Uh, shooting them? . . . What America is Doing About Guns in 2017 – “After a year filled with high-profile mass shootings, Republican lawmakers are creating or reintroducing measures designed to loosen gun laws in states across the country during legislative sessions so far this year. With the most well-known legislation so far this year, known as permitless carry or constitutional carry, GOP lawmakers have tried to push through measures to allow residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit.”
Antique gun store in Afghanistan holds valuable historic weapons – “Stepping into the store of 69-year-old Tawakal is like entering a time machine. For decades, Tawakal has collected and restored weapons dating back hundreds of years from provinces across the country, estimating that he has almost 200 tucked into his store, known simply as the Tawakal store, and a storage room in the back. ‘We have guns, knives, swords. Everything is historical,’ the barefoot, toothless smiling firearms expert enthused to Fox News.”
Cop runs freelance exporting business . . . Miami-Dade officer charged with smuggling guns to DR – “Prosecutors filed a charging document in federal court Tuesday accusing Miami-Dade police Officer Michael Freshko with conspiracy to illegally export firearms. Court records did not immediately list an attorney for Freshko. According to the document, Freshko used his position (at the Miami International Airport) to bring weapons into the airport without going through screening. The guns were handed over to an associate who took them aboard commercial flights to the Dominican Republic.”
The latest trenchant industry analysis from Mike the (Anti-)Gun Guy . . . The NRA Is In Denial About The Slowdown In Gun Sales – “Not only have more than half the total background checks conducted since January 1, 2017 been for something other than a gun purchased over the counter, but NRA brouhaha to the contrary, background checks for gun sales continue to slide down. Gun sales always slow a bit in April because the yard needs work and then sales drop off even more from May through August because guns can’t compete with the beach. But the March to April drop-off in 2016 was around 12 percent, this year sales from March to April slumped 22 percent. For January-April, 2016, total NICS gun checks were 4,950,000 (I’m rounding off,) for the same period this year gun checks were 4,500,000, a drop of 10 percent, with handgun checks declining by 17 percent.”
‘I don’t have anything to protect myself’: 50 Cent’s caretaker begs police to hurry in panicked 911 call during raid on Connecticut mansion – “A security guard at 50 Cent’s Connecticut mansion urged police to hurry as a burglar went room to room during a panicked 911 call. The house manager told an operator ‘I don’t have anything to protect myself’, according to a recording of the alleged conversation obtained by TMZ. He told police that the burglar, who he described as 6ft tall and weighing 200 pounds, had entered through the generator room carrying a ‘black bag’. The staff member, who fled the house for his own safety, said in the call: ‘He just entered, he’s in the property now. He went into the generator room of the house and he’s going door to door.'” Who hires un-armed “security” guards?