James suspension

LeBron James, who instigated the dirty hit on Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart, got only a one-game suspension and Stewart, who was severely injured, got two games? We all know because its drama queen James NBA and the gutless league office didnt have the guts to do the right thing and suspend James for more games since he started the whole thing. If it had been the other way around James would have got off scot-free and Stewart would have received five games. Guess the NBA had to confer with their friend in the Chinese government to see what they need to do.

Paul J. Baranofsky, Waltham

It is time for a big change in this country (It was carnage. 11/23/21). All Americans need to stand up against any judge and politician that continues to dismiss any criminal with a lengthy criminal record.

How often do we have to see carnage, destruction and constant crime only to be followed by those now common words lengthy criminal record?

Every time you see those words, which seems to be every time something like this happens, reach out to Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and ask them why judges keep doing this. You will not get an answer because neither one of those senators ever gave an answer in their life and also they are part of the problem, but if we keep on them maybe, just maybe something will change and we can live in a safe society!

Michael Westen, Malden

As a retired police officer with 28 years on the job, I couldnt agree more with the editorial Leave policing to law enforcement, Boston Herald, Nov. 23.

The question asked at the beginning of this editorial, Who will be the next Kyle Rittenhouse? is definitely worth asking.

I agree with the Boston Herald that Rittenhouse had no business walking around Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, offering protection from BLM/Antifa rioters upset over a jury verdict that didnt go their way. There was no need for a 17-year-old with a big gun in hand walking around the craziness on the streets that night. He was lucky and could have easily been killed that night when he met his three adversaries on the street.

The job of protecting Kenosha and its citizens belongs to police forces and they neither requested or sought a self-professed posse trying to aid law enforcement. The very idea of teens walking around carrying large guns or in the case of the father-daughter AR-15 team carrying that much firepower isnt a good thing by any account.

I support the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, but the idea of armed militias roaming our streets during a crisis doesnt help public safety but rather imperils it.

As the Boston Herald ended its editorial, Leave law enforcement to the good guys with badges.

Sal Giarratani, East Boston

Now that Mayor Wu is divesting the city from any investment in fossil fuels, I can only assume that she will be cutting off the oil or gas heat to City Hall and her house. Also, she will be getting rid of her electric or gas stove at home?

When are the windmills being installed on City Hall Plaza?

James J. Walsh, North Andover

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Letters to the editor - Boston Herald

In this daily series, Newsweek explores the steps that led to the January 6 Capitol Riot.

On November 27, San Clemente, California, yoga practitioner, wellness and New Age leader Alan Hostetter, 56, who would later be indicted for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, posted a video of himself on his own American Phoenix Project YouTube channel talking about his attendance at the November 14 "Million MAGA" March in Washington.

"People at the highest levels need to be made an example of with an execution or two or three," Hostetter said. "Because when you commit treason against this country and you disenfranchise the voters of this country and you take away their ability to make decisions for themselves, you strip them of their Constitution rights. That's not hyperbole when we call it tyranny, that's fucking tyranny. And tyrants and traitors need to be executed as an example ..."

Hostetter, who had previously served with law enforcement for more than a decade, rising to be Chief of Police for La Habra, California, had turned to the southern California spiritual side, proselytizing peace and tranquility before 2020, when COVID lockdown seems to have radicalized him. He started to embrace conspiracy theories, speaking at a QAnon conference.

Soon he started saying that California Gov. Gavin Newsom should be hanged and that traitors to the country "need to be executed as an example."

In a sworn Grand Jury statement, the FBI later said that Hostetter "used the American Phoenix Project as a platform to advocate violence against certain groups and individuals that supported the 2020 presidential election results." He argued on YouTube that votes for Donald Trump had been "switched" to Joe Biden and otherwise "stolen"; he appeared as a speaker at "Stop the Steal" protests. He was highly regarded by the right-wing movement as an Army veteran with a long career in law enforcement.

Upcoming protests, he said in November, were going "to be a shot across the bow of the deep state when they see a million Patriots surrounding that shit hole of a citythe swamp." The Patriots, he threatened, were going to surround the city if the election wasn't resolved "peacefully and soon ..."

At one point, according to NPR, Hostetter and others gathered outside the house of Democratic Mayor Katrina Foley of Costa Mesa, California, to protest what Hostetter called a "dictatorship" and an "unlawful, unscientific, ineffective and dangerous mask mandate."

After the election, according to prosecutors, Hostetter spoke about a stolen election and became involved with the Three Percenters (%ers, III%ers, and Threepers). A 2014 NYPD intelligence division report says the Three Percenters are a modern counterpart to a mythical three percent of American Revolutionary-era patriots who fought and are also the alleged percent of the population of American gun owners who will not disarm. A New Jersey 2015 report says the anti-government group, which justifies the use of violence to counter perceived threats to the Constitution, was one of the leaders of the militia movement.

In August 2017, Jerry Drake Varnell, 23, was caught in an FBI sting while attempting to bomb a BancFirst building in Oklahoma City. Varnell, who subscribed to the Three Percenter ideology, planned the attack for months, watched as a 1,000-pound bomb was assembled, drove it in a van to an alley next to the BancFirst building, and then twice dialed a cell-phone number in order to detonate it before being arrested. "'Three Percenters,' who were counted among attendees at the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville ... believe that, as patriots, they must protect against a tyrannical government, particularly regarding infringement on Second Amendment rights," the NYPD said in a 2017 report.

On December 19, when President Trump tweeted that the upcoming protest in Washington, D.C., would be "wild," Hostetter posted on his American Phoenix Project Instagram account: "I will be there, bullhorns on fire, to let the swamp dwellers know we will not let them steal our country from us. I hope you can join me!"

Before January 6, Hostetter replied to a message from other group members who were planning to go to Washington as whether he was "brining firearms" to the capital. According to prosecutors, he replied: "NO NEVER (Instagram now monitors all text messages ... this has been a public service announcement)" and three added three crying/laughing emoji.

On January 5, Hostetter spoke at the Rally To Save America in front of the Supreme Court, wearing his patent fedora with an American flag bandana around the base. "We are at war in this country, we are at war tomorrow," Hostetter told the crowd.

During the protests on January 6, Hostetter posted a video from the Capitol steps, saying: "The people have taken back their house! I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful sight in my whole life."

Hostetter was arrested by the FBI on June 10, 2021. His Grand Jury indictment says he conspired "to obstruct, influence, and impede" the January 6 joint session of Congress. He plead not guilty to four charges, including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. His attorney at the time, Bilal Essayli, pointed out that Hostetter was not charged with entering the Capitol, nor did the FBI claim that he engaged in any acts of violence or possessed any weapon. "He was there to protest and exercise his First Amendment Right," Essayli said. "He was charged with multiple felony counts and I think it's just very troubling as an American citizen."

At a public town hall event held on Zoom after January 6, Hostetter said prosecutors "connected me to Three Percenters in the indictment that I don't believe I've ever even met or had any contact with whatsoever." Hostetter announced last month that he was going to represent himself at trial. When the judge insisted that he at least accept a legal advisor to assist, Hostetter, according WUSA9 television in Washington DC, he said he wanted a legal advisor with no association with Skull & Bones, Free Masonry "or any other organizations that require oaths or vows of secrecy."

"Secret Societies (Freemasonry/Yale's Skull and Bones/Kabbalah, etc) are Luciferian death cults corrupting every aspect of our lives," Hostetter says on LinkedIn. "They must be destroyed so humanity might be saved. Grateful to God for my awakening."

When contacted last month, Hostetter declined to be interviewed by Newsweek, calling it "fake news."

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'Tyrants and Traitors Need to Be Executed,' Said the Army-Vet-Conspiracy-Theorist - Newsweek

OPINION:

Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Plaque placed at the Statue of Liberty in 1903

Americans tired of riots and woke politics, poorer from high taxes and increasingly unconstitutional regulations, huddled together as they flee crime and COVID-19 lockdowns, and yearning to breathe free from masks and mandates are pouring into Florida.

A recent study in the Sunshine State-based James Madison Institutes (JMI) Journal noted that almost 1,000 people a day are moving to Florida at least in part to escape high taxes, spiking crime rates, and coronavirus craziness elsewhere. Moreover, the JMI study found, the states GOP voter registration just hit a historic high relative to Democrats, a hint these new Floridians probably arent bringing their former states politics along with them.

After all, Florida made headlines the way it pushed back against the riots last yearriots that helped to put at least six million more guns in Americans hands. That means those who move to the state have something else to lose in voting for leftists besides their money.

At one time, not very long ago, Florida was at the forefront in protecting the right to keep and bear arms, becoming one of the earliest states and the largest at the time to move away from may issue concealed carry to a shall issue model. Today, more concealed weapon permits have been issued in the Sunshine State than any other state in the Union over two million. That, and the fact that its sort of shaped like a gun, helped earn Florida the moniker the Gunshine State.

Second Amendment opponents charged that the increase in Floridas gun ownership led to higher numbers of firearm deaths but mysteriously (to them), the overall murder rate actually dropped to the second-lowest murder rate recorded since the state began keeping statistics in 1971. (In fact, the JMI study reports, Floridas crime rate has dropped for an astonishing 50 straight years.)

But

After the 2018 Parkland, Fla. school massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by a deranged student who committed a startling 58 school infractions, generated 20 police visits to his home and violated the terms of President Obamas PROMISE program (and who somehow avoided the judge he should have appeared before for his misbehavior), the state responded withgun control.

Specifically, Florida imposed a statewide three-day waiting period for purchasing a gun, even though the Parkland murderer bought his AR-15 a full year before the shooting and to top it off, Broward County already had a five-day waiting period in place. Florida also responded by raising the age from 18 to 21 to own a rifle or shotgun, thus denying young adults the means to defend themselves.

The state also enacted a so-called red flag law, granting the government the power to seize firearms from those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, despite the fact the Parkland killer was declared no threat to anyone or himself by a therapist in a September 28, 2016 police report.

Today, the Gunshine State boasts a Republican supermajority and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who said he would have vetoed the post-Parkland gun-grabbing legislation. Yet this year alone, six pro-Second Amendment measures died in the Republican-controlled legislature. Of course, one of the bills that died was a repeal of the post-Parkland gun-grabbing legislation signed into law back in 2018.

Likewise, while 21 other states have moved beyond licensed concealed carry to Constitutional Carry, Florida now lags behind. In most cases, open carry is generally prohibited in Florida, except in narrow instances. And the law, in this regard, is more restrictive than even Massachusetts or Connecticut and most other states.

Thus, two other business moves made headlines in the last six weeks without ending up in Florida. First, legendary firearm maker Smith & Wesson fell back from its historic 165-year-old headquarters in maniacal Massachusetts to a new, more politically defensible position in Tennessee.

Then on Monday, another icon, Remington Firearms, announced it would end 205 years based in gun-grabbing New York, investing $100 million in a new facility in Georgia, hiring 856 people over the next five years. To add further insult to injury, Taurus, one of the largest multi-national firearm companies globally, recently left their Miami, Florida Headquarters for the greener pastures of Bainbridge, Georgia.In particular, Remington has just emerged from bankruptcy after leftist lawsuits and corporate cave-ins following the spate of mass shootings sweeping the country, despite those shootings painfully obvious link to the Lefts letting the insane out of insane asylums for decades, as well as Democrats refusal to discipline the dangerous.

Florida should hold out a hand of friendship not just to firearm manufacturers but Second Amendment supporters as well. Governor DeSantis should push his GOP supermajority to repeal the states gun control regime.

After all, tempest-tost new Floridians are pouring into the state through freedoms golden door, hoping to find Lady Liberty there.

John Velleco is the executive vice president of Gun Owners of America, a national grassroots lobbying organization with more than two million members and supporters.

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Right flight and the 'Gunshine State' - Washington Times

Winter session of the Parliament is all set to begin today. The winter session is expected to conclude on December 23. Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha is slated to be held at 10 am today. Lok Sabha's Business Advisory Committee (BAC) is scheduled to meet at 10:30 am today.

This will be a busy session as 26 bills are on the legislators' agenda. Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 will be taken up on priority. The bill aims to repeal the three farm laws -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Farmers have been agitating against these laws on Delhis borders since November 2020.

Governments agenda includes the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021. This bill seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology and its uses. It will also allow a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, the Congress has issued a whip to its MPs to be present in both the Houses on November 29 while the BJP has asked all its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House on November 29. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge has also called on a meeting of all Opposition parties to create consensus over the issues to be raised in the Parliament. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not attend this meeting, news agency ANI reported.

KEY BILLS FOR WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT

1. Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 20212. Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 20213. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill4. Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill5. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill6. Metro Rail (Construction, Operation and Maintenance) Bill7. The Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill8. Electricity (Amendment) Bill9. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 202110. The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 202111. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 201912. The High Court and Supreme Court (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill13. Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill14. The Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 202015. Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill16. Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill17. Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill18. Narcotics Drug and Psychotic Substances Bill19. The Cantonment Bill, 202120. Personal Data Protection Bill21.National Anti-Doping and Mediation Bill22. National Transport University Bill23. Indian Antarctica Bill24. Indian Maritime Fisheries Bill25. National Dental Commission Bill26. National Midwifery Commission Bill

(With agency inputs)

Also read: Facebook executives likely to depose before parliamentary panel on Monday

Also read: Winter Session of Parliament to begin on Monday

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Winter session of Parliament to begin today; Farm Laws Repeal, other key bills on agenda - Business Today

OPINION:

Our Constitutional crises in America are many and garner great debate. Theres the explosion of executive power in the federal government, the abandonment of states rights, the erosion of religious liberties and assaults on second amendment rights, among others.

Perhaps no other, however, is more ignored than how our ravenous digital society is diminishing the rights of the accused.

We seldom have the foresight to think about how new technologies could be abused to the detriment of Constitutional freedoms. The Kyle Rittenhouse trial is the latest example of the kind of trial by media that cuts against fair administration of justice. In our digital society, those concerns should not stop at the courtroom doors.

States should act now to end or severely limit the practice of television cameras in the courtroom. The Bill of Rights is primarily dedicated to the rights of the accused. How our communications and technology impact those rights must be considered and deserves action to protect further injustice.

Trials were never intended to be made-for-tv events or Twitter bonanzas. They are not entertainment. Real lives hang in the balance.The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, extended to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, provides for an individuals right to a public trial of ones peers. Certain state constitutions go beyond that definition to include, as in the case of Virginia, the right to an impartial jury of his/her vicinage.

Thomas Jefferson believed that the public trial by jury was the best of all safeguards for the person, the property, and the fame of every individual. The Founders saw a jury of those from their locality as the fairest way to protect them and their fame or reputation.

They could never have imagined that an accused individual would be subject to constant video surveillance, 24 hr. commentary, and gratuitous vilification on a national or even global scale.

The addition of rabid cable news, toxic social media, and ubiquitous mobile technology has only eroded the system further. The innocent, like Kyle Rittenhouse, pay a heavy price. They are defamed at will by millions of armchair analysts, prognosticators, and provocateurs, few if any who have the full record of evidence before them.

It leaves the accuseds reputation to the whims of the mob, not carefully guarded by those peers in their local community, as was once envisioned.

Trials were once viewed in person and by a very limited number of folks interested enough and fortunate enough to grab a seat on a wooden bench in a cramped local courthouse. The media was permitted to report on the days events without being intrusive to the process. MSNBCs behavior during the case alone is good reason to reassess our current voyeuristic fascination with these cases.

Thanks to trial by media and an outdated Supreme Court Times malice precedent regarding libel and slander, todays innocent defendants can be acquitted only to find their reputation outside the courtroom destroyed to the point they live like a criminal for life. They are free but in a prison of societys making for them.

If a defendant is found guilty and goes on to pay his debt to society, should he not be entitled to a second chance in our system?

Not only have the risks to a defendants reputation been ignored by the government for too long, but in an era when violent activist groups like Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA are allowed to operate with impunity, the need to shield the accused is even greater.

People today are not interested in understanding a proceeding as much as commenting on it or using it to fuel their own agendas.

The Supreme Courts old standard in Estes v. Texas should form the rationale for legislation that limits courtroom cameras and other live reporting from court proceedings: [a] defendant on trial for a specific crime is entitled to his day in court, not in a stadium, or a city or nationwide arena.

Justice Earl Warrens concurrence, in that case, is equally relevant today, stating, televising a trial diverts the trial from its proper purpose in that it has an inevitable impact on all the trial participants; detracting from the dignity of court proceedings and lessening the reliability of trials.

Perhaps its enough not to show the faces of defendants and witnesses as we do now with juries. Making live audio recordings available could be a middle ground. Without video, visual mediums may dedicate less time to sensationalizing these cases. There are good arguments for maintaining some broader access, but its time to reign in this insanity.

Tom Basile is the host of America Right Now and Wake Up America Weekend on Newsmax Television, author and former Bush Administration official.

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Time to end trial by media - Washington Times

Gun law problems

Repeal the Second Amendment and Not so fast on changing gun laws | Letters, June 27

I believe the letter writer assigns himself a somewhat higher station than merited. He may be in the majority who do not own guns, but he does not represent a majority who have one goal: Repeal the Second Amendment. National surveys indicate that only 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 Americans favor repeal. He paints with a broad stroke implying that all gun owners are liars; this is no more true than that all non-owners want to abolish gun ownership. And, the idea that every gun owner is one bad day away from being the next mass murderer i.e., all gun owners are mentally ill really?

As to another letter writers contention that the federal background check requirement is manifestly sufficient, that could hardly be the case with the continued existence of the so-called gun show loophole.

Terry Roy, St, Petersburg

Barbara Tripp named first female fire chief in Tampa | June 26

I cant tell you how encouraged I was to see the picture of Mayor Jane Castor swearing in Barbara Tripp as the new Tampa fire chief. What was so encouraging is not that Tripp is Black, not that she is a woman, but that she is the most qualified person for the job. Needless to say, this speaks volumes about Mayor Castors perception of the job requirement. Further, I see this as a return to sanity none of the political posturing weve seen so much of recently. This was clearly the appointment of the most qualified person to serve in such a position. There is light at the end of the tunnel for future placements in critical positions.

Cindy Gamblin, Dunedin

Short-circuiting the legislative process | Column, June 28

David Schanzers column on the filibuster is the best article I have read explaining the consequences of continuing this undemocratic procedure. He states that since the filibuster can keep bills from the Senate floor, it limits discussions on a bill and halts bipartisan efforts to make changes. Schanzer has exposed the phoniness in Mitch McConnells and the Republican Partys mantra of bipartisanship. If they truly believed in bipartisanship, they would, at the very least, as Schanzer states, vote to end the filibuster on motions to proceed.

Ann Jamieson, St. Petersburg

Hillsborough Commissioner Stacy White vows to oppose transit spending | June 27

In Florida and elsewhere, we give names to the most destructive storms. Why dont we name traffic jams for the politicians who insist Floridians would rather be stuck in traffic than pay slightly more sales tax for transportation?

Charles Lehnert, Sun City Center

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Repealing the Second Amendment and closing the gun show loophole | Letters - Tampa Bay Times

The extraordinary events of the past year challenge us to assess anew many of our institutions, laws, and freedoms. This essay series addresses one piece of that broader assessment: gun rights and regulation.

While some commentators have concluded that the recent tumult rationalizes gun rights and justifies loosening gun restrictions, the scholars in this series consider other perspectives. They explore whether expansive gun rights have contributed to the very instability we have witnessed, noting that armed civilian groups often warp American traditions, misconstrue framing era philosophy, defy the rule of law, and threaten democratic norms. They seek to put defensive gun use into context and examine how gun carrying can suppress speech and other freedoms. They probe the complicated relationship between guns and race, policing, domestic violence, and republican government.

In the coming year, the Supreme Court will decide a major Second Amendment case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett, and the debate over gun rights and regulation will likely intensify. We hope that this series informs and improves that debate.

Eric Ruben, Assistant Professor, SMU Dedman School of Law, and Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

The Brennan Center gratefully acknowledges the Joyce Foundation for their generous support of our work.

Photo Illustration: George Fry, Daniel Slim, Barbara Alper/Getty

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Protests, Insurrection, and the Second Amendment - brennancenter.org

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) Kentucky would become a Second Amendment sanctuary state if legislation being proposed for the 2022 General Assembly is enacted.

The measure, which will be sponsored by Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mt. Vernon, would bar state and local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal restrictions on the Second Amendments right to bear arms. It would also prohibit local governments and other public agencies from allocating public resources or money in the enforcement of federal firearm bans. It includes firearms themselves, ammunition and firearm accessories.

President Biden has declared gun control a priority for his administration, and we know that if he doesnt get what he wants from Congress, he will abuse his executive authority through rulemaking, said Bray, who represents all of Garrard and Rockcastle counties and a portion of Madison County. This sends a clear message that Kentucky is a Second Amendment sanctuary and that there is no question we will defend the Second Amendment against any attempt to infringe upon it.

Bray says his proposal would further strengthen a statewide movement, as fiscal courts in almost every Kentucky county have approved similar language, and cities across the state have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.

Firearms play an enormous role in our states history and our lifestyle today. Kentuckians want to enjoy the outdoors and pass along the tradition of hunting and sportsmanship. However, we also recognize that the Second Amendment was crafted to ensure we can protect not only country, but also ourselves, he noted.

The proposal comes in response to a plan revealed by the Biden administration last week, which they call a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and other violent crime.

According to the White House, it implements preventative measures that are proven to reduce violent crime and attacks the root causes, including the flow of firearms used to commit crimes.

It will use ARPA funds to help state and local governments put more police officers on the beat, with resources, training and accountability needed to engage in effective community policing; plus supporting proven community violence intervention programs, summer employment opportunities and other investments to reduce crime and make neighborhoods safer.

The White House says it will also address the direct link between gun violence and the rise in violent crime by taking immediate steps to keep guns out of the wrong hands by strengthening ATFs efforts to stem the flow of firearms used in crimes and by launching multijurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces to stop illegal gun trafficking across state lines.

Brays measure, which is currently designated Bill Request 171, would be retroactive to January 1, 2021, if enacted into law.

The full text of BR 171 can be foundhere, or by visiting the Legislative Research Commissions website atwww.legislature.ky.gov, which is where you can also see all legislation that is being proposed for the upcoming session.

Lawmakers will convene on Jan. 4.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Legislation proposed to make Ky. Second Amendment sanctuary state - Times Tribune of Corbin

The Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at exempting the state from federal gun laws.

The state Senate passed Assembly Bill 293by voice vote, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Supporters of the legislation say it would make the state a Second Amendment sanctuary.

Under the bill, a firearm that is owned in the state of Wisconsin and does not leave the state would not be subject to federal regulation, according to its text.

The measure also prohibits a person from enforcing a federal act, law, statute, rule, regulation, treaty, or order that bans semi-automatic weapons, requires registration of firearms, regulates capacity of magazines or requires confiscation of a firearm.

The legislation also prohibits state agencies and local governments fromusing resources to confiscate firearms that are lawfully possessed in the state.

The state Assembly passed the bill on June 9, according to records on the state legislatures website.

The bill now heads to Gov. Tony EversTony EversWisconsin adds gender neutral option to birth certificates Overnight Health Care: House panels launch probe into Alzheimer's drug | Half of public health workers experiencing mental health strain | Puerto Rico presses Congress to prevent 'Medicaid cliff' Wisconsin Senate passes 'Second Amendment sanctuary' bill MOREs (D) desk. But as the Journal Sentinel notes, Evers has pushed for more oversight of guns, as opposed to less.

The bills passage came the same day that President BidenJoe BidenCriminal justice group urges clemency for offenders released to home confinement during pandemic Progressive poll: Majority supports passing Biden agenda through reconciliation Transportation moves to ban airline ticket sales to Belarus amid arrest of opposition journalist MORE outlined efforts tocombat crime, with a focus on addressing gun violence.

The president has repeatedly called for Congress to pass gun reform in the wake of several high-profile mass shootings and has previously unveiled legislation aimed at the issue.

According to a report from The Associated Press, Second Amendment sanctuaries took off in 2018, when states were considering gun laws in the following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead.

About 1,200 local governments across the U.S. have enacted such resolutions, according to AP. Arizona Gov. Doug DuceyDoug DuceyStates spend big as water levels fall, raising risks for catastrophic fires Border crisis deepens as governors assert control Wisconsin Senate passes 'Second Amendment sanctuary' bill MORE (R) has signed a proposal into law.

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Wisconsin Senate passes 'Second Amendment sanctuary' bill | TheHill - The Hill

I am writing in response to the letter from Lee Santa. The Second Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on Dec. 15, 1791. It was written as a constitutional check on congressional power. Our forefathers didn't want a repeat of the totalitarian monarchy which ruled them before independence from Britain. They learned from an armed government, and didn't want citizens without a means of defense against that government, and tyrannical rule.

At that time there almost 700,000 slaves in the United States, and the population, according to the 1790 census, was 3,292,214. So it seems a little unlikely that the Second Amendment was written to suppress slave uprisings, which had not yet occurred.

But when have race baiters ever had a problem lying about the facts. Carol Anderson has a book to sell and facts are so inconvenient. In fact, over 300,000 white slaves were shipped from Britain to the Colonies, and in 1830 there were 3,775 free black people who owned 12,740 black slaves. Yes, those pesky facts again.

How dare you characterize citizens who uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as, how did you put it, oh yes, "those, (with their Tarzan yells) who beat their chests, most likely alt-right/white supremacist scaredy-cats who are terrified of people of color, esp. blacks."

You are the racist here, you hate and seem terrified of white people. You are Carol Anderson's water carrier. I am embarrassed for you, you are the racist you purport to hate. And yes, Lee Santa, ignorance is a choice.

CATHERINE FAHRIG

Sandpoint

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The real facts about the Second Amendment - Bonner County Daily Bee

In response to Lee Santas letter (June 17, 2021) entitled "The Second Amendment is a racist document," I did a little research and learned from a 2017 study that 30% of Americans do own guns, and 36% percent of the rest could see themselves owning one. The same study shows that 24% of African Americans are proud owners of firearms.

The five main reasons for ownership are protection, hunting, sport shooting, collecting, and use on the job. As of April of this year, gun ownership among African Americans is up 58.2% according to the Guardian, US Edition. Apparently the Second Amendment is for everyone.

There is a process by which this nation can limit or broaden the Second Amendment, but to resort to someones narrow study as a cause for inclusion in the Bill of Rights should not be part of the debate.

STEVE HATCHER

Clark Fork

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Study proves Second Amendment is for everyone - Bonner County Daily Bee

Governor Mark Gordon and Secretary of State Ed Buchanan have sent a letter to the National Rifle Association (NRA) inviting the NRA to explore relocation of its Virginia operation to Wyoming.

The letter highlights the states business-friendly tax environment, Wyomings eager workforce and the populations strong support for Second Amendment rights.

Governor Gordon is a lifetime member of the NRA and believes the right to bear arms is fundamental.

Owning guns was part of a way of life growing up on his family ranch in Kaycee and remains so today.

The Governor signed multiple pieces of legislation in 2021, which reinforce existing firearms laws in Wyoming, and he has also helped facilitate the relocation of several firearms manufacturing businesses to Wyoming.

Secretary Ed Buchanan is an avid hunter, firearms enthusiast and longtime member of the NRA. I received my first rifle on the ranch when I was age 12 and have had a great reverence for the Second Amendment ever since.

As a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, Secretary Buchanan sponsored or supported several pieces of pro-Second Amendment legislation and voted in favor of legislation on the castle doctrine and the Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act.

As the Secretary of State, he has also continued to recruit firearms and ammunition manufacturers to Wyoming.

Wyoming citizens value our states customs, culture and pro-second amendment laws, Governor Gordon said. We will always protect personal freedoms, and those of businesses involved in the firearms industry. All of this, plus our great hunting and other outdoor opportunities, make Wyoming an ideal place for the National Rifle Association to consider home.

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Wyoming Leaders Trying To Persuade NRA To Move To The Cowboy State Sheridan Media - Sheridan Media

When a federal judge in California struck down the states 32-year-old ban on assault weapons in early June 2021, he added a volatile new issue to the gun-rights debate.

The ruling, by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez, does not take effect immediately, because California has 30 days to appeal the rejection of its assault weapons ban. Most coverage has focused on Benitezs provocative analogy between an AR-15 and a Swiss army knife. But the case raises troubling questions about the meaning and proper role of militias under the Second Amendment.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that Californias assault weapons ban unconstitutionally restricted citizens Second Amendment rights by preventing them from using assault weapons for home defense and other legal purposes. Californias defense was that assault weapons are more dangerous than other firearms and therefore subject to additional restrictions.

In his ruling, Benitez asserts that citizens have a right to own a private assault weapon not just for defense of a gun owners home, but also for citizens militias engaged in homeland defense.

If the founders were alive today, I believe they would be very concerned because the Constitution is clear that the only militias protected by the Second Amendment are well-regulated units authorized and controlled by state governments, not a private citizen militia.

The preamble to the Second Amendment mentions service in a militia as a reason citizens have the right to keep and bear arms: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

In his ruling, Benitez builds on the 2008 Supreme Court case D.C. v. Heller. In that landmark case, the Supreme Court held, as Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, that the amendment protects a right to possess a firearm unconnected to military service and that individuals are free to use such weapons for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

Benitez accepts this individual right, including to own assault weapons, but he adds what he calls citizen militias to the mix, which he defines as an informal assembly of able-bodied, ordinary citizens acting in concert for the security of our nation. The AR-15, he says, is an ideal arm for such purposes.

While distinguishing a citizen militia from a state-organized militia, the judge is vague about what, exactly, a citizen militia is. The examples he offers include the armed partisans led by Fidel Castro, Ho Chi Minh, and the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents. Although Benitez surely knows that the United States has a long history of vigilantism and mob violence, he doesnt say which informal groups of armed citizens in this country might qualify and which would not.

That lack of specificity is a problem. Does a citizen militia include the protesters who occupied the Michigan State Capitol during the spring of 2020, posing with assault weapons slung over their shoulders? What about the activists who in the summer of 2020 briefly created Seattles Capitol Hill autonomous zone, where guards armed with AR-15s stood watch at the entrance and patrolled the streets? Kyle Rittenhouse, on trial for killing two people with a Smith & Wesson rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, allegedly viewed himself as part of a militia and claimed to be helping the police.

The biggest problem with Benitezs ruling is that the Second Amendment sanctions a well-regulated militia, not an informal assembly of armed citizens. As the founders knew, a well-regulated militia was one authorized, trained and with growing frequency during the American Revolution armed and provisioned by state governments.

After the American Revolution, the purpose of these state militias was clearly laid out in Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 of the Constitution: so Congress could use them to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.

Today, the militia in all 50 states is the National Guard. In California, as Benitez notes in his opinion, the militia also includes the State Guard, a force trained and equipped by the government. There is nothing informal about it.

Having lived through the Revolutionary War, the founders knew why the words well regulated mattered. They had seen what happened when people took the law into their own hands.

After the Boston Massacre in 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a crowd that had been pelting them with rocks and ice, John Adams defended the soldiers during their murder trial, worried that a guilty verdict could lead to mob rule.

In 1775, the Colonial Minutemen who stood their ground at Lexington and Concord served in units authorized by the Massachusetts legislature. Although taking up arms against their king and his soldiers, they fought as members of a well-regulated militia.

Naturally, not all early Americans accepted such distinctions. During the so-called Whiskey Rebellion from 1791 to 1794, which occurred after the Constitution and Second Amendment had been ratified, armed insurgents near Pittsburgh forcibly resisted a new federal tax on distilled spirits, mustering in military-style formations, tarring and feathering federal excise officers, and threatening secession. President George Washington responded in 1794 by marching west at the head of 12,950 federalized state militiamen. By the time the Western Army reached the Ohio River, most of the rebels had gone home. The nations first president made clear that in a democratic republic, the way to make your voice heard is through the ballot box, not the muzzle of a gun.

The right to own a gun is not unlimited, as Justice Scalia wrote in 2008. For that reason, the Supreme Court held that state and federal authorities can bar firearms from schools and public buildings, while the people remain free to prohibit what Scalia called dangerous and unusual weapons.

The AR-15 may no longer be unusual, but Californias decision to appeal Benitezs ruling shows that the state still thinks it is dangerous. If the rifle really is Benitezs ideal weapon for a citizen militia, then perhaps the state is right.

[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversations email newsletter.]

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Why the Second Amendment protects a 'well-regulated militia' but not a private citizen militia - The Conversation US

The Los Angeles Times editorial page is less a journalistic enterprise than it is a partisan grievance noticeboard. The editorial boards descent into trivial activist messaging was on full display in a pair of recent pieces lamenting the federal judiciarys recognition of the Second Amendment. In both, the editorial board denied the core rulings in the U.S. Supreme Courts opinions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago that recognized the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. In neither piece did the would-be jurists at the L.A. Times offer evidence or argument as to their incorrect position or why the legal analysis of self-important regime press agents should carry any weight whatsoever.

The first editorial was published on April 26 and titled, The Supreme Court agrees to hear a case that could mean more guns in public. The item took issue with the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to grant cert to NRA-backed case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Corlett. The case challenges New Yorks concealed carry licensing scheme and could prompt the Court to recognize that the right to keep and bear arms extends outside the home.

Lamenting the Courts cert decision, the editorial board wrote,

The case the court accepted Monday (New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. Inc. vs. Corlett) follows the courts controversial 2008 Heller decision, which for the first time enunciated a right to own a firearm in the home for self-protection, breaking with historic perceptions that the right was conferred only to members of state militias. From our perspective, it was an errant reading of the Constitution, but unfortunately the nation is stuck with it.

The second editorial was published June 7 and titled, The judge is wrong: Californias assault-weapons ban must stand. This piece complained about the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in Miller v. Bonta. The decision, by Judge Roger Benitez, found that Californias ban on commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms violated the Second Amendment.

Benitezs ruling on the California ban was the result of a faithful interpretation of the Heller and McDonald decisions. We can be certain of this because Heller author Justice Antonin Scalia signed onto a dissent from the denial of certiorari in Friedman v. Highland Park, a case concerning a local ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms, that stated as much. The dissent noted,

Roughly five million Americans own AR-style semiautomatic rifles. The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and use such rifles do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense and target shooting. Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons.

Defending Californias unconstitutional ban, the L.A. Times editorial board whined,

Even the Supreme Courts controversial 2008 Heller decision, which for the first time recognized (wrongly) an individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense, also said that the government has an interest in regulating firearms and that the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.

In addition to its rejection of the Heller ruling, the editorial board did not even get the basic history correct when it contended that Heller recognized the individual right protected by the Second Amendment for the first time. As Scalia explained in Heller, the Courts ruling in the 1939 case U.S. v. Miller is not only consistent with, but positively suggests, that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.

After their defeat in Heller, the more sophisticated gun control advocates abandoned their discredited collective right messaging on the Second Amendment. In fact, some gun control organizations have explicitly told activists in their messaging guides not to Attack the Second Amendment or gun owners in general.

In 2016, anti-gun group Americans for Responsible Solutions (now Giffords) conducted a gun control rebranding effort based on poll and focus-group data. The resulting messaging booklet warned supporters not to Attack the NRA or the Second Amendment. An earlier gun control group messaging guide from 2013, titled, Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging told readers to acknowledge Yes, there is a right to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense. Moreover, it told gun control activists, dont re-litigate the courts rulings.

There is good reason for the anti-gun groups advice. Aside from the fact that the outmoded collective interpretation of the Second Amendment is indefensible, that false reading is wildly unpopular.

A February 2008 USA Today/Gallup poll conducted prior to the Heller decision asked respondents, Do you believe the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns, or do you believe it only guarantees members of state militias such as National Guard units the right to own guns? The response was unambiguous; 73-percent responded that the Second Amendment guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns, while a mere 20-percent limited that right to state militia members

A Quinnipiac University poll conducted shortly after the Heller decision, in July 2008, mirrored these results. This poll asked respondents, Would you support or oppose amending the United States Constitution to ban individual gun ownership? 78-percent opposed such a measure, while only 17-percent were in favor.

In May 2009, CNN and ORC conducted a similar poll that asked Which of the following comes closer to your interpretation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? In addition to addressing the need for citizen-militias, it was intended to give individual Americans the right to keep and bear arms for their own defense. It was only intended to preserve the existence of citizen-militias, and does not give individual Americans the right to keep and bear arms for their own defense. Once again, the American public made their position clear; with 77-percent choosing individual gun ownership to 21-percent answering only citizen-militias.

With the individual right to keep and bear arms firmly established by the U.S. Supreme Court, in April 2018 Quinnipiac asked respondents Would you support or oppose repealing the Second Amendment, also known as the right to bear arms? An overwhelming 79-percent opposed repeal.

The vast majority of the general public, the federal government, the U.S. Supreme Court, both major political parties, and even some of the major gun control groups have all acknowledged or reluctantly acquiesced to the fact that the Second Amendment means what it says the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. The L.A. Timess intransigence is symbolic of an increasingly radical and detached media elite who would rather nurse their own prejudices than accept reality or provide any meaningful reporting or informed commentary.

Link:

LA Times Still Denying the Second Amendment - NRA ILA

MADISON - Wisconsin gun owners would not be subject to federal firearm laws under legislation passed by Republicans and one Democrat in the stateAssembly on Wednesday.

The bill, which also requires Wisconsin gun manufacturers to include a "Made in Wisconsin" stamp on their firearms, is part of a national effort by Republican lawmakers to push back against new gun restrictions that could be imposed by a Democratic-controlled Congress and President Joe Biden.

But the idea has been deemed unconstitutional in the past in other statesbecause state law cannot override conflicting federal law under the U.S. Constitution.

Rep. Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, said the legislation isinferior to the Second Amendment and "in factundermines the Constitutionthat we all swore an oath to uphold."

According to a nonpartisan analysis by the Legislature's legal staff provided to McGuire, the legislation if enacted would bar law enforcement from confiscating firearms from people who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence because there is no state law allowing it.

Proponents call the proposala"Second Amendment sanctuary."

"Passing this bill is going to be protecting the Second Amendmentrights of the people who live in these state's borders," Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, said.

Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, said the Biden administration is "scaring usand making us feel like our Second Amendment rights are not going to be upheld."

The bill also would bar the enforcement of laws that restrict gun or ammunition sales and bar law enforcement from confiscatingguns or ammunition.

It prohibits the enforcement of federal regulations that wouldban semi-automatic firearms or assault weapons andregulate the capacity of magazines or require registration of firearms.

Hope Karnopp of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

You can find out who your legislators are and how to contact them here.

Contact Molly Beckat molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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Assembly passes 'Second Amendment sanctuary' bill that would bar enforcement of federal gun restrictions - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This session, the South Carolina General Assembly passed the strongest Second Amendment legislation in the last 25 years. Governor Henry McMaster signed it into law promptly. Unfortunately, those who are supposed to be working towards the common goal of protecting and advancing Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens are spreading lies against the lawmakers who were instrumental in passing this bill. These legislators were also critical in advancing the ultimate goal of constitutional carry in South Carolina.

House Bill 3094 made South Carolina the 46th state where citizens may open carry a handgun, and eliminated the $50 fee for a Concealed Weapons Permit. These are important reforms that allow law-abiding citizens to carry a handgun in the manner of their choosing that best suits them, and eliminate a cost barrier to exercising this right.

The representatives ensured that the House concurred with the Senate to guarantee the Second Amendment advances in South Carolina. The House already passed H. 3096, the constitutional carry bill supported by these legislators. Though the Senate did not take action on it in 2021, it currently remains alive in the Senate for next year.

NRA once again thanks the representatives that supported constitutional carry by voting in favor of H. 3096. If your state representative voted for H. 3096, you may click the button below to thank them too.

Rita Allison, F. Lucas Atkinson, William Bailey, Nathan Ballentine, Bruce Bannister, Linda Bennett, Jeffrey Bradley, Thomas Brittain, J. Mike Burns, Jerry Carter, Micah Caskey, William Chumley, Neal Collins, Bobby Cox, Westley Cox, Heather Crawford, Vic Dabney, Sylleste Davis, Jason Elliott, Cal Forrest, Russell Fry, Craig Gagnon, Leon Gilliam, Patrick Haddon, Kevin Hardee, William Herbkersman, W. Lee Hewitt, Jonathon Hill, David Hiott, Chip Huggins, Max Hyde, Jeffrey Johnson, Stewart Jones, Jay Jordan, Mandy Kimmons, Randy Ligon, Steven Long, Phillip Lowe, Jay Lucas, R. Josiah Magnuson, Rick Martin, RJ May, D. Ryan McCabe, John McCravy, Sandy McGarry, Tim McGinnis, Travis Moore, Adam Morgan, Dennis Moss, Steve Moss, Christopher Murphy, Brandon Newton, Weston Newton, Roger Nutt, Melissa Oremus, William Sandifer, Murrell Smith, Garry Smith, Mark Smith, Tommy Stringer, Bill Taylor, Anne Thayer, Ashley Trantham, John West, W. Brian White, William Whitmire, Mark Willis, Christopher Wooten, and Richard Yow.

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South Carolina: Correcting Record on Second Amendment Package - NRA ILA

I am mystified by those such as Matt Gaetz who read only a part of the Second Amendment to the Constitution as if that part were the whole and then assert that the right to bear arms is for the potential of leading an insurrection against the government of the United States. There appear to be many who hold such a misbegotten opinion. Here is what the Constitution says:

8.1 The Congress shall have Power

8.15 To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

8.16 To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

How could it be clearer that the so-called militias around this country are not militias in the Constitutional sense? They dont even come close. They should not be called militias. I could come up with several different names for them. They are the opposite. They are the very thing that the militia might be called forth to suppress.

Thats just what happened in 1794 when George Washington rode at the head of the Militiamen to put down a rebellion. One cannot willy-nilly take up arms to participate in an insurrection to defend the Constitution because the very doing so violates the Constitution. Patriots wouldnt get close to the so-called militias.

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Letter to the editor: A closer reading of the Second Amendment is needed - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

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LETTER: Alter the Second Amendment - Las Vegas Review-Journal

That African Americans were no match for the slave owners arsenal didnt mitigate their resistance to subjugation Anderson reports at least a half-dozen insurrection scares during the colonial period. In response to Charlestons bloody Stono Rebellion, South Carolinas Negro Act of 1740 became the model for slave codes throughout North America, (requiring) heavy-handed white control that curtailed the enslaveds movements, literacy, right to self-defense and access to firearms.

Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

In the Lowcountrys labor-intensive rice culture, 18th century planters understood perfectly the consequences of the hellish society they had spawned. Anderson writes, the combination of insatiable desire for enormous profits coupled with the sadistic brutalization of bonded African labor created an overwhelming fear among whites of the enslaveds capacity and desire for retribution.

Crucial to her case is James Madison, the Virginian who would become Americas fourth President. A slave owner who believed slavery to be an abomination, Madison was the key figure in crafting the Second Amendment. He embraced the necessity of a new constitution, siding with the Federalists, who sought a more coherent government with a national bank and a professional military.

To the contrary, the Anti-Federalists, aligned with Southern slavers like Patrick Henry, feared the centralization of power and a standing army. Undaunted, Madison sprinted between factions, brokering compromises that finally secured the Constitution of the United States in 1789. As an additional inducement, he promised the Anti-Federalists a Bill of Rights to follow. The Second Amendment was therefore, according to Anderson, a bribe that not only elevated militias, whose primary and most important function was controlling the Black population, but ensured that the federal governments constitutional role would not interfere in the states ability to use those forces when necessary.

The Second Amendment was ratified just as the Haitian Revolution began in 1791. The news of victory for the islands slave population would send an electromagnetic pulse wave through the white South. Charleston was as close to Saint Domingue as it was to Boston.

Would Blacks access to guns have made a difference in the 400 years since their arrival in the New World?

Andersons answer is, mostly, no. The armed power of the state, paramilitary mobs and the local police has been too great. As for the Black Panthers and their Hollywood displays of firepower in the late 1960s, she details her reasons for the failure of armed self defense as a political tactic. (Black Lives Matter has never endorsed this strategy.)

(P)ervasive anti-Blackness, even after the civil rights movement, turned the Second Amendments law for protection the castle doctrine, stand your ground and open carry against African Americans, Anderson writes, pointing to studies that indicate, when African Americans openly carry a gun, although allowed by law, it raises exponentially the sense of danger about them and to them.

Anderson has a gift for elegant summary. Her writing has clarity of style and a cool zeal, but do not doubt the fire. The best historians have noble intent; for them, that means nurturing an empathy for historys victims and accepting ones inevitable professional vulnerability: The Second, she said in her Zoom interview, was a hard write, before pausing to add, pain over centuries.

And so she reaches a damning conclusion: The Second (Amendment) is lethal; steeped in anti-Blackness, it is the loaded weapon laying around just waiting for the hand of some authority to put it to use.

As for all tomorrows options, Anderson reminds us of one thats 200 years old: the vision of Gabriel Prosser, who led an 1800 slave revolt in Virginia. His objective, Anderson states, was to create a multiracial, multi-religious, multiethnic republic. It was as if an occult hand had nudged Gabriel well in advance of his contemporaries, the Founding Fathers, who are still trying to find themselves in the 21st century. It is time to defuse the power of white rage, Anderson writes. It is time to move into that future.

NONFICTION

The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America

by Carol Anderson

Bloomsbury Publishing

272 pages, $28

Continued here:

The Second eyes racial implications of the right to bear arms - Atlanta Journal Constitution

This is a response to "County leaders again disappoint with Second Amendment letter."

Please listen, with discerning ears, to the words of those who would paint us all as less than constitutional. They repaint your history with their beliefs. Do you want to be ruled by these people?

They misguide you with their opinions. They tell you what you are to speak. Do you want to be led by these people?

The Constitution and its amendments were put in place by Americans fighting against such authoritative rulers. Americans should stand up for their rights named via the Constitution and the amendments. Dont you want freedom?

We the people, we the United States, are not bound to the guilt some people would try to paint us with. Our whole history is one of improvements for the citizens of the United States and the world. Dont you want to retain and restore your freedoms?

I know that many of you feel the same as the 50 who sent letters to our Walla Walla County Commissioners about their regard for the Second Amendment.

Please send our County Commissioners your thoughts about supporting the Second Amendment in Walla Walla County. We need your voice.

Continued here:

Your support of the Second Amendment is needed - Walla Walla Union-Bulletin