The founders of our country saw the need of a well regulated, and well armed militia who was able to defend themselves and their country against impending threats. If defending yourself against illegal aliens, who are growing illegal drugs, and threatening Americans citizens on public lands, isn’t what they had in mind, then I have know idea.

When I commented on the original site that this was “One more reason to always be armed,” a guy named Joe responded:

“Yeah, your single handgun/rifle is going to be real useful against pot farmers with “five high powered rifles, equipped with rifle scopes and numerous rounds of ammunition” — not to mention greater numbers and a familiarity with the area.

“Good way to get yourself shot, more like.”

Since they moderated my reply (I guess I was too extreme for them) I give the basics of it here. Yes, my “single handgun/rifle is going to be real useful against pot farmers with “five high powered rifles, equipped with rifle scopes and numerous rounds of ammunition.” In fact, that sounds a lot like what I carry in my truck, and my camper.

The fact is that criminals are lazy and unlikely to have adequate training with their weapons. I, on the other hand, took my last Elk on the run at 600 yards and can empty two 13 round magazines into the center of a target at 25 yards in under 12 seconds with my .45 ACP. I’m not braggin, because that doesn’t make me special. Many people I know can do the very same thing.

The point is, if the pot growers would have never confronted the campers had they thought they posed even the remotest threat, which is why they choose to set up shop in places like California, where they know the public has a 99.99% chance of not being armed.

As I’ve said before, being armed is about making the choice yours. If only your attacker has a weapon, he makes all the choices. If your armed, you make your own. That doesn’t even mean that you have to defend yourself. In many situations, caution would dictate that you still comply, and never attack, but even then, as long as you have a .45 tucked neatly into your waistband, the choice is yours.

This week really wasn’t planned to be an all-pot kind of week, it’s just working out that way. (Today’s the stoner new year, right? But if you’re stoned, isn’t every year basically 1976?) Regardless, in Los Padres National Forest, California, two pot farmers scared off some campers in a high-speed dirt road rally that ended with arrests and confiscation of $26 mill in herb. The Santa Barbara County sheriff’s report reads better than I could rewrite, so here it is in its entirety:

New Cuyama – On Friday, 04-17-09, at approximately 11:30 a.m., two adults, who had been camping in the Aliso Park area west of New Cuyama, came across an active marijuana garden. While in the area, the campers were approached by two Hispanic male adult subjects who were tending to the marijuana garden.

The subjects attempted to converse with the campers, however due to a language barrier, they were unsuccessful. The subjects requested that the campers remain in the area, until the arrival of the “boss” who spoke English. The campers became fearful and packed up their gear and left the area. While the campers were driving down the dirt road, they were approached by a pick up truck traveling the opposite direction. As they passed the truck, they noticed the occupants seemed very interested in them. The truck stopped and the driver exited and waived for the campers to come back. They ignored his request and kept driving, believing he was the “boss” that the two subjects had referred to earlier. The driver returned to his truck and began chasing the campers down the mountain. During the chase, the truck came dangerously close to the campers’ vehicle several times.

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Dad went out and asked the driver to come in and give him his information, which he did, sort of. He gave Dad his name, and the name of his leasing company, but when Dad asked who his insurance company was, he said, “Well, um, er, that be, uh, that er uh, that there Pro-gress-ive.” First bad clue. When Dad asked him if he had a lease contract with the company he said he leased to, he said, “No. We just all kind of work together.” Second bad clue. After a few more words, the Deputy poked his head in the door and asked the driver to come outside with him.

I watched the deputies speak to the driver for a while, and then one of them walked around the semi looking at it with the help of his flashlight. About then, a highway patrolman pulled up and the deputies escorted the driver over to the patrolman’s car and put him in the passenger seat. I went outside to look around and one of the deputies came over smiling and shook my hand, “How are you tonight?”

“Not bad,” I answered, “What a pain this is. Tell me this guy has insurance.”

“Nope,” he laughed, “Suspended driver’s license, too. He’s going to jail tonight.”

Another deputy came over then, and said to the first, “The plate on the trailer is coming back as a house trailer, and the other is expired.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nice,” I said laughing, “I’m going inside and getting out of the cold.”

We later learned that the driver had a suspended CDL from another state.

The power company came and we agreed to let them start their repairs the next day. We figured there wasn’t any sense in making them come out at night in the freezing cold, so we locked the place up and headed out. Before we left though, I went out to talk to the deputies, who were handcuffing the driver and putting him in one of their vehicles. I got the case card from the remaining deputy, who shut down the semi and took the keys with him, and then headed home.

This morning, the semi was gone, and there was a car parked in front of the store taking up two parking spots. It also had expired plates. After checking with the Sheriff’s Office, Dad had it towed off. It apparently belonged to the driver’s wife, who must have came after we all left and took the semi. Warco Pump brought a big generator and Evergreen electric got it hooked in and got us powered back up.

A little bit later, the locating service showed up marked the utilities, and the power company got to work drilling a hole to put the new pole in. They promptly cut a 600 pair phone cable (the locate was wrong by about two feet), and had to stop work until the phone lines get fixed. As of 6:00pm tonight, Qwest was still there working on the phone lines, and all the power company guys were gone. Maybe they’ll get it done tomorrow.

The lesson is, if you’re an idiot, don’t drive. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Have the right licenses. Have the right insurance. Have the right equipment. Know how to operate it. One bad decision leads to more, and eventually it will always catch up to you, and when it does, it’s probably not just yourself that will get hurt.