Helping Tammerlin

And for all of you Second Amendment watchdogs, I'm not talking about guns like my late grandmother's .38 special, which she kept loaded in a nightstand by the side of her bed, despite the crippling arthritis in her "trigger finger."

I'm talking about tens of thousands of illegal semiautomatic handguns and assault weapons in the hands of young men who'll start blasting just because they think someone looked at them funny.

I'm trying to help you here, Tammerlin.

Maybe California ought to ban "assault weapons."

Oh, wait...

Jeeze, the Roberti-Roos and Perata bans. Tough break.

I know, maybe California could make it illegal to carry a concealed handgun unless you have permission from the police.

Ahh...scratch that.

How about waiting periods? Handgun registration? A ban on .50s? Penalties for allowing access to minors? No, no, no and no...

I know I'm starting to run out of ideas here, but maybe, I don't know, laws against shooting people?

I'm sorry, Tammerlin. I'm afraid I've let you down.

Our Obvious Answer

Our obvious answer: Seal all gun show sales loopholes, requiring checks on every purchaser. And reinstate the U.S. ban on assault-gun purchases that Congress, under gun-lobby pressure, let expire in 2004.

It's their not-so-obvious answer I'm worried about. You don't think they'll stop there.

Truth or Dare

A British student has been arrested in the US for attempting to buy a gun for a dare using fake ID, US police said...

That sounds like as good a reason as any to call in the bomb squad and evacuate two blocks of apartments on the other side of the Atlantic for five hours, doesn't it?

A Sensible Package

Mindful of the 2007 Virginia Tech University massacre and gun violence in general, Gov. David Paterson has proposed a sensible package of legislation to limit access to firearms.

Apparently it involves an anti-defense zealot and a victim who proved utterly incapable of defending herself or others cutting memorial ribbons, which at least should make memorializing future sets of victims inexpensive.

Ol' Abby Spangler's looking a little anore...uh...thin there. She reminds me of a line from Tom Robbins' "Another Roadside Attraction"--she could use a pound of steak and some fries.

And Paterson--talk about your double-dealer! Cheating on his...I mean, snorting co...I mean, stumping for gun control with one hand, pardoning "gun criminals" with the other...

You'll pardon me if I find nothing sensible about any of these misfits, and especially about giving them power over the choices of non-defective men and women who have no self control or trust issues.

Duck Hook Horror Terrifies Fair-Goers!

Parents were left horrified when a hook-the-duck stall at a fair gave ball-bearing guns as prizes to children.

Good grief.

A Tricky Proposition

Musician Tricky has blamed hip hop for the rise in knife and gun crime across Britain.

Funny--I have the same access to it as everybody else, and I haven't stabbed or shot anybody.

Effects aren't the same as causes, Trickman. You might instead want to look at the type of culture that produces a demand for what you got, and then look at what produces that type of culture.

As for your Bronx/UK comparison, interesting, but I wouldn't know. I expect to keep my distance from both.

"The King" Goes Berserk

I mean really. Tell me you don't see it.

We're the Only Ones Loopholing Enough

A Dallas County sheriff's deputy had his gun, uniform and handcuffs stolen Sunday morning at his home in Rochester Park.

Here's an idea: Why not require "Only Ones" to turn in their weapons at the end of the shift? If we can keep one gun off the street, it's worth it!

The War on Sporting Purposes

"Do we as a society value safety or do we value a hobby that creates danger?" Mr. Miller said, endorsing the recommended crackdown. "That hobby directly results in people being shot and killed on the streets of our city."

Take note, "sportsmen"--see what happens when you trivialize a right?

All you IQFs who think Polyphemus will eat you last and are willing to toss non-Fuddites under the bus, think again. Like other predators, government finds the weak are the easiest pickings.

But you all go right ahead and listen to editorial make-up artists like "'pro gun' Kentuckian" Tom Eblen, trying to put lipstick on the AHSA pig.

Don't ask me whether its ignorance or intent that makes him willingly and enthusiastically lead you to the slaughter. Ask him.

History

We tend to think today, those of us who reflect back on it at all, that the War Between the States was simply a war of big battlefields and stirring changes, banners held on high, et cetera, ad nauseum. This reading of the war tends to convince us that it could never come again. But a closer reading of history reveals that this was not simply a war between the states but a war within the states, a true civil war of former friends and neighbors, made all the more ghastly by the nature of the personal associations of the combatants. Understand that, and then the spectre of its recurrence seems much more possible. Read, and learn.

Yes, do so.

Mike Vanderboegh gives us a history lesson over at Mindful Musings.

C'mon, Everybody, Do the BATFU Shake

Word is circulating that a number of ATF supervisors, from field up to high HQ levels, Assistant Directors and such, are being effectively suspended (effectively, but without using that term) while higher powers look into their competence and allegations of abuse and/or fraud. The Inspector General is said to be taking a role, and some of those involved in matters like Red's Trading Post are under the microscope.

Good. Somebody's figuring out that over-the-top arrogance results in a spotlight, and as we've noted before on occasion, the floorboard dwellers hate that. Let's keep it shining and focused, at each and every opportunity. To paraphrase Rhett Butler, they need to be illuminated, and often, and by someone who knows how.

There's a lot of good agents out there, who're perfectly reasonable toward firearm owners and honest in their work.

Sorry, Mr. Hardy. I've always held you in high regard, and still do, but that's a point I will not cede. The very existence of the agency is an affront to the Bill of Rights. One can not be part of the institution and claim fidelity to the vision of the Founders. It just can't be done.

This Day in History: May 27

I am of the opinion that when once these rebels have felt a smart blow, they will submit...

No doubt there are some who still feel that way.

Do you think they're right?