Fred T Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 As everyone knows, as far as guns and politics are concerned, California belongs in the old Soviet Union. Why do I live here? Well, I’ve been here for 55 years and kind of got used to the weather, for one. When I was a kid, you could actually own a gun and nobody seemed to mind. When I was a kid, I got a great public education, and the sales tax was 3%. Now the sales tax is 7 +%, and the state income tax is 9.6%, and you have to send your kids to a private school to get a decent education. It started out that they just wanted your money. Now, they want your guns, too. And soon, I fear, you’ll have to register your balls with the state. The weather’s nice, though. Definition of a conservative: Someone who wants to spend their hard earned money wisely. Definition of a liberal: Someone who wants to spend your hard earned money on themselves. So, I was talking with someone at Smith and Wesson the other day. (Incidentally, in California it’s illegal to say "Smith and Wesson" in a public place.) He informed me about our great new handgun law that is going to end crime in the state. For starters, you can’t buy a handgun in CA unless it’s on the approved list. To get on the approved list the handgun has to pass a drop test and you have to get Charlie Manson’s approval. The drop test was designed to eliminate the so called cheap "Saturday Night Specials", because we don’t want the Crips to be arming themselves with guns that don’t work. That wouldn’t be cool. Guess what? All the cheap guns passed the drop test. So, now the Crips can carry Lorcins as well as Smiths. It’s great how these laws stop crime dead in its tracks. So, what does Smith and Wesson have to do to sell their guns in CA? First they have to submit 3 samples of every gun that they want to sell to the famous drop test panel, along with a check for $3000. For each barrel length, you have to send 3 samples and $3000. So, if you want to sell Model 66’s in 3 barrel lengths, that will be 9 guns and $9000, please. So far Smith and Wesson has 84 approved guns on the approved list. That, folks, has cost them 250 guns and $250,000. Oh yeah, there’s some paperwork to fill out, too. Why is it so expensive? Principally, because no one educated in California can understand the paperwork, and we have to hire out of state PHd’s to process the paperwork. (I conjecture.) This is how we do it in California. I call it the "Make the Streets Safe for the Crips Gun Law" If you have a better idea, please contact Gov. Gray Davis. Don’t expect an instant reply, because he’s busy trying to figure out why our power bill went up $53 Billion this year. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 29, 2001 Share Posted August 29, 2001 Nice rant Fred. You're right, the weather is nice - if you live on the coast. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianH Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 ....maybe it's that govn'er gray guy..... (....were things better with the Duke....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 2, 2001 Share Posted September 2, 2001 Hey you forgot to mention the cheap gas, lots of electricity, fresh air, inexpensive homes, hardly any traffic, etc... Kalifornia is the place you 'otta be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Thompson Posted September 2, 2001 Share Posted September 2, 2001 Been to Colorado lately? The left wingers have ruined Cali, moved east, and are now bringing "Californication" to a state near You! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedaddy Posted September 3, 2001 Share Posted September 3, 2001 Fred, that really cracks me up! They test guns by dropping them? Does the gun have to bounce to a certain height in order to pass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted September 4, 2001 Share Posted September 4, 2001 Oh yeah, it's funny alright. Try to buy a SV or STI here - guess what - they ain't on the approved list. There's just one of your answers on why our sport is dying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedaddy Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 I'm sorry Shooter Grrl. It really is a sad situation. I shouldn't have said that. Do you really think our sport is dying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 Dear Daddy :-) Yes, I do think our sport is dying. At least from my narrow view of it here in Northern California. A lot of our "old timers" are burning out and getting bitter. The problem is, there's not a whole hell of a lot of new shooters to replace them. Unless (until?) we can attract new members to cover the older ones leaving, we will just fade away into nothingness. But with IDPA, SASS, GSSF (EGADS I'm an AP and the host of other competitions for our competitors, it's not easy to attract those new shooters. Heck, I can't even TALK about guns at my job, because of our company policy! It's really really really sad :-( Kath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Chevalier Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 Wow! And Canada used to be the worst place in North America to be a shooter... C'mon up gang. The weather is unpleasant for a while, but the sport is at least growing a bit. We have lots of great shooters up here to learn from and to try to emulate, the local clubs do regular matches, and IDPA and GSSF aren't here to siphon off IPSC shooters. Sorry to hear about the anal-retentive company policy Kath. Everyone at my office knows that I shoot and a lot of them actually ask how the matches went, how may shooters, how I shot.. etc. In fact I have a standing offer to any employee that if he or she wants to try shooting, no matter what it is, pistol, revolver, rifle or shotgun, I will make the time to take them out. Conversion factor is running higher than the politicos would have you believe. Now if we could just get dubyuh to rescind slick willie's ban on shipping gun parts worth more than $100USD to the great white north things would be fine. Cheers, Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedaddy Posted September 6, 2001 Share Posted September 6, 2001 Kath, it's amazing that you can't mention guns at work! What ever happened to freedom? Just the reverse seems to be happening here. Wyoming is wide open. Ron Ankeny just started a little club in Shoshoni and they have 20 shooters already. No helmet laws. Open carry, 'cept in bars. I know we are the least populated state in the union, so it scares me to see how the great population centers are being brainwashed. This ain't good, we're heading for "interesting times". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 Quote: from bonedaddy on 9:44 pm on Sep. 5, 2001 Kath, it's amazing that you can't mention guns at work! What ever happened to freedom? It's an unusual situation for certain. They don't specifically disallow talk about guns, but they do make it very clear that they are anti-gun, anti-violence and they've requested that co-workers report anything (anybody) suspicious or threatening. So it's my CHOICE not to talk about it, because frankly, I need their money to shoot :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Dunlop Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 I'm with you Ross, I let anyone and everyone know all about it. All I get is encouragement, never met an anti yet, or if they were they aren't any more. Can't think of a better way of killing the sport than to hide it away. P.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedaddy Posted September 8, 2001 Share Posted September 8, 2001 Kath, ain't it beautiful that the PC crowd tolerates anything and everything, except an opposing point of view? Phil, we're birds of a feather man, even though we're half a world apart! Ross, can you recall the name or number of that Clinton ban? It was probably one of the Slickmeister's executive orders. I'd like to mention it to my Congressional delegation. It impedes free trade and is probably a violation of NAFTA. The U.S. economy is skidding into the ditch, we are going to need all the export markets we can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Chevalier Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 bd, I don't know the order number for the ban, but I will try to find out. Thanks for your support. Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 12, 2001 Share Posted September 12, 2001 Yea I'm with Kathy (Is that Kathy L.?) I feel embarassed to tell people that I'm a competition shooter sometimes, especially soccer moms. They get all huffy and say that guns should be illegal and a bunch of other crap. They wont even give it a second thought. I've even offered to teach a few of them how to shoot and they want no part of it. They are just brainwashed into thinking guns are evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred T Posted September 12, 2001 Author Share Posted September 12, 2001 As I wrote to Brian earlier today, it's a simple fact that if the pilots were armed, the recent tragedy that took place in NY and the Pentagon wouldn't have happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted September 12, 2001 Share Posted September 12, 2001 Quote: (Is that Kathy L.?) Yup! That's me - so who are you :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 I agree with Fred T. Either that or we go back to having sky marshals on every flight, international and domestic. Kathy, Chris Sechiatano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 18, 2001 Share Posted September 18, 2001 "Yes, I do think our sport is dying. At least from my narrow view of it here in Northern California." It may be, as you intimated, this is a regional phenomenon. If there was one place in the United States I'd expect the shooting sports to be hard-hit it would be the PRC. In Washington state we're doing just fine. But then WA has always been a rich area for IPSC. The Renton, WA gun club, at which I shoot on a regular basis, is one of the oldest IPSC affiliated clubs in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMLV Posted October 2, 2001 Share Posted October 2, 2001 Wow is this the real DT who now writes for the Blue Press? (Do they pay you for that?) <VBG> When you gonna show up in Gun World or Handguns, Combat Handguns etc. again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted October 2, 2001 Share Posted October 2, 2001 Hey, congratulations on your first post! Welcome to the club. Yep, that's me. Actually I am in Gun World on a regular basis. Last month I had a review of the Arcus-94 9mm, and this month it's a Vang-Comp custom shotgun. As you noted, I'm in just about every issue of The Blue Press, I had two articles in the last Front Sight, I was in SWAT last month with a commentary on IDPA's Back-Up Gun division, and I've usually got a few short pieces in the Laser Cast Shooter's Journal, as well. Thanks for asking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted October 2, 2001 Share Posted October 2, 2001 P.S. Yes, they pay me for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted October 24, 2001 Share Posted October 24, 2001 You missed my favorite: the bitch (Diane Feinstein) behind all the gun control push has a CCW permit. It seems, our royalty value their lives (just not ours). You also missed the other favorite: SW may have gotten hurt by the gun testing, but the really good gun makers (STI, for one) can't even ante up. They want STI to send three each of all their guns (average price about $1800 because they are hand made) along with fees and the guns are never returned? That would also cost them > $300k, but for a company with only a fraction of SW's sales. The premium gun makers are simply giving California the finger (as well they should). But, we're the ones who suffer for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted October 25, 2001 Share Posted October 25, 2001 Hmmmmmm..... >$300K ?? Must be that new math. My old math says $5,400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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