From TPM Reader HM …
What if I belong to two “tribes”?
Back then I described a city youth with lots of rural experience through a Dad who enjoyed camping and also through the Boy Scouts of America (The Hitler Jugend).
I own (luckily) property and homes on the Upper Delaware River in NYS. I am an avid fly fisherman (as I mentioned) and a deer and bird hunter. I do not own a pistol although I could easily obtain a concealed carry permit (excluding the 5 counties of NYC). They are fun to shoot but I responsibly decline the responsibility.Carrying a loaded weapon is enormously taxing on your powers of self awareness for the safety of those around you. I also have never believed that citizens should be armed in tightly packed urban situations. I possess none in this jurisdiction.
AA mentioned familiarity. I have been exposed to guns at an early age. I am comfortable around them. Hunting with other people involves a level of trust that is only exceeded amongst combat soldiers.Chaney flunked that exam. I would ,I think rather be menaced with a loaded firearm than a running chain saw. Neither has happened to date thank God. I would attempt to rush the gun wielder sooner than the disturbed logger.
This brings me to the recently and hastily passed legislation in NYS. Until now I legally owned two semi-automatic carbines among my small collection of 10 rifles and shotguns. One is historical ; an M-1 30 caliber carbine that has a 15 round box magazine as issued by the US Government. Great “ranch” gun and possessed by me for its history and the ever growing coyote population in the Northeast. This gun uses pistol ammunition and is not remotely in the league of the stuff being toted around by the NRA types.It is not classified as an assault weapon and has no bayonet lug,pistol grip etc. It is now retroactively illegal because of its capacity. It will soon also be worthless without its original magazine. The other is one of the most popular .22 cal rifles ever made a Ruger 10/22.
Looks exactly like the .30 Cal Carbine it is modeled after. Used for target and small game all over the world. Also retroactively illegal because of its 10 round (only factory option) magazine. I will get over it and figure out how to comply/ modify or dispose of them at considerable financial loss.I have had two instances of home invasion where I was forced to use these weapons to defend my family. OK here’s the punch line. Two separate instances: A rabid skunk one time and a rabid raccoon another chasing my beloved 110 lb. labrador around the yard. Chaotic, fast and many rounds expended. Results dog OK, lots of broken flower pots and two dead sick animals. Dept of health said we’re too busy advised to wear rubber gloves and bury the animals both times. That’s legitimate home defense not the pimple faced adolescent fantasy of bad guys.
The point I make is that many migrate between two tribes. We play by the rules in both communities. I too am a liberal/progressive. The growing trend upstate is city folk try to remake the communities they buy into thereby changing what attracted them to it in the first place. The best example of city slicker hubris is the urban professional who buys a large tract and posts it against hunting after generations of cooperative deer hunting. I know of many instances where the new owner after a year or two of the deer eating $10,000 of plantings sheepishly approaches the hillbillies to resume hunting the property.Please lay off my other tribe. There’s more good than bad up there. Mental health issues trump ordinance restrictions. I’m for BG checks at gun shows etc. My observation is that the demographic of the killers is bullied,game playing,angry young men. Who is watching them ? Who is helping them before the flash point? I also have little use for paint ball players and promoters. That setting is nothing more than advanced tactical training for that very group. There is no reset button once the trigger is pulled.
