Editorial

In flyover country, out on the fringe where I live with my fellow 'yahoos' who don’t like to be told how to live, there is an interesting rebellion going on. We 'Tenthers' are pushing back.Currently, 22 states have passed or are considering bills known as Firearms Freedom Acts. Such bills declare that guns, accessories, and ammunition made within a state, sold within that state and kept in that state are not subject to federal laws or regulations under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. In sum, the states are seeking to nullify unconstitutional federal laws under the 10th Amendment.

Although the venerable 30-06 Springfield and 270 Winchester remain among the favorites, Boone and Crockett Club big-game records show that hunters with a 300 Magnum are taking more North American trophies than any other caliber. Surprisingly, the second-most-popular trophy-taker isn’t a firearm—it’s a bow. Boone and Crockett compiled the data from its records-book entries from 2007 through 2009.

Although the venerable 30-06 Springfield and 270 Winchester remain among the favorites, Boone and Crockett Club big-game records show that hunters with a 300 Magnum are taking more North American trophies than any other caliber. Surprisingly, the second-most-popular trophy-taker isn’t a firearm—it’s a bow. Boone and Crockett compiled the data from its records-book entries from 2007 through 2009.

As we enter 2010, there’s a lot of good news on the gun front. The big story over the last 12 months, and one that will likely continue into this new year, was the massive sales of guns and ammunition. Shooters like us were stocking up in anticipation of some classes of firearms eventually being outlawed by the Obama Administration. That hasn’t happened yet—but there are ominous signs on the horizon.

As we enter 2010, there’s a lot of good news on the gun front. The big story over the last 12 months, and one that will likely continue into this new year, was the massive sales of guns and ammunition. Shooters like us were stocking up in anticipation of some classes of firearms eventually being outlawed by the Obama Administration. That hasn’t happened yet—but there are ominous signs on the horizon.

Gun manufacturing volume rose slightly from 2006 to 2007, BATFE records show. The ATF’s latest Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report (AFMER 2007) provides valuable insight into the performance of individual companies and the type of firearms they produce. ATF embargoes the data for one year, so 2007 is the latest data available.

Gun manufacturing volume rose slightly from 2006 to 2007, BATFE records show. The ATF’s latest Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report (AFMER 2007) provides valuable insight into the performance of individual companies and the type of firearms they produce. ATF embargoes the data for one year, so 2007 is the latest data available.

Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox television commentator, radio host, and best-selling author, is just kicking butt in every media he ventures into. His TV show attracts more than 3 million viewers a night, he’s the only author ever to have a No. 1 New York Times best-seller in the fiction, nonfiction and paperback fiction categories simultaneously, and his syndicated radio show airs on more than 400 stations. Beck almost single-handedly brought down self-avowed communist and Obama green czar Van Jones, seriously damaged the now-besieged ACORN voter-fraud machine, and exposed Cass Sunstein, Obama’s regulatory czar, as a radical animal-rights proponent and gun-grabber. How does he do it? Old-style 'angle' journalism—look for an interesting story hook, and bang on it relentlessly. This is good for gun owners, because Beck is one of the few hardcore gun-rights advocates in the electronic media. His television show today is a perfect example. Beck had attorney Alan Gura on because Gura will argue the appeal of McDonald v. City of Chicago before the Supreme Court next year. If Gura wins, one of the most onerous gun bans in the country—Chicago’s—will be overturned.

Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox television commentator, radio host, and best-selling author, is just kicking butt in every media he ventures into. His TV show attracts more than 3 million viewers a night, he’s the only author ever to have a No. 1 New York Times best-seller in the fiction, nonfiction and paperback fiction categories simultaneously, and his syndicated radio show airs on more than 400 stations. Beck almost single-handedly brought down self-avowed communist and Obama green czar Van Jones, seriously damaged the now-besieged ACORN voter-fraud machine, and exposed Cass Sunstein, Obama’s regulatory czar, as a radical animal-rights proponent and gun-grabber. How does he do it? Old-style 'angle' journalism—look for an interesting story hook, and bang on it relentlessly. This is good for gun owners, because Beck is one of the few hardcore gun-rights advocates in the electronic media. His television show today is a perfect example. Beck had attorney Alan Gura on because Gura will argue the appeal of McDonald v. City of Chicago before the Supreme Court next year. If Gura wins, one of the most onerous gun bans in the country—Chicago’s—will be overturned.

I was surprised when my teenage daughter brought home a book called Fist Stick Knife Gun, A Personal History of Violence in America by Geoffrey Canada. It’s a series of tales about the author watching his peers, inner-city black youth, beat, knife, and shoot each other. As Canada describes his tough life growing up in South Bronx, the incidence of guns was comparatively rare, so life was better back in the day, he says, when they just savagely assaulted each other. Later (to his credit), Canada describes trying to make a positive change in those same dangerous areas of the South Bronx he returns to after he gets degrees at Bowdoin and Harvard. But the big difference, he laments, is that the increased number of guns wielded by adolescents make fights become funerals.

I was surprised when my teenage daughter brought home a book called Fist Stick Knife Gun, A Personal History of Violence in America by Geoffrey Canada. It’s a series of tales about the author watching his peers, inner-city black youth, beat, knife, and shoot each other. As Canada describes his tough life growing up in South Bronx, the incidence of guns was comparatively rare, so life was better back in the day, he says, when they just savagely assaulted each other. Later (to his credit), Canada describes trying to make a positive change in those same dangerous areas of the South Bronx he returns to after he gets degrees at Bowdoin and Harvard. But the big difference, he laments, is that the increased number of guns wielded by adolescents make fights become funerals.

Over on GunReports.com, I read about a case to be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States which might result in felony charges and jail time for any person, outlet or entity that shows or sells depictions of hunting activities. You might think that this is just a media guy whining about the 1st Amendment not protecting his Andres Serrano jars. But welcome to the world today! Depending on the outcome of United States of America v. Robert J. Stevens, if you post images of you and your favorite AR-15 on Facebook and something in the image isn’t legal everywhere, you might get fitted for a pair of S&W bracelets. The facts in Stevens are these: Robert J. Stevens of Virginia was convicted of criminal charges for producing and selling films about dogs, specifically pit bulls. Stevens’ conviction was overturned as a result of a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that said the law relied upon to convict Stevens was unconstitutional. But the government appealed, and the case is now being heard by the Supreme Court of the United States.