This post from Bitter got me to thinking about a related issue concerning firearms.  I’m pondering the ramifications of giving access to a firearm during a training session to a person who has been prescribed antidepressants.  Texas law is certainly not clear (at least to me) on this issue, but more importantly, I want to be as careful as possible.  In fact, Texas law only addresses this issue in relation to the CHL statutes in a section on whether “a person is incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun” (Section 411.172, Subsection d of the Texas Government Code).  Further, it never addresses the issue of depression or treatment for depression.  Instead, it includes this catch-all phrase (Section 411.172(d)(1)):

has been diagnosed by a licensed physician as suffering from a psychiatric disorder or condition that causes or is likely to cause substantial impairment in judgment, mood, perception, impulse control, or intellectual ability;

This one will definitely require more thought.  On one side, you don’t want to give access to a gun to someone who could be suicidal.  At the same time, you also don’t want to deny knowledge of gun handling to someone who is actually interested (either for safety or self-protection reasons).

Update:  Another thought occurred to me after I wrote this.  I wonder if any gun owners have avoided getting help for depression for fear of losing their CHLs (or even their guns).

At least I was able to hit the range today after work and play with my Springfield and Kimber.  There is something almost zen-like about shooting.  It was hot and stuffy in the range, but I didn’t notice until I quit shooting.  Shooting forces you to concentrate on the gun and the target—putting all that other crap out of your mind.

I’m sure that the decision by Cincinnati to drop its lawsuit against gun makers has been seen by everyone already, since it was linked by Instapundit.

However, I’m glad to see that they’re coming to their senses.  It was a stupid lawsuit.  It’s just too bad that it took them 4 years to realize it.  But then I guess I shouldn’t expect too much from politicians.

I went to the range today and spent most of the time trying to figure out what was wrong with my Witness .45 Tactical.  It had developed the habit of misfeeding on the next-to-last round in the magazine.  I purchased a new magazine recently and it seemed to function fine for the first 100 rounds.  However, in the next 50 rounds it started doing it even with the new magazine, except on the third round remaining.  As an experiment I let the gun sit and cool between sessions and the problem seemed to go away.  I’m suspecting that it’s some weird combination that happens when the gun gets hot.  Or maybe I should just take it to a gunsmith instead of wasting all that time.

Today was a weird day.  I guess I was tired and I’ve had a lot on my mind, but I felt like I was just going through the motions, and my marksmanship was OK, but not up to par for me.  Maybe part of it was that I was disappointed that a friend of mine couldn’t make it because of car trouble.  Who knows, but something’s definitely wrong if I’m not having fun at the range.

Kim du Toit delivers one of the best lines I’ve seen in a while:

Bottom line for the parents: you were careless, twice. You didn’t teach the boy respect for a loaded gun, and you left a loaded gun where the boy could find it. Welcome to the Darwin Channel on Real Life TV.

I will never cease to be amazed at the lack of responsiblity displayed by some people.  Guns don’t “just go off” unless someone just pulls the damn trigger.  There’s no mystery about it.

I have no sympathy for someone who says, “the gun just went off.”  And before I’m accused of being a heartless bastard, I think it’s time that people started taking responsiblity for their actions.  Sometimes that means that we have to say the hard things even though people’s feelings will be hurt.

We tend to get so wrapped up in the media pity party that we forget that it’s people who are responsible for what happens (not inanimate objects).  If this fourteen year old wasn’t responsible enough to be around a firearm, then the parent had a duty to keep the firearm away from him (actually, I’d argue that the duty was to train him in proper gun handling and usage, but that’s an argument for another day).

To conclude a rather crappy day my trip to the range was foiled by a power outage at Bass Pro Shops.  At that point, I decided to hell with everything and came home.

My cigars and that bottle of Jack are calling me….

This weekend at the gun show I couldn’t resist acquiring a Marlin Camp Carbine (.45ACP).  I probably paid a bit too much for it, but it is in almost new condition.  The bore doesn’t look like it’s been used at all, and it looks like it still has the original grease in the action.  From what I could tell, the original owner fired it a little but probably didn’t clean it.  I’ve written to Marlin for a manual so I can take it down and clean it before I try to fire it.  I’ve gotten in the habit of field-stripping and cleaning all new guns before I fire them.  It’s most helpful with a used gun, as it gives you a chance to verify that all the parts are in good condition before the first firing.

See the link above for pictures.

Imagine you’re the president.  You’ve waged a war despite the naysaying and obstructionist policies of the rest of the world and come out on top.  Your approval ratings are high.  As long as the country’s economy doesn’t go completely to hell in the next year, you’ve got a lock on the 2004 election.

So, what do you do next?  How about pissing off one of your major constituencies?  One that is single-mindedly dedicated to a single issue.  One that votes.  One with an advocacy organization that has 5 million members.

It was unlikely that the law would get renewed.  All you had to do was shut your mouth and just wait for September, 2004 and do nothing.  But no, you just had to step on the Presidential wang with your golf spikes, didn’t you?

I didn’t vote for you in 2000, but I was giving you the benefit of the doubt for 2004 (provided that you didn’t support Patriot II or try to make the Patriot act permanent).  If this nonsense continues I will simply sit out the elections or vote for someone else as a protest. 

Link via Instapundit.

More commentary:
Kim du Toit
The Bitch Girls

My conference ended early today and I met Kim du Toit at DFW Gun Range for some shooting.

Kim let me try his Marlin Camp Carbine (.45 ACP).  It was a really nice gun.  It isn’t too long or heavy and it doesn’t beat you up with recoil.  I think a bug has been planted.  One of these days I may have to obtain one.

Of course, turnabout is fair play.  Kim seemed to enjoy my Ruger Single-Six and expressed interest in getting one of his own.

Update: Of course, just because I went to the range today doesn’t mean that I won’t go to my usual session on Friday after work.  Hmmm…. I may need to order more ammo…

Tonight was range night.  I think I may have eye strain from too much time at the computer over the past week.  I was suffering from CSS¹-induced CHS² syndrome.  Out to 30 feet the target was too blurry to be useful, although by the end of the hour I was seeing a little better, though my main problem is seeing the front sight, which is the most important factor in handgun shooting (I’m far-sighted).

To add to the fun, the Kimber started ejecting spent casings straight back, hitting me right smack in the forehead three times (which is fairly unpleasant with .45ACP).  It tended to induce a bit of flinch.

Next week will be better.

¹CSS – Can’t See Shit
²CHS – Can’t Hit Shit