Monthly Archives: April 2021

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Second Amendment supporters held a rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday as the Sooner State moves another step closer to becoming what is referred to as a second amendment sanctuary.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 631, the Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act, on Tuesday.

That legislation states that any order demanding the confiscation, buyback or surrender of firearms infringes upon Oklahomans Second Amendment rights.

Those at Tuesdays rally say their liberty is being infringed upon after President Joe Biden announced a crackdown on guns, issuing six executive orders aimed at curbing what he calls an epidemic following several recent mass shootings.

Oklahomans rallying at the State Capitol see the situation differently from Biden.

Theres a lot of language, a lot of liberty people are concerned about the federal government squeezing things down, and were here to let our legislators know we support them and we want them to protect us, said Don Spencer, president of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association.

SB 631 now heads to Gov. Kevin Stitts desk.

The State Legislature has several active bills dealing directly with protecting gun-related rights.

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Oklahoma House of Reps passes Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act as pro-gun rally held at State Capitol - KFOR Oklahoma City

The Tuesday cartoon on the Opinion page was meant to be a satire on the Second Amendments well regulated militia but only served to keep the uninformed ignorant. More anti-gun laws dont accomplish a thing. This fact shown by cities that have the most stringent laws, yet have the highest homicide rates. More laws such as magazine capacity, caliber size,type of weapon, etc., only serve to legislatively turn law-abiding citizens into felons. Gun laws, as they currently stand, if administered and not pled down to lesser charges, would be sufficiently effective. Our founding fathers knew what they were doing when they wrote our Second Amendment. It is the ultimate defense against governmental tyranny. Perhaps a government that fears the people needs to be regulated themselves. It appears that many of our representatives have forgotten who is supposed to serve who.

Chet Burum, Bonny Doon

The Sentinel welcomes your letters to the editor. Letters should be short, no more than 150 words. We do not accept anonymous letters. Letter-writers should include their full name as well as a street address and telephone number. We dont publish those details in the newspaper, but need the information for verification purposes. Occasionally, we reject letters simply because weve had so many on the same subject. Submit your letters online atwww.santacruzsentinel.com/submit-letters.

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Letter | Cartoon ignored meaning of Second Amendment - Santa Cruz Sentinel

In Carl Scheuffeles letter Revise Second Amendment (Our Readers Views, April 19) he mentions hunting twice and implies that the reason for the adoption of the Second Amendment was the necessity of having a firearm to hunt with. This is an often-stated point by those who want to restrict or eliminate gun ownership. It is of course completely false. It is misdirection. The founders understood that any and all governments have the potential and even the tendency to devolve into tyranny. They thoughtfully put in place many checks and balances and safeguards to prevent and/or combat tyranny. The Second Amendment is one of those safeguards. It was never about hunting.

It is reasonable for us to have a discussion about gun ownership but let us stick to the facts and not invent history. In one way the United States is no more special than any other country on the planet. We have that potential to move toward tyranny when safeguards are removed. If we do not understand that we are one step closer to it happening.

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Letter: Second Amendment is a safeguard - The Columbian

I have known Jim Albert for many years, both as a magistrate and as Westmoreland County sheriff, and Ive always liked him. However, his recent letter to the editor (Second Amendment is absolute, April 3, TribLIVE) declaring I was wrong in my letter stating the Second Amendment is not absolute (Commissioners misguided on gun-rights resolution, March 21, TribLIVE) suggests he has never read Justice Antonin Scalias opinion in the Heller case, which held for the first time that the Second Amendment confers rights on the individual.

Scalias textualist approach was nonsense, virtually incomprehensible, but it became the law. Though the holding was silly, he nonetheless was very careful to point out that the Second Amendment is, indeed, not absolute, and even suggested that assault weapons can be lawfully banned. Perhaps Albert might want to consult with his solicitor before opining on the law.

I appeared before him as magistrate many times during my career as an attorney. We did not always agree, to be sure, but I always thought he strove to do the right thing. Alas, this is not the first time hed be wrong. It is also not the last time that Id be right.

David Millstein

Naples, Fla.

The writer is a former Westmoreland County resident and attorney for more than 50 years.

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Letter to the editor: Scalia held that Second Amendment not absolute - TribLIVE

Im disappointed that the Westerly Town Council voted to object to a number of gun-control bills currently before the Rhode Island General Assembly. I think some of the bills are good and some are bad, but thats not the point. What I find disappointing is that their blanket objection is based on the idea that the bills potentially abridge our Second Amendment rights. First, violations of the Constitution are a matter for the federal courts, not town councils. They are also wrong to treat the Second Amendment like a sacred doctrine. The Second Amendment expresses the opinions of 18th-century intellectuals addressing an 18th-century political issue involving 18th-century weapons. It is not the inspired word of God.

The Second Amendments wording is so ambiguous that applying it to a specific situation is often impossible. The use of the word Militia had confounded legal scholars for decades. As written, it protects the ownership of any weapon: grenades, mortars, machine guns, etc.

We would be better off if the Second Amendment were strengthened by stating clearly that the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is an individual right. This was affirmed in the Supreme Courts Heller decision, but by a narrow 5-4 vote. But then, because modern weapons are so destructive, it should also clarify that some regulations are now necessary for the public good.

I am not anti-gun. I grew up in the Midwest and the South, the son of a World War II combat veteran. Ive been around firearms since childhood. I only think we should stop basing policies on an outdated 18th century document and focus on making our nation more secure.

Albert Gerheim

Westerly

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Letter: Stop basing policy on outdated 2nd Amendment - The Westerly Sun

Journalist Stephen Gutowski has dedicated his career to helping people understand a community that's long been a blind spot for the press: gun owners.

Now, Gutowskiis launchinga new subscription-based site, The Reload, where he looks to continue that mission by bringing his reporting and firearms expertise.

"It's a publication that's going to be focused on firearms reporting and analysis," Gutowski told Fox News. "It's going to be mainly focused on hard news reporting on firearms policy and politics and also culture, because these are areas that are largely overlooked and misunderstood by major media outlets."

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Stephen Gutowski has dedicated his career to helping people understand a community that's long been a blind spot for the press: gun owners. (Stephen Gutowski)

Gutowski has left the Washington Free Beacon after nearly seven years with the conservativeonline outlet, where he broke news onSecond Amendment battles, the National RifleAssociation, and national and state gun policies, among other issues. He also hosted a show, "Range Time," for its YouTube channel.

Gutowski saidhis work has been about "trying to help people understand the gun-owning community better, what it looks like, who's in it, why people own guns, what they do with them," and doesnt understand why the mainstream media doesnt employ experts on a subject that impacts millions of Americans.

"There isn't a single gun beat reporter at any major outlet outside of the Free Beacon, which was me," he said. "There aren't many publications that are focused on hard news reporting when it comes to firearms."

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Gutowski's move is part of a recent trend of prominent journalists leaving reputable publicationsto go independent.

The Free Beacon may have stood out among news outlets by having a reporter exclusively focused on the gun beat, but one of Gutowski'smost notable scoops also concerned the media. In 2016, he reported on a Katie Couric documentary that deceptively edited gun rights supporters to make them look dumbfounded by one of Couric's questions.

Gutowski, a certified firearms instructor, often works with major mainstream reporters behind the scenes to help them cover the topic better.

Stephen Gutowskiis launchinga new subscription-based site, The Reload. (Stephen Gutowski)

Gutowski feels his subscription-based model will thrive because of a combination of his expertise and the lack of any legitimate competition. He said manymajor media outlets employ reporters who understand the politics surrounding firearms but not guns themselves.

"Theres a big problem in our current media landscape when it comes to reporting on firearms. There just is, it's undeniable. There's a lot of mistakes that happen continually. And that's something that I don't think is acceptable," Gutowski said. "And that's something where I think I can fill a need with this new publication ... There's a lot of blind spots in major media over that stuff."

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Gutowski tries to help fellow journalists whenever possible, often assisting in an attempt to limit misinformation about firearms. He said reporters from CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and elsewhere have sought his help.

"I applaud people who reach out to me for that reason and I'll always help. The problem is that, you know, one, I can't do it for every news story," Gutowski said.

However, Gutowski has noticed that not everyone isinterested in doing due diligence and getting the facts straight when reporting on the polarizing topic. He feels that most reporters want to be accurate but simply botch it, while some opinion pundits dont really care about getting it right and prefer to push a narrative.

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"You can see that over and over again in a number of mistakes, maybe basic stuff, you know, like the gun show issue with, know, pretending that gun shows have some sort of special exemption from federal background checks. But that's not at all how the system works," he said. "It hurts the reputation of the news industry you're misinforming a large number of Americans about firearms, how they work and the laws that govern them."

The Reload will cost subscribers $10 a month, but there are other options such as annual and lifetime memberships along with a launch sale. There will also be a free newsletter that rounds up major news on a weekly basis, and subscribers will receive a more elaborate newsletter with Gutowskis analysis.

Beyond typical coverage on issues like gun control bills and shootings, The Reloadwillexplore topics such as the rise infemalegun owners, why moreminorities arepurchasing guns and why average Americans own guns. Polling shows nearly half of Americans reporthavinga gun in their household.

"There is so much more going on," Gutowski said.

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The Reload is now live and Gutowski expects to be targeted byliberal activists for simply providing nonpartisan coverage of firearms.

"They don't likewhat you're writing about. So I would expect to see something like that happen," he said. "It doesn't faze me."

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The mainstream media's 'blind spot': Gun owners and the Second Amendment - Fox News