In some areas, ordinary people of the wrong color, people who live in the wrong neighborhood and have the wrong kind of job — well, those folks are out of luck, and cannot legally own effective tools they might use to protect themselves and their families. They are priced out of the concealed carry market by abuses of “may issue” laws, or by the cost and difficulty of meeting the law’s training requirements, or by high bureaucratic fees. A fee that seems reasonable to a middle-class individual often falls far outside the reach of someone below the poverty line. A training requirement that can be easily met by someone with a high-status, 9 to 5 weekday job might be utterly impossible for a single parent working erratic hours at a low-status job. To put it bluntly, I oppose “reasonable” restrictions in this area because every law that increases the regulatory burden on good people, also creates unavoidable racist and classist effects in actual use.

– Kathy Jackson, on “reasonable” restrictions

It’s curious because many of those who seek “reasonable restrictions” and other sorts of “gun control” tend to also be those that are against racism, classism, and other sorts of social divide.

Then they promote it, through measures like this.

If there’s any one thing I value it’s consistency (which overlaps with integrity). I really don’t care what your political leaning is, your social leaning, just as long as you’re consistent about it. I don’t like bigotry, but I can respect a consistent and honest bigot more than someone who is selective, holds double-standards, and denies or is blind to their own bigotry. Yes, we all want answers, we all want solutions, but you have to think things through else those “unintended consequences” will bite you in your ass.

Colin Goddard was shot four times during 2007 Virginia Tech massacre that left 32 people dead. He now works with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Full Story

We are supposed to listen to and revere Colin Goddard because he survived the Virginia Tech massacre. That because he survived, he’s now to be considered an authority on gun violence and his opinion and angle is to be given (more) weight. Because he survived.

Evan Todd survived Columbine.

Why isn’t he considered an authority, especially since he was there at the watershed?

Why isn’t his opinion given weight?

Evan Todd and Colin Goddard are both survivors of similar horrific events. A big deal is made out of the appeals of survivors. So why is Evan Todd’s appeal ignored? And does that perhaps speak louder about the mainstream media and many politicians? Do they really care about the survivors? or do they only care about what they can leverage for their agenda?

FWIW, the above link to Colin Goddard came from the HuffPo, because it was a top result in the Google search. I plugged “Colin Goddard” into HuffPo’s local site search and received hundreds of results. I plugged “Evan Todd” into the HuffPo’s site search and received zero results.

The ignorance of Joe Biden is gnawing at me. I shall explain his malfunction.

“Kate.

If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barreled shotgun. Have the shells, the 12 gauge shotgun, and I promise you, as I’ve told my wife… we live in an area that’s wooded and somewhat secluded… I said Jill, if there’s ever a problem, walk out on the balcony here, walk out… put that double-barreled shotgun… and fire two blasts outside the house.

I promise you, whoever is coming in is not….

You don’t need an AR-15.

It’s harder to aim.

It’s harder to use.

And in fact, you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself.

Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.

That’s the gist of what Mr. Biden said. He was speaking off the top of his head, so obviously he cut off some of his words as he worked to get all his thoughts out. No issues with that, I do understand how that goes.

So what’s the problem here? Where to begin.

His first major recommendation is to fire the shotgun into the air. I suppose “warning shots”. It comes off like he’s saying if you make the noise, that will scare them away. Bluff. I’m not really sure how well that works. Oh sure, some people may well get scared away by it, but a determined attacker will call your bluff. You’ve given away your position. And really… if “shooting into the air” was such a good tactic, why don’t the police do it? Why doesn’t our military do it? Why doesn’t the Secret Service do that?

Of course, if we’re only to have a double-barrelled shotgun and are to just shoot those 2 blasts, now they know you’re empty. That’s not a good position to be in, especially if they call your bluff.

Mr. Biden is very confident he knows how YOUR self-defense situation will play out. He knows exactly how much ammo you actually will need. He knows exactly how many attackers you will have. He knows exactly what tactics and defensive approaches will work. It’s great that he knows so much! But alas, most of us aren’t able to see into the future as he seems able to do. So if we cannot know what will come, isn’t it in our best interest to be as prepared as possible? But you know… Mr. Biden promises that 2 shots into the air is all you need and that will stop ’em. I’d like to see his Secret Service agents do the same… that’ll stop ’em, right?

An AR-15 is harder to aim? No it’s not. In fact, I’d say an AR-15 tends to be easier to aim, because of things like collapsible stocks that allow the gun to be better adjusted to fit the shooter. Most double-barreled shotguns are big and long, not very well suited for someone even the size of Mrs. Biden, nor very easily adjustable. But an AR-15? Very much so.

Harder to use? No, not really. Point-and-click interface.

Besides… have you ever compared the recoil of a 12-gauge shotgun vs. a .223 Remington AR-15? The 12-gauge will knock your shoulder out. The AR’s recoil is almost negligible. My wife will be very happy if she never shoots a 12-gauge again in her life; or even a 20-gauge. But an AR? She’ll shoot that all day. The gun fits her better, she can hold it better, she can adjust it to work for her better, the recoil is manageable… it’s frankly a lot easier to shoot.

And if you don’t believe me, well… I’ll be more than happy to take anyone to the range to shoot a 12-gauge and an AR-15 side-by-side. Proof is in the pudding.

Updated: I was in a hurry to get out the door last night and forgot to mention a few things.

Firing “warning shots” is reckless.  Do you know where those bullets or pellets will come down? Is “up in the air” a safe direction, because what goes up does come back down… or there could be something along the trajectory there. Let us remind the Vice President of the gun safety rules, or is it OK to ignore these “common sense rules”?

As well, “warning shots” can still be construed as use of deadly force. Depending upon your local laws, you might still wind up in a lot of legal trouble… just for “bluffing”.

… than to be Joe Biden and remove all doubt.

He has no idea what he’s talking about. He does not have the credentials to speak with any authority on this matter. His motivations are 100% political, and have nothing to do with personal safety.

And if you don’t understand why every thing out of his mouth is not just wrong but also dangerous, reckless, will get you in deep legal trouble, and illegal in most parts of the country, well… swallow your pride, admit your ignorance, and drop me a line. I’ll be happy to help.