I don't like guns.
I've never held a gun. I've never owned a gun, held a gun or shot a gun; and I don't intend to do so. I do, however, understand hunting, though Id never participate; I'd never shoot to kill my dinner, I'd rather pick it up at Kroger's. So, while I don't begrudge hunters for hunting, I do draw the line at hunting for sport; killing an animal for the sake of sport is not sport to me.
Ice dancing is sport. Okay. Maybe not. But killing a defenseless animal just for fun isn't either.
I like gun control.
Just a look around the US today and I realize just how much I like gun control. Too many innocent lives lost because of guns, and lunatics with guns. Why is that gun deaths are more prevalent here in this country? And why is that we let it continue?
If you want a gun, go ahead, get one. Shoot at cans for fun; shoot a deer or a goose for supper. It's not my thing, but go ahead. But what's so wrong about making people wait a few days so there can be background checks? Is it wrong to want to make sure that the person getting the gun doesn't already own an arsenal? Or that they aren't a criminal? Or they aren't just a wee bit crazy?
There are too many guns in this country in the hands of too many people who aren't all "right" or all "there;" who are angry and don't know how to control their rage. Who fly off the handle without taking a moment to think about what they're doing and what might be the consequences.
I don't like guns.
I never will.
I'm the complete opposite of you. Not only do I own guns, I've fired guns. My favorite activity with a gun is target practice.
ReplyDeleteA buddy of mine has the full arsenal. We'd go every Saturday with a .44 Automag, .45ACP, 9mm, a 357 and a .22 pistol and blow away a couple hundred bucks worth of ammo.
My brother is a Police Office at Ft. Bliss, El Paso. A young woman, who had been at Ft. Bliss for only one week to complete her military training, was shot in the head by her husband at the PX on post. She had joined the Army to get away from him but he someone followed her and got on post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said in this post.
Guns freak me out. Even our cops don't carry guns here (but they do have a shotgun in the boot of the car if they need it in very specific circumstances).
ReplyDeleteCo-incidently I came across some figures a couple of weeks ago that blew me away completely:
In 1992 nearly 40,000 Americans died of gunshot wounds and another 134,000 survived a shooting (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9183471)
While I get the argument that it's people who shoot people, not guns, can anybody honestly believe that 175,000 people would have been shot that year if guns weren't so widely available?
Guns scare the hell out of me. I know that some gun owners may be sane and may have gun training, etc. I still fear when kids get their hands on them and they go off accidently or when they are in the hands of the wrong people.
ReplyDeleteGuns will always scare the hell out of me!
I've owned a gun since I lived in a house off-campus in college. But I was taught at a young age, 12 or 13, about gun safety, and how to shoot. I will always keep a gun for protection, but where many people seem to go wrong is to think that having a gun is somehow a magis talisman that will ward off intruders, or that if they do appear in your house, simply waving your gun at them will chase them away.
ReplyDeleteFirst lesson from my Dad about gun safety: always assume that a gun is loaded until you can check it out for yourself. Second lesson: never point a gun at someone unless you intend to shoot them. Not in jest, not even if you know it's not loaded.
As a responsible gun owner, I find myself increasingly disturbed by the gun violence we're seeing. I have no problem with an increased waiting period or a background check. But how do we control these yahoos that get drunk and like to wave their guns around? A mandatory safety class with every gun sold? I'm cool with that, too.
I'm torn on this one, because I still believe I have the right to keep a gun to protect myself (and I DO know how to use it...and I would if I had to), but I'm very, very disturbed by these people with obvious mental problems going on shooting rampages. The question is, how do we keep guns out of the hands of those people?
Beth
I have shot guns and gone hunting. I never cared for it, but many of my relatives are NRA crazy. There is no reason any hunter needs a semi-automatic weapon and gun laws should be much stricter and existing gun laws should be enforced better. I just posted some gun stats on my blog recently. It is truly amazing how many people die in the U.S. due to gun violence. Only a VERY small percentage of guns are ever used for protection by private citizens. A gun is far more likely to be used for suicide, murder, or to cause an accident. Don't get me going on guns. Ooops. Too late.
ReplyDeleteAnd believe me, I could come up with better weapons than a gun. Ones that would be VERY deadly. Nothing like having 30KV at several hundred amps shot through your body. You pretty much die on the spot as your insides get cooked. Don't even need that much current, 120VAC at 15A is enough to kill you.
ReplyDeleteI trained with the guns I own, I have my blue card, did all the safety courses, etc.
Guns scare me too. Hunting? What the hell is that all about anyway? What does a person get out of hunting? Thrill of the kill? For food? I'll never understand a hunter's passion.
ReplyDeletei dont like them either
ReplyDelete