By ST
This is hard to write. Those of you with a biblical background may be familiar with the story of Paul. One of the most noted Apostles in the good book got his start persecuting the very thing he became later in life. It was a lesson lost on me growing up in the Baptist community in urban Chicago. It’s no secret guns aren’t the favorite topic among the dwellers of that metropolis and I was no different. I wrote many a lauded term paper in high school supporting the Assault Weapons Ban . . .
and I pitched a proper teenage liberal fit when the Supreme Court ruled in a fashion which meant Al Gore lost the election. Yes, I used to be one of those radical, low information voters who’s easily swayed by CNN and Al Sharpton. It’s a good thing time travel isn’t achievable yet because sometimes I want to go back and slap myself so hard I’d probably cease to exist entirely.
But then my life circumstances changed and my back was against a financial wall. Thus motivated by circumstances and a desire to do something good with my life, I joined the Air Force. All along, right up until the first time I shot at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, I thought the government, media, celebrities and black cultural leaders were right about gun control. It all came crashing down, though, when I pulled the trigger of that M16A2 set to three-round giggle mode. I left the range wondering why I had waited so long…..and that’s when I got angry.
I was angry because I realized I’d been lied to my entire life. What’s worse, I didn’t have any way to know it was all a load of bull. I drank intellectual KoolAid my entire life on the issue, thinking it was water.
I now own an AR15, two 9mms and a shiny NRA membership card. The transition hasn’t been painless: as of now I’m barely on speaking terms with my extended family after they discovered I hold a CCW permit and my mom thinks there’s no reason for AR15s to be civilian-legal. The reaction of my black relatives to my ownership of guns and a carry permit has been about the same as coming out as a lesbian would have been in 1947. If they knew I’m an NRA member and a registered Republican, too, I’d probably be disavowed entirely.
I share all of this because I believe people who’ve grown up in pro-RKBA families and states can’t fathom the kind of social information and message management that motivates voters to support gun control. As Sun Tzu said, to know our enemy and to know ourselves means we can win a hundred battles. There are times today I can’t comprehend what the liberal disarmament lobbys up to, and I used to stand with them.
What we’re up against isn’t just laws, statutes, rules and regulations. We’re fighting, without sinking into hyperbole, a system of cultural and social control. We, the people of the gun, need to break the back of the disarmament lobby by getting positive word about the RKBA past the information barriers erected by anti-gun politicians and their lackeys in the media. By changing the culture, we’ll change the laws. We take down the anti-gun culture by substituting the KoolAid millions of voters are drinking in New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, Honolulu, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles with the water they never knew they missed.
I really like Matt’s show but this right here, he and his friend takes a L.
FORMER liberal gun hater. FORMER being the operative word here.
Good testimonial.
We are fighting:
1) People who actively want the monopoly on the ability to use violent force to reside with the political class (to which they belong or think they are a part of) and their extensions.
2) People who are so terrified of their inability to take care of themselves that they have deluded themselves to the point of zeal that accomplishing 1) will finally free them of their self-responsibility.
I’m sorry that your family won’t simply agree to disagree. Welcome to the light side of the force, though.
Great post ST.
If we are not politicaly motivated there will not be any guns / gear left to review. I believe there is still a significant # of pro gun folks out there who do not yet think their guns will be next or their state or local is close to a california , nj, maryland etc. so have not felt motivated to become involved. This and all gun sites need to try to get their readers and followers motivated to fight the anti’s or we truly will have very little to talk about.
ST thanks for sharing. Fortunately for me I grew up with a bb gun and later a .410. My father was an avid gun collector and it rubbed off. But I guess that would make me blind to the other side.
“why you shootin’ a $3k Anschutz target rifle, girl?”
Who would ask that? It is a rifle just like the one every other competition shooter uses. Its about the same price as a nice AR with an ACOG, or a nice guitar, and it is cheaper than a Barrett or Nighthawk or Turnbull.
Thanks for your service, and welcome to the world of firearms and independent thought.
The more to come to our side the better.
I find this woman despicable. Anyone who callously bullies a rape victim for any reason in a public venue like this woman did deserves a special place in hell.
Thanks, man.
Those of us who live in Red State America need to understand what we are up against. A single real story like this one is worth one hundred Talk Radio rants. Here is some hope I can believe in.
I would rather her continue to use her Anschutz rifle, it insures that the shots she makes are totally her skill. Anything else, hit or miss, could be luck.
William, you’re probably right.
Just an FYI. We’re doing another Manhattan Appleseed in two weeks.
October 19 at Westside Pistol Range in NYC, 20 West 20th St. NY, NY. 3pm to 10 pm. We do one usually second weekend of every month. I’m easy to find. You can sign up here:
http://appleseedinfo.org/search-states-location.php?locationid=77
kDan
Erm, if these hipster wanna be losers ever did actually live in the scenery depicted, they would have been eaten by bears. Though, this vid kinda reminds me of Christmas ’63 when my brother and I got plastic Winchesters with caps and actual plastic bullets. Pity there were 3 boys for 2 guns, if think they started a war between us (which probably hasn’t ended yet). Maybe they were going for an old timey The Band vibe, but started in on the Thorium instead. I think their doctor should look at their meds. Overall this effort should be called for child abuse. Infecting children with dangerous gun handling habits is sacrilege.
Great post!
Have you people completely lost your minds?
Expecting the police to actually know, and be able to follow, the LAW!
OMG, what a concept!
I really needed to read something like this. Recently I’ve been wondering if there’s any real hope of reconciliation with people on the other side and if we’re just doomed for one to eventually destroy the other.
You’ve proven that isn’t always the case. Thank you.
Muuuuuch better than the original!
Love it !
This looks like it would be tons of fun if I weren’t so poor and they had competitions in Florida. Good job sir.
Brilliant! As we all know, only you can protect yourself, and firearms are the best available means to do so, and this poster illustrates that fact.
He should have left the Moms Demand Action logo on there.
Thank you for your service! I encourage healthy debate regarding the 2nd Amendment but most of the Gun Control ilk sink to emotion. I still respect them and would never think about disowning a member of my family. Maybe your family will come around?
Forgive them, for they know not what they do…
Welcome, brother. There is room for all in the House of the Spiral Tube (but not those straight wall guys… shotgunners make my a$$ drag). 😉
Welcome.
I had a 60 25 years ago and sold it. A decision I regret. I found a 10 22 I like but miss the old marlin.
BCM 16″ BHF Upper-Wisconsin
Aero Precision Lower-Washington
White Oak Armory LPK-Ohio
ACT Trigger-Pennsylvania
BCM Mod 1 Grip-Wisconsin
Magpul AFG-Colorado
B5 Bravo Stock-USA somewhere
Magpul Hanguard-Colorado
AimPoint Pro-Sweden
Nice…
This actually goes to one of my pet theories: An all-volunteer Armed Forces is a very bad thing, because it is less democratic (note lowercase “d”). People who would be forced, by induction in the draft, to be exposed to alternate points of view, are now able to continue to live blissfully in their own comfortable world.
Don’t feel bad about your former liberalism. I think it was Churchill that said: “Show me a young conservative and I shall show you a man with no heart. Show me an old liberal and I shall show you a man with no soul.”
The quote attributed to Churchill is:
“If you’re not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you’re not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”
or
“Show me a young Conservative and I’ll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I’ll show you someone with no brains.”
or some other variation.
Great quotes, but there’s no proof that he actually said any of them.
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/quotations/quotes-falsely-attributed
Hudak was in the news last week because she was goofing off on her iPad during a committee hearing about the horrible performance of the parole division at our DOC. Ten citizens have been murdered by parolees in CO, including the head of the DOC, Tom Clements, earlier this year! She does not take her job seriously. Most of her constituents would be fired for goofing off in company meetings–she should be no different. She showed a tremendous amount of disrespect to the citizens of CO and to those murdered by parolees with her immature behavior in a committee meeting. When confronted, she did not apologize and instead presented excuses.
The best way to avoid domestic violence is to stay away from violent losers. But failing that, or if you’ve already dumped him and he can’t take no for an answer, then for God’s sake arm up. These people who want women to remain helpless are evil.
As far as the “tacticool ammo belt”, my vote is no. The most entertaining part of the video was the reloads.
I don’t think I could even see skittles at that distance against a dirt background with no magnification hahaha 😉 ….assuming there were any left in the bag by the time I arrived at the range…
I have a hard time feeling bad for them or even getting worked up. As I have commented on a couple of cop blogs:
Welcome to our world…
You cops MAY have a majority that support carrying weapons for civies… BUT your unions, organizations, leadership do not say civi disarmament is wrong.
Instead, through the last 20-30 years cops have been the FOCUS of banning guns, creating GFZs, banning magazines, etc, etc. All the while asking for carve outs not only for Off-Duty cops but also RETIRED cops. Why? so the unions would be silent on civilian disarming. Thats why.
And if they think this is where it ends, they are wrong. They can cry on their badges, because except for a few sheriffs we have seen few ranking officers or officer organizations stand up for the second amendment.
When they start worrying about OUR rights instead of their carve outs (and remember they always crave out RETIRED officers also even for magazine bans) I will start standing up for their rights.
Moms demand action. we reserve the right to be bitches without any repercutions. How would you like to be married to one of those bitches.
One thing that really amazed me the most about gun culture, when I took it from curiosity to passion, was just how dead wrong even I was about who gun owners are. Even in Utah, the range is a regular cross section of society. And easily the most accepting demographic in the state.
For living in a state that churns out children of the corn in half dozen batches, it was very impressive to see no more old fat white guys than there were old fat black guys. Or skinny young ones for that matter.
If there is one group of people I think we’re severely underrepresented with though, it has to be young black women. And that has always upset me, because I think that they could benefit the most as a group from being able to properly defend themselves. Its always seemed so strange to me, that a group so often recognized for their strength in the face of being subdued and victimized isn’t the first in line to arm themselves for defense.
I am an off duty college professor if I attend an NFL game and I can’t carry either. Tough horse excrement coppers. Maybe you guys will think about this crap next time.
Can they legally do all that? A buddy of mine is a Fed and he can even carry on planes even if he’s on vacation.
Makes me glad my Marlin is a little older. Made in ’48
It’s unfortunate that such silly policies are adopted. I’d like to say that police should all stop buying tickets and express their disgust to management, but the reality is probably that, in those places where such rules have no force of law, LEOs are probably just carrying guns in concealed, as there are woefully lax security policies at such “gun-free zones.”
Well at least they didn’t raffle off a pressure cooker similar to the one used in the Boston marathon bombing.
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RF, you forgot to mention the Projo Poll. Projo, or the Providence Journal for the non-natives, ran a poll asking its readership if they were bothered about the RIGOP raffling off the AR. 81% of people said no problem, and 19% were concerned. That’s some good pro-gun results, however Projo took down the poll so I can’t provide the link.
AHHHH! The outcome doesnt fit our propaganda! Kill the poll! KILL IT! I’m sure that these ‘journalists’ would have no issue obtaining their free speech liscense if DiFi’s turd of a bill had any remote chance of passing.
I suppose TTAG wants to legalize horse meat in circulation too? Cause you know, its there, so why not right?
I would add the brown Bess, the Spencer rifle, and colt .45 SA. To your list of firearms that define their time. Good write up. Good luck with the ads kicking…
Most firearm owners are not the stereotyped slack-jaw camo maniac the extreme left loves to demonize. WA State is under attack to 2nd Amdmt. rights with the pass of I-594. Billionaires bought the votes, period. Nevada is likely next. The SHTF, not an overreaction, it did. WA has law now which is so restrictive you can’t believe it is true. The loophole background check sales job was a ruse, it read well for the naive, many bought in. We now need to gut and or repeal which is a huge hassle.
Fantastic and well written article.
I am pro second amendment, have shot an AK 47 along with other types of weapons, and I hate guns. Guns are meant for killing period….well practice shooting too. However, I would hate to disarm citizens in this country for many of the reasons people have stated in their replies to this article.
I totally distrust our government because like you, I was young once and drank the Kool-Aid without bothering to read the ingredients LOL. For twenty years, I was so angry when I figured out that my dad along with the lousy California public education/indoctrination that I received when I was young had been one long ideological lie. Dumbing down public education and a radical left socialist media is frighteningly similar to Hitler and Stalin. So for now, I am pro gun ownership.