It’s like the wingnut version of the Darwin awards.

There are no words except “stupid” and “idiots.”

I thought Bob Owens lived in North Carolina.

Moron springs to mind, as does imbecile. Simpleton is much too benign…

Oh Christ.

Palm Desert?

Just – oh, criminetlies, something. I can’t stand this any more.

http://z.about.com/d/gosw/1/0/G/3/portal.jpg

So now, all of you looney pibbels, just go away now. Instead, look at this nice, quiet, peaceful place and be still.

Okay? Please?

Motherfucking retard with a gun. Christ. I detest most republicans. Fucking freaks.

Apparently, the Boy Scout motto needed to be more specific with some people. How about “Be Prepared to NOT BE AN ASSHOLE.”

Yeah, people like him are the worst. He was carrying for 9 days without ever having fired the gun? Because he didn’t have time? This kind of people are most dangerous to themselves. Let’s not learn how the gun works or get comfortable with its handling or cleaning, just strap it on and pull it out if we get panicked because some 40 year old mother flipped us off in traffic. That’s the behavior that kills. That and being a white, middle aged man who no one would pay any attention to on a beach vacation who thinks the whole world either recognizes him or is out to hurt him.

I read all of the comments after the article. Jeez, I had no idea that so many people are walking around with guns. That scares the shit out of me. And they’re worried that they won’t be able to buy guns after Obama gets into office, so they’re out buying even more now. That’s terrifying. And the writer was debating his weapon options as he dropped of his infant daughter at daycare? What is the matter with people?

Gomer:

As it turns out, a J-frame revolver with a full grip like that of the 637CT doesn’t fit real well in anything but the large side pockets of the cargo-style shorts I was wearing, so with every step, the 637CT slapped against my thigh.

‘Cuz he’s just thrilled to have something, any fucking thing, slapping against his thigh.

Jeez, tbogg, the places your links take a person!

Those lunatics are arguing about the best gun, with proponents of several that DON’T HAVE A SAFETY, and whether you can carry in church, and where you keep your wallet now that your gun goes in that pocket.

I shudder to think I share this great nation with them, but then — vice versa.

What an amazing coincidence of timing, CY’s post 11/25 and this story 11/28.

It’s like the universe conspires to make CY look like a homicidal moron. Okay, okay, that’s pretty easy, since he IS a moron, but still.

I guess all those toy stores now have to post NO GUNS ALLOWED signs now. Maybe they should also post “NO FREEPERS ALLOWED” just to be double-sure.

“Mommy, what’s a ‘freeper’?”
“It’s like the boogieman, only real, and stupid”

Palm Desert is a city near Palm Springs, and is republican. The Toys’R’Us store there is kind of dirty, so I’m not surprised this happened. Palm Desert, in general, is a nice place, but it is growing like the rest of CA and unfortunately the crime rate is going through the roof.

I was loving this post (and Gomer’s auto-erotic concealed-carry fiction) until I hit your comment: “The Toys’R’Us store there is kind of dirty, so I’m not surprised this happened.” Come again? Dirty? My local toy store is a little run down, but it has yet to feature “shoot-out at the stuffie corral.” And what does the CA growth rate have to do with the toy-store kill rate? More to the point, your “crime rate going thru the roof” myth is just that: myth (overall trend for CA for 1996-2006 shows a decline in violent crime in spite of population growth).

It’s precisely the “ooh, crime is rampant, we must protect ourselves” fear factor bullshit that helps drive sales of hand guns to people like Mr. & Mrs. Elmo in Palm Springs.

And, finally: while the population of Palm Springs is overwhelmingly Republican, 30 percent of the votes were D in 2008 and the district has voted narrowly for both Boxer & Pelosi for senate. So, please, the blanket implication that “they’re all Republicans, so of course they kill each other” is just too simplistic.

i like how TIDOSY’s every third paragraph is a bit of gun porn. oh yeah baby, tell me about your hollowpoints and your hi-tech laser sights.

i don’t like how i live in the same city as this lunatic.

Owens and his commenters (”hey man, I favor a Howitzer, but it puts a crease in my very-relaxed fit Dockers”) are certifiably insane. Please tell me that none of them lives in the New York City area.

That’s pretty much guaranteed since NYC has that gun ban thing going for it. As much as they like to posture, they’d be dissolving into an oozy pool O’ fear at the thought of getting busted for it and sent to one of your, shall we say, colorful and large correction facilities.

From ESPN:

New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress suffered an accidental gunshot wound Friday night in a club, according to multiple sources.

Details of the incident weren’t immediately available, but according to a source the wound was not considered life-threatening.

Fox Sports.com reported that Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg and spent the night in the hospital.

Y’know, I always thought “Gun Counter Gomer” referred to a place where guns were sold. But now, I’m thinking it’s more rudimentary than that.

“Vun, VUN gun!”
“Two, TWO guns!”
Etc.

He was carrying for 9 days without having fired either gun.

He appears to have long term familiarity with guns, and I’m certain he had fired similar guns prior to evaluating the two loaners S&W provided him. His experience at the range indicates that the sights on the gun he was carrying were well adjusted from the factory.

A good couple of paragraphs about the sobering mental aspects of carry – be aware of surroundings, hope that there’s no cause to draw a weapon. He didn’t draw at all during the time covered. he was taking classes on concealed carry.

I don’t see the person that wrote about his concealed carry experience as likely to be involved in Toys’R’Us shootings.

So I’m guessing that Bob Owens has a bad reputation for other writings?

He talks about his training:

There are four rigid criteria that must be satisfied to justify shooting another person in self defense in North Carolina, but I imagine the law here isn’t too much different in the 30 or so other states where concealed carry is allowed.

In plain English, we can’t start a confrontation, must try to diffuse or escape the situation if we can, and can only pull a weapon when some tries to kill or sexually assault someone else or ourselves, and once we fire, we can only shoot to stop the threat, not to kill. That last detail was printed on the bottom of every page of the course syllabus, in bold text: Do not shoot to kill. Shoot to stop the lethal threat.

This is sensible. The mere carrying of a weapon doesn’t turn one into a threat to society. Diffuse (defuse?) situation or run away when possible.

What’s wrong with this?

Bob Owens (AKA Confederate Yankee AKA Gun Counter Gomer) is a killing machine wanna-be with delusions of heroism. He couldn’t join the military because of his (cough cough) trick knee, so he dispenses war advice and survivalism tips based upon his experience as a… well, hanging around gun shops with Cooter, Booger, Slim, Red, and Cletus.

He lives for the day when he is involved in a firefight situation and can go all heroic on the bad guys asses, in slow motion with multiple angles and preferably filmed by Michael Bay. Most of us grew out of this when we were about ten years old.

This thread is wonderful for two reasons: (1) it provides some good experiential advice for those contemplating CCW (alas, I cannot because I live in now-restrictive Orange County in the People’s republic of Kalifornia) and (2) you just gotta know that all of the bleeding-heart, left-wing, peace-creep, pinko libs are suffering cardiac arrest just reading this stuff.

-Voiska PVO

“Good experiential advice?” For whom? While statistically males make up 52% of all live births, because of their gender-linked propensity for risk-taking and “teh stupid” in general, their numbers decline throughout adolescence. By the time males reach their mid-20’s they account for only about 48% of the population. From there they are dispatched at an exponentially higher rate than their distaff counterparts via a combination of trans fats, beer and TV.

If Bob Owens wants the majority of the population to benefit from his life experience, perhaps he should take the “Pepsi Challenge” and acquire the sort of experience that would benefit the majority of the population that is most likely to be raped, robbed or assaulted: i.e., women.

Aside from the limitless possibility for snark presented by the very thought of Owens in his best Dame Edna dress eating Cheetos, I’d like to know how he handles the fact that the weight of a Ruger 89 (900+ gms) will make that dainty thigh holster slide down his pantyhose.

And I hear that a manufacturer in Texas now makes purses with holsters discreetly sequestered therein. I’d like Owens to test them in a real life situation. In other words, how long would it take him to find the gun while he’s rooting through the assortment of tampons, used Kleenex, candy wrappers, and make-up that most women carry during a surprise simulated hold-up? Long enough for the mugger to get pissed and grab the purse with the gun? And how long will it take Bob to report the theft of the gun after the incident?

And just to make the test interesting, let’s have Bob agree to take hormones–to simulate how women might feel during a really bad case of cramps or menopause. And then have him make the 5 hour drive to grandma’s in the summer, in a car with problematic air conditioning–with two kids fighting in the back seat. Somewhere between the first “She touched me!” “Did not.” “Did too!” and the 100th “Are we there yet?” I’m betting Bob Owens will be ready to lock, load and take aim at the little boogers.

The belief that CCW will decrease crime is a lot like taking cholesterol lowering drugs: It’s a quick fix for the symptoms of a more complex problem that in reality takes a hell of a lot more effort and/or expense than most people want to devote to it.

And as an official DFH,who was taught to shoot at age 12, I can attest personally to the fact that this skill has come in handy in a State like California that is populated by alleged “bleeding-heart, left-wing, peace-creep, pinko libs:” It got me kicked from jury duty!

Fair enough.

Nonetheless the writing you linked to isn’t bloodthirsty. It was written for an audience that likes guns, gave good advice (don’t do like I did – don’t carry until you’ve been to the range and know your weapon). Links to the NC concealed carry class story put more good information out there.

There are four rigid criteria that must be satisfied to justify shooting another person in self defense in North Carolina, but I imagine the law here isn’t too much different in the 30 or so other states where concealed carry is allowed.

In plain English, we can’t start a confrontation, must try to diffuse or escape the situation if we can, and can only pull a weapon when some tries to kill or sexually assault someone else or ourselves, and once we fire, we can only shoot to stop the threat, not to kill. That last detail was printed on the bottom of every page of the course syllabus, in bold text: Do not shoot to kill. Shoot to stop the lethal threat.

This CCW ethos is in a post of GC Gomer’s linked to from the one you’ve linked may be something his audience isn’t ready to internalize, especially given that his other writing is often violent fantasy. On the other the fact of his reporting taking a course that includes the above quoted material makes me doubt he is actually dangerous, he may be yanking people’s chains. No harm in doing the same to him of course.

And, finally: while the population of Palm Springs is overwhelmingly Republican, 30 percent of the votes were D in 2008 and the district has voted narrowly for both Boxer & Pelosi for senate. So, please, the blanket implication that “they’re all Republicans, so of course they kill each other” is just too simplistic.

I think you mean Boxer and Feinstein. Pelosi is in the House of representatives and represents San Francisco in addition to being speaker of the house. People in Palm Springs cannot vote for Pelosi.

Luv this trackback from the first comment:

(note to liberals: handguns only serve one purpose–killing human beings).

I truly hope one of these asshats who thinks it’s just fine to carry a gun with only one purpose around meets someone else who thinks the same and they each think the other is a liberal.

Sorry, wmd1961, but that Gomer piece can be summarized thus: “fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap”.

gave good advice (don’t do like I did – don’t carry until you’ve been to the range and know your weapon).

It’s not exactly good advice if he can’t be bothered to follow it himself.

The brother-in-law is a volunteer cop in a large midwestern city; he was told that in addition to buying a certain gun, he should get a concealed carry permit and carry at all times everyday to “get used to it”. My BIL is a really nice, peaceful guy who would love to be a cop but is colorblind; he’d make the best community office ever because he really is a peacemaker.

However, with all that said, it still creeps my husband and I out at how much this concealed carry stuff appears to be a adolescent fetish thing with him and his fellow volunteers. It goes way past rational thought and plugs right into the lizard brain. fapfapfap is a perfect description.

My sister & (former) brother in law are examples on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

Useless & looking for trouble: The BiL would have a handgun in his carry-on luggage & his car. No permit. He was a pilot for US Air. He had an inferiority complex & needed to feel powerful.

Useful: The sister ( all 4′ 10″) is a lawyer specializing in family law. Since her cases are divorces & child custody, clients can be emotionally unstable. She has a license for concealed carry. She regularly practices on a gun range.