Category: The Gun Thing

Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them

Yeah, That Worked

Gummint, The Gun Thing

“That” being the raft of laws and regulations which prohibit felons from owning guns.

Here’s the story:

Authorities in California acting on a tip swept into a rural home and seized more than 500 guns from a convicted felon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The tip indicated Manuel Fernandez, 60, was “in possession of a large arsenal of firearms,” the department said in a statement. On Thursday, a team of state and local officers raided the house in Agua Dulce, about 45 miles north of Los Angeles. Authorities immediately seized 432 guns, the department said.
The next day, another 91 guns were found hidden at Fernandez’s home, authorities said.

Yup:  looks like all those laws which California adds to the federal laws really work, huh?  I mean, a felon possessing guns?  That’s doubleplusunpossible in the Golden [Shower] State, you betcha.

And yet he got the guns, 500 of them, somehow… so California probably needs more laws, like this one.  At least, that seems to be their thinking, such as it is.

Fucking morons.

Not Working

Crime, The Gun Thing

Here’s an interesting little snippet:

Britain is in the grip of a violent crime wave as thugs run riot on mopeds and motorbikes. Shocking figures released yesterday show the armed thieves are striking more than 60 times every day. In a chilling illustration of the crisis, a young woman was fighting for her life last night after her mobile was snatched by moped-riding thieves. And a motorcycle gang targeted yet another luxury store in London on Tuesday. In Birmingham, a masked gang rammed a car in broad daylight before smashing the driver’s window with a machete and hammer. And masked attackers targeted Michael McIntyre when they stole his £15,000 Rolex.

So, my British friends:  how’s that “no handguns in private ownership” thing working out for you, then?

And for all those idiots who start wailing about the horrors of “pitched gun battles in the streets”, allow me to ask how that’s so much different from what’s happening to you now? Other than the fact that almost all the victims are innocent people, not criminals?

I wonder why we don’t have the “moped-gang” problem in Texas.  Oh yeah, that’s right:  we carry guns, and the bad guys know it.  And as a bonus, we don’t have pitched gun battles in the streets — except of course when the criminals start having wars over drug turf in their own neighborhoods, which doesn’t count because it’s a self-canceling problem.

We certainly don’t have mass stabbings in our streets, because — oh wait!  we carry guns, and the bad guys know it.  (And yes:  I know the latter story comes out of Australia.  Where they too aren’t allowed to own handguns.)

Strange how that all works out.

Except That Icky Gun Stuff

Business, The Gun Thing

Last week I got this email message from CitiBank telling me all about the wonderful new benefits of using their little credit card. Here are the salient areas I want to talk about (and note the emphasized parts):

  • Damage & Theft Purchase Protection:   You may be covered for up to $10,000 per incident for 90 days from the date of purchase or delivery of the item purchased with your card. Please note, coverage provided by this benefit will be secondary (meaning if you have another insurance policy, this benefit will cover only the amount your other policies do not). Coverage won’t include firearms, ammunition, jewelry, watches, tires or items that are under the care and control of a third party including, but not limited to, the U.S. Postal Service, airlines, or delivery services.
  • Citi Price Rewind:  You may be reimbursed up to a maximum of $200 per item and $1,000 per calendar year. Program coverage won’t include consumables, tires, watches, firearms, or ammunition. You won’t be reimbursed if the lower priced item is found at a warehouse club where the merchant requires a membership fee.
  • 90 Day Return Protection:  You may be reimbursed up to a maximum of $300 per item and $1,000 per calendar year. Program coverage won’t include firearms, ammunition, tires, jewelry, furniture or appliances.

All these wonderful benefits will be mine after June 29 — which is kind of ironic because that’s the date I intend to cut up and cancel the card, after paying off the final balance.

And what does that final balance include, you may ask?  Just the renewal fee for my annual membership at DFW Shooting Range.

Cash, No Checks (Or Cards)

The Gun Thing

So now the banks are trying to pee in the soup as well:

Banks and credit card companies held informal discussions about identifying transactions involving firearms.
Although the discussions resulted in nothing tangible — and ideas may never come to fruition — ideas tossed would help companies monitor gun purchases, which includes information on buyers, from retailers.
Financial companies explored the concept of creating a new credit-card code for firearm dealers, similar to similar to how restaurants or department stores identify their transactions, the newspaper reported. Another idea would require retailers to share info about specific firearm products purchases.

Simple solution (which I’m going to implement for myself with immediate effect): pay cash for all gun purchases from now on. This does two things: it stops the possibility of these tools learning about your gun purchases, and it helps the FFL because he doesn’t have to pay the banks the card transaction fee.

I know the problems associated with this: guns are expensive, it takes time to save up the moolah, etc. It’s a small price [sic] to pay.

Here’s what I’m saving up for at the moment, a S&W Mod 66 in .357 Mag with a 4″ barrel:

Actually, instead of the Model 66 I’d really rather get a Model 65, like my old one:

…but of course, S&W in their infinite wisdom [stop laughing]  has decided not to restart production of the 65 as they did with the 66.

So while I’m saving for the 66, I’ll also be on the lookout for a decent secondhand 65 — which purchase would never be traceable, whether by the Gummint or the bastard moneylenders. It’s called a win-win situation.

When’s the next DFW-area gun show?