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A couple of Second Amendment stories to get your weekend started. The first has to do with the apparently endless debate over so-called smart guns and the efforts by #2A opponents to mandate the clunky and still basically experimental technology on the entire country. There was an event in Washington, D.C. this week where a group of gun control enthusiasts enlisted the aid of sympathetic law enforcement officers to push for the use of such technology by the nations police departments. It was organized by Washington CeaseFire and they were pushing the idea that smart guns which recognize the fingerprints of the cops who use them wouldnt be stolen and put to use by the bad guys. Meanwhile, they would work just fine when the police officers need them.

As Dan Spencer at RedState was quick to point out, this may sound nice in theory, but it simply doesnt work that way in the real world.

Smart guns can be hacked. In fact, just last week, a hacker rendered the technology in a leading German-manufactured smart gun completely useless. He could extend the firing range beyond the allowed distance, jam the gun from firing in the hands of its user or even disable the smart mechanism completely to fire it himself

For the IP1, the smart gun offers its owner nothing more than the appearance of security. Yet, the German manufacturers marketing claimed that the gun would usher in a new era of gun safety.

If theres one thing that law enforcement needs in the field, its reliability. Unfortunately, smart gun technology doesnt offer that. Until it does, we cannot even consider it, regardless of the stats or stunts that activists push.

The hacking question is certainly a valid one (and it remains a growing concern in all aspects of IT far beyond firearms) but its hardly the only issue. Plenty of experts have reviewed most of these guns before and found other, more fundamental problems. The time it takes for the weapon to initialize so that it recognizes the owner can be far too long. And a delay in being able to deploy your firearm in a critical law enforcement situation can add up to some dead cops pretty quickly. Also, some models have inherent flaws which allow the safety features to be disabled by someone with very little in the way of expertise. In short, this technology remains far from being ready for prime time. Its bad enough that some legislators want to mandate it for private use, but forcing this on law enforcement is simply a disaster waiting to happen.

Not all of the #2A news is bad, however. The National Rifle Associations Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) reports that New York Congressman Chris Collins has introduced new legislation which would standardize gun control laws across the country for popular rifles and shotguns, including specific parts for such firearms. Named the Second Amendment Guarantee Act (SAGA), the bill will be of particular interest to owners of so-called assault rifles such as the AR-15.

The bill is a response to antigun laws in a small handful of states including California, Connecticut, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York that criminalize the mere possession of highly popular semiautomatic long guns widely available throughout the rest of the country. Although rifles or shotguns of any sort are used less often in murders than knives, blunt objects such as clubs or hammers, or even hands, fists, and feet, gun control advocates have sought to portray the banned guns as somehow uniquely dangerous to public safety

The SAGA would ensure that state regulations could not effectively prevent the manufacture, sale, importation, or possession of any rifle or shotgun lawfully available under federal law or impose any prohibitive taxes, fees, or design limitations on such firearms.

The NRA thanks Rep. Chris Collins for leading this important effort and urges his colleagues to cosponsor and support this staunchly pro-gun legislation.

Its a fine idea in theory, but given the Supreme Courts stubborn reluctance to say much of anything about the inherent nature of Second Amendment rights since Heller, its tough to predict how they might react. The entire states rights issue inevitably gets dragged into the question, despite the fact that the right to keep and bear arms is supposed to universal. The court has similarly been vague at best when it comes to questions of modifications to firearms such as larger capacity magazines, suppressors and adjustable stocks.

Still, Ill join with the NRA in thanking Congressman Collins and his co-sponsors for at least making the effort. The Senate Democrats will probably doom it to failure before it gets off the ground, but if nothing else it might bring the argument back to the forefront for voters as we approach the midterms.

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Smart guns and SAGA. The Second Amendment fight drags on - Hot Air

Roll Call reports that Moore was at the club on Thursday responding to a constituents question as to whether he supported the Second Amendment. Moore responded by saying, We carry, and pulling a handgun out of his wifes purse.

UNITED STATES AUGUST 3: GOP candidate for U.S. Senate Roy Moore returns his wifes hand gun to her after displaying it as a way to show support for the 2nd amendment after candidates were asked about their views on gun rights during a candidates forum in Valley, Ala., on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017. The former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is running tin the special election to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The gun was a snub-nose revolver that appeared to be made of lightweight materials for concealed carry.

Moore then handed the gun back to his wife so she could tuck it back into her purse. He later said, I will uphold the SecondAmendment.

The 70-year-old Moore is a former Alabama Supreme Court Justice. He is vying for a Senate seat currently held by Republican Luther Strange. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) is trying to win Stranges seat as well, which makes the primary election extremely important.

All three men claim to be pro-Second Amendment and Rep. Brooks has released a number of ads focused on his pro-gun stance.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host ofBullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter:@AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

P.S. DO YOU WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX?SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BREITBART NEWSLETTER.

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US Senate Candidate Pulls Out Gun at GOP Meeting to Prove He Is Pro-Second Amendment - Breitbart News

With Italy now bearing the brunt, the Italian [prime minister] has called for other EU states to help. But intra-EU cohesion has been lacking, say HSBCs analysts. Financial support to countries with external borders has been low. And, so far, only 25,000 of the 160,000 refugees that were due to be distributed across the EU have actually moved, meaning most remain in their country of arrival.

Many of the more than a million migrants that have settled in Germany over the past few years were Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis fleeing war. By contrast, the vast majority of recent arrivals into Italy come from Africa, where the distinction between refugees and economic migrants is not clear-cut, the analysts note.

This is an important distinction. After Emmanuel Macron defeated rightwing populist Marine Le Pen in May elections to become the president of France, and the party of far-right politician Geert Wilders underperformed in Dutch parliamentary elections, some assumed populisms momentum in Europe, fueled by anti-immigration sentiment, was waning. This is premature, says HSBC.

Anxiety about immigration could play into the hands of populist, anti-EU parties as Italy gears up for a general election due in May (but may be called earlier).

Italy is the euro zones third-largest economy, with public debt of some 2.3 trillion ($2.7 trillion). The populist 5 Star Movement, which has topped several pre-election opinion polls this year, once called for a referendum on Italys euro membership if it won power, although it has backed off from this in recent months. The more vehemently anti-immigration, anti-euro Northern Leaguewhich is polling at nearly 15%is clearer about wanting Italy to scrap the euro and quit the EU.

If Italy left the euro, its new currency would swiftly depreciate, boosting its already enormous euro-denominated debt load. The countrys extensive financial connections with the rest of the euro zone mean that the turmoil would spread far. Oxford Economics says that if Italy left the euro, it could cut 0.4% from global GDP.

Thats what could be at stake as eurosceptic populists bolster their support in response to Italys migrant crisis. Reflecting the popular mood, the governing center-left party has itself begun speaking in harsher terms about immigration. It dispatched navy ships to Libyan waters this week to help local forces deter boats from launching. A new rule also require rescue craft run by NGOs in the Mediterranean to carry police on them, to ensure that they are not abetting people smugglers. A German group that didnt comply had its boat seized recently by the Italian coast guard.

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Italy is bearing the brunt of Europe's migrant crisis, boosting populists with radical ideas - Quartz

The migrants, mainly refugees, who have come to Germany since the beginning of 2015 will take time to integrate into society. And not all of them will. But eventually they could help solve the countrys problems of a shrinking workforce due to a declining population.

The migrant crisis has added hundreds of thousands of people to European countries populations in under two years. Germany alone had 1.2 million asylum applications from the beginning of 2015 until the end of May 2017, 1.5% of the German population. Across 28 European Union countries, 2.6 million people filed for asylum in that period.

Before the 2015 refugee crisis, which was classed as worse than the one following World War II, Germanys population was predicted to drop consistently for decades. That would pose a problem because fewer people would be joining the workforce, paying taxes, and helping pay for pensions.

Its doubtful that the refugee influx could help with Germanys demographic problem in the long term; the countrys birthrate is just too low and it has a large baby-boom population which will die off. But at least for the short term, recent revisions to population numbers and birth rates show that the unprecedented refugee crisis is making a tangible impact.

As a new report from HSBC titled EU Migrant Crisis: A new phase brings new challenges points out, the UN now predicts that the German population will rise to 83 million in 2020, from around 81 million currently, after previously being estimated to drop to 80 million. Germanys fertility rate rose to a 33-year high in 2015, thanks in large part to immigrants.

Of course, those people still need to be integrated into the workforce. The headline figures arent promising: Only 9% of migrants who arrived in 2015 have found a job so far, according to a German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) survey, cited by HSBC.

But HSBCs analysts argue that most of these migrants are currently in training programs and Germanys education system is well-equipped to train people on both academic and vocational paths. For the latter it has apprenticeship systems that train people in bulk for jobs the economy needs. So there should soon be a glut of workers ready to help Germany.

The litmus test will be whether those people are ready to get to work when the training programs come to an end, warns the report. However, it says, German unemployment is so low, at 3.9%, that the country can withstand a rise in unemployment if not all the new trainees can immediately find work.

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Migrants are poised to kickstart the solution for Germany's chronic workforce problem - Quartz

August 4, 2017 Albuquerque, N.M.Attorney General Jeff Sessions took new steps Thursday to punish cities he believes are not cooperating with federal immigration agents in a move that was met with bewilderment by local officials who said they did not know why they were being singled out.

The Justice Department sent letters to four cities struggling with gun violence, telling them they would not be eligible for a program that provides money to combat drug trafficking and gang crime unless they give federal immigration authorities access to jails and notify agents before releasing inmates wanted on immigration violations.

Baltimore, Albuquerque, and Stockton and San Bernardino in California all expressed interest in the Justice Department's Public Safety Partnership, which enlists federal agents, analysts, and technology to help communities find solutions to crime.

None of the four has declared itself a "sanctuary city," a mostly symbolic term that nevertheless is strongly associated with ordinances aimed at shielding illegal immigrants.

Regardless, "by taking simple, commonsense considerations into account, we are encouraging every jurisdiction in this country to cooperate with federal law enforcement," Mr. Sessions said in a statement that accompanied the letters. "That will ultimately make all of us safer especially law enforcement on our streets."

The threat marks Sessions's latest effort to force local authorities to help federal agents detain and deport people living in the country illegally as part of a push to reduce crime he believes is linked to illegal immigration. The attorney general has repeatedly vowed to withhold federal money from cities that do not cooperate, similar to the way that previous administrations have held back highway funds during debates over the speed limit and drinking age.

But it was not immediately clear to some of the cities why they were targeted.

In a letter to Sessions, Republican Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry denied that New Mexico's largest city is a sanctuary for immigrants living in the country illegally and said he has been trying to work with immigration authorities since taking office in 2009. In fact, Mr. Berry said, Immigration and Customs Enforcement staffing at the prison transport center fell in recent years.

"If your agency has questions or concerns with our (Bernalillo) County jails, I would refer you to their leadership," Berry wrote.

Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico, called the demands "a bullying tactic."

Another concern raised by cities is that police who patrol the streets book suspects into jails run by county or state authorities over which they have no control. The Justice Department's letters focus on giving federal immigration agents access to such detention facilities.

In San Bernardino, officers book anyone they arrest into jails that are run by the county, not the Southern California city of 216,000 people, said Police Chief Jarrod Burguan.

"The city of San Bernardino has never taken any formal act to declare itself a sanctuary city," Mr. Burguan said. "Our policies have been very, very consistent over the years."

Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said his officers also book suspects into a county-run facility and are tasked with fighting violent crime, not enforcing federal immigration laws.

"That does not mean we don't work with our other federal partners, but that is just not a function of ours," he said.

Nor do police enforce immigration laws in Baltimore, where arrestees are taken to a jail run by the state, said Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh. The state says it adheres to federal policies on immigration in its detention system.

"We are receiving tremendous federal support for the violence-reduction actions, and we wouldn't want anything to deter the progress we hope to make on that front," Mr. McCarthy said.

Sessions has pledged to make fighting immigration and street crime the Justice Department's top priority, but the strategy is putting him at odds with some city leaders, who say the best way to fight crime and build community trust is to keep local police out of federal immigration matters.

Last week, Sessions told cities they must meet the same conditions or lose out on millions of dollars from a separate grant program that helps police departments pay for everything from bulletproof vests to body cameras, a move that made some local officials more defiant.

In the four letters, the Justice Department asked the prospective cities' police departments to show proof of their compliance by Aug. 18.

In Albuquerque, immigrant student activists said the letter was part of the Trump administration's broader attack on immigrants.

"It is a vision of terror for families like mine," said Gabriela Hernandez, Southwest Organizer for United We Dream.

The Justice Department in June tapped 12 cities to receive aid through the Public Safety Partnership, and officials said the four cities targeted Thursday had expressed interest in the next chance at participating. Cities were chosen based on higher-than-average rates of violence and willingness to receive the help and training.

Cities that want to be involved going forward will have to show they allow unfettered communication between police and federal immigration authorities, give agents access to jails in order to question immigrants, and provide agents with 48 hours of notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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Cities baffled as Jeff Sessions targets them for illegal immigration efforts - Christian Science Monitor