First, the issue. Whether a person has the right to protect themselves at any time and in any place.
When danger threatens, should we just dial 911 and see what happens or if threatened while away from home blow a whistle and imagine we have done all that is possible for us to do? In all honesty, ask yourself if you were a criminal which would you fear most; a phone, a whistle or a gun. Do you think the police are somehow just outside or just around the corner to spring into action in your defense? Hopefully, you are not that naive.
Not only do I think people have the right to carry a gun, I think they should.
Originally it was my intent to include both pros and cons regarding the issue. It is clear to me the cons are really just lies, misconceptions or plain deception. Formerly my interest in guns was through gun sports, hunting and target shooting. It has only been recently I have noticed what I consider a concerted effort on the part of certain groups to not only restrict our rights to defend ourselves but to make it illegal to do so.
It suddenly dawned on me that everytime some wacko with a gun killed a few people, the media was quick to label it a massacre, then, blame the gun. Enter the politicians who will jump at the chance to pass more laws to restrict the rights of those who didn't do it. Now, over 20,000 laws have been passed regulating guns and little has been done to punish those who use them in criminal acts.
Therein lies the rub. To proclaim everyone with a gun as some nut case or wacko, is to proclaim the police, game wardens, the secret service and our troops in uniform as wackos. I also just love this one; a citizen with an automatic or semi-automatic weapon has an assault weapon, now banned in many places. The same weapon in the hands of the police or the army soldier is called a rifle.
The media are also quick to point to anyone with more than one gun as having an "arsenal". Whether a person has an arsenal or only one or two guns is neither illegal or cause to panic unless that individual is prohibited from owning a gun due to prior felony conviction or having certifiable psychological problems. I'm the first to acknowledge that there are some people running around loose who have no business having a gun, any gun. But guns are only objects, without a conscience and inanimate. They don't just "go off." There is no such thing as a gun accident. Somebody, a living person did something stupid. An unintentional discharge, maybe, but certainly no accident. The loaded gun I keep nearby has not to my knowledge snuck out at night and stuck up a liquor store nor robbed a bank or mugged anyone. It is no more of a hazard than one of my shoes in my closet unless someone comes looking for trouble. It will still be totally useless unless it is kept ready to use and accessible to use. And, I must be willing to use it. It will not jump to my defense under it's own power.
Therefore, I support any and all laws that will allow citizens like you and me to carry concealed weapons wherever they go and whatever they do. Concealed, only because there are a few souls among us who would wet their pants if they saw someone walking down the street with a gun on their hip. These same people think nothing of police doing the same thing. There is basically no difference between the standard, garden-variety citizen and a police officer except their job description. Police wear guns for their own protection and well they should. They are the front-line force in the government's idea of protecting the citizens, though statistically they rarely prevent a crime. Their main purpose is to document a crime and protect the evidence until the detectives arrive and/or the coroner. Remember, these are the people with the crime scene tape and the chalk. In performing their duties, they run into a rather significant assortment of bad guys and people who are wasting perfectly good oxygen. Often, when they are in a position to aid a taxpayer-citizen, the ones who pay their salaries, they are for the most part dedicated, helpful and friendly. Most police never have to use their gun and those who are forced to pull it rarely shoot a person with it. Shooting someone is definitely a last resort, to be used only if the officer's life is threatened. Again, they trust the servants with a gun, but not the masters. So, exactly whom do they protect and serve? Hmmmm?
Coincidentally, you and I live in the same world as the police. Though our jobs do not require us to go seeking out bad people, we nevertheless live among the same individuals the police run into daily. The courts are neither friends of the police or everyday citizens. They continue to turn violent felons back to society and rarely does any stretch of prison life do anything but teach them better methods of how to commit crime without getting caught. Once released, they are free to practice on the rest of us. And, many of them have guns and are not afraid to use them. It is illegal for convicted felons to have guns but obeying laws is not their strong suit. That is why we call them lawbreakers. It is only those of us who obey the laws who are at risk, the unarmed, the government enhanced victims. Many states are now recognizing the need for citizens to have the means to protect themselves, some to a higher degree than others. Some states, like the one in which I live, California have no regard for citizens rights, gun rights or constitutional rights. According to our Governor and State Attorney General, those rights do not exist in California.
As for the police, they are in a rather tricky position. Usually underpaid for the risk they are asked to take on our behalves but also usually overworked. Relegated to answering petty problems, harrassing skateboarders and kids in general, doesn't leave many available to respond to real emergencies. In most metropolitan areas, emergency response time is in excess of 15 minutes. In one year in Los Angeles, over 20,000 911 calls went unanswered.
Another position the police are in, though it may shock you is they are really not required to protect an individual and cannot be held liable if they fail to do so. Also not surprising is their lack of desire to put themselves in risky situations and hence fail to live long enough to take advantage of their government retirement plan. Hustling to a call for someone they don't even know is not in their best interests. Far better to arrive a bit late, giving the crook ample time to vanish, take the report if the victim is still alive and make it home safely to the wife and kids.
I can't say as I really blame them.
What all this really boils down to is our responsibility to take care of our own safety, not relying on someone who has their own personal interests at stake, that being the same desire to live and perhaps fight another day.
Hopefully one day, the politicians will come to the same realization. Most of them have personal bodyguards who are armed. Many of them also carry a concealed weapon and have a permit to do so. Since they work for us, why do we allow them to have privileges we don't have? Since when is a servant, public or otherwise, allowed privileges the master does not have? What is wrong with this picture. And, most police cruisers and highway patrol vehicles have banned weapons as standard equipment. But only banned for the rest of us.
But, I digress. To get my message across, I will leave it to those with more resources and experience than myself. Below are some links to excellent websites promoting the right to bear arms, the right to protect ourselves wherever we go and to own any weapon of our choice to do so. Owning weapons is not only for personal protection but as the Second Amendment clearly shows, makes us armed militia to aid in the defense of our country should the need arise. Without an armed citizenry, we would all be eating mutton, tea and crumpets and singing a different anthem at our cricket matches.
The first thing you should read is an excellent publication by Guy Smith entitled Gun Facts. It is presented in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. If you don't have Acrobat reader, you can download it from Adobe
Yes, I want to read gun facts.
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Created by Stephanie; Digital Art by Steph on April 3, 2003. Last updated on October 27, 2007