Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Rifleman: Park Unprepared for Animal Escape
According to their website, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California has “a porcupine, an anteaters (sic), macaws and other fascinating creatures.” Which includes tigers. And cougars. And elephants. According to the park’s former “animal escape marksman,” Six Flags’ “armed crisis team” is understaffed and unprepared. Mercurynews.com reports that “Dale Udell of Fairfield was a former leader of the park’s rifle team, intended as a last resort in case a potentially dangerous animal gets loose and/or attacks . . . In 2008, the park’s rifle team had 14 members and engaged in regular training and drills, Udell said. He says the team was allowed to dwindle to two members and there have been no drills or training sessions in more than a year.” The park’s spinmeister denied the charge, insisting that the team had—uh “has” 10 shooters. Udell says its news to him. And if he’s right—if the team has been suddenly increased for PR purposes, that ain’t good.
UK Gun Owner Jailed for Two-and-a-Half Years for Overhead Warning Shots
The UK’s South Yorkshire Star reports that Andre John Hulse was plagued by burglars and vandals invading Low Lock Cottage, his “idyllic canalside cottage next to the River Don.” Speaking to melud at Doncaster Crown Court, Prosecutor Nicholas Neale said two young men (“respectable types”) started fishing nearby. “Hulse appeared, shouted abuse at them and then went back into his house for a shotgun which he fired twice above their heads. Police recovered three legally-held shotguns and a starting pistol from the cottage and the judge ordered the cancellation of his firearms certificate.” Fair enough you say? “Judge Patrick Robertshaw said the use of weapons in response to a grievance had reached epidemic proportions and sentences had to act as a deterrent. He added: ‘Whatever your problems in the past, it was a shotgun deliberately discharged by you twice in the general direction of two law-abiding individuals.'” Unless I’m missing something, some piece of prior history not revealed in this article, oh em gee. Mate.
Reader’s Gun: Smith & Wesson Model 410 Pistol
Having grown up around numerous firearms (most every member of my extended family is a gun owner), it was never really a question of if I would purchase my own gun, but when. Even though I had obtained a concealed carry permit in my early twenties, I didn’t bother purchasing a gun until I was 26 and worked in an extremely dangerous part of town. After doing a bit of research, I decided I wanted something with more capacity, stopping power, and safety than the .38 caliber revolvers most of my family carried. But I didn’t want to break the bank buying one. Beating the rush by exactly ten days, I walked into a local gun store and paid just over $400 for a brand-new Smith & Wesson Model 410 pistol on September 1, 2001.
Choosing a Handgun, Part II: Form Follows Function
There’s an old saying in the gun world: the best gun is the one you have. That’s nonsense. Well, kind of. Plenty of new handgun owners buy an overly powerful, over-large or ill-fitting handgun. They fire it a few times, get scared or hurt by the recoil and shelve the piece. To paraphrase one of Farago’s favorite expressions, the trick to handgun proficiency is to buy the right gun. And now that we’ve solved the semi-auto pistol versus revolver conundrum [see: Part I], it’s time to talk about what you plan to do with your new handgun. The answer to that question will point you towards a gun that you will use, master and maybe love. As you approach this buying decision, remember that no one gun fits every purpose or hand, and that manufacturers offer many different answers to the same questions. Confused? Let’s back up and start with purpose. What are you gonna do with your new gun?
Question of the Day: Are Armed Teachers the Answer to Spree Shooters?
The “gun debate” has two sides. On one side, gun control advocates believe that eliminating firearms from society (legal or illegal) makes it safer (“guns don’t kill people; people with guns kill people”). On the other end of the spectrum, firearms supporters believe that guns make individuals and society safer (“if guns are criminalized, only criminals will have guns”). So-called “spree shooting” at schools bring the issue into sharp focus. Unsurprisingly, the “near miss” at Deer Creek high school has reignited passions. To wit: I received an email this morning from the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute [click here for the full text of Give That Man A Gun! on their website]. If you expected a highly visible gun training organization to remain politically agnostic, boy were you (i.e. I) wrong. Not to put too fine a point on it, the improbably named Dr. Ignatius Piazza lets slip the dogs of war.
Never Mind Open Carry: Utah Offers Legal Immunity from Shooters
The Desert News reports that Utah lawmakers are continuing to push firearms-related legislative boundaries. Last time we checked-in on The Beehive State, they were looking to usurp the feds’ power to regulate firearms made in Utah. This time ’round, the pols are pushing to offer Utah business owners legal immunity, should one of their pistol-packing customers do something stupid or, indeed, heroic. “The Utah House passed a bill that would encourage businesses to allow concealed firearms onto their property. HB380 would grant businesses immunity if a concealed firearm permit holder fires a gun.” Of course, there are caveats: “the exemption from liability does not apply if the property owner solicits, requests, commands, encourages, or intentionally aids the permit holder in discharging the firearm while on the owner’s property.” So you can’t yell “shoot him!” at a hostage taker, for example. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, said the measure is designed to prevent mass shootings, such as the one at Trolley Square in 2007, by encouraging more “law-abiding” gun owners to carry guns into stores and other businesses.” Just in case you thought this was one of the Kennesaw deals, the News helpfully points out that “Under the proposal, businesses would not be required to allow guns.”
Rapper Lil Wayne Jailed on Gun Charge [Clip NSFW]
Lil Wayne is off to Chookie today. The rapper will begin serving [at least part of] a one-year jail sentence related to a .40 pistol found on his tour bus in The Big Apple. In case you’re not au fait with the rap scene, CNN gives you the 411 on the future felon. “Lil Wayne is a multiplatinum-selling and Grammy-winning rap artist. His hits include ‘The Block is Hot’ and ‘Lollipop,’ and his album ‘Tha Carter III’ was the top-selling disc of 2008. His latest album, ‘Rebirth,’ was released last month.Dwayne Carter (for it is he) was convicted on felony gun charges after cutting a deal with prosecutors October 2009.” Several news orgs—and Lil Wayne himself—have pointed out that Dwayne Carter (for it is he) will enter city jail at the height of his career, unintentionally drawing a parallel with Elvis’ Army service. My how times change. After the jump, Dime Wars drops the dime on a potential problem Mr. Carter may face inside. Not to mention the Arizona drug charges he faces upon his return. Or Justin Beiber, who wants to work with Dwayne upon his release.
New York Times: Supremes Should Assure Constitutional Rights—and Ban Guns Too
The rabidly anti-gun rights New York Times is in a bit of a pistol-packing pickle. They love them some constitutional rights, but hate OPG (Other People’s Guns—owner Arthur Sulzberger has a concealed carry permit). Et voila! This morning’s bi-polar editorial The Second Amendment’s Reach. “We disagreed strongly with the 2008 decision, which took an expansive and aggressive view of the right to bear arms,” The Gray Lady reminds its base. “But there is an even broader issue at stake in the new case: The Supreme Court’s muddled history in applying the Constitution to states and cities. It should make clear that all of the protections of the Bill of Rights apply everywhere.” And yet . . .
Louisiana Lawmaker Proposes to Re-Legalize Guns in Churches, Mosques, Temples, Etc.
Thank God? Allah be praised? What are you meshugana? Nola.com reports that State Representative Henry Burns has filed a bill in the Louisiana legislature that would allow some gun owners to pack pistols for prayer. Providing, of course, they have a concealed carry permit. And the church elders give the gunmen the thumbs-up. “I want a controlled security system, not an armed camp,” Burns said. The Army lieutenant colonel (ret.) and bakery owner opposed laws allows condoning concealed weapons on college campuses. But he considers places of worship terrorist targets—and sees the possibility as a threat from within. “With domestic terrorism increasing, I wanted to make this an option,” Burns told Nola. “We should not be sheep for the slaughter.” Turns out that the lawmaker is simply playing 21; 20 other states have laws that authorize qualified gun owners to bring their weapons to religious services. So I guess it’s praise the lord and pass the cliche. Oh, and I just got an email from Front Sight listing church attacks. After the jump.
My Cousin Vinnie Redux
Courtesy learnaboutguns.com
Last week, I got to the courtroom a bit early, and had to wait through a couple hearing that preceded my client’s hearing. During one of those hearings, a police officer testified that he had executed a search warrant, and found “a loaded magazine for a “TEC-9 machine gun,” but not an actual TEC-9 handgun. No objection was raised, and neither the defense attorney, prosecutor, or judge seemed to notice the problem with that officer’s statement.
For those that don’t see the problem with the officer’s testimony, allow me to explain: A TEC-9 is just a semiautomatic handgun – not a fully automatic “machine gun.” That TEC-9 magazine was designed for use in a perfectly lawful-to-own semiautomatic TEC-9, and the officer had no basis in fact to say that it was for a “machine gun.”
Had that been my case, I would have objected. But, since it wasn’t, I could do little more than shake my head with disappointment.
Reader’s Gun: 1903 Colt Automatic Pistol
We begin this series with a 1903 Colt Automatic .32 Hammerless Pistol owned by Steven Michael Fusco, proprietor of Estates Unlimited, Inc. in Cranston, R.I. Mr. Fusco showed me this beautifully preserved piece—which he uses for personal protection—after I had surveyed about a dozen handguns forming part of a forthcoming estate sale. While my pal (and TTAG reader) Denis Devona and I had taken a shine to a titanium .38 Smith & Wesson MP 340 Airlite, the thoroughbred Colt made the S&W look like a bit of a nag. Mr. Fusco was kind enough to share the original ad copy for the weapon, of which I’ll share with you apres le jump (which also rewards you with another pic). Oh, BTW, Mr. F. has another one. Not that it’s for sale or anything . . .