Viewpoints

John Romano, columnist for the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, recently attended concealed carry classes in the Florida city and produced an even-handed account of the people at the classes and their motivations for taking the class. Excerpts:

At FOX 35 News in Orange County, Fla. comes this report: 'Forget about paying the bills with your tax refund, some are heading to the gun shop instead. Over at Shoot Straight employees say more people are taking a shot at a owning a gun, thanks to Uncle Sam.… As people debate the Stand Your Ground law, many worry about losing the right to own a gun, 'Any time people feel their second amendment right might be taken away or altered, they get concerned and buy the guns that they can buy now, while they can.'

David Kopel, adjunct law professor at Denver University and co-author of “Firearms Law and the Second Amendment”, wrote in the Washington Times this week: 'Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s visit to Washington last week featured his usual lecturing of Americans about gun control. This time, he had some good ideas, although he remains wedded to many bad ones, too. A polite guest, Mr. Calderon did not mention the “Fast and Furious” operation during his public events with President Obama. But reports indicate that he did bring it up privately, and he was furious - justifiably so.'

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre spoke at the NRA Annual Meetings April 14, 2012. If you weren’t able to attend, a link to a transcript of his comments appears below, courtesy of the NRA. Or click the player window to watch the speech. 'All over this nation, people feel it in their hearts — that something has gone terribly wrong in our country. In almost every way you look at it, almost every aspect of American freedom is in some state of decline.

Larry Keane, general counsel of the NSSF, weighed in recently on the biased reporting about Remington firearms by NBC’s Rock Center program.

The editors of National Review Online recently did a clean, clear job of reacting to demands that self-defense laws enacted in many states to protect victims don't get repealed because of the Trayvon Martin case in Florida. From the article:

Katie Pavlich, news editor at Townhall.com, has written a new book called Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up.

The Econo-Can is a patent-pending legal and registered silencer by American Specialty Ammo. It actually is an adapter that uses a removable expansion chamber — aka a car oil filter — to suppress the firearm. The video below shows that this device is as quiet as any 22 LR silencer we have tested. But it’s not a toy or novelty. It’s a registered silencer and must be treated as such. The adapter is threaded 1/2-28. This is a NFA item and all NFA rules and regulations apply. Price: $55.

Conservative rocker Ted Nugent accused President Obama of running a “vile, evil, America-hating administration” during a weekend appearance at the National Rifle Association convention. He was interviewed at the NRA Annual Meetings by NRA radio host Cam Edwards.

An error in our April 2012 test of 22 LR semi-automatic rifles, which included experimentation with a suppressor, stirred up a hornets' nest of telephone calls, and we owe the wronged party an apology. The error had to do with the description of services available from Tactical Firearms of Katy, Texas, a Class III dealer and home to what is arguably the most advanced shooting facility in the United States. Whereas Tactical Firearms can help facilitate the licensing necessary for the purchase of suppressors in states outside of Texas, that does not include every state in the union, as the article claimed. Instead of referring to a one-time fee… "that according to Tactical Firearms is applicable to any state in the union," it should have read "almost every state in the union," or "every state in the union where suppressors are legal." The offending text can be found on page 10 column 2 and in the caption on page 11. There was never any intention on the part of the author, Gun Tests Magazine, or on the part of Tactical Firearms to mislead the public or the authorities.

Just a follow up to this article: While all the test units fared well, I have to tell you and your readers about a quality company, Crimson Trace (CTC). About a year back I was able to purchase a Kimber custom pistol, my first. As many know, retired LEOs don't exactly have money flowing in, so it was many years before I came across a nice quality used pistol for the right price. When I finally did, I jumped at the opportunity to buy it — and it came with CTC laser grips already on it. I'm guessing the Kimber was a couple of years old before I bought it, and now I have had it over a year.

Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, recently clarified just where guns in Mexico come from -- and it's not primarily the U.S. He wrote, 'During his recent visit to the White House, Mexico President Felipe Calderon renewed his call for a U.S. assault weapons ban as a solution to the drug cartel-caused violence that plagues his country. He also claimed, according to columnist Bill Press, that violence levels are directly related to the number of guns in circulation. Both of these assertions are demonstrably false.'