We hear the boringly predictable cry of “ban ‘assault rifles’” after two mass murders of police in recent weeks.  In Oakland, as discussed earlier in this blog, four officers were murdered by a stone criminal.  Few of the editorials mention that the first two were slain with an ordinary 9mm pistol.  The last two victims were killed with a semiautomatic 7.62X39 rifle, by various accounts either an SKS or an “AK47.” The slayer was a paroled, convicted felon with no right to own any firearm, in a state where “assault rifles” are ALREADY forbidden.

In Pittsburgh, three officers were murdered by an obvious sociopath who was wounded by one of his victims, and surrendered when his vaunted “AK47 assault rifle” jammed.  By some accounts, he used an ordinary shotgun to ambush his first two victims.

When the latter killer learned that a fourth officer he had shot was wounded in the hand as he courageously attempted to drag a mortally wounded brother officer to cover, the confessed murderer expressed surprise and apparent dissatisfaction that he hadn’t killed this cop, too. (Link here.)  He told police he had been hoping to “go out in a blaze of glory,” but chose to live so he could write a book about his exploits.  Apparently no one told this cretin about laws that prevent convicted criminals from publishing things that bring them profit from their evil deeds.

In the wake of this and other recent high-profile mass murders, a man wrote THIS essay  in which he implies that availability of guns to law-abiding citizens is one reason such atrocities take place. He confesses that he once planned such a rampage himself. A man so selfish he would murder others because he didn’t get a promotion at work? And he’s going to lecture normal people? Truly, the inmates are attempting to run the asylum.

It isn’t about the guns.

It’s about soulless, selfish, sociopathic monsters.

Share or Bookmark

We’ve been hearing the quote lately all over the news, from Hillary Clinton and other appointees of the current Administration, that semiautomatic weapons should be banned from good citizens such as those reading this because 90% of the firearms used in drug-related gun crimes in Mexico come from the United States.

Man, they didn’t have that much manure at the county fair I attended the other night.

It seems that only 17% of recovered crime guns down there actually originated in the USA. The 90% figure comes from traces done by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Those traces were requested because the guns in question were made in the USA.  “Well, duh…”

I never was good at math, but I did OK in logic class, so let’s look at it from that direction.  The nation of Mexico has lawfully imported firearms in huge quantity from its north border neighbor over the course of the 19th through 21st centuries.  From the days of the Western Frontier onward, American brands such as Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Winchester have been hugely popular there.  The Mexican government has armed its police and its soldiers alike primarily with North American weapons, from the Colt .45 pistol to the same manufacturer’s M16 machine gun.

Reliable reports tell us that Mexican soldiers are deserting the military in droves, lured by the better paying drug cartels who give them bonuses if they bring Government-issue M16s, pistols, grenades and rocket launchers with them.  (Did anyone but Obama appointees seriously believe that smugglers were buying fully automatic weapons, grenades, etc. from gun shops in Tucson and El Paso?) Those deserters now number well into six figures, and that’s before we start asking how many of the notoriously corrupt Mexican police have also diverted weapons to the drug cartels.  And there are all those AK47s and similar weapons from Communist bloc countries smuggled into Mexico from elsewhere in Central America, and from South America, and beyond.  Among them are obsolete American military weapons shipped to friendly governments for lawful use, and liberated by the drug kings and smugglers for “unintended consequences.”

More details can be found here, from our friend Jim Shepherd at The Shooting Wire. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to “Finally Some Truth Leaks Out.”)  The assertion that the heinous drug violence in Mexico can somehow be stopped by denying sale of semiautomatic firearms to law-abiding citizens of the United States doesn’t just fail to pass the smell test.  It also plainly flunks Logic 101.

Share or Bookmark

The sky was darkening, and little droplets were beginning to fall when my significant other and I reluctantly left the county fair tonight.

We left smiling.

In a grim world where most indicators only point to more grimness – the economy, man’s inhumanity to man, the whole nine yards – you need to get your mind off the bad news somehow. That’s why the entertainment industry seems to flourish during economic depressions.

The county fair was a trip back in time. I got to congratulate our local head librarian on the blue ribbon she won for her prize plant. Paused to chat with a Backwoods Home reader who was steering folks toward the 4-H exhibits. Watched the young future farmers of America glowing with pride as they led their heifers into the center of the arena. Listened to the laughter of children on the Ferris Wheel and the other rides that would probably give me vertigo at my age. Vicariously shared the sinful, always self-apologetic indulgence in funnel cake, which seems to be fried dough buried under a snowstorm of powdered sugar. And cheered with the little kids at the Pig Races.

There was even something from my world there: a shooting gallery sponsored by the local 4-H Club. Shooters had a choice of archery or air riflery. We couldn’t resist the latter, which consisted of Crosman pellet rifles hooked up to a humongous CO2 tank, with small targets that appeared to be at the regulation air rifle distance of 33 feet, the International standard of ten meters, from the shooter. Even got to watch the significant other set the benchmark for the top score of the night.

Yeah, it was raining when we left, and soon the thunderstorm was in full cry…but it wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits from that short, welcome trip back to a tradition that has preserved heartland American values.

Share or Bookmark