But....but.....Clayton and the others keep telling us they don't want to ban all of our guns....just the ones they don't like, the ones they don't think we should have, the ones they decide we really don't need, the ones that are...well....guns......
But don't tell them that they want to ban and confiscate guns....that's just crazy talk...
What the democrats—and many republican politicians as well—are doing is passing anti-2A regulations which, while not exactly outright bans on firearm ownership, so severely regulate what a citizen can and cannot do with their guns that they may as well
be straight up bans.
I grew up on a nearly 1000 acre thickly forested property in northern Maryland. From about the age of nine or ten I followed my great grandfather's and grandfather's long tradition of shooting freely on the property. That was late 70's to late 80's. During that time no one batted an eyelash over the sound of gunfire emanating from the area. Of course, the land was still fairly remote at the time but there were neighbors with half a mile, mostly farmers. We'd set up targets wherever, shoot at old rusted out cars both out in the open and in the woods, and hunted pheasant, deer, squirrel, rabbit and whatever else with absolute abandon. Those were amazing years, years I never realized at the time would be so incredibly unique—and brief—in my life.
Nowadays, shooting on the same property is very risky. Maryland has imposed a plethora of anti-gun laws which, if violated, could land one in the slammer for some time—just for practicing one's second amendment rights while harming no one. Shot spotters have been installed all around that county now. If one discharges a gun, even on one's property, the county police will come running—at least to see what's going on. Thus, before one fires a shot he had better be sure he has paid for and is in possession of the proper NFA tax stamps, if he is running SBRs or suppressors or whatever else the government has deemed taboo.
We live in the central PA mountains now, on a large semi-remote property which borders thousands of acres of state game land. Despite meeting PA law for shooting safely on one's property—I often hesitate to do so because a number of our neighbors rent their homes out to tourists and you never know who's going to object to the (distant) crack of gunfire or how they'll react. Luckily we have a long basement/garage running under our home, half of which is unfinished and makes for a great 15 yard indoor range. Even shooting in the basement, however, gives me the willies—because you never know who might be hiking through our woods or on land that borders it.
And don't get me started on truck guns. When I was growing up, again in the 70's and 80's, everyone and their uncle's cousin had a gun rack in their pick up truck back window, and it was usually holding up a rifle and a shotgun. People back then did not shoot at each other driving down the road—but it was damn comforting to have a carbine or shotgun handy if one ran into some kind of trouble away from home. Nowadays, the insane state and federal regulations on transporting a modern carbine or AR pistol alone could get you into years of prison time.
None of it makes any sense. ALL modern and recent gun laws are directly aimed at neutering the law abiding citizen's ability to protect himself, his family and his property.
