Yep, I have actually had those words go through my head before.  Someone asked if we had a gun in the house, I said no, and then they asked about the gun case they saw.  “Gun case?  Oh, that’s just a small game hunting rifle we use for target practice…that’s not a real gun.”

Yeah, I know, to most of the world, that seems ludicrous, but I grew up around half a dozen hunting rifles because we lived in the middle of the Sam Houston National Forest right outside of Houston, TX. If you didn’t have a way to kill the dangerous wild animals like feral hogs or stray, crazy dogs that wanted more than just a handout (think Cujo but smaller), you were probably going to get hurt if you lived out there for more than a few weeks.

It was normal for me to see guns like these since I grew up in the middle of a forest in the country. They are used for target practice, hunting, or for defense against wild animals.

Guns Today

It seems that I see a new breaking story every week about some crazy person doing something bad somewhere to groups of people.  And even though they seem to use whatever they are best at to hurt others – bombs, guns, knives, gas, etc – guns seem to get harped on the most.  I guess that’s natural.  When people are scared, they want to eliminate threats.  But I rather concentrate on finding the crazy people instead of letting them scare us into changing things for the population as a whole.

I’m specifically thinking about airports as I write this.  I hate the new security stuff in place at airports mainly because it is super annoying and takes so much time.  But I also hate it because crazy people and even annoyed-and-a-little-stupid people trying to prove a point keep actually proving that the excessive security measures don’t work.  People who want to hurt other people seem to be able to get by any security eventually, so only those of us that are normal and just trying to get somewhere are inconvenienced.  I think the same thing is trying to happen with guns.  Even though the majority of gun owners aren’t nuts, they may be forced to change because we allow the nutballs too much power over our opinions.

Guns specifically are brought up a hundred times a week as things that should be cracked down on or eliminated.  Here’s my personal opinion…guns have their place.  Being used to terrorize the public is definitely not acceptable in any way.  But being able to defend yourself against crazy animals, whether that’s a rabid dog or a dangerous person, makes sense to me.

I am not a member of the NRA.  I don’t have an arsenal in my closet.  I do think gun control such as giving your name and info when buying a gun makes sense AND people who start buying butt loads of guns need to be watched closely for any hinky stuff.  But I don’t agree that all guns should be eliminated or aren’t justifiable.

Location Matters

I know this will end up being one of my most controversial posts ever.  I can already hear some comments in my head.  Here is my last little bit to say before I start getting hate mail.  I understand that where you live can color your view on guns.

I grew up in “the country”.  Everyone I ever knew that lived in the country also owned hunting rifles.  That was normal to me.  I now live in “the city”.  A few people I know own hand guns.  I used to think that owning a hand gun was dangerous because I didn’t grow up with those around.  Now I am used to them, have shot them at a gun range twice, and I have even thought about owning one.  But I keep putting it off since they are comparably expensive ($300-$1500+ depending on what you want) and I really don’t think I need one.

In general, if you didn’t grow up around guns at all, I could see how you wouldn’t see a use for them other than murdering people and you may hate them.  I can be open-minded and understand that point of view.  So if you fall in that category, please try to be open-minded and see through my eyes.  I’ve seen guns – hunting rifles and hand guns – used thousands of times for target practice (which is actually really fun), providing dinner, and even for defending against a wild dog once.  I’ve never seen one hurt anybody because the people I surround myself with are sane and lucky enough never to have needed to defend themselves against another human.

So in my eyes, guns are not evil.  Sometimes evil people use them though.  There is a difference.

Okay, open fire.    Sorry, couldn’t help myself.  What’s your view on guns?