{"id":7213,"date":"2013-01-23T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2013-01-23T19:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=7213"},"modified":"2013-01-23T14:46:03","modified_gmt":"2013-01-23T19:46:03","slug":"afternoon-read-wont-somebody-please-think-of-the-cowboys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2013\/01\/23\/afternoon-read-wont-somebody-please-think-of-the-cowboys\/","title":{"rendered":"Afternoon Read: won’t somebody please think of the cowboys?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo: anyjazz65CC some rights reserved<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The recent discussion about gun control and New York State’s new gun laws<\/a>, which I won’t go into here, has been rife with rhetoric and, on both sides, often short of understanding.<\/p>\n

I’m a fairly recent transplant to the North Country, and coming to a rural area from a lifetime spent mostly in big cities with historically high rates of gun crime, and a generalized fear of firearms, has been an education.<\/p>\n

Like many aspects of life in the North Country, I’ve come to accept that on the gun issue, as with many aspects of life in rural northern New York, I’m unlikely to completely understand the perspective of someone who’s spent their life up here. I think I do the most service to myself and others when I listen with an open mind and just try to absorb as much as possible.<\/p>\n

This in mind, I came across an article in the Watertown Daily Times today that I found extremely gratifying, for several reasons. The article, “Sackets Harbor Vigilantes club feels ostracized by gun control laws<\/a>“, tells the story of a local Wild West club that gets together periodically to hold “shootout” competitions where they fire classic American firearms. Since those antique guns hold 10-round magazines, the 30 members of the club were concerned that the new gun laws, which allow no more than seven bullets to be loaded into a gun at one time, would make their weapons illegal.<\/p>\n

The “shootouts” are family affairs \u2013 club co-founder Robert T. Wood describes them in the article as “the type of competition that brings together fathers and sons, mothers and daughters.” But the club considered canceling two “shootouts” planned for this summer.<\/p>\n

It’s now come to light, thanks to some digging by the Times, that the guns are apparently exempt from the law, because they’re antiques manufactured “at least 50 years prior to the current date.” So although the Vigilantes are looking for more clarification on the new law before they hold their events, they seem to be in the clear. (If you have questions about the new law, the state has provided a Frequently Asked Questions page<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Here’s why I love this story: First, although it’s unnervingly named, the Vigilantes club seems quite lovely, and the article features one member outfitted in cowboy gear, which really underlines the notion that these guys are really just shooting for entertainment, something many urbanites do have a difficult time getting their (our) heads around.<\/p>\n

Second, the fact that this question seems to have been resolved by looking for ways around a problem rather than by simply pushing against it with, again, heavy rhetoric and a distinct lack of listening, is, frankly, inspiring. It’s a small thing to look something up, but it’s surprisingly infrequent, in political discourse, that anyone ever does.<\/p>\n

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