Two Reasons to Celebrate July

July 4 is Independence Day and a true reason to celebrate our freedoms. Firearms owners have another reason to celebrate as well since July is Gun Pride Month.

The message of Gun Pride Month is that gun owners are part of our society. We are good people who do good things, and our firearms protect the rights (and sometimes the lives) of people who do not own guns.

As many Gun Talk reader are aware from marketing and media coverage, there is another Pride Month.

LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride, a source described. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and has since spread outside of the United States. Modern-day Pride Month both honors the movement for LGBT rights and celebrates LGBT culture.

For July’s event, the publication American Thinker noted five good reasons for celebrating a Gun Pride Month:

1.     Guns can be enjoyable and produce fun.

2.     Even true liberals recognize the importance of the Second Amendment.

3.     Leftists hate liberty and the tools that preserve it.

4.     We need to talk about the Second Amendment outside the hysteria of a tragedy.

5.     The United States wouldn't have gained independence without guns.

In 2019, Bearing Arms wrote:

We should have a month to celebrate our support of the Second Amendment. We should have a month where we remind people that we exist, that we’re their neighbors and co-workers, their doctors and lawyers, their bankers and checkout clerks; we’re everywhere. More importantly, we should remind people that we’re not going anywhere.

I could not agree more. Each July I celebrate our ongoing and historical efforts to preserve independence. And I also celebrate that many of us live in states that value our gun rights. The U.S. Supreme Court verified that with a decision in June 2022 that has created some massive liberal antigun pushback.

Currently 27 states have permitless firearms carry, and I’m proud that my state of Arkansas is among them. Sadly, too many other states and local jurisdictions have blocked that ability and have thrown even more legislative bureaucracy in the face of preserving our Constitutional firearms rights.

Additionally I celebrate the fact I can carry and use a firearm to protect me, my loved ones, my property and innocents who may not have that ability. And perhaps being a bit smug, I celebrate that I am another barrier to tyranny, whether it originates from our government or outside sources.

Every day we see efforts to remove or restrict our firearms rights. Celebrating Gun Pride Month means having the mindset that exercising our Constitutional and state rights shows our commitment to ourselves and others. In doing so, we are preserving those rights as vital in today’s society.

Let’s make July’s Gun Pride Month a celebration to show that we honor our rights and abilities to Stay safe, be prepared. ~ Mike

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Mike Sampson
Mike now calls Northwestern Arkansas home, but has lived and worked in several states and internationally. He has been an independent contractor and consultant since 2006 specializing in risk management, emergency management and training. In addition to work as a law-enforcement planner and technical writer with the Boise, Idaho, Police Department, he has experience in journalism, crop and animal agriculture, dryland farming for 20 years in western Kansas, plant and animal diseases, pandemic influenza, agroterrorism, bioterrorism, food safety and healthcare marketing.

He has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and has newspaper and agency writing and editing experience. At Washington State University in Pullman, he earned a master’s degree emphasizing adult education and communications.

While living in Lander, WY, Mike provided photographic coverage of the One-Shot Antelope Hunt for three years, and got to meet and accompany folks such as Chuck Yeager, Carroll Shelby, Buzz Aldrin, Dale Robertson and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf on their hunts. He also worked as an outfitter’s guide.

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