The Veronica Edwards Show
The Veronica Edwards Show
Responsible & Ethical Considerations for Firearm Ownership - Part 1
Unlock the secrets to responsible gun ownership as we join forces with Aaron Mittan, BizRadio's programming virtuoso and a seasoned military veteran with a treasure trove of firearms wisdom. Celebrating a podcasting milestone that's just shy of 4,000 downloads, Aaron guides us through his evolution from a gun hobbyist to a staunch advocate for perceiving firearms as indispensable tools. We tackle the intricacies of gun safety education, confront widespread myths about ownership, and unpack the weighty mantle of accountability that comes with the constitutional right to bear arms. His compelling narrative doesn't just stop at his impressive arsenal or his choice to abstain from hunting; he lays bare his philosophy of constant preparedness for life's unpredictable moments.
Navigating the delicate interplay of cost versus quality in the firearms sphere, Aaron casts a light on the art of selecting unerring firearms and the often-overlooked option of layaway for prudent purchases. Our exchange sharpens into focus as we dissect the cardinal rules of Universal Gun Safety, drilling into practices like treating every firearm as if it were loaded and maintaining both trigger discipline and muzzle awareness. This episode dispels the perilous lore of harmlessly firing bullets into the sky, driving home the critical mandate for safe gun handling, especially in homes graced with the pitter-patter of tiny feet. This enlightening tête-à-tête with Aaron isn't just a conversation—it's a journey to the heart of knowledgeable and respectful firearm stewardship.
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Welcome to the Veronica Edwards show where we have fun financial conversations that everyone listening can apply to their personal and professional life. I'm your host, veronica Edwards, and I'm so excited to be here in my birth month of May, season three on bizradious. I want to thank the V team. We are about 200 episodes well, 200 downloads away from 4,000 downloads, so we are getting close. So I'm super excited and today's show is a special edition. Usually we have like a family edition, but this is a special firearms edition with Biz Radio's own programming director and producer edition with Biz Radio's own programming director and producer, aaron Matan, who's an expert in all things firearms and who is currently completing his degree in science of firearms technology, which is the coolest thing ever. I didn't know that existed.
Veronica :Aaron also enlisted into the US Army at age 18. I think we talked to he even mentioned 17, but had to wait to be deployed and still currently serving his country proudly. This guest graduated from the basic leadership course on the commandments list and nominated for the distinguished honor graduate, achieving master level operator titles and a combat deployment in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom. But most importantly, this guest is an amazing father and husband, so I had to have him on to talk about gun safety because he's a dad and a husband and there's a lot of misconceptions about gun ownership. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce today's guest, who's usually behind the scenes, mr Aaron Batan. Aaron, thank you for being on, wow thank you so much.
Aaron:I know you're not used to the intros. Yeah, I'm not used to that at all.
Veronica :You've done a lot of cool stuff and, as always, thank you for your service, that you've done and that you're continuing to do for the US Army.
Aaron:Yeah, of course, thank you. Thank you for supporting that.
Veronica :Absolutely. So you know the deal, aaron. I always start the show asking the guests to tell us about you, where you're from and the story that led you consider yourself an expert.
Aaron:Until you hear a lot of that a lot of those accolades back. Um, you know it's, it is something that is a passion of mine. Um, uh, ever since I was young I, you know, of course I I thought I thought guns were cool and I joined the military because I wanted to do cool stuff with big trucks and everything.
Aaron:And, as I got you know real world experience and having different applications for essentially these tools, you know you quickly gain a respect for it and becoming, you know, a member of the firearms community as somebody who contributes to it. Like you said, I'm a certified instructor as well, as I actually just graduated Congratulations.
Veronica :I have my degree, yeah.
Aaron:You know someone who studies it. You know someone who, uh who studies it. It's uh, you know that there's there's a lot of um, there's a lot more perspective to it. When you have the opportunity to talk to people and this is my favorite thing is to talk to somebody who knows very little to nothing about about um, you know, cause it's uh, I think it's.
Aaron:It's really important to identify that it is a pretty polarizing topic and a lot of people, um, either have misconceptions or just don't see the full picture on. You know what it means to be a responsible firearm owner, or you know who can, someone who can responsibly carry, and we'll we'll kind of dive into that.
Veronica :Yeah, you know we were. We've talked before the show and I just shared with Aaron. You know, being a double minority, you always hear the worst about guns, or almost as if if you have a gun, you're wanting something bad to happen. And Erin, you're the first person I've heard to really say it's a tool. You know, and that's true. Like we have to change the mindset. I'm used to thinking, oh man, they're shooting up schools, you know, or they're shooting. You know all this black on black crime, police crime on minority, all the negative. You know all this black on black crime, police crime on minority, all the negative. And so you're the first person that I've met that one is trained. You know the background, you've seen in combat, you've seen it here, but also you're trying to learn the science behind it. And you're all about safety. Because I want to say I've heard you say that you have over 20 guns.
Aaron:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Veronica :That I'll admit.
Aaron:No, I'm just kidding.
Veronica :Exactly. Roll up on Aaron, if you want to Shoot.
Aaron:And that is interesting too, once you kind of it's just like any other hobby. You know, once you kind of break the seal it gets away from you. But it is interesting too, like you know, you end up that that sounds, that sounds pretty crazy to people who aren't used to use the guns, right, right.
Aaron:You know why do you need that many? Who needs all that? And it's understanding that it is. It is a tool or a device, an instrument to achieve something. You know there are different tools for different jobs. So personally, I'm not a it's surprising to a lot of people. I'm not a hunter. I know how to hunt. I have before just so I have that tool in my tool belt. I have that experience. But I don't, I don't like hunting. You know I've, I've uh shot, I've shot at living things before and I don't want to. I don't want to keep doing that I've been traumatized by bambi.
Aaron:I'm like, no, let them be free yeah, um, but you know, having, okay, I have, I have a, uh, I have a bolt action rifle that is great for hunting. I make sure it's zeroed, you know, just in case something happens. Say, there's suddenly no more toilet paper and water and everything you know.
Aaron:You know, just having that knowledge as well as the, you know, the tool to accomplish that if needed and that's kind of the other side of it is, it's a knowledge and experience in the training. Um, if, as soon as you start to explore and that's that's exactly who I wanted to talk to is, uh, the people who are just kind of curious about it. Okay, you know, things are getting a little rowdier. I've been, I've been kind of, you know, going back and forth on purchasing a firearm. Um, you know, this is this is kind of directed towards those people and the first thing to understand is it's, it's, you have to train it's something there's.
Aaron:There's my daughter making a cameo into the show and a stay-at-home dad, which we love um. So yeah, the training is is the number one priority.
Aaron:Um, when you get a firearm, you're going to you know if you get, if you get a good sales rep at the um, you know at the gun store, wherever you purchase your firearm um then they should, they should tell you two things immediately following the sale, if not during the sale is get a holster, go get training, um, and there are, there are a lot of pathways towards doing that. Um, you know, obviously there's, uh, there are courses that you can take. I offer some of those courses for free through the Wildlife.
Veronica :Commission.
Aaron:So the Wainey Smith shooting range in Canton on Fridays from 10 to 3, I'm there as as an instructor offering free firearm safety and marksmanship training. Wow.
Veronica :Well, let's take a step back. So for a North Carolina resident that's listening and they're like I've never like myself, I've never purchased a gun, I've never owned a gun. How do I go about, just for North Carolina folks, to purchase a gun? How much does it cost? Where do I get it from? You mentioned training and fees and all that Because from watching again on tv, I just think as long as you don't have a felony, you can just buy a gun like. You don't need training, you don't need this, you don't need that. So I would love for you to break down, um, how to go about getting a gun yeah, um, so it's.
Aaron:It's simple, but not simple, um. So what a lot of people don't understand is you know all, all you do in north carolina. All you physically need is, uh, your driver's license, but, um, every single firearm that is is purchased or um, sold, you have to fill out a federal form. Um, this form is a 4473. It's the legal transfer of a firearm and that has to be paired with some type of proof that you are eligible to purchase a firearm. So if you have a concealed carry permit, that counts. North Carolina used to do pistol purchase permits. They don't anymore. But, um, either either a concealed carry or, uh, a nix federal background check is done. So, um, every single firearm, whether it's pistol, rifle, shotgun, anything, anything that goes bang, um, and that's that's federal too. So there aren't, there aren't states that you know, get away with it and then we get there, nothing like that. That's across the board. Every time you purchase a firearm, you have to fill out a 4473 and do a background check if you're not a concealed carry holder.
Veronica :Was that your daughter or the cat in the background?
Aaron:That was my daughter, yeah that was a bunch of Legos that just hit the floor.
Veronica :I love it. It's live. It's live radio. So I didn't realize that with the federal. So say, if I'm just being a plain devil's advocate, if I just got out of jail a week ago and I go to get a gun and they're not doing a background check, you have to show proof they're not doing a background check.
Aaron:You say I have to show proof you because I can. You know I can for a carry holder which, if, if you're incarcerated, your concealed carry would definitely be uh, uh taken right, but I just wonder, could I get away with it, just to purchase it?
Veronica :and then it takes a little while for the background check. All that happens when you're doing the purchase.
Aaron:Yeah, the background check is conducted in the store, but it uses the the um, fbi, nix system, so it's pretty similar platform to what you get um for some employers, but it's it's a criminal um background good to know okay so I mean to answer your question like uh, you would have to if, say, you say you're a felon and you come out of incarceration.
Aaron:You go to purchase a firearm. Uh, the first thing you're going to have to do is have a north carolina id that is, uh, that is up to date, so, um, you know, not expired. Has your current address on it? That's a big one um, and then, uh, if, if you fill out that 4470, it has a ton of questions. It has like 20 some questions. Um, you know, are you a felon? Are you? Do you plan to? Uh, do anything illegal with this there's?
Aaron:right if you want to read the questions um well, that's good to know.
Veronica :I didn't know it was that thorough because again, again, with my ignorance, I'm thinking I could just order a gun online and it could come to me like Amazon, nope.
Aaron:You can order a gun online but it gets shipped to an FFL, a federal firearms licensee, and you pick it up there because you have to do the 4473 and you have to do the background check.
Veronica :Oh, that makes me feel a lot better, even though that doesn't justify some of the not so smart people that have guns, but that makes me feel good that there are controls in place. That's not on a state level, that's on a federal level, because it seems like we punt a lot of times and it's like, oh, it's up to the states, and I'm nervous to know what some states would allow if it wasn't regulated federally.
Aaron:Ok, and so, as the number person, aaron, I'm just curious how much on average, and I know there's a range that a gun can cost. I tell you what, um what, what you should spend versus what you could spend are two different things, but, um, so the um, let's, let's say, let's say, most commonly, a lot of people are purchasing a 9mm semi-automatic striker-fired handgun and a kind of bare-bones AR, just kind of your standard Glock or SIG 365, some of the popular, like a 43x. Uh, those are somewhere in and around, kind of depends on where you get it. Uh, 550 to 650 dollars. Um, yeah, you can get them a little cheaper. Um, of course there are, there are more budget-friendly options um you can get a.
Aaron:You can get a uh torus g2c for like uh 250 or 300 bucks, but it's kind of one of those things. Uh, you know, if you stick with a name brand, and you know this this interview is, I don't want to focus so much on on tips and tricks for shopping, right, but uh, you know it is. The firearms industry is nice in a way that your dollar really carries value. It the the price point generally, I would say like 90 percent of the time, equates to the quality of the firearm and of course, this is something you don't really want to skimp out on. You don't have to break the firearm and, of course, this is something you don't really want to skimp out on. You don't have to break the bank, right, and a lot of FFLs offer layaway so you can make a payment and then you have three months or however long to pay it off and they hold the firearm for you while you do that.
Veronica :Oh, I love that. Well, like you said, this show is more about education and providing safety tips. I want to go into that because on the show we always provide different tips and jewels to listeners and I would love if you have like a top five or just top safety tips that you feel all gun owners should follow, especially with young children in the house.
Aaron:Well, yeah, so they're not mine. They're called the Universal Gun Safety Rules. They are taught whether you have whatever certification that you get, whether it's concealed carry, you're a defensive instructor, marksmanship instructor all these different credentials I have through different um organizations those universal gun safety rules are the same, um, and you're going to hear it a lot once. Uh, once you start getting into, um, you know purchasing a firearm and and, uh, you know going out shooting for the first time. Um, it's, these four rules are accepted, uh, by everybody and uh, they're designed in a way that there is, we don't, we don't consider and this is, this is military as well as you know, gun community um, we, we don't consider anything an accidental discharge.
Aaron:There's no such thing, the gun never accidentally goes off.
Veronica :Now being Alex Baldwin, but sorry about that.
Aaron:Having a degree in gunsmithing. Okay, there are certain situations, but that is very few and far between. However, yeah, if you follow these four rules, there will never, ever, ever be a, a no horrible accident. And um, so number one is always assume the firearm is loaded, and I'm sure you've heard that one before always assume the firearm is loaded.
Aaron:I'm sure you've heard that one before. Always assume the firearm is loaded. That pretty much applies to you. Know, if you're ever handing over a firearm or if you're going to take possession of it or take it out of storage, you clear it, make sure it's not loaded first, and even then you follow the rest of the rules. Number two is keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire. So if your finger never touches the trigger, it'll never go off. Um, there are so many safeties that are built into the firearm there are drop safeties?
Aaron:uh, depends on on what model you get, but there's some type of um. You know, revolvers have transfer bars, that where the hammer can't even hit the firing pin. There are so many different safeties that if you don't touch the trigger it's not going to go off. It's basically like you're not a danger in a car if you don't touch the gas pedal. Yes, and then number three is never point the firearm at anything you don't intend to destroy. So that's that's commonly referred to as muzzle awareness.
Aaron:Um, you know, if you're, if you're out of range, ensuring that the muzzle, and that's the, that's the, the business end of the gun um the uh, always keeping that pointed towards the target and the berm, um, as far as like carrying and around the house and everything, uh, either keeping it at like a high uh 30 degree angle or a low 30 degree angle, always pointed somewhere that you know if, if, for some reason, um and most of the time it's negligence uh, it goes off, it's not going to strike anything that you can't live without, like a family member.
Veronica :Yes.
Aaron:And then number four is it's more applicable when firing, but know your target, what's behind and around your target. So that's really important. They're they're very small objects that are moving very fast, um, so you need to know it goes, they go through things. So you need to know your target and what's behind your target, um. But the takeaways are always assume it's loaded, uh, trigger discipline, which is keeping your finger off the trigger, and then muscle awareness, keeping it pointed in a safe direction oh, aaron, that just made me think of a question.
Veronica :I know this might be a silly question, but when you see people shooting up in the air, doesn't the bullets come back down? I'm like, am I missing something?
Aaron:uh, you know what's funny is out of all my accolades um the best resource I can give you, for that is Mythbusters did it, they tested it out.
Aaron:It loses so much velocity that it's no longer lethal by the time it's coming down, because the terminal velocity of, say, a .30 caliber projectile or whatnot is not fast enough to do that much harm. Because I always wonder that, like people just want to, you know, shoot and be cool, and I'm like you're going to kill to do that much harm because I always wonder that, like people just want to, you know, shoot and be cool and I'm like you're gonna kill yourself doing that.
Veronica :But I didn't realize that.
Aaron:Okay, it's the science I sound like a horrible, like that's, that's more the gunsmithing side taking over. But no, don't shoot in the air, um, because, right, that very much changes. That's like a 90 degree angle in the air, that that very much changes. If you're at a different angle, make sure you know your target and what's behind your target.
Veronica :Always shoot into something that will stop a bullet lot of people don't know and I know that you mentioned that on fridays here locally, from 10 am to 3 pm, you provide free services. How is this free? And if people because I know we're getting towards the end of the show want to get more education, get more training and it's free, and they're in western north carolina, how do they go about getting these services?
Aaron:yeah, so it's um, it's at the wayne e smith shooting range. Uh, it's commonly referred to as the Cold Mountain range. You can go to the Wildlife Commission's website or our website. Just Google Wayne E Smith, It'll pop up. But, yeah, that that um the the range has been occupied by the state for, uh, I think about five, six years, but we're just now, uh, really focusing on the educational branch of um of our services. So, uh, yeah, I, I teach, uh, I teach classes, um-on-one lessons as well as group classroom stuff and concealed carry. But nine times out of ten, I send most people to my free class first, so we can kind of lock down the fundamentals. That way they can go into one of my paid classes a little more prepared and we can hit the ground running.
Veronica :Wow. Well, aaron, I so appreciate you sharing this because, as a soon to be 42 year old black girl, the parents don't hunt, never own guns, none of that stuff, and I'm learning never to say never. I would always say I don't want a gun. I feel like I'm going to shoot myself or something, and just hearing you break it down like change your mindset. It's a tool. There's these four universal safety rules, there's federal background checks, there's education you can do. It does make me feel you know, more confident and more willing to actually better educate myself, because it is a, it is a right that we all have to bear arms and I think we just have to be safe. And I just knew I'm so ignorant just watching whatever's on TV. I mean this can't be the reality Because, like you said, you are an avid gun owner. You have a child under the age of five in your house. She's alive, as we can hear in the background. She's doing well, she's thriving.
Aaron:Yes, she's more of a danger to herself.
Veronica :Without any tools.
Aaron:Yeah.
Veronica :Well, thank you, aaron, so much for coming on the show, and I just want to thank the listeners and we're definitely going to do a part two, season four, so we can really start digging into maybe not the politics, but some of the reasons why maybe there's a lot of misconceptions when it comes to firearms and how we can better educate people. I might be sending you a bunch of middle-aged Black women to get trained with you, aaron, so get ready if you all of a sudden see this increase.
Aaron:Absolutely. I would love to see that.
Veronica :Oh well, thank you so much, and thank you listeners for tuning into bizradious for the Veronica Edwards show on Wednesdays across all platforms and if you missed the live airing, you can listen to all prior shows at veronicaedwardsbuzzsproutcom.