The second amendment assures every citizen the right to bear arms. With this right comes the reponsibility to be careful with those firearms. To its credit, The National Rifle Association sponsors classes in gun safety. For this reason, I have no problem with hunting, and with hunters owning and using rifles and shotguns. But, because the NRA advocates handgun posession and helps train hand gun owners,the National Rifle Association is not an organization I would belong to.
Sure, if I lived in the country and not as I do now, in a great metropolis, I'd likely belong to the "Rod and Gun" club. I like to fish and you could probably talk me into a trek through the Northwoods during deer season. But, I draw the line at handguns, a line behind which stands the National Rifle Association.
Handguns are for killing people. I don't want one in my house and I don't want you sitting at the next table in a restaurant with your 357 magnum hanging at your side as if you are somebody because you carry a gun. I don't want to assume that the bulge in your coat pocket is a gun, either.
I think the second amendment was intended to assure that a militia could be raised if and when it was necessary to defend American territory. With this idea in mind, the National Rifle Association has turned the second amendment into a mandate to carry arms for personal defence. Instead, I want to see that right curtailed as stictly as possible. Yes, I'll defend home and turf but in my own way.
In my lifetime, I have asked two people to get out of my car because they flourished handguns, neither was a member of the National Rifle Association. One was a salesman-friend who carried his hand gun in his front pocket wrapped in a thin white handkerchief. He said he just wanted to show it to me. He was chuckling as he brought it out. Even though I knew him well and we were not near our destination, I pulled over and quietly asked him to get out. He thought I was joking. I wasn't. The NRA would not have approved.
When I needed directions in an unfamiliar city, a man, dressed in a nice suit volunteered to direct me to my destination and I let him get into the back seat of my car. I'd offered him a ride of a couple of blocks.When he brandished a handgun and asked me what I thought of it, the following words ran through my head: "Why did I let myself get into this situation?"
Fortunately, the man did exit the car without further incident. I concluded he wanted to show the gun to me because in his eyes it equalized me with his condition. I had an impressive brand new car, he had a big, shiny handgun. The National Rifle Association would have supported this show-off.
I'm glad that in each case I did not reach for my pistol, simply because I didn't have one with which to threaten either of these guys.
I can think of a hundred different ways to counter an intruder. The last thing I would do is go run for a handgun. I'd use my head and not try to blow his off.
Sure, if I lived in the country and not as I do now, in a great metropolis, I'd likely belong to the "Rod and Gun" club. I like to fish and you could probably talk me into a trek through the Northwoods during deer season. But, I draw the line at handguns, a line behind which stands the National Rifle Association.
Handguns are for killing people. I don't want one in my house and I don't want you sitting at the next table in a restaurant with your 357 magnum hanging at your side as if you are somebody because you carry a gun. I don't want to assume that the bulge in your coat pocket is a gun, either.
I think the second amendment was intended to assure that a militia could be raised if and when it was necessary to defend American territory. With this idea in mind, the National Rifle Association has turned the second amendment into a mandate to carry arms for personal defence. Instead, I want to see that right curtailed as stictly as possible. Yes, I'll defend home and turf but in my own way.
In my lifetime, I have asked two people to get out of my car because they flourished handguns, neither was a member of the National Rifle Association. One was a salesman-friend who carried his hand gun in his front pocket wrapped in a thin white handkerchief. He said he just wanted to show it to me. He was chuckling as he brought it out. Even though I knew him well and we were not near our destination, I pulled over and quietly asked him to get out. He thought I was joking. I wasn't. The NRA would not have approved.
When I needed directions in an unfamiliar city, a man, dressed in a nice suit volunteered to direct me to my destination and I let him get into the back seat of my car. I'd offered him a ride of a couple of blocks.When he brandished a handgun and asked me what I thought of it, the following words ran through my head: "Why did I let myself get into this situation?"
Fortunately, the man did exit the car without further incident. I concluded he wanted to show the gun to me because in his eyes it equalized me with his condition. I had an impressive brand new car, he had a big, shiny handgun. The National Rifle Association would have supported this show-off.
I'm glad that in each case I did not reach for my pistol, simply because I didn't have one with which to threaten either of these guys.
I can think of a hundred different ways to counter an intruder. The last thing I would do is go run for a handgun. I'd use my head and not try to blow his off.
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