The Truth About Guns

“The NRA’s influence has peaked. Surveys of NRA members show that they’re a little tired of their leadership . . . There are 60,000 of us and we see almost every American child almost every year. If the pediatricians are strong on this issue, it’s hard for me to believe that there will be such a discrepancy over what we believe and what the families we care for believe.” - Boston Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Robert Sege, quoted in ‘Doctors Fight the NRA Over Gun Safety’ [via news.yahoo.com] [h/t Pascal]

It’s been said, many a time, that politics makes for strange bedfellows. That’s the first thought when reading a story about a Democrat speaking out against a bill that would block gun rights. Timothy Horrigan (above), a New Hampshire Democrat legislator, is a known anti-gun politician, but is speaking out against a bill that would block people from using EBT cards to buy certain items, including guns. Horrigan told FoxNews.com that “It’s not up to me to make that choice for people,” Horrigan told FoxNews.com. “I’m not saying that they should be allowed to use their benefits to buy up an arsenal, but they have a right to purchase guns for hunting or self-defense. If you or I have those rights, then they should as well. It’s not my place to tell them what to do.”

If I really wanted to be persnickety, I’d say “you can’t drive without ice cream” is a mandate to drive without due care and attention. But that would be churlish. My main complaint: I don’t want to be “lit up” by armed law enforcement agents for any reason whatsoever, ever. OK, maybe if they were warning me about an approaching tornado. But especially not in areas near our southern border where counterfeit cops have pulled over unsuspecting motorists (perhaps mistaking them for drug mules). Question: what if they were filming this and inadvertently pulled over someone who’d committed an armed robbery or some other egregious felony? Probable cause that.

The latest example of human gene pool purification comes to us from the Palmetto State. That’s where a Honea Path man decided to test out an old bullet proof vest he had kicking around by talking a friend into taking a pot shot at him. According to thestate.com, “In the warrant issued for (Taylor Ann) Kelly’s arrest, deputies state that they believe Wardell put on the vest and asked Kelly to shoot him. The bullet passed through the edge of the vest, and (Blake Randall) Wardell was hit in the chest. A handgun was used in the shooting, according to the warrant.” Apparently Kelly shot a tad too high, missing the Kevlar. Kelly’s now facing an involuntary manslaughter charge. Wardell is facing up. And we’ll never know if that old vest was any good.

Today is apparently the Day of the Long Knives around the Remington empire. Hot on the heels of Big Green’s apparent chloroforming of Advanced Armament Corp. comes word from deep within DPMS that their employees have been axed, too. Rifle production at their St. Cloud, Minnesota facility ends in September and parts production will shut down next April. All DPMS manufacturing is reportedly moving to Alabama (we assume that means Remington’s Huntsville operation). Which makes you wonder 1) what other companies are getting the bad news today (Barnes? TAPCO? Para?) and 2) when will Ilion hear that giant sucking sound of jobs moving to low tax, non-union, gun-friendly southern states?