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Question of the Day: How YOU Doin’?

Robert Farago - comments No comments

Boom. (coutresy townhall.com)

Thousands of TTAG readers live in slave states, watching the light of liberty flicker in the face of civilian disarmament. Thousands of readers live in free America; states that respect Americans’ RKBA. Either way, gun guys have had to work their way through their initial post-Newtown shock, find their figurative feet and defend their God-given and/or natural right to armed self-defense. In the middle of a historic guns and ammo drought. So . . . how ya doin’ now? Have bare shelves at the LGS got you freaked? Are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about your gun rights? Resolved, scared or some combination thereof? Spill.

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Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “Question of the Day: How YOU Doin’?”

  1. The firearm is a tool. There are dangers with using any tool if a person doesn’t know how to use that tool in a safe manner. Every safety meeting at work usually starts with how stats on accidental injuries occurred because the person became complacent and didn’t follow the safety that was taught in the past. So reoccurring safety meetings and courses are held to refresh ones mind.

    I wonder how many people are scared to death the first time they operate a forklift, chainsaw, or anything else that they don’t know anything about it’s operation?

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  2. How bout Ennis,Texas (where I currently reside) or Waxahachie,Tx?? nice,friendly country towns ..and both less than an hours drive from Dallas.

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    • “I think the big, minority-filled, government-dependent cities are going to out-breed us and that we are doomed.”

      Isn’t that better? It’s going to be every bit as tough as you fear it will be. Solutions needed! How about TAKE A WELFARE MAMA SHOOTING days in the country? Folks with buses and minibuses have a leg up here. Have a central pick-up and bring-back point, with, of course, “licensed” shooting instructors. Stress FUN FUN FUN and practicality, too….

      It’s going to take some heroic effort just to NOT LOSE. Don’t even THINK about winning, for now.

      Reply
  3. Even though I live in Texas, I am concerned that things will happen on a Federal level that will restrict my rights. I travel a lot and worry that changes in states will put me at risk in states that right now have reciprocal agreements with Texas. My greatest worry though comes from reading and listening to politicians and others who pretend to be operating out of logic or say they are doing things to prevent a repeat of Newtown, but who really operate out of emotion and enact legislation that will have not prevent anything except restrict or eliminate my rights.
    I am pessimistic about the future and worry that I will have to chose between keeping the means to defend myself from the government (of all levels) and being a felon.
    The Constitution no longer provides effective limits on government. How do we restore the power of the Constitution?

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  4. I’ve a very small PALS chest right, but I use it for my navigation tools, whistle, and note-taking stuff for search and rescue. I’ve always found belt mounted mags easier to access than chest mounted, and if i need more ammo than I can load on my belt, I’m in deep trouble either way. YMMV.

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  5. Central Texas welcomes you with open arms. We recently moved from Austin to “just outside” Austin. The commute is the same, and it’s nice to live in a relatively rural area that’s only 15 mins from the city.

    Make sure you set aside a good $500 for CHL classes and licensing for you and your spouse.

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  6. I plead the Fifth Amendment because the Government is monitoring all communications and may take my comments as a sign of dental misability!!!

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  7. Dan seems to be and anti-gun guy making an attempt to understand gun guys and I’ll give him credit for that at least. But on the subject of safe storage he really needs to google “Merced Pitchfork Murders”.

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  8. Having had our collective asses handed to us, I am feeling rather pessimistic about exercising my gun rights. I am toying with getting my CCW, but given the current political climate, I’m not all that certain I want my name on a list somewhere. Sure, the state knows I bought a hunting rifle awhile back, but the rest were all bought from friends or taken in trade. As far as actually buying something retail, shelves have been bare in Colorado for awhile. Had two(!) new local gun stores open in the last 3 months, and yet they hardly have anything in stock. The big box stores in Denver and the Springs have nothing. No bullets, no handguns. Hell, they didn’t even have .300winmag. Makes a man want to get into archery. Almost.

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  9. I’ll say it again and again. I simply don’t get how TX is held up as the model for gun rights when open carry is not allowed. Also, looking at the hoops people have to jump through to even get a carry license makes me even more baffled. Wait, there’s more! Posted signs prohibiting firearms on private property carry legal weight.

    Tell me again why TX is so great?

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    • I think it depends on the individual. Gun rights are a huge factor in deciding where to live, but there’s a hundred other factors to take into account as well. For me, Texas is the total package.

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      • Signs against concealed carry are worthless and not legal unless they cite 30.06. If you don’t see 30.06 on the sign, and it’s a public area, laugh it off and keep carrying. I don’t get what you mean by jumping through hoops to get a CHL. Take a course, pay the money, send it in to DPS, and, assuming you have a clean record, wait 90 days for your license.

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  10. I’m feeling determined and optimistic. I don’t think we can afford to get all FUD as we have work to do. To quote a line from Predator “I ain’t got time to bleed”…

    Stay sharp; don’t let the sheepl hive mind get to you. This is a fight between good and evil and we are the Good Guys (and Gals), we have truth on our side!!! The only way they can win in the long run is if we give up…

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  11. I’m in Colorado. I’m angry and resolved. DeGette is my congresscritter, so there’s no hope there although I continue to register my opinion with her office. I’ve contributed as much as I can to SAF and RMGO, and am supporting selected recall efforts. I intend to campaign for whoever runs against Hickenlooper and Udall in 2014. By that time I’ll live in a different district in the state, and will be active in whatever local races are relevant.

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  12. I’m not too worried in the short term, living in Texas. I have high hopes that after Obama’s disastrous 8-year reign the country will migrate back towards the right all this will be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.

    Ammo still isn’t “readily available” but online sources and big box retailers make it fairly easy to obtain.

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  13. Even though I hail from NYC and have to deal with the absurdedly named SAFE Act, I’m optimistic. Nothing major will happen at the federal level. It’s an open question about how SCOTUS will rule on issues like the AWB, mag cap restrictions and CCW, but the signs are encouraging–even the liberal leaning 2nd Circuit held restrictions on gun ownership in the home were subject to strict scrutiny.

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  14. Feeling good about our gun rights. If we keep fighting they will be ensured. Butt-hurt about the ammo situation. And my gun safe is where I want it minus the upper portion of my AR.

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    • The only thing “ensured” is continued efforts, ploys and manufactured situations towards the aim of disarming us. NOTHING else is certain. YOU snooze with a smile on your face. I ain’t doin’ it.

      THEY. WILL. NEVER. STOP.

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  15. It is always darkest just before the dawn.

    I see all this as a turning point. They have the votes now… but I think they are overlooking the actual people, and will suffer a backlash in the 2014.

    I also think this damage will hurt the Dem’s in 2016 and (so long as the GOP doesn’t **** it up) we’ll see a republican president, house, and senate in 2016.

    Hopefully in 5-10 years we’ll have turned back a number of these stupid laws, will have seen the end of Sen DiFi, will have a stronger NRA, and will have reminded the law makers that America is full of people that want their guns and will squash any future attempts to disarm us.

    I honestly think the anti crowd thinks they’re making serious gains, when really all they are doing is digging themselves deeper in a hole and waking up the bees nest/sleeping giant that is Gun Loving America.

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    • I hope you’re right. I actually can see some small gains being made, and some on the horizon. Just remember: they may go away for awhile in a pro-gun climate, but they will NEVER stop for good. Or bad.

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  16. I’m scared as hell being here in CT. Recently purchased an M1a retail and I’m not sure how to proceed with all these laws being passed. Just hide them away until SHTF.

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  17. yep, they all can collectively pat themselves on that back and say ‘we did something’…. of course when it fails to reduce crimes or mass shootings, they will all collectively say ‘we did not do enough, we need more laws’…. this will be an cycle for democrats and their drones who follow them, until they pass enough laws to make gun ownership far too expensive. At the end, you will have gun states and non-gun states, like red states and blue states. Soon even Texas will be a blue state and will have gun laws like NY

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    • +1

      This is the reportedly one of the most trafficked gun blogs on the Internet. It’s not a private discussion board or a quiet conversation in a living room.

      We need to be very conscious about our appearance here.

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  18. “You may be wondering WTF. Didn’t you read somewhere that the DHS bought billions of rounds of ammo over the last year or so? Yes. Yes you did. Thanks to Senator Coburn, you can click here to read who’s got what, who needs what and where all the cartridges are going.”

    Oh. THAT. MSNBC and CNN “explained” that already. Just a “conspiracy theory” spread by the feeble-minded and terrorist pro-gun groups. Nothing to see here. ICE CREAM!!! Wouldn’t you like some RIGHT NOW? Wash your fears and doubts away with delicious Napolitano Neopolitan ICE CREAM!!!

    MMMmmmmm…..

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  19. I am stuck in the sleep state of New Jersey. Recently they passed a bunch of new laws, but I don’t think they will quit there. I have always supported gun rights, but never bothered to buy any guns myself. After Newtown, I decided it was finally time. Probably past time.

    I have a safe on order, and my purchaser identification cards have finally come through. And I am not alone. About half the guys I know are buying their first guns. I have become a Gun Rights Voter, because I figure that any politician who will not trust me with a gun is not somebody I trust.

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  20. I find Mr. Adams assessment a very compelling one, though I’m
    less inclined to believe that this will happen at a rapid pace.
    Since the fight over our God given rights is an ideological one,
    no clear sides could be drawn for a quick civil war. Instead
    it will slowly simmer and escalate much like the cold war.
    As we internally destabilize, so will the rest of the world.
    Eventually this will culminate in another world war.

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  21. Americans have the right to overthrow the government every two years (at least, at the polls, peacefully). So long as that remains there is really no right or cause to act violently against officials. Even if they uphold all these laws (which i doubt) you are free to move to another state. And you are also free to educate and persuade people to agree with you and get a constitutional amendment passed (35 states joined in the heller decision). prohibition was passed, and repealed, as amendments.

    more than likely what you will see is peaceful civil disobedience. Honestly, calling for armed insurrection and assassination only gives fodder to the gun-owners-are-crazyparanoidthreateningunsafeterrorists gun control advocates.

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  22. Easy formula, promote responsible peaceable gun ownership and get gun criminals off the streets. The School Shield program is very positive. Volunteer teachers need professional level training to conceal carry as they are the new ambassadors of our 2nd amendment (and thusly the targets of antis). A slim majority of states are expanding their initially cautious, albeit successful, conceal carry programs. But it’s progressives and their politicians that have the blood of mass murders on their hands for their wrongheaded pretend ‘Gun Free’ zones. Even more difficult, some of the extreme prone to violence types (ie; Tucson, Aurora, SandyHook) need incarcerating for their and society’s safety. Pansie progressives, can’t even separate evil away from mainstream America.

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  23. Video prove Obama full of crap. Those where full auto M-4s and had M-203s you cannot buy from a gun store any wear. AND there where many 1960s era CAR-15s in the pic too which were sold by the military to failed states in the 80s like Guatemala and El Salvador to fight Commie insurgents.

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  24. I consider it much more likely that if any political figure is shot that the Left will be behind it. They will use items such as the above to make the case that the conservatives did the deed, as they always do.

    With the present makeup of the court if even one conservative Justice should fall ill or be mortality injured the left would obtain the majority again and could then overturn Heller and every other decision they abhor. Plus the fallout of such a shooting, like the fallout of the RFK assassination which got GCA-68 passed, would be the death of the 2nd amendment as having any limitation on government.

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  25. This has nothing to do with Jim Crow, and there was a damned good reason for Jim Crow laws. Look at the murder rates by race for cities like Chicago, nearly all the victims and perpetrators are black, and then you have common incidents such as the 500 strong mob which was attacking people in the loop and gold coast a week or so ago. Jim Crow needs a come back along with restrictive covenants.

    So RF, assuming the WHOIS info for you domain is correct, I would like to ask, if you love black people and equality so much, why do you live in a neighborhood which is predominately white, where the vast majority of black people couldn’t afford to live, even with section 8 assistance? Why do you engage in voluntary segregation?

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  26. Lexington, KY – guns not scarce, ARs aplenty in local shops, no serious price gouging, ammo is out there, but you need to know where to look. The one category of items not available are reloading components…pretty scarce.

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  27. Constitution whittled away,
    And they blame the rich but now make us pay,
    While spinning out thin air,
    So empty is their chair,
    Get off of my lawn or make my day.

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  28. First, these are not just drug cartels, they are terrorist organizations.
    Like the terrorists in Afghanistan who use the money from their heroine trade to fund terrorist operations, buy off police and politicians, and assassinate any DA or Judge that believes that laws should be enforced, these terrorists on our Southern border are doing the same with cocaine and pot. Think of it like this: we’re sharing a border with Mexistan. Pretending that these are just simple businessmen who want to make an honest living, and not hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it, is engaging in a willing suspension of disbelief. It should concern us greatly that OTM’s (Other Than Mexican’s) have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexican border …carrying Korans. Yep, they’re helping smuggle our Islamist enemies into the U.S.
    CBP/ICE don’t know how many have crossed our border and are here right now, but they do know they are crossing from Mexistan.
    What border problem?

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  29. Like these chuckleheads actually shoot someone? Last I heard, they only had bean-bag roumds, and were ordered to help the mules get their bales of drugs safely over the border. The SW border is probably safer then the streets of Chicago.

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  30. just viewed the leftovers! the horses thank you! they want to know when you are coming back… maybe with pumpkins!

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  31. I got half way through watching it and had to turn it off. It’s foolish of me to expect anything from Malloy but outright mendacity and idiocy. Connecticut used to pretty cool back when I was there, but how thing have changed. I am sad and angry for the people of that poor state.

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  32. why is it that whenever you have a guy like Dan Baum who is part of the way there, instead of trying to convince them to come the rest of the way, I see people respond with intense vitriol? I don’t think the 2A crowd is going to do much good if we scare everyone off who we don’t consider “ideologically pure”.

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  33. I have been offered a job in Ct. Not just any job, a life changing opportunity to do what I love and make a very comfortable living as well. The move is scheduled for this coming September. I currently enjoy the freedom of Fl. Do I sell my soul and my “arsenal” (more than two according to these idiots)? I am truly at a loss…………

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  34. It seems a fair proposal to me. It’s not like they are fired – just that they can’t carry a weapon anymore.

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  35. Should be an automatic trial by jury same as the rest of us. That Uniform does not put you in a different class of people. You knew the job was dangerous and had its drawbacks when you took it, if you can’t handle them you need to find another job.

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  36. Okay, so the plane was already in Connecticut and headed to DC and these people are tagging along. How are they getting home…?

    Reply

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