The selection of guns for sale at Walmart just got smaller. Modern sporting rifles are being removed from Walmart Stores. The retail giant confirmed the announcement today. It was a move which had been rumored for quite some time given the liberal-motivated push for more gun control.

“We previously carried modern sporting rifles in less than a third of our stores,” said company spokesman Kory Lundberg. “Our merchandising decisions are driven largely by customer demand. In our everyday course of doing business, we are continually reviewing and adjusting our product assortment to meet our customers’ needs.”

Lundberg added that the decision to pull the trigger on stopping sales of modern sporting rifles in Walmart stores was not driven by political pressure.

Walmart Stores Inc. is the largest gun retailer in the United States. Earlier this year in a television interview broadcast on CNN, the company’s CEO Douglas McMillon said, “Our focus as it relates to firearms should be hunters and people who shoot sporting clays and things like that. We believe in serving those customers. We have for a long time, and we believe we should continue to.”

You may also recall back in April 2015, a U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a ruling involving Walmart and a ballot proposal from Manhattan’s Trinity Church. It was one which originally ordered Wal-Mart to have its shareholders vote on a proposal which possibly could have restricted gun sales. Following the successful appeal, the corporation publicly described the verdict as the court making “the right decision.”

This latest announcement involving the removal of rifles from the wide array of products it sells was not the first by Wal-Mart. In the past it has made corporate calls designed to reduce the number and variety of firearms sold by the retail giant.

1993 was the last year when Walmart sold handguns to its customers. Then, nearly one decade ago in 2006, the retailer announced it would stop the sale of guns in about one-third of its stores. The company said it was basing the decision on “diminished customer relevancy and demand in these markets.” Interestingly enough, just three years later, Walmart expanded its gun and ammunition stock.

If you are in the market for an AR-15 rifle or perhaps an AR-10, Ares Armor Inc. sells Build a Gun kits which enable you to customize your rifle just the way you want it. The bonus of these kind of firearms is they are:

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Photo: Screen shot from cellphone video of possible Milwaukee lion.

No, it isn’t beer. There is something else brewing in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It has residents scared, and gun owners prepping their trigger finger. Welcome to the Summer 2015 blockbuster…the legend of the Milwaukee Lion.

Is there really a Milwaukee Lion on the loose? There might be. Starting on Monday, multiple people have claimed to see a lion or a “large cat like” animal roaming the streets.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn is saying his department is taking the matter of a “lionish creature” seriously. Each time, they’ve gotten a call about a sighting of the Milwaukee Lion, they have responded to the scene. No proof.

Annie Nolan is a resident who spotted the animal. She told WKOW-TV, “I was afraid to move. “I was sitting there and I couldn’t move. I thought, ‘What am I looking at?'”

On Monday, Kelly Brooks found a large, strange footprint in his yard. It was nothing compared to the call he got from a neighbor. She told him, “Hey Kelly, don’t go in your backyard. It’s a big animal back there and it looks like a lion.”

Brooks admits he thought it may be the neighbor pulling his paw at first. Then, he saw the woman’s video shot with her cell phone.

By far, the video is what has created the loudest roar about the possibility of a Milwaukee Lion. It’s gotten the attention of police, wildlife, officials, and the public.

This isn’t like the Loch Ness Monster or an alien abduction. Chicago had a big cat turn up in the city a few years ago. Philadelphia also had a longstanding series of cougar sightings a few years back. As for Wisconsin, the mountain lion or cougar is actually native there. Last fall, the state’s Department of Natural Resources spotted a pair of cougars in Northern Wisconsin. Did the Milwaukee Lion or a similar animal happen to wander down into the big city to go food shopping?

One expert doesn’t believe so.

Jill Carnegie runs a home for dozens of exotic felines called “Valley of the Kings.” She is sure of what she sees in the video and screenshot of the so-called Milwaukee Lion. “I feel very confident it is a male cougar. You tell by the size. It’s a very well-fed cougar,” Carnegie told Fox6. “I believe truly that it is somebody’s pet.”

Whether it’s a real lion or real people lyin’ the big cat is trending. It already has a Twitter account: @Milwaukee_Lion. Plus the hashtag: #MKElion

Officials say attacks by mountain lions or cougars are extremely rare. Still, if you do see it you are urged not to approach it but rather call the Milwaukee Police right away. Tuesday night, a man thought he was shooting the Milwaukee Lion. He wound up putting a bullet into the right leg of a stray pit bull. If you were in a matter of hunting or self-defense, an AR-15 would be preferable over a 1911 firearm. Don’t you think?

Domesticated or not, accuracy and added distance creates safety any time you could be a little snack for a big cat.

Yesterday, was the ATF’s birthday. Today, Ares Armor Inc. proudly turns again to Daniel O’Kelly for his unbiased but unplugged commentary on the ATF. After more than a decade as a Police Officer and Detective, Mr. O’Kelly had 23 years of awards and promotions as a highly-qualified agent and supervisor in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As an Academy Staff member, he was chosen to be one of the writers of the new and improved ATF Curriculum which is still being used.

Today, as a world-recognized leading gun expert, Dan has taught firearm enforcement to law enforcement professionals around the world. He now runs the International Firearm Specialist Academy.

Ares Armor Inc.: As always, it’s an honor Sir. Thank you for your time. Let’s start by asking if you have you seen the ATF change, and how?

Daniel O’Kelly: “ATF has evolved from issuing revolvers when I came aboard, to Glocks, M4s and Armored Personnel Carriers. The aim of the enforcement has changed to a high degree also. As an ATF Agent, you’re allowed to specialize in one facet of ATF jurisdiction if you wish, be it firearms, bombing investigations, arson, armed organized crime, or a few others. Having been a full-time undercover agent for two years during my prior career on the police department, I specialized in undercover cases against armed drug dealers. When I came aboard with ATF in the late 1980s, the cocaine epidemic was at its peak. So, it seemed like a vast amount of the work we did was going after criminals who carried guns to protect their drug deals, which is a firearm-felony under ATF jurisdiction. I also investigated armed felons and gun traffickers.

The rules were not that strict. To begin an investigation, you were required to file a proposal with your supervisor saying, ‘This is who I’m going to investigate, and why.’ We were given a good amount of latitude in working our cases. That all changed in 1993.”

How a Wacko in Waco Changed the ATF

In 1993, the self-proclaimed final prophet, David Koresh, led the Branch Davidian religious cult in bearing Arms against an ATF raid of their compound in Waco, Texas. Four federal agents and six cult members were killed in the raid. After a 51-day standoff against the FBI, the compound caught fire. All 80 cult members, including children, died.

Ares Armor Inc.: How did that one tragic incident impact the way ATF operated?

Daniel O’Kelly: “Prior to Waco, if you were doing an undercover drug buy, you would gather a few other agents, and say ‘I’m going to x location to make a buy. The seller is Joe Whoever, and he drives a blue Chevy. I’ll be wearing a wire on channel 6, so grab a radio and hopefully you can hear the conversation. You guys park here. You other guys position yourself there.’ Then, off we would go. Most of the time it went smoothly, but working the Chicago, and Gary, Indiana area, there was more than one operation that ended up in a shootout, car chase or both. The occasional chaos was just an accepted risk.

Then Waco happened.

I still remember an Agent walking into my office and telling me that my friend, Agent Rob Williams, had been murdered during the raid at the compound. Rob had been a classmate of mine during basic training. I remember staring out the window in a daze for hours, trying to get my head around his death. Then I walked into my supervisor’s office and told him I wanted to join the Special Response Team (SRT). ‘So does everyone else’ he said. ‘It’s like the day after Pearl Harbor.’

Politicians and the public wanted heads to roll at ATF for what happened. Heck, everyone that ATF goes after is armed, but no one there believed they’d shoot. It hadn’t been considered the Branch Davidians believed Koresh to be Jesus in the flesh, and that they were all invincible and justified in shooting at us.

After Waco, you couldn’t go out on an operation without a written and approved plan. It required a positive ID of the suspect and everything about him, a map to the hospital, blood types of all involved, phone numbers of supervisors, local law enforcement and other emergency services. We used to call it doing, ‘The phone book,’ because it was so much paperwork. And, you had to have it approved in advance by two levels of supervision.

It only made sense to start using a more prepared approach after we had our eyes opened at Waco by a bunch of lunatics who thought Jesus told them to shoot at us, but it was a big change at the ATF, like night and day.

Prior to Waco, Agents who were not on the SRT only had ATF logo windbreakers and ball caps to wear on raids. After Waco we were all issued Battle Dress Uniforms (BDUs), and in recently years they’ve added helmets and armored personnel carriers.”

Ares Armor Inc.: Speaking of change, what do you make of the idea which surfaces from time to time about merging the ATF into the FBI?

Daniel O’Kelly: “I saw that merger proposed at least 3 times during my career. Even before that, it came so close during the Reagan Administration that some ATF agents transferred to other agencies in fear of losing their job, but the merger still never happened. I recently wrote an article on Linkedin called, Ban ATF, Why? It touched on why you should want the ATF to continue doing firearm enforcement if you are pro-gun, and not the FBI.

At end of the day, there are always going to be gun laws in America. Who do you want enforcing them? The DEA Agents whose experience and training are about drugs? The FBI, which is five times larger with a budget to match? Even if you put ATF under another agency, give them a new boss, or abolish the agency, the Agents aren’t going to be let go, because it still takes the same number of Agents to enforce all the federal laws. As long as there is an anti-gun administration in the White House, the Agents in charge of enforcing gun laws will be pressured by that administration to be anti-gun.”

Enforcing Federal Gun Laws

Daniel O’Kelly: “During my career, the first new federal gun law enacted was the Gun-Free School Zone Act in 1990. Since then, the category of persons with a domestic violence conviction have been added to the list of those prohibited from possessing a gun. I also witnessed a new initiative every few years with names like Operation Trigger Lock, Project Achilles Heel, and others, which focused on enforcing the laws against armed career criminals, armed drug traffickers, and those who used guns in violent crime.

Bureaucracies are a funny thing. Someone once said that the two aims of a bureaucracy are to increase its size and to justify its budget. These initiatives were a way to track our activity and show we were earning our budget. These projects gave the impression we were doing something new or different, but really it was just enforcement of the same laws with a new label on them.

It was also amusing to see the strategic focus of our cases flip-flop every year from a quest for quality vs. quantity. When a new fiscal year began, we would hear the mandate, ‘This year, we are going after quality cases. We want cases involving multiple guns and multiple defendants.’ Then at the start of the next year, we would always hear, ‘Last year, we had quality but our numbers were low, so this year we need numbers. One guy - one gun cases are fine.’ And our direction would switch back and forth contradicting itself every year.

In 1994, President Clinton signed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban pushed by Senator Feinstein, which was enacted for 10 years. (It was formally titled the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act). The law said that if you make a semi-automatic firearm which uses a detachable magazine, it can only have one of the following regulated features, such as:

Telescoping or Folding Stock
Pistol Grip
Flash Suppressor
Barrel Shroud
Bayonet Mount
Grenade Launcher

If a firearm had two or more of these specific features, it could only be sold to law enforcement. The ban prevented nothing but bayonets and grenade launchings. Nothing more than a way to try to make some guns, such as an AR-15, to be politically correct.

When I taught this complex law during seminars I would have to laugh. I’d ask a room filled with law enforcement professionals, ‘How many of you have more than 10 years of experience?’ Hands all over the room would be raised. ‘How many have more than 20 years of experience?’ Most hands would still be up. Then I’d ask, ‘How many of you have ever been called to the scene of a bayoneting?’ The room would burst into laughter. Then I’d ask, ‘How many of you have ever arrested someone for launching a grenade?’ There would be more laughter, and a single hand never went up. I’d close my point with the comment, ‘Well at least no one is pinching their fingers anymore in those folding stocks.’

That Federal Assault Weapons Ban was a classic Washington, D.C. example of people who don’t know anything about guns trying to find a problem to fit their answer in order to get rid of guns.”

Tune in again tomorrow, as Mr. Daniel O’Kelly shares how the ATF views firearms owners, how the public should view inside the ATF, and more.

The ATF was like an ATM for the U.S. Government. For many years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was a tax collecting cash cow. Today, as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) that cash cow has undergone a makeover. With greater focus on being an investigator and enforcer, the bureau is now more like a bull.

The best things in life are free. The most popular vices in life are not.

Even America’s Founding Fathers knew this. Under the U.S. Constitution, the first Congress imposed a tax on imported spirits in 1789. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, suggested it to relieve debt from the Revolutionary War. The government was the happy receiver of revenues. Aaron Burr wasn’t the only one who thought of a gun vs. Hamilton. Taxpayers were not pleased.

In 1862, Congress established the Office of Internal Revenue for the Treasury Department. The next year, it authorized more of an upper hand by hiring three detectives to support “the prevention, detection and punishment of tax evaders.” Tax collecting and enforcement were connected. The model for the ATF was born.

For more than a century, politicians have re-named and bounced around the department like a ricochet bullet from an AR-15. They’ve wanted a say on the federal government’s most profitable earner. Reports show the ATF used to deliver a 35-to-1 return rate on every dollar it spent. Ka-ching.

ATF Independence Day

43 years ago on this day, July 1, 1972, was Independence Day for the ATF. Treasury Department Order No. 120-1 transferred the functions, powers and duties related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives from the IRS to the ATF. In 1982, the Anti-Arson Act further empowered the ATF to investigate commercial arson cases.

On January 24, 2003, the Homeland Security bill moved the ATF law enforcement powers under the Department of Justice (DOJ). The tax and trade matters stayed with the Treasury Department through a new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The agency name was changed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE).

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the ATF is a law enforcement agency with nearly 5,000 employees, working operations across the United States, and even overseas. With an annual budget over $1.1 billion, it investigates violent crimes, and regulates firearms and other very important industries. Even after alcohol and tobacco stayed with the Department of the Treasury, BATFE is still a bullish investment as it collects more than $13 billion dollars in annual revenue.

The ATF and Ares Armor Inc.

The prior management of Ares Armor had a long-running dispute with the ATF over the legal issues of 80% lower receivers for AR-15 and AR-10 style rifles, and what constitutes a firearm. That conflict came to a head when agents conducted a raid on the company in March 2014.

Today, the bureau is pleased with the new ownership of Ares Armor Inc. Through the initiative of CEO, Bryce Stirlen, the two sides now have an open, constructive, and professional dialogue, regardless of differences in opinion on American’s rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

“Sometimes in business you may not like what you have to do, but you do it because it is right,” says Ares Armor Inc. CEO, Bryce Stirlen. “Having a healthy relationship with an entity which has as much power as the ATF is an intelligent way of conducting business. It protects the interests of our clients, customers, and employees. Conducting a constructive relationship between Ares Armor Inc. and the ATF is tactical in nature.”

Adds Stirlen, “That said, make no mistake, we WILL NOT waiver from protecting our Second Amendment Rights. We, however, choose no longer to incite conflict with the ATF – or any other government agency or official – through disruptive and disrespectful behavior.”

ATF Executive Management

PHOTO: Left: Thomas E. Brandon. Right: Ronald B. Turk

The ATF is also under new leadership. On April 1, 2015, Deputy Director Thomas E. Brandon became the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, replacing B. Todd Jones. We salute Mr. Brandon for proudly serving in the United States Marine Corps from 1978 to 1982.

At the same time, Ronald B. Turk was named Acting Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We salute Mr. Turk for his service as a Colonel in the Air National Guard. His latest deployment was to Iraq, where he was awarded the honor of a Bronze Star.

It is the most famous gun duel in American history. You probably learned the headline and final score like every other kid in a U.S. school. But what was the trigger for the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel?

Truthfully, there were many triggers. The bloodshed from bearing Arms that day capped a history of hatred and bad blood between the two personal and political rivals. Meanwhile, the controversy continues.

Let’s go modern before we go back in time. Let’s apply the significance of the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel to current American politics. Imagine this scenario for just a moment:

Former Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner gets challenged to a deadly duel with Vice-President Joe Biden. The Vice-President would win the gunfight he picked, but not face prosecution. Think of the stink such a story would create today.

Alexander Hamilton

211 years ago next month, that’s just what happened with the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel. Hamilton was the well-known former Secretary of the Treasury. Burr was the sitting Vice-President beside President Thomas Jefferson. The VP challenged his arch-nemesis to a duel. Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers, would not lower himself to decline.

Early morning on July 11, 1804, Hamilton, Burr, and witnesses rowed across the Hudson River from New York City. They went to the Heights of Weehawken, New Jersey, a popular spot for duels in those days. This was because even then in the year 1804 B.B. (before Bloomberg), New York was a more anti-gun state than others.

Aaron Burr

It was the same spot where in 1799, Aaron Burr had a duel with John Church, Hamilton’s brother-in-law. Bad guns blazing in that one. Neither went big. Both went home. In 1801, Hamilton’s son had no such luck. He was killed there in a duel by an ally of Burr.

Even the facts of the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel are disputed. This is because the witnesses gave themselves “plausible deniability.” They stood with their backs to the participants. No one saw exactly what happened. Opinions on the subject are like the right to bear Arms, everyone has them.

We do know Burr and Hamilton stood paces apart with Wogdon pistols. Some believe Hamilton gave himself the upper hand by choosing pistols with a larger barrel than traditional dueling pistols, knowing they had a secret hair-trigger. The plan backfired because Hamilton seems to have shot first and missed.

Burr then pulled the trigger on his firearm hitting Hamilton who died the next day of one gunshot wound. In his memoirs, Aaron Burr claimed he provided the pistols used with Hamilton.

Why the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr Duel Happened

Pick your favorite reason. The former friends built a feud which had decades worth of ammo. It was far more baggage than either could carry in his arms or rucksacks. Below are some of the triggers we know to help you draw your own conclusions:

• Both men served as officers under General George Washington in the Continental Army. Burr was more of a war hero. However, he allegedly got on George’s bad side for snooping on his personal communication. As president, Washington shot down Burr’s request to be made a general. Hamilton became Washington’s closest advisor.

• Alexander Hamilton was the powerful “Alpha Dog” in New York politics. He successfully set up his father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, for a U.S. Senate seat. In his bid for re-election, Schuyler was opposed by New York Attorney General Aaron Burr. Burr won the election handily, humiliating both Schuyler and Hamilton.

• Hamilton got involved in the first big sex scandal in American politics. He admitted an affair with the younger, Maria Reynolds, after word got out from Reynolds’ husband who was blackmailing Hamilton. Of all the possible lawyers, she was represented by Aaron Burr in her divorce.

• The 1800 presidential election got ugly. This was the debut of the nation’s two political parties. John Adams, the Federalist, was seeking re-election against Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican nominee, whose running mate was Aaron Burr.

• Jefferson won, but the U.S. Constitution at the time did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the Electoral College voting. Jefferson and Burr were tied. The Federalist-controlled House of Representatives was left to decide the election.

• Most in the Federalist Party saw Jefferson as the bigger enemy. But not Alexander Hamilton. He hated Burr more than Jefferson, whom he battled in Washington’s cabinet. As a leader, Hamilton was convincing enough to get Jefferson elected by Congress instead of Burr.

• In 1804, Burr was dumped by Jefferson as his running mate. So, while he was Vice-President he ran for Governor of New York. Hamilton worked hard to get Burr beaten…again.

• Following the election, Hamilton did some trash talking about Burr’s lack of character in a newspaper article. Burr demanded an apology. Hamilton refused, setting the stage for the duel.

Aaron Burr was indicted for murder, but was not arrested. Bringing it back to modern times, if an Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel were to take place today, it seems these two arch-enemies would happily stand before with each other with a loaded AR-15, and let the best man win.

Don’t fight it. Take part in the Ares Armor Inc. Countdown to Father’s Day.

Are you down with the Barack Obama Countdown? It shows there are 594 days until a new president assumes the Oval Office. Your Second Amendment supporting friends at Ares Armor Inc. just happened to know. : )

A newly released poll could provide thought-provoking ammo for the growing list of 2016 U.S. Presidential candidates. It shows how Americans today stand on issues such as rifles, handguns, open carry, and concealed carry of firearms. These are among the issues targeted by both the Second Amendment supporting candidates, and the gun control crowd (Hillary Clinton).

Full disclosure: Ares Armor Inc. will keep an emailed copy of this document just in case it gets deleted from the Clinton’s private server.

Back to the poll. It was conducted May 20-22, 2015 by the international market research firm, YouGov. The data is based on a total of 1,000 U.S. adults who pulled the trigger on participating.

Based on the story we just shared about Jim Cooley of Georgia recently choosing an open carry of his AR-15 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, we begin with the topic which had a lower approval rating than all other questions:

• 20% overall of Americans polled say they would be comfortable if someone carried a semi-automatic rifle in public. Among Republicans it was 35%. Independents – 19%. Only 8% of Democrats agree.

It gets better.

• 36% overall would be comfortable with a person carrying a hunting rifle in public. 47% among Republicans. 37% of independent voters. 20% of Democrats agree.

It gets better.

• 37% percent overall say they prefer open carry of firearms in public. 36% of Republicans. 37% among independents. 38% of Democrats agree.

It gets better.

40% overall say they prefer concealed carry for firearms in public. Opinions were split at 50% among Republicans. 38% of independents agree, as do 36% of Democratic voters.

NOTE: This poll did not include a question regarding Constitutional Carry of firearms. But we’ll still play along.

It gets better.

41% overall of those polled believe people should be allowed to carry firearms in public. It was 67% of Republicans. 43% of independents agree. 21% of Democrats agree.

It is what it is on this one.

45% overall say people should not be permitted to carry firearms in public. 23% of Republicans agree. 42% of independents agree. 66% of Democrats polled agree.

It gets better.

48% overall say they can trust the “average American” with a firearm. 69% of Republicans agree. Independent voters were split at 49%. Nearly 1 of 3 Democrats agree - 32%.

Now it is as good as it gets. Here at this point we can honestly say, “Most Americans…”

52% overall of the 1,000 American adults polled by YouGov say they would be comfortable if they saw someone with a handgun in a holster in public. 72% of the Republicans polled agree. More than half of the independent voters polled agree – 54%. And more than 1 of 3 Democratic voters polled agree – 35%.

Need a great holster for your gun? Ares Armor Inc. makes the highest-quality durable, reliable Kydex holsters custom fit for your firearms.

90 million is always greater than one. Right? Right. It just didn’t seem like it last week at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). As the world’s busiest airport, it serves about 90 million people a year. However, by simply exercising his legal right to bear arms, one law abiding Georgia man and his trusty AR-15 rifle created a whole lot of turbulence on the ground, getting the whole Atlanta airport up in arms.

Fasten your seat belt and put up your tray table for this story.

9-1-1, what’s your emergency? The calls for emergency assistance at the Atlanta airport were ringing off the hook. It was all because of Jim Cooley. The man from the Atlanta metro area openly carried his AR-15 rifle for protection as he and his wife took their daughter to the airport.

At a rate faster than the average AR-15 bullet speed of 2,900 feet per second, the 9-1-1 calls went from dispatch to the officers at the Atlanta airport. Different officers approached Jim Cooley with concern and curiosity about his rifle and his right to carry it. Cooley coolly stuck to his guns each time.

He told them he was carrying it for the safety of his family. He told them it was legal, and it was they who were infringing on his right to bear arms. He didn’t lower his firearm. Instead, he got the upper hand each time forcing the officers to pull the trigger on whether they were detaining him. He also videotaped each interaction as he was entitled to do legally.

No matter how alarming, terrifying, or dead wrong it was to others, Jim Cooley had every right to openly carry his AR-15 rifle under Georgia law.

Obviously, the fast spreading firestorm over the legal firearm had ignorance of the law as an accelerant. Travelers from other states and countries didn’t know it was legal. Georgia residents didn’t seem to know it was legal. Heck, even the authorities and law enforcement at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport didn’t seem too sure about it either. Let’s make sure you know the facts.

The P & G in Politics in Georgia now stands for Pro-Gun thanks to Georgia HB 60.

It was the Safe Carry Protection Act. The law took effect on July 1, 2014. Governor Nathan Deal (R) signed House Bill 60 into law on April 23, 2014. This was after the most comprehensive pro-gun legislation in Georgia history was passed in the state Senate and the state House of Representatives by a roughly 2 to 1 margin.

The gun control crowd called Georgia HB 60 “extreme” and the “Guns Everywhere Bill.” The realists saw it as a sweeping victory for the Second Amendment and gun rights. It became legal for all law-abiding gun owners in Georgia like Jim Cooley to open carry firearms in some schools and churches, restaurants and bars, and yes even…airports.

Since the September 11^th tragedies and other incidents following it, airports can be an unsettling place. Thus, one of the more bitterly fought provisions in HB 60 other than Georgia schools, dealt with airports.

The new HB 60 law allows firearms to be carried at airports (the “airport drive, general parking area, walkways or shops and areas of the terminal that are outside the screening checkpoint and that are normally open to unscreened passengers or visitors to the airport) (§ 1-9).

Carrying a gun is now allowed at the entrance and in the waiting areas of TSA security checkpoints at Georgia airports. However, they are not legally permitted beyond them. Those areas are Federal jurisdiction. However, the Georgia law is so pro-gun it even allows those carrying firearms into the TSA security checkpoints the right to leave with their firearms rather than surrender them.

Jim Cooley did not break Georgia law. Still, upon leaving the terminal, three Atlanta police officers followed him into the parking lot, and took photos. He objected before leaving. Jim upset them. They upset him. In the end, HB 60 the law of the land in Georgia was upheld.

Here’s one more thing Jim Cooley and the police can agree upon. The AR-15 is a great offensive weapon to carry for self-defense. It’s a lightweight, easy to use rifle. It delivers speed, capacity, and accuracy for eliminating threats at both close and distant ranges. It’s why Jim Cooley chose an AR-15. It’s also why police regularly depend on the AR-15 when up against active shooters.

Oh by the way, it’s also 100% legal for you to own and build your own AR-15, unserialized and unregistered, from the trusted experts at Ares Armor Inc.

Did you hear those loud shots fired? Many people just heard them from London all the way to Los Angeles. Were they from an AR-10? Were they from an AR-15? No. There was no rifle involved. It was just another round of actor Vince Vaughn going off on gun rights in America.

He is best known as an actor in comedy films. But in real-life, Vince Vaughn has the ammo to come across as a dead serious straight shooter. He obviously follows a much different script than most of his fellow stars in Hollywood. And if you are strong believer in the Second Amendment, he’s taking on a public role you wish more celebrities or people of influence would have the courage and common sense to do.

In a cover interview with Jonathan Heaf for the July 2015 issue of British GQ, the star of the Wedding Crashers movie was invited to fire away with his opinions on firearms and the problems of there being restrictions on them.

“I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home. We don’t have the right to bear arms because of burglars; we have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government. It’s not about duck hunting; it’s about the ability of the individual. It’s the same reason we have freedom of speech. It’s well known that the greatest defense against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back. All these gun shootings that have gone down in America since 1950, only one or maybe two have happened in non-gun-free zones. Take mass shootings. They’ve only happened in places that don’t allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenseless human beings. They do not want confrontation. In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing six-year-olds.”

Guns in Schools in America

Vince Vaughn let the British magazine readers know he thinks banning firearms for protection in defenseless schools is a barrel of nonsense. Here is his response to the question, “Do you think guns should be allowed in schools?”

“Of course. You think the politicians that run my country and your country don’t have guns in the schools their kids go to? They do. And we should be allowed the same rights. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won’t rid the world of criminality.”

Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. – actor Vince Vaughn

Vaughn himself is at a critical fork in the road in his acting career. He’s heading off in a new direction as one of the stars of the popular HBO original series, True Detective (opposite Colin Farrell).

He says season two of True Detective will be very different than last year’s based in Louisiana with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. This season is set in California where Vince plays Frank Semyon, a guy in danger of losing his large criminal empire.

“I really like my character,” says Vaughn. “I want to watch this show not because I’m in it but as a fan of the material.” You may want to watch Vince Vaughn in True Detective just because of his stance on gun rights and the Second Amendment.

The July issue of British GQ with him on the cover goes on sale this Thursday, June 4, 2015.