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When I was a kid in the 70’s I sat around drawing pictures of tv cowboys. Of course those old westerns were reruns and the guys starring in them were as old or older than my parents, but who cares I was enamored of the west and drew pictures of tv gunslingers shooting it out, blood and all. I drew pictures of six shooters, Winchester Rifles and Indians with bows and arrows(and people getting shot with bows and arrows).In class right in front of the teachers. All the other girls in my class were in love with rock singers and I was attracted to tv and movie cowboys.I had a western encyclopedia I carried to class with me and it was full of 1800’s pictures of guns and the after effects of gun fights. My parents had guns and my father had 2 old 1800’s pistols that he gave to me after he rendered them inoperative by taking the firing pins out. All the other kids played shootout with toy guns and I had the real McCoy.I ran around outside and up and down the street and proudly showed off my guns and not a single person turned me in (did I mention I grew up in Texas?).
Here's the best part I took the guns to school for show and tell. My parents weren't the least bit concerned about this. They gave me a camera case to take them in.They told me to make sure the teacher kept them at her desk for safekeeping.And to show her they were unloaded and had no firing pin.So I show up in school plop the case down on the teachers desk whip the guns out, open them up show her the firing pin and that they were unloaded. She didn't know what the heck a firing pin was but she didn't bat an eye or act the least bit unnerved by it.She kept the guns until I showed them and at the end of the day I merrily skipped home with my guns and a good grade. I also brought a dead snake and a pocket knife collection to school. But then I always had a pocket knife with me. My father made a bowie knife for me and I ran around outside throwing it at things and the neighbor kids and I ran around on the streets with pellet guns and BB guns shooting at everything in sight, no one thought anything about it. In 1979 a local department store had a turkey shoot to win electronics inside the store on their back wall and all the boys and girls came traipsing through the store with their BB guns. All the trucks had gun racks. Bah!!! How times have changed in the last 30 years.Oh heck most of this no tolerance stuff didn't start until Clinton.Can you imagine a little girl today doing the things I've described? PS: I still think cowboys are darn cute. No metro-sexual men for me!!!