Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 10/6

[SVPete]

Anti-Gun Orgs Urge Clergy to Use Red Flag Laws to Grab Their Congregants’ Guns

https://www.shootingnewsweekly.com/gun-nation/anti-gun-orgs-urge-clergy-to-use-red-flag-laws-to-grab-their-congregants-guns/

In September, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions published a tract titled “Extreme Risk Protection Orders: A Clergy Resource Guide” (extreme risk protection orders are the gun control advocates’ preferred term for red flag gun confiscation orders). The document was authored alongside groups including Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence, and Jewish Women International.

Another author was the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, which the document described as “the public policy information and advocacy office for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).” The “progressive” PCUSA currently hosts the guide on its website. Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, who has put his version of religion at the forefront of his campaign, trained at a PCUSA seminary.
...
The guide seeks to inject gun control directly into the clergy-congregant relationship. The document encourages faith leaders to leverage the trust their congregants place in them, noting, “faith leaders are often trusted confidants. You may be among the first to hear when someone is experiencing crisis…”

Of course, the danger that a pastor may work to have the government strip a person of a fundamental right based on a private conversation will prompt some congregants to forego potentially beneficial pastoral services entirely.

IMO, gun owners in uber-Prog denominations like the UCC, ELCA, Episcopalian Church, and some Presbyterian denominations would be wise to move over to less anti-gun churches. I was raised in a conservative mainline denomination, so I know that would not be a trivial choice. That said, betrayal by an activist "pastor" or "priest" should not be risked, IMO.

[ADsOutburst]

Of course, the danger that a pastor may work to have the government strip a person of a fundamental right based on a private conversation will prompt some congregants to forego potentially beneficial pastoral services entirely.

This was my immediate reaction as well. If you're worried about people turning violent, making them feel like they can't trust anyone is probably the worst thing you can do.

The fact that these activists resort to such surreptitious tactics is telling; it says not enough people agree with them for them to be forthright about their intentions.

Also, I appreciate the article putting "progressive" in quotes. Calling someone "progressive", like "liberal", sounds like a compliment. These anti-gun activists aren't progressive.

[SVPete]

Leftists Lose Again, This Time on the Arizona Border

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/10/05/leftists-lose-again-this-time-on-the-arizona-border-n3819650

It wasn't that long ago that we had "forest defenders" out in the Atlanta suburbs vowing that "cop city" would never be built. They engaged in a months-long campaign of threats, vandalism, arson, and in one case even shot a police officer before they were finally cleared out.

Something similar has been happening in a tiny corner of Arizona near the border for the past several months. A group of activists decided to set up a tent city to object to the construction of a section of border wall in Lochiel, AZ. Like the Atlanta protesters, the official reason for the protest was the removal of some trees, but the real reason was to block the construction of a double border wall.

Kate Scott, co-founder of Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center, was the first to notice contractors were cutting down the cottonwoods this summer. After speaking to a worker in June, and learning their plans to cut down all the trees, she gathered support and started sitting out near the tree. Eventually, with the support of Indigenous activists, the protesters in Lochiel started a morning prayer ritual. Every morning the group would hold a sunrise prayer for the land, Scott said. It was during that prayer ceremony that Border Patrol agents raided the camp on Monday...

On Sept. 14, three protesters wearing bird and jaguar costumes, representing the endangered species in the area, were arrested after entering the construction site.Those arrests encouraged more people from across the country to join the camp, Scott said.

...
The "grandmother" tree is just a big tree along the path of the construction. The activists had created a perch in the tree and were doing a sit-in there for weeks. Today, authorities showed up, arrested 10 to 12 protesters and took the tree down.

I'm sure most of these idiots "tree spirits" were liquid and came in a bottle with a tax stamp. Maybe