September 04, 2006

Mama bought herself an early birthday present the last weekend of August. I'd been looking for a better gun since I moved to Wyoming, and I finally found just what I wanted at a gun show. I bought a new Ruger SP 101, .357 mag. revolver in a nice plain steel finish and several boxes of .38-P ammunition for target practice.

The real significance of this purchase, however, is the fulfillment of my intention to open carry. I'm waiting now for a custom holster to be made and shipped to me, and am reading everything I can find about the laws and so forth in the meantime. I'm talking to people who open carry routinely, and getting to know our local sheriff and police officers. So far, everyone has been very supportive and helpful, with the sheriff himself giving me a big grin when I told him about my plans.

I've been shooting for nearly 30 years, but I'm going back to school to prepare for this incredible responsibility. I want to be WELL prepared for this. It is an AWESOME responsibility to carry any weapon. It is particularly difficult in this day and age when so many people, even in Wyoming, have bought into the lies of the gun haters - who are really freedom haters, people haters. It will be tiresome, terribly inconvenient, will make me look strange and out of place, and bring both stares and questions from people I might not otherwise wish to talk to.

Unfortunately, there isn't any cure for the idiots who want to make our lives miserable, but I do have an answer for them and those who ask only friendly questions. Take a look at the card I've printed off to hand to anyone who asks me about my gun.

So, why DOES an older lady (60) want to carry a pistol on her hip?

1. To defend myself and my neighbors against aggression.

2. To accept the honor and duty to exercise the basic human right to self-defense and arms ownership.

3. To help others understand their right, and even their duty, to keep and bear arms to defend themselves and those they love.

4. To serve as a deterrent to crime. Murder, rape, robbery, invasion of private property, all forms of aggression (except most committed by the state, of course) are certainly "illegal," but how many of them would never happen at all if those potential victims - or good citizens nearby - were armed? We seldom hear about those who simply run away and give up the attack because their intended vicitm refused to be one.

5. To put my money (and life) where my mouth is. I've written about all of this for so many years. Now it's time to walk the talk.

The most useful thing to prevent aggression in any form is an armed and alert population that is willing and able to defend themselves with both deadly and non-deadly force. For this to work, at least SOME of us must be armed and ready to defend ourselves and others ALL THE TIME, not just when we're locked inside our homes.

So, why open carry? Why not get a CCW and carry concealed? It's still a pain, but at least you don't get the stares... I've heard all of the reasons. And these are mine for not considering it.

1. Asking for a CCW is begging government for a privilege, not accepting a God given right to self defense.

2. CCW is instant and permanent gun registration.

3. There is little or no opportunity to educate others about the right to keep and bear arms if your weapon is hidden.

4. I'm proud of my rights, and proud that I have the ability and desire to do something meaningful for other people, both in defense if necessary, and to educate them in our shared heritage.

This is just the start of the story. I don't know what may happen or even if I'll really be able to do this consistently, but I'm going to give all I have to make it work.

I'll be back from time to time with the rest of the story...

MamaLiberty

Links from the previous articles:

Self ownership essay: http://www.mises.org/rothbard/ethics/eight.asp

The Ludwig von Mises Institute: http://www.mises.org/

What about the "poor?" - Reinventing America: http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=289

Advocates for Self-government: http://www.self-gov.org/home.shtml

These will lead you to many others.

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