The Brady Bunch has a link to this video about “microstamping” on their website. They ignore obvious and important points of their critics such as:
- Shell casings found at a gun range can be deliberately scattered at a crime scene
- Revolvers don’t leave shell casings at the crime scene unless the shooter reloads
- Replacement firing pins and breech faces would have to be registered and tracked as well as the firearm itself
- Gun parts are easily modified or manufactured
- Firing pins can be manufactured from scrap metal with simple hand tools–they may not last more than a few dozen shots but they should be more than adequate for most crimes
- Breech faces markings can be ground off and/or filled in with metal filled epoxy
- There are many millions of guns already in circulation
- Stolen guns aren’t going to be associated/registered with the criminal who used it in a crime
- A black market will likely develop in unmarked gun components or components that have phony numbers (such as fake SSN cards that have valid numbers but belong to someone else)
One must assume they believe in some sort of supernatural capabilities for this technology that defies the laws of physics and human nature as we know it. But regardless of all the reasons why this scheme could never work the big thing that I noticed while watching this video was the background music–the theme from The X-Files.
“One must assume they believe in some sort of supernatural capabilities…”
No. They believe in satisfying their hatred toward members of the gun culture, and its a matter of what they can fool the ignorant into accepting as a premise. If one ruse fails, they’ll try another. If one succeeds, they’re on to the next, ad infinitum.
I don’t believe the majority of the anti-gun people are knowingly participating in subterfuge. Some certainly are, but talking to them in person reveals striking differences when confronted with facts. I remember this one time I nailed an anti-gun person with a question and she just turned an ashen color and didn’t say anything. Another person there angrily put a stop to the discussion say, “We’re not going to go there.” I believe the woman honestly believed that a waiting period was a good idea in all cases and had not thought it through. The guy that stopped the discussion knew the truth and didn’t want it revealed.
I once asked Alan Gottlieb a question that went something like, “Why do they persist? Don’t they know gun control doesn’t prevent crime?” He explained that at the top level, particularly the smart politicians like Schumer, Kennedy, Clinton, etc. knew the truth very well. If you listen to them carefully you will notice they rarely, if ever, say gun control will reduce crime. They word things very carefully to avoid saying that. On the other hand the low level people, the ordinary masses of anti-gun people are ignorant or had someone close to them injured or killed by someone with a gun. The ignorant might be reached but the emotional cases and the smart people in high places probably can’t.
My naive follow up question was something like, “So if they know the truth then why do they pursue it?” It depends on the person he said. Some, like Schumer, just hate the gun culture and want to destroy it. For others is a demon they can invoke to get votes. For others it’s just a job they were hired to do–sort of like a lawyer defending a murderer he knows is guilty. He’s trying to do the best job he can for his client.
It’s possible whoever choose the X-Files theme for background music just liked the sound of it and didn’t know it’s origin, of course. It’s also typical of idealogical gun banners to not look at the big picture, nor investigate all parts of an issue. Unintended consequences are a part of issues they rarely consider.
That music sends a message to the general public. Not a good one I would think.
And that is OK with me.