Competing Poles of the Firearms Debate Are Inadvertently Presented in Two Pro Gun Videos — Gun Advocate Alex Jones’ Lack of Self Control with Piers Morgan — and a Legally Modified AR-15 Equipped with a Slide Fire Solutions’ “Bump Fire” Shoulder Stock and a 250-Round Magazine

© 2013 Peter Free

 

09 January 2013

 

 

Both the below videos are pro gun — yet both inadvertently make a countervailing gun control argument

 

When in regulatory doubt, it sometimes helps to look at extremist fringes as an invitation to exercise common sense:

 

(1) Piers Morgan Tonight, Alex Jones on guns in America: "The Republic will rise again when you attempt to take our guns", CNN (07 January 2013) (video clip of Alex Jones interview)

 

(2) Jason Teague and Guns & Ammo, Belt-Fed for Zombies — Belt-Fed for Zombies: Valkyrie Arms BSR Mod-1 Belt Fed w/250 round box, SlideFire.com (01 May 2012) (video showing legally modified AR-15 in virtually automatic fire)

or

Jason Teague and Guns & Ammo, Belt-Fed for Zombies — Belt-Fed for Zombies: Valkyrie Arms BSR Mod-1 Belt Fed w/250 round box, YouTube (01 May 2012) (video showing legally modified AR-15 in virtually automatic fire)

or

Eric R. Poole, Belt-Fed for Zombies: Valkyrie Armament BSR Mod-1, Guns & Ammo (01 May 2012) (blurb, with the above embedded video, advocating the superiority of a bump firing, large magazine weapon over a machine gun)

 

 

Who is Alex Jones — and why do we care?

 

Jeff Bercovici capably explained who Mr. Jones is:

 

Jeff Bercovici, Who Is Alex Jones, Anyway? Five Fun Factoids, Forbes (09 January 2013)

 

Mr. Jones is a syndicated radio talk show host.  He is (apparently) neither a bigot nor a consistently Right Wing Nut.

 

Mr. Jones’ views matter because his gun advocacy agrees with that of my more extreme firearms owning friends and acquaintances.  The man may be extreme, but he is not atypical.

 

 

Video One — Alex Jones — when pro gun rants motivate push back

 

Piers Morgan invited gun advocate Alex Jones, to explain why Mr. Jones had started a petition (to the White House) to have Mr. Morgan (who is British) deported for expressing gun control views, during a previously televised interview.

 

Mr. Jones began the interview by making the superficially reasonable anti-tyranny argument that is commonly held by gun advocates, like me.

 

Note

 

We will ignore the fact that Mr. Jones’ sentiments about the unrestricted breadth of the Second Amendment are probably unwarranted, as yet.

 

As a former litigator, experienced with Constitutional cases, I am not alone in this view.  See, for example, comments from Constitutional law professor, Geoffrey R. Stone, here.

 

Jones, however, quickly flew off into Cuckoo Land — as many of my more extreme gun friends do, when firearm restrictions are the topic.

 

More “normal” folk will probably question his credibility, given:

 

(a) his abrasive lack of self-control

 

and

 

(b) the foaming paranoia displayed by the Gun Lunacy Bats, which (at least occasionally) seem to inhabit his belfry.

 

 

Background for Video Two — What is an AR-15?  — What is “bump fire”?

 

The civilian Colt AR-15 is a semi-automatic version of the automatic fire, military M16 combat rifle.

 

“Bump fire” is a lawful way of converting a semi-automatic weapon into the equivalent of a near fully automatic firearm.

 

The principle is simple.  If one leaves the trigger finger stationary, and “bounces” each recoil off it, then the weapon will fire just as fast as it can cycle rounds through the breech — even with the semi-automaticity of the actual firing mechanism left intact.

 

Below is an excellent explanatory video clip showing how to bump fire an AR-15, without any making any mechanical modifications.

 

 

Citation — to video showing how to bump fire a semi-automatic weapon

 

Grant Vickers, How to bump fire an AR 15, YouTube (12 November 2009)

 

 

Video Two — Slide Fire Solutions’ “bump fire” AR-15 stock and a lawfully added 250-round magazine

 

Slide Fire Solutions manufactured the bump fire concept into the form of a legal add-on stock for the AR-15.

 

Given that the stock allows one to fire the rifle from the shoulder, accuracy is much enhanced over Grant Vicker’s hip technique.

 

The equally legal Valkyrie Arms BSR Mod-1 belt fed 250-round magazine drum turns the semi-automatic AR-15 (or anything similar) into a military-like firearm.

 

 

The moral? — Common (public health) sense and Gun Nut Extremism don’t mix especially well

 

The two videos, originally intended for pro-gun advocacy, arguably make the opposite point.