Column

The idea behind Clay’s Budget Blades is to review products that are a good value, but not necessarily cheap. No gas station knives will be presented here, nor anything from QVC.

Now there’s nothing wrong with protecting our possessions; that’s why we have safes and insurance policies. But defense in the home should be focused on protecting human life rather than property.

Undoubtedly, being at the range with my eldest daughter was an incredible feeling. But I know that I won’t always be able to be there by her side. I won’t always be around to guide her, help her or protect her. She’ll be on her own one day all too soon.

When a new Magic Bullet is launched and makes media waves, I always apply two filters as to whether it’s worth chasing down. The first filter is “Are the police using this?”

Christmas shopping is hard. And expensive. Sometimes, finding the right balance between cheap, available, and thoughtful is all but impossible. That’s why gun stuff (that’s the technical term) is such a great option. The industry offers everything from expensive, I-never-have-to-buy-you-another-present-again firearms for the folks you like to $3 patches for everyone else.

While I can’t necessarily translate my unscientific study to the nation as a whole, I’d have to estimate that at least 80 to 90 percent of the permit holders that I know personally don’t carry regularly or even carry at all. The question is, “Why?”

I was a soldier before I was a physician. Most of my well-intentioned medical colleagues have never known a world without laws, structure, and civilization. The only thing worse than school shootings is six million dead Jews. America needs private ownership of firearms as a hedge against tyranny today more than we did in 1776.

If you’ve ever started down the road of building AR-patterned rifles, you end up with boxes of parts. A cast-off part that seems to just keep piling up is the A2 grip that comes with most lower-parts kits.

What happened was not surprising. The gun my bride picked — a Glock 19 9mm — was one she had steadfastly refused to consider. The Bersa was forgotten entirely.