Did I or Hogewash Screw Up Raw Story?

A few weeks ago, I had a post here, that talked about the arbitrariness of the prior Assault Weapons ban called Would an Assault Weapon Ban Violate the First Amendment.  And it went through some of the sillier, purely cosmetic rules that determine whether a gun is would be banned.  For instance, if you have a flash suppresser that serves as a grenade launcher, that is legal.  But if you have a grenade launcher and a separate flash suppressor, that is illegal, even though both configurations are equally dangerous to human life.

And at one point, I pointed out there was such a thing as a Hello Kitty non-Assault Rifle:

And I included a picture of a pretty girl holding one because, well, Rule 5 is a thing.

Now the purpose was not to give you a chuckle at something so girlish and deadly at the same time, although if you did get a chuckle, more power to you.  No, the purpose was to point out that under the prior assault weapons ban, this gun was still legal, because it lacked certain cosmetic features that had little-to-no impact on its dangerousness.

I got the upper picture from Mr. Hoge who gave it as an example of that kind of stock, which is critical to making it not an assault weapon.

But then I decided to use the image on twitter a few times.  I can’t find the tweets right now, but I saw a woman talk about getting a pink pistol and joked she could get this.  And when a girl was suspended from school for pointing a bubble gun—that is a gun that shoots soap bubbles—I joked that this gun is what it actually looked like.  But these were jokes.

Now, I don’t know if anyone from Raw Story was reading my twitter feed or anyone who might have retweeted the thing, or maybe other people distributed the photo further, but tonight we find they wrote this in an article: “Pink handguns and Hello Kitty assault rifles have been part of an effort to get firearms in the hands of women and younger groups in recent years.”  OH MY GOD!  The evil corporations are trying to trick women into buying guns by making them pink and using cartoon characters!  Oh noes!

Well, not exactly in the case of the Hello Kitty non-Assault Rifle.  According to Twitchy, that first link originally went to a parody site that I hadn’t seen before called Glamguns, featuring a different Hello Kitty rifle that would indeed appear to be an assault rifle.  But it was a parody site, which did not actually sell any guns as indicated by a pretty funny disclaimer:

NOTE: This site is a parody for humor purposes only. No actual weapons may be bought on this site. "Hello Kitty" is a trademark of Sanrio, Inc. You're taking the wrong drugs if you think that Sanrio would ever license the use of Hello Kitty for a firearm or weapon of any sort. "Disney Princess" is a trademark of the Walt Disney Company. "CareBear" and "Rainbow Brite" are trademarks of American Greetings Corporation and/or Hallmark. There is no such thing as "Sucking-Chest-Wound Bear." "My Little Pony" and "Easy-Bake Oven" are trademarks of Hasbro. "Martha Stewart Colors" is a trademark of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. GlamGuns.com has no connection with and is not affiliated with Sanrio, Inc, Hasbro, Walt Disney Company, Hallmark, American Greetings Corporation, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon UK, Nick Jr., Martha Stewart, Omnimedia, Inc, Paris Hilton, Mother Theresa, Lady Diana, or, in fact, much of anyone really, especially Dick Cheney who, at no time, was CEO of our corporation or even on the Board of Directors. No, really. Would we lie to you?

And then, well, we will let Twitchy explain what happened next:

[The author]— or one of his editors — eventually realized the mistake and swapped out the GlamGuns.com link for another one (naturally without using the word “correction”). Now, the hyperlink leads to a blog post showing a custom-made “Hello Kitty AR-15.” Yep. In late 2007, a man put together a Hello Kitty AR-15 for his wife — not for sale — to draw attention to California gun grabbers’ obsession with guns’ cosmetic features. The man was not a gun manufacturer, nor did he represent the firearms industry, yet The Raw Story insists that this blog post serves as irrefutable proof that  Hello Kitty assault rifles have been part of a concerted effort to push firearms into the hands of women.

And well, after being called out by Twitchy, they have finally admitted to making a correction:

[Ed. Note: The link to the Hello Kitty assault rifle, which originally pointed to a parody site, now points to the DIY work of a California man who created it for his wife. Though he is not a licensed manufacturer, under current laws he could sell this or any similar weapon to another collector without a background check.]

That last line is beside the point.  The issue was whether this was part of some coordinated effort to lure children and women into the world of guns, and one guy making a rifle like that doesn’t count.

Incidentally, that is not where I got the image of the woman.  That came from this site.  And I am unclear what if any relationship it has to the other site, although some of the pics are clearly cross-posted.

Still, it seems like the only smart thing Raw Story did was fire Ron Brynaert.  And they gave me a hearty laugh.

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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years.  I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence.  If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the Blogger’s Defense Team button on the right.  And thank you.

Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates.  And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here.  And you can read a little more about my novel, here.

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Disclaimer:

I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct.  In some cases, the conduct is even criminal.  In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system.  I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence.  This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.

In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him.  Do not call him.  Do not write him a letter.  Do not write him an email.  Do not text-message him.  Do not engage in any kind of directed communication.  I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.

And for that matter, don’t go on his property.  Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him.  Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision.  Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).

And do not contact his organizations, either.  And most of all, leave his family alone.

The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report.  And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request.  That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.

And let me say something else.  In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above.  But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.