I'm a pretty level-headed guy. I've got to be. Anybody in this business has to be. But there are few things that really tend to frost my nads. Here's one of them:The other day I was having a cold one at the local bar when I overheard three guys talking about guns. Specifically they were talking about the M-4, since one of the guys was reservist apparently recently home from the Sand Box. Good for him. I'm glad he served, but he showed the world nothing about his knowledge as started talking about how much he loved the M-4 and wanted to buy one. His buddy, starts in with, “There's a gun show coming up. Bet you could get one there.” To which our hero replies, “Yeah, but you can't get them with the three-shot burst.” Here's where things go from bad to worse. The bar stool philosopher states flatly that “You can get the parts to make any of the civilian AR rifle fully auto…” at the same gun show. He went on to describe how easy it is to convert an AR-15 to a fully automatic rifle with “just a few parts you drop in by the trigger.” Then he moved on to say, “And if you can't find them at the gun show you can get them on the internet really cheap.” Now I know there is no law against being stupid. But maybe there should be a law about passing off stupid information as fact, especially when that information continues to confuse the general public about the rules and regulations regarding firearms ownership in general and gun shows in particular.I tried to explain to these knotheads that possession without a permit of even the parts to make a machinegun is a federal felony. But they didn't want to hear that. They knew a guy who told them about this other guy's brother's friend who bought one just a couple years ago. Having his a wall there, I tried to explain that the receivers of civilian AR-15 and military M-16/M-4 are so much different internally there is no way you could get the fully auto parts into an AR-15 receiver. Still nothing. They knew a guy who heard from a guy who bought a book about how easy it is to make a machinegun and I was all wrong.I just turned back to my whiskey and tried to enjoy the game. But is it any wonder the lame-stream media can control the gun control debate when people who should know better continue to pass on stupid information?
Mall Ninjas… at the Tavern
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Trying to explain things like this to the uneducated is usually an exercise in futility. I know you feel as I do, in that it is almost your duty to dispel some of the idiotic misinformation that the general public holds as facts. BUT, I usually find myself frustrated and angry by the time I am done. As I get older I become less and less tolerant of stupidity and less and less likely to try to educate the average lamebrain. Sad really.