Eric S. Raymond

The Jargon File, fetchmail, and The Cathedral and the Bazaar are probably the top three things that esr has created that most people know him for.

He is also a supporter of freedom in all its forms. From free speech to free software, though some believe those two are one and the same. When I said all its forms I mean all, esr will even admit to being an anarchist.

esr: "Burn all your GIFs"

Also an avid marksman, esr is a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. His personal shooting rig for competition is a Colt 1991a1 in .45 acp but he also owns shotguns and rifles. He does seem to have a liking for the 10 mm cartridge and owns a couple of Glocks in that caliber. He also got his wife a Glock in .40 S&W.

For people who still believe that civilians have no business owning guns for whatever purpose he has this to say:

If you disagree with everything I have said on this site and are gung-ho for gun control, I suggest you live up to your convictions by posting a big sign on your front lawn that reads:

THIS HOME IS A GUN-FREE ZONE

I wish you joy of all the delightful visitors you will attract.

No? Sound like a bad idea to you? Then perhaps you should consider how dependent you are on the kindness of ``gun nuts'' and rethink your position...

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agreed

http://tuxedo.org/~esr/guns/reductio.html

Esr also maintains a blog at http://armedndangerous.blogspot.com/

Eric S. Raymond is also the the author of the "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto" (I'm pretty sure Idiotarian isn't a real word); a vague and somewhat inconclusive diatribe on the current state of world politics, in particular the post September 11th events, from the war in Afghanistan to the possibility of war in Iraq.

For all his achievements and good work in the name of freedom (in all its forms), this zealous, delusional rant is further evidence, backed by his above claims regarding gun control, that not all his dogs are barking.

In the UK, declaring non-ownership of firearms publically is hardly likely to get you shot, robbed or raped, nor would it - I imagine - in most civilised countries without a gung-ho weapon deterrent culture.

This would suggest that the problem itself lies not with having or not having guns, but more with the culture that chooses to use (or not use) them. Figures for 1999/00 show that England and Wales had a rate of 0.12 gun-related murders per 100,000 population, compared to 4.08 per 100,000 population in the US. That's 34 times as many firearm killings per head.

• Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto: http://armedndangerous.blogspot.com/2002_10_13_armedndangerous_archive.html
• Anti-rhetoric non-manifesto: http://distraction.free.fr/antimanifesto/
• Gun Control Network - Statistics: http://www.gun-control-network.org/facts.htm