Today’s fool is Thomas S. Markham, writing in the Walker County Register:
NRA advocates: You are simply either uniformed or misinformed about militias in the United States. I fully understand your desire to have the Second Amendment to the Constitution verify that you have the right to bear any type of weapon, at any time you choose, and in any place that you may desire, but it simply does not.
The collective rights view has been, at this point, thoroughly discredited among constitutional scholars, and the latest court rulings are merely reflecting that. Check out the literature. I think you’ll find it’s not us who are misinformed.
As many of you, I’m an old retired hunter. I own several guns. I want my grandsons to hunt, and I want them have the right to protect their homes and families. I’m probably more “on your team†than on the side of those who would ban every form of gun ownership.
You know, I’m hearing this so often now, I’m really starting to not believe it. No, you’re not on my team. I don’t hunt, and you know what? There plenty of lawful and legitimate reason to own a firearm that don’t involve hunting.
Tell me honestly, all you NRA hunters out there: “Did you ever seriously hunt any game with a pistol? Or, did you even ever know anyone who did?†If you think about it, pistols are only made to kill people, not game. That’s a simple and tragic fact. And because of that fact, we must not stand by idle and let these lobbyists make the laws that keep these “Death Weapons†on the streets. The NRA lobbyists represent the “gun runners,†and the rich pistol distributors, not us.
No, I’ve never hunted with a pistol, but I shoot them recreationally, collect them, and carry for self-defense. All legitimate an lawful reasons to have one. I’m seriously starting to wonder if these aren’t astroturfing campaigns, because the message always seems to follow the same format, and it’s one we know our opponents are trying to push. The old “NRA doesn’t represent hunters”, “NRA are extremists”, “I’m a hunter, and I support gun control”.
I have no doubt there are hunters out there who think this way, but you’d think a lot of varying people wouldn’t all sound the same. You’d also think they wouldn’t all seem to mention the same tired issues. Do we all sound the same? I’d like to think not. But I read a lot of these editorials, and I have to say, they sound rather contrived. I would think you’d get a broader range of views and writing styles. What do you think?
Obviously this “life-long hunter” has never read most of the state constitutions, federal law, nor most of the legislation proposed by the NRA. Seems even the big police organizations are supporting the NRA these days.
Just another Fudd w/o a clue. Maybe he should talk to Jim Zumbo.
I hunt with a handgun.
In fact, Ill be squirrel hunting with a handgun the first Saturday in June.
Why don’t you come down that weekend and you, Bitter and I can all go out and score some bushytails in the morning and then spend the afternoon shooting more fun guns (or skeet shooting, your choice)
Oh yeah, Thomas Markham is an asshole.
Personally, if I were to hunt, I think it would be turkey hunting with a bow. It just seems fun.
Shit dude. I just assumed its a different Walker County.
I’ve got a house in LaFayette. Its about as gun friendly (and hostile to gun bigots) of a place as your likely to see. Must pay attention to this one, cause that letters gonna start a firestorm down there.
Doesn’t appear the writer knows a damn thing about liberty, the constitution or federal law.
I also suspect he is a liar.
I have hunted with a handgun for over 20 years, everything from small game to large deadly game. It’s a great skill to have and makes hunting much more challenging. I am also retired from the military and take pride in my weapons collection.
I agree with SA, I think the author of that letter is lying through his teeth. Don’t know anyone that hunts with a handgun? Please.
My sister’s boyfriend is an excellent shot with a rifle, his characterization of high power rifle shooting is, if you don’t finish on the top half of page 1, you need more practice. He deer hunts with a pistol because he prefers the challenge of having to get that much closer.
Now, you’re probably wondering how this all connects to Sebastain and his letter writer from yesterday. Well, one of my more epic discussions with B7 revolved around gun control (surprise) in which he made a statement that was literally word for word the same as this except from Sebastian’s place.
Possibly the people who have never heard of anyone hunting with a handgun are poor. I’d never in my life heard of hunting with pistols until snowflakesinhell started and I started reading some gun stuff. I’m in East Texas and only about a generation and a half removed from barely-literate, barely-English-speaking (Polish) dirt farmers who hunted squirrels and birds because it was a lot cheaper than buying pork or beef at a store. So to me hunting is more something you do because the animal is delicious, rather than as a sport. I mean, I appreciate it as a sport, and hunting with handguns for an added challenge makes some sense, but I still think it’s kind of bizarre. But that’s probably because of my upbringing. I’m not saying it’s wrong or anything. Anyway, that’s just my input.
Carrie, you are one of the few I have met that looks at hunting as I do. It was never a sport for me, either. It was for food. When I had nowhere to be, and thus no place to keep the meat, I didn’t hunt. Now, I don’t eat wild meat, though, it would be better for me. I still don’t hunt. And my small place here is loaded with deer and the occassional wild boar.
I still like to shoot and do. I may hunt again in the future. I do enjoy watching the fawns playing in the springtime out my front door. Cherokee and Chickasaw blood is deep in our family and I suppose our respect for the animals we kill is something from that philosophy. We never kill for sport. My family, I mean, I am not speaking of others.
I have no objection to sport hunters, without whom, we would have far less healthy wild game than we do now. If my area ever adopts a contribution plan where you can donate the meat to a needy family, I would probably hunt again, I truly loved it. But the principles instilled in me early on, do not allow me to do so, strictly for entertainment. Dammit!
Anyway, I appreciate your viewpoint, been there, done that.
Ate many a tree rat, raccoon (gotta really know what you’re doing to prepare one of those properly) deer, etc.