I realize that I am opening a whole can of worms with this post. I don’t care. But after Bob Costas made his opinion known on Sunday Night Football, I have had thoughts swirling through my head that I have to put down on paper.
I am for gun control and I am not for gun control.
How is that for clear?
Years ago, when I was single and traveling and out late at night, a man I dated treated me to a Concealed Handgun Class and a Smith and Wesson ladies revolver. I went to the shooting range at least once a month, kept up on the laws and where I could and could not carry it and was a responsible gun owner. I never shot at anyone nor, in the 5 or 6 years I had the license, did I find occasion to really use it to protect myself.
One night, I heard a noise outside of my apartment and it freaked me out. It was very late at night and I lived in a place tucked away in a corner that only had one way to get to it. There was no reason for noises unless you were outside of my door. I listened for a while and, after hearing what I thought was my door knob jiggling, I grabbed my gun Annie Oakley style and headed to my door. I screamed, “Go Away, I have a gun!” and the noise stopped. After a while I was brave enough to look through the peephole and saw no one. I gently opened the door and the hallway was empty and silent. I breathed a sigh of relief and went back into my apartment.
I took a deep breath and went to uncock the gun. And I couldn’t. It was stuck and after trying for a while, I could not get it to uncock. I did not sleep all night knowing I had a cocked gun in my house that could really hurt someone. Including me.
The next day, after my friend came over and uncocked it, I sold the gun and never looked back. But I still firmly believed that everyone had a right to protect themselves and their property.
Sometimes, all the training in the world still does not make you a good gun owner. I have not owned a gun since.
Now that I am raising children and living in the country, my thoughts on guns have changed a little. Probably a little more dramatically than they should for an educated woman who knows that well trained, intelligent people have a right to protect what is theirs. But when I walk into a house and I know there is a gun safe or that the homeowner has a gun locked in a safe box way up high in the back of their closet, the hair stands up on the back of my neck.
Having lost family relatives to gun ‘accidents’ and watched story after story after story on the news about little ones who have gotten into that box, guns seem a little more unnecessary than I used to think. And I hope with all of my heart than none of the people I know that have guns will lose a precious family member to an accident.
The problem with guns is that they offer an instant way to end a life. One bullet can kill in so many places on the body. Premeditation is not needed to shoot someone. And in the cases of people who have a hard time controlling their emotions, guns are too available and too easy. I bet if you ask people who have shot and killed in rage if they meant to do it, many would say no.
But do I think that guns kill people? No. I think people kill people and if you really want to do it, you will kill someone. With a knife, a bat, an object or your hands. In fact, I saw recently stats that show that in countries with no guns, homicides are actually higher than here.
Taking guns off the street will not stop domestic violence and robberies and other violent crimes. Just as taking away belts will not end child abuse. But, to be honest, from a mother’s perspective, if there were no guns in the world, I might feel a little better about the homes my kids visit. I might feel safer when out at night. I might not cringe when a car pulls up slowly next to me at night thinking they have a gun and want to shoot for fun.
Hypocritical and confusing? Yes. But so is the entire conversation about gun control.
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Originally Published 12/4/2012
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” …. Uh, yeah, but the gun helps.
Sure they’ll use other methods without guns, but the difference is their supposed victim will stand a better chance at a)fighting back and b) surviving.
The ‘victim’ would stand a better chance if they shot first
True. But shouldn’t the conversation be more about education and less about controlling? It is a tough subject and I honestly want ALL opinions!
I’m not against education, but I am against ‘control’. I, and all of my family, are die hard hunters. You can’t eliminate all guns and still have that option. Most of our meat is from animals that we harvest. It’s healthier and cheaper. So…eliminating guns is out of the question for me. And if there are still guns, the criminals will use them….BUT, law abiding citizens shouldn’t be punished for that. We do have a pistol for protection….and my hubby has a concealed carry permit. I like the fact that if need be, I am able to use it. The prospect of using it for that reason scares the poop out of me, but should I need to use it to protect me or my 4 girls you better believe I would.
That sort of goes back to your education thought, though. I have been around guns my whole life, as have my 4 girls. They aren’t really a big deal in my house because they know what they are capable of and what they are for. They know gun safety and that they are off limits if they are not with an adult. Guns aren’t toys in our house (nor is the presence of them a secret) because from the time they are little they are around them (NEVER alone, of course)….so the ‘curiosity’ factor is removed. They all (except my 4yo) hunt and know how to handle guns.
Gun control would remove this from my house and that is not right because criminals choose to abuse them. Taking my hobbies away, and my right to protect what is mine, will not stop criminals.
I totally agree. But I also think that educating people on how to better handle situations without reaching for that impulse weapon is overlooked. As I stated, I do fear guns and wish they were not a part of our lives. But I also think people have a right to protect themselves. Hence the constant debate. I SO appreciate your opinion and comment!! Discussion is the first step!
I totally agree. But I also think that educating people on how to better handle situations without reaching for that impulse weapon is overlooked. As I stated, I do fear guns and wish they were not a part of our lives. But I also think people have a right to protect themselves. Hence the constant debate. I SO appreciate your opinion and comment!! Discussion is the first step!
I appreciate that you touched on both sides of this argument in a reasonable and educated way. I totally respect your feelings on guns and feel like you would respect mine as well. I am completely for the right to own guns. My husband and I have several guns, locked in our safe. We have also taken our kids out and taught them about guns and talk with them frequently about them. We have had classes and are licensed to carry concealed. In other words we are the educated few. My biggest concern with the premise that the government could actually control guns would be that, if they did control all the guns and make it illegal or impossible for law abiding people to own one, then the only people who would have them are the people who already do bad things and don’t care about laws or rules anyway. Then where would we stand to be able to protect ourselves? That’s my rant. lol
Thank you for writing a good post that’s not just a wild rant!
Taking guns away from those who are licensed & carrying them legally wouldn’t change anything for those who have them illegally. All it would do is give those who have them illegally the upper hand. My husband and I both carry. We keep our guns safe, & continue to teach our children to respect them. People drive around drunk all the time, but cars are still accessible to those of us who don’t drive drunk… So why take guns away from those of us who use them properly because there are people who don’t?
I really hope you train your kids about what to do if they encounter a gun @ a friend’s house! Might save their lives! Yes we can hope that people are smart enough to have them locked up but the only way you know what your kids will do is through educating them! You know what’s in your house but not really what’s in anyone else’s!
There are just about the same number of deaths attributed to guns as there is to drunk drivers. Add in the traffic deaths that are not alcohol related and the number of traffic deaths is almost triple that of gun deaths. For me, having my children out on the road is scarier than having them out on the shooting range.
I firmly believe in punishing the criminals who use the guns for harm. (ie. no three chances – one violent offense you are done) I have worked in corrections, and I can say that many people cannot be “rehabilitated”; they say all the right catch phrases, play the game in order to get out, then re-offend.
Years ago people who were mentally ill were kept away from society. We need to look into more inpatient care for those who have a diagnosed mental illness. They don’t magically disappear. Yes, many can be controlled IF the patient takes their medication and go to therapy. Unfortunately, when not monitored many do not and become a safety issue for others.
I don’t think more government control on healthy, lawabiding citizens is the answer. We need to have more control over those who pose a threat.
I was raised in a house with a lot of guns. My dad sold and traded guns at gun shows. I found out when he passed that he kept one is his room, unloaded, but with a clip right next to it for easy access in an emergency. We were trained from a very early age about the dangers of the guns and we knew if we touched any of those weapons, we’d be in a lot of trouble. The only weapon of his that we touched growing up was the BB gun he gave my brother when he was old enough (and only with proper supervision while it was loaded at a range) and the camo colored hunting bow that we never had arrows for. We train adults for proper care and safety with guns but they don’t share that with their children at such a young age. Part of teaching a child is teaching them about safety. You can do that with a toy gun as most little boys get. I think we need some gun control but outright banning guns is not going to create the safe situation most people that scream for bans think it will.