Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination gave the Left another rallying cry to “Ban assault rifles!”10/29/2025
 “Gun Control” is not about guns, it’s about control. I have written on this topic in the past but the Left now using Charlie Kirk’s murder to help them is, to me, disgusting.
As any good Birkenstock-wearing, gender fluid Leftist will tell you and the world, usually in a loud, shrill voice, “Assault rifles are bad! Assault rifles should be banned! We need to save lives! We need to stop all these deaths!” Of course, they can’t define the characteristics of an “assault” rifle if their life depended on it, but hey, those are just details that don’t matter. Charlie Kirk’s tragic murder, they believe, gave them more fuel to rage on about banning assault rifles and they think the Right will support them now. They scream, “Look what just happened to Charlie Kirk! These terrible assault rifles must go! People are dying! We need to save lives!” Unfortunately, these rifle-banning zealots don’t understand that facts and basic math do not work in their favor. They don’t understand that the lunatic who murdered Charlie Kirk used an 80-year-old bolt action rifle, not an “assault” rifle – but again, details, details, details. In 2023, there were 511 Americans killed by rifles. For the most part, these 511 deaths are tragic. I say “for the most part” because I don’t know how many were criminals killed by police officers or lawfully armed citizens to save lives. So, that is 511 total deaths attributed to rifles out of our 340-million-person population. In that same year, 2023, 480,000 Americans died from smoking, 178,000 died from alcohol, and 105,000 from drug overdoses. That totals 763,000 deaths from smoking, alcohol, and drugs. Each of these deaths was sad but don’t lose sight of the fact that it was a voluntary choice to smoke, drink, or abuse drugs. All of these deaths were preventable by simply banning tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. If it’s all about saving lives, as these rifle banning nutjobs claim loudly, their efforts would be focused on banning tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs to save 750,000 lives, not banning rifles to save 511. It is clearly not about saving lives and these Leftists don’t want to face the backlash from these industries or the people who smoke and/or drink. Their arguing to ban assault rifles but not addressing tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs shows them to be the hypocrites they truly are. It’s really all about imposing their hatred for guns and Leftist agenda on everyone else. They cannot believe there are legitimate reasons to own firearms, e.g., home defense, hunting, sporting competitions, or anything else that brings enjoyment to their owners. In actuality, the Left themselves made “assault” rifles immensely popular. In 1994, even though most people had no interest in an AR-15 (the rifle the anti-gunners usually hold up as an example of an “assault” rifle), Clinton decided the country wasn’t responsible enough to own such weapons and signed the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly called the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. It should come as no surprise that Diane Feinstein and Chuck Schumer sponsored this bill; this dynamic duo could have starred in the movie Dumb and Dumber. When the ban ended in 2004, the floodgates opened and everyone wanted one. While only gun nerds like me owned them in 1994, the AR-15 demographic shifted to bankers, nurses, truck drivers, Walmart greeters, sanitation workers, etc.…basically everyone. Every time Obama said the word “AR-15” on TV or in press conferences, another 100,000 guns went into circulation. It is estimated that there are 82 to 84 million lawful gun owners in the United States and growing. Since the pandemic, gun sales were increasing by about a million a month – many being first time gun owners. In 2020 alone, 60 million guns were purchased, a record high. These new gun owners finally recognized what I and other gun owners have always known, there are criminals and crazy people out there that can’t be controlled. It’s an oft-used cliché, but true nonetheless – when seconds count, help is minutes away. You are responsible for protecting yourself, your loved ones, and friends. I carry a firearm from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I’m not paranoid and I pray I never have to use my firearm in self-defense but the world has grown exponentially more violent as every year passes and there are only three people I completely trust to protect my loved ones – me, myself, and I (sorry, I couldn’t resist writing that sentence). As every responsible firearm owner should do, I also shoot weekly to keep my skills sharp. Americans are seriously exercising their Second Amendment rights – and I view that as a good thing. We all need to stay vigilant to make sure our Second Amendment rights are not taken away. The Left inadvertently helped kill gun control deader than disco back in 1994, and with the help of all of the new firearm owners, I hope gun control in America is finally dead. While there is always a renewed cry for banning guns after a reported mass shooting, the bad guys will always have guns and it is a good guy with a gun that stops the bad guy; be that a police officer or a lawfully armed citizen. Between 2014 and 2023, one study showed armed civilians stopped 51.5% of active shootings, while police officers stopped 44.6%. Another report for that same time period found armed civilians stopped 52.5% of mass shootings with that rate increasing to 62.5% in 2024. While some people dispute these findings, it cannot be disputed that lawfully armed civilians stop bad guys and save lives. If a mass shooting could only be stopped by police officers, thousands more could be killed before the police arrive on scene. When seconds count, help is minutes away. I would ask the Left to take off their Birkenstocks, brew a kombucha, and shut up about gun control and trying to take my guns. It’s over. Instead, focus on reducing violence in movies and video games, getting more dads in homes, teaching true morality in our classrooms, eliminating bullying in our schools, and eliminating gender modifying surgery on our youth. That might actually save some lives. Or was that not what you were trying to do? Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  With the Democrats still reeling from their 2024 presidential election spanking, losing members of their party by encouraging violence against political opponents and shutting down the government, and a host of other problems of their own making, many conservatives have wondered who will take control of the Democratic Party and lead them out of the political quicksand they find themselves in. Others on the right don’t really care and hope the Democrats sink even further into the quicksand. They feel that we have 47 in the White House and control of both the Senate and House, so why worry. I think that’s a mistake. We should always be concerned with our opponents. The Art of War teaches, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will suffer a defeat. If you know neither your enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Make no mistake, we are at war with the Democrats to preserve the American way of life – just look what Sleepy Joe Biden did to America in his four years…a wide-open border and invasion by millions and millions of illegal immigrants, increased crime rates, a tanked economy, forced DEI, and on and on. Trump cannot run for office again and I don’t know who we can put up in 2028 that has a hope of consolidating the Republican Party in the way Trump did for the 2016 and 2024 elections. We also have midterm elections next year with the Senate and House at risk of flipping. From what I’ve read, Republicans are defending 22 Senate seats and the Democrats 13 and the Democrats need to flip only 3 seats in the House at the midterms. We need to be able to anticipate the Democrats’ strategy to have any hope of countering it. In looking for the potential next leader of the Democrats rising from the ashes, I used the time-tested investigative technique of “follow the money.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the top fundraiser in the House for the Democrats. In the last quarter (July 1st through September 30th), she raised $4.4 million and has $11.8 million in her war chest. She has indicated she wants to make a run for the Senate, challenging Chuck Schumer. In that same quarter, Schumer raised $134,000. That comparison alone should tell you how Chuck is viewed by the Democratic Party. While I take comfort in the fact that AOC is dumber than a box of doorknobs, you can’t dismiss the fact that her constituents elected her and then reelected her. While her constituents are clearly dumber than that same box of doorknobs and they deserve each other, I think she has the potential to be infinitely more dangerous to the Republicans and effective for the Democrats in the Senate than Schumer. Frankly, a head of lettuce on a broomstick would likely be more effective than Schumer…but that’s another story. The second highest fundraiser was Hakeem Jeffries. While there is very little to like about the windbag Jeffries, President Trump’s latest effort to insult Jeffries and Schumer, by putting sombreros and mustaches on them, is way out of line and I think only helped these two nitwits. If Trump had published memes of them wearing kimonos and holding Japanese lanterns, I would be highly insulted. I expect many, many Latinos are equally offended and if they supported Trump in the past, they may be having second thoughts. I don’t believe using racist stereotypes is proper or presidential and I wish Trump would just stop. It’s these kinds of actions that make it harder and harder to defend Trump as someone who is not racist and is for all of America. President Trump, you are the freakin’ President of the United States, not some 8th grade bully…please stop. Coming in third in terms of fundraising was Jasmine Crockett – the Texas progressive. She also has indicated her desire to move up to the Senate but she has her own issues, too – among them referring to Texas Governor Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels,” which I’m sure was a reference to his being in a wheelchair though she denies it. Trump, being Trump, labeled Crockett as having a “low IQ,” which has been a racial slur against African Americans for decades. While I don’t believe Trump is racist, once again, he is making it difficult for me to say he is not. Trump is also making it easier for Crockett to turn African American Trump supporters against him. Maybe he just doesn’t care because he can’t run for president again but, for the good of the Republican Party, please, please stop. Taking the fourth spot in terms of fundraising is Ro Khanna, a California progressive. He also has the largest war chest of any member of the House at $14.7 million. He has said that “this country is ready for a new generation of progressive leadership” and, based on his fundraising, he wants to be part of that new generation leading the country. These are impressive fundraising totals for this fabulous four, especially in light of the Democratic Party only raising $99 million this year versus the hundreds of millions they have raised in recent years. While $99 million may seem like a lot, their bank balance is more anorexic than a Kardashian. The Democrat’s big money donors have kept their wallets closed since the presidential election, with good reason, as their party is in disarray. In fact, as of September, the Democratic Party had only $11.9 million on hand versus the GOP’s $85.9 million. Their bottom line wasn’t helped by having to spend $20 million paying off Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign – and that serves them right! I would recommend we all keep our eyes on these top four Democratic fundraisers and others who might come to the forefront. They may be the future of the Democratic Party and we need to fully understand them to be prepared to defeat them. I’ll close with this – the last four letters of “American” is “I can.” The last four letters of “Republican” is “I can.” And the last four letters of “Democrats” is “Rats.” I rest my case. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  Well, we’re finishing week three of the government shutdown with no end in sight. I’ve lived through several shutdowns while serving in the Army and because the military doesn’t pay you lots of money, there is always a certain amount of worry when our elected officials can’t come to agreement and the military and many other federal employees may not get paychecks. While the military now may be paid, it is still shameful. Personally, the problem of our elected officials reaching an agreement isn’t helped by the fact that these same elected officials won’t miss a paycheck during the shutdown – and, more importantly, most of them have become very, very rich while in office, so they won’t experience any change in their lifestyles, missed paycheck or not. It boggles my mind to read things like Nancy Pelosi having a reported net worth of 100 million dollars in 2014 (ranking her 8th on the list of wealthiest members of Congress at that time) but by 2025, she had increased her net worth by over $150 million to more than $250 million – not bad on an annual salary of just over $200,000. During this shutdown, while the Capitol Police protecting Congress are working for free and many other federal employees are not receiving paychecks or being furloughed or fired, Congress seems deaf, dumb, and blind to the optics of their behavior. While many families are struggling to figure out how to put food on their tables, over the course of an hour last Wednesday, Congressional staffers waited in line in the Hart Senate Office building to take their picture with Senator Jim Justice’s English bulldog celebrating its sixth birthday, dressed in a pink tutu and sparkly birthday hat. Is this really the message you want to send to the American people? And many people also don’t appreciate the fact that Senator Justice and his dog travel almost everyday by private plane from West Virginia to Washington DC. While Justice said in January that this would be temporary until he finds a place to live in DC, housing must be really tight because he hasn’t found a place in ten months. This week, for example, on Monday he left West Virginia at 4:41 p.m., landed in DC at 5:18 p.m., and left 2½ hours later for WV; on Tuesday, he left WV at 4:28 p.m. and left DC for home at 6:40 p.m.; Wednesday saw him leave WV at 9:56 a.m., land in DC at 10:35 p.m., and head home at 9:10 p.m. (I guess he wanted to get to DC earlier so that staffers could celebrate his dog’s birthday); and, on Thursday, he left WV at 10:38 a.m. and headed back to WV at 10:26 p.m. Even though the average federal worker is struggling to put food on the table, may not be paid, or is being furloughed or fired, Justice doesn’t feel their pain with his over $650 million net worth. I used to think that Congress also shouldn’t be paid during a shutdown but that’s not going to make a bit of difference to most members of Congress. While I don’t support the majority of the programs the Democrats want to continue funding, I do not believe the American people should be made to suffer while Congress plays political tug of war. I don’t know what the solution is or should be. All I do know for sure is that many, many people are being hurt by the shutdown and our Congressional leaders are not doing what we elected them to do. Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV  Unless some miracle occurs, on November 4th, New York City voters seem poised to elect Zohran Mamdani, a socialist, as their mayor. I am not sure how they got to this place but I can only say that I am glad I don’t live in New York City. Mamdani is leading in every poll. According to one poll I read, his two opponents, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, together have a slim margin to defeat Mamdani but Sliwa, who has the smallest margin of votes, refuses to drop out and give New York City voters a fighting chance of defeating this socialist – despite so many Republican calls to drop out. I think the best-case scenario will turn out to be that people will vote against Mamdani but split their votes between Cuomo and Sliwa or simply won’t bother to vote at all, making it a sure thing for Mamdani to move into the mayor’s mansion. I find many things about Mamdani troubling, including his promises for free bus rides, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, and taxing the rich to pay for all of this (which is impossible from everything I have read). I think these are hollow promises only said to get him votes. If he truly believes these promises, he’s more deluded and dangerous than I thought. What I find most disturbing about Mamdani is his avowed hatred for Israel and Jews. New York City is the U.S. city with the largest population of Jews outside of Israel. Mamdani has pledged to have the NYPD arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York. Yes, he wants to use the NYPD to accomplish his goals, despite referring to the NYPD as “racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety” and promises of defunding them (though, as expected, he has tried to walk back those statements in advance of the November 4th election). Mamdani is an ardent and loud supporter of Hamas – whose stated goal is to establish Islamic rule in the Middle East and has consistently rejected any prospect of peace or coexistence with Israel. Mamdani’s political party, the Democratic Socialists of America (and don’t be fooled by their including “Democratic” in their name), supports continued terrorist rule of Gaza by Hamas. A few weeks ago, Mamdani attended an event at a Brooklyn mosque led by Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to radical Islam and was listed by federal prosecutors among “unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.” Wahhaj has been tied to radical Islam for a long time. He was on the NYPD’s terror watch list (but, again, we obviously can’t trust the NYPD as Mamdani describes them as “racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety”). At that Brooklyn event, Siraj Wahhaj told Mamdani, “I love you more than you can imagine. Don’t ever stop doing what you’re doing.” Mamdani released a rap song in 2019 expressing his “love” for the Holy Land Five – who were found liable in 2004 for the murder outside Jerusalem of a Jewish boy from New York City and convicted in 2008 of providing material support to Hamas. His rap lyric declared about the Holy Land Five (“HLF”) leaders, “My love to the Holy Land Five / You better look’em up.” After the HLF and the Islamic Association of Palestine (“IAP”) lost a lawsuit under the U.S. Antiterrorist Act for $156 million (which was tripled under the Antiterrorist Act), the IAP disbanded. The IAP was co-founded by Mousa Abu Marzouk, the first chairman of the Hamas leadership and one of the senior Hamas leaders targeted by Israel in Qatar in early September. The IAP disappeared and reappeared as the American Muslims for Palestine (“AMP”). The AMP was created by Hatem Bazian, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkley, but run by the same Islamic Association of Palestine leaders. Earlier this year, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, described AMP as having “extensive ties to terrorist-linked organizations and their affiliates.” In 2010, Bazian co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine (“SJP”), another anti-Israel organization. When the SJP had their first convention in 2011, the keynote speaker was Mahood Mamdani, a Columbia professor and Zohran Mamdani’s father. In 2013, Zohran Mamdani launched the Bowdoin College chapter of the SJP, where he was a student at the time. In 2023, Mamdani spoke at the Democratic Socialists of America convention and said, “The struggle for Palestinian liberation was at the core of my politics and continues to be.” Earlier this year, he declined to support a resolution honoring Israel and condemning the Holocaust. Really? He couldn’t even condemn the Holocaust? I’m sure he celebrates the Holocaust. When asked straight up if Hamas should be disarmed, he refused to support that and danced around the question; not really saying anything. He backtracked at the recent debate with Andrew Cuomo, as expected, since the election is scant weeks away – but you can be sure he doesn’t believe they should be disarmed. In a televised interview, he said, “I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas…” Yet, when asked about Israel, he is never at a loss for words or an opinion against Israel. In a post this week on X acknowledging the return of 20 Israeli hostages, he said, “We have watched as our tax dollars have funded a genocide.” Many have accused Israel of conducting a genocide of the Palestinian people but this was belied by the fact that the Israeli Air Force issued warnings to areas before it bombed them; the fact that Israel was responding to a surprise massacre and barbaric slaughter of men, women, and children; and, Israel’s continued stated goal to remove Hamas from Gaza and the return of its hostages. The jubilation in Israel after the ceasefire and return of all living hostages was unmistakable – this joy is not something you express when your genocidal goals have been stopped. Since the ceasefire, Hamas’s al-Saham unit has gone house to house in Gaza, dragging alleged collaborators into the street and publicly executing them without evidence and without a trial. By last Monday, an estimated 30 to 40 Gazans have been killed by these armed Hamas bands. Yet, Mamdani will not condemn Hamas. There are so many more instances of Mamdani’s avowed hatred of Israel and Jews to recount here but they are all disgusting. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If Hamas had infiltrated California from Mexico, slaughtered more than a thousand American men, women, and children in San Diego, and fled back to Gaza with more than 250 American hostages, America would leave no stone unturned to punish those responsible and recover our hostages. If they had raped Americans and burned them to death while they sought refuge in safe rooms (as they did to Israelis on October 7th, 2023), there would have been no protests on campuses opposing America’s military action against Hamas, no call to abandon the American hostages because too many Hamas members have been killed, no accusations that America was engaging in genocide, no support of Hamas by our political “leaders,” and no waving of Palestinian flags on U.S. soil in support of Hamas. I don’t know what will become of New York once Mamdani takes control…but it won’t be good! Jerry Hashimura Pahrump, NV |
Authors"The Grassroot Conservative" publication is a collection of Southern Nevada authors with strong independent voices writing on the issues that matter. Matt Sadler is the editor-in-chief of this new eMagazine and blog, Each author brings life experience, talent, and insight to each thoughtful article. Archives
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