RINGGOLD, Georgia (WDEF) – A grand jury declined to indict a man in a road rage incident last fall that ended in a fatal shooting.
The shooting happened last September on Elm Avenue next to the Catoosa County sports complex off of I-75.
Jack Chandler Pedigo was found shot in his vehicle.
Deputies took a man into custody but did not charge him.
The case was presented to the Catoosa County Grand Jury this week and they declined to prosecute him.
A group of four teens has been arrested and charged after allegedly attempting to rob a victim just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Bowie police said they were called to the 14900 block of Health Center Drive for reports of gunshots and a robbery, which is near the Bowie Health Center.
According to police, the victim was approached by four suspects who had handguns. The victim then took out his own handgun, which police believe they did in self-defense. The victim ended up shooting one suspect
Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta from wikipedia
On February 2, 2022, the Georgia Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted 6-3 to pass SB 319, the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act. SB 319 now goes to the full Senate for a vote. 31 of 56 Georgia state Senators have signed on as sponsors of the bill. It seems likely the full Senate will vote in favor of the measure.
There is a similar measure in the Georgia House; HB2. The Bill was filed last year, but was not acted on. A committee vote has not been taken on the House bill, either last year or this year. HB 2 currently show six sponsors in the House. The Georgia House has 180 members.
Both Governor Kemp and primary challenger David Purdue say they are in favor of Consitutional Carry. Governor Kemp has been the subject of intense criticism for his actions during the Presidential election in 2020. It is difficult to say how emerging evidence of extensive ballot harvesting during the 2020 election in Georgia may influence that race.
In 2020, Chief Justice Melton of The Supreme Court of Georgia issued a Statewide Judicial Emergency. The Council of Probate Judges labeled Georgia's Weapons Carry Licenses as a non-essential service. Four lawsuits were filed to force issuance of licenses or for Constitutional Carry. None prevailed, in part because probate judges started to issue licenses again. This judicial shutting down of carry license applications provides proponents of Constitutional Carry additional fuel for Constitutional Carry. It showed how little respect the right to carry has in Georgia courts.
One of the most significant opponents of Constitutional Carry in Georgia has been Representative Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon) in the House. From 11.alive.com:
At the Georgia capitol, the opposition has come from Democrats – and even from some Republicans like state Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon), a respected Vietnam War and law enforcement veteran. "I’m very pro-gun. But I’ve seen the damage they can inflict on many, many occasions. We have to be very careful about our gun laws and who we allow to have them," Hitchens said in an interview in January 2020. Hitchens was chairman of the committee that kept "constitutional carry" from advancing to a vote in the House.
Here is a Youtube video in which Hitchens states his views:
In watching the progress of Constitutional Carry over the last 18 years, the importance of personalities is difficult to overstate. In several states, one or two Republican committee chairs have been responsible for stalling or preventing Constitutional Carry from coming up for a vote.
Only when the offending legislator was removed did the bill move forward.
This year, with both incumbent Governor Kemp and President Trump endorsed David Purdue championing Constitutional Carry, a different outcome might be possible.
Representative Hitchens has been replaced by Representative J. Collins Of House District 68, as Chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. Hitchens is still a member of the committee. It is reasonable to expect he has an outsized influence there.
Proponents of Constitutional Carry have seen their ability to obtain a permit to carry is subject to the whims of judges who declare an emergency; and that judges deem even substantial restrictions on where one may carry outside the home as insufficient as to be deemed an infringement.
This correspondent expects the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee is where the fate of this legislature's attempt at passing Constitutional Carry in Georgia will be decided.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
A concealed carry holder who was investigating a domestic disturbance at his neighbor’s home shot a 19-year-old man who was armed with a knife on Tuesday evening, police said. After being shot, the injured man, still armed with a knife, encountered responding Chicago police officers who deployed a Tazer to take him into custody, according to a CPD report.
Governor Tom Wolf has vetoed Pennsylvania Bill HB 979 on 4 February, 2022. The bill would have imposed penalties on Pennsylvania municipalities who violate Pennsylvannia law. HB 979 passed the Pennsylvania House with 124 to 79 votes on June 8th, 2021. It passed the Pennsylvania Senate on January 25, 2022, with 32 to 17 votes.
As promised, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed a Republican-penned bill that would punish municipalities from enacting firearm ordinances stricter than Pennsylvania law.
The legislation, authored by state Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Fayette, that would make towns and cities responsible for all legal costs in successful court challenges to local restrictions, was approved by the GOP-controlled General Assembly last week.
In Pennsylvania, a two thirds vote in both chambers of he legislature is necessary for a veto override. In the House, HB 979 received 61% of the vote. In the Senate, HB 979 received 65% of the vote. An override of the veto is highly unlikely.
Pennsylvania has a strong firearms pre-emption law to insure the uniformity of firearms law across the state. When the law was passed, it was assumed local governments would obey the law. It was a bad assumption. Over 50 local governments have snubbed their nose at the state law. HB 979 is the current attempt to bring the scoflaw governments to heel. From the bill:
(1)
A person adversely affected by any manner of ordinance, resolution,
rule, practice or other action promulgated or enforced by a
county, municipality or township in violation of subsection
(a) or 53 Pa.C.S. § 306(a) (relating to regulation of firearms and
ammunition) or 2962(g) (relating to limitation on municipal powers),
may seek declarative and injunctive relief and the actual damages
attributable to the violation in an appropriate court.
Essentially the same language was passed in 2014. Disgraced Pennsylvania AG, Democrat Kathleen Kane refused to enforce the bill. She was convicted of felonies while in office. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the 2014 law in 2016, because of a claim of improper procedure in the legislature when the bill was passed.
Another bill with the language passed the House in 2017, but did not make it out of the Senate Judiciary committee.
Opinion:
In Governor Wolf's veto message about HB 979, he makes clear he values government power over the rule of law:
"This legislation is an attack on local governments who take action to find commonsense solutions to gun violence and is yet another bill that shows indifference to the safety of Pennsylvanians."
Progressives are opposed to limitations on government power. It is in their ideological DNA.
The Citizens of Pennsylvania, through their representatives, have shown they do not want local Pennsylvania governments to violate the law with impunity. Governor Wolf will not be governor forever. His Current term ends on January 17, 2023. A new governor will be elected in November of 2022.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — A recent homicide at a Columbia apartment complex has been determined to be justified after a man tried to break into an apartment and was shot by a juvenile, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
On Sunday, February 6, around 5 p.m., deputies responded to Gable Hill Apartments on Ross Road after receiving reports of an unresponsive man.
It is unknown what the caliber of the handgun was, and what the placement of the shots were.
A bull moose, intent on protecting its snow-packed trail from a dog-sled musher and her team training for their first Iditarod race, trampled several of the team’s dogs. The moose withstood multiple rounds from a small-caliber handgun before being killed by a helper who arrived an hour after the incident began.
Bridgett Watkins, who along with her husband Scotty own Kennel on a Hill just south of Fairbanks, Alaska, was training with the help of friend Jen Nelson, who was on a snowmobile, when the encounter happened.
An alleged attempted assault between two Snellville men resulted in one of the men being shot to death in a street near the city on Saturday night, but the family of the man who died in the shooting is disputing allegations that their family member acted as the aggressor.
Based on the initial investigation, authorities say the homeowner arrived at the house and found Cole in his home.
Investigators say there was an altercation between the two men before the homeowner shot Cole.
So far, no arrests have been made.
On February 2nd, 2022, the Alabama Constitutional Carry bill, SB1. passed a major hurdle: it was sent to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation from the Judiciary Committee on a 6-4 vote. From alreporter.com:
Senate Bill 1, which would allow individuals to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, which is also referred to as “constitutional carry,” received a favorable report 6-4, with one member abstaining. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, now moves to the Senate for consideration.
The committee also passed Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Allen, that, if passed, would prohibit local and state law enforcement from participating in the implementation or enforcement of any federal law related to firearms.
SB1 has strong support in the Alabama Senate. It seems likely the Senate will pass the bill and send it to the Alabama House. In past years, Constitutional Carry bills have died in the House, where the Alabama Sheriffs Association has lobbied strongly to kill them.
Alabama Sheriffs are paid permit fees for concealed carry permits directly. This gives them an important and independent source of revenue. While the fees are only a few dollars each, about one third of all adults in Alabama have concealed carry permits. This amounts to income of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in counties with large populations.
A few weeks ago, on January 5th, the Republican caucus in the Alabama House passed their agenda for the 2022 session. From alhousegop.org:
“Our 2022 ‘Standing Tall for Alabama’ agenda is a broad-based plan that positively affects every Alabamian and makes our state an even better place to live, work, worship, and raise a family,” House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R – Rainsville) said. “While other bills will certainly be introduced, debated, and voted upon during the 2022 session, Republican House members have unanimously pledged to prioritize and pass through our chamber the measures that are included in our agenda.”
The statement is very bold, indeed. The Republicans hold a supermajority of 77 members out of 105 in the Alabama House. Here is the agenda position on "Constitutional Carry":
• The Alabama House Republican Caucus will pass “Constitutional Carry” legislation that fully embraces the tenets of the Second Amendment and allows law-abiding Alabamians to carry firearms without first having to pay a gun tax in the form of permit fees for their already guaranteed right.
With a pledge of all 77 members of the Republican members of the House to pass Constitutional Carry (permitless carry), as a priority, it is difficult to see how a bill such as SB1 will not pass. There are numerous ways to stop bills, of course.
It is not unheard of for politicians to make promises, fail to follow through, and then make excuses.
To this correspondent's knowledge, this is the first time the Republican Caucus in the Alabama House of representatives has listed Constitutional Carry as a priority to pass.
The Senate is expected to pass SB1 reasonably soon. Then it will be up to the House of Representatives. In the House, there is a similar bill, HB 66. HB 66 has yet to be brought up for a vote, even though it has 36 sponsors in the House. If Constitutional Carry is stalled in a House committee, or never comes up for a vote, Alabama citizens may conclude that promises made by the House Republicans mean little.
Alabama has a short legislative session. It is expected to end on April 25, 2022.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
On July 20, 2011, Jacquez Brown testified, Anthony “Tony” Wasilewski sold him his cellphone for $10 and a little bit of marijuana on East College Avenue in York.
At the time, Brown was 15. He said he already had a cellphone, but the battery was dead. And the charger was at his mother’s home.
Next, Brown said, Wasilewski returned 20 minutes later and demanded the cellphone back. But he didn’t have the money or weed.
(snip)
She won her client a new trial in 2016. Brown was originally found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Reiner said the physical evidence did not match with the testimony from the prosecution's witnesses. She said the big difference in the second trial was that her client testified in his own defense.
Last year, this correspondent had to replace a failing wallet. Transferring the contents from the old to the new included the Arizona Concealed Carry permit.
A glance at the expiration date showed the transfer was serendipitous; the card was to expire within a month. Eventually, a helpful lady at the Department of Public Safety made arrangements for a renewal form to be sent, the necessary money order was obtained; and a renewal card received. All hinged on the happenstance of seeing the card was about to expire. No notice of the expiration was sent out by the Department of Public Safety.
If the card is renewed in time, a simple transfer of money with the simple form is all which is necessary. If one is too late, it becomes more complicated. Fingerprints have to be obtained, and the fee is greater.
This correspondent contacted Dave Kopp, President of the Arizona Citizens Defense League, to see what had transpired, that no notice was sent out by the Department of Public Safety. This correspondent has had a lifetime membership in the AZCDL for many years, and was actively involved in the campaign to create a Shall Issue permit sytem in Arizona. AZCDL incrementally reformed the system, and eventually restored Constitutional Carry to Arizona.
Dave indicated the Arizona Department of Public Safety simply stopped sending out expiration notices, because the law did not require them to do so.
It seemed silly; people appreciate the notice. Most people renew. Sending out the notice might cost a dollar or two; the renewal fee is $43 for five years. There are nearly 400 thousand people who have the AZ CCW permit. If 75,000 of them renew each year, it would appear to be a net gain of three million dollars to the state. Some of that money would pay for the processing of the permits. Renewal permits take very little processing.
Dave said AZCDL might do something in the upcoming legislative session.
A few days ago, AZCDL sent out a notice requesting action on Arizona Senate Bill 1177. SB1177 requires the Department of Public Safety to send out notices of the pending expiration of CCW permits. Senator Gowan sponsored the legislation.
On February 1, 2022, SB1177 passed the Senate unanimously, with 29 votes. 1 Senator was not voting. It seems likely the bill will pass the House as well. It is a "common sense" measure.
The AZ CCW permit is not required to carry concealed in most places in Arizona. The permit is recognized in 36 other states. In Arizona, if you have the permit, you are not required to use the National Instant background Check System in order to purchase a firearm through an Federal Firearms License. The Department of Public Safety already did that for you.
This correspondent would prefer to repeal the National Firearms acts of 1934 and 1938; repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the subsequent infringements on the Second Amendment such as the Lautenberg Amendment and other Constitutional atrocities. That may come, eventually. In the meantime, I and millions of others will find some utility in the carry permits issued by our state governments, even if those governments have restored Constitutional Carry or "permitless carry" if you prefer.
The primary mechanism for incremental restoration of our rights is the state activist organization, such as the AZCDL. It is amazing how many useful things can be accomplished by a few full time dedicated activists, backed up thousands of part time activists who have access to computer keyboards.
A few strokes on keyboards during the year does much to prevent tyranny from encroaching on our liberties.
SB 1177 has not passed into law; not yet. Without AZCDL, it would never have been given a chance.
The National Rifle Association is under severe attack. The state activist organizations have always been more responsive. Now, they are more important than ever before.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
MEDFORD, Ore. — A California man who shot and killed another man during an exchange outside a west Medford home in December will not face charges, the Jackson County District Attorney's office announced on Wednesday night.
36-year-old DeAngelo McCauley acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 31-year-old Dominique Brown during the December 11 confrontation on Belmont Street, the DA's office determined.
A man whose ex-girlfriend recently filed a protective order against him was fatally shot early Thursday after police say he kicked in her door and confronted her current boyfriend.
Officers responded about 2:15 a.m. to a shots-fired call from a midtown apartment near 12th Street and Erie Avenue. They found Christian Holdman, 21, inside with bullet wounds.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County prosecutors on Monday dropped murder charges against a teenager who was accused of fatally shooting a man at the Galleria shopping mall in 2020.
Jaron Lemmitt, now 19, had been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of 21-year-old Jaquan Steed. Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement that surveillance video not available at the time charges were filed provided “unmistakable evidence” that Lemmitt acted in self-defense.
“Once I got it out of her, I realized there had been a shooting at my mom’s residence. After talking to her a little bit we had figured out that my little brother had fired a shot,” said Tallent. “Somebody had broke into the house, busted through the front door and started attacking my little brother with an object.”
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s office said the resident, feared for their safety, then fired a single round.VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Clark County sheriff's deputy unintentionally shot and killed an off-duty Vancouver police officer after the officer scuffled with an armed robbery suspect at his home Saturday night.
In 2013, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, and Governor Andrew Cuomo conspired to pass rigid and likely unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms by residents of New York State. The law was passed with a rushed vote under a controversial measure in the New York Constitution which gives the Governor and legislative leaders enormous power. The members of the legislature were forced to vote on it without any time to read it. From syracuse.com:
The NY Safe Act was passed with no hearings, no testimony, no time for opponents to make a case to their legislators.
It’s not the first time a controversial bill was turned into a midnight emergency.
Others include same-sex marriage, pension reforms, requiring annual teacher evaluations, and, in some years, the entire state budget.
There has been massive resistance to the SAFE act. From the dailystar.com:
One of the most controversial components of the New York SAFE Act — mandatory registration of assault weapons — kicks in today. Those who fail to comply could end up facing criminal charges.
But local sheriffs and gun rights advocates said they expect the vast majority of those who own such firearms will defy the requirement. And state police offered no details when asked to outline what, if any, plans the agency has for enforcing the statute, which was pushed through the Legislature in January 2013 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“I don’t know a single person who is even thinking about complying with registration,” said Jim Losie, owner of Losie’s Gun Shop in Oneonta. Losie called the registration requirement a prelude to eventual confiscation of such weapons by state government.
Large parts of the SAFE act have proven to be impractical to implement. Some pieces have been ruled unconstitutional. One part was so idiotic the state legislature, with the agreement of the governor, repealed it very quickly.
There is no evidence the act has had any effect on the New York violent crime rate.
New York has been the poster child for infringing on Second Amendment Rights to protect organized crime since 1911. It is not surprising corrupt politicians want to disarm their constituents, who will often be their victims as well.
All three architects of the SAFE Act have now been driven from office in disgrace. Two have been sentenced and served time in prison. The last and most powerful, Governor Cuomo, has been driven from office with multiple allegations of corruption. Whether he escapes prosecution for the multiple crimes he is accused of remains to be seen. The three politicians were said to be close. From the nypost.com in 2015:
Albany’s three most powerful men often met there, and Cuomo once called himself, Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos “the three amigos.” Now Cuomo is the only amigo still standing
The first to go was State Assembly Speaker (D) Sheldon Silver. He was found guilty by a jury in November of 2015, successfully appealed, and was found guilty again, in a second trial, on 11 May, 2018. From justice.gov:
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that former New York State Assembly Speaker SHELDON SILVER was sentenced this afternoon to seven years in prison after having been found guilty a second time by a federal jury of using his official position to obtain nearly $4 million in bribes in exchange for his official acts and obtaining another $1 million through laundering the proceeds of his crimes. SILVER had previously been found guilty of the same offenses by a jury in November 2015, but the conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States.The second corrupt politician was State Senate Majority leader (R) Dean Skelos.
On October 24, 2018, Dean Skelos was found guilty and sentenced to 51 months in prison for corruption. From justice.gov:
Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, acting under authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced today that former New York State Senate Majority Leader DEAN SKELOS was sentenced today to 51 months in prison after having been found guilty by a federal jury of using his official position to obtain more than $300,000 in bribes and extortion payments that were paid to his son, ADAM SKELOS, in exchange for DEAN SKELOS’s official acts. ADAM SKELOS, who was convicted by the same jury, was also sentenced to four years in prison. The defendants had previously been found guilty of the same offenses by a jury in December 2015, but their convictions were overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States. DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS were sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood, who also presided over both jury trials.On August 24, 2021 Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned from the office of governor in disgrace, under threat of impeachment and with multiple criminal allegations. From gothamist.com:
The question now, as Cuomo steps off, is whether the many investigations that counseled Cuomo to resign will follow him, trailing him from Albany, haunting him beyond the office. Or can he expect to glide, free and clear, to a chapter of reinvention?
There are several unresolved matters: The investigation into whether the Cuomo administration deflated the number of deaths that occurred in the New York State nursing homes during COVID; allegations around whether or not the governor misused state resources when writing and publishing his book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic;” and, of course, the allegations from eleven women that he sexually harassed or assaulted them during his time in office.
Gothamist does not mention the longstanding and credible allegation that Governor Cuomo's orders during the Covid19 pandemic directly resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly New York residents. From the nypost.com:
New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Niagara) said in a tweet: “Governor Cuomo and his administration must be investigated from top to bottom and he must be stripped of his emergency powers. Justice needs to be brought for the grieving families who have been ignored to protect Governor Cuomo and his Democrat allies in the Legislature.”
In a separate statement, he said: “The news today that Governor Cuomo’s top aide admitted to deliberately withholding information about COVID-19 deaths is the latest in a string of disturbing acts of corruption by his administration.
The Supreme Court has refused to rule on most substantive Second Amendment infringement cases for a decade. A New York case about carry outside the home will finally be heard by the Supreme Court in 2021. A decision should be made in 2022.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.The video shows a man walk up to the counter inside the store. He leaves then quickly returns with a gun. Patel puts the cap back on his drink and pulls out his own gun. As the suspect runs away, he fires one shot then calls police.
The alleged attempted robber, Daniel Alan Collins Jr., was later arrested. Authorities say he’s accused in at least two other robberies in another county.
PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia store worker who police say was shot during an armed robbery was able to return fire, wounding one of the suspects.
The store clerk, a 32-year-old woman, is now hospitalized in critical condition after she was shot as many as three times.
Posts
All Comments
