Friday, July 22, 2011

A Fun Night Out

Last night I went to a meeting held by an organization that is very active in preserving and fighting for the rights of gun owners in my state.

I loved it.

I loved every minute of it.

I may be in some kind of honeymoon state, that might wear off soon, but I sure hope not because I am having way too much fun.

The meeting was pretty basic, the president called it to order, gave a brief overview of the evening, then turned it over to someone else.

Elections are coming up, so a few candidates spoke.  None from my district, but I was still encouraged by the things they said they stood for.  All of them spoke about fighting actively for the Castle Doctrine and that made me very happy.

I would say there is no real way to know if they mean what they say, but I think this group is pretty thorough in vetting those they stand behind. 

Then a gentleman spoke about his youth rifle shooting team.

LOVED THIS!!

I absolutely loved seeing these kids!!  They were being taught about so much more than guns, but let's face it, the gun part was way cool.  Not a cheap sport to get into though.

Money aside, I think my 8 year old would love to get involved in something like this someday.

Unfortunately, being the mother of 5, I had kid drama mid-evening.  Phone calls to my husband and text messages to me and well, we left the meeting earlier than we had hoped to head back to Shangri-La where I dawned my referee suit and settle a whole host of issues.

We drove a little over an hour to the meeting and one of the guys joked, "That is a long drive.  These meetings are not that exciting."

I said, "yeah I might not ever go to another one, but I am coming to this one."  And, I don't know if I will go to another one, but I am glad I went to that one.  It was fun and very informative.

Generally people meet at Starbucks before the meeting, then attend the meeting and then go to a restaurant after.  Since we had to leave early we did not make it to the restaurant, but we did make it to Starbucks before hand.

Let me take you back to the beginning.  Pre-teenage drama.

As luck would have it, there was zero traffic and we arrived in a timely manner, so we beat the people we were suppose to meet.

We went into the coffee shop, ordered our iced soy lattes(no judging) and waited.  Ok, I waited and my man went to the little boys room.  But if he asks, it was the big boys room.

As I waited, 2 gentlemen came in, open carrying, and walked up to the counter to order.

The young kid making my coffee, looked at me and said "oh boy, here we go, guns."

I said, "Don't worry, we won't shoot you."

He looked me up and down and was completely perplexed.

I was also open carrying and can only assume that I looked so not like a gun person he did not notice the Glock 27 on my hip.



I turned so he could see my gun and he just shook his head and said "Oh, no."

I said, "Your fine, I swear, we will not shoot."

He said, "Promise?"

Me, "Yes, I promise."

He said, "If a bad guy comes in, will you still protect me?"

I said, "Of course, yes, absolutely."

A few minutes goes by, he looks at me, laughs and says, "What are the odds?"

I giggled, smiled, grabbed my coffee and went to find a seat.

I love this because even though I did nothing, I think I might have, inadvertently, helped this kid see that people with guns are not so scary.

If you have read this blog very long then you know I am a big fan of conceal carry, but I am starting to see the positive side to, every once in a while, leaving my Glock out for all the world to see.

I met some very nice people, learned some interesting things about people who hope to be involved in running my state, drank some killer coffee, possibly helped break a stereotype, and all this before 10pm and in 100 degree heat.

All in all, a fine way to spend a few hours.

6 comments:

  1. That's a great story! I would love to get involved with something like that once I am done with school. I have a patient who open carries, and at first it was a bit strange, but now it's just like he's carrying a cell phone. But people will literally move away from him in the waiting room when he comes in. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but people see his gun and freak out. I am not sure I am ready for that YET.

    I am SO sad, though. Hubby broke his toe in four places at work last night, so we can't go to the range tomorrow like we were planning. Ah well, I'll get to shoot my new gun eventually...*sigh* Have a great weekend!

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  2. That is awesome! I just love it. It seems like you made a new friend and that poor kid probably got his ideals changed a little. My favorite line is, 'He said, "If a bad guy comes in, will you still protect me?"' What a great night!!

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  3. You look so cool sitting out there in your shades. It is funny how peoples perception of you (or your gender) change when they find you have a gun. I remember going to a large chain outdoor supply store a few months ago. They had a big sign up that if you were bringing a firearm in please check in at customer service. So... I trotted myself over to the counter and announced I had a pistol and that I was going Back to the gun counter. The young man at the counter 'bout passed out! He had to call his supervisor (who was female) over. After he stumbled through the explanation that had a pistol and what I was doing and where I was going, the supervisor just said OK just keep it unloaded and happy shopping. The young clerk kept saying "I never met a girl with a gun before". I don't know if he ever recovered!

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  4. Oh,no Andrea, that is awful...both for his poor toe and that not shooting thing, well, that is down right tragic. Hope he is heals quickly for both your sakes:)

    @That Texas Lady,I kind of felt bad promising to protect him cuz, I thought afterward, I hope I am capable of doing what I am promising...lol

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  5. It's true, I don't know what people's perceptions are of guns owners, but they certainly do not seem to be picturing conservative(or even not conservative) women of any size, shape, or status.

    It's good to help them see light.

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  6. I think that falls back to the women are sweet, kind, nurturing stereotype. Good for you, showing him that you can be sweet, fun and carry a gun perfectly safely! Thanks for doing that.

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