how our pro-gun family responds to shootings
| December 16, 2012 | Posted by Mama under world view |
By now I expect everyone knows about the sad events of Friday the 14th, the killing of nearly 50 people, including the American and Chinese attacks. All weekend I’ve been thinking about what happened, wondering if and how to talk about it here. How do you respond to such evil?
But even though nothing I say would be comforting to those who have lost someone or those who have been directly affected by the tragedies, our family and your own still go on, and in a way we are all affected by the deaths of those innocent people. So how do we take it in? How do we respond, on a small basis, to massacre by gun?
Papa and I are pro-gun. We believe in the right of all American families to own firearms and use them – to hunt, to defend themselves, to collect, to shoot as a sport, or whatever reason (that does not end the life of others) that they want to. We also believe that if someone wants to do harm to others they will find a way to do it, be it by gun, knife, rope, pillow, or any other weapon they choose. Restricting access to firearms in our country will stop decent citizens from using them (because they will willingly give them up), but we know from experiments like the Prohibition, and now the war on drugs, that restricting access to things that some people consider dangerous will only make the black market more profitable for bad people, and people who shouldn’t own guns will still find a way to get them.
Horrendous actions like those taken by Friday’s shooter should not make us wary of owning and using guns, but they should remind us of how important it is to own them for self-defense and to teach responsible gun ownership to our children.
Which is why we have been teaching gun safety to our children since Buddy was a little tyke, and why in response to this most recent massacre Papa decided to give the kids another lesson about familiarity with firearms. Today he once again showed and discussed with Buddy, Girlie, and Pal the differences between and uses for rifles and handguns, what bullets are made for what guns, and he had Buddy help him clean one so he could handle all the parts.
Some might think it is dangerous to expose young children to weapons, but we have to wonder if that philosophy is what led to many of today’s adults being afraid of guns. Our personal philosophy is to demonstrate safe and appropriate use of firearms so they will learn respect for lives and weapons and know how to use them appropriately when they are old enough.
If you are wondering how to talk to your kids about what happened this weekend, a normal response is to answer their questions, to acknowledge the evil character of the shooter and the potential danger of weapons. But don’t forget to tell them that a gun is a tool, one that is good to own and is not evil in itself. Consider the many lives that are saved because people own guns, and continue to stand the good fight in defense of the right to own firearms.
My husband and my family on both sides are huntsmen. I agree with you for the most part that gun rights are important however, how do you feel about the semi-auto assault weapons? My husband and I were on the fence on a gun ban on such weapons but now we would support a ban. Not just on the assault weapons but the ammunition as well. Having worked for a distribtuion company in the past we have seen how easy it is to get these items.
Also, a great debate needs to take place in how we handle people who our mentally impaired or ill. In most cases these individuals are very sick and never sought out help from professionals either because of the lack of care or people or in that poor mother’s case, Nancy Lanza who was unable to get him commited ( Adam was an adult.)
Either way I still believe that we should be able to hunt but also beleive there should be laws against the guns that kill people in mass numbers.
Thanks for the chance to debate this topic, Allue.
The truth of the matter, regardless of where you stand on gun rights, is that the constitution states that an armed public is necessary to protect the freedom of a republic from tyrannical government. If you look back at every country that has had their right to bear arms taken away, war on it’s citizens soon followed. It would be no different in our own country.
Plus, background checks are far more effective at keeping dangerous people from owning guns than making them illegal. People who don’t care about laws will find a way to get guns on the black market, even if they can’t buy them at Walmart or their local gun shop. But if everyone has a background check before purchasing a gun, dangerous people will be far likely to own guns and use them against innocent people. Take Adam Lanzy for example, he was denied a gun purchase by a failed background check FIVE times before it was approved, because of his mental state.
Yes it is true that he gained access to these guns but they were in his home where they should have never been made available to him. It is true he may have found another way to carry out this hainous act but maybe it would have not been so severe.
Here is what I believe should happen, most gun owners are responsible and do not deserve scrutiny but we do have an obligation to have a dialouge on gun saftey and bans on guns that produce mass murder. In addition to the laws and background checks should take in consideration the mental states of family members that live in the residence of the prospective gun owners.
In addition to more gun training and saftey. Per CNN Peirs Morgan revealed that there is an issue with lack of background check in a second market (gun shows and private sales) this is a reform that should take place as well.
But I remain solid on the issue of the right to bear arms just in a more logical way. Please keep in mind I work at an elementary school and this really has hit home for me in fact my one-on-one is a first grader when I look at her through out this past week all could think of was those poor 1st graders and what there last moments on Earth must have been like.
Thanks so much for a chance to voice my thoughts and for sharing your meangful thoughs with me, God bless Allie
I do understand the sensitivity of the situation. I have a six year old child myself, who could easily have been targeted in a similar situation, but we need to be very careful to separate the grieving process of the loss of those kids from the need to reform gun laws. Making any rash decisions in law at this time could mean dangerous consequences for a large part of the population. Background check laws probably could use some revision, but trying to put a label on what the feds believe are appropriate guns for the public to own would most likely undermine our constitutional right to defend ourselves from a bad government. Once the feds are given permission to take any type of ammo or firearm off the market it will only make it easier for them to put more restrictions and red tape in front of decent, law-abiding citizens. While the risk of mass murder is not something we want to think about, we must also consider the potential consequences of making firearms illegal. Thank you Allie for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it.