# Stupid Gun news of the day (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729 "2013-01-29T19:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 228
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4541 "2015-04-22T15:24:40Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Also, would you feel better if he’d accidentally killed his daughter by putting a beer keg in a camp fire? Idiots are idiots. I save my outrage for parents who thoughtlessly throw swimming pools at their children. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4542 "2015-04-22T18:52:25Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Find me the thread on stupid campfire accidents, please. Here you go: [Kegger Blast](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=404772) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4543 "2015-04-24T00:07:31Z")
Somebody can point to where this incident was discussed earlier in the thread, since the actual event was two years ago, but for some reason it has bubble to the surface (probably a lawsuit). [Teacher surprised by school-shooter drill, as a gun with blanks is fired at her face](http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/04/teacher_terrified_by_surprise.html) in the crime-ridden metropolis of Halfway Oregon. She is now dealing with PTSD (_no!_) and trying to get compensation for the incident. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4544 "2015-04-27T17:55:06Z")
On the school theme, [teacher tackles student after he fires a shot in the air](http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/active-shooter-reported-north-thurston-high-school/nk4Mp/), no injuries – stupid as in why are kids bringing guns to school (Lacey is a pretty suburban town)? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4545 "2015-04-28T13:37:01Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Somebody can point to where this incident was discussed earlier in the thread, since the actual event was two years ago, but for some reason it has bubble to the surface (probably a lawsuit). [Teacher surprised by school-shooter drill, as a gun with blanks is fired at her face](http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/04/teacher_terrified_by_surprise.html) in the crime-ridden metropolis of Halfway Oregon. She is now dealing with PTSD (_no!_) and trying to get compensation for the incident. I like the bit where the idiots running the drill checked with the Sheriff’s office to make sure they didn’t terrorize anyone with a CCW permit, so they didn’t get their ass shot as someone defended themselves and/or the school. Wonder if they’d try that stunt in a state (like my idiot neighbor KS) where one no longer needs a permit? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4546 "2015-04-28T18:23:23Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > What began alarming gun owners in the later 1980’s was just how far down the slippery slope we’d already gone. Could you elaborate on the restrictions of gun rights imposed between, say, the mid-1970s and the late 1980s? Gotta say I missed it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4547 "2015-05-01T18:02:54Z")
From Wonkette, the tale of misplaced handguns by the security details of our nations politicians, (most recently one of Boehner’s) in a bathroom stall where it was discovered by a young boy: > **[DC's Capitol Police Leaving Their Loaded Guns All Over Town, Oops](https://www.wonkette.com/dcs-capitol-police-leaving-their-loaded-guns-all-over-town-oops)** > > Hey, U.S. Americans, bring the whole family to your nation's capital, where you can look at memorials to dead white guys, check out Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian, and maybe find a gun in the bathroom. Because that's a thing now, thanks to... Maybe with additional training? ---
**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 5, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4548 "2015-05-05T08:59:42Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > From Wonkette, the tale of misplaced handguns by the security details of our nations politicians, (most recently one of Boehner’s) in a bathroom stall where it was discovered by a young boy: > > [DC's Capitol Police Leaving Their Loaded Guns All Over Town, Oops](http://wonkette.com/584404/dcs-capitol-police-leaving-their-loaded-guns-all-over-town-oops) > > Maybe with additional training? This was an issue that was discussed fairly early in this thread as it seemed to happen frequently. And it’s understandable if you consider the basic logistics of it - if you’ve got a belt holster you don’t want to just drop it on the floor with your trousers, so you take the gun out and put it somewhere safe [sic]. And people being people, occasionally things get left behind. That said, gun training really ought to include a section on “what to do with your gun while you’re crapping” since this is a common problem. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4549 "2015-05-05T18:28:32Z")
The best advice I’ve heard for that situation is to put the weapon in your pants between your feet. Bad jokes aside, it’s probably what I would do. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4550 "2015-05-06T03:23:52Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > The best advice I’ve heard for that situation is to put the weapon in your pants between your feet. Bad jokes aside, it’s probably what I would do. 1. Drop pants to mid-thigh, keep legs spread to keep pants from falling down. Use one hand to stabilize if it helps. 2. Pull down underwear, wrap elastic band over top of holstered firearm. 3. Lower pants as needed to conduct business. The underwear elastic will keep the holster from inverting. 4. Reverse procedure to pull pants back up. Works for me. Also helps not to have a cheap-ass holster that doesn’t grip the firearm. You spend hundreds on the weapon. Spend money to get quality gear. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4551 "2015-05-06T16:26:34Z")
Oregon passes a measure closing loopholes in required background checks for gun sales. [The GOP and NRA lose their minds.](http://www.salon.com/2015/05/06/gun_nuts_lose_their_damned_minds_the_common_sense_gun_safety_bill_thats_giving_the_nra_gop_conniptions/) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4552 "2015-05-06T18:26:39Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > I do not believe anyone should carry a gun on a regular basis, concealed or not, without training or proof of training. IMO “constitutional carry” will lead to some carrying daily and being careless with their gun. By eliminating the training requirement I believe there is a significant probability of greater accidents and incidents. > > I base this purely upon my observation of human behavior, and how utterly careless and stupid the average person can be. The bar to get a CCW permit in Kansas was not trivial, but it was low enough that any responsible person could do so. I agree. But if you let anti-gun politicos set the bar, they can sometimes set the bar impossibly high. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4553 "2015-05-06T18:39:37Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Can you explain, in little words, just why the ability to conceal a personal weapon without informing the guvmint is such a quintessential “conservative value”? Is it just that the guvmint is compiling lists so they can vaccinate gunowners’ children with autism? Why in particular, do law-abiding carriers need or want concealed carry anyway? Is it primarly so they can pass for responsible while ready to inflict vengeance? > > I hope to get more intelligible answers than when I asked the same question about law-abiding citizens wanting silencers (“Some people want silencers because they want silencers, duh!!”) but I’m not holding my breath. Its not a conservative value to be able to exercise constitutional rights. The quintessential constitutional power lies in the right to vote and if we can make people register to vote we can make them register to carry a gun. The constitution preserves our right to keep and bear arms, not the right to do so secretly. However we can grant people the right to anonymity in gun ownership through legislation and it seems to be what happened here. Like bone said, the sky doesn’t fall on our heads when have shall issue gun permits or even constitutional carry. The folks who felt restrained by the previous laws were not the problem. Suppressors prevent hearing damage and reduce noise pollution. If you have a gun for home defense, you might want a suppressor so that you don’t blow out your eardrums. You might want a silencer when you go hunting so that you won’t have to wear hearing protection (which generally reduces your situational awareness). Suppressors suppress sound, they don’t actually make guns silent. Suppressors don’t make guns that go BANG! BANG! start going Thwipp thwipp. They make guns that go BANG! BANG! go bang. bang. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4554 "2015-05-06T18:48:44Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > You might want a silencer when you go hunting so that you won’t have to wear hearing protection (which generally reduces your situational awareness). Unlikely as silencers reduce accuracy and power. Not to mention add a lot of weight and are mostly useless except for sub-sonic rounds- which are not often used for hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4555 "2015-05-06T19:54:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Unlikely as silencers reduce accuracy and power. I believe this is false - do you have a cite? My understanding is that modern silencers will not impact accuracy nor power. Historically there may have been swipes in historical suppressors but this is no longer the case. Compensation must be made for greater barrel weight but groupings should not be impacted. Power may be slightly increased actually, as there is more time for the bullet to spend in the barrel being propelled. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4556 "2015-05-06T20:41:28Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I believe this is false - do you have a cite? > > My understanding is that modern silencers will not impact accuracy nor power. Historically there may have been swipes in historical suppressors but this is no longer the case. Compensation must be made for greater barrel weight but groupings should not be impacted. Power may be slightly increased actually, as there is more time for the bullet to spend in the barrel being propelled. It’s true it depends on the type of silencer, on the modern non-swipe type the reduction is small, less than 5%. Still, it adds weight, increases barrel weight at the muzzle thus effecting balance. In any case, still sub-sonic rounds must be used, and no serious game is hunted with those. I guess if you’re hunting rats in your basement with a .22 short, then sure, why not? Varmints, sure: > **[Suppressors becoming more popular with hunters](https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/blogs/upstate-outdoors/2014/08/29/suppressors-becoming-popular-hunters/14782701/)** > > Sound suppressors, or silencers, if you prefer the more popular movie name, are becoming more prevalent these days among big game hunters. You may also be surprised to know that the ownership and use of suppressors is legal in the state of South... _The surge in popularity of suppressors may stem more from the novelty of the device than the benefits to the hunter. The suppressor is designed to screw into the barrel of the gun and never comes in contact with the bullet as it leaves the barrel which causes minimal, if any affect to the velocity or range of the bullet. In addition to reducing hearing loss, Braziel surmised that hunters who were hunting in close proximity to residential areas may find more benefit with sound suppressors or varmint hunters who were trying to kill numerous animals in packs, like coyotes, could benefit. He also said that sales of suppressors in his store were about evenly split between rifles and handguns._ and note, using a suppressor does not actually make the gun safe to fire without hearing protection: > **[Silencer (firearms)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressor#Advanced_types)** > > A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that suppresses the blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and jump, by modulating the speed and pressure of the propellant gas released from the muzzle. Like other muzzle devices, a silencer can be a detachable accessory mounted to the muzzle, or an integral part of the barrel. > A typical silencer i... _While some consider the noise reduction of a suppressor significant enough to permit safe shooting without hearing protection (“hearing safe”), noise-induced hearing loss may occur at 85 time-weighted-average decibels or above if exposed for a prolonged period,[34] and suppressed gunshots regularly meter above 130 dB. However, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration uses 140 dB as the “safety cutoff” for impulsive noise, which has led most U.S. manufacturers to advertise sub-140 dB suppressors as “hearing safe”. Current OSHA standards would allow no more than sub-single-second exposure to impact noise over 130 dB per 24 hours. That would equate to a single .308 round fired through a very efficient suppressor. This result effectively requires all users of suppressors to wear additional ear protection._ I am not saying they are evil or useless, just that most guys who buy them do so as they think they are in some sort of paramilitary or end-time survival tale, or like the novelty. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4557 "2015-05-06T20:53:29Z")
[Kentucky Sheriff’s Deputy shoots mom during wedding ceremony](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/kentucky-accidentally-shoots-mom-wedding-article-1.2211370). He got up, adjusted his jacket, pistol fell out, discharged, mom in the hospital, in stable condition. It was not his service weapon (he was off the clock), most of those IIUC are the kind designed not to discharge from being dropped. > [@Patch](#): > > 1. Drop pants to mid-thigh, keep legs spread to keep pants from falling down. Use one hand to stabilize if it helps. > 2. Pull down underwear, wrap elastic band over top of holstered firearm. > 3. Lower pants as needed to conduct business. The underwear elastic will keep the holster from inverting. > 4. Reverse procedure to pull pants back up. > > Works for me. Also helps not to have a cheap-ass holster that doesn’t grip the firearm. You spend hundreds on the weapon. Spend money to get quality gear. All the more reason for men to get into wearing kilts: nothing to pull down in the reading-room (unless you are one of those crazy people not fond of adequate ventilation). ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4558 "2015-05-06T20:57:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It’s true it depends on the type of silencer, on the modern non-swipe type the reduction is small, less than 5%. Still, it adds weight, increases barrel weight at the muzzle thus effecting balance. > > In any case, still sub-sonic rounds must be used, and no serious game is hunted with those. Your cite doesn’t support your claim. You are making 3 claims all of which I think are false: [ol] [li]silencers reduce accuracy[/li][li]silencers reduce power[/li][li]sub-sonic rounds must be used[/li][/ol] Increasing barrel weight would not decrease accuracy. When you refer to accuracy it’s mostly about consistent groupings. Yes the weight needs to be compensated for but that’s it. It’s not to like the bullets will go in less predictable patterns with a modern suppressor. Modern, non-swipe suppressors do not contact the bullet at all. Any affect to the velocity of the bullet should be an increase, not a decrease. Your link talks about hunting with suppressors, in multiple calibers, but no mention of sub-sonic rounds. Using sub-sonic rounds would surely further reduce the noise level, but they are in no way a requirement. For me, I would like a suppressor simply because it makes the range time more comfortable. I currently use both ear plugs and the ear muffs because guns are freakin loud. Of course I live in CA which has stupid fucking gun laws so that’s out. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4559 "2015-05-06T20:59:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Unlikely as silencers reduce accuracy and power. > > Not to mention add a lot of weight and are mostly useless except for sub-sonic rounds- which are not often used for hunting. None of this is correct. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/4560 "2015-05-06T21:09:46Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Your cite doesn’t support your claim. You are making 3 claims all of which I think are false: > > [ol] > [li]silencers reduce accuracy[/li][li]silencers reduce power[/li][li]sub-sonic rounds must be used[/li][/ol] > > Increasing barrel weight would not decrease accuracy. When you refer to accuracy it’s mostly about consistent groupings. Yes the weight needs to be compensated for but that’s it. It’s not to like the bullets will go in less predictable patterns with a modern suppressor. > > Your link talks about hunting with suppressors, in multiple calibers, but no mention of sub-sonic rounds. Using sub-sonic rounds would surely further reduce the noise level, but they are in no way a requirement. Yes, true, when i was talking about large reductions in accuracy and velocity, I was talking about the old-school type. Increasing barrel weight doesnt decrease accuracy but it does decrease your ability to react for a snap-shot, and also how long you can hold for a shot without a bipod. Ever try and hold a shot with a heavy barrel rifle? After even a short time you start shaking. The wiki article does mention subsonic: > **[Silencer (firearms)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressor#Subsonic_ammunition)** > > A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that suppresses the blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and jump, by modulating the speed and pressure of the propellant gas released from the muzzle. Like other muzzle devices, a silencer can be a detachable accessory mounted to the muzzle, or an integral part of the barrel. > A typical silencer i... Once you use a supersonic bullet, the crack will negate pretty much any use of a suppressor. I mean, I guess you could use supersonic rounds with a silencer, and the noise will be a little bit less, but there’s no real point to it. But the link does say "\*The surge in popularity of suppressors may stem more from the novelty of the device than the benefits to the hunter. … In addition to reducing hearing loss, Braziel surmised that hunters who were hunting in close proximity to residential areas may find more benefit with sound suppressors or varmint hunters who were trying to kill numerous animals in packs, like coyotes, could benefit. " \* So, varmints, as I said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=227) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=229)