Emily Gets Her Gun: But Obama Wants to Take Yours Hardcover – September 3, 2013

Bottom line, it's a good book. It works through her (extremely frustrating, but ultimately successful) attempt to obtain and register a gun in the USA's most restrictive city.Some background: Washington, D. C. (DC) had a total ban on handguns, except for those authorized for required work. Possession while on duty for police, armed security guards, and armed military were pretty much the only exceptions. The battle for the right to own a firearm for any other use went all the way to the Supreme Court! It was shot down there. However, the City Council of DC set up a series of registration restrictions that would make it nearly impossible to obtain & register a firearm.So, along comes Emily with an idea for her editor at the Washington Times (WT). Get a handgun & register it in DC. This book works through both her trials and travails as well as alternating chapters on the general themes surrounding the attempts of the gun control crowd.Special note: Her selection of a handgun is quite instructive. Selecting the right firearm is critical. Many just do not fit, or work well, for everyone. Also, the selection of ammunition and the caliber is important. As an example, I can easily hold a Star BKS, or a Browning Hi-Power, but a Colt 1911-A1 feels just plain klutzy. Also, the weight of the 9mm ammunition is lighter than the .45 caliber ammunition. This is significant as the total weight of the loaded firearm is significant for accurate shooting.One final note (that Emily didn't mention): Many of the manufacturers have buckled under to the Gun Grabbing crowd in a very subtle way. Fabrique National (FN), commissioned Mr. Browning to develop a handgun chambered in 9mm parabellum that would hold up to 15 rounds. He developed the Hi-Power. Go to a gun store today & pop out the magazine on the Hi-Power. IT'S BEEN CUT DOWN TO 10 ROUNDS! If you want a full magazine, you will need to purchase a 3rd party aftermarket magazine for the pistol!PS. The Star B/BKS is commonly used by Hollywood to simulate the Colt 1911-A1 because of the size and weight of the latter. As an example, take a close look at Bogie's pistol in Casablanca, it's a Star B!

This review will be short and sweet. Emily Miller has already shown herself to be a staunch defender and spokeswoman for our Second Amendment Rights, and her book, Emily Gets Her Gun...But Obama Wants To Take Yours, proves that in a big way. The book is very readable, being an alternating mix of her personal experiences dealing with the onerous and tedious process of legally purchasing a handgun in DC, and her observations of the political machinations revolving around the so-called Gun Debate. She also includes stories and profiles of everyday individuals who have either innocently run afoul of draconian firearms laws, or those where firearms have provided a positive impact on their lives and those around them (something that is sadly missing from the Mainstream Media and Pop Culture altogether).Ms. Miller's book is filled with information and facts that are properly noted and sourced. These facts elevate her book above and beyond the demagoguery typical in most "Political" books, where many simply regurgitate their own opinions (laced with invective to spare) and expect us to simply accept such "malarkey" (to quote our esteemed Vice President) because, well, they're "famous" and they said so. Ms. Miller backs up all of her claims, as any good writer/journalist should, and allows them to help her make her case.In conclusion, this book is a very good and important read. Those of you who are zealously anti-Second Amendment will most definitely NOT enjoy this book (just read the couple of 1-star "reviews" on this page). I highly recommend this book to everyone else, especially those who do not know very much about the fight for our Second Amendment Rights going on at this time in our country. It will give you a factual and interesting understanding, and, hopefully, help you to realize that the Second Amendment is absolutely worth fighting for. Thank you to Ms. Miller for this book and her work, and also, thank you to those of you who read this review.

Step by step on how a government can make firearm ownership nearly impossible. This book is written from a great perspective, someone who isn't a life-long shooter who decided they wanted a gun for protection but has the misfortune of living in DC. (No disrespect directed to all the good people who live in the district.) With over 42 pages of footnotes at the end of the book, this well researched story makes you shake you head at the emotion based politics behind trying to restrict or eliminate gun ownership.The book is filled with examples of random and poor gun control measures around the country (the "assault weapon" myth, politicians who know nothing about guns making random assumptions and laws based on feelings).Update 7/18/15: Something to note as you are looking at reviews; as of this date 0 of the last 10 one star reviews are verified purchases, 10 of the past 10 five star reviews are.I've read John Lott's book (More Guns Less Crime), although good, it reads more like a text book. Ms. Miller's book is more like you are having a conversation over dinner, the whole time saying, "I can't believe this." But then you realize that unfortunately it is believable. Because of her perspective, not being a gun insider, the book provides a refreshing perspective on the issues.Overall I found this book to be the perfect blend between a focused story about what one has to go through to (legally) purchase a gun in DC mixed with factual data about why many of the anti-gun policies around the country are wrong and simply don't work.

Es gab zwei Gründe, die die Autorin zum Schreiben dieses Buches veranlassten.Der erste Auslöser war sehr persönlich. Bei Miller wurde eingebrochen. Nur durch Glück traf sie nicht direkt auf den Einbrecher. Sie sah ihn aber noch das herrschaftliche Haus verlassen, das sie zu diesem Zeitpunkt allein bewohnte. Um es kurz zu machen: Sie fühlte sich das erste Mal in ihrem Leben völlig schutz- und wehrlos. Sie hatte das erste Mal in ihrem Leben echte Angst. Was wäre passiert, hätte sie der Einbrecher im Haus angetroffen? Wäre es auch noch zu einer Vergewaltigung gekommen? Miller hatte bisher nie eine Waffe in der Hand gehabt. Doch nun beschloss sie, dass sich das ändern muss. Unglücklicherweise lebt sie im linksliberal regierten Washington D.C. Dort gilt das strengste Waffengesetz der USA. In D.C. eine Waffe zu besitzen, ist alles andere als einfach. Als sie merkte, wie schwierig es rechtschaffenen Bürgern gemacht wird, sich mit einer eigenen Waffe zu schützen, begann sie ihren Weg durch die Bürokratie aufzuschreiben. Da ihre Artikel in der Washington Times (nicht zu verwechseln mit der linksliberalen Washington Post) bei der Leserschaft auf großes Interesse stießen, wurde daraus am Ende ein ganzes Buch.Der zweite Grund für die Entstehung dieses Buches ist im Schlusskapitel zu finden. Dort zeigt sich wieder einmal die grundsätzliche Liebe vieler Amerikaner zu Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit. Genau deswegen besteht die Mehrheit der Amerikaner und Amerikanerinnen so sehr auf das Recht auf Waffenbesitz nach dem Second Amendment (2A). Die Amerikaner würden sich im Waffenrecht niemals mit einem erbärmlichen Privileg abfinden so wie die Deutschen.Viele Amerikaner haben – wie schon die Gründerväter der USA – dieses gesunde Misstrauen gegenüber einer Zentralregierung, welches der Grund für das 2A ist. Den Amerikanern war und ist bewusst, dass jede Regierung den Keim zur Diktatur in sich trägt und dass man daher immer vorsichtig sein muss, wobei man diese Vorsicht gegenüber der Regierung nicht mit Feindschaft verwechseln darf. (Die Deutschen sind mit ihrer Staatsgläubigkeit – trotz Hitler und Honecker – das glatte Gegenteil der Amerikaner.)Miller schreibt daher nur auf den ersten Blick für den privaten Waffenbesitz. Sie schreibt in Wirklichkeit für ein übergeordnetes Ziel, nämlich die Freiheit, ein Begriff, ein Wert, über den die Amerikaner viel öfter nachdenken als die Deutschen. Man muss sich nur einmal die Rezensionen zu Sean Hannitys „Live Free Or Die“ anschauen, das innerhalb von 6 Monaten fast 20.000 mal (!) bewertet wurde.„Emil Gets Her Gun“ hat kaum etwas von seiner Aktualität eingebüßt, obwohl es schon einige Jahre auf dem Markt ist. Auch Europäer können viel daraus lernen, da die Vorgehensweisen der amerikanischen und europäischen Waffengegner so gut wie identisch sind. Es ist, auch das soll gesagt sein, gut recherchiert. Für sehr viele Aussagen werden die Quellen mitgeliefert. Auch heute noch eine echte Empfehlung.ENGLISH TRANSLATIONInteresting book by a journalist who was tired of being defenselessThere were two reasons that motivated the author to write this book.The first trigger was very personal. Miller's home was burglarized. Only by luck did she not meet the burglar directly. She did, however, see him leaving the stately home she was occupying alone at the time. To cut a long story short, for the first time in her life she felt completely defenseless and unprotected. She was genuinely afraid for the first time in her life. What would have happened if the burglar had found her in the house? Would there have been rape as well? Miller had never held a gun before. But now she decided that had to change. Unfortunately, she lives in left-liberal Washington, D.C., which has the strictest gun laws in the United States. Owning a gun in D.C. is anything but easy. When she realized how difficult it is made for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves by owning a gun, she began writing up her journey through the bureaucracy. Since her articles in the Washington Times (not to be confused with the left-liberal Washington Post) were met with great interest by the readership, it ended up becoming an entire book.The second reason this book was written can be found in the final chapter. There, once again, the fundamental love of many Americans for freedom and independence is revealed. That is precisely why the majority of Americans insist so strongly on the Second Amendment (2A) right to keep and bear arms. Americans would never accept a mere privilege to keep arms as the Germans do.Many Americans inherited from their Founding Fathers this healthy distrust of a central government, which is the reason for the 2A. Americans were and are aware that any government carries within it the seeds of dictatorship and that one must therefore always be cautious, though one must not confuse this caution toward government with hostility. (The Germans, with their naïve faith in the state, are the complete opposite of the Americans, although they suffered bitterly under Hitler and Honecker.)Miller, therefore, writes only at first glance for private gun ownership. She is actually writing for an higher goal, freedom, a concept, a value, that Americans think about much more often than Germans. Just look at the reviews of Sean Hannity's "Live Free Or Die," which was rated nearly 20,000 times (!) in 6 months."Emil Gets Her Gun" has hardly lost any of its relevance, even though it has been on the market for several years. Europeans can also learn a lot from it, since the tactics of American and European gun control activists are nearly identical. It is, also this should be said, well researched. For many statements the sources are included. Even today a real recommendation.

I live in Europe (Germany) and thought my country (after UK) is the most gun controlled democracy. More control can only exist under dictatorships - until I read this book.The gun law in Washington D.C. (one of the US cities with the highest murder rate) is hysterical.You cannot explain the law with reason. The only explanation is "elite panic" as lots of politicians who can afford bodyguards (or the government pays for their protection) live in this city and can influence the law.Emily wrote this book with lots of anecdotes where you don't know if you want to cry or laugh. Wonderful - and thanks for her experience which she took liberally....

I was born in a country with the right under our Common Law to be armed for my defence (as declared in Article 7 of the English Bill of Rights of 1689). Politicians have confiscated all registered pistols, leaving only criminals and cops with pistols despite this right. Violent crime in Britain is much worse than before the first gun law (1920 Firearms Act) and far worse than those US States where the Right to keep and bear arms is not infringed. I now live sbroad in a country that trusts me to have arms.