Dustin Reininger is serving a five-year sentence with a three-year minimum before he’s eligible for parole.  His crime?  Pulling off the highway to get some rest during a long drive.

Reininger, a veteran of both the Army and the Air Force, and a former police officer, was moving from Maine back to Texas, but only made it as far as New Jersey.  He got tired and parked behind a building in Readington Township, NJ.  Had he held out for another 20 minutes, there wouldn’t be a story about Dustin Reininger because he wouldn’t have had a problem in Pennsylvania, but he was tired so he stopped in New Jersey.

Police found him asleep in his SUV early that morning.  Reininger just wanted to move on down the road, but officers thought something in the back seat looked like a gun case and considered that probable cause for a search.  They found several rifles, shotguns, and handguns, as well as hollow point bullets, and a “high-capacity” magazine.

Of course, all of that is perfectly legal in Maine and in Texas – or even 24 miles up the road in Pennsylvania – but it’s not legal in New Jersey without a permit.  Federal law provides safe passage for someone transporting guns through a restrictive jurisdiction, but the jury didn’t get to hear about that law.  An appeals court panel said that law didn’t apply because it specifies that the guns should be locked in the trunk, and Reininger’s SUV didn’t have a trunk.  They also ruled that officers were justified in searching Reininger’s car because they recognized the gun cases as evidence of a crime.  The case could go to the State Supreme Court, but I wouldn’t make any bets on the chances of a new trial.

Continue reading You’re the Target →

The Gun Control Lie

Gun control advocates are compulsive liars.  They have to be because the truth doesn’t support their agenda.  Even the names of gun control groups – suggesting “violence policy,” “violence prevention,” and “gun safety” – are all lies.  And the term “gun control” itself is a lie.  Virtually everything coming from gun control advocates today is a lie.

I’m not talking about simple distortions or cases of “my statistics are better than your statistics,” these are intentional, calculated, bald-faced deceptions, foisted on the American public by ideologically motivated zealots trying to force an agenda of citizen disarmament and government control.  That’s not to say that everyone who supports gun control is driven by the same ideology, or that there are no honest, passionate, idealistic, true believers among the ranks of gun control advocates.  There are some very good, honest, sincere people who promote gun control, but unfortunately these misguided souls are steeped in emotion and inculcated with the never ending lies of the professional gun haters.

Let’s dissect some of the lies:

Continue reading Lies, Lies, and More Lies →

The Gun Control Lie

Gun control advocates are compulsive liars.  They have to be because the truth doesn’t support their agenda.  Even the names of gun control groups – suggesting “violence policy,” “violence prevention,” and “gun safety” – are all lies.  And the term “gun control” itself is a lie.  Virtually everything coming from gun control advocates today is a lie.

I’m not talking about simple distortions or cases of “my statistics are better than your statistics,” these are intentional, calculated, bald-faced deceptions, foisted on the American public by ideologically motivated zealots trying to force an agenda of citizen disarmament and government control.  That’s not to say that everyone who supports gun control is driven by the same ideology, or that there are no honest, passionate, idealistic, true believers among the ranks of gun control advocates.  There are some very good, honest, sincere people who promote gun control, but unfortunately these misguided souls are steeped in emotion and inculcated with the never ending lies of the professional gun haters.

Let’s dissect some of the lies:

1.  Over 90% (almost 90%, close to 90%) of Americans support “universal background checks,” as do various large percentages of gun owners and NRA members.

Anyone with a brain should realize that these statistics were fraudulent based solely on the fact that there is almost nothing that 90% of Americans agree on.  But this lie has gotten bigger as time has gone by.  More recent polls place support for any gun control at less than 50%, and approval of the Senate’s rejection of expanded background checks at almost 40% – yet gun control advocates and politicians continue to declare that 90% of Americans support universal background checks.  It is a lie.

2.   Almost 40% of firearms sales occur without a background check.

That lie was a stretch when it was presented in late December, and it was soon declared to be a distortion by the fact check column in the Washington Post – garnering “2 Pinocchios.”  The bogus statistic was then called out by several other watchdog centers, but Obama and company have continued to preach it as Gospel, right up to this very day.  That earned Mr. Obama an extra “Pinocchio” from the Post.  When you say something that’s not true, even after you know it’s not true, that’s called a lie.

3.   Gun control is needed to “make our children and our communities safer.

This presumes that guns serve only evil purposes, and that passing laws prevents criminal violence.  There has never been a supportable study proving, or even strongly suggesting, that gun control does anything to reduce criminal violence or even suicide.  Reviews of existing literature going back to the 1970s have consistently found no positive connection between gun control and crime.  On the other hand, there are several peer-reviewed studies which show that guns in private hands are used to stop crimes much more often than they are used to commit crimes, and that the prevalence of guns appears to result in reduced violent crime.  Claims of improved safety with gun control are lies.

4.   About 30,000 lives are lost to “gun violence” each year in the US, and; “Thirteen children a day are killed in gun violence.”

The 30,000 number is based predominantly on suicides.  Suicide is not “gun violence” and gun control doesn’t reduce suicide.  Guns are much more prevalent in the US than Canada, and are used more frequently in suicides here than there, yet the suicide rate in the US is only slightly higher.  Reducing guns doesn’t reduce suicide – saying it does is a lie.

The “13 a day” statistic includes “children” up to 24.  The peak age range for criminal activity is 16 to 27.  That is also a peak age range for suicide.  Virtually all of the guns used by these young people are obtained illegally.  The 30,000 and 13 a day claims are intentional lies.

5.  There is an epidemic of violent crime and mass murder sweeping the nation.

No there isn’t.  Crime is at its lowest rate in decades.  It has gone down as gun ownership and concealed carry have gone up.  Atrocities like Sandy Hook and the Batman movie massacre tend to run in copycat cycles based largely on media play.  There is no growing epidemic.  Claims otherwise are lies.

Gun control groups are based in lies.  They call themselves “violence prevention” and “gun safety” groups even though the only violence prevention and gun safety policies they espouse are restrictions on legal access to firearms.   They lie about who they are, what they stand for, and what they want.  They use lies to press their agenda, and they lie about what that agenda is and what impact it would have.  They are liars through and through, and it is ridiculous that the media and politicians promote and parrot the lies.

The truth is, Gun Control Doesn’t.

Permission to reprint or post this article in its entirety is hereby granted provided this credit and link is included.    Text is available at www.FirearmsCoalition.org.    To receive The Firearms Coalition’s bi-monthly newsletter, The Knox Hard Corps Report, write to PO Box 1761, Buckeye, AZ  85326.  Copyright © 2013 Neal Knox Associates – The most trusted name in the rights movement. 

Radical NRA Members Out of Step – Unanimously

The National Rifle Association broke all previous records at their Annual Meeting and Expo last weekend in Houston.  Over 86,000 NRA members and friends showed up during the 4-day event, and NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced during the Saturday members meeting that membership in the organization had, for the first time ever, topped 5 million.

A personal highlight for me during the meeting was the adoption of a resolution I authored calling for unwavering opposition to any and all efforts to expand gun control restrictions or infringements on the Second Amendment.  The resolution was adopted with a unanimous vote of the members present, prompting Matt Gertz, Research Director for the “progressive” (read  loony left) web organization Media Matters for America, to comment on how “out of step” the activists in attendance are with the American people and the broader NRA membership.

Continue reading Radical NRA Members →

The Terrorists Won in Boston

That demented, hate-filled terrorists could build bombs and detonate them in a crowded public place should not have come as news to anyone.  That’s what terrorists have been doing around the world for decades – centuries.  That it could be done in the US by people we had welcomed with open arms, should also have been no surprise.  Islamist extremists have been promising, and perpetrating attacks in the US since the 1970s.  Other extremists, from anarchists, to White supremacists, to Puerto Rican separatists, to anti-abortion activists, to radical leftists have perpetrated acts of terror on our soil since the foundation of the republic.  Indeed, American revolutionaries of the 1700s were considered terrorists by the British.  The use of violence as a means of advancing a social or political goal is as old as society itself.  How it is remembered generally depends on who wins and is around to write the history.  Nonetheless acts of terror, particularly when perpetrated against civilians, generally backfire and engender hate and loathing for the assailant’s cause rather than sparking the desired changes in policy.

So there were no new lessons to be learned from the actual bombing of the Boston Marathon.  In a free society, extremists will always have the ability and opportunity to inflict harm on the innocent.  We know this.  We’ve seen it.  We’ve mourned with the victims and families.  At most, this bombing serves as a reminder to be aware, be prepared, and to take precautions.

Continue reading Boston Terrorists →

Illinois Hoplophobes Over a Barrel
Let ‘em Roll!

The state of Illinois is the only state in the union that does not offer provisions for regular citizens – those who are not law enforcement or security guards – to carry a gun in public. 

Last December, the US Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit ruled that the ban is unconstitutional and gave the state 180 days to come up with an acceptable framework for citizen carry.  Now, if the legislature and governor do not implement a plan June 8 of this year, the laws banning carry will simply become null and void effectively giving the state “Constitutional Carry,” i.e. unregulated carrying such as currently exists in Vermont, Alaska, and Arizona.  Chances of that happening are slim, however the journey from the current prohibition to the final system promises to be an interesting journey.

Continue reading Illinois Hoplophobes →

What the UN Treaty Means to You

By Jeff Knox

(April 4, 2013) On Tuesday, April 2, the United Nations General Assembly, by a vote of 154 to 3, with 23 abstentions, voted in favor of adopting a sweeping Arms Trade Treaty that has been the source of much speculation, derision, and concern within the rights community in the US.  While the language adopted by the UN is more in line with the demands of groups representing US gun owners and representatives of our firearms industry, there are still aspects of the treaty that are of concern.  The UN’s long-standing antipathy toward private firearms ownership demands that the language of the treaty must be viewed through the prism of that hostility.

 The treaty began life in 2001 as the “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.”  That mouthful of a title formed the framework for meetings that eventually became the basis of the treaty.  During the Bush administration, Ambassador John Bolton almost completely shut down the UN Small Arms Trade Treaty with his dogged objections to any provision that encroached on private firearms ownership or that encompassed any firearms, parts, or ammunition popular with US consumers.  During Obama’s first term, the treaty was revived, though his administration moved cautiously and worked to mitigate Senate concerns about provisions that would overtly impact US citizens’ Second Amendment rights.  During that first term, the one reassuring promise from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was that the final treaty draft had to achieve the full consensus of the drafting committee in order to gain US support.  It was this demand for full consensus – a unanimous vote – that effectively tabled the troublesome treaty during Obama’s reelection campaign.

Continue reading Inside the UN Treaty →

Stop Obama’s Gun Plans – Demand a Filibuster

By Jeff Knox

(April 8, 2013) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has declared that he will bring the Democrat gun control package to the floor of the Senate for a vote this week, though there is talk that he might delay until next week.  We have already detailed Reid’s intention to allow Dianne Feinstein to offer her “assault weapons” ban and to have Frank Lautenberg’s magazine ban offered as amendments to a less aggressive package, thereby giving Senators plenty of really bad stuff to vote against as proof that they’re not “anti-gun” before they turn around and vote for a package of less onerous-sounding anti-gun infringements.  The idea is to complicate, confuse, and obfuscate in hopes of squeaking out a win for “universal background checks” and expanded “anti-trafficking” provisions – or at the very least, painting the evil Republicans as supporters of rapists, murderers, terrorists, and wife-beaters if they can effectively stop the bill.

As he has in the past, Reid will give Democrats from more conservative states a pass to vote No on the more aggressive provisions, but he will do everything in his power to force all members of his party to vote in favor of the final package.  Reid is likely to vote against the Feinstein and Lautenberg amendments himself, but he will pull out all the stops if he sees any way of handing President Obama a Senate victory on guns – including bribes and blackmail as we saw during the votes on Obama-Care.

Continue reading Senate Action →