It's Not That Big a Deal

If people keep guns for self-defence, all that means is that burglars and so on carry guns as well. So someone who just wants to knock your house off for a heroin fix suddenly gets in a position where they might have to kill you, or be killed themselves. No-one who invades your home is going to want to add a murder rap unless they have to. I've been burgled, and really, it's not that big a deal. You just buy new stuff on insurance.

I wasn't going to post this initially because I didn't want to drive traffic to this unctuous fool's site, but you really do need to see what passes for a man in some Australian circles these days.

And judging by the comments, his readers agree with him.

[Thanks to Jason M]

This Day in History: October 3

On this day in 1781, British Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas of the 80th Foot, leading 1,000 British troops, encounters French Brigadier General Marquis de Choisy, leading French troops and a battalion of the Virginia militia totaling 800 men. The action takes place in Gloucester, Virginia, across the York River from British-occupied Yorktown, which was under Patriot siege.

A False Attribution

Prof. Joe Olson has a request--if anyone comes across a "quotation" from him regarding a Scottish 18th century writer, please inform those you can that it's bogus...

Hope this helps in tracking down the spread...

Something like this could damage a man's reputation. Why do you suppose someone would want to do that?

I Won't Stick it in All the Way Part II

The gun laws being proposed are not intended to overturn the Second Amendment rights of citizens to own and carry guns, and we find it hard to fathom that many of the restrictions being proposed would cause undue harm to hunters or gun collectors.

I find it hard to fathom how anyone can be so intentionally stupid.

I Won't Stick it in All the Way...

But I don't get why people think all liberals want to take guns away.

Oh, gee. I wonder too.

"Gun control, not elimination?"

Is that anything like "We only want to rape you a little bit"?

Ignorant uninformed morons with opinions. Is there anything they don't know?

Campus Watch

OK, I'll admit...I was expecting to find anti-gun op-ed's all over the board when it came to discussions over gun rights. Surprisingly enough, I found a fairly good balance, which encourages me about our universities being places where a diversity of ideas can thrive.

The Mad Hatter finds reason for hope at our institutions of higher education. If enough people can help him locate college gun-related editorials, he's thinking of making this a regular feature, which is a wonderful idea.

This Day in History: October 2

Thirty-one-year-old British Major John Andre is hanged as a spy by U.S. military forces in Tappan, New York, on this day in 1780.

They didn't mess around in those days, did they?

Punked

It seems celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, who tied the knot a year ago, demand fidelity from each other at gun point.

The Hollywood actor has revealed that he and Moore purchased shooters just after they got married, and that now he's convinced neither one of them will ever stray.

"We got guns and that helps... She was working on a movie in Louisiana and so we went out and both got (guns). She got a Glock and I got a Springfield"...

"I actually took this boy that Scout was dating out at our place in Idaho and I would, like, carry the gun around in my side at all times just so he knew... Subtle hints," he said.

I'm delighted to see some high profile celebrity gun owners. But implying lethal force against people who aren't an immediate physical threat really doesn't help with a reputation for responsible gun ownership most of us have earned.

It would be nice to see an "A-list" movie star or two explain why they believe in the right to keep and bear arms, and to do so in a way that shows they're more than ankle-deep into the pool. As opposed to the socialist nonsense most of them spew whenever they have a camera and no script in front of them.

Monumentally Important Correction: I guess the title of Ashton's MTV show is "Punk'd", with an apostrophe instead of an "e." S'cuse me for not keeping up with the latest modern, now, au go go trends, especially since I've always considered myself kind of cutting-edge swell...I mean, groovy. Guess I've been owned--or is that pwned?

We're the Only Ones Contaminating Enough

GUNSHOT residue found on the hand of a woman wrongly accused of a shooting came from the weapons of officers involved in her arrest.

The gunshot traces are believed to have been transferred by police who had handled guns before arresting Bundaberg woman Debbie Drews for attempted murder in 2004.

Which makes me wonder how many convictions have been obtained when DNA has been similarly transferred...

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

We're the Only Ones Blowing Out Our Br...Candles Enough

A sheriff’s deputy showing a handgun to friends at his birthday party accidentally shot himself in the face, killing himself, authorities said Saturday...

The sheriff’s office said alcohol was believed to have been involved.

No, duh. That probably explains it.

Hold on, wait a minute...

"Sometime during the evening, he picked up the handgun and was showing it around when it accidentally discharged, killing him.”

Not again!

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

[Thanks to Alphecca]

An Open Letter to Morton Marcus

This may surprise you, but the original intent of the 2nd Amendment was to protect the people (you can fall into arguing the false dichotomy of whether it's an "individual" right or a "state" right--for our purposes here it doesn't matter) from their government. That's right; it's not about shooting ducks. (Can you imagine if the right were "interpreted" to mean that you could pick tomatoes? That's how stupid the "hunters' rights" argument is.) It's about shooting soldiers and policemen. Now, you may be uncomfortable with this. But my copy of the U.S. Constitution is silent on the subject of Mr. Marcus's comfort level. Maybe it's missing a page.

Here's another great take on Moron Marcus. My only point of contention: "Well regulated" meant a bit more than "equipped".

Hey Terence--nice to hear from you again. Great template you picked for your new blog :)

This Day in History: October 1

On this day in 1776, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris receive information that the French are going to purchase arms and ammunition in Holland and send them to the West Indies for use by the American Patriots. Meanwhile, Silas Deane, the secret congressional agent in France, wrote to Congress pleading for information, "...For Heaven's sake, if you mean to have any connection with this kingdom (France), be more assiduous in getting your letters here."

Second Amendment Carnival V

Free Constitution links us to "the best 2nd Amendment coverage the blogosphere has to offer."

U of Florida: Because Passive Resistance Worked So Well at Columbine and Dachau

The goal of passive resistance is to think and talk your way out of the situation. With passive resistance you can:

Try to calm the attacker. Try to persuade him not to carry out the attack.

Try to discourage the attacker. Pretend to faint, cry hysterically, and act mentally incapacitated or insane.

If you are at your residence, tell the attacker a friend is coming over or that your spouse or roommate will be back soon.

Not to be contrary, but they forgot to tell you to vomit.

Some people carry weapons to ward off attackers. Unless you are trained and not afraid to use these weapons, they can be very dangerous. The attacker might be able to turn them against you. Also weapons are prohibited on the University of Florida campus.

And the campus police are here to make sure you obey the law. Besides, you don't want to end up like Josephine.

Oh, wait...

Josephine Confounds the "Experts"

Eighty-two-year-old Josephine Slater never even flinched when she was confronted by a masked bandit with a sawed-off shotgun inside her Midland bar and restaurant.

The owner of Josephine's Bar and Restaurant calmly threw $1 bills at the man and then pulled out a loaded handgun that she keeps under the counter.

"If you don't get out of here, I'll shoot you right now," the octogenarian told the would-be robber. "I'm not about to put up with any crap right off the street."

Josephine, Josephine...

Don't you know you should have just given him what he wanted?

After all, "We don't encourage people to take that kind of risk. [You] could have been hurt."

What if he'd taken your gun away from you?

Remember, "Use of a firearm to protect yourself or property is not recommended."

A. Spineless Maroon

This comment entry is too good not to highlight.

Mad Hatter Seeking Madder Mortarboarders

[A]fter reading a couple of campus Op-Ed articles relating to gun rights issues, I thought I'd take some time this weekend to hunt several of them up and tell everyone what sort of opinions are being generated in higher academia.

If anyone is interested in pointing me to some articles they've found (via email or posting replies to my blog), I'll be happy to include them in this little project.

Here's the post I have on my blog announcing the project.

If you could get word around, I'd appreciate it.

The Mad Hatter is looking for some people in need of schooling on RKBA!

Here's my contribution. If you can help him out with more articles, please do.

This Day in History: September 30

In a letter to his nephew, Lund Washington, plantation manager of Mount Vernon, General George Washington writes on this day in 1776 of his displeasure with the undisciplined conduct and poor battlefield performance of the American militia. Washington blamed the Patriot reliance on the militia as the chief root of his problems in the devastating loss of Long Island and Manhattan to the British.

He ought to see the sorry state of the militia, Long Island and Manhattan today.

REMINDER: 2A CARNIVAL TOMORROW

Just in case you didn't act on my first announcement. Go over to Free Constitution and get your submission in tonight.

Remembering the Colonel

Guns and Ammo looks back on the life of Jeff Cooper.

They also compiled a wonderful collection of memorable Cooperisms (I'm being redundant here) in "Quotations from Chariman Jeff," and present an archive for the "Gunner's Guru" series.

Good stuff. I'm saving these links because I'm sure I'll want to consult and enjoy them again and again.

Related: "Jeff Cooper, Rest in Peace"