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Showing posts with label Stand Your Ground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stand Your Ground. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

Attacking Constitutional Rights In Michigan….

New “gun safety” laws go into effect in Michigan on 2/13/24, laws that have alreadybeen declared unConstitutional and which have ZERO CHANCE of preventing criminals from obtaining or using guns illegally.  Rep. Brabec said “the firearm safety caucus she leads has also discussed Michigan's ‘stand your ground’ law that allows the use of deadly force any place someone has the legal right to be without imposing any ‘duty to retreat’ so long as the person using such force is not committing a crime at the time and believes the use of force will prevent imminent death, bodily harm or sexual assault.”

“‘That we still have that on the books, is problematic,’ said Brabec.”

They want to do away with this law THIS YEAR that recognizes the we have a God given right to DEFEND OURSELVES.  They don’t believe we have that right.  THEY PLACE THE LIVES OF CRIMINALS ABOVE THE LIVES OF THE INNOCENT.
A man much smarter than they wrote the followingin 1764:

“A principal source of errors and injustice are false ideas of utility. For example: that legislator has false ideas of utility who had rather command the sentiments of mankind than excite them, and dares say to reason, `Be thou a slave'; who would sacrifice a thousand real advantages to the fear of an imaginary or trifling inconvenience; who would deprive men of the use of fire for fear of their being burnt, and of water for fear of their being drowned; and who knows of no means of preventing evil but by destroying it. The laws of this nature are those which forbid to wear arms, disarming those only who are not disposed to commit the crime which the laws mean to prevent. Can it be supposed, that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, and the most important of the code, will respect the less considerable and arbitrary injunctions, the violation of which is so easy, and of so little comparative importance? Does not the execution of this law deprive the subject of that personal liberty, so dear to mankind and to the wise legislator? and does it not subject the innocent to all the disagreeable circumstances that should only fall on the guilty? It certainly makes the situation of the assaulted worse, and of the assailants better, and rather encourages than prevents murder, as it requires less courage to attack unarmed than armed persons,” Excerpt from “Of Crimes And Punishment, Of False ideas of Utility, Cesare Bonesana, Marchese Beccaria, 1764.

He had this figured out in the 1700s.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

More misinformation from Shannon Watts, founder of Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Bloomberg shill.

This is in reference to the heroic action taken by Elisjsha Dicken to stop a mass shooting:

“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but when a 22-year-old illegally brings a loaded gun into a mall and kills a mass shooter armed with an AR-15 after he already killed three people and wounded others is not a ringing endorsement of our implementation of the Second Amendment,”

First, think about that statement.  Gun controller Watts would rather have seen the mass shooter given free rein to kill more people rather than be stopped by a good guy with a gun.  How messed up is that?!

But here is the misinformation that so many will unquestioningly accept as fact: she states that Dicken “illegally” brought a loaded gun into the mall.  To say this is a massive lie is an understatement.  Unless the law designates a location as a “gun free” zone, IT ISN’T ILLEGAL TO CARRY A FIREARM THERE.

Some locations have declared themselves “gun free”; they have posted signs indicating this.  But in Indiana, as is true for the vast majority of states, such signs DO NOT HAVE THE FORCE IF LAW; they are essentially house rules.  The same is true of Michigan.  Now, if you happen to get caught carrying your firearm in these places, you can be trespassed, asked to leave the premises and not return.  If you refuse to leave, police can be called and you can be charged with misdemeanor trespassing.  If you return after being asked to leave you can be charged.   But carrying a firearm  in violation of what is essentially a house rule IS NOT ILLEGAL.

Shannon Watts is hoping that people won’t question her, will take her at face value when she says Dicken committed a crime when he stopped the mass shooter.

But her accusation actually goes farther than that.

You see, a claim of self defense under a stand your ground defense assumes that the defender isn’t committing a crime himself when he uses deadly force.  While Watts doesn’t actually say the words, that is the true gist of her statement: she wants him to be prosecuted for stopping a mass shooting, for saving lives.  Watts would rather see innocent people die while waiting for police to respond than to see an obviously prepared and well-trained lawful firearms carrier come to the rescue.Just how messed up is THAT?!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"Concept" or God-Given Right?

"It's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense..."
These words were spoken by USAG Eric Holder during his address to the NAACP following the George Zimmerman verdict, and they vividly illustrate the mindset to which the leaders of the Danbury Baptists referred in their letter to then-President Thomas Jefferson:
"...and such had been our laws and usages, and such still     are; that religion is considered as the first object of legislation; and therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the state) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as       inalienable rights; and these favors we receive at the            expense of such degrading acknowledgements as are           inconsistent with the rights of freemen. It is not to be             wondered at therefore; if those who seek after power and     gain under the pretense of government and religion should    reproach their fellow men--should reproach their order         magistrate, as a enemy of religion, law, and good order..."
In the views of such people, we have no inalienable rights; we have privileges that have been granted by a magnanimous government - privileges that are as easily taken away as given.   And as was acknowledged by the leaders of the Danbury Baptists, such a view is inconsistent with our status as FREEMEN.

Mr. Holder needs to reacquaint himself with the Bill of Rights.  Its name is exactly what it seems to be, a list of rights - HUMAN RIGHTS - granted as inalienable rights by the God who created us in His image.  The Second Amendment of the Constitution, as delineated by the Bill of Rights, provides for our defense against a government that has escaped the chains of the Constitution.

Frederic Bastiat, in his manuscript, The Law (Copyright © 2007 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute), explains it this way:
"It is not because men have made laws, that personality, liberty, and property exist. On the contrary, it is because personality, liberty, and property exist beforehand, that men make laws. What, then, is law? As I have said elsewhere, it is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.
Nature, or rather God, has bestowed upon every one of us the right to defend his person, his liberty, and his property, since these are the three constituent or preserving elements of life; elements, each of which is rendered complete by the others, and that cannot be understood without them. For what are our faculties, but the extension of our personality? and what is property, but an extension of our faculties?
If every man has the right of defending, even by force, his person, his liberty, and his property, a number of men have the right to combine together to extend, to organize a common force to provide regularly for this defense.
Collective right, then, has its principle, its reason for existing, its lawfulness, in individual right..."
Collective rights are the corporate expression of God-given individual rights.  And as they are God-given, they reflect the very nature of God.  This is of the utmost importance, because, in reflecting the unchangeable nature of God (Malachi 3:6, "For I the Lord do not change..."), the rights themselves are also unchangeable - inalienable.  If, then, we collectively have the right to defend ourselves from our own government (as guaranteed by the Second Amendment), it follows that we have the individual right to defend ourselves from other individuals as well. 

Self-defense, then, is not a concept.  It is a God-given, inalienable right granted to us as the image bearers of God by virtue of the fact that we are created in His image.  In numerous verses throughout the scriptures, God tells us that He will defend His name and His character.  God has the right to His own defense; as image bearers, we share that right.

The right to self-defense is one of the foundational principles upon which our country was founded.  It is one of the chief differentiating factors that separates American law, with its protection of the rights of the individual, from British common law, which subjugates the rights of the individual to the rights and claims of the crown.  It is common law that delineates the so-called duty to retreat.  It is American law that upholds the right of the individual to stand his or her ground when they are where they have a legal right to be and they are committing no crime.

Concept?  No.

Inalienable, God-given RIGHT.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Holder Lashes Out at SYG Laws in the Wake of the Zimmerman Verdict - Yet Another Straw Man...

At an NAACP rally this past week, AG Eric Holder lashed out at the Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws that have been enacted in 22 states.
"These laws try to fix something that was never broken," Holder said at the Orange County Convention Center. "There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if - and the 'if' is important - no safe retreat is available. But we must examine laws that take this further by eliminating the common sense and age-old requirement that people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat, outside their home, if they can do so safely" (Holder lashes out at SYG laws
There are three very basic flaws in Holder's arguments.

 First, the US Supreme Court has upheld the basic right to self defense in numerous cases, most notably Heller. Self defense is a right; there is no duty to retreat. So once again the good AG is trying to create a legal duty where none exists.

Second, the Zimmerman trial was never about SYG; it was the self-same self defense plea to which Holder refers in his speech. Holder states that citizens have a duty to retreat, yet the jury determined that Zimmerman was unable to retreat. Therefore, he was entitled to his use of lethal force to preserve himself from great bodily harm and death.

But the most important ramification of Holder's speech is this: Holder made the statement, "... people who feel threatened have a duty to retreat..." The context of this statement is Holder's stated contention that Zimmerman exercised his right to employ lethal force before making an adequate attempt (whatever THAT is) to retreat.

 Now, the prosecution's testimony was that MARTIN was the threatened party. Zimmerman was following him, and according to testimony from Martin's girlfriend, Martin felt threatened. The logical conclusion, therefore, under Mr. Holder's argument, would be that MARTIN should have been the one with the duty to retreat - which we know did not happen.

But that isn't what Holder said.

He said that it was ZIMMERMAN who had the duty to retreat.

This poses a real problem for his contention that Martin was the victim. In the light of his stated argument that the victim/defender has the duty to retreat, one can only draw one conclusion: if Zimmerman had the duty to retreat, then MARTIN was the aggressor.

In other words, Mr. Holder just declared Martin to be the aggressor and Zimmerman the victim/defender.

 Thank you, sir, for clearing that up for us. You just confirmed the jury's verdict.

 Now leave our SYG laws, which played absolutely no part in this case, alone.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Conservative Black Leaders Give their input on the Zimmerman Verdict...


Black Conservatives Analyze Aftermath of Zimmerman Case
Washington, D.C. - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are analyzing the legal aspects of the George Zimmerman verdict and commenting on the implications:

Horace Cooper
Horace Cooper
"While I'm thrilled with this outcome, it should never have come to this. This case should never have been brought forward. The grand jury should never have been bypassed and Judge Nelson should never have allowed this case to get this far. There's a reason the investigating officer refused to support an arrest, there's a reason the state's attorney refused to prosecute and there's a reason the grand jury was bypassed. There was no substantial evidence corroborating the state's case and a whole heck of evidence supporting Mr. Zimmerman. The rush to arrest and indict Zimmerman merely to appease the media or race-based interest groups not only jeopardized Mr. Zimmerman's rights and liberty, but the precedent suggests that all of our rights could be infringed."

-Cooper, the co-chairman of Project 21, is a former law professor and former congressional leadership staff member.
Darryn
Darryn "Dutch" Martin
"It goes without saying that a 17-year-old child is dead, and this verdict - though just and correct in my view - will not bring him back. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. But it needs to be understood that the case against George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin was not supposed to be about race. It was always about self-defense. Zimmerman's defense team proved this and the jury concurred. Justice has been served. Now, let's pray that cooler heads prevail."
-Martin, a member of Project 21, is a former member of the American diplomatic corps.


Lisa Fritsch
Lisa Fritsch
"Despite a not guilty verdict, we must remember that George Zimmerman is not truly free. This trial will forever remain in his mind for his remaining days. Our hope should be that this trial and verdict will unite the Florida community and this country and be a healing testimony to what happens when we think the worst of one another first. In this case, it felt as if our very country were on trial for racial prejudice. The not guilty verdict should make us reflect on what it means to give the benefit of the doubt before judging harshly and deciding one's actions are racially motivated. The final question for every community is how we can protect our youth from a system of violence and a lifestyle that nearly guarantees they will find trouble. Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin's family and more urban Americans will hopefully use this case and verdict as an opportunity to correct that system."

-Fritsch is a member of Project 21 as well as a tea party activist, author and talk radio host.
Hughey Newsome
Hughey Newsome
"Everything about the verdict can be wrapped up by considering the post-verdict comments of Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara. While many may feel that O'Mara's comment about charges not being filed against Zimmerman if Zimmerman were black may seem insensitive and oblivious, his subsequent comments about the need for a civil rights discussion in regards to African-American males are timely despite his feeling it is irrelevant to this case. Those saying the value placed on an African-American male is diminished in today's society must now ask themselves, if this is believed to be true, what is causing this phenomenon? So many in the media and entertainment industries seem to profit off perpetuating the image of the African-American male as violent and sexual animals, but this is then ignored in order to complain about overt racism that is mostly marginalized in today's society. This gets us no closer to solving the problem at hand."

-Newsome, a Project 21 member, is a financial expert and also the Washington representative for the Move-On-Up.Org black political organization.

Emery McClendon
Emery McClendon
"We must stop looking at issues from a racial context and stand together as one America - with God as our strength. To use a familiar phrase these days, let's not stay 'stuck on stupid' and move on to heal our land. We have so much to be thankful for. For too long, people such as the NAACP's Ben Jealous and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have spoke out in hate and ignorance and found placement in the media. It's time to stop the madness. We must turn the tide. If we put as much time into restoring our Constitution as we did into the Zimmerman trial, America would be a better place for all of us."

-McClendon is a Project 21 member and tea party activist.


Christopher Arps
Christopher Arps
"Six women, some of them mothers themselves, found George Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Although Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted, there are no winners in this tragic case. A teenager is deceased and a young man's family is mourning. George Zimmerman will never have a normal life again. I call for all sides to respect the verdict reached by a jury of Mr. Zimmerman's peers and honor Trayvon's memory by letting peace prevail in the streets."

- Christopher Arps is a managing partner of a digital media and political consulting firm and a co-founder of the black political networking website Move-On-Up.org.

Christopher Arps
Derryck Green
"To celebrate justice rendered in this case is not an admission or an articulation that Trayvon Martin deserved what happened to him that fateful night in February of 2012. As most will acknowledge, it's a sad and unfortunate thing that Martin lost his life and that his parents had to bury their son. The jury ruled – considering the evidence presented – rightly in my opinion. George Zimmerman is innocent of the filed charges against him. Despite the considerable emotion surrounding this case, justice has been served. It is not 'justice for Trayvon.' Nor it is 'justice for George.' It is simply justice."
- Derryck Green, a student, has a M.A. in Theological Studies and is currently pursuing his doctorate in ministry.

Coby Dillard
Coby Dillard
"The justice system did what it is supposed to do – get to the bottom of what happened. Agree or not, our system works. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, by his own admission. He has to live with that, and I believe God will judge him for that action. But the jury decided that action did not rise to the level of manslaughter or murder. I accept and respect that. We all should, whether or not we agree with it."

- Coby Dillard is a founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party in southern Virginia, a regular columnist for the Norfolk Virginian Pilot and a Navy veteran.

Demetrius Minor
Demetrius Minor
"George Zimmerman has been found not guilty. Regardless of how people feel about it, we must still show love and have compassion one for another."

- Demetrius Minor, a former White House intern, is an evangelist and motivational speaker.






Project 21 was formed in 1992 when the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case revealed a need to highlight the diversity of opinion within the black community. For over 20 years, the volunteer members of the Project 21 black leadership network have provided conservative and free-market perspectives that, until that time, were largely unknown or ignored by the establishment media.

During the course of the Zimmerman trial, which was heard in the Seminole County (Florida) Circuit Court, Project 21 members provided commentary and continue to be available for interviews about the case and the issues surrounding it. Project 21 regularly issued press releases featuring quotes from its members on the breaking news about the trial and the controversies surrounding it.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives since 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org).