Some Arms Are Too Darned Big to Bare

Thought for the day:  So what? Americans have right to bear arms? In Russia, we have right to whole bear. [Yakow Smirnov]

[seniorark.com]

I get it. I really do. I understand why so many Americans are so adamant about the Second Amendment, and their Constitutional right to own guns. Heck, I even own some myself, because, frankly, I like to target shoot. But, you know? There must be something wrong with me. Something seriously wrong. See, I have absolutely no desire to strap on a Glock before making my usual senior discount day run to the grocery store on Wednesday mornings. Granted, the sight of a little heat on my hip might encourage those other seniors to shuffle their chubby butts outta my way a little faster, and I'll betcha nobody would argue with me about who should get that last can of tomato soup anymore, either. Better yet, I'm sure I'd get much better service at the check-out counter, too. Oh yeah, I'd shoot right through that line... but no, no, never mind. Not my thing. I'll wait my turn.

I also have no interest in slinging a rifle onto my back before taking a walk around the block, or dragging a mini-cannon into town to show off at the next festival.

Even though, according to Georgia law, I can. If our state doesn't grant the broadest gun-owner rights in the country, it's gotta be in the top two, especially since our legislators passed their Guns Everywhere law. Wanta take your gun into a bar or restaurant? Okeydoke. To the park? No problem! You might not be able to smoke a cigarette in the park anymore, but by golly, feel free to tote your favorite sidearm.

[morguefile]

I've been to places where guys are walking around sporting guns, and it's almost gotten to the point of it not making me overly paranoid. Almost. It's a little like being in the Old West, if you think about it. Then again, in the Old West, gunslingers had to disarm before going into town, just to make it easier for peace officers to maintain the... peace. Oh, I dunno, maybe I'm making much ado about nothing, because there certainly haven't been any High Noon kinda shoot-outs around these here parts.

So I'm (gulp) not nervous. Nope, not a bit.

See, I don't have a problem with guns, and I'm well aware of a whole slew of famous quotes about the importance of the right to bear arms.

Like what Thomas Jefferson said about the dangers from within: The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.  

And having an armed population has probably saved us from dangers from without, too. Like during WW II, when Japan's  Isoroku Yamamoto said, I would never invade the United States. There would be a gun behind every blade of grass.

(Especially in Georgia.)



But none of that is what prompted me to write this post. This is: a few weeks ago, a local guy (AKA gun nut) took his AR-15 to the airport. The big airport in Atlanta. You know, the busiest airport in the world. What...? You don't know what an AR-15 is? Here... I'll show you.

                                                               THIS is an AR-15:

[morguefile]

But our local guy (AKA gun nut) wasn't satisfied with the idea of toting around an AR-15 with a standard clip, as shown in the picture. Oh no, not him. His gun was fitted with a 100-round drum magazine. Here's one of them in action:

The only difference was, the guy at the airport (AKA gun nut) had a single 100-round drum, instead of the two 50-rounders, as shown in this clip. Just the sort of thing you want to see someone carrying when you go to the airport, eh?

So why was he carrying it? Because it's his right, he said. Because, by Georgia law, he can carry a gun into the airport. Tell me, if you see somebody carrying around a weapon like that at the airport, are you gonna feel secure... or are you gonna pee in your pants a little?

Now, I will admit it. I have fired an AR-15 before... and I enjoyed it. Matter of fact, I laughed most of the time I was shooting, because it made this little old lady feel like a real badass... but I fired it under safe operating conditions at the range. And we don't even carry loaded weapons into the shooting club... weapons don't get loaded until we're actually situated at one of the shooting lanes. Again, that was at a range. Not in an airport. Not in the midst of an international crowd of travelers.

See, I don't get it. If that man wanted to bring a loaded gun into the airport, which makes me a tad nervous anyway, but if he did... why not a handgun? Something for simple self-protection, if that's what he felt he needed to do. Something he could carry in a holster, or unobtrusively in his pocket. Why such a kick-ass in-your-face kinda gun that's gonna scare kids half to death, give three people heart attacks, and make grandma tinkle in her undies? I'm just saying... why? To prove something, but... what? I get it. It's his right. How, I ask you, are the police supposed to know he's one of the good guys when they see him toting that bad boy around? See, here in Georgia, the law also says police aren't allowed to ask to see anyone's carry permit. How do ya like them apples? The game warden can ask to see fishing and hunting licenses; police can ask to see a driver's license, but as for asking to see a paper concerning the legalities of carrying a gun? Nope. Can't do it.

[morguefile]

Here's what I think. That guy is an ass. Sure, he acted well within his rights. But were his actions really intended as a means of embracing those rights, and making the public more comfortable with him and other gun owners exercising their rights, as he said, or was it more a matter of him trying to get his stinkin' fifteen minutes of fame? More like infamy, but he definitely got... and continues to get... a lot of attention.

I think it was the latter. I think that guy (AKA gun nut) has a bad bad attitude, and I also think his narcissistic actions only served to frighten people, demonize gun-owners, and stir up a hornet's nest of anti-gun sentiment. And the people who genuinely care about the right to bear arms should be just as ticked off at his look-at-me antics as the travelers he terrified at the airport are. To be perfectly honest, gun rights aside, it saddens me to think of anyone who only feels safe while carrying a loaded gun.

                                                        What do you think?


                                   Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.

The Advertising Winds Still Blow

Thought for the day:  Do advertisements reflect society realistically, or do they merely attempt to manipulate our perception of it?

Subliminal messages may be taboo in today's advertising, but that doesn't mean commercials aren't designed to manipulate our thinking. After all, it's their job to convince us that our lives would be better if we buy whatever product it is they're trying to sell.

I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second. [Steven Wright]

Let's hope society wasn't as blatantly sexist... and clueless... as it comes across in these ads from the '40s and '50s.  We looked at some a couple weeks ago... today, we're gonna check out the rest. Once again, thanks to my brother for sending them to me.

Ready?

Some of you might be experiencing a little agitation of your own after looking at some of those ads, but you know I can't send you away in that kinda state. We've gotta end with a chuckle. So, how about a couple commercials with a funny side? You don't have to understand the language to get the point in the first one. Um, if the second one offends anyone, let me apologize in advance. Sorry! (giggle)

Some of you dropped in to visit with Dianne Salerni and me at her blog yesterday, and I thank you for that, but if you (gasp!) missed her interview with me about Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade... we're still there! Come say hello. There's still a piece or two of chocolate rum cake left, but you'd better hurry. Chocolate cake is never allowed to sit around long enough to get stale. It's a rule. Um, I think we'll skip the tea. For some reason,  I'm simply not in the mood for a cup...

                                 Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Big Sale. Last Week. Why advertise? I already missed it. They're just rubbing it in. [Yakov Smirnoff]

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Thought for the day:  Charlton Heston admitted he had a drinking problem, and I said to myself, "Thank God this guy doesn't own any guns!"  [David Letterman]  For those who don't know, in addition to being an actor, Heston was also a very outspoken gun enthusiast and president of the National Rifle Association.

In March, I told y'all about a feisty group of Georgia ladies whose weekly evening out means blasting targets at an indoor shooting range, followed by a book club meeting. (If you missed it, you can find it here )

Now I have a NEW endeavor to tell you about. How about a planned gun club in my fair state that just got a license to serve...  alcohol? Woo HOO, huh? I mean, what could go wrong?




                                                After all, what's a more natural go-together than

BOOZE

                                                                               and

BULLETS

Right? Besides, I'm sure this new $3.5 million-dollar establishment will hang a sign similar to this one to remind members of the importance of clear thinking, and in engaging one's brain when handling a firearm of any kind.

So, what, I ask you, could go wrong? We all know most adults are mature responsible drinkers, and as such, are quite capable of intelligent and proper (Yee-HA!)  behavior after inhaling certain beverages.

                                                               Both men... and women.

The NRA says, "Guns don't kill people. People do." But I think the gun helps.  [Eddie Izzard]

Okay, you can relax now. The only thing that's actually gonna be loaded on this range are the weapons. There aren't going to be any poop-faced shooters waving a gun in one hand and a glass of bourbon in the other. In spite of some of the inflammatory remarks I've heard about this being a wild west concept,  according to the owners, the Governors Gun Club will be run like a members-only country club, only instead of playing golf or tennis, members of this club will shoot bullets or arrows. And the lounge isn't going to be a common barroom, either. No, sirree. It'll be a lounge. You know, a dignified place where Full Metal Jacket members (those with lounge privileges) can partake of food and adult libations.

In Georgia, where it's already legal to tote a firearm into restaurants and bars, is this concept that much different? In fact, the club is supposed to institute stringent rules. (Which may not be the case at the corner restaurant or watering hole.)  Here's the plan:

• No boozing on the range. 
• No going on the range after boozing, either. 
• And weapons will be secured by a valet before going into the lounge.

Sounds sensible enough, right? Besides, what's wrong with the wild west? Think how boring the old oaters would be without shoot-outs, player pianos, and dance instructors ... you know, the helpful fellas in the saloon who used a six-shooter to teach other fellas how to dance.

                           Around these parts, gun control refers to a person's shooting skills, pardner.

                                       And so I ask you again ... what could possibly go wrong?


Let's see, we've talked about books & guns, and booze & guns... if you were to propose a fun combo of a couple of your hobbies, how would you do it? Let's see... I could combine amateur radio with folk music and guitar-playing, and call it ... (ta-DA!) Hamstrings.  Or how about a merger of gardening and poker? (Ants and antes, of course.) Or, maybe...

                                       Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Books and Bullets

Thought for the day: For many people, gun control means being able to hit the target.

Confession: I love target shooting. I'm pretty good, too, or at least, I used to be. It's been quite a while. But my favorite .22 Ruger pistol, with my initials engraved on a brass plate on the handle, is still in our gun safe. Ya never can tell when we might decide to hit the range again. (I'd still like to pull off that nifty Mel Gibson smiley face stunt ...)

And I also suffer from a life-long addiction to the written word.







So, naturally, an article in the Atlanta newspaper about a club called Girls, Guns, and Good Books kinda grabbed my interest by the collar and gave it a good shaking. Yup, sure enough, once a month, after this group of gals puts a hurting on some targets at the SharpShooters USA shooting range, they adjourn to the Peerless Book Store, where they discuss books over wine and cheese.

I mean, WOW! Talk about a ladies night out, huh?

WHAT? You don't think it's lady-like for women to shoot guns? You think it's a sign of today's rough and tumble world?

Tell it to this group of ladies from the 1920s.

Or this gal circa WWII.

Or these Southern belles featured in a documentary.

I'd say there's always been a certain number of women who've liked to shoot. Today's no different. Now that book club of lady shooters is certainly different. Might even be one of a kind. According to the newspaper article, these ladies especially enjoy reading a good mystery with a kick-butt heroine. No surprise there. But what songs do you think they like? May I suggest these:

• Janie's Got a Gun  [Aerosmith]
• Happiness is a Warm Gun  [Beatles]
• Pistol Packin' Mama  [Bing Crosby]
• I Didn't Know My Gun Was Loaded  [Andrews Sisters]
• Time to Get a Gun  [Fred Eagelsmith]
• Machine Gun  [Jimi Hendrix]

Can you think of any other songs that'd fill the bill? How about books? Maybe The Guns of Navarone? I'll betcha you guys and gals can load me up with some great suggestions. So shoot 'em at me. I can take it. And tell me, have you ever gone target shooting? (It's a gr-r-reat way to kill time.)

                                       Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.