Daily Archives: March 29, 2020

HOMELAND SECURITY ON GUNS AS ESSENTIAL

HOMELAND SECURITY ON GUNS

HOMELAND SECURITY ON GUNS AS ESSENTIAL-The Trump administration issued a guidance hat said the firearm industry should be allowed to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic.

A memo released Saturday by the Homeland Security Department said workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges are part of its “essential critical infrastructure workforce” advisory list during the COVID-19 response effort.

Besides the section for law enforcement, public, safety and other first responders under which the firearm industry fell, the long advisory list also included sections for healthcare/public health, food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, transportation and logistics, and many others. DHS developed the list in collaboration with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector.

Several states including California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have deemed gun stores to be “non-essential” businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the shops to shutter. The National Rifle Association and several other gun rights groups filed a lawsuit against the state of California, alleging such closures violate the Second Amendment rights of the state’s citizens.

Other states such as Ohio, Illinois and Michigan have classified these businesses as essential and allowed the stores to remain open under the “stay at home” state-wide orders.

Several states, including California, had seen a surge in gun purchases since the outbreak began.

HOMELAND SECURITY ON GUNS AS ESSENTIAL

The memo from Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the list is “advisory in nature. It is not, nor should it be considered, a federal directive or standard.”

Still, the National Shooting Sports Foundation applauded the move.

“We are deeply appreciative to the Trump Administration and Department of Homeland Security for recognizing the vital role our industry fulfills in our nation,” Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the firearm industry trade association, said in a statement.

“We have seen over the past week hundreds of thousands, even millions of Americans choosing to exercise their right to keep and bear arms to ensure their safety and the safety of loved ones during these uncertain times. Americans must not be denied the ability to exercise that right to lawfully purchase and acquire firearms during times of emergency,” he added.

DAWG SAYS: SOME EXTREME RIGHT-WING SITES ARE SAYING THAT GUN SHOPS ARE ESSENTIAL, BUT THIS MEMO SAYS IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THEY STAY OPEN. PERSONALLY, I THINK THERE IS A STRONG FEELING AMONG MANY PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.

NEWSOM RELEASES INCLUDES MURDERERS

NEWSOME RELEASES INCLUDES MURDERERS: Many of those given clemency or pardons were under age 26 at the time of their crimes, and they have since participated in rehabilitation programs.

NEWSOME RELEASES INCLUDES MURDERERS:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pardoned five people who already served their time and commuted the sentences of 21 state prison inmates, including more than a dozen convicted of murder or related crimes. The victims were children in two of the cases and a pregnant woman in a third.

The clemency requests were being considered before the coronavirus crisis, “and, as resources permitted, the governor decided to move forward with them,” spokeswoman Vicky Waters said in an email.

Attorneys representing inmates this week asked federal judges to free thousands of inmates to help prisons better confront the pandemic, which has sickened one inmate and 12 employees. Newsom said mass inmate releases would further burden strained community health care systems and homelessness programs. But he stopped transfers into the system for 30 days.

Aside from his usual consideration of public safety and justice factors, Waters said that because of the pandemic, the governor “also considered the public health impact of each grant, as well as each inmate’s individual health status and the suitability of their post-release plans, including housing.”

Most people infected with coronavirus have mild or moderate symptoms, but it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death, for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

Many of those given clemency or pardons were under age 26 at the time of their crimes, and they have since participated in rehabilitation programs, Waters said. Most of the commutations allow inmates to seek parole, but release decisions will still be made by the Board of Parole Hearings.

Newsom’s commutations include include 14 inmates convicted of murder or related crimes.

Suzanne Johnson, 75, of San Diego County, has served 22 years for assault on a child causing death, while 64-year-old Joann Parks of Los Angeles County, has served 27 years but denies setting a fire in her home that resulted in the deaths of her three young children.

Rodney McNeal, 50, of San Bernardino County, has served 22 years for fatally stabbing his pregnant wife, a crime he also denies.

NEWSOM RELEASES INCLUDES MURDERERS:

— Kristopher Blehm, 35, of Santa Barbara County, has served nearly 12 years for helping murder his crime partner’s romantic rival.

— Steven Bradley, 56, of Kern County, has served 32 years for killing a gas station attendant during a robbery.ADVERTISEMENT

— Jason Bryant, 40, of Shasta County, has served 20 years for armed robberies in which one victim was fatally shot by an accomplice.

— Rosemary Dyer, 67, of Los Angeles County, has served more than 33 years for fatally shooting her husband.

— Samuel Eldredge, 61, of Humboldt County, has served 25 years for fatally shooting his crime partner’s housemate.

— Richard Flowers, 64, of Tulare County, has served more than 25 years for killing a woman during a robbery.

— Robert Glass, 48, of Los Angeles County, has served more than 26 years for murder during a burglary.

— James Harris, 56, of Los Angeles County, has served more than 30 years for a drug sales-related kidnapping and the murder of two victims.

— David Jassy, 45, Los Angeles County, has served 11 years for killing a man during an altercation.

— Shyrl Lamar, 68, of Sacramento County, participated in a robbery in which her crime partner fatally stabbed two victims.

— Ramon Rodriguez, 49, of Los Angeles County, has served 22 years after he was paid to kill the victim.

Two of the pardons are intended to help lawful immigrants who face the possibility of being deported based on crimes they committed years ago. Waters said that would be “an unjust collateral consequence that would harm their families and communities.”

One is Tri Thai, who the governor’s office said was age 18 in 1994 when he was convicted of receiving stolen property and age 21 when he was convicted of a gang-related assault with a firearm, second degree burglary, and attempting to dissuade a witness.

The other is Monsuru Tijani, who was convicted of perjury in 1986, check fraud in 1991, submitting false financial statements in 1995, and submitting false financial statements in 1999. The governor’s office said he “has turned his life around,” but he faces religious persecution and possible incarceration if he is deported to Nigeria because of his conversion to Christianity.

The remaining three pardons are all Los Angeles County cases.

Gabriel Garcia and Shannon Thomas-Bland were separately convicted of drug offenses in their early to mid-20s about three decades ago. Brenda Ibanez robbed two convenience stores in 1999, and in 2005 she tried to buy motorcycles with a fake driver’s license.

DAWG SAYS: NUFF SAID…….