RSWC: Sara Weaver (feat Tanny Lineberry), Ruby Ridge To Freedom

“But did you ask?” This is what Yehuda Remer (RSWC #012) said a time or two. Tanner Lineberry, who works at the Second Amendment Foundation, said that Sara Weaver, Randy Weaver’s daughter, was going to be speaking at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City. I had to ask if she would be up for doing the show. She wanted to think about it. Then she was reminded about it a couple of weeks before GRPC when I did a post about reading her book. Fortunately, she said she would. Score!

Tanner and Marc, Sara’s husband, joined us in the car for the show. Tanner starts by sharing that when he was a youth, Sara came to his church in Montana and gave a speech. The speech impacted him on a few levels, and he remembered it for several years. It was his idea to have Sara come to GRPC and sit down to talk about what happened with Mark Walters from Armed American Radio (RSWC #002 & #084).

If you don’t know about the incident at Ruby Ridge, there’s plenty of information about it out there, including a documentary on PBS. The quick story is that Randy, a former Green Beret, moved his family to Idaho. He was asked by someone (an ATF agent) to make him a sawed-off shotgun, which he did as he needed the money to feed his family. The agent said Weaver needed to become an informant for them, or they were going to prosecute him on the sawed-off shotgun charges. He said no to both options.

After some botched information on a court date, Weaver didn’t show up for the trial. Then the ATF went to the Weavers’ property. After an 11-day standoff, Sara’s brother, mother, and dog were dead, shot by the ATF. There are shocking parts of the story that you should read about. So, get the book and read it!

This had a strong and profound effect on Sara, as it would on anyone. After the standoff, there was a lot of speculation and assumptions from the media and others. Most of it just wasn’t true. Sara and Randy wrote a book about the incident. They traveled the country, going to gun shows to sell and sign their self-published book. People lined up to buy signed copies of the book. Remember, this was back in the 1990s when it wasn’t so easy to get your own book published. The book is what happened from their point of view, not what the media was portraying. And definitely not what people were saying and thinking about the Weavers.

Sara was able to pick up and continue with her life, but it wasn’t easy. There were years of survivor’s guilt and questioning religion. Why did this happen to her? Why did this happen at all? How was she going to live and raise her own family? Eventually, she was able to return to her Bible and read John 3:16 and 3:17. That is when she met and began a relationship with Jesus. Like many people, she learned those verses in church as a young child, but they didn’t have an impact or sink in until years later, and life was different for her.

The relationship with Jesus helped her heal as much as could be done. She remarried and started anew. Going through the standoff and everything that happened usually takes her about four and a half hours. And it’s emotionally draining. It isn’t just headlines and new stories. It’s her life.

I’m very thankful to Tanner for making the introduction. And very grateful to Sara and Marc for sharing this. This was a very serious topic about life and what happens after a life-changing week and a half. The impact that Ruby Ridge had on Sara was enormous. But the story of Ruby Ridge lives on. It still comes up when people talk about the government or the ATF. You owe it to one of the survivors to read the story and take it all in.

Favorite quotes:

“Dad did not know this guy asking him to do this was working undercover for the feds or he, obviously, wouldn’t have done it.”

“I think it’s important we learn from the past. I think we should learn from Ruby Ridge.”

“The thing I think we’ve lost in a lot of areas is sanctity of life. And once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.”

“When you’re just surviving your emotions, you’re not really living.”

Idaho GOP Weaver Resolution a Welcome Move but Falls Short of Needed Action

About Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie isn’t about firearms. It is about having an intimate conversation with 2 people talking. You’re the fly on the rearview mirror. Many of the passengers are involved in the firearm community.

This is a more intimate conversation than a phone, radio, or Skype interview. You get to see the passengers. And you’ll see where the road and the conversation take you!

www.ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com.