Women & Guns

My friend and fellow blogger, Everday Epistle, recently asked me a series of questions about being a woman gun owner. I was one of many women to give her answers and opinions which were then featured in a post on The Broad Side.

“Women Gun Owners Shoot Straight About Firearms, Violence, Second Amendment” is fantastic. The article features a variety of women who share their views on guns.

The following are my answers to the questions Aimee (Everyday Epistle) asked for her post mentioned above.

Q1. Tell me about your relationship with guns. Why do you own guns? When did you learn to shoot? Who taught you?

A1. I have been around guns my entire life, since I can remember. I was born on the opening day of deer season and hunting is a huge part of our family so guns were a natural thing to grow up around. I had bb guns to shoot at birds & my first real gun was a little browning .22 that I used to try shoot rodents and other varmints with. I took Hunter’s Safety around 11 so when I turned 12 I could go deer hunting. My dad, who taught me how to shoot rifles, is a huge advocate of hunter’s safety and it is a requirement in our family.

My grandpa taught me how to shoot shotguns, his passion is trap shooting. I do not do much bird hunting but enjoy trap shooting.

Growing up owning guns to me was for hunting however as I graduated college and was out on my own I then felt comfort in knowing guns could be used for protection if need be. Being a protective father, my dad made sure his girls had guns & knew how to use them for protection. He also bought us pistols. I got my concealed carry permit about 3 years ago. I travel & drive by myself a lot so it’s nice to have because you never know.

A few months ago I treated myself for my birthday & went to the symphony. I was not able to find anyone to join me so I went alone. On the way home I was pulled over by a police officer, I made sure to tell him that I  had a gun in my purse before I reach for my license. The officer looked really amused considering I was all “dolled up” & coming from the symphony. He said “I don’t think you look like you’re gonna shoot me so it’s ok to get your license, but why do you need a gun at the symphony?” I responded with “I am a single girl in downtown Eugene, why wouldn’t I need a gun?’ He laughed, barely looked at my license and let me go on my way.

Recently, I have taken more interest in practicing shooting. Last year I missed an elk. I did not like the feeling of incompetence or not trusting my ability. I carried my Ruger .270 everywhere I went on the farm after that and practiced shooting any chance I got. In January, I killed a cow elk with that gun, she went down in one shot.

My goal is to get more comfortable using my hand gun, which is a .38 special hammerless revolver. It’s cute. As I mentioned before my dad is a big proponent of gun safety & proper use, so for Christmas my parents bought me defensive handgun lessons that I will use later this spring.

It was instilled me since I can remember that a gun is “ALWAYS loaded” and “NEVER point a gun at anyone, no matter if the gun is real or fake” These principles still stick with me today every time I handle a gun.

Q2. What do you think should and should not be done to curb gun violence in our country?

A2. I understand a lot of people are not comfortable using guns or being around them. I honestly think proper basic education would go a long way in people’s perceptions about guns. A lot of sensationalism happens around gun violence. Focus is lost on other violent crimes, what about knives or baseball bats or fists that are used to commit heinous acts. Lately mental health has been the topic. Which makes me wonder if our pendulum has swung so far to the touchy feely emotional side that we forget to look at the reality of society and the world. There are sick people out there that no amount of public funds will make them better. I do not think more laws are the answer. Since when do criminals follow laws?

Q3. Why is the 2nd Amendment important for women?

A3. The second amendment is important for all not just for women. Our founding fathers left a place they considered to have tyrannical rule. They knew that true freedom was found in the people not the government of a country, they also were aware that government could get to big for their britches. If this ever became the case then “we the people” needed a way to protect ourself and, heaven forbid, if need be to take back the country. That is the big picture of it. However, the 2nd amendment applies to the rapist or attacker who seek to take a woman’s freedom about her body away. It’s a woman’s right to protect her body how she chooses.

Q4. Anything else you think is important to the discussion of women and guns?

A4. Guns aren’t scary. Guns will not shoot anyone on their own. Educate yourself, learn how to shoot. I recognize that the chances might be slim of you ever needing to use one for self-defense, but the confidence it gives you is invaluable. If every citizen, at least every woman, knew how to shoot & defend herself I would think we see a decline in “gun violence”. Guns may not be for everyone and that’s ok, but don’t take away someone else’s right to own & carry because “you aren’t sure”. The more we limit our tools to defend ourselves or even provide food for ourselves the more we limit our individual freedoms.

Are you a woman who owns & shoots guns? Aimee would love to hear your answers to these questions! Email your responses to aimee@everydayepistle.com

Consequences

Growing up I learned there were consequences to my actions. I received spankings when I misbehaved and got my mouth washed out with soap when I said a naughty word. I knew if I studied in college I would receive a passing grade, of course I learned this the hard way by not studying.

The End of the World…Tomorrow

At least, if you listen to the president you would think the end of world was upon us.

Tomorrow, March 1st, sequestration is supposed to take place.

Sequestration is a term used to describe the practice of using mandatory spending cuts in the federal budget if the cost of running the government exceeds either an arbitrary amount or the gross revenue it brings during the fiscal year.

The Congressional Research Service defines sequestration this way:

“In general, sequestration entails the permanent cancellation of budgetary resources by a uniform percentage…”

This is the consequence of not having a budget in place…for 3 years.

Votes have consequences

The majority of people who voted re-elected Barack Obama and kept the U.S. Senate in Democrat control.

Sequestration is a result of those votes.

Let it happen

I think for too long we have tried to put a band-aid on our government’s spending problem and protecting the American people from the reality. Sometimes you have to get tough and face the consequences.

Let Sequestration happen. One of two thing will happen 1) Absolutely nothing, life will go on as normal or 2) said “cuts” will happen. I have a tendency to think absolutely nothing will happen and the threats of cuts are being used to scare the public.

State of Fear

Why would the government want to scare the general public? Easy, control the fear you control the masses.

Adult Conversations

 

“It’s time for us to have an adult conversation with folks in rural America,” Vilsack [U.S. Secretary of Agriculture] said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal.

I would love to have some “adult conversations” with Secretary Vilsack, Secretary Solis, Lisa Jackson and President Obama. Come on over. We, rural America, are talking, some might even say we are talking very loudly. However, the majority of us feel like no one is listening.

Secretary Solis, I would love to know why the Department of Labor has not responded to the Oregon Congressional Delegation. They asked the DOL over 6 months ago about their underhanded tactics & lack of due process in the Oregon Hot Goods Case. Congressman Walden has even made a plea on the House floor. Secretary Solis, we are adults and we deserve answers.

Lisa Jackson, where to begin, you have so many issues and regulations to oversee. You control one the largest agencies in the United States government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently the definition of point & non-point pollution is up for discussion in the Supreme Court and the EPA. The current definition and Best Management Practices are sufficient enough. I know you have a lot of pressure on you to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to waterways beyond navigable and into our farm ditches. Lisa, we’re willing to talk to you about these issues, please come see us, we can also talk about pesticides!

President Obama, I think you need to be at these discussions as well because you are the Commander-in-Chief. You appointed these guys, we need you on the side of America’s farmers & ranchers, the heart of rural America. Also while you here, a nice discussion about the future of the federal estate tax would be great. There’s only about 98% of all farms, that are 100% family farms that the death tax will affect.

Back to you, Secretary Vilsack, I thought you were the spokesperson for rural America and Agriculture. During this same speech you referred to rural America as “becoming less and less relevant.” You also

…criticized farmers who have embraced wedge issues such as regulation, citing the uproar over the idea that the Environmental Protection Agency was going to start regulating farm dust after the Obama administration said repeatedly it had no so such intention.

In his Washington speech, he also cited criticism of a proposed Labor Department regulation, later dropped, that was intended to keep younger children away from the most dangerous farm jobs, and criticism of egg producers for dealing with the Humane Society on increasing the space that hens have in their coops. Livestock producers fearing they will be the next target of animal rights advocates have tried to undo that agreement.

Secretary, these are issues we are facing on a daily basis on our farms and ranches and we need your support not your criticism. You really confuse me because just 4 months ago you were praising rural America and being the heart of this country. I agree we need to do our part of telling our story, but having an advocate high up on the chain would not hurt us either.

Rural America, the farmers and ranchers, who provide food on your table want to have real, adult conversations. Washington D.C. we promise to continue to do our best to tell our stories if you quit making decisions that affect and insult us without consulting us.

We would really appreciate an adult conversation.

***UPDATE: USDA Virtual Office Hours, join Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this Monday, December 17 at 3:30 p.m. EDT for a live Twitter chat on the important role of rural America to the national and global economy, increasing agricultural opportunities in U.S. communities, and the importance of passing a five-year Farm Bill.

Related articles

• USDA Chief: Rural America Is Becoming Less Relevant (businessinsider.com)
• Is Rural America Less Relevant? (http://gilmerdairy.blogspot.com/)

Loser and Failure but not a Quitter

Well that sucked.

Measure 84, to End Oregon Death Tax, failed.  The majority of candidates I wanted in office failed.

It makes me feel like I failed and maybe I did.

I could go through a lot of “What ifs” about what happened on Tuesday, November 6th 2012, Election Day.

However, I have come to this conclusion:  Americans & Oregonians are truly ignorant to the full scope of how government works. We have become a nation where our feelings of jealousy of others success rule, which in return causes us all to fail. We apparently love the feeling of the word free but have no perception of the true cost of freedom.  And most have no idea what goes on in terms of the regulatory process in order just to get food on the table.

I am upset and angry about Tuesday’s results. Trying to keep my chin up is hard this week.  However I am surrounded with like-minded women who are just as, if not more passionate, than I am about issues that face our country.

I am in Denver, CO for the American Agri-Women annual meeting. I am slowly getting revived.  These women inspire me, the speakers inspire me.   In fact, we heard from James Owen, author of Cowboy Ethics and The Try.  He offered us Ten Principles to Live By and what goes into “The Try”.

Do you live by these principles?

While election day sucked for a lot of us we must continue to live by our guiding principles and continue to do what we know is right, best and true.  I have no doubt we are fighting an uphill battle.   It is going to be hard and frustrating but we cannot quit. We cannot give up for the future of our food & fiber supply and the future of our country.

One last thought, I am truly grateful and feel very blessed for the support network I have. Thank you to those people. I appreciate it more than you know.

 

VOTE!

Since  July 4th, 2011 I have been working to End Oregon’s Death Tax.  That was the day I met with Kevin Mannix in a Starbucks in Bend, Oregon to discuss the initiative he was working on that would eventually lead to Ballot Measure 84.

This Tuesday, election day, we will know if all of our efforts were worth it.

Vote and make sure you take time to read the ballot measures and about your local candidates because elections are not just about who will be the next President of the United States.  What happens at your local level is just as important as the national level.

If you live in Oregon, please Vote Yes on Measure 84! 

My ballot: Yes on Measure 84 and No on Measure 85

I voted “No” on Measure 85 because I believe the State of Oregon has mismanaged funds and not have prioritized correctly. In the banking world you do not give someone more money because they cannot manage their budget efficiently. I am tired of kids being used as guilt trips on voters. Every year they cry “We need money for the kids! What about the children and schools?!” Every year they get more money and the problem doesn’t seem to be solved. It is time Salem re-prioritizes it’s budget and education. Maybe less money on green energy that provides little return and re-directed towards education. Just a thought.

My Op-Ed in the Oregonian

My friend, fellow farmer & blogger Brenda Kirsch has been doing her part to End Oregon’s Death Tax!

I am anxious over Election Day, but a fellow blogger, Everyday Epistle, recently wrote, “Pray. Get to the polls on November 6th. Vote your conscience fearlessly and with thanksgiving as directed by Christ. Then trust Him with the care of our country.”  This is something I must remember.

Related articles

• List of Articles on End Oregon Death Tax
• http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/10/yes_on_measure_84_voters_shoul.html
• http://www.aginfo.net/index.cfm/event/report/id/Northwest-Farm-and-Ranch-Report-23270
• http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20121029/NEWS/310290020/1001
• Measure 84 proponents, opponents push to make estate tax repeal relevant to average voters (oregonlive.com)

Romney & Obama: What about USA agriculture?

Debates are annoying. The questions are usually “softballs” that candidates answer with their most gushy responses in hopes of garnering a vote.

The last debate on foreign policy really grinded on me. Mostly because candidates touched only on the Middle East and China, avoided discussing the Libya debacle and turned the discussion any time possible to the domestic policy. I think Obama even mentioned “Women’s issues” once.

What about the countries where insane terrorists or communists don’t live but hungry people do?

The world’s population is quickly reaching 9 billion. Does the United States play a role or have responsibility to feed the growing population? Based on Obama’s boasting during the debate about increased US exports, I am inclined to believe he thinks we do.

If it’s part of our foreign policy to help feed the world how do politicians plan to address issues facing the American farmer?

• How do you plan stop Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overreach? They’ve tried to regulate dust and every mud puddle and there are no signs they’re going to quit with excessive regulation.
• What about the US Department of Labor coming to farms, making accusations with little proof, charging them a fine and voiding their due process?
• What about the Federal estate/death tax that is supposed to fall back to pre-2001 levels, a rate of 55% & exemption of a million dollars?
• What is your plan for the price of fuel that fills our tractors?

While I am aware that Congress makes the laws, the President of these United States has been given the power to appoint cabinet members and leaders. Groups like the Department of Agriculture, Labor and the EPA have been given the power to interpret the rules. They control the areas and situations the law cover and to what extent they will be implemented.

However, it might be a taboo for a politician to actually talk in specifics.