The Satuit Nimrod

News Around the Club

No July Meeting

Our monthly meetings are held on the first Monday of each month, which for this July, falls on the 4th —  Independence Day. Ergo, there will be no meeting that night as we all will be too busy stuffing our faces with hot dogs, burgers, etc. and washing it all down with something cold whilst letting off fireworks.

Pistol Range

Some light maintenance work is ongoing on the Pistol Range. Some of the overhead baffles have warped a bit over the years and are either being replaced or straitened in situ.  Also, additional horizontal baffles are being added at strategic locations. Thanks go to the following for helping with this project; Paul Figueriedo, Alex Clark, Tom Chiarrelli, Drew Thompson, Mike Guiducci, Phil Lennon, Scott Herzog, Richard Martin. Apologies to anyone who has been missed.

Pistol Match

The Pistol Committee will hold a Combat Match on Saturday, July 9th starting at 2:00 PM. These are always fun with lots of cheering/jeering when a shooter pokes a hole in a hostage target.

Cowboy Action Shooting

The Gunnysackers will hold a Cowboy Match on Sunday, July 17th starting at 9:00 AM. Come on down and watch these period-costumed desperados ring the steel plates. It's amazing how fast these gunslingers can throw lead down range.

Skeet & Trap

We are into the Summer Doldrums with light attendance for skeet and trap — best to get there earlier rather than later if you want to shoot as the person running the activity will close up early if no one is there.

The mainspring on the trap machine broke recently. Thanks to quick action by Mario Cappabianca in ordering a replacement plus a spare and Tom Malloy for installing said spring, trap was not down for too long.

Quotes of the Month

"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence. From the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference; they deserve a place of honor with all that's good. A free people ought to be armed."
– George Washington

”Hunter Biden lied on his background check and allegedly dumped a gun near a high school. Seems like the kind of thing a nation serious about gun crimes should be prosecuting.”
— David Harsanyi, Senior Editor, The Federalist 

Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f__k things up."
— Barack Obama to a fellow Democrat during the 2020 presidential primary 

Massachusetts’ Government Officials Vow to Enforce Anti-Civil Rights Laws After SCOTUS Ruling

Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) has received numerous inquiries concerning the state of Massachusetts gun laws following the historic civil rights ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The case, New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, ruled against state and local governments requiring a reason or special purpose for lawful citizens to exercise their Second Amendment Civil Rights. The court cited the Fourteenth Amendment in making it clear that so-called, may issue, suitability, and special requirements are unacceptable.

Many of the questions GOAL has been getting circle around whether the specific laws in the Commonwealth that are in obvious violation of this ruling are still going to be enforced. Well, it appears we have our answer to that question.

In spite of this landmark civil rights ruling, both Governor Baker and Attorney General Healey have declared that the State laws in place prior to the SCOTUS ruling will continue to be enforced.

In order to determine the safest course of action for our members, and for GOAL, we have been working with other advocacy groups and attorneys in the Commonwealth to figure out what this ruling means for Massachusetts. Even though the ruling seems clear in its intent, the effects on the Commonwealth’s licensing scheme and on current license holders are not-especially given the statements by our Governor and Attorney General on the matter.  Therefore, before we can offer any information to our members on what the ruling does, we need to make sure to do our due diligence and ensure that anything we release to our members is accurate and legal. In the meantime, thank you to all of our members for your continued support and patience allowing GOAL to do what we do best.

Baker - “The Baker-Polito Administration is proud of the Commonwealth’s nation-leading gun laws and history of enacting bipartisan gun reform legislation.  The Court’s ruling on New York’s licensing law has no immediate effect on the Commonwealth’s gun laws, which all remain in place," the statement reads.

Healey - “In a country flooded with firearms, today’s reckless and anti-democratic decision poses a grave danger to Americans as they go about their daily lives in public spaces like supermarkets, hospitals, and playgrounds. Gun violence is a public health epidemic, and I remain committed to doing everything I can to keep our residents and our communities safe. Massachusetts has one of the lowest gun death rates in the country because we know that strong gun laws save lives. I stand by our commonsense gun laws and will continue to vigorously defend and enforce them.”

One American Gun Manufacturer Is Fighting Back Against the Left's Wrath

More Legal Guns Reduced Crime in Brazil

By John R. Lott Jr. in the Wall Street Journal

Homicide fell 34% after Bolsonaro made firearms permits easier and cheaper.

“Lives are on the line,” President Biden said after the Supreme Court held New York state’s restrictive gun-permit regime unconstitutional last week. Gov. Kathy Hochul warned: “This could place millions of New Yorkers in harm’s way.” Brazil’s experience suggests otherwise.

In 2018, the year before Jair Bolsonaro became president, Brazil had one of the highest homicide rates among developed countries: 27.8 per 100,000 people, compared with 5 per 100,000 in the U.S. Mr. Bolsonaro’s solution: “Give guns to good people. Let people have guns so that they have the chance to defend themselves.”

In Brazil black-market firearms are widely available to criminals, and 70% of murders in 2019 involved guns. When Mr. Bolsonaro took office, there were about 330,000 licensed firearm owners in Brazil. At the time, according to the BBC, “only strictly defined groups of people, including police and security officials are able to obtain a gun license.” In 2019, when Mr. Bolsonaro’s many changes began taking effect, Brazil added more than 400,000 licensed firearm owners.

During his presidential campaign, critics said he had it dangerously wrong. A Bloomberg Opinion writer scoffed: “It’s hard to buy the current proposals championed by gun lobbyists and a few political yahoos who aim to make Brazil safer by slackening controls.” The New York Times wrote in a news story that his proposals were “worrying some experts who argue that more guns fuel more violence.” 

Brazil’s pre-2019 laws looked like the wish list of American gun-control advocates. Owning a gun without a license carries a four-year prison sentence. By comparison, almost no state in the U.S. requires a license to own a gun, and 25 states don’t require a license to carry a gun.

In Brazil aspiring gun owners have to be at least 25, undergo psychological and technical aptitude screening, show proof of employment, and explain why they want a firearm. Mr. Bolsonaro eliminated the psychological and other screening requirements.

By November 2021, Mr. Bolsonaro had made 32 changes to ease Brazil’s gun laws. Brazilians were allowed to own more and more-powerful guns—up to six guns and up to .50 caliber, the same maximum caliber as the U.S. He raised the maximum annual ammunition purchase to 5,000 rounds a year from 50. He made it easier to carry concealed handguns in public. 

Before Mr. Bolsonaro, Brazilians had to pay $260 for a new gun license and $25 every three years to renew it. This put legal gun ownership out of reach of the poor. The initial license fee has fallen to around $18.50, and licenses are good for 10 years.

Instead of surging, crime declined sharply in Brazil. In three years under Mr. Bolsonaro, the homicide rate has fallen 34%, to 18.5 per 100,000.

The media and gun-control advocates were wrong about Brazil. Mr. Biden and Ms. Hochul should take note.

Mr. Lott is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author of “More Guns, Less Crime.”

Club Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING
Monday, August 1st – 8:00 pm

SKEET
Sundays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Wednesdays: 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm

TRAP
Saturdays: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Tuesdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

PISTOL
Combat Pistol Match — Saturday, July 9th – 2:00 pm

COWBOY
Cowboy Action Shoot — Sunday, July 17th – 9:00 am

SAFETY COURSE
Tuesday, August 2nd – 7:00 pm & Thursday August 4th – 7:00 pm

RANGE ORIENTATION
Sunday, July 10th – 9:00 am. Register here.

…And Finally