I tend to avoid getting political on my channel. I like to stick to the core of what Small Arms Solutions was incorporated to do, which is to teach history, give detailed mechanical evaluations, and fill the role for a technical channel with less emphasis on entertainment. Of course, I have opinions on the current state of the industry and the threats to our US Constitution and 2nd Amendment and I'm going to share some of those on the blog today.
I got my first AR15 (AR15A2 Sporter II) in early 1989. I was 15 years old and it was my world. My parents taught me the proper values of responsibility, discipline and most importantly, the value of life. Later that same year was the first mass shooting our country had seen. Patrick Purdy went into a Stockton, California school yard and shot up children with a Chinese Type 56 AKM. Subsequently, this was the catalyst for the first attempt ever to ban semi-automatic rifles.
I got my first AR15 (AR15A2 Sporter II) in early 1989. I was 15 years old and it was my world. My parents taught me the proper values of responsibility, discipline and most importantly, the value of life. Later that same year was the first mass shooting our country had seen. Patrick Purdy went into a Stockton, California school yard and shot up children with a Chinese Type 56 AKM. Subsequently, this was the catalyst for the first attempt ever to ban semi-automatic rifles.
Chris Bartocci, 1989, center left.
The media really played this event up. And many people were up in arms over gun control, not realizing that you could even buy these rifles. Now with all the focus on the gun, the President and Congress were considering a ban. So all those people who did not know about these rifles being available, ran to the gun shops in mass to purchase the rifles before the government could deprive them the right to own one. As every mass shooting since, every time the media would bring up the rifles, more and more people realized they could buy one and it might be their last chance. I certainly believe the heavy media coverage drove the sales. Through their newsfeeds, they worked as a marketing and sales engine for all semi-auto rifles.
The biggest failure is the background check system. Most Americans are in favor of an extended background check as long as it is instantaneous. Why do prohibited people still get firearms? It's a simple answer. Because the system is never up to date. Federal, state and local courts do not have the resources to enter every conviction into the FBI database. Someone could walk out of court with a domestic violence conviction and still go buy a gun. Why? Because it was not entered into the system. In order for the background system to work, Federal, State, local, military records and medical faculty must report these convictions, as well as, dishonorable discharges and mental health diagnosis are made. These agencies must have the personnel to add to the database every day to be sure these records don’t slip through, allowing a prohibited person to buy a firearm. This is the only way the background checks can ever really be effective to prevent firearms from entering the wrong hands.
The thought of raising the age to 21 to buy a gun is deplorable. At 17 years of age, one can enter military service and posses a real assault rifle, machinegun or pistol to protect and enforce our governments interests. Yet that person is not mature enough to own a firearm after he gets back from a deployment, fought for our constitution, only to be stripped of his second amendment rights when he gets home from his tour. He must wait till he is 21 to purchase his own rifle. Oddly enough, of all the mass killers, only one was under the age of 21. This makes absolutely no sense. I feel the same about the minimum drinking age. You can fight and die for your country, but you can't have a beer? If boys/girls under 21 are so immature, perhaps the military should raise the minimum age of enlistment to 21 years old. We must not be hypocrites.
I was extremely disappointed to hear President Trump say, “take the guns now, due process later”. In my opinion, this violates the very core of the constitution. How can we strip away a constitutional right of a US citizen without their constitutionally guaranteed due process? Now we decide to erode the constitution a little more and make you give up one of your most important inalienable rights in the name of public safety. So, the police come and take your guns and you have to go to court and prove you are not a criminal, mentally ill, did not say or do what any random person said you did, or what law you supposedly violated. Now you go broke fighting in court to get your property back. That is "if" you can even afford to fight the system.
So if somebody doesn't like you, and they want to get even for some perceived wrong committed against them, they can call the police and tell them you want to shoot up a school house. The police barge into your home, confiscate your firearms and haul you off to a mental hospital for evaluation. Now it is up to you to prove you did not say that, rather than the court being forced to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did. This country's core judicial system is about a citizen being considered innocent until proven guilty. We are now talking about violating this very important principal. You do NOT take away any citizens rights or constitutional liberties without due process. We allow this now; the government has precedence in allowing any individual’s constitutional rights to be suspended without legal cause. When is the next instance this is permitted?
The issue of arming teachers is an excellent idea. These shooting incidents happen in the flash of a second. Unfortunately, we have seen incident after incident where police do not enter the active shooter scene, even though they are sworn to do just that. And in the case of the recent shooting in Florida, you saw a school police officer who left the building all together. While the police are hunkered down outside waiting for the shooting to stop or the SWAT team to arrive, there is nobody to stop the shooter. The schools are of course “Gun Free Zones” so no licensed concealed carrying citizen may enter the school. So now we only have police and criminals allowed to possess guns in schools. We have seen the failure on part of law enforcement time after time, so where does that leave the victims in that school? Put your head down and wait for your bullet.
I believe “Gun Free Zones” are the most ludicrous thing imaginable! First, it disarms any and all law-abiding citizens. Second, it allows a potential mass killer a risk-free opportunity to carry out his massacre with little to no concern for running into any resistance. He knows that the police will take much time to mobilize and get in to stop him. He has quite some time to shoot people without worry. This my friend is what we call a soft target. Put a “Wolf Free Zone” sign up on your chicken coup. See if it stops the wolf from entering and killing the chickens? Yes, it is that stupid. There needs to be volunteer teachers who are willing to be trained, have continuous training to be able to react if this is to happen in their school. Obviously, you do not force anyone to carry a firearm. We could offer financial bonus incentives funded by the government to protect our schools for any teacher or school employee that does, allowing people with legal concealed weapon licenses on school grounds.
There are several things that can be done to fortify our schools to protect our children in the case of an active shooter. Few people wish for our schools to look more like prisons. I prefer to look at it more like you were entering a court house. We are living in very dangerous times. We need to protect our children the same way we do Presidents, politicians, celebrities, banks and so forth. This means one entrance only where you must go through metal detectors. This should be manned by at least two armed guards. Doors to classrooms that may be locked from the inside, and are bulletproof. Teachers willing to be armed and trained by police or other qualified instructors. There must be armed security on every level of a school with multiple members. This, in my opinion, an ideal job for our veterans. We need security who are trained to go towards the shooting, unlike the police who traditionally run away or are not fit to react properly. We need security whom are running towards the gunfire, whom can an assess a situation in real time and apply the proper amount of violence to stop the assailant(s). This is the job of a soldier opposed to a police officer. Schools must have regular drills to react to an active shooter situation, so in case it happens they know what to do and where to go.
The media has made a large contribution to this shooting epidemic. The mass coverage and glorification of this has spurred much of this crisis. The attention these criminals get is appealing to these perpetrators. It puts ideas in people’s heads. Each mass shooter tries to out due the last. From the deep coverage they learn what to do and what not to do from the past criminals. No politician lets a good tragedy go unused. This my friends is gun control and they will use any event to bring their agenda forward. Politicians/governments do not like an armed citizenry. It threatens their control. History all over the world shows us this (Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, China…). Many Americans believe these things cannot happen here. Well, they can. WACO and Ruby Ridge are perfect examples.
Every study shows that the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban had no effect on crime. The number of crimes these types of weapons are used in is less than 1% of all firearms crimes. There is, in my estimation, well over 10 million of these types of weapons that exist in this country. If these weapons were truly a problem, we would know it. We do not punish millions for the acts of such few. Guns are treated different than any other object in crime. If a drunk driver kills people, we do not go after the alcohol and car manufacturer. If one is stabbed, we do not go after the knife company. If one is killed by a baseball bat we do not go after Louisville Slugger. If one makes a bomb we don’t go after the manufacturers of the chemicals. We go after the individual responsible for the crime. There are all inanimate objects. They assume the personality of the one that controls it. Any object can turn into a weapon if someone wishes to do evil.
These rifles are mainstream. They are the new all-purpose firearm in this country. They are used for target practice, competition, hunting and self-defense. The modern AR15 has replaced and redefined what is now viewed as the normal hunting and sporting firearm. What was traditionally known as lever-action, bolt-action and single shot, hunting rifles have been replaced with the AR15-type rifles. The new generation sportsman, as well as, some older generations have adopted this weapons platform. We see generations from the 1960’s to current 2018, who served in the military, have learned and liked this platform. Since the sunset of the 1995 ban in 2004 the industry has evolved the AR15 into the most modular firearm of all time. One rifle that can change calibers from .22LR for cheap plinking to 5.56mm for hunting small game and self-defense. The rifle can be chambered in .204 Ruger for long range varmint hunting. If one wishes to hunt deer they switch to a 7.62x39mm, 6.8mm SPC, 300 Blackout or 6.5mm Grendel. They wish to hunt feral hogs in Texas they switch to 6.8mm SPC, 450 Bushmaster, 458 SOCOM or 50 Beowulf. People whom are not into the shooting sports have difficulty understanding this concept. They judge the rifle by its appearance. Nobody is hunting deer with a 30-round magazine. They use the law mandated 5 round capacity magazine. The light weight, easy to shoot and low recoil of these firearms appeal to sportsmen over the traditional Winchester 30-30 or the bolt action Remington 30-06 rifle.
There are many societal issues when it comes to the making of a mass shooter. With a broken healthcare system that does not treat mental illness or for only a mandated timeframe outlined by the insurance companies. Adam Lanza was a perfect example of this. Due to the insurance running out, he could no longer get needed treatment. We have broken families without positive male role models. We have violent video games that desensitize our children to death and killing. Unlike in the 1950’s where children were taught gun safety in schools, most children now have no training. This is how accidents happen. The bullying in schools is absolutely rampant without any recourse. Most of these incidents had numerous warning signs of what was to happen. They were ignored by fellow students who knew, teachers, school administrators, parents, neighbors, police and right up to the FBI. Yet the first thing they go after is the firearm. Banning a class of firearm will not curb any of these symptoms or crimes. We need to address the core issues of what makes these people commit such a crime.
The thought of raising the age to 21 to buy a gun is deplorable. At 17 years of age, one can enter military service and posses a real assault rifle, machinegun or pistol to protect and enforce our governments interests. Yet that person is not mature enough to own a firearm after he gets back from a deployment, fought for our constitution, only to be stripped of his second amendment rights when he gets home from his tour. He must wait till he is 21 to purchase his own rifle. Oddly enough, of all the mass killers, only one was under the age of 21. This makes absolutely no sense. I feel the same about the minimum drinking age. You can fight and die for your country, but you can't have a beer? If boys/girls under 21 are so immature, perhaps the military should raise the minimum age of enlistment to 21 years old. We must not be hypocrites.
I was extremely disappointed to hear President Trump say, “take the guns now, due process later”. In my opinion, this violates the very core of the constitution. How can we strip away a constitutional right of a US citizen without their constitutionally guaranteed due process? Now we decide to erode the constitution a little more and make you give up one of your most important inalienable rights in the name of public safety. So, the police come and take your guns and you have to go to court and prove you are not a criminal, mentally ill, did not say or do what any random person said you did, or what law you supposedly violated. Now you go broke fighting in court to get your property back. That is "if" you can even afford to fight the system.
So if somebody doesn't like you, and they want to get even for some perceived wrong committed against them, they can call the police and tell them you want to shoot up a school house. The police barge into your home, confiscate your firearms and haul you off to a mental hospital for evaluation. Now it is up to you to prove you did not say that, rather than the court being forced to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did. This country's core judicial system is about a citizen being considered innocent until proven guilty. We are now talking about violating this very important principal. You do NOT take away any citizens rights or constitutional liberties without due process. We allow this now; the government has precedence in allowing any individual’s constitutional rights to be suspended without legal cause. When is the next instance this is permitted?
The issue of arming teachers is an excellent idea. These shooting incidents happen in the flash of a second. Unfortunately, we have seen incident after incident where police do not enter the active shooter scene, even though they are sworn to do just that. And in the case of the recent shooting in Florida, you saw a school police officer who left the building all together. While the police are hunkered down outside waiting for the shooting to stop or the SWAT team to arrive, there is nobody to stop the shooter. The schools are of course “Gun Free Zones” so no licensed concealed carrying citizen may enter the school. So now we only have police and criminals allowed to possess guns in schools. We have seen the failure on part of law enforcement time after time, so where does that leave the victims in that school? Put your head down and wait for your bullet.
I believe “Gun Free Zones” are the most ludicrous thing imaginable! First, it disarms any and all law-abiding citizens. Second, it allows a potential mass killer a risk-free opportunity to carry out his massacre with little to no concern for running into any resistance. He knows that the police will take much time to mobilize and get in to stop him. He has quite some time to shoot people without worry. This my friend is what we call a soft target. Put a “Wolf Free Zone” sign up on your chicken coup. See if it stops the wolf from entering and killing the chickens? Yes, it is that stupid. There needs to be volunteer teachers who are willing to be trained, have continuous training to be able to react if this is to happen in their school. Obviously, you do not force anyone to carry a firearm. We could offer financial bonus incentives funded by the government to protect our schools for any teacher or school employee that does, allowing people with legal concealed weapon licenses on school grounds.
There are several things that can be done to fortify our schools to protect our children in the case of an active shooter. Few people wish for our schools to look more like prisons. I prefer to look at it more like you were entering a court house. We are living in very dangerous times. We need to protect our children the same way we do Presidents, politicians, celebrities, banks and so forth. This means one entrance only where you must go through metal detectors. This should be manned by at least two armed guards. Doors to classrooms that may be locked from the inside, and are bulletproof. Teachers willing to be armed and trained by police or other qualified instructors. There must be armed security on every level of a school with multiple members. This, in my opinion, an ideal job for our veterans. We need security who are trained to go towards the shooting, unlike the police who traditionally run away or are not fit to react properly. We need security whom are running towards the gunfire, whom can an assess a situation in real time and apply the proper amount of violence to stop the assailant(s). This is the job of a soldier opposed to a police officer. Schools must have regular drills to react to an active shooter situation, so in case it happens they know what to do and where to go.
The media has made a large contribution to this shooting epidemic. The mass coverage and glorification of this has spurred much of this crisis. The attention these criminals get is appealing to these perpetrators. It puts ideas in people’s heads. Each mass shooter tries to out due the last. From the deep coverage they learn what to do and what not to do from the past criminals. No politician lets a good tragedy go unused. This my friends is gun control and they will use any event to bring their agenda forward. Politicians/governments do not like an armed citizenry. It threatens their control. History all over the world shows us this (Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, China…). Many Americans believe these things cannot happen here. Well, they can. WACO and Ruby Ridge are perfect examples.
Every study shows that the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban had no effect on crime. The number of crimes these types of weapons are used in is less than 1% of all firearms crimes. There is, in my estimation, well over 10 million of these types of weapons that exist in this country. If these weapons were truly a problem, we would know it. We do not punish millions for the acts of such few. Guns are treated different than any other object in crime. If a drunk driver kills people, we do not go after the alcohol and car manufacturer. If one is stabbed, we do not go after the knife company. If one is killed by a baseball bat we do not go after Louisville Slugger. If one makes a bomb we don’t go after the manufacturers of the chemicals. We go after the individual responsible for the crime. There are all inanimate objects. They assume the personality of the one that controls it. Any object can turn into a weapon if someone wishes to do evil.
These rifles are mainstream. They are the new all-purpose firearm in this country. They are used for target practice, competition, hunting and self-defense. The modern AR15 has replaced and redefined what is now viewed as the normal hunting and sporting firearm. What was traditionally known as lever-action, bolt-action and single shot, hunting rifles have been replaced with the AR15-type rifles. The new generation sportsman, as well as, some older generations have adopted this weapons platform. We see generations from the 1960’s to current 2018, who served in the military, have learned and liked this platform. Since the sunset of the 1995 ban in 2004 the industry has evolved the AR15 into the most modular firearm of all time. One rifle that can change calibers from .22LR for cheap plinking to 5.56mm for hunting small game and self-defense. The rifle can be chambered in .204 Ruger for long range varmint hunting. If one wishes to hunt deer they switch to a 7.62x39mm, 6.8mm SPC, 300 Blackout or 6.5mm Grendel. They wish to hunt feral hogs in Texas they switch to 6.8mm SPC, 450 Bushmaster, 458 SOCOM or 50 Beowulf. People whom are not into the shooting sports have difficulty understanding this concept. They judge the rifle by its appearance. Nobody is hunting deer with a 30-round magazine. They use the law mandated 5 round capacity magazine. The light weight, easy to shoot and low recoil of these firearms appeal to sportsmen over the traditional Winchester 30-30 or the bolt action Remington 30-06 rifle.
There are many societal issues when it comes to the making of a mass shooter. With a broken healthcare system that does not treat mental illness or for only a mandated timeframe outlined by the insurance companies. Adam Lanza was a perfect example of this. Due to the insurance running out, he could no longer get needed treatment. We have broken families without positive male role models. We have violent video games that desensitize our children to death and killing. Unlike in the 1950’s where children were taught gun safety in schools, most children now have no training. This is how accidents happen. The bullying in schools is absolutely rampant without any recourse. Most of these incidents had numerous warning signs of what was to happen. They were ignored by fellow students who knew, teachers, school administrators, parents, neighbors, police and right up to the FBI. Yet the first thing they go after is the firearm. Banning a class of firearm will not curb any of these symptoms or crimes. We need to address the core issues of what makes these people commit such a crime.
The pro-Second Amendment community has lost faith in much of our government and politicians. Criminals by definition do not follow the law! Disarming the honest law-abiding citizen leaves them open for being victims. They sit in-between law enforcement and criminals. We see that law enforcement is not there to protect you. They come only after the fact and even if they are there, they wait outside till the shooting is done. It is not just about semi-auto rifles. If they ban these, the next shooter uses a semi-automatic magazine fed pistol. Now we have to ban all semi-automatic pistols to save the children. We ban semi-automatic pistols. Next the shooter uses a shotgun. You see the carnage OO Buck can do, now we must ban shotguns to save the children. This is how it goes. The criminal still has the same issues that are not addressed.
We see the gun is not the problem, but we disarm the good guys. We create victims. We violate a principal and inalienable right in the Constitution to ensure only police, government armed forces and criminals have guns. This has been done through history. Yet we do not learn from it. The United States is not some safe haven where no citizen is a victim of government abuse of power, where mass killings cannot happen, where a government can’t rip away the Constitution and become a dictatorship. We are no safer from this than Germany, Russia or China. We have a Constitution and framework to prevent this in our Constitution, yet our citizens give up their rights to a government who says they will protect you and constantly demonstrate they do not have the ability to, nor the responsibility for your safety. The US government is in complete disarray. Corruption and scandal is an everyday occurrence. The American people have lost faith in their government. Career politicians are more concerned about their careers than they are for what is in the best interest of the American people.
These are my thoughts on the subject. I will not argue the points in this paper. This is my thought for you to agree or disagree. I try to approach any issue from a logical and factual basis to arrive at a proper conclusion that will have the desired change of the problem. I have been accused many times of missing the emotional chip in my brain. At this moment, many people are talking about taking away rights for emotional reasons. Their thought is something has to be done, and it does not matter what, or if it will have any effect on the problem. I simply believe in looking at a problem from its core, and that is with the background check system and the mental health component. I fear what the state of this country will be if the government does choose to take rights and guns from people. I hope to never see a civil war in my country. We came so close on a ranch in New Mexico not so long ago.
We see the gun is not the problem, but we disarm the good guys. We create victims. We violate a principal and inalienable right in the Constitution to ensure only police, government armed forces and criminals have guns. This has been done through history. Yet we do not learn from it. The United States is not some safe haven where no citizen is a victim of government abuse of power, where mass killings cannot happen, where a government can’t rip away the Constitution and become a dictatorship. We are no safer from this than Germany, Russia or China. We have a Constitution and framework to prevent this in our Constitution, yet our citizens give up their rights to a government who says they will protect you and constantly demonstrate they do not have the ability to, nor the responsibility for your safety. The US government is in complete disarray. Corruption and scandal is an everyday occurrence. The American people have lost faith in their government. Career politicians are more concerned about their careers than they are for what is in the best interest of the American people.
These are my thoughts on the subject. I will not argue the points in this paper. This is my thought for you to agree or disagree. I try to approach any issue from a logical and factual basis to arrive at a proper conclusion that will have the desired change of the problem. I have been accused many times of missing the emotional chip in my brain. At this moment, many people are talking about taking away rights for emotional reasons. Their thought is something has to be done, and it does not matter what, or if it will have any effect on the problem. I simply believe in looking at a problem from its core, and that is with the background check system and the mental health component. I fear what the state of this country will be if the government does choose to take rights and guns from people. I hope to never see a civil war in my country. We came so close on a ranch in New Mexico not so long ago.
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