I am one of the dwindling number of Americans who have never owned a gun – or a rifle, semi-automatic, shotgun, or RPG.
I did practice using a rifle (M-16) with targets shaped like people in Basic Training, but the idea of firing at a real living person terrifies me. Tramping into the woods to hunt and kill deer or ducks doesn’t excite me either, though I can imagine that the camaraderie of friends dressed up in orange and camo, packing rifles on a camping trip in the woods could be exhilarating.
I just have no fascination with guns. I do not want them in my house or even close to me. I know this puts me in an effete club of sissies to a lot of folks. I’m writing this blog as a question to gun people. Why do you like firearms so much? Or maybe you don’t, but you regard them as necessary instruments of protection in a dangerous, disintegrating world.
I admit my ignorance in understanding the attraction of pistols and rifles. Skeet shooting I can understand because it is a skill, like playing ping-pong. But I just don’t feel the romance of guns.
So tell me your story about why you own a gun or rifle and what it means to you. And if you do not own one, why? If you hate them, why? Do you feel safer with guns around the house, or more threatened? This is a question that has rolled around in my head for a long time. Am I one of the last gun shunners in America?
Question: Why do you own a gun? Or, why don’t you?
Lloyd Graff is Owner and Chief Space Filler of Today’s Machining World, and Owner and Chief Space-Filler of Graff-Pinkert & Co.
88 Comments
A gun is a tool. Yes it was designed and intended as a tool to kill things. Where a circular saw was designed for sawing wood. I prefer to think of a chain saw as a better tool for comparison. Not designed for killing people, but if handguns were really no longer available anywhere in the city of Chicago I have little doubt that something like a chainsaw would be the next weapon of choice. The point is that there are many dangerous devices and compounds. How many of you have gone to buy drano lately ? – Soon you may need a full background check to do that. Where you draw the line, and how you keep these dangerous items away from those that are inept, or mentally unstable will always be a challenge.
Personally I’d prefer to have the freedom to buy and use Draino, guns, and a chainsaw.
Freedom for the 99% of us (arguable number I know) who are mentally stable is an important ideal for everyone to give some serious consideration to and defend regardless of ones personal interests in owning a gun. Guns and freedom have always had a complicated part of our history. I don’t necessarily “like guns” but I love freedom and I don’t think we can give one up without severely impairing the other.
I was raised with guns but do not presently own any firearms. My wife and I chose not to have any in the house with the kids around. For a very long time we would not even let a water pistol pistol get into our kids hands. That changed with my son. In my house my son seemed to have more interest in weapons of all types. My daughters have no interest. We gradually softened. We let him experience paint ball, and permitted the Nerf brand of of toy weapons, air-soft type products and some video games into our home. To date my son has followed the house safety rules.About 3 tears ago It became clear that the “games” that he was experiencing were just games and he was not learning a thing about the danger, power, real responsibility and consequences of owning firearms. After much thought I decided my son need to see first hand the power that could be put into someones hands. While on vacation in Florida a few years back I took him to an indoor pistol range to see if I could teach him a little more than the toys had. The experience was well worth the time and effort. My son was able to see, hear and watch what a real firearm can do in the hands of someone with proper training. There were several off duty policemen at the range and their skill and respect for the weapon was clear even to a 13 year old. After a short period of training we were able to rent a small caliber pistol and with me by his side he shot 100 rounds at paper bulls eye type targets. We have now had the opportunity to do this about 6 times. Guns are no longer a toy to my 13 year old. I am not sure what is next for us but I have enjoyed the time spent with him and the learning experience. I am sure there is a question on his mind that he wants ask..dad can I buy a gun? I do not have the answer as yet but my wife and I need to make decision soon.
Why do I own a gun? Because it is my legal right, I enjoy the craftmanship that goes into a fine firearm, I enjoy shooting sports, confidence in the ability to protect myself if necessary, and it is my family tradition.
Guns are passed down in my family from generation to generation. I have firearms over 100 years old that shoot as well today as when manufactured. The key word here is manufactured. Firearms were a driving force in automation and standardization that puts the people to work. It is part of our legacy.
I resently bought a home in the country, the closest neighbor is 400 yards away and on the other side of the woods. Just my wife and I live there and I absolutly would not live there without a gun. If someone brakes into my house at night the police will get there just in time to wright
the report for the life insurance company! We must be able to protect ourselves!
You need to understand the 2nd amendment was not written for duck hunting, it was given to us by the founding fathers so we can protect ourselves from an oppresive government!
Why don’t you try to grow a set and ask some American citizens how they would feel about living on our south border without a gun!
There were thousands of home burglaries, possible murders, prevented by lawful gun owners. I have a gun in my home , locked and no kids around. With the current state of conditions in our country, we are on our own for personal protection.
I started on the firearms path in the early 80’s when I started paying closer attention to politics. It seemed clear that certian ultra leftists wanted to take away my right to own a gun for any reason. I believe the saying that “when seconds count, the police are only minutes away”, and the fact that only law abiding folks obey the laws. I am also a student of history and can point repeatedly to what happens when a government disarms it’s population, and I believe “if we don’t learn from history, we are destined to repeat it”. I know these are not original thoughts, but they are immutable facts. Another truism I have come to believe is that without the Second Ammendment, the Constitution and Bill of Rights are not worth the paper on which they are written. All of these logical facts makes me wonder about the real motivations of those who would disarm us. they certianly are not what they say, because the reasons they give do not stand up to the immutable facts previously noted.
“I love my country, but I distrust my government” “A man with a gun is a citizen, a man without is a subject”, “He who beats his sword into ploughshares, will work for he who does not” I could go on and on but perhaps the most important is the fact that criminals and crazies will always exempt themselves from any anti-gun law and will therefore be the only ones armed if firearms are made illegal, this is a fact, so how can the liberal left ignore these facts unless they have another agenda!
Then I discovered the shooting sports are great fun and “it was on!”
I own guns, but the thought of having to use them scares me, but I would not hesitate in protecting my family or property. Guns have a place, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws would have them, thats scary!
I have many guns, enjoy them for target shooting and some for hunting. This is a tool and is used a sport or personal protection. I also like to golf. I have many clubs. My wife doesn’t enjoy either. While some people may use these tools inappropriately, ie., robbery’s or wife extremely mad at her husband for infidelity and hits him with a 4 iron, in both situations, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and 4 irons didn’t bruise Tiger, his wife bruised TIGER.
Freedom is never free. Freedom is earned, usually fought for, so when our soldiers sign up, they give freely there lives for freedom of others quite nobel. Likewise when someone decides to take your freedom or your life or advantage of your situation, unfortunately it is up to you to defend yourself. While it may make all of us feel good to have laws, the reality is freewill allows one to not play buy the rules. So, I hope we never see this, but if guns were taken away, do you think felons would follow the rules? Do felons follow the rules now? If a person dies a brutal death, does it matter if it is a gun or a baseball bat or a kitchen knife? So if freedom is never free, how in God’s green earth can we pass a law and it will just automatically be safe? Who could or would be so naive to think differently? Who’s zooming who?
My American For Fathers spilled they own blood for the Right to Bear Arms.
Besides if someone breaks into your home and threatens your famliy with deadly intent, what are you going to do? Have the criminal wait while you call 911 or use harsh language to scare them off. Try living in the getto of Chicago and see if there is a need for Firearms.
It is our 2nd Amendment right and our Patriotic Duty! What is really hard to bare is the fact that I’m trusted by 35 other states to carry concealed but not in my own state.
I agree with all the above, however do not have a firearm in my home. Too many kids and grandkids. I have never purchased one, but was given a 12 ga. that belonged to my grandfather that died before I ever got here. This gun was a Rival serial number 0000398. A gunsmith friend of mine told me to never fire that gun, as it had a “rolled wire barrel” of questionable safety. My son has this gun now, and intends for his son to have it someday.
Until two years ago I had not owned or had ever handled any firearms other than during my time in the Army(Vietnam era). I have ,however, always felt that the right for a law abiding citizen of this country to own firearms of any type was one of the founding percepts of our government and society. As I have watched attempts to limit or flat out remove my right to own and bear arms be enacted and/or debated I finally decided that the best way to take a stand was to become a firearms owner. I found that I enjoy handling them and also like to look at their design and see how they operate. I now have four long guns and five pistols and became a licensed concealed hand gun carrier. All my weapons are locked in a gun safe or for some of the handguns in a bio-metric vault on my nightstand for quick access during the night. I don’t hunt but now days I feel you need to be prepared to defend yourself if necessary by whatever means necessary. The reason some stereotypes exists because they are based on real facts and the saying “If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns” is actually a factual statement.
Hello Lloyd,
The romance of guns… Well, I don’t know that I love them, but I do have a couple that I am very fond of.
I shoot recreationally, and I too was in the service. I never shot anyone in service (except with a rubber band, and never saw cobat), and have only hunted rabbit with dogs (which is really more about appreciating the work that the dogs do, and trying to keep up with them).
Personally I shoot as a relaxation device (and it is somewhat a family thing too). For me it is like really loud Yoga.
In target shooting you need to relax, breathe, pause, press the shot, recover and repeat. Thinking of anything but that and the little round target 100+yards away will do you very little good. Especially with open sights and an old WW2 era firearm. To get a group under 4” at distance with open sights is terribly challenging and relies exclusively on the shooter doing their part. A good gun will repeat itself with exact precision over and over again. The shooter however needs to rely on his skeletal structure, positioning, limit contact with the firearm but still hold it firmly, and relax every muscle except the trigger finger to repeat results. I suppose that with the stresses of my everyday job; finding the balance in required muscle relaxation is what keeps me coming back. You really need to let that kink in your neck at the end of the week go at the cost of a buck a round, and pay attention to finding center.
As far as home defense goes, I have a dusty old shotgun that’ll do the job…
I got started shooting as a kid plinking with my dad, and grandfather… I learned that boys were typically boys (even up to 80 years old) in this regard… I also learned to save my money, as a boy the first thing I bought with my newspaper money was a Marlin 60 with its .22 micro grooved barrel.
In addition to all of the above…
It is pretty much a given that if you are a male in my family you will join the service, and that you will shoot a rifle at the marksmen level. My ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and US Constitution. It has been passed down since shortly after the U.S. Revolution in our family that: a nervous government is a better government, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed, the second amendment is the teeth of the first (and 3rd 4th and 5th and so on) and furthermore that citizens keeping and using firearms creates a logistical nightmare for the proposed occupation of these United States.
I can only hope that our citizens never need to use a firearm against our government or any other government. I can only hope that I never shoot anything but paper. I will always be ready to defend my family and my country.
The only way to know you can hit the target is to go to the range. I happen to relax at the range.
All my best,
Scott
Obviously I am pro-gun and own several in addition to working at a company that is part of the gun industry.
My interest in guns started with a fascination with all things mechanical. The fit, finish and logic of the mechanical parts is amazing when you consider that most of the very best designs came about well before computers and CAD/CAM. I like having a gun available at our home in the country since the sheriff is at least 30 minutes away. It is also a necessary tool to control predators around our livestock.
For myself and most of our customers, the hobby of precision ammunition reloading and precision marksmanship is another part of owning a gun. The very best ammunition handloader / marksmen can shoot 10 shots into a target at 1,000 yards and hold a maximum spread to less than 4″. To put that another way, the rifle has to return to exactly the same position on the shooting bench within .0004 inches (4 tenths) after each shot. The angular difference of the barrel must be less than .00637°. And we are not even considering the wind or coreolis effect yet.
Not to take anything away from good golfers, but do the same math for a drive down the fairway and see how close they have to be to drop 10 shots into a 4″ spot.
My fly in the ointment regarding this nations firearms conversation is the lack of tolerance on both sides. Some gun enthusiests lable folks like Lloyd as “sissys” or worse, while many anti-gun folks think we are all cave men. I will respect Lloyds views to not own a firearm since he can respect my ownership of firearms and the way they make my life more enjoyable.
I own several. For self/home defense & “sport shooting”. The only thing we hunt is paper targets, tin cans & clays. It is great fun to practice & compete. I am glad my children will learn safety, skill and respect for the real thing, as opposed to playing video games and thinking they are just toys. I think that often leads to tragic results. Our HS freshman will start competive trap this year.
Because I can! It is a constutional right we have as Americans.
It is as simple as that.
I am also a former Marine and a gun owner. I don’t hunt anymore, but sorta miss “deer camp” with the boys. Monday night, a young lady was kidnapped out of a local shopping center and her car and belongings dumped 1/2 block from our house here in a very nice residential area. My wife is very upset and we will be buying 2 pistols this week and starting to practice with them. This poor girl’s friends have been out every night looking for her. I want my wife and kids kept safe, so we will do what we need to.
I own firearms for personal protection, and I was a hunter at one time, and an infantryman in the Army, MOS 11B20. Mr Graff, you cannot buy an RPG legally in the United States, except if you have a Class III permit, which entitles the BATF to visit you whenever they desire. That comment is almost as inane as the Presidents about bayonets. Myself I’d rather be tried by twelve then carried by six.
1st is the freedom of speech, 2nd is the right to bear arms and I believe in both. My view changed in 2006 when my house was broken into while asleep. They stole my wallet, cell phone and a few other things just outside of my bedroom door. A few months later my wallet was found in a stolen car. The car was filled with evidence showing multiple home invasions, stolen items from stores and even evidence showing the robbers were armed and dangerous while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Today I’m a gun owner and also train with different tactical schools like Randy Cain and Pat Rogers. Tactical competitions such as IDPA and local Orlando police officers. It’s not about a fascination with guns or a skill of “ping pong”. It’s something you wish never to use, but will have in a case you have to protect your family, property or self. I’ve been on both sides of the argument and it’s really just of matter of life experiences that will determine knowledge of opinion. I respect other people’s views and opinions. From my experiences and skills developed, Lloyd, the last thing I feel is “love”, “fascination” or “terrified”. If trained properly you’ll understand and know the moral, financial and public responsibility that comes from every bullet fired. I would encourage you to not only have a open mind, but talk with those on the other end of the opinion. I know some of the best instructors in the country. In my opinion they are some of the most honest caring people I’ve ever met. They even feel responsible for not helping victims in situations like when Egan Holmes shot up the Colorado movie theater during the dark knight film. If you were there and lost a loved one. How would you feel today? The majority of gun owners are what we call mall ninja’s and really dilutes the truth of why our forefathers made it the 2nd most important amendment in a nations best interest. It was their experience and knowledge of the importance of why this stands above everything else other than our ability to speak without persecution.
I’m a veteran and a political moderate. But one question: If all 6,000,000 of those Jews had owned a gun and each had taken out just one Nazi, do you suppose Hitler might have had a tough time recruiting new soldiers to arrest Jews?
Or another: What is our political foundation? Suppose King George had been able disarm all the Minutemen?
Thomas Jefferson wrote: “When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.” Nuff said?
A gun is simply a piece of machinery, designed to perform a task. Just like other kinds of machinery, it can be dangerous – even fatal, in untrained hands or can even be used for evil purposes. However, in trained hands, barring accidents, a gun has the potential to protect us from those who intend harm.
Why do I own guns? Some, I own for self-protection. Others are for hunting and varmint control. Many are owned because I appreciate the history. Luger pistols, for example, have a long and interesting history. Then, there’s the evolution of ignition systems and functional design. And the engineering talent demonstrated by semi- and full auto self-loading designs; Short recoil, long recoil, locked breech, blowback, delayed blowback. Guns can be a work of art…… either by decoration and embellishment, or by the design and amazing craftsmanship demonstrated by machinists in earlier times. Guns of earlier days show a delicate balance of polished steel, heat blue, straw drawn colors in various hues, lovely rust blue and high polish charcoal blue. Clearly, these craftsmen had an eye for the aesthetics as well as functionality. For these reasons, many of us like guns. And, in addition, they’re fun to shoot, and a challenge to shoot accurately!
I own various types of firearms because I love the sport of shooting. I’m also a licensed carrier of a concealed firearm and an owner of class3/NFA items(suppressors, SBR’s ect). It’s a statistical fact that states who honor concealed carry permits to their citizenry have a much lower violent crime rate than those states that do not. Also, as far as I know, there hasn’t been a violent crime committed with a NFA approved class3 weapon. The last I heard, I still live in the greatest sovereign country on the face of the planet, it is my God given 2nd amendment right to own a firearm of any type. “COME AND TAKE IT!”
Lloyd,
I have no problem with people owning guns. Whether for self-defense, pleasure, relaxation, self-pleasuring… they’re all valid rights for a free people.
However, I don’t get how “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” is interpreted to mean that guns should be for anything other than being able to maintain a well regulated militia. The fact that it’s gone wildly beyond a well regulated militia should be obvious.
Therefore I think there’s no harm in a little regulating who can get a gun. The restriction of requiring a true background check with a reasonable waiting period before someone can buy a gun would work for me. I know that won’t keep guns out of the hands of criminals who find them through illegal means, but it will stop some of the unbalanced people from getting them. And by the term unbalanced I don’t simply mean someone who isn’t capable of understanding the implications of having a firearm. I also mean someone who is in the heat of…whatever they’re in the heat of (passion, anger, etc.). A cooling off period can work wonders.
From the time I could walk I was out hunting with my father. Waterfowl, upland game, turkeys,deer,moose, and elk. He would not let me shoot anything but targets or clay pigeons until I was old enough but he taught me from the start to shoot propperly as well as the safe handling of fire arms. They were never toys. We spent a great deal of time at the range or shooting skeet, trap or sporting clays and I always had to recite the major rules of safety. All my hunting buddies have similar backgrounds.
I live in a small rural town and hunting is a way of life but not pushed on anyone. Those who do not care for guns or hunting are respected as any other. I have several guns, rifles, shotuns, handguns. They all have their purposes. Self defense is an issue but not really from people but from animals. For example, I will carry a rifle or a handgun in the sping time while I am out hiking in the woods in case I cross paths with mama bear and her cubs. Obviously, I would dispatch the bear only to protect myself or my dog. I would attempt to scare her away fist. I do keep a gun or two handy in the unlikely event of a home invasion or whatever as the police would not just arrive late but most likely not arrive at all.
Assalt weapon bans do not make sense. An AR15 uses the Remington .223 round, used in a lot of varmit rifles. They can also be chambered for .308 round, one of the best deer rounds going. No legal rifle is full auto but only semi-auto. Does it really matter what the rifle looks like if it shoots the same rounds?
What in really interesting is that there are tons of guns in this town. Most homes have several in the house. But I cannot remember a shooting accident ever happening here, at least not in the last 35 years. We are not special; most of America is the same. It seems to me gun violence is more an urban issue and mostly related to drugs, gangs, etc. but even that is on the decline. If we are serious about reducing gun violence then we should legalize drugs. Pot, cocain, all of it. Regulate it, tax it, and instead of the hundreds billions of dollars going to the cartels, we could build new schools and other facilities to benefit those who are now victimized by gangs warring for drug turf. The border wars would be no longer, would go away. Mexico would no longer be a narco-democracy and Juarez might again be a nice town to live in or visit.
Of course! What better way to protect your family?
I am much like you. I had some experience with them long ago in the military. Also did some hunting in my early years.
Guns don’t bother me at all, I just never had a desire to own one.
On the other hand, I have a strong desire, perhaps bordering on fanatacism, to retain the right to own a gun. I think that is a key and fundamental citizenship right.
John Henry
My wife and I are both active competitive target shooters. I also help coach a collegiate pistol team that has won several National Championships against the service academies in years past. I do not own any firearms for hunting or personal protection, although we have several that would work just fine for those purposes. The US competed in 13 different Olympic shooting events last summer, not including the Pentathalon. Target shooting is a demanding physical & mental challenge with a lot more in common with meditation than mayhem. I also enjoy working with precision machinery, and doing the bulk of my own gunsmithing provides additional pleasure.
What I don’t enjoy is the constant barrage of stupid laws & restrictions placed on my sport by idiots who know nothing about firearms. Until a few weeks ago, NONE of the handguns used in the last Olympics were legal for purchase in my state. Most are still unavailable, including single shot .22 rimfire pistols costing over $2000, because the state laws consider them “unsafe”.
Lloyd:I had to take an extra day before I could respond to the question. For those of you who have bought a gun for home protection, practice with it often. It will be too late if your first shot will be against an intruder. For those of you who live by the dictum of a ready and trained militia, quit kidding yourself. If you have not seen a shot fired in anger, you will see chaos in an unorganized militia. And if your patriotism demands that you give the impression you are ready, send your children for a term of service in the regular services and be sure you specify the infantry. Now having disposed of the two major myths for owning a gun, I can give many reasons for owning a gun and enjoying it. By the way my pleasure is in gaming both field and water birds. In order to harvest them as a sportsman you have to be quicker and smarter than the birds. It is somewhat like dry-fly fishing, you have to be smarter than the fish. Now this isn’t a put down, because the odds favor the fish and the birds. Having, designed and manufactured weapons much of my adult life as well as used them in behalf of our freedoms, I stopped hunting large animals ( I don’t treasure trophies) mainly because it is not hunting, but shooting. The accuracy of rifles and ammunition guarantee almost a certain kill inside to 350 meters. Addressing other elements of owning a weapon. A gun can be a thing of beauty, the epitome of the design and the machinist’s skill. Gun designers have contributed to the industrial revolution by designing machine designed to make guns, but better used for making things for a better life. Harry Pope designed gun drills, reamers and broachers which were lter modernized to make aircraft engines and many complex items. Working for Mr. Pope was an experience and if you could stand the heat you really obtained an education. Lloyd, this reminds me, why don’t you sponson a competition to be judges at the next tool show, encouraging today’s machinist’s to exhibit their most beautiful piece of machined metal. I regret that our American culture demands that we put restraint’s on the marketing and owning of weapons. I have live in a land where there is a military rifle in every household, loaded and ready and it has the lowest death rate from the discharge of the weapon. I don’t the owning of weapons is really our problem.
Jack Frost, as usual you have made a great comment. I would like to go fishing with you. Your suggestion about the contest for beautiful machined prices is brilliant. I am going to do it soon.
Yes I own many guns shotguns,hand guns,rifles I hunt and target shoot a lot and have been doing it since I was 8years old no 73
I used to own Barry Allen Sales
Yes, I own a gun and the reason is simple. Nobody has the right to tell me I cannot protect myself and my family from those that would do us harm. This includes any government that no longer represents the people of this great country. Yes, I know they might control nuclear weapons and the US Military, but the US Military is made up mostly of great people that love this country. Most military personnel know to disobey immoral orders and their first duty is to protect and defend all enemies foreign or domestic.
I cannot say it any better than those who have already commented. Plain and simple! It’s our right! This Government is responsible for upholding these rights! Not take them away! We are loosing the battle. one law at a time. Wake up people!
I own several rifles and three hanguns, all legally purchased.
It”s my right, If americans were not allowed guns, an oppressive government
could walk right in and take over. My problem is how hard it is to get a permit.
When criminals can buy a gun illegally anytime.
I am not a gun nut nor do I own a soap box. This is, in fact, the first time I have responded to this debate and I do so due to the neutral platform Lloyd has granted us. I steer clear of the polarized discussions as they accomplish nothing. I don’t love guns. I don’t think about them constantly. But I own them, and I am glad I do. Moreover, I’m glad I have the freedom to own them.
My father had a modest collection of guns he enjoyed shooting (ie, not investments). He was a bird hunter and a fisherman. I have never purchased a firearm myself, but when he passed, I inherited that small collection. That was 25 years ago. Since then, I have learned about them and cared for them. I keep them in a locked safe. Now that my son is responsible enough, we have begun target shooting/bonding over a new sport. It is a skill challenge much like other projectile sports (darts, archery, baseball, football, basketball, etc.). And its a lot of fun.
I also enjoy the historical aspect of the weapons. I have an interest in WWII. Caring for and firing those weapons gets me closer to the history. I marvel at the progression of technology as gun design changed over time, the fit and feel of the mechanics, the sound of precision as the machine cycles.
Philosophically, I have trouble with gun control that takes these weapons out of the hands of law-abiding citizens primarily because the bad guys aren’t going to pay attention to those laws. Then they will have all the guns. Right now, the bad guys don’t know what they’re walking into when they enter a home. If guns are illegal, they will know and won’t hesitate. It will always be an easy thing for the criminals and crazies to get guns when they want them. Criminals by definition break laws. By limiting my rights, bad guys, in essence, have more freedom and peace of mind.
If you don’t like what’s on television, change the channel. If you don’t like a movie, don’t watch it. If you don’t like mma, don’t go to the match. If you don’t like guns, don’t own one. Legislators need to understand we are adults and most of us are not in need of mothering or guidance. As ajl said, it is our legacy. It is one of our most fundamental rights or it would not be the second amendment.
Live and let live. That is why this country exists. Pity we do not hold to that basic tenet that spawned us in the first place.
A few things ironically were omitted from the comments here. We should all realize how easy and quickly a simple gun can be manufactured. Great gun plans are on the internet, especially some great plans at the US Patent office, some of the best FULLY AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN PLANS ARE THERE! You can go to Home Depot and build a simple pistol, shotgun or rifle. We can set up a CNC to make bunch of quality firearms! You can go to the supermarket and get the items cook up some homemade gunpowder. At the end of WWII the US Government manufactured thousands of cheap single shot pistols to supply the resistance at less than $2 each! The war ended before they were distributed. So even with the strictest of controls, those with evil intent can and will do harm. Just look at the NYC nanny chopping up two innocent kids. Some years ago a mother drowned her entire family in a bathtub, one by one… Lest us not forget there is and always will be evil in the world. Should we have training, registration, licensing and waiting periods for bathtubs, knives, chainsaws, draino, bleach and ammonia??? We all reluctantly pay insurance, and are aggravated each year by the expenditure, until we need it. I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. That is why I went through the difficult task of getting a carry license here in NYC and carry when I legally can. I will protect my family friends. An ultimate irony here in NYC, with all the restrictions on gun ownership there is NO training requirements at all. I have spent much time and money getting training as a responsible citizen.
The next constitutional point most people are not aware of: years ago in Washington DC, 3 innocent girls were attacked, raped, tortured and solemnized for 18 hours (think of them and your family and friends). The police were called and it fell through the cracks – no response on a normal day. The girls sued Washington DC police. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of the US. The SCOTUS decision basically stated “YOU HAVE NO INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO PROTECTION! The police are there for generally keeping the peace. Please look up “Warren v. DC 1981”. There have been other similar cases with the same result. This is in normal conditions, think about 9/11, Katrina, hurricanes, blackouts, and other natural & man-made disasters. The Second Amendment is about our God given right of self-preservation from thugs and tyrants. Rights, like muscles weaken if not exercised.
Lastly, notice that the cities with the highest murder and violent crime rates have the most restrictive gun laws. Chicago & DC have not allowed any handgun ownership for more than 25 years and they are the murder capitols of the US. Recently the Supreme Court overturned the total restriction, but the local requirements implemented are so over burdening that it is easier to become the Pope. Note that all mass shootings occur in “GUN FREE ZONES”. For some strange reason the unbiased news failed to mention that the Colorado Movie theater did not allowed licensed, law abiding permit holders to bring their concealed pistol into the theater. The story there could have had a much different ending. Read “more guns less crime” by John Lott Jr. it is the most comprehensive statistical analysis of guns vs crime by an economist.
We ban the discussion or viewing photos of guns in the classroom, and many stories of can be found in the news. Children sent home, and harshly disciplined over a toy soldier, a sketch of a gun, etc… In this area guns are like sex. Both can end up life altering and potentially fatal without proper education and precautions. Yet the discussion of sex is encouraged and mandated in the classroom. Ironically most older high schools still have shooting ranges in the basements, although they are no longer used. Education is a good thing!
I enjoy target shooting and gunsmith work. The physics, accuracy, precision, skill and engineering are very interesting as a hobby. Like most things in life, it is the fear of the unknown.
Go find someone in the shooting sports and have them teach you the safety rules and go shooting one weekend – have some fun! Every friend that was apprehensive about guns, that I have taken to the range and taught safety rules, ended up having a great time and went for their license.
Curious, has anyone heard of Obama signing legislation with the UN allowing world wide tracing of guns? A lot of people in this blog are in the know.. THANKS!
Please read the first couple paragraphes of the “Declaration of Independence” and than talk to me about gun ownership in this country. I believe the signers made themselves quite clear regarding the responsability of future generations. Heaven forbid that it become necessary for ours or any generation to undertake this solemn duty, but if called on to do so, we must be armed!
For this reason and this reason alone, we must not allow for any infringement on our right to keep and bears arms, PERIOD!