M-Taliesin
Regular Member
Howdy Folks!
After leaving Brighton, intending to drive out to Deckers to explore a Jeep road I'd heard might be fun, we found ourselves in close proximity to that apartment where the Movie Massacre POS lived, and had rigged with a plethora of explosive devices. We decided to have a look at what might be happening.
We drove south on Peoria, and cops were all over the place, stationed as far as a block from the apartment complex in question. Fire department resources were on hand, and it appeared they were prepared for a fire as hoses were attached to hydrants and expanded with water in the tubes. We drove around to the west, and I noticed somebody with a steno pad talking with a woman. Evidently he had finished with her and she walked away as we approached. I stopped.
"I get that you must be a reporter sir." I said as I climbed out of my Jeep and walked over. The man could plainly see that I was open carrying my RIA 1911, and didn't flinch as he answered my question. "Yes, I am a reporter."
"This tragedy has a great many people reacting in a visceral manner and some are stating that we should have more gun control. I am a member of Open Carry Colorado, a part of the Open Carry dot Org internet forum. We are law abiding citizens who carry a sidearm so that we may defend our lives from criminals in our midst. I would like for somebody, somewhere, to understand that we are as outraged as any in America over what happened at the Aurora theater, and some of us wish we'd been there so that we might have taken that guy down, if possible. We carry to defend our lives, our family members, our friends, and those around us in order that they do not end up being victims of crime."
"It is ironic," the reporter told me, "That you should happen along just now. I only just got off the phone with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and they gave me a great deal of information on their position in all this."
"Well, they are good folks there, and I am also a member of RMGO. The cries for stronger gun laws are not the answer. We have strong laws to prohbit assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, murder in the 1st degree, and all the rest. Hell, it's even illegal to discharge a firearm within the city limits of Aurora. The point is this. The man decided to violate the law, and would certainly not have been deterred by stronger gun laws any more than he was reluctant to violate laws prohibiting murder in the first. There are people like that running around loose and the only thing a law abiding citizen can do is prepare to defend his own life. In this shooting, cops were on the scene within 90 seconds of receiving the first phone calls. In those 90 seconds, 10 people died outright, and another 71 were injured. Just 90 seconds is all it took for all that destruction and death. The cops were amazing in coming so quickly, but when seconds matter, you're on your own. When seconds are all that will determine whether you live or die, or whether you family suffers tragedy, the only viable option is to defend your own life."
The man smiled and said "Can I get your name and address? Do you have a business card?"
I reached for my wallet and took out one of my business cards as it has all the information he might need.
"Let me make this clear, I am talking with you in order to speak for folks who feel as I do, that we have a right to legitimate self defense. It is not my intention to promote myself or my business here. Disregard the business card as anything other than contact information, if you want to ask any questions or discuss the tragedy at hand. What I do, or who I am is irrelevant. It's about those who were victims of this horrific tragedy. And it is also about the right of citizens to lawful self defense against bad guys in our society. As such, I believe every law abiding citizen has the right to bear arms. As I said, more gun laws ain't the answer. Knee jerk reaction ain't the answer either. The only option a citizen has, in those few seconds when their life is hanging in the balance, is to defend their own life. They ought have a right to do so."
We shook hands, and he stated he had much to do and need to be running along and I asked him; "Who do you write for?"
He smiled broadly, while stuffing my business card into his pocket. "I write for USA Today!"
I thanked him and rejoined Keens in the Jeep to continue our adventure.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
After leaving Brighton, intending to drive out to Deckers to explore a Jeep road I'd heard might be fun, we found ourselves in close proximity to that apartment where the Movie Massacre POS lived, and had rigged with a plethora of explosive devices. We decided to have a look at what might be happening.
We drove south on Peoria, and cops were all over the place, stationed as far as a block from the apartment complex in question. Fire department resources were on hand, and it appeared they were prepared for a fire as hoses were attached to hydrants and expanded with water in the tubes. We drove around to the west, and I noticed somebody with a steno pad talking with a woman. Evidently he had finished with her and she walked away as we approached. I stopped.
"I get that you must be a reporter sir." I said as I climbed out of my Jeep and walked over. The man could plainly see that I was open carrying my RIA 1911, and didn't flinch as he answered my question. "Yes, I am a reporter."
"This tragedy has a great many people reacting in a visceral manner and some are stating that we should have more gun control. I am a member of Open Carry Colorado, a part of the Open Carry dot Org internet forum. We are law abiding citizens who carry a sidearm so that we may defend our lives from criminals in our midst. I would like for somebody, somewhere, to understand that we are as outraged as any in America over what happened at the Aurora theater, and some of us wish we'd been there so that we might have taken that guy down, if possible. We carry to defend our lives, our family members, our friends, and those around us in order that they do not end up being victims of crime."
"It is ironic," the reporter told me, "That you should happen along just now. I only just got off the phone with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and they gave me a great deal of information on their position in all this."
"Well, they are good folks there, and I am also a member of RMGO. The cries for stronger gun laws are not the answer. We have strong laws to prohbit assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, murder in the 1st degree, and all the rest. Hell, it's even illegal to discharge a firearm within the city limits of Aurora. The point is this. The man decided to violate the law, and would certainly not have been deterred by stronger gun laws any more than he was reluctant to violate laws prohibiting murder in the first. There are people like that running around loose and the only thing a law abiding citizen can do is prepare to defend his own life. In this shooting, cops were on the scene within 90 seconds of receiving the first phone calls. In those 90 seconds, 10 people died outright, and another 71 were injured. Just 90 seconds is all it took for all that destruction and death. The cops were amazing in coming so quickly, but when seconds matter, you're on your own. When seconds are all that will determine whether you live or die, or whether you family suffers tragedy, the only viable option is to defend your own life."
The man smiled and said "Can I get your name and address? Do you have a business card?"
I reached for my wallet and took out one of my business cards as it has all the information he might need.
"Let me make this clear, I am talking with you in order to speak for folks who feel as I do, that we have a right to legitimate self defense. It is not my intention to promote myself or my business here. Disregard the business card as anything other than contact information, if you want to ask any questions or discuss the tragedy at hand. What I do, or who I am is irrelevant. It's about those who were victims of this horrific tragedy. And it is also about the right of citizens to lawful self defense against bad guys in our society. As such, I believe every law abiding citizen has the right to bear arms. As I said, more gun laws ain't the answer. Knee jerk reaction ain't the answer either. The only option a citizen has, in those few seconds when their life is hanging in the balance, is to defend their own life. They ought have a right to do so."
We shook hands, and he stated he had much to do and need to be running along and I asked him; "Who do you write for?"
He smiled broadly, while stuffing my business card into his pocket. "I write for USA Today!"
I thanked him and rejoined Keens in the Jeep to continue our adventure.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
