Bearing Arms blogger Bob Owens has passed away

As many of you may have noticed from the sidebar, Bearing Arms blogger Bob Owens died yesterday. From preliminary reports, it appears that he may have taken his own life. News reports detail that he made a post to his Facebook page at 10:51 AM yesterday “In the end, it turns out that I'm not strong. I'm a coward, and a selfish son of a bitch. I'm sorry,”. 3 minutes later police received a call reporting a gunshot and upon investigating they found his body. Bob Owens was 46 years old.

Bob Owens was a friend of mine in the early 21st century social media way that many of y'all are friends of mine. I never met him personally or even talked to him on the phone, our interaction was entirely online. I came onto his radar by writing the gun thread here, he reached out to me VIA Twitter and we had....a Twitter friendship. He followed me, I followed him, and occasionally we would exchange comments or have a Twitter conversation. If you use Twitter you get it, if you don't you may not. He was unfailingly polite and kind, often funny, and I was somewhat flattered that a man of his expertise would talk to me as a peer. I frequently used the Bearing Arms blog as a source for gun thread material, and I always used it as a reference for detailed analysis of this or that shooting incident that made the news. Bob was an expert at fisking the crap that so often passes for reporting these days, and would back up his analysis with frame by frame stills, highlighting points and generally proving what he was saying beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was a tireless champion of the 2nd Amendment, and our country is much poorer without him. If you have a moment, please say a prayer for the family he leaves behind.

One final note. Suicide is a tragedy that has lasing repercussions far beyond the event itself. I watched the suicide of a nephew devastate one branch of my family a decade ago, it has touched this community before, and statistics say that it likely will again some day. If anyone reading this finds themselves in a place where suicide seems like a logical and rational option, please, just reach out. Reach out to a friend of family member. Post here, Morons are a wonderful group of people, and there are members of this community who won't think twice about flying across the country if that's what it takes. If you don't feel comfortable speaking to people you know, even virtual people, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-8255. I won't pretend that I know what crippling depression is like, I have been very fortunate in that respect, but there are people who do, and they want to help you. Please. Just....reach out. There will be someone there to grab your outstretched hand, I promise.

posted by WeirdDave at 11:33 AM

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