Chaz
Member
Some of my earliest memories are hunting and shooting with my dad and uncles. I was given my first .22 rifle when I was 5 and carried it loaded when I was 8. I can even remember my dad helping me hold it up when I shot it (I still have that rifle and will give it to my daughter when she is ready.) Remington model 514 single shot bolt action. And now for the article. Keep in mind that this is a very liberal rag.
http://www.n-jcenter.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/03WVolWEST01041404.htm
Shop's patrons rally to gun rights cause
DeLand barber hosts gathering of like-minded men
By LYDA LONGA
Staff Writer
Last update: 13 April 2004
DELAND -- At Bob's barber shop, where men and boys still insist on getting flat tops and crew cuts, passions run deep.
On Saturday mornings the tiny establishment on the truck route here is packed by 8:15 a.m., filled with good-natured ribbing and male gossip that runs the gamut from politics to pig hunting.
Here, the men and the boys also take care of their own.
On a recent Saturday, in an atmosphere thick with testosterone, the conversation focused on a plastic jug set on a small wooden table in the center of the room.
A small handwritten sign taped to the container reads: "Sportsmen help John Morgan."
As patrons began streaming into the barber shop just after 9 a.m., they stuffed dollar bills into the jug and made small talk with the man whose name is written on the container.
They are incensed that 36-year-old Morgan, a father of three boys, was convicted in January of allowing his two younger sons -- Matt, 13 and Wesley, 8 -- to hunt unsupervised.
They say Morgan, who along with his children gets a haircut at Bob's every three weeks, doesn't deserve the punishment that was meted out against him in county court.
Now, they're intent on helping the divorced father pay his legal fees as he prepares for an appeals hearing set for April 23.
"This man is a good father," said barber Mel Rollins, who teaches a hunter safety course for the National Rifle Association and has worked at Bob's for the last five years.
He referred to Morgan's citation as "nothing but anti-gun propaganda.
"Men have been hunting since the beginning of time."
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charged Morgan after an officer encountered the two boys sitting in a wild boar stand with loaded rifles last November. Their father was sitting about 150 feet away, according to Morgan's attorney.
"The game wardens did the wrong thing," said Fred Flint, a driver for Wal-Mart and a regular at Bob's "These boys are going to grow into adults and they're learning things from their dad. These charges are a black mark against John.
"The justice system needs a little tune-up, if you ask me," Flint said.
Florida law requires adult supervision for any child younger than 16 who is carrying a loaded firearm while hunting. Fish and Wildlife Lt. Jeff Gier says that means an adult must be close enough to grab the child's gun if necessary.
The law is necessary, Gier said, because it protects children and anyone else who may encounter them while hunting.
"It's the same reasoning behind why a 16-year-old can drive a car and someone younger can't," Gier said. "The state presumes that someone who is 16 has the mental ability to be responsible. Guns, like automobiles, are not toys."
But most of the customers at Bob's said the state was too harsh in giving Morgan six months probation and ordering to take a hunter safety course with his boys, as well as pay more than $500 in fines.
When Morgan announced he would appeal his sentence, the customers at Bob's rallied around his cause.
"I wanted to call attention to this issue," said Rick Haas, whose father opened the barber shop more than 30 years ago. "The government is taking away too many of our rights in this country. They'd rather see children out on the streets than spending time with their parents doing something together."
Haas' comments elicited hums of agreement from most of the men sitting around the shop on metal folding chairs. Their conversation about Morgan's right to teach his sons how to hunt blended in smoothly with the earthy decor on the brown-paneled walls of the barber shop -- a wallpaper of ducks and deer set against a background of trees.
The Morgan fund was started by Clint Hulslander, 40, a customer of Bob's since 1992. A former Florida Marine Patrol officer who is also an avid hunter, Hulslander encouraged Morgan to hire an attorney and appeal his sentence.
"I thought (the fee for legal services) would be a lot of money for John," said Hulslander, who lives in DeLand. "I think if he had to pay for these fines, all the other sportsmen in the area should help him pay for it."
Morgan -- whose Jeep Cherokee sports a vanity plate that reads "Jus Hunt" -- travels eight counties in Central and North Florida as a field-service technician with Ring Power Caterpillar. He said he was overwhelmed with the support.
"It made me feel part of something bigger," said Morgan as his son, Matt, propped himself up in the barber's chair for a haircut.
Trained to hunt when he was just 7, Morgan said he's been teaching his boys hunting techniques and exercises since they were old enough to hold a gun.
"The boys have been hunting since each of them was 4 years old. By the time they each turned 9 -- Wesley will be 9 in the next few days -- they were familiar with several techniques and they could sit at a stand 200 feet way from me and hunt on their own."
He said he would never endanger his sons. "I am completely confident that they are experienced," he said. "But that doesn't mean I turn them loose and tell them to go out and hunt while I stay in the house."
Allen Henderson of Orange City, one of Morgan's hunting companions who sometimes takes the three Morgan boys on outings with him, said he plans to attend his friend's hearing on April 23.
Henderson said teaching children how to hunt and spending time with them helps strengthen family bonds. He recalled a saying he learned when he was a boy:
"If you teach your kids how to hunt, you won't have to hunt your kids," Henderson said. "That's true."
[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2003 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com
http://www.n-jcenter.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/03WVolWEST01041404.htm
Shop's patrons rally to gun rights cause
DeLand barber hosts gathering of like-minded men
By LYDA LONGA
Staff Writer
Last update: 13 April 2004
DELAND -- At Bob's barber shop, where men and boys still insist on getting flat tops and crew cuts, passions run deep.
On Saturday mornings the tiny establishment on the truck route here is packed by 8:15 a.m., filled with good-natured ribbing and male gossip that runs the gamut from politics to pig hunting.
Here, the men and the boys also take care of their own.
On a recent Saturday, in an atmosphere thick with testosterone, the conversation focused on a plastic jug set on a small wooden table in the center of the room.
A small handwritten sign taped to the container reads: "Sportsmen help John Morgan."
As patrons began streaming into the barber shop just after 9 a.m., they stuffed dollar bills into the jug and made small talk with the man whose name is written on the container.
They are incensed that 36-year-old Morgan, a father of three boys, was convicted in January of allowing his two younger sons -- Matt, 13 and Wesley, 8 -- to hunt unsupervised.
They say Morgan, who along with his children gets a haircut at Bob's every three weeks, doesn't deserve the punishment that was meted out against him in county court.
Now, they're intent on helping the divorced father pay his legal fees as he prepares for an appeals hearing set for April 23.
"This man is a good father," said barber Mel Rollins, who teaches a hunter safety course for the National Rifle Association and has worked at Bob's for the last five years.
He referred to Morgan's citation as "nothing but anti-gun propaganda.
"Men have been hunting since the beginning of time."
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charged Morgan after an officer encountered the two boys sitting in a wild boar stand with loaded rifles last November. Their father was sitting about 150 feet away, according to Morgan's attorney.
"The game wardens did the wrong thing," said Fred Flint, a driver for Wal-Mart and a regular at Bob's "These boys are going to grow into adults and they're learning things from their dad. These charges are a black mark against John.
"The justice system needs a little tune-up, if you ask me," Flint said.
Florida law requires adult supervision for any child younger than 16 who is carrying a loaded firearm while hunting. Fish and Wildlife Lt. Jeff Gier says that means an adult must be close enough to grab the child's gun if necessary.
The law is necessary, Gier said, because it protects children and anyone else who may encounter them while hunting.
"It's the same reasoning behind why a 16-year-old can drive a car and someone younger can't," Gier said. "The state presumes that someone who is 16 has the mental ability to be responsible. Guns, like automobiles, are not toys."
But most of the customers at Bob's said the state was too harsh in giving Morgan six months probation and ordering to take a hunter safety course with his boys, as well as pay more than $500 in fines.
When Morgan announced he would appeal his sentence, the customers at Bob's rallied around his cause.
"I wanted to call attention to this issue," said Rick Haas, whose father opened the barber shop more than 30 years ago. "The government is taking away too many of our rights in this country. They'd rather see children out on the streets than spending time with their parents doing something together."
Haas' comments elicited hums of agreement from most of the men sitting around the shop on metal folding chairs. Their conversation about Morgan's right to teach his sons how to hunt blended in smoothly with the earthy decor on the brown-paneled walls of the barber shop -- a wallpaper of ducks and deer set against a background of trees.
The Morgan fund was started by Clint Hulslander, 40, a customer of Bob's since 1992. A former Florida Marine Patrol officer who is also an avid hunter, Hulslander encouraged Morgan to hire an attorney and appeal his sentence.
"I thought (the fee for legal services) would be a lot of money for John," said Hulslander, who lives in DeLand. "I think if he had to pay for these fines, all the other sportsmen in the area should help him pay for it."
Morgan -- whose Jeep Cherokee sports a vanity plate that reads "Jus Hunt" -- travels eight counties in Central and North Florida as a field-service technician with Ring Power Caterpillar. He said he was overwhelmed with the support.
"It made me feel part of something bigger," said Morgan as his son, Matt, propped himself up in the barber's chair for a haircut.
Trained to hunt when he was just 7, Morgan said he's been teaching his boys hunting techniques and exercises since they were old enough to hold a gun.
"The boys have been hunting since each of them was 4 years old. By the time they each turned 9 -- Wesley will be 9 in the next few days -- they were familiar with several techniques and they could sit at a stand 200 feet way from me and hunt on their own."
He said he would never endanger his sons. "I am completely confident that they are experienced," he said. "But that doesn't mean I turn them loose and tell them to go out and hunt while I stay in the house."
Allen Henderson of Orange City, one of Morgan's hunting companions who sometimes takes the three Morgan boys on outings with him, said he plans to attend his friend's hearing on April 23.
Henderson said teaching children how to hunt and spending time with them helps strengthen family bonds. He recalled a saying he learned when he was a boy:
"If you teach your kids how to hunt, you won't have to hunt your kids," Henderson said. "That's true."
[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2003 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com
