AnnieView Part Two: Summertime

Annika (of Annika's Journal) was kind enough to let me interview her. When I first met her she was living in Cali & had never fired a firearm before. Now she's still living in Cali but she's a gun owner, so I thought her perspective on a few things would be of interest. This was taken from an IM conversation. The links were added in the editing process. This is the second half of the interview. Here’s the link for the first half.

& again since the lady has a known preference, here's a vid of a duet she may dig & you might as well. Of course since this is the 2nd part of the interview I can't let pass the opportunity to throw in another vid of a duet that may be enjoyable.

Pub: When going to the range trying to decide on which gun you'd want to own did you have any trouble getting used to shooting? The noise? The recoil? Etc?
Annika: I got used to the noise after my first trip. The first time inside the indoor range I jumped every time a shot went off. As far as recoil, the only thing that gave me problems was the .357. I still want a .357 though. Eventually I may get one, just in case I'm attacked by a bear.
If I had it to do over again, I think I'd probably get the HK in .40, the .45 is a little big for my hand. But I wanted the .45 because it's such an American caliber, not like that weenie Euro 9 mil. The .45 is a good size, and i like the way it slides too!
Pub: Women - it's always a size issue with y’all. :)
Annika: Hey how is that 10 mm btw?
Pub: Oh the 10 is nice. Everybody should have one. :) I have to get a new recoil spring - all factory 10's have one that's a bit too light for the heavy loads, so my brass is in the next county before the slide locks on a fresh round, but other than that it shoots nice tight groups & the recoil isn't as harsh as I thought it'd be. I assume sometime in between starting to hit the ranges with rentals & buying your HK you looked into Cali's gun laws?
Annika:Well, at the range I go to, you have to have a Cali certificate. Not every range requires that, but this one does, and it’s a very nice range; real clean, good people run it. So in order to get the cert, I had to take the test, which is based on the Cali law.
Pub: So before you even tried out a pistol for the first time (I presume that was your first time) you had to go through some of Cali's gun control laws?
Annika: No, my first time was at a different range. All you needed at that one was a friend.
Pub: But it was around the same time frame? Post Katrina?
Annika: Aug 13, 2005 was my first range trip. Aug 23 to 31 2005 was hurricane Katrina, so i guess the idea of shooting as a hobby preceded the impetus to become an owner but you can see how close they occurred in time.
Pub: Did you find the cali laws discouraging at all?
Annika: The California laws didn't discourage me from getting a gun, I mean it’s still better to have one that you can use for home defense than to have nothing. Even if you can't use it when someone attacks you outside the home.
Pub: Were the laws concerning ownership & possession any detriment? Did they give you any pause?
Annika: Yes. It was also disappointing when I researched how hard it is to get a carry permit here. Basically, I can't have one unless I move to some buttfuck county.
Pub: Have you tried to get a permit?
Annika: No, i don't even want to try, because I know the answer. Unless my last name is Sheen or Streisand, they won't even consider my application.
Pub: k, so a few months later you bought the HK - & after the 15 day wait you took it home. Have you been hitting the range with any regularity since?
Annika: I haven’t been practicing as much as I used to, with school in high gear. But I like to go out once a month at least. When I was still in the shopping mode, trying out the different models, I was going to the range 2 or 3 times a week, which is insane, especially at $30 bucks a pop.
Pub: Yeesh. I feel your economic pain sweetie. You're also limited to 10 round mags in cali. What’s the normal capacity of your HK?
Annika: HK .45 is 12 rounds, so i'm only giving up two shots. She's a beauty ain’t she?
Pub: lol Sweetie, you know you're close to being a gun nut
Annika: Her name is Molly.
Pub: You’re even closer to being a gun nut than I thought. All that's left is for you to take pics of you & the gun stripped & send them to me with a valid credit card number...
Annika: That reminds me; i need to strip it today.
Pub: The gun? lol
Annika: Yes; the gun.

Pub: Have you thought of moving to a different area or state since you've been learning about Cali's gun & self defense laws?
Annika: Yes, i hear VT lets any one carry without a permit.
Pub: Yes'm. That stems from a 1903 state supreme court decision (State v. Rosenthal) which held, oddly enough, that "bear" means carry & concealed is a way to carry. Alaska has a similar law, but it's statute that was passed in the last 5 years or so
Pub: So you've given serious thought to other states?
Annika: Yes, i couldn’t find a job in VT, but Ohio, Indiana, maybe Illinois, somewhere in the Midwest. I’m not seriously thinking of moving, my family is here and I'm taking the California bar. But sometime way down the road, I may move out somewhere where there's snow.
Pub: ah, Illinois - if ya don't like Cali gun laws you'll HATE Illinois lol
Annika: Yeah that’s what i thought. Indiana is a red state though, and people from Ohio can't say anything bad about it.
Pub: Ohio has its problems. I’d live there but I wouldn't be happy about it. The best gun states are west of the Mississippi but not on the coast & from VA south
Annika: i can't do the south, i hate bugs and humidity ruins my hair.
Pub: So you're planning on staying in Cali. Have you thought of moving to a more gun friendly area of the state?
Annika: No, I can’t because I have to work in a city. I'm going to be a lawyer. I hear Tuolumne County is very reasonable for gun owners, but there's no work there.

Pub: From what we've been discussing over the years it seems you've come from a moderate position on the right to arms to something close to an absolutist view. Do you think there is any gun control that seems reasonable?
Annika: Yes I do. I think people should be required to have some sort of training; if not for ownership, then at least for a CCW. I know the test I took was really easy to pass, but at least it got me to be familiar with the laws. I wouldn't have thought about it if it weren’t for the test. So if somebody is going to carry a concealed firearm, they should at least spend a couple of hours having somebody tell them how to be careful with it. I know you don't like that idea, but really some people need to be told the obvious. Like, don't leave your gun lying around when there's kids nearby. Etc
Pub: Aside from safety type training are there any gun laws you'd support?
Annika: Well that's a large universe...
Pub: I live in a big galaxy
Annika: I’m against the assault weapons ban, and the scary looking weapons ban. i'm against the limit on high capacity magazines. i believe the 2nd amendment probably encompasses machine guns, but I think its probably a good thing they are illegal. So i guess i support limits on fully automatic weapons. i think restrictions on detachable magazines are stupid. i do not think the .50 caliber ban is necessary. i’m not sure about silencers…i probably support a ban on silencers.
Pub: Would you have been in favor of more gun controls, say 5 years ago?
Annika: I wouldn't say that at one time I was in favor of more gun control. I've always been in favor of liberty. I think it’s more accurate to say that in the past, i was not fully aware of how much our liberty has been encroached upon, especially in regard to the 2nd Amendment.
Pub: Has being a gun owner affected your political choices (i.e. has it altered what you look for in a candidate, created deal breaking sub-issues, etc...)?
Annika: i still look at the whole candidate. Gun issues are important to me, as are pro-life issues, yet I like Giuliani because I think he's our best shot at winning and I think he'd be a good president on National Security and Tax issues. Okay he's not ideal, but nominating someone like Thompson or Romney is suicide. Still I probably won't vote for Giuliani in the primary because I always vote my conscience in the primaries. I haven't yet decided who to vote for yet. But to answer your question, Yes, gun issues have solidified the fact that I will never vote for a democrat and I will always work to defeat democrats wherever possible. Because although Republicans may be wishy washy on the issue, it’s the democrats that are the party of gun grabbers even though they've been trying to keep that quiet lately.
Pub: Have you joined or thought of joining or donating to any of the various pro-gun groups?
Annika: i have not yet joined the NRA, but may someday.

Pub: Any plans to purchase another firearm (after the law school thing of course)?
Annika: i’m still hoping to get that M1A Scout and the aforementioned .357 then i think i'll be all set.
Pub: Why the scout?
Annika: the M1A is for the "all hell breaks loose" post apocalyptic scenario; head for the hills, etc.
Pub: lol They’re not bad for zombies either. Annika: i don't want to sound like some sort of crazy survivalist, but it could happen you know. If Iran starts exporting nuclear bombs, we could have a 24 type scenario; it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.
Pub: Out of curiosity have you ever been camping? Not just at a campsite but out in the woods?
Annika: Well, i was a girl scout.
Pub: Really? I’m so glad you weren't one of the ones they made those cookies out of. :)
Annika: But no deep woods shit. Just mostly at campsites.
Pub: I assume you have no interest in hunting?
Annika: None.
Pub: So you wanted a gun mainly for self defense & you also found target shooting enjoyable?
Annika: Uh huh. Next i’d like to take some sort of tactical course because i don't think target shooting has much real world application.
Pub: I understand. Really it's kinda like High Power - great for the basics but not so much for tactics. Have you looked into any specific tactical programs?
Annika: i got a flyer but i've been too busy to check into it as yet.

Pub: Considering your background with guns has having a gun in the home made you feel safer, more concerned or hasn't affected you at all?
Annika: Okay so i told you about the prowler i had last year.
Pub: Yes, but feel free to re-tell
Annika: He was peeking in through the blinds, but he didn't know I was watching him from the peephole. This happened after I bought my HK, but while the guy was out there, i never thought about going into the bedroom to get it. He was just a kid, and i was more curious about what he was doing. My opinion is he was casing the place, but at the time i thought he might have been a peeping tom. Anyways, if he had tried to bust in, i would have retreated to the bedroom and got out the gun.
Pub: But it didn't really enter your mind to use the pistol for home defense?
Annika: Back then, i didn't have any bullets, and the gun wasn't in an easily accessible place. Since then, i've kept a loaded magazine in a hideaway spot, and most nights the gun case is under the bed. i don't ever leave it out during the day. Since we live in an apartment and theoretically the management could come in at any time while were away. I know they're not supposed to without notice, but people do a lot of things they’re not supposed to do.
Pub: Do you have a holster for your HK?
Annika: No. i don't find holsters all that attractive.

Pub: With the Virginia Tech massacre, have you drawn any conclusions that you might not have come to prior to being a gun owner? Say different ideas from what you were thinking after the Columbine massacre?
Annika: Just the clarity with which i see the reasoning i outlined above; how there is only one thing that could have stopped the shooter. The police couldn't do it. Gun-free zones couldn’t do it. Referring the guy to counseling couldn't do it. "Insta-checks" couldn't do it. Being nice to him couldn't do it. Only someone else with a gun could have stopped him. i think when Columbine happened i was still one of those persons who believed the conventional wisdom which said, “yes, but if everyone were allowed to have guns wouldn't there be gun battles breaking out at little league games?” etc
Pub: Well I think that should about wrap up the questions I had for you & I know you have things to do, but I do appreciate you taking the time to share some of your experiences & thoughts on the gun thing.
Annika: Actually Chris is hungry and wants to go eat. Chris says hi by the way.
Pub: Tell him I said hi - well unless you went with a gender alternative option in partner, then tell her I said hi
Annika: Haha, he liked that one.
Pub: lol K, I’ll stop holding you up from feedin’ yo' man.
Annika: You are never going to edit this down to a reasonable size, you know lol
Pub: Like anything I post is a reasonable size ;)
Annika: Bye Publicola. Have a good weekend.
Pub: You too sweetie. & thanks again for the chat

Posted by Publicola at May 15, 2007 01:54 AM | TrackBack