The Firearm Blog

Available soon from Firebox for £14.95. I want one
Hat Tip: Toyology via Gizmodo

Federal agents said Monday that these guns were found in T.I.’s home. The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr.. was arrested over the weekend on federal weapons charges. He was ordered to remain in custody at least until Friday.

The machine guns: two mac-10’s and one MP5K, with suppressors:

High cap magazines seem to be in fashion

The firearm in the middle of the above photo appears to be a Calico 9mm LIBERTY III pistol with the distinctive 50 (or 100) round magazine that sits on top.

More here.

Yuri’s humorous reply to an anti here.

I was not aware that Microsoft employees had their own gun club until SayUncle pointed it out in a comment on his blog!

Apparently they are quite active. In 2000 they donated at least $100,000 to the NRA. Microsoft matched the employee contribution.

From The NRA Foundation:

The Microsoft Gun Club Endowment in 2000 through individual contributions from members of the Microsoft Gun Club. This endowment was established to support training programs for young shooters. Club members’ gifts to this endowment are matched dollar for dollar by the Microsoft Corporation.

The founder and Chairman (soon to be ex-Chairman) Bill Gates is apparently anti-gun and pro gun control!

From ‘Is Bill Gates a closet liberal?‘ :

In 1997, Bill Gates contributed $35,000 in support of a Washington state ballot initiative supporting gun control.

It should be noted that it is Microsoft policy to match donations made by employees to charities. From Microsoft.com:

Charitable donations are matched by Microsoft, up to $12,000 per year.

A club member wearing the club t-shirt:

An interesting although unsurprising article about gun law in Burma (Myanmar):

A 1951 law bans possession of automatic weapons, grenades, and explosives with the intent to commit high treason. A rather narrowly-tailored law, at first glance.

However, the law states that the President can by decree add “any other arms or ammunition” to the banned list. And any person with a banned weapon is presumed guilty of intending to commit high treason, and required to prove his innocence:

Same old story. Those without arms are oppressed. Continue reading here.

Perfect for gun bloggers!

Hat Tip. Tech Blog

The economist has a very interesting article about how criminals in the UK appear to lease firearms from each other for use in specific crimes. The same firearms are used in crimes all over the country!

Some have suggested that would-be thugs are renting guns to use as fashion accessories. Daniel Silverstone of Portsmouth University is sceptical: “It would be cheaper to buy a replica,” he points out. “Someone who hired a real gun would probably intend to use it.” Renters must either be very short of cash or in need of a gun at very short notice, he reckons.

More here.

Kahr Arms is more than just the manufacturer of some of the smallest and most lethal weapons on earth (including the tommy gun, made

famous by Al Capone). It is run and mostly owned by a son of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the billionaire and self-proclaimed messiah who founded the Unification Church and controls a sprawl of businesses presumably intended to sustain and defend his followers when the world as we know it ends. The gun business, along with food companies, real estate, and other holdings, will serve to protect the fortress and keep sinners at bay, according to former members, as well as supply necessary provisions after the arrival of the new world order.

Not much is known about Moon’s 37-year-old son, Justin, or how Kahr Arms fits into the church’s teachings and the reverend’s plans for world domination. People who know Justin say he travels a lot, has a penchant for fast cars and big-caliber pistols, and spends stretches of time at various family and church mansions around the globe. He is also vigorously business-minded and has personally designed most of his company’s guns. He has grown Kahr Arms into one of America’s top privately owned handgun manufacturers, with sales of around $20 million a year and climbing at an annual rate of 30 percent.

More here.

Freakanomics author Stephen J. Dubner interviews the photographer of Armed America about his encounters with gun owners and their attitudes.

Read it here.

Ha! I would love to have one of these!

Musical craftsman Luis Alberto Paredes and his family have branched out from their fine classic string instruments to fashion electric guitars from shotguns and AK47s once used by fighters caught up in the country’s lingering conflict.

I wonder what a shotgun guitar looks like?

More here.

I find gun culture in other countries fascinating. This article on the BBC talks about gun culture in Switzerland.

Guns are deeply rooted within Swiss culture - but the gun crime rate is so low that statistics are not even kept.

The country has a population of six million, but there are estimated to be at least two million publicly-owned firearms, including about 600,000 automatic rifles and 500,000 pistols.

Mark Eisenecker, a sociologist from the University of Zurich told BBC News Online that guns are “anchored” in Swiss society and that gun control is simply not an issue.

Very interesting. Read the whole article here.