Chatting with one of my neighbors last night, the conversation turned to Newtown and the resulting furor over guns…
A bit of background, “Lynn” is an Air Force Major with a PHD in psychology, and is clinical psychiatrist currently treating PTSD patients and performing forensic psychology; along with volunteering with the VA and working with 15-20 Vietnam Vets in group sessions. Lynn’s hubby is an AF pilot flying ‘something’ out of Nevada…
She’s also gotten in to shooting in the last couple of years, and has a .22, a G19 and a Mossy for ‘self defense’.
She comes at the argument from a different perspective that I found to be very interesting, being on her side of the ‘fence’ so to speak…
She flat out said more laws will do NOTHING to improve the situation, as “outliers” tend to be the ones that do these outrageous acts. She was pretty condemnatory of her own profession in that the HIPAA requirements and the “I can fix what is wrong with him/her with treatment” mentality in the profession keep the mental health types from ‘reporting’ people that really need to be in NICS. She also commented that the Vietnam Vets group she is working with (most of who are suffering from PTSD) are very upset with the trends in blaming guns for bad people. They ‘know’ what bad people are, and they know the only reason they are here today are those guns they used in combat. She said ALL of them still own guns, and are willing to defend themselves and their families WITH those guns without a second thought.
Last night I got a call from an old friend (retired Navy Captain) and her hubby about what gun(s) I’d recommend they buy and where to get training. They are traveling quite a bit and are becoming more and more concerned about safety while they travel. I pointed them to a lady instructor up here (Lynne Finch), and I guess I volunteered to take them to the range next weekend… Sigh…
Thankfully, both of them have been through rudimentary training in the military, but I told them I’d ‘strongly’ recommend they both go through a CCW class and get their carry permits.
FWIW, I’d call these folks members of the ‘silent majority’… When they are getting very serious about self defense; this tells me the gun control and violence argument IS percolating through the average public’s thought processes…
Lastly, sitting watching the football game, a few of us were chatting and Feinstein’s bill and the possibility of an EO came up. One of the guys (long time gun owner and hunter), stated he did not believe that the contents of the bill were real… That ‘nobody’ would be that stupid to actually try to do this in America. We showed him the links to the bill, and he just about had a coronary…
And he made an interesting point; at what point does a scoped ‘hunting’ rifle become a ‘sniper’ rifle? Or is ammunition going to be the target? He said he’d just ordered $2500 worth of ammo for his rifles and pistols a couple of months ago (he tends to buy case lots to keep as close to the same zero as he can). Now he’s wondering if he is on some ‘list’.
He thinks he will probably give ‘all’ of his guns to his son just to make sure he ‘can’ keep them in the family (he has over 100, some with long family histories). And he’s going to be writing, calling and emailing his friends and hunting buddies to get out and stand against this bill. Another interesting point raised was is this ban going to include the police and Feds (like DHS, USSS, FBI, others), or will it ONLY be against John Q. Public?
In summary, I think this is going to be the most divisive issue we’ve seen in our generation, and the ‘elites’ do NOT realize how much impact this will have on the silent majority. Nor do I believe the ‘elites’ realize how much of a ground swell of anger is growing against them for yet another ‘law’ that will do nothing but limit honest people’s ability to defend themselves and not address the real problems in this country with mental health and privacy…
A bit of background, “Lynn” is an Air Force Major with a PHD in psychology, and is clinical psychiatrist currently treating PTSD patients and performing forensic psychology; along with volunteering with the VA and working with 15-20 Vietnam Vets in group sessions. Lynn’s hubby is an AF pilot flying ‘something’ out of Nevada…
She’s also gotten in to shooting in the last couple of years, and has a .22, a G19 and a Mossy for ‘self defense’.
She comes at the argument from a different perspective that I found to be very interesting, being on her side of the ‘fence’ so to speak…
She flat out said more laws will do NOTHING to improve the situation, as “outliers” tend to be the ones that do these outrageous acts. She was pretty condemnatory of her own profession in that the HIPAA requirements and the “I can fix what is wrong with him/her with treatment” mentality in the profession keep the mental health types from ‘reporting’ people that really need to be in NICS. She also commented that the Vietnam Vets group she is working with (most of who are suffering from PTSD) are very upset with the trends in blaming guns for bad people. They ‘know’ what bad people are, and they know the only reason they are here today are those guns they used in combat. She said ALL of them still own guns, and are willing to defend themselves and their families WITH those guns without a second thought.
Last night I got a call from an old friend (retired Navy Captain) and her hubby about what gun(s) I’d recommend they buy and where to get training. They are traveling quite a bit and are becoming more and more concerned about safety while they travel. I pointed them to a lady instructor up here (Lynne Finch), and I guess I volunteered to take them to the range next weekend… Sigh…
Thankfully, both of them have been through rudimentary training in the military, but I told them I’d ‘strongly’ recommend they both go through a CCW class and get their carry permits.
FWIW, I’d call these folks members of the ‘silent majority’… When they are getting very serious about self defense; this tells me the gun control and violence argument IS percolating through the average public’s thought processes…
Lastly, sitting watching the football game, a few of us were chatting and Feinstein’s bill and the possibility of an EO came up. One of the guys (long time gun owner and hunter), stated he did not believe that the contents of the bill were real… That ‘nobody’ would be that stupid to actually try to do this in America. We showed him the links to the bill, and he just about had a coronary…
And he made an interesting point; at what point does a scoped ‘hunting’ rifle become a ‘sniper’ rifle? Or is ammunition going to be the target? He said he’d just ordered $2500 worth of ammo for his rifles and pistols a couple of months ago (he tends to buy case lots to keep as close to the same zero as he can). Now he’s wondering if he is on some ‘list’.
He thinks he will probably give ‘all’ of his guns to his son just to make sure he ‘can’ keep them in the family (he has over 100, some with long family histories). And he’s going to be writing, calling and emailing his friends and hunting buddies to get out and stand against this bill. Another interesting point raised was is this ban going to include the police and Feds (like DHS, USSS, FBI, others), or will it ONLY be against John Q. Public?
In summary, I think this is going to be the most divisive issue we’ve seen in our generation, and the ‘elites’ do NOT realize how much impact this will have on the silent majority. Nor do I believe the ‘elites’ realize how much of a ground swell of anger is growing against them for yet another ‘law’ that will do nothing but limit honest people’s ability to defend themselves and not address the real problems in this country with mental health and privacy…
I don’t understand “giving” all your guns to family for example….they do not have a title like a car and who will know when what was given to whom?
You comments about the elites being clueless is right on. I have many friends in law enforcement that have already let their bosses/staff know they will not be enforcing any of these new regs and if given a choice between enforcement and quitting, we will have a lot fewer officers on the force.
Carrying it just a bit farther, they also indicated it would be a bad day should their replacements every pay a visit to collect unregistered weapons.
Hope and change sir, hope and change . . . .
The passage of such invasive legislation worries me because this is pretty much the same bunch who passed Obamacare without reading it AND STATING such.
But, what worries me just as much is the number of law enforcement members who now claim they won’t follow orders to the same end but whose jobs will depend on doing exactly that. I do not believe that when push comes to shove all those oath keepers will avoid my front door as a matter of principle. Food on the table for the family back home can be a strong motivator.
It’s about time people started getting angry. I just hope it’s not too late. We’ve let so many of our freedoms go so that we can sit in our nice houses all fat, dumb, and happy. It’s time for us to stand up and take them back.
What BobF said…the people do not even know what they are voting for. They are just now freaking out cuz they realized with their first pay check that all that free stuff is being aid for by them….who knew.
Some years ago I would have decried Fienstein’s attempt to confiscate firearms as so much hyperbola. Then I watched what happened in New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina crises.
Feinstein has been plotting this action for several years. Anyone who thinks that she hasn’t planned to overcome resistance is delusional. She has plans, and those plans include a disarmed U.S. populace.
I’ve read that some law enforcement officers have stated that they’ll refuse to enforce the new law. That’s good to hear, but I’m much more interested in seeing what happens when those officers are ordered by the commander to enforce the law with a no knock warrant at three in the morning. I’m betting the saddle up and kick in the door.
This is the beginning of the end. I probably won’t see the whole sorry business during my lifetime, for which I’m thankful.
“Divisive” is an understatement. The anger about a possible grab is tangible up here. And while we all know it’s easy to “talk big”, I’ve not heard a single person say they’d comply.
I’d like to hope that you are correct about the silent majority, but I have my doubts…
On the other hand, a friend, who also happens to be school superintendent in CT, and who I would have pegged as either anti-gun or neutral, told me that they felt the best approach to security would be allowing staff/teachers to carry if they wished. And that they were going to say so at the next meeting.
The thing is though, I don’t think the politicians care if the people are angry. They can bank on the fact that the majority have too much to lose. And are silent.
The elites don’t care, and won’t care, until it bites them in the butt. When and how that happens I can’t even guess.
What Rev. Paul said….but, a wise man keeps his head down as he writes and fights for his rights. Blatantly thumping your chest (the tendency of many gun owners) and stating we’ll shot back, is a quick way to sit out the ‘war’ in a prison cell.
I’m interested in the comments of your neighbor concerning the attitude of her profession towards the 2nd amendment. It would be great if you could persuade her to expand on her thoughts with a short monograph.
As usual I’m impressed by your command of language…and look forward to reading your words.
Sir, at this point in the Obama Coup de ta’ He and the ultra left MUST start a civil war. The goal for “them” is to make Obama or someone just like him, “President for life”. This is in no way about guns. This is a Marxist coup. Martial law is the only way to disarm us -and they know it. When they try ;We fight. At that point “they” get exactly what “they” want, an end to elections and a pemenant police state, with Obama staring as Stalin. Then “they” just abolish the house, the senate becomes the “soviet” and everybody else gos to the gulag. What do you THINK that 5 billion rounds of ammunition are FOR?
I’ve done two newbie shooting trips this year and have one more on deck. In two of the cases the folks had firearms but did not know how to shoot/fight with them. Like you I send them for a CCW and more training.
The feeling here in KY is not no to the AWB but Hell NO!
Gerry
Duke- If it comes down to it, daddy gives all his guns to his son, who then registers them… ensures another generation has control.
eia- Yeah, hope and change… sigh
Bob- Understood and agreed.
PH- True!
Agirl- They ‘thought’ they did… sigh
MSJ- Good point!
Rev/Stephen- As it gets closer, I think you’ll start to see some ‘divisions’…
acair- interesting comment, and I’m not sure either…
WSF- Yeah!
Gaffer- I’ll try… and thanks.
Anon- Your point IS gaining credibility…
Gerry- Thanks and concur!
Yeah but …
The ‘elites’ may be ignorant, but they’re not stupid. If they can’t get our guns directly they’ll mount stealth attacks on the firearms infrastructure. We’ve already seen proposals for sky-high taxes on ammo, requirements for gun owners to carry liability insurance, restrictions on shooting ranges, to name just a few. Now there are reports that obama is planning to co-opt major firearms retailers in his attack on the Second Amendment. And I’m sure there’s more to come.
Tim- Yep, starting hearing that this afternoon…
this tells me the gun control and violence argument IS percolating through the average public’s thought processes. I believe there was considerable “battle-space” preparation earlier last year with precisely this in mind.
IMO the whole #Occupy Movement was an effort to convince and revive the moribund Left and remind them of their Glory Days, so that they COULD go ahead and freely meddle with the rest of the population again…
The only ones harmed in a gun recall will be Mr. Innocent Public Gun Owner and any officers trying to do their job. THEN the video will be on the news with a “RESISTANCE IS FUTILE” caption, scaring everyone else into handing over their firearms.
THEN, we’ll all be sitting ducks while we’re picked off by the thugs and their unregistered arms.
The only ones left standing will be the politicians due to their armed protection.
NC- Excellent point, makes sense (in hindsight)…
Lotta- That’s what they ‘hope’…