Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Different States, Different Attitudes

I received a nice personal e-mail from Seth from Massachusetts. He made a passing mention that he would have more pistols if he didn't live where he does, and he's looking forward to aligning his situation so he can relocate to a free(er) state. I could only commiserate with him, living in a commonwealth keeps re-electing Teddy Kennedy and his like-minded minions.

I was reminded of some remarks by the late, great Allen Wayne Damron. He was a tremendous all around entertainer and a fast, loyal friend: Singer, songwriter, storyteller, historian, teacher, hunting guide, Second Amendment activist, CHL Instructor.


Upon return from a tour, A. Wayne mused about on a certain difference in attitudes toward personal freedoms, as reflected by by highway signs at state borders. He cited several examples:

"Welcome to Texas, Drive Friendly, The Texas Way,"
"Oklahoma is OK!,"
“Welcome to Colorful Colorado,"
"New Mexico, Land of Enchantment."
“Welcome to Wild, Wonderful West Virginia."
And: "Entering Massachusetts. WARNING--State Law provides mandatory ten years imprisonment for unlicensed possession of a handgun."

Good luck to Seth and his right-thinking neighbors.

14 comments:

FHB said...

Yea, I'm always amazed to see the stuff a state will put up to welcome folks, like driving through Arkansas. "Bill Clinton's first nocturnal emission" and stuff.

Anonymous said...

I, unfortunately live in The Peoples Republic of Illinois. I am a police officer so that doesn't prohibit me from carrying my pistol but I feel for those it does. I lived in Corpus Christi for a substantial period of time growing up. Lord willin' I hope to have my first pension check mailed to Texas!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for th kind words JPG, and the kind email.

What you're refering to is called the Bartley Fox Act, enacted in 1975, which provides 1 - 5 years for possession without a license, with one manditory, no questions asked. If I recall correctly the first person to serve the mandatory year was a 16-year old boy found walking in the woods with a .22 rifle and no ammo.

I will never as long as I live forget what happened in the late spring of 1975 when I strolled into my police station and casually asked about a handgun license. The look which came over the firearms officer's face was a mixture of fear and anger as he bluntly laid down the conditions under which he "would allow me to apply" but his expression clearly said "forget about it."

Oh yes, also, Massachusetts requires that before any handgun can be sold in the stae the manufacturer must submit samples for testing to prove it has certain safety features. If it passes it is declared "MA Complient" and may be sold. For instance, Colt Single Action Army's are forbidden because they do not have a feature which allows them to be carried with a loaded chamber under the hammer. The only guns grandfathered are those which were registered in Massachustts before 1999.

Yup, it's that bad here.

Anonymous said...

i'm not sure what the signs say at the borders of Michigan, it's been so long since i traveled out of state by car.

there might not be any signs, for all i know; this is a state that placed a (very nice, by the way) welcome center smack dab in its geographical middle...

BobG said...

Here in Utah the border signs should read:

"Welcome to Utah: Road Work Ahead"

At least we don't have a problem with firearms.

Anonymous said...

Can you clarify this? You have to have a permit event to possess a handgun? Even if you parched the handgun legally before becoming a resident of that state? The state that I live in only requires that you have a permit to purchase (no permit required for rifles, but you have to wait for a background check which is waved if you have a handgun permit). I could buy 1, 5 or 10 what ever you like no limits. And once you own the guns you could let the purchase permit laps as long as you as long as you do not wish to buy another handgun.

Anonymous said...

No permit needed possess a handgun

CrankyProf said...

I always thought Arkansas (and now, New York) ought to have a Megan's Law warning for ol' Billy Jeff Clinton.

NJ is a horribly anti-gun state. God above help you if you drive from PA to NJ while carrying -- even if you have FFL, or carry in the line of duty. The NJ State Troopers will light your ass up.

Ask me how I know. I dare ya -- the PTD is almost all cleared up.

phlegmfatale said...

If you'll sit back and watch, a person will tell you who they are in the first few minutes, so I guess that sorta goes with states, too?

Anonymous said...

Here's one:
"Welcome to New Jersey - criminal registration required"

Assrot said...

Well the gun laws are not too bad down here in Florida. We are for the most part a pro-gun, pro-second amendment state as long as you are a mentally stable, law abiding citizen. However, Palm Beach County is probably about 70 percent transplanted Yankees that are all anti-gun Nazis. So since they can't stop law abiding citizens from getting guns and concealed carry permits and they can't stop us from defending ourselves by meeting deadly force with deadly force rather than running away, they have made it darn near impossible to open and run a shooting range. Everytime somebody tries to open one, the anti-gunners get together with the tree huggers and file a lawsuit that ties things up in court for so long that the person trying to open the range usually gives up the fight and moves on. As it stands right now, I can either drive 50+ miles to some very nice, very well run outdoor ranges or I can shoot little sissy pop guns at the 3 indoor ranges in the county only if I buy their ammo which is marked up to 3 times what it costs anywhere else. I need some good old conservative, pro-gun law abiding citizens to move down here in droves to save the county and the southern part of the state from the tree huggers and the gun bandemonium Liberals. There is plenty of real estate for sale down here. It's a little pricey but its not a bad place to live and as long as you are a law abiding citizen, the guns laws are pretty easy down here. Ya'll come on down and help me out.

"Welcome to Florida. The Sunshine State." You and your guns are welcome here as long as you are not a nut job or a criminal. We have the "Castle Doctrine" and the right to stand your ground an defend yourself firmly in place.

Joe

Jay G said...

To anonymous,

Yes. In MA you have to have a permit to simply possess a firearm. The Volksrepublik is "kind" enough to give those that move into state (but why would you) a whopping 60 days grace period in which to obtain your permit.

Some folks (like Bruce of mAssbackwards) took upwards of four months to get their permits. So, go figure.

It's not that bad. It's worse.

Shard said...

I've been trying to get my home state of Arkansas to change our signs to read:


Welcome to Arkansas! Yes, it was a bitch to have to elect Bill Clinton as President to get him and his family out of the state, but by God it worked! We got a nice library out of the deal and now New York is stuck with them.

Have a nice day!


Too wordy I guess.....

Anonymous said...

seth,
i just happened to wander by from the "lawdog files" to see your posts, i while don't know what your situation is in respect to mortgages, job requirements/salary etc. may i suggest you consider moving up the road a piece to vermont, i made the move 40 years ago, with a brand new wife in tow and we've never regretted it. we've got the granola addicts and birkenstock shufflers here too but they haven't made any headway against the vt. supreme court decision of 1903 that knocked down "permit" laws in vermont.
"gunner"