Mediaboss Marketing

In the days leading up to the annual lobby day in Richmond, Va.where thousands of Virginians traditionally lobby their legislators on numerous issues an unprecedented number of supporters of the Second Amendment were expected to show up in opposition to the virulently anti-gun legislative agenda of Governor Ralph Northam and Virginia Democrats. In response, anti-gun advocates and their supporters in the media tried to paint a picture of an impending violent confrontation.

Of course, defaming law-abiding gun owners is nothing new for those who abhor the Second Amendment.

Any time a violent criminal uses a firearm to commit a heinous act, extremists dedicated to banning firearms attempt to blame anyone who supports our right to keep and bear arms. Every time a state legislature passes legislation to make it easier for American citizens to defend themselves or otherssuch as by making it easier to carry a firearm for personal protectionthose opposed to the idea of personal protection predict future tragedies committed by the law-abiding, or question the rationality of such measures.

The recent heroic actions by Texas permit holder Jack Wilson highlight this sad strategy of the anti-gun community.

When Texas law was changed so that places of worship could have armed security, former Vice President Joe Biden questioned its rationality. After Jack Wilson saved countless lives, it became yet another reminder of Bidens gift for gaffes to create problems for the 2020 Democrat presidential candidate.

Even after the fact, anti-gun New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg had the audacity to suggest that Wilson should not have been allowed to legally act in the defense of countless congregants facing an imminent lethal threat.

Bloombergs campaign mouthpiece, Kevin Sheekey, even tried to walk back Bloomberg questioning Wilsons action this week, claiming, Mike Bloomberg supports [Jack Wilsons] right to own a gun with a background check. We salute him, I salute him.

Sheekey went on to say, The question is where he and Mike Bloomberg disagree, which is should anyone who walks out of an insane asylum be able to get a gun? Mike Bloomberg would say no,Im not sure what other people would say.

Of course, this clarificationhas nothing to do with Bloombergs assertion that law-abiding citizens cannot be trusted to act responsibly when using a firearm to defend themselves or others. And Sheekeys use of the term insane asylum,which we are pretty sure is not on the list of approved PC terms when discussing mental health, may require additional clarification.

So, as deplorable as it is to see the anti-gun crowds narrative that law-abiding gun owners represent some sort of threat, we are sadly accustomed to it.

Before the legislative session had even begun, Virginia Democratic members of Congress threatened law-abiding citizens with the Virginia National Guard to confiscate firearms.

The week before gun owners and Second Amendment advocates gathered in Richmond this past Monday to voice their opposition to the Virginia Democrat gun-ban agenda, Governor Northam ramped up the ridiculous rhetoric.

Northam and Bloombergsbought-and-paid-for Virginia General Assembly had already rushed through legislation to ban firearms at the Capitol. This was just prior to NRAs own day for legislative action, where we invited members to join us in speaking out against Northams extremist agenda. This event, which even Governor Northam described as a peaceful event,saw more than 2,000 NRA members gather in Richmond, without incident (as we would expect).

Even though gun owners regularly gather by the thousands, and sometimes tens-of-thousands, without any problems, Northam decided to ramp up the anti-gun hysteria ahead of Mondays event by declaring a State of Emergency,and expanding the zones where lawfully possessed firearms are prohibited around the Capitol.

And the media fanned the flames of Northams attempt to paint law-abiding gun owners as dangerous.

Prior to Mondays event, fear-mongering headlines were everywhere.

Time.com went with, Tensions are High, Extremists are Expected to Attend.

Yahoo! News ran a piece by Bloombergs primary anti-gun shill, Shannon Watts, which included in its headline, Extremists Plan to Rally in Virginia.

An MSNBC.com headline claimed, As gun rights rally looms in Virginia, Richmond residents fear another Charlottesville.

The day of the event, more of the same, and sometimes worse.

Huffington Post proclaimed, Thousands Of Pro-Gun Activists And Far-Right Extremists Swarm Richmond, Virginia.

Yahoo! News announced, Tensions Are High, Some Protesters Are Showing Up Armed.

Craig Melvin, an MSNBC anchor, received quite a bit of push-back for stating that thousands of white nationalists attended the rally.

The media, of course, were not alone with hyping the hysteria.

Harvards own David Hogg apparently took a break from his studies to tweet (his favorite form of communication) a plethora of insults and incendiary jibes at the men and women who took the time to peacefully express their political views. Hogg made references to white supremacistsand nazis(sic), said youre a fascistof many attendees, and said some who showed up that they actually think there (sic) in Call of Duty. He even took the time to tweet Donald Trump is an idiot.

So, thats what you apparently get with a Harvard education these days. Maybe next semester he will take a class on civility, or even English.

When the event was over, and no acts of violence had been reported (which was no surprise to anyone actually familiar with law-abiding gun owners), many in the media felt compelled to actually report the rally ended peacefully. Thats not news, unless you spent the days before the event trying to foment fear over the potential for violence. Sadly, it sounds more like disappointment.

But the denigration of what was estimated as 22,000+ gun rights activists simply using their collective political voice to oppose attacks on our cherished freedoms didnt end with the close of this Lobby Day.

Before, during, and after the rally, countless media hacks tried to portray the event as less an expression of support for the Second Amendment, and more a gathering of white men who, as Hogg put it, are white supremacists,nazis,and fascists.

In fact, the rally was incredibly diverse, with men and women from across the racial spectrum. It was far more inclusive than, say, the stage at the last Democrat Presidential debate.

One of the more egregious diatribes post-rally came in the form of a GQ column penned by Talia Lavin. While most in the media reported on how peaceful the event was (again, not news, but expected behavior from law-abiding gun owners), Lavins fevered, anti-gun imagination projected an image of a rally with the promise that bloodshed might happen at any time.

But was she even there? Unlikely.

Her column appears to be cobbled together from various other news articles, and second-hand reports from [r]eporter friends who planned to attend, and a leftist activistwho claimed she was there.

The idea that someone who likely wasnt even at the event could offer insight as to the mood of the event isnt Lavins only problem. The researchshe did for her GQ piece was filled with errors.

She claimed some 22,000 people from all over the country had turned up to protest the gun control laws recently passed by the Virginia State Senate. In fact, the rally had been planned for some time, as a protest for all of the anti-gun legislation Governor Northam and his ilk had been threatening to pass since last year.

Lavin also claimed that NRAhanded out1,000 free 30-round magazines to gun owners before the rally.If by before the rallyshe meant a week before, during our own, separate day for legislative action, then that would be accurate. But that doesnt fit into the image of a scene she described as a spectacular arsenal of weaponry.A description she crafted based, presumably, on photos and video of the event. So well just make an educated guess that her sloppy work resulted in her conflating two different events, either intentionally or not, to feed her negative narrative.

Again, rather than doing actual research, Lavin relied on a news article or two to also claim, The effects on locals amounted to a sweeping petrification. Due to Mondays event, Richmond natives closed their businesses downtownfrom a 7-11 near the Capitol to a barbershop.Rather than the image of a shuttered downtown Lavin tried to create, many, if not most, businesses remained open, and flourished with the concentrated influx of customers.

She also brought up the notion that some groups chose to cancel their own Lobby Day events. Some may have simply not wanted to deal with competing for space with 22,000+ other citizens who were making their political voices heard. Sadly, some may have been scared away by Governor Northam and media hacks like Lavin projecting a sense of impending doom.

Lavin quoted from a press release by one group that claimed it canceled because of its fear over heavily armed white supremacistsseeking to incite violence. But that came from the rabidly anti-gun Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (formerly the National Coalition to Ban Handguns). It seems far more likely the group saw an opportunity to take advantage of the hysteria created by Northam and the media, get a little attention, and avoid showing up with a handful of activists that would just get dejected and go home early.

Now, the name Talia Lavin may sound familiar to some. In 2018 she resigned from her position as fact-checkerfor the New Yorker after she posted a picture of an ICE agent, and implied he had a Nazi tattoo. He did not.

So, apparently attention to detail has long been a failure for Talia. Coincidentally, like Hogg, she is also a product of Harvard.

So, before, during, and after a rally in Richmond that saw 22,000+ Second Amendment advocates come together to voice their opposition to legislation designed to infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, anti-gun extremists, politicians, and their enablers in the media did everything they could to malign the attendees. They projected an image of impending violence at the thought of so many gun owners in one place, then seemed to imply it was newsthat the rally was peaceful.

Again, gun owners gathering together peacefully is not news; thats the norm.

Then again, anti-gun extremists, politicians, and their enablers in the media working together to malign law-abiding gun owners, sadly, isnt really newseither. Its just another day that ends with y.

Visit link:
Second Amendment Rally Seems to Have Anti-Gun Extremists Disappointed That it was so Peaceful - NRA ILA

MOUNT OLIVE TWP. Mayor Rob Greenbaum doesnt want the town to be a Second Amendment Sanctuary but Township Councilman Alex Roman thinks its a good idea.

"I want to make sure that the state doesn't impose any more restrictions on our Second Amendment rights," Roman said on Friday. "It's slowly being eroded away. Restricting legal gun users doesn't improve safety."

At Roman's request, the council will consider the designation at the Tuesday, Feb. 4, meeting.

The designation is included in a proposed resolution forwarded by the newly-formed Morris County chapter of NJ2ASanctuary. The group is part of a statewide and nationwide pushback against gun control laws.

The Morris County chapter forwarded a sample, non-binding resolution to the township, asking for officials to adopt the sanctuary designation in opposition to gun controls. Similar resolutions have been adopted in a few towns in the state. The Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence reported that New Jersey has the second toughest gun laws in the nation, behind California.

"It's pretty much to tell the state that we're legal gun owners and the government of Mount Olive will support legal gun owners," Roman said.

Assemblyman Parker Space, R-Morris, and at least a dozen members of the New Jersey sanctuary group attended a rally in Richmond, Va., on Monday, Jan. 20, that attracted thousands of gun owners who want officials to defend Second Amendment Rights. There were no major incidents despite fears of violence by supporters and opponents of gun laws.

Roman did not attend the rally but spoke about it at the Jan. 21 council meeting.

"I was mostly appalled by the media characterization leading up to and including during the (rally)," Roman said.

He said media reported that "white nationalist, extremist, the all nine yards" were expected at the rally.

"And it turns out that like most Second Amendment gun owners, nothing happened," he said. "People who follow the laws are generally peaceful."

The mayor won't support designating the township as a "Second Amendment Sanctuary" but he said he does support Second Amendment rights.

I do support Second Amendment rights but I am not in favor of bringing Mount Olive to this politically charged issue, Greenbaum said previously.

Council President Joe Nicastro said that he supports the Second Amendment but doesnt like the connotation of a sanctuary town. Many people might confuse it with the sanctuary city movement that offers protection to immigrants without legal documents, he said.

Nicastro said he supports some gun controls such as the Red Flag law which allows authorities to seize weapons from people that a judge has deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Sanctuary has the connotation of providing a refuge for breaking laws, Nicastro said.

Mark Cheesman of Washington Township in Gloucester County is involved in the statewide sanctuary movement. He helped write the sample resolutions and said they no longer contain the word sanctuary. It now refers to Second Amendment Friendly towns.

Nicastro said he doesnt understand why a person would need a high-round or large capacity magazine or a semi-automatic assault style rifle. Semi-automatic weapons are prohibited in New Jersey and in 2018, the state passed a series of gun laws including banning magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Ive been struggling with this, Nicastro said. Im not against all gun controls. I favor Red Flag laws but I dont understand the need for a high-bullet magazine.

Cheesman said that the gun control effort wants to stay focused although it has drawn people calling for the recall of Gov. Phil Murphy, who support President Trump and those who are against mandatory vaccinations in schools. The Recall Governor Phil Murphy Facebook page refers to the mayors support for gun controls, undocumented immigrants and taxes.

We dont want anything to do with the recall, Cheesman said. We wont allow recall Murphy people to be on our Facebook or our coat tails.

Cheesman said the gun control laws in New Jersey have became gradually tougher, beginning with laws in 1970 prohibiting concealed handguns to restrictions on magazines.

Our goal is to incrementally restore what has been taken away from us, said Cheesman who was part of a lawsuit filed in federal court in 2016 that overturned New Jerseys ban on possession of stun guns. .

Cheesman said he attended the Jan. 20 rally in Virginia

The rally was very, very peaceful, Cheesman said. My biggest problem was finding a cup of coffee.

Martin B. Welzmuller of Mount Olive helped organize an initial meeting of sanctuary supporters on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Franks Pizza in Flanders. More than 44 people attended.

Remember everyone who came out tonight send your resolutions in by this Saturday to the Freeholders and the one to your town clerks office, Welzmuller said on the groups Facebook page.

Among those attending was William J. Hayden of Branchville, a gun control opponent from Branchville who describes himself on Facebook as a strong supporter of President Trump and a Skylands Tea Party President, patriot, horse owner, bmx racer, tiger tamer!

The Morris County Freeholders and the Morris County Sheriffs Department have not received requests to declare sanctuaries.

The all-Republican Cape May Freeholders voted on Jan. 14 to declaring the county to be a Second Amendment/Lawful Gun Owner Sanctuary.

The Sussex County Freeholders heard public comments on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from people who oppose and support gun laws. Speakers included Assemblyman Space and Hayden, who both attended the Virginia rally.

A draft resolution on declaring the county as Second Amendment Sanctuary is expected to be considered at the Freeholders next meeting on Feb. 5.

Read the original post:
'Second Amendment Sanctuary' proposal on Mount Olive agenda - New Jersey Hills

HURST -- Jack Wilson stood before 600 churchgoers Sunday for a different kind of service, one that emphasized the need to train armed parishioners in case they ever confront an attacker like Wilson did at his church in White Settlement.

Theres no question, Wilson, 71, advised the crowd gathered at North Pointe Baptist Church in Hurst. If you see someone and they display a gun, its time to act.

The event marked the first time Wilson has spoken at a major church safety seminar since he shot the assailant who opened fire Dec. 29 in West Freeway Church of Christ and killed two worshipers. Hes received at least 20 more invitations to address similar trainings that are surging in popularity after a series of deadly church shootings.

Wilson, a firearms instructor who trains his congregations volunteer safety team, used his platform to emphasize the importance of practice and preparation. He also warned of an attack on the Second Amendment, specifically criticizing Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg, who has made addressing gun violence a focus of his campaign.

If we were operating under Bloombergs position, we wouldnt have had any guns in there, Wilson said in an interview. The outcome would have been extremely more severe than it was.

Wilson said the attacker, who police identified as 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen, had seven more rounds in his shotgun and three more in his pocket.

"Mr. Wilson certainly acted bravely, but the killer had a history of violence and mental health issues and under Mikes plan, he would never (have) had a gun, Elizabeth Lewis, a spokeswoman for his Bloombergs campaign, said in a statement Monday.

As Wilson now finds himself in a position of public fame, it remains to be seen whether he will use his clout in the political arena. He is running as a Republican for Hood County commissioner in the March 3 primary and firearms will likely emerge as a campaign issue. Addressing gun violence in wake of mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa is expected to be a priority when state lawmakers return to Austin in 2021.

Wilson has been praised by Republican leaders such as Gov. Greg Abbott as a hero and example of a good guy with a gun." Advocates for gun control, however, have questioned whether the attack would have occurred if stricter laws had been in place.

Ed Scruggs of the advocacy group Texas Gun Sense recently told The Dallas Morning News that the attacker in White Settlement, who he noted had a criminal history and showed signs of mental instability, was a walking poster for the need for a red-flag law.

Those laws generally allow judges to temporarily remove guns from those deemed a danger to themselves or others. The policy, however, has faced fierce pushback in Texas from gun rights advocates, including Stephen Willeford, who confronted the gunman in the Sutherland Springs church attack. Wilson also opposes them.

If somebody wants a gun, he said, they can get it whenever they want, red flag laws or not.

Wearing a black cowboy hat and a grey suit coat, Wilson was something of a celebrity at the Sheepdog Seminar on church safety Sunday.

A few men asked Wilson to pose for selfies with them, which he did. Other parishioners shook his hand or clapped him on the back, offering words of thanks. Most of the time Wilson was flanked by a volunteer security team member, who was there for the event and wore a collared shirt, a sidearm and an earpiece connected to a radio.

After Wilson answered a few questions at the start of the four-hour program, those in attendance rose among the wooden pews to give him a standing ovation.

I hope the outcome of all this is getting people to become aware of their surroundings, to become aware they are responsible, in a large part, for their safety and well-being, whether they are in church, a grocery store, or wherever, Wilson said in an interview.

Such awareness was on full display Sunday, when the seminars leader, pastor and retired police officer Jimmy Meeks, asked for prayers for Wilson and his church.

Were going to ask you to pray differently from here on out, Meeks said. Do not bow your heads. He instead asked congregants to keep their heads raised to remain alert.

Wilson said he noticed Kinnunen at church that Sunday because of the fake beard and long coat he was wearing. Wilson asked that one of the church cameras, usually used to stream the days service online, be focused on the man. A member of the volunteer protection team, 67-year-old Richard White, positioned himself behind Kinnenun, who sat in one of the back pews.

When the man turned his gun on parishioners Anton Tony Wallace and White, Wilson drew his firearm.

I know Gods hand was on mine when I did take the shot, he said. It was meant to be and thats how I am handling the situation.

Since the shooting, nearly 20 members of the congregation have approached Wilson, saying they want to get their license to carry. Members of the churchs volunteer security team are still training on the firing range, some with an even greater focus, Wilson said. Last week, Whites wife came to shoot, he said.

If you sign up for a security team, practice, train, practice, train, he said, because if you dont do that, when it comes down to the real life scenario, you probably will not react as you need to.

Here is the original post:
Man who stopped White Settlement church shooting warns of attack on Second Amendment - The Dallas Morning News

By DJ Rippert

Sticks and stones? Del. Jeffrey M. Bourne, D-Richmond, has introduced HB1627. The bill is entitled, Threats and harassment of certain officials and property; venue. The proposed legislation strengthens a series of very questionable laws already on the books.

The first few sections of the existing law make it illegal to make threats in written communications to kill or do bodily injury to a person in a variety of occupations and situations. For example, threats to elementary school, middle school or high school employees are called out in the existing legislation. Similarly, threats made on school buses, on school property, or against health care providers are also explicitly illegal. Beyond wondering why certain classes of people or places deserve extra protection from death threats or threats of bodily harm the existing legislation seems pretty straightforward. Ill-conceived and overly limited but straightforward.

Then comes the section entitled, Harassment by computer, penalty. This section goes well beyond outlawing death threats and threats of bodily harm. It specifically references Virginia state politicians as needing legal protection from such things as threatening illegal or immoral acts.

Snowflake protection act. The existing language of laws to be modified by HB1627 gets very broad when the topic turns to state government officials receiving threats, insults or lascivious language. To wit:

18.2-152.7:1. Harassment by computer; penalty.

If any person, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass any person, shall use a computer or computer network to communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act, heshall beisguilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. A violation of this section may be prosecuted in the jurisdiction in which the communication was made or received or in the City of Richmond if the person subjected to the act is one of the following officials or employees of the Commonwealth: the Governor, Governor-elect, Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant Governor-elect, Attorney General, or Attorney General-elect, a member or employee of the General Assembly, a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

RVA. Del Bournes major addition to Virginias existing anti-free speech legislation is apparently an attempt to move the venue for prosecution of the offenses contained in the existing law. HB1627 adds to the Harassment by Computer section of the law A violation of this section may be prosecuted in the jurisdiction in which the communication was made or received or in the City of Richmond if the person subjected to the act is one of the following officials or employees of the Commonwealth: the Governor, Governor-elect, Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant Governor-elect, Attorney General, or Attorney General-elect, a member or employee of the General Assembly, a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or a judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

A resident of Annandale saying lascivious things about Annandale based State Sen. Dick Saslaw on the fictional blog Annandale Today would now be tried in Richmond? Having quashed the second amendment and the first amendment our new majority apparently now wants to take aim at the sixth amendment (a jury of ones peers). How many amendments are left?

Thought crimes. Once again we see existing Virginia law trying to make private human thought a crime. Intent to coerce, intimidate or harass By what magic will Virginia law enforcement officials or courts know whether the person making the statement had an intent to coerce, intimidate or harass? Would Jim Bacons column attempting to solve the Ralph Northam blackface riddle constitute coercion, intimidation or harassment? How about communicating obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious or indecent language? Thats a cornucopia of vague, ill defined adjectives that could mean just about anything to anybody. Does the new Democratic majority hope to stifle criticism of the state government by threatening legal action adjudicated in the cozy confines of Richmond using an umbrella of nonsense words (e.g. lascivious)? Does Del. Bourne hope the mere threat of enforcing vague laws using Richmond as the venue will be sufficient to stifle criticism of the Democratic majority?

Rips Wrap. This proposed bill attempts to take anti-free speech, anti-liberty, anti-American legislation and make it worse. This whole area of existing and proposed law is emblematic of a power-drunk state legislature trying to preserve and extend special privileges for itself and a few chosen groups of special interests. Why is it specifically illegal to threaten school employees or health care providers but not firemen, policemen or accountants? Why should the venue for any charges derived from this law against state politicians or state government employees be the City of Richmond (comprising less than 3% of Virginias population)? The laws that deal with threats of death or bodily harm should be repealed or expanded to cover all Virginians. The sections against the use of lewd, lascivious, etc commentary should be repealed along with an official apology from the General Assembly for ever enacting such garbage in the first place. Oh sorry was that lascivious of me?

Related

Read more:
Finished with the Second Amendment Virginia Dems Now Attack the First (and Sixth) - Bacon's Rebellion

ELIZABETH, W.Va. (WTAP) -- The Wirt County Commission passed a resolution Friday morning declaring the county "a Second Amendment sanctuary," joining Putnam County, Preston County and the community of Fort Gay in Wayne County as the only others in West Virginia to approve the designation.

The resolution cites the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a past ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and the West Virginia's state constitution, proclaiming the right to keep and bear arms.

In one clause of the resolution, the commission says it "is concerned about the passage of any law containing language that would unconstitutionally infringe upon the rights of the citizens of Wirt County to bear arms".

Communities in other states, including neighboring Ohio and Virginia, have passed similar resolutions while state lawmakers have considered passing gun laws in response to recent mass shootings.

Read the rest here:
Wirt County approves "Second Amendment sanctuary" resolution - WDTV