Category: The Media

I’ve come to expect garbage from the Philadelphia Inquirer who’s never looked at replacing the wood furniture on a domestically assembled firearm made from some foreign parts, and having to figure out whether doing so will up the foreign part count to a sufficient quantity as to run afoul of Title 18 Section 922 Subsection (r) of the United States Code, causing your domestically assembled firearm to suddenly morph into an evil imported assault weapon.

Anyone who thinks gun laws are only about fighting crime, and can’t innocently trap honest gun owners, doesn’t have nearly enough experience with them.

SayUncle has more.

Listen now. They already have Shirley Katz on.

UPDATE: No Ahab, though I was quite glad they gave John Lott a chance to talk.  I thought the hosts at the BBC handled things in a fair and balanced manner, and we heard from people on all sides of the issue.  The carry restrictions on schools is a touchy issue, but I thought Ms. Katz handled herself quite well.

Ahab and Uncle point out that when a deranged police officer goes on a rampage, it’s a police-style rifle, not a high-powered baby killing assault rifle.

David Hardy notes that the silence from the anti-gun community over this whole incident is deafening.  Not surprising.   It would interfere with their narrative that all the specialized firearms training that they claim police officers get makes them immune from the same human failings as the rest of us, and thus they can be trusted with guns, while the rest of us cannot.

Anyone notice a common theme in these South Florida articles is John Timony?  It would seem not much has changed since his days of crapping all over the Pennsylvania constitution when he worked for then Mayor Rendell.  Dwight Evans wanted to bring him back, if elected mayor.   No thanks.

I kind of wonder if the trend toward more police officers being shot has something to do with there being fewer police officers on the streets?  You would think with less backup around, criminals might get a little more bold, and individual officers would have to handle dangerous situations with less resources available than when there are more cops.

Hat tip: SCC 

Armed and Safe, via Straightarrow, discovers some verbal gymnastics with terminology the media is using.  It seems when a cop carries an assault rifle, it’s suddenly a “patrol rifle”.

Reading the Philadelphia media is what makes me sick, not our states gun laws.  Jill Porter points out another tragedy in Philadelphia, tugs on our heart strings, and asks that we call our politicians to demand laws that won’t affect the kind of person who shot this young man.

Call Gov. Rendell, he said, (717-787-2500), who’s verbally endorsed proposed gun-reform legislation such as one-gun-a-month laws and requirements to report stolen guns but not pushed the bills. “It’s time for him to spend political capital on this issue,” Goldsmith said.

One-gun-a-month has not worked to reduce crime in any state it has passed.

Then call Attorney General Tom Corbett (717-787-3391), who’s made it easier for guns to come into the state by recognizing gun licenses from other states with even less restrictive laws, he said. Citizens need to become engaged and speak out on this issue, Goldsmith said.

And how many of those folks are shooting up street corners in Philadelphia?  Do criminals bother to get a license to carry?  Can they pass the background checks required to do so?  Get real.

“I firmly believe that if we galvanize people to do that, we can change the laws.”

If by “galvanize” you mean “lie to”, maybe you’re right.

Kudos to Sailorcurt for identifying the firearms CBS filmed that the Broward County Sheriff put out for them in the “spread”, to highlight the AK-47 plague:

• One definite SKS with a detachable mag.
• One possible SKS. The gas tube looks like SKS, but I don’t see the box mag and the receiver doesn’t look quite right. Sporterized SKS perhaps? It’s definitely not an AK though.
• One AR variant
• One pump shotgun
• One black powder muzzle loader
• One possible semi-auto shotgun
• One M1 Carbine
• Someone will have to help me out with the one in the middle in the back…I’ve got no idea about that one. It looks like some sort of long pistol with a detachable rifle stock
• Possibly a winchester style lever action or an over/under shotgun
• Possibly a pump action .22

I think there’s definitely a break action O/U shotgun back there.  Favorite of duck hunters and clay shooters everywhere.  If anyone is watching CBS for actual news, rather than to be entertained by the half-baked and outright false reporting, I feel sorry for them.

From Traction Control, CBS is turning up the bullcrap up to 11 on “Assault Weapons”.

UPDATE: Traction Control updates with a link to a video proportedly showing an “illegal gun owner” with an Uzi, but who the media claims has an AK-47. I’m going to call bullcrap. One of two things is true here.

1. Either this is a complete fabrication on the part of the media
2. Criminals know they have absolutely nothing to fear, such that they can appear on television with a weapon they are feloniously in possession of.

Either way, someone isn’t doing their god damned jobs.

UPDATE: More from Thirdpower

I think it’s safe to say the media is trying the old bait and switch tactic on this issue.   Bait them with stories of scary automatic weapons.  Don’t tell people they are already illegal.   Push for bans on semi-automatic weapons that look like the scary automatic versions, but function just like other ordinary guns.   Add a little sprinkle of “don’t tell people that there are sporting uses for these”  and “weapon of choice for criminals” and you have a recipe for the next assault weapons ban.

Only this time, it won’t be so easy for them to snooker everyone.

Grappling with Guns points to a feature in Portfolio.com, a publication of Conde Nast.  Go read the whole post.

It is about Justin Moon and Kahr arms.  I think it’s pretty much a hit piece.  I have little love for weird cults, or really any religion that takes itself too seriously, but this is without a doubt a hit peice, intended to smear Kahr, and the entire industry by association, along with the people who buy its products.  In the article, Justin Moon states:

“I’m my father’s son, but I’m also my own man,” he says. “Being my father’s son, there are disadvantages. I’ve had to work my butt off to get away from the negativity.”

Doesn’t sound like a zealot to me.  The piece is here if you want to read.  It’s rather long.