All posts by Chris Knox

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Today I sent the following to my e-mail correspondents this morning.  The evidence of prescription drug involvement in these mass shootings in compelling, and yet to date there has been no serious congressional investigation or FDA suspension of the drugs involved.

================ 

Not "reefer madness" but yet another case of mass homicide, from patent "medicine".  Just as in Columbine and numerous other instances.  Why is there no Congressional investigation?  Is Congress too busy investigating the use of steroids in pro sports?

Surely the media will blame the guns, not the drugs.  After all, who buys more advertising on the media, the drug companies or the gun companies?  They will not bite the hand that feeds their profits.

In today's Wall Street Journal:
> Officials Identify Suspect
> In Illinois University Attack
> Associated Press
> February 15, 2008 11:46 a.m.
>
"DEKALB, Ill. Police say the gunman in the Northern Illinois University shooting rampage had stopped taking his medication recently and had become erratic before he killed five people and committed suicide."  [much more to the story]

Chris's Blog

Yet Another University Shooting

As I was in here doing some administrative stuff on the site I learned that there's been another college shooting, this one at Northern Illinois University.  With a daughter in college, these stories are bugging me. 

A bill is before the Arizona legislature to permit adult carry with a CCW permit on public school grounds, including on univesity campuses.  I'm getting involved in this one.  I'll be looking for (or maybe helping found) a chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.  Mixed as my emotions are about CCW permits (they're dangerously close to general carry permits here in AZ), I want to see this one pass.

 

Chris's Blog

American Rifleman On Competition M14s

Page 32 of my February 2008 American Rifleman carries the following "Second Shots — 50 Years Ago" feature:

 

M14 In Competition?

The following statement appears in a brochure which is being distributed by the American Automatic Weapons Association.

"We have already begun to formulate shooting clubs under the direction of this Association and the Director of Civilian Marksmanship, in an attempt to allow us to train with the Army's newest automatic weapons and we will organize competitive shooting with these weapons."

This statement is not authorized by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship and the American Automatic Weapons Association has been requested twice to delete it from their brochure. 

 

I'm not sure, but I think AR just told Class III fans to buzz off.  NRA threw machine gun owners under the bus with the 1986 "freeze" that accompanied passage of the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act.  I guess this is to prove that NRA never liked the machine gunners anyway.  At least the position is consistent.

Note:  I have updatd this entry — I failed to include the final paragraph when I originally posted this note.  Kind of lost its thunder without that bit.

 

Jeff's Blog

Better Gun Buy Back

A caller to Tom Gresham's "Gun Talk" show (http://guntalk.libsyn.com/) suggested we use that promised $600 "stimulus" check to buy a gun, ammo, or other firearms-related purchase. That's what my bride and I intend to do with our checks. Can you imagine the fits the gun-control crowd would have if 80 million gun owners "stimulated" the firearms industry all at once with that check — especially if everyone bought one of those evil "assault weapons"? You might want to pass this suggestion on to your audience.

Blaine

Good point Blaine.  Thanks for sharing.  Jeff

The Knox Update

Olofson’s Troubles

Olofson Released

April 2011

Regular readers of our work will remember the story of David Olofson.  He was a decorated veteran and Sergeant in the Army National Guard who was convicted of illegally transferring an unregistered machinegun after he loaned a 20-year old AR15 rifle to a friend and the rifle malfunctioned while the young man was shooting it at a local range.  Olofson appealed the conviction all the way up to the Supreme Court, but was denied and ordered to serve 30 months in prison.  That sentence has now been completed and David is finally out of prison.
The saga, which began in July of 2006 will never truly be over as Olofson is now a convicted felon with all of the stigma and loss of rights associated with that label and his military and professional careers have been thoroughly destroyed.  Nor can Olofson recapture the time he lost with his kids, one of whom was born just as the case began and has only known her father through visits to the Federal Prison.
Thanks to some support from the Gun Owners Foundation, the family managed to keep their home during David’s forced absence, but the struggle isn’t over.  It can be hard for someone with a felony conviction on their record to find work so Olofson has launched an on-line business selling hand made, natural soaps and bath products.  Our first order for gift baskets have already been placed and we hope that many of our members and guests will also choose to sample Olofson’s wares. 

To visit the Olofson’s business, place an order, and show your support, Click Here.

The other shoe drops:  Supreme Court denies cert

Latest Development:  Octover 14, 2009

David Olofson’s case was rejected without comment by the Supreme Court on October 13.

 

Links to CNN, Lou Dobbs report on this case:

First Segment click here.

Second Segment click here.  

Note: This is a longer format than our normal Knox Reports.  This was written for general public consumption so forgive some of the rudimentary explanations, etc.  A shorter, more concise version was produced for Shotgun News and other “gun media,” but we felt it was best to post the full version here. 

Here is a link to an image library containing dozens of documents from the case – Click Here.  The library also contains a few photo’s of military gear that has nothing to do with the case.  Those interested in the details of the case can also read a long-running forum discussion on AR15.com which includes scanned immages of the case documents and comments on the case from Olofson himself.  Olofson is known as Bladerunner2347 and posted this information himself as the case was developing.  To read the entire 40+ pages of the discussion, click here .

 

The Accidental Felon

 

By Jeff Knox

 

            (January 29, 2008) There are several ways for a person to unintentionally commit a felony, but most of them are looked at by prosecutors, judges, and juries as the accidents they are and dealt with accordingly.  Such is not always the case however, especially when firearms are involved; for the past 2 years David Olofson has been learning that the hard way.  Olofson is a regular guy who happens to be fond of AR15 style sport-utility rifles.  He loaned a rifle to a friend.  While the friend was shooting it he moved the safety switch to a point beyond the Fire position.  The rifle fired a couple of short bursts and jammed.  Someone at or near the club called the police to complain about machinegun fire.  The police notified the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and David Olofson was subsequently charged and convicted of illegally transferring a machinegun.

Continue reading Olofson’s Troubles →

Jeff's Blog

Hitting the Big Time

    Well, you know you've really arrived when something you say is nominated as the "Dumbass Comment of the Day" by someone called "Flamingskull" on a blog called "Clones are People Two."

    Flamingskull was taken aback by my balls in approaching a Virginia Tech survivor at a protest in Richmond on Monday and asking him how he could possibly just surrender his right to self defense and be advocating that others have theirs taken away.  Of course the reporters didn't quite get the whole story; I was standing listening to him give an interview and was astounded that such an event would result in an anti-gun, anti-self-defense response.  I pointed out that none of the proposed laws would have impacted the Virginia Tech tragedy except the law tha would stop state colleges from disarming lawfully armed students.  I pointed out that when I went to school, I often carried and would have stopped the madness.  The guy responded that he felt sorry for me because I'm so full of fear and went on to say he put his full trust in the police to protect him.  Of course the press stopped reporting at that point and didn't mention my incredulity that this guy puts his full trust in the same authorities that failed to protect him last April.  It's mind boggling.

Reports

Cabela’s, ISRA Take On Sufredin

Thanks to Buzzard for the alert.

Link:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/01/21/news/top_news/doc040ec0626cc52a57862573d7000446f4.txt

The Illinois State Rifle Association and Cabela's Inc., a hunting, camping and fishing merchandise retail chain, are teaming up to prevent the passage of two Cook County ordinances that they say would put unfair restrictions on gun sellers.

In a news release issued shortly after Commissioner Larry Suffredin introduced a gun control ordinance last month, the Illinois State Rifle Association said Cabela's superstore in Hoffman Estates would be forced to close if the measure is approved.

Continue reading Cabela’s, ISRA Take On Sufredin →