Year: 2008

The debate moves to Washington State:

George Coulbourn is an NRA member too but works as a volunteer backcountry ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. He sees no benefit to allowing people to carry loaded weapons in the park. Kris Paynter is the mother of two young girls and the wife of a police detective. She said allowing guns at Mount Rainier would ruin the sense of sanctuary the park now offers.

Yeah, that’s a rational reason for forcing me to run the risk of ending up like this woman.   I mean, heaven forbid we ruin anyone’s sense of sanctuary.

“If you’re not comfortable visiting the park because of animals, you don’t belong there,” Coulbourn said. “I have seen countless bears in the backcountry of Mount Rainier. But every single one of them has ignored me or run away.”

He added that the handgun a park visitor would likely carry into the park would not have enough stopping power to bring down a bear or cougar.

So basically he’s saying I have to risk being lunch if I want to visit the park?  What he says about stopping power is definitely true, but I’d take my .44 Magnum over my bare fists, or swiss army knife.  I wonder how long it took the News Tribune to track down all these gun owners who are opposed to removing the restrictions in National Parks.

My gay friend Andrew, who has been the subject of other Random Conversations, is from Montana.  I decided to talk to him about a serious topic:

Sebastian: Is Montana depressing?
Andrew: I like the state in theory, but there’s not a lot to do and it can be lonely and frustrating.  As much as I like it here I kind of want to leave sometimes.
Sebastian: Do you ever want to kill yourself?
Andrew: Why do you ask? Are you feeling depressed?
Sebastian: I’m wondering why Montana is one of the leading suicide states in the country
Andrew: Because it’s almost all rural.  Even in Helena, even though there are people, there’s really almost nothing to do. For an awful lot of people the only thing to do on a weekend is drink.
Sebastian: According to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, we need to take all your guns away so you don’t kill yourself so much
Andrew: Is gun the typical suicide in Montana?
Sebastian: CSGV says that guns make it easy to kill yourself
Andrew: I dunno.. I mean, it’d be easy and fast. but.. I would always be afraid the bullet would go on and kill someone else too in a freak accident.  Plus, what if you Didn’t kill yourself and only brain damaged yourself? Eww.
Andrew: The only people I personally know who have done it or attempted, none used guns
Andrew: Car is a popular one. and trains
Sebastian: What about covering yourself in honey and looking for a Grizzly Bear?
Andrew: Nah. If I ever did it it’d have to be a way where it’d be nearly certain death and quick. That way is neither.
Andrew: Probably a long fall down a straight mountain cliff in Glacier Park. Pretty view.
Andrew: As for banning guns… if they want to ban anything people can kill themselves with, they need to ban cars and level the mountains and outlaw pharmaceuticals
Sebastian: pretty much
Andrew: I just find it ironic that they use Montana as an example for why gun control is necessary. It’s not like a nanny-state city where everyone is anti-gun…  Montanans generally like being able to own guns

So there you have it.  Gays in Montana don’t seem to be contemplating suicide.  Don’t seem to be contemplating using guns to do it, or contemplating using honey and Grizzley Bears.  And before you say this isn’t a representative sample, how many gays do you think are really in Montana?  Brokeback Mountain nonwithstanding.