Category: Born again Cynic!
Categories
Lawyers
Wife Suzi and I were chatting the other day about someone in the industry who got a new job. She said, “Nah, he won’t make it, he’s not a Gunist.” I paused, thinking, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that word, but it’s a good one.”
“So,” I said, “what’s a Gunist?” Suzi has been around our industry for quite some time. I was curious to know what insight she had on the matter.
“Oh, you know, someone like you. Somebody who’s lived it, breathed it, grew up with it, reads those boring books you read about old English guns, proof marks, all that reloading stuff, works on guns in the garage for hours at a time, you know — gun stuff. If I need to know something about guns, I ask you and you just about always know at least something about it. He’s not like that and doesn’t understand who we are, or how we think. Just because he can sell refrigerators, doesn’t mean he can work in our industry selling gun stuff.”
And it dawned on me, she was right.
In the “old” days, say, 20 or 30 years ago, the vast majority of executive level types in the biz were gun guys, or as Suzi says, “Gunists.” They had grown up shooting, hunting, collecting and more than likely, working in our industry. They understood their customers — because they were their customers. Fast-forward 20 or 30 years and in today’s “corporatized” companies, there is a tendency to think, “Well, if they can sell widgets, or tractors or used cars, they can sell guns.” But almost always it ends up not to be the case at all. There are exceptions, but not many.
The really bad thing is some of those who get brought into our industry have tended to bounce from company to company, wrecking havoc, getting fired, getting golden handshakes, only to turn up again in some executive position. It’s like, once you get a union card, you can get a job no matter what. “Hey, he was the VP of marketing there, so he could be the VP of marketing here,” sort of thinking. Not.
If you’re a “Gunist” and reading this now, you are probably aware of some pretty silly new products that have been introduced over the past 10 years or so. After a jaunt to SHOT Show, I have often come away thinking, “Did anyone who was an actual shooter even look at that product before they introduced it?” And the scary thing, is sometimes I find out that actually, no … nobody who was an actual shooter had looked at it before the VP of Sales (formerly a VP of sales at Enron or something and a definite non-shooter) simply ordered it launched and their Madison Ave. marketing firm did it. Then we usually witness what we call “the big silence” as people don’t buy whatever “it” is.
Of course, then that VP ends up at some other unsuspecting company and does the same thing. Repeat ad-nauseam. All of which is fine if all I’m going to do is complain about it. So let’s not just complain and wring our hands and repeat woe-is-me chants. What can we do about it?
Actually, it’s easy. Make yourself known. If (fill in the blank here) company announces, introduces or tries to sell you on a product that’s stupid — tell them. Pick up the phone, drop them an e-mail, fill out the survey, whatever it takes. Just say, “Hey, I don’t mean to be ugly, but that new digital/hi-tech/battery-powered/operator-based/polymer/CR123/lavender-laser/Kydex-wrapped widget, is … um … stupid. Don’t waste your money on it, because I won’t waste my money on it either. And besides, you shoulda’ asked a Gunist before you did it in the first place.”
Of course, some of those marketing disasters have served to make our industry interesting at times. I’ve still never actually seen a magazine for a Bren Ten 10mm auto. Can you say “Rogak P-18” auto pistol? Even the term “Short Magnum” may go the way of the Do-Do bird. And just because you can make it out of polymer, doesn’t mean you actually should. Well, at least then it could be recycled into those little booze bottles you get on airplanes.
So let’s cross our Gunist fingers and hope the industry looks harder for executives who know the difference between a .22 Hornet and a .22 LR, have some 1950s Gun Digests laying around that are well-thumbed, and are really sorry they can’t make the meeting on Wednesday because it’s dove season opener. Please?
Categories
Works for me!
.JPG)
.png)
Won’t you look at that. He has previous encounters with law enforcement for violent threats, but those were not sufficiently dealt with so the shooter was able to pass a background check, buy a rifle and shoot up Stoneman Douglas High School Robb Elementary School an Independence Day parade.
Illinois already has a red flag law.
I guess nobody thought to invoke it.
The suicide attempt is the real shocker. I’m surprised that didn’t get him an involuntary commitment that would make him a prohibited person.
Or maybe Illinois didn’t inform NICS like what happened with Sutherland Springs.
I’d put even money on someone having said something to the FBI about him too, and that being ignored.
I guess the big takeaway is that the purpose of red flag laws is to be a political weapon because they certainly don’t stop crazy people who get the cops called on them from getting guns.
Gun owners with a Concealed Carry Weapon permit in California had their information — including names, addresses, and race — exposed on Monday after Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal.
Available through the state’s OpenJustice Data Platform — which has since gone offline in response to the data exposure — Bonta said in a statement on Monday that the firearms dashboard would “improve transparency and information sharing” for gun-related data, including public access to data on firearms in California, and information about CCW permits and Gun Violence Restraining Orders.
“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” the California Department of Justice told The Reload. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable.”
“We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”
President of the California Rifle & Pistol Association Chuck Michel told The Reload, “vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information.”
Michel said the association is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by the doxing of law-abiding gun owners.
“Litigation is likely,” he said.
The Reload reported a database for Los Angeles County that showed the personal information of 244 judge permits, seven custodial officers, 63 people with a place of employment permit, and 420 reserved officers.
The report revealed the personal data of 2,891 people with standard concealed carry licenses in Los Angeles County.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s office confirmed that the data breach included names, ages, addresses, Criminal Identification Index numbers, and license types. Despite the state disabling access to the portal, there are concerns that bad actors have copied the information and circulated it around social media and other parts of the internet.
Twenty-four hours before the leak, Bonta said of the portal, “transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve.”
“As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence,” he said. “One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen California’s commonsense gun laws.”
He added the announcement “puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state.”
If anyone had their information compromised as a result of the data breach, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office asks that you make an online report.
Categories
Africa wins again!
Trophy hunter who killed lions, elephants shot dead
An avid hunter of endangered animals was shot dead in South Africa after his truck broke down, according to new reports.
Riaan Naude, the 55-year-old head of Pro Hunt Africa, was found dead next to his vehicle in Marken Road, Limpopo. Cops said they have no motive yet.
Two hunting rifles were found in Naude’s car near the Kruger National Park wildlife reserve, local outlet Maroela Media reported June 9.
The non-profit Heritage Protection Group said Naude was shot dead by a man who pulled up alongside him when the hunter stopped his car near Mokopane after it overheated, according to Metro UK.
“His vehicle overheated & he was shot execution style next to the vehicle in Limpopo,” the Twitter account “XposeTrophyKilling” said in a post.
The group said two men got out of a white Nissan pickup truck and that one shot him, the outlet reported.
The man “shot him in cold blood at close range,” The Mirror reported.
HPG said the pair snatched one of his guns and fled.
A cattle herder heard a gunshot and witnessed a Nissan truck speeding away, according to reports.
Cops confirmed that Naude — who frequently shared images of himself with animals that he killed while hunting — was shot dead, reports said.
Police Lt. Col. Mamphaswa Seabi said cops found Naude’s dead body “lying with his face up” with “blood on his head and face,” according to multiple news outlets.
“The motive for the attack and the subsequent murder is unknown at this stage,” he said.
Naude’s company, based in northern South Africa, labels itself a “hunting and Eco Safari outfit.”
“WE ARE YOUR AFRICAN DREAM!” the website boasts.
The business charges $350 per day to hunt game, $2,500 for crocodile and $1,500 for a giraffe, according to Pro Hunt Africa’s price list.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators have moved to the brink of an agreement on a bipartisan gun violence bill, Democrats’ lead negotiator said Tuesday, potentially teeing up votes this week on an incremental but notable package that would stand as Congress’s response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.
Nine days after Senate bargainers agreed to a framework proposal — and 29 years after Congress last enacted a major measure curbing firearms — Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters that a final agreement on the proposal’s details was at hand.
The legislation lawmakers have been working toward would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities aimed at improving school safety and mental health initiatives.
“I think we’ve reached agreement,” Murphy said. “And just we’re dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s right now. I think we’re in good shape.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the chief Republican bargainer, spoke on the Senate floor moments later and said he, Murphy and the other two top Senate bargainers had “reached agreement.”
The senators did not initially say how they’d resolved the two major stumbling blocks that had delayed agreement on the plan’s legislative language.
One was how to make abusive romantic partners subject to the existing ban that violent spouses face to obtaining guns. The other was providing federal aid to states that have “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take firearms away from people deemed dangerous or to states that have violence intervention programs.
If enacted, the election-year measure would spotlight a modest but telling shift in the politics of an issue that has defied compromise since Bill Clinton was president.
After 10 Black shoppers were killed last month in Buffalo, New York, and 19 children and two teachers died days later in Uvalde, Texas, Democrats and some Republicans decided that this time, measured steps were preferable to Congress’ usual reaction to such horrors — gridlock.
What’s uncertain is whether the Senate agreement and its passage would mark the beginning of slow but gradual congressional action to curb gun violence, or the high water mark on the issue. Until Buffalo and Uvalde, a numbing parade of mass slayings — at sites including elementary and high schools, houses of worship, military facilities, bars and the Las Vegas Strip — have yielded only gridlock in Washington.
Republicans refused to include proposals in Tuesday’s compromise that were sought by President Joe Biden and Democrats to ban assault weapons or raise the minimum age for buying them, prohibit high-capacity magazines or require background checks for virtually all gun sales.
It seemed likely a majority of Republicans — especially in the House — would oppose the legislation. Underscoring the backlash GOP lawmakers supporting the pact would face from the most conservative voters, delegates booed Cornyn at his state’s Republican convention Saturday as he described the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said his goal was for his chamber to debate and vote on the legislation this week. Momentum in Congress for gun legislation has a history of waning quickly after mass shootings. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week July 4th recess at the end of this week.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he supported the outline bargainers announced last weekend. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also said she backed the effort and seems sure to set up votes on it as quickly as she can.