Since the 1999 school shooting inColumbine, CO, it appears that a typecast of the shooters has emerged: teen boys who are depressed, isolated, medicated, jilted, have absentee or divorced parents, and play violent video games.

The latest school shooter opened fire at Santa Fe High School in Texas on last Friday, killing 10 and wounding 13. Police arrived on scene and engaged in a 30-minuteshootout. The shooter targeted and murdered a teen girl who rebuffed his advances.

The media has engaged in non-stop reporting on this. The media was still reporting on the Parkland, Fla.,Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February, when Friday’s shooting happened. It’s as if the media’s incessant reporting is encouraging more demented teen boys to emulate the previous shooter.

Where Are the… Read More

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: “From the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” file, a bill currently in the California Legislature would require BB guns and Airsoft Pellet guns painted bright toy colors so they won’t be mistaken for real guns.” And they did.

The legislation has had difficulty passing, but finally made it out of the Assembly 41-34. The bill will go back to the Senate for a vote.

SB 199, by Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles,will require BB and airsoft guns to be painted bright colors to make them “readily identifiable” so law enforcement officers can distinguish them from real firearms.

BB guns are used for a variety of purposes, including competitive use. During shooting competitions, many prefer using BB guns as they are inexpensive and easy to learn and equip. Even soldiers use BB guns for target practice and skill improvement.

De Leónjustified this ridiculous bill because of incidents in which police officers shot people wielding realistic-looking BB or Airsoft rifles. DeLeónhas insisted… Read More

From the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” file, a bill currently in the California Legislature would require BB guns and Airsoft Pellet guns painted bright toy colors so they won’t be mistaken for real guns.

Coloring BB guns (“BB” stands for “ball bullet,”) in bright colors will only give parents and children the impression that they are children’s toys, rather than recreational and target sport guns.

And criminals will start painting their AK 47s hot pink.

Last year, Gov. Jerry Brownsigned 11 gun control billsinto law andvetoedseven. More gun bills are on the firing line this year — even banning some BB guns.

In January, the California Senate passed the BB gun bill,Senate Bill 199, by state Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, 23 to 8. In June, the Assembly Public Safety Committee passed the bill, 5 to… Read More

Triggers and Critters: I sometimes offer amendments on bills that come to the House floor from committees other than the those on which I serve. Such was the case last week when the Agriculture Appropriations bill came to the floor. Various other people offered amendments to reduce the spending in the bill by 5%, limit or eliminate subsidies, and otherwise save money. As you might suspect, I supported all such money-saving amendments. Unfortunately, most of them lost.

The amendment I offered reduced spending by $11 million, which is not much in an appropriations bill that proposed to spend $17.25 billion next year. The amendment would eliminate a program whereby the U.S. Department of Agriculture kills predators (wolves, coyotes and such) that threaten privately-owned livestock. The government kills these animals using methods such as shooting them from aircraft and putting out bait with cyanide capsules that explode in the animal’s face when it goes for the bait.

I thought there were a lot of good reasons to support this amendment:

1. It saves $11 million, all of which will be borrowed.

2. Why is it a taxpayer… Read More