When I was growing up, we had only one firearm in our home. Dad was always very strict about safety. Later, I found out that his mother had killed his brother with an "unloaded" gun. In my twenties, for Father's Day I gave my dad a Ruger Blackhawk, which was his first pistol. This began a long and enjoyable relationship with my dad and pistols.

Until I was forty or so, I was pretty much apolitical. My parents were Democrats, so I was a Democrat. I had no real direction and just took life as it came. I was in the Marine Corps, and then in 1967 my son was born. The weight and responsibility of the world began to take its toll on my good time attitude. I began to take work more seriously. Then, as they say, I grew up. When my granddaughter was born, I began to think of . . . (to read the remainder of this article, please log in below.)