Second Amendment Bits And Pieces - SHOTs On Goal Edition

It’s been a crazy 2022 so far, and we’re not even out of January yet. A weak-sauce variant of the Wuhan virus, a pissing contest in Ukraine we really have no business getting involved in, and of course, the continuing and relentless assault on our right to keep and bear arms from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Is it December yet? Because I like Christmas. I usually get some cool-ass Second Amendment Radical stuff.

But it’s not all doom and gloom - 2021 had some impressive wins for us, which will continue on into 2022…

NICS Inquiries Show Sustained Support For 2A

2020 was a banner year for gun sales. On and off the books, records were smashed. Between people picking up their first firearm, and existing owners beefing up their inventory, it seemed everyone was getting in on this thing of ours. The big tent approach works, and continued on into 2021, with a strong showing from groups not normally associated by the mainstream media with the Second Amendment.

For a very good reason, it’s hard to truly quantify the amount of guns purchased (or produced at home) in the US, but if one must have data, the amount of NICS (background check) <a href=”https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2022/01/nics-background-checks-2021/"target="_blank">inquiries numbered at 18,515,188 for 2021. While 2020 had 21,083,643 inquiries, the 2021 figure is definitely indicative of a strong support for the Second Amendment.

NICS Inquiries Are Not 1-to-1 Sales Numbers

As a side note, inquiries to the federal National Instant Check System are not solely for firearms purchases. While NICS was established to provide a (rather redundant and unnecessary) background check system for firearms purchases, it also handles inquiries for concealed carry permit applications and renewals, as well as some other mundane firearms-related checks. But, it’s a great barometer for firearms sales nonetheless.

The Market Cooled Off A Tiny Bit In 2021

To be sure, 2021’s numbers didn’t equal the panic of 2020. Between the electoral madness, the surge in the Wuhan flu, and the riots in major cities nationwide, 2020’s firearms sales were purely driven by people realizing, finally, that the government doesn’t care about them. 2021, despite being regarded as a “hangover” of 2020, saw continued record sales, but the simple fact is that a lot of people felt they were squared away in the firearms department, leaving only those getting the hint later.

The Market Expanded Far Beyond Old Fat White Guys

Stereotypically, the average gun owner (to those outside the scene) is depicted as the ‘old fat white guy’. However, 2021 saw that narrative take a huge blow, with the biggest growth demographics for firearms ownership being amongst women, black folk, and a strong showing in the LGBTQ cohort. Yes, being a Second Amendment Radical knows no color, gender, or orientation - but it’s taken a minute for people outside of the traditional buyers to realize that the right to keep and bear arms is for them, too. While concrete demographic data is (for a good reason!) hard to come by, the real-world evidence stands - free people around the nation are arming up - as it should be. We welcome all who want to be Second Amendment Radicals and armed citizens

SHOT Was All In

If you’re just tuning into this blog, you might be surprised that I’ve never been to SHOT in Las Vegas. Every January (excepting 2021 for obvious reasons), the National Shooting Sports Foundation puts on the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show aka SHOT Show. Founded in 1979, it’s the premiere exhibition of firearms and firearms-related accessories in the nation, and by extension the world. As a trade show, it’s technically restricted to those “in the industry” and the associated firearms media. One has to apply to attend. FFL owners and employees usually get rubberstamped entry, since they would be the primary audience for the products. Media credentials are hit-or-miss, usually with only larger influencers, bloggers, and publications being granted access. Smaller influencers and publications often surf in under a friendly FFL, though.

That being said, I have yet to go to SHOT. Scheduling conflicts and goings-on, etc - I’ve just never made it out there. However, even from industry veterans, I’ve been told that it’s kind of just a waste of time for a blogger, since the vendors tend to focus (rightfully so) more on people apt to place orders for their wares. Plus, it was reported that it was becoming a cluster, due to the crush of “influencers” overwhelming the event.

Due to COVID concerns, of course, the 2021 SHOT was canceled. NSSF promised a 2022 showing, and despite the (watered-down) COVID Omicron “surge”, the show went on. Surely, a few major players such as SIG pulled out, but to borrow the tagline of the show, others were “all in”.

Attendance was down. Some attendees cited COVID concerns, whereas others didn’t want to deal with the frustrations and indignity of commercial air travel, doubly magnified by the ongoing meddling of the government in the air transport industry.

However, those who did attend experienced a treat of sorts. With the crowds thin and reduced to dedicated industry pros and associated people, the experience was much more fulfilling and several attendees cited that they were able to get “real work done”, and not having to fight through crowds of hangers-ons and people with no specific purpose at the event. I personally experienced a major case of FOMO, especially with some notable trends I noticed from afar, like some more 5.7x28mm guns, including the 5.7 Rock from Palmetto State Armory and a fantastic binary trigger for the GLOCK 17 from Franklin Armory.

The Administrative State Hates You Because You Are Armed

The expansion of the firearms market has certain people more than a little scared. The bureaucracy, including the standard array of useless three-letter agencies and equally worthless people, doesn’t like an armed citizenry. With the old fat white guy narrative becoming harder and harder to promote, even with an ever-compliant media and entertainment industry, the regime is on the move, utilizing all the scams and dirty tricks in the book, including the classic “define an apple as an orange” tactic I’ve discussed in earlier blog posts. The latest target is the fast-reset trigger developed by Rare Breed Firearms.

The Bureaucracy Has It In For Gun Owners

The definition of a machine gun is pretty well-established in federal law. It’s a weapon that fires multiple successive rounds with a single press of the trigger. However, over the years, without legislation being passed, the ATF has repeatedly jumped through hoops, jumped over tigers, attempted to tame elephants, and done triple axels to make the term “machine gun” encompass whatever chapped their ass that week. From paper clips, to auto sears, to the infamous Trump-promoted bump stock debacle, anything that remotely enables a shooter to fire more rapidly than “normal” has fallen in their crosshairs. The latest target is the Forced Reset Trigger (FRT-15) by Rare Breed Firearms. In a nutshell, the FRT-15 has a mechanism which forces a quick reset of the trigger, allowing for super-fast follow up shots even by novice shooters. To the untrained eye and ear, it sounds like full-auto but it really isn’t. The NFA and other laws define a machine gun on how it accomplishes rapid fire, not the speed which constitutes rapid fire. Even if one presses a trigger once on a gun, and two rounds are shot per minute, it’s a machine gun. If one shoots 60 rounds a minute manually depressing the trigger once a second, it’s still a semi-auto gun.

Now, specifically for Rare Breed’s FRTs, it appears that raids and enforcement actions are taking place.

As reported by Mrgunsngear, the ATF has issued marching orders to it’s Industry Operations Investigators (the bureaucrats who check up on FFLs) and also it’s armed agents. As of January 26th, 2022, FFLs (and anyone else - you don’t need an FFL to sell a trigger) who have FRTs in their inventory will be requested to surrender their FRTs. If they deny the ATF request, force will be used to sieze the items in question. This also includes any sales data - so yes, if you purchased an FRT, it’s likely you will receive a nasty note in the mail and and a visit from a bureaucrat.

More chillingly, the ATF letter refers to those who possess the FRTs to be “defendants”, which implies that NFA violation charges may be drawn up. Typos aside, the deadline for this mission appears to be October 2022.

While yes, the government really gets bent out of shape about rapid fire devices, the real mission here is a lot more sinister. By operating in a grey area of executive orders, the executive branch of the regime wants to put a chilling effect on the red hot firearms market.

They lost control of the “only white supremacists have guns” narrative, so now they’re working on making the whole concept to be shrouded in a layer of fear. If word spreads about agents from a notorious bureaucratic establishment going around hassling gun owners based on amorphous definitions of normally-concrete words, people will be hesitant to purchase a weapon out of fear of reprisals and prosecution. Today it’s FRTs, tomorrow it’s triggers with a “too light” pull weight that get “reclassified”.

Surely, as we’ve noted in the past, there’s only so many gun-toting bureaucrats and many more of us Second Amendment Radicals, but the simple fact is that anyone strung up on an NFA violation will be made an example of. You could have an FRT, and escape notice 99 out of 100 times. But that 100th time, when they do notice you - could ruin your life. You don’t even have to be found guilty of anything. Merely being “taken in” can cost tens of thousands of dollars to straighten out - even if you surrender your possession immediately.

It’s a sign of a demented and desperate bureaucracy - and it’s nothing new, sadly. One thing President Trump did was lay bare the machinations within the government as a whole, ultimately revealing that the President has little control over the government, even his own executive branch. Current President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr, while agreeing with the broad strokes of his executive, has even less control.

While we’re poised for some advances in the face of adversity this year, the reactions from the administrative state should put us on alert.

FYI - The Firearms Policy Coalition has an excellent guide as to the proper procedures if you are in fact contacted by the government about possessing an FRT or similar device that was legally purchased.

Asshole Of The Month - Sam Liccardo

The scheming and machinations of the administrative regime know no bounds. The laboratory of bureaucratic bullying is of course, California. The state most of the nation loves to hate, California leads the way in torturing it’s residents, unless they are regime stooge celebrities, politically-acceptable business titans, or illegal immigrants. It’s a pretty state marred by a horrible government and a reprehensible “elite”. So of course, they loath the thought of armed citizens. Whether it was Reagan banning open carry statewide in 1968 because he was spooked of armed black folk peacefully assembling in government buildings, or Gavin Newsom invoking edicts of further registration and taxation of weapons, the Golden State is pyrite as far as gun owners are concerned.

The latest bureaucratic attack though, has originated in San Jose, courtesy of the pocket regime of Asshole Of The Month, Mayor Sam Liccardo.

In a wasteland of progressive ideology, San Jose stands out. Nestled in Silicon Valley, the vibe is what you would expect - well-off tech bros and sisters, and otherwise, with plenty of junkies, homeless, and so on littering the outskirts. After a notorious shooting incident last year, instead of looking to see what motivated the murderer, Liccardo and his gang on the city council went for the media-friendly target: gun owners.

As we know, California isn’t a state that’s friendly to gun owners. Legal limits on the capacity of firearm magazines, registrations, bans on the cosmetic features of firearms, and plenty of fees and taxes on the right - it’s a dream for disarmanauts and rapists alike. But I repeat myself.

As an erstwhile prince of that demographic, Liccardo had to get inventive. Since the onerous laws of the regime did nothing to stop a notorious shooting incident in his city, he had to do something to placate the base, and their running-dog lackeys in the mass media. There’s an election soon for him, after all.

After what was probably a stellar session of drug use and alcohol consumption, Liccardo and his cronies came up with an absolutely stunning proposition - gun owners would be required to carry liability insurance, and pay a $25+ fee to a yet-to-be-established gun control grift. And this past January 25th, the measures were passed - even though Liccardo casually admitted that it won’t do much to stop criminal acts.

In essence, it becomes yet another hurdle to the exercise of the Second Amendment in California. Already, a Californian wishing to be compliant with the regime’s ever-changing byzantine labyrinth of laws has to pay significant fees to stay on the good side of the bureaucracy. On top of the cost of the weapon, the purchaser must pay sales tax, processing fees, and licensing fees. Nevermind if he or she even wants to attempt to legally carry their weapon outside of the home. Oh, and if they want to feed the gun? There’s ammo background checks in California as well.

Lawful gun ownership imposes a huge financial burden on those who wish to avail themselves of it in California. Those who need it most are often the least fortunate of society, living in bad neighborhoods on a fixed income. A $400 9mm pistol is a huge investment for them, and then they are slapped with hundreds of dollars in fees. And now Liccardo and his golems want to layer in even more nonsense on top of that?

Nevermind the fact that insurance companies are usually very risk-averse. While yes, concealed carry insurance is a thing, I have a feeling that companies like Right To Bear Insurance won’t meet the “standard” for San Jose’s scheme.

The idea promoted here is simple and nefarious, and is as old as time. Financial barriers to the lawful exercise of the right to keep and bear arms are nothing but racially and class-motivated. Ironically, some of the first modern gun control laws were specifically targeted to disarm people with a similar ancestry to Sam Liccardo.

Not only is Liccardo a running-dog lackey for the administrative state and gun control movement, he is an embarrassment to his ancestors. And for that, Sam Liccardo - you are the January 2022 Asshole Of The Month. By placing financial and administrative barriers on the exercise of the Second Amendment, you are nothing but the lowest of the low.

Vaffanculo Liccardo, vaffanculo.

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