“You know that gun control is no longer an issue, either pro or con, when both sides try to make you believe that something big has happened when nothing of any real importance happened at all,” huffingtonpost.com‘s “Mike the Gun Guy” opines. “I’m referring to the gun law just passed in Georgia which is awaiting Governor Nathan Deal’s expected signature, a law described by the New York Times as one of ‘breathtaking sweep’ and by the NRA as a ‘historic victory for the 2nd Amendment.'” Translation: the new law is neither the end of the world as gun control advocates know it nor the liberation of Peach Tree gun owners as the NRA proclaims. And for once, Mike’s not wrong. In fact, he draws attention to a huge, deeply worrying loophole in GA’s concealed carry licensing procedure . . .
While Georgia does not require a permit in order to purchase or own a gun, it does require a background check and prints in order to carry a weapon, and the issuance of said license can be denied if the licensing authority (County Probate Judge) decides that the candidate, even if he meets the legal requirements, is ‘not of good moral character.’ You’ll have to read down to Section 1-7 to find this little gem and a few pages later you’ll learn that someone who is denied a carry license can appeal the decision and will then appear at a hearing — before the same judge! If the judge prevails at the hearing perhaps you can move to another County and try again.
True story! Click here to read the bill. [Section 1 -7 starts at line 365.] The “good moral character” loophole is wide open to abuse; it’s a perfectly reprehensible excuse to deny Americans their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. How it survived the “gun lobby’s” examination is anyone’s guess. And let’s give credit where credit’s due: Mike the Gun Guy nails it.
Can someone from the NRA please explain to me how a law that determines my fitness to carry a gun based on something as vague as “moral character,” advances 2nd Amendment rights? By the same token, does the Brady Campaign really believe that taking a pee in an airport toilet without first unhooking my holster indicates that guns will soon be found in every nook and cranny of the Peach State?
I don’t agree with Mike’s assessment that gun control is a non-issue (obvs.) or that the Georgia bill is unimportant. Even though it’s not a true “guns everywhere” bill (would that it were) it’s a step in the right direction – save that pesky “moral character clause.” It may be too late to rectify this defect, but the sooner it is eliminated the sooner Georgia can continue it laudable progress towards firearms freedom. One of the most important issues of this or any other time.
I’d like to see some stats.
In particular, I’d like to see the press ask any of the residents of Detroit (for example) who have smoked an intruder if they’ve had any training. Any at all. If they’ve had some, I’d like to know how much and from where.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, but my gut tells me that none of those people in those dire neighborhoods can afford a weekend at some operator ninja school on some high-tech range. I’m going to wager that none of them could afford the 500 or so rounds of ammo for the course of fire. From looking at that High-Point carbine we saw a few weeks back here on TTAG, I’ll wager that no one has taught these folks how to maintain a gun, either.
But now, every one of those residents has some actual, on-the-ground experience with something that many of these operator ninjas don’t: killing someone that was attacking them.
So: Who should be teaching whom, and what, hmmm?
The more interesting thing here is that the ATF views FFL holders as “customers.” Made me LOL.
I’m a “cloud computing” guy in Silicon Valley. We in the industry have learned how to make systems scale to accommodate arbitrarily large loads – consider Amazon and Google and Intuit (TurboTax) to name just a few who use very different approaches under the hood. To handle their piddling load, ATF needs to catch up to the turn of the millennium or so.
You’re not kidding about the BAD reviews!
They even had 2 minus 1 reviews hidden away. Writing for Huffington is not much of a recommendation.
God, the whole idea of the do-not-fly list is an absolutely perfect example of government incompetence. A supposed counter-terrorism measure that has hassled god only knows how many tens of thousands of people. And it can be defeated by the simple (and incredibly easy) act of flying under a different name than the one you were born with.
Though frankly, the entire TSA embodies that. Useless, easy to outwit, etc.
Story time: Years ago my size 13 boot did a number on one dog that attacked me, it had to be put to sleep afterward (shattered jaw and probably worse). But that was not a Doberman, it was a lab mix that maybe weighed about 50 pounds. I still feel some guilt over that, but the dog jumped a fence and ran across the street to attack me so it was pretty much feral as far as I (and probably the law) was concerned. The negligent idiot owner was furious, but no charges were pressed and I spent no time in cuffs. Got lucky.
Anyway, if I had to do it over again I’d probably use the strongest bear spray available to me. Carrying that S&W in NY is just begging to get swatted, and pepper gel is useless unless your aim is VERY precise, which almost never is when you’re dealing with 80+ pounds of pissed off canine.
And no real man would be caught dead with a purse mutt. Might as well get a cat, easier to care for, smarter and will murder anything it can get its paws on.
“Why Americans on the DHS’ “No-Fly” List Should be Able to Buy Guns” – because many times that list is wrong.
The M-1911 is not an antique. for 100+ years this firearm has held first place in the hearts of millions of Americans. Yes, it can be difficult to master carrying and shooting it. If folks think it’s out lived it’s time. Why is the USMC and many armed forces dumping 9 mms and going back to .45 acp in an upgraded M-1911 pistol. The first handgun I fired at 10 yrs. old was my dads M-1911. I loved that 1911 then, and I still have it. It has never failed me. I’ve bought a new Browning 1911-22-A1. I looked at every .22 lr revolver and pistol on line and in gun stores all over Northern California. There are less expensive and good quality firearms available. The Browning grabbed my heart.
> she’s now been booked into the county jail on multiple charges,
Good. What an idiot. Actually, anyone who does April 1 jokes are fools, but her even more so.
Lets get down to brass tax! Which one of the posters here complaining about this round are going off to war and bring along his/her own gun? There is a place for every round. I am a part time hunting guide. I guide hunts at my Wyoming ranch where there are hundreds of thousands of open prairie acres to shoot. Few, at best, hunters and shooters can effectively shoot out beyond 300 to 500 yards, in the real world, not at a range shooting paper. This round fills a nice gap. The 5.56/.223 round is not a humane hunting round for hunting big game, Within 300 yards this round would be. The 5.56/.223 was never intended to be a “killing round”, but rather a “wounding round”, when military statisticians determined that killing an enemy troop only removed one man from the field where wounding an enemy tied up 10 more in support. So any claims of the 5.56/.223 round’s killing potential is immaterial. There is a place for any round, but, if you are all going to sit back and tell me that tiny little glorified .22 round is the round of choice for long range shooting, I would have to say your barking where the trees prevent you from shooting far enough to know. Out in the open prairie we can watch the flight of every round we fire, muzzle to target. I would never select either the 5.56/.223 round or the 300 Blackout for killing shots beyond 300 to 400 yards. (There are far better long range guns and rounds to select for this application.)I imagine that I could find this round useful to hunt white tail and prong horn. I would use it in the same way as I would use a 30/30. For that reason I put together a 300 blackout/AR. Is it the perfect round? No, but neither is the AR the perfect gun.
These people fall into the “nothing bad will happen to me in a restaurant because it never has” mentality. People get lulled into a false sense of security inside their glass and concrete box (think people who pick their noses while driving as if no one can see them). As if what’s going on in the street can never make its way into their establishment. After all, criminals don’t know how to open doors.
And sadly they now want to prohibit these fine rifles up in Canada. We have about 8000 of these in country, non-restricted, and our police force changed their minds last month.
Sad really. One of my favorites. And I’m going to fight to keep it.
The ’50s? Try the ’80s when every pickup and SUV had a rifle rack in the window, always with at least one long gun on display, driving down the road with no panic caused.