Bloomberg Dismisses Texas Hero, Says Average Citizens Should Be Disarmed and DefenselessJack Wilson – a 71-year-old congregant of the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Tex. – is a hero to most Americans. When a deranged man savagely murdered two of Mr. Wilson’s fellow worshippers during a service at the church on Dec. 29, Wilson took swift action. He exposed himself to danger to deliver a single shot from his lawfully carried handgun that instantly ended what undoubtedly would have been even more terrible carnage among the hundreds present.

Other congregants were also seen producing lawfully carried handguns in response to the threat. Several closed in on the fallen assailant to ensure he was neutralized. None of them panicked or acted rashly and no errant shots were fired.

The entire episode was over in six seconds and was captured on the church’s livestream.

The evidence is inescapable and available to anyone who cares to view it. Anybody who has ever tried to justify a public policy proposal on the grounds that it could save “just one life” is now on notice that lawful concealed carry saved many lives in just that one episode.

Yet one person who did not bother to watch the video or acquaint himself with the facts is Democrat presidential contender Michael Bloomberg. Commenting on the incident at a campaign stop in Montgomery Ala., Bloomberg did not mention Jack Wilson’s name. Bloomberg did not even acknowledge that the events depicted in the video and widely reported in the media – including on Bloomberg’s self-named news site – were authentic.

But if they were, he huffed, it didn’t change his mind that only the police (which apparently include the current and former officers on his own armed protection detail)

should be able to carry firearms in public.

“It may [be] true, I wasn’t there, I don’t know the facts, that somebody in the congregation had their own gun and killed the person who murdered two other people,” he said. “But it’s the job of law enforcement to, uh, have guns and to decide when to shoot.” He continued, “You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.”

In the best-case scenario, responding police would still have been minutes away from the violence breaking out in the West Freeway Church of Christ. The shotgun-wielding assailant could have killed many more people in that time had he not faced armed resistance of his own.

But Bloomberg’s own words indicate he would consider that an acceptable price to pay to vindicate his arch-statist and anti-constitutional view that the government should have a complete monopoly on the lawful use of lethal force.

What, in Bloomberg’s mind, make police the only people who can be trusted with firearms?

Does he feel that only law enforcement can effectively and safely use firearms?

Jack Wilson answered that question on Dec. 29, 2019, by delivering a single, precise shot at 15 yards that felled its target and only its target, saving innocent lives.

N A T I O N A L R I F L E A S S O C I A T I O N o f A M E R I C A

THE PATRIOT NEWSLETTER ENDOWMENT • PATRON • BENEFACTOR

THE PATRIOT | WINTER 2020

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THE PATRIOT | FALL 2019 | PAGE 2

Last Chance to Receive Gifts and Discounts Available to Patriot Life Members

by Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President

In the last issue of The Patriot I let you know about special discounted rates and the exclusive NRA gift I’ve reserved in your name.

These discounts and gifts are my way of honoring your powerful, personal role in fighting for the Second Amendment as a Patriot Life Member.

But these special offers will expire at midnight, February 28th and cannot be extended.

So please, if you haven’t already taken advantage of this last chance opportunity, let me hear from you today by visiting NRA2020.org, or calling us at 833-NRA-2020.

If you’re an Endowment member, you can upgrade to a Patron Life Membership for just $350 (normally $1,500). Plus, you’ll receive our exclusive new NRA Summit Lake Performance Jacket (an $89.95 value) as an extra way for me to say thanks.

If you’re a Patron member, you can upgrade to a Benefactor Life Membership – NRA’s highest level of membership – for just $400 (normally $1,500). And I’ll send your NRA Summit Lake Performance Jacket with gratitude from all of us at the NRA.

Or, if you’re already a Benefactor Life Member and continue your leadership with a special

NRA contribution by February 28th, I’ll make sure you receive an extraordinary gift to honor your generous support.

I can’t put into words the tremendous appreciation I have for you and your fellow Patriot Life Members. Your strong leadership is the core of our fighting strength.

With the most important election of our lives just around the corner, I’m counting on your continued NRA leadership more than ever before. Only with your vital support can NRA rally freedom’s army by the tens of millions and lead them to victory in November.

I look forward to hearing from you before February 28th, and I’m grateful beyond words for your friendship and your commitment to freedom as a Patriot Life Member.

But somehow that’s still not good enough for Michael Bloomberg, because Wilson is not an active-duty police officer.

What lesson are we supposed to learn from Bloomberg’s response to the White Settlement events, other than who shoots whom isn’t as important to him as who gets to decide who lawfully wields lethal force?

Are you willing to helplessly take one for Team Bloomberg’s scheme of law and order if you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Note that Michael Bloomberg isn’t taking that risk himself; his payroll includes plenty of armed men to keep him safe.

The Second Amendment is your guarantee that you need not take the risk either, which is why Michael Bloomberg’s worldview cannot be reconciled with that fundamental liberty.

This stands in stark contrast to President Trump, who understands exactly what the right to keep and bear arms is all about and unabashedly respects that right.

“It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers,” President Trump tweeted on Dec. 30. “Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry guns!”

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Join Us at the 149th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Nashville With the biggest election of our lives fast approaching, now is the time to send a powerful message to gun-ban politicians everywhere that we are united… and that any attack on our gun rights will be met by the votes of millions of gun owners on Election Day.

So please, join us for the 149th NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Nashville, TN on April 16 – 19 to show your support for our firearm freedoms.

The NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits is free to all NRA members and their families (spouse and children under 18 years old).

And our action-packed weekend is loaded with exciting events and activities for the entire family, including dinners, auctions, gun raffles, concerts and more.

But to start, you’ll want to set aside one or two days to see our spectacular NRA Guns, Gear & Outfitter Show.

Here you’ll explore 650,000 square feet of the greatest rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers, optics, ammo, outfitters, gifts and accessories from America’s top manufacturers.

And along with our incredible show, there will be plenty of one-of-a-kind, members-only events you don’t want to miss, including our NRA-ILA Leadership Forum.

At the Forum you’ll hear from our top allies in the gun rights movement, from members of Congress, Governors and state lawmakers to leaders in the media and entertainment industry.

This will be your chance to be a part of history as we chart the course for saving our freedom and taking the fight to anti-gun politicians, judges, and regulators who want nothing less than to eradicate our gun rights once and for all.

It’s vital that Patriot Life members like you turn out in massive numbers to show that top NRA leaders are united in our commitment to win this do-or-die election and save our freedom.

For more information or to reserve your ticket, please visit NRAAM.org today.

Sincerely hope to see you there!

High School, College Students Benefit by NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim ProgramHelping both college students and campus police with crime prevention is the focus of NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim® (RTBAV) Collegiate Edition.

“Students can be empowered by learning useful tips about dorm safety and the importance of traveling in groups. How best to avoid criminal confrontation is a key component in empowering students,” said Eric Lipp, NRA national manager of Community Outreach.

Although college students can be vulnerable to theft, online stalking or assault, they can help devise personal-safety strategies to help avoid becoming victims through participation in the RTBAV Collegiate program.

The NRA offers free training for law enforcement and campus-safety personnel, which allows them to

incorporate the program into their campus-preparedness efforts. The RTBAV college class, which is not a firearms or self-defense class, is about an hour long, and student materials are free.

Designed to fit into the lives of busy college students, the RTBAV focuses on topics ranging from general campus

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life to the dangers of sexual assault, while also addressing:

• Student housing• Social media• Phone and technology security• Mental awareness and preparedness• Cyberstalking and cyberbullying, and• The psychology of criminal predators.

Lipp said the Collegiate Edition of the course was developed in response to years of requests from NRA instructors and communities across the nation. In fact, high schools are asking for help preparing their students for college and contacting the NRA about the RTBAV training. So far, thousands of students have taken RTBAV training sessions, and the reviews have been positive. One such example is from a recent training session held by the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia.

“The Refuse To Be A Victim Collegiate Program has been very positively received by members of our community. We are lucky to be able to offer such a well-planned and comprehensive curriculum to all in an effort to best inform and safeguard our community members within the college and university environment—while reassuring concerned parents,” said Maj. Ed O’Carroll, commander of the Major Crimes Bureau for Fairfax County Police.

“Our ability to share the impressive Refuse To Be A Victim Collegiate Program with our community has demonstrated how much we care about personal safety, awareness and prevention. Nearly every attendee shared how empowered they were after taking the collegiate class. We are thankful to be able to offer this valuable program to our community,” Maj. O’Carroll added.

To learn more about RTBAV, please visit our website at refuse.nra.org.

Arming Teachers Just Makes Senseby Brian McCombie

The anti-Second Amendment crowd has argued long and hard against allowing our children’s teachers to carry concealed during the school day, but more and more schools are getting out of the way of peoples’ freedom.Recently, for example, Ohio’s Tuscarawas County saw its fifth school district make the move to allowing teachers to be armed. As The Dispatch reported: “School boards at Garaway Local Schools and Claymont City Schools approved the safety measure [to arm teachers at the end of 2019]. They join Newcomerstown Exempted Village Schools, which started arming staff members in 2013, Indian Valley Local Schools (2017) and Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools (2018).”

“When seconds count in responding to a dangerous event, the faster the event is stopped, the more students and staff stay alive,” said Newcomerstown Superintendent Jeff Staggs. “I’m still in favor of a highly trained armed staff along with multiple other layers in the school safety plan.”

Staggs added, “We continue to train and tweak our school safety plan to meet the new issues that schools face every year. The sheriff’s office has been a huge help in our training program with our journey to get better at school safety.”

Rural schools appear especially keen to arm teachers, which isn’t surprising given that the long distances between the schools and law-enforcement staff can make

police response times longer than the national average. As originally reported by The Blade newspaper, Michigan’s Addison Community Schools is “a single building in rural southeast Michigan that contains three grade schools for fewer than 1,000 students.... In the past, it’s taken sheriff’s deputies patrolling a sprawling county a half an hour or longer to get to [the school].”

The school is without armed security of any sort. Addison School Superintendent Steve Guerra said, “I have a lot of safety measures in place, but if somebody were to get into the building and had a weapon, I’m defenseless.”

Since Addison Community Schools doesn’t have room in it to hire a school-resources officer, Guerra and the school board are considering becoming one of the first districts in Michigan to allow teachers to carry concealed firearms.

In rural Campbell County, Wyo., “Two [Campbell County School District] committees that have been

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Virginia Sheriff Offers to Deputize “Thousands” to Protect Second Amendment RightsSheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Va., said he plans to deputize “thousands” of law-abiding gun owners if necessary to help protect them from sweeping gun control Democrats have proposed for 2020, should those measures become state law.

Jenkins made the remarks both in a meeting of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 3 and in a Dec. 4 social-media post.

“Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions,” Jenkins noted in his Facebook post. “‘Red Flag’ laws without due process will create enormous conflict as well. America has more guns than citizens and murder has long been illegal. At best, the proposed gun restrictions will disarm or handicap our law-abiding in their defense … I remain very optimistic that our General Assembly will not pass the proposed bills. Obviously, if passed, there are many of us willing to challenge these laws through the courts. In addition, if necessary, I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

Jenkins, who has been working in law enforcement for 30 years, has been the sheriff of Culpeper County since 2012, according to the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office website. The county is located 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. and has about 47,000 residents.

Jenkins emphasized in later interviews that any new deputies would undergo the same background checks and psychological evaluations all new deputies receive. He also said having so many deputies would be a “big asset” to the community, as they must volunteer at least eight hours a month, and thus would be performing duties at no charge to the community.

“The announcement was surprising to me,” said one man who attended the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors meeting. “I was not expecting him to go to that extent. I’m proud of him for standing up for the Second Amendment.” Asked whether he would want to be deputized if the new laws pass, the man responded, “I would be interested in hearing more if it really came to that. My guess is that it’s not going to get that extreme, but it’s good to know the sheriff is willing.”

Another Culpeper County resident, a teacher, said, “I’m glad I live in a place where they voted to protect our rights, even though I think it’s ridiculous it had to come to that!”

working to create an armed educators policy and regulations in Gillette hope to bring drafts of their proposal to the school board…,” according to the Sundance Times.

The “Armed Educators Committee” has prepared a 22-page draft document in which they examined the various social and tactical aspects of having at least some of the

district’s teachers carry concealed during the school day.

Deputy School Superintendent Kirby Eisenhauer noted that local law-enforcement agencies “are doing such a good job now with what we have. But the added security that [armed teachers] would bring is something we’re all interested in.”

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