Well, we knew it would happen. Never let a crisis go to waste and all. And the trick for them is to move quickly before anyone has time to think about what a dumb idea it is.

A magazine ban is useless because, as Joe shows, folks can change them pretty darn quick:

Calls for a new assault weapons ban and a ban on regular capacity magazines. National Review points out that the AWB wouldn’t have stopped this, which anyone with half a brain would know. And what’s up with NR? That’s at least 3 pro gun pieces in recent memory and they usually ignore gun owners unless there’s an election on.

Press calls for more gun control.

Boehner says no to more gun control. Good.

How many Kos kids own guns. More than I thought. Good.

Mom’s first gun show.

The narrative changes, depending on the shooter.

Blaming pro-freedom rhetoric: If any rhetoric can be blamed for this weekend’s tragedy, it’s the rhetoric that insists that gun control means an assault on people’s constitutional rights, and that we need only to enforce the gun laws we already have.

Massad Ayoob discussses the shooting.

Jay has a list of items that, really, no longer exist. I’d add commercials to things our kids may not know about. Junior was three before she ever saw a commercial.

Convincing myself larger groups are OK. Kidding aside, it’s a discussion of why small groups, while fun on the range, may not be effective in self-defense. There’s a trade off between speed and accuracy. Some folks call it Acceptable Combat Accuracy. I prefer the term MOA (minute of asshole). That balance is the trick. I can, probably, draw and fire accurately in a bit over a second (or, more likely, a bit under two). Top professional shooters manage to do both, though.

My shocked face. On facebook, I predicted this.

Shooting the KSG:

KSG pic

For those not paying attention yesterday, you can see the new Sig rifle in this post.

He says FoxNews misstated him when they said his position that the state has every right to restrict conceal and carry permits to citizens. From Jacob Sullum:

Pratt now says Fox “misstated my position,” which distinguished between rights of citizenship such as voting in U.S. elections and natural rights such as those protected by the Second Amendment.

Pratt’s response is at that link. He says, in part:

. . . fundamental human rights such as the right to self-defense as embodied by keeping and bearing arms, on the other hand, SHOULD MOST DEFINITELY extend to everyone, period.

Good for Larry Pratt.

Update: Seems his staff didn’t get that memo:

From: Gun Owners of America [mailto:noreply_goa@gunowners.net]
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 10:33 AM
To: XXXXXXX
Subject: Gun Owners of America: Ticket 201115416, FOX News

Re: Ticket XXXXXXXX, Responded

Dear XXXXXX

A new message has been added to the email #XXXXXXXXX.

Constitutional rights belong only to citizens. The ACLU’s logic can lead to tearing down our border – that there are no rights unique to American citizenship, so, hey, let everyone come in. That same logic allows the state to take away the right to keep and bear arms of a citizen. We have argued in court that only a citizen can lose his right to keep and bear arms by renouncing his citizenship. The current view that citizenship is no big deal has led to a progressive encirclement of the exercise of our rights. We gave gone from denying the right to keep and bear arms to felons, then to those with misdemeanors, now to those with certain medical diagnoses (and that without any due process).

We must make the distinction between citizens and others.

The American constitutional order is one of rights for citizens. Any enjoyment of those rights by non-citizens is a privilege in constitutional terms. The ACLU, as usual, is wrong in this case. It is for the state of South Dakota to determine whether legal non-citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. I don’t agree with their new policy, but constitutionally, they are within their power to so act.

I have forwarded your comments to my supervisor.

Robert Duggar
Gun Owners of America

Another politician signs on to support a law banning mentioned earlier.

Next, Rep. Peter King said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation to ban the carrying of any firearm within 1,000 feet of what he described as “high-profile government officials.”

What the Hell is wrong with these people?

A man not knowing that NJ thinks you’re too stupid to pump your own gas, pumps his own gas. Cops move in to arrest him for that. Really. Ask if he has weapons. He says he does. He’s arrested. He’s lost his appeal. Case could be interesting to watch.

A string of restaurant robberies.

This may be the dumbest list of supposed gun myths ever printed.

Ok: An Italian man has astonished doctors by sneezing a bullet out through his nose after being shot in the head.

Video here

John Green, father of 9 year old Christina Green who was killed in Tucson:

This shouldn’t happen in this country, or anywhere else, but in a free society, we’re going to be subject to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative.

It’s out in force, after the Tucson shooting. Sheriff and press blaming AZ’s gun laws. Blaming metal, like it’s 1980 again.

Media BS about guns.

Blaming the gun culture. Even though pot-smoking commies aren’t usually associated with the gun culture.

SPLC says if you look hard enough, obviously a tea partier.

Anti-gunners seem to be celebrating.

Despite bleating, support for gun control is down. And no indication that the Obama admin will change their policy on guns.

Some are pointing out the narrative doesn’t fit. But they’re gonna shoehorn it in anyway.

Paul Helmke: We also are deeply concerned about the heated political rhetoric that escalates debates and controversies, and sometimes makes it seem as if violence is an acceptable response to honest disagreements.

Pretty rich, right there given the rhetoric Paul has engaged in.

If you look close, there’s some guns.

Multicaliber SCAR

Suppressed 22

Sig 238 review

Some bloggers tour the Sig Academy

Heh.

I actually shot my Smith and Wesson M&P9. I put 200 rounds through it yesterday. Zero failures of any kind. Trigger pull is good, not fantastic. It’s a bit stacky and has a short reset. I was consistently low and to the right with it so a sight adjustment is in order. Not sure how to do that yet.

I’ve missed shooting a 9mm. Good to have one again. 18 rounds of goodness is fun but it makes reload math more difficult when you’re used to counting by tens.

I’ve also missed shooting a full-sized gun. All these compacts and sub-compacts I shoot all the time made me forget what it’s like to get a good grip on a full size pistol.

Gabrielle Giffords’ shooting leads some lawmakers to say they’ll carry weapons to protect themselves

Good to see lawmakers carrying. Of course, there are special rules for the special class:

The U.S. Marshals Service can deputize a member of Congress as a special deputy marshal if a threat assessment shows they are in danger, a federal law enforcement official said.

Carrying a special deputy badge allows the bearer to carry a concealed handgun anywhere, including inside a federal building like the U.S. Capitol.

Those who are so deputized aren’t publicized, but Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said he was granted deputy status after receiving death threats in the 1990s.

Heh.

Laser sights from back in the day.

In Texas, reporters get their carry permits so they can bypass security checkpoints at the courthouse.

Another gun chick is blogging.

Lyle of Ultimak posts some pics and details of his latest offering. Cool.

Someone should beat Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pennsylvania about the head and neck area. He wants to pass a law making it illegal for me to say things like that:

Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pennsylvania, said he will introduce legislation making it a federal crime for a person to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a Member of Congress or federal official.

Honestly, I don’t think one of the biggest problems we face as a nation is threats of elected officials. Up next is Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who thinks that congress critters deserve special treatment because they are like you and me, only better:

“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

A higher standard? No. You guys are held to no standards. Honestly, as my employees, you guys lack any standards.

And, of course, McCarthy clamors for relevance and wants to pass gun control laws.

The internet is killing them.