Posted on 08/11/2006 11:39:49 AM PDT by neverdem
The Grand American is an anti-gun activist's nightmare. The event, running through Aug. 18 at the newly completed World Shooting and Recreational Complex near Sparta, is the largest trapshooting event in the nation.
The facility sprawls over 1,500 acres in Randolph County.
Through most of the day, it's nearly impossible to step foot anywhere on the property and not see someone carrying a shotgun.
Standing in line for a burger or a brat - chances are one of the people standing next to you will have a shotgun over his/her shoulder.
Looking through a rack of T-shirts in one of the vendors' stores, it's likely the person staring at you from the other side of the rack will be carrying a shotgun.
Driving through the campground, you'll more than likely see someone carrying a gun, cleaning a gun, or putting a gun away.
And, ammunition?
The shell house at the WSRC probably has more ammo than George Washington had at his disposal during the Revolutionary War.
Granted, under other circumstances, the open display of weaponry and ammunition would make me a little nervous. Therein lies the beauty of this event.
The first day of the event, I'll admit, I'd do double-takes when seeing someone walk through the vendor mall with a shotgun on their shoulder. By the second day, I didn't even notice.
Seeing all the guns in the open might make city folks a little uneasy - sometimes with good reason. However, any fears politicians had about this facility were misplaced. I can't think of a place in Southern Illinois I'd feel safer.
I am not, and never have been a gun fanatic. I have a .22 rifle and a couple shotguns in my closet. I don't even take a knee-jerk stand in opposition to all gun control measures.
However, I firmly believe that anyone who thinks guns, and by extension gun owners, are inherently evil, needs to spend a couple days in Sparta.
First and foremost, I don't think I've ever been involved with a more polite and friendly, group of people. I'm sure there are a few jerks in attendance - I just haven't run into any of them.
These shooters are dedicated and passionate about their sport. This is not a group of people that present a danger to society with a shotgun in their hands.
Second, while shotguns are ever-present, guns are not carried around in a callous manner ? it's hard to explain. Suffice it to say, these people respect their sport, they respect the tools they use.
LES WINKELER is the interim sports editor for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call (618) 529-5454 ext. 5088.
It does to totalitarians, puts a big 'ol wrench in any plans they have for us.
"I am not, and never have been a gun fanatic. I have a .22 rifle and a couple shotguns in my closet. I don't even take a knee-jerk stand in opposition to all gun control measures."
So he's a kinder gentiler anti-gunner?
I can't figure why he made the statement other than to say he's not one of them gun nuts, rabid Second Amendment crazies, etc.
Even a jerk knows how to behave when the guy next to him has a shot gun
Probably inherited from his grandfather.
Are those them there skeletons that you hear people talikin about in closets?
I like to spend Saturdays blasting something, even if it is a golf ball..
King free after judge rules him unfit to stand trialI'd appeal to a 'higher authority' too if my family was killed by a drunk and he walked free - that authority being Mr 9mm and Mr Mauser.
JONESBORO - Jason Kyle King walked out of court a free man on Friday after a judge ruled he was unfit and unable to be made fit for trial on 13 charges of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI resulting in death.
The family of the five people King killed on June 19, 2004, appealed to a higher authority on Friday, saying they hadn't received justice in the courtroom.
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"An armed society is a polite society."
BTTT
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