One more atypical gun owner

I just listened to Show #27 of the Firearms Cafe where Tony Brown referenced this CNN episode, which among other things, points out that there are many pro-gun supporters out there that don’t fit, as Tony puts it, the 3 tooth, beer swilling, shirtless, yokel with a Confederate ball cap. CNN interviewed three atypical pro-gun supporters, a nurse, a lawyer, and a cardiologist. Interestingly, Kenn Blanchard, of the Urban Shooter Podcast, read a letter on Episode 135 of his podcast from another atypical pro-gun supporter.

Well I am another odd data point. I am an engineer with a Masters Degree from one of the top schools in the country. I am a conservative Democrat. I am not a liberal, a hunter, nor an ex-soldier. I was born and raised in the city.

Interestingly enough, I am a liberal in the conservative sense of its definition. To me being liberal is about individual freedom, which best defines who I am. I want to be free to do as I please, as long as I respect the rights of my fellow citizens. However, this seems to be only an ideological goal, because I also believe that strong government is required, for example, to maintain a collective strong defense against outside threats.

In this country, liberalism seems to have been perverted almost into the exact opposite of its original definition. My version of liberalism is more closely related to the words in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

If my way to pursue happiness is to shoot at water filled orange juice cartons in the forest with an M4A3 rifle (what the uneducated like to refer to as an assault weapon), and I leave the forest the way I found it, then why are all these so called liberals trying to restrict my pursuit of happiness?

It’s not so much that I’m a conservative Democrat, but more that I’m not a communistic liberal.

Wikipedia has an insightful chart on the Opinions of liberals in a 2005 Pew Research Center study. So where do I fit on this chart?

I strongly believe that it is not my place to force laws onto a woman’s body during pregnancy. I fervently believe that what a woman does during pregnancy is a personal decision between her and her doctor. Period.

I oppose the Patriot Act. I honestly don’t see how I’m safer because I’m forced to take off my shoes at the airport and put my jacket into a bin that has dog shit from the shoes of the guy that used it before me. After all, the liquid explosives that could fit inside my Nike Shoks or in several 3 oz containers that won’t fit into my 1 quart Ziploc bag, can also go into the size DD gel bra on the woman with size A breasts. Fuel in the right cup, oxidizer in the left cup, press your breasts together and boom!

Personally, I would feel much safer in the air if I was allowed to carry my Springfield 3″ sub-compact 9mm with frangible bullets aboard the plane with me. I wouldn’t mind paying for and taking a class to certify me to carry aboard a plane. I love to learn! I’ve already had to take multiple classes for my various concealed carry permits and I want even more advanced training. Of course, then we would need a system for making sure that ball ammo wasn’t allowed on-board the plane, but then we’d have a bunch of guys who wouldn’t have anything to do because they wouldn’t be checking out my shoes, so maybe they could check out my magazines?

I’m opposed to free trade. I’m opposed to sending jobs overseas. I have a warm glowing feeling inside when I ride my Harley because I know it was born right here in my country and assembled by people just like me. It was expensive to send the above mentioned Springfield back to Geneseo, Illinois to have tritium sights installed, but I know that I am doing my part to help the economy by moving cash out of my savings account and into the pockets of another American so that he can provide health care for his family. I don’t hate people from other countries. I love diversity and I love culture, but I think we need to take care of our local brothers and sisters before we worry about other countries.

I’m opposed to lowering defense spending. I think we need to manage our defense resources and not pick fights with other countries to serve the special interests of a few. Historically, the strongest nations survive and the weak ones disappear into the folds of the stronger ones. It takes money to build invisible aircraft and submarines. It takes money to equip our soldiers with lightweight body armor and to protect their vehicles. It takes money to deploy a GPS system and to develop weapons with such accuracy that you can eliminate the bad guy without injuring his dog. The science and technology behind such advanced weapon systems requires strong education and those very same weapon systems will eventually make their way into the civilian market to help save lives on our city streets. Imagine a car with a highly accurate broad spectrum electromagnetic imaging system that can be used to avoid a small child on the street, instead of targeting him or her? Did I already say GPS? Internet?

I favor immigration, as long as it is managed. I’m reminded of a scene in the movie, “The Day After Tomorrow” where Mexico is forced to take in millions of American refugees because The United States has suddenly become the new North Pole. Do you think Mexico could handle such an influx of refugees? Should we?

I left out discussing Same-Sex marriage and Universal Health Care because I don’t have a strong opinion on these topics. I can appreciate arguments from both sides. Neither affect me directly, I think.

So I guess that means I’m not a liberal and I’m not a conservative.

I’m just a guy that respects another person’s unalienable rights; which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that will fight hard to make sure that others respect mine.