Friday, July 01, 2016

The number of gun owning Americans drops to lowest number in 40 years, and yet more guns than ever are being sold. Wait, what?

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

The percent of American households owning guns is at a near-40 year low in the latest CBS News poll released this month. 

According to the survey, which was conducted among 1,001 Americans in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting, 36 percent of U.S. adults either own a firearm personally, or live with someone who does. That's the lowest rate of gun ownership in the CBS poll going back to 1978. It's down 17 points from the highest recorded rate in 1994, and nearly 10 percentage points from 2012.

So that good news right?

Hold that thought.

But gun purchases, as measured by FBI firearm background checks, are at historic highs. And data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shows that gun manufacturers are churning out record numbers of guns. Many gun rights advocates argue that these figures mean that the overall number of gun owners is growing: If more guns are being sold, more people must be owning guns.

So WTF exactly?

Well I think many of you are probably going to guess how both of these two facts can both be true, and it is more than a little troubling.

But the declining rates of gun ownership across three major national surveys suggest a different explanation: that most of the rise in gun purchases is driven by existing gun owners stocking up, rather than by people buying their first gun. A Washington Post analysis last year found that the average American gun owner now owns approximately eight firearms, double the number in the 1990s.

That's right, there are fewer Americans who now own guns, but the ones that do are often in possession of a small arsenal.

This is not indicative of your typical sports hunter or your average dad or mom worried about protecting their family.

No most likely these are the folks who really believe that the government is coming to take away our guns and who have convinced themselves that only they and their fifteen semi-automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition stand between freedom and an Obama controlled police state.

In other words these are the folks who get their news from World Net Daily every morning, have Alex Jones blasting on their radio on the way to work, think Sarah Palin would have been the greatest VP in history, and who are anxious to cast their vote for Donald J. Trump in November.

They are also the folks who thought those UN vehicles in Virginia were a clear sign of the new world order, believe fluoride in our water is an attempt at mind control, and who spend several weekends a year running around the woods in their GI Joe Underoos preparing to repel imaginary invaders.

In short, they are exactly the kinds of people who we should NEVER allow to have access to guns.

And yet, they do.

39 comments:

  1. Hugh G Rection8:33 AM

    Thanks for posting the picture!

    Isn't it Yooge!

    I think I have a picture of Dr Jack Mehoff holding it too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:42 AM

    WTF is that guy hunting for with that gun, a T Rex? Just fillin' up my freezer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:19 AM

      Spew alert, please! That was hysterically funny.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous8:49 AM

    Don't forget the chemtrails and FEMA camps...

    Sheesh

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8:51 AM

    What the hell kind of gun is that moron holding in the pic? Clearly a penis extender, but seriously, what kind of gun?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:18 AM

      Yes. WtF is that? Or is it photo-shopped?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:59 AM

      It's a Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle. It's legal to own with NFA paperwork. Ammo has to be handloaded and is super expensive.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:45 AM

      The FBI makes about 58,000 checks on a typical day, handled by about 500 people at a call center. The agency has reported that about 2 percent of the checks end without enough information to give an answer."

      https://www.yahoo.com/news/charleston-church-shooting-victims-sue-fbi-over-gun-145126439.html?nhp=1

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:49 PM

      Anonymous9:59 AM

      It's a Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle. It's legal to own with NFA paperwork. Ammo has to be handloaded and is super expensive.
      ***
      In other words, the ammo is not for sale unless you load it yourself?
      This is something that should not be legal at all!

      Delete
  5. Anonymous9:08 AM

    Hard-core lefty here--and multiple forearm owner. A 'typical sports hunter' can easily accrue at least four or five guns: a .22 for small game/plinking; one or two shotguns (you don't want to shoot a quail with a goose gun) one or two rifles (small game vs. moose/elk etc.) and a handgun, without descending into the crazy pit.

    Here are my ideas for useful gun control--notice they do not involve confiscation nor do they restrict certain styles of firearm:

    --Competency-based licensing: Users required to qualify with each type of firearm they own. Qualification required to purchase ammo.

    --and--

    --1% surcharge on all firearms/ammo/accessories, proceeds to be used for mental health research and funding.

    Interested in responses/discussion of the above.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:32 AM

      Make that 10% We can talk. Tax Caffeine and sugar, Alcohol and weed too, GOPees "SIN" taxes. That would make a BIG difference.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:24 AM

      Add insurance requirements to that. A) no purchase of gun w/o proof of competency certificate (has to be renewed at regular intervals, just like drivers license)
      and proof of liability insurance (just like drivers license), and B) no purchase of ammo w/o proof of license and insurance.
      Also: no purchase of guns/ammo over the Internet.

      Delete
    3. Frosty no longer AK11:18 AM

      Another longtime lefty here. 3 firearms. One .22 rifle I've had for 45 years. One revolver, had for 40 years. One more recent purchase of 9mm semi auto pistol with laser sight, after home invasion at 3 a.m. IN WASILLA, ALASKA. Heroin addicts don't care who they invade and don't care what they DO to the invadee.

      Fortunately no longer in AK. But heroin addiction is a problem all over the country.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:21 AM

      We already have huge booze and cigarette taxes here in AK, so that market has been tapped, at least for us. 6-pack of decent beer is $9 minimum and cigarettes run nearly $11/pack.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:56 PM

      Anonymous10:45 AM
      I own Zero guns yet I totally agree with what you say! Insurance.
      Congress won't even try to listen to any guns issue what so ever.
      You are on the right track tho.
      Close the gunshow loophole and online sales also,too!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous1:36 PM

      Don't own a gun. Scared of them. Very liberal. I like treating them the way cars are treated and they should be. Would also like to see penalties attached to accidental deaths/shooting by kids,or anyone, with loaded gun left unattended for them to pick up and shoot. Parents, other adults, who do that need to pay by giving up some of their freedoms. Again, tie it to cars and how they can kill a kid (or animal) by leaving it in a locked car on a hot, or even warm day. That is negligence and so is leaving a loaded gun out and unattended, for even a second.

      Delete
    7. I second recommendations by Anonymous @10:24 AM.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous9:24 AM

    This is GREAT news for Wayne LaPierre!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous9:28 AM

    Sarah's doing some MAJOR cock sucking for Trump today.

    Sarah Palin Just Handed The White House To Hillary Clinton During Idiotic Pro-Trump Rant

    http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/01/sarah-palin-handed-white-house-hillary-clinton-idiotic-pro-trump-rant.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:00 AM

      From this article:

      "It would be easy to call Palin an idiot and dismiss her, but that would be ignoring what she really is. Sarah Palin is a hatemonger who appeals to ugliest elements of American society. Before there was Donald Trump, there was Sarah Palin."

      She paved the way for a Donald Trump to be taken seriously. And she won't STFU. This is why the information Jesse has is important. It may not take her down but hopefully quiet her. I also saw her interviewed on an entertainment show and she said she hopes Bristol and Dakota can someday share how they got back together. Any info on that G? You know they aren't going to give the real story!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:43 AM

      "Splodey heads keep ‘splodin” ??????

      Good LORD, how old is she again?
      Mentality of a grade schooler.

      Fidiot!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:08 AM

      BM Good one>
      “Wow ‪#‎Trump‬ cant get anyone to show up at his convention!” Maher said. “I’m sure this isn’t the first time he hasn’t been able to make someone come. Goodnight!”

      Delete
  8. Anonymous9:46 AM

    It's not just the Trump campaign that's broke; his Super PAC is too!

    The Daily Kos team has had a lot of fun laughing at Donald Trump’s empty coffers, because he’s built his campaign the same way he’s built his businesses: completely on debt and lies.

    But now, #DumpyDonald is learning that other people can lie about money, too. All those donors who said they’d be writing great big checks to his Super PAC are "''just frozen, they’re paralyzed,’ said one frustrated super-PAC fundraiser.”

    Rebuilding America Now, which is "the [Trump] campaign’s preferred destination for big-dollar, unlimited contributions,” secured $32 million in PLEDGES. And a pledge is nothing more than a promise. And a promise is nothing more than… well, nothing.

    But Rebulding America Now has collected only $2 million of those pledges — from a single donor — Laurance Gay, the managing director of Rebuilding America Now

    The ONLY person to make good on his pledge is the managing director of the Super PAC itself!

    This is why Hillary (and allies) outspent #DumpyDonald (and allies) by $22.7 million to $1.8 million in total TV advertising nationwide last month. All those empty pledges were earmarked for TV ads, which it turned out they couldn’t afford.

    But don’t worry, says the Super PAC’s head. He’s announced his grand solution: another $10 million in yet-to-be-collected pledges! Yep, keep counting those chickens!

    And it’s not just #DumpyDonald’s main Super PAC that can’t collect.

    That super-PAC, called Great America PAC, raised a paltry $2.5 million this month from donors despite direct appeals from its co-chairman, veteran GOP strategist Ed Rollins.

    [...]

    “There’s a lot of these donors that say they just need to see where this going to go,” Rollins told Yahoo News. “They want to know, ‘Is Trump going to be viable candidate?’ They’re saying, ‘Let me wait a couple of weeks.’”

    Turns out all the big-dollar GOP donors like T. Boone Pickens and Sheldon Adelson are taking a page from Trump’s own playbook when it comes to donations: promising big but never actually cutting a check. Actual total donations from those two free-spending, politician-buying tycoons combined: $0.

    Trump campaign: broke. Trump Super PACs: broke. GOP: broke.

    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/7/1/1544287/-It-s-not-just-the-Trump-campaign-that-s-broke-his-Super-PAC-is-too

    Hillary's Huge June Fundraising- $40.5 Million, $44 Million CoH, $28 Million Downballot, $45 Average

    http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/7/1/1544344/-Hillary-s-Huge-June-Fundraising-40-5-Million-44-Million-CoH-28-Million-Downballot-45-Average

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:15 AM

      Bill Maher Brutally Mocks Trump On Facebook, Hilarity Ensues (SCREENSHOTS)

      Donald trump is lonely these days. Several prominent conservatives and other assorted right-wing loonies have decided that Trump is just a bit too insane and racist for them to associate with. The Koch brothers, Mia Love, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and a rapidly growing list of figures representing the Stupid Part of America have bowed out, refusing to share a building with their nominee.

      Trump has trouble getting anyone to attend, let along speak at his convention.

      “Everyone has to make their own choice, but at this point, 70 percent of the American public doesn’t like Donald Trump. That’s as toxic as we’ve seen in American politics,” said Stuart Stevens, a Republican strategist who was partially responsible for the 2012 GOP convention. “Normally, people want to speak at national conventions. It launched Barack Obama’s political career.”

      Naturally, the repulsion felt by Trump’s own party is too much for comedian Bill Maher to resist. Friday morning, Maher decided to poke a bit of fun at The Donald.

      “Wow ‪#‎Trump‬ cant get anyone to show up at his convention!” Maher said. “I’m sure this isn’t the first time he hasn’t been able to make someone come. Goodnight!”

      http://addictinginfo.org/2016/07/01/bill-maher-brutally-mocks-trump-on-facebook-hilarity-ensues-screenshots/

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:47 PM

      Soooo, Trump and his "best people" have no support from a significant part of the Republican party, no campaign funds, no decent VP candidate, and no convention speakers who have been in the news more recently than 1989.

      Oh, let's not forget how he's pissed off elected officials from Europe, the UK, Iceland, and Australia by sending soliciting donations - highly illegal, by the way, as is the apparent coordination between his official campaign and Super Pac.

      And this ass wants us to hand over the keys to the US treasury and nuclear arsenal to him???

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:00 AM

    The Big Zero: Politico on Donald Trump's Ground Campaign

    Insiders: Clinton dominates Trump on the ground

    'I can honestly say I have never seen a Republican presidential campaign with this weak of a field presence,' said a Florida Republican.

    And, most troubling for Trump, Republicans were nearly unanimous in that conclusion as well: 92 percent of GOP insiders said Clinton was better positioned on the ground.

    “Having worked in GOP grassroots politics for more than 20 years I can honestly say I have never seen a Republican presidential campaign with this weak of a field presence,” said one Florida Republican — who, like all respondents, completed the survey anonymously. “Where are the local offices in the major cities?”

    The responses from unnerved Republicans ranged from mockery to genuine panic.

    http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-ground-game-insiders-224998#ixzz4DAzELUzn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18 AM

      Breaking up is hard to do and Republicans just can’t seem to quit their presumptive presidential candidate.

      Republicans, we know what you’re going through.

      Many of us have been in this kind of relationship before: You meet someone new and he or she seems different, exciting, rebellious, maybe even a little dangerous. You get involved. Your friends say, “What do you see in him/her?” And you reply, “Oh, you just don’t know him/her like I do.”

      But as the weeks and months go by, you start to realize he/she isn’t just a little dangerous. He/she is a menace. Time to re-evaluate.

      ...Bottom line, GOP, your presumptive nominee is the Date from Hell. As Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus told Mark Leibovich, chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, Trump has “carved out this idea that he’s this earthquake in a box.” Unfortunately, that leaves the rest of us teetering on the fault line, just above the abyss.

      Like the proverbial bad boyfriend, chaos ensues wherever Trump goes. Now that he’s about to be the party’s standard-bearer, he expects the Republican National Committee to do a lot of the work — “no national committee in recent memory has been called upon to pick up so much operational slack in a general election,” Leibovich writes — and to pick up the check much of the time, too, even though the committee has millions worth of debt and he’s not holding up his end when it comes to fundraising. Trump keeps talking about how much money he has and brags about his get-rich-quick schemes but doesn’t deliver. GOP, before you commit in Cleveland, you really should get a prenup — demand to see his tax returns and his bank statements. Otherwise, trust us, you can’t afford this guy.

      And that’s not all. Love has blinded you to his many other faults, GOP. He says one thing, then says the opposite and when he’s called out on it claims he was misrepresented. Never admits a mistake. Makes outrageous accusations. Never seems to read anything that doesn’t have his name in it. Spends too much time with his pals on social media. Constantly and narcissistically talks about himself. Intolerant of others and angry all the time. Never takes responsibility — whenever bad stuff happens it’s always someone else’s fault.

      And he keeps wearing that damned baseball cap.

      Best to make a clean break, GOP. Run away from this fellow as fast as humanly possible. Leave skidmarks. Maybe you’ll meet someone else. Years from now you’ll be able to laugh about it. And chalk it up as a learning experience.

      But you won’t, will you?

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-winship/the-gops-love-affair-with_b_10758528.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:18 AM

      They may "leave the relationship" but don't count on them to get into another immediately, especially a "cross party lines" relationship.

      Lot of GOP will abstain, few will vote Democratic.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous10:05 AM

    Liberal Redneck: NRA thinks more guns solve everything

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On63zPj85dY

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous10:06 AM

    Liberal Redneck: We don't need no Southern 'Brexit'

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61vMiwJzf6E

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:04 AM

      Southern 'Brexit'? Wouldn't that be a Sexit?

      Delete
  12. Sarah is spewing word salads10:52 AM

    https://twitter.com/politico/status/748917328935546880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    "Splodey heads keep ‘splodin"

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous11:03 AM

    Well, hey. I hear "splody heads are splodin'" everywhere.

    Idjut.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Zhickel11:08 AM

    Hoarding is a mental disorder characterised by:
    1. An excessive level of acquisition
    2. An inability to let anything go
    3. An inability to keep the things organised

    Bad enough when the hoarder collects ordinary household stuff, ten thousand times worse when they hoard weapons.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous12:03 PM

    That is one sexy-ass dude holding that missile launcher! What a body on that man!!
    Oh, I hope he's single and lookin' fer love....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous2:03 PM

    That dude must have the smallest penis in the world.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anita Winecooler5:21 PM

    There's no straw purchases, nope. People don't sell guns on ebay nor read "Soldiers of Fortune" for the codes in the personals section. What gets me is the gun lobby uses government property (Armories mostly in PA and NJ, yet the plates on the cars are from Virginia, Arkansas, and other states, for gun shows, and the police turn a blind eye.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous6:25 PM

    Hillbilly penile extension!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7:02 PM

    Ca passed today laws that make you handed over your ID for ammo. If you aren't qualified to purchase the weapon you should not be qualified to buy the ammo.
    As a weapons owner I think this is wonderful. I, personally, have no issue with anyone checking my ID and legal standing to purchase either a weapon or ammo for said weapon.

    ReplyDelete

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