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.

Lots of folks are having fun with the recently-released photo of Obama firing a shotgun (“just a sportsman like you, honest”). Many of them are promptly jumping to the conclusion that it’s faked or photoshopped, of course, mostly revealing their ignorance of shooting, photography, or both. The Swallowing For Obama activists are gleefully cheering their hero’s latest triumph over the unbelievers, based on their own ignorance of both (while still wishing he hadn’t sullied his hands with an evil gun).

The truth is simpler: it’s a staged publicity photo. He wasn’t shooting anything but air, with a camera perfectly positioned to capture a burst of images so they could pick the best shot. That’s why his stance is so static compared to photos of actual skeet shooters: he’s posing for a picture. That’s also why there’s no choke in the lower barrel: the handler didn’t install one because Obama was never going to fire a second shot.

The most likely reason the photo exists is that the manufacturer sent the gun as a gift, and the administration sent back a signed, framed photo showing him using it.

[Update: having now looked at the full-resolution image, with EXIF data intact, I have no doubt that the photo is real but has nothing to do with skeet or other sport shooting. His left sleeve is in crisp focus, but his left hand is slightly motion-blurred, with the motion increasing out toward the muzzle, precisely what you’d expect to see during the recoil from a shot. The escaping gas from both muzzle and porting is realistic for the lighting conditions and the 1/320 second exposure time. At the same time, his stance is an awkward attempt to shoot it like a rifle, he’s getting battered in both shoulder and cheek by the recoil, only the upper barrel has a choke in it (making it useless for skeet), and he’s shooting horizontally, something not commonly done in any shotgun sport. I say Browning sent him a Citori for his birthday, and got back a signed photo and a thank-you note.]

If there were any functional difference between scary evil assault weapons and acceptable civilian firearms, her big press conference wouldn’t feature a laundry list of names and numbers:

more...

…then run off in a huff when you call them on it.

[Update: he deleted the entire thread or marked it private; a bit sensitive to light, it seems…]