# Kamala owns a gun "for personal safety" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 12, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465 "2019-04-12T22:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/381 "2019-05-03T20:04:57Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > You did actually. > Unless it’s the LA Times Editorial Board publishing the Op-Ed, it’s not accurate to attribute the argument to the LA Times itself. Your statement would lead someone to believe that the LA Times is taking a position when in fact they are publishing an opinion piece written by a California Assembly member. Ok, I worded it badly. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/382 "2019-05-03T23:22:22Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > That was from Jan 2014, so if they are not available now it is because Smith and Wesson refuses to produce them, not because they can’t. Nitpick: those guns were available for purchase because they were entirely unchanged from before the microstamping law going in to effect. Only new models or modifications must have microstamping technology. Given that firearm manufacturers, like everyone else, are constantly updating and changing their products, then those new handguns will not be allowed to be sold in California. **Bone** had a relevant anecdote about Glock 17 generations. One generation can still be produced and sold in California, but the next generation cannot. That doesn’t exactly coincide well with “banning all the guns so peasants can’t have them”, but that’s neither here nor there. Complaints about new features like the chamber load indicators and magazine disconnect mechanisms are likewise invalid, given that those requirements predated microstamping by seven and six years, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/383 "2019-05-04T02:06:40Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > CSGV? They don’t link to the study so forgive me if I am skeptical. Previous testing has shown some positive results, but only after cherrypicking data and throwing out samples that didn’t pass. I’ll try to find the study for you. Tomorrow. Sorry you don’t like some of my sources- I’m generally disinterested in gun issues from whatever angle, and so don’t have a taste in gun info sources. > [@](#): > > This doesn’t support your point in any way. Those two models were for sale because they were certified compliant with the “not unsafe” roster prior to the microstamping requirement being implemented. Those models are equipped with the required CLI and MDM, however the MDM is easily removable. Doh! Just when I thought I had you, I get **Bone** d instead :smack: Still, no comment on my other cite on microstamping? They microstamped thousands of bullets via firing pin. We can look at their photos of the results. I’m not saying that by itself makes for a worthwhile gun regulation, but if you are going to keep comparing it to “unicorns” and “unicorn tears” and so on, it’s worth pointing out that there never has been a photo of a unicorn. Firing pin microstamped bullets? Yeah, we can look at them. Right in my link! Seems silly to keep insisting that microstamping is just a fanciful fiction. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/384 "2019-05-04T07:25:58Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > … > Still, no comment on my other cite on microstamping? They microstamped thousands of bullets via firing pin. We can look at their photos of the results. I’m not saying that by itself makes for a worthwhile gun regulation, but if you are going to keep comparing it to “unicorns” and “unicorn tears” and so on, it’s worth pointing out that there never has been a photo of a unicorn. Firing pin microstamped bullets? Yeah, we can look at them. Right in my link! Seems silly to keep insisting that microstamping is just a fanciful fiction. No one is saying you can’t do microstamping. You can. They have- in tests. But it is more or less useless, since criminals dont go to a gun store and buy the guns they want to use in a crime. Microstamping can also be removed in five minutes with a emery board or ten minutes with a spare firing pin. It is more or less useless for law Enforcement. But you \*can \*do it. But what you\* can’t\* have is \*CA style two places \*microstamping. That is currently technologically impossible. See the difference? If CA just asked for regular microstamping, likely some CA gun company would have made a few special CA models- CA market is quite big. But no one has or can do \*\*CA style \*\*microstamping. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/385 "2019-05-04T19:22:55Z")
I am not ready to agree with you, **Dr Deth**. Check out this patent which describes a method for not two, but four locations for microstamping a cartridge: > [@](#): > > the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for forming surface markings forming identifying indicia on an interior surface of a firearm, **such as a breech, a firing pin, a cartridge extractor or a loading mechanism** , to preferred types of indicia, and to a method and apparatus for reading and identifying such indicia when stamped or otherwise marked on a cartridge case, for example, by operation of the firearm. In particular, the present invention may be employed to form, read and identify a desired unique bar code, matrix, an alpha numeric code, or any desired identifying indicia on a surface of a firearm or on the surface of a cartridge case or bullet fired from the firearm and, in particular, a hologram indicia as described in the following. bolding mine [https://patents.google.com/patent/US7111423B2/en](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7111423B2/en) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/386 "2019-05-04T19:59:27Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I am not ready to agree with you, **Dr Deth**. Check out this patent which describes a method for not two, but four locations for microstamping a cartridge: > > bolding mine > [US7111423B2 - Method and apparatus for reading firearm microstamping - Google Patents](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7111423B2/en) A patent does not mean such a device is technologically possible. There are patents for anti-grav, and for a whole list of things that are\* patently \*impossible. > **[An antigravity patent that accidentally got through](https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/an-antigravity-patent-that-accidentally-got-through.99182/)** > > I don't normally copy off a journal verbatim, but this news is quite relevant especially with the FLOOD of people posting about this due to the news report in the UK. This is from the Nov. 10, 2005 issue of Nature: > > Antigravity craft slips past... > **[Have patents ever been issued for inventions that have never worked?](https://www.quora.com/Have-patents-ever-been-issued-for-inventions-that-have-never-worked)** > > Answer (1 of 8): The answer to your question is yes. > > Failed invention of Edision: > > Edison had 1,093 patents for different inventions. Many of them, like the light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, were brilliant creations that... In any case, the lower court accepted the arguments that the CA Microstamping was impossible, but the CA Supreme court ruled “So what?”. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/387 "2019-05-04T22:06:52Z")
But we are not talking about defying the laws of physics. What is impossible about enabling microstamping at any two if the four locations mentioned in my link? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/388 "2019-05-05T05:41:29Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > But we are not talking about defying the laws of physics. What is impossible about enabling microstamping at any two if the four locations mentioned in my link? I dont know. I am not a expert on this. But the lower court accepted arguments that CA style was impossible, and every major gun company has also said so. So, I trust the experts. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/389 "2019-05-05T07:40:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont know. I am not a expert on this. But the lower court accepted arguments that CA style was impossible, and every major gun company has also said so. So, I trust the experts. Might those manufacturers have had a motive? Recall that Microsoft once testified in court on an antitrust case that it would be almost impossible to ship a version of Windows without an Internet browser. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/390 "2019-05-05T17:53:01Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Might those manufacturers have had a motive? Recall that Microsoft once testified in court on an antitrust case that it would be almost impossible to ship a version of Windows without an Internet browser. :eek: Sure. But two things hold against that: 1. Gun companies are _competitors_, and there are several smaller gun companies right here in CA. One of them would LOVE to steal a march on S&S or Colt and get a commanding lead in the sixth largest market. 2. The lower court accepted the arguments that the CA rules are impossible. Again, I am not a expert. I do know that microstamping, in the Law enforcement community gets a big old roll eyes. :rolleyes: To be fair, one Agent did say “that even tho it’s a small chance, we’ll take any chance we can get.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/391 "2019-05-05T18:22:41Z")
I finally got some info back from a guy who was in SF politics. Harris’s support was lukewarm. She did lend a generic soundbite to a TV ad, speaking out about the epidemic of gun violence in SF. She very likely weighed in on the law behind closed doors, but no, she couldn’t actually stop it, even if she wanted to. She didn’t give a \*public \*opinion on it’s legality. Several others did, saying it wasnt legal, her absence was noted however. So I was wrong on one part. Mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/392 "2019-05-05T19:04:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She very likely weighed in on the law behind closed doors, but no, she couldn’t actually stop it, even if she wanted to. . Cite for what she “very likely did” behind closed doors? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/393 "2019-05-05T19:13:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Cite for what she “very likely did” behind closed doors? “I finally got some info back from a guy who was in SF politics.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/394 "2019-05-05T19:43:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “I finally got some info back from a guy who was in SF politics.” So you’ve substituted someone else’s speculation for your own. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/395 "2019-05-05T19:46:25Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > So you’ve substituted someone else’s speculation for your own. Supposedly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/396 "2019-05-07T09:03:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, not at all. > > Look, Harris is anti-gun, that comes from her very own quotes. We can debate the _amount_ of anti-gun she is, but she get the worst possible rating from the NRA and the best rating from anti-gun sources. So, that’s a given. IMHO she believes that the _hoi polloi_ are not entitled to own a gun for personal safety. > > My issue is that she is thus being hypocritical. Just like a Homophobic Anti-gay rights GOp Politician who is caught having secret gay sex in a public restroom. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with having gay sex. But there is something weird about publicly denouncing gay sex and then privately committing it. So you are asserting that she is a hypocrite because she is doing something that conflicts with your opinion of what she “believes”. Of course, the alternative explanation is that your opinion of what she believes is simply wrong. Have you considered this? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/397 "2019-05-07T12:17:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “I finally got some info back from a guy who was in SF politics.” Was he behind those closed doors with her? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/398 "2019-05-07T14:40:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, not at all. > > Look, Harris is anti-gun, that comes from her very own quotes. We can debate the _amount_ of anti-gun she is, but she get the worst possible rating from the NRA and the best rating from anti-gun sources. So, that’s a given. IMHO she believes that the _hoi polloi_ are not entitled to own a gun for personal safety. > > My issue is that she is thus being hypocritical. Just like a Homophobic Anti-gay rights GOp Politician who is caught having secret gay sex in a public restroom. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with having gay sex. But there is something weird about publicly denouncing gay sex and then privately committing it. Oh my. First of all, Harris’ gun-carrying is not hypocritical — see below — but even if it were, your concern is misplaced. What about the pro-Life Congressman who advised his unwed pregnant daughter to get an abortion? Is he hypocritical? What about the Republican politicians who blather about improving public education but happily strip the schools of funds and give it to the fraudulent schools that come around with bags of cash at election time? How about subverting the U.S. census, suppressing urban votes, lying about tax plans, locking up the children of asylum seekers? Are these liars and cheaters hypocrites? How can a sober citizen imagine Harris’ gun is worth mention with all this venal hypocrisy in plain view? @ **DrDeth** — I hope you do answer these questions. From other threads I see there is some doubt whether your views are worthy of attention. Can you prove those nay-sayers wrong? Oh. BTW, Harris’ having a gun for personal safety is not hypocritical. A major reason for gun control is to reduce one’s legitimate concern for personal safety. Given the ferocious and irrational nature of many American gun-slingers, and the fact that common-sense restrictions on guns have not been imposed, it would be dangerous for an anti-gun politician not to be known as a gun packer. Obviously this doesn’t apply to you, but many Trumpists are hateful and violent, almost psychopathic. If I were in Senator Harris’ position _I would take the calls to disarm as threats of assassination._ Is a politician who calls for higher taxes on his income hypocritical if he doesn’t pay the higher tax voluntarily? No. Is a politician who calls to improve public schools hypocritical if his children are in private schools? No. Why in heaven’s name is a politician who calls for a reduction in gun violence hypocritical if she carries a gun as protection from gun violence? It’s too absurd a claim to take seriously. HTH. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/399 "2019-05-07T15:25:40Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > … Given the ferocious and irrational nature of many American gun-slingers, and the fact that common-sense restrictions on guns have not been imposed, it would be dangerous for an anti-gun politician not to be known as a gun packer. … A similar claim was made earlier in this thread, and both times no evidence was provided to support it, and no reason given why it should be considered anything but leftist fan fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465/400 "2019-05-07T15:33:48Z")
She was on [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Paul_Hasson)’s list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-owns-a-gun-for-personal-safety/832465.md?page=21)