by Barry Hastings
Screw the prophet (and the horse he rode in on)
Increasing numbers of innocents are dying under the guns and bombs of Islamic Terror, particularly where it’s uncomfortably close to America, her friends, and allies. Events of last month should have sent a wake-up call to those Americans overly involved in twitter, hackers, cyber-space, and three or four new devices they’d like to buy this year. (How do you folks afford all this crap?)
This has me thinking again about a proposal the state legislature kicked around for a few weeks, a few years ago. It disappeared rather quickly — I suppose because it made too much sense.
It’s my belief the eyes, ears, common sense of the citizens are worth far more, “good, actionable intelligence” about what’s going on around the nation than all the snooping, reading, listening, spying our far too many spook agencies can gather peeping at us.
The legislative program suggested was to allow concealed carry for military veterans not mentally ill, previously convicted of, or currently charged with, felony. Restrictions may be necessary for some misdemeanors, as well. Instead, they’ve set these carry laws up so people well-off financially can afford the permit and regular renewal fees. Former soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen, well-trained in care and use of pistols, could (and would) prove a powerful deterrent to the idiots like those just killed by authorities in France – after they killed 16 innocent people, injured others, including cops.
Those who live on small fixed incomes have a hard enough time meeting regularly increasing auto license and registration fees, rapidly increasing utility rates, food, medications, and cost of repairing vehicles damaged (in my case destroyed) by our totally unfit and dangerous roads and highways.
For example, I learned to handle, shoot, take-down, and re-assemble America’s favorite handgun, the Model(s) 1911, & 1911A, .45 pistol as a trainee in the Coast Guard during Boot Camp in winter 1956. For the next four years I carried one a good part of the time, as Cox’n of my ship’s landing and boarding party boat, and on the docks and piers of Philadelphia looking for “commies” and crooks from ships arriving from Russia, Poland, China and points East.
I’ve owned four of the de
rned things, worn out barrels on two of ’em. My favorite being the one I own now — an Argentine knock-off model with some big improvements on the U.S. government model — a barrel one inch shorter, and good positive-lock safety, for two. I wouldn’t want me to be shooting at me with it from 50 yards, or less.
The way the law’s set up now it’s nothing but a money-maker for counties, the state, cops and self-important NRA instructors teaching classes for 100 bucks a day. “Well,” they say, “If you can’t afford the permit, you can always open-carry.” Thanks, you assholes, a person carrying openly is going to be the first target of a shooter.
Furthermore, when you get in your car, you must separate ammunition and pistol, placing the former in the glove box, the latter in the trunk. It’s gonna do you a world of good back there, if ya need it. “Wait just a sec, sir, I have to get my pistol out of the trunk, and load a-a-a-r-r-g-ghhh!” Two-hundred fifty dollars, another fifty to renew every year or so, buys you the right to a fighting chance in adversity. No bucks? Tough merde.
This current carry law leaves the poor and elderly vulnerable. Particularly when every criminal over 12 is carrying illegally, and (likely) a third of those with permits are unstable, alcoholic, addicts, or bums of one kind or another. There’s no real background check (other than what the feds do when you buy a pistol or revolver).
If the right to bear arms is a constitutional right, what’s the deal with not allowing it for those who don’t have big bucks? I’ve owned guns since I was 9 years old, pistols (this type) since 1960. I’ve never experienced an accidental discharge (but have had it stuck in my belt more than once when dealing with folks I didn’t trust).