No activist has ever been persuaded by reason; as always, the argument is for the sake of the audience.

In an unsurprising bit of political theater, Uber has announced that neither their drivers nor their passengers may possess firearms during the ride, regardless of the laws. That’s possess at all, not just carry.

Back when I was delivering pizza in the Eighties, Dominos made a big media push to declare that all drivers were unarmed and forbidden to fight back. You can guess what happened, in a business where you could pick up the phone in the middle of the night and have someone in a brightly-colored uniform show up anywhere with cash, food, and car keys.

Of course, we all carried keychains and flashlights. Excuse me, that’s “keychains” and “flashlights”. And of course, we all expected to be fired after responding to an attack, but we weren’t stupid.

Personally, I was only ever attacked once, and that was by a feral dog in a trailer park. Since it was a trailer park, my “keychain” and “flashlight” were supplemented by my “collapsible baton”, and the dog got a good smack upside the head. I was threatened by a human once, a customer who had tried to scam a free pizza out of us, and who followed me as I walked back to my car, cutting in front of me and flexing his muscles. I displayed my “keychain”, he got out of my way, and the next time there was an order from that address, we sent our three largest drivers. I’m told he was quite polite.

“a day at the range”.

New Jersey Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman wants to ban online ammo dealers, and send the feds after anyone who buys by the case. Apparently because she gets off watching “shocking images of unspeakable gun violence”:

"The bill would also require ammunition vendors to report any sales of more than 1,000 rounds within five consecutive days to the U.S. attorney general if the person purchasing ammunition is not a licensed dealer."

More evidence that she has an active fantasy life:

"The bill aims, she said, to help prevent malicious attacks like the July 2012 shooting in the Aurora, Colo. movie theater that left 12 dead and 70 wounded."

Yup, that’d sure stop the next guy who walked into a movie theater with a shotgun, rifle with drum magazine, pistol, and smoke grenades, wearing body armor. He’d never manage to acquire enough ammo for the 76 shots he fired, and would have had to bring the 30 homemade grenades and 10 gallons of gasoline that the cops found in his home. I feel safer already!

1. Ending the cycle of abuse.
2. Moving to a city named Gallatin.
3. Having General Manager Jeff Cooper deliver the announcement.

I’m guessing El Neil is doing a happy dance right about now.

(via Ace)

(via)

Why was a SWAT officer showing off tactical gear at a children’s book fair in the first place? And why was a small child able to walk up to him, reach into his holster, and fire his sidearm?

I love the quote from the department: “The gun functioned how it was supposed to. When the trigger was pulled, the gun went off.”

Great, guys, now explain why the officer didn’t function as he was supposed to. He’s got a round in the chamber of his Glock at an event where he’s surrounded by small children, deliberately getting them interested in his gear. And he’s wearing it in a “tactical” thigh holster that’s so poorly fitted that the kid managed to get his finger squarely on the trigger without Officer Friendly noticing.

Why, no, said the Democrat, it’s not about turning ordinary gun owners into felons. Except, of course, when it is.

It is currently cheaper to buy a round of 12-gauge 00 buckshot than a round of 9mm jacketed ball ammo. The guns are cheaper, too, and much easier to find on the shelves.