Prosecutors have decided not to pursue a murder charge against a 30-year-old Merritt Island woman after determining she acted in self-defense during a deadly struggle with her sister.
Brittany Da’Vell Bishop-Gillison had been charged with murder with a firearm in connection with the death of Kapricia Bishop at a Topaz Court apartment on March 25, records show.
KENT COUNTY, MI -- A Kent County homeowner who traded gunfire with an intruder trying to steal his truck keys, killing the man, was justified in using deadly force, prosecutors have ruled.
Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker issued a ruling Tuesday, May 3 on the March 30 shooting at a Byron Township home on 108th Street just east of Wilson Avenue.
A man confronting neighbors about damage to his pickup truck was shot and killed when he refused to leave them alone, authorities in Texas said.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office was called to the fatal shooting of Christopher Aaron Jorgensen, 32, at about 11:40 p.m. Sunday, May 1.
Authorities say Jorgensen lived in one of three houses on the property in South Liberty County, and prior to his death, he accused two men who live in a second house of damaging his truck.
According to news sources, in a speech given near Gainsville, Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis responded to a question about Second Amendment rights. From mainstreetdailynews:
DeSantis also responded to a question on 2nd Amendment rights, saying Florida would pass a constitutional carry before he left office.
WPLG Local 10 out of Fort Lauderdale confirmed DeSantis made the bold promise to Second Amendment supporters and Constitutionalists on Friday morning, April 29. From local10.com:
DeSantis made the political promise while speaking near Gainesville on Friday.
“I can’t tell you exactly when, but I’m pretty confident that I will be able to sign ‘constitutional carry’ into law in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
“I can’t tell you if it’s going to be next week, six months, but I can tell you that before I am done as Governor, we will have a signature on that bill,” he said.
Governor DeSantis' explicit promise to pass Constitutional Carry before he leaves office, is a step up from the support he gave to the concept during his call for the special session held on April 19. He has called for another special session convening on May 23rd. He could ask the legislature to pass a Constitutional Carry bill during the upcoming special session, or call a special session for Constitutional Carry legislation. He did not promise a special session explicitly for Constitutional Carry, but it could happen.
Lee Williams has reported, Governor DeSantis said constitutional rights should not be subcontracted to a public official.
“We used to be a leader on the Second Amendment – there’s like 25 states that have already done it, and I think if you look now, you have a situation where the official in charge of these permits doesn’t support Second Amendment rights. So why would you want to subcontract your constitutional rights to a public official who rejects the very existence of those rights?”
Constitutional carry seemed unlikely to pass the Florida legislature in 2022. The legislative session ended without the Senate considering the measure.
Governor DeSantis has put it in play. Constitutional Carry could happen in Florida in 2022.
Analysis:
Governor DeSantis is becoming a Rock Star of the Republican party. Having 25 states with Constitutional Carry is a tipping point. It is difficult to claim Constitutional Carry is dangerous in Florida, when it has not had problems in 25 other states. DeSantis appears to understand the obvious:
Once you support a policy such as Constitutional Carry, you do not lose support by going all in. You only gain support.
By supporting the policy, you have already lost any people who are adamantly against it. By appearing indecisive, you lose more. When you boldly affirm your stated policy, you firm up the support of those who agree with you, and gain support from those who appreciate clear, decisive, leadership.
The 2022 midterms are fast approaching. At present, the tide appears to be against the Biden administration and the Democrats. Six months can be an eternity in politics. Much can happen in six months.
The Supreme Court will be issuing an opinion on the New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case in six weeks. The justices read the media. Twenty-five states and Governor DeSantis coming out strongly for Constitutional Carry can only support a strong opinion which restores Second Amendment rights.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — The jury is no longer out. Monday, a murder trial five years in the making came to a close.
Aaron Stephens left the court in handcuffs, but not for first degree murder.
Stephens was found not guilty of first degree murder of Terry Greenwood, attempted murder of Anthony Lanza, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury charges.
Stephens, a convicted felon, admitted to possessing three firearms, which is illegal. He was convicted on that charge and sentenced to between 14 and 26 months in prison. That time will be reduced by the six months he spent in jail before making bond in 2017.
After eight years, a Hunt County man has been cleared of a murder charge involving a 2014 shooting death.
A jury in the 196th District Court returned a not guilty verdict Wednesday evening in the case against Carl Allen Welch. Testimony began in the trial April 19.
Welch, 56, had pleaded not guilty to a count of murder in connection with the death of Terry R. Cale of Wills Point.
Defense attorney Katherine Ferguson said the jury’s verdict is the correct one.
The pair then entered their Volkswagen SUV and the man got into the backseat, struck one of them with a handgun and demanded their belongings, police said.
One of the men then pulled out their own gun and shot the would-be
robber, striking him in the forehead, left leg and chest, police said.
NORRISTOWN, PA — New details have emerged after two teenagers were found shot dead in Norristown on Friday night, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Saturday. A preliminary investigation reveals that the shooter was defending himself from an armed robbery.
"The man who shot the two
males was questioned then released, and has not been charged," District
Attorney Kevin Steele said. "We have a lot of work to do on this
investigation."
The incident occurred in an alley behind the 300 block of Warren Street at about 8 p.m.
The initial investigation reveals that the shooter, who has not been identified, was walking to his car from a nearby home when two teenagers approached him, police said.
The teens — both 17-year-old boys — tried to rob the shooter, pulling a gun on him, according to authorities. The three wrestled for control of the gun, and at some point the shooter used his own weapon — which was legally registered to him — to shoot both of the would-be robbers, the DA's office said.
HOUSTON – What officials say was supposed to be a peaceful trip to Memorial Park turned violent and dangerous Wednesday night around 9:30 when burglars targeted a car in a parking lot near East Memorial Loop and Arnot.
Instead of getting away with stolen property, the suspected bad guys were met with a fiery surprise.
“Our officers arrived on the scene and met with a complainant who witnessed his vehicle being broken into,” said Houston Police Department Lieutenant Mike Barrow.
On top of that, Houston police say one of the three would-be burglars had a gun, but so did the victim.
”The complainant took a shot and missed,” Barrow said.
Police said the woman had heard someone breaking into her home through a laundry room at the back of the house.
The woman grabbed her gun and fired, hitting the man twice in the chest as he tried to break into the main portion of the home, KABB reported.
The man, whose identity has not been released, died on his way to the hospital.
From New Hampshire Government website
New Hampshire is getting close to passing a reform of current law which restricts the carry of loaded handguns on off the road vehicles, including snowmobiles.
The law is a relic of the days before New Hampshire passed Constitutional Carry in February of 2017, five years ago. On March 10, 2022, the New Hampshire House passed the bill easily, 204 to 134, with 54 not voting. HB 1636 reforms the law to remove the carry permit requirement for carry of loaded firearms on off road vehicles. On April 20, 2022, the bill passed the Senate Transportation Committee with a vote of "ought to pass". From HB 1636:
1 Off Highway Recreational Vehicles; Loaded Firearms Prohibited. Amend RSA 215-A:20 to read as follows:
215-A:20 Loaded Firearms Forbidden. No person shall carry on an OHRV, or a trailer towed by same, any firearms unless said firearm is unloaded. This section shall not apply to law enforcement officers carrying firearms in the course of duty or to pistols or revolvers carried [
under a permit issued pursuant to the authority of RSA 159] by any person who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by a New Hampshire statute.2 Snowmobiles; Loaded Firearms Forbidden. Amend RSA 215-C:35 to read as follows:
215-C:35 Loaded Firearms Forbidden. No person shall carry on a snowmobile, or a trailer towed by same, any firearms unless said firearm is unloaded. This section shall not apply to law enforcement officers carrying firearms in the course of duty or to pistols or revolvers carried [
under a permit issued pursuant to the authority of RSA 159] by any person who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by a New Hampshire statute.3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
The bill is a relatively mild reform which cleans up a loose end from the era before Constitutional Carry was restored in New Hampshire.
Most bills which make it out of committee are allowed to be voted on in the Senate. The New Hampshire Senate has 14 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
In 2018, a similar bill, HB 1313, was tabled in the Senate and never voted on, after passing the House. House Bill 1313 passed the House with a vote of 181 to 148. Here is part of the testimony from the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition in 2018:
by NHFC, Inc. on April 16, 2018
Today I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of HB 1313 which was introduced by Rep. John Burt (R-Hillsborough 13) to extend last years Constitutional Carry law to snowmobiles and ATVs.
HB 1313 is a simple bill that merely repeals the requirement(s) that those who wish to carry a loaded pistol or revolver on a snowmobile or ATV first obtain a New Hampshire Pistol / Revolver license. These statutes are inconsistent with Constitutional Carry and need to be repealed. We expect that HB 1313 should pass into law without significant opposition. Click here or scroll down to see how to help enact HB 1313 into law.
This correspondent expects Republican Governor
Sununu to sign the current bill, HB 1636, if it is voted on in the Senate and makes it to
his office.
There is enough time left in the legislative session to do so. The New Hampshire legislative session is scheduled to end on June 30th, according to Ballotpedia.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
A joint investigation by the Canton Police Department and the Texas Rangers revealed that Hicks had allegedly unlawfully forced entry into the residence and confronted the homeowner while armed with a handgun. The homeowner retrieved his own handgun and shot Hicks multiple times.
At present, the homeowner has not been charged. The case will be referred to a Van Zandt County grand jury for review pending the conclusion of the investigation.
The shooting happened in February on a cold, 6-degree night in south Minneapolis in a neighborhood that had seen an increase in armed robberies.
After checking the locked gate, surveillance video outside the home shows Martin Lee Johnson hopping the fence.
A motion light turns on as Johnson approaches the house.
According to police reports, the homeowner, a 53-year-old woman, heard Johnson "wiggle the door handle" and his steps on the deck, so she told her 26-year-old son who lives with her, and grabbed her handgun as Johnson entered the family's detached garage.
Tennessee Capitol
On April 21, 2022, the Tennessee House voted 64 to 28 to pass HB 1735. A similar bill in the Senate is known as SB 2291. The bill is an incremental step toward restoring Second Amendment rights to young adults. The bill requires the department of safety to issue an enhanced handgun carry permit to people who are at least 18 years of age, and meet the other requirements which apply to people 21 and older. Previously, the minimum age was 21. From legiscan.com, bill text:
(b) Except as provided in subsection (r), any resident of Tennessee who is a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, as defined by § 55-50-102, may apply to the department of safety for an enhanced handgun carry permit. If the applicant is at least eighteen (18) years of age and is not prohibited from possessing a firearm in this state pursuant to § 39-17-1307(b), 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), or any other state or federal law, and the applicant otherwise meets all of the requirements of this section, the department shall issue a permit to the applicant.
In a compromise, the bill prohibits people aged 18 to 20, who have the enhanced permit, from transporting or storing firearms at all sorts of schools; then grants exceptions to those with military connections, as listed in the bill:
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), this section does not apply to a person who is under twenty-one (21) years of age and transports or stores a firearm or firearm ammunition in the person's motor vehicle while on or utilizing a public or private parking area that is located on any public or private school campus, grounds, recreation area, athletic field or any other property owned, operated, or while in use by any board of education, school, college or university board of trustees, regents or directors for the administration of any public or private educational institution, unless the person:
(1) Is at least eighteen (18) years of age; and
(2)
(A) Is an honorably discharged or retired veteran of the United States armed forces;
(B) Is an honorably discharged member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program; or
(C) Is a member of the United States armed forces on active duty status or is a current member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect July 1, 2022,
The Tennessee legislature has only a few more days to pass the reform bill if they are going to. The legislative session ends on May 7, 2022. The Senate has a large majority of Republicans, 27 to 6. If the bill passes the Judiciary committee and is voted on in the Senate, it will likely be sent to Governor Bill Lee for his signature. It is not certain that Governor Lee would sign the bill, but it seems likely. He signed the Constitutional Carry bill a year ago in 2021.
WKRN characterized HB 1735 as giving "18-year-olds the right to carry a gun." From whnt.com:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – If you’re 18, it is unlawful to smoke or drink before turning 21, but Tennessee House lawmakers want to give 18-year-olds the right to carry a gun.
Opponents say the bill would increase gun crimes and self-harm, but supporters say it’s a constitutional right all adults should have. HB 1735 lowers the age from 21 to 18 to lawfully carry a handgun openly or concealed.
As shown in the actual bill, the legislation does not "give" anyone anything. It simply allows 18-20 year olds the opportunity to apply for an enhanced carry permit.
Across the nation, permit holders have shown themselves to be more law abiding than police officers.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
SAN ANTONIO – A man shot a carjacker who tried to steal his car while he was pumping gas at a North Side gas station, police said.
San Antonio police said a driver pulled into the QuickTrip in the 9900 block of San Pedro near W. Ramsey and was putting gas in his Honda Accord when another man pulled up alongside his vehicle in a truck.
The man got out of the truck and into the driver’s seat of the Accord and tried to drive off, police said.
The computer system for the Yuma Regional Medical Center has been down for two days. It is extremely difficult to obtain any medical records or to accomplish the simplest medical procedure.
All has been shut down because of a cyber attack.
From YRMC press release on Facebook :
YUMA, Ariz. (April 26, 2022) – Out of an abundance of caution, following an attempted cyber attack that occurred on Monday afternoon, all YRMC computers systems were powered down and moved into downtime mode, which is a manual process. Effective blocks to the attempted attack have resulted in no patient information being compromised. As of Tuesday 3pm, YRMC continues to operate in a manual / downtime mode as systems are deemed secure.
The attack is having more repercussions than deemed by the press release. Sources have informed this correspondent almost nothing is can to be done, as professionals cannot obtain needed patient information, signed releases, or input any information into the system.
A few days earlier, there was a breach in this North Dakota system.
Adaptive Health Integrations faced a hacking incident that impacted 510,574 individuals, according to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) data breach portal. The incident was the third-largest reported healthcare data breach in 2022 so far.This warning was issued on April 1, 2022.
In February, the day after Vladmir Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine, a notorious Russian cybercrime group called Conti announced online that they would target “the critical infrastructures” of any nations attempting to thwart Russia’s military actions. A week later, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning stating that Conti has specifically attacked health care institutions in the past.
There does not seem to be any national news of attacks. Readers are asked to include any local news they know of in the comments.
Dean Weingarten
TAMPA — The shooter who killed a man outside a downtown Tampa restaurant on Feb. 27 was acting in self-defense and will not face criminal charges, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office has determined.
Prosecutors said an argument inside Bello Bar & Kitchen, 903 N Franklin St., extended outside that night, where the eventual shooter was thrown to the ground and attacked by three men: Adrian Diaz, Kevin Zayas and Freddy Santiago Jr.
Prosecutors said the shooter, whose name was not released, pulled his gun and fired multiple shots, with one bullet striking Diaz, 23, in the head and killing him. Zayas and Santiago, whose ages were not available, survived and will face battery charges, prosecutors said.
In the law of self defense of almost all states, If a person is attacked, and reasonably fears for their life, they may legally defend themselves with deadly force. A small minority of states require a person to retreat from the situation, if they can do so in complete safety.
In all states of which I am aware, a person may not use deadly force in self defense, if they provoked the attack with the intent of using deadly force.
It is not legal to start a fight so the person who started the fight can kill someone who they provoked.
Mere possession of an openly carried weapon is not legal provocation to attack.
The Left has been floating the idea that mere possession a weapon is provocation. They contend the sight of someone in possession of a weapon is sufficient provocation for a person to attack the person who possesses the weapon.
This creates a bizzaro world where mere open possession of a weapon is sufficient to justify a deadly attack on the possessor. Apply this to police. They almost always carry a deadly weapon, openly.
This concept is contrary to common sense and the experience of thousands of years. If a person has a weapon, people see a reason to leave the armed person alone. In the Kyle Rittenhouse incident, the prosecutor, ADA Binger, during a pre-trial hearing, said this:
“He was running around with a assault rifle type weapon, a very threatening, aggressive weapon. One that deters people, it is designed to deter people. It is designed to threaten others; to let them know, don’t mess with me, look what I’ve got.
During the trial. Binger did not claim mere possession of a firearm was provocation to be attacked, although he hinted at it. He claimed, on the basis of very fuzzy drone footage, that Kyle had momentarily pointed his rifle at two other people, and that was provocation for a third person, Rosenbaum, to attack Kyle. The jury did not accept this theory.
In a sane world, carrying a weapon is not a provocation to be attacked. The Left has worked hard to make it a provocation, in law. In an editorial about open carry in 2012, there was this; from usnews.com:
It is appropriate for law enforcement officers and the public to treat these situations as extremely dangerous. Open carry advocates claim they need a gun for self-defense. However, if the Trayvon Martin case has taught us anything, it is that an individual carrying a gun may misjudge a situation, think self-defense is called for, and erroneously—and often tragically—reach for the gun.
A jury decided the usnews.com editorial writer's portrayal of the Trayvon Martin case was erroneous. It was Martin who attacked George Zimmerman. It was Martin's judgement which was faulty, not Zimmerman's.
Here is an opinion published in The Hill, in November of 2019, before the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. The opinion is discussing the Wisconsin disorderly conduct law. From thehill.com:
The text of its disorderly conduct law criminally bans “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance.” But absent a showing of “criminal or malicious intent,” a person may not be charged with disorderly conduct “for carrying or going armed with a firearm . . . without regard to whether the firearm is loaded or the firearm . . . is concealed or openly carried.”
Think about that. Being publicly “violent” or “abusive” is a potential crime in Wisconsin — unless it entails waiving around a loaded firearm.
The argument is false. The law does not allow being publicly "violent" or "abusive" simply because a person has a firearm. It states a person may not be charged with disorderly conduct for merely carrying or possessing a firearm or knife. Here is the relevant passage:
Unless other facts and circumstances that indicate a criminal or malicious intent on the part of the person apply, a person is not in violation of, and may not be charged with a violation of, this section for loading a firearm, or for carrying or going armed with a firearm or a knife, without regard to whether the firearm is loaded or the firearm or the knife is concealed or openly carried.
This correspondent followed what led to the passage of this Wisconsin law. In 2008 Brad Krause was planting a tree in his yard. He had a holstered pistol on his hip. He was charged, in Wisconsin, by West Allis police, with disorderly conduct. He fought the case. He won. From jsonline.com:
West Allis - As Brad Krause planted a tree in his yard last summer, a neighbor noticed that in addition to a shovel, Krause had a tool not usually required for yard work - a gun in a holster.
Police arrived and gave Krause a ticket alleging disorderly conduct, launching a case that a national gun-rights group has been watching for months.
On Tuesday, Krause won acquittal in what some advocates say is one of the first so-called open-carry gun cases heard in a Wisconsin court.
Municipal Judge Paul Murphy said he had reviewed several state statutes and court cases related to the right to keep and bear arms. 'There being no law whatsoever dealing with the issue of an unconcealed weapon or the so-called open carry is why we're here today,' Murphy said.
In the end, he determined Krause's actions did not rise to disorderly conduct and found him not guilty.
Milwaukee Police had been charging people with disorderly conduct for the mere carry of firearms, for decades. The legislature finally had enough, and reformed the law to stop the abuse.
Here is a later opinion published on September 10, 2020, from Bloomberg, written by Noah Feldman a former Harvard Law editor:
The trouble begins when you start applying the legal rules to someone in Rittenhouse’s situation, namely, someone who has carried an AR-15-style weapon to what is intended to be a peaceful protest. In a commonsense universe, this act itself would appear to be a provocation.
Yet under Wisconsin law, adults are entitled to carry around their licensed firearms in public places. An open-carry law means that prosecutors would have a tough time convincing a jury that simply carrying an assault rifle counts as a provocation.
As a lawyer, Feldman should have known Wisconsin law does not require a license to openly carry firearms. It never has. Wisconsin law has never forbidden people 16 years old and older, from carrying long guns.
To paraphrase Noah Feldman with a more commonsense observation; the trouble is when you start defining the peaceful carry of a firearm as a provocation. Hundreds of people saw Rittenhouse and many others carrying firearms. Initially, only Rosenbaum decided to attack Kyle Rittenhouse. The person who was supposedly "provoked" was mentally ill Rosenbaum, who was suicidal and who had spent many years in prison.
Rosenbaum had threatened to kill Rittenhouse repeatedly. If there was provocation, it appears the provocation was Rosenbaum attempting to provoke Rittenhouse to aid in another Rosenbaum suicide attempt.
Three others decided to attack Rittenhouse as he ran to turn himself in to the police, after he shot Rosenbaum. According to testimony under oath, during the trial, the mob was urged to attack Rittenhouse by the same man who had urged Rosenbaum to attack Rittenhouse.
The man who urged the mob to go after Rittenhouse, had a checkered police record. The three attackers had multiple police histories and problems with authority. Two of those attacked Rittenhouse with weapons and were shot by him. One was killed, the other was wounded. It was all recorded on video, from multiple angles.
The jury did not accept the prosecutor's theory that Rittenhouse had "provoked" Rosenbaum.
Analysis:
The idea of a person being armed as a provocation to attack appears to flow from a simple premise on the left: A person doing something a leftist does not like, is a provocation to attack them. It is part of the broader philosophical abandonment of the rule of law.
Evidence for this theory exists in the left's theory of speech from any opponent. Speech from an opponent is considered to be violence, and worthy of attack. Violence, from the left, on the other hand, is considered to be speech.
When leftists surround a car and beat on it; that is not provocation; when leftist shoot at people; that is not provocation; when people the left does not agree with, display weapons; that is considered provocation by the left.
This is a retreat to tribalism by the Left: Those who agree with us are people; those who disagree with us are the enemy.
Pundit and radio personality Dan Bongino puts it this way: Conservatives think leftists are people with bad ideas; Leftists think Conservatives are bad people.
Part of this attitude toward the open carry of weapons by people other than government agents comes from the Left's worship of government as god. A private person openly carrying a firearm is a direct and obvious statement:
The Constitution means something; the Bill of Rights means something; the power of government is limited.
The Left hates the idea of limits on government. For that reason, gun control is in Progressivism's DNA.
Defining open carry of weapons as a legal provocation is Orwellian word manipulation.
©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
FADETTE, Ala. (WDHN) — Early Friday morning, a Wiregrass homeowner shot an intruder twice with a handgun — after telling him to leave and then a struggle between the two.
Authorities say the suspect was in the process of burglarizing the rural residence when the homeowner awakened to a sound from the back door.
Emergency responders arrived at a trailer off Audy Lane in eastern Geneva County’s Fadette community, just after 3 a.m. this morning.
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