You know the drill:
Yep, if there were a prob, she’d know.
Except there is a problem, and it’s a big one. An increasingly small number of Americans claim that their rights are being infringed whenever we speak of common sense gun control measures. And they are particularly aggrieved that they, as responsible gun owners, are being targeted in some nefarious way.
But here’s the thing:
If you oppose common sense* and practical proposals, you are not responsible.
You’re not a responsible gun owner. Period.
You’re not a responsible American, and you’re not a responsible human being.
The same way I couldn’t claim to be a responsible drinker as I lash out at anyone who suggests that maybe a 13 year old shouldn’t get drunk, you can’t claim you’re a responsible gun owner while saying that people on the No Fly List should be able to purchase an AR-15.
I can’t say I’m a responsible driver if I say that people who are legally blind should not have their license revoked.
And I can’t say I’m a responsible drinker, or a responsible driver, if I fight against DUI laws.
So you don’t get to say you’re a responsible gun owner if you don’t even respect your guns enough to know what an awesome responsibility it is to own a gun.
Now, I am not anti-gun. Many, many people I know own guns. And you know what? They mirror the rest of the U.S: Nine out of ten believe that there is no rational reason for, nor inherent right to, owning an AR-15. One out of ten believe that the simple fact that someone even has that opinion is an infringement of their rights.
My uncle is a responsible gun owner. He owns several guns and they’re all for hunting purposes. Several years ago he bought a new safe because his was a bit too small, and he didn't feel that it was locking properly enough to be truly secure. He had a hunting trip planned, got all loaded up and ready to go, then went to retrieve his guns from his safe and…. could not remember the combination to unlock it.
He tried calling the guy he bought it from. There was no answer so he left a message, went back downstairs and had a beer while he fiddled with the combo again. Nothing. So he went upstairs, watched the news, had another beer. As he cracked open his third one, the previous owner returned his call. The previous owner stayed on the phone with him while he opened the safe, then walked him through the instructions on how to change to combo. He wrote the instructions down along with the new combination and finished his third beer.
And since he had a few beers, he locked the safe again and decided to postpone hunting until the next day. When his wife got home he sheepishly explained why he wasn’t hunting as planned. They had a laugh about it and my uncle told her he was going to leave the instructions/combo for the safe on the fridge so it didn’t happen again. She (who owns half of the guns in the house), rolled her eyes and reminded him that there was no point in having a safe if the instructions for opening it were in plain sight. So they hid the paper in an undisclosed location and my uncle went hunting the next day.
My uncle believes that the people who own AR-15s and the like are exactly the type of people who should not. It troubles him that the most ardent 2nd Amendment people seem to be the most unhinged and paranoid. Like, what could possibly go wrong when a paranoid conspiracy theorist has a gun that can kill dozens of people in seconds?
(My uncle is not the only gun owner I know and love who takes this attitude, but I find that the story about his safe is instructive.)
He believes that because he is an actual responsible gun owner. He understands what responsibility means- and part of that is having respect for what you are responsible for. What’s wrong with waiting periods and background checks? We all know when hunting season starts, so purchase a gun before the day you need it. You’re legit, right? Because the only reason you’d be pissed about the waiting period is because A) you need the gun immediately which is a scary prospect, or B) you know you’re not going to pass the background check.
This is why responsible gun owners support these things.
And this is why anyone who feels guns should flow more freely to anyone who wants them is exactly as responsible as someone who sits at a bonfire and proposes that gasoline would make this whole thing better.
*Removed reference to #NoFlyNoBuy because this diary isn’t about the No Fly List, which I do have problems with as a civil libertarian and so as to not derail the diary.