Tweet Of The Day

An alternative headline could have been Why (Most) Reporters Shouldn't Write About Guns.

A Capitol Police officer left a gun in a bathroom... again. And not just any gun. A glock, which fires if the trigger is pulled. Big scoop from @ktullymcmanus: https://t.co/KGP2mcl0MI

— Bridget Bowman (@bridgetbhc) February 28, 2019

Every reporter who even mentions a firearm in a story should be required to read this little guide first. The National Shooting Sports Foundation created so reporters aren't so grossly ignorant about firearms. Obviously, Ms. Bowman did not read it.

Sam Cooke Must Have Been Singing About This Guy

I came across a Tweet today from a rapper named Taleb Kweli Greene.

So, you’re unaware of the fact that nazi Germany had a wall called the Berlin Wall that was torn down in 1991 in order to foster humanity and diversity? Walls didn’t work for Nazis so why build them here? Build bridges not walls Nazi lover. @thefeltyperro @jabbawa78 https://t.co/h3djzlRi4j

— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) December 21, 2018

I'm kind of speechless over this abject ignorance of history. It made me wonder where he was edumacated.

According to his Wikipedia page, he started high school at Brooklyn Technical HS which requires an entrance exam. After being "academically dismissed", he finished at Cheshire Academy which was founded in 1794. Cheshire boasts of a 6 to 1 student-teacher ration and class sizes of 12. The 10th oldest private school in the United States, Cheshire has a robust history department for a school its size.

All I can say is that Greene is either being intentionally obtuse or really is that dumb despite the best efforts of some of the best teachers that money could buy.

"Stabbing with a Bullet"

Oh, Di, you are so unbelievably stupid.

"A handgun [wound] is simply a stabbing with a bullet. It goes in like a nail." With the high-velocity rounds of the AR-15, "it’s as if you shot somebody with a Coke can." https://t.co/xkyw3pEtjn #BanAssaultWeapons

— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) February 26, 2018

Chris Baker at Lucky Gunner Labs has done yeoman's work testing all manner of handgun self-defense ammo. Everything from .380 ACP to .45 ACP in pistol cartridges as well as both .38 Special and .357 Magnum in revolver cartridges were tested in ballistic gelatin. I don't consider a .380 ACP expanding to half an inch to be "like a nail".

As a reminder, No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money blog is an affiliate of LuckyGunner.com. Any commissions earned are donated to Second Amendment organizations to protect our rights.



H/T The Captain's Journal

Tom Fuentes - CNN's Expert On How Women Carry Firearms

Let's be frank here. Tom Fuentes, retired Assistant Director of the FBI and CNN's Law Enforcement Analyst, is ignorant. I might even go so far as to say he is a misogynist. He doesn't think women can carry concealed on their person other than in an outside the waistband holster with a heavy belt. Moreover, he gives the impression that this is the only way to carry.

The women at A Girl and A Gun Shooting League wish to disagree.

From a release they sent out this afternoon:

CNN Analyst: Women Carrying Guns Is Not Practical

On February 24 CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes asked the question, “For a woman, where are you going to hide that gun during the day?” He continued with another question, “If you wear a dress, if you wear a skirt, are you going to have to wear a jacket everyday with a belt and a holster the way a detective on duty would do?”

Yes, he actually asked those questions on national television in 2018. Dave Marris captured Tom Fuentes’ comments on his Facebook page.

It is unfortunate that someone with such a public persona and lengthy career in the FBI is so ignorant about women and our ability to carry a firearm. Never before have their been more products available specifically tailored to women’s needs. There are holsters designed for all areas of a woman’s body that can be easily and safely concealed under everyday clothing. The traditional OWB holster that Mr. Fuentes references is used by some women who prefer to wear jackets or overshirts to cover the firearm, but that is only one option. There are quality holsters for inside the waistband (front, side, or back), corset/bellyband, bra mounted (both front and side), thigh and ankle holsters, boot holsters, and others. Millions of women know how to evaluate a concealed carry holster for EDC safety and functionality.

Secondly, firearms themselves have become smaller and easier to conceal. It is not uncommon for women to have a variety of pistols that conceal better with different wardrobe choices or activities. We recently compiled a list of the best concealed carry handguns that our female pistol instructors carry on a daily basis. There are dozens of quality firearms on the market that are perfect for on-body carry for men and women to easily conceal. These firearms are secured safely in a holster unless the person determines, under the law, that lethal force is required.

Finally, firearm safety is not a gender issue. All people must always follow the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. There are 3 safe places for a self-defense pistol and all men and women must adhere to these principles. Mr. Fuentes jested that a woman would leave her concealed carry pistol in her desk drawer and he showed his ignorance to the emphasis that our organization puts on the safe storage of firearms.

We invite Mr. Fuentes and his colleagues at CNN to become more familiar with female gun owners, our gun-carrying lifestyle, values, and abilities. Many women come into gun ownership with the primary purpose of protecting themselves. They turn to A Girl & A Gun for holster information and responsible firearms training. We welcome them to the mindset of being their own first responders by carrying a handgun and taking charge of their personal safety and the safety of their loved ones.

UPDATE: Kathy Jackson of the Cornered Cat gives her response to Tom Fuentes along with suggestions for how women can look both very stylish and carry at the same time.

He wasn’t really asking, of course. He was just explaining that women really can’t manage the complex, manly task of carrying a gun. Based on his wide experience as being a woman who carries a gun, I guess?

This would pretty well be the definition of ‘mansplaining’ — not a word that I’m generally a fan of, but it fits. Fuentes, who is not a woman, felt it necessary to explain on national television that women cannot discreetly carry a gun.

News to me.

Tweet Of The Day

I haven't said anything on my blog about the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Part of it because there is more and more coming out. Part of it is because I don't believe in instant analysis. Finally, part is that I spent the whole weekend taking Massad Ayoob's MAG-20 Classroom - Armed Citizen's Rules of Engagement and I am decompressing from that intense experience.

I saw this tweet a bit ago. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum is calling for a lifetime ban on those who "raises a hand against a woman or a child".

Wow yeah and we could even call it the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban and codify it at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) https://t.co/ix7qPbJylH

— Matt Bramanti (@mattbramanti) November 6, 2017

The anti's are saying some of the stupidest stuff. They are calling for new laws when the laws that would have prevented the church murderer from legally obtaining a firearm were already in place. The problem was that someone in the US Air Force screwed up and didn't report the results of the general court martial in 2013 to the FBI's NICS check system. Note that this screw up occurred during the Obama Administration.

The Difference Between Stupid And Really Stupid

Stupid is blowing off a "request" to appear before the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee. The committee was investigating the death of a Federal law enforcement officer, ICE's Jaime Zapata, by Mexican cartel members using firearms BATFE allowed to be "walked" to Mexico.

This is what BATFE's Associate Deputy Director Ronald B. "Ron" Turk did on Thursday, March 9th. In response, the committee chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), issued a subpoena for Mr. Turk.

Now that was stupid. Really stupid is what happens next.

Turk did finally appear on April 4th at another House Oversight hearing at which his earlier absence was noted. After getting into it with Rep. Chaffetz about why he didn't appear when "invited", Turk made this accusation as he really starts to go off: "You want to get your 15 seconds of YouTube minute time to challenge my honor." You can see this starting at 4:56 in the attached YouTube video.




It takes Rep. Chaffetz another minute or so of questioning before he really lights into Turk for blowing off the committee and for his YouTube comment. That starts at 7:12 and runs until about 8:04. At this point Turk realizes that he has screwed up and starts to grovel for the remainder of the time.

Bear in mind that Turk is not only the number two person at BATFE but he is also a Brigadier General in the Maryland Air Nation Guard where he serves as Chief of Staff. He didn't get to those two positions by being a good street agent or a good airman. He got there by being a good politician and a good politician should know when to shut up. That he had that lapse of judgement was a bit surprising given the political astuteness of his leaked white paper. It was really stupid on his part and cements the impression that BATFE is out of control.



H/T CleanUpAtf.org

An Example Of How Universities Waste Money

I decided this spring to enroll in a graduate certificate program at Kansas State University related to financial planning. I thought the four classes in the certificate program would allow me to provide my clients with better planning advice.

After I started the first class, I got the following note that said I had to take a 45-minute, online "course" dealing with sexual violence and healthy relationship.

Hello John,

Course Due Date Think About It: Graduate Students 7/22/2016

We know you're excited about being at Kansas State University. To help create a safer global, online and on campus environment for you and other students, you must complete an online alcohol and sexual assault course referred as Think About It: Graduate Studentsfrom CampusClarity. YOU HAVE 20 DAYS FROM TODAY'S DATE TO COMPLETE THIS TRAINING. Think About It: Graduate Students is an innovative, engaging, and informative online course, created with students for students. In the course, you will examine the interconnected issues of sexual violence and healthy relationships through a variety of interactive, realistic scenarios and guided self-reflection. The course promotes a healthier and safer university environment for all global, online and on campus students. Think About It: Graduate Students takes about 45 minutes to complete. You can work at your own pace from any computer. You can leave and return to the course at any time, and when you return, it will open to the page where you left off. You may visit www.ksu.edu/asap for more information about ASAP or call the KSU Health Promotion Department at (785)532-6595. The content of the sexual violence education portion ofThink About It: Graduate Students may be triggering for some individuals. Please direct triggering concerns and requests for alternative student training options to the KSU Center for Advocacy, Response and Education (CARE) at (785)532-6444 or email KSUCARE@ksu.edu prior to the first day of classes in the upcoming semester.

Please bear in mind while reading this that I live literally 1,000 miles from campus and am doing all the coursework online. I am also 59 years old, happily married, don't binge drink, act respectfully towards both men and women (politicians excepted), and have a wonderful 19-month old granddaughter along with two equally wonderful stepdaughters. My Fortune 50 company requires me to take annual sexual harassment training which I believe trumps anything dealing with binge drinking and hook-up sex.

The KSU Center for Advocacy, Response and Education (CARE) had a prior name. It was the KSU Women's Center. I would love to know how much it cost to develop this "course", how much it costs to administer, and how much it costs the university to nag me about it.

I respectfully declined to take this "course". I was referred to the Associate Dean and Director of Non-Violence Programs. This dean is the person who can make an exception to this federal mandate and works with "these students" as I was referred to in the e-mail chain.

I have made my request and am waiting to hear from the Associate Dean. In the meantime I received another missive stating that a "no enrollment hold" has been placed on me until I complete this "course" which has utterly no relevance to me or how I lead my life. To make sure I got the message, they included this all-caps line.

THIS HOLD WILL PREVENT YOU FROM REGISTERING FOR FUTURE CLASSES UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THE REQUIRED TRAINING.

I have already registered and paid for the fall course so this would only impact the final two courses for the certificate.

Frankly, I do not plan to cave or kow-tow to these social justice warriors in bureaucratic garb. Since this is a "federal mandate", I figure a letter or call from the offices of my senators and congressman might make them back off. It doesn't hurt that Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) is on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee or that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) is the Chief Majority Deputy Whip. I would hate to have to resort to that but you have to do what you have to do.

UPDATE: I discussed an exemption this morning by phone with the dean in question. My request for an exemption was summarily dismissed. I have made the decision to withdraw from the program, get my money back, and raise all holy hell over this nonsense. I entered the program as I wanted additional training with which to help my clients. It looks like any additional training will be on my own.

Ford Tough!

The slogan for Ford pickup trucks is "Ford Tough!" As the video below shows, Ford F-150s may be tough but they aren't tougher than a 7.62x39 round.




This video is also a good demonstration of the principle of sight offset. It is one of those principles that just can't be violated without consequences.

Sorry for the light blogging last week. Work was busy and I was trying to finish up our taxes.


 H/T Peter B.

I Didn't Know That ISIS Had Attacked Paris, Maine

Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder about the things that come out of the mouth of Barack Obama. The video clip below is a case in point.




Obama made these comments while in Paris, France. You know where on November 13th, eight ISIS terrorists killed 132 people in a set of coordinated shootings across the City of Lights.

I'm guessing he must have confused Paris, France with Paris, Maine. The former is the French capital while the later is a small town in western foothills region of Maine near Sebago Lake.

Likewise, he must have confused the Norway where 69 were killed and 110 wounded at a youth camp in 2011 with Norway, Maine. I mean, it is right next door to Paris, Maine. Besides that area of Maine has a slew of summer camps for kids. Any reasonable person could see how he got confused by this especially since Denmark, Maine is just about 25 miles away.

January 20, 2016 cannot get here soon enough.

Insurrectionism! The CSGV Answer For Everything

I was looking to see what the reaction of the gun prohibitionists was to BATFE's decision to postpone any immediate decision on M855 and their proposed framework. After checking the Brady Campaign's website and finding nothing, I came to the conclusion that I'd have to start slumming it. Yes, I went to the Facebook page of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (sic).

I knew I'd find off the wall comments there and I wasn't disappointed. However, these comments came from CSGV and not one of their followers who project their own violent tendencies upon us.

When asked why we "prize" green tip bullets, the answer was not because they are cheap or because they are accurate. The official answer was, not unexpectedly, "because of insurrectionism." And in response to another person who asks why citizens need "armor piercing" bullets, the official answer is to kill law enforcement officers and military service members when we sense "tyranny".

When I read these answers to the Complementary Spouse, she just looked at me like I was insane and then said, "Are they really that stupid?"

I'm not sure if Ladd is that stupid but I'm sure he would have made a good commissar if he had grown up in Stalin's USSR.  He certainly is good at spouting the party line no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

Finally, Someone Acted Like An Adult In New Jersey

The prosecution of Gordan Van Gilder for possession of an antique flintlock pistol was a travesty from the start. This was compounded when Cumberland County (NJ) Sheriff Robert Austino tried to smear the retired school teacher by saying he was arrested in a "known drug area" while trying to buy drugs.

Fortunately, this afternoon Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae showed some sense and used her prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the case.

I don't think we would have seen this happen without the pressure brought to bear based upon the peculiar circumstances of this case. It was ridiculous from the start and the Prosecutor's Office knew it. They were the ones left to clean up the mess left by New Jersey law enforcement.

Now it is time as some New Jersey legislators have suggested to clean up the law. While I would love to see the entire law scrapped, I know that isn't going to happen. At best, the definition of a firearm will be brought in line with that of the Federal law and pre-1898 firearms will be excluded.

Does Senator Avella Think New Yorkers Are Going To Go All Hutu Or Something?

I read the most ridiculous story in the New York Daily News yesterday. New York State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens) wants to ban the sale and possession of machetes in New York. The move is in response to a murder in July in which a machete was used as the murder weapon.

The sale of machetes should be outlawed after several recent attacks, a Queens pol said Wednesday.

State Sen. Tony Avella plans to introduce a bill to ban the possession of the scary blades in New York.

“The fact that anyone can easily purchase this potentially lethal tool is just crazy,” he said.

Smaller knives such as switchblades and gravity knives are already banned and listed as deadly weapons under state law, but machetes are considered the same as butcher knives.

Avella's bill, Senate Bill 3199-2015,  would add machetes to the list of deadly weapons. This puts them in the same category as firearms, switchblades, gravity knives, brass knuckles, and the "pilum ballistic knife". He claims in the justification that it will allow those who use a machete as a weapon will be charged appropriately. Does it really make that much difference if a person uses a "deadly weapon" as opposed to a "dangerous weapon" when they commit a crime?

According to the Daily News this legislation would mean mere possession of a machete could land you in prison for a year.

It is obvious that Sen. Avella is a nanny stater playing to the media with this proposal. Given New York State's ethnic diversity I'm a bit surprised that he didn't make reference to Rwanda and the desire to avoid a genocide as machetes were the weapon of choice of the Hutu against the Tutsi. Or, better yet, to give this a New York context, the Sharks versus the Jets a'la West Side Story. Just substitute machete for switchblade.

Machetes are a tool. I have many of them in various forms, shapes, and sizes. My favorite is one that I inherited from my dad. It is a bolo style machete that I think he picked up in the Caribbean during WWII when he served in the Caribbean Defense Command. The sheath is nicely tooled leather with a pistol belt hook attachment.

This bill is a joke just like its sponsor. Both should be consigned to the dustbin of history. Whether that happens or not only time and public disgust will tell.

The Most Absurd Letter To The Editor That I've Read In A Long Time

Letters to the editor can vary in quality and substance. In general, people do try to have a well reasoned argument for their position. I might not agree with it but I will defend their right to say or write it.

Then there is this very short letter to the editor that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a couple of days after Michael Brown was shot in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

Why? In 2014 and the age of the Taser, why should any police officer on routine patrol need to carry a deadly weapon?

Anthony Wippold  •  Clayton

Clayton, for those not familiar with St. Louis, is one of the wealthiest places in the state of Missouri. It has a household income of over $87,000, the 3rd highest home value in the state ($607,800), and one of the highest education attainment rates.

I don't know what sort of bubble Mr. Wippold lives in but the world outside is dangerous. Even the most ardent pacifist should understand that.

Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right

The rest of that song by Stealers Wheel goes "here I am stuck in the middle with you."

That is how I'm feeling about the whole open carry fiasco in Texas. I doubt that there are many readers of this blog that don't support the extension of open carry in Texas to include handguns. Many states including my own North Carolina have unlicensed open carry.

What is incredibly frustrating is watching Shannon Watts and her fellow gun prohibitionists at Everytown Moms for Illegal Mayors making hay out of the bumbling ineptitude of groups like Open Carry Texas. Sonic, Chipotle, and god knows who's next have issued "Starbucks-style" statement asking the open carry activists to leave them out of the argument.

Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned has done yeoman's work in examining the folly of their actions. You can read some of those posts here, here, and here. There are more.

The attention whoring of these OC activists has caused such backlash that the NRA issued a statement last Thursday which said, in part,

Yet while unlicensed open carry of long guns is also typically legal in most places, it is a rare sight to see someone sidle up next to you in line for lunch with a 7.62 rifle slung across his chest, much less a whole gaggle of folks descending on the same public venue with similar arms.

Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it's downright weird and certainly not a practical way to go normally about your business while being prepared to defend yourself. To those who are not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to oneself or one's cause, it can be downright scary. It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates.

As a result of these hijinx, two popular fast food outlets have recently requested patrons to keep guns off the premises (more information can be found here and here). In other words, the freedom and goodwill these businesses had previously extended to gun owners has been curtailed because of the actions of an attention-hungry few who thought only of themselves and not of those who might be affected by their behavior. To state the obvious, that's counterproductive for the gun owning community.

More to the point, it's just not neighborly, which is out of character for the big-hearted residents of Texas. Using guns merely to draw attention to yourself in public not only defies common sense, it shows a lack of consideration and manners. That's not the Texas way. And that's certainly not the NRA way.

Chris Cox of the NRA-ILA backed away from that statement yesterday saying it was the personal opinion of some unnamed staffer and not the NRA's official position. He apologized for any confusion it caused. Others such as Charles Cooke of National Review disagreed saying that it was what needed to be said. I think I and the majority of the gun blogging and gun podcast community would agree that it needed to said.

Bob Owens had an interesting observation on this at BearingArms.com. He noted that often in cases like this where a statement is retracted that it is the original statement which reflects the internal thinking of the organization. In other words, it was what we called back in my political science days "signalling".

As Michael Bane emphasized today in his Downrange Radio podcast, our goal in the gun rights community needs to be winning. We no more win hearts and minds with these open carry demonstrations in restaurants than the US Air Force did with carpet bombing in South Vietnam. I would send a copy of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People to everyone in the Texas open carry leadership if I could.

I can't, so in the meantime I will implore them to cut out the narcissistic displays, clean up their websites and Facebook pages, and, as Michael suggested, think before you do stupid. Those of us stuck in the middle would appreciate it.

He Got Shot In The Buttock

A teen somewhere in Florida is going to be responsible for many liquid-damaged keyboards and coffee-irrigated sinuses after you read this story. On the plus side, he also provided the inspiration for a unique article published in Case Reports in Emergency Medicine entitled "Gunshot Wound Contamination with Squirrel Tissue:  Wound Care Considerations."

Our story starts with a young male out hunting for squirrels somewhere in Florida. He had been successful as he had several he had previously killed in his hunting vest and now was attempting to dislodge the latest one he shot. In what probably seemed like a good idea at the time to his teen mind, he used the butt of his shotgun to do this. Unfortunately what he didn't do was first was unload the shotgun.

I'll let the good doctors take up the story.

The patient was a teenage Caucasian male with no significant past medical history who arrived to the Emergency Department (ED) via ambulance with a complaint of gunshot wound to the right buttock approximately one hour prior to arrival. According to the patient he was using the butt of his 12 G shotgun to dislodge a dead squirrel from a branch over his head during a hunting trip and shot himself with a load of birdshot in the right buttock. He presented with stable vital signs and reported no pain other than at the wound.

On physical exam the patient appeared in no distress with mild tachycardia with a heart rate of 116. A  cm deep wound on the right buttocks was hemostatic (Figure 1). The edges of the wound were black and ragged, while there was circumferential surrounding erythema that extended 4 cm beyond the wound. Rectal exam revealed normal tone without gross blood and no palpable foreign bodies near the rectum. Debris was observed in the margin of the wound. The rural transporting EMS personnel promptly identified the material as “squirrel parts.”

I know Ambulance Driver is rightly proud of his Florida cohorts for educating those city doctors about the source of the wound contamination.

The fact that the wound was contaminated with squirrel tissue became a major component of the treatment process. The ER docs were concerned about "zoonotic pathogens" being transferred to the wound similar to what might have happened with a rat or squirrel bite. The medical literature notes that these type of bites are sometimes responsible for rat bite fever, rabies, tularemia, and typhus. Our teen hunter's treatment included aggressive debridement and prophylactic antibiotics which was successful in preventing those and other infections.

While we can joke about it now, this kid stayed in the hospital for 11 days, had two trips to the OR, and underwent more debridement of the wound to remove birdshot and "squirrel parts". It is a cautionary tale about hunting accidents, possible wound infections, and negligent discharges. One hopes this kid learned a valuable lesson. I'm guessing he'll be reminded of it every time he sits down for a long while to come.



H/T The Outdoor Pressroom

800% More Bullet!

I first saw this on Tumblr and thought it was some sort of parody of Bloomberg's Everytown group. It turns out it wasn't.

The post above was on our good friends Facebook page. It just goes to prove that $50 million can't buy you real gun sense.


UPDATE: Erika Soto Lamb who is the Communications Directors of Everytown for Gun Safety (sic) is asserting that this is a parody put up by "cybersquatters".  Going through the photos on that page, she may be correct. That said, her organization(s) have put out stupid ads about guns in the past.

Legal Comment Of The Day

If anyone wonders about the level of firearms ignorance contained within the Obama Administration, read this paragraph filed as part of the legal proceeding against Ares Armor. It is from the US Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura Duffy and AUSA Daniel Butcher.

The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is conducting a lawful criminal investigation of the illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of AK-15 variant lower receivers, which are considered firearms under the Firearms Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3).

Now I knew the AK-12 had been developed as the latest iteration of the AK-47 but hadn't heard anything about a AK-15. I wonder if even the Russians know about the AK-15. If not, maybe the US Attorney's Office in San Diego could tell them about it.

David Codrea has much more about the BATFE battle with Ares Armor here and here. Bob Owens at Bearing Arms has a whole series of videos taken of the raid that took place on Friday despite the existence of a restraining order against the BATFE.

Blissful Ignorance?

Sometimes you read letters to the editors that just make you shake your head. This is especially true when they are published in papers with a history of pushing for more and more (useless) gun control.

A case in point is this letter to the editor published Thursday in the Hartford Courant. I have left off the author's name and address out of mercy.

I like guns. I like the smell, the heft, and the look of them; but I don't own one or want to own one.

A properly stored gun is useless for defending my home. I know enough responsible gun owners to understand that it would take way too long to unlock a gun safe and load a gun, especially in the dark.

If you really believe that the threat of an armed homeowner would scare away an intruder, try to make some mechanism that would imitate the sound of a pump-action shotgun. That would be just as effective, and a lot safer.

While I might agree that a firearm stored in a gun safe in the garage or basement would take too much time to grab in an emergency, there are such things as bedside pistol safes which are both secure and easy to open. That is presupposing break-ins or home invasions only come when we are tucked away in our beds dreaming of sugar plum fairies.

As residents of my area learned this past week, home invasions can come at 11am in nice quiet, semi-rural neighborhoods. A pistol in a holster on your belt is properly stored and is not useless for defending your home. Moreover, you are not searching for your firearm at the last moment.

I might also add that those of us without children or grandchildren in the house do have more options insofar as keeping a firearm nearby.

The writer's suggestion of a pump-action noise maker is a case of someone believing everything that comes out of Hollywood. You might do just as well with a recording of a German Shepherd barking loudly and scratching at the door that is turned on by an infrared switch. That is, of course, until the intruder figures it out and kicks in your door.

Are There Really People This Stupid?

There are times you want to just bang your head against the wall just because of the stupidity of the speaker. This is one of those times.  Don't do it. Just consider the source.

The video below features Jackie Kuhls explaining assault weapons (sic). Ms. Kuhls, at the time of this video, was the executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (sic). I know this video has made the rounds but it is instructional in the "know your enemy" sense.

I came across this video thanks to today's Failure to Fire cartoon which did an excellent job of fisking it in a mere four panels. It is one of my daily reads. Definitely take a look at today's strip.

I Think Someone Needs A Rabies Shot

I make no secret of my disdain and disgust for the supporters of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) whom I call PETAfiles. Now they have gone so far beyond the pale that I am left wondering if they are suffering from rabies given their rabid attack on a Pennsylvania teen who was bitten by a bear while deer hunting.

Camille Bomboy of Lock Haven, PA was attacked by a female bear while deer hunting near her family's farm. The attack almost caused Bomboy to lose an ear. She had inadvertently gotten between a mother bear and her cubs which may have precipitated the attack. After a brief stay in the hospital, Bomboy is home with her family.

Following the attack, she received a letter from Alicia Woempner who serves as the Special Projects Division Manager for PETA. After saying she wished Bomboy a speedy recovery, Woempner goes on to say:

This seems to be a good opportunity to put yourself in the place of the individuals you and the rest of your hunting party were trying to kill. As terrifying as it must have been to be attacked by a bear, please consider the frightening and painful experiences that hunters set out to impose upon animals. There used to be a bumper sticker that read, “I support the right to arm bears!” That was a joke, but in all seriousness, it would be a blessing if you were to abandon hunting and decide to live and let live.

You have to wonder in what sort of warped universe these zealots live.

To add insult to injury, PETA sent their Senior VP Lisa Lange to Fox News to discuss it. Lange said to Gretchen Carlson that this incident might cause Bomboy to sympathize with the animals she is hunting.

Gretchen Carlson replied, “When a teenage girl is potentially almost killed … you send a letter asking her to look at it from the perspective of the bear?!”

Lange didn’t back down, saying, “Absolutely.”

The video of the interview can be seen here.