Popular Posts

9/26/2013

2A and the City - Loss of a Gun Guy and my Rifle

By Lauren

a girl and her gun as she fights for her right to bear arms in New York City
After my last post, I realized that I left out a lot. Specifically, I felt I should share, how I got my rifle and why I am going to all the trouble of register it and getting it back. Two years ago I fell in love with shooting through my aunt. She lives about 3 hours outside of New York City and is a total gun girl. Because I live in the city and am therefore limited, I started taking bi-monthly weekend trips to go shooting with my aunt. She introduced me to some awesome people, including her instructor, a contestant from Season 4 of Top Shot. Not only was I finding a new hobby that made me completely happy, but I was grateful to be learning from America's best. Soon I was attending Second Amendment rallies in Albany and helping to plan the First Annual Women's Concealed Carry Fashion Show.

My aunt didn’t only inspire a love for shooting, she also introduced me to a Long Island gun guy who became my boyfriend. We dated for a little while before he asked me to move in. Right before I changed my address, we began shopping for a rifle for me. I found one that fit me to a T... the Savage Mark II BSEV .22LR. At first I thought it was beautiful only because it was pink, however, after reading reviews and learning more, I knew that I wanted it to be my first rifle. At the time, my boyfriend, a competitor and firearms instructor, (as well as a former Top Shot competitor) was getting endorsements from different firearm companies and dealers and was able to work something out with Savage. He made the purchase using money I had transfered to him which was a huge help to a young twenty something like myself, who could never have afforded such a quality gun at its regular price. The second he brought it home from the dealer, I was smitten!

Every day when I got home, I shot my rifle and took it on every road trip my boyfriend and I took. When I taught classes, not only did the women want to shoot it, but the men would fighting over it too! Soon I got my new license in the mail with my new address. Everything was going great. A few months later, my boyfriend and I started going through some problems which lead to a bad break up. It wasn’t violent, just ugly, as many break ups can be, but most of all it was sad. When I went back to the home that we shared about a week after it was decided, I gathered the rest of my belongings and I made sure to take my rifle. I knew that I couldn't bring it back to my home in Staten Island as it is part of the County of the City of New York, so I left it with a friend on Long Island.

At the time, there was no SAFE Act. I was not worried that I would run into an issue registering it in the city. I knew I should have made moves to register it sooner, but within three days of the final move, New York City got hit with its most devastating hurricane in decades, Sandy. This occupied much of my work time, due to the fact that I work as a first responder, though in my spare time I was also helping friends and co-workers who had lost everything.

But wait! There’s more! In December, I was accepted into Paramedic Basic Training, an extremely competitive program of which I was honored to be a part. The program the involves taking me off of working on the ambulance and condenses a two year program into nine months at a training academy in Bay Side, Queens. It involves an intense amount of studying and clinical rotations. (This is also a reason I haven't been able to write much lately.)

Understandably, priorities shifted, but I still am struggling to try and register my rifle. I have eight weeks left in my program, and once it is finished my rifle will be in it's home again (in my cabinet in my bedroom)! But until then I will continue to fight for my Second Amendment Right, the right of all American citizens that many of us take for granted. We need to remember it's a constant fight we will REFUSE to lose.

Those of you who have seen this movie, will understand =)
"This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen." - Full Metal Jacket

©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

No comments:

Post a Comment