Meanwhile, Over in Brady Paradise...

The Chinese police have destroyed 113 illegal gun factories and shops in a three-month crackdown on weapons and explosives, the ministry of public security said Tuesday.

Police also charged 1,794 people for illegally possessing explosives, guns or knives during that period.

See what we could have here if we'd only enact some "common sense gun laws" and "reasonable restrictions"?

Marjorie the Hunter

Now, many questions have been raised about Lott's research, which maintains that crime is reduced by the passage of right-to-carry laws. A number of credible academic researchers question the validity of his research data and his conclusions...It's a fact of life that academics disagree over many things. For every John Lott out there, there are a dozen others who may refute Lott's point of view. But these allegations point to what has been lacking in Utah's concealed-weapons debate — balance...

Just because their are two opinions doesn't mean they each share equal weight--although that's an old trick used by those who wish to cloud the issue with the ignorant.

What do those policymakers know that Utahns don't?

Yeah. What do they know?

Marjorie Cortez, proud holder of a hunter safety certificate...

What, you took a class? You're a long-time active hunter? And where in the Second Amendment do they talk about hunting anyway?

Why even bring this up unless you want to convince gun owners you're "one of them," in order to manipulate them?

Pretty clumsy hatchet job, Marjorie.

The Root of the Problem

But where some Philadelphia-area lawmakers see the need for tough new gun-control measures, local legislators and top law-enforcement officials see an opportunity to get to the root of the problem: drugs.

Thanks for steering our opinion over to your state-cheerleading solution, "authorized journalist" Tom Murse. I don't suppose it occurs to you that not all law enforcement professionals agree, and the root of the problem might be misguided and corrupt government policies?

Major "law and order" gun groups need to get off this horse. The no-knock ninja network you establish to enforce prohibition doesn't care what it is that's prohibited. Goring the other guy's ox isn't a solution that will result in freedom.

A Sense of Community

The gun that was used to take Garcia's life wasn't like the crime guns in most cities, either. It was not Rivera's gun, nor his father's or brother's. It was the community's.

Although police never found the .40-caliber Glock used in the killing, they learned its violent history by matching the markings found on shell casings from the murder scene with casings collected at other crime scenes. And they were stunned at the sheer quantity of "hits."

Before it had been used to shoot Garcia, that semiautomatic handgun had been fired in 11 other crimes.

You know what would stop this?

Microstamping.

Either that or waiting periods.

Maybe one gun a month laws.

I know, how about sharing NICS registration data with law enforcement?

Licensing? Bans on concealed carry?

Oh, hell, let's just have a buyback and really solve the problem.

A Ludicrous Editorial

Paranoid LUDACRIS has a secret stash of guns because he worries he'll have to defend himself one day.

Paranoid?

That's ludicrous. It sure sounds reasonable to me.

Perhaps the "authorized journalist" who wrote this could explain what's paranoid about a rapper fearing violence. It's not like it hasn't happened time and again.

And perhaps he could also explain why judgmental editorial manipulation is labeled "News".

This Day in History: September 12

On this day in 1777, the Continental Congress receives a letter from Continental Army General George Washington informing them of the Patriot defeat at Brandywine, Pennsylvania.

Thai Teachers Firing Back

Teachers have one of the deadliest jobs in southern Thailand, with 44 killed by the bombs and bullets of an Islamic insurgency since 2004.

So the teachers are learning how to shoot back.

Don't anybody tell Wayne LaPierre. Or Sandra Froman.

More Guns More Crime?

Americans were robbed and victimized by gun violence at greater rates last year than the year before, even though overall violent and property crime reached a 32-year low, the Justice Department said on Sunday...

Professor Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University said the rise in gun violence was particularly troubling.

“A major police effort to confiscate guns helped bring down the surge in violent crime that occurred in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s,” Professor Blumstein said. “But gun distribution is easier now because we have begun to back off gun control.”

Any bets the increases occurred in urban areas where the "gun controls" Prof. Blumstein bemoans a lack of are the most draconian?

Professor, you need to walk over to the Philosophy department and talk to this guy.

But I suppose I can't blame you. You're a big advocate of Project Safe Neighborhoods. So are these guys.

Matthew Bracken Radio Interview

Hear Matt Bracken's radio interview on the Peter Boyles morning show on Denver's KHOW 630AM, where he discusses "Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista".

Click on the post title link above, then scroll down to access the audio control and hear the show.

"Too Simple"

The federal government can surreptitiously track phone calls to protect us from terrorists, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is barred from tracking gun sales and gun crimes, and if pending legislation supported by the gun lobby passes, police agencies will not even be allowed to share this information with one another...

Three letters, all calling for exploitation of NICS capabilities to "insta-register" gun owners.

While the gun lobby groups argue among themselves about whether proposed changes will help or hurt, the alternative of having a system that records no personally-identifying information on completed transactions goes ignored, except for on a few obscure blogs like this one that most gun owners will never see.

And the damndest thing is, the major "gun rights groups" evidently want it that way.

For those who say BIDS won't work, Russ Howard passed along an excerpt from an email he received:

For what it is worth, Russ, Joe Olson and I did a BIDS-type background check, electronically, for Minnesota and got it implemented in the early 90's. Then, of course, NICS came along and superseded our system. BIDS is something to pursue, because it works so well. Instead of checking and approving everybody, you run the check for the 2% who are a "problem" as defined by the law, leaving the other 98% alone. Too simple.

David Gross

"Too simple," indeed.

This Day in History: September 11

On the afternoon of this day in 1777, General Sir William Howe and General Charles Cornwallis launch a full-scale British attack on General George Washington and the Patriot outpost at Brandywine Creek near Chadds Ford, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the road linking Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Harmless Way to Jump on Liberty-Crushing Soapbox

The House will convene a "committee of the whole" to debate and take informal straw votes on proposals to stem crime and violence in Pennsylvania. Guns will be a big topic of conversation...

House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, came up with the "committee of the whole" idea as an alternative to something unpleasant that was looming at the end of last spring's legislative session.

Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, had filed motions to force floor votes on gun control bills to curb murders in Philadelphia. Specifically, Evans wants to limit the sale of handguns to an individual to once a month, ban military-style assault weapons and require gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons within 24 hours.

If Evans had brought his motion to the floor, the House would have been plunged into the gun control debate at the very time it was working to pass a new state budget.

Smith proposed the September session as a way for everyone to get their say at a time when nothing else pressing was on the agenda. Everyone emerges a potential winner from this.

Smith avoided a big headache at a time when he didn't need it last June.

And we all know coming to an agreement on how we divvy up the plunder is much more important than the unalienable rights of the sovereign citizens we're supposed to serve.

"Everyone emerges a winner"? Only an "authorized journalist" could present such a blatantly absurd and untrue statement--and be either too oblivious or agenda-driven to not cringe with embarrassment.

You don't want headaches, Smith? They go with the glory. If you can't do the job, bid off.

Yeah, I know the gun lobby groups give you kudos for voting their way--but why don't you try some proactive leadership, and use your bully pulpit to continuously expose Evans for the the fascist idiot that he is.

You have all the ammunition you need to shoot down every one of his claims right here.

Use it, damn it.

"I Hate Illinois Nazis"

Relatives of a Chicago firefighter accused of hoarding a cache of weapons and Nazi paraphernalia defended him Saturday, saying he was a collector and not a "white supremacist."

It doesn't matter if he only collected guns and militaria--this is Chicago, and the real Nazis will brook no competition.

Why Was Real Croc Hunter's Death Ignored?

It could be an interesting exercise to compare the prominent coverage of [Steve] Irwin's death with the slim few paragraphs (at most) devoted by the America news media on or about Aug. 4, 1999, to the death of 44-year-old Rodney William Ansell. The 1988 Australian Northern Territory Man of the Year -- so honored in part because he was widely acknowledged to be the real-life character on whom Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, and John Cornell based their movie character "Crocodile Dundee" -- was killed in a shootout with police.

Crikey!

Vin Suprynowicz asks (and answers) several relevant questions.

This Day in History: September 10

On this day in 1776, General George Washington asks for a volunteer for an extremely dangerous mission: to gather intelligence behind enemy lines before the coming Battle of Harlem Heights. Captain Nathan Hale of the 19th Regiment of the Continental Army stepped forward and subsequently become one of the first known American spies of the Revolutionary War.

Controversy over the authenticity of his last words notwithstanding, I wonder, if he saw how little Liberty is appreciated today, he'd regret giving his one life for his country...?

Smokin' in the Boys' Room

A Nashua, N.H., man faces a felony reckless conduct charge for shooting at the ceiling of a Wal-Mart men's room, police say...

Asked why he was carrying a concealed weapon, he reportedly told officers, "Well, I have the right to bear arms, you know."

Thanks, moron. You're just the kind of spokesman we so desperately need.

That aside, how many "Only Ones" involved in negligent discharges have felony raps hanging over their heads?

We're the Only Ones Dancin' to the Jailhouse Glock Enough

Investigators are trying to figure out how a loaded handgun go [sic] into a cellblock inside D.C. Superior Court.

Oh, gee, I wonder.

I mean, The Only Ones were in charge, and it's not like this has ever happened before.

Money for Nothing

Donations poured into the Kent County gun buyback program Friday, just one day after the program doled out all the $50 vouchers it had.

Two organizations came forward on Friday afternoon with more cash and incentive. Saint Mary's Hospital and Steelcase each kicked in $2500.

Don't you just love the name of "The Only One" quoted in this propaganda release: Roger Parent...?

We're the Only Ones Rangy and Guarded Enough

A Harnett County sheriff’s deputy earlier this week left an unloaded shotgun at a shooting range behind a state prison...

On Thursday morning, a group of inmates was cleaning the shooting range and someone found the shotgun on a picnic table, Rollins said. The shotgun was returned to the Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff said it was his understanding that an inmate found the gun. But a spokesman at the prison said an inmate did not find it. He would not comment further and referred questions to the Sheriff’s Office.

If it was an inmate who handed it over, do you suppose they'll prosecute him for being a felon in possession of a firearm?

Leaving guns laying around for prisoners to find...you can't make this stuff up.

[More from "The Only Ones" files...]