IMPORTANT REMINDER!

[exceltoexcel]

I'm very happy to find such a website and so many people who actually care about our rights.

Here are some of my observations in life.

I lived in NY for twelve or so years of my life, as we all know gun ownership in NY is fairly difficult. Six months to get a permit, registration of handguns, notaries, etc... Then I moved to MD, try to get a CCW there! It won't happen.

I moved to PA and asked a guy what I had to do to rent a gun, he said "do you have a licence?" I said,"No, what do I have to do to get one?". You can imagine the exchange of how did I drive there without a licence and how surprised I was that I only needed a drivers licence and not a gun licence. When I bought my first gun it took less than fifteen minutes instead of the 6+ months in NY...

Open carry? A LTCF in less than a week? OMG! I had a panic attack, no five day waiting period even? Someone could walk in buy a gun and kill someone in ~fifteen minutes? Those years of constant anti-gun talk had taken its toll on me. Within a few minutes, my common sense kicked it.

If a someone bought a gun, waited ten years before getting it, the individual could still do inappropriate things with it. Waiting periods sound good but in practicality they do not change the mental make up of an individual. Most, almost all, people do not have homicidal tendencies. While nearly everyone has a temper that can flair, most are acutely aware not to act on such emotions in a way that would endanger life and limb. For those very few individuals that have homicidal tendencies and lack the emotional controls that most individuals have, no amount of legislation, weapon banning, or freedom restrictions are going to cure them or prevent them from acting on there mental state. If they live in a state with a waiting period they could, even easier than applying for a gun, grab a steak knife.

The reminder for you all is that while its still not perfect, we have it much better than other states.

Do you like the liberties and freedoms you have here? If you do, keep fighting for them! Perfect seems to only apply to Vermont right now, lets get to that point! Just remember, with these freedoms comes great responsibility!

I just read a thread about someone discharging a weapon on school grounds. How are we ever going to get that limitation removed from the law when we have people doing that?

Maybe it was just an accident but still so, the instant fear the public has from hearing about such a thing is normal. We cannot afford to have accidents, we cannot make mistakes out there with our firearms. When one of us does that we only open the door to make it harder, not easier for our freedoms.

I saw a thread about doing a group open carry a few restaurants. The intention was to expose the general public to how benign open carry and guns are. Then I heard many objections, some that were very reasonable. However, if executed correctly this would do a great service for our cause.

It needs to be done without being planned. Planning such a display could be misconstrued as a criminal act. I would love to see several group shoots, actually that should be the norm for us. After the shoot, people will naturally want to go and get something to eat. Some might choose to open carry, some will not. However consistent shoots will deaden the apprehension of the non-gun owners.

Some individuals will never be persuaded, will walk in see guns and then walk out. Restaurants will turn down your business. However non-gun owners that aren't explicitly anti-gun will start to interact with us. At that point it is important to be patient and not hardened by your own opinions. Take time to speak softly and clearly. Try not to look or act like a crazy mad man .

So my reminder to all of us is this, we live in a great "commonwealth" and it deserves to be even better than it is now.

Be responsible, your actions effect us all, keep up the good fight for freedom.

[Siobhra]

Open carry anywhere is stupid. However, don't lower your breath when you are talking guns in a restaurant. When you try to hide something you are agreeing that you are ashamed of it. When our Pink Pistol group meets for it's monthly shoot we meet at a sports bar. By now I believe everyone knows we are a gun group. Since it is not that far from a range (Classic Pistol) we often find that other shooters are there dining. Who join in with discussions.

[Lee-online]

Open carry isn't stupid but there is a time and a place for it.


exceltoexcel, good post and welcome to our forum.

[exceltoexcel]

v

Originally Posted by Siobhra

Open carry anywhere is stupid. However, don't lower your breath when you are talking guns in a restaurant. When you try to hide something you are agreeing that you are ashamed of it. When our Pink Pistol group meets for it's monthly shoot we meet at a sports bar. By now I believe everyone knows we are a gun group. Since it is not that far from a range (Classic Pistol) we often find that other shooters are there dining. Who join in with discussions.

I understand your opinion and I do agree that it is provoking, which I think, is the basis for your beliefs. Please feel free to correct me if I'm incorrect. I would say that there are communities where open carry is like wearing a belt buckle, in those areas it's not intimidating. I think the purpose of that specific thread was an attempt to make it more acceptable in our respective local areas. I do agree that our purpose must never be to provoke, that would be detrimental to our goal of creating at least a tolerance for our beliefs.

Perhaps an open carry isn't right in this political climate.

What I've done to ease the tension is to offer to take those people to the range. Everyone but one has taken me up on it so far.

To date I've taken seven people who have never picked up a gun to the shooting range and taught them how to shoot. To date they all but one have looked forward and joined me in at least one other session or have expressed a want to do it again.

If you have any ideas about a better way we can increase knowledge and tolerance of guns, please let us know.

[exceltoexcel]

Thank you for the compliment, glad to be here!