Equal Rights

Everybody's high on consolation
Everybody's trying to tell me what's right for me
My daddy tried to bore me with a sermon
but it's plain to see that they can't comfort me 
--She's Gone, Hall and Oates 

Someone's gonna feel the pain
Hit the floor, she's takin' aim
Is it you - is it you, is it me - is it me
Who's the next in the line gonna be? 
--Hot Shot, Barry Blue
 ___________________ 

The complexion of gun shows is changing, and the most recent Tallahassee Gun Show was no exception.

• The price of ammunition has skyrocketed, and people are acting crazy trying to buy it all up

• Gun shows have become monthly extravaganzas; they used to be quarterly events 

• The news media was crawling all over the event, and they seemed interested in speaking only to people wearing tree bark of those covered in tattoos.  Soundbites rule.

The flyer for the concealed weapons class (pictured above) indicates that the CCW permit is a "license".  One must pay for the class, fingerprinting, photograph, notarization, background check and for the license itself. Who determined that the exercise of the Second Amendment would be abridged in this manner?  Our freedom of speech or religion is not regulated in such a manner.  Our right to vote may not be constrained by poll tax, so why must the right to bear arms be sliced and diced?

Ranger understands the need for gun regulation (much as free speech is constrained), but not the requirement to pay the state for his right to exercise this individual right delegated to him by the Bill of Rights. We understand, too, that rights are a quaint notion and not an absolute possession when living in a social structure.  They are delegated, and as such, they are precious freedoms which must be safeguarded at all costs; a right given up to or usurped by a power structure is a right not likely to return.

If one right is fungible and frangible, then so too are all rights. We should not rush to throw away our rights by the fistful out of fear or coercion.

Gun Shows

--All photos taken at the April 2012
North Florida Gun Show
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Ranger will share this tour d'espirit of the most recent Tallahassee Florida gun show, walking the beat so you don't have to.

Imagine being a delegate at the Republican convention, then turning several clicks to the right. Then turn the dial 'til it is at its right-most setting, and you have the basic spread attending these shows. The American Civil Liberties Union does not have a membership table at the gun show (though they would probably defend the rights of these citizens, too.)

As a gun show denizen for 50 years, Ranger notices a hard turn from collectors of curios and relics towards Chinese arms bazaar dealers of Kill Your Neighbor high capacity rifles and pistols. The trend began around 1989-90, when Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) allowed the Federal Firearms License (FFL) dealers to use their licenses off premises, transforming these erstwhile collectors events into another commercial venture.

Prior to 1990, gunshows were places for collectors and enthusiasts. However, that quaint appreciation for the gun-as-craft has largely passed by these type of general shows; it is only to be seen at the occasional special collector's convention. If the government wanted to address the issue they could simply outlaw off premises use of FFL dealers.

One wonders why this is not done since it is simple and legal. It would remove the aura of the Kill Your Neighbor fervor which presently dominates the scene, returning gun collecting to a position of acceptability.

Do the Right wing nuts ever stop to think about the people around them when they wallow in their apocalyptic visions? If society descended into anarchy, all the folks at the show would be armed and dangerous . . . does anyone consider that?

Classes for the Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit were big business at the show. While they criticize government encroachment, they make big bucks off of the CCW laws. The classes run $145, exclusive of the actual state cost to apply for the permit. The class is two hours, and is given twice per day of show. At 40 heads per class over two days, that over $23,000 take per show.

Dialog over the issue of guns is as convoluted, emotional and often nonsensical as an episode of Survivor.