Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart: Two weeks ago I traded in a very sophisticated semi-automatic pistol for the simple-to-operate revolver shown here.  Since making the purchase I’ve received two telephone calls — as revealed by my caller I.D. —  to be from the NRA.  Unfortunately, I was slow in climbing our stairs and was not able to answer before the contact was broken, but this may have been for the best.  Now, should they call again, I’ll not be caught off guard.  Read on if you want to learn how I might respond.

For years I was a member of the NRA but denounced membership back in 2003.  At the time, I was in Spokane, Washington, attending a convention of the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America, which is supported by many national organizations such as the NRA, the Sierra Club – and by virtually all the major producers of outdoor products. Unfortunately, a spokesman for the NRA had a major disagreement with the Sierra Club, which at the time was attempting to persuade members that habitat had to been considered as a major factor in setting hunting guidelines.  The NRA disagreed and in so many words, representative Kayne Robinson said at the organization’s sponsored luncheon that it was their way or the highway.  Shortly thereafter I dropped my membership.

That was 12 years ago, and perhaps the NRA has changed its mind on habitat management, but new issues have materialized to include the issues of assault weapons, gun registration and the No Fly/No Buy suggestion regulation.  So… if the NRA calls again, I do know what I’ll tell them.

I’ll tell them that I remain a gun enthusiasts, but that my three hunting rifles are bolt action guns and that each holds half-a-dozen bullets or so.  Each time I fire, I must yank the bolt back and then, to chamber a bullet, I must slide the bolt forward.  I can only do that about a six times before reloading, and each time I slide the bolt backward and forward I have to take my eye off the target.  Not true, however, of the AR-15 semiautomatic assault weapon, which can accept magazines holding up to 100 bullets.  But that disparity is not a problem for me, as my target is deer and elk, not people in a night club or children in a school.

As stated at the outset of this opinion piece I recently purchased the .22 magnum caliber pistol for the very rare occasion when Janie and I feel threatened.  More than anything it provides psychological security, and our first line of defense would be bear spray — and I have had to use it while riding my bike, confronting dogs, so know it works.

 

L to R:  Bear spray as mounted on my bicycle; Bill Hutchison demonstrates use of bear spray, our first line of defense for unpleasant situations.

Purchasing the pistol took about 15 minutes, and if it had been necessary to wait a day or two for a background check to determine whether I was mentally competent to own a gun, or to insure I was not on a No-Fly/No Buy list (hopefully to be implemented), that would not have bothered me.  Certainly these “inconveniences” will save at least one life, and if it does then it’s worth it to me.  I don’t believe my 2^nd amendment right are being compromised.  Several countries such as Britain and Australia have limited private ownership of assault weapons and time has shown that in some countries, some restrictions work.

And, so, that’s what I’ll tell the NRA should they call, and if they do, I hope I won’t slam the door shut on future deliberations – as did the NRA spokesman.  However, it will take a lot to get me to re-up membership status.

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Associated Blog:

Knife River … And Keep Guns Out of National Parks

This entry was posted on Monday, June 27th, 2016 at 9:05 am and is filed under View Point. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.