The Truth About Guns

The Methuen, Massachusetts police department posted about a multi-agency gun bust on their Facebook page. Judging from his reaction to commentators (in the space provided), Chief Solomon doesn’t seem to have read the Constitution very carefully. Not that it needs much reading. Anyway, one wonders if the peeps busted on the gun charges were involved in something more nefarious than simply keeping and bearing. Here’s the PD’s post . . .

On Friday September 27, 2013 detectives from the Methuen Police Department working in conjunction with members of the FBI, ATF and Dept. of Homeland Security working on a tip, seized the following firearms after an investigation.

1 – AK-47 rifle va

A Rhode Island seventh grader has been suspended for bringing a tiny toy gun to school. Meanwhile, here in Texas, your humble scribe serves as a lunch monitor at a local elementary school. The kids are playing a new game called “guns.” Two kids face each other, seated. They tap their thighs, then bring their hands up. If their guns are cocked (if they’d tapped their thighs previously and pointed their gun fingers at the sky), they can shoot the other player. Unless the other player has his or her hands across their chest (“shield”). Shoot a shield? Tap thighs, try again. Don’t forget to cock your guns. It’s fast. And yes girls and boys play. And no, the teachers and administrators don’t say a word. Two Americas.

At the overwhelming majority of shooting competitions, you will never see a truly slung rifle. Slings are commonly used for precision long-range shooting competitions, but seeing a 3-gun stage where the start position is with a slung rifle and your hands elsewhere is exceptionally rare. Still, at the 2013 FNH USA 3-Gun Championship there were a couple stages that had that exact start position, and it was just my luck that I was the one holding the timer when things went all pear shaped . . .

FNH USA is the title sponsor of the match, so all of the Team FNH USA members (including scribes shoehorned onto the team) work the match and help out wherever they’re needed. We float from stage to stage, filling in for tired range officers when they need a rest or helping reset the stage for longer courses of fire. I was giving the RO a break on stage nine and running the next squad through when the incident happened.