The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 week 2 hours ago
Gun Rights Advocates on Edge as Connecticut Confiscation Looms
Not for nothing, TTAG warned of bloodshed when Connecticut legislators first mooted the post-Newtown gun control legislation that Governor Dannel Malloy eventually signed into law. With the stroke of a pen, Malloy turned tens, if not hundreds of thousands of previously lawful gun owners into felons – unless they registered their “assault rifles” and “high-capacity magazines” with the state, destroyed them or sold them out of state. As Reverend Wright opined in one of his America-last rants, the chickens are coming home to roost. That said, they ain’t home yet. Meanwhile, gun rights advocates are steeling themselves – and their followers – for that fateful day. They’re looking for signs indica
Quote of the Day: High Anxiety Edition
“I feel pretty confident in telling you that there is broad consensus . . . that we do not want weapons in or anywhere around our congregations. If you do post the (no guns allowed) signs, then the message you’re sending to everyone is, ‘Gee, I wonder if anyone is carrying a gun.’ In some ways, by making people aware of the possibility, you actually raise anxiety.” – Bishop Wayne Miller, Concealed carry law tests whether guns, God mix [via suntimes.com]
Weekend Digest: 25 Feet Of Holdover Edition
“I don’t think this has anything to do with the second amendment rights when you have the right to carry a weapon off your property. An automobile is not a part of your home. It’s a part of the public property when you get out on it.” That’s from Bobby Timmons (right above), Executive Director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association, speaking out against a bill that would allow the carry of loaded handguns in vehicles without needing a concealed carry permit. This bill follows on the heels of one passed last year that allows unloaded handguns to be carried in cars without a permit. There are no restrictions on loaded long guns. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Scott Beason (left above), says that the castle doctrine should extend to your car, and that t
Concealed Carry Licenses Begin to Arrive in Illinois
This day has been a long time coming. Illinois is the last state in the union to recognize the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms. And rather than face a judicial mandate that would have made the Land of Lincoln a no-permit, shall-issue 2A heaven, legislators instead conjured a permitting process that’s about as painful and tedious as possible. Even so, around 46,000 people have applied and been approved for a concealed carry permit so far. And now word comes that the first 5,000 concealed carry licenses have arrived in the mailboxes of applicants . . .
At 12:46 PM local time on Saturday, the first post of someone unwrapping his concealed carry license appeared on an Illinois-based forum. From what the local papers are report
New From Hatsan USA: HatsanUSA AT-P1
No, that’s not one of Paul Allen’s futuristic blasters. HatsanUSA’s new AT-P1 will shoot pellets up to .25 caliber from its 10-round detachable magazine. And at speeds as high as 870 fps, whatever you hit will know it’s been hit. Press release after the jump . . .
The new AT-P1 from HatsanUSA Inc. provides shooters with a hard-hitting and affordable alternative for honing their shooting skills, as pellets are both inexpensive and readily available.
The AT-P1’s pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) power system uses a 50cc air cylinder with 200 bar fill (3000PSI) to propel high-density lead pellets to velocities as high as 87
OMG! Constitutional Carry! In South Carolina! OMG!
The Spartanburg, South Carolina Herald-Journal has published an editorial explaining why they believe that allowing people to exercise their natural, fundamental, and inalienable human, individual, civil and Constitutional right to own and carry a firearm of their choice is a bad idea. Let’s take a closer look at some of their arguments, shall we? . . .
The Herald Journal editorial board (hereinafter referred to as H-Jeb) start out well enough (if we ignore their falling prey to the unfortunately common fallacy that the Bill of Rights grants rights as opposed to merely protecting them):
It’s called the Constitutional carry bill, and the philosophical logic behind the bill is sound. The Second Amendment to the Constitution gives American citizens the right to carry arms, and you shouldn’t need
Chinese Knife Attack Leaves 27 Dead, 109 Wounded
Think it’s hard to buy a gun in San Francisco? New York? You’re right, it is. Because it’s far too dangerous to allow guns in the hands of individuals. Easy access to firearms is how mass killings and “gun violence” happens. Just ask our friends in the who toil away in the cause of civilian disarmament. And if you think it’s difficult putting your hands on a heater in coastal US backwaters, imagine how hard it is in, say, southern China. Merely attempting it is probably enough to get yourself thrown in a labor or reedcation camp. Yet somehow mass killings still happen there, too. From bbc.com: “An attack by knife-wielding men at a train station in Kunming in south-west China, has left at least 27 dead, the state news agency Xinhua says. Nothing is known so far about the motivation behind the attack, in which 109 people are said to have been hurt.” . . .
Guns and Alcohol Don’t Mix…Except When They Do
I’m going to be blunt: I’ve consumed alcohol while carrying. I have no qualms about doing so. I will continue to do so, wherever legal. Whenever I bring up my take on drinking and carrying, I get sneers. “It’s against the law! You’re going to go to jail! You should drink Coke or iced-tea!” The first two statements are patently false (at least in Texas) and the last statement elicits a proxied scolding from my retired CIO father; “You don’t have a soft-drink when you go out to dinner! What are you, twelve?” I am also convinced that whenever I break proper decorum, Letitia Baldrige rolls in her grave . . .
When I go out for oysters on the half shell and steak, I order a Stella Artois. It compliments my food, it doesn’t inebriate my mood. While some may begrudge my taste in alcohol – and to those who do, I
When May I Shoot a Professor of Biology? Metaphorically Speaking . . .
The New York Times never ceases to amaze me. My most recent WTF: an op-ed by a biology professor at Boise State University entitled When May I Shoot a Student? That, friends, is one sick headline. Try reading it as a survivor of a school shooting, or the parent, friend or teacher of someone mowed-down by Seung-Hui Cho. Professor Greg Hampikian’s anti-gun agitprop is beyond the pale. And yet there it is: ”In light of the bill permitting guns on our state’s college and university campuses, which is likely to be approved by the state House of Representatives in the coming days, I have a matter of practical concern that I hope you can help with: When may
Quote of the Day: The Silencers of the Lambs Edition
“By muffling the noise generated with every shot…a silencer would provide a new degree of intimacy for public mass murder, delaying by crucial seconds or minutes the moments when someone can call the police after overhearing strange bangs coming from a theater or classroom.” – Iowa Representative Mary Mascher quoted in Iowa House votes to legalize gun silencers [via radioiowa.com]
Daily Digest: Gripless Pistols Edition
The headline reads “Officer’s gun fires during arrest of Big Lots suspect” and leads off with “A police officer’s gun went off during a dangerous encounter,” so this was originally going to be yet another post about passive-voice, responsibility-free reporting of gun incidents. But it turns out in this case, this wasn’t just another example of a cop (or anyone, for that matter) dodging responsibility for their own negligence. It seems that during the arrest of Jason Clark, accused of stabbing someone outside a Big Lots, once officers had him out of the house, under control and handcuffed, 23-year-old Brittany Blenker charged into the mix attempting to prevent the arrest of Clark. She grabbed at an officer’s drawn gun, causing it to fire. The bullet grazed a woman . . .
inside the house, a minor injury for which she refused treatment. Blenker was also arrested at that point, and charged wit
Gun Tattoo of the Day: Wizard And Glass Edition
The tattoo above adorns TTAG reader John Anderson’s arm. The image is from the Jae Lee art for Marvel’s Dark Tower comic book series, an adaptation of Stephen King’s Wizard and Glass. I have no idea of the significance of the image; the last time I read a Stephen King novel my pets almost died from neglect. Tattoo Junkies in Dover, NH inked our boy. Click here to see original art upon which it’s based.
Ventura County Joins Orange County, Goes “Shall Issue”
Ventura County sheriff (yes, Ventura County, California) Geoff Dean is the latest to adopt a ‘shall-issue’ CCW policy for its county residents. In so doing, he joins Orange County as a ‘shall issue’ jurisdiction. Many northern California LEOs have long been quietly issuing CCWs much more liberally than the gun-phobic sheriffs of SoCal, but Orange and Ventura Counties are the most southerly and populous Cali counties to Do The Right Thing when it comes to CCW . . .
Weekend Photo Caption Contest: Win EyePal Peep Sights
A few weeks back we mentioned EyePal Peep Sights when we got their press release. Lo and behold, they sent me some to try. And while I haven’t had a chance, you probably have more time on your hands. Even if you don’t, enter the best caption to the above photo in the comments by midnight Sunday and I’ll send them to you.
Incendiary Image of the Day: British Police Are Unarmed Edition
U.S. gun control advocates support the Second Amendment, but – they’d like to see all Americans disarmed. America would then becomes as “immune” to gun violence as the U.K. We’ve debunked that apples-to-oranges idea many times. Suffice it to say, the antis cite the “fact” that “British police don’t carry guns” as part of their anti-American anti-gun agitprop. Well guess what? They do. Carol Howard [above] is a firearms officer of the Metropolitan Police’s Diplomatic Protection Group. Armed Brit cops als
Win a Walther P22!
Is there some unoccupied space in your gun safe? Do you need a good plinker to use when training new shooters? Fear not. Our friends at Florida Gun Supply are giving away a brand spanking new Walther P22. All you have to do to enter is click the image above or make the jump to log in through Facebook or using your email address. Finding ammo, though, is up to you.
CA AG Harris’s (Mostly) Phony Appeal Announcement
By Aaron J. Bailey
“Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Appeals Ninth Circuit Concealed Weapons Permit Ruling”; or so the AG’s pretty little press release says. Legal issues are always tricky. On the one hand, simplistic answers are often wrong; the law can be complicated and nuanced. On the other hand, I can’t exactly call a block of dense legalese “helpful”. I’ve been working in the legal field (note: I am not a lawyer) for five years now, and I’m a California gun owner (which practically requires a law degree these days), so between the two I’ve got a bit of practice “translating” legalese. I’m going to try to do that here . . .
Harris’ press release is misleading, to
Celebrating Texas’ Independence the Ranger Creek Distillery Way
This coming Sunday is Independence Day in Texas, a time to reflect on the Republic that has adopted both Robert and myself. Founded after a rag-tag bunch of settlers refused to voluntarily turn in their arms to the Mexican government, that spirit of “f*** you, make us!” continues to make this state the best place to live. It’s been a bloody history at times, involving some of the greatest firearms ever designed, and as a tribute, the Lone Star State’s only combination distillery and brewery (Ranger Creek) decided to name their lines of whiskey after the calibers of those iconic firearms that helped defend the Texan way of life and keep the peace . . .
It’s about the most Texan thing I can think of; whiskey named after ammunition, made in a
1911s of the Second World War
Republished from rockisland.blogspot.com:
When America decided to enter World War II after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor it was “all hands on deck.” Everyone in the nation was contributing through whatever means necessary: rationing of goods, rubber drives, saving fats, Victory gardens, nylon drives, tin can collection, carpooling, blackouts, women joining the workforce en masse, and hundreds of thousands of War Bonds were sold. However, John and Jane Q. Public were not the only ones to contribute to the war effort. Corporations across America were tooling up to help meet war needs and to beat back the Axis powers . . .
The Kaiser Corporation, which had seen