Pretty funny WaPo article

First the inevitable confusion between ammunition and magazines: 

Anders Behring Breivik... explained how he acquired the ammunition that he used in the attack: “10 x 30 round magazines – .223 cal at 34 USD per mag.

Big surprise there, as if they're the first people to want to ban something without knowing what that something is. 

But here's the part I like best:

Several other assertions made by Mr. Breivik give credence to his claim that he obtained the high-capacity magazines from a U.S. seller: Mr. Breivik appears to have carried out the attack with a Ruger Mini 14 semiautomatic rifle — the purchase of which he chronicled in the manifesto. The Ruger uses .223-caliber ammunition – the same type meant for the magazines purchased by Mr. Breivik.

I have no idea what the intended meaning of that sentence is, and I doubt the authors do either.  It's just funny to me because it reminds me of a classic Simpsons line:

Homer: It appears the cat burglar has been caught by the very person who was trying to catch him.
Flanders: How ironic. 

Donate to Stan Sokolowski defense fund

In January 2011, determined criminals broke into the highly secure gun vault of Lowell, MA gun collector Stan Sokolowski. 

The Lowell PD has filed charges against the victim for possessing ordinary reloading equipment and components - the very same items I have right now in my own basement.

We have to make sure that Sokolowski beats this charge, which could set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of shooters in Massachusetts who reload their ammo. 

Make a donation to the Reloaders Defense Fund at the Comm2A site today.  It's on us to make sure this doesn't become another bullshit malum prohibitum charge to harass gun owners.

I almost caused an active shooter alert

I was walking to work this morning, through the VA parking lot, when I realized I was carelessly holding a banana in my hand.  A banana's long tubular shape and bright yellow coloring make it an easy for the nervous, progressive citizen to mistake it for a handgun. 

These days, anything can be mistaken for a gun, whether it's an umbrella, facecloth, or a socket wrench.  It's up to you, the responsible gun owner, to not scare the sheep.  Be careful out there.

The behavior of concealed carry folks

I'm sitting on the couch the other night relaxing, and my very pregnant wife suggests that I walk around the corner and get myself a six pack, since I'm such a great, supportive husband.  Of course I knew it was just a ploy to get me to pick her up a candy bar, but I played along.

I tucked my SP101 into the IWB, bloused my shirt and went on my way.  As I was walking down the sidewalk I came upon a little chihuahua puppy with no collar or tags.  Cars were buzzing by and this poor little dog came a few inches away from being flattened.

I got close enough to pat him after a few attempts to bite me.  He was so frazzled by the car horns and screeching breaks, but after a few more minutes he let me pick him up, and showed his gratitude by peeing on my shirt.  Nobody seemed to be looking for him, so I carried him a couple blocks to the local MSPCA, then completed my liquor store/candy bar mission.  I'll probably post a few fliers on the telephone poles tomorrow just in case the owners don't think to call the animal hospital. 

If you have a stereotype of individuals who choose to carry guns, reexamine it.  Maybe you mistakenly think we're meatheads looking for a fight, or paranoids who want to overthrow the government.  Me?  I'm just a non-confrontational guy who's taking responsibility for his family's safety, and for the safety of any random dog who needs my help.

Reexamine your stereotypes.

Anti-gun bias by State House News Service reporter Kyle Cheney

From a recent article by Kyle Cheney on the hearings for new gun control in the MA Statehouse.

First there's the common misreporting of ammunition terminology.  I haven't read about any technology, nor can I imagine any, that imprints a serial number on a bullet upon firing.

Specifically, opponents of microstamping legislation – which would require gun manufacturers to etch serial numbers into firearms and introduce technology in which fired bullets would be “microstamped” with a matching serial number

That can be forgiven.  Misidentifying ammo components is now an inside joke, like a bus-plunge story, among journalists. 

Here's the bad part.

At a State House hearing held by the Committee on Public Safety, freshman Rep. Paul Adams (R-Andover) weaved in verbatim NRA talking points as he testified against the microstamping legislation, although he didn’t acknowledge that his testimony was based, in part, on the national pro-gun organization’s research.

Yet Kyle Cheney fails to weave into to his article any evidence that this is true.  What did he say verbatim from any NRA talking points?!  Is "verbatim" the new "literally" or "fascist," just a meaningless word?  The reader is left with an image of Rep. Adams reading from an NRA-ILA pamphlet. I doubt this happened. 

Cheney gives one quote from Adams, but it's not clear it's one that resulted from NRA brainwashing.

Adams said “household tools” could be used to file down serial numbers on guns, and in many cases, gun crimes wouldn’t be solved by microstamping.

Adams' first claim, that anyone can file off microstamping imprints from an autoloader's breechface or firing pin is absolutely, demonstrably true.  A hardened, serrated steel file will remove material from a softer steel part, every time you try, without exception.

His second claim, that many gun crimes wouldn't be solved by microstamping, cannot be refuted either.  Smart criminals use revolvers because they don't leave cases.  In addition, criminals could contaminate any crime scene by scattering other microstamped cases they picked up from the local range.  Or, the case stamp could be illegible because the technology is so unreliable.

Cheney fails to apply the same scrutiny to self-professed constrainer of liberty Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.  The links between any of her appeal-to-emotion statements and Brady or VPC talking points go unquestioned.

Did reporter Kyle Cheney's biased comment about Rep. Adams' statements serve any purpose, other than to invoke the NRA bogeyman in an otherwise stale article?


ETA Here is the State House News Service's description of their journalism (emphasis mine):

Objective News

Our coverage stands out in the modern climate of journalism because we strive to keep it so straight. We're proud to have become a vital part of State House life, almost like a public utility. We earned that status by being as objective and impeccable as we possibly can.