This Day in History: April 20

NEVER AGAIN

"Do You Know What a Barrel Shroud Is?"

Amazing. These people don't even know what it is they want to ban. And she's their "leader." What an incompetent fraud. In any other professional field, this would be considered malpractice.

From your legislation, Congressthing McCarthy, which you apparently neither read nor understood, but insisted on banning anyway:

`(36) Barrel Shroud- The term `barrel shroud' means a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel of a firearm so that the shroud protects the user of the firearm from heat generated by the barrel, but does not include a slide that encloses the barrel, and does not include an extension of the stock along the bottom of the barrel which does not encircle or substantially encircle the barrel.

[Via "Anonymous"]

A Media "Conservative"

The Second Amendment itself is debatable. But my position is the same as it was before this tragic week: I support a ban on all privately held handguns, period. In fact, I believe the manufacturing of handguns for private use should be outlawed.

That's the "liberal" position according to USA Today. What do the antis call that? "Reasonable gun control"?

Here's what they'd have us believe is the "conservative" counterpunch:

As for the assault-weapons ban, life went on for the 10 years that the ban was in place, so I'm not averse to reauthorizing it.

Neat trick by the "authorized journalists"--if you fall outside their parameters of a total ban on handguns and a total ban on semiautomatics, why you're an extremist!

Cal Thomas, you are a hollow fraud.

At least a fleeting mention of VTech's disarmament policy made it into in the "debate."

[Via 45superman]

The First Obligation

College officials in the U.S. are considering measures including better surveillance cameras and passes to improve security after the shooting at Virginia Tech University that left 33 people dead...

"We have been meeting all day; there's been endless discussion," Massachusetts Institute of Technology spokeswoman Patti Richards said in an interview. "The first obligation is to reassure the community that we hear people's fears and we're on the situation."

No, the first obligation is to not create a haven for psychopathic predators, you nitwits. You can have all the endless discussions in the world, and none of them will stop a deranged murderer.

But I guess it makes it seem like you're experts, and like you're doing something. But it's all an illusion, all for show. You people don't have a clue, and want to address everything but the obvious.

How reassuring is that?

Let's Pass the Ban--Before it's Too Late

Maniacs should not have easy access to hammers. We must have tool control.

Madame Nicki Knows All, Sees All

And I'm sure the armed criminals are appreciative of the General Assembly's actions as well. This will help them victimize their prey and give them a full college campus of disarmed targets.

Nicki Fellenzer said this about the death of the bill to provide for concealed carry on Virginia college campuses--in February 2006.

Believe it or not.

Eisner to Manipulate Public with Propaganda

So I think the solution is to get the public, in an emotional, story-driven way, behind the goal of an abolition of handguns and automatic weapons.

Coming from a guy who made money selling illegal toy guns, that's pretty hypocritical.

He comes right out and admits he never shared values with middle America while he was social imagineering Disney, and that he compromised his principles to keep his job.

The Best Tyranny Money Can Buy

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a coalition of 214 mayors are using the Virginia Tech massacre to pressure Congress to give local cops the information they need to trace illegal guns used in crimes.

CBS 2 has also learned that they're also launching a TV ad campaign starting Sunday...

The ads are funded by Bloomberg, who said he will personally spend whatever it takes to stop a bill that would allow the feds to withhold crucial information on illegal guns needed by local cops.

"In terms of how much money to spend I don't know," Bloomberg said. "The last time I was on a campaign I spent $85 million."

Well, he spent $70 milliion to buy the mayor's seat--that's some campaign finance reform in NYC, eh?

And the thing is, having a comparable war chest wouldn't be enough--not that any rich pro-2A champion will ride to the rescue, and not, heaven forbid--that gun owners will ever chip in to launch a pro-gun media campaign of their own. No, even if such an effort existed, it still would pale compared to the free media exposure the citizen disarmament camp get every day via bias, ignorance, omission and outright lies by the establishment press.

So Bloomberg will use his millions to put on a propaganda blitz aimed at a mass audience the experts are, well, experts at manipulating. He'll demand what this idiot "authorized journalist" Marcia Kramer brainlessly parrots: "Give local cops the information they need." And the mayor is not above exploiting the Virginia Tech murders to convince people this is so--even if the police somehow managed to "trace" those guns without having a national gun owner registry, which is really what he's after (and which some friends of mine have figured out how to stymie, but their idea is getting even less support than the COA ad campaign).

Yeah, I'm sure "The Only Ones" need a lot of things that would make their jobs easier, if only that pesky Bill of Rights didn't get in the way.

Butchers With Immaculate Hands

These butchers with immaculate hands are, to my mind, just as guilty as the shooter. They are the enablers of mass murder, by setting up a huge "free fire kill zone" where any criminal KNOWS IN ADVANCE he's not at risk; where anyone who has the temerity to try to obtain the legal means to protect himself or others is prosecuted as if he is the criminal. In today's body count do we see today the inevitable fruits of the insanity of gun control.

Mike Vanderboegh has some thought on shared culpability for the Virginia Tech massacre.

Fox Quotes Alphecca

"(The Republican candidates) must appeal to folks like me to get my vote. I don't expect them to be calling for further gun control," said Jeff Soyer, who runs www.Alphecca.com, a Web log popular with supporters of the Second Amendment guarantee for individuals to bear arms.

"Simply put," Soyer said, "there is no law that could be enacted that would have prevented this tragedy. You can't legislate against insanity.

It's nice to see deserving bloggers gain access to a mass audience. Here's Jeff's take.

This Day in History: April 19

NEVER AGAIN

2005
2006

Rekindling an Issue

Some commentators who oppose what they see as unconstitutional limits on gun ownership said they feared gun control advocates would successfully use the Virginia tragedy to bolster their position, especially with Democrats’ new power in Washington. “We see calls for gun control but we may not see as much empathy for calls for armed self-defense,” said David Codrea, a blogger and a columnist for Guns Magazine.

Pretty tepid stuff. I'd settle for just kindling the issue in the first place. As I alluded to yesterday, I contacted major papers and networks with the following questions:

Why don’t you consider the fact that Virginia Tech policy prohibits firearms on campus—even for concealed weapon permit holders—important enough to inform your readers and viewers?

Why do I read, watch and listen in vain to find any reference to a bill that never made it out of committee that would have changed that? Why did Virginia Tech Associate VP of University Relations Larry Hincker say the death of the bill that would have allowed adult students and faculty the means to defend themselves made him “happy”?

Why did Hincker pen an editorial reply on The Roanoake Times ridiculing the concept of peaceable people keeping and bearing arms on campus?

Why have your respective outlets been silent on these matters?

This is what I spent the brunt of my time discussing with reporter Leslie Eaton. What she quoted me on was an afterthought to a follow-up question. To her credit, I don't think the decision to cut the majority of our conversation came from her. She sent me a follow-up email, saying in part:

i'm afraid some of my reporting on the debate over carrying ban in virginia may not make this piece because i had to include a lot of political stuff from washington. i hope to try again tomorrow. but i used your thought about the dem. congress.

I hope she does try again, and at least one major outlet covers these important questions. Here's what I wrote back:

I...appreciate that you will try again. I just don't see how the editors can consider their obligation to their readers complete by omitting discussion of VTech's campus disarmament policy, the failed bill, and the hostile public statements of the university spokesman.

I suppose I ought to look at the bright side. I got ink in "The Paper of Record," they didn't misquote me, and most importantly, they spelled my name right.

UPDATE: I just got a copy of the paper and the article appears on page A19.

A Letter WorldNetDaily Didn't (Wouldn't?) Print

In response to "How to Prevent Next Massacre":

Aside from the usual suspects, there’s one big impediment to allowing students and faculty to keep and bear arms on campus that will surprise most WND readers: The NRA.

“[W]e believe in absolutely gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools,” Association Executive Vice President and WND Books author (“Guns, Freedom and Terrorism”) Wayne LaPierre proclaimed in his address to members at the 1999 Annual Meeting. “That means no guns in America's schools, period ... with the rare exception of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel.”

But that was 8 years ago. Perhaps times have changed?

Current NRA president and new WND “On Target” columnist Sandy Froman suggested a possible shift shortly after the Minnesota school shootings in 2005, recommending “we need to look at all options.”

The following week, after a “clarification” to the press by LaPierre, Froman backed off, stating “The only people that ought to have firearms in the schools are law enforcement and trained security personnel.”

Will the massacre of the defenseless at Virginia Tech finally prompt LaPierre & Co. to admit that gun control laws don't work, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed anywhere? I don't know. Being a mere Life Member, they won't answer me. And while others in the gun rights community, from smaller groups to bloggers, are calling for the obvious, our cautious ostensible leaders "will not have further comment until all the facts are known."

Perhaps you, Mr. Farah, will have better luck eliciting an answer.

David Codrea

Then again, perhaps not.

33 Dead. Can We Have Some Money?

Aside from being demonstrably shameless liars, these mercenary bastards aren't above a little war profiteering while the iron is hot, are they?

The names of all the dead haven't even been released yet, and these information superhighway off ramp beggars already have their grubby, blood-soaked mitts out.

Mag Shortage?

Correspondent Andre C asks me if I've heard anything about all major wholesalers being sold out on Glock mags. Can anyone verify this, and if so, is there supposedly any connection to recent events?

We're the Only Ones Secret Enough

Two Secret Service officers were injured on Tuesday after a gun held by another Secret Service officer accidentally fired inside the White House gate...

The gun accidentally fired. That seems to happen a lot in "authorized journalist" reports. I'm sure no secret fingers were secretly on the secret trigger or anything...

[More from "The (Shhh...they're SECRET) Only Ones" files...]

[Via, in order: Matt M, Ron W, Andre C and Blogonomicon]

This Day in History: April 18

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

Take a moment and re-read this famous poem, preferably with a young person.

Two Personal Developments

My editor at GUNS Magazine is going to bump one of my articles in the queue to make way for "A Very Sound Policy," which focuses on Virginia Tech's weapons prohibition policy and the comments of its spokesman, Larry Hincker. Still, it will be a while before it hits the stands--magazine columns are poor places to discuss breaking news stories, but this one couldn't go ignored.

Also, I just got off the phone with Leslie Eaton of The New York Times. As I mentioned earlier, I contacted major newspapers and TV networks asking why they weren't talking about this in their coverage. I had requested we conduct the questioning via email so I'd have a context record to fall back on--I guess I'm just a tad wary of dealing with "The Gray Lady"-- but was informed they were having delay problems with their email system.

Ms. Eaton seemed pleasant and earnest, confessed she "had no idea" about some of the information I was conveying, so we'll see. One of the things she was looking for was if I thought this would increase the likelihood for more or less "gun control." I opted for the pessimistic side, so let's everybody hope I'm wrong.

I even suggested she call NRA to see if Wayne LaPierre's school gun ban endorsement applies to colleges, which she did, but so far, they haven't responded.

There's no guarantee, of course, that The Times will use any of this.

Larry Hincker's Words Should Haunt Him Forever

I agree.

And as for news outlets picking up on this, I've done what I can to email the major newspapers and networks, that is, the "authorized journalists" who would have us believe they are so much more reliable than mere bloggers for getting people information they need to safeguard their liberty. If they don't report on this, it's not because they don't know about it--it's because it doesn't serve their agenda.

Is Shooting Grounds for Gun Control?

"ABC News" has a poll up. Go take it. Yeah, it's "non-scientific," buy you know perception is everything...

Speaking of polls, The Citizens Journal has one of its own.

[ABC News tip Via 1894C]