If you are like the thousands of gun-owners who own a pistol with a stabilizing brace, I would recommend spending some time reading the articles below.  The ATF has issued a final ruling which basically declares pistols with stabilizing braces as Short Barreled Rifles (SBRs).  They aren't illegal but are highly-regulated by the NFA and require registration with the ATF.

I don't own any guns configured like this but I'm against the ATF changing the definition of guns whenever they want.  It is a dangerous precedent for the ATF passes a new ruling and suddenly thousands or millions of people who legally purchased guns are forced to register, turn-in or destroy their guns with no compensation.  

The ATF made a similar ruling with bump stocks during the Trump administration and I believe the Supreme Court recently disallowed  that rule.  It sounds to me like this new ruling will be challenged in court too but that will take years and gun owners may be stuck in-limbo.

ATF Posts Final Rule
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Everything is an SBR

Brace Owners have 120 days to Register

Five Reasons Not to Register your Stabilizing Brace

The Pistol Brace Rule is a TRAP
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Russia's strict gun-control policies didn't prevent an awful tragedy in Izhevsk last week where 15 were killed and 24 wounded in a school shooting.  The shooting took place at a school with first through eleventh grades.  11 of those killed and 22 of those injured were children.  The killer was a 34 year-old past student and he killed himself when his rampage was over.

According to the article, Russia has very strict gun control. "For example, handguns are banned from private ownership, as are automatic rifles and pistols. Certain rifles and shotguns may be owned, but private citizens must acquire a firearm license in order to own them."  

We aren't likely to get more details about what happened but it is clear that this guy was able to create a lot of carnage in a short time and likely not challenged by anyone who was armed.  

It shouldn't come as a surprise to law abiding gun-owners that after the June ruling of the Supreme Court upholding our Constitutional right to carrying a gun for self-defense, anti-gunners are coming-up with new and creative ways to limit our freedoms.  I saw several news items recently that have me shaking my head:

• First, the US Postal Service admitted to spying on pro-gun activists.  Seems like the Postal Inspectors should have lots of other things to work on than tracking social media accounts of those they don't agree with politically.  This is real Big Brother stuff though and, unfortunately, I'm sure what has been discovered is just the tip of the iceberg.  
• Several weeks ago Visa, Mastercard and American Express announced the tracking of gun store purchases.  This is concerning not only because it could result in a database of gun owners to be used for confiscation but because it could ultimately affect the income of gun stores and gun manufacturers.  From the article:  "This decision, which is already being hailed by radical anti-gun activists, is the first step towards backdoor gun control on law-abiding Americans," the senators wrote to the CEOs. "Any change that seeks to impact a United States citizen's ability to legally purchase a firearm belongs with Congress, not payment networks, international standard-setting organizations, or the financial institutions that some of you serve."

There's been a lot of talk about gun control and the 2nd Amendment since Russia's invasion of the Ukraine on February 24th and the Ukrainian government handed-out 18,000 fully automatic rifles in one day to anyone willing to defend their homeland.
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A great quote from the article:
​"Gun controllers," added law Professor Randy Barnett, director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, "have long insisted that Americans don't need guns for personal defense because they can rely on police protection, and they don't need guns to resist tyranny because small arms are no match for modern military. The events of 2020-22 have shown both claims to be unrealistic."

I agree with Professor Barnett.  The 2nd Amendment guarantees Americans the ability to protect ourselves from enemies within the country and from without.  The first shots of the American Revolution were fired on April 19, 1775 in the Battles of Lexington and Concord while the British soldiers were trying to confiscate weapons from the colonists.  Most of the colonists were not trained soldiers, they were farmers, innkeepers, sailors and everyday people and they fought off the biggest army in the world.  I'm hoping the situation in the Ukraine turns-out the same way.

US Ammunition manufacturers have stepped-up to support the Ukraine big time with 2 million rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammo donated to help them stop the Russian invaders.   

Did you hear about the $73 million about the settlement between Remington and some of the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting?

Several things to be clear on here:
1.  This case did not go to trial.  The Supreme Court of Connecticut allowed the lawsuit (which was completely baseless).   I think if the case had gone to trial that Remington would not have been found liable for a mentally ill person misusing their product.
2.  Remington is bankrupt and the settlement was between the insurance companies who currently own their assets and the plaintiffs.

Still, this is an awful precedent and one that, if allowed to continue, could destroy capitalism and our freedoms.  

As a law abiding gun owner, I also noted a couple of things in the article that frustrated me.  First, here's a quote from the plaintiff's lawyer:
"When it came to the military looking for the best weapon, the most lethal weapon, the most destructive weapon, and the weapon that could provide our soldiers, should they be forced to shoot and kill the enemies of our country and our freedom, they chose the AR-15," he said during the press conference. "The greatest military in the world…chose the AR-15."

The US military's primary rifle is an M4 capable of full-automatic fire, not an AR15.  This is an attempt to make a specific rifle evil, which is just ridiculous.  What if the killer's Mom had only owned a lever action cowboy-style rifle or a handgun, would he have still gone on a killing rampage?   Of course he would have! 

The truth is a gun is amoral, not good or evil.  The crazy person using this particular rifle to kill people at Sandy Hook was evil.  He killed his Mom and then went and killed a bunch of first graders at a school.  He could have done that just as easily with any number of weapons.  

Another quote from this attorney: "But they (the plaintiffs)…had the energy and drive and motivation to do one thing, and that was to do whatever they could so that other families…would not have to go through the kind of pain and loss that they had."

Are they seriously celebrating this settlement as making the world safer from mass shootings?  This lawsuit and settlement has done absolutely nothing to make people safer.  All this settlement did is line the pockets of the legal teams for both sides.  

I'm often asked if I teach rifle courses.  I typically say "yes, I can teach you to shoot a rifle but everything I know I learned from Project Appleseed."   Project Appleseed events provide two full days of training and shooting plus some bonus history lessons from the start of the American Revolution.   The instructors will take you from complete beginner to very proficient shooter in one weekend.  These events are  and are a TON of fun and great for the whole family.  I took my son for the first time when he was 12.   

If you are interested, check out Project Appleseed's site  and sign-up for a course.  There is a course next weekend with slots available.  The Appleseed team is also offering precision pistol courses.

A great way to ring in the New Year is to see the FBI recently announced background check statistics for 2021.  There were 39 million background checks for firearm purchases in 2021, which is the second highest total of ever, surpassed only by 2020.  655,000 of those guns were sold were in Virginia.  Just like 2020, many of these purchases were made by first-time gun buyers.  As always, I recommend that new gun owners get training - especially in safe gun handling and basic marksmanship.  Shooting guns is way more fun when you can hit what you are aiming at!

More good news for Virginia gun owners in the New Year, Glenn Youngkin was sworn-in as governor today.  While Mr. Youngkin has not been an outspoken advocate for the 2nd Amendment, his Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General are.  I was impressed by Mr. Youngkin's message of unity and his desire to honor God.  I'm excited what the next four years will bring for gun rights in Virginia.

Like many other Americans, I've followed the Kyle Rittenhouse trial with interest.  If you think the verdict was unfair, please watch the video his defense team put together, especially the video of the actual shootings and put yourself in Kyle's shoes.  He was being chased and attacked and is lucky to be alive.  

Just like we teach in our Defensive Handgun courses, the verdict came down to the tenants of justified self-defense.  You can use deadly force to protect yourself if your attacker shows the intent and ability to kill you or do you grievous bodily injury.  Kyle was justified in shooting these three people.   In each instance, he didn't pick these fights, he finished them.

Some other observations:

• Kyle showed excellent gun handling skills.  The pictures and video show that he had great trigger finger disciple.
• Kyle showed great marksmanship.  Under duress, he shot his attackers and only his attackers.  No other bystanders were wounded.

Many people in the media tried to make this case about other ancillary things: Kyle's travel from out of state, the gun he used, etc..  He's also been portrayed as a white supremacist.  None of this changes the key facts - he was under attack and defended himself.

Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming a movie in New Mexico last week.  This article says Mr. Baldwin was told that the gun he shot her with was unloaded by Assistant Director Dave Halls.

As a firearms instructor and responsible gun owner, reading about this tragedy is so infuriating!  Ms. Hutchins death was completely unnecessary.  Alec Baldwin and many of the Hollywood elite are rabidly anti-gun and yet they still make movies with guns, which seems so hypocritical.  It seems clear the actors know nothing about guns and neither do those who are paid to handle the guns, the property managers or armorers.  Some observations on this situation:

• The term "misfire" on the movie set seems to refer to a gun that fires when it isn't expected to be loaded.   This should never happen but it sounds like it happened at least four times on the set of this movie!  I would call what happened a "negligent discharge" - a "bang" when you are expecting a "click."  The real definition of the term "misfire" is the opposite of what these articles are calling it.  A misfire is what happens when the primer of a cartridge fails and there is no detonation of the powder charge.  In other words, the gun goes "click" instead of "bang."  
• Both articles call the guns used in the films "Prop Guns" - these are not props, these are real GUNS capable of firing real ammunition!   It appears that movies typically are filmed with the actors shooting blanks instead of live ammo.   

​Some possible solutions:

• Everyone on set who will be handling guns (including the actors) should be trained in the three NRA rules for safe gun handling and these rules should be enforced.  That would mean that all actors would learn to check the condition of the guns they are using - to verify if they are loaded or unloaded (rule #3 - Always Keep the Gun Unloaded Until Ready to Use).  Also, movies can no longer be filmed with one actor pointing a gun at another (that violates rule #1 - Always Keep the Gun Pointed in a Safe Direction).  
• Stop filming movies with real guns.  Hollywood has tons of money.  Why can't they develop actual prop guns that are not capable of firing live ammunition?  If these were props, then the actors wouldn't be breaking rule #1 when pointing them at other actors.  

Seems like I'm not the only one thinking this way, one of the articles says "the showrunner of ABC police drama "The Rookie" said the show will no longer use "live" weapons — instead using airsoft guns and adding the muzzle flashes with computers later. Airsoft guns fire plastic pellets."

In recent days, I read two stories of abusive boyfriends who killed their girlfriends:  

• Last month, an Abusive Ex Murdered His Girlfriend in her home in New Jersey leaving behind two young children.  
• Last week, 27-year-old Jenna Soderberg was killed by her abusive boyfriend, 39-year-old Sherrick Byrd, in a Houston Hotel Lobby.  She had recently filed for a protective order which, unfortunately, didn't protect her.  Byrd had already spent time in prison this year for previous abuse of Soderberg.  

Stories like these make me sick.  I cannot understand any "man" who would physically hurt a woman.  These kind of crimes happen all too often.  According to the National Coalition to Prevent Domestic Violence:

• 1 in 2 female murder victims are killed by intimate partners
• 65% of all murder-suicides are perpetrated by intimate partners
• 96% of murder-suicide victims are female

If you are in an abusive relationship, please get help.  I would also consider your options for self-defense.  I'm not saying that carrying a gun is for everyone but, with proper training, it might give you a chance of surviving a deadly encounter like these.