I've had a lot of fun with guns in my lifetime - living in the hills, we had our own
little shooting range. I was a pretty good shot even back then, and I still handle a
weapon pretty well now.
As much fun as I had, I was taught to view a weapon as a tool. In the hills, it
was good to have a weapon, even if it was only a large hunting knife, in order to protect
yourself from snakes or wild animals. It was very much about survival.
There was one time when I was out playing in the field in front of our house when I
heard gun shots and sounds of things whizzing over my head. The people who lived down the
hill from us had their grandkids over, and they decided to shoot at targets other than in
the area they were told - heck, we were out in the country, what difference would it make?
- I had to get down on my belly and crawl back to the house to tell my parents so they
could call and make the shooting stop. Those grand kids, they didn't mean any harm. In
fact, they were good friends of mine.
I had a time when my stepfather got angry and drunk and decided he was going to kill us
all and himself with a Savage 300 rifle.
I was taught to never point a weapon at anyone unless you were prepared to kill them,
and that if you decide that's necessary, don't hesitate, it's the hesitation that will get
you killed.
I very much believe in the right of citizens to own weapons, in the government's
responsibility to screen purchasers so long as a responsive appeal process is available,
and. that I can certainly understand a collector's desire to collect an esoteric weapon,
but that assault weapons - any weapon designed to inflict massive damage or display
overwhelming force - is unnecessary.
The quick stories I presented above run the gamut of situations that occur with the
possession of weapons. Like automobile accidents, people don't give a great deal of
thought about the actual damage and suffering caused by the misuse of a vehicle or a gun.
I agree that guns do not commit crimes. That leads us to the bigger issues: the fear
that causes the increased perception of the need to possess a weapon, proper use of lethal
force (and no gun shot should ever be considered anything less than an intent to kill,
even though we frequently think of having a weapon to "stop" someone, not kill
them) and manufacturing standards and public education that addresses the instructional
necessities regarding the responsibilities and actual damage that can occur as the result
of weapon use.
We need to replace the video-game image of weapons with the real image of the abuses
and responsible ownership in order to re-presence that weapons are not toys. Further, on a
social level, we need to address the examples we are bombarded with day to day that the
appropriate way to deal with problems is to take the law into your own hands, and use
force - weapons, fighting and any other means.
Americans kill Americans at an ever expanding, alarming rate. I believe the answers to
the issues will be resolved in a much more effective manner by partnering with gun
organizations, for and against, and coming up with a social agreement as to the role and
standards of responsibility for weapon ownership and use, and reduce the significance of
divisions created on an issue where the opposing sides are not as far apart as some would
have us believe.
I can't imagine anyone who would disagree that we should promote responsible use and
possession of weapons. Let's do that.
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(C) 2002,2003-2009 Charles Rehn Jr IV All rights
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