Guns All Around Me

Due to Obama being elected and Sotomayor's hearings, it can't be helped that there's been a lot of talk lately about gun control, especially south of the Mason-Dixon line. Bow howdy! The National Rifle Association is on the prowl, sniffing out the tiniest mention of gun control, and, of course, the Democrats get all defensive and flustered and usually blow the opportunity to state a coherent case.

For the record, I'm pro-gun ownership. When I was growing up there always seemed to be guns around, even in our basement. I like to shoot guns. Christmas break occasionally found us shooting at bottles and cans. In college a friend got a semi-automatic handgun just before they were banned by Clinton, and we'd go to the firing range and shoot off a few rounds. As a child, there always seemed to be a new toy gun under the Christmas tree each year, and I was annoyed to no end when years later I tried to find a toy gun for my nephew and none of the toy stores sold them. Granted, I was in hippie Boulder and should have known better but it still made me mad. I probably wrote a letter to my congressman, my standard response to societal ills. So, yeah, I don't have a problem with guns.

That being said, I'm an ardent proponent of gun control. I think the waiting period is a great idea (think Homer Simpson: "But I'm angry now!") as is requiring trigger locks. Concealed weapons laws are an invitation for some stupid drunk to shoot someone in a theater, restaurant, or, if some yahoos in Georgia get their way, while you're waiting at your gate at the airport. I know the arguments against gun control and they aren't without merit. Maybe if one or two students at Virginia Tech had been carrying a firearm less people would have died that day. That assumes a lot, though. And come on: what private citizen needs to own an AK-47 or any automatic rifle?! They should only be in the hands of the military and the police. If you think the government is the menace then you have more problems then I care to address.

One of the many things that annoy me about groups like the NRA is that they get all hot and bothered about their right to bear arms being restricted, and yet they are often the same people pushing for things like Internet filters in public libraries and book bans, basic infringements on free speech. People like that expect you to honor their constitutional rights but have no qualms in trying to limit yours.

Everyone has the right to bear arms, but that doesn't mean everyone should bear them. There's a difference. Owing a gun should be more like driving: a privilege that can be taken away.