Just wondering why I'm not shot

[HD Fboy]

I am not in the military but every day at our office at least half the staff is armed. We have pepper spray in every room. The office is in a not so nice area. On several occasions I have pulled my pistol from my desk and headed to the front door to chase off a vagrant. We have been there for 3 years. Thinking about it, we haven't had a vagrant visit in over a year. I guess word gets around.

To you vets and Active servicemen. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICES.

 

[merlinfire]

Its a simple difference of belief about what guns are. Those of us who are shooters know that guns are subservient to the wielder of the weapon and their will.

 

[Just One Shot]

WAIT A MINUTE, EVERYONE KNOWS THAT GUNS ARE EVIL AND SPAWNED BY SATAN HIMSELF! :banghead:

Sarcasm aside, I know you don't want our thanks but you have it anyway.

I salute you and all your brothers in arms.

 

[LemmyCaution]

Not to insult you, but if you look from the perspective of the typical anti-gun person, they have no problem with the authorities having weapons. They just don't want them in the hands of the common rabble.

As an employee of the federal government, I doubt many people on the anti- side have any problem with you having a gun. You are there the protect and serve their interests, after all.

Now, should you leave the service of the liberal super-state, well, what business do you have with a gun, at that point? You are allowed a gun only to the extent that you are serving the interests of the state.

And further, bourgeois capital really sees the sort of person who chooses your career path as de facto expendable. If a few of you suffer blue on blue mishaps or PTSD related suicides, well… How much collateral damage is acceptable? All of it. As long as it happens far away and to people not from their social class, gun deaths are simply an abstraction to the antis.

i admire your courage and resolve to defend the Constitution, much as a I'm chagrined by the abuse of your service by our currently directionless leadership. Please come home safely.

 

[merlinfire]

Not to insult you, but if you look from the perspective of the typical anti-gun person, they have no problem with the authorities having weapons. They just don't want them in the hands of the common rabble.

Sad, but true. Average americans can't be trusted, unless they work for the government.

 

[HoosierQ]

Dude, you should be awarded a PhD for that statement. I mean it, brilliant really. I am not sure a hole could even be poked in that argument, by anybody.

Sort of the same thing as permitted/licensed CCW carriers...they are not shooting one another or others either...not unlawfully anyway.

Thanks for your service.

 

[LegalAlien]

gdcpony -
1. GREAT post
2. Thank you for your service. I salute you and your brothers-in-arms

Your post just made me realise that, even though I work in private enterprise, I am surrounded by armed/gun owning co-workers on a daily basis. This is probably no strange phenomenon in South FL anyway.
To give you an idea:-
- The owner of the business is known to have at least a .357
- One of his 3 sons has a home defense weapon
- Two of the our sales managers are firearm owners and carry on a regular basis.
- Two of our finance managers are armed
- I know of at least 4 service technicians, 3 body shop technicians and 2 parts clerks that are also active armed.
And to date, no blood on the showroom floor, no customer ever shot, no violence . . . . . just one big, happy, well armed family

 

[xcgates]

If I may piggyback off of LemmyCaution, I was in a discussion with a civilian contractor who was perfectly fine with "authority" figures having weapons, as it is their "job" to protect the people. Along with that, he figures households should only be allowed one gun for protection.

The main points I took away is that he puts all his trust in the government, and doesn't understand how me, a member of the USAF, can distrust the federal government. Sorry, I trust the idea, NOT necessarily any particular person.

Another thing he doesn't understand is the difference between the tool and the user, or the fact that the police don't have a duty to protect him as an individual. (But they have "To serve and protect" on their cars!)

Bottom line, some people trust the government, some trust people.

 

[happygeek]

<sarcasm>
But that's different, you were in a war zone. People don't need to be armed to the teeth like that in the US, it'll only cause problems. Besides, you're government employees with government owned weapons, that's different than letting people keep assault weapons at home.
</sarcasm>

Seriously though, my sarcastic comment is the kinda "logic" you'll see if you hang out on the Huffington Post much.

Then there's the type of person I talked to once; the elitist. He wasn't anti-gun, not really. He loved his gun. It's your gun he hates. He thinks NY's permit to even own a handgun is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and since he's got his he thinks it should be even harder and more expensive for others to get one. But he thinks he should be allowed to carry anywhere.

 

[Ignition Override]

Maybe one of you guys lives somewhere near Chris O' Donnell, of MSNBC "fame".
If, and this is a Big IF, somebody could tempt him into meeting at a gun range (no cameras etc) and observing that inanimate spirits (like pagans believe) do not inhabit guns, there might be some intelligence acquired-on his part. If it is NYC, maybe he could be invited to visit VT or PA.

You should have tried to listen to his tirade about 0300 last night about the ..."blood on the hands of the NRA" after the Tucson massacre.

Apparently, the NRA is too blame for what happened.

 

[danprkr]

Very well written. You need to publish that in some wider forum if at all possible. Use it to reach the congregation instead of just the choir.

 

[Double Vision]

Great post.
Thank you for your service to America.

 

[JEB]

very good post!

God bless and thank you so much for your service to our country! make no mistake about it, people like you and yours are the reason people like me and mine enjoy the freedoms that we do!

 

[gdcpony]

Sorry, I trust the idea, NOT necessarily any particular person.

Bingo! I took an oath to defend a constitution not a person. It is key to my beliefs that his nation is great in its ideals and original goals, but is being pulled form those tracks.

Ok rant over.

Those that point out that the GCN's want the services armed would be well advised to remind those people that the military is no more than a reflection of society and we get every type here. I know people from wealthy backgrounds and from poor. Rural and urban too. There is nothing special about a vet as a person except he wrote a "blank check to the government (in my case the constitution) for any amount of up to and including his life" I love that quote but don't know where it is from. I have been arrested so I am no saint.

I highly doubt our morals really exceed- in fact judging by our daily conversation I KNOW- the morals of any other person. Yet thousands of us are armed and not killing each other off. My M-4 is right now tucked here beside me. Yet it is not for fear of my fellows that it is here. If there is any fear of my fellows involving a weapon it would be what would happen if I were NOT to have it and was caught.

 

[gdcpony]

Very well written. You need to publish that in some wider forum if at all possible. Use it to reach the congregation instead of just the choir.

Feel free to quote it anywhere you want. This is the largest firearms forum (and second largest overall) that I post in. It's already posted on ArcheryTalk.

 

[jiw275]

You may want to check the helmuts to hard hats in the building trades.

Good luck,



Mike

 

[Creature]

How many ex-service Men and Women ( other than maybe, an office worker ) are 'anti gun'?

There are LOTs of active duty military who are anti-gun. I know a handfull at my present command.

 

[xfyrfiter]

My younger brother is a former marine, he was raised by a WWII vet (US Army sniper) and avid hunter. My brother is not "anti" but will not have anything to do with guns or shooting. I asked "why" once and he could not give me an explanation for his apathy. In fact I am the only one of four siblings that is a gun enthusiast. I think that we as "gun nuts" just have a little different outlook on most topics. BTW Thank you for your service.

 

[brotus2]

Thank you.

 

[gamestalker]

In the 1970s I had my rifle or shotgun in my truck window. My friends and I would hunt after school. We had respect for others and didn't even consider teenage fights as a reason to introduce a gun to resolve it. My Son brought his pride and joy shotgun to school for show and tell, he was in the 5th grade, it was unloaded and no ammunition was on him. That wasn't all that long ago, but it didn't worry the school.
And thank you for your service! I have 2 Son's in the United States Military both have deployed, Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

[gdcpony]

In the 1970s I had my rifle or shotgun in my truck window. My friends and I would hunt after school. We had respect for others and didn't even consider teenage fights as a reason to introduce a gun to resolve it. My Son brought his pride and joy shotgun to school for show and tell, he was in the 5th grade, it was unloaded and no ammunition was on him. That wasn't all that long ago, but it didn't worry the school.
And thank you for your service! I have 2 Son's in the United States Military both have deployed, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Just a sign of how things have changed. When I was in high school it was nothing to see guns in gun racks. Now, the school "will take action if the weapon is observed or reported" which is their way of saying keep it behind the seat and don't toy with it. Not as bad as some places, but still a shift in the wrong direction.

My daughters (12 and 9) have been pulled in to the office repeatedly for using the words "kill," "shoot," and "gun." I could go on and on about the times I have had to set them straight that my kids enjoy a freedom of speech and unless they are speaking of harming another person LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! I especially love when they tell me that hunting and shooting are not appropriate hobbies for young girls. My kids brought in pics of their first deer and they were taken from them as too graphic. But it is ok for them to be dissecting animals later on?

Oh yeah, I love breaking to mold they try to put my kids in. So far I win. Today my oldest is picking out her 'yote gun. I wonder if the schools will call the wife when Kala tells her friends "look at what my dad got me for killing 'wileys!" I expect o be calling them again from out here to let them know what their job is and it does not include brainwashing.

Ok rant over. Sorry.

 

[mljdeckard]

But at the same time, they make us clear weapons within the wire. We still carry them, because you never know when trouble will happen, but when trouble happens, they somehow know we will have enough time to lock and load before we get killed.

Just because we're always 'armed' doesn't mean they trust us or that the military is 'pro gun' by any stretch.

 

[gdcpony]

But at the same time, they make us clear weapons within the wire. We still carry them, because you never know when trouble will happen, but when trouble happens, they somehow know we will have enough time to lock and load before we get killed.

Just because we're always 'armed' doesn't mean they trust us or that the military is 'pro gun' by any stretch.

I think that is more to prevent the ND's than a worry of intentional violence. I know I have found mine on "fire" after it got snagged on gear or clothing, so I rate that as reasonable. Especially, since I am required to have at least one mag on me even in the wire. The FOB I am on is thousands strong so if trouble gets to me on the interior I have a hunch I'll be loaded and locked before they get to me. At least, I can hope.

I little useless trivia:
Lock and load- bolt is locked forward and then magazine is loaded. The chamber is empty

Load and lock- The magazine is loaded then the bolt is locked forward. The chamber is full.

Old school commands lost in the thrill of Hollywood and common usage.

 

[mljdeckard]

They still don't trust us.

 

[parsimonious_instead]

To try to answer OP's question...

Sometimes when I mention my interest in firearms and it makes them a bit uneasy, I need to tell people "all I want to do is punch holes in paper. OK, maybe an occasional soda can or two."

That said, let me add this:

When baseball or hockey players occasionally brawl on the field of play, notice something interesting? The first thing they do is throw down their bats and hockey sticks, respectively.
They do this, because they know that they want to fight, but not inflict deadly damage on one another.
Same thing with the vast, vast majority of gun owners. Yes, there's potential for any of us to get into some sort of heated debate or argument or even a fight, but the thought of bringing that firearm to bear probably never even comes up.