Sig Sauer has long been known for producing high-quality firearms, and its P320 model is no exception—at least in terms of popularity. In January 2017, the P320 won the U.S. military contract to replace the aging Beretta M9, beating out Glock, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, and FN. The military adopted two versions: the full-size M17 and the compact M18. By 2020, nearly a million P320s had been manufactured, and in the years since, production has only increased into the millions. However, controversy has dogged the P320 platform. Allegations surfaced that the pistol was not drop-safe, meaning it could discharge unintentionally if dropped. Reports of unintended discharges—some resulting in serious injuries and deaths—have led to multiple lawsuits. While it is common for gun owners and attorneys to claim a firearm malfunctioned in shooting incidents (consider Alec Baldwin’s widely disputed defense in the “Rust” shooting), the claims against the P320 have been more persistent and legally ...

Chicago, IL—Let me begin with my personal story. I grew up in poverty, raised by a dysfunctional single mother who was mostly absent. By the age of 14, I was emancipated, living on my own, working full time at night, and attending high school during the day. Thankfully, I had a good sense to always stay    one step ahead of child protective services and foster care.    I learned early how to survive in a harsh world, and part of that survival was understanding the value of personal protection. As a child, I was fascinated by guns. TV shows like  Roy Rogers  and  Dragnet  portrayed firearms as necessary tools for the good guys. I understood early on that guns weren’t just toys—they were instruments of security in a world with dangerous people. By the time I joined high school junior ROTC at 13, I was handling real weapons: M1 Garands, Browning Automatic Rifles, and .45 pistols. We were taught military discipline and, more importantly, firearm safet...

Los Angeles, CA —I had a brainstorm while watching a news story of those dangerous and sometimes deadly bird strikes that plague airports. I wasted no time in calling my American Airlines pilot pal to ask him his thoughts on my idea.   He loved the idea and is convinced it’s inexpensive, workable and lifesaving.   Wow!  This is the very same buddy that got me hooked on drones!   For some reason birds love airports and thrive in the critical runway areas where planes take off and land.   They are often seen as high as 5,000 feet and collisions between aircraft and birds have been catastrophic. When you try to deal with the airport bird problem battle lines are drawn between the airports and the bird lovers.   Poisoning or shooting the birds is not on the table as a viable solution. My idea is a simple one.   Airport workers could use small drones to stalk and chase the birds away.   Today airports must use workers in various ground vehi...

This is an Align quadcopter with a Panasonic GH4 4K motion picture camera perfect for electronic news gathering assignments.   Atlanta, GA —All Federal Aviation Administration regulations were and are conceived and written in blood, literally!   That is, that there is a deadly aircraft accident behind every rule.   That has always been the case except when it came to drones. We all must take safety seriously and any legitimate concern deserves study and respect.   The drones are somewhat expensive and their owners simply don’t want them damaged through recklessness. For some strange bureaucratic reason the FAA has outlawed the use of a drone to make money.   As un-American as that seems, they’ve gotten away with this form of economic tyranny. The FAA has always allowed the use of drones for recreation and hobby activities with scant few restrictions.   Rather than make rules just last month they’ve finally issued a few advisory Dos and Don’ts fo...

Washington, DC —The FAA was very tight lipped about the drone regulations they are drafting for public comment later this month.   An FAA official claims they are releasing a Risk Based Proposed Regulatory Program that will integrate commercial drones into the airspace.   Judging from today’s Congressional hearing they are attempting concentrate on educating the operators of small consumer drones and more serious regulation of anything else.   Oddly enough they never once mentioned using drones for news video news gathering and only touched lightly on filmmakers. Once they release their draft drone rule package it must be published and then there is a routine schedule for inviting public comment. Once that period passes the FAA will then set their rule in concrete.   That of course can be challenged later both by Congressional action and litigation. The FAA seems to be coming to grips that the small camera drone operator will be nearly impossible to re...

Hollywood, CA —I have to blame my dear friend Pablo Lewin for my obsession with camera drones.  Lewin is a film director who discovered this marvelous and incredibly creative filmmaking tool and got me hooked and empowered with the latest high tech toy. I’ve done a number of drone stories but today I was going to film a scene for Lewin’s latest film offering. I thought I'd let you in on the experience. I can still remember that horrible accident in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982, actor Vic Morrow along with two children, My-Ca Dinh Le (age 7), and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6), died in a nasty helicopter crash during the filming of the Twilight Zone  movie.   We've taken any safety risk out of our production!  Helicopters can be deadly and they are too expensive for some filmmakers. Not to worry, the camera armed drones are here!  Today it was me and my drone that eliminated any dangers along with the impossible expense for a helic...

Los Angeles, CA —When the topics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones are brought up so are the issues of fear, loathing and regulation.  Ignorance of the unknown is always a source of difficulty.  However take a look at the issues with an open mind.  Aerial photography is not new, but until now it was just expensive.  We’ve co-existed with fixed wing airplanes and helicopters, all of our lives.  It’s settled law that we have no reasonable expiation of privacy outside of our homes and the other shelters we inhabit. For nearly two decades we’ve been under observation from high-resolution cameras mounted on satellites.  We’ve all seen those incredible Google Earth views .  All of those privacy issues have been addressed and settled in the courts redundantly. Suddenly we have great diminutive cameras and UAV’s to take them to the skies.  The privacy laws remain exactly the same. There are huge advantages for these new UAV’s such a...