Is Arizona THE place to live and own firearms?

A very interesting article popped up in my newsfeed this week from New York, and it made me think. You read stories about the "assault on the 2nd amendment" and how people fear that "they" are coming for your guns, but is that already happening?

Many of our customers have extensive collections of firearms, from .22 pistols, to .50 cal Barrett's, not to mention copious amounts of ammunition. But how many guns is to many? 2, 3, 5, 10, 100, is there such a thing as too many, and if yes, is that an assault on your 2nd amendment rights?

A Mr Guo Shou, 33, of Rego Park New York, came to the attention of the police during an

"administrative pistol licensee review" at Mr Shou's apartment. They spotted some ammunition and gun powder laying "in plain sight which is apparently an issue in NY, and therefore sought and were granted a search warrant for the whole apartment.

When it was searched, they found 225lbs of gunpowder, reloading equipment, 14 licensed handguns, which were not properly secured in a safe; two loaded licensed shotguns; one licensed rifle; approximately 45,000 rounds of ammunition for multiple weapons; two Kevlar body armor vests; and six Kevlar armor plates, and he apparently lived within 2 blocks of a school. This resulted in his arrest and being charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

This raises many questions for me. 17 firearms would appear to not be a vast collection, certainly not in Arizona terms. the 45,000 rounds, whilst somewhat plentiful, again would appear to be something that might cause comment amoungst shooters, would not be something you would expect to goto jail for upto 7 years, something Mr Shou is facing. The 225lbs of gunpowder might raise an eyebrow, but not when considered in conjunction with the reloading equipment.

So what is the issue here? Does the 2nd amendment mean that you should be able to arm yourself with as much weaponry as you choose, and whose rules dictate how you can store them? I would certainly agree that firearms should always be secure, and access restricted, but should that be enforced by law?

The point here is that we in Arizona worry about creeping gun control, but I would argue it already exists at state level all over the country. Are the measures suggested recently re background checks, and gun shows, in enacted across the US a sign of creeping control, or are they a small step to stop those who shouldn't have access to firearms getting possession of them at source?

We have had a higher than usual denial rate from the NICS recently, would those people if they were at a gun show simply have bought a firearm from a private seller, will they now goto Back page, and make their purchase there, with the seller none the wiser?

The New York case is clearly laughable to us, but is that something which maybe enforced in the future if nothing is done at the initial sale of a firearm to address problems associated with illegal possession of firearms?

What do YOU think? I for one am very happy I live in Arizona not

New York.

Read the New York Daily News story here

Guns on campus?

This has always be a question that has given rise to a great deal of thought, not to mention high emotion, and heated argument.

Should guns be allowed on college campuses in Arizona? The Arizona Regents recently voted to oppose 2 bills which would have allowed properly qualified students and faculty to carry concealed firearms on campus. One those present, Regents Vice Chairman Greg Patterson is quoted as saying "My fundamental concern with both bills is this is our jurisdiction"

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that not really give a useful opinion either way, it merely says "this is my turf"?

This will never be an easy subject, and it's very difficult to remain emotionally detached when thinking about the issues, when those at risk are children, and the vulnerable, and there are certainly arguments on both sides that have merit.

But I would suggest that to say I am against guns, and therefore there should be no guns in colleges to defend the people using those facilities belies the fact that guns exist, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle, and people who wish to harm others can and do from time to time, get possession of a firearm, and set out to hurt the innocent.

To ignore that fact, and to stick to a position of "I don't like guns, therefore they should not be allowed into the hands of those who would use them to defend my loved ones" is akin to not teaching a child to cross the road, because you believe cars are destroying the planet.

You could be right, you might not be right, but the FACT is that guns, and cars exist, and sometimes, innocent people need to be defended from both.


Your thoughts?

Regents vote to oppose guns on campus bill

What would your ideal gun list look like I wonder? There was an article on 'The Well Armed Woman' website recently that was very interesting.

There were a number of guns that I was expecting to find there, Sig 238's, 938's, Bodyguards and the like. All very unremarkable. Until I thought about it a little bit more.

Every gun on the list is a small concealed carry gun. I don;t know if I find that surprising or not, or whether women are simply more practical than men, buying guns that they can easily carry in their purse or pocket, and are not necessarily buying guns for enjoyment or sport shooting.

It's true that here at Caswells, we have seen a HUGE rise in women buying handguns in recent years, and thinking about it, the conversation is usually a practical one, can I carry this comfortably etc, whereas the conversation with guys usually goes "can I MAKE this work, because I love the gun".

What would your list look like? Lets compare lists and see if there is a gender divide in firearms, or whether I am just dreaming :)