A few days ago, I was putting the finishing touches on my now functioning AR-15 when a friend stopped by. As my house filled with three more kids and the noise level increased exponentially, we sat down to chat. My friend had heard about California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsome’s ridiculous gun control proposals (banning possession of “high-capacity magazines,” requiring background checks for ammunition purchases). As I heated up a pot of coffee, she said her husband suggested she talk to me, learn some basics, and start the concealed carry permit process. Obviously, I suggested she start by . . .
shooting. I told her she should go with her husband and shoot a gun before even thinking about a CCW. I offered to show her how to shoot a handgun, as we can do that on my property. But I also wanted her to know something about how firearms function. I already had my AR-15 clamped down in its vice, so I took it as an opportunity to explain the basics.
Much like with my children, I showed her the main parts: trigger, barrel, bolt catch, safety, etc. with a brief explanation of what each does. She didn’t seem frightened of the gun itself, like some of the women I’ve introduced to firearms. Some are afraid to touch a gun, like it could bite them or something.
She showed interest and a desire to learn and even asked a few questions. “Can you hunt with this?” she asked. We all know that hunting with an AR-15 is possible, in fact, my husband has taken may coyotes with his. But many if not most people with zero firearms familiarity buy into the antis’ idea that an “assault weapon” is “only good for mass murder.”
The desire to own and learn to shoot guns amongst my female friends has increased lately. Maybe it’s because the word’s got out that I write for TTAG. At the same time, my girl friends and acquaintances know I’m leaving the Golden State to join my husband in Wyoming; this is their “last chance” to talk to a real “gun gal.” But there’s something else . . .
California’s slide down the slippery slope of gun control is reaching some kind of critical point. A point where people who wouldn’t think much about guns or gun rights are suddenly realizing that the “window” to legal ownership is closing. Joni Mitchell sang “sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” Well, sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until just before it goes. So you cling to it with both hands.
It will be pretty much too late for the masses here in California. The elites in Sacramento will continue to dictate what the peons will be allowed (which is very little) while all of the other “common sense” incremental laws will erode the rest of our rights away in this state while blaming others for continued “gun violence.” Your comment is spot on–most are simply ignorant about guns. As are most of those same politicians. Ignorance is bliss? But the difference is one group is willfully ignorant while claiming to “know better.”
“she said her husband suggested she talk to me, learn some basics, and start the concealed carry permit process. Obviously, I suggested she start by . . .
moving.”
FIFY
Beat me to it! That’s exactly what I was thinking.
Close, Ralph…
Actually, I was gonna post this:
“Obviously, I suggested she start by . . .
shooting.”
Phew.
For a second there, Sara, I thought you were gonna advise her to start reading TTAG…
That was a close one! 🙂
I normally agree with you Ralph, but moving isn’t the answer for everybody. What’s destroying our society is “incrementalism”, where the people don’t realize they’re being slowly cooked until it’s too late. I personally, would love to see Kaliformia try to completely ban guns, because they’ll probably enter into a state like South Africa where nobody obeys. At that point, people won’t be interested in semi-automatics anymore, they’ll just get full-automatics; and the Supreme Court will be forced to truly dictate the meaning of the 2nd Amendment. Unfortunately, I don’t think the leaders of the gun-controllers are that naive, just their followers.
The problem is many of the folks who flee the economic devastation end up voting for exactly the same people and policies that they’re fleeing from. They don’t make the connection because the ‘R’ or ‘D’ is part of their identity, their team. And those folks also are for gun-control….
So, California is exporting voters into other states that are going to vote for the same kind of people taking away gun rights here. Everyone has a vested interest in getting the majority of Californians to value the 2A.
I tend to think of it as Stockholm syndrome.
The people living in places like Chiraq, Koreafornia, New Yorkistan, etc. don’t realize they’re slaves, they think they’re free to do whatever the government allows them to do.. Then, one day, they move to a place where they experience true freedom, true independence, from those oppressive governments. They realize that THEY get to choose what they can do without big brother telling them otherwise, and that those choices have consequences.
At that point they decide it is too much for them to handle, so they vote for the candidates that are more like their old home. After awhile, they realize they’re in the same situation they were in before they moved from their old home and move to another state and repeat the process over and over again.
(banning possession of “high-capacity magazines,” requiring background checks for ammunition purchases).
More Gunsense at Bigbrother R us.
The “background check for the purchase of ammunition” is a LOT worse that first appearance.
There is a Bloomberg minion who’s been posting to a firearms discussion on ‘The Hill’: he posta as “Put a Hospital Tax on Ammo.”
During a discussion about Seattle’s placing a tax on gun and ammunition sales, I pointed out to his that the ordinance was illegal under Washington State’s preemption statute: RCW 9.41.290.
Here’s his response:
Here’s the plan. We floated the trial balloon in Chicago and learned much from the venture. Now we’re having Seattle go ahead with their tax on ammo and, at the same time, California will be voting in the new law requiring background checks for ammo.
By the time challenges to the Seattle law are adjudicated, California will have a wealth of evidence showing how background checks on ammo lower crime tremendously. We’ve secretly run these trials in undisclosed towns and crime rates drop off a cliff. We’ve been working on this scenario for some time now.
Look at how close to our original paradigm from two years ago is.
The solution to the gun problem we have in America is simple.
Ammo should be taxed at 400 percent. A box of 100 rounds of 9mm ammo costs $25 now. With the new luxury tax, it will increase to $100. From 25 cents per round to a dollar.
It’s clear the largest part of the gun violence problem we have in this country comes from the inner cities where deaths occur at an astounding rate.
Introducing a restrictive tax on ammo in these dangerous communities will show results overnight. Our game plan is to get the ammo out of thugs’ hands then remove their guns.
Revenue from the new tax will go to victims of gun violence.
We would allow pistol ranges to sell ammo without tax but the patron must use all the ammo there. No off premise sales. The range can provide lockers where patrons can keep their ammo. There has to be a strong level of trust so gun owners will be expected to police themselves and obey the law.
Ammo could be purchased without excessive taxes with a regulation form obtained from your local police department. $50 per gun per year with background checks. (I’m going to amend this to say a flat fee of $25)
You lose no rights. You just pay to play. As a joker on our committee said, “If you don’t want to pay a buck a bullet or get a background check, say, bang bang, over and over and pretend to shoot something.”
Nice alliteration but a bit too corny. However, at a buck a bullet, people will be less likely to give ammunition to someone who is dull normal.
As for reloading, yes you can. And you can make your own gunpowder, too.
x-x-x-x-x
See what they’ve been up to?
“By the time challenges to the Seattle law are adjudicated, California will have a wealth of evidence showing how background checks on ammo lower crime tremendously. We’ve secretly run these trials in undisclosed towns and crime rates drop off a cliff.”
If some hoplophobe apparatchnik actually wrote that, they are deluding themselves. Increasing the cost of ammo won’t do squat to the crime rate. California will have a wealth of data showing NO change due to ammo taxes, which they will of course ignore. I double dog dare anybody to show where crime rates fell off a cliff after ammo became more expensive.
If that’s the best they got, they are on their last legs. It is pathetic.
Just got my CCW in a rural part of California (Central Valley). While it took almost a year to obtain, it is still possible and fairly simple as long as you are not a “prohibited person,” and willing to wait several months. Conversely, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other more “liberal” cities and towns are virtually impossible places to get a CCW in. I just moved from Alameda County to San Joaquin. Just to give you an idea, out of a population of roughly 1.5 million in Alameda County, there are only 200~ CCW holders.
Second Amendment, what Second Amendment???
The other half of that would be discovering exactly who holds those 200 licenses. It would be the politically connected, first, such as mayors, senators, and on and on. Then, the really rich, who contribute lots of money to the politically connected. Finally, those loved by the media, like actors, celebrities, and such. You will find zero holders whose names are not instantly recognized, since those are the elite, the people we all idolize and respect for no reason that we can explain. And the process of their obtaining those licenses, if we could get the evidence, would include lots of days which coincided with large amounts of money mysteriously appearing in some officials’ bank accounts.
Freedom is lost slowly, then quickly.
It will remain “slowly” so long as we are armed.
In a state that has the most gun owners per capita, it’s hard to swallow the anti-Constitution d-bags that are elected to the legislature there.
But, California gives fair warning… whatever happens in that state happens in other states, unfortunately. That is why the pro-2A fight is needed everywhere.
First they came for the automatic weapons and I, not owning one, was silent
Then they came for standard capacity magazines and I, not owning any, was silent
Then they came for all semi-automatic guns manufactured after 2013 and I, not owning any, was silent
Then they came for my ammunition, and there was nothing to put it in to stop them.
One of my cousins lives in San Jose and works in the computer industry. He makes a small fortune and his wife and two kids all love California….unfortunately, I suspect they’re almost totally oblivious to the gun situation. His son is 11 going on 12, and when they visited the cabin here a couple years ago he brought along a kids’ bow and arrow, and expressed an interest in shooting .22 sometime.
I wish I could get him and his dad to take a constructive interest not only in shooting, which I think would be easy enough next time they visit, but more importantly, an interest in escaping before the state literally implodes upon itself. But I have no idea how, other than to let them discover the hard way. I think it’s kinda sad.
Tom
There are daily flights from San Jose to Austin.
And there are tech jobs in Austin…
Hah! They’re addicted to skiiing at Lake Tahoe, apparently. Seems like a pretty weak reason to stay in Nazifornia, if you ask me. His firm has an office in Colorado though. He travels to India about 4 times a year, doing what over there I have no idea. But anyway, I think he’s sold himself and his family short. You can’t make a horse drink the water, though.
Tom
Weak season? From who?
They recently 30″ of snow a day or so ago and are expected to receive much, much more. El Nino is going to bring the snow to California…
Since it was previously proposed by Senator Yee (before he was busted) I expect that under Governor Newsome a bill will be passed–and signed–banning future sales of all “assault weapons” and requiring registration of all existing “assault weapons,” including “ghost guns.” And this is in addition to his NY SAFE Act style proposal for a background check, extra taxes, video cameras and fingerprints just to buy ammo.
Uh…Mark…Kaliforniastan alreadys has had numerous attempts to outlaw so called assault weapons. The problem is, as we all well know, assault weapon is a made up term. Defining an assualt weapon, since it is made up, is an impossible task. They cannot do it. There is always a method to configure a semi auto rifle to allow possession. Some of these methods may be a PITA, but when the SHTF we can always change them to more accomodating configurations.
The “ghost gun” crap is just unenforceable. Put your own serial number on it. They don’t know when it was made. Just another stupid unenforceable infringement.
There is a reason the state legislature has not made possession of regular capacity magazines illegal. They have certainly thought about it. But Ex Post Facto and the 5th amendment have stopped them. And for the AR-15, it is also unenforceable once someone has a .50 Beowulf upper.
Eventually, we will just not comply. These rights are unalienable. We are getting there already.
Wait, I thought you left California!
Wait, I thought you RTFA: “At the same time, my girl friends and acquaintances know I’m leaving the Golden State to join my husband in Wyoming”.
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