I knew the call was coming, he called right on time and we talked for nearly 50 minutes.
Brian Doherty is writing a book that is primarily on the Heller case. It's title is Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle Over the Second Amendment. I'm not sure how it came about but Stephanie, who has done a lot of PR work for Boomershoot, referred him to me. Mostly as a side note Doherty wanted information on the gun culture and how this great clash of ideas culminated in the Heller case.
After Doherty and I exchanged email and agreed on a time for the interview Stephanie called me and said I should send him a link to a blog post of mine from several years ago. She doesn't like to talk about certain things on the phone and did a lot of hinting without coming out and saying things. It went something like, "That blog post about Boomershoot, the one that might get you fired, the one that is sort of extreme, but is what guns are all about." I knew which one she meant--Why Boomershoot. I sent it and, as Stephanie suggested, it was a good conversation starter.
The interview went well. Where did I grow up and did I grow up with weapons as part of my daily life? Was the political viewpoint espoused in the post part of my growing up? Have things changed in the last decade or so? The sub-title to your blog is "Ramblings of a red-necked, knuckle-dragging, Neanderthal." Do you think people, including those around where you live, actually think of you as that? How did you arrive at your political viewpoint on guns? How many people attend Boomershoot? Did you have a lot of regulatory hurdles to overcome for Boomershoot? Do the people that attend share your political views as expressed in the blog post? Do you talk about that sort of stuff a lot at Boomershoot? When the media shows up do you give them that side of event? "No", I told him, "That would scare the white people."
Once I answered all his questions I had a few questions for him.
Had he read Unintended Consequences by John Ross? Nope he hadn't. I gave him my two minute overview of it with a slant toward what I figured Doherty's interest would be in it--the gun culture and the revolution. I told him that I had talked to Ross, he was approachable, and that he probably would be a good person to interview as well.
What did he think of Boomershoot? He said he was planning to attend this year and something came up. He really wants to attend next year. I offered to put on a private party for him if he wanted to show up sometime before next April.
During the conversation I sent him several links that gave more thoughtful answers and background to our conversation:
Published by Cato Institute he expects the book to be released in late October but Amazon says, "November 25, 2008".
I'll be buying a copy.