When I think about my dad
teaching Boy Scouts about firearms safety, one incident comes to the
forefront. I had picked up one of my dad's shotguns to examine it and
in complete innocence, I pointed the barrel down the range to get a
better look at the stock.
My dad didn't panic and
he didn't yell. He told everyone to sit down and his voice was
measured when he told me to give him the gun. "Never, ever point
a gun at anything you don't intend to shoot dead," he instructed
us, his voice shaking. The gun wasn't loaded, nobody would have come
to any harm that day, but I remember my dad's lesson every time I
check to make sure the range is empty.
Guns need to be taken
seriously.
These days, I have helped my dad
give gun safety lessons to a crowd of Scouts, and I field a lot
of questions about legality and how I can possibly not advocate gun
control. I'd like to give you the Reader's Digest version of why I
will never, ever support any kind of gun control legislation in the
United States.
For my first point, I
want to cite a section of the Constitution that states, and I'm
paraphrasing, that citizens have a requirement - not a right, a
requirement - to oust a
government that no longer meets the needs of the people. How can an
unarmed revolution be mounted against a government with firearms? How
can civilians ever stand a chance against a militant government when
they have no weapons? With guns, we are citizens. Without them, we
are subjects.
The second amendment of
the United States Constitution states that citizens have the right to
bear arms. The US government was designed to operate under a system
of checks and balances. The founding fathers quite possibly thought
along the same lines I just described: if a government is so big that
it can take away weapons, it's too big for the system they designed.
It has become a government that no longer meets the peoples' needs,
thus necessitating civilian firearm ownership. You can slice it
whatever way you want, but because of the second amendment, gun
control is unconstitutional.
Finally,
it comes down to the old adage: if guns are outlawed, only outlaws
will have guns. If you're buying a gun for a reason like marksmanship
or training for the biathlon or home security, chances are you're a
law-abiding citizen, the kind who would adhere to any gun control
laws that were passed. You'd go and get a permit or whatever it is
that was required of you. If you're standing at Wal-Mart with that
shotgun in your hand because you want somebody dead, though, you're
already planning to commit a murder. I can guarantee that you're not
going to stop and think Hmm, I'd better get this thing
registered. Just like with
illegal drugs, there will always be a gun trade. The kind of people
we're afraid of, the kind who want to kill other people, will always
find a way to do so, and it will still involve guns. I want to live
in a world where I can protect myself and my family, if it ever comes
down to that.
Mass killings by shooters
are an abomination. 'Tragic' is not a good enough word to describe
the events that have taken place in the past. It breaks my heart, but
it doesn't change my mind: I advocate guns not because I want to
shoot someone, but because I want to die at a ripe old age a long
time from now, not tomorrow afternoon on some sidewalk. Disarming
innocent people only leaves them helpless against the very real
threats in the world.
My family owns guns. I
plan to own guns. I plan to teach my children how to respect the
power of a gun and to harness it responsibly. When treated with
respect, guns aren't dangerous, but there are dangerous people in the
world, and I side with personal empowerment.
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