Well, I had an interesting experience today. My wife had asked me to give some sort of talk at her church social club. I said I would, and she asked me what the title would be. I said "Pieces of History." I explained that I would really like to clear it with the pastor first, and tell him what I was about. I did, and he did.
In actuality, the talk was about the standard rifles used in each of our wars from the Civil War to the present day. About 60 people showed up, not knowing what to expect. I had the rifles laid out on a table covered with a blanket, and I didn't uncover them until after the lunch which preceded my talk.
I thought it my duty to explain to the non-gun-people that guns aren't evil and that they don't need to be feared, only respected. It's people that are sometimes evil, not inanimate tools.
I covered eight guns which represented those used in our major conflicts, beginning with the Civil War (1855 Rifle Musket), Indian Wars (1879 trapdoor Springfield carbine), Spanish-American War (1896 Krag carbine), the Mexican punitive expedition and the First World War (1903 Springfield), WWII and Korea (M1 rifle), Vietnam (M14 and M16A1/AR-15), and Iraq/Afghanistan (M4/AR-15 carbine).
I was really pleased that the talk generated a lot of interest, even among those who did not know squat about guns. I hope they learned some history and to appreciate the guns that made history. I had fun doing it. Here are some pics from the talk:
Guns in church? Sure. In Arizona we're a gun-friendly state. I'm not sure this would have worked well in some other locales. At any rate, It wasn't your average church social, and I had some fun.
John
In actuality, the talk was about the standard rifles used in each of our wars from the Civil War to the present day. About 60 people showed up, not knowing what to expect. I had the rifles laid out on a table covered with a blanket, and I didn't uncover them until after the lunch which preceded my talk.
I thought it my duty to explain to the non-gun-people that guns aren't evil and that they don't need to be feared, only respected. It's people that are sometimes evil, not inanimate tools.
I covered eight guns which represented those used in our major conflicts, beginning with the Civil War (1855 Rifle Musket), Indian Wars (1879 trapdoor Springfield carbine), Spanish-American War (1896 Krag carbine), the Mexican punitive expedition and the First World War (1903 Springfield), WWII and Korea (M1 rifle), Vietnam (M14 and M16A1/AR-15), and Iraq/Afghanistan (M4/AR-15 carbine).
I was really pleased that the talk generated a lot of interest, even among those who did not know squat about guns. I hope they learned some history and to appreciate the guns that made history. I had fun doing it. Here are some pics from the talk:
Guns in church? Sure. In Arizona we're a gun-friendly state. I'm not sure this would have worked well in some other locales. At any rate, It wasn't your average church social, and I had some fun.
John
)
