Like many other Americans, I've followed the Kyle Rittenhouse trial with interest.  If you think the verdict was unfair, please watch the video his defense team put together, especially the video of the actual shootings and put yourself in Kyle's shoes.  He was being chased and attacked and is lucky to be alive.  

Just like we teach in our Defensive Handgun courses, the verdict came down to the tenants of justified self-defense.  You can use deadly force to protect yourself if your attacker shows the intent and ability to kill you or do you grievous bodily injury.  Kyle was justified in shooting these three people.   In each instance, he didn't pick these fights, he finished them.

Some other observations:

• Kyle showed excellent gun handling skills.  The pictures and video show that he had great trigger finger disciple.
• Kyle showed great marksmanship.  Under duress, he shot his attackers and only his attackers.  No other bystanders were wounded.

Many people in the media tried to make this case about other ancillary things: Kyle's travel from out of state, the gun he used, etc..  He's also been portrayed as a white supremacist.  None of this changes the key facts - he was under attack and defended himself.

President Biden has recently been discussing bans on AR-15s and other standard semi-automatic rifles.  

This recent article on the CDC's 2018 report on deaths in America puts an interesting spin on the need to ban rifles: falling kills a lot more people than rifles do.  Here are some of the facts shown in the report, in 2018 there were: ​

• 297 intentional deaths by rifle
• 443 intentional deaths by hammers, clubs and blunt objects
• 37,455 deaths by accidental falls

126 times more people died by accidentally falling than those killed by rifles.   Seems like we could save more lives by banning hammers or ladders!  

Something that isn't mentioned by those trying to ban guns, of course, is how many lives are saved by rifles (and other guns)  each year.  Studies have shown that guns are used between 16 and 100 more times each year to save lives than to take lives.  That's between 500,000 and 3 million times each year to save lives!!!

I saw this recent story on the President Biden calling on Congress to enact "common sense" gun laws.  By calling it common sense, they are hoping to make this gun control sound non-controversial.  Don't fall for it.  He's asking for universal background checks, assault weapon (standard semi-auto rifles) bans, "high" capacity magazine bans and ending immunity for gun manufacturers. 

These proposed laws will not make Americans any safer.  Common sense should tell us that criminals don't obey the law.  Gun laws only make it harder for law abiding citizens to protect ourselves. 

The final line in the article was also interesting to me:  "I've always believed that we should get background checks done because it's probably the most popular measure," Murphy said. "And once Republicans see the sky doesn't fall, we can work on other things."

Senator Murphy is basically referring to what is sometimes called the "snowball effect."  Just like a snowball rolling down a hill will get larger, once one law gets passed it is easier to pass more.  Gun owners should stand strong together in opposition to ALL forms of gun control.   Check out my gun rights page for more information on how you can get involved.

As I wrote recently, I was looking for a quick access safe in order to store a rifle in my bedroom.  I decided on an ARVault by GunVault.  When I opened the safe to prepare to hang it on my wall, I found the following warning (highlighting is mine):

"WARNING:  The manufacturers and distributors of the ARVault safe do not recommend, suggest, advise, promote or otherwise condone the ownership or use of firearms.  We at GunVault Inc. believe the decision to own or use the firearm is a serious decision that should only be made by an adult who has carefully considered the risks and benefits of such a decision."

Seriously, the makers of a gun safe, do not condone the ownership of firearms!?!  This was shocking to me and I immediately returned the safe.  When I spend money with gun makers and gun accessories, I want to spend my dollars with companies that will stand with us and support our gun rights.  Needless to say, I won't be buying any more products from GunVault.

Have you ordered your Virginia AR lower from Palmetto State Armory yet?  Not only is this a seriously sweet looking lower for your next AR build, $10 of your purchase goes to VCDL to help protect our 2nd Amendment rights in Virginia!  I ordered mine last week and can't wait to get it.

If you haven't built an AR, it is a really fun (and easy) process.  The lower is the only part of the gun that is controlled by the ATF.  So when you order your lower, you'll have to choose a local gun store to complete the transfer to you.  The rest of the parts can be bought at numerous online sites.  I'll include a picture of my first AR build below (that one used an Aero Precision lower).  

Mike Bloomberg has set his sights on Virginia.  He wants to push his own socialist agenda down our throats and his checkbook has bought him support from Democrats far and wide.  

This is a fight they shouldn't start.  Over 90% of Virginia counties have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries (see map below).  It is clear the vast majority of Virginians do not want more gun control.  As I mentioned before, gun control is not about guns or making us safer, it is about control.  Those pushing gun control just want control of the citizens.  They don't like us to be able to protect ourselves and our families.  

A friend and I took part in the VCDL gun rights rally this week.   It was amazing to see so many people from all walks of life united in one thing - our love for freedom.  There we people shoulder-to-shoulder for three blocks around the Capital!  The news coverage of this event was a joke.  They called it a rally of white supremacists and expected violence.  What actually happened was an enormous number of gun owners showed-up for a peaceful rally to remind our Governor and Legislature that they are supposed to represent us. 

The Senate already has passed a number of bad bills including Universal Background check, One Handgun a Month and the worst of the all: Red Flag Gun Confiscation.  These are an assault on our liberty and should not be tolerated.  I'm sure any of these that make it into law will be challenged in court but that doesn't mean we should depend on the court to throw them out.  Let's get really active in the political process and try to stop them from becoming law.  

​As I've discussed before, the second amendment is about freedom - the basic freedom to to protect yourself.  Check out the liberal agenda pushed by CNN in their article to discuss the latest homicide statistics compiled by the CDC.  This article quotes Daniel Webster, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins, several times.  None of his quotes have any scientific basis - just standard anti-gun rhetoric.

Here's one example: "The available data suggests that as we make it easier and easier for more and more civilians to carry guns wherever they want, we end up with more homicides and other firearm-related crimes," Webster said.  The statistics compiled by the CDC are for murders and are not for law abiding citizens.   He's drawing a completely incorrect conclusion from data.  

Halfway through the article, the writer finally provides a more reasonable perspective from Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America:  "Guns are deadly. But that also makes them effective for self-defense."'Breakdowns in society', a CDC-sponsored study from 2013 found that "guns are used in self-defense anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million times a year," Pratt said. "That means that compared to the CDC figures for 'firearm homicides' in 2016, guns are being used 35 to 208 times more often to save [lives]."

The newly elected state representatives and senate are in a rush to pass all sorts of crazy gun control schemes:  red flag gun laws, universal background checks, one handgun a month, 10 round magazine limit and even semi-auto gun bans have all been pre-filed for the 2020 session. 

It isn't about crime, Virginia has the fourth lowest violent crime rate!  Ultimately, gun control is about control of law abiding citizens.  Criminals, by definition, do not obey the law.

Gun owners - we need to get more active politically than ever to stop the loss of our freedoms.  Please join Virginia Citizens Defense League's Virginia Alert mailing list so you can be alerted of action items (you can do that for free!).  After that, send a generous donation to VCDL, Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association.  

Last week, I had the privilege of joining several hundred other patriots at a gun rights rally at the Virginia State Capitol building.  The rally featured some excellent speakers including:

• Philip Van Cleave, President of Virginia Citizens Defense League
• Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America
• Maj Toure, Founder of Black Guns Matter

The speakers reiterated the uselessness of the governor's proposed gun control schemes including red flag laws and universal background checks.  Gun control will not increase our safety.  

Here's actions we can must take to keep our rights:

• Join gun rights organizations and buy gift memberships for your family members: NRA, VCDL, GOA
• Find some non-shooters and take them shooting
• Vote to protect our gun rights! 

#2A #rkba #vcdl #goa #gunowners #nra #gunrights #votefreedom