Mike Judge Was Right!

When it comes to firearms, the lack of education in this country is astounding. While the raging liberals want to paint us as the ‘uneducated hicks’, it is all too apparent that these people are the ones that have failed to educate themselves. In fact, when it comes to firearms safety and general knowledge, it is safe to say that we are heading toward what Mike Judge called an ‘idiocracy’.

Recently, examples have been floating around the internet and across social media sites making astoundingly stupid statement accompanied with the hashtag “gunsense”. These nonsensical holophobes have been spewing skewed statements in an effort to sway the uneducated. Below are the top three ridiculous posts that seemed to have gained irrational traction:

1. A “Full Auto” Bolt Carrier Group is legal!

Just because you put a loud muffler on your Honda Civic doesn’t mean that it is a race car! If you bother to look at the design of the AR-15 (semi-auto) vs that of the M16 (auto) you will know that the bolt carrier group (BCG) is not what determines whether the gun can fire in full auto. A ‘full auto’ BCG is simply a reinforced version of the standard AR15 BCG. There are many other parts that are needed to turn an AR15 into an M16 as can be seen in the following comparison diagram:

Please also note that such a conversion is HIGHLY illegal and the ATF will put you in prison for doing so.

2. What does AK-47 mean?

Mikhail Kalashnikov (K) designed an automatic (A) rifle for the Soviet Union in 1947 (47). As it is officially known in the Soviet documentation as Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK) and it was designed in 1947 (47) the rifle was assigned the designation AK-47. Also note that the models that you see in gun shops are NOT automatic rifles, they are semi-automatic. While legal in many states, automatic rifles are highly regulated and inordinately expensive.

3. What does 10/22 mean?

Unless you have a large bore rifle and 22 people lined up in a row, this is simply not happening. All you have to do is look up 10/22 on Wikipedia and you can figure out what the 10/22 designation really means:

“The Ruger 10/22 is a semi-automatic rim fire rifle chambered in .22 Long Rifle. It has a removable 10-round rotary magazine which allows the magazine to fit flush with the bottom of the stock.”

Well, I can’t expect people to be logical so let me break it down for you… the rifle ships from the factory with a standard 10 round magazine (10) and is chambered in 22LR (22). Put them together and you get the designation 10/22.

This is the same kind of crap that has been bandied about for years but now the dissemination of such falsehoods is accelerated by the ignorance found on the internet. It is this kind of crap that pushes countries into a nanny state where even knives are being regulated. The solution is not to inflame ignorance and strip the rights away from law abiding gun owners. The problem lies within the people who do not value life and in those who refuse to assign blame for heinous acts on the individual rather than inanimate objects. Fix the people, educate the public, and change the way these acts are perceived and you will find the results that you desire.

Throwing Around The F Word!

There is a certain four letter word that keeps getting thrown around and few people are taking note of the vulgarity that is behind its usage. To be completely honest, I use that word on a daily basis and while it has never caused any problems I am always cognizant of the company around me because there are certain people that will throw a tantrum when those four letters fly from my mouth. Ironically, those same people use the term, most of them more frequently than I do, but I guess it is all about perception.

The word ‘fact’ frequently makes me cringe upon it initially reaching my ears. All too often the usage doesn’t fit the definition or is stretched so thin that the meaning becomes frayed and almost unintelligible. Opinion is being crammed into the public perception of the word and the culprits of this bastardization are all around us. The most glaring misuse of the word stems from the processes that are employed to tailor statistics to fit the needs of a group, political party, or publication.

Recently, CNN conducted a poll asking the following question: “Does the United States need stricter gun control laws?” At first glance this seems to be a valid survey question to be asking the American people. After all, it would provide insight into the breakdown in the US population of those who support the second amendment and those choose not to honor the constitution (you know me, I had to phrase it that way). However, the question is not being asked of the US population. The poll can only be found on the CNN International site. No mention is made on the US edition. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself:

• CNN: International Edition (scroll down to the bottom right of the webpage).
• CNN: US Edition (that’s right, nowhere to be found).

Seems like it would be more appropriate to have those in the United States casting their votes rather than those in other parts of the world weighing in on our rights. While most things I really don’t mind if the entire world voices their yes or no opinion but the poll itself is exclusionary in where they have decided to post it. This is particularly problematic when you consider the fact that the ‘results’ are not going to be used internationally, they are to be leveraged domestically for the purpose of promoting a certain point of view which I clearly do not share.

Of course, this may be a moot point as the poll I currently in my favor even with the “news” agency not counting all the votes. So, and I am speaking to everyone, stop throwing around the F word when most of the things reported as such need at least two words to describe them. And, in this instance, focus on the real threat and make fists, knives, and hammers illegal (or at least make people pass a background check before using them). After all, if it’s good enough for the UK its good enough for us. Right?

Why Am I Only Hearing Crickets?

Would this be considered a high capacity wood block?

I have said it before and I will say it again, it is time for some sensible weapons registration. MAC over at The Bang Switch and I agree on the fact that we must put companies and manufacturers on notice that we can no longer allow for the careless production, purchase, and use of such deadly instruments in homes across the country. These steel tools are easily within reach of children and the mentally unstable each and every day in this country and it can’t simply continue happening in such an unregulated and dangerous way.

I expect to see members of Congress and the Senate line up behind the President and support all legislative actions, and even executive orders if that is what it takes, so that we can become a safer nation. This should not be an issue of partisanship, this should be an issue that unites us all because, in the end, Washington knows best. This should happen any minute now while the emotions stemming from the attempted murder at a Western Pennsylvania High School are still raw and public support can be rallied behind the regulation of sharp cutting instruments.

Furthermore, we should invest in the development of smart knives so that only the owner, who has filled out all the proper paperwork and has registered their Cutco steak knife set is able to use it. Although, come to think of it, steak knives are rather compact. Maybe we should also enforce a STK (Short Tong Knives) policy and require a $200 tax stamp, 6+ month waiting period, and extensive background checks in order to purchase any knife under a certain length. This also applies to fully automatic knives also known as assault blenders and all ‘electric machine cutting knives’. Heck with maybe, that is definitely what we should do.

Of course, let us not forget the proliferation of ghost knives that have flooded the market. You know, the home made knives flowing from garages and basements across this country that are sold without any record and that go from state to state undetected. And, of course, they come with unlimited capacity blades that can be used over and over with little more than a sharpening stone or strap o leather.

People, yes you, cannot be trusted with such dangerous items without the proper training and only after a background check has been performed. After all, owning a knife is not a right and the Founding Fathers could not have anticipated the development of folding knives, electric knives, concealed carry knives, Leatherman tools, and other such developments. Everyone knows that the object makes the person unstable, it is the cause of these heinous acts, the person holding the weapon is just another victim. Mental health has nothing to do with what continue to happen so we need to ban anything and everything that can be used as a weapon.

How does that sound to you?