The Truth About Guns

“What’s that?” the third-grader asked, pointing to the Kydex holster poking out from under my apron. I kneeled down next to the table so we were eye to eye and could talk privately. “It’s my gun holster,” I said, covering it discreetly as I spoke. “But it’s empty. We’re not allowed to carry guns in the school.” “We don’t need one here though, right?” he half-asked, half-stated. “We’re safe here, right?” I nodded my head. What else was I supposed to do? Tell him the crowded lunchroom is a potential free fire zone? That the nearest good guy with a gun is God knows where? Of course not. It’s not his job to vigila

Except she isn’t in distress. She’s wearing blue jeans. Oh wait. The egg. The egg is the damsel in distress. Except the egg isn’t wearing a dress either. But the egg clearly was in distress because SPOILER ALERT she committed suicide. Oh well. You gotta crack a few jokes to make a Kirsten Joy Weiss intro paragraph. Or something like that. [Click here to see more KJW trick shots at her website. Omelette you go now.]

Tyler’s ranch is a geographical oddity: every single time I go there, it gets more beautiful. It was a weekend much like this one that finally convinced me to move to Texas, and the frequency with which scenes like this one happen keeps me happily planted in my adoptive state. There’s something magical about spending all day in the wilderness, enjoying the beauty of nature, then shooting some guns and eating fresh free-range meat. And I feel like this one picture captured that feeling pretty well. But there’s one more picture that sums up the weekend’s activities . . .

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Thanks to the indispensable twitchy.com, we get to savor a shot of former Colorado Senate President John Morse’s former office door being expunged of any evidence that he’d ever darkened it. As you’re probably aware, Centennial State gunnies are trying to make it three in a row by removing Edie “You’re Better Off Being Raped Than Having a Gun” Hudak, another proud member of Colorado’s Bloomberg-supported civilian disarmament caucus. If the recall is successful, not only will Hudak’s removal send yet another un

Optimized for 12 o’clock mounting on rifles with top rails, ROSCH Works SL1′s 250+ lumen lighthead was designed “in collaboration with LED lighting industry legend Gene Malkoff,” Wait. The LED lighting industry has a legendary designer? Yes, wherever LED industry folks gather—whether it’s a dingy hotel bar near a poorly lit conference center or a small cubicle with lumen-appropriate task lighting—the name Malkoff is uttered with quasi-religious reverence. At some point someone intones the sacred words: ”I Love God, My Family, and My Country. It is my Belief that Traditional Family Values and Honest Work are the Pathway to Happiness.” Where was I?

In their ongoing efforts to attract younger, hipper Gun Culture 2.0ers, the National Rifle Association is adding another voice to their growing stable of non-traditional commentators. Their latest add is garage guy Austin Weiss. Austin’s noticed that there’s a population out there who like them some guns, but don’t want to be seen as liking them publicly. By joining other NRA commentators like Coilion Noir, Natalie Foster and Billie Johnson, Weiss apparently wants to do something about that. Anything that normalizes firearms in the eyes of the public and brings more people out of the pro-gun closet is a good thing, right?

Hanover Fist writes:

My wife and I walk with our three-year-old daughter to the local dog park to run around and play with the dogs. The park is divided between large and small dogs and we tend to stay in the small dog area so she doesn’t get bowled over by an over enthusiastic Rottie or Great Dane. However I know that any size dog is capable of attacking and I always carry when we go to “play with the puppies”. I carry my usual choices for two-legged threats when at the dog park, a Taurus TCP with CorBon hollow points, or a M&P 9c with 124 grain +P Gold Dots (depends on the weather…Texas heat). What are your thoughts on a dog-centric carry load? Am I making the right choice?

After last Friday’s shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, Senator Diane Feinstein renewed her call for an assault weapons ban. And the sun came up in the East. More worrying: Texas Congressman Michael McCaul called for a greater role for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA). On CNN’s State of the Union the Chairman of Homeland Security Committee danced around the idea of arming TSA Agents. And while you’re thinking “what could possibly go wrong?” think about this: McCaul pimped for a greater role of the TSA’s VIPR teams (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) ”to make sure American people are safe and the traveling public are safe when they go to our airports.” Uh-oh . . .

A reader writes:

Dear Robert:

I saw your November 2, 2013 item “Guns & Ammo Supports Gun Control” on the internet. My first reaction was, “Yes, but why did it take him so long to recognize the truth?” We in the ammunition and firearms industry have provided the necessary help for the enemies of freedom to accomplish things that they never could have accomplished on their own. How many patriots know that the 1968 Gun Control Act was initiated, drafted and supported by the American firearms industry (SAAMI) as a mis-guided protectionist scheme? [Click here for documentation.] How many patriots know . . .

 that the 1994 Assault Weapons and Extended Magazine bans were initiated and supported by the National Shooting Sport

The leadership of Freedom Group has generally been considered a detriment to the quality and ingenuity of its constituent companies, from the bungled relocation of Marlin’s production lines (I’ve still yet to see them produce an acceptable quality lever gun since the change) to the firing of Kevin Brittingham from Advanced Armament. More than a few of us at TTAG have been looking forward to the day when these entities would once more be free from the oppressive yoke of Freedom Group control and allowed to flourish on their own. If the rumors I’m hearing are accurate, sometime this week a big step toward that end will take place . . .

Knowledgeable, trusted sources have indicated to me that Remington (well, more likely a group of Remington managers) is about to announce the purchase Freedom Group from Cerberus Capital Management. Like a slav

“Although I favor open carry, I do wholeheartedly support constitutional carry, openly or concealed. When one carries on the authority of a license or other permit, one has accepted a privilege in lieu of exercising a right. When carrying openly, I am exercising my right to keep and bear arms. When I carry concealed without a license, I am exercising my right to keep and bear arms. When I carry concealed under the auspices of a license, I am exercising a privilege extended to me by government; not exercising a right. Put another way, when I engage in act

In 1994, when Arizona started its shall issue concealed carry weapon (CCW) program, there was considerable interest in how many and what types of homicides would result from the new law. I started teaching classes for the Arizona CCW permit when it went into effect and I immediately noticed that my students were well above average in attitude, responsibility, and civility.  They always pitched in to assist in setting up where necessary, and their personal checks have always been good. When the first crime statistics became available, I eagerly digested the information. One person with a CCW permit had committed a homicide, although not with a concealed weapon. It was a domestic situation and the perpetrator was a retired police officer. The question arose, how often do police officers commit homicides compared to concealed carry permit holders? Of the two, which is more common? . . .

The dedicated civilian disarmers at the Violence Policy Center (V

Arizona - -(Ammoland.com)- It has become common for liberal fascists to proclaim that “only the Supreme Court” can interpret the Constitution. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every legislator, every elected politician, every police officer and person in the military takes an oath to uphold the Constitution and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They do not take an oath to follow orders given by the Supreme Court. It is a myth that only the Supreme Court can interpret the Constitution . . .

It was not always s

I wonder if the Senator has a post-shooting pro-assault weapons ban script pre-loaded on her Google glasses. “The weapon [used in Friday's LAX shooting] is clearly designed not for general consumption,” California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “Would I do a bill? Sure, I would do a bill. I mean, I believe this down deep in my soul.” Soul food for thought: Senator Feinstein doesn’t think an assault weapon ban would pass. On the opposing side, I think, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee told CNN’s State of the Union “TSA officers are not armed. It’s the local police that provide perimeter security, and there’s little more of a soft target outside the checkpoint,” Texas Republican Rep. Mike McCaul pronounced. ”I want to work with the director of TSA . . . to see if there’s something we can do better or differently.” No mention of allowing open carry in airports and on planes.

Arkansas passed ACT 746, which went into effect on August 16th of this year, (2013). The act effectively legalizes constitutional carry in Arkansas because it changes the definition of what constitutes the illegal carry of weapons. The old law didn’t require any intent; the new law makes carry of weapons illegal only if the carrier has the intent to use it illegally . . .

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, promptly issued an opinion that the new law does not allow open carry. The opinion is nicely dissected by Steve Jones

At the end of this Fox News chinwag Juan Williams repeats the oft-repeated shibboleth that owning a gun puts you in more danger of getting shot rather than less. The Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex uses this assumed “fact” to ward off the suggestion that a firearm is an extremely useful method of personal self-defense. The best scientific study on the subject concludes that the people who own guns and are shot by guns are either suicidal or living in violent households. Not to mention living in households where there’s criminal activity. But neither science nor common sense will cut it. How do you convince a fence straddler that they won’t get killed by their own gun?

“A federal law enforcement official said that the Smith & Wesson assault rifle used in the attack is believed to have been purchased legally from a Los Angeles-area arms dealer,” usatoday.com reports. So . . . how’s that background check thing working out for you? Of course you know what this means: California legislators will redouble their efforts to pass an assault weapons ban. Because you can’t stop crazy people from buying the guns legally. (Go figure.) If Paul Ciancia modified the AR-15′s bullet button (ya think?) boom! Bullet button ban bill full speed ahead. Meanwhile, here at Bergstrom Airport there’s not a gun in sight at the security checkpoint. Sadly, not one concealed either (i.e. mi

“(The LAX gunman had enough ammunition to) have literally killed everyone in that terminal.” – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, quoted in Deadly LAX shooting: Why did he do it? [via cnn.com]

The owner of this one-of-a-kind S&W 629 .44 Magnum is putting the gun up for sale. Asking price: $100,000. Scott Hoffman, owner of Hoffman’s Gun Center and Indoor Range in Newington, Connecticut, is selling the gun in support of gun rights. He says that the money from the sale will go to support candidates for political office who are committed to overturning the gun legislation passed in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown. “I’m giving up something I love to fight those laws,” Hoffman said. If you’re interested, the gun is listed on Gunbroker

Violence Policy Center press release below:

Washington, DC — Private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns have committed at least 26 mass shootings over the past six years — including the recent mass murder at the Washington Navy Yard that left 12 dead and a July shooting in Hialeah, Florida that ended the lives of six innocent victims. These and other criminal killings can be found in the Violence Policy Center’s (VPC) latest update to Concealed Carry Killers, an online resource that offers examples of non-self defense killings by private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns in public. Overall, concealed carry killers were involved in at least 386 fatal incidents since May 2007, leading to at least 540 deaths including the killing of 14 law enforcement officers . . .