If Only They'd Had Guns To Defend Themselves. Oh, Wait... (Charlie Hebdo re-enactment)

Anytime there's a high-profile shooting in the news, the pro-gun crowd are quick to regurgitate the old myth that if only there were armed civilians carrying concealed handguns, the shooter would have been killed and the tragedy would never have happened.  Valiant vigilante heroes would save the day!

Sadly, this simply isn't the case, as I've blogged on several cases now.  And now a pro-gun group in Texas unintentionally proved my point.

On January 7, radical Islamic terrorists attacked the offices of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which is known in part for publishing images of Mohammed.  The shooting in the office and in the streets outside killed 12 people and wounded 11 more.  A branch of Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility.  A manhunt ensued after the initial shooting, culminating in a further shooting at a Jewish Kosher market, bringing the number of dead and injured up to 17 dead and 22 injured.  Click HERE for a timeline and relevant article on the incidents.

The world reacted with shock.  There were rallies to condemn the attack, with world leaders marching arm-in-arm with 3.7 million people in Paris and elsewhere in France.  And a "#JeSuisCharlie" movement began, starting on social media.

But what did the pro-gun pundits do?  Naturally, they dragged out the old argument that, in the words of NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," arguing that if only some of those French people had been armed with concealed guns, those heavily armed terrorists with full-auto AK-47s would have been stopped and the whole sordid affair never would have happened!

Naturally, FOX News and their talk shows led the way, setting a tone for the pro-gun folks to parrot, including an appearance by Wayne LaPierre who bizarrely thinks that "we don't have this problem [of mass shootings] in the United States" simply because we have the Second Amendment.  Never mind that mass shootings happen in the U.S. every single week (in fact, I saw another one as I was writing this post -- a murder/suicide at a restaurant in Florida -- and a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol with guns and bombs was stopped today) and are practically unheard of France (or nearly any other industrialized country) and that the rate of mass shootings in America has tripled since 2011!

From a Media Matters article:

On the January 7 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox News national security analyst KT McFarland said that one thing that stood out to her about the attack is "that in France they have a very strict gun control policy." Later on Fox's The Five, host Greg Gutfeld said the victims of the attack were "sitting ducks" because the country "has the most powerful gun control in the world, and nobody's armed." On Fox Business Network, Fox's senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said, "One of the reasons these people are dead is because they were sitting ducks. One of the reasons they're sitting ducks is you can't carry a gun in Paris. This would not happen in New York City." On Twitter, frequent Fox guest Donald Trump wrote that the attack occurred "in one of the toughest gun control countries in the world."

And another FOX reporter, Emily Miller, repeated the same refrain:

Miller, the chief investigative reporter for Washington, D.C.'s Fox affiliate WTTG, also pushed false information about gun violence, including the claim that "gun-free zones" attract mass killers and that civilians with concealed weapons have stopped mass shootings.

During the January 11 edition of Fox & Friends Sunday, Miller (the former senior opinion editor of the conservative Washington Times who also contributes columns to FoxNews.com) claimed the reason "terrorists don't come here is because of civilian's ownership" of firearms. Miller continued with the confounding argument that terrorists use bombs but not guns in the United States because of civilian gun ownership.

During a January 12 appearance on Fox & Friends, Miller added, "The Second Amendment is what keeps us safer from terrorist attacks because foreigners know we have guns." (Al Qaeda has actually encouraged its followers to exploit loose gun laws in the United States to get weapons without a background check.)

The Media Matters article also exposes a number of false and misleading claims that Miller makes.  (See more, HERE).

Well, a pro-gun group called "The Truth About Guns" decided to test this scenario.  They recreated a

From the re-enactment (source)

mock-up of the Charlie Hebdo offices and took turns playing the two shooters and the office staff, armed with paintball gun versions of the firearms, except that they armed members of the office staff with concealed handguns.  Apparently, they wanted to demonstrate what all those FOX pundits were claiming.

But, try as they might, over and over (12 times, in fact), the result was always the same:  NO lives were saved.

From an article:

No matter how the situation played out, though, one thing remained consistent — if the “armed civilian” confronted the attackers, he or she died. The only time the “armed civilian” survived was when the volunteer playing him ran away at the first sound of gunfire. 

“He started shooting,” volunteer Linda Cruz said, “and I started shooting, and I died” — that is, she was shot by a paintball in a area that the group designated was a “critical hit.”

Another volunteer, Parks Matthew, said he “still got killed, but did better than I thought I would.”

Hmmm.   Funny, that.  That might explain why no mass shooting in America has ever been stopped by an armed citizen who wasn't law enforcement or security.

In fact, in every study that has come out on the topic, the presence of a gun makes a person less safe.  For instance, these studies have found that a gun in the home is at least 22 times more likely to be used to harm someone in the home than to save them, that carrying a concealed gun in public makes the carrier 4.5 times more likely to be killed, that having a gun in the home increased the risk of suicide by five fold, and that people living with a gun in the home were nearly three times more likely to be murdered than those with no gun in a home.

But the pro-gun guys wouldn't let a little thing like statistics or failed mass shooting recreations stop them from trying to play the action-movie hero.  From the article about the Charlie Hebdo recreation:

Another volunteer, Parks Matthew, said he “still got killed, but did better than I thought I would.”

His “death” would not, however, deter him from acting in a situation with an actual hostile shooter. “If I’m in a movie theater and someone pulls a gun, what am I going to do?” he asked.

“I know now I’m not gonna just fall on my kids and protect them, I need to advance on the threat.”

I hope he never finds out.  Chances are, he would die in real life, too.

Hey, here's an idea to keep us safe...  Keep the terrorists from getting guns in the first place!  Oh, um, I guess the conservatives stopped that effort despite Al Qaeda calling for their followers to purchase guns without background checks at gun shows and private sales.  We wouldn't want to squash those vigilante pro-gun daydreams, would we?

Unpatriotic Gun Nuts Rush To Buy AK-47's Due To Sanctions Against Russia

Russia hasn't been behaving itself lately, what with annexing Crimea, building up troops on the eastern border with Ukraine, arming and aiding Ukrainian rebels, playing a role in the downing of Malaysian Flight M17, and, today, is even firing artillary into the Ukraine from inside the Russian border to help the rebellion.  Putin is returning to the glory days of headlong Communist expansionism.  As the most recent release of Time Magazine put it in their article "In Russia, Crime Without Punishment:" 

Can the West stop a figure who is determined to uphold the dreary habits of czars and Soviet leaders while projecting Russian exceptionalism and power?

So far, the U.S. and other Western powers have responded only with condemnation and economic sanctions. 

I feel that any thinking individual with a shred of love of democracy would approve of at least that much of a response.  At this very moment, Russia is invading a sovereign, democratic nation in an act of unprovoked warfare.  If we are lovers of democracy and patriotic to the needs of our country and our allies, wouldn't it make sense to support the U.S. sanctions?

What are those sanctions from the U.S., exactly?  From an article:

The Obama administration last week announced a new round of sanctions against Russia that it says are intended to discourage Russia from continuing to support rebel groups in eastern Ukraine. Companies blacklisted by the U.S. include Russian banks, energy firms and eight weapons manufacturers -- including Kalashnikov Concern, a maker of what is arguably the most popular weapon in the world, the AK-47.

It makes sense, doesn't it?  If Russia wishes to act against our allies and our democratic ideals, we as a nation shouldn't support Russia economically, and we should do what we can to stop them from arming rebels, including small arms like AK rifles.

So what does the supposedly "patriotic" gun crowd do -- the same men who quote (selected) portions of the Constitution and (selectively) pore over the history of the Revolution and Founding Fathers?  They whole-heartedly support sanctions against Russia and Russian gun companies, right?  Right???

Wrong.

Their love of guns supersedes any actual patriotic feelings.  Take, for instance, when the inventor of the AK-47, Mikhail Kalashnikov, died.  Kalashnikov confessed that he felt "spiritual pain" for having invented the AK-47 -- the gun that has killed untold millions of people, including Americans in every war and conflict we have fought since Korea, and ushered in with a rain of bullets every Communist, jihadist, and anti-American insurgency since.  The AK-47 symbolizes everything that is the antithesis of American democracy.  Did the pro-gun crowd cheer that this villain had died?  No, they mourned instead.  A sampling of their responses:

"Damn that sucks. Father of the most famous assault rifle. RIP Mikhail!" (source)

"I just told my AK about it. We had a good cry together. RIP to one of the greatest weapons designers of the 20th century." (source)

"The world has lost a true genius and a hero today." (source)

"Guess I'll fire a 21 gun salute from my own AK-47 variant." (source)

"Rest in Peace. The master tinkerer's invention has probably done more to shape world events than any ideology." (source)

"It was an honor to live in the same century with him." (source)

This, despite the fact that it isn't uncommon for the AK-47 and other AK variants to be used in crimes here in America.  At the Kid Shootings blog, for instance, you can find 15 examples where an AK-47 was used in a crime involving children, including their deaths, and those are by no means inclusive.

So, flash forward to today.  Despite the sanctions levied against Russia for their warlike and anti-democratic behavior, and despite the wicked history of the AK-47 on the battlefield as well as American streets, the gun is now selling out on American gun store shelves.  And it's not just AK-47s, but other Russian guns as well.  From a Huffington Post article:

While there’s no hard data showing an uptick in Russian gun sales, gun sellers around the country say they’re seeing big business in AK-47s and other Russian firearms.

Blaine Bunting, president of Maryland gun distributor Atlantic Firearms, said Tuesday that orders for their AK-47-style rifles and shotguns have "tripled, if not quadrupled" since Obama announced the sanctions.

"We have 15 employees here, and yesterday we started at 7:30 in the morning and didn't leave until eight at night," he said. After selling more than 400 Russian guns in just a couple days, Bunting said, Atlantic Firearms is sold out.   ....

Last week in Nampa, Idaho, the gun store Armageddon Armory bought 60 Saiga semi-automatic shotguns, which are made by Kalashnikov. They were gone in just a few days, according to the shop’s manager, David, who refused to give his last name, citing store policy.

"We sold out of them instantly," he said.

Right now, Saiga shotguns cost $800 to $900, David said, estimating they would double in price within six weeks because of Obama’s executive action.

Wow.  So why are they selling so many?  As one gun dealer put it after a surge in AK-47 sales in his store, "The simple thing is, people want what they can't have."

And there you have it.  It's not about having a gun for home defense, and it's not about hunting (assault rifles are a poor choice for either home defense or hunting, compared to other options).  It's about panic-buying an item that the gub'ment has told them not to buy.  It's the result of a deeply anti-authoritarian view, fostered in large part by the perpetuation of the false refrain that the government is going to take away everyone's guns.  And it's about the very-male fascination by low-brows of making things go "boom" for "fun."  You've got to have the highest-quality gun for that, right?  Again, from the Huffington Post article, quoting a gun seller:

"The Russian AK-47 is one of the highest quality AKs out there," said Ben, from North Raleigh Guns. "It's been around forever. The ammo is affordable. Plus, it's really fun to shoot."

Patriotism goes out the window when you have a need to fuel a gun fetish for "fun."  Panic buying doesn't bring in new gun owners, generally, but merely appeals to those who are already amassing arsenals of these deadly weapons.  These aren't the run-of-the-mill gun owners who have one or two guns for home defense or hunting.  These are the extremist, insurrectionist types, and we should all be fearful.  Remember, too, that modern guns are made with high enough quality that they will likely outlive those who buy them.  Where, then, will they wind up?

Mikhail Kalashnikov said on his deathbed, "My spiritual pain is unbearable" because of the gun he invented to "protect the Motherland."  I wonder if any of the gun nuts who are buying up Mikhail's weapons will one day feel the same guilt for bringing such dangerous weapons into their homes and for betraying the needs of our country, just so they can feel part of some anti-government "fun" trend?

Militias “Helping” Law Enforcement At The U.S.-Mexico Border – We’ve Heard This Tune Before, And It Wasn't Pretty

(UPDATED -- See below)

The Conservative talk machine has always been paranoid about the issue of illegal immigrants and the need to secure our border with Mexico.  But lately they have been running full-tilt about a “wave” of illegal immigrants “swarming” our border with Mexico.  In the last week or so, for instance, the issue has centered around a very large number refugee children from Central America, where drug cartels and gangs have vastly increased the level of violence, and parents, fearing for the safety of their children, have sent their children on a one-way trip to the U.S. to escape.  They figure the uncertainty and danger of sending the children away is better than the “certain death” (as one refugee put it) faced at home.  After all, America is the land of prosperity, and written at the base of the greatest symbol of America, the Statue of Liberty, are the words from a poem:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Given the number of kids shot to death in the U.S., including all the school shootings, I'm not sure if America is really the best choice of places to send their kids.

Very few illegal immigrants are coming to the U.S. for some sort of nefarious purpose.  Most come either to try to earn some money for family back in their poverty-stricken home, or they are refugees like these children.  Sadly, instead of offering to help these refugees, many of whom are children, the ultraconservatives would turn them away, or protest the way they are being bussed to holding facilities.  (Hilariously, one GOP candidate made a big show of blocking a bus of these illegal children, only to discover that these were American kids headed to the local YMCA camp).  Some people would even shoot them on sight! 

Just to help stir up the far right, GOP talking-mouth Sean Hannity and extreme gun-guy Governor Rick Perry went on a tour of the Rio Grande in gunboats bristling with mounted full-auto machine guns.

One group of pro-gun extremists in Michigan, openly carrying assault rifles and handguns, gathered supporters to protest the illegal immigrants.  Naturally, they were sure to inject a healthy dose of anti-government and anti-Obama bloviating.  There’s lots of paranoid speculation about these children carrying diseases or working for drug-runners, or even out to rape American women, just to make them seem more evil and inhuman, instead of the lost children that they are.  (Get the facts about these kids HERE).

Militia groups are answering the “call of duty” as they see it, to “help” law enforcement patrol the border.  Don't these people have jobs and families?  Is their hatred of illegal immigrants really that strong, or is it that their lives back home are so bad?  From an article:

Some of the militia "border patrol" extremists

The militia groups have set up a "command post" in Von Ormy, about 20 miles south of downtown San Antonio, Davis told KRGV on Tuesday. Von Ormy Mayor Art Martinez de Vara did not immediately return a request for comment.

"We have patriots all across this country who are willing to sacrifice their time, money even quit their jobs to come down and fight for freedom, liberty and national soveringhty," Davis said in the interview.

Davis deleted his Facebook and YouTube accounts, including a 21-minute video in which he describes plans for "securing the border:" "How?" he asked on the video. "You see an illegal. You point your gun dead at him, right between his eyes, and you say, 'Get back across the border or you will be shot.' "

One might question their patriotism, though, since these same groups are calling for a “second revolution” against our government if the Feds try to stop them.   From another article, quoting a militia organizer named Chris Davis:

He also urged militia members to “start the next 1776 right there on the border” if they were confronted by law enforcement authorities.
“It is time that we start taking back our national sovereignty,” Davis says.  …

“I believe in the King James Bible, The Constitution, and Bill of Rights!” he says. “I am a Future Veteran of the Refounding. Molon Labe! III%! Spirit of 1776!”

Militia organizer Chris Davis and extremist pals

It turns out that Davis and his fellows were active at the Bundy ranch (you know, Cliven Bundy, the seditious guy who has been illegally sponging off the Federal government for 15 years and then called for armed militias to protect him from arrest?), and was dishonorably discharged from the military.  Some “patriot!”  From an article:

The Texas militia, known as "Operation Secure Our Border," is being led by Chris Davis, a 37-year-old truck driver who was discharged from the Army in 2001 "under other than honorable conditions in lieu of trial by court martial," according to a summary of Davis' military service obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

The details of Davis' discharge are protected from public view through the Privacy Act of 1974. Davis, originally from Florida, served in the Army from 1996-2001 as a mechanical systems operator-maintainer and was ranked as a private at the time of his discharge.

He does not appear to have any arrests, according to public record sources. Last year, Davis was one of three men in the group Open Carry Texas cited by the San Antonio Police Department for disorderly conduct while openly carrying rifles outside a Starbucks. The incident sparked an open carry rally at the Alamo that drew hundreds of armed protesters.

Huh. Imagine that. This extremist “hatriot” is also an “open carry” intimidator demonstrator (they can’t seem to learn about how their movement keeps backfiring.  But I digress...).

Naturally, law enforcement doesn’t want their “help” and recognize it as dangerous.  From one article:

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection opposed the militias through a statement, saying they "could have disastrous personal and public safety consequences."

And from another article:

Hidalgo County sheriff Eddie Guerra said the militia was not needed in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We don’t need their services on our border,” Guerra said. “If we ever did, I’m sure we have enough good people in Hidalgo County that I can call up.”

Well, how could all of this go wrong?  I mean, if it’s legal to carry loaded assault weapons around and they have “patriotic” intentions, shouldn’t we want the help of these militias?

Consider the case last year where three heavily armed militia “border guard” members got into a confrontation with a real law enforcement.  One of them pulled his assault rifle out and threatened a sheriff’s deputy, thinking for some reason the deputy was an illegal alien, or something.  What followed was a standoff that nearly turned bloody:

On Saturday night, authorities say, Glendale resident Richard Malley pointed a semiautomatic rifle at a sheriff's deputy in the Vekol Valley, provoking a standoff that lasted until the deputy could convince Malley that he was a legitimate law-enforcement officer.

Malley, 49, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault involving a law-enforcement officer and released Sunday after posting a $10,000 bail.

Robert Deatherage, 48, and Robert Crooks, 63, who along with Malley were patrolling the drug-smuggling corridor running through the desert south of Interstate 8 and Gila Bend, were not arrested or cited.

Deputy Pat Arend, who reported staring down the barrel of Malley's AR-15, said it is a small miracle that neither he nor Malley was shot in the brief encounter.

Arend said he initially assumed that Malley, dressed in tactical gear, was another law-enforcement officer working in the area when they encountered each other after 9:30p.m. outside Gila Bend.

"The reason there wasn't a shooting is because, to me, he was passing himself (off as) law enforcement, so the last thing I'm going to do is shoot a cop," Arend said.

"If I would have pulled my gun, and he's thinking I'm a drug smuggler, he's going to shoot. I asked the guy later, 'What would you have done if I had my gun out?' And there was dead silence."

It was blind luck that no one was shot.  He was almost a cop-killer.

Militia "border patrol" organizer J.T. Ready

Militia “border patrols” don’t have a good record, do they?

One very active advocate for militia border patrols was a guy named J.T. Ready.  He was very outspoken, with news coverage and even GOP political involvement as a precinct committee person, Tea Party speaker, and even Sheriff candidate.  Until 2012.  That’s when this neo-Nazi racist and militia organizer shot to death his girlfriend and her 5-year old daughter before killing himself.  Child killer.  Murderer.  He had had run-ins with the law before, as had many of his pals.  Seems they didn’t need to fear illegal immigrants as much as themselves and each other!

But that wasn’t the first time, by any means, that such a militia border patrol turned violent.  There was also the case of the 2009 murder of the Flores family, who were American citizens in Arizona.  Three members of the Minutemen American Defense militia, led by a woman named Shawna Forde, invaded the home, robbed it, and shot the three family members there.  Two of them died, including a 9-year old girl and her father.  The mother was wounded but was able to pretend she was dead, then called 911.  All of these militia members had had run-ins with the law before, yet were still able to possess assault weapons and other guns.  And all of them considered themselves “patriots.”  Child killers, murderers, and thugs.

Militia "border patrol" organizer Shawna Forde

But these cases aren’t exactly outliers.  Militias have a long history of crimes and mass murder plots.  These aren’t the militias of the Revolutionary War, no matter what these yahoos may think.

We have a dangerous situation in America.  We are a nation that supposedly prides itself on diversity and compassion.  Let’s put that in perspective and try to live up those ideals, shall we, instead of fomenting hate, calling for the deaths of foreigners, and marching around the desert with guns playing “soldier.”


UPDATE (8/10/14):  The problem of extremist militias "guarding" the border has expanded, particularly since certain far-right Texas politicians have given their blessing to these dangerous individuals.  From an article:

And now, they have the blessing of a sitting Texas lawmaker. After touring the Rio Grande Valley near the border, Republican state Rep. Doug Miller claimed that the militias “have a right to be there” and that they “are not currently a problem.” According to Miller, he was told that the militias “are on private property, helping ranchers and owners to keep illegals coming onto or through their property … and there haven’t been any problems.”

Miller is not the highest-ranking Texas official who has dismissed criticism of armed vigilantes patrolling the Texas border. Late last month, the 12 Democratic members of Texas’ congressional delegation penned a letter to Greg Abbott, the state’s attorney general and the Republican candidate to be Texas’ next governor. In it, the 12 lawmakers quote a militia leader who said that “You see an illegal. You point your gun dead at him, right between the eyes, and you say, ‘Get back across the border or you will be shot.’” They also ask Abbott to “denounce the actions of these militia groups and clarify the jurisdiction these militia groups have to patrol alongside local law enforcement and Border Patrol agents.”

A spokesperson for Abbott dismissed the letter as a “partisan political stunt.”

.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, Inventor Of The AK-47 Assault Rifle, Regretted It On His Deathbed

Mikhail Kalashnikov with an AK-47 assault rifle (source)

Mikhail Kalashnikov was an inventor.  He started inventing things soon after he joined the Red Army tank brigade, after his family was sent to Siberia during the Soviet purges.  He invented a tank shot counter, a time meter, and even an electric lawnmower.  But the invention that made him famous was an assault rifle -- the AK-47. 

Designed over the course of 6 years, what he ended with in 1947 was a very rugged and reasonably reliable, fully-automatic killing machine which was quickly adopted by the Red Army, anywhere in the world that they fought.  It is cheap to make, easy to maintain, and has a reputation of being very dependable even in the worst environments.

"I made it to protect the motherland," he is quoted as saying.

But the weapon wasn't just in Soviet army hands.  It wasn't long before the gun, and its variants, were in the hands of terrorists, jihadis, and Soviet-armed allies all over the world.  It is still one of the most preferred weapons.  It is arguably the most fired gun in the world, and has been used to kill millions of people and launch revolutions, including in the hands of child soldiers.  It's estimated that there are at least 100 million of the guns currently in use around the world.

It's even featured on the flag of Mozambique , the flag of Hezbollah, and the flag of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The AK-47 also has become popular with gun nuts in the United States.  Even the little pawn and gun store down the street from me sells a semi-auto version of the AK-47.  "We sell AK-47s!" a sign reads out front.

Last December, Mikhail Kalashnikov died of natural causes at the age of 97:

The flag of Hezbollah, featuring an AK-47 (source)

As his rifles became synonymous with terrorists and rebel armies he was asked if he regretted engineering the weapon that probably killed more than any other.

“I invented it for the protection of the Motherland. I have no regrets and bear no responsibility for how politicians have used it,” he told them.

In fact, he earned many awards and was regarded as a hero of his nation.  He never profited from his deadly invention.

But as the years went by, he began to regret his invention, slowly at first.  Also from that article:

“I’m proud of my invention, but I’m sad that it is used by terrorists,” he said once.

“I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower.”

And in the last few days, news broke about statements that Kalashnikov had made on his deathbed.  This inventor, who had made a weapon to protect his nation's interest, watched over the decades as that weapon was turned against Russian soldiers, against other nations, against citizens by militant extremists, and even against innocent citizens in far away American streets.

Said Mr. Kalashnikov in his deathbed confession to his priest that he felt "spiritual pain" for his lethal invention:

But he wrote to the Patriarch of the Russian church  said the designer felt a degree of guilt  and “ spiritual pain” towards the end of his life for inventing the killing machine.

The letter published by Russian newspaper Izvestia quotes his daughter, Elena, saying she believes a priest helped her father compose the letter, which said:” My spiritual pain is unbearable.”

He asks: “I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people’s lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?

“The longer I live “the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man to have the devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression”.

The letter is typed on Kalashnikov’s own personal notepaper and with the wavering signature  describing himself as “a slave of God, the designer Mikhail Kalashnikov”.

And since pro-gun extremists love all things that go "boom," particularly assault rifles, they naturally praise the weapon and its designer, even though he was part of the big, bad evil communist Russia and his invention was used to mow down Americans in every war we've fought since Korea.

Just read what the gun guys have to say about Kalashnikov, his death, and his lethal weapon, on the pro-gun forums and web comments section:

"Damn that sucks. Father of the most famous assault rifle. RIP Mikhail!" (source)

"I just told my AK about it. We had a good cry together. RIP to one of the greatest weapons designers of the 20th century." (source)

"The world has lost a true genius and a hero today." (source)

"Guess I'll fire a 21 gun salute from my own AK-47 variant." (source)

"Rest in Peace. The master tinkerer's invention has probably done more to shape world events than any ideology." (source)

"It was an honor to live in the same century with him." (source)

Here's one gun nut firing through 700 rounds of ammo with his AK-47 in honor of Kalashnikov's passing.  The heat from firing the gun actually causes the wood on the barrel to start smoking.  Say's the shooter, "What can you say? The guns just don't stop runnin'."  See below:

Some people would say that having such a fascination with lethal weapons and their inventors is a sign of mental illness.

Nevermind that the semi-auto version of the AK-47 has been used over and over again to threaten, rob, maim, and kill untold numbers of Americans in our homes and streets.  HERE are some examples, just involving children, that have been posted at the Kid Shootings blog, over the last year or so, including the death of a baby, a 13-year old girl shot by her 19-year old brother with his personal AK-47, two teens killed while riding on ATVs, two boys ages 11 and 14 injured in Miami, and a 5-year old girl here in Oregon shot by a man in the apartment below when he stupidly used his AK-47 as a "crutch."  Cases aren't so hard to find.

So was Kalashnikov a hero or a villian? 

9-month old Delric Miller, killed by an AK-47 in Detroit.

You can't blame a man for designing a weapon meant to be used to defend his nation.  Someone has to do it.  And can you really blame him for mis-use of that weapon?  Probably not.  Though I can say that I don't think I would be able to design a lethal weapon, knowing full well that people would be killed and maimed by my handiwork, and that, like every weapon, it would in some manner wind up in the wrong hands.  Plenty of Russians, jihadists, and revolutionaries would consider him a hero.  Just don't say that to anyone who has lost a loved one or been maimed by an AK-47.

No, the real problem, for us in the United States, is that weapons like the AK-47 have wound up in on our streets, freely available to be bought by anyone -- not just with a background check in a store, but without a background check in a private sale just about anywhere in the U.S.  And, all too often, that gun will wind up in the hands of those who would use them for evil, intentionally or not.  They are designed, by Mr. Kalashnikov, to kill large numbers of people quickly and efficiently.  And, sadly, the AK-47 is being held up as some sort of symbol here in America by the pro-gun crowd who are buying them in record numbers.  Those guns will likely outlive those who purchase them.

Good-bye, Mikhail, but please pardon me if I have no sympathy for your end-of-life regrets.  Your weapons work remarkably well, and homes in the U.S. are still being bloodied for it.


ADDENDUM: From a satirical piece on Kalashnikov's death:

“Comrade Kalashnikov will be buried in a pit of mud with full military honors,” said General-Major Saiga Molot, a spokesman for the Russian army. “After a week, we will exhume his body, clean it off, and put him back to work. We expect that there shall be no issue with his functions.” ....

While praised for his simple operation and ruggedness, Kalashnikov is also being remembered for his contributions to over 300 insurgencies, 524 known terrorist groups and at least 18 hostile regime changes.

“We will always be grateful to General Kalashnikov for giving us the inspiration for Kevlar,” said DuPont President and CEO Ellen Kullman. 

ADDENDUM:  No sooner had I posted this, when there was another shooting in the media involving an AK-47, this time by a 19-year old man firing the weapon in the streets of Vancouver, Washington.

ADDENDUM (1/29/14):  From a related article by the LA Times:

And at times, Kalashnikov himself seemed to sense this: 

“I am proud of my weapon but I am sad that terrorists use it,” he told the Russian online publication newsru.com in 2009. “I wish I had invented a machine which people could use, which could do good for farmers — for example, a sowing machine.” 

A man does what a man does. Kalashnikov designed his weapon to defend his country. He’s not responsible for what happened to it later, to the deadly purposes for which it’s been used. 

But you can’t help thinking how much better off the world would be if he had invented the AK-47 sowing machine.

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