I Own A Gun - Gun Control DebateWe at BA50 feel it’s important to publish opinions on topics that may not reflect the stand of all of our team.  This piece was sent anonymously, and we hope it will encourage debate amongst our readers.  Please feel free to comment.  We want to hear your thoughts on Gun Control Laws. 

I am a 50 something suburban mother of two children.  I was devastated by news of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.  I am a registered Democrat.  I believe in regulation to curb global warming, equal rights, gay marriage, a woman’s right to choose, and, of course, gun control.  I have been inundated with emails asking me to forward a letter with a link to a petition that states that it is time to do something about gun control.  I agree with everything in that petition (and I did sign the petition), yet I can’t sign my name to the cover letter that I was urged to forward to friends.  The last sentence of the letter informed the reader: “I don’t have any use for a gun, I don’t own a gun, and I never will.”

I can’t sign it, because I own a gun.

I am one of the last people you would think would own a gun.  I am writing this anonymously because I believe that people will feel differently about me if they find out.   My husband and I bought this gun for protection for a very specific purpose- for a time and place when I am absolutely sure we will be vulnerable and we will be without any police protection.   I know that you can’t imagine the circumstance; but that is your problem.  We can, and we believe we are the only people who can judge whether we really need it or not.  We feel we do, and because of that, I am mighty glad we had the right to buy a gun.

We did not take the purchase of our gun lightly.  My husband and I went to gun school together, and then we went back and did additional training on our specific gun.   As I got out of the car for the second training and asked, “honey, did you bring the gun?” I had to laugh.  Those were words I never thought I would say.   Much of the class time we talked about safety.  We were impressed with the instructor, the other people in class, and the gun training.  They were hard working, intelligent and caring people, respectful of each other and the weapons.   Eventually my husband obtained a Class-A license to carry from the police department of our suburban town, and yes, the regular class-A license does allow him to have an assault weapon, which I admit, is a little odd and completely unnecessary, but that is the usual license-even here in Massachusetts.

Before we purchased the gun in New Hampshire- one of the states with the loosest gun control laws, they did, in fact, do a criminal background check, albeit by phone, while we waited.  We were both impressed by how much time the owner of the store spent with us going over every safety aspect of the gun before they would allow us to leave with it.  The owners of the gun store could just as likely have owned a dairy farm.  They were lovely, really lovely, hard-working people.  They were about to leave on vacation to renew their marriage vows after 25 years, as they had not taken a vacation since they were married.  While they were away, their adult son, a strong and handsome former police officer, was going to man the shop.

The vocal  “Have Nots” and “Never Will Have No matter What” – seemingly all my friends and neighbors, want to ban all guns for all people at all times.   These people are hot and bothered by the notion that anyone would ever own a gun for any reason.  They are completely removed from a culture where it may take the police a half an hour to answer an emergency phone call.  They cannot fathom any environment where someone may have to defend themselves, because if they don’t- no one will.   They cannot fathom responsible gun ownership.  And that is half the problem.

The other half of the problem is that the vocal “Haves” are just as bad.  They appear on TV talk shows like lunatics, saying that no one can mess with their second amendment rights and that they need assault weapons to defend themselves against our government.  They want no restrictions on assault weapons or multiple magazine weapons, and fewer restrictions on licenses and waiting periods.

If we are going to make any progress on gun control, we need to step back.  We need to have meaningful discussion.  We need to understand that some gun ownership is legitimate, but that no private citizen needs an assault rifle.   And I think that we can all agree that if your adult son is a loner with serious mental health issues, you should not give him free access to the gun closet, no matter what.  You should get him help.

Gun control is clearly necessary, but we need to have those discussions in the context of reasonableness.  We need to be discussing mental health issues, poverty and the second amendment.  But it seems to me that we can’t have meaningful discussion until we all understand that we are not always 100% right.

I Own a Gun was last modified: December 25th, 2012 by "S"

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8 Responses

  1. Deb Drucker Reply

    I too believe that we all have a right to our opinions and choices. Thank you for sharing your point of view, and I do respect that we all have these rights and privileges. I do not want to ban all guns – but seriously a Semi-automatic – a weapon of war. Yes we need serious discussion – but I do get tired of the gun mongers beating their chests stating your taking away my rights.
    I respect and appreciate all that you stated above but I don’t understand why you are “anonymous” if you believe in what you wrote. And am rather curious that you went to New Hampshire to purchase a weapon while you obviously live in Massachusetts.
    What I am hot bothered about is that fact that certain type of guns such as the one used in Sandy Hook is allowed to be purchased – only in America. And I am angry at a government that has reduced the availability for those with serious mental illness to get the much needed appropriate help for their child.
    In each of the children that died in Sandy Hook I saw my grandchildren – Just as I saw my sons when Virginia Tech and Columbine happened. As a parent I am horrified at the violence that took place, the individuals hurt, maimed and killed.
    I do not own a gun nor will I ever. I remember not long after my second husband physically assaulted me and yes I feared for my life, a friend of mine, a Detective with a local PD suggested I purchase a weapon and learn to shoot. I declined. I feared that the weapon would be used on me rather than the other way around. I do not now nor did I then believe that a weapon would be a deterrent to his abuse. I chose to leave to remain safe and alive.
    Both sides need to be open to respectful dialogue and until that takes places there will be no change.

    • Brian J East Reply

      As a former soldier, I must correct your assertion that a semi-automatic firearm is a weapon of war. A true assault rifle has selective fire, which includes full-automatic fire. The civilian look-alikes are little different than the semi-automatic hunting rifle.

      30 round magazines, however, are they issue. THAT is for shooting many and quickly. Here in Canada, all rifles, including the civilian assault-looking rifles (semi-auto) cannot have a magazine capacity greater than five rounds. That is sufficient for competitions, target practice, training and hunting. (you do not hunt without first practicing on the range).

      Assault-looking rifles may LOOK more menacing, but, as stated, are essentially the same as semi-automatic hunting rifles. The look, however, is practical. The ergonomics of the firearm are such that you may practice or compete in more disciplines and positions. The traditional hunting rifle still maintains archaic ergonomics little different than those of the first black powder muskets.

      Please see my other comment about how the Swiss have real military assault rifles in almost every home, yet do not have these kinds of issues. The real issue is the culture and the individual. Two things you must address. (but do do away with magazines greater than 30 rounds, Those are silly for civvies.)

  2. Brian J East Reply

    First: The concept of assault rifle is misunderstood by many. An assault rifle is capable of fully automatic fire, not just semi-automatic. Many ordinary hunting and competition rifles are, in fact, semi-automatic.

    Now, the Swiss have a true military assault rifle in almost every home (part of their national defence doctrine), yet to my knowledge, there has never been a Columbine-kind of incident.

    This is a matter of culture and personal responsibility. Bans cannot work, as those bent on criminal acts will acquire firearms through criminal means. Take for example the ban on drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

    I am a Canadian, a shooting competitor and collector. I own a score of firearms from pistol to long range rifles, including semi-automatics, .

    Our firearms laws license the individual, not the firearm* An individual must undergo training and testing in such matters as safety, security, law, including practical proficiency. Furthermore, the individual must undergo a background check which includes consultation with family, cohabitants and other interested or associated parties. Finally, the individual is subject to further background checking before and/or including when the license is up for renewal.

    If you ban firearms, they will not go away. Criminals will always have them. It will be the law abiding who will not.

    The Swiss have real assault rifles in almost every home. Canadians, whose country is mostly rural and wilderness, have far more firearms than you would think, Perhaps the system of regulating the user is the key,

    PS: Good luck with that ban on drugs you have had going for…how many decades?

    *(albeit restricted and prohibitted classes of firearm are registered)

  3. r devereux Reply

    With 300 million guns in the USA and such passion around ownership rights, it’s difficult to imagine that the rhetoric between the Gun Haves and the Have Nots is very soon going to become less extreme for any of the reasons floated with such passion by both sides. Nor would gun buy-back programs that have worked elsewhere in the world likely to gain momentum here. Among the gun owners, there are those who are proud to talk about themselves and those like Deb who wrote such a thoughtful comment but do not wish their identities to be known. She has her own reasons for retaining her gun and her anonymity. If I’d owned a gun last month, my sense of shame would have made me turn it in somewhere (police?) and burn my gun permit, but I recognize others feel differently.

    Before long, I imagine we’ll see the formation of more gun-free zones. These may have to incorporate in order to restrict residents from having guns and to restrict visitors from bringing them inside the zone. As little or no hunting is done in the vicinity of homes in densely populated areas, it’s imaginable that gun owners could store and maintain their rifles at designated areas without great inconvenience or expense.

    This kind of separation, however, may make it more difficult for the two sides to understand each other and become yet another way in which our country is divided into haves and have-nots. This division is more dangerous to the future of our democracy than any other single issue we face as a nation.

    As Republican or Democratic as the 1% may be, living in a different America which Michael Murray called their Super Zip Codes, they can afford to pay for security to protect them in their homes and won’t be the kind of citizens who need guns because they feel threatened by the government, despite the NRA rhetoric. WHY NOT? Because they already influence power with their resources. It suits their interests to have the other 99% divided over this issue and other issues. The 1% is fine regardless of who is in power and what happens to everyone else.

    And that is the crux of the problem with all the so-called solutions to our divided politics: money is controlling those in power in both parties, and will continue to manipulate them to benefit the large donors and corporations.

    Our divisions are not going to diminish until we hit a crisis of proportions none of us have seen before. Then what, with guns or without…

  4. Beverly Diehl Reply

    Thanks for your thoughtfully written article. I’ve gone target shooting, and it can be a lot of fun. I think, as you describe in your piece, there IS a place for responsible gun ownership. I , too, would not sign a “never own a gun” pledge.

    But we, as a country, have to take steps to keep guns away from criminals, crazy people, and children. As I write this, last week a five-year-old shot and killed his two-year-old sister with HIS gun, which was kept leaning in a corner. That is NOT “responsible gun ownership,” no matter if his parents do insist the child was “trained how to handle it” and “they didn’t know it was loaded.”

    Can we always, in every circumstance, prevent an Aurora or Sandy Hook? Of course not, but we CAN reduce those kinds of incidents, rather than calling them unpreventable. We can also reduce the number of women and children (and men) killed every year by domestic violence and gun accidents, by requiring stricter standards, background checks, and required safety training, for those who want to keep guns in the home.

    The only people who truly win, when responsible gun legislation is blocked, are the weapons manufacturers. THEY get to profit by selling to the criminals, to the insane, AND to the responsible gun owners who buy weapons because they want to protect themselves from the criminals and the crazies.

    Oh, and the funeral industry profits as well.

  5. Brain Sonterre Reply

    The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every American the right to bear arms. Has any law ever been so ambiguous? What are arms? What does it mean to bear them? At least with the first amendment we know exactly where we stand: Freedom of speech. It couldn’t be any clearer. But, the right to bear arms leaves the second amendment open to different interpretations. We need gun permits to carry a concealed weapon. Do we need knife permits? No. Yet both can, and often do, cause death. We can own a gun, or a rifle, or a sub-machine gun, or a machete, and dozens of other tools to kill, even our own bare hands. So, gun control is a debate in our country that makes no sense unless you broaden the ban or acceptance to include all instruments of death.^`

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  6. In Derickson Reply

    Good communication is a must to develop the healthy relationships in your married life. You should share all your problems and feelings with your partner as well listen to your partner and understand. Make some time for each other to share your emotions. Go for outing with your partner and make some romantic plans for short vacation..**.

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