Gun Locked
I haven’t been this scared in quite a long time.

By James A. Swan, “Media Watch” columnist for North American Hunter magazine
July 14-15, 2001

just bought a shotgun. Some kind people sent me an invitation to shoot in the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot, to be held August 4, in South El Monte, California, and well, you know. Excited, I brought up the idea of a new gun to my wife, saying, "But I haven't got a thing to shoot." That didn't get me far. She noted the gun cases in the closet. So, I said, "But I will be out there competing with Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, Robert Stack, Leslie Easterbrook, and Lou Ferrigno, and," I added, "the Hollywood reporter will be there and maybe John Milius or Stephen Speilberg. They both shoot at the Triple B Shotgun Sports Park. Maybe they'll discover me and cast me in a movie."

She suggested my old duck-hunting gun would give me a woodsy look. They might like that.

But then I sold an article I didn't expect to sell, and so there I was at Western Sport Shop filling out the background-check forms to become the owner of a lovely Browning Citori 12-gauge. As I was checking the calendar for the date when I could pick up my new gun, Jean, who runs the gun department, says, "You ought to read this," and points to a copy of How To Own A Gun and Stay Out of Jail: California Edition 2001 by John Machtinger (Gun Law Press, Los Angeles, $9.95).

I had 10 days before I could pick up the gun, so I began to read. Machtinger, an attorney who is an expert on firearms laws, has written a concise, comprehensive, and clear explanation of California and federal firearms laws. This book quickly scared me as much as anything I've read in a long time — it's a lucid synopsis of the blunt truth about modern gun laws.

I try to keep up with the latest news from the NRA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and other sportsmen's groups. When you do that, you can easily forget about the cumulative effect of the restrictions on gun ownership that have been taking place over the last couple of decades. This book brings it all together. The picture is not comforting.

Some highlights from the book: … In Machtinger's book, there are 18 pages of details on who cannot own guns or have them in their possession, and what penalties can result from violating the existing laws. We should keep guns away from criminals and the mentally incompetent, but since most people who commit crimes have already been in trouble with the law and have illegal guns, gun-ownership laws seldom have much effect on crime. And, numerous studies have shown that only a small percentage of people who don't pass the background check are ever prosecuted, even though an illegal application for a firearm is a crime. The problem with firearm regulation is that we are spending way too much time, money, and resources on regulating legal owners. This takes law-enforcement resources away from the real problem: illegal gun owners and users.

…If I want to let my child use my new shotgun, and they are under 18, I can only legally transfer the gun to them for less than 30 days for "Lawful Recreational Sport" purposes, such as target shooting and hunting. Machtinger suggests that such a transfer be validated in writing, and the kid should carry this permission slip when they have the gun. If this youngster accidentally injures or kills someone with the gun, the owner will almost certainly be sued, Machtinger advises. (My father gave me my first gun at age eight. When I was 12, I had my own shotgun and boat to roam the marshes of Lake Erie all I wanted. Oh, for the good old days.)

…If I lay a handgun on the seat beside me, it is legal, but if I am stopped by police and an officer sees the gun I am at risk because the officer will almost certainly draw his. Rifles and shotguns also can be carried visibly, such as on a gun rack, so long as they are not loaded. People make jokes about the gunrack in the window set. At least they are upfront about what they are doing. They may even help reduce crime, according to John Lott's research reported in More Guns, Less Crime. Has anyone ever developed a gun rack for handguns?

…If I am walking down a city street and a police officer wants to stop me and search me, he cannot search me without probable cause, or my permission. If I am driving my car and I am stopped, and if the officer sees the legal gun on the seat beside me, he will probably ask to see the gun to check if it is loaded. If I refuse permission, he then has probable cause to search me.

…I plan to use my shotgun for shooting clay pigeons and hunting, but should I have to use it for self-defense, the rule reads: "In order to (legally) use deadly force to defend yourself, you have to have an honest and reasonable belief that you are in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury from an unlawful attack, and that your acts are necessary to prevent the injury." "Reasonable," Machtinger explains, is open to interpretation by a jury, and he cites numerous examples of people who did use a gun for self-defense who ended up in jail.

According to Machtinger, if a riot is going on and people are looting and burning, you should not try to stop the mayhem with a gun. If you do, you could be sued or end up in jail. You can only use deadly force in the self-defense of your life and others, not property. But if a building is set aflame by an arsonist, is this not a threat to life?

Machtinger's book covers a lot more ground in its 192 pages. If there are errors in what I have said, it is my fault. The gun laws are so incredibly complicated. The collective effect of reading the laws all at once is very discouraging, which is just what an antigun person hopes for.

Faced with this reality, some gun owners shrink away into anonymity. I think this is a mistake. I believe that gun owners need to make shooting sports more visible. Statistically, shooting sports are about the safest of all popular recreational activities. The general public doesn't know that.

Putting out a positive image of shooting sports is one reason why Celebrity Shoots are so important. They attract the media, and when people who are seen as heroes and role models speak out on behalf of shooting sports, it creates a more positive image of the sport. So, if you want to come and shoot, or just hangout and dine with some 70 to 80 Hollywood writers, directors, actors, and producers at the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot on August 4, please check out the website for details. This year's shoot will benefit Sugarbugs, Inc. (kids with diabetes) and Disability Resources.

Events like the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot inspire more shooting-sports enthusiasts to come out of the closet and set a positive example of firearm ownership, which helps dispel gun hysteria that results in laws that encumber legal gun owners. Until people learn respect for the weapons in our lives, the fear of them will control us.