I joined The Firing Line because of Stephen A Camp, A.K.A. Steve Camp, A.K.A. "Scamp."
He would send me messages via email back in 1999. Almost all of it was 2nd amendment stuff. One day, I sent a fervent message to a legislator involved in ammending our rights, and I c.c'd Steve Camp. He gently reminded me that, while it's great to be strong in our convictions, we must ALWAYS be courteous in our statements, or we lose the battle by forfeit. I've never forgotten that advice. I joined TFL because of him, and became a moderator there and here, basing my posts on his principles.
When Steve shot at tactical matches, he was absolutely Dead. Center. Accurate. He didn't miss. That said, he was not at the top of the rankings. His attitude was that he would rather be certain of his shots than to risk missing, and therefore having to account for an errant shot. I think that he thought of words the same way. He "practiced like he played."
Steve has single-handedly caused me to re-evaluate the performance of modern 9mm self-devense ammunition (something I otherwise would never have done), and to consider it viable.
Steve taught a generation of firearms activists to be courteous, effective, and forthright in their efforts to maintain our rights. He also went about the study of the Browning High Power and the 9mm cartridge in a scientific manner, and wrote about them in his own style. I am proud to own a couple of his books, signed.
Friends, we are diminished. But please, for me: raise your glass to the gentleman that Stephen A. Camp was and is. For he is with us always, now.
