On Tuesday, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and friends introduced four new gun control bills. It’s the usual farrago of firearms fail: bans on modern sporting rifles and standard capacity ammunition magazines, increased penalties for not reporting lost or stolen firearms, etc. To ensure we win the race to the bottom in the post-Newtownian disarmament derby, one of the bills removes the right of cities and towns to issue concealed carry permits. That power would be vested solely in the Attorney General, who will base his decision on “need.” In direct contravention of the State Constitution, the bill would transform RI from “shall issue” to “may issue.” Anyway, I went to see the immediate impact of all this on my local gun store . . .
For the first time in weeks, I could  park in a designated space. The store was busy, but nowhere near the mosh pit it was a month ago. One of the sales guys said he’d sold four AR lowers, but the wall o’ ARs was still well covered. Either every Rhode Islander who wants an AR now has one (or two or three), or the shockwave hasn’t hit yet.
The mood in the store was . . . resigned; the same sort of downbeat gun guy gestalt that followed the Sandy Hook slaughter. There were no stand and fight flyers. No talk of giving the anti-pistol pols a pasting in the polls. Just gun buyers buying guns.
And ammo! I nearly tripped over the boxes of ammunition by the door. The store imposed a three-box per customer per caliber limit and prices were high. But there it was: gun food.
I bought 150 rounds of 115 grain Federal American Eagle 9mm ($15.99 per box) and 60 rounds of 55-grain Winchester 5.56 target ammo ($22.99 a box). Just because I could.
Because I could do so without a license (unlike Massachusetts and now Connecticut). Because I own firearms legally. And because it makes me feel less powerless in the face of  those who seek to infringe upon my Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.
As regular readers know I’m leaving Rhode Island for Texas this summer. Until then I will do what I can to turn back the tide of disarmament that threatens to swamp a state founded on individual liberty. I am not optimistic but we have a few tricks up our sleeve (avoiding the definition of insanity). Reports to follow.
Meanwhile, I will save these cartridges. They will be the last rounds I fire in the state where I was born, purchased during the darkest hours for firearms freedom (I hope). In that sense, they were worth every penny.
There’s no doubt about it, farrago is Farago’s favorite word.
should prob park farrago in a faraday cage for a while
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Welcome to what we live with in Maryland. Never really thought of RI as a good gun state (the whole region, actually). The anti-gun movement just spreads southward.
And really…purchasing ammo at the local retailer ? I would not even be able to find a local gun shop. Find and order ammo online from private sellers, in 500 or 1,000 rd lots.
A lot of people heading to Texas these days.
Where are you headed in Texas?
Concerned_Soldier
Doesn’t matter. Texas can’t be that much bigger than RI can it? I’m sure you’ll run into each other.
Texas and RI are pretty much the same size. The former is folded up into more dimensions, however.
WTF NEEDS Rhode Island, anyway? A mediocre brushfire could level it in about three days.
He’s moving to Austin.
Now that’s just cruel.
50,000 new gun nuts residing in Austin would be a GREAT thing. A reverse Denver
As that great philosopher-Homer Simpson- once said about Donuts:
Hmmmmmmm ammunition…..hmmmmmmm.
Nice picture to remind us what it looked like.
Much of American is going “full retard” on gun control. My open challenge to politicians: give your protective details a new assignment. Re-deploy your secret service and police protection to your local schools. If it saves the life of one child, then isn’t it worth it?
And $15.99 for 50 rounds of 9mm is a pretty darn good price at an LGS. Although that isn’t much consolation.
Yeah, but $1.15/round for target-grade 5.56? Ouch.
81- Re-deploy your secret service and police protection to your local schools. If it saves the life of one child, then isn’t it worth it?
Right after that happens I will check my ass for monkey’s flying out
“Sinking towards” ? as in future tense?
Present progressive tense, I think. Which is kind of darkly funny.
yes, come to the South where the US Constitution still remains supreme… for the time being…
When did that happen? Last I was there, they were still fighting the War of Northern Aggression.
Actually, that “War of Northern Aggression” was fought in part to stand up for the 10th Amendment. The Federals seem to have won and nobody really defends the 10th anymore.
RI is not really shall issue if you have to declare a “justifiable need.”
The cities and towns are shall issue. In theory. For now.
So you need a liscence to buy ammo in Mass. & CT now? im confused….
In MA, you need a LTC or FID to buy ammo. You show the license or identification card at checkout.
The ammo situation is getting worse. Gunbot sold out overnight all 762×39 under .40 cpr. I was going to pick up a few thousand rounds this morning after deciding last night, but whammo! all gone.
For any popular ammo type showing up at or under a reasonable “good price” threshold on gunbot, you have 15 minutes or less to make your purchase or it’ll be gone.
Encouragingly, though, there are an increasing number of reasonably-priced ammo deals showing up on gunbot daily, including sub-$0.40/rd 7.62×39. FWIW there’s a bunch of sub-$0.40 AK food listed as in stock right this minute.
You have to stop calling it slavery; at no point are you chained and forced to work without any rights. You are free to move, vote, write an do whatever you want (for the most part). It’s extreme and unnecessary language.
We work for the government, which takes more that half of the average person’s income and then denies the same person his or her fundamental rights. That’s slavery. If you’re so institutionalized that the bad, bad word hurts your ears, don’t use it.
Ok, how about “Soft Tyranny” instead of Hard Tyranny/Slavery? That “feel” better?
“The perfect slave is one who thinks he is free” -The Red Star
Indentured servitude work for you?
Now compare and contrast the two.
As soon as they control your healthcare the prison will be complete. And next they’ll seize your bank accounts.
Welcome to Texas. Hope you are ready for the thermal assault that is summer down here. You opting for hot and humid, hot and dry, or Dallas, which is the worst of all worlds?
But, Texas does have electricity and A/C. I live in Florida where we have the same. I don’t know what folks are talking about when they ask me, “How do you stand the heat?”
Meanwhile up in NY and other northern states, they get 100-degree days in summer (we don’t), and they don’t have A/C, because they “don’t need it.”
Every summer we hear about folks DYING from the heat up north. Here in Florida? Never. Nobody dies from the “heat” down here.
I kept reading this hoping at the end of it you were gonna say, “Ha ha!, Just kidding! Rhode Island isn’t that nuts! I’m just making a funny!”, but you didn’t.
WTF is happening to our Nation?
Our nation? Which one is that?
Heh. Point taken. I reckon it really isn’t “our” nation anymore, is it?
The new term is The Nation
I’m happy you’re moving to Texas. We can always use citizens like you here. However, it’s a damn shame that anyone in the US should have to move from their beloved homes because of tyrannical laws.
Wait until Big Sis decides to create a Department of Relocation within the DHS. I doubt that moving to Texas to continue to be able to utilize your 2nd Amendment rights will be an approved reason for relocation….Application Denied. But you can listen to her new bagpipes playing while you are on hold waiting….Trillions of dollars in debt and Big Sis is buying bagpipes for DHS. I would rather be waterboarded than listen to her play the bagpipes.
UPDATE: Thursday morning, DHS cancelled its bagpipe order without comment. The question remains, though, why were the items ordered in the first place?
Because the bullet order was fulfilled.
How does Lola feel about Texas?
The 9mm price was pretty good, but the 5.56 price was higher than I’d be willing to pay, even if it was a “legacy purchase.”
Welcome home to Texas.
Libtards. Dont EVER vote democrat again.
Had the chance to buy a summer house in RI this year. Somehow you just knew these assholes would do the anti gun legislation after the CT tragedy. This is not the America or place I grew up in. Going out west and “ain’t never coming back.”
I have great fun giving the libtards a big smile & congratulating them for resurrecting the “Jim Crow” laws they passed during the Reconstruction.
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