'Murica

[Witness]

Nebraska launches ‘beef passport’ program for meat eating

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts ramped up his crusade for the meat industry on Wednesday by endorsing a new “beef passport” program to promote meat eating, a few weeks after he blasted Colorado’s governor for a resolution encouraging its residents to eat less.

Ricketts, a Republican, cast meat as essential to his state’s economy and the nation’s food security. He criticized “radical environmentalists” and Bill Gates for promoting alternatives, such as synthetic, lab-grown meat, and for arguing that the current global meat production system isn’t sustainable.

“If you do away with the beef industry, it’s going to be devastating to Nebraska,” Ricketts said at a downtown Lincoln steak house, where he issued his annual proclamation of May as “Beef Month.” “It would have a huge impact on our small towns and rural communities.”

Nebraska is one of the nation’s top beef-producing states, and much of the corn it produces is used for livestock feed.

Ricketts said meat is nutritionally dense and “part of a traditional, healthy diet.” He said three ounces of beef has more protein than three cups of quinoa.

“Who wants to eat three cups of quinoa anyway?” he said.

The Nebraska Beef Passport, managed by the Nebraska Beef Council, features 40 restaurants throughout the state that offer the meat on their menus. It’s modeled after the state-run Nebraska Passport Program, a popular yearly initiative where visitors travel to different businesses, museums, parks and other attractions to collect stamps which they can send in for prizes.

https://www.kltv.com/2021/05/07/nebrask ... at-eating/

Do your patriotic duty, save the economy!

---

The usual:

Waitress fatally shot during her shift at Bob Evans restaurant

[Witness]

‘It’s going to hurt the people,’ resident says of bill to make Louisiana a ‘fossil fuel sanctuary state’

But Rep. Danny McCormick can’t imagine anyone having a problem with his bill

Just south of Oil City, where state Rep. Danny McCormick is from, is the predominantly Black city of Shreveport. Residents there breathe some of the most toxic air in the country. Oil refineries owned by UOP and Calumet contribute to the town’s toxic emissions, according to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory.

But as previously reported by the Illuminator, McCormick, a Republican, introduced a bill at the Louisiana capitol this session that would protect oil companies and not residents in his district who have to breathe in that air. The bill would establish Louisiana as a “fossil fuel sanctuary state” and ban local and state employees from enforcing federal laws and regulations that negatively impact petrochemical companies.

The idea for the bill, McCormick said, came about after President Joe Biden began putting new restrictions on oil and gas companies, including a pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. “Look at what they did to the coal industry,” he said at a Louisiana House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment committee hearing. “We already know what the game plan is. They already picked off coal. Now they’re going after oil and gas.”

The bill–which is unlikely to move forward in its current state because of concerns about its legality –is among several bills introduced at the Louisiana Legislature this session that would likely reduce regulation of oil and gas companies in the state. Lawmakers say that deregulation is necessary to preserve tax revenues generated by oil and gas companies and to stop further job losses. A separate bill introduced by McCormick would redefine gas pipelines from modes of transportation to facilities, in order to prevent Louisiana State Police from fining pipeline companies for failing to immediately report gas leaks.

https://lailluminator.com/2021/05/10/it ... ary-state/ for the rest.

---

The usual:

There were at least 10 mass shootings across the US this weekend

[gnome]

I am curious ... with Obamacare, who is not insured? Other than those that choose to not have insurance I mean?

I realized I never saw a real answer to this.

I'm going to say mostly people who would otherwise qualify for expanded Medicaid but live in states that do not offer it, such as Florida.

The remainder might be classified as "by choice" though for some it may be arguable.

[Witness]

US birth rate sees biggest fall for nearly 50 years

The Covid pandemic has accelerated a longer-term trend towards fewer births, with the rate dropping to 1.6 children per woman

The US birth rate has fallen 4% in the largest single-year drop in nearly 50 years, according to a government report.

The rate dropped for mothers of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly all age groups, falling to the lowest point since federal health officials started tracking it more than a century ago, the report due to be published on Wednesday said.

Births have been declining in younger women for years, as many postponed motherhood and had smaller families.

Birth rates for women in their late 30s and in their 40s have been inching up, but that trend dipped last year.

The US once was among only a few developed countries with a fertility rate above the 2.1 children per woman that ensured each generation had enough children to replace itself.

But the rate has been sliding for more than 10 years and last year dropped to about 1.6, the lowest rate on record.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... y-50-years

---

The usual:

Authorities: 4 dead, 1 hurt after shooting, fire in Maryland

[Hotarubi]

Gotta thank those black welfare baby factories for keeping the population turning over.

Should get something in the way of thanks. Maybe extra benefits.

USA! USA!

[Hotarubi]

US birth rate sees biggest fall for nearly 50 years

The Covid pandemic has accelerated a longer-term trend towards fewer births, with the rate dropping to 1.6 children per woman

The US birth rate has fallen 4% in the largest single-year drop in nearly 50 years, according to a government report.

Gotta thank those "black welfare baby factories" for keeping the population turning over and trying to save America.

Should get something in the way of thanks. Maybe extra benefits.

USA! USA!

[Doctor X]

You could write that again.

– J.D.

[ed]

New study explains why a few counties generate most of the death sentences in the United States

New research published in PLOS One sheds light on why the geographic distribution of death sentences in the United States is clustered in just a few jurisdictions. The findings indicate that a county’s legal and racial history plays a more important role than the homicide rate.

“I’m a quantitative social scientist and have been working in the area of the death penalty since publishing a book on how arguments about the death penalty are framed, and the impact of the ‘innocence frame’ on public opinion,” said study author Frank R. Baumgartner, the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at UNC Chapel Hill.

His book, “The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence,” was published in 2008.

“Since then, I’ve been continuing with various studies of the death penalty, and I constructed a database of everyone executed in the United States, including the county from which the case derived,” Baumgartner explained. “A shocking pattern is an extreme concentration of cases in just a few counties. That was apparent in my data, but is also well known to those who study the matter, so it was not a new discovery.”

For their latest study, Baumgartner and his colleagues examined factors such as population size, number of homicides, violent and property crime rates, poverty rates, the relative share of nonwhite population, and history of lynchings. But they found a surprisingly weak relationship between the number of homicides in a county and the number of death sentences.

Instead, the better predictor of death sentences was the number of death sentences that a county had previously imposed. In other words, each death sentence made another death sentence more likely.

https://www.psypost.org/2021/05/new-stu ... ates-60317 for the rest.

Bullshit. Unadulterated bullshit. Lazy, crappy analysis by a "quantitative social scientist".

the better predictor of death sentences was the number of death sentences that a county had previously imposed

does not, in any way shape or form suggest

In other words, each death sentence made another death sentence more likely

Good lord.

[Hotarubi]

You could write that again.

– J.D.

Gotta thank those "black welfare baby factories" for keeping the population turning over and trying to save America.

Should get something in the way of thanks. Maybe extra benefits.

USA! USA!

[Doctor X]

Meanie.

– J.D.

[Witness]

Bullshit. Unadulterated bullshit. Lazy, crappy analysis by a "quantitative social scientist".

the better predictor of death sentences was the number of death sentences that a county had previously imposed

does not, in any way shape or form suggest

In other words, each death sentence made another death sentence more likely

Good lord.

Evidence?

[Witness]

Could go in the Empire of Dumbth thread:

https://i.imgur.com/q3Xde5d.jpg


Also: Odor prompts emergency response at hotel; firefighters say guest was storing gas there

---

And the usual: 9 shot, of which 3 critically wounded, in Rhode Island's capital city, Providence police chief says

[Witness]

Second Amendment sanctuaries facing 1st court test in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The first court test of whether local governments can ban police from enforcing certain gun laws is playing out in a rural Oregon county, one of a wave of U.S. counties declaring itself a Second Amendment sanctuary.

The measure that voters in the logging area of Columbia County narrowly approved last year forbids local officials from enforcing most federal and state gun laws and could impose thousands of dollars in fines on those who try.

Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions have been adopted by some 1,200 local governments in states around the U.S., including Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois and Florida, according to Shawn Fields, an assistant professor of law at Campbell University who tracks them. Many are symbolic, but some, like in Columbia County, carry legal force.

The movement took off around 2018, as states considered stricter gun laws in the wake of mass shootings, including a high school shooting near Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people and made survivors into high-profile gun control activists.

After President Joe Biden took office, conservative lawmakers in several states proposed banning police from enforcing federal gun measures, and at least one proposal in Arizona has been signed into law.

The movement hasn’t yet faced a major legal challenge. The Oregon case was filed by Columbia County under an unusual provision in state law that allows a judge to examine a measure before it goes into effect. No timeline has been set for a court hearing.

“This will allow the court to tell us whether the county can actually decline to enforce certain state laws, and it will tell us how to abide by the will of the voters to the extent that we can,” said Sarah Hanson, who serves as counsel in the conservative-leaning county in deep-blue Oregon.

Supporters of the ordinance include the Oregon Firearms Federation, which said in a November statement that “extremists” and “big city radicals” were trying to curtail gun rights.

The group referenced Portland protests opposing police brutality that occasionally turned violent last summer and called the ordinance a “common sense” step that would “ensure your right and ability to defend your life and the lives of your loved ones.”

The ordinance would ban the enforcement of laws like background check requirements and restrictions on carrying a gun, though it would have exceptions for others, including keeping firearms from convicted felons.

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-oreg ... 33bb883368

---

The usual: More than 300 gunshots ring out at Midtown Center in Milwaukee; 2 injured

[Witness]

The Satanic Temple v. Texas

The Satanic Temple Sues Texas for Abortion Restrictions That Impede TST's Religious Abortion Ritual

The Satanic Temple has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division alleging that certain state-mandated abortion restrictions violate TST members' religious beliefs.

WHAT IS THE CASE?

On behalf of TST member "Ann Doe," TST is suing the state of Texas for imposing medically unnecessary abortion regulations including a sonogram, a forced decision to reject the 'opportunity' of seeing the sonogram results, the forced listening to a narrative of the sonogram results, and a mandatory waiting period between the sonogram and the abortion.

Doe performed TST's abortion ritual, a ceremonial affirmation of self-worth and bodily autonomy that integrates the abortive process. Prior to filing the lawsuit, TST's attorney sent a letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which demanded an exemption from the abortion restrictions on behalf of Ann Doe. TST's attorney explained:

"The abortion ritual (1) requires an abortion; and (2) affirms her religious subscription to TST's Third and Fifth Tenets. But before Ms. Doe can get her abortion–and therefore participate in the abortion ritual–the government has required that she get a sonogram… [ These ] requirements substantially interfere with Ms. Doe's religious beliefs and practices for two reasons. First, the requirements are a precondition to Ms. Doe's ability to participate in a religious ceremony. It is a substantial interference per se for the state to place a regulatory hurdle–one that costs money–in front of a religious exercise. The state might as well tax and regulate Mass."

WHAT IS THE CASE?

On behalf of TST member "Ann Doe," TST is suing the state of Texas for imposing medically unnecessary abortion regulations including a sonogram, a forced decision to reject the 'opportunity' of seeing the sonogram results, the forced listening to a narrative of the sonogram results, and a mandatory waiting period between the sonogram and the abortion.

Doe performed TST's abortion ritual, a ceremonial affirmation of self-worth and bodily autonomy that integrates the abortive process. Prior to filing the lawsuit, TST's attorney sent a letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which demanded an exemption from the abortion restrictions on behalf of Ann Doe. TST's attorney explained:

"The abortion ritual (1) requires an abortion; and (2) affirms her religious subscription to TST's Third and Fifth Tenets. But before Ms. Doe can get her abortion–and therefore participate in the abortion ritual–the government has required that she get a sonogram… [ These ] requirements substantially interfere with Ms. Doe's religious beliefs and practices for two reasons. First, the requirements are a precondition to Ms. Doe's ability to participate in a religious ceremony. It is a substantial interference per se for the state to place a regulatory hurdle–one that costs money–in front of a religious exercise. The state might as well tax and regulate Mass."

TST spokesperson Lucien Greaves says, "I am sure Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who famously spends a good deal of his time composing press releases about Religious Liberty issues in other states, will be proud to see that Texas's robust Religious Liberty laws, which he so vociferously champions, will prevent future Abortion Rituals from being interrupted by superfluous government restrictions meant only to shame and harass those seeking an abortion."

https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/texas-lawsuit for the rest.

---

The usual:

12-year-old boy charged in fatal shooting on Detroit’s west side

[Witness]

Navajo Nation Becomes Largest Tribe in U.S. After Pandemic Enrollment Surge

A rush to secure federal benefits during the coronavirus pandemic accelerated enrollment in the Navajo Nation, pushing its population past the Cherokee Nation’s to nearly 400,000.

ALBUQUERQUE — The Navajo Nation already had its own police academy, universities, bar association and court system, plus a new Washington office near the embassies of other sovereign nations. And during the coronavirus pandemic the Diné, as many prefer to call themselves, gained an important distinction: the most populous tribal nation in the United States.

A rush to secure federal hardship benefits increased the Navajo Nation’s official enrollment to 399,494 from 306,268 last year, according to the Navajo Office of Vital Records and Identification. That jump was enough for the Diné to eclipse the Cherokee Nation, which has an enrollment of about 392,000.

The tribe’s growth, which came while it was enduring some of the nation’s most harrowing virus outbreaks, could affect the disbursement of future federal aid as well as political representation in the Southwest. The Navajo Nation reservation, which is larger than West Virginia, spreads over about 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

“This is the brighter side to a really bad time in the pandemic when we watched so many people go,” said Traci Morris, executive director of Arizona State University’s American Indian Policy Institute.

Dr. Morris, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, said that while several tribes saw their enrollment increase during the pandemic, the 30 percent spike in the Navajo Nation was particularly notable. The Cherokee Nation, which normally sees about 1,200 applications for enrollment each month, has seen an increase to about 1,400 a month since the middle of last year, said a spokeswoman for the tribe.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/us/n ... ation.html for the rest.

---

The usual:

At Least 14 Shot, Leaving 2 Dead, in Mass Shooting at New Jersey House Party

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/OFna1gk.jpg

---

The usual:

3 people were killed and 3 others were injured in a shooting at an Ohio bar

[ed]

Bullshit. Unadulterated bullshit. Lazy, crappy analysis by a "quantitative social scientist".

the better predictor of death sentences was the number of death sentences that a county had previously imposed

does not, in any way shape or form suggest

In other words, each death sentence made another death sentence more likely

Good lord.

Evidence?

Autocorrelation is not suggestive of causation. Inserting a lag term is just shitty statistics and drawing a conclusion from such a shit manipulation of data is generally a flogging offense.

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/XKlASm9.jpg

---

The usual:

San Jose VTA shooting kills 10, including employee who opened fire

[The Atheist]

Pure gold: https://www.jpost.com/international/sta ... row-669655

[Grammatron]

Yeah we also use Nazi rockets while you guys use Nazi laws.

[The Atheist]

A Godwin self-PWN. It does not get better than that.

[shuize]

https://i.imgur.com/OFna1gk.jpg

Not 22.

But maybe he/him was using "woke" math.

[Grammatron]

A Godwin self-PWN. It does not get better than that.

I agree.

[Witness]

Not 22.

But maybe he/him was using "woke" math.

:clap:


The original picture is clipped.

[Witness]

As you're into commemoration:


https://i.imgur.com/thnmKe1.jpg


More recent news:

NYC Art Gallery Commemorating Tulsa Massacre Vandalized With White Paint

An art gallery in Manhattan displaying pieces for the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre was vandalized overnight and the person responsible now has the attention of the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force.

The owner of the Black Wall Street Gallery in SoHo said it was not there when he locked up Sunday night, but by Monday morning white paint had been smeared across the gallery's name displayed on the front window.

"In this case, you have white paint on something that has the word "black" and it's only on those words, it's not above or below nor is it on any other business around. That to me constitutes hate speech," said gallery owner Dr. Ricco Wright.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/c ... t/3082908/

---

The usual:

Athens police release dramatic video showing timeline of gunman around popular park

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/mqnhbQ5.jpg
(Woodstock, NY)

---

The usual:

1 dead, 1 critical in Los Angeles fire station shooting; suspect believed to set home on fire

[Witness]

Utah governor asks citizens to pray for rain to end drought

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s governor asked citizens Thursday to pray for rain this weekend to relieve the state from its drought.

Gov. Spencer Cox released a statement calling on Utah citizens to pray for “divine intervention” as an excessive heat warning has been issued for areas of the state this weekend.

“I’ve already asked all Utahns to conserve water by avoiding long showers, fixing leaky faucets, and planting water-wise landscapes,” Cox said. “But I fear those efforts alone won’t be enough to protect us.“We need more rain and we need it now.”

https://apnews.com/article/utah-religio ... 8c4dd7b557

Perhaps burning more witches could help? :notsure:

---

The usual (2 links as my bookmarks start to pile up):

Armed Man Shot by Lancaster Officer – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

3 Wilmington officers shot at domestic dispute call, suspect dead after 12-hour standoff: Police - ABC News

[Hotarubi]

Just to mix the board up a little bit. A white man committing a crime.

https://whdh.com/news/man-accused-of-hi ... ile-drunk/

[Witness]

High court asked to review men-only draft registration law

The Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether it’s sex discrimination for the government to require only men to register for the draft when they turn 18.

The question of whether it’s unconstitutional to require men but not women to register could be viewed as one with little practical impact. The last time there was a draft was during the Vietnam War, and the military has been all-volunteer since. But the registration requirement is one of the few remaining places where federal law treats men and women differently, and women’s groups are among those arguing that allowing it to stand is harmful.

The justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear a case involving the Military Selective Service Act, which requires men to register for the draft.

Ria Tabacco Mar, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project, who is urging the court to take up the issue, says requiring men to register imposes a “serious burden on men that’s not being imposed on women.”

Men who do not register can lose eligibility for student loans and civil service jobs, and failing to register is also a felony punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and five years in prison. But Tabacco Mar says the male-only requirement does more than that.

“It’s also sending a tremendously harmful message that women are less fit than men to serve their country in this particular way and conversely that men are less fit than women to stay home as caregivers in the event of an armed conflict. We think those stereotypes demean both men and women,” she said.

Even if the draft is never used again, retaining the men-only requirement sends a “really damaging message,” said Tabacco Mar, who represents the National Coalition For Men and two individual men challenging the law

A group of retired senior military officers and the National Organization for Women Foundation are among the others urging the court to take the case.

https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-c ... 7d5c58f3c2

---

The usual:

Mississippi teen fatally shot hours after graduation

3 dead, multiple people injured after shooting at graduation party in Miami-Dade area - ABC News

[Witness]

San Jose mayor proposes gun owners carry insurance and pay annual fee in wake of mass shooting

Nearly two weeks after a gunman fatally shot nine coworkers at a San Jose light rail yard, the mayor of Northern California's most populous city is proposing first-of-its-kind gun safety restrictions that would require gun owners in the city to obtain insurance and pay an annual fee to cover the cost of gun violence.
While mass shootings draw much of the attention of gun violence, in the 13 days since the shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority facility, there have been eight additional shootings in San Jose, according to Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Liccardo's initiative, unveiled Tuesday, is aimed at providing care to injured victims and providing incentives for safer behavior. Some gun owners, he said, would already be covered through their homeowner's or renter's insurance.
"If we cannot stop the horrors of gun violence in our cities, at least we're going to have the public stop paying for it," Liccardo said at a press conference. "The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to own guns but does not require that every other taxpayer pay for that right ... requiring gun users to pay fees will help fund critical emergency medical and police response and reduce our taxpayers burdens."
The proposal would require all gun and ammunition purchases to be recorded on video and audio in an effort to discourage straw purchases for those who are legally ineligible to buy weapons, he said. Additionally, suicide prevention materials would be required at points of sale.
The gun safety efforts will focus on strengthening and expanding gun violence restraining orders and intelligence programs that help identify illegal guns in the hands of violent criminals, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
Liccardo's proposals also include leveraging federal information for early intervention, after federal sources told CNN the gunman in last month's shooting had been detained by Customs and Border Protection officers who discovered books on terrorism and writings filled with hatred toward his workplace.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/09/us/s ... index.html

---

The usual:

At least 8 injured in New Orleans shooting, police say - CNN

17-year-old dies after shooting outside Texas high school

3 dead, including suspect, in shooting at Publix supermarket in Florida

[Grammatron]

San Jose mayor doesn't understand the constitution or doesn't care.

[robinson]

Since Chicago has the numbers to qualify as a mass shooting every three days, try that idea there and see how it works

[Witness]

Tennessee woman accidentally buys loaded handgun at church rummage sale

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Tennessee woman shopping at a church rummage sale accidentally bought a loaded Glock 23, believing it was an airsoft gun.

Police have since determined the weapon was reported as stolen.

The woman, who was not named, alerted Greeneville police about the purchase on Sunday. She said she had gone to a rummage sale on May 7 at a church, where a gun was taken out of a bag of clothing and put on a table for sale.

She told police she wanted to buy the holster the .40-caliber handgun was in and thought the weapon was an airsoft gun. When she got home, she said, she realized it was a Glock 23 and there was a full magazine and “one in the chamber.”

The woman told police she then called the youth pastor.

Another woman came forward claiming the gun belonged to her husband, but when she couldn’t provide a proper description of the markings on the side of the weapon it was turned over to police.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-wom ... mage-sale/

---

The usual:

Active shooter lockdown in place for San Antonio's JBSA-Lackland | kens5.com

Teen cousins face murder charges in shooting of 17-year-old during drug deal at Bartow park

Queens, NY shooting: 10 year old boy killed after shots fire at home Far Rockaway neighborhood - CNN

[Grammatron]

But is it true.

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/AJuSGoD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EMoZtb0.jpg

---

The usual:

Family of boy allegedly shot by neighbor worried after suspect walks free with low bond

9-year-old boy accidentally shot in chest by father after alleged road rage incident - ABC News

Austin mass shooting: 13 hospitalized after attack on 6th Street | KXAN Austin

[Grammatron]

The usual:

Family of boy allegedly shot by neighbor worried after suspect walks free with low bond

Gun crimes do not get punished in places where Democrats are in charge. There is your answer why the amount of shootings is so high.

[robinson]

Woke America

[Witness]

Peace through superior firepower: Belief in supernatural evil and attitudes toward gun policy in the United States

Abstract

Although debates over guns and gun control have roiled the contemporary political scene, the role of religion has received only limited attention from scholars. We contribute to this literature by developing a series of theoretical arguments linking one specific facet of religion –belief in supernatural evil (i.e., the Devil/Satan, Hell, and demons)—and a range of gun policy attitudes. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from the 2014 Baylor Religion Survey (n = 1572). Results show that belief in supernatural evil is a robust predictor of support for policies that expand gun rights. Overall, the estimated net effects of belief in supernatural evil withstand statistical controls for a host of sociodemographic covariates, and, importantly, political ideology. Very few other aspects of religion are associated with any of these gun policy attitudes. Implications and study limitations are discussed, and promising directions for future research on religion and guns are identified.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 9X21000727

:mrgreen:

---

The usual:

Florida teen charged after 6-year-old fatally shoots himself

Suspect in NDOT employee shooting has died

Police say shooting spree in Georgia, Alabama was racially motivated | WBMA

[Giz]

Peace through superior firepower: Belief in supernatural evil and attitudes toward gun policy in the United States

Abstract

Although debates over guns and gun control have roiled the contemporary political scene, the role of religion has received only limited attention from scholars. We contribute to this literature by developing a series of theoretical arguments linking one specific facet of religion –belief in supernatural evil (i.e., the Devil/Satan, Hell, and demons)—and a range of gun policy attitudes. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from the 2014 Baylor Religion Survey (n = 1572). Results show that belief in supernatural evil is a robust predictor of support for policies that expand gun rights. Overall, the estimated net effects of belief in supernatural evil withstand statistical controls for a host of sociodemographic covariates, and, importantly, political ideology. Very few other aspects of religion are associated with any of these gun policy attitudes. Implications and study limitations are discussed, and promising directions for future research on religion and guns are identified.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 9X21000727

:mrgreen:

Well, in (gun friendly) red states, you need something abstract to blame when something goes wrong. In blue states, they have democrats.

[Witness]

Some gun news for our gun nuts fans:

Armed staff policy at Butler County school district illegal, Ohio Supreme Court says

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A southwestern Ohio school district’s controversial policy allowing 10 teachers and other staff members to carry weapons on campus with just 24 hours of training is illegal, the state’s top court said Wednesday.

Madison Local Schools must follow current state law that requires more extensive training or 20 years peace officer’s experience, the 4-3 decision reads.

Ohio law permits school boards to decide whether to allow teachers and other staff to carry guns into school buildings.

But state lawmakers have mandated that they be well-trained with 728 hours first.

In 2018, in the wake of a shooting at one of its schools in 2016, Madison City Schools in Butler County approved a policy allowing armed staff with 24 hours training, including eight earned at a one-day class to obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon.

https://www.fox19.com/2021/01/12/armed- ... e-court-2/

Background checks blocked a record high 300,000 gun sales

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The number of people stopped from buying guns through the U.S. background check system hit an all-time high of more than 300,000 last year amid a surge of firearm sales, according to new records obtained by the group Everytown for Gun Safety.

The FBI numbers provided to The Associated Press show the background checks blocked nearly twice as many gun sales in 2020 as in the year before. About 42% of those denials were because the would-be buyers had felony convictions on their records.

The increase in blocked gun sales largely tracks with the record-setting surge in sales that took hold along with the coronavirus pandemic and has continued into this year, through historic demonstrations against police brutality, deep political divisions and an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

It comes as Congress has failed to pass major legislation on guns despite the Democratic majority and President Joe Biden’s push. A bill that would strengthen background checks is stalled in the Senate. The House in March passed the legislation requiring the checks on all sales and transfers, as well as an expanded 10-day review for gun purchases. Most states require background checks only for sales at federally licensed dealers. But the legislation faces an uphill battle getting any Republican support in the Senate.

https://apnews.com/article/gun-backgrou ... 0441a?s=09

9th Circuit Appeals Court blocks the overturn of California's assault weapons ban

The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a federal judge's controversial ruling that overturned California's longtime ban on assault weapons, in which he likened the AR-15 to a Swiss Army knife.
In an order Monday, a three-judge panel on the federal appeals court issued a stay of US District Judge Roger Benitez's order earlier this month that overturned California's three-decade old assault weapons ban.
The state's current assault weapons laws will remain in effect while further proceedings continue, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement on Twitter.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/21/poli ... index.html

I knw, 9^th circuit bad. :mrgreen:

---

The usual:

3 family members killed in northeast Cedar Rapids shooting, fourth arrested

Driver shot in face during NC road rage encounter after water tossed from bottle splashes on car: sheriff | Fox News

Mob of Black men in Chicago yank from car and shoot a couple celebrating Puerto Rican Day

Teen dead, 2 men injured after shooting in northwest Houston, police say