I own guns, and have obviously used them professionally and recreationally throughout my life. I used to occasionally speak to citizen gun classes at the request of my Range Master who taught them. I told those folks that a gun is a killing tool, period; it’s not a threat or a deterrent, it’s a killing tool and nothing else.
I think that the sooner we grasp that, the more likely we are to have a meaningful process. We’re not ever not gonna have them in this country, and just like drugs, declaring some sort of war on guns is pointless; when it comes to humans, where there’s a demand, there will be a supply, come hell or high water. It’s how we look to shape that reality, as far as the gun piece of the puzzle, that counts, for my mind…
Furthermore, I think the heart of the solution lies more with how we deal with the people who do this sort of thing. And to me, our inability to do so stems directly from a general erosion of our society.
When I grew up, it was in an integrated, functional society, a town, a community.
The people made it that way. Whether they owned businesses, taught school, drove busses, were retired, lived down the street, or saw you at the ice rink, soccer field, or church, they were involved in the life of the community, and that’s what made for functional educational, ethics, and morals among those who lived and grew up there.
I don’t think that’s a simplistic or pie-in-the-sky perspective; I think it’s a decent synopsis of what’s wrong today.
So, how do we fix that?
UrbanMonique 