Chronicle: 2nd Amendment supporters 'the other half'

Michael Cargill, radio show host, South Austin gun shop owner, and a previous Republican candidate for several offices was the subject of an Austin Chronicle feature looking in to the lives of those who dare to strap on long guns and march in defense of the Second Amendment. 

The article, titled "How the Gun-Toting Half Lives: Life under open carry with Michael Cargill," is an obvious play on the phrase "see how the other half lives" -- which may make Cargill's gun shop and local activism seem more like a zoo exhibit rather than the subject of journalistic intrigue. 

As typical for the hard-left alternative newspaper, the article went off on several unnecessary tangents -- including Cargill's sexual preference (as if that's any of our business) and dragging another conservative leaders through the mud in discussing it.  But aside from the tone of the article, it's a rare look by the local press into what motivates a conservative to take up against-the-grain causes. Kudos to the editors of the Chronicle for giving the presumed "other half" a chance to be heard.

Cargill's brashness serves him well in his day job. The shop is as busy as it has ever been, thanks to the new laws. CenTex set sales records in December in the lead-up to open carry going into effect. Cargill said the demand was higher than in the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., when people were stocking up on guns, scared that there might finally be a national consensus for gun control. 

"And then classes? We did so many classes during December," he remembered. 

Read more:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2016-03-18/how-the-gun-toting-half-lives

Michael's show, Come and Talk It, airs Sundays from 4 to 5:30 PM on Austin's KJCE-AM, Talk 1370.


Image credit: Come and Talk It website.