It’s a modified AR-15 (civilian version of the milspec M16 rifle), specially customized in honor of Gov. Sarah Palin and dubbed “The Alaskan Hunter”:
Chambered for .50 Beowulf instead of the standard 5.56mm cartridge, this special AR features several custom engravings. The Big Dipper is on the magazine well, an outline of the state of Alaska is on the stock, and on the upper receiver are a moose, the NRA logo and an inscription, “In Honor of Governor Sarah Palin.”
“Gov. Palin stood up and announced she was a supporter of the Second Amendment,” says Reynolds. “I was really excited about that. I feel like the NRA has done a lot for my rights. And I feel the Governor has, too. I just wanted to do something to give back. And since the Governor lives in Alaska, I thought .50 Beowulf was appropriate.”
Appropriate for what? I have lived in Alaska my entire life, and have never once felt that I needed a machine gun for anything. Well sure there have been some times when I was stuck in traffic behind a bunch of out of staters, but thankfully that urge passed quickly. And that probably would have been the absolute WORST time for me to have been armed.
Reynolds actually made two of these very special AR’s. One will be presented to the governor, and the other will be auctioned at the Banquet.
Seriously! Somebody actually thinks giving this batshit crazy lady a machine gun is a good idea? Oh this cannot end well.
Doesn't anybody remember what happened when they armed Cheney?
Well all I know is if I hear a helicopter coming up behind in the next couple of months I am diving into a ditch.
Do gifts given to the Governor of Alaska belong to the Governor or to the State?
ReplyDeleteNationally gifts to the Pres and VP belong to the nation and live at the National Archives. (Thus Nixon's Checkers speach, becasue he kept the gift.)
If the gift belongs to Palin wouldn't that be an outside income equivalent? It would enrich her, and probably generats the necessity of paying a gift tax regardless of Alaska's statues.
Another ethics complaint in the making...
ReplyDeleteA gift this expensive and customized probably will belong to the people of the State of Alaska; I'm pretty sure that the limit on gifts she can keep is $250; it may even be less.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of gifts, I wonder if anyone has ever worked their way through all the packages she received while campaigning for the VP spot. They are supposed to be inventoried and reported aren't they?
There is much ignorance about guns.
ReplyDeleteLook, I'm far from a gun nut but that's what "the Google" is for.
The gun is an Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf - about $1200. It is NOT a machine gun! It's semi-automatic like many, many other guns. In fact, it usually holds only around 7 rounds instead of 30 like a regular AR-15.
It's used for big game and bear defense. Alaska is actually one of the very few states where it may be considered quite useful.
More important is how Palin treats this gift on her taxes and other paperwork.
Well, uncustomized it may be worth only $1200, but since the second one will be auctioned, we will know what the "fair market value" of hers is soon enough. And we can also keep an eye on how she handles it in terms of paperwork. Unfortunately, we don't get to check out her taxes. But the IRS sure does.
ReplyDelete