An interesting conversion just approved by the Israeli Police. Would require a tax stamp here, though.
Author: Sebastian
Another View on Chicago Senator Trotter’s Gun Oops
I meant to get this up yesterday, but my workstation died, and John Richardson beat me to it. We had reported a bit tongue-in-cheek about State Senator Donne Trotter getting caught with a pistol at an airport checkpoint a few days ago, and noted he was a C-, which for Chicago is to say he’s not a raving gun hater. CCRKBA jumped immediately though, which in light of this from NRA’s lobbyist in IL, may have been ill advised. A lot of people on our side are very black and white in how they approach political actors: either they are with us or against us. In the actual mechanics of passing bills, it’s never that clear, and a vote for your immediate legislative priority is a vote whether it comes from an A rated politician or a C- rated politician. Politics can sometimes make for strange bed fellows.
ATF Looking to Regulate Ammunition?
NRA has attended some meetings, and it would seem ATF is poised. This must be what Wayne has meant by “It’s going to come fast, and hard.” They are taking public comments until December 31st. I’d suggest sending something, even if it’s not remarkably thoughtful. Let them hear from us.
Whitlock Fakes Backpaddling, Then Doubles Down
In his latest column, he admits to being “inarticulate” and “off message,” suggesting he was tired when he said the NRA is the new KKK, but basically does not apologize for the remark, and even doubles down:
We can’t see this or even have a discussion about it because the propaganda-political-lobby-machine, the NRA, has hoodwinked America into believing handguns make us safer. The NRA, like the KKK, has brainwashed us through fear and division.
We had a discussion about guns, and your side lost. Furthermore, when you insult NRA, you insult its members as well. When you suggest we’re dupes, you’re calling us weak minded fools who can’t think for ourselves and who blindingly believe and accept everything NRA says or does. When you say “NRA capitalizes on and promotes racial fears and ignorance,” how are you not saying NRA members are ignorant racists.
You’re standing by what you said, Jason Whitlock. It’s still condescending and offensive. You weren’t inarticulate or off message. You let the world know what you really believed, and what you believe is that NRA members are racist, ignorant dupes. That shows your own ignorance more than it does ours.
The Date That Will Live in Infamy
From our visit out to Hawaii a few years ago:
Some Commentary on 3D Printing v. CNC Milling
There’s some discussion about 3D printing over at The St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. Jason and I have spent a good deal of time exploring both possibilities, since he has both a rudimentary hobbyist-grade 3D printer and an inexpensive and workbench sized CNC mill. We started off trying to print a magazine for an M11 submachine gun. One issue is that extruded ABS from a printer is a lot less rigid than the thermoplastics that are often used to make magazines, so the walls needed to be a lot thicker than on a production magazine, which reduced capacity and reliability. We still haven’t gotten around to trying to live fire a magazine.
Then Jason did an AR-15 lower receiver that uses a modified, bolt-together design to make it easier to mill than a standard lower. This actually works quite well. There’s also an M1911 in the works, but until Jason gets his Delorean back on the road again, that’s on hold.
There really isn’t a comparison between the two techniques. Hobbyist grade 3D printing is currently not up to the task of making guns, and is barely up to making plastic copies of plastic magazines. Plus, as I’ve mentioned before, one has to be careful in one’s selection of plastics to avoid legal issues when using plastics in firearms. CNC machining works fine, however, and is within reach of hobbyists. Jason is not a skilled machinist, and yet still managed to add a bit to his collection. That’s not to say that CNC milling doesn’t require any skill: it does. There’s also a good bit of trial and error that a skilled machinist would likely avoid, and aluminum isn’t cheap. The real promise of 3D printing over CNC is that 3D printing takes relatively less skill, at least in theory, but the technology is not quite developed yet, and metal 3D printed parts are still at a price point beyond that of a hobbyist.
UTAS UTS-15
This shotgun looks like a Turkish manufacturers’ answer to the Kel-Tec KSG. Like the KSG, it has a three-position selector to choose between the right magazine, left magazine, but a big and nifty difference, I think, is the fact that the middle position on the UTS-15 causes the firearm to alternate between tubes, whereas in the KSG it blocks both magazine tubes. As Hickok45 shows, it makes it easy to alternate between different loads. I’ve heard of reliability problems with the KSG as well, which makes me wonder how the UTS-15 compares in that department.
Local Robbery with Fake Bomb
A Case to Watch Regarding the Florida Doctor Speech Restrictions
Eugene Volokh details a pair of cases making their way through the 9th Circuit courts challenging California’s prohibition banning mental health care providers from trying to change sexual orientation for minors. If the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ends up hearing this case, and upholding the law, you can bet that this decision will be brought up in the appeals for the challenges to the Florida law which bans doctors from asking patients about gun ownership (already held unconstitutional in District Court). My personal opinion is that both laws are unconstitutional, but it does illustrate the notion that there are many on the right and left that aren’t particularly dedicated to the notion of free speech, and completely willing to use government to suppress speech they find repugnant.
More Politicians Using Coffins as Soapboxes
Diana DeGette (D-CO) is busy joining Bob Costas, because clearly what House Democrats need in the middle of fiscal cliff negotiations is to refocus the Costas firestorm on them. She’s joined here by Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) who goes farther and notes:
“Unfortunately, it’s tragedies like [the Kansas City shooting] that brings people’s attention back to the issue,†she said.
Perlmutter’s primary concerns center on renewing an assault weapons ban and keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. There is some speculation that Belcher may have been suffering from head injuries incurred while playing football, as well as abusing painkillers and alcohol.
So how is it not using coffins as soapboxes to have people like DeGette and Perlmutter advocating for laws, like an assault weapons ban, that have exactly nothing at all to do with this recent murder-suicide? Belcher didn’t use an assault weapon, and in this country, where owning a gun is a fundamental constitutional right, under what grounds can we remove someone’s rights based on “some speculation?” Maybe I’m crazy here, but I’m pretty sure the Constitution that both Representatives DeGette and Perlmutter swore to uphold says that “due process of law” is what is required to deny someone fundamental constitutional rights.