Guns and books

Things don't add up. Firearm background checks are supposed to be way up. Guns are supposed to be selling like crazy. However, I know for a fact that one major firearms manufacturer is laying off a lot of people. Maybe it's a simple case of over production that capitalism is well known for. Maybe, yet they've gutted the engineering staff, the people who are supposed to be designing the products of the future. Seems to me these are the guys you'd want to keep around. New product designing has come to a screeching halt.

Maybe it's one company's bad business decisions, but it doesn't fit with the overall story the main stream media is putting out.

I'm wondering. Was the latest mass shooting in another “gun free zone?” Maybe they should be renamed “defense free zones.” I never feel safe in those businesses where firearms are prohibited. All those signs say to me is: soft target. You don't see terrorist shootings at the local gun range.

I've just finished reading Voyage, After the Collapse, by Scott B Williams. It's the most recent installment in his Pulse series. It's an EMP disaster series. It's great for those of us who like both survival fiction and anything to do with small boats. For me there's the added bonus of having sailed in some of the same waters the story takes place in.

The book was enjoyable. Williams's fiction writing is improving. My biggest quibble is that the book seemed too short. Things were just getting really interesting when it came to a sudden end. I'm going to buy the next book anyway. No need for cliff hangers to keep me coming back.

One thing that came through loud and clear in the book was that in a total collapse situation there are those with firearms and then there are victims. Of course, we aren't in a massive EMP situation right now. Our slow collapse is uneven.

One of the states I dive though on my way south is Massachusetts. I can legally pass through the state with a firearm if certain conditions are met. For example, the gun and ammo have to be locked away separately. With my converted ambulance that meant installing a small safe for the guns and using the old drug locker for ammo storage. Right now carrying a gun in some states puts me in more danger from law enforcement than criminals.

99% of the time being safe on the water doesn't take a firearm. Situational awareness, a bright spot light, wasp repellent, and a machete can handle most security issues. I have carried a gun on my boat in the past. Florida recognizes New Hampshire's concealed carry permit. Mainly I had it so pythons in the Everglades wouldn't eat the dog. I'll just let everyone guess if I'm carrying a gun this year or not.

-Sixbears