From: ARCHER@utkvm1.utk.edu (T. Archer)
Subject: Re: Primitive FireArms
Organization: University of Tennessee 
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 19:46:44 GMT

In article <1992Dec29.164237.22803@progress.com> schuldy@progress.COM (Mark Schuldenfrei) writes:

Please forgive me good gentles all.  I had bespoke that I would cease my 
noisome commentary, as the illegitimate babble of the Unclean is unwelcome 
here, but this subject is one that touches me to the quick.  Assuredly, I 
will make but one public statement, and withdraw.

>Dan Sorenson (sorry, I've forgotten your SCA Name, and you didn't supply
>it this time) wrote:
>  	Where do we draw the line?  The SCA does not, I'm told, allow
>  firearms in contests, but a period firearm might be allowed on site if
>  there are no laws against it and it is in persona.

I was under the impression that we drew the line a what was period and what 
was not.  In fact, it was brutally beaten into my head in this forum that If 
It's Not Period, It Is An Abhomination Unto Our Sight, And Should Not Be 
Practiced, As It Has No Place In The SCA.  If firearms are period, they 
should be permitted, mundane laws withstanding, of course.

>
>Well, I'm not aware of any SCA law that specifically disallows firearms.
>Did you have one in mind?
>
>  	As a mundane note, I'm an NRA and an SCA member, and I do
>  not hope to see this discussion devolve into a "guns are dangerous
>  and have no place in society" argument.  For that, please mail me
>  directly (viking@iastate.edu).  Since they are period and interest
>  has been shown, let's discuss a proper SCA regulation for them.
>
>Fair enough.  But I do think that two background questions are in order,
>and I haven't the foggiest idea how to answer them.  I hope my friends
>on this Rialto have some opinions to spare...

There are always opinions on the Rialto Bridge.

>
>1. For many folks, especially the gentles who inhabit the crowded cities
>of the Northeast US, a gun is a scary object, a bugaboo, a taboo.  For

Why?  A firearm, in and of itself is not capable of harming anyone.  They 
can't leap off of a shelf, load themselves, jump into the hands on some poor 
victim, and then injure someone.  The moral culpability falls on the head of 
the operator, not the object.  Having a firearm around is no more dangerous 
than rat poison, automobiles, baseball bats, rattan swords, or swimming 
pools.

>gentles from other parts of the world, a gun is just a special kind of
>tool.  It's hard to make Society wide generalizations about a special
>kind of object, which produces a fearful or nervous response.  Many of
>my friends would react to a gun the way they'd react to a bag of noxious
>waste: disgusted and repelled.
>
>These are decent people, of good will and intent, who don't want guns
>around.  How can we address their needs, as well?

The same way we address the needs of people who want english country dances, 
recurve bows, or color-on-color blazons.  Insult, harass, and ignore them '
till they go away.

[snip]

>
>While the shooting and use of period firearms is, well, period, the
>noise and commotion of such firearms would disturb their recreations,
>even as it improves and enhances the recreations of other gentles.
>How do we introduce this recreation into the Society wide current
>Middle Ages, without really ruining the fun that already exists for
>some?
>

If we were to introduce period firearms, this would not be an issue.  For 
saftey reasons, the range would have to be so far from the main encampement 
that the periodic black powder reports would be less intrusive than the 
interstate traffic at the pensic wars.  If it were closer, it would be 
unsafe.

>As such, I find a moral quandry in the introduction of a sport that
>would be more period, but also more disturbing to the many folks who
>practice the chaos that is the SCA, *as it currently exists*.  
>
>How do we divide the baby?

This is actually an easy question:  we don't have to.  MOST places where 
people are irrational about firearms have banned them already, mundanely.  (
Try and carry a hunting rifle through New Jersey and you WILL get it 
confiscated.  Trust me.  But I digress.)  Let the local groups who are 
interested address the issue.  I don't see how Lady Imafobic's (From Up 
North) reaction to firearms matters to the Barony of Hellandgone, in the 
Badlands of Arizona.  Anywhere where we meet, the firearms people will do 
what we do anyway:  we check the legality before we so much as move an 
inch, and then abide by the local laws.

This reminds me of an issue raised in Time Out of Mind.  I got it second (or 
third) hand, but it went something like this:  Lady Imafobic and some of 
her cronies from Back East and Up North got in a snit about the idea of (
modern) firearms at event sites when they were traveling, as those ignorant 
Hillbillies in Meridies are Barbaric, and Carry Guns.  So an effort was made 
to ban firearms at SCA events. It managed to work its way up to BoD level, 
where the Boarder Kingdom folks said, "Excuse me?  WE camp with 
rattlesnakes."

Leave it local.

Hopelessly Ignorant, Uninformed, Unwashed, and Generally Out Of Period

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Vote Dempublican, it's easier than thinking.
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