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).
Freedom to this guy is a six pack and the tv remote .
This "domestic enemy of the Constitution" is as much a hunter as a wrinkled 50-year old drug addicted prostitute is a virgin.
My thoughts exactly. Reminds me also of how Michael Moore is an NRA member...
Not even at the range? Jesus, you might be more of a danger to yourself than to your assailant!
Being outnumbered by gun-hating socialists in Kalifornia, I am making plans to flee to a free state where gun registration is unthinkable.
The red-zone will become redder and the blue-zone more blue. There have already been hints of states which contain areas where federal government interference is not appreciated. These areas will grow in size.
Recent legislation in Utah is aimed at permitting concealed carry of guns in schools. You will know that we have reached a turning point when liberals find themselves hounded out of conservative states, forced to take early retirements and sell their homes in order to seek out others of their own kind. They will be unwelcome in polite society.
Then comes the Second Civil War. Hopefully, not with a bang, but with a whimper. Kalifornia, New York, and Massachusetts facing their well-deserved bankrupticies.
Gray-out Davis in Kalifornia is presiding over the imminent collapse of the Golden State. The Golden Goose is dead and the liberal politicians are just consuming the last of the pate. Now comes the bill.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.