Most hated Yank in America?

Well, will this be enough for Nate Bell?

I would like to apologize to the people of Boston & Massachusetts for the poor timing of my tweet earlier this morning. As a staunch and unwavering supporter of the individual right to self defense, I expressed my point of view without thinking of its effect on those still in time of crisis. In hindsight, given the ongoing tragedy that is still unfolding, I regret the poor choice of timing. Please know that my thoughts and prayers were with the people of Boston overnight and will continue as they recover from this tragedy.

I dunno, and being somewhat far removed from the Arkansas state legislature having any real significance to my life, I don't really care. But, let's look at what caused the problem, the moron's original tweet:

I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine?

Okay. Now, we're seeing vaguely where he is coming from. Boston is, as far as the US goes, quite 'liberal'* (it's on the coast. Which is actually, until you get to Alaska or the Cuban bits of Florida, a pretty reasonable marker). And they're not particularly keen on expansive interpretations of the 2nd Amendment. But is an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine (variously, this seems to mean more than 10 rounds, in the lapsed federal legislation, or 15 rounds in some states' legislation) really the weapon of choice to defend your home in a crowded suburban environment?

No, it's not. In fact, it is so far from it, it was an utterly silly thing to say. You don't have the long lines of sight or the ability to set yourself in a proper firing position. The round is high-penetrating (high velocity, small calibre and Geneva convention compatible), so your chance of collateral damage - to your family or your neighbours - is far too high, but also does relatively little damage (small calibre and that pesky convention, again!) And if you are a crap enough shot that you need 10 rounds to hit man-size target at the short distance of a residential house or lot, then, frankly, you've no business owning a rifle. Go to a gun club and get some training.

Ideally, I'd have an auto weapon with expanding or hollow point ammo. But, as most places don't like people owning their own sub-machine guns, and I was recommending a weapon, I'd go with a decent semi-auto pistol in a medium calibre - and those low penetration, high energy dispersal rounds. Haven't had a play with the Glock 17 yet - but that's popular. A reasonable Sig-Sauer (eg a P226) would be an alternative.

So, even if you are in favour of guns and despise US 'liberals', the man is still a moron.

Update: Also, as I have just realised, if there are a whole load of rather nervous armed police and similar agencies running around (plus a whole load of {National Guard?} soldiers), 'cowering' in your home holding a readily identifiable 'military style long weapon' is probably not the sanest thing to do.


* This word is used, in the US, in a strange way. But not in as strange a way as it is used by Clegg, Cable and the rest of that egregious gang.