Tell Me, Does Anyone Else See the Giant Rabid Tick-Infested Jackrabbits?

There are two things that really don’t mix in this world.  And no, I’m not talking about sauerkraut soaked in milk (will save that for another posting).  Nor, do I speak of the upcoming album of Ray Wylie Hubbard and Nicki Minaj duets (hahaha…just kidding…though that might be kind of fun). 

No, friends, the things I speak of that have no business being mixed together are guns and booze.  Unless, of course, you’re Hunter S. Thompson and/or Conan O’Brien (if you have four minutes, watch the video…it’s really funny).

Back in May, I railed against a proposal by the morons on North Lincoln Blvd in Oklahoma City who wanted to put guns in the hands of Oklahoma teachers at school.  I suggested then that it was most likely a diversionary scheme so that teachers wouldn’t notice that their long-awaited pay increase was being funded out the of the teachers’ pension fund.  Sigh…

I kept my mouth shut when a gun range with an attached cocktail lounge opened in Oklahoma City back in September 2014 (okay, I wasn’t actually doing this blog then, but I would have had something to say about it if I had been!).  Then, the owners of Wilshire Gun Range went to great lengths to stress that no one that visited the booze side of the business would be allowed on the shooting side of the business.  They even got HRH Mary of Fallin to drive a tank (yes, that’s right) over someone’s car at the opening.  Hell, I can’t get HRH to send someone to come fetch her daughter and her travel trailer from the compound (the wife is getting testy about that).

Yesterday, I spotted an article on the Huffington Post web site about a gun range with a restaurant/bar on premises in Florida that is soon to open.  There was a lot of controversy surrounding the proposal, but in the end only one commissioner voted no on approving the measure.   While the owners of the establishment went to great pains to lay out their plans for keeping boozed up shooters from entering the shooting side of the location, current Florida laws create problems.  For instance, in Florida, people with conceal carry permits are allowed in establishments serving alcohol.  So even though the establishment won’t allow weapons in the restaurant/bar, those patrons with conceal carry permits would be allowed to carry inside the bar…state law trumps local laws in Florida I guess. 

And consider this.  Let’s say a convicted felon who isn’t supposed to have access to a gun wants to visit your bar/shooting range.  Are you going to keep them out of your shoot ‘em up saloon?  How are you going to know if said patron is a convicted felon?  You’re going to run background checks on all of your customers?  Most gun ranges will rent weapons to people who purchase ammo from the gun range.  What sort of checks do they run on renters?

The story in Florida follows an AP article that appeared earlier this month about a proposal in Texas to allow the sale of alcohol at gun shows.  

That really seems like a bad idea for pretty much the same reason that allowing booze-filled gun ranges is a bad idea (one man’s opinion).  Even if you can get past the idea of gun-toters fortified with a double or two of Jack Daniel’s…said gun-toters still have to get back home…and now they’re armed as well as under the influence! 

Now, lest you think I’m some sort of rabid anti-gun person…eh, not so much.  I enjoy shooting.  I’m really good at it…have been doing it since I was 12 or so.  I find something rather Zen in shooting.  I don’t hunt anymore, but will giddily punch holes into a sand hill near the compound when given the time and opportunity. 

I also enjoy having a drink or two.  We have happy hour every evening here at the compound.  BUT, drinking and shooting are two things that just don’t fit together in my brain.  It flies in the face of everything I was ever taught about gun safety by the NRA (as a kid) or the military (come to think of it, I was a kid then too).  It just wouldn’t occur to me under any circumstances…well, unless my drinking leads to me seeing hundreds of imaginary giant rabid tick-infested jackrabbits invading my lawn.  Jackrabbits must die!  Ummmm, okay, I’ll save that for another post too.

I get it.  The people who invest in these gun taverns think of it as entertainment, I guess.  But, I’ll go on record as saying I think it’s a bad idea.

And speaking of boozy gun toters, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, there is a special reception at the Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum this Saturday (8/22, 2PM to 4PM) where they will unveil the state proclamation proclaiming (hahaha…proclamation proclaiming…I need to learn to edit better) Temple Houston Day.  He may not have been perfect, but he is ours!  Please visit the museum and learn more about a gifted orator, attorney, and local historical figure.