The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 month 15 hours ago
New Jersey Civilian Disarmament Bills Move Closer to Law
The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) brings us up to speed on New Jersey’s impending gun ban bills, starting with A2006:
Anti-gun legislators’ attempt to ban ammunition magazines over 10 rounds (A2006) is a lot more than “just” a magazine ban. It’s also a gun ban that would outlaw some of the most popular .22 rifles in the United States, turn their owners into felons, and force them to abandon their property or go to jail for as long as ten years – essentially a confiscation. Among other things, A2006 would make the following change to existing law: “‘Assault Firearm’ means…A semi-automatic rifle with a fixed magazine capacity exceeding 15 10 rounds.” Please note this is only one of several changes that A2006 would make . . .
This change would flat-out ban many common and popular tube-fed, semi-automatic .22 rifles <
Firearms Challenge $1m “Smart Gun” Competition Video: 113 Views
As Nick reported, the civilian disarmament industrial complex has opened a new front in their battle to underline the word “control” in “gun control.” Global Digital Solutions’ attempt to turn The Freedom Group into The RIFD-enabled Firearms Group follows hard-on-the-heels of Smart Tech’s Firearms Challenge: a Shark Tank-like project aimed at “reducing gun violence through innovation.” Ron Conway, a poli-sci student who became a “Silicon Valley titan” (i.e. early investor in Google and Facebook) is the man behind the prize. Despite the $1m headline, Ron’s doing this on the cheap. The deadline for submissions: March 31. The video above garnered 113 views at the time of writi
It Should Have Been A Defensive Gun Use: Mary Sherlach Edition
Anyone with a heart who remembers the horror and carnage Adam Lanza inflicted on Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 will not forget it in their lifetime. For some, those who were there or were left bereaved, the event created unfathomably deep psychological scars; injuries that will never heal. They have our prayers for a measure of peace. But the survivors’ suffering does not render their desire to disarm law-abiding citizens inviolable. In fact, they’ve got it exactly backwards: civilians with firearms are the key to protecting innocent souls from murderous monsters like Lanza. Specifically . . .
If one of the teachers of administrators at Sandy Hook had be
Scurrilous Satire Redux: Krafft on Hampikian
Professor Greg Hampikian of Idaho’s Boise State University recently penned a piece for the New York Times asking When May I Shoot a Student? Given that his thumbnail bio at the bottom of the page states that he is a professor of Criminal Justice (in addition to the Biology professorship he claims in the essay) I must assume that the piece is satirical, but since I am sure that he has colleagues as clueless as he is pretending to be, I am going to address his points as if they weren’t . . .
Greg starts out:
In light of the bill permitting guns on our state’s college and university campuses, which is likely to be approved by the state House of Representatives in the coming days, I have a matter of practical concern that I hope you can help with: When may I
IWA: Walther Rep Comments on German Illegal Export Investigation: “It’s Not Our Fault”
A week or so ago word came that Walther was being investigated for illegally exporting one of their firearms to a “conflict zone,” something prohibited by German law. The evidence provided by a German gun control activist organization was that one of their guns stamped “Made in Germany” had been found on sale in Colombia…and that was all the proof they needed that Walther is an evil gun-running organization with malicious intent. But according to Walther, there’s nothing to the trumped up charge . . .
At IWA, the effect of the investigation was pretty clear. Even though the guys at the booth knew I was only interested in the product, they wouldn’t let me photograph the models on the table —
VIDEO: MDA’s “Disrupting the Gun Lobby with Digital Organizing” Complete SXSW Talk
Alan already posted his analysis of the gun control cheerleading talk at South By Southwest, but since he also had the full video of the event we thought you might be interested in viewing the whole thing. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
Stand Strong Connecticut
GSL President John Boch stands in among an audience approaching three hundred of the gun rights faithful at the GSL March 2014 meeting in Rantoul, IL on Tuesday evening. Send your STAND STRONG CONNECTICUT photo to guntruth@me.com. We’ll post them on our Facebook album [click here to view.] Please put STAND STRONG in the subject field of your email. You can click here to purchase a Stand Strong Connecticut t-shirt (half of profits go to Connecticut Carry).
Win a Kel-Tec KSG!
You know you want one. You’ve been intrigued since Kel-Tec announced the KSG. But like most new Kel-Tecs, you figured you’d be old and grey before you actually ran across one in the wild. And that may still be the case. But here’s your chance. Click here to enter from your laptop or here from your mobile device, and you could be taking home your very own desert tan KSG. How cool is that?
Question of the Day: Is Concealed Carry Dishonest?
Moms Demand Action founder and Mayors Against Illegal Guns muppet Shannon Watts was incensed earlier this week when she learned that I was armed when she posed for a photo (above) with me at an anti-gun event. She accused me of misleading her and in a way she was right. By carrying concealed I was hiding the fact that I had a gun (not that it’s anyone’s business anyway) and it reminded me of something Dr. Gary Kleck (of the 1995 Kleck-Gertz study on armed self defense) said during an interview I did with him a few years ago. He pointed o
IWA: Hands-On with the New Saiga-9 9mm AK Pattern Rifle
One of the more interesting design tweaks to come out of Russia in the last few years is the new Saiga-9 rifle, a 9mm version of the iconic AK-47 design. We’d only seen pre-production pictures of the gun before now, but as promised the rifle showed up at IWA this year and I was glad I was on the scene. So naturally, I grabbed it and fondled furiously. And you know what? I really like it . . .
There’s not a whole lot of information out about the gun yet, but it’s obviously an effort to produce a pistol caliber carbine that uses the same manual of arms and cleaning procedures as the main infantry rifle. They have a pistol caliber AK already (the Bizon) but it uses an odd circular magazine and so switching back and forth might be problematic.
<UPDATE – Remington: GDSI Bid is a “Publicity Stunt”
In the latest turn of events in the Freedom Group bid situation, grandviewoutdoors.com reports that they’ve obtained an internal Remington memo from George Kollitides to all Remington employees. In a bid to calm internal nerves, the CEO called GDSI’s bid nothing more than an underfunded “publicity stunt” that’s barely worthy of their time . . .
“A small, unknown investment entity publicly announced its desire to acquire the Remington Outdoor Company,” the memo obtained by Grand View Outdoors says. “If this wasn’t disruptive to our employees and customers, we would not acknowledge the news and recognize it for what it is: a publicity stunt from an agenda-driven group with no credible f
Gun-Toting Bank Robber Forgets 4 Rules Of Selfie Safety
1. Treat Every Camera Phone As If It Were On ‘Photo’ Mode.
2. Never Take A Picture Of Anything You Don’t Want The World To See.
3. Do Not Press ‘Share’ Until You Are Ready To Be Embarrassed.
4. Be Aware Of Who You Share Your Picture With, And That *They* Might Share It With Others.
There are only four rules of selfie safety, and they work for everyone from Bieber-crazy pre-teens and hormonally altered teenagers to drunk frat boys and angry co-workers. They would even work for bank robbers, but only if they paid attention.
But 21 year-old Jules Bahler didn’t. He’s just old enough to own a handgun, and he calls himself ‘King Romeo’ on Facebook. Police believe that King Romeo, originally from Brooklyn, NY, moved to the Detroit area and started knocking over banks in a series of brazen dayl
UPDATE: TTAG Talks to GDSI’s CEO, Richard Sullivan
We just got off the phone with Richard Sullivan, President and CEO of Global Digital Solutions, Inc., the firm that has made an unsolicited offer to buy the Freedom Group from Cerberus Capital. Based on some of their press releases, Nick didn’t see much good coming from the transaction, if it’s eventually consummated. But in his conversation with RF, Sullivan sought to calm gun owners’ nerves over his company’s intentions . . .
While it’s true that they plan to use their digital know-how to produce “smart guns,” it’s not something they want to force down anyone’s throat. He said GDSI intends to offer their tech’d up guns alongside traditional firearms or a
UPDATE: Freedom Group’s Potential Buyer Wants to Make All Guns “Smart Guns”
Yesterday we received word that Freedom Group, owner of such brands as Remington and Bushmaster, is the target of an unsolicited buyout offer from a company called Global Digital Solutions. The presser from the company was a cornucopia of buzzwords and marketing-speak, talking about “cyber” this and “convergence” that. But it didn’t really make sense — until a reader uncovered a press release from January in which the company announced their plans to put their digital genius to work making “smart guns.” And by “smart” we mean RFID-enabled, registered, trackable firearms.
From the press release:
Global Digital Solutions, Inc. (GDSI), a company that
Quote of the Day: 20/20 Edition
“With hindsight, I know Adam would have killed me in a heartbeat, if he’d had the chance. I don’t question that for a minute. The reason he shot Nancy four times was one for each of us: one for Nancy; one for him; one for Ryan; one for me.” – Adam Lanza’s father Peter in The Reckoning [at newyorker.com]
Stand Strong Connecticut
Send your STAND STRONG CONNECTICUT photo to guntruth@me.com. We’ll post them on our Facebook album [click here to view.] Please put STAND STRONG in the subject field of your email. You can click here to purchase a Stand Strong Connecticut t-shirt (half of profits go to Connecticut Carry).
NRA: Another Attempt at National Reciprocity Concealed Carry Act
The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 (H.R. 2959) has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah). The bill would allow any person who is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid, concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried. Similar legislation to H.R. 2959 passed the U.S. House o
Self-Defense Tip: Don’t Rap
“A New Jersey man whose rap lyrics boasted he would ‘blow your face off and leave your brain caved in the street’ will have his attempted murder case considered by the state’s Supreme Court, which will decide whether the words he penned should have been admitted at trial,” officer.com reports. Some background . . .
After an initial trial ended without a verdict, [Vonte] Skinner was convicted at a second trial of shooting Lamont Peter
BREAKING: Global Digital Solutions to Buy Freedom Group for $1.082b
“Global Digital Solutions, Inc. (OTC-QB: GDSI), a company that is positioning itself as a leader in providing cyber arms manufacturing, complementary security and technology solutions and knowledge-based, cyber-related, culturally attuned social consulting in unsettled areas, today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) providing information regarding three proposed transactions, including an unsolicited letter of intent to acquire Remington Outdoor Company, Inc., also known as Freedom Group, Inc. (“Freedom”),” money.cnn.com reports, without offering any guidance as to what “culturally attuned social consulting in unsettled areas” means. Bottom li
Reform of Legislative Traps for Indy Gun Carriers Goes to Conf Committee
Current Indiana law creates dangerous traps for people exercising their Second Amendment rights. More than one in nine adults in the Hoosier State have a license to carry a handgun. Carrying handguns in Indiana has become common, legal, and safe. Unfortunately, Indiana still has some archaic laws that were created when gun control was more in fashion and these laws create traps for the law abiding gun owner. One such trap is the inadvertently constructed “roving school zone” . . .
Under current law, students who go to a facility for educational purposes create a “roaming school zone” where firearms are forbidden. The zone stays around them as they move about. A legal gun owner could be minding her own business, sitting on a bench in a zoo, for example, when a group of students on a field trip approaches. She has just committed a felony because she now possesses a firearm in a “