It's shocking enough that 90 people have been killed in mass shootings in the US in the past 2 years. But it's even more shocking that 44 of those deaths have occurred within the month since March 10, 2009, when Michael McClendon touched off a firestorm of violence that ended with the deaths of 10 people in rural Alabama. This has been a month of grave infamy in the United States. [more inside]
posted by baphomet on Apr 5, 2009 - 286 comments

Robert A. Talbot makes guns out of wood.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Aug 10, 2008 - 14 comments

If you've ever wondered which guns were used in a movie, which movies a gun has appeared in, or even which guns an actor has ever used, then the Internet Movie Firearms Database (probably) has you covered. [more inside]
posted by jedicus on Aug 7, 2008 - 28 comments

Minature gunsmithing is an amazing art form. [more inside]
posted by quin on Feb 15, 2008 - 20 comments

Knob Creek Gun Range , a former military-munitions test range situated near Fort Knox is home to the "World's Largest Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show". Run by private citizens excercising their second amendment rights (Kentucky has no state-level gun laws) the focus is on Class III firearms - things like assault weapons and anti-tank rifles, but also the occasional high-caliber sniper rifle and cannon. Hold my bourbon and watch this! (more)
posted by phrontist on Jul 26, 2007 - 78 comments

Australian gun laws claimed to reduce mass shootings. In October, a study prepared by Australian pro-gun lobbyists and published in the British Journal of Criminology argued that tougher gun laws in Australia did little to lower murder or suicide rates. A newly released report agrees that historically declining murder rates were mainly responsible for the decline in average gun homicides from 93 to 56 per annum. In the USA there were approximately 10000 gun homicides in 2004. The report emphasises there have been no mass shootings since the laws were enacted.
posted by bystander on Dec 13, 2006 - 36 comments

When Gregg Revell packed his bags for a trip to Pennsylvania last April, he had no idea how far he'd be traveling. Before the week was out, the 57-year-old suburban real estate agent and grandfather would be arrested, thrown into one of the country's most notorious jails, strip searched and inoculated against his will. The soft-spoken Utah native would be on his way to becoming a poster child for the National Rifle Association in a $3 million lawsuit.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Mar 10, 2006 - 84 comments

You got your Outkast in my Sun Tzu Weaponry, military, and war footage set to music. Although the author believes Enya did the song Adiemus, the target practice video is kind of interesting. I couldn't find any videos set to Peace Train, however.
posted by joaquim on Dec 1, 2004 - 13 comments

How it feels to get shot. [via waxy] Each year, roughly 55,000 Americans survive firearm injuries. "People don't even get knocked backward when they get shot.. Unless hit in the head or the spine, the most common [immediate] reaction to getting shot is no reaction at all."
posted by stbalbach on Jun 4, 2004 - 43 comments

Air Marshal Forgets Gun in Airport Bathroom
Are we safer yet?
posted by fenriq on Apr 12, 2004 - 24 comments

What happened to intent to commit a crime? Jalbert, a resident of Pohenegamook, Que., was arrested on Oct. 11 after failing to stop at the local border crossing. He had crossed into a neighbouring Maine town to fill up his truck with gasoline before a weekend hunting trip. U.S. officials noticed a hunting rifle on his front seat. A subsequent computer search by American authorities revealed that he had a criminal record in Canada, related to a 12-year-old breaking and entering conviction. Now he's facing four months in jail. An editorial in the Maine newspaper The Portland Herald called the decision to keep Jalbert locked up "odd" and said he "is no threat to anyone (unless you're a duck)."
posted by Coop on Nov 8, 2002 - 22 comments

Ashcroft's lunacy knows no bounds. In the midst of touting TIPS, he continues to defend his proposal "to immediately destroy government records of people who buy guns, disputing a congressional report that said his idea could help criminals get firearms illegally."
posted by donkeyschlong on Jul 25, 2002 - 37 comments

In a major policy reversal, the Justice Department has officially endorsed an individual right to bear arms. In doing so, the Justice Department has abandoned its long-held position that the second amendment is limited in scope to protecting militia activities. Does this mean the Justice Department will stop enforcing federal laws that it sees as violating the 2nd amendemnt? Should it? If there is a individual right to bear arms, how far should it extend?
posted by boltman on May 8, 2002 - 65 comments

Ask the rabbi...about storing your ammo. I love the total randomness of this, including the fact that it's all coming to you from Wisconsin, the Badger State.
posted by luser on May 9, 2001 - 8 comments

Feeling chest pains? Maybe it's that gun in your pocket! Physicians For Social Responsibility want all doctors to screen patients for gun ownership, ostensibly so that they can warn them about the physical hazards said ownership can cause. Hmmm...doctors don't do that for toasters, trampolines, hammers, paper, and other things that can harm you. I'm no gun lover - don't own one, never will, but this smacks of political agenda.
posted by davidmsc on Apr 25, 2001 - 20 comments

How many times have you said "THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO CARRY A GUN CONCEALED!"
posted by kaefer on Oct 6, 2000 - 3 comments

A historical rebuttal to the currently rabid NRA. Michael Bellesiles analyzes gun culture throughout American history and finds a number of points that disagree with Chuck Heston's version of 'Merica. Not surprisingly, the NRA is livid. At the risk of posting flamebait, will people ever be able to approach this issue from a reasoned, educated perspective, rather than responding with knee-jerk reactions?
posted by solistrato on Sep 7, 2000 - 5 comments

Guns save lives? (I suppose it's the bullets that kill people) The NRA today staged the "400 Man March" to show their support for guns and opposition to last week's Million Mom March. On CSPAN today, I also caught a bit of their convention, where they were openly talking about Bush being "their president". I don't know what scares me more, seeing the speeches from their convention on TV, or someday going to an NRA-themed restaurant ("I'll take the saturday night special please, with armor piercing sauce on the side.").
posted by mathowie on May 20, 2000 - 57 comments