I don't own a gun and I doubt if I ever will. I have no real interest in them for either sport or self-protection. I've had to kill animals before and I didn't like the feeling. I've seen men shot by police and didn't like that either.
I don't feel particularly unsafe in my home and town (I live in a beach town in Southern California) and I doubt whether a gun would make me any safer. Certainly, it would introduce a dangerous element into my home, one which would worry me even though I don't have children. Although I would and have suggested to friends that they should not own guns for self-protection, as a gun purchased for self-protection is much more likely never to be used in any way (and if it is it will more likely be used against the owner or another family member), I recognize that some people feel safer with one in their home. Placebos have psychological value as well.
The only point at which I become passionately against guns is when I hear people argue that they should be allowed to carry them freely on the street. A few years ago, a motion was introduced in our small city to allow a broader range of people to carry concealed weapons. The main argument by the proponents of this measure was that it would make the city safer overall by serving notice to out-of-town hoodlums and gangbangers that they might be toying with somebody packing a firearm should they come here looking for trouble. Although I saw some logic in this argument, I felt that the people arguing for the motion were scarier than the gangbangers they wanted to frighten. A few weeks later, this idea was brought back to me when I was talking to one of my neighbors, an ex-cop, in front of a police station. We both had dogs with us, and when his dog yanked suddenly on his leash, my neighbor was thrown off balance, causing a loaded derringer to fall out of his pocket and clatter to the sidewalk in front of me. Fortunately, it had its safety on and did not discharge, but I couldn't help reflecting afterwards that this was probably the closest I have ever gotten to being shot, and the person who would have been responsible for the shooting was not some hoodlum but an experienced and supposedly responsible gunowner who felt he needed to be armed when he walked his dog down a suburban street in front of a police station.
I guess my point in this somewhat rambling post is that while I respect the right of gunowners to blow each other's brains out at home, and even to allow their children to kill other children in their own yards, I would prefer if they keep the fun at home and not intrude it on public streets. For this reason, I favor stiff penalties for persons convicted of illegally carrying weapons, and I wouldn't mind loosening search and seizure constraints to allow the police to target likely offenders. |
