MetaFilter posts tagged with guns and firearms

No end in sight

baphomet — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:24:54 -0800

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. Since the McClendon incident: Lovell Mixton kills 4 Oakland police officers during a traffic stop on March 21 (this event is not without its controversies). Mixton was killed by a SWAT team. Eight days later in Santa Clara, CA, on March 29, Yahoo! engineer Devan Kalathat opened fire on his two children and three other family members before turning the gun on himself. His wife survived with injuries. The same day, across the country in Carthage, NC, embittered husband Robert Stewart created a bloodbath at his estranged wife's place of business, a nursing home, slaying 8 people before being fatally shot by a police officer. Surely everyone has heard of the April 3 tragedy in Binghamton, NY, in which 13 people were brutally murdered by gunfire after suspect Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with a car, then entered the building with guns blazing. The suspect is believed to be among the dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. Just a day later, 23-year old Richard Poplawski ambushed 3 Pittsburgh, PA police officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance call to his home, killing them all. Two other officers were wounded during the firefight, in which over 100 rounds were exchanged. The suspect, who was worried about an impending "Obama gun ban", was captured by SWAT teams and remains in custody, the only shooter on the timeline to have survived the horrific tragedies they created. --- As a vicious wave of horrific gun violence sweeps the nation, a shocked populace wonders if this explosion of violence is the result of the global economic malaise-- but why, then, is this a uniquely American phenomenon? Perhaps it's because we have 5% of the world's population, but 35-50% of its citizen-owned firearms.

Robert A. Talbot's Wooden Guns

Fiasco da Gama — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:06:10 -0800

Robert A. Talbot makes guns out of wood.

The Internet Movie Firearms Database

jedicus — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:13:16 -0800

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. I found the site while trying to find which airsoft guns to buy for a potential Halloween costume. After a few fruitless Google searches it occurred to me: somewhere a bunch of gun nerds must have done this already. Ahh, the internet. One tip: when browsing by movie title, titles that start with "The" are under T rather than the first letter of the second word. Sadly, the coverage for most Bond movies is sorely and unexpectedly lacking.

It seems wrong to call a gun 'cute'...

quin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:21:07 -0800

Minature gunsmithing is an amazing art form. The firearms are exact replicas of their full sized counterparts, down to the smallest details, and the creation of one was often a requirement to be considered a master gunsmith. Though if you want to collect them, they are not inexpensive.

Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot

phrontist — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:29:55 -0800

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 w a t ch this! (more)

Gun control ten years on.

bystander — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:31:00 -0800

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.

Don't take your guns to town, son

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 08:49:49 -0800

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.

MTV Meets Military History Channel

joaquim — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:34:25 -0800

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.

how it feels to get shot

stbalbach — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 22:32:35 -0800

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."

Are We Safer Yet?

fenriq — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 16:09:39 -0800

Air Marshal Forgets Gun in Airport Bathroom
Are we safer yet?

Coop — Fri, 08 Nov 2002 15:08:45 -0800

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)."

donkeyschlong — Thu, 25 Jul 2002 14:35:10 -0800

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."

boltman — Wed, 08 May 2002 00:29:05 -0800

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?

luser — Wed, 09 May 2001 08:30:43 -0800

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.

davidmsc — Wed, 25 Apr 2001 16:43:42 -0800

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.

kaefer — Fri, 06 Oct 2000 15:04:49 -0800

How many times have you said "THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO CARRY A GUN CONCEALED!"

solistrato — Thu, 07 Sep 2000 07:23:44 -0800

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?

mathowie — Sat, 20 May 2000 11:57:37 -0800

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.").