefits. But that determination has no legal effect outside of that context. As the VA states on its own website, “The determination that you are unable to manage your VA benefits does not affect your non-VA finances, or your right to vote or contract.” This makes sense, as it is a purely administrative procedure that contains no adversarial process unless the beneficiary decides to challenge the action after the fact.

Even then, these appeals are processed in the first instance by the VA itself. And it makes perfect sense for some beneficiaries to have a fiduciary, while also legally possessing firearms. The insinuation that standards for assigning a fiduciary take into an account a veteran’s propensity for posing a physical danger to self or other is patently false.

⏬ March 4, 2024 ⏬

U.S. Senate Committee on Veteran's Affairs: After Tester Push, Provision to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights from Federal Overreach is Included in Must-Pass Government Funding Bill.

A critical bipartisan amendment U.S. Senator Jon Tester championed to protect veterans’ access to legal firearms has been included in the government funding legislation, following his call to Senate leadership to include the provision.

“It’s flat wrong that a DC bureaucrat could take away a veteran’s legal right to firearms simply because they need assistance managing their finances,” Tester said. “We need to ensure the government does not infringe on veterans’ Second Amendment rights, and I’m glad we were able to fix this unfair policy in the government funding legislation. This is a win for Second Amendment rights and for veterans who have made it clear that VA’s current practice is pushing some folks away from accessing the mental health care they need out of fear their firearms will be seized.”

Tester's bill passed, yet democrats immediately work at trying to undo it.

⏬ March 13, 2024 ⏬ 

Roll Call: House Democrats urge VA to find gun rider workaround. 

“We are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to use their power to bypass this rollback and they must do so before a single life is lost because of this legislation,” Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida said in a statement. He was one of three Democrats, including Sen. Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut and House Veterans’ Affairs ranking member Mark Takano of California, to vote against the spending law.

The House members urged the VA to establish processes that would automatically seek a judicial order for veterans deemed mentally incompetent. The department should stretch appropriations from previous years out for as long as possible, which would allow the VA to continue reporting names to the FBI background check system while putting those processes in place, the lawmakers said.
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The department should also make full use of state red flag laws to report concerning behavior from veterans and educate state VA facilities about the tools available to them, the letter said.

California's new gun control measures.

Newsweek: California Just Passed a Slate of New Gun Control Measures, Expanding Red Flag Laws and Tightening Sales.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of new gun legislation into law Friday.
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The new laws expand on the state's use of gun violence restraining orders, more tightly regulate firearm parts and restrict sales of semi-automatic weapons.
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One bill sponsored by California Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin expands the maximum length of time a protective order can remain in effect from one year to five. This means that a judge under California law can order the confiscation of a resident's firearm for up to five years if "clear and convincing evidence" shows that the weapon will be used to cause injury.

Residents subject to an order may petition the court for its early termination once a year while the order is in effect if they believe the evidence against them is no longer "clear and convincing."

The constitutionality of these orders, commonly known as "red flag" laws, has not been firmly established.
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Another bill signed by the governor expands the list of people who may petition for a red flag order. Currently, only police officers and family members may, but soon teachers, employees, employers and coworkers will also be able to seek temporary firearm confiscation.
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One of the other prominent reforms that Newsom signed will apply the state's one-handgun-a-month rule to semi-automatic centerfire rifles.

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Newsweek Archived

O'Rourke jokes about threatening to kill a kitten in fundraising email and at Texas TribFest.

Washington Examiner: Beto O'Rourke jokes about threatening to kill a kitten in fundraising email.

Beto O'Rourke made fun of urgent, sky-is-falling, end-of-quarter fundraising pitches from his fellow 2020 Democrats by joking about threatening the life of a kitten.

"I am starting to run out of ways to show how important this deadline is," the former Texas congressman wrote in an email to supporters on Saturday with the subject line "Miss Whiskers." "Maybe I could do a Facebook live stream with a kitten in hand and say, 'You know, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to this kitten now would we… Send your $5 now and Miss Whiskers will be fine.'

"To be clear, we’re not planning on harming any kittens," O'Rourke clarified. "But we do need your help."

O'Rourke bought up the same joke hypothetical at the Texas Tribune's TribFest in Austin on Saturday[.]

Where are all the couch-psychiatrists and media pundits questioning the mental health and wellness of BOB O'Rourke? The same group who, with such pious sanctimony, opined to the public a baseless couch analysis that President Donald Trump is mentally unstable and psychologically unfit to hold office.

BOB O'Rourke...who...

...Wrote about running over children with his car and killing them. Textfiles:

"Then one day, as I was driving home from work, I noticed two children crossing the street.  They  were happy, happy to be free from their troubles.  I knew, however, that this happiness and sense of freedom were much too overwhelming for them. This happiness was mine by right.  I had earned it in my dreams. As I neared the young ones, I put all my weight on my right foot, keeping the accelerator pedal on the floor until I heard the crashing of the two children on the hood, and then the sharp cry of pain from one of the two.  I was so fascinated for a moment, that when after I had stopped my vehicle, I just sat in a daze, sweet visions filling my head.  My dream was abruptly ended when I heard a loud banging on the front window.  It was an old man, who was using his cane to awaken me.  He might have been a witness to my act of love.  I was not sure, nor did I care. It was simply ecstasy.  As I drove home, I envisioned myself committing more of these 'acts of love', and after a while, I had no trouble carrying them out.

"The more people I killed, the longer my dreams were.  I soon quit my job, and stayed at my house in an almost comatose state.  My dreams grew longer and more vivid.  They kept me alive and proved to be the only thing to live for. I had killed nearly 38 people by the time of my twenty-third birthday, and each one was more fulfilling than the last.

"I was never really surprised at how I evaded the police."

...Drives drunk and attempts a hit-and-run. NY Magazine:

O’Rourke was not only nabbed for driving under the influence; he caused what could have been a catastrophic accident, then tried to flee the scene. Neither detail had previously been made available to the public. The Chronicle reports:

    “State and local police reports obtained by the Chronicle and Express-News show that O’Rourke was driving drunk at what a witness called “a high rate of speed” in a 75 mph zone on Interstate 10 about a mile from the New Mexico border. He lost control and hit a truck, sending his car careening across the center median into oncoming lanes. The witness, who stopped at the scene, later told police that O’Rourke had tried to drive away from the scene.”

...O'Rourke has been Red-Flagged, hasn't he?

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Washington Examiner Archived
Textfiles "Visions From The Last Crusade" Archived

Polygamists setting up shop in Northern Minnesota?

KBJR6.com: Grand Marais reacts to polygamist group leader buying North Shore property.

There’s growing unrest in Grand Marais as people learn that a known polygamist with ties to a religious group that promotes marriages involving children is a key player in a land purchase near the North Shore town.

Seth Jeffs was recently served with a lawsuit in Bloomington, Minnesota, after allegations surfaced that he was a witness and participant in the sexual abuse of a young girl while in Utah.

Records show that Seth Jeffs is listed as the managing member for a company that purchased 40 acres of land in this remote area west of Grand Marais… near the Superior National Forest.
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The plans have neighbors concerned.

Uh, Extensive Background checks? Oh, that's just for law-abiding people with no criminal history who pose no threat to anyone, desiring to legally purchase and own a gun.

Maybe we need some type of anonymous snitch program Red Flag Order for "suspicious property developers".

Anne Arundel County Police involved shooting serving an “emergency risk protective order,” aka "Red Flag Order".

This is recently-breaking news and, so far, appears to be legit.

FOX 5 News Baltimore: Man shot being served Red Flag Order.

When officers began to serve [ Gary J.] Willis with the order, he became irate, opened the door to the residence and grabbed the gun according to police. They say, an attempt was made by an officer to take the gun away from Willis when Willis fired the gun.

A second officer fired their service weapon, striking Willis, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
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The 'red flag' legislation is already law in five states- including California, Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon, and Washington. It has been introduced in 18 states and D.C.

This is an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at [deleted - D.D.]. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are asked to call the Tip Line at [deleted - D.D.]

This "Red Flag" issue is already getting coverage, Standing By, Zack, and I'm guessing, (among many others), these folks will weigh in on this issue in the days ahead: 90 Miles, Phil, Irish, the GBBL and other fine writers at the Blogroll; see right-hand sidebar.
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Typos fixed; 01/17/2019.