LonelyMachines

As the news came in about the shootings of Gabrielle Giffords and Judge John Roll, I was sadly reminded that her office was one of those targeted by the so-called window war following her vote in favor of the health-care bill.  I'm not saying that any group or political stripe bears the sole blame, but we all need to step back and take a look at the rhetoric we're tolerating from elected officials, the media, and from some in our own ranks. In the months following the 2008 election, I lost count of how many times I heard some seemingly normal person blurt something like, "I wouldn't pull the trigger, but I wouldn't cry over ______'s grave, either."  There was talk from armchair revolutionaries about it being "time to vote from the rooftops." There was more of it after the health-care vote.  In the 2010 mid-terms, we were treated to Sharron Angle's drivel about "2nd Amendment remedies," and Sarah Palin's PAC ran an advertis...

Leonard Embody has received notice that this Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit is being revoked .  If you don't know this guy's background, I've written on it here. T his was his response to the media: "I'm a private person," Embody said. "I didn't want to be in the spotlight. I didn't want my name in the news reports." ...which would be why he has gone to great lengths to bait law-enforcement with his antics, posting the results to every internet forum and blog he could find .  His last stunt was to walk down the streets of Belle Meade in an orange reflective vest, carrying an 1851 Navy in his right hand. Apparently, this didn't go as well as he'd hoped.  In response to this incident, the Belle Meade police department made the recommendation to the Tennessee Department of Safety that Mr. Embody's permit be revoked.  The text of their letter reads, in part, This request is not made lightly and based on the increasingly unsafe meth...

Last week, Leonard Embody donned a fetching camouflage and GoreTex ensemble and paraded around Radnor Lake Park carrying this: It's an AK-47 pistol, with the tip painted orange to resemble an Airsoft gun. His reasoning is that "cops don't shoot people with airsoft guns. If this handgun looks like an airsoft the cops won't shoot me." I can certainly see his concern. Apparently, he'll be repeating this questionable behavior. According to one paper, “I guarantee that when I carry in Bicentennial Mall I will be stopped. You're more than welcome to come and watch or video. ” This is the crux of the matter: Mr. Embody (known as kwikrnu on the forums) likes to be the center of attention. His hobbies include freaking out the squares, being stopped by the police and filing lawsuits . Yep, this guy's a winner. Far from being alone, he's emblematic of the self-defeating caricature that is overtaking the open carry movement.

Lots of people are openly carrying guns to political rallies.  It's something of a big deal at the moment, what with a Chief Executive blatantly ignoring the will of the people. Still, overlapping the Open Carry movement with other causes is a bit disingenuous.   These rallies are about health care, taxation and debt rather than the 2nd Amendment.  The signal is lost in the noise, and the media doesn't hesitate to ask the hysterical question, "what's that weirdo doing here with a gun? " Fortunately, the whole thing has gone on without incident or accident.  When the media has gotten snippy, the rebuttals have been heard. Let's just be very careful, folks.  We need to be sure that none of this ends up being interpreted as threat rather than demonstration. And we need to be wary of those among the ranks harboring less-than-noble intentions.

So, a twentyish sort started asking me about AR-15 rifles.  He was interested in starting cheap and building up from there.  Fair enough. Then he asked me which model was more "tactical."  Devoid of any context, that term really doesn't have any meaning, folks. Realizing that I was edging into serious Mall Ninja territory, I chose to throw in some lingo.  I told him that the answer would depend on how he planned on "deploying" the rifle. He responded that, for him, a fiream is "just a fallback, if you know what I mean." I assured him that I didn't know what he meant, and then he said it: "I don't really need a gun.  My hands are registered as lethal weapons." He said this without the slightest hint of irony.  He was serious.

Back in the 1990's, I used to see these things at gun shows from time to time, but I didn't think anyone actually bought them. I certainly don't expect to see anyone with a lick of common sense wearing one.  Yet, I saw three of these things this weekend. I can't emphasize enough what a bad idea they are.

In September of 1993 , America Online (AOL) granted Usenet access to its subscribers. The infrastructure was crippled by the sudden, overwhelming influx of new users, none of whom knew the protocols or cared to learn. These were the days when a 28.8k modem was considered screamingly fast, bandwidth was precious, nobody had the time to sift through countless "me too!" posts. In early 1994, Dave Fischer referred to this period as the September that Never Ended, and the name stuck. Usenet was, for all intents, dead as a medium and would never recover. 11/05/08 will go down in history as the gun industry's version of this phenomenon. I have seen more lunacy in the last six months than I've seen in my entire life. I've heard conspiracies that would make Art Bell chortle, and trust me, that guy believed in everything. I thought it would die out, but it hasn't.

I've been subject to some truly absurd lines of conversation over the last few months, some of which are truly troubling. Yesterday, I was approached by a meek middle-aged sort. He asked me, without preamble, "which handgun calibers will pierce body armor?" There's no way I'm answering that, and he seemed a bit miffed when I told him so. Tough. You don't go asking strangers that kind of thing out of the blue. It's rude, and it's dangerous. Let's get a couple of things straight. The Revolution is not on our doorstep, and frankly, if you're asking stupid questions like that, you're not going to be fighting it anyway.