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Firearms • Mock DHS News Report Depicts Gun Owners as Terrorists
Mock DHS News Report Depicts Gun Owners as Terrorists
Paul Joseph Watson
May 1st, 2013
Infowars.com
A mock news report produced by the Department of Homeland Security depicts American gun owners as terrorists in another example of how the federal agency is trying to demonize the Second Amendment while itself stockpiling ammunition.
The report depicts the arrest of “an extremist group reportedly planning a series of terrorist attacks on U.S. cities.”
Dramatic footage shows police conducting a mock raid of a house and yelling at reporters to get back while the news reporter relates how the men were arrested on charges of “illegal possession of firearms.”
Similar to previous DHS characterizations of likely terrorists, the men are played by two Caucasians in their 40?s.
The video was grabbed from the DHS.gov website and appears in a file along with other documents from a HSEEP training program run in coordination with FEMA in the interests of “national preparedness.”
As we have previously documented, the federal agency’s insistence on portraying the vast majority of terrorists in its training videos as white middle class Americans has prompted charges that the DHS is attempting to demonize conservatives and big government adversaries.
However, the portrayal of gun owners as terrorists is sure to stoke even more rancor amongst those who are concerned that the DHS is being prepared to aid in overseeing the Obama administration’s gun control agenda while itself buying ammunition in huge quantities.
As we reported last month, the federal agency is testing a number of different drones at a scientific research facility in Oklahoma that have sensors capable of detecting whether a person is armed, stoking concerns that the federal agency is planning on using UAVs to harass gun owners.
The DHS is also collaborating with New York State government officials to confiscate guns belonging to people who are deemed, often erroneously, to have a mental condition.
The DHS’ commitment to buy around 2 billion rounds of ammunition has become a huge controversy in recent months, with the Government Accountability Office announcing this week that an investigation of the purchases is “just getting underway.”
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/m … s_05012013
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Wed May 01, 2013 12:30 pm
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Firearms • Gun Facts You Need To Know
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=52232
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Apr 07, 2013 3:03 am
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Firearms • Senate votes 53-46 to stop US from joining UN Arms Trade Tr
Senate votes 53-46 to stop US from joining UN Arms Trade Treaty
By Ramsey Cox – 03/23/13 04:36 AM ET
In the last batch of amendment votes to the budget, the Senate voted on several foreign policy proposals.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment that would prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty in order to uphold the Second Amendment. His amendment passed on a 53-46 vote.
Republicans have been critical of President Obama’s decision to consider the treaty, although Obama has said he would not vote for anything that would violate the Second Amendment.
The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty would regulate international arms sales. Negotiations end on March 28.
“We’re negotiating a treaty that cedes our authority to have trade agreements with our allies in terms of trading arms,” Inhofe said. “This is probably the last time this year that you’ll be able to vote for your Second Amendment rights.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) offered an alternative amendment that clarified that under current U.S. law, treaties don’t trump the Constitution and that the United States should not agree to any arms treaty that violates the Second Amendment rights. His amendment passed by voice vote.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/s … rms-treaty
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:44 am
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Firearms • Veterans Receive Letters From VA Prohibiting Gun Ownership
SHOCK REPORT — Veterans Receive Letters From VA Prohibiting Ownership or Purchase of Firearms
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, February 22, 2013, 6:11 AM
This must be Barack Obama’s way of thanking our veterans for serving.
US veterans are receiving letters from the government informing them that they are disabled and not allowed to own, purchase or possess a firearm. If the veteran does decide to purchase a firearm he will by fined, imprisoned or both.
This comes on page 2 of the VA letter.
Constitutional Attorney Michael Connelly, J.D. reported this at Red Flag News.
How would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? Suppose that letter also stated that the government is going to appoint a stranger to handle your affairs for you at your expense? That would certainly be scary enough but it gets worse.
What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of me.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/02 … -firearms/
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:03 pm
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Firearms • George Bush Speechwriter David Frum An Anti Gun Nut
DAVID FRUM: FIREARM MANUFACTURERS SHOULD FACE TOBACCO INDUSTRY-LIKE SENATE HEARINGS
by AWR HAWKINS 18 Feb 2013
CNN Columnist David Frum is calling for Obama to bypass Congress and have the Surgeon General investigate the dangers of gun ownership and to have the Senate convene tobacco industry-style hearings (circa 1990s) on gun manufacturers.
Frum’s argument is that guns, like cigarettes, are dangerous, and that the gun lobby and gun manufacturers have blinded Americans to the truth of this in the same way that cigarette companies allegedly did in years gone by.
In a desperate attempt to bolster this thesis, Frum uses two things: 1. Anecdotal stories that can easily be countered by other anecdotal stories, and 2. Disinformation bordering on purposeful distortion concerning the way firearms are manufactured and the way they operate.
Regarding the anecdotal examples, he says that stories given to justify female ownership of AR-15s for home and self-defense are "Rambo-like" stories that "do not happen in real life." To prove this, he cites a firearm accident involving a father and his child in 1994. He also cites a road rage incident between two women in which one woman got out of the car, approached the other car, and was shot.
That’s it–a firearm accident in 1994 and a road rage incident and voila, gun manufacturers should be subjected to hearings and warning labels on the side of the firearms. (Oops, they already have warning labels on the side of firearms.)
What Frum conveniently overlooks is the story of the Loganville, GA mom who grabbed her children and crawled into an attic to escape a home invader on Jan. 4. Once the perpetrator chased the woman, found where she and the kids were hiding, and tried to get them, she unloaded a .38 Special revolver on him, but having only five shots, was not able to kill him.
Does that woman not posses the right to have more rounds at hand in a gun with a large magazine so she can protect herself and her children?
Frum also overlooked the incident in Miami, FL on Feb. 12, wherein an unarmed father being described as a "super dad" stood between his daughter and home intruders and was shot to death in the process. Could not the outcome have been quite different if the father had a semi-automatic handgun with 13 shots or an AR-15 with 30?
Note: Both the Loganville incident and the Miami incident are the kinds of home invasions Frum said "do not happen in real life."
Beyond this, Frum said gun manufacturers deserve to face scrutiny in hearings because "guns almost never indicate whether a bullet is in the chamber." This is an absolutely embarrassing statement that betrays more about Frum’s ignorance of firearms than it does about firearms themselves.
Among semi-auto handguns alone, loaded indicators are commonplace and have been for decades. They are normally right beside the extractor on any given semi-auto, and are frequently painted red for visibility.
But even if this weren’t true, one of the first rules of gun safety is that you always treat a gun as if it is loaded–always. This is a matter of personal responsibility, not firearm manufacturer liability.
Frum goes on to ask why firearm manufacturers can’t be required to make guns that won’t fire when dropped. Anyone who owns a Glock, Springfield XD, Smith & Wesson M&P, or any number of similar semi-autos knows that these guns are made with an internal disconnect to prevent them from firing when dropped. Moreover, for decades revolver manufacturers have been putting transfer bars in their revolvers to keep them from discharging if dropped.
Here’s the bottom line: Frum is upset that Obama’s ambitious gun control push has met stern resistance among the American people and their Reps. and Sens. in Washington DC, so he’s now grasping at straws.
Far from making the case for Surgeon General studies or Senate hearings, Frum has simply demonstrated he’s another inside-the-beltway commentator whose firearm knowledge could be greatly improved by a class on gun safety, followed by a day of shooting targets at the local gun range.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism … e-Hearings
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:06 pm
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Firearms • Gun Dealers Report Shortages of Ammunition
Gun Dealers Report Shortages of Ammunition
Published: Sunday, 17 Feb 2013 | 10:20 AM ET
By: Chuck Raasch
Gun shops are running low on ammunition from a run by customers fearful of potential gun-control legislation, according to gun retailers and customers.
Prices have more than doubled over past year in some shops, retailers are putting limits on the amount a customer can buy, and some common types of ammunition, such as .22-caliber long rifle shells, are hard to get.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents ammunition makers, retailers, hunters and sport shooters, attributes what it calls "spot shortages" around the country to rising popularity of sport-shooting and hunting, and to people who are "keeping firearms for personal and home defense."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in December reported recently that hunting license sales were up 9 percent from 2006 to 2011, reversing a 25-year decline. Michael Hamption, executive director of the National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association, says participation in those sports, which includes up to 4 million participants in each sport, is growing 3 percent to 5 percent annually.
But retailers say much of the demand is from gun owners who are stockpiling in case certain weapons are banned, who believe that economic chaos may be coming, or who are driven by rumors of inevitable background checks or rising taxes on ammunition. Gun sellers and owners say a run on ammunition began shortly after President Obama was re-elected, and has intensified in the gun-violence debate since the December mass killing of 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Conn.
"We absolutely are in uncharted territory," said Larry Hyatt, of the family-owned Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C.. "Our store is 53 years old, and we have never seen anything like this. We have had some spot shortages and busy gun times in the past. This is a level (of demand) never before seen."
He adds: "The political turmoil is intensifying it. People feel like this administration is very anti-gun, and they are going for the legal gun owner." Among the rumors he hears, he says, are that taxes on ammunition are going up and that background checks for ammunition purchases are coming.
"Whether true or not, this information is out there, and people are getting it while they can," Hyatt says.
He is limiting sales of .22-caliber to one box, and is running low on everything from holsters to cleaning brushes.
Mike Wastler, manager of Bart’s Sports World in Glen Burnie, Md. says he is also having trouble getting guns and ammunition from manufacturers who are "producing 24/7."
(Read More: Wal-Mart Limits Ammunition Sales After Demand Surges)
He says that even before Obama’s re-election there was rising demand from people worried about economic chaos. Sales "went crazy" after Obama proposed banning assault weapons, he says.
Wastler says certain types of .22 shells are "non-existent" in his store, and that others, like 9 mm, and .40 and .45 caliber are "very, very short." So are replacements parts for guns, he says.
While there are proposals to ban assault weapons, outlaw certain types of armor-piercing bullets, restrict the number of rounds in magazines for some guns, and end online ammunition sales, Obama and leading anti-gun violence proponents on Capitol Hill have not proposed background checks for ammunition, or restricting the amount of sales.
The White House would not comment on the ammunition shortage, but Obama has asserted he is not out to infringe on Second Amendment rights.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., has introduced legislation that would effectively ban online sales of ammunition, would require ammunition sellers to have a license, and to report to federal authorities the sale of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to a single person. But McCarthy also says on her website that protecting the Second Amendment right to bear arms for legal gun owners is one of her top priorities.
Her spokesman, Shams Tarek, says gun-rights advocates "are putting out this fear that people are trying to take away their guns, put really onerous restrictions on them, when that is not the case."
The run on ammunition comes amid Internet discussion about recent purchases of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration.
Homeland Security solicited bids for up to 1.1 billion rounds of ammunition for over the next five years, but agency spokesman Marsha Catron says purchases may not run that high, and that most of it would go to required training for about 130,000 armed federal agents in various agencies. The DHS ammunition purchases have been steady since 2009.
Last year, after the Social Security Administration solicited bids for 174,000 rounds of .357 ammunition, the agency got so many questions from the public about why it needed that powerful of a bullet that its inspector general’s office put out a statement explaining why.
The Social Security Administration has 295 armed agents that protect offices around the country, and that ammunition is standard issue for the arms they carry on the job, the agency said.
"Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately," read the Social Security statement. "They not only investigate allegations of Social Security fraud, but they also are called to respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees and customers."
Bid winner for the Homeland Security ammunition was ATK Armament Systems, a division of Alliant Technosystems Inc., and a major supplier of guns and ammunition for the military.
According to a IBISWorld, a market analyst, ATK Armament is expected to post a 10 percent increase in revenue, to $1.7 billion, in 2013.
"While most Americans have cut back on their purchases of cars, clothing and other luxuries … gun enthusiasts are working themselves into a frenzy over what another four years under the Obama administration may hold for gun laws,” IBISWorld reported in October. "As a result, they are purchasing firearms and ammunition at record rates.”
Greg Pacholczyk, who shoots everything from pistols to the AR-15 that the Obama administration wants to ban, says he is not in a frenzy, but that if he is in a store that carries ammunition, he looks to buy. The Marriottsville, Md., resident says AR-15 semi-automatic rifles are very hard to find for purchase, and that ammunition for it is hard to find, too.
"Gun replacement parts — if you have to find something as simple as a firing pin for an AR-15," it is very difficult, he says. "You read on the blogs people are practically giving away their first born for a little piece of metal."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100466526
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Feb 17, 2013 5:17 pm
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Firearms • Walmart limiting ammo sales due to supply issues
Walmart limiting ammo sales due to supply issues
The world’s largest retailer is limiting U.S. ammunition sales to three boxes of shells per day, per customer.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The world’s largest retailer is limiting U.S. ammunition sales to three boxes of shells per day, per customer.
Walmart said Thursday the restriction is in place because the supply of ammunition has become tight.
Ashley Hardie, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville-based company, says Walmart is monitoring its ability to meet demand and will lift the restrictions when it is able to.
The company doesn’t break out sales of individual items and Hardie wouldn’t say how much sales have increased. She says the limits apply to all types of ammunition and are in place to ensure as many customers as possible can be served.
Gun shops have reported increased sales since the massacre of 20 first-graders in Newtown, Conn., revived the nation’s gun control debate.
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/201 … 702019918/
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:30 am
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Firearms • ‘Day of resistance’Campaigners to hold rallies on Feb.23
Gun rights activists to use 223 bullet motif for ‘day of resistance’Campaigners to hold rallies on February 23 – a date that bears a similarity to .223 cartridge – in protest at Obama’s gun reforms
Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 January 2013 20.05 GMT
The event organisers said the 223 symbol was simply a way of attracting gun owners to the rally. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Gun rights activists are planning a nationwide "day of resistance" on 23 February, a date that bears a typographical similarity to .223 assault weapon cartridges used in the Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings.
Organisers said they chose the date – whose common short form in the US is 2/23 – as a "clever way" to attract "the gun crowd" to the event, but denied it would be seen as insensitive.
A series of rallies by Tea Party activists and pro-gun campaigners will be held across the US in response to the 23 executive orders introduced by President Obama that organisers say are "unconstitutional".
A .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle was used in the Sandy Hook shootings, while a AR-15 using .223 cartridges was also used in the Aurora killings, prompting calls for a ban on assault weapons.
Dustin Stockton, one of the event organisers, denied the date had been chosen to capitalise on the recent shootings. "This is not something that is aimed at that at all. It’s not a reaction to those events specifically at all," he said. "Everybody feels terrible for those families, but this is really a message to Washington, and is separate from those events.
"It wasn’t intended in any way to connect with any weapons used by any crazy people." Asked if people might make that connection, he said: "I see how people will try to make the connection to shootings committed by crazy people. Not that there is an actual connection, though.
"The gun-grabbing crowd is going to be critical of this no matter what we call it. If we concern ourselves with trying to please everyone, we’ll never be able to take any action."
Stockton said it was simply a way of attracting gun owners. "It’s just kind of a clever way to incorporate and brand, to really attract the second amendment crowd and the gun crowd, because they’ll all recognise that .223 is the caliber," organiser Dustin Stockton told the Guardian. (The .22 caliber bullet is the most common ammunition in the world. It differs marginally in diameter but is considerably less powerful than the .223 caliber bullet.)
The day of resistance website features an American flag covered with the shadows of protesters holding guns, including assault rifles, aloft. Stockton runs the conservative website TheTeaParty.net along with 20-full-time staff, and said the protests could be bigger than the wave of Tea Party protests that swept across the US following Obama’s 2008 election win.
"We’re actually seeing an entirely new crowd of people who weren’t politically active at all," Stockton said. "All of a sudden they hear the debate move to guns. We’re seeing a lot of people who are outdoorsmen, who probably didn’t vote in the last election, [or] in the last two elections.
"From the response that we’ve been getting we believe this is actually going to be larger than the Tea Party wave in 2009. We have this whole new group who are involved, and the second amendment is really a unifying issue for a lot of Americans, Republicans, independents and even moderate Democrats."
Tiffiny Rueger, from the conservative pro-gun Women Warriors PAC, told the Guardian that "these horrific massacres are not done by a gun".
"They are crimes of an individual who chose a gun as their weapon. People who kill will kill with a gun, a car, a knife or anything else they create. Enacting more bans on guns will not stop bad people – it will leave good people unprotected. If bans on things were successful, there would not be drug users."
The marketing of the event would appear to be another public relations own goal for pro-gun campaigners. On Monday, Neil Heslin, the father of six-year-old Sandy Hook victim Jessie, was reportedly heckled by second amendment supporters as he spoke at a local hearing on gun control.
Heslin, holding a picture of his son as he spoke at the Connecticut state capitol in Hartford, said he did not understand why anyone needed to own an assault weapon, prompting a cry of "second amendment" from the crowd.
Earlier this month, the National Rifle Association was criticised by Republicans and Democrats after posting a video advert featuring Obama’s children. The NRA had previously been lambasted after launching a free iPhone shooting game a month after the Sandy Hook killings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/ja … resistance
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:50 pm
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Firearms • Gun show in Orange County attracts thousands of weapons buy
Gun show in Orange County attracts thousands of weapons buyers
January 27, 2013 | 9:36 am
A sign taped to ticket booths at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Costa Mesa proclaimed, "Your wife called … she said you could buy anything you want."
And buy they did.
Eager to have the pick of the litter, enthusiasts began lining up as early as 3 a.m. Saturday at the Orange County Fairgrounds, taking shelter from the rain under umbrellas and jackets. When Bob Templeton, owner and president of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows — which stages events year-round in four western states — arrived at 7 a.m., he described the mood as "upbeat," as if people were in a "party mood."
Although prepared for a strong show, he expressed surprise at the staggering number of people who came in the early hours of event. Having originally estimated a turnout of 15,000 people spread across Saturday and Sunday, he said it’s likely the event will be the organization’s largest show in 38 years, attracting between 22,000 and 24,000 people.
After selling 1,300 eight-foot tables to between 200 and 300 vendors and experiencing "tremendous" online ticket sales, this event is poised to surpass the Phoenix gun show, he added, which has historically been the nation’s largest.
"People are concerned that their 2nd Amendment rights are being threatened by politicians," Templeton said. "They see things on a national and state level and law-abiding gun owners feel like they’re under attack. Concern about the future of gun ownership has brought them out here today."
Templeton described the gun show as a 1st and 2nd Amendment "forum" — the former, pertaining to assembly and free speech, and the latter as it relates to the right to bear arms.
Toward that end, when the O.C. Fairgrounds and Crossroads of the West Gun Show received a handful of phone calls from citizens aggravated about the influx of guns in their community, a "free speech" area was demarcated with police tape. As has been the case in previous years, no demonstrators arrived on the scene, Templeton said.
For 32-year-old Mission Viejo resident Kurt Groeters, a repeat visitor, there was a marked difference between this and shows past, which he recalled being "busy, but not to this extent."
"It’s smart to be prepared," he said. "If they are going to ban ammunition and certain guns, people are becoming aware and protecting themselves from whatever it may be."
Tracy Olcott, vice president of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, labeled the event as "unusually busy," explaining that talks about arms restrictions had triggered a deluge of "worried" people, gravitating largely to ammunition and firearms.
While some, such as Groeters’ friends, spent more than two hours in a slow-moving queue in pursuit of the show-stealer — ammunition — Robert Armendariz, turned off by the wait, decided not to stock up.
"I enjoy shooting and so I look for ammo or accessories that I can upgrade my firearms with," said Armendariz, 46, a resident of Riverside, who walked away with only three magazines and rings for his pistol’s flashlight mount.
"I like to purchase firearms, kind of like an investment, so I keep an eye out for good deals and try to pick something up in every caliber. You can get them cheaper here than elsewhere."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 … ounty.html
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:05 pm
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Firearms • Two-thirds of American voters with household guns would ‘def
Poll: Two-thirds of American voters with household guns would ‘defy’ gun laws
11:32 AM 01/27/2013
As anti-gun lawmakers push for a government ban of more than 150 types of firearms, a new Fox News poll shows that two-thirds of American voters who have guns in their household would “defy” any law requiring them to give up the guns.
A majority of poll respondents – 52 percent – revealed that someone in their home owns a gun. Those respondents were then asked, “If the government passed a law to take your guns, would you give up your guns or defy the law and keep your guns?”
Approximately 65 percent indicated they would “defy the law,” including 70 percent of Republicans and 52 percent of Democrats who answered the question. Only 22 percent said they would “give up” their guns, while 13 percent were not sure.
On Thursday, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013,” which would prohibit the sale, transfer, importation and manufacture of hundreds of rifles, shotguns and pistols. The legislation also bans magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. (RELATED: Feinstein stages dramatic anti-gun press conference)
At the Thursday press conference, Feinstein stated her belief that massacres like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occur because of the country’s “weak” gun laws.
Nearly 78 percent of those polled apparently disagree, indicating that “people who commit these kinds of acts will always find the guns to commit violent acts.” Only 22 percent “think tougher gun laws can help stop shootings,” and 58 percent believe if “more law abiding citizens owned guns,” there would be less violent crime in the United States.
The poll sampled 1,008 registered voters and was conducted from Jan.15 to 17. It has a margin of error of a plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/27/poll- … z2JCCtqiKK
Statistics: Posted by yoda — Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:57 am
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