 Today I wanted to chat a bit and bring up some interesting questions, some things that I suggest that you consider when you're thinking about buying your first gun for personal protection. And it is currently August 2020 and this year has seen a lot of, I don't know, advancement in aggressive government action and of course that's going to lead to some civil unrest and such. And we've had a lot of people coming out and taking classes and they're interested in getting the first gun ever and live in big cities and they don't have a good knowledge of different firearms and we've been asked by many people what what kind of gun should I get? What should I do? And so you'll find a lot of videos like this one offering ideas on the best gun and a lot of those have to do with the quality of the gun and how well it functions, etc, etc. What I'm going to focus on are some less frequently asked questions. And the first one is why are you interested in having a gun? What do you think are going to shoot with it? What's the highest probability of somebody that you're going to shoot with it? And one would be a common one would be well what if the inner city folks come out into the suburbs or further and there are these large mobs of people going house to house attacking. So that's one concern that we sometimes hear. Another is that just a single person or a small group of people from the wrong side of town come into your nice subdivision, past the gates and try to break into your house. So that would be another possibility. Another one is United Nations soldiers that are paired with United States Marines and they're sent door to door to force people to take vaccinations. And there are a large group of people that think that and I'm not going to take a political opinion on this, but there are a large group of people in the United States that think that people own their own bodies and the government shouldn't be able to force people to put certain things in their bodies even if the government want to. And so that is a legitimate concern that we've heard. So what if the UN soldier and the the Marine show up at your doorstep? Is that who you plan to shoot? So and these are tough questions what I'm asking you. Is that somebody you would be willing to shoot? Is that somebody that or would you look and say oh has a the flag that I grew up saluting or pledging to? That's on his shoulder, so I'm not going to shoot this person. And and these are questions that you have to come to terms with before you decide what your strategy, what your equipment is for personal protection, for self-defense. What about a race war? I've been hearing about that a lot. There are certainly groups out there that are trying to make black and white and Mexican people all hate each other and and think that the other is out to get them. And there are a lot of people trying to stir that up. And there's some some violence going on. There's a lot of pro-Marxist very very different groups that are really into into pushing their agendas and and violence is is probable. People of a different political leaning, right? Do you think they're gonna attack you? So I guess what I'm what I'm saying is who is it you think you're gonna use this gun against? And if you do think that the most likely person you would have to use the gun against would be a government agent. Are you really gonna do that? If you shoot a cop, you're gonna go to prison for the rest of your life if you're not killed. But they'll probably beanbag your ass up and end up taking you to prison for the rest of your life. Is that really something you're willing to do? And I don't have the correct answers, but that is getting kind of serious territory. Philosophically, the answer is easy, but when we get to what we would really truly do in the real world, I don't know. What state do you live in? What city do you live in? The reason those questions are important are that different states have different rules and different cities within different states, they have additional rules. So if you would like to have a an anti-rape 15, AR 15, then it kind of depends on where you live, whether or not you can have one of those. And if you live in a place that it's likely to be illegal within the next year or two or five, then perhaps that isn't the best choice because you won't be able to have it as long. If on the other hand you live in a place like Wyoming or Montana, Nevada, then there's a chance you'll be able to have that longer. Now, am I suggesting that if you live in a outside of the United Stair, in a place that that is not, doesn't believe that women have a right to have a gun to defend themselves, Chicago, California, New York, the places like that, Massachusetts. If you live in a place like that, might it be smarter to have a single action revolver that will be legal for another 10, 20, 30, 40 years compared to an AR 15 that might only be legal for another five or 10 years or 15 years at best or maybe isn't even legal now. So that's a consideration. Which one is more effective? Which one would you like your sister to have in her hands if some guys are trying to rape her? Well, the AR 15 is certainly a better defensive gun. But if you can't have it as long, that's one thing to consider. Are you a felon? If you're a felon or you're otherwise prohibited from having a firearm, just don't do it. It's not worth it. Just forget about it and find another way to protect yourself. Another question is how sure are you that you would obey every law, every order that's given to you? If you receive an order that says you had to report on your IRS form, any Christians or Jews or black people or Mexican people or white people that live in your neighborhood, would you report that? Or would you refuse to do that? And so the reason I'm asking that is, what's what about this next question? What if the IRS form in the next few years asks how many firearms do you or members of your household own? Are you gonna answer that honestly? Or you can do the old joke of, yeah, lost all of my guns in Bitcoin in the boating accident? Are you going to be honest and tell the government how many guns you have? There are organizations like the Jews for the preservation of firearms ownership that argue that some people in that organization argue that it would be wise for everybody to have a couple guns that are not registered, that no government entity knows that they have. And that's one argument that some people make. But if you're told to turn your guns in or to give an inventory of them so that they can be taken later, are you going to do this? Are you going to comply or are you not? Just another thing to think about as you decide. And if the case is that you are not going to turn them in, if you're told, hey, you're a Jew, you're not allowed to have guns, and I'm just trying to pick something in the last hundred years that's happened. So if you're told, hey, you're a Jew, you can't have guns, need to turn them in, if you have one hidden in the backyard, would it have been wise for you to buy that from somebody whose name you don't know, they didn't know your name, and you bought the gun and you hid it? And I'm not saying that it's okay to fight against Hitler or any other government ruler. I'm not making, I'm not having opinions here. I'm just saying if that's something that you think that you could be a targeted group in future years, many people that think that way would say that it's wise to have a gun that isn't registered, wasn't purchased through the normal federal firearms license system where you fill out a 4473 form. When you're asking, and it's kind of tied into this, if you're ever asked on an insurance document how many guns are there in the household or how many guns are owned by members of your household, are you going to answer that honestly? If you don't, maybe you're violating a federal HIPAA, not HIPAA, but some federal medical law of lying to a doctor and the doctor has to ask you this question, or who knows, but just kind of decide whether or not you're going to be honest about that or if you want to be a little bit black-markety and keep something hidden for yourself. So we've already talked about which gun would be most legal for the most years, and for this reason I actually honestly think if you live in New York or California, having that double-barreled shotgun that firearms trainer Joe Biden years ago suggested, well, you know, all you need is a double-barreled shotgun. You step out on the balcony and shoot it in the air and everybody will run away. I'm not saying you shoot it in the air to make them run away. Discharging a firearm in most housing areas is not legal or prudent, but you know, if you're shooting in the air. But having a double-barreled shotgun, especially if it has a goose engraved on the side of it, and you have some duck hunting clothing right beside it, then it just looks like you're an affluent hunter. People with money are generally not targeted. White people with money are generally not targeted for gun confiscations as much as people of color, especially younger people of color. And so if you have a Glock pistol and you're a black person, you have a much greater likelihood of having that taken away from you than if you're a wealthy white person with a 12-gauge duck gun. And I don't like this. I don't like that. It's racist. Don't like it, but that's how gun laws in the U.S. started. It was a racial thing. They wanted to get guns away from black people, make it illegal for black people to have guns, and that's how gun laws got started here. So I don't like it, but we have to kind of be honest with ourselves and not be politically correct and say, what is your situation? And if you are a 30-year-old black guy in a big city that is living a good, clean life, you want to be a great person. You don't want to be stereotyped or picked on, but you are. You're pulled over way more frequently. You have some tattoos from the old days. I don't know. It's a tougher choice if you want to bend any gun rules or not. I'm not suggesting that anybody ever bend any gun rules, but if you did think, hey, I'd like to have one to protect myself, maybe I want to get something that has magazine with larger capacity. I don't know. Think about it. Think about your unique situation. Another thing to consider is who is the weakest, physically the weakest and least experienced in shooting person that could use your gun? So even if you plan to be the big tough defender of your household, if you have a spouse who has smaller and weaker hands and is not used to shooting and is afraid of guns, the 357 Magnum lightweight gun that you think you can handle okay, maybe your spouse can't. And that gun would be absolutely useless because your spouse is afraid to use it. Whereas if you had a .22 caliber, your spouse would feel very comfortable using it and shoots very well with it. I'm not saying that I'm suggesting .22 calibers over .357 Magnums, but it's a consideration. If you're going to have one gun, it's kind of a good idea to make sure it's something that everybody in your household that could possibly use it, make sure that it's something that they can handle, that they're comfortable with, and that they know how to use. How much time are you going to spend training? How much are you willing to dedicate? Are you willing to dedicate two minutes a day to dry fire practice at your house or five minutes for five days a week and then one day a week you go to the range for an hour? Are you willing to do that? Or are you going to go and shoot once a year? The reason this is an important question is that if you're only going to go and shoot once a year 20 shots, then no, you might not be as good at handling a semi-automatic handgun as you would a pump action shotgun or a double barrel shotgun. If you're not mechanically inclined and you never practice, maybe you need something simpler. I don't like revolvers, but if that's easy for you to point and click with, maybe that's the best bet if you're not going to practice a lot and keep your skills up. And then finally for this segment, I'll probably toss out some more questions as time goes by that are maybe ones that other people haven't tossed out there. Another one is the size of the cartridge. People will say a .22 caliber is too small for personal protection and you need to have at least a .38 special or a .9 millimeter. And I agree that the .38 special or .9 millimeter are way better for shooting assailants. However, a Q-tip is not as good of a defensive weapon as a .22 caliber. .22 caliber is not as good as a .9 millimeter. But if you're only able to shoot the .9 millimeter and you're not able to shoot the big huge gun, .9 millimeter is best for you. If you're not able to shoot the .9 millimeter well, but you can shoot the .22 caliber well, maybe that is a better option for you. And yes, I know a 250 pound drugged up dude coming at you with a leather coat on. I know the .22 caliber isn't going to do the same amount of damage stopping power. It's not going to be as effective as a .460 Smith and Wesson Magnum. Well, unless it's an actual Smith and Wesson revolver, in that case, it probably won't work. But if it's another large caliber powerful gun, if you can't shoot it well, maybe it's worth going down a size or two. And yes, if you're ever in a gunfight and those little tiny things you're shooting don't do the trick, you're going to wish you had something bigger. But if you have something bigger and you don't shoot it because you're afraid of it, yeah, maybe something smaller would have been the best bet. So again, I'm not giving you answers for any of these. I'm simply asking questions. I suggest that you think about these questions and they're going to be very unique to you and your situation. And I stand ready to answer your emails if you have questions about this stuff. I'm more than happy to help you hone in on something. I don't sell guns, but I'm more than happy to make suggestions and help you along the path. I think defending oneself and defending one's family is kind of important for humans and other critters. And there are some effective tools out there to do it today, guns. And if you're not used to them and you're finally kind of stepping up and saying, Hey, it's time that I get serious about this. I applaud you and I'd love to help you. Thank you for taking the time to consider these things and look forward to seeing you on the range.