Ari Fleischer Live-Tweets Shooting at Ft. Lauderdale Airport — UPDATED!

CNN's reporting at least 9 wounded, and with a number like that, that means there's probably fatalities. I'll update.

Meanwhile, folks were sharing Air Fleischer's live-tweets:

I'm at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Shots have been fired. Everyone is running.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017

The police said there is one shooter and five victims.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017

All seems calm now but the police aren't letting anyone out of the airport - at least not the area where I am.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 6, 2017

UPDATE: CNN is now reporting "multiple people shot dead," as I suspected. A terrible story. I'll have more updates.

MORE: The suspect is in custody.

Handgun Sales Surge as Women Step-Up Purchases (VIDEO)

At Fox Business, "Handgun sales surging thanks to women."

And once again, here's Dana Loesch's book, Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America.

Another Leftist Pushes the Example of 'Gun Control' in Australia, Which is the Go-To Model for Mass Confiscation of Citizens' Firearms

USA Today reporter Trevor Hughes made the case for buying a gun a couple of weeks back, "Voices: Why I decided to buy a handgun."

Well, it turns out that Susan Miller, a colleague at USA Today, wasn't pleased that Mr. Hughes deigned to escape from the Democrat-leftist gun control plantation.

Here's Ms. Miller's piece, and I quote the de rigueur reference to the Australian gun "buy-back." See, "Voices: More guns are simply not the answer":

Australia instituted stricter gun laws in 1996, including a major buyback that reduced firearms in the country by 20%, and since then the nation has had no mass shootings, Lankford notes. “No country in the world seems to have figured out a way to have a large number of firearms and not have public mass shootings happen,” he says.

Nancy Lanza, the mother of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, was an enthusiastic gun owner who took her unbalanced son to shooting ranges. Did the fact that Nancy Lanza had an arsenal in her house save her from her gun-wielding son? No. Perhaps if she didn’t have that arsenal, and she hadn’t taken him to shooting ranges, the result would have been very much different...

That's it. That's it right there. Leftists simply do not believe citizens should be able to own firearms. If they didn't own firearms, the thinking goes, we wouldn't have mass shootings.

The sheer stupidity in this boggles the mind. Remember, there are too many variables in the gun debate to make any kind of predictions on what will stop massacres. All of this rests on "perhaps." Perhaps if Ms. Lanza hadn't taken her son to a shooting range? Hell, perhaps if Ms. Lanza never had Adam in the first place! Yes, that's it, just abort everyone and we'll certainly prevent more mass shootings. Pregnancy will become criminal, abortions mandatory, and eventually the remainder of the human race will be wiped out through death by attrition. People are a cancer on the planet, so that's obviously the plan. Yay progs!

Obama Tightens Rules for Gun Dealers — Which Will Do Little Other Than Allow Him to Duck the Real Questions

From Fordham Law Professor Nicholas Johnson, at the Wall Street Journal, "A Glittery Gun-Control Distraction":

On Tuesday President Obama announced that he would take executive action to expand the definition of a “firearms dealer.” The intent is to require more people who sell guns to first obtain a federal license—which obliges them to perform background checks on buyers. Unnoticed is that this action, taken under the banner of “common sense” gun control to make Americans safer, reverses a Clinton administration gun-control policy that also was supposed to make us safer.

The story begins with the 1968 Gun Control Act, which is the foundation of the current federal gun regulation. It requires, among other things, that commercial sellers of firearms obtain a federal firearms license or “FFL.” Regulators in the early 1970s, like the Obama administration today, pressed the gun-control agenda through aggressive interpretations of the 1968 law.

Those prosecutions targeted hobbyists and collectors who sold a few guns at gun shows. One collector who sold three firearms over a period of two years had his gun collection seized and was prosecuted in 1972 for dealing without license. Many prudent and fearful gun owners responded by obtaining federal firearm licenses, even though they did not have storefronts or retail operations.

By the 1990s, the gun control mantra had changed. The claim became that it was a problem to have so many federally licensed gun dealers around, and that “kitchen table gun dealers” constituted a hazard. A claim often heard was that the U.S. had more gun dealers than gas stations. No one explained why the laws and penalties against illegal trading might work differently for “kitchen table dealers,” and there was no empirical support for the idea that these individuals were less trustworthy than the people who ran gun stores. But that did not get in the way.

As a plum to gun-control groups, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under Bill Clinton responded in 1994. The ATF changed the requirements for who could obtain a federal license for the retail sale of firearms (by, for instance, mandating actual storefront operations). The antigun Violence Policy Center celebrated the results in a 2007 policy paper that said the number of licensed dealers “has dropped 79 percent—from 245,628 in 1994 to 50,630.”

Now President Obama proposes moving the furniture around again. The ATF’s new guidance on the matter says that storefronts are irrelevant: “it does not matter if sales are conducted out of your home, at gun shows, flea markets, through the internet, or by other means.” The agency also emphasizes that “courts have upheld convictions for dealing without a license when as few as two firearms were sold.”

We’re coming full circle, back around to the policies of 1972. Prudent hobbyists and collectors, fearing that they might face prosecution under the new, broader definition of a gun dealer, will apply for federal firearms licenses. The impact on gun crime, which is already dramatically down since the 1970s, will be negligible...

Well, of course. None of this is about reducing crime rates and saving lives. If it were we'd be keeping prisoners behind bars and making it easier for everyday citizens to keep and bear arms. It's about pushing the collectivist agenda, which is mired in sick left-wing hypocrisy.

But keep reading.

And don't forget to pick up Dana Loesch's book, Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America.

Here's Nightline's Report on Obama's Controversial Gun-Grabbing Executive Orders (VIDEO)

All the left can do is play on emotion.

It's really kind of pathetic. We're stuck with the Crybaby-in-Chief for another year.

Watch, via ABC News:

Obama Wipes Away Crocodile Tears During Call for New Gun Confiscation Measures (VIDEO)

At this point, it's all for show.

Even CNN's Kate Bolduan asked panelists if it wasn't all optics by now.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Obama announces crackdown on gun purchases, but it illustrates limits of his office."



More, at Twitchy, "'Enough to make you physically sick': Media lapdogs swoon over weepy gun grabber Obama," and "'Straw men shortage'? Tears of a clown prince: So, what REALLY makes Obama cry?"

Glenn Reynolds: 'People Who Own Guns in This Country' Are Obama's Real Enemies (VIDEO)

This is a great segment!

Dana Loesch interviews Glenn Reynolds, at the Blaze.

Watch: "Obama is Starting 2016 With a Bang."

ATMs Run Out of Money at Virginia Gun Show (VIDEO)

Barack Obama is America's greatest gun salesman.

At CNN:

Donald Trump: 'I Don't Like' Obama's Executive Orders on Guns (VIDEO)

Obama's gearing up for a major public relations campaign on gun confiscation, for example, he'll be appearing at a town hall with Anderson Cooper on CNN later this week.

More at the Los Angeles Times, "Obama asks Americans to help stop 'epidemic of gun violence'."

So, here's Trump on this morning's "Face the Nation" slamming the Gun-Grabber-in-Chief:



RELATED: "How About a Debate Over Common-Sense Mental-Health Laws?"

High Bridge Arms, San Francisco's Last Remaining Gun Store, Forced to Go Out of Business (VIDEO)

A couple of thoughts.

First, leftists won't complain about a gun store going out of business, regulations or no regulations. Second, paradoxically, the main sponsor, County Supervisor Mark Farrell, is the author of the city's Laura’s Law, which would allow families, health professionals, and law enforcement to seek mandatory mental health treatment, through the courts, for individuals with dangerous psychiatric conditions. I fully support such legislation. So, it's too bad the city's going to demonize law-abiding gun owners, opening them up to harassment by leftist anti-gun nuts.

At Reason, "San Francisco Wanted Info on Gun Owners. This Gun Shop Refused." (VIDEO)

Hat Tip: Instapundit, "THE APPALLING REASON WHY SAN FRANCISCO’S LAST GUN SHOP CLOSED: High Bridge Arms, founded in the mid-1950s by Olympic shooter Bob Chow, shuts down rather than give local police its customer list."

Armed Activists Protest Obama Visit to Roseburg, Oregon (VIDEO)

From Nina Mehlhaf, on Twitter, "Anti-Obama protestors already gathering at Roseburg airport-some w/ holstered guns saying not to politicize tragedy," and "More Roseburg protestors showing off their right to carry guns well ahead of the President's arrival."

Also at Gateway Pundit, "HUNDREDS TURN OUT to Protest Barack Obama in Oregon “Go Golf!” (VIDEO)." (Via Memeorandum.)

And watch, "AMAZING turnout today to protest Obama in Oregon after the mass shooting at Umpqua College."

Common Response After Killings in Oregon: 'I Want to Have a Gun'

Makes sense. Well, that is if you're a normal American.

At the New York Times.

Germany Faces Few Mass Shootings Amid Tough Gun Laws

Well, we're not Germany, but then, leftists never tire of attacking America's tradition of freedom and basic constitutional guarantees.

At the New York Times.

Gun-Free America

At Reason TV:



BONUS: From Charles Cooke, at National Review, "An Open Rant Aimed at Those Who Would Repeal the Second Amendment."

Christopher Harper-Mercer Discharged from Army After Attempting Suicide

Well, I knew he was discharged from the Army after just weeks of basic training, but I didn't know that was the reason.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Alleged Oregon Shooter Discharged From Army After Suicide Attempt":

The gunman who allegedly killed nine people and wounded nine others at a rural community college in Oregon last Thursday had been discharged from the Army after attempting to commit suicide, according to law-enforcement officials familiar with the case.

Christopher Harper-Mercer, who was 26 years old at the time of the shooting, was discharged from basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., after just one month in 2008. The Army said it couldn’t confirm details of his discharge due to privacy regulations. But law-enforcement officials familiar with the investigation into last week’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg said the discharge occurred after Mr. Harper-Mercer tried to take his own life.

The details of the suicide attempt haven’t been made public. But it is the latest indication that Mr. Harper-Mercer—described by former friends and neighbors as a disaffected loner who loved firearms and disliked religion—had been deeply troubled long before opening fire on fellow students and a teacher in Oregon.

The Army discharge didn’t affect Mr. Harper-Mercer’s ability to legally purchase firearms. He didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, which would have required a court-martial, according to an Army spokesman. Because he didn’t have that type of discharge, often deemed equivalent to a felony, he wasn’t precluded from buying guns under existing federal law.

The nature of his administrative separation is protected by privacy laws, and an Army spokesman said it could have been for a wide variety of reasons.

Mr. Harper-Mercer’s parents couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events that unfolded on Thursday,” the family said in a statement Saturday. “Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured.”

An official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said last week that a total of six guns—five pistols and a rifle—were recovered from where the shooting took place, along with a steel-enhanced flak jacket and five magazines of ammunition. Eight more guns were found at the nearby apartment that Mr. Harper-Mercer shared with his mother, officials said.

The guns all appeared to have been purchased through a federally licensed firearms dealer by Mr. Harper-Mercer or his relatives, federal officials said.

Friends and neighbors have described Mr. Harper-Mercer as reclusive and odd, and also having shown a keen interest in guns. A classmate also told The Wall Street Journal that he attended a school for emotionally troubled students while living in Torrance, Calif. And in online postings linked to his email account, Mr. Harper-Mercer showed a fascination with mass shootings.

At a Wednesday news conference, Oregon authorities said that two plainclothes Roseburg police detectives were the first to confront Mr. Harper-Mercer after he opened fire on a writing class at the college. The two came across Mr. Harper-Mercer in a hallway and exchanged fire with him, wounding him once...

Still more.

Do Civilians with Guns Ever Stop Mass Shootings?

From Helen Smith, at Pajamas.

How About a Debate Over Common-Sense Mental-Health Laws?

At WSJ, "A Shooting in Oregon":

As we went to press Friday, federal, state and local authorities in Oregon were trying to piece together the inevitable puzzle of motive that led to the slaughter of at least nine students at a community college in the small town of Roseburg.

Sheriff John Hanlin of Douglas County, like law officers elsewhere recently, has ordered his staff not to use the name of the alleged killer, lest it merely glorify what he did. This is an understandable, if ultimately quixotic, gesture in the modern media age. The whole world soon will be saturated with the name of Chris Harper-Mercer and every possible detail—some of it true, some of it barely verified—of his life and the tragedy at Umpqua Community College.

One certainty in the wake of the massacre is that gun control will be discussed avidly for the next few weeks, as after past incidents. This debate emerged after a crazed gunman killed 12 individuals at the Navy Yard in Washington in 2013. And after a classroom in Newtown, the movie theater in Aurora and after Virginia Tech.

President Obama called for gun legislation: “This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America.” But Americans did not choose to set a madman loose with a gun. Mr. Obama also called for “common-sense gun-safety laws.” The American people, we suspect, would like more evidence of which “common-sense” policies will work and which won’t before they consent to abrogating the Second Amendment.

Our own view remains that what deserves equal if not greater political attention are common-sense mental-health laws. It is now established that Harper-Mercer attended the Switzer Learner Center, in Torrance, Calif., which treats teenagers with emotional disabilities and mental-health problems. He ended up in Roseburg.

The element of untreated mental or emotional disturbance is present in most of the individuals who commit horrific mass killings in the U.S. If it is preordained that talking heads must argue for days now about guns in America, at least let some specialists enter the debate to discuss how identifying and treating disturbed brains might contribute to forestalling the madness of murdering innocent strangers...

More.

Leftists don't want a debate on mental health. They want to abolish the Second Amendment.

Obama Not Welcome in Roseburg, Says Local Newspaper Publisher (VIDEO)

You gotta love it.

From Lee Stranahan, at Big Government:

David Jaques, the publisher of the conservative newspaper the Roseburg Beacon, says he believes that President Obama would not be welcome to the town after making remarks politicizing the shooting that left nine dead and nine injured at Umpqua Community College on October 1. Jaques told Breitbart News that he believes officials of Douglas County would also not welcome the President using the tragedy to score political points for a gun control agenda.

Any visit by President would be “a campaign stop for agenda to take away American citizen’s right to own firearms” said Jaques in an exclusive interview...

Plus, watch here, "Roseburg Beacon publisher David Jaques says a problem Obama is not welcome after his comments politicizing the shooting death of nine people at Umpaqua Community College."

High School Shooting Plot Foiled in Tuolumne County — 4 Boys in Custody (VIDEO)

Phew, good thing.

And sheesh, it's chilling.

At the Modesto Bee, "Tuolumne County sheriff offers details into arrest of four in Summerville High shooting plot":

SONORA - Deputies have arrested four male students after uncovering a shooting plot targeting Summerville High School, authorities said.

At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele said the case came to him Wednesday when students noticed three suspects acting suspiciously and notified administrators. School staff on the Tuolumne campus immediately called the sheriff’s department.

During the investigation, detectives identified a fourth suspect. While serving two search warrants in the case, Mele said, authorities found “evidence verifying a plot to shoot staff and students at Summerville High School,” which the suspects later confessed to in statements to investigators. He said the plot was detailed, and included a list of victims, locations and methods for the attack.

“They were going to come on campus and shoot and kill as many people as possible on the campus,” Mele said. “It is particularly unsettling when our most precious assets —which are our students, their teachers — are targets for violence.”

Authorities said the plot was in the beginning stages and no students or adults were hurt. Mele said he wanted to emphasize that there is no current danger to students or staff at the high school and the department is confident they have all the suspects involved in custody.

“I believe, with all my heart, the reason we were able to stop this was because we have a level of trust within our community,” Mele said. “When you have a level of trust with the law enforcement, your education – we meet monthly, we meet constantly – you can do this.”

Detectives arrested all four students on charges of conspiracy to commit an assault with deadly weapons on Friday afternoon at their homes and turned them over to the Tuolumne County Probation Department. The suspects’ names were not released because they are juveniles. Mele also would not release their ages or grade levels. Mele said all of the suspects’ families have cooperated fully with the investigation.

Mele said the plan was uncovered when students overheard the suspects talking about it at school and alerted staff Wednesday afternoon. Evidence was later found included paperwork with statements and a list of potential victims including “several students and/or staff” who would be targets at an upcoming event on campus. Three of the students were taken out of school immediately on Wednesday and as the investigation continued the fourth was taken out of school on Friday morning.

No weapons were found, but Mele said the students were in the process of trying to obtain some to carry out the attack...

Keep reading.

Springfield Armory M1A™ SOCOM 16

From Kurt Schlichter, on Twitter, "Picked up my SOCOM 16 today. Store packed with free Americans defying President Fail. @ChrisLoesch @DLoesch."

It looks like this! @rubedawg1061 @ChrisLoesch @DLoesch pic.twitter.com/5A5Q0AnChI

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) October 4, 2015