I have a confession to make. I’m a girl. A girly-girl. I don’t like playing team sports, sweating, getting dirt on my hands or fishing. Well, I’ve never actually gone fishing, but it involves bait and bad smells, so I’m confident it’s not for me. I like pretty china, pink and smelling good. The irony of course, is that I have four sons, a husband and two male cats. My menfolk don’t mind me smelling good or wearing pink, but pretty china is wasted on them. They’re not interested in the plates – just what’s on them. Every so often, I need to spend time with my own kind – girls’ night out saves my sanity. Usually, I meet friends at an upscale restaurant where we enjoy food that we haven’t cooked and estrogen-laden conversation. It’s all very civilized. In fact, I started to feel like girls’ night out had become a little too tame and predictable. Then I heard some friends were planning a girls-n-guns get-together at a local shooting range. Revolvers, zombies and ammo? “I’m in!” I said/Cindy Hval, SR Front Porch. More here.

Question: Do you enjoy guns or target shooting?

• Thursday Poll: You'd better be careful if you're considering breaking into a home in Hucks Nation. 143 of 192 respondents (74.45%) said they'd shoot someone who was breaking into their house. 33 of 192 respondents (17.19%) said they would not. 16 of 192 (8.33%) were undecided.
• Today's Poll: Which observance means more to you — Earth Day or Good Friday/Easter?

Sisyphus: This is usually where I pull out my Mayberry analogy. I still view most of Idaho as Mayberry. And I prefer to react as Andy Griffith, not Barney Fife. I grew up with guns. I know how to use them. Family members own guns. I insisted my kids learned how to use them safely. But I don’t see the need to have one handy. I acknowledge that may change. Ironically there are campgrounds I just won’t go to because of the prevalence of alcohol and guns used in concert. I’ve rarely had a need for a gun to protect myself from large predators. But I’ve definitely been scared of my fellow man a time or two. (Wikipedia photo of Don Knotts as Mayberry character Barney Fife)

Question: Do you view Idaho as Mayberry, as Sisyphus does?

Military veteran Sherman Randolph has had second thoughts about an inappropriate comment he made during a meeting between the American Legion and city officials re: McEuen Field. At the time (shortly after the Tucson shootings, he said that regular citizens are going to have to start bringing their guns to meetings with city officials. In a letter to the Coeur d'Alene Press Sunday, Randolph wrote: “I am 60-plus years old and have strong, sometimes passionate, feelings. I believe in the order of law and until a law is changed, we are bound by God and man to obey them. Family, friends and associates, know me to be an honest, reliable, patriotic, God-fearing man. They also know that I am outspoken, opinionated and rarely politically correct. When Mr. Hasslinger asked me if I regretted my comment, I don't remember my exact response. In light of what has transpired as a result of this comment and his article, I have a number of regrets.” More here.

Question: When did you last make a public statement that you immediately regretted?

My father gave my first gun back in 1956, a single shot .22, and I’ve owned guns ever since. But until two weeks ago, I’d never been to a gun show. Since I’ve been writing about guns and firearms legislation of late, and gun shows often came up in the comment sections of those articles, it seemed like my professional and civic duty to see what was really going on there. So I did it. What I found surprised me, and it probably would surprise a lot of people. First off, and no surprise here, gun shows are big business. I tried to find a total number of shows or sales, but couldn’t find a figure, but rest assured, it’s huge. Every state has gun shows, and nationally, those hundreds if not thousands of shows generate many millions in sales/Bill Schneider, New West. More here.

Question: When did you get your first gun?

Nathaniel Pulliam of Black Sheep sporting goods in Coeur d’Alene works the gun counter on Wednesday. The owners of Black Sheep put up the cutout of Barack Obama after the election. Kathy Plonka/SR.

Mirroring a national trend, gun owners in the Inland Northwest appear to be responding by purchasing as many guns as possible before Obama takes office. At Black Sheep Sporting Goods in Coeur d’Alene, a life-size cutout of Obama stands behind the gun counter adorned with the phrase “Salesman of the Year.” “There’s a lot of fear of peoples’ gun rights,” said Dave Knoll, owner of Black Sheep, speaking from a gun show in Las Vegas this week. “With a total Democratic Congress, anything’s possible. People are reacting in a strange way”/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.

SR Today In Photos

Question: Will Demo control of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government mean far tighter gun control?