Friday, April 19, 2019

Gun Control


On a personal level I don’t use the word “gun” unless talking about smoothbore firearms. The recent Sol Pais episode and Red Flag legislation has been a hot topic here at grey and wrinkled headquarters, aka Peakview Trails.

I try to be informed and not let my feelings become facts when discussing the topic with others.

Poking around the internet leads one to all types of propaganda. Consider, “The Trace”.


Don’t know to what choir they are preaching but they certainly are passionate.

That bastion of journalistic integrity, CNN delved deeply into the subject.

tps://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/gun-deaths-highest-40-years-cdc/index.html

All kinds of neat charts and, oh my god, conclusions.

Here is another statistic I like to quote.

United States Population 2019. According to the US Census Bureau's population clock, the estimated 2018 United States population (February 2018) is 327.16 million.Nov 21, 2018

When I get a chance to talk to people who might, just might, have an open mind, I point out that 40,000, 60,000 or even 100,000 deaths out of a population north of 300,000,000 won’t make a pimple on a statistician’s ass. Usually gets a laugh or two.

Going further, I do agree if you are caught in a firearms violence situation, or have family caught in that situation, numbers are of no comfort. The numbers of accidental injuries are harder to pin down.

Why is “gun control” so popular with (P)regressives? Many reasons but the number one reason, IMO, is it allows them to assume a perceived high moral ground, to make much noise, and obscure their lack of enthusiasm for tackling hard, even insoluble, problems. It is possible they even believe their own emotional bullshit.

Out there is someone who will say, “Just wait until it happens to you, WSF”.  My reply, it has. A cousin died from a .22 round to the head when his rifle went off while he was riding in a vehicle. His parents, his siblings, and his relatives were saddened but not one thought banning firearms was an answer.

On another occasion my co-worker and I were standing on either side of the cash register paying for our coffee to go. Dumb shit steps between us, points a semi-auto at the cashier and announces a robbery. He immediately got two hot cups of coffee in his face. While my co-worker grabbed the handgun and racked back the slide, I stomped on the dumb shit’s ankle. (400 block S Colorado Blvd, Denver, 1970).  The point? Two individuals (veterans) with knowledge of firearms who weren’t paralyzed when confronted with an armed individual didn’t become “victims”.

My NRA membership has lapsed. When we have both houses of Congress in GOP hands, plus a kick ass GOP President and National Reciprocity isn’t passed, I ask myself why support the organization? Yes, they do other important work in safety and education. They also have a president I dislike and several board members I consider buffoons. YMMV.

The insolence of (P)regressives across the country will hopefully provoke such revulsion in the general population that the next election will see many thrown out of office along with the go along, get along RINOs. Maybe we will see a resurgence of the Tea Party or something similar. I can only hope.

For me, it is all academic. All my firearms were lost in a boating accident on Horsetooth Reservoir and I’m too poor to replace them.  

5 comments:

Ami said...

Back in the early 80's our household purchased an NRA membership. They spent the entire yearly membership fee sending us pleas for money. Must have had at least one piece of mail from them every week and 10 or so a week during election season.

So they never got any more of my money.

I'm about goddamn sick of the shitbags in 'our' government. For this and a hundred other reasons.

Brig said...

I kept my NRA membership, solely because I had to have it to get my CCW permit in California. I don't believe it is a requirement here in WA.
The NRA sent me a questionnaire about how they could better serve me, and I gave them an earful. When my membership is paid up into the distant future, you don't send me threatening crap that states my membership is about to expire, etc. They have stopped sending me stuff, finally. I'm really disappointed in their customer service in the shopping part, stuff is overpriced junk and the staff is very unfriendly. Sorry, as you can see I'm not a happy camper about them.

Remaining hopeful that the lib commies will be routed from government!

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Ami
Please for money get tiresome quickly. Always "the sky is falling" verbiage. What they do well is raining range officers and firearm safety.

Brig
Any organization that has Grover Norquist on their board will be greeted with great skepticism by me and any politician that signs the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" to secure a campaign contribution is, in my mind, for sale.

I'm no longer a registered Democrat but I'm a long ways from being a Jeb!, Romney, etc. Republican. Donald Trump? Not any of them and I will vote for him again.

Old NFO said...

Agree with the others, and yeah, damn boating accident... sigh...

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Old NFO
I've pissed off enough people in Boulder County that soon after the "Red Flag" goes into effect, someone will drop a dime on me. Remains to be seen if my city and county stand firm on not enforcing it.