Kennedy Dog Injured in Gun Mishap

Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) has been questioned by Hyannisport authorities for what police are characterizing as "alcohol-related accidental firearm discharges" at his family home that left a pet in need of emergency medical treatment.

Splash, the senator's Belgian water dog, is reportedly undergoing surgery at a nearby veterinary hospital for multiple gunshot wounds...[More]

It's 2A Saturday...

...over at Free Constitution...

When Aliens Attack!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
And look to the skies.

"When Aliens Attack!," my April Rights Watch column for GUNS Magazine, is now online.

GUNS Magazine, April 1956

It's now online. Enjoy.

Phone Call From the NRA

Dear MSSA Friends,

I just answered an incoming phone with no caller ID. I answered, as I usually do, "Gary Marbut." There was a click and then a female voice said, "Could I speak with Mr. Gary Marbut please." My response, "If you are paying attention now, I'll answer the phone again - Gary Marbut."

The lady said, "I'm very sorry, I didn't hear you the first time. Could I take just a minute of your time to play you a message from Wayne LaPierre about how important it is to get a bill passed in your state to allow Montana people to protect their families?"

My response, "Absolutely not! I am the president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the primary political action organization for gun owners in Montana. We had such a bill before the 2005 session of the Montana Legislature. We asked the NRA to support our bill and the NRA refused. I will certainly not listen to Wayne, followed by a pitch for a donation to the NRA to support enactment a bill we tried to enact but the NRA refused to support!"

The lady on the phone was shocked. I explained the details to her,including Randy Kozuch's role in the Montana fiasco. The lady apologized again.

That ended the call.

If you have any questions, see: http://www.mtssa.org/nrasnafu.phtml

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

A Different Standard

A Richmond police officer, her ex-policeman husband and her mother have been charged with participating in an illegal gambling operation at the mother's Henrico County home...

"No police officer is held to any different standard than any other citizen," said Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe.

Right, Rodney.

Tell it to Salvatore Culosi.

Slow Going Ahead

WarOnGuns regulars: the demands of my real job will be at seven days a week, including many evenings, for the foreseeable future--at least through to August.

I'll post as I can, but please understand if you don't see the level of activity I've managed to squeeze out in the past. I also have a family that needs my attention--what little my job allows me to give them. Of the writing I do, the magazine gig that allows me to contribute a bit more to our household finances will need to come first.

It doesn't mean I'm going away. It just means that some days, posting will be light or possibly not happen at all. I also ask you to please bear with me if I don't have time to give your emails the attention they deserve.

There's only one of me, the load is heavy and the road ahead is getting steeper with each step.

“It Just Went Off. It Just Went Bang.”

I will not make a stupid double entendre out of this.

We're the Only Ones Recovered Enough

A .40 caliber handgun lost near Leesburg by a Loudoun County Deputy March 23 was returned to the Sheriff's Office two days later.

The service weapon was lost during the course of the deputy's duties, a Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

After that last story, why do I hear Peter Griffin laughing and remarking "He said doody!"

[More From The "Only Ones" Files]

We're the Only Ones Wiped Out Enough...

A sergeant on the Boca Raton Police Department has been issued a reprimand for leaving her loaded service handgun in a public bathroom at the Boca Raton Resort & Club shortly before Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at a fund-raiser for U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw.

Sorry about the title. Really.

Well, not really.

[More From The "Only Ones" Files]

The "NRA Shill"

Sketching a likely general election theme, Gov. Blagojevich came out swinging Tuesday against GOP gubernatorial front-runner Judy Baar Topinka, accusing the state treasurer of being a shill for the National Rifle Association and the right wing.

"The NRA just gave her an A rating -- an A rating -- and if you get an A rating from the NRA, you're basically taking their talking points and doing their bidding," Blagojevich said. "And I would urge her to forget about the NRA, stop pandering to the right wing and join us and help us pass a ban on assault weapons."

Actually, I can't find a current NRA rating for Topinka, just one from 2002, where, indeed, she got an "A."

As correspondent HZ observes, "I would love to know the NRA's response to their A rated candidate's responses to this questionnaire."

I have supported efforts to strengthen our FOID card program with a system to rapidly check backgrounds of people before they can obtain a FOID card. We must keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a threat to society. My position on assault weapons legislation will depend on the specific definitions in the final bill.

The governor has spoken out against Uzies and AK 47s, weapons that are already prohibited. While they are illegal, I certainly agree with keeping Uzies and AK 47s off the street. If the final language of a bill that passes the legislature includes language to ban weapons similar to Uzies and AK 47s, I would have no problem. If the language is broader and includes weapons currently in use by law-abiding citizens, then I would have concerns. The key will be in the definitions.

I see this as a huge and continued credibility problem for NRA management. An "A" should be measured against a "shall not be infringed" benchmark.

NRA members and other gun owners are sophisticated enough to handle the truth and to make their decisons accordingly. Certainly, when compared to the wretched Blagojevich, Topinka is far less oppressive on rkba issues. But don't blow smoke at us and tell us someone who supports prior restraints, licenses, fees and functional gun bans based on "definitions" deserves an "A".

That is, unless the criteria is something other than "shall not be infringed," and if support for an agenda takes precedence over the Second Amendment...

Something Special About Philly...

The one opportunity these surgeons will find in Philadelphia that they can't get in Sweden or very many other places is a constant supply of gunshot wounds. With 317 people already shot in just the first two and a half months of this year, surgeons around the city have plenty of opportunities to practice.

But...but...but...this wasn't supposed to happen.

We were promised...

Stanislaw Lem: 1921-2006

Stanislaw Lem, 84, a Polish-born writer of "reality based" science fiction who tweaked Communist authorities and became one of the world's best-selling authors with books such as "Solaris" and "The Futurological Congress," died March 27 at a hospital in Krakow, Poland. He had a heart ailment.

Lem did not endear himself to his contemporaries, particularly in the US. But he wrote brilliantly, honestly, cleverly, originally.

If you're not familiar with his work, I can't think of a better introduction than by meeting two of my favorite Lem constructions, Trurl and Klapaucius.

[Photo: "Stanislaw Lem in 1966, courtesy of his secretary, Wojciech Zemek."]

Blame the Guns

Don't blame the rave scene for the Seattle's worst mass murder in more than two decades.

Blame the guns -- and a culture that celebrates firepower.

Good grief.

[Via Dan Gifford]

The Blunder Down Under

THE New South Wales Government's failure to deal with gun crime meant Sydney could now be confused with the US city of Los Angeles, the opposition said.

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher today said armed robberies, drive-by shootings and other gun crimes were occurring in Sydney on a daily basis.

Now hold on, mate. What about all the "gun control" edicts enacted since the "Port Arthur massacre"? Back in '97, Prime Minister John Howard promised the gun ban would lead to "a safer society."

Of course, they told us LA would be safe, too.

I know some neighborhoods I'd be happy to drop anyone off in if they believe that claim. Then again, I know some neighborhoods you couldn't get me to drive through on a bet.

Maybe the opposition has a point--Australia is becoming like LA. But just not for the reasons they claim.

What Nicole Thinks

It was the rave scene that killed those poor kids Saturday on Capitol Hill. It was the city's weak All Ages Dance Ordinance. It was the weed they smoked, the beer they drank, the music that drained their heads of reason. It was the parents who didn't keep track. Stop.

What killed those people was a 28-year-old man named Kyle Huff, who took advantage of American gun laws and packed his pickup with an arsenal of weapons that no person should ever want or need: An assault rifle. A handgun. A shotgun. A machete. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Nicole Brodeur thinks banning the above is synonymous with "common sense gun-safety measures."

That means Nicole will tolerate no semiautos.

No handguns.

No shotguns.

No machetes.

And no ammunition--at least not "hundreds of rounds" (GASP! That many?)

Besides, why would you "ever want or need" them?

Nicole agrees with Chief Gil Kerlikowske that a 12-gauge is "not for hunting purposes, but for hunting people." (Funny--she didn't ask the chief about that evil semiautomatic service pistol he "lost" that is now out there "on the street"...)

I suppose if Huff had burned the place down, Nicole would want to implement "common sense match-safety measures."

"They were just kids," Nicole laments in righteous indignation.

Two of them were. I have yet to hear those like Nicole asking what the hell grown men in their 20's and 30's were doing partying with 14 and 15-year-old girls instead of protecting them.

Look at Nicole. She looks like she'd be a lot of help in a bind, doesn't she?

Listen to Nicole. She knows best. She's the expert.

Urban newspaper editorialists. Is there anything they don't know?

Hey Nicole: Molon Labe. What I told Sallie goes double for you.

What’s Driving Bill Clinton

An embarrassing hole in security surrounding former U.S. President Bill Clinton turned up when one of his chauffeurs was found to be a wanted man.

Shahzad Qureshi, 42, was in one of three cars awaiting Clinton at Newark Airport last week when a Port Authority policeman happened to check license plate numbers.

I guess if my travel detail as a retiree included three limos and God knows what size taxpayer-funded armed retinue, I wouldn't worry much about the average person's security, either.

I wonder if Clinton's fellow gungrabber and illegal immigration activist Antonio Villaraigoso will come to Mr. Qureshi's defense, or if he only speaks out on behalf of certain demographics?

Angel Update- March 27

Dear Friends of Angel,

This update is to affirm that we know you are out there and wanting information about Angel. We have not forgotten you.

We still cannot tell you anything new about Angel's legal situation, except to repeat that he is waiting for his next court appearance on April 7th. We hope to have a bunch of information for you then.

Thanks again for your donations, your letters of support and your patience.

For any of you who have not made a donation, but who may wish to do so, there is information about donating to help with Angel's legal expenses at:

http://www.marbut.com/angel

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Shameless Plug: O Canada

Still, the zeal to punish all Canadians for the “gun crimes” of a few has not diminished. Also on the table, per a CTV report, is a plan by Mr. Martin to impose “reverse onus,” requiring defendants to prove why they should be allowed bail. And the Toronto Star cites Inspector Dave McLeod, who is investigating gun thefts from legal owners and wonders “how gang members…find out the source of domestic guns held by registered gun owners.” In a nice bit of deflection, Mayor Miller claims the government’s failure to keep information secure is “exactly why I supported…Martin's call for a ban on the ownership of guns.”

"O Canada" is my Rights Watch column for the May issue of GUNS Magazine, on sale now, eh?

BONUS: See page 84 to find out how you can win a Charles Daly ZDA and Al Mar Falcon Ultralight knife.

FEC Blogger Rules

Jed shares the latest developments...