The NRA's Newest Member...Me

If you want to own a firearm and you live outside of California, consider yourself lucky. This state puts a lot of small barriers that you have to hurdle in order to exercise your 2nd Amendment right. Mind you, they're not big barriers; but put enough small ones in the way and they become a major barrier. If you weren't truly serious about owning a firearm, you would say "Forget it" and I'm sure that's what the state would like.

In order to own a handgun, I had to do the following:

• Take a Handgun Safety Certification Test
  (Normally, I would say this is a good thing, but the fucking test is so easy that you may as well not have the test at all.)
• Pay $25 for the Handgun Safety Certification Card when you pass the test
  (Basically a tax for the right to own a handgun in CA.)
• Purchase your gun and pay L.A.'s 8.25% sales tax
  (Starting April 1, 2009, the sales tax is going up a full 1% because the state government can't fucking do their job. They would rather increase the sales tax on everyone rather than let their special interests, i.e., the various labor unions, lose any of their fucking jobs.)
• Wait 10-days
  (Because you need a cooling off period as you may be buying the gun to commit a crime. And if you already own a handgun and had gone through the waiting period, you would have to go through another 10-day waiting period for every subsequent handgun purchase.)
• When you pick up the gun, you need a CA-certified gun lock before you can leave the store.
  (If you don't have a certified lock, be prepared to purchase one. Prices range from $5-$10.)
• If you want a permit to carry a concealed weapon, good luck with that!
  (In the county of Los Angeles, it's nearly impossible to get one.)

All I can say is, "What the fuck!?!?!" Can the state put any more hurdles to law abiding citizens who want to exercise their right to own a firearm? Enough is enough. I decided to join the NRA to defend our right to own a firearm. Luckily for me, I spotted this great NRA Bonus Offer and was able to get a free one year membership! That's right, FREE!

I joined today and am happy I did. I just wanted to share the offer with others out there who value their rights as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. If we let the government take away one of those rights, who is to say they won't take away the rest?

Future NRA Member (with a Walther P22)

As some of you may have read, I recently took the CA Handgun Safety Certification test in preparation of purchasing my first handgun. Well, I finally did it and purchased a Walther P22.

I decided on a .22LR semi-automatic pistol (rather than a bigger caliber, such as 9mm or .40 cal) as I wanted a smaller caliber pistol to learn the basics of safe shooting and marksmanship. The P22 felt good in my hand and would be something I could comfortably handle for long periods of time at the shooting range. It also helps that .22LR ammunition is less expensive than the other calibers; for example, a box of 100 high quality rounds of .22LR is approximately $6, while a box of 50 rounds of 9mm runs $13. This affords me more practice rounds to develop my shooting skills before moving up to the next level.

Here's a little preview of the P22:


I don't have the P22 yet as CA requires a 10-day waiting period before you can take any handgun home after purchase. However, I'm anxiously awaiting the pick-up date and have been busy looking at accessories for it. I'll definitely be getting extra magazines for the pistol, good ammo, a lockable gun case, and a cleaning kit.

I bought the P22 from a private party for $300 (plus $35 in transfer fees). It's basically a brand new gun and it came with the Walther laser and Walther scope. I got quite the deal as this entire package is over $540 new from the store.

I'll be sure to post pics when I finally get the P22 home.

Republik of Kalifornia's Handgun Safety Certificate

To those of you interested in purchasing a handgun in the Republik of Kalifornia, you are required by the Republik to obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate. You get the certificate by taking and passing a test at any licensed firearms dealer.

I took this test this weekend in preparation of owning my first handgun. With the Legislative and Executive branches of the US Gov't in firm Liberal hands, I thought it would be a good idea to secure my firearm before the Feds take that right away. :-) Alright, alright...I don't really think the Dems would be dumb enough to try that (and galvanize the Conservatives on the right), but an opportune time nonetheless as my wife finally agreed to let me buy a handgun! Woohoo! :-)

The test consists of 30 questions - True/False and Multiple Choice - and costs $25. I missed 2 questions on the test, but still passed. In fact, the Republik lets you miss up to 7 questions - 23 correct answers gets you a Certificate! Honestly, you would have to try really hard (or have NO common sense whatsoever) to fail the test. The only questions that would trip anyone up are those asking about the state's gun laws, such as how long a convicted felon is barred from owning a handgun.

I hope the Republik puts my $25 to good use. This test is more of an inconvenience and 'tax' than anything else. If you want to buy a handgun, make sure you're ready to pay $25 on top of the cost of the handgun you want to purchase. Oh...and if the test happens to stop a law-abiding resident from buying a handgun, I'm sure the Republik isn't crying over that.

PS - To get more information on the test (including a study guide), visit the California Office of the Attorney General's page on the Handgun Safety Certificate Program.