It's really amazing how dumb some people can be. You've heard of the “Darwin Award,” an unofficial recognition of individuals who die as a result of their own bizarre decision-making. But is there an equivalent award for those who make laughably poor, non-lethal judgments?

About two years ago anti-gun rights Boston Globe columnist Steve Bailey decide to see how easy it would be to make a “straw purchase” - that is, to break federal law by traveling to another state and having a local resident buy a firearm for him. Bailey, a Massachusetts resident, went to a New Hampshire gun show where Walter Blair, a New Hampshire resident and former prison guard who agreed to assist Bailey, bought a handgun for Bailey with $240 that Bailey expensed to the Boston Globe.

Bailey and Blair knowingly and deliberately committed a serious felony that can get them up to 10 years in prison, which is dumb enough, regardless of intent. But then Bailey recently boasted of his crime on a radio talk show and is now offended that federal agents have come a-calling to investigate his admitted felony. Agents with a search warrant also called on Blair, who apparently still had possession of the handgun (“I'm afraid of guns,” Bailey said). Last I heard agents haven't charged either man, but they damn sure better. And if the Boston Globe knowingly paid for the handgun, it is possibly an accomplice to the crime. And perhaps so is anti-gun rights advocate John Rosenthal, who apparently came along with Bailey for the ride.

Columnists out to groom their pet peeves aren't above the law. Several years ago I wrote a newspaper article about how easy it is to make “sidewalk meth” with free info from a website and four ingredients I found readily obtainable in a local department store. Did I make the meth? No – I'm not stupid; that would have been a felony. I've also written news reports about government officials allegedly viewing child porn on the Internet. Did I visit child porn sites to complete my investigation? No – I'm not stupid; that's a felony (as well as distasteful).

Almost every crime imaginable is easy to commit – we don't need columnists to prove that. What would Bailey like to prove next – how easy it is to assault a woman, steal a six pack, write bad checks? What's a bit more difficult is getting away with committing a crime. The real story in Blair's idiotic escapade is yet to unfold: will the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allow him to get away with this felony? It shouldn't: ATF is a law enforcement agency, and Bailey has publicly admitted his crime. If it doesn't charge him, ATF – which routinely arrests and charges gun shop owners for paperwork errors - is going to look impotent and stupid.

Here's an interesting question: if the Boston Globe reimbursed Bailey's $240 gun straw purchase knowing he used the money to commit a crime, is it an accomplice?

Oh, yes – Bailey has admitted to his crime but, as far as I know, neither Blair, Rosenthal or the Boston Globe have done that, so any complicity is only “alleged.” If proved guilty, however, these are my nominations for whatever award they hand out to boneheads.

ATF is out to burn the 'straw man'

A straw purchase is one in which the buyer is not eligible to own or purchase the firearm and so purchases it through a proxy buyer. It is a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the proxy buyer (“straw man”) and the possessor. The proxy buyer can also be charged with lying on the federal Form 4473, required for all but private-to-private individual sales, which asks if the buyer is truly the ultimate possessor.

Infamous “straw man” purchasers include Robyn Anderson's buying guns for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who used them to commit the Columbine atrocity, and anti-gun rights activist Sarah Brady (founder of Handgun Control, Inc., now the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence). Brady admitted she purchased a rifle in 2000 for her son, which the Delaware Justice Department said was a straw purchase, but it apparently brought no state or federal charges.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Department of Justice developed the “Don't Lie for the Other Guy” program to educate firearm retailers in recognizing potential illegal straw purchases. The program also raises public awareness of the seriousness of straw purchases. According to ATF, during the first four years of the program (2001-2005) firearms related violence dropped nearly 50 percent.

“Stopping illegal firearm purchases is critical to ATF's mission of preventing violent crime and protecting the nation,” ATF Director Carl J. Truscott says on the program's website. “Programs such as Don't Lie for the Other Guy keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons, criminals and other prohibited persons. ATF is committed to aggressively investigating and arresting these offenders to make our communities safer for everyone.”

Whether that commitment extends to offending newspaper columnists remains to be seen.