2A Newsletter: Week of March 31st

GST-9 Makes Hollywood Debut in John Wick 4

Movie Key Visual Photo Source: Lionsgate

In case you haven’t heard the news yet. Our GST-9 has made its Hollywood debut in John Wick Chapter 4! This has been a long time coming, two years to be exact since we sent off 12 completed (and serialized) build kits off wondering who in the movie would don our guns.

Fun fact: Initially, in the pre-production there was this idea that perhaps each member of the High Table would have a customized GST-9 based on their character - kind of like how different jedis have different designs and colors for their lightsabers. Now we know that the character in the film that used our GST-9 was “The Tracker” also known as “Mr. Nobody,” played by actor Shamier Anderson. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, watch out for our pistol!

The stippling work done to our frames was done by Battlecock Tactical and they were paired with Overbite slides from Statement Defense. A lethal combination, to be sure. We couldn’t be more excited to see the GST-9 in action on the big silver screen alongside John Wick himself.

As an exciting teaser, the GST-9 may or may not be in other upcoming feature films and TV shows this year as well.

Would you be interested in a limited John Wick Build Kit? Let us know in the comments below!

ATF Director to Testify in Congress about rulemaking process

Photo Source: Chris Dorney via Shutterstock

On March 6th, the Chairman of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the ATF “inviting” their leadership to testify before congress. On April 26th 2023, ATF will have to speak before the Committee on the Judiciary regarding their agency policies that quite literally circumvent laws by creating arbitrary rules.

This Committee action comes after ATF has come under much public scrutiny since attempting to redefine the legal definition of what is a “frame,” a “receiver,” and after issuing a ban on pistol braces (prior to this they flip flopped over pistol braces being legal for the better part of decade). Their “zero tolerance” stance will do nothing but criminalize millions of typical, law abiding gun owners... and unfortunately, FPC was recently not granted an injunction against the pistol brace rule. 

The ATF has no power to create these rulings as seen from subsequent fallout of the Supreme Court case West Virginia v. EPA, where any government agency must point to “clear congressional authorization” to have any authority in creating policy that has drastic effects on local governments, industries and the everyday American. We also have multiple cases in California that we can look to for hope such as Miller v. Bonta and Renna v. Bonta.

Be sure to tune into the C-SPAN coverage of this event next month (don’t worry we will do a recap of it afterwards as well) as it will definitely be important to see what the ATF Director will have to say since we’ve already seen their rule on bump stocks overturned and a federal court in Texas has already said that their rule against 80 percent lowers and frames as firearms was unconstitutional. Hopefully, the congressional committee members put the ATF back in their place as an agency and not a lawmaker.

The Double Standard Boomerang Effect

Photo Source: Open Source Defense

Our newsletter is short, we try to cover dense stories and important subjects as briefly as possible — so it's important to get good information from a variety of places. Open Source Defense is a great place for beginners just getting into guns and for intellectuals alike. 

Their most recent blog, OSD 214: The double standard boomerang discusses a commonly misused thought process that happens in the minds of those who oppose gun ownership and it looks a little like this:

1. Stupid rule exists in Circumstance X, and person likes X.
2. Stupid rule does not exist in similar Circumstance Y, and person doesn't like Y.
3. Person makes the connection that "this is an unjustifiable double standard."
4. Person then believes then that the rule should be applied to Y just like it's applied to X. (This one is the boomerang.)

Let's look at an example from Shannon Watts, the Founder of Moms Demand Action:

So according to Shannon:
1. Tobacco, (some) allergy medication, and alcohol all require a person to be 21 years of age to buy. We assume Shannon likes these things just like us. 
2. But the age to buy a long gun (any semi automatic rifle or shotgun) is 18. We obviously know that Shannon is not a fan of guns.
3. Clearly, Shannon thinks this is simply not fair, in fact to her it's wrong.
4. But since Shannon runs a political organization with nationwide donors and a lot of lobbying power she decides to use that to influence the American public and convince them that the purchasing age rules for tobacco, over-the-counter cold medicine, and alcohol should also apply to the purchase of long guns and all ammunition. 

Lot's to unpack there. We'll try to keep it simple. But this is another example of how you can see why the anti-gunners are framing gun control as a "public health" issue. Neither here nor there, Shannon. Normally, if it were about any other product or industry one would assume Shannon would want to reduce the age purchasing limits of cigarettes/Sudafed/alcohol. This is where the boomerang comes in.

Instead, the argument becomes about treating the gun buyers the same way smokers/drinkers/cold medicine abusers are while claiming a double standard when they are creating an entirely new one themselves.

And to a certain extent, that makes obvious sense because the public has largely accepted those purchasing age limits for many years now. But that's how the public figures get a lot of attention - to oppose something that isn't as widely accepted regardless of who that hurts. This action gives people a banner to gather under and that can be dangerous. It certainly would not give Shannon as much leverage as she currently has if she was doing the opposite and taking to the streets demanding the drinking age be lowered right?

If you look at the ways gun culture and laws surrounding the industry have changed in the past 40 years you'll realize that we're actually quite malleable as a thought issue in the average American mind. 

The argument that OSD presents to this debacle is, "why not neither." As in, don't worry about the pre-existing double standards or the nonsensical new ones being created everyday by people like Shannon - just focus on making new gun owners, and the rest will take care of itself as these people enter the fold. 

OSD takes it upon themselves to persuade new gun owners by being friendly and helpful to those are curious about this inalienable right, hobby, and industry. 

As for us? Well, we want to know how we can arm you. 

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