Survivalist with arsenal and tank in NY

[BainsBane]

We really need to start keeping statistics on these "law-abiding gun owners" involved in illegal activity and/or deadly gun violence.

Note that this guy was a former marine and gun safety instructor who shot himself while cleaning his gun.

MAHOPAC, N.Y. -- Jonathan Orser's neighbors knew he owned a tank, but few suspected the survivalist, who was killed by his own shotgun Tuesday, had more than 100 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and improvised grenades, Carmel police said.

Orser, 41, a former Marine Corps reservist whose home has a full-sized British amphibious tank in the backyard, was found in the house by his wife with a fatal shotgun wound in the chest about 11:35 p.m., Carmel police Chief Michael Johnson said.

Orser shot himself in the chest while cleaning weapons for a gun event, Johnson said. Police do not consider it suspicious, the chief said. They are awaiting a coroner's report.
. . .
As they arrived to remove those, they discovered Orser also had explosives and munitions, including tracer rounds, buckets of gunpowder - he made his own bullets - six improvised grenades, about 300 20mm machine gun rounds and 23 military mechanical time fuses, Johnson said. . . .

"He is a survivalist. He deals with guns, he goes to gun shows," Johnson said of Orser. "He supposedly was a firearms expert and a safety instructor also."

The discovery of illegal explosives prompted evacuations of nearby homes while the explosives were removed. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Westchester County Bomb Squad were called in about 6 p.m. Thursday.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/usatoday/article/2474477

[Warpy]

1. I wonder what it will take to get the government over its paranoia

about the left and start to make it realize the real danger is coming from goofballs on the far right?

Every democracy that has fallen has done so because of a takeover by the far right. There are no exceptions that I know of.

[BainsBane]

2. To get congress to act on guns?

It will take tossing the obstructionists out in the next election.

[pipoman]

3. Oh we do keep statistics

on accidental (and other types) of firearms related deaths.. that number for accidental death, all ages, is around 600 annually out of around 125,000,000+/- gun owners or around .0005% annually..

http://webapp.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe

[BainsBane]

4. And this is just a run of the mill accident as far as you're concerned

Tank, bombs, and arsenal, and selling weapons at gun shows don't enter your consciousness?

[Gravitycollapse]

6. Not that worried about the tank. Its weaponry is removed.

The explosives worry me more than anything else.

[pipoman]

7. Nobody has an

operational tank without NFA registration. It seems he was accidentally/negligently killed with a perfectly legal shotgun. As for the rest...he was apparently breaking the law..it happens, people are investigated and arrested for doing illegal shit, just like he would be if he wasn't dead..there is no law against owning 100 guns as long as they are owned legally...a lot of people have a hundred guns. Having thousands of rounds of ammunition should be fully expected of someone who owns 100 guns.

[BainsBane]

8. WTF does anyone have a tank?

Or grenades?

[pipoman]

9. Why not? They are legal..

have we had an unreported outbreak of tank and grenade attacks? Tanks and grenades and machine guns and several other weapons not "in common use for lawful purposes" are required to have NFA registration..that would be an interestingly miniscule stat..rate of arrest of NFA registered weapons owners or use of NFA registered weapons in crimes..

[BainsBane]

10. Jesus there are some twisted psychopaths in this country

No wonder we are the most violent society in the Global North.
There really is no hope for us when people justify that kind of insanity. The rest of the world thinks the US is unhinged, and they are right.

[Gravitycollapse]

5. What is fucked is that I believe the 20 mm rounds are legal with a class 3 license

Could be mistaken. But I know you can own a 20 mm gun as a civilian.

[The Straight Story]

11. Ineed you can (or could) I used to sell reloading dies for the 20mm Lahti

You can still get some here (and other places I just googled)

http://en.strobl.cz/DS20Lah2-12-ch4d-reloading-dies-3/

And you can buy the guns (here in Ohio) here:

http://www.ohioordnanceworks.com/Firearms/MachineGuns_Suppressors/DestructiveDevices.cat

[BainsBane]

13. Most of the most dangerous and horrifying things that go on in this country are legal

from Wall Street to guns. That is the problem.

[The Straight Story]

14. Well, I don't know anyone killed using a 20mm and only one I know died from a .50

and she was 12 and was firing an electric mini-gun that came off it's mount and crushed her skull while she was firing it.

[BainsBane]

15. Oh, so now it's based on who you personally know

rather than any kind of data?

[The Straight Story]

16. No:

[BainsBane]

17. I'm in the other category

They shot up my car with a 45.

Give that 50 caliber's are enormous, one wouldn't think they'd be used much to kill people, though that chart specifically says crimes other than homicide. Terrorists, however, would likely find those 50 caliber's handy. Insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan certainly have made good use of them.

[backscatter712]

12. Possible, though usually w/ tanks, they have their weapons removed...

...before the .mil lets civilians drive home with them.

Which means that if this survivalist doesn't have a license, the tank may still be legal, though it's little more than a very heavy and expensive tractor.

[Buns_of_Fire]

20. Shot himself while cleaning a loaded shotgun. Some "expert." nt

[JI7]

21. that's kind of funny

[Ghost in the Machine]

22. I'm still trying to figure out the dynamics of shooting yourself in the chest with a shotgun!

Especially while "cleaning" it! The first rule of handling, or cleaning, a weapon is to check, double check, then triple check that the weapon is unloaded. Rule #2 is NEVER POINT THE WEAPON AT YOURSELF, OR ANYONE ELSE!

I don't know about anyone else, but when I clean ANY of my rifles or shotguns, the action is locked open, and it is laying across my lap. It sure as hell isn't pointed at me, or anyone else.

Something doesn't smell right about this...

Ghost

[BainsBane]

23. I thought that myself

Perhaps it's a suicide or murder