I'm pretty sure my point of view on gun control will not be a popular one , but I feel the need to speak my piece. It appears to me that there are two camps of thought. It's either balls to the wall anything goes gun ownership or the all guns should be banned all the time everywhere.
Let me prejudice many of you by stating the fact that I am a country girl. Let me further prejudice you by stating the fact that I am a gun owner and I believe in my right to bear arms. Now let me attempt to engage you in some hopefully intelligent conversation and make some valid points.
I will start with my belief that the NRA is not only way out of line, but totally out of their minds. They wield way too much power in our political process and their agenda is insane, dangerous, and irresponsible! Unless you're in the military you have no need for an assault rifle or armour piercing bullets.
On the other hand, to take away an individual's right to bear arms because guns are used to commit horrible atrocities is like saying all Muslims are terrorists. All Muslims are not responsible for terrorism! Nor are all guns used to commit atrocities by unbalanced or violent individuals!
When I was 15 one of my best friends was killed in a senseless accident involving a shotgun. His entire family, his friends, the town were traumatized and to some degree still are. One of my uncles was on the volunteer rescue team that responded to the call. His life was changed forever. The other young man involved in the accident died several years later in a drunk driving accident. It is speculated that it was suicide. Does that mean that all guns should be banned? No, it means the two of them should not have been fooling around with a loaded shotgun while they were under the influence of alcohol.
I can't help but think that this issue in part is a geographical issue. Urban population accounts for a little more than 50% of global population. If you were born and raised in a city environment and as far as you know meat comes from the grocery store, or you are fortunate enough to be able to afford to purchase meat or have access to a food pantry to provide for your family then perhaps you see no valid use for personal firearms. Or maybe you're vegetarian and think that's the way everyone should live. But, there is a whole other way of life that some choose and for some that's what they know and that's how they feed their families.
When I was growing up we were poor. Believe it or not we were hunter gatherers of a sort. My father hunted and fished to feed his family. He taught those of us interested how to hunt and fish. He taught us to respect guns and how to handle them safely. He taught us to never kill anything we weren't going to eat. He took us out into the woods where we collected fruit from trees left on old homesteads. We picked wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. We had a huge garden which we preserved by canning. And no I did not grow up barefoot in the mountains in the 30s or 40s. I grew up the Northeast in the 60s and 70s in a rural small town. We didn't lock our doors and a lot of us still don't.
But, times have changed. There are several reasons why I value my right to bear arms. Hunting is not one of them. I gave that up in my late teens. I decided it wasn't for me. But, I respect those who do responsibly, with reverence and respect, to put food on their tables. I very much enjoy target shooting, but I have no desire to shoot any living thing, least of all another human being.
That being said, I am a victim of violent crime. My main purpose for owning a gun is self protection. I have also witnessed my father come very close to murdering my mother, causing her severe physical injury. I have worked in the prison system and I can tell you the majority of the individuals incarcerated belong there. Yes, there are innocent people in jail. Yes, there are people who would be better served with mental health programs. And no, for the majority incarcerated, prison does not serve as a correctional or rehabilitative process. As an employee of the prison system I did my job. It was often not appreciated by the inmates not to mention fellow officers. Unfortunately the job not only tends to attract a certain type of individual, it is impossible not to be changed by the job and not for the better. I lasted 6 1/2 painfully long years. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy.
I refuse to be a victim again. It may sound paranoid, but in the event that someone comes after me I want to at least have a fighting chance. As for paranoia, there are times when a touch of paranoia is a good thing.
I don't know about you, but the thought of the only ones who have guns being the police (who at the moment seem to be shooting first and asking questions later), the survivalists, because you know they aren't giving up their guns (frankly I have no desire to survive the end of the world), and of course the age old argument of the criminals who will find a way to get them no matter what you do, I find somewhat disturbing. Add the conspiracy theorists: is there any validity to the possibility of the need to defend yourself from our own military? One would hope not, but...
As for the police, I am NOT a police basher. That is another job I would not recommend to my worst enemy. Unfortunately it too has a tendency to attract a certain type of person and for those that start out good guys you can't help but be changed. It takes an exceptional individual who can do the job and maintain their humanity as well as their sanity. I have had more than my fair share of run ins with angry, intimidating, inappropriate-use-of-power-wielding officers, and that is just on a handful of traffic tickets over the last 35 years. I have also been treated politely and respectfully and even let off a few times. But the headlines alone indicate a police culture spiraling out of control.
When discussing gun control one cannot ignore all the school shootings and terrorism in general. All these seemingly random acts of senseless murder are abhorrent to say the least. They leave families, communities, our country and the world in a state of shock, confusion, anger, and mourning. Rather than an issue of banning firearms I feel the problem is much deeper and a statement about our society and it's willingness to turn a blind eye to the finer nuances of intolerance, violence, and greed. And the not so finer nuances of the disposability of our children, our poor, our mentally ill or handicapped, and a general disregard for others.
The issue of gun control, pro or con, seems to me to be an argument about how to distract ourselves from treating the real illnesses of our world by focusing on a single symptom. As much as it pains us to face our sicknesses, we can't heal until we accept real treatment.