those tough American gun laws

[winterbadger]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3703321.stm

Apparently it's news to some people that one can't order guns by mail. And he received a license? Well, I suppose as an Englishman studying in Canada, he probably didn't show up on an FBI database check (if they even bothered with that...)

Comments

[winterbadger]

It wasn't so long ago that local govenment cited the use of di-hydrogen monoxide in the manufacture of styrofoam in some anti-styrofoam legislation.

Where's the newspaper issue there? A local government did something stupid, not a newspaper.

Newspapers publish urban legends all the time.

Newspapers sometimes print urban legends. Newspapaers sometimes print stories that have been falsified by journalists who are looking for acclaim. That doesn't make me automatically doubt any news report I see.

To be exact, I'm betting that a gun or some gun parts were shipped in the wrong box to the wrong destination.
That part certainly seems to be without dispute; I really find it hard to believe that the newspaper, having that story, would then invent the issue of the license and the recipient photocopying it as a souvenir. Is it possible that they made it up? Sure, but I see no reason to think that they did.

Here's a link to the Star article (I found it through Google)

http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/story.html?id=eef309e0-bf08-4f13-b0ba-af8791392e1c

I don't see any mention there or on the BBC article of the words "high power," and while the photo looks more like a .44 Magnum, the visual difference between that and the .22 Magnum, at least based on the pictures at the S&W website, is fairly slight. I'm also not seeing anything that says that the license was a Canadian one.

That the article hasn't been picked up by american wire services makes me wonder too. They usually jump on stories like this.
They also usually only reprint local reporting in stories like this, so I doubt there'll be any more detail when they do.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

the visual difference between that and the .22 Magnum, at least based on the pictures at the S&W website, is fairly slight.

There are a few .22 pistols that are made to look like bigger guns, but for the most part, they are very visually different from the gun pictured. .22 and .22magnum are not the same thing.

I don't see any mention there or on the BBC article of the words "high power,"

Sorry, that came from a google news search. This article (http://p2pnet.net/story/1425) makes reference to a "high caliber mp3 player" while displaying a picture of a large pistol. I'd swear the wording on the article has changed since I last looked at it.


I'm also not seeing anything that says that the license was a Canadian one.

If the recipient of the firearm was canadian, he would need a canadian license. Although re-reading the articles, it's less clear. The starpheonix article says "Next to it is a handgun licence for Abe's Pawn Shop in Louisiana." I'm guessing, on reflection, that isn't a license at all, but some FFL transfer paperwork. It's not customary for gun shops to obtain licenses for people, but there is some paperwork that has to be done. Looking for the simple explaination, calling a document by the wrong name seems like the simplest mistake. The subject is confusing since many states don't require licenses to own firearms, although canada does. A canadia reporter might expect a license to come with a gun, for all I know, that's how they do it up there.