Interesting gun case in MA:

The Supreme Judicial Court yesterday ruled that illegal gun possession is a “passive and victimless crime” and that those charged with having illicit firearms cannot be held without bail as a danger to society.

In a 4-to-1 ruling, the state’s highest court rejected the law enforcement strategy of Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter to cut down on gun violence by seeking pretrial detention for every person charged with illegal gun possession in his jurisdiction, which includes New Bedford.

Good.

I’ve mentioned that I really dig Laser Grips from Crimson Trace. I mentioned that I really like them as a training aid and for self defense. Well, I snagged a set, and a holster, for the Kel-Tec:

From Gun Porn

Here’s the whole set up for pocket carry:

From Gun Porn

Installation was a snap. You snap the two halves on the trigger guard and then use a couple of set screws to ensure a good fit. Out of the box, it lined up perfectly with the iron sights.

I had the slip on grip to help with the gun’s recoil. Such a small gun in that caliber tends to be hard on the hands (as Robb will attest to). The grip absorbs some of the recoil and makes it more pleasant. But the grip would slip over the switch and leave it on constantly. So, I broke out a razor and cut a groove in the front part of the grip so the switch isn’t affected by it.

I’m down to my last 30 or so rounds so once 380 ammo drops to below $1 per round, I’ll go give it a serious work out and follow up with a report on that.

At News Channel 5: Should guns be allowed in restaurants that serve alcohol?

So, Northamptonshire police wonder the neighborhoods with megaphones shouting at the residents to lock their doors. They call it innovative policing. And give themselves a pat on the back.

Ok, then.

David Codrea reports that Olofson’s conviction for unlawful transfer of a machine gun has been upheld.

Also:

It was not an abuse of discretion for a court to exclude the defendant’s expert from the courtroom while the government’s expert was testifying.

So, the defendant’s expert was not allowed to see nor address claims made by the government’s expert? Same government experts who have been wrong about guns before.

The DownRangeTV blog has returned.

China cancels our credit card?

So, google goes green and uses goats to mow the grass. PETA has an issue with this.

Make that a double ouch.

That’s me, alright. Wait. I’m confused. I thought, being a gun nut, I was not a tough guy and therefore compensating for that and my small penis with my guns.

Pocket pistols

Smith&Wesson 28-2 “Highway Patrolman” .357

Barack Obama Memorial Black Evil Rifle is complete.

Ruger presser:

Our backlog grew to 458,900 units and $136.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2009, from 175,900 units and $47.8 million at the end of 2008.

And Glock is over 200K back orders.

$60 for a box of 40S&W.

A skit done in support of the Campus Protection Act currently being debated in the Texas Legislature this session in 2009.

A school has an eagle for a mascot. They choose to name it Eddie. NRA is not amused.

Getting word the bill to close handgun carry permit records passed overwhelmingly.

Tom Humphrey reports:

House members of a conference committee on the so-called “guns in bars” bill voted 3-2 to abandon restrictions adopted by the House and accept the Senate version of the bill.

The bill (HB962) would for the first time allow handgun permit holders to take their weapons into restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages.

The House version of the bill would have continued the ban on guns between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. each day. It would also have continued the ban in “age restricted” establishments, or those that prohibit persons under age 21 from entering. The Senate had no such restrictions.

The House-Senate Conference Committee was set up to resolve those differences. But when the panel convened, Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, quickly made a motion that the House abandon the restrictions and adopt the broader Senate version.

Senators on the panel unanimously agreed with that position. The House members voted 3-2 to adopt it as well.

Good. As an added bonus, Jeff Woods poos his pretty bloomers, invokes wild west imagery:

The decision put the lie to one of the big arguments for the bill. Proponents claimed they only wanted to let handgun permit holders carry their weapons into restaurants, not saloons. That’s why the House added the curfew. As Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, pointed out: “After 11 o’clock, no family restaurant is open.” Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, acknowledged the hypocrisy in deleting the curfew now.

Ah, saloons. The best he can come up with, I suppose. The bill defines restaurants. But not saloons, which exist in old movies and Jeff Woods’ lacking imagination.

One of the reps from The City (My The City) voted against the measure.

To HL, who is heading Afghanistan.

Now, you’re just being silly.

Looks like the Boston Globe is about to go Tango Uniform. Doesn’t break my heart much. One less anti-gun editorial board.

I guess they won’t be paying their reporters to break the law now?

Via Bruce, who notes:

Lifetime job guarantees for people who work the printing presses for a newspaper??? Who’s the business genius up in management who signed off on that?

Well, who thought up lifetime job guarantees to begin with?

At the GSSF, I was talking to some of the Glock guys about how their sales were up 36% over last year. Well, they told me that right now Glock is backordered over 200,000 pistols. Wow.

I went and shot in my first competition this past weekend. I say first because even though I went to the last event, I didn’t complete all courses of fire. I shot a Glock Shooting Sports Foundation match. It was a good time.

It has been said the the GSSF is the gateway drug to serious competitive shooting. And the reason is the math is easy. I’ve opined before that I do not shoot competitively because the math is hard. You need particular calibers, guns, etc. to compete in IPSC or IDPA. At the Glock matches, take a Glock, some magazines, and 100 rounds of ammunition. I’d recommend four magazines.

The other good thing about the match as an entry into competitive shooting is that there’s no drawing, holstering, running, or moving. Those tasks can be intimidating to someone new to competitive shooting. At the Glock events, all courses are shot from the at the ready position. No running or moving. You just wait for the timer and shoot targets. A few pics. One of the Glock folks told me that they felt their event was more user-friendly as evidenced by them having more women and young folks shooting.

How’d I do? I don’t know. I felt I did OK for someone who had never really done that before. Not sure how I fared against others, though. There were a few guys there who were pretty darn good.

Here was a very nice lady I spoke with shooting the steel plates:

From Gun Porn

Here’s another young lady shooting the 5 to Glock course of fire:

From Gun Porn

ACK looks at the swine flu hysteria.

NRA reports BATFE Reform Bill Introduced In U.S. Senate. Highlights:

This bipartisan reform legislation is the culmination of efforts to address BATFE abuses and problems that were highlighted in several congressional oversight hearings in 2006. (To read more about these hearings, please click here.) S. 941 represents NRA-ILA’s latest efforts to pass legislation that will make it easier for lawful gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law and regulations, while ensuring that those who break the law are punished accordingly. This bipartisan bill also serves as a vital step toward modernizing and improving BATFE’s overall operations. The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena, and is a vital step needed to modernize and improve BATFE operations.

A fact sheet can be found here.

Also interesting:

I just noticed that Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, was a sponsor of the bill. He’s not exactly Mr. NRA, with a D rating last time he ran for Senate. What’s up with that?

A bit back, I noted a trend in tactical rifles being made in 22LR. Now, a new AK version.

Max Blumenthal:

If a new militia movement coalesces, its members will have no shortage of sophisticated assault weapons to choose from. At the gun show in Reno, I witnessed the sale of rocket-propelled-grenade launchers and bazooka guns; I watched a California-based dealer demonstrate how rapidly he could field strip his .308-caliber sniper rifle, then stash it in a deliberately innocuous-looking backpack and a briefcase that “looks just like a camera case.”

From Joe, who notes:

This is part of the reason the anti-gun bigots get so much traction with the public. They are willing to lie or at least have no concern for the truth. He almost for certain did not witness the sale of RPGs or bazookas since they are very highly regulated and require an extensive and expensive process involving the ATF.

A look at Multi-platform competition guns

What is an arsenal?

I thought it was 3. How much is a cache, then?

A look at Violence Policy Center public support:

The previous article examined how Violence Policy Center (VPC) had to downsize in recent years in order to survive, due to significant decreases in “direct public support.” Because VPC has no public membership revenues, the term “direct public support” is misleading.

Two people perform most of VPC’s public outreach: Executive Director Josh Sugarman and Legislative Director Kristen Rand. Between 2003 and 2007, as revenues decreased 49.9%, both Sugarman’s and Rand’s salaries increased 5.9%. But because revenues decreased, these two top earners––each of whom earned $132,894 in salary and $3,987 in benefits in 2007––went from 15.5% of total revenue in 2003 to 32.7% in 2007, more than doubling their slice of the pie (111.3% increase). Having just two employees taking home about one-third of total revenue may not be a long-term success strategy for a normal business, but it works when normal profitability concerns don’t exist. To understand the financial circumstances of VPC, one must understand their definition of “public support,” which accounted for 91.8% of VPC’s total revenue between 2003 and 2007.And to understand VPC’s “public support,” one must understand the Joyce Foundation, because VPC’s primary “public donor” is the Joyce Foundation.

At the Joyce Foundation site, selecting “Gun Violence” on their “Grant List” page displays a roster of Who’s Who in gun control: e.g. Violence Policy Center, Mayors Fund to Advance New York City, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. Joyce Foundation spent $9,475,883 on gun control research between 2005 and 2007. By comparison, the entire gun rights industry contributed a total of $3,188,704 for the four years of the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.

Souter is retiring. Dave Kopel looks at a list potential replacements and where they stand on guns.

Lots of pictures from Squeaky.