Here are a few of my old newspaper columns on gun control. Read and enjoy (if you agree) but remember they cannot be used for any other purpose without my express written permission. I am a freelance writer and available for assignment or copyright release to use any of my old material or provide a current re-write. Please email.
Sensational Story Uncovered!!!
Top Ten Reasons Gun Control Won't Work
Sensational Story Uncovered!!!
by W. Dale Smith
© 1996
A Choctaw man has revealed development of a new handgun bullet that will penetrate any known body armour and then explode with a force equal to a WWII hand grenade. The new bullet is known as "The Extreme Terminator" and will soon be available for cartridges ranging from .25ACP to .577 Nitro Express.
One interesting feature of the bullet is a unique saliva-sensitive tip. Should a law officer wish to use minimum necessary force, spitting down the barrel will activate the saliva-sensitive tip, which will deactivate the explosive charge and open a gas bypass thereby reducing the bullet velocity by ninety percent. A production facility is currently being built near McLoud. Upon completion, it will employ about thirty people and produce one million bullets per day. Initial sales will be restricted to law enforcement officers and gun show dealers.
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Anyone with minimum knowledge of firearms would read the above and declare it the prime ingredient of a cow chip throwing contest. Any serious student of ballistics would spend hours on the floor in near-terminal laughter.
Any TV pseudojournalist would rush to be the first to get it on a prime time special report. Many politicians would rush to be the first to write a bill outlawing it.
And, so it was with the "Black Rhino" bullet of similar persuasion.
The "Black Rhino" bullet was introduced amid similar outlandish claims. Signature Products, Rhino's reputed maker, has never been licensed to manufacture ammunition and required evaluation samples were never submitted to the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms.
According to the National Rifle Association, "(1) The maker is not a maker - and may never be; (2) the round in question has never been seen, much less evaluated, by competent authority; and (3) contrary to USA Today and others, it cannot lawfully "hit gun stores Monday."
"This has all the trappings of a hoax," said Tanya Metaska of the NRA.
Bill Clede, firearms editor and writer for several police publications, attributed the Black Rhino "developer" with two things; "He created a gun controversy, reported all over the world, just a few days before the personality of Congress changes with the seating of those elected on Nov. 8... For about $2.50 in phone calls, he made himself one of the best-known wannabe ammunition manufacturers in the world."
Similar media hysteria has surrounded Glock pistols which were denounced as "favorite tools of terrorists that could not be detected by airport x-rays." The plastic-framed pistol withstood the media blitz, and has since become one of the favorites of law enforcement. The pistol actually contained more metal than many small pistols and ammunition would be instantly recognizable on any x-ray.
The KTW "Cop Killer" bullet was another media hoax that probably proved perversely true. Although the bullet was never available outside law enforcement and military circles, and was never shown to have been a factor in the death of any officer, the name caught on. TV and major newspapers played it to the hilt. Detailed reporting of police use of soft body armour - what it protected and how it could be defeated - undoubtedly did increase the risk of death or injury of some police officers.
The "Black Talon" bullet was withdrawn only last year after another media runaway. Technically similar ammunition remains on the market under less sensational product names. Black Talon's main claim to fame was its name. It didn't do anything different than any other bullet and, if I know shooters, there would have been considerable debate over whether it did anything any better.
The 1994 Crime Bill took on "Assault Rifles" which it had a great deal of difficulty defining. The end result was a list of features that having too many of would get you banned.
Since "assault rifles" have never been a real law enforcement problem, statistically less than 1% of violent crimes involve them , the catchy name was the big problem. Considering most of the "data" obviously came from the watching re-runs of "The A-Team" and popular action movies, it is surprising that black plastic and stainless steel were not disqualifying factors.
Here is a tip; Should you ever decide to market a new firearm design, call it "Mother's Baby." "Apple Pie" might be a good name for new ammunition. Even "Hard Copy" would have trouble finding a sinister association with those names.
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Assaulting Insults
by W. Dale Smith
(c) 1996
Dennis Prager hosts one of those pseudo news-talk shows on one of the cable channels. That's bad enough but last night's subject was the nut with the SKS rifle that shot up the White House. I haven't laughed and cried at the same time in a very long time.
The guests included one of the men that subdued the whacko, another man that took some pictures, and a security "expert." Prager coaxed the "expert" into some really funny lines. Funny, that is, until you realize that this trash is going out over the airwaves to a public that probably really believes this horsehockey. Some might even really think he was a legitimate expert. He might be... on something... certainly not on firearms.
"Expert" presented an SKS rifle, probably a Chinese-made version, which he represented as being exactly like the one used by the gunman except for the magazine and buttstock. The gunman supposedly used an aftermarket folding stock to make his SKS "easily cancelable." Shades of the Saturday Night Special! The White House SKS also featured an aftermarket 30 round removable magazine.
He went on to say that his SKS was "legal" under current law because the
magazine was not removable. Current law does not prohibit a large-capacity magazine. It simply says no more new ones. If you owned one before the law became effective it is still legal. The folding stock is another question but nothing was said about it.
Expert also presented graphic evidence of the awesome power of the SKS... a camera lens and an 8mm movie projector which he had shot full of holes. Get real! A kid with a good slingshot could have done as much damage with these hunks of plastic and pot metal. Still, Prager gasped at the damage and questioned whether something so powerful and destructive should be allowed in this country.
"Probably not," stated the "expert."
In truth, the SKS became popular because of President Nixon and Congress, not because of its imaginary "awesome firepower." Nixon restored trade with China. Since one of China's main products was military armament, they had plenty to sell on the world market. They just couldn't sell in the United States until a few years ago when Congress repealed the provisions of the 1968 Gun Control Act which prohibited importation of military-style firearms.
The SKS was cheap; usually around a hundred dollars. It fires the 7.62x39 cartridge, which is more powerful than the American M-16 round but far less powerful than the 30-06 or .308 used prior to the M-16. Its ballistics resemble the 30-30. Chinese ammunition could be bought for less than a hundred dollars per thousand rounds. That made the SKS a tin can shooter's dream. An ugly, but cheap, rifle that was amazingly accurate and cheap to shoot. In a way, it revived plinking in much the same way WWII surplus Garands, Mausers and surplus ammo did in the early 'fifties.
All sorts of aftermarket trinkets were developed for the SKS. They sold well because it is basically an ugly gun. Some people that took a liking to them wanted to dress them up while others wanted the convenience offered by some of the aftermarket accessories. A few probably had some sort of weird fantasies, but they have those about rubber boots and whipped cream too. There is little to be done about stopping, controlling, or even identifying them.
Bill Clinton stopped arms imports from China earlier this year. He did it by presidential decree. That not only stopped the import of the SKS and cheap 7.69x32 cheap .22 rimfire and several nice replicas of old standard American firearms as well. His action didn't seem to affect crime but it did hurt several American importers, dealers and a lot of people that prefer the violence of a loud bang and a smashed tin can to the violence of smashing a golf ball with an iron club.
The SKS is not an "assault rifle." It can be made into one by making several modifications selected from the BATF's arbitrary list of no-no's. It has no distinctive features that make it more dangerous, deadly, or despicable than any of a hundred other firearms that are held in high regard by respectable people. The main crime is that it is inexpensive, popular, of Chinese origin, and military heritage.
That makes it an easy target for pseudo journalists to wax eloquently about its evils while carefully selected "experts" nod in agreement. And, since it was on TV, it must be true.
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by W. Dale Smith
(c) 1996
If my doctor ever wondered why I need so much blood pressure medication, he should have been there the morning I read a piece about BB guns at the Olympics. This old hand newspaper man poked much fun at such a pitiful example of competition. He obviously forgot the newspaper rule about research it before you write it."
BB gun shooting has been an Olympic medal sport since 1984. Only they call them "air rifles" and "air pistols," probably because anything that costs upwards of $1500 deserves a classier name. The BBs they shoot are actually precisely made lead pellets and they cost about the same as a box of 30-30 cartridges. But they shoot a whole lot better than most 30-30s.
Air rifles and pistols are much more common and popular in European countries with extreme gun restrictions. England is a hotbed of air gun activity because they are about the only thing an Englishman can legally own. They are common pest control and hunting tools as well as the focus of much formal and informal competition.
Current and former Communist countries enjoy even tougher gun controls so it is no surprise that the gold medal winner of women's 10 meter air rifle was Renata Mauer of Poland. Since 1984, women's air rifle has been the first medals awarded at the Olympics.
The best American finisher was Nancy Napolski of Downer's Grove, Illinois. She finished in 36th place but that isn't a sign that Americans take BB guns lightly. Nancy won the gold, competing against most of the same shooters, at the World Cup matches just a few months ago. As another Olympic shooter, Ben Amonette, put it, "It's a lot like being on the balance beam. Things can be going so good and then you teeter just a little bit and there goes a point."
Speaking of points, Amonette was high U.S. shooter in Men's free pistol. He was 25th with a score of 555/600. That is just a couple of jitters away from a perfect score but anything short of perfection makes as much difference is shooting as it does in gymnastics or diving. Don't sell any of the shooting sports Olympians short.
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by W. Dale Smith
(c) 1996
The problem with being a political extremist is that positions of either side are usually based upon bits of truth. Our perception of a particular bit determines which side of an issue we take. We must, however, occasionally admit that the opposition makes a good point. No matter how wrong we think they may be in the final analysis.
Two situations immediately come to mind.
The June 12, 1996 issue of "The Washington Times" carried a full page ad headlined "Five Good Reasons to Eat Your Dog or Cat." The kick-in-your-face ad carried the message of a group called Animal Rights International and despite my near-total disagreement with their agenda and absolute abhorrence of their suggestions, they made some extremely distasteful but nevertheless valid points.
The ad alleged unsanitary meat processing conditions, inhumane livestock treatment, mistreatment of meat packing workers, pet overpopulation problems and environmental damage from livestock operations as justification for their radical position.
The problems they allege probably exist. They should be dealt with but they are not, in my view, justification for assigning full human rights to all animals. For Heaven's sake! we haven't even got that far with all humans yet.
The very things most abhorred by animal rights activists... sport hunting and fishing makes a perfect substitution for domestic dogs and cats. Game fish and animals don't cause any of the problems cited in their ad. The meat is far healthier than domestic meat and the activities surrounding sport hunting and fishing generate a substantial positive economic impact.
So why do they think eating domestic pets would be preferable to a venison steak or grilled trout?
In another news article, President Clinton was reported to have proposed to trace guns used in juvenile crime back to the "dealers who illegally sold them to children."
First of all, why now? These laws have been on the books since 1968. Juvenile violence has been steadily increasing problem for several years and all sorts of new gun laws have been proposed... some even enacted in a vain attempt to stop the violence. Sportsmen, gun collectors, target shooters, the NRA, virtually everyone with firsthand knowledge of the gun ownership question has repeatedly stated that new gun control laws would do no good because we can't - or won't - enforce existing laws.
The second thought is what dealers? Who determined that guns used in juvenile violence were illegally sold by a dealer? Have we been watching too much TV or do we really believe that the problem is the inherent evil of an assemblage of metal and plastic and the people who sell them rather than the crime itself? If the seller is a "fence" on a street corner, will we excuse him because he is not one of those evil people holding a federal gun dealer's license?
The last thought concerns the President's plan to do this "program" in seventeen U.S. cities. Why? It's been on the books for 28 years. Why start limited enforcement now? What's wrong with uniform enforcement everywhere? There have been a lot of new law enforcement people hired in the last few years. This could be the place where they could make the greatest contribution. As a gun owner, I want them to get real serious and mighty tough on people who steal and misuse guns. As both a gun owner and hunter and fisherman I am, by default, a political extremist who is a lot happier to see the other side get something nearly right.
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by W. Dale Smith
© 1996-1999
With the recent case of some "nutcase" shooting at the White House with some sort of rifle, it has been made very clear that the press is not capable of accurately reporting firearms related matters. One of the most important issues was passage of the "Crime Bill." I read several accounts of what it contained, but, not until the official word came from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was I fairly certain of its content.
The following was extracted verbatim from a BATF letter to licensed firearms dealers. Only the format has been changed. Use your own judgement as to how it will be applied.
(1) Restriction on Manufacture. Transfer, and Possession of Certain Semiautomatic Assault Weapons
This amendment of the Gun Control Act (GCA) bans the manufacture, transfer or possession of certain semiautomatic assault weapons. The amendment "grandfathers" all such weapons lawfully possessed at the time the law became effective. This means that assault weapons lawfully held in inventory by licensees on the date of enactment can continue to be possessed and transferred. The term "semiautomatic assault weapon" means:
Any of the firearms, or copies or duplicates of the firearms in any caliber, known as:
* Avtomat Kalashnikovs
* Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI, Galil
* Norinco, Mitchell, Poly Technologies
* Beretta Ar70(SC-70)
* Colt AR-15
* Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAK, FNC
* SWD M-10, M-11, M-11-9, M-12
* Steyr AUG,
* Intratec TKC-9, TEC-DC9, TEC-22
* Revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12.
Any semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the features indicated :
* a folding or telescoping stock
* a bayonet mount
* a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
* a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor
* a grenade launcher.
A semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the features indicated:
* an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip
* a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip or silencer
* a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned
* a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded
* a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.
* A semiautomatic shotgun that has at least 2 of the features indicated:
* a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
* a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds
* a folding or telescoping stock
* an ability to accept a detachable magazine.
Ban of Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices
This amendment to the GCA makes it unlawful to transfer or possess any large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after the date of enactment of the "Crime Bill." These devices are defined to include any magazine, belt, feed strip or similar device that has a capacity of, or can be readily restored or converted to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This ban does not affect any large capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the law.
Additionally, the amendment specifically excludes attached tubular devices designed to accept, and capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
Definition of Armor Piercing Ammunition
The current definition of "armor piercing ammunition" includes projectiles or projectile cores which may be used in handguns and which are constructed of one of several enumerated metals. The amendment adds to this definition a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.
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Top Ten Reasons Gun Control Won't Work
By W. Dale Smith
(c) 1999