Guns, Guns, Guns, and Everyone's Packin' Heat.......

The is the XDS .45 model. Small enough to fit in my
front jeans' pocket without looking like a gun.

Recently Georgia passed a law that under some circumstances allows teachers and school staff to strap on guns.

I think the NRA mantra is; Only good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns. Hmmm, yes, that’s something to hang on to.

Before talking about teachers packin’ heat…. Let me back up a little.

It seems just about everyone is strutting around with guns. Locally, there’s a new high-end, if that’s the appropriate word, shooting range geared to women. Yes, it’s a costly one. They are trying to get away from the old somewhat-dim ranges that catered to the guys wearing camos and aviator glasses.

We, yes, here in Virginia Beach made the national news last year. Why? How? Well, a young man who owns a pizza restaurant started giving a 10% discount for those who came to his place of business with a gun. Yes, the old open carry, rifle or pistol would qualify. Also, for those packin’ concealed just show your permit.

There was a video to go with one of his national interviews. Yep, there were a bunch of guys with huge guns strapped-on….of course, they had the mandatory and requisite camos and baseball-caps on backwards. It made me want to rush down and get my 10% off.

Now, this one is going to be hard to believe. Yes, a midwife giving a 20% discount if you’re, yes, packin’ heat….. Is there something in the water, here? The midwife lives just a few miles up the road.

Back to guns.

Like lots of guys I’ve always liked guns and have always had at least one. And, with that one I would go to a range every so often and fire off a box or two of bullets.

There came a time when I started buying guns; sort of like the radios I just bought (just joking).

But, I’d go years between visits to the range. I now have eight guns, from .22 to .45. I like the .45s as I find them a real challenge to fire accurately. The gun pictured here (XDS) I bought when they first came out. And, that was most likely two years ago. And, I have yet to fire it. Go figure.

Not sure when it came about, but all of a sudden I realized in Virginia it didn’t take much to get a permit to carry concealed (from here on I’ll just say permit). It used to be you had to have a darn-good reason and convince a judge. You know, folks who closed their businesses late at night and then made bank deposits. There had to be an actual reason. No longer.

What does it take now? Not much. In fact, basically nothing. Now, listen carefully, unless I’m completely wrong about this and I’m pretty sure I’m not, yes, in Virginia you can get a permit without ever firing a gun! The Commonwealth will allow you to buy the biggest gun you can find that has a huge bullet capacity and allow you to conceal it on your person.

George, that can’t be.

OK, there are two ways to get a permit in Virginia. One, show up with a DD-214 (this is the discharge paper that all veterans are given—tells about your time in the service) with an honorable discharge.

Or, provide evidence that you went through an approved training program. OK, here’s the good part. You can satisfy the training requirement by paying for an online training program and test. So, you can get the permit without ever showing or proving to someone that you can handle and fire a gun safely. Much less, prove that you’d be competent if you ever had to use the darn thing.

OK, I’ll be 75 next month. I was in the air force and discharged 1964. 1964! Now age 75! And, yes, I have a permit. Just went and filled out some forms saying I’ve never been convicted of a felony, never been committed to a psych hospital, and so on and a couple of weeks later my permit arrived.

So, do I pack heat? Nope, I’d actually feel kind of silly walking around with a gun. Then why did I get the permit?

I think the laws in Virginia allow you to have a gun in your car going to and from the range and maybe under some other circumstances. Actually, I thought that having a permit would eliminate all problems if I happened to have a gun in my car. I had made plans (yes, another project by the wayside) that would have me out and about on secondary roads late at night. Thought I wouldn't mind having a gun along. Hey, I’m 75! Too old to run and surely don’t want to fight.

The other part of getting the permit was to see if the Commonwealth would give a 75YO guy a permit without any kind of testing! And, yes, they did.

We need to do something to try to cut down on the mass shootings that happen with some regularity. Most, if not all of these shootings seem to have a common component. Mental illness! To cut down on these massacres we need to be more aware of our friends, neighbors, and relatives and when they start talking about using their guns or making threats we need to get them evaluated. The other part of this is of course having adequate services for the mentally ill.

Back to Georgia. The new law allows, under some circumstances, for teachers and staff to carry a gun. Folks, do we even need to discuss this? 

Well, I’m running out of steam in writing this, so here’s what I have to say.

I doubt if 1% of the folks with permits are competent to decide when to draw their weapon, and if they do, are skilled enough to hit their target.

All police officers have some training. And, just a casual perusal of news show that they make mistake after mistake. I think the Empire State Building shooting is a good example. I think this was a couple of years ago. As I best remember, a suspect had a gun. The officers fired and wounded nine, yes, nine, innocent bystanders.

Did you ever take flying lessons? You know, the 150s/172s? Punching holes in the clouds? And, I am sure that for some of us who then flew on huge commercial planes, we would daydream about the pilot becoming disabled, and the stewardess would yell out, Are there any pilots aboard? We need help!

And, then, yes, we’d swagger to the cockpit and yes, land the plane. Hmmm…. OK, never did have that daydream….did I?

Anyway, I think there’s a similar daydream to many of the folks with permits. Yes, they are going to save us all from the bad guys… Yeah, just give me the chance. And, folks, we don’t need those people roaming around with a gun. Period.

Why do I like guns. Hmmm….. Good question. It’s enjoyable at times to target shoot and try and improve your skills. The designs of guns are interesting. In fact, I have three 1911 pistols and reading about the designers and the history I find interesting.

                                           

This is the military issue 1911.

One of the best-known designers of guns was John Moses Browning  (BTW, he was a Mormon, for cryin’ out loud) and the 1911. The 1911 was the US services’ sidearm from 1911 until 1985. That was a heck of a run for a military sidearm. Though the military stopped using it, the gun continues to be a best seller. In the day of many folks clamoring for huge-capacity magazines, the standard 1911 holds seven rounds in the magazine as compared to 15 or so in many of the 9mm guns now manufactured. But, people still buy, shoot, and collect the 1911s.

Well, folks, that’s sort of my take on guns. If you must have one, please keep it secured, away from children, don’t mess with it when you’re having a drink or in a bad mood. And, especially lock it up with you and the little lady are having a knock-down-drag out.

You can’t unring a bell and you surely can’t call the bullet back or ask for a do over…..

And, for you guys out there. Hey, do you really need camos? And, wear those baseball caps the way they were designed. Yes, the brim goes in the front.