Gun Free Zone

It is said that you never screw around with the guy(s) holding the microphone because you will always lose. I’ve never been accused of being rational or sensitive so here I go.

Tyler and Robert are upset. It seems I wasn’t too nice to them on a previous post and they took exception of my snarky comments. They claim that they do not ever favor a A Federal Database of Gun Owners and Federal Regulations to Carry Concealed but they are very much in favor of a Federal Concealed Weapons permit…Huh?

OK guys, here is how it works.  What do you think would be necessary to issue a Federal CCW? Let’s see I imagine that a federally issued CCW number must be connected to at least name and an address with very possibly a set of fingerprints and a full background check, right? So far so good. Now, I imagine that the immense majority of those applying for a FCCW permit do so because they are gun owners and want to carry anywhere in the US so we end up with information on somebody who owns a gun in the hands of the Feds. Oh yes, they will make a list of the permits issued, don’t you think? Congress will make sure it happens that way in order to check for mistakes, possible issuance of FCCW to criminals, terrorists and other undesirables plus they need to know the statistics in order to allocate funding and many other things important to Washington Bureaucrats. A compilation of such information is called a database thus making a FCCW a Federal Database of Gun Owners. I am a big fan of reciprocity between the States and also supported Senator Thune’s Bill because it was simple, effective and did not add crap or created a new Federal monster. What is really disturbing about your proposal is that it seems to me designed for convenience and laziness, not gun rights (14:05) ” We advocate a solution to having to go out to all these different states and get your concealed weapons permit through each individual State… I shouldn’t have to go out and get an Oregon permit and a California permit and an Utah Permit and a Florida Permit. It would be nice to just get one permit.” And of course, a Federal Concealed Weapons Permit seems to be just the ticket. But many others think not for the reasons posted above.

Now , if you think that you and me will be allowed to say how the FCCW law will be written, you have another thing coming. Assorted Congresspeople will soon inundate the bill with restrictions (Mag capacity, defining a pistol as assault weapon if it has some extra feature they don’t like, type of ammo used, registering the gun to be used as FWCC, etc), pork, fees, insurance requirements and assorted crap unrelated to the original idea (A de facto Federal Regulations to Carry Concealed) plus our goal has never been to add another gun law but to eliminate the 20,000 laws we have in the books already. At the end of the day we will probably end with a Frankenstein that will encroach even more in our Second Amendment Rights which will promptly be signed into law with an Administration like the one we have nowadays.  And all of this because you do not feel like taking the time and money to get CCWs from different states? Basically you admitted that your driving motive for a FCCW is laziness. Now, if you really want to make a difference and eliminate the reciprocity issue, campaign for a new version of the Thune Bill, if not just let the individual States work the Reciprocity issue on their own. It has been working fine so far albeit it might be too slow for some. If your State does not allow reciprocity, well it is a local issue that the gun owners in that state should confront and not ask the Feds to intervene. I think we have too much federal intrusion as of now.

At 13:22 you hear “I come up with ideas. If you have a better idea than that, please send me an email.” I am going to tell you here instead of via email: Coming up with ideas does not absolve you from idiocy. You must think through and analyze what could go wrong. The Coyote came up with many ideas, but never gave it much of an analysis with the obvious (and hilarious) consequences happening.

Now let’s take the Mandatory Training thing. My questions are: What kind of broadcast training you two have? Do you think you should be allowed to express your ideas via podcast just because you have the tools? Don’t you agree that mandatory training is necessary specially in this day and age of electronic media where it can reach instantly to other people? Can you imagine the damage unrestricted blogging or podcasting could have? Let’s do it for the Children! See? kinda silly.

Here is an idea. Are you Firearms Instructors? If not, become one. Go to all those Gun Stores that are doing such a bad job and tell them “Hey. We are Certified Instructors. We are here to offer basic firearms safety to your customers specially those buying a gun for the first time.” Strike some sort of deal and reach to those first time buyers. Offer Hunter Safety Classes or the NRA First Step classes for a reasonable fee. Contact other instructors and propose creating local network of instructors that are willing to teach basic gun safety for free if necessary and reachable by phone or a quick email. But to mandate anything before you can own a gun? Hell no! Why do we insist on treating the Second Amendment as an embarrassing Right for which we must voluntarily bend over and take it?

And yes guys, you can call me Popoo Head if you wish, it is your right. Wait, do you have a Federal License to Podcast? Are you properly trained in Podcast safety? Just joking.

And no, I won’t contact you via email if I disagree. You made it sound like you are afraid of being criticized in public and wish to hide any potential embarrassment. Bad move even if that was not your intention. Be open, man up, take it and give it back. You will screw up, everybody does. Just fix it and carry on.

And I have been registered in the GRRN forum for a while but I choose where to participate and comment.

Truth be told I had no ill will against Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist. I think that although he didn’t do too well for Florida, he did not screw up the pooch too much either. I know his George Hamilton looks makes him kind of creepy, but I can live with it.  He did lose some points with me when he “embraced” too quickly the Obama federal handout instead of cleaning house and tightening the belt in-house.

My mother is fond to say that “La Lengua es el castigo del cuerpo” or loosely translated: The Tongue will punish the Body which in the Spanish folklore means your unchecked mouth will always get you in trouble. In an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Governor Crist accused his contender for the US Senate Marco Rubio of waxing his back. That Rubio allegedly did this (or was it a $130 haircut) by using a Republican Party of Florida credit card already brought some criticism to Crist when he wouldn’t cough up how he got his hands into the credit card record and didn’t care if it was obtained legally.

Marco Rubio is not only ahead in the polls for the Senate seat but way way ahead. I don’t care how cool cucumber you wanna appear, the Crist campaign is sweating bullets. But unfortunately Governor Crist shivving (or shaving) Rubio in the back is a rather distasteful and cheap shot.  I have not examined Marco Rubio’s stand on anything so I can’t say that I will vote for him, but Governor Crist may not want to wait for my vote anytime soon.

Shut the hell up next time.

Some years ago, a group of online friends would get together and bet on the Oscar Winners. We don’t do it anymore mostly because we went our separate cyber ways but also because they hated me. I was pretty good at guessing who the winners would be but what really made my buddies mad was the fact that I never saw the movies to begin with. I just guessed by their themes and their political inclination.

This year I would have missed big. Really big. These were my guesses:

Best Movie

Avatar: Great PC story but Hollywood hates giving Oscars to animated characters. Nothing much they can do with them, no juicy stories behind the scenes and they only come out when the animators allow. Not a chance.

The Blind Side: White woman in charge of Black Kid? No way no how! You racist Pig!

District 9: Apartheid is dead even if it is aliens. You are so last two decades. If it was something to do with Global Warming killing poor aliens, maybe. Again Animated (computer) characters are a no go.

An Education: Nobody saw this movie and the DVD sent to Academy members was used as coaster by many. If somebody knows what the movie is about, let us know

The Hurt Locker: Rehashing The Deer Hunter with explosives? Nah.. pass. (Humble Pie eaten in quantities and I actually saw this movie in PPV before the Oscars. not that good IMHO)

Inglourious Basterds: Quentin movies are like a Naughty boyfriend/girlfriend. Good for fun but you don’t bring him out to the Fifth Avenue parties or he will embarrass you

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. Winner winner chicken dinner! Handicapped minority with poverty issues? If you add a funky artistic thing (like a painting left foot) this movie will collect Oscars for the next three years.

A Serious Man: Who? Oh! Thirty Something movie version but without anything interesting.

Up: Again the animated character thing. No dice.

Up in the Air: Again the animated character thing. No, wait. This is Clooney. His time has passed and charm has faded. Now he looks like the middle age uncle that thinks he can pick chicks up like he did in his 20’s.

Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges: Replaying Robert Duvall’s character in Tender Mercies but without the religious thing. I Like Jeff so I give him my throw away vote for the Oscar but I doubt he will win.

George Clooney: Charm is gone. He’ll flash a big insincere smile when somebody else gets the Oscar.

Colin Firth: Who?

Morgan Freeman: Mandela? Oh yes! He doesn’t even have to say a word to win it. In the era of Obama, who will dare to vote against mandela? (Humble Pie)

Jeremy Renner: Cartoon character even if real. Movie was not that good.

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock: I love Sandra. Contrary to popular opinion she can do serious roles.  28 days was enough for me. My favorite but not in the cards for her.

Helen Mirren: Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z!

Carey Mulligan: I think the Brit stuff is overplayed. No chance for an unknown on a overkilled series.

Gabourey Sidibe: Will you dare to deny her of the Oscar? You Racist!!!!

Meryl Streep: Chill girl, you have enough accolades and you did not play a handicapped nutjob stewing rabbits while deciding which man to love while your kid was eaten by dingoes.

As you can see I was WAY off this year. Great for Sandra though. She can do anything in a movie. There is always next year.

From Oleg Volk’s Studio

You know? It does not look half bad, not at all.

If you own or are a member of a shooting club in any specialty, the safety of its members is paramount. I don’t have to tell you this since we in the culture had made it a mantra and, let’s face it, we do a great job beating the Four Rules into people’s mind. Our Clubs insurance carrier will gladly renew our policy because our great track record but will refuse to insure “less dangerous” sports such as Paintball because their participants keep getting injured. However, a while back I was spectacularly reminded of Einstein’s quote: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”

In the last year or so, we received an influx of new shooters to our club interested in shooting IDPA. Lots of them were almost literally people that just bought a gun for the first time and got tired real quick of a static range shooting one round per second with no movement.  Thanks to two great members who came up and implemented a new New Shooter Program where ANYBODY shooting with us for the first time must go through a safety briefing and a gun proficiency test before being allowed to shoot a match (And I don’t care if you returned from overseas and were team leader of Gamma 58 Anti Terrorist Squad). Some of the stuff you are checked on covers drawing and holstering the weapon safely, parts of the gun, shooting itself, reloads, etc. Shooters have been turned away because they were considered too green and were recommended to take a basic pistol class before coming back, some had good basic skills were too Rambo and too “I know my shit. I am the New Ninja” and told thanks but no thanks. Those who demonstrated safety and willingness but were still green, were allowed to shoot under the official care of a Safety Officer but really the whole squad usually mentors the shooter. Some find out that that IDPA is not for them and God Bless them. We encourage them to seek other disciplines and let them know our door is open for them at any time but to keep shooting! Most get hooked and have a blast after their first match and want to do it all over again the next day… which we would like to do, but gun ranges in South Florida are premium contested real space. At the end, we have new safe shooters… or so we thought.

A New Shooter who went through the Safety chat & evaluation and actually shot one stage decided to go to the Safety Area and practice his reloads. Now our Safety Area like any Safety Area anywhere else doe not allow ammunition to be handled. And to reinforce the rule, we have a huge sign that gives you the damn rules on what to do and what not to do plus the Four Rules of Gun Safety.  So next thing we hear is a BANG from the Safety Area and a very surprised New Shooter. An Safety Officer and myself were standing nearby (but unfortunately not paying enough attention before the incident), rushed towards the guy and told him to put the weapon down on the table. The guy turns towards us, still dazed and we get a nice sweep of what afterward turned out to be a gun with a round in the pipe. Yeah… bowel loosening time. Gun was secured and shooter was then sent to talk with the two Safety Officers who gave him the initial briefing & evaluation. After the chat was over, the shooter was DQed for the rest of his natural life and asked not to return. I don’t know if he felt he “knew” how to handle guns and thought himself above our silly regulations or was just a plain combination of overconfidence with absent mindedness sprinkled with stupidity. The end result was a Negligent Discharge and that cannot be tolerated.

I know that there are two kinds of shooters: Those who had an ND and those who will. I know some will say that we were a bit harsh on the guy and we should give him another chance. If it was a one on one situation in the middle of the sticks with a guy who was new to guns, maybe. But we had some 60+ shooters that day mingling around plus some wives & kids. As a Club, we have to be responsible all those lives and stupidity cannot be forgiven. I rather have somebody with a bruised ego than a gunshot wound.

So, to summarize a very long winded post, when it comes to Gun Safety there is no such thing as shortcuts, carelessness or in our case thinking people will follow Gun Safety rules all the time and that we should trust and relax. We learned a lesson on the cheap.

We are not talking about a simple (or complicated) political or social misunderstanding here. It is not a difference of opinion on a dark point of the law. The battle for the Second Amendment is about some things tangible and some that are not. It is the respect of freedom and the respect for life. Brady and its bunch were not disagreeing about possibly raising taxes to pay for a new highway project or if a contract is enforceable or not. They were directly subverting my right to defend myself. They were making an overt attempt against my life and the life of my loved ones. There is no difference that they used the law or a gun, the end result was to disarm me and leave me ready to be attacked by the wolves and that I do not take kindly.

McDonald is not just a “case” or an argument or a amicus curiae. Mr. McDonald is a human being which was denied the tools for defensing himself in a violent neighborhood. He is fearful and living a cloistered life because some politicos decided that he had no right to own a handgun. These politicos do not live in the same neighborhood as Mr McDonald and if they leave their mansions, they do so with privileges and bodyguards not available to the rest of the citizens in the community they reign. These politicos are First Among Equals, the Pigs More Equal than Others. A Ruling Class and Royalty in our country exacting power on the rest of us.

Now stop for a second and think of the innocents murdered in Chicago through the years. Think of those that might had an opportunity if they were allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights but could not because a local government said they are not worthy. Doesn’t that churn your guts? Are you so intellectually removed from the everyday mud it does not affect you? It does to me and it does to a lot of people.

So when you say “that it’s not too much to ask to be civil to our opponents in this debate” I and many others cringe. It would be like sitting down with Lavrentiy Beria and debate about how naughty he was doing all those things inside Lefortovo prison.  Or akin to sharing a hot chocolate and a spirited discussion with Che Guevara about his “pedagogy of the paredon ” (wall where you place those about to be executed by firing squad) to teach the lessons of the Cuban Revolution.  Make no mistake: Brady and Hamm did not pull a trigger or stabbed anyone, but they did and still cooperate with the killing of many.

You have friends and family that are anti-gun? So do I and so do many in our cause. Some were anti-gun but changed their views. Some refuse to own a gun, but do not make any attempts to curtail our rights. The very few that were active against my rights are no longer part of my world and know damn well what I think of them.

We never wanted to impose anything. We simply demanded our rights and never tried to exact our views on anybody. We wanted the choice to defend ourselves, a choice to live and it was denied. Brady and the like did their best to stop those rights, caused death and they are responsible for it. After much fighting, we are turning that idiocy little by little and I really don’t feel like being civil/appeasing/compromising to enablers of murder.

I am glad that Mr. McDonald’s case will be resolved in the Supreme Court and in our favor. He needs a real chance and not a fake guarantee of safety where none exists.