When grandstanding on guns goes wrong

ATF investigating congressional candidate that cut apart AR-15

The long and short is, while engaging in a political stunt to impress gullible voters, this dumbass converted an AR-15 into a short-barreled rifle in violation of state and federal law.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is investigating congressional candidate Karen Mallard after she posted a video on Facebook that shows her cutting apart an AR-15 rifle.

The video is posted all over now, including on her own campaign website. She begins by trying to give herself some clout.

In the video, as Mallard introduces herself, she says, "I grew up in Wise County, surrounded by guns. Our family had guns my whole life. We use them for hunting, for protection, and recreation."

Despite claims on both sides stemming from "I own guns", owning guns or being around guns doesn't make you knowledgeable about them. It's not even her gun, it's her husband's.

She goes on to explain that she wasn't happy when her husband bought the AR-15 "a while back." Mallard adds that after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14, and the renewed outcries for stricter gun control that followed, she and her husband agreed they didn't want the AR-15 in their home.

The couple later decided they didn't want it it anyone else's house, either.

"So, today, we're going to destroy it," states Mallard before taking a handheld power saw to it.

Of course people who actually know firearms law, which this gun-control-friendly candidate obviously doesn't (I'll say more on that later) were quick to point out in the comments that she'd broken the law.

Several others said Mallard broke federal law by taking a legal firearm and altering it, making it into an illegal one. Many of them referred to details contained within the Sawed-Off Shotgun and Sawed-Off Rifle Act which, in part, prohibits people (except for those permitted by the act) from having a rifle that has been "modified to an overall length of less than 26 inches."

That's a Virginia state law, although she also broke part of the National Firearms Act. You have to have a Title II license to possess a short-barreled rifle or shotgun under that law. Now some were defending her since she turned the weapon over to the authorities, however the law doesn't say you can only possess one for a short time, it says you can't possess one at all. What she did was irresponsible and likely illegal. The responsible thing to do would've been to simply turn the gun over to authorities and insist they destroy it, or at least consult with them on how to destroy it legally. But she wasn't trying to be responsible, she was trying to grandstand and score brownie points.

Taking a look at her campaign website's firearms page, this isn't the only firearms law she's clueless on. She claims the CDC is banned from funding gun violence research.

Republicans have effectively been blocking federal research on gun violence for the past twenty years. That's why one of the first pieces of legislation I will sponsor upon being elected will be the repeal of the Dickey Amendment, which prevents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from funding research on gun violence.

This isn't true. In fact, CDC funded such research under the direction of President Obama after Newtown. See here. Another thing I discuss there is that the Dickey Amendment does not do what she claims it does. The Dickey Amendment merely bars the CDC from funding gun control propaganda. This is why the gun control lobby wants it repealed, so that CDC can use tax dollars to fund groups like Everytown for Gun Safety to produce biased "research" which calls for more gun control. Obviously it doesn't ban them from funding any gun violence research at all, since they've done so after the Dickey Amendment was passed. It's legal, they just can't fund the kind of "research" gun control advocates want. Coincidentally, after the study CDC commissioned for President Obama came back with results that were less than favorable to him, he never directed them to conduct more extensive studies. How do you blame that on Republicans, again?

Mallard in fact praises Everytown on her page. In case anyone has forgotten, Everytown was recently caught dishonestly inflating school shooting statistics. Even Bernie Sanders was forced to concede the numbers were bogus, since he retweeted them without bothering to check them for accuracy.

“Correction: Information we released Wednesday, along with most major news outlets, stating that there have been 18 school shootings this year turned out to be incorrect and inflated,” tweeted Mr. Sanders. “One school shooting is too many, and this is a crisis that must be addressed now, but it is important that we use correct stats when discussing this horrific situation.”

Sadly, being uninformed about guns and gun laws is par for the course with the gun control lobby. I doubt she'll actually be charged with anything, but we sure as hell don't need someone in Congress trying to pass gun control laws when she doesn't even know enough about gun laws to keep herself from being investigated by ATF.

If you believe in gun control laws and don’t support the enforcement of the laws, then why make laws

Anyone who doesn’t support the law going after her to its fullest extent is the reason I will never turn in any guns. If the powers at be cannot be trusted to enforce the law, then why should I trust them to enforce my rights

So, in a fit of virtue signalling against "weapons of war", her campaign of "destroy the black scary gun" political grandstanding bit her in the ass. Wonder if they have any more guns and if so, why didn't they destroy all of them?

... and don't forget AR stands for "assault rifle" [ eyeroll ]

Did I miss any of the buzzwords?

originally posted by: SocratesJohnson
If you believe in gun control laws and don’t support the enforcement of the laws, then why make laws

Anyone who doesn’t support the law going after her to its fullest extent is the reason I will never turn in any guns. If the powers at be cannot be trusted to enforce the law, then why should I trust them to enforce my rights

The laws only apply to us bitter clingers.

She got one gun out huh......but....but why.....is we unable to imagine a criminal building his own in a day.....then going to where guns are nay say....and getting some runnin money or anything else.....cause you will freeze when looking down a barrel....i have a better idea.....in most cases....my bunch leaves one in the chamber for silence when invaded....in vietnam the non manly idiots had empty chambers for safety......it's a war fellas...guess what......now the civilians are in a war.....my XDM will not need to be chambered in an invasion....first noise will be blammo

ar isn't assault rifle......she should embrace the thought process from now on, huh!

a reply to: face23785

I hate to sound like an ideological jackass, but man, I love when this happens...on both sides of the aisle (although it really does seem to happen on one side a LOT more).

In debates like this, grandstanding has zero place, IMO--in nearly all instances with gun-control grandstanding, the numbers of firearm purchases and background checks increase. It's like when Obama was president and I'd go into local gun shops, many would have his picture on the wall with the epithet, "Customer Of The Month," because all of his rhetoric and then the subsequent rhetoric from the left actually helped drive higher business.

When will these people ever learn? It's almost as if they need to all sit cross-legged on the floor in the kids section of their local libraries and have the librarians (or a first-grade teacher volunteer) read them the story about the boy who cried wolf.

I still don't think that they'd get it, though...maybe a weekly reading for the duration of their term in office, in hope that one day in the far future it will sink in?

I hope that she sees a courtroom over this stunt--our politicians go full-retard too often.

I'm sure that she'll get off with an "I'm sorry" YouTube video, though...double-standard law enforcement and all.

originally posted by: SocratesJohnson
If you believe in gun control laws and don’t support the enforcement of the laws, then why make laws

It's all for the feels, because the feels get the votes in many of these districts.

Anyone who doesn’t support the law going after her to its fullest extent is the reason I will never turn in any guns. If the powers at be cannot be trusted to enforce the law, then why should I trust them to enforce my rights

Yep, I will never turn in any guns, either. Luckily, I live in a state that (for now) doesn't require gun registration.

And don't worry, politicians aren't there to enforce rights, they're there to bend and infringe upon them to achieve an ideological goal.

And yes for all the NRA trolls out there, I finished the job according to regulation and turned it over to the police. Why are you more outraged about me taking a gun out of circulation than about our children being murdered in our schools?

Did she or her husband intend to go shoot up a school?

Someone is trolling.

And it's the person that just wasted at least a grand.

a reply to: neo96yep

those are 299 now in Texas....$299.00 dollars plus tax....crazy gun dealer in Alvaredo ....ft. worth like

originally posted by: GBP/JPY
a reply to: neo96yep

those are 299 now in Texas....$299.00 dollars plus tax....crazy gun dealer in Alvaredo ....ft. worth like

I don't live in Texas.

Don't forget.

You get what you pay for.

originally posted by: neo96

originally posted by: GBP/JPY
a reply to: neo96yep

those are 299 now in Texas....$299.00 dollars plus tax....crazy gun dealer in Alvaredo ....ft. worth like

I don't live in Texas.

Don't forget.

You get what you pay for.

Truth. There's a reason gangbangers are always missing and hitting innocent kids in their house studying. No training and they buy #ty guns with lousy accuracy. Sadly, one of the effects of all the regulation is to make guns more expensive, pricing out the poorest people who need them the most. Crime is more prevalent in poor neighborhoods, and most of those people simply can't afford to own a gun.

And here I was thinking that people with smarts had guns. "Guns dont kill people.. derps with legal guns just might hyuk".

there ya go.....

Oh and dude in the land where you dont need to register them.. aint ever visiting there.

a reply to: face23785

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to life in a place that doesn't recognise the difference between the letter and the spirit of the law...

For an outsider this doesn't seem like such a big deal and the intent behind this "crime" is obviously not what the Sawed-Off Rifle Act was created for...

But then again...not my country, not my business.

Peace

originally posted by: operation mindcrime
a reply to: face23785

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to life in a place that doesn't recognise the difference between the letter and the spirit of the law...

For an outsider this doesn't seem like such a big deal and the intent behind this "crime" is obviously not what the Sawed-Off Rifle Act was created for...

But then again...not my country, not my business.

Peace

The point isn't that she technically violated the law. Clearly she didn't intend to. That's likely why she won't face charges. The point is that she's so ignorant about gun laws she didn't even know she was breaking one. These are the people who want us to listen to them about gun control.

originally posted by: operation mindcrime
a reply to: face23785

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to life in a place that doesn't recognise the difference between the letter and the spirit of the law...

For an outsider this doesn't seem like such a big deal and the intent behind this "crime" is obviously not what the Sawed-Off Rifle Act was created for...

But then again...not my country, not my business.

Peace

land of the free and the home of the afraid. *Need mah guns to protect me from people with guns*

originally posted by: badw0lf

Oh and dude in the land where you dont need to register them.. aint ever visiting there.

Good...we don't need timid, irrational people hanging around (even though there are already plenty).

I assume that I'm "dude."

P.S.: Do you even have any idea how many states in the U.S. do not require firearm registration?

Summary of State Law

Six states and the District of Columbia require registration of some or all firearms.

...

Conversely, eight states have statutes prohibiting them from maintaining a registry of firearms except in limited circumstances.

Giffords Law Center

So, make sure that you only visit one of those six states plus Washington, D.C., instead of all of those other scary places in America!

a reply to: operation mindcrime

The letter of the law is more important than the spirit in a nation with an estimated more-than 350-million firearms in possession of its citizenry.

If we start (well, continue) picking and choosing when laws apply, that is a recipe for more corruption and a lack of respect for the laws by an increasing number of people.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey

originally posted by: badw0lf

Oh and dude in the land where you dont need to register them.. aint ever visiting there.

Good...we don't need timid, irrational people hanging around (even though there are already plenty).

Give me a gun then, I'll be rambo in no time. HOO HOO HOO...

pfft

I assume that I'm "dude."

P.S.: Do you even have any idea how many states in the U.S. do not require firearm registration?

So, make sure that you only visit one of those six states plus Washington, D.C., instead of all of those other scary places in America!

Nope. not even interested with pissy weak men who need a gun to sort out a dispute. Or, wait, Hunt. Yeah thats the one. and play soldiers.

You know how to use a woomera?

doesnt go bang and make you feel like a real man I guess.

originally posted by: badw0lf

originally posted by: SlapMonkey

originally posted by: badw0lf

Oh and dude in the land where you dont need to register them.. aint ever visiting there.

Good...we don't need timid, irrational people hanging around (even though there are already plenty).

Give me a gun then, I'll be rambo in no time. HOO HOO HOO...

pfft

I assume that I'm "dude."

P.S.: Do you even have any idea how many states in the U.S. do not require firearm registration?

So, make sure that you only visit one of those six states plus Washington, D.C., instead of all of those other scary places in America!

Nope. not even interested with pissy weak men who need a gun to sort out a dispute. Or, wait, Hunt. Yeah thats the one. and play soldiers.

You know how to use a woomera?

doesnt go bang and make you feel like a real man I guess.

Congrats on being part of the problem. Misrepresenting the other side is a barrier to progress and the absolute refusal to learn anything on this issue stops us from having an honest discussion about it. Also, having to pretend the other side are a bunch of pussies just shows how weak your position is. Maybe you've seen too many superhero movies lately, but you can't fight off every potential attacker with your bare hands in the real world. Join us in reality please. We can't all live such sheltered lives.

originally posted by: badw0lf

Give me a gun then, I'll be rambo in no time. HOO HOO HOO...

pfft

Your participation in threads about gun topics is very similar to a kindergartener participating in a college discussion.

Nope. not even interested with pissy weak men who need a gun to sort out a dispute. Or, wait, Hunt. Yeah thats the one. and play soldiers.

You know how to use a woomera?

You have no idea my background in practicing and teaching martial arts, nor the amount of weapons training that I have (to include having "played Soldier" for the United States). I hope that you understand how funny it is watching people like you talk a big game on the internet, belittling and bitching about people who appreciate things different to you.

At least use a little logic in your discussions and maybe you would get some respect. Or at least some statistics to back your claims and fears, or anything other than childish language like "pissy weak men" or "give me a gun, then I'll be RAMBO in no time." You fail on all facets of what it is to have an intelligent discussion, and now I'm dealing with you in two different threads.

Best regards--you're not worth my time nor my energy. Go play ignorant internet tough guy with someone else.