A few months ago when I wrote my first article here about America's cult of the gun, the cultists themselves took notice. What I got in response was, at last count, more than 3,000 hate mail letters, 2,300 just in the first two weeks, and so far 19 death threats. But I did not get spat at, nor did people show up at my house, or the unit where I work, and I have not had to worry about my safety. In no small part I do not doubt this is because I live in England and I do not even own a cell phone; I am a man who expressly notes, in public, that he defends his house with a machete and a kukri; and I am a soldier.

These three factors combined to reserve the abuse to mere e-mails. Nobody called my home, though they did call my mother and father in the middle of the night looking for me (which says something about their research skills, or perhaps reading comprehension skills). Nobody crossed the ocean, figured out where I live, and showed up at my house. Nobody confronted me in a coffee house, here in England. (Which would have been silly, since I'm usually to be found at my "local" anyway.) But mostly it was e-mail such as this bizarre one that came when I asked one of them, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Someone who has no political ties. A Husband, A Father, A Son of God, A Son of Liberty, I am happiness, I am obedience to my Eldest Brother and Master- The Son of the Almighty Father, The Bright-Star; I am also: Wrath, Demon Slayer, Arch-Angeli-cum, Nero-Shade, Coviel Hunter, Thes Mulandash, Desmotti of the Punateri Sons of Kathendume and Protector of the Weak and Helpless, Protector of the Meek and Humble, Protector of All my Brothers and Sisters who's Will is defined by Charitable desire and seek the uplift of even those called enemy. I am Enemy 1 of ANY who would take from The Bright and Holy and make Their Hope, Hopelessness, and their Sojourn Pitch and Waste. I am both sir. Unless I will it I am unobtainable through Catechize, I cannot be inveigled. I am of Supernal Instruct and cannot be tampered with."

I think you'll agree, this is pretty deranged, and apparently from his letters to me, he owns a lot of firearms. This makes you think gee, maybe mental health screenings should be mandatory for people who want guns, because his was not the only one like this. But most of them ran like this one from "Johnston Green" (as before, I have to assume these are pseudonyms, as nobody in their right mind would actually send something like this from their real e-mail, using their real name):

"Your interview with Esquire was an act of treason. You should be tried and hung. If the rope fails a bayonet inserted at the base of the skull stirring up what little brains are there would suffice. Get fucked commie."

But for another group there is a lot more on the line. It is a group named Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense. It was started on Facebook by a woman named Shannon Watts, and the women in that group, by the very definition all of them mothers, have been catching hell. Particularly Shannon herself. Because, that's the way that we do politics in the United States, we threaten people with death. Mother Jones has a great collection of stories of how gun extremists threaten women. I know Shannon personally, since she reached out to me right after that first essay I wrote back in December, and I have to tell you, the shit she has been going through, the threats to herself, her family, and the mothers in her organization have been off-the-scale. She gets BS like this dumped on her constantly, in the States, and is regularly threatened.

Here is what happened when conspiracy theorist Alex Jones showed up at a restaurant in Texas carrying an AR-15 where some women and one couple, were quietly having lunch. The man jumped up and confronted Jones, and Jones went right back at him. Jones then throws out a crap statistic: "Did you know that only 2% of crimes are committed in the US with an Assault Rifle?"

The guy's response throws Jones off his mark. "I know my DAUGHTER was KILLED by an ASSAULT RIFLE in AURORA, COLORADO."

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Nice job Jones, very nice job.

Along a similar vein, but more frightening, is another woman's story.

This woman, who has been confined to a wheelchair after being shot herself, was confronted after a press conference in her driveway at her home. From Mother Jones:

"After a fundraiser one night during the program, Longdon returned home around 10 p.m., parked her ramp-equipped van and began unloading herself. As she wheeled up to her house, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed in black and had a rifle, "like something out of a commando movie," Longdon told me. He took aim at her and pulled the trigger. Longdon was hit with a stream of water. "Don't you wish you had a gun now, bitch?" he scoffed before taking off."

Forward this to your wife, your daughter, your own mom, and send them to join. That is one outlet, but also consider some of the other movements, such as Campaign to Unload. According to an e-mail I got from them, "Campaign to Unload is close to launching a project encouraging individual investors to sell their shares of publicly-traded gun industry companies. We recognize that the political process is stalled, obstructed by a gun industry that is driven by profit motives to sell more guns at any human cost, and we believe that divestment will facilitate change."

I have an 11-month-old daughter. Her house will not have guns, and I will never, ever, allow her to go to a home where there are guns. That is my DIVESTMENT plan, and I suggest it to all of you. You should know the parents of the children your children play with. Ask them the simple question, "Is there a gun in the house?" If the answer is "yes" then your kid never goes there. Period.

The opinions here are those of the author and not the DoD, the Army, or any unit that he is assigned to at this time. I can be reached at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io