Lock 'N Load Premiere

Showtime's Lock 'N Load premiered tonight. The show is a (supposedly) hidden cam show a la Taxi Cab Confessions. The "host" of the show, Josh T. Ryan, is a bit of an obnoxious bro-ham but is also very nice and welcoming to the clientele of his gun ship outside of Denver, CO.

Each episode is only 30 minutes and moves along quickly from one vignette to another. The general theme of the show seems to illustrate the diversity of gun buyers. IT also shows regular people firing guns in a range. Both of which are positives. I think showing people fire weapons could be even more powerful than showing a diverse group interested in them. Seeing people use guns demystifies them and shows them to be tools (the guns not the shooters).

I did find odd and disturbing the show giving air time to the two dudes who basically just made comments about keeping one's wife quiet and joked about murdering women.

Swiss Shooting Traditions

Accurate Shooter has an interesting article on Swiss Shooting Traditions.

In Switzerland, universal military training is required of young men, and after military service, Swiss men retain their military weapons, including assault rifles, in their homes. In addition, target shooting remains a hugely popular activity among the Swiss. Though it has a population of just 7,000,000, Switzerland boasts over 2,000 rifle ranges.

Health Care & Naive Paranoia

Gun Owners of America are hyping up some odd paranoia. They are claiming that healthcare "reform" (or public healthcare) under Obama will lead to denying more people access to guns and the creation of an "anti-gun medical database."

The federal government already uses medical diagnoses (such as PTSD) to deny people the right to own guns.

GOA claims: "legislation in Congress will very likely empower anti-gun bureaucrats to deny medical reimbursements to individuals who engage in supposedly “dangerous” activities, like hunting or keeping loaded weapons for self-defense."
Odd.

Trust me naive conservatives- If the government wants to take our guns, they don't need to sneak something in with public healthcare. They will just come and take them and call us terrorists.

Firearms Deaths By State

Number of Deaths Due to Injury by Firearms per 100,000 Population, 2006

CLICK HERE for more details.

Do with it what you will.

Support for tougher gun laws at lowest point in decades

A new Gallup poll shows that the number of Americans who favor tougher gun control laws has dropped to its lowest point in nearly 20 years.

We should seize upon sentiment to educate our peers about guns and encourage a further armed populace (especially the anti-authoritarian segment!).

AB962 Passed! Buy Your Ammo before 2/1/11

AB962, the bill that would restrict ammunition sales in California was signed into law by Governor Schwarzennegger.

This measure would require vendors of handgun ammunition to keep a log of information on handgun ammunition sales (including purchaser's fingerprints) and require the face to-face transfer of ammunition sales.
It goes into effect February 1, 2011.

It makes one wonder what the point of such a law is? It would seem it is just another restriction on ammo in hopes of simply discouraging its purchase. Or as Schwarzennegger says, "to arrest and prosecute persons who have no business possessing firearms and ammunition."

Assemblyman Curt Hagman has pledged to help repeal AB962. While I cannot endorse Hagman, I would like to see this bill repealed.
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In better news, Schwarzennegger did veto an attempt to ban gun shows from Cow Palace in San Francisco.

NYC's Anti-Gun Crusade

New York City released the findings of its undercover gun buying operation. The operation didn't even take place in New York!! The Mayor of NYC sent investigators to Ohio, Tennessee, and Nevada to catch private gun sales to those who sellers have reason to suspect could not pass a background check.



The targets of this operation are private gun sellers and the so-called "loophole" in Federal gun laws that does not require private sellers to conduct a background check. So, who would win in changing that law? Big gun dealers who have the money and means to conduct such background checks.

It is NOT a "loophole" or "gap" in the law. It IS the law.

Supreme Court decision may challenge gun laws

By agreeing to hear a 2nd Amendment challenge to Chicago's handgun ban, the justices may open the door to similar lawsuits in cities and states nationwide.
At issue is whether the right to keep and bear arms is a full-fledged constitutional privilege that can be invoked by individuals against the government at all levels, or a freedom that applies only as it concerns the federal government.

It looks good because legal experts have said that gun rights advocates are likely to prevail in the this case. Even so, this case won't end all gun control. We will need to apply pressure inside our own states.

(It is interesting to note that the linked article makes the distinction between Liberals and libertarians or progressives. Hhhmm)