Posted on 01/29/2007 9:08:11 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
The right of Americans to bear arms, as stipulated in the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution, will soon get a microscopic examination as different presidential candidates establish their positions on gun ownership.
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the readers of this column, and by extension their candidates, to American gun owners. I won’t pretend gun owners are a homogeneous group, but it’s safe to say that a significant portion of them resemble the folks I’ve described below in their beliefs and actions.
We gun owners consider guns as tools and nothing more. We don’t own fully automatic weapons. Our guns are used for hunting, target shooting and self-protection, not necessarily in that order.
We apply for and receive concealed weapons permits, not because we plan to carry a gun around, but because we want be able to legally transport guns in our vehicles without leaving them in plain sight, as the law requires.
Many of us reload ammunition, and belong to shooting ranges where we shoot for practice and fun.
We store most of our guns in safes, but often keep one nearby at night, because we are responsible for the safety of our families. We are unwilling to bet our lives on the rapid response of police. We watched as police abandoned entire sections of Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots and know that the stores most likely to escape looting and destruction were those protected by owners with guns.
We are products of our country’s history; our ancestors warded off Indian attacks and raiders and we are prepared to do the same with the different threats we face today. We teach our children about gun safety and respect at an early age, but we don’t leave guns around where they have access to them.
We gun owners believe in and obey the nation’s laws regarding illegal use of firearms. We want to see those laws aggressively enforced and transgressions even more aggressively punished, but we do not support the creation of new laws designed to restrict the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. We are willing to consider creative new ways to identify weapons that have been used for criminal purposes and wish the National Rifle Association were more cooperative in this effort.
We know restrictive gun laws will not prevent events such as the killings at Columbine or Thurston high schools any more than restrictive licensing of drivers will halt road-rage attacks. We cannot legislate an end to personal or societal mental illnesses.
We have no problem with the present system of registration of guns sold by licensed dealers, but we oppose blanket registration of all guns for two reasons. First, we don’t want the government to be able to take our guns away from us, as totalitarian regimes have done in the past.
The second reason is similar, but runs on a deeper current, one rarely discussed. We are aware that at some point in the future, we or our descendants may need to fight against the government or an invading force.
I don’t want to be melodramatic about this fear, but it is ingrained in the culture of Americans in general and gun owners in particular. It runs through our blood from the docks of Boston through Lexington and Bunker Hill. It was seared into our collective soul in Chancellorsville, Bull Run and Antietam. We watched and learned from victims of Hitler and Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and Slobodan Milosevic. We studied the Quislings and the Vichy. We bled with the Jews and the Tutsis; we are bleeding now with the tribes being slaughtered in Darfur.
We have learned as we watched, and chief among our lessons is the certain knowledge that an evil government or an occupying force can come to power anywhere. It CAN happen here.
It is a mistake to confuse gun owners like those I’m describing with extremist groups like Minutemen and Survivalists. We have almost nothing in common with them. Many of us are military veterans with a deep and abiding loyalty to this country. We don’t stockpile ammunition or train for guerrilla action. But we have the option of defending ourselves, our families and our country if the need arises; our guns give us that option, and anyone who wishes us ill would need to take us into account.
Some gun restriction advocates are trying to say the 2nd Amendment protections refer only to a standing militia, which they think should restrict gun ownership to the military. We reject this argument. Our nation was built on individual freedoms, and our individual freedom to bear arms has helped us provide food and protection through our darkest hours.
We are law abiding, thoughtful citizens, who happen to hunt and shoot and believe in self-protection. None of these characteristics make us dangerous or overly important. They just make us worth listening to.
Nice to meet you.
Author sounds honest enough ... just unaware that a great many in the group DO own MGs (and/or other NFA items), have CCW permits precisely to CCW, stockpile ammo, think the Minutemen are just doing what needs doing, etc. - and are just as innocent, honest, decent & upstanding as anyone else.
He's a moderate.
LOL, speak for yourself, Pat!
We apply for and receive concealed weapons permits, not because we plan to carry a gun around,
Again, speak for yourself, Pat.
but because we want be able to legally transport guns in our vehicles without leaving them in plain sight, as the law requires.
Fortunately, in my state, I don't need a permit to carry a gun in my glovebox.
We don’t stockpile ammunition
I do.
or train for guerrilla action.
Do tactical carbine/handgun classes count?
Pretty lame article, if you ask me, but I guess he's doing pretty good for Oregon.
Second amdendment softies and other moderates such as this guy should bear in mind that the Brady types of the nation will smile and shake his hand - and then stab him in the back and have him for lunch as soon as they get the chance. He'll be grinning his idiotic grin and muttering, "Come on, can't we all get along?" when the jackboots break down his door to confiscate his firearms on some specious pretext or other. Good luck, pal.
Somewhat inconsistent in the context of self defense. Nothing like Ma Deuce for defending your house.
We apply for and receive concealed weapons permits, not because we plan to carry a gun around, but because we want be able to legally transport guns in our vehicles without leaving them in plain sight, as the law requires.
Wrong again we apply for carry permits to ... carry.
We store most of our guns in safes,
No we don't we hide them in various abditories around the house.
early age, but we don’t leave guns around where they have access to them.
No, we make sure the kids use their own guns, not ours.
We gun owners believe in and obey the nation’s laws regarding illegal use of firearms.
We believe the nations laws about guns are a pile of stinking crap
We want to see those laws aggressively enforced and transgressions even more aggressively punished,
We want law enforcement to deal with real crimes not phone balone gun crimes like "gun running"
. We are willing to consider creative new ways to identify weapons that have been used for criminal purposes and wish the National Rifle Association were more cooperative in this effort.
We do not wish any further intrusinve government surveilence against our property. and we think the NRA is too wimpy in not mounting sufficient opposition to this flawed and evil concept
We have no problem with the present system of registration of guns sold by licensed dealers,
We have serious problems and want ot go back to the way it was prior to GC '68 where you could buy guns through the mail and crime was much lower than it is today.
I could go on, but the guy who wrote this is clearly not a pro-gunner.
It always been us v. them. It's just that the public is expected to pretend like it's not.
We don't? Is there something wrong with that?
Is there something wrong with having a few thousand rounds for each of the calibers I shoot? Ammo has a great shelf life and I like buying when the prices are low. That makes great sense when I see the price of copper going through the roof now.
Training for guerilla action? I'm not sure what that even is. I've had basic infantry training 30 years ago, courtesy of Uncle Sam and I've had tactical training in the last few years. I compete in action pistol and 3 gun sports to keep my skills alive. Is that a sin?
I don't like it when authors like this one, are dismissive of those of us who actually prepare for the dark days that may lie ahead. And no, I don't belong to any militias, etc.
Some of what this guy says is right.
The author comes across as being rather soft and mushy like when he makes squeamish comments about stockpiling ammo and the Minutemen. However the target audience is liberals and non-gun owners so I guess you have to soften the approach. As for myself, I have no warfare training and do not try to train for guerilla warfare but I do stockpile ammo once in a while when I get enough money (you never know when prices may spike) and try to keep up my skills every so often, mainly working on accuracy and quick target aquisition. Squirrle hunting with a .22 is good practice for quick target acquisition and easily carries over to any standard combat rifle, which I think everyone should have. If the time comes to fight off enemies you can do plenty of damage just by staying in practice with accurate targeting and being in decent physical shape and being mentally alert and calm, even if you're like myself and have little knowledge of fighting tactics.
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