By Kirk Butts
Guns have been a part of my life since I could realize that I was, in fact, alive. From an early age I was taught by my father about firearms; how to handle them, how to shoot them, how to clean them and most importantly, how to respect them. We lived in the Indiana suburbs and never had the luxury of going shooting whenever we wished, but that love for guns stayed with me during those long gaps between the range. It grew throughout my childhood and into manhood. Squirt guns became cap guns. My ancient (and broken) Daisy BB gun gave way to a Crossman air rifle. In college, I purchased my first “real” firearm: a 1966 Yugoslavian M59/66A1 SKS. I am a proud conservative gun owner who comes from a family of proud conservative gun owners . . .
My girlfriend’s story doesn’t quite mirror mine. If she played baseball, her position would be so far out in left field that she’d be on the other side of the foul line. She grew up in New Hampshire where shooting guns wasn’t even a consideration, let alone a hobby. After graduating college, she traveled to China and taught science there for a year. Even today, she speaks about that country’s version of communism with esteem. When we started dating in our mid-20s, she had never fired a gun. She had never even held one in her hands. So imagine my surprise when one day, she told me she wanted to go shooting.
Obviously, my response was that of absolute glee. In our four years of relationship, we have enjoyed countless discussions about politics, healthcare, abortion, capital punishment and the economy. We come to near-universal disagreement on just about every topic. But as a liberal dating a conservative gun owner, she never objected to my constitutional rights and event went as far as supporting them. So when the time came to take her shooting, my excitement could hardly be contained.
After a few lessons at home about procedure and safety – covering everything from eyeglasses and ear protection to which direction to aim the guns – we were off to the range. We spent two hours shooting two rifles: the aforementioned SKS and a ratty old WWII-era Mosin. After a few magazines of 7.62×39, she wanted to step up to the 54R. We worked the stock firmly into her shoulder to prepare for the extra recoil. She chambered a round, lined up the sights with her target and pulled the trigger. After a cacophonous “BOOM!” she laid the rifle down on the table and turned around to look at me. Her open mouth slowly transformed into a satisfied smile, and she said simply, “I like this one better.”
That was three years ago. In those past three years, my gun collection has grown a little more with the addition of another rifle and two shotguns. Earlier this month, we added our very first handgun to the mix: a 9mm I gave to her for her birthday. It is anodized in her favorite color, pink (go figure, the commie). After shooting it, the second thing she wants to do? Enroll us in a concealed carry course. Enter more glee.
We may not agree on many topics of importance, but we do share two things that are essential to a happy relationship: we love each other, and we love to shoot.
Indeed, opposites attract.
This is exactly why I wrote my book, “Knowing Guns.” I got tired of repeating all of the above at each and every encounter with anti-gun friends, family and acquaintances. Now I just hand them a book and say, “Here’s the answer to your question.” (Of course, I get a pretty good discount as the author — LOL!) For some reason, though, I’ve been unable to get anyone from TTAG to write me a review. 🙁
I’m calling BS on that whole declining gun owners thingy. The factories, both domestic and foreign, are working round the clock to meet demand. It’s not a handful of OFWGs that are doing that. Every time I go to the range I see young people, women and minorities shooting. So again BS to Dirk’s boo.
I didn’t buy Jack Grenoble, except a pound of BLACK SEED.
For my H. pylori. It’s the nuclear option.
I wonder if any will turn theirs in at the station… after emptying it out inside?
“…but it would be wrong” – R.M. Nixon, Watergate Tapes.
The original Hippies were not liberals, they were sort of goofy, pragmatic, libertarians. “Do your own thing, man”.
I was in the Haight-Ashbury for ’66 and ’67 (the “summer of love”), and at the Monterey Pop Festival (not Woodstock, though – the real thing was over by then), took a couple of guitar lessons from Jerry Garcia, and once rode a Ferris Wheel with Janis Joplin (she barfed in my lap). When I talk about Hippies, I know whereof I speak. A lot of the “back to nature” communards were happy to talk about their rifles and shotguns – live off the land, don’cha know. The biker contingent favored 1911s. A lot of the young folks were out there because they couldn’t find a place in the modern world, and many were remarkably self sufficient – grow your own!
The look and the name were co-opted by a lot of unrelated groups, as time went by. There were the long-haired redneck dope smokers, the political radicals (these were the ones who aged into liberals), the rockers who adopted the look because that was what was selling, and I could go on and on. The real Hippies were not interested in telling other people how to live – they just wanted to be free to follow their own star. For some, it led through drugs to perdition, but a lot of the friends I made in those days are still live-and-let-live folks, and a lot are shooters.
The word “Hippie” may not be the most misused word in the world, but it’s right up there.
Not sure how she could have missed NH being a gun friendly state. Being from NH and having traveled throughout China, I can say the motto “Live free or die” has particular significance. Ask your girlfriend how wonderful it was for the glorious communist party to roll tanks over students in Tianemen Square? Same douche bags, only now they want it all. Maybe your girlfriend should go “volunteer” at one of their concentration camps… Reeducation camps, per their terminology.
Maybe they turned it down cause its lame and kind of a downer.
But, I agree with your assessment of the culture war – visibility is key.
I went to H.S. with Andrew Cuomo. E V E R Y O N E wanted to bitch slap this tattle tale weasel who was like a cry baby all the time just to get what he wanted. He lived in a district that had an all black attended high school – they woulda fkn killed him for sure. Instead Daddy sent him to a mostly white prep school that drew on gifted students from a 25 mile radius. As it turns out, we all S T I L L want to bitch slap this asshole, not to mention Silver and Skelos who made it the SAFE ACT possible.
I am from Long Island…we are talking about making it “The State of Peconic” but Sheldon Silver won’t allow a vote in the legislature to allow a referendum to secede….because he wants our money. Help Us?
I don’t like Beck, I find his transformation from right wing tool for GOP to freedom minded, liberty loving individual disingenuous.
I would like to believe he has seen the light, but it is probably more likely he has just seen the money.
Also, I find his constant public crying to be annoying and, quite frankly, weak. There is nothing wrong with crying as a man, but there is a point where it’s too much and it just makes you look like a whiny chump- I think Beck crosses that line.
I can kinda agree…
But I see the coming flame war in the comments. I look forward to LC Judas and Accur81’s responses here. Their words carry more weight than mine.
Tossers. Both of them.
My morning hunt was jacked up by a pack of coyotes taking down a doe so being dejected I hit gander on the ride home.
Was looking for something smaller than the 1911 for deep concealment and they actually had S&w shields in stock with a rebate. Picked up the 9mm.
I am going to take a different approach that no one on either side will like.
Police forces were established as the country became urbanized. With urbanization goes specialization. Small communities can use a militia model for police work. You elect the sheriff and when he needs help he can deputize citizens. I believe in most states that power still exists. The key element in the equation was that everybody knows everybody else in a small community. As cities developed that all broke down and with it the militia model. Tell me how many of you police haters would enjoy coming home from a hard day’s work and then pulling your shift as a citizen police officer. My guess is that like all militias that would get old really fast and you would get a lot no shows. That is why government started police forces. The citizens didn’t want to do it. The militia model never worked for national defense and it stopped working in large parts of the country for police power by mid 19th Century.
I also get the impression that many of the more “Libertarian” members of the community think history started last week. In their minds there was a golden age, maybe 20 years ago, where everything was just great as far as civil liberties go. The truth is our modern concept of rights originates with the Warren Court a mere 50 years ago. Prior to that if Sheriff Wyatt wanted to search your house he would just barge right in. Sometimes he might get a warrant. He would stop off at the local Judge’s office and say I need a warrant to search stateisevil’s house. Judge Fred would say why? and sheriff Wyatt would say because. Judge Fred would say “good enough for me.” Sheriff Wyatt’s warrant would satisfy the Fourth Amendment but until the Warren Court you didn’t need probable cause get one. “Because” was often good enough.
Now let’s talk about citizen militias. I guess you think because they are “citizens” that they would never trample on your rights. Unfortunately posses were just as inclined to bullying and violating your rights as today’s cops are except you had less protection back then. In many in areas of the country after the local Sheriff swore in his posse they would go forth and grab the first black man they ran into and declare him guilty and execute the sentence before going home. No trial was necessary. Back in the good old days many an innocent man was arrested and convicted just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the citizens’ militia showed up.
In a way urban gangs are citizen militias. What we see as senseless violence is nothing more than the local militia enforcing the social and quasi legal code. For those who get their history from the movies I hardily recommend “Gangs of New York.” as exemplar of how things really haven’t changed in poor areas of our urban centers..
So before you go one way or another on the matter of police work, it is much better to have an historical perspective on policing. In the end the nature of policing will not be set by the police. The tone is a product of the political leadership. Cops as a group are apolitical.
They may have found a new way to make an undetectable gun, but it is of no danger without metal cartridges. I don’t think we need to worry much about 3D-printed plastic guns. The bullets are still detectable.
I really don’t think this is ever going to be an easy issue to sort out. It seems to boil down to a couple basic points:
1. Statistically law enforcement isn’t that dangerous. If we took an evidence based approach to employment safety equipment you average cop would ride a volvo (car accidents are the big killer)and the kid delivering your pizza would have a bearcat. I could probably save more lives on your average PD by providing some teaching on preventing chronic disease than by issuing ceramic body armour or something. The YOU YOU YOU man above me might benefit from a blood pressure check for example. Evidence based procurement rather than “you never know…” procurement seems like right path.
2. Law enforcement members seem to very thin skinned, and don’t want to admit there are any problems. We recruit from the human race, and there are going to issues of leadership, and morons will be hired. Even a cursory Internet search reveals pages of idiots, and any cop posting on the Internet knows at least one person who probably needs another job. Lets stop the pretending, and admit that the concerns of the public are not just whining. As a member of a western democracy, I shouldn’t feel intimated by civil servants, and if you disagree maybe you need to reflect on why that is.
3. The public needs to understand that many of the problems in modern law enforcement are seen on the inside as signs of strength. Insularity=brotherhood Aggression=bravery and concern for the public . It’s is VERY good to have someone willing to come to my neighbours house at 3am because he’s beating his wife, and it is much simpler to have professionals do it. We require a police force, and we will have one. We need to decide what we expect from law enforcement, and stop sending mixed messages. In the 80’s we loved cops in black uniforms sorting it out in the ghetto. Now they are everywhere, and it sucks. If we want community policemen on bikes, we will have to accept that there will be trade offs in terms of effectiveness. We also need understand that our demands, especially after 9/11 led us to this point. Basically, the public needs to grow up. ( present company excepted of course)