guns allowed in Arizona bars

I know there are stupider ideas out there, but none are coming immediately to mind. From AP:

Under the law, backed by the National Rifle Association, the 138,350 people with concealed-weapons permits in Arizona will be allowed to bring their guns into bars and restaurants that haven't posted signs banning them.

Those carrying the weapons aren't allowed to drink alcohol.

Curiously, people carrying guns openly will not be allowed in bars, just the people concealing. I would like to know by what logic a concealed weapon is necessary protection while a visible one is not.

Furthermore, if you bring a concealed weapon, you can't drink if the bar has posted a sign saying "no guns," though of course there's no way for the bartender to know if you're concealing. Even then, however, the sign only counts if it is more than a month old, hasn't "fallen down" (golly, I wonder what qualifies as having "fallen down?"), is a special state-approved government sign, and if the offender is a resident of Arizona.

What a Byzantine, nonsensical system the gun lobby has created.

gun buyback program in South Bend

A little heavy-handed name, but a good idea nonetheless. The program needs donations to buy the guns, though, and I intend to help them out.

guns up

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue finally figures out how to lessen the crowds at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport: by allowing people to carry guns into the airport. From TPM:

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said Monday that guns should be allowed in public areas of the nation's busiest airport.

And he suggested his own wife might want to pack a firearm for long walks between the parking lot and the terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.

"If my wife wanted to carry a gun, if she was going from the parking lot, walking from one of those far parking lots to pick up a grandchild or something like that, I think that's a good idea, yes," he said Monday.

Earlier this year, Perdue, a Republican, signed legislation that allows Georgians who have passed criminal background checks to carry concealed weapons onto mass transit, as well as into state parks and restaurants that serve alcohol. The new law took effect July 1.

Yeah, you read that right. He said he wants to allow men with guns into the airport so that his wife will be less likely to be mugged there. No flaws in that logic!

stupidest propaganda machine ever

I don't usually use my Myspace account, because, well, Myspace is kind of lame and designed for 16 year olds, but today I happened to jump on it and saw something that made my day. A buddy of mine who's having a rough time lately received some anti-gun control email forward that consisted of a long collection of moronic folk-wisdom-ly aphorisms about gun control (these forwards, as we all know, typically appeal to the lowest common denominator) and he apparently snapped, returning a point-by-point rebuttal to his entire email list.

The last one was priceless:

32. The best defense against tyranny is a well-armed populace.
I thought it was an educated population, not a bunch of ignorant hicks with deer rifles and shot guns.

and then there's Rick Perry

Yes, folks, I actually have more dumbf**k VA Tech comments for you this evening! From The Dallas Morning News (hat tip to Rene):

Texans who have concealed-weapon permits should be allowed to carry their guns anywhere in the state, including churches, courthouses and bars, Gov. Rick Perry said Monday.

Currently, state law prohibits concealed weapons in certain places, including private property where signs are posted disallowing the guns.

But after meetings with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt about the rampage at Virginia Tech, Mr. Perry took issue with the idea of barring weapons from campuses.

"It's time for us to have that debate in Texas from the standpoint of whether or not a law-abiding citizen in the state of Texas can take their appropriately licensed and permitted weapon anywhere in this state, whether it's on a college campus or wherever," Mr. Perry said.

Leave it to the astute Gubbner Goodhair to decide that what the VA Tech shooting proves is that guns and alcohol don't mix enough.

In a very crowded field, this is possibly the dumbest application yet of what I'm going to call the "VA Tech" argument. The "VA Tech" argument is sorta like the "Roman Empire" argument, that is, the Roman Empire fell because of whatever you don't want other people to do, no matter how absurd.

Similarly, the VA Tech shooting shows definitively that your position on gun control, no matter how batshit f**king crazy, is the correct one.

Could you imagine being the professor of a class where every kid could potentially be packing heat? Or a high school class with kids who are 18? You still wanna flunk the "troubled" angry kid in the back of the class, looking as stressed out and frazzled as he does in his black trenchcoat? And what about you, judge? Still feel comfortable sentencing Joe Bob to prison, with his brother sitting in the back of the room near the exit, shooting daggers out of his eyes?

Of course, I guess that's better than having everyone paranoid enough to get a concealed carry permit drunk and armed at Deputy Dawg's Olde Tyme Saloon. Gawd, what a maroon!

Tragedy and political points at VA Tech

So what does this tragedy at VA Tech tell us about gun control, everyone seems to be asking?

Answer: Not a goddamn thing. Despite what I'm hearing from a number of places, the idea that without gun control some vigilante Rambo student would've dove out from behind a desk, guns a'blazin', and mowed down the shooter(s) in a blaze of righteous glory and pyrotechnics, is about as ridiculous as the argument that a man willing to kill 32 people and himself would've just stayed home on his Wii if they didn't sell guns at Wal-Mart. There's something about gun control that gets normally compassionate people all excited to poach every tragedy for political points, and it's kind of sickening.

Seriously, people. Let's have a little f**king class and just let people mourn for their loved ones, mmkay?

"easy access to guns"

From The New York Times:

Violent crime rose by double-digit percentages in cities across the country over the last two years, reversing the declines of the mid-to-late 1990s, according to a new report by a prominent national law enforcement association.

While overall crime has been declining nationwide, police officials have been warning of a rise in murder, robbery and gun assaults since late 2005, particularly in midsize cities and the Midwest. Now, they say, two years of data indicates that the spike is more than an aberration.

“There are pockets of crime in this country that are astounding,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, which is releasing the report on Friday. “It’s gone under the radar screen, but it’s not if you’re living on the north side of Minneapolis or the south side of Los Angeles or in Dorchester, Mass.”

Local police departments blame several factors: the spread of methamphetamine use in some Midwestern and Western cities, gangs, high poverty and a record number of people being released from prison. But the biggest theme, they say, is easy access to guns and a willingness, even an eagerness, to settle disputes with them, particularly among young people.

Hmm, I thought I remembered something happening 2 years ago that conservatives assured us, over the protests of police unions and law enforcement agencies, would have no effect on violent crime. Nah, just a figment of my imagination.

I know, I know, post hoc, ergo propter hoc. Still, the timing is uncanny. Funny thing is, I'm actually not a big believer in gun control, but now I'm second-guessing myself.