I’m playing with some new themes. If the blog looks weird for a bit, that’s why. I’m growing kind of tired of the current one, and I’m trying to figure out whether or not there’s anything out there that might look better.
Month: July 2007
Armed America
I want to take a minute to point out a photo book called Armed America. Watch the video below. (Or follow this YouTube link)
I’ve been a long time member of the LiveJournal guns community, and I’ve been following this project since the beginning, and there are one or two of my LJ friends in the album. Kyle is a fantastic photographer, and I’d highly recommend getting the album.
Options for DC Residents
There are no gun shops within The District at all. So what options do DC residents have if Parker stands. According to Dave Hardy:
Back 20 years ago, I was told there was a sporting goods store in DC that had an FFL. I doubt you could get one today. A expensive solution might be to buy antique arms, those made before Jan. 1 1899, which are not “firearms” under the Gun Control Act and thus can be sold interstate. Rifles would be easiest to find (Krags, 1893 Mausers, etc.) but at greater expense you could probably get, oh, Colt Single Action Armies, etc..
I thought you could buy long guns out of state, as long as the laws of the resident and dealer’s states were complied with? I doubt you’ll find an FFL willing to do it, but I think in theory it could be done.
So here’s a question: Does DC’s ban get severed from the rest of their gun laws? Or do all of DC’s gun laws get removed?  In other word, could I carry a loaded pistol within The District?
Illinois High Cap Ban At Death’s Door
There doesn’t appear to be any support in the Illinois House for a high capacity magazine ban:
In the midst of a lengthy impasse over the state budget, Blagojevich has called on lawmakers to ban the sale, purchase and possession of gun clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
But observers on both sides of the divisive issue say there are simply not enough votes to get the measure passed.
Of the 60 votes needed for approval, gun control advocates and gun rights groups agree there are only about 50 solid “yes†votes. Not even the bill’s sponsor thinks it has enough support.
I continue to be impressed by the effectiveness of the Illinois State Rifle Association. Working in what can only be regarded as a state with demographics that are very hostile to gun rights, they’ve managed to keep any serious gun control proposals at bay for years. National NRA can only do so much without effective state affiliates, and gun owners in Illinois certainly can claim to have one. Good show!
DC’s Decision Within a Week
According to Dave Hardy, DC will have it’s decision on whether to appeal Parker vs. DC within a week. If I were a betting man, I’d wager they’ll appeal. Reason? When it comes down to it, Fenty and the DC political establishment can’t afford to be seen as backing down. Fenty has to do what he thinks is best for his city and his constituents, and despite any pressure he might be getting from outside gun control groups, political expedience will demand he appeal.
It may not be the smart thing for the gun control movement to do strategically, and surely Fenty has been under a lot of pressure not to move forward, or to make small changes to DC’s law and fight this battle with a different case on better terms. But he also has to consider that he is not the President of the Brady Campaign, he’s Mayor of Washington DC, and he will have do what he thinks is right for his city, no matter how delusional he may actually be about the effectiveness of the ban.
Of course, I could be totally wrong and he won’t appeal. Time will tell.
Pennsylvanians Terrorized by Wrecking Ball
For some reason I find this amusing, even though I shouldn’t because people were injured:
 
I would have to caption that photo “Gulliver Gets a Strike”. But seriously folks, there’s nothing funny about wrecking balls gone awry. Meadville is in the Northwestern part of Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and Erie.
ATF OKs Bits of String
You no longer have to worry about spending time in the federal klink for having shoelaces and guns, at least, until they change their mind again.
The Heating Seeking .50 BMG
It slices, it dices, it can julienne your carrots from 50 miles away, and it’s heat seeking too. Not only that, it can cook a deer with a single shot! Mention Patricia Eddington, and we’ll knock 20% off list price!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRQqieimwLQ[/youtube]
Of course, API rounds are already illegal in New York and New Jersey, and regulated quite strictly at the federal level, but don’t except Assemblywoman Eddington to tell you that.
Here’s the QuickTime for people who can’t view the YouTube.
It amazes me that the media just repeats this nonsense without bothering to do the least bit of fact checking. People make fun of Arlen Spector for coming up with his magic bullet theory, but he’s got nothing on the opponents of the .50 BMG.
I Wouldn’t Build that AR
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from other people’s experience with the gun police, it’s don’t wander into gray areas when the state is looking for reasons to put you in jail for being a gun owner:
Here’s what I’m wondering. Using something like a braided steel fishing leader and some lead split shot, I could conceivably drill small holes in the channel near the base of the mag (where it won’t interfere with the spring and follower) and securing the thin steel cable there by creating a lead tag of a melted lead split shot. Then, run the cable up the mag body inside the channel on the outside of the mag and hang them outside of the lower receiver. Close the action and attach lead tags to the steel cables on the outside of the action. Now, you have a magazine that can be attached without removing the standard mag release button, but can’t be detached without opening the action. The cables and tags wouldn’t get in the way of the operation according to my Mk. I eyeball. And there should be no problems with the receiver closing on the cable.
Good idea, bad idea? Completely idiotic? I mean the idea, not the laws that inspired it – I know they’re idiotic.
It depends on whether you want to sit in front a jury, explaining all this to them and hoping they understand it, while the prosecutor tries to explain you’re a dangerous extremist who was illegally manufacturing assault weapons in violation of state laws.
The state will surely argue that all it would take is a pair of wire cutters to convert the AR into an assault weapon, and thus it falls into the “readily modifiable” provision, since it doesn’t neatly fit into one of the exceptions. It is readily modifiable without taking the action apart, because all you have to do is cut the cable.
Pink Pistols Malaigned
Apparently killer lesbian gangs are Bozo O’Reilly’s latest bogeyman. What’s really disappointing is that at the end, he drags the Pink Pistols in with this imagery of roving gay gangs. And who is this expert:
According to Wheeler’s personal website, he is a member of Jericho City of Praise, a conservative Christian megachurch in Landover, Md., whose leadership publicly advocates against equal rights for gays and lesbians. The website details Wheeler’s 500-plus appearances on MSNBC, Court TV and Fox News Channel shows including “The O’Reilly Factor,” “On the Record With Greta Van Sustern,” and “Hannity & Colmes.”
Are you kidding me? Bill O’Reilly is a turd of the first order, and I’ll be the first to throw a party when I see him circling the bowl along with the rest of the television media when they get their well deserved flush into the dustbin of history.