Amateur Gun Nuttery
I mentioned before how I created a gun nut out of a fellow parent at our daycare. In an update to that, he got into AR-15s. And, though I haven’t updated on that in a while, he has bought an AR-15, another Glock, a 22, and tons of ammo. He’s looking at several other guns now too. Good times. But this ain’t a post about that, it’s a post about this:
We ran into each other at a birthday party recently and, as is always the case, started talking guns. He was up to date on all the guns in bars, parks, firearms freedom act, and all the other state-level goings on. Double success! Not only was he into guns, he was also paying attention to the political issue. As we were talking, I asked him if he’d gotten a handgun carry permit. He said he had not and I told him that he probably should if he ever wanted to carry it. He said he had not and his amateur gun nuttery kicked in. He said he wasn’t going to get one because he didn’t want to be registered as a gun owner. He explained that he did not want to be on record with the state as a gun owner just in case. And the just in case, of course, meant some ban or some such. I said to him that the likelihood of an all out ban was roughly zero. I also said I knew folks who were of the same opinion.
But, I told him, not me. I have a permit. I have a lawfully owned suppressor that is registered to me. And I’m pretty sure all my weapons involved a 4473. And that I had no issue with whoever knowing that. In fact, I want it to be known. I don’t stay in the closet with people I know nor with the state. In the event that roughly zero percent likelihood came to fruition, I’d still want it known. I’m ornery like that.
Given that that is my general attitude, I don’t understand Kevin’s post stating he will not register. Well, let me rephrase that I understand not registering because it’s simply an overreach of government authority and, frankly, none of their business. But I do not understand this notion of keeping it a secret from the .gov. I want it known. If, as they say, it only leads to confiscation then I’ll turn mine in. Ammo first. But it will not come to that.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I look forward to discussing the topic with you at length at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Not everybody have firearms that has a 4473 on them. Gifts and guns passed down theoughthe family rarely have any paper.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I agree with Kevin that the ded and ste will not know what I have. My 4473 guns has paer that is with the gun shop and not digital records which make it harder to keep records.
A lot of people have guns purchased before 1968.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Whoops typing in the dark, I meant the feds and the state will not get info that is in the hands of guns sellers.
August 24th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I think the basic premise is that an out and out registry ALWAYS leads to confiscation…not necessarily total confiscation all at once, but slowly, over time.
After you register your guns and they decide that no one “needs” a gun that looks cosmetically similar to a military rifle, but everything else is OK, will you surrender yours?
Or will you start shooting when they knock at your door, while your wife and children are behind you or in their room hiding?
How about if they ban those small, easily concealable guns that are so dangerous for Police because just ANYONE could have one in their pocket? Your full sized 1911 would be OK, but turn in that LCP…would you fight?
How about semi-auto shotguns? “Saturday night specials” like the Hi-point or Lorcin? All semi-autos? Anything deemed not to have a “sporting purpose”?
The thing is…they won’t just ban guns outright and come take them away. That’s not how it’s done. Look at the history of any (non-dictatorial) country in which it’s been done.
They’ll boil the frog slowly and, by the time they’ve gotten you riled enough to actually resist, you’ll be relegated to your O/U skeet gun to resist with.
I’ve got plenty of guns that are “papered”, I’ve got a CCR License, a CHP, and am very vocal about my ownership of guns.
But I will not register them. Period. Without a registration, there is always plausible deniability…”sorry, sold it last week”. Registration removes that deniability completely. Any attempted registration scheme will be met with massive noncompliance…including my own.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I strongly suggest that all gun owners have some firearms “off paper, ” i.e. private sales.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Yep, as someone who lives under California registration (pretty much every gun I own had to be input to the State Bureau of Firearms database before I took it home; even gun show firearms have to go thru an FFL here) I was ECSTATIC to find a loophole that let me buy paperless long guns: http://www.softgreenglow.com/wp/?p=6690
August 24th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Two long guns from in the fifties, plus a no-paper scatter-gun from the ninties. If it looks like registration might hit, I’ll “sell” almost everything else. Maybe let them have the 10-22 and the single six. Reckon I’m dead if/when confiscation comes along.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Agreed. But the known unknown of them knowing you have some sort gun, somewhere, has a strategic value of its own. Or, in horror movie terms, which scene is scarier?
The beginning of the movie where the campers are in the woods before anyone knows there is a monster.
The part where they know what the monster is, and where it is, because it’s banging on the barricaded front door?
Or is it after the monster stops banging on the door, and they try to make their escape through the dark forest, knowing that the monster is out there somewhere.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I view my gun ownership the way I view my atheism: not something I go out of my way to advertise, but not something I keep a secret, either.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I think the basic premise is that an out and out registry ALWAYS leads to confiscation…not necessarily total confiscation all at once, but slowly, over time.
Yeah, I remember the day when the government came and confiscated my cars…
August 24th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Yeah, I remember the day when the government came and confiscated my cars…
Oh…sorry…I thought we were talking about guns here.
My bad.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Man, I hate to sound all conspiracy-nut crazy, and I really don’t want to start some flame-war here, but…
(taking deep breath)
Are you SURE the government won’t confiscate your car? Maybe after the Cash for Clunkers program finally fails utterly? Remember, they are trying RIGHT NOW to regulate how many MPG is ‘acceptable’ for your grocery-getter. That Barracuda or GTO you have hidden in the garage is on borrowed time, I’m afraid.
And that same government that wants you dependent and unable to resist (or, coincidentally, defend yourself) is NOT gonna be especially keen on you being able to pack up and move to other parts when their control of your locale inevitably fails. Mobility, I’m afraid, might be the next no-no. Makes them look bad. Makes it too easy for the wingnut resisters to organize and mobilize. Not to mention those big-block dinosaurs are fast and dangerous.
And before you shout me down, remember—these are the same sick fucks who are illegalizing and destroying pre-’80 children’s books and unapproved TOYS, attempting to regulate what and how much you eat, and spying at will on me and thee, with the fawning approval and assistance of the telecom industry, along with every backwater town with a camera at its one stoplight. All For Our Own Good, of course.
From what I’ve seen and heard, nothing causes an effect more surely than people who wave dismissively and say, “That could never happen here.”
How hot does the water have to get?
August 25th, 2009 at 1:24 am
If registration ends up being like California’s AW registration, only the registered weapons will be legal. It’s the unregistered ones that will be subject to confiscation.
August 25th, 2009 at 2:21 am
And guess what happened there? They came for them.
August 25th, 2009 at 8:29 am
And, Wanda, if it ends up like Cali, then guns will be confiscated. Like Cali did with lawfully registered 50 calibers and like they will do with lawfully registered semi-autos as their registered owners die, since they cannot be transferred.