Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander

Written by Kathryn A. Graham


If you believe passionately in political correctness and cannot bear to see it used as a weapon in a war againstrepparttar idiots who originatedrepparttar 126055 whole politically correct idea, do please leave now. And you needn’t return. Folks with no sense of humor give me a severe pain somewhere south of my belly button. I hold a concealed handgun license inrepparttar 126056 State of Texas. I am also licensed as a concealed handgun instructor in Texas. Contrary torepparttar 126057 belief held by most residents ofrepparttar 126058 other 49 states, Texas has some ofrepparttar 126059 strictest gun laws onrepparttar 126060 books anywhere outside of New York City. I mention this only to illustrate that I have absolutely zero criminal history in a state where at least ten percent ofrepparttar 126061 population can expect to spend a year or more in a penal institution at some point in their lives – and it seems that more than half ofrepparttar 126062 population has something to be found inrepparttar 126063 way of criminal history, whether violent or otherwise. This makes me a minority! Forget that I’m a woman (we are 52 percent, after all, even if it isn’t fashionable to mention it). Forget that I’m a small business owner. I am not a criminal. I own – and carry – a gun! Voila! I am a genuine, card-carrying minority. It gets worse. I am a minority who is hated and feared byrepparttar 126064 majority. It’s a very good thing I don’t have children. If I had kids,repparttar 126065 venerable American Medical Association would advise you to ask my children (if you were too embarrassed to ask me) aboutrepparttar 126066 guns at my house – and forbid your children to play with mine if mine were to answerrepparttar 126067 “gun question” inrepparttar 126068 affirmative. Oh, yes. Absolute fact. And you don’t even want to contemplaterepparttar 126069 lawsuit that would have occurredrepparttar 126070 first time that happened to any child of mine! Luckily for those hapless parents, it won’t ever happen to me or to my non-existent kids. You may not be that fortunate. Nevertheless, I am a full-fledged victim of discrimination. Yes, you heard me right, folks. I am a victim of discrimination every bit as severe and as real as that which was directed at people of color inrepparttar 126071 1950s. I am discriminated against because of my deeply held belief that self-defense (and defense ofrepparttar 126072 genuinely helpless) is my right and my sacred duty. How does this discrimination work? Well, aside from complete morons likerepparttar 126073 American Medical Association (who don’t even pretend not to discriminate), it works like this: Texas law states that a business owner may forbid firearms carry even by licensed individuals on his/her premises if they are posted properly. Fair enough. That’s just freedom, no matter how vehemently we may disagree withrepparttar 126074 businessperson’s decision to totally exclude firearms (except, of course, forrepparttar 126075 firearms belonging to those individuals who will ignorerepparttar 126076 law, anyway). However, Texas case law has also established that a gun owner is responsible at all times for properly securing his or her firearm. Add to thatrepparttar 126077 fact thatrepparttar 126078 Attorney General has ruled thatrepparttar 126079 business owner’s “premises” specifically excludes parking areas – and we have come torepparttar 126080 crux ofrepparttar 126081 problem. Because ofrepparttar 126082 Attorney General’s ruling, there is no immediately apparent problem. In fact, in theory at least, there is no problem. I disarm inrepparttar 126083 parking lot, lock my firearm in my vehicle, and go transact my business, right? Are you out of your bloody little minds?? Does anyone here really believe that a locked vehicle is secure? Boy, have I got a news flash for you! It takes less than five seconds to enter one – and that’s if you’re polite enough to avoid breakingrepparttar 126084 window. The youngerrepparttar 126085 perp,repparttar 126086 fasterrepparttar 126087 job. And if you think you might have a rough time withrepparttar 126088 law if your firearm is stolen and used to commit a crime, you don’t even know what a rough time is until that firearm is stolen by a minor in Texas! In practical fact, therefore, a business owner who excludes firearms excludes me – because, idiot that I am, I do honestly try to obeyrepparttar 126089 law. So I am a genuine victim of discrimination. I belong to a class of people who are being deliberately excluded from a fairly large number of businesses in my state. This class of people consists of those who (a) have no criminal history, (b) obeyrepparttar 126090 law even when it’s silly, and (c) carry a firearm for self-defense – and, just incidentally, for defense of that business owner’s business, although he is obviously too ignorant and frightened to see it that way.

Should Felons Have Guns?

Written by Kathryn A. Graham


Let me duck down behind some cover here. Yes! I think that felons should be allowed to purchase – and carry – firearms.

I’m still down here. Are you finished withrepparttar rotten eggs and tomatoes? Okay, I’ll stick my head back up.

Felons should be allowed to carry guns!

Before I continue, let me state clearly that I am no happier about armed robbers, murderers and rapists having firearms than you are.

So why do I take this position? It’s really a no-brainer. Violent criminals do not go torepparttar 126054 local gun store and fill out Brady paperwork to buy their firearms today, but they still buy them onrepparttar 126055 street and carry them. They will always buy them onrepparttar 126056 street and carry them, no matter what Herculean efforts are made by law enforcement to stop this. Yet a portion of my paycheck goes toward taxes to support enforcement of an unenforceable law. Police officers who do not haverepparttar 126057 time to do one tenth of their jobs must waste time and effort trying to enforce said unenforceable law.

The criminalsrepparttar 126058 law was written for completely ignore every single law that inconveniences them, especially this one!

Laws against felons purchasing or owning firearms are a real hand job, folks. It’s all just another way your government has of bilking you out of money and convincing you – wrongly – that your government is actually doing something about crime, while it victimizes those who really do try to go straight after a mistake.

What a criminal waste!

Isrepparttar 126059 cost of enforcement my only objection torepparttar 126060 law against felons purchasing and/or carrying firearms? I only wish it were!

My biggest objection is because our legal system is broken. It is no longer either fair or reasonable. People are labeled as “felons” today who are in no way dangerous criminals.

You don’t believe me? Your privilege. But I am going to tell you three stories here that are absolutely true. My only deviation from hard fact is to changerepparttar 126061 names to protectrepparttar 126062 “felons” involved, all of whom happen to be personal friends of mine.

Keep in mind that I am a law-abiding citizen – unusually so for this day and age. I am nearly fifty years old. My adult criminal record consists entirely of three minor speeding tickets. Period. I am a concealed handgun license holder, a concealed handgun instructor, and owner/manager of a licensed investigations firm in Texas. So I’ve passed a bunch of FBI checks, and I am officially certified to be so clean I squeak.

Why, then, do I count three felons among my closest friends?

Well, let’s take a close look at those “felonies.”

Case #1 concerns my oldest friend, Terry. She and I grew up duringrepparttar 126063 seventies. We weren’t particularly wild compared torepparttar 126064 folks we hung out with, but way back in those days Terry did occasionally smoke a little grass. Being a fairly sharp consumer even in her youth, Terry would usually go in with a couple of other folks and buy a quarter pound of grass about once a year. This left her with an ounce or two for personal use and cost her very little money.

Dorepparttar 126065 math. One quarter pound is four ounces. Up to four ounces was a misdemeanor in Texas, even decades ago when this all took place. Terry never, never bought more than a quarter pound for just that reason. Onrepparttar 126066 occasion in question, Terry had picked up her quarter pound and already delivered two ounces to her other partners. When her house in San Angelo was raided, there was a grand total of two ounces in her freezer.

She was a real drug mastermind, folks. She keptrepparttar 126067 stuff in her freezer because it would take her a year or more to smoke up an ounce, let alone two.

Why were there four and a half ounces when she went to trial? I’ll leaverepparttar 126068 answer to your imagination, but I’ll give you one big, ugly hint. We are talking aboutrepparttar 126069 San Angelo, Texas police department here.

Terry did her four years probation and hasn’t touchedrepparttar 126070 stuff inrepparttar 126071 decades since. She was a foster parent for years, and is nowrepparttar 126072 adoptive parent of two beautiful little boys. A criminal? Don’t make me laugh!

So why is she forever barred from purchasing, owning or carrying a firearm for self defense? She does not even haverepparttar 126073 right to keep a firearm to defend her children! Is this right or fair?

Case #2 involves a neighbor I have only known for about five years. Iris is about my age, so she was seventeen about thirty years ago. In any event, thirty long years ago, atrepparttar 126074 ripe old age of seventeen, she stupidly wrote some bad checks and got prosecuted for it. Like Terry, she did her probation, went forth and sinned no more.

Today she is an ordained minister, for crying out loud! Yet, she is legally barred from defending her own life. Does this make sense to you?

Both ofrepparttar 126075 preceding cases were prosecuted in Texas, under Texas law. My third and final case is much more complicated – and much, much more frightening. This was a federal case, and it actually involved prison time.

Brace yourself for a very ugly look at your federal government andrepparttar 126076 extremely unprofessional reasons behind many prosecutions!

First let me give yourepparttar 126077 cast of characters here:

Seth was my first husband. He was a police officer and just aboutrepparttar 126078 most violent and dangerously psychotic human being I have ever known. As I have told a number of people overrepparttar 126079 years, Seth taught me whatrepparttar 126080 wrong end of a Colt .45 tastes like. I hope never to see him again.

Bill was my skydiving instructor and a parachute rigger/manufacturer. He remains to this day one of my closest friends.

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