One person who certainly can be happy about Justice Scalia's Second Amendment decision is the man in Sutherlin, Oregon, who reportedly shot a man who had walked into his house and passed out drunk on the sofa. The man's lawyer is quoted as saying it must have been "disconcerting" to find the drunk man lying there. I have to say, the first thing I need when I'm feeling disconcerted is a gun.
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The question whether there is a Constitutional right to keep guns at home now has been decided, for better or worse, by the Supreme Court. While I favor strong firearm regulation (actually, I'd melt 'em all down into a pile of slag if I could), I recognize that intelligent people in good faith hold different opinions. This diary makes an articulate and persuasive argument in favor of gun rights. (I'm not convinced, but it's a very good diary.)
Constitutional arguments aside, I was struck by the stunning stupidity that people are capable of employing when handling guns, just as in every other situation. Long ago, before I was married and when I used to drink, I had a girlfriend who commented that it was weird that I didn't play with guns while drinking. She said all of her previous boyfriends would get out their guns and fool around with them when they got drunk. And that's just the adults. As a parent, I live in fear of the day my kid--or one of his friends--will start playing with a gun (kept at someone's house for the Constitutionally permissible purpose of self defense) and accidentally shoot someone. And please, don't wag on about teaching gun safety to kids. Kids do dumb stuff no matter what they're taught, and all it takes is one trigger pull for someone to die.
So, if you do keep guns, please take safety seriously, and most especially, keep them where kids can't possibly get at them. If you're inclined to feel elated about Judge Scalia's decision, remember that the right he's upholding involves killing someone. If you advocate broad gun rights, please remember that there is no limit to human idiocy, and Murphy's Law applies to the use of firearms just as it does to everything else. And, if you think it is okay for to shoot a drunk guy for passing out on your sofa, go to the back of the class.