American Handgunner Jul/Aug 2011 - Jeffersonian

GUNCRANKDIARIES
John Connor
TM
EXCUSES, ALIBIS,
PITHY OBSERVATIONS
& GENERAL EPHUS
50 States, 50 Guns:
As I scribble this, Utah bill HB219 sits on Governor Gary
Herbert’s desk waiting for his signature. Given Hizzoner’s
past position on firearm issues and the overwhelming
support this measure received in the state House and Senate,
it seems certain he’ll sign it into law within days (They did.
Editor). When he does, Utah will become the first and only
state with an official State Firearm:
John Moses Browning’s M1911 pistol.
Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Yup; a State
Firearm! How cool is that? Let’s say
it again and let it sink in: The first and
only state with an official State Firearm!
This is what I call “a good start.”
Years ago there was a significant
effort to adopt the flintlock Pennsylvania
Long Rifle as that state’s official
firearm. While it enjoyed popular
support state-wide, the idea was apparently
strangled in its crib by the usual
entrenched political powers of Phila-
Thinkin’ Tactical
Since designating a state symbol had
nothin’ to do with “More guns on the
streets!” or expanding concealedcarry
privileges, the opposition was
deprived of most of their arsenal of irrational
scare-tactic rhetoric. As it turned
out, all it really gave ‘em was an opportunity
to look petty, juvenile and silly.
On the one hand, they couldn’t argue
that “It’s only a meaningless symbol,
like the Dutch Oven being Utah’s official
cookin’ pot, so why pass it?” To do that,
they would alienate fans of all 26 state
symbols. On the other, they couldn’t generate
any interest for a claim that “This
spells the end of civilization!” The best
they could come up with were whimpers
and jibes, and the debate also flushed out
some “stealth socialists” who had been
Introducing… The Official
State Firearm of Utah,
the 1911!
*“Trustafarians”: You’ve seen ‘em; affluent trustfund
layabouts who dress like Rastafarians and
frequent bistros and counterculture theatres ...
One Down, 49 to Go
trying to look “gun-neutral.”
One expressed dismay because
usually, “These designations come
to us from elementary schoolchildren.”
So adults can’t name a state
symbol? Arguing that “Guns are only
for killing!” didn’t fly either, as the
grownups asked, “So our police only
need guns to oppress and kill innocent
people? Our soldiers only need guns
as tools of genocide, rape and plunder?
Citizens shouldn’t have guns for selfdefense?
Guns aren’t lawful tools,
freezer-fillers, peace-keepers?” These
are debates we can win, folks!
One state senator tried the sniggering-sophisticated
approach, asking
why not emblazon a gun on the state
flag, or arm the bees on the flag? The
grownups just looked at him like, “Are
you nine years old or what?” I think
Let’s Get Rollin’!
delphia. A handful of similar acts in other states were also
shrieked down by hordes of hoplophobic harpies. Maybe this
“first” could only have happened in Utah, but now, the time
might be right to carry the theme across the country.
Utah is overall and inarguably a gun-friendly state, despite
the effects of the Yuppie Invasion of the ’80s. The Lib-Leftie
influence is mostly limited to the
(Hat’s off to pistolsmith
Terry Tussey for supplying
the guns for the picture!)
white wine & stinky cheese centers
of Salt Lake City and a few smaller
trustafarian* strongholds. It’s also
the birthplace and family home of
John Moses Browning, native son of
Ogden, and the immensely profitable,
jobs-creating corporate home of the
global business bearing his name.
This made it awfully tough —
and politically dangerous — for
Utah’s gun-haters to vilify the
man or his legacy. While HB219
was moving through the legislature,
Utah celebrated John Moses
Browning Day on January 24 th , with
hardly a squeak from the sidelines.
Interesting, huh?
he had to rack that one up in the “lost
credibility” column.
All of this was watched closely
by elected representatives in other
states, and the question is not IF, but
WHEN similar bills start poppin’ up.
And that’s only right. Our founding
fathers’ most unanimous faith was
that self-defense and the right to bear
arms for that purpose are God-given;
universal human rights which no just
government should infringe. And don’t
think of official state guns as “just a
symbol,” but as a symbol — a symbol
of the fundamental difference between
citizens — and subjects.
The most successful waves of state
laws of the past decade have been
“Castle Doctrine” acts, Right to Self-
Defense laws, and concealed-carry
legislation. That’s a tide to ride, friends.
Here’s your chance to help. Go to www.americanhandgunner.
com and click on the link on the home page saying “Vote for
your state gun!” It’ll link to my Guncrank column. There, you
Why shouldn’t every state have an official firearm? can leave a comment. Keep it to 50 words or less, but tell us your
What should it be? Which state has the best claim state, which gun you vote for and why it fits your state. We’ll
on the Peacemaker? The legendary Winchester ’94? keep a running tally so you’ll be able to see the results. When we
The Colt Walker Dragoon? The Merwin Hulbert First Model have a couple bushels of ‘em, we’ll get them to the right “State”
Army Revolver? The iconic Springfield ’03? The .36 Navy people. Sorry, but we don’t have staff to receive snail-mail,
1858 Remington New Model? Which gun best fits Alaska, FAXes, smoke signals, semaphore or heliograph.
Alabama, Maryland or Missouri?
Now let’s get rollin’! Connor OUT. *
36 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • JULY/AUGUST 2011