Me: “Oh… Wait, which Bill?”

Customer: “He said to tell you, ‘The family that shoots together… has intersecting fields of fire.’”

Me: “Ooooh, THAT Bill!”

Hi, Bill. :)

…is that creepy? Probably. Oh well. I’m weird, we already know this.

Next up: Medical, which I should pass with flying (ha, ha) colors, since I’m generally healthy as a horse. Then, off to start the fun part.

Took a quick trip up to Kalispell last weekend to pick up a gun belt the Pilot-in-Command had ordered a while back from http://www.freemanleather.com/. Five stars! Absolutely gorgeous leatherwork, reasonable pricing, and Mr. Freeman offers some top-notch customer service. I’d like to order a 1911 holster from him sometime in the near future.

Plus, I got to see this on the way:

And here‘s some cheap-as-free ammo for it, too.

Stocking stuffers? I think yes.

It’s very, very weird trying to explain guns, gun rights, gun safety, the whole doggone gun culture to someone from a society that just… doesn’t get it. She even acknowledged that the UK was starting from a different place in enacting gun control than the US would be, because the ownership rates are so different. I think the reasons why run a little deeper than that.

Hopefully I didn’t prattle on like too much of an idiot. It’s very hard to stay on point when you’re talking about something so huge and multi-faceted. She asked how I felt about guns being so accessible when irresponsible people might own them and they are used to harm many people at once and they are used against women in domestic violence situations and kids might get ahold of them and shoot each other and depressed women might use them to commit suicide and… I mean, where do I start? Each one of those is an issue I could go on about for hours. I tried to hit the major points.

Then, we got into the issue of licensing and/or otherwise restricting access to guns, which I oppose for completely political reasons, so I had to go down the Constitution/Bill of Rights/Founding Fathers/original intent/armed rebellion road, which is the stuff of books and SCOTUS study, not thirty minute phone calls! In retrospect, I realize I probably made it sound like I think the right to bear arms is derived from the Bill of Rights, not enumerated in it, since I was talking about how it’s unacceptable to simply ignore the parts of the Constitution we deem outdated or unnecessary when there’s a process to amend it if we feel that way. *facepalm*

I also get sick of feeling like I should be apologetic for acknowledging the collateral damage that comes along with freedom. I am not going to pretend that even kids raised around guns and taught the Eddie Eagle rules won’t sometimes get ahold of an unsecured gun and shoot their friend while playing GI Joe. Shit happens. I do my best to prevent it in the world I have control over, and I do my best to teach others to do the same, but bad things will always happen to good people. I don’t believe trading a fundamental right for a reduction in one particular type of accident or one particular way of killing your spouse or one particular means of suicide is worth it. I just don’t. Yes, I think worse shit happens when law-abiding citizens don’t have guns. Like genocide.

I know, I know, preaching to the choir. I just get so nervous about how stuff I say will be used. I really tried to emphasize points about focusing on parental and societal responsibility rather than attacking firearms as tools. I have a real love/hate relationship with the mainstream media. I feel like I’m generally a decent ambassador, so I like the opportunity to state my case, but I hate sitting around and waiting to see what they do with what I offer.

EDIT: Oh, cripes, this ought to end well. Same journalist, old article.

“Why was this tormented young man able to carry out this massacre? How could he legally obtain a weapon designed to kill so many people?” asked Connie Catellani, the mother of one of the victims.

Many pro-gun lobbyists think they have the answer to her first question, at least – let more people legally carry arms and let students with a gun licence take their weapons on to campus. Then, in their view, a shooter would barely have a chance to open fire before being calmly gunned down by sane, upstanding, law-abiding, gun-toting fellow students.

I honestly don’t know why I even bother.

EDIT #2: Hahahahahaha. Okay, this is older and even better. On the subject of the Free State Project:

The FSP argues that civil government should exist only to protect life, liberty, and property. Individuals are free to do as they please, provided it does not harm others.

In a “Free State”, that would translate as a green light for casinos, brothels, cocaine farms and gun supermarkets. Leaders would also do away with seatbelt laws, limits on gay marriage and most taxes.

FSP, you guys are letting me down. That article is seven years old. You’re SLACKING!

http://ultimak.com/

:)

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but The Inconvenience has an UltiMak rail on his M1A, and it’s rock solid equipment. I wholeheartedly endorse UltiMAK products, and, as a bonus, the owners/staff are genuinely Good People.

If you don’t have time to read 2k+ posts, try starting here:

Cast Boolits GPal thread, page 98

Post #1955 is particularly disturbing (screenshots of the quoted post offered in post #1995). Perhaps more disturbing is the fact Calguns.net administrators scrubbed it from the site. Not surprising, though, since that’s become their M.O. For what it’s worth, I did some Googling on the Marine getting shafted by GPal, and his story checks out.

Also worth checking out is post #2018 on page 101 of the thread, which (for those just joining us) was posted by a former Ben Cannon/GPal employee.

Wow. Just… wow.

EDIT 10/6 11:24am: The Marine’s thread is back up on Calguns, here. Calgunners are offering assistance, as are folks on Cast Boolits. You know, when you’re in (undeserved) trouble, there are no better “families” to be in than the Marine Corps and the gun community.

Likewise, when you deserve the trouble, I’d say those are the top two groups you don’t want on your ass. Just saying.

EDIT 10/6 1:30pm: Aaaand now the thread is locked. The justification is, roughly: GPal staff are getting their feel-bads hurt.