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.

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.

Texas homeowner stops robbery, holds suspects until police arrive.

Just to give a taste of the good things that gun owners do every day in America, here's a story thanks to Guns Save Lives. This Wednesday morning, a Houston homeowner stopped a burglary in progress in his house, and then held the suspects at gunpoint until the police could arrive to arrest them.

The man, Randy Magdeleno, stated on KHOU that he walked into his house to find three juvenile criminals attempting to rob him. He quickly grabbed his rifle, not knowing whether the robbers were armed or not, and went into his kitchen. He caught two suspects downstairs, and a third upstairs. He then told them to lie on the floor. Magdeleno could not call 911 from his cell phone, so his wife called from her workplace.

Police later arrived and arrested all three suspects. More proof that guns can truly save lives and protect people, sometimes without the need for shots to even be fired.

Celebrities endorse and speak out against AWB

Paul J. Richards / AFP - Getty Images

Yesterday, Chris Rock, Tony Bennett, Adam Scott and Amanda Peet endorsed Obama's gun control plan at a press conference during an event led by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Tony Bennett, as well as Adam Scott (from Parks and Recreation) specifically referenced the Newtown massacre.

Perhaps the most disconcerting was the blind loyalty expressed by Chris Rock, who stated:

"The President of the United States is ... our boss. ... The president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country, and when your dad says something, you listen! And when you don't, it usually bites you in the ass later on."

This mindset is the reason that we Bill of Rights supporters need to prevent this ban from making it through. On the positive side, Bruce Willis and Ice-T are on our side. Willis stated:

"I think that you can't start to pick apart anything out of the Bill of Rights without thinking that it's all going to become undone."

Ice-T expressed similar concerns in an interview after the Aurora shooting.

Milwaukee Sheriff releases PSA: "You have a duty to protect yourself."

Image via Gary Porter/AP/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has released a radio PSA in Wisconsin telling citizens to arm themselves in case the police do not arrive on time.

In the PSA, Clarke is quoted as saying:

"I'm Sheriff David Clarke, and I want to talk to you about something personal...your safety. It's no longer a spectator sport; I need you in the game, but are you ready? With officers laid-off and furloughed, simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back; but are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We're partners now. Can I count on you?"

This announcement has sparked quite a controversy, while tensions are already very high given recent events. Some critics on the anti-gun side claim that it is "irresponsible" and that Clarke is merely acting as a mouthpiece for the gun lobby. However, in many cases, what Clarke says in the PSA is a fact: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

3D printing could nullify magazine bans.

You may have heard of the latest advances in the field of 3D printing. If not, here is the basic rundown: 3D printers are machines that function like a CNC machine for milling metal or wood. However, instead of milling out the object from a solid piece of material, 3D printers form the object from scratch by melting plastic, and "printing" a 3D object. By printing separate parts, one can produce entire assemblies of parts.

There has been increased interest in 3D printing in the firearm community, especially because of one organization known as Defense Distributed, or the Wiki Weapon project. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a fully functioning AR-15 rifle from 3D printed parts. Defense Distributed has already succeeded in producing a functioning AR lower, but the component broke after several shots, due to the weak plastic it was constructed from. While current hobbyist printers are restricted to plastics, we can assume that as this technology matures, we will begin to see printers capable of constructing significantly stronger plastic parts, or even printing metal parts.

While the printed AR may have been failure (if you want to look at it that way), the Wiki Weapon project has successfully produced a completely printed 30-round AR magazine, which survived a full unload of its ammunition.

If this technology further matures and becomes more and more affordable, magazine and gun bans may become completely useless. Defense Distributed used a very expensive high-quality printer to produce the AR mag, but they are currently working on a design that can be produced on cheaper hobbyist/in-home printers.

Citations:
http://hackaday.com/2013/01/15/print-your-own-30-round-ar15-magazine/