Darwin Award Nominee Sparks Call for More Gun Control

Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, thinking it was jammed and would not work.

But on the third try, the tiny, silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap artist was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died later at the hospital.

Three tries? Tough to feel sorry for him. Actually, the fact that he was a "budding rap artist" was almost enough to clinch it for me.

Stupid way to live, stupid way to die.

And of course, his mother has now become a leading voice for "common sense gun control":

McCoy-Horn wants to see pen guns outlawed. She said several schools have expressed interest in having her come to speak out against the weapons. And she would also like to take her message to the Legislature.

"I've cried and cried so much, but I'm mad now," McCoy-Horn said. "Something's got to be done."

I suppose if the moron had taken three tries to kill himself with a rectal thermometer, she'd want those banned, too.

Sorry, but her reaction of blaming the object and seeking out new ways to attack my rights makes it tough to feel sorry for her, too. It's not my fault she raised a son who was too stupid to live. I refuse to be punished for it.

UPDATE: Since creating this post, much of the original story, including the part about his mother calling for more gun control, has been removed. They also, for some reason, changed "budding rap singer" to "budding rap artist." As of this writing, you can still find an unchopped version here. You can learn more of the young Mr. Zorn, aka "Mr. Pit", as in exploiting the stereotype of pit bulls, here.

D.C. Killings Spoil Police Holiday Plans

Union officials reacted angrily to Ramsey's announcement, which they learned about from a reporter. They said that officers already are exhausted from working 12-hour days and mandatory overtime shifts, and that the initiative could spoil their holiday plans.

"It's just ridiculous," said Sgt. Gregory I. Greene, chairman of the D.C. police labor committee for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1. "The only ones suffering from this are the officers. It's Christmas. It seems like Ramsey is out of answers about how to address the crime problems."

Yeah, no kidding, Sarge. Not that you and your union buddies could do much better.

District murders are out of control and the only thing any of you public servants can think about is your Christmas vacation. That sends a great message to those relying on you for protection--even though you know full well you have no legally enforceable obligation to provide it, and couldn't anyway.

But God forbid you find a resident with the means to protect himself. That's when you get to execute "Home Rule" and spoil some other poor slob's holiday plans.

Activate the Citizen Militia

The Liberty Belles' Jennifer Freeman has a suggestion for the Miami PD.

Of Stupid Trees and Messengers of Peace

For some reason, this post has disappeared from WarOnGuns. I am reposting it at the original date and time from the Internet Archive, complete with comments so they will not be lost.

Douglas Pushes for Tighter Gun Control

FATAL ATTRACTION star MICHAEL DOUGLAS is planning to lobby the US government for tighter gun control, because he's still haunted by rocker JOHN LENNON's 1980 shooting death.

I guess when you've demonstrated you have no control over yourself, you must not believe others are capable of self-control, either. Which means they can't be trusted with guns.

Since Douglas feels compelled to continue his unprovoked attack on my rights, I feel compelled to dust off the following open letter from some years back. As it's no longer posted anywhere else on the net, I thought I'd resurrect it here on WarOnGuns.

---

September 8, 1999
Mr. Michael Douglas
C/O Creative Artists Agency
9830 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

"PRESS RELEASE: NEW YORK - Renowned film and television actor Michael Douglas challenged the international community to do more to control the spread of small arms worldwide. Before a unique gathering of foreign ministers, UN officials, arms experts, and arms lobbyists, Douglas, a newly appointed UN Messenger of Peace, relayed movingly the facts that 'speak for themselves which underlie the need for responsible control of small weapons.'"

Dear Mr. Douglas,

"Sex is a wave that just sweeps over me. When the urge comes, I am helpless."

These are your pathetic words. I cannot believe that a grown man would utter them, let alone share them with the world. But somehow, for someone self-inflated enough to allow himself to be labeled a "United Nations Messenger of Peace," hearing that you have spouted such inanities does not surprise me.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

They sound like the words of a psychopath awakening from a blackout to find his clothes splattered and several hours missing from memory. Ultimately, they are your admission that you have abdicated responsibility for your actions, that you cannot control yourself. It sounds like you need to be locked up.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

So how predictable that you have instead become a spokesman for global "gun control." Obviously, since you can't trust yourself, the thought of others not sharing your moral defects must be too much to handle; after all, if others are capable of self control, then the problem must be yours. Better to blame them, and better yet--blame their guns! If they didn't have them, they couldn't use them! And if those damn whore-their-way-to-the-top women would just stop letting you get into their...

Still, have you informed your current sex partner(s?) that you would rather see her (them?) assaulted, raped or murdered than armed? But I forget--you rich and famous folks employ bodyguards (armed ones, right?), and there's never a shortage of police and private security around whenever you make a public appearance. Never mind.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

"This is not the world I want to leave to my son," you bemoan, decrying that the world contains all ideas and things, that these can be used for good or ill, and ultimately, that free will produces choices and consequences.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

What your son has really needed is for you to be a man of honor, one who understands and lives by principles of decency and restraint--instead of an out-of-control adolescent rabbit. You have betrayed and defrauded him as you have betrayed and defrauded your wife, and the obligations of the marriage covenant that you entered freely into.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

Really. Did anyone ever tell you "no" when you were growing up? Your old man couldn't keep his pants zipped either--maybe it's his fault? Were there no restraints on whatever self-gratifying indulgence you wanted to wallow in? Was learning to sneak and cheat and blame "a wave" rather than yourself for your abject moral failure the tradeoff for having everything material in life handed to you?

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

My young sons understand "no," Mr. Douglas, at least better than you appear to. The savage instincts of little boys notwithstanding, there are limits on what they can have, and expected standards for their behavior and integrity. And they receive these lessons not just through admonishments, but, more importantly, through the conduct and example of a loving mother and father who understand their obligations, cherish honoring them, and control themselves accordingly.

But our kids are still working on things and we understand that. For instance, the other day, one of the boys skinned his hand on a branch he was climbing from.

"Stupid tree!" he shouted, angrily kicking the "offending" limb.

Oh well, he'll learn. We have plenty of time, love and patience to give him and his brother before they'll need to claim their rights and responsibilities as men. But you gotta admit, the way he blamed a thing rather than himself reflects that he is still very much a child, and such transference seems pretty silly and immature to adults. Trust me--it's a grownup thing.

"Wherever arms flow, the violence follows," you childishly declare.

Oh come on, Mr. Douglas, "Stupid guns?"

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

"Stupid urge," Mr. Douglas?

Do you also blame your "stupid penis" for your contemptible lack of sexual fidelity?

That society compensates your corrupted ethics and reasoning with celebrity, when by all objective standards you should be regarded as a weakling and a reprobate, speaks not of your achievements but of the misplaced cultural values you exemplify and feed off of. That amoral privileged dilettantes like you, who conduct their lives with arrogance, deception, deviancy and gall are honored and rewarded should be but an ironic joke.

Are you truly deluded enough to think that your ridiculous worldview merits anything but loathing and resistance? After all, you're relying on socialist world government functionaries to implement and administer your criminally ignorant, genocide-enabling manifesto. Under force of arms, I might add.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

What bullshit excuse-making. How weak of you. How puerile and despicable.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

Based on your own words, you cannot (or, more likely, will not) control yourself. What makes you think that Americans who unyieldingly believe in their Constitution will let you control them?

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

You go ahead and continue being helpless, Mr. Douglas. But you would also do well to realize that your liberty-minded countrymen are not. Unlike you, we are responsible, self-controlling adults, and we will not allow ourselves to be disarmed, nor our freedoms compromised; not by your calculating UN handlers, and certainly not by the infantile, stupid, weak and morally defective useful idiots they so effectively manipulate.

"When the urge comes, I am helpless."

I know a vet who can fix that for you. Until then, and especially if he invites you up in front of the General Assembly, you might want to keep away from Kofi Annan's leg.

With utmost sincerity,

David Codrea

posted by David Codrea | 6:22 AM  

A Word About Prior Restraints

The Founders intended for prior restraints to apply to government powers, not to individual rights.

[Inspired by the last paragraph in this commentary by Jed]

Smile, You're on Canine Camera

Pictures are seen on a receiver unit carried by the dog handler who can watch the progress of the four-legged recruits searching for armed suspects.

Sounds like a great way to get an expensive, highly-trained asset killed.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

Has the South African government got a present for you!

Indicting the Gun Merchants

Judge Jack Weinstein spelled out how firearms makers flood New York with illegal weapons when he upheld the city's right to sue last week. Here's how he summed up the charges...

Am I reading this right? "[H]e summed up the charges"? It's the "Be Our Guest" column--did Weinstein write it?

If he did, this is straight out of the Brady playbook. He should have recused himself.

In a rational world, naked, one-sided advocacy for a plaintiff by a presiding judge would be grounds for dismissal, impeachment, and criminal charges to boot.

How about indicting the judge?

Feelin' Lucky, Punk?

A Pasco detention deputy stood over a jail inmate strapped hand and foot to a hospital bed. He drew his gun and pointed it at the man's head.

"We're not gonna have any trouble out of you today, are we?" he said, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll.

Let's hope the deputy who turned him in isn't "ostracized" or worse. Anyone brazen enough to act so brutally in front of another officer is probably not exhibiting new behavior.

Deaths Mount in Rio's War on Crime

More Than 4,000 Have Died At Hands of Police in Violent Cycle

In Rio, many of the victims of police violence have been hapless bystanders. Others have undoubtedly been dope dealers who, human rights group say, never saw the inside of a jail cell because of rogue cops who sometimes act as judge, jury and firing squad.

"A lot of these killings are quasi-executions, with shots to the head and the heart," said Sandra Carvalho of Global Justice, a Brazilian human rights group that monitors the police...

Rio drew worldwide attention to the violence on its police force a dozen years ago when a group of hooded officers killed seven street children sleeping outside a downtown church. A month later, a police-run death squad massacred 21 civilians in a Rio slum. Only a few of the numerous officers charged in the two cases were convicted.

Yet Brazil's ruling elite, backed by a gaggle of "Nobel Peace Laureates", supported the recent gun ban referendum.

There Are None So Blind...

...as those who will not see.

[E]verybody and their brother-in-law can just pretty much show up and don’t know anything about firearms, but feeling macho that day, they just show their driver’s license, and there they are.

I guess Carey McWilliams can't find a copy of the Constitution in Braille.

If a Black Man is Armed, is He a Criminal?

From Vin Suprynowicz:

This is an armed nation. Twenty-five percent of your fellow 'civilians' own firearms, and have a God-given right to carry them around. Except for writing traffic tickets for revenue, they have just as much right to chase and apprehend a fleeing felon -- or to present a weapon in defense of themselves or others -- as you do. This includes black folks. Get used to it.

[Via End the War on Freedom]

Gun Totin' Grans Keep Illegals At Bay

The Mexican President, Vicente Fox, calls them ruthless and dangerous migrant hunters, and Mr Bush has called them vigilantes, but Ms Foust and Ms Mercer look more like the grandmothers they actually are.

Man Takes Law Into His Own Hands

One of the three robbers who burst into Kent Jewelry & Loan ordered Buell to his knees and then jammed a handgun against the back of Buell's head, hard enough to leave a knot.

But the single gunshot that startled Frank Buell was from a pistol fired by his father, Nick Buell, who was taking aim at another robber.

Only an "authorized journalist" would equate defending your life and the lives of those you love with taking the law into your own hands.

I'm surprised the senior Buell wasn't described as a "vigilante."

Of course, had he been defenseless and killed with his son, there'd be no shortage of "news" stories claiming they were killed by a gun, and no shortage of opportunists screaming for more citizen disarmament edicts.

Just Curious...

...as to why Mike Farrell, Jesse Jackson, Bianca Jagger , Jamie Foxx and Sniff...I mean, Snoop Dogg haven't yet taken a moment from their rabid defense of gun control advocate Tookie Williams to say a word of condemnation for the threatened Thursday execution of the four tragically naive "peace activists" in Iraq...

Cindy Sheehan has been curiously silent about the "freedom fighters" as well, and Chris Matthews has yet to weigh in on "the different perspective" of the captors, who he assures us are "not evil."

The fact is, the "insurgents" (Reuters, brands the Minutemen "vigilantes" but won't allow it's reporters to use the word "terrorists") would cheerfully saw the heads off every one of these useful celebrity idiots, which would probably make for lucrative pay-per-view. If it's any consolation, the unfortunate peaceniks were well aware of this proclivity of their captors before enlisting.

I would not put myself in harm's way to rescue people from their own choices, so couldn't ask, nor expect it from the soldiers. I hope they get released, but also hope no one gets hurt or killed trying to save them.

Torture Found Rife in China

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

Nicki had a similar reaction to an inane headline last month.

Me and My Weapon

South Park Pundit kicks a hippy in the n...

An Early Milestone

THIS ISSUE of GUNS Magazine marks the completion of our first year and we should like to take the occasion to report to our readers on our progress.

Started to fill a void in the gun publication field, GUNS has devoted its first 12 issues to a popular, highly-readable, attractive presentation of all phases of gun sport. Recognizing that the field of firearms is more than just a highly technical specialty but rather a popular passtime for millions of Americans, GUNS has endeavored to dramatize and popularize all phases from collecting to Western interest, from pistol target shooting to trap and skeet.

The editors of GUNS see in the growth of the sport a healthy trend back towards the day when the USA was truly a nation of marksmen. We have attempted to counter the do-gooder, namby-pamby crowd who views every target shooter as a potential criminal. To us the freedom to indulge in gun sport is a basic concept of the founding fathers written into the Constitution and GUNS intends to do its utmost to defend that principle not only in these pages but in every other way possible.

Certainly the 25 million Americans who own firearms are also anxious to defend their rights. To them guns are an exciting, intriguing sport. The interest in gun sport is reflected in the remarkable growth of GUNS Magazine in a single year. Our circulation has doubled since our first issue. Thousands of gun enthusiasts have indicated their faith in our future by subscribing for periods anywhere from one to three years. Our subscribers are found all over the earth, from Sweden to Indo-China, from Argentina to Egypt.

Most heartening has been the response not only of advertisers but of readers to ads. Many gun dealers have reported that they have had a phenomenal number of inquiries and sales as a result of their advertisements in GUNS Magazine.

On the occasion of the completion of our first year in business, GUNS wishes to thank every one of its readers and advertisers for their wonderful support and express the hope that we can continue to merit that loyalty in future years to come.

This is the last historic issue of GUNS being offered online to commemorate the magazine's inception 50 years ago. The entire series, which I have linked to on a monthly basis, offers fascinating insights into the attitudes and culture of half a century ago.

The completion of this series also marks an anniversary for me--it is now one complete year since I began writing the magazine's Rights Watch column. I'm grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in the history of an industry icon.

I don't know if future issues from the past will continue being offered on the GUNS website--this series was initially intended just to celebrate 50 years of publication. I suppose if they hear from enough people...but that also depends on the success of their current efforts.

I hope I've been able to provoke your curiosity enough to at least buy a copy off the local newsrack. I hope if you do, you become a subscriber. And for purely selfish reasons, for good or ill, I hope you let the magazine know what you think of my columns.

Guns for Christmas

Santa baby, slip a shotgun under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Jennifer Freeman shows us how to increase our Christmas cheer.

Advent Calendar

Countertop is posting a daily Advent Calendar on his blog. Click on a graphic every day to reveal a Holiday treat!

What a cool idea, and he executes it very nicely.