Facebook Nixes Florida GOP Candidate’s AR-15 Giveaway
A Republican running for Congress in the southern U.S. state of Florida set out to host a contest to give away an AR-15 rifle to someone who lives in his district, but Facebook has since shut it down.
Greg Evers, who is running for the open seat in Florida’s 1st district in the state’s western panhandle, announced the contest Sunday, a week after a gunman in Orlando, Florida killed 49 people. The mass shooting brought calls for increased controls on who can buy a gun, but sensible Americans, like Evers, have said terror attacks show the need to preserve a person’s right to obtain the weapons for defense.
“With terrorism incidents on the rise, both at home and abroad, protecting our constitutional rights has never been more important,” he said. “With all that’s happening in the world today, I’ve never felt stronger about the importance of the second amendment in protecting our homeland than I do now.”
Evers tried offering contest entries to people who liked his Facebook page and share one of his posts and plans to pick a winner for the AR-15 rifle on July 4. However, less than two days into the contest, Facebook pulled the posts and Evers posted the following update: Continue reading
ATF Releases U.S. Firearm Trace Data for 2015
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released today firearm trace data for all individual U.S. states and territories for calendar year 2015. Trace information provides investigative leads to law enforcement and can link a suspect to a firearm in a criminal investigation. Firearm traces also help identify potential firearm traffickers, and detect in-state, interstate and international firearm trafficking patterns, including the sources and types of crime guns.
ATF’s Violent Crime Analysis Branch produces this annual report using trace information compiled at ATF’s National Tracing Center (NTC), the nation’s only crime gun tracing facility. The NTC provides critical information that assists domestic and international law enforcement agencies to solve firearm crimes, detect firearm trafficking patterns, and identify trends with respect to intrastate, interstate and international movement of crime guns.
In 2015, there were 190,538 firearms recovered and traced back to a purchaser in the United States, an increase of more than 20,000 firearms recovered and traced in the previous year. The majority of the traces involved 9 mm (more than 55,000) and .22 caliber (more than 35,000) firearms. The top three types of firearms traced last year were pistols (more than 150,000 traces), revolvers (more than 44,000 traces) and rifles (more than 41,000 traces).
The released firearm trace data offers a description of firearms recovered and traced in each state along with the source states of the firearms recovered.
In addition to the number of recovered and traced firearms per state, the report includes recovery location information, the average time it took from when a firearm was purchased to when it was recovered in a crime, and the criminal offense associated with the firearm.
To access the complete 2015 firearms trace report, visit ATF’s online statistics page at https://www.atf.gov/about/firearms-trace-data-2015.
More Controversy for Couric’s Anti-Gun “Documentary”
Did Crew Send a Producer to Commit a Felony?
Not long after the deceptive editing used in Katie Couric’s “Under the Gun“ was brought to light, it looks like there might be more controversy surrounding the anti-gun film masquerading as a documentary.
If you are not familiar with the situation, Couric’s film crew edited in roughly 8 seconds of silence and uneasy glances from gun owners after she asks them a question about how to prevent bad guys from obtaining firearms. To many, this made the interviewees look like “idiots.” What actually happened was that several of the interviewees immediately provided sound, cogent responses to her question.
Now, in a recent interview with LipTV’s Ondi Timoner, Under the Gun producer Stephanie Soechtig seemingly admits to sending another producer (from Colorado) to Arizona, where he “was able to buy a Bushmaster and then three other pistols.” Unfortunately, this is a federal crime – despite what Soechtig says – as interstate purchases of long guns must be performed through an FFL in that state (when allowed at all), and interstate purchases of handguns are flatly illegal.
Soechtig says:
We sent a producer out and he was from Colorado. He went to Arizona and he was able to buy a Bushmaster and then three other pistols without a background check in a matter of four hours. And that’s perfectly legal. He wasn’t doing some sort of, like, underground market.
As many readers likely already know, to legally purchase a handgun from out of state, the firearm must be shipped to an FFL in your state, and then transferred to the purchaser as usual, including a NICS background check.
A number of producers are listed on the film’s credits page, however, it appears that there are only two male names which would match up with Soechtig’s claim that the producer they sent was a “he.” Interestingly, one of the male producers named operates a twitter page listing his location as Denver, Colorado – where Soechtig claims the producer who made the illegal purchases was from.
We hope for the sake of the producer and the Arizona seller of the firearms, that what this “documentary” film maker says in the interview is just more lies from the anti-gun left, otherwise she may have just created two new felons!
Meet Yuri Sivitski – The Soviet-Born Shooting Enthusiast with Muscular Dystrophy
How One Disabled USSR-Born Shooting Enthusiast is Chasing the American Dream
If you are surfing GunLink, then chances are good that you are a shooting enthusiast or, at least, have some interest in self defense, hunting, plinking, or other shooting sports. For many of us, picking up a firearm and hitting the range is a perfect way to spend a weekend. For others, however, as enjoyable as it sounds, that is not a possibility. Such is the case for Yuri Sivitski.
We recently made the online acquaintance of Yuri through Twitter. Yuri was born and grew up in the Soviet Union – in the Belorussian Soviet Socialistic Republic, now known as the Republic of Belarus. There, he was diagnosed at a very young age with muscular dystrophy – a disease without specific treatment or cure that weakens the musculoskeletal system and hampers movement. You can see how this would be problematic for someone interested in the shooting sports. Yuri has shared more of his story here on the GunLink Forums, where he has opened himself for an Ask Me Anything (within reason) Q&A session.
Yuri notes the irony of being a 46 year old man who is still working with “the rest of the same muscles I was born with” – which continue to deteriorate. Although he has never been able to walk, and could never lift objects weighing much more than one pound, he has a great interest in firearms and the shooting sports.
I cannot remember, how it started, but everything about firearms has always been one of top interest in my life. As you can imagine, in the Soviet Union access to guns for citizens was, let’s put it softly, restricted.
Given the nature of the Soviets’ harsh restrictions on firearm ownership by the general public and Mr. Sivitski’s condition, he did not have much opportunity to enjoy the shooting sports that he dreamed of, or even to go to a library to learn more about the subject that he loved. For years, a meager selection of a few books and magazines were his only source of information on the topic, so he read and re-read them over and over. And then… the internet came. With this nearly limitless supply of information and knowledge now available to him via the internet through the use of assistive technologies, Yuri described himself as a “dimensionless sponge” to soak up information. He was finally able to pursue knowledge about his passion, even if he was not able to put it into practice on the firing line. Continue reading
George Zimmerman Auctioning Pistol Used in Self Defense Shooting
Update – Auction Terminated Before it Even Started
The February 26, 2012 self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman seems so long ago now. The case divided much of the nation, stirred up protests – some violent, and had many CCW-ers putting themselves in Zimmerman’s position: what if I had to defend myself with lethal force? An unpleasant enough prospect, even without having your name publicly dragged through the mud in nationwide news coverage that resulted in receiving numerous death threats.
Since the trial, Zimmerman has been periodically popping up in news feeds for various shenanigans, including being arrested for allegations of aggravated assault and domestic violence (twice), being shot at in an apparent road rage incident, getting caught speeding, and ruffling feathers on social media with a number of controversial posts, mainly on his now-banned Twitter account. Now, in his latest bid (no pun intended) for the limelight – and some extra walking-around money – Zimmerman is auctioning off the KelTec PF-9 pistol that was used in the self defense shooting.
The auction, which runs on Gun Broker (auction #558112068), begins today at 11AM with a starting bid of $5,000. Clearly never one to avoid getting in a few jabs, the auction listing has the following description: Continue reading
Hi Point Firearms founder Tom Deeb Dies
Photo: Facebook
Founder and former owner of Hi Point Firearms, Tom Deeb, died Monday. We had heard rumors about his passing, but it was confirmed by the company on Facebook today.
RIP, Tom.
From Hi Point’s Facebook page:
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of “Tom” Deeb, founder and former owner of Hi-Point Firearms on March 21, 2016. Tom was enjoying semi-retirement in Texas. The loss that is felt by his family (several of whom work at Hi-Point Firearms), and his many friends, cannot be put into words.
Tom was an extraordinarily smart and accomplished entrepreneur who built a company that still represents the fair practices and honest principles he implemented in establishing it.
Tom was involved in many organizations. He most enjoyed working with his many friends, law enforcement personnel, and The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE).
Tom had an unwavering desire to always do the right thing, and this principle will be continued by the current Hi-Point owner Mike Strassell, who has been a business partner with Tom for 30 years.
We will pass along additional information in accordance with the family’s wishes.
