Posted on 02/17/2003 5:43:46 AM PST by SJackson
"About the time that Daddy left to fight the big war/I saw my first pistol in the general store/In the general store, when I was thirteen/Thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen/So I asked if I could have one someday when I grew up/Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up/She really blew up and I didn't understand/Mama said the pistol is the Devil's right hand.''
Steve Earle's ''The Devil's Right Hand''
Ihunt. It's the most intense and rewarding thing I do in the outdoors.
To hunt, I own guns.
They are my most valued possessions.
When I was 13, Dad gave me the family .22 rifle as my most cherished Christmas gift. When I turned 18, my 12-gauge shotgun and my deer rifle were my first important life purchases.
The only thing I asked Dad to bequeath me in his will is an ancient, open-bore, single-shot, 12-gauge shotgun my Grandpa Bowman gave him as his first gun as a boy.
Guns come with meanings for me, come with stories and histories.
So I watch with more than passing interest when an anti-gun person such as Mayor Daley steps into the political arena with gun legislation.
The latest foray came Thursday.
My first thought was, "Oh, God, not again.''
Then I picked through the highlights.
As a hunter and human being, I agreed with almost all of them.
As hunters, we must learn to separate ourselves from the gun nuts, those who would oppose every firearm restriction. Otherwise, we'll be lumped in the crackpot pile.
*A ban on military-style, semi-automatic assault weapons. I absolutely agree. It should have been done years ago. The problem for hunters is the definition of assault rifles; otherwise, it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Restrict handgun purchases to one per person per month. For my money, you could ban handguns completely. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Gun fingerprinting. I have no problem with that other than it is another governmental intrusion into our lives. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Lengthening the waiting period for taking possession of a handgun from three days to 10. Hey, make it a month, a year, 10 years. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Require annual background checks of those who hold Firearm Owners Identification Cards. I think that will be a logistical nightmare and should not be enacted for that reason. Otherwise, check all you want. It in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Increase the cost of a FOID card. It annoys me. It will cost me. But it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Mandate background checks of people who buy firearms at gun shows. Absolutely. That should have been in place years ago. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*State licensing of gun dealers and a state database of gun information. Go ahead. I think it will be a logistical nightmare; otherwise, it in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
*Increased penalty for secret compartments in vehicles for weapons. Throw the book at them. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
Daley's proposals make sense. But then, I am a hunter who owns guns, not a gun nut. Guns don't mean more than life to me.
Dale Bowman can be reached at outdoordb@aol.com.
"Bowman's Outdoor Line'' is heard on "Outdoors with Mike Norris'' (3-4 p.m. Thursdays, 1280-AM).
Okay, so a military-style, semi-automatic assault weapon will destroy its target more effciently than a long rifle chambered for .223 or .308 that is marketed for varmint hunting?
BREAKING NEWS: Shocking new evidence that says liberals are incapable of presenting a coherent argument for anything. Story at eleven.
I've seen this too, unfortunately. It is very troubling. It amazes me when I hear a hunter who is blissfully sighting in his .300 Win Mag state with no hint of irony that he sees no reason why anyone needs an "assault weapon".
They use the typical gun grabber terms - black guns, assault rifle, rapid fire and the ever present "I don't know why anyone needs a pistol."
They must live in a gated community. Geez!
The ole divide and conquer trick. How about if pistol shooters separate themselves from rifle shooters and shoot gun shooters separate themselves from both. They we can further divide by calliber.
I am a gun owner that doesn't hunt. Basically I don't like to kill things and would prefer to get mine at the grocery store.
I own and shoot military weapons at pieces of paper. If you want to take them from me you can pry them from my cold dead fingers. My adversion to killing things ends at the second amendment to the United States Constitution.
This guy is a total phony jerk. They pop up every once in awhile. Divide and conquer strategy of the anti's.
Like pump and semi auto shotguns are excluded. I further note that a number of excellent hunting rifles are included in such bans.
*Restrict handgun purchases to one per person per month. For my money, you could ban handguns completely. That in no way affects my right to own a shotgun or rifle for hunting.
If one can ban handguns one can ban any gun.
Clearly this individual needs to read and understand Niemoller 'First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.'
Yes. A gun nut is someone who uses a firearm for a purpose different than yours. To the author, a hunter, it's a shooter. To some shooters, it's a hunter. Anyone owning a gun for self defense only is automatically a gun nut.
He'll like that idea, till he figures out what the ban applies to, when it will be too late.
I have several shoulder fired weapons, 50# and 90# Recurved Bows and lots of arrows with detachable target heads and a bag of replacement Hunting heads (all razor sharp).
Does that make me a Bow nut too?!!!
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