I got a chance to review TimberVaults.com’s Homestead Gun Concealment Mirror, w/RFID Lock. In one word: impressive. This is something John Wick would have.
After ordering the mirror, it arrived quickly. It looks good. It’s quality furniture. It works. It’s made in Florida. It’s perfect for bedrooms or living rooms. Inside, your valuables are safely and securely hidden. RFID locking mechanism offers more security than a typical magnet-based lock. It’s one-piece construction makes installation much easier. It’s designed for placement between two wall studs on 16” centers.
I really like this. I have a persnickety spouse, so if it looked cheap, it wasn’t going to be used. She likes it.
You can adjust or remove internal shelves to accommodate a variety of private items. Velcro lining provides secure placement. Two strong magnets securely hold metal objects like knives or handguns. It comes with two RFID key cards and one programming key card.
According to the instructions, Every unit is pre-programmed with an audible warning when the RFID locks batteries are nearing end of life.
The only negative for this piece of furniture is that you have to mount it inside your wall. If you are not a DIY, and have knowledge of drywall construction, you made need to Google it for YOuTube or get a handy friend. It is made to recess into you wall so that it is “concealed” and looks like a flush wall mirror. While that may be obvious to some, I didn’t want to leave you without tell you. This may be especially crucial for an apartment owner or renter that cannot alter the walls of your dwelling. It’s not hard labor though.
If you want to be prepared, secure or pretend to be John Wick, check out TimberVaults.com and tell them Kenn Blanchard sent you.
I think a lot of what is put out about 3D Blueprinting guns is bovine excrement (BS). I admit that some of the reports are true, but I don’t believe the hype is warranted. It doesn’t represent freedom. It doesn’t present a clear and present danger. It is just another “thing.”
I say this because I see the folks that are benefiting from the attention. This thing has been around since 2013 and is coming from what looks like to me a guy loving the attention with his ugly plastic gun called the Liberator. Which looks a little like the real metal pistol (FP-45 Liberator manufactured by the US military during World War II for use by resistance forces in occupied territories. Comparatively, a zip gun from the streets is more dangerous than this 3D printed gun)
So what happened?
Cody Wilson, of Defense Distributed, came under fire after uploading code for the world’s first 3D printable firearm, a plastic single-shot pistol also called “The Liberator.” It’s now out there for all.
As a responsible gun owner and lifetime activist, I know that except for gaining attention, and giving ammunition to politicians that will milk this thing for all they can— it’s a non-issue.
In 1982, when Gaston Glock put out his 17th version of his safe action pistol made of 33 parts, in polymer and steel, called the Glock 17, folks said the same thing about “plastic guns.” It even made a mention in the first Die Hard movie. The myth of the plastic gun is that it will be able to go undetected. The truth is that bullets if nothing else are metallic. The quality of gun that can be made with a 3D printer would not be economical, practical, or safe. But that doesn’t stop anyone from hyping this thing.
What is 3D Printing really?
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D-printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process, an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
It starts with making a virtual design of the object that is to be created. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D-modeling program (for the creation of a totally new object) or with the use of a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). A 3D scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object.
According to the news, Cody Wilson is suing the U.S. State Department for his constitutional right to 3D print guns. In May 2013, the federal government demanded that Wilson take down the instructions. They claimed that Wilson and his company Defense Distributed were exporting secret military hardware for anyone to take, which violates the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or ITAR.
However, Wilson believes that 3D-printed guns should be protected by not only the Second Amendment but the First as well. Technically all he created was a digital how-to guide, which is free speech, he says.
Wilson’s lawyers told the New York Times that the case was supposed to be settled two months after the State Department ordered the instructions removed. But after two years without a ruling, Wilson is counter-suing for having his speech restricted. As the Times noted, Wilson thinks his effort drew particular scrutiny because it happened shortly after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012.
One of the things I learned after this podcast episode is that all of Cody’s files are already in the public and that 3D printing is not only polymers but you can also do it in metals like even titanium.
It’s not good for our community to side with this crap. It’s not a threat. It is feeding the attention whores on both sides of the argument. Politicians are using this to scare people and galvanize their campaigns.
Don’t be fooled by the threat of a 3D printed gun. A 3D printer can cost around $2500. Any gun printed can be detected by TSA and almost all x-ray machines.
Criminals are not going to all that trouble, since the guns themselves tend to disintegrate quickly and traditional firearms are easier to come by.
Unlike traditional firearms that can fire thousands of rounds in a lifetime, these polymer ones usually hold a bullet or two and then must be manually loaded afterward. And they’re not usually very accurate.
3D printers can make parts for guns to make them un-serialized aka “ghost guns” but the BATFE is well aware of all of that. A ghost gun is a firearm without a serial number. To the uninitiated it sounds like the stuff movies are made of. It’s not. In the US, under Federal law, it is legal to make a firearm for your own use. It has to be a firearm that is not regulated under NFA. That means it can’t be fully automatic, a short barrel shotgun, a short barrel rifle, or a disguised gun of some sort.
Zip Guns
The premise, however, is great for political grandstanding. Case in point, there is a state attorney that is also suing the Trump administration for making the settlement with the guy that started this whole thing out of Texas. In addition, their lawsuit asks for a nationwide temporary restraining order that’ll prevent him from uploading the gun design files online.
Last week, attorney’s general from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the city of Los Angeles also threatened legal action in an effort to ban access to the guys’ website in their local jurisdictions.
My point is; 3D gun printing is here and possible but this is not a bell we should be ringing in celebration of freedom. Don’t give the anti-freedom people a rope to hang us with using the support of the ignorant.
This video is pretty snazzy. And makes some points that I agree with and disagree with.
What do you think?
This week on the Black Man With A Gun Show Podcast ends a month long break I took to reassess and reflect on my success and failures of blogging and podcasting. I attended the Podcast Movement and hobnobbed with successful podcasters and Content Creators. I got a chance to remember why I do this thing that my wife still doesn’t understand called “podcasting.” She is not alone though.
I plan to be more purposeful with the show. It even starts with a new tag line, which is “The Responsible Gun Owners Podcast.” I have decided to “stay in my lane,” and be the common sense guy. That alone ought to ruffle feathers the way things are now.
Last week, I married a couple of great people under the Speak Life Church banner at Duke University Chapel but before going to Podcast Movement. Michael J. Woodland reviews the Break Thru Clean product for us.
I’ve reviewed firearms, food, gun parts, airguns, and clothing, but this is the first social media service I have ever had the opportunity to test drive. This is an extremely positive review of a service I used from SocialNetworkElite.com to increase my Instagram (IG) numbers. Everybody doesn’t use IG but if you do and don’t have a network television show, or a staff of folks helping you, I got a recommendation for you.
I didn’t know what to expect when the CEO, Justin H., of this new company hit me up. He gave me 30 days to kick the tires of this thing. I was leery. I didn’t want “bots” or fake accounts. The process was easy. The growth was organic. It didn’t happen over night but once it began it was constant. I am glad I agreed to be a “test dummy” on this thing. The results are in. I hit my thirty-day mark in a couple of days from now.
At the time of this post, I kept over 600 new followers. I had more but I am persnickety. I un-followed some folks, that didn’t share my view of things. You get to decide. This service works folks! According to IG, my profile has been visited 813 times in the last seven days.
If you truly want to organically increase your instagram follower numbers, visit social network elite now.
I’ve been podcasting since 2007. The Black Man With A Gun website has been around since 2000. I know 999 things that don’t work. I am still at it. Podcasting still is an awesome medium for marketing even if the firearms industry doesn’t know it yet as a whole. It won’t replace terrestrial radio but has its own space. It has a long tail. I love it.
The Black Man With A Gun Show provides a connection to the people I know and would hang out with if they lived next door, around the world. We know each other. I love the people in the gun community.
So before hanging up my microphone, (which I was considering) I decided to go to the largest podcast convention for content creators, movers and shakers to better my craft. My wife still doesn’t understand that I have almost 2,000,000 downloads in a niche. Nor exactly what a podcast is but it’s OK. She’s not the only one. Podcasting itself is less than 20 years old. I went to the 2018 Podcast Movement in Philadelphia. Here are some of my biggest Podcast Movement lessons.
The event started for me with an Ignite speech. It was a chance for me to deliver a five minute talk with (20) PowerPoint slides to showcase my gift of public speaking. I’ve been speaking for 20 years and pretty comfortable on stage. Although this crowd was not part of the gun community per se, communication is still key. I realized during this conference that maybe one of the things I could do to help others is to show how to be better on stage.
The next three days were full of presentations, media exhibits and meeting people. The most important thing was the development of those new relationships, and connecting with like-minded people from around the world. I got to talk to a handful of folks that are changing the world through their content creation.
I got a chance to ask the pros what worked in their markets. What was selling and what was not.
There were probably 1800 people there or more. All of us had something in common. We had community. We had family. We have something to say.
It was an expensive week, but I think it was worth it. I’m going to spend more time making my show better for my community. Going to do more of what you like. I’m going to be more purposeful in my content. And continue to lead.
I met podcasters like Entrepreneur On Fire, John Lee Dumas. I got to hang out with John Dennis and Chris Krimitsos. Really nice guys that are like family to me.
I got a selfie with the lovable Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income. Pat gave the Key note speech and even brought his son into the act (literally). Nice.
We celebrated a Hall of Fame moment with my buddy Dave Jackson from the School of Podcasting. He was actually inducted into the Podcasters Hall of Fame that week.
I got the opportunity to speak to podcast editor great, Steve Stewart. And a boatload of positive people like Monica Rivera, from You Wanna Do What podcast. It was a great week.
Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.
I’m going to Podcast Movement in Philadelphia, PA. It’s a big deal if you are into podcasting, and creating content for others online. http://podcastmovement.com
Podcast movement 2018 is THE ultimate gathering spot for anyone interested in or involved with podcasting and the podcast industry.
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in historical Downtown Philly Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in their choice of over 80 breakout sessions and panels, including the Technical Track, Creations Track, Marketing Track, and an Industry Track.
The goal of Podcast Movement is to bring together and educate active and aspiring podcasters, and to grow the podcast community and industry as a whole. We do this through educational and informative breakout sessions and panels spread across six tracks, enlightening and encouraging keynote presentations, and fun networking events and parties. With over 3,000 attendees joining us over the last five years from nearly 30 different countries (and growing), we are excited to continue the mission of Podcast Movement for many years to come.
The Podcast Movement is for anyone currently involved with, or looking to get into, podcasting and the podcast industry. With over 300 speakers and panelists participating in over 100 different sessions for three full days’ worth of sessions and activities for active and aspiring podcasters.
They will be providing basic technical sessions regarding equipment, software, and editing, to learning the best way to craft a story. If you’re experienced, they know even the greats recognize things they need to improve on, so they’re bringing in the best podcasters and industry professionals to help you take things up a notch. And if you’re looking to refine your production, or looking for new ways to monetize, they’ll have dozens of sessions.
For those who have been doing this awhile like me, the Podcast Movement evolution will feature a large selection of sessions and panels geared towards “behind the scenes teams” with industry professionals. The most successful networks, ad sellers and buyers, statistic providers, and everything in between will be sharing what has been working (and what hasn’t) in the past year, and what they are doing for the future.
My goals are simple. I…
hope to gain (1) new friend.
hope to see old friends.
hope to learn (3) new things, including strategies, techniques and best practices of producing, editing, and sharing content.
hope to make a great first impression with someone who can help me go to the next level of my journey.
It’s going to be nice to be around people that understand what an RSS feed, wave file, royalty free music, downloads, uploads, Heil PR40, Mixer, blubrry, and libsyn are.
I hope to encourage someone else on their journey. If there is anything you want me to pick up, learn or share with you let me know.
I will be presenting a five minute briefing, Monday evening called Ignite with nine other folks chosen to “spark” ideas, enthusiasm, etc. Pray for me to succeed.
When we think about it, we all intuitively know that we learn way better with classes. They offer accountability, expert knowledge, structure, and feedback. The independence of self-teaching is enticing, especially with prolific online resources a click away, but idiosyncrasies sneak in every time, and people will learn more slowly with the result of incomplete knowledge or skills.
So why on Earth are people opting out of gun training classes?
At a time when guns are in the hot seat politically and vilified by the media more severely by the day, it seems more important than ever to know your stuff inside and out as a gun owner. Whether it’s the thrill of making that shot at a distanceyou never knew you could in competition or out hunting, or that unbeatable feeling of knowing what to do in an emergency (and how not to cause emergencies), there’s a lot to gain from learning shooting, not just teaching yourself.
Let’s look at it from the perspective of a brand new gun owner:
My dad taught me how to shoot when I was twelve!
We can first acknowledge that large portions of new firearms owners aren’t entirely new to firearms. They’ll be young people who were finally old enough to buy their own gun, able to save up for one, or ready to pursue EDC in their own lives. They’ll be the ones looking into classes thinking they’re too basic, or looking at the types of people who are buying guns for the first time due to fear, who are practically holding them like dirty diapers. The “some experience” types of should-be students got informal training from their parents on weekend visits to the range, hunting trips, or even working with their parents on gun maintenance. Maybe they have a healthy respect of gun safety because their dad was the very model of a modern major concealed-carry permit holder… but, then again, did they ever get dedicated, piece-by-piece instructional time? Probably not.
Guns are magic bullets that make you feel safer once you own one!
A large percentage of the population uses the words “feel” and “safe” in the same sentence regularly, illustrating the first problem facing a new gun owner who needs to get to a few classes. The new gun owner now has the toolto feel safe and doesn’t consider the practical skills required for that tool to actually create a safe environmentwith the everyday care and keeping of firearms, let alone when they need to use them. Leading to…
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Even if the new gun owner has studied safe gun ownership practicesand their new weapon, and even gone to the range a few times to practice, they might not know that they should practice with their holster, or secondary defensive skills (hey, bullets aren’t infinite except in Hollywood), or managing an emergency situation as a lay first responder. It’s not to discredit new gun owners, but it’s a simple fact of life that one “skill” actually involves about a thousand smaller ones. The trick is to push through the “hot button topic firewall” to get people to think carefully about the act of using their gun in real life, not just having it and occasionally visiting the range.
“First day of school” Anxiety
In this case, the anxiety breaks down into two main parts:
1. Finding a trustworthy class
We here in the gun community could be doing a better job making our own work legible to novice readers and buyers. Anybody researching a gun they might want to buy will also have to look up tons of jargon, abbreviations, and extremely technical writing.
After they’ve waded through that, it’s understandable how they might have diminished patience for finding a trustworthy first timer class. Ranges do not look like yoga studios or gyms, all windows and open space and smoothies. The first time someone goes, they’ll feel a bit like they’re entering a lair or a bunker. The staff is armed (smart for business, unsettling for those who aren’t used to it), the range, though well-kept, is concrete and drab at best, and it is very clearly a “tactical zone,” with lots of strict rules, standard precautions, and a somewhat intimidating atmosphere.
Besides the struggle of just getting to a place to practice with a weapon, someone who wants to take a class will have to try to sort out the reputable programs from the scams. From the seemingly reputable programs, they then have to decipher which classes have enough qualified instructors and holistic curriculums. You could see where it might start to read like Greek to the novice shooter.
2. Being the little fish
If they can push through and get to a class, the new gun owner is sure to meet at least one much more experienced gun owner, their instructor. As someone who just purchased a firearm, the student is probably still working on the “not all guns are bad” concept, especially in the context of armed, experienced shooters in the same room as them, ready to talk guns.
On top of that, newcomers to any hobby seem to think they’re starting from a lower baseline than the rest of their class (exception: the “my dad taught me how to shoot when I was twelve!” guy). They’re going to feel like they’re not prepared for even the first day, that they can’t ask questions because they should know the answer and that their classmates are way ahead of them in training.
We’ve all seen these classes and know it’s not true, but you can’t blame them for feeling that way, especially when deliberately entering into a taboo-status skill.
In every excuse or rationalization for not taking a gun training class as a new gun owner, we see those little endearing but infuriating quirks of the American personality: the cocky, the stick-in-the-mud, the no-patience. Finally, we see that, on average, America is still just a little bit delusional about gun ownership.
As experienced shooters and competent, responsible owners, now is a fantastic time to modernize our blogs, training course sites, and other media, to make it inviting for the people who most need to read what’s on there.
We also need to recognize that we’ve gone Deep Technical for a long time and that we can’t expect non-shooters to meet us there. While the US is fighting over gun control and flinging their misinformation all over the place, we’ve shown that we can do a lot better engaging people on an educational path rather than in a political debate and climate that isn’t going to make anybody safer or smarter.
A look back over the past 25 years as a gun rights activist and a company I started called African American Arms & Instruction, Inc. (A3i).
Michael reviews some tactical pants.
Shoot don’t Shoot scenario.
How long have you been my friend?
Did we meet in person when I started training security guards in 1987? Did we meet at the Radio One Black family reunion on the mall in Washington, DC back in 1992? We introduced the NRA’s Eddie Eagle to the city and sold out of brochures and stuff. Did we meet in Baltimore City when I gave a safety talk and show and tell in the park at a daycare center and to the cub scouts?
Thank you for following this podcast and blog. You are the reason I do this. You have been the positive result from hours of time and thousands of dollars spent. It’s been quite a journey with you. We’ve met at NRA annual meetings, at Gun Rights Policy Conferences, SHOT show, on the range, on the radio, and now on social media. Some folks have actually seen me preaching at the church in Washington, DC. You have seen me on stage. Where you at the NRA Annual meeting when Marion Hammer, Tanya Metaska and Charlton Heston gave me a civil rights award?
Did we meet at the state house in Richmond, VA with the testimony for the change of concealed carry laws? Did we meet in Austin, Texas when I was on the hot seat with Attorney Royce West? Did you hear me in South Carolina lobbying that councilmen that was also a Baptist preacher? Do you remember when I spoke in Lansing, Michigan to reform concealed carry laws? Do you remember the bunch of time in Annapolis, Maryland when we tried our best to change the minds of the backwards thinking politicians there? Remember that time, the Brady Campaign pimped the mothers of gang violence in? Were we on the steps of Madison, Wisconsin as the snowflakes fell. The Law Enforcement Alliance of America was big back then.
Do you remember when your friend and brother from another mother was quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times, and Washington Business Journal? Did you see Larry Elders, “Michael and Me ” back in 2004? You should go on Amazon.com and see if it is there. I was hyped on that one. If you are from South Africa, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, or Papua New Guinea did we connect after Miriam Margolyes had me on her documentary the BBC’s “Dickens in America; My American Journey” (2004).
Do you remember when I was on TV-One’s, “Sharp Talk with Rev. Al Sharpton” (2007) defending the right to keep and bear arms nationally? That was unreal.
This is all before social media really. For most folks though, I think you found me on the podcast. The Urban Shooter that I started in 2007. Was that it?
Did we meet in 2014 when I shared a stage with the now president of the United States in Albany, NY? Did we meet when I spoke in Atlanta, GA for the Georgia Gun owners or in Phoenix, AZ for AZCDL.org.
I have been there, tried this and that, and failed at more things that you can shake a stick at. I had a cool outdoor internet radio show called Blanchard Outdoors that was doing good till we got comfortable. I’ll share that story offline when we meet if you remember to ask me. It has been in an incredible ride.
How did it start?
After four years of qualifying truck drivers, polygraphers, field agents, and police officers for the CIA, for armed duty I had learned more about firearms than anyone in my family. We were hunters and fisherman but owning a firearm for self-defense, carrying one legally concealed, traveling, storing, and using one defensively was not even discussed. When I was moved to work with covert operators, analyst and foreign agents, my life changed. I started to learn what is referred to as “tradecraft.” I found out that I was a knuckle dragger among my Ivy-league peers that would be traveling to the exotic places that I had only seen in James Bond movies. The strange thing was that these folks had little street knowledge and they would be going to the mean streets of capital cities around the world. They couldn’t make it in Newark but they were going to Nepal. They couldn’t survive in LA but were on their way to La Paz.
Having spent a few years in the Marines Embassy program abroad, I started to put some of my past experiences together with what these new students might need versus what they were being taught. My initiative was appreciated and ego stroked. I became a trainer of folks going to hostile environments more often and started traveling to our range facility so much I thought they were going to make me a permanent member of the place. It was something I wanted actually. It was too early for that. That position came later and was awarded to someone else.
I created a few programs that are still in use in the government. Feeling used and unappreciated I thought about what it would be like to create a firearm safety business to train law enforcement, security and ordinary citizens in concealed carry, home safety and do what hasn’t been done to prevent accidents in the homes of urban Americans.
This was 1990. MC Hammer is on the radio .
It was before George Foreman was selling grills. He is still boxing and knocks out a guy named Cooney. The Major of Washington DC is arrested in drug sting. Nelson Mandela is freed after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa. Mike Tyson is knocked out. And I was sent overseas to protect a family from a guerilla army.
When I returned I was given additional training and decided to change my line of work. It was in 1991 that I created African American Arms & Instruction, Inc. I pitched the idea to three of my friends on the way back from training one afternoon and two of the three decided to start it. We didn’t have a template, or a good business plan. We didn’t have a business or marketing background. This was before the internet was a staple in every household and cell phone. It was before Facebook, Instagram and Linked-in.
Starting at ranges around the Maryland and Northern Virginia area I learned that gun control had taken a toll on my potential audience. The only ones that wanted my services were single mothers of black boys wanting “a man” to teach them and their boys responsible gun ownership, two parent households of black nationalists, followers of Garvey, the Nation of Islam, and those of the anarchist mindset. Security officers looking to get re-qualified for armed duty after failing their shooting days at the range, just wanted to pay me for my signature. They didn’t want to learn officer survival, safety or a better way to shoot and qualify. They were used to paying their “instructors” to certify them.
I had major problems with all of it. I was American by birth. My ancestors were enslaved in this land. I was free. I have served my country and was still serving it. I am nobody’s victim. I have been wronged in my lifetime. I have faced racism. I have been in presence of racist black, white and yellow and brown. I know the real thing. I don’t blame anyone for the color of their skin but will judge them on the content of their character. I have a problem with apathy, willful ignorance, and hate. I threw everything into making my business grow as I could in the early nineties. I did it to the point of bankruptcy. I learned the character of my new wife at the time. She was willing to stick by me, though I didn’t deserve it.
I was about to give up, when I found out that the NRA was having a board of directors meeting in a nearby hotel in Arlington, VA. I thought I’d crash the party and see what the good old boys are doing. In my mind, they would be holding Pabst blue ribbon beers, talking to congressmen, dressed in bib overalls, blue jeans, and orange hunting outfits. I didn’t know anything about the NRA in 1991. The CIA had shielded me from them whenever we trained. If a class was sponsored by one of their trainers or one of our guys had attended the train the trainer program, the political view point of the NRA was always given with a disclaimer. I didn’t know what my political view point was at that time. I was a hammer of the US Government and I didn’t care who was in office.
When I entered the ballroom, I soon found out three things. The first was that I was the only person in the room with a tuxedo or dark suit. The second was the only other black guy in the room was Roy Innis, not counting the wait staff. He nodded to me but didn’t approach me. The third thing I realized was that I had stereotyped the NRA and had made the same “you guys like to dance, eat watermelon, love fired chicken and drink grape Kool-aid,” kinda thing.
Three old white guys in tuxedos came over, introduced themselves and ignited my passion for history, and gun rights activism. They cautioned me to avoid the media in the room, so that I wouldn’t come off looking like a “Bubba.” They piqued my interest in history by quoting bits of history I had never heard. I was a proud, intelligent black man, how are you going to tell me about parts of black history that I don’t know?
I couldn’t wait to ask my elders, and do my own research. When I found out that they were right, I was ashamed and glad at the same time. What else have I been wrong about in life? It was an awakening to me. I became self-actualized. Slowly through the next few years of speaking engagements, travel, study, and being in the company of state and federal law makers I changed.
Abraham Maslow has a pyramid of Self Actualization I learned in Psychology 101. I actually figured what that was when I became self-actualized. I started to be ok with knowing that I didn’t know everything. I started to accept myself as I was. I stopped chasing influencers and live day by day. I took on the name of my website and although it could be a shocking name, I was not into that. I am just unconventional. I begin to grow as an adult. I started to take responsibility for how I thought, and what I thought. I started to feel blessed. I was grateful for everything I had. I realized that everything was small in the scheme of things. And I was not going to sweat it. I started a path to love everyone regardless until they showed me a reason not to.
Trying to get on the radio full time as a firearms instructor failed but did get me on monthly as a topic for a well-known urban radio personality to talk gun rights. I learned that the Second Amendment was an evergreen topic in politics. I learned that gun rights advocacy is a cause and not a career. I learned that politics is a self-serving game not a government activity to help someone.
I learned that almost everything involving people can be boiled down to an algebraic formula. You can persuade and manipulate people to do almost anything you want to. And if you expose the lie to them, and tell them they are free, they will rebel and get mad at you for lifting the veil from their face. They don’t want the truth. It’s like that old cigarette commercial for Tareytown “Some would rather fight than switch.”
They cling to hate, socialism, racism, slave mentality, victimology, false prophets, and group think.
In 1992, I started a gun club named after the Tenth Cavalry Army unit aka the Buffalo Soldiers. It was a good premise. I learned a lot about people in the gun community. I learned about the power of numbers and marketing. When I had almost a hundred black people going to the range once a month, it gave me clout I wasn’t ready for. Ranges started to think every black person at the range was a member of our group. I became a local hit. Gun clubs nationally started asking me how to get more people of color into their groups, in order to save them from being ostracized by the community and extinction. I had the opportunity to exploit and I refused. The club was the first group to visit the new NRA building and range facility in Fairfax.
A3i took a bunch of photos but we didn’t last that long as a group. By the time, I got a business loan to open a training office near a local Maryland range I was on my own.
It lasted a year before going under. As it did, the NRA, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, American Shooting Sports Foundation, CATO Institute and the Second Amendment Foundation found me. I traveled the country. I ate asparagus, sautéed spinach, and porterhouse steak for the first time in my life. I learned what lobbyist do. I saw what lobbyist see.
In 1999, a friend of mine, invested in me and help me build my first website to launch my book. AOL 1.0 was still working by baud modem attached to your phone line. Only big corporations had websites. When Y2K hit, my site was bigger than the NRA’s. I took the opportunity to hold prepping classes we would call today. I had several elder members of the Tenth Calvary that knew how to grow, can and prepare food for the apocalypse. Thank God it didn’t come but we had some good learning sessions.
I started writing my book, Black Man With A Gun that is no longer in print when I was working as a sexton in a church where I later received the Call to ministry in. I thought that was going to be it for the Black Man With A Gun, but it is not. I even got in trouble there a few times.
I was close to the end of my career in the government and was failing to get promoted because (1) I was rebellious, (2) was told they had seen me on TV, print magazine and wouldn’t be here much longer (3) I don’t even know what the last one could be, accept I thought they we retrying to get rid of me permanently a few times, but I am protected by the Blood of Jesus.
When my cousin, got a signing bonus to go from the Buffalo Bills to Chicago Bears, he loaned me some money to publish my book, and relaunch my business. I was so much in debt at the time, it was a nightmare. Another fail for your friend and brother. I was now known around the country as “that black guy into guns.” But it didn’t move the needle for me.
African centric book stores refused to sell my book, saying they don’t want to promote violence. This is the same bookstore with books written by pimps, hitmen, and drug dealers. Oprahs’ people sent me an inquiry note, reviewed my book and then six months later said it was not something they wanted to promote.
The gun club started to grow and chapters grew in New Jersey, Baltimore and Chicago but I was not into the attention I was getting. I even got some correspondence from South Africa. They were looking for a leader to spark the cause. And that even happened here. I was still an employee of the US Government. I fully knew about organized domestic terrorism and the groups looked like. I also knew that I had a very high government clearance I didn’t want to lose.
I thought about and was approached to run for governor under the Libertarian ticket while I was still a government employee, so I declined. It was nice to be asked though.
Since then we have been just bee bopping around. I’ve started a few new podcast. Taking my ministry online with Speak Life.
You got to pay to play on several things.
• I tried buying a range once.
• I tried getting on a radio station.
• I ran for public office once.
As the summer is coming, many of us will enjoy a favorite outdoors activity – camping. It is definitely important to plan ahead, especially if you take your family with you. Nowadays, there are many ways to make your camp life easier, although some of them could cost you a lot. In this article we will share with you some ideas that will help you relax while camping, without seriously affecting your wallet.
1. Have an emergency kit with you.
It is very common to have a first-aid kit in a car, but while camping you should have a survival kit with some additional features handy, such as basic medical equipment, a whistle, a compass, flint and steel. You can create a small box out of Altoid tin which will give you enough space to fit all the necessary items.
2. Prepare your own fire starters.
Considering the changing weather conditions and potential dampness of the wood, creating your own ready-to-use fire starters could really help you avoid unnecessary stress while starting a campfire. All you have to do is to stuff a cardboard paper tube with some dry lint.
3. Create your own lantern.
Instead of using camping lanterns, which at times can be way too bright, you can make your own lantern with less intense light. Just take a gallon of water and strap the headlamp around it. The light going through the water will be much milder.
4. Use solar energy to have light at night.
In order to avoid getting lost at night while going to the bathroom, take advantage of solar energy. You can place some outdoor solar lights near your tent, which will definitely help you walk at night without tripping over things.
5. Make your own mosquito-repelling bracelet.
While sometimes it is impossible to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, you can still stop a great majority of them. A Para cord bracelet infused with citronella essential oil will repel these blood-drinking insects, while a Para cord itself can be used in case of some other emergencies.
6. Take with you ready-to-use eggs.
You can speed up the process of making scrambled eggs by simply doing some of the work at home. The eggs must be cracked into a mason jar, then you have to store them in your cooler. Don’t forget to shake the eggs before you use them.
7. Prepare “shake & pour” pancake batter.
Same as it is with the eggs, you can also make your life easier by using a “shake & pour” pancake batter. Just prepare at home the dry mix and put it in a mason jar. Once you want to make pancakes, simply add an egg and some water. Then shake the jar.
We are sure that following these tips will save you some time while camping, which instead you can use to simply enjoy your stay in the nature. If you want to find out what else you can do to make camping easier, check outdoor gear reviews on Gear Lobo.
Disclaimer:
The opinions and or beliefs expressed in this post belong to the author, and are not endorsed or necessarily shared by Kenn Blanchard or other contributors to this site.
This week on the Black Man With A Gun Show Podcast episode 574 I have an conversation with the guy in whom the Heller Decision is named, Dick Heller. He is funny. I also share some back story that it originally had a black woman and friend of mine, Shelly Parker as the plaintiff. The history of Juneteenth and the importance of it relating to gun rights.
My birthday is six months before Christmas. It is also usually when the US Supreme Court meets and hands down a decision on a landmark case. Ten years ago, the Supreme Court did just that for us in the District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), that said:
…that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home, and that Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and requirement that lawfully-owned rifles and shotguns be kept “unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock” violated this guarantee. It also stated that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and that guns and gun ownership would continue to be regulated.
To mark that anniversary, I have a conversation with Dick Heller on this weeks podcast.
Michael Woodland talks about the community project. You can support it at http://gofundme.com/m-wtactical
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Juneteenth
It commemorates the emancipation of African-American citizens throughout the country.
American slavery took a chunk out of us that hasn’t healed. Juneenth is a day we should be celebrating freedom.
The word is a combo of the words June and nineteenth. Juneteenth marks the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas on 19 June 1865.
During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on 22 September 1862, to be introduced at the beginning of January 1863. Americans of African ancestry celebrate Watch Night on New Years Eve because of this. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states still in rebellion, freeing around 3 million of the 4 million slaves in captivity at the time.
Texas, even after military hostilities had ended, did not comply with the proclamation.
Major General Gordon Granger born in Joy, Wayne County, New York, in 1821 landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or neither of these version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.
One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”
The reactions to this news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation. Some stayed but a lot of folks went north getting off the plantations at first chance.
North was a logical destination because it represented true freedom, while the desire to reach family members in neighboring states drove the some into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The celebration of June 19th was coined “Juneteenth” and grew with more participation from descendants. The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas but not too many other places unfortunately.
On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. The successful passage of this bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. Edwards has since actively sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth all across America.
Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war. – Donald Trump
The ultimate rifle for every urban shooter should be one of the air guns from Airforceairguns.com.
I had the opportunity to review one for you. The one I have is called the Condor SS in .22 caliber. This is a pre-charged pneumatic air rifle. This is an epic rifle that is not a firearm but a serious choice for long range shooting, getting rid of pest and small game hunting.
You know that in a urban and suburban environment a firearm cannot be used to get rid of rats, rabid small game or target practice. You can do all that with this rifle.
The one I have shoots so fast that the lead pellet would have sounded like a .22 going off if it weren’t shot through a suppressed 18-inch barrel. Airforce airguns calls it Sound-Loc® reduction technology. It uses a “pony” like diving tank that locks into place and is a part of the design. I used a full size SCUBA tank to charge it to 2500 PSI. The tank holds 3000 PSI.
I went to Columbia Scuba, in Columbia, Maryland to rent the tank in order to charge the gun. The air went into the special designed nozzle without a hitch in a few minutes.
It has settings that allow you to shoot it and different settings. I had it moderately high and used about 15 single shots before the velocity decrease was noticeable. It still rings my .22 caliber steel target at 50 yards after that. I have shot about 25 shots through it now and have about a 1000 psi left. I know “your mileage may vary” but this gun is epic to me.
I would like to see a shooting club (hint hint) emerge of airforce airgun aficionados appear in my area.
Do you know these things come in different colors?
Features:
•.177, .20, .22 or .25 Caliber Lothar Walther Barrel
•Lightweight
•Recoilless
• Pressure Relief Device
•Adjustable Power
•Extended Scope Rail
•Ring-Loc ™ Valve System
•Available in Blue, Red or Original Black Finishes
Technical Specifications:
•Velocity: 600-1300 feet per second (Depending on caliber, pellet weight, and power setting)
•Power Adjustment: User-adjustable
•Maximum Fill Pressure: 3000 psi / 200 bar (Only use compressed air or dry nitrogen)
•Action: Single shot
•Weight: 6.1 lbs.
•Length: 38.125 inches
•Barrel: 18 inches
•Trigger: 2-stage adjustable for position
•Sights: Open optical sights may be installed
• Air Tank Volume: 490cc
• Safety: Automatic on cocking
I ordered a handful of different types of .22 pellets, hollow point, target, hunting, etc to try out over the next couple of weeks. I’ll let you know what I find out. Right now, I AM LOVING THIS RIFLE.
Which looks a little like the real metal pistol (
