Episode 121
EP #121 How easy is it really to buy a gun?
Welcome back to Dont get this Twisted
In this episode, Robb and Tina discuss the process and difficulties of purchasing a firearm. Tina shares her recent experience of buying a gun and the extensive paperwork and background checks involved. They also discuss the importance of owning a firearm for self-defense and the need for proper training and understanding of firearms. Tina expresses her discomfort with the crowded gun store and her plans to seek professional instruction on handling the firearm. In this conversation, Tina Marie Garcia and Robb discuss various aspects of firearms and shooting. They cover topics such as choosing shooting locations, the importance of regular training, misconceptions about carrying firearms, the responsibility of carrying a firearm, the importance of carry insurance, misconceptions about background checks, being prepared for any situation, the therapeutic aspect of shooting, competing with yourself in shooting, choosing the right firearm for you, encouraging others to get a gun, the importance of firearms in self-defense, the importance of firearms for hunting and survival, the Second Amendment and gun laws, the challenges of obtaining a firearm, and final thoughts and encouragement.
Explicit
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This podcast and website represent the opinions of Robb Courtney and Tina Garcia and their guests to the show and website. The content here should not be interpreted as medical advice or any other type of advice from any other type of licensed professional. The content here is for informational purposes only, and because each person is so unique, please consult your healthcare or other applicable licensed professional with any medical or other related questions. Views and opinions expressed in the podcast and website are our own and do not represent that of our places of work. While we make every effort to ensure that the information, we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors. Privacy is of the utmost importance to us. All people, places, and scenarios mentioned in the podcast have been changed to protect confidentiality. This website or podcast should not be used in any legal capacity whatsoever, including but not limited to establishing “standard of care” in a legal sense or as a basis for expert witness testimony related to the medical profession or any other licensed profession. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of any statements or opinions made on the podcast or website. In no way does listening, reading, emailing, or interacting on social media with our content establish a doctor-patient relationship or relationship with any other type of licensed professional. Robb Courtney and Tina Garcia do not receive any money from any pharmaceutical industry for topics covered pertaining to medicine or medical in nature. If you find any errors in any of the content of this podcast, website, or blogs, please send a message through the “contact” page or email DGTTwisted@gmail.com. This podcast is owned by "Don’t Get This Twisted,” Robb Courtney.
Transcript
I'm always down for that. Welcome to another show of Don't Get This twisted. I am Rob along with my co-host as always Tina. How you doing Tina?
Tina Marie Garcia (:I'm good, Rob. Had a good day today for a day off. How was yours?
Robb (:Nice. Oh, not too shabby. Today I had yesterday off as well because my pooch got his nuts taken. So yeah, his poor little ball bag is empty. It's not, like I didn't realize because I hadn't had a dog in so long. Unlike a vasectomy where you get to keep your nuts, for a dog, they don't.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Ew.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Oh.
Robb (:literally take their testicles. Yeah, it's sucky like his little ball bags empty. And they cut it, they cut it and then sewed it together. No, I mean, he doesn't need them. But it is it just it was interesting. And, and so he's he got it done Wednesday. The kids stayed home Thursday and watched him and he was kind of out of it yesterday kind of out of it but better. And then
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:You could get prosthetic nuts for it though if you want to.
Robb (:today, which we're recording on a Saturday for Wednesday show, he's now has energy again, which he's not supposed to be running. So I'm like, now it's like, the next the next two weeks is going to be or week and something is gonna be really hard. Because he's like, Oh, I feel better now. But he's still on. He's still on drugs. Tomorrow's his first day with no drugs. So so we'll see how that goes. He may be like, Oh, never mind. I'm not in a hurry to be running.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Well alright.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So before we start, check out our socials, give us some ideas for shows, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, soon to be YouTube radio or YouTube music. I don't know what it's called. We'll be putting the video show once I can convince you to do it, which is gonna be soon. I know, well.
Tina Marie Garcia (:You kind of just have to tell me we're doing it and then I'll panic.
Robb (:We're gonna start doing it, because I'm gonna put it on Spotify and I'm gonna put it on YouTube Music so you can watch it and or listen. So I asked you to do the show today and you were like, and I had an idea which we're gonna have to do another one. I think, no, I think we should do the one that you wanna do, because I think it's very important that this information gets out to the public because most people don't.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Well, we could do it. We could do either or.
Robb (:but we're gonna do one on relationship red flags. I think that's kind of an important one as well because I think before you get too deep, you need to look at red flags. And speaking of red flags, because they kind of go hand in hand. Red flag laws with guns, which we'll have to discuss during this. You wanted to talk guns and how...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm, which is not like me to want to talk guns ever
Robb (:No, no, which I kind of raised an eyebrow. I was like, hmm, that's odd. I wonder why. So we're gonna talk the difficulty of purchasing a firearm because you just went through that and I think there's a very large misconception of that it's very easy to purchase a firearm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I went today.
Robb (:and it's really not.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I wish it was easy, that was a pain in the ass today.
Robb (:It's like buying a car.
Tina Marie Garcia (:It almost took as long because I did that this month too. So yeah that took about I'd say what was it like six and a half hours, but this took almost four and I didn't even get to walk out with a gun like I got to walk out with my car. So Yeah
Robb (:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Robb (:Now.
Robb (:Correct. So, but before we get into knee deep, I'm just gonna say just based on what you told me, you actually purchased a gun for the first time. Correct? So, but you had to retake the test?
Tina Marie Garcia (:No.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, I bought a gun years ago and I've had it. Yeah. And you know, with COVID and everything, I'd wanted to, I'd always wanted to get this type of gun and, um, we finally went looking today and bought one today. And it was a pain in the ass. Like we went to the only store that sells guns in the valley and we had to sit with our number.
Robb (:Okay, that's why because it only lasts five years
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:for a couple hours and then it took almost a couple hours to just sign up, take a test, pay for everything, you know, and you gotta pay for it knowing that the government could say no to it and then you're charged like close to $400 for each gun you try to buy if they won't give you the permit, which I think is kind of bullshit, but you know, so be it.
Robb (:Correct.
Tina Marie Garcia (:went through all that today. So, yeah, so there's a lot I realized for the first time, because it had been so long since I had done it and did it on my own. So, yeah, it was kind of a, I don't know, I got an education, put it that way.
Robb (:Yeah, so the first thing you do, assuming that you haven't bought a firearm in quite a while, is you have to take a safety test.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes, and they don't tell you you're taking any sort of test and there's nothing that you could prepare the for this test. It's just a common sense sort of thing.
Robb (:Yes, I mean there is a way of doing it if you know you're going in to do it you can there's a handbook online But yes, it's pretty much common sense. It's like hey, you know, what where do you point the firearm? You know
Tina Marie Garcia (:One... right? There was two... I missed two questions and one question that I was like back and forth was your chances of suicide for anybody that lives in the house with a gun goes up from having a gun and I thought how the hell is that even possible? Like... I'm not going to be suicidal just because I have a gun but the answer was true that it does raise your um your chances of somebody... yeah.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:your likelihood. Statistically speaking, correct. And I'm gonna guess that you missed the other one, which was being able to buy a rifle in the state of California. Is it 18 or 21? Is that the one? Oh, I missed that one.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Which I thought was bullshit, but whatever. Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:That was not the other one that I know. I can't remember what the other one was. It was 21, correct?
Robb (:Yeah, but when I was younger, I was still thinking, because before you could buy a rifle at 18 and you had to buy a pistol at 21, but now they've changed the law in California. Pretty much in a lot of states, it's 21. There's a few throughout the country, you can be 18 and buy a rifle, but you still have to be 21 to buy a handgun.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Uh huh.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Uh...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay.
Yeah. So yeah, so I missed two, which I passed. And it was funny. It was the two that I was apprehensive about. It was the two that I didn't pick my first gut instinct. So going back to taking tests in high school, I should have gone with my first answer and, and yeah, second guess. It was kind of bullshit. But anyway, I was kind of, that one kind of bothered me. I don't know why, because
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Just because I have a gun in the house doesn't mean I'm more likely to commit suicide. Maybe murder? No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Robb (:No, but I think maybe some well, I think the statistic is that someone in your house will So if someone knew you had a firearm assuming that it wasn't locked up They may be more likely to use that or you might be likely You know, I mean there's a lot of arguments that I think people who are suicidal will find a way either way
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, you don't need a gun.
Robb (:No, I mean, ask, you know, a lot of people, Robin Williams, a bunch of other people, you can hang yourself just as easy, take pills. There's lots of different ways to get there.
Tina Marie Garcia (:run out in the middle of the street right now because it is busy today.
Robb (:Yeah, I mean, if you want to end yourself, it's not difficult. So so you get you pass your test and after you pass your test, you go to sales.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-mm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:So, yeah, I did the whole thing with the same person, but then there was another thing, like I don't live where my driver's license address is anymore. And so, yeah, so then they're like, well, do you have any, you know?
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Aha! Yes, that's a whole other thing.
Tina Marie Garcia (:utility bills. Well, no, I moved back in with my dad. He's had the same utility bullshit forever. And then it was like, well, do you have anything like your all my licenses and stuff for work and everything? They all go to my ex's address because that's where I was at. So I had to get a phishing license and put my real or my this address on my phishing license. And then they had to take the phishing license and use that.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Yep.
Tina Marie Garcia (:for the gun, which was kind of crazy, but whatever.
Robb (:as your form of identification, correct?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, as your proof that you're... you.
Robb (:Yeah, and you're living at that address at this particular time.
Tina Marie Garcia (:And the funny thing about that is whether I live at my ex's address or this address, like I've been in the same two houses for the last like 45 years, one or the other. I've always gotten mail at both. That's, that hasn't stopped it either, but yeah. So I thought that was kind of crazy that I could just say whatever address I wanted to on a, on a driver's license or a, uh,
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:fishing license and then use that as my proof that I am who I am. But whatever it was that was kind of bullshit too. So that was an extra $54 for a year of fishing license. But yeah. And then all the fees $10 for this $25 for that then the fees for the there were so many fees it was ridiculous.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So from
Robb (:They get you coming and going. Mostly in this state. This state has a lot to do with it. Because I know people who live outside the state and there's not as many fees, first of all. So you go from here and you go now you're, did you already know what firearm you wanted?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Oh yeah, and tags and man, yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:That's good.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I had an idea.
Robb (:Okay. So you got a handgun, correct?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, I ended up going bigger on both of them because okay, so here's the deal I wanted to and I wanted to do it at the same time because I had to sit for like two and a half hours just To be able to talk to somebody in the store because being that it's only one store in the whole valley That you know, you had to get there. We got there like I don't know 20 minutes early and we were like 12 in Line already before the doors even opened so
Robb (:Hahaha
Tina Marie Garcia (:I was like screw this I'm gonna I there were two guns I wanted to purchase I'm gonna do them at the same time I asked if I could do that you can if it's a rifle you can actually buy multiple rifles in one day but God forbid you buy two handguns you cannot do that so I had to buy one handgun or make a deposit on one handgun and then I have to wait 10 days before I either get it or they say I can't have it then I have to
Robb (:Mm-mm.
Robb (:I deny you.
Tina Marie Garcia (:wait 30 days before I could try to get the second one, which I could deposit, put a deposit on. It'll sit there at the store with a lock on it, but I can't even do anything with it for 30 days. I can't even try for 30 days. So, and then at the 30 day mark, it takes another 10 for me to get it because they, you have to go through another background check, which again is bullshit. Like, if you're, if you're
Robb (:Correct.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Getting a background check for one, why isn't it working for the other? And there's more fees because of the background check, which is, yeah. So I was kind of surprised at how much of a pain in the ass it was to just, first of all, get one and, and totally impossible to get to within a month cycle. So that was interesting.
Robb (:Correct, so what happens basically for you is you choose a firearm, they do the background check right there, right? So you passed a background check regardless because they send it through a thing called the NIC. So you have your NIC check on you. What the 10 days is, is it gives the government 10 days to look deeper into your background. And if something, yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Do they though?
Okay.
Robb (:Yeah, yes, they do. And I don't know because I've always been able to buy a firearm, but yes. So, and it gives a 10 day cool off period. So in the state of California, they think that if you're going to purchase a firearm to take someone's life that 10 days might be a cool off that when you get that, you have changed your mind.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Alright.
Tina Marie Garcia (:No.
Robb (:That's part of it. So you've already passed the background. The 10 days gives the government an extra 10 days that if something happens to pop up on your background, they can deny you, which they do for people all the time. And it gives you 10 days to cool off, so you're not gonna take that firearm and end someone's life. Okay?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah. And then they ask you all these stupid questions like have you ever been convicted of a felony? I guess that's it. That's a basic one. Are you buying one so someone could do harm to our country or do political stuff with it? Are you buying it for somebody else? You know, even like
Robb (:That's a basic one.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:nationalities. Are you Hispanic or non-Hispanic was one question. Not, not are what are you, but are you this or that? And then outside of that, what are you? So
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Yeah, that's the that's the one right after the are you Hispanic or non-Hispanic? And then below that you have to say what you are and it's like White black asian Alaskan, I think pacific islander. Yeah, and native american. So
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Pacific Islander and Native American. Yeah. And so then you hit the Native American one and then they want to know, are you an islander? Are you this or you that I'm like, who gives a shit? I was born here in the United States that shouldn't even make a fucking difference. Like that kind of pissed me off because I'm like, what do you what do you what are you questioning me for? Like my last name is Garcia. Yeah.
Robb (:I-
Tina Marie Garcia (:Latino, okay, it's that, do you need anymore? Do you need anymore? Like, I don't get that.
Robb (:I believe it's for statistics sake.
Tina Marie Garcia (:That's bullshit, I don't care. They don't need to know that statistic.
Robb (:I agree, but this is how we get to know that like right now in the United States, a person of color and a woman are the highest ranking people who are buying firearms in this country right now.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Well, do you blame him with the shit going on in this world?
Robb (:No, I believe everyone should own a firearm. So for me, you're coming from a totally different view. I also believe every woman should own a firearm. There's a reason it's called the great equalizer, because that's what it does. It levels the playing field. If...
Tina Marie Garcia (:I agree.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm
Robb (:If there are several people trying to attack me, I have a firearm. If there's one man trying to attack a woman who generally, and we're going to generalize on this show, so don't, I don't want anyone getting their panties in a wad, but men are generally stronger than women, right? I like to tell people the greatest rape whistle in the world is a nine millimeter.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Whether you hit him or not doesn't matter. You whip a gun out and start shooting at somebody, they're changing their tune. They're leaving the area. So I think that's a very important thing for people to have. I believe that it's a tad much to have to wait 10 days. There are other states where you don't have to, you can take the gun that day. Some states have a three day waiting period.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:I just believe that if you're, I wanna word this so we don't get in trouble. If you're under the assumption that someone from your life is following you around or threatening you or you may be involved in some kind of domestic dispute, I don't think you should have to wait 10 days to make sure your life isn't lost.
Tina Marie Garcia (:to be able to defend yourself. Yeah. And that was another thing. Do you have a, yeah. They even said like, do you have any, shit, what's the, restraining orders against you? Are you involved in any domestic disputes at the moment? The questions, I was like, damn, is this what we've...
Robb (:It actually happened in New Jersey.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:come to and does that even matter to be honest with you does that even matter because it's our constitutional right to be able to own a gun as long as we're not institutionalizable that's you know and we've we're not you know we're not losing our shit on a daily like we should be able to own a gun so i just was so frustrated with the questions and all the all the rigmarole i had to go through just to be told i could only get one gun
Robb (:That's who, yes.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:I agree.
Robb (:Yeah, I...
Tina Marie Garcia (:I just wanted to do this and be done with it. I would never have to worry about it again, but that's not the case. I'm going to have to go back to that place and stand in line and wait a couple hours to be seen for at least four times.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Probably not as much when you go to pick it up. I will tell you if it's the same place that I have purchased firearms from before, which it probably is because there's not many in the valley. Well, there's several, but the one that you're probably, I know the one you're thinking of. I've purchased firearms from there before, actually.
Tina Marie Garcia (:There's only one.
Robb (:When you go to pick it up, they will call you and they'll say, hey, just so you know, Miss Garcia, your firearm is ready to be picked up. And generally, they'll say, hey, we have this times to come pick up your weapon. Which one would you choose? And when you go in, you can go in and they'll say you you'll walk in and go, I'm here to pick up my firearm and they'll take you separately.
so you won't have to wait in line with the number and all that stuff generally. Because it's more of like, you have to sign a boatload of shit again. So you'll have to sign your, yeah, like not a boatload, but you'll have to sign like five or six signatures again on a release. It's not a big deal. You'll be out of there in probably less than 20 minutes. Yeah, but it is, it,
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Do you really?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay. Yeah, it was, it was pretty crazy.
Robb (:Because I think the fallacy is that you just walk in and leave with a gun. You know, the media and how people are told because of every gun grabber in this country that wants to take firearms away from people, they just think that you walk in and they go, here you go, Miss Garcia, here's 12 guns and you get to go home. And it's just not that easy. You know?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:right? Well it is if you want rifles, if you want rifles I guess there's no problem. And I think that rifles are like way worse than handguns. I don't know why I think that, but I do. And um I don't know I just thought it was kind of ridiculous that I couldn't I could only get one firearm one hand cannon at a time.
Robb (:Hmm.
Robb (:Mm-hmm. Well, I don't think I don't think rifles are worse per se Truly I would rather I'm not a huge fan of shotguns for self-defense They're they're bulky. They kick a lot And and I'll say this again trying to be nice
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes.
Robb (:I don't like shooting them. My boy loves shooting them. But with a shotgun in the hands of a small woman, the first shot to get to get that barrel back on site again is can be a problem. With a small rifle like an AR, they barely kick. You can keep the barrel on target.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:It's a great self-defense rifle and a lot of people don't you know don't look at him like that because the stigma of the AR-15 is that it's a Weapon of war which is nowhere near it because my little brother was in war and he'll tell you that the AR-15 is Compared to a military rifle is a piece of shit. So
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right.
Robb (:But I do like shotguns. I would say they're good self-defense. I just, I would rather not do it. They're just not fun to shoot for me. I don't care much for one. Although I'm going to buy one. I'm gonna go buy one here shortly because I think every house should have a shotgun for other reasons. I think it's just a good, it's a good thing to have an house.
Tina Marie Garcia (:They're not.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Area so yeah, so I did go through the whole You know I went through the test. I went through all the paperwork. I went through the fingerprinting. I went through purchasing all that I needed to do just to be able to purchase like the gun and Yeah, so now I'm waiting and
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So what would you say to people out there about when they tell you that it's super easy to get a gun?
Tina Marie Garcia (:It was a pain in the ass. It really was. It, it's so much documentation, so much computer work, so much testing, so, so many stupid questions and I get the questions, you know, they're trying to weed out the, the crazy, I don't think that asking questions is going to do that though. I really don't like, I just don't see that.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:No, but I will tell you that if you lie on it though, it's a felony. That's why. So part of the questions, and I agree, I think some of them are asinine to the point where you're just like, are you kidding me? But if you lie on that and the government comes back and finds that you lied on it, it's actually a felony, which our current president, his son, actually lied on it.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay.
Robb (:And that's part of the reason he's going to court. Yeah, so he also Had a firearm and put it in a trash can at a school And left it there This is the our current president's son Yeah, so I think that there's a lot to that to that people The stigma is that you just walk in and they hand you a gun and you can do whatever you want with it And it's nowhere near true
Tina Marie Garcia (:Oh, and here he is.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:That is not true. Yeah, not true. You know what? You know what was interesting? And I don't know if it's a sign of the times because what's going on in Israel, but I would say 80% of the people that were in there were Middle Eastern.
Robb (:Did you feel? Go.
Robb (:Yeah, it's they said that american jewish people right now are buying firearms in droves Like tons of them. Mm-hmm Because of all the um protests
Tina Marie Garcia (:Really?
Tina Marie Garcia (:I wouldn't say the ones that I saw in there were Jewish though, which was interesting. It was just interesting to see who was in there buying them because it was not who it was not who you know, I was under the impression would be buying them. You know, it was different. That's yeah. Yeah, let's just talk about that. I did feel like that's what I was going to be seeing. There was two there were two in there. But outside of that, it that was not
Robb (:Sure.
Robb (:Redneck white people.
Robb (:Oh yeah, there's always some white guy buying a gun in there. No, I, because I think that most, and again, I hate to throw things on the media, but that's what they do. They give you this story of it's, you know, angry white folks buying guns and, and look, I'm sure that
Tina Marie Garcia (:That was not the case though, which was interesting.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Most people who are armed in this country are a lot of white people, but we are a lot of the country So that kind of makes sense But like I said right now First of all females in general are the highest purchasing part of the gun community right now and then of those women people of color so Mostly African American, but also Hispanic and Asian
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So are huge right now. And I just think that women are finally getting understanding that it's important to have something to stop someone.
Tina Marie Garcia (:always believed in having guns. My father was a veteran or he is a veteran in Vietnam and so we were definitely raised that that's your right to have a firearm and everything and he definitely taught me not to fear very many things. So to me it was like it made sense to have a firearm but after seeing
Tina Marie Garcia (:Like they everybody on the on day one when it first happened the Hamas came in and just started Killing in an in a neighborhood. Basically, they just they just demolished a neighborhood before anybody could do anything And I thought to myself that's a reason to have one right there right there You know because that could happen anywhere not just here. I realized that there's always been war out there. I get that But that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen here
at any given time. And, you know, so be it, I may get stuck in a situation where I, where I might die, but it's not going to be because I wasn't prepared. And that to me was why I felt like and, and living in California, they're screwing with our gun laws so much that, you know, we're, we're not going to be able to get them for much longer. That's just my feeling. Cause people are just getting way too, um, I don't even know the word, just
just
Robb (:They're doing their best to make every law to take a gun away from us.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, basically. And the funny thing is, you know, I've known, I have had family members, members that are criminals. I've had friends that were criminals to some degree. I've known many different types of people over my lifetime. And I have to say that the laws only keep the people that should have guns from having them. Because if you're a criminal, you don't give a shit if you have a permit for it or not. You don't, you don't...
care how you got it or what you're gonna do with it like you have what you want and that's that why would why do we need more rules for good people when it's the good people that should be carrying because that would level out the playing field of all this bullshit that's going on in our world the smashing grabs I'm sorry but I'm at the point where a person that owns a store if somebody comes in is trying to smash and take their stuff they should
Sorry, that's just the way I feel about it. Like I don't go around robbing from people. So I don't have to ever worry about somebody pulling a gun on me and shooting me because I did something stupid because I don't do that. So to me, it's like, I think that places where they have more guns for the general public seem to have less crime. And I'm tired of seeing what I'm seeing in this world, especially here, because.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I'm born and raised. I'm I don't know if I'm the 11th or the 12th generation that's born and raised here in Southern California. So I belong here. This is my place. This is where you know, my people come from and I'm sick and tired of seeing what we as society have allowed the government to stop us from defending. I think it's bullshit. So
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:And then, like I said, after seeing what happened in Israel, I was like, no, I'm going to go and get myself prepared for whatever. And if I go down without a, with a fight, I go down with a fight. If I, you know, they catch me with my pants down and shame on me, but I don't think that's going to happen because I will have what I need to take care of me. And my family, if they're around, you know.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Correct.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Or die trying. Hehehehe
Robb (:See? I do. So I'll give you a little statistic that blew me away. After you after the Israel thing. So Israel had super high gun laws like 3% of that country was allowed to own guns.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, I know you carry.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm, like you couldn't own one basically
Robb (:And of course, after that, the day after that, the prime minister of that country just opened up the floodgates and was like, yeah, people can own guns now. Even here.
Tina Marie Garcia (:But that's after the fact. Look at all the people that died.
Robb (:No, I agree, but I'm going to give you a statistic. How many, what do you think the percentage in this country is that people who own guns?
Tina Marie Garcia (:I don't know, probably like 30%.
Robb (:33.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Hey, I was on it!
Robb (:You're on point. I was a little shocked by that. I thought it would have been more.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I would hope it would be more but no.
Robb (:Yeah, I think people need to understand guns. I think it's, you know, my son has been shooting since he was six years old. And I'm sure that there's people right now that are listening and going, I can't believe you let a six year old shoot a gun. I taught my son how to understand firearms, that they're not toys. We would go out and we would shoot,
gallon jugs of water. And then I would go to him and show him what that jug looked like after you shoot it with something and would explain to him, this is what happens to people when they get shot. Like you have to understand and it's not a toy. You know, we don't play with guns. Guns are for two things.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right?
Robb (:taking them to a range and shooting and then defending yourself. That's it. It's the only reason to take a firearm out ever. So my son, it will be 21 in December, and he's going to buy a firearm because he wants to have a handgun. I bought him a rifle when he was 16. I will now transfer that over to him when he turns 21.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:It's because I want him to be able to leave my house and have firearms wherever he goes. Because he also has that right to defend himself. I think it's very important that people learn guns. And if you're going to have them, you should go and shoot them as often as you can.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So I'm very big on the training aspect and learning your firearm and knowing how to break it down and lots of other things. And now we have YouTube where you can learn how to take your firearm apart by watching YouTube. So there's no reason to not understand your gun. And...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Robb (:My thing is this is anytime someone hands me a gun I drop the magazine and I clear the chamber Even if I just watch that person do it Because it's just it's a an extra two seconds of your life To make sure that you don't end someone else's um And I carry
Tina Marie Garcia (:It's good safety. Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, that was that was something that happened. You do. That was something that I noticed today. Like for me, there were so many people around when I went to buy these guns and they're like, Oh, take a look at them. And I was like, I took a look. I felt how it was. And then I put it back down and she's like, do you want to know anymore? And I'm like, no, I'm going to I'm going to go and take this gun when I get it. And I'm going to go and see my friend who's a firearm instructor. And I'm going to go have some.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Hmm?
Tina Marie Garcia (:lessons with him and his company or whatever and Then I will be okay to be holding this gun with all these freaking people cuz that was another thing I didn't want everybody they were like right next to me seeing what I was buying look at it every it made me uncomfortable it made me uncomfortable to be holding a gun with that many people around and You know, you're trying to look at things and do business and check it out. It was almost like me with my
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:with my trike. I didn't really, I didn't get a test drive it. I just bought it. Well, it's kind of the same thing with the guns. So once I get out and I'm away from people and somebody could really instruct me on what to do and have me do it correctly and proficiently, then I won't be so nervous about it. But that made me nervous today. Cool.
Robb (:Right.
Robb (:Well, I'll have to come out. I'll have to come out. There's a place in Van Nuys, right over by the airport.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes.
Mm-hmm There's also a lot like in the canyons if you want to do outside shooting Which I like to do as well because I don't like to be Where there's a lot of people and I kind of don't like where everybody's right next to each other I kind of need a little space And that's just me respecting the heart
Robb (:It's a f-
Robb (:Yeah.
Robb (:Right. I like both. Outside shooting is really fun. I love outside shooting and it's just better on your ears. There's, you know, it's that less of that echoing inside. But I also like just going to the range and popping off some rounds. So I do my best to go once a month. On the minimum. Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:It is.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Do you really? Okay. I'm sorry.
Robb (:Well, like I said, I mean, I have a CCW. So to me, I just feel that if you're going to have carry permit, that you should be diligent and go and shoot.
Tina Marie Garcia (:So that's my next step. I do wanna try to get a Conceal Carry permit and we'll see what happens next. Cause I don't know, I'm just having, you know I'm getting older, I'm not as strong as I used to be. It seems like the world is changing a little bit. I just wanna be a little more prepared. Not that I'm scared, I'm not. But I just don't wanna be stupid about things.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Robb (:No, that's-
Robb (:Yeah, I think the misconception too of people who carry firearms daily is that we're scared of something. And I'm not scared of anything. I'm just being proactive to a situation that might get out of hand.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:and I'm just scared of not being prepared.
Robb (:Correct. Well, I think that that's part of it before you have one. But once you have it, I look at it from the form of, I just want to be ready for any situation. There's a guy who's a trainer up in Oregon, and I'd have to get his name, but he said one of the greatest things in the world because people are owning a firearm, you're more likely to be killed by your own gun, is one of the other statistics that people say.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:because a lot of people hesitate. Right? So, and if you pull your firearm out and you're pointing it at somebody and you're telling them to stop and stop and stop, people just won't pull the trigger because they're afraid. Right? In my case, I would pull the trigger. But I know if you're going to carry a firearm, I think that's the other thing too, is you have to have the...
Robb (:the idea that you may have to use it, right?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes, that's definitely part of it.
Robb (:Mm-hmm. Well, this one guy that I'm telling you about he has a YouTube channel I'll have to send you some stuff and I'll put his name in the in the Thing for this show. Yeah, but he says something he goes he goes Yes, just so everyone knows I may be killed with my own firearm but the guy's gonna have to beat me to death with it because I will rain down every bullet I have for him to get over to me and I think that is kind of a thing that like
Tina Marie Garcia (:credits here.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right?
Robb (:You have to understand that your life is worth everything to you and it's unfortunate. Look, I don't want to kill anyone ever. Everyone I know who has done it in military and or police duty is not okay. It's, there's repercussions that come with that. If you do end up
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yes.
Robb (:carrying. I also have carry insurance. So if something happens, I call them and they send a lawyer. So that, yes, it's a must if you're going to carry. And here's the thing, the good part about that insurance is that you can get it even if you don't have a CCW, you can use that. And if something happens in your house, it's the same thing.
Tina Marie Garcia (:That's good to have.
Robb (:So I would tell anyone who has a gun at home that you get this insurance, whether you're carrying outside. I think I pay 33 bucks a month. So I'm pretty sure it may be 39, something like that. But to me, I would give up, you know, an extra meal to make sure that I'm covered.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Is it expensive?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Okay.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Yeah, it's called the USCCA, I think is what it's called. But it's one of those things that I think, again, going to the people who are listening, that the misconception that it's easy to get a gun, because it's really not. Even in the states where there's no waiting period, you still have to go through a background check, period.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm. It is not.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:I watch a lot of things on YouTube and all these people are like, you know, it's, you know, we need to have universal background checks. We already have them. And people go, no, because people, yes, you cannot buy a firearm in this country from a dealer without a background check, period. There's and you cannot argue that because if you argue it and don't look up how to do it or go try to get one, you're fooling yourself.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:No, trust me, you have to do it.
Robb (:Yeah, it's um, I think people out there need to really look at the world But like I said if you're going to get a firearm you have to understand That it for one it can kill people in your own house. Yes Secondly, if you're going to have one you cannot be afraid to use it Because you're just gonna hurt yourself
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Exactly.
Robb (:But I think that people in this country need to go out and train and really, if you get a firearm, don't let it get dust on it. Actually go and put some rounds through it. Secondly, if you've ever gone shooting, and I don't know if you've gone shooting in a while, it's therapeutic is all hell. I get so much tension out after I go shooting, it's great.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, the adrenaline rush really, really does something to the nervous system.
Robb (:Yeah, yeah. Well, and then I think as you shoot it more, it becomes competitive with yourself. You become where you're like, okay, I can hit it at 15 feet. I want to do this exact same thing at 20 and then at 25 and then at 30. You start competing with yourself and then heaven...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Challenging yourself. Yeah
Robb (:And then heaven forbid you go with somebody who also is competitive because then you're being competitive with each other and it's even more fun. So, and then when you leave, you feel, okay, you look at your targets, you're like, okay, I did here. My groupings are good, I felt comfortable. And you're less likely to wait for the bang and...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:for the people who are gun people, you know, like that's the one thing, the anticipation of the gun going off. And that's why you generally don't shoot well, because you're anticipating that bang instead of just breathing and pulling the trigger easily. And again, that's something that comes with shooting more.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.
Robb (:I'm glad you went out and got something. People do need to know that it's not easy. I wish more people, I tell people just go and go take the test and then do a background check and tell me it's easy. Because it's not.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah, like I said, I do have a firearm already. There was just it wasn't what I would have picked for myself. It was when I was married to my ex and he said this would be good for you. This, you know, and we're going to get this. And I said, OK, now it's like this is something that I always wanted. And and yeah, so I got it. And, you know, it's funny because I thought I wanted a smaller handgun because.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:of being a woman and everything, but the smaller they are, the harder they are to hit a target. If you're target shooting, it's more like the smaller it is, the closer they need to be to you to shoot. Like, um,
Robb (:Well, and they also kick more because the smaller the barrel, it's coming out of the barrel sooner. So you're getting that burst of energy much quicker. The bigger the gun, the easier it shoots.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right.
Yes. So, so both of the guns that I chose were bigger than what I initially wanted. But I have big hands. I'm not a small person. And I realized that the bigger grip that it had, the more stable it felt in my hand. So I did go bigger than what I thought I would, which is, it makes sense to me, because, you know, if you knew me, I'm not
Robb (:Correct.
Tina Marie Garcia (:small in any way shape or form. So there's that. I'm not a dainty little girl. So I yeah, right. So when I was, you know, looking at the guns, I'm like, I don't know if I like this one. I don't know if I like that one, but I like this one. And I like this one. So yeah, so they were just a little bit bigger, not much bigger, but they did fit in my hand way better. I felt like they were
Robb (:Dainty.
Robb (:I'm not dainty either.
Robb (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Sure.
Tina Marie Garcia (:secure with them in my hand so I want a little bigger.
Robb (:That is the one thing that out of all the things that I watch on YouTube, because I watch a lot of gun things and the one thing that across the board, whether it's a female gun person or a male gun person that are doing the videos, always, and I'm talking 99.9% of the time say, do not buy a gun for your significant other. Take them and let them pick because...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Robb (:It is how it feels in your hand and one small thing will bug you. So I have shot lots of different guns. So I've shot a full size gun. Then there's a the one below it, which is generally called a compact. And then there would be a subcompact, which is the smallest one. The smaller guns just don't fit well in my hands because the
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:No, they didn't. They really don't.
Robb (:Yeah, the lower, I mean, they're meant to be concealed. So to be fair, I understand why they're so small. And like you said, it's the handle. It's the actual handle of the firearm. I prefer, right, I prefer a compact, which is the middle gun. It generally has a big enough grip for me, but it has a short barrel. So if you're concealing it, it is much better and doesn't hit you in the ding ding.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:balance of it, everything.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Well, luckily I don't have a ding ding, so we're good with that. Yeah. Gotcha.
Robb (:For, right, for those who have one, it can be bothersome if you carry right there. But I love shooting a full size because it just, it's a great way of doing it. So now, you know, lots of gun manufacturers are doing a lot of different things where they'll have a full size lower part of the gun
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Robb (:but with a compact slide, which is a smaller slide, but a bigger handle. So things are definitely changing in the firearm industry, but it's good. I'm glad you went and got a gun because you know I'm a big gun proponent and I tell all my friends and I've taken most of my female friends to gun ranges that were either, I wouldn't say anti-gun, just, you know, oh, you know.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:you know, they weren't like take guns away. But they were like, Oh, I don't know if I should have one. And almost all of them left there going, Oh yeah, I need to get a gun.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right. They're women.
Robb (:And just because it was fun to shoot. And I was like, yeah. And I press, I have a friend in Santa Clarita who I haven't talked to in a little bit, but I need to rattle her cage. Every time I used to generally talk to her, I go, have you went and taken the test yet? Have you went and taken the test yet? Because that's the first thing you gotta do regardless. So you can take the test whenever you want. Just go take the test. My friend down the street.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:Is a proponent of firearms my friend, North Carolina as soon as she moved over there She bought a firearm because she lived alone. She lives alone with her daughter so she wanted to have something to protect them and which is really great because I took her and her daughter shooting and her daughter's like just you know, there's some people that just pick up a gun and can shoot it and Her daughter is like really good at it
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:So we went to a range and she was shooting and even she leaned over to me and she's like Really? This is like her second time and she's like I go. Yeah, some people just Pick it up and go my kid my kid Don't break in our house It would not be good for you He's he's deadly with a shotgun deadly um And and with a rifle he's he can go so it's
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:I getcha.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Wow.
Robb (:It's fun and I think it's both sides of it. People need to understand that it's a great thing to have in your house for defense. Teach your kids from when they're very small, they're not toys, teach them how to use it, it may save their life. And on the flip side, and on the flip side of that, it's just fun to go shoot. Get that adrenaline out. When you leave, you're gonna feel loosey goosey and empowered. That's the best part in being empowered.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Absolutely.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Empowered. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Robb (:and knowing that you can protect yourself. And I don't care if you're female or male, you have the right to defend yourself and please people.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Even if you don't ever use it, you know, my dad, when we were growing up, I knew he had one and it was well hidden and we never knew where it was. He had it for years and never used it. But if he were to need it, he knew exactly where to get it. He knew exactly what to do and always thought, you know, you, you have it so you don't use it. You have it so you don't need it. You know what I mean? You have it so that.
Robb (:Correct.
Tina Marie Garcia (:God forbid any day, anytime you got yourself handled. And I'm okay with that.
Robb (:Yes. It's insurance for your life. And we have lots of things in our house like that. I mean, why do people buy rice cookers? Because every blue moon, you wanna make good rice. And you might have a rice cooker or a steamer. Some people never steam vegetables, but I have a steamer. I don't use it very often, but when I do, I want steamed vegetables.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Hmm
Robb (:I want the same thing with a firearm. If I need it, I want to be able to roll over, take it off my, you know, my side of my bed and go to work. And I think that's what's important. And again, just teach your children. I think that that's another big thing in this country that's wrong is that we vilify guns. Like, you know, don't touch it, don't, stop. Teach them that it's not a toy.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Right?
Robb (:Teach them how to fire it. Show them what it does.
Tina Marie Garcia (:teach them how to have common sense. God dang. People and their kids, I'm telling you.
Robb (:And you know that we used to do that. If you look at old pictures, there's pictures in elementary school of them showing people how to use a rifle. Because in some of those towns in the South, you know, you learned how to hunt very, very young. And...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm. It's no different than when I was younger. I was taught how to use a bow and arrow and I shot the hell out of that thing and Shot and shot and shot till I was very good at that too And and you know my dad mom both said well the more you know the safer you're gonna be
Robb (:Yeah.
Robb (:Yeah.
Robb (:And let me tell you, bow and arrows are absolutely deadly. Deadly. So, and again, that's a self-defense thing. It really is. You can go to work on that. And here's the other side of that. If the world would ever go to shit, and I mean like complete shit, knowing how to use a firearm to hunt is important
Tina Marie Garcia (:Deadly also, absolutely. That was very good at the bow and arrow.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Robb (:It's not easy to shoot animals. People think that it's easy and it's not, you know? And I'm not a hunter and I'm not one for shooting game unless you're going to eat it. But if things did go sideways, you have to be able to...
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm
Robb (:You know hunt food and go out on your own and defend yourself in a world of turmoil look at israel Look at the ukraine Look at a lot of countries that have very tight gun laws Until they get raided and then the next thing they're doing is they're handing out rifles to everybody You know Well exactly we're lucky we have a second amendment
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:But by then, how many lives were lost?
Robb (:Most countries on this planet don't. Look at Canada, you can't.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
But they're really squashing the Second Amendment by the rules that they're making about guns, especially in California. And I'm really disappointed in that because our whole way of living in this world starts with the Constitution. So we really should be, instead of putting more restrictions on that, we really need to start following it better.
Robb (:I agree. I mean, look, laws against guns only help criminals and take the rights away from law-abiding citizens.
Robb (:All right, well, that's it for this week. I'm really glad that you could come on and really tell people that it's not as easy as they think.
Tina Marie Garcia (:It wasn't easy. It was a lot of work. It was it was an ordeal. And that's the person that went with me said, Wow, that was an ordeal and had nothing to do with it. So yeah, it was kind of um, it was kind of a pain in the ass.
Robb (:Yeah.
Robb (:Yes, yes it is. But a pain in the ass, it's worth it. But I'm, like I said, I think a lot of people just don't understand. And I tell people, even if you don't wanna buy one, go sign up and see how easy it is. You'll change your mind every time. You'll give up. You'll go, nope, I don't wanna do this anymore. Because it's so much shit to get in.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Mm-hmm.
Tina Marie Garcia (:Yeah.
It is.
Robb (:All righty, make sure to check out our socials and make sure to check us out on Spotify, Apple, Google, all that fun stuff wherever you listen to podcasts and Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, soon to be the others. Anything else you'd like to say on this fine day, Miss Tina?
Tina Marie Garcia (:Uh, no, but if you're thinking about get a firearm, do it now. Now's a good time. Now is a good time.
Robb (:Yes, now is a great time. And yeah, it's an opinion show, so don't get it twisted. Keep coming back every Wednesday to listen to these great conversations that we're having. Until next week, that's my co-host Tina over there, and I'm Rob, we'll talk to you later. Bye.
Tina Marie Garcia (:See ya.
