New gun sales record for June?

[raxar]

Getting consensus around here is like herring cats.

Are those some sort of hybrid or more like a bird dog?

[buckengr]

I was a registered Democrat and voted for Obama in his first term. At some point during the first term I realized I no longer agreed with the direction of the Democratic Party. I had always been pretty socially liberal and fiscally conservative but the older I get the more I realized I was most interested in a smaller federal government and protecting rights. I don*t believe that either party wants a smaller Federal Government but the Democratic Party has made it very clear that they don*t care about my rights so hear I am. Even through all of that I didn*t purchase my first firearm until January 2019. I have purchased both ammunition and firearms through this current craze but I have tried to be selective and buy things at reasonable prices as they pop up.

Welcome Beway!

No one ever seems to talk about how with small/limited government, it doesn't matter as much who wields the power if there isn't very much power to wield to begin with. That's the way it's supposed to work and the whole point of Federalism. Keep all the power reserved to the more localized governments (and ultimately, the people), so that it is never concentrated enough to be able to be abused. If power is abused, all the "authority" is derived from the people anyway, and they can choose to strip the power away from those who don't live up to their standards/expectation or who don't respect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Stripping this "authority" can be done during the next periodic election or a recall election (ideally), or by force with arms, if necessary, in the case of Tyranny. This is by design.

Local governments develop different policies depending on what is right/desired by the people who put the government over them. This is called local affinity. If you don't like a policy, you have more ability to influence and change it since it is localized, and you control a larger percentage of the electorate. If you are unable to successfully influence the outcome of the election/the policies you are subjected to, you can choose to move to one of many other local jurisdictions with policies more to your liking. Since there are a greater number of local governments, each with different sets of policies, you have more choice as to which sets of policies you put yourself under. You--the individual--as the smallest minority, have the greatest influence in this local government and you stand the greatest chance of having your rights respected if the total "authority" over you is answers to a small local electorate in which you control a large percentage.

The point of every level of government is to protect the natural rights of the citizens. Every level of government shares the responsibility and duty to act according to the Constitution and to stand up to other levels of government that are not acting according to the Constitution, in defense of those rights. That's it. If they fail to do that, they aren't doing their jobs.

This means protecting life and liberty through the common defense and through the administration of justice. The higher orders of government are to provide a venue and a mechanism for mediating conflict between the lower (more localized) orders of government when they are in conflict/disagree (and potentially to serve as a resource to help the people under a localized government put off that localized government if it violates the agreement with the residents under that authority). That's pretty much all it is actually supposed to do.

The problem is that people in power are corrupt and want more power. We as modern Americans often see "common problems" and foolishly think that this means we need "common solutions" implemented at the point of greatest commonality, (i.e. higher orders of government). This allows these higher orders of government to accumulate more power that they do not deserve and cannot be trusted with, undermining the entire purpose of federalism/rule by local affinity.

I truly don't know why people don't love this system. Liberty for all.

We don't need to re-write the Constitution. We need to re-read the Constitution.

(This concludes my Civics 101 lesson. Apologies for getting preachy, but we need to be talking about this more as a country.)

#WalkAway

Please vote exclusively PRO-GUN until such time as we have more than one suitable candidate who respects the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

(For the record, I am not a single-issue voter, but there is a lower bar that must be met before someone can qualify for my vote. For me, this bar is determined by candidates' support for gun rights and the Constitution (at a minimum), or the impact of the opposing party's stance/record on gun rights if they were to attain controlling power of a legislative body. Without arms, we will have no other rights.)

[McSull]

I was a registered Democrat and voted for Obama in his first term. At some point during the first term I realized I no longer agreed with the direction of the Democratic Party. I had always been pretty socially liberal and fiscally conservative but the older I get the more I realized I was most interested in a smaller federal government and protecting rights. I don*t believe that either party wants a smaller Federal Government but the Democratic Party has made it very clear that they don*t care about my rights so hear I am. Even through all of that I didn*t purchase my first firearm until January 2019. I have purchased both ammunition and firearms through this current craze but I have tried to be selective and buy things at reasonable prices as they pop up.

Welcome aboard. Hopefully this time next year, well have $325 ARs, and cases of decent 556 for sub 300 delivered.

[Beway15]

Welcome aboard. Hopefully this time next year, well have $325 ARs, and cases of decent 556 for sub 300 delivered.

I am still working on my wife for the AR. She watches the to much news so they are still very scary to her. I think if she went shooting with me I could change her mind but she doesn’t want me to teach her.

[RenoV8]

I am still working on my wife for the AR. She watches the to much news so they are still very scary to her. I think if she went shooting with me I could change her mind but she doesn*t want me to teach her.

I would highly recommend having your wife take instruction from a woman trainer. I have spoken to several women who train other women...the dynamics of just getting out there are overcome because they are learning with other women. Its not that simple, but its one of the reasons I feel women teaching other women gives them the start they need, removing the obstacle of having a man teach them...its really that easy, but can also be complicated from a psyche POV.

[Beway15]

Welcome aboard. Hopefully this time next year, well have $325 ARs, and cases of decent 556 for sub 300 delivered.

I would highly recommend having your wife take instruction from a woman trainer. I have spoken to several women who train other women...the dynamics of just getting out there are overcome because they are learning with other women. Its not that simple, but its one of the reasons I feel women teaching other women gives them the start they need, removing the obstacle of having a man teach them...its really that easy, but can also be complicated from a psyche POV.

Thanks for the advice! I will have to look into some places around us to see if there are any female instructors.

[Bug44]

Thanks for the advice! I will have to look into some places around us to see if there are any female instructors.

I recall about 6-7 years ago in Schuykill county there was a female group shoot for first time females at a range over that way. Not sure if that was a one time thing or if it is an annual event?