The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 month 1 hour ago
Fair Is Fair: Washington State Recognizes Idaho CCW Permits.
With the adoption of Idaho’s ‘Enhanced CCW’ permit, the neighboring states of Idaho and Washington now fully recognize each others’ (enhanced) CCW licenses. Now if we can just get grumpy old Oregon on board . . .
Idaho has offered a ‘basic’ CCW license since 1990. It’s been liberally (in the ‘generous’ sense of the word) issued to just about anyone over the age of 18 without a disqualifying conviction. Local LEO’s had the choice of whether to require any specific training to qualify for a basic Idaho CCW, and most chose not to.
This, ahem, ‘liberality’ has caused most other states to deny CCW reciprocity to Idaho CCW holders. States typically only grant recipr
BREAKING: Winchester Recalls Lots Of .22 Long Rifle Ammo
If you were one of the lucky few guys who found any .22 long rifle on the shelves in the last thirteen months, Winchester needs you to check your stockpile. It turns out they double-charged two lots of their M22 plinking/target ammo, and these accidental .22 Super-Duper Magnums can blow your gun up and ruin your chiseled, movie-star good looks. Make the jump for the recall details . . .
From Winchester’s Recall Page:
1/28/2014Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling two (2) lots of M*22™ 22 Long Rifle 40 Grain Black Copper Plated Round No
Quote of the Day: Who Will Notify the Crooks? Edition
“I encourage all business owners to make your business establishments gun-free. Our neighborhood and businesses will best prosper when everyone — business owners, customers, and residents alike — feels they can walk the streets and shops of the 43rd Ward safely.” – Chicago Alderman Michele Smith, Ald. Smith Encourages Making All Businesses ‘Gun-Free’ [at dnainfo.com]
(h.t. W.H. Thompson)
Daily Digest: Breaking Out All Over Edition
Apparently the tactics from the story from Mississippi I told you about Saturday are a thing now. Three men backed a car (well, probably only one was driving) into The AR Bunker in Newnan, Georgia at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning. The men took less than a minute to jump out and clean out the display cases. The store’s owner initially estimated losses at $50-70,000, but later revised that estimate down to about $40-50,000, after discovering that about half the guns they took (11 of 22) weren’t actual AR-15s, but .22LR copies. There was also a
90% of Americans Support Background Checks. And?
I was listening to Al Sharpton on msnbc.com the day before the President’s State of the Union address. America’s preeminent race hustler was paving the way for President Obama’s State of the Union promise to ditch the whole checks and balances thing. “Fifty-two percent of Americans support the President’s plan to take action on his agenda through executive orders,” Al opined in his endlessly annoying sing-song cadence. My first thought: I wonder how many Americans support mob rule? Probably as many as those who don’t know the difference between a democracy and a constitutional republic. Scary thought. Regardless, we are a constitutional republic. So the fact that 90 percent of Americans support background checks (note: no longer “universal background checks“) doesn’t mean Jack. They are unconstitutional. End of deba
Open Carry Advocate Responds to Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell’s Pro-Gun Control Statement to the City Council
The following is Open Carry Advocate Tom Lambert’s response to Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell’s Pro-Gun Control statement to the City Council, in which Hizzoner said that Lambert’s appearance in the Chamber made him “anxious and frightened.” . . .
Mayor Heartwell, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to some comments I heard you made earlier today in relation to gun related violence and open carriers. I feel your excessive use of distortions, duplicitous fallacies and ad hominem underscores the lack of strength in what you are attempting to convey.
I have be
OMG! A Gun! In A High School! OMG!
“Garrett Daniel Wyrick, 24, of Mint Hill, was arrested Sunday after two Concord police officers found a handgun in his backpack,” charlotteobserver.com reports. “He was charged with carrying a weapon onto a campus or educational property, a felony. It was not immediately clear if the gun was loaded.” Thank God! A spree killer intercepted! (Must be as the Observer used his middle name.) Well, some kind of psycho. “Police say they were checking for weapons at the event because someone had made a death threat against the church’s pastor, Steven Furtick. The threat came from ‘an unknown person,’ according to the police report.” Who . . . wasn’t Garrett Daniel Wyrick. In fact . . .
Self-Defense Tip: Some Days the Bear Chases You
Surfing the internets, I found this video of an elderly couple in Pasadena locking up tight before they head out for the day. And diligent though they were in locking their door, they missed a bear, a real life bear, sitting on their front porch . . .
ABC reports that said elderly couple got some physical contact with said FULLY GROWN BROWN BEAR [emphasis mine].
A surveillance camera in the same neighborhood captured footage of Bob and Irene McKeown — who are visiting from overseas — leaving a home without even noticing that the bear was right next to them.
“I felt something brushing against my l
Demand Action to End Gun Violence: “Everything You Need to Know About the Gun Violence Prevention Movement in One Video”
How could we have missed this pre-State of the Union State of the Gun Violence Prevention Movement address by Demand Action to End Gun Violence (a.k.a., Mayors Against Illegal Guns and their wholly owned subsidiary Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America)? In my defense, only 5k people viewed the video up to the time of writing. And there’s not a single comment underneath. Oh wait. Comments disabled. Who saw that one coming? I gotta say I didn’t miss much. Shannon’s one claim to fame: “Starbucks no longer welcomes guns in their stores.” Tell that to the armed robbers who visit the Seattle-based java joints for a stack of dead presidents. Or the armed off-duty cop who stopped an armed robbery at Starbucks. Anyway, no rude comments Dirk. That is all.
Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell “Anxious and Frightened” by Armed Citizen
The following is Grand Rapids Michigan Mayor George Heartwell’s official statement to the Grand Rapid, Michigan City Council on the subject of gun control:
Since last we met as a City Commission – according to the online resource Wikipedia – there have been nine school shootings, and at least one movie theatre and one mall shooting in the United States. If that pace continues it will outstrip last year’s reported 31 school shootings. Since January 1, 2000, there have been a reported 119 school shootings in the (United States). How could we forget the
Girl Scouts and Guns Go Viral in Ft. Worth
The above photo showing members of Come and Take It – Ft. Worth and some local cookie purveyors is getting heavy play on the internets — and causing panties to twist. Kathy Perkins (second from left), head of Moms With Guns Demand Action and a Come and Take It member, told me how the photo came to be taken . . .
Kathy said the local chapter of Come And Take it was engaging in their usual business of civic education by taking a walk in the area. While they were doing so, they saw the Girl Scouts selling cookies. Figuring a
Question of the Day: Which is More Deadly, Shotgun or AR?
“[Darion Marcus Aguilar] passed a state-mandated FBI criminal background check within minutes, paid $430 and walked out of the store Dec. 10 with the shotgun,” baltimoresun.com reports, “which authorities say he used Saturday to kill two employees at a skate shop in The Mall in Columbia before taking his own life . . . Maryland law does not place the same restrictions on hunting weapons such as shotguns as those that govern other weapons. A law passed last year banned the sale of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, and some said that change may have prevented Saturday’s shooting from being even more deadly.” True story?
BREAKING: Beretta Moves to Tennessee
“Beretta, one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers, will be establishing manufacturing operations in Gallatin, bringing more than 300 jobs to the region,” tennessean.com reports. “The company will invest upwards of $45 million to bring a manufacturing and research and development facility to Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced Wednesday morning.” The announcement ends months of speculation about the gunmaker’s new home, after Beretta announced its intention to leave Maryland’s anti-gun environment. You may remember the company’s statement when questioned
New from John Rigby & Co.: The Big Game Rifle
I like generic names. The Big Show was one my favorite wrestlers for just that reason. And now, “After months of speculation, London gunmaker John Rigby & Co. has finally unveiled its latest creation, a bolt action rifle appropriately named ‘The Big Game.’” [Full press release and more pics after the jump.] Wait, what? Months of speculation? How come I knew nothing about this? Maybe it’s because I don’t rub elbows with English gentry, German Burghers or Arab Sultans. The kind of people who think nothing of shelling out $13.5k (+ 20% VAT) for a firearm. Truth be told, John Rigby & Co. is actually slumming mov
ABC Airs Anti-Gun Agitprop “For the Children”
“Every hour a child is rushed to the emergency room because of gunshots,” Diane Sawyer intones, introducing the network’s special report on children and guns. Yes, well, TTAG eviscerated the study upon which ABC’S “special report” is based here. Specifically, we pointed out that the study sample included children and teens. A fact that Sawyer’s co-anchor David Muir also ignores in his second intro. It’s only until we get into the news package that the network acknowledges the teen component – without mentioning that gang bangers account for a large percentage of those numbers. It gets worse . . .
The report earns the prestigious “50 seconds of FUD” award for major misdirection when the anchor whacks viewers on the head with the stat “7,391 children [italics added] per year hospitalized by guns” and follows with “so often accidents in the home”
PA Undercover Officer Almost Runs Over Armed Citizen, Armed Citizen Loses Gun Rights
A regular reader writes:
Reading this story [Man who pulled pistol on cop in Home Depot parking lot gets probation] the facts just rub me the wrong way. A man leaving Lowe’s is almost hit by an undercover police officer who was speeding in the parking lot (speeding, because the officer stated he slammed on his brakes). In response to the threat of a vehicle, Barry Pointon, Jr. draws his weapon. The officer shows his badge. Pointon immediately complies. He had no prior criminal record and a valid LTCF [License to Carry a Firearm]. Somehow Pointon pleads out to reckless endangerment and possession of a prohibited weapon in exchange for prosecutors withdrawing other charges including aggravated assault . . .
The cops destro
Quote of the Day: Life’s Lupine Lesson Edition
“I have learned that violence must be met with violence. I have learned through hard experience that I can fight, and that I can win. I can also lose, and so I take steps to minimize that risk. Part of that is the carry of a weapon. The gun is an extension of who I am. It is the tool of my identity. It is the symbol and the instrument of my personal inclination to face whatever comes. The basic duty of man is the responsible application of violence to counter the less responsible. It is who I am, who we are. Because there comes a time when philosophizing is counter-productive. When the wolf comes, will you contemplate his true nature, try to reason? Or will you put him down?” – TTAG commentator Tarrou underneath
Daily Digest: Mistaken Conclusions Edition
A few days ago we brought you the story of an “assault rifle” that was found on the street by a resident of Redondo Beach, CA. Part of that story was that the rifle was contained in what looked like the “carrying case for a musical instrument” and that the Redondo Beach PD cleared a block of residences around it before sending in the bomb squad. Readers here commented derisively on both of those points. Now the person who found it has provided photos (one of which is above) to the local paper, and the story becomes clearer. While people can be stupid, scared critters about guns, and while the police can and do often overreact to minor situations. . .
BREAKING: President Obama Plans New Executive Orders on Gun Control
You know how they say there’s nothing so dangerous as a wounded animal? Scratch that — it turns out there’s something much worse. Nothing’s more dangerous than a (politically) wounded politician. Particularly one with executive powers. In his obligatory annual state of the union speech tonight, president Barack Obama promised new measures (“with or without congress”) he’s planning to affect via executive order to further restrict Americans’ right to keep and bear arms – couched in a desire to prevent another Sandy Hook. Congress and our constitutionally-mandated system of checks-and-balances be damned . . .
As every grade-schooler learns in civics class, the entire point of a divided government is to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. So if Congress passes extreme, unpopular legislation, the
It Should Have Been A Defensive Gun Use: Burn Notice Edition
“The victim was walking near a gas station when she when she was forced into a car at gunpoint,” freep.com reports. “[Roderick] Neely is accused of driving a short period of time, then parking the car, beating the woman in the face, pulling off her clothes and using a blowtorch [not shown] to burn her feet. ‘The woman escaped by taking a tool and injuring the defendant’s face,’ said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.” Actually, she stabbed him in the eye with a screwdriver. I’m sure she would have preferred to have shot Mr. Neely in the chest a few times to avoid the car journey. “Authorities are investigating whether there is a connection between the attack and two