Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/02/explosion-in-gun-sales-mostly-to-first-time-buyers.html
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What good are guns if you can’t find bullets to load them with?
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It’s like people are deliberately hoarding toxic waste.
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Buying a weapon out of fear of an impending emergency is a lot like putting on a condom after you have intercourse. Guns are effective tools if you‘ve practiced and know what you are doing. If not, you or someone you love has a trip to the ER in their future.
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I remember Katrina causing a mass rush of gun purchasing in Miami as part of hurricane prep. This seems much the same.
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The gun lobby thrives on panic.
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You can always get some eagles to shoot with:
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Just like COVID, the increase in deaths will lag the increase in transmission/acquisition.
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One thing I’m reasonably sure I will not need in a hurricane is a gun. In an environment where the supporters on one side of an election have made it clear they are almost eager to commit violence if their guy loses, it seems a little more useful
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This is not the sign of a healthy democracy, no matter how you look at it.
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The most basic things a decent leader needs to do are protecting the lives of citizens, and uniting the nation in common, constructive goals. Current leader has failed catastrophically on both counts, to the point that depending on election results US may tear itself apart, like other extremely divided countries recently did.
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FTFY. I wish that was how this shit worked, but it’s not.
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See, I’m an optimist!
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I try to reconcile the reality of guns constantly and will admit to entertaining the thought of acquiring one during all of this madness, but all it takes to talk myself down is the lifetime of regret and grief that would follow if one of my kids found it. I played with my dad’s guns constantly, even though I was fully trained and cautioned my entire life. Even after he put them under lock and key, it became my mission to find the key.
Dad is a retired cop and has his original service weapons from when they went from the S&W .357 and .38s to the Glock 9mm. They’re beautiful weapons with the seal of the state of Missouri stamped on them along with his badge number. The first thing I’ll do when I inherit them is file the pins off.
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I have a memory of my 7 year old self and a couple of friends playing my friends father’s service pistol (said father was a cop) in the street. No idea if it was loaded (probably not, but still). I thought nothing of it at the time, but about 25 years later I became retroactively appalled and astonished. Very lucky one of us didn’t die.
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Now is not a great time to be a first time gun buyer. But if anyone has questions, feel free to PM me.
Depending on the model, many of them have the firing pin held in by another pin on the hammer. Tap that out, remove the pin, and the gun is inoperable. FYI.
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And because of that, a lot of Californians are discovering how dumb their gun laws are this year.
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Unfortunately, a gun doesn’t make you bulletproof. So unless you’re willing to preemptively shoot Trump supporters, a gun won’t keep you safe. If we end up having a clear civil war, a lot’s going to depend on which side the police and military end up. In that case, you’re probably better off learning how to make improvised explosive devices than having a gun anyways.
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depending on the model you might be able to get a new hammer nose (p/n 075800000) relatively cheaply (under $20) and file on that part, keeping the original part in its original condition in case the gun becomes collectible and you wish to sell it (or your heirs do). It’s probably not dangerous to have around that way as it’s a huge hassle to take one apart without proper tools. (I have a S&W 686+, an L-frame 357magnum in stainless steel, if I put some nicer grips on it I’d hang it on the wall)
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