On one side of the coin you have me. Mild Mannered American with a wife, a house, a job, and a love of firearms. Not only do I like to collect them, but I also understand their value in a free society and as safety devices.
I happen to live in Massachusetts, which means I need to keep up with my permits, pay extra fees to remain legal, keep lots of paperwork on file of my firearms, as well as if I want to buy or sell guns. I need to keep abreast with the volumes of bizarre laws written by ignorant people who simply don’t like guns, also need to keep abreast with activities that are 100% legal, but might encourage a police chief to revoke your permit for “Bad Judgment” (Open carry is probably the best example of this). I also must keep abreast on all the laws being proposed to FURTHER restrict my hobby and lifestyle, and I am a member of The Massachusetts Gun Owner’s Action Legue as well as the NRA.
For several years I lived the life of a man who was very competent with a firearm, owned a lot of firearms and shot very regularly, and was NOT allowed to carry a firearm lawfully because I lived in a town that only issued restricted permits. My permit said “License to Carry Firearms” on the top and “TARGET AND HUNTING ONLY” in the middle. My wife went to the Police station one day and asked if she could get her permit. She was treated so rudely by the police officers at the desk she walked away without even taking an application.
When I do go buy a firearm, be it for my collection, for sport, or for personal defense I need to pick through Approved Roster Guns as well as choose Politically Correct Rifles if a gun I own eats from a magazine that holds more than 10 I need to make sure the magazine was made before 1994. If a gun I want eats from a magazine that holds more than 10 and was made AFTER 1994 (Like the S&W M&P9 which I really want to own) I may NEVER own a “Real” magazine for that gun. All of my guns are registered with the state so that if some law is ever passed where my guns become illegal the police can come to my door and demand the contraband by make, model, and serial number.
I have spent literally HUNDREDS of dollars on gun cabinets, and locks so I may keep my guns in full compliance with the law. When my armory flooded this spring I’ll just say I had to resort to some VERY creative (But as far as I can tell 100% legal) means to secure my collection until everything was dry.
I do this not just because I respect the rule of law in this country, but also because I love my collection of firearms, and I value the protections they grant, and I know a single infraction could completely strip me of my collection.
On the other side of the coin we have This
Lakeisha Gadson was acquitted yesterday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 8-year-old son, Liquarry Jefferson, who was accidentally shot three years ago by his 7-year-old cousin with a handgun the boys found stashed in a bedroom of her Dorchester apartment.
A Suffolk Superior Court jury also found Gadson not guilty of child endangerment, possession of a firearm, and improper storage of a firearm.
The gun belonged to a minor-child brother who is a known drug dealer. Mom’s lovers and baby-daddies as a rule are gang members, and several of them are in prison right now. When police arrived on the scene she made up a story about a masked gunman who shot the young boy to mislead them away from her and her family’s criminal behavior. Nobody has any permits or safety training, the “owner” of the gun is of illegal age, the gun is most likely stolen property and was not registered. And of course we have the biggest issue of a loaded gun being left in an area where young children have full access to. (not to mention drugs and other weapons), and what do we get for all these violations? An Acquittal!
Good work Massachusetts! Good work gun-grabbers! If anybody tells you gun laws are around for ANY reason other to discourage and inconvenience lawful gun owners, they are LYING!
