One More Week

Next Tuesday, President-Elect Obama moves to the Oval Office. Last week, gun bloggers were concerned about a report from The Shooting Wire that the new administration would almost immediately pass an “assault weapons” ban (AWB).

I’ve long believed that will happen. Even though I’ve been somewhat relieved by most of Obama’s cabinet picks and other signs that he may not rule from the left, I believe that an AWB is in the offing. Obama has even promised to enact an AWB, but he doesn’t say when. Obama’s followers will force the issue maybe sooner than Obama would like. They can’t help themselves.

Most people on the left don’t understand guns. Most of them don’t want us to educate them, don’t want to accept our offers teaching them to shoot, don’t want to listen to logical arguments, don’t want to accept that gun ownership is a matter of choice. For too many of them, it’s a spiritual mantra, “Guns are bad, um mani om, guns kill, um mani om.”

There’s no reasoning with gun banners. I’ve spent a lot of time among people who want to ban certain or all guns. I’ve talked to other people who think that citizens should be able to own any gun they want so long as they’re not “assault weapons,” handguns, or .50 caliber guns. Their minds are closed.

We gunnies are very different from gun banners. When we pick up an AR-15 we see a finally crafted machine. They imagine war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam, but in our streets.

When we shoot at a paper target, they imagine ragged holes in flesh. When we point out the .223 round is a relatively weak round they imagine “high-powered death lightning.” When we see accuracy, they imagine sniping from the rooftops.

When we pick up a semi-auto AK-47, we see history and crude, but effective engineering. They imagine dead Africans, child soldiers, and gang-bangers killing citizens in Miami (even though rifles are used in about 3% of murders).

When we discuss action pistol competition, they imagine fat white guys wearing camo in a “compound.”

Gun banners can’t accept that we like guns. They want to ban them all especially black rifles, which they view as “weapons of war.” They think they’re creating a better society, but we know that it’ll end in tyranny. Sadly, they can’t help themselves.