CCW Story: Part 4 "Learning The Basics"

I became aware at the very beginning that I knew much less about ha-weapons than anyone else in the room. It seemed that The Biker knew the most. He had debated about what to shoot, as he had several guns to choose from. My wife and I were sharing her Kahr, the geezer, the handicapped man and the other woman were renting guns. The rest of the class had brought a gun each. All had left the guns locked in their vehicles. Bruce described the categories of handguns: Revolver and Semiautomatic, single and double action. Before he demonstrated the workings of a firearm, Bruce opened the slide and walked around the room allowing everyone to examine that the chamber was empty and magazine removed. This gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, although after the 200^th time we all examined the gun and nodded to Bruce, it became a bit comical. Bruce preferred semiautomatic pistols, and was partial to Glocks. His service pistol was a Glock. The only thing I knew about Glocks was that they were made with a lot of plastic and were thus easier to sneak through airport security. The two white friends, who looked like fraternity material nodded. They were Glock Fanatics, a collective I have come to call "The Borg". I learned that Glocks do not have a traditional safety. Newer models have a safety in the trigger, meaning if you squeeze it, it will go off. Bruce said that for concealed carry purposes, a safety was a bad thing. The average police gunfight last 4-6 seconds and involves 3 to 5 rounds from both parties.

"You won't have time to drop the safety". Bruce said.

The idea of the American public peppered with non-safety equipped loaded guns made me shiver. I raised my hand, and bruce nodded at me.

"What configuration do you recommend carrying a pistol in for self defense". I asked.
"Loaded with a round in the chamber and ready to fire". Bruce responded.

Liberal CCW Story: Part 3 "Concealed Carry Ha-Weapon"

Saturday, 11:00 AM, my wife and I darkened the door of the local indoor shooting range, two of the ten US citizens signed up to take the concealed carry class. On the way in we saw a familiar face: A member of our local church, a guy a few years younger than me. My preconceived notions were confirmed at first by the appearance of my fellow classmates. My wife and one woman in her early 40's the only women. One African American, one biker, two young white male friends, our church friend, and a handicapped gentleman with a walker, capped off by the ubiquitous skinny old man in a ball cap. Our instructor was a tanned man in his 40's with a cop mustache and cop arms. I will call him Bruce. He wore a black T-shirt embossed with the logo of the indoor range. Bruce carried a menacing looking pistol on his hip. The classroom was upstairs, directly above the firing line. In the classroom I examined the floor, stomped a few times to prove to myself that it was concrete. The muffled bangs of gunshots from below were about as loud as a car door slamming one row over in the parking lot. Occasionally an especially loud report could also be felt in the soles of the feet. Now I was effectively in the attic and loose round from the gun nuts below could slam into the bottom of the concrete floor, literally inches under my feet. I nervously looked for expansion joints or gaps in the concrete and found none. We sat next to our church buddy in the back row. Bruce announced that he was the head of the Swat Team for a neighboring county, fire arms instructor and gun aficionado. He was extremely likeable. He opened by stating that all safety rules that would be strictly enforced. This calmed me, as I had felt unease in my belly like an amishman would using the phone in Fredrick's of Hollywood. Bruce stated that a firearm is always loaded, and was not to be pointed at anything you didn't want to destroy. I noticed that Bruce mispronounced the word weapon. The irony struck me, a man that earns a living for himself and his family, teaching and wielding ha-weapons. I stifled a giggle. He said ha-weapon about 2000 more times in the next 8 minutes. I tried to count how many times he mispronounced it and gave up. Imagine a man that cannot pronounce the term for the tool of his trade, and his hobby. Ok, George W. Bush cannot say nuclear, so I immediately filed Bruce right next to G.W. into my Dolt File. G.W. and Bruce will make good company in that space in my brain, trading hunting and chainsaw stories with their cowboy booted feet up on the coffee table, drinking Budweiser and choking on pretzels.

Separation of Church and State...

The second amendment to the Constitution of The United States of America states that:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".

In the United States, it is common for churches to apply for tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In order to qualify for tax exempt status, a church must follow several guidelines, including refraining from overt political messages, as outlined by IRC Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Code:

"...no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office".

On November 17th, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported that the IRS had warned church leaders that a speaker at All Saints Church in Pasadena California had violated section IRC Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Code.

The warning, in the form of a letter dated June 9, 2005, from R.C. Johnson, Director of Examinations for the IRS's Exempt organizations division stated in part:

"Our concerns are based on a November 1, 2004 newspaper article in the Los Angeles Times and a sermon presented at the All Saints Church discussed in the article. The article entitled. "The RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE Pulpits Ring With Election Messages", states that the sermon, given on October 31, 2004 to a congregation of 3500, delivered a searing indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq, criticism of the drive to develop more nuclear weapons, and described tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus..."

The letter further states that the IRS has begun a tax inquiry, the outcome of which will determine whether or not All Saints of Pasadena will retain tax exempt status. All Saints leadership was requested to reply to Pat Schneiders, an Exempt Organization's Specialist with the IRS within 15 days or face an "examination of (their) records or religious activities".

On October 11th, 2005, All Saints Attorney Marcus Owens replied to Ms. Schneiders via the legal counsel of Caplin and Drysdale, stating that:

"The Church believes that the IRS's concerns are unsupported by the facts and circumstances of the event at issue, the guest sermon on October 31. More importantly, this case implicates First Amendment principles of religious freedom and freedom of speech; indeed, it threatens core values which the congregation of the church holds dear. The congregation has asked me to assure you that it has a longstanding policy against campaign intervention and will continue to maintain it's nonpartisan stance. However, it also takes pride in a long history of active involvement in the community and a steadfast and theologically-based commitment to alleviating poverty and promoting equality, social justice and peace. The Church cannot, and will not, waiver from that commitment... The congregation was hoping that the case would end at church tax inquiry level, but it understands that the IRS has decided to proceed with an examination."

Ouch!

Liberal CCW Story: Part 2

Fast forward several years later and my wife invites me once again to join her at the range, she is going to refresh her shooting skills, and my presence is desired. The same local indoor shooting range has changed owners, a much younger group of people run the range. Rules seem much more lax, the dress is more casual, the weapons for sale in the cases displayed by people born in the 1970s. I shoot much better this time, almost as good as my wife, who is a bit rusty, but can still group her shots well. That night, she invites me to join her in the concealed carry class. "You ought to take the class with me." She says. "I am not a gun nut". Is my canned response. Insulted, she replies, "Are you saying that I'm a nut"? How do you get out of this? You go to the concealed carry class.

I will break in here to say that I consider myself a liberal. I voted for Michael Dukkakis, John Kerry, etc. I think the NRA is a group of seething, boiling, hate filled white people. I believe that most gun owners are fearful people. Fearful people don't need a gun, they need therapy. Therapy is much safer. No one ever died as the result of falling on a loaded therapist. Somehow the second amendment of The United States Constitution has become an excuse to these people for carrying heat so that they can go outside of their homes.

So, I decided to take the concealed carry class and chalk it up as a life experience. Little did I know that I was about to begin a journey in to my own culture. A ride into the heart of America’s troubles and fears, the legends of guns and heroes.

Liberal CCW Story: Part 1

Linus Torvalds says that if you ask any American Abortion and Guns, you are bound to get an emotional response. As abortion falls under the religious/feminist umbrella, so the emotional response is expected. What makes guns such a divisive topic in American society? Strangely many right wing Christians are against abortion and pro guns, including many of my close relatives. Jesus said in Matthew 5:39 to turn the other cheek, yet many of his followers in America would rather resort to deadly force. I have always wondered why our American culture is so polarized by the second amendment issues. This book is the story of my journey into American Gun Culture, sometimes reluctant, sometimes pell mell, the journey started out of curiosity, and happenstance. My wife had a concealed handgun carry permit when she was in college, and had let it expire. She decided to re-take the handgun carry class, and re-apply for a permit, and asked me to take the class with her.

When I met my wife, I didn't know that she had a concealed carry permit, allowing her to carry as many concealed handguns as she wished. She routinely carried a Kahr K40 semiautomatic pistol in a shoulder holster. When she told me that she carried a handgun, I was immediately on edge. Guns make me nervous, and the idea of someone walking around with me armed was unnerving. There are caveats to the concealed carry permit, banning firearms from Federal, State and Local Government buildings, Establishments that serve alcohol, schools and anywhere else posted with a weapons prohibited sign. When I told her that I had reservations about her carrying, she invited me to the local indoor shooting range. She showed me how to load, and shoot her Kahr K40, and I was impressed with her marksmanship, which put me to shame. I had trouble hitting the target at 7 yards. The holes in the ceiling tiles above the firing line from wild shots made a sharp impression. Where did these rounds go? The attic? I was struck with her professionalism with the handgun, the strict set of rules she followed when at the range. She put all of her round in the target and was also aghast at the holes in the ceiling above the firing line.