Daily Caller Gives Away Guns Tucker Carlson's news site, The Daily Caller, has announced that it's giving away a gun a week until Election Day. As The Atlantic Wire sagely observed, "there's no way this could ever go wrong." It's such a great idea to hand out high-capacity 9mm pistols, which, according to the manufacturer, have a "snag free design ideal for concealed carry." There's really nothing worse than tearing your shirt when you're trying to defend yourself. Besides, The Daily Caller is taking precautions. Contest winners must pass a background check at a retailer with a valid federal firearms license. And the site will disqualify anyone who is caught "acting in a non-sportsmanlike or disruptive manner." Before going any further, I should specify that I do not oppose gun ownership, and neither does the Times editorial board. We believe that sensible rules about buying and owning guns do not violate the Bill of Rights. Speaking of the Bill of Rights, one of the big selling points for the give-away gun, FMK Firearms model 9C1, also known as the "Proudly American" model, is that it's engraved with phrases from that founding document of our nation, excluding the first part of the Second Amendment (the part that mentions a "well regulated militia.") Please don't assume the whole "Proudly American" thing is just a sales ploy. The company says clearly on its website that it decided to make the gun after discovering that gun dealers had more knowledge of "our history and America's constitution than the average citizen." That led the FMK folks to feel embarrassed about their own ignorance and study up. "It is this evolution that inspired us to engrave the Bill of Rights on the 9C1 handgun, not as some gimmick, but instead to inspire and encourage others as we were so inspired and encouraged," FMK says. It is our intent and hope that FMK products perform over the long haul at a high level, not to do disservice to those venerated words. Other "venerated words" on the FMK site include these, from Ted Nugent: "I don't like repeat offenders, I like dead offenders." Many gun dealers and gun publications emphasize patriotism. And that's fine. Gun owners are certainly no less patriotic than non-gun owners. But it's a great ambition, when you think about it, to make a gun that is not only light-weight, quick drawing and attractive (it comes in black, earth-tone, and pink), but also can rapidly pump out 11 or 15 bullets (depending on how high a capacity magazine you want) for years to come, in a way that would make the Founding Fathers proud.