The Truth About Guns

“After two years of sheer and complete legal lunacy, businessman and recreational hunter Mark Witaschek has been found guilty in the District for attempting to possess illegal ammunition without having a gun registered in DC,” commdiginews.com reports. “The biggest problem with the verdict, aside from the fact that the trial was held at all, is that the ammunition in question is for antique replica muzzle loading weapons which are not required to be registered in the Nation’s Capital.” Emily Miller at

March 26, 2014

Mr. George M. Fodor
Room 6.N-S23, Enforcement Programs and Services
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
U.S. Department of Justice
99 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC, 20226

Re:             Docket No. ATF 51P

GRNC comment on proposed redefinition of “committed to a mental institution”

Dear Mr. Fodor:

Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC) was created in 1994 as an independent, all-volunteer, 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving constitutional freedoms. Many of the organization’s projects are devoted to defending the individual right to keep and bear arms. GRNC submits this comment on the ATF’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the redefinition of the statutory phrase “committed to a mental institution” in the Gun Control Act of 1968[1] (GCA). GRNC opposes the proposal, and offers

A few days ago we reported on the assertion by the ATF and a couple of FFL holders that one of the reasons the ATF’s new NFA paperwork processing system is almost completely unusable at times is that Austin’s Silencer Shop is killing it by automating the uploading all of their paperwork in a very short time frame. The Silencer Shop disagreed, saying that they have timed their activities to have the least impact possible on the rickety system and actually free up resources for other FFL/SOTs to do their business. The ATF, however, still seems dead-set on putting the kibosh on batch processing, and is about to break out the rulers and start smacking some wrists . . .

For the first four years of this website, TTAG’s Facebook page was a red-headed stepchild. We programmed WordPress to automatically post on Facebook whenever we pressed play on the main site. And…that’s it. At this year’s SHOT Show I ran into a red-headed social media manager named Celby Richoux. Ms. Richoux recommend we manually post on Facebook and hire her for more tips. Unfortunately, she fell off our radar. Fortunately, we followed her advice . . .

In less than three months our Facebook likes have soared from 5k to today’s 67,559. More than that, we’ve discovered the joys of Bookin’. Specifically, posting material that would otherwise end-up on the cutting room floor.

So if you c

If you had asked me a couple years back what platform was the best for 3-gun competitions, there wouldn’t have been a moment’s hesitation from me — the AR-15 uber alles. But after spending a year with Team FNH USA and running the SCAR 16S exclusively in competitions, I’m starting to question that analysis. With that rifle, I’ve posted better scores and faster times than I’ve ever been able to before, and as this season is starting up I find myself facing a very important question: do I keep running the SCAR, or switch back to an AR-15? . . .

After my stint with Team FNH USA ended, a bunch of readers asked me that very question. And at the time I still hadn’t made a decision. They asked that when I do finally figure it out, I write up an article about how I decided, one way or the other. So for those who are curiou

Gun lovers love liberty. Well, unless they work for the ATF. See what I did there? I took a shot (so to speak) at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires) without calling them a name. OK, sure, I’ve called them “goons” before. A few times. But there’s a difference between the take-no-prisoners rhetoric deployed against gun control advocates by TTAG’s writers and the buckets of bile thrown at pro-gun folk by people who support civilian disarmament. Just lately, I’ve noticed it getting worse . . .

I’m not referring to the image above. That’s bog standard stuff for gun-hating editorial cartoonists; artists who can no more make a living without malicious mischaracterization than a firearms trainer can without mnemonic acronyms. (FWIW) I’m talking about people like Shannon Watts, whose Moth

TTAG reader Curtis P. Newport writes:

The ink is barely dry on the Illinois concealed carry law, which makes it a Class B misdemeanor (up to $150 fine & 6 months in jail) for carrying into any of the twenty or so “prohibited areas.” [Click here to read HB3669  in its current form.] A bill introduced by State Rep. Deborah Conroy would make carrying onto a prohibited area a felony. Slip up once, someone sees the gun

“’I don’t want to be made out to be some tomb raider,’ said Ros, 37 and a single mom of three. ‘I am a woman who would like to have an opportunity to protect herself.’” Carrying gun to Wells Fargo got branch manager fired [at marketwatch.com]

A Missouri man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after telling police he was gathering weapons for a mass shooting at a movie theatre or Walmart. His mom called police back in November 2012 and said her son had purchased weapons like those used in the theatre in Colorado. Blaec Lammers told police that he’d bought two AR-15s and 400 rounds of ammunition, and planned to use it to shoot up a movie theatre in Bolivar, MO. He also said he was worried about running out of ammunition, so he planned to go to a Walmart in Bolivar where he could stock up on ammo and shoot people there. He was convicted on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Missouri law allows the charges . . .

“According to the latest reports from police, at least 17 incidents were reported after a group of approximately 200 teens began robbing and assaulting people Saturday night,” wdrb.com reports. “Police say it started around 7:45 p.m. when the teens gathered near the entrance of the Big Four Bridge. That’s where police say 12 teens assaulted and robbed a 13-year-old girl, as well as a man who came and tried to help her.” As the lead says, it gets worse. A lot worse . . .

Officers broke up the crowd, but shortly after that, there were more problems in the downtown area.

Police say once the large group left Waterfront Park, 70-80 teens were reported to be causing a scene at the White Castle on 1st Street. Nearby, a woman reported a gro