Posts Tagged ‘Glock’

Los Fabricantes De Armas Que Es Más Macho Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Thursday, October 6th, 2022

Dwight sent over the text of a firearms case decision in “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS, Plaintiff, v. SMITH & WESSON BRANDS, INC.” etc., or Mexico v Smith & Wesson et. al. (“Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.; Beretta USA Corp.; Century International Arms, Inc.; Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC; Glock, Inc.; Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.; and Witmer Public Safety Group, Inc. d/b/a Interstate Arms.”)

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for Massachusetts (because venue shopping) and the decision was handed down by Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV.

TLDR summary: Judge Saylor threw out the case.

A U.S. federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers arguing their commercial practices has led to bloodshed in Mexico.

Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston ruled Mexico’s claims did not overcome the broad protection provided to gun manufacturers by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act passed in 2005.

The law shields gun manufacturers from damages “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of a firearm.

Quoting the text of the decision itself (which does not yet appear to be online anywhere):

Unfortunately for the government of Mexico, all of its claims are either barred by federal law or fail for other reasons. The PLCAA unequivocally bars lawsuits seeking to hold gun manufacturers responsible for the acts of individuals using guns for their intended purpose. And while the statute contains several narrow exceptions, none are applicable here.

This Court does not have the authority to ignore an act of Congress. Nor is its proper role to devise stratagems to avoid statutory commands, even where the allegations of the complaint may evoke a sympathetic response. And while the Court has considerable sympathy for the people of Mexico, and none whatsoever for those who traffic guns to Mexican criminal organizations, it is duty-bound to follow the law.

Accordingly, and for the reasons set forth below, the motions
to dismiss will be granted.

Not a picture of Judge Saylor.

This, of course, is the proper outcome. Lawful American gun manufacturers can’t be held accountable for the misuse of their products, nor should they be made scapegoats for Mexico’s inability to control their own criminal cartels.

(Title reference.)

Observations from the San Antonio Gun Show

Sunday, October 4th, 2020

I finally got my ducks in a row to carry out a roadtrip to the Saxet San Antonio Gun Show, the largest in central Texas, along with Dwight and Mike. (With two large dogs to board, the logistics can be daunting.) My last trip to a gun show was a few years ago, so I wanted to see how The Great Gun Buying Panic of 2020 has changed things. Here are some observations that people of the gun may find of interest.

  • We got there at about 11 AM, and while sales seemed brisk, they weren’t “if you see it you better buy it or it’s gone forever” brisk. At a glance all regular rifle and pistol manufacturers and makes in the usual calibers seemed to be there, with the possible exception of Glocks. Usually they seem to be plentiful, but I don’t recall seeing the usual arrays of new Glock cases. Then again, I wasn’t looking for a Glock, so I might just not have seen them, or the dealer mix was Glock-lite.
  • I was looking for a Smith & Wesson M&P15 in 5.56 NATO/.223, and boy prices have gone up on those. Used to be you could find them in the $550 to $600 range. You could find them in stock boxes at the show, but they started at $998. Supply and demand has driven this one through the roof.
  • My less scientific survey of pistol prices suggests they’re up as well, but not as much, and I got the impression that quality name-brand models were generally up some $100 to $150 over a few years ago.
  • Ammunition prices were also up, and business also seemed brisk, but didn’t suffer from the “put it out and it’s gone” condition people seem to be finding at their local sporting goods shops. I bought 50 rounds of .45 ACP ammo for $25 (and brass, not steel). That’s up from the 33 cents a round I used to pay, but not up as much as I expected.
  • Again, I wasn’t looking for them, but reloading supplies seemed nearly non-existent. The Great Primer Shortage of 2020 continues apace.
  • The San Antonio Gun Show was a whole hell of a lot more diverse than the average antifa riot, with Hispanic, black and Asian attendees. It also seems to skew younger and with more women (maybe 25%) than in previous years.
  • Out: The weirdo Nazi memorabilia dealers you used to find at gun shows last century. In: People selling quilts, water softeners and beard oil (two different vendors for the last).
  • While we were in San Antonio, we tried to hit various Half Price Books locations. Two trips were successful, but but two others stores (including the Broadway location) were inexplicably closed, with locked doors and “closed to foot traffic” signs on the windows.
  • On the way to the show, we had some excellent breakfast tacos at Lucy’s Tacos in San Marcos, which is just a trailer next to a convenience store with three picnic tables under a vine-covered gazebo.
  • On the way back, we had some fine German food for our Saturday Dining Conspiracy at Alpine Haus in New Braunfels.
  • There are still a lot of gun shows in Texas on the calendar between now and the end of the year.
  • What I Saw At The Austin Gun Show

    Saturday, January 26th, 2013

    Long lines. It took 40 minutes for my friends to get in at noon, and about 28 minutes for me at 1 PM.

    Here’s my video of the line:

    And the show itself? Pricing on modern sport rifles (AKA “the guns Democrats want to ban because they look scary”) were ridiculous, double or triple what the asking price was before liberals started their latest gun control push, and there wasn’t a great selection on Glocks (I’m looking at a 4″ 9mm Glock as a carry gun).

    Honestly, the most tempting thing there was a Barrett .50 BMG rifle at $4,000, which is about list, but: A.) It was the single shot, and I was more interested in a carbine model, which he also had…for $12,000, and B.) I think I need to embark on a rigorous weight-lifting regime before buying a Barrett; those suckers are heavy!

    So I bought the traditional item people of my tribe buy when they can’t find a gun to buy at the gun show: venison jerky.

    To Glock or Not To Glock, That Is The Question

    Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

    I got my CHL in the mail today. (When I have time I’ll try to do a post on the process of getting one for those who haven’t.) I currently have a Kimber .45, which I think is a bit heavy to use as a carry gun.

    My instructor was big on the Glock, which I know a lot of people use as a carry gun and has some improvements over the M1911. So I thought I would ask my CHL-holding rreaders: 1. What concealed carry gun do you favor, and why, and 2. What experience (if any) have you had using a Glock?

    And speaking of CHL classes, here’s Karl Rehn of KRTraining on what to bring to class to make your instructor happy.