Saturday, July 21, 2007

When Marshmallows are Outlawed...

Hammacher has the ultimate Marshmallow Blaster gun capable of shooting marshmallows 50 feet wide. The pneumatic gun features easy-to-refill bolt action for fast nonstop shooting. The gun has a cool design with silver body and red and black finishing.
Thing is, it's illegal in California, and probably elsewhere. In order to be compliant with state law, "[t]he entire surface must be colored or transparent or translucent."

Per Section 12555.(a) of the Penal Code:

Any person who, for commercial purposes, purchases,sells, manufactures, ships, transports, distributes, or receives, by mail order or in any other manner, an imitation firearm except as authorized by this section shall be liable for a civil fine in an action brought by the city attorney or the district attorney of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation.


Hammacher might want to reconsider where they distribute their puff piece.

Besides, some panicky neighbor will probably call "The Only Ones," who won't be able to tell it's not a real gun. I guess the only upside would be, if they started a Waco-type fire in their dynamic response, there'd be plenty of marshmallows on hand.

When Spears are Outlawed...

The Marine Conservation Board is reminding the public that there is only one week left to hand in illegally imported spear guns and spear gun parts, which are included under the ‘Prohibited Items’ list of the Customs law.

I love the heavy-handed threat of consequences that begins with the word "Please."

Chicago Sponsors Evidence Destruction/Fencing Incentives

The gun exchange, as in the past, will be "no questions asked"... no contributor will be asked for identification or anything about the origin or use of the weapon...No questions will be asked. All weapons will be destroyed.


Even firearms stolen from their rightful owners? Where does the city get authority to do that? And what if the "owners" were the government?

What a great way to reward criminals for disposing a "crime gun." What a great way to encourage criminals to steal more guns--no questions asked, naturally. What a great way to enrich "The Only Ones".

But it may all depend on the meaning of the word "amnesty."

So--"Chicago Eddie"--where did you decide to "take the weapon [you're] turning in"? What was it, how did you get it, did you possess it legally, and got any more you're holding out on us? We want to make sure you come clean, now.

I wonder how many of the idiots who respond to this will be illegally transporting their firearms to the turn-in centers? I mean, it's not like this article gives any instruction on how to do that in compliance with Illinois and Chicago law. I wonder if government or their "wall of separation" religious partners encourage people who don't know safe firearm handling practices to handle firearms and someone gets hurt if there is any attendant legal liability. And I wonder how locals have authority to offer amnesty if weapons involved or their possessors are in violation of federal law...

This Day in History: July 21

The draft shows the multiplicity of corrections, additions and deletions that were made at each step. Although most of the alterations are in Jefferson's handwriting (Jefferson later indicated which changes he believed were made by Adams and Franklin), he felt slighted by the way Congress rewrote the manuscript. In a consoling letter of July 21, 1776, the state's senior delegate, Richard Henry Lee, wrote to Jefferson that he wished that "the manuscript had not been mangled as it is."