In 1959 I turned 14, and saw an ad in the local paper for a 22 rifle on sale at the local hardware store north of Willows on Highway 99 in northern California. I asked my mom if I could buy it and she said yes, so I got on my bike with money I had saved up and rode from our house in the country west of town by way of some back roads north of town to the hardware store. It was a Remington Targetmaster single shot 22 rifle. Not sure what I paid for it, maybe somewhere around $40 with no questions asked. I rode back home with the rifle in hand, even along Highway 99 until I turned off on a county road. Guns were part of the culture of small town USA, especially in farming communities as most people hunted and it was common to see guns mounted on racks over the back windows of many pickup trucks in the community. I still have this rifle and occasionally target practice with it.
Can you imagine seeing a kid packing a rifle on a bike these days along a major highway?
Seeing a kid packing a rifle near a highway today would be a big red flag to law enforcement, especially in preventing a possible active shooter situation. Guns injure or kill, no thanks! Self defense is a different story.
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