Kalashnikov honored but there’s a glitch
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, even in the new Russia.
A 16-foot-tall statue of Lt. Gen. Michael T. Kalashnikov, designer of the AK-47, believed to be the world’s most widespread assault weapon, was ceremoniously unveiled in Moscow in September.
The ceremony took place to the sounds of Russian military folk music, the Soviet anthem, Orthodox prayers and many speakers, including the general’s daughter, who praised Kashnikov’s creation for ensuring Russia’s safety and peace in the world.
But there’s a glitch, a blunder so bad it makes you look twice. On the new sculpture dedicated to Russia’s most famous small arms designer, there is an unintentional homage to a weapon of Russia’s hated adversaries during the Great Patriotic War.
While the majority of the panel is filled with models of Kalashnikov’s inventions and derivatives, nestled in the backdrop of the representation of the AKS-74U compact assault rifle is a slab depicting an exploded view of the MKb42(H), the Sturmgewehr World War II German assault rifle which helped serve as the inspiration for the program Kalashnikov’s rifle was designed to satisfy.
Weinstein targets NRA in expiation
Now we know what a pariah does to get attention from one of the current headliners in his field: Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will channel his anger at himself for allegedly sexually harassing women for the last 40 years into trying to take down the NRA and President Trump.
Various media reports have said the Hollywood mogul, who has been fired by the company he founded, has a number of former colleagues, including actress Ashley Judd, claiming that he made unwelcomed advances on them.
“I am going to need a place to channel that anger so I’ve decided that I’m going to give the NRA my full attention,” Weinstein wrote in a statement. “I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party. I’m going to do it at the same place I had my Bar Mitzvah.”
Weinstein was accused of forcing women into sex or sexually harassing them in exchange for career advancement or a closer relationship with the Hollywood power player who was also a big contributor to major Democratic Party candidates, such as Hillary Clinton and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Apparently the only people who are not embarrassed by their links to Weinstein are key Democrats and the anti-gunners —often the same people.
Starline announces .260 Remington brass
Starline Brass recently announced the addition of new .260 Remington brass for reloaders.
The cartridge started life 20 years ago, described as “another wildcat-turned-commercial cartridge.” It uses a .264-inch diameter bullet (6.5mm) and delivers less recoil than the .308 Winchester while shooting flatter.
Starline makes all of its .260 Remington brass in the United States.
The company offers cartridge brass for many different caliber rifles and handguns.
San Jose weighs gun lock ordinance
The San Jose, the California Bay Area’s largest city, could pass a law requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms when they leave the house — a new gun control measure far stricter than state legislation, according to the Mercury News.
In addition to requiring gun owners to lock up their weapons when they’re not home, they’d need to place them in a lock box in unattended cars, report theft within 48 hours and ammunition vendors would need to keep records of sales.
DU announces new scholarship program
Ducks Unlimited (DU) launched its inaugural national scholarship program offering graduating high school seniors who are DU members the opportunity to advance their education.
Starting in 2018, DU will annually award 61, one-time scholarships, funded on an annual basis through the Youth & Education Endowment, to eligible applicants at the following levels: 50 Varsity Scholarships at $500 each; 10 Conservation Scholarships at $1,000 each, and one National Scholarship of $10,000.
“We are very proud to be able to give back to our high school members who support DU in a variety of ways,” said Doug Schoenrock, DU senior vice president and chairman of the national youth and education committee. “These young men and women have made a huge impact for our organization, and it is time for us to do the same for them.”
The online application is now open and will close on Jan. 15. Applicants will need to provide their high school transcript, DU member/volunteer history and a list of any service or academic awards received. In addition, applicants will be required to write a 300-word essay describing their most memorable outdoor experience and how it has impacted their view on conservation. All applications will be reviewed by DU’s National Scholarship Selection Committee and recipients will be chosen based on the merits of those submissions.
The list of scholarship recipients will be sent to all applicants by April 15 with awarded checks released to the student’s college or university prior to registration.
For more information visit www.ducks.org/scholarship
Illinois has issuedover 260,000 CCWs
Illinois Carry reported recently that the number of active carry licenses in the state had jumped above 260,000.
As of Aug. 31, there were 260,479 active licenses and 2.2 million active Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cards in the Prairie State.
Chicago homicides top 500, city exec’s son nabbed in Indy
In a bizarre turn of events, just after Chicago authorities reported that the homicide body count for this year had passed the 500 mark, the son of the city’s Housing Authority chief was arrested in connection with a slaying in Indianapolis, IN.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 18-year-old Eugene Jones turned himself in to Indianapolis police two days after the fatal shooting of Deante Williams, also 18. Williams died at a hospital after the shooting.
The irony will not overshadow the number of Chicago murders this year. The Chicago Tribune reported that the 500 mark had been reached at mid-month following a particularly violent weekend in which 11 people were killed and more than 30 others had been wounded by gunfire. The milestone was still something of a “good news” event, since last year saw Chicago top 500 slayings in August.
The Sun-Times reported that as of Sept. 18, at least 2,718 people had been wounded in the city. That’s down from the 3,066 who had been struck by gunfire at the same time last year.
Last year, more than 700 people were killed in Chicago, one of only two cities in the country with a so-called “gun violence tax.” The other is Seattle.
The tax was adopted by Cook County about three years ago. According to the Chicago Tribune, homicides in the Windy City are “down about 7 percent from this time last year.” However, even though the lower murder number coincides with a decline of more than 11 percent in the number of shooting incidents in which people were wounded, neighborhoods in the city are still more violent, with murder statistics that outpace some entire states.
Bay State moving on ‘bump stock’ ban
An informational public was convened in the Massachusetts State House by Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury) to gather input from the public and from interest groups on a proposed ban on ’bump stocks.
The state House of Representatives had previously voted for a ban. The legislation, included as an amendment to a supplemental budget, would ban bump stocks and other devices that increase a gun’s rate of fire, and would forbid people from modifying any gun to increase its rate of fire.
The Senate last week also voted for a bump stock ban in a similar amendment to its own version of the supplemental budget bill.
The amendments passed in both chambers with bipartisan support, with only three “Nay” votes out of 155 in the House and no “Nay” votes in the Senate. The two Democratic-dominated chambers will need to reach a compromise on final language if they want the ban to pass as part of the supplemental budget.
Republican Governor Charlie Baker has already said he would sign a bump stock ban making the Bay State the first enact a ban following the report that the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas shooter possessed such devices.
FBI Report says 118 officers killed on duty in 2016
The recently-released FBI’s annual Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) report revealed that in 2016, a total of 118 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty and more than half of those fatalities were “felonious.”
Of the 66 officers whose deaths were the result of felonies, 64 were male, two were female. Four of them were killed “intentionally with vehicles,” the report said. Sixty-two were killed with firearms and 51 of them were wearing body armor, the FBI reported.
Some of the information in the report is startling. The average age of officers killed was 40 and they had an average of 13 years of experience, according to the FBI.
The largest number of those officers were killed in ambushes, and the second most deadly event was responding to a “disturbance” call, according to the report. The third most fatal category was investigating suspicious people or circumstances.
Fifty-two officers were killed in accidents, and 50 were men while two were women. Half of them died in auto accidents including a dozen who were struck by vehicles and seven who died in motorcycle accidents.
