Question of the Day: Will Abolishing Gun Laws Balance the Budget?

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September 26, 2011

In the first of a two-part think piece, John Longenecker makes the case for the abolition of all gun laws as a way to preserve the sovereignty of the individual under the American system of government. Even a little “common sense” gun control is the camel’s nose under the tent, a first step in transferring the supreme authority away from the citizen to the state. But he doesn’t stop there. As he sees it, de-controlling guns is also a way to shrink the overarching, overweening leviathan that is the federal government. “When the sovereignty of the citizen is officially acknowledged…you get a handle on revenues and spending. You can actually reduce the size of government if gun control is repealed and sovereignty is affirmed.” So is this the magic bullet issue the Tea Party has needed? Is expanding gun ownership an act of budgetary hygiene? Can we get our fiscal house in order by abolishing gun control?

VA Public Schools’ “Gun Safety” Course Cursed by PC

By

Philip Van Cleave

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September 26, 2011

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The final curriculum for an optional class on firearms safety to be taught in Virginia public schools has been approved. It has some serious flaws. For starters, in talking about firearms safety, it raises the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. What does the targeted murder of a political figure have to do with gun safety? That would be like a driver’s education class talking about how car bombs are used by terrorists to blow up innocent men, women, and children! For kindergarten . . .

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Top Shot Now Casting… Again

By

Foghorn

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September 26, 2011

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Are you a competent shooter? Do you have dreams of being blinded by Colby’s teeth in person? Do you long to be locked in a house with complete strangers and watched like a lab rat? Do you have a proclivity for disagreements that lead to you sleeping in your yard? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then Top Shot may be the show for you, and luckily they’re taking applications for a new season.

Email [email protected] with your name, city, state, phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief explanation of why you are America’s “Top Shot.” For more information, visit pilgrimstudios.com/casting/topshot. Producers will get in touch if they need additional information.

This is an ongoing casting call. Currently there is no deadline for submissions or schedule for the final casting process and production of the next season. Still, we’d like to hear from you!

Take it from someone who almost made the cut for season 2 — if you’re chosen, you’ll need to be out of town for a grand total of about two months. More info here.

Gun Grabbers’ Words to Watch: “Gun Violence”

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Robert Farago

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September 26, 2011

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“Two teenagers, one just 14-years-old, were killed by gunfire this weekend in northeast Omaha. Etienne Burns, 14, and Dejuan Johnson, 19, were killed within about a six-hour span Saturday night.” I detest passive construction, especially when writers use it to describe shootings and negligent discharges (a.k.a., accidents). In this case, not only is the phrase “were killed” inelegant, it hides the truth of the matter. In truth, “Gunmen murdered two teenagers this weekend in northeast Omaha. The killers shot Etienne Burns, 14, and Dejuan Johnson, 19, within about a six-hour span Saturday night.” This is not simply a question of Hemingway worship and hopeless pedantry . . .

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What’s Wrong with This Picture: Law Enforcement Edition

By

Robert Farago

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September 25, 2011

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livingstonedaily.com: “More than 150 of the area’s finest law enforcement officers, sponsors and spouses came together and tested their skills at the Livingston Police Combat Pistol Shoot.”

Question of the Day: What’s Wrong with America’s Gun Culture?

By

Robert Farago

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September 25, 2011

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I’ve just reviewed Glock, The Rise of America’s Gun. Paul M. Barrett’s book devotes an entire Chapter to “Going Hollywood.” Barrett ascribes much of the Glock’s cultural success to the fact that it was the handgun of choice for both fictional good guys and bad guys. I’m not asking if we should “allow” the glamorization of guns (as if we could or should). Just the opposite. Does the increasing normalization of guns remove some of their mystique? In other words, are firearms still the s4it?

Book Review: Glock, The Rise of America’s Gun

By

Robert Farago

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September 25, 2011

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“The girl, the guns, the money and liquor—and at the center of it all was this Austrian engineer none of us knew very well.” Former NRA lawyer Robert Ricker should read Glock, The Rise of America’s Gun, in which his quote appears. Ricker won’t be any wiser about Gaston Glock’s psychological motivations, but he’ll become intimately familiar with the Austrian engineer’s dirty laundry. Glock’s bad behavior, and the extra-legal shenanigans of those around him, could fill a washing line from Deustch-Wagram, Austria to Smyrna, Georgia . . .

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H.R. 822 = “Guns, Guns for Everyone” If Only.

By

Robert Farago

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September 25, 2011

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Columnist Sally Kalson [above] of Pittsburgh’s post-gazette.com has a bone to pick with supporters of H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.” Ms. K’s galled by the federal legislation’s goal: directing all states to recognize the legitimacy of any other state’s concealed carry license. You know, like they do for a driver’s license. Kalson reckons the strategy—enshrining and enforcing a constitutional right to bear arms with a federal law—ain’t playin’ fair!

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Brit MPs Shocked, SHOCKED at Music Video Gun Violence

By

Dan Zimmerman

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September 25, 2011

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When we wrote about Britney Spears’ recent firearms-related exploits, we didn’t know the location she’d selected to shoot her music video. Turns out it was produced in the hoplophobic haven that is the UK. London, to be specific. That’s right, the land where even pocket knives that lock open are verboten. And now local politicians have found out the kind of activity portrayed in the video for her new single ‘Criminal’. You’d think she was firing real bullets from that revolver she had tucked into her pants from the kind of moral outrage that’s being expressed…

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Wilson Combat’s Love Letter to FPSRussia

By

Robert Farago

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September 24, 2011

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Wilson Combat ammo comes in a way cool Tupperware-style container with a warning message printed on a hand-cut piece of paper. I reckon it’s a prose poem: a love letter to our favorite faux Russian, for who common sense is not so common. “WARNING: To avoid serious injury or death the shooter and/or bystanders. Use only in firearms in good condition with markings exactly matching the ammunition. Always check the barrel and remove obstructions and/or excess lubricant before firing, or if a light recoil or off sound occurs. If firearm fails to fire point muzzle in a safe direction and avoid exposure to breech while carefully unloading. Always use shooting glasses and hearing protection . . .

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Annals of Gun Control: David Laffer and Hindsight

By

Dan Zimmerman

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September 24, 2011

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Let the recriminations begin! Traditional media column inches would likely be cut at least in half if they were somehow prohibited from printing the results of their uncannily accurate hindsight-enabled analyses. The latest target of their penetrating 20/20 second-guess ray is Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer and his department’s pistol license bureau. They clearly dropped the ball in allowing David Laffer, who murdered four people in a Long Island pharmacy, to keep his guns. Except they didn’t…

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Question of the Day: Is the Glock 17 One of the Ten Most Influential Handguns of All Time?

By

Robert Farago

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September 24, 2011

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHBCIEfjvPk

Guns & Ammo’s Garry James has compiled a list of The Ten Most Influential Handguns of All Time. They are the Wheellock, Colt Paterson; Deane, Adams and Dean; No. 1 Smith & Wesson, No. 3 Smith & Wesson, Luger, Colt 1911 Government Model, Smith & Wesson .357, Browning High-Power and the Walther P.38. While it’s hard to argue with any of James’ choices, the gun writer positioned the Glock 17 as the “extra credit” gun. Number 11 out of 10. I reckon the Glock deserves a place in the top ten. [I just received an advance copy of Glock, The Rise of America’s Gun. My review next week.] Do you agree that Gaston’s Glock should occupy a more elevated spot onto James list? If so, which handgun would you demote?