Some anarchists might be pacifists. You might be as well. That's fine. For myself I find pacifist philosophies to be morally bankrupt and won't be advocating them here, but the thing to remember is that pacifism is a moral choice. I like moral choices, because they imply that there is a choice to be made. Societies where the individual doesn't even have the choice to defend themselves are thoroughly evil. I demand the ability, the inalienable human right, to defend myself, my home, and my family. If you choose not to, that's your choice and I will respect that so long as you don't force that choice on me.

We like guns here at VioPac. We get asked all the time, sometimes even by non-Frenchmen, why we need them. I guess they're worried that we might hurt someone or maybe, like spiders, they're just scared of firearms. The answer to that is the same as the answer to the question, "why do you need the right to speak your mind?" "Why do you need the right to vote?" "Why do you need to own your land, or your car, or your hat?" "Why do you need to drive?"

After all, you may say something that causes a riot. You may vote for a dangerously insane lunatic. You may put up a building that someone chooses to jump off of, or run someone down in your automobile. Your hat might in fact cause some great lady perturbable offense, giving her reason to faint and fall off a balcony. Sure. These things might happen. I, and every gun owner I know, are as likely to shoot someone as I am to smash their head in with a pickaxe, or stab them in the face with a knife, or saw off their limbs with a bandsaw, or garrote them with piano wire, or burn them alive with gasoline, or any manner of deadly mayhem we could pursue with any other tools.

Personally, I like shooting. I like having different tools to do it with. I don't hunt, unless I intend to use the meat, and I've never pointed a firearm at a person. There are many like me you wouldn't know about because we don't go out of our way to bring it up.

Caswell's Shooting Range and Urban Firearms Institute. An excellent place to get training. Their prices are decent and they have Ladies Nights Tuesday and Friday. One of the best gunsmiths in the area as well.

Note that we do have some reservations....

If you're looking for a good basic Kydex holster, VioPac once heartily recommended TSC Holsters here in the East Valley. However, they've sent us viruses three five many times now, so if nothing else we advise you not to communicate with them via email.

For day-to-day wear, if you've a bit more to spend we enthusiastically reccomend the Minotaur MTAC. It's comfortable, flexible, and can even withstand swing dancing.

Some good fora that might be of interest to East Valley shooters include ArizonaShooting and AZ Weapon Site; keep in mind that the latter is very "tacti-cool" and deeply painful on the eyes.

Specific to VioPac interests, AR-15.com and the AK Files provide excellent resources for owners of these rifles.

Though not a forum, RKBA.org has been an invaluable resource for many, many years. Check it out.

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