Second Amendment

New Mouse Pad

The old one was getting worn out so I replaced it with this one. Most armed patriots have the words pictured above committed to memory, but it’s nice to see them in the mouse pad format.

The old pad had a different message: I AM A VETERAN — MY OATH NEVER EXPIRES. It also had an image of an American Flag with silhouettes of several armed combat soldiers overlaid on the flag.

I thought about sending a couple of these 2A mouse pads as gifts to our anti-gun senators here in Arizona, but realized it would be a waste of effort and money. The pad cost about $12 after S&H +tax added.

Scanned image above is clickable.

New AZ CWP Issued

Both Damsel and I submitted (on line) renewal applications for our Arizona Concealed Weapons Permits last month. The new permits arrived today and we are impressed with the new format showing a desert motif picturing mountains, a cactus and a roadrunner. Very nice. (Vital Statistics graphically Removed for Privacy.)

Not visible in the (clickable) photocopy above, are the watermarks that appear under certain light conditions which reveal a large number of concentric circles and a logo of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. All in all, we both are happy with the new format.

Since Arizona is actually a “Constitutional Carry” State, we don’t need to have a concealed permit at all. However, due to an unnecessary and UNCONSTITUTIONAL law in the US CODE, unless you have a CWP permit issued in the state where you are carrying, you are prohibited from coming within 1000 feet of any school:

18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(A) Makes it unlawful for any individual to knowingly possess a firearm that has moved in or affects interstate commerce at a place the person knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone

. The exception that we are interested in is:

State-Licensed Permit Holders: Carried by an individual holding a valid concealed carry permit issued by the state in which the school zone is located, provided state law required background/qualification verification. (Note: Reciprocal out-of-state permits generally do not qualify for this federal exemption).

Because of the exception noted above, we have to be very careful of where we go in the RV since we don’t have carry permits for other than Arizona and Utah. Of course, the law is Bullshit in the first place and needs to be struck down.

Unfortunately, and due to election fraud, we believe that our two Senators, both Democrats, are in office. It falls on deaf ears when we suggest to them that some of these rules need to be struck down.

Pray for righteous leaders to rise and prevail in the elections ahead of us. We are. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Hoplophobia

Hoplophobia is defined as the fear of weaponry (in this case guns) as coined by Col. Jeff Cooper in 1962. Although the phobia itself is not classified as an actual mental disorder. Personally, I think it should be.

Colion Noir posted this interesting video on you tube about an actual individual who suffers from hoplophobia:

I had a short conversation with Grok about the disease:

Have there been any actual clinical diagnoses for hoplophobia?

No, “hoplophobia” is not a recognized clinical diagnosis** in mainstream psychiatry or psychology.

Official Status

  • It does **not** appear in the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders* (DSM-5 or DSM-5-TR) published by the American Psychiatric Association.
  • It is not listed as a distinct code in the ICD-10 or ICD-11 (the international classification systems used for medical diagnosis and billing).
  • Major psychiatric and psychological organizations do not treat “hoplophobia” as an official diagnostic term.

How Fear of Firearms *Can* Be Diagnosed:

A clinically significant, irrational fear of guns or weapons *could* meet the criteria for a **Specific Phobia** (DSM-5 code 300.29; ICD-10 F40.2). Specific phobia is a real, recognized anxiety disorder. Diagnosis requires:

  • Marked, persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation (here, firearms).
  • The fear is out of proportion to the actual danger.
  • Immediate anxiety response when the object is encountered or anticipated.
  • Active avoidance or endurance with intense distress.
  • Significant impairment in daily functioning.
  • Duration of at least 6 months.
  • Symptoms not better explained by another mental disorder.

In practice, a clinician would diagnose “Specific Phobia, situational type” (or a similar descriptor) and note the fear of firearms in the clinical record. They would not typically write “hoplophobia” as the diagnosis.

Evidence of Clinical Cases

There are **no well-documented, peer-reviewed clinical case studies** in the medical literature that formally diagnose patients with “hoplophobia” as a distinct entity. Searches of medical databases (such as PubMed) turn up essentially nothing under that term. A few non-peer-reviewed sources and opinion pieces (often written from a pro-gun perspective) claim the condition exists and is treatable, but these do not constitute formal clinical recognition or systematic diagnostic evidence.

In short: while an extreme, impairing fear of firearms can be clinically valid and treated under the umbrella of specific phobia, “hoplophobia” itself remains a non-clinical, largely rhetorical term rather than an established medical diagnosis.

There seems to be some room under the diagnosis of “specific phobia” that would enable a clinician of mental disorders to apply treatment for the disorder to the individual in the video and for others of extreme fear.

Potpourri Post

Last week I posted about a cactus flower and this week (am I doing weekly posts now?) I am going to ramble on about a few things going on. First of all, There is plenty going on in our lives these days, some quite boring things and some a little more attention getting. Let me elaborate a bit:

  • We continue to live in a peaceful, tranquil place which does little to generate exciting headlines.
  • There are some background issues (mainly healthwise) that take up a little bit of time to accommodate what with professional visits and other things to do with growing older.
  • Life goes on with the usual business of running a household (max kudos to Damsel) with our flock of dependents (2 dogs and numerous cottontails, squirrels, birds, etc.)
  • The yard and garden are looking good this spring, but there is always some little chore that pops up. If it’s a big chore, we have our Landscape crew deal with it.
  • There are the hobbies and other time-consuming activities to relieve some of the boredom and/or excitement that comes along.
  • Food and Dining are a major item in our lives; we’re both on special needs diets and almost exclusively prepare all of our meals at home.

First, here is a photo I took this morning of a squirrel and a peanut. Note that the animals we consider as “dependent” don’t really depend as it were; we just like to treat them now and then.

I used the Canon SL3 camera for the above photo. Part of the hobby thing mentioned above. Our main cameras (my 2 and Damsel’s Canon T6i) continue to provide us with entertainment and some good photos now and then. Click on the image to enlarge.

I recently upgraded my everyday carry from the one I have carried for years to a new, easier to rack semi-auto S&W M&P Shield 9mm EZ. The old muscles and ability to operate the old Glock were getting to be incompatible.

Tomorrow, we will be taking the dogs for their annual exams and immunization updates. We will renew the County licenses afterwards.

This week, I need to make time to get a haircut. Due to other commitments, I have fallen out of sync with my regular trim schedule.

On Tuesday, I have consecutive visits with the General Practitioner Doctor and the Ophthalmologist, neither of which is other than a regular visit for checkup. I also need to reschedule a checkup with the Nephrologist which I had to cancel due to a conflict.

So, we’re still here doing things that you might expect for “generians” (septi- and octo-) to encounter in our lives. We will continue in this regard as long as it takes.

Labor Day 2024

For us here at Casandro Castle, AZ, we’re celebrating Labor Day this year with a simple cookout of grilled Cheeseburgers on Keto Buns (thank goodness and Oroweat™ for those low carb buns). These photos are from a previous cookout, but I’m confident that Damsel will be able to repeat her past performances.

Click on either image to enlarge.

Labor Day for us, is in recognition to the hard workers that made this country what it is today; we’re talking about the pioneers in the industrial revolution, the pioneers who built villages and towns from hand-hewn lumber, the inventors of technologies and advanced concepts for better living and the hard-working Americans who funneled their industry and hard work to set America on the path to becoming the greatest Nation in history. We are specifically NOT talking about labor unions and the damage that they have done to our Nation in the 20th and 21st Centuries. (Thanks, in part, to Jimmy Hoffa, et al, where ever they may be.)

As we head into the fall and the imminent political season of a presidential election year, may we all be inspired by the men and women who made this country great and to Make America Great Again.

If you are a gun owner or a firearms enthusiast in Arizona (or anywhere else) get registered to vote, and then vote for candidates that will vote to keep the second amendment intact.

May God bless the true laborers in our Great Nation and keep them free and secure. Amen.

Keep your EDCs handy and watch your six over the next few months.

FPC and SAF File Lawsuit on
 Post Office Carry Prohibition

The Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation plus some individual plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in the 5th Circuit Federal District Court regarding the prohibition of carrying a concealed firearm into or on the grounds of any US Post Office. They seek to have the court declare that such a prohibition is unconstitutional under previous Supreme Court Decisions. This is good news for us since we rent a PO Box at the local facility and it is a pain to have to disarm to merely stroll in and get our mail.

Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms reports on a previous ruling against the prohibition:

As FPC and SAF point out in their initial complaint, at least one other district court judge has already determined that making postal facilities “gun-free zones” violates the Constitution. In United States v. Ayala, a postal worker was indicted for possessing a handgun after he carried his concealed pistol inside a postal facility in Tampa. Emmanual Ayala has a valid Florida carry license, and says he had his pistol with him while hauling packages in a semi. Rather than leave the gun behind in his vehicle, Ayala kept it secured inside a fanny pack when he would enter postal facilities, but in September of 2022 he was stopped by postal inspection officials and was ultimately arrested by the Tampa police for bringing his gun into the facility.

In January of this year, however, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle threw out the charges against Ayala, ruling that the government had not demonstrated a historical tradition of barring guns in postal facilities.

This issue will probably be kicking around in the courts over the course of a couple of years. Keep in mind that it is VERY IMPORTANT to get the anti gun Democrats out of the Whitehouse and congressional majorities or this may never be resolved. Support the SAF and FPC and, most of all, support pro-gun choices for elected office at any level of government.

Yes – we’re back to blogging about our rights as Americans more frequently, we hope.

Continue to pray and support those who need it.

Happy 2024

Ringing in the new and ringing out the old. So long 2023.

We continue to be in good health. We both got annual eye exams in October and new eyeglasses were issued. Our prescriptions haven’t changed in the last several years but we both needed new eyewear since the old ones were scratched and getting worn out. I have my usual visits with the specialists and there was nothing to worry about save for a few skin lesions (some were cancer) which the dermatologist removed.

Over the last few weeks, we did a first cut at the 2023 taxes and no surprises. It looks like we’ll be getting a small refund. We also calculated the 2024 Required Minimum distribution for the IRA, and it will increase a bit since the IRA fund did better these last few months. Damsel also switched her Social Security on for the coming year and we will be getting a modest increase in benefits which is completely offset by the current ruination of the Nation’s economy.

Over the last several years, we have seen relentless attacks on our God-given rights as guaranteed by the Second Amendment. We continue to monitor our favorite You-Tube® Pro-2A channels and the Pro-2A blogs to stay informed about the state of gun-grabbers efforts.

So that’s it for our New Year’s message. We’re wishing you good health and providence from The Almighty in the coming year. God Bless!