heh:

deny that the members of the Brady Campaign, if any, will face an increased risk because of the new regulation.

Now that’s funny, right there.

If you knew the ins and outs, you’d know there’s question as to if they even have members.

They’re on The History Channel all the time.

Major PSH from a group that is, and I am not making this up, protesting that ROTC offers arms training. Two things leap out at me here. One is that they really think military training is equal to criminal activity. And two that they don’t seem to think learning about arms is educational. Familiarity with arms is a skill that can save lives, in more ways than one.

Update: More from papaw:

Let’s face it, I’m a lucky man. I am lucky to live in a place where firearms are accepted and understood. Where I don’t have to repeat myself and where most folks understand the value in a firearm.

Even the gun coffee mugs are sold out.

NRA reports:

The city of Crossville has proposed and nearly finalized a city ordinance that would ban concealed carry on city-owned property. Anti-gun bills such as this one will clearly strip those of Crossville, Tennessee of their right to self-defense. The watered down language used to amend this city ordinance has furthered restrictions on law-abiding citizens substantially by using the word “property” as opposed to government “buildings” or “premises.” Crossville’s ultimate scope for this bill was to limit concealed carry on city government-owned property, but the reckless use of language portrays the true meaning of the bill to limit concealed carry on any city-owned property.

Image of a man walking the street with a gun and some other object, presumed to be liquor in South Dakota. PSH ensues in England. I can’t tell if it’s a liquor bottle or not but it doesn’t look like one. A quick map search reveals a nearby gun shop.

South Dakota ranks 46th in violent crime in the US and a violent crime rate of 172/100,000. In Britain, the violent crime rate is 2,300 and 3,993 per 100,000. And that’s with them cooking the books.

Now, compare that stereotype to one of bad teeth, horrible food, and subjects living in a nanny state where they can’t defend their own lives, I’ll take the guy with the rifle walking down the street any day.

HT to mad rocket scientist.

The question is: What Happened To Techno-Libertarianism?

The answer is: It got paid.

I was in Jamaica a few years back. Had a good time. I did notice that the areas where we tourists went usually had a bunch of guys in uniforms (uniforms with shorts, mind you) who walked around carrying M-16s. They were standing in front of casinos, bars, and stuff. The cab drivers and other folks said to stay in those areas as the rest of the place was rather unsafe. Anyway, I bring this up because:

No guns for you!

Firearm Licensing Authority boss rejects calls to arm the nation

CHAIRMAN of the Firearms Licensing Authority Errol Strong has rejected calls from gun rights lobbyists and members of the public who have been clamouring for Government to relax legislation to allow all law-abiding citizens easier access to owning firearms.

According to Strong, with Jamaica’s high propensity for violence, the move could backfire with devastating results.

So, strict gun control and a propensity for violence? Interesting correlation. And:

Strong got the backing of a woman who just this week lost her mother and her three children in a brutal arson/gun attack in the deep rural Jamaican community of Land Top in St Thomas.

Looks like the violent people already have guns. And we leave with:

“In the context of the Jamaican experience, the right for everybody to own a gun could have profound consequences. Quite often attacks on licensed firearm holders and the police are to get the guns,” Strong told the Observer.

Again, good guys cannot have them because bad guys want them. Ok, then.

Lots of Suppressors! And more

Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam belongs to the anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns (background here). He has recently begun to distance himself from the group and good for him. As he has stated a few times, he signed the petition that had some core principles that he thought everyone could agree on. Well, here are those principles:

1 – Punish – to the maximum extent of the law – criminals who possess, use, and traffic in illegal guns.

2 – Target and hold accountable irresponsible gun dealers who break the law by knowingly selling guns to straw purchasers.

3 – Oppose all federal efforts to restrict cities’ right to access, use, and share trace data that is so essential to effective enforcement, or to interfere with the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to combat illegal gun trafficking.

4 – Work to develop and use technologies that aid in the detection and tracing of illegal guns.

5 – Support all local state and federal legislation that targets illegal guns; coordinate legislative, enforcement, and litigation strategies; and share information and best practices.

6 – Invite other cities to join us in this new national effort.

And I’ll have to say that, based on the wording, I can see how a politician who isn’t that knowledgeable of gun issues would think they sounded peachy. However, what is said and what is meant are different. In Bloomberg’s case, he has intentionally distorted the meanings of items 2, 3, 4, and 5.

By 2, Bloomberg means to bankrupt lawful dealers with frivolous lawsuits, in which Bloomberg’s investigators likely broke the law.

By 3, he means oppose the Tiahrt Amendment and implies that law enforcement would not be allowed access to trace data. And that implication is false. Even ATF notes that the amendment does not interfere with police ability to trace guns.

By 4, he supports microstamping, an ineffective and expensive pipe dream.

And by 5, they mean more lawsuits and gun control.

The wording of the items may sound reasonable to someone unfamiliar with the issues. But I don’t think Bloomberg meant what Haslam thought he meant.

Other mayors figured it out and quit the group.

In PA:

City officials warned residents Tuesday to remove items such as upholstered furniture, trash and debris from their porches within 24 hours or face fines.

Like David said, that’s like ordering potential rape victims to wear burkas.

On Point Firearms has a review of the new ParaUSA. And lots of pics.

The TN house keeps getting more and more embarrassing:

In a statement, Rep. Brian Kelsey concedes he sent the text message that Democrats have interpreted as an offer to drop his fierce opposition and criticism of the speaker in exchange for a committee chairmanship.

That criticism includes some sexual harassment, for those of you not following TN politics.

Discussing the rise in gun sales.

David Young: The Root Cause of Never-ending Second Amendment Dispute – continued

On the Tennessee’s new Republican majority, I said a bit back that:

If you guys get in there and start passing every socially conservative wish list item that causes turgid little nubbins among the god squad (who shouldn’t be getting turgid little nubbins anyway because that’s a sin, I hear), it’s going to be a short two years.

I’d like to say they got the message. But they did not: The bill to ban unmarried people from adopting children is here, submitted today by Senator Paul Stanley.

So reports AC.

Janus.

Smith & Wesson model M&P 340

I was one of the earlier critics of police use of Tasers. Mostly because the perception that they were non-lethal (which is not always true) would lead to their more widespread use. Now, a study from the American Journal of Cardiology:

The rate of in-custody sudden death increased 6.4-fold (95% confidence interval 3.2-12.8, p = 0.006) and the rate of firearm death increased 2.3-fold (95% confidence interval 1.3–4.0, p = 0.003) in the in the first full year after Taser deployment compared with the average rate in the 5 years before deployment. In years 2 to 5 after deployment, rates of the 2 events decreased to predeployment levels. We observed no significant change in the rate of serious OIs after Taser deployment. In conclusion, although considered by some a safer alternative to firearms, Taser deployment was associated with a substantial increase in in-custody sudden deaths in the early deployment period, with no decrease in firearm deaths or serious OIs.

I think it’s a bit premature to blame Tasers. After all, the time periods involved also coincide with more aggressive police tactics.

The war on salt.

Hope and change. Meet the new boss.