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May. 31st, 2022 04:07 pmI always feel wierd watching Gun Control arguments online, because I'm quite literally smack in the middle on it. I understand and am for gun regulation. But I understand and am for (INCERDIBLY responsible) gun ownership.
At a very young age, my father taught me to shoot a rifle. Like really sat down and taught me, like you did with chiildren in Texas in the 80s. He taught me how to handle, clean and be safe when you have a rifle:
He also taught me something very important: A firearm is a tool for killing. Not a generic tool. A tool for killing. And certainly not a toy.
When you have a gun on you, you must be prepared for the fact that you plan to kill something that day. If you are pointing a gun, you must be prepared that that anything on the other end of that barrel may be killed. If your finger is on the trigger, you must be prepared to kill what you're pointing at.
This wasn't a matter of power or pride. It was a matter of caution, safety and realizing that you are responsible for anything killed by your gun. If you are not ready for ANY of the above, the gun stays at home, in the closet, in it's box (or lock box as it is these days in this state).
Then my father told me about what the guns did when he was fighting in Vietnam. It wasn't pretty. But it drove the point home.
He felt it was important for me to learn how to handle firearms for hunting, specifically. But he also felt it was important to learn the nightmare they could inflict on, not just you, but those around you.
And this is why (1) I am not afraid of guns (2) I am prepared and understand how to use a gun (3) I do not have a gun anywhere near me and have not for decades.
I may be big on "gun education." But I'd like that education to be the kind my dad gave me. Maybe people wouldn't fetishize them so much. And while it might not stop mass murders, it might at least drop the number of bullets whizzing through the air at any one time by irresponsible "good guys with a gun."
At a very young age, my father taught me to shoot a rifle. Like really sat down and taught me, like you did with chiildren in Texas in the 80s. He taught me how to handle, clean and be safe when you have a rifle:
He also taught me something very important: A firearm is a tool for killing. Not a generic tool. A tool for killing. And certainly not a toy.
When you have a gun on you, you must be prepared for the fact that you plan to kill something that day. If you are pointing a gun, you must be prepared that that anything on the other end of that barrel may be killed. If your finger is on the trigger, you must be prepared to kill what you're pointing at.
This wasn't a matter of power or pride. It was a matter of caution, safety and realizing that you are responsible for anything killed by your gun. If you are not ready for ANY of the above, the gun stays at home, in the closet, in it's box (or lock box as it is these days in this state).
Then my father told me about what the guns did when he was fighting in Vietnam. It wasn't pretty. But it drove the point home.
He felt it was important for me to learn how to handle firearms for hunting, specifically. But he also felt it was important to learn the nightmare they could inflict on, not just you, but those around you.
And this is why (1) I am not afraid of guns (2) I am prepared and understand how to use a gun (3) I do not have a gun anywhere near me and have not for decades.
I may be big on "gun education." But I'd like that education to be the kind my dad gave me. Maybe people wouldn't fetishize them so much. And while it might not stop mass murders, it might at least drop the number of bullets whizzing through the air at any one time by irresponsible "good guys with a gun."
