It’s been nearly three years since Foghorn put his final test round through ArmaLite’s gargantuan AR-50, but the bolt-action .50 BMG is still making noise. This week it’s shaking the world of Italian arts and antiquities, and it’s all because ArmaLite Photochopped a super-sized rifle into the arms of Michelangelo’s David . . .
The cheeky Photochop, with the tag line, “It’s A Work Of Art” (click here to view it) has the Italian cognoscenti in a lather. It’s even got Culture Minister Dario Franceschini’s bocce balls in a twist. As bbc.com reports, he’s crying Basta! and Tweeting: “The image of David, armed, offends and infringes the law. We will take action against the American company so that it immediately withdraws its campaign.”
The Historical Heritage and Fine Arts Board also sent ArmaLite a cease and desist letter demanding that the ad be withdrawn, claiming that the Italian government has a copyright on commercial images of the sculpture.
Which may actually be true, but this controversy is still just sound and fury, signifying nothing. ArmaLite actually pulled the ad last July, and they’ve done a pretty good job of scrubbing the Photochopped David from the internet as well. It took me a lot of searching to actually find a link to the the image at all.
Here’s a quote from ArmaLite’s press release, which was released just this afternoon after I reached out to them for comment:
ArmaLite has recently been made aware that an advertisement utilizing the image of the statue of Michelangelo’s David holding an ArmaLite AR-50A1 rifle was found to be offensive by certain individuals.
ArmaLite deeply regrets offending anyone and certainly had no intention of doing so.
The “Work of Art” media campaign was initiated over a year ago, but was removed from circulation when the new ownership of ArmaLite took responsibility for Company direction in July 2013.
ArmaLite has been making some of the finest firearms for military, law enforcement and commercial applications for 60 years and was the inventor of the AR platform of sporting rifles. In fact, AR stands for ArmaLite.
Mark Johnson, the chief executive officer of Strategic Armory Corps, LLC, the current owner of ArmaLite stated, “I believe that an advertisement utilizing an altered photograph of a masterpiece such as David is in poor taste. We deeply regret that ArmaLite offended anyone by this media campaign, which we ended upon our acquisition of the Company.”
“We will make every effort to be sure that any remnants from the campaign are removed from the public”.
I bear no ill will against Armatix but I will not use something like that until it is reliable enough for mil use. Main problem is that the legislators want to force everyone to use this.
“Blow it out your ass, Italy.”
…because Italy has nothing else they should be worrying about.
Here’s an image of David with a weapon that doesn’t offend anybody:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dM8sowSPGRA/S8vWiCWv6LI/AAAAAAAAHD0/Y8GJK3GjQcc/s400/david-and-goliath-2.jpg
HEY YOU ALL – The solution is real simple here. If you are armed and come across the situation as described:
1. Shout out “CALL 911! Someone call 911!”
2. Clear the path to your weapon (untuck shirt, etc.)
3. Get your ass up close enough (20 feet or so)
4. Scream “FREEEZE!! Back-off of the lady!”
5. If that fails to get the perps attention, get in closer and scream “FREEZE!! DO IT NOW!”
6. Once you’ve got his attention, repeat “Back-off of the lady!”
7. If he runs at you, empty your clip into his sorry hide. Game over, perp.
8. Otherwise order him to “Stand up and go” somewhere (“Up against that wall”, “Take a walk”, et al)
9. Let the perp leave if he wants – The cops will get him later.
10. Assist the victim and be sure that police and ambulance are on their way.
The whole mess can be dealt with without even drawing your weapon. Just be sure that the path to your weapon is clear before putting yourself in harms way. A commanding voice and strength are enough to let the perp know that you mean business. But if he turns on you, he’s dead meat. Odds are that he won’t though – You’re going to project that you have a weapon without even having to display it. Just have some damn backbone already!
This is one class act. I hope Staff will have an eye out for Italy’s response to this mea culpa.
I found the ad image in a few seconds, multiple versions even. ( https://www.google.com/search?q=armaline+ad+rifle+david&client=firefox-a&hs=exj&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1hwfU4CSOYj3rAHBnoGgCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=920#channel=sb&q=armalite+ad+rifle+david&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch )
I’m not sure about Italy, but in the U.S. Copyright protections don’t extend to items that old. Here I am pretty sure it is in the Public Domain.
Plus it’s clearly a parody and I’d think protected under fair use.
They couldn’t use the Venus de Milo because she is unarmed.
But that’s perfect! She’s arm-lite!
and his genitals exposed offends nobody (?)
Maybe only because they are tiny.
Connecticut: Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state. Art. I, § 15 (enacted 1818, art. I, § 17). The original 1818 text came from the Mississippi Constitution of 1817.
http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/beararms/statecon.htm
Ref: Violations of ‘Rights’ in Connecticut
Regardless of the intent expressed by the legislators, the evidence is now irrefutable that their actions have resulted in transposing many among the vast numbers of Morally-conscious, ‘Rights’-respecting, Law-abiding, Dutiful and Peaceable Citizens into ‘criminals under law’.
Given these and other facts, the only logical, rational and reasonable solution to the legal problems lawmakers have created for themselves, the Citizens and those now trapped in the tenuous position as law-enforcement officers — is to immediately rescind the laws as enacted.
Suggestion to de-escalate the legislatively-created conflict as follows:
While our initial intent was purely in the interest of making an effort to enact laws with a mind toward preventing gun violence and enhancing safety and security;
upon further review and given ancillary considerations;
We as representatives, find that;-
the laws as enacted were beyond the scope of Constitutionally-permitted authority and inconsistent with our Moral, Ethical and Legal Duties to ‘Secure Rights’ of all Citizens of the Great State of Connecticut.
Therefore, all laws under Public Act 13-3, Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety are hereby rescinded.
[ Simple point of inquiry: What better reason can there possibly be for legislators to avoid enacting ‘Rights’-violating laws than simply adhering to laws already written into Constitutions as ‘Rights‘ they‘re Duty-bound to protect, secure and defend?
In the case at hand all that’s necessary is to simply rescind those erroneously written. ]
Do No Harm / Successfully Defend
OMG! Portray one of the foremost worriors in history with a weapon! The horror! What a bunch of beta males this world is full of now.
You’re being pretty generous with the word ‘male’ there.
Mark Johnson, the chief executive officer of Strategic Armory Corps, LLC, the current owner of ArmaLite stated, “I believe that an advertisement utilizing an altered photograph of a masterpiece such as David is in poor taste.
Errr…. really?!?! Good grief.
There will be an app for it Later, when they get the bugs ironed out, you can link it to your smart phone, It will interface with candy crush.
The same Italians who jailed some scientists for failing to predict an earthquake? Sounds about right.
I doubt this would be an issue if it were an Italian-made assault action bolt rifle.
they should march on city haul and prosecute the Seditious and treasonous wimps in a Kangaroo Court then ????
when the unlawful hide behind laws its hard too be peaceable especially when the system is wired against the Constitution and freedom of the people! Political Crooks want average people too toe the Line
the sad part in all of this is the Politicians will not be affected at all, just those that uphold it and their victim’s Connecticut has set the stage for suppression and Armed rebellion, make no mistake the Federal Baby Incinerators will be their to perform their magic like Waco,
Happens all the time with Glocks, they have a short relatively light trigger pull compared to a revolver and no external safety like a 1911 style semi. Anybody who Mexican carries with a chambered Glock is crazy stupid. This video proves even the proper retention holster doesnt prevent unintended discharge. You can still blame the cop for not foreseeing his pullstring might entangle his Glock, but come on.
I love Glocks but have been wishing for a thumb safety version for years. You can get a Springfield XD45 4″ service model with a thumb safety, its positioned and operates exactly like a 1911 safety for guys who were weaned on the 1911 but want a higher cap striker polymer pistol. However they do not offer the thumb safety on their compact XD models for some odd reason. Glockophiles might bash me that a thumb safety is unneccesary but that extra split second taking the safety off is not going to matter in the real world, and the extra measure of safety is worth it. Ask the pro 1911 shooters if a thumb safety makes them any less of a gunslinger. If you know your gun you wont leave the safety on by mistake.
That story is suspiciously specific…
That gun sure is fine as fuch(s).
Sounds like a good argument against the very existence of FOID cards. The more control the government has over your life, the more power the corrupt have to abuse.
Here in the detroit area last night, an 82 year old man successfully defended his home and his mother against 2 home invaders with a few well placed blows to the head with a hammer.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/82-year-old-man-hits-home-intruder-with-hammer
Used to be a deputy , but also worked as armed security at the local medical center , you would not believe how many nurses there are that should not be in the job , they go to school get the degree then get the “better than anybody else attitude ” , I always thought that they were there to help people not sit on their buts and complain about the folks in their care that also pay their salary . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry.
I just had the “don’t talk to the doctor about guns” conversation with my wife the other night. Apparently her OB-GYN asked about it at some point during her pregnancy. I told her that from now on, the answer is always “none of your damn business”.
Think of it this way – there is absolutely no benefit you gain from talking to the doctor about your guns, only the opportunity for a loss.
Padilla, the Armatix exec DOES NOT belong in this industry. She does not understand her product, the consumer, or the political ramifications of what she does and says.
“Is the militia ideal truly dead?” Not sure I care, because “the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” ‘Nuff said.
the battle of athens provees that there is still a need for citizen militias. that said, i can already see thhat if they were reformed the antis would start call for the disarmament of anyone not active in them, and would hamstring those that are involved in such a way as to effectively disarm them
The militia still exists. It’s all around you. Everyone in this country who owns a firearm, whether they realize it or not, is part of the militia.
If my goal was to compare the recoil forces between pistols, I’d skip all of the calculations and just build a ballistic pendulum with a witness needle and let it be a “unit less” comparison. This would eliminate a lot of the “noise” and be just a bit more objective.
The Professor didn’t mention one other civic concept that kept police action to a minimum: posse comitatus, which in many ways is an outgrowth of the citizen militia concept.
Would you be willing to give up your time and money to train and participate in a citizen militia? Yes, absolutely. In fact, I also support universal militia training. Train every able person in the defense of the realm.
Impulse, impulse, impulse!
excellent discussion! this is a very important distinction and usually described as the difference between a shove and a kick when describing firing a rifle. this is a measure of impulse. there is no way around physics. we shoot a bullet and there is an opposite force to accelerate that bullet. the shorter the amount of time the force has to impart on the shooter, then the more sharply the shooter feels the recoil (higher impulse). energy is the wrong calculation that nearly the entire gun industry uses. conservation of momentum is far more consistent (conservation of momentum is used to calculate collisions).
gun designers handle impulse in the basic design to make a gun function: tilt lock browning style in a semi automatic pistols to keep springs manageable and limit wear on the frame. roller delay lock blowback ala mp5 / g3. gas systems divert a small portion of the gas instead of trying to wrangle all the recoil energy for operation.
caliber choice has some interesting implications. older calibers use a lower pressure, which means the impulse is lower from the beginning. .45 and .38 use much lower pressures than modern calibers and when combined with relatively larger frames usually leads to a “softer” shooting pistol.
gun ergonomics determine how well a gun handles in a given caliber. the closer the grip is to the boreline of the gun, the more mass (conservation of momentum in play) in your forearm to resist the recoil instead of a torque moment about your wrist. a longer slide means the recoil impulse is lower (more time for the recoil). a heavier slide takes more force to accelerate and moves slower also lowering recoil impulse. a longer and heavier slide usually go hand in hand. many modern semi autos use complicated spring designs to provide a non linear recoil to increase recoil time and lower impulse. using a rubber hand grip increases the recoil time marginally and more importantly spreads the impulse to the largest possible hand area (the rubber flows/compresses momentarily to fill the voids when firing).
shoving a .380 in the smallest frame possible means the impulse is HUGE. short and very lightweight slide and lightweight frame means there is very little to slow down the recoil. remember, it is not that the recoil is less (without a compensator) just that the impulse (force over time) is lower.
So is this going to be a standard daily post now too
I would certainly volunteer.
Nice dogs, looks like they might need to go on a diet though.
See if you own a weimraner or a lab you’re in danger of being loved to death. Own both and you just have a death wish. They love kids too. Especially important for the family guys.
Which dog owns which rifle? I see an AR and a black rifle in the back.
Hmmmm. Interesting. If a hold is put on the ban, even then that would send shockwaves through the Kalifornian wing of the civilian disarmament industrial complex. What if the ban is declared unconstitutional? What kind of effect would that have on them?
They would probably be sounding “CODE BROWN.”
I’m still waiting tentatively for the results of the en banc review of the other case that sits at the 9th.
Are the anti’s really going to start losing this much ground in their own backyard?
Should be, “…EXPORTED into the war zone” Walther would not be the importer in Venezuela. It would be the “importer into”. Or not, as the case may be.
That photo looks like a closely grouped bunch of back-lit targets to me.
Epic tactical fail, and lousy PR – excepting to their own chior.