The Anti Gun Crowd Is Winning

This year, only a month old, has proved to be exhausting if you are in the gun community. Without going into the specifics we are all too aware of we've been fighting a gun battle that has taken the foreground in almost every news outlet around the country and in every form of media. Whether its on the television or in the paper, in blogs or twitter or facebook, there is no escaping the debates as to whether we need more laws, less laws, the current laws enforced or an outright ban on anything that fires a projectile. And if you're tempted to read the comments to such press you will see that people are viciously defending their own opinions. No blows are too low and no punches are being pulled from either side.

I've been trying to stay away from the gun debate because I have a pretty strong opinion that the people who listen to me are already aligned to my way of thinking and don't need to be preached to and the people who don't listen to me won't start no matter what I say. So, other than passing on a few interesting articles and encouraging others to get involved I'm staying out of things.

Yet, since the latest Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 has been introduced there's been a lot of talk about who is "winning." Is there enough support for the legislation? Who is going to vote for it? Is there senate support? Will it be stopped before it gets out of the House?

A lot of speculation that, quite honestly, we're just going to have to wait and see how it turns out.

So, some might (and probably will) look at the title of this blog and balk.

"Lima!" they might say, "The antis aren't winning. We have ..." and they will start to list all sorts of reasons why we are going to win in legislation this year.

That's all well and good but I'm not talking about legislation this year. I'm not even talking about legislation next year or the year after that. I'm talking about losing the battle but winning the war and the anti gun crowd is turning to an age-old system that has worked well for them in the past for both the better and worst. I'm talking about winning over our children and slaughtering any positive image of the gun culture.

After this whole gun control debate exploded I decided to educate myself on the history of British gun laws and how they ended up with an all out ban. Why wasn't it fought harder? How did such a thing happen without mass fighting and civil war and stand-offs between the police and citizens? The gun ban in England happened almost silently.

I found the answer hidden between the lines.

The British were successful in one area that American gun-control advocates have not been successful in but are waking up to: destroying the gun culture.

British gun control has a long and uncomplicated history. It was, as many suspect it may become here in the US, a slow and steady trickle of gun laws that simply made it harder and harder for citizens to own firearms to the point where it was too much trouble to keep a firearm. And along with the hardening of laws, lack of accessibility and a mounting financial and paperwork burden, there was also a vicious attack against those who might appreciate guns. They were demonized and attacked to the point where getting rid of the gun was a social solution as well as an economical one. By the time the last axe fell and people were told to turn in their firearms there was no desire to fight and it was considered a relief to some to get the evil stigma of "gun owner" off of their backs.

Many were very willing to get rid of the guns to be socially acceptable again.

And the social attack has begun in the states.

 

The above video is an old one but very relevant. In it, Eric Holder outlines a plan that has been working its was through the anti crowd and is now finding its way through the pro-gun crowd as well.

And it's happening fast. Faster than many will admit but slow enough where some people aren't noticing it or giving it due credit.

When I was a girl, just fifteen to twenty years ago, my brother had a hobby of making non-functional replica firearms--lever action rifles, machine guns, pistols, revolvers. He would craft them carefully out of wood and often take them with him to school to show his friends and teachers. He was praised for his craftsmanship and never once made to feel ashamed or that he had done something wrong because he enjoyed the look and mechanics of firearms. When he wasn't crafting firearms he was drawing pictures of them and learning about them and shooting them with his uncles and cousins on special days. He and our cousin would get realistic replicas as gifts and stage elaborate westerns and plays. Both my brother's handmade replicas and their store-bought ones were even used in school plays as props. The atmosphere was one of neutrality. It was understood that guns could and would do harm if misused but they were not bad in and of themselves and there was no need to fear the image of a firearm or make a boy feel badly because he liked them.

That boy grew up to join the military and make a long-standing career out of it. He still loves firearms and counts himself privileged to "play" with some of the most advanced weapon systems of our day. He teases me with reports of the thousands upon thousands of rounds he gets to fire through dozens of weapons over week or even month long trainings. His positive encounters and influence has impacted his sister (me) to the point where I have dedicated a large portion of my time to the positive influences and trainings or firearms and until recently I have never felt my status as a gun owner as a negative.

For me, it started with Columbine. I was still a girl and didn't know much about school violence. I went to a private school. I had never been bullied and never bullied (to my knowledge). It was not unusual for high school boys to have knives in their backpacks and talks of hunting and guns to go on during the lunch period. Some boys even took off time from school to go hunting and brought in pictures of themselves holding their rifles next to their downed deer. The atmosphere was a positive one. That all very suddenly changed.

There had been school shootings and violence in the past, there was a new level of fear and caution that had not been present before. Suddenly, the idea of bringing a hand-crafted toy gun to school was deeply frowned upon. A boy who had been expelled from a local public school and enrolled in ours brought a weapon to school and though no one was hurt or even threatened, with the new awareness to gun violence it was suddenly against the rules to bring any sort of weapon to school. It made sense, sure, but it also made a point of instilling a fear of firearms into a bunch of kids who had previously only seen them in that neutral light of machines of interest or of use in hunting or home protection. We weren't used to the negativity but we adapted quickly.

Firearms were not on the mind in college. There were rules against them, of course, but I was more concerned with my studies and my boyfriends than I was any type of firearms. When my boyfriend (now husband) told me he was getting his concealed carry permit I remember saying, "People can do that?" and asking him why he wanted one. He said that after four years of carrying a firearm in the military it seemed kind of weird not to have one and that response made sense to me. There was no fear. I didn't wonder if he was suffering from some mental illness or that he would go crazy. I didn't worry that he was going to get PTSD and go shoot someone. Guns were neutral. He wanted to carry one. It was within his legal rights to do that. Okay.

Then we got married and I got a job in the public school system. Guns suddenly became a big thing. Virginia Tech happened and the building I worked in got a shooting threat. I didn't know tensions could get so high for so many people all at once. By that time I was already a concealed carrier and there was no law against me carrying at work and so I did. While some coworkers were talking about escape routes and hiding under desks or even taking vacation time to get away from work I was planning offensive strategies and going to the range to make sure my aim was up to the task of potentially responding to an active shooter. I was finding places of cover and identifying fatal funnels. I was not afraid (even if I should have been). But I saw that many people were.


I had not been super secretive about my appreciation for firearms and when the tensions were at their highest people started to target me. They didn't understand why I liked guns. They thought all guns should be banned except for law enforcement or military. For the first time in my life I saw how my fondness for firearms could negatively affect my life through my job.

And that conflict was only made greater when I took a second job at a gun store. I loved my new job. I had more fun than I could express and it was a joy to work behind a gun counter. I was shooting daily and enjoying being around people who did not think me strange or odd or question my mental health or stability because I had an appreciation for firearms. When there was a hint of a threat, instead of people worrying and fretting we got together and made tactical decisions based on who had the best shooting skills and most experience. At my job in education my circle of friends was getting smaller at the range it was getting bigger. How sad that something I enjoyed drew such a harsh line in the sand.

When some coworkers from my education job came in to the range one day to shoot they looked at me in horror and later begged me not to tell anyone at work that they were there. They didn't want it to get out that they liked shooting.

Eventually I left my job in education to work at the gun store and range full time. It was a great decision and one that I have never regretted.

Since those years I've seen the negativity grow and grow. I recently had a family member say that she is uncomfortable driving in a vehicle with me or would not come to my home because of my firearms.

I have acquaintances who will not allow their children over to our home because we are gun owners. And no matter how little that may affect my own personal outlook to gun ownership, in the eyes of my child, who loves his friends and only wants to play with them, he may one day come to a conclusion that says, "Well, if Mom and Dad didn't have those stupid guns I could have been able to have fun with so-and-so." The negativity has set in. And it is a bitch to get out.

While it's not necessarily a brand new occurrence, just yesterday I was sent a message by someone who said he wished someone would take my gun and shoot me with it.

Children are expelled from schools for drawing pictures of guns or even pointing their fingers in a way that could be misinterpreted as a gun. A deaf child was asked to change his sign language version of his name because it resembled a gun. A friend of mine who's little boy brought a Halo action figure with a gun to a play date was asked to the action figure's gun in the car. This is doing nothing but bathing the psyche of children in an over-all negativity to firearms that will not be easy to defeat if it can be defeated at all.

And the results are already starting to show.

I'm starting to see the negativity spewed from the supposed gun supporters!


The same baseless fears are catching on in the gun community to a frightening degree.

Parents who will not let their children play with toy guns because of the "negativity" or fear that they will not be able to learn the difference between toys and reality or that they won't be accepted in school. Parents who have guns but won't even tell their children they have them because of the fear that they will tell their friends and it will get out that they are gun owners (granted, I do understand this response if there is a child or child's friend who is questionable and you feel would attempt to steal or otherwise be dangerous with the gun). People who beg coworkers not to let it out that they were seen a gun range.

A few days ago I read an article saying that people in the medical, educational, political and entertainment fields are getting to the point where they fear speaking positively about guns for fear of losing work.

That is frightening.

And it goes to show you that the anti gunners are winning. They are winning a cultural war against the gun that will not be able to be reversed if it is left to progress much further. When our children are grown they will see a cultural disadvantage to gun ownership. They may even think us crazy or mislead or archaic. They may shrug when it's time to hand in their guns.

How do we fight it? I have my ideas but I want to hear yours. How do you think we can reverse the cultural fear of the gun?

Let's All Just Calm Down And Eat Some Fruit

In this age of information it's easier than ever to get whipped into a frenzy over something important. It's also just as easy to get worked into a frenzy over nothing at all. In fact, that's what the mass media is really good at these days. In an effort to keep people glued to their 24/7 television news casters and reading their articles they have to make everything sensational, breaking, outrageous, awful, scary, tragic or a combination of the same. If they don't have anything to make sensational they will start speculating about what MIGHT become sensational.

And the internet fans the flames.

The Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut had an impact on the US different than any other shooting in the last decade. I don't know if it was the fact that it was children or that it was right before Christmas. Perhaps it was the fatigue, frustration and anger of yet ANOTHER US shooting. Perhaps it was the fact that the election was newly over and conservative and libertarian voters were still licking their wounds while the gloating moderates and liberals were feeling more confident and powerful. Maybe it was a combination of it all but the rush for gun control measures to be taken was staggering in it's ferocity.

We responsible gun owners were (and are) just as hurt and shocked and devastated by the shooting as any one else. I shed many tears over the children of Sandy Hook and the pain of the families I could barely imagine. I was disgusted and angry and feeling the grief of my friends and families.

And then that grief was stolen from me. Instead of being given that time to grieve and assess and think, I was bombarded by the hyperbole. I and many like me were assaulted with not only the call for more gun control measures but also the offensive idea that anyone for individual gun rights was somehow in favor of the murder of children. Like never before myself and others were finding themselves being viciously attacked for owning inanimate objects. And the media has done nothing but thrown fuel on that fire.

Those on the other side of the fight went from being hurt to angry and pointing that anger at us. We responded by trying to defend ourselves and tensions began to mount.

And mount they did.

Soon the president was making speeches and assembling task forces. People were screaming on television and radio shows. Calls for deportation. Conspiracy theories. Name calling. Websites created. Groups were meeting. Bills were being drawn up. Politicians were scheming. Guns and ammo started flying off of shelves like the last loaves of bread on grocery shelves in an apocalypse. People were making YouTube videos about killing people. Talk of executive orders and bans electrified every computer in the US.

And it all came to a pseudo head yesterday with the President's speech and executive orders on gun control.

I was not at home to listen to his speech. I had a choice of taking my kids to a story hour featuring stories and crafts of snowmen or staying in front of the television. I wasn't going to let any presidential speech or hyped-up fear about guns take the place of making time and enjoying it with my children. They are and forever will be more important to me than any possession and presidential speech.

I fully expected to get home, log into my email or facebook and see the thousands of outraged posts about how he tried some sort of extreme executive ordered ban.

Nothing.

Even though his speech had been concluded for some time by the time I got home there was not a single post on either my Facebook or my email in regards to what he said. They weren't even playing it on television news. That told me one thing: It wasn't nearly as bad as everyone predicted.

I had to go searching for his speech and when I found it and then found a list of his proposed executive orders and read them carefully I felt quite a bit of relief. Memorandums, letters to this or that agency, incentives to increase background checks. There was not a single item on the list that made me grind my teeth.

Then I went to some of the gun websites I frequent to see what some of the other people were saying about it.

I was more shocked about what was going on in the gun community than outside of it. The hyperbole was alive and well and instead of taking a second to breathe people were escalating. I can't even begin to list the ways in which people have been distorting what happened to make it far more panic-inducing than what it really was. And it continues.

I decided days ago to not borrow trouble from tomorrow. What will be will be. Panicking about it will help no one. Nor will it help our cause.

I think it is exceptionally prudent to be proactive, alert, vigilant and perhaps a bit suspicious. I know there are politicians who won't be happy until the entire US population is disarmed and I intent to continue fighting them. I have no delusions that it is getting better. It's not. It's bad and we still need to work and fight.

But I'm pretty sure it's time for the raving and fear-mongering on our part to settle a bit.

• I have and will continue to write my representatives. 
• I will share any information I find that is based in fact and relevant. 
• I will join and donate money to groups that will fight the upcoming bills that are going to be introduced to Congress. 
• I will communicate with anyone who has questions and if I don't have the answers I will attempt to direct him or her to someone who does. 
• I will continue teaching firearms safety and attending firearms training. 
• I will support any legislator who votes to oppose any assault weapons ban. 
• I will watch the voting in Congress to help me better vote for representatives in the mid-term elections who are pro-second amendment. 
• I will also attend meetings and peaceful demonstrations like those arranged for Jan the 19th at noon and Feb the 8th at 10am. 
• I will continue to carry in accordance with my state's laws and encourage the cause of liberty, firearms and self defense.

• I will NOT pass on conspiracy theories. 
• I will not attempt to put words in any politician's mouth and presume he has said or done something that has not been said or done. 
• I will not allow fear to overrun my common sense and reason. 
• I will not encourage any kind of illegal action. I will not condone or partake in any talk of harming or wishing harm on any political figures, actors, actresses or public figures no matter how misguided they may be. 
• I will not try to read into things, assume, over think or otherwise borrow trouble from the unknown. 
• I will not attack those confused and misunderstanding individuals who come to me for information. 
• I will not partake in the insults and cyber bullying that has gone on on both sides of the agenda. 
• I will not flame, harass or "troll" any site or figure who I disagree with.

I am a responsible gun owner and a reasonable woman. I am a gun owner and a defender of the second amendment. I will not change my mind on that for many reasons. And I will fight for my right to keep and bear arms. But I will also not allow my priorities to be unduly skewed because of panic.

American History

In this time of political flux in the this country I've heard a lot of comments regarding our founding fathers and what they would do or think if they were here today. Both "sides of the aisle" (as it's popular to say) claim they would have the founding father's blessing in their actions.

I don't do politics. I am not a political person. I hate politics because they confuse me and because I can't get over the feeling that everyone in office is working far harder on deceiving me or at least hiding things from me than helping me. The inaccessibility of political figures makes it far worse. One cannot just go up to the white house, knock on the door and expect a sit down with the president or the vice president. The local level is not much better. Emails and letters are answered by impersonal form letters and aids if they are answered at all. The impersonal nature of politics breads distrust in me. And a relationship without trust is not successful.

There are also the scores of politicians who make no secret of the fact that they have an agenda despite what the people have expressed they want. Some have publicly said the Constitution stands in the way of things they would like to accomplish. That is alarming.

That is not to say that all politicians are bad. I know there are politicians out there who work tirelessly for the people and to defend their liberties. They are under-appreciated and deserve recognition for their effort in the fight to keep America true to itself. 

So when a politician says he believes he would have the backing of the founding fathers in their ideas for our country, how are you to know whether or not their claims are true?

I've chosen to start by finding out what the founding fathers had to say for themselves on issues.

In my recent quest to make up my own mind on certain topics I decided to start with the good, old-fashioned book, upgraded to the new e-reader addition.

I found myself on the Kindle Store downloading a dozen free books.

American Political Ideas Viewed from the Standpoint of Universal History by John Fiske

The Beginnings of New England Or the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty by John Fiske

Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins by John Fiske

The Critical Period of American History by John Fiske

The American Revolution by John Fiske

The War of Independence by John Fiske

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Washington and His Comrades in Arms; a chronicle of the War of Independence by Wrong, George McKinnon

The Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Alexander, Jay, John, Madison, James

The Declaration of Independence of The United States of America by United States

United States Bill of Rights by United States

The United States Constitution by United States

Even if you aren't interested in politics. These are good pieces to read if only for the purpose of learning about your own history and what the founding fathers wanted for this country and the struggles leading up to our declaration of independence and in forming a new, globally recognizable government. 

You may not think you are of a political mind or want anything to do with politics (like me) but as Hickok45 said, if you own a gun or you want to own a gun, you are involved. The first step to being involved is to be informed.

And don't forget the Jan 19 and Feb 8 State Capitol meets:

Starbucks Responds

A few days ago I thanked Starbucks for their continuing to allow carry in their stores.

Today, I got this response:

Dear Lima,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

  Thank you for your feedback regarding Starbucks' policy on open carry laws.

At Starbucks, we deeply respect the views of our customers and recognize that there is significant and genuine passion surrounding the issue of open carry weapons laws. We comply with local laws and statutes in the communities we serve. Our long-standing approach to this issue remains unchanged and we abide by the laws that permit open carry in 43 U.S. states. Where these laws don't exist, openly carrying weapons in our stores is prohibited.

As the public debate around this issue continues, we encourage customers and advocacy groups from both sides to share their input with their public officials. We are extremely sensitive to the issue of gun violence in our society and believe that supporting local laws is the right way for us to ensure a safe environment for both partners and customers.
 

If you have any further questions or concerns that I was unable to address, please feel free to let me know. 

Warm Regards,

Kelsey F

Customer Relations

Starbucks Coffee Company

800 STARBUC (782-7282)

Monday through Friday, 5AM to 8PM (PST)

Good on ya, Starbucks!! I especially like the part that says they "believe that supporting local laws is the right way." We do, too!

It's Not The Government's Job

Every now and then I get comments or emails from people who, I believe, really do mean well. These people are not stupid or ignorant. A bit misinformed or disillusioned, maybe, but that doesn't make them idiots. We all have things we misunderstand.

Yesterday, I got this one:

I think USA govt has failed in its task, if the citizents feel a need to carry a gun with em everyday and be prepared to use it any time.

To put it rather bluntly; it's not the government's job to protect its citizens. At least not in the US. We are big boys and girls. We are responsible for protecting ourselves. Now, there are citizens who volunteer to assist in our protection (when able) and to enforce laws and punish those who break them, but the idea of government protection for every and all average citizens is rather quite absurd.

Why?

Because it's an impossible job.

We are citizens of our government, not subjects. We are not children and we are not slaves. The government should not have to protect us and, if we knew what was good for us, we shouldn't want them to.

As Benjamin Franklin put it:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

 And that's exactly what would happen if we allowed our government to try to protect us vs us protecting ourselves. Some would say (and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with them) that we've already given up too much liberty under the guise of safety (TSA restrictions for flying ring any bells?). The laws "for our safety" keep getting more and more restrictive yet, everywhere, we hear of people getting around them or breaking them and completely nullifying the "safety" promised us by their enactment. Therefore we are stuck with exactly what Franklin warned us about, neither liberty nor safety.

So, no, the US government has not failed in its task if its citizens feel the need to carry a gun. First, because it is not the US government's task and second, because it would be failing in its task if it tried to be our safety.

We, the people, have the liberty to defend ourselves and the safety that comes with that.

Starbucks: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So the anti-gun folks are mad at Starbucks.

Why? Because Starbucks allows carrying of firearms in their stores.

WHY STARBUCKS?  Currently, Starbucks allows guns and assault weapons to be openly carried in its stores (in 43 states) and concealed and carried in its stores (in 49 states) (See Photos). Starbucks' compliance with the National Rifle Association's Pro-Gun Agenda was exposed in 2010 when members of the "open carry" movement began meeting in popular chains, such as California Pizza Kitchen, Peets, IKEA, Disney and Starbucks openly carrying their handguns and assault rifles. (Types of Guns)

To protect their customers and employees, all of the retail chains—except for Starbucks— banned guns from being carried in their stores.

And in an attempt to teach Starbucks a lesson, the anti-gun folks are trying to organize a Starbucks boycott starting on February 14, 2012.

They want people to email Starbucks and tell them not to allow guns in their stores. They want you to stop buying their products wherever they are sold and spread the word on social networking sights like Facebook and Twitter.

There have been some pro-gun people who have tried to organize boycotts of particular anti-gun stores and for some reason we never hear of those boycotts being successful because--let's face it--some of those corporations don't care about a small blip in their sales do to a minority group boycott. There are a lot of antis out there who can be pretty vociferous and let's not let them win. This time, however, I would love to see us do something positive and support a business that supports the legal rights of those of us who carry firearms legally.

What can we do?

We can contact Starbucks (Really, contact them!) and thank them for supporting our Second Amendment rights and not being intimidated by the threats of the anti-crowd.

We can buy their products! I know not everyone likes to spend so much money on a cup of coffee or even have a Starbucks near them but there are a lot of Starbucks products out there. Coffee creamer, a gift card for your wife, mom, girlfriend, random stranger, put aside a couple dollars a week to support a company that supports us.

Finally, we can show our support! There are a lot of pro-gun blogs spreading the word but keep the good word going. Spread the word through those same social networking sites and keep the good word spreading.

Also, for fun, my dear husband is attempting to organize a Starbucks and guns photo shoot visual. Take a photo with your carry firearm (or any firearm) with a Starbucks product and post it. Post it anywhere! Facebook, here, on pro-gun forums or websites. Keep the support going!