Senator Chuck Schumer to introduce body armor bill

[Glenn E. Meyer]

About Jewish attitudes:

1. In Europe non-resistance was a survival strategy that had some validity, given the overwhelming disparity of force between Jews and Christians. The theory can be summarized as:

If a Cossack rapes Emma and we kill the Cossack, the Cossacks will kill the entire village.

Thus, not faced with the ultimate genocide of the Nazi, nonresistance was an overall strategy for some of the group to survive.

2. In America, the view carried over, esp. for those in urban, non gun culture environments.

3. Gun culture was correlated with conservatives. To be blunt, Conservatives were anti-Semitic for the most part. Protection from prejudice and discrimination was found not in guns but in the courts and legislation that forbid such. Thus, gun culture was a totem of a group that was not friendly at all to Jews. It was mainly the Liberal end of the politics that cared about equality. Even today, 'conservatives' do not have a good record on discrimination.

Note - current support for Israel is primarily, among Evangelicals, based on Biblical prophecy for the Second Coming. They may say the New Testament says some positive things about Jews but in historical reality, the attitude is fundamentally anti-Semitic. There is no real affection for Jews if you get to core beliefs.

Note that this view is not universal. When Jews settled in the Palestine Mandate and then Israel, they were perfectly able to understand the need for self-defense. However, in the USA, that need hasn't penetrated to all. The correlation of the gun culture with prejudice as seen by fine folk, still is a powerful deterrent for some.

All this has been well researched, so folks surprised because they personally don't buy it, shouldn't be surprised. I've been scolded by some and assumed to be a right wing nut because I believe in self-defense and the RKBA.

Today, the parties draw funds from their extremes, so they devise litmus tests that cause the extremes to donate.

Both extremes are liberty denying DBs.

[blues]

About Jewish attitudes:

1. In Europe non-resistance was a survival strategy that had some validity, given the overwhelming disparity of force between Jews and Christians. The theory can be summarized as:

If a Cossack rapes Emma and we kill the Cossack, the Cossacks will kill the entire village.

Thus, not faced with the ultimate genocide of the Nazi, nonresistance was an overall strategy for some of the group to survive.

2. In America, the view carried over, esp. for those in urban, non gun culture environments.

3. Gun culture was correlated with conservatives. To be blunt, Conservatives were anti-Semitic for the most part. Protection from prejudice and discrimination was found not in guns but in the courts and legislation that forbid such. Thus, gun culture was a totem of a group that was not friendly at all to Jews. It was mainly the Liberal end of the politics that cared about equality. Even today, 'conservatives' do not have a good record on discrimination.

Note - current support for Israel is primarily, among Evangelicals, based on Biblical prophecy for the Second Coming. They may say the New Testament says some positive things about Jews but in historical reality, the attitude is fundamentally anti-Semitic. There is no real affection for Jews if you get to core beliefs.

Note that this view is not universal. When Jews settled in the Palestine Mandate and then Israel, they were perfectly able to understand the need for self-defense. However, in the USA, that need hasn't penetrated to all. The correlation of the gun culture with prejudice as seen by fine folk, still is a powerful deterrent for some.

All this has been well researched, so folks surprised because they personally don't buy it, shouldn't be surprised. I've been scolded by some and assumed to be a right wing nut because I believe in self-defense and the RKBA.

Today, the parties draw funds from their extremes, so they devise litmus tests that cause the extremes to donate.

Both extremes are liberty denying DBs.

Glenn, I think you provided a very accurate thumbnail sketch of the situation. Well done.

[blues]

^^^^ In regard to the above, I hadn't even realized this, but I admit I don't keep up with all the news that's fit to print.

SAF ANNOUNCES MERGER OF JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) has become part of the SAF family, bringing together two stalwart gun rights organizations under one banner.

“We’re both delighted and proud to announce this merger,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “JPFO was founded 25 years ago by the late Aaron Zelman, and it has become a strong voice in defense of the Second Amendment. I’m personally confident that bringing JPFO into the SAF extended family will benefit firearms owners at many levels.”

Zelman passed away in 2010, and for the past four years, the JPFO has worked hard to maintain its position in the gun rights community.

“We see this as a tremendous opportunity,” said Gottlieb. “With SAF’s resources, we expect JPFO to continue its important work and grow to meet new challenges, educating people about the pitfalls of gun control, and the benefits of gun ownership and personal protection.”

Gottlieb said JPFO operations will be transferred from Wisconsin, where it was founded by Zelman in 1989, to the SAF offices at Liberty Park in Bellevue, Wash. JPFO editorial support staff will stay on and help maintain organizational continuity, he added.

“A few years ago,” Gottlieb noted, “Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership also merged into the SAF family and it has proven to be a great benefit to the gun rights community.”

By joining with the foundation, JPFO will also become a member organization of the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) and expand its reach internationally.

JPFO will be operated independently as a project of SAF and current members and contributors to the organization will continue to receive all benefits promised, Gottlieb added. JPFO’s website will continue to run independently as a stand-alone entity but will now include links to it from TheGunMag.com, KeepandBearArms.com, as well as SAF.org.

[Borderland]

Glenn, I think you provided a very accurate thumbnail sketch of the situation. Well done.

Well anyway, Trump is heading in the wrong direction at breakneck speed.

And a second well done, Glenn.

[Clusterfrack]

Glenn, Blues, thanks for posting all that excellent stuff. Here in Portland there are a bunch of pacifist, apologist Jews, but also a significant group of Jewish Israel-supporters and 2nd Amendment advocates. Interestingly, all of the Jews I’ve met here are left of center politically.

[hufnagel]

As much as I dislike the senior senator from New York, I like the opportunity to make arguments for arms-based civil liberties that encompass more than just guns. Body armor is a great example. I also think that freedom to access chemical sprays, blunt objects, knives, flashlights, lasers, HPM, malware, and night vision should regularly be discussed as being inside of our Second Amedment liberties.

I’ve been watching a lot of InRange TV, lately, and have become armor-curious. The pint about soft armor in a pistol class is very well made.

That right there... if I were drinking something, it'd be coming out my nose now.

[hufnagel]

While I agree with you, beyond blunt object and knives none of these items existed at the time of the creation of the Second Amendment. As such, arguing for their inclusion for coverage under the Second Amendment is going to be problematic at best.

Anything past the printing press didn't exist at the time of the creation of the First Amendment. The internet should be banned, and we should all be in prison for the things we've said on here.

[the Schwartz]

Anything past the printing press didn't exist at the time of the creation of the First Amendment. The internet should be banned, and we should all be in prison for the things we've said on here.

Nope. False analogy.

Basic firearms technology (obviously it was less refined than it is today) existed at the time and is part and parcel of the framer's intentions (for the Second Amendment). Lasers, flashlights, computers and their programming (malware, etc.), and night-vision technology, are not part of the same technology (that is, they are not firearms; devices that actually launch projectiles) and were not conceived of by the framers. As such, these things could never be part of their original intent in writing the Second Amendment.

Same goes for the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The technology that we use to communicate with is not the focus of the First Amendment, but rather the rights enumerated within 1A. If someone runs afoul of that (by prohibiting free speech where it is generally protected based upon only the device that is being used), the right to free speech still applies as it exists independently of the medium of communication.

[RoyGBiv]

Note - current support for Israel is primarily, among Evangelicals, based on Biblical prophecy for the Second Coming. They may say the New Testament says some positive things about Jews but in historical reality, the attitude is fundamentally anti-Semitic. There is no real affection for Jews if you get to core beliefs.

Good post Glenn.. Thanks.

IME, the above bit is regional. My experience in Texas has been quite the opposite, unless a lot of diverse people who don't know each other have all been behaving the same way towards me coincidentally. I'd be more inclined to agree with the above based on my time living in NC and traveling throughout the Southeast extensively.

Also.... The people who fail to take advantage of historys lessons.... F-them with a cattle prod.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

There is hope. At the old NTI, I was in a squad one year that consisted of 4 Jewish behavioral science PhDs. Folks like Killer Mike on the Bill Maher show made the clear case for guns in populations outside of that usually associated with firearms. You seem some rabbis speaking to the need after recent tragedies. Chuck would serve us well to realize that passivity is a failed mantra.