Do you ever stop and think how blessed we are to have the gun rights that we have?

W

Will Beararms

New member
Can you imagine that Russian soldier in Stalingrad fighting for a Mosin and five or if they're lucky, ten shells? Can you imagine how thankful they must have been to be armed?

Hey it's anyone's right to do whatever they want to but I read so many stories about someone going ape over a scratch on the slide of their handgun and then immediately spending $400.00 to have it refinished.

I wonder if that person fighting house to house in Russia was concerned with a few dings or scratches. Yes this is a stretch but what I read on the web convinces me that we take a lot for granted.
 
Especially being Memorial Day weekend, I think it's important that we realize that an awful lot of what we have was paid for with the lives and body parts of our bravest and finest. I don't really care what the Russian soldier went through though, from this perspective, he did that for his country (or whatever reasons) not for this country or our freedom.

I also don't think that most any soldier would say "Hey, we had it tough out there on the battlefield, people back home, 75 years later, should not have nice things. That way they'll remember what we went through!"

Yeah, we're ridiculously spoiled and materialistic. I get that. People throw a fit if there's not enough pepperoni on their pizza. There aren't enough words to describe the stupid.

I don't think having nice things or keeping them nice or being upset when they're damaged is necessarily the same thing. Especially when there's an awful lot of folks who were ON those battlefields, who now love to have nice guns and keep them nice.
 
Yes I do,,,

I also try to instill that thought into the head,,,
Of each new shooter I take to the range.

And they all (almost all anyways) fall into one of two categories:

  1. They know we can own guns in America,,,
    But have no clue that the 2nd Amendment is under fire.
  2. They are amazed when I tell them you don't have to have a license in Oklahoma to buy a firearm.

When I take newbies shooting,,,
I'm not there to make marksmen out of them,,,
In actuality that goal is very much secondary to my intent.

My foremost goal is to educate them about the current fight,,,
I want them to know that there is a strong group of Americans,,,
Who think their best means of defense against a bad guy is a 911 call.

I ask them, "Hey, did you have fun today?",,,
The vast majority will smile and answer that they did,,,
Then I tell them about the faction that wants to end their right to own a firearm.

In the past several years I have generated more than a dozen new NRA members,,,
I don't know if they renew their memberships after they move away,,,
But I do try to instill the thought that we enjoy a precious right,,,
They need to be aware of their opposites in the voting booth.

Aarond

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Yes, and frequently.

Very much in line with what aarondgraham posted, while I don't have nearly enough time for all the range trips I'd like to make, there are a couple of potential 2A-fence-sitters in my circle of acquaintances that I'm hoping to take to the range over the summer.
 
Daily...when I put on and take off my gun. I am very happy my state has the right to keep and bear arms in its constitution.
 
Whenever there's something in the news about defenseless people dying at the hands of criminals or dictators, I think of it of how lucky we are to be able to have the means to defend ourselves.
And I also think of all the folks who are willing to foolishly abandon and lose those means of defense.
 
I look at it a slightly different way. I was blessed to be born in the US. Our gun rights (the ones we still have) were earned and paid for in blood and lives. And not just once.

We officially value LIFE, Liberty, and the pursuit of whatever floats your boat. Because we have the right to arm ourselves, we expect no less.

And while a sgt telling troops "the first man who runs gets my bayonet (or sword) in his back", (something as old as armies), you don't hear of US draftees being ordered to charge the enemy (and maybe get killed) or be shot by their political commissars (and certainly be killed).

Enemy at the Gates is a powerful film, and some of it is actually truly well depicted.

Maybe its just us, and by us, I mean the American way of thought about many things. Cultural, as we as a nation are a very diverse ethnicity. But Americans rather dislike having their own people point guns at them to encourage them to do a job.

I might be wrong, but in the Stalingrad situation shown in the movie (rifles to half, bullets to all, your side manning machine guns to kill you if you didn't attack), in that situation, I think it likely that Americans would behave differently.

An American group would likely shoot the political officer, and the machinegunners (if needed), then take the machineguns and go attack the enemy! (at least that's what I would have felt like doing, and I doubt I's be the only one!)

We just look at things differently. Patton put it pretty well when he said his famous words about not dying for your country, but making the other guy die for his...

Being able to be armed, without having to bow and scrape, cap in hand to our "betters" for permission, is one of the fundamental things that makes the US what it is. Sadly, there are a lot of US folks who think that's a bad thing, and change it whenever they can.
 
I won't be specific about what our soldiers are tasked to fight for overseas... but I will state that it's never been for our RKBA... at least not for the last 100+ years. That's OUR fight as free citizens.
 
First, a "hear hear", with a little bit of clapping. I agree, we can be spoiled, but we also we have a lot to be proud of, etc. We've earned a lot and we don't always make the best decisions with our kids. Still, we are just men, fallible, with all the faults of the next guy.

Here is a little info somewhat related.

During the American Civil War, military leaders could pretty much do some math and figure out how things were going to play out. Now don't hold me to these numbers as it's the concept that is more important.

The smallest fighting unit for the infantry during the Civil War was the company. A Company Commander could expect that before shots were fired, between ten to fifteen percent of his soldiers would flee the battlefield. Another ten percent would remain in formation but would not actually fire their weapons. Twenty-five percent could be counted on to load and fire in the general direction of the enemy but to no great effect. Close to thirty percent of the soldiers in the formation could fire on the enemy and had some effect on the outcome of the engagement while approximately ten percent, if a Commander was fortunate, were able to stand and deliver precise deadly fire on the enemy and it was frequently on these men that victory depended.

Due to the reality of these circumstances, it became important to identify, of those soldiers in the enemy ranks, those men who were actual killers and select them as targets. And to no less a degree to identify and kill those enemy spotters who in turn were directing fire in the enemy formations.

Fear has always had a part to play in combat, men are rarely immune to it. Men who have seen several engagements may run, or refuse to fight, come the next battle. Men have been shot for cowardice.
 
When we are thanking the troops this weekend let's remember they deserve our thanks AND MORE...let's make sure they get the benefits and considerations they have earned.
 
DaleA said:
When we are thanking the troops this weekend let's remember they deserve our thanks AND MORE...
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As a point of order, Veteran's Day is for thanking our troops. Memorial Day is to remember those who gave everything.
 
another viewpoint

For those that don't appreciate the rights and freedoms in America, I offer this viewpoint.

I was born in West Germany in 1958 to a German mother and an American soldier father. I spent a number of years in Germany before we moved back to the United States. When we arrived in the U.S., I was amazed by the relative to me freedom that Americans have. In Germany, you are required to carry your internal identification documents with you at all times. If you want to own a firearm, the procedure is long and complicated. If you want to drive a car, the training you MUST take is almost a year long.

As a soldier, I was stationed in Germany for 7 years. 4 of those years were spent inside the Berlin Wall. Imagine waking up in the morning and looking out your living room window and seeing an armed guard on the other side of the wall checking the activity in the area.

Here in America, there is no guard looking at my house all the time. I can buy a new car when the time comes. I have the GOD given right to own firearms. I have my guns, my rifles, and my shotguns to protect my family from ALL enemies foreign and domestic.

If we do not educate people about the fact that once a right is lost that right may well never be regained. The anti-gun people are adamant about disarming us so that they can then move on to the next step of their anti-american agenda.

Stand up; be recognized; speak out. STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!!
 
If we do not educate people about the fact that once a right is lost that right may well never be regained.
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This is true. Many people recoil from the idea that keeping and bearing arms is a basic human right. Instead, they cling to the notion that the government will protect them from evil.

In Norway, where I live, firearms ownership isn't hard by European standards. Certainly, we're one of the most gun-rich countries in the world. However, an application for a firearms license must be made for each weapon, and a reason given for the acquisition. Self-defense isn't a valid reason, and it's illegal to bring a firearm to a public place, whether concealed or not, except in the course of transporting it to or from the shooting range or hunting grounds.

Furthermore, the police can enter your home with only a 48 hour notice, in order to inspect your firearms storage facilities. Your firearms license can also be recalled by administrative decision, if the police feels you no longer need the firearms, or if they feel you are unsuitable for ownership.

Use it or lose it, guys! Allowing one infringement doesn't satisfy those who would regulate every aspect of your life, it only encourages them to further encroachment.
 
Indeed. QUite often. We are truly blessed to not have been usurped by haters, reactionaries and hoplophobes by now. Thank the NRA and 2AF and others. We are in a fight for these rights and for those rights protecting our freedoms more than any other right now. Keep giving and providing level-headed support!
 
Yup

I am extremely thankful for the right, as earned and secured by our brave forefathers, patriots, and Soldiers. And the brave and intelligent lawyers who fought to keep these rights in Courts, in just the last decade.

Consider that 1 vote on the SCOTUS could have effectively stripped you and me of the 2A, requiring registration, wholesale bans of classes of guns, magazine restrictions, eliminating concealed carry, etc. Very scary proposition. A person could look back several decades at the various good and bad SCOTUS appointees to see how we came to such a divided court. But the last two Presidents in the last 14 years have put tactical political appointees for all out war ... Those 9 people wield immense power. A stroke of the pen, and we lose everything. It was Bush's appointees who resulted in a victory in Heller (which established president for McDonald and future cases) by a single swing vote! Had Gore, and not Bush, won in 2000 in a highly contested and close race, the fate of the 2A would likely be much different in a worse outcome in US v. Heller.

History is awesome to study.

When you think on it, it really is a miracle that the United States exists, with the Republic and Constitution we have. We were nearly not a successful nation, and nearly lost the Revolutionary war (the French significantly aided us in victory). And we nearly did not have an agreed upon Constitution in our fledgling years.

It truly is a miracle that we are here, with the freedoms we do have. But the lessons of history show they are very fragile.

To be philosophical for a moment our rights do pale in comparison to being thankful to be alive. When you ponder the miracle of life, on a very unique planet and all the miracles that align for life (water, oxygen, very narrow range of survivable temperature [100 degree spread among the thousands of degrees possible], food, plants, animal life, etc.). A few thousand miles closer or further from the Sun, in a immensely vast universe, and life would cease on Earth. Yep, pretty huge miracle to even be here. Miracle of survivability in general... almost makes you believe there is some design.

There is a LOT to be grateful for in this world. :)
 
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Yes, but lately I find myself thinking about all of the laws and regulations that have been put into place over the years and how much it bothers me. I don't take for granted the fact that I can own and carry a firearm at all, but I find myself thinking about those days that my grandpa would tell me about when he and his buddies would take their .22s to school so they could hunt on the way home and nobody thought anything about it.
 
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