First – thanks to everyone that recently supported this site through Amazon and the field manuals. Making a little to cover costs and buy some books myself helps keep the SHTFblog energy up.
Also, a SHTF thanks to Rawles for the cross-post action. I thought about taking your post and writing a cross-cross-post-post, but then that could go on forever. Or would it be a cross-post cross-post? Anyway . . .
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If you haven’t already heard, California will require firearm microstamping by 2010. What is it? It’s a tiny engraving on the tip of a firing pin that transfers a print onto the bullet casing so the casing can be identified as being fired from a particular gun. Police, in theory, can trace the casings found at crime scenes back to the specific gun, and back to the person that used it.
Good or Bad?
According to one source, the United States had a gun murder rate of 3.62 per 100,000 people in 1999. Is microstamping a good way to help catch these killers or is it an invasion of your rights? Thoughts to consider:
- Added cost to the gun? Estimates range between 50 cents per firearm to $8.50 per firearm to install this technology.
- Could a murderer just swap out the firing pin and evade the technology, or are most murderers not that forward thinking?
- Could someone just collect brass casings and toss them around the crime scene?
- Does this really matter to anyone that obeys the law? What’s 50 cents or 8 bucks?
- Would it increase the likelihood that thugs will want to steal others’ legally owned firearms?
- Did you know that California is exempting firearms sold to law enforcement from the microstamping law?
I have no answers, only thoughts.
On a somewhat related note, someone posted a comment the other day mentioning an Associated Press article on AR-15’s. I went searching for the news article, but couldn’t find it. However, I was amazed at what turned up. Check out these news stories, ALL published THIS month:
Police force now carrying shotguns AND AR-15’s in cruisers.
Arizona campus police to get AR-15’s.
Who said the 5.56 is a wimpy round? AR-15 kills attacking polar bear.
Guatemalan drug dealers use AR’s.
Gun store burglars try to steal AR’s first, but unsuccessful, move to 1911’s.
Interesting one here: AR-15’s are flying off gun shelves as people fear a ban coming.
Cops in Minnesota getting AR’s.
Quote: “Chief Bratton’s question remains just as urgent today. Military style weapons have no legitimate place in civilian hands on America’s streets. Four years ago, as the ban expired, we posed this question: ”Who in Congress will have the guts now to introduce a new and even tighter ban on such killing machines? The question remains relevant.”
USA Today blog promoting a ban on AR-style rifles.
AR’s seized from Connecticut gang.
Quite a few articles on police departments beefing up what they carry. I can’t really blame them, it’d stuck going up against a drug pushing, AK-wielding gang with a 9mm. I think their actions are a sign of the times. More thugs are using assault rifles, which will mean a greater push toward a ban, which means all of these criminal LOSERS are going to spoil it for everyone else that just likes to throw a little lead down range. Of course, with today’s ammo prices who can afford to go to the range for fun?
– Ranger Man
BTW: RG sent me a link to this video, a short “holy shit hits the fan avian flu flick” (my title):
12 comments
We don’t need microstamping more confusion and bureacracy. The same withPolice gearing up with more AR-15s were eventually becoming a police state satisfy the constitution by allowing citizens to own BB guns while Law enforcement owns Bazookas………….
We have the right to bear arms to protect ourselves from the police state. Some of the local law enforcement we have in our county are more scary than the criminals at least you know which way a criminal is going to go.
Around here they rarely solve a murder unles s someone confesses then they get off because they bungled the evidence.
But they sure can catch speeders and drunks which seem like less of a threat than soem one kicking your door down and threatening your family.
New Orleans and katrina are a good example disarm the law abiding citzens let the criminals run the place and by the way “protect and srve ” only applies if your one of us the rest of you are on your own………………..
The Problem (for the criminal): “Gee, I’d better not shoot that guy, they’ll find my microstamped casings and come get me!”
The Solutions:
(a) “Duh! I’m a criminal! I don’t think of this stuff ahead of time!” Probability of police catch is still
I ain’t giving up nothing! Firing pins are easy to make. Firing pins are quite cheap too purchase too compared to other parts. A file should also be able to remove it.
The video shows why you got to have a good pump shotgun!
The exemption to LEO’s is baffling and has no legitimate reason except to get them out of illegal and stupid shit some bad cops choose to do.
In all guns I know the firing pin is a removable part. Could this be a move to limiting spare parts? That would be a slower move to disarm the people then ammo but just as effective. I need to get more spare parts…..Paranoia is building.
In regards to stamping the pin: Go ahead! I use my weapon legally. I don’t care if you know I am shooting it. If it helps catch the bastard who tried to hurt my family , then good. If it helps protect my family from someone who has managed to lawfully prucahse a gun then even better.
In regards to the video: Great Job to whoever did it! What an eye opener to what could be a realistic scenario. Friends will become enemies when it comes to “you or them”. The only unrealistic part… what prepper doesn’t have an arsenal? I mean, come on! At a minimum he would have a box of .357 shells hidden somewhere!!
Great shot of paranoia though! I am off to the gun store!
Classic last line “don’t worry FEMA will be here soon” …. that is hilarious!
I don’t have much faith in microstamping, but I’d like to see some more study on the subject. It may turn out t be a useful anti-trafficing tool, but I doubt it’ll solve a lot of murders.
My previous writings:
http://mglv.blogspot.com/2007/08/is-microstamping-answer.html
I’m a late middle aged auntie lady without any military or law enforcement experience, so maybe I’m a little outside the demographic here, but here’s my perspective: I don’t get it.
If the purpose is to track who fired a weapon, why make law enforcement exempt? While it is still legal to use lethal force to protect oneself and other innocents, why do politicians debate so much over “good” versus “bad” weapons? Does it matter? Dead from my .38 is as dead as you get… and I don’t say that flippantly. I have as much weapon as I can safely handle with my disability. If I could handle a full auto safely I’d have one.
Go on, keep “regulating” firearms. Take it to its logical conclusion — disarm the people who are not lawbreakers, and pretty soon we’ll be doing deals with with the criminals to get decent weapons and protective gear.
I grew up in Los Angeles in the mid 60’s(Pico Rivera). At that time the gangs were better outfitted than the cops. My brother and I watched TV lying on the floor with the lights out, and no one went out after dark. The gangs literally took over the streets at night. They didn’t care where their stray shots went, and shooting at lighted windows was not unusual. Whether the mainstream public wants to believe it or not, some of these gangs did, and still do, target humans for sport. You could get killed standing at the bus stop just going for groceries. Forty years later, I still drop and roll for cover when someone’s riveting on a construction site.
I don’t believe anyone who grew up there thought they had more than a 50-50 chance to make it to adulthood. Few of us avoided the gangs and drugs, because that is where the real power was. Most of those kids are dead or in prison now. A few of us made it out, and we understand what our fellow “humans” are capable of descending to. Some don’t need a crisis to turn feral.
How do we make the politicians get it? Do society a favor: Make sure decent people have access to firearms training, then let them arm themselves equally as well as the criminals (try applying it to local law enforcement, too. Cops where I live have to buy their own vests if they want one — it’s “optional”. How pathetic is that?).
Responsible gun owners don’t shoot at random, we don’t go off over stupid stuff, or out of greed. We’re the good guys, and if we aren’t as well armed as the bad guys, guess who’s gonna visit your doorstep the next time you’re waiting for FEMA? Stop asking us to bring a saucepan to a gunfight.
eg707,
What happens when the bad guy throws some casings down he picked up at the range, and it comes back to your gun? I see JBT kicking down your door at 3am, maybe shooting you or your family as you grab your SD gun, as you think “I am law abiding, this must be a home invasion”. After they shoot you and find out you weren’t guilty, it’ll still be a good shoot and warrant based on the evidence they had.
Pull your damn head out of the sand and see the reality staring back at you.
Ranger Man,
This reminds me of; “For the want of a nail…” or in other words “The straw that broke the camel’s back…” However all is not lost, remember that the US is still very much the only place in the world where law-abiders can go and purchase firearms and ammunition without licensing (Too bad Switzerland, Finland and Israel all have a licensing scheme), therefore its paramount to ‘stock-up’ while time is short and pricing hasn’t gone through the roof.
DC,
Good call. I hadn’t thought of that. If this measure passes, we will be FORCED to take care of our spent casings. You couldn’t trust the range to protect something so valuable.
Also, hopefully the judge who issues the warrant will require a knock notice or some other protective measure as just spent casing are circumstantial at best.
I know, I know… wishful thinking.
FYI, I don’t think this will pass but I appreciate the fresh perspective.
Microstamping doesn’t work, according to a bunch of studies as well as for the reasons posted here.
Check out http://www.gunfacts.info for all sorts of gun mythbusting.
Re: the AR-15. Here’s an article on CNN talking about how Mexican gangs prefer the Barrett .50 BMG. There’s a quote from Mexican police that feel outgunned with just a M-16. And yes, I’m an AR-15 owner.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/26/gun.smuggling/index.html
Hello,
Microstamping is for generating intel on trafficking patterns. As for dropped cartridges, that is called trace evidence, that is actually a good thing, since planted cartridges are easily identified. However, what most people don’t understand is that you can get finger prints off cartridges and sometimes dna. (He goal of microstamping is to map traffic – find patterns – apply resources to the pattern. Simple.
What we all need to worry about is active tagging. please go to CT testimony of the head of product development at Colt. They are implementing RFID to military firearms – first to crates – now individual firearm boxes – r$d on rifles themselves. Microstamping is passive and benign and will block RFID in the future. It is just like EasyPass – that’s how they the sell the concept and I can giarantee the industry will have no defense against it- since most people have EasyPass and heck Colt has incrementally field testing it for years.
I support microstamping. However, I am the co-inventor so I am bias.
Best regards,
Todd