Just in case any of you don’t know my stance on guns- I like them. I like them a lot. Sure, some may say it is an unhealthy obsession. Mom thinks it is because I watched violent tv shows like CHiPs and Hunter as a very small child. Perhaps it was the Christmas that I got a Red Ryder bb gun from Santa that set me on this path of firearm love. Whatever the case may be, I do enjoy shooting guns. Please don’t mistake this for some sort of apocalyptic end of the world stance on life, where I stockpile guns and wait for zombies to rise so I can shoot them and live in a world with no electricity and no government and no…well, you get the picture. I would call myself a gun enthusiast (not really, ‘cause then I would have to kick my own rear end) in the same vein as people are enthusiasts about cars, or golf, or musical instruments, or model planes, or chess. Get the picture? It’s a hobby that I find no weirder or strange than the aforementioned hobbies.
That being said, as far as gun control, I have heard all the arguments for it, and it has yet to change my mind. There are some common arguments that I hear, and just so we do not repeat ourselves here, here are my responses to them.
Guns kill people. So do knives, cars, baseball bats, tire irons, fists, feet, piano wire, rope, electricity, water, heat, cold, bungee jumping, mountain biking, horses, tigers, bears, dogs, viruses, hammers, nail guns, lakes, boats, airplanes, bricks, rocks, cliffs, trees, skydiving, scuba diving, sharks, repelling,, etc. If you don’t get my point- lots of things kill people, but we do not outright ban them.
Guns kill people part 2. No, they don’t. I can set a loaded gun on a table and at no point will it kill someone. It can’t. it is not alive, it is not capable of manipulating itself, it is not capable of aiming itself. It cannot kill. A person could pick up the gun and use it to kill another human. A person can pick up a baseball bat and use it to kill someone. A person can pick up a knife and use it to kill another person, but there is no crusade bellowing “Knives kill people!” In my scant 30 years of life, not once has a knife from the kitchen ever killed me or someone I know on its own. It is the same with guns. It is a tool, one that people use for a variety of purposes from sport to hunting to fighting wars. Someone has to use it to kill. Blame the person, not the tool.
Crazy, evil people use a myriad of things to kill or hurt other people. I don’t think it is going to make much difference what they use, the point is if they want to kill or hurt someone, they will find a way. Banning guns ain’t gonna stop them.
But, you say, guns are more dangerous and deadly than a lot of things you just listed. I would agree. But any of the things listed above, especially automobiles can be deadly in the hands of an irresponsible person. We do not ban cars, and I know more people personally that have been killed or severely injured in a car accident than killed or injured with a gun.
That is probably a long enough post for now. I will post more arguments I have heard and my responses to them.
Peace- I’m out.
No comments:
Post a Comment