Well. While I’ve been waiting for Doug Ritter to send me a photo so I could blog about it …
The word has gotten well and truly out. I won an award.
Thank you Knife Rights. Thank you Ammoland for being so quick with the news. And thank you Rich and Denny for opportunity and attitude.
That last link is to S.W.A.T. magazine’s new Facebook page, which I could only reach by having my evil teenage alter-ego log in. So I don’t know if any non-Facebookians can see it.
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Here’s the prize-winning article (which I’ve posted before, courtesy of S.W.A.T.). The full article is also at the Ammoland link.
Here’s what Rich had to say on Facebook, in oh-so-typical Lucibella fashion:
Thruout my tenure at S.W.A.T., Claire has been a lightening rod for us. Usually, lighting the path ahead; sometimes setting my hair on fire! Agree or disagree, you HAVE to respect this woman as the Americana Icon she is. Congrats, Claire….you deserve it!
Ah, Rich. I hope you have lots of hair to set on fire, ’cause I enjoy that part of the job.
And here’s my acceptance, which Doug Ritter of Knife Rights read on my behalf at the award breakfast at the Blade Show in Atlanta yesterday:
I’m honored to receive the 2011 Knife Rights Freedom’s Voice award. And I wish I could be here this morning, but I wasn’t about to let the TSA grope my … pocket-knife.
First of all, thanks to Rich Lucibella and Denny Hansen, publisher and editor of S.W.A.T. magazine — for putting up with me and making my
knife-rights article possible.Next, thank you to Doug. Without his input the article never would have been written. Both S.W.A.T. readers and I would have been far less aware.
Above all, thank you to all you grassroots fighters who defend the Second Amendment and everyone’s inborn right to self defense. It amazes me every day that this is a battle we are winning, against formidable odds. All credit goes to people like the ones in this room. I hope you’ll count me as being with you in mind and spirit.
Congrats Claire,
You totally deserve it! In fact you deserve every Freedom and Rights awards out there for writing about Freedom and Rights.
That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking with it!
I am happy that you won an award, Claire! I hope it doesn’t turn out to be a lamp with a plastic leg for a base. ;P
Congratulations! Very good article and much deserving.
A little OT, but you have lived my fantasy apparently. From the minute I saw West Side Story in my early tweens, I’ve wanted a switchblade. Not for any evil intent, just because they seem so very cool. It’s probably good that an opportunity never presented itself because, being seriously uncoordinated, I’d very likely hurt myself with one.
Congrats, great article. Freedom is the answer, it’s never the problem.
🙂 Thank you, Jim, Chris, Karen, and EN.
Um … I don’t think the award will be a lamp in the shape of a leg. But who knows? It’s clear Chris and I have watched some of the same movies.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334/
… and OMG, people are actually still buying those lamps.
http://www.redriderleglamps.com/Store.cfm
Karen — LOL on the switchblade. If you might wound yourself with one of those, for sure don’t ever even consider a balisong!
Well deserved congratulations, Claire!
While I did have a balisong for a short time until my lack of coordination convinced me that I was dangerous only to myself, the only “switchblade” I ever had was actually a spring-loaded comb.
I went with the throwing knives, and a short skinner that I always carried on my belt. Cops took it from me a couple times, but they always gave it back before they left.
Congratulations, Claire. Well deserved, as always.
I’m just now trying to decide on a knife to carry, and getting all sorts of advice from well meaning friends. Likely I’ll try several – at least until I find the one that works for me. And, wonderfully, it won’t really matter what I decide to carry since it’s not a problem in Wyoming. I carried my big camping knife (because we were camping…) all week and nobody in town even seemed to notice. Of course, since people are used to the big gun on my other hip, it is unlikely they’d be shocked by anything I chose to wear. 🙂
Awesome, Claire. Who’d have thought years back that this match could work? You’ve given greater reach and credibility and we’ve given you……ummmmm.
Well anyway, you’ve given greater reach and credibility.
Rich Lucibella
Publisher
S.W.A.T. Magazine
Well done claire…as usual
“You’ve given greater reach and credibility and we’ve given you……ummmmm.”
You’ve given me what every writer needs most, Rich.
Big Wooly, bumperwack,MamaLiberty — Thank you.
Have fun on your knife hunt, MamaLiberty. Whatever style of knife you decide on, you might consider a spring-assist. Being able to open the blade with one hand is a blessing — as are Wyoming’s sane attitudes toward weaponry.
“Who’d have thought years back that this match could work?”
Definitely not me, Rich. When you asked me to write for S.W.A.T. I’m sure you remember how I responded — that you were either an off-the-wall creative genius or a complete lunatic. And I leaned toward the latter viewpoint.
That’s pretty cool, congratulations Claire! “Freedom’s Voice” is exactly what you are, perfect name for the award and it’s recipient…..
Congratulations!
Knives are Arms too, and it is about time we took back what is ours. It certainly makes no sense that here in WA I can carry my gun in any city, but my Kershaw assisted opener is considered illegal in a variety of places.
II. Right to keep and bear arms
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Where does it says that the Second Amendment is limited to just firearms?
All the terrible implements of the soldier.
I seem to remember something like the previous statement in referring to the Second Amendment. As far as I know, a knife had always been part of a soldier’s implements, even before the gun came into being.
Wow, you’re famous Claire! I had no idea. Now I know why I got all that traffic when you mentioned my Disneyland Survival blog post.
Congrats on the award!
They can’t even keep people from carrying knives in prison…where not only are they completely banned but they actually look in everyones butt on a regular basis to check for them. Not sure what anyone expects to accomplish in the real world with bans on assisted opening knives when a convict with an IQ of less than 70 can make something just as, if not more deadly, out of a peice of toothbrush and some tape. The whole thing of crooks going into knife shops and carefully picking out $60 blades to stab people with is yet another hysterical fantasy of hoplophobic minds.
Anyway congrats on the well deserved award! Sounds like that article really helped out.