Thursday, February 21, 2008

The BATFU Spreadsheet

*Glock 22 40 caliber REVOLVER??
*Glock Model 27 45 (it is supposed to be a 40)
*Browning B799 (it should be a BT-99) 12 ga

This wouldn't be a big deal, but...the ATF is shutting down gun dealers for minor paperwork errors...

Ryan found something about this story that further illustrates the double standard that is BATFU.

Here's a link to download the spreadsheet in question. It's not clear if this was taken directly from what was reported or input independently, but you'd think they'd make a note to that effect...assuming anyone even noticed.

Thulsa Doom Produces Miracle Mucous--And the Crowd Goes Wild

Hey, this is some revival goin' on over at the Cult of Set .

I wonder if Chris Matthews had another moment of shrieking ecstasy?

I know Halle Berry says she'll "do whatever he says to do." George Clooney wants to stalk...uh...follow him around.

I wonder if anyone retrieved the kleenex. No, not for eBay, that would be sacrilegious--I'm thinking more along the lines of a relic for the ages, like the Shroud of Turin or a piece of the True Cross...

"It's Certainly Not an Endorsement"

The National Rifle Association has added $2,500 to the campaign coffers of incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson.

It's the first time since the South Dakota Democrat ran for the Senate in 1996 that he has received support from the pro-gun organization, which promotes the Second Amendment and opposes more restrictions on gun ownership and possession.

Steve Jarding of Rapid City, Johnson's re-election campaign manager, said Wednesday that the NRA donation was "a big deal."

"It's not necessarily an endorsement," he said. "But sending financial assistance is certainly a form of support. To send it this early, I think, sends a signal that this organization feels pretty good about Tim Johnson."


Hmmm...


And hmmm...

[Via Bruce W. Krafft]

The Cornhusker Gun Ban

A heavily rewritten gun-control bill takes aim at assault weapons and, if approved by the Legislature, could lead to the banning of certain firearms in Nebraska.

Joe's Crabby Shack has the details...

Everybody notice how shark-infested the waters seem lately? They must smell those first few molecules of November blood...

2008 NRA Board of Directors Election

The time is once more upon us.

A few have asked if I have any recommendations apart from what the "official journal" tells us.

No.

I could.

But based on past results, I'm not holding my breath.

I find it curious that "no compromise" gun owners can't even muster a majority to take over the NRA Board, but then hope to be a force in general public elections.

I don't mean to be snotty about it, but there it is. I wish it were different, but then again, I've never found wishing to be a particulary effective or reliable activity.

UPDATE: A Keyboard and a .45 introduces us to a candidate who deserves a closer look.

Standing Guard

The March 2008 American Rifleman is out, and Wayne LaPierre's Standing Guard column, "DANGER! Gun-Free Zone" appears to decry the concept.

But I notice he focuses on the Omaha mall and the church in Colorado. I don't see anything specifically calling for guns on college campuses to deter "mass shootings" (is it still "too soon"?) or repudiating his earlier commitment to "gun free schools."

Why do you think that is?

[Via Ron W]

Punk'd in Jersey

Last month, New Jersey strengthened its criminal code by making illegal gun possession a second-degree crime instead of a third-degree offense. As a result, a person convicted of illegal firearm possession faces a maximum of five to 10 years in prison instead of a maximum of three to five years.

More importantly, prosecutors said, judges are more likely to incarcerate someone convicted of a second-degree crime than they would someone convicted of a third-degree crime. Because of that, they said they expect more people convicted of illegal firearms possession to be sent to prison.

That's "possession." So that would include anyone choosing to exercise the supposedly unalienable right to keep and bear arms, even (especially?) if it meant defying a tyrannical state edict.

Kind of like one of the extremists documented here.

“It'll make sure that the punks caught with guns for the purpose of committing crimes end up behind bars,” Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said after the news conference.
But unless you either catch them planning, in the act or after-the-fact, how do you know what someone's "purpose" for carrying a gun is, Mr. Prosecutor? What if they just want to protect themselves--something you can't do for them--and their application for permission to do so has been denied...?

If they do it anyway, will you still consider them "punks"?

The Gunless Gun Shop

The Joe Gun firearms store two miles east of Sanford is open for business, although most of the owner's inventory of 200 firearms is locked in the evidence room of the Midland County Sheriff's Department and may remain there for years.

Prosecutors will need the weapons as they try to convict seven suspects police arrested in raids in Saginaw and Midland counties this week.
I don't get why sworn depositions along with an audited inventory list and a photographic record wouldn't suffice, but what do I know? I guess it's a good thing I'm not a lawyer.

The Maple Leaf Paradox

Guns are used in only a fraction of the violent crimes in Canada, but young offenders are using firearms more than ever, according to a Statistics Canada survey.

The report released yesterday says the rate of gun crime is at one of its lowest levels -- affecting only 2.4% of all victims of violence -- and holding steady.

Guns are being used by young offenders "more than ever" but the violent "guncrime" rate "is at one of its lowest levels"?

My head hurts.

Still, with all those knives and clubs being used by feral youths at the height of physical prowess, I'd want to have a gun, eh.

Wouldn't you?

This Day in History: February 21

After a successful cruise in the West Indies the Continental cutter Revenge, Captain Conyngham, sailed north and arrived at Philadelphia February 21,1779. Here the Revenge was sold, but the purchaser fitted her out as a privateer and Conyngham was put in command again, under his Continental commission of May 2,1777. In April the Revenge was captured by the British frigate Galatea and taken into New York. Conyngham was sent to England in irons and treated with great severity. He was accused of piracy on the ground that his cruise in the Surprise in the spring of 1777 preceded the date of his commission.