"On the range Cheney would blow away targets with Thompson machine guns"

[Clara T]

Machine Gun Cheney

Dick Cheney is a proud gun owner and hunter. In April the Vice President addressed the NRA to wild cheers and acknowledged his own interest in guns.

But a source close to the White House tells NewsMax that Dick Cheney is a true gun aficionado.
Cheney's collection, our sources say, is in the hundreds of guns, including pistols, shotguns and machine guns -- from antique Thompsons to the most modern European automatic machine guns.

To let off some steam (God knows he has some to let off these days), the Vice President has been known to go out to the federal training center in Maryland where the Secret Service does its own gun practice.
A typical Cheney visit, told to us by a person who attended one, included the Vice President bringing some 30 guns from his own collection.

On the ranger, Cheney would blow away his targets -- with Thompson machine guns, the latest German and Austrian machine guns, Lugars, MP5s, shot guns, you name it. One after another an aide would hand the Vice President his latest armament, and Cheney would fire away, no doubt imagining al-Qaeda terrorists in his gun sights.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/5/3/125421.shtml

[NewJeffCT]

1. Yet, he had "other priorities"

when it came to serving in Vietnam...

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Well, he wouldn't want to shoot at something that might fight back

now would he?

[blm]

2. Yet he REFUSED to pick up a gun and use it in a Vietnam war he supported

but was too cowardly to serve in himself.

Guess he tries to make himself feel braver these days by shooting at tame birds.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

3. Why is this guy still alive??? n/t

[FormerRepublican]

7. He's not. It just appears he is.

[C_U_L8R]

4. It may be twisted

but the best comedy writer's couldn't dream this material.
Tthere's something hilarious about all this Machine Gun Cheney business.

[Wcross]

6. I would LOVE to own a Thompson.....

Last one I saw for sale was listed at 25,000 but it had the original case (violin type) and three drums. I guess its great to be rich in America.....

BTW- I love shooting automatic weapons, its the one thing I enjoyed about my service in the Marine Corps.

[GregW]

12. The indoor range where I shoot rents them!

Lots of fun, but man those suckers can suck down a mag of .45's

[Wcross]

14. I envy you.

I really want to go to Knob Creek sometime. They rent everything from uzi's to a ww2 flamethower.
Sure, it is childish to just squeeze out some lead or jellied gasoline. I have no illusions about who I am. I am a 42 year old 8 yearold. I want to make things go boom and burn!
I loved shooting the M2 browning and M14's in the service. Free ammo!!!! (BTW- hated the m-16, they were a bitch to clean compared to the M14)

[Aviation Pro]

8. "is in the hundreds of guns"

He's readying himself for his last stand. The article will read, "He was a quiet man."

[tularetom]

9. He might be a"proud" gun owner and hunter

but he is a less than competent one. An experienced bird hunter never fires at less than about a 30 degree angle with the ground. Unless Mr. Whittington was 9 feet tall or so, Cheney ,must have been firing near level. I suspect he got excited and fired prematurely.

Or maybe he was as your post stated "imagining al-Qaeda terrorists in his gun sights".

[wtmusic]

10. And Whittington was wearing an orange vest to boot

This man has...issues.

[Bigmack]

11. Soooo typical....

I know several of this type.

They shoot all the weapons, they read all the Tom Clancy novels, they watch "Green Berets" and "Sands of Iwo Jima", and dream of how brave they would have been.... had they actually served.

Their very {b]lives are an insult to veterans.

Chickenhawks... one and all.

[Wcross]

15. I could've been a Navy seal but............

I hate those assholes. Are you trying to elevate your self esteem by NOT having been something?
I could have been a porn star myself if it were not for my tiny penis........

[A Simple Game]

13. It would be a shame if he were to

be charged with a felony and have to lose all of his guns.

[Doctor_J]

16. What a loser

and what was he doing "on the ranger"?

[librechik]

17. Translation: Cheney's penis has not been seen since 1985. n/t

[LynnTheDem]

18. Tryin' to make up for them FIVE deferrments from 'Nam.

Big Brave Man Cheney the dick is.

Yeah right.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

19. Isn't there a legal limit to how many firearms an individual may own?

Oh, wait he's ABOVE the law.

:sarcasm:

[sierrajim]

20. The only limit is what your pockets can tolerate.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

21. Hmm. I can't recall who it was, but someone said that they had as many

guns as they could have legally, but not as many as they wanted.

That's what made me think there was a limit.

:shrug:

[benEzra]

22. Not as far as I'm aware...

Isn't there a legal limit to how many firearms an individual may own?

Not as far as I'm aware, but to own automatic weapons (as Cheney does), you have to pass what amounts to a Secret-level government security clearance, undergo a six-to-eight month background check, pay a $200 tax to the BATFE, and then shell out $5000 to $150,000 to buy a civilian-transferable pre-1986 automatic weapon from a specially licensed NFA Class III dealer.

If you can pass the government clearance process, an AK-47 goes for about $15,000; M16's sell for $15,000 to $75,000; and some belt-feds go well over $100,000.

If you can afford even one automatic weapon, you can probably afford all the non-automatic firearms you want.