Firearm Appreciation Day

which, for me, is any day that ends in "y"...*

so anyway, Saturday was "Firearm Appreciation Day", a day were those of us who understand the intent and importance of the 2nd Amendment where to support the people of the gun: firing ranges, gun shops, etc. Like "Chic-Fil-A Appreciation Day", without the calories.

I did my "cash money" Firearm Appreciation Day on Friday, spending damn near $100 on ammo, range time, and gun accessories (in that order).  Had the wankers at the County Clerk's office been open, I would have spent twice that amount, plunking down $105 to apply for a carry permit, then to be sent to the County Sheriff's office to be fingerprinted like a common criminal.  I'll forego the 11,000 word rant on how much it pisses me off the have to petition the County, pay monies, and be treated like a common criminal just to exercise my Constitutionally guaranteed Right.

A few observations from my personal "Firearm Appreciation Day":

First, at the range: despite shooting like a spastic retard on meth, I had a grand time.  Recoil Therapy is good for the soul.  Upon exiting the airlock, I was pleasantly surprised to see the store packed with people.  I smiled.  There were a couple of collections of college-age guys, with what had to be their Mom; a "Starbucks barista" looking chick, shop rats (this is the greater Detroit Rock City area, after all), senior citizens, and kids that looked (to me) to be too young to vote.  All clamoring for range time, all hail fellows well met (and I mean that in the most appreciative way, not the wikipedia way).  I walked right onto the range at 1:00 PM, when I checked out they were telling people there was a 90 minute wait for a lane (and they have eight lanes).

Second, at Cabela's:  here it was, 3-ish on a normal Friday afternoon, and they were lined up two and three deep at the firearms counters.  I saw a couple who looked to be in their early forties, buying "his & hers" Remington 870 shotguns.  In fact, there were numerous couples trying to find a firearm that they both would be comfortable  with.  Lurking amongst the crowd, four or five times I heard someone say something to the effect of "I've never owned a gun before" or "This will be my first gun" or something similar.  These phrases were almost invariably followed by something to the effect of "...but I need one now..." or "...but now it's time..."

People are waking up.  It's about goddamn time.

more soon

*I stole that line from Andy over at AoSHQ