Anti-gunners Really Do Think Guns Have Magical Properties

We know that, but they rarely put it in writing.What Guns Do to Our State of Mind.

Three men, in a dangerous community, in a dangerous nation, owned a gun, and all three died. The reason? The gun was magic – cursed, even

When I asked Belairians why these deaths occurred, they often surmised that the gunmen fell victim to maji, or “magic.” In Haiti, magic refers to an unethical use of spiritual power, distinct from ceremonial forms of Vodou, which call on ancestors to heal and protect the family. (Vodou is the preferred spelling, rather than Voodoo, which some practitioners view as derogatory.) This form of magic entails engaging with secret powers that allow a person to advance at the expense of another. To many, the men died because the occult forces they had been using for unethical gain had ultimately turned against them—opening them up to conflict and failing to protect them.

So I wonder what other inanimate objects are imbued with magical, mind-altering powers.

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We Should Make It Illegal for a Felon to Have a Gun. Oh, Wait a Minute…

I’m shocked to discover that criminals don’t obey the law. OK, not that shocked. Parolee with burglary conviction accused of several armed robberies on Near West Side.

Suggs was released on parole in December following a burglary conviction, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Other convictions include aiding, abetting, possessing or selling a stolen motor vehicle; manufacturing or delivery of cannabis; and an additional burglary, IDOC said.

Is parole mandatory, or is there some process to decide who does, and who doesn’t get parole?

When officers caught up with him, they learned Suggs was wanted on an active warrant for earlier alleged crimes on the Near West Side last month.

Wouldn’t that crime from last month have been a violation of that parole? The Criminal Justice System (and by that I mean the State’s Attorneys office) seems to be broken in Cook County and Chicago.

How Can This Be? Someone Shot in a Gun-free Zone

I thought it was impossible to shoot someone in a campus-near gun-free zone. UNCC on high alert after two violent crimes near campus within 24 hours.

University Crossings sent Channel 9 a statement reading in part, “Firearms are not permitted on the property. We ask that residents notify the police immediately by calling 911 if they see anyone with a firearm.”

So how is it that firearms are not permitted when the place in question is NOT on a college campus? I guess the Constitution doesn’t apply wherever college administrators decree it doesn’t apply. Or something.

And while the advice that the college administrators give is almost sensible, letting law-abiding students protect themselves is of course out-of-the-question, given the gun-hating, constitution-hating, liberty-hating attitudes of colleges.

I’m Shocked – Shocked! – To Discover Criminals Don’t Follow the Law

OK, I’m not that shocked. New Zealand Gang Leader: We Will Not Give Up Our Guns.

Mongrel Mob leader Fatu told Stuff, “Will gangs get rid of their weapons? No. Because of who we are, we can’t guarantee our own safety.”

And also

Black Power member Denis O’Reilly echoed Fatu’s sentiment when asked if his gang would hand over their guns.

So you outlaw guns, and only the outlaws are left with guns. Apparently the New Zealand .gov is happy with that situation. (Hat tip to This Ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here.)

Guns Can Equalize the Playing Field

An actual balanced piece on gun ownership and guns on campuses. Who’d have thought it was possible. ‘My gun serves as an equalizer’: Raped as a Temple student, she now fights for gun rights.

A disturbing story of a campus rape on Temple University’s campus.

Public universities in Pennsylvania make their own rules about campus carry. Some allow firearms in certain open spaces on campus; Temple prohibits them everywhere.

[SNIP]
Temple University declined to comment about campus carry or Lindquist’s case.

It is fairly long, and it isn’t perfect, but it tries to tell the truth about a painful subject. And paints the fact that disarming people puts the small and the weak at the mercy of strong and the violent.

Guns as Art

A post from 2014 on the NRA Museum has been active in my stats, for reasons that aren’t clear to me, but I thought I would revisit it, since the links have changed in the past few years. (I hate it when people do that.) Crown Jewels.

This part of the gallery includes Annie Oakley’s Stevens pistol, The Holland and Holland side-by-side shotgun, pictured (click the image for a larger view) and a Purdey .600 Nitro Express, Double Rifle with deep relief engraving and gold background inlay.

These are works of art, as much as they are firearms.

Myths and Statistics and Bear Attacks

37 instances probably doesn’t rise to the number required for a good statistical analysis. But it is interesting. Pistols or Handguns 95% Effective When Used to Defend Against Bear Attacks, 63 Cases.

We found five cases involving a .22 rimfire pistol. Four were successful, against black bears. One failed against a polar bear.

One of the successful .22 LR incidents involved an assist from the guy’s dog, which distracted the black bear, and let me reload after 10 shots.

As the dogs fought the sow, Earl reloaded. Then, as the sow came at him again, he fired 10 more shots from his Ruger .22 pistol. The dogs distracted the sow once more. The fight moved into a thicket. The sow was found there, dead from two .22 rounds that had reached her vitals. There were 14 .22 caliber holes in her.

An interesting read.