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Razorskarr's RectoryThe History of Britains's Firearm LawsFirearm laws in the UK are not what they used to be. Even the Beeb seems to know it.
"The right to bear arms was guaranteed in the 1689 Bill of Rights, in which the new King William of Orange enshrined a series of rights for his subjects - Catholics were famously excluded."
Right to bear arms? Where did that go?
"Restrictions were tightened with the 1937 Firearms Act, which banned most fully automatic weapons."
1937? Three years AFTER the 1934 legislation that made the same illegal in the states? Are you saying there was a time when the UK had more lenient gun laws than the states?
It's a strange world.
Hat-tip to Steve at the Firearm Blog. The Insanity of Bush HatredPeter Berkowitz relates a tale of a recent evening with some progressive, intellectual colleagues.
"But Bush hatred is different. It's not that this time members of the intellectual class have been swept away by passion and become votaries of anger and loathing. Alas, intellectuals have always been prone to employ their learning and fine words to whip up resentment and demonize the competition. Bush hatred, however, is distinguished by the pride intellectuals have taken in their hatred, openly endorsing it as a virtue and enthusiastically proclaiming that their hatred is not only a rational response to the president and his administration but a mark of good moral hygiene."
Telling.
Hat-tip to Andrew Bolt. Hmmm . . .Apologies for light posting lately. I've recently taken a second job and usually have better things to do with my time than indulge myself with a blog. I will try to post more regularly hereafter. DammitClose on the heels of David Pearce's death the Australian SASR loses another of their own. Self Defense: A Basic Human RightIf you've all finished with Kathy Jackson's Cornered Cat this is something else you should read on the subject of SD.
Read it all. And now for something completely different . . .Not Monty Python but just about as many laughs per minute for my money. Not the Nine O'Clock News was made by Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stevenson, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones. Being more topical than Python it didn't age as well but for those familiar with the events and personalities of the early '80s it's most amusing.
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you . . . The Ayatollah Song LinkagePDB has an unusual caller (after all, what's a club without more than one member?)
Gerard Baker's take on seething hatred, hat-tip Andrew Bolt.
MRAPs, can't get enough of them, right? The USMC doesn't seem to think so.
A thought provoking article on the hazards of good intent from the Mises Institute, hat-tip Oleg Volk. Banning FornicationRape is a problem. I don't have the figures at my fingertips but I know the situation is bad and let's face it; any rape is a rape too many. I suggest a solution. I know not everyone will like it but I feel it will be worth it. I propose that we outlaw fornication (and sodomy while we're at it). We've heard over and over again that rape has everything to do with power and nothing to do with sex. Even if we accept this whole and entire and without question we are still forced to admit that sex is the vehicle for rape (rape being, by definition, forced sex). So by banning sex (at least outside marriage where we'll continue to regard it as a "necessary evil") we will be able to reduce the ammount of sex taking place and the number of rapes will decrease. It must. Mustn't it? For those of you too dim to perceive sarcasm I don't really think that banning fornication, sodomy or the like will do us any real good in the fight against sexual crimes. I am, however, trying to make a point. Over the last week or so I've had a couple of conversations with people who feel quite convinced that banning guns (from private ownership) will somehow reduce violence. I don't mind them believing that but when it's stated as a self-evident fact that only the bad and mad among us could even countenance disagreeing with that I start to worry. That view is not self-evident, it's not even harmless. The point at which we start to blame the guns themselves is the point at which we start making excuses for the criminals who do use them for nefarious purposes. Guns don't cause crime. If they did Switzerland, with its 500,000 handguns and 600,000 automatic rifles would be one of the most dangerous nations in the western world (rather than one of the safest, which it is). The UK on the other hand, with its restrictive gun laws (moreso even than our own) should be one of the safest. Why then are you about twice as likely to be a victim of violent crime in the UK than if you live in the US of gun-mad A (a term I use with great affection)? Because it's not the guns causing the crime. It's the people. Cultures of criminality, drug addiction, impoverishment . . . things like these contribute to violent crime in a very meaningful way. This is why I say that the "ban guns" mentality is not harmless. The damage it does is two-fold. First it mandates that law-abiding citizens be made to give up the weapons that they would, by definition not use for illegal purposes making them vulnerable to predation by criminals and dependant on law enforcement for protection. Second, it suggests that criminals (by definition unconcerned with the law and armed, almost exclusively with weapons acquired illegally) will somehow commit less crime or be less dangerous. Encouraging people to fight crime by fighting legal gun ownership is stupid (and in itself criminally irresponsible). Armed and responsible populaces (like Switzerland) show the falsehood of the notion that unarmed populaces (like the UK) are somehow safer. They aren't. To encourage people to fight crime by fighting legal gun ownership is not just to fail in effectively fighting crime but it protects criminals by giving them easier targets and detracting attention from the root causes of crime. It's ineffective, it's irresponsible and it's wrong. Banning citizens from owning firearms is no more useful in reducing gun crime than banning sex is in reducing sex crime. Alleviating your need to deal with an irrational phobia of certain inanimate objects . . . that it might do. So Angry . . .Oktoberfest last night . . . stayed longer than I planned . . . very hung over . . . see on channel 7's morning infotaincrap that Kate Middleton is being crucified for going hunting with HRH, etc. . . . I . . . Words fail me . . . I've just heard someone describe an ordinary hunting rifle with the gasping horror that one would think they were describing a devastating new strategic weapon.
I have v. important things to do today. I will rant at length about this later. LinkageAl Gore has a recurring nightmare, according to John Bergstrom.
Front Page Magazine gathers a symposium to discuss the meaning and consequences of failure in Iraq.
. . . More to follow this afternoon. SA80A2: The L85A1 has been fixed . . . promise.Anthony Williams updates one and all on the pilgrimesque progress of the SA80. It's been a herculean effort to go from dismal failure to servicable rifle for the British Army's standard arm.
Williams concludes with the question: "Are you listening HK? It's all to play for!" Sadly, an HK designed bullpup AR would quite possibly be the best option for the British Army. As I've said before, the virtual absence of a civilian gun market hardly makes for a nation of Master Gunne Smythes. "Western Hairdryer"Only available in Japan. LinkageDebbie Schlussel pays tribute to John Withers, a man whose obituary will will move and inspire you.
Barret follows suit on the .338 Lapua Magnum . . . whooda thunk it?
Tim Blair offers a sample of hate and breathtaking cyicism.
UPDATE: Shark @ Ops Recon has reposted an interesting comparison between the .338 Lapua Magnum and the .408 Cheytac.
UPDATE II: Steve @ The Firearms Blog posts a report of another .338 Lapua Magnum, the Sako TRG-42. David PearceThe Department of Defence has issued a statement on the recent death of Australian soldier David Pearce in Afghanistan.
Our thoughts and prayers are with David's wife and daughters as well as his comrades abroad. |
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