We made it out to Ultimate Defense (http://www.udrange.com) on 6/11/2013 and shot both the P238 we picked up on 6/4/2013 and my AR pistol.
First magazine (TAC powder 55 gr FMJ hand loads) worked great four round rapid fire strings all stayed on paper and the majority were on target at 20m - Holographic sights feel like cheating! - but 15 rounds into the American Eagle 55gr FMJ the bolt recoiled behind the bolt stop and stayed there. I removed the magazine (still had 15 rounds in it) and since the bolt hadn't gone back forward yet there was no round in the chamber.
I tried to lever the bolt free by yanking really hard on the charging handle to no avail. Thankfully, the armorer at the range was able to free the buffer whose roll pin had worked loose just enough to hang up on the recoil spring. Since the bumper on the buffer was VERY brittle and rather cut up I ended the day and ordered a new buffer from the Equipment Exchange on ar15.com. I got the replacement buffer on 6/14 and my pistol is back in serviceable condition.
Now to try out the 55gr soft points I have loaded over 24gr of IMR 4064 powder I got at the Machinist Hall gun show last weekend...
Musings on firearms, politics and life by an armed Liberal.
Showing posts with label Liberalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberalism. Show all posts
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Howler's Den calls out pro-gunnies on the EO's from POTUS
Holwer's Den called out a couple guys on ARFcom in regards to the negative response that the Executive Orders that President Obama laid out earlier this year.
Here's the rebuttal I posted which may or may not be posted to their site, I have no idea if they actually allow more discussion than other anti-gun sites do. I have been banned from several for being 'a shill for the NRA' or being 'off message'. These are my opinions of the EOs that I have shared on several other forums and FaceBook pages since they were first published.
"A rebuttal:
"1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."
This makes sense to me and falls well within the purview of the POTUS' abilities; all Executive branch agencies should work together. This is an internal 'play nice' from their boss/our Employee the POTUS.
"2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."
How is the Federal government allowing government bodies to violate HIPPA a good thing? Please, explain this to me. If someone was adjudicated and forcibly remanded to state mental healthcare, this is a public record so HIPPA has no bearing. this is what the NICS is interested in. Or is this going to allow fishing expeditions based upon privileged doctor/patient information?
"3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."
This should mean that states that have been conforming (such as Missouri) the whole time that NICS has been around should be rewarded. Somehow I don't see that happening and instead I see this as trying to 'slap around' states who are non-compliant. Considering that the NICS has been in place for a couple of decades, there has been plenty of time for states to send representation to the federal level to get this repealed. "game on" as it were to the non-compliant states.
"4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."
#4 is rather troubling considering the continuation of US PATRIOT Act and the failure of indefinite detention to be removed from NDAA 2011 as well as several other actions and threats made by the executive branch over the last 12+ years. 'Domestic terrorist' lists similar to the 'no fly' list that has zero oversight?
#5 is somewhat ok, I'd rather see a federal database that is publicly searchable for recovered stolen/seized firearms. Verification of ownership and access to their Right to Keep and bear Arms is fine, but looking at the 'List' in #4 this could be troubling if determination of ownership of a specific type of weapon puts one in a 'restricted' class.
If #13 includes a recommendation from the DoJ to NOT allow plea deals in cases where any weapon was used to commit a crime, I'd be ok with that as long as Castle Doctrine and no duty to retreat come into effect and DA's are unable to go after defensive gun use when employed by those who are not barred from using their 2nd Amendment right to self defense with a firearm.
The EO's in and of themselves are relatively benign but looking at the direction that we have been going since the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 they can been seen in a negative light. The other issue is that even if the current Administration does nothing to curtail rights, who is to say that future ones won't?
Oh, if you want to publish my personal information, feel free. I am the interim Chairman of the Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus of Missouri, a member of the Blue Steel Democrats and run the blog at www.armedliberalinmo.blogspot.com so any publicity or additional memberships you want to send my way, please feel free. ;)
My wife is an immigrant from Canada who is working on her Citizenship so I am not doing anything that would impede her progress.
Again, this is the view of someone who identifies as a Liberal, feels that Civil Rights are held by no one if anyone's are disrupted and disagrees that we need as much federal government as we have.
Thanks,
Armed Liberal in MO"
Oh yeah, they did respond. A very polite "Thanks, but we disagree". They seemed intrigued that there are Liberals who tend to vote Democrat yet actually *LIKE* firearms. The shock! ;)
They also posted some personal info on other blog posts of RKBA activists. I'm not sure why they did that, it seems that it would potentially put folks in harm's way but I am not sure if that would be the folks whose family and addresses were printed or those who would seek to do them harm...
Here's the rebuttal I posted which may or may not be posted to their site, I have no idea if they actually allow more discussion than other anti-gun sites do. I have been banned from several for being 'a shill for the NRA' or being 'off message'. These are my opinions of the EOs that I have shared on several other forums and FaceBook pages since they were first published.
"A rebuttal:
"1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."
This makes sense to me and falls well within the purview of the POTUS' abilities; all Executive branch agencies should work together. This is an internal 'play nice' from their boss/our Employee the POTUS.
"2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."
How is the Federal government allowing government bodies to violate HIPPA a good thing? Please, explain this to me. If someone was adjudicated and forcibly remanded to state mental healthcare, this is a public record so HIPPA has no bearing. this is what the NICS is interested in. Or is this going to allow fishing expeditions based upon privileged doctor/patient information?
"3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."
This should mean that states that have been conforming (such as Missouri) the whole time that NICS has been around should be rewarded. Somehow I don't see that happening and instead I see this as trying to 'slap around' states who are non-compliant. Considering that the NICS has been in place for a couple of decades, there has been plenty of time for states to send representation to the federal level to get this repealed. "game on" as it were to the non-compliant states.
"4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."
#4 is rather troubling considering the continuation of US PATRIOT Act and the failure of indefinite detention to be removed from NDAA 2011 as well as several other actions and threats made by the executive branch over the last 12+ years. 'Domestic terrorist' lists similar to the 'no fly' list that has zero oversight?
#5 is somewhat ok, I'd rather see a federal database that is publicly searchable for recovered stolen/seized firearms. Verification of ownership and access to their Right to Keep and bear Arms is fine, but looking at the 'List' in #4 this could be troubling if determination of ownership of a specific type of weapon puts one in a 'restricted' class.
If #13 includes a recommendation from the DoJ to NOT allow plea deals in cases where any weapon was used to commit a crime, I'd be ok with that as long as Castle Doctrine and no duty to retreat come into effect and DA's are unable to go after defensive gun use when employed by those who are not barred from using their 2nd Amendment right to self defense with a firearm.
The EO's in and of themselves are relatively benign but looking at the direction that we have been going since the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 they can been seen in a negative light. The other issue is that even if the current Administration does nothing to curtail rights, who is to say that future ones won't?
Oh, if you want to publish my personal information, feel free. I am the interim Chairman of the Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus of Missouri, a member of the Blue Steel Democrats and run the blog at www.armedliberalinmo.blogspot.com so any publicity or additional memberships you want to send my way, please feel free. ;)
My wife is an immigrant from Canada who is working on her Citizenship so I am not doing anything that would impede her progress.
Again, this is the view of someone who identifies as a Liberal, feels that Civil Rights are held by no one if anyone's are disrupted and disagrees that we need as much federal government as we have.
Thanks,
Armed Liberal in MO"
Oh yeah, they did respond. A very polite "Thanks, but we disagree". They seemed intrigued that there are Liberals who tend to vote Democrat yet actually *LIKE* firearms. The shock! ;)
They also posted some personal info on other blog posts of RKBA activists. I'm not sure why they did that, it seems that it would potentially put folks in harm's way but I am not sure if that would be the folks whose family and addresses were printed or those who would seek to do them harm...
Friday, February 8, 2013
Book of Grudges
A long time ago I had a different hobby. It was Warhammer Fantasy and I played the Dwarf Kingdom. GW Dwarves are a surley lot and their High King is transported around on a special throne. This throne was made of a book, the Book of Grudges.
This is my Book of Grudges.
Over the past year of building my AR pistol, I have run into several companies that just did not want to take my money. Either they would say something stupid and I'd get into a 'FaceBook/Email Rumble' with them or they would have something negative on their website that I took issue with or else esposed some political belief outside of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms that I just could not support.
Today, that was Molon Labe Industries.
There is a graphic going around stating that the major mass murders of the 20th century were Liberals. They put this up on their site and I stated an objection to it. I made the statement that this is not the time to try and divide the RKBA community by Conservative/Liberal lines. Their supporters continued that screed and I ended up unliking their page after I suggested that they post their anti-Liberal bias directly on their website and that I had helped close to 40 AR's be started to be built via a group buy of stripped lowers.
I will not be buying any of their 2.5 million projected polymer magazines on the primary market. I may buy them on the secondary market but even that is in doubt.
They are now on my list of Traitors to RKBA. We need to bring all of the activists that feel that our civil rights include the Right to Keep and Bear Arms together to keep the pressure on Congress and our state assemblies or else the bullshit laws that will accomplish nothing but the loss of control to the GOP at all levels.
Any company that espouses a love of firearms ownership need to either be clear about not wanting Liberals to support them or any of their causes or else they need to play nice. We Liberal gun owners catch enough crap from our 'fellow' liberals that feel that we should die due to our enjoyment of firearms or wanting to have effective tools available for our self defense.
While the Conservatives are doing a great job of voicing their dissent, Democratic elected officials tend to listen more to their base. If we fall silent on this issue, there is a good sense that it would be seen as 'consent'. With no Liberal support, the war to retain our Right to Keep and Bear Arms will be a lost cause.
Just something for anti-Liberal Conservatives to consider.
You need us as much as we need you on this issue. Help us be able to be good example to others who have not considered the reasons why we are fighting for this issue and you will have our support.
This is my Book of Grudges.
Over the past year of building my AR pistol, I have run into several companies that just did not want to take my money. Either they would say something stupid and I'd get into a 'FaceBook/Email Rumble' with them or they would have something negative on their website that I took issue with or else esposed some political belief outside of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms that I just could not support.
Today, that was Molon Labe Industries.
There is a graphic going around stating that the major mass murders of the 20th century were Liberals. They put this up on their site and I stated an objection to it. I made the statement that this is not the time to try and divide the RKBA community by Conservative/Liberal lines. Their supporters continued that screed and I ended up unliking their page after I suggested that they post their anti-Liberal bias directly on their website and that I had helped close to 40 AR's be started to be built via a group buy of stripped lowers.
I will not be buying any of their 2.5 million projected polymer magazines on the primary market. I may buy them on the secondary market but even that is in doubt.
They are now on my list of Traitors to RKBA. We need to bring all of the activists that feel that our civil rights include the Right to Keep and Bear Arms together to keep the pressure on Congress and our state assemblies or else the bullshit laws that will accomplish nothing but the loss of control to the GOP at all levels.
Any company that espouses a love of firearms ownership need to either be clear about not wanting Liberals to support them or any of their causes or else they need to play nice. We Liberal gun owners catch enough crap from our 'fellow' liberals that feel that we should die due to our enjoyment of firearms or wanting to have effective tools available for our self defense.
While the Conservatives are doing a great job of voicing their dissent, Democratic elected officials tend to listen more to their base. If we fall silent on this issue, there is a good sense that it would be seen as 'consent'. With no Liberal support, the war to retain our Right to Keep and Bear Arms will be a lost cause.
Just something for anti-Liberal Conservatives to consider.
You need us as much as we need you on this issue. Help us be able to be good example to others who have not considered the reasons why we are fighting for this issue and you will have our support.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Democratic Gun Owner's Caucus of MO is GO!
After several months of trying to figure out how to get a Gun Owner's Caucus set up, it's done. Here in MO it is easy, just start a group and get members, no formal decree from the state Democratic Party is needed.
Democratic Gun Owner's Caucus of MO on Facebook is the facebook presence, we already have a few Missourians and several other folks from other states as well. While we may not have time to really throw our support in favor of specific candidates for November, I have personally reached out as Interim Chairman of the Caucus to the Democrats in the State Senate and have the full support of Marie Chappelle-Nadal who is the Senator from my home district.
If you or anyone you know who owns firearms in Missouri, is a registered voter and tends to vote Democrat please tell them about this group.
Feel free to email any ideas, comments or questions to democraticgunownersofmo@gmail.com
The DNC has dropped gun restrictions from the national platform, let's make sure that pro-gun Dems get elected in our state. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is neither a Conservative nor a Liberal right, it is a human one.
Democratic Gun Owner's Caucus of MO on Facebook is the facebook presence, we already have a few Missourians and several other folks from other states as well. While we may not have time to really throw our support in favor of specific candidates for November, I have personally reached out as Interim Chairman of the Caucus to the Democrats in the State Senate and have the full support of Marie Chappelle-Nadal who is the Senator from my home district.
Feel free to email any ideas, comments or questions to democraticgunownersofmo@gmail.com
The DNC has dropped gun restrictions from the national platform, let's make sure that pro-gun Dems get elected in our state. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is neither a Conservative nor a Liberal right, it is a human one.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
So, who is the new Director of Merchandising for the Liberal Gun Club?
This guy!
The Club President has been swamped for over the last year with things more important than t-shirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs. "How can that be?" you might ask. Well, sometimes you have to ask for help to get things done, and he did.
What this means is that I get to find places that are either using 'Made in the US' swag, union workers to put designs on things or both. With luck, I can find a Print on Demand company that does both or the result will be that only our custom orders will fill that goal. I'm trying to not have a metric assload of swag being stored at my house with the LGC emblems on them.
If anyone has any leads on businesses that could be used, I'd appreciate it greatly.
The Club President has been swamped for over the last year with things more important than t-shirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs. "How can that be?" you might ask. Well, sometimes you have to ask for help to get things done, and he did.
What this means is that I get to find places that are either using 'Made in the US' swag, union workers to put designs on things or both. With luck, I can find a Print on Demand company that does both or the result will be that only our custom orders will fill that goal. I'm trying to not have a metric assload of swag being stored at my house with the LGC emblems on them.
If anyone has any leads on businesses that could be used, I'd appreciate it greatly.
Monday, July 23, 2012
What firearms law changes need to be made to make us safer?
Answer: none.
A lot of my fellow liberals are calling for increasing the restrictions on guns in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shootings. I fundamentally disagree. The actions of a lone nutcase should not be used as an excuse by the power elite to force law abiding gun owners to surrender their guns.
Calls for more 'reasonable' gun laws on Facebook have been met with the following quote from Yours Truly:
Several folks have called for the 2nd Amendment to be re-written. If they feel that this is something that the majority of the country would agree with, I encourage them to draft the Amendment, call a Convention and get 33 states to ratify the changes. I also recommend that they not blame the 'Gun Lobby' when this measure fails.
A lot of my fellow liberals are calling for increasing the restrictions on guns in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shootings. I fundamentally disagree. The actions of a lone nutcase should not be used as an excuse by the power elite to force law abiding gun owners to surrender their guns.
Calls for more 'reasonable' gun laws on Facebook have been met with the following quote from Yours Truly:
Explain to me who's definition of 'reasonable' we are going to use. I prefer George Mason and Thomas Jefferson's, they are two of the greatest Liberal minds we as a country have had.
Why not just scuttle the 4th and 5th Amendments and allow Anti Gun cops to check every house. I mean, they'd go into the safes and remove all of the legally owned guns. We'd be safe then, right?
The 2nd Amendment is an individual right thanks to the 1903 Militia Act. Sorry, I for one have NO issue with this at all.
Why not just scuttle the 4th and 5th Amendments and allow Anti Gun cops to check every house. I mean, they'd go into the safes and remove all of the legally owned guns. We'd be safe then, right?
The 2nd Amendment is an individual right thanks to the 1903 Militia Act. Sorry, I for one have NO issue with this at all.
Many other blogs have written about the perspective of firearms owners on the tragedy so I won't go into that here. I maintain that Liberals should be the ones leading the fight to ensure that all parts of the Constitution are upheld and if anything is onoerous the proper steps be taken to change them.
Several folks have called for the 2nd Amendment to be re-written. If they feel that this is something that the majority of the country would agree with, I encourage them to draft the Amendment, call a Convention and get 33 states to ratify the changes. I also recommend that they not blame the 'Gun Lobby' when this measure fails.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Why not in Missouri.
Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, Texas. What is it that these states have that Missouri does not have?
A Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus.
Traditionally, Missouri is a red state largely due to the wedge issues that seperate the Conservative 'hinterland' from the Liberal urban areas. Gun ownership (the individual right to bear arms) should not be one of the wedges used to keep this state's Democrats from public office.
I have been in contact with several of my elected officials. It troubles me that I hear the familiar 'whistle words' of 'gun show loophole', 'assault weapons' and so forth. These are just buzzwords made popular by pro gun restriction forces such as the Brady Group and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. These terms need to be removed from the lexicon of OUR elected officials as they are code words for 'no private sales of personal property' and 'modern firearms'.
So far, my efforts have not produced much traction but I am digging in and will continue to post up when I have more information on the Missouri Blue Steel Democrats.
A Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus.
Traditionally, Missouri is a red state largely due to the wedge issues that seperate the Conservative 'hinterland' from the Liberal urban areas. Gun ownership (the individual right to bear arms) should not be one of the wedges used to keep this state's Democrats from public office.
I have been in contact with several of my elected officials. It troubles me that I hear the familiar 'whistle words' of 'gun show loophole', 'assault weapons' and so forth. These are just buzzwords made popular by pro gun restriction forces such as the Brady Group and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. These terms need to be removed from the lexicon of OUR elected officials as they are code words for 'no private sales of personal property' and 'modern firearms'.
So far, my efforts have not produced much traction but I am digging in and will continue to post up when I have more information on the Missouri Blue Steel Democrats.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Merry Christmas
In my quest to no longer be a non-firearm owner, I now have a Smith & Wesson M&P15 stripped lower on lay-away with Bud's Gunshop in Lexington, KY.
Once that along with a few bills are taken care of, my wife's SIG 238 Rainbow and my Rock Island Tactical .45 will go on lay-away. breaking up gun payments over 90 days means taht you don't ahve to settle for guns you don't want.
Once that along with a few bills are taken care of, my wife's SIG 238 Rainbow and my Rock Island Tactical .45 will go on lay-away. breaking up gun payments over 90 days means taht you don't ahve to settle for guns you don't want.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Starting to get worn down
For months I've tried to be the 'Liberal Outreach Person' for the 'Right to Keep and Bear Arms' issue. I think that I am no longer going to attempt to 'reach out' to the more conservative gun owners to try and bridge the gap on this issue. They seemed determined to marginalize all Liberals into the 'gonna grab our guns!' camp.
I feel that my efforts on this front have been wasted. Yes, I have met several folks who are able to comprehend that RKBA is NOT just a 'conservative' voice but many many more just don't 'get it'.
I am going to focus instead on reaching my fellow Liberals on this issue to show that this is a Civil Liberties issue and not just a bunch of gun-crazy xenophobic rednecks.
I feel that my efforts on this front have been wasted. Yes, I have met several folks who are able to comprehend that RKBA is NOT just a 'conservative' voice but many many more just don't 'get it'.
I am going to focus instead on reaching my fellow Liberals on this issue to show that this is a Civil Liberties issue and not just a bunch of gun-crazy xenophobic rednecks.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Greetings from the Armed Left
Greetings!
Armed Liberal? Lefty Gun Worshiper? What is this all about?
Well, as the old adage goes, an anti-gunner is a gun owner that just hasn't been mugged yet. Let me tell the story about how this 'almost-Progressive' Liberal became a 'gun nut'.
I grew up and lived in Illinois most of my life. I've had an interest in guns and gun culture from a very young age, thanks to my older brother who enjoyed shooting guns, reloading his own ammo and lived at home with us. As a Boy Scout (made it to Life but not Eagle) I got to shoot .22 rifles and .410 shotguns. When I tried to get into the Army for Operation Desert Shield, I was looking at getting $2000 in signing bonuses due to my high ASVAB score (94, woot!), getting several buddies to enlist and wanting to go into EOD (the guys who survived ended up mostly training the guys that explode IADs in Iraq and Afghanistan today). This money was going to go to either a .50 Cal Desert Eagle, a Colt .45 or a few things of the nature along with my FOID card. Well, thanks to a Navy Dr, I never made it into the Army and my life unfolded the way it did. The only regrets that I have is not getting those pistols somehow anyway or at least getting my FOID card and stocking away VERY cheap pre-1994 ammo.
Fast forward several years. I've been married to a Canadian Resident Alien and have a nine year old son. We've moved from Illinois to the wilds of St Louis, MO. My hobbies at this point include tabletop war gaming, paintball and woodworking. No guns, they are very much against what my wife is comfortable with. I hadn't been shooting since my days as a DEPP (Delayed Entry Program Participant, my pre-Army time).
Then, December 1 2010 everything changes.
At 4:05pm I get a call at work. My wife is panicked. Our house got broken into while she was picking our son up at school. She came home, unlocked the front door and saw that the back door had been kicked in, our big screen TV and Wii were gone and it was still warm in the house. The cats are both ok but hiding. the thieves also kicked in the service entrance to the garage but didn't take anything from there. the police were on their way, she called me second. There were footprints in the snow leading to the abandoned house behind ours.
At this point, discussions on what we could do started up after a co-worker drove me home. First, I got three 2x4's, screwed two into the baseboard and one along side the door jam to hold the back door closed until the landlord could get the door jam fixed and the service entrance to the garage replaced. Then we decided that it was time that we look into increased home and personal security.
Over the next few months, I find out that MO has some of the most nonrestrictive gun laws in the nation and also has a CCW permit that has reciprocity with several other states. There are issues, however. In MO you need to be a US Citizen in order to exercise your Natural Right to self-defense. Thankfully, my wife is very nearly a US Citizen so this is not too large an issue, especially since I was born in IL. One thing that was instilled in me during my Scouting days was a LOVE of the Constitution, which continues unabated today.
I checked out some gun stores in our area such as Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Rural King (well, in IL so no pistols w/o paying shipping and an FFL transfer...pesky interstate commerce regulations!) and a couple of Local Gun Shops. Most places were semi-friendly and mostly helpful. I did get a strong 'he's not MY POTUS!' and 'Liberals are Scum' vibe off of some of the gun shops so I don't go back there. Then we found a new range that had opened recently in the next county over. I figured I'd give them a shot, so to speak.
I went there on a Saturday. $20 per hour of lane time, $10 for access to their rental guns and moderate prices on the ammo that can be put into the rentals. The range doesn't own the rentals, they are on loan from the manufacturers to assist in sales so what goes into the guns is regulated to ensure no harm comes to the guns. They are fairly busy but make the time to make sure I have everything I need and to show me the proper operation of the guns I picked (some .380-based handguns as self-defense was my interest). I did pretty well, and found that I still REALLY enjoyed putting holes in paper and also found that I was pretty good with even unfamiliar pistols at 30 feet. After shooting a box of 50 .380 Auto cartridges, I had 50 holes in the black silhouette target most inside the 9 ring.
Also around this time, States Attorney Lisa Madigan of IL was calling for the Illinois State Police to release the names of all of the FOID card holders in Illinois. This sparked my desire to see the 2nd Amendment and the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution protected as much as I had worked to keep the 1st Amendment safe. The release of that information would give criminals a veritable menu of peoples' homes to burgle while they were not home to get guns fairly easily.
Over the years I had considered joining the NRA but was massively put off by the NRA-ILA's portrayal of all Liberals as Gun Grabbing 2nd Amendment haters that want to keep everyone disarmed. There were some other groups that were less anti-Liberal, but then I found the Liberal Gun Club (http://theliberalgunclub.com/). It took me less than an hour of reading what they were about and some of the forum posts to decide that this was the group for me. I signed up on the spot. The only issue - a hotly-contested one by 99% of the active membership - is that of high-capacity magazines. Otherwise, they are right along with what I believe.
Now I have started two main things, to expand the CCW permit in MO to legal immigrant aliens and to be a champion of RKBA (the Right to Keep and Bear Arms) as not a conservative-vs-liberal issue but an issue of Natural Rights vs. Gun Restriction Laws.
While I do believe that those who commit violent felonies have chosen to give up access to their rights by proving that they can not exist in society, I do not feel that guns should be restricted from any other group. Someone who has been found guilty of a non-violent Felony or a misdemeanor non-violent crime with a sentance over a year should have some method to repeal the blockage of their rights under the Contitution. Likewise, non-Citizens that are in the US as permanent residents who may or may not be heading twards Citizenship should have access to their Natural Rights as well.
While I do get some level of acceptance from conservatives when I explain my stance on being a Liberal and a RKBA activist, I have gotten a lot of pushback on the Resident Alien CCW issue.
Armed Liberal? Lefty Gun Worshiper? What is this all about?
Well, as the old adage goes, an anti-gunner is a gun owner that just hasn't been mugged yet. Let me tell the story about how this 'almost-Progressive' Liberal became a 'gun nut'.
I grew up and lived in Illinois most of my life. I've had an interest in guns and gun culture from a very young age, thanks to my older brother who enjoyed shooting guns, reloading his own ammo and lived at home with us. As a Boy Scout (made it to Life but not Eagle) I got to shoot .22 rifles and .410 shotguns. When I tried to get into the Army for Operation Desert Shield, I was looking at getting $2000 in signing bonuses due to my high ASVAB score (94, woot!), getting several buddies to enlist and wanting to go into EOD (the guys who survived ended up mostly training the guys that explode IADs in Iraq and Afghanistan today). This money was going to go to either a .50 Cal Desert Eagle, a Colt .45 or a few things of the nature along with my FOID card. Well, thanks to a Navy Dr, I never made it into the Army and my life unfolded the way it did. The only regrets that I have is not getting those pistols somehow anyway or at least getting my FOID card and stocking away VERY cheap pre-1994 ammo.
Fast forward several years. I've been married to a Canadian Resident Alien and have a nine year old son. We've moved from Illinois to the wilds of St Louis, MO. My hobbies at this point include tabletop war gaming, paintball and woodworking. No guns, they are very much against what my wife is comfortable with. I hadn't been shooting since my days as a DEPP (Delayed Entry Program Participant, my pre-Army time).
Then, December 1 2010 everything changes.
At 4:05pm I get a call at work. My wife is panicked. Our house got broken into while she was picking our son up at school. She came home, unlocked the front door and saw that the back door had been kicked in, our big screen TV and Wii were gone and it was still warm in the house. The cats are both ok but hiding. the thieves also kicked in the service entrance to the garage but didn't take anything from there. the police were on their way, she called me second. There were footprints in the snow leading to the abandoned house behind ours.
At this point, discussions on what we could do started up after a co-worker drove me home. First, I got three 2x4's, screwed two into the baseboard and one along side the door jam to hold the back door closed until the landlord could get the door jam fixed and the service entrance to the garage replaced. Then we decided that it was time that we look into increased home and personal security.
Over the next few months, I find out that MO has some of the most nonrestrictive gun laws in the nation and also has a CCW permit that has reciprocity with several other states. There are issues, however. In MO you need to be a US Citizen in order to exercise your Natural Right to self-defense. Thankfully, my wife is very nearly a US Citizen so this is not too large an issue, especially since I was born in IL. One thing that was instilled in me during my Scouting days was a LOVE of the Constitution, which continues unabated today.
I checked out some gun stores in our area such as Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Rural King (well, in IL so no pistols w/o paying shipping and an FFL transfer...pesky interstate commerce regulations!) and a couple of Local Gun Shops. Most places were semi-friendly and mostly helpful. I did get a strong 'he's not MY POTUS!' and 'Liberals are Scum' vibe off of some of the gun shops so I don't go back there. Then we found a new range that had opened recently in the next county over. I figured I'd give them a shot, so to speak.
I went there on a Saturday. $20 per hour of lane time, $10 for access to their rental guns and moderate prices on the ammo that can be put into the rentals. The range doesn't own the rentals, they are on loan from the manufacturers to assist in sales so what goes into the guns is regulated to ensure no harm comes to the guns. They are fairly busy but make the time to make sure I have everything I need and to show me the proper operation of the guns I picked (some .380-based handguns as self-defense was my interest). I did pretty well, and found that I still REALLY enjoyed putting holes in paper and also found that I was pretty good with even unfamiliar pistols at 30 feet. After shooting a box of 50 .380 Auto cartridges, I had 50 holes in the black silhouette target most inside the 9 ring.
Also around this time, States Attorney Lisa Madigan of IL was calling for the Illinois State Police to release the names of all of the FOID card holders in Illinois. This sparked my desire to see the 2nd Amendment and the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution protected as much as I had worked to keep the 1st Amendment safe. The release of that information would give criminals a veritable menu of peoples' homes to burgle while they were not home to get guns fairly easily.
Over the years I had considered joining the NRA but was massively put off by the NRA-ILA's portrayal of all Liberals as Gun Grabbing 2nd Amendment haters that want to keep everyone disarmed. There were some other groups that were less anti-Liberal, but then I found the Liberal Gun Club (http://theliberalgunclub.com/). It took me less than an hour of reading what they were about and some of the forum posts to decide that this was the group for me. I signed up on the spot. The only issue - a hotly-contested one by 99% of the active membership - is that of high-capacity magazines. Otherwise, they are right along with what I believe.
Now I have started two main things, to expand the CCW permit in MO to legal immigrant aliens and to be a champion of RKBA (the Right to Keep and Bear Arms) as not a conservative-vs-liberal issue but an issue of Natural Rights vs. Gun Restriction Laws.
While I do believe that those who commit violent felonies have chosen to give up access to their rights by proving that they can not exist in society, I do not feel that guns should be restricted from any other group. Someone who has been found guilty of a non-violent Felony or a misdemeanor non-violent crime with a sentance over a year should have some method to repeal the blockage of their rights under the Contitution. Likewise, non-Citizens that are in the US as permanent residents who may or may not be heading twards Citizenship should have access to their Natural Rights as well.
While I do get some level of acceptance from conservatives when I explain my stance on being a Liberal and a RKBA activist, I have gotten a lot of pushback on the Resident Alien CCW issue.
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