Talking to the Media

Would you look at that handsome devil?  How can this guy possibly be single?

A few months back, I spoke with a reporter from the Financial Times of England.  The interview went well, but as always, I was a bit misquoted.  Though the errors were not significant, and they did not distort my intent, they can be illustrative.

Ms. Fifield was a joy to speak with.  She has her reservations on widespread gun ownership, but she was open and honest about them, and much to my delight, she was a great listener.  She's also one of the few people I've met who can still take notes in shorthand.  We spoke at great length about the history, context, and implications of the 2nd Amendment.

As you can see from the article, she had a great deal of ground to cover, and the fact that she took trouble to get all the technical terminology correct shows marvelous attention to detail.  It's only natural that a few things get transposed.

A (Slightly) Tarnished Masterpiece

When it comes to guns, I'm not much of a "collector."  Sure, it's nice to have one in fine cosmetic shape, but I don't mind a bit of character, especially in one that shoots this well.  Box and papers don't mean much to me, and I'd sooner have a working gun than one I'm tempted to stow away in the safe.

As K-38's go, this one wouldn't seem too special at first.  It shipped in 1975, the same year Maggie Thatcher ascended to power and Francisco Franco stepped down.  Minnie Riperton was big in the charts, and Jimmie Hoffa stopped filing tax returns.

At that point, the Model 15 was still standard-issue in the United States Air Force, as well as several police departments.  This specimen was issued to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.



The department in question phased the 15 out around 1985 in favor of the Beretta 92, and by 1990, the Air Force would do the same.  More than a few Vietnam veterans maintain a sentimental tie to the weapon, and for good reason.

MiniDisc on Linux

A group of German programmers has figured out the MiniDisc communication protocols, and they've written software that allows certain units to communicate with computers without the SonicStage software layer.  The nuts-and-bolts are here, and a streamlined installation for Ubuntu is available here.

The Rural Twilight Initiative

The Rural Twilight Initiative  (00:54)

Loop  (00:13)

Not really named for the Civil Twilight Collective, but I do think they're on to something quite worthwhile.  The crickets are fantastic in Georgia this time of year.

U.S. v. Williams

Adam Williams was convicted in Indiana for distribution of narcotics and possession of a firearm as a felon in 2008.  He chose to appeal his conviction to the 7th Circuit on several points, one of which was the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1).  The section in question bars convicted felons from owning firearms.

The Court's opinion is here [pdf].  Williams based his appeal in part on the Skoien decision, which has since been remanded.  The Court considered the applicability of that case in the current proceedings and found it wanting:

And although we recognize that § 922(g)(1) may be subject to an overbreadth challenge at some point because of its disqualification of all felons, including those who are non-violent, that is not the case for Williams. Even if the government may face a difficult burden of proving § 922(g)(1)’s “strong showing” in future cases, it certainly satisfies its burden in this case, where Williams challenges § 922(g)(1) as it was applied to him. Williams, as a violent felon, is not the ideal candidate to challenge the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1). [p. 16]

Skoien considered the question of a misdemeanant, not a felon.  Furthermore, there is a big difference between a felony conviction for writing a few bad checks and one for violence.  Under the Skoien doctrine of "intermediate" scrutiny (and perhaps even strict scrutiny), the court finds that a ban on firearms possession by violent felons passes muster. Part of me agrees.

Woollard v. Sheridan et Alii

The 2nd Amendment Foundation is spearheading a lawsuit [pdf] to challenge Maryland's rigid scheme on the issuance of concealed carry permits.  In short, a civilian seeking a permit for "personal protection" must show "documented evidence of recent threats, robberies, and/or assaults, supported by official police reports or notarized statements from witnesses."

Plaintiff Raymond Woollard should therefore meet the criteria.  According to the complaint, his home was broken into on Christmas Eve, 2002.  Woollard was beaten by the intruder, and it took police over two hours to respond to his wife's 911 call.  His assailant was sentenced to probation at first, then imprisoned after assaulting a police officer.

Upon the assailant's release only three years later, Mr. Woollard was issued a permit.  In 2009, his renewal was denied by the defendants, who cited a lack of evidence to "support apprehended fear (i.e. - copies of police reports for assaults, threats, harassments, stalking).”

The man who assaulted Mr. Woollard in his home now lives three miles from him.  If that doesn't qualify as "apprehended fear," I'm not sure what does.

My Darkest LIght Will Shine

A very, very loose cover of the old Felt song.

My Darkest Light Will Shine (00:53)

Loop (00:17)

Weird Handgun Buying Criteria, Part 1

Today's issue: difficulty using the slide release on an empty magazine.

This is an utterly irrelevant issue. First off, that little lever on the left side of the gun is a slide stop, not a slide release. Notice the somewhat inconvenient placement on many guns. To release the slide, the proper technique involves pulling the slide to the rear and letting it "slingshot" into battery.

Now, I'm aware that there are very experienced and knowledgeable shooters who use the slide stop as a release. They're not wrong, but that method has its drawbacks. In a stress situation, fine motor skills evaporate. Operating a small, oddly-positioned lever with shaking, sweaty hands will be problematic at best.

If you try the slingshot method on a pistol with an empty magazine inserted, you'll quickly discover that it does not work. Why not? Because you're not supposed to drop the slide in that state. The whole idea is that the gun locks up to tell you it's empty and needs reloading. Insert a live magazine, and the slide drops easily.

There is nothing wrong with a gun on which it is difficult to drop the slide on an empty magazine.

Herter's Ammunition Isn't

George Herter was a character, to say the least.  He made a living making and selling things he liked, and while eccentric at times, many of his wares were quite good.  By his own estimation, everything he made was the Best Thing Ever.  I've seen the old catalogs, and some of the claims are hilarious.

Hyperbole aside, I have some of his 6.5x55 ammunition, and it's very accurate.  Some folks think he used Norma components.  By all accounts, his ammunition was good stuff.  He was also known for developing some interesting wildcat cartridges.

His company went out of business years ago, so I was quite surprised to see people showing up to the range recently with newly-minted pistol ammunition bearing the Herter's name and crest.  More sobering have been the two catastrophic failures I've seen it cause.

Me the Optimist

I didn't mean for this to come out sounding like Tim Hecker.  I really didn't, but hey, these things happen.

Me the Optimist (00:48)

U.S. v Skoien Decided

We've got our first post-McDonald decision [pdf], and it's a bit of a disappointment.  Judge Skyes' original decision, in which the 7th Circuit had applied strict scrutiny to the "core right" of the 2nd Amendment and "intermediate" scrutiny to the rest, has been overturned.

The Heller dicta regarding "presumptively lawful" regulations and "longstanding prohibitions" were on full display here.  I worry that those two phrases will continue to cause us trouble into the foreseeable future.

For now, the constitutionality of §922(g)(9) (the Lautenberg Amendment) still stands, and the bar for scrutiny has been lowered from strict to intermediate scrutiny across the board:

The United States concedes that some form of strong showing (“intermediate scrutiny,” many opinions say) is essential, and that §922(g)(9) is valid only if substantially related to an important governmental objective.  [p. 8]

The Ends of Invention

An exercise in harmonics and ring modulation.

The Ends of Invention  (00:55)