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By Stephen, on December 7th, 2011%
As gun control has ceased to be a mainstream issue, gun control proponents have gotten more extreme to the point of becoming silly — not surprising for a movement who’s leadership has become people victimized by gunfire and know nothing about guns/the gun culture and don’t want to. And the fact that they just plain hate guns, hate them so much they don’t care if people die so long as no one can buy or carry a gun, becomes more clear. Here is an exchange on the Wisconsin Anti-Violent Effort Facebook page about a confrontation between a sword wielder and a (possible) CCW holder that ended peacefully, i.e. with no one getting hurt. And yet to anti-gunners it’s proof that horrible and violent people are getting their CCW’s.
Now … there are obviously some bizarre sides to this — brother’s fighting over cigarettes, etc. — but I’ve got to say that brandishing a firearm at someone brandishing a 5 foot long sword is not unreasonable. Whether or not you should be able to use deadly force against someone about to kill your dog just to be mean is more arguable, but jeez … he was going to kill the guy’s pet AND . . . → Read More: So a person killed with a sword is better than a standoff with a gun?
By Stephen, on February 2nd, 2011%
I finally got around to watching Discovery channel’s Sons of Guns, which is on again tonight at 9 p.m. E/P time. I don’t know if they’ll have enough story lines to keep going indefinitely, but the first two shows were excellent. It is a little like American Chopper except with guns … but the people involved are more supportive than combative (which may be good or bad for the longevity of the show — either formula can work).
In the first episode they worked on developing a functional silencer for a shotgun (sweet — love to have one of those to take to the range) and checking out a civil war era cannon to see if it’s safe to fire. The second episode revolved around combining an M16 with a semi-auto 12 gauge for SWAT teams — but a pretty cool gun for anyone, and maybe I’ll be able to pick one up after I purchase my silenced shotgun.
And the best quote from the show, and a phrase/logic all we men can use when we just bought something our significant other finds unnecessary … such as a cool car, a new motorcycle, or a cool gun …
Stephanie: What is your purpose in . . . → Read More: “Sons of Guns” show tonight on Discovery channel
By Stephen, on February 1st, 2011%
The small dagger carried by Sikh males. No big deal … but then shouldn't all kids be able to carry a small pocket knife to school?
So Sikh students in this Michigan school district can carry their ceremonial daggers to their public school? I don’t really think it’s a big deal that they’re carrying 3 – 4″ knives, but it just so happens that my family are all Victorinoxian Presbyterians, and for us carrying a Swiss army knife is part of our dogma, as we must always have the proper tools to fix things evil has broken. So can my kids start carrying their Swiss army knives to school?
Could this be the crack that allows us to start rolling back really stupid “zero tolerance” school rules?
And as a note … I believe my faith also requires me to always carry my .38 when visiting my kids at school. Clearly it should be exempt . . . → Read More: So it’s OK to carry a dagger to school for religious reasons?
By Stephen, on January 28th, 2011%
How many gun owners and politicians do you know who say they support the second amendment, then caveat that statement with …
… but I don’t think that means you should be able to own an assault rifle, I’ve never wanted one.
… but that doesn’t mean you can carry a gun around with you.
… but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have to register it.
… but nobody needs more than one gun a month.
… but it’s OK for big cities to restrict the right.
… but National Parks should be strictly offlimits.
… but {ad nauseum}
On this blog I’ve given arguments against gun registration, “Assault Weapon” bans, the anti-gun stance of some mainstream Christian churches, and other self-righteous but logically challenged anti-gun rhetoric. Honestly, the anti-gun groups have little but knee-jerk fear and paranoia to draw upon and their bogus studies and proposed laws are easily debated.
But the anti-gun groups have been successful anyway, because they’ve created so much background noise, eagerly picked up on by the Main Stream Media, that gun owners who don’t pay attention to gun politics — the average Joe/Joanne who owns a firearm for hunting or self defense but for whom gun ownership isn’t high on his/her radar . . . → Read More: How to approach gun owners who don’t understand the politics of gun control (the 2nd amendment “but heads”)
By Stephen, on January 21st, 2011%
 Amazing. It’s pretty clear that a full day at the Shot Show will not be enough to really take in a tenth of it. The three pics below are from the Sportsman Channel booth raised meeting area, and as you look at these shots, which just show one area of one floor, think on the scale of it. And almost all of it is stuff that you, as an American, can buy and own, as we live in the one country where we believe the citizens must be as powerful as the government (American firearms freedom not valid in California, Massachusetts, or many other Eastern states).
That’s a freedom I take pride in, and those on the other side shake their head in shame at. I just wish they could be here for a day, talking to the people, feeling the energy, picking up a few very cool guns … but alas, they neither revel in this freedom nor care about anything but shutting it down.
Here are a few pics from the Shot Show. Go ahead an drool, all you gun guys who would love to be here. And for the anti-gun out there … tighten up the belt on your depends, . . . → Read More: Shot Show … something to be proud of, or ashamed of?
By Stephen, on October 4th, 2010%
This whole post is going to be a flight of conjecture based on personal observation, because I don’t think this is really something you can do a study on. But as I posted earlier … being a modern conservative and comparing my beliefs with those of my WWII generation conservative father, I noticed a very basic difference: Dad and his generation trusted the government, whereas I believe governmental limits are more important than governmental power — in other words, I’m more afraid of what the government can do to me than interested in what it can do for me. And we also subtly, but significantly, differ on gun rights: while my Dad always believed in a right to gun ownership, he had no problem with government limitations on that right. And though my Dad absolutely did believe in a generic, undefined right to carry a non-concealed gun on his person, or to apply for a CCW if he felt a justifiable “need”, he never did either one (well, rarely — more on that). I believe that these differences are due to a combination of our differing views on government and our life experiences, which are closely tied together. And . . . → Read More: Conservatism 101: Gun rights and new conservatism/old conservatism
By Stephen, on August 28th, 2010%
I setup a 99 cent coupon for the E-version of my last novel, Off Road, from smashwords.com (coupon JJ72U, every format from Kindle to .pdf) for my FB and Blog friends, and I hope you’ll partake while you have the chance. In the meantime I thought I’d repost the series of articles I did earlier this year on the four main elements the story revolves around: traditional and uniquely American views on God, guns, big trucks, and family.
First and foremost, of course, Off Road is a four wheeling adventure in the mountains of Colorado based on my own experiences. And I think my FB friends and blog followers will enjoy seeing the main character, a “progressive” dweeb, get his eyes opened — it’s a lot of fun on many levels.
If you don’t like Smashwords.com, you can also buy Off Road directly through the Amazon kindle store or in Nook version from Barnes & Noble, or paperback version from Amazon or B&N. On the left sidebar are some recommendations from fellow bloggers and others.
This weekend I’ll actually be off roading in my truck (33″ Wrangler MT’s, lockers front and back, Teraflex low gear, winch) with my family in the beautiful mountains of . . . → Read More: Off Road the novel Part II: Guns
By Stephen, on August 24th, 2010%
Blindly anti-gun bloggers like mikeb post a cartoon like this without even thinking it needs commentary. It just shows how ridiculous their outlook is and how they put no thought in it a all — they don’t like guns, guns scare them, and that is all they need to know.
Yeah … because if you work for the NRA or are an NRA member, you have to take resopnsibility for all those things!
The NRA is a gun owner/2nd amendment rights organization. As a grass-roots association it uses the political pull of its member’s votes (of which I am proudly one) and its voice to oppose anti-gun legislation. Period. You can read through the NRA site at whatever length you want, and you’ll never find anything to support workplace violence, school shootings, or any other crime.
Blaming the NRA for those things is like:
1. Blaming the ACLU for the white punks who beat up an African American after reading racists publications the ACLU defended as free speech.
2. Blaming people who are anti-prohibition for people who drive drunk.
3. Blaming gay marriage advocates for a reported rise in the number of gay people.
4. Blaming liberals/Democrats for fiscal and environmental policies that will bankrupt the U.S., . . . → Read More: Blaming the NRA for all the violence of the world …
By Stephen, on August 24th, 2010%
Interesting video from Jon Stewart as he covers the debate about the mosque in New York City near the ground zero 9/11 attack site. Picking and choosing the bits he wants, of course, to give it an anti-conservative/anti-FOX news spin. But at the end he has a great clip from Charleton Heston about the 1999 controversy of the NRA having their national convention in Denver after the Columbine mass murders. Which he then puts into perspective and then apologizes for his previous viewpoint that the NRA was somehow wrong to have their meeting in Denver anyway. It’s about time.
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
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The issue around the mosque has never been very motivational to me. On the one hand Islam IS a religion which follows a holy book that would seem to openly encourage some acts of violence in some situation (I would love to be proven wrong on that, BTW — but I have read enough to believe that the case can be made), versus Christianity, which has been used to motivate people to violence/rationalize violence but DOES NOT support violence in its sacred texts (a . . . → Read More: The NYC Mosque near ground zero … Jon Stewart’s opinion on Mosque criticizers and the NRA
By Stephen, on August 20th, 2010%
There is a common perception that American youth are generally (as in over 50%) pro gun control and not interested in CCW. While both of those points are arguably true, the latter more than the former, the second perception that always follows is that this does not bode well for the future of the gun industry and gun rights. I think that argument is pretty obviously false. Though admittedly I don’t have a crystal ball and the changes in the beliefs of societies/humans in general are notoriously hard to predict.
In his excellent Harper’s magazine article Happiness is a Worn Gun: My Concealed Weapon and Me (August, 2010), which I’ve commented on here and here, Dan Baum makes the observation that “Young adults buy markedly fewer guns than older people” and quoted a gun salesman as saying, “The younger people tend to be more liberal. They’ve been led to believe the police are going to be there for them …”. To which I say … Yeah. Sure. But …
When I was younger I was also much more liberal and at least passively anti-gun. But I got better. And all the polls I’ve seen indicate that the current youth believe in the 2nd . . . → Read More: The next generation (current 20 somethings) and guns/CCW
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