Thank You, David Gregory...

... for proving to the world that laws against ammunition magazines exceeding 10 rounds is one of the stupidest and most useless laws on the books. You shouldn't be arrested for having one on your show, in blatant violation of Washington DC's law against the possession of such things.

No one should.

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40% of Gun Sales...

... are done without a background check. That's the number being floated by NPR and other unbiased news sources.

My question is, what is the source of this number? Is it 40% of all gun sales, or the ones at gun shows? I've heard it both ways.

Seeing as private sales are, well, private,  I find that number to be suspect at best, complete horseshit at worst.

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Connecticut Gun Laws

It didn't take them long. Last Friday, on the way home from work, NPR had EJ Dionne calling for gun control. He must carry his blood-dancing shoes with him at all times, to be able to start the Casualty Can-Can on such short notice.

So, lacking any new ideas in gun control circles, we can count on them to trot out the same old crap. With that in mind, let's look at Connecticut's gun control laws, courtesy of those paragons of freedom, the Brady Bunch (no link for them, fuck 'em).

- It scores 58 0ut of 100 points Only New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California scored higher
- It requires background checks on long guns at gun shows
- It requires a state permit to purchase handguns
- It requires trigger locks be sold with all guns.
- It bans "assault weapons" with 2 or more "assault features"*

All this, and he-who-shall-not-be-named still managed to bring the crazy.

We definitely need to have a conversation, but not about gun control.

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Ok, Piling On

Thirdpower pointed me to this bit of drivel. It's a typical anti-gun screed written by a clueless blowhard. like we've never seen THAT before

Didin't get past the opening line before I had a comment:

I can confidently say that as young man living in America, I have never been in a situation where I look back and say “wow, good thing I had my gun.”

That's because you've just now cut the cord, Skippy. You've not started living yet. You haven't had to live with life-altering bad decisions. Dry your ears off and get back to me in twenty years. I sincerely hope you can come back and honestly be able to say that.

Till then, please stop trying to trample my rights, OK?


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The National Rifle Association Strongly Opposes the Nomination of Andrew Traver to Head BATFE

via email:

The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama's nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a "recess appointment," in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.

Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police's (IACP) "Gun Violence Reduction Project," a "partnership" with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.

The IACP report, generated with Traver's help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment -- all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.

Traver also participated in an extremely deceptive NBC Chicago report (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Assault-Weapons-Surge-in-City-69620227.html) in which he referred to "the growing frequency of gang members and drug dealers using heavy caliber military-type weapons" and described them as if they were machine guns: "Pull the trigger and you can mow people down." Traver and his agents provided the reporter with a fully automatic AK-47, with which she was unable to hit the target. He then said that stray bullets are "one of the main problems with having stuff like this available to the gangs."

As the Agent-in-Charge of Chicago’s BATFE office, Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels--the opposite of what was implied in the report.

An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.

The Obama administration putting an anti-gun guy from Chicago in charge of the ATF? I'm shocked!

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Hey! It's the Narrative!

Or is it a meme?

From Richard Locker at the Memphis Commercial Squeal:

Tennesseans rejected price-gouging charges and overlooked a late stumble over gun issues to elect Republican Bill Haslam as their 49th governor Tuesday.

From Ken Whitehouse at the Nashville City Paper:

In the past few weeks, Haslam's message faltered amid concerns that he would — as he said two weeks ago — sign legislation to abolish gun permits if the legislature passed it.

How can someone stumble, falter and win with a 3 to 1 margin?

Only in the alternate reality that is the liberal legacy media.
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Kaveman Reads the Leaves

Reading tea leaves is a good post about how the Brady Bunch may proceed going forward. I have to say, it makes sense to me (emphasis mine):

The Brady Bunch isn’t stupid.

[snip]

What they need is a fresh face with a clean slate and a sympathetic story to pluck the heart strings.

Enter Colin Goddard; survivor of Virginia Tech after being shot 4 times.

People under the age of 35 don’t remember the assassination attempt on Reagan or who Jim Brady even is and the BC knows their only hope is to co-opt the next generation of youth to support their cause.

That's what I'd do, if I were them.

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Another Case of "The Disconnect"

A fundamental difference in worldview:

no "creator" granted ANY right...rights are granted by governments...

Don't bother talking to this guy, he's beyond help.

What I would like is for y'all to read my stumbling attempt at explaining "rights" and see how I can improve. It's at the link.

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Quote of the Day

This one from Kevin Baker on why most gun haters think of penises when they see a gun:

And what is it with you people and penis size? If you believe that gun owners own guns to compensate for the size of their wedding tackle, does your desire to disarm everyone mean you want yours cut off?

Could be, Kevin, could be.

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Mexican Gun Canard, Yet Again

Here's what happens when half-assed reports get put online. They get looked at, and exposed as half assed. The latest version of the Mexican gun canard comes from a paper from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Mexico Institute . In it we are told:

In May 2010, for example, the Mexican government, which has received training from ATF to better identify firearms, said that of the 75,000 firearms it seized in the last three years about 80 percent, or 60,000 firearms, came from the United States.¹⁸

But, footnote 18 takes us here, where it actually says (emphasis mine):

Calderón said his government had seized 75,000 guns in Mexico in a three-year period and found that 80 percent of those whose origin could be traced were bought in the United States.

We've heard that before, and what it means is that 60,000 is way, way high. Here is a good explanation of what is really going on. Short answer: 17% of the guns used in Mexican crime are traced back to the US.

That footnote also links to another article (you can have two references per footnote? Must be a "scholars only" thing) that omits the "whose origin could be traced" part and gives them what they wanted to hear in the first place:

Mr. Calderon told a joint session of Congress that of the 75,000 guns seized by Mexican authorities over the last three years, 80 percent are traced to the U.S.

Shoddy work, Kara Rowland, shoddy, shoddy, shoddy.

They keeping throwing crap on the wall to see if it will stick, we keep washing it off.

So be it.
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Sailor Curt Asks

Is Anti-gun Costco intentionally duping gun owners?

Having an anti-gun policy nobody knows about? Yeah, sounds to me like they are.

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Markley’s Law

The adage that any Internet discussion regarding firearm owners will eventually mention male genitalia.

Or, to paraphrase Godwin's law:

As an online discussion of gun owners’ rights grows longer, the probability of an ad hominem attack involving penis size approaches 1.

Look here, here and here for background.

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International Small Arms Destruction Day

This Administration supports it.

Today, the U.S. State Department announced its support for the United Nations' “International Small Arms Destruction Day.” The State Department, under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calls this ridiculous event part of the United States’ ongoing efforts to support the “rule of law around the world” and boasts of spending more than $130 million to destroy “1.4 million small arms and light weapons.” A press release from the State Department says this money was spent at the behest of the anti-gun United Nations to reduce the impact of “illicit flows of small arms and light weapons.”

But, they'll never try to control our guns, nosirree.

H/T SayUncle.

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Who are you?

"I'm the person who just put your political career in the shitter."

Hopefully. Continue Reading

Cowardly Commercial Squeal at it Again

(Unsigned) Editorial: No sign? No dine

You know what this is all about, right?

It's probably not going out on a limb to predict that the state House of Representatives, following the lead of the Senate, will override Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of the guns in bars bill this week.

That's because most people are not against it.

Two statewide polls show Tennesseans are strongly opposed to the idea, but the National Rifle Association, which won't rest until there are guns in every honky-tonk, biker bar and strip club, has threatened legislators' re-election efforts if the legislation fails.

Link, please. No? Ok, I'll just take your word for it, being the bastion of responsible journalism you are.

Please tell me, if Tennesseans are so strongly opposed to this, how does the NRA come into play? The NRA doesn't appoint politicians, Tennesseans vote them in. If Tennesseans are so displeased with this bill, nothing the NRA says and does will keep the voters from ushering in a changing of the guard next time they vote.

Unless a developing lawsuit by restaurant servers is successful, Tennesseans will soon have the right to pack heat in any restaurant or bar that serves alcohol and doesn't explicitly forbid it.

Nice use of the hyperbolic "pack heat", there mister/miss unsigned editorial person. Make sure you don't go into detail about it (person carrying can't drink, etc), it would ruin your alarmist tone.

The bright side is that people have the right to show their displeasure with this new policy in two ways. First, don't patronize restaurants and bars without signs in the window barring entry to armed patrons.

That cuts both ways, as restaurant owners have already begun to find out.

As foolish and irresponsible as this law is, it does make this small gesture of respect for private business rights. Restaurateurs don't like the stigma that a no-weapons sign carries, but it could become a kind of welcome mat for diners who prefer gun-free dining.

It could also create a "victim disarmament zone", letting criminals know where the guns are not.

There's another way for Tennesseans to register their displeasure with guns in bars.

An election in the fall presents an opportunity for voters to send a message to lawmakers that there are consequences for their actions.

I already addressed elections, so, instead I'll say this: There's also a way for Memphians to register their displeasure with bigoted newspapers - don't buy them.

Hell, they're only good for the coupons, and you can get those online.

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I Love Comments

Making the daily rounds, I ran across this over at Unc's site. following the link, I was pleasantly surprised by comments to the anti-gun screed put up by an almost-sockpuppet:

Guest Essay: More guns equals more gun violence

I'm not going to fisk, but I will point out some pertinent facts where the essayist "qualifies" himself:

I am a retired federal law enforcement officer who worked on gun-trafficking cases. My 20-year-old brother, Michael, was killed in an armed robbery on the CTA in 1972 when he was coming home from Loyola University. I have known several friends who were shot or killed with guns. I strongly support Chicago's handgun ban.

Sounds impressive, right?

Commenter "wild cat" sets the record straight (emphasis mine):

First of all Mr. Kulis, you should have identified yourself as being the past president of The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence which takes its talking points directly from the playbook of the Brady Campaign to End Handgun Violence. Second of all, and most important, you claim to be a retired Federal Law Enforcement Officer. With such a title, you imply that you were on the front lines in law enforcement; busting druggies, tracking down murderers and getting into shootouts with bad guys. When in fact, you were merely a probation officer holding a desk job and unlikely to be involved with issues such as interstate gun trafficking as you claim.

Smack!

I love the Internets.

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A Poll!

Go here to take the poll. Gotta love the way the question is worded:

Should state legislators attempt to override a court ruling that blocked handgun-carry permit holders from going armed into places serving alcohol?

Like I said in comments there, they word the poll to get the answer they want, but they're not getting it.

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Starbucks and Seattle

First off, a belated thank you to Starbucks for their policy of following the laws of the land. Now, of course, various bedwetters are protesting that hunks of metal, wood and plastic are being legally carried into those establishments.

If you're in or around the Seattle location, feel free to drop by and pick up a cup of joe soy double shot half caf ultra creamy macchiato espresso. Or maybe some hot chocolate.

Thanks to Bitter for the info. And, like SayUncle says, bring a camera.

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WTG, Turk!

I first saw this bit of nonsense via Joe Huffman, and thought "I should blog about this.", but my mind isn't focused just now.

Later, while checking my feed reader, I see that Turk Turon knocked it out of the park with his response to the Canadian girly-man who wrote the crap mentioned above.

Well done, sir. I can't wait to see if it survives moderation =)

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Meet Memphis' Latest anti-Gun Politician

Rep. G. A. Hardaway

Why do I say that? Well, this and this are good indicators of an anti-gun agenda.

Hey, Rep. Instead of banning private transfer of weapons between individuals and requiring a thumbprint when purchasing a firearm, why don't you work on streamlining the hiring process for the Memphis Police Department? A year or more before a recruit even starts at the academy? Seriously?

Thanks to SayUncle for the pointer.

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