Weekend Digest: Two-By-Two Edition

A South Carolina homeowner attempted to take Joe Biden’s advice against an intruder, but it (big surprise) didn’t work too well. The guy kept coming toward him. So he reverted to the original plan, and shot at him. This had the desired effect, and the intruder took off. Cops found his car with blood in it a short while later, and then found the suspected thief himself when they received a call about a man seeking care for a shotgun wound at a nearby hospital. The would-be thief will survive, and no charges will be filed against the homeowner. . .

A mistrial was declared Friday in the case of Army Master Sgt. C. J. Grisham, who you’ll recall was arrested back in April for “rudely displaying” his rifle while on a walk with his 15-year-old son. After two days of deliberations, the six-person jury remained deadlocked, forcing the judge to declare the mistrial. The extremely zealous prosecutor has announced he will try the case again starting November 18th, with a new jury. Seems like a lot of work for a misdemeanor charge (interfering with the duties of a police officer) that never should have been laid in the first place.

Bob Owens over at bearingarms.com is of the opinion that the Alamo open carry rally started off as a media disaster, thanks in no small part to Army Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham, who started his public remarks by asking attendees to keep flags blocking the chambers of their guns, which is good, but then followed it up with the not-so-good, “If the SWAT team comes down and starts surrounding us with tactical gear, it only takes a minute to pull them out,” Grisham said, referring to the orange plastic flags. “But that’s not going to happen.” Whaddya want to bet if his remarks get media play, they’ll leave off that last bit? Way to frame up a perfect soundbite for their “gun-totin’ wackjob” story, bud.

A Texas man from a town named Gun Barrel City (I looked it up, it’s real) was arrested Thursday at New York LaGuardia when security officers found a handgun in his carryon as he went through security screening. Charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm, he remained in custody Friday. He should get a pass. Coming from a town of only 5000 people, how was he to know there’s been a wholesale suspension of the U.S. Constitution in certain parts of the country?

Signs of sanity are showing in Calvert County, Maryland, where the school board has adopted changes that will give school administrators more flexibility when they encounter students with look-alike weapons. The changes were clearly badly needed, as Calvert County’s been in the news on several previous occasions when children have been suspended for having a cap gun on the bus, or simply saying he wished he had a gun to protect everyone, or even making a gun gesture with his hand on the school bus. [NB: Remember the kid suspended for chewing the Pop-Tart into a gun? That wasn’t in Calvert County, but it was right next door in Anne Arundel County.] Also, the kid who made the gun gesture with his hand is getting his record expunged after all, after having the first request denied.

Maryland residents who want to apply for a handgun license might find it a little harder than they planned. The new law that went into effect October 1st requires applicants to complete a handgun training course, which includes firing at least one live round. The problem, according to gazette.net, is there just aren’t that many ranges in Maryland, and few of them are publicly accessible. Of Maryland’s 23 counties, only 19 have ranges at all, and many are like Montgomery County, which has four ranges, all private. Of course, from a different angle, this could be a great business opportunity for someone.

Joerg Sprave massacres a block of ballistic gelatin with his motorized pencil gun. Now with 32 round assault clip speedloader!

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