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Boston Globe: The nation of the armed

Raoul Duke said:
What's odd is that it doesn't really go anywhere. There are no real conclusions. The only thing out of the ordinary (and positive) is that she explains to the sheeple that there really is a sane rational world out there more concerned with why she hasn't wanted a gun till now than why she wants one at all.
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Must be she didn't finish the article due to budgets at the Globe. [rofl]
 
Steve-O said:
I was certainly excited when I got my first set of car keys. Don't remember if I was trembling, but I was certainly excited (just wasn't the nervous excitement associated with a firearm).
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And the great irony is you held much greater killing potential with the car keys than with any firearm.
 
ScottS said:
And the great irony is you held much greater killing potential with the car keys than with any firearm.
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So true. Yet it helps to underscore the point that too many people associate guns with what they see on TV = a tool that only criminals use to kill other people.


Articles like this are promising. The writer seemed to take neither a pro-gun nor an anti-gun stance and went about documenting her experience. In my mind, it will only help to de-mystify firearms.

I can picture the perfect example of someone in Cambridge reading this curled up in their favorite recliner tonight and saying to themselves: "Hmm, if this defenseless little woman was able to embrace the idea of a firearm, why can't I?"
 
I think the writer did a very good job writing the piece. She stated her preconceived notions, then stated the process she experienced and corrected here original mistaken ideas in print.

I give her props for that! Also, getting it published un molested in the BG must have taken a lot of skill!

It would be nice if she had a knowledgeable gun person review the article before publishing. She makes it seem like a Mass resident can just drive up to NH and buy a handgun without first having a MA LTC. Also, she makes it sound like it is easy to get an LTC in Cambridge (just pay the $100)! We know that it is very hard to get an LTC in Cambridge, and she could have explained the various restrictions she was sure to get if she carried this to the end. She could also learn how nearly impossible it is to get one in Boston.

In the future, she should check her facts.

Hopefully she will continue the path here. I hope she applies for the LTC in Cambridge, goes thru whatever they make her go thru, waits for the LTC, tries to find out what is holding it up, finally gets it and writes about the restrictions imposed on her, goes to buy a gun, has to buy storage equipment, cleaning equipment, join a gun club, and learn how to shoot well. It could turn into a very interesting series of articles, and could dispell a lot of wrong rumors people have about how easy it is to get and use a handgun in MA!
 
She looks rather stern.


& isn't that just duckey - a published mystery writer who'd never fired a gun. She's WRITING about people shooting but has no practical idea what she's talking about. I mean WTF, if this is your genre, make the effort BEFORE you publish your first book to do a little first hand research.


Kudos to her for making the effort I suppose. Better late then never. That stuff bothers me though. I'm not suggesting all authors must have fully lived what they write about, but at least make an effort to experience a piece of it. I mean you'd think someone writing about a fighter pilot would have at least taken a flying lesson - in the same way someone writing a mystery should have at least shot a gun once.
 
Bob P said:
& isn't that just duckey - a published mystery writer who'd never fired a gun. She's WRITING about people shooting but has no practical idea what she's talking about. I mean WTF, if this is your genre, make the effort BEFORE you publish your first book to do a little first hand research.
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I understand you are using a broad brush on this topic, but just to be a thorn.........what about science fiction writers? Stephen King? Tom Clancy?
 
Steve-O said:
I understand you are using a broad brush on this topic, but just to be a thorn.........what about science fiction writers? Stephen King? Tom Clancy?
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I am indeed using a broad brush but:

Clancy researches his a$$ off before writing. He's never served but he's done what he can to experience as much as possible.

Most of the best SF writers have a hard science background.

I'm not saying you need to be a cop to write mysteries, but considering firearms play more then a casual role in most mysteries and adding in how easy it is (if you make the effort) to get some experience shooting it seems pretty remiss NOT to make that effort if that's your chosen genre and you're serious about writing.
 
No Looking Backwards said:
Come on guys, this is the Boston Globe we're talking about here. By their standards, and track record on this subject, this was a pretty good column.

RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
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I actually agree here. She highlighted that being a legal gun owner in MA is not easy or quick. If she simply fixed the misinformation about buying a gun in NH, it would be pretty factual.

As a piece of writing though, it's piss poor. Where's the conclusion?
 
I like your question "how are the poor supposed to arm themselves" referring to Menino's boston ordinances and the high barrier to entry caused by all the fees and laws.
 
08livesey.jpg


...........shivers..............
 
rep308 said:
This from the newspaper who SINCE [STRIKE]in[/STRIKE] the late 70's had an editorial campaign to ban handguns in the state.
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I corrected it for you. [thinking]

JohnM said:
I remember distinctly how disappointed I was when my dad first let me shoot a 22 Marlin when I was 10 and found out it had zero recoil. I trembled with sadness! [grin]
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EC is that you? Did you hi-jack JohnM's account? [wink] [rofl]

Bob P said:
& isn't that just duckey - a published mystery writer who'd never fired a gun. She's WRITING about people shooting but has no practical idea what she's talking about. I mean WTF, if this is your genre, make the effort BEFORE you publish your first book to do a little first hand research.


Kudos to her for making the effort I suppose. Better late then never. That stuff bothers me though. I'm not suggesting all authors must have fully lived what they write about, but at least make an effort to experience a piece of it. I mean you'd think someone writing about a fighter pilot would have at least taken a flying lesson - in the same way someone writing a mystery should have at least shot a gun once.
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Is that like a legislator who should at least try to read, understand gun laws before writing new ones? Perhaps even have touched one before writing a law that would ban "evil features"? [rolleyes] [thinking]
 
As a former teacher, I knew of many more accidental shootings, shooting by a family member during a time of an argument, and suicides by children and young adults than the very rare occasion where a gun may have helped someone. If the gun wasn't in the home most or all of these kids would be alive. Now, as a health care worker, what I see is even more alarming. The ratio of those hurt by having the gun compared with self protection is so sad. I do think many women at college or who live or work in dangerous places should carry mace. But before owning a gun, think VERY carefully and ask yourself if there is a clear and present danger, can I meet my need for protection with something other than deadly force such as mace or even a tazer, and consider the real possibility that someone in your home might be harmed just by having the gun there.
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As a former teacher and now socialm service person making a comment in the article, how many things can you possibly post as lies or bullshit in one post?[puke] Dumb bitch doesn't know mace requires and FID and Tazers are illegal in MA!
 
I did just post a comment clarifying the fact that she probably did not get the certificate until after her range visit that she closed the article with. I also pointed out a benefit, besides the increased wound channel, of hollowpoints being the the reduced chanced of collateral damage by reduced criminal or wall penetration. I ended by stating that there are probably a number of licensed gun owners that would gladly take her to a club to see the sport of our hobby. If she emails me I may send a request to this audience for assitance. My skills (groupings) are probably not the best examples for Margot to write about.
 
Hanwei said:
Agreed. This is the 2nd firearms article in the Globe in the past month that has been gun-neutral. I'd almost go as far as to say this article was... positive [shocked]

I disagree with you guys that said this article had no point or conclusions. She says clearly that due to the increased gun violence in recent months she was curious what acquiring a firearm actually entailed in MA. Many readers who know nothing about firearms in MA might actually have the same curiosities. And she goes on to tell the sheep what she's learned. You have to realize that this article wasn't written for us gun owners in MA... it was written for the sheep, by a sheep... so in this context, I'd have to say it was pretty positive.

Her points that I took away were:

1. There's no quick way to legally acquire a firearm in MA.
2. A gun safety course is required before getting an LTC in MA.
3. Firearms instructors are thorough.

What she said she's realized:

1. That being a gun owner isn't that scary after all; It's actually quite fun to go shooting
2. Gun owner's point of view: It's not why would you want to protect yourself... it's why wouldn't you want to.

Pulitzer prize winning? No. But positive? I think so.

WEIRD. [grin]
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I have to agree. Given the context - this was a positive article. Instead of doing a Rosenthal - 'you can buy a gun on every street corner' bullshit piece -she actually did what a reporter is supposed to do - investigate the reality of what she is writing about - and she let it be known that MA has some of the toughest gun laws in the country.

So the next time some jackass (like Rosenthal) - or a politician, starts carping about how there are guns everywhere - pull this article out and shove it in their face and let them know that their very own Boston Globe said it just ain't so.

And yeah - she screwed up the New Hampshire stuff.
 
I got to the end, and was left going...and? If you said, "What's the main theme of this story?" I don't think I could come up with it. It just seemed like a (short) story retelling the purchase of a handgun.

I imagine you could tell the same story and substitute "driver's license" for "gun" without much change in the story. [thinking]
 
OK, I'm done in there. I've run out of cans of Whup-ass to open up on these dolts. Gotta hit Wal-mart for another case or two.

Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time some jackass regurgitated the "You don't need an Uzi (AK-47, M-16, bazooka, machine gun, RPG, 50-caliber heat-seeking bullet sprayer) to murder Bambi" nonsense, I'd have enough money to actually purchase some of the aforementioned hardware.
 

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