Sebastian tells his journey into Gun Nut territory. Here's my tale.

If you've been a reader of SaaM for any time, you'll notice that I rarely talked about guns even a year ago. What happened?

Well, unlike Sebastian I grew up around guns. My father always had one in his nightstand. My cousins hunted and sometimes I'd go with them. When I got a bit older, my dad would take me to the range with him on a regular basis. So, growing up, guns didn't hold any magical properties to me. They were just something that was always around, usually out of sight.

My father bought me my Dan Wesson .357 Magnum around my 20th birthday. He had also given me a .22 rifle some time before. Later in life, that .357 would come in handy - It ended up saving my life. That's a story I won't tell here because it wasn't pleasant and honestly, I was scared shitless. No shots were fired, but only because my assailants fled.

That one situation is why you can take your statistics and shove them up your ass. Statistically, I hit 100% and had I not been able to defend myself, I wouldn't be here today. It's also the reason I say every man and woman who wants to carry a weapon should and should do so without hassle.

See, my .357 is a massive weapon. There's no way to conceal it adequately, especially here in Florida where shorts and T-shirts are a year round thing. So I never bothered. However, I soon realized after having children that I need to stick around to help with their upbringing and that not carrying put me at a disadvantage. As I've always said, the gun is just a tool. It in and of itself will not protect you. You have to have the wherewithal to defend yourself sans weapon before a weapon would even help. So I decided to get a new pistol and my CCW.

It was that experience that turned me into the 'Gun Nut' I am today.

As usual, when I embark on a new journey, I learn as much as I possibly can before I take the first step. I read up on all the laws, learned the best carrying techniques, looked at the best caliber for self defense, and looked at many web sites to get an idea of how the whole CCW worked. Through that process, my eyes were opened to the horror that has become 'our government'.

Most Americans have lost sight of what America is supposed to be. We have turned a blind eye to the excesses of the Government through a combination of apathy, willful ignorance, and a system that rewards subservience and punishes individualism.

For example,  I used to be a registered Republican. Why? Because their perfidies affected me less than those of the Democrats. Ban gay marriage? Fine, I'm not gay. Tax breaks to big business? Not a business owner, no problem. Force people to wear seatbelts? I do it anyway so a new law won't change my life. Outlaw transfats? Why not? It's not like I... Hey, wait a fucking minute!

We all seem to turn a blind eye to giving the Government more power when what they do either doesn't affect us directly or is something we believe strongly in. What we all forget is that those holding the reins change but the ability to use that power doesn't. Now, that ban on X becomes a ban on Y and Y was something that did affect you directly.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone else. I gave the Government the power to prevent business owners from allowing smoking on their own private property! I didn't smoke, why should it bother me? Well, now it bothers me because it wasn't the role of government to decide that and now that power is enshrined in stone and already, X is morphing into Y. Yesterday it was Kelo. Today it's the sale or use of transfats. Tomorrow it's going to be what types of light bulbs I can buy. Before you know it, the protection against illegal search and seizure will be forgotten as the police will be given free reign to barge into your house at any time to ensure your cabinets have child safety locks properly installed. Because, seriously, who can argue that it's better for children? And what's giving up a right if you have nothing to hide?

Cops can now pull you over for not wearing a seat belt. In Florida, you can ride a motorcycle wearing shorts and flip-flops and nothing else, but God forbid you unsnap your belt to scratch your ass and a cop sees you. You might think it's a good idea, but good ideas are the ones we all accept voluntarily without government coercion. Those who don't follow good advice have this tendency to get flushed from the gene pool rather quickly.

We are slowly allowing the Government more and more ability to monitor every aspect of our lives and caring less and less. I used to think the Patriot Act was a good idea (I'm a patriot!) but while what it tries to do is something I agree with, I fear the power it gives.

George W. Bush is a fucking idiot of the highest caliber. And we're lucky he's just an idiot and not actually evil. However, all that power gets transferred to the next administration and who's to say they won't be evil? Personally, I think Hillary would abuse her power to its fullest extent. She's a dyed in the wool socialist and "for the good of the people" is the worst excuse ever - It's evil shrouded in the highest 'good'. That's not something I want to allow her to do.

So, I'm a gun nut because I believe in our rights. I enjoy shooting and that enjoyment gives me a focus. But my right to own a gun is based on the same set of rights that allow me to worship or not worship whatever god I wish, that allow me to speak out against the Government, that keeps my home safe from unreasonable searches and seizures, keeps me from being punished unusually or cruelly, protects me from incriminating myself, guarantees me that my race doesn't affect my status as an American, and more.

Just because you don't like guns or think they have no place in a civilized society, it is not in your best interest to use the force of Government to try to ban them or restrict their ownership. That force will one day be used to restrict your right to speak out against the same people you thought were doing your bidding. Think I'm kidding or paranoid? Two words - McCain Feingold. Already we are seeing people held without trial or charges. Sure, it's not something we have to 'worry' about that much, but what happens when the next President doesn't like your blog post railing against their latest push for a law you disagree with and they characterize your speech as 'terrorist' and you disappear in the middle of the night?

Guns are the last resort. The only reason you know about Waco is because they fought back. With guns. The FBI, CIA and SWAT couldn't just walk into the Branch Davidian compound even with all their training and firepower. Small arms fought them back. Yes, the Branch Davidians lost but they didn't just disappear quietly in the night. And nothing scares politicians more than sunlight. The more we see them do, the less likely we are to give them more power.

So, join me in becoming a 'Nut'. Be a 'free speech' Nut. Be a 'unreasonable searches and seizures' Nut. Be a 'life, liberty, or property'  Nut. Be a 'gun' Nut. Just don't become a 'give the government more power' Nut, even when that power results in something you are passionate about.