A gun is a mechanical device that fires projectiles at high velocity, using a propellant such as gun powder or compressed air. The projectile, usually designated by its diameter in inches (caliber) or millimeters, is fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. Related to muskets, the modern gun is more advanced in technology.

The term "gun" is often used as a synonym to firearm, but in military usage the term refers only to artillery that fires projectiles at high velocity, such as anti-aircraft artillery, field guns, tank guns, anti-tank guns and naval guns. A gunner is a member of the team charged with the task of operating and firing a gun. Mortars and all hand-held firearms are excluded from this definition. The exception to this is the shotgun, which is hand-held, has a smooth bore and fires a cartridge of pellets or a single projectile known as a slug.

See the related article on firearms for information on weapons informally known as guns.

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Targeting Ammunition
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:00:00 -0000
A bill in California's State Senate would prohibit the private transfer of more than 50 rounds of ammunition per month between individuals, even friends or family. I suspect we'll see more attacks on the Second Amendment using the back door of ammunition registration, purchase limits, and even serialization in the months ahead.    California's bill, known as AB2062, would also require that anyone purchasing ammunition submit to a fingerprinting, and records of your ammunition purchase would be sent to a statewide database administered by California's Department of Justice.    Bills like this don't do anything to reduce violent crime, but they most certainly will add to the size of government and send yet another message to the law-abiding gun owners of California:  you're not welcome here. Isn't it time the criminals got that message instead of us?
Respect the Constitution
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:00:00 -0000
Oakland, California, looks to be the next city to back off of the "Safe Homes Initiative," a plan to send officers door to door to look for illegally possessed firearms.  When the project was announced in Boston late last year, it was met with a storm of protests. A few months later, Washington, D.C., announced it would be conducting a similar program, and that city was greeted with protests as well. Now it's Oakland's turn to hear from angry citizens, and like Boston and D.C., Oakland is backing off.  Now all three cities say they won't send officers door to door, but will instead send officers out to search a person's home if they request it. So far, police in Boston and D.C. are still waiting for someone to call and ask to have their home searched.  The politicians will no doubt still call this program a success, even though citizens have always been able to ask the police to search their homes for whatever reason they want. The real story is that residents in Boston, D.C. and now Oakland are standing up for their constitutional rights. If they're standing up for the Fourth Amendment, it gives me hope that more of them will start standing up for their Second Amendment rights as well.
Clinging To Our Rights
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:00:00 -0000
Thursday, June 26, 2008, will go down in history ... not as the day that the Supreme Court found a new right, but the day the Court recognized an ancient and unalienable right. The right to keep and bear arms has been with us since before the founding of this great nation. The dedication and perseverance of millions of American gun owners paid off when five justices agreed that not only does the Second Amendment protect our right to own and use firearms, but that we have a basic right of self-defense as well. The importance of the Heller decision cannot be overstated.  Because of it, Americans across this country now know their right to own a gun is just as real and important as their right to speak freely or to worship God without government approval.    With the Supreme Court's monumental ruling in the Heller case, gun owners aren't going to rest. Armed with the judicial recognition that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for any lawful purpose, we're taking the fight to the cities that have denied residents their Second Amendment rights. We're going after Chicago and those suburbs that have banned handguns. We're going after San Francisco and their laws that block Americans in poverty from owning a firearm. We're going after New York's licensing laws that allow the rich to exercise their rights, while telling working-class men and women that the Second Amendment is not for them.    We're not just going to cling to our recognized right to keep and bear arms, we're going to embrace it. We're going to make sure our right is strong, not out of arrogance, but out of concern that the fragile 5-4 decision could be ripped apart by lower court rulings, legislative overreach, and local politicians who put their elected office over the constitutional rights of their constituents.    We have to prepare for the other side to go after us, as well. The Court ruled that they may find some gun-control laws acceptable. Our opponents will try to exploit the language of the Heller decision for their own gain. Some are claiming that the court's decision was actually a victory for gun-control supporters. With our continued push, we'll make sure they're wrong ... again.

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