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  • 03/04/2022 1:30 PM | Anonymous

    While You Were Watching The Ukraine  by Tom Reynolds

    The NY State Supreme Court dismissed NY Attorney General Letitia James’ attempt to dissolve the NRA.  Judge Joel Cohen wrote: “…the Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the ‘corporate death penalty’…moreover, dissolving the NRA could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members.”

    The suit against the NRA and several NRA officers will continue without the corporate death penalty.  Cohen wrote, “The Attorney General’s allegations in this case, if proven, tell a grim story of greed, self-dealing, and lax financial oversight at the highest levels of the National Rifle Association…They describe in detail a pattern of exorbitant spending and expense reimbursement for the personal benefit of senior management, along with conflicts of interest, related party transactions, cover-ups, negligence, and retaliation against dissidents and whistleblowers who dared to investigate or complain, which siphoned millions of dollars away from the NRA’s legitimate operations.

    The NRA is the thousand-pound gorilla in defense of the 2nd Amendment and James and her fellow gun grabbers will do anything to weaken or destroy the NRA, for political purposes.

    There is no word if James will appeal the judge’s decision.

    New York Judge Rules Out Dissolving the NRA | The Reload

    Joe Biden is rewriting the “public charge” regulations on immigration to let very poor illegal aliens get both welfare and citizenship. The replacement rule will help provide green cards and citizenship to poor illegal and legal aliens, including many who are unable or unwilling to support themselves. 

    If you think your vote doesn’t count now, wait until an illegal alien turned U.S. citizen can vote.  If the Democrats can’t win elections with current voters, they want to create a whole new group of voters, who have no connection to the USA, other than receiving welfare.  Guess how they will vote to use your tax dollars?

    DHS Mayorkas OK's Citizenship for Migrants Who Rely on Welfare (breitbart.com)

    When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would use the Emergency Act declaration to target the financial support systems of the people supporting the “Trucker Protest”, he undermined the Canadian banking system, which led to massive withdrawals of cash from banks.  He also derailed, at least temporarily, the plans of the World Economic Forum to create a “Digital ID” in Canada.

    Trudeau showed how easy it is for government to seize bank accounts, credit cards, etc. and cut you off from money (without due process). He also led people to realize that the government could financially destroy you -more efficiently - with a Digital ID in place.

    Proponents of digital ID justify it by saying it can assist governments to better plan for your needs. (Big Brother will take care of you.)  Governments could analyze your “needs” – as it defines those needs – in order to meet those needs. (From each according to his ability and to each according to his needs.)  Governments could build profiles on the social, political, and economic behaviors of people.

    Of course, the same information could also be used for political manipulation, stifling of expression, exclusion of dissenters, and other similar motives.  Digital ID programs would create databases that could easily destroy the right to privacy. (You must have heard about the illegal misuse of NSA data in the Russian hoax.  Misuse that is not being prosecuted.  Digital ID puts that on steroids.) 

    Remember Canada when the Digital ID is proposed in America.

    BOOM, Trudeau Reversal Motive Surfaces - Canadian Banking Association Was Approved by World Economic Forum To Lead the Digital ID Creation - The Last Refuge (theconservativetreehouse.com)

    Digital identities: Issues and cases - Diplo (diplomacy.edu)

    Some good news…sorta.

    Under the gun ownership prohibitions in the National Firearms Act, an AOW is a catch-all definition for “any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person and from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive.

    Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced a bill called the “No Backdoor Gun Control Act” in the U.S. House of Representatives that would remove the “any other weapons” (AOW) definition of a firearm.

    Rep. Roy said, “Bearing arms in self-defense is a human right. It is evident from the ATF’s behavior that, under Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, the agency is hellbent on attacking the Second Amendment through every means at its disposal”.  (‘Say it aint so, Joe.  Say it aint so’!)  “The NFA’s ‘Any Other Weapon’ provision would still allow an anti-gun administration to use the ATF to unilaterally regulate these firearms, and, more importantly, target their owners. The No Backdoor Gun Control Act would close this notable loophole and help protect law-abiding gun owners.”

    In the current gun grabbing dominated Washington, there is almost no chance of this passing but it is nice to see the Republicans go on the offensive for a change.

    Bill To Remove AOWs From The NFA Introduced In Congress - AmmoLand.com

    The Biden Administration and an animal-rights group (the Center for Biological Diversity) have announced settlement discussions over a lawsuit that could revoke hunting opportunities on nearly 100 National Wildlife Refuges, nationwide. The lawsuit alleges that hunting on refuges threatens endangered species due to: hunters trampling critical habitat; lead poisoning as a result of spent ammunition; and because grizzly bears are mistakenly shot by hunters believing them to be black bears or in self-defense.

    Since an antigun group is negotiating with the antigun Biden Administration, this is like two wolves and a sheep holding a majority-rules vote on what to have for dinner.

    Biden Admin Negotiating with Animal Activists Over Public Land Hunting - Sportsmen's Alliance (sportsmensalliance.org)

  • 03/02/2022 4:30 PM | Anonymous

    State Of The Union?  by Tom Reynolds

    Biden said, during his State of the Union Address, “I ask Congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence...Pass universal background checks. Why should anyone on a terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon?  Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines."

    Proven measures?

    Apparently, Biden thinks (I use the word loosely) that terrorists will try to go through a NICS check to buy weapons.  Of course, Biden’s administration believes that parents at school board meetings are terrorists.  Will protesting at a school board meeting bar you from buying a gun under Biden’s proposals?  (You can bet on it!)

    He also omitted any reference to his and his party’s soft-on-crime stances as being responsible for the increase in all crime and violence.  But he did reverse the Democrats’ years’ long position on defunding the police.  (Did the “science” change on defunding the police or did the polls change?)

    Then, in response to his proposed ban on what he describes as high-capacity magazines, Biden said, "You think the deer are wearing a kevlar vest?"  Did Biden forget that he opened his speech talking about Ukraine?  Are Ukrainians asking for more weapons so they can go deer hunting?  Did Biden forget the Ukrainian President’s response to Biden’s offer for escape: ”I need ammunition, not a ride”.  If Biden sends ammunition, will it be limited to 10 round magazines?     

    Biden repeated an often-repeated Democrat lie when he said "repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued."  Republican Rep. Thomas Massie tweeted the truth:  "Big Biden Lie…Truth: If guns malfunction, the manufacturers can be sued. Not so with vaccines!"  So, as Massie pointed out, Biden told a double lie: first, about gun manufacturers and second about vaccine manufacturers. 

    Former CIA analyst Buck Sexton explained it further when he tweeted. "No other industry is made liable for criminal misuse of their product. But his base is full of hysterics who hate gun owners, so facts don’t matter."

    If Biden can boldly lie about one thing, how much else in the speech was a lie?  Let’s make that list shorter: how much was the truth?

  • 02/28/2022 9:14 PM | Anonymous
    • Ukrainian Guns  by Tom Reynolds

      There is a popular cartoon / meme (often seen on SCOPE’s Facebook page) that goes something like:  The founders didn’t pass the 2nd Amendment because they liked hunting.  They had just freed a nation.  That took on more meaning with the recent events in the Ukraine.

      Here are some interesting facts about gun ownership in Ukraine.

      According to the Geneva Switzerland based “Small Arms Survey” of 2017, the USA is number 1 in the world with 120.5 guns per 100 people.  Ukraine is ranked number 88 with 9.9 per 100 people.  This includes both legal and illegal guns.

      In 2017, the U.S. population was 326 million and Ukraine’s was 44 million.  That equates to about 4 million firearms in Ukrainian civilian hands.  (If Ukraine had the same percentage guns per person as America, they would have about 50 million guns in civilian hands.  Would that have caused Putin to think a bit more before invading?)   

      According to the National Police of Ukraine, less than one-quarter of the 4 million are legally owned.*

      Handguns are not allowed but there are a few exceptions.**  (Let me guess, politicians and their friends are those exceptions.)  Some exceptions get handguns that fire rubber bullets.

      GunPolicy.org which is a research branch of the University of Sidney, Australia, (and not a fan of civilian gun ownership) estimated that the Ukrainian military had 7 million small arms.*** 

      And in an example of liberal statements that seem silly, today, GunPolicy.org also stated that guns in the Ukraine were: “Inherited as an ‘unsought burden’ by a former Soviet state with no current need for it”****

      Various sources report that, prior to the current emergency, civilians could legally own a semi-automatic firearm as well as a rifle or a shotgun, if you had the permit.  Magazine capacity was 10 rounds.  As with restricted pistol permits in the New York, Ukrainian permits had to state a purpose such as: hunting, target practice, etc.

      Ukraine is what, in the USA, we call “may issue”.  A SCOPE member with a friend in Western Ukraine was told by that friend “he could easily get a hunting rifle as long as you bribed the local police chief”.  (Sounds like NY City!)  Ukraine’s laws are described as somewhere between most of Europe’s (highly restrictive) and the USA’s (too restrictive - or too lenient if you are on the Left).

      In the current Russian invasion crisis, it’s been widely reported that civilians in Kiev were given 10,000 automatic rifles.  The reports have not stated how many rounds of ammunition they were given. 

      Handing out rifles raises a question about training to use the rifle and effectiveness if resistance is unorganized.  But it is also reported that many Ukrainians are military veterans due to the Ukraine’s proximity to Russia.  Wouldn’t it have been better to have wide spread legal gun use prior to the invasion, so civilians would be familiar with their firearm?  In the USA, that’s covered by the 2nd Amendment.

    **    "Guns in Ukraine: Firearms, armed violence and gun law". Gunpolicy.org. 2001-05-07. Retrieved 2014-04-1

    ***   Polyakov, Leonid.2005.Aging Stocks of Ammunition and SALW in Ukraine: Risks and challenges.’ BICC Paper 41.Bonn:Bonn International Conversion Center,1 January. (Q84)

    **** Jane's Defence News. 2004. ‘Ukraine Arms Cuba and Venezuela.’ 19 September. (N6)

  • 02/24/2022 11:17 AM | Anonymous

    Reagan and Russia  by Tom Reynolds

    Yesterday, SCOPE wrote about how the Ukraine crisis parallels the events prior to World War 2 and highlighted the ineffective responses to Hitler that eventually led to WW2.  The Biden administration is responding to the Ukraine invasion with sanctions but - what good are sanctions that don’t work?  As 2nd Amendment defenders are well aware with gun control laws, the Left loves doing things that make them feel good, impose hardships on Americans, but have little or no effect.

    It’s unfair to only highlight problems and then walk away; one should also offer a solution.  In responding to Vladimir Putin, Biden might take a lesson from history on a strategy that did work.  President Reagan brought down the Soviet Union / Russia without firing a shot.  One major part of his successful plan involved fossil fuels.

    Russia’s only big source of hard cash was and still is from its exports of fossil fuels: oil and natural gas.  Has anyone bought a Russian made car or refrigerator?  Hard cash from fossil fuel sales is needed to pay for Russia’s military adventures. 

    During Reagan’s non-shooting war on the USSR, he made permanent the deregulation of petroleum products and the windfall profits tax was reduced and eventually removed; these steps removed government disincentives and resulted in increased production.  The Alaskan Prudhoe Bay Oil Field ramped up to, what was then, peak production in 1988.  Reagan persuaded Saudi Arabia to open their taps and flood the market with oil, which they did in 1985.  North Sea oil production increased greatly in the 1980’s. 

    The laws of supply-and-demand took over and as the supply increased the price of all oil dropped dramatically, cutting the revenue Russia got for its oil exports.  In 1980, when Reagan was elected President, the world price of a barrel of crude oil was $35 ($110 in 2020 dollars).  By late 1986 it was $10 ($24 in 2020 dollars).  In six years, Russia’s real revenue from oil dropped by 80%!  Basically, it was going bankrupt and could no longer attempt to compete militarily, or to sponsor client states like Cuba, and Russia’s always weak economy was a shambles.

    As a side benefit, the price of gasoline plummeted and Americans reaped the benefits.

    Then, the Soviet Union dissolved itself in December 1991.

    Russia has reemerged as an aggressor and threat to peace with its invasion of the Ukraine.  Why not take a cue from Reagan and improve on current and proposed Russian sanctions by flooding the market with oil?

    Why not?  Well, because:

    In June 2021, Biden claimed, “When I first was elected Vice President with President Obama, the military sat us down to let us know what the greatest threats facing America were…This is not a joke: you know what the Joint Chiefs told us the greatest threat facing America was? Global warming”.

    There you have it; not Russia or China or Iran is our greatest threat.  Instead, according to Biden, our military believes our biggest threat is Global Warming and Joe Biden has bought into it, hook, line and sinker.  (One thing to remember, the top generals and admirals are the equivalent of political appointees and, unfortunately, the worst of them get to the top by being political.  For example: generals during the Viet Nam War and General Milley with his enthusiasm for the Critical Race Theory instead of Afghan withdrawal planning.)

    On Tuesday, Biden spokeswoman Jeb Psaki warned that, due to Biden’s sanctions, America’s high energy prices could be expected to go even higher, which is the opposite of what Reagan’s policies did.

    Biden has shut down American pipeline construction.  However, Biden waived sanctions on a Russian built pipeline in order to allow the Russians to finish it and market more of their oil.  Apparently, Global warming only happens in the U.S.A.

    Biden has stopped or delayed work on oil and gas leases so that he can decide how to proceed, after a judicial decision was made that he doesn’t like.

    Biden ended America’s energy independence and often speaks of reducing or eliminating fossil fuels in America.  (Raising oil prices is necessary in order to economically justify Green New Deal programs.) 

    Reversing Biden’s energy policies and adopting Reagan’s policies would be effective in bringing Putin to heel and, as a side benefit, lower the energy prices that are fueling inflation.  But, as always, Biden continues to be on the wrong side of history.

    A side benefit to reversing Biden’s fossil fuel policies would be in dealing with another partner in evil: Iran.  Like Russia, Iran is dependent on oil for revenue.  Iran’s leaders chant “Death to America”; they hate us.  (Iran just returned 820,000 doses of Covid vaccine because it was manufactured in the USA.)  Iran is also in the middle of economic and social crises: their mismanaged economy is in shambles and, because it is government controlled, there is no safe haven from mismanagement; their young people are becoming more and more disenchanted with the Iranian government as they seek a better, less repressive life.

    In response to what could be the collapse of a government that hates us, Biden appears to be throwing the Iranian government a lifeline.  He speaks of rejoining the Iran Nuclear Deal, which would have positive financial benefits for Iran. 

    Biden and the Left will not admit that their soft-on-crime, bail reform, open border immigration, anti-gun policies might have anything to do with an increase in crime.  But…they are on the defensive as their policies aren’t working and they face a critical off year election in November.  Suddenly, they stopped being in favor of defunding the police and “Beto” O’Rourke says he no longer has plans to confiscate your guns. 

    If Biden wants to “reset” his policy and admit that, forty years later, Reagan still gets it right, it needs to be done now.  (By the way, another thing that Reagan also got right was that he was also a defender of the 2nd Amendment.)

    Of course, Biden can probably count on his partners in the left-wing media to adopt a policy of, “What Ukrainian crises?  Nothing there worth reporting on”.  (The New York Times once got a Pulitzer Prize for not reporting Stalin’s murderous policies in the Ukraine.)

  • 02/24/2022 7:47 AM | Anonymous

    Lessons from History  by Tom Reynolds

    Instead of learning from history, the far left led by Joe Biden wants to destroy it.  Perhaps, because a reading of history invalidates their agenda?  History is still available, at least for now, for us to learn from it.

    In the 1930’s, Hitler, rightly, saw France and England as having weak leadership and consumed by their own internal political problems and America as isolationist.  Thus, none of them would be willing or able to respond to Germany’s expansionism.  From 1935 until 1939, Axis partners Germany and Italy invaded and conquered countries with only ineffective responses from European and American governments.

    Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia) is a landlocked country in eastern Africa.  In October, 1935, Italy’s Mussolini invaded Ethiopia.  France and Britain responded by imposing toothless sanctions on Italy.

    The Rhineland is a strip of land about 50 kilometers wide on the west bank of the Rhine River.  Following the end of World War 1, it was declared a neutral zone separating Belgium and France from Germany; German troops were banned from entering it.  Having observed the response to the Ethiopian invasion, Hitler used the toothless Franco-German Pact as an excuse, saying Germany was threatened, and marched German troops into the Rhineland.  Britain and France did nothing, even though there were two treaties in effect that had forbidden Germany from doing that.

    Austria was an independent German speaking nation bordering southern Germany.  After World War 1, it was prevented by treaties from unifying with Germany.  In March, 1938, an election was called to decide if Austria wanted to continue as an independent nation.  Afraid of a vote not to his liking, Hitler and German troops marched into Austria and annexed the country into Germany.  Other nations stood by and did nothing. 

    After World War 1, the nation of Czechoslovakia was created on Germany’s and Austria’s eastern border.  The areas closest to Germany contained many people of German descent and Hitler, falsely, claimed these ethnic Germans were being harshly treated by the Czechoslovakian government.  In September 1938, Germany started a low intensity undeclared war on Czechoslovakia.  In response, Britain, France and Germany (but not Czechoslovakia) met in Munich where France and Britain ceded the ethnic German provinces that bordered Germany to Hitler, who eventually took over the entire country.  Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made his famous statement “Peace for our time” upon his return from Munich.

    In August, 1939, Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact that included a secret agreement on dividing Poland, which is a country between Germany’s eastern border and Russia’s western border.  On September 1, 1939, Hitler’s troops invaded Poland.  Seventeen days later, Stalin’s Russian troops also invaded Poland.  World War 2 had begun and more than 60 million people would die, which was more than 2.5% of the world’s population. 418 thousand of them were Americans.

    Today’s Ukraine is a country on the southwestern border of Russia and the Crimea is a peninsula in southern Ukraine, which is separated from Russia by a narrow strip of the Black Sea.  The Ukraine and Crimea were formerly a part of the Soviet Union.  In June, 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Crimea reached an agreement with the Ukraine that Crimea would become a part of the Ukraine as an Autonomous Republic with special economic status.  In a 1997 treaty, Russia recognized Ukraine’s borders and its sovereignty over Crimea.

    In February, 2014, Russian soldiers took over the Crimean government and elected a pro-Russian Prime Minister who asked for Russia to send more troops.  Eventually, a formal agreement was reached between the pro-Russian Crimean government and Russia.

    President Barack Obama’s response to the Crimean invasion was several phone calls to Putin warning him of consequences.  Then, Obama hoped to bring Putin to his knees by announcing that the U.S. would not send a delegation to the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. Later, Obama imposed economic sanctions which had marginal impact on Russia.  Putin managed to not fall to his knees under Obama’s pressure.

    As a Senator, Obama was instrumental in getting $48 million to speed up the destruction of conventional weapons held by the Ukraine for defense.  Obama claimed in a press release, at the time, that this would guarantee “the safety of the Ukrainian people and people around the world, by keeping them out of conflicts around the world.”  In 2014, When the Ukrainian government asked President Obama for weapons, he sent military ration kits instead.  One British analyst said that “we went to a knife fight with a baguette”. Did President Obama deny lethal weapons aid to the Ukrainians because it would seem like a repudiation of his former stance?  Obama claimed he was giving Putin a face-saving way out; an off-ramp.  Putin didn’t take that exit.

    Donald Trump was criticized by Democrats for not immediately providing lethal aid to the Ukrainians when, in short order, he did provide arms.  The Democrats criticism seems a bit hypocritical in view of Obama’s actions.  Putin’s Ukrainian dreams were put on hold while Trump was President.

    Obama lite, Joe Biden, is now faced with a Russian invasion of the Ukraine.  Like Hitler’s claim for invading Czechoslovakia, Putin claims ethnic Russians are being mistreated.  Like Hitler’s rationale for the invasion of the Rhineland, Russia feels threatened. Biden’s response, like Obama’s, was to make a phone call.  Reminiscent of Munich, Biden also promised that no NATO nation would be invaded without consequences; Putin has certainly noticed that the Ukraine is not a NATO nation and, like Hitler, he has seen this as a green light to move forward. 

    Putin has now recognized as independent, two regions in eastern Ukraine that are partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists.  President Biden’s initial reaction was limited to issuing a narrow set of sanctions on these areas which would have virtually no effect, since there is almost no financial investment in these areas.  Putin has since sent in Russian troops.  Biden further clarified that a “minor incursion” would not trigger a response by the United States.

    And in the rest of the world:

    From 1933 to the start of World War 2 in 1939, Nazi Germany increasingly engaged in internal anti-semitism.  Prominent churchmen, intellectuals and politicians throughout the world said little about the persecution of the Jews, even though refugees brought increasingly appalling stories about it.

    China is now being accused of committing crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur minority in northwest China.  But the Genocide Games, otherwise known as the Winter Olympics, went on as planned in China.  And prominent athletes, especially pro basketball players and the NBA, itself, are very critical of the USA but silent on China.  Perhaps because China is viewed as a big financial investment opportunity?

    Oh yes, and China is sending warplanes into Taiwan’s air space on a regular basis.  The U.S. no longer has a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan, which Biden touts as “strategic ambiguity”.

    But not to worry, Biden and our military have been focused like a laser on Global Climate Change and Racism as our biggest defense threats, while the FBI is investigating domestic terrorists such as parents who protest at school board meetings.

    Does anyone in the world, especially our enemies, view Joe Biden as having the strength to lead the free world in standing up to these crises?  Remember, he has been characterized as forever being on the wrong side of history.   

    In his defense, it should be remembered that Biden did show strength in standing up to Ukraine when he was Vice President.  He single-handedly forced Ukraine to stop criminal investigations of his son, Hunter.  Great leaders are known for the priorities they set.

  • 02/22/2022 10:46 AM | Anonymous

    Miscellaneous Thoughts on President’s Day  by Thomas Jefferson, Founder of the Democrat Party

    • ·      No free man shall ever be disbarred the use of arms.

    • ·      The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

    • ·      The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

    • ·      I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them.

    • ·      The democracy will cease to exist when we take away from those that are willing to work and give to those who would not.

    • ·      To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes, the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.

    • ·      It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debt’s as it goes. A principle which if acted upon would save one-half the wars of the world.

    • ·      My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

    • ·      When we get piled on one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
  • 02/21/2022 5:53 PM | Anonymous

    Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act of 2021  by Bohdan Rabarsky

       On February 8, 2021 Senator Marco Rubio R-FL again re-introduced the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) and Violence Prevention Act of 2021 with 3 cosponsors, Democrat Jack Reed-RI, Republican Rick Scott-FL and Independent Angus King-ME. This is one of those bills that’s supposedly for the good of the people, because the citizens of America don’t know what’s good for themselves.  Give up some freedom; the government will decide our safety for us. As Ben Franklin said: Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”       

       There are those citizens, Women’s Rights Group, the local YWCA and County Sheriff’s Departments that feel this is a good idea. Authorities will tell us it not only protects vulnerable people, but prevents possible domestic abuse; law enforcement says the latter is the majority of their calls.

       But there is another small issue, often referred to as the United States Constitution!

       The Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act overlooks the Constitutional Rights of American citizens under the guise that such a law might prevent domestic violence. That would be like the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles denying you a driver’s license, because some day you might cause an accident. Make sense to you? That’s the logic the government uses in their ultimate wisdom of “it’s for the good of the people”.  What also might the government do for the “good of the people”.  Perhaps censor those that disagree with the government under the guise of misinformation?  Deny people their job if they don’t get vaccinated?  Seize bank accounts and even the pets of protestors?  Once you start down this slippery slope, your rights will be in freefall.

       The Constitutional Amendments that the Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act overlooks are Amendments 1, 2, 4 and, most significantly, 14.  The 14th Amendment, Section 1 states, “No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.

      Under ERO, you’re guilty until proven innocent, according to the Judge that issued such Protection Order. In many cases the probable cause is just an accusation in the midst of a heated domestic dispute.  Under that Protection Order, all your long guns and handguns will be confiscated - violating the 2nd Amendment. Most of the time the local Sheriff’s Department will enter your home without a warrant, only a judge’s court order - violating the 4th Amendment, which says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause.”

       This Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act of 2021 is already written into the New York State “Secure Ammunition & Firearm Enforcement Act” also known as The Safe Act of 2013. This new bill, introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, is SB 292.  But it was first introduced on March 22nd 2018 as SB 2607, then on January 3rd 2019 as SB 7. With any luck, without a corresponding sponsored bill in Congress, it will wither away on the vine and our Constitutional Rights will remain intact.  But we can’t trust to luck.  Let your Representative know that you oppose this unconstitutional denial of our rights.

  • 02/17/2022 10:28 AM | Anonymous

    One Day’s Newspaper  by Tom Reynolds

    On Wednesday, the news was full of so much…misinformation…that it begs some clarification.

    One story was about the families of victims in the Sandy Hook shootings settling a lawsuit against Remington for $73 million.  Misinformation, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which represents gun manufacturers, so it should know.

    The Remington brand was previously used by several separate corporations.  Remington Outdoor Company (ROC) was the corporation that produced the rifle in question.  The decision to settle was not made by ROC.  The settlement was reached with the insurance carriers that held policies with ROC.  The insurance companies make their decisions on a financial basis and not in the best interests of a former client or, in this case, not on a principle that needed defending.

    I say “former client” because ROC no longer exists. It effectively ceased to exist as a going concern in 2020 when its assets were sold.  The lawsuit, however, continued against the estate of ROC.  The estate consisted of ROC’s insurers and their insurance policies in effect at the time. Vista Outdoors, which is the current owner of the Remington brand, wasn’t a party to the lawsuit or involved in the decision to settle.   

    This settlement by insurance companies has no impact on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which remains the law of the land. PLCAA will continue to block baseless lawsuits that attempt to blame lawful industry companies for the criminal acts of third parties.  But this settlement will encourage misleading newspaper articles as well as anti-2A radicals who see a new pot-of-gold at the end of their rainbow.

    Another story was about a Missouri bill (that failed to be passed) that, according to the headline, would “make murder legal”. 

    The proposed law would have changed Missouri’s stand-your-ground laws for using deadly force and write “innocent until proven guilty” protections into such cases.  It would also have offered some civil immunity for someone who uses deadly force in self-defense. 

    Defending oneself is not murder.  Unfortunately, Soros’ funded prosecutors like St. Louis’ Kim Gardener have been prosecuting people like the McCloskeys for political purposes.  Our justice system must be independent of political factors.

    One Missouri Democrat Senator said the proposed law would let people like those who killed Ahmaud Arbery go free.  Not so, by a long shot.  But the truth and a deceptive headline never stopped the anti-2A fanatics.

    An Associated Press story was headlined: “Conspiracies fuel recent extremist killings”.  The entire report was about right wing extremists being responsible for domestic terrorism.  Are there no left wing violent extremists like…say…Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA?

    “Legal Insurrection”, a very reliable internet source, reported in September 2021 that in 2020 Antifa/BLM-Led Riots “…resulted in some 15 times more injured police officers, 30 times as many arrests, and estimated damages in dollar terms up to 1,300 times more costly than those of the Capitol riot.”

    How could the Associated Press have completely missed the information about left wing extremists on Legal Insurrection and also on multiple other sources?  Perhaps the authors only read information that agrees with their foregone conclusion that domestic terrorists are limited to the right wing?

    Another story covered taxpayer’s woes when dealing with an unresponsive I R S.  The article covered the many cases of an unresponsive I R S dealing with telephone inquiries and processing tax returns. 

    If a private business does not respond to its customers, that business usually goes out-of-business.  If a government agency (think about the term “Public Service”) doesn’t respond to its customers, that agency goes to Congress and is rewarded with a budget increase.  Of course, it’s a conspiracy theory to think that the IRS would intentionally slow down service to get a budget increase as a response to Joe Biden’s failed attempt to get them a massive budget increase.  And the Associated Press would never stoop to mentioning the possibility of a conspiracy theory, unless it accused right wingers of something.  Thank goodness Lois Lerner is gone and only upstanding public servants are left in the IRS.

    And last but not least, the Associated Press also covered the Ukraine Crisis.  It reported on Joe Biden’s statement that, “…defending democracy and liberty is never without cost…I will not pretend this is painless.”   The article went on to briefly single out energy as a specific cause of that pain.  The exact nature of the pain was left undefined but inflationary costs of energy and possible shortages of energy are the obvious conclusions. 

    How can we have energy shortages when we’re energy independent?  Oh wait, that was under President Trump.  Not mentioned was President Biden’s foreign policy strategy of again making America dependent upon foreign sources.  Even before the Ukraine Crisis, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that, under Biden, we would increase oil product imports by 1 million barrels per day.  After Canada, our top importers are such stable, pro-American companies as: Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.  Way to go, Joe!

  • 02/16/2022 11:04 AM | Anonymous

    Marijuana, Government Registries and Guns  by Tom Reynolds

    Recent headlines accuse the federal government of illegally having a registry of gun owners and some congressmen are accusing the CIA of illegally gathering information on US citizens.  Besides the usual reason that a gun registry is a prelude to gun confiscation, why should New York State gun owners be concerned if the federal government illegally compiles a gun registry?

    The New York State government - in its infinite wisdom but mostly to get more tax dollars - has legalized the use of marijuana.  

    To legally purchase a firearm in New York State from an FFL, you need to fill out BATFE Form 4473.  On it, question 11.e. asks: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana…”?  If you use marijuana, you are automatically an unlawful user because it’s use is still illegal under federal law and federal law supersedes state law.  If you answer yes to the question, you are disqualified from buying the firearm. 

    Question 11.e. is worded in the present tense, “Are you now” (at this moment when you are filling out the form) addicted to or a user of marijuana.    Since most gun owners are law abiding and, previously, the use of marijuana was illegal in NY State, this was not usually a problem. 

    But what about future use?  It gets complicated and gun grabbers love complicated.

    What if you had never used marijuana at the time you filled out the form but, since NY has given its blessing, after buying a gun you decide to start using marijuana on occasion?  Maybe even only once?

    Unlike voting, where it is “racism” to have to have to show a picture ID to vote, it’s not “racism” to have to show a picture ID to buy marijuana.  That ID will probably be a driver’s license.  Will that identifying information be turned over to the government?  It is not illegal to keep a registry of marijuana users.  If so, the government then knows that you used marijuana and, if it also keeps a gun owners registry, knows that you have a gun. (Theoretically, the government should only know if you have a pistol permit since it is forbidden by law from keeping a gun registry and we all know the D.C. and Albany Swamps always follow the law.)  In order to harass gun owners, will the nice people at BATFE cross reference and use that information as a basis to open an investigation into whether you lied when you filled out 4473?  Will those nice people interpret that 4473 also applies to future use and not just use at the time you bought your firearm?  If they interpret the law in the latter way, can you expect a visit from law enforcement to confiscate your firearms and even prosecute you?

    Just a conspiracy theory?  Would gun grabbers use a possible loophole or change a definition from present tense to future tense in order to further their anti-gun agenda?  Would the government violate existing law and keep a gun registry?  Does the left want to confiscate all guns from civilians?

  • 02/11/2022 9:52 PM | Anonymous

    Proposed Federal Legislation

    It should come as no surprise that the gun grabbers in D.C. and Albany never stop trying to take away our rights guaranteed under the 2nd Amendment. 

    SCOPE found 37 major bills that would affect gun rights that are currently before Congress.  Those bills are listed on the attachment at the bottom of this email.

    You can also find them on SCOPE’s web site.  Just click on link below:

    Federal Legislation | S.C.O.P.E. - Shooters Committee On Political Education -

    Dedicated to preserving the 2nd amendment rights for the residents of NYS

    SCOPE opposes over two thirds of those bills.  Those two-thirds take many different approaches to neutering the 2nd Amendment but, have no doubt, that is their goal. 

    SCOPE would encourage you to take a few minutes to review those bills and, if you are so inclined, send a message (mail or Email) to your congressperson expressing your opposition or support. (Some of hose bills are actually positive).  Even though they are firmly against the 2nd Amendment, you might also consider sending something to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to let them know that we are watching in ever increasing numbers.

    And spread the word.  Pass on the web site link to your gun owning friends.

    FEDERAL Proposed Laws 2022.pdf

    DONATE HERE




A 2nd Amendment Defense Organization, defending the rights of New York State gun owners to keep and bear arms!

PO Box 165
East Aurora, NY 14052

SCOPE is a 501(c)4 non-profit organization.

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