tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72066165033908828822024-03-01T00:39:19.133-05:00Pursuit of PatriotismStanding firm for the U.S. Constitution and advocating for the patriot values that made our country great.
Feel free to leave your thoughtful comments and suggestions on any articles you like. It will be much appreciated!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-80689247842639116182023-09-17T17:21:00.006-04:002023-09-18T17:06:58.705-04:00Atlanta Chili Cook Off - Dunwoody, GA - "We Can Lie Like Dogs" © 2023 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #383a3b; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On 09/15 I posted the comment in the screenshot below at their Facebook page. Just now tried to go to the page, and they have blocked me. As of 09/17 they have not removed <a href="https://atlantachilicookoff.com/faq/" target="_blank">"weapons" as a prohibited item from their website</a>.</span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwVvxlZ5Ld0hk7PWgJo8li26AOadr8oN07LI-ya63Pt0yRBCw0TxAfZpW4FxmEgo44StwHztK7EYld_6trGk2zFczQi2YKdix_-pA4XdNP1eaQQIf5Sv9oK5ESGMku4MDBi2SKbaMgx-bvND_cdeOA1VCsoRAw__WjNx2HOGShlUv6EtVKRMljL9t5mw/s2200/Chili%20Cook%20Off%20Facebook.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="2200" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwVvxlZ5Ld0hk7PWgJo8li26AOadr8oN07LI-ya63Pt0yRBCw0TxAfZpW4FxmEgo44StwHztK7EYld_6trGk2zFczQi2YKdix_-pA4XdNP1eaQQIf5Sv9oK5ESGMku4MDBi2SKbaMgx-bvND_cdeOA1VCsoRAw__WjNx2HOGShlUv6EtVKRMljL9t5mw/s320/Chili%20Cook%20Off%20Facebook.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AtlantaChiliCookOff" target="_blank">Screenshot of the Atlanta Chili Cook Off Festival Facebook Page</a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="segoe ui, helvetica neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, fira sans, droid sans, sans-serif" style="color: #383a3b;"><span style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: -0.3px;">They had plenty of time to block me on Facebook but didn't have time to reflect the truth on their website that weapons are not actually banned at Brook Run Park in Dunwoody, Georgia, as it is a publicly owned city park. Lawful carriers of firearms and other legal weapons are authorized by state law to carry at public parks. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""segoe ui", "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "fira sans", "droid sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #383a3b; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b>This certainly appears deliberate on their part, that they are happy with LYING to the public and misinforming them about weapons being prohibited, when they admitted to me on the phone they are not. "We Can Lie Like Dogs" is just my interpretation of what they may or may not be thinking about this.</b></span></p><span face=""segoe ui", "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "fira sans", "droid sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #383a3b; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;">The text of my comment above is: "Greetings, almost a week ago a gentleman at your contact phone number informed me that weapons would not be banned at the festival. However, the website still mentions they are banned. Shouldn't it be a priority to give the public accurate information and update your website?"</span></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b>Wow, was that so offensive to them that they had to delete my comment and block me?</b></span></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;">Folks, this is the mentality of those who despise you for being able to exercise your human right of armed self-defense. And believe me, if state law allowed it, they would certainly ban you from carrying a self-defense weapon at the park to keep you and your loved ones safe. Is there a magic forcefield that keeps criminals out of public parks? If not, then we are responsible for our own safety.</div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><b>Virtually all of the Democrats (and a few Republicans) in the Georgia General Assembly want to grant festivals the power to ban lawful weapons in parks for events. They want folks to leave weapons in their vehicles to be at risk for theft, to be used to harm others. </b></div><div style="font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Let your lawmakers know you will NOT tolerate the addition of numerous off-limits places for lawful carriers in our state. We are not the problem, criminals are.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Update: 09/18 - Tori Cooper with Atlanta News First called me. She had called the festival organizer and was told they are declining to update their website. They told her that "handguns" would be allowed. So, does this mean they do not consider handguns to be weapons?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>This is not a mix-up or a snafu. This is their deliberate misinformation campaign against anyone who might view their website and consider attending. This is how little they think of you and how much they despise giving you accurate information.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>-------------------------</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Update: 09/18 Part 2 - I just now received the following email - the City will require them to change their website:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>"</b></span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">Phillip,</span></span></div></span><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After speaking with my Director, we will be <span style="color: #212121;">contacting the festival organizers to let them know the website wording must be changed or removed in order to host the event at Brook Run Park. In accordance with state law, we cannot restrict carrying on public property and their Special Event permit does not allow them to do so.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you,</span></span></div><div id="m_6647542034840564236ms-outlook-mobile-signature" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><p style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rachel Waldron</span></span></p><p style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Recreation Program Manager</span></span></p><p style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">City of Dunwoody</span></span></p><p style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleItalicBody; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: medium;">GRPA District 6 Agency of the Year 2021, 2022"</span></span></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-11328798009186712372023-09-13T13:30:00.008-04:002023-09-14T14:35:59.245-04:00Illegal Weapons Ban - Arts in the Heart of Augusta © 2023 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Just when the coast seemed clear on a state weapons law violation in Georgia, we have entered the Twilight Zone. </span><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2023/08/augusta-georgia-arts-festival-weapons.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">See my previous article on this by clicking here.</a></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0kWHFssDUFd1EIp2BsevxM1-W1CjLWUrMe0XrL0q6uAOhxbpjBgtstPkH9xqBH0uV6wX7pfNtz7AbFj8-v8P1uBzPBuxewAvFyTsDHM1D-7Y9xUhRXW_iJ8Zrj0f1L5Th_99T6DSrBVVkZ6_5BkXgdgQum3BAIk6ortLZFk_T8x0-WZYMg0pTxaHyoY/s1013/Richmond%20Sheriffs%20Badge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1013" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0kWHFssDUFd1EIp2BsevxM1-W1CjLWUrMe0XrL0q6uAOhxbpjBgtstPkH9xqBH0uV6wX7pfNtz7AbFj8-v8P1uBzPBuxewAvFyTsDHM1D-7Y9xUhRXW_iJ8Zrj0f1L5Th_99T6DSrBVVkZ6_5BkXgdgQum3BAIk6ortLZFk_T8x0-WZYMg0pTxaHyoY/s320/Richmond%20Sheriffs%20Badge.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RichmondCountySheriffsOfficeGeorgia" target="_blank">Image of Richmond County, GA Sheriff's Badge (Fair Use)</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, I spoke with Lt. Walter Ashley of the Richmond County, GA Sheriff's Office, who informed me that weapons would be banned at the <a href="https://artsintheheartofaugusta.com/" target="_blank">Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival</a> this Sept. 15th - 17th. </span></b></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As you can see on the festival's website, they have edited it and no longer make mention of guns or weapons. So we're good then, right? Not so fast. It turns out that the Sheriff's Office is under the impression that if there is an admission charge, that they could ban weapons on public property. They believe this to be state law, which is 100% wrong.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>State law makes no mention of admission fees or tickets for events held on public property. The only test is whether it is public or private property. If public property, and if not specified as off limits under state law, then lawful carriers are authorized by the state to carry their legal weapons there.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To Lt. Ashley's credit, he promised to forward an <a href="https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/s18g1149.pdf" target="_blank">Oct. 2019 GA Supreme Court decision</a> that relates to this up the chain, so I appreciate that.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Since the law on this has been well established since 2019, a law enforcement officer detaining or arresting a lawful carrier would not enjoy qualified immunity and would be subject to a federal lawsuit.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Sheriff's Office illegally banned weapons at the arts festival last year and no one called them on it that I am aware of. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://www.wrdw.com/2023/09/12/downtown-augusta-gears-up-arts-heart/" target="_blank">WRDW News' reporter Nick Viland ran a story on this last night.</a> I spoke with him today and sent him the voice recordings I have of my conversations with Lt. Ashley.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the video in Mr. Viland's story, <a href="https://ga2a.org/" target="_blank">GA2A Attorney John R. Monroe</a> explains why weapons cannot be banned at the festival, which is held on public streets and the Augusta Common, also public property.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr. Viland was informed by a </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Captain with the </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Sheriff's Office that the reason for the ban was that the Arts Council had rented the public streets. This 3-day "rental" is at </span><span style="font-family: arial;">zero-cost</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> per the document I received from the city. Regardless of any cost, any 3-day agreement would not rise to the level of an estate-for-years type lease where ownership rights are conveyed, as required by the GA Supreme Court's decision noted above.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Update! </span><span face="Inter, Helvetica, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "fira sans", "droid sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #383a3b; letter-spacing: -0.3px; text-align: left;">Lt. Ashley just called me today 09/14, to let me know that the Sheriff's Office gun ban at the festival has been lifted!</span></i></span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-14713077213244627482023-09-08T16:06:00.009-04:002023-09-17T17:23:29.413-04:00Unlawful Weapons Bans At Public Parks in Georgia © 2023 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://atlantachilicookoff.com/faq/" target="_blank">Yet another private event organizer in Georgia (Atlanta Chili Cook Off, Nov. 4th at Brook Run Park in Dunwoody) is under the impression that they can ban lawfully carried weapons at a publicly owned park</a>. </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3VJMljsJUpKGGK9IMlyv1lOV433ch5MpZ7qPWizEpa8kdphJt3BOPLnx9MfAin2vyyR3Z6s5a6GOpJ8JlwtMfYlrRRDiOEOEajJ_Ahok08ZHzaB_k03HfOgDWM0Z6cwk5N35z19yfGxRyeBRAeZjSxDUiADnZXZgHj0lR3g2vXgiNFP1Ixq9gSJLEV8/s900/Brook%20Run%20Park%20Kiosk%20Map.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3VJMljsJUpKGGK9IMlyv1lOV433ch5MpZ7qPWizEpa8kdphJt3BOPLnx9MfAin2vyyR3Z6s5a6GOpJ8JlwtMfYlrRRDiOEOEajJ_Ahok08ZHzaB_k03HfOgDWM0Z6cwk5N35z19yfGxRyeBRAeZjSxDUiADnZXZgHj0lR3g2vXgiNFP1Ixq9gSJLEV8/s320/Brook%20Run%20Park%20Kiosk%20Map.png" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dunwoodyga.gov/government/departments/parks-and-recreation/parks-facilities/brook-run-park" target="_blank">Brook Run Park | City of Dunwoody, GA</a> (note that weapons are not mentioned on the government website, because they know the law and follow it)</div><br /><b><span style="font-family: arial;">From the event organizer's <a href="https://atlantachilicookoff.com/faq/" target="_blank">website</a>:</span></b><div> <p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-weight: 600;">6. What am I not allowed to bring into the park?</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding-left: 20px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Food or Beverages</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Tents</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Coolers or picnic baskets</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Drugs</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Weapons</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Fireworks</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Glass</li></ul><div><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b>The Atlanta Chili Festival organizer has been contacted by at least a few people about this, but there has been zero response so far to my knowledge.</b></span></div><div><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b>UPDATE: I was finally able to get in touch with a gentleman at the </b></span><b style="color: #666666;">Atlanta Chili Festival organizer's phone number, who told me that handguns would NOT be banned. I explained to him that "weapons" included firearms in folks' minds, and that he may want to update their website. He stated that it was not a priority right now, but that he would get to it when he could. I suppose accuracy can take a back seat when it's about our rights, but better late than never. </b></div><div><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Recently, another event organizer, <a href="http://Toasty-Events.com">Toasty-Events.com</a> updated their website for their <a href="https://toasty-events.com/faq" target="_blank">Fall for Wine</a> festival Oct. 7th at Nash Farm Battlefield Park, to remove any mention of weapons.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">And before that, the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival also removed any mention of weapons or guns from their website: <a href="http://artsintheheartofaugusta.com">artsintheheartofaugusta.com</a>, after being called on it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">This rash of event organizers believing they can ban the legal carrying of weapons from events held at public parks in Georgia is a mystery, as the state law on this has been settled for years.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b>Perhaps it is not so much a mystery as wishful thinking. That is, hoping no one will call them on their attempt at deceiving their potential attendees with false information. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Because they don't trust you to carry firearms at their hosted events, they will stoop to tricking you into not carrying, in spite of what the law says.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Why this wall of dishonesty from adults who should know better? Well, when feelings matter more than facts, I suppose telling lies is sometimes preferred by them to telling you the truth.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><b><i>There may be other events at public parks coming up in Atlanta and other cities around the state where they are advertising that weapons are banned. They'd be wrong about that, but they may still be determined to violate the law and your self-defense carry rights.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">If you are turned away from an event at a public park just for being lawfully armed, or are forced to disarm in order to enter, then please contact <a href="https://ga2a.org/connect/" target="_blank">GA2A using their website</a>, or via email at <a href="mailto:info@GA2A.org">info@GA2A.org</a> as soon as possible afterwards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: medium;">Try to audio record any encounter, remaining calm and polite, and do not physically resist anyone preventing you from entering. Get the name of the person denying you entry or telling you to that you must first put your firearm in your vehicle before you can enter.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><b><i>You could possibly then be accepted as a plaintiff in a legal action against them. To help in this effort, please <a href="https://ga2a.org/become-a-member/" target="_blank">FIRST become a member of GA2A</a> now if you are not one already.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Article E</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666;">pilogue: Will the print or TV news media pick up on this apparent misinformation campaign by organizers of events in Georgia's public parks, and how our efforts are making a difference in some cases, by getting them to correct their websites?</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666;">Update Part 2, 09/17 - <a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2023/09/atlanta-chili-cook-off-dunwoody-ga-we.html" target="_blank">see my latest article on getting blocked on Facebook by the Atlanta Chili Cook Off Festival just for asking them to update their website to remove the mention of weapons</a>.</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-42407111597143818562023-09-05T18:15:00.003-04:002023-09-17T17:24:34.222-04:00Weapons Bans and LYING TONGUES © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2023/08/augusta-georgia-arts-festival-weapons.html" target="_blank">Lately it seems I've been running across lying tongues regarding weapons bans at events in public parks not just in my home state of Georgia, but elsewhere</a>.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_x7scjPlBUZB248EQgGuMvptwbmoJp9X5YaUXeNxsK8Z3PYxhDaVHldfBYvN8B5NfswGUKrQ1HCGDkmKQDb4_uFrVGUtGia6SMrLPmJOONR-AXuAR-HZMBc6l9MqLT6bosng9mg9suq3vssoUer3x9h2aBxOnJV7ArZAjJ8EtEiGAw-pKDt1DRjWmQzg/s1200/Cincinatti%20Fireworks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1200" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_x7scjPlBUZB248EQgGuMvptwbmoJp9X5YaUXeNxsK8Z3PYxhDaVHldfBYvN8B5NfswGUKrQ1HCGDkmKQDb4_uFrVGUtGia6SMrLPmJOONR-AXuAR-HZMBc6l9MqLT6bosng9mg9suq3vssoUer3x9h2aBxOnJV7ArZAjJ8EtEiGAw-pKDt1DRjWmQzg/s320/Cincinatti%20Fireworks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wcdumonts/7919482292" target="_blank">WEBN Cincinnati Fireworks 2012 Photo by Mark Dumont</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://webn.iheart.com/featured/western-southern-webn-fireworks/content/2022-07-18-ws-webn-fireworks-faq/" target="_blank">Here's a recent example in Ohio</a>:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Prohibited Items</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><snip></div><div style="text-align: justify;">· <b>Weapons including, <u><i>but not limited to</i></u></b>: Knives, explosives, stun guns, handcuffs, brass knuckles, sticks, clubs, batons, martial arts instruments, pepper spray, tear gas, etc. Guests found in possession of such items will be asked to remove the items from park property or dispose of them. (bold, italics, and underline mine)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><snip></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How do I know they were lying? <a href="https://www.facebook.com/557042508/posts/10161321199177509/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v" target="_blank">Gun rights advocate Jeffry Smith attended the event carrying his firearms openly to show everyone WEBN's deliberate misinformation</a>, that they lacked the authority to ban weapons in Ohio's public parks. He had no issues with law enforcement officers that clearly saw his weapons.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://webn.iheart.com/contact/" target="_blank">Here is WEBN's Contact page in case they can provide any clarification on what happened</a>. Perhaps it was all just a snafu, a misprint? That could be believable if they had not done this numerous times before.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So why are these deceptions fed to the public by event organizers and the media, with a blind eye from local governments?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Because it is not against the law for them to LIE to you about whether weapons are truly prohibited or not. They want to TRICK you into leaving your guns in your vehicles to be at risk of theft, because they know they cannot ban you from carrying them into the public parks at these events.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>No matter how you feel about weapons in public places and at public events, you need to be told the truth. Truth matters. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>What if you are totally opposed to being near weapons (though that might be difficult to accomplish since most carriers of weapons conceal them), and plan to attend a "gun free" event just because the website said weapons are prohibited, only to be SURPRISED to see peaceful carriers with their holstered firearms in plain view once you get there? </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are at least a couple of large events in Atlanta coming up soon at a public park where lawful carriers are AUTHORIZED to carry at under Georgia law. To be honest, I don't know if their websites are window dressing misinformation, or if they mean to really keep out lawful carriers of guns. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><b>To my knowledge NO ONE in the news media has asked that question of them. If they decline comment, that should logically be a clue one way or the other, but I couldn't predict it 100% either way.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Another, but smaller example was Atlanta Reggae in the Park, held at Piedmont Park last month. <a href="https://www.atlreggaeinthepark.com/faq" target="_blank">"Weapons of any kind" were banned according to the website</a>, but there was no screening for any prohibited items, and I have it on good information that at least one citizen openly carried a holstered handgun there, also with no issues from police.</div></span><div><br /></div><div><div><b style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">I have no plans to attend the large events alluded to above, no plans to sue them, and no plans to threaten to sue them. I will leave that decision up to anyone that is not allowed to enter the park for the events just for being lawfully armed, or entered but were forced to first disarm.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Perhaps you faithful readers of mine could ask your TV and radio news media if they will get to the bottom of whether websites purporting to ban weapons at events in public parks in Georgia, Ohio, and other states where citizens are authorized to carry them, mean to actually ban them or not. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Shouldn't the truth be brought to light? Shouldn't event promoters have the decency to stop lying to us and give us a clear and honest answer?</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2023/09/atlanta-chili-cook-off-dunwoody-ga-we.html" target="_blank">Update 09/17 - and here's another one...</a></b></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-79458070137137951542023-08-24T13:00:00.013-04:002023-09-13T14:11:49.357-04:00Augusta, Georgia Arts Festival - Weapons Ban Misinformation Campaign © 2023 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://ga2a.org/successes/2010-sb308/" target="_blank">Georgia's "Public Gathering" law was repealed in 2010 with the signing of SB308 by then Gov. Sonny Perdue</a>. This meant that legal carriers of weapons could carry on public property (with the exception of enumerated off-limits places), regardless of public gatherings. And while we still have off-limits places, public streets have never been specified in the law as being off limits to the carrying of firearms or other lawful weapons.</b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxE8q7MJWyYDP5HN4dBm_kwN3zjyUMdHHmfsJZKplKxksm7ltJ4ACeVcMTFOP8Dbi-85rJa6Zk2tIBvdaZC-rxIEm8Inypl298PPHtSpmWO0o82D4wdStGO5tgOxVt4vFCsiVCrPUEQJVbgYuWEWPo66xo4NDDwKYWDdBSgCwqjSciRRnkNoFh65eyoA/s600/Arts%20in%20the%20Heart%20of%20Augusta.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxE8q7MJWyYDP5HN4dBm_kwN3zjyUMdHHmfsJZKplKxksm7ltJ4ACeVcMTFOP8Dbi-85rJa6Zk2tIBvdaZC-rxIEm8Inypl298PPHtSpmWO0o82D4wdStGO5tgOxVt4vFCsiVCrPUEQJVbgYuWEWPo66xo4NDDwKYWDdBSgCwqjSciRRnkNoFh65eyoA/s320/Arts%20in%20the%20Heart%20of%20Augusta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://artsintheheartofaugusta.com">https://artsintheheartofaugusta.com</a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fast forward 13 years. <strike>Houston </strike>Augusta we have a problem... The Greater Augusta Arts Council is presenting the Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival Sept. 15th - 17th this year, and has the following on the festival's website: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">"<span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #3c3c3c; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic;">Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival is a rain or shine event. Updates regarding inclement weather will be posted to our home page and social media. </span><strong style="background: 0px 0px rgb(246, 246, 246); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3c3c3c; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No Dogs, No Coolers, No Weapons." </em></strong>(Formatting theirs) - <a href="https://artsintheheartofaugusta.com/" target="_blank">HOME - Arts in the Heart (artsintheheartofaugusta.com)</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On the Greater Augusta Arts Council's own website is:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141827;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Pets, guns and coolers are not allowed in the Festival." - </span></span><a href="https://events.augustaarts.com/calendar/arts-in-the-heart/2023-09-15/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Arts in The Heart - The Greater Augusta Arts Council's Arts and Culture Calendar</span></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Destination Augusta (They cooperate with the City via an agreement), aka the ACVB (Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau), h</span><span style="font-family: arial;">as the following on their website: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333232; font-family: arial;">"Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival is a rain-or-shine event. Updates regarding inclement weather will be posted to our home page and social media. No Dogs, No Coolers, No Weapons." - </span><a href="https://www.visitaugusta.com/event/arts-in-the-heart-of-augusta-festival/20302/" target="_blank">Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival (visitaugusta.com)</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Looks like all the players involved are in lock step with an unauthorized and unlawful weapons ban. I find it hard to believe that the City of Augusta and their attorneys are in the dark about this. Is 13 years not long enough for them to discover and understand state law on the carrying of weapons on publicly owned property?</b></i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why did the City not nip this in the bud from the beginning and tell the organizers that they can't ban the lawful carrying of weapons. Call me cynical, but I believe it's because they don't want citizens exercising their carry rights at the festival either. They are content and happy with this misinformation campaign. My opinion on this will change if proved wrong.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Those websites above have had their intended effect by spreading this misinformation to the local news media that lap it up and just copy/paste without a single question on whether they have the legal authority to ban weapons on public streets, even if it is roped off or gated and ticketed. </b></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Those things are not exceptions in the law, nor should they be, as our right to self-defense on our taxpayer owned property</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> should never be infringed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"</span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: arial;">Organizers say pets, guns and coolers are not allowed in the event." - </span><a href="https://www.wrdw.com/2023/08/14/arts-heart-festival-is-ready-return-augusta/" style="font-family: arial;">Arts in the Heart festival is ready to return to Augusta (wrdw.com)</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">"Pets, guns and coolers are not allowed in the Festival." - <a href="https://www.wjbf.com/csra-news/announcement-dates-for-2023-arts-in-the-heart-festival/" style="background-color: transparent;">Announcement | Dates for 2023 Arts in the Heart Festival | WJBF</a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, we are long past the days when reporters were real journalists that did their jobs and asked questions. Copyists is all they are now. Who knows? They may revisit this at some point and post an update on their articles.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Could it be that all involved are merely ignorant of the law? Possibly, but I think it's more likely they are simply bold-faced liars.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">08/25 Update: The festival's website no longer mentions guns or weapons.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">09/13 Update: <a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2023/09/illegal-weapons-ban-arts-in-heart-of.html" target="_blank">Richmond County Sheriff's Office plans to bans weapons at the festival</a> in spite of the website change.<br /><br />The festival organizer's calendar page still mentions that guns are not allowed, as well as Destination Augusta's website is still saying "No Weapons". Perhaps those pages will eventually be updated, but maybe not.<br /><br />The takeaway is that the organizer finally got the message and at least half-way did something about it.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>But mark my words, they would infringe on your right of armed self-defense at their events every time if they had that power. <a href="https://ga2a.org/" target="_blank">Thankfully, GA2A works with the Georgia General Assembly</a> to ensure that our right to carry on public property is carefully guarded.</i></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-91353702548955976302023-08-17T20:04:00.004-04:002023-08-17T20:33:01.064-04:00Georgia Country Music Festival - Not Banning Weapons After All © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Regarding a prior website weapons prohibition at Jim R. Miller Park for the <a href="https://georgiacountrymusicfest.com/info/" target="_blank">Sept. 1-3 Georgia Country Music Festival</a>, on August 7th, a person on the <a href="https://www.georgiapacking.org/threads/georgia-country-music-fest.288253/" target="_blank">GeorgiaPacking.org website</a> with screen name rmodel65 posted the reply below from the festival organizers (<a href="https://carolinacountrymusicfest.com/news/who-is-southern-entertainment/" target="_blank">Southern Entertainment</a>) on his inquiry:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQi3QSYmZrffukNNRv9rDynRyulPH-UfPmXEOT1WG62jj3FN1LuFuEwLWIZow1TRGbcWs5WeUV6wiBCto_G25obUcXDfYzs7V1JrvV4r7i4ILJYtHNApGkkvV-KL2ua-nyTZkJwp0fVaKfNma9a8AgwfHs-EWDSmjwYGGk6j_H9pj314rNPfRp9Go7IM/s920/Jim-Miller-Park_Aerial.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="920" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQi3QSYmZrffukNNRv9rDynRyulPH-UfPmXEOT1WG62jj3FN1LuFuEwLWIZow1TRGbcWs5WeUV6wiBCto_G25obUcXDfYzs7V1JrvV4r7i4ILJYtHNApGkkvV-KL2ua-nyTZkJwp0fVaKfNma9a8AgwfHs-EWDSmjwYGGk6j_H9pj314rNPfRp9Go7IM/s320/Jim-Miller-Park_Aerial.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.cobbcounty.org/parks/event-centers/jim-miller-park" target="_blank">Jim R. Miller Park Aerial Photo From the Cobb County Government Webpage</a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"We actually caught this oversight on our website over the weekend. We do festivals up and down the East Coast and we flipped the verbiage from our sister fest in South Carolina. This morning at 7 am we updated the website to reflect the correct firearms laws. It was an honest mistake. We are in no way banning or making a hassle for those that are carrying, per the law."</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sounds plausible to me, an honest mistake. And good on them for quickly updating their website and removing the weapons prohibition and following Georgia law, which authorizes lawful carriers of weapons to enter publicly owned city, county, or state parks to attend either free or ticketed events, or for any other lawful reason.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>However, Southern Entertainment is "<a href="https://carolinacountrymusicfest.com/questions/allowed-brought-festival/" target="_blank">banning and making a hassle" for citizens to be able to defend themselves at their sister fest in South Carolina</a>, at what appears to be a <a href="https://www.mapquest.com/us/sc/myrtle-beach/29577-3749/812-n-ocean-blvd-33.69172,-78.87972" target="_blank">publicly owned beach</a>. I suppose SC citizens can have their rights violated on their taxpayer supported public property.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So while this festival is obeying state law in Georgia, it certainly isn't because they want to, so there's that. Good thing we have the law on our side in this matter.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, there are no criminal penalties for any private entity that </span><span style="font-family: arial;">illegally bans</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> lawful weapons on publicly owned property in Georgia. There are only civil remedies available. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A lawful carrier who might sue over a violation of the law and of their rights likely would recover only their ticket cost and maybe a few thousand dollars, if that. Large festival organizers with deep pockets that determine to violate our laws laugh at such possibilities, and plow ahead full steam to do what they want, regardless of what the law states.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>It would be another story of damages if a festival organizer's employee injured a lawfully armed guest while trying to keep them out, or while trying to kick them out after they got in and were later discovered to be carrying a firearm or other legal weapon. That could get very expensive for the violators.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Our lawmakers should put teeth into the law to heavily fine and possibly jail any individual that infringes upon the lawful rights of citizens. Lawful carriers have never been the problem, only criminals. We should be able to defend ourselves anywhere that criminals can go, because bad guys don't follow the law.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-63541716112354176332023-07-03T22:11:00.004-04:002023-07-03T22:11:42.056-04:00Independence Day Celebration! © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.thelcn.com/lifestyles/why-isn-t-july-2-america-s-independence-day/article_e428eebd-3ae0-5745-aaf7-a9946779d09d.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress declared American independence, but the final wording of the Declaration of Independence had not yet been approved but would be approved two days later.</span></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNby9NdlwGDaD0Lm9tkRJlPcYZp33dS3WALms1E33ZO6P_PhXpTdhsvF5sIbQyP3iKUKHk-moajS5-K3olb_ISCQrdd0XKYvo6xrmZ0N9w6jNCx_Bskuy439eeTKXaavGSQOFL_O09H8Cot6f1kDVQ3Ff0bDWzo6T6HPVXum4VrXqI5FHS0-vL0uR2Ak/s1200/independence-celebration-celebrate-light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1200" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNby9NdlwGDaD0Lm9tkRJlPcYZp33dS3WALms1E33ZO6P_PhXpTdhsvF5sIbQyP3iKUKHk-moajS5-K3olb_ISCQrdd0XKYvo6xrmZ0N9w6jNCx_Bskuy439eeTKXaavGSQOFL_O09H8Cot6f1kDVQ3Ff0bDWzo6T6HPVXum4VrXqI5FHS0-vL0uR2Ak/s320/independence-celebration-celebrate-light.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-jybht" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">July 4th Fireworks Over Washington D.C. - Royalty Free Photo</a></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>This year, once again, let our American Independence Day Celebration remind the British sheeple that they gave up their chance to have a Right To Keep And Bear Arms many years ago. Now, any armed means of self-defense there, even if it's just a hat pin is generally considered to be illegal. That's just sad.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">How very glad I am to not be under their oppressive yoke!</span></i></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I suppose the people there get what they deserve, until they grow a spine and take their liberty back.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I celebrated this holiday by recently attending a large public fireworks event and carried my holstered pistol in full view with no covering over it, to honor those who bled and died to secure that liberty for us.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My carrying of a visible weapon to oppose evil doers is a good and honorable thing, which is contrary to the view of those who believe only the police should be relied upon to keep us safe.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>To be honest, some gun carriers preach that guns must remain concealed, but when pressed on this point all the ones I've encountered finally admit that it should be a personal choice, and not a government-mandated choice. In other words, they oppose any law prohibiting open carry even if they would not carry openly themselves.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>And at that very same event I mentioned above, a police officer I spoke with briefly told me he was glad to see me carrying openly. Perhaps hoplophobes should be aware that not all police view themselves as your personal bodyguards, that even many police officers recognize that as human beings we each have a personal responsibility to be ready to save our own lives and those of our loved ones.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>While it's a silly analogy, it still holds true - lions and tigers do not have certain appointed members to wear fangs and claws. They all have them. And as long as any criminals are not behind bars, we can assume they have them as well, figuratively speaking. So why not all of the good guys and gals?</b></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-69721189813234130752023-06-08T12:42:00.009-04:002023-06-14T19:20:36.570-04:00Florida Open Carry Ban Challenged © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://ricksblog.biz/breaking-commission-candidate-jailed/" target="_blank">On July 11th, 2022, a Pensacola man, Stanley Victor McDaniels, running for an Escambia County Commissioner seat was charged with openly carrying a prohibited weapon</a>. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_3ooKvgNAudi7EOwMQEzhvdozTl9mABgfks3klsk-TPAMx3SRgkrpyTcyyP25Dh2xvap0p6-Tdo9NCn6ixQSlKAmVeTMZpnGdKykjjmYFXSDSR3FMAZIY5Bg3svP8a_0OqkWW3CuEX7B0XtRW1OpKLarqgbeCglU1KVYN32Dyyl318F6YYSCJCtt/s1024/New_Hampshire_Open_Carry_2009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_3ooKvgNAudi7EOwMQEzhvdozTl9mABgfks3klsk-TPAMx3SRgkrpyTcyyP25Dh2xvap0p6-Tdo9NCn6ixQSlKAmVeTMZpnGdKykjjmYFXSDSR3FMAZIY5Bg3svP8a_0OqkWW3CuEX7B0XtRW1OpKLarqgbeCglU1KVYN32Dyyl318F6YYSCJCtt/s320/New_Hampshire_Open_Carry_2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Hampshire_Open_Carry_2009.jpg" target="_blank">Photo by Lucio Eastman</a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He had stood at the corner of Baylen and Main streets on July 4th and waved at passing vehicles, and had a camera set up on a tripod. In his front waistband in an inside-the-pants holster was his Beretta .40 handgun. <a href="https://weartv.com/news/local/escambia-county-commissioner-candidate-charged-with-openly-carrying-gun" target="_blank">Police arrived and spoke with him, but surprisingly did not take him into custody at that time</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr. McDaniels has a license to carry a concealed weapon, but Florida prohibits carrying a visible firearm, except when fishing, hunting, camping, target shooting, or going to or from those activities. And in those exceptions no weapons license is required under the law.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The charge carries a penalty of up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://edca.1dca.org/DCADocs/2023/0533/230533_NOA_03032023_10385691_i.pdf" target="_blank">Not surprisingly, he lost his jury trial and was convicted. His case is now on appeal with the Florida First </a></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://edca.1dca.org/DCADocs/2023/0533/230533_NOA_03032023_10385691_i.pdf" target="_blank">District Court of Appeal</a>, being represented by <a href="https://www.floridacarry.org/" target="_blank">Florida Carry</a> Attorney Eric Friday.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/17-68.html" target="_blank">A different open carry case in Florida made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017, where it was denied cert</a>, after the <a href="https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/242698/file/sc15-650.pdf" target="_blank">Florida Supreme Court upheld the conviction</a>, with two Justices dissenting. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, 2022 brought us a new ballgame (it actually brought back the original one as intended), with the <a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/06/second-amendment-supreme-court-decision.html" target="_blank">Bruen decision making it clear that any laws touching on the Second Amendment must be judged in a historical context</a>, which if investigated would show that for at least 100 years after the U.S. Constitution was ratified, the open carry of arms in public was the norm.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Founding Fathers never intended for the Right To Keep And Bear Arms to be an inferior right, one that must be hidden from public view as if it were a pariah. Must we speak in secret? Must we secretly associate with others or practice our faith in secret?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On May 5th, 2023, almost a year post-Bruen, the Florida Legislature ended its session with the passage of a permitless concealed carry bill, deliberately leaving the general ban on open carry in place. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Clearly, Florida Republicans are still delighted to throw you in jail with violent criminals and separate you from your family, just for wanting to keep yourself and your loved ones safe by carrying your visibly holstered firearm as a crime deterrent, even if you are licensed to carry.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This same boot-stomping on the Second Amendment is practiced also by </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Illinois, Hawaii, New York, California, and Washington D.C. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why do Florida Republicans want their state to company with corrupt Democrat states and the District of Columbia in infringing on the right of free Americans to carry as they wish? Why do these Republicans treat us like children as if we did not have the maturity to make our own decisions as we peacefully go about our business?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.85px;">Carrying a holstered pistol is legal in 46 states for crying out loud, with most of those allowing long-gun carry as well. Citizens in forty-five of those states have had that liberty for many years, with South Carolina recently coming on board with legalizing open carry. If open carry was going to be a safety issue, or a threat to tourism revenue, we'd know it by now. As if trembling over tourism is justification for infringing on a Constitutional right.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I believe they see the handwriting on the wall, that the courts will eventually come in line and strike down this prohibition on our liberty. Instead of the politicians doing their job to repeal this abominable law, they will sit back and let others do it, out of fear and/or laziness.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Gov. Ron DeSantis, for all his bloviating about his support for the Second Amendment, was SILENT as a lamb as the right of open carry was once again trampled in his state.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">His criticisms of former President Trump ring hollow, for though Trump was far from perfect (remember "take the guns first", and "bumpstocks bad"), he at least appointed three Justices that helped give us the Bruen decision.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>DeSantis's record is clear - Florida still bans open carry, and still has numerous off-limits places to carry, which puts law-abiding citizens in danger and at a disadvantage to armed criminals. And why take three years to remove the license requirement for concealed carry? <a href="https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/desantis-claims-florida-2a-state-yet-guns-banned-at-events/465647" target="_blank">DeSantis also illegally orchestrated a ban on concealed firearms carry at one of his campaign events.</a> So much for his view of our rights.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Follow the case here: </b></span><a href="https://acis.flcourts.gov/portal/court/b82b30d5-bd3c-46d7-9451-1cb05e470873/case/fce5fa95-6317-480b-8fa1-02370ca039ec" style="text-align: left;">Case View - McDaniels v. State of Florida - Florida Appellate Case Information System (flcourts.gov)</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-88884997331310435022023-05-24T20:09:00.003-04:002023-08-17T17:26:18.998-04:00Garden City, Georgia - Still In Prehistoric Times Regarding Georgia's Gun Laws © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Today, I spoke with a young lady at the Garden City, GA Police Dept., having been transferred there by City Hall. She relayed to me that according to Cpl. Wesley Soroken, <a href="https://library.municode.com/ga/garden_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH60PARE_S60-5FIWETO" target="_blank">firearms are not permitted in city parks or recreation areas</a>, even for those with a "permit", due to their city ordinance.</span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmwb-0EMwrhPtxdkTJf7458Mub7_KUpnUluQk5GUWccwIt6cQeD9-zmcZ0qtGwTirGSBX5VbvupXLf0HRL6lOHchvjCoC95Iz9DLVMi6I6qovimVzJJjZL4sAFSN0YJeai3NzXghM6yCwaLuU035r13ijcNOfdd94ZqVgy5GLbWT7UcSszMMkMw98/s1024/1024px-Sharon_Park.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmwb-0EMwrhPtxdkTJf7458Mub7_KUpnUluQk5GUWccwIt6cQeD9-zmcZ0qtGwTirGSBX5VbvupXLf0HRL6lOHchvjCoC95Iz9DLVMi6I6qovimVzJJjZL4sAFSN0YJeai3NzXghM6yCwaLuU035r13ijcNOfdd94ZqVgy5GLbWT7UcSszMMkMw98/s320/1024px-Sharon_Park.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sharon_Park.jpg?fbclid=IwAR3GGeYbLSgFC-GNwdHOsOqpDxhoQ0SBqcOdc4uljyshEbAoH8TJ-DAyzJ8" target="_blank">The Park at Sharon Park</a>, photo by <a class="extiw" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Bellemare" style="background: none rgb(248, 249, 250); color: #3366bb; overflow-wrap: break-word;" title="wikipedia:User:Bellemare">Bellemare</a>, Creative Common License 3.0</div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Where have these people been? <a href="https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/preemption-of-local-laws-in-georgia/" target="_blank">Georgia has had state preemption of firearms for decades</a>. </span></i></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And were Garden City (located in Chatham County near Savannah) to be relying on the "public gathering" law, which debatably did not even apply to public parks, that law was repealed in <a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20092010/103596" target="_blank">2008 with the signing of SB308 into law by Gov. Perdue</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cpl. Soroken relayed to me via the young lady that a firearms carrier could "receive a citation".</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Well, it's at least a relief that ignoring an unenforceable ordinance would not presumably risk a face-planting, handcuffing arrest and trip to jail.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I would accept a piece of paper from them if all it stated was, "Please refrain from peacefully carrying a self-defense firearm in the park, even though we have no authority to prevent you, as much as we'd like to have that authority." Because that's all they can legally give you now, and of course, you wouldn't have to sign it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So, hypothetically, what would happen if a lawful carrier refused to sign their actual citation for carrying a firearm in a park there? An arrest? Who knows? People have been arrested, and sometimes in a violent manner by armed enforcers of the law who did not know the law, and were later successfully sued for damages. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Georgia law permits the use of reasonable force to resist an unlawful arrest. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm thinking if I was unlawfully grabbed by the arm by an officer, I could pull myself away without incurring a charge of resisting arrest. Not sure I'd want to risk injury though.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Keep in mind those unlawfully writing you a ticket or arresting you merely for exercising your rights are making a mockery of the U.S. Constitution that they swore to uphold.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For at least a minimum of 15 years Garden City has had the chance to get up to speed on state law. Are they that cash-strapped to be bilking their citizens with false citations? What other ways are they abusing their authority?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Perhaps the Georgia General Assembly should enact heavy fines and removal from office for local government officials that thumb their noses at state law.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">UPDATE! I r</span>eceived a phone call today 08/17, I believe from the City Manager. He told me that at their last meeting they repealed the ordinance.</span></b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-85632557181017952832023-04-28T17:26:00.015-04:002023-04-28T20:47:54.263-04:00K-12 School Killing Fields - When Seconds Matter © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">On March 27th, 2023, the police response to take down the Nashville private Christian school mass murderer was 14 minutes.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QQBL45EwP2ClhjExLw77O7UtROMV8UFCppRyawj7F5UndoO-UvH8DWe3ummSJNSYYrTvyZim_ses8WyC8MGRmQxIb4pRL5tUIIZV7R2MsiRQBchgfbx9aDiLUv9LvaQhUZnXN_f-9UHMVUQZAbqOAaTR_kYe32nUOCF-o_IoQjeF6V93ahAtp-bY/s783/Precious%20Minutes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="751" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QQBL45EwP2ClhjExLw77O7UtROMV8UFCppRyawj7F5UndoO-UvH8DWe3ummSJNSYYrTvyZim_ses8WyC8MGRmQxIb4pRL5tUIIZV7R2MsiRQBchgfbx9aDiLUv9LvaQhUZnXN_f-9UHMVUQZAbqOAaTR_kYe32nUOCF-o_IoQjeF6V93ahAtp-bY/s320/Precious%20Minutes.png" width="307" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image of stopwatch and blood drops created by author using public domain images </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/us/covenant-school-shooting-nashville-tennessee-monday/index.html" target="_blank">Numerous news outlets report that the murderer fired a total of 152 rounds</a>. Had the shooter been a more accurate shot it's reasonable to believe many more than three children and three adults would have been killed in those 14 minutes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Suppose we could wave a magic wand to make police response everywhere a mass murderer strikes to be only two minutes. Now set your stopwatch for two minutes and imagine you're in a classroom as a shooter is in the hall going from room to room wounding and taking lives.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Time can be a killer in these circumstances. This necessitates that the time be cut, and cut dramatically.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, one might argue that time itself isn't the killer, the one pulling the trigger is. That's like arguing which kills you, jumping out of an airplane with a malfunctioning parachute, or the ground as it comes up to hit you. Either way the discussion is moot. Both are elements joined together stronger than any glue.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Telling victims to call for someone else to come save them is the SAME THING as telling them to WAIT, when waiting is a deadly activity.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This has been the government offered plan over and over and over again. One definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different result each time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Without exception, state legislatures with majority Democrat rule are the ones who put laws in place banning firearms carried in schools, and the vast majority of Republicans *** have been content to go along with this prohibition of armed defense of our children, even when those legislatures flipped to majority Republican. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>When Democrats pass filthy anti-liberty laws, Republicans need to take out the trash when they get in power. Not keep the stink around.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Mass shooters know why schools are soft targets, and it's why they choose them. Government by and large has left schools open to be free killing zones.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Federal and state governments are not willing to secure schools, and at the same time forbids us citizens to help secure them. Most K-12 schools no matter the size have a single armed and uniformed officer if any at all, and that </span><span style="font-family: arial;">isn't sufficient security by any standards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mass murderers often plan these crimes months if not years in advance. They will easily know the comings and goings of one uniformed officer and will either wait for him or her to leave, or shoot them first.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the interest of transparency and honesty, most states (including my home state of Georgia) have laws allowing public school districts and private schools to grant permission to staff and even parents and other caretakers to be armed on school property and in buildings, as an exception to the general prohibition by the state.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Let's see how that's working out:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/06/georgia-lawmakers-k-12-disarmament-okay.html" target="_blank">The school districts in two small rural counties (out of a total of 159 counties) in Georgia in recent years opted to allow certain staff to be armed, and it was such a departure from the norm of the sitting duck plan, that it made the news each time</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">State lawmakers are not in the dark on this. They KNOW full well that the vast majority of school districts oppose anyone being armed in schools other than law-enforcement. But law-enforcement on the phone or on the way is not nearly as effective as armed teachers, staff, and parents right there on scene.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While there can be much discussion about the various causes of these mass shootings, such as mental health, the bottom line is that immediate resistance to evil must be an option. If human life is important, and if self-preservation is a God-given right, then laws that forbid us to possess the tools to protect us and those around us at the very moment needed are just as evil as the shooters taking innocent lives.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The cost-free solution would be to simply decriminalize the carrying of firearms for self-defense purposes for all adult citizens with a clean criminal background.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">At the very least allow licensed-to-carry citizens this liberty. </span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not a single school advertising armed teachers and staff have been targeted by a mass shooter.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'd wager that even a sign posted at all school entrances stating, <b>"Warning, select staff are armed and will use force to protect students"</b> would be a great deterrent, even if no staff were armed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Will state lawmakers, especially those who "support the Second Amendment" keep their heads in the sand and continue to use "hope and pray" as the standard solution?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>When will lawmakers actually take a leadership role and strip the "we will be sitting ducks" public school districts out of the equation?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even for private schools, let's decriminalize carry of firearms and allow the trespass laws to keep out those they don't want armed there. One might argue that a trespass law won't stop a mass murderer. Exactly, just like a law against carrying a gun or a law against murder won't stop a criminal either. But at least doing this will relieve a law-abiding citizen of the fear of being jailed just for carrying a self-defense firearm on private school property.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">*** There are a few bright spots:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18612/urlt/GuardianEdProgram.pdf" target="_blank">Florida implemented the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program after the Parkland massacre, with about 2/3 of school districts participating</a>, a minor miracle.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://fastersaveslives.org/" target="_blank">Ohio has the Faster Saves Lives program</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If licensed to carry, possessing a firearm in Alabama and Utah K-12 schools is legal, and carrying a firearm in New Hampshire schools is legal even without a license.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mississippi has an enhanced carry license that permits carry in K-12 schools, that is only available to that state's residents. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.wpr.org/gop-bill-school-boards-allow-licensed-employees-carry-guns" target="_blank">A new Wisconsin bill would allow school employees with a carry license to be armed at school.</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, my home state has nothing like any of the above. <a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20132014/141414" target="_blank">Well, we did for a short time back in 2014 with the passage and signing of HB 826 (see lines 108 - 111)</a> - that is, until then Gov. Deal realized what he had signed and pitched a fit about it, prompting the Georgia General Assembly to take it back. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The short of it, is that it added licensed carriers to be exempted from the prohibition. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Apparently, when it comes to K-12 schools, children are not worthy of protection by holders of a Georgia Weapons Carry License.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-17757821341406349662023-03-28T12:07:00.014-04:002023-04-27T09:48:01.554-04:00Nashville Mass School Murder - Soft Target © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/shooter-in-nashville-school-shooting-identified-as-28-year-old-woman/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Another tragic mass school murder has occurred. Covenant Presbyterian Church Covenant School in Nashville was targeted March 27th by an evil 28 year old woman </span>(1)<span style="font-size: large;"> and former student</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0hukUs48M2-QIpVfNkZfDXTf4TibTI3IiqVkTvUfmCiquNcE7cCyrigpkPOI2cJDq8LUyZLd9GeKJRhFAo5YCQkK-9oahQoVKVQmvkwRk_BdxVRgs2_qs7JR1YVLOr9Pe6xCMtDlIkDM0g-L_f5v2v3RMzokYIBVNsLZ8ZR0U-fElDD4IEGXqSCL/s1993/Soft%20Target.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0hukUs48M2-QIpVfNkZfDXTf4TibTI3IiqVkTvUfmCiquNcE7cCyrigpkPOI2cJDq8LUyZLd9GeKJRhFAo5YCQkK-9oahQoVKVQmvkwRk_BdxVRgs2_qs7JR1YVLOr9Pe6xCMtDlIkDM0g-L_f5v2v3RMzokYIBVNsLZ8ZR0U-fElDD4IEGXqSCL/s320/Soft%20Target.png" width="193" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>When the fox gets in the henhouse and there are no guard hounds, there is always a mass slaughter. Even non-farm folks would agree that's pretty much common sense.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nashville-christian-school-shooter-appears-former-student-police-chief-rcna76876" target="_blank">A bunch of hounds that are 14 minutes away is not nearly as good as one that is right there on the spot, though the Chief of Police did brag about that 14 minute response time</a>. (2) The three children and three adults killed would say that was a few minutes too long. Once on scene, they took out the shooter in a well coordinated operation, so a much better result than Uvalde experienced. These officers were no cowards, but distant security you have to wait for costs lives.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Sadly, when it comes to children in non-protected schools, common sense seems to fly out the window. The main plan of security is shooter drills to teach children where to run and a phone ready to dial 911, wait on hold and hope someone answers soon, and then hope that armed help gets there before too many more are murdered (even one is too many).</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is obvious that plans like these are not effective, yet nothing better is ever done. Banning gun possession for law-abiding citizens won't work, as widespread non-compliance would likely be the case, and we are not the problem. Criminals are already banned from owning firearms, but they will always manage to get some instrument to carry out their planned wickedness.<br /><br /><b>Those arguing for banning possession by those without a criminal record may point to cases like this where the murderer did not have a criminal record. But liberty does not allow stripping the rights of the many over the actions of a very few. And once again see the term "non-compliance". Good guys will not give up their arms just because bad guys arm themselves. Liberty doesn't work that way.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This private school could have legally granted permission for teachers and staff with a handgun permit to have the choice of firing back in self-defense, likely saving lives. But self-defense was not an option that could be allowed by them. Wait, I thought self-defense is a moral option for Christians. Apparently not all churches agree.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">As crazy evil as the mass murderer was, she knew to avoid armed resistance. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-03-27-23/index.html" target="_blank">From her writings there was a second possible target, </a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-03-27-23/index.html" target="_blank">“but because of a threat assessment by the suspect – there’s too much security – they decided not to,” police chief said</a>.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Folks, mass murderers KNOW to attack soft targets if they desire a high body count. Yet, most states mandate that potential victims remain helpless, and will put you in jail if you carry a gun in schools for self-protection. Those laws are just as wicked as the actions of a killer.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: arial;"><b>Sure, Republican politicians will point to aspects of their state laws that allow private schools and public school districts to permit the carrying of weapons for protection, knowing that almost none will. That is not leadership, and they know it. But they are cowards and prefer things to remain the way there are. </b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One of these politicians could prove me wrong by introducing a bill to let all teachers, staff, and caretakers who take the trouble to get a license to carry, to be authorized to be armed in schools. I'm not holding my breath.<br /><br /><i><b>When soft targets are under attack, my opinion is that the Second Amendment should apply. Government does not always agree.</b></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/nashville-shooter-audrey-hale-transgender-woman-opened-fire-covenant-school" target="_blank">It was reported the shooter was transgender and identified as a man.</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-live-updates-rcna76861" target="_blank">Dennis Romero with NBC News reported, "</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-live-updates-rcna76861" target="_blank">The leader of the school where a woman opened fire and fatally shot six people was among those killed Monday, according to a list of victims released by police."</a> Will "woman" be later edited out?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Set a timer for 14 minutes (or just 5 minutes) and then sit there and wait, while imagining a murderer walking about unopposed firing at children and others. While waiting for the police to arrive, would you rather be unarmed or armed? Be honest with yourself. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-88841897719078717842023-03-22T22:26:00.011-04:002023-03-23T08:29:15.154-04:00Florida Republicans - More Spineless Than Jellyfish © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A yellow jellyfish has more spine, honor, and guts than the majority of Republicans in the Florida Legislature.</span></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3c3YWbQUNs3eH6-k5j4r4HS9cEpfln15__sjKHATHoOKPQseTIjx9yBkykWIPC8IFxwbR3gQaBQYR4JsNJtA1VEMtMWU5tqIyL7k_pQVgrCIM4oWuq_ifNuKrUMamcmoZj-ETwwc1uIIKPJBjcbO-3aInkTIYPcQHaYH201LPJ1Ge4Fr1OPM7orhQ/s4704/pexels-hung-tran-3699436.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3397" data-original-width="4704" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3c3YWbQUNs3eH6-k5j4r4HS9cEpfln15__sjKHATHoOKPQseTIjx9yBkykWIPC8IFxwbR3gQaBQYR4JsNJtA1VEMtMWU5tqIyL7k_pQVgrCIM4oWuq_ifNuKrUMamcmoZj-ETwwc1uIIKPJBjcbO-3aInkTIYPcQHaYH201LPJ1Ge4Fr1OPM7orhQ/s320/pexels-hung-tran-3699436.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-jellyfish-3699436/" target="_blank">Photo by Hung Tran</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/open-carry-is-now-on-the-table-as-permitless-carry-bill-goes-to-the-house-floor/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Hillsborough County Republican Mike Beltran had recently filed an amendment </a><span style="font-family: arial;">to </span><a href="https://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=77202&SessionId=99" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">HB 543</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> (permitless carry bill) that would legalize carrying a holstered handgun in plain view in public. This was a good amendment ***, since free citizens should not be jailed merely for not hiding their peacefully carried sidearms. Must we also hide our First Amendment Rights?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>On March 22nd the amendment was withdrawn. Once again the spineless ones with an "R" by their name win the day for a defeat of liberty.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And although Gov. DeSantis has stated he would sign a bill legalizing open carry, he has never called for it. Such a stance is nothing more than weak leadership on display. He needs to rise to a higher level if he wants to be the next President.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Since these lawmakers continue to treat the open carry of a handgun in public as a crime even for licensed carriers, the protest gloves need to come off.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Here's how: Use your First Amendment Rights! </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Specifically, OPENLY wear a gun holster with a lid that hides whatever is inside. Don't put your pistol in it, in order to avoid a false charge of carrying openly, but rather put spare ammo in it, since ammo also enjoys state preemption under the law.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Wear it on publicly owned property where you have a right to be so that you cannot be trespassed just for wearing it. Let this act of free speech be your DEMAND that the Repub-limplicans truly honor our Second Amendment Rights.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Carrying a sign or wearing a t-shirt demanding your open carry rights would be a good addition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=polish+p38+holster&oq=polish&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57.1857j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1" target="_blank">Search online for the Polish made P38 holster as a good option for this public protest</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.floridacarry.org/join" target="_blank">And become a member of Florida Carry as they have a proven track record of fighting for our rights</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote this article as a private citizen, and not on behalf of any group or organization.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>*** Upon a more careful reading, the open carry amendment upped a violation to a FELONY. For example, if you carried openly, but in a non-approved holster, you'd go away for a long time. That's rather unconstitutional. So Rep. Beltran apparently is also a snake in the grass. </i></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-39461473451060440692023-03-17T15:34:00.004-04:002023-03-17T15:37:24.216-04:00Some Republicans (Not In Georgia) Are Serious About Self-Defense in K-12 Schools © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>It used to be legal for adults to carry firearms in K-12 schools in Georgia. Then <a href="https://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/georgias-carry-laws-explained/history-of-georgias-carry-laws/" target="_blank">Jim Crow laws</a> targeted at Blacks took root, with the first (among many) of firearms carry prohibitions being passed by White Democrats in 1833. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv53_rA9hsAdvQ2Qc2yINecjAVVNkj3w9ZICY9xdNYyb6uvRpQHe1ivg6m6y2mQOG5Yfe9VNNnDv6YWGbEsEWbDER_g7asFf38w6D9Ui0-jaSVQTukhaj0baCVjSLQ9FGRotQenzIxl483NhWxzhlqybMchnYWlffWaJl1kZVWvkhR6T3RktEj6zYQ/s2048/9610526150_3a625b1388_k.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv53_rA9hsAdvQ2Qc2yINecjAVVNkj3w9ZICY9xdNYyb6uvRpQHe1ivg6m6y2mQOG5Yfe9VNNnDv6YWGbEsEWbDER_g7asFf38w6D9Ui0-jaSVQTukhaj0baCVjSLQ9FGRotQenzIxl483NhWxzhlqybMchnYWlffWaJl1kZVWvkhR6T3RktEj6zYQ/s320/9610526150_3a625b1388_k.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/muora/" target="_blank">muora</a> - <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons 2.0 License</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And yet, it is only in post-prohibition times that we've had a series of tragic mass murder shootings in schools that were supposedly "gun-free" zones, where guns were not allowed, at least not for teachers, parents, and other citizen defenders.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 1870 White Democrats in Georgia passed the infamous "public gathering" law (Blacks were coming to church armed for their protection, and this was an affront to the KKK and their friends in the Georgia General Assembly), making it illegal for even a person with a firearms permit (now called a weapons carry license) to carry in almost any public place.<br /><br />This law remained on the books in Georgia until 2010! But look: Republicans took the majority in the Georgia House and Senate in 2007. I suppose the desire for a little liberty took them three years to warm up to.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With this background of gun control laws in mind, I emailed all lawmakers under the Gold Dome in Atlanta the following on March 16th, 2023:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Dear Lawmakers,</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Arizona Republicans apparently trust (gasp!) licensed parents and guardians to be armed in K-12 schools (<a href="https://www.kawc.org/news/2023-03-09/arizona-lawmakers-say-some-parents-can-carry-guns-on-school-campuses-while-they-are-not-allowed-in-the-state-house" target="_blank">SB 1331 passed their Senate and will likely pass the House</a>).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They don't seem to lack an "appetite" for furthering liberty (hearken back to Casey Cagle), nor do they seem to suffer "fatigue" for pro-gun rights bills as Rep. Jay Collins does.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Their Democrat governor will likely veto it, but who needs Democrats when you can count on Republicans to not even give us crumbs this year in Georgia.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those of you who proclaim that it takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun fail to see the hypocrisy when you don't let the good guys be armed. Does that make sense?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know that saying this will hurt feelings, but take solace in the fact that hurt feelings are far less painful than innocent lives lost, because the state mandated that victims remained helpless to immediately fight back with good effect.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know, I know, school districts can grant permission for teachers and parents to be armed, but just between us, we all know that 98% of districts won't allow it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Actual leadership on this issue is required. A mass school shooting in Georgia where the only tools to fight back are erasers, books, and chairs is simply not acceptable, not moral, and not Christian in the least.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Either licensed carriers are trusted or we are not. We already carry around children every single day in public parks, libraries, zoos, restaurants, malls, etc., without incident. We've met the burden of proof. What more do you want from us in order to be convinced?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If unlicensed court clerks could carry legally in K-12 schools even when a license was required to carry a handgun in public, why can't licensed carriers enjoy that same degree of self-defense capability?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is there no one capable of articulating liberty who can introduce such a bill for next year?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Trusting bad guys not to hit a vulnerable target is not a good strategy for safety, not for our children, or for anyone.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">End of Email</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">---------------------------------</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Perhaps 2024 might find some light shining on some backbone somewhere in the Georgia General Assembly. We can only hope. </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One can only wonder why Republicans continue to hold onto Democrat enacted laws that prohibit good people from being armed in K-12 schools, churches (that are not opted into HB 60), polling places when voting, courthouses (should just be courtrooms), and government buildings with screening but no adequate security either inside or in the parking areas.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>In 2022 Republican politicians saved us a little money by removing the paperwork requirement to carry a handgun in public, but left all the other infringements on the books. Yet, they crowed about it like it was the end, the finish line. Don't worry folks, we ALL saw that coming. Getting zero from 2018-2021 didn't make permitless carry the end all be all it was made out to be.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In 2023, we got zero yet again. So here we are still stuck with government-mandated victim kill zones put in place by Democrats, that apparently Republicans in the Georgia General Assembly are all too happy with keeping.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-3875366500113382682023-02-27T22:53:00.003-05:002023-03-01T00:03:36.816-05:00"I'm For The Second Amendment BUT, BUT, BUT ..." © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQXHwPYJ78" target="_blank">Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff Bob Gualtieri in testifying for SB 150 * stated, "I'm a staunch opponent of open carry. We don't need open carry in Florida. I don't think that it serves a good purpose for Florida."</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUG_j6XzPHKyOpez2S077H-eoVNtuvq2FUFGTMpSK07Mx_t0dW-6f3Yzp9yKXxM9lstkG37PuW9tMfkYtS1zZ1lwc3uWx5wEBnOPUtph35eCCcOfN4J1AyJoZKQZGSAAeVteH05Rqhu73eOxoQ0Y_3Nc8f4exWnG52HY2pznspZVh0eDjmkSOOQuM/s1024/4286119066_8ba30f700b_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUG_j6XzPHKyOpez2S077H-eoVNtuvq2FUFGTMpSK07Mx_t0dW-6f3Yzp9yKXxM9lstkG37PuW9tMfkYtS1zZ1lwc3uWx5wEBnOPUtph35eCCcOfN4J1AyJoZKQZGSAAeVteH05Rqhu73eOxoQ0Y_3Nc8f4exWnG52HY2pznspZVh0eDjmkSOOQuM/s320/4286119066_8ba30f700b_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtefft/4286119066" target="_blank">Michael Tefft</a>, Creative Commons 2.0 License</span></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While I applaud the sheriff for agreeing that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry a concealed pistol in public without a government permission slip, I have to take him to task for his puzzling double-mindedness.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Are we free American citizens with a Second Amendment Right, or not? <a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/06/second-amendment-supreme-court-decision.html" target="_blank">The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided in Bruen that any law abridging the Second Amendment should be examined with a historical, originalist view</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The normal state of everyday carry of arms when the Constitution was signed, was OPENLY, as well as at least 100 years afterward. Even those opposed to armed self-defense know this. </b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't get me wrong; I am not saying you must openly carry. Concealed carry is fine and most who arm themselves for protection will only conceal carry. What I am saying is no free citizen should be jailed merely for peacefully carrying a pistol or rifle in plain view. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sheriff Gualtieri, by his own words on recorded video above clearly would not mind putting you on the ground, handcuffing you in front of your children, separating you from your family and placing you in a cold concrete and steel cell MERELY for visibly exercising your Constitutional Rights. If he denies this, he is a liar, because that is the current law in Florida. The same law he would hate to see repealed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Astonishingly, he swore an oath to the same U.S. Constitution that should be a bulwark against any use of force aimed at citizens who merely wish to carry a firearm openly.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's the salt in the wound - even though the law has an exception for brief exposure, such as your shirt riding up and revealing your pistol, numerous citizens have suffered detainment and arrest subsequent to those brief exposures. So much for that supposed protection.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sounds to me like legalizing open carry would solve that problem - a good purpose in my eyes at least. Not to mention open carry being a crime deterrent, and at a minimum, letting adults who enjoy liberty have the choice to carry openly or concealed as they wish.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Because Gualtieri sees "no good purpose" for open carry, he feels justified to physically accost and kidnap you to jail if you dare do it. Sounds like a means test to me, and the Bruen decision effectively erased any means test affronting the Second Amendment.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, most Republican politicians in Florida agree with Gualtieri and DON'T CARE if you are robbed of your right to carry openly under penalty of jail, while they smile and lie to your face that they fully support your Second Amendment Rights.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where do these arrogant suits in Tallahassee come off to insist that a fundamental American right be restricted to only being practiced in secret? Is the First Amendment also so burdened?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Apparently too many Republicans are still in love with deceased Democrat Janet Reno, who orchestrated the open carry ban in 1987.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Call, write, and demand that they amend SB 150 to add open carry, and to abolish at least some of the offensive off-limits places to self-defense carry for We The People. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">* SB 150 is being mismarketed by milquetoast Republicans as "Constitutional Carry" just because it removes the license requirement for concealed carry, while leaving in place the general ban on open carry, as well as numerous self-defense prohibited places even for licensed carriers where they must disarm or be thrown in jail merely for not wanting to be defenseless in the face of a possible deadly threat. When all these things are dealt with, then they can call it "Constitutional Carry".</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.floridacarry.org/join" target="_blank">If you value your right of armed self-defense, consider joining Florida Carry, the statewide organization with a track record of fighting to preserve and further our liberty</a>.</span></i></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-27527034952421511682023-01-25T21:40:00.005-05:002023-01-25T21:40:52.177-05:00Georgia: 18-20 Year Old's Second Amendment Rights © 2023 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">In the state of Georgia (as elsewhere) adults 18 and over are not second class citizens. They have reached the age of majority and are no longer minors. Are they to have all of their constitutional rights except for those enumerated in the Second Amendment?</b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgfpVUytRNpqvjbAxRnLAn32331y_HUWGtEXtaKbRfORYouyTndFk_WaLLiQ0gki44eCYzkKyBsGAfeuzMNdSkOgyigdhSbuTPS_tLuM1_mGpzoFnlw7wl8Y7j-LsUEVWZ2lTFV6NU_JurotPGqFVUVP1uMkNnKiCKovuwfHWmLRZsGyOdzmuu5X9/s2400/second-amendment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1601" data-original-width="2400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgfpVUytRNpqvjbAxRnLAn32331y_HUWGtEXtaKbRfORYouyTndFk_WaLLiQ0gki44eCYzkKyBsGAfeuzMNdSkOgyigdhSbuTPS_tLuM1_mGpzoFnlw7wl8Y7j-LsUEVWZ2lTFV6NU_JurotPGqFVUVP1uMkNnKiCKovuwfHWmLRZsGyOdzmuu5X9/s320/second-amendment.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="http://www.nyphotographic.com" target="_blank">Nick Youngson</a>, <a href="https://pix4free.org/" target="_blank">Attribution Link Here</a>, under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons License 3.0</a></span></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.firearmspolicy.org/baughcum" target="_blank">May of 2021 saw plaintiffs Christopher Baughcum Jr., Zane Meyers, Sophie Long, and Firearms Policy Coalition file a lawsuit* against three Georgia probate judges who are charged with issuing weapons licenses</a>. These judges will not issue a license to anyone under 21 unless they are in active duty military service or honorably discharged from such.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The plaintiffs desire to carry a handgun in public for self-defense purposes, and did not apply for a license, as that would have been a futile exercise. Surely an honest court would not require one to resort to futility in order to have standing to sue for their rights.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/firearmspolicycoalition/pages/6121/attachments/original/1665093569/Baughcum_v_Jackson_Opinion.pdf?1665093569" target="_blank">But that is exactly what the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Dublin Division would have had them do, so they tossed the case on that basis</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thankfully, it is on appeal. <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-843_7j80.pdf" target="_blank">In light of Bruen</a>, it should be decided on the merits in their favor, as I predict it will.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However, the Georgia General Assembly, long held in the majority by Republicans, can fix it this year by repealing the general ban on adults 18-20 carrying handguns in public. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A few of our lawmakers are stalwart supporters of our Second Amendment Rights. Sadly, too many give not much more than lip service. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ironically, it might be better for a higher court to handle this instead of the General Assembly, and over-turn the ban as unconstitutional. That way, anyone convicted under that law while committing no other offense could have their record cleared, and possibly win monetary damages for being incarcerated or fined just for exercising their right to be armed outside their homes while being an adult but not yet old enough to qualify as a "lawful carrier" under the current state of infringement.</span></div><div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">* One of plaintiffs' counsel is Atty. John R. Monroe who is a founding member of <a href="http://ga2a.org" target="_blank">GA2A</a> and Vice President.</div></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-88178098153423299852022-12-16T20:35:00.004-05:002022-12-17T12:00:41.346-05:00Let The Prisoners Go Free! © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are men and women sitting in jail or prison today whose only "crime" was carrying a weapon (firearm, knife, etc.) for self-defense purposes, but without a government permission slip. And those that have managed to get out have gone through untold hardships to include stress, divorce, loss of home, loss of income, etc., not to mention a criminal record.</span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/06/second-amendment-supreme-court-decision.html" target="_blank">Now that we have the U.S. Supreme Court Bruen decision</a>, are we going to soon see a mass exodus to liberty for these political prisoners who are immorally held hostage merely because elite politicians virtue signaled by passing Jim Crow laws requiring citizens to obtain a license to carry a self-defense weapon?</b></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidaF2UOz_rx4jE1Ky6fS8vLW5fpHoSd0omCWtVcZAtKVGY0hUQ_Pu-9e986I3tSIQqzdEmdLT86kUZWk6fWh6yWBXSef4FIFtsHQ4uvcvSHdpNSpXogntUPFtAwQKppHHROmjTW3_bjyREi-v-GFAiyOFI2HLGL4qWgUnyqYgzk6QpYtE-3QK1vf-/s1023/Prison.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1023" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidaF2UOz_rx4jE1Ky6fS8vLW5fpHoSd0omCWtVcZAtKVGY0hUQ_Pu-9e986I3tSIQqzdEmdLT86kUZWk6fWh6yWBXSef4FIFtsHQ4uvcvSHdpNSpXogntUPFtAwQKppHHROmjTW3_bjyREi-v-GFAiyOFI2HLGL4qWgUnyqYgzk6QpYtE-3QK1vf-/s320/Prison.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/foreverdigital/1004203086" target="_blank">Creative Commons 2.0 Photo of Prison Bars by Jenn Vargas</a> (lightened and sharpened by Author)</div></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Or will this be a one-at-a-time slow wheels of "justice" process with Democrats fighting it tooth and nail every step of the way?</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>I'm demanding that these prisoners be set free right now with the full exercise of their rights restored! And with sufficient monetary compensation for the time that was stolen from them and their families by government.</i></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of them are women who preferred not to be raped, who armed themselves in New York City where for decades it's been practically impossible for non-rich, non-politically connected citizens to obtain a carry license in that City's mafia-type corrupt, Democrat run government.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of them are Blacks who carried a gun because they didn't want to get robbed or gunned down on the street. And it was the motive to disarm Blacks that prompted White Democrats to pass a license requirement in the first place.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Practically all of them are regular United States citizens who supposedly had the free exercise of a human right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. But local, state, and federal governments have been playing pretend for too many years that such protection didn't really apply to citizens, that "shall not be infringed" doesn't really mean what it says.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2022/10/prosecution-appeals-ruling-to-dismiss-gun-charges-against-man/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">The first post-Bruen dismissal of carrying a firearm without a license charge I know of occurred August 17th. Oddly, there is still a pending charge of obtaining a firearm without a license in that case</a><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I don't expect our current President to know or care about this topic. But by now every state governor knows about the Bruen decision. And if any of them has any genuine intelligence, they understand that a requirement to obtain a license to exercise our Second Amendment Rights was never the intent of the Founding Fathers, and for at least 100 years after the U.S. Constitution's ratification there was no requirement for such a license. Such is the historical evidence, which is now the test for whether a law touching on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is constitutional.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><i>Governors should start now by issuing full pardons and restoration of rights for any convictions related to license requirements to possess or carry a firearm or other self-defense weapon if the person was carrying for lawful purposes.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span>If it's taken 233 years for our High Court to finally get to a decision like Bruen, surely there should be no further delay. <a href="https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/01/letter-from-birmingham-jail-martin-luther-king-jr.html" target="_blank">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated in his letter from a Birmingham, Alabama jail that "</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: left;"><a href="https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/01/letter-from-birmingham-jail-martin-luther-king-jr.html" target="_blank">justice too long delayed is justice denied"</a>.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-73349165537415769112022-11-07T20:01:00.000-05:002022-11-07T20:01:01.460-05:00Florida Blind Man Falsely Arrest Over Openly Carried Gun (Actually Cane) © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/video-florida-deputy-arrests-blind" target="_blank">James Hodges, though legally blind, has limited eyesight and does not always use his cane. Folded and in his back pocket as he was walking back from a jury duty appointment, it appeared to Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jayme Gohdy to be a firearm, who then detained and questioned him</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAMmaj04WzeWEltG9spKTGrloK8CQeDvVwZH3ysghO4gzI0EEcPplhFe7qFdd0wcW7Esls0SqP8xBp8g8e38qgp_P4bzqk3QJoiYzAmNwqaErKnEQGi8VuD9Bq_NspocqXkVFb4r8ey93r7R3E-aeBhgBT_bYyLnLOx_OZGj1yTDr5-f0QmCvY6qc/s1500/Columbia%20County%20Detention-facility.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1500" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAMmaj04WzeWEltG9spKTGrloK8CQeDvVwZH3ysghO4gzI0EEcPplhFe7qFdd0wcW7Esls0SqP8xBp8g8e38qgp_P4bzqk3QJoiYzAmNwqaErKnEQGi8VuD9Bq_NspocqXkVFb4r8ey93r7R3E-aeBhgBT_bYyLnLOx_OZGj1yTDr5-f0QmCvY6qc/s320/Columbia%20County%20Detention-facility.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://columbiasheriff.org/" target="_blank">Columbia County Detention Facility (Fair Use)</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once Deputy Gohdy verified the cane was not a firearm, the "reasonable, articulable suspicion" basis for the initial detainment vaporized. Mr. Hodges should have immediately been free to go. However, the deputy, admitting to be a "tyrant", pressed the issue as well as another deputy and demanded that Mr. Hodges identify himself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>When he politely refused, as well as properly asserted his right to not be searched, they cuffed him and rifled through his papers anyway, and took him to jail.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaCountySheriffsOffice" target="_blank">There is going to be an expensive litigation lesson here for the Columbia County Sheriff's Office</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This incident is wrong on so many levels. Now that the Second Amendment's "shall not be infringed" is starting to mean what it says, due to <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-843_7j80.pdf" target="_blank">Justice Thomas' brilliant opinion in Bruen</a>, the handful of states that generally ban the open carry of firearms like Florida, are going to either repeal the ban, or have it ruled as unconstitutional. Voluntarily or kicking and screaming it will happen, and soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Look, I get it that most citizens who legally carry would never carry openly. But I'm at least hopeful that no one who claims to be a genuine supporter of our rights would agree to put someone behind bars for peacefully carrying a holstered, visible pistol. You might not think it a good idea, but you choose to live and let live, right?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Folks, this is Gov. Ron DeSantis' state, the one who promised to sign "Constitutional Carry" if a bill landed on his desk, but who has never publicly called for it in earnest to get to his desk. See the catch?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/concealed-carry-illegally-banned" target="_blank">This is the same Gov. DeSantis who made not a peep when state firearms preemption was mocked, as legal and licensed carriers were denied their right to be armed at one of his campaign events</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/pro-carry-demonstrator-arrested-desantis-fundraiser/465920" target="_blank">AND, yet another false arrest of a peaceful citizen who was lawfully protesting that firearms ban on a pubic sidewalk, without obstructing anyone's path into the event</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.floridacarry.org/" target="_blank">Florida Carry has lobbied for years to overturn numerous Second Amendment infringements, with some good success, but with much work left to be done</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>The general ban on open carry is just one. Others are the many enumerated off-limits places, as well as a slew of unenumerated off-limits places where a private entity can temporarily rent, lease, or have a permitted event on public property used for the general public, and can ban firearms carry on your tax-payer owned property. That's a big one, and should be fixed pronto.</i></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-16828993644808706402022-11-03T12:15:00.006-04:002022-11-03T16:58:45.039-04:00Zoo Atlanta Officials: LIE-ons, Tigers, And Bear-ers, Oh My! © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/zoo-atlanta-weapons-policy-flip-flop.html" target="_blank">If something smells like elephant poo, it's probably elephant poo. If someone spouts what sounds like baloney, it's probably a load of baloney, such as Zoo Atlanta's recent statement regarding their weapons policy flip-flop.</a></span></b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZisKLdNDisOjTW7X9C6P_CjxQjDZXdXqHzmcPqJSsKQWDdKyaAR2IORIjlqtzHhrWouAlw5Qj-7r4nSgPb8QqW-Kc4jtV3fBzpDNVp5EmPu4V8Ldi4EsM6oM7OaFoVrbL-CxW9Ibb_PTkeo7_UzVby8BeGnk2uw2AcJVrEogWWF-gaHAv3QNtEs92/s1024/Zoo_Atlanta_African_Savanna.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZisKLdNDisOjTW7X9C6P_CjxQjDZXdXqHzmcPqJSsKQWDdKyaAR2IORIjlqtzHhrWouAlw5Qj-7r4nSgPb8QqW-Kc4jtV3fBzpDNVp5EmPu4V8Ldi4EsM6oM7OaFoVrbL-CxW9Ibb_PTkeo7_UzVby8BeGnk2uw2AcJVrEogWWF-gaHAv3QNtEs92/s320/Zoo_Atlanta_African_Savanna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Zoo Atlanta Photo (Public Domain)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/atlanta-zoo-backtracks-its-gun-ban-two-months-allows-visitors-carry-firearms" target="_blank">"Zoo Atlanta continues to believe that its decision to prohibit carrying of guns onto Zoo Atlanta grounds is legally supportable and in the best interest of safety. At this time, however, Zoo Atlanta is choosing not to undergo the major distraction and expense of litigation, but will instead give public officials an opportunity to consider and address this issue."</a></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I believe the very first sentence is a lie. I'm near 100% certain Zoo Officials consulted with legal resources at the City of Atlanta, and was told flat out they had zero legal grounds, otherwise the City would have gotten behind them and provided at least a little support for their position, but there was none forthcoming.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And if they really believed their legal position was sound, why did they fold so quickly on Oct. 28th? No one at all that I know of threatened any legal action. I certainly did not threaten to sue them, but I did email them on Oct. 20th that it could cost them a lawsuit if they violated anyone's rights. They were certainly free to make a knowledgeable determination as to how to avoid doing such. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Another odd thing about their statement - If they really believed that lawful carry of weapons was a threat to visitors, they certainly placed avoiding "distraction" and "expense of litigation" at a higher priority than your safety, and it didn't take them long to reach that decision.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps they truly don't believe lawfully carried weapons are an issue at the Zoo. Such a sentiment is merely an excuse to support their political position of gun control. After all, their official policy since sometime in 2016 until Sept. 1st, 2022 was to ALLOW lawfully carried weapons, with zero problems at all by lawful carriers during that time.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>What was the impetus for their Sept. 1st renewed gun ban this year? It was an attempt to piggyback onto the Atlanta Botanical Garden's case in it being decided that it possessed an "estate for years" type lease which gave it ownership rights.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Apparently, Zoo Officials were unable to realize that the Zoo possesses no lease at all for the publicly owned property inside Grant Park. The Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, a government entity, holds the lease. Some folks just don't know how to pay attention to details, and details often matter.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>I've taken my family to visit Zoo Atlanta at least three times in years past, and wore my visibly holstered pistol on my hip, with no issues at all. No one seemed to bat an eye, not even the international visitors. Once, a member of Zoo Security asked to see my license to carry, and I politely provided it. Now, anyone who qualifies for a license is considered a lawful carrier. They are no longer required to do the paperwork and pay a fee to exercise their Second Amendment Rights in public, as it should be.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Some of the comments on this story out on the web are rather humorous. Some are saying because of the Zoo's capitulation, they are never going back. Did they not know the Zoo allowed weapons carry from 2016? Did they also not know the Zoo has never had metal detectors for general admission? </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Others are incredulous that anyone would need a gun at a zoo. I suppose one could make that same empty argument regarding any place that is supposed to be safe. Unfortunately, criminals don't care whether a park, bike trail, zoo, restaurant, theater, library, or school is supposed to safe. When bad guys make appointments, I'll know when I can leave my gun at home. But if I'm on the road traveling to the zoo, I'll be armed, and I won't be leaving my gun in the zoo's parking lot to be potentially stolen. People also sometimes get attacked walking in parking lots.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">As for the racist comments that gun rights advocates are only doing this because of criminals who are Black, that's a load of garbage. In several of my blog articles I have made it clear that Black citizens should be armed for their protection. Percentage-wise they are victims of violent crime more than non-Blacks. I have seen Blacks carrying a gun on their hip in the open just like me, and felt safe around them, and have thanked them in person.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>A human right such as armed self-defense belongs to us all equally, regardless of race. I wish Black Democrat politicians would believe that too, instead of trying to disarm their own people when they are at just as much or more risk from being harmed by crime than others.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://ga2a.org/become-a-member/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Regardless of your race, if you value your liberty to be armed in public for your safety and that of your families, please consider joining the premiere state-wide organization with a long track record of success in fighting for your rights: GA2A.org</span></i></a><b>.</b></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-77918417573296050932022-10-28T21:34:00.001-04:002022-10-28T21:36:53.167-04:00Zoo Atlanta To Demand Your Weapons Carry License? © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://saportareport.com/zoo-atlanta-drops-gun-ban-after-legal-questions/sections/reports/johnruch/" target="_blank">Zoo Atlanta spokesperson Rachel Davis said, “Our statement ‘permitted by law’ means that guests may carry only with a legal permit.”</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuPTdKjd8juCld-g6NGf19t5HEuw0GA0-QTjCFwWxCzrhY3A5kBzoDQtoOzLy9tTXi1YJ3_2RrdAnWYCGa8Z67d4rO5rwak1XoZixNHt2QP5xJc-zd9WBUJCt2EiYz3180Px4TOvOBHmqdE4XF6X9ZMDwi93a20l_3mpXAzrEbLcST7hP93VuIaoT/s1024/1024px-Atlanta_cyclorama_building.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuPTdKjd8juCld-g6NGf19t5HEuw0GA0-QTjCFwWxCzrhY3A5kBzoDQtoOzLy9tTXi1YJ3_2RrdAnWYCGa8Z67d4rO5rwak1XoZixNHt2QP5xJc-zd9WBUJCt2EiYz3180Px4TOvOBHmqdE4XF6X9ZMDwi93a20l_3mpXAzrEbLcST7hP93VuIaoT/s320/1024px-Atlanta_cyclorama_building.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlanta_cyclorama_building.jpg" target="_blank">Atlanta Cyclorama Building at Zoo Atlanta</a>, Photo by "<a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/24164096@N00" target="_blank">London looks</a>"</div><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-size: large;">I continue to be astonished at the incorrect information Zoo Officials continue to make public. They should be ashamed of embarrassing Ms. Davis with the task of repeating such drivel.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>First of all, Georgia does not have a "permit", it is a "weapons carry license".</b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20212022/211518" target="_blank">More importantly, Georgia now defines a lawful carrier as anyone who can qualify to receive a weapons carry license whether or not they have applied for one</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Finally, even if a license were still required to carry a handgun in public, the Zoo would still lack the legal authority to demand to see anyone's license.</b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They certainly may politely ask to view your weapons license if you happen to carry openly, and you may politely decline to answer, with no actionable consequences against you for your refusal, such as kicking you off the property, or anything else.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;">So just wish them a nice day and go on about your visit. You don't have to show them anything other than your ticket or membership card.</b></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/zoo-atlanta-weapons-policy-flip-flop.html" target="_blank">The irony in all this flip-flop saga of banning, allowing, then banning again and once again allowing weapons</a>, is that the Zoo has never effectively banned weapons in the first place. Never any metal detectors to my knowledge, although they might have used them in the past for special events, I don't know. But in general weapons have always been on Zoo property carried by lawful and sometimes unlawful carriers, and they know that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Neither a paper policy nor a prohibition on a website can keep anyone safe. Real safety lies in the ability of people to keep themselves safe from armed criminals, not in virtue signaling or in giving lip service to safety. Feel-goods for the sheep do not a reality make.</div></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-32558906880090869082022-10-27T12:04:00.001-04:002022-10-27T12:04:50.331-04:00Banning Weapons - Mystery Of The Public or Private Property Question © 2022 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Like most anyone, I love a good mystery, but only on TV as I don't have much time or patience for reading a large novel. </b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>However, when it comes to where I can carry a firearm or other lawful weapon on privately leased, but publicly owned property used by the public, I want it cut and dry every time.</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3Ky8aMgQveRBGa0NU81sF8B1wpNdfxP1EucNfvkfINcvY4a60eVzMZ8c33cPjPtD2C2wJGApS1E1nrSI-uqJSwgtsBG3VQ0nCMpgL-bAM9UlKwibBZXT139un5pBjX5nQOc8zoJJqCS3_cLIph8wdXzRf6DUU-WBmKH-qU05gk7-roNuxOobUYlH/s1000/Mystery.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1000" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3Ky8aMgQveRBGa0NU81sF8B1wpNdfxP1EucNfvkfINcvY4a60eVzMZ8c33cPjPtD2C2wJGApS1E1nrSI-uqJSwgtsBG3VQ0nCMpgL-bAM9UlKwibBZXT139un5pBjX5nQOc8zoJJqCS3_cLIph8wdXzRf6DUU-WBmKH-qU05gk7-roNuxOobUYlH/s320/Mystery.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://freesvg.org/detective-profile-silhouette-vector-image" target="_blank">Open Clipart Image of Detective Used</a>, Text Mine</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20132014/144825" target="_blank">Georgia's HB60 that became law July 1st, 2014</a> was intended to be the cure for this mystery. The Georgia General Assembly logically inserted the word "private" into the law to clarify that only privately owned property owners could blanket-wise ban all weapons from their property.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the Atlanta Botanical Garden (publicly owned property, but privately leased) raised its hackles at this provision and refused to follow it, <a href="https://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/georgiacarry-v-atlanta-botanical-garden/" target="_blank">Georgia Carry (now GA2A.org) and I filed suit against the Garden</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What followed was a mixed bag of legal goods.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2019/10/atlanta-botanical-garden-gun-rights.html" target="_blank">The Georgia Supreme Court gave us a general victory of sorts in Oct. 2019</a> when it ruled that those in control of privately leased public property could not ban weapons IF it merely held a "usufruct" (to use and enjoy) type lease, but that they could if they held an "estate for years" (ownership rights during the lease term) type lease.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/atlanta-botanical-garden-tax-man-cometh.html" target="_blank">The Garden's lease type was litigated and determined to be an "estate for years" on Jan. 31st, 2022 by the Georgia Court of Appeals</a>. But being a property owner now means you get to pay property tax. Be careful what you wish for!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/zoo-atlanta-weapons-policy-flip-flop.html" target="_blank">Now another entity, Zoo Atlanta (located on public property), wants on the Garden bandwagon and Sept. 1st, 2022 reinstated its blanket weapons ban</a> (except for law enforcement), after following state law for the last few years. However, the Zoo is not in possession of the property's leasehold interest. The Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority (a government entity) holds it, so this should be a slam-dunk for us hopefully not requiring court action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although a lease with a length term exceeding five years is presumed to be an "estate for years", that is not the only factor to consider. Conditions in the lease may determine even a 50 year lease to be a "usufruct".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">So do we need to litigate potentially hundreds or even more leases around the state to get to the bottom of whether those publicly owned properties used by the public, but privately leased, can ban legally carried weapons? What a chore that would be!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's the fix: REQUIRE by law that any government entity that leases public property to a private entity explicitly specifies in the lease whether the lease grants an estate for years or is merely a usufruct.</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not only would this benefit citizens who wish to protect their right to carry on their tax-payer owned public property, but it would also benefit government in determining whether these large private entities should be paying their fair share of property tax.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>It's notable that the City of Atlanta specified in their lease contract with the Garden that the Garden was not to pay property tax. One would think that meant the City was signaling the lease was merely a usufruct, as those by law are not taxable.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The Georgia Court of Appeals, beyond belief, instead took this to mean that even if the City unlawfully granted the Garden a tax exemption, it still had an estate for years. Talk about upside down logic, or total lack thereof.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hopefully, our Georgia General Assembly will once again take action and put final closure to this issue once and for all. </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our right to be armed to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from criminals on public, tax-payer owned property should not be held hostage by lease documents of a type we do not clearly know, that we should be burdened with the task of suing in order to find out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Government shenanigans where leases are written with a wink and a nod letting the lessees assumedly get to have "private property" rights to ban weapons carried by lawful citizens, but not have to pay property tax is unfair and immoral, and should be immediately stopped.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Regardless of how one feels about citizens carrying guns in public, at least we can all agree that businesses should pay their fair share of the tax burden. How many millions of dollars have you and I had to pay in property tax because certain businesses got an unlawful free ride out of paying their property taxes?</span></i></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-64295532621525511592022-10-21T23:38:00.005-04:002022-10-27T12:05:41.831-04:00Atlanta Botanical Garden - Tax Man Cometh? © 2022 Phillip Evans<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://casetext.com/case/georgiacarryorg-v-the-atlanta-botanical-garden-inc" target="_blank">The Atlanta Botanical Garden won a court case Jan. 1st, 2022 which allows it to ban weapons on its property that is leased from the City of Atlanta</a>. <a href="http://ga2a.org" target="_blank">Georgia Carry (now GA2A) and I were plaintiffs in the case</a>. </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCS34i_arwyA5mslWKcehp__U0VqHdtxgB8MfgO3XIae24puHXWCfUtTlP_dV2FO7pHdO8w9ffXN_aTGaRbqjHSY-jlz5V0UXOylSElajbRseI2G5sxV0PZ91TDBkA2cmv25hSzbrdfvUbK9i40F9MtedgjQ1EvdOlJKdoavRWxlR_k1rdIYYcWFiF/s1024/ABG%20Photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCS34i_arwyA5mslWKcehp__U0VqHdtxgB8MfgO3XIae24puHXWCfUtTlP_dV2FO7pHdO8w9ffXN_aTGaRbqjHSY-jlz5V0UXOylSElajbRseI2G5sxV0PZ91TDBkA2cmv25hSzbrdfvUbK9i40F9MtedgjQ1EvdOlJKdoavRWxlR_k1rdIYYcWFiF/s320/ABG%20Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlanta_Botanical_Garden_-_Atlanta,_Georgia_(7030020463).jpg" target="_blank">Photo</a> by <a href="http://www.about.me/dberkowitz" target="_blank">David Berkowitz</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Court's ruling means that the Garden is and has been a property owner for several years, and like all other property owners in the <a href="https://law.justia.com/constitution/georgia/conart7.html#:~:text=(a)%20The%20annual%20levy%20of,assessed%20value%20of%20the%20property." target="_blank">State of Georgia per the Georgia Constitution</a>, it is required to pay property tax <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2020/title-48/chapter-5/article-2/part-1/section-48-5-41/" target="_blank">unless it receives an exception granted in accordance with state law</a>. And there is a new case over taxes filed by a resident of Atlanta and a resident of Fulton County for these governments' failures to collect property tax from the Garden. (1)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Has the Garden made application for any exemption? </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm guessing not, since during the lawsuit originally filed in 2014, they relied on the City of Atlanta's stipulation in their lease agreement that they do not have to pay property tax. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To date, neither the City nor Fulton County has ever collected property tax from the Garden, and the <a href="https://iaspublicaccess.fultoncountyga.gov/" target="_blank">Fulton County Tax Assessor website</a> continues to list the Garden as PUBLIC, not private property, in spite of the Georgia Court of Appeals ruling making it private property.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://share.myfultoncountyga.us/datashare/fultoncounty/Documents/PropertyClasses.pdf" target="_blank">Fulton County Property Classification: <span style="text-align: left;">E1 = <b>Public Property</b></span></a>, with Land Use Code 610 (Recreation/Health)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/banning-weapons-mystery-of-public-or.html" target="_blank">One cannot imagine the hubris of the City of Atlanta intending to grant an estate for years (2) to the Garden with a lease contract containing a provision that exempts it from paying property tax contrary to statute and the Georgia Constitution</a>. But corruption with a sizable dish of arrogance seems to come naturally to Democrat run cities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Georgia Department of Revenue's 2022 Opening Session PowerPoint Presentation highlights some of the facts of the case starting at slide 75:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a data-au="0" data-jsarwt="1" data-psig="AOvVaw0OFnnymmzcYapCina6d8sW&ust=1666471867166819" data-ved="0CAMQw7AJahcKEwjQ_4rQmfL6AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBA" href="https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/caveat-2022-opening-session/download" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); background-color: white; color: #1a0dab; outline: 0px; text-align: left;" tabindex="0" target="_blank"><b>https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/caveat-2022-opening-session/download</b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While not giving an opinion whether the Garden should pay AVT (ad valorem tax) on the property, the report is indicative that the GA DOR is keenly aware of the issue, as it should be. And I'm sure they are keeping a sharp eye on further developments.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Additionally, will the fact that the Garden is now a private property owner have any impact on its tax filings with the IRS? Very possibly, especially if the IRS views the non-payment of property tax on private property as taxable income.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Were the Garden to be billed for all the back property taxes it owes, <a href="http://www.georgiacarry.com/company/botanical_garden/Brief_in_Oppo_Def_MSJ.pdf" target="_blank">it could amount to over $100 million dollars</a> - money which other property owners in Atlanta and Fulton County have had to pay to make up for the difference while the Garden has not been paying its share of the government mandated burden.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://saportareport.com/atlanta-city-council-oks-20-4-million-on-part-of-piedmont-park-expansion/sections/reports/maggie/" target="_blank">The City of Atlanta continues to pour millions of tax-payer dollars into the Garden property</a>, and yet the property which is part of Piedmont Park is supposedly "private property"? Unreal.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The GA Court of Appeals mind-boggedly did not view it as a troublesome issue to rule that the Garden possessed an estate for years and at the same time not pay property tax, so it would not surprise me if it were to rule in favor of the Garden in regard to property taxes in the new lawsuit if it gets to that level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>However, the Georgia Supreme Court may not look kindly on such a flagrant violation of the Georgia Constitution. Were the Garden to be allowed an unfair pass on paying its fair share, other large property owners would come forward wanting the same treatment, with the mom and pop businesses and homeowners stuck with the shaft to make up the shortfall.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Should the Garden see the writing on the wall, it may quickly work with the City of Atlanta to rewrite their lease contract to convert it to a "usufruct" (a license to use and enjoy), which by law is not subject to property tax, but then the Garden could not ban lawfully carried weapons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Would doing that shield the Garden from back property taxes? I don't see how, as it would be a new contract going forward. </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Garden, in its zeal to ban lawful carriers being armed while visiting, may have gotten itself wedged between a rock and a hard place in the sense that it may have to pay millions of dollars in tax arrears regardless if its lease is changed or not. The irony is that firearms and other weapons are still getting into the Garden every single day, as good citizens primarily carry concealed, and there are no metal detectors or searches upon entry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>So the reality is that all this time and expense the Garden has involved itself with, has been to ban a fraction of lawful carriers who choose to openly carry a visibly holstered pistol on their side.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The issue isn't about safety from the Garden's point of view - they KNOW guns get in on a regular basis. It is about appearance only. And even that is for nothing. Other public venues such as Stone Mountain Park, with many more visitors and from all over the world, has virtually daily sightings of citizens openly carrying a handgun, with no impact on revenue and no other issues as a result.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">If you value your Second Amendment Rights and desire that laws are passed which honor and promote the right to keep and bear arms, then <a href="https://ga2a.org/become-a-member/" target="_blank">become a member of GA2A</a>, the only statewide organization with a proven track record of success in working with the Georgia General Assembly to further our self-defense liberties.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">------------------------------------------</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(1) The City of Atlanta and Fulton County are being sued by two private citizens over the Atlanta Botanical Garden getting an unlawful pass to not pay property taxes as a property owner, as the Court of Appeals ruled this year that the Garden has an "estate for years" type lease, meaning certain property ownership rights, such as the ability to ban weapons. Fulton Superior Court Case Number: 2022cv368333. <a href="https://publicrecordsaccess.fultoncountyga.gov/Portal/" target="_blank">Create an account on their website to search for the case</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(2) An Estate for Years is a grant of “the right to use the property in as absolute a manner as may be done with a greater estate, provided that the property or the person who is entitled to the remainder or reversion interest is not injured by such use.” O.C.G.A. § 44-6-103.</div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-16527286933994181852022-10-20T13:13:00.016-04:002022-10-28T16:21:50.190-04:00Zoo Atlanta Weapons Policy Flip-Flop © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Major Updates Below!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As recently as June 23rd, 2022 (per the Wayback Machine Archive) the page at <a href="https://zooatlanta.org/visit/rules/">https://zooatlanta.org/visit/rules/</a> stated with regards to prohibited items: </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Weapons of any kind except as permitted by law", meaning that lawfully carried weapons were permitted, which aligns with state law. This wording had been used since 2014, after HB60 took effect.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7qBmKe1vN5jk_dZC0GYsCzgZ-Rp6dKUJF85JxAw3VtpM7_2l5opjqi7l-vkVJsmW7ZVcD2cOg3PdJWcQcWOv1EzIKS3GAm-Rff4mNazWbj90LvQH3n4tsitpzy4NwGhj72MfyWgbi_yk3DQQ4GQGgKhONnUTKXe2xlBmPYa0gINXSSZqV6rV8cez/s991/Zoo%20Atlanta.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="850" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7qBmKe1vN5jk_dZC0GYsCzgZ-Rp6dKUJF85JxAw3VtpM7_2l5opjqi7l-vkVJsmW7ZVcD2cOg3PdJWcQcWOv1EzIKS3GAm-Rff4mNazWbj90LvQH3n4tsitpzy4NwGhj72MfyWgbi_yk3DQQ4GQGgKhONnUTKXe2xlBmPYa0gINXSSZqV6rV8cez/s320/Zoo%20Atlanta.png" width="274" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Image by Author using Public Domain Material</div></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">That same page now reads:</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>"Weapons of all types are prohibited inside Zoo Atlanta"</b>, a blanket prohibition, which goes back to the pre-2014 language.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yesterday I spoke with a member of their security office who told me the policy change was a result of a change in the law, and when I questioned further, the gentleman told me it was a "city law". Searching for a new city ordinance did not turn up anything.</span></div><span><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Oddly enough, a different page on the Zoo's site currently has wording similar to the first one above:</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">https://zooatlanta.org/visit/ <b>"Weapons, except as permitted by law"</b></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">So now there seems to be conflicting messages on the site.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><b>Regardless, the gentleman at the Zoo's security office was clear that they intend to enforce a no-weapons policy for everyone except law-enforcement.</b></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Fast forward to today, Oct. 20th, 2022 - A Mr. Gray (if I heard his name correctly) phoned me from the Zoo. He confirmed the policy change occurred Sept. 1st.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://casetext.com/case/georgiacarryorg-v-the-atlanta-botanical-garden-inc" target="_blank">Mr. Gray stated that a group of Zoo officials determined that the Court of Appeals ruling from Jan. 1st, 2022, which granted the Atlanta Botanical Garden the right to ban guns applied to the Zoo</a>.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">I explained to him that the ruling applied to the entire state, in the sense that any property determined to have ownership rights via an "estate for years" type lease can ban weapons, but that the Zoo could only ban weapons if they had such a lease, and asked him if the Zoo Officials has made that claim. He side-stepped that question and promised to have someone else call me back.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/banning-weapons-mystery-of-public-or.html" target="_blank">Either that is the Zoo's position, that they claim to have an "estate for years" type lease</a>, or they simply misunderstood the Court's ruling entirely and believe that they can do what the <a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/10/atlanta-botanical-garden-tax-man-cometh.html" target="_blank">Atlanta Botanical Garden</a> can, just because.</span></i></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">This blog article will be updated as more information is gathered.</div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">UPDATE!!!</span></b></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.georgiapacking.org/threads/zoo-atlanta-signage.274347/page-2#post-3089943" target="_blank">Thanks to Dawgdoc over at GeorgiaPacking.org, I have obtained info that is ruinous to the Zoo's position and have sent the Zoo an email with a copy to the Atlanta Police Department.</a></span></b></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is the complete email:</span></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">Dear Zoo Officials,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">I've learned that on Sept. 1st this year, you implemented a blanket policy banning all weapons carry, except by law enforcement.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">Is it your position that your lease with the Fulton County Government (removed City of Atlanta for the pasted text here, misspoke in the email) is of the type known as an "estate for years", which grants you certain ownership rights, such as the right to ban weapons? Are you sure you'd like to be a property owner subject to paying property taxes?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">Are you aware that the leasehold interest of the Zoo Property is assigned to the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority? AFCRA has oversight over Zoo operations, including a vote on major Zoo contracts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">What all does this mean? It means your interest in the property is merely a "usufruct", and not an "estate for years", meaning you lack the authority to ban legally carried weapons by any lawful citizen, per your lease and per the Oct. 2019 ruling of the Georgia Supreme Court in Georgia Carry v. Atlanta Botanical Garden regarding usufructs and estate for years pertaining to the banning of weapons on publicly owned property.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">The Atlanta Botanical Garden can ban guns because their lease was determined this year to be an "estate for years". Your lease is not possible to be ruled as such, due to the facts I outlined above. Therefore, you do not get to do what the Garden can, just because you want to. There has to be a legal basis for it, and there is none.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">I suggest you check with your attorneys quickly on this matter, for if you violate the rights of a lawful citizen carrying a legal weapon at the Zoo you risk a costly lawsuit.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">The Atlanta Police Department is well aware of state law on this, and they carefully follow it. They will not enforce your weapons ban. Ask them if you do not believe me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">It seems that you all did not think this through very well, nor had a clear understanding of the surrounding court cases. You simply knee-jerked latched onto what you saw as an opportunity (in your own minds) to go back to the pre-2014 blanket policy banning weapons. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">This makes it clear you do not respect the Second Amendment nor do you regard the ability of moms and dads to be armed for the safety of their families when traveling to and from the Zoo or walking from or to their vehicles at the Zoo in a neighborhood beset with crime. You should be ashamed of your liberty hating agenda.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">Best regards,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">Phillip Evans</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">-------------------------</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: large;">For verification of the Zoo's leasehold info I posted above see: <a href="https://saportareport.com/vote-clears-path-between-zoo-atlanta-and-federal-tax-credits/sections/reports/maggie/">https://saportareport.com/vote-clears-path-between-zoo-atlanta-and-federal-tax-credits/sections/reports/maggie/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/53631/637756982162230000" target="_blank">Also, see the City of Atlanta's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Second Update: <a href="https://saportareport.com/zoo-atlantas-operating-agreement-may-prevent-new-gun-ban/sections/reports/johnruch/" target="_blank">The Zoo is not even a party to the Grant Park property lease, which is specified as a "usufruct" according the Zoo's operating agreement in section 3(b)</a>.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Third Update: <a href="https://saportareport.com/zoo-atlanta-drops-gun-ban-after-legal-questions/sections/reports/johnruch/" target="_blank">The Zoo once again allows weapons, "as permitted by law". Their spokesperson unfortunately misunderstands this to mean you have to have a "permit", but that is wrong on two levels</a>. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>We do not have a "permit", it is a carry license, and with recent legislation no longer needed for a lawful carrier to carry a weapon in public.</b></span></div></div></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-35488910496668905972022-10-07T11:03:00.001-04:002022-10-07T11:09:41.903-04:00Guns at Pride Festival in Piedmont Park Atlanta © 2022 Phillip Evans<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8eAvNUzXLA" target="_blank">Atlanta Pride Executive Director, Jamie Fergerson, requests that festival goers leave their guns at home when attending the Atlanta Pride Festival in Piedmont Park</a>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqeVdu_jCgA8Vqlb7JkbdNsi1zt4-GZV9W3FBAaInbSBVR_JfMXL7Jf66D4o85fYBEanBEP--6MndxFDhPReX9jWHYJhzEw5SJH2F7bNNkdH9h2g0h7sCmPTozlOG7u-3rj5xEDOtRQttmK7AAsmMdSXf3t9EwEnqz-0mMkScF0XnYOmXql8LL0fv/s800/48660566067_70b78c0f4f_c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqeVdu_jCgA8Vqlb7JkbdNsi1zt4-GZV9W3FBAaInbSBVR_JfMXL7Jf66D4o85fYBEanBEP--6MndxFDhPReX9jWHYJhzEw5SJH2F7bNNkdH9h2g0h7sCmPTozlOG7u-3rj5xEDOtRQttmK7AAsmMdSXf3t9EwEnqz-0mMkScF0XnYOmXql8LL0fv/s320/48660566067_70b78c0f4f_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumofus/48660566067/" target="_blank">Photo by SumOfUs</a></div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Executive Director Fergerson correctly stated, "People are allowed to lawfully carry." So kudos to her for knowing and being willing to follow state law.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She gave a reasonable-sounding argument for her disarmament request: "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">We don't believe that crowds, especially when there's drinking and celebrating, mix with a lot of guns so we'd like everybody to leave them at home." Notwithstanding guns have been lawfully carried at the festival for years with no issues.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The website also states, <a href="https://www.atlantapride.org/faqs/festival_faqs/" target="_blank">"</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.atlantapride.org/faqs/festival_faqs/" target="_blank">We respectfully request that you leave your weapons, including firearms, at home."</a></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Security is to be provided by unarmed volunteers, unarmed private security, and Atlanta Police (with help from other agencies). </div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So if no one is armed except police and bad guys, who will ignore any disarmament requests, is this the perfect picture of safety?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Let's think about this for a moment. What about folks traveling to and from the festival, whether in their vehicle, on MARTA, or on foot? Will festival security measures keep them safe while traveling? Will a gun left at home protect them while traveling? The Captain Obvious answer is NO to both.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And why the complete trust and reliance on the police? <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/review-finds-widespread-wrongdoing-atlanta-eagle-bar-raid/Ebo6IB9x2bu6t2YoNt69HI/?outputType=amp" target="_blank">Does Atlanta Police have a stellar record in the Gay community? Anyone recall the 2009 Eagle Bar incident?</a> <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/06/01/atlanta-pride-police-debate" target="_blank">Is all forgiven now?</a> Don't get me wrong, most police are good people, but things don't always work out for the best when police and criminals are the only ones armed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Why does Ms. Fergerson not trust gay people to be responsibly armed in the presence of alcohol and crowds? Is there an epidemic of gay folks drunkenly shooting into crowds? If not, then why the need for any such polite request?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Though I don't speak for <a href="https://ga2a.org/" target="_blank">GA2A</a> in my article here, GA2A (formerly Georgia Carry) apparently trusts gay people to carry guns in festivals at Piedmont Park. <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-pride-parade-comes-with-dose-politics/LwGInmPRrpjERvbizHHH9N/" target="_blank">In fact, for years they've had a booth there for the festival to give attendees information on their organization which fights for their right of armed self-protection</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And why shouldn't gays be armed? They are often victimized by criminals who beat, rape, rob, and murder them. It's high time that they get armed, trained, and prepared to defend themselves. And they should be armed for their safety even at festivals. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>If a straight person such as myself can advocate for gays to be lawfully armed wherever they go, why can't the Executive Director of the Atlanta Pride Festival do the same?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Black community also has a similar issue in that most Black leaders and politicians consistently side with White Democrats to push for gun bans in as many public areas as possible, as well as banning the possession of certain types of guns. Apparently, they don't trust Blacks to be responsibly armed either, in public places.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps both of these cases is an example of where the leadership doesn't speak for the majority makeup of the membership?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Are Blacks and Gays to be unarmed sheep because the police do such a great job protecting them?</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">According to straight, White Democrats, Gays and Blacks shouldn't be armed in public. Where do the elites even in these same demographics obtain the gall to demand that they disarm themselves and only trust the police for their safety? Cognitive Dissonance?</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-29731391626491927842022-08-31T12:11:00.001-04:002022-08-31T12:11:51.870-04:00Illegal Government Censorship of Citizens on Facebook © 2022 Phillip Evans <div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The City of South Fulton, Georgia has a main Facebook page, and each district has its own official government page as well. The evening of August 30th, 2022, Councilwoman Helen Z. Willis blocked me from seeing her District 3 page at: </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cosfdistrict3">https://www.facebook.com/cosfdistrict3</a>.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVvLO6EYmLMz1LSUJeTmRYnWGggg7J_oyLEEJmaXPBetcRdYwwprveafZk01wg_8Ez0KZV7sVI0SUg8gp7hgIUWmjj8b3T_3u1wMHA2vTnggp-I_A_C1Yl46S-8LnyzalRWDTX8B6JXO0aRqLN49XjUi3EHc5AHfYJuUVolGVNmJ-LRXSBSIctZ25/s209/City%20of%20South%20Fulton%20Seal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="206" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVvLO6EYmLMz1LSUJeTmRYnWGggg7J_oyLEEJmaXPBetcRdYwwprveafZk01wg_8Ez0KZV7sVI0SUg8gp7hgIUWmjj8b3T_3u1wMHA2vTnggp-I_A_C1Yl46S-8LnyzalRWDTX8B6JXO0aRqLN49XjUi3EHc5AHfYJuUVolGVNmJ-LRXSBSIctZ25/s1600/City%20of%20South%20Fulton%20Seal.png" width="206" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">City of South Fulton Seal</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Fair Use</div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">My perceived offense? I posted an on-topic and benign comment on the City's new gun ordinance she had sponsored. Although she deleted my comment, I was able to reproduce it entirely almost word for word, as follows:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"There are existing state laws that cover waving about a firearm dangerously, as well as covering pointing a gun at another without justification. The ordinance adds no additional substance to state law.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also, if Section 2 passed, that is a violation of state preemption, since guns cannot be banned in government buildings (schools and courthouses excepted), unless there is weapons screening at the entrance. The ordinance does not mention screening, and therefore is null and void.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And, the news reporting on handling a gun was stupid, as it is legal in Georgia to carry a firearm in your hand."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That was it. The strongest word I used was "stupid", which was not even directed toward her. This is the news article I had referred to:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/new-law-makes-it-illegal-handle-brandish-guns-city-south-fulton-property/UFLEBVRIPVGYVFV5JVNAJ7A7SI/"><b>https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/new-law-makes-it-illegal-handle-brandish-guns-city-south-fulton-property/UFLEBVRIPVGYVFV5JVNAJ7A7SI/</b></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If Councilwoman Willis would like to run a Facebook page like it was her own personal page, she should close her government page and start one. Otherwise, she must abide by settled law on the matter and allow not only comments she agrees with but opposing viewpoints as well. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://knightcolumbia.org/cases/davison-v-randall#:~:text=Status%3A%20Decided%20on%20January%207,banning%20Davison%20from%20that%20forum." target="_blank"><b>Government officials do not have the authority to infringe on citizens' First Amendment Rights.</b></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/Articles-Main/ID/12959/HPD-Ordered-to-Pay-31K-over-Censored-Facebook-Comments" target="_blank"><b>It can wind up being expensive for them.</b></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The same evening she blocked me on Facebook, Ms. Willis emailed the City Attorney and copied me as follows:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><b>"Attorney Hyman,<span id="m_-1939737214315267600gmail-m_-1689616016850604485gmail-m_-4465527367185366888x_gmail-m_-1561663941688863380ms-outlook-ios-cursor"></span></b></i></span></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><b>The comment was deleted because it’s was harassing and an attempt to undermine the intent of the ordinance. I will gladly speak with you about this in detail."</b></i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As you can see, that was an outright lie. There was nothing harassing in my comment, and as far as an "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">attempt to undermine" the ordinance, I was merely speaking what I considered to be the facts.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The District 3 Councilwoman's arrogance, violation of oath of office, and violation of my free speech rights could wind up costing the City of South Fulton tax-payers a good chunk of money in attorney's fees and damages.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I have reached out to the Mayor, City Manager, and City Attorney to resolve this without litigation. All I require is that my Facebook account be unlocked on the page, and that my comments will no longer be capriciously deleted. </b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>She did the same to two others that I know of, so this is a pattern with her.</b></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206616503390882882.post-85811757185454910472022-08-26T18:16:00.000-04:002022-08-26T18:16:08.887-04:00Not All Adults Have Equal Rights...Well Yes They Do © 2022 Phillip Evans <div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/26/us/texas-gun-carry-law-18-to-20-year-old-unconstitutional/index.html" style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Federal judge has struck down Texas' ban on 18 to 20-year-olds carrying handguns in public. I'm shocked! You mean the Second Amendment applies to those other grownups too?</span></b></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqtloXC3L7E4coBu0z9bijJNYrCDfRLLv0ehGVuol_QmrGAk_NQZLlLLPhbxelPyiwXTHzcTblfyfbMZCscshGcGdIHQdQutrM9VCUlRCWNTDNQBLBZky40EPFHxGfwHFz1fmEe9WEIQTKmO3TI53Lco8y9r1K2w-aH_ZX_M5s0XwUYaydJtxNGP3/s1024/ARMS_&_Hunting_2012_exhibition_(474-18).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqtloXC3L7E4coBu0z9bijJNYrCDfRLLv0ehGVuol_QmrGAk_NQZLlLLPhbxelPyiwXTHzcTblfyfbMZCscshGcGdIHQdQutrM9VCUlRCWNTDNQBLBZky40EPFHxGfwHFz1fmEe9WEIQTKmO3TI53Lco8y9r1K2w-aH_ZX_M5s0XwUYaydJtxNGP3/s320/ARMS_&_Hunting_2012_exhibition_(474-18).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ARMS_%26_Hunting_2012_exhibition_%28474-18%29.jpg" target="_blank">Photo by Vitaly V. Kuzmin</a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/06/second-amendment-supreme-court-decision.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Bruen case was referenced in the ruling, which I suspect will be instrumental in bringing a variety of keeping and bearing arms infringements off the books.</span></a></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A common argument used to justify these under 21 year old adults bearing arms in public is the fact that they are old enough to serve in the military and die for our country, and therefore should have the same rights as older adults. The counter argument is that they should then pick a branch of the military and join up if they want that right. The counter argument sounds hollow on the face of it, even more so when you factor in that 18 year old men could be forced to serve whether or not they want to, if the draft was reinstated.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And there's more on the pro side. An 18 year old without parental permission can get married, buy a house, buy a car, be legally responsible for any valid contract they might sign, and automatically go to the adult jail for any crime committed, even for a mere non-violent misdemeanor. No juvie option available.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>That makes it a wrap, that if you can be handled by the law as an adult, you therefore have all your adult rights!</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another lame anti argument is the pointing to laws requiring one to be 21 to purchase alcohol, as if that had anything to do with a constitutional right, unless there is an amendment to purchase and imbibe booze somewhere snuck in by Benjamin Franklin at the last minute. And while buying such beverages is not an enumerated constitutional right (neither is eating a sandwich without mayo on Saturdays), it is still stupid to treat adults unequally with any law.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Probably the weakest anti argument is the "but 18 year-olds don't need to own or carry handguns". Really? So an 18 year old doing all the things an adult does has no need of effective tools of self-defense? No need for protection while driving, while walking to the store, while walking in a wooded park, while biking on a path, or while doing any other lawful thing out in public? Silly liberty haters, tricks are for kids.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/3505268-murphy-florida-gun-law-passed-after-parkland-shooting-a-signal-of-whats-possible/" target="_blank">Florida's knee-jerk liberty-hating law passed by Republicans, and lauded by Democrats, forbidding adults under 21 from buying long guns in the wake of the badly handled Parkland school massacre is another one likely slated to be on the chopping block. </a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><i>It's outrageously ironic that government agents botched a rescue resulting in even more deaths, only for the government in response to then disarm and punish citizens wishing to defend themselves from murderers. And done by those who "support the Second Amendment". You can't write fiction stranger than this.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In Georgia, under 21 adults can carry a handgun on their own property, or in public at their place of business, or inside a vehicle that belongs to them. However, they do not get to benefit from the recent permitless carry law until they turn 21. Look for this one to go soon. If the Georgia General Assembly were to take the initiative, they could get it done early next year. Or they could sit back and wait for a court to strike down the prohibition. I suppose we will see what happens when they convene again.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/racist-roots-of-ga-gun-laws.pdf" target="_blank">Know where gun control came from and why? From White Democrats who didn't like the idea of armed Blacks.</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When the fallout from Bruen forced New York to issue carry licenses, when the rich and politically connected (and vastly White), were no longer the only ones to get the government permission slip, what did they do? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://pursuitofpatriotism.blogspot.com/2022/07/new-york-anti-gun-rights-hydra-2022.html" target="_blank">The petulant White politicians were so horrified that common citizens (many of them Black) could be legally armed in public, that faster than slave owners back then could say "go pick that cotton, boy", they passed and signed into law new prohibitions.</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Criminals being armed in public was one thing but the idea of mere peon citizens being armed gave the politicians fits. Their new law has so many enumerated off-limits places, along with all private businesses unless there is a "guns welcome" sign posted, that the license is now virtually worthless.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>That had the unintended consequence of giving heartburn to the elites, some of whom likely paid money or gave other favors to obtain their now devalued license, unless that law is also eventually struck down. It will be juicy seeing some of these elites turning on the elite politicians. Will they just curse them out to their face, or will they bring it public? Who knows?</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With Justice Clarence Thomas carrying the ball for us, we are now finally back-to-the-future where the Second Amendment's "shall not be infringed" means what it actually says.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Be sure to join at least one or more national guns rights groups such as the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, F</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">irearms Policy Coalition, etc., as well as your own state's gun rights organization. They are the ones supporting the lawsuits helping to restore our liberty.</span></span></span></i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0