Tag Archives: RKBA

Membership is great, your CHL or CCW is better.

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There are many great organizations promoting and protecting our Second Amendment rights. From nation-wide groups such as the National Rifle Association, to state groups such as Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association, Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohio Carry for us in Ohio, to your local rod and gun club. They all do important work and being a member of any or all is a good idea. They all also show a collective support of firearms and our rights. The strength in numbers they offer is solid. The problem is, not everyone can afford, or has a desire to financially support so many organizations. Their having good solid numbers is important, but at the end of the day, well, you’ve joined a club. 

I have the opinion that there is something that each of us can do that shows a more sincere and dedicated commitment to protecting and supporting our rights.  Get your concealed carry permit. I understand every argument people have against this. No, we shouldn’t have to pay for permission to exercise our rights. No, you may not have any desire to carry a gun, or even own a handgun. I understand that some are concerned that it gives a solid link to you owning guns. What is often overlooked is the direct benefit it does to the cause of protecting your and my right to own firearms. 

In most cases, getting your CCW/CHL involves taking some training and submitting to background checks  voluntarily. You also pay for the fee of the license and, eventually, its renewal. Many benefits are gained from this. Individually  you have become a certified “good guy.” In many states, having your chl replaces the need for your NICS instant check at the time of purchase of a firearm because your valid CHL shows you’ve already done this and it’s on good standing. The collective benefits are even more substantial. Every license is recorded, counted, and reported, not by a club or lobby organization, but by the issuing government. There exists, at all times, a finite and exact count of the number of permits and the percentage of the population that has them. It’s not arbitrary, estimated, or arguable. X number of people have a valid permit. You or I can look up that number, as can the media, as can your elected officials. The higher that number, the more attention to it that has to be paid. 

The gist of it is this. Having your CCW/CHL shows a level of commitment to firearms ownership that is stronger than being a member of EVERY 2A supporting organization in the country. We gain the advantage of the very people who may consider firearms ownership a fringe or odd thing having their own data tell them that we are here, we are willing to commit the resources to get a permit, and the likelihood is that we also vote.  Sometimes the best way to beat a system is to use the system to beat itself. 

Please consider getting your CCW/CHL, even if you never plan to carry a firearm a day of your life. You bolster the numbers of people who are pro 2A in a way that cannot be matched by any club or lobby. And that benefit is priceless. 

Another article written for a defunct FB page, originally published September 11, 2015.

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Membership is great, your CHL or CCW is better. by Jerod J. Husvar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Gun owners, it’s time to “come out.”

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You know them, I know them, we all know them. The person who likes to shoot but doesn’t talk about it for fear of repercussions from friends, family, the kids’ school, or the media. They act like they are doing something dirty and should hide it when, in fact, it’s perfectly normal, common and acceptable. They’re in fear of discovery because they feel they will be ostracized or shunned. Sounds pretty horrible, doesn’t it? 

It’s more common than you think. With the demonization of weapons by those who fear them, and publications such as The NY Times calling gun owners, essentially, barbarians, not to mention well funded political groups blaming tools for human acts, some people feel like hiding the fact that they own guns and shoot. 

Firearms ownership is not uncommon. There are, by conservative estimate, 420 MILLION guns in the United States. Essentially, one per person.  Likely two because records before 1968 were less exact. There’s also, by actual count, 8% of the United States population with concealed weapons permits, as well as a significant number of law enforcement officers and retired Leo’s who carry all the time. Let’s call it 6% of the population, and it is steadily increasing. 

You’re not alone. Not only is firearms ownership common, it is acceptable, legal and enjoyable. What needs to happen is to reduce the stigma that some have placed upon it. And those of us more out in the open? We need you who are not. We’re all around, we’ll help and support you. 

So come out. Speak up. Tell your friends and neighbors you’re a responsible and safe shooter and you are not ashamed of it. You’ll probably gain a range buddy or two. And you will fight the false idea that gun owners are freaks. 

Note: This was original an editorial for a FB page I administered, posted October 4, 2015.  I believe the page is long gone, but I felt the content was worth getting back onto the ‘net.

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Gun owners, it’s time to “come out.” by Jerod J. Husvar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Eating our own. Division among gun owners, the antigun advocate’s best friend.

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The fight to protect and maintain the right to keep and bear arms in the United States is ongoing, played as both a long and short game by both sides of the debate. With recent mass shootings, the topic of gun control is in the headlines, chambers of government and on people’s mind. We also have the leadership of the National Rifle Association in a dumpster fire fight, taking away from their power to advocate. What’s worse however, is how many gun owners and potential gun owners have been taken out of the fight by the attitudes and division brought by other gun owners.

One only has to look as far as any gun posting on social media, or the comments on any article, to see this division. It comes from the focus on 1911 vs Glock, AR15 vs AK, or anything related to value-branded firearms such as Taurus, Bersa or God forbid, Hi Point. The animosity, anger, bitterness and rudeness on these posts drives away both seasoned gun owners and new people alike. “It’s all in good fun” doesn’t have much weight when you are the one whose question about the new Hi Point is shouted down, mocked and belittled.

I have been actively involved in protecting Second Amendment rights since the mid 1980’s and have seen division used to the detriment of it for the entire time. Pistol vs rifle guys, hunters vs target shooters, traditional arms vs military style weapons. More recently it has been high dollar weapons vs guns “poors” own. Mockery of the “poverty pony” by those who can afford HK 416’s and the like. All are supposed to be “in good fun.” The problem is, in typical internet human nature, people don’t know when to stop. Or a group gangs up on the Anderson rifle or Taurus guy. All too often, that person gets a bad taste, or worse, walks away entirely.

How many votes can the pro-gun cause afford to lose? How many potential gun owners can we insult away? How many people will end up not owning something that is “good enough” because they were convinced that they should wait until they could spend $100 more and pay for it with their well-being or life because they were convinced that they shouldn’t buy a Hi Point when they were endangered and couldn’t afford anything else?

These are very real scenarios and not only are gun owners eating our own, we’re keeping others from joining us by our words and actions, and potentially endangering lives. We need to change our approach. We need to treat allies respectfully. In the end, we just need to not be jerks.

What do you think? If you find value in this post, please, share it.

“I Don’t Want Them To Know What I Own!”

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rkba2

I hear this in the firearms community on an almost daily basis.  People who’d rather buy a gun from an individual than a dealer because of the fear that the government is going to know what they have.  I plan to address a few harsh realities with you in this article, and I do NOT intend to scare anyone, only to educate you.  Some states have additional procedures which I cannot speak to.  This is the situation in MOST areas of the United States.

The process for buying a new gun at a dealer with an FFL is pretty simple.  You pick a gun.  You and the dealer agree on the price.  You fill out a US Government Federal Firearms Transfer Record (Form 4473 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_4473,) answering the questions on it, signing and dating it.  (These forms are given the same status as a tax return under the Privacy Act of 1974 and cannot be disclosed by the government to private parties or other government officials except in accordance with the Privacy Act. Individual dealers possessing a copy of the form are not subject to the Privacy Act’s restrictions on disclosure. Dealers are required to maintain completed forms for 20 years in the case of completed sales and 5 years where the sale was denied by the NICS check coming back disapproved or other disqualifying information.)

The FFL dealer then calls the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Check System.  The dealer identifies themselves and verifies their FFL #.  The NICS clerk then asks for your name, gender, place of birth, height, weight, Social Security Number, state of residence, race and verifies you status as a citizen/legal alien.  They check to make sure you’ve filled out and answered the form correctly.  They then ask if you’re buying a Long Gun, Handgun, or Other (a lower receiver for an AR15, etc.,)  They process the request and give a confirmation number to the dealer followed by a status.  The statuses are Proceed, Delay or Deny.  In many cases a delay is then bumped to a senior clerk for verification that you’re not someone with a similar name.

Upon receipt of a Proceed, the dealer copies the identifying information for the firearm, Make, Model, and Serial number, along with your name, address and confirmation number into a book that THEY keep.  At no time is the information on the actual firearm provided to anyone but yourself and the dealer.

You then pay for your firearm, shake hands, and walk home with your new purchase.  Only you and the dealer know exactly what you bought.  The NICS system as it currently stands is required to purge the check information.

A lot of folks think even this is too much involvement with the government.  I don’t intend to argue that point.  The most common fear is that they government will know what you’ve bought, where you live, and how many guns you own.  This isn’t the case.  They know you asked to buy a firearm and were confirmed or denied.  Period.

There is a prevailing fear that the government can, and will, use this information to come and get the guns.  Without digging into conspiracy or fear mongering I am want you to think about the computerized society we live in.  There are, in day to day operation around the world, computerized systems that can monitor nearly every bit of information floating around in the electronic spectrum.  In the case where a truly oppressive government wanted to find out who owned, or was even suspected of owning, firearms, this information likely could be gathered from telephone calls, faxes, e-mail, web sites and forums, Facebook or any and all other social media, as well as even mailing of magazines and memberships in organizations such as the NRA.  Or if you have a Concealed Carry permit…

These capabilities exist.  If you’ve EVER bought a firearm, had a Guns and Ammo subscription, used a debit/credit card for purchasing anything related to a firearm, posted on Craiglist or Facebook or Myspace or Armslist or Glocktalk or any other electronic forum, hypothetically you’re ALREADY FLAGGED.

So you have two choices…  Drop off the face of the earth and hide (that worked really well for Osama bin Laden, or you can live your life, enjoy your hobby, and not live in fear.  I, personally, have bought and sold firearms to FFL dealers, as well as from friends and countrymen.  I’m not going to stop enjoying my hobby, or even limit it, when we live in a society that could, in theory, turn oppressive.  Living in fear is a technique terrorists use.  I prefer to enjoy my life and be prepared for anything that comes my way.  I hope you will, too.