2A Newsletter: October 29th

New Sixth Circuit Case: GOA v. DOJ

It’s not in the top headlines of the news from either mainstream media networks or even online sources that we frequent… but this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral arguments from the Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. Department of Justice for a case regarding the ATF’s decision to discontinue allowing Michigan pistol license holders to be exempt from the NICS’ background check. The ATF’s reasoning for this is because they state that the Michigan State Police do not adequately research previous criminal convictions to determine whether a licensed applicant is actually prohibited from possessing a firearm.

This is not the first time the ATF has pulled this kind of stunt. It’s really just another example of how the goal post is always being moved as they try to get more gun owners’ names on the books (previously, the ATF took similar action against Alabama pistol permit holders in 2019). It’s not uncommon for states to have alternative methods of exempting law abiding citizens from needing to DROS a firearm. Even if state officials were faulty in doing their jobs during initial background checks for concealed pistol license applicants there’s no language in the Brady Act that negates all state permits issued for gun owners. See the Permanent Brady Permit Chart.

Many states allow residents to purchase firearms without the background check if they already have a concealed carry permit or license to purchase a handgun. These are signs that a person has jumped through the legal hoops to take classes, training and spent their time and money to obtain these documents or license which is why it exempts lawfully abiding citizens from needing to fill out 4473 Form. One of the frustrating parts of our legal system is that it’s more reactionary than it is proactive. Executive agencies can engage in unlawful behavior, enforce unconstitutional practices and oftentimes it takes a successful lawsuit to put a stop to that. We’ll be watching this case as it unfolds.

Most Common Anti-Gun Businesses You Probably Shop At

Who do you get your car insurance from? Where do you get your groceries and gas? Which store do you shop for clothes and shoes at? Who’s your favorite sports team? It’s time you stop voting for the enemy’s success with your wallet.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms keeps a constantly updated list of anti-gun businesses that have supported anti-gun legislation or instituted anti-gun policies within their corporations — I’m going to be honest, this was tough to read as I’ve frequently shopped at most of these businesses. Looks like it’s time to sell some items around the house and thrift at Goodwill instead. In no particular order, here’s a list of some some gun prohibitionists to start avoiding:

Reconciling Gun Safety on Movie Sets: ‘Rust’ Tragedy

Obviously, we have some things to say about the accident involving actor Alec Baldwin’s accidental shooting and killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set of ‘Rust’ too. There have been endless rumors cycling and circulating regarding this tragic event. What we know as fact so far is simply that this production was a mess. Actors engaging in unsafe firearms handling on a set during their off time, an inexperienced armorer who doubted her own skills and capabilities and ultimately Baldwin’s culpability as he’s the one pulled the trigger that resulted in a death — a lot of bad factors to say the least.

With certain work environments, there are inevitably some risk factors whenever guns are involved. For our own team, we’ve worked at tradeshows and conventions where we’d often get flagged by visitors or people handling our display products. To some extent, we expect this and prepare ourselves to be vigilant so we can take command and correct anyone at our booths potentially posing a risk to others.

On a movie set, it’s a whole different story. Actors shooting at each other is part of the job as is playing out their deaths. Likewise, armorers and propmasters have the job to ensure that real firearms are safely being used as props while loaded with the proper ammunition (usually blanks). Stunt coordinators are involved and you’d hope that your director has some idea of what’s going on too. Actors have to put a tremendous amount of trust in their prop department and pyrotechnics because those are the things on set that kill most easily so there are alot of safety procedures and protocols that are put in place as industry standards. If there wasn’t, you would be hearing about these sorts of accidents far more often. This terrible event also occurred just as the recent Hollywood IATSE strike was looming in the air due to poor working conditions for film production employees. 

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