Ride Fast reminds everyone that the time is running out to convince Schwartenegger to veto the ammunition bill and gun show ban bill in California. They become law if he doesn’t sign, but doesn’t veto.
Author: Sebastian
DCNR Goes Lead Free
Looks like state park rangers will be carrying lead free ammo as part of an effort to be more green. I’m sure people on the receiving ends of the officer’s bullets will be happy to know they are being shot with non-toxic ammo.
It’s a Difficult Thing to Come to Terms With
One commenter on the PAFOA forum in the thread about the Meleanie Hain murder:
I remember reading about her fighting the whole soccor game thing. It’s a shame this happened. I wonder if she just didn’t have a chance to defend her self or if maybe her husband took her firearm and she couldn’t defend herself. Either way this is horrible to hear and she will be in my prayers. RIP
Those could end up being the facts, but I think it’s probably more likely she didn’t have much of an opportunity to defend herself even if she had a gun. Firearms are not an amulet against being murdered, particularly in a domestic situation where you’re not likely going to be prepared at all times to defend yourself against a spouse or intimate partner.
As people who carry, we’d ideally like to think that the gun offers us protection, and it pains us to see someone who carried one for that purpose tragically murdered. But the fact is that it only evens up the odds. It’s not a guarantee. Someone intent on doing your harm can sometimes get the drop on you, and I think few of us, without hesitation, could draw a gun on someone we love.
Sometimes the good guy loses. Even when they are armed. This isn’t Hollywood.
Great High Speed Video Shots
Great find by the Firearms Blog:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfDoQwIAaXg[/youtube]
Toward the end, about 9 minutes in, you see in slow motion what happens at my club every Thursday. Â Well, not the part where they shoot shot at the animals, but very cool regardless.
An Endorsement for New York Mayor
This is a campaign I can get behind. Release the hounds!
Tasteless Article of the Day
Goes to Karen Araiza of NBC Philadelphia:
Her gun-toting problems started about a year ago when Meleanie picked an ominous day – September 11, 2008 – to show up at her little girl’s soccer game with the loaded gun holstered to her hip, very visible and very upsetting to other parents.
Gun toting problems? Speaking of it like it’s the same as heavy drinking? But that’s just bias, not tastelessness. Â This is where it gets tasteless:
Back in December, Hain was runner-up for The Patriot-News “Person of the Year”. Despite all the controversy, she said her views on the right to bear arms hadn’t changed.
“I am happy being a gun owner.”
Autopsies were being performed Thursday. The Hain children were with relatives.
You can’t tell me those two sentences weren’t meant to play off each other. Congratulations Ms. Araiza, you officially suck.
Tragedy, But Could Have Been Worse
Apparently Melelanie Hain, who you might remember from a year or so ago, was found dead in an apparent murder suicide, after a two hour standoff involving police. The kids are apparently fortunately OK, but I feel for young kids losing both parents. Here’s an account as it happened. Looks like the husband was the shooter, and was a parole officer in Wernersville.
No doubt Brady will be exploiting this tragedy to the max by tomorrow.
UPDATE:Â Local news channel coverage. They report there was no standoff, and the police arrived on the scene after the fact.
UPDATE: PAFOA Forum thread has several reports of people who say she was concerned about her husband being violent. That would definitely point to the husband being the likely shooter. It’s difficult for me to understand someone staying in that kind of relationship. If you don’t owe it to yourself to get out, you definitely owe it to your kids.
UPDATE: A good point over at PAFOA:
Many of us knew that there were problems for a long time. Many here knew or suspected that their domestic issues were the driving impetus for her interest in guns. Many of us here advised her to leave him and offered her places to stay, and help. This is not in any way to disparage Meleanie, but rather to point out to any and all women in bad domestic situations; you need to get out, get out now. Before it turns into a tragedy.
Meleanie was a great person, mother, activist, advocate, and spokeswoman, and I am proud to say that I knew her. I guess when I get home tonight I’ll look through all my saved PMs, and e mails, and reminisce.
This looks like a very unfortunate case of domestic violence at its worst, and unfortunately, having a firearm is never absolute protection against someone doing you harm.
Very Cool
Bloomberg Video
By now I’m sure everyone has seen the video that Mayor Mike has put out:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQEDvqmAfqg[/youtube]
Apparently this was filmed at shows in Tennessee, Ohio and Nevada, using much the same method that got Bob McDonnell to threaten Bloomberg if he came back to Virginia, and got ATF pissed off too.
What’s really disgusting about Bloomberg’s tactics, is none of these transactions and dealers shown here have anything to do with gun show loophole. It’s illegal to operate as a gun dealer, for livelihood and profit, without a Federal Firearms License. It’s illegal to knowingly sell guns to criminals. In all of these cases shown, they could be prosecuted under current laws. But he’s not going to tell you that, because the goal is to get rid of gun shows.
NRA LTE on MIAG
Looks like NRA is being proactive in clearing up the record on MAIG in the media:
MAIG opposed the Thune Amendment, which would have allowed concealed carry permit holders a chance to defend themselves outside their home states. If MAIG is only going after “illegal guns,” then why is it opposed to a self-defense measure for law-abiding people who have been through background checks and satisfied other law-enforcement prerequisites to get their right-to-carry permits? There is nothing “illegal” about the firearms these people own.
It’s good that NRA’s Public Affairs office is working the media, but it really makes more of an impact if individual members do it.