Microstamping, Newtown and Riverview Gun Sales: What should have taken place long before Sandy Hook: Part II

I hope that you enjoyed Part I of the series "Microstamping, Newtown and Riverview Gun Sales: What should have taken place long before Sandy Hook"

We've had an opportunity to cover the details of this not-so-new Microstamping technology and how it places Gunsense advocates on the right side of their desires. Microstamping has nothing to do with Progun propaganda accusations of gun grabbing. If you haven't read it, and you are an advocate of Gunsense, I encourage you to do so.

Microstamping, Newtown and Riverview Gun Sales: What should have taken place long before Sandy Hook: Part I

1) It encourages responsible gun ownership
2) It reduces the likelihood of straw purchases taking place, based on point-of-origin sales information.
3) It is not readily defeatable with common household items, such as a "file" or "emery cloth"
4) Using an electron microscope (SEM Microscopy), which is used in Cycle-Of-Fire Ballistics analysis, micro-serial number legibility is decipherable to 96.8%
5) Micro-serializing is not a NEW technology. Smith&Wesson have been applying it to their guns for years, so complaining about the undue expense is a red herring.
6) Built in Microstamping redundancies insure tampering with guns manufactured with Microstamping cannot be circumvented; leading to (a) more closed gun crime cases, and (b)  reduction in the most common types of gun trafficking, dealer to "straw purchaser" to felon.
7) Gun Show Loopholes, where private party transactions are legal, can escape point-of-origin sales. With the advent of Microstamping, as a manufacturing process and implemented Safety Law, this is no longer true.

Moving right along,--last night I thought I'd turn in early.

Research is a large part of my writing and can be tedious and time consuming, but well worth it. I read a lot. I thought I'd step away from the subject of Newtown and rest my weary mind about this subject for a moment by catching up on some older Time Magazine issues before turning in. November 11th, 2013 had a great cover story called "The Secret Web" AKA THE DEEP WEB, all about Silk Road and Ross Ulbricht, bitcoins, dark markets, back room dealings...and wouldn't you know it?

LightBox-"From the Rubble"

A photograph from Jessica Hill of the Associated Press.

I don't need to discuss the caption. I don't need to repeat what was said, because we've seen the media take hold of this incident and do what they please with it. What I want to do, is just look at this photo.

I want to look at this image and realize what happened. I want to look at it and know that even though the buildings have been razed and will be eventually replaced, that this event in no way removes what happened that fateful day, and what needs to be done now. Taking away the buildings does not take away the act--that did not have to happen, for any number of reasons. Reasons that are not discussed, because each and every day we are talking about a new school shooting. Because we've let ourselves become emotional with reasons that have removed our effective protest in favor of much needed change in gun laws.

Why is destruction Sandy Hook so important?

For the same reason we had to raze these buildings.

To remove the impact of what took place here.

To forget.

For if we had to raze the buildings everywhere a mass shooting took place in America, then the blank spots of real estate in America would become apparent to anyone who passed by them.

Death of children, young people and adults, by gunfire,--wouldn't become so benign.

We need to do what is possible so more gun violence will cease, and that which IS possible is a process.

So, we take this event, and deconstruct what took place.

We don't flinch, for those of us who can stand to look at what actually happened.

We learn from this incident all that happened and use it so it never happens again.  

We take what works, like Microstamping and implement it in ALL states.

The American Bar Association approved of it on a national level in 2010, so why shouldn't we all do the same as well?

One thing that Gunsense people need to realize is that ALL gun crime investigations begin at Point-Of-Sale origin. That means, manufacturer/to distributor-dealer /to consumer. There is no time lost on investigations with the invention of Microstamping. Time is a critical factor. No digging through hundreds, thousands, millions of 4473's to find the original buyer of a gun. Why, Microstamping can even trace people who are illegally reselling weapons for profit, based on patterns of buying and reselling.

The average profit on a illegally trafficked, straw purchased handgun is $500.

That's right, $500![1]

In some cases, much much more. Steven Greenoe is a perfect example of someone who was caught based on buying patterns. 

So anyone can see why Progun wants to shut down the conversation about Microstamping. So many young men out there are making a financial killing in a market place, where Private Party transactions are "legal", but seldom monitored for compliance. Now we have Facebook Guns for Sale[2], which increases the probability of guns ending up in the wrong hands, based on illegal transfers taking place. Almost 200,000 "likes" is assuring us a illegal transfer waiting to happen.

 
Even Craigslist won't take that risk.

Still within the legal gun selling industry,--certain illegalities take place.

Microstamping can help smooth out these problems.

That's what this series is about.

Is it even remotely possible that Microstamping could have prevented Sandy Hook?

After my research on the subject, it is my firm belief that it could have not only prevented Sandy Hook, but had Microstamping been implemented prior to the incident, it might have created a totally different turn of events. The legislation was in place in Connecticut to implement Microstamping.

S.B. 353 Session Year 2009, AN ACT CONCERNING THE MICROSTAMPING OF SEMIAUTOMATIC PISTOLS. To facilitate the linking of used cartridge cases to the firearm that fired them by requiring the microstamping of semiautomatic pistols.[3]

I do realize that a Bushmaster AR-15 was also used in the crime in question, but the story of Sandy Hook is karmically tied to S.B. 353. Maybe if people paid more attention to upcoming legislation that benefits them in general, then maybe--just maybe, tragedies like Sandy Hook could be thwarted before they even have a chance to take place. We can easily lose focus IF we don't take advantage of what is laid before us as a tool to receive what we need in our lifetime.

There is no doubt that Adam Lanza was a troubled child, with a troubled history in life, along with his mother Nancy. These problems presented themselves early on, in his childhood development and as little as they are discussed, the reasons for the Sandy Hook tragedy are many. None of them outweigh another. Now, what do we do with this information, and how do we respond to these mistakes previously made by all, while still showing our courage of conviction, where things that may present future problems can no longer be ignored?

We just do.
We don't whine about it.
We don't ignore them.
We don't shy away from it.
We dig in deep.

I don't,-- and never have considered, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun", as a viable or even reasonable answer to these problems. I don't consider Open Carry as a reasonable or viable option in when it comes to these problems. So what do I consider viable options and answers to gun violence in America? When we consider the course that history presents a viable technology that helps reduce illegal, criminal behavior, then that technology should be placed at the forefront of the gun safety discussion.

The NRA says: "Trained people" who own guns will prevent and reduce crime,...

I disagree.

Training did not prevent the death of Nancy Lanza.

26 other lives were not protected by Nancy Lanza's NRA pistol training.

She actually made first contact with the perpetrator of the crime in question.

The criminal was her son, who she raised in an environment of guns and violence.

An environment where a Colt .380 Pocket Lite is used as a teething tool for her child. An environment where 30 rd AK-47 magazines are fully loaded, in the open, sitting in an unsecured rifle and handgun rack--long before she placed a unsecured gun cabinet in Adam's room.

An environment, where her lackadaisical attitude about guns and gun safety permeated their entire "environment". She played the same game a lot of parents play with their children's lives, when it comes to securing dangerous weapons. She hoped for the best and really never considered the worse that could happen, or the consequences of her inaction.

Aspergers is not a mental illness.

Access to firearms and ammunition, and an obsession with mass murder was Adam Lanza's problem.

Adam suffered from extreme OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). 

It was something that his mother obviously ignored and the consequences of her actions showed that.

Those comments were not a segue.

She trained her child to kill. He grew into a killer. No matter how you slice it. That was the environment he was raised in by her, and his behavior was hard to monitor based on her lackadaisical attitude towards guns and violence in general. Somewhere along the way, she lost her skills to nurture, and seems she never learned those basic survival skills she so badly sought.

Like how to assess a threat. 

After reading the Final report on the Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School[4], juxtaposed against the The National School Shield: The Report of the National School Shield Task Force[5], I was left confused, as to why future considerations of Microstamping were never mentioned in either report, as a feasible preventative measure to curtail gun violence. In some ways, the shutdown of valid gun studies by the NRA, made the Sandy Hook incident possible.[6][7]

No PAC or Super PAC, passing themselves off as as a "educational" organization, geared to "Protect and Defend the Constitution" in its mission statement, has the right to usurp laws which are based in key foundational principles, found in the Preamble of the Constitution. That Preamble which guarantees the people of this nation that it will "insure domestic Tranquility". Let me repeat that. Insure domestic tranquility. It does not mention by what means it will do so, and comes far before the mention of the 2nd Amendment, which continues to be misinterpreted by the Moron Labe persuasion of America.

In the research paper, Gun Control After Heller: Threats and Sideshows From A Social Welfare Perspective[8], there is mention of exactly what you'll witness everyday as you participate on the #Gunsense thread on twitter,-- as you try to take a chance, making your best efforts to communicate with others about making changes in society for the betterment of mankind. Misinterpretations of a 2008 Supreme Court Judicial decision has caused prominent problems within current American society. The onslaught of Open Carry participants and their demands to display firearms on a daily basis, in every walk of life, has grown beyond reason. The negative social implications,-- of allowing America to become a martial society,-- then eventually becoming a militaristic society, are staggering, and day by day are becoming highly probable.   

1) Your safety from gun violence grows weaker everyday, and your life is being put at risk, based on your lack of access to pertinent information about gun violence in America. This lack of information is caused by those groups who threaten your safety through frivolous and vexatious litigation, misinformation campaigns, and political corruptness.

2) Innovation in technology, where guns and gun violence are concerned, is stifled by a constant re-quoting of the 2nd Amendment, falsely representing it as a 'purist doctrine', sacred beyond the need for science or regulations,-- by a growing Constitutionalist movement that is veering this nation out of control and into dangerous territory.

3) Massive amounts of Tort Litigation, backing up the courts and boggling the mind with nonsense that has little to do with Constitutional rights or Gun Trace technology, and is the main directive of ALEC's agenda to disrupt society, throwing it into chaos. Stand Your Ground laws create chaos, and along with chaos there is money to be made by these Progun groups. Massive amount of money that do nothing to institute gun safety of regulation. ALEC, in a nutshell believes in deregulation, including gun regulation. 

There is literally a ton on information out there about how gun violence can be reduced, significantly, without the need to ban firearms. Yet, by Progun blocking this pertinent information, under the guise of protecting the 2nd Amendment, these self-preservationist who tout that "any type of gun registration-leads-to-genocide-by-FEMA-death-camps" diatribe,--while actual industrial technology has made it possible to trace weapons to their source of manufacturing and distribution without a GUN! An ejected shell is all that is required.

How about that?

A win-win for everyone, and Progun continues to cry about technology that keeps them out of the line of fire when it comes to confiscation,--if they play by the rules,--have nothing to hide,--and don't do anything illegal in the transferring of firearms. For so-called "law abiding" citizens, this should be no problem at all or conflict of interest. Correct? Wrong (in Progun's viewpoint)! So, how deep seated is NRA paranoia (which I hear is the best, low-priced, paranoia on the market), that has kept the United States from progressing forward. From a standpoint that includes both safety and technology, their reasoning is beyond me.

Let me tell you why.

Jobs.
Technology.
Jobs.
Exporting items that reduce crime internationally.
Jobs.

Because guns are not going to go away anytime soon, that does not mean that they are reduced to technological retardation based on Progun's need to believe in the fallacy that the "gun grabber" exists. In this market place, and in society-at-large, where Progun is creating irresponsible and fearful consumers,--it is in this highly technological, advanced, GLOBAL society,-- that someone will exploit this technology which already exists. 

If America and Americans do not get on board with Microstamping technology, another technologically advanced nation will get on board, and we as a nation will eventually be subjected to another nation's advancements and inventions (once again) of our own core creation. No free market American will ever have a right to complain about outsourcing, but their audacity won't stop them from doing so when this technology finds itself outsourced to different nations beyond American borders.

Let me explain this another way. When the NRA and its cronies decided that Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann was a "anti-gun Nazi", would they apply that same logic today, seeing that he was named the Dean of U.S. Military Medical School?[9]  

The same Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann whose CDC research was the flashpoint for the 1993 gun control debate, that was used to defund gun studies via the CDC until recently?[10] Would they like him to keep his precious and invaluable gun shot trauma studies secrets, so our troops are at further risk while defending our nation? Come on NRA! Make up you mind! Defend the nation and support the troops, and retract your false allegations about Dr. Kellermann, just because his research makes you feel uncomfortable.

Read the American Medical Association paper, "Silencing The Science On Gun Research"[11]

Again, there are so many research studies on gun violence that have been shutdown by the NRA's political savvy, while they produce rebuttal research papers, that don't amount to much, being pushed forward by bought and paid for Congress members, that do nothing to reduce gun violence, gun deaths or gun injuries. When findings are rushed, the studies leave our questions unanswered. Bear in mind, this is a difficult piece for me to write, because I am ultimately and emphatically judging the final conclusions on the Sandy Hook report and the School Shield report, because the solutions they offered never included extremely pertinent information cited after their reports were made public. Knowing about this information as we do now, at this time, can change the course of how we approach possible future tragic conflicts, which could have been prevented, if certain decision makers can readily access said information.

The correlation between S.B. 353 Session Year 2009 and Riverview Gun Sales are left completely out of the findings of the Sandy Hook report and The National School Shield report.

One has to ask themselves "why"? 

This continued argument over biased and unbiased information has got to cease. Kleck and Lott, who have been placed at the forefront of Progun's DGU argument are not the be all-end all of gun violence research in America. It is time for Gunsense to put away its emotional attachment to the gun violence dialogue and protest that lacks the necessary knowledge to defeat the NRA and GOA members, and make them responsible gun owners by holding them accountable for laxed gun laws in America, and their repeated propaganda campaign, that keeps this nation from moving forward and living in fear. Stop letting the NRA make the 'gun ownership' argument about 'self-defense' only, which lacks the responsibility and regulation of ownership.

You are being beaten down by ignorant little men, with ignorant ideas about what should engage forward thinking. Trying to make you feel guilty about forward thinking, by haranguing you about your lack of "patriotism" or "honor". Your intrinsic duty and objective due to the nation of America is heavily vested in insuring "domestic Tranquility". That "domestic Tranquility" is not borne out of currently arming every man, woman and child in America to appease the senses of those who lay guilt trips on you about the founding of America and how it was accomplished by way of gun. We are not at war, domestically. We do not need to employ soldiers in our schools or universities. 

We are obliged to domestic Tranquility,-- before anything else,-- above all else.

The public at large should not be carrying loaded rifles or shotguns on city streets, in malls, in parks, or in restaurants. We do not need to argue the misinterpreted points of it being Constitutionally "allowed". We just need to refuse to patronize places that allow loaded firearms in their businesses. We do not need to argue the point of why Law Enforcement is allowed to carry a gun and the average citizen is not. We do not need to argue someone's expertise on the subject of guns against your personal expertise with guns. It is irrelevant. 

We do not need to engage those people, who for whatever matter, really have no concept of what it means "to insure domestic Tranquility", who thinks such things occurs at the end of a loaded gun.

Misguided emotion leads to bad policies which ignore the truth (like Stand Your Ground Laws). Policies which have little to do with any restrictions on Liberty or the so-called usurping of the 2nd Amendment are really not up for discussion. The argument of which side is more knowledgeable will cease, when you are no longer bullied by your lack of information on the subject of Microstamping. Knowing about Microstamping will allow you to formally protest lackluster laws. The misgivings we all encounter about gun violence research no longer has to continue without choosing forward progress designed to decrease gun violence. 

The question now is,....

......why are we afraid of the truth IF it will prevent future misgivings?

  
References, Articles, and Research Papers:
[1] Havocscope, Global Black Market Information, Arms Trafficking Black Market

[2] Facebook, Guns For Sale page

[3] State of Connecticut; General Assembly, Senate Bill 353, Co-Sponsored: Sen. Martin Looney & Rep. Andres Ayala 2009

[4] Report of the State's Attorneyfor the Judicial District of Danbury on the Shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and 36 Yogananda Street, Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012

[5] The National School Shield: The Report of the National School Shield Task Force 2013

[6] MSNBC-"Blackout: How the NRA suppressed Gun Violence Research", original 1-14-2013 updated 10-2-2013, Zachary Roth

[7] ABC-"CDC Ban On Gun Research Caused Lasting Damage", 4-9-2013, Sdyney Lupkin via 20/20

[8] "Gun Control After Heller: Threats and Sideshows From A Social Welfare Perspective", The Law School, The University of Chicago, (Cook, Ludwig, Samaha) 2009

[9] Newswise-"Arthur Kellermann Named Is Dean Of U.S. Military Medical School, 7-22-2013, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Bethesda, MD.

[10] Salon-"The NRA's War On Gun Science", 7-25-2012, Alex Seitz-Wald

[11] "Silencing the Science On Gun Research", Online First, Viewpoint, JAMA 2-13-2013, Vol. 309, No. 6, (Kellermann and Rivara)

Gun Violence Papers and Research Papers:

A) American Bar Association House of Delegates, Aug 9-10, 2010 Microstamping

B)  Firearm Laws and the Reduction of Violence, 2005 (Hahn, Bilukha, Crosby, Fullilove, Liberman, Moscicki, Synder, Tuma, Briss, American Medical Journal of Preventative Medicine

C) How Delinquent Youths Acquire Guns: Initial Versus Most Recent Gun Acquisition, 2002 (Webster, Freed, Frattaroli, Wilson), Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine: The New York Academy of Medicine.

D) America Under The Gun; A 50 State Analysis of Gun Violence and Its Link To Weak State Gun Laws, 2013 (Gerney, Parsons, Posner), Center For American Progress.

E) Behavior-Oriented Approaches to Reducing Youth Gun Violence, 2002 (Hardy), Future of Children, U.S. National Library of Medicine

F) Firearm Storage Patterns In U.S. Homes With Children, 2000 (Schuster, Franke, Bastian, Sor, Halfon), American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 90 No. 4

G) Safe Firearm Storage Practices: What's The Evidence That They Can Prevent Adolescent Suicide, 2006, (Johnson, Vriniotis, Hemenway), Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard University

H) The Storage Of Household Firearms: An Examination of the Attitudes and Beliefs of Married Women With Children, 2007 (Johnson, Runyan, Coyne-Beasley, Lewis, Bowling), Health Education Research, Oxford University Press

I) Product-Oriented Approaches to Reducing Youth Gun Violence, 2008 (Teret, Culross) Future of Children, U.S. National Library of Medicine

Microstamping, Newtown and Riverview Gun Sales: What should have taken place long before Sandy Hook: Part I

I've been doing a lot of research into the subject of Microstamping technology for some time now, and I like to share (not only my own opinion) the things that have come to light in recent months. So, where do we begin?

I used to work in the gun business. It's a business. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not something I'm proud of, nor am I ashamed of the person I've become from being involved in it many years ago. I've received, and continue to receive a LOT of abuse for even saying I was in the gun business-- from the Progun side of the aisle in most cases, because I've pledged myself to using my knowledge from working in that industry to help those of the Gunsense movement become even more knowledgeable about the industry they are at odds with, when it comes to guns and gun laws.

That, in and of itself, makes me a traitor to the 2nd Amendment, a "gungrabber", and unpatriotic--in the mind of Tea Party members, Libertarians, the GOA, the NRA, the GOP, and Republicans in general.

This battle for reasonable gun laws is a struggle for what is right, what is timely, and technology.

I tend to think of myself as 'amused' by these verbal attacks I've received for choosing Gunsense. You can quote me. I'm amused by Progun. I refuse to sit quietly by, and have been known to share a few choice verbal exchanges on Twitter, which I hope keeps you entertained. It makes me happy to know that my following has grown through these trials and tribulations. Yet, it doesn't change the reality of my life, my former occupation, where I live, the threats I've received from Progun, the fear I don't feel when it comes to such things as those threats grow from the Molon Labe crowd.

One of the many, and I'm sure not the last

I refer to them as the Moron Labe crowd, because by picking the Battle of Thermoplyae, and the story of The 300,-- it was probably not the most intelligent choice of battle cries when you get right down to it.

Life is NOT a Gerard Butler movie, as brilliant as they are--but I digress. 

"Nuts" would have been better suited for a whole slew of reasons.

It's January now, and the year is 2014. Smith & Wesson and Ruger have formally announced their withdrawal from the California semi-automatic pistol market, based on the new California Law, covering "Handgun Safety, Functionality, and Testing Requirements", including Microstamping.

The law itself, is not new and was signed back in 2007, by then Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Under Penal Code § 12125 "No handgun may be manufactured or sold to the public in California unless it is of a make and model that has passed required safety and functionality tests and is approved for publication in the Department of Justice’s official list of handguns certified as safe for sale in California. Any person who manufactures, imports into the state for sale, sells, gives, or lends an unsafe handgun is guilty of a misdemeanor"[1], --which suit me just fine!

It's not fine with Smith & Wesson and Ruger, to the tune of a formal *Declaration* filed by Michael Fifer of Ruger, in his attempt to claim that Microstamping (love it!), places an "undue economic burden for the manufacturer"[2], when in fact, it would place absolutely NO economic burden on either Ruger or Smith & Wesson. Claiming that there is "no workable microstamping technology today, and Ruger believes that California's microstamping regulations make compliance impossible."[3] within the Declaration doesn't make it so, yet this is a Progun tactic used over and over and over again. 

Whine about it,-- if you don't get your way!

Wow.

Guns are a business. You can't cry in business. You can't claim something doesn't work because you don't want to do it! Which is what both Ruger and Smith & Wesson mean to do. So far, they are the only two manufacturers that have balked at this not-so-new-but-now-enforceable California law that applies to ALL manufacturers[4] of semi-auto pistols, made after May17, 2013.

Can you dig it? 

I knew that you could!

The Progun industry has had seven years to dispute Microstamping technology, based on its research and patenting. They continue making propaganda claims of maybes-ifs-and we're certain that offer zero proof of debunking Microstamping technology, which in fact increases Cycle-of-Fire verification to 96.8%, with immediate point-of-origin accuracy that is unparallelled in ballistic technology. This is science, not conjecture. But in today's world, there are many people who want to thrust America back into an age full of Tricorns and rebellion against Microstamping technology, which does not impinge their on their Freedom nor violates in any form or fashion--their 2nd Amendment Rights!

Not one iota! 

Yet, they scream "Tyranny!".

The America Bar Association has reviewed Micorstamping technology from a legal standpoint and has approved of it fully,-- as it enhances the legal means of identifying point-of-origin of a gun, thereby lowering gun crime on a whole. This eliminates contacting the manufacturer, to find out what FFL dealer received the crime gun as a wholesale acquisition, and where it was transferred as a wholesale or retail disposition. They can go right to the FFL dealer, which when it comes to solving a gun crime, where every second counts--instead of looking through a pile of 4473's to find that exact 4473 you are looking for, which can be quite time consuming in a nation that has 310 million firearms. 

It's time to make things easier for Law Enforcement, and reduce the tide of straw purchases and illegal gun transfers and trafficking by the common citizen, who utilizes Private Party transactions as a tool to deal in guns, without taking responsibility for who's hand those guns may actually end up in. The profit margin from Private Party transactions, *without responsibility* is what makes Private Party transactions so lucratively attractive to Progun.

The America Bar Association urges "Federal, State and Territorial Goverments to enact laws"[5] that require use of Microstamping, on all newly manufactured semi-auto pistols. Why would they do this?


Because it is the responsible thing to do.

Because it is prudent for America. 

Because it works!

Because it increases Cycle of Fire Technology indicators & gun crime accuracy![6][7][8]

So, it's time. It's time to look into the benefits of Microstamping. It is cost effective. No matter what Progun, Ruger, or Smith & Wesson claims about excessive cost burden on the manufacturer, it pays for itself in a very short time. What doesn't pay for itself is Smith & Wesson stating emphatically that they will not sell semi-automatic pistols in California to consumers or Law Enforcement. That is not much of a threat, based on the fact that Law Enforcement will buy equipment elsewhere. They have no compulsion for allegiance when it comes to arming their officers. 

Law Enforcement will upgrade, with or without Smith &Wesson.

How does all this fit into Newtown and Sandy Hook? 

Based on my research, it does. 

That comes with the next installment of "Microstamping, Newtown and Riverview Gun Sales: What should have taken place long before Sandy Hook: Part II".

Right now, it's time for those of Gunsense to wrap their heads around Microstamping technology and let it settle in your craw. 

Microstamping technology's time has come. It's time for Gunsense to understand how it works and how they can best use the recent adoption of Microstamping manufacturing requirements of semi-auto pistols in California law to it's advantage, and get the word out. 

No matter how much Progun distorts the truth about Microstamping, it works and it is here to stay.

As an aside, the Microstamping research information and reference supplied aren't for me. 

They're for people who need to read it. They'll call you a liar once you know how it works. Then the real challenge of your Gunsense knowledge begins. They'll challenge whatever informational source you provide. They'll dispute it with nonsense and try and to convolute the information you know to be facts,--while disputing it with Progun nonsense, heaped in denial. 

They'll fear you as much as they fear the California Handgun Safety, Functionality, and Testing Requirements.

Just remember one thing about who you are when that takes place.
 
Ruger and Smith & Wesson didn't really dispute the Microstamping technology with proof.

They can't.

They just lip-synced the NRA and NSSF, which advocates no Microstamping technology at all. Their rebuttal research of Microstamping has not convinced the courts at all, so they are reduced to bogus threats, which excludes them from the California semi-automatic pistol marketplace.

Ruger just said they would not comply, gave excuses, bailed on the consumer base, threatened Law Enforcement with abandonment of product and repairs should they enforce the Microstamping law requirement as it stands. They even have the audacity to threaten California to rescind the Microstamping manufacturing law, by letting thirty semi-automatic pistol types fall off the safety roster, which seems like an extremely childish demand to me.

Smith & Wesson response left little to speculate, other that they deemed their products "the best with the latest innovations"[9] 

I guess these "latest innnovations" don't include NanoTagging AKA Microstamping ejected shell casing for gun crime technological advancements. 

Smith & Wesson makes a lot more than thirty semi-automatic pistols.

That is a whole heap of whining and crying for grown men and women to do in the 21st Century,--in this age of technological advancements that secures additional safety within American society.

 

Todd Lizotte: Co-Inventor of Microstamping explains the process in his own words.

Microstamping Research Papers:

1) Forensic Firearm Identification of Semiautomatic Handguns Using Laser Formed Microstamping Elements: 2008, Todd E. Lizotte, Orest Ohar

2) Ballistic Imaging: 2008 The National Academies Press

3) Extracting Ballistic Forensic Intelligence: Microstamped Firearms Deliver Data for Illegal Firearm Traffic Mapping – Technology: 2009 Orest P. Ohar, Todd E. Lizotte 

4) What Micro Serialized Firing Pins Can Add to Firearm Identification in Forensic Science: How Viable are Micro-Marked Firing Pin Impressions as Evidence?: 2006 David Howitt PhD, Frederic A. Tulleners, Michael T. Beddow 

5) NanoTag Markings From Another Perspective: 2006 George G. Krivosta

6) Objective analysis of toolmarks in forensics: 2013 Taylor Nicole Grieve

7) Ammunition Marking: Small Arms Survey, 2011 Giacamo Persi Paoli
 
 
Footnote references:

[1] California Firearms Laws 2007, pg.34
[2] Declaration of Michael Fifer, filed Jan. 28, 2014, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Pena vs. Lindley, pg. 2, Paragraph 5, lines 24-25
[3] Declaration of Michael Fifer, filed Jan. 28, 2014, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Pena vs. Lindley, pg. 2, Paragraph 6, lines 27-28
[4] California Department of Justice, Division of Law Enforcement, Bureau of Firearms, Certification of Microstamping Technology pursuant to Penal Code section 31910, subdivision (b) (7) (A)
[5] America Bar Association, Adopted By The House Of Delegates, August 9-10, 2010, Recommendation
[6] Forensic Firearm Identification of Semiautomatic Handguns Using Laser Formed Microstamping, Todd E. Lizotte and Orest Ohar, 2008 SPIE Annual Optics & Technology Conference, Optical Technologies for Arming, Safing, Fuzing, and Firing IV Conference, illustration-pg. 7
[7] Forensic Firearm Identification of Semiautomatic Handguns Using Laser Formed Microstamping, Todd E. Lizotte and Orest Ohar, 2008 SPIE Annual Optics & Technology Conference, Optical Technologies for Arming, Safing, Fuzing, and Firing IV Conference, illustration-pg. 8
[8] Forensic Firearm Identification of Semiautomatic Handguns Using Laser Formed Microstamping, Todd E. Lizotte and Orest Ohar, 2008 SPIE Annual Optics & Technology Conference, Optical Technologies for Arming, Safing, Fuzing, and Firing IV Conference, illustration-pg.13
[9] Smith & Wesson® Addresses California Microstamping Legislation: January 23, 2014

 



 

My twitter conversation with Kory Watkins of Open Carry Texas dot Org

Well, as you've probably figured out by now, it wasn't much of a conversation. At 140 characters per entry, one can't say much. The eloquent Kory Watkins said even less than the 140 characters allow for. His final exchange, directly to me were--and I quote, "Face Palm".

Now, I'm not one to go all macho and hero-like on society in general, but "Face Palm", as in "there is no excuse for my behavior", "Face Palm"? And this is the so-called chosen leader of the diehard, wannabe heroes? Those gun toting, Libertarian (unaffiliated with any political parties, by their own admission), who's sole purpose is to "CONDITION" Americans into feeling safe with the concept of scared grown men and women--walking around with the average semi-automatic "sporting" rifle, formerly billed as an "Assault Rifle", by the gun industry itself.

And see, that's the point right there, isn't it?

Fear.

"Come And Take It, but...what this is really about is the fact that I can't apply for a CCW, based on my criminal background record, and I will be denied, so...I chose to dare you to take my gun away!"

I have many opinions about what has caused this intrinsic fear, in the average, uneducated American male, who attaches "patriotism" and "the fight against tyranny" to carrying around formidable weapons, but "Face Palm"?

                      #FacePalm: is his defense against an honest and thoughtful question and or statement

And this is the end of the story (well not really the end, but I found out from Kory that my questions don't rate his perusal or thoughtful contemplation. One of his many Open Carry protectors, came out from behind concealment (not cover), and tried an attempt to protect this fearless leader of Open Carry from any undo Liberal interrogation!

I hadn't brought up the Law Enforcement issue in the same respect that this OpenCarryTexas.Foolishness.Org member had. 

Law Enforcement is one of Open Carry's main focal point, as well as, its main objective and objections in general, in this right to "Keep and Bear Arms" fiasco. The Open Carry movement, in general is not happy with the rise in crime, yet they tend to take one or more Officers of the Law out of their normal daily routine (of fighting crime--duh), by showing up somewhere they've staked out for one of their little gun toting events--where Break Free CLP is used like sun screen. And,--they even invite women and children, so they have something to hide behind when someone eventually opens fire on them. This is not a wish of mine, but the odds of a deadly exchange happening becomes greater and greater each time, as Kory encourages larger and larger groups to attend these Open Carry events.

I guess he's never heard the concept of reaching the point of diminishing returns.

I had posed a couple of pertinent questions to Kory, after I pondered, "What gets under this polecat's skin?" "What makes this little snark wrangler think by carrying a crappy, sporterized, AK-47, that those who live in the Gunsense world should be afraid of him?"

Trust me when I say, Kory Watkins is no Arvo Ojala, and unless you've posed as many questions to Arvo as I have in the past, then talking to Kory should be a cakewalk, right? Arvo Ojala owned a little boutique leather shop, in North Hollywood, down on Lankershim Blvd., and he was a close, and cantankerous old friend of mine. He'd send me business and I'd do the same for him. So, when people call these Open Carry crowd a group of gunslingers, well that, in and of itself, couldn't be further from the truth. Their gun prowess is nothing to fear, unless it's based on their showing you their shiny objects, and you consider their total lack of respect for gun safety and the 2nd Amendment in general.

They are a CLUSTERF**K!

They are a whole new generation of careless gun owners that need to be wrangled. My generation had similar problems, and the old guys placed their perspective in our laps, in order for us to continue on the responsible ownership of guns in America. These new guys (noobs) should have no problems with us, giving them a tune up on what that responsibility means when it comes to their Rights to Bear Arms, their ownership responsibilities, and how regulations of that ownership works. 1989 was the year George W. H. Bush gave the gun industry a tune up, and he didn't even discuss it with us.

So, I tried to discuss this issue of Open Carry with Kory Watkins, and wouldn't you know it, he copped an attitude! No, really, he did! This man of the people, this so called defender of the Constitution, "son of god", and aspiring Libertarian politician sloughed me off, as if my questions had no pertinence at all! How dare that little hairless mole rat ignore statements and questions posed by the people, for the people and of the people. To be ignored by Kory Watkin on twitter? Is he running for dog catcher? It was then, that my brow furrowed in total disgust, and my initial statement to him, was laid out as a the Tiger trap that I had used on many occasions before on his kind, hoping that he wouldn't take the bait.

Oooops. Oh well.

His comment here, was the reason I engaged him in the first place.

I couldn't resist asking this aspiring Libertarian politician a few questions about his past, and see if he could answer them for the people who financially back him and support is views. After all, most of you on twitter are considered "Nazi people", and it's only fair that Kory be given the chance to show us who he really is in retrospect.

Who is Kory Watkins AKA Kory D. Watkins?

(Right now, I'm tempted to tell you what the "D" stand for)

Just so we're clear, we know that "FTA" is Failure to Appear which kicks in an automatic warrant for your arrest, and "VOP" is either Violation of Probation or Violation of Parole, which means back to the hoosegow for Kory. It's a mixed bag of nuts, and either one shows that this House of Representatives hopeful, and I use that term loosely, has zero respect for any law, in general. Including the Bill of Rights. Why the hell would we the people ever pay him to be a lawmaker, when he'd just be collecting a welfare check, and has no sense of what the job of Congressman means to the people of the United States of America? He's not a law maker, he's a lawbreaker.

It was then, that I made this comment to Kory, after he responded to @norfud...

I hadn't noticed the "Face Palm" he'd given @norfud, but his comment about being a "law abiding citizen" just irked the bejeezus out of me. He's not a law abiding citizen! I mean, do people really buy the garbage that he spews from the recesses of his dark and dingy, social networking bunker, hunkered down-- planning the next intimidation assault on Moms Demand Action? Who is this guy? How does this sociopath think? Then he answered me, and I began to see what this Open Carry clown and ring master really was.

Learn the law? It was one of those primordial moments, when I wanted to dismiss Kory Watkins, like the Paleolithic creature that he is, in a evolving world of civilized human beings. Here's a Open Carry advocate, leader of large groups of well armed people, telling me I should learn the law? While his track record of breaking the law, shows not only a contempt for the law in general, but a blatant disregard for the average intelligence of normal Americans? "Conditioning" the German people was part of Hitler's SA Brown Shirts job. This proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the average Open Carry advocate is similar to Hitler's down trodden proletariat, whose main objective was a show of force through intimidation using the Sturmabteilung, as long as there was enough beer in it for them at the end of the Million Man Gun Putsch.  

Gleichschaltung doesn't work on me.

I decided to rattle his cage, just that much more, to see if he was made of anything more than straw.

If this didn't make him stand up and spout his Libertarian viewpoint of the United States Constitution according to Ayn Rand, with all its hedonistic inflections and moderately psychotic,--misguided and misinterpreted rantings (those like any good Tea Party goon would spew), then he has no real cause he backs. If I hadn't tried expose his false Constitutional rhetoric, then I hadn't done my job as one of the many people who he needs to understand his position where this Open Carry crap keeps showing up, uninvited and heavily armed!

His answer to me:

My retort was simple:

#FacePalm is a display of frustration, disappointment, embarrassment...not to be confused with "patriotism", or "heroism", or "bravery". Even a gun can't fix such an embarrassing moment in Open Carry history. But, as these crowds of armed insurgents grow in size, I'm sure there will be many more embarrassing moments like this one for Kory Watkins.

Before and after pictures kind of explain how he feels about having his picture taken in public now.

                                                   Taken  at Blue Mesa parking lot:

          
                              SMILE FOR THE FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE, KORY!

                                                    OpenCarryTexas event: 11/16/2013

            "MAYBE IF I DUCK-- NO ONE WILL KNOW WHO I AM" (lower right corner)

With lowered head. The only thing missing in the above picture is Kory Watkins' signature #FacePalm of Embarrassment.

I don't think Kory Watkins will ever engage me in a twitter conversation again. 

His bravery on this issue of Open Carry is aptly slung across his chest.

He is no patriot.

He is not fighting tyranny.

He is not brave.

He is a #Gunbully and a leader of a group of #Gunbullies

I'm not anti-gun.

I'm anti-gunbully!

Progun vs. Gunsense on Twitter

After three suspensions by twitter, for telling the truth about guns, laws, and basic general information for the novice, who seeks a safer America, I was prompted to write this particular post on how to handle one's self, when engaged in mortal twitter combat against the Progun side of this argument. It's just advice. You don't have to adhere to it, but it might be useful.

Here's a little background information.

Let me make some things clear:

1) I am for total, unbiased Gunsense. I make no bones about it. I do not care what people think about my stand against unnecessary gun deaths in America. That is their issue. The 2nd Amendment is not under attack, and I don't see it being repealed in any form or fashion in the near future. Open carry, on the other hand, has become an abomination to the very soul of mankind, as well as the 2nd Amendment. Let's not pretend that America is at war (like Iraq or Afghanistan), and there is a purposeful need to carry a firearm. If you feel the need to open carry in America, then you need more help than the 2nd Amendment can offer you.

2) Please, Gunsense people, do not attack my style of writing, as I revel in giving a sarcastic, irreverent analysis of almost every detail I come in contact with, when speaking on the issues of guns and gun ownership. Once a final analysis is determined (by using my cunning auditor skills of assessing data, based on facts and details), I usually gnaw at the bone of the problem until I reach the marrow of the issue, licking my chops along the way. I expect the attack from Progun people, not from you.

3) I used to deal in Arms, so I know more than a lot more than most Progun idiots you'll encounter along the way. They'll try and discredit me. That's because I choose the side of common sense. You can believe what you want about me. I did not own my own store front, but I did hold an FFL for many years, long before a store front was required to have one by Los Angeles ordinance. I worked as a manager at one of the largest gun stores in America (when it was operation: it is now defunct). I had absolutely nothing to do with the ownership of their business nor did I own stock in their corporation. I had nothing to do with how they handled their mishandled monies, their personal dealings with DOJ, or their underhanded dealings with each other.

If you are a Progun moron, looking to attach the Kahn brothers lives to mine, other than an paid employee, then you need to look me up through the NIC database and see what you can find out, or have me checked out through the B.A.T.F. Either way, I'll come out squeaky clean. So, it's better to hush, because that route has been traveled by a few of you Progun people, and you've failed.

Comprende, amigo?

4) If you are a Gunsense person, and you need an education on the industry, which you have an issue with, it's best not to flame these posts, where I'm here to give you information on said industry. It puts a bad taste in everyone's mouth, especially when you attack someone who supports Gunsense values as I do. In other words, don't mistake me for a Progun idiot, who runs around strapped to prove I have gun rights. I'm not that guy. I wore a gun, strapped to my hip, for work purposes, for many years. I've been saved by my own common sense and realized the error of my ways. My atonement for the sins of selling so much death and destruction is educating those of you who really haven't a clue what they're facing when taking on the NRA and Progun fanatics where the 2nd Amendment is concerned.

So here is the truth about guns:

It's a business.
It's Global. (Global Small Arms Trade Info-Interactive Map)
There is a ton of money to be made.
Legally or illegally.

Those are the basics.

Why am I posting this particular Gunsense article? 

You need to understand, when you engage in a conversation with the Progun side on twitter, that the whole concept of engaging you, Gunsense advocates, in a conversation with them, is to get your twitter account suspended. They like to gang up on an 'individual', and send out information to twitter claiming that you, the Gunsense person, are spamming or being abusive. It is a weak tactic to get you to stop posting tweets on Gunsense. They are well organized and that is why they *retweet* your comments, so many Progun people can engage you at once.

It doesn't matter what you say. It only matters that twitter thinks what you've said is "spam".

It's called "gulaging"

The goal is to get your account suspended so many time that you violate TOS and it is permanently banned. They'll hate you even more if you know what going on, but they will refrain from trying to "gulag" you. They will taunt you, but you will figure out soon enough what they are trying to do, even if they are being nice to you. Remember, they report all of your comments (tweets) back to them as spam that they didn't request, and that you initiated. I might do a post on this subject alone, as it has had a detrimental effect on getting out the Gunsense message, and we must work as a network.

#TGDN means Twitter Gulag Defense Network

It is the only tactic that Progun can use to win their argument. They aren't interested in your opinion and they are not open to suggestions, or seeking a solution to gun violence and unnecessary death in America.

In order for the Gunsense message to be heard, you must avoid engaging them in conversation. Even when they call you a liar. There is one person in particular, who every five minutes, calls a Gunsense individual a "liar", on a completely separate thread from the one you've started to isolate you, in hopes you will engage him, so he can call in his twitter troops to corner you. He's a Progun moron. He sells t-shirts, not guns. You are messing with his Progun t-shirt business, and bringing down the walls of his city. He knows very little about weapons, especially the type you want regulated. He's part of the twitter Progun movement. He likes to call people "bigots". He uses inflammatory language, when he comments on your Gunsense tweet.

It is a ruse.

Be aware, and avoid him.

Let him babble. It's what he does best.

It's a simple concept.

Say what is necessary.

Do not engage.

If asked to give proof, have it at the ready.

Make sure the proof you give is not arbitrary proof.

Example: "6.6 million guns are sold EVERY YEAR in the U.S. without background checks."

That is true, based on 2012 statistics.

Yet does not apply to EVERY other year, including 2013.

Actually, based on the statistical information used for back ground checks for purchases and denial of gun purchase in 2012, the assumed 40% of private part transactions would amount to 6.7 million. (16,808, 538 x 40% = 6,723, 415)

The current given data "6.6 million guns", was an extrapolation formulated by using the same type of statistical information gathered by Professors Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig from their 1996 analysis of Guns in America, By using 2012 current background checks and the same 40% private party transaction factor rate, current figures arrive at "6.6 million guns are sold EVERY YEAR in the U.S. without background checks."

It's really that simple.

It's not rocket science.

It's exponential math analysis.

Yet the real numbers can never be calculated unless Gunsense puts an end to private party transactions. 

That's a lot of math for a Progun advocate, so of course he'll call you a 'liar'. He'll never look at the links within the factheck.org article that you've posted on "Guns Acquired Without Background Checks". That would be too much work for him. It's easier for him NOT to deal with facts. If he did, then he wouldn't have super duper Progun, "you're violating my 2nd Amendment rights!" leg to stand on. Facts just confuse him. He wants to control the Progun argument stance by ignoring your Gunsense facts.

That is because his game is not about using your facts. It's about disputing your facts, just long enough to get you removed permanently from twitter. Facts don't elude him. He knows they exist. To acknowledge your facts would be sacrilegious according to the by-laws of the his discounted, Life Time membership in the NRA. It would be blasphemous in respect to the 2nd Amendment and God (who by the way, had nothing at all to do with the Bill of Rights or Open Carry).

The Progun adversary (and he is your adversary, ...so don't get it twisted, because that's how he sees anyone for Gunsense), is cunning, ruthless, and vile. He stalks Moms Demand Action women at shopping centers, while bringing his wife, children, and his semi-auto AK-47 derivative with a 30 round magazine, just in case you drop your salad fork, giving him excellent reason to spray and pray. He'll use the excuse that you were reaching for "something" that looked like a weapon, as he invokes the 'Stand Your Ground' law, out of utter ignorance. He craps on the American flag, by holding it behind him for photo ops, using it as a symbolic gesture of his self righteous indignation at your wanting a simpler, gun free zone society, that doesn't include his AR-15's and his Glock at the Hot Dog on a Stick stand.

If you don't agree with his needs to carry a gun in public, you're supposedly a flag waving Socialist or Communist, when in fact you are nothing of the sort. Whatever inflammatory tactic he can use to incite your anger, he will use. He wants you to call him names, so he can report you to twitter for abuse. He will stalk your every Gunsense tweet, hoping to bait you into an argument that will end in a permanent twitter ban, because he knows that the less Gunsense people that participate on twitter, the better his Progun and Open Carry cause will flourish.

You are his nemesis, Gunsense.

You irk him.

If he will "secretly" stalk Moms Demand Action at a luncheon in Texas, and use this as an intimidation tactic, then what makes you think he has any less design on stalking your tweets on twitter? He sees this as a war on the 2nd Amendment and usurping of the Bill of Rights and Constitution. His comparisons between his cause and the Civil Rights movement are faulty at best, but nothing a few water hoses and police dogs couldn't sort out. His movement is not peaceful, for you do not bring arms to a civil disobedience movement., while calling it a peaceful demonstration of rights. He has never read the works of Thoreau, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ...or Gandhi.

His Bill of Rights is not your Bill of Rights.

'He' is a clone, cast from of the multitude of misguided, 2nd Amendment "gun bully" advocates, who live in constant fear and bring that fear wherever they travel.

Then again, I suspect with the people that have involved themselves in this insurrectionist open carry movement, that they are also waiting for that Concord Hymn moment.

They know only chaos and have no sense of community.

Make no mistake about it, They'll use whatever technique they can to get you, Gunsense advocates, banned from twitter.

Especially if you want to see common sense/Gunsense gun legislation enacted, and you want your voice heard.

They will not give up, and neither should you.

That doesn't mean they are not your enemy, because that's exactly what they are, and they means business.

Spread the word about what they are.

It's only fair.

                                                         American by Macklemore

EPA: Buying your fresh produce or guns in North Hollywood

Everyone likes fresh produce.

I know that I do. We have a wonderful place called Horrock's, not to far from where I live. I am what Michiganders call a "transplant". Originally born and raised in the Wild West of California. I've lived in both Southern and Northern California, and cannot choose between the two, which one I'm more fond of. Both of them have their attributes and drawbacks. Some people believe that Los Angeles is a disgusting place, filled with gangs and murderers, thieves and rogues, but that couldn't be father from the truth. Others feel that the Bay Area is a disgusting place, filled with harlots and drug dealers, shooters and sharps.

That's the vision most people have of large cities, never looking for the good things in a mega-metropolis. I grew up in the East Bay, born in Oakland. Yeah, that's right. One of America's toughest and most dangerous city's but it wasn't always that bad. It had a baseball and football dynasty at one time, long before it had drugs and shootings. Drugs and shootings are cyclic in this part of America. History tells us that. Then of course, living my adult life in both Los Angeles valleys, watching them slowly decline after the 1984 Olympics was very predictable, based on most places that decline after hosting either Summer or Winter Olympic events.  

                                                    China is the most recent example 

                                                  Fireworks during opening Ceremony

                                                   Garbage collection in unused canal

So now we all see that cities and their greatness, go through cycles from greatness and head into decline. It's the adventure of having been there when these events took place that make them great in our memory, for it is all memories, and nothing more. New York is going through its most recent cycle of decline. It's may soon lose some of its tradition luster, when the horse drawn carriage is permanently banned from the urban purview forever and replaced with "antiqued" electric cars. Traditional art, all too soon replaced by ghettoized Banksy art works. Those silhouette stencils have captured the imagination of millions of New Yorkers, while building owner's who have been deemed lucky enough to receive one of these nouveau riche graffiti pieces, continue to deplete their life savings, hoping to protect this midnight vandal's creativity (or lack there of) for posterity's sake. No one is the wiser, that Banksy, is pissing on the rich and the poor, simultaneously. Yet he is very aware of what he's doing.

Immovable art, that can be painted over and never really protected, that is no where near as good as Jean Michel Basquiat works, should not really be called art, for lack of art's sake. It's more of a nuisance. Creating uncontrollable hoards of so-called art enthusiast, whose iPhone captured digitized photos, hold the same value as the original one's on the ghetto walls. And that is the point, you see? It's merely art gentrification. Valueless Art unless you are wealthy. Art that will one day, be covered over, but not before its fought over first. 

Why, the word "iPhone" holds more intrinsic value than a Banksy. 

But, I digress.

Sometimes the value of any city is its history. You're probably asking yourself, by now, what does all this have to do with the Environmental Protection Agency and fresh produce? Well, like all that I've spoken about so far, it has to do with history. Not the kind of history that requires a PhD to interject the social relevance of 'what is' and 'what ain't', but history never the less. Oh, you could have a PhD for exploring this type of history, but this type of history has more to do with uncovering things that should be already be known. I've uncovered a bit of history, while writing my novel, "Death By The Blue Oak". It is a different type of story, based on the life of Eadweard Muybridge. I can't even begin to explain how I arrived at the concept for its structure, other than I was compelled to do so, and haven't looked back since. I was tweeting with Elizabeth Kracht one day, who's an agent at Kimberly Cameron & Associates, that takes these wonderful photographs of Richardson Bay from time to time. And every now and then, when she has time, she post them on instagram. Actually, most of her landscape pictures of my old stomping grounds in the Bay Area are absolutely moving, and inspire me to finish this piece of historical literary fiction, so I can get on with the next piece of whatever suits me at the moment.

Sometimes, the pictures that she takes are just the push I need.

Sometimes I try and find a picture similar to the one she's posted, and post them on her twitter timeline, juxtaposed to her picture.

Elizabeth's are modern photos and mine come from archived works from digital libraries, like Bancroft or the Lone Mountain Collection, to name a few.

I like looking at pictures.

They remind me that very little changes with time, and time is truly relative.

I do not believe in coincidence.

It is a part of who I am as am artist.

That is how I roll.

Elizabeth once tweeted to the world, asking if anyone out there had any questions "about water". Something to the effect of "ask her anything". She was working on at the time, and I assume, the promotion of a book about improving water quality for those who drink it. I happened to be working on one of the DBTBO supplements that deals with San Francisco, and how it came to have its current supply of drinking water. It was not always supplied by Hetchy Hetch, and in the early days, San Francisco's water was supplied by Captain William Guillermo Antonio Richardson, of Rancho Saucelito.

                                             Capt. William Guillermo Antonio Richardson

                                             
                                                 "Rancho Saucelito" Land Grant Map

It was supplied in barrels, shipped from fresh water springs in Rancho Saucelito, then shipped to North San Francisco, where it was stored in two very large holding tanks made of wood. Eventually, the city of San Francisco grew beyond the two tank capacity and a reservoir system was sorely needed. There would be no San Francisco if water was never found in abundance in Rancho Saucelito. The amount for the mission was not enough to grow the city. I can't tell you more about this part of the book, or my findings. What I can tell you is, is that I've discovered why the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir is full of mercury, and it has nothing to do with China. Of course, it's easier to blame it on China and its poor air quality, the jet stream and all that nonsense. 

It not easy to say out loud, that methylmercury poisoning was built into the San Francisco reservoir system.

The fact remains, even if Mark Twain did not say, "In the West, it is said, water flows uphill toward money and power", heavy metals like mercury, flow downhill, poisoning one reservoir system after another. The water does flow uphill from Hetchy Hetch, through a very complicated and old aqueduct system, that when it was built in 1863, there was no Environmental Protection Agency to answer to. There was only the masses. People of the Barbary Coast who needed water, and quicksilver was used for medicinal purposes anyway. What could possibly go wrong in the distant future? Increased methylmercury poisoning in certain parts of San Francisco's water system and food chain? Yes, I do know some people think this poison comes from the now defunct New Almaden Mines in the hills above San Jose, because they are truly looking for an answer that fits the rise in mercury levels in Lower Crystal Springs. That would be pushing heavy metals uphill, through water. 

I found it easier to believe that this poison flows down hill, and that's when my Indiana Jones jones kicks in. 

There are so many theories on how mercury got in the San Francisco water system. 

Some people don't drink water because it is a known fact that fish pee in it.

On the other hand using this as an example, the dangers of eating lead in ones diet, while procuring fresh fruits and vegetable seems to have bypassed the current owners of Olive Fresh Garden Marketplace. One of the requirements of begin in the Arms Industry, if you are intelligent enough to know what materials you are dealing with, is keeping tabs on your constant exposure to lead and the dangers of exposure. People who work at firing ranges should go in for blood work ups regularly, based on their constant exposure to lead. It is toxic and very dangerous. I worked around a lot of lead, and other toxic materials, and did a lot of the company R&D for weapons analysis and procurement, which required me to shoot around 100,000 to 150,000 rounds annually. I had my check ups and blood work ups, done regularly, based on constant exposure to lead and it leading to lead poisoning if certain precautions are not taken when working around this substance..

Which brings me back to this place:

                               12521 Oxnard Street, North Hollywood, California 91606

I get teased a lot on twitter about my former connections with the Arms Industry. Some people find my admission of dealing in the arms industry amusing, and even accuse me of lying about my own life. Mostly, because I refuse to be bullied into being "pro-open carry", by the open carry crowd, which is a ridiculous concept of exercising a Right to Openly Bear Arms in public, because you can, and not because you need to. I've said this many times before and I'll state it emphatically. I've forgotten more than most will ever know or be exposed to about guns and the business of guns. If that insults gun owners who think that the world of guns is the best thing since sliced bread, I beg to differ. I managed the largest, private armory operation in the tri-county area for five years after graduating from the conservatory in Valencia. I needed to pay off my student loans and take care of my family.

I grew up knowing more about an industry most people see only from the outside. It's a family legacy. During some of my best years in the gun business, my crew of twenty and I sold 350,000 weapons annually. I also dealt with transferring weapons from our wholesale operation to our retail operation, and setting up large wholesale purchases that could not be handle at a retail level. This place offered me a wealth of experiences, both good and bad. Eventually I left, never looking back and went into banking after a short stint with Brambleshire LTD in Beverly Hills. I still get called on by friends and professionals, for my expertise in this business, many years after I left it for good. Today, I sit back and watch the idiocy over Second Amendment rights unfold.

The place where I managed now sells food. 

Knowing what I know about its former use, I would say that I personally could never buy food from there. I do know for certain, that this place at one time possessed an enclosed shooting range in the back, used for test firing weapons, and the ventilation for the building complex was not that great, even back then. I know its design structure. I know the blueprints. I doubt anyone could ever clean it from all of the lead dust micro-particles, from doing gun business over twenty plus years, unless they replaced the entire ventilation system. That would be very costly. I doubt that that happened. I'd be super surprised if it was totally gutted. 

One would have to wear a Hazmat mask and jumpsuit just to clean that shooting range/room. 

That is how it was done.

The ammo room was bigger than some New York apartments. Holding millions of rounds of ammunition and cases of propellant for black powder shooting, in a cool, dry area. The walls were two feet thick and armor plated. Two huge Class 3 safes in the back, that formerly belonged to a furrier from Beverly Hills, were well suited for high grade merchandise, and held a bevy of fully automatic weapons of multiple calibers. Wrapped on all sides by a cyclone fence and topped with razor wire, it looked out of place in this North Hollywood residential neighborhood near Valley Village. It was such a historical fixture known far and wide, it was allowed to function, but not without animosity from those who thought it was still out of place.

A food store on that ground seems out of place. 

Some good times, and some bad times were had by all who worked there. A four story building, armory slash living quarters, with a two story attached showroom slash gun storage area, that supplied the tri-county Southern California law enforcement population with all its local, state, and federal needs, as they saw fit. There was very little that we did not supply to the appropriate parties upon request, as long as the paperwork was in order. When fully stocked to capacity, we averaged over 100,000 firearms, of all makes and models, which could be found in the belly of this beast. Very few people ever saw the inside of these buildings, and those that have seen inside should feel honored. 

The showroom floor made most gun lovers drool.

I was a customer of the corporation long before I became an employee of that corporation.

Becoming an employee showed me where all the 'bodies were buried' in the business of dealing guns.

Now, it sells food, to people who eat that food.

Olive Fresh Garden Marketplace wasn't always a grocery, deli, bakery. 

      This actually was the beginning of the end. The infamous Pigeon Assassination Grassy Knoll.

       Note the "red shingled" roof next door, and the top level balcony of the attached 4 story building

      A standard business card bag, with an enclosed silicon cleaning cloth to wipe down your gun.

    

As you can see, we didn't sell crappy Mosins or Mausers. That was Martin B. Retting's target market. 

Sometimes, you'd get called in as an "Expert Witness" on a gun violation case. 

Bob and Barry hated going to court, and as "Manager", I was next in line for this type of information. No one ever spells my name correctly, except family members, and it's not like I couldn't show up because they misspelled my name. 

This case was to identify gun models stolen in a burglary.

I'm simply amazed that it became a grocery store. 

I think it went through a few different incarnations in the food service industry and it seems to be doing quite well now. I will say, the owners of B&B retail and wholesale never got along, and business wasn't good for them till I arrived to help them fix what they had broken. When I left their business it went down hill fast, as the continued conflicts between theses two brothers grew. Neither of them ever made my job easy, with all the infighting over the wealth that this store brought in, once I arrived to show them how to market their products. Both brothers made their own personal deals with their own personal devils, and I'm glad I walked away long before their eventual downfall. Greed drove them both to their own personal demise, and that was one of the lesson I learned long before I left for bigger and better things in my life. Their hatred for each other was fuel by an insurmountable sibling rivalry that grew into adulthood, and never ceased. As great as people thought they were, in reality, they were merely figureheads for a place they both had very little to do with, where running the business of guns was concerned. Once I left, they ran it into the ground. 

That is their story.

My story has yet to be told. 

I still like fresh produce, deli, and baked goods though.

I doubt I will ever get them from Olive Fresh Garden Marketplace.

Some places just leave a bad taste in your mouth forever. 

Even if they were famous. 

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This blog was dedicated to twitter's #opencarry crowd, and especially Linoge @ linoge_wotc, who continues to state, emphatically that I've never been in the gun business, that I know absolutely NOTHING about guns, uses race baiting as a tactic to try and rile me up, and is certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was never, ever and Arms Dealer. It's OK, because he's a very small minded person who tends to think he knows more than everyone else about most things; even if its how a person spent their life for a significant period of time, in a very significant place. He'll always know more. Just ask, he'll tell you so.

 

B&B Sales was a premier weapons dealer in Southern California, and the largest operation of its kind, West of the Pecos. It set the standard when it came to supply meeting demand in modern weaponry. Even Paul Cole's place was small compared to us, and our only true competition. I was manager of the North Hollywood operation for five years.

 

Most of my direct clients were Law Enforcement at every level, based on my family's background.

 

Sometime in 1997, about a year after I left the gun business permanently, I received a call from one of my former Asst. Managers, who was my replacement, asking me for help. It seems that a Bank Of America on Sherman Way near Victory Blvd. was being robbed down the street from the store, and the L.A.P.D. came in a demanded weapons to stop the onslaught. This became to be known as the famous "North Hollywood Shootout" or "44 Minutes". My instructions were specific, for truth is stranger than fiction. Do not release any weapons without the proper paperwork, as it could cause problems when all is said and done down the road. My advice was not headed and overruled by ego.

 

North Hollywood Shootout 

Bob Kahn, owner of the store, who had little to do with how things ran in general, authorized the release of guns to the Los Angeles Police Department without the California DOJ "proper" paperwork. I see this kind of crap happen more and more as guns laws are misinterpreted, by those who think they know the laws. The guns were never used to help stop the crime in progress, and were returned to the store unused. They could never be sold as NIB (New in Box) because they left the store, from that day forward, Bob thought he would auction off the guns to recoup his so-called losses. This opened a huge can of worms for B.A.T.F. and the State Attorney General's office, who would eventually find him guilty of fraud, on unrelated charges differing from releasing said guns.

 

He who thinks he knows, is usually the person who ends up in jail, because he thought he knew what he didn't know at all. 

 

The store was eventually closed, filing formal bankruptcy, and the owners left in millions of dollars of debt.

 

My best years were $24 million in the black after overhead cost. (L.A. Riot and L.A. Earthquake). 

 

The world of course did not end as people thought it might.

 

Some people force their world to end, based on their pride.

 

The other "B" in this "B&B Sales" story, Barry Kahn was arrested for illegal NFA dealings and drug dealing in Alaska. When his sentence was reduced from four years to 18 months by a federal judge for these crimes, he arrogantly rose before the court at his sentencing and stated, "I'm underwhelmed your honor". It is my opinion, that his downfall was caused by his dealings with the Hells Angels, whom he hung out with in California when he wasn't in Alaska residence. Both brothers lived in fear of each other, to the point of hiring "personal" protection, while making awful choices in who was most capable of protecting them in their working environment or private lives. They constantly rose the stakes against each other in their place of business. It became an armed camp, pitting armed employees against one another.

 

Bob was B&B Sales (Retail) and Barry was Bumble Bee (Wholesale) (see card logo). Each one was President of their own corporation, and VP of their brother's corporation. Their father, Maury Kahn, who started the business as a silent partner, had the corporations written up that way when he started business for them on Cumpston Street, long before moving it to the Oxnard Street location. Rae, their mother, was a sweetheart. I cannot say enough nice things about her.

 

Like Esau and Jacob, her sons never got along, and as far as I know, there was never reconciliation.