Update: Yup, that’s what I got. Tetanus shot. Antibiotics and if no improvement by Monday, a potential hospital stay. Cat bites are apparently serious business.

5 Weapons that should’ve been in Transformers 2

The government has thrown in the towel in its prosecution of Albert Kwok-Leung Kwan for possession of a short barreled rifle. A June 25 order dismisses the indictment against him “based on the government’s motion.”

You can see past coverage here. Short version is he didn’t cooperate with the feds. So, they got a warrant, took his guns, and tried to find NFA violations. Kwan, a dealer, had several NFA weapons. The .gov’s case centered around two pistols that could take a shoulder stock. One was a registered short barreled rifle and one was not. They said he could put the stock on the unregistered pistol and would have an untaxed weapon. Well, I could put shoestring on my Ruger and make a machine gun. But I don’t because that’s illegal. Also, the feds apparently converted an M1A he owned to a machine gun then said Kwan had an unlawful machine gun. Odd.

This is BETTER than Sea World!

AK and range report

we have a higher murder rate than Germany and a lower one than Scotland

[...]

Among the factors determining murder rates, levels of gun ownership is among the most overstated and least reliable, in Mauser’s view. “There is no empirical support for the claim that gun ownership is related to violence rates,” he says.

So, I came home night before last and, despite my earlier concerns, that cat is still there. I say the Mrs.: Cat have a name yet?

She says it’s Abby.

I said: You Googled up cat names and that was first wasn’t it?

She said yes.

Citing the vital need to protect Americans from overzealous federal agents, Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) today issued a challenge to those Members of Congress who supported his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) reform legislation, but have yet to sign on this Congress.

“This legislation is far too important to languish due to cold feet,” Space said. “Well-intentioned, law-abiding citizens are being unfairly targeted by federal agents who should be more concerned about the Second Amendment than their next promotion.”

I, generally, have no interest in blowing things up. But since most folks seem to agree that some sort of line should be drawn with respect to what the second amendment protects (somewhere between machine guns and nukes, apparently), it’s a good mental exercise.

I will note that, hindsight being what it is, I made a tactical error. You see, I went to investigate when the best choice would have been to go upstairs, get the family into a single room, and call the police. But that would have awakened everyone. But, from a safety standpoint, it would have been the best option.

Oh and no worries as to the thing that went bump in the night. Seems the dog has figured out how to open the screen door.

They state that no other state allows carry in “bars,” then in the footnotes list 23 states that do.

They falsely state that Carry Permit Holders can carry while drunk

Alrighty.

“I would not file a lawsuit that I did not think had merit,” said Smith, whose legal research showed proponents of the new state law quoted faulty statistics regarding guns in bars policies nationwide.

Nate Rau continues lying about the supposed extensive legal research (see here, here, and here). Odd, though. Claims that the stats are bogus probably won’t be an issue in a court case. I think it’s just another opportunity to parrot their made up research.

And this lawsuit having merit will come as a shock to anyone I’ve talked who is remotely knowledgeable of Tennessee law. Still, I’m glad they’re doing this instead of something.

Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sent here from around the country — are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”

All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.

Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.

I note that the Chronicle’s example is one designed to make you sympathetic to the authorities. Note that it doesn’t lead with the reports from many, many law-abiding people who have also had to endure such questioning.