Cheney Shoots Hunting Buddy

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.

With friends like these...

Just what we need. And there's a difference between an accident and negligence.

[Via Alphecca]

I Want This on a T-Shirt

UPDATE: A-yup, Photoshopped. But I still want that t-shirt...




[Thanks to Dan Gifford]

See, There's You, and Then There's US...

Under the rules, any state senator or delegate could strap on a sidearm and stroll in, according to Capitol Police Maj. Mike Jones. They have the same rights as law-enforcement officers to openly carry a gun in the Capitol...

Regular citizens, though, must have a concealed-weapon permit to bring in a gun, either concealed or openly.

"Regular citizens"?

As opposed to "super citizens"?

What did Mr. Mason say?

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials."
— George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on
Ratification of the Constitution, Elliot, Vol. 3, June 16, 1788

What does the "supreme law of the land" say?

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States...No State shall...grant any Title of Nobility....[and] No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States...nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Of course, if you rely on that and act accordingly, don't be surprised if Maj. Mike Jones and the Capitol Police...ummm...how do I put this delicately?...kill you...

The Gun at the Reagan Library

After posting the latest Million Moon Update, I took the family on a trip about an hour north of us to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. I've always had a fondness for the man, despite some profound differences. He was, after all, a remarkable individual. He was also a master at making you like the persona he presented, and I'm not immune. Plus, I really wanted to tour the Air Force One exhibit (Wow!), and also spend a moment of reflective silence at the president's resting place. It is a facility worthy of a special trip. Sitting on a mountaintop, the view alone is worth the drive--spectacular doesn't cover it. In addition to the exhibits already mentioned, you can tour a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during the Reagan years, see a piece of the Berlin Wall, and wander through the various halls displaying periods and achievments of the president's life. Which brings me to why I'm sharing this. I stopped at a glass case containing several historic American firearms. There was one of unique appearance that caught my eye, something I hadn't seen before, with this description on its placard:

Springfield Armory in Massachusetts produced over 4,000 M1855 pistol-carbines, a dual-purpose firearm. With the stock removed, troops could fire from horseback. When dismounted, the horse soldier could attach the stock to fight on foot with greater accuracy. Despite such versatility, the firearm was not popular.

I've done some searching around and haven't found a good photo to share, but here's why it caught my attention: Short-barreled rifles and shotguns are strictly controlled, and the rationale in the infamous Miller decision centered around the defendant not being able to demonstrate a military application for a short-barreled shotgun. My friend and colleague Brian Puckett wrote a quite authoritative analysis on this as a supplement for the Silveira case. I'm not a lawyer or a firearms expert, nor do I play one on TV. I don't know if the existence of the M1855 makes a damned bit of difference as far as legal technicalities go, and I suspect it probably doesn't. But I just thought it was interesting, and figured someone might be able to offer some further insights. If you have something to add, feel free to leave a comment.

We're the Only Ones High-Flying Enough...

Government sources tell TIME that the two Air Marshals, are allegedly involved with the possession or transportation of cocaine, and may have been paid several thousand dollars to move the drugs.

Corruption amidst the elite enforcers. I am stunned.

Spreading Like Kudzu: A Million Moon Update

The new gallery, featuring a special "Predators on Parade" section, will go up on Monday. In the mean time, here are some links from folks who have kindly helped promote the project since the last update. If I missed you, please don't get mad--there's only one of me and as I type, sons Uday and Qusay are running through the house fighting and screaming like monkeys on fire (wait a minute--they are on fire!) while Honey-Do is giving me a choice between the clipping shears or the rolling pin. So if I negligently slighted you, just leave a comment below to correct the record, OK? And if you just sent a picture file with no link, that'll be posted on Monday, too.

2 Valuable and Control Arms agree that guns might spoil Jeffrey Dahmer's appetite.

Alphecca has some kind words.

"Anonymous" and the folks at Control Arms realize people like Heinrich Himmler need special protection.

Blognomicon treats us to a happy guy with a pipe.

Captain of a Crew of One is posting his own gallery. Check out what his nephew got posted--the Control Arms idiots think it's a plea instead of a dare.

David Homoney knows that there are special people who need to be kept safe from gun violence...Isn't that right, Sr. Guevara?

End the War on Freedom tells his readers about the new tack, and also took me up on my suggestion. Surprise!

Fish or Man sees both the humor and the deadly seriousness of this project.

Free Constitution shares his gallery in today's Second Amendment Saturday post. Sorry, Stan, I haven't had the time to figure out how to do trackbacks yet (If I do this will it work? I've repeatedly told everyone how unskilled I am at this com-pyoo'-tor stuff), but happy birthday...and congratulations on keeping Hugo and Fidel a little safer!

Funbob thinks that Ado...I mean, Ricardo, might have good reason to support gun control...

GeekWithA.45 hit a grand slam with his inspired submission. Put down the baby, Vicky, and no one will get hurt!

GunShowOnTheNet shows us his own gallery that demonstrates "Just Cause...to be Armed."

Head's Bunker has a submission that shows him to be one of the last people to try and make submit.

Kristopher sent in a message that made me shoot coffee through my nose. I wonder what the physical reaction over at Control Arms was?

Oscar Poppa has an update that includes links to other sites as well (let's see if I missed any...). He's thinking of starting the Central Texas chapter of the Million Moon March, so be sure and check him regularly for updates...

Rational Review gave us a nice endorsement. Thanks, Mary Lou!

Ride Fast & Shoot Straight has three posts and a bullseye.

Say Uncle thinks we're having an effect, and he likes the Geek's entry.

South Park Pundit shows us how a convicted sex offender can bring a little Sunshine into our lives...The results? Two for two!

Tomato 7 got the gang over at Control Arms to agree to Keep Slobo Safe! He also sent them a cool poster.

Viking Ambition correctly perceives Robert Mugabe's wishes.

Void Where Prohibited has no doubt his entry wishes to be kept safe from armed violence. This is just too rich!

William Clark is on a roll. Not only does Pol need protection, but so do his friends Polson and <snort> "Adolf" from "Germany"...

Many thanks to those of you who are supporting this. Look for pictures to be posted on Monday, and please keep spreading the word.

Are we having fun yet? I know I sure am.

This USED to Be a Joan Collins Joke...

Q: What does Madonna put behind her ears to make herself attractive?

A: Her ankles.

From "Immaterial Girl," my August/September 2003 HANDGUNS Magazine opinion piece (sorry, the complete article is not online):

So what’s Madonna’s response to ordinary people who don’t have bodyguards? What about those of us who will be arrested if caught carrying a firearm without a permit that we can’t obtain? And what should we who can’t summon a law enforcement retinue when traveling do?

Madonna was one of the celebrity signatories to the Handgun Control, Inc., “Open Letter to the NRA” appearing in USA Today...

So I guess she's demonstrating the position she wishes us to assume when in the presence of predatory government or free agents--just to save everybody involved a lot of unnecessary time and effort...

Feb. 1956 GUNS Now Online

A youth spent in New York City, where even admiration for a gun struck terror in the hearts of one’s elders, kept me from gun appreciation for some time. In fact, it wasn’t until I was in the service that I made close contact with firearms. And out of the welter of guns they threw at us, my fondest association was with the Colt.45 Automatic Pistol. It’s a tricky little devil, but has always paralleled, for me, the kind of punch I admire in the ring—short, well-aimed, and devastating.--Jeff Chandler

When was the last time you heard a movie star speak admiringly of his favorite gun? Yet that's the way things were when this was written.


The February, 1956 issue of GUNS Magazine is now posted for free download.

Back to Mr. Chandler's testament on page 8, for a moment: Writing half a century ago, he confirms something for us that helps to understand the present. As far back as his youth--and he was born in Brooklyn in 1918, New York City has been hostile to gun ownership (the Sullivan Laws were passed in 1911). No wonder things are the way they are there, and a disarmament attitude permeates the culture. It's their tradition.

Another Hollywood giant and avid gunman is featured, the King of the Cowboys and a personal favorite, the great Roy Rogers. Here's a picture of Roy horrifying today's enuretics by mixing kids with ...GASP...guns!!! Someone call Child Protective Services!


Round things out with a feature on the authenticity of "The Last Hunt" (one of the almost non-existent Westerns that shows people reloading), starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger (that's him on the cover sighting in a buffalo).

But it's not all Hollywood. There's a well-reasoned argument for hunting helping deer populations, and another advocating shotguns for the military. There's a "Workshop" article on "Fitting a New Rifle Barrel." Read why the over/under was considered "The Glamour Girl of the Shotgun World." And there's much more, including the ads, which really let you know what a different world it was back in 1956.

And, like I said, it's free. Enjoy.

Tags: gun

Weapons & Tactics Falls for Old Hoaxes

An e-friend subscribes to the Weapons & Tactics newsletter. He was very concerned about the two main features in their latest issue:



Gas pump needles and spunk ball. These stories are BS--old internet chain letter hoaxes that have been out there for years. See:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/gaspump.asp
and
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/spunkbal.asp

Both stories just smelled wrong. And it literally took me less than one minute to debunk them. Yet W&T has an editor-in-chief, an assistant editor, a copy editor and contributing editors.

I did some looking around on the Internet and came up with this:

http://combatcarry.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3439

Among the comments:

Yes I have heard of the publication and until today I was ready to share it with just about anyone that wanted the straight skinny on what ever subject the publication was discussing. Then came Volume 10 Number 2 Feb. 2006, which had a article about “Watch out for needles when pumping gas.” Well for some reason I decided to check this out for myself and found that this is apparently a hoax that has been around the internet since 2000. I found out that on June 20th, 2000 the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department issued a press release declaring it a hoax and stating that the author, Capt. Abraham Sands was not at the Department.

I have written the publisher and directed that my name be taken off their mailing list immediately and that no further publications were desired, even if I had remaining months on my subscription.

I am both a Texas Certified CHL Instructor & NRA Instructor so I can’t afford to be relying on sharing publications that print this type of garbage with my current & former students.

In their defense, W&T probably got these stories from people they trusted. Still, that's no excuse for this. They're not only charging their readers for wrong information, they're charging them for free information. I'm sorry, but this just smacks of taking their readers for granted.

It may turn out this is a one-time goof, and that their newsletter is a valuable and authoritative publication. If you're a subscriber or a potential one, you'll need to decide for yourself whether or not this is a showstopper for you.

My friend tells me he called them and they are aware they goofed. If that was my newsletter, I'd be issuing a profound public apology, offering refunds for that issue, and telling my customers what safeguards I've established to keep such an abuse of their trust from ever happening again.

I've emailed the editor twice in the past two days before posting this and haven't received a reply. Note that what I've posted has been extensively edited from my initial reaction, which included a lot of scathing criticism. I decided that wouldn't be productive.

This is a real object lesson for those of us who have fallen for chain letter hoaxes in the past, and forwarded them to our friends. Passing on bogus material calls our credibility into question. We have a tough enough time reaching outside the choir without giving our opponents a convenient way to dismiss us outright.

Here's a good rule of thumb to apply before forwarding an incredible story: Is a link to a credible source included? If not, until you can find something that verifies authenticity, take a pass on passing it on--having enough junk mail to wade through isn't really a problem, is it?

If Weapons & Tactics wishes to respond, I'll post it.

Bloggers: Want Your Own Million Moon "Franchise"?

Nothing says WarOnGuns has to be the only site with galleries and project updates. We've already seen how one blogger took the basic idea and improved it. Who knows how much farther you or one of your blog readers could carry the ball?

The idea is to spread the word so as many gunners as we can reach participate. One blog alone won't do that. Besides which, Control Arms is going to get wise to links coming in from this site and that will help them delete entries--so diffusing the effort will mean more protest posts get through.

Contact me if you have a blog and want to host your own galleries with your readers. Maybe if enough of you are interested, we can form a ring of sorts, link to each others' updates, etc.

I envision basically no rules except to hold true to the concept of sending in protest photos. Aside from that, let innovation lead the way.

It's a bit of work, but so far, a lot of fun--and it doesn't hurt the traffic stats, either. Email me if you wanna play...

Million Moon Predator Postings

Check out the latest comments on the "New Tack" post.

The Million Feces...uhh...Faces campaign had added Robert Mugabe, Heinrich Himmler, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Lon Horiuchi to their growing ranks of supporters.

I'll be working on another gallery update over the weekend to have ready for Million Moon March Monday.

In the mean time, a rep from Control Arms wrote back about my refusal to authorize them substituting my submission (typos left in):

Dear David

I was happy to remove you from the Control Arms site. I don't understand exactly why you are so angry. I thin you have faied to understand what the Control Arms campaign is about.

With Best Wishes,

Ian Sullivan

I think I pretty much understand what it's about, and am putting together a reply. If any of you would like to add your regards to Ian, leave a comment below so I can include your thoughts (please self moderate, OK?)...

We're the Only...Hey--What Happened to Our Immunity...?

Ten years in prison would be excessive punishment for three state police officers accused on weapons charges, according to a letter issued Tuesday by top police officials and two state senators...The three troopers were charged last month with violating federal firearms regulations by having illegal submachine guns at their homes.

Gee, they're lucky they weren't Branch Davidians.

Y'know, I've got to stop being so judgmental about this stuff. I'm sure these LEO bosses and politicos would also put in a good word against excessive punishment if it was you or me being charged...

[Thanks to HZ]

Tags: gun, police

We're the Only Ones Immune Enough

Two police marksmen who killed a man carrying a table leg they mistook for a gun will not face disciplinary action.

No. Of course they won't.

Tags: gun, police

Million Moon March: A New Tack

This is really funny, and it illustrates how--when an idea gets set loose in the wild--others can adapt it and make it far superior to the original plan--so much so that I now recommend using this new approach as the main one.

The first evolutionary move in this direction came from Free Constitution, who submitted a photo of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez using the selected caption "Make me safe from armed violence."

Then E. David Quammen from Gun Show on the Net came up with an inspired idea and hit the ball out of the park.

This was his submission:



The caption: Make me safe from armed violence.

And the Million Faces campaign posted it!

Why is that funny? Why is that worthy of becoming the new tactic for us to use?

Because, if you haven't recognized it already, the image is of genocidal butcher Pol Pot, the monster responsible for Cambodia's "Killing Fields." And because that's exactly what "gun control" does--it makes monsters safe from (defensive) gun violence.

David's success made me realize that--instead of sending protest photos we know Control Arms will reject and substitute--we could probably get them to post many more of our actual submissions if we just sent in portraits of predators. A Google image search on the name of a known tyrant or Nazi is one good place to start (just make sure if you pick a dictator he's not in military uniform--I found a great portrait of Idi Amin in a suit looking very respectable, ditto for Uday and Qusay Hussein...)

But why stop there?

We have the FBI's "Most Wanted List." The Postal Service also puts out posters, as do many state and municipal law enforcement websites.

And then we have the sexual predators, like on California's "Megan's Law" website (and their "illegal use" disclaimer doesn't address what I'm proposing here)...

David's success really does open up a wealth of potential for sticking it in the eye of those who are working to undermine our rights, plus it's just plain ironically funny. Let me know if Control Arms posts your predator, and keep those pictures coming in.

UPDATE: Forgot to include this--we got a nice mention over at Rational Review.

THUS FAR:

The Million Moon March

Million Moon March Update

Joining the March

Million Moon March Update (#2)

Million Moon March Gallery

Gallery Updates

We're the Only...Say, Is That a Gun in Your Pocket or Are You Just Glad to Be Here?

Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan, said investigators still can't rule out that White and Sherman had help from guards who either aided them directly or purposefully turned a blind eye.

Some may have been complicit, Daly said, or some may have just been incompetent.

But...but...but if we can't trust the professionals...

Tags: gun, police

Gun Activist Fed Up With NY GOP

A longtime pro-gun activist said Monday he is fed up with the state Senate's Republican majority and is willing to help Democrats win the few seats needed to wrest control of the chamber from the GOP.

"You are no longer the lesser of two evils," wrote Gerald Preiser in an e-mail to state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and other Senate Republicans. Preiser gave a copy of the e-mail to The Associated Press.

Naturally, the Republican establishment and the NRA are doing what they can to put the guy down, but think about it: the GOP leaders in New York, Pataki, Bloomberg Giuliani, Pirro...all are "gun control" proponents.

How will that ever change if gun owners keep rewarding them?

Are we afraid the dems will pass a law taking our guns away?

They can only take them away if we let them.

Will you let them?

Maybe it will take letting them lose an election cycle or two for the Repubs to get the message gun owners are serious.

CORRECTION: Jacob takes exception to my use of the term "NRA" as attribution for quotes reported in the story that were made by the president of the NRA state affiliate (see comment thread to this post). Technically, he is correct and it was inaccurate of me to use that general term.

Tags: gun control, New York, Republican, NRA

Bidding High on Hitler's Gun

A rare German gun that may have belonged to Adolf Hitler is commanding $13,000 (€10,800) at an online auction today, but the price could at least treble before bidding closes on Thursday, experts predict.

Call me cynical, but I wonder how many of those collectors with that kind of money to spend are openhanded when it comes to supporting the right to keep and bear arms.

The owners say they will donate a portion of auction proceeds to the Anti-Defamation League, a group that combats anti-Semitism and bigotry. League officials have said they would prefer the gun to be donated to a museum where it could be safeguarded and not potentially wind up in the hands of Hitler admirers.

This is why I'm cynical. The current owners are going to make a donation to a group that hates and subverts the right of private gun ownership and promotes the genocidal doctrine of "gun control." And naturally, the ingrates at the ADL think that's not good enough.

Be nice to see the owners turn around and tell the ADL to forget it if they feel that way, and make the donation instead to JPFO, where it will do some good.

Tags: gun control, Hitler

Nicki Gets Famous

Nicki Fellenzer gets profiled by The Winchester Star (log-in required: try "Newslinks as username and password, otherwise use BugMeNot).

Now that she's famous and better than us and all, watch her start pronouncing it rah-ther and weekending in the Hamptons, and calling herself Lady Fellenzer 'n stuff...

Seriously though, congratulations, kiddo. Nice to see someone presenting a message outside the choir about children and guns that centers on loving parental attention and education. I'm sure there will be no shortage of letters, including those from outraged bleaters--keep us posted.

Gallery Updates

Tomato 7 and Head have joined the fun. I've also had several folks send in pictures by email. And I see Bill St. Clair liked my suggestion...

I'll probably make the Gallery updates a weekly task (Million Moon March Monday?) unless volume necessitates greater frequency. Until then, I'll just post links to the sites where new pictures appear.

UPDATE: Free Constitution sent them a picture that made me laugh out loud when you factor in the caption he chose: "Make me safe from armed violence."

Million Moon March Gallery

An international citizen disarmament coalition, Control Arms, is sponsoring a "Million Faces petition" and "is collecting photos and self portraits from around the world to reach [their] goal of one million faces by June 2006. [They] will use these faces to send a powerful, global message of support to the world's governments for an International Arms Trade Treaty."

The idea of The Million Moon March (as in "mooning") is to send them photos from the side that believes in the right of the people to keep and bear arms--to let the rights grabbers know there are untold numbers of people who refuse to be disarmed, and quite candidly, to taunt and hopefully enrage them.

You are encouraged to submit your pro-gun photos to Control Arms first--yes, we realize they will fraudulently attempt to use them to pad their numbers--but that will call the credibility of their claims of support into doubt, plus it's fun to let them know we're out there defying them. Then, send a copy to WarOnGuns so I can post it here.

Like Control Arms, I will also submit our photographs in June 2006--although ours won't be a petition, but a statement of defiance.

Here are the images submitted to date:

My original submission:



My follow-up submission:


Submission from WarOnGuns commentator "1894C" (© Oleg Volk):



From Armed & Christian #1 (© Oleg Volk):



Armed & Christian submission #2 (© Oleg Volk):



The Armed Cynic offers a "Million Mutton Package Deal" (1st image © JPFO):


and


Blognomicon sent them this graphic (© Oleg Volk):



Captain of a Crew of One submitted a familiar image:



End the War on Freedom opted for a personal message (which would make a great poster if Photoshopped into the Elian photo with the caption "Surprise!", wouldn't it?):



Fish Or Man sent in this disturbing bit of history:




Gun Show on the Net also thought a reminder of the real life consequences of "gun control" would be appropriate:



Frequent correspondent HZ is a talented gun photographer who thought a picture of his lovely wife displaying her skills would send a clear message:



The Liberty Zone also made a powerful "armed and female" statement:



Jeremy H sure looks happy, doesn't he? Think Control Arms will post his friendly face?



Mark Odell found this image, which has pretty much vanished from the Internet--wonder why?



Oscar Poppa chose to make a point about about gungrabbing elites and their bodyguards (© Oleg Volk):



South Park Pundit tried a reasoned approach (© Oleg Volk):



and when that didn't work, just decided to have some fun:



That's it for the first round of gallery images. Let me know if you want to join in the fun--if you blog about it, I'll link to it, or if you just want to submit a photo, I'll post it--and yes, I'll admit up front I'm censoring out anti-gun rights images. The other side has a heavily-financed effort backed by IANSA, Amnesty International and Oxfam, and they're not accepting opposing views. Surely there's room for one totally unfunded private little blog to speak for the side of individual rights.

One last point: A lot of the participants selected images by Oleg Volk. Their inclusion does not imply any endorsement of this project by Mr. Volk. It simply means that these people think his compelling artwork represents their view of things.

Another source for images can be found from some of our old GunTruths posters, you can create your own, or find images you think are appropriate via search engines.

Tags: gun control