*** STOP: Before you read another word written below just stop because the article that i had written below was a bit of a 'knee-jerk' inspired instructional yet humorous yet realistic yet narrow perspective of what is a big problem at the moment in our country, whether anyone cares to dwell on it much based on their own perspectives or whether they have their feet firmly planted in the ground of our own opinions, whether folks care to consider the fact that when experts say things like 'mental health is on a sharp rise' due since covid, or if experts say things like 'lonliness and depression' , or 'anxiety and anger' are sorts of things that can be triggered by things like social isolation like what happened to zillions of people during covid policies... when experts say things like that and then other experts are saying things like 'there is a sharp uptick in violence and violent crime and crimes using firearms'... when different experts use their real expertise to report VERY IMPORTANT information and statistical data to prove what they are saying then it becomes VERY IMPORTANT TO ME to alert most normal people that if your loved one or your bro or your spouse seems to have taken a turn for the worse since covid or during other extremely stressful periods in their life you should understand that sometimes when some people that might mostly seem pretty normal have their life turned upside down when a big stressful thing happens to them that they weren't expecting to happen, well you should understand that if they own a firearm - gun or if they can easily access someone else's guns and you REALLY REALLY think that they know how to use that gun and if you really really think that they will probably use that gun for violence... when people find themselves in that sort of situation it is important that you don't just assume that 'everything is going to be OK', it's important for you to not just ignore those sorts of things, it's important for the people that understand how someone's current emotional state is extremely more important than whether or not they keep their guns for awhile or not. It's important for reasonable and responsible people to weigh the current mental/emotional state of the people that they are close to and help if they can, or seek outside help if they don't know what to do... if this sounds a bit strange of a concept let me give you an example of what i am talking about... a friend that i haven't seen or talked to in a while tells me that their spouse had changed the security codes that access their gun safe... my initial reaction is 'what! is that even constitutional? what kind of bullsh!t is that anyway', months later you learn that this friend was in a very point of their life and the spouse that loves and cares for them had recognized this and had sought outside help who had partly suggested that they should start by changing the codes on the gun safes... that low and painful period of time is over now and that friend is still struggling with some things but doesn't appear to be in that low point that they had been in a short while ago... i morally had to know that before I could give them back the firearm that they had me customizing for them, and that's an example of how something like that might work ... with that said feel free to read below, it might be informative for some people ...

04-06-2021: WARNING WARNING WARNING, this article will offend many readers and may even cause irreparable harm to an immature audience... cool... consider yourself warned.

I had a bit of experience with firearms prior to my short service with the US ARMY, not a ton, but enough that I did not fear them when it came time to train with them. Firearms at their core are tools, they are simple mechanical devices that can do many things, but at their core they are simple machines designed to aim and project objects toward another object with greater velocity than most humans are capable of projecting themselves, guns make things move wicked fast and hopefully wicked straight too, the best case scenario a firearm will hurl a heavy and hard object fast enough to dispatch/kill animals/humans and provide hours of entertainment making a tin can dance around the ground; I believe they were designed to kill things in order to feed people that didn't have a convenient store to purchase a frozen burrito in times of need, they were also designed for defensive measures, like to dispatch plundering invaders/thieves/deviant people who thrive off of victimizing more vulnerable people, and they were also developed to engage in warfare, they were enhanced to effectively mitigate opposition, but really you could do whatever you want an effective firearm to do with mentoring from someone smart, and a properly trained apprentice... if you train an apprentice with a well designed tool that apprentice can produce carvings and statues and totem-poles and shelters and mind-boggling displays of both form and factor... or that young apprentice can go on a mass killing spree and poke people in the neck, and punch through someone's eye into their brain, and slice through or puncture arteries, and disfigure and cause further mayhem... but maybe the adult/teacher could also instruct a kid that a knife (as well as many other things) can be useful tools to do many things in life as well as being a tool that could be used to inflict harm on another human, 'the knife is frickin sharp lad, so be careful would ya, and don't use it against another person unless they are trying to harm you or someone else, you could use it to defend yourself if you had to, but better to open the amazon box or open the hotdog packaging or the paper-towel plastic thing' might be some of the wisdom passed to another generation... there are many things that you could do with a knife... there are also many things that you can do with a 'butter knife' like maybe sharpening it beyond it's intended use and going on a killing spree... or just be normal and maybe spread some tasty butter on a warm piece of toast.

I love me a tool that can cut paper, turn a screw, cut a piece of wood, pick-out a splinter, or I can dispatch a village of vulnerable people with my sharp little tool, but at it's core it is really just a super-cool tool... well maybe the description of my awesome leatherman multi-tool sounds pretty useful until I explain the part that with proper training and a sharp object I could effectively dispatch most of my neighbors overnight... maybe I could go on a killing spree of harmless unsuspecting people with a damn fork and would the fork be the highlight of the news story, maybe the news story would focus on which labels I could be categorized under and why my tool-maker should be punished, maybe not forks in general but maybe just the certain fork that I had used to commit the horrific mass murder and the tool-maker that crafted my steele, how far stretched does that sound... I don't know but I can effectively remove the lives and the harmonious daily routine in a terrorist-like fashion with a dang pointy stick if I lost touch with reality and had convinced myself that harming other people was the right thing to do... man I can F-up a whole lotta people, and F-up a bunch of other people's emotions if I am convinced that a murderous rampage or destruction of a city or eliminating a nation is in order... let me find a belt, or a stick, or a nuclear bomb in my planning stage or just let me stumble across it during my insanity and watch what I can do with any of them... I can straight-out F you up ... if I am a deviant...

If I am a deviant I will turn any wisdom/understanding into a way to manipulate other people, I can get you to love me, lust me, follow me, worship me, do my dirty work, do other people's dirty work... a deviant can make other people do what they want them to do, and maybe the same or maybe some other deviants can reach boiling points where nothing matters anymore and it's time to kill... a deviant personality disregards the importance of humans and their lives and will find any matter of destroying their perceived obstacle... I can kill you with a rock or my fists and feet, or a stick, or a belt, or maybe even my car keys, does that bother you a little? Good, it should... let that set in, because it should... because deviant people exist, maybe they don't get to breaking points all that often but when they do they will use any tool at their disposal to commit their atrocities and everyone should understand that even though you might not have had a personal encounter with such deviants everyone should be aware that such people exist and that there are real dangers and threats in life, no need to be paranoid but there are real dangers in life. I don't know what it is exactly and what the predictors are exactly but I do know that there are many people that have no business owning a firearm, and I know there are laws at federal levels, and state-levels to prevent such people from obtaining such tools... OK, I keep calling firearms tools... I'll quit doing it and let me show you what I mean... the following scary and horrific images may shock many readers, but maybe stay with me and keep going forward here... the following images portray actual scary things that many people are very afraid of... it's my preferred tool for dispatching critters, popping balloons, occasionally blasting a soda can or two, keeping my training sharp, and giving me a sense of security for my family and against all enemies foreign and domestic... if you are not familiar with it then I am proud to be the one to introduce you to the Armalite model 15, just look at the picture below:

I warned you that it would be scary, so please do not freak out on me because I tried to warn you, but... Behold, the Armalite model 15. The version above is a bit different than the one that you might have paid to train me to use back in the late 80's, the one above is much more awesomerer. The rifle depicted above is comprised of many moving and working parts that harmoniously engage and function together to work as my preferred firearm of choice, they are pretty sweet. Honestly I didn't always like them... I was issued a few of these small machines over the course of my short military career, but they all kind of do the same thing, you put the mag in here, and pull this other thing and a cartridge gets seated in it's chamber and then when you move this dial thing this way it can now possibly BOOOOOOM! Yes, riffles and other firearms make a very loud BOOOOM when you pull an engaged trigger of a loaded/chambered AR-15... did I say loud, I mean like a damn BOMB loud, like good luck hearing me for the rest of the day loud when you fire-off a round from a firearm. A little .22 lr caliber firearm will make a loud sound, but a high-powered riffle like my 5.56 mm preferred favorite is crazy loud. I know this is all scary but if you can hang in there a little longer there are a couple of other things that I want to mention. Mention number A, let's break down an AR-15 to it's two most distinguishing parts, they are represented in the masterpiece below:

My apologies for frightening any viewers, I promise that I had this same talk with my kids and spouse and they haven't been pushed over their breaking point in fear so I hope that I may continue with my short entry-level lesson on the AR-15. If you have two parts, an upper receiver and a lower receiver, and if those parts are all built within certain specifications I can begin to swap-out this part with another similar part, and throw away this crappy piece of metal for another better newer piece of metal... remember you can look away in your horror at any given time, I do not want anyone having nightmares, my kids were OK with this lesson but many people are not as hardy as my three young kids so please use your own discretion and go to a different website at anytime if you are feeling overwhelmed or if your heart gets racing, or if I seem to trigger you in a way that feels unhealthy, please do not subject yourself to further torture, it's just wrong man. If you think you can hang in there for one more point try to do it, just try to, c'mon try man. OK, point letter 2, the upper receiver can be swapped out for another upper receiver of a different caliber/cartridge ... no, seriously, you can seriously take an existing 5.56 mm military standard upper receiver and pop on a different upper receiver that shoots a totally different bullet than the ones that military folks use... hold on hold on hold on, check out this next scary and possibly frightening image below:

After your nerves are settled we can continue... the image above depicts five out of thousands of barrels that I can choose from which can be fitted to simply attach to my lower receiver with two quick pins to push in one simple direction. I can take any of the barrels above and screw them onto the upper receiver and when I change a couple of other things I can attach the upper receiver to my lower receiver and now shoot a totally different bullet out of my same gun, man, tell me that isn't cool. I can take an AR-15 and swap out my upper receiver and now use my same riffle to shoot squirrels and rabbits and pepsi bottles with my .22 lr ... I can remove my .22 lr upper receiver and change it to a .223 caliber bullet and now shoot bigger game maybe up to about 120-150 lbs ... I can also swap out my .223 for a .300 blk upper with a longer barrel to harvest game in the 120 - 300 lb range or maybe a .300 blk upper with a shorter barrel for home defense... I can also swap out a .300 blk upper receiver with one that has a 6mm arc barrel and I can harvest game up to about 150 lbs but twice as far away as I could with my .223, or maybe with it's higher velocity and straighter trajectory I can shoot larger game but take them with head shots, not shots intended for larger heart/lung targets with this newer 6mm arc cartridge... now if I lived where there are really large game I can also pop on an upper receiver with a .458 socom barrel and large elk or moose or bear are possible for humane harvesting, if I lived off grid in Alaska or where there are large predators I think I'd have a .458 socom strapped over my back while attending to daily chores. I know this is pretty scary to folks that don't have military or law enforcement or security backgrounds, it's not my intention to trigger any overwhelming thoughts. One more picture for you:

The target above was recycled, it was already tacked-up at the range that I went to a couple of years ago, the target had already been used but the 'head' of the silhouette was untouched, I stuck a couple of orange stickers on it as the eyes and tried to empty the last 10 round magazine that I had loaded, I wanted to see if I could come close to the orange stickers because my eyes are getting old and from 200 yrds I have a hard time seeing some things in detail... my magazine had ten bullets and see if you can tell where I placed those 10 rounds. I have no explanation for the shot that is off the silhouette other than the fact that I am not a trained sniper (that's my excuse), I have been trained to aim center mass of human sized targets from 100 - 300 yards away but I have not been trained to do much better than that. The bulk of the head shots taken at 200 yards were executed using 'back-up iron sights', no magnification, with a 16" barrelled AR-15 that I had just zeroed in at 100 yards, so then I tried hitting the target with some help from the orange 'eyes' because 200 yards is a bit hard to see well with my eyesight. The larger hole was the last round from a 9" barrelled .300 blk pistol also at 200 yards... it seems that an AR-15 is capable of taking game from at least 200 yards with a head-shot, that's a pretty sweet riffle with an expensive barrel that did that, but 100 percent under my entire control, it seems that the riffle couldn't quite do that on it's own because it is still just a tool.

Please let me know when you are too scared to continue, if that becomes a problem you should close your web-browser and tell your parents what just happened, just tell them it's my fault. Sorry, I was playing around with the whole 'scary' thing, there might be something that I posted above that legitimately scares some people and if so maybe we can talk a little, I know I can be a knuckle-head from time to time and I like to tease/play sometimes, so please don't let the images above appear to be too overwhelming if I'm just being a jerk. What should be overwhelming? What should be overwhelming is that I am one of millions of owners of AR-15s in USA, maybe I am not proud of the outcome of some of my marksmanship but I am proud to say that I am one of the millions of law-abiding US citizens who can effectively utilize my preferred tool to defend my country against all enemies foreign and domestic, and I can put some meat on the table all in the same day... are you scared of me, are you concerned that I will use a firearm for offense against another man, you shouldn't be unless you are a deviant that wishes to harm others and are within my range ... are you so scared of me that the thought of me carrying a concealed firearm is horrifying, you shouldn't be, you probably won't ever see my carry gun unless something really bad happens... and then maybe you want me to have one, or wished that I had one ... the only people that I know of, that wished that I didn't have a firearm are no longer pondering the idea, they didn't have time to, and they have only their own brutal dictator to blame for their demise, but he ain't around anymore either, go figure... a finely crafted tool put in the hands of a well-trained apprentice can be something to be celebrated, something to be appreciated, something to be feared, something to be respected... you should draw your own opinion about firearms, or guns, or gun rights, or gun control but you need to be honest with yourself about how you drew the conclusion as to why you feel one way or another... and my three kids need to know that there is always more than one side of a story... even scary stories, but especially stories that we don't always have a great deal of experience or understanding with. -- christopher

04-07-2021: Good grief, I threw together yesterday's 'article' more in way that I write on my blog pages, without much editing and plenty of assumptions meaning less research and certainly more ego and edginessnesses... the theory with my blog is that it's me writing with my actual emotions rather than had already sorted through them... anyhow I'm cleaning up a few things today because I am leaving this up as a homepage 'article' until I finish the other article that I've been wrestling with. I'm also going to add some links to suggested news articles and add my own commentary to a few in hopes to stir-up more feedback, I'm loving the responses that I had received already and from the many different perspectives. Also, for folks that haven't figured it out yet, when you use my 'Comments - Criticism' form you don't have to really put your actual email address there if you wish to remain anonymous, I don't have to know who is sending me their input but the only reason that you have to add your real email is if you want or expect follow-up, otherwise it's all good. I don't know if my kids will read this before they have a grasp of the big picture, but maybe I'm missing something big and I'm a complete nincompoop about this issue... I am wicked good about being a Big Dummy sometimes and that is also why I encourage feedback, help me teach my kids the obvious things that I'm moronic about, if suitable I will address in a non-combative respectable manor, that's another thing that I am not always so good at but you caught me at a good time, I will respect the crap out of you no matter what you wish to convey, at least today I will, you probably caught me on a good day. -- christopher

Related to the article above:

04-07-21 even later: I guess it's about to happen, his executive orders will be severely challenged in both the legislative and judicial branches of the government because prohibiting civilian population from obtaining 'military styled' firearms is part of the reason that the second amendment is necessary, remember some of those smart people that helped write that stuff came from governments that wanted complete control over their sub-servants and wanted to make sure that when america get's too darn close to what Dr. Naomi Wolf describes as a 'fascist state' some of the people that understand the constitution can keep Speaker Pelosi and the cute little Cortez lady from NY from storming into my home and stealing my leftover meatloaf because they think they own me now... maybe it's something like that why our framers made sure to specifically include similar language to an amendment to our constitution, but it was probably for occasions a little less humorous... anyhow, there is a very strong chance that these 'alleged' executive orders might ignore that aspect of the second amendment, so there might be a good chance that tomorrow's actions are what we call 'unconstitutional'... anyway enough of my commentary because this just popped up so read for yourself: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-executive-actions-gun-control

04-07-21 much later: I think most city folks will not appreciate the firearms that are similar in nature to my preferred tool and it's operating system. Crime exists everywhere there are deviant people that have not been corrected, and cities and other areas where there are a convergence of zillions of different variables that dictate the actions of many opposing view-points, perspectives, ideas ... buy mostly it's behavior, it's about the actions and behavior of all of the different people that live closely to one another. I haven't studied the sorts of things that Law Enforcement Professionals have to study in order to be good at what they do, most of those men and woman are crazy smart people that on a good day they help a lady change the flat tire, they shoot a bit of hoops with the neighborhood kids, stop by the old lady's house to make sure she is good and has food... but maybe on a bad day they have to deal with unpredictable, unstable, uncooperative, rebellious, intoxicated deviant personalities that are so far out of touch with reality that they require interruption to their routine by Law Enforcement Officers (L.E.O.)... and if any of those deviants have a tool or device or anything that they can use as a weapon it becomes a whole new ballgame to the LEO -Professional because yesterday the old widow Jones really appreciated you bringing a few things by to help her out but today someone is doing something quite hostile against someone else and they are unpredictable enough that the LEO operates with a different mindset. Maybe the LEO is dealing with a big baby, a big grown-up version of a spoiled child whose parents could not teach the dysfunction out of that individual, it seems that they might run into that situation from time to time. Maybe the LEO isn't just dealing with a big dummy that day, maybe they are now dealing with a deviant whose purpose of that particular day and the weeks following up to today, maybe the LEO is now face to face with an extremely dangerous and violent person, it seems that LEOs run into that from time to time. You should be thankful that it is LEO that is face to face with that sort of deviant because most people do not have the stomach or the knowledge of what it might take to apprehend/subdue and maybe even incapacitate or have to dispatch such a deviant. Most people hate the idea that there are full grown adults that will not comply and behave with the 'nice people' in society, they do not understand how to play well with others and that those deviant people may need to face violence themselves if they are ever to comply with decency and without victimizing other people, violence of action are words that some people use to describe the intensity that it might take to subdue a real deviant. Most people that I know that carry firearms do so to keep such deviants at bay, if a bizarre and unpredictable and possibly violent situation should arise. Maybe by myself I can physically incapacitate one deviant, but what about sub-cultures... what is a sub-culture and what about them... I'll get back to that after my daughters orthodontist appointment because that is what's most important to me right now, see ya ... ct

04-07-21 even later: The good news is that my daughter's Ortho appt went well, but the bad news is that not only is America loaded with deviant thinking/behaving people that are a challenge individually to law enforcement, but, well, sometimes similar deviants like to hang out together, and maybe are on the look out for other similar deviants to also hang out with them... welcome to gangs, organized crime, antifa, mafia, the a$$holes with patch em-blazed leather that make their bikes as loud as possible and drive by the hundreds through my quiet little town on their annual pilgrimage to 'bike week' every year, yup, those guys too... what types of 'tools' do you suppose those 'sub-cultures', those actual organizations of deviant like-minded people that by themselves are a handful for law enforcement, but when banded together they are such a handful that law enforcement needs to devote special divisions of highly trained experts to deal with ... what types of sling-shots, and pocket knives, and bows/arrows do you suppose those folks use to instill fear and control and kill, I am not an expert matter on that, but I really appreciate the option of an Armalite Model 15 to keep those nice well-behaved girls and boys at bay... there is a real good chance that I can protect myself and my family and my home from Speaker Pelosi and A.O.C. from raiding my fridge but I really don't like my odds against the knuckleheads with the noisy motorcycles, in fact I've been contemplating adding a flame-thrower to my 'gun safe' for those nice boys and girls specifically. Deviant people are always somebody's problem when they are impressionable, and they become everybody's problem when left to continue in their dysfunctional behavior and attitude... parents I implore you not to spoil your children, you are actually responsible for preparing them for life, but some of them are going to die at the hands of other deviants or law enforcement if you don't take your job as a parent seriously, and if your strong willed child is too much of a handful for you it's your responsibility for seeking help and following through to a resolution, do your damn job parents and maybe there won't be a need for as many law enforcement professionals that are currently necessary... there might be some statistics somewhere, some data, some 'science' that show how many felons come from homes with only one parent, or only a grandparent, or maybe no parents, or what some other people call 'broken homes'... I'm no judge of what types of homes or institutions where people were raised in because I was raised by a relatively poor single mother with emotional and psychological troubles for most of her life, so I partly understand the struggles that children who grow up in similar environments have to face, and I also have three children of my own to help prepare for life and still remember how exhausted and clueless my wife and I were with just our first child, we were prepared for children by most people's standards however when my wife began to deal with emotional/hormonal challenges after the birth of our first child and how ill-prepared we felt as we struggled to keep our colic-ey baby quiet and peaceful I began to have a new respect for the single mother who tried to do her best raising me, 'we are barely holding things together with the two of us, how the f*ck do single parents do this' are some of the thoughts that I remember having. So I am of the opinion that the least amount of actual parents or loving mentors are present in a child's home the greater challenges that child might have to overcome in life, and the less of a chance that child has to overcome their own individual dysfunctions. But it seems that plundering and pillaging and raping and killing are deviant behaviors that have been around for quite some time, and it seems that tools or instruments that deviants use to victimize others have been around for many years as well, and it seems that hunters have utilized similar tools for providing food for their families for a really long time too, and don't forget that governments/villages/families have been fighting other governments/villages/families for a really long time too... I don't know how many other countries do more to try to balance the usefulness and fairness of firearm ownership for their citizens... if you could fix all of the deviants in one quick swoosh of a magic wand I wouldn't need protection from fellow man but I could still use my gun to provide some critter-chili, or whatever you might prefer. -- ct

04-08-21 UPDATE: not that it really matters to anyone but the paragraph directly below the picture of the target that speaks to my 'range day' a couple of years ago was actually at a different range than I previously remembered, the one in the photo was taken in MA, where I only bring 10-round magazines with me... so I had to change the paragraph where I said that I was 'emptying the remaining '12 rounds' from my magazine, the 12 round thing was actually from the last range day that i had more recently... SO, it was only 10 rounds that time because I'm paranoid and respect the crazy over-emotional Mass. firearm laws and wouldn't have even thought about bringing the standard 30 round mags with me into the state... so I previously lied to you, but I think I made it right, cool? -- ct

04-09-21: A couple of more things related to the more important topic, firstly, there wasn't anything included in the presidential order that actually freaked me out, I am all about enforcing current laws and keeping a couple of items that I like under review, whatever... but lastly/second, if enforcing current laws is the heart of this current Biden-order then what the F-bomb seems right about blue-states and some of their radical DAs and Governors that love the idea of releasing deviant people way too early then necessary, as well as the current big thing which seems to be not even charging some individuals for their deviant actions and behavior... it seems that it's OK to victimize others as long as it's not with a firearm, is that what I am reading into this. The following story is related to the kinds of folks that some news outlet don't care to report, its a story about the people that aren't just nice wholesome family units of suffering people that are knocking on our southern doors, its a story about the other types of people that also come through and also sneak through our border and it also happens to be a passionate variable that 'conservatives' like to consider... how many times will things like this happen when deviants are released early because radical nincompoops have their own theory about what is right and wrong: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-man-brother-killed-illegal-immigrant-biden-border-crisis ... where is theory that we need to enforce current laws when important people that should know better are doing anything but, in fact it feels too much like a concerted effort of deviants setting their own free... that's about how it makes me 'feel' right now... it feels too much like destabilization to me personally, but i've got too many of my own problems that I need to be concerned with at the moment. -- ct

04-09-21: here is a little known any completely insignificant fact about me that almost no one knows. I had worked at two different stores that sold firearms, both for a couple of years or so, i can also let anyone that knew me from those periods of time 'i am completely off of the meds that the VA was giving me when i worked with you and am a much better man than i was back then'... they will never read this, but so what, i got it off my chest... but during my gig at the first place is where my knowledge of guns in general grew, i had only known the military firearms that i was issued and a couple of others after that, but otherwise i didn't understand a whole lot, they were kind and gave me a job in spite of my lack of knowledge, but found a nice spot for me that involved more computer relevant chores, i liked the place in general, and i really appreciate all that they taught me during my short time with them. the second place expected more of me due to my previous gig, mostly because the bigger store that i had worked at only gave me a small piece of the 'big picture' involved in the whole legal purchase and sales of firearms, but the smaller store taught me / had me doing almost everything that needed to get done in the entire process, it was eye-opening. It was during my time with that second store that i had decided that i wanted to start a small business on my own, i wanted to get my own FFL, and do things legal, but my way, my way was to focus solely on the two guns that i love the most, AR-variants and Glocks... that was going to be my gig... until i realized that i could not deal with the volatile firearm industry in general... supply issues, insurance issues, political pressure... and if you ever wanted to invest in a short term strategy buy as many scary guns as possible leading up to a presidential election if you really think that the democrat will win, because fear of loosing a god-given right will drive the most logical person insanely moronic in their purchase behaviors and you can be darn sure that every gun buying hopeful will be looking for their tools 'before it's too late'... you have no idea how many emails that are flooding through my inbox asking me to spend all of my money 'before it's too late', or every conspiracy story that someone whose scared and creative can come up with... you are not getting me this time fellas, you got be before, twice in fact, but not this time, i'm all good, and i have no more money you brilliant marketing folks, so i'm not falling for you this time... sorry, i was suggesting that if you had some capital and the stomach to sell scary looking guns or their components in the volatile firearms industry, you could make a small bundle during a month like this one. So this is interesting and all but maybe not so important as your time but one quick thing, during the time that i purchased my business license for such an endeavor i had also signed up to receive the weekly ATF news emails, it was my thoughts that it would be useful to keep in touch with current laws and to see the sorts of things that bad people do with their guns and how to keep those folks from getting any of mine. the emails are interesting, but they mostly just talk about the bad guys/gals that they prosecuted recently... so like i said, it's not super important but here's what the email links bring me to, it is not  classified or anything weird, government folks don't really want me to have those sorts of real important things anymore, but this webpage is intended for public consumption, take a look from the Boston Field Office alone:

Those are definitely all people that should not be in possession of firearms, and i applaud the work of the ATF and anyone else involved in the apprehension and prosecution of those individuals. I should read each link/story in detail but that's not my thing, i'm not going to do my little building special AR's thing that i had previously contemplated, not for me, as I cannot stomach the volatility of the firearm industry, that, plus some of the most opinionated people that I have ever met were the customers that I had served during my time with the gun stores, lot's and lot's of really big egos because of their 'knowledge' and 'experience' I suppose.

But one more quick note, if any of those individuals that the ATF catches doing bad things with or around guns is actually a US citizen they will go through the means of our legal system and pay their debt to society... what if any of those bad folks that were caught are NOT US citizens, what happens to them, do they actually go to ICE... it seems that ICE is somewhat incapacitated with a zillion other issues at the moment, and it seems that some actual real actual elected congress people do not appreciate the efforts that ICE does to keep our country safe against the types of people that do bad things that are not US citizens, who is accountable for making sure that those bad people are handled appropriately... I remember being an athletic guy in my youth and getting into a rough accident at the beginning of summer one year and remember how neutered I had felt all summer while I was chomping at the bit wanting to get out and play, all I wanted to do is what I do, which was to get out and run around and smash tennis balls and drink beer and staying active and always wanting to do  other fun stuff, but I felt completely useless because my body needed to heal instead... How NEUTERED do the Border Control Agents and ICE agents feel when they get stand-down orders, or are told not to do their job even though they witness every reason why they SHOULD be doing their jobs, it can't feel good to the soul, I don't know that I could personally deal with that level of frustration. I hope I poke at people enough to stir up some more criticism, I really appreciate it. -- ct

04-15-21 update: here is one more related image, these are the sorts of geeky things that folks that appreciate AR-15s might do when we legally purchase armalite model 15 stripped lower receivers... for me every build was the canvas for a new perspective on 'what are the coolest components' to use this time.  The one below was from my most recent build but it was actually years ago, well part of it was, anyhow this build was to be more of a rifle length 556 upper receiver for my son and his friend to see what the civilian version of a traditional M16 A2 that i was accustomed to, my intention for this build was to finish building something modern but close to the 20" barrel that i had experienced... if i supposedly possibly maybe had a stripped lower receiver taking up a little space in a gun safe i could use some modern cooler than standard AR 15 components, if someone that looks very similar that is possibly around my age and possibly even the same dna as I do were to have one of these open-canvas stripped lower receivers laying around i might geek-out and add some super-cool components as depicted in the untraceable images below... these sorts of tools when working harmoniously as intended can be 'artistic self-representations of such artists'... or is that Ar-tee-st, maybe that all they are to me, maybe i am an artist or something too, and i really like me an ArmaLite Model Number 15... sorry, anyway, these might possibly be some of the geeky things that i might do with a lower receiver laying around in the safe, maybe:

04-18-21 UPDATE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/fedex-shooter-legally-bought-guns another instance where two firearms were in the hands of a deviant, they were in his hands when he used them to commit multiple murders, i thought that kids had to be 21 to buy an AR nowadays, im not employed in the firearms industry anymore so i haven't kept up with laws in detail but i thought you had to be 21 now, maybe he snuck in before that change happened, either way i'll have to see what laws were in effect when he legally purchased his firearms... it seems that his family called authorities to report that they didn't think he was in in good enough shape to own guns, his own family warned people about their perceived deviencey in the young man from kenosha, WI... he was legally able to buy guns so he did so, some of the people closest to him didn't think that he should have them so they reached out to the people that they thought would handle the situation appropriately... it seems that the situation was handled 'legally but not appropriately', it seems that since the young man hadn't committed any crimes with his firearms he was allowed to keep them after all... i wish i were smart enough to figure out how to fix this exact situation and similar sorts of issues, it seems that some folks that use firearms to commit homicide are able to purchase those firearms legally if they haven't gotten into too much trouble in the past and if they hadn't been deemed mentally 'unfit' to purchase firearms and a bunch of other relevant factors, but this is an example of where 'red flag laws' sort of happened but were not utilized effectively... in this sort of case it makes me wonder if laws with good intentions sort of did what they were intended to do but maybe there were not other necessary policies - rules in place that assured that the psychological health of the firearm owner was actually somehow taken into consideration before he was actually deemed OK to keep them... it makes me wonder at what age, what point did the parents begin to notice that their child was possibly different than others, when, or how recently did they notice that he was a handful enough that maybe they were in over their heads trying to keep him inline, some people can notice something or maybe a few things in particular that makes them think that someone else isn't quite right, but not everyone does, some folks have a hard enough time trying to figure out their own difficult life enough that they ignore the warning signs that other folks might pick up on, or maybe they just make excuses for their dysfunction and simply say things like 'well thats just how little so-and-so is, it's just their thing', or the excuse might be 'but you don't know what that poor child has had to deal with' , but there are plenty of occasions where concerned loved-ones know that something is wrong with poor little so and so and that little so and so has become too much for them to keep in line and they know that to the point where they reach out for help and to whom is the perfect person or agency to offer the actual help that those people are in need of... its seems that there might be some difficulty when deviants try to act normal and normal people are scared of the people that only want to know who they really are, are mental health professionals tasked to figure out who is a great acting deviant that will kill, and who might be misunderstood by the folks that 'red-flagged' them... i don't envy the job of a mental health professional, it seems that those smart people have their plates full, i respect the one's that keep their own ego in check and don't have to work at a pace that is too busy to give their patients the time and respect that they need... One thing that i do know, if you are of the praying type i know there are a whole lotta people in Kenosha, WI that would appreciate them about now. -- ct