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HISTORY
COVID-19 Journal March 21, 2020
Buying a shotgun and preparing for lockdown.
What follows is a lightly edited version of a journal I wrote periodically to document the Coronavirus pandemic as it was developing across the United States and the world. I was working as an Assistant Professor at Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia. This is three of seven. Links to all current entries are at the bottom of the page.
3.21.2020. I bought a shotgun today. A used Weatherby 20-gauge PA-08 TR for $265 at Cunningham’s Knife and Gun Shop here in Glenville. I wanted the Mossberg 500, but the one they had in stock had a 26-inch barrel, and it was really too long to be very effective within the house. I bought a box of shells, Remington #4 birdshot, some earmuffs, a cleaning snake, and some oil.
Natalie and I have been talking about it for a couple of days, and I’ve been thinking about it since 2016, when white supremacists were marching in the streets after Donald Trump’s election. I’m ambivalent about having it, and I hate guns, but I’m worried about lawlessness out here in the hills of West Virginia during the epidemic, and I cannot rely on law enforcement to protect my family. If I am disabled by COVID-19, I want Natalie to be prepared to protect the kids. I was motivated to get the gun now because…
