Tag Archives: California

"News Media", authoritarian swine, Culture, hatred of Jews, Hollywood, Israel, Law, mindset, Politics, So Much Stupid!, Terrorism

Yes Jamie Lee, L.A. Looks Just Like Gaza!

I recently heard a sound clip that reminds me why some of Hollyweirds elites are actors and actresses. Because when they open their mouths it becomes clear that they are better off reading lines someone else wrote off a paper than trying to make a weighty point of their own.

Jamie Lee said that L.A. and Pacific Palisades looks just like Gaza!

So let’s take a couple of minutes.

Gaza is under a cleansing effort by the country they invaded and murdered and kidnapped men, women, children. Be they elderly or babies it didn’t matter to the murderous Gazans. And forget the innocent Gazans, I’ve written before about how the people living in the Kibbutzim recognized Gazans they had helped over the years with jobs and trips to hospitals. The videos clearly show people coming through the fence not wearing Hamass or Hezbollah identifiers. There aren’t innocent civilians living in Gaza. They voted for Hamass to govern Gaza and they support the mission to eradicate Jews world wide. Has nothing to do with territory and everything to do with religion. It’s the Gazan version of virtue signaling. Vote for the most radical group, as opposed to the Falestinian Authority, which is also evil, but slightly less so, to govern. The one that openly, in the charter, calls for the murder of Jews. There is none of the peaceful coexistence the west blathers on about.

Meanwhile in the West, in this case California, you have citizens voting for basically nothing but demoncrats, especially in the big cities. They too, chose the ones with the most radical ideas. Like slashing the budget for the fire department and diverting the money to programs for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, in other words, DIE, as 24 people so far have.

Hamass? Diverting money? Same same, rather than using the money given them, they diverted theirs into rockets and concrete to build tunnels under the city for their elites to hide in and to hide the weapons. Where you might ask? Oh, the usual, hospitals, schools, private houses, apartment buildings. Anything they can get all virtue signaly about when it gets bombed. Actual schools for kids? Naw, not so much. Actual doctors and hospitals? Naw, not so much, there were pediatricians from Gaza that were holding hostages in their own homes. Food supplies the O’biden crime junta is forcing Israel to send in to prolong the war? Oh, that’s being held by Hamass and sold on the black market to get more money to buy more weapons. The Gazan version of DIE. This war could have been over long ago. The poor Falestinians could have been trying to rebuild nice lives in Syria, Egypt or Jordan, even Qatar. I’m sure many Arab muslim counties would be glad to take in their less fortunate cousins that have the same religion and speak Arabic.

Those Budget Cuts!
But we’ve got our eye on what’s important

The big one on the end actually said in an interview if people complained she couldn’t carry their husband out in an emergency that the husband had gotten himself into the wrong place. Their tax dollars at work.

California does have pronouns

But the mismanagement doesn’t stop with the Mayor Karen Bass who despite campaign promises not to fritter money of big trips was in Ghana when the fires broke out and had to be told to come back, it looked bad. When confronted by a reporter if she had anything to say to taxpayers about slashing the fire budget, apparently didn’t, as she said nothing.

And I’m sure they are short of firefighting personnel. Probably for a few reasons, one being they forced many capable experienced firefighters out with the demand they take an experimental DNA altering substance in an experimental medical procedure. That alone should get them hung, per Nuremberg. The other part is their emphasis on DIE, the belief people only want to be rescued by people that look like them. Only a rabid leftist could think of stuff like that, but they do.

So long as they look like me

Ah yes, they have their administrative goals laser focused on what’s really important.

DIE hires

For them, not the taxpayers they purport to serve. And they make darn good money doing it, with the full throated support of the left dwelling in the cesspool that has become California.

Water? Who needs water? Ah, the Delta smelt that hasn’t been seen in 10 years. Probably the illegal invaders the government invited in ate them all. See Springfield Ohio and missing pets and geese for reference. Either that or the smelt looked around the mess and said “Oh heck no! We’re getting out of here!”.

Sadly, Quinones, the DIE hire suggested by Karen Bass had drained the reservoirs for “repair” ok, so the reservoirs were actually ok, it was just the cover that needed repair, but why quibble. She gets paid darn good money to make sure DIE is the focus of her department and shes carrying that out to the best of her (in)ability.

I’m sure her salary is worth every penny

Demoncrats and the media, but I repeat myself, lie and tell everyone how fabulous California and the big cities taken over by homeless, illegals, poop and needles are. The numbers are just fantastic.

Hamass? Same same. Only they lie to the gullible media who will never figure out they inflate numbers, and if they do? It doesn’t matter, the left is onboard with destroying the Zionist entity (Israel, the one Jewish state) as well, by any means necessary.

accuracy in doubt

Both Hamass and Demoncrats lie to their gullible supporters telling them they will be given what they want, be it Jew free Israel or consequence free, unlimited virtue signaling. Though speeds maybe slowed after they’ve used up 20 years worth. But the Hamass plays for even higher stakes, and Newsome and the Demoncrats have taken tons of them in.

Jihadist terrorists have only three ways when it comes to their fight against Western civilization:

– Commit suicide as “martyrs” (Istishhad)

– Fight in a battle all the way to death (Fedayeen)

– Deceive you into believing they want peace and then attack you at the right moment (Taqiyya)

All of the above lack the genuine intention to ever live next to anyone who isn’t a devout Muslim.

Western societies/governments lack the understanding of this and are endlessly trying to appease these regimes and organizations.

In fact there’s an excellent chance, despite the inevitable claims of “climate change” some of these fires were started by the illegals or homeless or both.

Sanctuary hell: Illegal alien picked up with a blow torch in a fire zone may have avoided charges to shield him from deportation

A couple days ago, alert residents in the fire-menaced Woodland Hills area apprehended a man with a blow torch who didn’t live there, all but catching him in the act of starting another conflagration.

They tackled the dirtbag, held him down by force, and called the cops, who came and hauled the would-be arsonist off to the can.

But then the LAPD mysteriously refused to charge him with attempted arson, despite the obvious evidence, including his statements to residents that he was determined to do it, encircled all around him.

Yup, they turned him lose, despite video evidence and witness statements. The Babylon Bee of course was johnny on the spot reporting!

California Police Arrest Arsonist For Using Gas Blowtorch Instead Of Electric Blowtorch

And since it’s California? Who knows, suppose to be satire, could be true.

But Gazans and Californians revel in voting for the most radical of politicians to destroy their home. Karen Bass? Seriously? Well, I suppose she’s the next best choice since her hero Fidel is dead. Mayor Karen Bass, Revolutionary Communist Karen is a proud member of the Venceremos Brigade. Those Californians just can’t get enough of communism.

Founded in 1969, the Venceremos Brigade organized trips to Cuba every year for half a century. They attracted the most radicalized and delusional segments of the American left, including overtly Maoist and pro-Soviet Communist groups.

In fact, a Los Angeles police investigator who infiltrated the group testified to Congress saying that to be a member of the brigade, you had to be confirmed as a Marxist, Leninist, a brigadista, and then move up the ranks to organizer for the Venceremos Brigade.

Karen Bass visited Cuba every six months. Their mission is to radicalize young, impressionable American leftists in terrorist tactics and guerrilla warfare. Members of the Venceremos Brigade were even taught how to make bombs.

Venceremos Radicalizes M-19

Karen Bass admits on her many pilgrimages to Cuba, she went to see Fidel Castro speak several times, even calling him charismatic, and upon his death, praised him, saying, The passing of commandant and Hefei is a great loss to the people of Cuba, even though the people of Cuba see him as a dictator who impoverished the island.

So, moving forward, I’ve listed my plan for re-homing the Falestinians above. California? Yeah, that ones going to be tougher. See many insurance companies in an Atlas Shrugged move pulled out of California. Insuring a home in California is not like insuring a house in like, say the United States. In California, due to the restrictions, regulations, demands for DIE hiring on construction crews rebuilding is time consuming and very costly. So since insurance doesn’t work for free, they needed to raise their rates for insurance. Which the demoncrats promptly said “Oh no! You can’t gouge our citizens like that! We’re putting a cap on what you can charge!” The insurance companies said, “Yeah….we can’t afford to rebuild for that, so California policies are canceled and we’re pulling out of California”. Demoncrat politicians said “Well good riddance! We don’t want your greedy kind in here!”. Ok, so I’m guessing at some of this dialogue, but it’s probably pretty close. But Governor Newsome has it figured out, how to make the best of the situation? Ahhh, fifteen minute cities! Like what they’re doing in Lahaina Hawaii! They aren’t allowing the insurance companies in, so the owners can’t rebuild, they will most likely lose their property to? Orpah? Black Rock? Who knows. But Newsome said he’s already working on changing the zoning codes for the areas zoned for single family dwellings.

Grand plan

Both Gazans and Californias now see their previous land as smoking piles of rubble. I would maintain it’s because they chose ideology and virtue signaling over actual policies that would have given a good life. It’s not like they weren’t warned of the consequences. President Trump tried to point out about forestry management a few months ago. Hamass knew the consequences of October 7th would result in dead Gazans. This isn’t a problem for Hamass, see above graphic. Dead Gazans are a plus for Hamass, starving Gazans make for great press. I think it was either Rick Caruso, who ran against Karen Bass, or Adam Carolla that talked to some leftists after the election about why they voted for Bass. Why? Because he was told, they just couldn’t vote for a white guy. Alrighty then. Both Hamass and Demoncrats crave power over people, they crave control and their policies ensure it. And yet, both Gazans and Californians voted for it. They got what they wanted.

Oh the irony

So what’s my answer? No money. No money to the UN, No money to Iran, put the sanctions the O’biden regime took off back in place. No taxpayer funds to rebuild in California, it’s like enabling bad behavior that will just be repeated. Leftist like Falestinians, are leftist, the ideology is far more important than living a nice life. Virtue signaling rules!

Listen to Smokey

And some federal programs need to be gutted too, FEMA for example. They gave our taxpayer dollars to illegal invaders. And what are they doing for the victims of Hurricane Helene? Oh yeah, what they’ve been doing all along. Nothing.

Meanwhile in North Carolina

It’s five days till inauguration. What is Newsome and the Demoncrats of California spending money on now? Focusing on now? Trump-proofing California.

Gavin Newsom Will Spend $50 Million to ‘Trump-Proof’ the State as California Burns

Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly reached a deal with the Democrats in control of the state legislature to “Trump-proof” the state of California from attempts to mass deport illegal aliens from the United States.

This comes amidst wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area. The devastating fires have taken the lives of dozens of Californians and wrought over $150 billion in damage.

No money, nothing will change, and we can’t keep enabling California to carry on like this. They can choose what they like, but we, the people shouldn’t have to pay for it. Again, still. Demoncrats? They practice “Taqiyya” every bit as much as the Hamass.

So yeah, Jamie Lee, I guess California does look “just like Gaza”. And for the same reasons.

No Jamie Lee, art wouldn’t have saved things, some fire fighters or water might have though.

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Constitution, Courts, gun control, Law, SCOTUS

Good News From California

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But don’t get too excited yet.

Federal Judge Strikes Down California’s Decades-Old ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban: ‘No Historical Pedigree’
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee, struck down the 1989 ban, enacted by the California legislature in response to the Stockton school shooting, which prohibits the transfer, manufacturing and possession of certain semiautomatic weapons. Benitez wrote that American tradition “is rich and deep in protecting a citizen’s enduring right to keep and bear common arms like rifles, shotguns, and pistols” and does not include firearm restrictions based on “looks or attributes.”

That’s our guy Benitez again. At least on 2A issues, he’s a constitutionalist, and he read and grasped BRUEN (something most of the Ninth Circuit Appeals haven’t managed).

The problem is that, as always, this case is going to keep bouncing back and forth to the Ninth for years, with endless stays of Benitez’s ruling. Unless and until SCOTUS starts issuing contempt of Supreme Court bench warrants for those who are willfully defying the Second Amendment and BRUEN.

But given that Chief Justice Roberts sided with the gun grabbers on the frame/receiver rule, don’t get too excited about warrants either.

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Constitution, Courts, gun control, Law, SCOTUS

Ninth Circuit Judicial Games

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No doubt you’ve heard that federal Judge Benitez once again ruled in Duncan v. Bonta that California’s ban on “high capacity” magazines is unconstitutional; particularly in light of SCOTUS’ BRUEN decision. He stayed his injunction until October 2, to allow the state time to file yet another appeal.

And once again the state did appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Which took the unusual action of taking the state’s “emergency” request for an administrative stay past October 2 en banc. Normally such requests for administrative stays is done by a three judge panel.

The en banc Ninth issued an administrative stay until October 10, 2023.

However, a couple of the Circuit judges wrote dissenting opinions, objecting to the Court gaming the system to delay or deny Second Amendment rights.

I found the dissents to be rather interesting.

Bumatay, J., dissenting:

For over a decade, our court has improperly interest-balanced our way around the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has had enough of it. See N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. __, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022). In Bruen, the Supreme Court made clear that the Second Amendment must no longer be deemed a disfavored right.

With this clear direction from the Supreme Court, you might think that our court would return to regular order and handle this Second Amendment case like all others before our court. And in the normal course, emergency motions would be handled by a three-judge panel. But not here. Because this is a Second Amendment case, we now take the unprecedented step of taking an emergency motion as an en banc panel in the first instance. While our rules may leave room for such an unusual step, discretion and wisdom counsel against it. Indeed, to my knowledge, no en banc panel of this court has ever handled an emergency administrative stay motion as an initial matter. And the majority cites no precedent otherwise. So I’m left wondering why we rush to do something so unorthodox.

Judge VanDyke doesn’t wonder:

I share Judge Bumatay’s concerns about the irregularities created by this en banc panel’s all-too-predictable haste to again rule against the Second Amendment. Apparently, even summary reversal by the Supreme Court has not tempered the majority’s zeal to grab this case as a comeback, stay the district court’s decision, and make sure they—not the original three-judge panel—get to decide the emergency motion (and ultimately, the eventual merits questions) in favor of the government. I think it is clear enough to everyone that a majority of this en banc panel will relinquish control of this case only when it is pried from its cold, dead fingers. And I think it is clear enough to everyone why.

Excellent turnabout of the “cold, dead fingers” cliche, Your Honor. I laughed, which rarely happens when reading court decisions and dissents.

And yes, the reason is clear enough. The Ninth is determined to allow California to continue violating the 2A, and is play games with stays and appeals, and bumping cases back to lower courts instead of doing their SCOTUS-mandated job.

if the Ninth had to take this request en banc, what they properly should have done was say Stay denied. We already sent the state’s appeal back to the district for a final ruling in light of BRUEN. The district court granted a permanent injunction against the ban in light of BRUEN. The lower court’s stay is lifted, and the permanent injunction against enforcement is upheld.

And I’d bet good money that when the state’s actual appeal is filed, the Ninth will find an excuse to bounce the case back to the district again, rather than make a final decision so that either 1) the state concedes, or 2) the state finally appeals to the Supreme Court.

This sort of judicial lawfare is just going to continue until the Supreme Court finally takes notice of lower courts and other officials blowing off its decisions, and starts finding offenders in contempt and issues bench warrants.

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"News Media", authoritarian swine, gun grabbers

Prohibited Persons And “Ghost Guns”

The Associated Press ran a story about the terrible proliferation of privately manufactured “ghost guns” in the hands of those who can’t legally possess firearms. They probably should have taken a closer look at their own data.

California law enforcement seize 54 ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms
California law enforcement took away 54 so-called ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms, a 38% jump in the number of the hard-to-trace weapons seized since 2021 under a unique state program, officials said Monday.

I’ve written about the “unique state program” before. It doesn’t work very well. From 2018 to 2019, their backlog of people to shake down more than doubled, to over 23,000. Following that trend, I suspect the backlog is around 100,000 now. But as for what they are getting…

Oh, dear; a 38% increase. Terrible, eh?

Wait a sec.

The ghost guns, which are privately made firearms without a serial number, were part of nearly 1,500 guns taken statewide last year through an only-in-California program called the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, known as APPS.

54 out of 1,500 is just 3.6% of the total. It turns out PMFs aren’t really too popular with bad guys. Hardly a surprise to anyone who pays attention, what with some five million stolen guns already on the street. And that estimate was from nearly four years ago; the number is probably closer to six million now.

 

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Courts, gun control, Humor, Law, You can't fix stupid

Possibly The Marines Need to Work On Their Marksmanship

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Because, after reading this “expert report” by retired Marine Colonel Craig Tucker, I’m wondering how many of those “9 assassination attempts” were failed, not-so-friendly-fire fragging attempts.

Tucker’s report is a court filing in support of California’s assault weapon ban et al. Go ahead and read it. It’ll infuriate and amuse you:

Stabilizing devices (for more accurate shooting) are bad. (Pistol grips.)

Destabilizing devices are bad, because shooting is less accurate. (That refers to unlocked(!?) folding stocks on M4s. Do the Marines issue M4s with folding — not adjustable — stocks?)

Flash hiders hide the flash from the enemy.

Swapping magazines is the most important thing Marines are taught. (See title re:marksmanship)

The M16/M4 is specifically rifled to make bullets tumble.

“A single round [of .223!] is capable of severing the upper body from the lower body”

The semi-auto AR-15 is functionally identical to the full-auto M4.

And apparently the Marines are now buying M4s specifically chambered for .223 Remington, not 5.56 NATO.

This guy must have been a joy to serve under, and I’d like to hear from anyone who had that… privilege. Well, I guess there was a Captain who served under him and presumably enjoyed it, even if it got Tucker relieved of command (and apparently driven into retirement).

There’s another court filing in rebuttal to Tucker’s not-very-expert opinion. J. Buford Boone all but says outright that Tucker is full of s**t. He might as well.

His claim that a single small arms projectile is capable of “severing the upper body from the lower body, or decapitation” is so ridiculous that it should, and actually does, cast doubt on his qualifications as an expert in the field of firearms, particularly as it relates to wound ballistics.

California must be pretty darned desperate if the’re having to bring in Tucker as an expert.

Hat tip to Wisco Dave and Kenny.

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Academics, authoritarian swine, gun control, Junk Science, Law, Violence-Enabling Victim Disarmers

California Red Flag Law Doesn’t Work

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You might think that headline is the big news. Not really. We already know red flag laws don’t work.

The news here is that Garen Wintemute, the victim-disarmament advocate who previously couldn’t find data he could not twist, finally hit a brick wall. And worse.

Firearm Violence Following the Implementation of California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order Law
VROs were not associated with reduced population-level rates of firearm violence in San Diego County, but this may change as the number of orders increases over time; the association between GVROs and firearm violence at the individual level cannot be inferred from our findings and should be the subject of future studies.

Wintemute is notable for crappy “studies” using bogus tools like synthetic controls (imaginary populations, because real populations wouldn’t support his predetermined “results”), tossing out most of the inconvenient data (because two-thirds of the subjects declined to kill themselves), and using personally identifiable data obtained through legally dubious means (so dubious that California tried to pass a bill to legalize it). He has also violated privacy rules with covert surveillance.

This paper was another example of a synthetic control; an artificial “San Diego.”

To estimate the association between GVRO implementation and firearm violence in San Diego, we used the synthetic control method, a quasi-experimental comparative case study design.

This was a particularly egregious example. To the extent that synthetic controls have any value, you build one by using data from populations (other California counties, in this case) with conditions and populations similar to the variable you wish to examine, except for the variable in question. That is, when studying the effects of a red flag law on a county, you would make up an imaginary comparison county from places that don’t have a red flag law.

All California counties were subject to the same statewide red flag law.

Properly, if you want to see the effects on San Diego County of the red flag law, you simply do a temporal analysis of per capita homicides and suicides in San Diego prior to law passage and after implementation. Wintemute didn’t need a synthetic San Diego to come to a conclusion; he already had real San Diegos without a red flag law (pre-2016) and with a red flag law (post-2016). You use a synthetic control when you don’t expect real world data to support your preculsion.

For example, one year after Florida passed a red flag law, homicides and suicides went up. That was especially nasty, because for two years prior to passage both rates had been declining.

Two years after the Florida law’s passage, and homicide and suicide rates were still increasing.

[Side Note: To anyone with an operational brain, this was… a no-brainer, so to speak. You have a potentially violent –to self or others — person. You piss him off, or depress him, off by stealing his property without due process. Then you simply leave him loose on the streets. WTH did they expect to happen?!]

So what was really happening in San Diego County?

Violent Crime Rate per 1,000*
2011: 3.49
2012: 3.75(up)
2013: 3.35 (down)
2014: 3.28 (down)
2015: 2.35 (up slightly)
2016: 3.3 (down) Red Flag Passes
2017: 3.41 (up)
2018: 3.42 (up)
2019: 3.4 (inch down)
2020: 3.45 (up)
2021: 3.74 (UP!)

The violent crime trend reversed post-Red Flag, to increase.

Suicide Rate per 100,000
2013: 12.9
2014: 12.5 (down)
2015: 12.0 (down)
2016: 12.0 (no change) Red Flag Passes
2017: 12.3 (up)
2018: 12.86 (UP!)

The suicide rate trend reversed post-Red Flag, to increase.

Such a surprise. Not.

Wintemute et al went with a synthetic control — showing no effect of the Red Flag law to hide the fact that no only did it have an effect, but it appeared to make things worse.

* Sorry; I had to go with Violent Crime Rate, which includes homicides, because multiple fast searches didn’t turn up homicide rates broken out separately. There’s only so much I can do without funding.

 

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gun control

California’s Gun Control Laws Still Working

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That’s a joke, of course. And so is this. A bad one.

California man busted on weapons, drug charges after homemade shotgun goes off in park: police
A California man was allegedly tinkering with a homemade shotgun in a public park on Tuesday when the weapon accidentally fired, leading police to find and arrest him.
[…]
Responding officers found a homemade shotgun near where the suspect was sitting, KSEE reported. A bomb team that examined the weapon determined it was fabricated and contained a spent shotgun shell.

Yes, all the usual observations that licensing, registration, background checks, waiting periods, yadda yadda, didn’t stop this guy from making a zip gun.

But when I see stories like this, I often do a quick check for the person previous criminal record. And this time… I got confused.

The notification allowed police to arrive at the scene of a shooting on Kern Street and Highway 99 within one minute of shots being fired. Officers investigating the reported shot fired were able to locate the person responsible for the shooting, area resident, Juan Romo-Bais.

While speaking with the 40-year old, police observed several zip guns within arm’s reach of Romo-Bais. They detained him and searched his property. The search uncovered six homemade zip guns, which are generally crude homemade firearms.

For a second there, I thought I’d stumbled upon a variant report of the same incident. Same city,same name, zip gun, accidentally fired. But no; this was different. Not just one field expedient shotgun, but six zip guns.

From a few months ago. Yes, our master gunsmith was busted for the same thing, and caught the same way– he negligently discharged his gun in public. And clearly he hasn’t taken any firearm safety classes in the interim.

He’s clearly a danger to the public, and likely to himself. So why was he still on the street?

But wait. It gets better worse. Look at the end of the more recent story.

Bais, who was already wanted by police on theft charges

They caught him with zip guns, at least one of which he fired on the street. And let him out to commit some sort of theft.

And they still let him out again, to again put together a zip gun and discharge it in public. Again.

But naturally they’re again calling for more laws for the honest gun owners. And letting the real dangers walk.

[Permission to republish this article is granted so long as it is not edited and the author and The Zelman Partisans are credited.]

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Courts, gun control, gun grabbers, Law

Beyond Judicial Incompetence

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This is deliberate lies. Conflation, willfully mischaracterizing SCOTUS precedents.

Last week, I called out Beth Alcazar for accepting the victim disarmers’ große Lüge of conflating assault rifle with arbitrary “assault weapon.”

This is why. The Dishonorable Josephine L. Staton misapplied intermediate scrutiny in Rupp v. Becerra, a challenge to California’s “assault weapon” ban. This oath-breaking piece of… work ruled against the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgement, and granted Becerra’s.

The conflation lie shows up immediately.

Thus, in 1999, the AWCA was amended to allow legislators to define a new class of restricted weapons according to their features rather than by model. Under the 1999 amendments, a weapon was an “assault rifle” if it had “the capacity to accept a detachable magazine,” and any of the following features:

Right there, she falsely states that the law was about assault rifles, which leads her to claim…

Indeed, the Court concludes that semiautomatic rifles are virtually indistinguishable from M-16s.

Since the differences — receiver milling, bolt group, trigger group, and select-fire capability had been explained to the court, she is flat out lying. She rationalizes with something about which The Zelman Partisans have been warning you: rate of fire.

In enacting the now-defunct federal ban on assault rifles, Congress found that their rate of fire––300 to 500 rounds per minute–– makes semiautomatic rifles “virtually indistinguishable in practical effect from machineguns.

Again with the assault rifle conflation, and a deliberate mischaracterization of The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994 which defined “assault weapons” as something distinctly different than assault rifles.

Then there is this:

In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.

Yet another outright lie. In HELLER, SCOTUS most carefully noted that the Second Amendment protects a preexisting right.

The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved.
Pp. 22–28.
(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.
(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms.
Pp. 30–32.
(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion.

Moving on to another lie…

Because the Court concludes that semiautomatic assault rifles are essentially indistinguishable from M-16s, which Heller noted could be banned pursuant to longstanding prohibitions on dangerous and usual weapons, the Court need not reach the question of whether semiautomatic rifles are excluded from the Second Amendment because they are not in common use for lawful purposes like self-defense.

“Not in common use…” Reality begs to differ. AR-pattern rifles are often used for self defense. And hunting. Not to mention various other shooting sports. What in the flaming heck does Staton think people are doing with more than 16 million AR- and AK-pattern firearms?

But now that the “Honorable” Judge Malfeasance has equated semi-automatic ARs to select-fire M-16s, another Supreme Court precedent comes into play: MILLER.

In Miller, SCOTUS found that — because no one showed up to counter the prosecution’s ridiculous claim that the military doesn’t use short-barrel shotguns — short-barrel shotguns could be regulated under the NFA. Weapons suitable for militia use could not be regulated.

Staton has just ruled that semi-automatic AR-15 are military weapons. Under MILLER, the possession of them by individuals (See HELLER) is most certainly protected by the Second Amendment.

Reading her ruling alternates between infuriating and mind-numbing.

A pistol grip increases a shooter’s ability to control the rifle and reload rapidly while firing multiple rounds.

I have no idea what a pistol grip on a rifle with a forward magazine well has to do with reloading, but I’m not a lobotomized federal judge.

Regarding adjustable stocks…

Further, the shorter the rifle, the easier it is to conceal

Apparently she chooses to ignore statutory limits on the “concealability of rifles, since the minimum length of a non-NFA rifle is 26 inches.

Finally, flash suppressors reduce the flash emitted upon firing and aid a shooter in low-light conditions while also concealing his or her position, especially at night

Flash hiders don’t hide the flash from others. They don’t “conceal” the shooter’s position.

As discussed throughout, that the rifles are more accurate and easier to control is precisely why California has chosen to ban them.

Then ban sights and rifling, since they make all firearms more accurate. Legalize full-auto — nay, make full-auto mandatory, since, as this dishonest scum notes:

automatic fire “is inherently less accurate than semiautomatic fire.”

Clearly California, and Staton, wants firearms to be as inaccurate as possible, for the sake of public safety.

For the foregoing reasons LIES, MISCHARACTERIZATIONS, MISINTERPRETATIONS, AND ARBITRARY DECLARATIONS the Court GRANTS the Attorney General’s Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

Fixed it for you.

For this ruling alone, Staton should be impeached. Then indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced for malfeasance in office.

[Permission to republish this article is granted so long as it is not edited and the author and The Zelman Partisans are credited.]

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gun control, Law

More Ninth Circuit Trouble: California Magazine Limit Tossed

Last year, van Nieuwenhuyzen v. Sniff set up the Ninth Circus for the dilemma of upholding a gun control law or shooting down sanctuary cities.

Now federal Southern District of California Judge Roger T. Benitez has made a ruling in Duncan et al vs. Becerra that, once appealed by the state of California, likewise presents the Ninth with a little problem. Benitez has found California’s 10-round magazine limit to be unconstitutional.

Ah, but the way he wrote it. You have to like a ruling that begins

“Individual liberty and freedom are not outmoded concepts.”

And then the introduction: He cites three self-defense cases in which women needed more rounds.

The Ninth is likely to reverse Benitez, based on past history. And then we get to note that it means they want women dead.

Beyond the introduction, the ruling is rather dry reading, but worth the effort for Benitez’ analysis. He notes the irony of California’s law.

Perhaps the irony of § 32310 escapes notice. The reason for the adoption of the 19 Second Amendment was to protect the citizens of the new nation from the power of an oppressive state. The anti-federalists were worried about the risk of oppression by a standing army. The colonies had witnessed the standing army of England marching through Lexington to Concord, Massachusetts, on a mission to seize the arms and gunpowder of the militia and the Minutemen—an attack that ignited the Revolutionary war. With Colonists still hurting from the wounds of war, the Second Amendment guaranteed the rights of new American citizens to protect themselves from oppressors foreign and domestic. So, now it is ironic that the State whittles away at the right of its citizens to defend themselves from the possible oppression of their State.

Exactly.

He spends a great deal of time explaining why the law is inconsistent with Heller, and why this law fails, not just strict scrutiny, but even intermediate.

In light of the ongoing bump-fire ban cases, I found a few other points interesting.

Plaintiffs who have kept their own larger capacity magazines since 1999, and now face criminal sanctions for continuing to possess them, no doubt feel they have been misled or tricked by their lawmakers.
[…]
In an analogous First Amendment case, the Supreme Court called this approach turning the Constitution upside down.

Sound familiar? Those once-lawfully owned stocks suddenly making people into criminals. I don’t know offhand if Guedes or the other bumpfire cases cite Federal Election Comm’n v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 474–75 (2007) or Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002), but they should.

Benitez addresses “legislative deference,” too. In this context, that is the deference a court would owe the lawmakers who presumably carefully study matters before crafting law (giggle if you wish; that’s the theory). He tosses that in Duncan, because this law was passed by public referendum. No deference owed.

In Guedes et al an issue is what deference courts owe unelected bureaucrats who change legislative intent. None, I think.

After dozens of pages explaining why unsourced, anecdotal “expert” witnesses, mischaracterized laws, misstated rulings, arbitrary thresholds, and nonsensical exceptions are bovine excrement, Benitez concludes

This decision is a freedom calculus decided long ago by Colonists who cherished individual freedom more than the subservient security of a British ruler. The freedom they fought for was not free of cost then, and it is not free now.

Freedom over security. I am astonished to see that from a judge in California. The Ninth will soil their black dresses.

I expect all the Californian police-staters are going to have trouble wrapping their minds around that. To be perfectly clear:

1. Defendant Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and his officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with him, and those duly sworn state peace officers and federal law enforcement officers who gain knowledge of this injunction order, or know of the existence of this injunction order, are enjoined from enforcing California Penal Code section 32310.

2. Defendant Becerra shall provide, by personal service or otherwise, actual notice of this order to all law enforcement personnel who are responsible for implementing or enforcing the enjoined statute. The government shall file a declaration establishing proof of such notice.

Paragraph 2 is a thing of beauty. Not only is the judge tossing the law, he has made AG Becerra personally responsible for making sure every LEO is the state knows it’s the law. If this were to stand — and that alone will make the Ninth want to reverse — then anyone busted in the future for a 15-round mag by some local yokel cop, who says he didn’t know, has grounds to sue Becerra, even if charges are eventually dropped.

This is obviously a good thing, but don’t get too comfortable. This is a ruling by a District court. In the Ninth Circuit. All things considered, I expect the Circuit to reverse and remand.

Depending on plaintiff’s resources, this will most likely need to go to the Supreme Court. Given the varied magazine limits in assorted jurisdictions, SCOTUS should grant cert. Will they? The post McDonald record isn’t encouraging, especially last week’s decision to deny a stay in the bump-fire ban.

Stay tuned.

[Permission to republish this article is granted so long as it is not edited and the author and The Zelman Partisans are credited.]

Carl is an unpaid TZP volunteer. If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in his tip jar. He could really use the money, what with truck repairs (too late; I’m selling the truck) and recurring bills. And the rabbits need feed. Truck insurance, lest I be forced to sell it. Click here to donate via PayPal.
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Ed. note: This commentary appeared first in TZP’s weekly email alert. If you would like to be among the first to see new commentary (as well as to get notice of new polls and recaps of recent posts), please sign up for our alert list. (See sidebar or, if you’re on a mobile device, scroll down). Be sure to respond when you receive your activation email!

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authoritarian swine, gun control, Law

“Do you know the way…”

Out of San Jose?

San Jose leaders propose tougher gun laws
“We’ve seen enough studies demonstrating straw purchasing are endemic particularly among gangs that are purchasing guns, often from gang members who don’t have a prior record,” said Liccardo.

But Liccardo cited national statistics showing about half of all guns used in crimes were purchased illegally – leading to community heartache.

Wait. I think he’s citing Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016 which does say 43.2% of crime guns are purchased illegally.

On the black market.

Straw purchases might be as high as 10.8%, but since retail sources accounted for just 7.5%, it seems unlikely.

The mayor is proposing four amendments to the city’s existing gun ordinances. He’ll require video and audio recording of all gun sales in shops, for access by police if needed;

If he’s planning to record “about half of all guns used in crimes […] purchased illegally,” he has to require black market dealers to do recordings. No doubt the costs of compliance will drive them out of business.

prohibit the sale of guns and ammunition within a residence;

That’s already the case in California.

require a license for the sale or transfer of all concealable firearms;

Again, that’s current law.

On the one hand, it’s good to see them waste resources on stupidity that merely duplicates existing laws, instead of imposing new human/civil rights violations. On the other hand, they’re still directing their attention at the wrong target… if this were actually about reducing crime. But this is a state that actively invites and protects criminals, and releases the ones who were stupid enough to be jailed at all. Of course they want to disarm the preferred prey of their real constituency.

On the gripping hand, we have this.

and display information about local gun laws, and post suicide warning signs and prevention programs.

California legalized assisted suicide. But only if you pay a doctor (you know, the “this is our lane” victim disarmers, the folks who kill at least 6.25 times as many people as die by gunfire). Fortunately, I already prepared suitable signs.

king-county-suicide

They’ll just have to change the law reference to California Health and Safety Code PART 1.85 – End of Life Option Act.

If you are sane, but still in San Jose, get out. Get out of California.

 

Carl is an unpaid TZP volunteer. If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in his tip jar. He could really use the money, what with truck repairs and recurring bills. And the rabbits need feed. Truck insurance, lest I be forced to sell it. Click here to donate via PayPal.
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