self defense

EveryDay Hero

Posted on by Caleb

Eric from TopGlock.com is asking pro-gun activists and enthusiasts alike to submit stories of every day heroes that they have known who have used a gun in self defense, whether it was just the presence of a firearm that made a difference, or having to actually discharge the firearm.

While I am hopeful that none of you has been presented with a situation where your firearm would need to leave its holster or safe, I realize that’s not very realistic given the number of threats lurking in today’s society. I would urge all of you that have been presented with this situation to tell me about it so that I, in turn, can tell the country about you, the brave man or woman that has recognized the need for an individual to do what is necessary to protect themselves, their families and society.

You can submit your personal stories to Everyday Hero, at this link.

Uncategorized

Oklahoma looking to lower carry age

Posted on by Caleb

Sebastian points to an article that would indicate that OK is looking to lower the necessary age to get a carry permit from 21 to 18.

He’s correct that Indiana allows carry for 18 year olds, since in this state it’s legal for an 18 year to posses a handgun, just not purchase one.  I’m in favor of legislation and rules like this, because I honestly feel that if the government thinks you’re responsible enough to die for your country, or responsible enough to have a say in the elected representatives of this nation, than you should certainly be old enough to provide for your own safety if you so choose.

You should also be old enough to have a beer, but that’s a different discussion.

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Gundebate.com

Posted on by Caleb

One of the topics that Eric and I discussed in yesterday’s interview  was Eric’s new website, gundebate.com.

He started this website in the hopes of creating an open forum where people from both sides of the debate can actually get together and have real reasoned discourse (not Paul Helmke Reasoned Discourse) on the issue of guns in America; because like it or not it is an issue.

You can head over there and check out the forums, post some comments and opinions.  I’m always in favor of another pro-gun place to post information and to actually get people talking.

news

Interview with Eric Thompson

Posted on by Caleb

As a follow-up to my post here on the LA Times article about Eric Thompson, I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Thompson yesterday over the phone.  We wanted to give Eric an opportunity to openly discuss everything from his business to internet gun sales, and everything inbetween.

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As you listen to the interview, we did cover a pretty broad range of topics, from the firearms business to arming teachers and a lot of stuff in between; however there are a couple of key areas I wanted to focus on.

The first one was pretty early in the interview, where we discussed the reality of internet gun sales.  As most of you guys know, you can’t just (generally speaking) buy guns and have them shipped to your front door, and Eric takes you through what happens when TopGlock.com or any of his other 99 sites sells a firearm online.

Near the end of the interview, we spent a good amount of time talking about campus carry and guns on college campuses in general; one of the things that Eric brought up was the current popularity of schools putting “emergency warning systems” or similar things in to deal with school shooting situations.  Eric quite accurately pointed out that these “solutions” are really nothing more than band-aids, a “feel good” solution that doesn’t actually address the issue of a dangerous armed lunatic on campus.

One of the other topics that we touched on a couple of times was the lack of knowledge that most people have about about firearms in general, and the people who carry them.  In talking about gun control, he mentions how it seems like so many people who support gun control just keep trying the same thing over and over again, even though he (and I) learned in 2nd grade that if something does work the first couple of times, you need to try something new.

We closed up a bit with discussion on the upcoming NRA convention, Eric is a supporter and member of the NRA, and is hoping to be able to attend the convention later this year.  I’d personally look forward to meeting him if he can turn up to the Annual Meeting.

Listen to the entire interview, it’s a hair under 23 minutes long, but Eric makes it well worth listening to.  He has exellent opinions on DC vs. Heller, campus carry, and a whole host of other topics; give it a listen.

self defense

Taser X12 Less-Lethal shotgun

Posted on by Caleb

The Taser X-12 shotgun, “optimized” to fire the less-lethal Taser 12 gauge projectile. The neat thing about the X12 (which is a Mossberg design) is that it’s not compatible with lethal 12 gauge rounds. Depending on to whom you’re speaking, this is either a good thing or a bad thing; for a police department from a liability standpoint it’s a good thing, since no one will be accidentally slipping a round of 00 buck into their “less-lethal” shotgun.

I don’t know yet whether or not the X12 will be available to non-LE types like you and I, and for some reason I highly doubt that it will be.  That’s actually too bad if you ask me, because I would recommend this to people who might be uncomfortable deploying lethal force against another human for whatever reason.

When I look at stuff like the X12, the sci-fi nerd in me kicks up just a little bit and says “soon…we’ll be able to set for stun…soon”, which of course I think is just fantastic.

gun control/news

LA Times article on Eric Thompson

Posted on by Caleb

The LA Times ran an article on Eric Thompson, owner of TopGlock.com, the website which had the misfortune of selling a firearm to the VA Tech shooter and some accessories to the NIU Shooter.

I wouldn’t call the article fair or unbiased, but the nice thing about it is that instead of trying to hide their bias they just get it out there in the open.  Maybe the third sentence into the article they show their bias.

The coincidence stuns Thompson. He calls it upsetting. Beyond that, though, he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to feel. Remorse? Regret? He has none.

That’s the bias I’m talking about, where they’re doing their damnedest to portray a law-abiding business owner as remorseless supplier of arms to killers; which is obviously not the case.  Honestly, getting their silly bias out of the way made reading the rest of the article a lot easier, instead of looking for hidden bias, it was all on display and easy to find.

The most interesting thing about the article that I saw was the selection of hate mail that Thompson has received, the death threats against him, the vandalism against his store, etc. It goes hand in hand with Uncle’s near-meme about why are anti-gunners so violent?

Thompson appreciates the support [from friends and customers]. In recent weeks, he’s received hundreds of nasty e-mails:

“You make me sick.”

“You’ve got blood on your hands.”

“I sincerely hope you go to hell for what you’ve allowed happen!”

“HOPEFULLY YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WILL MEET THE SAME FATE AS THE WONDERFUL YOUNG KIDS AT THOSE 2 COLLEGES.”

In Thompson’s experience, then, it’s the anti-gun crowd that spouts violence. After Virginia Tech, vandals splattered his store with eggs. Some of the e-mails threaten his children.

Remember, Thompson hasn’t done anything even remotely illegal, and yet he receives emails threatening his family, wishing that he or people he knows will be killed, and has experienced vandalism against his property.

Like I said, the Times article was decently balanced for an article from the LA Times (so not very balanced in the real world), but the most interesting part for me was the revelation of the abuse that Eric Thompson has had to endure simply for running a perfectly legal business that had some bad luck. Why are anti-gunners so violent? Why do they feel that it is okay for them to threaten the families of businessmen or to vandalize people’s property?

Uncategorized

McCain clinches nomination

Posted on by Caleb

Get on the McCain train kids, because it’s our only ride away from HillBama Town.

Look, I’ve got my reservations about John McCain, I really do, but at the same time I’ve got a lot more reservations about Hillary and Obama than I do about him.  That’s why, no matter who shows up as the candidate under “D” come November, I’ll be punching John McCain’s name into my computer voting trap.