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LeMat Revolver – Loading & Firing
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Just because! NSFW
Monterey Park, California was in the headlines back in January when a man opened fire at a Chinese New Year celebration at a local dance facility, killing 11 people. Now the town is making news again with council members approving an ordinance prohibiting gun sales from taking place within 1,000 feet of “sensitive receptors” like schools and private dwellings; placing most of the community off-limits to lawful firearm transfers.
“I know that as a parent and as a teacher in this community, I think that it is very important to keep our families and our residencies and also our schools safe,” said Mayor Jose Sanchez before casting his vote. “This is one way, I think, for us to try to send a message to not just our community but to our nation as a whole of the necessary measures that we need when it comes to gun control.
The only message that Monterey Park is sending is that its leaders are eager and willing to violate the fundamental civil rights of its residents by making it harder for them to lawfully purchase and possess a firearm. Maybe a near-total prohibition on gun sales is the “necessary measure” that Sanchez thinks is needed, but in taking this step the mayor and city council are basically acknowledging that none of California’s current restrictions, including “universal” background checks and a 10-day waiting period on all gun transfers, are keeping criminals away from guns.
Not that the new ordinance is going to stop those criminals either. They’ll continue to get ahold of guns through the same illicit means they always have; theft, straw purchases, black market sales, and even crafting their own. And for now, at least, a few retailers already operating inside the city limits will still be allowed to conduct business, though it sounds like there are more restrictions on the horizon.
Locally, there are a few retailers already in the area considered not compliant with these 1,000-foot buffer zones, but their existence before the ordinance is considered “legal non-conforming” and are allowed to remain. Neither EuroArms on West Valley Boulevard nor Caps Armory on Monterey Pass Road elected to comment. A call to Big 5 on South Atlantic Boulevard corporate office had not been returned.
For some council members, the new ordinance, months in the making, was only the first step.
Councilmember Thomas Wong proposed an effort to collaborate countywide to expand the buffer zone restrictions to more cities.
“Maybe we can look at efforts to encourage (Los Angeles) to pass it and share this ordinance language and the research with our neighboring cities to encourage them to adopt similar restrictions in their own communities, so that a store doesn’t open up just outside of our borders that otherwise would not be allowed to open up,” he said.
Clearly Wong isn’t just trying to limit gun stores from operating in areas of Monterey Park zoned for commercial use. If he’s talking about getting other communities in Los Angeles County to put similar restrictions in place, he’s hoping to turn the entirety of L.A. County into a “health protection zone” where sales can be banned outright. As it is, L.A. County supervisors have imposed a ban on gun stores in unincorporated areas of the county located within 1,000 feet of schools, daycares, parks, and other FFLs, so Wong is well on his way to getting his wish.
Will this make Monterey Park free of guns or crime? Absolutely not. Chicago and Washington, D.C. are just two examples of major metropolitan areas that have no retail gun stores inside their city limits and more than their share of violent crimes, and if L.A. County officials ever decided to do the same I don’t think the results would be any different.
The senseless murders in Monterey Park were horrifying, but responding to this terrible crime by making it harder for responsible residents to exercise their fundamental right to armed self-defense is an awful approach. Not only does this move violate the fundamental civil liberties of those who live there, but in doing so it makes the community a more inviting target in the future for those violent criminals who prefer their victims be unarmed and defenseless.
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Some more Red Hot Gospel there!
Every deer hunter knows from whence I speak. It starts as your heartbeat quickens and blood pressure skyrockets to astronomical levels at the unmistakable rustling of dry leaves. You know darn well it’s the trophy buck you’ve caught glimpses of while driving to work early in the morning or standing out in the field at sunset as you return home.
You’re cagey enough not to turn your head, for fear of scaring the buck, so you continue sitting statue still. Slowly, the rustling gets louder as the buck gets closer. He’s close enough now that you “snick” your safety off but keep your finger off the trigger. Slowly, the rustling is to your left, perfect for a right-hand shot. Just a few more steps and the buck of a lifetime will be in your field of view.
You try with all your might to keep your heart from exploding and your wits about you, to hold your rifle steady as you imagine placing your crosshairs snug behind the shoulder as the buck unknowingly saunters by. He’ll never know what hit him, you sheepishly grin to yourself. Then it happens!
Your buck isn’t a buck after all. Somehow, he’s managed to morph into a Boone & Crocket sized squirrel scurrying around at daybreak. Your body dumps all the pent-up adrenaline you’ve been holding back, as you disappointedly “snick” your safety back “on” and give the squirrel your best stink eye.
Scenes like this play out during hunting season thousands of times a year, fooling hunters everywhere. If it hasn’t happened to you, you’re fooling yourself. It’s no wonder frustrated hunters hate squirrels for getting their hopes up high.
Sure, I’ve hunted squirrels, eaten them, fed them, and watched them raid our bird feeders and garden during the year. My wife and I even joke we have the best fed squirrels in the neighborhood. But they’re still no buck.
Getting Hands-On
Speaking of squirrels, we had a large pin oak tree that had seen better days. At full maturity, its lifespan was declining. Bores, along with a fatal fungus, started the decaying process. The bark peeled, exposing the wood. As the decay continued, we knew we needed to cut the large oak before a strong wind knocked it over.
A few calls, some estimates, and we had a date. A large crane was used to attach large limbs as they were cut and safely lowered to the ground. It only took three hours to have the entire tree cut down.
We also knew there were still two nests in the tree. But we weren’t sure if there were babies or not. Who wants to evict a nest full of baby squirrels? We sure didn’t.
Sure enough, the tree cutter gingerly lowered a large branch to the ground with three baby squirrels in it. My wife retrieved a box and scooped part of the nest and the babies into the box. She then called an animal rescue about how to proceed with the newly orphaned babies.
The rescue lady told my wife that mother squirrels in particular, are wonderful mothers and to place the babies in a box with a sock full of heated rice to keep them warm, along with some of the nesting material. She continued to then place the box near the tree.
I’ll admit I was skeptical, but we set the box on one of the freshly cut stumps and left it alone. Half an hour later momma squirrel returned, retrieving each baby by the scruff of the neck, taking them to the back-up nest in our neighbor’s yard.
Thinking our rescue was over, my wife dumped the remaining nesting material consisting of shredded leaves, sticks and some cotton from this past years Christmas decorations in the front yard into our garden. About a half hour later my wife told a friend about the adventure and went out to take a picture of the nesting material. It was gone! I guess momma squirrel needed more nesting material for the new home and took advantage of the old material.
Perplexing Paradox
I’ll admit those baby squirrels were too stinking cute to do anything but rescue. This all ties into one of the biggest paradoxes known to man. Killing what you love to sustain yourself while enjoying nature during hunting season. Hunting is conservation and keeps the animals in check.
If it’s not hunting season, most hunters bend over backwards to help wildlife in need. Even in-season, sporting hunters help animals, choosing to pass on vulnerable critters. It’s called being a sportsman. Hunters I know with land all have a “hands-off” policy on home-range critters. These animals are practically “pet-like” and considered off limits.