Another year has gone by, and what a year it was!!!

The last year for the first centennial of the 1911 pistol.

In a few months, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the pistol which became the design standard from which so many other handguns have evolved. The only firearm designed and produced first in the beginning of this century, which is still produced by more than 30 manufacturers all over the world, and is still used by armed forces around the globe. Not only that, but it is still considered the top fighting handgun of the world, by many knowledgeable people.

It's certainly a reason for celebration, and a several 1911 makers have scheduled limited-production models to commemorate this 100th anniversary. Obviously some of them have already been announced in the market, but also several others will be first shown in the upcoming 2011 SHOT Show, in Las Vegas NV.

M1911.ORG will of course be in Las Vegas next week, and we'll report back to you alive from the floor of the Show, with all new models we'll see there. And hopefully, we'll soon have some of those centennial models in our hands for reviewing.

In the mean time, the year has started with an incident which is guaranteed to bring bad attention to the gun industry and awake firearms opponents again the .

The assassination attempt of USA Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson AZ has already caused the hoplophobiacs to voice their concerns about firearm-related killings. The answer, of course, to all that hysteria is simple. More people are killed per year in car accidents than in shooting incidents. Nobody in his sane mind is suggesting to ban cars.

We would like to send our condolences to all those affected by the Tucson massacre, our prayers are with their families and friends.

It was not, however, the Glock 19 that killed or wounded those unlucky people who were at the wrong place the wrong time. It was the deranged mind of a young man, who had shown evidence of abnormal behavior in the past, which evidence went unnoticed by the authorities.

This person would have killed the people his sick mind told him to kill, even if he didn't have access to a firearm. He would have driven his car on the assembled people, or he would have thrown a gasoline bomb to them, or he would have done something totally different. Who knows what his mind would have thought?

So let's not blame the gun for his actions. The irony of the story? Rep. Gifford herself owned a Glock 9mm pistol, according to an article posted today in NY Times, by Jo Becker and Michael Luo. Pity she wasn't carrying that day and she didn't had the chance to defend herself.

As the new year starts, allow me to wish to each and everyone of the visitors of this site, a very happy and prosperous new year. May 2011 brings to each and everyone of you what your heart desires.