Assault Weapons Ban shot down in Senate.

On Tuesday, Harry Reid, leader of the Democrat-controlled Senate, dropped Diane Feinstein's Assault Weapons Ban from the gun control package proposed by the group.

The move by Reid is largely due to a lack of support for the ban, and a fear that including it in the full package could prevent ANY gun control laws from being passed. However, Feinstein intends to offer the ban as an amendment. Personally, I don't see this getting any traction.

Now we just have to worry about universal background checks (AKA de facto registration). The other laws proposed are measures which won't limit gun rights, and include strengthening the penalties for straw purchases and school safety aid.

This is, indeed, a triumph for freedom loving Americans, but we may not be out of the woods yet. A high-capacity magazine ban may still be on the table. At least we can expect AR prices to go down a little.

Defense Distributed granted manufacturing license.

A picture of the document taken from the Defense Distributed blog.

Defense Distributed, the organization which you probably know pretty well by now, has just been granted a license to manufacture firearms by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. I assume this means that they can now sell 3D printed firearms, since it is legal to "create" them without a license, but not legal to sell them. The license is a Type 7, which allows manufacturing of non-automatic firearms.

Apparently some of the politicians are catching wind of all this 3D printing news. Representative Steve Israel (D-Huntington, NY) has already introduced a ban on the 3D printing of gun magazines. The bill is in the drafting phase, and I don't expect it to go far, since 3D printing is not very well-known.

Anti-gun insanity hits schools nationwide.

You may have heard some of these recent news stories, but just in case you haven't here is a roundup:

• In Washington today, a six-year old boy was suspended for school because he was overheard for simply talking about toy guns (keep in mind, not real ones) with his classmates.
• Actor Joseph C. Phillips' 15-year old son's mental state was called into question by his school when he showed a picture of an airsoft BB gun to a classmate. The school also threatened police action.
• An entire county went into lock-down after a school doctor's office receptionist heard the words "school" and "shooting" on a student's voicemail while confirming an appointment. In reality, the voicemail message was actually a quote from the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which read, "And all shooting some b-ball outside of the school."
• A 7-year old boy at Park Elementary School in Brooklyn Park was suspended for allegedly chewing a breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun. The student claims that he was actually trying to chew it into the shape of a mountain, and a teacher ordered him to go to the principal's office. Recent reports also state that the school is offering counseling to any students who may have witnessed the traumatizing act. 

There are a few more stories like this, but I cannot recall them at the moment. This is just and example of the mass hysteria surrounding guns promoted by the mass media and government.

Gun manufacturers refuse to sell in anti-gun states.

The count is increasing rapidly. Magpul, Wilson Combat, Larue Tactical, Olympic Arms, Doublestar Corp., American Spirit Arms, Liberty Suppressors, Barrett Firearms, and numerous other firearms manufacturers are refusing to sell their products to the government in anti-gun cities and states. I would suppose this would primarily include law enforcement. This is a business risk, and it is great that these companies are putting their profits on the line to help the pro-gun cause. Now if only we could get some of the ammunition manufacturers to get on board with this, we would really have some leverage.

Defense Distributed fires 600 rounds from a 3D printed AR lower.

You may remember my earlier post regarding Defense Distributed, the group behind the Wiki Weapon project. So far, Defense Distributed has successfully produced magazines and AR lowers using 3D printers. However, until now, their lower could only fire several rounds before it shattered. Their newest edition is much more capable, and has been tested to over 600 rounds!

To most people, this is not a major accomplishment, since the lower receiver is only one part of the firearm. However, it is the most important part, since AR-15 lowers are the only part of the weapons that are actually legally considered a "firearm". The lower is the only part that is registered and serial-numbered. Therefore, by 3D printing a lower, one can create a gun which is not "in the system". Defense distributed has a video, as well as many other interesting photos of their magazines and guns on their blog.