The Great Gun Gaffe

There are probably people who believe that, because I am politically independent, leaning toward liberal, that I am against guns.  Got into a mini-discussion on Facebook today with a dear friend of mine who posted a graphic that said, "You may take my guns, but good luck taking my wife's".  And the picture of the graphic was of the viewer looking down the barrel of a gun being held by a female.  I foolishly responded that I don't own guns, and maybe that's why I'm still not a wife...or maybe because I choose not to be married to guns.  My friend answered with "I know you don't approve, but..."  And that's where my brain engaged.

Approve?  Approve of what??  Approve of the post or the graphic?  Approve of gun ownership? What's to approve?  It is the constitutional right of most Americans to own guns.  I have never questioned that, nor have I ever supported gun control legislation...but there is something about the rabidity of the political right wing, conservative, Second-Amendment-pounding American public that scares me and makes me run in the opposite direction as fast as I can.

I grew up in a farm family.  My father was a hunter.  My husband was a hunter.  (I've eaten all the wild rabbit, squirrel, and pheasant to satisfy me for a lifetime, thankyouverymuch!)  There were always guns in the household.  My dad's service revolver.  My dad and grandfather's rifle and shotguns, always leaning up near the back door, fully loaded.  In our household, the gun was a tool to be used to gather food and stave off varmints.  It was not a weapon to be used against human beings. Oh, I suppose had there ever been an intruder, it could have been, but that just never happened.  I didn't grow up afraid of or against guns.  Period.

Over the last ten years or so, I have watched as a number of my closest friends have gone bat-crap crazy about guns in fear that the government was going to take them away.  I am here to tell you, dear readers, that it won't happen unless there is some sort of violent overthrow of the US government...and even then, the gun thing is so ingrained in our Americanhood that it would be a tough task for any junta to accomplish.  But still, the "gun nuts" in our midst have a huge chip on their shoulders.  "You can take my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands"--spoken by Charlton Heston, one of my favorite actors (who died, btw, of the effects of Alzheimer's disease).

Whoa!  Let's talk about this for a minute.  The first time I shot a gun, it was my then-husband's shotgun.  He showed me what to do, and I did it.  What he didn't tell me was that the gun would recoil and leave a bruise on my shoulder because I wasn't holding it tight enough to my body, and that my right ear would ring from the blast for the rest of the day.  He thought it was funny.  (Obviously, I didn't.  Doesn't speak to responsible gun ownership, does it?  To let someone you profess to love be harmed by something you knew would happen??)  Years later, I shot a rifle at a skeet shoot and did pretty well.  I have shot pistols on two ranges--one of which was THE National Rifle Association's shooting range in the D.C. area a few years ago.  I'm not afraid of guns, but I will never own one, and here's why:

1.  If I were to be mugged, I would have to be able to access the gun in my purse, draw it, take off the safety, and shoot.  I would not likely have all of the opportunity to do all of that.
2.  If an intruder came into my home, it would most likely be at night, and I would be surprised in my sleep.  Same consequences as in #1.  Unless I slept with a loaded pistol under my pillow, the odds of my being able to protect myself with a gun in that circumstance would be slim-to-none.
3.  Keeping a loaded weapon in any house creates a huge liability.  If children are present, danger lurks.  In that case, guns must be kept under lock and key.  If the gun is needed, how easy is it to get the key, unlock the gun safe, and use it?  And if children aren't present but the home is broken into, stolen guns become street weapons for those who may not be sane enough or responsible enough to use them.

Case in point:  During my daughter's high school years, she had a boyfriend that I loved.  David was the adopted son of his grandmother, and his grandmother was Betty Blankenship, one of the very first female police officers for the city of Indianapolis.  Betty was a classy lady and gardener extraordinaire.  Really kept up her appearance, yet was very down-to-earth.  Talking to her, one would never guess that she was a police officer.  (She didn't have to wear a uniform in her later years, except on formal occasions.)  Her adopted grandson was in the drumline for the Ben Davis High School Marching Giants, and we all went everywhere for his competitions.  One cool evening, Betty and I were sitting in the bleachers for a competition at the high school in Elwood, IN, when she excused herself to go to the restroom.  She left her purse with me, with the admonition to watch it for her.  "My Glock is in there."  Her "glock" was her gun.  The message was clear: she didn't care about her wallet or her money, or even her checkbook. She was worried that, if someone stole her purse, they would get her gun, and that was more important to her--that the criminals not get the weapon.  (You'd better bet that I hugged that purse close to me until she returned from the restroom!)  Betty is no longer with us, but I sure did admire her.  Nothing pretentious about that woman or her right to carry a weapon.

So why do people assume that I have a problem with guns?  Maybe because I won't own one? Probably not.  That is why my tax dollars go to support police--so I won't have to be a posse of one to protect myself from the bad guys.  They are trained.  I am not.  My issue is not with guns, but with gun owners--more specifically, gun owners with an attitude.  In response to my Facebook friend (see paragraph 1), I was forced to think about this.  I don't care if people think I am reckless for not having a gun in the house.  I DO care that there are so many folks out there than think society is out to take away what they believe are God-given rights that they aren't thinking straight.  (Or maybe I'm not?)

To explain myself, I posted this:
 Here's an analogy: I taught rural kids for decades. Every male kid who lives in/near the country carries a pocket knife routinely. For them, the knife is a tool, not a weapon. As a teacher (and as a woman who was raised in a country family), I understood this. In my presence, a student might bring out a pocket knife to help cut open a box of textbooks and I wouldn't bat an eye.  Knives aren't allowed in school, but these would be used, then go back in the pocket.  Do you know whose knives I confiscated? The kids who secretly took the knives out of their pockets and showed them off to impress others with the power that they perceived the knife gave them. THOSE were the kids that scared me. And I guess that's how I feel about the whole gun thing. Own 'em, like 'em, and collect 'em, if that's your thing. Just don't try to impress me with how "bad" you are because you have one!  Hope this makes sense...

So there it is.  I don't have a problem with people who own and/or collect guns.  My problem is with those who believe that there is a conspiracy afoot to take away their guns, in spite of all of the evidence through the ages in this country that it won't happen.  Fanaticism for any cause is reason for me to be concerned.  People who collect stamps or rocks or art or whatever simply don't make an issue out of their passions.  Gun people do.  Or course, stamps, rocks, art, and whatever can't kill people, so it isn't a pure comparison.  And there is not a single gun enthusiast in the country that can profess that the object of their obsession/hobby won't harm a soul.  

Okay...there you have it.  I won't write about this again.  I don't fear guns.  I fear gun owners, legal or illegal.  I'm sure you won't lose any sleep over it!