A sad day for the gun community

No, the ban on so-called "assault weapons" hasn't crawled back out from under its rock. Today is a day to take a break from railing against ineffective, unconstitutional, and just plain wrong gun legislation, and to instead say good-bye to Col. Jeff Cooper. The Gunner's Guru died yesterday at the age of 86, after a life filled with more accomplishment than most of us would manage if we lived to be 860.

As a Marine, as a firearms instructor, as a spokesman for gun rights, but most of all as simply a good man, he leaves behind a legacy that few will equal, and none will surpass.

His internment will be a private ceremony, for family and close friends. There will also be a public memorial ceremoy at the National Rifle Association Whittington Center in New Mexico (date and time to be announced later). Most of us will probably be unable to make it there. My own, tiny memorial to him will be to keep working on my shooting skills, and to keep fighting for gun rights.

Of course, there's also a more selfish reason for me to do that--if there is a world beyond this one, I sure wouldn't want to have to explain to him why I failed to do those things. As far as I'm concerned, you will never stop riding, shooting straight, and speaking the truth, Colonel. You'll be missed.