California just passed a gun control law which has Second Amendment advocates shaking their heads in disbelief. The bill signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown appears to pave the way for gun confiscation in the state. In Arkansas, a gun range owner garnered nationwide headlines, sparking both anger and applause after banning Muslims from her business. Preserving gun rights for all while respecting the idea of self-defense is at the heart of the debate for most Americans following the Jan Morgan “Muslim Free Zone” controversy.
The Gun Violence Restraining Order law in California could soon keep police officers extremely busy. The gun control law was introduced in the state legislature after Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree that left 13 people injured and seven dead. Rodger did use a gun, but he also stabbed multiple victims. The law does not ban knives or allow for the confiscate sharp objects. Second Amendment activists concerned that domestic squabbles and angst between relatives could result in gun confiscation in the wake of the passage of the new gun control law.
“In the case of the Isla Vista shooter, Elliot Rodger, his mother was noticing that he was becoming more agitated and making these threats of violence, but there was little she could do and little the police could do,” California Democratic Assembly member Nancy Skinner said. The Berkeley area representative introduced the gun confiscation bill, along with Santa Barbara Democrat Das Williams.
“The new Gun Violence Restraining Order Law will give families and law enforcement a needed tool to reduce the risk of mass shootings and gun violence both in the home and on our streets,” Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence California Chapters legislative co-chairs Nick and Amanda Wilcox said.
The new law which Second Amendment advocates believes infringes upon gun rights, is the first such statute in the United States. If a California residents feels a close relative “might” commit gun violence the concerned party can request a restraining order be issued. The order is valid for 21 days initially, but can be extended for up to one year after the filing of a notice and a hearing is held.
California Republicans rallied in opposition to the bill, stating that measures already existed to keep guns out of the hands of unstable or dangerous individuals. GOP lawmakers also maintained that the gun confiscation bill infringed upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The new gun control law reportedly garnered wide support from law enforcement agencies.
The measure expands upon existing statutes which temporarily prohibits individuals with domestic violence restraining orders from owning a gun. “If it can save one life, one family from that agony, it will be worth it,” Democratic State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson said while the gun confiscation bill was being debated.
An Arkansas gun range owner recently declared her business a “Muslim Free Zone.” Jan Morgan owns the Gun Gave Indoor Shooting Range in Hot Springs. A message about the Muslim ban posted on Morgan’s website Sunday has since been removed. Cached copies of the gun range owner’s alleged message have now gone viral. The comments beneath both what is allegedly the original Muslim Free Zone post and news reports about the gun range owner, feature messages both strongly support and vehemently oppose the policy.
“The Gun Cave Indoor Shooting Range is now a MUSLIM FREE ZONE,” the post on Jan Morgan’s blog reportedly said. The Arkansas gun range owner describes herself as a “nationally recognized 2nd Amendment advocate” and states that the decision to make her gun range Muslim free was due to the dangerous nature of her business.
An excerpt from what has been deemed the original post by Gun Cave Indoor Shooting Range owner Jan Morgan:
“To understand why I arrived at this decision, you must first take in to consideration the nature of my business. This is not a coffee and donut shop. This is a live fire indoor shooting range. People come here to buy, rent, and shoot lethal weapons. In the range, people are shooting guns in close proximity to each other, so my patrons depend on me and my discretion regarding who I allow to shoot beside them. One mistake in judgment on my part could cost innocent people their lives.”
Morgan reportedly goes on to list the 10 reasons why she does not want Muslims at her Arkansas gun range.
- The Koran, which Jan Morgan says she has read and studied thoroughly, has 109 verses “commanding hate, murder, and terror” against all those who refuse to convert or submit to Islam, according to the gun range owner.
- Morgan says that her life has repeatedly been threatened by Muslims in response to her publication of the 109 verses she cited. In the notice Morgan is quoted as asking, “Why would I want to rent or sell a gun and hand ammunition to someone who aligns himself with a religion that commands him to kill me?”
- The Oklahoma beheading, Boston bombings, the Fort Hood massacre and the 9/11 terror attacks were also cited as reasons why the gun range was going Muslim free.
- Reason number four states, “Two Muslims walked in to my range last week with allah akbar ring tone and message alert tones on their smart phones. They spoke very little English, one did not have proof of U.S. citizenship, yet they wanted to rent and shoot guns. Their behavior was so strange, it was unnerving to my patrons. No one would enter the range to shoot while they were there. Some of my customers left.”
- The Gun Cave Indoor Shooting Range owner also noted that Muslims who belong to or support ISIS, Hamas, or al Qaeda threaten to kill Americans.
- Reason number six to make the gung range a Muslim free zone reads, “I have a federal firearms license. The ATF informed us when we received the license that if we feel any reason for concern about selling someone a firearm, even sense that something is not right about an individual, or if we are concerned about that person’s mental state, even if they pass a background check, we do not have to sell that person a gun.”
- Jan Morgan reportedly wrote that she understands that not all Muslims are terrorists and believes that as many Muslims and Christians do not know every verse in their holy book. She said that since she has no way of knowing which Muslims will kill in the name of their religion as she firmly believes the Koran demands, she has chosen to err on the side of caution out of consideration of her customers.
- The Arkansas gun range owner reportedly addressed the issue of religious discrimination this way in reason number eight to create a Muslim free zone, “I view Islam as a theocracy, not a religion. Islam is the union of political, legal, and religious ideologies. In other words, law, religion and state are forged together to form what Muslims refer to as ‘The Nation of Islam.’ It is given the sovereign qualities of a nation with clerics in the governing body and Sharia law all in one. This is a Theocracy, not a religion. The U.S. Constitution does not protect a theocracy.”
- Jan Morgan reportedly stated in reason nine that since Muslims are allowed to kill their own children in honor killings, she has no motivation to allow followers to be in the presence of patron’s children at her gun range.
- Reason 10 why Morgan is believed to want her gun range to be a Muslim free zone reads, “In the 14 hundred year history of Islam, Muslims have murdered over 270 million people. Since 9/11 Muslims have committed over 21 thousand deadly terror attacks worldwide. In summary, people who shoot at my range come from all religious backgrounds… some are atheists… I do not care about their religious beliefs until or unless those beliefs command them to commit violent crimes against innocent people and I witness those crimes increasing, as we all have lately.
What do you think about the California gun confiscation law and the gun range owner banning Muslims from entering her business?