Having A Second Amendment Right To Carry Doesn't Mean You Should

Recently, while en route to Gallup, New Mexico for our weekly Saturday morning group breakfast, two friends and I got to talking about the Alex Pretti killing by ICE in Minneapolis.

We all agreed that while we may have the right to bear arms, even at protests, under the Second Amendment, it is not a good idea to do so. This is especially so if law enforcement will be present. 

The San Luis Obispo Tribune came to that same conclusion in an opinion piece they posted.

They start it with:

In recent weeks, the conversation around protests and immigration enforcement has taken a sharp turn.

Some voices on the left are no longer just criticizing ICE or calling for policy changes. They are openly asking why “Second Amendment people” aren’t showing up at protests and, by implication, why they aren’t armed. That framing turns a constitutional right into a political challenge and ignores how these situations actually play out in the real world.

I believe in the Second Amendment, and I will defend it without hesitation. The right to keep and bear arms isn’t a slogan you pull out when it’s convenient. It’s a serious constitutional protection that comes with responsibility and judgment. Having the right doesn’t mean you should use it in every situation. Defending that right doesn’t mean pretending every use of it makes sense or leads to a good outcome.

Read more at: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article314692906.html#storylink=cpy

Liberals Taking More Interest In Gun Training

"Politics makes strange bedfellows," it has been said over the years.

Right now, another example of strange bedfellows is that liberals are now taking firearms training in higher numbers, according to gun trainers.

Recent ICE incidents have dawned on liberals that the Second Amendment civil right belongs to them too. 

NBC News reported:

The federal government’s recent messaging around gun holders has created a deluge of unlikely Second Amendment advocates — including those previously opposed to or disinterested in gun ownership.

Gun groups across the country are seeing skyrocketing requests for firearm training from women, people of color and liberals, according to national gun coalitions and local trainers who spoke with NBC News in recent weeks.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has shot 13 people during immigration enforcement operations since September. But January’s high-profile killings of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both U.S. citizens, have stoked renewed fears nationwide about federal violations of constitutional rights.

 To read more, go here.

2nd Amendment Is Meaningless If the Government Can Kill You For Exercising It

The fatal shooting of Minneapolis protestor Alex Pretti by ICE has divided (to a large degree) Second Amendment rights groups and the DOJ/ICE/Trump Administration. 

The shooting of Pretti seems at first glance to be unjustified as videos of the shooting indicate he did not make any threatening moves with his pistol. Videos show that he was taken to the ground, had his pistol removed from his person and then was shot to death. The item in his right hand in the above video was a phone.

Final judgement of the incident is pending an investigation that is now underway.

The Cato Institute has posted an article on the shooting. 

It starts off with:

What a difference four days can make. Last Tuesday, a top DOJ lawyer argued in the Supreme Court that people have a right to carry guns in public. By Saturday, another DOJ official warned: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” The government went from championing gun rights to defending ICE agents’ fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Only restraints on the use of force can stop officials from turning the Second Amendment into an excuse to kill civilians.

Facts are still emerging about the Minneapolis shooting of Mr. Pretti by immigration agents, but videos show that they took him to the ground and appear to have removed a pistol from his waistband, then shot him to death. Mr. Pretti had a gun-carry permit.

Government officials rushed to defend the shooting. High-ranking DOJ prosecutor Bill Essayli wrote, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” FBI Director Kash Patel declared, “You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.”

Second Amendment advocates responded quickly. The NRA condemned Mr. Essayli for “making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.” Gun Owners of America demanded respect for “Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting.” Former NRA representative Dana Loesch asked Mr. Essayli, “Do you believe that mere legal possession within the vicinity of [an officer]…merits use of force as a response?” Congressman Thomas Massie (R‑KY) wrote, “Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence.”

To read the full article, go here.