Setting Up Shop

I don't blog.

Or, more accurately, I haven't paid attention to blogging in the past because it always felt too much like being put into a room and babbling to myself. Much of that was probably the fact that I don't really know how to set one up. Over the past few days I've been playing around with different things, though, and I'm starting to get the feel for it.

After the initial set up, I figured out how to add links to other sites and the two most important ones I can think of right now have been added. This first is a link to the best forum on the web for gun owners who live in North Carolina, and the second is probably the most important one in terms of the rights of NC gun owning citizens.

First,the premier web forum for North Carolina's gun owners:

NCGunOwners

NCGO has established itself as the best forum for all things related to gun ownership in NC. What started as a simple message board for NC specifically has now grown to be accepted as the place to be. What makes it different from other forums? Well, simply put, it's more like a gathering of friends at a range than it is a web site. The most important factor is the quality of it's members.

Other forums are filled with members who seem to like nothing better than to flame others, post their wisdom while berating others, and generally be a straight-up pain in the ass. Knowing they probably won't get their ass kicked for their words, they are free to demean whoever it is they feel like. The web is littered with countless forums that no longer retain their original charm due to these people.

At NCGO, that kind of thing is simply not allowed. There, all gun owners are invited to post their opinions without having to put up with ass-monkeys who feel that their opinion is just a little more important that anyone else's. Much like a bar patron who's had ten too many drinks that night, those kind of people are kindly shown the door.

Other than the atmosphere, the site is filled with people who not only own guns, but actually shoot them, too. That's an important distinction. Many members from around the state gather regularly to meet at ranges or simply for dinner with each other.

It's these kinds of things that separate the men from the boys in terms of open forums. It's always the little things that make a difference and in the case of NCGO, I don't think us carriers in NC will find a finer home.

Come on in, kick your shoes off, and have a seat at the table. Check them out and I'm sure you'll find yourself a new home.

The next link is to the most important group in NC in terms of the strengthening of your 2A rights, Grass Roots North Carolina.

GRNC

GRNC is what the NRA should be, but at the local level. No other group out there does as much to secure and retain our rights under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.

Created in 1994, GRNC has been both the shield and the sword for our 2A rights. The group is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving gun ownership in our state. It was instrumental in bringing concealed carry to NC, as well as highly influential in securing passage of the most recent laws enacted under HB650 (Castle Doctrine, etc) which took effect Dec 1st, 2011. If there was a beneficial changing of a restrictive gun law or a repeal of some regulation in terms of gun rights in NC, you can bet that GRNC was involved, and in more ways than we'll know.

The group is heavily involved with legislation at the state level, but also helps in local situations where gun owners are unfairly targeted through local ordinances. It's not easy work and every last minute of it is both paid for and accomplished through volunteer work and donations. These are people who spend their own time hand-carrying legislation through the halls of the NC General Assembly, spend countless hours remaining in contact with State Legislators, give up their own vacation time to insure that legislation doesn't get buried, and spend their own weekends working the booths at gun shows around the state.

While other organizations at the national level are traditionally more easily recognized, GRNC is the one group in NC that actually works full-time to secure the rights we hold so dear. It's no exaggeration to say that GRNC is the one group primarily responsible for the "freedoms" we have in terms of gun ownership in North Carolina. Restrictive gun laws are not repealed on their own, and you can damn sure bet that it's not the Legislators in Raleigh who think of these things on their own.

When it comes to legislation that affects our state's gun owners, it's not magic that gets things done, it's the hard work of the volunteers at GRNC. There's no mystical pixie dust that can be spread on the heads of politicians that make them see the light. Instead, it's the efforts of people just like you who volunteer their time to get things done.

Visit their website today and see how you can help the effort. Change for the better is not going to simply happen by chance. We have to make a dedicated and concerted effort to accomplish our goals.

Genesis

Here I begin a room to being making sense of the unending controversy of our rights under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. How something so seemingly simple can become so overwhelmingly convoluted was, at first, a bit confusing. But then you begin to search out the forces behind the movement to completely remove this right and you begin to understand things a little better.

This room is created for me to step out of the normal realm of internet forums, town hall meetings, the various news mediums, and away from every other form of communication and catch my breath. It'll mostly be my thoughts and writings, but anyone is welcome to chime in. There's no guarantee that I'll acknowledge your contributions, but anyone is welcome to contribute. Giving a shit about what other people say is a game I play elsewhere. Here, it's my world.

More specifically, I'll keep much of the focus here on firearms related news in the state of North Carolina. The good, the bad, and the utterly ridiculous will come to light here. Some of it will matter to anyone reading, and some of it will induce yawning. Either way, We'll try to make sense of some of the idiocy that prevails and also give a round of applause to those people or groups that work hard every day in the defense of our rights.

That said, no one man can effect the change needed to prevail against so many who are opposed to a fundamental inherent right which was specifically noted at the documented beginning of the United States. No one, least of all me, is so delusional to think that we can do this alone.

United we stand, divided we fall. It really it that simple.

Onward...