"Throw Ya Gunz!"

Rebecca had an interesting post about guns.

First point, no matter how you feel about our President (personally I detest him) he is still the President and any rational person knows YOU DON'T THREATEN THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!! I never could understand the logic of someone emailing, or calling the white house threatening the President. Perhaps they were just super lonely and was wanting human contact very badly so they wanted the FBI and/or the Secret Service to come knocking. It's better to exercise your first amendment rights (while we still have them) to express your disagreement not threaten the man with harm. That's just dumb!!!

Guns are not the problem, it's the people who have them. I remember stopping an old man for speeding. He was late 70s and his wife was the same age range. He had a concealed carry license and told me he had a pistol in the car. He was very courteous and concerned that I would fear for my safety because he had a gun. Fortunately, I keep things in perspective. This is someone's grandpa who doesn't want to be a victim of crime. He watches the news and sees all the stories of criminals robbing and beating innocent citizens (many of them elderly) and he refuses to be a victim. So he carries a small pistol to protect himself and his wife from criminals. He'd never dream of harming an innocent person with his pistol, much less a police officer. This is not the person I fear having a gun. The person I fear having a gun is like the young man who just got out of jail and I had pulled over for running a stop sign. My supervisor at the time was with me and next thing I know, he pulls his gun and is struggling with the driver. Fearing the guy is about to put the car in gear and drive off with my boss hanging on I jump in the car on the passenger side and yank the key out. I secure the driver's arms and get him handcuffed. I was wondering why he was reaching for the seat, then I learned there was a pistol under there. Then it dawned on me, I jumped on top of a guy reaching for a pistol!

When one looks back upon the greatest massacres and slaughters in history there is a common denominator. The murderers were well armed and the victims weren't. In cities with a high crime rate, the criminals are well armed and the citizenry isn't. Good people should have a means to protect themselves from the criminal element and oppressive governments. In third world nations where people are dominated and oppressed their laws forbid the citizenry from owning guns. Who has the guns in those nations? The military and the police who come in and do what they want with the people. A Japanese general was interviewed after the end of World War II. He was asked why didn't the Japanese invade the American west coast after they decimated Pearl Harbor. The general said they knew that American citizens owned guns and even had marksmanship contests and knew better than to walk in that "quicksand."

Guns can be scary. However the best way to conquer your fear of something is to learn it, become familiar with it. At a young age my dad taught my brother and I to respect, and avoid guns. When we got older he taught us how to properly handle one and the consequences for not handling one. As a result I'm very careful when handling my weapons. My finger never touches the trigger unless it's time to shoot (which thankfully has only been at the shooting range). As long as the barrel is pointing away from people and the finger is off the trigger there is no way a gun will discharge and injure/kill someone. These accidental discharges are a result of the trigger being carelessly pulled. These incidents where someone is "playing" with a gun and accidentally kills someone is the recklessness of the handler. Even the NRA which many naive liberals view as worse than the waffen ss has a safety mascot called Eddie Eagle who goes to schools and such teaching gun safety.

I refuse to be a victim. I've seen too many victims of robberies, assaults, and even a home invasion. I remember the fear in the family's eyes. I remember the sense of helplessness and fear after a group of men kicked in their door, tied them up, held one man's head under water, and threatened to take a teenage girl with them. I refuse to be tied up while my house is being ransacked or my wife assaulted. I refuse to live with the consequences and second guessing myself and thinking I'm a coward for having surrendered. I won't do it!