“Hi! My name is Matt and I’m a
reasonable person.”
“Hi
Matt!” Answers the supportive audience.
I
feel like a part of a dying breed, but I know that’s not true. Of the seven-point-one
billion people on the Earth, reasonable people like me make up seven billion,
but we are shouted down and murdered in droves by the remaining point-one.
A
militant psychopath who believes the government is trying to take away his
thirty round clip walks into a mall and shoots twenty people before, you
guessed it, “turning the gun on himself.” A rabid anti-gun activist will then
claim that dart guns send the wrong message. The remaining 99.999% of us (apart
from the victims, who were almost certainly reasonable people) will watch in a
bemused sort of way and wonder how it all got so difficult to just do the right
thing.
Personally,
I think guns, whether guaranteed by the constitution or not should be a privilege
like driving. You demonstrate ability and safety consciousness and don’t
violate usage statutes and you can have one. That said, I think if you want a
thirty round clip for self defense, you’re either a lousy shot or you piss off
the wrong people.
I’m
not a gun owner personally because I have kids in the house. Get this through
your head. Nothing in your house is hidden from your kids; not Christmas presents,
not sex toys, and not the 4 digit code to your gun safe in the back of your
closet. You’re lying to yourself if you think otherwise. Even if it was, the
hiding place would have to be so obscure and elaborate that you’d never get to
it in time to fend off a home invasion.
I
agree that kids can be taught the proper handling of a gun, but I remember how
hot my emotions ran sometimes when I was an adolescent and a teenager. The odds
are, you are as clueless about your kids’ emotional state and motivations as
your parents were when you were a kid.
The
balance is, I think it’s not unreasonable for a parent to own a gun. They are
taking their own risks with security and training and I wish them the best of
luck. I just think it’s an unnecessary risk for my household.
But,
at the end of the day, I’m a reasonable guy, and I’m willing to listen to those
who disagree as long as they aren’t screaming so hard I have to dodge the spit
from their lower lips.
You
know who you are.
