From The Telegraph via Free Republic:

In Westchase, residents do not want to talk about buying guns, fearful it will only make them more of a target. But a local business-woman said: "I always hated guns and would never touch one. I could not understand the mindset of the women I knew in Houston who not only owned and handled guns but drove around town with one in the car. "But never is a word we should not use. Six months ago, with my blessing, my husband bought a gun and went, with our 23-year-old daughter, to a class to learn how to use it, clean it and learn the laws that go with it. After another recent murder, I now have one too, although it still freaks me out." Texas offered shelter to nearly 400,000 evacuees from Louisiana at one stage, including thousands ferried by bus from the squalid nightmare of the New Orleans Superdome. About 250,000 are still scattered across the state.

As someone who spends a lot of time pounding the streets in San Antonio, I've heard of (admittedly anecdotal) similar problems in S.A.

I don't go out and intentionally look for ways to bad-mouth the people of the state of Wisconsin, but lately things have been looking bad for them.

This article, about one Jon Bartlett, an ex-policeman who is facing several charges on various subjects, is what set me off this time.  He recently got busted for making false statements on the paperwork to buy a firearm.  Here's the punch line:

Bartlett, who was fired 15 months ago, continues to receive full pay and benefits under a state law unique to fired Milwaukee officers. A recent report found no other similar law in the country.

So you see the inspiration for the title of this post.

Also note the bias in this article.  The headline makes it look like he walked into some place and tried to buy a machine gun, and that's why he got busted.  Actual details stashed in the sidebar show that he really tried to purchase a semi-automatic version of the weapon, which is not a machine gun, and got busted for lying on the paperwork.

Note to John and Gina:  the "machine" part means it keeps firing as long as you hold down the trigger.  The "semi" part means it only fires one time for each pull of the trigger.  These terms are mutually exclusive.  We gun folks usually call these "sub-guns," since the "semi-automatic" part has made the "machine" part impossible.

Look at the expression on this guy's face.  This is a person who is seriously in need of a near-fatal beating.  But that's just my opinion.  Not so "Only" anymore, eh Jon?