Monday, November 29, 2021

Assorted Calibers Podcast Ep 178: The Return of the Queen

               

In This Episode

Erin's back, and she brings good news!

  • Erin and Weer’d discuss the trials and verdicts of Kyle Rittenhouse, Ahmaud Arbery, and Andrew Coffee IV.
  • Steve reflects on the Rust homicide by comparing it with his own experience on the set of Strain 100, another movie with gunplay.




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Show Notes

Monday, November 22, 2021

Clarification. It's a Beautiful Thing.

I've received an immense amount of pushback from some people regarding the Operation Blazing Sword - Pink Pistols press release on the Rittenhouse verdict. This is disappointing, as I took great pains to make the statement as neutral as possible regarding Rittenhouse himself and focus solely on the gun rights aspect of the case. 

I stand by my assertions that if Rittenhouse had been convicted, ADA Binger's position of "You were armed, therefore you deserve violence upon your person" may well have taken root and destroyed what we have left of the right to keep and bear arms. Pink Pistols cannot perform its function if using a weapon for self-defense automatically negates your right to self-defense, and it is for that reason we agree with the court. 

Once the argument of "You aren't allowed to defend yourself" has been accepted by the courts, it doesn't matter your political affiliation, race, sex, religion, disability, or anything else; that charge will be used against you. 

You are either for self defense or you are not. There is no grey area.

On a related note, there are an astonishing number of people who cannot wrap their heads around the concept that there can be an overlap between behavior that is "Perfectly legal/Well within your rights" and behavior that is "Ill-advised/Self-endangering."

It is perfectly legal for me to dress up in a skimpy bikini with $100 bills stuffed into it and totter down the sidewalks of a rough neighborhood in stiletto heels after midnight. I have every right to do that. However, this also puts me in significant danger of assault, theft, robbery, etc.

Now, if I am assaulted/robbed/etc, it's the fault of the criminals. It's not my fault, because a crime needs a criminal to commit it: no criminal, no crime. It's not my fault because even if I'm not there, the criminal may decide to prey upon someone else. But doing such a thing proved to be ill-advised and self-endangering, because I increased my chances of becoming a victim happening by making myself an easy, enticing target. 

Similarly, Kyle Rittenhouse being in Kenosha, openly carrying a rifle while trying to protect businesses and stop fires and offer medical treatment, was perfectly legal. He had every right to be there doing those things. (If you doubt that, look at what the court ruled.) It was also ill-advised of him to do so, and it put him in significant danger. He will be forever scarred by this, and the repercussions will follow him all the days of his life. 

And it wasn't his fault, because we have footage showing he was attacked first every time. However, he made himself a tempting target, because he looked like a vulnerable child with a valuable gun. If he hadn't been there, then other crimes would have happened; they just wouldn't have happened to him.

It astounds me that there are people who can't grasp this concept that just because something is ill-advised doesn't automatically make it illegal. If everything dangerous was made illegal, we would have no police, no firefighters, and no military. 

Your head is there for more than just decoration. Please use it. 

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Press Release: the Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict

    

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (20 November, 2021):

On Friday, 19 November 2021, the jury of the Kyle Rittenhouse self-defense case in Kenosha, Wisconsin returned a verdict of Not Guilty on all counts.

This case was more than a simple matter of “Was it legitimate self-defense or was it murder?” On trial beside Mr. Rittenhouse was the right of all citizens in the United States to lawfully carry firearms for the purpose of self-defense. The prosecution built a case which claimed that carrying a weapon constituted an automatic provocation of whatever violence was perpetrated upon Mr. Rittenhouse; had he been convicted, then those of us who lawfully carry weapons for protection could one day find ourselves on trial with the prosecution claiming that being armed somehow negates our right to self-defense. It is gratifying that the jury saw the implied indictment and removed that prosecutorial theory from any consideration.

It is the mission of Operation Blazing Sword - Pink Pistols to promote lawful self-defense with legally owned and carried firearms, and such a miscarriage of justice would have resulted in yet more violations of the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. Our position is that gun rights are queer rights because guns in the hands of queer people protect queer lives, and therefore any law which seeks to prevent us from carrying a gun for self-defense is anti-queer and a threat to our lives.

Operation Blazing Sword - Pink Pistols strongly encourages anyone who wishes to exercise their right to keep and bear arms to seek out as much firearm education and training as they can manage, for alongside that right comes the responsibility to use that right correctly and within the law, including the legal requirements for self-defense. To that end, Operation Blazing Sword maintains a database of over 1400 queer-friendly firearm volunteer educators in every state of the USA.

Operation Blazing Sword, Inc. is a grass-roots 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping queer people become responsible firearm owners through volunteer education. www.blazingsword.org

Pink Pistols, a division of Operation Blazing Sword, is dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the gender and sexual minority community. www.pinkpistols.org

 

Media Contact:   
Erin Palette
386-401-0386

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