Leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, a handful of airlines will prohibit guns being shipped in checked luggage.

The gun ban from Alaska, United, and Delta appears to apply only to flights to Washington, D.C., according to the Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle.

Reports say that the airlines are trying to curb any intended violent insurrection that may be planned for the inauguration. Washington, D.C. has specific gun laws, but generally, people are allowed to transport a firearm through Washington, DC from a state where their firearm is licensed to another state where their firearm is licensed. But in general, it’s a felony to possess a firearm in D.C.

American Airlines is going to once again ban alcohol service on its flights to and from the Washington, D.C. area. Flights will start going dry on Saturday, and continue through Thursday. Airlines are also moving their crews out of some hotels in the nation’s capital for safety reasons.

The Alaska Airlines blog makes no mention of it. The normal firearms policy at Alaska Airlines is at this link.

In related news, AirBNB has cancelled all reservations for Washington, D.C. area rentals in the days leading up to the inauguration. No new reservations may be made at homes around the Capital.

TREE OF LIBERTY WEBSITE IS NOW ‘RICKROLL’ SITE

After a national group named the Dimond Center mall in South Anchorage as a site for an armed-but-peaceful protest on Sunday, the mall owners have decided to close the mall and parking lot for the entire day.

Hugh Ashlock said that keeping people safe is the highest priority, and he’s taking no chances in the days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

“We appreciate the public’s patience, and the outpouring of local support from our customers. People are calling us and saying thank you,” he said.

That doesn’t mean it’s painless — businesses in Anchorage have been crushed by the municipality’s emergency orders that have crushed the economy in Anchorage. Businesses in the Dimond Center, the state’s largest mall, have suffered severe economic impacts from the mayor’s directives.

The news of the event came from a now-disappeared website, “Tree of Liberty,” associated with an anti-government group called the Boogaloo movement, considered advocates of a second civil war in America. The group was reportedly involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The website address is now a “rickroll” site that redirects people to a YouTube channel song of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Rickrolling is a longstanding internet joke.

The original website was shut down by the company that hosted it in Canada, after CBC News revealed that the servers were located in Montreal.

Some have offered the theory that the Dimond Center was chosen in confusion, and that the real location is at the Dimond Courthouse, across from the State Capitol in Juneau. Few consider that credible and law enforcement sources say that there’s no evidence for that theory.

“We’re not making a political statement, but the Dimond Center is a private, family-owned business and is not an appropriate venue for an event such as this,” said Bob Dye, Dimond Center General Manager. “We suggest that a traditional venue like the Park Strip is more appropriate for this rally.”

Dye says the Dimond Center is coordinating with local and federal law enforcement to ensure the event does not take place there and that the property is protected.

Southcentral Foundation, an Anchorage health organization for Alaska Natives, is giving COVID-19 vaccinations to those clients requesting them who are 18 or older.

Non-Native Alaskans are not able to access these particular services. Vaccines for non-Natives in Alaska are only available for those 65 and older at this time. Those vaccinations started this week, are by appointment, and those appointments are hard to get.

Alaska received a disproportionate share of vaccines that were designated exclusively for Alaska Natives, who are also having more fatalities linked to COVID-19 infections.

As it turns out, the Indian Health Service is treated like its own state for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. Across the country IHS plans to vaccinate more than two million Native Americans and Alaska Natives in coming weeks. According to the U.S. Census of 2010, 2.9 million people identify as American Indian and Alaska Native.

In the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, many Alaska Natives are refusing the vaccine, according to KYUK radio. The tribal health group Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation has responded by expanding eligibility for the vaccine because it received more doses than it expected, and because so many residents are declining the shots.

Beginning this week in surrounding villages, anyone 16 and older can receive the vaccine. Village residents have limited access to health care facilities, and many live in crowded homes, where infection can spread quickly, according to KYUK radio.

But in the hub community of Bethel, the vaccine through the Native health corporation is available to anyone age 50 or older.

Non-Native Alaskans can use this link to try to get an appointment for a vaccination.