The internets are abuzz re: this morning’s Frank Rich editorial: Axis of the Obsessed and Deranged. The New York Times’ liberal extremist builds on a previous Sunday magazine piece painting the Tea Party movement as a bunch of loons. Rich launches a dietribe [sic] linking the populist protest with terrorists and, well, deranged people. The only thing missing from Mr. Rich’s viscous and unfounded smearicle: a link to the movement’s belief in Second Amendment rights. Maybe that’s because his boss, publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., has a concealed carry permit. Or maybe Mr. Rich knows there is a pale beyond which he shouldn’t go. Nah. It’s coming. Meanwhile, the Arizona Sun’s editorial board has got its proverbial knickers in a twist re: the state’s move towards “Open Carry” gun laws (whereby legal citizens can carry firearms without a special licensing procedure). Here’s the headline again, complete with self-righteous rhetorical flourish: “Arming a bunch of amateur civilians in place of passing gun laws with teeth sends up the white flag of surrender in the battle for a civil society governed by laws, not force.” That’s how it ends, of course. Here’s how it starts . . .
Arizona Daily Sun: Open Carry Means “Arming a bunch of amateur civilians in place of passing gun laws”
Gun Bribes Highlight Afghan Corruption
And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for? Don’t ask me I don’t give a damn. I’m going to Afghanistan. A country whose rigged elections and endemic corruption was the focus of the Obama Administration’s pre-surge anxiety—until it wasn’t. And now it is. Well, for the western media. OK, for a few news organizations. The Guardian, actually. Which reveals that Afghan Prime Minister Nour “Sneaky” Maliki is trading weapons and cash for votes in the run-up to the next round of democratic, free and fair nationwide elections. “Maliki, who faces a bitterly contested final week of campaigning ahead of the 7 March poll, has been photographed handing out guns to supporters in southern Iraq, engraved with a personal message from his office. However he denies that the delivery of weapons, along with cash payments, were improper.” Perhaps “unusual” was the word he was looking for. Is this a problem? Surprisingly enough, yes. Make the jump for a look at the source of Maliki largess. As if you couldn’t guess . . .
Question of the Day: Are Modern Guns Ugly?
Personally, I don’t think so. When form follows function, all is well. Well, except for the Stoeger Double Defense. This is not a viewpoint shared by the unnamed author of Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to rifle stocks at Pennsylvania’s observer-reporter.com. “In one of my winter boredom stupors I looked at the cover [of American Rifleman] and it struck me. What I saw had to be one of the ugliest rifles I have ever laid eyes on, and it was made by none other than old traditional Savage . . . Like most things in life, be it automobiles, women or rifles, what appeals to one turns off another viewer. But to me, ugly is just that, ugly! The forearm was square with an ugly black foretip. To top off its overall tasteless stock, someone had fastened a pistol grip cap of some dark wood and it was the size of a kitchen saucer. There is no explaining taste.” But there is, it seems an explanation for ugly.
West Virginia Looks to Pass “Second Amendment Appreciation Act”
WTRF.com reports that West Virginia’s House of Delegates passed legislation that would offer gun buyers a “tax holiday” during the first weekend of October. The Second Amendment Appreciation Act’s Democratic lead sponsor says the holiday could yield increased tax revenue. “The idea is to get them in to purchase the firearm and, along with that, you get all the ancillary benefits,” Scott Varner said. Gimmick, says Mark Robyn, an economist with the nonprofit Tax Foundation (albeit last August). “The revenue loss from the tax cut would likely be relatively small, which is one reason politicians love it so much,” Robyn wrote in a blog post. “They can enact a flashy headline-grabbing sales tax holiday and claim to be tax cutters while not really giving up much in revenue.” If passed, West Virginia would join South Carolina and Louisiana in the gun tax holiday business. Lawmakers in Mississippi and Oklahoma are currently considering the move. Massachusetts? Not so much.
How Not To Report a Gun-Related Story: Iowa’s New Domestic Abuse Gun Confiscation Law
According to KIMT reporter Natalie Tendall’s official bio, “she loved to play news reporter as a child.” Judging from her article Domestic Abuser Gun Bill Reaction, she’s still playing at being one now. Tendall (or someone) has crafted a by-the-numbers editorial masquerading as a news story supporting an Iowa bill authorizing the state to confiscate firearms from suspected domestic abusers. Well, not exactly. Tendall doesn’t provide the bill’s number or a link to its text. [Download a pdf of HF 2397 here] Has she even read it? Why bother, when you can trot-out supporters, unverified statistics and horrific anecdotes. “More than two hundred Iowans have died as a result of domestic violence since 1995,” Tendall’s script begins. “Now, steps are being taken at the capital to save more of those lives by not letting abusers own guns . . .
How Not to Review a Gun: Taurus Judge
Just to remind you, The Truth About Guns needs a gun reviewer. If you’d like to apply for the job, please send an email to [email protected].
Have You Noticed That The Media Turns Off Comments for Gun-Related Stories?
Gun owners are a fairly vocal group of people. Well, some of them are. And the ones that are, really are. When The Huffington Post takes a proverbial swing at gun owners’ rights (or hopeful lack thereof), the comments section runs longer than the Energizer bunny. And that’s not including the comments the site’s editor eliminates with extreme prejudice. More often, news orgs simply turn off the comments section, rather than allow Second Amendmentistas to gun down gun control supporters’ rhetoric, or vice versa. Here’s a good example, after a KGW.com story about a gun accident in Portland, where a 22-year-old man was killed during armed horseplay. “Comments have been turned off for this article.” Admittedly, the arguments for and against gun ownership laws become extremely repetitive over time. But if I had to choose newspapers without gun owners or gun owners without newspapers, I’d continue to surf the net and call it good. Oh, and when will the press stop using pics of gun shops or police crime scenes to illustrate stories about firearms? Just sayin’ . . .
With Gun Metaphors Like These . . .
Sports writers have a lot more leeway than reporters covering any other topic. They’re about as likely to provide straight reporting as a gay man is to masturbate to a picture of Marissa Miller. But there are limits, and I think Yahoo! Sports writer Dan Wetzel has found them.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There was once a guy from Finland named Simo Hayha. He was a farmer, and for fun he liked to practice shooting his rifle. He grew quite accomplished at it. Then, in 1939, the Red Army invaded Finland. At age 34, he decided he would take his rifle and shoot Soviets.
He wore all white and would bury himself in the snow so Soviet soldiers wouldn’t see him until they walked by and he could kill them. He would put snow in his mouth so his breath couldn’t be detected in the 20-below air. The Soviets kept sending special units to hunt for just him. He would promptly shoot down the entire group.
He killed a confirmed 505 Soviets with his rifle and some 200 more with a submachine gun. He did this all in 100 days flat. He was nicknamed “White Death.” He may be the greatest soldier of all time.
Simo Hayha passed away in 2002 and was not available to play hockey for Finland in Friday’s Olympic semifinal game against the United States.
As such, the USA crushed the Finns 6-1.
Irony Alert: Toy Gun Recall
The feds require orange tips for all toy guns so that law enforcement can identify them as toys. Safety first!
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced recalls of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products unless otherwise instructed. For a complete list of recalled products, visit www.cpsc.gov.
Units: About 9,600
Importer: Dolgencorp LLC, of Goodlettsville, Tenn.
Hazard: The orange tips located at the end of the toy guns’ barrels can easily be removed from the barrels, posing a choking hazard to children.
Description: This recall includes a Special Forces Weapons and Accessories Set and a SWAT Police Play Equipment Set. The number 48JQH09 is printed on the right side of the larger gun included in the affected sets.
Sold at: Dollar General stores from September and October 2009 for about $5.
Remedy: Immediately take the recalled toy guns away from children and return them to any Dollar General for a refund or a replacement product.
Contact: 800-678 9258 or visit www.dollargeneral.com.
Vintage Bullets? Why Didn’t I Know That?
The Truth About Guns went live ten days ago. Truth be told, I’m at the base of a long learning curve. As with The Truth About Cars (sold to the Canucks), I’m starting this site as an enthusiast, looking to become what the Brits call “a swot.” Or, in this case, “a gun nut.” So please excuse me if I report events from a neophyte’s (a.k.a. idiot’s) perspective. All of which is a preamble to the fact that I had no idea that people collected vintage ammunition. Antique guns that could explode in the face of their owners? Sure. Bullets? I didn’t see THAT one coming (so to speak). And if you already knew that, you might want to know that Philly auctioneer Barry S. Slosberg, Inc is about to hammer “a large array [of vintage ammo] to include .38, .38 Wad Cutter, .300, .30-06, .22, .30-30, .32, .308, .22-250, .357, .350, .270, .30-40, primers, projectiles, powder.” The auction’s tomorrow (Sunday), 14 percent buyer’s premium and all. Or you could just buy a box of unfired 12 GA Pinfire Hulls online at Griffin & Howe. For $1200. Way.