Lance Cpl. David Cantu, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, patrols past goats in the city of Hit, Iraq on Mar. 8, 2008. Regimental Combat Team 5 is deployed with Multi-National Force-West in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Al Anbar province of Iraq to develop Iraqi security forces, facilitate the development of official rule of law through democratic reforms, and continue the development of a market based economy centered on Iraqi reconstruction. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Cpl. Tyler Hill)

Not the short barrel on the SAW. Originally used primarily by Airborne troops, the short-barreled M249s seem to have become the norm. In early 2006 I pointed out short SAWs a couple of times with soldiers, but the Marines stuck with the regular 18″ barrel for a while. I’ve been seeing more and more pictures of Marines with short-barreled M249s, though, and they, too, seem to have made the switch.

Even though the Marines recently began transitioning some troops to the M4 carbine, the majority of the service will stick with the M16. Note that the Marine rifleman in the picture has an M16/M203.

Robb Allen points a Simple Minded response to the recent Mass Murder stopped by CCW:

Query: Had this good samaritan tackled the shooter, would he be less of a hero? Had he struck the shooter over the head with a beer bottle, would he be less of a hero? There are plenty of other examples, but the point is the same.

in a post titled Gun Anecdote Proves Nothing

And goes on with

The gun doesn’t make the hero. The hero makes the hero. The fact that this person was willing to risk his own welfare to help other people sounds decidedly “liberal”. Maybe only liberals should have guns?

He closes with

An anonymous person stopped a man from killing people by shooting him with a concealed weapon. It proves nothing more than on this occasion, one good man stopped one bad man from doing harm. I too applaud the anonymous man, but this doesn’t prove that all good people should carry guns.

But, um, I guess I’m unfamiliar with the claim that “all good people should carry guns.”

Did I miss something? Has the NRA adopted this? Are the gun bloggers demanding that all good people should carry guns?

I left this comment.

Help: I’m trying to find out who’s claiming that “all good people should carry guns.”

Please point me to the ones making this claim.

Thanks in advance!

Go see Robb’s post for a lot more discussion on this.

A handout photograph supplied by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on 27 May 2008 shows Israeli women soldiers in a training exercise in the desert somewhere in Israel.

Another below…
(more…)

Say Uncle points out Another mass shooting stopped by a carry permit holder. A guy in a bar, no less.

In the small town of Winnemucca Nevada a man bent on performing a mass shooting at a bar was stopped by an armed CCW permit holder who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The alleged mass murderer had already killed two victims & had injured two others with gunshot wounds, but while he was reloading he was shot & killed by an armed CCW permit holder who was also at the bar.

Let’s see:

1. Killer killing people
2. No law enforcement officials apparently present
3. CCW holder carrying in establishment that serves alcohol
4. CCW stops killer
5. No one killed in cross fire
6. Cops don’t have to hesitate while trying to distinguish killer from cowboy

All in all, a storyline with a rather unhappy ending for the antis.

As I’ve noted, we have disconnected our television. Otherwise, like you, we would be seeing this story over and over and over on every channel.

(I knew I couldn’t keep a straight face while typing that…)

Amended SB184 (Castle Doctrine) Passes Ohio House with a 73-23 vote

Buckeye Firearms Association applauds the Ohio House of Representatives’ 73-23 vote to pass the amended SB184.

SB184 passed the Ohio Senate in April with a 31-0 vote and has now passed the Ohio House in an amended form to include technical corrections and improve laws for law-abiding gun owners in Ohio.

The bill is headed back to the Ohio Senate to work out final details due to the amendments made during it’s time in the House.

See the Buckeye Firearms Association page for all the details.

Men Attempt Robbery, Woman Shoots One Dead, Deputies Say

A woman who was awakened Friday morning to two men trying to ram a van through the front door of her business shot and killed one of the men, Montgomery County deputies said.

Deputies said the two men had robbed a motel in Troy earlier before driving to a Mount Gilead coffee shop and attempting to rob it.

That’s when deputies said Bouaphan Chanthunom, 51, opened fire with an assault rifle, instantly killing Joseph Murphy McRae, 36, of Mount Gilead.

No make on the weapon. Maybe it was an SKS-47.

In an article about the lawsuit against Jay Wallace, owner of a sporting goods store in Smyrna, Georgia:

Since Bloomberg became mayor in 2002, every gun homicide in the city has been committed with an illegal gun, police say.

But it’s too difficult to go after and get the ones with illegal guns. Much easier to control those who follow the law.

I don’t know many specifics about this particular case, but the charge is basically that the shop’s practices allow straw purchases.

Well, either the shop complies with the law or it doesn’t. Should be simple enough to determine.

And, as Caleb points out, what a “straw purchase” is gets constantly misrepresented.

I thought I had pointed this out, but apparently not. So here it is:

Kalashnikov AK-47 Vodka. No poodle shooter, for sure.

Image from English Russia.

Also, don’t miss the AK-47 magazine MP3 player. (California models limited to one song at a time…)

Joe Huffman on the coming battle over the right to keep and bear blades.

Lots of people will tell you that you’re silly if you think anyone wants to take away your knife. It’s only the assault weapons and unregistered handguns they want to take away. Well, then the other handguns, too. And, after that, the competition rifles.

But don’t worry hunters. It’s not your guns they want.

Well, unless they get the rest and all that’s left are hunting guns. At that point, why not take them?

When they’re gone? What else is there to take?

Well, swords for starters. Just the big ones that no person really needs, after all. And then the small ones, too.

Sure seems silly. Except that is what is happening almost everywhere else.