Freeze, Or I'll Trim Your Bangs!

The Department of Homeland Security is obviously very concerned about public safety. This week, the DHS released a video entitled "Options For Consideration", meant to instruct the public on how to survive and even fight back during an active shooter situation.  It's quite remarkable.....

Let's take a closer look at this video's message....

"In most cases, there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims"

This of course is patently false.  There is an easily discernible pattern to active shooter situations....they almost always occur in areas where responsible citizens are prohibited from carrying defensive firearms, ie "Gun-Free Zones".  I prefer the more accurate "Target-Rich Environments".

"you might consider trying to overpower the shooter with whatever means are available"

As the narrator intones these words in his best "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" voice, the video shows someone reaching into their waistband to draw their defensive handgun....no wait, that's not right.  It actually shows the individual reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out........scissors.   Freeze scumbag, or I'll trim your bangs!  

"officers may arrive in teams, with tactical equipment such as vests, helmets, and rifles.

You know, all the stuff they don't want YOU to have to defend yourself.

Here's the kicker, on June 7 of last year, the DHS released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to purchase 7,000 "personal defense weapons suitable for close quarters".  After watching their video, I assumed the RFP was for a buttload of pinking shears.  Not exactly.  

What the DHS really wants is 7,000 select-fire rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO caliber, and capable of utilizing 30 round magazines.  Why, that sounds like the very weapons that the federal government doesn't want you and I to own.  There is one big difference..... the phrase "select-fire".  Select-fire rifles allow the operator to choose between semi-automatic function (like civilian AR-15s) and fully automatic fire.  Confused?  Read this.  OK, let's review...

Bushmaster AR-15....a weapon of war

• Black rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO, capable of utilizing 30 round magazines, but NOT capable of automatic fire are "weapons of war" and must be kept out of the people's hands according to Dear Leader, Dianne Feinstein, and the rest of their merry band of gun control moonbats.

Personal Defense Weapons, suitable
for close quarters

• Black rifles chambered in 5.56 NATO, capable of utilizing 30 round magazines, and that ARE capable of automatic fire are "personal defense weapons suitable for close quarters" according to Janet Napolitano and the DHS.  

We live in strange and dangerous times.

Chuck Woolery Chimes In On Assault Weapons- Must Watch!

Long-time SACSTW favorite and all-around good guy Chuck Woolery has a brand new video treatise out on assault rifles.  Loyal SACSTW readers know that the left's fanatical hoplophobia and obfuscation of the truth about guns is a sore spot with us.  We've talked about it in this space before.  Here's what Chuck has to say...

The real nugget in here is Ice-T's intellectually honest evaluation of the Second Amendment.  He's right, it has nothing to do with sport hunting, target shooting, or even personal self defense.  It has everything to do with the citizenry's ability to defend itself against a tyrannical government.  Methinks that is becoming more important every day.  Good on ya Chuck!

All Together Now Class.... A Semi-Automatic Is Not A Machine Gun!

This is a Ruger 10/22, on of the most popular semi-automatic firearms in  this country.  It is not an assault rifle (unless you're a squirrel)

Is there any topic that brings out misinformation more overtly than firearms?  Me thinks not.  After Aurora, firearms and the Second Amendment have really taken a beating in the national media.  Even usually factual Bill O'Reilly stooped to idiotic blather about people buying machine guns, semi-automatics, and other "heavy weapons" without the feds being any the wiser.

To echo one of Rush Limbaugh's favorite sayings, words mean things.  Nowhere do words become more misapplied than when it comes to guns.  I have consulted the SACSTW chief armorer, and he would like to clear up a few of the common misconceptions.

Semi-Automatic:  A semi-automatic firearm is one that can fire, extract, and reload one round with each pull of the trigger until the ammunition is exhausted.  If you pull the trigger on a semi-automatic firearm and keep it depressed, the gun only fires one round.  The trigger must be released to "reset" before another round can be fired.

Automatic:  An automatic firearm is one that will continue firing, extracting, and reloading rounds as long as the trigger is depressed, until exhausting the magazine.

Assault Rifle:  By definition, an assault rifle is a selective fire rifle with a detachable magazine, usually used as the primary weapon for modern infantry.  "Selective fire" means the rifle operator can choose between full automatic fire and semi-automatic functioning.  A semi-automatic AR-15 like the one used in Aurora is no more an assault rifle than the .22 rifle your granddad squirrel hunts with is.  Incidentally, not to confuse the anti-gunners with more facts, the "AR" in AR-15 stands for Armalite Rifle, not Assault Rifle.

Clip:  When it comes to firearms, a clip is a device that holds multiple rounds of ammunition together in order to facilitate the process of inserting them into a magazine.

Magazine:  A magazine is the device that contains ammunition and feeds it into a gun's action to be fired.  A magazine can be either a permanent fixture of the gun's structure or detachable.  A gun fires rounds of ammunition from a magazine NOT from a clip.

"Magazine" and "clip" ARE NOT synonymous (that means the same you KCMO grads), and the use of the word "clip" instead of "magazine" is the best indicator that the speaker is not knowledgeable about firearms.

Want some more definitions of firearms terms?  Check out the great glossary at armsvault.com.