VENICE, Fla. – Two people were injured in a house explosion in Venice Thursday afternoon, according to Sarasota County Fire Rescue. It happened at 120 Sunset Beach Drive in Venice. Firefighters say two people were refilling (reloading) ammunition with gunpowder in a garage next to a home when the explosion occurred.
FROSTPROOF | Three people were injured in an explosion Friday at the Universal Shooting Academy near Frostproof. According to reports from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which assisted the State Fire Marshall in responding to the accident, the explosion at the facility at 4330 County Road 630 E occurred at 10:43 a.m. Reports said employees Cody Hutto, Tyler Rodgers and Kelley Fazzini were depriming ammunition in the academy’s ammo room when for a reason still unknown, a primer ignited and caused an explosion in the building. Hutto, 21, was struck by a piece of shrapnel to his right calf causing a laceration and by multiple pieces of small shrapnel, one of which appeared to have struck him in or near his right eye, officials said. He was flown to Lakeland Regional Medical Center where he was in stable with no serious injuries. Rodgers, 18, was also struck with small pieces of shrapnel on his right arm and right leg. Both he and Fazzinni, 30, experienced a loud ringing in their ears as a result of the explosion. Neither party had serious injuries. Fazzini drove himself and Rodgers to Florida Hospital in Sebring. The shooting academy is a venue for firearms competition and training. It offers military, law enforcement, and competition training at the 25-acre facility, according to its website.
The McCloskeys contend the protest was hardly peaceful.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted the St. Louis couple who displayed guns while hundreds of racial injustice protesters marched on their private street.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey appeared in court Tuesday morning. After the hearing, Mark McCloskey spoke to media and expressed their frustration over the news that the trespassers involved in their case were not charged.
The McCloskeys contend the protest was hardly peaceful. They say protesters came onto the private street after knocking over an iron gate and ignoring a “No Trespassing” sign, and said they felt threatened.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who waved guns at protesters, indicted on weapons, tampering charges
This article defends the position that the right of armed self-defense remains important today, in particular in light of the civil unrest of the Summer of 2020. The article proceeds in three parts. The first part will summarize arguments from various prominent commentators that the right to self-defense with firearms is anachronistic in the contemporary United States. These critics argue that Americans can and should rely solely on their local professional police force to protect them.
The second part of the article will focus on how this argument has been undermined by recent events. This part documents in great detail the failures of law enforcement in reaction to looting, rioting, and other forms of illegal behavior that threatened the well-being of the public. First, many police departments received implicit or explicit orders from their political supervisors to “stand down.” Second, in many instances, the police themselves were unwilling or unable to combat lawless behavior. If police consistently fail to enforce law and order, the argument against the individual right to bear arms for self-defense purposes significantly weakens.
Finally, the last part of the article will discuss examples of individuals and groups of citizens using firearms in self-defense during the recent unrest in the absence of effective law enforcement. Some of these episodes are open to criticism, whether on the grounds that one believes that it’s never worth using or even threatening to use deadly force to defend property, or because the line between justified self-defense and unjustified vigilantism is not always a clear one. Nevertheless, if law enforcement is unwilling or unable to preserve basic law and order, it’s both inevitable that citizens will try to fill the breach, and desirable that law-abiding individuals should be given the means to do so.
DAVID BERNSTEIN is the University Professor and the Executive Director of the Liberty & Law Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University.
August 2020 saw more gun sales than any other August on record as Americans continue to rush to gun stores at a record pace.
The Washington Free Beacon
Stephen Gutowski – SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
August 2020 saw more gun sales than any other August on record as Americans continue to rush to gun stores at a record pace.
A Washington Free Beacon analysis of FBI data released on Tuesday found a 57 percent increase in sales compared to August 2019. There were at least 1.6 million sales in August 2020. Only two previous Augusts had broken a million sales, though limitations in FBI reporting means that not every gun sale is captured in the data. August represents the sixth month in a row to set a new sales record with March seeing the most gun sales of any month in the history of the FBI background check system.
Sales thus far in 2020 have soared past previous years. Sales through the first eight months of the year are up 43 percent over the previous record.
“In 15 years of teaching firearm safety, I have never seen a higher level of interest in guns,” Rick Ector, a Detroit-based firearms instructor, told the Washington Free Beacon. “I do not need to advertise, and my phone is constantly ringing.”
A June report from the gun industry’s trade group indicated dealers believed 40 percent of buyers since March have been first-time owners. The group pegged the total number of new owners at just under five million. If the estimated percentage of new owners holds for August, that would mean at least 640,000 Americans bought a gun for the first time in August. The surge in firearm owners could have a significant impact on gun politics and American elections for years to come.
Ector said the sales are driven by concerns over the pandemic, the economic downturn, and recent rioting in places like Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon. He expects the record sales to keep up through the end of the year, pointing to Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s strict new gun-control policies and his lead in national polling.
“Any single issue by itself would lead to an increase of people buying guns,” he said. “We have all four factors ‘in play’ and the run on guns is no surprise to me.”
The number of checks run through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System is not a one-to-one representation of total gun sales, but is widely considered the best gauge because the checks are required on all sales done through licensed dealers. The Free Beacon removed checks from the count that were coded for gun-carry permits or other non-gun sales to reach the final sales numbers.
Thursday, August 6th, NY Attorney General Letitia James held a press conference announcing that she was taking down “dissolving” the NRA.” The anti-gun media has rushed to spread her message.
Please read the following.
1.) NRA President Carolyn Meadows’ statement.
“This was a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend,” says NRA President Carolyn Meadows. “You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle. It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda. This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta. Our members won’t be intimidated or bullied in their defense of political and constitutional freedom.”
Meadows added, “As evidenced by the lawsuit filed by the NRA today against the NYAG, we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail.”
2.) NRA’s Lawsuit FiIed Thursday, August 6, 2020 CLICK HERE:
Do not let this action financially cripple the NRA. The NRA is targeted because it is the most effective organization defending the 2nd Amendment.
Renew or increase your NRA membership today!
See special ‘Distinguished Life Member‘ offer below for those 65 years of age and older.
If you do not want the monthly magazine, we can sign you up for as little as $10 for a one year NRA membership.
One Year $10 Official NRA Membership
This $10 membership does not include monthly publication
$10.00
One Year Regular Official NRA Membership
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly magazine.
Class date: Sunday, August 15, 2021 1:00 PM
Location: Gander Outdoors, Bartow, Florida
7400 SR 60, East (Rifle Range Road & SR 60)
$45.00
3 Year Official NRA Membership
3 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
$100.00
5 year official NRA membership.
5 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication
$150.00
Official NRA Lifetime Distinguished Membership
Must be 65 years of age or older. One time payment
Official NRA Distinguished Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
$600.00
Official NRA Lifetime Membership
Official NRA Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
Letitia Ann “Tish” James is an American lawyer, activist, and politician. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and is the Attorney General of New York having won the 2018 election to succeed appointed attorney general Barbara Underwood.
The attorney general of New York took action Thursday to dissolve the National Rifle Association following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is “fraught with fraud and abuse.”
Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.
The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.
Seeking to dissolve the NRA is the most aggressive sanction James could have sought against the not-for-profit organization, which James has jurisdiction over because it is registered in New York. James has a wide range of authorities relating to nonprofits in the state, including the authority to force organizations to cease operations or dissolve. The NRA is all but certain to contest it.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
Secret Recording Reveals NRA’s Legal Troubles Have Cost The Organization $100 Million
The lawsuit seeks to dissolve the NRA in its entirety and asks the court to order LaPierre and other current and former executives to pay back unlawful profits. It also seeks to remove LaPierre and Frazer from the organization’s leadership and prevent the four named individuals from ever serving again on the board of a charity in New York.
The New York attorney general did not allege that NRA general counsel John Frazer committed financial misconduct, but said that he failed to comply with board governance procedures, failed to ensure the NRA was in compliance with whistleblower laws and repeatedly certified false or misleading annual statements by the NRA.
The turmoil at the NRA also could have political ramifications ahead of the 2020 elections. The NRA spent tens of millions of dollars in 2016 to support then-candidate Donald Trump — a role it appears it will be unlikely to be able to repeat given its current financial condition.
Do not let this action financially cripple the NRA. The NRA is targeted because it is the most effective organization defending our 2nd Amendment right.
Renew or increase your NRA membership today!
See special ‘Distinguished Life Member‘ offer below for those 65 years of age and older.
If you do not want the monthly magazine, we can sign you up for as little as $10 for a one year NRA membership.
One Year $10 Official NRA Membership
This $10 membership does not include monthly publication
$10.00
One Year Regular Official NRA Membership
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly magazine.
Class date: Sunday, August 15, 2021 1:00 PM
Location: Gander Outdoors, Bartow, Florida
7400 SR 60, East (Rifle Range Road & SR 60)
$45.00
3 Year Official NRA Membership
3 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
$100.00
5 year official NRA membership.
5 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication
$150.00
Official NRA Lifetime Distinguished Membership
Must be 65 years of age or older. One time payment
Official NRA Distinguished Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
$600.00
Official NRA Lifetime Membership
Official NRA Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
The lawsuit seeks to dissolve the NRA in its entirety.
Letitia Ann “Tish” James is an American lawyer, activist, and politician. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and is the Attorney General of New York having won the 2018 election to succeed appointed attorney general Barbara Underwood.
The attorney general of New York took action Thursday to dissolve the National Rifle Association following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is “fraught with fraud and abuse.”
Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.
The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.
Seeking to dissolve the NRA is the most aggressive sanction James could have sought against the not-for-profit organization, which James has jurisdiction over because it is registered in New York. James has a wide range of authorities relating to nonprofits in the state, including the authority to force organizations to cease operations or dissolve. The NRA is all but certain to contest it.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
Secret Recording Reveals NRA’s Legal Troubles Have Cost The Organization $100 Million
The lawsuit seeks to dissolve the NRA in its entirety and asks the court to order LaPierre and other current and former executives to pay back unlawful profits. It also seeks to remove LaPierre and Frazer from the organization’s leadership and prevent the four named individuals from ever serving again on the board of a charity in New York.
The New York attorney general did not allege that NRA general counsel John Frazer committed financial misconduct, but said that he failed to comply with board governance procedures, failed to ensure the NRA was in compliance with whistleblower laws and repeatedly certified false or misleading annual statements by the NRA.
The turmoil at the NRA also could have political ramifications ahead of the 2020 elections. The NRA spent tens of millions of dollars in 2016 to support then-candidate Donald Trump — a role it appears it will be unlikely to be able to repeat given its current financial condition.
Do not let this action financially cripple the NRA. The NRA is targeted because it is the most effective organization defending our 2nd Amendment right.
Renew or increase your NRA membership today!
See special ‘Distinguished Life Member‘ offer below for those 65 years of age and older.
If you do not want the monthly magazine, we can sign you up for as little as $10 for a one year NRA membership.
One Year $10 Official NRA Membership
This $10 membership does not include monthly publication
$10.00
One Year Regular Official NRA Membership
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly magazine.
Class date: Sunday, August 15, 2021 1:00 PM
Location: Gander Outdoors, Bartow, Florida
7400 SR 60, East (Rifle Range Road & SR 60)
$45.00
3 Year Official NRA Membership
3 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
$100.00
5 year official NRA membership.
5 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication
$150.00
Official NRA Lifetime Distinguished Membership
Must be 65 years of age or older. One time payment
Official NRA Distinguished Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
$600.00
Official NRA Lifetime Membership
Official NRA Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
Austin Tong was charged with a hate crime by Fordham University for simply posting a photo of his new AR rifle..
This is NRA member Austin Tong. He was charged with a hate crime by his school, Fordham University, for simply posting a photo of his new AR-15 he bought for home defense. The University accused him of owning an “automatic weapon” and they’re doing everything they can to silence his political views, but this NRA member is not backing down. This is his message.
The NRA is America’s preeminent gun rights organization, comprised of millions of patriotic, law-abiding, freedom-loving citizens. Together, we defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans, and work to protect and preserve our hunting and shooting traditions for future generations. NRA also offers the best firearms education programs in the country and trains millions of Americans each year to be safe and responsible gun owners.
See special ‘Distinguished Life Member‘ offer below for those 65 years of age and older.
If you do not want the monthly magazine, we can sign you up for as little as $10 for a one year NRA membership.
One Year $10 Official NRA Membership
This $10 membership does not include monthly publication
$10.00
One Year Regular Official NRA Membership
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
1 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly magazine.
Class date: Sunday, August 15, 2021 1:00 PM
Location: Gander Outdoors, Bartow, Florida
7400 SR 60, East (Rifle Range Road & SR 60)
$45.00
3 Year Official NRA Membership
3 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication.
$100.00
5 year official NRA membership.
5 year official NRA membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication
$150.00
Official NRA Lifetime Distinguished Membership
Must be 65 years of age or older. One time payment
Official NRA Distinguished Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
$600.00
Official NRA Lifetime Membership
Official NRA Lifetime Membership. Includes official NRA monthly publication and all other membership benefits,
Mayor Kimberly Gardner: I am alarmed at the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protesters were met by guns and a violent assault,” “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
Missouri couple who defended home have rifle seized during police search
Albert Watkins, the McCloskeys’ attorney, told Fox News that under Missouri’s Castle Doctrine, a person has “the absolute unmitigated right to protect his or her castle or family while on their property.” He said the protesters were trespassing, “damaging and destroying private property and acting in a threatening and hostile fashion.”
“If Kimberly Gardner wants to press charges against two attorneys who are protecting their home and their family and themselves on their own property, I will tell you that it will be nothing short of the proverbial clusterf— with the ensuing assertions that she’s doing this for political purposes,” Watkins said.
“And I will tell you that as a person, I don’t believe that to be what she is doing,” Watkins added. “I just believe she probably has a difficult time reading the English language.”
